6-25-23 Sermon "Comforting Words" 17 Minutes

Matthew 10:24-39

This morning I'll be reading Matthew chapter 10 verses 24 through 39. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Matthew 10:24-39 Jesus is teaching the disciples what they need to know as He sends them out to do the job that He had for them to do. And this information can help us today as well. Matthew 10:24–39 (HCSB) 24 A disciple is not above his teacher, or a slave above his master. 25 It is enough for a disciple to become like his teacher and a slave like his master. If they called the head of the house ‘Beelzebul,’ how much more the members of his household! 26 “Therefore, don’t be afraid of them, since there is nothing covered that won’t be uncovered and nothing hidden that won’t be made known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the light. What you hear in a whisper, proclaim on the housetops. 28 Don’t fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather, fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s consent. 30 But even the hairs of your head have all been counted. 31 So don’t be afraid therefore; you are worth more than many sparrows. 32 “Therefore, everyone who will acknowledge Me before men, I will also acknowledge him before My Father in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven. 34 Don’t assume that I came to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I came to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. 37 The person who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; the person who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And whoever doesn’t take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. 39 Anyone finding his life will lose it, and anyone losing his life because of Me will find it. The word of God for the people of God,,, thanks be to God! God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ___________________________________ Last Sunday we looked at Romans 5:1-8 and we saw that Paul was explaining God's love.

It was also Father's day,,, a day that is set aside to honor our fathers.

Fathers that take care of us,,, fathers that watch over us,,, guide us,,, love us,,, sacrifice for us,,, and aren't given the thanks that they deserve,,, at least not all the time!

And you were reminded to tell your Father thank you,,, if he was with you,,, or you would see him later that day!

It's a day for the fathers that have gone on before us,,, a day for us to remember everything about them and all that they did for us,,, even though they aren't with us anymore.

Its also a day for anyone that doesn't have a father figure in their life,,, but they have one in the church family that fills that missing link.

And if by chance you,,, or someone you know doesn't have any of these,,, we all know,,, that God is the best Father of all!

Don't forget that,,, and be sure to tell everyone you know,,, about the Father we have,,, that loves us more than we will ever know or understand!

The scriptures that we looked at,,, told us so much about the love that God has for us!

A love that we really don't deserve,,, but we can accept it,,, if we want it!

But it's our choice!

It's a love that will last for an eternity!

And it's available for all,,, if everyone will just take advantage of it,,, but sadly,,, there are many that will ignore this until it's too late!

So you were warned,,, to be sure,,, that you didn't let this happen,,, to you!

This morning we will look at these verses in Matthew and see how they will help us in our walk with God this week.

___________________________________ Verses 24-25 said: 24 A disciple is not above his teacher, or a slave above his master. 25 It is enough for a disciple to become like his teacher and a slave like his master. If they called the head of the house ‘Beelzebul,’ how much more the members of his household!

Jesus is reminding the disciples that He was not warning them about something that He hadn't already experienced.

In reaction to His casting out a demon,,, the religious leaders had claimed He was working by the prince of the demons,,, as seen in Matthew 9:34.

If they accused Jesus,,, (the Head of the house),,, of demonic power,,, surely they would say the same thing of His servants,,, His disciples,,, (the members of His household).

Beelzebub (the Gr. has Beezeboul) was a name for Satan, the prince of the demons,,, perhaps derived from Baal-Zebub,,, god of the Philistine city of Ekron (2 Kings 1:2).

“Beelzebub” means “lord of the flies,” and “Beezeboul” or “Beelzeboul” means “lord of the high place.”

___________________________________ Verses 26-28 said: 26 “Therefore, don’t be afraid of them, since there is nothing covered that won’t be uncovered and nothing hidden that won’t be made known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the light. What you hear in a whisper, proclaim on the housetops. 28 Don’t fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather, fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Jesus tells the disciples not to fear the religious leaders who could destroy only the physical body.

The leaders’ true motives will be revealed in the judgment.

Obedience to God,,, who ultimately is in charge of physical as well as spiritual life,,, is far more important.

The message they had received from the Lord privately,,, (in the dark … whispered),,, they were to proclaim publicly without fear,,, (speak in the daylight … proclaim from the [flat] housetops),,, for their Father was truly concerned for them and aware of their circumstances.

___________________________________ Verses 29-31 said: 29 Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s consent. 30 But even the hairs of your head have all been counted. 31 So don’t be afraid therefore; you are worth more than many sparrows.

God is aware of the death of a sparrow which is worth so little.

Two sparrows were sold for a mere penny (or a farthing,,, a Greek copper coin worth about 1/16 of a Roman denarius,,, which was a day’s wages).

God the Father also knows the number of hairs on a person’s head.

Because of that,,, the disciples were instructed not to fear,,, since they,,, being far more valuable to God than sparrows,,, were seen and known by Him.

___________________________________ Verses 32-33 said: 32 “Therefore, everyone who will acknowledge Me before men, I will also acknowledge him before My Father in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven.

Since they were more valuable than sparrows,,, they were told to faithfully confess or acknowledge,,, Jesus before men.

If they were obedient,,, this would result in the Lord’s acknowledging His servants before His Father; -- but failure to let the world know about Him would result in His denial of them.

___________________________________ Verses 34-37 said: 34 Don’t assume that I came to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I came to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. 37 The person who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; the person who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

He says He did not come to bring peace but a sword,,, but really,,, He did come to make peace just as it says in Ephesians 2:14–17,,, and He came that the world might be saved through Him,,, like it says in John 3:17.

But the point here is that whenever individuals became His followers,,, their families could turn against them.

A converted father would be opposed by his unbelieving son,,, a Christian mother by her unsaved daughter.

A born again mother-in-law would be hated by her unregenerate daughter-in-law.

So a choice must often be made between Christ and family.

Family is important,,, but they can't be allowed to come between you and the Lord.

Our Lord and Savior must come first,,, before father, mother, son or daughter,,, sister or brother.

One of the costs of discipleship could be,,, to experience tension,,, strife,,, and alienation,,, from within one’s own family.

This hostility is often more bitter,,, or hard to accept,,, than other problems you might face.

This may be part of the cost of discipleship,,, for love of family should not be greater than love for the Lord.

As we will see in the next verse,,, a true disciple must take up his cross and follow Jesus.

___________________________________ Verses 38-39 said: 38 And whoever doesn’t take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. 39 Anyone finding his life will lose it, and anyone losing his life because of Me will find it.

A true follower of Christ,,, must be willing to face not only family hatred,,, but also death,,, like a criminal carrying his cross to his own execution.

It helps to remember,,, in those days,,, a criminal carrying his cross was supposed to show that he was agreeing that the Roman Empire was correct in executing its death sentence on him.

In the same way,,, Jesus’ followers were admitting His right over their lives.

By doing so,,, one would find his life,,, in exchange,,, for having given it up,,, to Jesus Christ. ___________________________________ As we've seen from these verses,,, God loves us very much and is very aware of our existence.

We can use these words to help us in our day to day activities,,, to help us with our faith,,, and,,, at any time that we are bothered by doubts.

When we can truly understand that God knows us so intimately,,, is so very much aware of our presence,,, it should comfort us immensely!

If God is aware of the fall of a sparrow,,, that is worth so little,,, and He knows us well enough to know the number of hairs on our head,,, shouldn't that give us the confidence that God is watching over us?

If it doesn't,,, we should re-evaluate our relationship with God and be sure that everything is the way that it should be!

And if not,,, be sure that we get back to work,,, improving that relationship that is so vital in our day to day activities!

We see from these scriptures that God knows us,,, now we must be sure,,, that we know Him,,, as well!

And we do that by our time spent in His word,,, prayer,,, church,,, and time spent in fellowship with other believer's that we can learn from.

That's the least that we can do to build the relationship with our God,,, that knows,,, and loves us,,, so well,,, and so intimately!

___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Hymn: 337 - Oakdale Hymn: 337 - Seminary Benediction -----------------------------------------------------------