6.7 through 38 is our text this morning. And we're gonna jump right into that first verse as we get started. So, Mark chapter eight and verse 27. It says, and Jesus went out and his disciples into the towns of Caesarea Philippi. There are two Caesareas in the Bible. I learned this as I went over to Israel on my trip in 2017. There's Caesarea on the sea. We actually started there. That was our first day of the trip. It was beautiful, long Mediterranean. Caesarea on the sea is where Paul was put on trial before King Agrippa, and where he stood before Festus. It's where he was imprisoned in King Herod's palace. It's where he sailed out into the Mediterranean for his trip to Rome. That's Caesarea on the sea. Caesarea of Philippi is north of the Sea of Galilee in the very northernmost part of Israel. It's a beautiful kind of a cove. that has got a rock face around it. Cold in the sense of the rock, not as far as the water. But there is a river that flows out of this rock. It looks like it comes out of this cave that's there. It's a beautiful location. The water's very blue, and the river clear that's coming out. We saw, when we were there on a trip, a shepherd herding goats up the hillside. And there's some conies that were hiding in the rocks. on the animals that they have over there in Israel. A beautiful location. And so that's where Jesus is in our story. And in Luke 9, it tells us another detail. Our text is Mark chapter 8, but in one of the Synoptic Gospels, it says in Luke chapter 9, verse 18, it came to pass as he was alone praying. His disciples were with Him, and He asked them, saying, Whom say to people that I am? So just to kind of get us into the setting a little bit more, Jesus is there, He's with His disciples, but He's maybe apart from them just a little bit. He's been praying, and He comes back and He asks them, Who do men say that I am? So we pick it up in our text in verse 28. And they answered, John the Baptist. But some say Elias or Elijah, and others, one of the prophets. And so there were different ideas by people about who Jesus was. You know, is he this prophet or this person? And is that who he is? But he says to them, but whom say ye that I am? And Peter answered and said unto him, thou art the Christ. You're the Messiah. And he charged them that they should tell no man of him. He's the Messiah, the Son of God. To emphasize this, the next part of the story is they leave Caesarea Philippi to go up on Mount Hermon. And Mount Hermon is where Peter and a couple of the other disciples are with the Lord Jesus Christ as a transfiguration takes place. And that voice from heaven, the voice of God, says, this is my beloved Son. And you know the story. The disciples trembled in fear as they understood the reality of God, right? Imagine today if that person was here in our midst, Jesus Christ. We'll talk about him tonight. We have communion tonight. And we're going to have a prayer and praise service, as well as the communion service. And we're going to focus on just looking at different aspects of the life of Christ. But God in flesh. Imagine standing here today, understanding from our heart, thou art the Christ. He is the creator. He's the designer. He's the lawgiver. He's the judge, right? And I think in our hearts, it's kind of like what we talked about in Sunday school, that we have a desire, we're talking about in Sunday school, the old man of sin that died, and we have God, and we can choose who we're going to serve. And in our minds, we want to say, I want to serve God. And I think if I said to us today, do you want to follow after Jesus Christ, I think in our hearts, there would be a response of, yes, I want to do that. And the Bible says that we can. That it's our privilege. In fact, the Lord said it this way in verse 34, when he called the people unto him with his disciples also. So they're all gathered there. He said unto them, whosoever will come after me. At least, whosoever will come after me. He's going to set some parameters about that. But he's saying, you see the statement, whosoever will. I mean, it's our choice today, any one of us. There's nothing to preclude anybody in here from making that decision. You know what? I want to come after Christ. It's our choice. But you may not want to follow him. because of where he bids you come. See, he's saying, if you want to come after me, you can. And we can stop and think, well, yeah, who wouldn't want to follow Christ? But when we understand what he's calling us to, we may draw back and say, no, no, not interested. Peter, think about Peter on the Sea of Galilee. Lord, if it's you, bid me come. Jesus says, come. How many of us would want to walk on water in a storm because Jesus Christ said, come? Peter did, praise God, I understand he failed a bit, but he stepped out in faith to follow where the Lord said to follow. What I want to challenge us with this morning is to come after Jesus to where He has said to come. Okay? But are we coming? He has told you. Don't you believe this today that Jesus Christ desires every single person in here to follow Him? But don't we understand this morning as well that not every single person in here is following Him because of the reality of our human flesh. But God desires that. Or God desires everybody outside these walls to follow Him. But there's things going on today and we understand people today aren't following Him. He wants them to but they're not because of where He has bid them to come. And so let's pray and ask the Spirit of God to help us as we consider where Jesus wants us to go. Let's pray. Father, I praise you for the call that you gave. Father, no man can come unto me except the Father which hath sent me, draw him. Jesus, you went to seek after the lost sheep. You came to seek and to save that which was lost. And so we notice that desire of the heart of God today that every single person in here come after the Lord Jesus Christ. And that outside these walls that, Lord, you desire everybody to come. And so I pray this morning as you consider where you desire us to come to, that the Spirit of God would help us to be willing and say, God, by your grace, I'll come there in obedience to following our Lord. Father, I can't praise you without your help. I pray the Spirit of God will fill me. I pray the Spirit of God will guide me as I speak. Father, I pray that you give us ears to hear. And Father, we listen to what you desire us to hear today. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen. And so come, come after me first of all to suffering. Okay? Come after me to suffering. New Testament character, okay, you might have to stop and think about it, there's different ones, different stories we enjoy, but probably a lot of people would say, you know, my favorite character in the New Testament is the Apostle Paul. I mean, he stands out as one of the premier men of God. He was a great missionary. He had three remarkable missionary journeys. Church planning evangelists. I mean, Paul would come into an area, get burdened for it, get bulled. He'd go in and preach in a synagogue, standing up for the Lord Jesus Christ. He was one of the most popular evangelists of his day. Remember, as he wrote to the church at Corinth, he corrected them and said, some of you are saying, I am of Paul. I'm of Apollos. Who is Paul? He's just saying, who's Apollos? Nothing. But there was this lifting up of these men because they were looked upon as the premier evangelists of their day. Paul got to preach before Kings. He wrote the letters to churches and the preacher boys that make up the majority of our New Testament. That is the Apostle Paul and his ministry. You might think today, you know what, as an emperor or as an adult, I want to be like Paul. I want to serve God like Paul. We have that desire, but if we looked at Paul's calling, Paul's calling was like our Lord's calling. It was a call to suffering. Acts 9 16, when Paul got saved and as he was called with God, Jesus said, for I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake. It's Paul that in the Mamertine prison in Rome, after he's already been set free once, maybe five years before, after that trip across the Mediterranean that we talked about, and he was there in prison, but he's set free, and then Rome burns, and Nero blames the Christians. Paul is put in the Mamertine prison, they believe, in Rome. It's a pit prison. And from there, he writes the book of 2 Timothy to Timothy. And in that book, he says to Timothy, in chapter 2, verse 12, if we suffer, we shall also reign with him. Chapter 3, verse 12, yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Alright, suffering. We're going to follow Jesus and come where Jesus desires us to come. We're going to follow Jesus to much suffering. Verse 31 says, He began to teach them, the Son of Man must suffer many things. Say, come after me. But he's going to teach them, before that he's going to say, the son of man must suffer many things, or many things that Jesus was going to go through as he went on that path to the cross. You know, our flesh doesn't like to suffer. How many out in the audience today say, the dentist is my favorite? Or, you know, the GP got the nurses and they got their needles and the jabs that they give. Though they're nice people, the dentist is a nice person, and the GP, you know, the nurse is a nice person. There's something in us. that draws back from going to the place of suffering. There's adults even, not just children, that on the way to the place of suffering, the dentist, sorry kids, and I hope I'm not reckoning for parents here, it's not really, but on the way to that place of suffering, they turn back. They don't want to do it. A good friend of mine, Pastor Don Dillon, just recently, he had to have one of those posts put in, right? And to get a crown put into that post. And just think about it. I know he suffered, alright? As he did that. And there's something in our flesh that says, hey, I don't want to suffer. You know, when someone gets saved, they're excited about their salvation. It's glorious when somebody gets saved, and those of us that have led somebody to the Lord receive that delight and that excitement, but when they realize sometimes that it's a call to suffering, it's a sad thing to watch them turn aside. Matthew 13 verse 20 says, but he that received seed into stony places, the seed is the word of God, it's the parable of the sower. He that received seed into stony places. The same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it, yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while. For when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended." It's a person that's excited. They got saved with joy. They receive it. But then when they realize what it costs to be a Christian, and back in the day, by the way, of the New Testament, it might mean losing their business. It might mean being ostracized from their family. When persecution comes because of that, they turn aside. Why? They don't want to follow Jesus to suffering. Follow Jesus to suffering. You've got to say to God, by the grace of God, I'm not going to stop. I'm not going to stop witnessing. I'm not going to stop having a separated lifestyle. I'm not going to refuse to be baptized. Some people refuse to be baptized. other people because of their Christianity. And they're not willing to pay that price. Are we willing to suffer? Follow Jesus to mend rejections. That's suffering as well. It says, and be rejected of the elders and of the chief priests and scribes. The religious leaders of Israel would reject them. These would, in a sense, be his peers and those that were up in religion. to fear them, he didn't promote them. But that level of church, in his day, church teaching, ecclesiastical teaching, would stand absolutely opposed. to Jesus Christ and they would reject His message. I've said before that when handing out flyers, my least favorite rejection is an older lady recognizing that I'm giving her something about God, sticks her nose up in the air and acts like I just handed her something filthy. See, none of us like that. There's not anything in our hearts that just loves to knock on somebody's door and have them say something, you know, whatever. They don't want it, they reject it, and shut the door. We don't like that. We don't like rejection. But if we stand for the Lord Jesus Christ, we're going to face rejection. You know, interestingly, the modern church isn't interested in that. In fact, they've begun to say that Christianity should be acceptable to the world. They begin to listen to the world about that. But the thing is this, the world rejected the Christianity of Christ himself. Correct? See, pastor, are you trying to make our church something weird, something that the world just automatically hates because it's so kind of out there? No, I'm trying to be, as a pastor, in my desire to honor God and preach the word of God, I want us to be like the New Testament church that we're studying in Sunday school. But if we are, the world's going to reject that. How do I know that? Matthew 10, verse 25. says it's enough for the disciple that he has his master and the servant as his Lord. If they've called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? See, Jesus Christ, they said, you're doing what you're doing through the power of Satan. Then how much more should we expect that maybe the world's gonna despise us in the same way or say things about us? John 15 verse 20, remember the word that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord. If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you. If they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. We live in a day that is very anti-God. It's anti-God in politics, it's anti-God in education, it's anti-God in religion. We've got to understand today, if we're going to stand and identify with Jesus Christ, it will be a stand and following after Him to be rejected. It will be suffering if we follow Him. But why should we do that? Well, follow Jesus. Suffer so that others can live. It says about Jesus that He'd suffer these things, many things, and be rejected, and be killed, and after three days rise again. Jesus, why did you suffer? Why did you have the world reject you? Because He stood for a message that was true, that the world needed, and He had to go to the cross, and He had to suffer and die so that they could live. That's us this morning as we think about, why should I risk suffering for the Lord Jesus Christ? You know why? It's because the world needs the light. It's so that they can see Christ as he ought to be seen. See, I wonder this morning, as we think back about what we have in Christ, I wonder how many in the past were martyred, imprisoned, mocked, tortured. So that you and I could have the religious liberty and what we possess today, the Gospel. See, there's no doubt, if you trace the history of your conversion back, that at not just one point, but many points, there's going to be men of God that stood and suffered for the Lord Jesus Christ so that you and I could live. We've already talked about one, his name's the Apostle Paul. As you read about what he went through in 2 Corinthians 11 verse 23, are they ministers of Christ? I speak as a fool. I am more. In labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths off. Of the Jews five times received, I forty stripes saved one. Thrice was I beaten with rods. Once was I stoned. Thrice I suffered chipwreck. A night and a day I've been in the deep. In Germans often. in perils by my own countrymen, in perils by a heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, in weariness, in painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger, in thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness." See, we come after Jesus and get discouraged and think, man, I'm suffering. But we haven't begun to suffer, as most have suffered that have followed after Jesus. And so let's go after Him to suffer. come after me to surrender. Surrender. Surrender is necessary because until I surrender to Jesus Christ, I'm in an opposition to Christ. What we talked about in Sunday School, the man of sin is against God. And there's just those choices, am I going to serve self or am I going to serve God? And so surrender is necessary. Jesus said in Matthew 12 verse 30, he that is not with me is against me. And he that gathereth not with me, scattereth abroad. Jesus is basically saying to Satan, you're either for me or against me. You're either on my side, or you're on the side of the opposition. So what side are we on today? We may think we're on God's side, but be on the side of the opposition. We went through that in depth in Sunday School. But many religious people wrongly think they're on God's side. I mean, they would say, absolutely, I love God, I obey God, I please God. But they're not on the side of God. Paul was like that. Saul, pre-conversion, was he a religious person? Yes. Was he zealous? Yes. Was he for Jesus Christ? No, he was against Jesus Christ, but he thought he was for God. And so he was converted and surrendered. Acts 26 verse 14, When we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, saying in a Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And Jesus confronts him and says, Saul, you're against me. Notice what Saul says. He says, Who art thou? Lord. I surrender. Master. Surrender. You could be deceived today, thinking that you're surrendered, but in reality, you're resisting God. And if you want proof of that, it's in our story, isn't it? Peter felt like he's really on the side of the Lord. If you remember what we've read already about this exchange that's taking place, Jesus says, I'm going to go to the cross, I'm going to suffer, I'm going to be rejected. And Peter steps up and he stands in opposition to Jesus Christ. So we have to surrender our opposition. Verse 32 records his words. He spake that same openly. Jesus said that he would suffer, die, and rise again. And Peter took him and began to rebuke him. Can you imagine the boldness, wrongly, of Peter as he begins to correct the Lord Jesus Christ? Matthew records the words of Peter, Matthew 16 verse point 2, that Peter took him and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord, this shall not be unto thee. He's being zealous. He thinks he's in the interest of God. He thinks he's in the interest of Jesus Christ, but he's deceived in his zeal. He's deceived. You know what the plan was, as far as the cross, is the plan upon which the whole Bible hinges. The key of the gospel is that the man of God would suffer and die for the sins of the world. And Peter said, be apart from me, Lord. How did this opposition come about? It came about like this. Jesus said it, and Peter said he was wrong to say so. Jesus said it, and Peter says not so. He stands in opposition to the clear teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. And in that, Peter was in rebellion. He stepped over onto Satan's side. There's a church that we're in. I've talked about it before. I've shared this story before. But as we travel on deputation raising support to come here, there's a church that we're in in Alabama that ended up being a Southern Baptist church. And Southern Baptists never came out and separated from liberalism. It's being very similar today to being the Church of Scotland. some baptisms that work exactly where the Church of Scotland is, but not coming out and separating from that. So it's an unseparated church, and we're talking a little bit about that this morning again with this idea of sanctification, but in that church as we came in, we were just there to visit in the morning, I was preaching that night, But there was a woman getting up to teach the combined adult teen Sunday school upstairs. And I thought, oh no, it's a woman taught a Sunday school class. And I'll tell you what the Word of God says about that in a second. And I thought, I don't know. And they said, but your class is downstairs. And I thought, whew, all right. Let's go downstairs. We go downstairs, drop the kids off, and go into another classroom. It's another woman teaching. The pastor's in the class. It's a discussion class. This lady called on a woman to pray at the beginning. She called on a woman to pray at the end. Fine. But the pastor's sitting there. And the topic is rebellion. And I'm sitting there, and I'm not saying much, and just thinking about how proud my wife is of me that I'm not saying anything. And the pastor made a statement, and I just said this. I agree with the pastor. Anytime the Word of God says something, and I say, but I'm not going to do that, that's rebellion. So what does the Word of God say about a woman teaching men? 1 Timothy 2 verse 12 says, I suffer not a woman to teach nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. 1 Corinthians 14, 34, let your women keep silence in the churches, for it's not committed unto them to speak, but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. OK, and if you say that to the world, the world says that's misogynistic. And there's many even, we talked about churches today, and just because somebody is born again does not mean they're right. We talked about that. So there's many even evangelical churches that have taken this on board and said that now it's fine for a woman to teach in church. But what does, again, the Bible say? The Bible says, in 1 Timothy chapter 3, that a bishop, a preacher, is a man. Okay? Chapter 3, verse 1. This is a true saying. If a man desired the office of a bishop, He desired for good work. A bishop, then, must be blameless. The husband of one wife. Second statement about being a man. Vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given in hospitality, apt to teach, not given to whine, no striker, not greedy of money, filthy looker, but patient, not a brawler, not covetous, one that ruleth well his own house, having his children, and subjected with all gravity. For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God? God said it seven times in that one text that a minister is to be a man. The modern church is no different from Peter in our story. God says it in his word and they say it's not going to be so. It's not going to be so. And God says it is so. So today, what do we need to do? We need to surrender to God. You see, for us, it may not be, we're preachers, we may not have the Spirit of God speaking in our hearts to doubt that, but the Spirit of God saying, hey, you want to follow after Jesus, you've got to surrender. It might be social drinking, it might be modesty, it might be tithing, it might be salvation, it might be baptism by immersion, it might be wicked music being set aside, or church attendance or evangelism. But God said, And I gotta agree with God and say, okay, I'm done opposing you. Surrender your opposition. To do so, we've gotta surrender our pride. Surrender your pride. Verse 33, for when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, get thee behind me, Satan. What a statement. Peter wasn't Satan. So what was the Lord saying? What Peter said would be said by Satan. Satan was never about God's will. Satan always was about his will. I will be, I will be, I will be, Satan said. God said, no you won't. That's pride casting on him. But here, Peter makes this strong statement, it will not be, and Jesus says, get thee behind me, Satan. I stop and I think, Peter, why did you disagree? What made you say that? It was impulsive, he said it in impulse, but why did he say that? And here's what I think about. Perhaps like others, he thought the Messiah should set up his kingdom now. After all, Messiah was going to be the leader of the Jews, and in his pride, his national pride, he didn't want a weak Messiah that would die on a cross. He wanted a king that would come in and reign as a king and put down the Romans. His pride. Maybe it was, you know, Peter thought if he went to the cross, it would look like a failure. Wasn't that them walking back, heads down, ashamed, thinking, what happened with the cross? You know, I think today, as you think about the church, standing against things like this truth about a bishop or a preacher being a man or other issues that they're dealing with. Why are they taking that position against the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, could it be this? They don't want to look like a failure in the eyes of the world. They want the world to respect them. They want the world to pat them on the back about their Christianity, right? So surrender our pride. It's a humbling thing for us to accept the Word of God and say, you know, that's what the Word of God says, to follow Him. And then surrender your pursuits. It says, for thou savourest not. You don't delight in the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. Peter, you've got an appetite for men's approval, not an appetite for God's approval. You know, I look at churches again, and I'm kind of combining these ideas this morning, and you see churches, evangelical churches, changing very quickly. And I want to ask this morning, are they changing... Why are they changing when God is changeless? Right? Why should we, in a modern day, think it's got to be different? Does Christianity think it needs to be different when God is changeless and His Word is changeless? They're changing their name and the format of their services. They're changing their service schedule. They're changing their terminology in sanctuary. No pulpit and you got the lights and sounds. They're changing their music. They're changing their message. They're changing their church dress. And I want to ask this question. Is it because they savor what God says about holiness or what the world says about worldliness? See, do they really desire the things that be of God and say, oh God, we want to be a church that is holy, we want to be a church that is sanctified, or are they desirous of men's approval and men's applause? I think it's pretty simple to understand that they desire men's approval and men's applause. And so, that's why they're changing. Christians are also changing very quickly today. and everybody looking and saying, but everybody else is doing it, so I'm going to do it too. But again, things that were clearly wrong in the past are not only unquestioned, they're accepted as absolutely right. Immodesty is okay. Drinking and smoking, loosely using God's name in vain is okay. Wicked music is not only okay, it's embraced by the church. But are they changing to please man? Or are they changing to please God? Thou saverst not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. Let me ask you this morning, is your greatest desire to do God's will? Is your heart just completely surrendered to God, saying, hey God, I want to come after Jesus Christ, so I'm willing to surrender. I'm willing to surrender my entertainment. I'm willing to surrender my music. I'm willing to surrender my dress. I'm willing to surrender anything that the Spirit of God puts upon my heart to surrender. God, I'll surrender. Come after me to surrender. And then third, come after me to sacrifice. John Sung was a Chinese evangelist. I'm reading his biography right now. He grew up in a Baptist minister's home in China. He wanted to go study in the United States, and his dad said, I can afford it, and he couldn't. His dad could barely afford to put food on the table. But God provided a way for John Sohn to come to the United States and to study. And as a student, he was such an incredible whiz kid that the newspapers reported upon his progress. I mean, it was incredible how quickly he got the different degrees that he went for. He learned German well enough to use it for his doctorate by studying it for like a month and a half. Just incredibly strong. He got all these academic achievements, and he goes back to China. He got to work for his heart. He got saved in the United States. He goes back to China, burdened to be evangelist, but he's getting back there knowing that he's going to make 20 times his dad's salary if he gets employed, and that they're going to expect him, with all the kids in the family. They had like 10, to help send the kids to school. But on the boat, on the way over there, he takes all his medals, and all his achievements, and everything that he had been awarded, and he threw them off the ship. Except for one, his doctorate, which he kept to give to his parents. His dad did expect him to go to work. He said, Dad, I can't. Guys call me to evangelism. He took the $1,700 that he had saved. He gave that to his family. He became a Christian school teacher for briefly, and then a full-time evangelist. Very poor. Why? Because he did what Paul did. Philippians 3 verse 8. Paul said it doesn't matter. As I come after Christ, it's a call to come after me to sacrifice. So what do we need to do? Decide to sacrifice. Verse 34 says, when he called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, whosoever will come after me. We've already looked at this. But it's a choice, isn't it? See, again, I can see today, not everybody here is going to say, Pastor, I really want that. I want to come after him. Now, I hope that's the case. I hope in your heart today that it's your desire to say, I want to come after Christ, because that's your decision. But it's a decision you need to make. See, I will do that, and I will become a disciple of Christ. To do that, you've got to deny yourself, deny the sacrifice. It says, let him deny himself. How often do you say no to yourself? I mentioned that I don't like to run. I run because of the benefit I get from running. After I run, I feel good. But when I'm running, I've got to deny myself. Anybody that runs has to deny themselves. Why? Because your feet are going to say, stop. Your legs say, stop. Your lungs say, stop. You've got that hill in front of you and it's going to let your whole body stop. Right? But if you're running, you've got to look down and say to your feet, no. You've got to say to your body, no. And you've got to discipline yourself, right? And Paul said that. Paul said, I therefore shall run not as uncertainly, so fight I, and not as one that beateth the air. But I get under my body, and I bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I preach to others, I myself should be accasted. He said, discipline this thing. Why? Because I've got to deny myself. Have you denied yourself this past week when it comes to things that your flesh desires that are contrary to God? Have you denied yourself any sleep so that you can get out of your bed and do what God wants you to do with your day? Spend time in the Word of God, spend time in prayer, get yourself to the house of God. Whatever it is, discipline yourself so that you're seeking God. Have you denied your pride that says, I don't want to knock on somebody's door and tell somebody about Jesus. And my flesh says, no, don't do that. My flesh says, no, don't keep a track. My flesh says these things. Do I say no to my flesh or does my flesh say no to me? See, if I'm going to get to that point of sacrifice, I've got to deny myself so that I can sacrifice. And then depart to sacrifice. It says, and take up his cross and follow me. Depart to sacrifice. Following Jesus is not a profession, it is a procession. It's not something I say, it's something I do. It's not just, hey, I'm a follower of Jesus, it's I am following Jesus, James Renwick. Scott, who lived in the killing years, the late 1600s, as the Covenanters were persecuted in Scotland. I read a short biography about him. In his setting there, he was employed at all seasons, often in the nighttime, in the most inclement weather, preaching the gospel in the fields. After he had been engaged in the most arduous labors, he had little or no rest and no comfortable place of retirement. He was obliged to lodge in moss tags, shields of shepherds, or holes dug in the ground by his followers. Naturally of a weak constitution, he was at times so borne down by sickness and total lack of strength that he was literally carried on the shoulders of faithful followers or supported when on horseback. He had frequently to flee from one hiding place to another barefoot or without some of his garments. He had also to travel in disguises. A price was upon his head, and persons were forbidden unpaid debt to yield him shelter or a mouthful of food to converse or correspond with him by writing or to offer him the smallest service of humanity. What stirred me as I read this man's biography is that they often preached in the darkness at night in the rain so that they wouldn't be found. They suffered. But you know, Pastor, that's too early. God, that's too early. That's too late. That's too much. I mean, how can you expect that much? But listen, if it's a call to sacrifice, you've got to be willing to come to it and say, this is going to cost me something. David said, I don't want to give to God. That would just cost me nothing. So if we'll come. It's got to be to sacrifice. Have you picked up your cross? Or something else? I think sometimes people pick up luggage for the Christianity cruise, or they pick up an easy chair for the Christian entertainment. They get a token offering for the Christian life insurance policy. They pick up those things! But they don't pick up their cross and die for the Lord Jesus Christ as He died for them. Come after me to sacrifice. They come after me to salvation. Some who hold on to their life not only never become a disciple of Christ, they never are converted to Christ. And so the Bible says in verse 35, for whosoever will save his life shall lose it. There's people today that are going to go to hell because they wanted their alcohol, they wanted their friends, they wanted to pat on the back of their religious association, maybe Church of Scotland or something like that. That's been my church all my life and they're so religious that they can't let that go to follow the gospel of Jesus Christ. They've got those things that they're holding on to and they think that's important. Like King Agrippa, they say, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. There's going to be people in hell that are going to look back at their life and say, why did I hold on to that? It was my gambling, it was my pornography, it was my wicked music, it was my this, I just, I couldn't let go and it took me to hell. And so Jesus says, if you come after me to salvation, whosoever will save his life shall lose it. But whosoever, it goes on to say, shall lose his life for my sake, and the Gospels, the same shall save him. Why is it the person that looks at that life and says, I think it's so great, but it's really nothing, it's taking me to hell, and surrenders that life and turns from that life so that they can have Christ. It's like a person that is on a boat, and to take the hand of their Savior, they've got to let go of the boat. and so they could be saved. Sadly, what many are clinging to is like a party boat. It's a great time, but it's going down. It's a great time, but it's going down. And to get saved, they gotta let go of the boat so that they can grab the hand of the Savior. And we've all got friends and family or people like that that we're praying for, that they'll let go and take Jesus Christ's salvation. It's a wise person that loses their life to profit in eternity. Jim Elliot says, he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. See, it's not just with regard to salvation, but there's some of us, even as believers, that we're grabbing hold of things and saying, but I don't want to let this go, I don't want to be separated from this sin, as we're talking about in Sunday School. I don't want to let this go, and there's people that have died and spent eternity in hell because we never let go of our life and let God take control of our life. Just like there's people that are being held that never let go so that they could have God's gift of everlasting life. Verse 36 says, For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? See, somebody can be very prosperous. We've got the President of the United States coming to Britain tomorrow for a few-day trip that he's coming on. And President Donald Trump is very wealthy. He was listed on the Forbes Top 400 of wealthiest men in America. I don't think he's on it now, but he used to be. He's the President of the strongest nation still in the world. He's looked upon as one of the premier world leaders. Donald Trump, like him or hate him, has done well for himself. I mean, there's very few people that can say, I'm extremely wealthy, I have incredible political power, but listen, when it comes to the cross, and the judgment seat of Christ, and the great life-long judgment, everything is equal. See, somebody could do extremely well in life, but they can't buy their soul. And if they die without Christ, they'll perish just like somebody that lived in the gutter their whole life and died without Christ and went to hell. It doesn't matter what they had in life, political power, or anything that they needed. Donald Trump has to receive Jesus Christ as his Savior, just like you or I need to receive Jesus Christ as our Savior. And so what's better? It's a whole lot better for somebody to let go of that life so that they could have Christ. And lastly, this morning, we want to come after him, okay? Come after me to shamelessness. To shamelessness. Do you know the world wants you to be ashamed of Jesus? And it's... If we're honest today, we'd say, you know, Pastor, I've struggled with that. There's times where I've struggled and somebody... I didn't really want it to be known that I was a Christian. I didn't really want it to be known that I love God, that I go to church, that I read my Bible, that I believe in God. But you know the Bible says that we're to be shameless. And so if we're going to follow Christ, we've got to be. Verse 38 says, Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation. See, if I'm ashamed of Jesus today, who am I ashamed before? I'm ashamed before Christ rejecters. I'm ashamed before the ungodly. I'm ashamed of those that are going to die and be cast into a lake of fire by an authoritative God. If I were to ask today, why is the Church of Scotland capitulated when it comes to women preachers and when it comes to homosexuals and homosexual ministers, what is the answer? They're afraid. of the world and what they think. And they're ashamed of the Lord Jesus Christ. They're ashamed to say, you know, God says in Leviticus 18 verse point two, thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind. It is an abomination. But that's what God says. I witnessed a man yesterday, he's a very gracious man, and we talked about some of these things, it was on my heart because of the message that I'm preaching today, just asking him, he went to Church of Scotland, I was asking him, was it Evangelical Church of Scotland, and I said, to tell you the truth, I've got a great problem with the Church of Scotland today because they've thrown the Bible under the bus. And we talked about it. We've got to stand up in our day, no matter how loud the world gets and how much they criticize our view, we've got to stand with Jesus Christ and say, this is what God says. All religions are equal. All roads don't lead to heaven. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes unto the Father but by Him. Look, I'm not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. It's the power of God's in salvation. Are you ashamed of the Gospel of Christ today? Are you ashamed to identify with Christ? Are you ashamed that others know you're a Christian? Are you ashamed to believe the Bible cover to cover and to stand for some of even the touching truth that we've looked at today, but that is God's Word and it's what God says? If I'm ashamed, I'm ashamed before In an ungodly world. And God says, I'm going to be shameless. I'm going to follow Christ. And if I'm shameless before the world, praise God, I'll be shameless before the Father. Because if I am ashamed before the world, God tells me this. Of him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. Jesus isn't proud of gay pride in the church. He's not proud of ecumenism. He's not proud of the lack of biblical separation or ecclesiastical separation. Jesus Christ is proud of those that identify with God and obey God and please God when he comes that he's not ashamed of them when he comes. And so, if we're going to follow Him, we'll be shameless. Why? Because it doesn't matter to me what you think about me. I'm following Him, and He's God. Right? And that's what matters. I chose, back when I was in university, I wrote in my Bible, kind of, you know, sometimes you get these ideas, and they're not bad ideas. I have a life verse, and it's actually, you know, it's in my notes, Philippians 1-20. According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness as always, so Christ also shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death. And my theme phrase is this. I used to run in front of the grandstands at Bob Jones and nobody would be there. And that was the end of my run. I sprinted the end of my run. But I chose this, my theme for this phrase, for the audience of one. That's all that matters. When I run, or anything I do, it ought to be for God. And if it's for God, it doesn't matter to me what you think. Whosoever will come after me, He's God. Jesus Christ. Are you coming after Him? If you are, then there should be suffering. Because His path is a path of suffering. Not that, you know, we're not beating ourselves to try to win favor with Christ. We're going through suffering so that the world can live just like Jesus did. Are you suffering? Are you surrendered to Him? If God says it in the Word of God, we've heard it preached here in the pulpit, and you say, not so, not for my life. Or you say, you know, that's what God says. And I check it out in the Word of God, that's what God says, I don't obey God. Are you coming to sacrifice for Him? Denying your flesh? Perhaps today you've got to come to salvation. There could be somebody that listens to this online or here this morning that says, you know what, I'm holding on to my life and I need to let go of my life so I can take Christ. This life isn't worth it. It's not worth holding on to any sin and losing out on salvation. Lose your life to gain it. Are you coming to shamelessness for Him? Or would you have to be honest and say, you know, Pastor, I don't want to witness like I should or stand up like I should for the Lord, because to be honest, I'm ashamed of Christ. But I say today, I ought not be ashamed, so that I'll not be ashamed when Christ comes. May the Spirit of God speak to our hearts. Let's follow Christ. Let's pray. Father, I pray, as we vowed before you just now, may the Spirit of God speak to our hearts. I know it's a message you want me to preach, but there's a very specific way that you put this passage upon my heart. Father, we all need it. Father, we can all draw back and stop following. So I just pray this morning, Lord, maybe there's somebody that needs to just surrender. Maybe there's never been a time in their life where they've really surrendered and said, okay, you're master, you're Lord. Anything you say, anything you want, you do it. And just now as your heads are bowed and your eyes are closed, I want to just ask you to ask Pastor, my eyes are open, nobody else's. Maybe the Spirit of God spoke to your heart about surrender. Maybe you've surrendered in the past, that's great. And maybe you need to renew that surrender to God. But maybe you've never surrendered. You've never said to God, okay God, if you show me your word, it's true and the word of God, and it needs to change in my life, whatever it is, I'll change it. That's Paul saying to Jesus, who art thou Lord? Maybe the Spirit of God is speaking to you in your heart today, saying, you know, make that decision to surrender. Whatever God would direct you to do, whatever He'd say about your life, that if God spoke to you about it, by God's grace, you'd do that. Is there anybody that'd say, Pastor, God's in my heart to make that decision today. Anybody like that today? Make that decision to surrender to the Lord. Praise God. Yeah, praise God. Amen. Anybody else? That's great. Father, thank you for those that have, by a cliffed hand, acknowledged that the Spirit of God is speaking to them about making that decision. What a great decision to make, and I pray that they make it with all confidence, and really seal the deal with you, Lord, spend maybe a few minutes in prayer at some point today, and dedicate themselves to you, and what you desire for them. Father, all of our hearts, whether that's the decision we need to make, maybe we've made it before, I know many have, But I pray God that we'd say, all for Jesus, all for Jesus. Let my feet run in his way. Let my eyes see Jesus only, and my lips speak forth his praise. By that we would give ourselves fully to follow our Lord. May the Spirit of God continue to speak and continue to draw us after him. It's in Christ's name we pray, amen. Hymn 389 is here, all in the altar, 389. 389. And stand with me, please, as we sing 389. Let's sing.