CLOUD OF WITNESSES

We will be starting a series on the lives and times of men and women that seems to have had a lot of eternal impact on this earth for God, so as to position ourselves to have far gretare impact. A passage of the Bible that comes quickly to mind is in Hebrews 12: 1 - 4 which says
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.

We are urged to focus our lives on Jesus and on the saints that have gone ahead of us so that we don't get tired on time in this journey but rather to always have a need to refire. The battle we have been called and oppurtuned to fight in these last days is really intense and we have just seen the beginning, so we will need all the encouragement from our heroes past to sustain us. Also in the words of Nigeria's National Anthem the labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain,  lots of saints have laboured many of whom paid the supreme price of their lives by being martyred (for more information on martyrdom today check http://www.vom.org/, http://www.idop.org/, http://www.opendoorsusa.org/). This means we must fight hardest to preserve their legacies, again in the words of Eusebius (one of the early church writers) "the blood of the martyr is the seed of the Church" this means lots of seeds have been planted and been growing over the years and it is now time for harvest and utmost care must be taken so that NO LOSS is recorded.

Beloved, as you will be embarking on the journey of knowing some of the saints in Church history ( and indeed very little of them) do not make the mistake most Christians do; which is to idolize them in their minds. God is allowing to know them so you can take a cue from their lives and be all you can be for God