Risky Living | Matthew 10:24-39

There's a grace to mixing things up. You know,

this morning, you know, sometimes things become

so familiar, we become complacent in them. We

lose sight of what's important. You know, speaking

of familiarity, there's a saying of Jesus that

has been a source of contention for me personally

during my entire Christian walk. It's likely

that you're familiar with it as well. It was

our call to worship today and it appears in some

form in all four gospel accounts. And essentially

it's this, Jesus is telling us, if we want life,

we have to lose it. And the trouble with that

familiar statement, it's that juxtaposition,

life versus death. And it's a bit confusing if

you think about it. It's like saying, if you

really want something, you want to lay hold of

it, you have to let it go. That's hard for us

to comprehend and to understand. How does it

make any sense? Now I was raised in an evangelical

church. I've wrestled with the concept of losing

your life for Christ in order to gain it many

times. Over the years, I've thought I've gained

insight at various points and learned what it's

meant, but that happens over and over again.

I keep learning what it means more and more.

So I'll confess to you this morning, I haven't

mastered the meaning or the application of it,

but this past month when I was traveling with

Christian brothers and sisters through South

Africa and Zimbabwe, I learned it some more.

And I think it's worth it to share it with you

today because there's a connection, I think,

with where we've been in 1 Corinthians. One theme

that kept sticking out to me is that in losing

our lives for the sake of Christ, risk is involved.

In losing our lives for Christ, risk is involved.

Living for Christ is not safe. Let me say that

again. Living for Christ is not safe, but it's

always secure. And we're gonna try to understand

the difference between those two concepts today.

To set the stage, I wanna read today's passage

in Matthew chapter 10. So if you have your Bibles,

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

go ahead and turn there or tap there, Matthew

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10. And let me set the context for you.

The context of that passage in Matthew 10 is

the sending of the 12 disciples. during Jesus'

earthly ministry, what we would come to call

the apostles. And chapter 10, verse 1 makes it

clear, this is directly to those 12, verses 2

through 4, name them specifically. It's important

for our sake because sometimes, you know, we

come to the Bible and we're reading and we're

wanting to get a word from the Lord, and sometimes

we just miss the specific context. We've got

to recognize here, he is speaking to the 12,

but there are timeless principles. for us to

learn, even though that was a particular time

in Jesus' ministry. So here, Jesus is instructing

the 12 really regarding their apostolic authority.

If you look at verse one, it speaks of them having

authority to cleanse spiritually and physically.

And that's something unique to apostolic authority

that today's believers do not receive. And we

know this because the Great Commission for all

believers doesn't mention anything. about healing.

It's all about gospel proclamation and teaching

people to obey Jesus. Now additionally, the sending

of the 12, if you look at where the target audience

is, it's to all Israel and not to the Gentiles.

Look at verses five and six. Now some scholars

have said, we're going to read later, but you

can look in your text. Some scholars have said

Jesus was just preparing his disciples to preach

before his death and resurrection. That they

were to go through all the towns of Israel and

proclaim that the kingdom has arrived. And it's

possible that that's the case, but I would not

limit the instruction that Jesus gives here to

the apostles simply to prior to his death and

resurrection. It's really their overall priority

in ministry and even after Jesus' ascension.

The message there to bring, according to verse

7, is the kingdom of heaven is at hand. What

they've been waiting for, what the Israelites

have been waiting for, has arrived. But Jesus

warns his disciples of coming persecution, that

pain and difficulty are going to come, and yet

that the Spirit will speak through them in their

hours of trial. This, again, I would say is proof

of the instruction being not just pre -crucifixion,

but also post his ascension. Because the spirit

comes later at Pentecost. And what else? Well,

the persecution that Jesus' followers face come

after his departure. Some of you are familiar

that church history holds that most of the 12

had absolutely brutal deaths because of their

allegiance to Christ. Jesus told them persecution

would come to them specifically. And it did.

And at the end of this warning is where we're

picking up for this morning. If you don't mind

just to stretch your legs because we're outside,

let's stand for the reading of God's word. I'm

going to read Matthew chapter 10 verses 34 through

Matthew 10:34–39

39. 24 through 39, sorry. A disciple is not above

his teacher nor slave above his master. It's

enough for the disciple that he becomes like

his teacher and the slave like his master. If

they have called the head of the house Beelzebul,

how much more the members of his household. Therefore

do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed

that will not be revealed and hidden that will

not be known. What I tell you in the darkness,

speak in the light, and what you hear whispered

in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. And

do not fear those who kill the body, but are

unable to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who

is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Are not two sparrows sold for an Assyrian? And

yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart

from your father. But the very hairs of your

head are all numbered. So do not fear. You are

more valuable than many sparrows. Therefore,

everyone who confesses me before men, I will

also confess him before my Father who is in heaven.

But whoever denies me before men, I will also

deny him before my Father who is in heaven. Do

not think that I came to bring peace on the earth.

I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For

I came 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 man's

enemies will be the members of his household.

He who loves father or mother more than me is

not worthy of me. And he who loves son or daughter

more than me is not worthy of me. And he who

does not take his cross and follow after me is

not worthy of me. He who has found his life will

lose it. And he who has lost his life for my

sake will find it. You can be seated. Now, I

was in Africa a couple weeks ago for Children's

Hunger Fund to gather with all of our partners

across the continent. We had nine different nations

represented from Ethiopia in the north all the

way to South Africa and even east to Madagascar.

And those partners represented about 200 churches

that work with us to practice biblically faithful

mercy ministry. And the goal Some of you have

heard this before, but it never hurts to share.

The goal is to use compassionate gifts of food

to build gospel relationships for evangelism,

for discipleship, and that is all within the

context of the local church. These partners,

they're also leaders in many respects, from Bible

college founders and pastoral seminary trainers

to medical ministry and self -sustainability

visionaries and everything in between. While

I spent time listening to their latest life and

ministry updates, one thing was clear. These

men knew the meaning of Matthew 10, 39 better

than I do. Their lives, their ministries, are

marked by consistent sacrifice, duty to the Lord,

and a seemingly never -ending drive to do more

for the kingdom that is at hand. There's nothing

safe about the challenges that they face. Some

of their testimonies involve personal hardship,

persecution from governments and gangs, even

familial attacks, family members being attacked

via physical health or spiritual health. Yet

as much as these men risk, and even their wives

risk, and they embrace this risk as much as they

do, you'd have to be a fool to call their faithfulness

foolish. Now, to some of us, we might be risk

averse. And to the risk averse person, a zeal

to serve in the face of danger may appear to

be unwise. It may even appear to be arrogant

in a zeal to serve the Lord. And surely, sometimes

people can be absolutely foolish in serving the

Lord. They can think themselves to be the Savior

rather than focusing on the Savior. They can

rush into situations without thinking and considering,

without preparing. Sometimes people can neglect

sound counsel and they can isolate themselves

in immaturity and take on unnecessary risks.

That's all true. But those I spent time with

in South Africa were anything but unwise. They

were anything but immature. Their testimonies

of faithfulness through hardship, they showed

that no earthly caution outweighs the reality

of risky living for Christ. And on the heels

of considering rewards for service unto the king,

I think this is something pertinent for us to

consider. Now, I know some of you here today

are gonna bring a first objection, say, but what

about dangers? Should we not care? Should we

not care about the dangers? Shouldn't we try

to be safe? I know that's a common objection.

Now, wisdom says, don't be a fool. Some of you

were here in the sermon a couple months ago,

I guess, Ecclesiastes chapter 10. Solomon said

Ecclesiastes 10 · chapter mention

only a fool would crash through a wall without

considering what's on the other side. Ecclesiastes

10b says the fool crashes through a wall only

to be bitten by a snake, right? He's unwise.

He doesn't consider the risk. Now, a wise person,

they don't embrace danger for no reason. Neither

do they disregard it. If you know a snake is

behind a wall, you want to use wisdom to deal

with it. Think about it. Remove some high bricks

so you can gain a vantage point. Feed a mouse

to it so it gets distracted. Maybe make another

exit so it doesn't come after you. There are

ways to deal with it. Wisdom doesn't avoid the

problem. Wisdom navigates it, addresses it in

a manner that minimizes the danger and secures

a good outcome. When we think about risky living

as believers today and the call of Matthew 10,

39 to lose our life for the sake of Christ, we

need to consider a couple things. First, we need

to look for opportunities to give up our lives

for Christ. The first part of verse 39 states

that he who thinks he has found his life is going

to lose it. What do you think that means? Here's

what I think it means. If your best life is now,

if your security is in your earthly finances,

your retirement account, your investments, if

your hope and your longing is in your vacations,

your enjoyable experiences, if your trust is

in your ability to get through each day, your

confidence is in your flesh, if you think that

your happiness and your joy are bound up in this

world, then you're gonna lose it all in the end.

That's what Jesus is teaching. He's saying this

life is going to come to an end. Your hope and

your trust, if they are not in Christ, you will

lose everything. Everything, everything that

you thought life was about, you will lose it.

Now, a few verses earlier, Jesus pits family

against one another. And moms, I know, I'm sorry.

It's Mother's Day, but you gotta hear this. And

there's no really better time to hear this, to

hold the tension line the right way. Jesus teaches

in verse 37, his followers cannot love earthly

family more than him. That's what he says very

clearly. I know it's painful to hear, but it's

only truly painful if we have the wrong focus.

Jesus is not teaching you to actively hate your

family. That's not what he's teaching. He's teaching

us to not love our family more than we love him.

And we sing a song often that's called The First

Place. And it's about how Christ should be the

first place in all things, even when it comes

to family. Now, when it comes to risky living

for Jesus, you have to think about what are you

afraid to lose? What are you afraid to give up?

What would keep you from going all in on serving

the Lord? And maybe it's family. But could you

also be like that rich young ruler who was told

to sell everything and yet he was troubled? Why?

Because he had many possessions. Now the opportunities

for you to give up your life for Christ are going

to be evident when you consider what you struggle

most with giving up. If comfort is your king,

then Christ isn't. If financial security is your

king, then Christ isn't. If family identity is

your king, then Christ isn't. To gain your life

in Christ, you have to give up a life For yourself.

So you have to always ask this question to yourself.

What's holding you back? What's holding you back

from giving Christ the first place in all things?

What's holding you back? That needs to be a regular

question of your own heart. The second thing

in living in light of Matthew 10, 39, is that

we should consider the known dangers. Don't be

a fool. We're not called to walk blindly in the

face of danger, but danger is ahead whether we

want it or not. Earlier, I said that living for

Christ is not safe, but it is secure. That's

not an Adamism. It's a truism. Living for Christ

is not safe. Danger is there. Security, though,

in Christ is what we're promised. Now, some dangers

we see before they come upon us, and we'd be

wise to pay attention. Jesus tells his disciples

in that passage in Matthew 10 that persecution

is coming. that they are going to be a sheep

amongst wolves. And that is a dangerous position

to be in because sheep are hunted by the wolves.

He did not want the disciples to think that they

were going out as sheep amongst other sheep.

It's something that bothers me about many self

-professed evangelists and missionaries today.

They speak about unbelievers as those who earnestly

want to know Christ. They just need the messenger.

And they confuse these different principles in

God's word. Some of you may think of that passage

in Romans chapter 10. Yes, verses 14 and 15,

Romans 10 · chapter mention

they tell us, the believer, how are they going

to know unless they hear? The believer should

have the impetus to go and to preach the word

because people need to hear the good news in

order to believe. That is a true statement. But

if you pay attention to that passage in Romans

Romans 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10 and to this one. In Matthew chapter

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

10, you know that Israel is a stubborn and obstinate

people who will hear and yet still not believe.

And don't forget, who put Jesus on the cross?

Yeah, it was under Roman rule, but it was the

Jewish leaders who sought his death. Romans 3,

Romans 3:10–18

verses 10 through 18, teach us that no one, no

one, seeks after God. And that godless people,

they shed blood without remorse. To bring the

good news to those who are perishing is a good

thing, but don't forget this, friends. Those

who are disobedient to God, they have no desire

to hear such good news unless God changes hearts.

That doesn't negate the responsibility to preach,

but it sets your expectation rightly. The unbeliever

doesn't want to hear. So when you bring the gospel

to unbelieving people, it involves risk. It involves

risk of your own safety because the world hates

God and the world hates his son. And Jesus says,

if they hated me, how much more are they gonna

hate you? Now persecution's not only for the

apostles. It's also for us. You may not be crucified.

It's not a practice today, like so many of the

apostles had happened to them, but you might

be rejected. In bringing the gospel to unbelievers,

you might lose that job opportunity. You might

lose the promotion. You might upset family members

by calling sin, sin. You might limit fields of

work for yourself. You might lose friends because

you're unashamed of the gospel of Christ. That's

all a reality. The world is not going to love

you if you love the Lord. But note that that

doesn't mean that you're unloving. But like Jesus,

you have to be willing to suffer loss in service

to the Father. That's the principle that he's

teaching us. Let me ask you a couple questions

for you to think about here. What dangers are

you okay with in terms of gospel service? And

what dangers are you not okay with? That's a

question for your own heart. Are you willing

to serve the king as long as it doesn't cost

you your job? Are you willing to serve the king

as long as it doesn't cost you friends? Are you

willing to serve the king as long as your family

is protected from any hardship? Now, I know these

are hard questions, but we have to take the words

of our Lord seriously. The encouragement is that

he gives us confidence that even in the face

of known dangers, known persecutions that people,

they can kill the body, but they cannot kill

the soul. That's what's secure. The value that

the father places on his children, it's immensely

more than you and I can fathom. Scripture tries

to help us understand this. If you've grown up

hearing sermons on this passage, you know that

there's that coin that's mentioned in verse 29,

that Assyrian, it's the smallest Roman coin,

like a penny. And he says two sparrows are sold

for one. That's the ancient world's two for one

deal, right? He says not even one of these creatures,

which is barely worth anything to humans, not

even one of them is gonna fall to the ground

apart from the Father. That's what he teaches.

If God cares for the cheapest bird, the cheapest

animal, how much more? Is he going to care for

those whom he loves? If he knows the number of

hairs on your head, and some of us, our hairs

are reducing. It shows his intimate knowledge

and his care. So the question is, why would we

value anything here on earth more than him? Why

would we pursue things that moth and rust destroy?

If we are so dearly loved that even the numbers

of hairs on our head is remembered by him, is

known by him, then do you really have any earthly

worry when it comes to living for his sake? So

you ask your heart the question again, what dangers

hold you back from seeking the greatest treasure?

Friends, I'd encourage this, that our allegiance

to the Lord would not have any self -imposed

Don't tell the Lord, I will serve you up to this

point. Don't make those handshake deals with

him in your heart. Commit to serve him wherever,

with all people, in all circumstances, in all

aspects of your life, in all situations, without

compromising. I can imagine some of you here,

if you've grown up, In churches, you've heard

sermons and encouragements like this, and you

might just be saying, Adam, so what do I need

to do next? Give me the list, right? Well, let

me give that word of caution here. The goal here

is not to give you a to -do list. That's not

what I'm trying to do. I'm not trying to tell

you here's five ways to holy living that you

need to follow. Our goal when we preach every

single Sunday is to see the Spirit conform your

daily habit of life according to God's word.

That's what our goal is. I'll tell you this,

though. The reality for many Christians today,

many Christians, and you might find yourself

as one of these, is that our lives are too comfortable,

too busy, too us -focused. And it makes it hard

to take Matthew 10, 39 seriously. We wrestle

with losing our life because we actually found

a life that we kind of enjoy. We don't want to

lose it. So in light of that, let me share a

testimony from Zimbabwe. And this is a chance

when I'll let you go ahead and pull out your

phones if you haven't already. You get an open

church center, please and thank you. I posted

some photos and some of you might say, why didn't

you put it on one sheet? Well, I tried, but church

center has a limit of 50 megabytes. And so I

didn't want a blurry photo. That does no good.

The whole purpose is to look at it. So I wanted

to give you clear photos. So it's under church

resources, all church resources. There's four

photos that are there. In the first photo, you're

going to see a photo of a man who's playing bottle

flip with my son. That man's name is Thomas Hodsey.

He's a husband. He's a father. He's a pastor.

He's a church planter. He's a Bible trainer.

He's an entrepreneur. He's a self -taught farmer.

He's quite good at bottle flip, by the way. Don't

know how that happened. As a smiling guy, though,

you can see he's just a great guy. Thomas was

born in Zim. By God's providence, he came to

the Master's University, then the Master's College,

around the time when my wife and I were there.

He went on to the seminary after getting his

undergrad degree. He excelled as a student. He's

a brilliant man. He was a faithful member of

Church of the Canyon. Some of you here got to

know him there. Thomas' dream, along with his

sister Ruth, was to see the next generation of

Zimbabweans prepared for ministry, to see the

church, grow in a country that is wrought with

strife, difficulty, compromise. Now he didn't

know what that would look like when he wanted

to start that organization or how it would happen.

He just wanted to go back to his country and

help. He wanted to serve Christ. And so he set

up a nonprofit with his sister and it's called

Christ of First Importance Ministries. Christ

of First Importance. Now he encountered risks

all along the way. First, he married a woman

that is a German citizen, and he was constantly

outcast by fellow Zimbabwe churches who expected

him to be married to a black African. His children

were then mixed, so it means that to this day,

they're constantly treated different by other

kids. His wife has had health trouble after health

trouble, and it's meant constant trips to hospitals

around the world to diagnose and to deal with

her ailments. He's worked He's done a lot of

ministry work in a Muslim -controlled area that

has threatened his life on more than one occasion.

Some corrupt authorities have also threatened

his life, wrongly jailed him, and at times even

brought physical violence to him. Now, the nonprofit

he's set up, they've gone through bouts of lacking

adequate resources over the years, as they all

do. There's seasons of blessing and seasons of

burden. He's been tempted by weaker believers

in his country to compromise on biblical principle

to make money. to make more money. If he just

opens up his allegiance to God's word here, he

can gain more finances. Now I could go on and

on about the risks that he's faced over the years

and how God has been so faithful to him and to

those that he's served with, but the testimony

I wanted to give you today is, it's actually

not about his personal risk. The testimony I

wanted to give you today was embraced by faithful

believers in a small town in the middle of nowhere,

Zimbabwe. As some of you remember the picture

a couple weeks ago, it's the second photo. that's

included on Church Center. It's a picture of

not a town, but a place, a place in that town.

In that town, though, Thomas was able to purchase

a small plot of land and began building a training

institute. His desire was to teach men and women

how to study God's word, to train men to be pastors.

to give men and women various skills for life,

like carpentry and welding and cooking and horticulture

training, animal husbandry, nutrition science,

sewing, and more, all within a biblical framework.

Now, to provide classes like this, he would need

laborers. He would need workers. He wasn't going

to teach all of those things himself. He would

need groundskeepers for the campus and more.

So Thomas set out to provide jobs for qualified

individuals, all professing believers, who caught

on to Thomas' vision. and desired to pour into

the next generation. And the picture that you

see of that tree and the sunlight coming in from

sunrise, it's a picture from the exact spot that

he stood, that he kneeled, that he prayed in

when he was asking the Lord, how is this all

gonna be possible? It was an early Sunday morning

for him when he was out there before the church

plant launched, when he was asking the Lord,

is this possible? How can we do this? That's

been many years and we were able to see incredible

faithfulness from the Lord throughout those years,

but it's not without hardship. Every believer

is gonna face hardship in life no matter where

you are, whether you're in Zimbabwe or Santa

Clarita, you're gonna face the cost of discipleship.

I remember earlier I said he had to hire individuals

to work the campus, right? Men and women of various

trades. Some moved from other areas into that

town. to be able to serve. During the day, they

would need to send their kids off to school.

There was a local school that was in town, and

he would send them there. There's no buses. It's

rural Zimbabwe, so the kids need to walk. So

kids as young as four or five years old would

be walking on their own to school. Then their

parents would walk the other direction to the

edge of town and go to this campus to serve.

About a year ago, Thomas and the other leaders,

heard of the most tragic and heartbreaking situation.

It was discovered that one of the young girls

who had been walking to school was physically

assaulted several times on her way to school

over the course of a couple months. Now the parents

were crushed, as you can imagine, when they learned

this. They wept as they came to Thomas and the

other leaders. Thomas was crushed when he heard

this. He couldn't help but feel responsible.

because he felt like he put the family in harm's

way. He invited them out to this area to serve.

They were essentially missionaries that he brought

in. And Thomas went home that night absolutely

devastated. He was trying to do good, to serve

the Lord, to progress the gospel, and yet here

evil was showing its face, and not just to an

adult, but to a child. He fell to his knees in

prayer, and after a few days of praying, considering

and seeking counsel with some other ministry

friends, he came up with a plan to try to address

this teenage perpetrator along with his parents.

So Thomas and another leader, they did just that.

But the response was almost as heartbreaking

as the initial situation. He got to sit down

with the parents and as Thomas explained what

happened, they dismissed his concerns. They told

him, we went through the same thing growing up.

So did our parents. This is how things are. You

can't change it. Thomas and the other leader,

they left with heavy hearts, downcast eyes. Not

even appealing to the other parents would help.

That was Romans 3 on display for them. There

is no one righteous, no, not one. No one who

seeks after God. Now in response, Thomas and

the parents, they resolved to accompany the kids,

to not let them walk alone to school each day

to ensure that nothing like that would happen

in the future. But Thomas was still so burdened.

He felt sick to his stomach. These parents had

put their kids at risk each and every day and

he had no idea. Now he was aware this wasn't

just an isolated problem. This was a reality

of life among an unsafe population. And if that's

a problem there in the middle of nowhere Zimbabwe,

how much greater could the problem be throughout

the whole entire country? Even the whole entire

continent. As Thomas met with the parents again,

he asked for their forgiveness for putting their

children at risk. And he wanted to brainstorm

what to do in the future. And the response of

the parents, These faithful Christians who love

Jesus, who serve him with zeal, with integrity,

it astounded him. They told him that though they're

devastated by the sin, they've been praying for

the perpetrator, for the young teen boy, and

for his parents to come to know the Lord. They

shared with him that amidst their prayers for

their daughter, that she has limited memory of

anything that happened, almost as if God is shielding

her. from the evil deeds that were done to her.

Now they didn't know the risks ahead of time.

The parents didn't know. But once the danger

presented itself, they appealed to the Lord for

help. They found their hope in him. They didn't

find their hope in changed circumstances. Now

you and I, sitting here today, we might hear

that testimony and in our rage, against that

perpetrator in our rage against the nature of

sin and brokenness, we might be prone to call

those parents foolish for ever even allowing

them to walk alone in the first place. But I

would severely caution you from doing so. See,

the parents, they didn't put their children in

harm's way knowingly. They weren't aware of that

particular risk before they moved to the town.

And once that danger was known, once that danger

was seen, They didn't allow it to happen again.

But what they did evidence in their response

was a trust in a savior through the risks and

the dangers and even through their own heartache.

Now, after Thomas heard of these parents' faith

and their willingness to see sinners come to

faith, sinners who sinned against them, he decided

it was time for him to risk. Now with limited

funding, without much to work with, he committed

to building a small primary school on that campus

so that the kids of those who are working there

can just come with their parents. They don't

have to walk somewhere else. They just come with

their parents and they can be taught a biblical

worldview in a safe environment. And within two

months of this whole situation beginning, he

had two teachers and he was able to start a preschool

kindergarten class along with an early education

primary school class. Now that third photo, that

you see on Church Center, that third photo of

the school children, one of those is the little

girl that I just told you about. And here's the

praise. She's doing so well. She has no memory

of the incidents. She's loving school. She's

loving coming to the campus with her parents,

and she's loving her teacher and her classmates.

Now her parents, they still see the teenage boy

and his parents around town. And every time they

do, they pray for them to come to know the Lord.

They are actively ready to minister to them should

the Lord open the door. Thomas never planned

to open a school. He hasn't raised money to even

do so. It's not even highlighted on the website.

If you go looking at his nonprofit, it's not

something that he's promoting because It's not

the main thing that they've been doing, but he

was so burdened that he even gave of their own

finances to be able to support this school so

the parents wouldn't have to risk their children.

In light of the parents' faith, he was challenged.

What is he willing to risk? What wouldn't he

do to serve the Lord? Financial support isn't

king. Jesus is king. And in light of thinking

about rewards in the Bema Seat, I wanted to encourage

us about the risk. You know, the world always

talks about this, big risk, big reward. You've

heard that before, right? They always think it's

a gamble though. That's what the world thinks,

that risk is a gamble. But let me reframe that

for you in light of Matthew chapter 10. There's

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

no gamble when you serve the Lord. There's no

gamble. The risk is intrinsic because you're

not of this world. The risk is unavoidable because

the world hates your master and it hates you.

The risk is embraced with wisdom because living

for Jesus is not about temporary safety. It's

about eternal security. The key to finding life

in Christ is loosening your grip of this momentary

life. That's the key. The tighter you hold on

to this world, the more likely you're gonna gain

this world. And as Mark said, Mark chapter eight,

you'll forfeit your soul. On the fourth photo,

you're gonna see just a photo of a Bible in the

hands of a man. That man is Nazan. He's a faithful

brother. He teaches at the Bible Institute. He

manages finances. He disciples young men. And

we were able to bring him a Bible from the States,

a special edition of the Legacy Standard Bible,

a shepherd's Bible. that was donated from the

publisher. And when we gave it to him, he had

the biggest smile on his face and hugged us in

gratitude. He said it was the best gift that

we could have ever given him, that it would be

the most treasured possession that he has. And

he said he never expected such a gift. As we

sat in chapel one morning and he opened that

new Bible with a big grin on his face, that's

when I took the picture. I couldn't help but

wonder from my own heart. Do I treasure God's

word as much as he does? Have I been gripping

onto this world too much? Have I been finding

a life here and not hoping in the life to come?

Now the daily cure for losing your life for the

sake of Christ is identifying the things you're

prone to love more than the Lord. That's the

cure. Identify what you are prone to love more

than the Lord. And if you're a believer, here's

the thing. Those things are likely gonna be good

things. They're gonna be good things, but they

become bad because they rule and they reign in

your heart, and then Christ doesn't. Now, if

you're an unbeliever here today, the things that

rule and reign in your heart, they're likely

gonna be bad because the Spirit is not directing

your steps. So the things that rule your heart

are selfish desires. But my appeal for everyone

here today is that in light of Matthew 10, that

we would not be misled into thinking that following

Jesus is safe. That we would understand following

Jesus means letting go of our grip on this life.

Holding loosely even to the people that we love

and the people that we care for. Not hating them,

but not loving them more than we love the Lord.

We need to remember the truest treasure is found

in Christ. It's life eternal in him. It's life

eternal with him. So friends, ask yourselves

these questions. What aren't you willing to lose?

What would be a struggle for you to lose and

to let go of? What would hold you back from full

allegiance to him? What aspect of life is the

hardest for you to yield to him in? Is your job

or your family or your likability or your earthly

treasures or any of those impeding your allegiance

to him? How are you planning each day to let

go of yourself so you can cling to him? If you're

not thinking about that, you're missing what

Jesus taught in Matthew 10. Let me give one encouragement

though for everyone here as a wrap up. You know,

today, there's a big push in Christian nationalism

to just see Americans, Californians, leave the

state, go to Idaho, right? That's the dream.

Not messing with you if you're from Idaho, I'm

sorry. But the dream is get out of California,

wicked government, leave LA, such a bad culture,

go start up a new commune over in a very peaceful

place where you can bring the kingdom to you

today. Friends, I wanna commend those of you

who have made this your home and at least encourage

you that in one way, you have not yielded to

this earthly treasure because it'd be very easy,

it'd be very easy to just give up on any sense

of ministry or life here in Los Angeles. It'd

be very easy to go to start that commune or go

to Moscow, Idaho and join those Christian nationalists.

It'd be very easy to live your best life now

and to find all of your security in a safe environment.

But that is not what the Lord has called us to.

So for those of you that have embraced the difficulty

of living in California, I will not name any

politics. For those of you who have embraced

the ministry difficulty of living in the LA area,

for those of you who have said, yes, life could

be easier somewhere else, but the Lord has me

here serving, I wanna say amen. I wanna commend

you and encourage you to continue pressing on

for the sake of the Lord. That doesn't mean it's

evil if the Lord ends up moving you somewhere

like Idaho. Talk to an elder before you do is

what I would encourage. But I do want to commend

this church body for committing to living here

and living uncomfortably. We don't have a building.

Our home is not found within four walls. We set

up every single Sunday. We ask a lot of you to

be members. On purpose. Because we're convicted

and we think that the Lord has commanded us to

live life together. And that's a good thing.

So in my close today, I don't want this to come

across as a finger wagging that all of you need

to move to Zimbabwe. Please, that's not my call

for you. That's not my encouragement. But my

encouragement is that each of us would evaluate

our own hearts to consider what are those things

that we're unwilling to let go of. What are those

things that limit or hinder us from giving our

full allegiance to the Lord? What are the things

we say, Lord, I'll serve you up to here and let's

test our heart and let's yield to him and let's

let go so that we can gain life in him. Amen?

Amen. Would you pray with me? Father, we're grateful

for our time together this morning under the

sun being reminded that our Even our place of

gathering is not where we find our security and

where we find our comfort. We recognize that

our security is found in Christ. And so we ask

you this morning, would you help us to understand

risky living for your sake? Not as unwise people.

So we pray, help us to identify the dangers in

following after Christ. Help us to wisely navigate.

even the unknown risks when they present themselves.

But please, Father, help us to let go of this

life appropriately. Help us to cling to Christ

for our eternal hope. And we pray that you would

grow our obedience and our willingness to lose

our lives for his sake, to get a sunburn for

his sake, to let go of fame for his sake, to

let go of likability for his sake. To let go

of all of our earthly comforts and treasures

that we may be found in him. So we pray, break

us. Break us of ourselves. Help us to see the

things that we cling to that are not of you,

from you, and for you. And would you strengthen

us by your spirit? Convict us by your word to

help us go a good way. That every day we would

be denying ourselves, picking up our cross, following

after you more and more. less of us and more

of you, that we would decrease and that you would

increase. So help us even now in this moment

that our mouths would profess that Christ is

king and that leaving here today, our lives also

would show that Christ is our king. We pray this

in his name, amen.