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[0:00] Mark 8.34 And the gospels, the same shall save it.

[0:35] For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

[0:48] Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

[1:08] An anchor of the soul, it says, the faith we have in Christ in Hebrews 6 verse 19. The value of the soul is something that we need to consider.

[1:21] And this is what our text tells us of, the value of the soul. What shall a man give in exchange for his soul? What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?

[1:39] And the Lord Jesus speaks to us. Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

[1:57] Ashamed of Jesus. Have you ever been embarrassed? Have you ever been ashamed? We all can think of times of that, of being ashamed, of being embarrassed.

[2:10] Can you say, I'm not ashamed of Jesus Christ? I'm not ashamed of him. Is he one you stand for?

[2:21] Is he one that you can stand and be counted for, to stand with? Do you stand out from the crowd that might not stand for him? And stand with Jesus Christ?

[2:32] We know in the Gospels we read of Peter, he was ashamed, wasn't he? At a time when they said, you're one of him.

[2:43] You're one of his. You're with him. And Peter was ashamed. He denied knowing him. Ashamed of knowing Jesus. So even those that we could consider were an example to us, failed at times to live up to that testimony they should have had.

[3:06] And the opposite of being ashamed is pride. And of course we know sinful pride is something we should avoid, and pride in flesh or self or in anything other than the truth, reeling of Christ is something we should not have sinful pride.

[3:24] But there is, I guess, godly pride in the sense that we can be proud that we are his. We can have a pride, not in ourselves, but a pride in him, a glory in him, a pride in our Lord.

[3:37] And the sinful and adulterous generation in which we live take great relish in things such as, I've heard the phrase, gay pride.

[3:47] Gay pride. Gay pride. They're proud to be gay, they say. And yet, I can't see any reason to be proud of being gay, so-called gay in the word of God.

[4:00] Certainly not much the opposite. In a sinful and adulterous generation, they take pride in such things. A pride in something that God would consider an abomination.

[4:14] Will you bear his mocking and scorn? Will you stand against the crowd? Go against the flow and stand with and for Jesus Christ. As a Christian, you can take delight and glory in and be glad to be associated with Jesus Christ.

[4:35] He says, He says, Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me, he's going to be ashamed of.

[4:46] Do you claim to stand for him, to stand with him, and yet when the pressure is applied, when the heat is applied, you do not. We claim to stand with him, but do we?

[5:00] Do we? Do we truly? In Acts 5.41, it says of the men of God, And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.

[5:19] They were worthy. They felt worthy. And they counted it a blessing, to be counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. Better to suffer shame for his name, than to be ashamed of the name of Jesus Christ.

[5:34] And friends, today, it's a fact that there's currently over 200 million Christians worldwide living under the threat of persecution.

[5:47] 200 million. I think I read the figure, 450 a month are killed for Christ in our present day. This is a reality.

[5:59] Christians are discriminated against, even in the West, even in Australia, there's Christian persecution. But we know by any comparison, it's pretty light. I know, I was looking on the internet, in preparation to speak, and saw some video footage, quite gripping, and horrific.

[6:20] Video footage. And friends, there's some African Christians, some African believers, and their bodies were scarred. They had white marks on their flesh, that were the result of being burnt, or beaten, or tortured.

[6:38] And this is a reality. In 2010, it's happening in the very present day. People today, and what do we have by comparison?

[6:48] Listen. I know, I was calling, to check on some folk, that were coming tonight, and, I was met at the door, by a dog.

[6:59] And I got bitten in the leg, as I was calling on one of the bus kids, to tell them that, they weren't coming tonight. And, and the parent, just didn't seem to, pay any notes.

[7:10] And, she was just, angry that, she wasn't getting, her child taken, tonight. And, and, and, and, and, and yet, you know, that's persecution, to a, to a, a tiny degree, that we would get bitten in the leg, or that we would get, cursed at, for Jesus' sake.

[7:29] But, brothers and sisters, we've got nothing compared to, what's happening in, countries all over, our planet. 200 million Christians, living under the threat of, torture, abused, imprisoned, subject to hatred.

[7:43] Facing the death penalty. I read this article. Imagine driving into your garage, one night, day, and noticing police cars parked along the street, outside your home.

[7:57] You jump out of your car, and rush inside, but instead of attending to an emergency, or protecting your family from danger, the police are wreaking havoc, inside your home.

[8:09] Furniture is being destroyed, possessions are being stolen, and your family is kneeling at gunpoint. Where is your Bible? An officer demands.

[8:20] Stunned, you reach for a shelf, pull out a Bible, and hand it to the officer. Without warning, he throws you to the floor, and begins to beat you with a club. When blood is soaked through your clothing, and your family is in tears, two officers yank you up, and shove you into the back of their car.

[8:40] A lengthy interrogation happens, and you are forced to stay upright, standing up awake for the questioning for hours. Hours later, you are shown to a jail cell.

[8:51] Without a trial, you have been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Now that's the kind of account, that's not fiction, that's fact in some countries. That could happen, that could be a reality.

[9:03] And what for us? You know, we scarcely raise a whimper, we scarcely have a scaring, of any kind of persecution.

[9:15] You know, we that are working in the workplace, at times you might get jibes and taunts, and there's pressures to succumb to the world's lifestyle choices, they call it, as we know.

[9:29] And yet we know the Bible calls it sin. And friends today, but yet still, in comparison, in the context of the worldwide scene, our persecution in Australia is nothing, for the name of Jesus Christ.

[9:44] Be not ashamed of Jesus Christ. Secondly, be not ashamed of faith. Be not ashamed of faith. In 2 Timothy 1, verse 8, Be not thou therefore ashamed, of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but be thou partaker, of the afflictions of the gospel, according to the power of God.

[10:04] In verse 12, or 2 Timothy 1, for the which cause I also suffer these things, nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

[10:22] I am not ashamed, I am not ashamed of Jesus Christ, I am not ashamed to be counted a believer in Christ, I am not ashamed to profess my faith in Christ, to profess faith in Christ.

[10:45] Do you know whom you have believed? Do you know him truly? And honestly today, are we fair dinkum, as it were?

[10:55] Are we genuine about our faith? Or is it something we just have a token reference to? Is it something that we have a form of godliness, but deny the power of it?

[11:11] Salvation. Think of salvation, it's our deliverance from damnation, from eternal death. Let me read another story, this is North Korea, North Korea, present day.

[11:24] I was looking on the web, and North Korea is the most persecuted land, on planet Earth today, for God's people. And it says here, this story, the young brown-eyed girl, looked out at her mother, what would she decide?

[11:42] Earlier that morning, the young girl's mother, their pastor, and 26 others, in North Korean village of Gok-sam, were bound, and taken before, a screaming crowd, of communists.

[11:56] One of the guards, ordered Pastor Kim, and the other Christians, deny Christ, or you will die. The words chilled her, how could they ask her, to deny Jesus?

[12:08] She knew in her heart, he was real. They all quietly refused. Then the communist guard, shouted directly, at the adult Christians, deny Christ, or we will hang your children.

[12:21] The young girl, looked up at her mother, she gripped her, and knowing, how much her mother, loved her, her mother then, leaped down, with confidence and peace, she whispered, today my love, I will see you in heaven.

[12:38] All of the children, were hanged. The remaining believers, were then, brought out, onto the pavement, and forced to lie down, in front of a huge steamroller.

[12:50] And the communists, gave them one last chance, deny this Jesus, or you will be crushed. The Christians, had already given up, their children, there was no turning back.

[13:01] As the driver, started, the heavy piece of equipment, the singing from the villagers, started softly, more love, O Christ, to thee. More love, to thee.

[13:13] Faith, is something, not to be ashamed of. Something to be standing, and to be counted for, no matter what, no matter what. Not ashamed of Jesus, not ashamed, of faith, in him.

[13:27] And not ashamed, thirdly, of the gospel, Romans 1, 16. Something else, not to be ashamed of, today, the gospel, the power of God. The gospel, Romans 1, 16.

[13:40] Paul speaks again, of the gospel, of Christ. Romans 1, 16. For I'm not ashamed, not ashamed, of the gospel of Christ, for it is, the power of God, unto salvation, to everyone, that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

[14:00] Not ashamed, of the gospel, of Christ. What is the gospel? It's that message, of glad tidings, of eternal life, of hope, of salvation, of God's, saving grace, and power, through faith, through the blood, shed of Christ, for us.

[14:19] Friends, I'm not ashamed of that. We should not be ashamed of that. We should not want, to be ashamed of Jesus, not ashamed of the gospel, not ashamed, to live it, to proclaim it.

[14:30] It's something, we want to stand for, we want to bear, ridicule for, if we must, we want to stand up, and be counted for it, to stand for the gospel.

[14:41] Not ashamed, of the gospel, the good news, the good news, the glad tidings, of great joy. Not ashamed, of the gospel. But is it the gospel?

[14:51] Is it the gospel? In some circles, there's, that which is professed, to be the gospel, which is, really just a, a poor substitute, for it.

[15:02] It's not the, the full message, it's not the full, extent of it. It's not fully, proclaimed in some circles, and, by God's grace, sometimes God, I think, bypasses the faults, of man, who might preach, a faulty gospel.

[15:19] But, friends, we need to stand, for the gospel, as it's surely, and clearly, expounded, and declared, and given to us, the gospel. Because in these days, there's, the sad, regard for, a message that, really doesn't declare, the full, extent, of the wrath of God, that faces mankind, without, his saving grace.

[15:43] For the, the reality of a hellfire, to come, for those that reject, his grace, and faith. Friends, today, there's, clear, need for the gospel, to be declared, soundly, with power, with conviction, with faith.

[15:59] And, the gospel, it is the power, of God, unto salvation. The power, it's that ability, that effect, that wonderful, transforming, power, to change lives, to affect, a revolution, from the inside out, to transform a life, the transforming power, of this message.

[16:21] No wonder, there's some governments, that fear this book. I fear, that transformation, that can happen, in a community, in a nation, when people take, here, to the message, there's power, in the gospel, power in the word of God, the power, of God, of God, not from man, but from the almighty.

[16:41] This is no, man's message, this is God's message, to modern man, God's wonderful, transforming message, unto salvation. The purpose of this book, is salvation, it's redemption, it's rescue, it's liberation, it's freedom.

[16:59] So vital, so needful, so necessary, there's universal need, for this book. And that's why we, believe, by God's help, we'll, seek to take the gospel, to other lands, where, it needs to be proclaimed, because we know, this message, needs to be declared, not just here, but everywhere.

[17:21] The universal need, for this message. And his word, it convicts, it saves, it's biblical truth, it's power for God, we live in, it's God's power.

[17:32] And Paul said, he was willing to suffer for it, as his witness of it. And I'm not ashamed, I stand for this, with confidence. You can say that today, with solid faith.

[17:43] The power of God, unto salvation, to everyone, that believer. We want to communicate, this gospel, so that they, that have not heard, can hear.

[17:53] As we know, that, how can they hear, unless it is declared? We must deliver it, we must declare it, we must communicate it, and speak up for Christ. And a quote here, from another preacher, John MacArthur said this, about not being silent, not being silent.

[18:12] He says, I'm absolutely, 100% convinced, that the weakness, of the church in America, the superficiality, of the church, the shallowness, of the church, the hypocrisy, of the church, is directly related, to the absence, of any cost, or any price, to be paid, to be a Christian.

[18:31] If you don't have, to pay a price, hey, just jump on, the bandwagon. If the persecution, came to America, you see, a very different, kind of Christianity. A whole lot of people, who are really good, to talk about Jesus, won't be talking, about Jesus, anymore.

[18:49] Who profess, to know Jesus, and to be part, of the church, they will stop talking, very fast, if the price, was as high, as it is, for some people.

[19:00] It's true, think of it, if we were transported, into another land, another culture, if we had, not been as fortunate, to be born, into a free, western world country, but to be born, of other skin, in a land, where the gospel, is hated, and the people, face, the firing squad, or an awful torture, I was reading, of Christians, where they pour, boiling water, down their mouth, in persecution.

[19:29] Friends, there's horrific stories, we could tell, and I don't want to, burden you with that, but yet, there is this, needful need, for us, to be alerted, to this, the gripping reality, of this, and we know, as we see, and it's ever more, accessible on the internet, the horrific, tales, and, and sites, that we can, witness, of other Christians, being tormented, for Christ, and, and there's, great tragedies, happening, all about, in other lands, and, even in, times past, we know, the Fox's book, and Martyrs, I'd urge you to, to take that book, and read it, as it tells, the gripping accounts, of, godly men, and women, much, as ourselves, common, everyday, Christians, that, were, willing to, bear Christ's cross, and to suffer, for him, to not be ashamed, friends today, are you ashamed of him, he says, do not be ashamed of me, do not be ashamed of me, he says, in his word, through Paul, that I'm not ashamed, of the gospel, the good news, the salvation message,

[20:42] I'm not ashamed, you know, every one of us, has an opportunity, to communicate, the gospel, it's not, for those, that, are necessarily, behind, pulpits, or, those, that, wear dog collars, or all kinds of, you know, have titles, or positions, of any kind, it's not of any of that, it's for everyday believers, it's for you and me, it's for every one of us, to declare that message, as God gives us help to, there's opportunity, to witness through leaflets, through, testimony, through, all kinds of means, we should not be ashamed, of the gospel, and, you know, we, we that work, we're in the workplace, we're constantly, being scrutinised, for our Christian testimony, and profession, we want to live up, to that witness, for Christ, and we want to, be a testimony, in our everyday living, and we can be, not to be ashamed, of the gospel, not to be ashamed, of the faith, that we profess, not a Christianity, that's just a, a mere profession, that when the, the rubber hits the road, we just weaken, and cave in, and go with the flow, and go with the crowd, but to stand, and to be counted, look unto him, just to close, a couple more verses,

[21:57]  Psalm 34, 5, it says, they looked unto him, and were lightened, and their faces, were not ashamed, that's Psalm 34, verse 5, they looked unto him, and were lightened, and their faces, were not ashamed, if you look unto Christ, you will not be ashamed, even your very sin, my very sin, it's taken, we can look into his face, and not be ashamed, even though there's nothing, worthy of ourselves, to count, before him, nothing we can credit, to our own account, but everything he is credited, to your account, that's what makes us, not ashamed, because by the blood of Christ, the blood of Jesus Christ, his son cleansed us, from all sin, we can look, squarely in the eyes, of our God, and know that, he has taken every bit, of the blot, of anything we could be ashamed of, that we've ever done, because of his grace, and mercy, they looked unto the Lord, and were lightened, and their faces, were not ashamed, and we can be like those, in the number of Hebrews 11, verse 16, but now they desire, a better country, that isn't heavenly, wherefore God is not ashamed, to be called their God, for he hath prepared, for them, a city, think of that, not even that, that we should not be ashamed, of Jesus, not be ashamed, of his gospel, not be ashamed, of faith, but to think, that God, would not be ashamed, of you, of me, that he would not, be ashamed of us, isn't that wonderful, to think, as our loving heavenly father, that as much as we are, at times, not always living up, to what we can be, and we can be disobedient, and yet he, chastens us, as our loving father, yet he is not ashamed, of us, he's not ashamed, to be called our God, and, he was not ashamed, of you, when he died, on the cross, he was not ashamed, of you, and of all your sin, he was not ashamed, of all your unworthiness, and guilt, of all the inadequacy, of your failing, to live, to his glory, as you fall short, as we all do, he's not ashamed, of you, he wasn't ashamed, of you, when he stretched out, his arms, on Calvary, and bled, and died for you, he was not ashamed, of you, so let us not, be ashamed of him, as you trust him, trust him today, trust him, to help you, not to be ashamed, let's pray,