All humans love life. God put that in us. We were created to live with God forever, and that is why death is such a horrible interruption. We were not meant to die. It is such a profound shock when it comes close to us. Why? Because you were not created to die. Yet we do die, because of sin. The Bible says that is the reason why we die, is because the world was sold under this terrible curse of sin. Every single one of us will die. At that time of your death, so much of what you live for will not matter. When that moment comes, you will lean back and grab onto something firm, what you grab onto will be the God or gods that carry you into eternity. If that foundation is anything other than Jesus, you will fall down with them, hanging on to them, into a Christ-less eternity. Everyone of us has a foundation and in the end, it will be tested. Is it Jesus or is it the pleasure, or the sex, is it the violence, is it the pride, what is it that you lived for? No matter what we see in our lives today, it will one day come to an end. Is Jesus Christ the very existence of the foundation of your life, both now and forever?
Hebrews 12:2-3 ~ "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
Jesus Christ, the Bible says, went to the cross, and as we look into Revelation, chapter 6, we are still looking at the worthiness of Christ, He is the One, and the Only One worthy to open us that scroll that was sealed with seven seals. We have already studied in detail what that seven sealed scroll was all about. We have been looking at the peeling off of those seals. We see again, that Jesus was the only one who could meet the demands and qualifications of this seven sealed scroll. Christ went to the cross. It wasn't enough for Jesus to come to the earth, the Bible says that Christ existed even before time began. He was existing in heaven with His Father. The Bible says that Jesus is the Creator of angels, and the Creator of the universe and the worlds that exist. He came to earth with a specific purpose.
The Bible says that He would come to earth, to live a life in human flesh, to meet all the requirements of the law of God that you read about in the Old Testament. He met all of those demands, living a perfect life, he met all the demands of the law, and not only that but in our place, the place of the sinner, Jesus took upon Himself all of our guilt, all of our shame and all of our wrong doing, the wrong doing of all humanity for all time and eternity, from Adam and Eve to the end, Jesus Christ, went to the cross and paid a price that you and I could never pay. Jesus Christ paid that price freely, and in going to the cross, he cancelled the debt of all those who would put their trust in Him and His work upon the cross. God, in the flesh, in Revelation 1, died for our sins, and rose again from the dead. That is the glorious and awesome good news of the gospel.
Revelation 6:9-11 ~ "When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the Word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed."
You might just want to read Matthew 24 and Mark 13 and Luke 21, the Tribulation period, that 7-year period of time, that God has decreed in the Bible, that will take place after the rapture of the church, at the advent of what is called the Antichrist, and what you have now been profound enough to learn up to this point. It will begin according to the book of Daniel, that will come a certain specific day when the world is going about their normal day to day things, watching CNN, satellite news channels, no one will miss it. This man will rise up this political ruler out of Europe, and he will sign a contract of peace, a peace treaty with the nation of Israel and its surrounding enemies for seven years on a day, and that day will commence the seven year tribulation period. That contract of peace will be for seven years. It is also known in the Old Testament as the time of Jacob's trouble. It is when Israel's troubles begin like at no time in all of history. Who are these who have died for their faith? Who are these who will die for their faith in Christ?
It is no secret that believers in the Almighty God of the Bible have suffered at the hands of persecution throughout history The persecutions of the Egyptians Pharoahs and Babylonian kings, and of the Persian and Assyrian empires down through the ages. The open attacks against the believers by the Roman empire and by the communist Chinese and those atrocities by old soviet union and lets remember that Adolph Hitler not only murdered six million Jews but also over 100,000 Christians who pledge an allegiance to Jesus Christ.
John 15:18-19 ~ "If the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you."
What in our lives is really worth living for? What is so valuable to us that we would die for what we believe? Do you have something so precious that will last for all time and eternity? You can experience that through faith in Jesus Christ. It will always be something that the world can not offer.
Hebrews 11:32-38 ~ "And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who become powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back from their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goat skins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated - the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground."
Psalm 116:15 ~ "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of the saints."
A life worth dying for is a life that is greater than what this world can offer, recognizing the worthiness of Jesus Christ. This is important because the life Christ offers is worth any life, that this world can offer. We can get so caught up in what this world has to offer, but if you have been around long enough or going through something like a serious illness or a divorce, you begin to see that nothing really matters much any more, except the things that really matter! Like health, love, being together, things that you can't buy. The true things that really matter are the things you can't buy!
Revelation 6:9 ~ "Now - when he opened the fifth seal I saw under the altar the souls of those that have been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held."
The fact that only Jesus Christ was the only one worthy to perform the full act of man's redemption and meet all of its demands. Only Jesus was able to release His Spirit. He had absolute control. He rose from the dead to guarantee that all these eternal promises found in the Bible for those who place their faith in Him.
Revelation 5:1-5 ~ "Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?" But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals."
Jesus' worthiness was qualified by the fact of (1) "who" Jesus was, (2) "why" Jesus came, and (3) "what" Jesus did.
1 John 2:1 ~ "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense - Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the world."
John 10:9 ~ "I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture."
Acts 2:21 ~ "And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
Do you have to be baptized to be saved? No, its a public statement of your relationship of Christ. If you die before that happens and your faith is in Jesus, you still go to heaven. When you are saved, you should strive to become baptized as your statement to the world of your faith in Christ.
Romans 5:8-9 ~ "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!"
A life worth dying for is a life that is greater than what this world can offer recognizing the integrity of the Bible. Jesus offers grace, unearned favor. The world knows nothing of this. It reminds you of your unworthiness. Church is not for religious reasons, it benefits no one to have legalistic requirements. Jesus' gospel is a free will offering of all those who would respond, that Jesus Christ came as an example of God's love to the world. Find that in the world. You can not. Don't you want the assurance of knowing when you die, you will be in heaven and have eternal life?
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