Defibrillation

Statistic-June 24, 2004: More than 8 in 10 Americans are Christian, including roughly half who are Protestant and about a quarter who are Catholic.

• The following tribute is sometimes credited to Phillip Brooks, who wrote the hymn, “O Little Town Of Bethlehem.”

“He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman; He grew up in another village, where He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a home. He didn’t go to college. He never visited a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place where he was born. He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but Himself.

“He was only thirty-three when the tide of public opinion turned against Him. His friends ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to His enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves.

“While He was dying, His executioners gambled for His garments, the only property He had on earth. When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. Nineteen centuries have come and gone, and today He is the central figure of the human race.

“All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that one solitary life” (quoted in Kennedy, pp. 7-8).



• Jesus was not attractive. Isaiah 53:2 “He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him” (NASB)

• Jesus had no wealth to launch a significant movement (Lk. 9:58; 2 Cor. 8:9).

• He was reared in one of the most despised communities of his country (see Mt. 2:23; Jn. 1:46; 7:52). The query, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” was proverbial in Canaan.

• He had no formal rabbinical training (Jn. 7:15). Even his own people had little regard for him (Jn. 1:11; 7:5; 6:66). And yet, somehow, he changed the world forever.

• In his famous speech on St. Helena, Napoleon exclaimed:


“I know men, and I tell you that Jesus Christ is not a man. Superficial minds see a resemblance between Christ, and the founders of empires and the gods of other religions. That resemblance does not exist. There is between Christianity and any other religion the distance of infinity . . . Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself founded empires. But upon what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ alone founded his empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for him” (Monser, pp. 503,508).

On the day of Pentecost, the church gained 3,000 men. (Acts 2:41) That’s minimum. Women and children were not counted.

By Acts 4:4, the number of men was 5,000. It is estimated that by the time Stephen was martyred, at the church was at least 20,000 strong.

From here, Christianity spread throughout the land and flourished.

Martyrs

1. Stephen: died by being stoned to death.

2. James the son of Zebedee, the elder brother of John: as James was led to the place of martyrdom, his accuser was brought to repent of his conduct by the apostle's extraordinary courage and undaunted ness, and fell down at his feet to request his pardon, professing himself a Christian, and resolving that James should not receive the crown of martyrdom alone. Hence they were both beheaded at the same time.


3. Philip: He was scourged, thrown into prison, and afterwards crucified, A.D. 54. Upper Asia

4. Matthew: killed by the axe. Parthia, and Ethiopia

5. James the brother of the Lord: At the age of ninety-four he was beat and stoned by the Jews; and finally had his brains dashed out with a club.

6. Mathias: He was stoned at Jerusalem and then beheaded.

7. Andrew, brother of Peter: he was taken and crucified on a cross, the two ends of which were fixed transversely in the ground. Edessa

8. Jude, brother of Jesus: crucified at Edessa, A.D. 72

9. Bartholomew: cruelly beaten and then crucified

10. Simon: crucified, A.D. 74

11. Thomas: thrust through with a spear.

12. Mark: was dragged to pieces by the people of Alexandria.

13. John: cast into a cauldron of boiling oil. He escaped by miracle, without injury afterwards banished to the Isle of Patmos, where he wrote the Book of Revelation and died of old age.

14. Luke: hanged on an olive tree

15. Peter: was crucified upside down in Rome.

16. Paul: beheaded by the sword at the order of Caesar Nero.

I counted a total of 30 times that we are warned not to forget about God or his words.

It seems that the world has forgotten however.

Acts 2:42-47 42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Acts 4:32-33 32All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. 33With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.

Acts 8:4-8 4Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. 6When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. 8So there was great joy in that city.

Amazing and wonderful things occurred in the early days of the church. The question is why don’t those things happen with any sort of frequency now?

What are we missing that our fire is not spreading like the wildfire of the old church?

Christians today seem to have fallen into a comfortable rut.
We must be the ones that strike up a new revival. Young and old, strong and weak, it is our business to defibrillate the Christians of today and bring them back to being on fire for God.

2 Cor 4:16 16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

Matt 5:13-16 13“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. 14“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.