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The Amish Voice 15
heaven will not only be enlarged, but will
also intervene on their behalf, whereby
multitudes will eventually be saved.
These are the unnamed and unheralded
heroes who are often counted as obstacles
to the elite circle of leaders in the
churches, lest they mar their high
status.
What often outwardly appears as abject
failure in the lives of these people is, in
fact, very often the ravages, the spoils,
and the “fog of war” surrounding intense
ongoing spiritual battles, wherein they
are often storming heaven on behalf of
whole people groups. God will often
allow these men and women to be
battered and assaulted by the enemy’s
vile and deceptive tactics, while at the
same time advancing His kingdom
through the same, impacting the nations
(“. . . as my Father hath sent me, even so
send I you.”). He places these men and
women in the same category of authority
in which the Father had placed Him, for
they have proven themselves faithful,
following their commission. Not unlike
elite soldiers, these have been groomed
through trial and travail, and always
stand at attention to their Master’s call—
paying little heed to any other voices,
however desirable.
As His coming becomes more imminent,
so the battle rages. We are in an epic
moment; many young men and women
are now being quickly groomed and
prepared for this Last Day’s battle. They
are joining the ranks of older generations,
forming a unified family rarely seen
before in history. The harvest is in full-
swing; all the generations are moving
forward simultaneously with one voice—
one song—as they advance toward their
heavenly reward (see Malachi 4:5-6).
In recent years, I have been amazed to
see the accelerated growth within the
younger generations. In my travels,
which have been many, and even in very
recent times, I have happened upon those
within the extended Anabaptist family,
whom I can hardly recognize, as their
spirits have grown so rapidly. There is
without question a remarkable work
unfolding in the hearts of youth —
especially in this hour.
I look back upon what Anabaptist youth
were thinking and doing just three
decades ago, and recall that in general
they were preoccupied with a general
combination of wishing to grow in the
Lord and finding their place within the
Church, finding the right vocation, and
finding the right mate. All of these
combined
are
certainly
noble
pursuits. However, in recent years I have
never before seen such overarching
passion and fire among the youth—a
combination of a remarkable awareness
of the severity and gravity of the times,
and remarkable maturity—as they fully
embrace the cost of the Cross.
Hundreds of years ago, our forefathers
faced the tragic combination of the
deepest depths of humiliation, followed
immediately by martyrdom—in what can
be summed up in one word: Muenster.
The saints who willingly forfeited their
lives to martyrdom, did so in order that a
generation to come would accept the
fiery baton of an uncompromising faith—
a brand of faith not unlike that chronicled
in the book of Acts. They undoubtedly
saw visions of prayed for the fulfillment
of such, far into the future, as they
breathed their last. It is my belief that
this generation is now among us: young
people who have fire in their bellies. Not
“the fire of youth,” but the fire of the
unquenchable gospel and the associated
mandate to take such to the ends of the
earth.
My life to date has comprised, ongoing, a
paradox of unspeakable suffering on one
hand, and glimpses of unspeakable glory
on the other. As I look to my eternal
reward, I’ve already begun to see
glimpses of eternal glory which have
been given to me. One of these glimpses
is that of the Anabaptist nation taking its
rightful
place
in
Kingdom
ambassadorship to a globe that is now
spinning out of control as the earth
contracts and heaves with End-Times
tumult. Within such tumult, I am dully
reminded of the Apostle Paul’s promise
of Romans 16:20:
“And the God of peace
shall bruise Satan under your feet
shortly.”
It is His peace, as the result of His victory
on the cross, that is available to all for the
asking, and by the hour. I pray God’s
blessing of peace upon the warriors who
are now taking their stations and
preparing for spiritual conflict which has
never before been seen. It is as we keep
the cross of Christ central to all that we
do hereafter, that we will, in the end, be
more than conquerors. Without you—the
younger generation—the rest of us will
not prevail.
Hebrews 11:36-40 says:
And others
had trial of cruel mockings and
scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds
and imprisonment: They were
stoned, they were sawn asunder,
were tempted, were slain with the
sword: they wandered about in
sheepskins and goatskins; being
destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of
whom the world was not worthy:)
they wandered in deserts, and in
mountains, and in dens and caves of
the earth. And these all, having
obtained a good report through faith,
received not the promise: God
having provided some better thing
for us, that they without us should
not be made perfect.
Chapter 12:1
goes on to say:
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.
Glory, cont. from back cover
END