The sermon 'Is it worth it' by Peter Allison focuses on the biblical passages from Luke 18 and Mark 10, discussing the challenges and rewards of following Christ. It begins with the story of the rich young ruler who struggles with the idea of giving up his wealth to inherit eternal life, emphasizing the difficulty for those with riches to enter the kingdom of God. The sermon highlights the concept of the 'household of faith,' where believers gain a new family in Christ, often replacing earthly relationships severed due to faith. Historical examples of martyrs like Cranmer, Polycarp, and Perpetua are used to illustrate the theme of sacrifice and faithfulness, showing that the promises of God outweigh any earthly loss. The sermon underscores the difference between earthly and eternal rewards, encouraging believers to focus on the eternal life promised by God. It connects the sufferings of Christ, who endured the cross out of love for humanity, with the sacrifices asked of believers, reminding them that what they give up in this life is incomparable to the glory that awaits in eternity.

Please turn in your scriptures to Luke 18. And also we're going to also look at Mark 10 verse 28. Luke 18 beginning at verse 18 and then also Mark 10 at Verse 28. Luke 18. Verse 18.

Now a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? So Jesus said to him, why do you call me good? No one is good but one. That is God. You know the commandments.

Do not commit adultery. Do not murder. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Honor your father and mother.

And he said all these things I have kept from my youth and when Jesus heard these things he said to him you still lack one thing, sell all that you have and distribute to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven and come follow me but when he heard this he became very sorrowful for he was very rich and when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful he said to him how hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God. For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. And those who heard it said, Who then can be saved? But he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. Then Peter said, See, we have left all and followed you.

And he said to them, Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house, or parents, or brothers, or wife, or children for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time and in the age to come eternal life. And then he took the twelve aside and said to them, Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. Then they will scourge Him and kill Him, and the third day He will rise again. But they understood none of these things.

This saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken." And then in Mark 10, 28, then Peter said to him, Then Peter began to say to him, See we have left all and followed you. So Jesus answered and said, Assuredly I say to you there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for my sake and the gospels who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands with persecutions and in the age to come eternal life, but many who are first will be last, and the last first." May the Lord be gracious and merciful to us according to His Word. Heavenly Father, we ask that this Word that we have heard might be mixed with faith. We ask that You would give us understanding. That these things that we have read might not be hidden from us and that we might experience and know these things as well.

And I ask that you would preserve me from error and sanctify my lips for this message. In Jesus' name, Amen. Well, this section that we have been looking at these past few weeks are tied together by a couple different elements, But one of the main ones is the idea of the kingdom and who will enter into the kingdom. Jesus told this story of the Pharisee and the public. Remember, it wasn't the Pharisee who knew the Scriptures, who scrupulously kept everything in the law of God, or thought he did, who thought he was righteous and had no need of a Savior.

It wasn't him who went to His house justified. It was the one who was poor in spirit, who realized that he had no ability in himself. That Jesus said went to his house justified. It was he who entered into the Kingdom. Not the person who looked like he had it all together.

Who presented an image of perfection to those who were around him. And then immediately after That was this occasion of the children that were brought to Jesus. And Jesus' comment again was that of such was the Kingdom of Heaven, and that Whoever didn't receive the Kingdom of God as a little child wouldn't enter it. So again, Jesus begins to speak about who is going to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. And this time, He says it's like the children.

Not a childlike faith, not being naive and all that. It's referring to these children, they were babes in arms, they came absolutely helpless, they couldn't feed themselves. If somebody didn't feed them, they would starve. They couldn't carry themselves anywhere. They couldn't even, little baby can't even walk or crawl.

So they can't go anywhere unless they're carried. They can't talk. They can't communicate any of their needs. They're completely dependent upon mom and mother and a father to figure out what's wrong and take care of it. Jesus said if we don't come as helpless like that, That there's nothing that we can do.

Nothing in our hands that we can bring. Then we don't come into the Kingdom. And then we have this rich young ruler who had a lot. He was wealthy, he had authority, could command people to do what he needed, he had money to buy what he needed. But he knew that he wasn't going to live forever.

And he wanted to have that too. He thought, well, if I can come to Jesus and He can add that to what I have, then I'll have everything. I'll have it all." And He went away sad because Jesus said, it doesn't work that way. If you want to follow Me, you have to give everything else up. You have to be willing to give everything else up to follow Me.

You can't have the goods of this world and enter into the Kingdom. You can't serve God and mammon, as Jesus said, elsewhere. And so He went away. Rather than give up the goods of this world for eternal life, He went away sorrowful. And Jesus made a couple comments on that.

And the first thing He said, He made two comments. The first one we looked at last week. Jesus said how hard it was for a rich man to enter the kingdom. It was harder, he said, or easier for a camel to go through an eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And the disciples recognized immediately He was saying it's impossible.

It's impossible. And then they said well who can be saved and That's when Jesus said well what's impossible with men is possible with God But then they also recognized the second point, that Jesus was asking this man to give up everything, to give up all of his earthly possessions, to follow Christ, Because we can't have two masters. And Peter says at that point, see Lord, behold, take notice Jesus, take notice we have left all and followed you. We've done that. And he didn't...

Jesus answers the question that maybe was on his mind, but he didn't ask it. And that was, what will we get? Is our sacrifice worth it? Because Jesus' answer is, assuredly I say to you, There is no one who has left houses or parents or brothers or wife or children for the sake of the Kingdom who will not receive many times more in this present time and in the age to come eternal life. Or as Mark said, a hundred-fold now.

A hundred-fold increase. A hundred-fold return on that investment now, in this time. Houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands and persecutions, and in the age to come, eternal life. And so Jesus expands then on this unasked question of Peter that when he pointed out, Lord, we've left everything for You. What are we going to get?

And Jesus' promise is really an amazing promise. That no sacrifice, no sacrifice for the sake of the Gospel is worth anything compared to what we will receive in this time and in the age to come. You know, a hundred-fold return. That means it's 1%. If you have 1% of something, you don't have very much of it.

It's vanishing. And that's the promise. That's the promise that the Lord gives us. He speaks of, how is it true? How is it true?

How is it true? How is it true that when we give up our families, our brothers, our sisters, that we receive a hundred times in this life. How is that so? See, some in this life are called. Remember, not everybody is asked the same things.

This rich young ruler was asked to give up all his wealth. Abraham wasn't asked to give up his wealth, but he was asked to give up his home, and the home of his family, and to leave it. Some in this life are called to give up relationships with their family. Their family disowns them. Maybe even seeks to kill them, put them to death for turning to Christ.

Sometimes it's just relationships are severed. And people or unbelieving family won't have anything to do with us, won't talk with us if we won't shut up about Jesus Christ. Well, what do we receive? What do Christ's followers receive in this life, in this manner. Well, we receive a lot.

Way more, you might say, than merely a hundred-fold. One, We have the household of faith. That we are brought into the household of faith. Paul told the Galatians, therefore as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, but especially those who are of the household of faith. So Jesus is saying when we give up our earthly house, if that's what he calls us to do, we get this household of faith that I can remember, that we can go anywhere in the world and we can have fellowship with those of like precious faith.

We can have fellowship with brothers and sisters who are part of the family of God. And this is something I experienced many times in the Navy. I could sail into a foreign port, a place I had never been in my life before, even in foreign countries. And you could find people of God. And you could immediately begin to have fellowship with them.

And I remember pulling into Fort Lauderdale once. And we were using, as we navigate, when we're very close to the land, we often will use features on the land to triangulate where we are. And one of the features that was being used was the steeple on what at the time was Pastor Kennedy's church building where he preached. They were using that steeple. So every three minutes, I was hearing in the control room of the submarine, church steeple, and somebody would say, well, this is where we are in relation to that church steeple.

They called it out. It's called a bearing. And then the very first call that the submarine got in, we put over the shore power lines and shut down the reactor, and then they connect the phone line pretty quickly. And there's a call that came in, the very first call, as soon as that ship, As soon as we had connected the phone line, it was within an hour, less than an hour, of connecting the phone line. Got a call and it was from somebody offering to take anybody that wanted to go to church the next day.

I think it must have been Saturday. And so I think somebody in the wardroom gave the phone to me. So I got the number of this person. And we met. And they actually picked me up on Saturday night.

And there's a couple of them. It turned out they were veterans from the Navy themselves. And one of them had worked on Enigma in World War II. And we had a wonderful evening of fellowship. And then they took me to church the next day, and they introduced me to their pastor, James Kennedy.

And they were brothers and sisters in the Lord. I'd never met before. Or I could go over to Ireland. Dublin. It's a very Catholic city.

There aren't very many churches around. And it's confusing. They drive on the other side of the street. And then trying to get to church, I was late. And I looked up this church and the door was locked.

I could hear them singing inside, but I couldn't get in because the door was locked. And it was late. I was late. So I'm thinking, well, what hope is there of finding a church this morning? So I'm at least not one that's not Catholic.

And so I was driving down the road, and a block or two later there was a church there that wasn't Catholic. So I parked and went in, and it wasn't locked. And I thought, well, it was a church that I didn't think believed the Gospel, but I thought, well, I'll go anyways. And Sure enough, the morning service didn't have much to do with the Gospel, but somebody invited me to their house that afternoon. And I went to their house and had a wonderful time of fellowship with them.

And they told me the story of the church and the building there, and how It was a great massive church and the main nave had been blocked off because they didn't need it anymore. Nobody went to this apostate church. But a pastor from Africa had a congregation of hundreds of people and they used the other half of that building. And there was real faith in this person. We had a wonderful conversation.

They loved the Psalms, they had a Psalter, and I thought, wow, who would have guessed that in this church where outwardly there was no gospel, there would be a believer, and we could have fellowship. Somebody I never met before, I've never met him since. But I remember him, because he was a brother. See, we have the household of faith. And it is, as Jesus says, a return a hundredfold, anything that we have given up.

When Jesus' family came to see Him, they said, look, Jesus, your mother and your brothers are standing outside and they want to talk with you. But Jesus answered and said to them, to the one who told him, who is my mother and who are my brothers? Because remember at this time some of his own family did not believe in him. His mother did, but some of his family didn't. And he stretched out his hand toward his disciples, and he said, here are my mother and my brother, for whoever does the will of my father in heaven is my mother and my brother and my sister and my mother.

Whoever does the will of my Father in Heaven is my mother and my brother and my sister, Jesus said. So, you may have given up a family. Maybe you have no fellowship with them, no contact. Maybe they won't talk to you because you're a Christian. Maybe they've all died and you're the only one left.

But you have the household of faith. You have your brothers and sisters in the Lord who will mourn your passing, who care about you, who do love you. Paul wrote to Timothy and called him a true son in the faith. He wrote the same thing to Titus in his epistles to these men. To Titus he said, a true son in our common faith.

A true son, a real son. He truly was a son in the faith to Paul. Paul loved him as a son. And Paul knew these people. And so it is with you and with me that we can go anywhere in the world and find our family.

And we can have our church family here that we talk about. This is a real family. This relationship is real. Some people have said, well, is the church, is that the ultimate? Or is it the family?

Is that more foundational? Is the Bible using the analogy of a human family simply to teach us about God, or does it represent God as the Father simply because that's context that we can understand it? Well, there's probably some truth to both of that. And we can certainly say that the family is prior because it was created first. God made Adam and Eve and instituted marriage before he called his church out.

On the other hand, we can recognize that Adam and Eve and their state of sinlessness were the people of God. But we can certainly acknowledge that the family existed first. But What will exist into the eschaton, into eternity? Well, Jesus said that in heaven, we're not going to marry or be given in marriage. Marriage is going to end, because marriage was just an earthly type.

This earthly family that we have is really preparation for eternity. We're not going to relate to our spouses. I won't relate to my wife in heaven, Because we're not going to be married there anymore. She won't need me and I won't need her in that sense. But you know what?

We will have. Every one of us, our relationship that we have now will continue for all eternity. We will be brothers and sisters in the Lord for all eternity. This relationship that we know in this church now will continue unchanged into eternity as we are around the throne of God. But that reality in eternity begins now.

It begins now. Now in Matthew and Luke the promise of a return in land is also mentioned. Jesus said, those who have given up land will receive in this life more land. A hundred fold even. How is that?

How is that? You might be thinking, well, how am I going to get a hundred times more? Well, first, it's a promise to those who have given up lands for the sake of the kingdom. But, remember this, remember in the covenant that God made with Abraham, God promised him that he would inherit the land of Canaan. That was a promise to inherit the land given to Abraham.

That was a physical land that God was promised to Abraham. And Abraham's descendants did inherit that physical land. Under Joshua, they drove out all the nations that occupied that land. The land, as Pentateuch says, vomited them out because of the wickedness in it. And God put His people there and willed it to them.

But what about us today? In the New Covenant. Well, in the New Covenant, that promise of the land of Canaan is expanded to include all the earth. All the earth. Blessed are the meek, Jesus said, for they shall inherit the earth.

Remember in the fifth commandment, there is a promise of long life in the land which the Lord your God is giving you." There was a promise attached to the land in the fifth commandment. And when Paul repeats that to the Ephesians, he expands it from the land of Canaan to the earth, that you may live long in the earth. This promise of inheriting the land is expanded greatly. And we are said to be those who do inherit the earth. And When missionaries go forward and nations are converted, because remember that's what the Great Commission says.

It talks about, it's not just people, but nations. Nations are to be discipled. Just like this nation was discipled. Apparently there was Christians in this nation, in this land long before the Indians. And there are these monuments that nobody seems to talk much about.

But I know people that have seen them. They're clearly human writing and biblical writing. But this land fell into great unbelief. And when the Christians came back again in the early 16th century, it was just cannibals and half-naked people running around the pagans that had no idea of the truth. And this nation, this land, was discipled and came to the truth.

And when we go out, the Lord gives a promise of victory to take back the land. I know one friend, a pastor, who when they moved into their house, it was a high crime area. But they, in claiming this promise and victory over the demonic, they walked that neighborhood taking it for Christ and driving out the demonic. And the crime, the whole 18 years they lived in that neighborhood, it was a very low crime. And they moved away a few years ago and he kept track on that neighborhood app for several months after leaving.

And the crime shot way back up again. And people were wondering what happened to our neighborhood? What's going on? Well, what happened is the Christians had left. See, we have been given this earth to take for Christ.

But there's also persecution that comes in the passage in Mark. We would receive a hundredfold now and this time houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands with persecution. What about those people that are persecuted? Is it worth it for them? After the death of King Edward in 1553, a man by the name of Cranmer was exposed to the rage of all his enemies.

And he was... England, which had been going Protestant, and he had come into favor because He had supported King against the Pope in the matter of that controversy over his marriage and battle that he had with Rome. So he had come into favor, But when King Edward died, the land came under Catholic rule for a little while, and so he came under persecution. And in order to avoid being killed, he signed a letter of recantation. It began, I, Tomnis Cranmer, late Archbishop of Canterbury, do renounce, abhor, and detest all manner of heresies and errors of Luther and Zwinglias and all other teachings which are contrary to sound and true doctrine and so on." And he recanted.

But the Queen wasn't happy. Queen Mary wasn't happy. She wasn't satisfied with that. She wanted his blood. And so she wrote in order to Dr.

Pol to prepare a sermon to be preached on March 21, directly before Archbishop Cranmer was to be martyred. And it was to be preached at St. Mary's. And Dr. Pol, and their intent here was to build on this failure, this weakness, and get a public recantation by him before he was executed.

And so Dr. Pol visited him the day before and was led to believe that he would publicly deliver his sentiments and confirm publicly, verbally, the articles to which he had signed his name. And so about nine in the morning on the day of the sacrifice, as Fox's Book of Martyrs recounts it, the Queen's commissioners, attended by the magistrates, conducted the amiable unfortunate to St. Mary's Church. His torn, dirty garb, the same in which they had clothed him upon his degradation, excited the commiseration of the people.

In the church he found a low mean stage erected opposite the pulpit on which being placed he turned his face and fervently prayed to God. The church was crowded with persons of both persuasions expecting to hear the justification of the late apostasy. The Catholics were rejoicing. The Protestants deeply wounded in spirit at the deceit of the human heart. Dr.

Paul in his sermon represented Kramner as having been guilty of the most atrocious crimes, encouraged the deluded sufferer not to fear death, not to doubt the support of God in his torments, nor that masses would be set in all the churches of Oxford for the repose of his soul." This doctor then noticed his conversion. And he ascribed it to the evident working of the Almighty power in order that the people might be convinced of its reality. He asked the prisoner to give them a sign. This Kraner did and begged the congregation to pray for him, for he had committed many ingrivious sins. But of all, there was one which awfully lay on his mind, of which he would speak shortly.

During the sermon, Kraner wept bitter tears, lifting up his hands and his eyes to heaven, and letting them fall as if unworthy to live. His grief now found vent in words. Before his confession he fell upon his knees, and in the following words unveiled the deep contrition and agitation which harrowed up his soul. He prayed, O Father of heaven, O Son of God, Redeemer of the world, O Holy Ghost, three persons, all one God, have mercy on me, most wretched, catelliff, and miserable sinner. I have offended both against heaven and earth, more than my tongue can express.

Whither then may I go? Whither then may I flee? To heaven I may be ashamed to lift up my eyes. And in earth I find no place of refuge or succor. To you therefore, O Lord, do I run.

To you do I humble myself, saying, O Lord, my God, my sins be great, but yet have mercy on me for thy great mercy. The great mystery that God became man was not wrought for little or few offenses. You did not give your Son, O Heavenly Father, unto death for small sins only, but for the greatest sins of the world. Wherefore have mercy on me, O God, whose property is always to have mercy. But have mercy on me, O Lord, for Thy great mercy.

I crave nothing for my own merits, but for Thy name's sake, that it may be hallowed thereby, and for Thy dear Son Jesus Christ's sake. And now therefore, O Father of heaven, hallowed be Your name." then rising, he said he was desirous before his death to give some pious exhortations by which God might be glorified and the people before whom he was speaking be edified." And he then discanted upon the danger of a love for the world. The duty of obedience to their majesties, the people that were about to put them to death. He talked of the duty to love one another and of the necessity of the rich and ministering to the needs of the poor. He quoted three verses from the fifth chapter of James, and then proceeded, Let them that be rich ponder well these three sentences, For if they ever had occasion to show their charity, they have it now at this present, The poor people being so many, and food so precious.

And Then he went on, he said, "...and now for as much as I have come to the last end of my life, whereupon hangs all my life past and all my life to come, either to live with my Master Christ forever in joy, or else to be in pain forever with the wicked in hell, I see before my eyes presently either heaven ready to receive me, or else hell ready to swallow me up. I shall therefore declare unto you my very faith, how I believe, without any color of dissimulation. For now is no time to dissemble whatsoever I have said or written in times past." So then he gave his confession. First, I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. I believe every article of the Catholic faith, every word and sentence taught by our Savior Jesus Christ as apostles and prophets in the New and Old Testament.

And now I come to the great thing which so troubles my conscience more than anything that I ever did or said in my whole life. And that is the setting abroad of a writing contrary to the truth, which now here I renounce and refuse as things written with my hand contrary to the truth, which I thought in my heart, and written for fear of death and to save my life if it might be, and that is, all such bills or papers which I have written or signed with my hand since my degradation. Wherein I have written many things untrue. And for as much as my hand has offended, writing contrary to my heart, therefore my hand shall first be punished, for when I come to the fire, it shall first be burned. And as for the Pope, I refuse him as Christ's enemy and antichrist with all his false doctrine." You see, they thought he was going to confess to the people the truth of the Pope.

Upon the conclusion of this unexpected declaration, amazement and indignation were conspicuous in every part of the church. The Catholics were completely foiled, their object being frustrated. Kramner, like Sampson, having completed a greater ruin in the hour of his death upon his enemies than he did in his life. Cramner would have proceeded in the exposure of the Popish doctrines, but the murmurs of idolaters drowned his voice, and the preacher gave an order to lead the heretic away. The savage command was directly obeyed, and him about to suffer was torn from his stand to the place of the slaughter, insulted all the way by revoulings and taunts of the pestilent monks and friars.

With thoughts intent upon a far higher object than the empty threats of man, he reached the spot dyed with the blood of Ridley and Latimer. And there he knelt for a short time in earnest devotion, and then arose that he might undress and prepare for the fire, two friars who had been parties in prevailing upon him to abjure, now endeavored to draw him off again from the truth. But he was steadfast and immovable in what he had just professed. And publicly had taught. A chain was provided to bind him to the stake.

And after it had tightly encircled him, fire put to the fuel and the flames began to ascend. And then were the glorious sentiments of the martyr made manifest. Then it was that stretching out his right hand, he held it unshrinkingly in the fire until it was burnt to a cinder, even before his body was injured, frequently exclaiming, this unworthy right hand." There are many, many more accounts of people who gave up much for the kingdom. You know many of them. Some are famous, like Polycarp.

He was a bishop at Smyrna. And When he entered the amphitheater where he was to be executed, a voice was heard from heaven, be strong, polycarp, have courage." He was brought to the governor who asked him, are you polycarp? And when he admitted that he was, the governor tried to persuade him to be camp by saying, have respect for your age and other things that they usually want to say. And he called them to swear by the emperor. And say away with atheism, polycarp with sober countenance.

Looked at all the mob of lawless pagans who were in the arena and shaking his fist at them groaned looked up to heaven and said away with it away with the atheists. The governor persisted and said, swear and I will let you go. Curse Christ. But Polycarp answered, for 86 years I have been his servant, and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme against my king and savior?

They tried to get him again to swear by the Emperor Geneas. He answered, If you delude yourself into thinking I will swear by the Emperor's Geneas as you say, and if you pretend not to know who I am, Listen and I will tell you plainly, I am a Christian. And if you would like to learn the doctrine of Christianity, set aside a day and listen." And the governor said, try to move the people. Alright, Try. Pauli Carp said, I should have thought you worthy of such a discussion, for we have been taught to pray respect to the authorities and powers that God has assigned for us.

But as for the mob, I don't think they deserve to listen to a speech of defense from me. The governor said, I have wild animals, and I shall expose them to you if you do not change your mind. And he said, go and call for them repentance from a better state to one that is worse is impossible for us, but it is good to change from what is wicked to righteous." And then he said, "'Well, since you are not afraid of the animals, then I shall have you consumed by fire unless you change your mind.' But Polycarp said, "'The fire you threaten me with burns merely for a time and is soon extinguished. It is clear you are ignorant of the fire of everlasting punishment and of the judgment that is to come which awaits the impious. Why then do you hesitate?

Come, do what you will." He turned that around and said, You don't know what the fire is. And he said these and many other words. He was filled with a joyful courage. His countenance was filled with grace, and not only did he not collapse in terror at what was said to him, but rather it was the governor who was amazed. And he sent his herald into the center of the arena to announce three times, Polycarp has confessed that He is a Christian.

And after the herald had spoken, the entire mob of pagans and Jews from Smyrna shouted out loud in uncontrollable rage, Here is the schoolmaster of Asia, the father of Christians, the destroyer of the gods, the one that teaches the multitudes not to do reverence." And they were asking the man, the Philip, who had the lion to let it loose, but he said he wasn't allowed to do that since the games were passed. Next they decided to all shout together that polycarp should be burnt alive. And so all this happened with more speed than it takes to tell the story. The mob swiftly collected logs and brushes from their workshops in Baaz, and the Jews zealously helped them with this. These are the apostate Jews that were judged in Revelation.

And when the fire was prepared, Polycarp took off all his clothing, loosened his belt, and even tried to take off his sandals, although he had never had to do this before. For all the Christians were always eager to be the first to touch his flesh. Even before his martyrdom He had been adorned in this way. They did not nail Him down, but simply bound Him. And as He put His hands behind His back, He was bound like a noble ram, chosen for the oblation from a great flock, a holocaust prepared and made acceptable to God.

And looking up to the heaven, he said, O Lord, omnipotent God and Father of your beloved and blessed child Jesus Christ, through whom we have received our knowledge of you, the God of the angels, the powers and of creation, and of all the family of the good who live in your sight, I bless you because you have thought me worthy of this day and this honor, and to have a share among the number of the martyrs in the cup of your Christ for the resurrection unto eternal life of both the soul and the body in the immortality of the Holy Spirit. May I be received this day among them before Your face as a rich and acceptable sacrifice, as You, the God of truth, who cannot deceive, have prepared, revealed, and fulfilled beforehand. Hence, I praise You. I bless You. And I glorify You above all things through that eternal and celestial High Priest, Jesus Christ, Your beloved child, through whom is glory to You with Him and the Holy Spirit now and for all ages to come.

Amen. And when he had uttered his amen and finished his prayer and the men in charge of the fire started to light it, a great flame blazed up. And those of us to whom it was given to see, behold, a miracle as we had been preserved to recount the story to others. For the flames bellowing out like a ship's sail in the wind formed into the shape of a vault, and thus surrounded the martyr's body with a wall. And he was within it not as burning flesh, but rather as bread being baked, or like gold and silver being purified in a smelting furnace, and from it we perceived such a delightful fragrance as though it were smoking incense or some other costly perfume.

And at last, when these vicious men realized that his body could not be consumed by the fire, they ordered a confector to go up and plunge a dagger into the body. When they did this, there came out such a quantity of blood that the flames were extinguished. And even the crowd marveled that there should be such a difference between the unbelievers and the elect. And one of The elect indeed was the most venerable martyr, Polycop, who was in our day a teacher to the apostolic and prophetic traditions and a bishop of the Catholic Church in Smyrna. Every word that he uttered from his mouth was indeed fulfilled and shall be fulfilled.

The jealous and envious evil one who is the adversary of the race of the just, realizing the greatness of his testimony, his unblemished career from beginning and seeing Him now crowned with the garland of immortality and the winner of an incontestable prize, prevented us even from taking up the poor body, although many were eager to do so, and to have a share in His holy flesh. And when the centurion noticed this conflict over his body, he put the body out before everyone and had it cremated. Thus, at last, collecting the remains that were dearer to us than the precious stones and finer than gold, we buried them in a fitting spot, gathering here as far as we can in joy and gladness. We will be allowed by the Lord to celebrate the anniversary day of His martyrdom, both as a memorial for those who have already fought the contest and for the training and preparation of those who will do so one day. Was it worth it for polycarp?

He said it was. There are many, many more martyrs. We don't have time to look at all the martyrs of Lyon. But in closing, I did want to just mention one more, the martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicitis. Perpetua was a young lady of about 22 years of age when she was converted, and Felicitas was her maid, who was, when she was arrested, seven or eight months pregnant.

And she gave birth in prison. She had her baby taken away. And she mentions that gave her great pain, as any mother has experienced, who's nursed a baby. Her father, Perpetua's father, was a wealthy man. She came from a noble family.

And they pleaded with her. They pleaded with her to reconsider her decision. Her brothers, her family pleaded with her. Her brother said, Dear sister, you are greatly privileged. Surely you might ask for a vision to discover whether you are to be condemned or freed.

I want to read just a few of the things that she was able to say. She was brought into the amphitheater. And On the day before when they had their last meal, which is called a banquet, they celebrated not a banquet but a love feast. And they spoke to the mob with the same steadfastness and warned them of God's judgment, stressing the joy they would have in their suffering, and ridiculing the curiosity of those that came to see them. They were marched from the prison to the amphitheater joyfully, as though they were going to heaven.

With calm faces, trembling if at all with joy rather than fear, Perpetua went along with shining countenance and calm step as the beloved of God, as a wife of Christ, putting down everyone's stare by her own intense gaze. With them, she was also felicitous, glad that she had safely given birth so that now she could fight the beast, going from one bloodbath to another, from the midwife to the gladiator, ready to wash after childbirth in a second baptism. They were led to the gates, and the men were forced to put on pagan robes, robes of a pagan priest, but they resisted this. So there were other people that were martyred with them, but for the young women, these two women, the devil had prepared a mad heifer. This was an unusual animal, but it was chosen that their sex might be matched with that of the beast, and so they were stripped naked, placed in nets, and brought into the arena.

The crowd was horrified when they saw that one was a delicate young girl, and the other was a woman fresh from childbirth with milk dripping from her breast and they were brought back again and dressed. First the heifer tossed perpetually and she fell on her back, then sitting up she pulled down the tunic that was ripped Along the side so that it covered her thighs thinking more of her modesty than of her pain Next she was asked for a pin to fit next she asked for a pin to fasten her untidy hair For it was not right that a martyr should die with her hair and disorder Lest she might seem to be mourning in her hour of triumph. Then she got up and seeing that felicitous had been crushed to the ground, she went over to her, gave her hand and lifted her up and then the two stood side by side. But the cruelty of the mob was now appeased and so they were called back through the gate of life. And then, but later on, they were brought back.

And, Perpetua said she was screamed as she was struck on the bone by a wild boar. And the animals didn't kill her, and so they brought her to the stand where she was to be beheaded. And she took the trembling hand of the young gladiator and guided it to her throat. And it was as though so great a woman, feared as she was by the unclean spirit, could not be dispatched unless she herself were willing. Was it worth it for her?

You can ask her when you get to heaven. You know, Christ goes on to really, in the next couple of verses, to talk about, that's really the wrong question. He lays out what Christ suffered to save us, our salvation. And this whole passage then turns to talk about what was happening, what was going to happen in Jerusalem. And I think there's a connection.

It says, Then he took the twelve. And He said, We're going to Jerusalem, and the things that are written about by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished, for He will be delivered to the Gentiles. He will be mocked and insulted and spit upon, and they will scourge Him and kill Him, and the third day He will rise again. This is the most detailed accounting that Jesus gave yet of what was to come. Something that He knowingly went to.

That all the prophetic word of the Scriptures from Genesis to Malachi would be fulfilled concerning Him. Now some might be tempted to say, well, see what Christ has endured for us who are worth some. That shows what we are worth. But I think it shows just the opposite. It wouldn't be amazing if we were worth all that Christ suffered for our salvation.

The amazing thing is that we're not worth it. We're sinners. There was nothing that Christ had to gain by saving us. We weren't worth it. He did it because He loved us.

He did it because He loved us. And He endured everything that he will ever ask any of us to endure. And it is this then after the Hebrew author recounts the martyrs in Hebrews 11, is this admonition, therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us. And let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself.

Lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls, you have not yet resisted the bloodshed striving against sin." Jesus gave up. Jesus sacrificed for us because He loved us. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I thank you for your love. There is nothing in us that is worthy of anything that you have borne on our behalf.

There is nothing that we can add to your glory. There is nothing that we can add to the fellowship that you had in the Trinity. There is nothing that we can add to your power, but you have ordained that through sinners whom you have redeemed, your manifold wisdom would be displayed to the hosts of heaven. A wisdom that we do not and cannot always comprehend. But we know Father that what you have given to us is worth far more than anything that you call us to give up.

And that anything that we suffer in this age is not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in us. So Lord we ask that you would impress these truths upon us, that you would strengthen us and comfort us in the most holy faith through Jesus Christ. Amen. Thanks for watching!