The blood of the Lamb, the power of your testimony, and not loving your life unto death can mean several different things to a Christian. So, depending upon your understanding of the blood of the Lamb, the other two topics will have a different meaning to you. I believe that these topics have power in all parts of the world for the Christian. I do think that you can allow them to impact you at a higher or lesser level depending upon your belief.

I would like to make you aware of some recent news in other parts of the world, and how I think we can learn, in the Western culture, from the persecuted church regarding the blood of the Lamb, the power of their testimony, and not loving their lives unto death.

In recent news, there were reports that 120 Christians have been killed for the sake of Christ in Nigeria from February to March 18th, 2019, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide Nonprofit Group. On March 10th, 52 of these 120 Christians were killed, and 100 homes were destroyed in this same area of Nigeria.

I don’t plan to talk about any other groups of persecuted Christians because the list could continue for a while, but I want to use this part of the body of Christ as a reference point. In our Western Culture, we are caught up in arguing about our correct theology, denominations, and the style of Church, when I think we could instead be learning something from our brothers and sisters in Nigeria and other persecuted countries.

I do believe that there are some believers in Western culture who have captured some of these similar beliefs and are impacting the world around them as others are in persecuted areas.  Some of these values listed below are truths that I believe motivate these Christians, as I know it motivates me to live out my faith and share the gospel in the United States freely.

Revelation 12:1 “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”  I believe that these people in Nigeria and other Christians around the world that are being persecuted for the gospel have first come to terms that there is power in the blood of Jesus in their lives. This comes from the first part of the verse,

“they overcame by the blood of the Lamb”

These Christians understand that the blood of Jesus has made them righteous, justified, and free from the bondage of sin. They understand that nothing can separate them from drawing near to Jesus and that no sin or anything in their lives can change their place with Jesus. They are overwhelmed by the fact that Jesus’ blood is the purest expression of love that they have ever encountered. The blood of the Lamb is more than a song or a cup of some grape juice. The blood of the Lamb for them is the very source of life.

They understand that without the shedding of the blood, they would not have life on their own. Their conscience is clean from sin as they realize that the blood of Jesus has washed away their sin. “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” Romans 5:1. These Christians understand that they have been made acceptable and qualified by this blood. They are unshakable with this belief as their foundation.

I believe that in our Western culture there are many Christians who have a mindset that they are still bound by sin. This belief produces the fruit of dead works and a sin-consciousness that prevents the Christian from manifesting the next parts of Revelation 12:11, ”by the word of their testimonies and did not love their lives unto death.”

They are unable to walk in this reality because they are not aware that they are free from the penalty of sin by the blood of Jesus. The majority of Christians are still stuck thinking about their sin and not the power of the blood of Jesus. Anytime they sin or think about past sins they feel disqualified from being used by God. They try to do more good things for God to show Jesus that they love Him, but in return they find themselves in a cycle that will never end unless they actually receive the power found in the blood of Jesus.

This is a fun verse, “The sinner flees when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion,” Proverbs 28:1. Whenever Christians realize the truth that they are no longer bound by sin and the fear of man, then they will stop running in fear for no reason. They will no longer be bound by the consciousness of sin, but instead, they will be perpetually conscious of Jesus.

This Christian will then step into the boldness that is found in the righteousness of Christ. I know from firsthand experience that the more that I realize that I have overcome by the blood of Lamb, the more the reality of righteousness increases in my life the bolder I become in drawing near to God. This nearness to God then leads to living in boldness in proclaiming the Gospel to the world around me. I am confident that God will go with me into any conversation and situation because I am righteous by the blood of Christ. Righteous awareness equals increased boldness.

“by the word of their testimony”

I believe these believers in Nigeria have come to realize that their testimony has power because of the work that Jesus has done in their lives. Their testimony is active and present to them on a daily basis because it is their firsthand experience with Jesus that they can share with anyone. I believe that their testimony is also a continuous journey of true freedom found in the blood of Jesus, where their past sin no longer has power over their lives because they truly have new life.

I think sometimes in our Western culture our testimony of salvation was the moment in time that we surrender to Jesus, and we end there at that moment. Yes, this is the beginning of the journey, but we cannot end our testimony there. For example, the day of my wedding is a day that I will never forget because it changed my life forever. But if I stopped being in an intimate relationship with my wife after that day, then our wedding day would be a distant memory 10 years down the road with no fresh stories to share about our relationship. Over the course of time, the two of us sharing our story would be only reflecting back to that distant wedding day without any fresh passion because we have not connected relationally in recent years. All we can recall is our wedding day and our honeymoon. Since that day we have worked in our careers and watched a lot of television.

The end of this relationship will only bring forth death. I believe this is how some people have lived their relationship with Jesus. We stepped into a relationship with Jesus and our hearts burned with passion and we shared and prayed for people but over time there are no fresh stories or encounters with Jesus, and we stop sharing our testimony because it is now a distant memory.

The longer the time frame from the day that we gave our lives to Jesus grows, the more our hearts grow numb to the life of Jesus and His work in our lives. The Christians who understand this ongoing relationship with Jesus are like the Christians in Nigeria, constantly watching Jesus display His power and love in their lives.

Consequently, their testimony of Jesus’ work in their life only grows within their hearts and naturally comes out of their mouths, through their lives to the world around them. “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy,” Revelation 19:10. They understand and believe that the testimony of Jesus’ life will speak for their lives. This understanding gives them great hope for the future because Jesus is alive and active in their lives in every season.

The last and final part of this verse is that they did “…not love their lives unto death.”

I think we would all agree that these Christians that are dying for Jesus have laid down their lives for the sake of the gospel. They have come to terms with the fact that Jesus is worthy of their lives and time, and in return, they literally give their lives. In Western culture, we must learn to die to ourselves.

The majority of Christians think predominately about themselves and not the higher prize found in Christ. A lot of Christians are thinking about their day and whether it was a good or bad day at work and forget about others around them. Which lends its way to the fear of man and fear of the consequences of being bold for Christ. I have actually heard sermons with this verse in Revelation 12:11 and even heard it in songs, but they leave out this last part, “they did not love their lives even unto death.”

We love to shout the first two “they overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony.” but we are quiet about the last portion. Maybe you will even recognize it now that I have pointed it out. “He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life,” John 12:25.

We must make a daily choice to not love our own reputation, lives, job promotion, or relationships. There are Christians in Nigeria and other parts of the world dying for Jesus. But a lot of us in America are too afraid to pray for our coworker, or we do not represent Christ in our job because if others find out that we are Christians then we may lose a relationship. I challenge you to think about the first two parts of this verse in Revelation 12:11, “they overcame by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.”

If you really allow these two statements to become real in your life then “not loving your life unto death” will come more easily. I believe that if Christians actually did not love their lives unto death on a daily basis there would be a rise of persecution in this part of the Western World.  As persecution would arise there would be an increase of salvations in the Western World as the light of Christ would no longer be hidden.

As a reader, I encourage you to think about those in Nigeria and begin to pray for them and their families as they go through extreme trials and tribulations.

Secondly, "I would like for you to realize that there is power in the blood of Christ for those who have repented and turned to Him. For those who have turned to him, you are clean and righteous and free from the power of sin.”

Third, commit to Jesus that you will return to a fresh relationship with Him. Recall your salvation moment, but know that you can see His gift of salvation anew today.

Lastly, chose to turn from an old mindset established around you, and die unto yourself just as Christ died for you.