​To listen to the audio of this message, click here.
 
When many came to Jesus saying: "I will follow You wherever You go" (Luke 9:57), Jesus appeared to discourage them by emphasising the sacrifices and self-denial necessary. "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head" (Luke 9:58). "If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me" (Luke 9:23). "…any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:33).
 
The Immensity of the Task 
One of the most frustrating aspects of missionary work is the immensity of the task and the scarcity of the workers. As our Lord Jesus said: "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few …" (Luke 10:2). So many of those workers fail and give up - leaving the remaining workers with even more responsibilities and a greater burden.
 
Remain Steadfast
The Lord Jesus declared: "No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the Kingdom of God" (Luke 9:62). Steadfastness and perseverance are essential for Christian service.
 
Revive your Love
To the Church at Ephesus, the Lord wrote: "Yet I hold this against you: you have forsaken your first love" (Revelation 2:4). "What can I do with you …your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears." Hosea 6:4. The writer to the Hebrews, speaking of the life of faith, writes: "But My righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him" (Hebrews 10:38). A strong devotional life is an absolutely essential foundation for ministry.

​To listen to the audio of this message, click here.
 
“Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the Law. For the Commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘You shall not covet’ and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ Love does no harm to a neighbour; therefore love is the fulfilment of the Law.” Romans 13:8-10
 
Is it Unloving to be Pro-Life?
The moment you start doing any kind of serious ministry, whether it is for standing up for the right to life for the preborn; opposing the pornography industry; standing up for Biblical marriage between one man and one woman for life; or opposing the GayGB agenda you are accused of being “unloving”. It is extraordinary how much of the world continually berates Christians with “not being loving enough”, or “not understanding what love is.” Who defines what love is?
 
Is Love Passive Toleration of Evil?
According to Hollywood, love is sentimentality, emotion, feeling, tolerance of evil, not saying anything that could offend anyone else, etc. You should say nothing and do nothing to protect your children from the pornography industry, from the gay agenda and from radical Islamic Jihadists.
 
The Biblical Definition of Love
What does the Bible say? “Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the Law.” Romans 13:10
 
Love is Seen in Action to Protect the Innocent
One of the commandments of God is ‘You shall not murder.’ The positive implication of that command is: you shall preserve innocent life against murder. The churchman in Texas who got up and shot the assailant, 29 December 2019, saved lives and received the Texas Governor’s highest award for courage, for swift and effective action, which saved many lives. It is not unloving to protect your neighbour. It is not unloving to risk your life to save and serve others.

“If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small. Deliver those who are drawn toward death and hold back those stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, ‘Surely we did not know this,’ does not He who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?” Proverbs 24:10-12
 
Be Strong in the Day of Adversity
Our strength is revealed in times of crisis. You know the flavour of a tea bag when it gets into hot water. If we faint in the day of adversity, our strength is small. It is in the time of crisis that we must stand firm and be deeply rooted in the Word of God.
 
Rescue Those Being Led Away to Death
Psalm 1:3 reads “He shall be like a tree planted by steams of water…” rooted in the Word of God. We are commanded to love our neighbour. To do to others, as we want to be done unto. To be just and fair towards those in need and to rescue those being drawn towards slaughter. We should warn, we should interpose, intervene to save life. These are principles you see throughout the Scripture.

God Will Render to Each According to His Actions
“If you say, ‘Surely we did not know this,’ does not He who weighs the hearts consider it?” God knows our thoughts and our motives. “He who keeps your soul, does He not know it?” This is something of a threat. God is our Creator and our Eternal Judge and He is the Sovereign God of the universe. He is the One who determines whether you live or die and when and how you die. If you turn your heart and eyes away from those in need, you are being like the Levite and the priest walking by on the other side of the road. We need to be like the Good Samaritan, doing what needs to be done. To rescue those lying bleeding in the gutter. The parable of the Good Samaritan concludes, “Go and do likewise” (Luke 10:26-37). “And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?” ​

To listen to the audio of this message, click here.
 
Encouraging Victims of Persecution
To those of us involved in ministering to Christians suffering persecution the imprecatory Psalms are a tremendous source of comfort. Those of us who are fighting for the right to life of the preborn, or battling social evils such as pornography, or violent crime, need to appreciate what an important weapon God has entrusted to us in the imprecatory Psalms. This study will help inspire and guide your prayers and the prayers of your family and congregation:
 
The Imprecatory Psalms
When I first encountered the prayers for judgement in the Psalms, I was quite as loss to know how to respond to them. Prayers such as:
"Break the arm of the wicked and evil man; call him to account for his wickedness..." Psalm 10:15 did not seem consistent with the gospel of love which I had accepted. Yet Psalm 10:15 was clearly motivated by love for God ("The Lord is King forever and ever; the nations will perish from His land" 10:16 and "Why does the wicked man revile God?" 10:13) and by love for the innocent who suffer ("You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; You encourage them and You listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more." 10:17-18.)

​To listen to the Sanctity of Life sermon, as presented to Livingstone Fellowship, on Sermon Audio, click here.
 
"Rescue those being led away to death, hold back those staggering towards slaughter." Proverbs 24:11
 
The Cape of Storms
It was a stormy winter night in June 1773. All night the storm raged. The five ships in Table Bay were buffeted all night and pounded by the turbulent waves. Bright streaks of lightning lit up the Imposing Table Mountain and the little settlement of Cape Town. Few of the sailors got much sleep that stormy night as the wooden ships creaked and groaned and strained at their anchors.
 
De Jonge Thomas
Captain Barend Lameren was concerned as his ship, De Jonge Thomas, broke its moorings and began to drag its anchor. There were 270 men, women and children on board the ship, along with a valuable cargo from the East. As the storm intensified, just after midnight on 1 June 1773, the Captain ordered the ship's cannon fired to warn the people on shore that they needed help.