Tuesday Evening Service 22/7/2025

Call Yourself A Christian - Part 2

(Puritan: David Clarkson - Luke 14:27)

Watch the Full Sermon HERE.

Before we begin, a reminder of the puritan whose work we are drawing from for the 2^nd time this evening: David Clarkson 1662-1686. Born Bradford, west Yorkshire - Graduated from Cambridge university. He was John Owen’s predecessor at Leadenhall St. London.

Last time and tonight we will be drawing from Clarkson’s 62 page sermon called ‘Of Taking Up The Cross’ from volume one of his work. Clarkson’s base text for his sermon is Luke 14:27. However he does expand his text from verse 25-33. Let me read the full text:

Luke 14:25-33

Now great multitudes went with him. And he turned and said to them, “if anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see 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, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple.

Let me read the puritan prayer again tonight before we go into the teaching. Again, we will read the same prayer as last time as it’s so fitting for the topic. Valley of Vison page 330 in the little black one, and 182 of the larger paperback. The prayer is called ‘Vain Service’:

O MY LORD, Forgive me for serving thee in sinful ways— by glorying in my own strength, by forcing myself to minister through necessity, by accepting the applause of others, by trusting in assumed grace and spiritual affection, by a faith that rests upon my hold on Christ, not on him alone, by having another foundation to stand upon beside thee; for thus I make flesh my arm. Help me to see that it is faith stirred by grace that does the deed, that faith brings a man nearer to thee, raising him above mere man, that thou dost act upon the soul when thus elevated and lifted out of itself, that faith centres in thee as God all-sufficient, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, as God efficient, mediately, as in thy commands and promises, immediately, in all the hidden power that faith sees and knows to be in thee, abundantly, with omnipotent effect, in the revelation of thy will. If I have not such faith I am nothing. It is my duty to set thee above all others in mind and eye; But it is my sin that I place myself above thee. Lord, it is the special evil of sin that every breach of thy law arises from contempt of thy Person, from despising thee and thy glory, from preferring things before thee. Help me to abhor myself in comparison of thee, And keep me in a faith that works by love, and serves by grace.

Again I ask: who is  Jesus addressing in Luke 14? -  ‘a great multitude’. That’s how many are following Him, but that’s not how many are disciples.

Many were following but would not be willing to pay any price, never mind the price of their lives. Many follow but wouldn’t suffer; wouldn’t be willing to bear the cross.

Listen, to bear the cross is not just to bear the cross during persecution, or during trying times but it’s to truly deny self. To be a servant and to be one who acts like Christ in all situations. This is the whole premise of Clarkson’s teaching: who truly can call themselves Christians?

The name has been so cheapened today in society. A multitude claim it, but do they really take up the cross?

Clarkson states in the first page of his sermon:

He seeing multitudes following him, takes occasion to tell them upon the terms they must follow him.

He continues:

Lest any of them should deceive themselves and think that a bare outward profession of Christ would be sufficient, a safe, easy, external following him would serve their turn, he tells them what he did expect from every one that would be his follower and disciple.

Clarkson says:

It’s not so safe and easy a thing to be a Christian as they might suppose. It will cost them more than they did imagine… …him whose heart is so linked, glued to his relations and outward enjoyments, that he cannot part with them… …is not of the temper fit for a Christian.

Last time I concluded with saying we would tonight dip into the section of Clarkson’s sermon where he teaches that in order to truly be able to bear the cross and become true disciples of Christ we must learn to deny!

He then shares seven things in detail we must deny. This is where we will spend most, if not all our time tonight.

Let me start by saying to deny self, is the greatest attribute that will make you imitate Christ, and the greatest attribute to bearing good fruit one could possess.

And I say this for this this reason: In order to truly self-deny, it requires us to truly, truly enter into the realm of deep communion with God, where we bear our souls and allow holy truth, and holy intimacy to permeate through our very veins.

Without it you will never fully be free from self, and you will never be able to either imitate Christ, or truly be intimate with Christ. And as a result never fully live for Christ.

Okay, the first thing Clarkson says we must deny:

One:

Your own worth and excellency.

I often hear people say: ‘I don’t value myself, I have zero self-worth’. And I’m like really, that’s funny because you can’t stop thinking about yourself, and obsessing over not being worshipped.

Clarkson says:

If this is not denied, you will think of yourselves as too good to suffer for Christ.

How many times have you felt hard done to, felt used, overlooked, undermined, rejected, abandoned. For some it’s been real, for most it’s been how we feel. Regardless - who are we to think we deserve fair?

Clarkson says:

He that is too high in his own apprehensions will never stoop to the cross.

Let me say this: you’re not too good to be wronged, you’re not too good to be offended, you’re not too good to be overlooked. You’re not too good to always, always be considered.

Yes, we ought to consider others, but we won’t always do so, and we ought not to be so full of our own importance that we expect it.

How considerate were the disciples at the cross, or in Jesus trial, or while He was sweating blood in the garden?

Yet how did Jesus deal with it? How did Paul deal with the Corinthians that had turned on him?

In 16 chapters did we read of any inkling that his service, or love, or care had changed due to their behaviour? No it did not.

Okay only another six, ego shattering points.

Two:

Clarkson writes we must deny:

Our own judgement and wisdom.

He adds:

Else you will be too wise to suffer for Christ.

Coming to your own conclusions, and leaning on your own understanding, will always result in self-preservation rather than self-denial.

You can’t help but always look favourably to yourself and unfavourably to others.

Clarkson says in order to avoid suffering:

You will attempt to avoid it by straining your conscience.

In a nutshell, you will avoid the deep truths and go with your need for self-protection.

Three:

You must learn to deny, Clarkson says (similar to the previous):

Your own reasonings.

Clarkson writes that we make it ‘a small matter’.

Meaning we play down, at times, the need to deny self as we reason it as nothing too great, or only a small thing, and therefore can continue to entertain it.

It’s not worth the sacrifice, it need not be taken so seriously.

Yes, well we know what that leads to don’t we? A little leaven, a little pride, a little slumber. It’s not worth the fight. Oh how we can reason to justify the lack of denial?

Clarkson in this point talks of faithful men who stood alone and against the odds. And how, if they thought ‘what’s the point, it’s only me’, then what would we not have today?

If everyone just quits under the banner of ‘what’s the point’, or ‘its only a small matter’, where would the church be, where would the gospel be? Who would be carrying the cross today?

Four:

Clarkson:

Your own wills… …not mine, thine will be done says Christ.

Clarkson adds:

Yield to God, when his will lies cross to yours.

Listen, I would add at this point and bring back in point two and three about our own judgements and reasons. If your own reasons and judgements don’t line up with God’s Word, then yield immediately.

What you want, what you feel, what you desire, what you see, is no guidance whatsoever for those that must learn to bear the cross and self-deny.

It comes down to: not mine, thine will be done, period. If it’s not in line with God, there is no justification whatsoever for holding onto it. Not mine, thy will be done.

Clarkson then adds an utterly profound statement when he writes:

If your wills be flexible now, and you are accustomed to submitting at every beck and intimation of the Lord’s pleasure in the way of obedience, there is no such danger that they will be stiff and be inflexible when the Lord tries you in a way of suffering.

In other words, if you are already submissive to the ways of God, and are pleased to honour Him, and please Him. Then when true trials and suffering, and pain comes, you will truly know whom and where your fortress lies. Where your comfort lies.

Psalm 18:1-3

I will love you, o lord, my strength. The lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the lord, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.

I love what Calvin says regarding these verses. When he talks of David using various names for God: ‘my strength, my rock, my fortress , my deliverer’. Calvin says:

We know how difficult it is for men to keep their minds stayed in God. They either imagine that it’s not enough to have God for them, and consequently are seeking after other support elsewhere, or at the first temptation which assails them, they fall from the confidence which they placed in him.

He then adds the point of David’s words:

David therefore by attributing to God various methods of saving his people, protests that provided he has God for his protection and defender he is effectually fortified against all pearl and assault.

God is our strength, but He is also our rock, our stability, He is immovable, He is our shelter, and protector, He is also our deliverer.

We need to remember He has all under His hand, and all of us in His grasp. No need to doubt, or start to look outward.

Okay…

Five:

I will be brief.

We must deny

Our inclinations.

Again they have much in common with the other points, such is the importance.

What do we mean by inclinations? Well it simply means your own nature. We won’t deny ourselves by ourselves. We can’t - our own self has no desire for self-denial,

Clarkson says:

If you give way to these, they will carry you far from the cross.

We won’t chose the cross by our own desires, our own desires will do the opposite, so we cannot again go on what we want.

The second I hear a Christian say anything about what they want, I know they are far from seeking God.

Six:

Okay second but last. In order to bear the cross we must deny:

Our own ease and contentments.

Clarkson says:

The cross of Christ and own ease are inconsistent.

Too often, people will only do the comfortable thing, the thing that causes them least restrain, or uncomfortableness.

Their avoidance is their guidance, if it doesn’t feel easy, they avoid it.

Clarkson quotes Jeremiah 12:5

“If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, in which you trusted, they wearied you, then how will you do in the floodplain of the Jordan?”

If you continually avoid and find the simplest of things tiresome, how do you think you will fair in true trials?

You will simply fold.

The Israelites folded at the thought of taking on the giants of Anak. They had become so institutionalised, and defeated, that they preferred captivity to freedom.

I remember being in the wilderness, and in the distance you could see the journey.

The journey back was no easier, they were so close, but they were full of fear, and lacked faith, and were full of complaints. They were comfortable being prisoners, they preferred being in captivity than the uncomfortableness of crossing the Jordan towards the giants of Anak.

They lost sight of whom God was.

Many won’t taste hardship like others, but they won’t also be one that truly takes down giants either.

Okay last point to close…

Seven:

In order to be a cross bearer we must, as Clarkson says deny:

Your own interests.

Clarkson says:

To whether you shall bear the cross or no, will be whether your own interests are preferred to Christ’s.

He adds and I say this to close:

The more you can deny yourselves in all respects, the more are you prepared for the cross, the more ready you are for suffering. Therefore if you would bear the cross as followers of Christ, be much, in the practice of self-denial.

Amen.