In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the urgency of presenting Jesus to the audience. He starts by expressing gratitude for God sending Jesus and asks the Holy Spirit to teach more about His name. The preacher then focuses on the Gospel of Mark, highlighting that it unveils the story of Jesus, the Son of God who became a servant to be our Savior. He emphasizes the preparation that Jesus underwent before starting His ministry, particularly through identification, as seen in His baptism by John in the Jordan River.

I don't know quite as what to say to him, but it's wonderful to be with him, and my wife and I are so thrilled to be here today and to be able to take in this conference. But you know, after listening this afternoon, earlier, I really feel redundant. There was a tremendous ministry. I want to be sure that somebody who's taking tapes gives me one of this afternoon's message, because that's what we want to hear in Britain. And I would just love to sit at Chuck's feet and just listen. But I can't exactly do that all the time. I don't know if you'll have any trouble with the British accent. Ten years in Chicago perhaps took the sharp end of it. But I had problems, I tell you, there are so a lot of people. But I remember two weeks after I was pastor of the church there at Moody, I had to show a Nigerian through the customs at the request of a friend of mine. And so I went to the airport and the customs officer looked at his passport. He couldn't speak in English, this man. And he said, what is he? I said, he's a clerk. Now, I didn't know that in Chicago that word is pronounced clerk. So he said, what? I said, he's a clerk. He said, but what does he do? I said, I have no idea. All I know is he's a clerk. And he said to me, do you mean he just goes tick tock, tick tock? Oh dreadful. So I hope I don't land you into that trouble today. It's very wonderful to be here. In fact, quite overwhelming. And I'm very dependent upon the Holy Spirit. I haven't come here to be clever. I haven't come here to sharpen up your theology. I've come here if you'll allow me to reach your hearts in the name of the Lord Jesus. And to speak out of some year's experience of ministry, often through times of failure, when the Lord has proved that his goodness and mercy have followed me every day of my life. He has chastened me sorely, but he hasn't delivered me over to death. I told the folk in Calvary Chapel at, I don't, read them this, that I'm living on injury time. If you play soccer, you ought to know what that is. The referee adds any time that has been lost through injuries during the game to what is called injury time. And a goal scored in injury time can turn defeat into victory. And there isn't a minute to waste. So that sense of urgency is upon me in the name of the Lord as I seek to present Jesus to you in these days. Thank you so much for coming. Now I'd like you to learn a chorus with me. Maybe some of you know it. Thank you God for sending Jesus. Thank you, Jesus, that you can. Holy Spirit, won't you teach me more about his lovely name? And maybe you've heard it before. Oh, good. Well, the choir will sing it to us, those of you who said you knew it. And you sing something else, but just sing, that's the thing. Thank you. Just give the tune. Thank you, God, for sending Jesus. Thank you, Jesus, that you can. Holy Spirit, won't you teach me more about his lovely name? Everybody together. Thank you, God, for sending Jesus. Thank you, Jesus, that you can. Holy Spirit, won't you teach me more about his lovely name? Very, very good indeed. You'd do better, though, if you coughed before you sang. Clear your throat. That's right. Now swallow. Take in a deep breath and sing, not from the back of your throat, but from your diaphragm. Let it ring out as a real prayer to the Lord. Thank you. Thank you, God, for sending Jesus. Thank you, Jesus, that you can. Holy Spirit, won't you teach me more about his lovely name? Now just a prayer together. A moment of quiet. I leave you just to say a few seconds undisturbed, asking that the Lord would answer our prayer. That prayer tells him that we are shut up to a miracle for anything worthwhile. I can't teach you more about Jesus' name. He can. Tell him that we're ready, and when he speaks, we're eager to obey. Just a moment of quiet prayer. Now, in an attitude of prayer, let's sing that chorus quietly again. Just a note on the piano. Thank you, God, for sending Jesus. Thank you, Jesus, that you can. Holy Spirit, won't you teach me more about his lovely name? Lord, answer prayer and help me to make much of you, and may the Lord Jesus himself be the one who matters to us today. For your name's sake. Amen. Would you open your New Testament, Mark's Gospel and Chapter 1? Let me just read the first 13 verses. I would love to be able to ask you to all read it with me, but that's impossible, because there are so many versions these days. Ten, twenty years ago, when everybody read the authorized version, there was no problem. But now, I tried with the student body, Cape and Ray, not so long ago, to ask them to do this, and it was chaotic. You'd think everybody was speaking in tongues, and they would never do. Um, I happen, I happen to be reading in the NIV, nearly indispensable version. But I usually teach and preach and read the RSV. Hope you won't shoot me down in flames for that. If you want to know why, come and ask me. Mark, Chapter 1. The beginning of the Gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is written in Isaiah the prophet, I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way, a voice of one calling in the desert, prepare the way for the Lord, and make straight paths for him. And so John came baptizing in the desert region and preaching repentance and baptism for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him, confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. John wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And this was his message. After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven torn open, and the Spirit descend on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, you are my Son, whom I love, with you I am well pleased. At once the Spirit sent him home, sent him out into the desert, and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals and angels attended him. In the tremendous privilege of speaking to a group of people, many of you in the ministry now, maybe some who are entering it, but many of you are there, particularly in pastoral work. Personally, I don't think there's anything more wonderful than that. I was in three pastures, as Don told you, one in London, one in Chicago, and one in Edinburgh. And I wish that I could just now start again. I wouldn't do so many stupid things, I think. I hope I've learned. I just want in these few times, little time together, to pass on some of the things I have learned. I want to be honest with you, and I hope we'll all be honest with the Lord. Thus, I feel that I should share some thoughts with you in these sessions on the subject of the ministry, and this afternoon, particularly, in preparation for it, essential preparation for the ministry. I'm sure I don't need to remind a congregation like this that Mark's gospel is the gospel of Jesus the servant. Over and over again in this gospel, about 40 or 41 times, you have the word immediately, at once. The style of it all is blunt. It all seems to be moving in action all the time. It's the gospel of Jesus the servant, written by a fellow whose somewhat checkered missionary career began when he was servant himself to Paul and also to his cousin Barnabas. But Mark doesn't present to us simply a human Jesus. Look at verse 1, the beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And from the beginning of this gospel until the events in chapter 8 at Caesarea Philippi, it's the story of Jesus in action. But following Peter's confession of him as Christ, that title comes five times in the gospel, used by Jesus himself, by the high priest, and others, when they mocked him. Twice, in the early stages, he is called the Son of God, by evil spirits, in chapter 1 and verse 24, and again in chapter 5 and verse 7. And then by the high priest, Jesus the Son of God, verse chapter 14, verse 61, and finally by the centurion, chapter 15, verse 39. The sum and the substance of our gospel that we preach is not an ethic, it's a person. Jesus, Saviour, Christ, the Anointed One, the Son of God, divine, eternal. And Mark is the tremendous unveiling of the story of the Son of God, who became a servant, that he might become our Saviour. And the thing that's hit me over and over again in this gospel, in recent days, is the preparation that Jesus had for his ministry, the way God prepared him. Verse 9, in those days, Jesus came. Of course, he'd been present for about 30 years. This is not the story of the commencement of a life, it's the story of the commencement of a ministry. For 30 years, he'd been obscure, carpenter shop, one of a crowd, a workman, carrying tools and human responsibilities. He grew in wisdom and stature. Luke chapter 2, verse 52, tells us that. Yet I'm sure it is a place of meditation, a place of testing, but he grew in favour with God and with men. You could say a lot about those preparatory years, 30 years of preparation for three years of ministry. We reverse that, three years of preparation for 30 years and more of ministry. But I notice in the verses that we read, two tremendous things that happened to Jesus before he preached, just as he went out to face the public. And we're going to think about those this afternoon. And it's as these three things happen to us, the gospel is spread throughout the whole world. It's because we really have never honestly faced them that it hasn't. I am not familiar too much in these days with the state of affairs in this country. I must be careful. All I know is that in Britain, at the turn of this century, 85 percent of the population attended a place of worship regularly. Not all Christians of course, but they attended a place of worship. Now that percentage is only two. There are more Muslims than Methodists, more Buddhists than Baptists in Britain. The tide is right out. We've had some wonderful blessing through Berry Graham's ministry and Louis Palau. The number of people added to the church sounds tremendous. It's just under 100,000 I believe, but that's a fraction of one percent of the total population. That's not to speak negatively of Berry's visit. He proved to us over and over again that when the gospel is preached in absolute simplicity, with absolute heaven's authority, people are prepared to listen and respond. That's what this country needs, our country needs, and this at this time. And therefore, I want you to look with me at what took place in Jesus' life that prepared him especially for his ministry. The first thing I would say is identification, birth nine. At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Pardon me, let's have a drink. It's hot up here, especially for a British young man. At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. What was John's baptism? Read verse four. John came baptizing in the desert region and preaching repentance and baptism for the forgiveness of sins. John was exercising a ministry which produced repentance in order to prepare for a ministry of our Lord which produced forgiveness and made forgiveness possible. Then why should Jesus be baptized? That's what John asked. Matthew 3, verse 14. I have need to be baptized by you. Do you come to me? Jesus identified himself in his baptism with the sin and repentance of the people. He was not repenting and confessing for himself, but he had nothing to confess. But he said, Matthew 3, verse 15, let it be so now for it is fitting to do this and fulfill all righteousness. Now get this, won't you? Because this is basic to the whole gospel and to the whole of our ministry. Here the servant of Jehovah taking upon himself the responsibility of the baptism, the burden of human sin, counting it as if it were his own, identifying himself with us that we might be identified with him. And here's the whole principle of service. He was numbered with the transgressors that he might bear the sin of many. A tremendous anticipation of Calvary. He was made sin for us, he who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21. I love the Living Bible paraphrase of that verse. It says this, God took the sinless Christ and poured into him all our sin, and in exchange he poured all God's goodness into us. Get it? If you got it, if you got it, you really wouldn't be able to sit still. You'd be hitting the roof saying, ah hallelujah. Listen, but don't hit the roof when I tell you again. God took the sinless Jesus and poured into him all my sin, and in exchange he poured all God's goodness into me. The only good thing about a Christian is Jesus. Got it? Really got it? Stop trying to be good. Stop trying to narrow the gap between his holiness and your sinfulness. It is about yourself. And then after that the gospel becomes good news. Let me be quite clear that we understand that. It's not biblical to say that Jesus went to the cross because one man sinned, and he went there out of sympathy to the rest of us. No. It was by one man that the disposition to sin entered the world, the whole human race. And we learned that to try to maintain my demand for my own independence is futile. My right to live, I'm my own God. And one day another man came into the world who forsook his right to live. He counted it not a thing to be rushed out of the equal with God, but humbled himself and made himself nothing, and went all the way to Calvary. But God couldn't leave such a life dead. So he raised him from the dead, and he received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, our right to live, a new reality for all of us. God, thank the Lord, doesn't condemn me because of the heredity for which I'm not responsible. He doesn't condemn me for that. But to tell you what that does condemn me for, when I understand that Jesus comes to give me a new heredity, the life of Christ himself dwelling in me, and I say, no, thank you, I prefer to live my own, there you're heading for judgment. Light has come into the world, but men prefer darkness rather than light. That's the root of the gospel. Far bigger than any decision for Christ, so-called. Far bigger than merely joining a church. Something that makes me realize that I, my heredity needs changing. And I kneel at the foot of a throne, a throne which I had occupied for years, and tried to run my own life and made a mess of it. And I kneel at the foot of the throne and say, as we've been singing this afternoon, Jesus be thou exalted over me. If God had not identified himself with our sin, we could never be identified with his holiness. Never. Because he stepped so low, we may rise. Because he humbled himself, we can be exalted. He had no more need of the baptism for himself, the baptism of John, than he had of the cross. But he accepted both for us. One at the beginning of his ministry, the other at the end. Indeed, Calvary was the second baptism. I have a baptism to be baptized with. He said, then how am I straight until it be accomplished? Luke 12 50. Identification. In other words, identification with the interest, the concern, the burden of his father in heaven, with view to our salvation at the price of personal crucifixion. Oh, just let me say that again. Identification with the burden and concern of our father in heaven, with view to our salvation at the price of personal crucifixion. Identification. And the second word here is, I don't like it really, but I can't think of a better one. I suppose I choose it because homiletically it sounds good. Ridiculous. I would call it attestation. Bad. Approval. Authority. That's better. Verse 10. Straightway. At once. Immediately, heaven's response to his acceptance of identification. The heavens are torn open. I love that translation. Simply torn apart. And the Holy Spirit descends on him. This wasn't the first time, of course. Indeed, there never was a time when he was not filled with the Spirit. All he ever done was in the power of the Spirit. He was born of the Spirit. All he ever did in his ministry and in his life was in the power of the Spirit. But now, on the eve of public ministry, he receives a special anointing, an imbuement, needed for his ministry and his service, as well as for his character, in order that he might experience the authority of heaven upon his ministry, upon his character. He came. He came, look, as a dove. A dove is a symbol of gentleness. I confess to you that I need to pause a moment. Jesus said his disciples were to be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. A gentleness was to mark his ministry and mine. Does it? Have I learned never to deliver a rocket until first I've handed out a bouquet? Christian leadership is not your ability to crush the other fellow. It's not your ability to control him. It's not that. It's your willingness to serve. I suspect you have, most of you, heard the name of Stephen Alford, a very dear friend of mine. He and I were speaking at a graduation at Columbia Bible College some years ago. And we finished. And we were just coming off the platform when two students rushed up to us with big Bibles, even bigger notebooks and enormous pens. And they said to us, gentlemen, tell us the secret of Christian leadership. If you know Stephen Alford, you won't be surprised when I tell you that I hadn't a chance to get a word in. He said, we're just leaving for a plane, but I'll tell you right now, the secret of Christian leadership, you want to know? Bent knees, wet eyes and a broken heart. He didn't need to say any more. That's better than a PhD at any seminary. I'll have more to say on that line at another time. The dove, the symbol of gentleness. One of my close friends also being appointed to the chairmanship of a big Christian organization in Britain. And I knew he'd have a tough time. And I said, John, the Lord make you like molasses. He said, what on earth do you mean? I said, the Lord make you firm and sweet. You can be firm and nasty. You can be sweet and mushy. But if you're firm and sweet, you're a reflector of the ministry of Christ. The endearment that you receive is accompanied by the attesting of heaven. Look at verse 11. The heavens are torn apart and a voice speaks, Thou art my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. That can only mean one thing, that Jesus is both man and God. So now he's not only identified with man, not only has he accepted heaven's burden with a view to our salvation and ready for the price of crucifixion, but, but he's got all the resources of heaven with him for his ministry. The Holy Spirit. This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. And attestation is followed by confrontation. Verse 12, immediately again, immediately, the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness. After the testimony, the testing. After the doubt, the devil. Heaven's approval is followed at once by hell's attack. Confrontation. Just look at the personnel involved here. The Spirit sent him, I'm sorry, but that's a poor translation. The word really is drove him. It's really the same word that is used later in the chapter, in verse 34 and 39, of driving out demons. It's the same word. Say, does the dove drive? Jesus didn't go into the wilderness for a leisurely, leisurely, sorry, leisurely stroll. Jesus is being, I don't think I'm exaggerating, thrown into the wilderness. Driven, hurled into a battle from which there's no escape. His resolve was clear in his baptism. His resources are revealed in his anointing. Now he faces the devil. Here is heaven's counter-attack against all the forces of hell. I wonder, Lord, I hope I'm not irreverent. Did you sing for it? Did you? Did you really shrink from it? I don't know. This was real, actual, mighty temptation. Here is God's perfect man, with the approval of heaven upon him for his ministry, confronting face to face the greatest rebel in the universe. I haven't time to go into detail today, but you remember the course the battle took. I'd like to be able to enlarge on this, but not now I can't. But I'll just refer to it. After 40 days and 40 nights, when Jesus was hungry, Satan said to him, Satan said to him, seeing you are the son of God, how do you know that? Oh, he was listening in round the corner. He always does. When we claim to have a new experience of Christ, a new revelation from heaven. When we're, as it were, walking on cloud nine, it's all so wonderful now. And Jesus is listening. Seeing you are what you claim to be, turn these stones into bread. And what did Jesus say to him? Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, it is written. Forgive me for the paraphrase. It is as if Jesus is saying, I'm not here to deal with you as God. One day I'll do that. I'll put you in the bottomless pit. Oh my, I hope I'm there when that happens. What a day it'll be. I'll put you in the bottomless pit. Meanwhile, meanwhile, I'm not going to use any power as God to deal with you here. Man shall not live by bread alone. I'm dealing with you as man on behalf of all other men. Man shall not live by bread alone. Listen, as God, Jesus couldn't possibly sin. As man, he was able not to sin. Or else where was the temptation? And on that issue, for 40 days and 40 nights, heaven held its breath. Would he act as God? Have we free to do so? Would he retract? Would he retract from forsaking all his rights and acting as God? Or would he go right through with being man? Man shall not live by bread alone. And I can imagine, very feebly, heaven seeing it all and holding its breath on that issue. So, having lost that one, Satan takes him to the corner of the temple and shows him all that's there and says, throw yourself down from the height of this temple. And you know what will happen? Angels will come and support you. And you see, you must get a crowd. You've got to be successful. And that will startle everybody into acceptance of your ministry. The angels will come and bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. And Jesus answered, it is also written, you shall not make trial of the Lord your God. And I don't want to add, in fact I couldn't, add a thing to that wonderful message we heard this afternoon. But you understand that this is on the same line here. How my heart warmed to it. The success of the ministry of Jesus was not his responsibility. His responsibility was obedience. The outcome of it was in the hands of God. You shall not make trial of the Lord your God. Don't put him to the test. Sometimes before you fill a church, you have to empty it. And if you're willing to face that, without thinking up all the many thoughts that were put before us so perfectly this afternoon, the hand of God is on you in blessing. And then, having lost that, Satan takes Jesus up a mountain and looks from a distance at all the kingdoms of the world, showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and what a nerve, the glory of them, some glory. And says, just you fall down here and worship me. And all these kingdoms will be yours. I'll give them to you. I notice Jesus did not deny his right to say that, because Satan is prince of this world. But you know what he said? And here, I'm not paraphrasing, I'm giving you the literal translation. Get out of here Satan. The kingdoms of this world will have become the kingdom of God, and it is Christ. Get out of here Satan. It is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and, get this, him only shalt thou serve. And the devil hadn't a word to say, went away exhausted. And angels came and ministered to him. How wonderful to have been one of them. And he was with the wild beasts in the wilderness. Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Satan had said nothing about service, only about worship. Just fall down and worship me. He didn't say a thing about service. But Jesus knew perfectly well that half an hour's worship of the devil can lead to a lifetime of service. Have I learned that lesson? Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. I don't like to tell you, but I'm determined to be honest. My ministry at Moody finished in 1962, the end of 62 after nearly 10 years there. I went back to pastor a church in Charlotte Chapel, Edinburgh, and a year later I was hit with a tremendous cerebral hemorrhage. I found myself in half an hour of time, whereas hitherto never having any worse than flu, now incapable of moving, incapable of speech, and helpless. And I was angry with God. My wife and daughter were there to care for me. I spent three months without reading my Bible, I turned sour. Lord, why do you do this to me? Why? Look at the church there down there, full. I haven't filled it, but I'm responsible for keeping it full, it's full. When it's your turn, why? What do you think they're going to do without me? You know, you think you're indispensable. They got on a lot better actually. And I turned sour. One day, about three months later, I happened to open my Bible, and it happened, in quotes, to fall open at Psalm 39. And I read, thy stroke has consumed me, I am crushed by the blow of thy hand. And I said, oh God, I've been pregnant with the wrong person. Satan didn't think to do it, had nothing to do with it. The Lord had done it, and I wonder why. And I thought, I had put work before worship, seven days a week at church, never a half day off, never a day off. Occasionally, I'd go back to the family for an evening meal. Our two children were watching out of the window to see me arrive. I'd go in the door, they said, oh daddy, how great to see you. Are you going out to another meeting tonight? Yes. And I knew wrong. I left the care of my family to my dear wife. There was no father image at all. I thought it was so spiritual. It was downright sin. And when I realized it, for the next week, I could do nothing but weep. My heart was broken. But I hadn't only done that. I put work before worship. I put orthodoxy before obedience. So proud of being the pastor of an American fundamental church, even though it was very dispensational. And being orthodox, but demanding from the pulpit a measure of obedience that I myself was not getting, was not giving. Brother, have you ever had the experience of standing up on a Sunday, offering Christ to the people, and in your heart, you're knowing that you're demanding something from them, that you're not giving yourself, and all the power is gone. When I realized that, well, I just confessed it and wept. And you know, from that moment, from sinking sands, he lifted me. With tender hands, he lifted me. From shades of night to planes of light, all praise his name, he lifted me. I remember the neurologist in Edinburgh, who was very capable, very nice man, gave me a prognosis. He said, frankly, your chances of long life are nil. He said, if you don't work anymore, you'll probably have five more years, but you certainly won't make 70. I'd like to see him now. I have a little word for him. I haven't experienced instant healing, and I'm glad. Somebody wrote to me and said, oh, if only you've got faith, you could be healed in a minute. That didn't help. I left my wife to deal with that. I haven't experienced instant healing, but I have experienced divine healing. I'm only before you today to speak to it all by a miracle. That goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my life. My brother, with all my heart, I don't know you, anything about you, at all. My brother and sister, I love you for Jesus' sake. Watch, watch it. If you're neglecting your family, if you're neglecting your home, if you're failing, failing to maintain the balance between the in-life of Jesus and the out-life for him, never allow yourself to put work before worship. But come, I must hurry. Finally, brethren. But Paul wrote the letter to the Philippian church, and in the third chapter, verse one, when he's halfway through, he said, finally, brethren. That's an indication that he was getting his second wind. But I'm not going to be so unkind as that. Listen, Jesus came from Nazareth, where for 30 years he'd emptied himself of all rights of sovereignty, and was subject to a human condition. He came to men, and identified himself with sin. He came to God. And the answer? The anointing of the Holy Spirit. He came to the devil and thrashed him. What's that to do with you and me? Everything. The key verse in Mark's gospel is chapter 10, verse 43. Whosoever would be great among you must be your servant. And whosoever of you will be first must be the slave of all. For the Son of Man is come, not to be served, but to serve. And in a pastor's ministry, above all, the pastor is to be a servant. I have to live as Jesus lived. Impossible in my strength, but natural to the Holy Spirit, if he has his way. He is not the patron of our theological system. He's our life. He's not simply the Lord of our devotions, and then live as religious pagans. He's not that. He's not that. He's the God in us, who wants to alter his lifestyle, our lifestyle, and to bring us a family likeness, by which the church will be distinct, and known everywhere. In other words, when I pray the family prayer, and pray, Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, I'm really saying it, Lord, my kingdom go. Am I quite sure that I said that without reservation? But see, not only identification, but attestation. Attestation. Heaven's dynamic answer, immediate answer to this principle, is the Holy Spirit descending with all the gentleness of a dove. The Son said, thy gentleness hath made me great. We need the baptism of the Spirit to live. We need his fullness for holiness. We need his anointing for service. Brother, sister, have we got what we need? The approval of heaven upon my life. Is God pleased with me? Can he be, as he was with Jesus? Oh yes, he can. Oh, I want to say it, I mean it, in the presence of the Lord. He looks into your life right now, 10 past 5, on this day of October 1984, and maybe he sees we've accepted the principle of identification. I mean, the burden of heaven is our burden. The world in which we live. For the salvation of others, that's our burden. And it's only achieved and made real at the price of crucifixion. When I no longer care about my right to live, but I'm concerned about my daily dying, to anything outside God's will. And if I say that to him, and I mean it, and you do, I believe that Jesus looks into your heart and says, this is my beloved Son. Because it's only his life in me that can make that real. This is my beloved Son. He stopped, stopped trying to get his own way, stopped trying to be independent, stopped, stopped trying to boss people around, stopped trying to be in control. He's a servant, a slave, for my sake. This is my beloved Son. Beloved, that's it. And when that happens, I'll tell you something, you won't have to be dragged or persuaded to do Christian work, to do evangelism, you won't. No, you won't be able to help it. As we heard already today, evangelism is not a program, it's a way of life. You won't be able to keep quiet. Absolutely impossible. What do you think it was that changed John Wesley from a very formal Episcopalian minister to a flaming evangelist? What do you think it was that enabled him to ride on horseback 8,000 miles a year in Britain? What do you think it was that enabled him to preach usually no less than a thousand sermons a year? I'll tell you. On the 24th of May 1738, walking up and down a home in London. Oh, for the witness of the Spirit. Oh, for the witness of the Spirit. And then my heart was strangely warmed within me. Oh, that in me the sacred fire might now begin to glow, burn up the dross of base desire and make the mountains flow. Oh, thou who at Pentecost didst fall, do thou my sin consume? Come, Holy Ghost, on thee I call, Spirit of burning, come. Yes. When I accept identification with Jesus' crucifixion, heaven seems to open. And God will say, this is my beloved son. And what then? I'll tell you. Confrontation with the devil. I'm just praying that these two days may be a mountaintop experience for us. But not only that, introduction to life on a new scale, a new standard, a new style in the valley. I long for that. I can assure you that if you mean business with God, Satan's listening around the corner. And saying, like we're reminded Peter said, this think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you. And there's trouble ahead. I'd be less than honest if I said there wasn't. There is. But listen. Do you know how to measure your real spiritual strength? The measure in which your self-pity in times of trouble is absolutely consumed by a passion for the glory of God. That's your real strength. Some of us can sort of stand against the devil on one day concentrated effort. But to resist a prolonged siege by Satan, that's the test. But he will never suffer us to be tested beyond that we're able to bear. But we'll with the testing provide the way of escape. Not that I may be able to run away. But that I may be able to stand up and bear it. The Holy Spirit versus the devil. Angels in white vests. It's the same verse. The will of God. Nothing else. Nothing less. Nothing more. And in the midst of the battle, there's absolute peace. Hallelujah. Let's pray. Dawn will come up and close the meeting. But just a prayer together. We asked you, Holy Spirit, to teach us more about the lovely name of Jesus. Lord, that's what I want you to do for me. And for all these dear brothers and sisters in Christ. That somehow our ministry may be changed. And therefore our churches changed and revived and renewed. As we, by your grace, let the Spirit of God loose. And he takes over. Lord, forgive us where we've got our priorities wrong. May it be that even today we start putting them right. And turn our eyes upon Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. Amen. The Lord bless you. And thank you.