In this sermon, the speaker begins by expressing gratitude for the blessings and grace that God has bestowed upon the church and its members. They also mention the success of their television ministry in reaching and impacting people's lives. The speaker then leads the congregation in a hymn and encourages them to sing more enthusiastically. They emphasize the importance of walking in the light and having fellowship with one another through the cleansing power of Jesus' blood. The sermon concludes with a prayer for the sick and a request to remember those who have passed away.

Thank you, Dr. Dan. The Word of God tells us in 1 John 1, verse 7, that if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another in the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, keeps on cleansing us from all sin. Aren't we glad tonight that we have that foretaste of glory? We can have fellowship. On a rainy night, we're going to warm up a little bit with No. 61. Remaining seated as we sing, what a fellowship, what a joy divine, leaning on the everlasting arms. What a blessing and what a peace divine, leaning on the everlasting arms. What a fellowship, what a joy divine, leaning on the everlasting arms. What a blessing and what a peace divine, leaning on the everlasting arms. I don't know whether it's the PA, the acoustics, or my hearing, but I can't hear too much singing up here tonight. Let's all join in a little more heartily, turn on the, pull out the stops, turn on the music while we sing the second verse. Oh, how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way, leaning on the everlasting arm. Oh, how bright the path grows from day to day, leaning on the everlasting arm. Leaning, leaning, safe and secure for all our lives. When Jesus Christ became real to you for the first time, what a joy it was to have the relief of the burden of sin rolled away. What a joy it was to have the cleansing power of the blood of Christ. Let's sing about it. Number 116, please. Years I spent in vanity and pride, caring not my Lord was crucified. Knowing not it was for me, he died on Calvary. We're going to stand as we sing number 116 at Calvary. Years I spent in vanity and pride, caring not my Lord was crucified. Knowing not it was for me, he died at Calvary. When Jesus Christ became real to you for the first time, what a joy it was to have the relief of the burden of sin rolled away. As we approach our prayer time, we have so much to praise the Lord for. We've had wonderful blessings during our services. We've had many, many people write in from our television audience telling us of the wonderful things God had done in their lives. Many have found the Lord, and others have returned from backsliding. Now we bring to you our members who are sick in hospital, and we need to remember the family of Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Stewart. His mother passed away, and the funeral was held today at 2 o'clock. In the hospitals we have, in Scarborough Centenary Hospital, Mrs. Doris Reed. In Scarborough General, Mr. Tim Williamson, and Ms. Heldy Kumpelainen. In Bendy Lakers, Mr. Merlin Jones. In Sunnybrook Hospital, we have Mr. Ralph Wickware, Mr. H. Burns, Mr. Kenneth Smith, Mrs. Rose Barrett, and another Mrs. Doris Reed. In North York Hospital, we have Mr. Lloyd Kennedy, one of our elders. In Women's College Hospital, we have Mrs. Mary McBride. In Riverdale Hospital, Mr. Bob Dean, Gene Johnson, and Mr. William Grosser. In Toronto Western Hospital, Mr. Henry Alban. In Queen Elizabeth, Mrs. Lily Johnson. In St. Joseph's Hospital, Mrs. Grace Hayward. In Queensway General, Mrs. Ethel Swallow, and she asked me particularly to convey her thanks for the prayers of God's people. She has had a real good recovery from the operation. And then, in Branson Hospital, Mr. William Mercer. And then Newmarket Nursing Home, we have Mr. J.D. Tai, Ms. Helen Woodcock in St. John's Convalescent Hospital, and Mrs. Evelyn Hamilton in the nursing home in Whitby. And then ill or convalescing at home, we have Mrs. Minnie Lewis, Mr. Bob Ritchie, Mr. Hayden Minton, Mrs. E. Weber, Mrs. C. Webb, Mrs. Marlon Sebastian, Mrs. Beth Topp, Mr. K. Nielsen, Mrs. Lynn Hunt, Mrs. C. Williams, Mr. R. Reed, Mr. B. Baxter, Mr. W. Vincent, and Mrs. Emily Gross. And then we need to remember our missionaries and all the facets of our church, particularly at this time, our Sunday school class. Shall we just bow in prayer? Father, we just bless Thee and worship Thee for all Thy loving kindness to us, for Thy grace poured out upon us in a wonderful way. We thank Thee for the many, many who have made decisions for Thee during these past weeks. And Lord, we thank Thee for the way Thy word has worked so effectively in our television audience. And now, our Father, we ask Thee that Thou would pour out Thy blessing upon this evening's meeting, that Thy servant, as he brings us the word, may have unusual enablement from above. We ask Thee that our own hearts may be opened to hear Thy word. Lord, we commit to Thee our pastor and ask Thee that Thou would undertake for him as he ministers elsewhere. We commit to Thee our Sunday school and thank Thee for the movement of Thy spirit in our midst. And we ask Thee to continue to work, Lord, and to draw in large numbers. We ask Thee to fill the halls of our new facilities. And then, our Father, we think of our ranch and thank Thee for all that has happened there. We pray for our country. We pray for the presidential elections in the state. We know how far-reaching this could be in Thy cause. We ask Thee to sovereignly overrule, as well as in those war-torn areas of Lebanon, and then Israel, and Rhodesia, and South Africa. Now, Father, as we continue to worship Thee, pour out Thy spirit upon us and give us hearts that are yielded to Thee. We pray with thanksgiving in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen. All right. Now, tonight, we're delighted to see such a good number here. And, of course, Dr. Oswald Smith, our founder, will be speaking in just a few moments. And I know you'll be greatly blessed. We have a couple announcements we'd like to make tonight. Certainly, as Dr. DeSena was speaking, we can thank and praise the Lord for what he's done in our midst, particularly the last two months, or last month and a half, really. I got to thinking this morning, I wonder how many decisions, how many people have been dealt with in our inquiry room since Labor Day weekend. And I asked Dr. DeSena and his secretary if they could accumulate or if they could add up all the decisions that were made. And the number that was made from the first Sunday in September to last Sunday comes out at 341 people who have accepted Christ as Savior and made recommitments to the Lord, have been personally dealt with on a personal basis. We have much to thank the Lord for and praise the Lord for. And, of course, we need to pray for these who have made new commitments to the Lord. There are several right in my own Sunday school class whom I've had the privilege of contacting and they're coming out to Sunday school and church faithfully. And we need to uphold them in prayer. Even older folks got saved. I think that's tremendous. You know, sometimes it's very difficult for a person after they've passed the 50th or 60th year of their life to find Christ, to ever become a child of God. In fact, the odds are against it. But right in my own class there's been something like, oh, about a dozen that have been won to Christ during these weeks and have been dealt with by our counselors. And, incidentally, I think we ought to thank our counselors tonight. They certainly stayed with the stuff, so to speak, as the Bible says. They've stood by us. They've been here Sunday night after Sunday night and Sunday morning dealing with people about Christ and winning many to the Lord. And we want to take the privilege tonight and the opportunity tonight, rather, to thank you as you've had a part, you counselors, in leading these people to Christ. Now, Dr. DeSantis asked me to announce that on December the 5th, to keep that date open and clear, particularly for the counselors as well as for our regular attenders, as that night we'll be having, speaking here in the People's Church, Nicky Cruz. He's been here twice before. And great numbers of people have found Christ through the ministry of this young, former gang leader from New York City. And we're expecting a great time that Sunday evening on December the 5th. Now, by way of announcements tonight, we'd like to remind you that this Sunday, both at 11 and 7, Dr. Paul, our pastor, will be back with us. And we're having, speaking, both services, Dr. Stephen Brown. He's a young man of 25 years of age, and he comes with a heart for young people, and he's going to be ministering to us musically, both on the television telecast at 11 and in the Sunday evening service at 7 p.m. And this would be a good time, I think, for us to invite our young people to join us as they hear this man minister in music as well as Dr. Stephen Brown minister from the Word of God. I believe this Sunday will be a great day in the people's church. It's October the 24th, right? Is that this Sunday? And this is also the second Sunday of our Sunday School contest. And we didn't get the phone call through on Sunday, largely because of the conference call they were trying to set up from Florida to Baltimore to Toronto. And by the time they got it fixed up, ready to go, the Chinese fellow, Mr. Elam, who was it, had already started his testimony, and of course it was too late to put it on here. But this Sunday night, Lord willing, we'll be able to contact Florida. But let me give you a little bit of the results if you were not in our teachers' meeting tonight. We didn't come out very good as the first Sunday of our contest. In fact, we're rather competing on a department-department level. In other words, our primary department is competing against, or with, I should say, their primary department, and so forth. Our adults with their adults, and so on. And out of the 13 different departments, we were winners in three. I don't know how to say that without sounding very bad. But anyway, let me say this. The challenge has been given very heartily by Northside Baptist Church in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Dr. Ken Moon, who many of you know personally, because that's where you visit during the wintertime or whenever you go to St. Petersburg in Florida. And I had the opportunity of speaking to him last Sunday in person, and of course he'll be calling Dr. Paul this Sunday night at 7 o'clock. Now, when I told Dr. Paul the news on Monday morning, he said, My, I'm glad that that wasn't given to our people. Now, Dr. Paul's got to sort of bear the brunt of the responsibility. And I don't know about you, but after we've done so well on his behalf in raising the money and calling the new academy building, the Dr. Paul B. Smith Academy, and so on and so forth, it would be tragic if Dr. Paul, in the course of our conversation Sunday night, for him to get up here and go through all the departments and to give the same report that I had to give last Sunday night in private. It wasn't so bad at giving in private, but to have 2,500 people out here listening. So we need you in Sunday school. We've got to reverse that trend. This is what I'm saying. And be here at 945 Sharp to get counted for Sunday school and prepare yourself for the teaching of the Word of God. Now, most of us, I think, are adults here. I see some college-age students as well as some teachers. But the adult department during these days is studying one of the most fantastic books in all the Word of God. It's the Book of Acts. And it's the greatest book on the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Pentecost, the beginnings of the early church, and what a tremendous thrill it is. And if you want to be blessed, I don't know if everyone in my class has been blessed as much as I have or not by studying for these lessons. Boy, I wouldn't want to miss a Sunday. Now, you've got it a little different. You have to hear me if you come to my class or hear one of the other teachers. That may make a difference. But let me suggest that you read the first six chapters or seven chapters in the Book of Acts if you haven't already done so before you come Sunday. And then as your teacher, your adult teacher, rises to speak and to teach, you'll gain that much greater blessing out of it. Believe me. And I hope you'll join us at 945 this Sunday. We need you. We need all adults and their families. Actually, the adult department is broken up into three sections. And we did take two of the three adult sections. We only took one other child's department as junior three. And a very strange thing happened. I still can't understand it. But the department last week that I won't tell you which one it was. Actually, I already told you. The department last week that we won in the children's division happened to be the department that had the lowest gain. In fact, they didn't have a gain at all. They decreased by 16%. And the only reason we won in that department was that Northside's competitive department decreased by 30%. Now, that's winning by default. But we're willing to take it however we can get it. But anyway, we don't want to do that again. We want to have an increase there. So I hope you'll join us this Sunday morning at 945 and help us in our Sunday school time. Remember, all adults will receive the third in a series of six glasses, set of glasses, on the various ministries of the People's Church. And on this Sunday, you will receive a glass with the school on it, the People's Christian School, and with its logo or insignia. And it's a very beautiful one, actually designed by Mr. Bill Parlane. Is he here tonight? I think I saw him. I'm not sure. But what a great job he did, and we appreciate his help. It's a lovely drinking glass tumbler. And you'll receive it for having been here. And let me say this just before we have another song. In regard to the glasses, some have told me, said, Now, do we keep these tickets and then all come at the end of the contest and pick up our glasses? Now, let me correct that. You pick up a glass each week. And if you have picked up a ticket the first week, perhaps as well as last Sunday, you have not picked up your glasses, make sure you see me either after the service tonight or with your ticket or after the morning service Sunday morning because we are getting low now. We're just about out of our first week's glasses. They're just about all gone. And if you have not received yours, you better get your ticket to me tonight or as soon as possible, at least on Sunday, or else they'll all be gone this Sunday and they will not be available even though if you have a ticket. So please keep that in mind. All right. I believe that's all the announcements we have at this time. And I'm going to ask the ushers, if they will, to come forward tonight as we wait upon you for your Wednesday evening offering. What would you have done? If the multitudes were to gather in great numbers, what would you say to them? Would you say something nice, something pleasing? Or would you say something convicting and something that might stir them up? When there were great multitudes gathered to hear the Lord Jesus, this is what he said to them in verse 26. If any man come to me and hate not his father, that doesn't sound very encouraging, does it? And mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, in his own life also, he cannot, cannot be my disciple. I wonder if those words would drive the people away or I wonder if they would attract them. Here was Jesus ministering to great multitudes. He could either say something that would drive them away or he could say something that would draw them to him. He said something that you and I would hesitate to say. He said you must hate your fathers, and hate your mother, and hate your wife, and hate your children, and hate your brethren, and hate your sisters. Well, that's the entire family. Hate them all. If you don't do it, he cannot be my disciple. Then in verse 27, he says something else. And whosoever doth not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Now those are pretty harsh words. And yet those were the words that Jesus Christ said to these multitudes as they gathered together in his presence. I'm going to use an illustration tonight. I want to leave the message with you in such a way that you'll not forget it. One time before I spoke briefly on this subject, and some of you may remember the illustrations that I'm using tonight, I trust that they'll be a blessing to you again as I emphasize them once more. These verses make it perfectly clear that Jesus Christ wants to be the Lord and the Master of your life. Now there's a difference between knowing Jesus Christ as your Savior and knowing him as Lord and Master. Most of you here tonight know Christ as your Savior. How many of you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and as your Master? That is a closer relationship. In other words, you may be God's child and not be a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. Discipleship takes you beyond childhood. And even though you're God's child, you may still live your life without ever having become a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. According to God's word, what is a disciple? You all know what it means to become a child of God. To accept Jesus Christ as your own personal Savior, recognize him as your Savior, but have you ever thought of what it means to make him the Lord of your life, to make him the Master of your life? Not only a Savior, but a disciple. Because if Jesus Christ is your Lord and your Master, then you have become his disciple. And if you are only saved and you know him only as your Savior, you may live your entire life, never recognize him as your Lord, never recognize him as your Master, and never become, in the truest sense of the word, his disciple. In a word, what is a disciple according to the word of God? A disciple is a learner. A disciple is a follower, one who follows another, recognizes another as his leader, and follows that other as his leader. A disciple is a servant. Now, you may become God's child and recognize Jesus Christ as your Savior, and yet you may not become a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ and may not serve him. He wants you not only to be saved, he wants you to serve him. He wants you to get busy for him. He wants you to follow him in service. A disciple is one who obeys another as the Master and the Lord of his life. And as I speak tonight, I want you to keep asking yourself the questions, am I his servant or am I simply his child? I've been saved, but have I become a disciple? Am I serving the Lord Jesus Christ and am I obeying him? In a word, a disciple puts God first. How many Christians today are putting God first in their lives? We meet so many who have other interests in life that mean more to them than the service of God. We know that because even when it's not necessary, they work on the Lord's day. We know that because they do not go all the way with the Lord Jesus Christ. They attend this or that on the Lord's day when perhaps they could be in the church, they could be having fellowship with God's people. This is the way the Bible states it. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, starting with the father and the mother. If I love my father and my mother more than I love Jesus Christ, I am not worthy of him. If you love your father or your mother more than you love Jesus Christ, you are not worthy of him. That's exactly what the word of God says. That's the question you ought to ask yourself tonight. Does my father come first in my life? Does my mother come first in my life? Or does Jesus Christ come first? He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. Now listen. And he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. That son of yours, does he take first place in your life? If you had to separate, would you separate from Christ or would you separate from your son? If you had to lose the one or the other, would you lose Christ or would you lose your son? Does your daughter come before Jesus Christ or does Jesus Christ come before your daughter? Now I know it's a terrible thing to lose a son. I know it's a terrible thing to lose a daughter. It's a terrible thing to lose a child. But I think I can honestly say that if I had to make a choice, I would rather lose my son or lose my daughter than lose Jesus Christ. I would put Christ before my son or before my daughter. I'd put Jesus Christ first. That's a searching question, and you and I ought to ask it and then answer it. Who comes first? A disciple is one who puts God before all else in life. So you see, it takes us a little farther to become his disciple than it does just to become his child. We have to take another step. And it's a very searching question that I ask when I ask you whether Christ comes first or whether some member of your family comes first in your heart and in your life. Does Jesus Christ come first or does that wife of yours come first? Does Christ come first or does your husband come first? If you really have to make a decision, make a choice, would you let your wife go, your husband go, or would you rather let Christ go? I think I know what I'm talking about. I've lost my wife. I was with her for 56 years. I know what it is to lose a wife. I've been through that experience. But I say without any hesitation, if I had to make the choice again, I would choose Jesus Christ. Regardless of the pain and the anguish and the agony and the sorrow and the heartache, I would rather let my wife go than let Jesus Christ go. And of course the beauty of it is that my wife knew Jesus Christ as her own personal Savior, and I know that I'm not letting her go forever. I realize that I let her go for a few short years, but there's going to be a glad reunion. And when we meet again, we'll dwell together through all the countless ages of eternity. I realize that fact. I would want Christ to be first in my heart and in my life. If you're his disciple, you've got to ask yourself the question, is my business, does it mean more to me than Jesus Christ? And would I do things as a businessman that I know would put me to shame before Christ? Or would Christ take first place in my life? Is he more important to me than my business enterprise? I say that's a very, very important question. Who comes first? What comes first? Jesus Christ or business? What about money? Is it your aim in life to make money? Is that your great ambition in life, to make money? Are you going to stress the making of money to such an extent that Christ will have to take second place? Or are you going to put Christ first and the making of money second? There are those who have deliberately refused to spend their lives just making money because they want to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. What or who comes first? Jesus Christ or money? Then when you think of pleasure, for we're living in a day when the world is pleasure mad, when our young people are bent on pleasure almost before anything else, when pleasure means more to them than the house of God. They could be in God's house, but they're out indulging in pleasure. They could be in the service of God, but they're giving themselves to pleasure. They're putting pleasure before the Lord Jesus Christ. Can you honestly say that all during the years of your Christian life you have put Christ first? Or have you ever put pleasure first? Are you in the church when you ought to be in the church? Or are you engaged in some kind of pleasure? Is something keeping you at home or taking you away from home and away from the church? Does Christ come first or does pleasure come first? What about the members of your family? Do any of the members of your family take first place in your heart and life? Or does Jesus Christ take first place? I'm throwing out questions tonight that I want you to think about and that I want you to answer before God. Are you putting the members of your family first? Or are you putting Jesus Christ first? That's a question that every Christian has to answer. To some Christians, family comes first. The members of your family mean far more to you than Jesus Christ does. But those who are his disciples, they put him first and they put the members of their family second. Christ takes first place. Not always easy, but it's what God demands in his own precious word. A disciple means in a word, renunciation. When I become a disciple of Christ, I renounce all. What does the Bible say about it? Whosoever he be of you, that forsaketh not all that he hath. He cannot, he cannot be my disciple. Now Christ is speaking to you tonight, and you're a Christian. And he says, unless you forsake all that you have, you can never be his disciple. Now let me add very quickly that while the King James translation uses the word forsaketh to translate the Greek word, practically no other edition of the Bible does. Because the Greek word is not the word for forsaketh in this passage. It is the word for renounce of. And there's a great difference. Jesus did not say you must forsake all that you have and are in order to become his disciple. He did say you must renounce all that you are and all that you have. Now he may ask you to forsake this or that or something else. It isn't likely that he'll ask you to forsake all that you have. In a few cases, he does. Very often when a young man or a young woman goes to the foreign field as a missionary, he has to literally forsake all that he has. Occasionally everything has to be forsaken, but not as a rule. But always everything has to be renounced. And even though you never go to the foreign field, and even though you never forsake some of the things that you have, you've got to renounce everything that you have. Unless you renounce everything, you are not his disciple, though you may be God's child. Now then, what does it mean to renounce? What is the difference between renouncing and forsaking? He doesn't say renounce. He doesn't say forsake all that you have, but he does say renounce all that you have. What does he mean when he tells you to renounce all that you have? The best way I can explain it is to say that it simply means to relinquish all claim to what you have and what you're using and recognize that it does not belong to you. It belongs to another, your Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. That's renunciation. What I have, what I am using, doesn't belong to me. What I have and what I am using belongs to God, belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ. Now God may ask me to forsake some of the things that I have. Again, he may not. He may let me continue to have and to use what I have, but he will ask me to renounce all that I have.