And it was the preparation of
the Passover and about the sixth hour. And he saith unto the Jews, this
is Pilate, behold your king. But they cried out away with
him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, shall
I crucify your king? Chief Priest answered, we have
no king but Caesar. Then delivered he him therefore
unto them to be crucified and they took Jesus and led him away. He bearing his cross went forth
into a place called the place of a skull which is called in
the Hebrew Golgotha where they crucified him and two other with
Him on either side, one, and Jesus in the midst. I've entitled the message this
morning, Hills Worth Dying On. Hills Worth Dying On. And I want
to just consider this thought for a few minutes under three
headings. One, the hills of survival. Two, the hill of salvation. And three, the hill of success. We are in a generation so full
of self, self-love, self-minded, self-centeredness,
and the general mindset is there are no hills worth dying on. And people will plainly tell
you, I'm not sticking my neck out for anybody or anything.
I'm going to look out for number one, and I'm number one. I don't
really care about anybody else. It's my own safety, my own satisfaction,
my own security. That's all I care about. There
are no hills worth dying on. May I say, had that been the
attitude of Americans 100 years ago or even 50 years ago, we
would not be here this morning with the freedom to assemble
and worship our God as we do. First, hills of survival. What I mean by hills of survival
is not necessarily individual or personal survival, saving
your own neck, but rather doing whatever is necessary for the
survival of one's own, the survival of the family, the survival of
the hopes, the survival of our heritage, the survival of our
country. In modern times, during a war,
Strategies are discussed. Decisions are made in a large,
elaborate room, conference room, with desk and tables and high-back
cushion chairs with computer screens all around, intercoms
and phone systems, ability to consult with intelligence in
other places, communication devices unheard of in generations past. We have it all nowadays. But the picture in my mind is
primitive. Out in the field, the officer's
tent, the commanding officer with two or three others, a topographical map laid out
on a table, and they're pointing and discussing and marking specific
spots and planning strategy. And the thought I have is that
there are spots, there are certain hills on that topographical map
of little importance. In other words, it's going to
make very little difference They say, whether we occupy that hill
or not, why waste the effort? Why waste the energy? But there
are other hills, as they strategize, hills so important to our survival,
so advantageous to our success in battle. And one of the officers
will say, we've got to occupy such and such hill. It's a necessity
we take that hill. It will make all the difference
in the way things turn out. We must have it. It is a hill
worth dying on. We know there will be bloodshed.
We know some lives will be lost. But for the good of all, for
the cause, it's worth it. It is a hill worth dying on. When I get behind a car with
a bumper sticker that says war is not the answer, I confess, it gets to me. I'd like to floorboard it and
knock the devil out of them is what I'd like to do, but I'd
probably kill myself. and they'd walk away without
a scratch. That's the way that goes. War is not the answer. May I
say war is the only answer. God set it up that way. If we're
going to be anything, if we're going to have anything, some
hills are worth dying on. That's a fact. I do not think
it wrong I do not think it inappropriate, as obviously some do, for us
to remember this day and this Memorial weekend and tomorrow
those who thought more of our country then than our country
thinks of them now. Thank God for those who have
died. June 17. 1775, the American Revolution. Bunker Hill, 1,500 American troops
facing 2,400 British troops. But it was a hill worth dying
on. July 1st, 1898, Spanish-American
War. San Juan Hill, Santiago, Cuba. Theodore Roosevelt and his Rough
Riders, it was a hill worth dying on. July 3rd, 1863, Cemetery
Ridge, Gettysburg, a hill worth dying on. June 9th, 1863, Fleetwood
Hill, Culpeper County, Virginia. Confederate
troops led by the courageous Jeb Stewart. Fleetwood Hill,
a hill worth dying on. November 25, 1863. Missionary Ridge, Chattanooga.
You drive right under it, right by it. A hill worth dying on. December 10, 1914, World War
I. A place simply known as Hill
60 was a hill worth dying on, and many did. The very same hill,
Hill 60, only 26 years later, World War II, May 27, 1940, a
hill worth dying on. Siwon, Korea, October 1951, a
place called Pork Chop Hill. a place worth dying on. May 10, 1969, Vietnam, a place
called Hamburger Hill, a hill worth dying on. And not to ignore
the more recent wars and conflicts that our nation has been engaged
in. Those are just a few of the many, many, many, many hills
that men thought were worth dying on and did die. Because their dying meant survival
for the rest of us. And we ought not forget them.
Hills of survival. Hills worth dying on. Second thought, the hill of salvation. Not hills, plural, but hill,
singular. And there's only one hill of
salvation. Luke 23, 33, and when they were
come to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified
him. And here in our text, John 19
and verse 17. He, bearing his cross, went forth
into a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in
the Hebrew Golgotha. Mark's account, Mark 15, 22,
and they bring him into the place Golgotha, which is being interpreted
the Place of a Skull. Some say it was called that because
it was a rounded hill outside Jerusalem shaped like a human
skull. I don't know about that. Others
say it was so named because actual skulls lay around in plain sight. Those executed previously and
their bodies just cast aside, not even buried, or either buried
and then dug up by wild beasts, wild animals, and skulls lying
around visible. I know in that Middle East, in
that around Jerusalem, I know for the sake of tourism, they've
got to stretch things a little bit. But the noted, they got
to have a spot, a place they call it, but the noted writer
J.C. Ryle, he said this, no wise man
will speak positively as to the exact whereabouts of Golgotha. Ryle was speaking of geographical
whereabouts, but this being Golgotha, this being Mount Calvary, this
being where our Lord hung on the cross, I would speak of His
experience there, not just a geographical whereabouts, but an experiential
whereabouts. No wise man would dare claim
an inkling of understanding as to the depth of it, and the agony
of it, and the shame of it, the experiential whereabouts of it. But here's the point. Our Lord
Jesus Christ counted it a hill worth dying on. Suffering, yes. Shame, yes. But a hill worth
dying on. Not that we deserved it. Oh,
no. Not one of us. Not one of us
were worthy of it. But for His own namesake, that
He should redeem those whom He purposed in eternity that He
would redeem. Decreed that He would. He came
into this world. And though he was considered
a victim, he was a victor. Though his dying was considered
an accident by some, it was deliberate. Though considered a tragedy,
it was triumph. Considered a casualty, he was
a conqueror. Why? Why? Why? Christ loved the
church and gave himself for it. That's why he died. For him,
it was a hill worth dying on. He only could do it, and he did
do it. If that means nothing to you
this morning, and you spend eternity in hell, that's exactly where
you deserve to be. For our Lord, it was a hill worth
dying on, and he died for me. this hill of salvation, Mount
Calvary, Golgotha, place of the skull. What happened there that
day was foreordained, decreed from eternity by none but God
himself long before he ever created this world. In the mind of God,
the scripture says, He was the Lamb slain before the foundation
of the world. It was a done deal before creation. And it was God in human flesh
that hung on that cross. He conquered. He has the right
to do as He wills, when He wills, where He wills, with whom He
wills. No sinful child of Adam like
you or I has a right to question God about anything. Oh my, I'm
just really tired of little religious cliques here and there. It seems
like everywhere I go, don't believe this, don't believe that. Well,
this is okay. Well, that's not okay. I want
to tell you, I'd go crazy trying to fit in with everybody. And
I just give up on that a long time ago. I'm not doing it. Every way you
turn, it's somebody who seems to be a little smarter, knows
a little more, and they're a little more spiritual and a little better,
really, because they're less tolerant of this or that. Oh,
they're just so dogmatic about what God can and can't do, about
how God must do it, and with whom He must do it. Not me. Not me. I'm just going to confess
to you this morning. I'm a real dummy. Trust in God. That's all I am. That's all I
am. And I don't care if you repeat
it. Trust in God. And I would say to that crowd
and to anybody involved in that crowd that thinks you're better,
that thinks you're right about everything and everybody else
is wrong. Better take that attitude, self-righteousness, intellectualism,
authoritativism. I run into people that talk to
me like, I mean with such a force, talk to me like I'd be a real
dummy to even question whether or not they're right. Well, I
do. I question a lot of them. But
I want to tell you right now, that attitude, declares all about
how God can operate and how He can't, you better just send all
that back to hell where it come from. He's God. He does as He
pleases. He is the war hero. He paid the
price. He purchased redemption for all
whom He would redeem. He's the one who died on that
cross, not you, not I. Not us. Counted it a hill worth
dying on. The hill of salvation. It's ours
in Christ. In Christ. And then a third thought. We'll look at this for a moment
or two and we'll be through. The hills of success. Success. Thank God for hills of survival.
Many died that we might live. as we live in this country. The hill of salvation. Christ died that we not perish
in our sins. Left to ourselves we would. But
now the hill of success. So many people say, now I'm talking
about people who profess to know God. professing to be followers
of Jesus Christ. So many will say, well, if I
can just be able to provide for my family, make enough money
to keep my wife and children safe, enjoy life and have things,
if I can make them safe and comfortable, that's all I want. What a foolish
idea. of success spoken by a professing
follower of Jesus Christ. The big question is, are there
really any hills worth dying on in your life? Now, any man that is a man is
willing to die for his family. We know that. We admit that. We admire that. And it ought
to be so. But for the children of God,
there's a lot more dying goes on than just to quit breathing. We ought to do some dying while
we're living. Dying to what people think. Dying
to what people expect. Dying to what people say you
have to do and don't have to do. Oh no. You see, when we die
physically and stop breathing, that'll be the end of it. But
that's certainly not the beginning of it. Or do some dying while
we're living. And the only people really ready
to die are those who have already done a lot of dying. Are there any hills worth dying
on in your life? It all revolves around the lordship
of Jesus Christ. There is no such thing as Christianity
apart from Christ being the authority in your life. The Lordship of Jesus Christ. Years ago now, when I was younger,
and some of you were a lot younger, There was stuff going on in this
area and every other area, I guess, as a result of cheap Christianity. Easy-believism. Accept Jesus. Get your ticket to heaven now.
Don't wait. What it did, it produced a mass
of religious professions made a multitude of religious people
with no religious conviction whatsoever. It was the idea, he belongs to
us to do with him as we please. What will you do with Jesus was
the story. But then it produced the attitude,
we don't belong to him to do with us as he pleases. And that's
really the order. And all that mess then, all the
liberality and all the ungodliness and all the people in religion
and in church that knew nothing about God, all that called for
what they called a deeper life emphasis. And for years we heard
this false expression in this quote, altar calls they called
it. You've made Him Savior, will
you make Him Lord? You've took Him for your Savior,
will you take Him for your Lord? You can't make Him anything.
He is the Lord. If He's not your Lord, He's not
your Savior. Our Heavenly Father does not
birth children into His family and then leave them to a God-hating
world to decide what kind of people they're going to be. Uh-uh.
I referred to this a week or two ago, Hebrews chapter 12.
If any be without chastisement, without correction, without discipline,
without our Heavenly Father being the head of the whole, without He keeps things straight.
Hebrews said, if that's not happening in your life, then are you bastards
and not sons. God's not your daddy. Make Him Lord. He is the Lord. And if He's not
your Lord, He's not your Savior. If you live like you're going
to hell, it's because you're going. That's not so difficult, is it? If you live like God's not your
Father, it's because He's not. If you don't express a love for
Him, it's because you don't love Him. Is that real difficult? No. No, it's not. It's not. Oh, that God would wake us up,
cause us to see that this world's priorities are all wrong for
us. They don't love our God. The old songwriter said, is this
vain world a friend to grace to help us on to God? Oh no,
oh no. This vain world hates God and
would help us on to hell. That's the deal. They'll tell you that that job of yours is a hill
worth dying on. And you ought to forget God and
family and responsibility to anyone else. That job, they say,
is a hill worth dying on. What they don't tell you is that
before the flowers fade on your grave, they'll forget you existed. They will somehow get by without
you. Some folk believe giving their
kids all the things they never had is a hill worth dying on. Just doing whatever the young'uns
want. Give, give, give. Go, go, go. Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, like
any other day, just go. Quality time together, they say.
Such a noble intention. Can I say this morning, parents,
grandparents, and oh, how I wish more were here. Parents, grandparents,
the very greatest thing you can do for those children is not
to make them happy all the time. It's not to give them a million
dollars, leave them a million dollars. No. It is for them to
know that you loved God more than anyone or anything. And that you are committed to
honoring God in your life more than anything. Kids don't know that by you telling
them either. They know it by you practicing. Practicing what you preach. Are there really any hills worth
dying on? They told Daniel, stop praying
to your God or we'll throw you into a den of lions. How did Daniel respond to that
warning? He ignored it. He absolutely ignored it and
wound up in the den of lions. That's not a fairy tale. That's
the truth about a man's conviction. They told Peter and John in the
book of Acts, don't speak any more in that
name. the name of Jesus Christ. You
boys are Jews. We've got our religion. We appreciate
you carrying on religion. But don't speak anymore in that
name, that Jesus Christ. Well, after they had beat them
half to death, what did Peter and John say? Well, if you insist. No, they didn't say that. They
said, we ought to obey God rather than men. It doesn't matter what
you said. It's what God said that matters. Would to God that could register
with us, not just in our minds, but in our hearts. We ought to
obey God rather than men. They said, Daniel said, Peter
and John said, This is a hill worth dying on for us. Paul the Apostle closed that
great 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians. That's where we are in our Sunday
morning Bible study. Paul said, therefore, my beloved
brethren, be ye steadfast. That's a good word. Totally foreign
to this generation, by the way. Steadfast. Unmovable. Always abounding. In what? In the work of the Lord. For
as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Steadfast. Steady. Or as the old timers used to
say, steady. We'd build a fence. I remember
building a fence, my brother and I and my daddy. And if you
didn't tamp that hole real tight and make that post firm, we didn't
have no quick-reed or all that stuff. It would just do it with
dirt, make it tight. And my dad would come over and
shake it a little, and he'd say, it's not too steady. I think
he meant sturdy. Steady. Steady. whatever, steadfast,
fixed, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. So on
this Memorial Weekend, we salute our fellow and fallen soldiers, brave men and women who in this
country for over 200 years now have counted it worthwhile a sacrifice worth something,
a hill worth dying on. And certainly we salute our Redeemer,
the Lord Jesus Christ, and worship Him who 2,000 years ago marched
to Golgotha's Hill. They thought He was the victim.
He was in charge. They thought they were doing
it to Him. He was doing it to Himself. They thought He was
a loser. He was a winner. Purchased redemption for His
people. He counted it a hill worth dying
on. And now it's us. Now it's us. What is the hill of real success? I want to share something with
you. I've lived long enough, and this is frightening, and
I've counted it several times. I've lived long enough to hear
three generations in the same family make the same request. Pray for my daddy. pray for my
mama, pray for my family. The first one would say, pray for my daddy. And in time,
followed his daddy, not God. Then his children, pray for my
daddy. And in time, They grew up and
followed their daddy, not God. And then their children pray
for my daddy. May I say, unless God, Almighty
God, in mercy, breaks that chain, it's one generation after another
leading their children to hell. Only God can do it. Psalm 78,
I'll be through in just a minute, let me read you this. Psalm 78,
that the generation to come might know and declare to their children
that they might set their hope in God and not forget the works
of God, but keep His commandments. And might not be as their fathers
a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that set not their
heart aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God. What about your life this morning?
What about your priorities? Old Brother Homer Hilton used
to say, we ought to live the way we're going to wish we'd
lived when it comes time to die. I've thought of that many times.
We ought to live the way we're going to wish we'd lived when
it comes time to die. Are there any hills worth dying
on in your life? What is success? I'm going to
tell you. It is to leave this world with
somebody, your children or somebody else's, walking in your footsteps,
loving God as much or more than you love Him. That's success. You never know who you're influencing.
You never know the difference your life is making. The big
trick of our adversary, the devil, is to tell you you're nothing.
You can do nothing. Nobody likes you. Nobody loves
you. Nobody cares about you. They don't need you. There's
no point in you trying. Oh, but you just don't know,
my friend. You just don't know. The older I get, the more I have
people come to me and remind me of things years ago that they
say made an impression on them. And I'd forgot it even happened. Of course, there's a lot more
that would like to come to me and cuss me out over something
else. So it's a two-sided deal. Don't misunderstand me. I want to tell you, God sees
to it that His children He'll make the impression through you.
And you'll never know what happened. You'll never know what happened.
That's success. That's a hill worth dying on. In the little book of Ruth, and
I'll be through with this statement, this thought. The little book
of Ruth in the first chapter, y'all know that story. The Bible
said that Naomi heard heard that the Lord had visited his people
and given them bread. She heard that the famine was
over in Bethlehem, Judah, and it struck a note in her heart
to pack up and go home. The Bible don't tell us how she
heard. Who gave that word? Whoever gave that word probably
didn't even recognize or even know maybe that she heard it,
and what an impression it had on her, made on her. But as a
result of that, she packed up, went home, nothing doing but
Ruth would go with her. She marries Boaz. They have a
son whose name is Obed, who is the father of Jesse, who is the
father of David. who is the direct lineage of
the Lord Jesus Christ. She heard. She heard. Somebody's
hearing you. Somebody's watching you. Are
there any hills worth dying on? I hope there are. Stand with
me.