In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of preaching the gospel to make disciples. He highlights that the gospel is all about Jesus and encourages believers to share it with others. The preacher also discusses the significance of baptism and urges believers to be baptized as a demonstration of their faith. He then explores the cost of discipleship, emphasizing the need to surrender everything to Christ, be willing to suffer for Him, and give generously to Him. The sermon concludes with a reminder of the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations.

Turn with me please to the Gospel of John. John's Gospel, chapter number one. John's Gospel, chapter number one, and I'm going to read at verse 35. John chapter one, and verse 35. Again the next day, after John stood and two of his disciples, and looked upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God. And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned and saw them following, and said unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, which is to say, being interpreted, Master, where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. And they came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first findeth his own brother, Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus, and when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon, the son of Jonah. Thou shalt be called Cephas, which by interpretation, a stone. The day following Jesus would go forth unto Galilee, and findeth Philip, and says unto him, Follow me. Now our second reading is in the Acts of the Apostles. Just before we read this, I might just indicate what I hope to speak on this evening. Acts of the Apostles, chapter 9. I want to consider with you some lessons from the disciples. We've read about the first one, Andrew, and we want to consider up to each of these. We want to consider, and with Andrew, I want to think about the call of the disciples and the words of Andrew. And in Acts chapter 9, I want us to think about the conduct of the disciples. Acts chapter 9, and we're going to read from verse 36 to 43. Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha. This is the only woman who's called a disciple in the word of God, which is by interpretation is called Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and arms deeds, which she did. And it came to pass in those days that she was sick and died, whom when they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber. For as much as Lydia was nigh unto Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent unto him two men desiring him that he would not delay to come to them. Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber, and all the widows stood by him, weeping, and showing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them. But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed. And turning him to the body, said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. And he gave her his hand and lifted her up. And when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive. And it was known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. And it came to pass that he tarried many days in Joppa with one Simon the Tanner. Now, Luke's Gospel, please, chapter 24. Luke's Gospel, chapter 24, verse 13. Luke 24, verse 13. I won't take time to read the whole of this section. And behold, two of them went the same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about three score furlongs. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. Verse 17. And he said unto them, What manner of communication are these, that ye have one to another as ye walk, and are sad? Down to verse 29. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us, for it is towards evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. Now, back a bit to, I want to think about the comfort of the disciples. I want to think about Luke chapter 14 now. Luke chapter 14, chapter 14. I'm reading at verse 26. I think here about the cost of discipleship. If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, ye his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he hath sufficient to finish it? Lest, haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, and all that beheld it, began to mock him. Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth, whether he is able, with ten thousand to meet him, that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be of you, that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. Now Matthew chapter 28, just two more readings, Matthew chapter 28, verse 18. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Now, we just want one final reading, please, in the book of Acts chapter 21, book of the Acts and chapter number 21, for a final reading. We want to think that in Matthew 28 about the commission of the disciples. They had to be witnesses. Now the last reading in Acts chapter 21, and just one verse, verse 16. There went with us also certain of the disciples of Caesarea, and brought with them one nation of Cyprus, an old disciple with whom we lodged. Now, we're sure that God will bless this as a public reading of his precious word to all our hearts. We want to see if we can learn some lessons from these disciples or some lovely features in the lives of these believers. You know, we always think about Thomas, for example, as the one who doubted. If I had to ask you, that might be the first thing that would come to mind. But Thomas actually told the Lord on another occasion that he was prepared to lay down his life. But we don't hear very much about it, and so I think there's some lovely features in these disciples, and we trust that we might have some practical lessons for us that will help us on our pilgrim journey. What is a disciple? Well, a disciple is really a learner. It's the idea of learning with endeavour. It's something that we need to put some effort into. It doesn't just happen. You don't go to school and just sit there and suddenly your head's full of knowledge. You've got to work at it, and so it is with being a learner. It also means to follow, and so we have the idea of following and learning. And one has said that we are learning to follow and following to learn. That's what a disciple is. Now, there was many disciples. Of course, we've read about Tabitha the only woman disciple. We've read about an old disciple. There were the disciples of John that left John the Baptist and followed Christ. There were disciples of Moses. There were disciples of Jesus. There were the secret disciples, and Timothy is described as a disciple as well. And so there are different types of disciples, but we want to think here about what a disciple is in relation to the Lord Jesus Christ. I've written this down. It's us learning to follow the Lord Jesus and becoming like him that we may be able to help others to do the same. It's learning to follow the Lord Jesus. That's us learning to follow and becoming more like him that we might be able to help others to do the same. Now, of course, you know that if anyone stands up and says something and their life's completely contrary to what they're saying, you don't take much account of it. And so it's important that we follow the Lord Jesus Christ to become more like him that we might be able to help others along the pilgrim pathway as well. The twelve disciples had only one teacher, the very best of teachers, the Lord Jesus Christ. There was no teacher like him. And one of the things when I think about discipleship, we'll come to it later on, but one of the main things about discipleship is that it's to follow Christ. One of the great dangers, we'll see as we go down, one of the great dangers is following men. Every disciple should follow the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the only one worth following. Our brother Ian just mentioned that there was no one found worthy to open the books, to loose the seals, to look their own. There was only one found worthy. And my dear brother, my dear sister, the Apostle Paul says that we had to follow him in as much as he followed Christ. So in as much as he followed Christ, we had to follow Paul. But you know, there's no better standard than the Lord Jesus Christ. And that is the one we should all seek to follow. When I think about Andrew, I think about his words. I've entitled this The Call of the Disciples. You know, he was the first disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not much said about Andrew. But you may remember that when the lad was there with the five loaves and two fishes, you know, it was Andrew that said, here is a lad with five loaves and two fishes. You know, he was still going on. He was first to come to Christ, but he was still going on later on. It's good to start well, but it's good to continue on with the Lord Jesus Christ. And that was Andrew. But I was impressed with the very first thing that he did. The very first thing that he did. He first findeth his own brother, and he says that they'd found the Christ. And he points him to the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, let me say, dear brother, dear sister, if you're speaking to a soul about the Lord Jesus, that's what you need to do. Never mind about doctrine, about your opinions or anything else. If you're speaking to someone who's unsaved, get them to Christ. I want to recall an incident that happened just not so long ago in our own hall at home. We were clearing up one night, and two young men come in, and one was seeking to cause a bit of mischief. And we have the two roads chart up in the hall, and he said, I'd like to discuss this. Well, of course, he didn't know it was there until they came in the hall. But we started to speak to him. Well, I don't know what he believed himself. It was all sorts of strange things. But every time, and there was a young believer with me, and every time he kept on coming up with something, I tried to answer him, and then I just got him back to the cross. And then he went away somewhere else, and I just got him back to the cross, until it became very uneasy about it. You see, I could have stood and argued with him all night on whatever view he had. But you know, the thing to do is to get them to Christ. There's no answer. I remember when I came into assembly fellowship at first, I remember a man, and he said, the Bible says this. He was speaking on baptism. And he said, the Bible says this about baptism. The Bible says that about baptism. Well, I had no argument. I had no argument with the word of God. And my dear brother, my dear sister, they might have arguments about many things. He has been speaking about creation. Well, discuss creation with them, but get them back to Christ. That's the only thing that will ever win their hearts. And so, this is the very first thing that Andrew does. He goes and finds his own brother. Now, let me say that speaking to your own family is not the easiest thing to do, and perhaps it's the hardest thing to do. It might be easy for me to come down here and preach the gospel. It might be difficult at home because my family are there, now that they don't happen to be there. But it's that sort of thing. It's difficult to speak to your family. But it wasn't for Andrew. As soon as he found Christ and was blessed by getting God's salvation, he wanted his brother to get it as well. Now, it may be difficult, and maybe you've got family that are not saved. But I want to say to you, you need to speak to them. Ever so kindly, but speak to them about the Lord Jesus. I lost my brother this year, not saved. My younger brother. I had an uncle who went into a home, and I'd spoken to him for years. And he lay in the hospital, and his eyes were closed. And I thought he couldn't hear me, and I was crying because I knew he wasn't saved. And I shouted out to him that he needed to get saved. I heard that the last thing that goes is your hearing. So even though he didn't have his eyes open, I thought, well, I'm just going to preach it anyway. And he opened his eyes, and he never said another word. And I don't know whether he's in heaven or not. You know, it's a very difficult thing when it's your family. But my dear brother, my dear sister, we need to speak to them. Just be like Andrew, and get them to Christ. You know, my father-in-law, we spoke to him. He used to take the tracks, and he used to throw them at us. But on the eve of his 80th birthday, he got saved. And he lived a year and a month to prove the reality of it. He was never away from Ibrox until God saved him, and he had no more interest in football from the day he got saved to the day God called him home. When he was in the home, and it was on the television, and he wasn't even watching it. Don't give up praying for your family. God loves them, and Christ died for them. But we have a responsibility to speak to them about the Savior. And so here's this thing, the very first thing that Andrew does. He goes and speaks to his own brother. Another thing I've noticed in my lifetime is that very often it's easier to speak to people when you're newly saved. There seems to be that freshness about it, and that reality about it. And maybe you'll find this yourself, that you spoke to more people just after you got saved than maybe you've done in the last 10 years. I don't know why it is, but that seems to be the way it is. I can only speak for myself. I brought more people to the meeting when I was newly saved, and spoke to more people then than I perhaps do now. It's important that when you're young, that you confess the Lord Jesus and speak to others about him. And if you're starting a new job, just let them know that you're a Christian right at the start. It'll make life a lot easier. My brother Ian touched on it, but it did occur to me that there might be someone saved in the hall tonight. I know we've had people in the hall at ministry meetings, and they've not been saved. What more has Christ got to do? God sent his son and the Lord Jesus laid down his life at Calvary, and paid the price when God made to meet upon him the iniquity of us all. God punished the Lord Jesus on account of your sin and mine. And my friend, he can't do any more. He's done all he can. But you need to repent and believe the gospel. You need to turn from your sin and trust Jesus Christ as your own and personal saviour. It's also possible, of course, that the Lord Jesus could come back as we've been hearing. One day he certainly will come back. It may be tonight, it may be in another 10 years, who knows. But the one thing we can say without contradiction is the Lord Jesus is coming back for his own now. If he came back tonight, would you go? Are you ready to meet him? Maybe I can speak to the Christians too. I've heard about the judgment seat of Christ. Is everything in order tonight? We shall be taken into his presence. We're finishing on the mountaintop, we're away in the valley. Now it'd be good to meet him, wouldn't it? Just going on for him, becoming more like him now. Oh, we'll be like him then. But wouldn't it be good if we were more like him now? It's certainly true of myself. I'd like to be more like him. And when you read about him, you would just love to have been there like Andrew, wouldn't you? Just to be with him, just to hear him. The way he would speak, the gracious words that would fall from his mouth. Never a man speak like this man. Wouldn't it have been wonderful? Well, that was Andrew. And the Lord Jesus called him and they called others. You know, it's the same of Philip. It says, Philip findeth Nathanael, and it says we have found him. They have found him. It's all about Christ. It's not only the gospel, it's all about Christ. The whole word of God is about Christ. You know, it says when they were called and they left their nets and followed him. You know, it's not everyone that's called to leave their employment and follow Christ. But you know, some are asked to do that. I often wonder to myself, I wonder, now what if the Lord should call me to leave my work and the security of employment and all the rest of it and just go and serve him somewhere? What would I do? I don't know. I don't know. Now you might say, well, they would never call me. You're just the kind of person that God would call. When you think nothing of yourself, then you're just the kind of person that God can take and use. These were fishermen, ignorant and unlearned men. But God was able to take them and to make them something for his honor and for his glory. I've noted here two quotes. One was from Gypsy Smith and he said this, I'm God's messenger from a gypsy tent and it's a message that is important, not the messenger. Another man, Walter Wilson, said it was a person that God gave. It's a person that we need and it's a person that we accept by faith. You see, when Andrew got his brother to Christ, that was really the most important thing. And if we are speaking to others, we need to do the very same thing. You know, John the Baptist told his disciples about the Lord Jesus and they left him. They left John the Baptist and they followed Christ. Let me say to everyone who teaches the word of God, whether publicly or privately, that we should be doing the same with younger Christians. And it should not be written as was written of by Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Now this I say that every one of you, I am of Paul, I am of Apollos, I am of Cephas, I am of Christ. Is Christ divided or was Paul crucified for you or were you baptized in the name of Paul? But we should ensure that they follow the Lord Jesus. Remember the elders at Ephesus in Acts chapter 20. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. My friend, we need to get them to the Lord Jesus. You know, John the Baptist had no more job because he had his disciples, his work was finished, he was a forerunner of the Lord Jesus, but his disciples left him to follow the Lord Jesus. That's what every teacher should do. Don't think that I've got so and so and so and they think the same way as me. They should think the same way as Christ and get them to Christ and leave them with Christ. And so that's Andrew. You know, when Philip said at the feeding of the 5,000, he says, 200 penny worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that everyone may take a little. I wondered about that and I was trying to figure out what his problem was because if it was, that was a day's wages and I thought, well, maybe a day's wages today would be £50 and the bread's a pound a loaf and it'd be 50 loaves times 200 would be 10,000 loaves. I thought, well, there's plenty to feed 5,000, but I haven't quite got my head around that. But what I was wanting to say about it was that one of his disciples, Andrew, Simon's Peter, Peter's brother said, there is a lad here which has five loaves and two fishes. Isn't it good? Isn't it good that Andrew wasn't just used to bring his brother to Christ? Wasn't it good that he observed that here was something that Christ could use? Well, I know he said, what is this amongst a little, but at least he recognised that Christ could use it. I wonder, my dear brother, my dear sister, if Christ could use you. Well, you might just be little in your own eyes. You might not think much of yourself. You might wonder if Christ could really use you. But I want to tell you, if you think nothing of yourself, you're the very person that Christ wants to use. And so here's this man, Andrew, he brought his brother to Christ. And then I thought about the conduct, when we came to Tabitha, I thought about the conduct of the disciples. And this was one, Dorcas, the only woman named as a disciple. It said she was full of good works. Now, you know, Andrew spoke to his brother about the Lord Jesus. But when you come to Tabitha, it seems that her good works spoke for her. Her good works spoke for her. You know, there are many ways to speak to people about Christ. And here was one way where we'll find that many people came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as a result of this woman's good deeds. It wasn't so much what she said, but it was what she did. I remember a man saying, and one occasionally says, don't go to your neighbour's house with a tract if you haven't been with a pot of jam. I hope you understand that. You know, if you're showing some little kindness, they're more likely to take and read the tract than ever you are just to go and cold call and you've got meetings and you haven't spoken to them in three years and you go and you say, oh, would you like to come to the meetings? They're not likely to do it. But if you showed them some little kindness, like this woman here. You know, she's lovely. You just need to read about some of these dear sisters and the word of God. I'm not patronising the sisters, but you need to read some of these. We've just finished the book of Ruth. And I couldn't get out of my head that she must have been one of the most beautiful women that ever the world produced. And there's not a bit of a description about her at all. There's nothing said about her looks. But just her character is beautiful. It's a woman of Proverbs 31 and Ruth and this woman here is just the same kind of woman. A virtuous woman who can find, read about them. They're lovely. I can't think of one thing. I don't know what she was like, but you can't help thinking she was just lovely because of the loveliness of her character. Did you ever hear such sweet words? And in the field and providing for her mother-in-law, leaving her own folk, left them and the country and everything else to go to the God of Naomi. And then she's brought into the genealogy of Christ. Isn't that wonderful? Here's another woman. I would just love to have met her. You know, when she dies, I'm sure she would have, I'm sure she was dying. I'm sure she would have a needle in her hand. I don't think she would have retired and put the needle away. I think she would still have been at when she died. And of course of great weeping. And it says the widows were weeping and showing their coats and garments. You know, her works followed her. I just wonder if they were having a funeral service, what they would be able to say about her. It wouldn't be too difficult to think now, would it? It wouldn't be too difficult to think about what to say about this sister. You wouldn't have had to go and ask the family what like she was. If there was a family, there's no record of any family. But if there was other people, you wouldn't have to go and ask them about her. Because her works spoke. Her works spoke. And all these widows, they were all coming and saying, look what she made me, look what she made me, look what she made me. My friend, the result of this woman and her work was that many believed in the Lord. She's raised from the dead and it says many believe. Now, if she had never given out these gifts and she died and Peter raised again, I don't think it would have made any difference because there would have been nobody there but Peter. But you know, they thought so much of this sister that they were weeping and they sent two men to go and get Peter. And Peter, now Peter does a lovely thing. Peter puts him out. You say, why did Peter not just perform the miracle in front of him? Now, Peter puts him out. Peter, there was no glory for Peter. Peter didn't want anything for himself. We'll see that when he goes stay in the house of Simon Atanah. But he puts him out and he gets alone with God. And you know, if you've got problems, my dear brother, my dear sister, that's what we need to do as well. We just need to get into the presence of God alone and take the problem to him. It says he kneeled down to pray. Now, maybe everybody in the meeting is not able to kneel down and pray, but if you can kneel down and pray, it's a good example here from the Apostle Peter. But he kneels down to pray, just wanted him to get matters between him and God and he wanted to intercede on behalf of this woman. But you know, it says a lovely thing, it says here, and turning to the body. So his back must have been towards the body when he was praying to God. You say, well, what's the significance of that? Well, you know, very often we are overcome and we don't make the progress we should because we're always looking at the problem. We're always looking at the problem and the problem becomes so big and all we can think about is the problem. Well, Peter turns his back on the problem and gets alone with God and his face is towards God and his back is towards the problem. Now, I think if we've got problems, whether it's among our family, whether it's our employment, whatever it is, whatever the problem is, we need to turn our back on the problem and get into the presence of God and intercede on behalf. Whatever the problem is, whether it is a family or job or anything else, get into the presence of God, alone with God, and ask God to work. And once he had spoken to God, he turns to the body and he says, Tabitha, arise. Are we dwelling too much on problems, even among the assemblies of God's people? You know, I'm sure you hear it as well as I do, well, the numbers are going down and things are not what they used to be and all the rest of it. Well, maybe we're not what we should be either. What's the answer? The answer is to get alone with God, get into the sanctuary and seek God's help and God's blessing and ask God what we need to do individually. And you know, it was a mighty result, it's the result of Peter doing this, but he didn't do it in public. He got alone with God and everybody else was put out. It was a witness to others. The result was that many believed in the Lord, many believed. Now, not unlike Andrew, it wasn't what he said, but it was what she did. Now, every sister, I think, has got some wonderful opportunities. If you're at home, then you're maybe around the neighbours more than the husband if he's out at work and you have great opportunities to do this type of work with those who are near, round about you. Or even if you're at work, we can all do it, but particularly for those who are at home, this is a wonderful opportunity to show a little kindness to the neighbours and then, perhaps, if you have some meetings, gospel meetings, then you could invite them along and they were more likely to come. And certainly, if you speak to them about the gospel, they would be more likely to listen. And so, here's the conduct of this woman which resulted in many believing in the Lord. Now, there's the cost of discipleship. The cost of discipleship. I was thinking about Luke 14. There was a cross to be borne, there was a cost to be counted, there was a company to be considered, there was possessions to be renounced and there was an influence to be exerted. You see, it says three times over that they had to forsake everything and it says, you cannot be my disciple. Three times over, you cannot be my disciple. Now, the first thing is that they had to surrender to Christ and that meant that nothing had to come before him. Nothing had to come before him. And the second was that they were prepared to suffer for Christ. Nothing was to be too much for him. And thirdly, their substance for Christ, nothing to be withheld from him. Nothing before him, nothing too much for him and nothing withheld from him. I wonder how we give over time, over resources. I wonder how we give. Not grudgingly, it says, God loveth a cheerful giver. I wonder if we give like that. Most times when we give, you know, it's reluctantly, isn't it? But it's because we don't appreciate who Christ is and we don't appreciate what he's done for us because you know everything that we have is his. Everything we have is his and we've brought nothing into the world and it's certain we'll take nothing out. How do we give? Is anything too much for him? Is there other things before him? Because if we're not prepared to do that, he says you cannot be my disciple. I want to think, I'm conscious of time, I want to think about the comfort of disciples. I want to think of Luke chapter 24, the two on the road to Emmaus. Of course it speaks about the two on the road to Emmaus and it says that one was Cleopas but it doesn't mention who the other one was. I'm sure you'll be able to tell me when I get to the back of the hall who the other one was but it doesn't mention in this passage of the scriptures. But you know I thought it was lovely that when the two of them are going along how the Lord Jesus was able to comfort his disciples. He's able to comfort them. You think well there's many a time I needed comfort and nobody came to comfort me. Well I want to tell you that we should be comforting one another. We should weep with those that weep and rejoice with those that do rejoice but we should be able to comfort one another. It doesn't matter whether it's a phone call or just a card or whatever it is but I'm sure there's not a soul in here who hasn't needed comfort at one time or another. Maybe you're just finding the way too difficult. Maybe there's problems with your health. Maybe there's other things. It's just nice when somebody can come alongside. Come alongside and just give you that bit of comfort. Well you know there could be no better person to come alongside these two on the road to Emmaus than the Lord Jesus. Would you not like to have been there? I think this must have been the greatest ministry meeting that the world had ever had. Would you not like just to have been one of these two? Just maybe an unnamed disciple. Not thought much about in this world but wouldn't it have been great just to be there and just to listen to him. I think it would have been wonderful. You know their conversation. What about their conversation? You know they were speaking about spiritual things. This is before the Lord Jesus met them. They were speaking about spiritual things. I wonder how our conversation is. I wonder if we're always speaking about spiritual things. You know we had some friends with us recently and you know it was great. We just spoke on spiritual things. It was a real encouragement. I don't know if they were encouraged but we certainly were encouraged because they were speaking about spirit and these two were going down the road and I know they were sad and they were disappointed and all their hopes had been dashed and they had thought the Lord Jesus was going to deliver them and here he's crucified and well everything just seemed to be going the wrong way. And maybe in your life you just feel the same. I'm sure there'll be a soul in here tonight and you're really feeling very low and the pressure and the difficulties of life are just weighing you down but you know there's one who can draw alongside. There's one who can draw alongside and be the very comfort and the help that you need. I'm sure their conversation pleased the Lord because they were speaking about him. They were speaking about him. You know it says in Malachi chapter 3, Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard. If we just were conscious that the Lord was alongside us when we're having our conversations. And then I thought about the companion. Jesus himself drew near and went with them. Are we conscious that when we're going about our day-to-day business that he's just there? When we gather tomorrow morning in the will of the Lord to remember the Lord Jesus, are we conscious he's there? When we meet for the assembly prayer meeting, are we conscious he's there? Physically speaking there's not a lot of distance between our heart and our mouth but sometimes there's a great distance in really what's in our heart and what comes out of our mouth. But you know if we're conscious that he's alongside, it might not be so hypocritical in his presence because he knows us better than we know ourselves. What about their circumstances? They were downhearted and the Lord draws alongside and says what manner of communications are these that you have one to another as you walk in are sad. You know he wasn't chastising them, he just wanted to draw them out. He just wanted to draw them out. Their hopes had been dashed. And then when they speak to the Lord Jesus, they confess to him, they give a true report. And then the Lord says what things? And he says that he was a prophet mighty indeed. And they speak about the crucifixion and their expectations and how the woman had visited the tomb. And he says oh fools and slow heart to believe ought not Christ to have suffered these things and beginning at Moses and the prophets he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. I wonder if we're reading the scriptures if we look for Christ in them. In all the scriptures, it's not just in the Gospels. Read the Gospels, read the Gospels, read what's all about Christ. But you know he's in all the scriptures. Isn't it good when we're into the Old Testament and we see a lovely picture of the Lord Jesus. I'm not thinking about Isaiah 52 and 53 and Psalm 20. I'm not thinking about that. You might think about him in the offerings and isn't it lovely when you just see a lovely picture of the Lord Jesus in the scriptures. It must have been some ministry meeting. Beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures. What did he expound to them? Things concerning himself. You see we're just back where Andrew was aren't we? It's just all about Christ. Christ was speaking about himself to draw these disciples who were weary, who were downcast, who had had so many disappointments in their life. But the Lord Jesus draws alongside and he just ministers himself to them. And that's what we need to do to the people. Whether it's the gospel or the ministry, it just needs to be a ministry of Christ. Oh you'll find plenty of faults in this man here. You could be writing him down for months and months and months, but you won't find a fault in him. Not a fault, not a stain, not a blemish. He's altogether lovely. He's the chiefest among the tens of thousands, our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. And so he speaks about himself. So much so that they constrained him. They didn't want to let him go. And you know if we're really enjoying Christ, that's how we'll feel as well. Well I don't want to let him go. You know these precious moments when you're in and you feel he's really close to you. You would just like to stay there. You don't want to go away. You just would like to abide in his presence. And maybe you've been to some of these morning meetings where you just feel it's heaven on earth and you just don't want it to end. Well you know they constrained him and and he came in and they invited him in. And he accepts their invitation. You know they want forces way into your life. They invited him in. And if you want your life changed to become more like Christ, you need to invite him in too. It says as they sat at They discovered who he really was. And their despair was turned to joy. Their despair was turned to joy. Oh what comfort they had. Did not our heart burn within us? Of course some think it's one heart. I think probably myself. I'm one of them. Did not our heart burn? It's just the one heart. It might have been a husband and wife. They're just the one heart. Did not our heart burn within us? Sadness is turned to gladness. Heavy hearts to happy hearts. Sorrow to joy. And they returned the same hour. What did they do? They wanted to share it with others. Isn't that good? If you had some little nugget from the word of God this week, something you've enjoyed in your own soul. I wonder if you've passed it on to someone else that they might get the benefit of it as well. Wouldn't it be good? Just some precious thought of Christ. Just some wee gem out of the word of God. Just some gleanings you've had for your own soul. And maybe the other people won't understand it. But if you've enjoyed it, I'm sure they'll enjoy it too. And so here are these two on the road to Emmaus. I thought about the commission of a disciple. Who ye therefore and teach, or the idea is make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Just four little things. I'm sure many of you have heard them, but I just want to run over them. They mark the disciples by preaching the gospel to them. They make disciples by preaching the gospel, marking them by baptizing them, molding them by teaching them, and motivating them by directing them. They're marking the making of a disciple by preaching the gospel. And what did they preach about? They preached about him. That's it. That's what the gospel is about. It's all about him. From start to finish, it's all about him. And then they mark the disciples by baptizing them. They baptize them in his name as well. And maybe you're in a meeting this evening and you're saved, but you're not baptized. Well, the word of God said, if you're a believer in the Lord Jesus, you should be baptized. I don't see any age limit for it. I don't see any other reason, as far as I can see, that there was only one man, the Apostle Paul, was three days before he was baptized. That's the longest I can find in the scriptures. I don't think the thief on the cross, he was saved in view of the death of Christ. Everyone since the death of Christ, this is the longest record in the scripture, was Apostle Paul, just three days. There was reasons why he wasn't baptized right away. There was no one to baptize him. But the moment that someone came, then he was baptized right away. Do you know he was baptized before he had anything to eat or drink? Now we think food's a big thing, isn't it? I like my food too. But I hear this man thought so much of this. He just wanted to obey the Lord. And he was prepared to forego everything else until he got this thing done. And maybe if you're in a meeting tonight and you're saved and you're not baptized, then you should think about this word that comes from the Holy Scriptures. And then he demolished them by teaching them. Let me say that one of the things a teacher needs at the school, apart from a lot of patience, is that they need willing pupils. You never teach people that are not willing to learn. And if you're a younger person in the meeting, be prepared to listen and to learn. I think one of the big problems today is that a lot of the young people think they know everything about everything. You know they used to say there were three stages in life. You used to say when I was a wee boy, you know, my dad's great, he knows everything. And then when you get to be a teenager, your dad knows nothing. And then when you're a bit older, you think my dad used to say this. Isn't it? That's just the way life is. But it's good when you're young to learn and be willing to learn. And let God teach you and other people as well help you to become a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then there was a motivation of a disciple. You know, what did they do? They directed them. It says, whatsoever I have commanded you. You see, there's the Lord Jesus in it. It wasn't what they commanded. Never listen to a man that makes something up and tells you this. It's whatever I have commanded you. If I've got a scripture for it, and it's in accordance with the rest of the word of God, then you do it. Because it's what he commanded. It's what he commanded. And so we have to do what we can. Then lastly, I want to come to this, the commitment of discipleship. You know, we read in Acts chapter 21 verse 16 about an old disciple. I don't know what age he was. But if he was saved in the day of Pentecost, he'd have been saved for 27 years. 27 years. So if he were saved when he was 20, he'd be 47. Well, maybe he's an old disciple of 47. It depends what age you are, whether you think 47 is old or not. But the revised version calls him an early disciple. An early disciple. So that could take him back to the day of Pentecost. But you know, the lovely thing about this was that even though he was an old disciple, it's the last mention, by the way, of a disciple in the New Testament. A nation, his name is. And it says, there went with us also certain of the disciples of Caesarea and brought with them one nation of Cyprus, an old disciple with whom we should lodge. My dear brother, my dear sister, you can still be learning when you're an old disciple. If you ever think that you know everything when you get to 20 or 30 or 40. In fact, the older you get, the more you realize how little you know. And here was this old disciple and he was still going on. And if you've reached the age of retirement or whatever age you consider old, three score year and 10, if you're retired, you're not far off your allotted span. It's good still to be going on and still to be learning and still to be following. Just keep going. I know life is difficult at times, but we just need to keep going because we're not going on. You wouldn't go on for the brethren, would you? Now, maybe you would, but you want to go on for him. That's the only thing that will motivate you. You know, some of the old runners up the wrong way one day and we'll say, oh, it's just finished. But you know, we're doing it for him. And if we do it for him, we'll still be like this man, Mason, an old disciple, and we'll still be following and we'll still be learning. And that's what he did. Another thing I noticed was he hadn't given up on hospitality. He hadn't given up on hospitality with whom we lodged. You know, sometimes when you get to retirement age, you think, well, that's me. I've done my stint. Well, he didn't. He didn't do that at all. He was still going on at the end, just the same way. I'm sure he commenced that way and he continued that way. He's an old disciple and he's still going on just the same way. Can I encourage older brothers and sisters, just keep going. It won't be long whether he calls us home through the article of death or whether the Lord comes to the earth. It won't be long. Wouldn't it be good just to be still going on, still following, still learning, trying to become more conformed to the image of his dear son? Oh, an old disciple called Mason with whom we lodged. I wonder if we're still growing. You know, when you're learning, you're growing. I wonder if we're still growing. An old disciple. John the Baptist pointed him to Christ. Andrew, he spoke to others about Christ. Tabitha Dorcas, her words spoke for Christ. But you know, I'd just like to leave you with this. The Lord Jesus said, follow me. And all we can say is, follow him. Shall we pray?