The Apostle Paul - during his travels was imprisoned on several occasions - beaten more times than he could remember - 5 times he received from the Jews (his countrymen) 39 lashes - 3 times he was beaten with rods - he was stoned and dragged out of the city of Lystra and left for dead - 3 times he was shipwrecked - once he spent a night and day drifting on the Mediterranean Sea clinging to the wreckage of his ship. He was often in danger of death from natural causes - from hunger - thirst - cold - exposure - and from robbers and false brethren and his own countrymen. And yet, the Apostle Paul traveled all over the known world sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

“I am not ashamed of the Gospel” - that is a powerful statement. Regardless of the circumstances - the hardship - the cost - to stand firm proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

It was the Apostles, Thaddaeus and Bartholomew - between 35 and 60 AD - who first brought the Gospel to Armenia, and there they gave their lives - their tombs are in the Armenian monasteries of Ardhaz and Aghpag. And before the conversion of the Armenian people to Christianity - there were persecutions, by Armenians, of Christians - in 110 AD under King Artashes - in 230 AD under King Khosrov - from 287 to 301 AD under King Dirtad III - And yet, the believers clung to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

There was the murder of the Christians Hripsime and Gayane and their followers - who died trusting in Jesus. The 14 year imprisonment of Krikor Lousavorich - I’ve been in the pit that he was imprisoned in - and I would not want to spend one day there, let alone 14 years - and through it all he clung to his faith - and God used him to bring the Armenian nation to Christ. We remember Vartan and his 66,000 poorly equipped soldiers - outnumbered 5 to 1 - against the pagan Persian army - who died standing firm in their faith. All of whom said, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

In 1850 - 12,000 Christian Armenians were massacred in Kurdistan

In 1877 - 7,400 Armenians were massacred in Alashkert and Bayazid

In 1894 - 12,000 Armenians were massacred in Sassoun and Moush

Between 1895 and 1896 - 300,000 Armenians were massacred during the reign of the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II

In 1896 - 9,570 Armenians were massacred in Constantinople

In 1904 - 5,640 in Sassoun

In 1909 - 30,000 in Adana, Cilicia

And between 1915 and 1918 - in a planned - premeditated - pogrom - the Muslim Ottoman Turkish government - in a systematic genocide of the Christian Armenian nation - massacred 1,500,000 Armenians. And we are today - in this church - as Christian Armenians - as a testimony to the truth that our forefathers refused to give up their faith in Jesus Christ. “We are not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

For we believe that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God for salvation.

The Gospel is the power of God for salvation.

It is the power which can transform the life of a man or woman - forever. Not communism - not capitalism - not man’s philosophy or religious spirituality - there is no other power that can transform the life of a man or woman - to fill the emptiness within and renew them to a restored relationship with God.

Pastor Richard Wurmbrand is an evangelical minister who spent 14 years in Communist imprisonment and torture in his homeland of Romania and he is the founder of “The Voice of the Martyrs” organization - which for 30 years has been actively serving the persecuted church.

In 1945, when the Communists seized Romania and attempted to control the churches for their purposes, Richard Wurmbrand immediately began and effective “underground” ministry to the Romanian people and the invading Russian soldiers. He was eventually arrested in 1948. On the way to church he was kidnapped by the secret police and thrown into prison. Prison meaning isolation - torture - beatings - drugging.

Christians in Norway negotiated with Communist authorities for his release from Romania. In May 1966, he testified in Washington before the Senate’s Internal Security Subcommittee and stripped to the waist to show 18 deep torture wounds covering his body. What this man went through - and what our brothers and sisters are going through - is almost unreadable. Pastor Wurmbrand writes in His book, "Tortured for Christ," “What the Communists have done to Christians surpasses any possibility of human understanding.”

And yet, the Gospel of Jesus Christ spread through the Underground Church - it was unstoppable. Wurmbrand writes, “The life, the self-sacrifice, the blood which they - the believers - are ready to shed for their faith, is the greatest argument for Christianity presented by the Underground Church.”

“It was in prison that we found hope for the communists, that they will be saved. It was there that we developed a sense of responsibility toward them. It was in being tortured by them that we learned to love them.”

Pastor Wurmbrand’s experiences touch the true power and reality of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He writes, “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities and powers of evil. We saw that communism is not from men but from the devil. It is a spiritual force - a force of evil - and can only be countered by a greater spiritual force, the Spirit of God.”

Think about these words - written in 1967 - and think about the last 10 years and what has happened in the communist world. Pastor Wurmbrand writes, “There is no political power that can overthrow communism. The Underground Church....will win the hearts of the communists and change the face of the world. Communists can become Christians. We shall win the communists. First, because God is on our side. Secondly, because our message - the Gospel - corresponds to the deepest needs of the heart.”

We won’t find this in any secular newspaper or on CNN - but the reality is there if we look for it. The collapse of the Soviet Union was fueled by the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Do you remember what is was like 10 years ago - when the Soviet Union was collapsing?

The tremendous spiritual vacuum - the hunger and thirst - the spiritual openness and revival. Men and women - empty and disillusioned with the failed promises and the corruption of communism - searching for the dignity and value placed on their lives by God - desperate to be filled with with the only hope for mankind - salvation offered in Jesus Christ.

In Armenia - during the Karabagh movement - the independence movement - we didn’t hear this in the secular press - on CNN - but it happened - hundreds of thousands gathering in the main square of Yerevan - day after day in front of the government buildings - under the statue of Lenin - which by the way is no longer there - and brothers in Christ preaching the Gospel to those thousands who were gathered there.

I saw this in 1989 - right after the earthquake. Wherever we went there was spiritual hunger - and the Gospel was spreading among the people. We visited with nurses in a children’s hospital in Gumri - then it was called Leninakan after Lenin - no more - and these nurses were desperate to get Bibles. I talked with a lady - just sitting on the curb in front of the Cathedral at Etchmiazin - sharing how hard things were in her life - but hearing her testify of her faith in God. I can share many experiences. People asking for Bibles - not to sell - but to read. All over Armenia - a great spiritual hunger - hearts open to God - turning to God through Christ.

This is why the Apostle Paul writes in Romans 1:16: “I am not ashamed of the Gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to every one who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

What does it mean for us to declare: we are not ashamed of the Gospel? It means....

1. KNOWING CHRIST - knowing the personal reality of the Gospel

Do you remember the words of Jesus in John 3:16? “For God so loved the world - that’s each of us - that He gave his only begotten Son - Jesus - to die on a cross in our place - paying the penalty for our sins - so that everyone who believes in Him may not die but have eternal life.”

Once we were separated from God by our sin. But through Christ - God restores our relationship with Him. God brings true and lasting wholeness and healing to our lives. We know His presence in all the circumstances of life. We know that He gives value and purpose for our lives. We know that there is more to life than emptiness - sin - destruction - and death. To know Jesus as our Savior is to know hope in our present life and the certainty of eternal life with God.

To know the reality of the Gospel in our lives also means total surrender of our lives to God through Christ so that it is like the Apostle Paul says in Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ on His cross; so that it is now longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. This life that I live now, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave His life for me”

Not being ashamed of the Gospel means that we must first know the power of the Gospel in our own lives.

Secondly - what does it mean for us to declare: we are not ashamed of the Gospel? It means....

2. TESTIFYING OF CHRIST IN US - Its not just that we know the Gospel - its what we do with it.

About a month ago - I did something I’ve put off for over 15 years. People have been telling me I should exercise more. And I’ve always thought about joining a gym. But I had all these excuses for not doing it - why pay money to exercise on one of those walking machines or to ride a mechanical bike when I can just go outside and do it for free. Who needs exercise equipment when I can exercise at home. Even though the most consistent exercise I’ve done is with a knife and fork. So I finally bit the bullet and joined a health club - and I’ve been going regularly. And I wish I’d done it sooner.

Years ago Dwight L. Moody said to man on one occasion, “Why don’t you try doing so-and-so?” The man replied, “I’ve been aiming to do that for a long time.” In his blunt way, Moody replied, “Well, brother, it’s time you quit aiming and started firing.”

Too often we are hung up on the reasons and circumstances why we can’t do something - or being to focused on ourselves - and we forget the power of the Gospel and our calling as Christians.

The Gospel is not merely a power - but God’s power - resurrection power - a unique kind of power which nothing in the world can rival. There’s nothing like it anywhere. Sometimes Christians forget that the Gospel is absolutely unique.

It does not borrow anything from any human source: it doesn’t borrow from psychology - from history - from philosophy - from science - or anything. It is an absolutely unique force. If Christians are not declaring this, there is no other body in the world capable of proclaiming it.

Proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ does not mean coming to church on Sunday and soaking up a worship service. Proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ means that every day of our lives - whenever God presents the opportunity - we are sharing Jesus with others. It means inviting everyone we can to church and Bible studies and to spend time one-on-one - life-to-life - discipling and leading people to Christ.

Someone says, “Well, I don’t have what it takes.” or, “I’m not a pastor or and evangelist.” But you are who God has called you to be. Every Christian has everything they need to share the Gospel - all God asks for is willingness and trust.

“For I am not ashamed of the Gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

PRAYER

The Gospel is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes - Armenian or Odar - everyone. This morning you may want to say to God - I’m willing. But, I need to trust you because this is really hard for me. Help me this week to share Jesus with one person. To follow through on your leading.