The Voice of the Martyrs - Heroic Faith: How to live a life of extreme devotion

Heroic Faith

by

TheVoice of the Martyrs

Copyright 2002 by The Voice of the Martyrs

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Published by W Publishing Group, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, Tennessee 37214.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible: New InternationalVersion, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations noted The Message are from The Message, copyright 1993, 1994, 1995 by Eugene H. Peterson.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Heroic faith / by the Voice of the Martyrs.

p. cm.

ISBN 0-8499-4382-5

1. Persecution. 2. Christian martyrs. I. Voice of the Martyrs (Organization)

BR1604.23 .H47 2002

272--dc21

2002007542

Printed in the United States of America

02 03 04 05 06 07 PHX 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

T his book is dedicated to all those who
have gone before us,
who have consistently demonstrated
the qualities of Heroic Faith,
even in the face of extreme difficulties.
They have become our cloud of witnesses.
May we run the race well.

Contents

Heroic Faith

Unlike the average
card-carrying commitment
of many,
the faith of heroes
cant be neatly folded in a wallet
or buried in a purse.
Heroic faith
is more than casually hanging
a cross round your neck
or willingly wearing
a band of four initials
on your wrist.
The gist of heroic faith
is the way it flavors
whatever you find yourself
in the midst of.
It is the kind of faith
disciples of Jesus
are dying to claim.

BY GREG ASIMAKOUPOULOS

THE BOOK YOU HOLD IN your hand represents many hours of work, by many different people. All those involved hope these pages will fire your passion to serve our Savior.

Several people deserve recognition for their efforts on this project.

Thank you to Greg Asimakoupoulos, who was the primary writer. His many hours spent shaping this book to be true to our message and our persecuted family members are greatly appreciated.

I am grateful to Mark Sweeney and the entire team at W Publishing Group. I appreciate their partnership in telling the powerful stories of the persecuted church.

Greg Daniel worked diligently to make this a book that reaches the reader and communicates our passion to serve our brothers and sisters in restricted nations. Thank you, Greg.

Dave Veerman and his associates at Livingstone helped with writing and editing. Once again, they showed professionalism and passion, and I am grateful.

Thank you also to Steve Cleary and Todd Nettleton, who shepherded this work into print on behalf of The Voice of the Martyrs. Many others also contributed thoughts and ideas in the writing process, helping to make the final product what it is.

Finally, I thank God for his blessings on our ministry and the special calling he has given us. This book is for his glory. I also thank the many brothers and sisters who are living examples of Heroic Faith, serving Christ in difficult circumstances around the world.

TOM WHITE

USA Director, The Voice of the Martyrs

SELECTIONS FROM HEBREWS 11 AND 12

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we donot see. This is what the ancients were commended for. (11:12)

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did notreceive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed themfrom a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens andstrangers on earth. People who say such things show that they arelooking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of thecountry they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.Instead, they were longing for a better countrya heavenly one.Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepareda city for them. (11:1316)

And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon,Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, whothrough faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gainedwhat was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the furyof the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness wasturned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routedforeign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again.Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they mightgain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while stillothers were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they weresawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went aboutin sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreatedthe world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts andmountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. These were allcommended for their faith, yet none of them received what had beenpromised. God had planned something better for us so that onlytogether with us would they be made perfect. (11:3240)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easilyentangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out forus. 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 himwho endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will notgrow weary and lose heart. (12:13)

SITTING IN AIR-CONDITIONED COMFORT, surrounded by evidence of the good life and breathing the fresh air of religious freedom, we can easily lose touch with many painful realities outside our countrys borders. And reports of terrorism, persecution, torture, and other atrocities seem distant and only occasionally attract our attention. Engaged with family, church, and community concerns, we find it difficult to focus on anything beyond our busy schedules, especially events on the other side of the world that seem far removed from our daily concerns.