1 00:00:12,614 --> 00:00:14,251 Before I get to my text, 2 00:00:14,251 --> 00:00:17,538 let me share something of my testimony. 3 00:00:17,538 --> 00:00:20,891 When I was converted at the University of Texas, 4 00:00:20,891 --> 00:00:23,482 I was immediately introduced to men 5 00:00:23,482 --> 00:00:25,776 like E.M. Bounds, 6 00:00:25,776 --> 00:00:28,922 Praying Hyde, 7 00:00:28,922 --> 00:00:31,533 Leonard Ravenhill, 8 00:00:31,533 --> 00:00:34,991 C.T. Studd, 9 00:00:34,991 --> 00:00:36,941 Hudson Taylor, 10 00:00:36,941 --> 00:00:39,658 and my dearest and longest friend, 11 00:00:39,658 --> 00:00:41,866 George Mueller. 12 00:00:41,866 --> 00:00:46,201 And from them I learned things about prayer. 13 00:00:46,201 --> 00:00:48,530 I learned to seek God. 14 00:00:48,530 --> 00:00:53,421 I learned about the inside of a closet, 15 00:00:53,421 --> 00:00:55,942 and to pray and to tarry 16 00:00:55,942 --> 00:00:59,182 and to wait upon my God. 17 00:00:59,182 --> 00:01:04,271 And to believe that I should never believe 18 00:01:04,271 --> 00:01:07,032 that what has been given me in the New Covenant 19 00:01:07,032 --> 00:01:11,011 is less than what has been given in the Old. 20 00:01:11,011 --> 00:01:14,698 That if there were workings of God in the Old, 21 00:01:14,698 --> 00:01:18,371 surely there are workings of God 22 00:01:18,371 --> 00:01:22,252 and miraculous things that happen 23 00:01:22,252 --> 00:01:26,711 among us to whom the end of the ages has come. 24 00:01:26,711 --> 00:01:30,950 That we should expect great things 25 00:01:30,950 --> 00:01:34,254 in answer to our praying. 26 00:01:34,254 --> 00:01:36,951 And that if we would tarry with Him, 27 00:01:36,951 --> 00:01:38,509 we would see His power, 28 00:01:38,509 --> 00:01:41,420 His presence in our life. 29 00:01:41,420 --> 00:01:45,750 But as I would go out on the street and preach - 30 00:01:45,750 --> 00:01:47,772 I started out as a street preacher. 31 00:01:47,772 --> 00:01:49,812 That's why I always tell young preachers 32 00:01:49,812 --> 00:01:52,642 who are looking for a place to preach 33 00:01:52,642 --> 00:01:57,672 that there's a pulpit on absolutely every corner. 34 00:01:57,672 --> 00:02:00,371 But with all my praying 35 00:02:00,371 --> 00:02:03,753 and all my misguided zeal, 36 00:02:03,753 --> 00:02:06,734 there was very little power. 37 00:02:06,734 --> 00:02:09,811 To some degree, there were great things God did, 38 00:02:09,811 --> 00:02:12,821 but in my own heart, there was something missing, 39 00:02:12,821 --> 00:02:14,743 missing, missing. 40 00:02:14,743 --> 00:02:16,603 And so as I was directed, 41 00:02:16,603 --> 00:02:19,660 I went to seminary - 42 00:02:19,660 --> 00:02:22,531 a by no means small seminary. 43 00:02:22,531 --> 00:02:26,780 At the time, I believe, the largest in the world. 44 00:02:26,780 --> 00:02:29,740 And I studied with all my might. 45 00:02:29,740 --> 00:02:32,270 I took the most difficult professors. 46 00:02:32,270 --> 00:02:38,479 Greek, Hebrew, history, systematic. 47 00:02:38,479 --> 00:02:41,015 But I found nothing there. 48 00:02:41,015 --> 00:02:43,651 There were a few good men. 49 00:02:43,651 --> 00:02:45,790 A few men who walked with God and loved God, 50 00:02:45,790 --> 00:02:48,101 but basically, I found nothing there. 51 00:02:48,101 --> 00:02:51,091 Because they taught me all the theology 52 00:02:51,091 --> 00:02:54,660 that closed every church in Germany. 53 00:02:54,660 --> 00:02:57,279 I was taught Karl Barth, 54 00:02:57,279 --> 00:03:01,551 (unintelligible). 55 00:03:01,551 --> 00:03:02,838 Higher criticism. 56 00:03:02,838 --> 00:03:03,966 On and on and on. 57 00:03:03,966 --> 00:03:05,886 And I think the only thing that kept me 58 00:03:05,886 --> 00:03:07,338 from becoming a liberal 59 00:03:07,338 --> 00:03:10,236 was the grace of God, the providence of God, 60 00:03:10,236 --> 00:03:12,986 and the fact that it's very difficult to be a liberal 61 00:03:12,986 --> 00:03:17,456 and a street preacher at the same time. 62 00:03:17,456 --> 00:03:20,233 I can remember going to class one day in systematic 63 00:03:20,233 --> 00:03:23,316 and we were studying eschatology. 64 00:03:23,316 --> 00:03:26,721 I began to weep - not make a show, 65 00:03:26,721 --> 00:03:28,884 but I guess tears were running down my face 66 00:03:28,884 --> 00:03:32,015 as I thought about the street people that lived with me. 67 00:03:32,015 --> 00:03:35,386 I lived down on the street at that time with street people. 68 00:03:35,386 --> 00:03:38,105 I thought about how if Christ came back at that moment, 69 00:03:38,105 --> 00:03:41,134 they would surely go to hell without a doubt. 70 00:03:41,134 --> 00:03:43,657 The professor noticed the tears coming down my cheek 71 00:03:43,657 --> 00:03:45,354 and after class he walked up to me 72 00:03:45,354 --> 00:03:46,695 with some encouraging words. 73 00:03:46,695 --> 00:03:49,054 He put his arm around me and he said this: 74 00:03:49,054 --> 00:03:50,646 "Paul, don't take this so hard. 75 00:03:50,646 --> 00:03:52,883 Don't be surprised if on the day of judgment 76 00:03:52,883 --> 00:03:57,525 Jesus lets all the goats jump in the sheep line." 77 00:03:57,525 --> 00:04:00,424 But I went to Peru as a missionary 78 00:04:00,424 --> 00:04:03,524 in no way qualified. 79 00:04:03,524 --> 00:04:04,736 We come to think today 80 00:04:04,736 --> 00:04:07,014 that everyone who wants to be a missionary 81 00:04:07,014 --> 00:04:10,045 can be a missionary. 82 00:04:10,045 --> 00:04:11,486 That's as absurd as saying 83 00:04:11,486 --> 00:04:14,776 everyone who wants to be an elder can be an elder. 84 00:04:14,776 --> 00:04:17,350 There are requirements - 85 00:04:17,350 --> 00:04:18,745 requirements of theology, 86 00:04:18,745 --> 00:04:21,274 requirements of character. 87 00:04:21,274 --> 00:04:23,234 You simply cannot get around 88 00:04:23,234 --> 00:04:25,264 the demands of Scripture. 89 00:04:25,264 --> 00:04:27,414 But in God's providence, 90 00:04:27,414 --> 00:04:32,926 I was allowed to go. 91 00:04:32,926 --> 00:04:37,642 Other than a prayer life and zeal 92 00:04:37,642 --> 00:04:39,795 there wasn't much to say. 93 00:04:39,795 --> 00:04:42,205 I learned the ways to do evangelism - 94 00:04:42,205 --> 00:04:43,771 get people to jump through 95 00:04:43,771 --> 00:04:45,245 certain evangelical hoops 96 00:04:45,245 --> 00:04:47,706 and if they say yes after each question, 97 00:04:47,706 --> 00:04:52,610 you Popishly pronounce them to be born again. 98 00:04:52,610 --> 00:04:54,645 But then I came into contact 99 00:04:54,645 --> 00:04:56,574 with an ex-Catholic priest 100 00:04:56,574 --> 00:04:58,166 by the name of Jesus Hertado 101 00:04:58,166 --> 00:04:59,915 who had been converted. 102 00:04:59,915 --> 00:05:01,845 Brilliant man. 103 00:05:01,845 --> 00:05:04,786 Latin, Greek, just absolutely brilliant man. 104 00:05:04,786 --> 00:05:06,276 And after he was converted, 105 00:05:06,276 --> 00:05:08,085 he decided he would go to Germany 106 00:05:08,085 --> 00:05:09,516 where the Reformation occurred 107 00:05:09,516 --> 00:05:11,565 in order to learn the truths of Scripture. 108 00:05:11,565 --> 00:05:13,293 But when he got there, he discovered 109 00:05:13,293 --> 00:05:14,975 they were doing the same thing 110 00:05:14,975 --> 00:05:17,116 the Catholic church was doing. 111 00:05:17,116 --> 00:05:18,583 So he came back to Peru 112 00:05:18,583 --> 00:05:20,575 and he started a Bible institute. 113 00:05:20,575 --> 00:05:22,851 He asked me if I would teach. 114 00:05:22,851 --> 00:05:25,136 I thought, well, I've been to seminary. 115 00:05:25,136 --> 00:05:29,006 I know Greek. I'll help you out. 116 00:05:29,006 --> 00:05:31,016 And this is where God truly began 117 00:05:31,016 --> 00:05:34,067 to change my life as a young man. 118 00:05:34,067 --> 00:05:35,974 Because this man, Jesus Hertado, 119 00:05:35,974 --> 00:05:38,415 was so sick and tired 120 00:05:38,415 --> 00:05:41,956 of getting everything but Scripture 121 00:05:41,956 --> 00:05:44,295 that the first semester that I taught 122 00:05:44,295 --> 00:05:46,415 was this: the students read through 123 00:05:46,415 --> 00:05:49,866 the entire Bible - 10 chapters a day. 124 00:05:49,866 --> 00:05:52,354 They write out a chapter summary. 125 00:05:52,354 --> 00:05:54,636 They write out a commentary of each chapter. 126 00:05:54,636 --> 00:05:55,955 I mean, it was phenomenal. 127 00:05:55,955 --> 00:05:58,174 It was hours and hours of work a day 128 00:05:58,174 --> 00:05:59,405 just in the Scriptures. 129 00:05:59,405 --> 00:06:01,085 And then they would come to class 130 00:06:01,085 --> 00:06:02,745 and the only thing that class was 131 00:06:02,745 --> 00:06:06,696 was simply ask the teacher all your questions. 132 00:06:06,696 --> 00:06:08,436 So I began to study Scripture 133 00:06:08,436 --> 00:06:11,636 about 10 hours a day. 134 00:06:11,636 --> 00:06:13,344 Because even though I graduated 135 00:06:13,344 --> 00:06:16,119 near the top of my class in seminary, 136 00:06:16,119 --> 00:06:19,177 I didn't know the Scriptures. 137 00:06:19,177 --> 00:06:21,426 And just hours and hours and hours. 138 00:06:21,426 --> 00:06:23,085 After making my way 139 00:06:23,085 --> 00:06:25,786 through the first five books of the Pentateuch, 140 00:06:25,786 --> 00:06:28,945 I discovered I was no longer a Baptist. 141 00:06:28,945 --> 00:06:31,716 Because I had gone to a Baptist seminary. 142 00:06:31,716 --> 00:06:34,373 And the things that I was learning there 143 00:06:34,373 --> 00:06:38,265 was nothing of what they taught me. 144 00:06:38,265 --> 00:06:40,044 And so I decided that I would go back 145 00:06:40,044 --> 00:06:44,075 to the States for a month or two - 146 00:06:44,075 --> 00:06:46,656 try to figure out what am I? 147 00:06:46,656 --> 00:06:48,886 This was after I finished the entire course. 148 00:06:48,886 --> 00:06:50,666 We'd gone through the entire Bible. 149 00:06:50,666 --> 00:06:52,805 I went back to the States to discover 150 00:06:52,805 --> 00:06:55,345 who do I belong to? 151 00:06:55,345 --> 00:06:59,585 And someone handed me a book by Boyce: 152 00:06:59,585 --> 00:07:01,775 "The Abstract of Principles." 153 00:07:01,775 --> 00:07:03,626 I began to read it. 154 00:07:03,626 --> 00:07:06,866 And I realized that I had not stopped 155 00:07:06,866 --> 00:07:08,346 becoming a Baptist. 156 00:07:08,346 --> 00:07:12,300 I realized that I had become one. 157 00:07:12,300 --> 00:07:17,592 But then, the door began to open 158 00:07:17,592 --> 00:07:20,496 with throughout history 159 00:07:20,496 --> 00:07:24,115 jewels that God had given us. 160 00:07:24,115 --> 00:07:27,784 There was Spurgeon. 161 00:07:27,784 --> 00:07:29,616 I read him. 162 00:07:29,616 --> 00:07:34,125 There was Edwards and Whitefield, 163 00:07:34,125 --> 00:07:36,316 Owen, 164 00:07:36,316 --> 00:07:41,284 and my lovely John Flavel. 165 00:07:41,284 --> 00:07:46,856 Rutherford, and on and on and on. 166 00:07:46,856 --> 00:07:50,728 Now what did this do to me? 167 00:07:50,728 --> 00:07:55,085 I am glad that what I heard from them 168 00:07:55,085 --> 00:07:57,980 was a confirmation of what I had learned in Scripture, 169 00:07:57,980 --> 00:08:03,355 only I couldn't think it nor say it as good as they could. 170 00:08:03,355 --> 00:08:07,656 But this is the greatest thing I learned from them: 171 00:08:07,656 --> 00:08:09,514 as Paul tells the church in Corinth, 172 00:08:09,514 --> 00:08:11,721 when you compare yourself by yourself, 173 00:08:11,721 --> 00:08:14,915 you are not wise. 174 00:08:14,915 --> 00:08:18,238 When we compare ourselves to others 175 00:08:18,238 --> 00:08:21,785 in the circle of contemporary Christianity, 176 00:08:21,785 --> 00:08:24,895 we are not wise. 177 00:08:24,895 --> 00:08:26,906 When we compare ourselves to Scripture, 178 00:08:26,906 --> 00:08:28,306 there is great wisdom there, 179 00:08:28,306 --> 00:08:31,224 but there is also the danger 180 00:08:31,224 --> 00:08:32,992 if we separate ourselves from history 181 00:08:32,992 --> 00:08:34,566 that we will interpret Scripture 182 00:08:34,566 --> 00:08:40,635 through the eyes of our own culture. 183 00:08:40,635 --> 00:08:43,108 But when we take a look 184 00:08:43,108 --> 00:08:46,155 throughout Christian history 185 00:08:46,155 --> 00:08:49,945 and discover the men and women of God 186 00:08:49,945 --> 00:08:53,025 that He has most used, 187 00:08:53,025 --> 00:08:56,566 that show greatest evidences of piety 188 00:08:56,566 --> 00:08:58,516 and the power of God, 189 00:08:58,516 --> 00:09:02,215 and we begin to compare our theology 190 00:09:02,215 --> 00:09:04,502 and our way of life to them, 191 00:09:04,502 --> 00:09:08,343 it raises the bar. 192 00:09:08,343 --> 00:09:12,664 It raises the standard. 193 00:09:12,664 --> 00:09:16,875 And I want to encourage you young men and women 194 00:09:16,875 --> 00:09:19,273 who desire to be missionaries, 195 00:09:19,273 --> 00:09:21,682 it is not your right. 196 00:09:21,682 --> 00:09:24,564 It is a privilege. 197 00:09:24,564 --> 00:09:27,275 As I said last night, 198 00:09:27,275 --> 00:09:30,476 people do not need your life, 199 00:09:30,476 --> 00:09:33,497 and they do not need your zeal, 200 00:09:33,497 --> 00:09:39,275 and they do not need all your well-meaning endeavor. 201 00:09:39,275 --> 00:09:42,607 Don't go to the mission field 202 00:09:42,607 --> 00:09:44,488 unless when you go there, 203 00:09:44,488 --> 00:09:46,106 you can open your mouth 204 00:09:46,106 --> 00:09:55,216 and instruct them in the things of God. 205 00:09:55,216 --> 00:09:57,074 Well, let's go to our sermon. 206 00:09:57,074 --> 00:10:02,785 Romans 12:1. 207 00:10:02,785 --> 00:10:04,785 "Therefore, I urge you, brethren, 208 00:10:04,785 --> 00:10:05,991 by the mercies of God, 209 00:10:05,991 --> 00:10:08,696 to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, 210 00:10:08,696 --> 00:10:09,854 acceptable to God, 211 00:10:09,854 --> 00:10:12,196 which is your spiritual service of worship. 212 00:10:12,196 --> 00:10:14,137 And do not be conformed to this world, 213 00:10:14,137 --> 00:10:16,493 but be transformed by the renewing of your mind 214 00:10:16,493 --> 00:10:19,905 so that you may prove what the will of God is - 215 00:10:19,905 --> 00:10:24,489 that which is good and acceptable and perfect." 216 00:10:24,489 --> 00:10:25,990 Paul was an apostle 217 00:10:25,990 --> 00:10:27,886 and he had an apostolic ministry, 218 00:10:27,886 --> 00:10:29,898 but at the same time, 219 00:10:29,898 --> 00:10:33,236 don't think of him as not having 220 00:10:33,236 --> 00:10:35,215 the heart of Christ, 221 00:10:35,215 --> 00:10:37,239 or having the heart of a pastor. 222 00:10:37,239 --> 00:10:41,085 He cared deeply for people. 223 00:10:41,085 --> 00:10:42,335 I am very, very afraid - 224 00:10:42,335 --> 00:10:45,607 although I greatly appreciate this newfound desire 225 00:10:45,607 --> 00:10:47,514 to do everything for the glory of God, 226 00:10:47,514 --> 00:10:49,413 and to do missions for the glory of God 227 00:10:49,413 --> 00:10:51,314 and to preach for the glory of God, 228 00:10:51,314 --> 00:10:54,744 but that in itself can also become twisted. 229 00:10:54,744 --> 00:10:56,805 Because sometimes it's used as an excuse 230 00:10:56,805 --> 00:11:00,298 to not have a passion for people, 231 00:11:00,298 --> 00:11:03,156 to not have a love for people. 232 00:11:03,156 --> 00:11:05,867 We must always do all things 233 00:11:05,867 --> 00:11:07,910 first and foremost for the glory of God, 234 00:11:07,910 --> 00:11:09,620 but truly if we are doing that, 235 00:11:09,620 --> 00:11:11,365 if we are loving the Lord our God 236 00:11:11,365 --> 00:11:13,978 with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, 237 00:11:13,978 --> 00:11:16,120 we will love our neighbor as ourselves. 238 00:11:16,120 --> 00:11:21,405 We will care for people. 239 00:11:21,405 --> 00:11:25,744 Especially when we know 240 00:11:25,744 --> 00:11:29,445 that we can pick the worst of all out of the lot, 241 00:11:29,445 --> 00:11:31,465 the worst person on the face of the earth, 242 00:11:31,465 --> 00:11:33,775 and we know that we would make them 243 00:11:33,775 --> 00:11:35,776 look like a choir boy if it were not 244 00:11:35,776 --> 00:11:38,097 for the grace of God in our life. 245 00:11:38,097 --> 00:11:40,455 And therefore, we should urge people 246 00:11:40,455 --> 00:11:43,405 on to truth for the glory of God, 247 00:11:43,405 --> 00:11:47,904 but for their benefit also. 248 00:11:47,904 --> 00:11:49,466 And I can see this in Paul. 249 00:11:49,466 --> 00:11:54,515 He says, "Therefore, I urge you, brethren..." 250 00:11:54,515 --> 00:11:56,825 One of the greatest needs in the church today - 251 00:11:56,825 --> 00:11:58,786 My wife, when she first came to America, 252 00:11:58,786 --> 00:12:01,275 she said the first thing that she noticed 253 00:12:01,275 --> 00:12:03,916 is that it seemed that Christians in America 254 00:12:03,916 --> 00:12:06,565 were so thin-skinned. 255 00:12:06,565 --> 00:12:09,376 She said we considered it the job of our pastor 256 00:12:09,376 --> 00:12:13,087 to rebuke us both publicly and privately; 257 00:12:13,087 --> 00:12:14,465 to watch over our souls, 258 00:12:14,465 --> 00:12:16,434 to urge us, encourage us, 259 00:12:16,434 --> 00:12:17,915 to tell us when we're wrong. 260 00:12:17,915 --> 00:12:19,516 It seems that American Christians 261 00:12:19,516 --> 00:12:22,516 will have no part of this. 262 00:12:22,516 --> 00:12:24,132 They consider it an attack 263 00:12:24,132 --> 00:12:26,695 when it's one of the greatest expressions 264 00:12:26,695 --> 00:12:30,455 of pastoral love that a man will risk 265 00:12:30,455 --> 00:12:33,014 his relationship in order to honor God 266 00:12:33,014 --> 00:12:36,327 and to save souls. 267 00:12:36,327 --> 00:12:38,515 And we see this in Paul. 268 00:12:38,515 --> 00:12:47,875 He is urging. 269 00:12:47,875 --> 00:12:51,335 I will not lose sleep tonight 270 00:12:51,335 --> 00:12:53,544 because people in the world 271 00:12:53,544 --> 00:12:56,415 lack self-esteem. 272 00:12:56,415 --> 00:12:58,584 I will not lose sleep tonight 273 00:12:58,584 --> 00:13:00,864 because they're not having their best life now 274 00:13:00,864 --> 00:13:02,895 or they're not being all that they can be 275 00:13:02,895 --> 00:13:04,685 or their checkbook is not balanced. 276 00:13:04,685 --> 00:13:06,516 I will lose sleep tonight 277 00:13:06,516 --> 00:13:07,885 if I lose sleep tonight 278 00:13:07,885 --> 00:13:10,244 because men will stand naked before God 279 00:13:10,244 --> 00:13:15,734 and be cast into hell. 280 00:13:15,734 --> 00:13:18,235 When I preach and when you preach 281 00:13:18,235 --> 00:13:20,009 whether here or in the mission field, 282 00:13:20,009 --> 00:13:22,095 you cannot simply think 283 00:13:22,095 --> 00:13:24,605 that you're just a communicator of truth 284 00:13:24,605 --> 00:13:25,885 and you leave it there. 285 00:13:25,885 --> 00:13:33,047 You must preach as a dying man to dying men. 286 00:13:33,047 --> 00:13:35,265 And I see that in Paul. 287 00:13:35,265 --> 00:13:38,175 There was a passion. There was an urging. 288 00:13:38,175 --> 00:13:42,484 He wasn't simply satisfied 289 00:13:42,484 --> 00:13:44,624 if he preached well 290 00:13:44,624 --> 00:13:47,717 or communicated truth. 291 00:13:47,717 --> 00:13:50,655 He longed for God to be honored among men 292 00:13:50,655 --> 00:13:57,620 and he longed for men to be holy, 293 00:13:57,620 --> 00:13:59,646 to be Christlike, 294 00:13:59,646 --> 00:14:03,518 and to be able to rejoice in the benefit 295 00:14:03,518 --> 00:14:05,884 of their great salvation. 296 00:14:05,884 --> 00:14:11,592 We ought to be a people given to urging our brethren 297 00:14:11,597 --> 00:14:13,267 to greater and greater godliness, 298 00:14:13,267 --> 00:14:15,367 to greater and greater piety, 299 00:14:15,367 --> 00:14:21,160 to abound further and further in love. 300 00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:22,908 He says, "I urge you, brethren..." 301 00:14:22,908 --> 00:14:26,128 What is he going to urge them to do? 302 00:14:26,128 --> 00:14:28,569 To do the most difficult, scandalous, 303 00:14:28,569 --> 00:14:30,110 in some cases some would say 304 00:14:30,110 --> 00:14:32,388 preposterous thing a person could ever 305 00:14:32,388 --> 00:14:34,131 urge another person to do - 306 00:14:34,131 --> 00:14:38,418 to give their life away. 307 00:14:38,418 --> 00:14:40,839 Do you know even the devil had it right 308 00:14:40,839 --> 00:14:42,519 in this sense - you can take away 309 00:14:42,519 --> 00:14:44,998 a man's goods, his houses, his lands, 310 00:14:44,998 --> 00:14:47,570 you can do absolutely anything to him, 311 00:14:47,570 --> 00:14:49,809 but the moment you touch his flesh 312 00:14:49,809 --> 00:14:53,769 is when you're truly going to test this man. 313 00:14:53,769 --> 00:14:59,670 To give away a car, a home, a tithe 314 00:14:59,670 --> 00:15:01,168 is a small thing, 315 00:15:01,168 --> 00:15:05,448 but to ask a man to give away his life... 316 00:15:05,448 --> 00:15:08,058 I know there's so much romantic notion about missions, 317 00:15:08,058 --> 00:15:10,538 but Amy Carmichael, 318 00:15:10,538 --> 00:15:13,229 Elisabeth Elliot's book - it's right. 319 00:15:13,229 --> 00:15:17,239 Missions is only this: an opportunity to die. 320 00:15:17,239 --> 00:15:20,489 An opportunity to give your life away 321 00:15:20,489 --> 00:15:23,389 for something much larger than yourself, 322 00:15:23,389 --> 00:15:25,758 much greater than yourself. 323 00:15:25,758 --> 00:15:28,206 So he is going to ask these people 324 00:15:28,206 --> 00:15:33,078 to do what some would consider almost cultic, 325 00:15:33,078 --> 00:15:36,580 absurd, ridiculous, immoral - 326 00:15:36,580 --> 00:15:38,182 to give their life away; 327 00:15:38,182 --> 00:15:41,539 to offer their life. 328 00:15:41,539 --> 00:15:44,939 Now, you're going to need strong medicine 329 00:15:44,939 --> 00:15:49,448 to motivate a person to something such as this. 330 00:15:49,448 --> 00:15:51,640 What on earth or in heaven 331 00:15:51,640 --> 00:16:00,107 could ever motivate a man to give his life away? 332 00:16:00,107 --> 00:16:03,048 Notice the first word in our text: 333 00:16:03,048 --> 00:16:05,238 Therefore. 334 00:16:05,238 --> 00:16:07,778 And then go on, when he says, 335 00:16:07,778 --> 00:16:10,269 "Therefore, I urge you, brethren..." 336 00:16:10,269 --> 00:16:14,635 By means - by the mercies of God. 337 00:16:14,635 --> 00:16:16,671 When Paul puts "therefore" in the text, 338 00:16:16,671 --> 00:16:19,529 what he's doing is he's linking this text 339 00:16:19,529 --> 00:16:22,608 to something else. 340 00:16:22,608 --> 00:16:25,579 He says basically this: 341 00:16:25,579 --> 00:16:28,860 I'm going to urge you to give your life away to God; 342 00:16:28,860 --> 00:16:32,010 to offer it up as a living and holy sacrifice to God. 343 00:16:32,010 --> 00:16:33,696 Now I'm going to do so 344 00:16:33,696 --> 00:16:35,671 on the basis of the following: 345 00:16:35,671 --> 00:16:37,933 The first 11 chapters of this book 346 00:16:37,933 --> 00:16:41,959 that outline for you the mercies of God. 347 00:16:41,959 --> 00:16:44,639 Paul does the same thing in the book of Ephesians - 348 00:16:44,639 --> 00:16:47,040 the deepest theology I believe you'll ever find 349 00:16:47,040 --> 00:16:51,329 are the first three chapters of the book of Ephesians. 350 00:16:51,329 --> 00:16:53,934 Mystery upon mystery of God. 351 00:16:53,934 --> 00:16:56,619 But he comes to chapter 4 352 00:16:56,619 --> 00:16:58,819 after speaking of all the great things 353 00:16:58,819 --> 00:17:03,102 God has done in Christ. 354 00:17:03,102 --> 00:17:06,923 He comes to chapter 4 and says, "Therefore..." 355 00:17:06,923 --> 00:17:10,199 Now... we're going to go on to practical religion. 356 00:17:10,199 --> 00:17:11,627 We've gone into the theology. 357 00:17:11,627 --> 00:17:15,009 Now we're going to into the praxis. 358 00:17:15,009 --> 00:17:19,851 Based upon what God has done for you in Christ, 359 00:17:19,851 --> 00:17:23,324 lay down your life. 360 00:17:23,324 --> 00:17:25,832 And this is absolutely spectacular! 361 00:17:25,832 --> 00:17:28,069 This is what makes Christianity something 362 00:17:28,069 --> 00:17:32,433 other than slavery or a drudgery. 363 00:17:32,433 --> 00:17:34,970 We give our lives away as people 364 00:17:34,970 --> 00:17:38,118 who are mesmerized by something. 365 00:17:38,118 --> 00:17:41,079 By people who have seen something so great 366 00:17:41,079 --> 00:17:43,580 they consider it a small thing 367 00:17:43,580 --> 00:17:46,358 to give their life away. 368 00:17:46,358 --> 00:17:48,290 I would submit to you this morning 369 00:17:48,290 --> 00:17:50,542 that the reason why some people 370 00:17:50,542 --> 00:17:52,584 are so grudging and sparing 371 00:17:52,584 --> 00:17:54,999 with the way they give their life away to God, 372 00:17:54,999 --> 00:17:57,635 it is because they do not know 373 00:17:57,635 --> 00:17:59,601 the mercies of God revealed 374 00:17:59,601 --> 00:18:01,510 in the Person of Jesus Christ. 375 00:18:01,510 --> 00:18:03,110 Many people in our churches 376 00:18:03,110 --> 00:18:08,669 are absolutely unconverted to start off with. 377 00:18:08,669 --> 00:18:11,192 But even those who are truly converted, 378 00:18:11,192 --> 00:18:14,700 they languish in poverty. 379 00:18:14,700 --> 00:18:16,319 Even in the middle, sometimes, 380 00:18:16,319 --> 00:18:20,650 of sound expository preaching. 381 00:18:20,650 --> 00:18:22,920 And why is that? I've come to a conclusion. 382 00:18:22,920 --> 00:18:27,219 You can obey all the laws 383 00:18:27,219 --> 00:18:29,048 of expository preaching 384 00:18:29,048 --> 00:18:32,442 and still the preaching be Christless. 385 00:18:32,442 --> 00:18:35,932 You have to understand that when you come to a text 386 00:18:35,932 --> 00:18:37,837 and you preach the text, 387 00:18:37,837 --> 00:18:40,729 it must still all be about Christ 388 00:18:40,729 --> 00:18:42,339 or it will be nothing more 389 00:18:42,339 --> 00:18:46,390 than a quaint moral teaching. 390 00:18:46,390 --> 00:18:49,119 That is why we see Spurgeon sermons 391 00:18:49,119 --> 00:18:54,018 enduring and enduring. 392 00:18:54,018 --> 00:18:56,939 It is because every time he took a text 393 00:18:56,939 --> 00:18:59,627 he made his way to Christ immediately. 394 00:18:59,627 --> 00:19:04,071 It was all about Christ. 395 00:19:04,071 --> 00:19:06,888 I would submit to you that every word 396 00:19:06,888 --> 00:19:09,799 in this book is about Christ. 397 00:19:09,799 --> 00:19:12,205 I would submit to you that nothing in this book 398 00:19:12,205 --> 00:19:16,118 can be understood apart from Christ. 399 00:19:16,118 --> 00:19:18,840 I would submit to you that everything 400 00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:20,820 God the Father has ever done, 401 00:19:20,820 --> 00:19:23,227 He has done for Christ, by Christ, 402 00:19:23,227 --> 00:19:25,185 through Christ, and in Christ. 403 00:19:25,185 --> 00:19:29,039 Outside of Christ there is nothing. 404 00:19:29,039 --> 00:19:30,238 Nothing exists. 405 00:19:30,238 --> 00:19:34,870 Everything is absolutely absurd. 406 00:19:34,870 --> 00:19:36,599 And Paul comes to these people 407 00:19:36,599 --> 00:19:39,202 asking them to do the unthinkable 408 00:19:39,202 --> 00:19:51,999 until he brings forth the motivation. 409 00:19:51,999 --> 00:19:59,759 From where does self-sacrifice come? 410 00:19:59,759 --> 00:20:02,649 Is it just that the kingdom of God advances violently 411 00:20:02,649 --> 00:20:04,379 and the violent take it by force? 412 00:20:04,379 --> 00:20:07,048 There's just some men who are full 413 00:20:07,048 --> 00:20:09,775 of determination and will to do the right thing 414 00:20:09,775 --> 00:20:11,694 and they give their life away? 415 00:20:11,694 --> 00:20:14,534 If that's true, it's idolatry. 416 00:20:14,534 --> 00:20:18,294 And it's self-worship. 417 00:20:18,294 --> 00:20:20,064 As Brother Charles Leiter who is here 418 00:20:20,064 --> 00:20:21,766 has said to me several times, 419 00:20:21,766 --> 00:20:24,493 "Those men who violently take the kingdom by force, 420 00:20:24,493 --> 00:20:26,604 they are not violent 421 00:20:26,604 --> 00:20:29,275 in their strength and self will. 422 00:20:29,275 --> 00:20:33,147 They are violent in that they are desperate." 423 00:20:33,147 --> 00:20:34,442 They know their weakness. 424 00:20:34,442 --> 00:20:35,846 They know their need. 425 00:20:35,846 --> 00:20:37,493 And that knowing of their weakness 426 00:20:37,493 --> 00:20:39,165 makes them so desperate 427 00:20:39,165 --> 00:20:43,623 they grab a hold of the kingdom with all their might. 428 00:20:43,623 --> 00:20:45,735 But what makes a person 429 00:20:45,735 --> 00:20:47,813 give his life away? 430 00:20:47,813 --> 00:20:49,066 I would submit to you, 431 00:20:49,066 --> 00:20:51,732 there's only one biblical reason: 432 00:20:51,732 --> 00:20:55,114 That they have glimpsed something 433 00:20:55,114 --> 00:20:59,824 of the glories of God in the face of Christ. 434 00:20:59,824 --> 00:21:04,254 Christianity, although it has law 435 00:21:04,254 --> 00:21:07,329 and an ethic and a morality, 436 00:21:07,329 --> 00:21:11,113 it is not about rule keeping 437 00:21:11,113 --> 00:21:17,395 or ethics or morality. 438 00:21:17,395 --> 00:21:19,330 To make the United States of America 439 00:21:19,330 --> 00:21:21,794 a moral people would just make them 440 00:21:21,794 --> 00:21:25,395 two-fold sons of hell. 441 00:21:25,395 --> 00:21:28,583 Christianity is about Christ. 442 00:21:28,583 --> 00:21:30,433 It is about grace. 443 00:21:30,433 --> 00:21:33,244 It is about redemption. 444 00:21:33,244 --> 00:21:34,525 And as I said last night, 445 00:21:34,525 --> 00:21:36,815 if you notice that your love for God is waning 446 00:21:36,815 --> 00:21:39,374 or it's not what it should be - 447 00:21:39,374 --> 00:21:40,873 as all of us should say that - 448 00:21:40,873 --> 00:21:44,392 or that you do not glorify God as you ought, 449 00:21:44,392 --> 00:21:46,193 or that you need to grow, 450 00:21:46,193 --> 00:21:49,673 or that you need to find power over pornography - 451 00:21:49,673 --> 00:21:52,223 you do so by running to discover 452 00:21:52,223 --> 00:21:53,993 more of the glories of God 453 00:21:53,993 --> 00:21:59,058 in the face of Christ. 454 00:21:59,058 --> 00:22:01,060 Him. 455 00:22:01,060 --> 00:22:04,313 It all has to come back to Him 456 00:22:04,313 --> 00:22:08,566 or it's idolatry. 457 00:22:08,566 --> 00:22:14,563 Everything. 458 00:22:14,563 --> 00:22:16,664 It is one of the reasons why 459 00:22:16,664 --> 00:22:21,080 I literally hate it 460 00:22:21,080 --> 00:22:23,003 when someone mentions something 461 00:22:23,003 --> 00:22:25,863 about systematic theology, 462 00:22:25,863 --> 00:22:28,475 and then they themselves or someone else 463 00:22:28,475 --> 00:22:31,824 preface that: of course, you've got to be careful 464 00:22:31,824 --> 00:22:34,393 because systematic theology by itself 465 00:22:34,393 --> 00:22:37,090 or doctrine by itself can make you cold 466 00:22:37,090 --> 00:22:40,432 and without fruit and full of pride. 467 00:22:40,432 --> 00:22:45,123 I don't agree with that statement at all. 468 00:22:45,123 --> 00:22:50,123 Truth can never have a bad effect on a person. 469 00:22:50,123 --> 00:22:53,574 Good theology is always going to create fire. 470 00:22:53,574 --> 00:22:57,246 That's one of the ways that you know it's good theology. 471 00:22:57,246 --> 00:22:59,243 And if it doesn't create fire, 472 00:22:59,243 --> 00:23:01,492 it's not the fault of truth. 473 00:23:01,492 --> 00:23:04,743 It's either being taught incorrectly 474 00:23:04,743 --> 00:23:10,294 or being listened to by unconverted ears. 475 00:23:10,294 --> 00:23:13,633 You want to be filled with fire. 476 00:23:13,633 --> 00:23:16,102 You want to be able to go out there 477 00:23:16,102 --> 00:23:18,623 and lose your life for the sake of Christ. 478 00:23:18,623 --> 00:23:20,623 It's a rather easy endeavor. 479 00:23:20,623 --> 00:23:23,577 Just know Him. 480 00:23:23,577 --> 00:23:26,624 His glory, His beauty. 481 00:23:26,624 --> 00:23:30,274 His power, His life. 482 00:23:30,274 --> 00:23:32,074 Know what God has done for you 483 00:23:32,074 --> 00:23:36,234 in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 484 00:23:36,234 --> 00:23:37,644 Look at what we've done. 485 00:23:37,644 --> 00:23:39,694 Instead of following Jonathan Edwards, 486 00:23:39,694 --> 00:23:42,904 we followed Benjamin Franklin. 487 00:23:42,904 --> 00:23:44,764 We have followed pragmatism 488 00:23:44,764 --> 00:23:49,427 instead of correct thinking. 489 00:23:49,427 --> 00:23:52,244 The church is in trouble - 490 00:23:52,244 --> 00:23:53,641 that's what they say anyway. 491 00:23:53,641 --> 00:23:56,924 The problem is most of what they call the church is not the church, 492 00:23:56,924 --> 00:23:59,974 and the church is not quite as in trouble as everybody thinks. 493 00:23:59,974 --> 00:24:01,764 As a matter of fact, the church today 494 00:24:01,764 --> 00:24:03,750 is absolutely beautiful. She's glorious. 495 00:24:03,750 --> 00:24:05,125 She's humble. She's broken. 496 00:24:05,125 --> 00:24:06,853 And she's confessing her sin. 497 00:24:06,853 --> 00:24:10,364 The problem is what everybody's calling the church today isn't a church. 498 00:24:10,364 --> 00:24:12,974 Basically, by and large, what's called church today 499 00:24:12,974 --> 00:24:16,134 is nothing more than a bunch of unconverted church people 500 00:24:16,134 --> 00:24:25,534 with unconverted pastors. 501 00:24:25,534 --> 00:24:28,524 What you have to see is this: 502 00:24:28,524 --> 00:24:31,384 We try to help people by giving them principles - 503 00:24:31,384 --> 00:24:33,264 and there are principles in the Bible - 504 00:24:33,264 --> 00:24:34,963 we try to help them by giving them 505 00:24:34,963 --> 00:24:37,033 ten ways to do this and that 506 00:24:37,033 --> 00:24:38,833 and discipleship courses 507 00:24:38,833 --> 00:24:40,064 and all sorts of things 508 00:24:40,064 --> 00:24:43,164 in order to make people grow. 509 00:24:43,164 --> 00:24:48,464 Teach them who God is. 510 00:24:48,464 --> 00:24:52,754 Show them the works of God. 511 00:24:52,754 --> 00:24:58,503 Teach them about Jesus Christ. 512 00:24:58,503 --> 00:25:00,685 The problem is many pastors can't do that 513 00:25:00,685 --> 00:25:07,563 because it's hard work to search out that Treasure. 514 00:25:07,563 --> 00:25:09,624 Missionary, if you're going to be 515 00:25:09,624 --> 00:25:11,818 of any account at all in the field, 516 00:25:11,818 --> 00:25:13,165 then know this: 517 00:25:13,165 --> 00:25:15,079 You're going to be talked about poorly 518 00:25:15,079 --> 00:25:16,741 by all the other missionaries. 519 00:25:16,741 --> 00:25:18,143 Just like Praying Hyde. 520 00:25:18,143 --> 00:25:20,026 It was said that Praying Hyde was lazy 521 00:25:20,026 --> 00:25:21,213 and all sorts of things 522 00:25:21,213 --> 00:25:24,634 because all he would do is stay in his room and pray. 523 00:25:24,634 --> 00:25:27,684 Well, I think if you're going to be a missionary of any account 524 00:25:27,684 --> 00:25:29,091 this is what you must do: 525 00:25:29,091 --> 00:25:32,434 stay in your room, not only pray, but study 526 00:25:32,434 --> 00:25:34,633 so that when you walk out of that room 527 00:25:34,633 --> 00:25:38,015 you have something to say about God. 528 00:25:38,015 --> 00:25:40,963 And so that you will be able to walk out of that room. 529 00:25:40,963 --> 00:25:42,324 Listen to me. 530 00:25:42,324 --> 00:25:44,636 I've been there, done that, got the t-shirt. 531 00:25:44,636 --> 00:25:46,473 You walk out there in all your zeal 532 00:25:46,473 --> 00:25:47,994 in the middle of the plaza 533 00:25:47,994 --> 00:25:49,137 and you begin to preach. 534 00:25:49,137 --> 00:25:50,833 And you think as a young missionary 535 00:25:50,833 --> 00:25:52,994 that angels are going to drop out of heaven 536 00:25:52,994 --> 00:25:55,034 and the Hallelujah Chorus is going to be sung, 537 00:25:55,034 --> 00:25:56,715 millions of people are going to be converted. 538 00:25:56,715 --> 00:25:58,314 They're going to toss you on their shoulders 539 00:25:58,314 --> 00:26:00,036 and build a statue of you. 540 00:26:00,036 --> 00:26:01,412 That's not going to happen. 541 00:26:01,412 --> 00:26:02,965 What's going to happen is this: 542 00:26:02,965 --> 00:26:04,295 You're going to go there 543 00:26:04,295 --> 00:26:05,634 and you're going to preach 544 00:26:05,634 --> 00:26:06,925 and you're going to preach 545 00:26:06,925 --> 00:26:09,113 and when a crowd starts listening to you, 546 00:26:09,113 --> 00:26:11,864 somebody somewhere is going to rise up 547 00:26:11,864 --> 00:26:13,314 and call you a demon. 548 00:26:13,314 --> 00:26:15,264 The entire crowd's going to turn on you. 549 00:26:15,264 --> 00:26:17,264 They're going to grab your little pulpit 550 00:26:17,264 --> 00:26:19,215 and your makeshift microphone 551 00:26:19,215 --> 00:26:20,514 and all your little tracts 552 00:26:20,514 --> 00:26:22,919 and they're going to throw you out on the street. 553 00:26:22,919 --> 00:26:24,683 It's going to take a lot more 554 00:26:24,683 --> 00:26:26,808 than a romantic zeal for missions 555 00:26:26,808 --> 00:26:29,864 to make you get up, pick up your pulpit, your tracts, 556 00:26:29,864 --> 00:26:33,214 and walk right back in there and preach again. 557 00:26:33,214 --> 00:26:35,924 It's going to take a passion for God 558 00:26:35,924 --> 00:26:39,233 that is created out of knowing Him. 559 00:26:39,233 --> 00:26:48,653 And that's the same for everything in the Christian life. 560 00:26:48,653 --> 00:26:53,499 I must know God to be holy 561 00:26:53,499 --> 00:26:56,562 so that the knowledge I have of Him 562 00:26:56,562 --> 00:27:01,142 eclipses everything else in the world. 563 00:27:01,142 --> 00:27:03,263 I'm not strong enough to battle 564 00:27:03,263 --> 00:27:06,453 between two opposing arguments. 565 00:27:06,453 --> 00:27:09,633 But I have discovered this: 566 00:27:09,633 --> 00:27:12,053 God is who He says He is 567 00:27:12,053 --> 00:27:13,973 and He is more glorious than anything 568 00:27:13,973 --> 00:27:17,794 this world could put forth. 569 00:27:17,794 --> 00:27:23,253 So if I truly know Him, 570 00:27:23,253 --> 00:27:28,163 and I truly see Him and His glories 571 00:27:28,163 --> 00:27:31,395 eclipse the glories of this temporal world, 572 00:27:31,395 --> 00:27:36,684 then it is not very difficult to make a decision anymore 573 00:27:36,684 --> 00:27:39,525 because you become a man, 574 00:27:39,525 --> 00:27:42,668 a prisoner. 575 00:27:42,668 --> 00:27:46,254 Paul is going to urge them. 576 00:27:46,254 --> 00:27:50,932 But Paul in a way is going to seek to imprison them. 577 00:27:50,932 --> 00:27:55,324 Paul called himself a prisoner of Christ Jesus. 578 00:27:55,324 --> 00:27:56,934 I believe that he meant more 579 00:27:56,934 --> 00:28:00,657 than just chains on his hands, don't you see? 580 00:28:00,657 --> 00:28:04,533 He really was a prisoner. 581 00:28:04,533 --> 00:28:09,493 The love of God had captured him. 582 00:28:09,493 --> 00:28:13,804 See, he no longer belonged to himself. 583 00:28:13,804 --> 00:28:17,254 It's such a revelation of the glory of God 584 00:28:17,254 --> 00:28:18,804 in the Person of Christ 585 00:28:18,804 --> 00:28:23,384 that he had become captivated. 586 00:28:23,384 --> 00:28:27,345 That's what you need. 587 00:28:27,345 --> 00:28:29,825 Just being holy so that you can be used 588 00:28:29,825 --> 00:28:31,703 is not strong enough. 589 00:28:31,703 --> 00:28:34,103 Just being holy so that the church 590 00:28:34,103 --> 00:28:37,964 doesn't have a bad reputation is not strong enough. 591 00:28:37,964 --> 00:28:39,661 Just going to the mission field 592 00:28:39,661 --> 00:28:41,793 because people need Jesus 593 00:28:41,793 --> 00:28:44,204 is not strong enough. 594 00:28:44,204 --> 00:28:46,224 The only thing that can hold you on course 595 00:28:46,224 --> 00:28:49,135 is if you become a prisoner 596 00:28:49,135 --> 00:28:51,155 of the grace of God, 597 00:28:51,155 --> 00:28:55,064 the revelation of God. 598 00:28:55,064 --> 00:28:59,093 It is amazing how greater and greater 599 00:28:59,093 --> 00:29:01,724 understanding - intimate understanding 600 00:29:01,724 --> 00:29:05,983 of the Person of God in the Gospel - 601 00:29:05,983 --> 00:29:09,524 it in itself separates you. 602 00:29:09,524 --> 00:29:11,358 It so mesmerizes you. 603 00:29:11,358 --> 00:29:14,434 It's no longer a man who looks at the world 604 00:29:14,434 --> 00:29:16,193 and looks at Christianity 605 00:29:16,193 --> 00:29:18,284 and then tries to make a decision 606 00:29:18,284 --> 00:29:20,064 which one he should follow. 607 00:29:20,064 --> 00:29:23,453 But it is a man almost in a trance 608 00:29:23,453 --> 00:29:24,773 who has caught a glimpse 609 00:29:24,773 --> 00:29:26,064 of something of Christ 610 00:29:26,064 --> 00:29:31,650 and can no longer even look to the world. 611 00:29:31,650 --> 00:29:33,074 This is what Paul is urging. 612 00:29:33,074 --> 00:29:39,263 He says, "I urge you, brethren, by this..." 613 00:29:39,263 --> 00:29:42,193 By the knowledge of who God is 614 00:29:42,193 --> 00:29:44,313 and the glory of God 615 00:29:44,313 --> 00:29:47,465 in the Person of Christ and His cross. 616 00:29:47,465 --> 00:29:50,773 I'm not going to be able to get through these two verses. 617 00:29:50,773 --> 00:29:55,396 I can see that, but let me say this: 618 00:29:55,396 --> 00:30:00,193 The greatest malady for the true church in America 619 00:30:00,193 --> 00:30:06,224 is that she does not know her God. 620 00:30:06,224 --> 00:30:12,573 Along with that is this: 621 00:30:12,573 --> 00:30:16,425 We have - I call it - Gospel reductionism. 622 00:30:16,425 --> 00:30:19,862 We have taken, as Paul told Timothy, 623 00:30:19,862 --> 00:30:24,373 the glorious Gospel of the blessed God 624 00:30:24,373 --> 00:30:27,002 and we've reduced it down to four spiritual laws 625 00:30:27,002 --> 00:30:28,991 or five things God wants you to know, 626 00:30:28,991 --> 00:30:31,851 and where's the power in that? 627 00:30:31,851 --> 00:30:34,651 Not only is there no power in that for evangelism, 628 00:30:34,651 --> 00:30:36,792 let me say this and it's far more important, 629 00:30:36,792 --> 00:30:39,891 there's no power in that for the Christian life. 630 00:30:39,891 --> 00:30:41,791 You see, the Gospel of Jesus Christ 631 00:30:41,791 --> 00:30:44,092 is not Christianity 101. 632 00:30:44,092 --> 00:30:48,930 It's not the first little truths that you learn 633 00:30:48,930 --> 00:30:50,802 so that you can be saved 634 00:30:50,802 --> 00:30:53,468 and then a little thing or steps 635 00:30:53,468 --> 00:30:55,877 that you take to other people and share with them 636 00:30:55,877 --> 00:30:58,143 so they can also make their decision. 637 00:30:58,143 --> 00:31:00,003 The Gospel is everything! 638 00:31:00,003 --> 00:31:02,692 Let me put it in this way. 639 00:31:02,692 --> 00:31:04,023 There is much talk today 640 00:31:04,023 --> 00:31:07,214 about the second coming of Jesus Christ, 641 00:31:07,214 --> 00:31:09,868 how it will occur, when it will occur, 642 00:31:09,868 --> 00:31:11,537 what will be the events preceding 643 00:31:11,537 --> 00:31:12,553 and what will follow 644 00:31:12,553 --> 00:31:14,144 and all these different things. 645 00:31:14,144 --> 00:31:15,414 Let me assure you of one thing: 646 00:31:15,414 --> 00:31:16,703 You will understand everything 647 00:31:16,703 --> 00:31:18,604 about the second coming of Jesus Christ 648 00:31:18,604 --> 00:31:20,992 on the day it occurs. 649 00:31:20,992 --> 00:31:23,563 I can promise you that. 650 00:31:23,563 --> 00:31:25,647 But I can also tell you this, 651 00:31:25,647 --> 00:31:29,303 you will pass an eternity of eternities 652 00:31:29,303 --> 00:31:33,853 and you will never even begin to understand 653 00:31:33,853 --> 00:31:36,303 the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 654 00:31:36,303 --> 00:31:39,403 The Gospel is not four spiritual laws! 655 00:31:39,403 --> 00:31:42,563 It's not: Do you know you're a sinner? 656 00:31:42,563 --> 00:31:44,205 Do you want to go to heaven? 657 00:31:44,205 --> 00:31:45,933 Would you like to pray this prayer? 658 00:31:45,933 --> 00:31:48,635 The Gospel is what the entire Bible is about. 659 00:31:48,635 --> 00:31:51,333 It is the greatest manifestation of God 660 00:31:51,333 --> 00:31:52,504 that we will ever have, 661 00:31:52,504 --> 00:31:54,635 and I will submit to you that we will spend 662 00:31:54,635 --> 00:31:57,974 all of eternity tracking out what God has done for us 663 00:31:57,974 --> 00:32:00,878 in Christ and in the cross of Christ. 664 00:32:00,878 --> 00:32:03,933 And if you can ever see that - 665 00:32:03,933 --> 00:32:07,194 I have spent literally the last 12 years of my life, 666 00:32:07,194 --> 00:32:08,334 hours and hours - 667 00:32:08,334 --> 00:32:10,292 almost hours and hours a day 668 00:32:10,292 --> 00:32:14,012 doing one thing - 669 00:32:14,012 --> 00:32:17,118 reading and writing about: 670 00:32:17,118 --> 00:32:22,819 Christ died for me. 671 00:32:22,819 --> 00:32:29,090 I haven't even begun. 672 00:32:29,090 --> 00:32:32,309 I can't sleep at night because of it. 673 00:32:32,309 --> 00:32:34,049 And what I want you to see 674 00:32:34,049 --> 00:32:38,799 is you don't need so much trappings. 675 00:32:38,799 --> 00:32:40,419 You only need to realize 676 00:32:40,419 --> 00:32:42,160 where the Treasure is found. 677 00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:45,793 It's found in the cross of Christ. 678 00:32:45,793 --> 00:32:50,930 And that truth will carry you anywhere 679 00:32:50,930 --> 00:32:56,230 the providence of God decrees for you to go. 680 00:32:56,230 --> 00:33:00,026 That is the power of missions. 681 00:33:00,026 --> 00:33:05,618 God becoming flesh, 682 00:33:05,618 --> 00:33:07,819 dying under the wrath of God, 683 00:33:07,819 --> 00:33:12,995 that God might be just and the justifier of men. 684 00:33:12,995 --> 00:33:15,087 What more do you need? 685 00:33:15,087 --> 00:33:18,048 There's an eternity. 686 00:33:18,048 --> 00:33:22,533 There's an eternity of worship 687 00:33:22,533 --> 00:33:25,659 in this one thing: 688 00:33:25,659 --> 00:33:35,078 Christ died for sinners. 689 00:33:35,078 --> 00:33:36,600 You see, here's the problem. 690 00:33:36,600 --> 00:33:38,548 You come to me and you say, Brother Paul, 691 00:33:38,548 --> 00:33:43,069 I need zeal. I need something to compel me. 692 00:33:43,069 --> 00:33:44,282 You need the cross. 693 00:33:44,282 --> 00:33:45,788 Well, yeah, I know about that. 694 00:33:45,788 --> 00:33:48,129 No, you don't know about it. 695 00:33:48,129 --> 00:33:51,559 No, you haven't even begun. 696 00:33:51,559 --> 00:33:54,468 It's just like when you finish your Bible Institute here. 697 00:33:54,468 --> 00:33:57,619 Don't think, well, I've learned systematic 698 00:33:57,619 --> 00:33:59,679 so now I'm going to go out and minister. 699 00:33:59,679 --> 00:34:02,739 You haven't even begun to learn systematic. 700 00:34:02,739 --> 00:34:04,285 You have learned a few tools 701 00:34:04,285 --> 00:34:07,250 to begin to study systematic. 702 00:34:07,250 --> 00:34:09,548 You have learned a few tools to begin 703 00:34:09,548 --> 00:34:10,809 to endeavor to know more 704 00:34:10,809 --> 00:34:12,079 about the cross of Christ, 705 00:34:12,079 --> 00:34:13,667 and that knowing and seeking 706 00:34:13,667 --> 00:34:17,200 will last for eternities. 707 00:34:17,200 --> 00:34:20,475 And it will be these things that empower you in your Christian life. 708 00:34:20,475 --> 00:34:23,240 And that's why he says, "Therefore, I urge you, brethren, 709 00:34:23,240 --> 00:34:24,459 by the mercies of God 710 00:34:24,459 --> 00:34:26,943 to present your bodies a living 711 00:34:26,943 --> 00:34:30,609 and a holy sacrifice." 712 00:34:30,609 --> 00:34:32,402 Now, I know the time is short, 713 00:34:32,402 --> 00:34:34,860 but let me just put emphasis here 714 00:34:34,860 --> 00:34:37,369 on this word "bodies." 715 00:34:37,369 --> 00:34:39,780 I think sometimes I read the Scriptures 716 00:34:39,780 --> 00:34:41,370 and things stand out to me 717 00:34:41,370 --> 00:34:44,040 and I think the Holy Spirit is so wise. 718 00:34:44,040 --> 00:34:46,641 God is so brilliant! 719 00:34:46,641 --> 00:34:48,839 This Bible must be inspired. 720 00:34:48,839 --> 00:34:52,879 Notice he doesn't say present your hearts, 721 00:34:52,879 --> 00:34:56,457 or present your minds. 722 00:34:56,457 --> 00:35:00,549 Present your bodies. 723 00:35:00,549 --> 00:35:02,239 I think this word helps us to avoid 724 00:35:02,239 --> 00:35:04,090 a super-spirituality. 725 00:35:04,090 --> 00:35:09,605 It helps us to avoid a superficiality. 726 00:35:09,605 --> 00:35:11,672 We live in a world today 727 00:35:11,672 --> 00:35:14,808 that has somehow managed theologically 728 00:35:14,808 --> 00:35:16,649 to cut off the heart 729 00:35:16,649 --> 00:35:19,844 from the rest of our person 730 00:35:19,844 --> 00:35:21,559 and make it a separate entity 731 00:35:21,559 --> 00:35:24,844 that does not affect the rest of us. 732 00:35:24,844 --> 00:35:26,450 We could talk to people all day; 733 00:35:26,450 --> 00:35:27,699 we could dismiss right now 734 00:35:27,699 --> 00:35:29,495 and go to every tavern in Owensboro 735 00:35:29,495 --> 00:35:31,984 and find people all over - drunks and the like - 736 00:35:31,984 --> 00:35:36,589 who have given their heart to Jesus. 737 00:35:36,589 --> 00:35:38,989 But nothing else has followed. 738 00:35:38,989 --> 00:35:41,236 But what you must understand is the heart 739 00:35:41,236 --> 00:35:44,510 is the very essence of what a man is. 740 00:35:44,510 --> 00:35:46,292 It's the very core of his being. 741 00:35:46,292 --> 00:35:49,758 It's the center of absolutely his entire being. 742 00:35:49,758 --> 00:35:51,150 When you talk about ontology 743 00:35:51,150 --> 00:35:53,195 and you begin to go in depth and in depth, 744 00:35:53,195 --> 00:35:56,800 you finally find yourself at the center of the heart. 745 00:35:56,800 --> 00:36:01,419 The heart is everything you are. 746 00:36:01,419 --> 00:36:04,870 And it is an absolute ontological impossibility 747 00:36:04,870 --> 00:36:07,040 to give someone your heart 748 00:36:07,040 --> 00:36:12,202 without everything else going with it. 749 00:36:12,202 --> 00:36:14,070 And that's why Paul is not speaking 750 00:36:14,070 --> 00:36:16,685 in terms of giving Jesus your heart 751 00:36:16,685 --> 00:36:18,739 or giving God your heart. 752 00:36:18,739 --> 00:36:22,812 Or even giving your mind, 753 00:36:22,812 --> 00:36:27,814 but the entirety of your person. 754 00:36:27,814 --> 00:36:29,609 One of the things I most appreciate 755 00:36:29,609 --> 00:36:34,809 about the Puritans is this: 756 00:36:34,809 --> 00:36:38,149 They sought, it seems to me, 757 00:36:38,149 --> 00:36:41,898 with everything they had, 758 00:36:41,898 --> 00:36:46,238 they endeavored to submit every aspect 759 00:36:46,238 --> 00:36:50,068 of their life to Christ, 760 00:36:50,068 --> 00:36:52,650 to bring every thought 761 00:36:52,650 --> 00:36:57,934 under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. 762 00:36:57,934 --> 00:37:03,289 Paul is not asking for a partial giving away of self here. 763 00:37:03,289 --> 00:37:05,389 He is commanding, demanding, 764 00:37:05,389 --> 00:37:09,900 urging, pleading. 765 00:37:09,900 --> 00:37:14,139 A giving over of all that you are to Him. 766 00:37:14,139 --> 00:37:16,647 A great momentous decision. 767 00:37:16,647 --> 00:37:18,839 It is this context, this idea 768 00:37:18,839 --> 00:37:21,571 of how long will you live between two opinions? 769 00:37:21,571 --> 00:37:24,049 Once and for all make a decision. 770 00:37:24,049 --> 00:37:26,191 Once and for all by the grace of God 771 00:37:26,191 --> 00:37:27,433 turn yourself over 772 00:37:27,433 --> 00:37:34,708 and begin to work that out in your life. 773 00:37:34,708 --> 00:37:39,774 I submit to you a few questions. 774 00:37:39,774 --> 00:37:45,819 Have you submitted your mind to Christ? 775 00:37:45,819 --> 00:37:48,750 You say, well, what does that mean, Brother Paul? 776 00:37:48,750 --> 00:37:51,525 Well, go to Scripture. 777 00:37:51,525 --> 00:37:54,549 I like this better than using a concordance. 778 00:37:54,549 --> 00:37:55,909 Start in Genesis 779 00:37:55,909 --> 00:37:57,939 and read through the entire Bible 780 00:37:57,939 --> 00:37:59,389 and every passage in Scripture 781 00:37:59,389 --> 00:38:01,332 that deals with the mind, pull it out 782 00:38:01,332 --> 00:38:03,019 and create a systematic theology 783 00:38:03,019 --> 00:38:04,648 with regard to how your mind 784 00:38:04,648 --> 00:38:11,793 can be submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. 785 00:38:11,793 --> 00:38:14,269 Your eyes. 786 00:38:14,269 --> 00:38:18,870 What does the Bible say about your eyes? 787 00:38:18,870 --> 00:38:21,011 Your ears. 788 00:38:21,011 --> 00:38:25,107 And your tongue. 789 00:38:25,107 --> 00:38:28,841 And your hands and your feet. 790 00:38:28,841 --> 00:38:30,780 And your body. 791 00:38:30,780 --> 00:38:33,739 And the way you clothe it. 792 00:38:33,739 --> 00:38:38,269 What does the Bible say about relationships that you are in? 793 00:38:38,269 --> 00:38:42,470 What are you commanded to do by Scripture? 794 00:38:42,470 --> 00:38:44,869 You see, my dear friend, 795 00:38:44,869 --> 00:38:47,850 without a vision the people perish. 796 00:38:47,850 --> 00:38:49,687 And that should not be used by pastors 797 00:38:49,687 --> 00:38:51,599 who want to go into a building program. 798 00:38:51,599 --> 00:38:54,686 That's not what that text is talking about. 799 00:38:54,686 --> 00:38:57,081 Where this is no vision of God's law, 800 00:38:57,081 --> 00:39:02,965 the people run unrestrained. 801 00:39:02,965 --> 00:39:06,920 I want to talk to you, young person. 802 00:39:06,920 --> 00:39:09,358 You've learned doctrines of sovereign grace. 803 00:39:09,358 --> 00:39:10,509 You read the Puritans. 804 00:39:10,509 --> 00:39:17,270 Congratulations. 805 00:39:17,270 --> 00:39:19,908 Have you gone through Scripture to discover 806 00:39:19,908 --> 00:39:22,888 what God says about relationships? 807 00:39:22,888 --> 00:39:26,422 And sought to understand it and submit your life to it 808 00:39:26,422 --> 00:39:30,296 in obedience? 809 00:39:30,296 --> 00:39:33,904 I know I sound like a 1960's fundamentalist preacher, 810 00:39:33,904 --> 00:39:35,449 but let me ask you a question. 811 00:39:35,449 --> 00:39:37,349 Have you gone into the Scriptures 812 00:39:37,349 --> 00:39:38,889 to find the principles laid out 813 00:39:38,889 --> 00:39:42,530 for clothing and etiquette? 814 00:39:42,530 --> 00:39:44,318 And have you decided that you would 815 00:39:44,318 --> 00:39:49,296 submit your life to those directives? 816 00:39:49,296 --> 00:39:56,689 You see, we talk about being biblical. 817 00:39:56,689 --> 00:39:59,219 In our worship, have you gone through Scripture 818 00:39:59,219 --> 00:40:02,160 to discover what God desires out of worship? 819 00:40:02,160 --> 00:40:04,331 Well, you know, we love worship this way. 820 00:40:04,331 --> 00:40:06,089 I don't care how you like worship 821 00:40:06,089 --> 00:40:07,940 because that's not the point. 822 00:40:07,940 --> 00:40:11,318 What has God said? 823 00:40:11,318 --> 00:40:13,448 You see, in this idea, we can romance 824 00:40:13,448 --> 00:40:16,309 this thing to death. 825 00:40:16,309 --> 00:40:18,121 We can spiritualize it to death. 826 00:40:18,121 --> 00:40:21,757 Someone says I've given my life to the mission field. 827 00:40:21,757 --> 00:40:23,807 That does not mean at the same time 828 00:40:23,807 --> 00:40:26,899 that you have given your heart to God. 829 00:40:26,899 --> 00:40:31,397 Because you can go to the mission field and be godless. 830 00:40:31,397 --> 00:40:33,548 And carnal and trite. 831 00:40:33,548 --> 00:40:35,878 You'd be better off joining National Geographic 832 00:40:35,878 --> 00:40:41,398 than you would a mission agency. 833 00:40:41,398 --> 00:40:48,308 Are you seeking in simplicity 834 00:40:48,308 --> 00:40:52,599 to examine your life? 835 00:40:52,599 --> 00:40:54,071 I'm not talking about finding 836 00:40:54,071 --> 00:40:57,358 legalistic inferences and forcing them upon yourself. 837 00:40:57,358 --> 00:41:00,230 I'm talking about the great principles of Scripture, 838 00:41:00,230 --> 00:41:03,218 dealing in every aspect of your personal life, 839 00:41:03,218 --> 00:41:11,039 applying them to you and seeking to obey them. 840 00:41:11,039 --> 00:41:16,229 Let me ask you a question. 841 00:41:16,229 --> 00:41:20,723 If you go to the mission field 842 00:41:20,723 --> 00:41:22,479 without taking what I have said 843 00:41:22,479 --> 00:41:24,580 as a serious endeavor, 844 00:41:24,580 --> 00:41:27,047 isn't there the possibility that the only thing 845 00:41:27,047 --> 00:41:29,000 you're going to do there 846 00:41:29,000 --> 00:41:31,910 after you have crossed land and sea 847 00:41:31,910 --> 00:41:33,598 is make a convert like yourself 848 00:41:33,598 --> 00:41:39,469 that's nothing more than a two-fold son of hell? 849 00:41:39,469 --> 00:41:42,009 I mean, after all, my greatest fear - 850 00:41:42,009 --> 00:41:44,158 one of my greatest fears 851 00:41:44,158 --> 00:41:46,540 is that Fidel Castro is going to die 852 00:41:46,540 --> 00:41:48,230 or has already died 853 00:41:48,230 --> 00:41:51,190 and that the wall around Cuba's going to fall. 854 00:41:51,190 --> 00:41:52,809 That's one of my greatest fears. 855 00:41:52,809 --> 00:41:54,409 You want to know why? 856 00:41:54,409 --> 00:41:59,148 Because every form of American "churchianity" that exists 857 00:41:59,148 --> 00:42:06,289 is going to make its way over there. 858 00:42:06,289 --> 00:42:08,089 I remember speaking with Conrad 859 00:42:08,089 --> 00:42:09,929 the first time that I went over there 860 00:42:09,929 --> 00:42:11,730 to Mr. Mbewe's. 861 00:42:11,730 --> 00:42:13,658 He said the first thing we always 862 00:42:13,658 --> 00:42:15,808 like to tell people who come over to teach 863 00:42:15,808 --> 00:42:17,660 is you're not bringing God with you. 864 00:42:17,660 --> 00:42:22,539 He was here long before you bought your ticket. 865 00:42:22,539 --> 00:42:25,759 There isn't a whole lot of American Christianity, folks, 866 00:42:25,759 --> 00:42:28,538 that needs to be exported. 867 00:42:28,538 --> 00:42:30,562 Unless like Ravenhill says we put it on 868 00:42:30,562 --> 00:42:32,339 some kind of a raft and send it off 869 00:42:32,339 --> 00:42:35,149 to a lone island, and after it's gone away from the dock, 870 00:42:35,149 --> 00:42:39,000 we all sing the Doxology. 871 00:42:39,000 --> 00:42:44,148 If we're going to endeavor to work in missions, 872 00:42:44,148 --> 00:42:46,327 then we must be motivated 873 00:42:46,327 --> 00:42:49,054 by a God that we know; 874 00:42:49,054 --> 00:42:51,919 a Gospel that we know. 875 00:42:51,919 --> 00:42:55,022 And we must be a people 876 00:42:55,022 --> 00:42:59,789 who have endeavored with great force 877 00:42:59,789 --> 00:43:01,132 to examine their lives 878 00:43:01,132 --> 00:43:03,930 in the light of Scripture 879 00:43:03,930 --> 00:43:06,570 and conform their lives 880 00:43:06,570 --> 00:43:13,439 to what Scripture says. 881 00:43:13,439 --> 00:43:16,902 How much of what you have - 882 00:43:16,902 --> 00:43:21,539 even the way you sit in a chair - 883 00:43:21,539 --> 00:43:24,889 is formed by those around you 884 00:43:24,889 --> 00:43:27,668 and not by Scripture? 885 00:43:27,668 --> 00:43:29,978 It's something to think about. 886 00:43:29,978 --> 00:43:37,439 Let's pray. 887 00:43:37,439 --> 00:43:41,807 Father, I pray... 888 00:43:41,807 --> 00:43:44,067 Lord, You know, 889 00:43:44,067 --> 00:43:47,738 that You would use this 890 00:43:47,738 --> 00:43:51,825 to begin some on a journey 891 00:43:51,825 --> 00:43:54,239 of knowing You, 892 00:43:54,239 --> 00:43:58,760 seeking to know that which brings delight, 893 00:43:58,760 --> 00:44:06,720 seeking to conform their lives to it. 894 00:44:06,720 --> 00:44:13,548 Father, help us who have begun the journey long ago 895 00:44:13,548 --> 00:44:17,543 to not grow weary, 896 00:44:17,543 --> 00:44:23,890 but to seek to know You more, 897 00:44:23,890 --> 00:44:27,509 to seek to understand Your will, 898 00:44:27,509 --> 00:44:31,429 to love what You love and hate what You hate, 899 00:44:31,429 --> 00:44:40,130 to be a simple people, 900 00:44:40,130 --> 00:44:46,999 an obedient people, 901 00:44:46,999 --> 00:44:51,480 a people motivated by the Gospel 902 00:44:51,480 --> 00:44:56,989 and drawn to the Gospel. 903 00:44:56,989 --> 00:44:58,838 In Jesus' name, Amen.