In this sermon, the speaker shares a personal experience of being with a believer named Captain Padgett on his deathbed. Captain Padgett expressed his readiness to go to be with the Lord, and four hours later, he passed away. The speaker emphasizes that believers are created to worship God for eternity and to rule with Him. He mentions two books by an author called "Destiny for the Throne" and "Don't Waste Your Staros" that discuss the purpose of suffering. The sermon concludes with a prayer for God to speak through His word and for workers to be sent out to share the Gospel.

I referred to this book, Calvary Road, last night. And if you've not yet read it, there are a few copies on the table. Unfortunately, some people take the teaching of Watchman Nee to extreme. They fail to realize he was also just a human being who was not perfect and did not have perfect theology. But I feel of all of his books, this one, The Normal Christian Worker, is by far his best book. It has some very practical chapters about handling money, about humility, and I can very strongly commend this to you. If you know English, you have a real opportunity to get this book on the subject of prayer. And we're going to give it for only half a guilder. So, you'll want to get that. Let's look again to Romans, chapter 12. Did you read that this morning? Just to begin our thinking. In verse 1 and verse 2, you have God's call to true commitment. Let's just read that again in Dutch. Let's just pray. Father, speak to us again from your Word. Enable us not to just be hearers of the Word, but doers. So that we do not deceive ourselves. We thank you for what you're doing around the world. We pray for these countries. And believe that you are going to send out workers. Lord, search our hearts this morning. That we may know the reality of total commitment. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. How exciting it is to see God answering prayer almost every day. This is the kind of life that I've been able to experience these last 24 years. I shared my testimony last night. How through the prayers of mainly originally one woman, this whole movement of O.M. came into being. And we are only one of many movements and fellowships that our great God has raised up. It's exciting to be a follower of Jesus Christ. There is reality. There is victory. There is power. Sometimes we're on the wings of eagles. Other times, as last night, we're just battling by faith for survival. And we know what to do if we do sin. We believe in the sovereignty of God. But in His sovereignty, God has refused to turn man into some kind of computerized robot. And God is calling us. To surrender our lives to Him. To yield to Him every area of our life. Our time. Our talent. Our possessions. Everything. This is the clear message of Jesus Christ. Look at Luke 14, 33. Luke chapter 14. The whole chapter is very important. It talks about counting the cost. It talks about denying self. Notice in verse 27. Whosoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. And verse 33. This is God's word. This is actually the words of Jesus. So likewise, whosoever he be of you, that forsaketh not all that he hath, cannot be my disciple. So likewise, whosoever he be of you, that forsaketh not all that he hath, cannot be my disciple. This kind of teaching is found in every gospel. It is important to understand this well. That God is calling His people to a life of total surrender and commitment to Jesus Christ. In every area of society we see dedication. Think of the area of sports. The people who win the Olympics. The way they train. The way they forsake so many other things in order to give themselves wholly to training in that sport. Think of some people in the business world. My son recently got a part-time job in London. With McDonald's hamburger chain. And one of our leaders was reading the story of the man who started that. With a small little hamburger shop. It is now one of the biggest multinational corporations in the entire world. And it spoke about this man's dedication. They also are very fanatic about keeping things clean. My son, the shop closes at 11 o'clock at night. And they have to clean and polish everything until 2.30 in the morning. And I was reading just a small article in one of the magazines. Their burden to reach the entire world with McDonald's hamburgers. And they are now negotiating with communist China for that penetration program. I'm thinking if only we could just slip one gospel tract in each hamburger. I mean, in a big Mac we could put a cassette tape. I think the same thing about Coca-Cola. These people are fanatic. And China is now beginning the production and the sale of Coca-Cola. Five years ago that would have been considered the most impossible thing to ever think of in communist China. I think of the dedication and the commitment of some Dutch businessmen. That have made this little country so influential, so powerful in many, many ways. But when it comes to the church. To dedication to Jesus Christ. Oh well, that's different. The same Dutch businessman who is so totally committed to his business. Goes to church once a week. And seems to be a little concerned that the church is not growing. That there is not reality and revival and power in the church. And that this church here in the Netherlands has less than 500 missionaries in the entire world. Soon little Singapore will have more missionaries, little tiny Singapore, than all of the Netherlands. And he was not speaking about the Dutch church. He was speaking about the American church. He said if any secular company, any secular business. Needed so much raw material to get so little fish out of the water. The finished product, it would go bankrupt in six months. And I believe one of the basic problems. Is the lack of total commitment to Jesus Christ. In some places. Some of these words. Like commitment. No longer have any meaning. Because we don't understand what God means. For example if someone goes to the prayer meeting in the middle of the week. We think wow, he is really committed to the church. That is a good thing. But that is a very small thing. The life of total commitment touches every day of the week. I want to share why I believe this total commitment is so reasonable and so logical. It says that this is our reasonable service. It's not extremism. It's not fanaticism. It is the normal Christian life. To be filled with the Holy Spirit. Is not firstly some spectacular event that takes place in the life of a few sort of super saints or odd ducks. It's the privilege of all believers. To be filled with God's Holy Spirit. That is not the end. We haven't then arrived. That's the beginning. There will still be battles. And there will be testings and there will be temptations. And we will have to apply the principles of discipleship and survivalship that we learned last night. All of us. Probably know many people. Who had a great experience with the Holy Spirit. Ten years ago. Twenty years ago. Who are not even walking with Jesus Christ this morning. In the United States we have hundreds of thousands. Even great pastors. Who had great experiences. And we're teaching these experiences. Today they're on their third wife. Or they're away from God altogether. No experience. There is a guarantee. That things will automatically go right. The experience. And God works in different people in different ways. Must be followed up. And there's no escaping the need for daily reality. Total commitment. Total daily surrender. This is very very important. Jesus said again and again. If any man come after me. Let him deny himself. Take up the cross daily. And follow me. Let me give some of these reasons very quickly. Number one. Because Christ gave everything for us. If Christ gave everything for us. Should we give less back to him? He died on the cross for our sins. Before that he became a man. Philippians 2. He became a servant. And then he went to the cross. And it's because of the cross. That total surrender to Christ is so logical. And if you want to know reality in your Christian life. It's the way of the cross. It's embracing the cross. It means death to self. So many passages. Romans chapter 6. Galatians 2.20 Where Paul says I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live. Yet not I. But Christ liveth in me. This isn't just words. I have seen thousands of people. Come to know these principles. And have their Christian lives radically transformed. And so the message of total commitment. The life of total surrender. And you can use other terminology. I'm not going to argue with your terminology. And I think we know what we're talking about. It's logical. It's reasonable. Because Christ died for us. And I just want to ask. Are you sure about your own personal relationship? I'm sure most of you know Christ personally. And have been born of his spirit. But there may be someone. You're unsure. You're confused. What a wonderful day to make sure of your relationship. What a great opportunity you have now. To put your relationship with Jesus Christ in order. It's not by works. It's not by promising to do better. It is by faith. To believe that Jesus Christ personally died on the cross. Because of your sins. And will take your sins. What a privilege it is to preach the gospel. In every country we are working in. More than 50 lands. Not all of those throughout the whole year. About 25 countries we have permanent bases. Of course, India is like 20 countries. Every one of these lands. Through the proclamation of the gospel. And personal evangelism. And literature. We are seeing people come to Christ. And we're seeing them grow. And a number of our best leaders in our work today. We personally won them to Christ 10, 15 years ago. And we worked with them these 5, 10, 15 years. Now they are winning many. I think of one English brother. He was hitchhiking to India. To do social work. He was not a Christian. And our first truck headed to India in 1962. They picked up this young man. And his brother. And they won both of them to Jesus. And now this particular brother is an outstanding Bible teacher in England. Winning many to Christ. The power of the gospel. And when I find Christians. Who are not winning others to Christ. Or at least helping to win others to Christ. I just wonder, what has gone wrong? How selfish can we be? We are saved. We have the salvation. Now we're going to keep it to ourselves. We get in our little churches. And we close the door. And we create our own little culture. And we fail to move out and bring in the unconverted. If you think it's cold outside. I will tell you it's colder this morning in many of the churches in Europe and in America. And those of us who work among the people of God are very used to the ice. Because we find many of God's people are frozen. There's a verse that says God's chosen people. Not God's frozen people. You all know English. The second reason. The second reason. Why this is so logical. Is the shortness of time. I just can't believe it when I see my 18 year old son. He of course is bigger than me. He seems just a few years ago. He was just a little baby in my hands in Madrid, Spain. Eighteen years ago. I'm no longer young. I'm middle aged. The hair is falling out. The face is changing. I'm no longer allowed to the young people's meeting. Unless I go as a speaker. And time is going by. This life will soon be gone. And to take some of the valuable time. And just waste it. David Wilkerson said the great sin of young people is wasting time. Perhaps even more than some of the big bad outward sins. The sin of wasting time. Only a Christian can do this. For the unconverted person. It doesn't matter. But the Christian. He is bought with a price. The precious blood of Christ. We named our second ship Doulas. It means servant. Because we want to learn to be servants. Actually it means slave. We are slaves of Jesus Christ. We want to do his will. And in such a short time. We have all of eternity. And only this one life. To serve him. Michael Griffiths wrote a very good book. He is the present international director of ONF. A big mission organization. We have the joy of sending many ex-OMers into that mission. It was founded by Hudson Taylor as the China Inland Mission. And Griffiths wrote this book. Give up your small ambitions. And as I talk to young people. I am amazed. The things they are going to dedicate their lives to. The small goals they have in life. And now there are many. Life is just to get a job. To make some money. To buy some food. To have a house. And to have some rest. So you can go to the job. So you can get some more food. And go to your house. And rest. So you can go to the job. And they just go in a circle. And they have no goals. No vision. No fire burning in their hearts. The Bible says our God is a consuming fire. And a man of God. A woman of God. There is a fire burning in his heart. And it is that fire that will consume him. The sin and the dross. And the deadness and the spiritual myopia. So that every day counts. Every day counts. I can't remember wasting a day for 24 years. It's hard to remember wasting any hours. I'm sorry I have wasted many minutes. What a challenge it is to live for Jesus Christ. We see the Apostle Paul. It says in Acts chapter 20. A father humbling a prisoner for the space of three years. He seeks not to share and to warn men night and day about Christ. The third reason. Why this commitment is so logical. Is because it is in obedience to God's word. That really is enough. If God told us. And showed us this is the way. Then we don't really need any more reasons. And we have the example of Jesus Christ. Not just his death. But his life. When he looked over Jerusalem. He wept. And we read in Matthew 9. That Jesus Christ himself. Went from house to house. From village to village. He didn't just. Set the example. And we need to follow in his footsteps. The word of God. Has at least 200 verses on the subject of total commitment. And surrender to Christ. You know two of the strongest verses. We may not realize this. Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and spirit. That is the strongest verse on commitment in the whole Bible. And love your neighbor as you love yourself. Think of verses like Hebrew. Chapter 12. Turn there with me in your Bible. First speak to that running the race. And we're told. To run with patience. The race that is set before us. This speaks of commitment. It speaks of exertion of dedication. And verse two. Tells us how to do it. Looking unto Jesus. And so the word of God. Commands us. To total surrender. And to give the will of God. But another reason. Is the state of the world today. Even if. We were not commanded to abandon our faith. Which is the priority task. Big thing now among evangelicals. As the pendulum swings over. Pendulum thinking. People are thinking on one thing. Now we're thinking way over the head. About 50 years ago. Many evangelicals. Did not have much interest in social action. Actually many did. Like the Methodists. The Salvation Army. But others did not. But now the very big emphasis among evangelicals. Is social work. And in the United States. England. And in England. And even here in Holland. If you want to raise money. Then you have a relief work. Social work. And the money will pour in. But if we read the Bible. We find the first kind of social work. Is personal. You. Yourself. With your neighbor. In a personal way. And though I am not against it. I believe there's a great danger. Of social institutionalism. Coming in to the church in our day. And so we are therefore in the process. Failing. To obey the clear teaching of Jesus Christ. About preaching the gospel. Throughout the world. People often say to me. Why are you not doing social work? So many people don't have houses. They don't have enough food. And often in the West. We are very ignorant of these situations. Tremendous problems in social work. Actually in a place like India. Much of our Western social work. Is an insult to them. As a people. And as a nation. Also there are more millionaires. Multi millionaires. In India. Than there are in Holland. When these men have a wedding. For their daughters. Nothing to spend a hundred thousand guilders. That's small money. They have money in London. Money in Zurich. Money in Amsterdam. Our burden. Is to see social revolution. Starting in their hearts. That they will take care of their own people. And I believe the proclamation of the gospel. And seeing people change by the preaching of the gospel. Is the most effective social work you can ever do. Because when we just give these people so much money. As America does. Ultimately they only end up hating America even more. My own country America. Is the most hated nation in the world today. Because she is giving more money and food. Than almost all the other nations altogether. And governments don't know what to do. And people are getting very upset. And as we go with the proclamation of the gospel. And see government men converted. And see the poor converted. Then you will see social revolution. And see people within their own country can do more than we ever can do as foreigners and strangers. At the same time. Praise God. When relief work takes place. I was reading about some of it this morning. And prayed during my prayer time. And some great work is being done. The balance. And as believers. If we have the vision. For the spiritual needs. And preaching the word. And distributing the word. Then that's where most of our emphasis should be. Because most Christians do not have that vision. Most Christians are interested in the other side. And even many non-Christians. Many non-Christians. Are interested in the other side. So if you have discernment about the true need of man. And the power of the word of God. Then you should give your effort in that direction. Sometimes in O.M. We help in relief work. We sometimes use the ship a little for that. But God has told us. To be obedient to Jesus Christ. In preaching the gospel. Loving people personally. And bringing about social revolution. Starting in the heart of man. And then moving out. Many times when I see the world situation. Half the world still not having heard the gospel. So much suffering. So many needs. That has often caused me to rededicate my life to Jesus Christ. I stood in a garbage dump in Mexico. When I was twenty. Among those people. Whose houses were made out of little bits of tin and string. Who were living on the garbage. Tens of thousands of flies swarming over the children. Never forget that day. I walked toward the sunset. And recommitted my life to Christ. And to the people of this planet. I believe that. It's not fanatical. It's the most logical thing in the life of the need. In this world. But there's another reason. For this total commitment. And that's the love of Christ. The bible says the love of Christ constrains. When we think of God's love for us. It's so great. And truly our motivation. Says in that same chapter. We are ambassadors of Jesus Christ. Sometimes we're not very good ambassadors. And that's quite a challenge. And then lastly. Total commitment is logical. In the light of Jesus Christ coming back. The second coming of Christ. Is a very important doctrine in the new testament. There are different interpretations. But the basic truth is clear. Jesus Christ is coming back. If you die first. Then you will meet him. Don't try to put this. Albert Einstein I think showed us. That time is relative. And we now know. If we could get into a space capsule. And if we could travel out into space. Faster than the speed of light. Which of course is slightly impossible. We would be able to go out into space. And see Jesus Christ dying on the cross tonight. We would not be out of our own galaxy. And our galaxy. With millions of stars. Is only one galaxy. And we all know there are millions of galaxies. Now there are millions of stars. And how foolish is it. To take the God who created all this. And try to put him into a time capsule. We just can't do it. But we know that Jesus Christ is coming. And we know that when a believer dies. He goes to the presence of Christ. For six years Captain Paget was the captain of the ship. I was at his bed in England. The day before he went to be with the Lord. He told us he was ready to go. Four in the morning. At his funeral three days later. To a time of praise. It was a celebration. Graduation ceremony. As one more went to be with the Lord. That's why he was created in the first place. That's why we were created. We weren't created so that we could fall into sin and then be saved. So that we could now go save others. God was not starting an evangelistic team when he created man. God was creating a people who would worship him for eternity. And who would rule with him. In the universe. And in ways that we will never understand. In an amazing new book called Destined for the Throne. We have come to see even more our eternal purpose with God and his children. And this whole earth is a training ground. When we can understand this. Then we understand suffering. The same author has now written a book called Don't Waste Your Sorrows on the subject of suffering. Hundreds of thousands. And God is impressing upon his church. That worship is our highest calling. And here on this planet. As believers. We are being trained. We are being prepared. Through suffering. Through intercessory prayer. To reign and to rule with Jesus Christ for eternity. And there are dozens of verses. That children. Like when it said those who suffer with him shall rule. And Satan is so clever. He doesn't want his God's people to do that. He will do anything to stop us from having a ministry of intercessory prayer. He will try to stop us. And in turn try to stop God's eternal purposes. Which we know he cannot do. And is doing these days. It can be that you make a deeper commitment to Jesus Christ. That you will become a marked man by faith. It is serious. Present your body as a living sacrifice. Wholly acceptable unto God. This is your reasonable thing. This is God's way. And a child of God. Will never be totally satisfied. Until he is walking on this child's way. Father we praise you for the reality of your Holy Spirit. The way in your purposes you have brought us together. And we believe you are doing great things in our midst. And we may go from this place as people that are truly committed to you. Ready and willing to be used of you. In Netherlands and around the world. For the space of three years he seeks not to share and to warn men night and day about faith. The third reason. Why this commitment is so logical. Is because it is in obedience to God's word. That really is enough. If God told us. And showed us this is the way to live. Then we don't really need any more reasons. And we have the example of Jesus Christ. Not just his death. But his life. What he looked over Jerusalem. He wept. And we read in Matthew 9. That Jesus Christ himself. Went from house to house. From village to village. He didn't just sit back and tell us what to do. He set the example. And we need to follow in his footsteps. The word of God. Has at least 200 verses on the subject of total commitment and surrender to Christ. You know two of the strongest verses. We may not realize this. Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and soul. That is the strongest verse on commitment in the whole Bible. And love your neighbor as you love yourself. Think of verses like Hebrews. Chapter 12. Turn there with me in your Bible. First speaks about running the race. And we're told. To run with patience. The race that is set before us. This speaks of commitment. This speaks of exertion of dedication. And verse 2. Tells us how to do it. Looking on to Jesus. And so the word of God. Commands us. To total surrender. And it is the will of God. But another reason. Is the state of the world today. Even if. We were not commanded to evangelize. Which is the priority task. The big thing now among evangelicals. And the pendulum swings over. Pendulum thinking. If you have a way to express that. People are thinking of one thing. And now we're thinking the other thing. About 50 years ago. Many evangelicals. Did not have much interest in social action. Like the Methodists. The Salvation Army. But others did not. But now the very big emphasis among evangelicals. Is social work. And in the United States. In England. In America. And in England. And in the United States. And even here in Holland. If you want to raise money. Then you have the relief work. Social work. And the money will pour in. But if we read the Bible. We find the first kind of social work. Is personal. You. Yourself. With your neighbor. In a personal way. And though I am not against it. I believe there is a great danger. Of social institutionalism. Coming in. To the church in our day. And so we are therefore in the process. Failing. To obey the clear teaching of Jesus Christ. About preaching the gospel. Throughout the world. People often say that. Why not? So many people don't have houses. They don't have enough food. And often in the West. We are very ignorant of these situations. Tremendous problems in social work. Actually in a place like India. Much of our Western social work. Is an insult to them. As a people. And as a nation. Also there are more millionaires. Multi-millionaires in India. Than there are in Holland. When these men have a wedding. For their daughter. Nothing to spend a hundred thousand guilders. They have small money. They have money in London. Money in Zurich. Money in Amsterdam. Our biggest. Olds verlangen. Is to see social revolution. Starting in their hearts. That they will take care of their own people. And I believe the proclamation of the gospel. And seeing people changed by the preaching of the gospel. Is the most effective social work you can ever do. Because when we just give these people so much money. As America does. Ultimately they only end up hating America even more. My own country America is the most hated nation in the world today. So she has given more money and food than almost all the other nations altogether. And governments don't know what to do. And people are getting very upset. And as we go with the proclamation of the gospel. And see government men converted. And see the poor converted. Then you will see social revolution. And these people within their own country can do more than we ever can do as foreigners and strangers. At the same time. Praise God. When a relief work takes place. I was reading about some of it this morning. And praying during my prayer time. And some great work is being done. The balance. And as believers. If we have the vision. For the spiritual needs. And preaching the word. And distributing the word. Then that's where most of our emphasis should be. Because most Christians do not have that vision. Most Christians are interested in the other side. And even many non-Christians. Many non-Christians. Are interested in the other side. So if you have discernment about the true need of man. And the power of the word of God. Then you should give your effort in that direction. Sometimes in a way. We help in relief work. We sometimes use the ship a little for that. But God has told us. To be obedient to Jesus Christ. In preaching the gospel. Loving people personally. And bringing about social revolution. Starting in the heart of men. And then moving out. Many times when I see the world situation. Half the world still not having heard the gospel. So much suffering. So many needs. That has often caused me to rededicate my life to Jesus Christ. I stood in a garbage dump in Mexico. When I was twenty. Among those people. Whose houses were made out of little bits of tin and string. Who were living on the garbage. Tens of thousands of flies swarming over the children. Never forget that day. I walked towards the sunset. And recommitted my life to Christ. And to the people of this planet. I believe that. It's not fanatical. It's the most logical thing in the life of the need. In this world. But there's another reason. For this total commitment. And that's the love of Christ. The bible says the love of Christ can strengthen us. When we think of God's love for us. It's so great. And truly our motivation can. Because in that same chapter we are ambassadors of Jesus Christ. Sometimes. And that's quite a challenge. And then lastly. Total commitment is logical. In the light of Jesus Christ coming back. The second coming of Christ is a very important doctrine in the New Testament. There are different interpretations. But the basic truth is clear. Jesus Christ is coming back. If you die first. Then you will meet him. Don't try to prove it. Don't try to put this into a time capsule. Albert Einstein I think showed us that time is relative. And we now know. If we could get into a space capsule. And if we could travel out into space. Faster than the speed of light. Which of course is quite impossible. We would be able to go out into space. And see Jesus Christ dying on the cross tonight. We would not be out of our own galaxy. And our galaxy. With millions of stars. Is only one galaxy. And we all know there are millions of galaxies. With millions of stars. And how foolish is it. To take the God who created all this. And try to put him into a time capsule. It just can't be. But we know that Jesus Christ is coming. And we know that when a believer dies. He goes to the presence of Christ. For six years Captain Paget was the captain of the ship Lockheed. I was at his bed in England. The day before he went to see the Lord. He told us he was ready to go. Four in the morning. And his funeral was two days later. It was time of praise. It was a celebration. Graduation ceremony. As one more went to bathe with the Lord. That's why he was created in the first place. That's why we were created. We weren't created so that we could fall into sin and then be saved. So that we could now go save others. God was not starting an evangelistic team when he created man. God was creating a people who would worship him for eternity. And who would rule with him. In the universe. And in ways that we will never understand. In an amazing new book called Destined for the Throne. We have come to see even more our eternal purpose with God and his children. And this whole earth is a training ground. When we can understand this. Then we understand suffering. The same author has now written a book called Don't Waste Your Sorrows on the subject of suffering. Hundreds of thousands. And God is impressing upon his church. That worship is our highest calling. And here on this planet. As believers. We are being trained. We are being prepared. Through suffering. Through intercessory prayer. To reign and to rule with Jesus Christ. For eternity. And there are dozens of verses. That children. Like where it says those who suffer with him shall rule. And Satan is so clever. He doesn't want his peace. God's peace. He will do anything. To stop us from having a ministry of intercessory prayer. He will try to stop us. And in turn try to stop God's eternal purposes. Which we know he cannot do. And in doing these things. We make a deeper commitment to Jesus Christ. You will become a marked man by faith. It is serious. And yet we know it is God's way. Present your body as a living sacrifice. Wholly acceptable unto God. This is your reasonable thing. This is God's way. And a child of God. Will never be totally satisfied. Until he is walking on this Calvary. Father we praise you for the reality of your Holy Spirit. The way and your purposes you have brought us together. We believe you are doing great things in our midst. And we may go from this place as people that are truly committed to you. Ready and willing to be used of you. Deliver us from our excuses. And enable us to truly present our body as a total living sacrifice.