Afflict the Comfortable. Comfor the Afflicted.

So guys as sweet as We Gather this morning, I want to ask you to open your Bibles to Matthew chapter 10. And as you're looking there that's where we're going to be looking at a couple of statements from Jesus one in Matthew 10:1 in Matthew 11, but as we doing that I just want to share a little bit house. So we're so excited. I was I was really glad to have Anthony preach last week as is the Lord continues to guide you brother. You have a church family that is loving you and praying for you. But Anthony being in the Pulpit here gave me an opportunity to go up and be with our brothers and sisters up in Panguitch at Valley Christian fellowship and we had a good time up there. I enjoyed getting to preach with him, but I would just mention to you. It's one of the greatest things that we could do as a local Fellowship is to remember that God's Works in southern Utah is not confined just to this church and I would encourage you to build relay. And ships with brothers and sisters in other congregations. I would encourage you to see the work of God in this area as taking place in Far More Than Just us since it to be praying for the fellowship of at Panguitch to be praying for our friends brothers and sisters out at Burrell Baptist to be praying for the saints. That gather is sunrise in for TLC and for Calvary in for all the other work that God is doing even right here in Enoch Valley Bible. They know they are Brothers and Sisters in Christ. We want to continue to lift them up in prayer. All right. So as We Gather this morning, we we're looking at these statements of Jesus and Matthew 10 and Matthew chapter 11, but one of the things that I have found is that no matter where you're at. There's always multiple perspectives on the Christian life is always different ways of looking at things and I'm away from some conversations thinking is this even the same Faith right? When when when one group is saying this in another group is saying they're both claiming to be Christ followers. How do we deal with that? When I think that we what we're seeing is the need to bring a scriptural balance to things how many of you have never flown on an airplane.

All right. You've never flown in airplane, but you you flown on one, right? I will write flying on an airplane to be honest. This is something I have never got over the excitement of it doesn't matter how many times I fly I still view that takeoff and landing and end the time in between as just an incredible Thing Marvel at flight it is it is a wonderful thing to me and it never ceases to amaze me how much fun it is to be with somebody on their first flight. Write the first flight is a lot of fun and particularly particularly if if they're in the right age range you get a kid on an airplane and they just can't contain it. They're nervous. They're excited. They're kind of what if we fall what if we but wouldn't that be cool, you know Kennedy looks like like this it's range of emotions and then you sit next to the guy who's like a traveling salesman and he likes lies all the time and he's asleep before he's even got his seatbelt on you know, he's just bored at the worst cases like cynical and just like blah blah blah blah blah. I hate flying.

It's the exact same pilot exact same crew exact same experience except. Your point of view is different and I think that that's what we run into when I say that we've got these expectations of the Christian life and you talk to some people in your life is this even the same thing because you talked to some people and they're like look if you follow Jesus that's going to solve all your problems. Like if you follow Jesus, you'll never have to deal with trouble ever again. You'll be healthy. He's going to give you lots of money. This is going to be awesome. You just got to have faith in Jesus and you got this other brand of Christianity this this like this, I don't even know what's got like this is macho brand of Christianity. That's like if you're not suffering, you're not a Christian, you know, like if life isn't just the most excruciating experience ever. You just don't understand what Jesus really wants for you. Well, which is it is Jesus someone who gives his people good gifts. Or are we meant to just suffer? Well, it depends on where you read in scripture and if you just jump in and you take one statement at face value, you might come away concluding one thing where you might come awake including the other thing if you're just a couple pages over but our task is christ-followers is not just to adopt the brand of Christianity that best fits our personality in our expectations and our desires, but we ought to be doing a whole scripture teaches about the Christian Life. I did the quote up on the screen there do that. I stole that for the title of this message afflict the comfortable Comfort The Afflicted right? Just this is one of those quotes that everybody knows but I never knew the source of my there was a newspaper writer who who who actually coined this phrase. He was talking about the newspapers right basically says the newspapers Comfort The Afflicted and afflict the comfortable will that phrase took on a life? Well, if it's only because how many people have ever heard of Finley Peter Dunne Nobody right but his quote. Is what you hear because it's been adopted by other people in the media. It's been adopted by Churches. It's been adopted by a ton of different people to advance this and say this is our job. We're here to comfort The Afflicted and afflict the comfortable. Well, there's a reason why because when you look at scripture by and large, that's what you see Jesus doing answer my question here this morning as We Gather before we look at these texts is which are you this morning? Are you afflicted? Or are you comfortable? And then the question is why? Why are you Afflicted? Why are you comfortable? And what does Jesus have to say to you in the life experience that you're living now? So let's look at Matthew chapter 10 starting in verse 34 Matthew chapter 10 verse 34 do not think that I have come to bring peace to the Earth did not come to bring peace but a sword for I have come to set a man against his father and a daughter against her mother and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law and a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me and whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Well, that sounds like that Macho brand of Christianity right there. Doesn't it? Jesus is endorsing this Stark reality right? Come follow me and everybody's going to hate you come follow me and be ready to die.

How many wants to sign up? I'd give me a pen. Let's go, you know, one of the one of the every week one of the things that I do is I'm preparing them looking at the text and I'm thinking about you guys believe it or not. I'm thinking about you guys something. Okay. What do you want to say your people this week? How do you want to impact them? How is this truth going to? Dive down deep into their hearts and then one of the ways that I think God does that a lot times has the illustrations right in the in the stories and that kind of stuff into this week. I thought about the ad that Ernest Shackleton you supposed to have taken out right? Because I seen this ad you guys have heard about this ad Ernest Shackleton took out. He says check out this ad is he was preparing for an Antarctic expedition and he took out who sings Two Men wanted for Dangerous Journey. Short Pettit Lopez short rations probably won't survive. Honor and respect if success is well, it comes and turns out like that never actually happened, but it's a great story. And so I really wanted to use it but finally decided the honestly that had never happened, but that's what I feel like Jesus is doing here right come follow me and get crucified. Come follow me and lose everyone. You ever loved come follow me. And be prepared to be treated just like me and for some of us would like to sign me up for that right stuff. Some of you crazy people that appeals to you for Jesus to call you to this exceedingly High costly following A discipleship. That will take everything. But that's not the only thing that Jesus said we have to not again think with our personality and look to Jesus for confirmation of our biases. We have to think what did Jesus actually say until we look we we balance that with his statement over in chapter 11 turn there with me. Matthew chapter 11 starting in verse 28 come to me all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light now at face value. Those could not be more opposite sales pitches, right if Jesus is a Salesman. Just trying to get people to sign up underneath them right? These could not be more opposite. Follow me. And be prepared to die. Follow me be prepared to lose everyone you've ever loved. Come to me. And I'll give you rest come to me and you'll find my yoke is easy. My burden is light. Jesus is not confused. If there's any confusion about how these to relate it's on us. This is what lot of people would want to present as a dichotomy where you guys know that the phrase dichotomy most often and are culturally associated with a false dichotomy. And that's that's like the trump card argument. You just say what you just making a false dichotomy right here your deer drawing a opposition between two points. These points are mutually exclusive. This is yes or no, right and we're saying that either following Jesus is really really hard and it's going to bring persecution or following Jesus is really really easy and it's going to bring rest and we would want to separate those out and say it's either or you can't have both. But this is not a false dichotomy this it these are not mutually opposed statements that Jesus is making and what we need to do is not think about it in terms of two mutually opposed directly opposed mutually, exclusive statements. We need to think about this is Two Poles the tension of which is essential to understanding Christianity to understand that these two realities are the Christ followers reality bid following Christ is necessarily going to bring persecution. VIP did Christ offers to us. Affliction for a comfortable lives but then to balance and stay and yet he also offers is comfort in the midst of our Affliction. This is the essential tension of following Christ, and I want you to hear me. Following Christ is not the path to certain comfort and ease and rest. Following Christ is not meant to be simply a masochistic Endeavor in which you suffer unendingly until you finally die and get to go to heaven. It's not meant to be one of the other the reality is following Christ is both. Following Christ carries with it this tension between these two equally seemingly opposing yet essential points and the Christian Life is found in the tension between them. Here's what I'm saying. You will never fully know the comfort of Jesus. until obeying him brings persecution You will never know the easy yoke in the light burden that Christ offers to those who follow him. Unless you are choosing to follow him. No matter what unless you are willing to endure the persecution and affliction of the world. You will never know the comfort of Christ too. Many of us want to bypass the obedient. Just get to the Comfort. Others of us say you keep that Comfort. That's for those weak people. I'm sufficient in myself. Just give me the hard stuff Jesus both are wrong. Instead we say Jesus. I want to follow you and I want to obey you would you comfort me because following you and obeying you no matter if I live in America or I live in North Korea is going to bring chaos. And if I'm faithful and obedient to you, there will be those who ridicule me. There will be those who want. Nothing more to do with me. There will be those who cut themselves off from me. And so I'm going to need your comfort Jesus. I'm going to obey you. I'm going to follow you. I'm going to be willing to die for you. Let me know your rest these two things must be held together. Let's look back at Matthew 10 again. We're going to look at Matthew 10, and I'm not going to go in-depth into the exegesis of this passage. I'll trust you to take some time this week to maybe study it but I think it's interesting. He says do not think that I come to bring peace to the Earth and like well, there's a contradiction right there. What the Angels Sing right when Jesus when Jesus was announced. Peace on Earth. Goodwill towards men It's not a contradiction. That's where we're heading. The Kingdom. Come is peace on Earth. The kingdom is already. Growing the kingdom is already there, but for not yet there this is the reality that peace comes after conflict peace comes after conflict. And so when he says I didn't come to bring peace on Earth. He's not talking about what's going to result when Christ is King and every knee bow and every tongue confess. Jesus is Lord. He's not talking about that. He's talking about your experience right now. He's talking to his disciples you talking to us and saying look you choose to follow me and they're going to be people who don't like it. Else where he says if they hated me they will hate you. If they persecuted me. And you're following me and you're obeying me and you're looking like me. Guess what they're going to persecute you. This is true. No matter where we live on earth we think about and I encourage you guys to continue to think about a couple weeks ago. We talked about the persecuted church and I encourage you to the download the Open Doors app and to pray for our brothers and sisters who are experiencing imprisonment or even death for their faith. We think about persecution being there, but I want to tell you that if we are faithful to obey the gospel here if we're faithful to have a Chrysler we will experience persecution. Jesus call to us is no different than his call to a brother or sister in a run. Follow me. And they're going to hate you and this brings division even into the household. It sets a man against his father a daughter against her mother and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. What's up, some of that, you know just happens naturally.

Surely not in any of your household. but when we follow Christ it will bring incredible incredible consequences into our lives And being faithful to Christ was sometimes mean choosing Christ over choosing our family. And this is a tough tough word person's enemies will be those of his own household and we hear that more like, oh that's good. But if you were in the first century and you heard that the family is everything in first-century culture. The family was everything Your Allegiance was to your blood family even over against your spouse, right? If a spouse disagreed with your family you were supposed to listen to your family. That was your primary Allegiance. No one else came between that and Jesus says you follow me and I'm going to get right up in the middle of the most crucial relationship of your life. You follow me and every other allegiances gone, you can pledge allegiance to me and me alone. And there will be those who hate you for that follow me and risk hatred follow me and forsake the Primacy of your biological family. Follow me and be prepared to die. Just like I'm getting ready to die. That's what Jesus is saying here. These are Stark choices. These are difficult. We need to count the cost of following Christ because the life that Jesus offers to his followers is one that carries with an incredible purpose join me in the work that I've been doing since before creation. Join me in the Eternal plan and purpose of God. But it comes with the terrible cost. And I have to be Lord. I have to be king. I have to be Sovereign over all in your life Follow Me. Jesus says in your leaving Comfort behind Follow Me. Jesus says and you no longer get to call the shots Follow Me. Jesus says in your life may be difficult. I think we can take the baby out. Follow me, even if it's hard how many of you are fans of JRR Tolkien? Does my heart good to see those hands? JRR Tolkien is one of my favorite writers and this week. I was frantically scrambling around the house looking for my copy of The Hobbit. Because how many of you read The Hobbit? Okay, so just lay it all online hear the movies are terrible. Don't watch them. Read the book The Hobbit is one of my favorite books ever and I was thinking about this as I was reflecting on these passes. I was thinking about the experience of the the main character in The Hobbit name is Bilbo Baggins, right? And actually what I want to do is I want to read to you the opening of The Hobbit. I don't want you to judge me as I do this because as I was as I was running around looking for my copy, I couldn't find it. This happens to me a lot. So I went and bought it on Kindle and I had to print out this but the opening of The Hobbit. I love this. I just want you literally people some of your not fantasy genre readers, but just go with me on this. Okay. Listen to this. This is this is the opening to The Hobbit. In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit not a nasty dirty wet hole filled with the ends of worms in an Uzi smell Noriega dry bear San Diego with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat. It was a hobbit hole. And this means Comfort this Hobbit was a very well-to-do Hobbit and his name was Baggins. The bagginses had lived in the neighborhood of the Hill for time out of mind and people consider it done very respectable. Not only because most of them were rich but also because they never had any Adventures or did anything unexpected you could tell what a Baggins would say on any question without the bother asking him. This is the story of how a Baggins had an adventure and he found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected. He may have lost the neighbors respect. But he gains well, you will see whether he gained anything in the end.

You may not be a litter a person I get it that is like the best intro in all of literature in a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit and he was comfortable and he never had any Adventures. But no good story is written about somebody who never has an adventure and when you read The Hobbit what you should if you haven't read your Bible first then read The Hobbit, okay. I don't want to get things Twisted here read The Hobbit written you read it and you liked it doesn't just have Adventure like he meets dragons. He meets goblins. He needs all of these mythical creatures and he's an incredible Peril. He's in danger of dying multiple times throughout this journey. And yet it would have been much of a story. If he never faced danger the Stark choice that Jesus is offering to those who follow him. Follow me into this Grand Adventure. Means that it becomes a good story. The last thing I want to do. Is to weed out my final breath here. an insert eternity and have no story to tell. To never have risked anything to never have had an adventure to never have tried anything to never have dared risk losing the neighbors respect. Right. We need to understand it what Jesus is invent inviting us to with this Stark choice. He's inviting us into an adventure and there are real dangers and there are real consequences and there will be people who do not like us because of our choice. But oh what a story. We'll have to tell. one day the Stark Choice says, yes, you can be safe by not following me. Yes, you can preserve your comfort by not doing what I say. But why in the world would you want to what in the world would be the point of living if there's not some purpose some great-grand glorious thing? To which you can give your life. Jesus is inviting you give your life to the grandest story of all. Join in the great Narrative of History pointing us to the glory of God in Salvation.

You giving up a lot, but it's worth it.

We also have to remember that when he invites us into the star choice. And we said there's a terrible cost that comes with it. We need to remember the other passage that we looked at Matthew 11 turn back there with me.

Matthew 11:28 come to me all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Does that sound good? Or what?

Come to me if you're busy. Hey buddy busy. Come to me if you got a lot on your plate. And I will give you rest lay down all of the work that you've taken upon yourself lay down the expectations that everybody around you is piling on top of you and come to me. Take my work on. Take on the task to which I've called you this great terrible costly task write these Jesus didn't forget what he said in Matthew 10, just cuz we moved to a new chapter. He says come to me and it's going to be work a yoke is a his is what you put on an oxen so they can do work. He's not saying come to me and just kick back relax pina coladas by the pool. He saying come to me and work for me. Come to me and pay this terrible cost. But what you're going to find is what you do that. I'm your sufficiency. I'm your rest. You're going to find it when you join me in obedience far from being this owner is burdened far from being this thing that you just cannot get through. You're going to find joy. You're going to find purpose you're going to find what you were created for and that heavy costly burn that when you're standing there in your town in the costume. You're saying I might have to die. If I follow Jesus I might lose my family. If I follow Jesus this might cost me everything if I follow Jesus when you do when you take that step when you come to Jesus you find his comfort waiting there for you. When you put down all the stuff that you've been carrying in the life that you've been trying to build a new put instead put on the life that he wants for you. Yes, it cost you but you're glad to pay it because of what you receive those who obey Christ those who join him in his work? Find the comfort of Christ waiting there for them. And every sacrifice is considered but lights because of what we gain when we join him. He says learn from me right come to me take on my work come to me and learn my way of life learn from what I do and what I say Jesus we Proclaim and this is good news. Don't miss this.

Jesus Is Our Savior Jesus is the one who reunites us with the god that we rejected. Jesus is the one whose life grants us. Redemption you can't earn salvation. You can't earn a relationship with God. You can't do that. Jesus already did it? So when he says come to me and do my work, he's not saying come to me do my work so that you can earn salvation know that's one of those heavy burdens that he says lay that aside. I've already done that.

But what he is saying is it when you come to me and you accept me as Savior you take for yourself the gift that I give of redemption of reconciliation with God when you believe that I took the punishment that you deserved all of a sudden now, your work is redeemed instead of being about earning you favor instead of being about pursuing your ends. This work becomes now rest. Because you're not trying to earn your simply pointing everybody back to what I did for you. You're not you're not trying to prove anything just as when you come to me and you take my yoke on you. You'll recognize that. This is refreshing work. This is comforting work. This is where we meet Christ and so many of us we get into trouble and we go running and we say Jesus. Where's your comfort people have rejected the face because of this they get into a mess and they say God get me out of the mess. And God doesn't get them out of the mess and they say will God must not be real. No, no, the comfort is always there but it's not there who are looking for the comfort. Is there who work for those who go to Jesus and say no matter the cost or follow you?

Man, that's refreshing decision to not carry the weight myself anymore. But you give everything my life my relationships everything to you Christ that's rest to no longer try to earn. Right standing with God no longer try to earn the approval of those around us no longer try to make ourselves happy with ourselves. But to say here I am and all my mess. here I am with all of my weaknesses all of my limitations and God use me, however you want. Do with me what you will that is the rest the Christ is calling us to that is the light burden that he places on those who follow him. Come to me do my work and learn that this is where true rest wasn't in the big retirement account. It wasn't in having all the toys. It wasn't me. That's what you were looking for the whole time. The life that Jesus offers is one of incredible purpose and terrific cost but it's one with an incredible purpose and amazing rest. Following Christ is going to lower our stock in the eyes of the world. But it is going to grant us joy. Comfort unimaginable in Christ. I want to read from the end of The Hobbit.

I couldn't resist it. I'm not joking. Like there's so many good parts of this book. But we have a limited amount of time.

At the end of all of his adventures Bilbo Baggins comes back home to the Shire he comes back and he discovers that they've assumed he was dead and they're having an estate sale to sell off his belongings. Nothing ruins a good estate sale like the owner showing up and saying hateful not ready to sell. That's what happened. But that's the thing that reads Bill those he comes back he comes back and this is where we pick up indeed Bilbo found that he has lost more than spoons long story. Some of his relatives stole them. Anyways, he had lost his reputation. It is true that forever after he remained an elf friend and had the honor of dwarves in Wizard and all such folk as ever passed that way but he was no longer quite respectable. He wasn't fact he'll buy all the hobbits of the neighborhood to be queer. I'm sorry to say that he did not mind He was quite content and the sound of the kettle on his heart was ever after more musical than it had been even in the quiet days before the unexpected party pick up to writing poetry and visiting the elves. I know many shook their heads and touch their foreheads and said poor old Baggins and a few believed any of his Tails. He remained very happy to the end of his days and those were extra ordinarily long.

When we come to Christ and we say will pay that terrible cost. This in a different way becomes our story. We're going to have neighbors to look at us and say. They're a little different. We're going to have family that doesn't want anything to do with us. We're going to have the world and its system look at us and say we'd really rather you weren't here. And we're not going to care one bit. We're going to be happy to know Christ and be known by Christ. We're going to be happy to pay whatever cost comes. To the end of our days and those will be extra ordinarily long all of eternity. Stretches out before the Christ follower as a gift as a gift for those who take the Yoke of Christ upon them because of Christ not because of their Own Strength. All of eternity stretches out in which God says I will give you rest.

It doesn't matter what Adventures we have along the way it doesn't matter what terrible. Perils we find ourselves in. The end doesn't change God's promises are sure we can be those who gladly pay the cost. We can endure persecution. We can endure ridicule. We can endure this removal. Of our freedom because a Christ. Because of the Comfort he offers is greater than any comfort this world has for us, but I want to return to the question. I asked you at the beginning.

Are you afflicted? Are you comfortable? And why? Are you being persecuted right now? Because of the work that you've done for the kingdom and the enemy is outraged that you would give allegiance to Christ instead of the him. Are you persecuted because you're preaching the gospel Faithfully

or are you persecuted because you're an arrogant know-it-all. Just being persecuted isn't the goal. Being faithful to Christ is the goal. When were faithful to Christ. The world will inevitably not like that. Are you Afflicted is it because you're being faithful to Christ? Or are you comfortable? Are you comfortable because you come to Jesus and you're doing his work and no matter what comes he sustaining you. Or are you comfortable because you've ignored his clear commands and built up quite a nice little life for yourself here. these questions matter the goal is not to be persecuted. The goal is to be faithful to Christ. The goal is not to be comfortable is to be comforted by Christ. and you Have to answer which is the reality in your life, but friends. My call this morning is that we would leave behind the world and its ways that we would not worry about the Perils of obedience that we would not fear the loss of comfort or power or influence. But instead that we would say Christ give us wisdom. To be faithful to you no matter what comes father. Give us Comfort through your son Jesus Christ. Friends, let's strike out on the adventure that is following Christ. It's going to be hard.

It will be difficult. It is perilous to obey. But Jesus offers comfort and rest to those who join him in this task, would you pray?