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Prayer Coach Prayer Coach : worldview : Too Many Christians Are Afraid to Die – Part 1

Too Many Christians Are Afraid to Die – Part 1

    The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church. – Tertullian

    I Will Become More Powerful

    The original Star Wars movie has Obi-Wan Kenobi addressing Darth Vader with the famous words, “If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.” While this is a fanciful story, the idea has basis in church history.

    The quote from Tertullian above was an observation he made as he witnessed the early church. The Roman persecution was harsh and gruesome, but the early church did prosper. This is similar to the response of the current Chinese church. They requested that the universal church to stop praying for persecution in China to end, for it is through persecution that the church has grown.

    We All Must Die to Fear

    God has not called many Christians to the life of martyrdom. Most of us will never face the question of choosing physical death or life with Christ. But all of us will be asked to do something that feels as close to death for us. For you, maybe it is…

    • working in the soup kitchen downtown where you are fearful to park your car.
    • taking in a troubled child as a foster parent not knowing if your valuables will be there in the morning.
    • picking up that hitchhiker and taking them to their next stop.

    Each of these scenarios ask us to share the love of Christ in situations that may put us in danger. What do you do?

    Fear is a Great Obstacle

    Being foolish is no answer to how to live the Christian life. But as we listen to the Spirit’s promptings we may feel we need to do something that is not “safe.” Fear is a great obstacle in the Christian walk. Jesus applauds great faith, and great faith often asks us to walk on water. Perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18). And whether we like it or not anything done or not done because of fear is sin. Because you can be motivated by fear and walk in faith and everything that does not come from faith is sin (Romans 14:23).

    Why Christians are Afraid to Die

    The only way to overcome fear is to be willing to die – to value following Christ more than saving your life.

    This is not to say that you are to be reckless. But your life may look reckless to those who have not heard the Spirit directing your life. God may have you quit your job without having a backup plan. He may have you give a substantial amount of money to someone when you had planned on it for groceries.

    The point is God’s wisdom is not man’s. When we rely on what we think is right, we are limiting what God may what to do through us. We cannot live an extraordinary life if we are limiting ourselves to only what we think is possible. God can do immeasurably more than we can ask or think (Ephesians 3:20).

    He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep
    to gain what he cannot lose. – Jim Elliot

    3 thoughts on “Too Many Christians Are Afraid to Die – Part 1”

    1. I appreciate your thoughts. It is sobering to think about paying the ultimate sacrifice, which really isn’t that much from an eternal perspective.

      The balance of listening to the Spirit and not being reckless is smart.

      Thanks for the post.

    2. Kevin, how true. Thanks for this post. My prayer is that He would take my life before I am ever unfaithful to him. I now add that I would stand strong in the moment of testing. Proverbs 24:10 says, " If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength!"

      Ted

    3. Pingback: Too Many Christians Are Afraid to Die – Part 2 - prayer coach

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