This sermon emphasizes the importance of recognizing our unworthiness and the worthiness of Jesus Christ. It discusses the need for a giving attitude, serving God willingly without external persuasion, and the significance of faith that looks beyond ourselves to the worthiness of the Lamb. The message highlights the early church's focus on essential laws for believers and the example of a Roman captain's deep sense of unworthiness and great faith.

Someone said to me in England, what we call socialism today was called communism earlier. Anyway, offer a social net, safety net, so that people feel entitled to this and entitled to that and they will not even do a good day's work. How many can a nation support? This is becoming so top heavy all over the world that a smaller working force is having to support the wants, not just the needs, the wants also, complete with vacations of a growing number who are dependent on this safety net or whatever. You see, there is no sense of moral responsibility to a nation. There's no such feeling. You know the Christian heart, love your neighbor as yourself. You see that giving attitude, and I offer myself. See, when you have an attitude like that, you become a willing person, willing to do anything for Jesus. Otherwise, somebody has to goad you. Somebody has to say, hey, come on, do your duty. You're a Christian, aren't you? Come on. What do you mean? Nobody ever goaded me in my life. I was inspired by others. I was blessed by many, but nobody had to goad me along. I served my God with a sense of unworthiness. I served him with an understanding that this was unmerited favor, grace that was given to me, unmerited. Worthy is the Lamb. Worthy is the Lamb. You know, the early church had one big council, and the findings of that early council of the church, you'll find in Acts 15. Acts 15. Here were people coming out of rank in heathenism. My, if Christ has never been born, I don't know what kind of volume you would be able to write. Where Christ has never been known, or where there has only been a dead religion, the conditions and the feelings, the thought life that prevails there, the customs that prevail there. You know, the missionary who was with us, he said, you know, there is a man who has been sending out many people, raising money, and he says, there are fine people out there ready to preach, if only we would give them some money. I said to him, brother, listen, this is what I say. I simply don't want a single fellow like that, who will go and preach for money. Because somebody pays him. I only want the people who say, woe is me, if I preach not the gospel. Woe is me. He is worthy. I have to do it for him. The Lamb is worthy. I don't need any persuasion. I don't need money stimulants. The Lamb is worthy. You know, my dear friends, and that man, this is what I failed to tell this missionary. Sometime I will tell him. Look, that gentleman is talking about a region where dowries are given for every girl who is married. Huge amounts of money are found. And you say, there are people there waiting for money to go to preach the gospel. You know, my dear friends, in a sense, the good-hearted people in this country are very gullible. They are so good-hearted, they have never known, see, some of the subtle ways of the heathen, people from heathen backgrounds. I am repulsed by those things. I serve my Lord because he is worthy and because I am unworthy. I have a debt to pay. And here in this early church, what were these things, you know, verse 20, Acts 15 verse 20, but that we write unto these people that they abstain from pollutions of idols and from fornication and from things strangled and from blood. They said we're not going to put upon the heathen who turned to Christ all these mosaic requirements. We shall only put on them these important necessary laws. And so they chose men, Judas and Silas, to take this message. And this was the message, 28th verse. For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things, that you abstain from meats offered to idols. I understand that some of these Buddhist and Hindu temples in this country are giving out food. And I don't know if they are trying to make converts through food. I was told this in one area where we work. The poor people were given some measures of wheat, irrespective of who they were. They were poor people and they were given some measures of wheat per week. Now suddenly the priest held back the gift. And these people who used to collect these two measures of wheat, maybe four or five pounds of wheat or whatever, went to the priest and said, hey, why did you cut off your gift? Well, you are not Catholics and we cannot give this gift always to those who are non-Catholic. So what is the persuasion behind all this? You become a Catholic, a wheat powder Catholic. Got it? Is that the way to make a Christian? By giving him some wheat powder or something? But look at these Hindu temples doing that in this continent. And I am told that quite a number of people go to those temples to eat. What? Must I go eat something which is offered to an idol? I would rather starve to death. How shocking. And these are things that are happening right under our noses. Oh, my dear people. Oh, my dear people. We need to feel a sense of unworthiness. I am afraid we don't have that measure of feeling of unworthiness. Nor do we look at the worthiness of the lamb. If we did, we would be more active for Jesus Christ. Most of our sluggishness and slovenliness is due to the fact that we don't see that he is worthy. If he is worthy, is this all that I give him? This pittance. He is worthy. Worthy is the lamb. Alas, how sad. What we do for the Lord, we should do it with a deep consciousness of our unworthiness and his fulsome worthiness. So, my friends, if you turn to Luke, the seventh chapter, you will find how Jesus Christ was very pleased with this Roman captain. Now, this Roman captain was given high recommendation, you know, by those who came to Jesus and said, here is a man who is worthy. Fourth verse, Luke seventh chapter, fourth verse. And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly saying that he was worthy for whom he should do this. What was it? The servant of this captain lay dying, was ready to die. And so, Jesus Christ was requested to come and pray for him. What kind of man? Oh, he is worthy. Fifth verse, for he loveth our nation and he has built us a synagogue. But Jesus went with them. And when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him saying unto him, Lord, trouble not yourself. For I am not worthy that thou should enter under my roof. Wherefore, neither thought I myself worthy to come unto you. I am not worthy. My house is not worthy and I am not worthy. You know, we sometimes begin to pray well, almost as though, oh, Lord, you know, I'm such a worthy person. You ought to do this for me. You ought to do that for me. And there are some people who will almost tell you that they are angry with God. What about? How come? Well, I'm angry with God. I prayed this way and he didn't give me. And so, I'm angry with God. Oh, don't you ever say that. You know, getting angry with God brings great spiritual darkness into you. You just don't know what is going to happen to you. Next, getting angry with his servants. What is a servant? A God's servant is kind of spokesman. He is a messenger. He has got to take the message from the master and pass it on. Suppose the postman, you get angry with the postman. Hey, postman, you brought me some bad news from my country or from my family. You are to blame. If I had a gun, I would shoot you. My dear friends, some foolish people get angry with the postman. A servant of God is only a postman. And, oh, it is very great darkness comes into you when you get angry with a servant of God who is motivated by nothing but the glory of God. Great darkness. Some people never come out of that darkness. They grow then. Next stage will be a depression. And next stage is death. But, you know, all that can be avoided very simply. Here is this Roman captain, a man who was apparently doing his very best for society and for God as he knew best what to do. But what a deep sense of unworthiness was in him. You don't my roof. Don't you come under my roof. Neither thought I myself worthy to come to you. And what did Jesus say of this man? Ninth verse, the last part. Jesus said to the people that followed him, and I say unto you, I have not found so great faith. No, not in Israel. I have not found such great faith. You know, friends, faith, faith is the big casualty today. The faith that makes us look beyond the land. His worthiness and our own unworthiness. How beautiful we become if we have this two-fold focus. My savior is worthy. The lamb is worthy. And I'm so unworthy. What quality of service will come out of that? Excellent quality. What labors will come out of that? Wonderful labors of love will come out of that. What sacrifice will come out of that? Something which really costs you. I will not give unto God burnt offerings of that which cost me nothing. See, the whole level of our walk, Christian walk, is elevated to a different plane. Completely different plane. He is worthy. The lamb is worthy. My savior is worthy. And I am so unworthy. What shall I do to please him? Oh, what beautiful service will come out of that. Well, it is our expectation to join that song in heaven one day. Isn't it? Are you fitting yourself for that song? Are you so living or shall we so live that our lives below here will just be an echo of that song? As though we are singing that song right here. Yes, my Lord, you're worthy. And until I sing that song in heaven, I'm going to sing it with all the strings of my heart right here. Worthy is the lamb. Worthy is my savior who died and rose again. Let us pray. Oh, loving father, I do come with a sense of my unworthiness. I wish I could feel it more and more and more. I wish I could see my savior's, my sinless savior's worthiness and join in that worship around the throne of God while still here. I want to join in that worship. We want to echo that song of heaven. Yes, we want to sing that song. Worthy is the lamb. Worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power and glory and riches and wisdom. Worthy is the lamb here in Jesus' holy name. Amen.