Martyrdom for Christ’s sake.

Martyrdom for Christ’s sake 

John  16:1 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.  16:2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.  16:3 And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.  16:4 But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.

Matthew  24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.

Stephen 

Acts  7:51 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.  7:52 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:  7:53 Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.  7:54 When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.  7:55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,  7:56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.  7:57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,  7:58 And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.  7:59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.  7:60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

James.

Acts  12:1 Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.  12:2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

No matter what happens to you, you must not be separated from Christ.

Listen to How, the apostles of Christ died.

HOW  EACH  OF  THE  APOSTLES   DIED.*

 *1.   Matthew* 
Suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia, killed by a sword wound.

 *2.   Mark* 
Died in Alexandria, Egypt , after being dragged by Horses through the streets until he was dead.

 *3.   Luke* 
Was hanged in Greece as a result of his tremendous preaching to the lost.

 *4.   John* 
Faced martyrdom when he was boiled in huge Basin of Boiling Oil during a wave of persecution in Rome.
However, he was miraculously delivered from death.
John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison Island of Patmos. 
He wrote his prophetic Book of Revelation on Patmos. 
The apostle John was later freed and returned to serve as Bishop of Edessa in modern Turkey. 
He died as an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully.

 *5.   Peter* 
He was crucified upside down on an X-shaped cross.
According to church tradition it was because he told his tormentors that he felt unworthy to die In the same way that Jesus Christ had died.

 *6.   James* 
The leader of the Church in Jerusalem , was thrown over a hundred feet down from the southeast pinnacle of the Temple when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. When they discovered that he survived the fall, his enemies beat James to death with a fuller’s club.
* This was the same pinnacle where Satan had taken Jesus during the Temptation.

 *7.   James* 
(the Son of Zebedee) 
Was a fisherman by trade when Jesus called him to a lifetime of ministry. 
As a strong leader of the church, James was   beheaded at Jerusalem. 
The Roman officer who guarded James watched amazed as James defended his faith at his trial. 
Later, the officer walked beside James to the place of execution. 
Overcome by conviction, he declared his new faith to the judge and knelt beside James to accept beheading as a    Christian.

 *8.   Bartholomew* 
Also known as Nathaniel was a missionary to Asia. 
He witnessed for our Lord in present day Turkey. 
Bartholomew was martyred for his preaching in Armenia where he was flayed to death by a whip.

 *9.   Andrew* 
Was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Patras, Greece. 
After being whipped severely by seven soldiers they tied his body to the cross with cords to prolong his agony. 
His followers reported that, when he was led toward the cross, Andrew saluted it in these words: 
_” I have long desired and expected this happy hour. The cross has been consecrated by the body of Christ hanging on it.”_ 
He continued to preach to his tormentors for two days until he expired.

 *10.   Thomas* 
Was stabbed with a spear in *India* during one of his missionary trips to establish the church in the Sub-continent.

 *11.   Jude* 
Was killed with arrows when he refused to deny his faith in Christ.

 *12.   Matthias* 
The apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot, was stoned and then beheaded.

13.   Paul* 
Was tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero at Rome in A.D. 67. 
Paul endured a lengthy imprisonment, which allowed him to write his many epistles to the churches he had formed throughout the Roman Empire. 
These letters, which taught many of the foundational Doctrines of Christianity, form a large portion of the New Testament. 

Exhortation, never ever to be separated from Christ.

Matthew  10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Mark  13:13 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Acts  11:23 Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.

Romans  8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  8:36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.  8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.  8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,  8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

James  1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

Revelation  2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

You must follow Him, through thick and thin at all times, till the end.

Revelation  14:4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.  14:5 And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.

His grace will be sufficient for you.

2 Corinthians  9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

Let us pray.