The Cost Of Discipleship In The Third Reich Part 2

Marie Flores looking to Jesus, founder and perfecter in the great Hall of faith in Hebrews 11 we meet the heroes of the kingdom were martyred running the race of life. Nazi Germany subverted the church but not every Christian Dietrich Bonhoeffer gave his life for his allegiance to Christ rather than the swastika from the Moody Church in Chicago this running to win with Dr. Irwin, Luzerne whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line after Luzerne you believe there will be modern-day bondholders in the coming days. You know Dave I certainly hope and pray there will be many bone offers one of the reasons that we have running to win this to try to prepare the church to disciple the church to help all of us as we run the race of life, and we hope and pray that people will be encouraged to run that race successfully all the way to the finish line. I've written a book entitled Hitler's cross how the cross of Christ was used to promote the Nazi agenda and of course it includes the story of Bonhoeffer but that's only a very small part of the book I deal with issues regarding the anti-Semitism within the church of the church was deceived out was divided out was dismembered how Hitler put pressure on the church. All of these are lessons that we need to learn today. Now for a gift of any amount. This book can be yours.

You go to RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 and of course at the end of this broadcast. I'm going to be giving you that contact info. Once again, and then says Bonhoeffer. Instead of trusting the on the scene. We preferred the tangible desire. Thus, we lose touch with Jesus lost is impure because it is believed the gain of lust is trivial in comparison to the loss that it brings. He says and I love this line when you have made your eye.

The instrument of impurity you cannot see God. With it you cannot see God with it. Jesus said blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.

Why is it that we have so many addictions in the world whether it is addiction to nicotine or alcoholism or pornography or the ravages of lust. Many people have simply said, we have given up.

We have tried.

We accepted believing that heaven will be all the sweeter when we are free of it. Bonhoeffer I think would agree with toes or another great writer who said it is that part of us that we rescue from the cross becomes the seat of our problems.

We keep rescuing us from the cross we make hidden provision to do it again because we do not have the faith to believe we do not have the faith to believe that God will read board office completely and totally if the break with. It is clean and from our standpoint and God's help, irrevocable, irrevocable, snatch it back. Years ago I was counseling a young man who struggled with pornography and he told me that he desperation took the magazine and burned it in his sink. The idea of burning them I'm sure is a great idea that sink is probably not the place to do it but he said interestingly that even as it was burning.

He still reached over and snatched some of it from the flames, but Bonhoeffer is saying is if God is going to put the acts to the root of the tree we must have faith to believe that he will reward those who will say I will make the break clean and irrevocable.

And make no hidden provision to rescue it from the cross is at death, but all of us helpless.

Struggling sinners must die if we are to be worthy of Christ as 1/4 death and over the beasts that we are talking about today and that is love of money. That is what Jesus said in the sixth chapter of Matthew he says in verse 19. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven are neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal masses Bonhoeffer. In explaining this text and before I give you some quotes I want to tell you that once again we as American say things like that as well.

You know, we can earn money to the glory of God and and that is true, and that is true, but I'll tell you that there are very few people who are very wealthy who are also poor in spirit. There are some there are some we have some in the church. I believe God is blessed financially in their stove, poor in spirit, but that is a great struggle it.

I remember a friend of mine said of a certain businessman here in the city of Chicago. He said you know even though this man is a Christian is businessman is.

He says you know he really loves money. He loves money and I thought to myself, you know that is a very serious indictment. I don't know what it meant was right or not it was his judgment but there is something within us that that will not will not let go of this, the struggle to give our wealth to God and then to say Lord it's up to you now because I offered up as Isaac then you give it back to me and I recognize it from you and I will use it.

Thank God that there are many many people who can do that and who have done it but but let nobody say that that isn't tough to do in order that old joke of two people discussing of how much they decide to give to God in some places well what I do is I take all my money I throw it up by drawing a circle in the middle of the floor. Whatever lands in the circle is mine.

Whatever is outside the circle goes to God you guys is I got a better idea.

I take all my money in a room. I throw it up whatever stays up as God's.

And whatever comes down is my this is what Bonhoeffer says. He says God knows the human heart craves treasure. He knows that it craves treasure and God says we should have treasure.

He says only God says that the treasurer should be in heaven and exit our hearts have room for only one all embracing devotion and we can cleave only to one Lord to one Lord, we can cleave and there's a definite Bonhoeffer diet was a death to the love of money, a recognition that if indeed God was to give him some. He was to see it as coming not from hard work, not from his brilliance or not because of an inheritance, but rather he sought as Abraham saw Isaac a gift given by God, which he also has the right to take from us and that's why giving is always or at least almost always a real spiritual issue and not a financial issue. If you had a room with 100 carnal Christians you could give them 101 reasons why you should give and still receive very little and then I think of the missionary.

I remember hearing say one time that out of the mission field. They were having an offering for something and it was a big offering and there were people who had nothing to give. And some of them took the rings from their fingers and they put them into the offering plate by you say that silly yeah I think so.

I think that is silly, but you know something when people are fanatically in love with Christ. They do silly things they do silly things, or at least things that we consider to be silly because they love God and Jesus said do not lay up for your yourselves treasures on earth use those treasures to give to God's work, that they might be transmuted and that you might meet them again in heaven. There's a death that we need to. Well, there's another definitely need to dine it in effect is the summary of all of them and that is the death to one's self.

The root of the tree that death, even of the desire to live for this we look again at Matthew chapter 10 verse 39 where Jesus said whoever loses his life shall find it. You hang onto it and you shall lose it.

The final nail of the crucifixion is death to even desire to live. Let me tell you the rest of on hopper story. He made a switch in his life and we can argue as to whether or not it was wise and whether it was good but I'm just telling you what happened, he became disillusioned. The Nazi-ism began to continue its great strength throughout Europe and Germany. The church had basically been crushed.

As I explained in the previous message. He decided to become a part of a conspiracy to assassinate Hitler for that in 1943, he was put in prison and while he was in the table prison in Berlin. He wrote what is today a book, letters and papers from prison, he made friends with the guards actually help them smuggle some of the stuff out when the Allied bombs were falling on the prison and all the prisoners were screaming a Bonhoeffer was the one who gave consolation and hope and maintain some sense of sanity in the prison. Later on he was taken from there to the Gestapo prison in Berlin and when it was bombed. Himmler finally ordered that he be taken Buchenwald, where he spent two months and then the order came from Himmler, but Bonhoeffer had to be put to death. But listen to one of his associates in Buchenwald. He says this man was different just quite calm and normal perfectly at ease. His soul shown in the darkness of our prison he learned to throw himself completely into the arms of God. Taking seriously his own suffering as well as the suffering of God in the world and then finally because of Himmler's instructions. He was taken to floss bird with a number of other people, and there he was martyred. His last words where to a friend. Oh God, this is the and. But it is also the beginning. Our victory is certain. Listen to the words of a doctor who is asked to see the execution by hanging as a testimony as a witness, I should say this is what the doctor said between five and six in the morning the prisoners were let out of their cells and their verdicts were read to them.

I saw Pastor Bonhoeffer kneeling in fervent prayer to the Lord is God, the devotion and evident conviction in this prayer of this captivating man made a lasting impression and move me to the depths. Now the prisoners were stripped of their clothing like naked down a flight of stairs under some trees and there under the scaffold in the sweet spring woods on hopper knelt to pray for the last time I minutes later he was dead. April 9, 1945 when Christ calls the man he bids him sit on hopper come and die, and I if we cannot die in those things that I have mentioned this morning the five deaths. How shall we die when the persecution really comes you know Jeremiah asked this question. He said that if you run with a footman and they weary you. How are you going to compete with the horses. He says if you are weak and defeated in a land of peace. How you can win in the day that rather than getting an invitation, but I'd like to do is to share with you in the next few minutes. Some some instruction that I give to people who are interested in dying and afterwards were going to dismiss you all and you go home and die. Please don't quote that out of context. What would I say if I were helping a person to die.

What is it that I've learned to dine number one crucifixion is painful, it is painful, it is pain the giving up of cherished sin. Those resentments and jealousies and anger and an lusts that we have so carefully nurtured and rationalized in and lived with and embraced and those relationships become a so part of us, however sinful they might be that we oftentimes have taken them and we will not let them go and they green they screen to stay alive.

People would rather volunteer to the mission field will say of give I'll go all you will do anything, but I do not want to die.

The flesh does not die easily of how painful it is the alcoholic who looks at the very thought of living without his bottle. He cannot even think about it, the, the sex addict cannot even bear the thought of living a pure life is to fearful withhold all of the props that he has used in his life and the person who is angry and resentful and filled with bitterness to give it all out is hard.

It always hurts to die, but we want cheap grace. Don't wait. We want to cross without nails. We want to Christ without the crushing and it doesn't come away as a second thing about crucifixion and that is somebody always has to do it to you.

You cannot do it yourself you know you can commit suicide in many different ways but nobody.

To my knowledge, is ever committed suicide by crucifixion. At least he wouldn't be able to do it completely if he nailed one hand, he could not use the one hand, to nail the other hand, somebody has to do it.

I'm not preaching today that what we should do is by sheer self will say today is going to be different. I'm going to yield myself and I'm going to live differently know my friends. Many of you have tried that and it does not work.

It is not a matter of the human will. Crucifixion is something that Christ does for us.

Paul says I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live yet not I even Christ lives in me. Romans chapter 6 says very clearly that we have been crucified with Christ.

The old man has been crucified.says I have done it. I have broken the stranglehold, but what you must do is let me do a D work in your heart that will cause you to be in amazement those things over which you felt that there was no possibility of victory are suddenly crushed and freedom is brought to your soul is God who doesn't.

And next crucifixion takes time takes time. Usually the people arrived on the cross for our sins, sometimes day they died you civil how long does it take to die to self will. How long does it take well in a sense, there are different answers that could be given in one sense, it may take a lifetime, but in another sense, there may be a crucial moment that you need to work through that may take an hour for some people an hour and 1/2 for others may be less because what that means is that we come before God in quietness, inviting the Holy Spirit to search our heart and to deal with everything that comes to our mind giving it wholly and totally to God with the same kind of commitment with which Abraham gave up Isaac wholly and totally yielding it to God for all of its paying for all of its hurt for all of the ramifications that may come from it, but we are there until the deed has been done. George Mueller said there came a day. He said when George Mueller die.

He died at it, doesn't mean that once you die your dad for the rest of your life. We continue to struggle and the debt that we die has to be a daily death. It needs to be something that becomes a part of us. As we learn the principles of saying time and time again we will die. We will break canned as we are in the word and disciplined in the word. The death begins to work in us, the death begins to work in us and as a result of the death there is life, except a kernel of wheat fall into the ground and die. Jesus said it abides alone. It is in relinquishing all that it is to the soil, the giving up of the outer shell that has become so hard and so is then begins to be hacked.

The life, the life breaks out my word to you today. If you're not a Christian is to remember that the grace of God in Christ is free to you today to receive forgiveness and cleansing from the hand of the crucified Redeemer. But if you have fallen into that category and you are a believer in Christ and then I say to you, Jesus says that unless you take up your cross and follow me, and then death is not illness. It's not a bad bank account is not being in debt that may be a different kind of across it is, is the cross that strikes at the very root of self rule and Jesus said if you do not take up that cross you're not worthy to be my disciple. I would encourage you, I would encourage you to go home this afternoon spend an unhurried hour with God alone say God will be there as long as I need to be until I die until I die. Bonhoeffer says he whom Christ calls he bids him calm and die, let us die together father. Today we want to thank you for the memory of a young man who at the age of 39 died so successfully because he had died so many times before to self rule and father we pray today that everyone who is listen to this message. Whether on the radio work here in this auditorium that you will not let him one of us get by until we have finally finally done what we in our hearts know we must do that is to take up the cross, which smashes everything that is precious and gives back to us. God and even now before I close in prayer. God is talk to you today. Would you right now say Lord Jesus, I promise. By your grace, I'm going to take as much time as needed to yield everything to your sovereignty to make the break clean irrevocable so far as I'm concerned, no going back. Cold turkey trust you father the work that you begun complete Jesus name this is Pastor Luther, you know, no matter how long I live. I'm still in trust with the fact that there are so many people who experience such great evil, and yet, thankfully, there are many who were faithful.

Let me ask you a question.

Were the German boys who grew up in Nazi Germany, who became Hitler's SS troops.

For example, where they somehow more evil than other boys growing up in other countries. I don't think so. In my book entitled Hitler's cross I point out how it was so important that their consciences be deadened and Himmler, who is responsible for this made sure that their consciences were dead so that they could commit any evil without a twinge of guilt. You know there's so many lessons we have to learn from the past and for gift of any amount. This book can be yours. It's entitled Hitler's cross of the cross was used to promote the Nazi agenda for gift of any amount.

As I've mentioned, it can be yours. You go to RTW offer.com going to be giving you that info again or you can pick up the phone right now and call us at 1-888-218-9337 that's 1-888-218-9337 of course many of you will want to go to RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com and thanks in advance for helping us because together were making a difference. I'm committed to helping the church of Jesus Christ to think through our own future and to face with stark reality. The question of whether we will be faithful no matter what.

Go to RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 you can write to accept running to win 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago, IL 60614. Those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it. That's why understanding Nazi tyranny might save us from another dark time of terror.

It seems clear that times are ahead. How we prepare for them is crucial.

Next time, don't miss Pastor Luther's analysis of the parallels between wartime Germany and today's USA make sure to join us for Pastor Erwin lutes are this is Dave McAllister running to win is sponsored by the teacher