• We have a new power to accept ourselves as we are. That enables us to accept others in a revolutionary way.
• We can witness for Christ powerfully and boldly without fear of rejection.
• But most importantly, we have peace and contentment. That security gives us the ability to stand alone. If the whole world rejects us, we can stand alone for God. We have been accepted by Him, and that is all that matters.

When I became a Christian, a tremendous personality change took place. Prior to my conversion, I was Mr. Popularity. I always tried to impress people. I could never relax and be myself. When Christ came into my life, I quit playing the game. I could be myself in Christ. I accepted myself. I relaxed.

After several years in the ministry, I found myself playing the game again. I wanted to impress others with my abilities. One day my soul was awakened to the sufficiency of what Jesus did on the cross. I knew I no longer needed to impress anyone. I could just be who God made me to be. That released tremendous spiritual power. The power of my ministry is in the sufficiency of Jesus.

It doesn't matter whether we change a diaper in the nursery or preach a great evangelistic campaign. The only matter of importance is that we've submitted to God's will.

G. Campbell Morgan is known as one of the great Bible preachers and teachers of the past 100 years. On May 2, 1898, Morgan preached a trial sermon in consideration for the Methodist ministry. He was accustomed to speaking to thousands, but on that Sunday, he preached to only 75 people. They rejected him. Morgan wired his father, "Rejected!" His father wired back, "Rejected on earth - accepted in heaven!" Morgan later became a prince among preachers. He could be so only because he knew the source of his acceptance.

The last night of the Communist Youth World Fest was truly a revolutionary night in my life. Fred Bishop, Fred Starkweather and I had been ministering in the midst of 100,000 hardcore revolutionaries. Theirs wasn't a revolution of grace but of violence and hate. During that week, we saw 200 young people come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

I met with a number of these young people privately for discipleship training. An elderly lady sat and listened the entire time. When the meeting was over, she gave me a plaque that read, "Wir sind doch Bruder (We are truly borthers)." She also gave me a small note pad in which she'd written Matthew 5:10-12:

Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men cast insults at you and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

We pushed through the crowd holding onto one another. When I got through the crowd, I looked back to see how the others were doing. Fred Bishop and Fred Starkweather were at the end of our human train. Someone was hitting them, but Fred and Fred were laughing. It was amazing! There was no spirit of anger among the new believers. To the contrary, the joy and glory of the Lord was among them. I then understood those verses from Matthew. When men persecute you, insult you, hit you and try to destroy you, then you are totally rejected by man. There's only one place to find rest. Our total acceptance is in the cross! Glory to God! The supernatural joy of the Lord becomes our strength. We're able to love those who have hated us.

Not only are we able to love others with a revolutionary love, but we also have the ability to stand alone for God. Early in the Christian lives of many of the believers in Eastern Europe, they had to stand alone with God. The most awesome factor of the cross is the loneliness of Christ. He cried, "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46). The Father turned His back on the Son. His disciples forsook Him. And He who knew no sin became sin for us, in order that we might become the righteousness of God. Jesus stood alone. He could do that because He knew the Father had promised to raise Him from the dead.

In the cross, we have the power to be mighty in spirit. Through the centuries, men and women have died for their faith. Persecution has never destroyed the church. It has only caused the church to glory in the cross. It has caused the church to become mighty, and flames of revival have been lit.

The history of the church is filled with those who have died for their faith, yet there are more martyrs in this century than in any other. Many are martyrs of Eastern Europe. They have a message for us. The power of the cross is sufficient to enable us to stand alone.

A young lady, Vibia Perpetua, gave her life for Jesus in the amphitheater of Carthage, North Africa, March 7, A.D. 203. When Perpetua was condemned to death for her faith, she reported, "In hilarity, we went back down to the dungeon." Later, she was stripped, forced to put on a net and sent to a maddened cow in the theater. The cow attacked and gored her. Then she was taken to a young, inexperienced gladiator who finished the job and killed her. Before being brought to the gladiator, she told her brother, "Give out the word to the brothers and sisters: stand fast in the faith, love one another, and don't let our suffering become a stumbling block to you."