These men truly overcame the devil by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony and by not loving their lives unto death. We can take a page out of their book as we face the challenges lying ahead for the church in our generation. Listen to this sermon

Men who risked their Lives
11/6/2006
Andre Pelser

There are many examples of men who risked their lives for the sake of a cause or for the sake of other people. In the eyes of those people they are heroes. But we do not choose to be heroes. Jesus said there is no greater love than this that someone should lay down his life for his friends. He went a step further and laid His life down for us while we were yet enemies! How was it possible for Jesus and other faith heroes to make such great sacrifices?

The book of Revelation gives insights into the final victory over Satan and his cohorts. One of the verses that provide such insights is the following:

Revelation 12:11
11 “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

Paul writes to believers and mentions the names of a few people whom they should respect and regard with reverence, simply because they risked their lives for the Gospel’s sake.
Throughout church history people laid down their lives as martyrs and as pioneers to spread the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in the earth.
The Moravian Brothers decided to go to the West Indies to lay down their lives there. I think there were five of them. When they got their captain of the ship said, if you get off here you cannot board the ship again because there is a leper colony on the island.
The brothers thought for a while and then made up their minds to alight from the ship. Later on they decided to enter the leper colony to tell people about Jesus’ love for them. They were told; if you enter the leper colony you cannot come out. The brothers decided to pay the final price and lay down their lives for the sake of the Gospel

I visited the Alamo in San Antonio where about 200 men fought against 2000 Mexican soldiers to keep the fortress. They fought for 13 days and finally all of them were brutally killed in the battle. Just before the battle the commander of the fort drew a line in the sand and asked those who were willing to lay down their lives to step forward. Only one man did not respond. Among those who did respond were famous characters such as David Bowie and Davy Crockett. But their sacrifice became the turning point in the liberation war vs. Mexico and General Sam Houston defeated the Mexican Army under General Santa Anna once and for all shortly after the Alamo was taken. That is why even today, the slogan reads, ‘Remember the Alamo!’

Moses, Joseph, Joshua, Jesus, Paul, Peter and all the other apostles all risked their lives for the Gospel’s sake. Today we have the word of God at our disposal because of their risks!

What have you and I risked for the Gospel’s sake? What have we given up for the Gospel’s sake? What reward can we expect from the Master? Or have we always played it safe and made sure we are well-taken care of and let other people risk their lives instead?

The call of the Lord is going out in all the earth today, ‘its harvest time…where are the laborers who would go out to bring in the harvest?’ Who is willing to give up their private ambitions, their personal dreams to help God with His dream today? Who will sell all they possess to say, here I am Lord, send me, like Isaiah did? Where are the volunteers who have gone on before us and set the example for all of us to follow?

I hear the call go out in the earth: ‘Who will go for us?’ There is silence. No one responds. But then I see a lamb, a lamb bleeding, step forward and say, ‘Here I am, father, send me!’ The sacrificial Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, was willing to lay down his glorious life in heaven to come to our depraved earth, to walk and live amongst us, to share in our sorrows and to face our human temptations, and to give His life as a ransom for many. His risk was the supreme risk! His price was the highest of all.

That is why God has given him a name that is above every other name, so that at His name every knee would bow and every tongue confesses that He is Lord! Amen.

(1 Chronicles 20.4-8)
15 One time David got very tired when he and his soldiers were fighting the Philistines. 16 One of the Philistine warriors was Ishbibenob, who was a descendant of the Rephaim, and he tried to kill David. Ishbibenob was armed with a new sword, and his bronze spearhead alone weighed seven and a half pounds. 17 But Abishai came to the rescue and killed the Philistine.
David’s soldiers told him, “We can’t let you risk your life in battle anymore! You give light to our nation, and we want that flame to keep burning.”
18 There was another battle with the Philistines at Gob, where Sibbecai from Hushah killed a descendant of the Rephaim named Saph.
19 There was still another battle with the Philistines at Gob. A soldier named Elhanan killed Goliath from Gath, whose spear shaft was like a weaver’s beam. Elhanan’s father was Jari from Bethlehem.
20 There was another war, this time in Gath. One of the enemy soldiers was a descendant of the Rephaim. He was as big as a giant and had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. 21 But when he made fun of Israel, David’s nephew Jonathan killed him. Jonathan was the son of David’s brother Shimei.
22 David and his soldiers killed these four men who were descendants of the Rephaim from Gath.

Then there were the three men that risked their lives to fetch David some water from the well of Bethlehem when the town was taken by the Philistines! David never commanded them to do so; he simply sighed and wished for some water from that well. They risked their lives to satisfy his thirst! When they brought the water to David he could not drink it but poured it out on the ground as a drink offering to God for he said, ‘this water is the blood of these three men!’

Imagine what a leader could do with men like that around him? But he obviously set the example by killing Goliath. Ordinary men suddenly had faith to kill giants! The size of the enemy no longer intimidated them!

We look at the faith of Abraham who obeyed God and left his country not knowing where he was going to! We look at Enoch who walked with God and was translated into the eternal realm, but had this testimony before he left the earth that he pleased God by faith.

We look at the meekness of Moses who led millions of Jews through the Red Sea and the wilderness for 40 years! We look at the courage of Joshua who conquered the Promised Land bit by bit starting at Jericho where the walls sunk into the ground after they marched around it 7 times. We see the bravery of David; the concern of Nehemiah to rebuild the broken down walls and temple of Jerusalem; we cry with Jeremiah the weeping prophet about the stubbornness of human nature in all of us; we admire the prayer life of Daniel who prayed even in the lion’s den and was protected supernaturally by angels!

In the New Testament we mark the boldness of Peter who attempted to walk on the water with the Lord; we see how a son of thunder named John was turned into the disciple of love; we note the sacrifice of Stephen, the first martyr and we see the patient endurance of Paul who suffered much for the sake