In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of wholehearted commitment to God. He states that partial faithfulness is not acceptable to God, using the example of faithfulness in marriage. The preacher also highlights the need for action and not just theoretical knowledge, comparing it to learning to swim by actually getting into the water. He urges the congregation to make a genuine decision to follow Jesus and be true to the cross, referencing the story of Moses as an example of choosing to suffer with God's people rather than enjoying the pleasures of sin. The preacher concludes by challenging the audience to take a leap of faith and not just sing about it, but actually jump into a committed relationship with God.

Let's think about Moses' decision, and there's a sort of a thumbnail sketch of Moses over there in the book of Hebrews in that great Westminster abbey of the Bible, the heroes of faith, chapter 11, verse 23, by faith, Moses. When he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child, and they were not afraid of the king's commandment. By faith, Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing, this is the decision, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. By faith he pursued Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. Now, this little sketch begins, as every good biography should, with the family of Moses. So first we have parental courage in that 23rd verse. His parents were not afraid of the king's commandment, and that paid off, because, it says, Moses wasn't scared either, not fearing the wrath of the king. Like parents, Egypt is a type of this world, and Pharaoh is the devil, risked being called off, but it can be done, and it takes bravery. History has proven, she was dedicated to the Lord, and when she grew up, she said she wanted to be a monk, and in the spring that she went to Africa, he paid a monkey with the purposes of God. There's a lot of hand-wringing about children, those delimited parents, who are afraid of Pharaoh, and rather their children succeed and be popular in Egypt, and when other kids ate candy for breakfast on the chain gang, she had to know who our friend was. She embarrassed us, and using this as a background, Mr. Businesses, that like potatoes, the best part is usually under the ground. Have you ever stopped? He had to get involved, and then he had to go off and take that postgraduate. You see, he tried to deliver Israel on the road, and the experience that you generally come to, came to him, and said, now, I want you to deliver the people, and Moses had that in his hand. God said, pick it up, and with the tail, old Dr. Gamble said, that's the end I depicted. Then the frogs came, they changed his mind. Then the lice must be a, not only that family, but in the second place, folks in Greensboro, Sunday decisions, now decisions, and there's your conversion, your call, and your companion. That's usually made quite early, so the serious ones come first, and there isn't much of an exemption. Moses made a double choice, negative, he refused to be called sinners of sin, verse 26, for certain reasons, negative. But he chose to suffer affliction with the people of God, and he esteemed the reproach of the Hebrew living. Josephus says that he was in a line, and he and I, we read, we sing, my Jesus, how the folks do it. You young folks, if you were going to live for the Lord, you just could shake. That is so true. Man, that girl, for a season, and we're living in a time, we run with the Harry, there in Egypt with Pharaoh. But the nation that was to be under David and Solomon, it didn't look good then. When you choose your crowd, they who suffer now, and then the crown is going to take adversity. But it's New Testament Christianity, the hope of faith in his days. He was crazy, but here I am, centuries later, he could have loafed around, reputed to be, and in a way he was. He could say, I don't want to get involved in the churches today. Curses, be mirrors, it came not to that, supposed to be, and he went up with that. When he got back to, I tell folks in the churches, wherever I go, and you know, I never host to the members of any church. Sitting in the comfort of home, watching the funny boys on TV, and worshiping it. You didn't cast your lot, but the people who've got Christianity these days, we get involved in causes and movements, and even Christianity, and with people, everything's pitched in a different key than you, different key, great deal of the preaching is pitched in a different key. It imitates everything to contradict the spirit of this age. Just a better way to have a good to this generation. Confusing in connection with Christianity today is shame, scandal, and yet that's the terminology of the New Testament. Moses esteemed the reproach, riches for him, a Christian who has suffered. They used to wear, do you have any wounds to show? It says they that live godly are. They don't carry in John the Baptist's head on a plate these days. They do it with more fire, I can really give you a list. In death's soul, I've saved one thrice, and the day I've been in the deep, in journeyings often, in perils of water, in the city, in the wilderness, and the sea, and among foes, brethren, wearyness, pain. It was the territory that you can't think of anything else. He knew what it was. Thomas said, I want to see the marks. Persevering continuance, he endured as seeing him. I had to deliver Israel, it says. He looked this way, and he looked that way. No wonder he couldn't do it. You can't deliver Israel cross-eyed. Now it says he endured as seeing him. He chose the imperishable, saw the invisible, and did the impossible. He made a choice. We have to say yes to God before we can say no to Egypt, because James 4, 7 says, first submit yourselves to God, then resist the devil. And he flew from it. Now, if you try to resist the devil before you've submitted to God, the devil will defeat you every time. You're no match for the devil. But when you first said a great, big, all-inclusive yes to God, then you're ready to face the devil. Living in a day of either-or, and it's always been either-or, but we've got a neither-nor Christianity, neither feast nor fowl, middle of the road. Old Theodore Roosevelt said during the First World War, and I remember reading about it, if you're an American and something else, you're not an American. He said, America's not a polyglot boarding house. He talked about hyphenated Americans. Even the Kaiser of that time said, I can't understand a German-American. You can't be bold. We need a new breed today willing to be the scum of the earth and the spectacle to the world for the scandal of the cross. He feared God, and so the Lord. You read about people in the Bible who feared the Lord and served their own gods. I wouldn't have thought you could do that if you hadn't read it in the Bible, but you can. You can go through the motions of fearing God and then serve your own gods anyhow. On TV, the training of a seaman, and I see a dog and masturgeons of that dog, and how he thinks of things that completely overwhelm me. I don't know. There it is. And in this picture, he's on a path with his new master starting out in life. And that cat out here lapping up milk out of a saucer, and what dog is this that doesn't like to chase a cat? But not that dog. He didn't even notice. He had been trained to keep his eye on the church members I know today for every time a chipmunk runs. God helps us to keep our eyes on the message. You cannot please God with a divided allegiance. If you are 85% faithful to your wife, you are not faithful at all. There isn't any such thing as 90% faithfulness to your husband. He pursues them. It's all or nothing. I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back. The cross before me, the world behind me, no turning back. If we don't learn that at Ben Lippin, nothing else will matter much. I have been in some places, not here, I have been in some places where it seemed to me like the Bible study was swimming lessons on dry land. Studying how to swim and what to do and what not to do, but nobody ever plunged it. They never got into the water. You never learn how to swim reading books about swimming. And so they come and go away with notebooks galore. Thy word have I hidden my notebook. But they don't do a thing about it. Not a thing. I sometimes say two frogs were sitting on the edge of a pond. One decided to jump. How many frogs did that leave? And everybody says left one. I said no. I didn't say he jumped. I said he decided to jump. That's not jumping. You haven't jumped until you jump. You have that in the parable of the prodigal son. Look at it and draw a line under it. Luke 15 and 18 and then down in 20 verse 18. I will arise and go to my father. That's the decision. Verse 20. And he arose and came to his father. When you get that combination, you're going somewhere. You suppose they'd say at the airport if you went. I'd like to get a ticket just to go on a taxi down to the runway. We've got a lot of people who've told the Bible. You've been to Bible conferences galore. And I meet dear people who never, they never mount up with. They know how you do it. You used to gather down in a ravine. Now you could jump the gully. If you jumped it the first time, if you really went across first time, that's all right. But if you ran right up to it and then you stopped. They have never made the plunge either in salvation or in dedication or what. This man began to build was not able to be a doers of the word to the ticket counter and said you wanted a ticket just for what they think. They'd say, well, take him out. You can't believe it. If you persisted, they'd get you in the nest wagon and head for a padded cell somewhere. And yet I find them all over the country. Some of you've been coming here a long time. And I want to ask you in all seriousness. Have you ever jumped the gully? Have you ever taken off? Or are you singing on Jordan's stormy banks to stand and cast a wishful eye? Canaan's fair and happy land where my possessions lie. You never have gone. I beseech you during this week. We're going to waste our time up here unless a lot of people jump the gully. A lot of people are not satisfied to run down by the grace of God. This isn't an invitation song. And I'm not giving an invitation because you could come down here and you've done that too. And I'm not basing much on emotional appeal. Somebody needs to do here tonight to go to a room all alone. And really, for once, make the leap of real sure enough. Take it. The old rugged cross speaks of the rip. Saying it so casually to the old rugged cross. It's shame and reproach. But you be the judge. Verses. We know that old rugged cross so despised by the world has a wondrous attraction for me. I think it does from most of us. For the dear lamb of God left his glory above to bury at the dark Calvary. So I'll cherish it. And in the old rugged cross stained with blood so divine a wondrous beauty I see and we do. For it was on that old cross Jesus suffered and died, pardoned and sanctified me. We're all agreed on that. I want us to stand and if you feel like you can honestly before God tonight. Sing that last verse. To the old rugged cross I will ever be true. It's shame and reproach. Gladly bear. Then you'll call me someday in my home far away. And I'll cherish it and I'll cling to it. I'll exchange it someday for a crown. Oh Father, thou knowest how weak we poor mortals are. And how prone we are to sing through verses scarcely aware of what we're saying. We pray that thou would help us tonight to be honest about this thing. We thank God for the cross and the Christ of the cross. For what this grand old song's meant through the years and what it means to us tonight. To help us to face squarely once and for all have I really made a decision about this cross. Am I ready to say to this old rugged cross I'll be true. It's shame and reproach. It's unpopularity. The scandal of it. And all that means for a Christian. I'll gladly bear. And Lord there's time between now and even when we start to sing. To say deep down in our heart Lord. I mean to mean it right now. I want to mean it. The best way I know how I do mean it. But I think you'll need some more time to go into it more. Because it's no trivial thing I'm calling upon us to do. As many of us as feel like we can honestly sing it or we want to mean it. Join in that last verse please.