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Loop 9 verse 18.
And it came to pass as he was alone, praying his disciples.
Were with him, and he asked them, saying Whom say the people that I am.
They answering said John the Baptist. But some say Elias, and others say that one of the old prophets is risen up again. He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
Peter answering said the Christ of God.
And he straightly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing, saying the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.
And he said to them all, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it.
But whoever will lose his life for my state, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantage, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be castaway? For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's and other holy angels.
But I tell you the truth, there be some standing here which will not taste of death till they see the Kingdom of John.
And it came to pass. About eight days after these sayings. He took Peter and John and James and went up into a mountain to pray.
And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glittering.
And behold, they're taught within two men, which were Moses and Elias, who appeared in glory and spake of his deceased, which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.
But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep, and when they were awake they saw his glory in the two men that stood with him.
And it came to pass as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here, and let us make 3 tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias, not knowing what he said.
While he thus spake, there came a cloud and overshadowed them, and they feared as they entered into the cloud.
There came a voice out of the cloud saying, This is my beloved son. Hear him.
And when the voice was passed, Jesus was found alone, and they kept it close and told no man in those days.
Any of those things which they had seen and it came to pass that on the next day when they were come down from a hill, much people met him.
And behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech you, look upon my son.
For he is my only child, and Lois spirit taketh him, and he suddenly cries out, and it tears him that he formeth again, and bruising him, hardly departed from him.
And I besought that disabled to cast him out, and they could not.
And Jesus answering said, Oh faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and suffer you bring thy son? Hit her.
And as it was yet a coming, the devil threw him down and tear him.
And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father.
And they were all amazed at the mighty power of God. But while they wondered everyone of all things which Jesus did. And he said unto his disciples, that these things sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man shall be delivered into the hands of men. But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them that they perceived it not. And they feared to ask him of that saying.
Then there are rows of reasoning among them which of them should be greatest? And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by him, and said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name, receiveth me, and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth him that sent me, for he is the least among you All the same shall be great.
00:05:00
And John answering, and John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name.
And we forbade him because he followed not with us.
And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not, for he that is not against us is for us.
And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before his face. And they went and entered into a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him.
And they did not receive him because his face was as though he should go to Jerusalem.
And when his disciples John, James and John saw this, they said Lord.
Wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?
Even as Elias did.
But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Do you know not what manner of spirit you're of? For the Son of Man has not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village, and it came to pass, that is, they went in the way. A certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee with us, whoever thou goest.
And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air of nests, For the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head.
And he said unto another Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
Said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead, but go thou, and preach the Kingdom of God.
And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee, but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God.
For a person.
And the glory of the Lord Jesus.
It also exposes our hearts.
As we see.
The disciples and some of the things that.
They did shows our own hearts because we naturally do not have grace.
Not naturally.
And in Luke's Gospel, we have the emphasis on grace.
We have it. We see it here in the Lord Jesus.
At every step.
We also see at the beginning of the part where we read.
Dependence. The Lord Jesus as a man depended.
Upon God.
We were singing that little hymn will teach us more Thy blessed ways. We have them here in this chapter.
I blessed ways.
Dependence.
Is one of the first things as Christians we must learn because Scripture tells us that we are dead.
That means that we have nothing in ourselves.
To depend upon we're absolutely dead spiritually unless Christ comes in.
The power of the Holy Spirit.
Our brother.
Morning before the prayer meeting.
From the last chapter, first Thessalonians.
And among the verses was this pray without ceasing.
We find the Lord at prayer several times in the book of Luke, I believe at least seven times.
And this is because he's the dependent man.
Can we fathom? I don't believe we can, but we can meditate on it. The Lord Jesus Christ.
The creator of the universe who could buy word create.
We see him coming down into this world, becoming a man.
Beginning in babyhood, into childhood and as a boy.
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Growing up.
But when he is?
Entering his public ministry, and even when he is baptized, identifying himself with a nation of Israel as to all righteousness, there he was praying.
And we find him praying time and again.
And I believe we have it twice in the portion that we have read here in this verse and also in verse 29.
Pray.
What an example for us.
That one who is God.
Come in flesh, not sinful flesh, but taking on himself the form of a man.
He had that inward urge and desire to pray, to talk to his father. Time and again he went off a load up on a mountain top. Our load. What for? To talk to his father.
I think it's good for us to meditate on this.
Maybe we're wondering, well, what does the Lord want me to do?
What does it mean to be a Christian? How should I live the Christian life?
Well, the Christian life is the life of Christ.
They speak sometimes in Christendom about the victorious life. Well, what is the victorious life? It's Christ in me.
That's the victorious life. And if we're really the Lord, we have the Lord Jesus Christ in our hearts.
We do that. We accept Him as our Savior. We receive Him as our Savior when we believe in Him and receive Him as our Savior. And He comes in to dwell and we have that same life in us, that divine life that was in that is in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is that eternal life and we have that life in US.
And if we have that life in us, surely there must be a desire and urge to want to talk to the Lord Jesus, to want to talk to God, to God our Father.
I know we have an old nature there that opposes it.
But we have the Holy Spirit given to us the power of that new life.
And He helps us. He helps us in our infirmities. Sometimes we know not what we should pray for as we ought.
But the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered. The Holy Spirit is the power of that new life.
And certainly.
We're missing something if we do not take time to pray.
The Lord took time to pray.
But it's so easy, and I speak of myself, so easy, to get so busy even with the Lord's things, that we forget to pray.
This is something we need to consider.
And really judge ourselves in this matter because it brought forcibly before us when we're looking at the Lord Jesus Christ in prayer, dependent prayer.
Do we sense dependence in our hearts and lives? Dependence upon the Lord Jesus? Do we really feel the need of him?
Do we feel the need of going to God in prayer, talking to him?
Maybe not necessarily asking for anything, but just talking to him.
Thanking him for order to be one of the first things, shouldn't it? Well, here we have the Lord pray, and what a lesson for his disciples.
He was teaching them, wasn't he? The question of Brother Anderson, is there such a thing as a gift or prayer?
Sometimes I get letters from Africa.
Asking me to send them a prayer book.
So they can pray.
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I use a simple illustration with them.
I said when you were a child.
And you were hungry.
You went to your mother and asked for food.
I said, did you need a prayer book? Something written down to help you do that? No, it came right from the inside. You don't need prayer books. You don't need a gift for prayer. No, it's not a matter of a gift, it's the matter of the desire of the heart being expressed to God.
In the in the 11Th chapter where you have more about it.
You'll notice in the first verse.
And it came to pass that as he was praying in a certain place when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray.
He didn't say.
It teaches how to pray but teach us to pray. He did add as John taught his disciples. But the point is.
Teach us to pray. You know he wasn't exactly.
Suggesting that this had to do merely with their needs down here, bread and butter and so on. Because you'll notice.
In the 13 first that chapter.
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father?
Give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him now. We don't ask for the Spirit today because he's come, but they did on the day of Pentecost.
They learned here to pray because in this chapter I believe it's been pointed out, there are several times when they missed the Lord's mind. As we go on, we'll see it, and we don't see them praying at all. In this chapter, the Lord is praying twice, as our brother suggested, and so I'm sure that everyone here makes decisions every day.
And.
Quite often we make vital decisions.
Now if we don't pray about them.
Will probably make the wrong decision because we don't have the answer in our natural minds.
It only comes in dependence on the Lord as to the decision we have to make, and some of us older have found out this by experience, that we have made wrong decisions because we didn't pray, and we may do so, continue to do so even as older ones if we don't pray now. We're creatures of habit.
And I don't say we should pray just because of habit, but I think it's a good habit just the same. And I think it should be characteristic of us continually to pray and to pray intelligently according to what has taught us in the word of God.
Now he was teaching them to pray for the Spirit. The Spirit would come and the day of Pentecost. But they prayed for the Spirit and they were in the upper room at the time, and so is going on in our chapter here, it says.
Who say the people that I am?
18th verse they answered saying John the Baptist. Some say Elias and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again. Now you see the various answers.
But Peter says.
The Christ of God. Now he was the Christ of God.
But he was rejected, and that's what Peter missed. And so the Lord says to him.
Straightly charged and commanded them to tell no man that thing. Now the Christ of God to the Jew was the Messiah, and he was rejected.
We see the Lord rejected here, and he tells them that this is the case. What they need to learn is that they have to walk and rejection with the rejected Lord. And so his answer to Peter is although Peter was right, he is the Christ of God. But for the time being Christ was rejected as the Messiah.
00:20:02
And so the Son of Man, he straightly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing sane. The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected.
Thus the Messiah, the Christ rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain and be raised the third day. Well, that's one of the things we have to learn early, and that is that we're following a rejected Christ. If we lay hold of this truth, I'm sure it would have an effect on our lives down here in testimony for Christ if we are following a rejected Christ.
One of the first lessons we have for the disciples in this chapter.
You mentioned earlier that.
We have here in this portion the person of Christ and His glories and then you spoke about grace and I believe that's the key point to.
Understanding the glories that we must learn the grace first. In John One it says grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. There had been grace manifested before. For instance, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, and there was grace even in the giving of the law and mercy that didn't bring it into the camp without putting it in the art.
And grace.
Seen all through the Old Testament, but it hadn't come.
Grace came by Jesus Christ. It was here in His person, and this was something the disciples were slow to understand, and I believe it's why they were asleep as to His glory, because they hadn't yet apprehended His grace as they ought to have, and neither have we. In this beautiful gospel. When the Lord entered His ministry which was mentioned, He stood up.
In his own synagogue of Nazareth to read and.
He read that portion in Isaiah 61. I believe it is where.
He just stops in the middle of a verse and doesn't say the day of judgment of our God. He stops there and then they it says. They marvel at the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth and we find the Lord showing that grace all the way in his public ministry here below.
But really not apprehended, even by those nearest to him. Grace seems so hard to get hold of, but here it was in the person of Christ, and then when he.
Reveals himself in in the glory in the Transfiguration, where they went to sleep, and later on they disciples. The two of them at least wanted to.
Know if they could call down fire from heaven, but that's not grace, that's judgment. And the Lord didn't come to bring judgment. He'd come to manifest grace. And he still has come to manifest grace. This is the day of the grace of God. Judgment is postponed even as to this world, of course hours when we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is passed and we will never come into judgment. So then if you and I will learn of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We will see the glory, I believe, because really the grace is the glory.
But dependence, Dependence comes in to depend upon Him, and the disciples had lost that dependence. They had been given the power over all demons in the first verse, and not being in the attitude of defendants, not accompanying the Lord in his praying attitude, but rather as in verse.
46.
There arose the reasoning of my life. Which of them should be the greatest? It was their lack of dependence and their aspiring to be somebody that made them lose the power to perform what had been given to them. Well, what lessons for us?
00:25:02
Three times in this chapter he brings his death before us.
In this verse we've read.
The 22nd saying, The Son of Man must suffer many things, be rejected so on, and be slain. Then again he He speaks of it in the.
31St verse.
For those who speak of his deceased, which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.
And then in the 44th verse the Son of man must be delivered.
Into the hands of men.
And this is what keeps our hearts fresh, is it not?
What he has done for us.
We look back and we see what he's done for us.
He's brought us into relationship with himself on the ground of a finished work.
But he suffered to do it, and he was rejected to do it. And so if we're in Christ, this is our path, I believe, the thief on the cross.
Beside the Lord Jesus is a picture to us of the position of the Christian today.
He was rejected.
He died. The believer is in that place of rejection, and the word of God says we are dead.
That's the way we're seeing so that our life now is hid with Christ in God.
And has been pointed out, the power of our life is the Spirit of God.
And then we learn that Christ is our life.
So herself is gone. Yet there has to be the practical application of these truths in our hearts and ways.
Save them is one thing.
But that it might be in practice. I believe that's why we gather together, so that the Spirit of God can exercise our souls as to the practice of the truth as well as knowing it.
I know that there's some.
There are some in this room that have gone out on the street to preach the gospel.
No doubt there's some heat that is still growing and some young brothers getting out on the street preaching the gospel.
How do you feel when you get out there? You stand up to speak.
About a rejected savior.
One that was cast out, crucified, rejected.
How do we feel?
Well, I remember when my knees would shake standing there. Why? Why do I need shake?
Because we're preaching the one, the Lord Jesus Christ has been rejected by this word.
We're conscious of it, and that is when we need grace, the Lord.
In his graciousness went to Calvary.
But we need grace too.
When we preach him and seek to live him.
And I made it. That's why sometimes, most of the time, perhaps, we get turned aside.
From Really Living Christ.
Because we feel that he's been rejected. He's not popular. We like to feel popular.
And there are young people who are going to school.
They like to feel popular with their peers, those that are of the same age and the same grade with them.
That I should feel accepted.
That's that's an important thing.
Yeah, this just for the flesh.
But if we begin to live for Christ, testify for Christ, keep grace from him, to speak a word for him.
But it's great. It's not the popular way. Let's not say that the Lord Jesus Christ is popular.
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He will never be popular in this world. There's one place he's popular now if you want to use that word, and that's up in glory. The angels are bowing before him.
And Saints of God are worshipping him.
Which are we going to do? What are we going to think of the Lord Jesus Christ?
As a popular one or as a rejected 1 Takes grace, suffer with him.
But Paul said to Timothy, and Timothy was shaking. That's why Paul had the right to him.
It wasn't easy for Timothy.
Paul had to write to him to encourage him and he says if we suffer.
We shall reign with him.
It's Psalm 126, Psalm 126.
33.
And verse 6.
Verse 3 The Lord.
Hath done great things for us for every class.
Either gore forth and with the very precious seeds, so that was come again absolutely rejoicing.
Psalm 66.
I'm here.
In your remarks on the cross, brother, I was thinking of the way that.
Much christened.
Treats the cross today, puts it up high and it sets certain buildings apart.
In itself is there and have something that's supposed to be beautiful and religious?
But all affairs we preach Christ crucified. And then he says, God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. We should emphasize in preaching that it it was on a cross that Christ Jesus died and the world rejected him and nailed him there to the cross and keep him.
Before the soul.
Not just as crucified, but bring in the empty tomb. He has been raised from the dead, and that's really more of an emblem of Christianity than the cross they take the children of Israel when they were in a bad state and losing their.
Battles against the fullest turns, but I remember right in Samuel. Why they?
Said let's go get the the Ark. It was 30 bucks. They were using that ark as just a symbol of power and glory for getting the God of the Ark well. So it is with much of Christendom as to the Cross, they try to make it a thing of glory.
And just have it. There's something to be a symbol of some religious system, but we must.
Preach that Christ died on the cross, that the world rejected him and cast him out. They they put him up a Burrow there He died in the 1St heaven, we might say, in the full days of everyone who could look there. There was the world's estimate of of the Messiah. The Christ of God put him out of this world, so they nailed him across but.
He came out of that empty tomb, and the raised raised up to the glory of the Father, raised up to heaven. So if we preach a full gospel and bring in the rejected Christ, then there's blessing from it, and it's not something that the flesh can glory in at all, not the natural man, but it brings life.
00:35:09
We have two things here.
String of teachers more of Thy blessed ways.
The first is prayer.
And the second is.
Occupation with.
The the work that Christ and his finished work.
But now notice in the.
23rd verse.
If any man will come after me.
That's the subject and that little him which sang.
Thy blessed waves, if any man will come after me.
He doesn't say if all of you.
It's rather easy to be a Christian with Christians.
But individually.
If any man will come after me, this is a very powerful verse for our lives.
Because it says let him deny himself.
And take up his cross daily.
Now he doesn't say deny yourself listening or that thing.
But simply deny itself.
Because self seems to be one of our greatest enemies.
It always gets them away in connection with following Christ.
And so the first thing here is deny itself.
But it says also.
Take up his cross.
That is.
Each one has something.
In his life that answers to this.
Daily.
And I think it's a very important verse and it ends up and follow me.
That's the person of Christ. That's before the soul.
First prayer and then taken up with his work, his finished work and all that he suffered for us.
And if you ask the question, how can I follow a rejected Christ? Just that way, get on your knees, have the work of Christ before you, and you will follow Christ because his love, the love of Christ constraineth us.
It isn't a question of command exactly.
But it's the love of Christ that constrains us.
And so this love should have its effect upon our hearts now.
And so we will daily.
Take up our cross and follow Jesus.
Memory services, proverbs.
30 3.
All the second time 3 And it shall be No.
Here we go. The more.
Is going forth as prepared as the morning?
He's become unto us of the rain, and the latter and former rain upon unto the earth.
The thought is going to Shall we know?
We follow along to know the Lord.
To know him better is to love him more.
23rd verse is really the birth of a true desire for kids.
One who was really a disciple of Jesus is one who follows him, and it's a wonderful thing to see the three things we've been bringing up.
You know, the law of the Nazarite in number six typically brings this verse out.
Because.
In that place we are told one who would separate himself wholly under the Lord. That's what we're talking about now, One who would follow three things.
00:40:06
I put it briefly. No wine, no razor and no dead body.
And that's what we have here. See, the wine speaks of joy, the source of your satisfaction and joy.
Earthly in the Old Testament, of course, for us it's spiritual. But if one would deny himself, he's not going to find any joy in this world. All of his joy is an obedience in following the one who loved him so that he gave himself for him. And so there's no wine, typically I'm Speaking of. And then it says take up his cross.
That's the rejection, of course.
And in that sense, then there's no razor.
That's the type of refurbishment who's waiting for the return of the Cape.
He didn't shave his beard or wash his clothes. He doesn't do anything to make himself acceptable to the society or to anything in this world. He wasn't seeking a place for himself. That's the typical thought. And of course then it says.
Take up his cross daily. No dead body. I believe that brings in the truth.
Well, I mean, I'm sorry. Let him deny himself. That's the low razor take up his cross.
That would bring in the thought of holiness.
No dead body.
Nothing that defiles.
You know, if we're going to follow the Lord, we have to follow him wholly.
And is holding us both ways. I like to call attention to Galatians, I think, brother.
Buchanan already?
Referred to it, but not completely. The rest of the verse is so important, but God forbid verse 14 of chapter 6.
That I should glory, take the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
You know, in view of the fact that the Lord Jesus is crucified, we have to see.
That this cross and the fact that the Lord Jesus is crucified and rejected.
By Him being in that position, the world is crucified to Me.
Really what it means is there is nothing in this world for me.
And the consequences, then of the death of Christ and him being the rejected one, when I knew the world correctly. I see there's nothing for my soul in the world.
And there is nothing in me that the world wants either.
The world rejects us as well.
If we're true to rejected Christ, there's nothing in the world for us, and the world has no use for one who follows A rejected Christ. How important that is, isn't it? We follow or reject the Christ in the world don't want us.
Of the Lord Jesus, it says.
He bearing his cross went forth.
He bore his own cross up to that.
Calvary I think that's the picture here.
Arson, Barry's father used to say to us across the something that goes right across your path. Pick it up and go on. You and I are here as burden bearer Levite to serve.
It says bear, you want another birds. And then it says every man shall bear his own bird. We have across the following statistic rejected Christ. That makes it hard sometimes, but still it's a personal thing for every one of us to bear our own draw, just as the Lord bore his. He went on to death. But we're living, and we are to present our bodies a living sacrifice meanwhile.
00:45:19
Self denial and bearing whatever God gives us to bear.
It seems to me that if we refer to a verse like Paul gives us in Galatians 220, I'm crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live, yet not I. But Christ liveth in me and the life which I now live in the flesh. I live by the faith of the Son of God.
Who loved me and gave himself for me.
She Their crucifixion comes first and then living it for Christ afterwards.
All had come to that point.
Where he could, he knew he could not live this life.
Unless he recognized that he'd been crucified with Christ and everyone who has received the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior as been identified with the Lord Jesus Christ in his death, and he has been crucified with Christ. That's what Paul says. I am or have been crucified with Christ, with Christ and everyone who has received the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.
As by then been identified with the Lord Jesus Christ in his death, and he has been crucified with Christ.
That's what Michael says. I am or have been crucified with Christ.
But nevertheless, there's the other side to it I live.
And I don't believe that we're going to enter into the other part.
If we do not enter into the first part.
Speaking of the cross, it is the cross. It's an X.
Children know what an X is.
They do a problem in numbers arithmetic.
And they put down the wrong answer. What does the teacher do with it? Puts a cross through it.
Is no good wrong answer worthless.
Well, that's what the Cross of Christ has done for us. It's crossed out ourselves and something was mentioned about crossing our path.
We can speak of crossing our wheels, and every one of us is born with self will. And as time goes on, it can get terribly bad. And there's rebellion in the heart, Rebellion against parents, rebellion against teachers, against rebellion against authority.
And when there's something that crosses, that will.
There's fire.
That's what's coming. If we really recognize what took place at Calvary. That man in the flesh was crossed out with the Lord Jesus Christ, laid down his life there. Sin in the flesh was condemned. I was condemned. All says I've been crucified with Christ.
Well, that man needed it. He was on his way to Damascus.
To persecute the state. To arrest them, To take them to prison, to whip them. He was doing his own will. He thought he was doing Scotts will. Yeah, but he was doing his own will. And the Lord Jesus Christ, the man who died on the cross, met him there.
And all what he went through during those three days when he was without sight, I believe he was going through the deep agonies and self judgment.
When he looked at Christ on Calvary, because he could not be up there unless he'd been raised from the dead, He couldn't have been raised from the dead.
And not be alive. So he knew that the Lord Jesus Christ had died.
I'm sure he was equated with all of that that had been going on, but he met the Christ of Calvary.
00:50:03
The light from heaven shone down upon him.
And he began to go through the experiences in connection with being crucified with Christ.
Being identified with Christ, seeing what Christ had gone through and suffered for him.
And this is really what each one of us goes through when we come to Christ, receive Him as our Savior. There's repentance to to God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. They're the two elements and in the repentance toward God.
We take sides with God against ourselves, and we really own that. It's right what God did when he crucified the Lord Jesus Christ or allowed him to to be crucified, and we through faith identified with him, and that puts an end to that old thing that's against God. We take sides with God against ourselves when we repent. That's through judgment, self judgment judgment before God and then faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The two sides were through the South. We take the other side and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Receive them as our Savior. We begin a new life.
Altogether separate from that old thing that's been crucified with Christ.
The Lord was delivered by the determinant counsel of God. He never in anything did his own will.
And.
When he was made sin, he already had said, not my will, but thine be done so that no matter what the Lord went through, it was always God's will. I mentioned this because of what we have in our chapter here.
It's so easy for me to say, well, tomorrow I'm going to do this for the Lord of that for the Lord, you see?
I can do my own will in a religious way.
And think I'm.
Pleasing the Lord but.
The Scripture says, teach me thy way, oh Lord.
Moses said that, and also I think we have it in the 27th Psalm thy way, Oh Lord, it's not my choosing my way.
That won't work. As we've already said, the first thing is prayer, and then we have the work of Christ before us. The result is the Spirit of God guiding us. We are able to follow in the path of rejection.
Quest to me determining myself what I'm going to do is the spirit of God operating in that new life that I have because it bears fruit after its character. And that character as we have in Romans 8 is Christ himself. So in this next verse it says.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it. That's the will going to work down here.
I'm going to save my life in this world.
I'm going to save my life in connection with present things.
That I desire myself. Well, you're going to lose it up there in the sense not that you'll lose your soul, but the whole life will be wasted.
Take Saul, for instance.
Take a lot.
We have.
A great deal of loss, although lot we believe was.
A righteous man according to Peter, but his life was lost.
Because he didn't take the path Abraham took.
But Abraham was the father of faith, and leaves us that example because he walked.
In under the eye of God, he didn't walk perfectly, but he walked under the eye of God by face.
And although he didn't know what we know now as Christians.
The doctrines of these things till he had a divine life.
And he walked in it by faith.
Caleb walked.
Numbers 1424.
He followed fully numbers 1424.
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But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him.
And and has followed me fully.
Him while I bring him to the land, for unto he went.
And his seed shall possess it.
Hath followed me fully. Matthew Chapter 4.
Matthew 4.
And verse 18.
Matthew 418 and Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Diamond called Peter and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the steep or they were fishing.
And he said unto them, Follow me.
And I will make you.
Fishers of Men.
And they straightway left their Nets.
And followed him.
Just by way of warning to go on and point it out in this chapter about that John in verse 49 it comes to Jesus, said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and we forbid him because he followeth not with us. Notice the difference followeth not with us. You might say that John had lost the object before him for that time.
We ought to be warned about this. Our teaching here is to follow the Lord, follow me, that is the true disciple, to get behind the Lord and have him out front. Follow after him and the end of the chapter 2 Again we have one who would say me first. Well, me first is not the first, the 1St is. The are the words of a disciple and me first is.
Self coming out. We're taught here in these verses to deny self.
And then to have the object the Lord, have him always the supreme object, the one before our souls, the one to follow.
I think it would be nice to connect our meditation just now with the.
Lovely message that we just heard at the young people's address when our brother was telling us about making plans.
And this first.
24.
Whosoever will save his life shall lose it.
But whosoever will lose his life for my sake.
The same shall save it.
I would just like to say that sometimes this gets a little sticky.
In the lives of our young people, when they must make decisions and make their plans as to where they'll go to work or where they'll go to school or where they might live.
And I've always been really encouraged when I hear of young people who say.
You know, a real good job was offered to me at a certain place.
But I turned it down because it was not close to a meeting.
And sometimes a young person might say, you know, I could have gone to such and such a school. In fact, they offered me quite a scholarship and it was hard to turn down.
But I turned it down because I would not have the privilege of going to the Bible readings.
And the prayer meetings where I might grow in my soul.
So when we hear young people making decisions like that, we're really encouraged, aren't we?
And I think we want to just sit and think about this a while, that sometimes we must give up that which is to our advantage if we're going to follow the Lord of Jesus. And I know here Christians who have not developed their full talents.
That this world wants to buy and instead of developing those full talents that they could sell at a big price.
To this world, they have invested their lives in following the Lord Jesus.
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In a simple path of rejection. Now, brethren, that's a good choice to make, and I think that's what we want to get out of this chapter. At least one of the things and our Lord Jesus Christ, as has been already written out, is in himself the blessed example of all of these things that he asks us to do. Earlier in the meeting this afternoon, a brother read that wonderful verse in.
The 11Th chapter when where we see the Lord Jesus praying and the disciples were so impressed watching him pray, they said teach us to pray and now he wouldn't ask us to pray if he didn't pray.
And justice before giving us these verses that we're considering right now in Luke 9.
About being willing to take up our cross.
The Lord Jesus had already told us about the fact that he was taking up his own.
And so I just like to pass on that comment, which we have heard quite often, but never too much. And that is that the Lord Jesus would never ask you or me.
To do something that he has not done himself.
And so in that sense, as in Hebrews 2, if he is a most wonderful captain, he would never ask his soldiers and followers to do something he has not done himself well. This makes us respect him and love him more. But I just would like to put in that word of encouragement for our young people. Don't be ashamed to take the second best offer or the third best offer.
That you may not profit by as much.
But if you take it in rejection with Christ.
Eternity will demonstrate that you made a good choice. Here's the story of a missionary that worked in India and a large company in India was looking for a representative to represent this company in that country. And this missionary was recommended because he had a way with people and he was dependable and so on. And the representative for.
Sent to him to make him a good offer, and he turned it down.
They sent this man again and said make the offer twice as I don't remember exactly how thick of an offer or what it was doubled, but it was significantly, significantly higher. He turned it down again. So he was asked what is it? Isn't he offer big enough? No, he said it's the job. He wouldn't trade the Lord's work for prestigious position in the world. That is what it means to lose one's life, doesn't it?
That brings out the thought rather that in verse 23 and 24 there's really two sides and we don't want everyone to think that you have all laws and rejection, reproach and all that and that's all there is when you take your cross and follow Jesus. There's the both sides and we're taking the blessings now, and the blessings are so great that we couldn't name them the.
Benefits we receive when we follow Jesus, that's the other side. But this must necessarily be sold if you follow him. And I think Peter was told nicely by the Lord in Mark 10 when Peter said in verse 28 below, we have left all and have followed thee, you know, that's really what we're talking about here though now, the Lord said.
And this principle is wonderful, to know that no one ever the loser, when you follow Jesus. And Jesus, answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that has left out the brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lions, for my sake in the gospel, but that he shall receive a hundredfold. Now in this time houses brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children and lions.
And now the part we're in with persecution and in the world to come, eternal life. Well, brethren, we all have to say that's true. That's true. We have brethren everywhere. We have mothers and fathers everywhere. We have brothers and sisters in the Lord everywhere. He's brought us onto a large place, a wealthy lion, a magnificent family heavenly, that's true. But there has to be this with it, and that's rejection.
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And persecution and Peter. Just one thought puts it in the right basis in the first Peter chapter.
Three, I believe. First Peter, Chapter 4. Peter has put it in the right sense here first. Well.
Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as those some strange thing happened unto you, But rejoice in as much as you are partakers of Christ suffering, that when his glory shall be revealed, he may be glad also with exceeding joy, if he be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye for the Spirit of glory and of God rested upon you.
On their parties evil spoken up. But on your part he's glorified well. The simple fact is, brethren, there, there's so many blessings we ought to just live in the good of it always. But with this goes the identification with the one who was rejected when he was here, and he's rejected now. And so the Lord says the servant is not greater than his Lord.
If the world hated me, it will hate you. Also, there's a principle. And now we're mentioning our brother. Dan said the Lord wasn't popular here. That's true. Very unpopular here. We saw it at the cross because the carnal minds at Embassy with God, that's why. And if you're popular here.
It's a solemn thought and a warning because Dimas means popular and he was popular here.
And the world took him, and he left and forsook Paul's doctrine.
Forsook fall. The word of God. You don't hear about him anymore. Lost his life that his goal. Lost his life. You can't be popular with the world and be popular with a rejected Christ, one or the other.
Her brother Jim killed Cup when he came back from Brazil. He came to Miami and then his wife met him down there.
And they visited around some in Florida.
And being with him for some time, he related this account concerning our brother Gianni Granite in Italy. Now our brother Granite has been responsible for the publishing, printing and mailing out of the messages of the love of God in Italian in Italy.
He had a very lucrative business, a ceramic tile business, expensive material that the rich people in the city, across the valley from him came to buy.
And he did need more time for the messages of love. But he was reluctant to give up this lucrative business.
And this was before Jim got over there to discuss the matters with him about the messages of love.
Brother Garnita got a phone call from a party unknown to him.
And he didn't really know who they were but this party?
Reminded Brother Granite that he had a very lucrative business.
And that this person who is calling him would like to have.
A portion from it.
And if he didn't give over some part of it to them?
The proceeds or whatever.
Something would happen to his son and daughter who were in university in Naples.
The Sun was about to graduate from the medical course and receive his medical degree.
The daughter was not that close to graduating, but she was all quite well along and this person threatened to harm those two children of his if he didn't.
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Accede to his to that that request.
Brother Granite, he knew what it meant.
They would probably take over everything. It was evidently the mafia running apart a share in that profitable business.
He went to an attorney.
And immediately liquidated. Everything got loose from the whole thing.
And now he's giving us full time to the work of the distributing, mailing out, publishing, the messages of love in Italian. Now that Brother had a desire to do something but.
He that thing had hold on him. But I believe the Lord allowed this to help him to get loose from it. Sometimes we need help too, to get loose from these things that are tying us down. We know the Lord wants us to, to give our lives to Him.
And live for him. But we have things tying us down. May the Lord give us grace.
And let loose of them before he comes. That's the way to save our life. It says we will save it in the next 2-3 verses. Kill us. Details of this.
For what is a man advantage?
If he gained the whole world and lose himself or be passed away.
I believe.
There are two things there.
But it really means it's a it's a gospel verse, I believe, and is a warning, the one who lives for this world. But it's also a warning to a Christian. But now it says For whosoever shall be ashamed of me.
And in my words of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed when he shall come in his own glory.
And his Father's and of the holy angels.
Now when he comes in these various glories.
We have 3 glories mentioned here.
His own glory.
As fathers and the holy angels, there is a glory that the Lord Jesus has, of course his personal glory.
A glory that no man knows.
But there are glories. I mean his person no man knows. And the glory attached to that person.
But there are there is a glory that.
He has gained in his work.
And there's the glory that the Father has put upon him.
And then there's a glory above the angels. Now those 3 glories.
That last I mentioned are those that he will share with us.
The results of his own work on the cross.
And.
The glorious Fathers put upon him as man, I mean.
And the glory above the angels because.
He passed by Angel.
It took a place lower than the angels for the suffering of death, but now he has the place that his Father has given him higher than the angels as man. I mean, he always had it as God.
But as man he has a place above Angel.
Now we're going to share in that place above angels.
We're also going to share the inheritance with him and we're going to.
Be with him.
In that day in Thessalonians.
Well, now he'll show us as belonging to him.
When he comes in his full glory.
And the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Now that's the answer.
That he gives for those who will follow him in rejection.
So we say to ourselves, is it worthwhile?
The worthwhile to follow.
I speak a Brother laundry and connects what we've had before. Could you connect First Corinthians 15, the latter part of verse 31?
But we've had the force.
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1St Corinthians 15 and 31 At the end of the verse I had in mind, half of Larry says the end of the verse. I'll read the verse. I protest by every choice in which I have in Christ. He is our Lord. I die nearly.
You connect that with what we've had.
I die daily. The only thing isn't it? Yeah, all the price.
That's very much in order.
There are several things in that connection in Colossians. He are dead.
In Romans, the man is struggling. Yet he says, reckon yourself dead, He's not delivered.
And this verse Paul says I die daily. He puts it into practice as you say, and then in the 4th chapter of.
2nd Corinthians.
Paul says, the Apostle Paul says.
Or God says, delivered unto death.
In other words, Paul says I'm willing to take that place. The Lord says I'm going to deliver you unto death, not into death unto death.
That's the difference now that Unto Death was in connection with his ministry.
And there are two or three verses there that speak of the apostle going right up to the point of death. But every time the Lord delivers him, he's delivered unto death. And that was the path of the apostle, which is given in detail in the 11Th chapter of Second Corinthians, where he he tells us about what he passed through as an apostle, not because he wanted to exalt himself, but because he was a special vessel raised up of God.
So that you and I might have a little outline of the path that we're called to as we follow.
In in that path following Christ. But he says follow me as I follow Christ.
Though his object was Christ always, even though He had to tell us those things that He suffered so that we'd know the pathway.
In 123.