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"And He said unto them all, if any man will come
after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross
daily, and follow me.” — Luke 9:23.
ESUS is beginning preparation for His
return to the Father. The work of
making disciples for Him is to be com
mitted to His successors. This is very
important work, and there must be no
mistake about it. It is just as essential
today. There are too many false dis'-
ciples in the world. Everywhere the
clear-cut Gospel of Christ needs to be
J
preached. The bars have been let down too low by
the ministry. A rich congressman said to me once:
“I will come in with you if you will let the bars down
a little lower.” I said, ‘‘Coming in with me under
such conditions would mean nothing. What you
want is to come to Christ, and there is only one way
to do that.” The Church of Jesus Christ can not
change the conditions of discipleship. These condi
tions are made and maintained by Christ Himself.
Let us see —
THE NATURE OF DISCIPLESHIP.
It is for everybody. “And he said unto them all.”
Thank God for a universal opportunity! When I was
a candidate for ordination to preach, I was asked the
question: “Do you believe there is anybody in
heaven who could have been in hell?” “Yes,” said I;
“the angels themselves.” “Do you believe there is
anybody in hell who could have been in heaven?”
“Yes,” said I; “the devil himself.” I was answering
then without much thought, but I am ready to re
affirm my answer to both questions now. Election is
taught in the Bible—so is free agency. lam not able
to reconcile these two truths. I hope I have more
sense than to try. To me the closing chapter of the
blessed old Bible is enough to inspire me in my
efforts to save everybody. Just as long as the
blessed “whosoever” stands, I am a free agency man.
Second —It is a willing service—“lf any man will.”
The will is the pivot around which revolves the
whole scheme of the redemption and service—justi
fication and sanctification. With Christ it is ever,
“if thou wilt, I will.” See the poor man in the porch
at the pool of Bethesda. Jesus came upon the scene
and asked, “Wilt thou be made whole?” The man
answered, “Yes, but I have no man to put me into
the water.” The sick man was looking for remedies;
Jesus was looking for a willing mind.
Third —It is a continuous service—“ Take up his
cross daily.”
With too many of us religion is a series of spasms.
Many church members remind me of a mule which
my father once owned. He was without doubt the
“kickiest” mule I ever saw. It was said by the boys
in the neighborhood that he kicked his tail off. He
had special times to kick. One time was when a
hill was to be made. He never kicked on level
ground, nor when we were going down grade. Oh,
you spasmodic church members! How much mule
there is in you God only knows. You are as calm as
a lamb and as satisfied as an angel until there is
something for you to do, and then you are ready to
reveal the mule. Jesus Christ said “daily.” The
disciple would have no vacation, but one continuous
religious service. I tell you, if our church had more
disciples, we would amount to more in the world.
OBLIGATIONS REQUIRED.
Everything worth belonging to has strong obliga
tions. So has the discipleship of Jesus. Jesus said,
“The words that I speak unto you, the same shall
judge you at that day.” Say what you will about
your environment and your conscience, when we
come to stand before the judgment bar of God we
will have to be judged by the Word.
Jesus submitted these obligations in a very clear
and definite manner. It is marvelous how plain His
teachings are at this point.
1. Selfidenial —“Let him deny himself.”
There are two important matters to be borne in
mind in analyzing the self-life —our prejudices and
our plans.
Let us look at our prejudices. Prejudice is a
detestable sin. It is pre-judging things. I remember
GENUINE ‘DISCIPLESHIP
Tabernacle Sermon by Reb. Len G. Broughton, D. D.
Stenographically reported for The Golden Age.—Copyright applied for.
once, when a boy, my father threatened to give me
a whipping for associating with the daughter of an
internal revenue officer. This was during the days
of Republican administration. A revenue officer was
regarded by the Democrats in our country as one
unfit for association. Several years after this, when
the Democratic party came in power, I was aston
ished one day to find my father desiring this same
job. I saw at once that it was possible for as good a
man as my father to be actuated by prejudice. It is
wonderful what an important part the prejudices of
men play in the politics of today. I was delivering
an address before the Grand Army of the Republic
in northwestern New York, and happened to say, in
speaking of this same subject, “Most people in the
North believe we in the South would vote the Demo
cratic ticket if you would put a dog at the head of
it.” There seemed to be such a demonstration of
approval that I couldn’t help saying, “Yes, and most
of us in the South believe you people in the North
would vote the Republican ticket if you would put
two dogs at the head of it.” It’s mighty near true.
A few men in this country vote from principle. The
great masses of the people vote from prejudice.
It is just so in religion. There is too much preju
dice to give Christ a chance. I have seen the day
when, if you would label the pulpit “holiness” I would
run a mile. And if you would label it “Your women
prophesy,” I would feel like running two miles. How
many of us live a cold, lifeless Christian experience,
and feed on husk, because we are afraid we will get
over into the territory of some crank. Let us be
ready to lay our prejudices down, that Jesus may
speak through His Word.
Again, we want to consider our plans. It is a
mighty hard thing for us to be convinced that our
plans are not the best. Moses was a shepherd. The
Lord asked him one day, “What hast thou in thine
hand?” He answered, “A stick.” It was, of course,
the shepherd’s crook, with which Moses had mail
aged the sheep. The Lord said, “Lay it down."
Moses, of course, didn’t understand the motive for
this command. Most of us, lam afraid, would have
desired to argue the question with God, but Moses
obeyed. When the stick struck the ground it was
changed into a snake. Then God said to Moses,
“Take it up.” This was then harder to understand;
why God should desire to punish him that way he
couldn’t see. He had an innocent stick a moment
ago, and now he must take up a snake. But Moses
obeyed, and the snake was changed again into a
stick. So far as he could see, it was the same stick
he had laid down. It had the same crook, the same
bark and the same knots. But Moses, one day after
this, standing by the Red sea, exerted a new power
with the stick that he had never seen before. In
stead of keeping back the sheep, it now, when
stretched forth, stays the rolling sea, and the waters
divide, and Moses and his host are delivered. What
a lesson to us today! God comes to every one of us
in every calling of life and says, “Lay down your
plans.” To us preachers He says every day and
every hour, “Lay down your credentials; let Me
work upon them, and after I have worked upon them,
take up what I order you to take up.” It may be He
would put some of us in the pew who are in the pul
pit. It might look hard for a time, but rest assured,
brother, our lives would have a power they never
had before. He speaks in the same way to the mer
chant, the housekeeper, to every professional man,
to every child of His, and the voice from the sky is
constantly speaking, “Lay it down; take it up.”
With these two thoughts kept constantly in mind,
there is no need of further analysis of the self-line.
We need not specify that we deny ourselves of that
or the other. If we have definitely denied our preju
dices and our plans, Jesus Christ Himself will put
out of our lives such things as are contrary to His
will.
2. Cros^-taking—“Take up His cross.”
Jesus is not talking here about the cross He bore.
He is talking of our cross. The first cross was in
the garden of Eden, when man’s will crossed God’s
will. The second cross was on Calvary, when man’s
will and God’s will were made one through the aton-
The Golden Age for June 30, 1910.
ing blood of Jesus. Our cross today is the appropri
ation of Calvary as the remedy for Eden’s sin.
Let us hear Jesus speak: “Take up his cross.”
That which stands in the way of a perfectly surren
dered will, “take it up.” There is no use whining or
praying ovei* it. This is one thing we are com
manded to do ourselves. A man came to me once,
seeking salvation. He was a whiskey seller. I said to
him, “There is no use of my praying for you until you
are willing to give up that business of yours.” He
said, “I will starve if Ido it.” Said Ito him, “Friend,
if that is all the confidence you have in Jesus, you
need not come to Him for salvation.” A few days
after this he came back, and I repeated what I had
previously said. He seemed to be unable to under
stand it. Not long after this I was preaching, and
he came out, confessing Christ. “I understand it
now,” said he. “I had to take up my cross.” “Yes,”
said I, “and, thank God! when you took up the cross,
Jesus took both you and the cross.” Let us prayer
fully meditate on this line. Jesus wants a chance to
reveal Himself. This can only be done when we
stoop to do that which is seemingly impossible; then
He has an opportunity.
3. Following Jesus —“Follow me.”
Oh, dear soul, genuine discipleship means follow
ing Jesus. Once, when I was a boy, I got lost in the
woods, hunting. I traveled for a long time. It
seemed to me that I reached a strange country,
where even the stars were all new. I couldn’t see
my hand before me. I made up my mind I would sit
down and wait until I could sec Finally daylight
began to stream through the thick trees and I heard
a chicken crow. It was the first familiar sound I had
heard. I got up and looked, and behold! I was almost
in a rock’s throw of home. Let us make up our
minds that we will never move in this or that direc
tion until we see the track of the Saviour. And when
we see it, let us be careful to put our feet where He
puts His.
Some years ago there lived in a neighboring State
a thrifty young business man. At an early age he
demonstrated that God had endowed him with a
great talent for money-making. And, although poor,
this talent brought him abundant opportunity to en
gage in business. A gentleman of much wealth and
experience offered him money, which he gladly
accepted. A few years passed, and the poor boy was
counted a rich man. At the beginning of his business
career he married. His wife was a good woman, but,
like many others, her interest in religion grew less
as she grew in wealth. How strange this is, and yet
many, many times true. When they were first mar
ried the young wife was faithful to her church and
all her Christian obligations. A family altar she kept
up for a while. But when prosperity began to come,
the family altar was given up, the church was neg
lected and social functions allowed to take the place
of her church societies and religious gatherings. Os
course, this encouraged the young money-making
husband in his neglect of his soul.
During the course of time God gave them a beauti
ful boy. His presence cheered the young home like
a sunbeam. Many were the plans outlined for his
future. Finally, when he was six years of age, and
the parental hope and aspirations kindled with the
thought of starting him to school, the little fellow
was taken ill. At the time the father was away on
a business trip. One morning a messenger boy
called at his hotel and delivered to him this mes
sage: “Willie is sick; come home.” Os course, no
business was transacted that day, for father was on
the first train, making for home. When he arrived
he was met at the door by some friend, who said,
“Step lightly; he is very sick.” Some friends were
watching with the faithful mother, whose heart was
bleeding, not only over the suffering of her precious
child, but, too, because she felt her neglect of duty
had shut Christ out of her home.
As they all sat watching by his little bedside, Wil
lie opened his little half-shut eyes and, with a smile
on his face, said, “Papa, the angels have come to
take your boy home.” It was sweet testimony, but
how it tore that bleeding heart!
(Continued op Page 15.)
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