Would You Die For Jesus?

 Would you die for Jesus Christ? In some countries that is not just a question to be pondered but a daily reality that must be faced. Believers everywhere will face this as we approach the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus said this in Matthew 24:9-10 "Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another."  Our Lord and Master was treated in the most evil and vile way possible for no crimes at all only love. His followers will be treated the exact same way, world wide, just before his return. Look at His words in John 15:18- 19 "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." He also said in John 15:25 " ... They hated me without a cause." If there was no cause to hate Jesus they will need no cause to hate us, imprison us, or even kill us either. So what would you do?
Throughout the Bible we have some great examples of followers of Christ who were willing to lay down their lives for our Lord Jesus. Time would fail to mention those who "had trail of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheep-skins and goatskins; being destitute , afflicted, tormented; ( Hebrews 11:36-37). Like the apostle Paul they counted themselves as sheep for the slaughter ( Rom 8:30). Sadly, according to Matthew 24:10 many, not some but many, will be "offended". That means they will fall away from the faith. When persecution comes they will turn their back on the Lord Jesus Christ and commit apostasy. These are the stony ground Christians ( Matthew 13:20-21) that never grew any deeper roots and reject Jesus because of the suffering that has come. How do we know weather or not we will stand in the time of persecution? 
 In Acts 1:8 "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me..." The Greek word for witness is "martus" from which we get our word martyr. The point is, if we are not willing to witness for our Lord Jesus Christ, then we certainly are not going to be willing to lay down our lives for Him. God is preparing us for what is coming and part of that preparation is learning how to handle the rejection that comes from the world when we share the gospel of God with them. Yet most believers do not share their faith in Christ because they are afraid of how people will respond to them. One poll found that 95% of all born again Christians never share their faith. Jesus said in Mark 16:15 "...,Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."  In order to prepare for battle solders spend time in basic training. That is the time the are honed into  fighting machines. The majority of believers are opting out of basic training and they will not be ready when the real fights come. If you are truly going to stand for Christ in these last days you need to began to share your faith like you have never shared it before.