Mark, chapter 8. Mark, chapter 8. If you have
a Bible, please turn. Mark, chapter 8. uneasy, yet I did. I need, and I know what I need,
you need, I need a good slap in the face every now and then,
a kick in the rear end, a dash of salt. Salt is not only It works out
to be a savor or adorning of something, but it also has a
cleansing effect, it has a abiding effect. But by way of introduction, let me
say this. This so-called Christian society and religious generation
we are living in. It's an absolute farce. It's
a ridiculous farce. It doesn't even come close to
resembling true biblical Christianity. It doesn't even come within spitting
distance. All the nonsense that goes on
under the name of God, Jesus Christ, and the Church is a lapping
stop to this world. That's what we were discussing
the other night. And it should be clear to any
rational thinking man or woman that most of the stuff that's
going on is false. It's false and it's fake. Those
that have discernment, they can see through it clearly, but anybody
with common sense. But too many people take refuge
in the hypocrisy of others. Too many people take refuge in
the hypocrisy of others. They say, I'm just as good as
those folks down there at church, so I'm not going to go there.
You've heard that before. I'm just as good as those folks,
and I wouldn't go to church. Somebody will say, I'm not going
down there with that bunch of hypocrites. Granted, that there
are many hypocrites in the, quote, church, in the church house.
There's none in the church. It is true, there are many, if
not most. Just as it was in our Lord's
day, the religious people of that day, most of them were hypocrites,
going through the motions, just a few true followers. But that
sort of attitude won't hold up in the judgment. Now, Lord, I
didn't go to church because so-and-so, you know, he's a hypocrite. So it's easy to see through all
this. plastic religion granted. But those aren't the people I'm
preaching to this morning. The scripture says a judgment
must first begin at the house of God. And I don't want to preach
to those that aren't here. What good would it do? They're
not here to hear it. I want to preach to us. You're
here. I want to preach to you. I want to preach to me. I'm here.
This is for me. And I want us to examine ourselves. Here in Mark chapter 8, it says
in verse 34, "...when he had called the people unto him, with
his disciples also," verse 34, "...he said unto them, Whosoever
will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and
follow me." Now turn over to Romans chapter 13. Romans 13. Examine yourselves, whether you
be of the faith. He says in verse 11, I think
it was Richard Baxter that quoted, Dad, I preach as a dying man
to dying men. That's true. Verse 11. from prison, says in verse 11,
I know that the time that now is, it's high time to wake out
of sleep. For now is our salvation nearer
than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day
is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the
works of darkness, let us put on the armor of light. Now look
over at 1 Corinthians 7. The Apostle says this, "'But
this I say, brethren, the time is short. It remaineth that both
they that have wives be as though they had none, and they that
weep as though they wept not.' And David rejoiced as though
they rejoiced not, and David buy as though they possessed
not. And David used this world as
not abusing it, for the compassion of this world is passing away. So you preach, you talk about
the end times. Is this the end times we're living in? Maybe.
It is the last days, no doubt about it. And it may be for another
hundred years, I don't know how long. But it's our times. It's
our end times. If you read the article in the
bulletin, some of you are nearing that seventy years of the Lord's
promise. He says that's it, three score
and ten, and by reason of strength, if the Lord graces, gives you
a little more, a few more years, and you've just got a few more,
but that's about it. Some of you are past. Virgie, you're
past your allotment. It could be any minute, any minute.
So you're talking about the end times?
Yes, our end times, each other's. Listen to these verses of scripture. All flesh is grass, as the flower
of the field. The grass withereth, and the
flower fadeth away. Job said man's days are determined. The number of his months are
with God. He has appointed his bounds. He cannot pass bounds. Job, it may be July 24th. 7 a.m. 1989, Joe Parks. That's
it. That's it. It's all over. Bounds. Says you can't pass. You're not
going any further. Further to shall you come, and no further,
he may say. I had a best friend. I was talking to someone about
this. I had a best friend when I was
15 years old. He was the same age who was asphyxiated. He was sleeping down in a basement,
a place I used to sleep all the time, a house that we used to
live in. He and another friend of mine were sleeping down in
this basement room and had a gas heater on and no windows open.
And they found him the next morning fixated. And I drove him out,
tried to give him resuscitating. Fifteen years old, dead. My brother,
twenty-one years old, dead. Mindy's mother was fifty, fifty-three,
fifty-three, dead. Bounds, set, can't pass. The scripture says, Boast not
thyself of tomorrow. Every one of us are making plans
for this afternoon and probably tomorrow, maybe next month. Boast
not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may
bring forth. Let alone a month. And the scripture
says this, listen to this. He that being often reproved
and hardeneth his neck shall be suddenly cut off, and
that without remedy. No hope. Too late. Forget it,
son. Some may be saying, this Sunday
morning, it's a pretty day. Turn to Genesis chapter 19. Don't rock the boat. It's too pretty a day. If we're out of Christ, the boat's
sinking. I don't want to rock it. It's sinking. It's going down if you're out
of Christ. Look at this in Genesis chapter 19, verse 15. When the morning arose, sun came
up, birds were singing. Sky was blue, whistle a happy
tune. The angels hastened, Lot, get
up, get your wife, get your two daughters, lest you be consumed
in the iniquity of this city. And while he lingered, Lot even
didn't believe it. Wait, Lord, wait. The men, look
at this, verse 16, got a hold of his hand. Come on. Got a hold
of his hand, the hand of his wife, the hand of his two daughters,
the Lord being merciful unto him. They could have left him
there. Didn't have to get a hold of
him. Could have left him lingering. Like perhaps some of us. And
they got him, brought him forth, and set him out of the city.
Don't you hope the Lord gets a hold of your hand, gets a hold
of your children's, and jerks you out of this mess. You're
lingering. And it came to pass when they
brought them aboard, when they brought them forward, look at
verse 17, that they said, Get out! Escape for your life. Don't
look behind you. You need to stay in the plain,
in the easy place. Don't stay where it's nice and
easy and comfortable. Escape to the mountain. Look
to the rock that's higher than that. Get to the mountain lest
you be consumed. Lot said, Oh, Lord, no, wait.
Verse 18. Not so, my Lord. Verse 19. Behold,
man, your servant, you've done a work in me. There's no doubt
about it. I believe. You've magnified him. You've
been merciful to me. You showed me mercy, saving my
life. I can't go to the mountain. That's
too tough. I can't live up there. Look at verse 20. This city over
here, it's close. Let me go there. Let me escape
there." And verse 21, the Lord was merciful a little longer.
He said, well, OK, I've accepted thee concerning this thing. I'll
not overthrow this city for a while. Go on, get into that now. Go
ahead. Verse 22, go on, escape. I can't
do anything until you come out. You're my chosen. The Lord wasn't going to spare
this place either. The sun came up, nice beautiful day, swinging,
Lot thought everything was all right now. I'm safe. Whistle
in a happy tune. The sun rose up, and Lot entered
into this Zoar, this city and the plain. The Lord rained upon
Solomon and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord of heaven.
He overthrew all the city and the plain, the inhabitants thereof. Verse 26, But his wife looked
back. just had to see, just couldn't leave behind those things she
loved. And she became a pillar of salt.
Verse 29, But it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities
of the plain, the very city that Lot felt safe and secure in,
God remembered Abraham. Did you see that? And sent Lot out. I hope God remembers Christ on
my behalf and sends me out. Like I said before, people, if
my house is on fire, I want to know about it. How about you?
Terry? If the house is burning, don't
wake me up. I'm getting such a good rights
rest. Don't wake me up now. If I don't know God, I want to
know him now. How about you? If you don't,
how about you? If you don't, if I'm not saved now, I want
to be saved now. How about you? If I'm lost, I
want to be found now. If I'm asleep, I want somebody
to wake me up now. How about you? So what is this thing of salvation
all about? Look back at the text in Mark chapter 8. What is this
thing of salvation all about? What is it to be a Christian?
What does it take? What is true discipleship? And
God granted that I can preach this message with meekness, consider
myself with compassion, with love, tenderness. What does it take to be a Christian? Well, Christ himself describes
true Christianity here in verse 34. He said, Whomsoever will
come after me, whoever is going to come after me, whoever is
going to be saved, whoever is going to know God. Everybody
who is truly following Christ, all true Christians, disciples
following, are just that. They're following Christ. See? They're not following a doctor.
They're not following a church. They're not following their husband.
They're not following their wife. They're not following their children,
their parents. They're not following anybody.
They're looking for Christ. Whosoever come after me, all true disciples,
are following a person, not a doctrine, a person. Following after him,
coming after him, seeking after him, bewailing him, befouling
him, having his righteousness. Not heaven, not to escape hell,
not happiness, not gain, him. I must have him, him, him. That's a true follower of God.
of Christ, somebody's looking for Him, watching for Him, waiting
for Him, seeking after Him. And Christ says, for those that
are following after Me, that come after Me, they must first
look at it. Let him deny himself. Deny himself. Self-denial. Self-denial is the
first true mark of a true believer or seeker. It's denying any goodness
in me, in my flesh. Paul the Apostle said this, in
my flesh, in me. That is, in my flesh dwelleth
no good thing. Denying me. If you say, I'm a
pretty good fellow, you know, I'm not all that bad, you haven't
denied yourself. But you say, I'm worthless. It's
denying my thoughts. in my opinions, in my ways. There's
a way that seems right to us, but it's not the right way. It's the way of death. We've
got to deny that. Now, I know what I think, Lord,
but I don't want that. I want your way. I want your thoughts.
I want yours. It's to deny self-worth. To deny
ourself is to deny our self-worth. I'm not worth anything. God doesn't
need me. I need him, though. That's to
deny yourself. It's to deny our self-righteousness.
All my righteousness are filthy rags. I've never done anything
worthy of notice, especially by God. Why would God want to
take notice of me, a dead dog? What is man that he's even mindful
of? I'm not worth anything. And that's
to deny yourself, to deny your self-righteousness. And somebody
said this, that unless you've denied your best, deeds, unless
you've repented of your best acts, your prayers, everything,
then you're not rightly repented. You're not rightly repented.
You have to say with a true disciple, you have to say, though I've
done all that's required of me, if I did, hypothetically speaking,
I'd still have to be thought of as an unprofitable servant,
just totally unprofitable, unworthy, vanity, less than that. That's
to deny yourself. It's to deny—listen, I'm getting
into this thing. Self-denial, to deny yourself
is to deny all you are and all you have. It's to say, I must decrease,
spiritually and literally. I must decrease, he must increase. It's to deny or disclaim anything
or anyone that gets in the way of Christ. Look at Matthew chapter
10. Keep your place there in Mark
8. Look at Matthew chapter 10. To deny yourself means to disclaim
or deny anything or anyone who gets in your way of Christ. Matthew chapter 10 verse 34. Look at it. Matthew 10 verse
34. Christ said, don't think I've come to send peace on the
earth, and that's what the majority of this world thinks, isn't it?
It's what these preachers are preaching, peace, peace, when
there is no peace at first in the child of God. I came not
to send peace, but a sword. I've come to set a man at variance
against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law
against her mother-in-law. A man's foes shall be those of
his own household. He that loveth father or mother
more than me is not worthy of me. He that loveth son or daughter
more than me is not worthy of me. He that taketh not his cross
and followeth after me is not worthy of me." Look at Luke,
chapter 14. Luke, chapter 14, he says it
in a little stronger language here. Luke 14, verse 25. Luke 14, 25. There went a great
multitude with him, and there's a lot of Christians, so-called
Christians out here today. And he turned abruptly and said,
any man coming after me, you want to follow me? You want to
be a Christian disciple? If you hate not your father,
your mother, your wife, your children, your brothers, your
sisters, your own life also, you cannot even be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his cross
and come after me cannot be my disciple. You've got to count
the cost. What Christ is saying here, and listen up, what he's
saying here is in or out. Get in or get out. It's between
them or me, he said. You cannot serve God and man. The world or Christ. That's it. Change you this day whom you
may well serve. That's it. That's discipleship. Take the world, the psalm says,
give me Jesus. And I warn you, I remind you,
me, if we choose this life, if we choose our family, this world,
our job, a comfortable place, a place in the city, in the plain,
instead of fleeing to Christ in the mountain. Let me remind
you, he said it's a vapor, it's a soap bubble. Hannah's got that
little bubble thing she likes to blow. Oh, she gets such a
kick out of it, those bubbles, watching those bubbles. Or take
your mask anytime at all. Anytime at all. Appear for a
little while and vanish away. I've got to quote my dearest
friend. He, uh, young man has everything going
for him, seemingly. Talented, pastor of a church. Nice little country church. Nice
little personage. two little beautiful children,
a daughter five years old, a little blonde-headed daughter, a son
one year old, apple of his eye. Two weeks ago, that woman took
those babies and left, and filed divorce, and they're gone. And I talked to him, and he said,
My heart is broken. And mine would be, too, if mine
left. I've got to have Christ to fill
the void. But he told me, that's what he
told me. He says, you know, though, my family left me. But I've got
a family. I've got a dear family. And he
said, you know what else? He said, I've got a friend that
sticks closer than a mere brother. He said, I'll have peace. Gone. Gone. That little girl. Gone. God help
us. God restrain us. Keep us from
going through that. Keep our wives from leaving us,
our husbands. Lord, help them. But if they
do, then what? Then what? That husband you love
so dearly, what then when the Lord takes him? It's not if.
Like I said in that article, it's not if, it's when. It's
win. So Christ says, deny yourself.
Deny yourself that, that hold it on. Deny yourself. Let them go. Take Isaac and burn
him. Take Isaac up there and sacrifice him. And because the Lord is
merciful and gracious, he may let you keep Isaac. You may have
to burn him. But he may let you keep him.
It's his sovereign will. He knows what's right. But he
says, Refuse, though. He says, Refuse, forget, ignore,
disown, lose sight of your own interests, your own self, your
own desires, your own personal ambitions. And look at it here.
He says in verse 34 in the text, And take up your cross. Take
up your cross. Christ, when he carried that
cross, his shoulders were ripped asunder. Now, he'd been fasting,
he hadn't had anything to eat for a long time, he was weak,
he was hurting, he was in pain, trouble, he said. And for him to carry that cross,
he wasn't in the best of shape at the time. He wasn't strong
at the time and able to just jerk it up and carry it on down
the road. Oh no, his shoulders were beaten to a pulp. And he
had to take that cross and lay it on those—and it wasn't a nice
sanded piece of finished oak. It was a big piece of timber
with splinters and stick it on his raw back and carry it. And
to carry it two blocks seemed like two miles. It seemed like
an eternity. And some of us are going to be
forced and called on to carry a cross in this life that seems
like an eternity. I tell you, I can't bear it.
But he says, take it up. Take it up. This is a symbol, this cross,
taking this cross as a symbol of true discipleship, how it's
going to be trying. It's going to be hard. It's not
easy. It's going to be painful, and
it's going to be constant. Like I said, it seemed like a
long time. It's going to be constant, consistent. To take up this cross
is, first of all, to suffer shame. Suffer shame, you young men.
You go into church. What's wrong with you? To suffer
shame. You don't believe that, do you?
Nobody else does. Suffer persecution. You think
you're right and everybody else is wrong, don't you? No, no, I don't. I think God's
right, and everybody else is wrong. I'm just telling you what
the Bible says. You just think you know it all.
Ridicule is to suffer ridicule. You're going how far to church?
You fool. There's one down the corner. You mean you're selling out in
movement? You're going to give up your job? That's crazy. It's to suffer hatred. To take
up your cross is to suffer hatred. Now, if what you're saying, if
what you're saying is true, then I'm not saved. You better not
say that again. I didn't say it. Christ said,
it's not you they hate, it's me. I didn't say it. That's what
the Lord said. It's true, nevertheless, go ahead
and hate me. It's to suffer loss. Loss of
self-esteem. Loss of this world's acclaim
used to be somebody, used to be well-liked in the workplace,
you know. Now, I had a guy tell me one time to my face, talking
to one of his buddies, he said, he's one of them. I said, one
of what, Christian? It's to suffer loss of your friends? Oh, I thought I had some buddies,
you know, I hung out with, thought they were good buddies. They just got, they were just
my buddies for what they could get out of me on Saturday night. Lovers, thought I had some, you
know, really fine, a really fine little lady. But there were cute faces down
the desert. Family, you might have to lose your family,
your job, certainly have to lose your ambitions. He said this from prison. He
said, I suffered the loss of all things. He said, I just count
that done. I just count it done. You know
the old saying, I hate to use this, but it's familiar. Everybody
knows it. No pain, no gain. Well, it's very true. Anything worth having is usually
hard to get in it. You folks that have been around
a while, you know what I'm saying. Anything worth having, usually
you've had to work hard to come back. Right? Long and hard. Christ said you must, through
much tribulation, you must, through much tribulations, enter the
kingdom of heaven. It's not a bed of roses. It's
not in the plain. It's up the mountain. It's up
the hard road, straight way, an arrow way. This thing of Discipleship is
a metamorphosis. Don't you know when that butterfly
coming out of that cocoon, that little foil thing trying to get
out of that, it's tough. And even so, the new birth costs
much pain, much travail, much blood. Christ's first. What does it take to be a Christian?
Nothing from me. I can't do anything. I can't
do anything to make myself a Christian. God had to do it all. Christ
had to go and suffer our everything. Had to live for me, had to die
for me, and now has to live again for me. He had to do it all.
I can't do anything. But now that it's been done,
what does it take to be a Christian? Nothing from me, but all of me. This thing of discipleship takes
the whole man. The whole man. Somehow the means he uses in
working out our salvation involves everything we are. Somehow. I'm not going to explain that.
I'm just going to say it is. Commitment. You read the article in the bulletin?
Commitment. Love to Christ, love to anyone for that matter, but
especially love to Christ is above all else, commitment. Selling
out. One foot in the water is not
swimming. One leg on the fence is not being
over it. Going to church on Sunday morning
is not discipleship. Religion of convenience, when
you've got time, when you're not tired, is not discipleship. Listen to this. The only reason any of us—I worked
twelve years on the railroad and about four or five before
that at various jobs—construction, labor, everything. The only reason I went, I'll
just be honest with you, I didn't like my job on the railroad.
Not many people do like their job. And the only reason, when
they called me up at two o'clock in the morning after I'd only
been asleep for three hours, the only reason I got up and
jerked my clothes on and walked up asleep in the car and rolled
down to the railroad to go to work, the only reason I did that
is because I needed the money. If I didn't need the money, ain't
no getting me out of that bed. I ain't about to go down to that
place. I needed the money. I had to have it. Do you need Jesus Christ? Do you need to hear this word
preached? Do you need the gospel? Do you
need it bad? It may cost us something to hear
it. Listen to this. Look at the last
part of verse 34. He said, now, who's going to
come after me? Let him deny himself. Let him
take up his cross and follow me. That is, forget everything
you know, everything you did, everything you were. Renounce
all your past experiences. Use that little saving experience
you had down there. Forget it. Those works you did
yesterday and today, forget them. Quit following after every realm
of doctrine that comes along and follow Christ. Follow Him. Look to Him. Trust to Him. Depend
upon Him. Hope in Him. Have faith in Him. Speak after Him. It requires a casting off of
every hindrance to worship, every ambition that doesn't point to
Him. I mean every ambition. I'm not getting this off the
top of my head. Every ambition in this life that
doesn't work our way to Him, to Christ that is, that doesn't
point to Him, and the furtherance of our relationship with Him.
Cut it off. and follow Christ. Cast aside
every care and wrath that so easily besets us. This world
easily besets us, doesn't it? I mean, it's just so easy. I'm writing an article for Next
Bulletin that says, you know, this thing is called a fight.
We wrestle not with flesh and blood, but with principalities
and powers and so forth. It's a fight. But most of us
good Christians don't even put up a struggle. Just lay down
and play dead. Something comes along, at least
a little bit of fatigue, at least a little temptation. Lay down. Well, you may have read it there
a while ago, where the Lord said he bid some people a supper.
Some of them said, well, I bought me a piece of land. I bought
a house. I've got me 30 acres. I've got
to get the corn in. I don't have time to go to church.
I don't have time to worship God tonight. I've got to cut
the grass. I've got ten acres. Sell eight
of them. Sell nine. So you can go feed. Well, I've got a wife. I've got
a wife, and she just wants to go down here. And my husband,
he wants to take me here. You know, go get married. You know, if they want to worship
this world and go to hell, let them, but don't go with them.
I've brought me some land. I've done this. I've got to go
bury my father. We're having a family reunion. Today is the day of salvation. Today is the day of salvation. The gospel is being preached
today. Today. The gospel. Weren't mine and
Barney May's that had a family reunion that day? The Timaeus
family, family reunion, blind bar, wasn't there. He wasn't
there. Christ passed by one time. One
time. And that's what it is to follow
him. Wherever he is, we've got to go to him. Whenever he's there,
we've got to go to him. The gospel's not everywhere. Few people, few men, some of
you are experiencing this, few men are really preaching Christ.
They're preaching rules to follow, programs to follow, regulations
to follow, but not Christ. Christ. So you need to go somewhere
where a man's preaching Christ to follow, and follow him. Many leave the gospel for a better
job, but few leave a job for a better gospel. Listen to this. Turn over here, this is the last
time I'll have you turn. Hebrews chapter 2. Hebrews chapter
2. Dying men to dying men. Dying
man to dying man. I hope that, you know, if this
is my last sermon, I want to be able to say, well, I told
them. I warned them. I pointed them. A watchman, that's what a watchman
is. This preacher is called a watchman. He's standing up on the tower
watching. There's old Solesville down there asleep. Wake up, man!
They're coming! He's coming! Wake up! Verse 1 of Hebrews 2, Therefore
we, that is, those of us who have heard these blessed truths,
we ought to give them more earnest heed, because God has shown this
light to us. He's been so gracious to give
us the gospel. We ought to give them much more earnest heed,
sincere heed to the things we've heard, lest at any time we let
them slip. See that? Let them slip. What is it to let these things
slip? Let them slide by. Let them slide on by. Let them
slip. What is it, first of all, to
let these things slip, let the gospel slip? is not hearing and
receiving it immediately. Now, this is fact. It's just
a fact. Most people who come and hear
the word over and over and over again and never make a commitment
to Christ won't. It's just the way it is. The
biblical salvation now, nearly everyone, there are a few, There
are a few. I don't know if Nicodemus was
saved or not, but there are a few, I think. But most of them, when
they were strumped by the Lord, when they met the Lord, like
the Ethiopian eunuch. She was water. I want to be baptized. You believe? Yes. I believe. Let me get out in there and confess
him. To let these things slip is to
hear Gospel heart, you know here gospel
message. It doesn't mean anything to me
gospel out of here. It didn't mean To let these things
slip secondly is to be taken up with other things. Well, I'm
busy. I'm on the job all the time I'm busy at home and school
kids all that I'm busy You know, most people have a
real interest, have a certain interest anyway, not a real one,
but they have an interest in things, in the things of God
and the gospel when things are real simple. You know what I
mean? When things are real simple,
you know, you got... I used to be, when we lived in
that little apartment, about 300 square feet, I used to be
so zealous. for the gospel, and it's a tender
toward sin. When the Lord first worked on
me, I used to be so anxious to hear it. We'd travel all over
to conferences. And when you get where your treasure
is, that's where your heart is, you know. Most people have an
interest when things are simple. But when you get too many cares,
our Lord said it. He is the exact one. He said, you know, that
the seed fell among thorns, and they sprang up. But after a while,
those thorns, the cares of this world, choked it out. I don't
have time to go tonight. I've got to go here. I've got
to go there. I can't go tomorrow either. I've got choking the
life out of it. To let these things slip, and
what I'm saying is so, and everybody here knows in your heart it's
so. You feel it in yourself. You know it is. If your conscience
preps you, it's God speaking. Verse number three. To let these
things slip is to remove ourselves from where the gospel is being
preached. We ate dinner at our house the other night, and a
lot of people got in on it, several people. And I don't mind saying
this is one of the best meals I've ever had. Those that ate
it, it was great, wasn't it? You should have been there. Should
have been there. Somebody came late. Barbara,
she had to work, and she finally came late, though. But she got
in on it, and she ate, and she was glad she came. She was late,
but she was glad she came. We eat here every Sunday night. Every Sunday night we eat here.
And Wednesday night. We had a feast last Wednesday
night. I thought so. I don't know why everybody else
thought so. I did. I had a good time. I just
enjoyed it. And the Wednesday before, I just
enjoyed it so much. Oh, it's good food. You don't
know what you're missing. To remove yourself from where
the gospel is preached, there's a few men still preaching the
gospel, and I've got to place myself under that gospel. Nobody
else is going to do it for me. I've got to get under it. Somebody
may say, oh, I miss the gospel. We don't get it where we live.
Boom! Go where it is! The time is short. Somebody say, well, I wish I
could pray. Do you? Do you practice? I wish I had
more faith. Do you go hear the word? Faith
cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. I wish I
had more faith, but you don't show up Wednesday night, Sunday
night, sometimes on Sunday morning. You're lying. I'm lying if I
say that. Water spills. If I pour this
water out, I can't recover it again. Forget it. Forget it. Fourthly, to let these things
slip is to be enamored with other religious things. Prophecy, some
people are taking up prophecy, taking up with the gifts of the
Spirit, taking up with church, you know, the landmarkers, taking
up with the church, Miss Christ, taking up with the law, Miss
Christ, taking up with programs and serving the Lord, but not
taking up with the Lord they serve. Paul the Apostle said,
I'm determined not to know anything, not to be taken up by anything,
not to be pulled aside by anything, but Jesus Christ and him crucified. You know what faith is? F-A-I-T-H. F-A-I-T-H. Forsaking all, I take him. Faith. Forsaking all, I take
Him. You can have this stuff. What
if we, Janel, what if we traded in? What if we traded in for
Christ? So a woman told me that one time.
You forgot to say what we have to give up to be a Christian,
you know. I said, what will you trade? Will you take Will you take a
string of perfect pearls for a bucket full of manure? Will you trade it in? Well, yeah. This is dung, man. This stuff
is dung. It's dirt. It's dust. It's going
to go back when our bodies die, our little children even. When
they die, their bodies are going to be destroyed and there's going
to be fertilizer maybe for somebody's garden. But if by God's grace,
Christ said, in the last part of there at Mark 8, he said,
now whosoever will save his life shall lose it. If by God's grace
you can renounce yourself, your self-righteousness, look to Christ,
look to his righteousness. If by God's grace you can become
dead to this world, crucified with Christ, all of its enjoyments.
If by God's grace you can forsake everything you are, everything
you have, everybody you know. Everything you do to win Christ
and be found in Him, then real life is yours, he said. Whosoever
shall save his life shall lose it. You make a life for yourself
here, you're going to lose real life. But whosoever shall lose
his life, this life, for my sake and the gospel's, Christ said
the same, we'll save it. We're going to have real life.
I told somebody yesterday that The things that I once held so
dear and loved so greatly, now I just don't give a flip about
them. I was bragging about my cars to these guys last night,
the other night, the cars I used to have. I could care less about
a Corvette, a piece of plastic. But boy, I sure want to know
Christ. I sure want to know Him. I busted that Corvette all to
pieces. I got shown real fast what that thing was made of.
And thank God, by His grace, I wasn't busted all to pieces
and sent to hell where I deserved to go to. Real life, real joy,
real I've never known before what the peace and joy I have
now. It's not to be found in this world. It's not to be found
in the things of this, the people of this world. It's not to be
found. It's not there. They that drink of this water
shall thirst again, Christ said. But if you drink of me, it just
keeps bubbling up. He said, what shall it profit
if you gain the whole world and lose your soul? What will you
give in exchange for your soul? What are you going to give in
exchange for your soul? Well, you might give that little
daughter in exchange for your soul. You might not have to. By God's grace, He might let
you keep her in there. It's up to Him.