So that is our prayer, that is our delight, and
that is our hope that we look for him. Junior
Church, if you will be dismissed at this time
through the back doors as they're making their
way out. If you open your Bibles to Matthew chapter
5. No, Matthew chapter 10. I was just in Matthew
5 for a while and it just was kind of muscle
memory, I guess. I don't know. Some of you just
had a heart attack. Please, no, don't go back.
We're in 10. Verses 16 through 23 this morning
will be our text. Jesus speaking to the 12 there
gathered right before they are sent out on their
first mission. He says, Behold, I send you out
as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore, be
wise as serpents and harmless as doves. But beware
of men. for they will deliver you up to councils
and scourge you in their synagogues. You will
be brought before governors and kings for my
sake as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.
But when they deliver you up, do not worry about
how or what you should speak, for it will be
given to you in that hour what you should speak.
For it is not you who speak, but the spirit of
your father who speaks in you. Now brother will
deliver up brother to death. And a father his
child and children will rise up against parents
and cause them to be put to death. And you will
be hated by all for my name's sake. But he who
endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute
you in this city, flee to another. For surely
I say to you, you will not have gone through
the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
Would you bow with me in a word of prayer? Father,
we thank you this morning, Lord, for your word.
Lord, we thank you for the privilege we have
to assemble, to praise, Lord, to sing worship
to your name. And I thank you for the message
and song, Lord. Oh, Father, we as your people
are an expectant people. We're expecting the
arrival of our Lord. Even so, come. Lord, today
would you help us, Lord, as we gather, Lord,
to hear from heaven. Lord, would you please feed.
your people with the bread from on high, the
living bread, the true bread that has come down
from heaven, which is Christ himself, the true
bread that we'll celebrate in the sacrament just
in a few moments. God help us, Lord, this morning
we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. In February of
2015, 21 young Christians were captured by ISIS
militants in Libya. These men mostly were Egyptian
migrant workers just looking for a better life.
They were captured, they were tortured, and then
they were given a choice. They could renounce
their faith and live, or they could continue
to confess Jesus Christ and die. All 21 of them
refused to deny Christ. This is on video. Many
of you probably had seen it as it was televised.
Some of the men were heard whispering. Their
final words were, Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, Lord
Jesus. This was their final words. Just moments
before they were beheaded. I was reading a report
this week in Nigeria. It is estimated that over
52 ,000 people have been killed during the last
14 years for being a Christian. According to
the International Society for Civil Liberties
and Rule of Law, at least 14 million have been
uprooted. 8 million have been forced to flee
their homes to avoid being hacked to death. Five
million have been displaced and are now living
in refugee camps. When we hear stories like this,
we realize that Jesus' words in Matthew 10 are
not just an ancient warning for an ancient people.
They are words for disciples in every age. Behold,
I send you out as sheep among wolves. Our text
is Matthew 10, verse 16 through 23. The Lord
is preparing his disciples for the cost. I'm
being faithful to him. The context. It's been
a few weeks since we're here because of homecoming.
The context, Jesus has called the 12 apostles
to them. He's getting ready to send them out.
He's given them power to heal diseases and leprosy,
but also to cast out demons. That's a demonstration
that the kingdom of God was at hand. So they're
getting ready to embark upon this first missionary
tour throughout Israel, but only Israel. If you
look at verses 5 and 6 of the text, it says,
Jesus says, do not go into the way of Gentiles,
do not enter a city of the Samaritans, but go
rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
You're not to leave this geographical area, is
what Jesus was saying. And here's one message.
Preach that the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Now, if you're really going to understand Matthew's
gospel, you have to understand how he composed
the book. This book is not written chronologically.
If you look at it chronologically, it's going
to trip you up. Instead, he's marshalling passages
from elsewhere, and he's focusing more on catechism,
more on instruction. Now, the first 15 verses
of chapter 10 apply only to the 12 original apostles
in their first mission. But beginning in verse
16 in our text today, you start to see the horizon
expanding, and it will include the wider mission
of the church throughout history, even going
to the Gentiles. There are just five points this
morning. And I'm not very creative, but these
all begin with B, so I used them. Verse 16, behold.
17 and 18, beware. 19 and 20, be calm. 20 and
21, 22, be prepared. And the latter part of 22
and 23, be faithful. Let's look at these this
morning. First, verse 16, behold. Behold, I send
you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore,
be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Now
think with me. Can you ever imagine a shepherd
deliberately sending his flock of sheep into
a wolf -infested land? I mean, no shepherd would
ever do that. In fact, the shepherd is there
to protect the sheep from the wolves. But this
is exactly what Christ, who is the good shepherd,
did. See, he starts, he's talking to the twelve.
He says, behold. Hey, listen up. Take note here.
What I'm getting ready to say is very important.
I am sending you out. You are my sheep. And you
will be going out into a land full of wolves.
Now we know it is normal for a predator to go
after prey. But Jesus said, I'm sending the prey
to go after the predator. So what is Jesus doing
here? He's giving them an advance warning that
the mission they are about to embark upon will
not be easy. He's purposely, he knows the dangers
that await them. He is purposely sending his
apostles out into hostile territory. Why would
he do that though? Because those who live in
hostile territory are the ones who need to hear
the message. The kingdom of God is represented
by the sheep. The weakness of sheep. And yet
the kingdom of God represented by the weakness
of sheep is going to overcome the violent world
of the wolves. I think here we see one of those
other kingdom paradoxes. If you look through
the gospels and when Jesus is talking about his
kingdom, it is full of paradoxes. For example,
he says, the way up is down. If you're going
to be exalted, you must humble yourself. If you
want to save your life, you've got to lose it.
You want to be great in the kingdom of God? Then
you be the servant of all. All you want to get,
then you must give. And if we're going to win
the world, we must go out as sheep amidst wolves.
Now you might think that since the apostles are
going to be preaching to Israel that their Messiah,
their king had come, they would receive a warm
reception. I mean, that's good news. You might
even expect for Israel to roll out the red carpet
and welcome these men and their message. And
Jesus says, no. Instead of being welcomed, you
will be hated. You will be ridiculed. And you
will be persecuted for your faithfulness to me.
Since they are going out into a land inhabited
by wolves, he says you need to be wise as serpents,
shrewd and cunning, and harmless as doves. So
in other words, don't be stupid like sheep. Yes,
you're sheep, but I don't want you to be naive
or stupid like a sheep is. I want you to be shrewd.
I want you to have cunning, if you will, even
the cunning of a serpent, meaning to be sensible.
Be aware of what is going on around you. But
you need to be shrewd without causing harm. Harmless
as doves. So you have the serpent's shrewdness
without the malice of the serpent. So serpents
have venom. So I want you to be as shrewd as
a serpent, but you don't have the venom or the
poison they have. In fact, he says to his sheep,
he says, you are to be harmless. But not naive.
Not gullible. But gentle. Humble. Meaning, you
are going to experience a lot of frustration,
a lot of opposition, but do not let the opposition
and the difficulty you encounter cause you to
be bitter or revengeful or even seek retaliation
upon your enemies. You sheep are being sent out.
Don't you go try to destroy the wolves. Rather,
you seek to save them. Seek to convert them.
So when we think about the Christian, the mission
of the church, we are to be wise and we are to
be innocent. But that's how you navigate life
in a fallen world. Friends, even today in the
21st century, we need to be wise and we need
to be innocent. We need to be shrewd, but we
need to be harmless. Behold, I'm sending you
out as a sheep in the midst of wolves. Beware.
Verse 17. But beware of men, for they're going
to deliver you up. Listen, these men. Beware
of men. These are the wolves that Jesus just
spoke of. And Jesus begins to lay out the ill
treatment that the disciples are going to encounter.
They're going to deliver you up to councils.
They're going to scourge you. They're going to
bring you before governors and kings. But if
you look closely at this treatment, this is exactly
how they treated the Lord first. Before the church,
before his apostles will ever experience this
abuse, Jesus will first experience it, and then
he's going to set the example for his disciples
to follow. In John 15, Jesus said this, If the
world hates you, know that it hated me before
it hated you. If you were of the world, the world
would love its own. Yet because you are not of
the world, but I chose you out of the world,
therefore the world hates you. Remember the word
that I said to you, a servant is not greater
than his master. If they persecuted me, they
will also persecute you. If they keep my word,
they will also keep your word. So look, it says
you're going to be handed over to councils. Jesus
was handled over to the Jerusalem council, the
Sanhedrin. He was brought before Pilate. He was
scourged before he was even brought to Pilate.
And he says likewise. the followers of Christ,
you too are going to be handed over to councils,
to governors, to kings. Those are all civic authorities,
by the way. Councils, governors, kings. That
you also be scourged in the synagogues. Meaning
the persecution that his church is going to experience
is going to come from civic authorities, but
also from religious authorities. They get it
from both ends. Excuse me. But why are they being
persecuted? He said, for my sake. The church
is going to be hated, treated with contempt,
and persecuted simply because they belong to
Christ. The church, we, the church, we don't
belong to the world. And the world hates the
church just as it hated Christ. Christ was giving
his disciples an advance warning. He said, listen,
this is why I need you to listen up. Behold,
listen carefully. You need to be shrewd as a
serpent because men are going to seek to hurt
you. In fact, they're going to seek to kill you.
Be aware of that, but don't retaliate. Do not
hurt those who are hurting you. You'd be harmless
as a dove. And the disciples, they were willing
to suffer for his sake as a testimony to him.
See, the testimony that arises from being persecuted,
it's not comfortable, but it is very credible.
The apostles being willing to suffer because
they were convinced of the truthfulness of the
message they were preaching. They were convinced
of that. And their witness, now notice, their
witness is going to now extend beyond Israel.
Back in verses 5 and 6, he said, don't go outside
of Israel. But now, he says, this testimony will
be to Israel and to the Gentiles, if you look
down at verse 18. So in other words, the church's
mission, the church's witness, The church's testimony
will be international. But how is this going
to gain that international audience? Through
suffering. We don't have time, but you can look
over in the book of Acts, and you will see the
persecution of the apostles, just as our Lord
warned them of here in Matthew chapter 10. But
it was this suffering that caused the gospel
to spread and to expand. In Acts chapter 8, Stephen
was martyred in Acts chapter 7. And Saul, who
would later become Paul, was there consenting
to his death. And a great persecution arose against
the church, Acts 8 .1, which was at Jerusalem.
That's where the church was. And they were all
scattered throughout the regions of Judea and
Samaria, except the apostles. They stayed behind
in Jerusalem. Therefore, those who were scattered,
I love verse 4, went everywhere. And what were
they doing? Preaching the word, preaching the
gospel. So it starts in Jerusalem, goes to greater
Judea, into Samaria. See, here's the thing. Satan
has always sought to use persecution to stop
the spread of the gospel. He will use the threat
of physical violence to keep you in fear so that
you don't open your mouth. But it was really
ironic. In fact, this was the tool that our Lord
used to make his message known. The church has
never been stopped because of persecution. Persecution
has always purified the church. It has always
made the church stronger, not weaker. But the
age of persecution did not die off with the apostles.
The church continues to shine the light of Christ
in a dark, fallen world, and it continues to
face the hostility of a dark, fallen world. Think
of Nigeria. Think of Libya. Think of North Korea.
We could go on. Therefore, the church, even today,
continues to be hated. And it will face the ire
of men who will seek to dim its light and silence
her witness. People do not want the prophetic
voice of the church. Now, knowing that persecution
is coming, what is the church to do? Be calm.
Look at verse 19. But when they deliver you up,
don't worry about how or what you should speak.
For it will be given to you in that hour what
you should speak. For it is not you who speaks,
but the spirit of your father who speaks in you.
Notice he says when they deliver you up, not
if they deliver you up. The church is to expect,
in every age, some sort of suffering. But he
says, do not worry. Don't be anxious. Just be
faithful. Don't worry about what you're going
to say in that hour of trial, because God is
going to be there to give you the words, and
he will give you the strength that you most need
in the moment you most need it. And you can easily
see that. I mean, the Bible is full of these
examples. In Acts chapter 26, remember the Apostle
Paul had been arrested, and he was allowed to
give a defense before King Agrippa, before being
sent off to Rome. And in Acts 26 .1, notice what
Paul said. Then Agrippa said to Paul, you are
permitted to speak for yourself. So Paul stretched
out his hand, he answered for himself, and I
didn't take the time to, we're not going to read
it. Verses 2 all the way down to verse 23 is
Paul's defense. And he gives an excellent defense
and an incredible testimony before Festus. and
also Bernice, and King Agrippa was there. And
it's a gripping testimony. So much so that King
Agrippa in verse 28 says, Paul, you almost persuade
me to become a Christian. What haunting words
that I'm sure that Agrippa is remembering even
today. You almost persuaded me. But God, the
point here is God strengthened the Apostle Paul.
He gave him the words that he needed to speak
before the king. You see the same thing in Acts
chapter 4. Peter and John had been arrested in
the temple for preaching in the name of Christ.
They were beaten. They were held in custody.
And then Peter was given a chance to give a defense
before the governing authorities. Now keep in
mind this Peter who weeks earlier or months earlier
would have been the one who denied Christ three
times before servant girl. But in Acts chapter
4, you see a whole new Peter. And I do want to
read this, beginning in verse 8. Then Peter,
filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, rulers
of the people and elders of Israel, this is an
august body here. These are the ruling authorities.
If we this day are judged for a good deed done
to a helpless man, because they killed a man,
by what means is being made well, well, let me
tell you about it. Let it be known to you all
and to all the people of Israel, And notice the
boldness of Peter. That by the name of Jesus
Christ of Nazareth, whom you, and he's speaking
to elders and rulers, whom you crucified, whom
God raised from the dead, by him this man stands
before you here whole. It's not by Peter and
John, it's by Christ. This Christ is the stone
which was rejected by you builders. But it's
not rejected, it's become the chief cornerstone.
And just so you know, nor is there salvation
in any other, for there is no other name under
heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John
and perceived that they were uneducated, untrained
men, because these are erudite scholars who are
judging them, they marveled, and I love this,
and they realized they'd been with Jesus. The
Holy Spirit was with Peter, giving him the right
words, bold words, to say at the moment that
he needed to speak. And you can read the apostles
were beaten. They were imprisoned. They were
dragged into courts. They were flogged. They
were brought before kings. They were brought
before governors. And the whole time, the Holy
Spirit was with them, strengthening them, giving
them words they needed to speak. You're like,
yeah, but those are the apostles. Right, we're
not. But even today, Christians who are persecuted
for their faith and given an opportunity to speak,
the Holy Spirit will be with them to give them
the words and the strength they need in that
moment. Who was the one strengthening those 21
martyrs on that beach in Libya? The Holy Spirit.
Giving them the privilege and the opportunity
and the courage not to deny Christ. See, our
job is not to worry what we're going to say.
What is our job then? Be faithful. Be a faithful
witness to Christ, whatever it costs you. And
then trust that God is going to give you the
words you need in that hour. Now, let me just
say something here as a side note. God's promise
to give us the words does not mean we should
be passive or irresponsible or not prepare. I
have heard some preachers say, we don't need
to study. You just get up in the pulpit and you
speak on the fly because God's going to give
you the words you need in that moment and they
will use this text. That's not at all. That's
a terrible exegesis. That's not what he's saying.
You and I are to be prepared. In fact, 1 Peter
3 says, sanctify the Lord God in your hearts
and always be ready to give a defense to everyone
who asks you a reason for the hope that is in
you with meekness and fear. You ought to be able
to give a credible witness. You better be prepared
to stand for Jesus. But what our Lord is saying
in this passage is that any anxiety, give that
to the Lord, let that be surrendered to God,
and he's going to be with you. We are to behold.
We are to beware. We are to become and be prepared.
Verse 21. Be prepared for what? Even family members
might turn against you. Brother against brother,
father against child, children against parents,
causing them to be put to death. And then verse
22, he moves from family to everyone. Everyone's
going to hate you for my name's sake. I can't
imagine this. Family members turning against
you for the cause of Christ, turning you into
authorities and having you put to death. Documented
cases throughout church history. A hatred for
Christ will sever even family ties. Many throughout
the ages have lost. siblings and parents and
children because of their faithfulness to Christ.
A few weeks ago or a few months ago, Todd Kincaid
on a Sunday night was here serving there in Rome,
working with like Bangladesh refugees and others,
primarily predominant Muslim countries. And when
they are baptized, they have people in their
church today in Rome who have no contact with
their families because they are dead to their
families because they were baptized in the name
of the triune God because they are faithful to
Christ. And if they go home, if they go back
to Bangladesh, they die. There's a bounty on
their head. But our loyalty, listen, our loyalty
to Jesus must surpass even our loyalty to our
family. That's not my demand. That's Christ demanding
that. In Luke chapter 14, he says, if anyone
comes to me and doesn't hate his father and his
mother and his wife and his children and brothers
and sisters, even his own life, well, he can't
be my disciple. He demands that level of loyalty
because he's worthy. No one can come above Christ.
Not even your children. We see the hatred that
grows from family members in verse 21. He says,
hey, but you're going to be hated by all. Verse
22. Why? He says, for my namesake. You really
want to follow me? Do you know what it's going
to cost you? So it's because we're associated
with Jesus. But let me ask you this. Why does
the world hate Jesus? We love him. Why does the
world hate him? Because he's light. He's truth.
He is holiness. And he exposes the darkness and
the evil of the world. In John 3, Jesus said
this. This is the condemnation. That the light,
that's Christ, has come into the world. But men
love darkness rather than light because their
deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil
hates the light. This is not morally neutral
people. They're bent toward evil. This is the
depravity of man and does not come to the light.
See, the gospel of Jesus Christ exposes sinners.
It exposes our sin and the world hates that exposure.
The message of the gospel is that we must repent
of our sin. We must surrender to Christ and we
follow him. But the world, the world apart from
Christ, they love autonomy. The world loves the
right to do what they want to do when they want
to do it. And Christ does not allow for that.
He doesn't. You have a new Lord. Let me give
you one example. And it's an easy example because
it's so prevalent and easily seen in our society
in the sexual deviation perversion of our culture.
The church has always proclaimed from the beginning,
That sexual activity is restricted by God's design
of one, now I have to say this now, biological
man and one biological female in a covenant union
of marriage until death separates them. That's
it. Anything and everything outside of that is
sin. Morally wrong. That knocks out, that forbids
fornication. Any type of sexual activity before
marriage doesn't matter if it's homosexual or
heterosexual. Any sexual activity. Boys will
not be boys and all this is just people fooling
around. It's sin before a holy God. Living together
before marriage, it's on the rise. Doesn't matter.
It's not practical. It is evil. It is sinful.
The church has always stood for that. And we
don't need to tolerate it. We need to expose
it. And people get mad. And then we can come
to, before we get to the other easily things,
what about the people get married and divorced
and married and divorced? It's not right. Marriage
is a union, a covenant before God taking sacred
vows that you're not dissolving that covenant
until death separates you. Then, of course, we
have homosexuality. And so many today try to
twist and pervert the scriptures to allow for
that. You can't do it, friends. It's impossible
to do. And then we have the blight of transgenderism.
Men thinking they're women. Women thinking they're
men. Friends, it's insanity. It's Rome. And the
message that I just spoke is odious to the world.
They hate it. And if you mess with one of the
world's idols, which is sexual autonomy, they
will hate you and they will seek to silence you.
Anyone who speaks out on this matter is in danger
of being silenced, canceled, shunned. What do
you think got John the Baptist killed? Do you
remember there was King Herod? King Herod was
sleeping with his brother Philip's wife Herodias.
And John the Baptist looked at the king and said,
hey, that's against the law of God. You can't
do that. And the lady, Herodias, said, well,
watch me. And she had his head put on a platter.
He was killed for that message alone. Jesus says,
whoever does not forsake all that he has cannot
be my disciple. You want to follow him? Because
man is depraved, he hates light. He hates those
who bear witness to light. It has always been
this way. It will always be this way until the
time when Christ returns. It's not going to change.
So the church, you must be calm. You must be
prepared. And finally, you must be faithful.
Look at verse 22, the latter part. But he who
endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute
you in the city, flee to another. For assuredly,
I say to you, you will have not gone through
the cities of Israel. Before the Son of Man comes.
Even in the face of persecution and possible
martyrdom, the disciples must remain loyal to
Jesus. You cannot, you cannot abandon Christ
because it becomes too hard. Just consider the
book of Hebrews. There are warning passages.
You do not turn your back on Christ. Remaining
true with your loyalty to Jesus, it may cost
you your life. But then you will be saved. Although
you must remain faithful to Christ, that does
not mean you must stay where you are being persecuted.
If they persecute you in this city, Jesus said,
well, move on to the next. You don't have to
keep casting your pearls before swine. Look at
the Apostle Paul. You see that in his ministry.
He was persecuted. He would move on. Fleeing
is not cowardice. It is prudence. Now, sometimes
it is more prudent to stay. Sometimes people
say, you know what, even if it costs me my life,
I'm not moving. I'm staying here. I think of
Sandy's pastor back in the time when the city
of Juarez was under great, tremendous violence.
Everyone, it was a city of about 3 million people,
and about half of it fled. A million and a half
people fled. And her pastor had an opportunity
to come to the states and take a pastorate here
in the states. And literally, there was a time
when he walked outside and his neighbor was being
riddled with bullets. Walking out of Costco,
the crank wreck, made someone's gun down right
there. Violence was everywhere. People afraid
to leave their house. And I said, Jorge, why
did you not leave? You had the opportunity to
come. And he said, what kind of shepherd would
I be if I left my sheep when they needed me most?
He said, if it cost me my life, I was going to
stay. The Apostle Paul, though, you see in his
ministry, when persecution began, he'd leave
that city and go to the next. By the way, this
allowed the gospel to spread very rapidly. Now,
this section of text closes with a promise. Jesus
says, You will have not gone through all the
cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes.
Now listen, I've read a lot. I've read every
different interpretation. This is a very difficult
verse, and there are many different interpretations.
I'm going to give you the one I think works the
best and fits context. Let me just say right
now, it's not referring to the second coming
at the end of the age. How do you know that?
Because he's saying, hey, you twelve, you're
on a preaching tour in Israel, you won't even
get through all of Israel until the Son of Man
comes. Well, that was done at Pentecost, by the
way, even before then, and the Son of Man has
not returned. So now notice, pay attention, see
if you can follow this line of argumentation
here. He tells the twelve, you're going to go
on a preaching tour, you're going to go through
Israel, strictly Israel, don't go up to verses
5 and 6, don't go anywhere else. And you won't
even make it all the way through until the Son
of Man comes. He doesn't say Son of Man comes
again. He says until the Son of Man comes. Now
that language, the Son of Man coming, is borrowed
from a text in Daniel chapter 7, and we see it
various places in Matthew's Gospel. Now let me
give you the text in Daniel 7. I was watching
in the night visions, and behold, one like the
Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven,
he came to the ancient days. This is a vision,
friends. The Trinity's not split up by this.
This is a vision. And they brought him, that's
the son of man, near before him, that's the ancient
of days. Then to him, the son of man, was given
dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples,
nations, and languages should serve him. His
dominion is an everlasting dominion which will
not pass away and his kingdom the one which will
not be destroyed. Okay. That's Daniel's vision.
So Daniel sees the son of man. What's Jesus'
favorite title for himself? Son of man. He uses
it all the time. And Daniel sees the Son of Man
coming to the Ancient of Days. That's God the
Father seated on his throne. And it says at this
time, Daniel's time is still future, the Son
of Man was given an everlasting kingship over
all the earth, over all people. Now the Son of
Man is coming before God to be crowned as king
over all people. Notice this coming is not on
the earth. He says he's coming in the clouds
of heaven. That's Daniel 7. So the coming is
speaking of a heavenly enthronement when this
son of man is vindicated and pronounced as king.
Now this is referring to Jesus' coronation. Keep
in your mind, when was Jesus crowned as king?
When was the kingdom inaugurated? This view is
further supported by Matthew 26. Jesus, now we
skip forward 16 chapters. He's standing there
before the religious authorities. But he kept
silent. The high priest said to him, I put you
under oath by the living God. Tell us if you
are the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus said, it
is as you said. And then he quotes Daniel 7.
Nevertheless, I say to you hereafter, you will
see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand
of the power and coming in the clouds of heaven.
Okay, so he's referring back to Daniel 7. When
did Christ receive the kingdom from his Father?
The Lord Jesus suffered. He was crucified, buried,
and yet the third day he was vindicated and raised
from the dead by the Father. He ascended 40 days
later into heaven. We don't make much of the
ascension, but we should, and I've tried to do
this here in this church. 40 days later at the
ascension, he enters into heaven. He is crowned
as king at his ascension. And that is known in
church theology as Jesus' session. He goes in.
He receives the kingdom. He's seated at God the
Father's right hand. His being seated is known
as his session. And from there, he rules from
the Father's right hand until all his enemies
are placed under his feet. Till his enemies are
made his footstool, the Bible says. The kingdom
was inaugurated. It came when Christ was crucified.
He's buried. He rose again. He ascended into
heaven. He came before his father and received
his kingdom. And Christ right now currently rules
from heaven, but the kingdom now is expanding
beyond the borders of Israel into all nations
until the time that he returns in final judgment.
I'm going to give you a summary and see if I
can clear up any loose ends. The coming of the
Son of Man in Matthew 10 .23 is referring to
Jesus coming to receive his kingdom. It marked
the end of a specific mission to Israel. Before
that, the apostles were not to leave Israel.
After that, they were to go into all the nations.
Look at Jesus' final words in the Great Commission.
Go and make disciples of whom? All the nations.
The universal kingdom of Christ was established
at his ascension. And at that moment, the church's
mission was broadened from those narrow borders
of Israel to expand into the entire world. But
until that time, until that happened, these 12
men were to only minister where? To the cities
of Israel. And he says, you're not going to make
it all throughout Israel before the Son of Man
comes. Comes where? Into his kingdom, before
the kingdom is annihilated, death, burial, resurrection,
and ascension. That's Matthew 10, 23. When we
get to Matthew 24, at the Olivet Discourse, he
is going to talk about the final return of the
Son of Man to the earth and final judgment. Now,
I know you could have a lot of questions, and
I know I spoke very quickly there, but I really
think that's a good interpretation. It's the
best I have. I've read a lot. I think it fits.
Everything else did not fit. And if you want
to argue about it, hey, have at it. I'm fine
because we're good. Because there's a lot of
people that would say, some say it's Pentecost.
Men like Calvin, Theodore Boza, and St. John
Chrysostom from the 4th century. I don't know.
I think this works. So take it as you want. But
that's what I think it means. So now let me just
summarize. Let's go to the close. Give me the
two -minute warning here, all right? We're down
to it. Now what? As a follower of Christ. You
are to sanctify the Lord in your heart and follow
him implicitly. But you are to expect there to
be opposition. Do not be caught off guard because
your life is not easy. Don't be caught off guard
because your life is marked out for suffering,
because some are. Faithfulness, fidelity to Christ
will often bring suffering. But don't quit. Persevere
in this race that God has given you to run. And
let me say to moms and dads and to grandparents,
I beg you, I beg you, teach your kids this. We
have adopted a soft prosperity theology in the
church in the Western world. That somehow being
with Jesus is going to make life better and there's
no promise of that whatsoever. I was thinking
about this message and I was thinking yesterday
and I was thinking about my own son. What would
I have wanted him to do if he's 21, if he's a
young man in his 20s standing on a Libyan beach
saying you either deny Christ or you save your
life or you lose your head. I'll lose your head,
son, to the glory of Christ. And that would kill
me. But don't deny your Lord. But are we prepared
to do that? See, we're not. If we're just getting
cotton candy and games and silly things all the
time. Friends, this is a sobering thing. Jesus
said this is what you expect. Teach them. It
might come. It may not. But look to the church.
Look to those people who have suffered for Christ.
And God's going to give you the strength and
the wisdom. And he'll give you the words when
you need them. And God will not abandon his people,
especially in the dark season. He's with you,
friends. He is for you. He is with you. And don't
quit because your salvation is proven by your
perseverance. Perseverance does not earn it.
It's grace through faith. Perseverance proves
it. Endurance is the mark of a true disciple.
We persevere only because God in his grace is
preserving us until that final day. Don't lose
your reward, folks. This is the mission of the
church throughout the ages. Let's pray. Father,
we thank you for your word, and Lord, I thank
you for your help, and Lord, I pray that you
would use Perhaps unclear words of mine, I don't
know, Lord, to stir someone up in their spirit,
Lord. God, use this word, Lord, the best we could
execute it, to minister to the saints that are
gathered here, but to awaken sinners. Lord, no
doubt there may be some who still, Lord, are
apart from Christ. They've never, ever identified
with him. They've never bowed the knee to him
and surrendered in faith. God, awaken them. to
their soul's peril. Awaken them to their soul's
delight in Christ. Father, help us to trust you
to do this and not in the power of persuasion.
We ask God that you would meet with us now at
the table, the table of the Lord, which is given
to us. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.