To the Victor Go the Spoils

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and Lord Jesus Christ. It is a privilege to share the Word of God with the saints of Durbin Memorial Baptist Church. Our church exists by grace for glory in love.

I recognize that not everyone around here is a fan of sporting events, but I have always been fond myself and I see Paul make allusions to racing and boxing in his epistles, so I hope that you will indulge me a bit as I use an example from sports in our introduction this morning.

The university of Kentucky has made it painfully obvious that they aren’t going to be fielding a football team this year, so I spent some time this week looking at some basketball statistics. Allow me to introduce you to a professional basketball player by the name of Jordan Walsh. Now those who follow the NBA closely may be able to correct me on some this, but as far as I could tell in my research for this illustration, Jordan Walsh suited up for the Boston Celtics all season long this past year. All 82 regular season games, all 19 playoff games. In the entirety of the 101 game season, Walsh played in a total of 12 games. In those games he averaged 1.4 points, 1.8 rebounds, .4 assists, .4 steals, .1 blocks, shooting 38.9% from the field, and 20% from 3 point territory. If you aren’t familiar with how basketball statistics work, let me tell you, those aren’t very good.

I don’t bring this up to degrade Mr. Walsh. He was just a rookie this past season, he very well could be the next breakout sensation for all I know. I bring this up for this reason. Looking at Mr. Walsh on paper, you would think that he was just an average or even below-average NBA player. You’d probably even be right about that assessment. But as substandard as Jordan Walsh may be, nothing will change the fact that in 2024 he won an NBA Championship and no matter what else happens, he will forever be an NBA Champion. Anytime anyone looks up the 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtic’s roster, there will be his name, Jordan Walsh, written in ink.

We might think he didn’t earn it. He didn’t score enough. He didn’t lead the league. He didn’t even lead his team. Doesn’t matter. He’s still a champion.

Why do I bring this up this morning? I have no intentions of making us a church full of Jordan Walsh fans. No instead, I bring this up because we’re not a church full of Jordan Walsh FANS, but rather a church full of Jordan Walsh’s!

If you know Christ as Lord and Savior you’ve been carried to the ultimate championship in an even more drastic measure than that of Mr. Walsh. We return to this Scripture often, but allow me to remind you of the core truth of Ephesians 2:8–9 “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

For the last 6 weeks we have been walking through Matthew chapter 10 seeing how Christ has invited us into the work of expanding His Kingdom and calling us to truly count what it costs to follow Him. Much of this chapter has been a sober reminder that we are not promised sunshine nor rainbows, health nor wealth, but that Christ truly is the King who is worthy to be served in any and every circumstance even when we are in uncomfortable or lamentable positions. But while that is true, today we get the opportunity to take a greater look at the joyous gift of salvation. As I have said throughout this series following Christ is certainly costly, and we must absolutely count the cost, but it is also worth it. While we have to be careful not to overly promise temporal blessings in a way that God has never promised, I don’t want communicate the opposite error. It may not be all about us, but it is also not all doom and gloom. God does everything to accomplish the victory, and we enjoy it and live in response. Like Jordan Walsh, we have a role to play on the team, but we aren’t the one’s winning the game, that’s all Christ, but don’t forget we’re still winners! More than conquerors!

I don’t want to push this analogy too far, but I think we need to be more comfortable in general understanding and appreciating that we are role players in our lives and Christ is the MVP. Last week we spoke a lot about identity and how we find it not in ourselves but in Christ, and that is a message we must repeat consistently, because it is in our very nature to get that twisted. So today, let’s look at the glorious gift of salvation. Give God all the glory. And cherish that He would allow us to play a part on His team.

If you haven’t already, open your Bibles to Matthew 10. Today we are going to be finishing out the last three verses of this chapter. We will be highlighting the joys, process, and impact of salvation, a victory the Christ assures and invites us into.

So lets begin working through this text verse by verse. Read with me verse 40.

Matthew 10:40 ESV

40 “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.

This is a very straight forward and in some ways simple verse, but it has profound implications on both on how we receive the gospel and the role that we play in sharing the gospel.

There are three points we need to highlight here.

First, the Valid Gospel

Second, the Shared Gospel

And third, the sent gospel.

Let’s first focus on the valid Gospel, or the validity of the Gospel. Subtly recorded in this verse is the very essence of what makes the gospel valid. Listen once more to the words of Jesus. “whoever receives you receives ME, and whoever receives ME, receives HIM who sent ME.” In a moment we will talk about how this message is shared through others, but first we have to recognize what is being shared!

We must remember the greater context that Matthew is recording these instructions in. As a refresher, remember that chapter 9 ends with Jesus traveling throughout the cities and the villages, preaching the gospel of the kingdom. He looks out on the crowds and has compassion for them, why? Because they were helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He then tell the disciples to pray for laborers to go out into the harvest and then in this chapter 10 Christ is preparing them to be the one that are sent out. So now when we come to the end of Chapter 10, we are seeing the full addressing of the problem that was explained in chapter 9. And the answer to the problem of the sheep without a shepherd, is none other than the Good Shepherd Himself, Jesus Christ. The whole point of the disciples going out and finding the worthy, receptive houses is so that the individuals in those places receive Christ, their shepherd.

Without Christ, the masses, the crowds, all of us even today, are harassed and helpless. But this begs the questions why and how? Let’s begin with how are we helpless? Imagine that you were born blind. You spend all your life in that condition. You may even be able to accomplish magnificent things. I heard on the radio just this past week the story of DC Circuit judge who went fully blind in his 30s. He lived in Maryland and would take the subway to the courthouse in DC every single day. This is amazing in two ways, first, though he was blind, he was able to function in and thrive in such a high-level career, second, he was able to navigate the twists and turns from his home over miles and miles, counting each step along the way and make it to and from work with no assistance. This man was able to cope very well within his own abilities to accomplish great things. However, in an interview with the retired judge, he talks about how his blindness made him uncomfortable and it was something that he had to cope with. Though he did impressive things, he was still aware of his condition.

Such is our existence without Christ. We may be able to accomplish great feats, but at the end of the day, something is still off. Both the world we are living in and our own lives are broken. We are born spiritually blind and though we may not recognize it, we can feel the hole in our heart craving to be satisfied. We do whatever we can, sometimes even climbing to the top of human standards whether that be reaching the summit of Everest or the Billboard 100, but none of those experience suffice to cover the hole in the heart. That is how the masses are harassed and helpless, they are stuck in spiritual blindness being ushered from one false hope to the next. That is, until they find the Good Shepherd.

But why is this the case? I once again draw our attention back to the garden of eden, the creation of man and woman. When the tempter, the dragon, the ancient serpent, the devil, Satan, the deceiver of the world, tempted Adam and Eve, and they fell to temptation, Humanities relationship with direct relationship with the all Holy God was marred. Habbakuk 1:13 describes the righteousness of God as such that He cannot look at wrong, He cannot turn His eyes on evil. Now God is omnipresent and omniscient. He sees all and knows all. This doesn’t mean that God does not see all the wrong going on in the world today,. but rather that it is unacceptable before Him. This means that God doesn’t wink at sin, nor turn a blind eye to it. He cannot see it favorably. And thus because of our sin, humanity has been separated from the grace the God ever since the fall in the Garden!

This might seem like I’m chasing a rabbit but let me bring it all together here. Refer back to verse 40 and see the glory of how this all goes full circle. The sheep are harassed and helpless. They need a Shepherd. Those who receive the disciples receive Jesus as their shepherd. Then Jesus says in verse 40, “Whoever receives me receives Him who sent me.” Through faith in Jesus Christ, the all righteous, all holy God can not only is able to look upon us sinful creatures, but we receive Him and are called His own. God the Father who is unable to look favorably upon our sin, looks at us and sees that we are covered by the blood of Jesus and what used to be enmity is turned to peace. We are reconciled unto God the Father through God the Son in the movement of God the Spirit.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is valid because it is necessary. We are stuck in sin and brokenness without Him. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is valid because Christ is valid. He lived the perfectly righteous life and was the only sinless being able to make atonement for the cost of the sins of those who believe in Him. And the gospel of Jesus Christ is valid when it is exclusively Christ. The lost sheep are harassed and helpless and the only fix for their condition is the good shepherd. Not the good shepherd and their “can-do attitude”, not the good shepherd and their attempts at self actualization. Not the good shepherd and their religious ceremonies. But the Good shepherd alone. Jesus said, “I am the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE, no man comes to the Father but by me.” The gospel of Jesus Christ is valid and necessary.

Before we move on to our next two verses, I want to make two more quick points of the gospel as explained here in verse 4.

Next, the gospel is a shared gospel. Notice the chain of events in verse 40. Jesus says those who receive the disciples receive Him. Those who receive Him receive the one who sent Him, the Father. We once more must notice that our God is a God of means who works through people to accomplish His Will. Some plant, others water, God gives the growth. Every single one of us in this room this morning that know Christ as Lord can recognize how the Lord worked through others to bring the reality of the gospel to our attention. I’ve shared before that for me the Lord worked through a conversation with my mother. In each of us, God worked through someone to point out the truth of the gospel. Maybe for you it was the preaching of a pastor, the teaching of a Sunday School teacher, the words of a parent, the invitation of an evangelist, even if you were all alone in a hotel room reading the Bible left in your bedside table, God worked through someone, likely a Gideon, to leave that Bible there. The message of the Kingdom, the gospel advanced by being shared and if we know the gospel, we can thank the Lord for using someone to share it with us.

Which brings me to the final point from this verse. The gospel is valid, the gospel shared, and the gospel is sent. If we can recognize and praise the Lord for sending someone to share the gospel with us in times past, we should recognize and praise the Lord that He has now sent us to share the gospel with others! What an honor and privilege it is that Christ should name you as His ambassador! Henry Blackaby noted, “There are people who will never know what Christ is like unless they see Christ in you. If you are a Christian, you take Christ with you everywhere you go. When you are at school or at work, Christ is with you. Whether you are out with your friends or speaking to a stranger, Christ is with you. Whenever people meet you, they also meet Christ. How tragic for a nonChristian to see Christ in you and be unimpressed! If you don’t represent Christ to others in a way that honors his name, some people might never know what he is really like. …There are many people around you who need to receive Jesus, and you’re the one who can introduce them to him. Have people been impressed with the Christ they have seen in you?”

We have been clear throughout this series that we do not have the ability in and of ourselves to convert anyone. However, we must also be clear that God is a God of means who sovereignly chooses to work through us to spread His gospel and make Himself known to others in the world. Let us cherish this reality and live in light of it, always making much of Christ and seeking to represent Him well to this world who needs Him so.

So in just this first verse we have seen the validity of the gospel, been reminded that the gospel was shared with us and that we are sent to share it with others. Let’s now look at the reward of the gospel. Look to verse 41

Matthew 10:41 ESV

41 The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward.

In this verse we see two categories of rewards, the one who receives a prophet receives a prophet’s reward, a righteous person a righteous person’s reward. I’d like to walk through those individually.

To understand a prophets a prophets reward, we have to fist understand what is a prophet. Typically our mind’s jump to someone who is having a vision of the future. We certainly see some of the prophetic books of the old testament dealing with future events. However, that is not the entirety of a prophet’s mission, nor is it the context being used in our text this morning. A prophet also is a preacher of the gospel. Most of the prophetic literature in the Old Testament is not discussion of future events, but calls to righteousness and reliance on God in the here and now. The prophet John the baptist spoke in the present tense when he preached, repent and believe for the Kingdom of God is at hand. The disciples, on this missionary journey were acting as prophets, speaking the Word of God to the homes they entered. Those who received them would receive a prophet’s reward.

Now I have to be honest this morning, the exact definition of a “prophet’s reward” is not explicitly stated in God’s Word. It may be reward granted from the prophet himself, basically meaning that when people receive the Prophet, they are receiving Scripture and the proper interpretation there of and so they are edified with a fuller understanding of God’s truth. “This is a great blessing, indeed, both for the prophet, whose joy lies in teaching and preaching, and for the hearer, who is edified by that teaching. Each one shares in the prophet’s reward—one in the giving and the other in the receiving.” Or the prophet’s reward may be pointing to the ultimate outcome of what the prophet is preaching. If they are preaching the kingdom of heaven is at hand, that message is received then both the prophet and the recipient enjoy the reward of the kingdom of heaven. Throughout Scripture, you will only find brief glimpses of heaven. However, of the 7,975 verses in the New Testament, roughly 5% counsel the believer in the hope of heaven. I believe we are called to hope for heaven, without an extremely detailed explanation of heaven because our mortal brains are incapable of containing the glory of what heaven is to be. What I do know is that when we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be. When we all see Jesus, we’ll sing and shout the victory! And that is a reward worth looking forward to.

We receive this reward by receiving the prophets. by receiving their message. By receiving faithful teachers and preachers of the Word of God with open hearts, teachable spirits, and Christ-centered devotion.

Then in verse 41 we read of receiving of a righteous person receives a righteous person’s reward. Now, we’ve already touched on this a bit this morning, but we have recognized that none of us our righteous. We are harassed and helpless, trapped and blind in sin on our own. And we know from Christ’s sermon on the mount in Matthew 5, that only those whose righteousness exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees will enter the kingdom of heaven. The reality of our destitute, sinful nature, and the lofty standards of God’s would leave us morning the meaninglessness of our pitiable existences, except that we should read these words once more, “the one who receives a righteous person receives a righteous person’s reward.” Ultimately, there is only one righteous person to receive. The God-Man Jesus Christ. For our sake God made Him, Jesus Christ, who knew no sin to be sin. Why? So that by faith in Christ, we might become the very righteousness of God, receiving the reward of the righteous man because of what Christ did for us!

This verse points to the ultimate reward for those who receive the gospel with gladness in their hearts received in glory, but also has a temporal fulfillment in the blessings and rewards enjoyed by Christ-centered fellowship. It is a joy to and reward to gather together with this body of believers this morning. It is a reward to pray for one another and spur one another on in love and good works. It is a reward to care for and be cared for. As we receive one another and center on God’s Word we live out and look forward to the great rewards of God.

Let’s turn now to the last verse of our text this morning.

Matthew 10:42 ESV

42 And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

This last verse draws our attention once more to the reward of receiving the gospel. When someone is moved by the gospel to action, in this case an action as simple as drawing a fresh cup of cold water for another disciple, this simple act is significant and remembered by God. Even the seemingly smallest act of ministry will not lose its reward.

Church, we have a job to do, a message to share, and a people to cultivate. In this verse we are seeing that the receipt of the gospel has a massive impact on us now, in that we are compelled to serve and love one another, and the impact of that service has eternal consequence.

Whatever we do, in word or deed, may we do every single thing in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. When we have received the gospel, when we have seen that we are a lowly creature separated from the Holy God, and that that God loved us so much that He sent His son to live and die and rise again so that by faith in the Son we may be brought near to the Father, it CHANGES us! It ought to change everything about us! We come to see that these people in this room with us, when we share the same faith, we share the same eternity! When we do good unto one another, we are doing good unto the God who loved us enough to save us and out His great grace has even more rewards in store for us!

Church I have three prayers for us this morning.

First I pray that each and every single one of us have come to the distinct understanding that Jesus Christ is Lord of lords, worthy to be served, and desire to serve Him by faith. We’ve seen today that on our own we are separated from the Holy God with no hope, but by the grace of God through faith in Christ, we are reconciled with a glorious future ahead. I pray that each of us has received that truth and made it known to the word that you believe in Christ the King.

Second, I pray that those of us who know the love of God expressed through the cross of Christ, would seek to show that love unto one another. I pray that when people see the members, the attenders, and the inner workings of Durbin Memorial Baptist church that they would be able to see a tangible expression of the Love of Christ that draws us together. That in our business meetings we exude love. That in our Sunday School classes we exude love. That in our interactions we exude love. Love fueled by the grace God has shown brightly upon us. Just this past week I was down due to the circumstances of life and a brother in this church reached out to check on me. And in our exchange he shared some Christ-centered truth and encouragement. He spurred me on to Love and good works for the glory of God. That simple little text message was a small act of service towards another disciple of Christ and brother, you will by no means lose your reward for that. I pray that our church would continue to operate in love so that all people will look at us and know that we are disciples of Jesus Christ, through our love for one another.

Lastly, I pray that we would be compelled to share. We have seen throughout our text this morning that the gospel is good, worthy to be received and comes with great reward. I pray that we also see that each of us have been called to take part in sharing it with others. That we would cherish the responsibility to be Christ’s ambassadors, living in the humble but exciting reality that God makes His appeal through us.

We’re all just small pieces in God’s plan, Christ is the MVP, though we may not do the heavy lifting, I hope we all appreciate and celebrate the victory that Christ has assured for us and enjoy the spoils, giving God all the glory along the way.

In one moment we’re going to have a hymn of response. I’d ask as we’re singing through a verse or two that you join me in praying for these three things, that each of us here have received the gospel, that we exude gospel laden love for one another, and that we share the gospel with the world that needs it. If you want help figuring out how to better accomplish any of those things in your own life, I’ll be right up front in the hymn of response. Come find me and let’s talk about the grace of God and our response there of.

Let’s pray.