Address—John Kemp
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So we open our meeting by singing number 187.
Oh, Jesus.
Gracious Savior upon the Father's throne, His wondrous love and favor.
As have made our cause thine own number 187.
Hello, hello, Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello, hi.
Nsnoise.
Brilliant.
Shall we pray? Our God and our Father, we thank Thee. The words of this hymn remind us of that blessed One, Thy beloved Son, who walked this weary.
World.
In wondrous love and grace.
In every step of his pathway, and we are in that same path today.
And we, uh, thank thee for the provision that thou hast made for us. Our living on high is our great High Priest and our Advocate. And as he opened thy word for a few moments this afternoon.
We pray that we may glean something that would encourage us young.
Or older, in the pathway of faith and faithfulness.
We're not yet in the glory.
Thou hast seen fit to leave us here a little while.
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Well, on the threshold of thy return, that we might be useful to thee.
While we, uh, await by return. So we do ask by help, uh, this afternoon.
Acknowledging our dependence upon thee, our weakness, our inadequacy.
But thou art faithful, so help us and guide us and bless.
The portions of Thy word that we will take up this afternoon to each heart and the speaker included. We thank Thee, Lord Jesus, for Thy finished work and ask it all in Thy blessed and worthy name, Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
Well.
I have on my heart to speak, uh, for a few moments this afternoon on the subject that is not popular.
It's a subject that I don't think we like to hear too often.
But the Lord referred to it many times, so it must be important.
We have some young people here.
Umm. Maybe a rather strange way to start the meeting, but uh.
I know boys and girls like to look at pictures. I see some boys and girls here.
And they're always interested in sports, right?
Well, I've got a picture here of a man.
And if you can see it, I don't know if you can from where you are sitting.
On the top is a man with a Bible in his hand.
And on the bottom.
Is a man with a football helmet and a football in his hands?
It's the same MAT.
Uh, you say that doesn't seem to go together.
Well, I want to tell you a little of the background.
Why we see this man now whose name is Matthew Carapella?
He's still living if you go to London ON.
You may meet him on the street.
And he'll be doing what you can see here.
Is that easy to do?
No, I have done it.
It takes courage, Which?
The Lord gives us, but uh.
So a little background of Matthew.
He had a silver spoon in his mouth, we say. You know what that means, that he has everything going for him.
He was an All Star football player with the Western University Mustangs. He was chalking up records all the time. He was traveling around the world with his team. He lived in a penthouse apartment. That means the very expensive ones at the top of the buildings, you know.
Yeah, travel parties all the time. Women, but.
There was something wrong.
Uh, also he worked for his father who had the Tricard tricar, umm.
Construction company in London, ON. We're talking about London, ON.
It was one of the best.
Thank you, Sir.
It was one of the best in construction companies. You know, it was right at the top there. Well, I suppose Matthew was the heir.
He worked with his father.
He must have been the, uh, the heir of the company. But you know, there came a time in his life when he was about 28 years of age.
And he saw.
That all of this was empty and it didn't satisfy him at all.
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He was at the top of the social ladder.
Money was no object whatever, yet lots of it. But you know, he felt an emptiness in his soul. There's something wrong. All of these things that I am spending my time and and energy on do not satisfy me. What what is wrong?
And I don't know exactly how he heard the gospel, but he said one day the Lord Jesus came into my heart so powerfully, but I couldn't resist it. He made himself real to me and.
You know, he was a type of, uh, a boy when not exactly a boy, young man, but put his whole soul into everything. He put all he had into it. But now the Lord.
Uh had saved him from this way of life that he had, uh, enjoyed for a number of years. Here he is here, and he started on the path of discipleship.
And if you go to London, you very likely see them on the street. First of all, he started to preach in the alley, speaking to people individually. But then.
He read those verses that you can't be a disciple of the Lord unless you forsake everything.
It's a little extreme, but he says to his father. Father, I'm, I'm called to to leave the company.
And preach the gospel. Well, his father didn't know what to say. Yeah, he loved his father and he respected his father. But it was the call of God. He must leave and go out with the gospel. Not only speaking to people individually, but preaching on the street corner takes courage. That's what's Matthew Carapella is doing. No longer lives in the penthouse.
Lives in A1 room apartment in a basement.
It cost him something to follow Christ. So young people and all of us, I just want to make a few remarks on discipleship this afternoon.
And.
We all, I think most of us who are in the meeting here are believers. So I'm basically speaking to those who belong to the Lord, but I'm not speaking about salvation. We had a good clear gospel last night. We're going to have another one tonight. But I'm Speaking of Sal, of the discipleship. Discipleship.
Want to make a few remarks and look at some scriptures. I want to read the scriptures because after all, that's the most important thing of all. You know, it reminds me, Matthew Carapella reminds me of another man in the scriptures. You are well acquainted with him, Solomon. Everything that heart could wish silver and gold was like the sand on the sea on the streets. He had wisdom, he had health.
He had.
Knowledge. He had, umm, every benefit that you could think of.
He was a young man in his 30s.
And he was heir to the throne, he was the king in Jerusalem, and he tried everything.
You say I couldn't do that because I don't have the resources to travel around the world and see everything, But Solomon had the resources. There was no problem.
He had everything that heart could whiff. He didn't go to the extreme in anything, but he just enjoyed everything. And he came to the same conclusion as Matthew did, all his vanity and vexation of spirit. There's no profit under the sun.
That was Solomon.
Uh, so you can read of that in the book of Ecclesiastes when I turn to, uh, verse in Matthew, uh, 11.
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Matthew 11.
It's a well known verse.
Come on to me, I'll either labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest unto your souls. Well, this is the first call of the Lord to those who are still without Christ, burdened with sin.
Unhappy, dissatisfied, perhaps most of us in the room have come to Christ, and we found rest of conscience, peace of heart through the work of Calvary. That's the first call. But I'm not Speaking of that call to this afternoon. I'm Speaking of another call. We turn over to the 16th of the Matthew.
And the 20.
Fourth Verse. Then said Jesus unto his disciples.
If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, and whosoever will lose his life.
For my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?
Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Here is another call, not a call to come to the Lord. Perhaps we've all responded to that call. This call is to come after the Lord.
You know, there were multitudes that followed the Lord in his ministry.
And you know that many of them were called disciples. They were disciples outwardly, but not really true disciples. Indeed, if you turn to John 6 because a disciple is a professed follower of Christ.
It doesn't mean that every person called a disciple.
Is a true one, and the Lord mentions that clearly in chapter 6.
Umm, we're 66. I won't read the preceding verses here, but, uh, the Lord was Speaking of, uh, what the flesh really was.
And he said the flesh profiteth nothing.
Umm, the words that I speak unto you are spirit in life. The flesh profiteth nothing.
But many of His disciples did not like that language. In other words, there's nothing good in man. Whatever the Lord said that verse 63, it is the spirit that quickeneth. The flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.
What happened here? Verse 66? From that time, many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him. They didn't like that, that language, that truth.
It didn't appeal to them.
But they were disciples, they were professed followers of Christ, and they turned back.
And they, I don't believe they were genuine or they would have gone on. Then we have the beautiful confession of Peter, of course.
Will he also go away? The Lord said. Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life, and we believe in our shore. What a beautiful confession Peter made. He was a true disciple.
So we come back to Matthew 2016, verse 24.
The Lord said if any man will come after me, ah, that's, uh, that's different than coming to the Lord.
This brings in the thought of discipleship.
And this is a test.
For everyone, discipleship is not just for the quotation marks Laboring brethren.
It's not just for the brothers that go out and preach the gospel. Wonderful work that is. It's a voluntary decision. It's an individual matter.
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And it's for everyone, not just for certain brothers or sisters. All are called to be disciples of the Lord. Everyone in this room who belongs to Christ is called to be a disciple.
You want to have a happy ending in your life. Be a disciple for Christ.
Not all Christians have a happy ending. Many start out well, but they're not like the apostle Paul who said, umm, I have finished my course with joy. I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness. He fought the fight and he finished his course. Didn't say he finished the work. The Lord finished the work, but Paul.
Was a wonderful example of a disciple.
Now in the path of discipleship.
There is going to be sacrifice.
That's what I said at the beginning of my talk. This is not a popular subject.
We none of us like sacrifice. Remember Mr. Hale used to say years ago. The flesh not only loves an evil path, but it loves an easy path that's natural to all of us.
And so I'm not Speaking of those.
Immoral line, immoral manner of life that we see all around us today. I'm not Speaking of those things. I hope that we have all forsaken that that character of things which is so prevalent today.
From the time that I went to high school and our brother, our brother Wally here and some of us, there's been a marked deterioration in the moral atmosphere of the of the world. That is quite evident. Things are going on now that we never heard in high school, but this is the world without Christ. And what standard do they have if they give up the word of God?
They're just like a ship without a rudder. They're open to any deception.
All right, it's a voluntary thing.
And it means that there has to be surrender in our lives.
You know, I sometimes think of the Olympic trainer. Some of you young people are interested in these Olympics. I think there's one coming up in Brazil there in a year or so. They're preparing for it.
But you know, an Olympic runner or whatever sports, uh, speciality he has, he devotes all his time and effort.
To, uh, preparing for that contest.
He deprives himself of rich foods and partying and late nights and all the what you all these other things that, uh, young people enjoy today. He says no, I that'll take the edge off my performance. I want to come first. So he.
He puts all his energies into.
Preparation for the race.
He does it for fleeting glory. He does it for a corruptible crown. He may win the race, but what is that in view of eternity?
The apostle Paul often.
Likens the path of discipleship to an athlete.
And he mentions that in First Corinthians. First Corinthians 9.
Maybe we should just read that verse.
Uh, along the line that we are speaking here.
24 Know ye not the day which run In a race run all but one receiveth the prize, So run that you may obtain. And every man that striveth for the masteries is tempered in all things.
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Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, But we an incorruptible I therefore so run not as uncertainly, so fight I not as one that beateth the air.
But I keep under my body and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. Well, do we want our lives to?
Account for the glory of the Lord Jesus, to be something beautiful for him, to have the Lord's approval in our lives. Or do we want to live to please ourselves? That's quite possible.
I don't say that we go into sinful things, but we do not deny ourselves. That came out in the chapter that we're reading here. Let him deny himself. Verse 24, Take up his cross and follow me. Is that easy? Is that a popular path? No, it's not a popular path if you think that you can associate with all your worldly friends at school.
And go along with their parties and their entertainments and so on and, and walk the path of discipleship. That's not possible. You're going to have to compromise the truth somewhere, somewhere. It's not a popular path to follow Christ, but it's a happy path and it's voluntary. God isn't going to use a.
Common expressions force you into the path of discipleship. It's your choice. You don't want to follow that path.
All right, you can, uh, just go on with the world. You can be just like Dimas. Dimas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed to where I forget Galatia. Wherever it was Dimas was with the Apostle Paul, he was a fellow laborer with him. Imagine having the privilege of working with the Apostle Paul.
He did.
And I think he was even a fellow prisoner. I'd have to check on that anyway. He was a fellow laborer, but he no longer wanted to be identified with Paul. He said no.
Where he went, I don't know. The present evil world attracted him, and he separated from the apostle Paul. We never hear that he was restored. In the life of Locke. We never hear that he was restored. He lifted up his eyes, but not any farther than the horizons of this world. And he saw the fields of of Canaan there, just like the Garden of Eden. He said, that's where I want.
I want to.
Present advantage. I want worldly prosperity. And he got it. But all at what a cost he drifted.
From his uncle Abraham he drifted farther and farther away until he finally ended up in that wicked city Sodom that God was going to destroy because of their their evil. And there he was, a judge in the city. No restoration in the life of Lot. Save soul. Lost life. Is that the kind of an end that you want in your life?
Is that for the glory of the Lord? We're going to see Lot in heaven, without a doubt.
But I'm afraid most of his works will be burned up. So, brethren and young people, with life before you.
Uh, remember, there's going to be a cost to discipleship, but God wants to make something beautiful out of your life If you're willing to surrender it to him, if you're willing to allow him to take over the control. This is a sort of a.
Umm, umm, threadbare illustration. But uh, years ago in Germany there was a beautiful cathedral and, uh, it was a magnificent organ in that cathedral.
And one day a man entered there and he spoke to the caretaker and said, Sir, would you let me?
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Use this organ for a little while. Oh no, no, I'm not allowed to let anyone touch that organ. Who are you?
Well, he pleaded very gently and persuadingly. Just let me try it. And he sat down at that console and the music that poured forth from that organ.
Filled that cathedral flowed out into the streets. People were spellbound as they heard it. Tears flowed down the face of that caretaker.
And he went over to him and he said, Sir, who are you, Mendelssohn?
And I I forbid to let you use that organ, the greatest composer of Europe.
God wants to make something beautiful out of your life. He wants you to be fruitful in His service and to have a life that will count for eternity.
So that when the Lord looks at your life at the judgment seat of Christ, that will take place shortly after we are raptured to heaven, the judgment seat of Christ. We won't go into the detail of that now. That is a place where only believers are going to be present. Of course, in the broad aspect, the judgment seat of Christ takes in the great white throne, but the judgment seat of Christ for believers is a review of your life.
Reviewing.
Uh, rewarding rejoicing.
But will there be something in your life and mind that can meet the Lord's approval in that day? Well, coming back to discipleship, I want to read a few verses here in Luke's Gospel.
Luke, chapter 14.
Because there's certain terms and conditions which distinguish a true disciple, and the Lord often spoke of that. You know the verse that we have read here in Matthew 16. Whosoever shall save his life shall lose it. Whosoever shall lose his life for my sake. In Mark's Gospel it says, and the Gospels the same shall save it.
The Lord quotes that verse six times in the Gospels. 6 * A little different in each case, but basically the same verse. What does it mean? That verse was given in the Ottawa newspaper years ago where they had some religious column and they asked questions. What is the meaning of this verse? This was one of the verses. No one could explain what it meant. No one had an answer for it.
In the newspaper.
But God is an answer for it.
It just means.
That if we're going to save our lives down here and live for the present and put the Lord in the background.
There's going to be loss for eternity.
We may be looked upon as foolish to give up the world. Now certainly Moses, he had every earthly prospect possible. He was the son of Pharaoh's daughter, who had no children. So I suppose he was heir to the throne of Egypt, the greatest nation at that time on the earth. He could have rose to the very height.
He gave it all up. He esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt.
And he identified with those brick making slaves that were captives and being whipped by Pharaoh's taskmasters. But looking on to eternity that decision that he made.
Yield it marvelous results. He's enjoying the results of that decision right now. He appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration with the Lord there. That's the recompense of the reward.
Luke, chapter 14.
I'm gonna read, uh, the whole passage and just make a few short comments as time is going here.
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Verse 25.
And there went great multitudes with him, and he turned and said unto them, If any man come to me and hate not his father and mother and wife, and children, and brethren and sisters, yeah, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you intending to build a tower sitteth not down first encounters?
Just the cost whether he have sufficient to finish it less happily, after he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish it all that behold him begin to mock him, saying this man began to build and was not able to finish. Or what king going to make war against another King Sitteth knocked down 1St and consulted whether he be able with 10,000 to meet him that cometh against him with 20,000 or else while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassador and desirous conditions of peace.
So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsake us, not all that He hath, He cannot be my disciple. That's pretty strong words, isn't it? That's pretty strong language the Lord used here. But it's the word of the Lord, and it caused a separation, first of all.
We don't hate our loved ones. That's not the thought. We're told to love one another. And but the point is in the first condition or the first term. And you know, God sets the terms of discipleship, not you and me. He sets the terms of discipleship. Are we gonna surrender to what he says or do we have our own ideas about things? Well, one of the terms here, if any man come to me and hate not his father and mother and wife and children.
And brethren, what does that mean? It means that the Lord must have the first place in everything in our lives.
We must give way to His claims in everything, everything concerning our lives. You know, it's not just gathered to the Lord's name on Lord's Day morning. You are at the Lord's table, as we said yesterday, 24/7. You are there all the time. You're in the House of God all the time. So the first condition here is Christ must be first in everything.
The Lord uses the word hate just to compare. You know He uses a strong word.
But everything else we are.
A disdain or a.
Re refuse, in comparison to Christ, every other pursuit of our own lives where we want to, we have an ambition, we have a an object.
Before us, it may not be anything immoral, but we know that it is taking away the things of the Lord from us. Our time lost one gold an hour between sunrise and sunset. Set with 60 diamond minutes. No reward offered. Can never be found time. You know, I was reading Bruce Anstey lately.
He speaks of redemption in about three ways.
Redemption of our souls. We know that we had that last night at a ransom cost delivered from the enemy. Redemption of our time is another aspect that he mentions in his book, It Struck Me. Redemption of our time, That's Ephesians 5. Redeeming the time because the days are evil. I think we all have to hang our heads and say we've wasted time.
I certainly can.
This particular attraction may be harmless, but is it?
Drawing me closer to the Lord's things.
Is it for eternal profit? You can get it involved in some of these hobbies or whatever. It'll take your time and energy for hours and hours. You don't get into the word of God, you young people who have keen minds.
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Get into the scriptures and the wonderful commentaries that we have. You can take it in much better than when you get to my age because I, I have problems retaining never very bright at any time as far as that goes. But as you get older, you're less self, you just cannot retain is the same, the same as when you're younger. Use your time to get into the good ministry that is so, so, uh, richly, uh, available.
Anyway, the first condition here, Christ must have the first place in everything. Now second, let's see, uh, verse 27 of the 14th chapter. Whosoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. All right, This brings before us Christ in rejection.
The cross of Christ.
Is not exactly the atoning sufferings of the Lord, it's the thought, the shame side of the death of Christ.
Blood of Christ puts our sins away, the death of Christ puts you away, but the cross of Christ separates you from the world. So right here the Lord says it's not bearing the Lord's cross, only he could do that. But there is a cross to bear. And it's in this, in this sense that you are identified with the Lord in rejection. What did the world give to Christ?
They gave him a cross and a grave.
And.
It's the same world in which we live that crucified. The Lord of glory hasn't changed in its character.
And we are still left here to be a testimony in this Dark World. Christ is the light of the world no longer. They put him out. You and I are the light of the world now. You and I are called to be an ambassador for Christ. But you cannot connect yourself with worldly people and all of that sort of thing and follow the path of discipleship. There's got to be separation.
You know, uh, I think sometimes of, uh, Mary in the garden there when she met the Lord after his resurrection, she took him to be the gardener. Remember, she took him to be the gardener. And there's some of us, maybe young people, they think, well, now that I've accepted Christ, all the difficulties are over. I won't have any more problems in life. The Lord is just going to make everything like a beautiful garden, like a bed of roses.
That does not happen. You're going to have the same, probably more difficulties if you're faithful to Christ than you had before. But let's remember one thing very important. Grace and discipleship always go together. The Lord will give you that grace.
To stand firm for him.
And to share the rejection of Christ.
It's not popular. It's going to cost you something. We this morning gathered around.
A rejected Christ, not a glorified one, and we're still in the world that has no place for the Son of God.
They just shut him out. It's Cain's world. We don't want him. You're going to just you're. You will discover this every day of your life if you're faithful. But remember, the Lord has left you here to be an ambassador for Christ.
You know that my dear wife is from Brazil. She's not here right now, but.
We have an ambassador to Brazil in Canada, in Ottawa, where I live. I know where he lives. And one day we were invited to meet the ambassador of Brazil. This is a the Independence Day of Brazil, which is September the eighth. I think all the Brazilians in Ottawa were invited to go to a social affair and.
Sort of a uh.
Buffet, where we were able to circulate and hear the Brazilian ants of and so on, was rather an interesting occasion. We were able to give out Portuguese calendars to most of the people, including the ambassador.
But it was an honorable position. We spoke with him and his wife, uh.
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He doesn't belong to Canada. He belongs to Brazil. In Brasilia, where I was there at the beginning of May, he belongs. That's where he his office is in the capital of Brazil. He's a stranger in Canada. And if he gets involved in the politics, he'll be recalled to Brasilia because he has no part. He's just representing Brazil in Canada. You and I are representing the Lord in this world.
What a privilege it is, but it's going to be, it's going to cost you something because there's going to be rejection connected with it. It's going to be rejection. All those that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
Think of the Apostle Paul.
He was left for dead outside of Lystra.
He was beaten with rods five times.
What God has called us.
To, uh, share the rejection of the Lord the third, the third term we time is going here. I want to read umm.
Verse 28 For which of you intending to build a tower?
Sit is not down 1St and counters the cost whether he has sufficient to finish it less happily, after he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish it all that behold it begin to mock him, saying this man began to build and was not able to finish. Well, that's a simple story that the Lord gave here. Everyone would understand that if you go down to the West Indies, where sometimes I have the privilege of visiting with the gospel.
You'll see a lot of buildings that are unfinished. The same in Nigeria. People start them off and they don't have enough money and they leave them half finished. The upper stories are just shells.
But it's rather a disgrace. But the Lord likens it to a man that starts to build the tower. You know, you laid the foundation when you were saved young people, and you're building the tower in your life now. And it's not finished yet because you're still here. The Lord hasn't come. It won't be finished until the Lord comes or we are taken in death. But.
You know, it's a life, a lifelong commitment. It's not like a Sprint, a hundred 100 yard dash. It's a life long commitment.
To go the whole way with the Lord and.
It's our personal testimony.
But you know, this man didn't count the cost. He didn't count the cost when he sat down to build the tower. He didn't realize what he needed. And the Lord speaks about counting the cost here. You know, if we had time, you could read Luke Chapter 9, where various individuals are brought before us unnamed. You know the passage. One man said, I will follow thee, Lord, whithersoever thou goest.
It was an impulse.
He admired the Lord's teachings. I'm going to follow you.
The Lord said foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head. We don't hear anything more of that man. He wasn't ready to submit to those terms or conditions.
Another man said, Lord, I will follow thee, but let me first go and bid farewell to my family.
We don't hear anything more of him. The Lord said, no man that has put his hand to the plow and uh, turns back is fit for the Kingdom of God doesn't mean that he's not fit for heaven. That's not the subject there. Fit for the Kingdom of God is Speaking of service. That person may have been a believer, but he didn't want to enter the path of service for the Lord. You know, the Lord said to everyone of us, occupy till I come. The Lord has given you a work to do.
Well, this man didn't take a sober consideration of the difficulties that we're ahead. And I'm not not going to promise you young people an easy path if you're faithful to the Lord. A happy path, yes, but it won't be an easy path. It'll be difficulties.
00:50:03
Wonderful to be together. We get a real uplift and encouragement. That's the way the Lord would have it at a conference. But we're going back to the same situations that we left, the same difficulties, the same world that we departed from, the same problems in the assembly. Maybe there's great weakness there. Are we going to give up and.
And.
Lose our interest in those things, you know, Really, it reflects upon the Lord. I've known of some that started off bright, but they capitulated. They drifted from the Lord's things.
And the world looks on and it's just a uh.
Just the cause of the reproach to the name of Christ.
Because they took a stand, and now they've drifted back again and built again the things that once they destroyed. It's dishonouring to the Lord, and a reproach upon his name. Now another condition here verse 31. What king going to make war against another king sitteth not down 1St and consulteth whether he be able with 10,000 to meet him that cometh.
Against Him with 20,000 or else, while the other is yet a great way off, He sends us an ambassador and desirous conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever He be of you that forsake us not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
Well, this brings before us having a true estimate of the enemy's power. You know we have a a very strong enemy against us. Every power of hell is arrayed against the person who wants to be a disciple for Christ, against anyone who wants to be loyal to the Lord. Satan will be after you.
As sure as anything in some way.
Maybe turn you away from the assembly where you are gathered to the Lord's name. He hates that truth of the one body and being gathered in separation. He hates that truth and or gets you involved in the division or get you into the world. You'll be like Utica's who fell down. He was very privileged. He was in a place where there was a lot of light. The apostle Paul was preaching. Imagine listening to the apostle Paul.
But Utica was careless. He got tired of that. Are you getting tired of the truth of God, of the assembly?
He fell down to the level of the world.
You would think he was dead. He would just like the world.
Of course he was restored. The Bre and the brethren brought him up, not the apostle Paul. Anyway, the point is, do we? Do we really?
Do we really understand?
Understand the powers that are against us. We are no match for Satan.
He is. There's 2 powers that are stronger than man. One is the power of God, the other is the power of Satan and he's very deceitful. He would plot your downfall in some way or other. You say how can I avoid it? Is it inevitable that I'm going to?
Drift from the Lord's things. It doesn't need to be that way, brethren, but what is the answer to that danger here? It is, in simple words, dependence upon the Lord.
If you walk independence upon the Lord.
Communion with him, obedience to his word. Don't compromise. That's what this man did here. He made peace with his enemy. Don't do that in the things of the Lord. You can't make peace with Satan. You can't have any compromise with him and.
In prayer and dependence upon the Lord is the way of victory in these situations.
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Reading the Word of God, cultivating communion with the Lord. We don't have time to go into that, but I just want to, uh, maybe close with a verse in, uh, John's gospel.
Chapter 12.
Chapter 12 and.
Is 24.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat falling to the ground, and die, it abideth alone. If it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
This brings before us the death of Christ in order.
That he would not be alone for eternity.
He went into death so that we would be his companions in that coming day of glory.
Then he says, he that loveth his life shall lose it. This is the same verses we have in Matthew. He that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
If any man serve me, let him follow me, and where I am, there shall also my servant be.
If any man serve me, him will my Father honor. So what do you have in that verse?
Any man serve me, let him follow me. Where I am, there will also my servant be there's.
Communion companionship with the Lord.
The Lord could say unto Abraham, I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward. When was that? When did the Lord say that to to Abraham? Right after he refused all the offers of the king of Sodom. King of Sodom said, here you can have all of these things, you you can take them, but he had his eyes on Jehovah and he refused them right after.
The Lord said I am thy shield and thine exceeding great reward. So there's companionship with the Lord. There is communion with the Lord as we have in this verse. Where I am, there shall also my servant be. What a privilege that is to have the companionship of the Lord in our service, in our pathway down here. Time is gone, but I just want to mention that there are rewards for discipleship.
And I'll just mention that very briefly. Your place in the coming Kingdom, when it will be established, in fact, return back to Matthew, uh.
16 there.
Your place in the coming Kingdom will be according to your walk down here.
28th Verse. 27th Verse. For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels, and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
Well, that reward will be given by the Lord, the judgment seat of Christ, for those that have.
Suffered with him down here. And that reward will especially apply to the millennial Kingdom because you will have your place in the Kingdom according to your walk down here. It's going to be all reviewed in that day. It will be a reward. We had time. We could read Mark ten. I think we referred to it the other day where the Lord speaks of a hundredfold. Someone told me that that's 10,000% pretty good return on your money if we follow the Lord.
In obedience there, as Peter said, Lord, what are we going to have? We've given up everything for you. The Lord said, there's no man that hath given and so on given up these things, but shall receive a hundredfold in this life and in the time to come eternal life that's laying hold of what is really life, as the apostle Paul says in.
Uh, first Timothy chapter uh six time is going just want to read uh sing 1 stanza uh in the back of the book.
#24 in the appendix.
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Uh, could we, could we sing, uh.
The second standard. Some brother would start it please.
Last verse also.
I ran get everything in love with me anymore. David is my friend.
I'm always.
So we pray, our loving God and Father, we thank Thee for these scriptures that we have meditated upon this afternoon. We pray that they may have a abiding effect upon our souls, that we may.
Be constrained not by obligation or legality, but as we contemplate the love of Christ that passeth knowledge that will constrain us to live our lives, not unto ourselves, but unto Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. May this be the motivating power in our lives. We acknowledge how often we fail.
And so we commit each one to the especially the dear young people, and pray for a blessing on the remainder of the day upon the truth that has been ministered to us at these these happy two days we have had together. And commit the gospel to thee that will go forth tonight and ask it with Thanksgiving and praise in the name for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.