The Dangerous Calling of the Lord
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Good morning church!
This morning may be a little different than normal I really feel the Lord has been dealing with me on some things, and He has really put a burden in my heart fro something.
But I am excited to share this with you this morning, and it is my prayer that God will speak to your hearts in our time together today.
The point of this message really comes out of a question that has been churning in my heart over the last year and I am not really sure how all of this is going to come out.
But the question God has placed in my heart is this: ARE YOU GOING TO BE A SEER OR A DOER? ARE YOU GOING TO BE A HEARER OR A DOER?
PLease turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew 10
Now to give you a little back round the disciples have been with Jesus for awhile at this point they have seen miracles they have seen demons cast out they have seen the sick healed and they have stood in awe of the Lordship of Christ. The lame walk, the blind see, the deaf hear.
I mean if you think about it the disciples had a front row seat at the feet of Jesus to see all that He was doing, but something began to shift and it probably scared them to death. Jesus called for them to congregate and huddle up and what Jesus was about to do would be a total shock to the disciples.
It is in this passage that we see Jesus hand out a dangerous calling. That is what I wanna talk with you about this morning THE DANGEROUS CALLING OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
Did you realize that if you are a born again child of the living God you have been given a Heavenly calling?
A calling is not just for pastors or Sunday School teachers or someone who is in full time vocational ministry. The calling given by the Lord Jesus Christ applies to everyone who has been washed in the blood redeemed from the domain of darkness and transferred over into the kingdom of light!
This calling is very detailed this is not some haphazard calling that is not specific no the Lord is very clear when He gives marching orders. We do none of these things alone. He goes with us on the journey if we are willing to step forward in obedience.
This morning we are going to be in Matthew 10 I will start reading in verse 16 and read through verse 39
“Look, I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as serpents and as harmless as doves. Because people will hand you over to sanhedrins and flog you in their synagogues, beware of them. You will even be brought before governors and kings because of Me, to bear witness to them and to the nations. But when they hand you over, don’t worry about how or what you should speak. For you will be given what to say at that hour, because you are not speaking, but the Spirit of your Father is speaking through you.
“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will even rise up against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of My name. But the one who endures to the end will be delivered. When they persecute you in one town, escape to another. For I assure you: You will not have covered the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. A disciple is not above his teacher, or a slave above his master. 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!
“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. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the light. What you hear in a whisper, proclaim on the housetops. 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. Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s consent. But even the hairs of your head have all been counted. So don’t be afraid therefore; you are worth more than many sparrows.
“Therefore, everyone who will acknowledge Me before men, I will also acknowledge him before My Father in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven. Don’t assume that I came to bring peace on the earth. I did 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;
and a man’s enemies will be
the members of his household.
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. And whoever doesn’t take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Anyone finding his life will lose it, and anyone losing his life because of Me will find it.
(Let’s Pray)
Well we have prayed for the election, and things didnt go our way thus far so now what?
It is easy when we see the corruption and the evil taking place in our world, the censorship of the presdient of the sitting President of the US it can be easy to get mad at the injustice taking place but what I have tried to do and continue to try to do is to leave everything in Gods hands.
To pay attention to watch and to pray for the truth to be revealed, to pray for Gods will for our nation, but ultimately that God would allow me to be able move forward with hope. It is easy when you pray hard for something to lose hope when things dont turn out the way you had hoped.
millions of people felt this way in 2016 when thier was snowflakes crying in the streets, there are millions right now that feel a great injustice has been done but we feel helpless, and still more will feel this same way if the Lord should tarry until 2024.
But we have to remember no matter what happens, in this life whether it goes in our favor or not in our favor as Christians our hope and our confidence is in the Lord. As Gods people we pray for our government leaders we vote for our leaders but our ope is not in them, our hope is in the Lord.
MY HOPE IS BUILT ON NOTHING LESS THAN JESUS BLOOD AND RIGHTEOUSNESS I DARE NOT TRUST THE SWEETEST FRAME BUT SOLELY REST IN JESUS NAME.
ON CHRIST THE SOLID ROCK I STAND ALL OTHER GROUND IS SINKING SAND
God raises up righteous Kings and unrighteous Kings in order to accomplish His purposes. The Bible tells us that the Lord whistled for the King of Babylon and called him to come and take captive the Jewish people. He would take them for 70 years back to Babylon in order that God might purge them of things.
Purge them from sins in their own lives, to teach them lessons that they would otherwise not learn if they lived under the comfort of a righteous King. So for 70 years God made them live with a selfish unrighteous King and the Bible says that while they were there in Babylon that the Jewish people would hang thier harps in the willow trees bc the music had left them.
They had no songs to sing, but through that time God was doing a work in the Hearts of His people and in the same way He was doing a work in the heart of that pagan king Nebuchanezzar of Babylon
I find myself often wondering what God is up to, but I also see the world in which we live and I dont have a clue what man is up toand man can be up to some pretty evil things in our world.
We hve got to be courageous church, because the days that lie ahead are uncertain and we miust be ready to obey the Lord in the face of government opposition and the new administration is very much against Christianity at least their words and their actions have been, so we have to make a choice now, will we be courageous?
Or will we shrink back from what God has called us to do?
Jesus gives us a gut check in Matthew 10 about what following Him looks like when we live in a world that doesn’t like us or doesn’t agree with us.
This command Jesus gives he didn’t just give to the twelve but anyone who follows the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you could summarize chapter 10 it would be basicaly this:
GET OUT THERE AND TELL PEOPLE ABOUT JESUS AND BE THE BEST EXAMPLE OF THE LOVE OF JESUS AND EXPECT THAT THERE WILL BE OPPOSITON AND HOSTITILITY EVEN AMONG YOUR OWN FAMILY MEMBERS
In the beginning of chapter 10 Jesus names and selects His original 12 apostles thier named here
Summoning His 12 disciples, He gave them authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out and to heal every disease and sickness. These are the names of the 12 apostles:
First, Simon, who is called Peter,
and Andrew his brother;
James the son of Zebedee,
and John his brother;
Philip and Bartholomew;
Thomas and Matthew the tax collector;
James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;
Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot,
who also betrayed Him.
Now Jesus hand picks these guys and sends them out into the world and kinda commissions them.
THen HE gives them a warning in advance, He says this is what your gonna experience if you live for me in the world:
1. Your going to be brought before councils (legal)
2. Your going to be scourged and beaten
3. BEtrayed by family
4. YOu will be hated by all for my names sake
These 12 get a taste of what living life for Jesus is going to be like later of course, they will experience the ultimate test when out of the 12 10 of them will be martyred for thier faith in Jesus.
Aside from Judas (hanged himself) and John who was banished by the emporer Domitian to the Isalnd of Patmos where he got the revelation of JEsus Christ.
The other 10 were martyred for thier faith in Jesus and Christian tradition tells us they were beaten burned clubbed to death, beheaded im telling you it was brutal.
Here in 10 Jesus is giving a taste and telling them and us and saying this calling is a dangerous calling. I mean how bad might it get here in the US will our faith cost us our lives one day? Im not sure at this point
What I do know is what Jesus tells us here he says if you are going to live for me in a world that will hate you:
WE ARE TO BE SENT OUT!~
“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.
We are to be sent out this is always what it means to be a Christian we are to live our lives sent...
To know every morning that we are called and commanded by the Lord to be His hands and feet in this old world and that is why we live.
There are people who say my faith is private but what they dont understand is that there is no such thing as a private faith. I mean not really, everyone Christ calls He calls us publicaly
“Therefore, everyone who will acknowledge Me before men, I will also acknowledge him before My Father in heaven.
But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven.
So Jesus calls us to be public about our faith to be bold in our faith, to be courageous in our faith. To not be ashamed that we identify with JEsus but to live on mission to live sent everywhere we go for the glory of the Lord
IN fact
Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”
This is about being sent out this is no time to retreat we are called to gather together and then be sent out not to retreat into our homes or climb up into our safe haven and pull the ladder up this is the caling that is upon every believer Be confident be unashamed confess Jesus and let it be known.
The challenege is when you live like this, then you expose yourself to the nastiness of the world who hates you. They wont like what you stand for that is why people wanna be silent bc as soon as you start trying to talk about Jesus there will be opposition.
BUt we cant stay quiet silence does nothing advances the kingdom of God so He sends us out, and in going out we must
2. EXPECT SOME OPPOSITION
Now some of this will be harmless, they wont wanna hear what you have to say you will get people shutting the door in your face so to speak.
If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that house or town.
They dont wanna hear what you have to say so just walk away and let the Lord deal with them you never know what seeds have been planted
BUt some of it will be more severe
Because people will hand you over to sanhedrins and flog you in their synagogues, beware of them.
ok so now beatings are invlived here people being so angry with you that they wanna do you harm, and some of the opposition certainly for Jesus’ disciples and others around the world is even deadly.
Even between your family members
“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will even rise up against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of My name. But the one who endures to the end will be delivered.
If you are into Christianity bc you wanna be liked by everyone you have come to the wrong place!
When you sdtand for Him and live for Him it will make people angry and HE says Christianity will drive wedges in between families
Don’t assume that I came to bring peace on the earth. I did 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;
and a man’s enemies will be
the members of his household.
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.
When Jesus says he came not to bring peace but a sword he is not advocating violence against your family he is just saying. There will be natural division in a home where there is one who loves Jesus and one who doesnt
There will be natural division
If some live for JEsus and love Jesus and He is the only way it becomes a divisive situation
You find your self in arguments you never wanted to be in
When one knows the Lord and the other doesnt it can drive a wedge in a family and JEsus says when push comes to shove in ome circumstances your going to have to decide who you love more.
As much as we love family we have to love Jesus more than anyone else
That doesnt mean we despise our family
SImply keep things in order
When we hear about this oppositon and how bad it vcan get especially for Jesus disciples and others around the world where they actually die for thier faith for far too long we have lived a sheltered cozy safe cRhistianity
Of ease and comfort but times they are a changing and lines are being drawn in the sand whether you realize it or not and things may get very uncomfortable for us so we need to take heart and we need to remember what
Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.
WE HAVE TO RUN WITH PERSEVERENCE CHURCH AND WE HAVE TO ALWAYS KEEP OUR EYES FIXED ON JESUS AND HE IS THE ONE WHO WILL CARYR US THROGH TO THE FINISH LINE!
3. WE ARE TO BE WISE AS SERPENTS AND HARMLESS AS DOVES
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
What he is saying here is this most people dislike snakes except for wierdos the only good snake is a dead snake
Most people dislike snakes and do whatever they can to attack snakes and kill them and yet snakes have this insiticntive way to slither away and escape and often do get away.
HE is saying get read to be hated like snakes and learn how to avoid the kind of harm that people will wanna inflict on you. learn from the snake and be wise and avoid harm when you can. but be harmless as doves
have you ever seen a dove attack?
they are a sybol of peace
Thats the idea avoid the temptation to wanna retaliate against the opposition you are getting.
BE a person of peace not retaliation
4. WE ARE TO FIND OUR LIVES BY LOSING OUR LIVES
And whoever doesn’t take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Anyone finding his life will lose it, and anyone losing his life because of Me will find it.
The call to follow JEsus is the call to die to yourself, and be willing to take up your cross and follow Him
If we live for ourselves we will never experience true and meaningful life but if we die to ourselves and our own selfish sinful lives and put our faith in Jesus then we can know true abundant life.
(squirt gun/fountian)