From the desk of Steve Shultz:
You may wonder why there is a question mark at the end of the title, "Becoming a Living Martyr?"
Most assume that a "martyr" is defined mainly as – a person who gives their physical life and suffers a tortuous death, for the cause of Christ.
As I got to know Wade Taylor over the last five years of his life, I came to understand the he was a living martyr...but wait. That's not what Wade was saying about himself. He is teaching we ALL can be, now in this day, LIVING MARTYRS for Christ. Let Wade explain what he means as he leads you through revealed Scripture.
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Wade E. Taylor:
Becoming A Living Martyr?
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20
"I live; yet not I." This statement should resonate deep within those who have yielded the totality of their being to the Lord.
There is a process that we must go through for this higher realm of identity with Jesus to become a personal reality in our daily life experience. Jesus will become the manifest head of His Body (us), when we become so transparent that only He can be seen. Then He will begin to live His life through our lives. This is the end-time "witness" that will greatly affect the world.
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me... Acts 1:8
In the original Greek, the word translated "witness" is "martyr." To the extent that we die to our self-life, we become the expression of the life of Jesus. We ourselves are to be this witness ("You shall be witnesses"). As we come into a personal relationship with Jesus, and become one with Him in intent and purpose, His life will be seen through our lives.
Few of us will ever have the opportunity to give our lives as a martyr, but all of us can become a living martyr. We are, by divine design, capable of becoming this witness – "I live; yet not I."
How We Become His Witness
So God created man in His own image... Genesis 1:27
Through man's transgression, this image (our spirit) was lost. In redemption it is restored, but it must be developed (we are to grow into spiritual maturity).
For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son... Romans 8:29
The words "to be conformed" tells us that this is a process to which we must submit ourselves.
Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14 NKJV
Not all Christians will respond to this opportunity to "press toward the mark for the high calling of God," as this is conditional and will be actively opposed by the enemy of our redemption. Thus, as we continue to "press" or rise above all opposition, we become an "overcomer."
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. Genesis 2:7
The Lord breathed into Adam the breath of "lives," as man was created to live on two levels of life, the earthly and the heavenly. This word is plural in the original. He was "formed" (soul) and then "breathed into" (spirit). Because man was created to be "dependent" (dust), he was placed in a probationary environment.
Adam could not be "dependent" unless he also had the opportunity to become "independent." By abiding in a dependent state, his spirit could commune with the Lord, which was the intention and desire of the Lord.
When Adam partook of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the part of Adam that was "spirit" died. As a result of Adam's transgression, man is but "dust" (soul) and cannot "cleave" to anyone, or to anything, without the "impartation" of spirit that had been breathed into him. Apart from a redemptive act by his Creator, man is unable to enter into the purposes for which he has been created.
When we repent and receive Jesus as our personal Savior, that which Adam lost (spirit) is restored, and begins to function within us.
Clothed With His Glory
As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby. I Peter 2:2
As a spiritual baby, this restored part of our being (spirit) must be developed. After our "new birth" experience through redemption, we are given a "newborn" consciousness of these two realms: the earthly (soul realm), and the heavenly (spirit realm). The first relates to our natural life.
"And as we have borne the image of the earthy...." I Corinthians 15:49a
We easily relate to, and function in, the "earth realm," which is the place of our natural environment and life. But there is more; our creation does not end with our identity with the earth realm of existence, as the "breath of lives" (earthly/soul life, and heavenly/spirit life) had been breathed into man.
...we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. I Corinthians 15:49b
We were created to also function in the "spirit realm." But, there is an active enemy who ever seeks to keep us "earth bound" in the soul realm. Therefore, we must come into a measure of "dependent" identity with the Lord in order to function in this heavenly realm, in which ever-increasing levels of relationship with the Lord are available to us.
This is a marvelous thing – finite (man) relating to and communing with the Infinite (God) in the heavenly realms. In developing within this higher realm of spiritual life, we become the visible "expression" of the life and ministry of Jesus, that the "corporate" Jesus would manifest the Father's glory, leading to the establishing of the Millennial Kingdom of God.
On the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus demonstrated that the Shekinah had been embodied "within" Him, but was not yet available to us. Now, in His resurrection and ascension, the veil has been rent and a way has been made for us to enter into identification with Jesus in His abiding Shekinah Glory. The "flaming sword" is no longer a hindrance to our experiencing His manifest glory. (Painting by William Bell Scott)
Adam said that he hid from the presence of the Lord because he was naked. This nakedness has nothing to do with clothes, but rather with the loss of the "Shekinah covering" that enabled him to enter the manifest presence of the Lord and commune with Him.
The Lord slew an animal for a covering, which in the Passover became a lamb, and then, the Blood of Jesus. We can continue to abide in this "covering" for sin that Jesus provided, receiving His forgiveness, but never coming to the place that Adam (we) lost – that of being "clothed upon" with His glory.
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints... Ephesians 1:18
Many are satisfied with only the redemptive covering that has been provided for them through the atonement of Jesus on the Cross, and feel comfortable to stay there. The Lord is looking for those who desire a "full restoration" of all that was lost – the restoration of His Shekinah glory.
When He shall come to be glorified in His saints... II Thessalonians 1:10
Jesus ascended in glory and will return in glory. Those who are seeking to go further to receive His transfiguration glory will become the end-time witnesses of His manifest presence and power to the world in these last days, as Jesus expresses His life through them.
Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Isaiah 60:1-3 (emphasis added)
Wade Taylor
Wade Taylor Ministries / Parousia Ministries
Email: nancy@wadetaylor.org
Website: wadetaylor.org
Wade Taylor graduated to Heaven on February 29, 2012. He served others as a teacher and spiritual father for over 50 years. He was respected and loved by many for his quality of spirit and walk with his Lord. He was an anointed author, bringing forth deep truths of the Spirit with a clarity and simplicity that drew the reader up into a closer walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Nancy Taylor Warner, daughter of Wade Taylor, spent most of her childhood in a Bible school environment due to the calling on her father's life. In 1981, the Lord called her to support his message and she since has functioned in a variety of positions. Today, in response to her dad's wishes and the encouragement of its board of directors, she now oversees Wade Taylor Ministries. Nancy travels at times to speak and pray for others. She particularly enjoys teaching on intimacy with God and other truths that relate to our spiritual growth. She brings an expectation for the visitation at hand, and prays for the life and ministry of Christ to be imparted by the Holy Spirit each time she ministers. Nancy's special gift of relating to and loving people stems from her own love for Jesus and His Kingdom. Her spiritual life messages flow into the hearts and spirits of those to whom she ministers.
