Are You Worthy?

Good morning and welcome to CCC. We are so very glad you are here with us this morning. Again I want to thank each and every veteran here in person and those watching online for their service to our country and each one of us personally. Your dedication and sacrifice are so very appreciated. Thank you.

Let’s Pray

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Last week we finished up with I John 2 After the service Sunday I had an uneasy feeling that more needed to be said.

Monday morning I was led to Matthew 10. As I pondered that section of scripture and why God led me there it became obvious to me God was not pleased with how I presented things to you last Sunday morning.

Then an email came expressing concerns that God had brought to them about last Sunday morning.

Isn’t God awesome

He loves us so much

He is always working in our lives.....

the question always is....are we listening and acting or only hearing and ignoring or refusing

We are still in our That You May Know sermon series but are departing from I John and headed to Matthew 10.

Matthew 10:16-39

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King James Version Chapter 10

16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. 17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; 18 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. 19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. 20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. 21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. 22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. 23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come. 24 The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. 25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? 26 Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. 27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. 28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. 32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. 33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. 35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. 36 And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. 37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. 39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

I read the entire section of scripture because it is a thought…it all goes together and needs to be considered as a whole

There are specific things to glean out of it but I wanted you to hear it all together before we broke it down together.

First before we get going I want to make something crystal clear.

John 16:33

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“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

As a Christian you will have suffering and persecution because of Christ.

Last week I said and I still believe we are headed towards Jesus’ return or revival....that is something I still believe but I need you to understand something. I even said we do not know when Jesus will return, even Jesus doesn’t know

There are things that have to happen before Jesus returns.

We are seeing many of them played out in front of us but there are things in scripture that must occur prior to Jesus returning.

For example the mark of the beast. That is found in Revelation 13 and is a real thing. It will happen. It will happen with a cashless society and Christians who refuse the mark will not be able to buy and sell things…will be effectively shunned from society.

Many will be persecuted and killed during this time. This is prior to Jesus’ return.

In how I presented it, some took it as I said to ignore Revelation and that was the complete opposite of what I meant so I want to revisit and clarify.

My point last week was that as humans we can have paralysis by analysis. We get so caught up in analyzing that we miss the point and never take action

Jesus revealed Revelation to John and us for a reason. He wants us to know and understand not so we can argue with each other about what is coming and when but so we can live without fear.

So we can fearlessly spread the Gospel with an urgency knowing that time is short

If you are saved this morning…you have nothing to fear

You must know hard times and horrible things are coming on this earth but you have no fear of them because Jesus has overcome them....remember John 16:33. That is why God led me here to Matthew this morning.

Matthew 10:16–20

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“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.”

Look at verse 16

You and I as Christians are sheep among wolves

This world is evil

This world is satanic

This world is vicious

Just like satan the prince of the earth, the world looks to steal, kill, and destroy

you and I as Christians are peaceful…in fact we are called peacemakers

Matthew 5:9 tells us that

We are sheep in the midst of wolves

Notice however not naive sheep…wise as serpents and harmless as doves

You will be attacked because of Jesus if you are a true Christian

That should never surprise you however you do not seek revenge for those attacks.

You are wise to the fact they will come and when they come God fights them....

you are to be as harmless as doves

Speak the truth and only the truth but never attacking or seeking revenge because you know what is going on.

We stand where God stands

We refuse to compromise

We refuse to comply with evil but all harmless as doves

Have God check your heart for Godly motives not selfish sinful motives

The disciples were taken in front of leaders and beaten and Jesus says I got you

Speak what I tell you to speak

You have the Holy Spirit living inside of you and He will give you words.....this leads me to something I want to clarify from last week as well.

Scripture and only scripture is how we fight anti-christs and false teachers and teachings

You have to understand something

There is a simple equation for success

preparation plus opportunity equals success

You must prepare

You must put in the work

How do you do that

You prepare by being in God’s Word…studying God’s Word

Confessing and repenting of sins brought to light by God’s Word

Asking the Holy Spirit to show you how to apply God’s Word

That is the preparation it takes be ready to speak God’s Word

Speak God’s Word and only God’s Word

The point Jesus is making here is this…be prepared

Be studied up

Be prayed up

and have no fear when brought before governors and kings

He will give you the words out of your preparation....all you have to do is be willing and obedient

How many times have you been in your secret place....you are studying and praying and later that day a situation or circumstance or conversation arises and what you were studying was exactly what was needed

Jesus gave you the words…His Word!!!!!

Matthew 10:21

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“And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.”

The lost hate Jesus

The lost hate Jesus’ disciples…true Christians

You must understand that

This will get personal for some of you

An unsaved brother, physical brother, will turn on and deliver his saved brother to death. Unsaved fathers will deliver their children. Children will deliver their saved parents.

Family relations don’t matter to the lost. When this time of persecution comes the “reward” from society is more important to them than family

We must be wise as serpents…this is going to happen

satan hates you

the lost…those living for satan and this world hate you

This is coming and sure it will hurt but you love them and pray for their salvation…harmless as doves

Matthew 10:22

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“And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.”

This doesn’t mean you are saved because you endure

That would be a works based salvation and not scriptural

You endure because you are saved

You know how the story ends

You know you are heaven bound

so you endure regardless of the situation

but you must realize you must endure.

There are those who believe they are saved but when persecution hits close to home and they truly must make decisions.......Jesus or family....they will choose family and reveal that they were not saved

Endure

You will not get out of it so you must put Jesus first and choose to endure it

Matthew 10:24–25

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“The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?”

Humility

Society says the pupil becomes the master

You will never become Jesus

You will one day be like Jesus but you will never become Jesus

You and I are not God never have been never will be

If you are saved

If you serve Jesus Christ then you must expect the same treatment Jesus received

They claimed Jesus was the devil....Beelzebub was satan

To us…blood bought brothers and sisters of Christ we understand how ridiculous that sounds

But to the lost

Those who reject Jesus they often claim God is evil to justify their own evil

Evil points to and labels evil.

They can’t be evil themselves so God must then be evil

You see this played out all over mainstream and social media

If you stand on God’s Word…

Male and female are the only two genders

God created us for homosexual relationships…one man and one woman becoming one flesh

If you call truth truth and evil evil they attack you

They label you a Christian extremist, hateful, Bigot, homophobic

They label you and call you evil

What did Jesus do

He loved

He healed

He built and restored relationships

He spoke truth

Evil is good with all of that but the Truth part

You speak Truth they will hate you just as they hated Jesus

Matthew 10:26–27

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“Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.”

Trust in God and His provision and security

Now before we get going this is not talking about the physical

So many times we want spiritual promises and truths to be carried out in the physical

Vs 28 Fear not them which kill the body but not the soul

Don’t fear physical pain and suffering and death

satan can kill your body but because of Jesus if you are a true Christian satan can’t touch your soul

Non-Christians look out....you are not God’s so satan can kill your soul through your rejection of Jesus and forgiveness

Jesus explains using a sparrow

A sparrow was a worthless bird yet not one falls to the ground without God knowing

God purchased you with the blood and death of His Son Jesus....so you are far from worthless…in fact every hair on your head is numbered and known by God!

If you are His.....blood bought, true Christian you have no fear of death or physical attacks because you know God is protecting your soul

You know that it is an honor to be chosen to be beaten for Jesus’ sake and name

They see Jesus not you

Praise God for that!

Matthew 10:32–33

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“Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.”

You however must accept and confess Jesus to man to be confessed by Jesus before God

So many today refuse to confess Jesus before men

You come to church

You come to discipleship groups

You come to Bible study

You say all the right things but you leave those places and conform to the world

You deny Jesus by how you live!

Luke 9:23

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“And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”

This is not optional

This is not only when you feel like it

This is daily

Take up your cross…die daily to yourself

You no longer matter to you

You found Jesus

You believed God raised Jesus from the dead

You confessed Jesus as your Lord and Savior

you are saved

You are heaven bound

You are sealed with the Holy Spirit

You are good

You don’t matter to you anymore!

Don’t you see it

Stop living for yourself

You are to die to yourself daily!

You no longer can be offended

You no longer can tap out because you don’t feel it

You climb up on that cross and die to you daily and live from Jesus doing God’s will and work

If God has put you as a Sunday School teacher…teach and die to your feelings about it

If God has called you to Children’s Church…lead…love…teach and die to your feelings about it

If God has called you to a job....if you have a job and are a Christian God called you to that job....do it to the best of your ability as you are doing it for God and die to your feelings about it

You don’t matter to you…die to you

Matthew 10:34–39

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“Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.”

This is going to hit some of you hard.

When the end comes....persecution will be unbearable.

It will be consistent and violent and evil

Sons against fathers

Daughters and Daughter in laws against mothers

Your enemies will be YOUR households

We are not experiencing that type of persecution here in the US yet but still

Today people put their families before God.

this is hard

We love our families

You love your husband

You love your wife

You love your kids and grandkids

But so many put them before Jesus

They become idols

I want to show you this sign I saw on facebook....it is for those parents who are putting kids and their sports before Jesus but it applies here

I know in some households Sunday mornings are a battlefield

It is hard when only one person makes church and Jesus a priority

Lead by example

Go anyway

Leave them if they refuse to go

Go where God calls you to go because if you don’t you are sinning

Again this place…CCC…this building is not why you come

you come to church because Jesus established and loves the church

You come to seek God

You come to be taught by the Holy Spirit

You come to serve

You come to fellowship

If you don’t come because of those things you are wrong

To me…God and Church are non-negotiable

Not to be seen and served by man but to see and serve God!

Matthew 10:37–39

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“He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.”

This gets to the point Jesus is trying to make here

If you love family more than God you are lost and going to hell

Don’t mishear me

You are to LOVE your family

Husbands are called to live their wives as Jesus loves them…Jesus laid down his life to love husbands

Wives are to love and submit to their husbands and they do to Christ

Listen if both of you are chasing Jesus all will be well

You can’t however allow your family to pull you away from God

Love them by putting God 1st

Set the example

You are to be the thermostat not a thermometer

You set the temperature not read it

Make God your top priority and then live that out daily

This will take sacrifice

You are going to miss some Sundays

Things happen…you get sick…you have a major break in a pipe or issues with your house....

Vacations should happen.....work trips sometimes are unavoidable

The problem is when you begin to live for those things

It is camping season God understands that I need to put camping ahead of Him and His Church

God understands you are hanging on to your physical life and losing your spiritual life....the question is do you understand

Listen. I want you to be prayerful about this.

There are those in this very sanctuary

There are those listening online

There are those who should be in this sanctuary but are not because they put their family as idols and are not here

I love you

God loves you

God has spoken and now the ball is in your court

You must seek God

Ask God to show you your heart

Respond to whatever God shows you

There will be those who think they are Christians but hear Away from me I never knew you from Jesus because they loved their family more than Jesus and therefore are unworthy of Him

Look at Jesus words

“And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.”

Are you worthy of Jesus?

Invitation