The Passion of Christ and the Martyrs 10 The Passion of Christ and the Martyrs

Introduction Passion – an intense desire for something Christ desired the redemption of the world enough to suffer and die The world will be reached by those who are willing to suffer in order to see the Kingdom come

The physical expression of a passionate love for God The Cross of Christ The physical expression of a passionate love for God

His Motive, Our Motive “For the joy set before Him [Jesus] endured the cross, despising the shame” Heb.12:2 Jesus’ radical commitment to obedience must be mirrored by our own lives Our motive must be a willingness to suffer loss for the blessing of the nations.

Paul’s Passion Paul is our example of a cross-cultural missionary He was called “to the regions beyond” Paul suffered greatly; over and over again. Why did he put up with it? Not just duty! Paul saw himself as A debtor (Rom. 1:14) Compelled by love (II Corinthians 5:14)

The Passion of Martyrs Yemen martyrs Iraq Martyrs Carrie McDonall survived the Iraq attack…

Perspective: Carrie McDonall I wanted to share a Scripture with you, a Scripture that David clung to and referred back to on those days when he needed encouragement." Psalm 108:3-5: "I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and let your glory be over all the earth" (NIV).” One night, this verse sunk in as we worshiped on a rooftop in a village where there had not been a believer for centuries, Many of you are going to find yourselves in places like that, where there are no believers or possibly never have been. Consider it a privilege that you may worship the one true living God in a place where there is only darkness." "There are times when you will need to focus on the Lord's faithfulness," she said. "He is the one who is called 'Faithful and True. In those times when nothing seems to go right and all you can cling to is the call you have obeyed, remember this: God is faithful. That is His name. He will do what He put you there for. He will be exalted among the nations. The earth will be filled with His glory. Your work is not in vain, nor does it go unnoticed. In this world, you will have tribulation, but take courage. Jesus has overcome the world. Not will overcome. He has overcome this world."

What We Face We live in a world that is unpredictably violent toward Christians in general, and our missionaries in particular Some researchers say that there have been more Christian martyrs in this past century than in all the rest of history. This is the world into which we are called to live missional lives.

Why this Passion? Why go to these dangerous places? God’s call and your willingness to be obedient The conviction that Jesus is the answer for a hurting world Most missionaries of the nineteenth century expected to die in the field; retirement was not an option. Insisting on missionary safety belittles the lostness of the world

Christ the only answer We see Jesus as the only answer, and are attacked as bigots. Jesus saw things the same way (John 14:6) Be convinced its true before you take risks to spread the gospel

Lives Given, Not Taken Our missionaries know the risks They are trained to avoid unnecessary risks Yet they are willing to give their lives for the gospel’s sake So a martyr’s life is given, not taken; they gave up their lives into God’s hands when they went. The world will not be reached without the blood of martyrs still to die. One of them might be you.

Passion for the Mission of God We should not be surprised at the antagonism we face around the world The terror of radical Islam seems to be creating disillusion among some Muslims, opening them up to other answers Our response should be the same as the early disciples Pray for boldness to keep witnessing An unwillingness to suffer or engage risk indicates conditional obedience The giving of our life is one of God’s most powerful tools to open the hearts of people to the gospel

Conclusion When we submit to God’s will it doesn’t guarantee safety or even good results Our call is to obedience – period. Karen Watson (killed in Iraq) says it well, “There are no regrets. My calling is to obedience, suffering is expected, and His glory is my reward.”