Dear People Who Keep Company With God,
Much has transpired in our church community this year and if I had to sum up what God has been revealing and imparting to us, it would be two things. First, His love never fails (1 Cor. 13:8) and second He really does cause all things to work together for our good (Rom. 8:28). There were some moments when it felt as if we would not make it, and that is where we discovered His love never fails. We have only seen a glimpse of Him causing all our loss, sorrows and troubles to work together for our good, but the glimpse has caused me to see in a fresh way how good the Lord is, and how He is transforming our lives and is accelerating us toward our destiny and calling.
This year I took comfort in an observation by one of the early church fathers, Tertullian. He stated, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” If indeed the blood of the martyrs truly is the seed of the church, and I believe the scriptures bear this out, then without it, the church does not grow and spread the kingdom of heaven into the world.
In 2008, I had a vision during worship while we were singing, “Glory in the Highest.” I saw all the martyrs from eternity past to present marching to their deaths. They all had a look of peace and absolute love and adoration for the Lord on their faces. There was no fear or hesitancy as they marched to their sure deaths. They knew it was the greatest of honors. Of all the visions and dreams I have experienced, this one holds a special place in my heart and I believe it is a vision to act upon. I took a first step this year and read the historical accounts of the martyrdom of some of the church’s saints. Here is one that really speaks to what I saw in the vision.
Peter was preaching in Rome when he was entreated to flee the city because Nero sought to put him to death. As he was leaving through the gate, he saw a vision of the Lord coming to meet him. Falling to worship Him, Peter asked the Lord where He was going, and He responded that He had come to be crucified again. Peter understood that this meant it was his time to follow his Lord in death, and he returned to the city. When captured, Peter asked to be crucified upside down because he was not worthy to be crucified in the same manner as the Lord. His request was granted. (From Fox’s Book of Martyrs)
One of the things that has come out of all of this for me is a greater desire to recognize and give honor to the men and women who have gone before us, opened doors and re-established vital truths to the church. These all paid a great price, some with their lives. We see this clearly illustrated when Peter went to Cornelius’ house in Acts 10 and preached the gospel to gentiles for the first time. Later the scripture says something remarkable.
So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. 20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus. Acts 11:19-20
What is remarkable is the unknown and no name people had major impact on entire regions. Peter opened the door and they went through it. In our contemporary time we have apostolic leaders like Bill Johnson, John and Carol Arnott, Heidi Baker, etc. who opened doors for people like us to go through. These men and women paid a price that none us will ever know and some may yet pay the ultimate price. They deserve to be honored and the best way we can honor them is to walk through the doors they opened for us.
Finally, I want to conclude by honoring Matt Stewart; he opened a door for us when he died saving his family’s life. May we all go through this door of greater love that has been opened to us.
Many Blessings, BW