A SERMON

By G.W.S.Ware

Sept.,9,1937.

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Subject: A warning to prepare for a coming event.

Text: FOR WHOSOEVER SHALL BE ASHAMED OF ME AND MY WORDS, OF HIM SHALL THE SON OF MAN BE ASHAMED, WHEN HE COMETH IN HIS OWN GLORY, AND THE GLORY OF THE FATHER, AND OF THE HOLY ANGELS. Luke,9:26.

This prophetic warning to man, was given 1900 years ago, by the Lord Jesus Christ. It includes all human beings, as He is their Creator, and redeemer (Jo.1:3;Gal.3:13), from the first one to the one who lives last on the earth. Jesus the Christ, did not make this prophesy, to afflict the children of men, but in his love for them, he foretells what must needs be, that righteousness may shine forth, and the redeemed part of the human family be vindicated, in the presence of the combined three glories, he calls our attention, to stimulate all mankind, not to be ashame of Him, or His Word.

The Lord Jesus Christ knew what it was to have shame heaped around him. He overcame the shame to be born of a virgin, of a fallen race, to be called her son, which he was, though his father was God, the Holy Spirit (Lu.1:35). Christ’s mother was a spiritual child of God (Lu.1:28), hence, she could not impart sin through her spirit (1 Jo.3:9), for it was like God. It may be that the channel for transmitting sin through the human family, is mainly through the father, as he was not deceived by the devil, but the mother was (1 Tim.2:14); though David said, his mother conceived him in sin (Ps.51:5). This is one reason why, children of God are forbidden to marry children of Satan (II Cor.6:14)

No one has a right to be ashamed of Christ or his words, for it is impossible for him to be, or do anything of that nature. What the Lord Jesus IS, or DOES, MAN should be and do; else it will bring shame upon himself. It cannot be otherwise, for God gave the life of Christ for man to follow (1 Pet.2:21,22), and to depart from it will bring shame to man.

Two things about himself, Christ warns men, not to be ashamed of:

1st. His person.

In his warning to man not to be ashame of his person, he only refers to himself, while he was a human being; for before, and after that event, no man can stand in his presence (Rev.1:17), unless he is prepared of God for it (Jude,1:24); but from the conception of Jesus Christ, as a human being, till he arose from the dead, men are ashamed of the personal human body of Jesus Christ. Denominations, who profess to class themselves his followers, will laud his humanity, but will blush with shame to call him their Lord and their God, as Thomas, the disciple did (Jo.20:28). The race of people by human blood, Christ joined himself with, are ashamed of him as God, but praise him as a man, as their most noted character to present time, but they are looking for a promised King to overshadow all others, to sit on the throne of David.

The Lord Jesus Christ, sent a word picture of himself, to this world, hundreds of years before he came to fill it (Is.53:2,3), and when he did fill the picture, all his friends fled from him (Matt.26:56). A short time after this, the boldest diciple, was so ashamed of Christ, he swore he did not know him (Matt.26:74), then Jesus turned and looked on Peter, (Lu.22:61) who repented that he was ashamed of the Lord Jesus Christ.

When Jesus Christ was in this world, he was God in human disguise (Phil.2:6,7), which men are in danger of being ashemed, yet there is nothing about his human life to cause shame. His birth, as a human babe, moved a star, opened heaven, and caused the angels to sing. No other human had such a birth, and no one can be ashamed of that, when heaven and earth, men and angels, were glad because of it. No occasion for shame in his birth. As a child he "grew, and waxed strong, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him." Nothing in that to be ashamed of. When he was a boy, he astonish Jerusalem, with his ability to cope with the scholars of his day; no cause for shame in that. He was obedient to his parents, according to the law of God, worked manual labor, to support himself and the family, and worked nine years longer for his parents, than the law requires young men to work, in our time; there is nothing in this, to be ashamed of Christ for obeying the parental law of his time. After God’s law freed him from his parents, he walked about sixty miles to be baptized in the River Jordan, by John the Baptist, sent of God (Lu.1:17), for this purpose. There is nothing about the baptism of Christ to be ashamed of, for after he came up out of the River Jordan (Mark,1:9,10,11), God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit gave him approval; one, rested on his body, as the water was running from his clothes, the other spoke out to say: That he was well pleased with his baptism. There is absolutely nothing about the baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ, for man to be ashamed of, for all Heaven put its seal on it, yet the people of the world are ashamed of it, else, they would turn to the Lord Jesus Christ for preparation, and have the joy of taking it, as he set the example for them. The people of the world would, but they permit Satan, the enemy of God and man, to blind their eyes (2 Cor.4:4).

All people who are christians, will gather around the Lord Jesus Christ, as he is being crucified, pour out their souls to him in sympathy; weep, because of the horrors of its shame, and coming death; swear eternal allegiance to him, as he dies their death, to bring them back to God, free from the nature of Satan. Yet, these same weeping, rejoiceing christians, of present time, when each comes to put on Christ in baptism (Ro.6:5), the majority of them are side tracked to a form, which does not foreshadow the death of Christ, or their death to Satan, and the coming resurrection of their own human bodies. Why, Satan has such a malignant hatred for the baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ, is hard to understand, unless there is something about it, not revealed, which reminds him of his own impending doom.

The Lord Jesus Christ, is the only human being, who met Satan face to face and defeated him at every point, till Satan departed from him (Matt.4:11). After this, Jesus began to preach, for people to repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matt,4:17). At that time, though few knew it, Jesus himself was the kingdom of heaven on earth, in the disguise of a human-being. No wonder then, he tells us, that any who is ashame of him now, he will be ashamed of them, when he cometh in the glory of his kingdom.

II: ASHAMED OF MY WORDS.

The Lord Jesus Christ classed himself, and his words as one. He is the only human being who can do this, for he alone has a pure personality, from which only pure words can come; hence, to be ashame of any of the words of Jesus Chrsit, is as sinful as to be ashame of his person. Peter, was so ashamed of some of the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, till he took him, and began to rebuke him. What was the result of Peter’s shame of the words of Jesus Christ? Christ called Peter’s shame, Satan (Mark 8:33). This, is the reply of Jesus Christ, to any man or men, woman, or women, Satan, or demons, who try to amend the words of the Son of God. To be ashamed, our language says is: "Cast down or dejected by conscous guilt." Only a few of one generation saw the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the ruleing power of that generation, was so ashamed of the words of that body, they put it to death, to stop the flow of them. Our generation, stands in horror, at that generation, for crucifying the Son of God, while our generation is busy putting to death some of the WORDS of the SON of GOD. The words of the Lord Jesus Christ has spread all over the world (Ro.10:18), and are being put to a death of shame where ever they go; but as his body was put to death in broad day light in Jerusalem, so Jerusalem saw it come forth from the dead, at the dawning of an other day; so it is with every crucified word of the Lord Jesus Christ, they will rise from the dead, to give life to all who will believe them (Is.55:11).

What a shame on a human being, to put to death the words of Jesus Christ by being ashamed of them. Shame, begets unbelief, and unbelief puts to death the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, which crucifies it. If, all the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, which are being crucified by shame of human beings, if each could cry out as Christ did, as he was dying (Matt.27:50), and their cries united together in one volumn of sound, it would startle the world. If each denomination of christians knew it had to go on parade before heaven and earth, two years hence, then every word of the Lord Jesus Christ, which it has been ashamed of would rise up to condemn it, in the presence of the glory of Christ, of God, and the Angels; What a mighty denominational transformation would take place. They would die (denominations) by the hundreds, for what would be the use to live on, and have the shame of the Lord Jesus Christ to consume them. There would only one be left, where the Lord Jesus Christ is supreme. If, my church, the Missionary Baptist, is on the line of the seven churches (Rev.I:II), it would be compelled to repent, and enforce this positive command of THE LORD JESUS CHRIST: "Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly." (Thes. 3:6). If every one who speaks for the Lord Jesus Christ, knew, that after two years, every word of Christ, which he had garbled, treated with silence, through fear or shame, would cry out against him, whenever he tried to speak; what a mighty study of all the words of Christ would take place, and all his words would flow over the world to save it. If ever pastor, knew, that after two years if he should fail to declare the whole counsel of the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:27), God would silence him, forever, as a preacher and pastor, what a mighty transformation would take place in churches, and pastors. Pastors, of denominational churches, would quit drinking cups of heresy (Titus 3:10) from each other, through, denominational courtesy. The prophesy of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 10:34) would be coming to pass, and truth would come forth, to drive sin in high places (Eph. 6:12), from off its throne.

The time set, is not two years, "But when he cometh in his own glory", when that will be, no one but God knows (Mrk.13:32). Death of body, solidifies man’s shame of Christ or his words, preserved till that day. If, any one on earth, is not ashamed of the Lord Jesus Christ and his words, that person will have nothing, to cause shame in any one for him. When Christ comes to compare himself with those who were ashame of him, or his words; he will come in threefold glory.

1st: In his own glory.

The glory of the Lord Jesus Christ as a human being, has never been approached by men, or angels. After thirty years of a hard laborous human life, Christ came to the place, where Adam went down against the Devil in sin and shame. Adam, was conquored with a helpmate, but Christ defeated the Devil, alone (Is.63:3), and brought all back to God, who would come through him (Jo.14:19). The Lord Jesus Christ had not only the glory of defeating the Devil face to face, but routed him in all human combinations he sent against him, till Satan would no more (Matt.22:46) attack him that way.

Christ, alone, has the glory of being God and man, in his person. This is one reason why God the Father, and God, the Holy Spirit, loves mankind with a love, no man can fathom, is, because, God the Son, is a human being himself. God, by angel power cast The Devil and his legion of demons down to this world (Rev.12:9), where he overcame the earth, and the human family. Now, as God cast Satan out of heaven by angel power, he would cast him on out of the earth, by human power; but there were no human beings left, good enough, to cast Satan out of the earth (Ro.3:10,11). He could only deceive a part of the good angels of heaven; but when he found man on earth, he left nothing about man to cast him off the earth. Good angels could not cast him out, for they were not human beings, and it required something human to do it. Man, was helpless, and all of his descendants would be Satan’s, to take God’s material creations to be the center of his kingdom. Man was defenseless, no one to help him. Satan, was not afraid of any man to be born, for all would have his sinful nature. Now, when Christ comes in his glory, the hightest point will be: He became a human being, and destroyed the works of the Devil (1 Jo.3:8)

II: In the glory of the Father.

The glory of God the Father, is beyond the reach of the human mind, only what it can grasp through the humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that is beyond the mind of man. Even the human of the Lord Jesus Christ, could only convey the glory of God the Father, to the mind of man by symbols, because the mind of man is so limited.

The glory of God the Father to man is, He sent his Son, His only Son, into the world to become one of them (Jo.3:16), so that human being could be saved from sin, who wanted to be delivered from the love of it. He will bring before you some views of the glory of God the Father. His glory is so intense, fire is the symbol of it (Heb.12:28,29). The voice of God was so glorious, some said it thundered, others said, an angel hath spoken (Jo.12:28,29).

God presence was so glorious, it brought Moses and Elijah back to earth, and caused the human body of the Lord Jesus Christ, to shine forth like God. (Mark 9:3) God’s glory was so transcendant, God the Holy Spirit came through it, to rest on the body of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The glory of God the Father, is so intense, God himself, had to cover Moses with his hand, to save his life as God’s glory passed by (Ex.33:22). The glory of God the Father, is so holy, when it came down upon a mountain it quaked and the people trembled. (Ex.19:16-18).

III: The glory of the Angels.

No one, without glory can enter Heaven, the dwelling place of God. Man, must take it from the earth, or forever stay out (Rev.21-27;Is.35:8-10). God, spoke to Job, personally, about, "When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." If sons means angels, then this is the first record of their glory.

Angels have the glory of making war against Satan and his demons in heaven, and casting them down to the earth (Rev.12:7-9)

An angel had the glory to break Pharaoh’s will, after every thing else had failed (Ex.12:29).

An angel, single handed, defeated a great army (II Chro. 32:21).

An angel had the glory to help the humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 22:43).

About two thousand years ago, or more, lived a man who was wealthy. He lived for the world and took it all except a few crumbs, he did not want. His selfishness had kept the angels of God (Heb. 1:14) out of his life, hence, there were none present when he died, after which, all he could do, was to lift up his eyes, look into heaven, plead for water, which could not come. Then the unselfishness he would not use on earth, broke in upon him, but it was too late to use that good angel of God (Lu. 16:31). Just prior to this, angels had the glory to go to the outside of this man’s house, and carry the spirit of a man into the presence of heaven (Lu. 16:22). All the angels have the glory to stand round the throne of God (Rev. 7:11).

When the apostle John saw the glory of an angel, he fell at his feet to worship, but was told to worship God. (Rev. 21:8,9)

When the apostle John saw Jesus Christ in his personal glory, he fell before him as one dead (Rev. 1:17). John who belonged to Christ, and had seen him transfigured on earth, was in banishment then for Christ’s sake (Rev. 1:9). Yet, when John heard a voice as of a trumpet, like the sound of many waters, clothed in bright array, his eyes were as a flame of fire, out of his mouth, came words like a two edge sword; and his countenance was as the face of the sun. (Rev. 12:16). John, after this, was and met angel, in so much personal glory, he fell down before to worship and the angel said, "see thou do it not, I am a fellow servant." "Worship God."

In this three fold glory Christ will come into the presence of each one of us, to be ashamed of us, if we were ashamed of him or his word, here in this world. Con: Christ is not ashamed of any oen in this world. He was not ashamed to offer to save a woman, who was living with a man not her husband. (John 4:10) Christ was not ashamed to offer Salvation to an outcast woman. (John 8:3-11) Christ was not ashamed of a man who was dying on the cross, for stealing what others had worked for. Man, was putting him to death to stop him from stealing. Christ was not ashamed to take him with any to enter paradise with him, after he had saved him from his sin. (Luke 23:4).

What a joy I have, to know Christ is ashamed of no one on earth today, if they will repent because the Kingdom of heaven is at hand for them.

Copyright © 2006 Brett W. Smith. All rights reserved.