Do Not Fear; Proclaim the Truth

Matthew 10:16–42 (ESV)

Persecutions are going to come when you live the way that Christ intends. Persecutions may come from places that you never expected. Jesus said that I am sending you out as sheep’s among wolves. Sheep’s meaning the mild tempered, level headed, controlled human being. When God enters our lives He revolutionizes us. He changes the way we think, He changes the way we talk, He changes the way we act, He changes how we treat others, He changes who we are. Jesus makes us better, and He compels us to be the best version of ourselves that we can be.

The world is the exact opposite. They are selfish, they are vicious. The world seeks to hurt anyone who inconveniences them, or anyone who seems to get in the way of what they want to do. You have seen it happen before. Ever heard a rumor about someone? Have you ever heard a rumor that you knew was not true? Often times rumors are started because someone does not like what someone else is doing, so they attack the character of the other person in hopes that society will tear them down. The Pharisees did the same thing to Jesus when they told people that He worked under the power of the devil. But there are many ways people tear each other down.

Jesus said that I am sending you among the wolves, the bad people, because there are people who need to hear what I have to share. You cannot effect someone with the gospel if you do not take it to them. Even if that means you have to go out among the wolves. God said that He would protect us. God said that in the heat of the battle I will be there with you. He promises to give us the words to say when we are facing conflicts. This is what that means, you study God’s word and He will bring it back to mind while you are facing your prosecutors. Jesus cannot pull from an empty well. You must be pouring into your spiritual life so that it may pour out in times of need. But God will not leave us all by ourselves. Even unto death. We should not fear death because it belongs to God. God knows the exact second that your heart is going to stop beating, and He knows why that will be so as well. The Bible tells us that “precious in the eyes of the Lord are the death of His saints.” This means that God watches over your life intently, and when the day comes that you are ready to relinquish your life’s breath, you will be welcomed into His loving arms. Not a second before, and not a moment later. This is why we should not fear man, nor should we fear persecution. Jesus saw it all unfolding from the beginning of time. Jesus experienced it Himself, and He said if they attacked me, The Master, they will certainly attack you who are my sheep.

The important part is that we remain faithful, and we do the work that Christ called us to do despite what we face. There will be many that deny Christ no matter the effort you put forth. They will deny Him with their dying breath, and that is their choice. But there will be some, like many of you, who have accepted Him as their Savior, and they will live just as we will live, and Jesus will never forget us.

Jesus is a peace maker. He is the prince of peace, He desires that all be unified in peace, but Christ will make certain war until peace is the only thing that is left. Think about this. What is our main enemy? It is not the other girls, or the other guys, it is sin. Our enemy is an unseen force that strives to bring us down. It is against the devil and his followers himself. Not against our fellow humans. We were created for God’s purpose. We were created to do the good works. Even if we do not understand and accept this as many people do not. We were not created to fight each other, but to fight temptation and sin. Until that is conquered then there cannot be peace on earth. Until Christ wins out and rules victoriously, then there will be war. A spiritual battle.

Jesus said that He came to divide. He came to put father against son, mother against daughter, friends against friends, and neighbors against neighbors. God came to divide. One will follow Him, one will oppose Him, and the divide is created. You have two doors in front of you, and you must go through one. You have only one choice to make. Which will you choose? One is righteousness, one evil. This is the split that Jesus is talking about. As many are walking into the door of righteousness, massive crowds are forming at the threshold of evil and they are railing and ranting over at the few who choose righteousness. Sons look over and see their dads screaming at them for making the right choice. Friends look into the eyes of former friends as they laugh and point at you for making the right decision.

You see what is happening? You choose Jesus, and is it absolutely the right choice, but the world has made their choice, and you are different. They hate different, and they will take it out on you. Jesus said don’t you worry about that. You chose correctly, and they will pay the price for their decisions soon enough. You just continue to follow me, and I will take care of all those who do not accept you. You did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.

When we accept Christ, He places His Spirit within us. That means that when you are going about your day you have Christ within you. When people reject you, they reject Christ. When they make fun of you, they make fun of Christ. When they bully you, or make you feel bad, they are doing that to Christ as well and He says to shake it off and move on. He says to put it behind you, and allow Him to take care of your persecutors.

Life is hard. Persecution will come regardless of who or what you are. It is better for you to be persecuted for Christ than it is to fit in and follow the crowd. When you stand out, when you are different, people will take notice, and at some point you will catch heat for it. But it is okay. God will always take care of you, and He will always see to it that the best comes out of it all for His children. You just be faithful, put Him first, and follow His guidance.