Testimony - Part 10 — Jackie Pullinger

Counting the Cost of Following Christ

It's only a cost until you've paid it. It's only a cost until you've given up what you were holding on to. When you've let go of it, what was it? Nothing. Whose life is it anyway? Who gave it to you? Whose house is it anyway?

Giving Up What We Have for Others

Whose car was it anyway? Whose job? How condescending can we get that we think we might give something up for him? No, it was never that way around. He gave us everything that we might give it back to him and to others.

Now there's an unfair distribution. There are some with many and there are some with less. In the end, I believe God is going to bless this country and England and the rich countries with spiritual gifts and ministries from the poor.

I believe that you will become rich through them, but now you have the responsibility to share whatever you have. If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it. You see, it's always like that. This is a kingdom principle. What you hold on to, you lose. What you give up, you get back. Whoever loses his life for me, for the gospel, will save it.

What good is it for a man to gain the whole world and yet forfeit his soul? That's what Jesus did. Scorning the shame, he endured the cross.

James's Warning About Hoarded Wealth

For the joy that was set before him. Finally, I want to read from James. Now.

Listen, you rich people. Weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire.

You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look, the wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.

You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the days of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered innocent men who were not opposing you. They may never hear.

Sharing the Message of Salvation

They may never know about our Savior unless you share it. That's your privilege. I thank God that a few days ago he did something really good for me. You know, because for years, almost ever since I've become a Christian, I couldn't bear meetings or conferences.

I hated them because every time we were worshipping God, I thought, I've got to go out and tell somebody who hasn't heard. How can I enjoy this? I wanted, as soon as I knew about the love of God, to go and find someone who didn't know and bring them in.

And this caused a wrong judgment in me. It meant that I got angry with God's people who were enjoying themselves, always receiving ministry, always getting fat in church, and so little going out and so little sharing.

Rejecting Judgment and Receiving Peace

I thank God he took that away from me. The Lord gave me a peace. He told me that his kingdom has come. He's told me that there is a time when tears will cease. They'll be dried up and there will be no more weeping and no more pain.

And he gave me that peace. So I don't judge people. That's not my job. It's not my job to judge the church. I'm just thrilled that he's allowed me to share. That's my privilege and it's yours. For there will come the day when we stand before the King and then it is yours and mine to answer him.

What did we do with what he.

Christian Accountability Requires Action

Gave us? Well, I think I have to say that God has spoken to us tonight. I think that's pretty obvious. A lot of you have had some experience with what Jackie is talking about to some degree of being involved with ministry, being involved with the poor.

Of course, they have much more involvement and it comes down to a greater commitment. I think all of us know that. But we can't negate the fact that God is calling us deeper and farther. We can't walk out of here saying, well, that's just her.

God especially gifted her. We all know better, don't we? But what is your place? What is my place? I don't know. But the Bible tells us we don't have to look too far. We just have to start to pay that cost.

We have to do something because we're all accountable. We live in the West and we are so rich in teaching, aren't we? We get so much good teaching. Tapes, radio, television, churches. But we have substituted teaching for Christianity.

Servants Must Do Their Duty

And so when we see someone doing Christianity, it seems so foreign to us. They seem so special to us, so anointed, so mighty. We tend to revere and exalt them. It reminds me of this scripture when Jesus was talking about the servants.

I just read it last week again. And he said, you, when you have a servant who works all day in the fields and he comes in, don't you expect him to immediately to change his clothes and come and wait on you and feed you?

You don't say, well done. You don't commend him because he is only doing that which is his duty. He works all day in the fields and then he works all evening waiting on you. He doesn't deserve any commendation.

He's just doing what he's told. And sometimes we'll look at people who are in the ministry doing what they're told and we'll say, oh, what a great saint she is, or he is. But they're just doing what they've been told to do.

And we need to be people who begin to do what God tells us to do. Pure and simple. We are accountable before God. He's not a judge that's standing there and talking bad about us and all that. He's just disappointed.

The Harvest Requires Laborers

The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. You don't harvest a field sitting in a chair. I really feel like God has shamed us tonight. God has just kind of held up a little mirror before us and said, do you see where you are?

And I feel like that God is going to be making changes in our midst and we're not going to do anything new that I know of because that'll kill it. If I come up with a new program, or one of you do, but what I see God doing is what he's been saying to me for the last few weeks.

Get back and do it yourself. Don't wait for others. Don't wait for the church to give you some opportunity to minister. Don't wait for a program. Don't wait till you get on a plane and go somewhere. Do it yourself.

The Bible gives you explicit instructions on how to do it, who to do it to, who to do it with. So we need to just start doing it.