Iron Man Oikodome - "under The Altar"

Dear Bros in Christ, Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. Brothers in Christ, this monthly devotional is sent and meant to be an encouragement to all and to build up and edify in the Lord Jesus Christ. Oikodome means "Builder". The Lord has put this on my heart to send out a monthly Iron Man Oikodome {oy-kod-om-ay'} to build up and encourage the men who love and follow Jesus Christ in their walk with Him. Hebrews 3:13 "But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." PRAYER REQUESTS: If you have any prayer requests please send them and I will send them out to the bros for prayer, if privacy is needed I will send in a discreet way. OCTOBER 2009 “UNDER THE ALTAR” “When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both [the number of] their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they [were], was completed” (Revelation 6:9-11). These are those martyrs who came to Christ during the Tribulation period and it could be declared that all believers present day should share this cry of the future believers to be martyrs for Christ Jesus. That we would live our lives now as these will in the future. This spoke to my heart as it relates to our time right now how we should be living our lives willing to be called and placed under the Altar for taking and making a stand for the Lord Jesus Christ. There are a few things that jumped out in these scriptures; first those that were under the altar took a stand for God, Second they asked how long and third they got a white robe. The first one that really caught my attention in these verses was; “I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and the testimony which they held” (Revelation 6:9) They made a stand for Gods word and lost their lives, I don’t like to say they lost their lives literally because actually they gained them; “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it” (Mark 8:35). Do you find it hard to share your belief in Jesus or the Gospel on the streets, in your neighborhood store with coworkers, old friends and family? Think of these future martyrs who were hated and slain for the Gospel. Are you ever afraid you might get thrown under the bus for sharing the Gospel or even mentioning God? Some might and some might not receive the Word of God joyfully, but unless you give witness of the Gospel either verbally or by your life; the way you live your life as a godly witness or share your testimony you’ll never know, you won’t know what God can do with your witness until you are a witness, you can’t be afraid to share the Gospel or why you believe... The world might always throw you under the bus when it comes to sharing the Gospel or maybe some of you might be out in the world right now as you read this. Or might be you have friends who are still out there or maybe you are a friend of the world; well then you are out there in enemy territory and you need a friend like only Jesus can be, He will stick closer than a brother. So if your witness is weak right now ask the Lord for help and He will indeed help you. I know for me when I was being thrown under the bus so to speak by some previous circumstances from

being in the world that I found myself in as a new believer a few years back. When I turned to Jesus for help, I cried out over and over to the Lord and then He sent me a special friend, a bro in the Lord, which I didn’t realize at the time how special he actually was to me. But God used him to encourage me and help me through many great trials. He was not the most capable, he had many problems himself. He was weak; he was going through great trauma that was caused from Vietnam he would tell you himself he was a basket case. But this bro was strong in the Lord and was willing to let God use him even though he knew he was in a great struggle in his own life as well, he had a willing heart and gave his time to me to minister to me… He answered the call of ministry; he shared the word and gave testimony and witness by his life to me right up until he went home to be with the Lord earlier this year. He was a great friend and my only hope is that everyone could have a bro like this in their lives. The Lord had this planned all along he ended up being the very best friend I could ever have aside from the Lord Jesus Christ from the moment we met. He showed me how to street witness and share the Lord with complete strangers and people everywhere we went, he had such great zeal. In fact he was the first person when I came to the Lord that taught me to share the gospel. One time we were going into a store and people were coming out of the store and he saw an opportunity to be a witness for Christ Jesus. I remember he said “let the Holy Spirit lead you, just start a conversation, and trust the Lord for the rest”. The amazing part of his testimony is he was so paranoid and could not be around people or large crowds or in tight confines, if he was in a room he had to be real close to the door or he would get the heights (panic attacks- panic overload that he suffered from being exposed to agent orange) as he called it, but he would totally freak out if he was forced or found himself in a situation like this. He always told me if he didn’t know the Lord Jesus Christ he could never make it through life- he suffered greatly in regards to these panic attacks and said that he was never paranoid like that before serving in Vietnam. He spent his life sharing the Lord and being a witness for Jesus Christ in his area around his home you see he could not go over about three miles from home alone or he would have panic attacks. You see Bros he was willing to give his all, willing to allow himself to be tortured so to speak because of his unique struggles to share the Gospel. He knew he was a wreck by his psyche condition and by the worlds standards he was just another nutcase, but he also knew Jesus was bigger than all his struggles… I believe he would allow himself to be used or go down in flames no matter how hard it was on him to share the Gospel, because you see he had a willing heart for the Lord, he was so grateful to the Lord for all he had, he felt so blessed in his life, to be saved an his life was a reflection of that gratitude towards the Lord Jesus Christ and really believed God allowed this to happen to him for a good reason. Even if he had been called to be slain for the Gospel he would have been willing to answer the call, he wasn’t afraid to pick up the call and say send me…. “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here [am] I! Send me."” (Isaiah 6:8) “Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill And to Your tabernacle. Then I will go to the altar of God, To God my exceeding joy; And on the harp I will praise You, O God, my God” (Psalm 43:3-4). But these were those souls who were under the altar for the word of God and for the testimony and the witness they were. These future event folks didn’t get thrown under the altar their souls were placed there because they were slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held and were given a privileged place to rest a little while longer. Think of the many times we might have let opportunities slip by to let folks around us hear the Gospel or to be a witness for the Word of God. It doesn’t take a lot to be a witness for Christ Jesus or share the Gospel only a willing heart; God can use the most insignificant and even us that are weaklings, the most ill equipped, least likely person to accomplish His will in touching lives for Jesus Christ, getting the Gospel out; “He gives power to the weak, And

to [those who have] no might He increases strength” (Isaiah 40:29). I have seen in ministry times to numerous to count where God has taken those who we might think are least able; the ones who we think could not help or do anything in a physical sense. Maybe someone who has real physical limitations or has maybe been financially ruined and God uses them in a way that they seem like they couldn’t help, a way that might seem impossible or He uses one not even studied or trained or equipped in the Word of God or someone who is a baby Christian and just memorized John 3:16 perhaps. I know a dear bro and friend who was injured in a body surfing accident a few years back he is paralyzed and is in a wheel chair. He is one of the mightiest men of God I know; he has a heart after the Lord, to serve the Lord and has a gift of godly encouragement and is an inspiration to others in spite of his physical outcome in life. In fact he is probably one of the most gifted and inspiring track & field coaches you could ever meet and this bro knows the Word, he has a very kind gentle loving character. God has used him on the college campus to minister to our youth as a faithful, true and mighty witness. Amazing how God works all that out, the joy and passion that this bro has for the Lord. Anyway a few years back we were going to be doing a youth ministry in-reach for the children and youth in the body of our church and everyone pitched in and helped with doing all the various things entailed for this in-reach except no one wanted to volunteer to get or bring firewood for the camp fire, it was the most physical thing that needed to be done for our in-reach. But who did the Lord lift up; the one who was least physically able to do it, the one with a willing heart to serve, the coach did it with a joyful loving heart he made sure we had plenty of firewood, probably the only time we ever did have plenty. Bros that alone ministered to me in such a powerful way and still does to this day. Just like the Lord knows who are His and He will use those who have a heart to serve Him in spite of their lack of ability or areas of weaknesses and those who will take a stand for Him and just like those martyrs in the future you will find them under the altar that privileged place. The Lord knows those who are sold out for Him no matter what. He knows your heart and the motives that drive your heart, He knows those committed totally for His glory the ones that don’t care if they get acknowledged but only want to give the Lord all the credit. The saints we read about that were under the altar before the throne of God actually no better place to be then and even today that we should be as those martyrs were; a living sacrifice to God, that we would have that same heart. They that commit their lives to God, stand for God and His Word. Now those future saints their prayers were coming right from His altar ascending before God. Bros that is closeness to God, their prayers are coming from and to the heart of God from His altar, His communion table. The place of holiness, where we sup with Him, where He sends out His word, the place where sacrifices are made and received, where hearts are broken, melted or softened and given over to the Lord for His healing and restoration, that place where prayers are lifted up before the Lord and that place where we serve Him where we leave everything behind, where nothing matters but the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone. “Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel's hand” (Revelation 8:3-4). Bros have you ever asked the Lord “How Long”? I have plenty of times and so that is the second thing I want to take a look at or consider… One thing for sure is not how long Lord? But when we ask that we remember to wait on and for God, wait for Him alone to move, let Him do it. “But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew [their] strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31). I can attest to the fact that there is growth and maturity in those times of waiting, painful as it may seem because waiting is tough and may seem a vary harsh

chastisement or time of just trusting or having faith in the Lord whenever you receive it“the wait”, but it is the opposite of harsh in reality it is the most gentle form of correction and direction we can receive from the Lord and seems to have a way of drawing you closer to the Lord. It forces you in a gentle way to look to God. Things maybe we don’t see at the time but the Lord is doing a work in us through this time of waiting. God told them to rest a while longer. “God having provided something better for us that they should not be made perfect apart from us” (Hebrews 11:40). …”Until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed” (Revelation 6:11). God will wait for them to come to heaven, when I say wait for them I mean He already knows the day and the hour- He won’t throw His saints under the bus, but rather place “those who had been slain for the Word of God and for the testimony which they held” under His altar, His authority, His protection, His love, His rest and His eternal plan. God doesn’t get tired of waiting for them because He knows already…He already knows when we will be there too. We just need to trust Him and learn what He wants us to learn when He has us do “the wait”… But they were asking, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" In Zechariah 1:12 that same question was asked how long? “Then the Angel of the LORD answered and said, "O LORD of hosts, how long will You not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which You were angry these seventy years?"(Zechariah 1:12) Then the Lord returning to Jerusalem with mercy, comfort and prosperity will again choose Jerusalem. Seventy years is a long time- that just shows how long suffering and merciful our God can be even with us. In Psalm 74 “A contemplation of Asaph”- he states in verses 9-12, “We do not see our signs; [There is] no longer any prophet; Nor [is there] any among us who knows how long. O God, how long will the adversary reproach? Will the enemy blaspheme Your name forever? Why do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand? [Take it] out of Your bosom and destroy [them]. For God [is] my King from of old, Working salvation in the midst of the earth. (Psalm 74:9-12) You see God has a plan for each of us, He knows how long and until he moves and completes his plan we are to wait and rest in Him, just like those martyred saints in the future. He is our King. When you are kicking back at home you might throw on your robe and relax and rest. When you are at a fancy hotel they might loan you a white robe and then try to sell it to you before you leave. But God has a better White robe for you that can’t be bought or borrowed waiting for you that He wants to give to you. He will clothe you with His righteousness and give you rest as you wait on Him. Bros don’t be afraid to make a stand for Gods Word, don’t be afraid for the testimony He has given you to share the Gospel. What can man do to you? So we may boldly say: "The LORD [is] my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" (Hebrews 13:6) What will God do with you today? Will you use the gifts He has given you, serve in the ministry He has called you to, share the Gospel with whom He puts in your path, will you be the one that goes after that neighbor, friend or family member to tell them how much Jesus Loves them…To encourage all you encounter in the things of the Lord Jesus Christ and for the witness of the Gospel and the testimony you have in Jesus Christ- Amen! Resting in Him, Daniel Wright Iron Man Oikodome Proverbs 27:17 To have your email address removed from future mailings please reply to [email protected] and type "PLEASE REMOVE" in the subject box, thank you and God bless you!