that which our Lord Jesus taught
while he was upon the earth not only astonished the public as
he taught as one having authority, that which he taught and preached,
his doctrine, was amazing to his disciples as well. Now, our
text this evening is Mark chapter 10, verses 28 through 34. Let's read the text together. Then Peter began to say unto
him, lo we have left all and followed thee. Now remember the
context. Our Lord Jesus told the rich
young ruler, now you go sell all that you have, come follow
me, be my disciple. Peter responds, now Lord we have
left all and we have followed you. And Jesus answered and said,
verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house,
or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children,
or lands for my sake and the gospels. But he shall receive
an hundredfold, now underscore this, now in this time. Not going to have to wait for
pie in the sky and sweet by and by, it's going to be right now.
He shall receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and
brethren. and sisters and mothers and children
and lands with persecutions. And in the world to come, eternal
life. But many that are first shall
be last and the last shall be first. And they were in the way
going up to Jerusalem and Jesus went before them and they were
amazed. They were amazed at his doctrine.
amazed at what he had just taught them, amazed that he was now
going up to Jerusalem knowing that the Jews there sought to
kill him. They were amazed. And as they
followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve
and began to tell them what things should happen unto him, saying,
Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man shall be delivered
unto the chief priests and unto the scribes and they shall condemn
him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles, and they
shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him,
and shall kill him. And the third day he shall rise
again. Now those things that our Lord
taught, his doctrine concerning his grace, his salvation, and
his sin-atoning sacrifice, are indeed amazing things to consider. I want us to look at that which
is given us in this passage of Scripture under three heads.
First, we have before us a glorious promise, and then a solemn warning,
and last, a faithful surety. As I read this text and began
to prepare for this evening's message, the very first thing
that caught my attention as I read these verses of Scripture was
the fact that our Lord's response to Peter's statement does not
even have a tinge of rebuke. Not even a tinge of rebuke. But
rather, he gives Peter a glorious, glorious promise. Here in verses
28 through 30, we see Peter make a statement that really is an
honest and true confession. A true statement that would come
properly from the lips of every believer. Now, here Peter, we
recognize, might be blamed for the reason he made the statement.
He might be blamed properly for the apparent expectation he had
of receiving from the Lord a reward because of what he had done for
the Lord. You see, true faith, true faith
is often very weak faith. And true faith is often very
ignorant about many things. The fact is those who know most
concerning the things of God really don't know much at all.
And Peter, this man who was indeed the chief spokesman for the early
church, the chief spokesman for the apostles, was a man who here
displayed both weakness and great ignorance. If you read Matthew's
account of this question or this statement by Peter, it is followed
with a question. Matthew adds this. He adds this
part of Peter's speech or his conversation with the Lord Jesus
that both Mark and Luke leave out. Matthew said in chapter
19 verse 27, when Peter said, we've left all and followed you,
what shall we have therefore? What a foolish expectation. What
a foolish question. And yet the Lord responds with
kindness, giving a word of promise. Because when all is said and
done, if our faith in Christ does not involve the kind of
self-denying devotion the kind of self-sacrificing consecration
to Christ that Peter here expresses, then our faith is vain. Did you
hear what I said? If our faith in Christ does not
involve the kind of self-sacrificing devotion, the kind of self-sacrificing
consecration that Peter here describes in this statement,
then our faith is vain. Listen to what he said one more
time. Peter began to say unto him, Lord, we've done exactly
what you told that rich young woman to do. We have left all
and we have followed you. You see, true faith forsakes
all and follows Christ. True faith is the unqualified,
unreserved surrender of myself, my life, my all, to the dominion
and rule and disposal of Jesus Christ the Lord as my master,
my king, and my God. This is what I'm calling for
from you. You who are yet here without faith in Christ. It's
not a matter of you making a choice and decision whether or not you
want to go to heaven when you die. I don't know anybody who
doesn't. It's not a matter of deciding whether you want to
believe things that are right and good. I don't know anyone
who doesn't. The issue is, will you or will you not so trust
the Son of God as to commit to Him your entire being? That's
what faith is. That's what it is. Lord, here
I am. Now you do with me what you will.
Here I am, take my life, rule me, dispose of me, govern me
as you will. That's what faith is. Our Lord
Jesus said if a man will save his life, he'll lose it. That
means life, coming to Christ, you give up the right to make
decisions for yourself. You give up the right to choose
for yourself. You give up the right to determine
what you will do, where you will go, how you will spend your life.
You give that over to the Son of God. Now if you want to keep
it for yourself, go ahead, you can, you can, you sure can, but
you'll lose it in the end. Come to Christ, surrender everything
to the rule and dominion of the Son of God. Our Savior then speaks
to Peter, recognizing plainly that what Peter had said was
so. And he tells us that having left all to follow him, His disciples
have lost nothing, but rather have gained indescribably more
than any of us could ever imagine. Look here in verse 29. Jesus
answered and said, Verily I say unto you, that there is no man
that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother,
or wife, or children, or land, for my sake and the gospel. That's
the same thing. Christ is the gospel and the
gospel is Christ. But he shall receive an hundredfold. Now in this time, houses and
brethren and sisters and mothers and children and lands with persecutions. The persecution sure to come.
But as you receive the persecutions, you will receive all this bounty
and in the world to come eternal life. I have read this and meditated
on it. And you know, I think few promises,
few promises can be found in the entire book of God that are
more comprehensive than this. I know of none which hold before
us such great encouragement for this present life and for the
world to come. This is a broad, broad promise.
Let every faithful but faint hearted follower of Christ mark
this promise. Read it often, meditate on it
constantly. Here is a cluster from which
you can you can grow wine for the merriment of your soul. Come
often to this fountain and drink for the refreshing of your soul.
The Lord Jesus here makes a promise, a broad sweeping promise to every
true believer, both with regard to this present life and the
life to come. Now, I must give a word of warning.
He is not here making carnal promises. He is not here saying,
if you come and follow me and you want to have houses everywhere
in the countryside, mansions and this, that, and the other,
you'll come and have it and God will give you great prosperity.
That's not it at all. But he is making a broad promise
with regard to all provision of all things needful for the
comfort and sustaining and strength of his disciples as they follow
him in this world. This is what he's telling us.
Whatever it is that following Christ involves, whatever it
is that following Christ costs you, whatever it is that following
Christ will take from you, you shall receive in this life one
hundredfold. Pastor, how can that be? How can you explain that? When
Israel left Egypt, They left Egypt having spoiled the Egyptians. And they went for 40 years in
the wilderness. And never had to buy a pair of
shoes. Never had to buy a suit of clothes. Never had to buy
a meal. 40 years. Now, they sometimes
were foolish enough to murmur and complain because they didn't
have beefsteak. And then they got quails that
had quail meat in their teeth and running out their ears and
they wished they'd never seen any quail. I expect you couldn't
get any of those fellows to eat a piece of quail for another
40 years. They weren't interested. They were perfectly fed by the
hand of God with manna from heaven. And wherever need arose, God
would destroy a nation simply to feed his children. They went
for 40 years. for 40 years. Their shoes never
got wore out. Their clothes never wore out.
Everything they needed was provided miraculously wherever need be
by God. When they got thirsty and there
was no water, God said to Moses, mark the rock. Here comes water
to feed and flourish to a nation, a nation of people. And we sat
back and murmur and grumble and complain as though somehow God
Almighty who gave us his own darling son who spared him nothing
for us, will maybe not feed us, or care for us, or provide for
us. Our Savior here declares that as God provided for Israel
wandering in the wilderness for forty years, so he will provide
for those who leave all and follow him. The fact is, the obedience
of faith will never cause us to be in want. Not going to happen. No, sir.
But only shall enrich us even a hundredfold in this world.
How on earth can many women believe in God, take that which they
need and give it for the furtherance of the gospel, give it to those
who would carry the gospel in foreign lands? How is it that
they can dare do such a thing? Well, God provides for us. Let
me give you an illustration. When Paul was in prison at Rome,
the Philippian believers, a small group of people, poor people,
they didn't have a lot of pocket change. They didn't have any
folding money to sit down there. But the ladies got together and
fixed up some goodies for that beloved man who brought the gospel
to them. And what they were able to provide
for him, they provided for him. And they sent by their pastor
Epaphroditus this treasure to the Apostle Paul. It was in his
eyes a treasure. I don't have any idea what it
was. I just speculate. Maybe they fixed him some raisin breads,
chocolate chip cookies. I don't know. But whatever it
was they were capable of doing, they did. And Paul said, he said,
you out of your necessity, out of your great want, God forgive me. I don't believe
I've ever experienced to take out of my want and my necessity
and give for Christ. But they did. Out of your necessity,
you've given this sweet smelling sacrifice. And this was Paul's
response. I can't take this. I'll send
it back to you. No, no, no. I'll tell you what. My God shall
supply all your needs. according to his riches in glory
by Christ Jesus. Now that's probation. That's
probation. Not, not my God will provide
your need out of, but my God will provide all your need according
to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Not only does the Son
of God promise us pardon, peace, redemption, and reconciliation
through his blood and through his grace, he promises us that
we shall have, even here upon the earth, all the comforts and
joys that are sufficient to make up our need while we do that
which is his will and obey him. He promises he will give us all
that which we have left for him and much more. Now you who are
his disciples bear me witness. Is it not so? Has it not been
so for you? Have you not found my brother,
my sister, in the communion of God's saints, new friends, new
relationships, new companions, more loving, more faithful, more
numerous, more valuable? more lasting than you ever had
before. All our former friends, Bob,
would just fly by night, good old boy buddies, and they were
here just for a season, very briefly. First time you're in
need, first time you're in trouble, first time something comes up,
see you later, buddy. Don't want to get involved with
this, but now in the kingdom of God, playing literally Everywhere. Everywhere. I've got a home anywhere
in the world I might take a notion to go. I mean anywhere in the
world. Anywhere in the world. And I
don't even want a piece of wood. Anywhere I want to go. I've got
a friend. Call me up all the time. Why don't you come stay
with us? Come visit with us. Stay as long as you want to.
Now, I've got enough sense to know just two or three days is
enough. But stay as long as you want to. We want you to come
be in our home. This home's your home. And they
genuinely mean it. You make yourself at home. Want
something to eat? Just go ahead and have at it.
Just go ahead and have at it. Children of God, our God in his
great mercy and grace has given us to be members of his family. That may seem impossible to you
who don't know God, don't know his grace, don't know his people. But every believer will say Amen. That's all. That's all. God has
given us all in this world. In this world. Shoot, I haven't
left anything but trouble behind. I haven't left anything but misery
behind. You too. Moreover, in addition
to all of this, our Savior promises all who follow him eternal life
in the world to come. The Lord, the psalmist said,
will give grace and glory. He gives grace here, and he gives
glory hereafter. As soon as we put off these tabernacles
of clay, as soon as, as soon as this, this earthly tent is
taken down, as soon as this, this house of clay is dissolved,
the scripture tells us that we will enter into the gloriousness
of the sons of God. What does that say? More than
that, in the last day, in the resurrection morning, we shall
have honor and be put in honor and joy and glory, surpassing
our highest, most reverent expectation. What's resurrection glory going
to be like? You said the other thing about
that a while. When you go to bed tonight, after your wife's
gone to sleep, your husband's gone to sleep, you lay there
and think about that a while. What will resurrection glory
be like? And look up all the texts you
can look up. Meditate on them. Go over it all day tomorrow.
And when you get done, listen to this. I have not seen, nor
ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man, the things
which God has prepared for them that love him. our light affliction here. Our
Lord said you're going to get all this with persecution. In the world you shall have tribulation.
It's impossible to live for Christ. It's impossible to devote yourself
to Christ. It's impossible to confess Christ
before men. It's impossible to be faithful
to Christ and not suffer for it in this world. But all our
light affliction here shall redound to our Savior's greater honor
and our greater joy in eternity. These things, the trial of your
faith, more precious than gold that perishes, and shall be found
unto praise and honor and glory at the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ. And then when all is done, we shall dwell forever in a world, people want to know
going to be this world? Going to be another world? Going
to live in heaven floating around on clouds? What's it going to
be? I really don't care. I'm just
really not interested. But we're going to live in a
world with the Son of God in perfect holiness where there
is no pain and no weakness and no sorrow and no sickness and
no bereavement and no death and no temptation for the former things are all
passed away. Now then, tell me what you pursue. Tell me what it costs to be his
disciple. Tell me how much you suffered
for Jesus. Oh, my brother, my sister, take
heart. Time is short. Our sorrows may
indeed last for a night, but joy comes in the morning. And
the Lord Jesus said, I'll give you a hundredfold, not only in
this world, but in the world to come. Eternal life. Eternal life. Eternal life. You remember Bunyan in Pilgrim's
Progress describes Pilgrim fleeing from the city with his hands
in his ears and fingers in his ears stopping them from the cries
of his family in the world and crying eternal life, eternal
life. He's got to have eternal life.
Oh, that's the attitude we all have toward this world. Push
it aside, stick your fingers in your ears, cover your eyes
and follow after eternal life. Nothing else matters. Nothing
else matters. But you can't say that. I wish
I could stand on the housetop and speak it so plainly you'd
hear it in your heart. Nothing else matters. Nobody
else matters. Eternal life in Christ. Now secondly,
here's a solemn, solemn warning. Our master saw how self-confident,
self-conceited Peter and the other disciples were, and how much you and I are defiled
by that same egotism, pride, and it warned them to be watchful.
Now, if this warning was needed by Peter, James, and John, it's
needed by James and John, too. It's needed by you, as well.
Let us take heed to these words and learn what they mean. Verse
31, But many that are first shall be last, and the last shall be
first. Now, there are many things that
are applicable with regard to that, but certainly those words
are applicable to the apostles themselves. There stood in their
midst one who was considered by all the other apostles to
be first. He was the most trusted. He was
the most highly esteemed, most highly honored. When they got
ready to have somebody take care of the business of the early
church, they said, let him take care of the money. We trust him.
We trust him. And he thought pretty highly
of himself too. He thought he was number one. He thought he
stood head and shoulders above everybody else. His name was
Judah. He soon betrayed the master.
He soon betrayed the call. He soon betrayed everyone who
was once his friend. Most importantly, the son of
God. And he found himself hanging
from a tree and is in hell. There was another who was not
among them. As a matter of fact, if they could have observed this
other man, anybody looking at him would have said, the last
man to be in this cause, the last man to be in the kingdom
of God, the last man you might suspect to be one of Christ's
disciples is this young man. He was just a young man being
trained at the feet of Gamaliel, a Pharisee. Learning early in
his life to despise the Son of God, the gospel of free grace,
learning to be zealous in religion, but to hate God. His name was
Saul Acosta. In just a little while, God elevated
him to number one position. He used him above anybody who
had ever walked on this earth as a man in writing scripture
and instructing men in the things of God. This warning certainly
explains the history of God's church in this world. I recall years ago when first
I came in contact with Brother Ken Weimer while he was in Ivory
Coast of Africa. I can't remember whether it was
in a sermon he preached here or somewhere else, but I heard
him speak in a sermon and described how he had run into one of those
barbaric tribesmen in the dark, remote parts of the Ivory Coast.
this man had notions about religion. I mean, he had all kinds of silly
notions about this God and that, and mixed in among them was some
ideas concerning Jesus Christ. Mixed in among them was some
ideas about Jesus Christ, God's Son, coming down to earth. Mixed
in with his pagan, superstitious idolatry. And it didn't take
me long to put two and two together. You know, there was a time when
Asia Minor, Greece, And Northern Africa flourished with the light
of the gospel. Just flourished. And God who
sent the light, who threw the light in utter darkness. Paul Harries was here from Scotland,
Wales, British Isles. You know, most of the books I've
studied all my life as a believer were written and published over
the years. Go try to find somebody over
there preaching free grace today. Scarce there's him too. Scarce
there's him too. In our land once covered with
darkness, God sent men like Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield,
raised them up, sent out the light of the gospel. Those pagan religious philosophers,
Wesley and Finney, came through and spread the darkness of free
will religion, and it engulfed the nation. Today, God is again
establishing the light of the gospel. You cherish it, because
he who sent it, Father, can take it away just like that. And your
light will be turned into darkness again. Certainly this is a warning
which ought to sound like an alarm in the ears of us all. How many there are known to every
one of us who seemed once to run well for a season. They stood out in the crowd.
Man, you look at them. This one, he's going to do something
in God's kingdom. This man, he's going to mount
something. This man, you can depend on him.
They were so zealous, so committed, so knowledgeable, so quickly
they grew, so confident, so absolutely sure of everything. That used
to impress me, it doesn't much anymore. You find somebody just
absolutely sure of everything, hang on, he won't be sure for
long, I promise you. And now they're gone. They were first, now they're
last. The love of the world got one, the deceitfulness of riches another. Boy, I need to make a little
money now. And I tell you what, Pastor,
what I'm going to do, I'm going to put you on radio, put you
on television, I'll buy a plane and fly you all over the country.
Leave the money alone. Leave it alone. Don't you compromise
the gospel or your soul. of the glory of God for a dime
or for a million dollars. Don't you do it. Don't you. I
promise you, you do. You will go with it. I promise
you. I've said it too many times. A bad marriage got another. Flattering woman took another.
False doctrine another. Let us pray for grace to run
our race to the end. Starting off well, not much. I'm not a runner, but I can make
a pretty good start. But I can't last very long. It's
the fellow who finishes the race. We must persevere. We must continue
in the faith. God give me grace to begin with
Christ. To stay with Christ and to end
with Christ. Because He next describes Himself
here as our faithful shelter. He says, I'm going to Jerusalem
and I'm going to suffer all these things for you. And I just got
one thing to say about that. Let us therefore present ourselves
a living sacrifice. holy, acceptable unto God.