Martyrs of the 1st Century

John the Baptist had a six-month ministry and then was beheaded for telling a king that what he did was “unlawful”. Jesus preached the truth for 3.5 years and was crucified by the world, being hated by it because “He declared to it that its deeds are evil” (John 7:7).
Stephen, being full of the Holy Spirit, rebuked the hard hearted religious leaders for never listening to the Holy Spirit, and was thrown outside and stoned to death, (the following Passover from the death of our Lord). As Stephen was dying, being pelted with rocks, he prayed that the Father would forgive his murderers. Following the death of Stephen, about 2,000 Christians were also martyred in the persecution that arose.
Ten years after Stephens death (44 AD) we see James the Great, the brother of John, being beheaded by King Herod Agrippa. So courageous and resolute was James as he went to go die that his accuser asked for his forgiveness, confessed himself a Christian, and joined James in being beheaded himself.
In 54 AD, Philip, after laboring diligently for the gospel in upper Asia, was scourged, thrown into prison and then crucified. In 60 AD Matthew, who we all know and love, after writing the gospel in Hebrew and preaching to the people of Parthia and Ethiopia, was later killed with a halberd (a spear like weapon) in the city of Nadabah.
Next we have James the Less, who wrote the epistle of James, and was the brother of Jude. James was martyred at the age of 94! He was beaten and stoned by the Jews, and then had his brains smashed out with a fuller’s club. Then we have Matthias, who was elected to take the place of Judas Iscariot. Matthias was stoned in Jerusalem and afterwards beheaded.
Then we see Andrew, who brought his brother Peter to Jesus, and later brought the good news to many Asiatic countries. When he got to Edessa, they took him and crucified him on an X shaped cross. Let’s look at Mark, of whom we get the book of Mark in the New Testament. This was originally written in Greek and was an account of the apostle Peters eye witness. Marks body was dragged to pieces by the idolatrous people of Alexandria.
Now to Peter, one of the pillars of the Church. Peter walked with Jesus for 3 years, then saw Him betrayed, saw Him beaten and verified that He had been crucified, yet Peter proclaimed the gospel until he was crucified upside down during the reign of emperor Nero.
Paul, that great apostle, who planted Churches all over the known world, suffered much for the name of Jesus, but continued to preach the gospel and make disciples until he was behead in Rome, also under the edict of Nero.
The author of Jude was also the brother of James the Less, and often called Thaddeus. He was crucified at Edessa, in 72 AD. Bartholomew, one of the 12, preached the gospel in a number of countries and also translated Matthews gospel into Indian, spreading the good news of Jesus there. Upon this happening, some idolaters brutally beat him and then crucified him there.
Tomas, who was also called Didymus, preached about Jesus in India and Parthia, and upon doing so, was impaled with a spear by angry pagan priests. The beloved Luke who worked closely with Paul was said to have been hung on an olive tree by Grecian pagan priests. Barnabas was supposedly put to death in 73 AD.
Simon the zealot preached the gospel in Africa, Mauritania, and also Britain, in which country he was later crucified in 74 AD. The beloved John founded many Churches in different places, and while he was in Ephesus he was called to Rome, where they attempted to boil him in oil. Supernaturally John was not affected by the oil, so Domitian of Rome banished him to the island of Patmos. John was the only apostle who did not die a violent death. While on the island he received and wrote the book of Revelations, and was later brought off the island by Domitian’s successor, Nerva.
In 67 AD there was a first great persecution of the Church, under the rule of Nero. He was so wicked that he lit Rome on fire, caused thousands of casualties, and then he blamed it on the Christians. Nero was so vile, and did whatever his evil imagination could conjure up: to some he would sow into animal skins and have them mauled to death by wild beasts, while others he would clothe in wax and light on fire in his garden, which is where we get the term “Roman Candle” from. This caused the Church to grow rather than diminish, as persecution fanned the flame of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of God’s people.
The second wave of persecution on a large scale was during the reign of emperor Domitian in 81 AD. Domitian was very cruel, and set out to destroy the line of David and all Christians. When they were brought to court, the trials were rigged as to ensure that those who professed Christ would be put to death.
Although it keeps going, I will end with the death of Timothy, the beloved disciple and protégé of the apostle Paul. Timothy was a faithful, humble, sincere believer and minister of the gospel. He continued the work of governing the Church of Ephesus until 97AD when he interrupted a pagan celebration of idolatry in the streets, and severely reproved the people to turn from their sins. Like expected, they were so angry that they laid hold of him and beat him with clubs so that he died within two days. Now I must say, If you are still reading this, that much of the modern Church today would accuse Timothy of being “unloving” in his approach to those celebrating sin in the streets, and these same professing Christians might be found at gay parades, condoning with their smiles the vile passions of the world, all in the name of “love”. The Scriptures beg to differ. We see the life of Timothy was completely devoted to Jesus, and helping people to know the way to eternal life. He traveled the world with Paul to share the gospel, spent time in jail for the name of Christ, and exemplified the love of God and man through his sacrificial life.
On and on, our Christian heritage is soaked in blood; in the blood of the saints. Not only is it their blood, but their willful sacrifice to die for the truth. Almost all, if not all of them, had a chance to deny their faith and be free of suffering in this life, but they refused. WHY? Why do we see such passion, such urgency, such sacrifice for the mission that Jesus left the Church? Why especially do we see that all of those who saw Jesus in the flesh dedicate the rest of their lives to spread the good news to the end of the world, to the point of great suffering and brutal deaths? History attests to these facts. No one in their right mind would surrender to such ruthless murder for a lie. Surely, These witnesses saw something that changed them forever… the resurrected Lord.
And that is the purpose of this paper, to compel Christians into a deeper walk with Jesus, that we would be stirred with an urgency, a calling from God, to further lay down our lives for Jesus sake and the gospel. Nothing else matters. We must be ready when He returns, and we must help others to be ready also.
Jude 1:14b, 15
“Behold the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”

Despised

Despised

Isaiah 53:3

“He was despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”

Being despised is a horrible thing. It is not to simply be disliked by someone, but absolutely abhorred by them, that person or persons feeling deep repugnance towards you; they hate, detest, loathe and abhor you. This is a position that none of us, I suppose, want another to feel towards us. Yet, when the Creator of this world took on flesh and dwelt among us, we, His creation, despised Him. How much did sinful man hate their Creator? Just look at the cross.

God in His wisdom is so profound! He came into the world and did everything completely backwards from the way the world operates. The world says to have the very best, to pursue riches and fame, so Jesus was literally born in a barn; the world says to be full of pride in our own greatness, but Jesus came in humility, coming from Nazareth and working as a carpenter; the world says you must be successful, but Jesus chose fishermen, tax collectors and prostitutes to be His disciples. Jesus was totally despised by the religious leaders of that day, who constantly tried to trip Him in His words, plotting to kill Him 10 times in the gospels. In the end, they nailed Him to a tree. This depravity is at the core of every human heart, and must be crucified itself so we can be made new.

Jesus willfully endured the very thing that we all fear: rejection. As the world is seeking honor and acceptance from one another, Jesus chose the path that would lead Him to be rejected. While millions around the world strive at any cost to be men pleasers, Jesus chose to be detested by men so He could please the Father. Jesus came to His own, but His own did not receive Him (John 1:10, 11), but on the contrary, we hid our faces from Him and esteemed Him not. In His unfathomable love He endured it all; for our sake, and for the sake of His great name.

The love of God is past description, past words, and without condition. The depths that the Almighty went to so He could redeem sinful humanity are mind blowing; but most of the world doesn’t give it a second thought. We will give hours of devotion to created things, to smart phones and TV screens, to money making and beautiful cars, to chasing girls and admiring our own wonderfulness, but never give an hour’s thought over the blood that was shed on Calvary. What a crime; what a great felony against the Judge of the Universe. Let us fall on our knees today and repent of our vanity, giving God the affection due Him. His love awaits all those who receive Him with a humble heart.

In love, Jonathan Ball

John 1:11, 12 “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name”

Web: www.jonnyfivealive.wix.com/pyroounderground

Home Church: www.goodfight.org

World Religions

World Religions

Romans 10:3

“For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.”

If you have ever wondered why there are so many world religions, there is your answer.  The world will not submit to God’s way and therefore goes about trying to establish their own righteousness, which is called “self- righteousness.” That is why there are so many religions, each with some form of “goodness” about them, but each denying the truth that is in Jesus Christ.

The movement today says that we should coexist, and many “Christians” are falling into the philosophy that people from every religion are following Jesus because they are doing good works, believing that although they do not know His name, they are hearing “the voice” that tells them to do good, and in obeying the voice are actually following the Lord. While it is true that God is drawing people out from every religion to Himself, it is not possible to remain in another religion (which teaches false doctrine about Jesus) and say you are following Jesus.

As Romans 10:3 plainly shows us about Israel, we can see that it is exactly what the religions of the world do, being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and therefore not submitting to it, go about trying to be good on their own merit. It has a sense of goodness about it but is really rebellion to God, putting Him aside and saying, “I can do this myself.” But as the prophet Isaiah said, “All our righteousnesses are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6), for if we do not allow God to cleans our hearts from sin then our good deeds are an attempt to bribe the Judge of the universe.

In studying what world religions believe, you will find that each one changes the nature and Deity of Jesus Christ, who Himself declared that He is the way, the truth and the life, and that no man comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). Unless a person submits to Him, no matter how religious they are, they are seeking their own righteousness. For, “whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son” (2 John 9).

It comes down to this: either we trust in the merit of Jesus, accepting that it was His work on the cross that saves us, or in pride we reject His sacrifice and trust in our own good works to save us, which is futile. As the prince of preachers (Charles H. Spurgeon) once said, “Nothing can damn a man but his own righteousness; nothing can save him but the righteousness of Christ.” Please, trust in Jesus today while you live!

Love Jonathan Ball

Web: www.jonnyfivealive.wix.com/pyroounderground   Home Church: www.goodfight.org

open air Hollywood

open air preaching Hollywood

“Men have been …

“Men have been helped to live by remembering that they must die.”
Charles H. Spurgeon

The Prosperity Gospel Exposed

The Prosperity Gospel Exposed

Ezekiel 34:1- 4

“And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophecy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God to the shepherds: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them.’’”

Today we have many Televangelists who feed on the flock rather than care for their needs. They are false shepherds, false prophets and false teachers, and unless they repent their judgment will be so sever (James 3:1), for they cause the name of Jesus to be blasphemed among unbelievers. It grieves the Holy Spirit, and it grieves my heart to see.

Take a look at these pictures and decide for yourself what you think:

 

This is where these preachers lay their head, and their transportation.

 This is where Jesus laid His head and His transportation. See the difference?

Jesus told us not to lay up treasures for ourselves on this earth, but in the life to come (Matthew 6:19- 21). With all the millions these people spend on their own pleasures and comforts (tax free), they could be using to further the kingdom of God, they could be feeding and housing the poor, they could be supporting other ministries that are helping the persecuted Church around the world. Jesus said, “sell what you have and give to the poor, provide yourselves money bags that do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that will not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Luke 12:33, 34)

 You can see where these peoples treasure is; it’s on the earth where their heart is. These false teachers have smooth speech by which they convince people, flattering them for their own advantage. They even deceive and confuse you by using some truths, so that you believe they are from God, yet their message is different than that of Christ’s. He tells us to go to the cross and die to this life; they, like satan, tell us not to die to this world, but rather they give us license to live for the world and its possessions (1 John 2:15- 17). Jesus said we cannot serve both God and mammon (worldly riches), for we will love one and hate the other (Luke 16:13). He even goes on to tell a parable of a rich man who dresses lavishly and fared sumptuously every day, while ignoring the poor beggar at his gate. The rich man ended up in hell.

Instead of preaching that people are free to pursue riches for themselves in Jesus name, they should be preaching the gospel; that people must repent and put their trust in Jesus to have eternal life. They should be encouraging a money loving country to die to themselves, pick up their cross and follow Jesus. But because the Spirit of God is not in them (Jude 1:19), they won’t. Instead they will persuade you to send them your money so they can “do God’s work”, while people hope that God will bless them for sending their money to these guys. There are stories of people sending these preachers much of their life savings, in hopes of being healed or becoming prosperous, yet dying without hope. That is so sad.

Never support a ministry that focuses so much on money; that continually asks for your support. Rather look to those ministries where their main focus is on God’s real work of reaching others. Ministries like “Voice of the Martyrs”, “Living waters”, “Hearts Cry”, Good Fight ministries or End Time Research Ministry whose focus is to help strengthen you to reach others, who even offer free books and magazines to strengthen your Christian faith. They love God and seek to do His will.

A minister is supposed to give to you. We are called to care about your life and your soul. We are supposed to lay down our lives for your sake, just as the Good Shepherd laid down His life for us (John 10:11). We are called to live humbly and modestly, not with fancy clothing and rich apparel, so that those who want to reproach us will have nothing to say (1 Peter 2:11, 12; 1 Peter 3:3)

To end this, read Paul’s words to Timothy: (1Timothy 6:5-11) “useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself. Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.”

(1 Timothy 6:17- 19) “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.”

There we have it. Material itself is not evil, but man’s heart is, and often riches turn people away from God; therefore Scripture strongly warns us about desiring them. But we must be thankful for all that God does give us, as all of His gifts are good. Above all we must be ready to use what we have for the glory of God, to give to others, and to focus on eternal things, not earthly wealth.

Love in Christ Jesus, Jonathan Ball

(Ephesians 4:12)  Equipping the saints for the work of ministry; edifying the body of Christ.

 

Do Not Mistake the True Meaning of the Cross

Do Not Mistake the True Meaning of the Cross

Please take a while to meditate on this powerful devotional by Tozer. It strikes the heart of our problem today in Churches. If I had the power, I would force every Church-goer and pastor in America to sit down and listen to this over and over, until it sunk in.

A.W. Tozer

Galatians 6:14

“But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”

“All unannounced and mostly undetected there has come in modern times a new cross unto popular evangelical circles.

It is like the old cross, but different: the likenesses are superficial, the differences fundamental!

From this new cross has sprung up a new philosophy of the Christian life with encouragement for a new and entirely different evangelistic approach. The evangelist tries to show that Christianity makes no unpleasant demands; rather, it offers the same thing the world does, only on a higher level. The modern view is that the new cross does not slay the sinner, it redirects him!

The philosophy back of this kind of thing may be sincere, but it is as false as it is blind. It misses completely the whole meaning of the cross.

The old cross is a symbol of death. It stands for the abrupt, violent end of a human being. In Roman times, the man who took up his cross and started down the road was not coming back. He was not going out to have his life redirected: he was going out to have it ended! The cross did not try to keep on good terms with its victim. It struck cruel and hard, and when it had finished its work, the man was no more!

The race of Adam is under death sentence. God cannot approve any of the fruits of sin. In coming to Christ we do not bring our old life up onto a higher plane; we leave it at the cross. Thus God salvages the individual by liquidating him and then raising him again to newness of life!”