131208 PM For What Would You Be Willing to Die
| For What Would You Be Willing to Die? A. “Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Otherssuffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they weresaw in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute,afflicted, mistreated—of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts andmountains, and in dens and caves of the earth” (Heb 11:35-38). B. What about you? Have you ever stopped to ask, “For what would I be willing to die?” Examples from the “Great Cloud of Witnesses” (Heb 12:1a) • Joseph (Gen 39:7-20) – willing to die before he would compromise his moral _______ • Daniel (Dan 1:8) – willing to die before he would defile himself by disregarding God’s _______ • Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (Dan 3:16-18) – willing to die before bowing to an ________ • Daniel (Dan 6:6-10) – willing to die before he would stop ______ God. • John the Baptist (Matt 14:3-11) – willing to die before sugarcoating God’s ______ • The apostles (Acts 5:27-42) – willing to die before they would stop proclaiming the ______ • James (Acts 12:1-3; Gal 5:11) – willing to die before removing the _____ of the cross. • Paul (Acts 21:10-13) – willing to die before he would renounce his allegiance to ________ • Uriah (Jer 26:20-24) – willing to die before he would stop foretelling the _________ of God. • Esther (Esther 4:8-16) – willing to die in order _____ to others. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses … ” (Heb 12:1b-2) |