Good for Nothing Christians — James A. Stewart

Christ’s Terms of Discipleship in Luke 14

Now I'm reading in the 14th chapter of Luke's Gospel tonight, the 14th chapter of Luke's Gospel and reading from verse 25 Luke's Gospel 14 verse 25. And there went great multitudes with him and he turned and said unto them If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

For which of you, intending to build a tower, should it not done first? And counteth the cost, whether he hath sufficient to finish it. Or less happily, after he hath laid the foundation, is not able to finish it.

All that behold it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to make war against another king, should it not done first? And consulteth, whether he be able with ten thousand, to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?

Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth him a message, and desireth conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its flavor, with which shall it be seasoned? That neither fit for the land, nor yet for the downhill, that men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Or he that hath spiritual understanding, let him understand my words. I want to speak to you briefly tonight on good for nothing Christians. Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its pungency, and its purity, blessings, what good can it do?

The Church’s Need for Fruitful Christians

My brother, my sister, from the very depth of my heart tonight, and I say it very kindly, that our churches are filled with good for nothing Christians. They are filled with men and women who profess to be supernaturally born again of the Holy Ghost.

They are filled with men who profess to be followers of the Lamb. And yet they contribute absolutely nothing to the growth of the church, and to the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the very uttermost parts of the earth.

With all the millions of Baptist believers in the Southland, a Baptist church in almost every crossroad of the Southland, and yet tonight around us there are millions going to hell, and furthermore hundreds of millions have never yet heard the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And I want to ask you tonight, are you one of these good for nothing Christians that the Redeemer is speaking about? I mentioned last night about my dear friend Helen Ewing, who when she went home to heaven at the age of 22, caused weeping and weeping to take place all over my beloved land of Scotland.

Memorial services were held for her, and the greatest of preachers broke down weeping, and said that she was the mightiest saint they ever knew, the mightiest soul winner they ever knew, the greatest soldier that Jesus Christ had in Scotland at that moment.

And they broke down weeping. Why? Because a great soldier in the army of the Lord had fallen in battle. She had been translated home to glory at only 20 years of age, 22. And I ask you, young friend, if God called you home to heaven tonight, would there be weeping in your church?

Would there be weeping all over the district? I'll ask, John's gone home, what shall we do without Mary? We cannot carry on the work without Mary. Would there be having days of fasting and prayer? If you went home to glory, how much would you be missed?

False Conversions and the New Birth

One of the most neglected messages today in our churches is this message on discipleship. I do not believe, friend, that we should use any psychology to bring a sinner to the altar. Now I know in mass evangelistic meetings, many times the counselors are told by the evangelist, that when I give the invitation, you all rush out to the front.

And then they'll think that you are unconverted people seeking the Savior, and psychologically they'll be moved out to come to Christ. I believe that is utterly wrong. We'll only get bastards and not children.

We'll only get psychological converts. We will not have men and women supernaturally born again of the Holy Ghost. If you want a true convert, you don't fill him up with liquor, hit him over the head with a hammer, and draw him to the Theragin farm.

No, no, friend, you cannot evangelize a world of false converts. The Word of God stands today, 2 Corinthians 5 .17,. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. All things are passed away, and behold, all things are become new.

And if that professed convert is not a new creation in Christ Jesus, then, friend, you have never been supernaturally born again of the Holy Ghost. They're still illegitimate children. They're empty professors that could have been baptized.

But they're only baptized candidates for hell. It's an empty profession. And I believe the reason why we have so many empty professions. Now, in our massive evangelistic meetings in America, almost 95 of the converts are not born again.

Can you imagine? 95 sometimes. They have never been supernaturally born again of the Holy Ghost. They made an empty conversion, an empty decision. Somehow they were psychologically moved upon and brought upon.

But they weren't dealt with supernaturally by the Holy Ghost. Now, you have in this challenge of the Lord Jesus, you have also the message of the gospel. The gospel supper, come for all things are now ready.

And then afterwards you have the message on discipleship. I believe, friend, that the reason why we have so many false converts is because in our gospel message, we do not preach the message of discipleship.

The Lordship of Jesus Christ

As I said yesterday, if you look in the book of Acts, the word Savior is only mentioned twice. While the word Lord occurs 117 times. The full title of our Lord is the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't keep on saying Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.

I love to say that, but that's Gilead's true title. God hath made this same Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ. He's the Lord Jesus Christ. And I believe because we have failed to emphasize the Lordship of Jesus Christ in our gospel message, that we have so many sham converts.

Now, here in this 14th chapter of Luke's gospel, the Lord Jesus Christ lays down the terms of discipleship. Now, you notice that believers are not true disciples. Now, a disciple is a soldier in God's army, a student in God's school.

But all believers are not disciples. You may be born again and you're not a disciple of the Lord Jesus. But three times over he says, he cannot, he cannot, he cannot be my disciple. Now, I want to ask you, are you a true disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ?

Counting the Cost of Following Jesus

Now, as of discipleship, say, well, this is not very diplomatic. Now, during the war I was in diplomatic service with the British government. And I dealt with kings and queens and ambassadors and royalty and statesmen and presidents.

And I thank God my Savior wasn't in any way a diplomat. I thank God my Savior never tried to deceive anybody. For the sinner to come to Jesus Christ, we ought to tell him the whole story. And when we preach the message to believers, we must tell them what it cost them to follow the Lord Jesus.

Now, this is not the language of diplomacy. Jesus Christ will deceive nobody. And the Lord Jesus paints the picture black and he says, listen, if you're going to follow me, you've got to pay the price.

Foxes of homes, the birds in the air have nest, but the Son of Man hath nowhere to raise head. And I believe there never was a time when we needed to preach discipleship as the day in which we live. Now, you will notice, you may say, well, you know, that this is rather severe and narrow and bigoted.

Well, it all depends how much you love the Lord Jesus. If you love the Lord Jesus Christ with all your heart and all your soul, you'll say, hallelujah, I thank God for these terms of discipleship. And Jesus Christ would not be the Son of God if he did not demand all.

I thank God for He demands all I have. Everything I possess and hope to be for time and eternity. And when a young person says to me, hey, Brother Stuart, can I still go here and be a Christian? Can I do that and still be a Christian?

I raise a question mark over the reality of their profession of faith. And the question should not be, how far away from Christ can I be and still be a Christian? How far away from Christ can I still live and love Him?

No, the question should be, not how far away, but how near to Christ can I get? I don't want to be like Peter falling afar off. I want to be like John leaning on his bosom. Now, you'll notice the Savior lays, gives us two illustrations.

He says, here's a man beginning to build a tower. But because he does not sit down as a businessman should and calculate the cost of the building, when it's halfway up, he has to stop. And the people begin to mock him saying, huh, look at that stupid fella.

His building's only halfway up. He's no businessman. He didn't calculate the cost of the construction. And then the second illustration the Savior gives is a king going to make war against another king.

And when he's just at the psychological moment of victory, he has to put up the white flag of armistice and surrender. Why? He did not sit down and calculate what it was going to cost him to wage that war against him.

Now the Savior said, I am building a building. Upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I do not want to incorporate any material in my building that will not stand the storms of persecution and opposition.

I also am waging a warfare. Oh, so many of our believers and our churches don't believe it's a Christian warfare. They don't believe it's a warfare. But my brother, my sister, Christ is waging a warfare against the powers of darkness.

And the Lord Jesus says, I don't want a single chocolate soldier in my army. I don't want a single soldier who will turn back because he's afraid. He doesn't love me enough. He's not willing to die for me.

He's not willing enough to go through for me. And so the Savior gives these two illustrations. And he says, now, before you follow me, I want you to sit down in cold blood, count the cost. I remember at a missionary gathering in Belfast some years ago, I gave the invitation at the missionary convention of some 100 missionaries for young Belfast young people who would follow the Lord, who would be willing, and the Holy Ghost told them, to go anywhere and preach the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth.

About 130 young people come forward. And I said, you meet me in the smaller room. And when I went into that smaller room, you would have thought they were ready to be shot. They didn't look at each other, they didn't laugh, they didn't giggle, they didn't move.

They just looked straight ahead as if they were condemned to death. And there was no emotion whatsoever. Maybe a trickle of a tear in the eye, possibly. And I said to them, do you understand what it's going to mean?

It means they may have to say farewell to your father, mother, and your loved ones and not see them for years. It may be you'll contract disease and die. Maybe you'll be put to death by savages somewhere in the jungles.

Are you ready to follow Christ? Now, you have come forward in the big meeting. Will you quite understand where you are? And every one of these young Irish people in cold blood stood without any tears, without any singing.

And I said, will you say, yes, Lord? And everyone said, yes, Lord. Now friend, that's what I mean, to do it in cold blood. Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. Now, the Savior gives three conditions of discipleship.

Loving Christ Above Family and Personal Desires

First of all, you must love them first. Then you must take up your cross and follow Him. And then, you must forsake all and follow Him. If you love anybody, or anything more than you love the Lord Jesus Christ, you cannot be His disciple.

Now, this comes very close. If you love your mother, not my mother, because I'll get a notice any day that I may have to fly back to Scotland to preach my mother's funeral psalm. She's 88. And when I was with her a little while ago in the hospital, I could only think that she gave me on the altar to God.

And in all these years of having, I could count up the days I've seen my mother, my precious mother. If you love your mother, if you love your father, if you love your brother, if you love your sister, if you love your wife, if you love your husband, if you love your children, if you love your sweetheart more than you love the Lord Jesus Christ, you cannot be His disciple.

And if you love anything more than you love the Lord Jesus, you cannot be His disciple. And there are many Christians who secretly worship idols in their hearts. These idols and Jesus Christ is second place.

Now, dear believer, the Holy Ghost, in every convention, Bible gathering, is fighting for the supremacy of Jesus Christ in your heart's affections. And in your intellect. We are asked to present our bodies a living sacrifice to the Holy Ghost.

Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost, is fighting for the supremacy of Jesus Christ in your life. And He will not tolerate for one single minute Christ having second place. We read in the Word of God that the coat whereon Jesus sat, never man ever sat on.

We read that where the sepulcher where Jesus Christ was buried, nobody had ever been buried there before. Why? Because the Holy Ghost wouldn't tolerate our Lord having second place. And the motto of our life must be Colossians 1 .18.

In everything, Christ must have preeminence in the first place. He doesn't just want the place of prominence, He wants the place of preeminence. Let me ask you, set your hearts, and do you love anybody more than you love the Lord Jesus Christ?

I have seen young men, young women, come filled with the love of Christ, weeping for souls, all on the altar. And then the devil says, I know how to get at them, I'll make them fall in love. There's nothing wrong in falling in love, if you fall in love the way God wants you to fall in love.

But very soon friend, that young man, he loves his sweetheart more than he loves the Lord Jesus Christ. And he's talking about Mary more than he talks about Jesus. She's gone to the mission field, she's no longer going to the mission field.

She loves Tommy too much to go to the mission field. He's a believer alright, but you see, the devil sent human love to come in between divine love. I would mention the name of the pastor, because you know him.

I used to evangelize many times in his church in Canada. And he had a long distance call when he was away in meetings. Come and bury a precious young lady in the church. Now this young lady, when she was only 16 years of age, was broken.

And she said to her mother, oh mother, the heathen in Africa, I must go and preach to them the gospel. And her mother said, shut up, only as a cultured woman, shut up. Don't you ever dare mention foreign mission work to me, you're not going to become a missionary.

Now please remember, her mother was a believer and the chairman of the women's foreign mission work in the church. But the daughter came again and said, mother let me go to bible school at least. Mother said, alright, go to bible school.

But you're not going to be a missionary in Africa. And after the daughter finished the bible school, she came weeping again and said, oh mother let me go. My heart's broken, I must go to Africa. Mother said, no, never again mention Africa.

And you know that young lady died, went to glory. And my friend the pastor pronounced, conducted the ceremony in the church. And that mother came forward and she said, oh people, pastor, pray for me, my cursed maid.

I love myself more than I love my daughter. I love myself more than I love my savior. You see, she was the women's foreign missionary secretary. She was willing to let other daughters go, but not at all.

That's like saying, here am I Lord, send him. Yes. Now, do you love anybody? Do you love anybody more than you love Christ? More than you love Christ. I remember when God was giving us the revivals when I was a boy in the north of England.

And a farmer came to me, a very wealthy farmer. And he said to me, Jimmy, he said, God's told me we're going to have meetings on my farm. And he had the most beautiful farmhouse in the whole district.

You see, his wife was a believer, but she lived for her home. God, her hope was on an idol. And she worshipped every bit of the home. And when I said yes, I'll come. And when he went home that night and said, wife, Jimmy's coming for a meeting.

She said, he's not coming for a meeting on my farmhouse. But he said, our neighbors are going to hell. They're coming to the sound of the gospel. He said, God's moving. He said, he's not coming to my farmhouse.

The boys pleaded with the mother too. And the pastor said, all right, he can come. And I'll never forget our first night. It snowed. And about 200 farmers and their wives come right into that big, beautiful home and sunk their dirty, big feet all in these beautiful carpets and these high, big rooms.

I never saw a woman so crushed and broken before in my life. But friend, I preached that night and souls were saved. And you know, friend, after the service, the farmer was weeping for joy that God had done that night.

And his wife was in another room, sulking, weeping because of her carpets. And I knocked on the door and I went in and I knelt on the bedside and she said, get out, never come back to my home again. I said, sister, I said, listen, what about Calvary?

What about the Savior? What about Calvary? Sister, what is your rugs? Rugs in comparison to a lost soul being saved from hell. I don't think that lady ever forgave. And yet she was a believer, born again, sat at all the meetings and singing, I surrender all.

But she was singing loud. And I believe there's a lot of you young people who'd be out in the foreign mission fields if you loved your Savior more than you loved America. And when Peter was being restored, the Lord Jesus said, Peter, three times you denied Me, I want to ask you three questions.

Simon Peter, lovest thou Me more than these. Do you love Me more than you love the deep blue sea of Galilee? Do you love Me more than you love your fishing business? Do you love Me more than you love your wife and children?

Do you love Me more than you love the disciples? Simon Peter, lovest thou Me. Do you love your deep blue of Galilee, your deep blue sea of Galilee? Do you love your America more than you love Christ? Do you love your business, your home, your loved one?

Do you love other things, other people more than you love Christ? Oh friend, the Lord Jesus is so glorious, He's so wonderful. That all we can see is love so amazing, abundant, abounding, shall have my life, my all.

The Cross as Shame and Reproach

When I feel as a missionary, lonely, in danger. And the devil will try and tell me it's too great the price you pay. I say get thee behind me Satan. I say oh God, give me once again the vision of the cross.

As I gaze in the face of my blessed Lord. And I see that blessed back cloud. And I see that blessed face smitten, stricken By mine and by God. I say blessed Lord Jesus, I could go through anything for you.

Oh friend, let me ask you, do you love anybody more than you love Christ? Are you worshipping secret idols in your heart? And then you must take up your cross and follow Him. Now what is this cross? We hear such a lot of nonsense about.

A sister stands up in a prayer meeting and says Pastor please pray for me, I'm carrying a heavy cross. Well you know a heavy cross is that a child is sick. Or her husband's bad temper. Or something of that way.

Now I'm sympathetic with you if you're sorrows and troubles. I work among refugees. I saw Hitler put thousands of Jews to Jesus Christ. Some of my best friends were tortured and put to death by the Gestapo.

My younger brother was 5 years tortured by the Gestapo. And is still old to this very day. In 32 concentration camps as a preacher I escaped. I saw the Russians put people to death. And I work among refugees.

And support refugees in Israel and all over Eastern Europe. And friend if you're in suffering, if you lost your wife or your husband In suffering tonight, I'm with you, I'm praying for you. But your catastrophe is not your cross.

You see because your next door neighbor is not safe. They also have to have sorrows and troubles. Now what is the believer's cross? It's the shame and reproach of your identification with the cross of Jesus Christ.

Paul says I have been crucified with Christ. He says let us therefore go unto him outside the camp. Bearing his reproach. At the moment you bear the shame and reproach of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because you are his disciple.

So then you take up your cross and you follow him. In Northern Ireland, in Ulster. Where I've just been for 2 months revival meeting. There's a ghost of a preacher haunts every meeting. He went to heaven at 82 years of age about 6 years ago.

And just writing his life story now called God's Hammer Man. He hammered home the word of God. And you see revival came to this country through this man In 1922. And almost every middle aged Christian over in Ulster.

Who was born again during that time. And you can have a conference like this and say Hands up all those of you who were saved during these meetings. Almost 99 will raise their hands and stand up. Because this man won more souls to Christ than all preachers put together.

Because tens of thousands were saved in the revival of 1920 and 1922. I'll refer to my friend Reverend W .P. Nicholson A Presbyterian evangelist. And in every meeting even today in Ulster I suppose there's not a service anywhere ever held in Ulster.

His name is not mentioned in prayer or in the preaching. Can you imagine? As W .P. Nicholson said they said Oh God give us days again like W .P. Nicholson. But anyhow. You know how this man came to a place of blessing?

He belonged to a very respectable Presbyterian family. In a small fishing town in Ulster. And God said to him He just got saved. And God said to him Are you willing tonight to go down to the salvation army.

Down the street shouting glory hallelujah. And he said oh Lord I'm not. And you see one of the drummer boys was a little bit off. You know a simple headed young man in town. And he said Lord they come from the lowest part of the city.

The lowest part of society. Lord a decent respectable Presbyterian Lord. I couldn't be seen down the street with them. And God said if you don't I won't bless you. Will you go down tonight? And he had the biggest battle of his life.

And he went straight down that street. And marched with the band in the front of the salvation army. In these days they were spiritual not the way they are now. And that man went through a crucifixion that night.

And the whole little town of Bangor knew that W .P. Nicholson was out in the salvation army. Open air and carrying tax boards. And he went home and the devil said You've made the biggest fool of your life.

And that was the turning point in the life of W .P. Nicholson. Now friend have you taken up your cross and followed him? Are you being laughed at and ridiculed. Despised at because you follow the Lord Jesus Christ?

Forsaking All and Offering Everything to God

Are you compromising with the world? Are you compromising with sin? But lastly you must forsake all and follow him. Now don't misunderstand me. I do not want to water down the word of God. But I have never known anybody Who was asked to forsake all for the Lord Jesus Christ.

In my 42 years as an evangelist and missionary I've been asked to forsake many things. Forsake my children, my wife, my home. I've been at death's door many times. I've been asked to forsake many things but never all.

Hungry for days. I've been dying with delirious fever in Russia. With nobody around me for days. I've been asked to do many things. But I've never been asked if I'm going to give up all. Why what does it mean?

The Lord Jesus simply means that We must be willing in a moment's notice To forsake all and follow him. We must be willing to take our hands off everything tonight And say oh God everything you can have.

You can have my money That touches a heart. I'm a missionary And I break my heart, I weep almost every day. I cry to God for money. I know what money, sanctified money can do To bring the gospel to heathen.

You say Lord you can have my pocketbook. You can have that money that I want. But Lord it can be yours. If you want you can have it Lord. Lord you can have my children. Lord Lord you can have me. You can have anything Lord.

Are you willing in a moment's notice to follow him? I don't know if down in this park. You ever heard of Dr. Paul Rader. Dr. Paul Rader you know used to preach To Billy Sutton In Wales In 1934 Just coming as a young man To a Bible conference there.

And Brother Paul Rader met me An elderly gentleman. And Dr. Paul Rader said to me. He said Brother Stuart he said Be careful what you say to this Bible conference. That's not what you mean. He said don't say anything you don't mean.

Now if you say you need a nurse for Morocco You'll have ten young women Standing right up and say they'll go. If you say you need ten thousand pounds For the missionary work. There'll be men standing up the checkbook Saying how much, how much Willing to sign the check On the spot as you preach.

I said I've never been to a conference I've had my life before. And then with slow deliberation We had to talk to these people. Because every one of them About a thousand of them. And they're in Swansea, Wales.

Were willing on a moment's notice Of Reese Howe's convention. Were willing on a moment's notice To forsake all and follow Christ. Now what does it mean? Let this pulpit be God's auto-sacrifice. This is something deliberate Realizing I'm bought with a price.

I'm not my own. I first of all present myself On God's auto-sacrifice. And then I present my time On God's auto-sacrifice. And then I present my talents On God's auto-sacrifice. Oh if every believer in our churches Would give God all their talents We would have revival Evangelize the world in no time.

And then I present my money On God's auto-sacrifice. Then I present my loved ones On God's auto-sacrifice. I want to be a hundred percent For my blessed Lord Jesus Christ. Let us pray.

This message was preserved and made available By Revival Literature, Nashville, North Carolina. For more information you can visit them online RevivalLit .org.