[0:00] Good morning everybody. I'd like to give a special welcome to those of you who are visiting here. We trust that you have a blessed time with us. It's always an interesting weekend, the goth weekend, isn't it, to have a lot of people in Whitby. And I just want to draw your attention as we begin to the verse that's behind us on the wall there, which is taken from Romans chapter 5 verse 1. Therefore, since we've been justified by faith, we have peace with God to our Lord Jesus Christ. Isn't it a fantastic thing to be able to come into a church building on a Sunday on a glorious day like today and know that despite the turmoil in the world, that we have peace with God if we are Christians and we trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a wonderful promise for those who have Christ as their Savior. And we're going to sing our first hymn now. It's number 29 in your book. This is a song of praise.
[1:13] And again, it tells why we have to praise that Savior and praise God himself. Praise my soul, the King of heaven, to his feet your tribute bring. And then of course, at the end, praise him, praise him, praise the everlasting King. Let's stand and sing our first hymn, number 29.
[1:43] only beforeR axi God tres 그랬�va Jane õ達아아inn?
[2:19] Is it trombнуюerville de Christ to see if he wants to shine aQueen in the air to seeü zed or overin his slumki he is he is going the irreverable we're got his harshness in even if he indeed truly is literally helü I did not rush at turn wasn't that great to sing that hymn I was talking to somebody in the car park the other day and they said you know the singing at church I'm not so sure it's as good as it was once they said you know I could barely hear it I said well that's strange because we usually sing well they said well I was sitting in a car at the back of the car park with the door closed but it's a wonderful hymn of praise that and it says in there God endures unchanging on when the world is changing when everything seems in a turmoil as we may be thinking later on we can still remember that God is unchanging and he endures forever and we're told to praise with us that God a grace so let's come to prayer now let's pray to God
[3:30] Lord as we come this morning into your presence we do thank you that you are a God who is unchanging you're a God who's almighty you're a God who's omniscient you know everything you're present with us everywhere and Lord we know that your desire is to build up your people to grant them that peace that we've already been thinking about but also to demonstrate your grace towards them in everything that you do for them so Lord as we come this morning we confess that we come as sinful people and yet we come to worship you because you promised that we can come in the name of our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ and Lord we know that when they put that epitaph on the cross the king of the Jews and they were asked to remove it Pilate said I've written what I've written and Lord we know that he wasn't just king of the Jews but the king of all creation and we thank you for the fact that we can worship the true king today so Lord just be with us help us as we meet together may your Holy Spirit guide us to in our minds and hearts take in the truths of the gospel the truths of your word that our lives might be enriched and we might rejoice in all the good things that are contained there so Lord we bring all these things before you now we ask that our worship will be acceptable in your sight because we ask all these things that your name will be glorified because we pray these things in the name of our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ
[5:19] Amen Amen How Michigan will he if you say Will there do hope save me for the love in your Son to 겨 translate about the places all over the country CHOIR SINGS
[6:25] CHOIR SINGS Let's just commit these gifts to the Lord.
[7:03] Lord, we do thank you and praise you for all you give to us. And we pray that you'll accept these, our tokens of what you've done. And we pray, Lord, that you'll use them for your service.
[7:14] In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. And Dave is going to do the reading for us now. Amen. If we could turn in the word of God to the Gospel of Mark and Chapter 8.
[7:33] The Gospel of Mark and Chapter 8. For those who are following in the Church Bible, it's on page 1011. That's 1011 in the Church Bible.
[7:46] It's Mark Chapter 8. And we can commence reading from verse 11. Let's hear the word of God. The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus.
[8:02] To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. He sighed deeply and said, Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly, I tell you, no sign will be given to it.
[8:16] And then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side. The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat.
[8:28] Be careful, Jesus warned them. Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod. They discussed this with one another and said, Is it because we have no bread?
[8:42] Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them, Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened?
[8:56] Do you have eyes but fail to see and ears but fail to hear? And don't you remember when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, How many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?
[9:08] Twelve, they replied. And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, How many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up? They answered, Seven.
[9:20] He said to them, Do you still not understand? They came to Bethsaida and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.
[9:32] He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spat on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, Do you see anything?
[9:44] He looked up and said, I see people. They look like trees walking around. Once more, Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.
[10:03] Jesus sent him home saying, Don't even go into the village. Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi.
[10:13] On the way, he asked them, Who do people say I am? They replied, Well, some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and still others, one of the prophets.
[10:27] But what about you? He asked. Who do you say I am? Peter answered, You are the Messiah. Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.
[10:40] He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the law, that he must be killed, and after three days, rise again.
[10:58] He spoke plainly about this. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. Get behind me, Satan, he said.
[11:09] You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns. Then he called the crowd to him, along with his disciples, and said, Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
[11:29] For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?
[11:44] Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father's glory with his holy angels.
[12:03] Amen. May God bless to us that reading from his holy and inspired word. Thank you very much.
[12:31] The End The End Again as we come around the word of the Lord and we share this time together.
[13:36] So thank you very much for your invitation to be here this day. And we look forward to what the Lord will do among us. Let's turn to God in prayer. Let's pray.
[13:48] Our gracious God and Father we thank you that as we turn to you now we turn to your open word. And Father we thank you that you have not left us ignorant of the things of yourself.
[14:02] But Lord God you've given us your word and you've given us your Holy Spirit to lead us and to guide us in your truth. And so Lord God as we spend this time now we just ask oh God you will just clear our hearts and our minds of any concerns that might be ours.
[14:21] Concerns for the past week or the coming week. That we might wholly concentrate upon the things of yourself. That we might put you first in our lives.
[14:33] That we might know your hand of blessing upon us. We ask these things in Jesus name. Amen. Well first of all can I just ask you the question.
[14:46] Who are you following? Now if you've got a Twitter account. I think people follow things on that don't they? I'm not asking about that. But who do you follow?
[14:58] Barry's also mentioned already political leaders that are around today. And many of those will say have a following. Donald Trump he does actually tweet doesn't he?
[15:12] But there's lots of people who follow him. Wisely or otherwise. But you know some people you know think well they're worth following.
[15:26] But when you think more closely. When you look at the lives of anybody. You realise that they have but feet of clay. They're not always the men or women that you expect them to be.
[15:42] And sometimes we find our hopes dashed. We find ourselves disappointed. We put our trust in someone. And they've let us down. And so we say well I'm not following them anymore.
[15:57] And you might say well you know. Well to be honest I don't follow anybody. I'm my own man. I'm my own woman. I do things my way. And basically what you're saying is well I know best.
[16:12] I know what works for me. I know that I can put my self trust in myself. And that's all there is to it. And again if we look at our own lives.
[16:29] Our own personalities. The motives we have. Then again is that the wisest course of action. So following someone else might be highly dubious.
[16:44] In the way of running our lives. And again relying on our own sense of direction. May also not be so good. But where does that leave us then?
[16:56] And I hope that as we come this morning. That we see there is someone. Who is worth following.
[17:08] And someone who will never ever. Let us down. And obviously I'm speaking about. The Lord Jesus Christ. And so that this morning.
[17:19] I want to ask the question. Why follow Jesus? And I want to answer it. Very simply. Well hopefully simply.
[17:31] And looking particularly from. This chapter from Mark chapter 8. And looking for various things from here. And saying. Well why follow Jesus? Well firstly we follow him.
[17:41] Because of who he is. Secondly we follow him. Because of what he's done. Thirdly. Because of the consequences.
[17:54] Or alternatives. And fourthly. Just to reflect upon some of the benefits. That come to us. As we follow after.
[18:06] The Lord Jesus. So firstly. I want to consider. Why follow Jesus? Well we follow him. Because of who he is. Who is Jesus?
[18:18] If you went. Out into the streets. Today or tomorrow. Whatever. And you ask people. Who is Jesus? Jesus. Well you would get. No doubt.
[18:29] A whole variety. Of. Answers. Some might tell you. That he was a good man. That he was a prophet. That he was a magician.
[18:42] Some say he was a spaceman. You know. You know. All various things. And weird. Answers you might get back. Some might say. Well.
[18:52] He is the son of God. And that is where. I come from. He is the Lord of all.
[19:05] The God of all creation. And. We find that when. The Lord Jesus. Was walking along. With his disciples. One day. They were heading.
[19:18] Along the villages. Of Caesarea Philippi. And. Again. You think. Well. You know. He was born. He lived a life. Of relative obscurity. Till he was about 30.
[19:30] And then. He began his public ministry. And. Those who were with him. Walked with him. And talked with him. And saw the various things he did. And one day.
[19:43] As he was. As he was walking along. He. He turned to his disciples. And. He says. Who do people say I am? And they replied.
[19:53] Well. Some say. John the Baptist. They say. Elijah. And still others. One. Of. The prophets. Well.
[20:05] John the Baptist. Had identified Jesus. As one. Much greater. Than he himself. That even. Tying his shoelaces.
[20:16] Would be too much. Of an honor. John. Had been executed. By King Herod. And some were saying. Well.
[20:26] Now Jesus. Was John the Baptist. Raised from the dead. Others were expecting. The appearance of a prophet. Who would be like.
[20:37] Moses. Or Elijah. And they thought. Well. Is Jesus. This prophet. It. There were other theories.
[20:48] Going around. At that time. Perhaps. There was. Those. Who were saying. Well. Jesus. Is a sort of. A madman. Of some sort. That he was. Satanic. His power.
[20:59] Came from the devil. Some were saying. Well. He's just a man. He's a carpenter's son.
[21:09] So. So. What have you heard. About Jesus. People.
[21:20] Have said. All sorts of things. And that's. Eventually. What Jesus. Comes to. He. He. Asks his disciples. Well.
[21:30] Who do men. Say that I am. And they say. Well. All sorts of answers. Come back. And then he says. Well. What about you then? Who do you.
[21:43] Say. I am. And. And basically. At the end of the morning. That's the question. I want. You to be able. To answer. Who.
[21:55] Do you think. Who do you believe. Jesus. To be. Because our lives.
[22:06] Depend upon. That answer. And Peter answered. You are the Christ.
[22:18] You are the Messiah. You are the promised one. Of God. The king promised. And sent by God. To overthrow.
[22:30] The enemies. Of God's people. And to bring God's people. Into an everlasting kingdom. Of peace. And security. And you think.
[22:42] Oh. Peter. Here is someone. Who has known. The Lord Jesus. For the last three years. Again. He'd seen. The miracles. Performed by the Lord Jesus Christ.
[22:54] He'd. He'd. He'd. He'd. The things said. On one occasion. When. They had. Such a. A great. Hall of fish.
[23:05] Peter. Fell down. Before. The Lord Jesus. And said. Depart from me. For I am a sinful man. He. He recognized. Something about Jesus. Something special. He felt. His own.
[23:15] Unworthiness. In the presence. Of. This person. And so when. Jesus.
[23:27] As the question. Well. What about you? Who do you say. I am? Almost immediately. Peter comes up. You are the Christ. You are the. The Messiah.
[23:37] You are the promised one of God. And. The Lord Jesus. He doesn't turn to Peter.
[23:48] And say. Oh no. Sorry. You've got it all. Wrong. No. He accepts it. He accepts. What Peter has to say. You are the Christ. He said. Yes. I am.
[24:01] And they weren't. To tell anyone. He is God's. Son. Because following.
[24:14] This. Account of. In Mark. Chapter 8. We move on to. Mark. Mark. Chapter 9. And there. We find. The Lord Jesus. Taking.
[24:24] Three of his disciples. Up onto that. Mount of Transfiguration. And when they get to the. Mount of Transfiguration. They come to the top of the mountain. And there. And there. And there. Two others appear.
[24:38] With the Lord Jesus. Moses. And Elijah. And they. Their coats shine. Like the new day sun. And it's glorious.
[24:49] And the glory. Of the Lord Jesus. Is revealed. And the voice. From heaven. Comes. This is my son. Whom I love.
[25:00] Listen to him. And so there we have it. The very words. Of God. Himself. This. Is. My son.
[25:13] Whom I love. Listen. To him. Jesus. Asks. Who do you say. I am.
[25:26] And what's your answer. What are you going to say. Is he. Who he claims to be. When you examine the evidence.
[25:42] You look at the miracles. You look at his teaching. Who is Jesus. Who is Jesus to you. And then secondly.
[25:56] We follow Jesus. Because of who. Or sorry. Because of what he has done. Last week. We celebrated. Easter.
[26:07] Didn't we. Good Friday. We remember. The Lord Jesus. Dying. Upon the cross. Of Calvary. In payment. For our sin.
[26:20] On Sunday. We celebrated. His resurrection. From the dead. And we acknowledge. That he is alive. Today. We don't worship.
[26:32] A dead savior. We worship. One who is very much alive. He died. For our sins. That our. Sins might be forgiven. He rose again. For our justification.
[26:44] That we might be declared. Not guilty. Before God. And so let me explain. What when Peter says.
[26:54] That Jesus is the Christ. The Messiah. He was right about that. But he hadn't got the whole picture. When people spoke.
[27:06] About the Messiah coming. They. They were looking for someone. Who was going to come. And deliver the nation of Israel. From the Roman occupation. Who was going to establish.
[27:16] The kingdom of Israel. Upon. Earth. But that's not what Jesus came to do. He came to set up his own kingdom.
[27:30] Kingdom. Kingdom not of this world. As it were. And so the Lord Jesus. Gives them his own perspective. About what he's about to do.
[27:42] And so in verse 31. We read. Jesus then began to teach them. That the son of man. Must suffer many things. And be rejected by the elders. The chief priests.
[27:52] And teachers of the law. That he must be killed. And after three days. Rise again. And he spoke plainly. About this. That's not the kind of Messiah.
[28:04] That Peter. Nor. Anyone else. That he was expecting. Now Jesus agreed. That he is the Messiah. Their saviour. And king. But how was he going to establish.
[28:17] His kingdom. Well the answer was. By. Dying. Upon the cross. Dying at the hands of his enemies.
[28:29] Why? Well Jesus said later. That he would die. To give his life. A ransom. For many. That's in.
[28:39] Mark chapter 10. Verse 45. In other words. His death would be the price. That had to be paid. So that we could escape.
[28:51] The punishment of hell. And find forgiveness. Of sins. And eternal life. But you know.
[29:02] The Lord said. That he wasn't going to stay dead. And I think something. This is. Something that the disciples. Seemed to miss. Time and time again. On the third day.
[29:14] He would rise. From the dead. It was an astounding claim. That he made. But one that he. He proved. Because on the third day.
[29:27] When people went to the tomb. There was no body to be found. And following that time.
[29:38] The Lord Jesus appeared again and again. To various folk. 500 people at one time. And the Bible says. At that time. Many. Were still alive.
[29:50] If you wanted to check out the account. Go and speak to somebody. They're there. They'd seen the Lord Jesus. Risen. From. The dead.
[30:03] And that was God's plan. That the Lord Jesus. Would die. In our place. To pay the price. Of our sin.
[30:14] That on the third day. He would rise again from the dead. To show that death. Had no dominion. He'd conquered sin. He'd conquered death.
[30:27] And now he lives. As our eternal king. Jesus had once said. We have. Like sheep had gone astray.
[30:38] Each of us had turned to his own way. The Lord laid on him. The iniquity. Of us all. He died. That our sins might be forgiven.
[30:54] And the truth is. That every single one of us. Is guilty before God. There's none righteous.
[31:06] No not one. All have sinned. And fallen short. Of the glory. The standards of God. That God expects. And so all of us.
[31:18] However good. We might feel about ourselves. We are all. Hell deserving sinners. It's not a palatable truth. It's not. Easy to accept.
[31:29] But it's the truth. Nonetheless. Myself included. I deserve. The punishments of hell. For my sin.
[31:43] As does anybody else. We follow Jesus. Because of what he has done. He has made it possible. That we can escape.
[31:55] That punishment. That judgment. And know. And know. Eternal life. Through the Lord Jesus Christ. That is what.
[32:09] Christ has done for us. And why was Jesus raised? Because death could not hold him. He's stronger than death.
[32:20] Death. And his resurrection. Is death's decisive defeat. And his resurrection. Proves. Who he is. That he is.
[32:31] The son of God. That he has all power. So why follow Jesus? We follow him. Because of who he is.
[32:43] He is the ruler of all. He is the son of God. And we follow him. Because of what he has done. He gave his life. For the forgiveness.
[32:55] Of our sin. And he rose again. Though we might have life in him. And so really. Along with that explanation.
[33:07] Thirdly. We follow Jesus. Because. Of the consequences. Of. The alternatives. It was.
[33:18] Bill Shankly. Some of you may. Remember him. Manager of Leeds. United. If I remember rightly. Liverpool. Was it? Liverpool. All right. Got it wrong. Oops.
[33:30] I don't follow football. But he said this. Famously said this. Some people believe football. Is a matter of life and death. I am very.
[33:42] Disappointed. With that attitude. I can assure you. It is much more. Important than that. Well. There's people.
[33:53] That you meet. Who would agree. With. Maybe his sentiments. But it's amusing. Precisely. Because it's so evident. That it's nonsense. It's not.
[34:05] More important. Than life and death. Whether we follow. Any football team. Or. Whatever team we follow. In the.
[34:18] Run of things. It doesn't matter. But whether we follow. Jesus. Jesus. That is.
[34:29] The key. To life and death. And our eternal destiny. Look for a start. At the sharp exchange.
[34:39] Between Peter. And the Lord Jesus. In verses. 32 and 33. Jesus. We read. Spoke plainly. About this. His death and resurrection. And Peter.
[34:50] Took him aside. And began to rebuke him. But when Jesus. Turned. And looked at his disciples. He rebuked Peter. Get behind me. Satan. He said.
[35:02] You do not. Have in mind. The things of God. But the things of men. You know. There's no. Neutral ground. When it comes.
[35:12] To deciding. About. The Lord Jesus. You will leave. This place. This morning. Either. Believing. Jesus.
[35:23] To be who he is. The son of God. Or not. There's. There's no middle ground. And we need.
[35:35] To come to that. Point. Where we make. That decision. Peter. Even though.
[35:45] He said. You are the Christ. He says. No Lord. This shall not be. And we think.
[35:55] Those. Those two words. Don't really go together. Do they? No Lord. If your Lord. Tells you something. It's yes. But he says.
[36:08] No Lord. This shall not be. And then. We have the words. Of the Lord Jesus. Get behind me Satan.
[36:22] You don't understand. You're not. Concerned. With the things of God. You're. More concerned with. Your own desires.
[36:33] Your own wants. And there are. Further. Consequences. If we don't. Follow. The Lord Jesus. Look at the beginning.
[36:43] Verse 35. For whoever. Wants to save his life. Will lose it. And then. Verse 36. What good is it. For man. To gain the whole world. Yet forfeit his soul.
[36:56] Or what can a man. Give in exchange. Of his soul. If anyone. Is ashamed of me. And my words. In this adulterous. And sinful generation. The son of man.
[37:07] Will be ashamed of him. When he comes. In his father's glory. With his holy angels. We each have a choice. We can live for ourselves.
[37:20] We say. Well. I know best. I live. By my own principles. Or we can say. No. I will live.
[37:31] For the Lord Jesus. Who is. The son of God. Who gave his life. That I should live. Who has all power.
[37:42] And authority. The film director. John Houston. Once said. The most important thing. About life. Is to avoid boredom.
[37:53] At all costs. Is that what. You're after. Excitement. Purpose. Maybe you have some.
[38:06] Secret ambition. Something you want to achieve. Well again. As we saw. In our children's talk. Putting God first.
[38:16] In our lives. Doesn't mean. That we cannot enjoy. The things of this world. The blessings. That God bestows. Upon us. Day by day. Indeed. If we put God. First in our lives.
[38:27] Those. Those blessings. Are much more. Likely to be. Enjoyed. As they should be. Enjoyed. It's having.
[38:40] Our priorities right. It's making. The Lord Jesus. Our all in all. But there is a downside.
[38:52] And it's this. Living for ourselves. As. Catastrophic. Long term. Consecure. For others. And for ourselves. Getting caught up in this. Adulterous.
[39:03] And sinful generation. Can end up. With far reaching. Consequences. Just think about people.
[39:14] You know. Or maybe even look at your own life. The guilt. The shame. And damage. Of broken relationships. And the general mess.
[39:26] Of our lives. Can be traced back. To our defiance. Or. To our rebellion. Against God. We may enjoy.
[39:43] The pleasure of sin. For a season. But the gratification. Soon wears off. And the pain. Remains. And it only gets worse.
[39:58] Because the Lord Jesus. Makes it clear. That we are. All of us. Accountable to God. Jesus will one day. Be our judge.
[40:11] And if we've chosen the life. Which is centered upon ourselves. Then that's what we gain.
[40:24] If we choose a life without God. That will be our eternity. An eternity without God. Without his love.
[40:36] And comfort. And peace. Only to know. His wrath. And judgment. And yes.
[40:46] I'm talking about the realities of hell. Hell. Many people. Joke about hell. Don't they? My own brother.
[40:57] He's not a Christian. He speaks very lightly about the subject. At least he's going to be nice and warm. He says. But he doesn't understand.
[41:13] The hopelessness. The suffering. The torment. And if you think about. Who spoke about hell most in the scriptures.
[41:24] You find it's the Lord Jesus. And why? Well because he doesn't want people to go there. Hell is never.
[41:35] Pictured as a. Just an alternative. It's pictured as a place of torment. And none of us.
[41:50] Should ever treat it so lightly. So why follow Jesus? Well living for ourselves is easy.
[42:01] But. It has. Consequences. Eternal consequences. Separation from God. Well finally.
[42:16] Just want to mention. The benefits. Of following Jesus. There's no denying. That following Jesus.
[42:27] Is going to be hard. When Jesus describes it. He says. Well if anyone would come after me. He must deny himself. And take up his cross.
[42:40] And follow me. And denying oneself. Is not saying. Well no to that second donut. Or whatever. It's.
[42:54] Not making. Our lives more austere. Following Jesus. Means that.
[43:05] We. No longer become the center. Of our own lives. But we put him first. In this world.
[43:16] You will have tribulation. That will be promised. As Christians. But we also promise. Do not fear. For I have overcome the world.
[43:30] But the Lord. You know. He makes it quite clear. That when. When. It comes to following after him. There's a cross. There's the instrument. Of execution.
[43:43] That we must take. And be willing to bear. Jesus is not asking us. To be secret disciples.
[43:57] He's telling. Go out there. Bear the cross. Be an object. To go. Obstacle. Sorry. Be. An object.
[44:08] Of ridicule. Be an object. Of scorn. It's not going to be easy. But I want you to stand.
[44:28] And it's hard. But you say. Well hang on. Didn't you say. That you're going to talk about benefits.
[44:42] That doesn't sound very beneficial. But when we think. Whoever wants to save his life.
[44:52] Will lose it. But whoever loses his life. For me. And for the gospel. Will save it. Then that takes on a whole new.
[45:07] Scope. Doesn't it? There was a lady. Who. Died alone. At the age of 71. The coroner's report.
[45:19] Was tragic. The cause of death. Was malnutrition. Before she died. She used to beg food. From her neighbors. What clothes she had.
[45:30] Apparently came from the Salvation Army. She was apparently. A penniless. Pitiless. Forgotten widow. But not so. Those investigating her death.
[45:40] Discovered a huge dash. Of stocks. And shares. And cash. Apparently she was a millionaire. But she died of starvation. Because she would not part. With anything.
[45:51] Not even. To feed herself. This woman was totally. Taken up. With the things of this world.
[46:05] Whoever. Would save his life. Will lose it. But whoever loses his life. For me. And for the gospel. Will save it. Some of you know.
[46:15] That the name. C.T. Studd. Towards the end. Of the 19th century. He gave up. The privileged. Family background. Of a small fortune. And his position.
[46:26] As a star. England test. Cricketer. In order. That he would go. And preach. The gospel. In China. The motto.
[46:37] He gave. To the mission. He founded. Was this. If Christ. Jesus. Be God. And died. For me. Then no sacrifice.
[46:50] Can be. Too great. For me. To make. For him. I've spoken. About the realities. Of hell. My friends.
[47:01] There are. The realities. Of heaven. And that's. What I want. Is to leave us. The realities. Of heaven. You know. We don't know.
[47:13] What it's going to be like. We're not going to be. Standing on clouds. With wings. Playing harps. For all eternity.
[47:27] That's not what heaven is. But what we do know. Is that when. We are in heaven. We will be like.
[47:38] The Lord Jesus. We will be with him. And that is so wonderful. Is that everyone.
[47:49] Who has this hope. Purifies himself. Just as he is pure. It's such a. A desire. Glorious desire. That we should have. To be. Like the Lord Jesus.
[47:59] To be with him. For all eternity. Serving. Worshiping our God. In the way that we. Would long to. Even now. We can't.
[48:12] Worship God. As we would. Would. Because our lives. Are still stained. By our sin. But in heaven. All sin is gone. There's nothing.
[48:23] To spoil our relationship. With God. We would be like. Our saviour. And we have that promise. Of the Lord Jesus.
[48:37] That we have. Eternal life in him. So life following Jesus. Is full. Of the presence. And the power.
[48:48] And the promise. Of the Lord Jesus. And it's life. To the full. It's life. To the full. Here and now. And it's eternal life.
[49:02] And it's a glorious life. In heaven. To come. So finally. Why follow Jesus? Well. Because of who he is. He is the Lord of glory.
[49:13] The son of God. We follow him. Because of what he has done. He died. For the forgiveness. Of our sins. He rose again. That we might be declared.
[49:25] Not guilty. Before God. We follow him. Because of the consequences. Of the alternatives. The realities of hell. To avoid. And we follow him.
[49:38] Because of the benefits. Which are ours. If we do. Abundance of life now. And the realities of heaven.
[49:49] To come. So. I'm going to leave you with that question. Who do you believe Jesus to be?
[50:00] And will you follow him? You've heard. The consequences.
[50:14] And the decision. Is yours. What will you do. With Jesus? If you are a Christian.
[50:24] If you are following Jesus. Then rejoice. In that. And keep on going. Keep on. Living for him. Keep on taking that cross.
[50:35] Daily. And following. If you're not a Christian. Then examine. The word of God. Look at the claims.
[50:47] Made. Look at the alternatives. See. Look to God.
[50:58] Ask him. Ask him to help you. If you're struggling. To believe. Confess that before God. And ask for his help.
[51:10] Amen.