Very glad to have this opportunity of seeing you, dear brothers and sisters.
I would like to read from the Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 4. We begin with verse 17.
From that time began Jesus to preach, and to say, Repent ye; for the kingdom of the heavens is at hand.
And walking by the sea of Galilee, He saw two brethren, Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishers.
And He saith unto them, Come ye after Me, and I will make you fishers of men.
And they straightway left the nets, and followed Him.
And going on from thence He saw two other brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them.
And they straightway left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
And Jesus went about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom.
As we open the New Testament, we find four Gospels: the Gospel according to Matthew, the Gospel according to Mark, the Gospel according to Luke, and the Gospel according to John.
We are told by the apostle Paul in Galatians that there is only one gospel. If anybody should come and preach another gospel, that is not a gospel. And yet, at the beginning of the New Testament, there are four Gospels.
Of course, we know that this does not mean that we have four different gospels of different kinds. Actually, what we have here are four aspects of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus is so full and rich that we have to approach Him from four different directions. Or, to put it another way, these four Gospels are four different presentations of our Lord Jesus as these men knew and experienced Him.
In a sense, I think today we know more of the Gospel according to Luke. Why? Because when we think of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we usually think of the remission of sins—how our sins can be forgiven. This is what the Gospel according to Luke tells us: that our Lord Jesus has come, and because He has died for us on Calvary’s cross, our sins can be forgiven.
And probably some other Christians come to know a little bit more, and they know the Gospel according to John. Why? Because, as they believe in the Lord Jesus, not only are their sins forgiven, but they have received eternal life. That is why the Gospel of John shows us that our Lord Jesus has come. He who has the Son has eternal life.
And perhaps some other Christians come to know the gospel a little more than that—not only knowing the gospel as forgiveness of sins or as receiving eternal life, but even seeing in the gospel that Christ came into this world not to be ministered unto, but to minister. In other words, after they have believed in the Lord Jesus, they feel that they should serve the Lord. They should work for God.
But, dear brothers and sisters, I feel very deeply that among God’s people, it seems as if the Gospel according to Matthew is very much overlooked.
As we approach the gospel of Jesus Christ, we see forgiveness of sins there. As we approach the gospel of Jesus Christ, we see eternal life there. As we approach the gospel of Jesus Christ, we see service there. But somehow, among God’s people, the Gospel according to Matthew is very much neglected.
Yet as we look into the New Testament, we find that in God’s sovereignty the Gospel according to Matthew comes first. Of course, this is not chronologically true, but in God’s sovereignty the Gospel according to Matthew stands first, followed by the Gospels according to Mark, Luke, and John. I do believe that there is a meaning to it.
In other words, as the gospel of Jesus Christ is presented to us, it is the will of God that we should see Christ according to the Gospel of Matthew and know why He came into this world. If we see this first, there we find the purpose of the gospel.
I believe, in a sense, we all know the Gospel according to Matthew, yes, because the Gospel according to Matthew presents Christ to us as the King. The purpose of His coming into the world is to establish His kingdom upon this earth.
We can say that the Gospel according to Matthew is the King and the kingdom. The King has come into this world, and He comes to establish His kingdom upon this earth. Now, this is the Gospel according to Matthew.
But even though we know what the Gospel according to Matthew is, probably, so far as our life and experience go, we know very little of how Christ is King in our lives. Probably we know very little about the kingdom of the heavens. What is the kingdom of the heavens? How does it come? When? Where? What is its relationship with us today, so far as our daily life is concerned?
So I do believe that there is a need for us to enter into a clearer understanding and appreciation of the Gospel according to Matthew.
We find in Matthew 24 that the gospel of the kingdom must be preached to all the nations as a witness unto them, and then the end shall come.
Now, I believe that oftentimes we say that the gospel must be preached to all the nations. We want everybody to hear the name of our Lord Jesus. We want to evangelize the world. That is true. But sometimes we forget that in the Gospel according to Matthew it is very clearly stated: the gospel, or glad tidings, of the kingdom must be preached to all the nations as a witness unto them, and then the end shall come.
Dear brothers and sisters, I do believe that we are living toward the end of this age. It does seem that this age cannot last very long. We do have a feeling that the end is coming soon.
Because we are living at the close of this age, it is of tremendous importance that the gospel of the kingdom must be recovered. In other words, this aspect of the gospel must be recovered.
The aspect of the gospel concerning the forgiveness of sins has been preached and understood. The gospel of Jesus Christ in the aspect of eternal life has also been proclaimed and received. And the Gospel according to Mark—how we need to serve as Christ served—has also been practiced by Christians.
But, dear brothers and sisters, how much of this aspect of the gospel—the gospel of the kingdom—do we really know, enter into, and have become a reality and a power in our lives? I do believe that this aspect of the gospel must be recovered, because the gospel of the kingdom must be preached to all the nations, and then the end shall come.
People are talking about the Great Commission. Before our Lord Jesus was received up to heaven, He gave this Great Commission to the church: go unto the nations.
According to Matthew 28, it is said, “Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations.” To do what? To evangelize the nations? No. Go unto the nations and disciple the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them all that our Lord Jesus has commanded us. And He will be with us unto the end of this age.
What is the Great Commission? The Great Commission is, “Go ye.” What to do? It is more than to evangelize the nations; it is to disciple the nations.
Now, what do you mean by discipling the nations? What do you mean by bringing people into discipleship to Christ? Here you find two qualifying clauses. One is baptizing them into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Oftentimes we hear people say, “I believe in the Lord Jesus. Why must I be baptized? Can I be saved just by believing in the Lord Jesus and not being baptized?” Should we insist that if you only believe in the Lord Jesus and are not baptized, you are not right, as some people do?
Now, we do acknowledge that if we believe in the Son, we have eternal life. We do believe that if we believe with our heart, we are justified. Then why should we be baptized?
One reason why we must be baptized is in relation to this matter of discipleship. To be discipled to Christ requires baptism. Why? Because what is baptism? Baptism is going through death, burial, and resurrection.
In other words, if a person is to be discipled to Christ, he has to die to the past, be buried out of sight, and then come up in a new way. That is what baptism means. Unless this is true, you cannot be His disciple.
But, of course, it is more than that: teaching them all that our Lord Jesus has commanded us. That is discipling. What is this? It is the gospel of the kingdom.
In other words, it is more than just a matter of believing in the Lord Jesus and receiving all the blessings. It is committing yourself to the Lord, coming under His rule, and letting Him transform you.
So, as a matter of fact, this is the Great Commission. The Great Commission is more than evangelizing the nations; it is discipling the nations. It is the gospel of the kingdom. The gospel is more than something to believe; it is also something to obey.
But, dear brothers and sisters, this aspect of the gospel, I am afraid, is very much neglected. Therefore, as we are drawing to the close of this age, I do believe that the gospel of the kingdom must be recovered. It must be recovered among God’s people. Unless that is recovered, the end will be prolonged.
So it is of utmost importance, dear brothers and sisters, that we come to know the gospel of the kingdom—this aspect of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
As we open the Gospel according to Matthew, we find that it begins with the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.
Our Lord Jesus, in His genealogy, is called the Son of David, the Son of Abraham. As the name of David is mentioned, I believe immediately we see David the king. David in Scripture is the representation of kingship.
Even though in the genealogy you find the names of a number of persons who were kings, yet only David is entitled “David the king.” Why? Because David is the embodiment of kingship. Now our Lord Jesus, in His genealogy, is especially pointed out as the Son of David.
Yes, He is the Son of David, and yet He is greater than David. He is the Lord of David. He is the King. David is just a type of Christ. David is but a shadow, a representation; the reality is in Christ Jesus.
He is God’s King. He is the King whom God hath anointed upon Zion, and to Him hath God given the earth as His inheritance.
He is also the Son of Abraham. Why? Because in Abraham’s seed all the nations shall be blessed. We know that the seed is not seed in the plural number, as Paul points out in Galatians; it is seed in the singular number. That is to say, it is Christ.
So our Lord Jesus is the heir of all things. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. His very reason for coming into this world is to establish His kingdom upon this earth.
Now, sometimes we think that the Lord Jesus came into this world to save sinners. It is true. His very name, Jesus, means, “He shall save His people from their sins.” He came into this world that He might save us. He forgives our sins. He is our Saviour. Thank God for that.
And sometimes we know that He came into this world that we may have life, and have it more abundantly. As John 10 says:
I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.
That is why He came into this world, and that is true. He came into the world, He said, not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many. He did, and it is true: He has served us; He has redeemed us.
But there is another reason why He came into this world. He came into this world to establish His kingdom upon this earth.
He was born a King. Even though He was born in a manger, the wise men saw His star, came to Jerusalem, and said, “Where is He that is born King of the Jews?” When they found Him in Bethlehem, they worshipped Him as King, because He was born King of the Jews.
Yet His kingdom does not belong to this world. We remember our Lord Jesus said:
My kingdom is not of this world: if My kingdom were of this world, then would My servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is My kingdom not from hence.
Even though His kingdom is not of this world, yet this is the reason why He came into this world: to establish His kingdom upon this earth.
Dear brothers and sisters, do we recognize Him as King? Do we see His kingdom? What is His kingdom? What is it that He came to set up and establish? Are we involved in it? Do we belong to it? In what respect are we related to it? I think these are the things we have to ask ourselves.
When our Lord Jesus began to preach, the Bible says that after John the Baptist was put in prison, our Lord Jesus came forth in His public ministry. When He started His public ministry, what was the message that He preached?
Repent ye; for the kingdom of the heavens is at hand.
In other words, His message to the Jews at that time was, “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh.” It was the same message that John the Baptist preached.
If we think just for a little while, it sounds very strange in a sense. Why? Because the Jews at that time were not in Babylonian captivity.
Once they were in Babylonian captivity. Jerusalem lay in ruins, the temple was destroyed, and there was no sacrifice. But God, in His mercy, allowed His people to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.
During the period when the children of Israel were in Babylonian captivity, God was never addressed as the God of the heavens and of the earth. He was only addressed as the God of heaven. Not that God did not rule over the earth, but because He had no testimony upon it.
The children of Israel were God’s testimony upon the earth, but they failed in bearing the testimony of God among the nations. They were in captivity. During that time, God was no longer recognized as the God of the heavens and of the earth. He was only recognized as God of heaven. He had no testimony upon this earth.
Oh, thank God, after seventy years of captivity, the children of Israel returned to Jerusalem. Even though it was only a remnant who returned, they came back. They rebuilt the temple, reinstated the priesthood, restored the sacrifices, and, under Nehemiah, rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem.
Even though later they were under Roman control, at the time of Christ the Jews were not a free people. They were under the rule of the Roman Empire. Yet many Jews resided in Palestine, while many others were scattered throughout the world. There were Jews inhabiting the promised land.
Jerusalem as a city was restored, and the temple was there. It was enlarged and beautified under Herod, a tremendous edifice. The priesthood was functioning in the temple. Even though when they came back they did not have twenty-four courses, they managed to make it twenty-four courses. Day and night, the priests served in the temple. The sacrifices were going on, and the psalms were sung.
When they came back from Babylonian captivity, they also brought back the system of synagogues. During the time of captivity there was no temple, yet they wanted to worship God. So they developed this system of synagogues, whereby they could worship God wherever they were.
If there were ten Jews in a place, they could have a synagogue. So synagogues sprang up everywhere. It was so convenient. In the synagogue they sang psalms, prayed, read the Torah—the five books of Moses—and the prophets, and exhorted the people. There was considerable liberty in synagogue services. The only thing they could not do was sacrifice.
But according to the law, where there is no shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. So when they came back to rebuild the temple and restore the sacrifices, they brought back the system of synagogues. Aside from the temple, they had many synagogues. They came to the temple to worship, but they also gathered in the synagogues.
Not only that, you find the scribes and Pharisees. They were people who copied the Bible and made a special study of the Bible. They tried to keep to the very letter of the law. There were rabbis and teachers.
Outwardly, the nation of Israel—the Jews at that time—were a very religious and pious people. Their religion was of such a nature that many Gentiles were attracted to Judaism. Many Gentiles left their heathen religions and joined Judaism as proselytes—sometimes full proselytes, sometimes partial.
But anyway, you find that the Jewish people at the time of Christ were considered a most religious and pious people. They were worshippers of the true God, and their religion, their Judaism, was admired by the heathen world.
And yet, when our Lord Jesus began to preach, He had only one message for these people. Yes, it is true that the same message was preached by John the Baptist. But, brothers and sisters, you must remember one thing: after the voice of God in Malachi, God did not speak a word for four hundred years.
For four hundred long years, God was silent to His own people. There was no prophet. There was no voice of God. But suddenly the voice came. No wonder it stirred the whole nation.
When God began to speak to His people through John the Baptist and through our Lord Jesus, God had only one word for His people. God had only one message for His people, and the message was, “Repent. Repent.”
Certainly, we would appreciate it if this message were given to the world. The world needed repentance. That is the reason why, at that time, the Pharisees and scribes did not appreciate the message. As a matter of fact, they were very offended by such a message.
Why? Because they thought it was very condemning. Certainly the world needed repentance, but not them, because they were a religious people, a pious people. They might say, “Reform? Improve? Certainly there is always room to reform and to improve.”
Even Nicodemus, the teacher of Israel, came to the Lord Jesus with the idea that there was room for improvement. Nicodemus was not just one of the rabbis; he was the teacher of Israel. In a sense, he represented the thought of the rabbis at that time. He was a humble man, but to be told to repent was something he could not accept.
That is one of the reasons why they rejected the Lord Jesus. Yet God had only one message for His people at that time: repent.
Why repent? Did they need to repent of their temple service? It was instituted by God. Did they need to repent of offering sacrifices and gifts? They were ordained by God. Did they need to repent of studying the Word of God? The oracles of God were given by God to them. Was it wrong to pray? Was it wrong to sing psalms? Was it wrong to keep the law?
Did they need to repent of these things? Certainly not, because these things were given by God and commanded by God. They were not perfect; they needed to be perfected, improved, developed. But certainly, why repent?
Because the word repent is a very strong word. What is the meaning of repent, or repentance? According to the word itself, it means a change of mind—a change of mind. In other words, you change your mind so completely that you change your direction.
It is not just turning to the left a little or to the right a little, correcting five degrees or ten degrees. No. Repentance means a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree change, a complete change. You acknowledge that the direction in which you are heading is the wrong direction, and you have to turn about and go the other direction.
Now, that is repentance. A change of mind is a strong word. How could the Jews accept that? They could not, because they were religious, because they were pious, because they were doing the things that God commanded. They felt that they could not change their minds. They were in the right direction. They might have deviated a little bit and needed correction by a few degrees, but certainly not repentance.
Now you can understand why the Pharisees and scribes found it so difficult to repent. They just could not see it.
Once upon a time there was a convention of theologians. The theologians of different countries and different backgrounds came together. It was a convention on the doctrines—the teachings—of the Bible.
During the convention, many learned doctors and theologians gave their dissertations on different subjects. One of the subjects was repentance. Some of the learned doctors gave their dissertations and tried to tell the people what repentance is. But the more they spoke about repentance, the more confused the people became, because it was too deep.
Finally, an elderly retired missionary from the foreign field, who was sitting at the back listening to all the dissertations of these learned doctors, could not take it any more. So he raised his hand and said, “Mr. Chairman, can you give me a few minutes to speak on repentance?”
The chairman looked at that elderly retired missionary and thought, “What learning did he have? What could he say about repentance?” But out of respect for his many years of service in the foreign field, the chairman said, “All right, I will give you five minutes.”
So the missionary got up. He had been sitting right at the back, and he started walking toward the pulpit. As he walked in the middle aisle, he raised his two hands and began to shout, “I am going to hell! I am going to hell! I am going to hell!”
When he shouted, he electrified the whole assembly. People looked at him and said, “Now, he must be mad. This missionary must be mad.” But he shouted all the way until he got to the pulpit.
As he came up to the platform, he suddenly turned around and shouted, “I am going to heaven!” Then he said, “This is repentance.” Now everybody knew what repentance is. That is repentance: turn around completely.
It is a very serious, thorough, and drastic word. No wonder the ruling class at that time could not accept that message.
Dear brothers and sisters, I wonder, as we are entering toward the end of this age and expecting our Lord Jesus to return, what message does our Lord have for His people as a preparation to bring this age to an end and to bring in the King?
Does the Lord have a word for His people today? I believe He does. What is the word? Repent.
Are we not a religious people? Are we not pious? Do we not have churches everywhere? If you go to any city, in the public square probably three corners of the square are occupied by church buildings. Do we not hear the gospel and the Word through radio and television? Do we not have more Bible schools in this country than anywhere in the world? Are we not very religious?
But, dear brothers and sisters, I do believe that God does have a word for us today, and the word is, “Repent.” We need to repent. Why?
We often think of repentance in terms of sins, shortcomings, faults, failures, defeats, and wrongs. Certainly, if we have sinned, we need to repent. If we have come short, we need to repent. If we have done wrong, we need to repent. In other words, repentance to us is on negative ground. It is because of negative reasons that we need to repent.
But, dear brothers and sisters, when our Lord Jesus said, “Repent,” why? He gives a reason, and the reason is: “The kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh.” Do you see the connection here?
He called the Jews to repent, not merely because they had sinned—of course they had—not merely because they had shortcomings—certainly they did. The reason why our Lord Jesus called them to repent was because the kingdom of the heavens had drawn nigh.
Before the kingdom of the heavens comes, you may be religious and pious, and you may be all right. But if the kingdom of heaven shall come, what you are, how you live, and what you do are completely inadequate.
God may permit you to be religious for a time. But when the fullness of time comes, when Christ shall come to establish His kingdom upon this earth, all that you have done and all that you are are of no help. On the contrary, they stand in the way.
They had to repent of their sacrifices. They had to repent of their priesthood. They had to repent of their temple worship, their prayers, their fastings, their tithings—of all these things. Yes, they had to. Why?
Not because these things did not originate from God, but because the reality is here and the shadows must disappear. If you continue to hold on to the shadows, you will reject the reality. That is why you have to let the shadows go.
You cannot lean upon the shadows. You cannot lean upon the sacrifices anymore. Why? Because the Sacrifice has come. All the sacrifices are past. If you still lean upon the blood of bulls and goats, your sins will not be covered. You have to depend upon the blood of the Lamb of God, Christ Jesus.
Do you see the point? You need to repent. You need to see that these things have to go to death and be buried out of sight. The shadows must pass, for the reality has come.
Dear brothers and sisters, is it not true with us today? We are on the verge of a great change. Yes, the end is coming soon. This age is drawing to a close, and our Lord Jesus is returning to establish His kingdom upon this earth.
This is enough reason for us to repent. Do not think of repentance just in negative terms. You may be good, upright, religious, and pious. But, dear brothers and sisters, the question is: What about the kingdom of heaven?
What is your relationship with the kingdom of the heavens? What is your relationship with the King? In your life, is He the King?
The King is not a constitutional king. He is an absolute monarch. Therefore, in the Bible, sometimes you find that our Lord Jesus is called “Lord.” The word Lord in some places is despotēs—despot. Not in the bad sense, but in the good sense.
In other words, does He have absolute authority over your life? Do you recognize Him as your King? Does He have absolute authority over your life—absolute, not relative? Is it true?
What is the kingdom of the heavens? The kingdom of the heavens is the heavens ruling. The heavens do rule. That is to say, Christ rules absolutely over our lives. Is that true with us?
If this is not true, we need to repent. Why? Because all our religiosity, all our piety, all our activities, all our services—all these things done in the name of the Lord Jesus—will not help us when His kingdom shall come.
Are we right before the Lord in relation to His kingdom? Dear brothers and sisters, I do believe that if we really see Him as the King, the absolute Monarch, there is ground for each one of us to repent.
We need to see that our life has to be redirected. We need to see that our family life has to be redirected. We need to see that our church life has to be redirected. We have to acknowledge that what we depended upon in the past is not sufficient—not only insufficient, but unfit for us to be in the kingdom of the heavens.
Oh, we need to do that. That is the first thing we must do. Have we ever repented because we realized that the kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh?
If the message was true two thousand years ago, how much truer it must be with us today.
You know, dear brothers and sisters, when our Lord Jesus said, “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens is at hand,” He was presenting Himself to them as their King. He was to establish His kingdom among them.
But remember, the kingdom that He offered to the Jews at that time was not the Messianic kingdom that they expected. It was the kingdom of the heavens.
The Jews at that time were waiting for the Messianic kingdom. According to the prophecies, when the Messiah should come, He would restore the nation of Israel to be the first of the nations instead of the tail of the nations.
That was what the Jewish people were waiting for. They thought that when Christ, the Messiah, should come, they would be delivered. They would throw off the Roman yoke and become the greatest nation in the world. They would teach all the nations.
When Christ came, in the beginning they thought that perhaps He might be the Messiah, so they were willing to listen to Him. But their concept was the Messianic kingdom. Christ did not come to present the Messianic kingdom to them; He presented to them the kingdom of the heavens.
He said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” How the Jews misunderstood.
There is a theory called the postponement theory. They say that Christ presented the kingdom to the Jews, and because they rejected the kingdom, the kingdom was postponed and came to us Gentiles. No, that is not so.
In the first place, Christ never presented the Messianic kingdom to them. That He will do in His second coming. He presented the kingdom of the heavens to them—a heavenly kingdom, spiritual in nature.
No wonder, because they did not understand, they rejected Him. They said, “You are not the Messiah that we expected, because You did not do that work.” But that was not the reason why He came.
Thank God, He was presenting to them the same kingdom as He is presenting to us today. It is the kingdom of the heavens. He is presenting the heavenly kingdom to us.
Brothers and sisters, how do we accept that offer? Number one, we have already mentioned: repent. We have to repent, brothers and sisters.
I believe the best way to prepare ourselves for the kingdom of the heavens is the spirit of continuous repentance.
Once, a friend of mine—an elderly man—had a son who was a very famous medical doctor in Philadelphia, a brain surgeon. His daughter-in-law was a concert pianist, and they had a little girl. They loved the Lord very much.
They felt that the Lord was coming soon. In order to prepare themselves for the return of the Lord, they felt they had to leave the world. So they led a group of people and migrated to northwestern Canada, to the wilderness.
They bought a piece of land, built their own cabins, and cultivated the land, seeking to be separated from the world and not contaminated, that they might prepare themselves for the return of the Lord.
This elderly father came to me with tears in his eyes and said, “Brother, is this the way to prepare for the return of the Lord—leaving the elderly father behind?”
Their intention was good. But is this the way to prepare for the return of the Lord? Will that make you fit for His kingdom? How do you prepare yourself for the coming of the kingdom?
I have heard some people say, “Well, if Christ shall come and find me on my knees praying, then certainly I will be taken; I will be raptured.” Or, “If, when Christ comes, I am preaching, then that is the best way to go.” Dear brothers and sisters, how?
Some people say, “Well, before Christ comes there will be difficult days, so how do you prepare yourself? Store up enough food.” How?
I know of only one way: repent.
Dear brothers and sisters, the more you see the Lord, the more you see the kingdom of the heavens, the more you need to repent. That is why we should be in the spirit of continuous repentance. That kind of spirit will prepare us for the kingdom and for the King.
Number two: after the Lord had preached, “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens is at hand,” a number of people did repent. Many repented under the ministry of John the Baptist. They became disciples of John the Baptist. Many more repented under the ministry of Christ.
But whether under the ministry of John or under the ministry of Christ, the word was one: many repented and were baptized. The very fact that they were baptized proved that they repented. Why? Because baptism was a drastic act.
You went into the water to die, to be buried, and then came out of the water again in resurrection. They denied their past completely. They acknowledged that it was completely unfit, and they were willing to deny all the past, let it be buried out of sight, and come up on a new ground.
So they did repent, and they were baptized. Then the second thing came. Our Lord Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee. As He passed by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net because they were fishing.
The Lord Jesus said, “Come after Me.” They left all and followed the Lord. He went a little farther and saw the two sons of Zebedee. They were mending their nets with their father. After you have cast the net, some of it may be torn, so you need to mend it to prepare for the next fishing. They were mending their nets, and the Lord Jesus said, “Come.” They left all and followed Him.
Brothers and sisters, how do we enter into the kingdom of the heavens? After we have repented, then we come and follow the Lord. Follow Him. Now, this is discipleship.
The Lord said, “Come after Me.” The Lord did not say, “Come after a teaching, come after this or that doctrine.” The Lord said, “Come after Me.”
When the Lord called, how did they respond? You find there was only one response: they left all and followed Him. Or, to put it another way, if you do not leave all, you cannot follow Him. It is as drastic as this.
Oftentimes we think that we can follow the Lord without leaving all. So far as the kingdom of the heavens is concerned, that is impossible.
If you want to be in the kingdom of the heavens, you have to follow Him. But the only way to follow Him is to leave all and follow Him. If you still cling to anything, you cannot follow Him. There is no way.
Every time you find the call of discipleship, there is the response of leaving all.
Even when people came to Him and said, “I want to follow You, but let me go back first and say goodbye,” the Lord said:
No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
Even when people came to Him and said, “Lord, I want to follow You, but let me bury my father first, and then I will come and follow You,” the Lord said, “Let the dead bury their own dead.”
The kingdom of the heavens demands our leaving all and coming to Him. That is discipleship.
Dear brothers and sisters, I feel discipleship is very much misunderstood. I do not find in our Bible—anywhere in the New Testament—that we are to be disciples of anybody else but Christ.
Can you show me a place where we ought to be discipled to any human being aside from Christ? Even though Paul did say, “Imitate me, even as I also imitate Christ,” how many disciples did Paul have?
There is only one place in the Book of Acts, but it is a matter of manuscripts. After Paul was saved, he was in Damascus and began to preach. Then they wanted to arrest him, and the Bible says that “his disciples” lowered him down over the wall in a basket.
But according to the manuscripts, some say that the language should not be “his disciples.” Personally, I believe it should not be “his disciples,” because Paul himself was a new Christian.
We are disciples of Christ, not of anybody else. It is true that some elderly or spiritually more advanced brothers and sisters help us in discipleship, but we are never discipled to anybody else but Christ.
The Lord said, “Come after Me. Come after Me. Put yourself under Me. Let Me transform you. Let Me conform you to My image. I am the only One who can do that.”
But in order that I may do that, you must leave all and follow Me. You must be detached from everything in order to be attached to Me. It is an absolute demand. Why? Because He is the King, and it is the kingdom of the heavens.
When a rich young ruler came to the Lord and said, “What can I do to inherit eternal life?” the Lord said, “Why callest thou Me good? There is none good but One, even God.”
“If thou wouldest enter into life, keep the commandments.” The young ruler said, “What commandments?” The Lord said, “Do not kill, do not commit adultery,” and so forth—the second table of the law. The young man said, “All these things have I observed from my youth.”
The Lord looked at him, loved him, and said, “Go, sell all that thou hast, and come, follow Me.”
That young man went away sad. He was very rich. He loved his riches. He was attached to them; he was imprisoned by them. He could not let his riches go. Therefore he went away.
The Lord said, “How difficult it is for him who depends on riches to enter into the kingdom of God. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”
His disciples were amazed and said, “Who then can be saved?” The Lord said, “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”
Do not think that it is possible for men to leave all and follow the Lord. It is impossible. The Lord demands that which is impossible to men.
He is the only One who has a right to make such a demand. Do you think anybody else in this world can make such a demand? They have no right. But our Lord has every right to make that demand. If He does not, He will be unfaithful to you. He has to, because He is God, the absolute Monarch. He is to build His kingdom among His people.
But then it is impossible. Brothers and sisters, are you able to leave all and follow Him? If you say you can, you do not know what it is. You cannot. Nobody can.
But thank God, as you read on in the next chapter, you find there was another rich man—Zacchaeus. Possibly Zacchaeus was richer than this young man. This young man probably inherited his riches, because he was young. But Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector, and by that occupation he must have accumulated much wealth.
He wanted to see Jesus, and the Lord said, “Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at thy house.” Do you know what happened?
The Lord did not say, “Leave all. Sell all your riches. Give to the poor. Come and follow Me.” The Lord did not even say that. But Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have wrongfully exacted aught of any man, I restore fourfold.”
According to the law, you only needed to repay the principal with a fifth part added. But here you find he said, “Fourfold. I am willing to pay them four times.” If he did that, he became a poor man.
With men it is impossible, but with God all things are possible. If only that rich young ruler would have told the Lord, “I cannot do it, but You can do it. Help me,” I believe the Lord would have done it.
The same thing is true with us today, brothers and sisters. The Lord does demand that we leave all and follow Him—Him and Him alone. We are to put ourselves under Him completely, detached from everything.
We cannot do that, but He can. Will we let Him do it? Now, it does not necessarily mean that you have to leave your family. Some people say, “How can I leave my family? How can I leave my children?” It does not mean that you have to leave your business.
It means simply this: Do you love Him more than all these? Will you let Him have the first place in your life? Will you let Him make every decision for you? Will we do that?
Even in the case of Peter, he left all and followed the Lord, but he still had his own house, even his mother-in-law. He still had his boat. When the Lord used his boat, the Lord paid him with a boat full of fish.
It is not the outward; it is the inward. If the inward is there, the outward is no problem. It has to be up to the Lord. But the Lord said, “Come. Follow Me.” Brothers and sisters, are we willing to come and follow Him?
I think, in conclusion, there is a story that I like very much. Probably some of you know about it. It is about F. B. Meyer.
You know F. B. Meyer. We read his writings. He wrote many books, and some people say his English was so good that when he wrote, you could almost feel it and hear it. If he wrote of a stream, you could hear the water flowing by. He was a very gifted person.
As a young man, he was a pastor of a large church in Edinburgh. He loved the Lord. Thank God, he met the Lord Jesus and received His life. His life was transformed.
The story is this—I believe these are the details, though you can read the full story yourself. Someone advised him to go to the Lord and really give everything to the Lord. So he did.
He went to the Lord and told the Lord, “I give You this; I give You that.” One thing after another he gave to the Lord. But there was one thing he could not give. He wanted it for himself. So he told the Lord, “Just let me keep this little thing.”
He said the Lord came, put out His hand, and asked for the keys of his life. So F. B. Meyer gave Him a bundle of keys—the keys to all the different compartments and rooms of his house. But he had kept one little closet.
The Lord said, “Give Me that little key.” He said, “No, Lord. If You will allow me to keep that little key—to keep that little closet for myself—I am willing to serve You with double zeal.”
But the Lord said, “No. If I am not Lord of all, I am not Lord at all.” That is what F. B. Meyer said. Is that not true?
He said the Lord began to go away. In his desperation, he cried out—and this is his famous prayer:
Lord, make me willing to be made willing.
Take what I cannot give.
The Lord came back, took that little key from him, and he said the Lord spent quite a long time clearing out the house. After that, he was used of the Lord in a very special way.
Dear brothers and sisters, this shows us one thing: we cannot, but He can. All we need to do is say, “Lord, I am willing to be made willing,” and He will do it. This is the gospel of the kingdom.
O heavenly Father, we do praise and thank Thee that our Lord Jesus is not only our Saviour, but He is also our King.
He did not only come to shed His blood for the remission of our sins, but He has come to establish His kingdom among His own people.
O Lord, we have to acknowledge that Thy kingship is absent in our lives. No wonder Thy kingdom has not come. So we do humbly come to Thee, Lord. Make us willing to be made willing.
We do want to give ourselves to Thee, because Thou dost deserve it. We want Thee to come and be that absolute Monarch over our lives. O, that we may be Thy kingdom, and may Thy kingdom come.
In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.