From Simon to Peter #19 - We Have Left Everything - What Shall We Have? — J. Glyn Owen

Peter’s Question About Leaving Everything

We continue with our theme this morning, From Stone to Peter, and following the footmarks of our Lord and his disciples according to the gospel narratives, we come this morning to an incident that you find recorded at the end of Matthew chapter 19.

If you'd like to have your New Testaments open at that point, you might find it profitable, because we shall be referring to these utterances of our Lord as we proceed. May I say that I hope to follow the message, the word, the record of Matthew in particular, but you will find that Mark and Luke record this same incident, and we shall want to supplement the Matthean record with one or two things that Mark in particular says which we don't find recorded by Matthew.

Now, we begin this morning with a question that Peter posed to our Lord Jesus Christ, and you have it in verse 27. Lo, says Peter, we have left everything and followed you. What then shall we have? We've left everything and followed you.

What then shall we have? Now, notice in those words, first of all, the claim that Peter makes. He says, we've left everything and followed you. Here is no vain, here is no empty boast. We need to get this quite clear right at the beginning.

Peter is not boasting here, neither is he stating something which is palpably not true. On the contrary, Peter's words here are absolutely true to fact. He's referring not only to himself, but he's referring to the entire group of disciples that were around him.

And what was true of the one was true of the other. Each one of them, according to the record, each one of them had left everything he had in order to follow after the Son of God and the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

You remember, Luke tells us of the particular incident when this very decisive break was made. It was in consequence of that incident when, having toiled all night and caught nothing, Luke chapter 5, having toiled all night, caught no fish, the disciples met the Lord Jesus and He ultimately said to them, now look, you cast the net in a certain way and you shall catch.

And you remember how the record tells us there was an incredible haul of fishes that they caught. Now, such was the impact of that particular incident, we are told, Luke 5 and 11, that they left everything, they left all and followed Him.

Now, it's quite pointless, it seems to me, to attempt at an assessment of what these men had to leave, of the measure or the value or the amount of things they had to leave behind. This is quite pointless.

I notice that some people do try this, they try to compute, now how much did this person leave and how much did that person leave? I suppose that, with a little research, we might figure the value of Peter's boat and nets.

And perhaps we might, with a little extra research, discover how much Matthew got for tax collecting. And we might thereby know exactly the kind of thing they left, the kind of position. But it's not necessary.

They left everything, and each man left everything, and a man's all is his all. Whether you leave ten thousand dollars or whether you leave ten, if you leave what you have entirely, there's nothing left.

And what Peter is saying is this, that these disciples made a complete break. They left everything. Their means of livelihood was left behind because they saw that Jesus offered more than bread. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord.

They saw Him to be more than the provider of bread, and they needed that something. And desired that something which was beyond the material. But now there is a contrast in Peter's mind, and we need to notice it.

The Rich Young Ruler and the Cost of Discipleship

I think that the emphasis comes here, look, we have left all. He doesn't say, I, in opposition to the others, but we. By way of contrast, if you look at the context, by way of contrast to a certain man who had come to the Lord Jesus ostensibly with the highest motives and the highest goal in view.

He came and he posed the question, good master, he says, what must I do to inherit eternal life? What a wonderful question to be asked. This is the kind of question that the Lord Jesus was waiting for.

Would that more people ask this? Ah yes, but don't, don't conclude too soon. Ostensibly coming, willing to do anything or go anywhere if only he could possess eternal life. Jesus examined him, interviewed him.

It was obvious that here was a God-fearing man. He was a man who lived an upright, moral kind of life. But then at last Jesus saw that he had a God that he worshipped. And in order to get rid of the false God that dominated his life, Jesus said to him, look, he says, the one thing that remains for you to do is go sell what you've got and give to the poor.

And suddenly, as probably he'd never realized it before, this fellow realized that all his life he'd been, he'd been weaving a chain of gold around his life. And he didn't know it was a chain, but he found that he was shackled to his gold, that God ceased to be an attraction if it meant breaking the chain of gold.

And so we read that he went away sorrowfully. He was unprepared to leave his gold even for the knowledge of God, which is eternal life. Now, Peter says, Lo, he says, we, we have left all to follow you.

Of course, Peter didn't have that kind of fortune to leave, but he left his all, you see. Matthew didn't have a fortune like that to leave behind. No, no, no. But he had his all. And I believe that your psychologists will tell you that the man who leaves the little is sometimes, if not always, more conscious of what he leaves behind than the man who leaves much.

Peter’s Honesty and the Motive for Following Christ

Now the concern expressed in Peter's question, Lo, he says, we've left everything and followed you. What then shall we have? The claim and the contrast serve a fitting background for highlighting this particular question.

What Peter says is this, in view of the sacrifice we've all made, how honest this man is, how unselfconscious, in view of the things that we've left behind, the all that we've abandoned in order to follow you, well now what of it?

What is there? What shall we have? What profit is there to reap? What gain is there in leaving all these things behind and coming, following in your footsteps? Now I think we must disabuse our minds of any thought of Peter having become mercenary at this point.

I say that for this reason. Had he become mercenary and materialistic in the wrong sense, I believe Jesus would have said something to him. We must be careful of chiding men when Jesus himself did not.

And at this point, though our Lord was not backward in chiding Simon Peter, don't you remember Caesarea Philippi, death be behind me, Satan. No, no, no, Jesus is not backward in chiding and exposing where that is necessary.

But there's not a word of reprimanding here, not a word. Why? Well now I can only suggest to you what appears to me, and I may be wrong, but my view is that probably Simon Peter had never thought of it until now.

He and the rest of the disciples followed the Lord Jesus because, in Simon's words, they believed that he was the Messiah, the Son of the living God. That was when they began to become attached, willing to turn their backs upon everything.

Or, if you like, referring to John chapter 6, there was a time when the multitudes who apparently were willing to follow him for a while, turned back. And Jesus turned, you remember, to them and said, now look, do you people want to go away as well?

Do you remember what Jesus said, what Peter said? Lord, he says, to whom shall we go? You're the only one that has the word of eternal life, and this is why we're coming after you. We are not disciples following you for the sake of the loaves of the fishes.

It's the word of life. Peter then and his fellow disciples were following the Lord Jesus Christ, not for what they could get out of him materially, but because he was the Messiah. They were convinced of this, the Son of the living God.

But now you see, Peter has just heard Jesus saying to this man with much wealth, you get rid of all that, sell and give it to the poor and come and you shall have treasure in heaven. And Peter took his specs off, metaphorically.

He said, what? What's all that about? And quite unselfconsciously he says, you're talking about treasure. Well now, we've left everything and we follow you, followed you. What then, what then shall we have?

What is this treasure that you're talking about? The question posed. Now, so much about that aspect of our text. What's going to occupy us for the rest of the morning, of course, is the reply that our Lord gave, the compensations assured.

Christ’s Promise of Thrones and Eternal Reward

Let me read to you verses 28 and 29. Jesus said to them, that is to the whole group of disciples now, truly I say to you, in the new world, or as the King James Version puts it, in the regeneration, when the Son of Man shall sit in his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel, and everyone who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and inherit eternal life.

What a remarkable passage, what remarkable words these are, how revealing and how challenging to the kind of person that you sometimes meet even in a Christian church, who believes that really the Christians made a pretty poor bargain in following Jesus Christ.

And what a challenge to that kind of person who really believes that our master pays no wages, and certainly no bonus at the end of the year. Come and have a look at what Jesus says. Now the first thing we have to look at here is the promise relating to the future position of Christ's apostles.

Truly I say to you, in the new world, or in the regeneration, when the Son of Man shall sit on his glorious throne, you here, he's talking to the disciples now, the twelve, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Now we are going to go into the details, but before we go into the details, can I just specify the principle? The principle here enunciated by our Lord Jesus Christ is this, Simon, Simon, Simon, if you only knew what you've gained in following me, you'd not even ask the question.

If you only knew what in my heart I have planned for you, and what in his heart the Father has prepared for you, you would rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory whatever you've left behind. For that which you've left behind is nothing in comparison with that which your Father and I have prepared for you.

The New Genesis: Regeneration and the Coming Kingdom

Now let's examine it. The sphere and the time when the apostles shall be thus honored is doubly described. You look at your testaments. Firstly, Jesus says that they will be honored, they will be set on these twelve thrones, they will be honored in the new world.

Or, as I've already said, according to the King James Version, in the regeneration. Now Jesus Christ used a word here that is only used in one other place in the whole of the New Testament. It's a word which literally means the new Genesis.

Now we're all familiar with the word Genesis right at the beginning of the Bible, it's the first book. Genesis, emergence, coming into being, origin. Says Jesus, in the new Genesis, there is going to be a new Genesis, there's going to be a new start.

In the new Genesis, you who have followed me, you who have left all to follow me, you will sit on twelve thrones, you will reign, you will have a place of honor. Now what was he referring to? I'm summarizing because it would not be profitable if we tried to go over the many suggestions that are made by the commentators at this point.

Jesus could probably have been referring to one or other of two things or to both at the same time. Now my personal inclination is to see here a reference to both. A more immediate state of things and an ultimate.

Both and. Both and what? Well now, first of all, since the word Jesus employed here is only used in the New Testament in one other place, and therefore spiritual regeneration, I'm referring of course to Titus 3 and verse 5, where Paul speaks of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost upon individual people.

Since the word refers to spiritual regeneration, it is quite right and proper, quite legitimate for us to think of the use of the word here in a spiritual way. That our Lord, in speaking of the new Genesis, is thinking of a new spiritual Genesis, a new spiritual beginning.

And obviously, our Lord was in that sense thinking of the new beginning which was to emerge following the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. That was a new beginning in the whole history of the Christian church.

Up until that point, everything had been more or less prefiguring the reality that was to come. But at Pentecost, something began anew. Peter speaks of this as a new beginning in his discourse with Cornelius, for example, and others do too.

It was a new beginning. It was a new Genesis. And our Lord could be referring to that period. Now I'll be returning to that in a moment. But even though the word may not be used to describe a material regeneration of the cosmic order, scripture clearly refers to such a phenomenon in the end time.

And Jesus may well have had this in mind, the kind of thing that Paul is referring to, for example, in Romans 8, 21, when he speaks of the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the sons of God.

The kind of thing that Isaiah is referring to in chapter 11, when he says, the wolf shall dwell with the lamb and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.

Just imagine it, a little child leading the lion. For the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea, a new Genesis. Or the kind of thing that Peter refers to in his second epistle, when he writes thus, the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements dissolved will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and the works that are upon it will be burned up, and then the new heavens and the new earth in which dwells righteousness will have arrived.

What is this? Is not this a picture of the new Jerusalem that comes down from above, of the holy city that comes down, of the new heavens and of the new earth wherein righteousness is at home? Now, in the new world, in the new Genesis, spiritually coming at the day of Pentecost, cosmically consummated when Jesus comes again, in the new Genesis, says Jesus, there's a special place for you.

Christ’s Present Enthronement and Future Return

The second way of describing the same state or condition of things obtaining at the time when the apostles will be signally honored is given to us in these words, when the Son of Man shall sit on his glorious throne.

These two run side by side, they're parallel concepts. In the regeneration, when the Son of Man shall sit on the throne of his glory. Now, what does this mean? Well, again, you see, this has a more immediate reference to the period following our Lord's resurrection and ascension, and yet another ultimate reference to his coming again in glory and in power to judge the world and to consummate his purposes.

Let me just say a word about it. The New Testament speaks of the ascension of our Lord Jesus as his entering into his kingship. Now, there are sections of the Christian church that seem to minimize the significance of this.

I read in the epistle to the Hebrews, for example, that when he had made purification of sins, he sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high. My good friends, let's see that Jesus is crowned today.

He's enthroned this morning. He's not on the way to the throne. He's on the throne. We start off from a victory. We are not waiting for Jesus to have victory over principalities and powers. Paul, in the end, toward the end of Ephesians chapter 1, tells us that he is high over all principalities and powers and dominions and thrones and what have you.

He's over all. He's seated at the right hand of the majesty upon high, and the epistle to the Hebrews adds, waiting, not fighting, not worrying, not doubting, waiting until all his enemies be made his footstool.

So, Jesus Christ is crowned. Our Lord is already honored. That day has arrived. When he sent forth the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, it meant that he was king of kings and Lord of lords. No other can send forth the deity according to promise.

You try it. You try it. You say to a people in another place, we shall guarantee you certain spiritual blessings tomorrow at 7 o 'clock. You can't do that. Though in his infinite mercy God may hear our prayer, that's the kind of thing we guarantee.

But Jesus said, when I ascend to the Father, I will send him forth. And he did. Only deity can command deity. That statement needs much more elaboration, but we have to leave it there this morning. On the other hand, even though our Lord's coronation began at his ascension and he is high over all, Jesus himself, as well as his apostles, sometimes used this very language of his sitting upon the throne of his glory with reference to his return.

Let me give you one illustration. In Matthew chapter 25, verse 31, we read these words of our Lord. When the Son of Man is come in his glory and all the angels with him, then will he sit on his glorious throne.

Before him will be gathered all nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. So then, this same language refers to two ages. Immediately, looked at from the vantage point of the disciples, the fairly immediate future, Pentecost and beyond, and especially in the consummating period when Jesus returns as king to oust his foes and to complete his work in his people.

Here then, our Lord says, now look, there is a day, there is an age, there is a period appointed. And in this period, be it twofold or not, in this period of the new Genesis, you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

The Apostles’ Authority and Their Future Judgment

Now let's come then to the substance of the honor to be confirmed upon the apostles in those words. You who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Just as the scene of the honor can be immediate or ultimate, so too can this.

In the era introduced by the exaltation of our Lord Jesus Christ with its result in the Pentecostal effusion of the Spirit, the apostles entered upon their reign. Now I can almost hear somebody say to me, look, surely that's not right.

None of them sat on a throne, none of them were seen to be reigning, none of them had a crown, none of them had a scepter, none of them had the paraphernalia of kingly office. No, no, you're quite right.

But let's not mistake between the paraphernalia of office and the reality of it. I suppose you would say that the Queen of England is a sovereign, that she is queen. Let me tell you that she only has the paraphernalia.

Now I'm not speaking disrespectfully of her majesty, but I'm telling you she's got nothing but the trappings. She is feted, she is honored. Who writes her speeches for her? Whose policies does she represent when she is allowed to speak in public?

Not her own. If it's a socialist government, she speaks for a socialist government. If it's a Tory, she speaks for a Tory. She's no sovereign. She has the trappings. She lives in a palace, she drives in a limousine, she's got all the trappings and all the externalities, but she does not rule.

Somebody else rules. So also can you have the reality of sovereignty without the trappings. I tell you, never did men reign like the apostles. In every church in the New Testament times, they ruled by their word, they ruled by their epistles, they ruled by their letters.

What the apostles declared to be right was obeyed. Otherwise, men were excommunicated or chastised. What the apostles said were wrong was acknowledged as wrong. In other words, their authority was such that the whole church of apostolic times and post-apostolic times, the whole church bowed to their rule.

If they didn't, they were heretical. So that these men ruled on twelve thrones. May I tell you, I would go so far as to say this, never did a king in ancient Israel rule as extensively nor as actually as these twelve apostles ruled in the early church and continue to rule through all the church age they're ruling here this morning.

Under whose government do we stand? Under the head which is Christ, ruling the church by his apostles in the first place. And our doctrine of eldership is such that it must always be subservient to the word of God and his apostles.

We have no apostles. There are no apostolic successors in the true sense of the word. They stood alone. For they beheld the risen Lord, risen from the dead, witnessed his resurrection. And all these twelve fall into that unique category.

May I interpose a word here because I'm sure somebody will turn up afterwards and say, ah, but other people are called apostles in the New Testament. Yes, but not in this technical sense. The others are apostles of the churches, messengers sent by churches.

These are the apostles of the Lamb. There's a world of difference between being sent as a messenger by a church and being commissioned to be the apostles of the head of the church. Reigning on twelve thrones, ruling over the twelve tribes of Israel, ruling over the entire Israel of God, wherever there is a church of Jesus Christ this morning, the apostles rule.

And where the apostles do not rule in the spiritual sense, doctrinally and morally, in their teaching, there the church of Jesus Christ is falling into disrepute and decay and will soon, if that kind of thing continues, lose their light and their witness.

And yet, of course, that's not the only thing that our Lord has in mind here. I believe that our Lord is not only referring to that kind of rule that the apostles had, beginning after the day of Pentecost, when the Spirit came upon them, and continuing on, there is a time coming when, in another sense, they will apparently sit on twelve thrones and their honor will be so great they will judge alongside of the great judge himself.

You remember Paul's question to the Corinthians, dare any of you, he says, having a matter against his neighbor, go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints? Or, he says, don't you know, are you ignorant, that the saints shall judge the world?

Now, if that is the privilege awaiting saints in general, it certainly is a privilege awaiting the apostles in particular, according to the words of our Lord. Thus does Jesus reassure Peter that he, Jesus, is no man's debtor.

Ha, Peter, you've left your boat and your fishes. You are master over your little boat. You are your own boss. Let me tell you, there are honors awaiting those that have left certain things to follow me, honors the kind of which I cannot now paint in full for you, because your mind would boggle at the picture.

Now, my friends, this is the essence of Christian faith, is to believe your Lord, though you don't always understand everything that he says, and so to believe him that you go on expecting, in due course, the fulfillment of his every promise.

The Hundredfold Reward and Eternal Life

But my text this morning doesn't end there. Look next at the promise relating to the assured compensation for sacrifices made by all Christ's disciples. Far from chiding Peter for his question, Jesus Christ went on to reply to what may well be a question in the heart of any child of God.

And this is what he said in verse 29, and everyone, how relevant today when we're thinking so much about our missionary brethren, everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and inherit eternal life.

Now, Mark adds to that two significant statements. A hundredfold, says Mark in chapter 10 and verse 30, now in this time with persecution. Now, let's examine this for a moment. The claim is, the principle is, Jesus Christ is no man's debtor.

What shall we have, says Peter? My, says our Lord, you are the most favored company of men that ever lived. You shall reign with me now and hereafter. But no man is a loser who follows me, says Jesus Christ.

He may have to take up his cross, he may even have to die, but his death means no loss but gain. Now, two things demand attention. One, the promised compensation is over and above the possession of eternal life.

Notice how Mark puts it, a hundredfold now in this time with persecution and eternal life. Or, Matthew puts it like this, for my name's sake, you will receive a hundredfold and inherit eternal life. Now, I want to say a word about that first, and inherit eternal life.

Those four brief words are deceptively simple. I wonder this morning whether we are really aware of what they mean. Don't be misled either by their brevity or their simplicity. They refer to the most infinitely precious boon that any man anywhere can ever possess.

Eternal life. There is nothing in this world which is more precious than eternal life. There is nothing that God can give you which is more precious than eternal life. Eternal life is life of the divinest nature.

It's the very life of God himself. It's life without a flaw in it. That divine life without any disappointing factor, without a single cause of grief or sorrow in itself. It is a quality of life that belongs exclusively to God and to those whom he imparts it through Jesus Christ.

There is no sorrow in this life that belongs to it in its essence, I mean. There is no disappointment in eternal life. Eternal life is all grace and fulfillment and joy and righteousness and peace in the Holy Ghost.

It is the ultimate. Nothing can ever surpass it in beauty, in glory, in joy, in a sense of fulfillment. It is the embodiment of every perfection without the possibility of diminution, either at death or beyond it.

Eternal life may fill and flood our souls now and hereafter in such measure as we simply cannot now take in. And yet, my friends, eternal life is the minimum that God gives his children. I must say that this is a haunting thought with me, not haunting in a bad sense, but always demanding some response.

You see, when you realize it, it just makes you worship God. The minimum that a saint has is eternal life. Every saint has eternal life, but this is the minimum he has. And what Jesus is saying here is this, that there are certain things over and above eternal life.

Persecution as a Means of Spiritual Gain

Now, what are they? Just a word or two about them as we draw to a close. The promised compensation is infinitely beyond our temporal losses, as it is extra, or as they are extra, to eternal life. A hundredfold now, in this time, with persecution.

Mark the Savior's honesty and realism. There was no need to mention persecution there were he not so scrupulously honest. You know, Jesus Christ will not win the convert by means of a half lie, but he will even at this stage remind his disciples, yes, there are persecutions.

You'll have to face persecutions. But I believe that there is a more sublimely subtle reason for the mention of persecution here, and I'll put it to you very bluntly like this. Part of the wonder of our gospel is this, that Jesus takes persecution and uses it to fulfill his own purpose.

Persecution is not simply something that Christians suffer and manage to put up with. Persecution works the purposes of God out in an individual's life. God takes the briar of persecution, with all its prickly, flesh-cutting, tormenting characteristics.

God takes the briar and makes it grow a rose. God takes the flinty rock of persecution and makes it gush forth with water in a desert. This is what Jesus meant when he said, blessed are you when men shall revile you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake.

Rejoice, sisters, blessed are you. Now, if we believe him, this is what we'll do. How can we rejoice in the moment of persecution? Well, surely we're foolish. Well, unless we believe this. Persecution works out for our good.

So that the New Testament continues the theme of our Lord. James says, count it all joy, my brethren, when various trials come upon you, for you know that the testing of your faith produces something.

Now that's the word, produces something. Steadfastness and so forth. And Peter says the same thing. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, you are blessed because the Spirit of God and of glory rests upon you.

But now look at the Savior's magnanimity, his honesty. Yes, he refers, even at this point, to suffering and persecution. He's able to talk about it. He's able to refer to it because he's mastered it. He makes these things work for our good, as well as for his glory.

The Many Forms of Christ’s Hundredfold Compensation

But now, the Savior's magnanimity in recompense. And hundredfold in this present life. Now, this is no quid pro quo. Nor should we be enslaved to a purely literalistic interpretation of these words, because, you see, they don't fit.

Jesus did not say to Peter, look, Peter, you've left one boat and a couple of nets, I'll give you a hundred boats. Jesus didn't do that. You can't, therefore, interpret this literally. Jesus did not say to Matthew, Matthew, you've left the post and it was bringing you in, shall we say, five thousand dollars a year.

Now I'm well aware of the different coinage, etc. Right, Peter, I'll give you a hundred times that. He didn't say that. He didn't mean that. Jesus simply did not do that. Therefore, he must have meant something else.

If you're going to press these literally, then it simply makes nonsense of the whole of the New Testament, because this is simply what Jesus did not do. But if we don't interpret our Lord's words in that strictly literal sense, then do we not rob them of their thrust and their comfort?

A thousand times no, you enrich them. What the New Testament clearly teaches is that Jesus does not pay his hundredfold in any one currency. And how glad we should be for that in our day and age. If he paid his hundredfold in sterling, some of us would have lost some money by this time.

Or if he paid them in dollars, and if you wanted to go elsewhere, you might suffer in due course. And there are other currencies that lose their value. Jesus does not pay his hundredfold in one currency.

Now, it is true when you read the New Testament that when a man lost his home for the sake of Christ, he found another. And when he lost his father and mother, he found other fathers and mothers. And when he lost his children, he found other children.

Have you noticed this? The Apostle Paul, who had to leave his home in Tarsus and lead his people, found homes everywhere. There's not a place where this man goes but that he's welcomed in, and he's given a home.

I have no time to pursue this. You do it when you read the book of the Acts of the Apostles. He speaks of one lady in the end of Romans chapter 16, Rufus's mother. He says, and my mother. Isn't that wonderful?

He'd found another mother. He'd had to forsake one, but he found another. Oh yes, Jesus Christ is no man's debt. So too did he find children. Writing to Philemon, he speaks of Venesimus, my son. Of course.

But over and beyond this, Jesus pays his hundredfold in other currencies. I don't want to belittle this element of it. I was reading this week, for example, of Edgerton Young, who preached to the Saskatchewan Red Indians, years ago now, preaching the gospel, when those good people knew very little about the gospel.

And coming to a certain chief, he was declaring how men become the children of God. And the chief said to him, did I hear you say that this great God is your father? Said Edgerton Young, yes, he's my father.

And did I hear you say that by receiving the Lord Jesus Christ, I would become a child of the same God and he would be my father? Yes, says the missionary. Then says the chief, putting his hand out, we two are brothers.

We two are brothers. What a great discovery. And they found one another. It's just like that. A Christian man or a Christian woman has brethren everywhere. And if you've traveled abroad, this is one of the great discoveries.

But I want to go beyond that. Jesus does not pay his hundredfold in one currency, precious as that one might have been. Sometimes he pays in the currency of the peace that passes understanding. Sometimes he pays a little of his hundredfold in the currency of contentment with godliness, which is great gain.

Sometimes he pays in the currency of a carefreeness that comes as Jesus speaks of it in Matthew chapter 6. You don't spin in order to get your barns full or get excited and worry about the winter because your heavenly father knows that you have need of all these things.