Standing in support of Israel, Jews, and believers in all the nations, in the name of Jesus (Yeshua). Sharing biblical truth, encouragement, news and prophecy.
How do you measure success? Steve Martin, Love For His People Ministry
June 22, 2022 Charlotte, North Carolina
Greetings to my family and friends of Love For His People Ministry.
It was a delightful last few days if you consider having some poundage removed due to oversizeness. (A new word!) I am thankful to the Lord for good doctors and very friendly nurses. They have succeeded in their endeavors as far as I am concerned.
Speaking of success, some measure it in several ways. I share what the Lord understands success to be. Please read my new message below.
Also, check out our YouTube playlist here: Jerusalem, Israel. You will particularly love the one with “George Bush” the camel! It was a joy being in the Land this past April and seeing our friends once again, including George.
Ahava and shalom,
Steve Martin Love For His People Ministry
Success “They are like trees planted by streams — they bear their fruit in season, their leaves never wither, everything they do succeeds.” Psalm 1:3, Complete Jewish Bible
How do you measure success? A large brick house on the inland waterfront? An electric car so that the “greenies” are happy you heed their advice and support their agenda when the rest of us pay triple for the energy the Lord already blessed us with? (So now you know what I think of their policies!)
Do you measure success by college degrees? One of my five sisters, Janet, has her masters and a couple of bachelors. She is very humble and lives the Christian walk. She has helped many young students in the public school system because of her knowledge and wisdom applied. She has also been a great pastor’s wife in Lawrence, Kansas, sharing the Gospel truth among a most liberal college city.
She doesn’t boast about her success in that area. She knows Who has led her in her walk of faith and endurance, along with her husband Nate. Yes, she has ministered quite well in both the natural and the spiritual, being the challenge that is.
What about the star athletes who get paid the big, and ever-growing bigger, bucks, and yet when their careers are over have lost much of the wealth they had accumulated? How far did those years of satisfaction last once the gleam and glitter of the spotlight were over?
It is so very sad that so many believe their success in life is due to their own achievements, while at the same time railing at the One True God Who has given us His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ, Yeshua HaMashiach, to save us from the hell otherwise received. In their hatred for all that is good, they despise the One Who so desires them to know His love and freedom He gives.
The Lord doesn’t measure His success by how many planet systems He has created, or the vast realm of different plant, animal, or insect life He has shown us on this planet from His creative hand. He did and continues to demonstrate His love for us out of His fatherly love, to bless mankind, His ultimate creation that shares with His family life now and will forever more.
Without the Light of the World in your life, deception abounds, and “success” is very short-lived.
When I was growing up, I admired the saints (believers) who gave themselves totally for the Lord’s plans and purposes in their lives. They let all else go to discover and walk in the adventurous life they realized came from the One Who gives life. Saint Francis, Saint Martin de Porres, David Livingston, Eric Lindell, and Joan of Arc, to name just a few godly men and women whose biographies so encouraged me in my teen years. They knew the Savior Jesus (Yeshua), and it was His heart and meaning of success that they were after.
Eternity meant more to them than the riches that are too often sought after, and then left behind as dust in the wind.
When we understand and look to the One Who alone can satisfy the desires of our hearts, nothing else satisfies. I hope you continually strive to know our Lord better today than yesterday. As my good friend, Art Maki will say to the day he goes on to glory, “It is better today but not as good as tomorrow” when we follow the Lord and experience the success He so desires us to have here, and then in heaven forever with Him.
Our Father promised success to Joshua if he would follow after Him. His Word is true. He does what He says He will do. “No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. “Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. “Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go.” Joshua 1:5-8, NASU
Ahava and shalom,
Steve Martin, Love For His People founder
Encouragement– first from Jerusalem, Israel, and then from Charlotte, North Carolina, USAby Steve Martin (published May 25, 2022)
In April 2022 my good friend David Peterman of Lancaster, South Carolina, and I took an Ahava Adventure (“love” in Hebrew) back to Jerusalem as soon as the skies and the Land of Israel opened up again. During those 10 days the Lord Yeshua, Jesus Christ, gave me words to share, which I wrote down each day to share with others. These make up the first part of this book.
The next section is comprised of messages inspired by the Holy Spirit from our home in Charlotte, North Carolina, beginning before and after the Israel trip. As the Lord would give me a prophetic word, I would start writing and He would further expand on it. Thus those words are written in the major section of this book.
Everyone needs encouragement. Every day. All the negative news spewed out from social media platforms and airwaves needs to be offset by the good news the Lord Jesus (Yeshua) brings to us. From the time He walked the streets of Jerusalem in the first century, to today in this 21st Century, He shares love from heaven and from this home in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Until He returns soon, may these messages uplift your spirit, reveal more of His heart, and sustain you as you walk daily in the direction the Holy Spirit gives with the grace and provision that comes with His presence. Steve Martin May 2022 Charlotte, North Carolina USA
SPECIAL NOTE: Our ministry’s mobile app is available for iPhones and Androids. This is a free app download. Look here: Love For His People free phone app
You have the opportunity to help support the work of this ministry, including the monthly support we give to these in Israel: His Lighthouse (Nissim and Hadassah Lerner), the Aliyah Return Center (Chaim Malespin), His Heart Ministries (Richard and Carolyn Hyde), Messianic Ethiopian Rabbi Kokeb Gedamu, CBN News Jerusalem (Chris Mitchell and Julie Stahl) and others: Please DONATE online now. You can also send checks to: Love For His People P.O. Box 53 Pineville, NC 28134
E-mail: loveforhispeople@gmail.com
Please share this message with your friends through your email, on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Gettr, and more. Others will be thankful you did. And I thank you too.
STEVE & LAURIE MARTIN - LOVE FOR HIS PEOPLE FOUNDERS My good wife Laurie and I (45 years in October 2022!), through the ministry of Love For His People we founded in 2010, give love and support for our friends in Israel and in other nations with friendship, humanitarian aid, and social media support, along with Steve's messages, and our Ahava Adventures trips to Israel. Steve has also authored and published 34 books. We live in the Charlotte, NC area. We have four adult children, spouses, and eight grandkids.
I absolutely believe in the glorious, overwhelming success of the gospel, but I will not sell my soul or compromise my convictions for the sake of carnal "success."
I encourage you to stand strong in your resolve as well. It's better to be scorned by this world than to lose your integrity.
Recently, a young pastor wrote to me with a heavy heart.
He had been invited to a closed leadership meeting, with many well-known pastors in attendance. He explained to me that they talked openly about not using entire verses or passages from the Bible in their sermons and that it was fine to pull snippets of verses and to build entire messages from them, as if too much of the Word would drive people away.
He said that they instructed the leaders in attendance not to speak on sin, judgment, conviction, obedience, morality, etc., stating that it is not our job to convict of sin, only the Holy Spirit's job, as if the hundreds of verses in the Bible dealing with these issues were irrelevant, and as if they knew better than Jesus and the apostles, who often preached with words of deep, biting conviction as they labored together with the Holy Spirit.
And of course, he wrote, they told the other leaders to avoid politics and political issues, which is similar to the mindset of those who chose not to get involved in the divisive slave-trade controversy in centuries past or to oppose the Nazis last century.
This, they said, was the path to follow if you wanted to be "successful."
I categorically reject such a definition of "success."
It has nothing to do with the true success of the gospel, which I love and revel in before God.
To be absolutely clear, and so that no one thinks that this is a matter of "sour grapes," I am not speaking about any particular ministry and I have no idea which pastors and leaders were at this meeting. I love and embrace the expansive blessing of God.
By God's grace, I have had the privilege of preaching in some of the largest and most influential megachurches in the world, and their growth was the result of the work of the Spirit in their midst, not the result of carnal techniques.
One of our ministry school grads, Daniel Kolenda, has taken over the leadership of Reinhard Bonnke's Christ for All Nations, and Daniel regularly preaches to crowds of multiplied hundreds of thousands. Praise God for Spirit-anointed, Jesus-exalting, Word-based success!
When God opens new doors for our ministry on radio and TV, in print and online, or when He blesses our material with greater circulation and impact, I rejoice and take this as an answer to prayer, as providing another avenue to advance the work of the kingdom. Onward and upward in Jesus' name!
So I am all for growth and numbers and prosperity when it comes from heaven as a gift from God, although I know that often, the most significant gospel work is totally hidden and obscure, taking place behind closed doors, with God using unknown saints who live in the midst of persecution and poverty. Their lasting fruit will put most of us to shame.
That's one reason Jesus said that many who are first will be last and many who are last will be first.
Remember, it was the church of Laodicea that Jesus rebuked saying, "For you say, 'I am rich, and have stored up goods, and have need of nothing,' yet do not realize that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked" (Rev. 3:17).
In stark contrast, He said to Smyrna, "I know your works and tribulation and poverty (but you are rich). And I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tried, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life" (Rev. 2:9-10).
In the same way, He rebuked Sardis, which had a reputation for being alive but was dead (see Rev. 3:1) and commended Philadelphia, which had little strength but had not denied His name (see Rev. 3:8).
What would our worldly minded leaders have told these congregations? And how would they have rated the "success" of these different churches? Obviously, their perspective would be a lot different than the perspective of the Lord.
Without a doubt, we have different callings and emphases, and while we should all do our best to be faithful to God's Word and "balanced," it's clear that one may be called to emphasize evangelism, another social justice, another holiness, another grace, another family and another the Spirit, just to mention a few. Some congregations excel in administration and management, while others excel in building community, and still others excel in sending out missionaries.
That's what makes the body of Christ a truly functioning body.
Let us learn from each other however we can, and let us complement each other in the work of the ministry, honoring one another as colleagues rather than criticizing each other as competitors.
But let us not deviate from the high calling of God, let us not form a theology that bypasses the cross, let us not water down the Word, and let us not mistake earthly growth and "success" for the blessing of God.
In the words of Charles Spurgeon, one of the most truly successful gospel preachers of all time, "Character is always lost when a high ideal is sacrificed on the altar of conformity and popularity."
Don't sacrifice your soul on that very seductive altar.
Strange as it seems, most people do pretty good at knowing what they want. They may even have a good plan to get it. The problem occurs in the moment they need to take that one critical step that puts them over the top. What happens? Consistently, the focus and energy SHIFTS from moving TOWARD the vision and instead the energy refocuses on AVOIDING what they FEAR.
Not surprisingly the thing feared most is failure! Soooo some sort of procrastination or other self sabotaging antic shows up to make sure failure or embarrassment never occurs. Ironically, this pattern guarantees that SUCCESS in the manifestation of the vision never occurs either.
This cycle breaks the moment you discover that 90% of humanity will put more effort into avoiding what they fear than they will in perusing what they really want.
Singles stay single trying to avoid rejection. Employees stay under compensated avoiding the rejection of a raise or negative feedback on their performance. And even Pastors drive away the very people who can build their church out of fear of competition and comparison.
The remedy? SEE THE PATTERN and push past the fear. Everything you want is on the other side of a courageous choice!
Myles Munroe in one of his last media interviews said…
“I want to challenge every Kenyan to go to the cemetery and disappoint the graveyard. Die like the Apostle Paul who said I have finished my course, I have kept the faith and I have been poured out like a drink offering. There is nothing left. I am ready to die. That’s how I wanna die because there is nothing else for me left to die.”
“You weren’t born just to live a life and to die, you were born to accomplish something specifically,” he said. “Matter of fact, success is making it to the end of your purpose, that is success. … Success is not just existing, success is making it to the end of why you were born.”
He also discussed the human lifespan and making the most of one’s life.
“The value of life is not in its duration, but in its donation. You are not important because of how long you live, you are important because of how effective you live. And most people are concerned about growing old rather than being effective,” he said in 2003. “The people who have impacted the world didn’t live long. Martin Luther King. John F. Kennedy. These people who impact the world were not old people, but they lived so effectively that we cannot erase them from history.”
BRILLIANT till the end…and even then, being dead he yet is still speaking!
Men, what are you looking for in your local church? (Lightstock file photo)
There is no easy answer, but in this article I would like to provide some basic principles that will help you develop a male-friendly church. The overriding principle is simply this:
The environment you develop is more important than the events or programs you put on. A man is looking for an environment that is consistent with who he is as a man and a place where he feels comfortable belonging and becoming the man God wants him to be.
1. Relevance. Most men in our society today do not see the value of going to church because it is not speaking their language, and it is not addressing the issues they face. For example, a recent survey showed that 92 percent of church-going men have never heard a sermon on the subject of work. The unspoken message is: What you do for 60 to 70 hours a week does not relate to what you do on Sunday mornings. The most important issues for men are their work, family, marriage, sexuality and finances—and rarely are these addressed from the pulpit today? Some of the key questions men are asking are:
What is true masculinity?
What is success?
How do I deal with guilt feelings?
What is male sexuality?
Is purity possible today?
What does a healthy marriage look like?
How can I raise my children to be successful?
How can I be a man of integrity in the workplace?
How can I be a leader in the home, church, workplace and world?
What is my purpose in life?
2. To be involved in a cause greater than themselves. Men want to be involved in something driven by a compelling vision. Men want to know what hill the church is climbing, where we are going, what we are about. The church has the greatest and most far-reaching mission on Earth, and we should not be bashful about challenging the men of our congregation with it.
3. A shot at greatness. I have never met a man who wanted to be a failure or a loser. Men want to win. They want to be heroes. They want to come in first. Unfortunately, it seems the church today wants nice men, not great men.
4. To be challenged. Men tend to view the world around them as something to be overcome or conquered. It's high time we told them they do not have to check their competitive drive at the door of the church. If they are seeking risk, adventure, change, competition and expansion—tell them how to find it within the mission of Jesus.
5. Action. Men today are looking for something to do; they do not like sitting around and theorizing about the 27 views of the second coming of Christ! Men measure themselves by productivity and gain a portion of self-image based on what they do. Their desire for adventure is often expressed in the desire to be on the solution side of things. Many churches today are in maintenance mode, rather than being missional.
6. Men are looking for leaders, and they want to be leaders. This principle is simple: Men do not follow programs, they follow men. They want to follow a bold, courageous, visionary leader. Establish an environment where strong leadership is attractive. Not only are men looking for a leader to follow, they want to become leaders themselves. They want to lead in their family, workplace, church, community and world. One of the things you can do is equip them to lead.
7. Fun. If men walk into a church and see a bunch of serious, stoic-looking people, shouldn't they wonder if Christianity really is a killjoy? The world is a serious place; men are looking to laugh and have fun to balance that reality. They love a good joke, funny story or movie. I encourage you to develop a ministry environment in which men have fun together.
8. Brothers. Most men have many acquaintances, but very few men have a good friend. According to statistics, the average man over 35 years old does not have one close friend. Men need teaching on how to develop and strengthen friendships and an environment where they can find genuine male friends.
9. Healing. Many are using socially unacceptable means to deal with their pain—making their work or their hobbies their life, misusing sex, drugs or alcohol. Unless these wounds and hurts are dealt with in a healthy way, they will never become the man that God wants them to be. They will never be able to have healthy relationships or move on from childish behavior.
I hope some of these insights from my own ministry to men will serve you well as you seek to minister more effectively to the men of your church and community.
Steve Sonderman is the associate pastor for men's ministry at Elmbrook Church in Brookfield, Wis., and the author of How to Build a Life-Changing Men's Ministry.
Stephen stood before the Sanhedrin. The appointed Jewish leadership confronted this anointed Jewish believer. They glared; he glowed. They were enraged; he was enraptured. Their faces were contorted with anger; his was like the countenance of an angel. “Men and brothers,” he said, “listen to me.”
He rehearsed the history of Israel, from Abraham to Moses to David, the faithfulness of God in spite of the unfaithfulness of the people. But Stephen was not there that day merely to recite the lessons of history. He was there to be a witness, and as a faithful witness he spoke. His words turned to piercing rebuke:
You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered Him -- you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it (7:51-53).
Soon his body lay battered and bloody, a mangled, motionless mass. He had not backed down. He had not compromised. He had not omitted a word. He was a witness and a prophetic voice. And that day he became the Church’s first martyr -- the first, but not the last. Hundreds of thousands have followed in his path. Being a witness for Jesus could cost you your life.
In the early Church, witnessing and martyrdom quickly became associated: The Greek word for “witness” is martyros. Witnesses testify with their lives and often seal their words with their own blood. Have you done any “witnessing” lately?
It’s one thing to read the Word and be stirred by the examples of men like Stephen. But this was real life! He was probably a young man with a wife and children. His whole future lay before him. His family was dependent on him. There may have been a toddler waiting to greet him that day when he came home. But he never came home!
And then there was his ministry. He was a powerful preacher, anointed to heal the sick and perform miracles. Think of all the lives he could touch! Think of all the good he could do for the kingdom of God.
Why didn’t Stephen simply deny the false charges? “Men and brothers, the accusations are not true.” Why didn’t he politely dismiss their questions and calm their anger? Why did he continue to stand up and speak out? The answer challenges us all: He was not seeking to save his life; he was seeking to be a witness.
For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will find it (Matt. 16:25).
This is the story of the true Church in every nation and in every age:
You did not renounce your faith in Me, even in the days of Antipas, My faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives (Rev 2:13b).
This is the gospel of martyrdom, the gospel of Jesus. It is the gospel that Paul preached and lived:
I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace (Acts 20:24).
That is why he could say:
I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain (Phil 1:20-21).
As Leonard Ravenhill observed in Why Revival Tarries, Paul didn’t mind if the cost of his obedience was prison, for it were better that he should be “the prisoner of the Lord for a few years than that his fellow men should be the devil’s prisoners in hell forever.
How different this is from the philosophy that rules in today’s luxury-soaked America. How different this is from the modern gospel of success! Jesus cut to the very core of the issue. When Peter told the Lord in no uncertain terms that He was not to go the way of suffering, rejection, and death (“Never, Lord!” he said.” This shall never happen to you!”), Jesus identified Peter’s words as satanic.
Get behind Me, Satan! [Jesus said to Peter.] You are a stumbling block to Me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men. (Matt. 16:23)
What was at the root of this satanically inspired theology? What fueled Peter’s opposition to the cross? It was a different set of values, a different perspective, a different viewpoint, a different understanding: “you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” Now we’re getting down to the basics!
One “gospel” is interested in the things of this world, the things of men. The other gospel is interested in eternal things, the things of God. One message cultivates preservation of self; the other cultivates denial of self. One says, “Add to your life!” The other says, “Lose your life!” One message encourages self-satisfaction, the other encourages self-denial. One message tells carnally minded people “what their itching ears want to ear” (2 Tim 4:3); the other message tells the truth.
Whether or not we have much in this world is not the central issue. (Most of us in America have an incredible abundance, dozens of times what we actually need to live.) What matters is our attitude towards our what we have. And we who have an abundance must guard our hearts. Riches are deceitful!
Jesus rebuked the church of Laodicea: You say, “I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.” But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful poor, blind and naked (Rev 3:17).
But Jesus commended the church of Smyrna:
I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich. . . . Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution ten days. Be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life (Rev 2:9-10).
We must see how tragically earthly the gospel of success really is. It still stands in the way of the cross. It still rebukes Jesus for promising suffering and death. In fact, it actually calls the path to Calvary “religious”—meaning traditional,unanointed, and fruitless.
It is no overstatement to say that there is no cross in the gospel of success. In its most extreme modern forms, it originates from the pit. (Remember, it was Satan whom Jesus rebuked for trying to keep Him from going to the cross.) The gospel of success criticizes the message of the cross because it leads to “death.” But the true gospel must lead to death—death to the flesh, death to the will of man, death to this world’s priorities. Only through death can there be resurrection. Only through the cross can there be abundant life. In fact, if you want what some teachers call “the God kind of life” you’re going to have to experience “the Jesus kind of death.” Which path will you take?
The last generation taught what is often called “pie in the sky” theology—and this theology certainly had its problems! There were plenty of negative distortions in the message. But we have substituted something worse. We now have the theology of “have your cake and eat it too.” The first message starved its hearers, depriving them of the blessings of life in the Spirit in this world. The second message engorges them, robbing them of the light of eternity.
People of God, we are not to center our lives around eating and drinking, gaining and possessing, having more and being merry, because tomorrow we do not die. No. We live forever! How foolish that we conduct ourselves as if this world were our lasting home. We’re just passing through!
When Jacob was a frail old man he said to Pharaoh:
The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of pilgrimage of my fathers (Gen 47:9).
King David, in spite of the equivalent of billions of dollars of riches, could say at the end of his life:
We are aliens and strangers in Your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope (1 Chr 29:15).
Hebrews 11 commends Abraham—certainly a prosperous and influential man—because,
By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. . . . [All of them] admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own ... a heavenly one (11:9-10, 13-14, 16).
How much more does the New Testament call us to live in the light of eternity!
Jesus told His disciples to rejoice when they were persecuted and rejected, “because great is your reward in heaven ...” (Matt 5:12). He told them—and us!—to store up treasures in heaven (Matt 6:19-21), and Peter reminds us that we have a heavenlyinheritance “that can never perish, spoil or fade” (1 Pet 1:4). That’s why we who suffer for Jesus now will be “overjoyed” when His glory will be revealed at His return (1 Pet 4:13). There is great joy now because there will be endless joy then!
You sympathized with those in prison [for the faith] and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions (Heb 10:34).
Consider the example of C. T. Studd. Raised in a wealthy, aristocratic home in England last century, he became a national celebrity as a sensational cricket player at Cambridge. (He could have become the “Michael Jordan” of his generation.) But through the preaching of D. L. Moody, he experienced a deep transformation and left everything to go to the mission field.
Was he wrong for abandoning a phenomenal sports career in England in order to preach the Word in China and Africa? Was he “religious” because he chose to forsake fame, fortune, and comfort to live sacrificially among the heathen? The decisions he made and the path he chose make one thing perfectly clear: He was not seeking to get ahead in this world. He was seeking to please the Lord. There is a difference!
On judgment day, and throughout eternity, men and women like C. T. Studd will be accounted wise. They will have our admiration and God’s commendation. Does anything stop us from following their lead? It will mean going against the grain!
Our country is saturated with a “save your life, improve your life” mentality—from health clubs to exercise videos, from savings plans to retirement funds, from insurance policies to computer programs guaranteed to put you “in control of your life.” Be successful! Live in greater security and ease! Enjoy the American dream! Jesus says, “Follow Me -- even to the point of death.”
After His resurrection, He told Peter the kind of death by which he would glorify God (John 21:19). What a concept! Think of a discussion among the first eleven disciples: “Matthew, Bartholomew, Thomas, by what kind of death are you going to glorify Him?” For these men, this would not have been idle talk: According to tradition, all the first apostles, with the exception of John, died a martyr’s death. (John was reportedly boiled in oil twice -- and survived.) For them, the issue was not, “Will we be called to die for the glory of God?” But rather, “By what kind of death will we glorify Him?”
What about us? Is the call any different today? By what kind of death are we called to glorify God? Death to our reputation? Death to human opinion? Death to our careers? Death to our plans and goals? Or maybe the literal death of a martyr? Savonarola, the prophetic priest in the fifteenth century Catholic Church understood the cost of fidelity to the Lord. When offered the red hat of a cardinal, he replied: “No hat will I have but that of a martyr, reddened with my own blood.”
The fatal flaw of the modern, carnal prosperity message is that it encourages us to set our eyes on the things of this world. It makes it harder for us to leave all, lose self, and follow Jesus. It eliminates the call to take up our cross. (Remember, Jesus was not the only One called to carry the cross. Read Luke 9:23 several times out loud, and digest each word slowly: “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”)
The gospel of success says, “Jesus died for you so you could prosper and succeed in this world.” (Of course, there is some truth to the prosperity message, but its emphasis is way off.) The biblical message says, “Live so as to lose your life for the Lord”—meaning go anywhere, do anything, make any sacrifice—as long as souls are saved, lives are changed, the kingdom is extended, and Jesus is exalted. As children of God, we now make our decisions based on entirely different priorities. We are already subjects of the heavenly kingdom. We have already died to this world!
Of course, there are things in this present age that are important. Justice in our society is important. Compassionate action on behalf of the poor and hurting is important. Righteousness and integrity are important. Morality and family values are important. But only those whose lives are given over to a higher—and eternal—purpose can radically change things here. As C. S. Lewis said:
It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this one.
Can we be honest with ourselves? A major reason why we don’t take a stand against godless laws is because we don’t want to risk our lives. We’re not willing to suffer the consequences. A key reason why we don’t share our faith more clearly and -- in love -- more aggressively is because we don’t want to experience rejection. We don’t want to lose our friends, or our jobs, or our ease. One major factor that keeps many of us from the mission field is that we’re too comfortable here and now. (Let’s face it: Here and now is where it’s at for most of us. There’s only one way you can prove me wrong: Live differently!)
It’s time for the old spirit of martyrdom to enter the church of America. (Much of the Church worldwide has no choice in the matter. Christianity for them is synonymous with suffering. Just ask the families of the Christian men in Sudan or Ethiopia who were crucified for their faith -- in the last few months.) It’s time that we do God’s will, and God’s will alone.
I once heard Richard Wurmbrand ask why, when the Supreme Court passed the law removing public prayer from our schools, American Christians chose to comply. What would have happened if we simply refused to obey? The whole thing probably would have been turned around overnight. And if it wasn’t turned around? Then at least the church, through her biblical obedience, would have been turned around!
If only we would value obedience to the Lord more highly than we value self-preservation! If only the favor of God were more meaningful to us than the opinions of people! If only we would count suffering for Jesus to be a privilege! What could stop us then? This country boasts of 50-70 million born-again Christians. (Of course, that figure is preposterous.) But what if just 1 million true believers here (just twenty thousand from each state!) decided to obey God and stand up for what is right, regardless of the cost? Our nation would be absolutely shaken. Now is the time to awake!
In 1984, after hearing K. P. Yohannan of Gospel for Asia preach a challenging message, a Christian man named Samuel gave up his good job in South India and moved with his family to the region of Karnataka. There he began preaching to unreached Hindus, known for their hostility to the gospel. The Lord blessed the work, and even a Hindu priest was born again.
This was more than the extremists could take. They burst into a meeting one Sunday and severely beat Samuel with iron rods, breaking his hand, arm, leg, and collar bone. When his seven year old son ran up and cried out, “Please don’t kill our daddy!” they struck the boy on the spine, breaking his back. Then they left, warning Samuel that if he ever preached there again, they would kill him. The beating was so severe that Samuel and his son were hospitalized for several months.
After his release, Samuel attended a workers’ meeting with K. P. Yohannan. The first night, during a time of prayer, his arm was supernaturally healed of paralysis he was suffering as a result of his beating. The next night he testified of the things he had recently experienced for the Lord.
K. P. asked Samuel, “What are you going to do now?” With a peaceful determination, the young man replied: “I am going back. Even if I am killed, my blood will be the foundation for many more churches.” He returned and has continued to preach. His son is back in school and is also doing well. And Samuel has baptized many more converts—and has been beaten again.
Would we have gone back and preached? K. P. was honest enough to admit that his own reaction might have been different. First he would have come up with lots of good scriptures to justify not going back. And then he would have used his best argument:
I’m only 40-some years old! God wants me to use my brain for His kingdom. With all the investment He has made in my life since I was sixteen, would it be right for me to be killed by some fanatics next week? Don’t be stupid! I am going to leave this place so I will have another forty years of my life to invest in and build God’s kingdom (Living in the Light of Eternity, 159-60).
Samuel thought differently. He was not out to save his life, he was out to save sinners. With such resolve how could he be defeated? His life is not his own! In past centuries, missionaries endued with the same spirit sailed off to far away lands with their belongings packed in caskets. They were making a one way trip!
A few years ago, a young evangelist moved into an area in Asia famous for its violent resistance to Jesus. The radical religious opposition immediately came to his apartment, making their intentions clear: “We’ll kill you if you stay here and preach!” The evangelist only smiled. “I came to die,” he replied. Today his church has 200 members. That is the power of the gospel of martyrdom. That is true success.
Michael Brown is author of The Real Kosher Jesusand host of the nationally syndicated talk radio showThe Line of Fire on the Salem Radio Network. He is also president of FIRE School of Ministry and director of the Coalition of Conscience. Follow him at AskDrBrown on Facebookor at@drmichaellbrownon Twitter.
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