Sunday Evening, July 2, 1972
Richmond, Virginia
Ministry given through Brother Stephen Kong
Lord, we do confess that we are unworthy to be here, but we praise Thee that we belong to Thy family. Thou hast included us in the family of God. Thou hast washed us with Thy precious blood. Thou hast given us Thy own life, that we may be born into this family.
Oh, how we praise and thank Thee that we can commune with the Father, we can commune with Thyself, and we can commune with one another. What a family of God this is. We worship Thee together.
Lord, make Thy presence very real to us. Remove from our hearts anything that may be there. We want to see Thee. We want to hear Thee. We want to know Thee, Lord. To know Thee indeed is eternal life.
Lord, there is nothing in our hearts that we desire above this: to know Thee, to know Thee, Lord. So we pray that, as we study Thy Word together, Thou wilt breathe upon Thy Word. Make it very living. Let us see Thyself, that we may be transformed and conformed to Thy image. And it is all to the praise of Thy glory.
We commit ourselves to Thee, Lord, for this hour. We trust Thy Holy Spirit to anoint every one of us, that in one Spirit we may be taken up, we may see Thee, and hear Thee. In Thy precious name we pray. Amen.
I believe, as you go on with the Lord, more and more your heart will be occupied with the Lord Himself. I believe that more and more you will go back to the four Gospels.
I do not know how you feel, but this is the way I feel. I feel we have to go back to the four Gospels—not because this is fundamental only, but also because this is the confirmation that we may see Him. We may see Him. We may know Him.
Our knowledge of the Lord Jesus comes from the records of the four Gospels. As we mentioned last month, if you still remember, they are not four gospels. There is only one gospel: the gospel of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
But our Lord Jesus is so full, so rich, that we are not able to know Him in all His fullness unless He is presented to us in these four different records of the gospel. This is the reason why we have the Gospel according to Matthew, the Gospel according to Mark, the Gospel according to Luke, and the Gospel according to John.
All of them try to present to us the same Christ, but it is the Christ that each one of them knows personally in a very special way. This is the reason why we say, “the Gospel according to Matthew,” because it is the Christ that Matthew knows in a special way.
As we mentioned last time, Matthew knows Christ as a King. So his gospel is the gospel of the kingdom.
This time, God willing, we would like to go into the Gospel according to Mark: the Christ that Mark knows, the Christ that Mark himself experienced in a very special way. Out of his personal experience of the Lord, he is used by the Holy Spirit to present to us a picture of our Lord Jesus, that we may know the Lord Jesus in the way that Mark knows Him—as we must know the Lord Jesus as Matthew knows Him too.
Before we can go into the Gospel according to Mark, we would like to know something about Mark. Not that Mark is so important. It is the Lord that Mark presents to us that is important. Mark is only a vessel. But if we know the vessel, it will help us to know the Lord.
Let us read a few passages from the New Testament: Acts 12:12, Acts 12:25, Acts 13:5, Acts 13:13, Acts 15:36-41, Colossians 4:10-11, 2 Timothy 4:11, and 1 Peter 5:13.
And having become clearly conscious in himself, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together and prayed.
—Acts 12:12
And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, having fulfilled the service, taking also with them John whose surname was Mark.
—Acts 12:25
And they had John also as their attendant.
—Acts 13:5
And having sailed from Paphos, Paul and his company came to Perga of Pamphylia; and John departed from them and returned to Jerusalem.
—Acts 13:13
But after some days Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us return now and visit the brethren in every city wherein we proclaimed the Word of the Lord, and see how they fare. And Barnabas was minded to take with them John also, who was called Mark. But Paul thought not good to take with them him who withdrew from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work. And there arose a sharp contention, so that they parted asunder one from the other; and Barnabas took Mark with him, and sailed away unto Cyprus; but Paul chose Silas, and went forth, being commended by the brethren to the grace of the Lord.
—Acts 15:36-40
Aristarchus my fellow-prisoner saluteth you, and Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, concerning whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him; and Jesus, who is called Justus. These are my only fellow-workers for the kingdom of God who are of the circumcision; men that have been a comfort unto me.
—Colossians 4:10-11
Luke only is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee; for he is useful to me for ministering.
—2 Timothy 4:11
She that is in Babylon, elect together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Mark my son.
—1 Peter 5:13
What we know of Mark today is found mainly in these various passages that we have just read. As you go through these passages, you will see this man, Mark. This is what we hope to do tonight.
After Peter was released by the angel from prison, he came to himself and was trying to decide where he should go. Why? Because at that time in Jerusalem there were more than ten thousand believers in the church there.
Sometimes they met together at Solomon’s porch, but at other times they met in homes. Most likely, during that time, there were quite a number of homes open for the saints to come together, to meet, to worship, and to pray.
So when Peter was released, he had to think a little before he could decide which home he would go to. He knew there would be a number of homes open and a number of prayer meetings being held. Now, where should he go to notify the brothers and sisters that the Lord had set him free?
So he thought for a while, and he decided to go to the house of Mary, the mother of John, whose surname was Mark.
John was his Jewish name. Mark was his Latin name. At that time, the Jewish nation was under the rule of the Roman Empire, so it was customary for people to have a Jewish name and a Latin name, especially those with a Hellenistic background.
The Jews at that time were divided into two kinds: the Hebrew Jews and the Hellenistic Jews. The Hebrew Jews were those who were born and reared in Palestine. The Hellenistic Jews were Jews born and reared in Gentile cities. This happened to this young man, John whose surname was Mark.
His mother was a believer. We have no record of Mark’s father. Probably his father passed away in the early days of his life. But anyway, we find that his mother was a believer.
Because God had given her means, she had a big house in Jerusalem. It was against the practice of those days for some Hellenistic Jews to maintain homes in both their Gentile cities and in Jerusalem. For instance, Mark’s cousin Barnabas had property in Jerusalem too.
This shows us that people who had means maintained not only a house in their native cities but also a house in Jerusalem. All the pious Jews would go to Jerusalem at least three times a year. If they had the means, they would have a house in Jerusalem, just as people who live in different places may maintain an apartment or house in Washington, D.C.
So here you find Mary. Maybe she was a widow, but she was a woman of means. She had a big house in Jerusalem. She offered her house to the use of the church there, so believers would come to her house and meet.
During that time, to open her home for believers to meet became more and more dangerous. In the beginning there was not much persecution, but later Herod noticed that the Jews liked to see him persecute the believers.
He put James, the brother of John, to death. He saw that the Jews were very happy about it, so he put Peter into prison. In other words, persecution began in those days.
During the time of persecution, to open your home for believers to come together and meet was very dangerous. The Roman government was not favorable, and the Jewish people were persecuting the believers. Yet this sister, Mary, loved the Lord so much that she did not count the cost, even the cost of losing her life.
She was willing to lay what God had prospered her with, what God had given her, at the feet of the Lord. Believers met there. Most likely Peter frequented that home very often. That is the reason why he chose to go to that home above all the other homes. It came naturally.
Most likely the other apostles had been to that home. Most likely many believers had been to that home. This young boy, John called Mark, was reared in such an environment and atmosphere. He was exposed to good Christian influence.
It is true that the first generation cannot pass on their faith to the second generation, in the sense that if the parents are saved, that does not guarantee the children are saved. Everyone has to believe the Lord himself.
New birth is not something that can be passed on or inherited. New birth is something in which each one must come to the Lord himself.
But even though parents are not able to pass on new birth, yet they can provide for the younger generation the best atmosphere and environment, which will help the younger generation to trust the Lord. That is something the older generation can do.
So here you find this young man. He was given the best Christian environment that anyone could have. Under such an environment, he was brought to know the Lord, most likely through Peter.
Peter called Mark “my son,” not in the physical sense, but in the spiritual sense, just as Paul called Timothy his son, whom he begot in the gospel. So, brothers and sisters, very likely this young man Mark was exposed to such good Christian influence, and he was finally brought to know the Lord personally through the ministry of the apostle Peter.
This was the background of this young man.
He showed spiritual potential in his early days. Now, we do not know whether he had seen the Lord or not. We do not know.
Some people think that in Mark 14:51-52, when they took the Lord in the garden of Gethsemane, all His disciples fled, but there was a young man who followed Him. This young man was curious about things, as all young people are. Young people are very curious.
When they took the Lord, this young man followed. Then people began to seize him. You remember, he threw off his linen cloth and fled naked. Of all the four Gospels, only Mark recorded this thing, and he did not tell us who this young man was. So everybody guesses that this must be Mark himself.
It might be so; we do not know. This young man was curious, but when he found that the danger was too great, he threw off his garment and fled naked.
If this young man was Mark, then he had seen the Lord, but probably he had not known the Lord at that time. A person can be under a certain environment and yet may not be really saved. Maybe it was afterwards; we do not know. But anyway, whether he had seen the Lord or not, he was exposed to the best, and finally he was brought to the Lord.
As a young man, he showed great potential. Remember, there were over ten thousand Christians at that time, but he really showed great spiritual potential.
So when Barnabas and Paul came to Jerusalem to fulfill the ministry of help, supplying the poor in Jerusalem, after they fulfilled this ministry of love they went back to Antioch. But when they went back to Antioch, they took Mark with them.
It is true that Mark was Barnabas’s cousin. There was a blood relationship between Mark and Barnabas. But I do not believe Barnabas took Mark with him just because Mark was his cousin.
In the things of God, you cannot decide things on the basis of natural relationship. Mark must have shown some potential in his spiritual history.
Barnabas was the son of consolation. He was a good man, tenderhearted. He could detect the good in anybody very quickly. He was the one who found Paul in Tarsus and brought him to Antioch.
Now he saw his cousin, this young man Mark, showing real spiritual promise. He felt that he would like to help this young man. Of course, he would never take Mark without the consent of Paul, because they worked together.
So when they took Mark with them to Antioch, it was not on the basis of natural relationships. It was because Mark had shown some spiritual potential.
They took Mark with them. You remember Acts 13: five prophets and teachers were ministering unto the Lord together, fasting and praying. The Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.”
When they went out, they took Mark with them as their attendant, as their helper. Not because this young man showed spiritual potential could he go out independently.
A person may show potential, but there is still much that needs to be done in that life. This young man Mark showed spiritual potential, but remember, he was a young man.
If the young man in Mark 14 was Mark himself, then it showed that he was very impulsive. He was an impulsive young person. He would do things suddenly, and he could drop things suddenly too.
He was a young man who came out of a wealthy family. He was used to comfort and perhaps luxury. He did not endure hardship. He might be a young man who showed spiritual promise, and yet basically he was still an arrogant, independent, self-willed, self-centered young man.
Oh, brothers and sisters, thank God He raises young people and gives them spiritual potential. The church should be quick to discern that. Many young people have the Lord’s hand upon them, but the church is blind.
These people were buried. They were not given the opportunities. They were not given the training that they should receive. But in the early days, God raised up young people, and the church was very quick in discerning. They would do everything for these young people to mature them, that they might be useful vessels in the hand of God.
We need Barnabas today. How we need Paul today—those who are able to see God’s working in the lives of young people and try to complete them, to perfect them.
On the other hand, young people, not because you have shown some spiritual promise can you just launch out on your own. Many young people were shipwrecked when they did that.
There is much yet to be done in these lives before God can really use them. That is the reason why Barnabas and Paul took John whose surname was Mark with them: in order that Mark might be under their care, to learn.
Not only to learn the technique of work, but more to learn the building of Christian character.
People today put too much emphasis on methods and techniques. If we can learn the techniques and all the methods, then we can do the work. But in the work of God, character is more important than technique.
It is very easy to learn a technique. You go to a school and you learn it. But that does not guarantee that you are able to do God’s work. There must be that building of character, being a person. There must be the maturing of life.
This is the reason why Paul and Barnabas took Mark with them: not just to learn a technique—he could learn that in a school—but he had to learn under the discipline of two elder brothers.
They went out, and naturally Barnabas came from Cyprus. So the first place they visited was the island of Cyprus, their native place. Probably Mark was born in Cyprus too; we do not know.
They passed from one end of the island to the other end. When they came to Paphos, something happened. The Roman proconsul, Sergius Paulus, was an intelligent man, and he wanted to hear the gospel.
There was a magician in his court, Elymas, and this magician tried every means to prevent the proconsul from hearing the gospel. So Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked at that person and said that God would blind his eyes because he resisted the truth.
The magician became blind, and the proconsul saw it. He willingly listened to the gospel.
After this happened, they moved on. But when they left Cyprus and went to Perga of Pamphylia, John left them and returned to Jerusalem. Why?
Later on, in Acts 15, Paul considered the leaving of Mark at that moment as a desertion. They went out on a mission, and after only a short period Mark deserted. He abandoned them and returned to Jerusalem.
We do not know exactly why, but there might be several reasons.
First, Mark, being brought up in a wealthy family, was used to a life of ease and comfort. So probably he could not endure the hardship of the journey.
In doing God’s work, to be a good soldier of the Lord, one thing you have to learn is to endure hardship. It may have nothing to do with spirituality, but it has much to do with serving God.
Why is it that when a young man enters the army, he has to go to boot camp? So far as fighting is concerned, that may appear to be a waste. Why should people have to get up at a certain hour, march, run with full pack, and live in primitive conditions? What is the use of all these hardships?
I was told—this is secondhand—that in this country young people are just too soft in comparison with young people in Europe. We are too soft because we live a life of ease and comfort.
Such a life will not make you a good soldier even in this world. How can you become a good soldier of the Lord Jesus by indulging yourself in ease and comfort?
Now, I am not preaching on asceticism. I am not preaching on suffering or hardship, not at all. But it is a necessity that young people should learn to endure hardship for the Lord. If you do not learn how to endure hardship, not to speak of spiritual attitude, you are disqualified.
You know the story of Hudson Taylor, the founder of the China Inland Mission? When he was a young man, he felt a call to go to China. But he felt that he should learn medicine, to be a medical doctor, which would be useful in China.
So he went to London, and there he began to study medicine. He lived in a small room. He tried to save every penny he could. He ate the simplest food. He would not tell anybody his need.
He worked for a doctor at that time, but this doctor was very forgetful and always forgot to give him his salary. Yet he had to pay his rent. He could easily have said, “Well, doctor, you have not paid my salary.” But he felt that if he went to China, he had to live by faith.
If you read his life, you know how he was tested. The doctor closed the office without mentioning his salary, and there his rent was waiting. It was not necessary for him to live such a hard life in London. He could have lived much more comfortably there.
But in view of the work in China, he had to train himself to endure hardship. No wonder God used him. My dear brothers and sisters, being spiritual does not make you any less practical.
Here you find this young man. He was brought up in such a comfortable environment. Probably he developed a habit of self-indulgence. When he had passed through Cyprus, that was his native place and he could go on. But when they left Cyprus to go to other places, he was frightened. “No, no, I go back. I go back.”
Anyone who cannot endure hardship, or is not even willing to do so, is not qualified to serve the Lord.
When they came to Paphos, God seemed to use Paul in such a way that from then on it was Paul and Barnabas. If you read the Book of Acts carefully, you find it became Paul and Barnabas. Paul had gone ahead in spirituality, and Barnabas seemed to be behind.
Brothers and sisters, who is before and who is behind? It is nothing fixed. Whoever has the greater measure of Christ is before.
It is not a human appointment. In a human arrangement, you may arrange this person to be president and that person to be vice president. But in spiritual order, it can change at any time. It depends on spirituality.
Paul seemed to manifest more spiritual power than Barnabas, and naturally the Holy Spirit began to say, “Paul and Barnabas.” This young man was not happy with it.
Thank God for Barnabas. Even though he might have been older, even though at one time he was the helper, he knew the Lord. He was willing to recognize the Lord and the Lord’s authority in Paul. He was willing to take the second place. He was willing to play second fiddle.
There is much to say about Barnabas. He really knew the Lord. If he did not know the Lord, he would have striven with Paul and said, “Well, I am the leader. That is how we came out, and it should continue like that.” No. He knew the Lord.
He knew that the Lord had a greater place in the life of Paul than in himself, and he was willing to go along. But this young man was not happy with it. “Why should my cousin fall into the second place?” He would not go along. He returned to Jerusalem. He had yet to learn spiritual life.
Thirdly, it was also possible that Mark had a different view from Paul concerning the nature and scope of the gospel. Mark was most likely a Hellenistic Jew, just like Paul. But the Hebrew Jews were stricter in their practice of Judaism than the Hellenistic Jews.
The Hebrew Jews thought that God’s blessing could only come upon the Jews and not upon the Gentiles. If a Gentile were to come into the blessing of God, he had to become a Jew first. He had to be circumcised first.
But Paul was a Hellenistic Jew, so his view was much broader. Mark was brought up in Jerusalem, under the influence probably of Peter and James and others. So perhaps in this matter of the nature and scope of the gospel, he had a different view from Paul.
After he had listened to Paul’s preaching, he could not agree. He thought Paul was too broad. Young people have lots of opinions, right? I do not say only young people have opinions; older people have opinions too. But the good thing is that young people can change their opinions.
Young people are usually full of opinions. Because they have their ideas, they have to fight for them. They may change, but they will not change unless they put up a fight.
So perhaps Mark was not happy with Paul’s style of preaching. He was theologically at odds with Paul, and because of that he would not go along. Whatever the reason might be, he left them and returned to Jerusalem.
He thought that by leaving them and returning to Jerusalem, everything was over. Brothers and sisters, escaping the cross is to lose an opportunity.
By the sovereignty of God, he was put under the authority and help of Paul and Barnabas. But this young man was undisciplined—gifted, showing signs of promise, but undisciplined, unbroken, and in the flesh.
He was not willing to accept the cross in his life. By deserting them and going back to Jerusalem, he was escaping an opportunity in his life. It was sad, very sad.
But thank God. He thought that by going back to Jerusalem, certainly his problem would be solved. He probably went straight to Peter and poured out all his complaints about Paul. Certainly Peter would stand by him and say, “Well, this Paul is really bad.” But he did not get it.
Even though Peter might not see eye to eye with Paul, yet Peter knew the Lord. When this young man came back, I believe Peter, especially Mary and perhaps others there, put this young man under discipline.
Thank God. He fled from one discipline, but he entered into another discipline. How do we know? Because he was restored.
If he had come home and his mother had simply patted him and said, “Poor boy, you have suffered a great deal,” or if Peter had said, “You had better stay here. You have gone with the wrong person,” what would happen to this young man? He would be spoiled for life—a total failure.
But in God’s mercy, when he came back and tried to get sympathy from Peter, Peter would not give him sympathy. Peter helped him to see his weakness. Thank God for that.
I cannot forget something about our dear brother Watchman Nee. Forgive me for mentioning him, because I think he illustrates this point.
After our brother was saved—he was saved when he was eighteen—a number of people began to meet together, and he became one of the three brothers who were in charge of them.
Humanly speaking, he was not only the most brilliant and the most talented one, but God gave him much more revelation than the other two brothers. He saw things more than the other two brothers did.
But whenever he tried to communicate what the Lord had shown him, these two brothers put him down. Our brother was full of complaints. Where should he go?
There was an elderly woman, Miss Margaret E. Barber. This sister from England helped our brother very much. Through the prayer of this sister there was a revival in that city, and many young students were saved.
Naturally, these students went to this sister for help in spiritual things. Brother Nee often went to this sister. He said that every time he went to complain, he thought, “Surely this time she will stand with me, because I have all the reasons.”
Time after time he went, trying to complain. And do you know what this sister said? I heard my brother say this himself. Whenever he complained about the other two brothers, knowing that he was right and the other two brothers were wrong, the sister said, “The younger obeyed.”
Our brother went back and said, “Oh, I am just five years younger than they, and I have to obey them.” This continued for at least two years—two or five years, I forget; probably two years.
Because of this, our brother learned discipline before the Lord. If you read his book Spiritual Authority, you know why. He learned it when he was there.
Brothers and sisters, especially young people, if the hand of the Lord is upon you, remember: one day you cannot escape the cross. Without discipline, you cannot become a vessel fit for the Master’s use.
Thank God, after several years Paul and Barnabas went to Jerusalem again, this time for an important conference. After the conference was over, they took Mark with them again to Antioch.
If Mark had not been corrected to a certain degree, or restored to a certain degree, this would never have happened. The reason they took Mark was that they must have seen there was a change in him. So they gave him another chance.
Oh, how we thank God that He gives us another chance. If we had only one chance, we might have lost it already. How patient is our God. He is willing to give us another chance if He can see some change—if He can see that we are softened, broken, and willing to accept the discipline of the Lord.
But when they wanted to go out the second time, Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us revisit those churches that we established in the beginning.” Barnabas agreed, but then Barnabas said, “Let us take Mark with us.”
Barnabas was a kindhearted, soft person. He really wanted to perfect Mark. He really wanted to help Mark, not for any selfish purpose, but for God. He wanted Mark to be restored, not completely by taking him out and making it too difficult for him.
But Paul was a natural disciplinarian. Paul thought it was all right to bring Mark back to Antioch, but to bring Mark again in their travels—no, he was not ready for it. He had deserted them the first time. He had to learn more before he could be taken out.
Unfortunately, there was a sharp contention. Finally, Barnabas took Mark with him, and they went back to Cyprus. Paul chose Silas, and they went to other places.
Everybody is interested to know who was wrong and who was right. Was Barnabas wrong, or was Paul wrong? Was Barnabas too soft, or was Paul too hard? I will keep my opinion. You may have your own opinion.
But I think the point is not who was always right or always wrong. I feel that the point is: how sovereign is God. God allowed this thing to happen.
Even though the Bible did not record any more of the work of Barnabas, he must have worked for years for the Lord—good work, perhaps—but it is not recorded in the Bible.
Yet when Paul was in a Roman prison, when he wrote a letter to the Colossians, he told them concerning Mark. Of the three fellow workers who were of the circumcision, Mark was one of them, and he was a consolation to Paul.
Who did a good job of restoring Mark to Paul? Barnabas. In the sovereignty of God, God used Barnabas to perfect Mark so that he could be fully restored to Paul. Paul could say, “Mark—what a consolation to me, a comfort to me.”
So, brothers and sisters, the question is not who was wrong and who was right. The question is that God, in His sovereign mercy, overruled the situation and brought it into good.
Paul treasured Mark so much that, during his second imprisonment in Rome, as he was about to be martyred, he wrote to Timothy and said, “Bring Mark with thee; for he is useful to me for ministering.”
Oh, brothers and sisters, when you read that, you praise the Lord. This young man, who started out well and then seemed to be shipwrecked when he was tested, came out by God’s sovereign grace.
Through the instrumentality of various persons—Paul, Barnabas, and Peter—this young man came out a vessel fit for the Master. That is marvelous.
It reminds me of that scene in Jeremiah 18. God told Jeremiah to go down to the potter’s house, and there to watch a potter making a vessel.
When the potter put the clay on the wheel, he turned the wheel and tried to mold and fashion that vessel. But that vessel was marred in his hand.
Did he throw it away? No. He made it into a new vessel, more glorious than before. Now, this is the work of the Lord, brothers and sisters. That gives us hope.
How often, when the Lord puts us on the wheel and turns us around, His hand is trying to fashion us, and we break. We crack. There is something in us that hinders His work.
But does God throw us away? No. He takes us and remakes us into a new vessel, more glorious than ever. That is the glory of God.
The last mention of Mark in the Bible, so far as historical record is concerned, is in 1 Peter. We find Mark again back with Peter in Babylon.
Of all the four Gospels, most people believe the first Gospel written was the Gospel according to Mark. That is chronologically speaking. Mark was the first one chosen by God to write the life of our Lord.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are more than historians. They are evangelists. In other words, they are not just giving us a historical record—accurate but impersonal. No. They are evangelists.
They are presenting to us the Christ that they know personally in their life. This is the Christ God wants us to know. Mark was the first one chosen by God to give us the life of Christ, and God considered his writing as Scripture.
What a vessel he had become: to be used by God to write the Bible and the life of Christ. If there should be any impurity in him, and if that impurity should get into his writing, he would give us a distorted picture of Christ.
God, through all the years, worked in that vessel, molded and fashioned that vessel, until finally God said, “Now this young man is ready. He can present to the world the life of Christ without distortion.”
It is the Bible. It is the Christ that God wants us to know. What a work of mercy. What a work of God.
What is the Christ? Who is the Christ that Mark presents to us? Everyone who reads the Bible knows that Mark presents to us Christ as the Servant of the Lord.
How can he present Christ as the Servant of the Lord in such a way? Because he himself had learned that. You cannot present Christ; you cannot impart Christ more than you have learned of Christ yourself.
You have to learn Christ first, and it is what you have learned of Christ that you can impart to others. This is spiritual ministry. This is the gospel that you would preach.
The measure of your gospel is based on the measure of the Christ you know. When you present the gospel in this way, it is living; it is effective, because it is the Person, Christ Himself.
So, dear brothers and sisters, what do we learn here? We learn one thing.
In order to preach the gospel, in order to present to this world Christ as the Servant of the Lord, God has to work in our lives—to mold us, fashion us, transform us, discipline us, break us, and make us—until we are fit to be His vessels in presenting Christ to this world.
And that kind of gospel we preach will be very effective.
Our heavenly Father, we do praise and thank Thee that Thou dost apprehend people to be Thy chosen vessels, to present Thy Son to this world.
But, Lord, Thou dost not choose and then fail to work in these lives until they are fit to be used. Oh, how we praise and thank Thee for Thy faithfulness. In spite of our resistance, in spite of our failures, Thy hand is still upon us.
Lord, take not Thy hand away from us. Fashion us, make us, until we may be vessels fit for the Master’s use, that we can present Christ to this world in a living, effective way.
Oh Lord, remember every one of us here, whether we are young physically or older physically. We just offer ourselves to Thee, trusting Thee to perfect Thy work in all of us.
We ask in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.