The Martyr's Seal

Have your Bibles with you today I'll ask your turn with if you would to Revelation chapter 6 only look at verses nine through 11 Revelation 6 starting verse nine when he opened the fifth seal also under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness that they had borne they cried out with a loud voice oh sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth. Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete who were to be killed as they themselves had been spray heavenly father we come before your throne today to praise you. Your are great and glorious wonderful and magnificent God. God, who loved us a God who sent his son to die for us that we can have life and have it abundantly. Heavenly father today as we look at this particular passage of Scripture we are reminded of the cost of the calls that Jesus paid on the cross and the cost that we as believers pay just to be your followers. Heavenly father, we thank you for the martyrs. We thank you heavenly father for the witness that they have left to us of the value and the worth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, God, and directors through this passage today Lord. May Jesus be exalted and uplifted by this congregation be benefited and it is with great praise, we come before your throne and thank you for what you can do here is in Jesus holy and wonderful and precious name we pray. Amen. You may be seated in 1545 John Fox resigned as a professor at Oxford University and he resigned because he is his Christian beliefs were not lining up with the official position of the Church of England that was under King Henry VIII and so he resigned but then things got worse. Henry VIII died and when he died his daughter took the throne. Her name was Mary. Her nickname was bloodied, Mary, and he knew at that point in time that he had to flee the country. He did flee the country and as he was in another country and Haley was there and he began to hear about all the persecution and the martyrdoms that Were Taking Pl. in England and he decided to start pinning these down and then Elizabeth for the first came to power. When she came to power he came back to England and we came back eight when he decided to put all this into a book. He went all the way back to the early apostles and shared in his book about to another.

The martyrdoms of the early apostles and then he gave a history of the martyrdom of Christians from the early church all the way up to his day around 1545. That book is entitled Fox's book of martyrs. It was the most read book in the world other than the Bible. At that particular time. I would highly recommend that you read Fox's book of martyrs.

Great great book in the 11th chapter of the book of Hebrews we have a chapter that we call the hall of faith and in that chapter we see one man of God after another after another, going to great persecution and martyrdom in verses 30, 60, 38 right of Hebrews said this, others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.

They were stone, they were sawn into they were killed with the sword.

They went about in skins of sheep and goats destitute, afflicted, mistreated and listen to this, of whom the world was not worthy wondering about in deserts and mountains and Indians and caves of the earth.

This is why Peter said what he did in first Peter chapter 4 verse 12 went when he said, but beloved.

Think it not strange.

When these fiery trials come upon you is if some strange thing is happened to you, but rejoice that you were counted worthy to suffer for Christ sake and places around our world today like in China and in Pakistan and ran in the Sudan and Somalia and so many other places. Persecution is not a surprise.

It is what is expected and it is what they get. Damien and day out. I shared with you last week a little bit about a Lutheran pastor name Richard Warren Brand who was ministering in Romania and the Russian communist soldiers took him arrested him and kept him in prison for 11 years.

He was beaten continuously over and over and over again.

I had the privilege of seeing him in person.

In 1985 of the Southern Baptist convention in Dallas and he hobbled up to the to the podium. They are completely barefooted, hobbled their now the reason for that was that the Russian communist soldiers laughed at a verse that Paul would often quote in Romans chapter 10 verse 15, Paul said beautiful are the feet of those who carry the good news and they took him because of that verse. They tied them up. They took a metal rod and they beat his feet back and forth, back and forth until every bone in both feet were shattered that I then they laughed adding and they said, look at those feet. They don't look very beautiful to us. Let me tell you when he walked up to that platform that day in 1985 and I saw them hobbling up.

They are to to share the truth of God's word with us. I wept and I wept because he stood before us, and he told us how much love that he head for the people who had persecuted him and how burdened he was for the hearts of the communist in Russia softly and with his video, his life not long ago, and in that video they work Sharon how he was being beaten for, pray, and they told him to quit praying and he just wouldn't do it every time they calling, pray, and that would beat them and finally one of the guards came in and looked through his cell door and sawing pray on it.

He ran in furious anything for you doing I told you to quit doing this. What what good do you think this prayer is what I your prayers are going nowhere and so what you praying for anyway you praying for yourself.

You praying for your family.

You praying for your your release. Are you praying for your health, and Richard Warren Brand said no. He took his hand and he pointed him as an praying for you as soon.

Praying for you to see that man's face just just drop.

Just drop in that same movie of his life. There was a scene that was shared about his wife and his wife was taken and arrested as well and put under hard labor is one particular scene where of the. The guards were walking this long line of women right beside her are a river.

It was a very frigid cold day. I was snow everywhere and two of the guards decide to play a big joke and they picked her up and threw her into that freezing river in the process she broke two ribs and not only did she break to Rios but she was struggling to to try to get out and one of the guards came over and grabbed her by the hand and and just jerked her back onto the shore and he laughed at her and he said I thought your God loves you if he loves you, wanting to get you out of that river and she said he did. He just use your hands to do it the Warren Brand started the organization called the voice of the martyrs, and it's been going on for 50 years now and is been just a tremendous help for persecuted Christians around our world.

When you share one quick quote with you for more brand. He said not all of us are called to die a martyr's death, but all of us are called to have the same spirit of self-sacrifice and love to the very end.

As these martyrs head several years ago I talked to Harry Reeder when he had just come back from Uganda and he had been preaching there and seen hundreds of Ugandans come to Christ and he shared with me up just with tears in his eyes up about talking to a pastor that was there they went through that went by a building a public building and Harry asking why was all closed up and he said that building is called the statehouse in any said when Idi Amin was the dictator over over Uganda.

He killed tens of thousands of Christians the city had this Christians decapitated and he said there's a particular huge room in that house where they took all the skulls of the decapitated Christians and they lie and and they blind them up on the floor and then they started piling them up and it went all the way from the floor all the way to the ceiling with the heads of these Christians hasten what they do with their bodies. He said they took their bodies in the user bodies were filler for potholes all over Uganda and then they paved over it folks.

I don't know any of the names of any of those martyrs of those tens of thousands who died for Christ.

I don't know their names and you don't know their names only tell you something there in heaven today there with Jesus today and the day will come when you and I will know their names and they'll bring God glory for ever and ever and ever. Today were looking at the fifth seal in the for seals call the martyrs seal and want to share with you four points about the martyrs, a seal .1 the calls of the martyrs look at me again at verse nine. When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who been slain for the word of God and for the witness that they had borne last week we saw the unleashing of the four horsemen who unleashed the woes out upon this earth and we saw the horrible terrible things that were taking place on the earth. Now this week. The scene switches to heaven and here in heaven.

We see these these people who read who had given their lives for Christ sake, and now through much tribulation. Where are they. They are in heaven with the Lord.

The function assault not to surprise us at this kind of persecution goes on in Philippians chapter 1 verse 29 Paul said this court is given into you on the behalf of Christ not only to believe upon him, but also to suffer for his sake. Second Timothy chapter 3 verse 12 all that live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. Then we seen in Revelation chapter 2 verse 10 is Jesus is speaking to the church at Smyrna and he says to them. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life. In Matthew chapter 24 in verse nine, Jesus said that they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death and you will be hated for all nations for my namesake James voice said this in the light of Jesus teaching. What is surprising is not that Christians have been persecuted and killed all through the long annals of human history, but that so many have not been far from deadly persecution being unusual for Christians, it is the normal situations that Christians should expect. So why were they slain.

They were slain for the word of God and for the testimony that they bore the word martyrs is a Greek word monitory on and it literally means a witness. The martyrs died because they would not compromise the preaching of the gospel because they would not quit preaching the word of God and teaching what the word of God says in truth for the last 250 years of American history we as Christians have experienced minimal persecution, but I want you know if there is a gigantic paradigm shift that is taking place in this nation and churches and pastors and denominations who stand strong with the word of God's teaching concerning subjects like abortion and homosexuality. The exclusivity of Jesus Christ are going to be castigated and they are going to be vilified. It is already happening and today we have myriads of people who claim to be Christians who are professing Christians and yet their lifestyle is absolutely in opposition to the word of God. They believe that Christian love is tolerance of any kind of of perversion or depravity books. The word of God says that a true Christian is different that he is been changed by the Spirit of God. Paul said if any man be in Christ he is a new creation. Old things are passed away behold all things are become new. If you belong to Christ in you are a follower of Christ. You are a slave of Christ Jesus said if you love me then, keep my commandments, and what is this mean does this mean that we as Christians are going to reach some kind of sinless perfection, absolutely not Rose's sister. You and I both know we've all got along long way to go. But if you know Christ.

If the spirit of God is in your heart is going to be a desire down on the inside.

To be obedient to God's word. Our culture tells us that we must approve of their lifestyles and that we must we must give a blessing to what they're doing and if word and if we don't do that there could be great consequences to pay Romans chapter 1 verse 26 to 32. The apostle Paul dealt with this don't you listen, particularly in the last verse to what he said about approval. He said for this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passions for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error and since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness and malice.

They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanders, haters of God, insolent, call the boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but they give approval to those who practice them. And what is its main this mean that we as a the true people of God should should hate these people know know know know we should love these people enough to tell them the truth we should love and care for them enough to minister to them and to be willing to share the truth with them. That is going to help them out of this lifestyle through the power of the risen Christ to the Holy Spirit's power budget might feel better and might be easier and might feel more comfortable to give them approval but if they are encouraged to continue in sin and they are lost for eternity than what have we accomplished these martyrs in Revelation 69 have paid the price they paid the price for refusing to compromise the truth, they have died for being faithful to Jesus and for not compromising the word of God. Let me ask you something is that loving were being told today that that's unloving I want you know that's the most loving thing in the most Christlike thing that we could do it is the epitome of love to be faithful to the word of God wears a location wears a location for these elders. The Scripture tells us here that they are under the altar left there under the altar. What is it that's on top of the altar. Only today was on top of the Aldrich the blood of Jesus Christ. And so here we have a picture of protection. If a person dies for Christ. He goes to be with the Lord, and there is nothing and and and and nobody that can get to him to do him harm P is in a place where he is never going to suck a sin.

He's never gonna suffer. He's never going to go through pain or frustration or anguish, or death, ever, ever again. Nine Hebrews chapter 11 in verse 35. The Scripture says that the those who give their life for Christ sake are going to experience a better resurrection soul was think about this for a minute if I die right now and I go to be with the Lord. I'm to be in his very presence. I'm never going to get sick. I'm never gonna die I'm never going to be frustrated. I'm never gonna see in I'm never going know anything but joy unspeakable and full of glory. How can his resurrection be better than mine.

It's this. Those who die for Christ are going to receive a martyrs crown and they are going to have the privilege of taking that crown and laying it at the feet of Jesus and their worship is going to be enhanced and increased and sweetened for all of eternity.

They were the martyrs in heaven to they regret what they did, absolutely no they do not regret what they did. They were praise the Lord for ever for the privilege of giving their all for Christ like .2 is the cry of the martyrs look at verse 10 they cried out with a loud voice, O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth while Zada good China prayer to pray especially in the light of what Jesus did when he was on the cross he looked down and and he saw the people that were crucifying him and looked up the heavens and father forgive them for they know not what they do or maybe Stephen's prayer she's been stoned to death and he cries out Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. Is this a good prayer. The answer that is absolutely yes absolutely yes. Richard Phillips tells why he gets some great insight. Listen to this.

The first reason that this prayer is worthy of Christians is that the martyrs were not complaining only about their own sufferings, but they were crying for the injustice inflicted on fellow believers. The saints in heaven want to know how long the church on earth will suffer.

We too should pray for afflicted Christians, O Sovereign Lord, how long. Second, there is nothing inherently unchristian about praying against evil and asking God to judge the wicked. Such prayers are found throughout the Psalms, David prayed arise the Lord in your anger lift up yourself against the fury of my enemies.

Jesus told of the widow who kept appealing to the judge, begging give me justice against my adversary Jesus praised her persistent saying that our prayers to God for justice will likewise be answered will not. God give justice to his elected crowding him day and night Jesus, I ask. I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily so may respond by reminding us that Paul commanded. Beloved, never avenger sales but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord.

This is the very thing the martyrs are doing. Christians are not to seek vengeance against people who harm us, and we should often pray for God's mercy for the salvation of the wicked, but having left vengeance to God, we do nothing wrong in asking for is justice to prevail. William Hendrickson writes the site in glory does not desire personal vengeance anymore than did Stephen but he yearns for the coming of that great day when the majesty and holiness.

The sovereignty and righteousness of God in Christ shall be publicly revealed. Listen if this is how the saints in heaven are praying and remember the saints in heaven have had their sin nature already eradicated. So this is not a wrong prayer. This is a perfect prayer that means that you and I ought to be praying for those who are suffering for their faith. But not only pray for those that are suffering for their faith, but also praying against the powers that oppose the gospel their Moslem countries. Right now where if a person that was a Moslem in formally converts to Christ and is baptized. He will be decapitated. They will cut his head off.

Folks, we need to pray for that Christian who is suffering and we need to pray against the wicked people who were bringing about his suffering. How should we pray for.

I think this is the way I normally pray Lord these that are so wicked that are doing so much damage my prayers that you'd save them that you would save them for all of eternity that you would bring them into a relationship with Christ where they would know you and love you and their allies would count for Christ sake, but if that's not gonna happen. Then you stop them from their evil stop them from their wickedness and I pray that in Jesus name .3 is the condition of the martyrs look with me at verse 11.

Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brother should be complete who were to be killed as they themselves had been first of all, we are told that they were clothed in white now the idea of why they are is a is a reference to something that's very very important and it tells us about righteousness. But you know it's not there. Righteousness is it so we have to be careful here. These martyrs that are in heaven are not dressed in white because they died for Jesus.

They are dressed in white because Jesus died for the and folks Jesus died for them, just like Jesus died for us in Revelation chapter 3 verse five Jesus said to the church at Sardis, the one who conquers will be clothed in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life.

The white color also reminds us of purity, purity, what, when a person puts his faith in Christ. What happens to that person.

He is justified. That means he has a positional righteousness, and that means when God looks it at that person. He doesn't see the person in the longer he sees the righteousness of Christ is a positional righteousness, but then as he moves on in his life he he experiences what's called sanctification that is practical righteousness and his personal holiness.

But then he moves on to heaven and when he goes to heaven he moves from justification to sanctification to glorification in Hebrews chapter 12 verse 23 the writer of Hebrews said this, the glorified saints in the heavenly Jerusalem are the spirits of the righteous made perfect white is also the color of victory, you know, I think of so many of these stories of martyrs that we hear about and read about we see here on this earth today and a lot of them just don't look very victorious. Does it. I think about the tens of thousands of Christians who died under the hand of Idi Amin, who were taken and beheaded, and their bodies were thrown into in the holes in the streets and used to as pavement and were paved right over his Idi Amin and his henchmen just sat back and laughed at and look like victory does it doesn't look like victory, but remember this, Idi Amin is in hell right now and those that he martyred for Christ sake, or with Jesus fellow shipping with Christ and that will last forever and ever. A million years from now Idi Amin will still be in a burning like a fire, and yet all of these people who were martyred for Christ will be with Jesus worshiping him fellow shipping with him enjoying his presence forever and ever. Then the white road. Martyrs are told to rest a little longer. The Greek word for rest is a record on a patio and it means refreshed lately.

Rest in the finished work of Christ and in the treasures that they have stored up for them sales here on earth and within those treasures all the way through eternity will deepen and strengthen and broaden their worship of Jesus. This is what Jesus was talking about the sermon on the Mount and Matthew chapter 6 verses 19 to 21 when he said the us, do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven were neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart be also. Revelation 1413 the Scripture says, and I heard a voice from heaven saying right DS Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on blessed indeed, says the spirit, that they may rest from their labors or their deeds follow them.

But not only they told rest a little longer. There also told to wait wait wait for what verse 11 then they were given a white robe and told rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete who were to be killed as they themselves had been white until the number of the martyrs is complete. While in the sovereignty and perfect providence of God. God has a set number of martyrs a specific number of fixed number of people from the time of Adam until the time of that very last martyr.

There is a specific number and folks I want you to know that the end will not come that Jesus Christ will not return that justice will not be finally served until that last martyr dies so I can tell you right now when Jesus is coming back. I can tell you when Jesus is coming back. I can't tell you the day KT of our Tete the month came to the year of the decade long tell you this, when that last martyr dies. Jesus Christ is coming back. Richard Phillips said the Bible answers at the world is still permitted to make its martyrs because God is still answering sinners through Jesus Christ. Peter said the Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise, as some count slow list slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should reach repentance.

God tells the martyrs above to wait in their blessed rest because of his heart of mercy for sinners below the unbeliever should realize, however, that God's patients may end soon after which there will be no salvation. Paul thus wrote the whole. Now is the favorable time. The whole now is the day of salvation. The believer should be more zealously in embrace Jesus's great commission, knowing that the time may be short.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father the son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. I don't get very practical with you for just a minute. Let's say things in American continue to fall apart spiritually in a very rapid manner and Bible believing Christians are singled out as being traders and enemies of the state and so you is a Bible believing Christian are taken up before court and you are told that you will either denounce Christ or die.

Let me ask you something.

If that were to happen to you in it very well could, if that were to happen you with this verse with this passage not be a tremendous help to you that you would know deep down in your heart. Not only was I predestined to my salvation, but I was even predestined to martyrdom God called me to be a martyr in this life is going to quickly end and then my future for all of eternity is just gotten unbelievably bright and unbelievably joyful. My last point is lessons from the martyrs and we share three of them with you real quickly. Number one the souls of Christians who die go immediately to heaven where are these martyrs of this is going on right now these martyrs are in heaven right now there very much alive. They're not resurrected yet of the resurrection day will take place until Christ comes back, but they are with Christ there talking with him.

They are very cognizant they know exactly what's going on. Some people believing this doctrine call soul sleep and they believe that when a a Christian dies is just kind of like he's nonexistent and he's totally unconscious and he'll stay that way until the resurrection day and then to be resurrected, help you regain his consciousness, but during this intermediate time he's not alive, but that's not true. A second Corinthians 58 says, for the Christian to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. These martyrs that were looking at here are in heaven right now and they have never been more alive number two. The injustice of this world is overturned by God's righteousness. These martyrs died wrongly on this earth. That should not have died. It was unjust that they died that way. And yet they are in glory nail in the Lord is going to deal with their enemies. Number three. It will be worth it all.

When we see Jesus. John Patton was a Scottish pastor who left Scotland and he went to the New Hebrides Islands to to minister. They are to the haven cannibal Island and it was a tough situation because the last missionaries that had gone to the New Hebrides Islands were missionaries that he gone 20 years before and when they they went on to the island in their in their little boat of the cannibal solving common, they ran out to their boat. They grab them they killed him and they ate their bodies right there on the shore and so when John Patton was getting ready to go. He had his church to pray for you and I were praying for his safety and one man stood up and his name is Mr. Dixon and he said John Patton don't do this you'll get eaten by cannibals.

Look what all you have to lose. Don't do it on to list what John Patton said he said Mr. Dixon. You are advanced in years nail in your own prospect is soon to be late in the grave. They are to be eaten by worms I confess to you that if I can but live and die serve in honoring the Lord Jesus. It will make no difference to me whether obtained by cannibals or by worms and in the great day. My resurrection body will rise as fair as yours. In the likeness of our risen Savior.

Matthew McCullough added these words he said. Patton understood the implications of death. He knew his future was not ambiguous. There was nothing about his life he could protect.

To begin with, and Patton's eyes were set on glory, the great day of resurrection was everything to him and he knew nothing on this earth could touch that treasure.

In other words, it will be worth it all. When we see Jesus is pray. Heavenly father, we come before your throne today to thank you and praise you for your precious word and Lord what we were looking at today is some some scary stuff and and father we are looking at people who who gave their all for Christ sake and father very well may be that that we are called to do the very same thing with pray father for strength for encouragement. If you would help us to be the people of God that you called us to be with. Pray heavenly father that you would be with those who are our more greatly persecuted than us right now around the world and would ask father for strength for them and would pray father for those that are doing damage and and harming them.

Lord, that they might see what they're doing, that they might be broken by your spirit if they might come to Christ or just help us now and all that we do. There are lies my camper Christ sake, it's Jesus precious and holy name that would pray, amen