Who bare record of the word of God, and of ^hthe testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Revelation 1:2

This Scripture above is the base Scripture for the whole series. The “Marturia” is the foundation of all that is faith, and with the “Marturia” we shall overcome in the end times. The “Marturia” is where we get the word “Martyr”. The english translation does not give justice to its spiritual significance. The “marturia/martureo/martus” is the foundation of our faith, is the foundation of our walk with God. Right now I am writing and completing a book called “12 Foundations of the Church” that we see in Revelation 21, when the angel says “I will show you the Bride”, and what descends is the New Jerusalem from heaven.

This New Jerusalem is spoken of in terms of 12 Gates and 12 Foundations. These foundations are distinguished in Scripture, each one, and I bring about an exposition of each foundation and their place in God building the New Jerusalem. The “marturia” when it is given brings us into a collision course with the world, because it marks us, and this mark the world perceives and persecutes.

The way we get the “marturia/martureo” witness

By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous Hebrews 11:4.

The witness that Abel was righteous prepares the scenario of his worship through his sacrifices. We know that God accepted his sacrifices, and Cain’s remained unaccepted. The key is in the witness that he received. Who gave, or what gave him that witness? It was God who gave him the “martureo”, as the word appears in the Greek. It was not the sacrifice that made him righteous, he was already righteous when he made the sacrifice. That is why God responded to it. This gives a whole new perspective of verse 6 of Hebrews 11.

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

We have out of our tradition turned this verse around and made it “religious” and a “tradition”. We point to the necessity of having faith. But what we forget is that faith must be given. Where does faith come from? It comes from the “martureo” as the word is put here. We think, via a religiosity that we need to get faith, when we need to be given faith. It is God who gives, we don’t get it…this pursuit of faith, can spur us on to do religious works which will never justify us or made us count among the righteous people of God. Much of Church is based on this religion. Particularly the area of tithing…when we study tithing, we go to the law of first mention in Genesis 14, the tithe of Abraham was not given to get blessing, he already got the blessing through covenant in Genesis 12! We preach tithing in the context we give to get blessed, when it should be we are blessed so we therefore give! How tradition makes us create religious structures. These religious structures must manipulate the tithe so that people give. We need to see that if people give is because they KNOW they are blessed already! They are taught to realise that in Christ they have been given a witness, that we are sons and heirs. Ephesians 1. When you consider the crisis that is being lived now, with jobs going, with mass unemployment through the pandemic or through bankruptcies, we need to be teaching NOT the tithe, or even offering, we need to be teaching them their own SONSHIP in Christ, and the witness (martureo) that they have been given and accessing that. From this platform they will flow in miraculous provision. From that pulling on miraculous provision so they will give into the ministries who equip them and release their God given heir position.

So the sacrifice of Abel was not to OBTAIN anything from God, it was an OVERFLOW what he already had! Then when you transport this to Jesus’ words in Acts 1:8

But ye shall receive ^ppower, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me

The word here is “martus” in the Greek. The power of the Holy Spirit would make them “martus” with a collective “martureo”. Jesus was transporting the “martureo” of the ancient heroes of the faith we see in Hebrews 11 to the Church through the POWER of the Holy Spirit. Isn’t it interesting the distinction of the visitation of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, they already had the Holy Spirit in them, according to Luke 24, yet the Holy Spirit would now come upon them. Does it not suggest that it is not enough to have the Spirit within us but we need to await and cry out for the Holy Spirit to come upon us bringing with Him in this dimension both the power and the witness? This receiving of witness means that Heaven has given a blank cheque to exercise Christ’s authority in signs and wonders upon the earth when it serves Christ’s eternal agenda. It is an endorsement that both heaven esteems and hell fears. Esteem from heaven means favour upon the earth. Esteem means that heaven moves in our favour. Now here comes a contrast.

When God lightly esteems…

Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. 1 Samuel 2:30

Here is the opposite state of the “marturia/martureo” where God does not esteem, and the lack of esteem from God is in response to the despising of so called men of God. Here these were the High Priest’s sons, Hophni and Phineas. What is their despising, it is at the altar, when they served for themselves the offering. God kills off these men, according to the prophecy of the unnamed prophet here. The offering to the Lord was very holy. Yet the priests had only reduced the priesthood to a self serving enterprise. Jesus is recorded entering twice into the Temple to clear out the moneychangers, and we see a glimpse of that wrath that God used against Hophni and Phineas.

I sense that this message has an objective, because I sense that in 2020 we entered into a great shift in the affairs of this world. In this shift there shall be a distinction made from heaven. The Bible speaks of the marking of righteous men, Jesus speaks of a distinction in the Parable of the Wheat and Tares. This distinction will come to the Church, for those who have received the “marturia/martureo” and those who have been regarded as having “lightly esteemed”. It is the treatment of holy spiritual things that this will come. I am sure in many places, as fear has taken the hearts of many, this distinction will come out. Survival mode is the worst mode to get into as a believer. However I sometimes wonder if God uses “survival mode” to show and expose who is borne witness to by heaven and who is lightly esteemed.

The words of Jesus are these: “They will say in that day Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy and cast out demons, but I will say, Depart from me I never knew you. ” They are very tough words. These words are at the very end…at the white Judgment Throne. Here what is emphasised are two functions, prophecy and deliverance. Interesting how these are emphasised today. However it shows that gifts don’t equate with Jesus “knowing” us. The “marturia/martureo” is that connection to Jesus knowing us.

Concluding words

This message is to say that right now we need to know that despite the crisis around us, God is working, and what will count in our overcoming, is the “martureo/marturia” , that we receive His Witness, via the Holy Spirit. This foundation will sustain us through the storms, and cause us to press through into victory even when all around us falls.

Jesus told a parable of the two houses, one with a foundation on a rock, the other on sand. The sands are always moving.

These are never the same sands, they are forever moving. We cannot build our spiritual life on changing trends, ideologies, relationships, politics. Our house will fall once a storm comes. However the house built on Jesus and His Witness (martureo) will stand in that same storm. Yes there is a storm raging right now, it comes upon the righteous and unrighteous alike. What is more important is who we build our life on!

That way we will have the favour of heaven because we obtained the same witness that we are sons and heirs because we are totally in Him.

Shalom.