Common experience of all Bible believing believers after the order of Christ.

Common experience of all Bible believing believers after the order of Jesus.

John  21:18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.  21:19 This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.

There is something that is common between Christ Jesus our Lord and all Bible believing believers of all ages.

It is a gift the Father in love gave to Christ and all His followers of all ages.

Just like the Father gave Jesus Christ our Lord, the cup to drink, so He gave all His faithful followers of all ages and that includes you in particular.

Our Lord Jesus Christ welcomed the cup and drank it joyfully.

Isaiah  50:5 The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.  50:6 I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.  50:7 For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.

John  18:10 Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus.  18:11 Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?

Jesus in love informed all His followers of all ages including you that, they will do same, like He did.

Matthew  20:20 Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.  20:21 And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.  20:22 But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.  20:23 And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.

In fact the Bible enjoins all Bible believing believers yo look at the example of Jesus, the way, He did it.

Hebrews  12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Any attempt by anyone to avoid this cup, closes the door of eternity with God to such a person.

Matthew  10:38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.  10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

Luke  9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.  9:24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

Luke  14:26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.  14:27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.  14:28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?  14:29 Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,  14:30 Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.  14:31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?  14:32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.  14:33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

Over and over in both old and new testaments, the Bible affirms that all faithful followers of the Lord, shall suffer for the decision. It is appointed for us 

1 Thessalonians  3:1 Wherefore when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone;  3:2 And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith:  3:3 That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto.  3:4 For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know.

Psalms  34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.

Philippians  1:29 For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;

2 Timothy  3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

Acts  14:22 Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

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.

The Bible refers to it as light affliction.

2 Corinthians  4:16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.  4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;  4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

It must not separate you from Christ.

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.

This light affliction is incomparable to the eternal joy awaiting faithful followers of God in heaven.

Romans  8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Any attempt of anyone to avoid or avert it, closes the door of life eternal against that person.

2 Timothy  2:11 It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him:  2:12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:  2:13 If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.

Listen to how the apostles of Christ, drank their own cups after the order of Jesus Christ our Lord.

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. 

Now that you are aware of this, may the good Lord help you in particular to be wise unto salvation in Jesus name.

Remember, His grace will be sufficient for you to go through the cup, your Father in heaven in love has given 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.