Two Journeys

Andy Davis preaches an expository sermon on Psalm 139 and Luke 1. The main subject of the sermon is the personhood of the unborn.

We are thinking about the dreadful decision that was made 30 years ago, Wednesday, 30 years ago, January 22nd, 1973 by seven to two decision. The Supreme Court of United States shocked the nation and made abortion a sacred constitutional right all over our country. Reminds me very much as a historian of a verdict given so long ago, which is now a national shame and embarrassment. I'm referring to the Dred Scott decision back in March 6th, 1857, in which again, by a seven to two decision, Chief Justice Roger Taney stated two things... Dred Scott, by the way, was a slave who was suing for his freedom, he said that his master had freed him while he was in a territory.

And the case went all the way to the Supreme Court. And two things were said that day by the seven to two decision in 1857. Number one, the Congress had no right to restrict slavery, that slavery was a constitutional right, and there could be no law made by Congress in this matter in the territories. And number two, that slaves were not people and had no right really to even bring a case like this; that they were property, not persons. That's a source of national shame and embarrassment, isn't it? The highest court in the land would make a statement like that.

And so it connects to the abortion case as well, because in the same way, abortion was upheld as a constitutional right, and the pre-born was declared to be not a person, not just that it may or may not be a person as the woman could choose, but legally, it was not a person protectable under the 14th Amendment. I'm praying for the day when our nation will be as ashamed and shocked about that decision as it was about the Dred Scott decision in 1857. Will you join me in praying for that? It's a national shame. A national scandal. And I believe that abortion is the law of the land because of a satanic work in our country. I believe it's devilish, I believe it's spiritual in origin, I believe that Satan is telling lies to individuals and to the whole nation.

And it's time for the church as the pillar and foundation of the truth to stand up and tell the truth. It's time, because if the church doesn't do it, it won't happen. It's not gonna happen anywhere else. It's got to be Christians that do it. If the church doesn't do it, it's not going to happen. 30 years is enough, and far too much, 40 million people, and that's what they are, is enough and far too much. Time has come for us to tell the truth.

And now I remember back in the '80s when I was involved in the pro-life movement up in Boston, remained some of the most terrifying days of my life, the days that I got ready early in the morning and drove down to Brookline to an abortion clinic, and our function there was to go and to talk and to discuss, and to persuade and to change hearts and minds.

Operation Rescue was going on at the same time in other places in the city, their goal was physically to blockade clinics so that women could not physically get in. We felt that if we didn't change hearts and minds, nothing would be accomplished, and so we would go down there and the pro-abortion demonstrators would be there, usually outnumbering us by three to one, and it was still some of the scariest memories that I ever have, of getting out of that van and unloading our signs and being surrounded by pro-abortion demonstrators filled with wrath, with anger.

They'd get right in your face. And I remember ministering there and calling out to women who were being walked into the clinic and usually with a man with his arm around her, and he's moving her in and she looks scared. She looks like she doesn't want to be there. And the man would be the one yelling at us to shut up, because he had worked all night to get her to the point where she could go in. I remember that. but more than anything, I remember the feeling I had as I got in my car and drove home at the end of that day. I drove too fast. I confess that to you as a church. I was driving too fast through the city streets because I felt like I was being chased.

And then I would go home and I would sleep for three or four hours because of the spiritual battle involved, the demonic presence around that place was so thick you could feel it, there's no question about it. And so Satan is cranking out these lives, Satan is lying to us as people, He's lying to our nation, and it's time for us to tell the truth, to stand up and tell the truth on this matter of abortion. It says in Revelation 12:4, "That the dragon," that's the devil, "Stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth so that He might devour her child the moment it was born." Well, now he has the technology to do it before it's born. That's the same devil, the same desire.

Jesus said of the devil, "When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." What does that mean? It means the lies, all of them stem back to him, he's the liar and he's telling us lies, and it's time for us to tell the truth. Now, I want us to look at some lies that Satan is telling us, and I want us to look at them in three categories. The lies he's telling our society about abortion, the lies he's telling the church, and the lies he's telling guilt-stricken individuals. Three lies that he's telling society. First of all, that the pre-born is not truly a human person, that's the cardinal lie, the central lie of all of this.

Secondly, that this child is a burden and not a blessing, a curse actually...and not a blessing from God. And that idea has so wormed its way through our culture, I can't even trace all of its impact right now, it affects the church too. And thirdly, that abortion is a blessing and benefit to the woman who goes through it. These are the three great lies, and there are more besides, I had to weed it down to three, but these are central, aren't they? What lies is he telling the church? Number one, abortion is so entrenched and so powerful and so much a part of our country that there is nothing we can do about it. That is a lie, an intimidating lie. It's a lie so that we do nothing.

And secondly, that if we can just get the right people elected or the right justices in the Supreme Court and get the law overturned, that everything will be solved, that is a lie too. It goes deeper than that. And what lies is he telling guilt-stricken individuals? Your sin in this matter is so great that you can never be forgiven. There's no grace, there's no possibility of forgiveness, your life is ruined because of things you've done, and that is a lie too.

Let's look at the first category, the lies that Satan tells society, and we're gonna start where we need to, on the personhood of the unborn. Everything else falls into place if you establish that. If you forget everything else I say in the next hour and 30 minutes I'm gonna be talking to you. If you forget anything else I say, remember this, this is a person that we're dealing with, a human being. It begins to solve some of the hardest ethical issues like abortion in the case of rape and incest and others. If you keep in mind that this is a person, then things get simpler and become clear. Now other things don't immediately get solved, economic issues and family problems, and the age of the young girl, all of those things are still there.

But this is the central truth, we have to get this one down. Now I could give you ample evidence of the personhood of the pre-born from science alone. There's been a great deal of research in this, and I could do it, I could talk about the genetic uniqueness of that baby from the moment of conception, I could talk about how that baby basically chemically or hormonally takes over functions from the mother at that point and just starts to call the shots saying, "I'm here, I'm alive, I wanna grow." And how from 21 days, its kidneys are being formed and its heart, and how brain waves come from eight weeks and how there's a beating heart, and how there are fingerprints and its own blood type, its own identity as a human being, vocal cords fully formed at 12 weeks, able to cry out.

And they do cry out. So we can do it from science, and that's okay, because science is part of natural revelation, God speaks to us by what is and we can see it, but I'm not gonna do it from science, I'm gonna do it from scripture, because God is the one who can tell us what a person is, it's his place to tell us what life is. We have to submit to what he says in this matter, and if we can establish from scripture the personhood of the pre-born, then the matter is settled. Because God has told us and He will hold us accountable for what He has said.

And I think we can do it, we can do it from Psalm 139, and we can do it from Luke chapter 1. Psalm 139 is a stunning psalm it's amazing. There are depths to the riches of Psalm 139 we will not touch on this morning, we're really just looking at the Diamond from one facet, the humanity of the pre-born. But there's so many other things we could do with Psalm 139. Psalm 139, for example, shows some of the greatest verses on the omniscience and omnipresence of God, that He knows all things. Before a word is on your tongue, he knows it altogether. Where can I go from Your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? Talks about the Omnipresence of God, and so these are great proof text for these theological truths, but it's much deeper than that.

I've come to realize by a careful study of Psalm 139, that Psalm 139 is all about God, as this omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent God in his intense personal relationship with David as a human being, it's all about relationship, it's omniscience, and omnipresent brought to bear in a human life. Here, look, look at the text, you'll see what I mean. Right from the very beginning, he says, "O Lord, You have searched me, and You know me." Now, God knows everything, he knows all sciences in history and all that, but that's not what David's thinking about here, in verse 1, he's thinking about how much God knows him. "You have searched me, and You know me." And you can just keep going in that same emphasis.

“You and me, God”, that's what it's about. You, the eternal God, and me, created in your image. You and me, God. In relationship, that's what Psalm 139 is about. Look what I mean. "O Lord, You have searched me and You know me. You know when I sit and when I rise. You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down. You are familiar with all my ways." Do you see it? It's you and it's me. It's you and it's me. It's relationship, isn't it? It's God in relationship to a human being. "Before a word is on my tongue, you know it completely, O Lord, you hem me in behind and before you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.” And then he says… you know, it almost feel like it's a little uncomfortable to be so thoroughly searched by God. Does that make you uncomfortable? At the end of the Psalm, David says, "Search me, O God and know me. I want you to know me." But he says, "Where could I go from your spirit? There's nowhere I can go to get away from you. You're always with me. Even the things I do in the darkness, you see them and know them completely, oh God, and actually, you've been doing it since before I was born." Do you see the context now in these verses? "You have been relating to me even before I was born, when you knit me together in my mother's womb."

And so the context is so vital for us here, it's you and me, God, an intense relationship. Now, zero in on verse 13, it says, "For you created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother's womb." Now, I was preaching once at a King James only church, I love the King James. I have ever-increasing respect for that translation, I just don't know anybody that talks that kind of English, except Shakespearean actors and actresses. But I love the translation. But when I came to Psalm 139 Verse 13 and read it, I said, What is that? For the King James, it says, "For thou hast possessed my reins." R-E-I-N-S. If you did a person on the street interview and said, "What does that mean?" What response do you think you'd get? "Thou hast," I know that's "you have". I know that much. "Possessed my reins?" I think of horses and chariots and things. I didn't know what it was. Alright? But then I realized that the English was connected to the word renal, it has to do with kidneys, and the original Hebrew here is kidneys, and the King James translators connected it to the word for kidneys, where we get the word renal, like renal failure, as a connection.

Okay, so basically he's saying, "You have possessed my kidneys," and the exact same word is used in the sacrificial system of the physical organs that'd be taken out of the sacrifice, out of the animal and burned on the altar. Example, Exodus 29:13, "Then take all the fat around the inner parts, the covering of the liver and both kidneys with the fat on them [kidneys] and burn them on the altar." So it's organs, physical organs, stuff. From 21 days that little baby has kidneys, okay, and so its physical organs, but the word is deeper and richer than that, just like in English, the word heart is deeper than just a physical organ, there's more. We say, "What's on your heart? Share with me what's on your heart." What we mean is I don't wanna know what's flowing through or gushing through your muscle that's squeezing blood, I mean, share your mind, your convictions, your thoughts in this matter. Well, the word kidneys is used in the same way. In the same way, for example, Psalm 7: 9, "Oh, righteous God, who searches minds and hearts... " the word minds in the NIV is kidneys. He searches your kidneys.

But you know it's not physical there, it's gotta be metaphorical, for he searches who you are inside you. Or Psalm 16:7, "I bless the Lord who gives me counsel. In the night, also my heart instructs me." The word is kidneys. If you went to the King James version, your kidneys are instructing you, that's what it says, but we know what it means, my inmost being is speaking to me at night, it's teaching me things. Proverbs 23:16, "My inmost being will rejoice when I speak of your truth." And so it's the part of you that can be searched by God and assessed, the part of you that can rejoice in God, that can speak truth, that can receive truth, that can relate to God, it's the part of you that can relate to God. Do you see that?

And the best verses of all, Job 19:25-27, I squealed with delight when I found this one, I couldn't believe it. I said, "Wow, this is amazing." Job 19:25-27, "I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth, and after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh will I see God. I myself will see him with my own eyes. I, and not another. Now listen how my heart yearns within me." That's right, kidneys. "How that part of me that yearns for Jesus as a savior, yearns within me." And that's what's getting created in verse 13 of Psalm 139.

But more, it says, "Thou hast possessed my reins." Why possessed? Well, the word usually means bought by redemptive price. "You own my reins. You own me. You acquired me in the womb. That's when it started. You and me, God, that's when it began. My relationship with you started then." Do you know a newborn can recognize the voice of his or her mother the next day? It can recognize it, studies have been done... It makes sense. He or she's been listening to it all those many weeks and months. Right? It makes complete sense. But something I would say is going on also spiritually in a deeper sense, that child is being prepared for an internal relationship with God. Write this one down, Psalm 22:9. It's not in your outline but write it down. I couldn't believe when I came across this. Psalm 22 Verse 9 says, "Yet you brought me out of the womb, you made me trust... " The NIV says, "in you", but it's not there, but it says, "You made me trust even at my mother's breast." That's very interesting, it's a Hiphil Hebrew, "you caused me to trust", and I think what's going on here is that God creates an ability to trust in Him from before the time you're born, you know what safety and security, and shelter and protection, and warmth and nourishment is about before you're even born, and you learn it in an ever-increasing way until finally, at some point, you can understand language and the Gospel, and it clicks in, God is like that for you. God is your protective covering, he is your comfort, he's your nurturer, he is the one who's been with you all this time.

And your mother will die, but I used her to teach you those things at the right moment, you realize it was me all along. What is David saying then in Psalm 139:13? All that began inside the womb. It all started there. And another thing, this word "possessed" means "it's mine", says the Lord. "It's mine, I own it." What right do we have to come in and interfere with that? Who are we? Who are we to do that? What right do we have? "I possess it," says God, "It's mine. Don't interfere." Personhood of the unborn. In verses 14-16, he says, "I praise you because I'm fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was," I love this, "Woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body." The word "woven together" is like the skillful weaving of an embroider, like a beautiful sash, it's just intricately put together, and it is. If you've studied the development inside the womb, you know it is. And it's God who's doing that. Psalm 139.

Turn over in your Bibles to Luke 1:41-44, this is the moment when two godly women, two mothers to be, pregnant women, meet and interact. And I think that they share things that we men will never really understand. I really do. I think they just know some things that we just don't, and there was just a bond. Mary just wanted to be with Elizabeth when she found out that she was expecting. She just wanted to be with her. And so she traveled and then the two of them got together, and Mary greeted Elizabeth, and at that moment, the Holy Spirit came on Elizabeth. That made her a prophetess, she spoke under the influence of the Holy Spirit, she spoke. And the word she speaks are like Scripture, and they're important in this matter. I think that's why Luke told us that she was filled with the Holy Spirit and said, “When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice, she exclaimed, Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear. But why am I so favored that the mother of my Lord should come to me?              

And then verse 44, “As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.” Case closed, folks. Blobs of tissue don't leap for joy. Products of conception don't leap for joy. Fetuses leap for joy if you know that the Latin word for fetus, it just means young one, but it's come to become depersonalized, the very thing that they want you to do is depersonalize it. Alright, two evidences of the personhood of the pre-born. First of all, pregnant Mary, very early in her pregnancy is already the mother of Elizabeth's Lord. She's already the mother of my Lord, that's evidence number one, and Jesus is very early in his time inside Mary's womb at that point. And secondly, John the Baptist couldn't control himself. He just could not control himself, he's in the presence of Jesus, and so he leaps for joy as soon as Mary's greeting reached his mother. The Holy Spirit came on him, I think. How else would he have known? And so he leapt for joy, for joy, this is personhood language. We must tell the truth to our society. We must tell the truth at Duke University and at Chapel Hill and at State. We must tell the truth, 'cause there's a lot of lies over there, folks. This is personhood, it cannot be refuted, and it must be spoken because people are being lied to about this. It must be spoken. 

The second lie that I want to dispel is the lie that this child is a burden and not a blessing; a curse, really. And Satan desires for you to hate the child as much as he does. Planned parenthood has a slogan. Have you heard it? “Every child: a wanted child.” That's a demonic thought. You say, "Oh, but it sounds so beautiful." That's what the devil does. He clothes himself like an angel of light, and it seems so good. I wanna ask you a question, what right do we have to want or not want a child? Who are we to want or not want a child? It's not our place to want it or not want it. Every child that is born should be a wanted child. It is not our place to assess children like that. It's not for us to do. And yet what's happened subtly over 30 years of this concept, marinating in our minds, is that we are constantly assessing and weighing children all the time in a way we never did before, and so we don't see children anymore like the biblical worldview. Children were always a blessing, always seen to be a blessing, and conversely, if you couldn't have a child as a woman, it was seen to be a reproach. Elizabeth said that her reproach had been taken away now that she was pregnant.

Now, what I'm saying is that they saw children as a blessing. Psalm 127: 3-5, it says, “Behold, children are a gift of the Lord. The fruit of the womb is a reward, like arrows in the hand of a warrior so are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies at the gate.” A child's a blessing, and we just don't think that way, do we? We think of the child as a curse, as a burden. Do you know how much money it takes to raise a child all the way through college? Well, I'll tell you by the time my kids get to college, it'll be a million dollars a year. I have no idea how we're gonna pay for that, but I don't care. My children are a blessing to me, I can't imagine life without them. I love them. I can't even share all the moments that we have. You can't weigh it. What has happened to us?

I met a Kenyan man, educated in University of Minnesota, PhD. He said, Americans hate children. Ugh, I said, "No, we don't." He said, "You do. You hate them." It's hard to refute. It's a lie, it's a lie from the devil. The third lie is that abortion is beneficial to the life of the mother, that abortion itself is a blessing. Is it? They hide from you the evidence that abortion destroys women's bodies physically, it's a great damage to a woman's body. I could talk about the 60,000 or 70,000 women that die from abortions every year, most of them, not in this country, but still many, many. Pelvic infection, infertility because of scar tissue that builds up, premature births after that, lots of problems. They don't tell you these things. 27 out of 33 worldwide medical studies have shown, and it's generally accepted now in the United States, a link between abortion and breast cancer. It's a link, it's New England Medical Journal, Journal of Medicine has said it's a fact, it's a medical fact that the two are linked. It can't be refuted.

But they don't talk about those things. There's physical damage that happens to the body. More universally, there's psychological damage. Everybody accepts the post abortion traumatic syndrome or stress syndrome. Romans 1:18 says that sinners suppress the truth and unrighteous hold it down. But what ends up happening is, a mother has natural instincts for this baby, natural desire to bring it to term, a desire to mother it, it's natural, God put it inside the heart of a mother. Isaiah 49:15 says, “Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb?” Answer: Yes, sadly. But God says, even though she may forget, I will never forget you. But it's unnatural to do that, to suppress it and not care about your children. And so, post-abortive women are 3.9 times more likely to commit suicide because they can't shake the feeling of guilt. There is a remedy though in the cross of Christ. I almost can't go on without saying that. There is a remedy, there is grace, there is forgiveness, there is love, but there is trauma also for those that make this decision to do this, and then not just physically, not just psychologically, but spiritually, where does it leave you with God?

Some doctors and nurses that are involved in this have testified to the seared conscience that happens. Initially, it was horrible, they would throw up, they couldn't eat, they couldn't sleep. Little by little, it got easier and easier. Easier and easier. And so in 1 Timothy 4, it speaks of a conscience seared as with a hot iron. Apostle Paul said on the flip side, “I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.” A seared conscience is a great damage, and what will we do about the sin? If we don't know Christ, we'll have to stand accountable before God and be judged for it. Spiritual damage.

We've got to speak the truth to society about the personhood of the pre-born, about the blessing of children, and about the damage, the physical damage that abortion does to women. What truth do we have to speak within the church? I could go on about this for a long time, but I wanna just say very quickly, there's a feeling of lethargy and depression and despair among the church on this issue, like we can't win. Satan is telling us a lie that we cannot win this, it's too hard to change, abortion is too entrenched to overthrow so give up. You know why? Because he knows what will happen if we come out and take the field against him. We will win! Somebody say, “Amen, we will win!” If we take the field against him, we will win, and he knows it. So what does he have to do? Prevent us from taking the field. Intimidation, fear, depression, and discouragement, because he knows better than we do the power of our offensive and defensive weapons.

Our offensive weapons, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, “Though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of this world.” No, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments, and we take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ. It's a demolishment of the mind and of bad ideas and bad thoughts, and we're gonna win because we have the truth on our side. He knows the power of our offensive weapon, he's seen what the Word of God can do, and he also knows the power of our defensive weaponry, our shields and our protection, our spiritual armor, Ephesians 6, with which we can extinguish every flaming arrow of the evil one. They just don't go away, these Christians. They just don't fall. They stand firm. He knows. And so all he can do with smoke and mirrors is intimidate us to stay home and not fight. Very much like when the 12 spies brought back the report from the promised land, and 10 of them said, "We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes. They're too big for us." And God raised up two witnesses, Joshua and Caleb, to say, We can do it by the power of God. We can take this land.

I was gonna talk to you now about William Wilberforce and William Lloyd Garrison, two witnesses, two lampstands that stood up on the issue of slavery. William Wilberforce would not give up; he was a winsome, pleasant, happy, joyful person. The kind of guy you wanted around. His opponent said of him, “You have to watch him because he possesses a sufficient quantity of that enthusiastic spirit, which so far from yielding actually grows stronger with blows. He just enjoys getting hit, he doesn't go away, he's like that big block of cork, and we keep pushing him down and he keeps popping up again, he just doesn't give up.” Forty-seven years he fought, 20 to end the slave trade, 27 more to end slavery itself in the British colonies. Forty-seven years, that was William Wilberforce.

And then there's William Lloyd Garrison, American abolitionist, journalist. I like Wilberforce's theology a little bit better than Garrison, but that's another talk for another day. But I love Garrison's fire. Through his paper, The Liberator, he poured fire into the consciences of Americans on the issue of slavery and he wouldn't give up, and this is what he said, “I need to be all on fire for I am surrounded by mountains of ice.” We need to be all on fire on abortion for we're surrounded by mountains of ice, some of them are in the church. And so you're going to actually offend some people, if you tell the truth on this. Some people will get upset, some of you may get upset at me for telling the truth today, it's okay. Have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?

He was on fire. And this is what he said, “I am in earnest, I will not equivocate, I will not excuse, I will not retreat a single inch, and I will be heard.” We need that again, folks. We need that spirit, the joyful persistence of a 47-year marathoner named William Wilberforce, and the fire and conviction of William Lloyd Garrison on slavery. We need it again. And I think God's gonna do it. I think he's gonna raise a, I think some of you may be those kind of people. Simply changing the abortion law will not change it, will not do it.

Our minds have been marinating in abortion all this time. Do you realize why women get abortions? Because they're desperate. They're desperate. I used to go down to the abortion clinic and I would talk to them and for all of the pro-choice rhetoric, they invariably said, "We have no choice." And you know why, because abortion is a hopeless act, it's an act of hopelessness. Well, whose job is it to minister hope in a hopeless situation, if not the church's? We're supposed to go and minister hope to people, to show them what God can do even in the most dire circumstances. We have to surround them with love, with economic support, with friendship, with security, with the gospel, that's what we have to do. It's not enough just to change the laws.

It brings me to the final lie, and it may be something that Satan is speaking to you even right now. I don't know what your history, your past is. I don't know what you've done. The lie is, your sin is too great for God to cover it. There can be no forgiveness. That is a lie. It's a lie. And notice, Satan's viciousness in this matter. He entices and induces you to sin, and then turns around and convicts you for that very sin he led you to commit. He's vicious, he's a killer. And so he pulls on you and pulls on you and pulls on you, and then as soon as you do, he drives you to suicide over it. He's a killer.

The spirit of abortion is essentially hopeless and anti-grace. It says to the abortionist doctor who's committed more abortions than he can remember, there's so much blood in your hands, nothing can remove it, you're guilty forever, you've lost your soul. It says to the pregnant woman with a child conceived out of wedlock, there can be no forgiveness, you might as well abort this baby, because God's abandoned you, you didn't do it the right way. It says to a woman who's already had an abortion, there's nothing you can do now, you've murdered your own baby, and there can be no forgiveness for you. It says to the man who abdicated his responsibility and forced her into it, forced her into it because he didn't wanna be a man, stand up to his responsibilities, there's no forgiveness for you, you're a coward, and you cannot be forgiven. It says to the pastor who's neglected the issue for a decade or more, out of bad memories and lack of courage and the lack of desire for a hard life, you've wasted years and years and may never get it back. There can be no forgiveness for you. It says the same to Christians who don't care very much about this issue, don't wanna pray about it or do anything. The spirit of abortion says to the politician who changed his view so he could get elected, there could be no forgiveness for you. It says to the Supreme Court Justice who made decisions and rendered verdicts on partial-birth abortion, that horrible procedure, that there can be no forgiveness for you because of the horror of what you've done.

Now, what is the remedy to all of these lies? Is it not the truth? Is it not speaking the truth? I told you in my prayer and I was praying, I said, “God help me do a miracle...”, because in one message, I had to both disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. If you're comfortable with abortion, I wanted to disturb you today, but if you're already disturbed, let me tell you something, [Matthew 5:3] “Blessed are the spiritual beggars for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. [Psalm 51:17] “A broken and contrite spirit, you will not despise, O God.” Ephesians 1:7, “In Christ, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins in accordance to the riches of God's grace.” Not out of his riches, in accordance with the riches, he's rich. And when he forgives, he forgives A to Z. Isn't that beautiful? Romans 5:20, “Where sin increased, grace increased all the more.” Grace wins. Isn't that wonderful? In the end, grace wins. Praise God for that. And so we have the invitation, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Sin is a crushing burden, Jesus came to take it off of you, to die under the wrath of God in your place.

What application do we take? First of all, believe the Bible. Believe that the pre-born is a person, a human person. Get it settled in your mind forever that John the Baptist leapt for joy in his mother's womb. Settle it forever. Secondly, reason and persuade. Talk to people. Talk to people. And if you say, I don't know how to talk. Learn how to talk about this, learn about this and talk to people. Be willing to be counted, to stand up and be counted because you know the laws won't change until people's hearts change on this matter, and you all are the messengers, and me too. Cut through the ridiculous political rhetoric that is so illogical, I don't understand it. Like when Bill Clinton said, “Let's make abortion safe, legal, funded, and rare.” And rare? What does that mean?

I think there should be just as many plantar warts removed as need to be removed, and if you have a plantar wart, I think you should have it removed. If that's all it is, it is a mass of cells and it shouldn't be rare, it should be as often as you need. What is that? It's a political compromise because he knows some people are uncomfortable with abortion, as well we should be. If it's truly a person, let's not have abortion, and if it's not a person, let's have as many of them as we need. So cut through that political double-talk. Understand what's really going on. Tell the truth. Persevere in prayer. Only prayer will change this. Commit yourself to pray for this matter, and action. Be William Wilberforce. Be William Lloyd Garrison. Be on fire. Be patient. Be gentle. Stand firm and don't give up. Get involved. Radiate hope into a dark situation. Go find somebody who's got a dark situation.

You will be introduced to women in dark situations. Can you minister to them? Can you bring the hope of Jesus Christ into that dark night? If so, do it. And finally, come to Christ. If you don't know Jesus, come to Christ. Don't walk out of this room today without knowing Christ as your Lord and Savior. If you wanna talk to me about this, come and talk to me. If there's something on your heart, come and talk to me. If you're already a Christian but you haven't experienced the forgiveness of God in this area, realize that his grace is sufficient for any sin.

Close with me in prayer. Father, I thank you for the truth of the Word of God, and I thank you for the power of the Word of God. I thank you that you are going to change our country. O God, I pray that you would. I pray for churches across America right now who are finishing their services, people thinking about the messages, thinking about what to do, I pray that the seed will not be snatched up by the devil. I pray rather that we would act in a committed concerted way to see this situation, this law changed, and to see your mercy come alive in every moment of desperation, in every dark night. Father, I pray if there are any here that are feeling guilty and burning right now, God, with a sense of guilt, I pray that your grace would minister now the blood of Jesus Christ. We pray this in your name, Lord. Amen.

 We continue our study in the Gospel of Matthew in a marvelous section of Matthew's gospel, Matthew, 11:1-15. In this section, we see Jesus, praising a human being. That's an incredible thing for Jesus does not give his praise lightly. He is no flatterer. Therefore, it's important for us to understand what it was in particular that he praised in the life of John the Baptist.

A short time ago, I had the opportunity to go back to MIT where I went to school, and I was reminded again of all of the evidences of the world's perspective on greatness around all the time. In one particular court called Killian Court, up high, there's inscribed the names, the greatest names of science, human technology names like Archimedes and Newton and Plato, Aristotle, and Mendel and Mendeleev and Faraday and Copernicus. These names are in front of you all the time as you're walking down the halls, and they're an inducement to greatness, so they believe. And I think it's true. I think when we have evidence before us, the lives of great people who have gone before us, it causes us to want to be great ourselves. You see, the Book of Ecclesiastes says that God has set in the hearts of every individual person eternity, but I think he's also said a yearning for greatness there too. The sad thing is that sin twists that yearning for greatness, and makes it self-centered that somebody would worship us, that somebody might focus on us, and so it becomes a form of idolatry.

That kind of greatness has no future. That kind of greatness is like a flower of the field, cut and soon to wither. “For all men are like grass and all their glory is like the flower of the field, the grass withers, and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.” I've mentioned before on a windswept kind of deserted plain in modern Iran there's a tomb of Cyrus the Great. The inscription on the tomb can't be read anymore. It's been effaced, it's been erased by the winds, the sands of time. But an ancient historian wrote it down for us and this is what it said: "O man, whoever you are and wherever whenever you may come, I am Cyrus who won for the Persians their empire. Do not begrudge me this little earth that now covers my corpse." Such is the end of all human greatness. But to be great in the eyes of Christ, that's different, that's eternal.  I just have one goal this morning, and that is to put inside your hearts a yearning, a hungering and thirsting to be praised by Christ on the final day— that Christ might praise you, that he might find your life worthy.

The context for this package of Matthew 11:1-15 must always be the advancing kingdom of heaven. That is the message of the book, that is the message of the Gospel of Matthew, the greatness of the kingdom of heaven, and more specifically the greatness of the king of the kingdom of heaven, Jesus Christ. By way of context, we've seen a series of testimonies given to Christ, as the king of the kingdom of heaven. Began in chapter one, with a series of genealogies, forty-two names were given which proved to the Jewish mind that Jesus was great, that he was the son of David, he was the son of Abraham, he was the rightful heir to David's throne, the greatness of Christ. It went beyond that, because in the second half of Matthew 1, it showed that Jesus is not just the Son of Man, but he's also the son of God, born of a virgin, and so rightly, it could be said of him that he's Immanuel, God with us. So he is the son of David, yes, but also the son of God who took on a human body.

Then in chapter 2, we have the testimony of the Magi who came from the ends of the Earth to worship him. Precursors to us who are Gentiles, who wanted to find in Christ our king. The Magi came to worship him. We also see the testimony in Matthew chapter 3 of John the Baptist, who testified very plainly that Jesus was the one who was to come the Messiah. John the Baptist gave a clear witness to Jesus and said, "After me, there will come one who's sandals I'm not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." We also have the testimony of God the Father himself at that moment of baptism, when He spoke from heaven and said, "This is my beloved Son, whom I love, with him I am well pleased". We have also the testimony of the Holy Spirit, who came down like a dove and landed on Christ.The Father and the Spirit are testifying that this was Jesus the son of God.

Then there is the testimony of Christ's personal holiness. In Matthew chapter 4, he went on into the desert to be directly tempted by the Devil, and for 40 days he fasted and for 40 days he was tempted by the Devil. He resisted every temptation  never once yielded, never once said yes to temptation, but said no — the testimony of his perfect holiness, and righteousness. Then there is the testimony in Matthew chapter 4 of his preaching. He began to preach, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand". He began to point to himself as the king of the kingdom of heaven. He testified to the truthfulness of his words by miracles, signs and wonders, which he was enabled to do. Just a foretaste in chapter 4 but fully unfolded for us in chapters 8 & 9. This is the testimony of the power of Christ over any disease, even over death itself. Then there was the testimony of Christ's perfect words, not just His mighty works but his mighty words: The  words of the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5, 6 and 7, the testimony of the kingdom, of kingdom life, what it's like, and of the king of the kingdom of heaven.

Then finally, we've looked at the testimony of the twelve disciples who Jesus called apostles whom he sent out with the message of the kingdom, saying, "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” These twelve went out and gave a testimony to Christ, that he was in fact the king of the kingdom of heaven. We have an accumulation now of ten chapters of evidence and testimony to Christ. We're going into Matthew 11 and 12,  and now we're going to start getting negative reactions to these testimonies coming back. It's going to start in a mild way here with John the Baptist, but it's going to unfold from there, this series of actual negative reactions to Christ. We have doubt in the face of John the Baptist. He says, "Are you the one who was to come or should we expect someone  That's doubt. It's a language of doubt. Coming from John the Baptist, it could have been devastating to Christ's ministry.

We also have criticism that Jesus alludes to, in verses 16-19, when he talks about the surrounding society, saying, "We played the flute for you, and you didn't dance, we sang a dirge and you didn't mourn.”  Criticism from society, and then flat out unbelief.  This are Chorazin and Bethsaida who will not believe in Christ, no matter how many miracles he does. All of that is followed by a remarkably gentle invitation to faith. "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”  He invites them to come to personal faith. Again in chapter 12 we have a similar thing. In verses 1-14, there is the murderous entrapment from Jesus' enemies. They want to kill him. They're beginning to plot against him, and eventually they're going to succeed in killing Christ. It begins in chapter 12 where we see unbelieving astonishment and blasphemy. Jesus speaks of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. The people are seeing the evidence, but they're rejecting, they're turning away from it. They show curious fascination, where crowds are gathering, but they're not committing to Christ. With all of that, again followed by an invitation saying, "Whoever does the will of my heavenly father is my brother and sister and mother.” So again, in chapters 11 and 12, we see negative reactions to all this evidence followed by an invitation from Christ to personal faith.  I want to pause just for a moment and appeal to each one of you. There is evidence all around and in the scriptures of the deity of Christ, and of his role as our personal savior. What is your response? What will you say when Christ commands you, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest". Will you respond with faith? Will you come into the kingdom? That's what's before us in this section.

Christ sets the example for souls. He is zealous for your soul, he's zealous for my soul. He came into the world to save souls and so he is pursuing them.  He's a good Shepherd going to look for what was lost. Not only does he send the twelve out in chapter 10 but he himself sets the example by going out, we assume alone because he sent these twelve out and now he goes on and continues his own preaching ministry. In verse 1, he says, "After Jesus had finished instructing his 12 disciples, he went on from there to teach and to preach in the towns of Galilee.” Great leaders, a great king, will never ask of his followers what he is unwilling to do himself, so Christ is out courageously confronting society, courageously confronting unbelief. He's preaching, he's proclaiming the very message that he wanted them to proclaim. He went out and set the example.

As he went out something happened which could have been very disturbing, very troubling in his ministry. As he's out ministering some messengers from John the Baptist come. They confront him bringing him a message from John the Baptist. John the Baptist is in prison at this point, He’s been arrested because of his faithful, bold proclamation of righteousness. He came against king Herod, who had sinfully and wrongfully unlawfully married his brother's wife, while his brother was still alive. He took her, Herodias, and married her. John the Baptist would not stand for it, and proclaimed righteousness. That took a lot of boldness and his preaching career didn't last long after that. King Herod arrested him and put him in prison. He was languishing in prison because Herod wasn't man enough to see through what he wanted to do. He was very weak and vacillating. He wanted to set John free, he wanted to kill him. He didn't know what to do, but there he was, and he languished in prison. 

That's the context of what happens in verse 2-6. We've talked about how Jesus gives a testimony to John's greatness, but we actually have right from the beginning evidence of the limitations of human greatness. Even the greatest man that had ever lived up to that point according to Christ was imperfect, the great John the Baptist was imperfect. This is what he says, in verse 2-6, "When John heard in prison, what Christ was doing he sent his disciples to ask him. Are you the one who is to come or should we expect someone else? And Jesus replied, go back and report to John what you see and hear, the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and Good News is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me". The psalmist in Psalm 119:96, says, “to all perfection, I see a limit".  You take that word perfection out and say, "To all human greatness, I see a limit.”  Even in John, there's a limit, and John was reaching his limits.  John the Baptist doubted Jesus Christ.

Now just let that sink in for a moment. We're looking at a man who lived an uncompromising life, who gave an incredibly clear-headed faith-filled testimony to Jesus and in a moment of weakness, he doubted. This doubt is rather shocking isn't it when you stop and think about it.  John had proclaimed earlier in Matthew 3, that Jesus is the one who would come after him, who having been baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire and his winnowing fork is in his hand, would clear his threshing floor, gathering up the weed into his barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire. In John 1, when the authorities came from Jerusalem, they asked if he was the Christ. John and he said “No, but he's coming after me, whose sandals I'm not worthy to untie.”  Then when he saw Jesus, he pointed to him and said, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world". What an incredible testimony. Then as was alluded earlier in John chapter 3, John said of Christ, “He must increase, and I must decrease". Here we have an incredible testimony from John. The greatest of his dispensation of the Old Covenant of the Old Testament. The clearest understanding of who Christ was, and yet doubt has creeped in.

What are the roots of John's doubt? Where does it come from? Well, first of all, I think the root is limited exposure to Christ and to his ministry. I really don't think he observed Jesus very much at all.  I don't think he listened to Christ preaching. I don't think he ever saw him do a miracle. He was finishing his own ministry when Herod arrested him suddenly and threw him in prison. Mark's gospel give us a clearer account of this. In Mark 1:14 it says, "After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee proclaiming the good news of God."  There was only a brief overlap. You get the incidents of John 1,2 and 3, some overlap there, but very brief.  I don't think that John himself ever experienced Christ's ministry of the kingdom of heaven. I think that was the beginning of the roots of doubt.  He actually never saw Christ except at Christ's baptism, as far as the scripture gives record. He didn't have much information.

Secondly, they're the physical trials that John was going through. He was in prison, in the first century, in Palestine. Don't imagine some kind of a clean, well-run modern 21st century American prison, with three meals a day, and walking a certain line and all kinds of order and if you get sick, there's an infirmary.  It was a filthy thing to be in prison back then, without any provision. They had no concern for whether you were fed. You had to have outside people bring you food, and they did so at risk of being in prison themselves. It was a dangerous and difficult place.  John had been there as far as we can tell, for a long time, perhaps more than a year. He's only flesh and blood. It beat down on him day after day, week after week, and every day wondering if that would be his last day, because he knew Herod wanted to kill him. That wears on a person. It was a time of weakness for John.

Thirdly, I think perhaps faulty expectations. I don't think he expected what Christ was doing. He didn't expect the kingdom to come the way that Christ was bringing it. Perhaps just like so many Jews, he expected a time of vindication, of vindication for the righteous, that he would perhaps even come and get John out of prison and establish him as a prophet. He did not expect the kind of righteousness that Jesus was bringing. He was very confused about some of Christ's actions. Why was Christ hanging out with tax collectors and sinners, for example? Why wasn't he fasting, the way he had taught his own disciples to fast? You remember the interaction in chapter 9 where John sent his disciples said, "Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples don't? It seems like you're just having one celebration after the other.” John was an ascetic. He lived in the desert eating locusts and wild honey.  He wasn't used to this kind of a prophet of God who was able to sit down at feast with sinners. He was confused by Christ's actions. These are the roots of John's doubt. What was the significance of John's doubt? 

For John personally his doubt sapped all his strength. He lay in prison wondering if he'd wasted his life. Think about it. If Jesus was not the one who was to come, then John had wasted his life. He would have missed it, testifying at the wrong time, and in the wrong way.  It must have been devastating to John, to lay there in the dark, not knowing whether he had missed it, whether Jesus really was the one who was to come later. How devastating for John to lay there doubting. But, how devastating also for Christ's mission. John was very famous, well-known. He was established by God as a lamp that burned and shone brightly for a while. If in the end he repudiated Christ, how devastating would that be for the advancing kingdom of heaven? This doubt from John must be dealt with, and Jesus does it so powerfully and so gently. We see a lot of the character of Christ here. At the end of this chapter Jesus gives us the only description, the only adjective, he ever gave for himself. As far as I can read, he says, "I am gentle, and humble in heart, and you'll find rest for your souls".  He deals with John's doubt very gently in two ways. He gives him evidence, and he gives him exhortation. He gives him evidence first of all by doing miracles for John's messengers. You don't really get it in Matthew's account, but you get it much stronger in Luke. In Luke 7:21 it says, "At that very time,” when John's messengers were there, while they were standing there, "At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits and gave sight to many who were blind". Oh, the glorious moment. "Now John sent us to ask if you are the one who was to come or should we expect someone else.” Jesus said, "Sit down over there and wait.” Then sick person after sick person, blind and deaf, and demon possessed people, lepers kept coming. One after the other, and Jesus gave such a display of power had never been seen before. A river of miracles done for those messengers, evidence for faith. There they are, just sitting there observing at that very time the miracles that Jesus did as he gave them evidence.

Faith doesn't hang out in the middle of nowhere. It's not like those existentialists who say, "The leap of faith,” as though we're going totally contrary to any evidence whatsoever. Jesus gave rivers of evidence. He said, "Sit right here and I will show you, I am the one who was to come. And then go back and report to John what you're seeing here, the blind received sight, the lame walk. Those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and good news is preached to the poor. There is the evidence". Then he gives him an exhortation in verse 6, "Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me".

That's an exhortation. Perhaps even a warning, although it is a promise of blessing, is it not? It's not a negative message, a very positive message. It's a message of blessing. He says, "I promise you, blessing John, if you will, just stand firm to the end." Have you heard that before? "All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. "Oh, John stand firm, stand firm to the end. Don't yield to the temptation of doubt. Don't yield to what's going on inside you. Stand firm to the end and you'll be saved. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me." He ministers to John. In the next chapter, Matthew 12, we're going to come across a marvelous description of Christ's gentleness. Richard Sibbes preached a sermon on it entitled, “The Bruised Reed and the Smoking Flax.” Basically the picture is that Jesus does not destroy a bruised reed. You can imagine a piece of grass just hanging by a few green threads. He's able to bind it up so it grows healthy and strong again; the gentleness of Christ in dealing with John here. "The smoldering flax he will not snuff out." It's like a candle just out, it's smoking and there's just a little glow of orange, and Jesus is able to blow it back into a flame again, not extinguish it. That is the gentleness of Christ with which he deals with John here. "Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me." He gives him the standard word that God gives to any who are suffering persecution. "Stand firm to the end and you will be saved."  In Revelation 2 it says, "The Devil's about to put you in prison, and test you for 10 days. He who is faithful to the end will receive a crown of life."  He gives them the exhortation. 

 As John's disciples are leaving, after Jesus has ministered through them to John, he  turns to the crowd and uses John's example to set greatness before us, but also to limit it. He begins to speak to the crowd about John, and he praises John's greatness in verse 7-8 as John's disciples are leaving.  He brings out evidence of the greatness of John the Baptist. He speaks about John's personal character and then about his prophetic call. He's going to give an incredible commendation. Of John’s personal character he says in verse 7-8, "What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, then what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No. Those who wear fine clothes are in king's palaces."   This is the personal character of John, and Jesus is bringing it out for commendation. He wants them to understand what is great about John in his personal character.  Realize John had immense popularity.  It says, "When John began his ministry and he was preaching and baptizing in the desert, huge crowds from Jerusalem, Judea... " Actually it said all Jerusalem went out to see him.  Now, that's a little bit of hyperbole. You have to imagine there must have been some people left in the city. But everybody went to see John in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, the region of the Jordan. Everyone went. Everybody knew about John. You can see again how serious it would be if John were allowed to continue in doubt against Christ. But Jesus challenges, "What motivated you to get up from your home and go see John? He never did a miracle. All he did was preach and live and be out in the desert and baptize. Why did you go and make the journey to see him? What motivated you?"

Well, the root of it was John's faith which produced an incredible character. And he looks at that character and what does he see? He sees, first of all, unshakable convictions free from earthly consent. He's not asking permission from his generation for what he believed. He's not looking for validation from his own generation for what he proclaimed. He believed in truth, whether you did or not. He had unshakable convictions free from earthly consent. Jesus said John was not a reed swayed by the wind. He was a mighty oak tree that no wind could sway.  Oh, how we need this in this time of relativity, tolerance and  pluralism. We need people who are not reeds swayed by the wind. Politicians these days use polls, internet polls and other kinds of polls. They put their finger in the winds of popular opinion. Why? So that they can shape their policies thereby.  A sailor going out in a yacht will tie little pieces of thread on the rigging. And why? So he can look at the wind and adjust his course thereby. A golfer like Tiger Wood will take little pieces of grass and throw them in the air because he wants to see what the wind is doing so he can adjust his game to the wind.  Pastors will try to find out what their people want to hear and preach accordingly. Why? So they can adjust their message to what the surrounding culture wants to hear. That's a reed swayed by the wind. 

John was not a reed swayed by the wind. He preached boldly and courageously. We have a sample of his preaching in Matthew 3. When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance, and do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We are Abraham's descendants.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The axe is already at the root of the tree and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." That's incredible preaching. Personal convictions. Not looking for worldly consent. He preached what God put on his heart. Haddon Robinson said true preaching is truth poured through character. True words poured through the purity of John’s character. He was not a reed swayed by the wind. 

Secondly, his pure lifestyle, free from earthly comfort. He said, "If not, then what did you go out to see? Did you go out to see a man dressed in fine clothes? No. Those who wear fine clothes are in king's palaces." This is clearly a swipe at king Herod. Do you know the story of John the Baptist's death? Here is John, and Herod is vacillating back and forth on whether to execute him. A little daughter-in-law, a daughter of Herodias, Salome, begins to dance in a sensuous and alluring way at the king’s birthday party. If ever a man deserved a birthday party, it was king Herod. There he was laying on silken pillows, living in the lap of luxury, drinking wine, having guests, all the beautiful people there at Herod's birthday party and here's this sensuous dance going on. Motivated by pride and by drink and by lust, he agrees to give Herodias, the girl's mother, John the Baptist's head on a platter.  John didn't live like that. He wasn't looking for sensuous luxury. He wasn't looking to comfort himself with earthly comforts. He wore camel's hair and he ate locusts and wild honey and lived out in the desert. This was the essence of John. His powerful faith drove out concern for human popularity, so he didn't adjust his message. He's not a reed swayed by the wind. And it drove out a yearning for earthly luxury and comfort. That is the character of John.

Thirdly, we see his prophetic calling, in verses 9-10, "Then what did you go out to see?" What motivated you to leave Jerusalem and go see this man? "Was he a prophet? Yes, he was."  He was a prophet. The words he spoke were God's words; that's the prophet. He speaks, and it is God's word through him. He was a prophet, but Jesus said he was a more than prophet. "This is the one about whom it is written, I will send my messenger ahead of you who will prepare your way for you." Only a few people in all history, Jesus is one of them, have ever been written about by prophets hundreds of years before they were born.  Josiah is another.  So also, John the Baptist.  He had been predicted centuries before he was born.  He was Jesus said, "The Elijah who was to come." Malachi had written about this in chapter 4:5, "See I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes."  Here comes John, not merely a prophet, but I believe, the culmination of all of the Old Testament word of prophecy pointing toward Christ.  He's the final Old Testament prophet.  I know John is written about in the New Testament, but he stood in the line of the Old Testament prophets and pointed ahead to Christ.  He finished them.  He completed the testimony of the Old Testament prophets when he pointed at Jesus' and said, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." Matthew 11: 13-14, “All the prophets in the law prophesied until John. If you are willing to hear it or to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear." John had a unique prophetic calling. It was unlike any that had ever come before.  He was to be the summing up of all of the Old Testament in it's pointing ahead to Christ.  “Behold, look the Lamb of God, by whose death the sins of the worlds are atoned for. Look at him. Behold the Lamb of God.”

As a result of this role, Jesus gives a powerful commendation. Verse 11, "I tell you the truth, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist." If Jesus we're going to speak about you, what would he say?  He's not a flatter. He knows everything. There's nothing hidden from him. The Scripture testifies that he will speak about you on Judgment Day for he is the Son of Man and God has committed all judgment to him because he is the Son of Man. What would it be worth to you to have this kind of commendation from Christ? What does he say? Among all the Old Testament people anybody who has been born of woman, any naturally born person, none of them are greater than John. That's incredible. Not Abraham, a friend of God, with whom God had made his covenant. Not earlier Abel, who had offered the sacrifice. Not Noah. Not even holy Daniel who stood up for God in an ungodly pagan empire. Not Job, not David, a man after God's own heart.  None of them was greater than John the Baptist. 

 I want you to be hungry and thirsty for the praise of Christ. That on that final day he would say to you, "Well done, good and faithful servant. I'm pleased with your life. You did what I wanted you to do. You didn't care about earthly comforts or commendation. You cared about me. You sought the praise that comes from the only God. Well done."

Jesus gives John commendation, then, in a very shocking way, he limits John's greatness.  I have to tell you, as an exegete I'm not 100% sure what this verse means. “He who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John." It's a hard verse. There are hard verses in the Bible. We don't know all the answers. I have an idea, and I'll give you my idea, but I'm not 100% sure why, of all those born of women, none had risen greater than John the Baptist and yet, the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John. Was he testifying that John wasn't in the kingdom of heaven? Was he saying that John wasn't a believer? Hardly so. What then? I think it has to do with John's place in redemptive history and the ability he could have to give testimony to Christ, never having seen any miracles, never having understood the story of Christ, he was limited.  He was locked away in prison once the kingdom of heaven began, and from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing and he's only heard hearsay. He's not observed it first hand. He's had to send messengers. "Anybody, any son or daughter of the kingdom who's seen me, who's heard my words, who's seen the miracles I've done, who has entered the kingdom by faith, can give a far greater testimony to me than John." John was the final Old Testament prophet, but the New Testament testimony to Christ is greater. Expect to see John in Heaven. Don't grieve over John as though he didn't enter the kingdom of heaven, he's a believer. But you yourself, the least one of you, can give a greater testimony to Jesus than John could because you know the story.  John's disciples in Acts 18 and 19 didn't know much about Jesus, so Priscilla and Aquila had to instruct Apollos. They were limited in their knowledge. We have a more full instruction now, and so we can give a greater testimony to John. 

Jesus limits John's greatness, and then he describes the advance of the kingdom. Verse 12, "From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing and forceful men lay hold of it."  Another difficult verse.   I understand the Greek and I understand what it says; I just don't know what it means. This time it's a translation problem. It could go one of two ways and the challenging part is both of them are true. The first concept is that the kingdom of heaven advances forcefully.  It moves ahead. It's making progress.  In effect he's saying, "Oh, John, don't miss it. Keep on, keep moving on. The kingdom of heaven is advancing and against great opposition."  It's advancing against opposition, and nothing can stop it.  The kingdom of heaven is advancing forcefully, and, forceful men lay hold of it.  This means that if you want to enter it, you've got to be able to turn your back on your father and mother, on loved ones who don't believe in Christ.  You've got to be almost violent about it and enter the kingdom of heaven violently.  That's one possible interpretation.  The other is that vicious persecutors like king Herod grab hold of the kingdom and shake it, trying to stop it.  We must stand firm in this time of persecution and not yield.  Now, you say, "Pastor, which of the two is right?"  My answer is, "I don't know." But since both of those things are true — that the kingdom of heaven advances forcefully and nothing can stop it and it's advancing against great opposition with persecution — we must stand firm. If you want to enter the kingdom of heaven, you must do so by faith, and not let anything hold you back. Don't miss the kingdom; that's what I'll proclaim.

What application can we take from these verses? First of all, concerning doubt. I want your doubt to be healed. There may be some of you doubting Christ today. It could be that you're doubting because you're not a believer in Christ. That's devastating. Do you understand, if you don't believe in Christ, you're not justified by faith. You're under God's wrath, under his condemnation without salvation. Believe the deity of Christ and his atoning work on the cross, how he shed his blood for sinners just like you and me. Don't leave this place in doubt.

But it could be that you're a Christian, and maybe you're going through severe trial. Maybe a loved one has died, going through disease, or infirmity yourself. Maybe you're in your own kind of prison, just like John was in a physical prison. You're getting beaten down and little by little doubt is starting to creep in. Even more viciously, once you start to doubt, Satan will then add to it the testimony that you're not a believer, because anyone who doubts can't be a believer. That is not true. William Perkins, a great Puritan theologian said, "For the most part, only the elect doubt whether they're elect." It's only through intense concern that sometimes we doubt. It's because we care so much that we want to know for sure that we're born again. So what do we do? What if doubt has creeped in to our lives?  Do what Jesus did for John's messengers.  Immerse yourself in Jesus' ministry again.  Remind yourselves what Christ could do, that only Christ could do —the miracles, the preaching, the teaching.  See again the evidence that he is the king of the kingdom of heaven, and do it in scripture, because faith comes from hearing the Word of God.  Saturate your mind in scripture, and say, "Oh Lord, lead me out. I'm in doubting castle now."  Bunyan called it, "Get me out through belief in the promise." 

Secondly, seek Christ's praise.  Don't care anymore to have your name inscribed up on the walls at MIT.  Some day those walls are going to come down.  Don't seek the world's praise. Seek Christ's praise.  “For all men are like grass and all the glory is like the flower of the field, but the Word of our God stands forever.” Even a word of praise given by Christ on Judgment Day will stand forever. Seek Christ's praise. 

Thirdly, imitate John. Do you realize that your fellow Americans, your fellow students at university, your neighbors, need you to be not a reed swayed by the wind. They need you to stand firm for biblical truth. Stand firm then. Don't be a reed swayed by the wind. Don't seek to change your message and what you believe to please your neighbors and friends. Don't seek earthly physical comforts.  What a challenging word to the American church. Imitate John. And then finally, advance the kingdom. The kingdom's going to advance. This is the winning kingdom. Christ is the winning king. Anything you do by faith to advance the kingdom will stand for eternity.

From the very beginning, and through 10 chapters of Matthew's gospel, we've seen the theme emerging of the advancing kingdom of heaven. Jesus Christ at the center of it. Just as He was the Lamb that was slain standing at the center of the throne, so also Jesus Christ, the very Son of God, is at the center of Matthew's Gospel as the king of the advancing kingdom of heaven. When Jesus began to preach, in Matthew Chapter 4, He said, "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." The kingdom of heaven is here, now. And what is the nature of that kingdom? It is of a king, Jesus Christ, who's able to look out on a lost and dying world with compassion in His heart, and see that they are harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. It is a to call His disciples around Him, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out laborers into His harvest field."

He begins with prayer that we who are His disciples, who are already in the kingdom, should pray and ask Him, the King and Lord of the harvest, to send out laborers into the harvest field. Then we go right on into Chapter 10 in which Jesus commissions the apostles, these 12 first representatives, these messengers of the kingdom, to go out on a little practice mission trip. They're going to go out to proclaim that same message, "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near." Jesus gives them authority, and they're going to go out. In His instructions to them, He's going to unfold instructions that are good for two millennia of the advancement of the kingdom. We're going to see that the advancement is going to meet severe opposition, and that the messengers of the kingdom are going to be persecuted. They're going to be opposed, they're going to be hated maliciously. They're going to suffer. As the Lord of the harvest looks out and sees harassed and helpless sheep, His answer is to send other sheep into the midst of wolves, who are going to lay down their lives and be willing to take the Gospel so that people might be saved.

Jesus here in Matthew 10, gives marching orders, not just to the apostles, that's the immediate context, but to all believers throughout all history of how we must take this Gospel message even to the ends of the earth. He's giving them marching orders, I call it.  At the end here of Chapter 10, we're completing these marching orders.  I see in these verses three great messages. The first is the connection between the messengers and how they're received and treated, and how the message that they preached is believed.  A connection between the treatment of the messengers and the acceptance of the message, that's the first great theme. The second great theme is the emerging, the nascent, the seed form of the body of Christ, the fact that there is one body, one mission, one advancement of the kingdom, but not everyone has the same role. There are some that are called to be apostles, and then there are some that are called to just give a cup of cold water to an apostle, and neither one loses their reward. We see in seed form, the beginning of the idea of the complex body of Christ, how not all of us are called to the same function, but all of us are able to be rewarded by faithfulness to that. The third point is this topic of rewards, of Christian rewards. Jesus mentions it twice in the text that we're looking at today. The rewards given to the righteous, to anyone who receives a righteous man or a prophet, and then even to anyone who gives a cup of cold water.  We're going to look at how Christ uses rewards as a motivating factor. But through it all, I don't want you to miss the main message, the main message is that we are called to go to a lost and dying world and proclaim this message, "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is here, now, through faith in Christ."

 Let's look at the first message that's in Verse 40. It says, "He who receives you, receives Me, and he who receives Me, receives the one who sent Me." Here we see that receiving Christ's messengers and believing Christ's message are joined together. The immediate context of these words, I think, are support way-stations of rest for the tired and beaten apostles.  If you look over Chapter 10, Jesus sends them out, beginning at Verse 5, and then through Verse 10.  He basically sends them out with a clear message and a clear ministry, but He says, "Don't take along any supplies. Don't take along any bag, don't take along any extra money, don't take along anything, just go, and I'll see to your support. I'll take care of you." He sends them out. But then very soon as you're reading, you're going to see that they're going to be opposed.  There are some people that will not receive them or welcome their words. It's going to be difficult for them. They might be rejected even by their own family members.  "A man's enemies be the members of his own house," Jesus says in this text. “It's going to be difficult, it's going to be troublesome for you, you're going to be arrested, you're going to be beaten, maybe even put to death. Go ahead and go, off you go. Don't bring along anything, no food, just go.” How could it be? There must be some way-stations of rest. Jesus knows we have bodies, He knows we have psyches, He knows we have morale. Is there no help given to the advancers of the kingdom of God? Of course there is.

The immediate context is that there need to be some people to come alongside the apostles and help them do their ministry. They need someone to receives them, to take them in.  These apostles went out, and they had no where to spend the night. They could sleep in the town square, or in a ditch somewhere. God would not have it so. He says, "Anyone who receives you, receives Me." He's already dealt with this in verses 11-13, look again at it. He says there, "Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave." How practical is that? Find somebody worthy of the message and stay there, live there, that's your support. They'll feed you, and they'll care for you. They'll welcome you in. "Search for a worthy person and stay at their house until you leave. As you enter the home, give it your greeting, if the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it, but if not, let your peace return." 

He's saying, "He who receives you, receives Me.” Anyone who takes you in, it's like they're taking Me in. It's like they're protecting and providing for Me. We see here Jesus' recognition of the fact that we have bodies. We need to eat, we get tired, we get weary. These are way-stations for us, very much like those in Pilgrim's Progress, that wonderful allegory of the Christian life. There's a rhythm to Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, a rhythm of extreme trial and difficulty, and of rest and refreshment. Extreme trial and difficulty, and then rest and refreshment again. In the book, there are way-stations of rest along the way,  such as the interpreter's house, Manson's or Gaius' house. There are places where you can be refreshed. Places where you can be renewed. Psalm 23, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul." Do you think the apostles wouldn't need their souls restored after a tough day of preaching in this kind of context? Of course they did. They needed a place where they could go at night and be refreshed and restored.

In 3 John: 5-8, John writes this, "Dear friend, you are faithful in what you're doing for the brothers and sisters,even though they're strangers to you. They've told the church about your love. Please send them on their way in a manner that honors God.  It was for the sake of the name that they went out receiving no help from the pagans." Verse 8, "We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth." What a great verse that is.  It very much fits into what we're talking about here. We're all working together in this mission, and anyone who takes you in, who shows you hospitality, those of you who have gone out for the name, we are working together for the truth, so we ought to show hospitality. In a very simple way, that's what "He who receives you, receives Me," means. It means to welcome in these messengers, these apostles, to take care of them, to give them what they need to continue. We see Jesus Christ providing for His own. He cares for us, doesn't He? He cares for all of our needs. He knows what we need. He created us, He knows that we are weak, we're just flesh, and so He provides for His own.

These messengers will go out and stand in His name, they will proclaim His name, and He will not abandon them, but He will care for them. If they are treated well, He will reward those who treat the messengers well. If they are rejected and scorned and persecuted, He will take it very personally, and “it'll be more bearable on the Day of Judgment for Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town," He said. On the negative side, there's the threat of punishment and curse on the Day of Judgment.  Here on the positive side,  verses 40-42,  there is the promise of reward, and of blessing for anyone who receives these messengers and takes them in.  Jesus says the exact same thing in that great story of the sheep and the goats: "Judgment Day, when the Son of Man comes, He'll sit on His  throne, and all the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He'll put the sheep on His right, and the goats on His left, and then He will say to those on His right, the sheep, Come you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance, the kingdom, prepared for you since creation, of the world, for I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, you invited me in, I needed clothes, and you clothed me, I was sick and in prison and you looked after me."

That really connects here, doesn't it? He's sending these apostles out, and anyone who welcomes them in, takes care of them, He takes it very personally. It's like you did it to Jesus Himself. Why would receiving an apostle in particular be dangerous? It's called guilt by association. These men went out and turned the world upside down for Christ. They were dangerous people, and they were not well-liked in some places. They were, as a matter of fact, hated. There's this guilt by association. If you take them in you're as bad as they are. It's like harboring a fugitive; it's like a crime. It took a great deal of courage to take these apostles in and care for them. For example, Jason in Thessalonica, in Acts 17:5-9,  "The Jews were jealous of the apostles, so they rounded up some bad characters in the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city." A riot? A mob? So that happen when you preach the Gospel? Can you imagine, everywhere you go there's a riot or mob. That's a tough life, it really is. Jason it seems took them in and took care of them, welcomed them. The mob went to look for Paul and Silas and didn't find them, so they went to Jason's house where they knew they were staying, and dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials shouting, "These men who have turned the world upside down have now come here, and Jason has welcomed them into his house." Stop there.  Okay, you see the guilt by association. It took a great deal of courage therefore, to accept a messenger of Christ, to bring a messenger into your house and say, "Stay with me, I'll feed you, I'll care for you. I'll stand with you in times of trial." The larger context of this first section is that there's a connection between how you receive Christ's messengers and how you believe and accept Christ's message.  If you treat the messenger well, it's because you're receiving the message well; if you reject the messenger, it's because you're really rejecting the message. What is the message? "The kingdom of heaven is at hand. There is a King, Jesus Christ, He's come to rule the world. He is a good and loving King. He died on the cross that we might have eternal life. He's willing to forgive all of your sins, through simple faith in Christ, all of your sins can be forgiven." This is the message. If you then begin to beat on the messenger, aren't you really just rejecting the message. Isn't that what's going on? There is a connection between how you receive the messenger and how you believe the message.

Matthew 10:4 says, "If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words.”  It's a matter of welcoming the individual because you're listening to the words, to the message. There is a direct connection therefore, between you the apostles, and your words, the message of the kingdom. Jesus put it this way when He was going through in His ministry. He comes to a place where there's a man named Zacchaeus who is up in the tree, because he's a little guy and he wants to see Jesus. He's heard all about His ministries, and His message, and he wants to know Jesus. He's a tax collector, he's hated and rejected. Jesus stops and looks up at the tree, and says, "Zacchaeus come down, because I'm going to stay at your house."  Now, I wouldn't say necessarily that Zacchaeus extended hospitality, Jesus kind of demanded it, but Zacchaeus was elated. He was thrilled, and he took Jesus in his house and he repented from all of his sins. There's a connection between the hospitality that Zacchaeus extended and the welcoming of the message that Jesus brought. What did Jesus say? "Today, salvation has come to this house." Here’s the connection between  hospitality and believing of the message. The apostle Paul in Galatians 4:14, speaks of how they received him. He says in Galatians 4:14, "Even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn, instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus Himself." Do you see that? "Because I was here proclaiming the Gospel of Christ, you welcomed me as if I were Jesus Himself." That's it, "He who receives you, receives Me," said Jesus, "And he who receives Me, receives the one who sent me." There is a very strong connection between a reception of the messenger and an acceptance of the message.

We see the same thing lived out in the life of the Philippian jailer. You remember that Paul and Silas were arrested and thrown in jail. The Philippian jailer was commanded to keep them in there. Paul and Silas were beaten for the crime of preaching the Gospel and placed in a dark, ugly, dank prison.  The Philippian jailer was in bed with his family, and Paul and Silas were singing hymns. This is one of those great moments of church history. They were singing hymns when suddenly, the power of God shook that jail and all their chains fell off. That's a miracle because earthquakes don't make chains fall off prisoners, earthquakes kill prisoners. The chains fell off, the doors opened, and in fact, God said, "You're free but don't leave, because you've got some salvation work to do." The Philippian jailer calls for lights, runs in trembling, and brings them out saying, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your whole household."  That very night, the Philippian jailer and his whole family believed in the message and were baptized. Then what did they do? They washed the wounds of Paul and Silas, set a good meal in front of them,  and showed them hospitality. There it is, a connection between the acceptance of the Gospel message and the washing of the wounds, setting of a good meal and maybe a warm blanket, and whatever they needed to get through their difficult time. A connection between an acceptance of the message and how they treated the messengers. Their wounds were festering and dirty, and they were starving before, but the jailer did nothing about it because he didn't believe the message. Now, he's believed the message and suddenly he reaches out with hospitality.

We also see, finally, the matter of apostolic authority. Do you see the chain of command?  "He who receives you, receives Me, because I sent you. And he who receives Me receives the Father who sent Me."  These apostles go out with apostolic authority.  If you reject their message, you're really rejecting Christ. Jesus has given to the apostles the message of reconciliation. We who came after, we're not apostles, but we proclaim the apostles' message, don't we? We read it in the New Testament, and we proclaim with apostolic authority. So anyone who says, "I never really cared much for Paul. I don't really like Peter that much or John." Realize what you're saying, because Jesus is saying, "He who receives you, receives Me. Conversely, he who rejects you is really rejecting Me." It's apostolic authority and the chain of command.

The day that Jesus was raised from the dead, He reiterated this very same point in John Chapter 20. He shows them His hands inside, the evidence of His physical resurrection from the dead. He gives them a commission. He breathes on them and says, "Receive the Holy Spirit." Then He says,  "As the Father has sent Me, even so, I am sending you." You see the connection,the chain of command, and so the apostolic authority. Therefore, to resist the apostles was to resist Christ Himself. This is the very reason why the apostle Paul makes so much of his authority, not because he's on an authority kick, but because he wants the Galatians for example, to believe his Gospel message, and accept the Gospel message, not as the words of man, but as the actual  Word of God at work among we who believe.  Paul makes much of his authority for that reason, that's the first point: Receiving Christ messengers, believing Christ message.

What's the second point? Well, the nascent seed form version of the body of Christ. The main idea here is that there's a direct connection between Christ as the head and His messengers as his body, and there is also an interconnection between each Christian and their role in the advancing kingdom of God. We all are part of the same body, we all are on the same mission, we have the same ultimate goal. We will be rewarded not concerning whether we had a big or small role in it, but whether we were faithful to the role that God gave us to do. God may not call you to be an apostle, he may instead put a cup of cold water in your hand and see what you do with it. We have in seed form, I think, the idea of the body of Christ. Why do I say only seed form? Because Paul is the one who really develops this for us, in Romans and in 1 Corinthians and in Ephesians, but Jesus is the head and we are the body.

It says in Ephesians 1:22, "God placed all things under His feet, speaking of Christ, and appointed Him to be head over everything for the Church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way."  Christ is the head, and we are the body.  So also, we, who are part of the body as it says in Romans 12: 4-5, are members of it.  "Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body and each member belongs to all the others.”  “We have different gifts according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him prophesy. If it is serving, let him serve. If it is teaching, let him teach. If it is encouraging, let him encourage. If it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously. If it is leadership, let him govern diligently. If it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.”[Romans 12: 6-8]   You see the doctrine of the body of Christ. We do not all have the same function, and so not all of us are going to be apostles going out and proclaiming boldly the message of the Gospel in the way that an apostle would.  But according to this teaching, if you receive a prophet, because he is a prophet, you will receive a prophet's reward.  If you receive a righteous man, because he is a righteous man, you will receive a righteous man's reward.  If any of you gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones, I think that's referring to the Apostles, because he is my disciple, you will certainly not lose your reward.  The basic idea is this— if you assist an apostle, according to God, it's the same as preaching as an apostle, in terms of eternal rewards.  Isn't that freeing?  Isn't that wonderful?  We’re not all called to do the same thing, but we can all take part in each other's ministries. You can take part in the ministry of a prophet if you help them do that prophetic ministry. You can take part in the ministry of a righteous man, if you assist them in their righteous ministry. You can do all this because you're part of the body of Christ. God's ways are not our ways, and He looks instead to faithfulness to what He has given you to do.

Therefore, let no one despise any support ministry in this church. Let no one elevate any other ministry to this high place as though it's the key thing in the church. There is no one key thing in the church. The key thing is to do what God has called you to do.  If He has given you a cup of cold water, and you throw it to the ground to go be an apostle, you've sinned against God.  It's not what He's called you to do, give the cup of cold water.  If on the other hand you're called to be an apostle, and you instead trade it so that you can give out cups of cold water, you're not following God's pattern.  It is God who has arranged the body and all the rewards are given according to faithfulness to what He's called you to do. 

The third point is this concept of rewards. Verse 41:  “Anyone who receives a prophet, because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward. Anyone who receives a righteous man, because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. And If anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones, because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward." The main idea here is that Jesus Christ motivates us by rewards. Many Christians feel uncomfortable with that.  And rightly so in one sense because we recognize that we can't boast about anything. The cross of Jesus Christ alone saves us from sin. The blood that Jesus shed on the cross is the only remedy for sin.  We know enough Christian doctrine that we cannot possibly be saved by our good deeds and our good works so we tend to shy away from this idea of rewards. How could it be? Ephesians 2: 8 - 9, "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith,and this not of yourselves, it is a gift of God not by works, so that no one could boast." But also Verse 10, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which He laid out in advance that we should walk in them.” He intends the good works, he just doesn't want you to be confused about them.  They're never to be used to pay for sin.

Let me ask a simple musical question, “what can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus shed on the cross.”  How many good works could wash away my sin?  None, it can't be. Does that mean that God doesn't want me to do good works?  May it never be.  Of course, He wants us to do good works.  He is motivating not those that are enslaved to sin here, but He's motivating his children to behave like children and to do good works to please their Heavenly Father.  Not to pay for sin, but that they should walk in the good works that He's planned ahead of time. Does Jesus motivate by reward? He wants you to live for rewards. If you understand them properly, you'll see why it's not idolatrous. He motivates you in terms of reward. 

First, we have to understand the cup of cold water properly. Anyone who is interested in Christian benevolence, has heard about this verse. It's actually a very famous verse. It's usually used in this way, that Christians should give benevolence material things to those that are lost and suffering and poverty stricken, so that we can show the love of Christ to them. Is that a true teaching? Absolutely.  Religion that our God and Father accepts as pure and faultless as this. To look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep yourself from being polluted by the world.  Of course He cares about the poor, of course He cares about the needy, but this verse is not teaching that. This is an in-house matter, this is us helping each other to do the ministries that God's given.   I think this misunderstanding  comes from not understanding who the “he” is in “because he is my disciple.”  It's not the giver of the water, it's the receiver of the water, the disciple, and that's the key.  If you understand that we're giving the cup because that person is a prophet, we'll gain a prophet's reward. We're giving the cup of water, because that person is a righteous man, and we will gain the righteous man's reward. If we give the cup of cold water because that person is the disciple, we will never lose our reward. Do you see how the logic works? This is an in-house matter in which God is motivating the church to do its business through rewards. He wants to motivate us to care for each other and take part in each other's ministries,and does that by saying, "We'll never lose our reward."

What are these rewards? Could it be that we're actually thinking about rewards? Is this kind of a mercenary? Are we going to get paid? Is that what's going on here? Not at all. We have to understand it properly. First of all, that Christ rewards or motivates by reward cannot be denied. Go back to Matthew 6. In Matthew 6, Jesus makes it very plain how much he cares about your rewards. He says in verse 1, "Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men to be seen by them. If you do,  you will have no reward from your Father in Heaven." What is Jesus concerned about on your behalf? He doesn't want you to lose your reward. He's concerned that you're going to be like the Pharisees and do it for trumpeting out your righteousness.  He said, "If you do that, you won't get a reward. And I'm worried about that, concerned about that, so don't do it, because if you do, you'll have no reward.”

He does the same thing on prayer and giving in Verse 3 and 4, He says, "When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret then your Father who sees what is done in secret, He will reward you." Again, the concept of reward. In verse 6, He speaks of prayer:  “When you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your father who's unseen, and your Father who sees what is done in secret, He will reward you." He does the same thing in fasting in Verse 17 and 18. And then He sums it all up in Verse 19-21. "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasure in heaven." What does that mean, “store up treasure in Heaven?” How do you do that, how do you go about doing that? We already know it doesn't mean store up justification, store up forgiveness of sins, we know that. It means store up good works done by faith and by the power of the Spirit. Store them up, and not just a few. Give lots of cups of cold water, millions of them. Be busy doing these kinds of things. Store up lots of treasure in heaven. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Does Jesus motivate by rewards? Yes, He does. But what is this reward?  I zero in on a couple of key verse that helped me understand:  Genesis 15:1, 1 Corinthians 4:5.  In Genesis 15:1, God appears to Abraham and says, "Do not be afraid Abram, I am your shield and your very great reward." Let's take the middle clause out. He says in effect, "Do not be afraid Abram, I am your reward. I'm your reward, I'm what you get, okay?”  How does that connect to going into the room, closing the door and praying to your father as unseen, or not letting your left hand know what your right hand is doing?  In 1 Corinthians 4:5,  Paul says, "Therefore, judge nothing before the appointed time. Wait till the Lord comes, He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness, those secret things, and will expose the motives of men's hearts, at that time, each will receive his praise from God.” That's the reward. Praise from God.

Is that not worth living for? To have God say, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You've been faithful with a few things. I'll put you in charge of many things, enter into the joy of your Master. And not just once, but over many, many good works. I saw that cup of cold water, well done, good and faithful servant. I saw that you received the righteous man in your house. Well done, good and faithful servant." I don’t just want 10 times for God to say, "Well done, good and faithful servant. I want 10 billion. I want Him to be pleased with me. I want to live every moment to the pleasure of God. And if I please Him, He's going to include me in that pleasure on Judgment Day, and I'll be pleased too. That's the reward. So let's store up lots of them. Let's have lots of cups of cold water, let's have God pleased with us lots. And let's see the kingdom of heaven advance.

The reward must be done for the motive of the glory of God by faith, it must be done in a loving manner. Can you imagine being an apostle, go out, tough day, tough day preaching, people rejecting, people screaming, people stoning you, people upset, and then you come home and your host says, "Sit down over there. I've got food for you, but I want you to realize just how much it cost. Here's a cup of cold water, but do you realize in Palestine how hard it is to get it cold? So here, drink it." You want to go crawl into a ditch somewhere. God doesn't reward that. How do I know God doesn't reward that? It says, if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I sell all I possess and give to the poor, and surrender my body of the flames, but have not love, it profits me nothing. What does that mean, it profits me nothing? No reward, if you do it in a surly unloving manner. And so by faith in a loving manner, for the advancement of the kingdom these things will be rewarded. Ultimately, He rewards what you have opportunity to do. So then as you have opportunity, let us do good to all men, especially those who belong to the family of believers.

 What application can we build for this? Well, I would say simply this. First of all, realize that God delights in small things. You realize what Christ has done here for us? What has He done? He's taken a world-wide Great Commission, which could threaten to crush us with discouragement and breaks it up into a series of cup of cold waters given, bite-sized pieces. Every meal we sit down with our 16-month-old, 17-month-old now, he keeps growing. He's getting molars now. I'm excited about the molars. And you know why? Because I don't have to cut the pieces of meat in small pieces, alright? You have to just about puree some of these things, just cut them up in tiny little things. And why, 'cause he can't handle the whole thing as it is. Can you? Can you handle, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in name of the Father and Son, and Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I've commanded? Can you handle that? I like the cup of cold water psychology. What it does, it takes that huge thing, and breaks it into small bite-sized pieces that I can handle. Every day a cup of cold water given in His name, He's going to honor it, the kingdom of heaven will advance today. That's brilliant.

And so, we don't despise small things. Do what you find in your hand to do today. Pray the prayer, give the money, encourage the servant of God, give the cup of cold water, serve God and you will never lose your reward. Be faithful in the things He's called you to do. God has called us to go. God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supply. Go boldly and preach. He will bring children of God alongside you to help you, He will. Proclaim it boldly, and do it expectantly. God will never forget any of the things you've done to build His kingdom.

I wanna give a quick word now to any of you who have never trusted in Christ, we've been talking about a Kingdom of Heaven, we've been talking about Jesus Christ. What it means is that Jesus is the Lord, the center of the kingdom. He died on the cross to give eternal life to any who will trust in Him. Can I urge you not to walk out the door today without having given your life to Christ, come into the Kingdom of Heaven, trust in Him, believe in Him and He'll give you eternal life.

I would like to ask, if you would, to take your Scriptures and open to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. This morning we are going to be looking at Christmas as a demonstration of the weakness of God. We get this from 1 Corinthians 1:25, which Wiley just read for us: “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom and the weakness of God stronger than man’s strength.” And anyone who’s familiar with the Scriptures, who knows the God of the Bible, should just in a way buck or stumble at that concept of the weakness of God. For the God that we worship is an omnipotent God. He is powerful, he can do all things. He displayed his omnipotence, his power when he created the universe. There was a time that he was alone: Father, Son, and Spirit. And he simply spoke the universe into existence. He spoke in worlds, his command obeyed. He said, “Let there be light” and there was light. He said, “Let there be an earth, let there be a sky, let there be oceans, and let them be gathered in one place,” and they were. And the oceans, they rule where they’re supposed to be, but they will not cross that thin band of sand that he establishes their boundary because he rules the waves. He’s the omnipotent creator, and he created all things by the word of his power and for his glory.

This is the one that we speak of when we speak of the weakness of God, how can it be? We also see the omnipotence of God, the providential ruler. Not only did he create the universe, but he also rules over it moment by moment. We are not Deists who believe that God created the world and then just sits back and lets it run as a clockmaker lets a clock run that he has designed. But no, we worship an interfering God, a God who gets involved in history, he is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. No one can take a throne of earthly power unless by his will and his permission. Every throne is established by him, and he raises one up and he lowers another. And just as it is true that a sparrow cannot fall to the ground apart from the will of our providential ruler (Matthew 10:29), neither can the Roman Empire fall to the barbarian hordes except that God says so.

Now, this is the God that we roll. “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision comes from the Lord” (Prov 16:33). Every roll of the dice that comes up the way he says. Every happenstance meeting between people and Asian cities, all of it ruled by God. Every event recorded on page 36 of your local newspaper, God rules over all these things.

This is the one that we’re speaking of when we speak of the weakness of God, how can it be? And then there is God, the miracle worker. God established physical laws of the universe, and it’s been our delight as a human race to try to discover what they are, to try to find out what God has done in creation, and we have. We have accomplished great things, and we’ve seen the laws that he has made, but God breaks them any time he chooses. Any time he wants, he can make an ax head float in water. Any time he wants, he can have a staff turn into a serpent, and then back again; a hand can become leprous and then be healed again instantly; plagues can come on a nation, a whole river can turn to blood, even water in a pitcher on a table, clean and ready to drink a moment ago suddenly turns to blood. Our God is a miracle-working God.

He can do anything. He can make an ocean separate and two million people walk through safe and sound with water walling up left and right, and then he can give the word and that same water comes crashing down on the pursuing army. Our God is a miracle-working God. He’s an interfering, sovereign miracle-working God, and this is the one that we’re speaking of when we talk about the weakness of God, how can it be?

He dwells on a throne that’s unapproachable. The Scripture says, he alone dwells in unapproachable light (1 Tim 6:16). He speaks and it is so. His hand is stretched out and no one can turn it back (Isa 14:27). No one can turn his mind, he’s very strong-willed. You may think you know people that are strong-willed, no one has a stronger will than God. Nobody can resist his will.

Well, this is the God that we serve. He is king, he has absolute character, no one can sully his character, no one can come in and change him in any way. All of his interactions with the sinful human race have not left him any less holy for our God never changes. This is the God of the Bible. And were it not for 1 Corinthians 1:25, I would think it’s almost blasphemy to speak of the weakness of God, because our God is an omnipotent, a powerful Creator.

Now, the question of Christmas, I think is, how can such a God become so weak? How can such a God become so weak? Look at 1 Corinthians 1:23-25. The Apostle Paul says there, “We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God stronger than man’s strength.” So here, this concept is introduced to us with the apostolic seal of approval. We are allowed to contemplate this morning, the weakness of God.

Now, Paul, when he brought up that phrase, was thinking about Calvary, wasn’t he? He was thinking about the cross of Jesus Christ. I am going to bring it right down to the manger at Bethlehem and show that the whole life was cut from the same cloth. All of it could be demonstrated to be what Paul will call the weakness of God, and I’m going to show that he lived a consistent life from the manger in Bethlehem right to the cross. It was all cut from the same cloth: the weakness of God, Paul would call it. And I’m going to show that it is in fact stronger than the mightiest power of man. The weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. That tiny baby in that manger in Bethlehem became weak so that we might become mighty and powerful through Christ, that we might have eternal life. He became poor so that we might become rich. This is the mystery of Bethlehem.

Now, I can’t preach on 1 Corinthians 1:25 without giving you some context. This is the closest I am going to come to a topical sermon. This happens every Christmas, and so I preach a topical sermon on Christmas. But even so, I want this passage to flower in its context because I think in understanding the Corinthian context, we are going to see how it would apply to our lives today.

You see, the Corinthian church, I don’t think was very different from our church or any other church that you could attend, it was a gifted church. They had everything they need, they didn’t lack any spiritual gift, they had all advantages, but they had nothing but troubles, nothing but problems because they were weak and immature spiritually. They didn’t understand the Christian life properly. They didn’t understand the weakness of God. They were endowed with spiritual gifts but they were bloated with pride. There were factions and there were divisions among them. They were living, some of them, carnal lifestyles, sinful even. They needed to come to Bethlehem and learn the lesson there of that baby lying in that feeding through. They needed to come again to Calvary and understand what it meant that God’s Son was dead on a cross. They needed to see again the weakness of God.

Now, when Paul came to preach, he had just gotten off of a mission trip to Athens and it hadn’t gone well, humanly speaking. He had been there in the Areopagus, and all of those philosophers that do nothing but sit around all day long and talk about wisdom and they talk about the wisdom of Plato and Aristotle, and all of these great philosophers, along comes this Jewish man, and he’s babbling about some man, some carpenter who died and rose again. It didn’t go well, and I think they spurned the message as being weak and foolish. The foolishness of his preaching message was foolish. And they spurned the cross, they despised it, they called it foolishness that a dead man could do anything for anybody at all. And so, he was rejected, and he went from Athens and came to Corinth. And he came there, he says, with weakness and fear and much trembling, and he preached the gospel, and God raised up some people to believe, and he met with them and he discipled them and trained them, and so a church grew up there and it’s to that church that he wrote. But they had some problems because after he left, some false teachers came in, began to question his authority, began to point to a new kind of life, a victorious life, a triumphant life, a life ever upward, ever higher and higher all the time.

And Paul said, “You know, I don’t think you understand. You’re going one direction, I as an apostle, and the rest of his apostles, we seemed to be going the other way. You always want to get wealthier and have a better reputation and be more comfortable and have the people think well of you. You’re going up, you’re becoming like kings, but we are like the offscouring at the end of a procession, we are despised and rejected. And you know what, so is Jesus. You don’t seem to understand the very journey that Jesus took leaving heaven and coming down to Bethlehem, and then the kind of life that he lived, and then how he died. The weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. You need to understand the Christian life differently.”

And so he gives them in the first chapter, three different aspects of God’s weakness, or his foolishness. First of all, the very idea of a dead Messiah, a crucified Christ up on the cross, that’s foolishness, and yet it saves our souls. And then he says, “Look at yourselves, you know you’re not the pick of the litter actually, you’re not the first prize at the fair. There were not many among you that were influential, not many of noble birth, but God chose the weak, and the lowly, and the despised among you. So look at yourselves. What is God doing among you? Lest you forget your humble origins.”

And then he says, “Look at me, God chose me, someone like me, to bring you the gospel.” Chapter 2, he says, “When I was with you, I was with you in weakness and fear and much trembling. I didn’t come with a display of human power and prowess, and reasoning, and articulation, I came relying only on this… the cross of Jesus Christ, Jesus dead on the cross, that’s what I came to preach. I had no other message and look what happened as a result.” And so he’s portraying before them the weakness and the foolishness of God.

Now what I’m doing is I’m taking that main concept and I’m bringing it back to Bethlehem, and I’m showing you that the whole life was done this way. Do you realize that God didn’t have to do it this way? I believe we needed a flesh and blood savior to come and take our place on the cross. He needed real red blood coursing through his veins because without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness (Heb 9:22).

But he didn’t have to do it this way. I believe that God was accomplishing more than one thing here, and one of the things he was accomplishing by the manner in which Jesus entered the world is teaching us what he esteems, teaching us the way we should be. He was our role model, and his journey was downward in this world.

Now in the next… nothing but upward because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). “Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place,” it says (Philippians 2:9). So, if you were willing to live this kind of life, the meek life, the lowly life, the manger life, the cross life, then unlimited blessings come to you through the omnipotent God that we talked about at the beginning.

Now, if we look at the weakness of Christ, we see first the weakness in his lowly incarnation. Jesus was weak when he was conceived. Now, you stop and think about that. Jesus was conceived, he was at one point an embryo, what some people disparage as a mass of cells. Jesus was an embryo. He was what some people disparage as a fetus, which means in Latin a young one, little one. He was inside his mother’s womb. Mary couldn’t understand that, she didn’t know how it could be because she had never known a man, and so she said in Luke 1:34-35, “’How will this be?’ Mary asked the angel, ‘since I’m a virgin.’ The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. And so, the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.’”

And so in a mysterious way, Jesus was formed physically inside Mary. Psalm 139 says, “You created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I’m fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my uniformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book, before one of them came to be.”

Now, David was writing that about himself, but Jesus was the Son of David, was he not? According to the flesh? And so, in the same way, Jesus could speak these words to his Heavenly Father: “You knit me together in my mother’s womb.” And so, what that means is, if Jesus developed physically inside his mother the way you did inside your mother, at 21 days, Jesus’s heart began to beat. Why did God give Jesus a physical heart? Why the blood? Well, that heart would not stop beating until Jesus said the words, “It is finished.” And the blood that flowed through his veins inside his mother’s womb would eventually flow out of his body as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. This is the purpose.

And yet at 21 days, his body could have been ripped to shreds by a little needle, that’s the weakness of God, the weakness of God, the omnipotent creator, down to that tiny, small level, and so Jesus was weak when he was conceived. This is a great mystery, isn’t it? Michael Card, one of my favorite lyricists wrote this, “When the Father long to show a love he wanted us to know, he sent his only Son and so became a holy embryo. No fiction,” listen to this now, “No fiction as fantastic and wild, a mother made by her own child.” Wow! Mary was made by Christ, yeah, Colossians 1 teaches that, and then she became the mother of his physical body. The hopeless babe who cried was God incarnate and man deified. That is the mystery, more than you can see, give up your pondering and fall down on your knees.

Jesus was weak when he was conceived, he was weak as a conquered Jew. He didn’t come into the world as a son of Caesar; he could have. God could have chosen that way, but he came into the world as a conquered Jew. Now, he could have come into the world as a triumphant Jew. God had the power to make David the emperor of the universe if he wanted to, and then have one series of Jewish kings after another, just ruling the whole place. It wasn’t that way.

When Jesus was born, he was born into a conquered race. And so as a result, in order to fulfill prophecy that he would be born in Bethlehem, Jesus’s parents, human parents, Joseph and Mary, had to obey a decree from Caesar Augustus that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world and they had to travel down to Bethlehem. And so Jesus was inside his mother and traveled a long, weak, obedient to Caesar’s command, a conquered Jew. He was weak also when he was born a baby, the very passage that Mac and Eulene read this morning. Luke 2:6-7, “While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn son.” And it says, “She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger.”

And you know the difference between an active and a passive verb. Active verb does the actions. Passive verb receives the action. Jesus is passive. He’s a baby, he’s wrapped, he’s placed, he’s weak. Joseph, would you clean out that manger? Maybe we can use that as a bassinet. An incredible thing. He could barely move the straw that was around him, the very picture of weakness. And Jesus was weak through poverty. He was not born to a wealthy Jewish family—there were wealthy Jewish families at the time. There were, but Jesus was born into poverty. How do we know that? Well, the offering that Mary made after Jesus was born in Luke Chapter 2, it says, “When the time of their purification according to the law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. As it is written in the law of the Lord, every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”

Now, you remember the two turtle doves? Twelve Days of Christmas? Two turtle doves. What is that? You know what that is? It’s an offering for poor people. It’s an offering for poor people. Leviticus 12:8 says, “If the woman cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons as a burnt offering.” She can’t afford a lamb, they couldn’t afford to lamb. Couldn’t afford it. And so she offered up the two doves because Jesus was poor. I would think to myself about the gifts that the Magi brought. I’m imagining perhaps they were hawked in the streets of Alexandria, Egypt in order to pay for food while they were living there. I have no idea. But they were poor people. They’re born into poverty.

2 Corinthians 8:9 says, “You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” That is the weakness of God. He was also weak before angels. Hebrews 1:6 says, “Again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, ‘Let all of God’s angels worship him.’”

And so, we know that the great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace to men on whom his favor rests.” We’re not used to the word “host,” but that’s like an army, is what it is. It’s a multitude of warriors, powerful army there, and they’re there worshipping. So who’s got the power that night? Is it Christ or the angels? Jesus is laid, he’s wrapped in a manger and laid into the manger. There are the angels looking mighty and powerful, and the shepherds are trembling with fear. Incredible. The angels had the power that night.

Jesus was also weak as a hunted infant refugee. Most of you were born into security, most of you were born into safety, but I’ve seen refugee families. In 1987, I saw the Afghans who are fleeing from the Russian helicopter gunships—the look of terror on their face, I will never forget. And we saw little infants that had been born sometime in the last few months, thinking what kind of life would it be to be born into a refugee family? Fleeing for your life. Not fleeing because of famine, but fleeing because some human being is hunting you down and wants to kill you, and that’s exactly what Jesus was born into. King Herod, jealous of his power, sent bloodthirsty, vicious, wicked soldiers to Bethlehem to kill all the babies that were born two years old and under and so Jesus had to flee.

Now, this is interesting. Think about it this way. There’s this mighty angelic army, and they’re singing praise songs. Pretty soon, a human army goes to kill Jesus, where are the angels? Where is the pillar of fire separating Herod’s men from this baby that God wanted to protect? There is none. He didn’t dispatch an army of angels, not at all. God dispatched one angel to tell Joseph, get up in the middle of the night and run for his life. That’s the weakness of God, it’s the way he chose to do things in this world. And so Jesus and his mother and father, they had to flee for their lives. Hunted infant refugee.

Jesus was also in one sense, understand me, weak before the devil. Revelation chapter 12 says, “That the dragon, the ancient dragon, stood before the pregnant woman waiting to devour her baby as soon as it was born, and she gave birth to a male Son who will rule the nations with an iron scepter.” This is the depiction of Jesus in his birth. And so, it wasn’t just Herod, but it was demonic forces surrounding Jesus, Jesus lying there, gurgling, happy in the manger, not realizing the demonic evil that surrounds him and would have consumed him had God permitted it.

Jesus was the very picture of weakness in his birth narratives, but this is the point I want to make, this was not unusual. You ever read these stories, for example, up from slavery or some of these other Horatio Alger kinds of stories where you start weak and low, but then little by little, you go up and up until you reach some great level in society? That didn’t happen with Jesus. His whole life, as I said, was cut from the same cloth. From there he went into a weak, humble servant lifestyle, and that’s how he lived his whole life, he was weak and that he was born under the law, obeyed all of the regulations of the law. Do you realize he had little tassels on his garment because the law said so? The law commanded that he have these little tassels and he had them. The woman that had been bleeding all those years (Matthew 9:18-22), she wanted to just grab those tassels, that was the word used.

Jesus obeyed every jot and tittle of the law. He was weak before the law, humble. Did not fight it, he was weak as submissive to his parents. It says in Luke 2:51, “He went down to Nazareth with his parents and was obedient to them.” He was submissively weak and waiting for God’s timing. For 30 years, he was an apprentice in Joseph’s shop and then a carpenter, working on furniture, waiting on God’s timing. Waiting until God said, “Now is the time,” when he was over 30 years old, waiting for God’s timing. Weak when he was baptized.

John the Baptist said, “What are you doing here? I need to be baptized by you and you come to me?” (Matt 3:14) He humbled himself to take a baptism that he did not have to take. It was not required by the law of Moses, but he did it. He said, “We must fulfill all righteousness” (Matt 3:15). And immediately after he was baptized, he was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. So he submitted to the process of temptation, but never once submitted to temptation itself.

Never once did he sin, he was blameless and holy, but he submitted to the process of pain, of spiritual temptation, of physical hunger, and he would not lift his miracle working finger to save himself in any way, he would not turn those stones into bread. He was weak before the hunger, he was weak when persecuted, he was opposed every step of his life, every day people stood in his face and opposed him.

Do you ever read a time where Jesus defends himself? Where does he try to shine up his reputation? Any time he refers to himself, it’s for the salvation of those there, that they would know who he is and that they might have life, but he never once tries to defend himself. He says, “Actually, all manner of sin and blasphemy against the Son of Man will be forgiven” (Matt 12:31). He said that, very gracious.

And he was weak when poverty-stricken in life. He said, “Foxes have holes, birds of the air have nests, the Son of Man has what? He has no place to lay his head” (Matt 8:20).

The disciples are going through the grain fields on the Sabbath, picking heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands and eating them (Luke 6:1). You know what that was? That was Jewish welfare. It was for the poor people who didn’t have fields to their own, so that they would go through and be able to eat as much as they could carry, but no bushels or baskets can be taking in, but just pluck the heads and eat them right there. Jesus was living off whatever somebody would give him, a group of women supported him out of their means. The weakness of Christ. He was weak when humbly meeting needs. Do you ever see somebody come to Jesus with a need and he doesn’t get up and humbly go with him to meet the need? It’s incredible.

In Luke 22:27, he says, “Who is greater? The one who’s at the table or the one who serves. Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves, you’re all sitting down and eating, I’m here with the towel over my arm and I’m serving you.” That’s who I am. I’m among you as one who serves.

And he was weak when resisting people who came to try to make him King. After he fed the 5,000, a group of men surrounded him and said, “We’re going to make you king,” and he hid himself, slipped off into the hills and prayed, he would not be king in their way and in their time (John 6:1-21).

And even when he rode into Jerusalem, did he ride in on a white charger in front of a huge army? No, he rode in on a donkey. Have you ever wondered why donkeys aren’t used in battle? They’re really quite low and they’re really quite slow. Low and slow. You will die if you ride a donkey into battle. “Get up there.” You are not going to get there. An arrow will cut you down, very slow moving target, right across. Easy to hit. Jesus came in on the donkey because he was coming in as a Prince of Peace.

Now, next time, he’s on a charger for war. Next time, but we’re talking about Jesus’s incarnation life. A life of weakness, a life of humility. And he came in meek, humble and lowly on a donkey. But that was just the beginning wasn’t it, folks? Now, it’s time to die. It’s time to die on the cross, and it began in Gethsemane. And if you came to Gethsemane, what would you see a picture of power and strength and might? No, you’d see a man down on the ground with blood pouring out of his pores, wrestling as no man has ever wrestled in prayer before, the angels had to come strengthen him, that’s how exhausting that battle was. And he got up from there and was arrested and meekly led through the entire arrest and arraignment trial process. Never once did he resist, never once did he raise a voice to defend himself, and why? Because through all of that, Isaiah 53 says, “He did not open his mouth before his shearers. As a lamb before his shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” And why? Because he was bearing our sin, he was carrying our sin even at that point, and he was behaving before his judge the way a guilty person should behave.

I cannot answer you once in a thousand times, and so he kept his mouth shut because he was the sin bearer. In himself, don’t misunderstand, no sin at all, but having taken our sins upon himself, he kept his mouth shut and said nothing before his accusers. What could he say? He was guilty. Again, not in himself, but as our sin bearer, guilty. “God made him who had no sin, to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God, the exchange” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

So, he took on our sin and was quiet and humble, and he received his beatings and he received discouragings, and he received his mockings and his spittings, and he received the bar across his shoulders, the cross, and he carried it up that hill, meekly and humbly, and he allowed himself to be nailed to the cross. His blood flowed and he was weak as he hung there under the wrath and curse of God. The very picture of weakness. And there it is, 1 Corinthians 1:25, the weakness of God is Jesus Christ dead on the cross as our sin bearer. Do you see that Jesus’s life is all cut from the same cloth, his weak beginning became his weak servant lifestyle became his weak sin bearing?

How can I call it weak, though? I can’t do it anymore, because the very weakness of God is stronger than the most powerful strength that man has ever shown. All of that weakness added up to salvation for you and me, because it really wasn’t weakness, but it was righteousness. It was holiness, it was perfection, the most perfect life that’s ever been lived, and all of that, like a robe, he offers to give you free if you’ll just put it on. That robe of righteousness. You can stand before God on Judgment Day and you will survive. You will survive the scrutiny of the eternal God, and why because all of your guilt has been taken off of you if you have faith in Christ and you have received his righteousness. So, the weakness of God, the weakness of Christ actually, turn aside the wrath of God.

Now, that is mighty, isn’t it? That is mighty, the weakness of Christ into death turns aside my fear of death, I’m not afraid of death anymore, and no child of God should ever be afraid of death anymore. This is the power of the weakness of Jesus Christ.

And this gospel message, and it’s the only one in the world that does, has the power to slay your pride and mind, it has the power to bring us low, doesn’t it? Doesn’t it make you feel ashamed of any boasting you would do about your life? Doesn’t it make you want to not go up and up and up with the Corinthians, but down and down and down with the apostles, and even more with Christ? The downward journey, I want it. I don’t want up, up, up, up, up, anymore in this world, it’s not good enough. I want to go down with Christ, then I may go up. The weakness of this Gospel message has power to slay your pride and mind.

Now, what kind of application can we take from this? Well, more than anything, I want you to realize the Gospel makes its advance, its powerful advance through your life when you are weak under it. You see what I’m saying? How do you enter the kingdom of heaven? You enter through the narrow gate, you enter humbly, you enter meekly. Blessed are the spiritual beggars for theirs and theirs alone is the Kingdom of Heaven. And so, you enter, you become a Christian by admitting that your own wisdom, your own strength, your own achievements will never get you to Heaven.

Can I speak directly? I don’t know your spiritual state. I don’t know whether you’re believers or not, I don’t know how you walked in here, I don’t know how God sees you, that’s what really matters. It doesn’t matter what your reputation among men is, I don’t know how God sees you.

If you walked in here without Christ, you’re under the wrath and condemnation of God even now, but Jesus Christ offers you freedom forever from that. He offers you his righteousness as a gift. He offers you forgiveness of sins. Now, what do you have to do? You have to become weak. Just like Jesus, you have to admit that you’re a sinner. You have to admit that you need Christ. You have to humble yourself before the cross. Now, some of you haven’t done that, you remember distinctly, and you know that you cannot save yourselves and your good deeds will never be good enough for you, you know that, some of you. What I’m going to say to you is that the Gospel makes progress in your life the exact same way, the exact same way. You continue to grow in Christ as you continue to humble yourself under his mighty hand, you continue to be weak in the world’s eyes and lowly.

The gospel then makes progress through you. The Apostle Paul was wrestling with a weakness, we don’t know what it was, but he called it a thorn in his flesh, a thorn in the flesh, and he said it was a messenger from Satan to torment him, but he came to this conclusion. Christ said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness; therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Did you hear that? If you are boasting about your strength, Christ’s power does not rest on you, but if instead you come to him in weakness with need; now, that is a different story. If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. If anyone is hungry, let him come to me and eat, he specializes in meeting needs for weak people, but it is nothing for the complete… It’s not the healthy who need a doctor, it’s the sick (Mark 2:17). And so, he says, “That is why for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties, for when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). I think you could add the words, “when I am weak in my own eyes, when I stop thinking highly about myself and I cast myself on Christ, then I’m at my strongest, I can’t be any more powerful.”

And finally, the Gospel advances through you, if you’re a Christian, when you’re willing to die like Jesus. Maybe physically, we’ve been talking about that in Matthew 10, but I mean just die to yourself to take the gospel to somebody to open your mouth. Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, becomes weak, it remains only a single seed, but if it dies, it bears many seeds. Are you willing to become weak in front of the eyes of a neighbor, co-worker, family member? Maybe even this week, you are going to go to Christmas, you are going to be in a room with people and you know that some of those folks are not Christians.

Would you be willing to go and pull one of them aside and talk to them and say, “You need the Lord, you need Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Can we talk about that?” Oh, but that might ruin our celebration. Are you willing to trade your celebration for somebody’s eternal soul? Are you willing?

 We'll be looking this morning at Matthew 10: 34-39.  There are some people in our midst and people that you know that give attention to questions of genealogy. They take it on as a hobby to try to figure out where they come from. With the internet resources that are available today, you can do this much better than they used to be able to do. But even so, even with those resources, most Americans could not trace their lineage back probably any more than four generations. Some Americans could, but most can't.

I know that my ancestors, my grandfather, when he came over from Scotland, they changed his name because they couldn't pronounce it. That happened to a lot of people who're streaming into the country through Ellis Island. Their names were changed, and it was very difficult, therefore, to trace your lineage back. But how would it be for you if you traced your ancestry back five, six, seven, eight generations, and found that you were a son or a daughter of royalty? That there was royal blood cursing through your veins? Would it make a difference? Well you say, "Not really, we're Americans, we don't care about that kind of thing." But I think you would consider it noteworthy. You might even tell a friend or a co-worker, "Hey, you know what? My great-great-great-grandfather was the prince of Maldona," or something like that. It would be kind of exciting for you to find out that you are descended from royalty.

What's remarkable to me is that the Gospel of Matthew begins with a genealogy, and it's not just for generations, but 42 generations that it traces over. That's nothing compared to the genealogy in Luke which traces Jesus back physically to Adam —76 generations. incredible. The genaology in Matthew is a royal genealogy, it traces Jesus back through a royal lineage. It portrays Jesus Christ as descended from David ,noting that Jesus is the son of royalty. We know that and we celebrate that, that Jesus was born in the city of David and that He is the son of David. Matthew 1:1 says, "A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham."  Jesus was Jewish, a son of Abraham, but He's also a son of David, He was in fact royalty.

It's interesting that the son of David title was also applied to Joseph. As the angel comes to him and says, "Do not be afraid Joseph, son of David," Joseph would have had the right to sit on the throne. For that reason I believe parenthetically, that Joseph was probably dead by the time that Jesus was old enough to take His rightful place on the throne, had it been offered to Him.  Jesus was of royal lineage, of royal descent.

What I want to say to you is that you are also of royal descent if you are a child of God. You are a son or daughter of the King of the Kingdom of Heaven. You're a part of an incredible family. We've been looking in Matthew 10, and as we've been looking at some of these martyr stories, some of the accounts of your brothers and your sisters in Christ, and the regal way that they carried themselves in incredible distress. You should realize these are your brothers and sisters in Christ. Spiritually speaking, that same blood or that same living sap, if you would, from the vine and the branches, is flowing through you as well. You are a child of the King,  and you're called to act like it. You're called to walk with a regal bearing through this world, and to have courage, no matter what comes your way, to carry yourself like a child of the King.

I've been so encouraged by the devotional I've been reading from Voice of the Martyrs, and realizing what kind of regal blood spiritually was flowing through the veins of a man, for example, named Pallas. I read his story, in the days when Russia was called the Soviet Union, and when there were consistent crackdowns on the church. Pallas was arrested for being a Christian. After much severe torture and distress, he was brought before the captain who was in charge of his torture, and the captain said, "Well, you seem to be holding out all right, but I want you to know that we have plans to send you to Siberia where it's winter all the time. It's a place of misery and suffering, you'll fit in well there, you and your family."  Pallas looked at him and smiled, and said, "Wherever I go on the surface of this earth, I'm in my Father's world, He owns it all. You can't send me anywhere that my Father didn't create and doesn't own."  The captain said, "Fine then, we'll strip you of all of your possessions, take everything away from you." He said, "You'll need a tall ladder because my possessions are stored up in Heaven, and you can't reach them." At this point  this man is getting very angry, very frustrated. He said, "We'll put a bullet between your eyes." Pallas said, "That's fine. I'll begin my life of true joy and peace and happiness away from this stinking prison, and I'll be in the presence of Jesus Christ." At this point he took him and grabbed him and shook him and said, "Fine. We won't kill you then, we know how you Christians are, we'll put you in solitary confinement. And no one will be able to visit you, you'll be cut off from all contact." He said, "That's impossible, because I have a friend who can walk right through walls, and there's no way you can keep Him out, because wherever I am, Jesus Christ is with me."

You know what? You are brother or sister to Pallas. He's one of your brothers in Christ. Hebrews 11 calls people like that “men of whom the world was not worthy.” What I want to say to you is, that's exactly what Christ is calling you to do as well. I don't know what kind of circumstances you're going yo find yourself in, but He's not calling you, in Matthew 10, to a comfortable life as a witness for Christ, He's calling on you to be willing to suffer, perhaps even to die for Christ.

There's also a story of Salima and Rahila. Salima was a Christian in Pakistan. I've been to Pakistan, it's a Muslim dominated land. I feel it's important for me to keep the true nature of Islam in front of you, lest you be deceived by the things we hear from American media, but it's illegal on punishment of death to convert a Muslim to Christianity in Pakistan. Salima was raised Muslim but she came to faith in Christ and she, just a teenage girl, led Rahila, her friend, to faith in Christ. Rahila's family found out about it and wanted Salima to be arrested, and she was arrested. She was beaten for her faith. But she sang hymns, praise songs to Jesus Christ, because she was hoping that her captors would hear those songs and come to faith in Christ. Meanwhile Rahila’s family, hunted her down and offered her a simple choice. This is the way it is in Islam, "Convert or die. Come back to your Islamic roots or we will kill you." She decided to stay with Christ, she trusted in Him, she couldn't turn her back, and they had her put to death. She is your sister in Christ, if you're a child of God.

As I look at Matthew chapter 10, I see that God, that Jesus Christ, is calling us to this kind of a life. He's calling on us to be, as it says in 1 Peter 2:9, “a chosen people, a royal priesthood.” Do you hear that? Royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. My sermon can be boiled down to one concept: Jesus Christ has ordained that His kingdom advance only through suffering. He did not come to bring us an easy, comfortable life. He did not come to bring peace to the earth, that's what He says. But he came to bring a sword. Only through the contrast of how Christians behave in this kind of intense suffering and persecution does the Gospel advance to the glory of God.

All of this is not some accident, but it is God's intention and His purpose that He might glorify Himself through people like you and me. That's my main idea. Let's look at how it works out in detail. Look at verse 34-36. Jesus says there, "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth, I have not come to bring peace, but a sword, for I came to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, a man's enemies will be the members of his own household." 

Jesus begins in verse 34 with the phrase. "Do not suppose." In effect He's saying, "Do not misunderstand my mission." Christ, I believe, is the most misunderstood man in the history of the human race. We don't understand Him, we don't understand His mission, and He wants to clear away misunderstandings. There are constant misunderstandings about Christ. For example, in the 19th century, liberal German theologians began a quest for the historical Jesus. They were looking for the true Christ, the Christ of history, not the Christ of faith in the Bible. So they swept away the Scriptures and said, "We can't trust these, we’ve got to find the historical Jesus." Some said that the German liberal theologians were gazing down through the corridors of time as looking down a deep well. What they saw at the bottom was a reflective puddle and they saw their own face in the reflection. Jesus ended up constructed in their image and in their likeness as what they thought the perfect man should be like. Are post-moderns any different? We're the same. “I like to think of Jesus as meek and mild, and gentle and accepting of all people. That's the Jesus that I worship.” Well, it may be the Jesus you worship, but it's not the Jesus of the Bible. Jesus is frequently misunderstood, but you know it happening in His day as well.

The Jews thought that Jesus was a Samaritan born of fornication, and was demon-possessed. Now, that's a misunderstanding of who Jesus was. Jesus was the perfect pure incarnate Son of God. We celebrate at Christmas time the virgin birth. They couldn't have been more wrong. So Jesus' person was misunderstood. Jesus' words were misunderstood, weren't they? How many times did Jesus teach something and people just had no idea what he was talking about? Remember Nicodemus when Jesus said “You must be born again” and Nicodemus answered, “How can a man crawl into his mother's womb again and be born?” He could not understand. Time and time again it happens, but it wasn't just people like Nicodemus, it was His own disciples who after three years  did not understand His words or His teachings. Jesus said to them when the time came for the foot-washing, "You do not understand what I'm doing, but later you'll understand." Jesus is constantly misunderstood.

So what we have to do is clear away the misunderstandings. What misunderstanding are we clearing away here? Let's look in verse 34, "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace but a sword." He's saying "Don't misunderstand my mission." Now, this is puzzling, isn't it? It needs some clarification, doesn't it?  What do you mean, "I didn't come to bring peace, I did come to bring a sword."? What Jesus means, I believe, is, "I did not come to bring immediate harmony between everyone that's around me. I didn't come so that we would all just get along, so that as a result of my ministry everybody was hugging and smiling and patting backs and having barbecue together and enjoying good fellowship. That's not what I came to do. I did not come to bring immediate instant happiness and harmony between all people." A corollary of this works like this, "If anyone should come preaching the Word of God, teaching the Word of God, and as a result of that, there are divisions and strife and controversy, he cannot be a messenger of Christ.” That is false.  The fact of the matter is, Jesus said, "I didn't come so that everybody would get along right away." The issue is “right away”. Christ's life was filled with division and opposition, wasn't it? Look at John's Gospel, time and again. In John 7:43, it says, "Thus the people were divided because of Jesus." John 9:16, it says, "So they were divided."  John 10-19 says, "At these words, the Jews are again divided." Everywhere Jesus went there would be division — believers, unbelievers. In Hebrews 12:3, "Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men so that you do not grow weary or lose heart." Jesus was constantly opposed.

How about Christ's apostles? What kind of lives did they live? Were they well-received and welcomed? We've already covered in Matthew 10 that they would not be, but how did it actually work out? It actually worked out just like it did for Jesus. Everywhere they went, there were troubles, problems, and division. It says in Acts 17:6 in the RSV, "These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also." There's just trouble everywhere they go.  Wherever the Word of God is faithfully proclaimed, there's going to be trouble, division, disagreements, and disharmony. Jesus said it right from the start here, "Don't suppose that I came to bring peace to the earth, I didn't come to bring peace to the earth, but a sword." 

Now, misunderstanding number two.  It is that this division is an accidental regrettable by-product that Christ had nothing to do with, and would do everything He could to stop if He could. That is false. The fact is, He said He came to bring the division. "Do not suppose that I came to bring peace." He said He came to bring a sword. “For I came to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, a man's enemies will be the members of his own house." This is not an accidental by-product, this is part of God's divine plan. It's not an accident. It is wrong to suppose that Jesus is going to bring instant harmony between all people, even within families. It's not just some accident, it's the very thing Christ came to provoke and to orchestrate.

Misunderstanding number three:  It not as popular these days, but it's still out there. That the sword that's mentioned in this passage is wielded by Christians. It is not Christians who wield the sword. "Do not suppose that I come to bring peace. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." Alright, there's a sword. In the past some Christians have behaved as Islam truly is, the “convert-or-die” religion. Christianity is not that way, not at all. We believe ultimately it's convert or die [John 3:16 was that we will not perish but have eternal life]. So ultimately convert or die eternally. We believe that, but not in this world and not with the physical sword as Islam has done, but Christians didn't understand that. In the middle ages,  some princes and kings wedded Christ 's Gospel message together with the sword, and said “convert or die.”  The Crusades are a great example of this. The Crusades are a great example of how we would get together for a mass evangelism campaign in Jerusalem. We're going to sweep in there and we're going to convert all those Muslims. Is this Christ's way? This is not Christ's way. 

So another misunderstanding is that the sword is wielded by Christians. No, not at all, the sword is wielded against Christians. It's wielded against Christians. The standard principle is that the Kingdom of Heaven advances not by causing or inflicting suffering, but by receiving it, by receiving it the way Jesus did. What does it mean, “sword”? What is this sword? I think it's metaphorical in one sense. "I came to bring divisions and trouble between people." Disharmony would happen when the Gospel is preached. There's going to be problems, trouble ahead and it actually extends from that point out to even physical death. Martyrdom. I came to bring this, not peace. We have to understand this properly. Ultimately down the road, in the next age, the Age to Come, Christ will be the perfect Prince of Peace.  He did come to bring peace here and now between us and God through faith in Christ. It says in Romans 5:1, "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." The sword of wrath is thrown away. There is no condemnation for you in Christ Jesus, if you've come to faith in Christ. There is no sword between you and God. In the past, it was God wielding the sword.  Remember the story of the sword flashing back and forth in the garden of Eden? You couldn't get back in. Who set the sword there? It was God who set it there. But the sword is gone now, through Christ, through faith in Christ. It says in Isaiah 53:5, speaking of Jesus, "He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed." So through the cross of Jesus Christ the sword of wrath is removed from the hand of God. And He's at peace with you. You have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Oh, how valuable is it that God is at peace with you through Christ.

The sword is removed, and we go out to proclaim a message of peace.  Isaiah 52:7 says, "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace.” Who bring good tidings," —that's the Gospel — "who proclaim salvation, and who say to Zion, 'Your God reigns.'"  We go out as messengers of a Gospel of peace, all of that is true. But has peace come? Look around the world, are nations still at war with one another? Yes, they are, and they will be right to the end. Nation will rise up against nation, kingdom will rise up against kingdom. It's not until the Age to Come that we're going to see it. In Isaiah 9:6-7, "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders and he will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Listen to the next part, "Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom establishing and upholding it with justice from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this." It says of that time in the future, Isaiah 2:4, "He will judge between the nations and settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plough shares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore." Amen. Just not yet. Now is the time of the sword. We are not the ones that wield it, we are the ones that receive it. The question is, why? Why did you do it, Jesus? Why did you come not to bring peace but a sword? Why did you come to set a father against his son, son against his father, a mother against the daughter, daughter against the mother?  Why is it the case that a man's enemies will be the members of his own household?  Think about the alternative. What will the alternative be? 

Imagine, if you would a beautiful clipper ship with sails billowing and absolute glassy seas, smooth as silk,  and a westerly Zephyr just blowing the church through the ages of history. That's the alternative, smooth sailing. Never is heard a discouraging word. Everywhere you go, you preach the Gospel, you are well received and welcomed, and the Gospel is believed. Let me ask you a question, what use would you have for Romans 8? “We are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” What mountain ranges would there be to travel, what persecution, what nobility would be put on display, what courage, what glory for God? Answer: None. No conflict, no trouble, no distress, nothing but ease and comfort as the Gospel just goes from one success to the next, as everyone who hears it receives it and everyone gets saved. It was not His way. He chose rather a campaign of war in which there would be valor and courage and martyrs and witness, and you're included. It's hard to go across the hall or across the street and witness to your neighbor but when you do it, you bring glory to God. Those were the two alternatives before Christ, and He chose the path of glory where God could be glorified as a result.

I think there are three great reasons that He came not to bring peace but the sword. First is proof of faith; second, purification of faith; and third,  a platform for faith's proclamation. What do I mean by proof of faith? First of all, your faith must be tested in order to be proved genuine. Do you realize that? We've got to see whether it's the real deal or not?   In 1 Peter 1:7 it says trials have come so that your faith, of greater worth than gold, which perishes, even though refined by fire, may be proved genuine, and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Your faith has to be proved to be the genuine article. Without the fire of persecution, without opposition, without distress, the smooth sailing clipper ship, hot knife through butter, you can't test that kind of faith. It costs you nothing. It's easy, it's comfortable, there's nothing, there's no challenge. God wants a test of your loyalty. In effect, He brings you to a fork in the road and says, "Do you love me more than these? Do you love me more than your mother, more than your father, more than your best friend? Do you love me more than your job? Do you love me more than your life itself?"  Look at verse 37, "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. Anyone who loves a son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And anyone who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me." Rahila, the Pakistani girl, was brought to a fork in the road, wasn't she? God brought her there.  Jesus Christ was going one way, and her Islamic family was going the other. She had to choose, her faith was put to the test, she chose Christ. Her faith was proved genuine as a result of that fiery trial.  Jesus said in effect, "If you're not willing to make that choice, you're not worthy of me."

Realize how astonishing, how shocking this statement is. Who is this Nazarene, who is this carpenter to come and say, "Loyalty to me must take priority over every other thing in your life."?  “Over anything, over even your mother and father, over your husband or your wife, over your child, over any earthly thing to you, I must come first." Who is He to ask that of us? He's God in the flesh, He's your creator, He knit you together in your mother's womb, He died on the cross, He shed His blood, He has the right to claim this kind of loyalty, that you would put Him first above all things.

One of the most moving stories I read in that Voice of the Martyrs testimony came right to this issue. It was in communist Romania. Pastor Florescu had been beaten, he'd been in prison, they brought in ravenous rats into his prison cell so that he would not be able to sleep, he had to fend them off all night long and all day long. After two weeks of this, he was obviously in great pain, but he did not buckle. What they wanted from him was a list of the names of the members of his underground church so that they could bring them in as well. He wouldn't say a thing. But then they struck at a weak point. They brought in his 14-year-old son Alexander, and they proceeded to beat him in front of Pastor Florescu. It was clear they meant to kill him. There's no doubt about it.

And any of you that have children, you realize how you'd be willing to die, but to stand there and watch your own son beaten to death, and all you need to do is say something. He crumbled and he said, "Stop, stop. I can't take it anymore. I'll tell you what you want to know." At that point, Alexander lifted up his bloody face and said, "Father, don't do it. Don't bring me the shame of being the son of a traitor. If they kill me, I will die with the word Jesus on my lips." At that point, the captors were enraged and  they killed him. Alexander died with his faith in Christ intact, and his father's faith in Christ intact as well. The appeal is to the logic of this passage. Your loyalty to me should not be greater than your loyalty to Christ. Let me die. That's what Christ asks of us. I  must be number one in your life, there is no earthly relationship higher than me. 

 It also purifies your faith, secondly, doesn't it? You know why? Because your faith is not pure. It's got all these alloying elements in it, and we're reaching out all the time for other things. Love for earthly things all the time. We need to be purified of that. He brings us through these kind of trials, not peace. He brings a sword so that we can, little by little, be stripped of all things but primary allegiance to Jesus Christ. In verse 39, Jesus says, "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." Every moment, you have an internal mechanism which causes you to look out for number one. If you're hot, you take off garments so that you're a little bit cooler or you adjust the air conditioning.  You seek to adjust your circumstances so that you're comfortable. It's just internal. Jesus here tells you to stop looking out for number one if you are number one. Or better, “look out for number one, and I'm number one”. Don't love your life in this world so much that you're holding on to it, not willing to follow Christ no matter what He asks you to do. Jesus says you have to be willing to die to your earthly ambitions, your career, whatever it is you want to do; whatever your first and greatest desire is, and it gets very practical. On a Monday morning He wakes you up and you have your quiet time, He says, "I own today. I own your Monday. Follow me, and I will lead you." It's very, very intense, isn't it? He says, "If you love your life in this world, you will lose it. But if you lose your life for my sake, you will find it for eternity." So, lose yourself for Christ. That's what He's saying, a purification of faith.

Then finally, a platform for proclamation. In our darkened house this week, we had no lights because of the storm. Sun goes down around 5 o'clock, it gets really, really dark. We had this little hurricane lantern that we lit and put it on the floor, which was a bad move in two senses. One is, it is a burning fire and some of the children may kick it and spread oil. That did not happen, don't misunderstand me. But there it was. But there's another bad reason why you don't put it down the floor, it doesn't give light in the same way as when you lift it up and put it on the mantle. Jesus said, "You are the light of the world. You're a city set on a hill." He said, "Nobody lights a lamp and puts it under a bowl. They put it up on a stand so that everybody can see it. It gives light to everyone in the house.”  "In the same way, let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us." So what does that mean? He's going to put some of us on extreme display, it's called martyrdom. He's going to lift us up and put us on a platform, and He's going to pour us out to death so that the people standing around watching can be saved. Would He do that kind of thing? Would He actually take you, His precious, beloved, adopted son and daughter, and pour out your earthly life through physical torture and pain unto death?  Did He not do that to His only begotten Son? Why would He not do it to you? Why could that not be the God you worship? Why would He not bring you through suffering? Why not? He brought His own Son through it. The fact of the matter is, you have everything you need. Corinthians says, "All things are yours.” Don't hold on to them, let them go. All things are yours, you've got eternity, you've got a martyr's welcome if He calls you to it. So live freely for Him. And when He puts you up on a stand, proclaim the Gospel boldly right before you die, proclaim it boldly.

If you're never called on to lay down your life physically, then live for Him in smaller ways that are just as costly in some cases. Sometimes it's harder to live for Christ than to die for Him. Day by day by day, be up on a platform so that you can proclaim the Gospel. The result of this is servants worthy of the lamb. Now, this is stunning, isn't it? He said, "If you love your father or mother more than me, you're not worthy of me." Let me ask you a question.  Do you remember the scene in Revelation chapter 5, where there's One seated on a throne, and all of the 24 elders are around, and all the living creatures are there? It's the picture of God on His throne, and He's got a scroll with seven seals. Some people believe, I think it's true, that this is the title deed to the Earth, the ownership of the Earth. They looked and no one in Heaven or Earth or under the Earth was found who was worthy to take the scroll and open its seals and look inside it. Nobody could be found who was worthy of that; not you, not me, not Elijah, not Moses, not Job, not John the Baptist, none of them worthy to take that scroll and open it.  John wept because nobody could be found who was worthy of that honor. The angel told him, "Do not weep. See, the root of David, the Lion of the tribe of Judah has triumphed. He's been victorious, He's overcome the cross and the grave, and He is worthy."  Jesus came and took that scroll, and all the angels proclaimed, "Worthy is the lamb who was slain to receive glory and honor and power and dominion, for He shed His blood so that people from every tribe and language and people and nation could be saved." He's worthy of it.

I think the passage here though isn't talking about the worthiness of Christ, it's talking about being worthy of Christ. John the Baptist said, "I am not worthy to untie His sandals. I'm not worthy to pick up His shoes." Was John right? Yes, he was. Angels knew. You're not worthy to pick up His shoes. Yet, the Bible says you can live a life worthy of the Lord. In Revelation  3:4, it says, "You have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes, they will walk with me dressed in white, for they are worthy."  As I look at this section of Scripture, I think to myself, God has called us to a difficult life, a challenging life. But this is true Christianity, folks. This is what God is calling us to. Matthew 10 is the advancement of the Kingdom of Heaven. If we Americans want to be part of it, we have to embrace this kind of a life, we have to say goodbye to our life here on earth. You have to live as a dead man or a dead woman.  Say my life is, it's forfeit for Christ, and every day I live for Him. If He tells me to go witness to this person or go to this country as a missionary or give up my career etcetera, that's His right. He bought me with a price. Are you willing to live a life worthy of the Lord?  Are you willing to serve Him with every moment?  Are you willing to even have division in your family because you're living for Christ?  Are you willing to follow Christ?

Matthew 10:26-33 tells of how eternal prospective vanishes fear. One of the great privileges that I had in my life was being a witness for Christ in the country of Japan. While I was there ministering, my wife and I and our two older children started to learn of the great heritage of Christians who have gone before us, and who had been willing for centuries before that to lay down their lives for Jesus Christ.   Recently, I read the story about one of them. A 12-year-old boy named Ibaragi Kun, confessed faith in Jesus Christ and was rounded up with twenty-six other Christians and led to a place where there were twenty-seven wooden crosses. These twenty-seven were going to be executed for their faith. They were going to be nailed to the cross, each one of them, unless they renounced Christ. The captain in charge of the execution came and had pity on this 12-year-old boy Ibaragi Kun. He knelt down and put his arm around his shoulder, and said, "You have so many years ahead of you, why don't you renounce your faith in Christ and be Japanese and live a Japanese life and turn away from this early death?" The young boy started to cry and he shook his head, turned and said, "Please tell me which cross is mine?" The man was just struck by this and  weakly pointed to one in the middle, and the boy ran over to it. He embraced it,  he hugged it, and he died on it.  A twelve-year old boy. I'm speaking to young people today. Are you ready to lay down your life for Christ?  If a twelve-year old boy four centuries ago can do it, what about us? 

 Maybe God isn't calling on us to lay down our lives this week for Jesus Christ. Maybe he's just calling you to lay down your entrancement with your reputation among your friends. To lay down your reputation, be willing to go across the hall at college or go across the office to somebody in a cubicle or an office right across the way and share Christ. Maybe across the street, maybe to pick up the phone and call a relative that you know is not a Christian, and just out of love to throw away your reputation in that person's eyes, knowing full well that there's a very good chance that they'll reject the Gospel. It’ll probably get weird between the two of you.  Are you willing to risk it?  Twenty  years ago I gave my life to Christ.  It wasn't long after that that I was introduced to a companion.  I would not call it a friend, but a companion that's been with me every step of the way since, and that companion is fear of man because I was introduced early on through the ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ to the evangelistic call, that we are to be witnesses for Christ. If you're going to be a witness for Christ, you have to come face-to-face with this foe, the fear of man.

 How do we overcome that foe, how can we conquer our fear and be witnesses for Christ? That's what's facing us in the text today. How do we embrace the cross that God has for us, and not run away from it because we're afraid?  How do we live the Christian life?  Jesus is giving us, I believe in these verses, eternal perspective as a remedy for fear.  What do I mean by eternal perspective?  In the 1400s in Florence, Italy, artists discovered something called “the vanishing point".  It put perspective in drawing, so that from then on things  paintings looked accurate. Have you ever seen those medieval tapestries or paintings that look a little weird?  Everybody looks the same size, the city is the same size, everything is the same size, and it looks strange. The artists in Florence, Italy discovered something called “the vanishing point” where things get smaller the further away toward the horizon they go and from that point on, things look like a photograph. 

 One of the artists who perfected this technique was Albrecht Dürer, a German woodcutter, who did incredible art. He also loved the reformation. He was a personal friend of Martin Luther. He said, "When I listen to Martin Luther preach, I feel my fears and anxieties vanished".  I think that's what the vanishing point does,  that’s what perspective does.  As we look at things from an eternal perspective fears are banished, they tend to disappear.  We're not afraid anymore what people are going to think.  Actually, the more they heap abuse on us, the gladder we are in one sense.  That's what Jesus is trying to work with us here, that we would see all things in the light of eternity, that we would see our own lives that way, that we would see our neighbors as souls who will some day stand before God in judgment, that we will see God himself as the ultimate issue and his pleasure as our greatest treasure.  In order to understand this passage, I think as always we need to step back and get some perspective within the Gospel itself.  Matthew is the first book of the written testimony in the New Testament of the life of Jesus Christ.

We have four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Each of those four gives us a view point of Jesus Christ. Each of them comes at it at a little bit different way. Matthew comes at it from the view of a kingdom, the kingdom of God, the kingdom of Heaven. Specifically that Jesus Christ has the credentials and the right to be the king of the kingdom of Heaven. This kingdom was inaugurated or begun when Jesus entered into the world, and when he began his preaching ministry, he said, "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." In one sense, the kingdom is right here, it's immediate.  From the time that Jesus began his ministry the kingdom was here. The kingdom of heaven is at hand, therefore repent.  Jesus  said in Matthew 12: 28, he said, "If I drive out demons by the spirit of God then the kingdom of God has come upon you". The kingdom in one sense is here now, but in another sense, it's not yet.  We pray in the Lord's Prayer, "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, Thy kingdom come".  That's a petition. "O Lord, may your kingdom come". What does that tell you? It's not here yet.  What do we mean by "Your kingdom come”?  Jesus says in the next line, "May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven". That's the kingdom, that we would do God's will, from our hearts with a joyful spirit, doing all of the things that he has commanded gladly. That is the nature of his kingdom, and it's advancing. The kingdom advances, it moves out. When we get to the parables in Matthew 13, a principle of growth we see the kingdom of heaven is like a seed sunk down in the soil, and it bears fruit. There's a sense of growing.  How does it grow? At the end of Matthew chapter 9, Jesus looks out over the crowd and  has compassion on them because they are harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd, and so he calls his disciples to him and  says, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest therefore to send out workers into his harvest field". There it is, there's the field where the kingdom of heaven is going to be growing — it's people who don't know the Lord, it's people who are harassed and helpless, they're tormented by their sins, they're under the wrath of God, and they have no chance of salvation except for a message called the Gospel.

In Matthew 10, Jesus prepares twelve apostles, twelve men and sends them out into the world.  The twelve apostles are our forerunners in this Gospel ministry, we follow in their footsteps. They went out into the world and they proclaimed the gospel message. Matthew 10 is their marching orders, the original instructions that he gave to them for this witness. We know that even though Jesus was in that time and at that place speaking just to them, at the same time, the words just seem to swallow up all of history and take us in as well. We can go to Matthew 10 and say, "Lord, how can I be a witness for Christ?"  As we read through Jesus' instructions to the twelve gospel messengers, it seems like it's going to be a hard life.  Look down at verse 14, it's the first hint there, that there's going to be trouble ahead. He says, "Go to towns and villages, and look for a person to take you in". Suddenly in verse 14, "If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your word, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town".

So it could be that there will be some people who will not welcome you. There'll be some people who will reject you, they will not take you in, they will not welcome you. They have no interest in the Gospel of the kingdom. That's just a hint. Later on he says more directly in verse 16, "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves". What do you think that means? Sheep versus wolves. Who do you think's going to win? The sheep win, but only by dying. It's going to be tough, it's going to be harsh, it's going to be difficult, there's going to be opposition. He says it even more plainly later on in verse 17, "Be on your guard against men, they will hand you over to local councils and flog you in their synagogues, on my account you'll be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles." Look what he says in verse 21, "Brother will betray brother to the death, and a father his child, children will rebel against their parents, and have them put to death. All men will hate you, because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another." This is obviously opposition; this is a Gospel advance only against great odds, against great opposition requiring great courage.

When you read these verses what naturally  pops into your mind. Imagine if you were one of the  twelve apostles and you are standing there listening. What starts to creep in? Fear.  It starts to grow and you start saying, "Wait a minute, you know it's been good up to this point, but this isn't what I signed on for.” “Yes, it is.” Jesus has been going around doing all kinds of miracles, but where is Jesus heading?  He's heading to the cross.  He says, "You have to embrace the cross too, if you're not willing to take up your cross and follow me, you're not worthy of me.” He's giving us a lifestyle of embracing a cross. That's exactly what he's calling us to. But how do we deal with the fear?  That's what Jesus is dealing with in these verses.  He says in verse 26,  "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.”  In verse 31 Jesus says, "So don't be afraid, you're worth more than many sparrows". Do you see what Jesus is doing? He's working on the issue of fear. Three times in this small section here, he's saying, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, don't be afraid.”  He's zeroing in on the fact that, "I know how this must be hitting you, I understand how this must sound to you, that you're going to have to give over everything precious to you. I understand that fear is going to start to creep in, but don't be afraid.” Fear is rooted in unbelief, isn't it? Imagine if you would, an emperor sitting up in his throne room and he summons you. You're honored that he would even notice you and you come right to the front of the court. You are surrounded by courtiers in their beautiful clothes. He gives to a herald, a little scroll and says bring it down to him. Unroll it and there's some instructions for you to do with your neighbors. You're supposed to do this or that or the other, it's coming right from the emperor.  Can you imagine reading it and saying, "I can't do this, what will they think of me?" What will they think of you? This is a command from the king. “The real issue is not what will they think of you? What will I think of you?” That's the real issue. Imagine  if Jesus were right in front of you, at all times, you could see him with your eyes, and he's commanding you to witness and share the Gospel with that person right there. Would you obey or disobey? I think you'd obey. But now he's not there right in front of you, you have to see him only by faith. When fear start to creep in, you can see that fear is rooted in unbelief.  It's because we don't believe that God has commanded us to do this. Jesus wants to reach down, and just uproot that fear so that we're not afraid. You know fear paralyses the Gospel advance. If God wants you to go witness to your neighbors, wants you to go witness to your friends and family, and you don't do it out of fear, the Gospel is paralyzed through your unbelief, through your fear. He must root out this fear so that you can in fact be a Gospel witness.

What is Christ's tactic, what approach is he taking here? He's doing what we call faith-filled reasoning. He's reasoning with us through faith. He's assuming certain things are true and then he's reasoning out the consequences as a result. He's already done this a few chapters ago in Matthew 6.  Jesus comes to the issue of anxiety, he comes to the issue of fear over material possessions. Look what he says in Matthew 6:25, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink or about your body, what you'll wear? Is not life more important than food and the body more important than clothes". What is he doing there? Is he not reasoning with you saying anxiety or worry about these things doesn't make any sense. This is what we call faith-filled reasoning. Verse 26, "Look at the birds of the air, they don't sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" Then he says, "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life".  What is Jesus doing? He's got his sight set on anxiety.  Anxiety is in his cross hairs, what is his weapon?  He is going to strike anxiety down with faith-filled reasoning saying, "God provides for the birds of the air, he provides for the grass of the field.  You're worth more than they are, so stop worrying. And besides which, has worrying ever done anything good for you?"  Now, back to Matthew 10, he's doing the same thing here, he's reasoning with us, saying, "Don't be afraid of them.” Then he starts giving reasons. "There's nothing concealed that will not be disclosed,” and in verse 28 he says, "Don't be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul, rather be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”  In verse 29, "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid, you're worth more than many sparrows.” It's the same kind of approach that he's taking here.

What I think is so wonderful about this is to realize we don't have to be slaves to fear.  Jesus is commanding you not to be afraid.  He seems to think you have control over this.  I said at the time when I was preaching about anxiety, you know what anxiety is?  It's imagination run amok, thinking of all the things that might happen.  So also it is with fear. You think ahead to what it will be like, and it causes you to pull back from obedience.  He's working with you, he's reasoning with you so that you won't be afraid.  The bottom line here is simple. Do not fear temporary earthly opposition rather fear God and seek to please him for the advancement of his kingdom.

I've noted before some paradoxes here in Matthew 10.  I think this is very interesting. He says, "Be on your guard against men, they will hand you over to local councils and flog you in the synagogues." In other words, watch out for them.  What is the implication? Do what you can to not get arrested.  Do what you can to avoid it.  Then he says, "All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.”  Then what he says, "When you are persecuted in one place flee to the next.”  Now, just a minute, how do we stand firm and yet flee for our lives?  How do you put those two together?  The idea is that you should seek to preserve your life, you should seek to stay alive if you can, but understand the reason for that, it's so that you can die another day for Christ, that's all.   It's so that you can lay down your life in another better setting that God chooses that you do whatever you can to stay alive so that you can produce fruitful labor for Christ. This is exactly what Paul says in Philippians 1, "I'm torn between going and being with Christ, which is better for me, but staying here in the body, which is better for you.  I don't know, I'm torn between the two.  I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far, but it's more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith.”  What is Paul's attitude here?  He said, "I don't care about my earthly life, except that I might be poured out for Christ, except that I might serve him.”  The paradox here is basically stay alive as long as you can, so that you can serve Christ as much as you can.  But in the end, God may choose to pour you out like a drink offering.  Don't be afraid of that, that's the way of thinking.

What do we mean by eternal perspective?  There are five things that Christ is seeking to get across to us here. You have to work through and  pull them out. The first is that there is a God who rules over Heaven and Earth, who judges Heaven and Earth. He is sovereign, he rules over all things, number one. Eternal perspective also teaches us, secondly, that there is a Judgment Day in which all human hearts will be revealed, the secrets of every heart will be exposed.  There is a Judgment Day coming.  Thirdly, there is for every human soul an eternity to be spent either in heaven or in hell. That's a reality.  For every human being you meet, they have a soul, and it will spend eternity in heaven or hell.  Fourthly, the Gospel of the kingdom of Jesus Christ is the only hope the human race has of escaping hell and living forever in heaven.  These are four irrefutable biblical facts, and therefore, fifth, earthly troubles and concerns are minuscule, they're puny, compared to the first four facts.  That's what Christ is trying to communicate to us, but he does it in an interesting way.

First, he looks at how eternity exposes secrets. Verse 26 says, "So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed or hidden that will not be made known." In the NIV, the “so” is a little weak. I should be “therefore”. This is how we begin. He begins reasoning with us, so that we're not afraid by saying therefore.  Well, “therefore” causes us to look up at what he was just saying in verse 23, "When you're persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes."  Verse 24 and 25, "A student is not above his teacher nor is a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household?"  What is he getting at?  Persecution is inevitable for the faithful Christian.  It's inevitable. Therefore, listen to what I'm going to say because I want to help you not be afraid.  That's what the word “so" or "therefore" means at the beginning.

He says, "Don't be afraid. Do not be afraid of them."  He gives them a command.  He gives us a command.  You don't need to be afraid.  As a matter of fact, you must not be afraid.  You must work against this kind of fear.  This is a command from your king, and he gives it three times. We should listen very carefully.  Do not be afraid.  And then of whom? Do not be afraid of them.  These are human persecutors.  It may be the government councils in front of whom you're going to be giving a defense.  It may be your family members who betray you or your friends who betray you over to the government.  It may be any human being.  The “them” in that verse are human persecutors, human opposers.  Don't be afraid of people. That's what he's saying, "Don't be afraid of them."  Proverbs 29:25 says, "Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but he who trusts in the Lord will be kept safe."  Fear of man is a snare, isn't it?  Someone once said, I think it may be Mark Twain, said, "I don't know the path to success, but I do know the path to failure: trying to please everyone."  That's how we fail. Try to please everyone.  No. . . please God and God alone. That's how we succeed.

Along the way, there may be others pleased with you as well, wonderful. Let's have good fellowship, but please don't be afraid of man.  Isaiah 2:22 says, "Stop regarding man, who has but a breath in his nostrils, of what account is he?"  Psalm 56:11 says, "In God I trust, I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" Isn't that wonderful?  He lifts your eyes up and says, "Don't be afraid of them, of human persecutors."  This is hard to do, isn't it?  Imagine if you lived in occupied Holland and you're hidden some Jews in your house, and there was a Gestapo raid to the left house and to the right house the last few nights. How do you go to bed and not be afraid?  That's hard to do.  I'm not saying this is easy.  Or imagine you are a house church pastor in China and your church has just been raided and they've taken all the hymnals. You got warning ahead of time and managed to get out of there before you were arrested. But you know they have your name and sooner or later, they're probably going to get you too. Or perhaps you're a Christian in Vietnam and there are people persecuting, even killing, your loved ones and your neighbors because of their faith in Christ.

This is not a lightweight command and Jesus knows full well what he's asking, but he's saying, "Do not be afraid of them."  He gives a reason: there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed or hidden that will not be made known.  He doesn't say what he means here directly, but we know what he's talking about, he's talking about Judgment Day.  In the Book of Life is  recorded everything that everyone has ever said or done.  Jesus said you'll have to give an account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word you have spoken.  These persecutors do what they do in secret.  They hatch plots just like they did with Jesus.  They meet together to conspire against the Apostles.  These plots, all of them will be exposed by God, and he will judge them.  "Vengeance is mine says the Lord," so don't be afraid of them.  God is on the case.  Everything that they do against you will be exposed and concealed.  In a way, it's a kind of a two-edged sword, isn't it?  Because it's not just the persecutor's secrets, but it's actually everybody's secrets who will be exposed.  If in your heart, you're harboring secret unbelief, or just behaving like a hypocrite or like a Christian,that's going to be exposed too.  When the fire of persecution comes, then it will be shown to everyone that you're not truly a believer.  Everything concealed will be exposed and brought to light.  If I can actually get off the context here for just a moment, this is a universally true principle about Judgment Day.  I have no idea what's in your hearts right now.  I have no idea what you've done this week but imagine if you would... Everything that you've said and done broadcast up here on the screen so that everybody could see it —last 24 hours, seven days a week, last week, everything that you've done up there. Can you imagine that? 

Well, imagine it because that's Judgment Day.  Everything that we do, all of our secrets will be exposed and brought to light. Therefore Paul says we have to give an account to God. We must all appear before the judgment seat of God that we may give an account for everything done in the body, whether good or bad.  Paul says since we know what it is to fear the Lord, we persuade men.  It’s in a two-edged sword.  Don't be afraid of them because you know there's nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, in a way that urges us to not have a concealed fear of man.  Don't care anymore what people think.  Live for the glory of God. That's his first reasoning, eternal perspective.

 Secondly, eternity validates Christ's words. In verse 27 Jesus says, "What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight. What is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs."  What does he speak to us in the dark?  What does he whisper in our ears?  I would call it the word of God.  Anything Jesus said, this is the word of God, but how much more the gospel message?  “I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.”  “You must speak, you must proclaim, what I speak to you, what I say to you in the dark, speak in the daylight. What is whispered in your ear, proclaim. They have their dark secrets, their little hidden plots to persecute you. You have no secrets. Live openly before everyone and proclaim widely the gospel of Jesus Christ, fearlessly and boldly. No secret doctrines, no hidden things, proclaim this message.”   Matthew 24:14 says, "This Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations. And then the end will come."  Or Isaiah 40:9, "You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout. Lift it up. Do not be afraid. Say to the towns of Judah, behold, your God."  Eternity will validate Christ's words as life-giving. Go out and speak his word. Tell people the truth. Jesus said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." Eternity will validate that the words you speak. Christ's words, will last forever. Go out and speak the Gospel. 

Thirdly, eternity reveals human weakness. He says in verse 28, "So do not be afraid," it says, "of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul." This is striking, isn't it?  Those human persecutors look awfully powerful.  There was a time when the Gestapo looked perhaps all powerful. It seemed like they could do anything that they wanted to anybody, any time.  The Communist party in China looked all powerful during the Cultural Revolution.  They could take anybody away for any reason, and kill, and there was no recourse. There was no trial. They look powerful, don't they?  It's just a mirage, because all they can do is kill your body.  Oh, wait a minute, now that's big. Was it big to Jesus here?  He said, "Don't be afraid of them, because all they can do is kill the body."  It seemed like there's something even more significant.  Do you realize that we, human race, that we are already under a death sentence?  Did you not know that?  The wages of sin is what? Death. In Hebrews 9:27, “It is appointed unto man to die once.”  We're going to die. I hope that's not shocking to you.

 Do you remember John Patton when the man tried to convince him not to go as a missionary? "You'll be eaten by cannibals." Remember what he said? He said, "I foresee that very soon you'll be in the grave and you'll be eaten by worms, either way." Our bodies are under a death sentence, but I want to go pour out my life for Christ as a missionary to the cannibals.  And so he did.  We're already under a death sentence.  Don't be afraid of those who can kill the body and after that can do nothing more.  Rather, I'll  tell you who to fear, fear God.  Polycarp understood this when he was about to be executed. The governor said "I will cause you to be consumed by fire unless you repent." But Polycarp said, "You threaten a fire which burns for an hour and after a little while is quenched, for you do not know the fire of the future judgment, and of the eternal punishment which is reserved for the unbelievers.  But why do you delay? Do what you will." That's Polycarp. "I'm not afraid of your temporary fire. I'm afraid of something more serious than that. The one who can destroy both soul and body in hell."

 As a Christian, you know also spiritually, you've already died to your life in this world.  Did you know that?  Colossians 3:3 says, "You died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God."  He also says in Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me." Your life in this world is already under a death sentence. What are you afraid of?  What are you afraid of?  That's Christ's way of thinking.  He says, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, cannot kill the soul." 

Fourthly, he says eternity demonstrates God's absolute power.  In verses 29-31 Jesus says, "Rather be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell." Who is this?  This must be God.  The devil doesn't have this power. The devil himself will be destroyed in hell.  But this is God, fear God.  Every year, for a number of years, when I was up in the New England area, we used to go out at Halloween time, and witness in Salem, Massachusetts. I don't know what Halloween is to you. Maybe it's a kids' holiday, where you dress up in costumes and go around and get a bunch of candy.  In Salem, Massachusetts, it's something  altogether different.  There are over 3,000 registered witches in that city.  As they walk around in flowing black robes year-round with oaken staffs, and as they offer hidden sacrifices and do all kinds of weird disgusting things, you begin to realize that as a minister of the gospel, that is a dark place that needs the light of the Lord, so we used to go out on Halloween night and witness.  There's one time in particular, I had organized a number of people in our church and we're going to go out on Halloween and we're going to witness for Jesus Christ.  All day long, I felt the cold hand of fear on my shoulder.  I just didn't want to go.  I was afraid and I was looking for excuses.  I was wriggling and turning every which way.  There was a big storm that had whipped up the waves into a frenzy, it was close to a hurricane, I remember that.  I thought, "Oh the rain, nobody will be there." You know the excuses you start to make when you don't want to do something.  I remember Christy[my wife] said, "You need to go. They're going to be waiting at the church. What if you don't show up? You need to go." But I remember the turning point for me was a specific Bible verse: Isaiah 51. Isaiah 51:12-13, I could read the whole section but I'll just zero in on these verses. "I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mortal men? The sons of men who are but grass, that you forget the Lord your maker who stretched out the Heavens and laid the foundations of the Earth, that you live in constant terror every day because of the wrath of the oppressor who is bent on destruction, for where is the wrath of the oppressor?" And then he goes on to make me a promise. "The cowering prisoners will soon be set free. Go set them free."  But what is he saying?  First of all, "Don't fear men.  Fear me, and obey me and go out and be a witness."  This is exactly what Jesus is saying in Matthew 10. "Do not fear those who kill the body and after that can do nothing, but fear the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”  Then he points to God's absolute power over earthly events in history, verses 29-31, "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny, yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.  And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered, so don't be afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows."

Jesus zeroes in here on doctrine.  Doctrine dispels doubt. What does he give us?  He gives us God's omnipotence.  God rules over all things.  Even the sparrow doesn't fall to the ground, apart from the will of your Father.  You think that bird that you saw on the side of the road there, God didn't know about it?  It was God's will that it died when it did.  Read Psalm 104, "When he takes away their breath, they die and return to the dust."  If a sparrow doesn't die apart from the will of your Father and it's sold for a couple of pennies, what about you?  He's been crafting your life, building it.  He's been crafting and shaping you and working with you. Do you think your death is going to slip by unnoticed?  He didn't notice that you got arrested.  He didn't notice that you're in big trouble, that you're on trial for your life, these things escaped his attention?  He knows, he's doing it, he's omnipotent, he's ruling over all things.  He didn't spare his own son, why would he spare you?  He's crafting through omnipotence and omniscience.  He says, "Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered."  He knows how many hairs I have on my head. Does he not measure out how many days you'll be languishing in prison?  He knows. He's not saying that you won't have to suffer.  He's just saying you won't have to suffer for nothing.  He'll pour you out but it'll be for a good end.  You will suffer, you may even die, but from your blood will spring up people for Christ.  It's going to be for a purpose.  That's what he's promising, not that you won't suffer but that you won't suffer in vain.

Finally, he points to rewards and punishments.  Eternity displays rewards and punishments.  In Matthew 10: 32 and 33, "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in Heaven, but whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven." Acknowledges means openly embraces, welcomes.  Are you willing to stand under the banner of Christ, to acknowledge him as your Lord and Savior?  Are you willing to go outside the city gate and stand under his cross and bear the reproach that he bore?  Are you willing to stand with Christ?  If so, he will stand with you and  as it says in Hebrews 2:11 he won't be ashamed to call you his brother.  He won't be ashamed to have you in his family. That's incredible to me, that he would not be ashamed of me.  What's incredible to Jesus is that we would be ashamed of him.  Therefore, he says, "If anyone is ashamed of me and of my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his Father's glory with his angels." [Mark 8] He says, "Listen, embrace me. Welcome me. Show yourself to be a Christian at great cost, and I will welcome you, but if you're ashamed of me, if you disown me, I will disown you." Some people say, “But what about Peter? Didn't he deny the Lord?"  People are very like, "How much denying can we do and still be a Christian?"  That's not really the right question to ask. Yes, it's possible to deny that you ever knew Christ and still end up in Heaven.  Peter did it, but what else did Peter do? Forty days later, where was he? Downtown Jerusalem. What was he doing?  Preaching the gospel. What was happening?  3,000 people were being saved. What happened in the end?  He was arrested and taken where he did not want to go, and church tradition said he was executed for Christ. He repented, and he was covered by the prayer of Christ his faith did not fail.

Acknowledge Christ. Don't be ashamed of him. Embrace him. What application can I take? This is very simple. Do you know anybody who needs the gospel? Are you going to see anybody? You , as a congregation, are going to interact with thousands of unbelievers this week. Will you confess Christ? Will you share the Gospel? Will you speak? Will you invite someone to church?   Will you say something for Christ? Will you reach out? 

We're looking this morning at one verse in particular. I felt convicted by the Lord to change my sermon this week, I'm going to be preaching the sermon that I had planned to preach after Friend Day, God willing. But this week, I felt that I wanted to concentrate on Verse 22. It's printed on the cover of your bulletin, and you can look at it there or in the text in your copy of Scripture, and Ralph just read it for us. But it says in the New International Version, "All men will hate you because of Me. But he who stands firm to the end will be saved." Now, one of my favorite stories, is a story of some freed slaves that became a fighting unit during the Civil War, and they were being trained and prepared as soldiers, but not many in the army really thought that they would ever fight. Didn't really think that they would ever see battle. And so there was a nonchalance to their preparation.

Yes, they got uniforms, yes they received rifles and ammunition. They received all the accoutrements that soldiers would receive, but there was really never a sense that they would actually be going into battle. And after they received their rifles, they were on the firing line and they were preparing and shooting those weapons, and it turned out that one of them had more skill than any of the others, and soon they gathered around to watch this one fire his weapon, and time and time again he hit the target. The colonel who was in charge of the unit had a different attitude than anyone else in the army, he was going to prepare these men for battle. And he'd already been through a number of battles, and had seen what it was all about. And when he came to the firing line, and saw the attitude with which these soldiers were carrying themselves, and specifically, the sergeant who should have been training them, he was appalled. This very gentleman came up to the soldier who was hitting the target time and time again, said, "You're a pretty good shot, aren't you? He said, "Yes sir, I am." And he said, "I want you to reload your weapon please." And back in those days, it was quite a procedure to load that weapon, took a while. But a good soldier could get off three shots in one minute. These men were not yet good soldiers. And so this man started loading his weapon, and this mild mannered colonel got near him and said, "Faster."

And so he got a little nervous because the tone of voice was so serious, and so he started to pick up the pace a little bit to tamp the thing down and get it ready, and he said, "Faster." And now he's really startled because this man had never spoken harshly before. And then he said, "Faster." And at this point he started to shake, and the colonel took out his side arm and fired it right near his ear yelling "Faster." And at that point, the man dropped his weapon and was totally paralyzed. And he said, "What do you think you're going to face and find in the battle field? What do you think is going to be like?" And then he turned to the drill instructor and said, "Prepare them properly sergeant." And he walked off. Now, I feel that I need to prepare us for what we are actually going to face according to Scripture.

We've been in kind of a Disney World's experience here as Christians in America. We've not really experienced the suffering and persecution, and opposition that many of our brothers and sisters in Christ face around the world. And so when it comes, we're going to be very much like that soldier who can hit the target when there's no stress, and no suffering, and no struggle of battle, but when the real test comes, will drop the weapon and be paralyzed not ready to perform. What would it be like for each one of us if the government here were similar to the government, let's say in China where you could not meet, except that you were afraid you'd be arrested and lose everything for simply worshipping, would you still come? Would you still come to church? 

Would you be willing to risk it all for Jesus Christ? And what if the choice were, your life or your faith? What then? What would you decide? If you could save your life by denying Christ, would you do it? Or would you persevere and stand firm to the end? And what does Jesus say concerning this matter? He says, "All men will hate you because of Me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved." It's an interesting verse when you think about it. In one sense it's a promise, in another sense a warning, isn't it? In one sense it's a dual promise with two edges to it. There's a promise that you'll be hated. Okay, that is a promise, you can see it. Look at the text, Verse 22, "All men will hate you because of Me." "Because of My name, because of your association with Me, you will be hated, you'll be rejected."

Who is He speaking to? Well, let's remember the context. It's Matthew Chapter 10, He's getting His apostles ready to go out from Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the ends of the earth to preach the Gospel to people. What kind of reception will they receive? Will they be welcomed? Will there be parades and celebrations? No, not at all. There'll be persecution, there'll be opposition, and difficulty. Jesus is getting them ready by telling the truth. And he says, he gives them a promise, and says, "You will be hated by all on account of Me." Now, this doesn't mean every single solitary human being will hate the messengers of the Gospel, or else there would be no Christians.

It's not that, it's just that you should expect opposition from any one of a number of sources. It could come from the lowest to the highest in society. Don't be shocked when it's your own mother or your own father. Don't be shocked when it's your best friend that you grew up with. Don't be shocked if it's a king, and don't be shocked if it's a servant or slave. "Don't be shocked because you'll be hated by all on account of Me." So that's the promise, that's the one side of the promise. But then He makes another promise, doesn't He? Look at the second half, "But he who stands firm to the end will be saved." That is a promise. Saved from what? Well, certainly, not saved from physical death, because He already said that they would be betrayed to death. So it's not going to be salvation from physical death, what then? Will save from hell, save from condemnation, save from damnation on that great final Judgment Day. So this is a wonderful promise, because anyone who can speak to me a word of promise that I will not have to go to hell, I want to listen to that. How much more if it's the Judge of all the earth, Jesus Himself, who sits on the throne and will judge every single solitary human being, including all of you who listen to me today, and the preacher too. All of us will stand before Him because He is the Judge of all the earth.

And if He tells me that there is a way of salvation, I want to know what that way is. But apparently, the way is not what we thought it was, okay, we thought it was one thing, but it actually ends up being very different. Jesus said, "You know the way to the place where I'm going." Does that not imply a journey? Does that not imply a traveling? Does that not imply that we're going to be moving from point A to point B, we're going to be journeying, we're going to be traveling?

Well, what is that way like? It's a way of suffering, a way of distress, a way of persecution and opposition, a way of trial and testing. That is God's way of salvation, and there is no other. But if you persevere in that, if you stand firm in that way to the end, you will be saved. You'll have eternal life, you need not fear for your sins, but you will most certainly be saved. So you can see it's a promise, it's a promise of persecution and opposition, but it's also a promise of life for those who stand firm. In what sense is it a warning? Well, do you not see the implicit warning? What if you don't stand firm to the end? What then? Well then, the clear indication is you will not be saved. And so this is a very serious text, and it bears our attention doesn't it?

During the time of the English Reformation, the reformation went back and forth. For a while it would advance, for a while it would retreat. It depended on who was sitting on the throne. At one point, Queen Mary took the throne, she was known as Bloody Mary, and martyred almost 300 English reformers. One of them was John Hooper. John Hooper was Bishop of Gloucester, and he was burned at the stake, February 9, 1555. All he had done was preach the Word of God. So the question comes to me, would you preach if you knew that you were going to get arrested and burned at the stake? Would you be faithful to the Scriptures? That's a serious question. Well, John Hooper was faithful to the Scriptures. He was arrested, and the night before he died, a friend came to see him, Sir Anthony Kingston. This is a man that he had led to Christ. He had led a dissolute, sexually immoral life, and John Hooper told him the truth, and said, "You're on your way to hell, and you must repent, and you must trust." Well, at first, this man was very offended, but you realize the kind of courage it would take to tell the truth to somebody who have been knighted by the king. And so he told him the truth, "Sir Anthony Kingston, you're on your way to hell." And he repented and trusted Christ.

Well now, the night before Hooper was going to die, Kingston visits him, and pleads with him to save his own life. He said, "Please, think of all the good things you could do. Think of all the other souls there are that you could save just by reaching out with the Gospel. If you could just somehow find a way to get past this, think of all the good service that would come." But there was no way, the Queen had ensured that there was no way. The only way he could save his life was by renouncing his doctrine which to him was tantamount to renouncing Christ Himself. He could not stand up and say the things he had taught plainly from Scripture were heresy, and so he had no choice. And this is what Sir Anthony said to him, he said, "Life is sweet and death is bitter." To which Hooper replied, "Yes, it is true, life is sweet and death is bitter, but eternal life is sweeter and eternal death more bitter." Now, was he wrong to say that what was standing before him was the fate of his own soul? Was he wrong to see it that way? I don't think so, because Jesus said, "He who stands firm to the end will be saved."

And so it was the next day, when they brought Hooper to the stake. First of all, he said to all the sheriffs, he said, "I notice all the weapons you brought." He spent the whole night in prayer, he was ready. He said, "You didn't need to come with all the weapons, I would have walked gladly at this point, this was the way of God for me." And when they said, "We'll bind you to the stake." He said, "It's not necessary," but they bound him anyway. And then at that moment, they brought him a box, and inside the box was, they told him, I don't know if it was really there, but they told him, inside the box was a signed pardon from Queen Mary herself if he would simply renounce his teachings. But sometimes it's trickery, you renounce and then you get burned anyway. But this is what his response was, he said, "If you love my soul, take it away. If you love my soul take that box away." Now, why so serious? Could he not somehow just find a way to compromise and still retain his hold on Christ? Answer, no.

And if you think what I'm saying isn't true, read it into the Book of Revelation. There will come a day when you'll be offered perhaps, if you're alive at that time, the mark of the beast, will you take it or not? It says that anyone who receives the mark of the beast burns forever in hell. And so basically it's the cost of martyrdom for salvation at that point. Now, there's all kinds of theological implication, will the rapture come? I'm not getting into that, I'm just saying, at that moment, the mark of the base will be presented, and in order to buy or sell, take part in society, you have to decide what you will do. Are you ready, are you prepared? 

There's a long and glorious history of martyrs in the church. And the thing that's so sweet, is if you're a Christian, these are your brothers and sisters. It's like you're in a noble, royal family of people who have stood firm for Christ. And if you're a genuine child of God this morning, you will too. Not one of them thought they could do it. You learned in Galatians this morning, many of you anyway, in our Sunday School, that if you are a child of God, you will have a supernatural birth, just like Isaac was born supernaturally. If you have that supernatural birth, you will survive anything that comes your way, you have received eternal life. Absolutely, you will survive. But those tests will come, and just as there is a long and glorious history of martyrs for Christ, there's a long and inglorious history of apostates too.

People who walked with Christ for a while, people who claimed to be Christians for a while, but they didn't stick with it, did they? You may even know some, wouldn't call them apostates, but that's what they are, they fell away, they stand away from Christ now. They do not claim to be Christians though they once made that claim. What happened? What is the issue there? And so, we're facing the catastrophe of falling away from Christ, we want to deal with that and try to understand it. We want to see the crisis in the text that brings it on, and that is earthly abuse and persecution. And we want to see the cure, and what is the cure? A living, daily faith. Walking with Jesus today, because today is all we ever have. If today you hear His voice, don't harden your hearts, Follow today. And so that's the sermon.

Let's look first at the catastrophe of falling away from Christ. What is this issue of a temporary Christian? Is there such a thing as a temporary Christian? Well, the Puritan start so. They called such a person, a Gospel hypocrite. A Gospel hypocrite is somebody who hears the word, responds to it in some way, make some outward profession of faith, but there's no genuine transformation, they've never really come to a saving faith in Christ. J.I. Packer said this about gospel hypocrites, "They are persons who have been told that they are Christians eternally secure, because they believe that Christ died for them, when their hearts are actually unchanged and they have no personal commitment to Christ at all." Now, the typical issue here is that there are earthly benefits for being a Christian. There are certain earthly things that come to you as a result of being a Christian. Such as what? Well, in earlier times, there was a king who offered a silver piece and a white robe to anybody who would convert. What a revival that day? Thousands coming to Christ. Well, I don't know, maybe some of them genuinely heard and believed the message that was preached if in fact the Gospel was preached that day. But if anyone tries to change the Gospel, Paul said in Galatians 1, may he be eternally condemned. So I don't know if the true Gospel was actually preached that day, but if it was, there's fruits. But I wonder about those "silver piece-linen Christians".

In early New England, if you weren't a member of the church, you couldn't vote in civic elections, you were not in effect, a member of the society. So you had to be a church member to be a full member of that community. Were there earthly benefits of that? Absolutely, there were benefits. Or in the Bible belt, maybe in the 1950s, perhaps if you weren't at First Baptist Church in whatever town, you weren't socially connected well, you see. You couldn't get those advantages. Anybody goes to that church. And so, there are earthly advantages and benefits that come from being in that particular church. Well, what when those things are stripped away? What when you lose the linen robe and the silver coin is taken away? What if your very life is threatened if you hold on to Christ, what then? There are other earthly benefits, sense of peace of mind, joy of fellowship, a full social calendar, in some cases, freedom from certain besetting sins, not from sin itself mind you, but certain besetting sins like alcoholism and other things, there's a certain amount of freedom that comes from that. Purpose in life, sense of the future, hope for the future, and all of these things. But when those benefits are stripped away, the joy in the Christian life is gone, and then the faith is severely tested to see if it's genuine or not.

Now, are there examples of these types of people from Scripture? Yes, there are. Jesus in Matthew 10 is speaking to the 12 apostles. 12 men heard him. 12 of them selected out to go and preach the Gospel. Did they go preach the Gospel? Most certainly, they did, they went and preached the kingdom, all 12 of them did. They saw great things happen, they saw demons being driven out. One of them was Judas Iscariot. Judas is a prime example of somebody who can fool anybody and everybody, but when the time comes, it's over. Judas, he's a very interesting guy. Jesus gave him charge of the money bag, remember? And so he's in charge of the money. And John gives us an insight into that whole process, he was secretly helping himself to it all along. Isn't that fascinating? You would say, then why in the world did Jesus give him charge of the money bag? Don't think it was because he was trying to urge him up to a higher standard, not at all, He knew very well that He had chosen the 12, and one of them was a devil. He had to do something to keep Judas interested. He had to do something to keep him tracking with the others, because the spiritual realities were not sufficient. And so he had the money bag. But I'll tell you what, when Mary broke a year's worth of wages and perfume on Jesus' feet, and Jesus defended her, that's it. In the accounts, in all the accounts that's when he went and sold Jesus, because the game's up.

If we're going to be pouring money out in the ground like that, I don't want any part of it. So he sold Jesus for 30-piece of silver, Judas Iscariot. What about Demas? 2 Timothy 4:10, it says, "Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica." What was in Thessalonica that was worth Demas' soul, I wonder that. The scripture doesn't tell us, but there must have been something very attractive in Thessalonica. Pre-deserted Paul having loved this world. And then in John 6, clearest example perhaps, of a mass defection, huge groups of people followed Jesus everywhere He went, what a show it was, it was better than PT Barnum, everywhere He went, He would do miracles, and things would happen, it would be exciting, and huge crowds there were all the time. Plus, there was physical benefits of healings, all kinds of things. And so there was a huge entourage. Jesus dealt with that one day, in John 6, it was the day after he fed the 5000. He said, "Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval." That's the Gospel. Well, then He gets into the doctrine of the Gospel. He speaks very seriously, He said, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." This is the Gospel. Well, they didn't understand this, "I am the bread of life." What do you mean you're the bread of life? He said, I'll make it even clearer for you. Jesus said that unless you eat his flesh and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Shocking words, winnowing words folks. Many people, many of his disciples, look at John 6:66 some time, not right now, but from this time, many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed Him. No longer followed Him. He turned to the 12, he said, "You don't want to leave too do you?" And Peter said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." Jesus responds, "Have I not chosen you, the 12, and one of you is the devil."

And so, there are examples from Scripture of this. You also know examples from your own life, don't you? Sadly of people that seem to be doing so very well in their Christian lives and now where are they? They're not doing well. There are also warning passages, look at Matthew 13, just turn over a page or two to Matthew 13, in the Parable of the Sower.

Jesus talks about a man who goes out to sow seed and as he's sowing the seed, some falls on the path, and the birds come and eat it up and some falls on the rocky soil, springs up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun comes up, the plants are scorched, because they have no root, they wither and die, and then some seed falls among the thorns, which grow up and choke the plants and some seed falls on good soil where it produces a crop, a 160 30 times what was sown. "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." Well, the disciples didn't know what it meant, and so they went to Jesus and talked to him about the parable. Now, look what He says specifically about the seed sown on rocky soil. Look at Matthew 13:20, "The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places, of the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy, but since he has no root he last only a short time, when trouble or persecution comes because of the word he quickly falls away." Now, if you tell me that there's no possibility of falling away, then what is he is talking about here, what is this? 

What Are They Falling Away From?

What I'm asking deeper is, "From what are they, falling?" That's what I'm asking. What are they falling away from? Are they falling away from that sovereign electing love of God that holds his own to the end? No, absolutely not, it's impossible. Then what are they falling away from? Their profession? Their outward statements of Christianity, they're falling away from it. Look at verse 20 again, it says they listen to the word and at once receive it… What? With joy. Do you realize how far that joy, that joy, will carry a person? A long way. A long way in the pseudo-Christian life. We're going to talk more about that in a minute. This is a warning passage, is it not? Turn over to Hebrews Chapter 6. Hebrews 6.

Hebrews is a severe warning epistle. Any of you who know anything about the book of Hebrews know how serious the warnings are in the Book of Hebrews. What is going on, what is happening? Well I'll tell you what's happening. What's happening is that these were Jewish people who had heard the gospel and had had a variety of responses. Many of them had professed faith in Christ. They had said that they were Christians, but then the heat of persecution was turned up. They started to lose their homes and businesses. Some of them started to get thrown in jail. It started to get very difficult to be a Christian. And at that particular moment, some of them started to slide back. To fall back, fall away, stop claiming to be Christian. And so the Book of Hebrews is written and so he's talking about that and look at 6:4 and following. He says, "It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned. Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case-- things that accompany salvation."

That is so important to me. It's the key to the entire text. But yet there is a genuine phenomenon being described in these verses. You can taste, you can experience, you can come, you can be part, and yet fall away from all of that. And then, a few chapters over Hebrews 10:26 and following.

"If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' and again, 'The Lord will judge his people.' It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.  Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved."

That is the title of my sermon folks. You need to persevere in the Christian life. It's not those who start but those who finish. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised. "For in just a very little while He who is coming will come and will not delay but my righteous one to live by faith, and if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed but of those who believe and are saved." Do you see this? We can't shrink back and be saved. Did Hooper see it right that day? Yes, he did. I can't turn away from Christ just like Polycarp said. "87 years I've served Him and He's never done me any wrong. How can I turn my back on Him?" Can't do it And if you're a genuine Christian, today, you won't be able to do it either. Doesn't matter what circumstance God puts you in. He will sustain you, and you know why? Because the thing that's new, that new creation existence. You didn't put it there anyway. He put it there and He will sustain it no matter what fiery trials, He brings you through. He will sustain it.

Common Problem: Period of Christian Behavior, Emotion Followed by Apostasy

There are other warning passages, but I'm going to pass on. The common problem here, is a period of Christian behavior, followed by apostasy. Emotion, followed by apostasy. The rocky soil, guy receives the Word with joy. He loves it, he thinks it's wonderful. The Hebrews 6 guy goes to all the services, sees the healings, experiences all that the Holy Spirit's doing. He's there. 1 Corinthians chapter 10 talks about people who went through, like the Israelites, the baptism and the Lord's supper, and all of the experiences, but their bodies are scattered throughout the desert. That's the Old Testament analogy is saying, that if you think you stand, take heed lest you fall. 1 Corinthians 10, another warning passage. Many of them. 2 Peter 2, if you receive the Word and then turn your back it'd be better if you'd never heard it than to receive the sacred command and turn your back on it. A view the proverb is true, "The dog returns to its vomit, and the sow that is wash goes back to her wallowing in the mud." The fact is, many warning passages, and a brief experience, a period of time, and then they turn away.

Now what happens? Well, these people have received some kind of inkling of the word, their consciences are pricked, they feel guilty for their sin, they begin to turn to Jesus a little bit, they have what William Perkins called, "Temporary faith." You say, "That doesn't make any sense."

Sure it does. There's demonic faith isn't there? It says, "I believe that there's one God and I shutter." There is dead faith. There may also be temporary faith, so they are responding to some spiritual realities but it's not saving faith. It's not a gift of God. And so they turn back. Zeal for a little while and, this is the really scary thing folks, there is no amount of Christian experience or time given in scripture for the seed in the rocky places. There's no time frame given. None at all. You could go on receiving the Word with joy for a long time. It's when the testing comes that we find out what it really is.

We find out what it really is. You might say to me, "Pastor. I thought you told us in Romans 8, 'Once saved, always saved.' I thought you told us in John 6, 'This is the will of him who sent me that I shall lose none of all that He has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will, is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life and I will raise them up at the last day.'" John 10. "No one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father who's given them to me is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand, I and my Father are one." Security of salvation. Yes but were you ever in the Father's hand? Were you ever there? And now we're getting to the issue of assurance. How can I know that I'm in the Father's hand? How can I know? And let me tell you something, assurance is not given to willful sinners.

People who consistently, day-after-day, turn their backs on Christ, listened to what I said now. Assurance isn't given to them. God doesn't assure those kind of people. What does he do to those kind of people? He warns them. Turn away from sin, turn back to Christ, follow in the way, and why? Because there is a journey to be traveled, there is a way to be traveled. And so He's not going to give assurance to people who are willfully walking away from God's way of salvation. There is no assurance for that kind of life. But what is it that produces this test? Well, it is suffering, it is earthly suffering. Do you realize that there is a time orientation of salvation? There's past salvation, present salvation, and future salvation. Past salvation, Ephesians 2, verse 8, "For by grace we have been saved through faith." Okay, that's past. We can look back and say, "I was saved that day." Alright, what about present salvation? Well, I hope for all of you that that's going on right now, because, "The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing but to we who are being saved," What do you think, "Are being saved," means? In the process of being saved. If you don't like that verse, how about Philippians chapter 2, verse 13, 12-13. It says that, "We should work out our salvation with fear and trembling." Why? Because it's God who sent us to will and to do, according to His good purpose. So we are called on to be being saved daily.

Maybe, you walked in here this morning with a sin habit that you're hiding from people. God knows. Do you realize the damage that sin habit can do to your soul? This message stands like the drill instructor and says, "Cut it out. Turn away from it. Let it go." Why damage your soul? And so we are being saved and in the future we will be saved. Will be saved. That's what our verse says, verse 22, "He who stands firm to the end," What? "Will be saved." Be saved from what? Well, same thing from Romans 5:9. What is Romans 5:9 say? "Since we have been justified through faith, how much more will we be saved from God's wrath through Him?" There is a day of God’s wrath coming. Do you want to be saved from it. Then walk with Christ. If today, not seven years ago, "If today you hear His voice, do not harden your heart." Track with Him. Follow Him. "My sheep hear my voice… I give them eternal life." "They track with me, they walk with me, day after day." I have no idea where I'm at in my outline, I really don't know. But I'm going to go right to the end here.

What is the cure? Well, there's so many things I could say, but I'm going to give you six quickly.

Fear: Fearing God More than Man

First of all, the cure for back sliding, turning away from Christ, first of all, is fear. I know you don't like that word, and you give me Romans 8, and say, "We're not a slave again to fear," but yet there is that fear and trembling with which we work out our salvation. Fear sin, fear of the world, the flesh, and the devil not that they will conquer you, but they can do unbelievable damage to you. But above all, fear God. Look at verse 28. "Do not fear those who kill the body and after that can do nothing to you. I'll tell you the one to fear, fear Him who after you have died has the power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you fear Him." Why do we care so much what people think? Did you invite your friend to friend day? Did you do it? Are you afraid what they might think? Can I ask you to be more afraid what God will think if you don't? Fear Him, not them. Besides what you might be an instrument in His hand to lead him to Christ. So fear him.

Understanding: There’s Nowhere Else to Go

Secondly, understand you have nowhere else to go. I want to give you a scenario. Let's say you were one of the eight souls on Noah's Ark. Halfway through your voyage, how's it going? Well, it's been dark, cold, rainy, the food is utterly miserable, and the work, you don't want to hear the kind of stuff we've been doing for these animals. Day after day, I have to do this. That's it. That is it. I've had it. I'm getting off.

Really, where're you going to go? Where're you going to go? There's no lifeboat on the Ark, no dingy and certainly no place to row to. Where're you going to go? The Ark represents salvation. Hooper knew it. I can't get off the Ark. It doesn't matter what happens to my body. I've got nowhere else to go. And if I turn my back on Christ, there's no other salvation, there's no other place to go. So I'm going to stay on the ark, no matter how much work I have to do, because this is the place of salvation. There is no other.

Warfare: Killing Sin, Advancing the Kingdom

Thirdly, warfare twofold. You have to put sin to death today. You have to put it to death. You have to kill it. Imagine if you would, that you're a soldier in a war, and you're up on a hill, and the enemy keeps coming at night, and it's end four straight nights now that they've come and command keeps radio-ing in saying, "You're going to be relieved very soon," But they don't come, and as the sun starts go down, you say, "I'm going to face another battle to night All night long, I have to fight. That is it. I'm not going to do it. I'm going to take the day off, the night off. I'm going to get myself a good night sleep, and in the morning I'll feel a little bit better and then if there's still some fighting be done, I'll get up and I'll fight." Well tonight you will die tonight you will die. Tonight you'll die. And I think we don't take soul matters spiritual matters, that seriously. Satan comes the devil on temptation comes and we think God's going to clean it up and the grace, and yes, all that, but yet God calls on you to fight, and if you do not by the Spirit put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will go to hell. You will die forever because that is the lifestyle of a Christian. A genuine Christian puts sin to death. Does that mean that they're sinless and perfect? No, not at all. Not one person in this room is sinless and perfect. But we put sin to death, daily by the power of the Spirit.

We fight to advance the Kingdom of God. Do you see the little cards in your bulletin? Where are they? Here's one. Friend day. Josh told me that a 1000 of these have been printed up. Okay. A thousand. One is in your bulletin, there are others at the door. He would like there to be none left at the end of Sunday morning worship. But I don't really think it's that important what Josh thinks as much as I love the brother, it's what God thinks. I think God thinks we should hand these out. God thinks that we should reach out with the Gospel and not just friend day because, that's going to come and go. In a daily ongoing sense, we're going to share the gospel and you know what that's going to buy us?  "All men will hate you because of me." It's going to bring persecution, but, "Be faithful to death and you'll receive the crown of life."

Expectation: Expecting Earthly Hardship

Fourthly, expectation. Can I ask you, what do you expect out of your life here in America? Do you expect ease and comfort? Are you ready for what's coming? Are you ready? Expect differently? Now, next time I preach, I'm going to be talking about how an eternal world view, eternal vision, casts out fear. We're going to talk about that next time, but what do you expect?

Discipline: Living to Please God

Fifthly, discipline. Daily disciplines, weekly disciplines. What daily disciplines? Prayer, Bible reading, putting sin to death, confessing sin when you stumble and fall. Daily disciplines, don't neglect them. Weekly disciplines. Being here for worship. You can't do without it, I can't do without it. We must be here week after week, to encourage one another in the faith. And then finally, if you find that today you are in a backslidden state, you feel like you're not close to Christ, you don't know whether you're Christian. If you find that you're an unbeliever and there's no doubt about it, all of us have the same remedy.

Faith: Daily Looking Unto Christ Alone

Look to Jesus, look to Christ, look to Him for you backslidden folks look to him again. For you, unbelieving folks up to this point, look to him anew, but look to Christ. Hebrews 12:2-3, "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…" and He will finish it. "The author and perfecter of our faith who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning at shame and sat down at the right hand of God." Jesus dead on the cross is your salvation. Jesus risen from the grave, He is your power. Look again to Him. Close with me in prayer.

Pastor Andy Davis preaches an expository sermon on Matthew 10:16-25. The main subject of the sermon is how the Kingdom of God grows by means of suffering.

Open your Bibles to Matthew Chapter 10. We'll be looking this morning at verses 16 through 25, as Jesus prepares his apostles for their mission. I think in this section of Matthew 10, it becomes clear that He's really preparing the whole church throughout all the ages for trouble ahead, the suffering that is indispensable to the advance of the Gospel. In the time that we're living in American history and world history, especially recently, over the last two years or so, we're starting to see more and more of an aggressive militant spirit among our Muslim neighbors, friends around the world. We're seeing Islam, I think, for what it really is. I know our president called Islam a religion of peace, but the fact of the matter is, both in precept and in history, Islam has advanced behind the curved scimitar, behind the aggressive militant “conversion or die' approach that Islam has always taken. From the very beginning, Islam advanced by the sword. There was a time when North Africa was the Bible belt of the world. That's where Augustine and Tertullian were, and many other heroes of the faith lived in North Africa. But about 100 years after Muhammad, Islam swept through behind the power of the sword and basically forced everyone who lived there to either convert or die.

That is one pattern or one example of a way that a religious kingdom can advance. Jesus gives us a different pattern here, doesn't he? He has given the apostles the approach that we are to advance the kingdom, not by causing suffering, but rather by being willing to suffer ourselves even at the point of death. Not that we would grab the sword and wield it, and we know that some have done that in Christ's name, but rather that we would humble ourselves below the sword and be willing to die, that the Gospel might advance. While we recognize that many Muslims are themselves peace-loving people, we see that that whole pattern of advance, that's so intrinsic to Islam must be rejected by Christians, because Jesus Christ has said, "Behold I'm sending you out like sheep among wolves." 

Jesus says, "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore, be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. But be on your guard against men, they will hand you over to the local councils and flog in their synagogues. On My account, you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time, you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of Me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. At the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household."

We see Jesus preparing the twelve apostles for a difficult mission, a mission in which he is going to be willing to pour out their lives, even to death. Now, what is the context of Matthew 10? We've seen throughout Matthew's Gospel the context is that of the advancing kingdom of heaven. “The kingdom of heaven is here," Jesus said. John the Baptist preached it, and then Jesus Himself said, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." The Gospel of Matthew is written to portray Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus Christ, as the King of the kingdom of heaven.  Matthew is seeking to give His credentials both in word and in deed, in genealogy and in his miracles. In one way after another, he brings out the evidence for how Jesus is truly the King of the kingdom of heaven.

At the end of all of that evidence, at the end of Matthew Chapter 9, we have a sense of Jesus' heart of compassion and the reason behind the advancing kingdom, what  He's seeking to do by the advancing kingdom of God. Above all things, He's seeking to advance for the glory of God and for the reputation of his name, but he has clearly in mind some loss sheep. He has clearly in mind people who are [Matthew 9],  “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." He calls his disciples around Him and He says, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out laborers into His harvest field."  He says that we need to pray, we need to ask the Lord of the harvest, so that there would be workers for this vast harvest of souls of lost people.

He's compared these lost people to harassed and helpless sheep. They're tormented in every way, tormented by their lives, tormented by demonic presence, tormented by temptation, tormented by sin and by fear of death, and ultimately, they may even be tormented by the wrath of God and hell. This is a terrifying situation. He has compassion on them, and he urges the disciples that they should pray for laborers. But it's not enough that we should simply pray, is it? It's not enough to say, "Well, I don't need to witness. I don't need to share the Gospel with a suitemate at college or with a co-worker or with a neighbor. I don't need to reach out to a relative who doesn't know the Lord. What I'm going to do is I'm going to pray, and I'm going to ask God to send somebody to go talk to them."  You know that's not going to work, because the Lord is going to lay that person on your heart so fully and so completely that you must go, you must say something. The twelve apostles are selected out, and Jesus gives them authority to drive out demons and evil spirits, and to proclaim the Gospel as they go out. The apostles were not the only ones that were to be sent out, but they were the forerunners and we're following in their lead. In Matthew 10 are his instructions to the twelve as they go out to preach the Gospel.

Now we come face-to-face with some of the difficulties. The twelve were sent out with a specific mission, and they're going to go out two by two, and they're going to go out for just a little while. After a little while, they're going to come back and get more training from their mentor and their instructor. But the words of Matthew 10 go well beyond that limited first mission, don't they? In verses 16 through 25, we see very, very clearly how these instructions were meant for all time, not just for that limited mission.  Jesus said in Verse 5, "Do not go among the Samaritans or enter any town of the Gentiles. Don't go among the Gentiles, stay away from them,” but here in this section, he says, "On My account, you'll be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles." Clearly, these instructions go well beyond this first moment, they go to the end of history.

 We're being prepared, we're being shaped and molded for a very challenging mission. We're being told that our lives are forfeit now that we're Christians. Isn't this ironic? He sees the lost people, He compares them to harassed and helpless sheep, and then he says, "I am sending you out like sheep to be surrounded by wolves."  Who are the wolves? Could it be that they're the harassed and helpless sheep who haven't come to Christ yet? Could it be that some of the greatest persecutors of Christians are those who are about to become Christians themselves? 

 I myself was a great persecutor of the person who led me to Christ. For over a year I was rude and unkind to Steve. He would come and sit next to me at a meal at our fraternity, and I would look at him and I would get up and take my plate and go to some other place. Then I'd come back and get my silverware, and then come back and... I probably took four trips and did it on purpose, to let him know I had no desire to sit next to him. Why? Because he was rude or vicious or unkind? No. Because he was telling me the truth, I needed a savior. For a year he was willing to lay down his life, metaphorically in one sense, to stand up to the kind of abuse that I was giving him.

 Jesus sends us out like sheep to be slaughtered in a sense. In Romans Chapter 8: 35-36, Jesus says, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: 'For your sake we face death all day long. We are considered as sheep for the slaughter.' Behold, I'm sending you out like sheep among wolves. The Greek is actually intensive in Verse 16. "I myself am sending you out that way. I'm sending you out to die."

How could that be loving? How could it be loving for Jesus to sit up there at the right hand of God Almighty and watch Stephen in Acts 7 be stoned to death? Actually, he was standing. Stephen says, "Look, I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. And at this his persecutors cover their ears, screamed at the top of their voices, and began to stone him to death." Right before they did that, they took off their outer cloaks and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul who was there giving approval to his death. They stoned him to death, and Stephen sank to his knees and said, "Lord Jesus, do not count the sin against them." He died very much like Jesus did when Jesus said, "Father forgive them, they don't know what they're doing."

How could Jesus, at the right hand of power, omnipotent power, not raise a finger to save Stephen? Why? Because he wanted  Saul of Tarsus converted, and he was willing to give Stephen up for that. Stephen was going to heaven. Jesus was standing to welcome Stephen, "precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." He's ready to take him in. But Saul of Tarsus’ heart is full of hatred against Christians and against Jesus Christ Himself, and he must be converted. That path is tortuous and difficult, and it involves the blood of martyrs, at least one martyr, Stephen. He's willing to pour out Stephen's blood so that Saul and others can be converted. Are you willing to have your blood poured out? Are you willing to be sent as a sheep to be surrounded by wolves? 

In this section, we see that the persecutors are government officials and the Sanhedrin.  Therefore we see an example of government gone demonic. The government was meant to be provider and protector. Instead, here in this section, it's persecutor and punisher.  Jesus says, "I'm sending you to be surrounded by ferocious wolves." Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, is it? It's against the rulers and authorities and powers of this dark world, and against spiritual force of evil in the heavenly realms. Yet they use, in so many cases, human governments and authorities to pour out Satan's hatred against the church. Jesus says, in Verse 17 and 18, “Be on your guard against men, they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. On My account, you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles."

Romans 13 portrays government as a good servant of God for the benefit of the people. It commands us to be subject, for the Lord's sake, to every authority instituted among men,  the governing authorities. "He is God's servant to do you good.” [Romans 13]  But Revelation 13 portrays government gone demonic, the beast from out of the sea, the anti-Christian government, and so it has been for twenty centuries of church history. It's first seen, I think, in the vicious attacks of the Jewish Sanhedrin and council against the early church. Then they hand the baton of persecution off to the Roman government, and so it has gone through generation after generation. We have a hard time accepting this because we live in a free country. We live in a free country, where government has not been, up to this point, a persecutor. It may not continue that way. But around the world, it is not so. In so many places government is the vicious demonic persecutor of the church. Perhaps one of the best examples of demon-possessed government is that of Adolf Hitler, who I believe was demon-possessed. His generals behind his back, mind you, called him"Teppichfresser," which means carpet chewer. From time to time, he would be so enraged that he would throw himself down on the carpet, rolling around, foaming at the mouth, and chewing the carpet. He did this in front of emissaries from other nations. The man was probably demon-possessed. Now, we know what he did to the Jews. We know about Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen, and all of these terrible concentration camps, but we also know that he was attacking the church as well. What is not so well known is that he intended, as soon as the war was won, to eradicate Christianity forever, to destroy it forever. He's a good example of the demon-possessed government leader.

But we've had this scene repeated again and again, the Godly, humble, meek sheep of a servant before the powerful demonic government council. It began, of course, with Christ before Pontius Pilot and with Peter and John before the Sanhedrin, then all the twelve apostles again before the Sanhedrin, and then Stephen, as we've mentioned, later Paul before Felix, and Agrippa. Again and again, the scene is repeated. Finally, Paul, before Caesar himself. And then on into church history.  There was Polycarp in Ephesus, standing up for the Gospel, even at age 87. And Jan Hus, in Bohemia, 1414, willing to seal his teaching in his final words, "I will seal my teaching with my blood."  Courageous. Martin Luther in 1415, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer before the German tribunal. Again and again, the servant of God has been called to stand before the earthly human tribunals and give account. What is the reason? He wants a witness.  He says, "as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles." He wants them to hear the Gospel, and He's willing to pour out your earthly life in order to get a good clear Gospel presentation out of you. He's willing to trade your earthly life for somebody else's immortal soul.

What are his marching orders? He calls on us to be shrewd, innocent, cautious and trusting. Look at Verse 16, he says, "Therefore, be a shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." In verse 17, however, he says, "Be on your guard against men." You’re going to have to be shrewd as a snake. That means a little bit tricky, a little bit wise. Ever heard of the story of the Roman Christians in the catacombs, and the fish symbol, they would trace half of it with their foot or their toe in the sand? If the other person was a Christian, they'd know to complete the curve, so that they would know that they were in the presence of another Christian. They were shrewd and they were careful. Why? So, they could maintain their earthly lives.  But meanwhile, they had to be harmless or innocent as doves, leading pure lives, with no hidden agenda, not insurrectionists or revolutionaries, but simply Christians living for the glory of God. They had to be cautious and guarded against their neighbors. Today, be careful about what you say. If you're living in a communist country today, perhaps like in China or some other place, you have to be so very, very careful whom you talk to and how you act.  Then Jesus says, "Be trusting."  Yes, be cautious and shrewd and careful, but be trusting in God." 

Look at Verse 19 and 20, "When they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time, it will be given you what to say, for it will not be you speaking but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you."   I want to clear away, for any of you that are in seminary preparing for the ministry, any misconceptions. This does not mean that you don't have to prepare sermons or study or read commentaries. You can go and take this verse right to your preaching professor and say, "I don't need to prepare because God is going to give me what to say at that time." The professor will tell you, "You know something, you haven't learned much from your New Testament interpretation class. You're ripping it out of context. I'm not a persecuting counsel. I'm a professor of homiletics at the seminary, and you will prepare your sermons." A preacher does need to rightly divide the word of truth, study diligently in order that they might rightly divide. That's not what it's talking about.  He's talking about when you are in the cell, waiting for your capital trial, you know that your head is on the line, and you don't know what to say, that the entire reason for you being there is your witness to the resurrection of Christ. You're afraid that at the last moment you're going to wimp out, you're not going to be able to give a good clear presentation of the Gospel. You know your weakness. Up until this point, you weren't even able to cross the street and witness to a neighbor. You weren't even able to say anything to a relative perhaps. But now you're arrested for your faith, will you at that moment be able to speak?  He said, "Don't be anxious ahead of time what you will say, because the Spirit of your Father will be speaking through you."  Some of the great moments in church history have been the statements made by people dying for Christ.  Like Perpetua, the Roman Christian who's in front of the Roman governor, and she's stating to him, "While I live, I shall defeat you. And after I die, I shall defeat you even more." You can't come up with that kind of thing. The Holy Spirit speaks that through you.  Jan Hus speaks, "I will seal my teaching with my blood." You can't generate that kind of courage. "Here I stand," said Martin Luther. Polycarp, "For 87 years, I've been a servant. He's never done me wrong, how can I turn my back on Him?" You can't write that out ahead of time. It's the Holy Spirit. He's not going to miss the significance of what's happened.

Second Timothy chapter 4 is the fulfillment of what's going on in Matthew 10. Jesus says, "On my account you'll be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles." Who is the king of the Gentiles back then? It is the Roman Emperor. The Roman Emperor therefore must hear the Gospel; Jesus mandated it. Who is the messenger who is going to bring that gospel message to the Roman Emperor?  It would be none other than Saul of Tarsus, who himself originally was a persecutor but converted by the power of God. In Acts 9,  Ananias was called to baptize Saul but didn't want to go because he feared arrest from Saul.  Jesus told him to go ahead and go. “This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." So Ananias complies; he goes and baptizes Saul of Tarsus, the Apostle Paul.

From the very beginning Paul was set on a mission that would end up in Rome, witnessing to Caesar.  At his trial in Palestine he says he appeals to Caesar because he’s a Roman citizen. As he's sailing across the Mediterranean there's a terrible storm,  and an angel appears to Paul and says, "Don't be afraid, you must stand before Caesar and I have graciously given you the lives of everyone else on the ship." It was all about the mission.  At the end of Ephesians 6, Paul says, "Pray for me that I might fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly as I should. Pray for me, pray that I might be bold and courageous, pray for me because I might not do it. At the last moment I might give in, cave in, I might not proclaim the gospel to Caesar so please pray for me.” [Ephesians 6]

 In 2nd Timothy 4: 16 , Paul says, ”At my first defense no one came to my support but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them." There is Paul all alone, all alone, or is he?  “The Lord stood at my side and gave me strength so that through me the message of the Gospel might be freely proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it”. Who is included in “all the Gentiles”?  Caesar himself. Paul then says, "And I was delivered from the lion's mouth." I do not believe that has to do with Paul's earthly physical life. What lion do you think Paul has in mind there? Some physical lion? No, he already knows he's going to die, he says, "I've fought the good fight, I finished the race, I kept the faith, I'm ready to go, ready to die." What is he talking about? He was delivered from Satan who wanted him to wimp out at the last moment and not proclaimed the Gospel to Caesar, but  Jesus stood at his side and gave him strength so that he didn't do it.  He proclaimed  the Gospel fully and boldly.   Do you look on yourself as a bold, courageous proclaimer of the Gospel?  Ask Jesus for help;  “He's the same yesterday, today and forever.”  Say, "Lord Jesus, you stood at Paul's side and gave him help, stand at my side and give me help. Help me to go across the street and say something to a neighbor. Help me to go across the office and say something to a co-worker, maybe even to a boss, help me to witness for you." The Lord stood at Paul's side and gave him strength. 

In Matthew 10 Jesus says, "You must be witnesses for me, for my sake, for my name's sake and I am going to speak through you." What is the cost of that witness?  It's going to be vicious and brutal through church history. This is not just theoretical death. This is actual physical death for many. Brother will betray brother to death and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. “All men will hate you because of me.”Do you still want to sign up? Do you still want to go? Betrayal. Do you know what the word betrayal means? It means somebody who was precious to you, somebody you loved, somebody that was close to you, a father, a mother, a son, a daughter, brother or sister, a good friend, they'll turn you in to death. This is going on in the Muslim world, did you know that? If you come to faith in Christ as a Muslim your family is under obligation to turn you into the Imam and have you killed, and it happens. They think they're saving your soul and you have to be courageous enough to face that betrayal to death. The cost is great, but you know the wonderful thing is that when you become a Christian you will enter into a whole new family. You've got new brothers, new sisters. There was a time when they came and said to Jesus, "Your mother and brothers are here." and he said, "Who were my mother, who is my brothers?" Pointing to his disciples he said, "Here are my brother and sister and mother for anyone who does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”  You've got a new family.  I'm not saying it doesn't hurt when your family rejects, it's difficult, it's hard. If your family is unbelieving and you try to lead them to Christ and they don't listen, it's hard, and for years you have to bear that burden. For years and it's painful and it hurts. Are you still willing to do it? Then Jesus says, "All men will hate you because of me." This is one of those times when the word “all” does not mean every single solitary person because there's going to be some people who will respond, who will love you, who will cherish you, who look on you as in the Book of Galatians, like an angel from God bringing the Gospel to you.What this does mean is that you'll be hated by all possible categories of people, even parents, even family members, even good friends, former friends. Lots of kinds of people will hate you.  Don't be shocked and don't be surprised. But Jesus  says, "He who stands firm to the end will be saved."

 It's not those who start, it's those who finish. It's not those who walked the isle and pray a prayer, it's those who live the life by the grace of God the entire life. Have you heard the martyr story of forty martyrs for Christ in Sebaste during the time of the Roman persecution? The Roman governor Licinius had determined to persecute Christians. The Thundering Legion, it was called was stationed at Sebaste and 40 men in that Thundering Legion were identified as Christians. The order went out that they should be executed by freezing to death on a frozen lake, they were stripped of all of their clothes, sent out in the middle of a frozen lake. Waiting nearby is a warm fire, bowl of stew, some warm clothes and full acceptance back into the Thundering Legion for any that turned back and came across that lake and renounced Christ. 

They began to sing, "O Lord, forty wrestlers have come forth to fight for Thee, Grant that forty wrestlers may gain the victory. Forty have begun; grant that forty will finish."  Through the bitterly cold night they kept singing; “Forty wrestlers have come forth to fight for Thee. Grant that forty wrestlers may gain the victory.”  Towards the end of the night one of them said, "That's it, I've had it." He crawls back to the Legion, he looks for that stew, that warm fire, he seeks to save his life and he is welcomed back, he's given clothes.  A Roman centurion saw him come back and he heard the few that were left still singing the song. “Forty wrestlers have come forth for thee. Grant that forty wrestlers may gain the victory” but there's only thirty-nine people out there now, so he went out, took off his clothes, went out there and joined them and died with them, fulfilling the prayer. "He who stands firm to the end will be saved." Persecution has the effect of weeding out false Christians from the church. It can be acceptable societally and culturally to be a Christian and then the church gets mixed, but when you have to pay for your life, for your Christian witness, then things get serious and the church gets weeded out.

You may think,  “I can't make it, I can't survive.”  Now you're getting back into that worrying that he told you not to do. If you are a true Christian, no one will be able to snatch you from Jesus' hand.  You will find not within you, but outside of you by faith the resources to meet that trial and you will most certainly stand firm to the end.  Hebrews 3:14, "We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end the confidence we had at first." And then he says, "When you are persecuted in one place flee to another, I tell you the truth you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes." The persecution is going to come. I know it's hard for you Americans to understand this, but the fact is it will come and what he says is, try to preserve your life, flee. Try to live as long as you can. For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I'm going to go on working in this body and it's fruitful labor for me, I want to keep doing that labor, so flee, try to save your life if you can.

Why does  it says, "Because you're not going to finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes." That's a difficult verse. I think basically what he's saying is there's always going to be more work to do. There's always going to be another city to go to. I [God] am the one who decides when it's over. I'm the one who says when you've done enough or when the work of the Church is finished. It was God's hand that shut Noah's Ark's door, sealing it off. God decides when the work is finished and he says there will still be work to do until the day the Son of Man comes. So keep going, keep ministering even to the end.

The final question I want to ask you today is what did you expect? Look at verse 24 and 25, "A student is not above his teacher nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household." What did you expect? How did they treat Christ? They called him Beelzebub, Lord of the Flies. They treated him shabbily and very soon after him saying this they would terminate his life with extreme prejudice, they would crucify him. And he says, “That's the best treatment because I'm the master of the household. How are they going to treat you? They're going to treat you worse. It is enough, however, for you in the end to be like me.”  What does it mean to be like Christ? He said, "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies it remains by itself a single seed, but if it dies it bears many seeds, much fruit."  You want to be like Christ? Die, die to yourself, die to your earthly ambitions.

Brothers and sisters, this gospel is a message that was born or birthed in blood, the blood of Jesus Christ. I wish I could look into your hearts today  and know which of you is on un-regenerated, which of you is not born again because you're still under the wrath of God. God has been keeping a careful record of all your sins and you've been storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath when his righteous judgment will be revealed. Don't leave today without trusting in Christ.

Secondly, this is a Gospel message which is borne or carried by blood as well. People who are willing to die for their faith.. The remaining bastions of unbelief, what the mission board calls the 1040 window, is the Muslim world, the communist-Chinese world, the Hindu-India world,  and it's not going to be taken easily. It's going to be taken by people who are willing to lay down their lives, all their possessions everything they own. “Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also, the body they may kill, God's truth abideth still, his kingdom is forever.”  People who are willing to live that out, those are the ones who are going to be able to crack those fortresses for Christ.  We have to be willing at least to do our part and to pray that we might be prepared for doing that.

Finally,  I want you to go out under marching orders and be willing to suffer. Don't expect an earthly comfortable existence. Don't be surprised when the liberal media portrays Christians as narrow and bigoted. Don't be surprised when you go across the office to witness to your boss, he rejects the Gospel and you get no raise next year. Don't be surprised when you try to share the gospel with your family member or a friend and they reject you. There's no government authority they'd turn you in to but they would if they could. That's the level of hatred. Don't be shocked, don't be surprised because that's how they treated your master, but are you willing to pay the price that some might be saved?  Commit yourself not just to pray for others as Matthew 9 notes, but to go and witness and invite them to come to worship.

One difficult aspect of the Christian life is putting all of our trust in God, and this sermon reminds us why it is important to do so.

Alright, we're going to do something a little different tonight. We finished the Elijah series last time. I'm going on vacation tomorrow morning, so I get one shot tonight to do something a little bit topical. That's true - strike that off the tape. But at any rate, we're going to be looking at the issue of reliance - on whom are you relying, who are you trusting in, or what are you trusting in - and I've given you a bizarre-looking little cartoonish sketch that I did at 5:20 this afternoon and ran off, only as an aid to help you in the things that I'm going to teach tonight. And I'd like to begin our journey in 2 Corinthians chapter 1. 2 Corinthians chapter 1, we're going to be looking together at the issue of trust and reliance, and we're gonna see as we begin just what a difficult issue it is to learn to completely trust in the Lord no matter what your circumstances are. That's very difficult, isn't it? And we're gonna see that, but we're gonna see how much God wants to work this in us, and how much it is connected to saving faith as well, it's really an extension of our justifying faith to learn to rely on God in any and every situation.

Now, in 2 Corinthians chapter 1, Paul is writing to the Corinthians and speaking to them about comfort. He calls God the God of all comfort. We're gonna begin at verse 3, and he says, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we may comfort those in any trouble with a comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort." Verse 8, "We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many." We're gonna stop there.

Now, Paul, he's writing to the Corinthians about the issue of comfort in the midst of suffering. Now, he's not talking here about what we think of when we think of comfort, like a comfortable chair, or a comfortable house, or a comfortable car, or a comfortable lifestyle. I would think these things are not in his mind at all and actually might be an enemy of the very thing he's talking about. But he's talking about something else, a kind of consolation or a comforting that comes through the comforter - I think, through the Holy Spirit in the midst of suffering, earthly suffering - that causes us to elevate our eyes off of our immediate circumstances and put them up where they belong in the heavenly realms. As it says in Colossians 3, "Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." So that's what I think is the comfort that he has in mind.

And he calls God the God of all comfort, and he is indeed the God of all comfort, of the kind of comfort or consolation that I just refer to, God alone is the author, there's no other source of it. But yet it seems that he mediates it through us, and so that as we go through suffering, as we go through difficulties and we find God faithful in them, we have a story to tell, don't we? We have something we can share, a testimony, and we can bring that experience right to bear in the life of somebody who's going through something similar. It's never exactly the same, and we know that, but it's something similar, and we can say, “I wanna tell you what God did for me in a similar situation,” and then you can share that comfort.

And he says that we go through these sufferings, we go through this comfort so that we can comfort others with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. And isn't that just like the Lord? He desires to bless us, he desires to give us good things, but he never wants us to lock it up for ourselves. He always wants us to take the blessing that we have received by grace and then just shed it abroad that we might pour it out on anyone that we could meet. Because it's really God's, isn't it? And so we can share it with all of God's people. And so that really, Paul says, is a reason for the suffering, a reason for the trial so that he might have a story to tell, he might have a word of encouragement that has some meat behind it, some actual history, because our God is a God of history, isn't he? And so, I actually went through this; I remember five years ago, and God did such and such for me, and so we have a story, it's not just theoretical, but it's a testimony, and so God brings us through sufferings so that we can encourage and comfort each other. And doesn't that bind us together? Doesn't that bind us together as we go through things together? Isn't that the purpose of the church? I know somebody who's very dear to me going through a very difficult time, does not have the resources of the church, does not have the resources. That person's alone, facing it alone, does not have the Scriptures, does not have the in-dwelling Holy Spirit. And how can they face that suffering? But we have the consolations of God, don't we? We have the Scriptures, we have the promises of God, we have the indwelling Holy Spirit, but we also have each other, brothers and sisters, who then bring to us testimonies of God's faithfulness and of comfort so that we can be encouraged. We need to do that for each other, don't we? We can't hold our stories back, we need to find out what's happening in each other's lives and then bring a word of comfort and consolation. You should come here on Sundays and be built up. You should come here on Sundays and be strengthened and encouraged so that you can face what you're facing, because your brothers and sisters brought to you the comfort of Christ, and that's what he's dealing with here.

 But now I wanna zero in on something in the second paragraph, he says in verse 8, "We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia." Now, I wanna stop and comment about this. I know people who never want anybody to be uninformed about the hardships they go through, but not for the reason Paul had in mind. Do you know the kind of person I'm talking about? You might call them whiners, complainers. Is Paul being a whiner here? Is he being a complainer? I don't think so, not at all. But these are the kind of people that just wanna share the misery. It's not got anything to do with the kind of spiritual ministry that Paul has in mind here, but instead they're complaining, they're whining. And complaining is a great sin, isn't it? I think we underestimate it, it is anti-praise. It's the exact opposite of praise. God sent poisonous snakes once when the people complained about the food. Okay? Let's keep that in mind, that's what God thinks about complaining, and he has never changed. So any of you kids here who don't like what you had for dinner tonight, keep that in mind. But the fact of the matter is, God hates complaining. Alright? But that's not what Paul is about here, is he? He's not saying, I don't want you to be uninformed about the hardships I went through so that you can commiserate and old pal. What a tough thing you're going through. It's not that at all.

He said, I want you to know what we went through so that you can be encouraged by what God did, and also so that you can in effect buy stock in the company of my life, so that when it comes out well, you can rejoice and give thanks to God because you bought shares in it through your prayer. I really look on prayer that way, I'm buying shares in this people group, that when they come to Christ, I get to rejoice and thank God. I'm buying shares in somebody else's cancer treatment so that when they're healed, I can rejoice with the kind of joy that I wouldn't have had if I hadn't prayed. Actually, numerous times recently I've seen God do something very encouraging to me and regret that I didn't pray about it. Isn't that weird? It already happened, I already had the good thing, but I missed the blessing of remembering a specific time when I asked for it so that I could go back and say thank you for answering my prayer. I leaned on his providential care, he did care for me, but I didn't get the full blessing 'cause I didn't pray about it, you see? So, it is with each other, and so he says at the end, he says in verse 11, "Then many will give thanks," he says, "…as you help us by your prayers," as you take shares in our situation through your prayers, then as a result of that, many will give thanks, not just a few, many will give thanks. For what? Well, for the gracious favor granted to us in answer to the prayers of many. You see how it works? God should be thanked a lot for the good thing he's doing for me, you see? And so we take shares in each other, that's why we should pray for each other a lot, so that we can just have incredible celebrations, giving thanks all the time for his faithfulness.

But he says, "I don't want you to be uninformed about what we went through." What did he go through? My goodness. You read the life of Paul out of the Book of Acts, it's incredible. I don't know how anybody could survive or sustain that level of ministry, that kind of stress. If you think you have stress in your life, read with the kinds of things that Paul went through. I mean, basically, city after city, there would be a mob riot scene of people wanting to kill him. Now, I don't know how that strikes you, and you may think you know, yeah, but I've got car trouble, okay? Or, I'm struggling with my employment situation. Or, I've got - and I'm not trying to minimize those things, but think about it just in an absolute scale, everywhere that this man went, he had mortal enemies. And that's what he's talking about here. Do you see that?  

He said, "You know, we were under great pressure far beyond our ability to endure…" I get the feeling of being like in a monstrous trash compactor and the walls are just coming in and you think you're gonna get crushed. We are absolutely overwhelmed by this trial, and as a matter of fact, we passed the death sentence on ourselves, 100% convinced we were going to die. No question about it. Now, you might say, What's that to Paul? He's convinced that he's going to go to heaven, but we're still human beings and to go through that process, there's still fear, there's still suffering, there's still the anticipation of what that's going to be like, there's the grief and the sadness that comes with death. It's strange not to grieve over death, it's not Christian actually. Jesus wept at Lazarus' tomb, and so he felt as though he were under great pressure, and he says, "We," so it was a group of people that were together.

And so he says, "We were under great pressure far beyond our ability to endure." And that's a key to what he's learning here. So that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But here's the key, this happened so that, or that. Now, stop right there. That's the difference between a Christian and a non-Christian. The stuff that happens in your life that is so hard for you, it's happening to them too. Do you realize that? They're going through that too. It's common to the age we live in. Unemployment, physical sufferings, disease, death, all kinds of things, economic difficulties, all of these things are common to this present world age and everybody goes through them. The difference between a Christian and non-Christian is that there's a purpose behind Christian suffering. This happened "So that," says Paul. You see that, there's a reason for it. Okay, Paul, what was the reason? "So that we might no longer rely on ourselves, but on God who raises the dead." And that's incredible.

Paul was a PhD in the Christian life. You know what I'm saying? Absolute advanced, super Christian. And he's having to learn the lesson of no longer relying on himself, but on God. What does that tell you about human nature? What does it tell you about your own heart? Your own heart is a very grabby thing that's constantly wanting to fold in on itself and focus on itself, and the exact opposite of that is faith or trust, reliance in God. So, take out my quirky, bizarre-looking cartoonish drawing and look at it. On whom are you relying? This is the issue that Paul's dealing with here. I went through this suffering, says Paul, so that I might learn something. What would I learn? Not to rely on myself anymore. Paul, do you tend to rely on yourself? Oh, yes, I do. All the time. Yeah, if any of you are missing any, there's some of them upfront. Does anyone need one? Okay, look on. Okay.

Alright, so on whom are you relying? Paul was saying, I tend to rely on myself, and so I had to go through a situation which was so severe that I looked to God who could raise the dead. So, how does it work? You see this precarious situation, don't you? You see it, it's a hell with a slope going down to the left and down to the right, and on the top there's a little ball. That's very precarious, isn't it? Meanwhile, I know you can't tell, but if this were animated, you see that the whole thing is kind of trembling all the time shaking. You see that? Tremors of life. I know you can't read my writing. I was so convicted by Don Whitney, he has an incredibly beautiful handwriting, like calligraphy. He said it's just a 15-minute course that I took and I was like, not 15 minutes for me, it's 15 lifetimes before I can write neatly. But anyway, this thing is shaking. Alright? That is life. Is your life perfectly stable and placid? No, it's shaking, you see? And what's going to happen to that ball? Well, it's going to roll down on one side or the other, and there's a pull like gravity down called sin. And what's the down area? Self-focus. You see what I'm saying? Self-focus. I will not say self-reliance, but rather self-focused because you can come down on the left-hand side, negative, or you can come down on the positive side, positive.

So what happens? You face a situation in your life, like Paul did. You see? You appraise or assess yourself in terms of your ability to meet that certain circumstance. You look inward, maybe it's financial, you go check the bank book. Maybe it's physical, and you check with your doctor or with yourself to see if you're in good health, you think about certain things inwardly. You're looking inward for every situation. Relational difficulties. You say, “Well, I'm a friendly person, or maybe I can do this or that.” There's a focus, you're looking inward. Now, as you face the circumstance, you can and you appraise yourself, you can either come up negative or positive. You can assess your circumstance, looking inward and say, I don't have what it takes. This is too hard for me.

Now you're gonna start going down this side, the negative side, and you're gonna start rolling down. The absolute bottom of that is the D word. Right in the word despair. Do you see that? That's the bottom of that journey. You end up in despair. Now, what is despair? Despair is the extreme version of self-focus and negative appraisal of your ability to meet your circumstances. It's the extreme version of that. You're focused on yourself, you're facing circumstances, you do not have what it takes to match it, and you go into despair. You see what I'm saying? Negative side.

Conversely, you're facing circumstances, you look inward and you come up, thumbs up, you're smart, you're able, you're rich, you're capable, all of the things. The ultimate extreme of that is the A word, arrogance. And the fact of the matter is, despair and arrogance are two sides of the same coin, they really are. It just happens to be whether you think you have the resources to meet your circumstance or not. Both of them are opposite of faith, they're opposite of trust in God, reliance in God. You see what I'm talking about?

Now, I was thinking about the situation, and I was reading through the Book of Deuteronomy, and I found in one passage both sides of the same coin. Look at Deuteronomy chapter 1 and you'll see what I mean. Deuteronomy chapter 1, the circumstance is right before Israel enters the Promised Land, Moses is giving them a second hearing of the law, a second reading or giving of the law - that's what the word Deuteronomy means in Latin, it's a second law giving. And so he's going over their history. Now, this is after 40 years of wandering in the desert. It's not in one sense meant to be originally, they were to go quickly through the desert after receiving the Ten Commandments and go right on into the Promised Land, but something happened. You remember, they approached the river the first time, 40 years before that, and they sent out 12 spies. You remember this? And the spies went out and scoped out the land, brought back a big cluster of grapes and just came back with a report that the land is incredibly rich. It's a good land, a land flowing with milk and honey. But they had a different opinion about their future in the land. Two of them, Joshua and Caleb, were focused on God. They were looking to God, and to his power, and to his promises, and to his faithfulness, and to what God was intending to do, and what was his purpose in taking them out of Egypt with a mighty hand, an outstretched arm. It was to bring them into this land, and they said, God will give us victory over our enemies, but the other 10 represented unbelief and in my opinion, self-focus.

Now, Moses is rehearsing this history with them in Deuteronomy chapter 1, he's going over it again. So they came back. Look at verse 25, Deuteronomy 1:25, it says, "Taking with them some of the fruit of the land," they, we're talking about the spies now, "brought it down to us and reported, 'It is a good land that the Lord our God is giving us.'" "But…" verse 26, oh, what a tragic word. "But you were unwilling to go up; you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. You grumbled in your tents and said, 'The Lord hates us. So he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us. Where can we go? Our brothers have made us,'" listen, "'lose heart.'" Where does that fit in my cartoonish diagram? That's despair, isn't it? Or at least heading that way. They have lost heart, they are overwhelmed with the situation, they have lost heart. They say, The people are stronger and taller than we are. The cities are large with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there. And so, they're looking inward, aren't they? And how do they come out in their assessment of their facing of circumstances? They come out thumbs down, don't they? They're on the negative side.

Look for a minute, keep your finger in Deuteronomy 1, but go back to Numbers 13:33. This is when they came back and reported. In Numbers 13, let's say 31 through 33. Let's read that section. Numbers 13:31-33, "But the men who had gone up with him, Caleb, said, 'We can't attack those people, they are stronger than we are.' And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land." Isn't that something? They spread a bad report about the land that they had explored. "They said 'The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size.'" Verse 33, "'We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak came from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we look the same to them.'" Do you see that? We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes. Where is their focus? Where are they looking at? They're looking at themselves and the circumstances, and so they seem like nothing to themselves. You know what I'm talking about? They're looking inward and they come up negative.

Who are Joshua and Caleb looking to? Well, look back at Deuteronomy 1 after the grasshopper quote. Deuteronomy 1:29, "Then I," this is Moses, "said to you, 'Do not be terrified, do not be afraid of them. The Lord your God…'" stop right there. Oh, yeah, him. You see? "'The Lord your God who is going before you will fight for you as he did for you in Egypt before your very eyes and in the desert. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you as a father carries his son all the way he went until you reached this place.'" So he says, remember, this is Moses, but Joshua and Caleb were saying the same thing, We can do it with God's strength. God will empower us, he will go before us. And Moses said, He carried you. He carried you.

Now, I want to stop for a moment and say - look at the comfort and the consolation that God does not give them at this moment. He doesn't say, “You folks are suffering from poor self-esteem.” Let me tell you how great you are. Sit down and let me give you some words of encouragement concerning how great you are. You don't really know what good fighters you really are, and he pumps them up, builds them up. Do you see God ever doing that kind of thing? Do you remember when Moses was afraid to go and speak to Pharaoh? And Moses' focus was where? On himself. He said, I've never been good at speaking, God. And all these excuses are coming out of his own self-weakness. You remember what God said to Moses? He didn't say, Moses, you don't know who you are. You don't know just how great you are, you've been specially trained for this mission. You are the man, Moses. Does he ever say that? He says, No, I will be with you. You frankly assess yourself even now, still too highly, actually. Still too highly. But the fact of the matter is, you're irrelevant in this matter; I will be with you. It's kind of like the Israelites were a couple of ounce weight and the Anakites, 20-ounce weight, and God, an 80-million-ton weight and whatever side he's on is the issue. You see what I'm saying? It doesn't really matter whether Moses is a good speaker or poor speaker, whether they were good fighters or not good fighters, whether the Anakites were big people or had walls up to the sky, none of that mattered. The only thing that matter is what was God's will in this matter? What was he doing here? But they could not, they would not believe in him, they didn't trust in him, they didn't fill their minds with the concept, our God is a mighty God, our God created heaven and earth. He can do anything. They didn't do that, and so they focused inward.

Verse 32 of Deuteronomy 1, "In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God, who went ahead of you on your journey in fire by night and a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way that you should go." I was carrying you, like a father carries his son. That's not self-esteem language, folks. That's, “You're weak, I'm strong, I'll carry you,” language. Do you see it? But they weren't seeing it properly, and so verse 34, "When the Lord heard what you said, he was angry and solemnly swore, not a man of this evil generation shall see the good land I swore to your forefathers to give to them except Caleb, son of Jephunneh. He will see it, I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on because he followed the Lord wholeheartedly." That is a very serious moment at redemptive history. He says this whole generation will perish in the desert, except Joshua and Caleb - and he mentions Joshua next in verse 37-38.  He says, "Because of you, the Lord also became angry with me, and he said, 'You shall not enter it either, but your assistant Joshua, son of Nun, will enter it. Encourage him because he will lead it,'" etcetera. Joshua and Caleb, because they believe, because they trust, they will go in, but none of you will.

Now, we go to the other side. We flip to the other side. Look at verse 41, "Then you replied, 'We have sinned against the Lord.'" Too late. But that's what they said, "'We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight as the Lord our God commanded us.' so everyone of you put on his weapons, thinking it easy to go up into the hill country." Do you see what's going on there? Who are they focused on now? Themselves still. But now they're on the other side of the chart. Oh, we changed our mind. We can do it. They're pumping each other up, they're pumping - put on your weapons, let's go, we can do it, we can do it. And so they put on their weapons, thinking it easy to go up into the hill country, but the Lord said to me, Tell them do not go up and fight because I will not be with you. I am the 80 million ton weight, and I'm not on your side now. I'm telling you don't go. And so if you go, you'll be fighting not only the Anakites but me. You will fail. You see? "So I told you, but you would not listen. You rebelled against the Lord's command, and in your arrogance," you see that? We've gone from despair to arrogance, and "…in your arrogance, you marched up to the hill country, the Amorites who lived in those hills came out against you and they chased you like a swarm of bees, and beat you down from Seir all the way to Hormah. You came back and wept before the Lord, but he paid no attention to your weeping and turned a deaf ear to you. And so you stayed in Kadesh many days - all the time you spent there."

Now, that's a tragic story, but it's two sides of the same coin. Do you see it? It's just two sides of the same coin. It's despair on one side and arrogance on the other, and there are stepping stones to that, like short of despair, you have anxiety, for example, maybe or fear, there are some other things, and there's steps short of arrogance too. But the fact of the matter is, God does not want you to look to yourself at all, he wants you to look to God, to the God, what Paul says in 2 Corinthians, "…who raises the dead." You're trusting him for a resurrection, aren't you? Can you do that? No. And so he says, Focus on God. On whom are you trusting? Are you trusting in God? Are you trusting in yourself?

Now, I've thought much about this diagram and I started to realize that you can see some key people in Israel's history here too. For example, when Jesus came, you had two categories of people that were on opposite sides. You had on the one side, the sinners. Remember? Tax collectors and sinners? And on the other side, you had the Pharisees. Now, where do the sinners come up on this chart? They look to God's law. And do they think they can make it? Do they think they can keep God's law? No, they can't, and so they entirely give up on trying. It's called despair, they're not trying even to live an outwardly moral life, they're openly debauched really, they're given up entirely. And you will meet people like that in your witness, won't you? People who just think that there's no way that God could forgive them and so they're not really even trying. You see? On the other side, you've got the Pharisees, they look to God's law, and do they think they can keep it? Oh, yeah, they really do actually. "All these I have kept since my childhood," they would say. Arrogance. Neither one leads to heaven. Neither one, neither despair nor arrogance, but only trust in the Lord.

Now, one final thing. As you look at that, okay, you say that is very precarious. Is it like that all my life long? Don't you know people that just seem to keep trusting in God no matter what happens? There are actually people like that. I think Paul was much further along in that after the trials he went through than before, and as a matter of fact, that's exactly what the trials are for, to teach you through God's history of faithfulness to you to stop fussing the next time the new trial comes, you start to remember God's faithfulness and all that he did for you, and you'd trust him. And so, the thing gets a little weird looking there, you see the bottom half? Spiritual maturity? So that when it's shaking, you're staying essentially in the center of your walk with God, essentially you are trusting in him all the time, essentially looking to him. Faithful he is to his promises, trusting in him all the time. And that's where we wanna be.

Now, the fact is, how do you go from here to here? Well, you go through hard times. These things happen so that we might no longer rely on ourselves, but on God who raises the dead. And so therefore, count it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must dip your little mountain here at the top so that you will be mature and complete, not lacking anything, stayed on Jehovah, stayed on God all the time, no matter what you go through. Encourage one another to be in the middle. Find a weak brother or sister and encourage them to trust in God, encourage them, strengthen feeble knees and weak arms, it says. Strengthen them, find each other in weakness and say, Brother, sister, what are you going through? Tell me so I can pray. And then exhort them to trust in a God who raises the dead.

Pastor Andy Davis preaches an expository sermon on portions of 1 & 2 Kings. The main subjects of the sermon are the lessons we can learn from the life of Elijah.

Now we're going to look to scripture and I'd like to finish up our study in the life of Elijah, and I was contemplating going on to something different at this point, but I just thought, you know, we've been through a lot of different messages in the life of Elijah and I thought it would be of some benefit to go back and to just summarize and to look and probably draw out some lessons from the life of Elijah and also see Elijah in prophetic perspective, also the connection over into the New Testament. So, that's what we're going to do with our time. And it was just incredible for me to look over just the events of this man's life. What an incredible life when you stop and think about it. He appears out of nowhere to the mighty king, Ahab, the wicked king, and says, "As the Lord lives, as surely as the Lord lives, there'll be neither rain nor dew except at my word," and then he disappears. Now, incredible boldness, out of nowhere appears, and you know that before that there had been preparation, prayer, he's praying back the covenant of Moses back to God in which God had promised to do this very thing in which He said, "I'll turn the sky above you bronze and the ground beneath you will be iron if you break my covenant." In other words, that's a clear prophecy of drought and of famine, and Elijah prayed for it to happen. What an incredible man of God this was. But he prayed earnestly it says in the book of James that it would not rain, and it didn't, and all of this for the glory of God.

And then he is led by God to the brook, Cherith, where he is provided for with ravens as they bring him little bits of food and a little bit at a time, a little bit at a time. How much can a raven carry? I don't think that they could get the whole meal all at once, but little at a time, and that's just a picture of God's faithful provision to his prophet. And what did he do all the time before the brook dried up? He must have been praying and seeking the face of God and earnestly praying for his people. And then the brook dried up and God led him to a widow at Zarephath, and he had to travel across a desert, just by faith that there'd be somebody there to provide for him. “I have commanded someone to care for you.” And he goes and sees a woman collecting sticks, you remember? And he goes up and says, "Can you give me a little something to drink?" And that was like gold, I'm sure at that point, but she managed to find him a little drink and then he said, "Would you mind baking me a cake?" And she said, "You don't understand. We have a tiny bit of flour and a little bit of oil left. I was going to bake some cakes for my son and for me and then we were going to die." In other words, there's nothing left after that, and it's all gone. Everybody around us is starving. And he said, "Please bake the cake for me anyway and God will provide." And so, the woman shows her faith, does it, and then God provides. Day by day, little bit at a time, just enough flour, just enough oil, just enough day after day to eat and to stay alive.

Meanwhile, what did he do the whole time? I'm thinking about Elijah's life. It doesn't say much. I don't know if he was a reader or what he did with all his time. I figure he couldn't go out of doors much because that was Jezebel's home area, and so, he was in hiding, and so, he must have just been spending his time as a man of God in prayer for his people. Incredible development of his spiritual life, but he's praying and seeking God. Of course, you remember that the widow's son dies at one point and she's very distraught and very insulting to the prophet and says, "You've come to bring trouble on us," and he prays that God would raise this little boy from the dead, and God does raise him from the dead. What an incredible thing that God would raise the dead at the word of a man, and so, he does. And then after that, God leads him and specifically says, "Go back, I want you to confront Ahab," and he goes back and he meets up with a servant of God named Obadiah. You remember that Obadiah was a man who had hid some prophets of the Lord when Jezebel was slaughtering all the prophets of the Lord. Obadiah hid some in a cave and he brings that as his calling card, his credentials, and said, "Have you heard what I did?" And he doesn't seem to give him much of the time of day, but at any rate, he says, "Go and tell Ahab that I'm here," and so, the interaction comes and he says, "I want you to assemble all of Israel at Mount Carmel. We're going to see who really is God."

And so, the boldness of Elijah, the courage, the power, and the confidence to confront this wicked king. I mean, Ahab wanted to kill him, no doubt about it. He calls him the troubler of Israel. “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?” And yet he obeys Elijah because of the commanding presence. The Spirit of the Lord was on this man, Elijah, and so, they assembled all of Israel there. I don’t know that every single solitary Israelite was there, but certainly all the leaders and the key people were there to witness this spectacle. By the way, our God is a God of spectacle, isn't he? He's a spectacular God. The heavens proclaim the works of his hands and the skies declare the glory of God. They pour forth speech day after day. Incredible display of the glory of God. God is not shy or bashful about his glory. Not at all. But he displays his splendor and his glory. And why? Because he's on some kind of an ego trip? Not at all. But so that you might call on the name of the Lord and be saved, because that great, lofty, majestic name of God saves you from your sins. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, and so, God has built up through his events, through his historical acts, he has built up a reputation of great and majestic deeds.

And Mount Carmel stands like a crown jewel, doesn't it? What God did that day in front of all Israel through this one single man and there's 450 prophets of Baal standing there, and you remember there were two sacrifices, one alter to Baal and an altered to Yahweh, and this is the whole problem, isn't it, with Israel, the syncretism, the mixing together of true and false religion. Not the abandonment of Yahweh. Not the abandonment of the worship of the true God, but a mingling and a mixing together. We must watch out for this all the time. Do you see that pressure in our culture to accept other faiths? Do you see that? Do you feel the pressure that we just, yes, Jesus, but also Buddha, but also Muhammad, but also some other way. Everybody's way to God is acceptable. Won't you just say it and then we'll accept yours as well and we'll have a blended religion that's acceptable. It is not that way. There is one God and there is only one God. And there's only one way to God, Jesus Christ. And so, it is that there can't be this mixture. But there are these two altars, one to Baal and one to Yahweh. Of course, the altar to Baal stood quiet and silent that day because there is no Baal. There's truly no god there. There's a demonic presence behind him. But he was silent that day. Whatever demon's impersonating Baal. He was not permitted to do a thing. You have to wonder what was going on in the angelic realm at that moment. Do you wonder what kind of restraining forces? Oh, how those demons would love to have just lit that thing on fire, but God would not permit it because they're just lackeys. They're just under the power of God. They can't do anything except that God permits. We see that from the book of Job.

And so, this contest, they are just chanting and they're calling out to Baal and nothing comes of it. For hours they do this. And then quietly Elijah says, "Pour water on the sacrifice. Do it again. Do it again until there's water everywhere," and then he prays humbly and simply, and he says in effect, "God, glorify your name that all Israel may know that you are God." Simple prayer. Nothing in the words. It was all in the heart and in what he asked him to do. It wasn't some magic formula. There was no effort involved. He just simply prayed by faith, and we know that he had done all of these things in his prayer. "I've done all of these things at your command." This is nothing that Elijah made up. This is the key. People think that faith is us thinking of some spectacular thing and then throwing ourselves off the pinnacle and God's got to rescue us. He don't have to rescue us. He won't rescue. He'll let you bounce actually. But if he initiates and tells you to do some great thing, you better do it. You better go out in faith and do the great thing he's called you to do because he intends to glorify and exalt his name. And by the way, what greater thing could there be than to bring somebody to Christ or to go as a missionary or cross-cultural work, international work and lead somebody to Christ? But at any rate, he commands Elijah to go do this, and all of these things were done at the command of God.

Now, you say, "How come Elijah heard these things secretly in his heart, but I never hear those things?" Well, there's two answers to that. One is that Elijah was called by God and it was something that God set Elijah apart to do, but Elijah also set himself apart to listen, didn't he? He set himself apart. He consecrated himself, got rid of evil, wicked things in his life and was ready and willing to hear anything from God, was prepared to accept any word from God, willing to do anything. And so, he prayed, and who can forget the response? Fire comes down from heaven and burns up everything. It's all gone. The sacrifice is gone. The water is gone. The stones and the soil around are gone. Everything has a vaporizing point, even stones, and it got hot there, and yet there was no heat enough to consume any of the people around. God had good aim, you see. It just went right where he wanted it to go. Now, believe me, God has the power and the ability to call down fire or send fire from heaven and kill people. He's going to do it later in the account. But that day, no one died, just by the mercy and grace of God. The sacrifice took its place, and so God pours down his wrath as it were, his fire on the sacrifice, and the people survive.

And then you remember what Elijah did? First of all, he said, "Ahab, go get something to eat. So, Ahab, I know what you want to do. You're hungry. Why don't you go eat? Go have a celebration. I'm going to go pray for rain." And so, he goes and he kneels down, and seven times he intercedes and asks God that he would send rain. It hadn't rained three and a half years, and he's kneeling and he's praying and he gets no answer the first time. He gets no answer the second time, and again and again and again. Seven times he intercedes, and finally, there's a tiny little cloud as small as a man's hand, and he said, "That's it." And he stops praying and he gets up and he says, "It's time to run to Jezreel," and he gets going, and he gives Ahab a warning, "You better go because the roads are going to get muddy. You know, you better move," and out he goes.

Then we see the one great lapse of his life, at least in the account that we have in scripture. We have to imagine there are other sins because King David himself said, "My sins outnumber the hairs of my head," and so, all of us sin in so many ways. We all stumble in many ways. But the one failing in the account of scripture that we have is this time in which he was terrified of Jezebel, because Jezebel vowed by her gods, "As surely as my gods live, I'm going to kill you. I'm going to make your life like one of those prophets of Baal that were slaughtered at Mount Carmel." Why in the world Elijah feared her gods, I have no idea. What came over him at that moment, I don't know. But he lost his perspective and he fled, and he went out into the desert, lays down by the broom tree and he wants to die, and this is the one time that we have in scripture where he prays and asks for something, he doesn't get it. He prays and asks that he would die under the broom tree.

Now, remember, last time I talked about Elijah, isn't it good he didn't get his prayer request answered that day? Look what he would've missed, a ride to heaven in a chariot of fire. Incredible. God knows best, and so, I'm glad that we don't get everything we ask for. Our perspective is so limited. Then God nourishes him, supplies him by an angel, and he gets up and manages to travel on the strength of one small meal. With the energy that comes from just one small meal, he goes to Mount Horeb, and there in the cave at Horeb God appears to him. He doesn't appear to him in the tornado or in earthquake, but he appears to him in the still, small voice. He speaks to him quietly in the still, small voice, and when Elijah heard it, he covered his face and he knew that he was in the presence of the Lord. What an incredible experience he had with God in that cave at Mount Horeb and how God revealed himself that day to Elijah. And so, he heard the still, small voice, and then God prophesied and said to him of the future of Israel.

He said, "I want you to go and put your cloak or your mantle around Elisha. He's going to succeed you. He's going to be prophet after you. I want you to anoint Jehu the king over Israel. He's going to take your place and he is going to exact vengeance on the house of Ahab. And then I want you to anoint Hazael king of Aram.” And so, he gave him marching orders, but then he said, "You've been saying to me, ‘Jezebel's killed all the prophets and I, only I am left. There's no one else,’" and He said, "It's not so. For I have reserved for myself 7,000 who have not bowed the knee to Baal." A choice remnant that God has chosen by his own sovereign grace it says in Romans 8, a remnant chosen by grace, and so they were, 7,000 not bowed the knee to Baal. 

After calling Elisha, we get one final ministry of Elijah and that is the warning to Ahaziah. You remember that Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice work in his house. He was injured and sends words, some messengers to a foreign god, the god of the Sidonians, Ethbaal I think it was, and, “Go ask if I'm going to recover.” And Elijah confronts those messengers and said, "Is it because there's no God in Israel that you're going outside the country to see if you'll find out whether you'll live or die? Well, you don't need to go any further. I'll tell you right now. You will not recover. You will surely die." Well, the messenger turn around, U-turn, go back to Ahaziah and they tell him what this messenger said. And he said, "Now, what did he look like?" He said, "Well, he was kind of a hairy guy covered with a garment of hair and had a leather belt around his waist," and he said, "Ah, that was Elijah the Tishbite. There’s no question about it.” And so, Ahaziah did die at the word of Elijah the Tishbite. You remember in the midst of that though, twice Ahaziah sends a captain with 50 men to arrest him and bring him in, and fire comes down from heaven. It doesn't land on a sacrifice that time. It lands on these wicked men and destroys them. The fear of the Lord should come on any, when we come into the presence of God, for our God is a consuming fire, and he always hits what he aims at when we talk about fire from heaven. There's no mistakes that day. It was the wrath of God which was revealed.

And then, finally some other fire came, a chariot of fire came down to rescue Elijah and to bring him up, to take him out of this sin cursed world up to his reward in heaven, second Kings chapter 2, and let's read that story and then we're going to draw out some lessons from the life of Elijah and look at the connection to the New Testament. 2 Kings 2:8, it says, "Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground. When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, 'Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?' 'Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit' Elisha replied. 'You have asked a difficult thing,' Elijah said, 'Yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours---otherwise, it will not.' As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw this and cried out, 'My father! My father! The chariots and horseman of Israel!" And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two. Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. 'Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?' he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over. The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said 'The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.' And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. 'Look,' they said, ‘we your servants have fifty able men. Let them go and look for your master. Perhaps the spirit of the LORD has picked him up and set him down on some mountain or in some valley.’ ‘No’, Elijah replied. 'Do not send them.' But they persisted until he was too [ashamed] embarrassed to refuse. So he said, 'Send them.' And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find him. When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, 'Didn't I tell you not to go?'" 

Now, Elijah sudden disappearance from earth in a whirlwind, a chariot of fire going up to heaven left questions in the minds of Israel. Is he going to pop up again at some point? Elijah was kind of an enigmatic figure. I mean, he disappears. He reappears. He says something, then he goes, and then he comes back, and then he's gone again. And there's this sense in which is he going to appear, and that's why they sent out messengers looking for this man. Perhaps the Lord had set him down on a hill somewhere.

And this is only enhanced when later in the book of Malachi there's a prophecy. This is one of the last prophecies, perhaps the last prophecy we have in the old covenant era. In Malachi chapter 4, predicting the coming of the day of the Lord, in Malachi 4:1 it says, “’Surely the day is coming; It will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘Not a root or branch will be left to them. But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its [wings] rays.’” 

This a clear prophecy of the coming of Jesus Christ. The sun of righteousness, he's called, risen with healing in his wings. Charles Wesley picks up on this quote. "’And you'll go out and leap like calves released from the stall, and then you'll trample down the wicked. They will be ashes under the souls of your feet on the day when I do these things,’ says the Lord Almighty. Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees in laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel." So, he's predicting the coming of the Day of the Lord. This is the coming of the Day of the Lord which is referred to again and again in the Old Testament. But then he says this in verse five, Malachi 4:5, "See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the [fathers] parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their [fathers] parents; or else I will come and strike the land with [a curse] total destruction." That's the final word you get in the old covenant, the final word from the prophets, and then there's a long silence, a prophetic silence. And so, the last word coming from the prophets and the old covenant was curse. Kind of makes sense, doesn't it? I'm going to come and strike the land with a curse, and so, that's what you kind of think of when you think of the old covenant. 

You've been studying in the book of Galatians. Anyone who does not obey everything written in the law is under a curse, and so, there's this word curse, but one verse before that, he gives us a prophecy or prediction. Before the coming of the Day of the Lord, Elijah is going to come, and you can see the connection from the miraculous way in which he ascends and doesn't seem to die, just disappears, and they're still wondering, "Is he going to get let down on this hill or that hill?" He's going to come back. Elijah is coming before the coming of the great and dreadful Day of the Lord, and so, everybody was waiting for Elijah to come, and they knew that the Messiah could not come before Elijah came back, and so, they're waiting for the coming of Elijah. Even to this day, some Orthodox Jews will set a chair for Elijah at the Passover, an empty chair. It's their way of saying, "We're waiting for Elijah to come." What a tragic thing that empty chair is, isn't it? Because God has sent his Messiah, testified to by the coming of John the Baptist and by the fulfillment of all the prophecy. The empty chair is an empty chair of unbelief that Jesus is not the Messiah, but there it is. They're waiting for the fulfillment of this prediction and of this prophecy.

This brings us to John the Baptist. Look with me at Luke 1. In Luke 1, God sends the angel Gabriel to a man named Zechariah. Now, Zechariah was a priest in the priestly division of Abijah, and his opportunity comes to burn incense. This was an honor. It was the kind of thing that would not happen, perhaps just once in your life, and the lot fell on Zechariah. By the way, the lot is cast out into the lap, but it's every decision comes from the Lord. That's what it says in the book of Proverbs. There's no accident that it was Zechariah was a priest in the priestly division who was going to the temple that day to burn incense. In Luke 1:11, it says, "Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: 'Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and a delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.'" Here he picks up clearly on the language of Malachi four. Listen to what he says. "And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the [fathers] parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous --- to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." So, Gabriel knew the prophecy of Malachi, no question about that. By the way, angels were constantly longing to look into the prophecies and to try to figure out what God was going to do and how he was going to put them together. 

But here he says something very interesting. He does not say that Elijah is coming. He says that John will go on in the spirit and power of Elijah. The very thing that Elisha had asked for, namely, “Give me a double portion of your spirit.” That spirit would rest on this man, John, John the Baptist. John the Baptist therefore was similar to Elijah in many respects. He dressed similarly to him. Remember in second Kings chapter one, we get one physical description of Elijah concerning his choice of clothing, his garments, you know, what did he look like. He wore a garment of hair and he had a leather belts around his waist, and so it says in Matthew chapter three verse four, John's clothes were made of camel's hair and he had a leather belt around his waist and his food was locusts and wild honey. 

Now, some have told us that locusts are actually some kind of plant, but I really am going for the grasshopper. I think it's a good source of protein and they were a clean food for the Jews to eat, and so, I think he was eating bugs, and so, this point's also to an aesthetic desert-dwelling lifestyle, very similar again to Elijah. He was not there on earth to be a culinary expert. It was not about food. You get the sense with Elijah that tell me your top 10 meals, Elijah? What are some of your favorite meals? Well, then there was the piece of bread that the ravens brought and the bit of meat, and then there was the biscuit the angel baked for me. I mean, it all had supernatural origin, but it was really kind of plain food, right? There's nothing all that delicious or spectacular. It just nourished him and kept him going. And so, it was also with John the Baptist, an aesthetic desert-dwelling lifestyle. Elijah lived by the brook, Cherith, and he had food provided for him, and so, it was that John the Baptist lived out in the desert.

Luke 1:80, it says, "And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the [desert] wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel." Thirdly, we see in John the Baptist bold, fearless, fiery preaching. This is definitely the spirit of Elijah. I mean, he is a powerful preacher and he didn't back down from anyone. He didn't care whether they were king or pauper. It didn't matter. He preached the word of the Lord to everybody. Elijah had been fearless before Ahab, fearless on Mount Carmel, fearless in front of 450 prophets of Baal, fearless when the soldiers came to arrest him, fearless in every respect except that one moment with Jezebel. He was characterized by courage and fearlessness. So, also John the Baptist. Look with me at Matthew 3. We have just a piece of his preaching ministry, John the Baptist preaching in Matthew 3:7 and following, “But when he, [John the Baptist] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.” I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering up the wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.’” 

That is the preaching of John the Baptist, and people went from miles around to listen to him preach, really to listen to him burn. There was fire in his preaching. I just think of Elijah and John the Baptist both in terms of fire, don't you? Fire from heaven and fire back up to heaven, and so, it was also with John the Baptist, fiery preaching. He was fearless. "You brood of vipers," he said to the Sadducees and Pharisees. These were the powers that that were at that time. They were powerful men, and he was fearless in front of them, unafraid, and so, also fearless in reference to King Herod. John, it says, rebuked Herod the Tetrarch because of Herodias's brother's wife and all the other evil things he had done, and Herod added all of this, added this to them all. He locked John up in prison, and so, he was absolutely fearless and confronting Herod about his marriage to his brother's wife, and so, the courage and the fearlessness of John the Baptist. 

We also see I think a slight connection in that moment of weakness at one point in ministry. We've talked already about how Elijah was afraid of Jezebel and fled, and it's contrary to the flow of his life, wasn't it? It was an odd moment for Elijah to lose perspective that way and to flee from Jezebel, and so also we get this in Matthew 11:2-6. You can turn and look there if you would. In Matthew 11:2-6 it says, "When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, 'Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?'" This is really a low moment for John the Baptist, okay? You have to understand that the very reason that John was sent was to prepare the way and to point to Jesus and say, "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world," as Andy mentioned earlier. So, what is this? Well, it's a moment of weakness, a moment of frailty and of sin in which he's not quite sure, and so, Jesus deals with him so gently. He says, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are [cured] cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and good news has preached to the poor." By the way, Jesus is quoting scripture there. And then he says this, this is Jesus speaking to John through the messengers, "Blessed is anyone who does not [fall away] stumble on account of me." So that's a word of exhortation. Get back with the program. I'm who you think I am. Don't die in weakness but die in belief.

So, those are some similarities between John the Baptist and Elijah, but there were some differences too, some significant differences. First of all, John the Baptist never performed a single miracle, never did any sign. All he did was preach and baptize. Secondly, John the Baptist was beheaded for a righteousness’ sake. Elijah never died but went up to heaven in a whirlwind, and so, that's a significant difference. John the Baptist was not Elijah. He was the fulfillment of the prophecy in Malachi four, but yet he was not Elijah. How do we know that? Well, we read the birth account. You can't have two bodies, after all. I mean, Elijah had a life. He was his own person. He's already up in heaven. John the Baptist was born to his mother, Elizabeth. He was a separate person, his own individual. John the Baptist himself said he was not Elijah in John one. They sent messengers. The Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levi’s to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, "I am not the Christ." They asked him, "And who are you? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the prophet?" He answered, "No." And finally they said, "Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" John replied in the words of Isaiah, the prophet, "I am the voice of one calling in the desert, make straight the way for the Lord." Some Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ nor Elijah nor the prophet?" "I baptize with water," John replied. "But among you stands one whom you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie." So, he says very clearly there in John 1, "I am not Elijah. I'm not Elijah."

By the way, I think about the life of Elijah, about his holiness, about his zeal, his power, the miracles he did, the things he did at Mount Carmel, all of the greatness of his life. I think about Jesus's testimony about John the Baptist saying among those born of women, there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist. That's what he said. These are two of the great men of history, and yet both of them would be prostrate before Jesus Christ. Both of them would be able to say, "I don't deserve to touch his feet." I think we think too lowly of Jesus. I don't think we understand how great is the incarnate Son of God. He said, "I don't deserve to touch his sandals." 

The clincher for me in that John was not Elijah, is Jesus says in Matthew 11:14, speaking of John the Baptist, he says, "If you're willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come." Do you see that? You have to see it by faith. If you're willing to accept it, he's the Elijah who was prophesied. And then there is the Mount of Transfiguration. What happened on the Mount of Transfiguration? You remember on the Mount of Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus, speaking to him. Elijah's up there in heaven, along with Moses having a wonderful time. By this time I believe John the Baptist had already been executed. Okay? But they communicate and then they disappear, and then Jesus is left. He is transfigured. He appeared before them. Peter, James and John are on their faces. They're terrified, and then they have that interaction. But then on the way down, they have a conversation. You remember this, in Matthew 17 and he said, "Wait a minute. Now, if Elijah's still up in heaven, why do the chief priest and the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first? If you're the Messiah, when did Elijah come? We were waiting for that." And He said, "Elijah has come and they did to him anything that they wished." Then they realized that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist, and so, John the Baptist was the clear fulfillment of Elijah.

Now, the final mention of Elijah that we get in the Bible is in James 5:16-18, if you turn there, and then after that I'm going to list briefly some lessons from the life of Elijah, then we'll close. James 5:16-18. The context here in the teaching in James is that we have a life together as brothers and sisters in Christ. There are going to be times that some of us are going to get sick, physically sick, I mean. At that time, you should call for the elders of the church to anoint you with oil and pray over you, and it says, the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Do you see the connection there between physical illness and sin? We can't say that it's there every time. The book of Job teaches us that. But there are times that physical illness is a chastisement from the Lord for sin. And so, it may be in your case, you may be in the hospital, you may be sick, and you realize that you have sinned and that you need to confess your sin.

And so, James says, "Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other…" And then he says, "The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." And then he reaches back for an example of what he's talking about. "Elijah was a [man just like us] human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain in the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops." And so, he reaches for Elijah as an example of faith-filled prayer, and he applies it to sick church members who have sinned and need to confess their sins to each other. The prayer of a righteous man, it says, is powerful and effective, and so that is the testimony of Elijah in the New Testament.

Now, I'm going to take from A.W. Pink very quickly seven lessons from the life of Elijah. First of all, Elijah was a man who walked by faith and not by sight. He seemed to live in a different realm, didn't he? He seemed to live with eyes of faith, seeing him who is unseen. He lived a different kind of life, and I believe that this is the foundation to all of the other testimonies that we have of Elijah.

Secondly, Elijah was a man living in manifest separation from the evil world system around him. He was different. Wouldn't you have been intimidated to invite him over for dinner? I mean, think about it. I mean, how hard would you have worked to clean up your house before Elijah came? How hard would you have worked to clean up your life before you had a good solid conversation with him? There was a sense of holiness to this man's life. He lived in manifest separation from the surrounding evil around him, and there was much. The nation of Israel was an evil place, and yet he was separated from it all. 

He was a man of marked elevation of spirits, says A.W. Pink. What that means is he looked at everything from a spiritual perspective. He seemed to walk on the mountaintop, not in the valley. And how many different mountaintops are there in Elijah's life? Mount Horeb, for example, Mount Carmel, the mountain on which he sat when the captain came with 50 men. He's sitting up there praying. He was a mountaintop kind of man. 

Fourthly, Elijah was a mighty intercessor. James brings that out. He was a man of prayer. Ask yourself this. After the fire had come down on Mount Carmel and it's time to pray for rain, you sense a leading from God that it's time to pray for rain, how many times would you have prayed before you gave up? Just assess your own prayer life. Would you have made it up to seven times? Elijah kept praying and no answer. No answer. No answer. Seven times he interceded, and on the seventh time God answered. In response to Elijah's prayer, a dead boy was raised to life. In response to his prayer, it didn't rain. In response to his prayer, it did rain. He was a mighty intercessor, a man of faith and a prayer.

Fifthly, he was a man of intrepid courage. Do you realize what an incredible obstacle to the advance of the kingdom of heaven is fear? I mean, I can tell you right now that fear faces me every time I have to preach or teach the Word of God, confront a sinning church member, deal with a difficult doctrinal issue. You may wonder what I'm talking about but you may know, or witness, share the gospel. Any time that I'm stepping out in faith, I'm facing fear. This is a common theme. Do you feel it? Do you face it? And only by faith and courage can you advance and do the things that God wants you to do. Elijah was a man of intrepid courage.

Sixthly, Elijah was a man who recovered from a sad fall. I mean, it's possible for God to use people even when they're weak and sinful and lose their perspective. And finally, A.W. Pink said Elijah was a man who had a supernatural exit from the world. And do you realize that that's waiting for you as well? And you may die between now and when the Lord returns, but either way, you're going to meet the Lord in the clouds, in the air, and so, your exit from this world is going to be every bit as spectacular as Elijah's were. Aren't you looking forward to that? I'm looking forward to meeting the Lord in the clouds, in the air when he returns.