We Have Been Sent Into The Harvest

Well, last week, we were in Matthew 9, 35-38, and we saw the heart of Jesus for the harassed and helpless, those without a shepherd.

And we saw His compassion. He's moved by that.

And He called us to pray. To pray that God would send out laborers into His harvest.

And again, I don't know if that had any effect on you this past week of the people that you normally encounter,

maybe someone at PDQ or Walmart or Festival or in your gym, and you're like, man, maybe they are a sheep without a shepherd.

We've been praying this week that God would raise up laborers into His harvest.

Have you been praying that?

And if you've been praying that, has it occurred to you that you are one of the laborers to be sent into His harvest?

This morning, we're going to take a high-altitude view of Matthew 10, which means this.

We're not going to be able to get into a lot of the detail.

But what I want to help you see is the calling and the commissioning of the twelve apostles in all of Matthew 10 glory

so that you can feel the full thrust of what Jesus is calling these band of twelve to.

And so we're not going to get into the nitty-gritties of everything,

but I want to help you see the significance of what Jesus calls them to.

Because the same Jesus that called the twelve to go to the last sheep of Israel

is the same Jesus who's calling us to go to the city.

The one who sent the apostles is the one who sends us.

The apostle Paul talks about this sending-ness as being ambassadors for Jesus Christ.

We are ambassadors for Christ to this city.

We will represent Him.

And so what we're going to do is we're going to walk through Matthew 10,

and I want you to see five aspects of Christ's commissioning of the twelve,

and I'm going to seek to aim it at us.

And so here are the five things, the five aspects.

First is you be sent.

It's the first thing you need to realize.

You be sent.

You've been sent.

You be sent.

You be aware.

You be brave.

You be devoted.

And you be generous.

And so would you open up your Bibles if you haven't already

and open to Matthew 10.

I'm going to read through Matthew 10, 1-15

to help you to see that you are sent.

I'm really going to spend most of the time in this section on the first eight verses,

but I'm going to read the whole thing for you.

1-15.

And He called to Him His twelve disciples

and gave them authority over unclean spirits to cast them out

and to heal every disease and every affliction.

The names of the twelve apostles are these.

First, Simon, who's called Peter,

and Andrew, his brother,

James, the son of Zebedee,

and John, his brother,

Philip and Bartholomew,

Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector,

that's the one writing this,

James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus,

Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot,

who betrayed Him.

These twelve Jesus sent out,

instructing them,

Go nowhere among the Gentiles

and enter no town of the Samaritans,

but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel

and proclaim as you go,

saying,

The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Heal the sick.

Raise the dead.

Cleanse lepers.

Cast out demons.

You received without paying.

Give without pay.

Acquire no gold,

nor silver,

nor copper for your belts,

nor bag for your journey,

nor two tunics,

nor sandals,

nor a staff,

for the laborer deserves his food.

And whatever town or village you enter,

find out who is worthy in it

and stay there until you depart.

As you enter the house,

greet it.

And if the house is worthy,

let your peace come upon it.

But if it is not worthy,

let your peace return to you.

And if anyone will not receive you

or listen to your words,

shake off the dust from your feet

when you leave that house or town.

Truly I say to you,

it will be more bearable on the day of judgment

for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah

than for that town.

This is the account of the actual calling

and sending of the 12 apostles.

And again,

I'm just going to focus on the first eight verses here,

but there's a couple things

that I really want you to notice.

Let me ask you a question.

Close your Bible for a second.

Can you name the 12 disciples,

the 12 apostles off the top of your head?

It kind of goes,

for me it goes something like this.

Well, there's Peter and Andrew,

James and John,

then there's...

And Judas Iscariot.

And so when you can remember

just half the apostles,

you're kind of like,

huh, what does that mean?

You know what?

You should actually be encouraged by that.

Do you know why?

The apostles were just ordinary Joes.

Not too memorable.

Very much like you and me.

Working class guys.

Ordinary guys called to do something extraordinary.

They're just guys.

And so, you can't name the 12 disciples?

That's okay.

They're ordinary guys.

Let that say something.

You're an ordinary Jane or Jo yourself.

And your God has called you to something extraordinary.

To proclaim a message.

The gospel.

That alone can change a person's eternity when believed.

But there's more.

Something else I want to point you to the 12.

If you look at them,

you're like, okay,

there's a bunch of fishermen here.

And then when you read

Matthew was a tax collector.

And then you read that Simon the Canaanite.

Well, he was actually a zealot.

What you got to realize is

these are ordinary Joes.

And some of them had very different backgrounds.

You know what a zealot was?

He was an ultra-nationalist in Israel.

So, could you imagine an ultra-nationalist

saddling up to Matthew,

the former tax collector

who was raising money for Rome?

So, the ultra-nationalist would be,

you did what?

You were what?

You were giving money to the people we want out?

So, you know what the little lesson is for us?

You know what Jesus does?

He calls ordinary people

with very diverse backgrounds

and He unites them together

on a mission that's all about Him.

That's what He's done here.

That's what He's doing here.

He's uniting ordinary people

with diverse backgrounds

and He's uniting us together

and placing us on a mission

to proclaim Him to this city

and to this world.

When we see the calling of the twelve,

you've got to know that

hey, these are ordinary guys.

Some with very different backgrounds

and Jesus is calling them

on a mission to go.

They're not all the same,

but they're united

by the same Savior.

And in verse 2,

we see for the first time,

this is I think the only time in Matthew

that the disciples are actually called apostles.

Now, if you're not familiar with that word apostle,

it comes from a Greek word

that means to send out.

Sent out ones.

And in the New Testament,

that word apostle

is applied to a variety of people

throughout it.

And so, it can be used of people

just being sent out generally

to give a report from one church to the next.

It's used of Jesus Himself

in Hebrews 3, chapter 1,

to talk about the apostle and high priest.

And it's here talking about the twelve.

And so, the way that I like to,

that's helpful for me to refer to the twelve

as apostles is

they are the twelve capital A apostles.

They are uniquely called by Jesus

for a unique work in salvation history.

These are the men that Jesus is going to

build His church upon.

And when we read in Acts 1,

when Judas has died

and the early church is looking to replace him

with another apostle,

do you know what the requirements of an apostle are?

Do you know what they insist on?

There were two.

The man that was going to replace Judas,

he had to have walked with Jesus

from the baptism of John

all the way to the ascension of Jesus.

So he would have been an eyewitness

to Jesus' ministry.

He would have heard all that Jesus taught.

But that's just the first requirement.

The second requirement is this.

He would have had to be an eyewitness

to Jesus after His resurrection.

That's what was required for an apostle.

They played a unique role.

They were uniquely called by Jesus Himself

to this task.

So for us, what that means is,

hey, we're not capital A apostles.

But we have been sent by Jesus.

The God of the Bible is a sending God.

That's what He's been doing

ever since the beginning.

He sent out His people

under the old covenant, Israel.

He sent them into the nations

that they would declare God's glory

among all peoples,

among all nations.

The nations would see Israel

and they would say,

whoa, what a God you've got.

Psalm 67 was a psalm Israel would sing.

God had sent them to the nations.

So under the old covenant,

Israel was to be God's representatives

on earth to the nations.

Under the new covenant,

which is the promise,

the relationship God established

through the blood of Jesus.

Under the new covenant,

God's new people, the church,

we're His representatives

to the nations now.

And the word that the Apostle Paul

used for that in 2 Corinthians 5

is we're His ambassadors.

We represent Him.

We speak for Jesus.

You know what's amazing

about 2 Corinthians 5?

The Apostle Paul talks about,

well, we have received

the ministry of reconciliation.

We've been reconciled to God

through the Gospel.

And we've been entrusted

with the ministry of reconciliation,

which means we proclaim the Gospel.

And you know what is amazing

about what Paul says?

Paul talks about it as this.

When we preach the Gospel,

it's God making His appeal

through us.

It's amazing.

So what I want you to help you

to see here is in this

calling of the 12,

the commissioning of the 12,

is that yes, Jesus sent them out

and He has sent us out.

God wants to make His appeal

through us to the people of the city.

He wants to call them to Himself.

Which brings us to this

different piece of this,

starting in v. 5, 6, and 7.

I want you to see the primary thrust

of the calling and commissioning

of these disciples.

The primary thrust of their mission

was to proclaim,

to announce,

to declare,

to make something known.

You might have noticed

that Jesus kind of limits

the scope of this ministry,

this mini-mission

that He's sending them out on.

We read that in v. 5.

Go nowhere among the Gentiles

and enter no town of the Samaritans,

but go rather to the last sheep

of the house of Israel.

That's kind of like,

why would you do that, Jesus?

Why would you put limits

on the Gospel going out?

Why would you want to do that?

Well, we do know that

at the end of Matthew,

Matthew 28,

Jesus says,

go to everyone.

Go make disciples of the nations.

What He's doing right here

is very important.

You see,

what He's doing right here

is Jesus is saying,

go first to My people Israel.

Go first to the ones

who've been given the Scriptures.

Go first to the ones

who should be anticipating

My arrival.

Go to them first.

Go to those who are lost sheep

wandering,

sheep without a shepherd,

and declare to them,

the shepherd king has come.

The kingdom has come.

And the king has come.

Declare to them.

And so the apostles going out

in declaring that the kingdom

of heaven is near

and the king has come.

Do you know what that does?

It functions two ways.

It gives Israel an opportunity

to respond.

And by and large,

most will not respond.

And so it also functions

as judgment.

You've been given an opportunity

to hear,

but you didn't hear.

And so the Gospel then

goes to the nations.

We see that played out

all through the book of Acts too.

in Paul's modus operandi

of mission work

around the Mediterranean basin.

What we're reading here

is what John describes

in John 1.

Jesus came to His own,

but they did not receive Him.

He came to the Jews

and they didn't have eyes to see.

They didn't have ears to hear.

And so those who did receive them,

He gave right to become

children of God.

And so Jesus sends His apostles

out to this specific group of people

to give them opportunity

as well as to say,

you had your opportunity.

I'll now go to the nations.

And so that go that we read about

in verse, I believe,

where is that go?

In verse 5,

go.

Nowhere among the Gentiles.

That go will move from Israel

to the nations in Matthew 28.

In verse 7,

notice what they're going to be doing

while they're going.

And proclaim as you go.

Announce as you go.

Declare as you go.

And what do they declare?

The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

The kingdom's come.

And implied in that message

is the King has come.

What's pretty cool is that

this is the same message

that John the Baptist preached

in Matthew 3.2.

It's the same message

that Jesus Himself preached

in Matthew 4.17.

The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

The King has come.

The shepherd is here.

Be reconciled to the shepherd.

Our calling to represent Jesus

we take our cues

from this calling here.

If their primary calling

was proclamational,

our primary calling,

our primary responsibility

is to proclaim Jesus as well.

And so we proclaim good news.

Remember when Jesus sent out

the apostles here,

He hasn't died.

He hasn't raised.

And so He's going,

go, declare that the kingdom of heaven

is here.

What we get to proclaim is this.

The kingdom of heaven is here,

but look at what the King has done.

The King, the long-awaited one,

came, lived a perfect life,

died a substitutionary death.

He died for sinners.

And then He was raised from the dead.

He's reigning on high.

And one day He will come back.

That's what we get to proclaim.

It's all about Jesus.

It's all about Him.

Going back to the harvest metaphor,

the harvest is plentiful,

but the labors are few.

This proclamation that we are to announce

about Jesus,

this is the primary tool

with which we labor in the harvest.

This is the sickle of the harvest.

This is what we declare

and people respond to.

And when people respond to the Gospel,

they have been reaped unto the Lord of the harvest.

They've been reunited to Him.

And so our responsibility is to declare.

Think about it this way.

The moment you believed in Jesus,

your conversion

was your commissioning.

That's how you've got to think about it.

When you were converted to Christ,

you were commissioned by Christ.

And so just imagine,

let's say at the moment of your conversion,

this passport from heaven

drops down into your hands.

And you open it up

and it says,

citizen of the kingdom.

And there's this big blood red stamp

saying approved.

You're official.

You're part of the kingdom

based upon the finished work of Jesus.

And then you flip that over

and do you know what that says?

Authorized.

Blood red stamp.

To proclaim.

Commissioned.

To go.

Your conversion

and your commissioning

happened at the same time.

When he met Jesus

and he responded in faith.

All this to say,

you've been sent.

It's who you are.

You be sent.

Now there's one thing

I'd like to draw out more

and it's the relationship

between verses 7 and 8.

And proclaim as he goes

saying the kingdom of heaven

is at hand.

Heal the sick.

Raise the dead.

Cleanse lepers.

Cast out demons.

What's the relationship

between the two of those?

Furthermore,

do we have authority

today

as believers

to exercise,

to cast out demons,

to heal the sick,

to raise the dead?

Is that authority ours?

The quick answer is

yes it is.

But here's what you need

to realize.

There's a relationship

between the two.

The message is the primary

responsibility of our calling.

We're here to proclaim.

The miracles attest

to the message.

They point to the message.

And so here's how that works out

for us.

We are here primarily

to declare that Jesus

came for sinners.

That he's the king.

His kingdom has come.

And we also take steps of faith.

When we become aware

of demonic activity,

as far as we can discern,

we step out in the name of Jesus

and we tell demons to be gone.

When someone is sick

and needing healing,

we go and ask in the name of Jesus

that they be healed.

When someone dies

and we're there,

we pray that God would raise them

from the dead.

The authority is ours.

Do you know how I know that?

Look in your Bibles

to Hebrews 2.

Hebrews 2.

Since, therefore,

the children share in flesh and blood,

he himself likewise

partook of the same things,

speaking of Jesus,

that through death,

his death,

that through his death,

he might destroy the one

who has the power over death,

that is, the devil,

and deliver all those

who through fear of death

were subject to lifelong slavery.

Would you now flip over

to Colossians 2.

Verses 13-15.

And you who were dead

in your trespasses

and the uncircumcision

of your flesh,

God made alive together with him,

having forgiven us

all our trespasses

by canceling the record of debt

that stood against us

with its legal demands.

This he set aside

in nailing it to the cross.

There's cross talk right there.

Now look at verse 15.

He disarmed the rulers

and authorities.

Those are references

to the demonic powers.

He disarmed the rulers

and authorities

and put them to open shame

by triumphing over them in him.

How did he triumph

over the demonic world?

Through his death on the cross.

The death of Jesus Christ

is the decisive defeat

of the devil.

That's where we stand now.

That's the authority

in which we have been brought into

when we are transferred

the domain of darkness

into the kingdom

of the beloved Son.

So we don't fear the devil.

We stand firm against him.

Ephesians 6.

So what I want to help you realize

is when you read

this commissioning

and you're like,

are we supposed to be doing

this kind of healing stuff today?

Well, we're definitely

going to be proclaiming.

And as opportunities present itself,

we step out in faith.

Realizing it's about the gospel.

It's about the fame of Jesus.

So here's what we've learned so far.

The apostles were ordinary guys

with diverse backgrounds

that Jesus called onto mission.

We are ordinary Janes and Joes

with different backgrounds

that God has called on a mission

about Jesus.

And the primary focus of our mission

is proclamational.

We've been called to something.

So here's how I want this

to sit in you.

The question is not

if you've been sent.

The question is

where have you been sent?

It's not if you're supposed

to be representing Jesus.

It's where are you representing Jesus?

You are an ambassador.

It was part of your conversion

and your commissioning.

You are on mission,

brother, sister in Christ.

It's part of who you are now.

So your family,

you're sent there.

You're there to represent Jesus.

Moms and dads,

you represent Jesus to your kids.

Your neighborhood,

you've been sent there.

God has placed you there.

Your workplace,

you are an ambassador for Jesus

in your workplace.

The gym where you exercise,

you're an ambassador of Christ there.

You've been sent there.

Teams, clubs,

whether you're involved with

or your kids involved with,

those are opportunities.

You've been sent.

Last week we saw that

this city is full

of the harassed and helpless

sheep without a shepherd.

And we pray to the Lord of Harvest

to send out laborers.

This morning,

the question is,

do you see yourself

as one who's sent?

Do you know the difference that makes?

When you show up somewhere

and you're thinking,

you know what?

I am here as a representative

of Jesus Christ.

It changes everything.

It's time to start thinking

about yourself a little differently.

Let God's word form

your own identity

in relationship to this world

so you be sent.

You are an ambassador.

We must be aware.

In verses 16 through 25,

of Matthew 10,

we read this.

Behold, I'm sending you out

as sheep in the midst of wolves,

so be wise as serpents

and innocent as doves.

Beware of men,

for they will deliver you over

to courts and flog you

in their synagogues.

And you will be dragged

before governors and kings

for My name's sake

to bear witness before them

and the Gentiles.

When they deliver you over,

do not be anxious

how you are to speak

or what you are to say,

for what you are to say

will be given to you

in that hour.

For it is not you who speak,

but the spirit of your father

speaking through you.

Brother will deliver brother

over to death,

and the father his child,

and the children will rise

against parents

and have them put to death.

And you will be hated

by all for My name's sake,

but the one who endures

to the end

will be saved.

When they persecute you

in one town,

flee to the next.

For truly I say to you,

you will not have gone

through all the towns of Israel

before the Son of Man comes.

Jesus seems in this part

of Matthew 10

to be moving from

the specific calling

of these apostles

to the lost sheep of Israel

to now anticipating

more of a bigger harvest.

And here's how you can tell.

In v. 18, Jesus says,

And you will be dragged

before governors and kings

for My name's sake

to bear witness

before them

and the Gentiles.

Jesus is anticipating

that these disciples

and apostles,

they will be going

beyond Israel.

And what He foresees

and what He tells us of

is ministry at cost.

What He describes

sounds like many events

from the book of Acts

to be honest with you.

Apostles and early disciples

suffering greatly

as they proclaim

the kingdom of our Lord

Jesus Christ.

That's what He sounds like

He's describing.

So, in v. 16,

He says,

Behold, I'm sending you out

as sheep among wolves.

Do you know

what that's a picture of?

Do you know

what wolves do to sheep?

Wolves are ravenous.

Wolves are brutal.

Jesus calls us to be,

I'm sending you out

into a danger zone.

This harvest

is a hazardous harvest.

It's dangerous.

There be wolves in that harvest.

Jesus is speaking

of particular people.

We'll hand the disciples over.

Over to be persecuted.

Over to be flogged.

Over to be hated.

All on account of Jesus.

Being a laborer

in God's harvest

is hazardous work.

And here's why.

To be a laborer

in God's harvest

means that you must

necessarily identify yourself

with Jesus.

And when you identify yourself

with Jesus,

you became a target.

Many people who are dead

in their sin

and they're delighting

in their darkness,

when you move towards them

to talk about Jesus,

they don't want to hear

anything from you.

But even worse yet,

they resent you

for raising Jesus

with them.

They resent you

for even suggesting

that change is needed.

You must be aware.

Jesus is warning

the apostles

and He's warning us

the harvest is hazardous.

There's dangers.

Look at verse 17.

They will deliver you over.

Look at verse 19.

When they deliver you.

Look at verse 21.

Brother will deliver

brother over to death.

Verse 21.

Children will rise

against parents

and have them put to death.

Jesus,

I did not know

that death

was a possibility

when I agreed

to follow You.

It is.

It is.

It is.

The history of the church

is chock full

of a long list

of faithful brothers

and sisters

who laid their life

down for the advancement

of the Gospel

of Jesus Christ.

Do you remember Jim Elliott?

He is no fool

who gives

what he cannot keep

to gain

what he cannot lose.

He died

seeking to bring

the Gospel

to a distinct

group of people

in South America.

Verse 22.

You will be hated

by all

for My name's sake.

Verse 23.

They will persecute you.

You know what the point

of all this is?

It's like,

guys,

I'm sending you out,

but be aware,

it's hazardous stuff.

It's dangerous.

There are going to be people

who are going to want

to hurt you.

Suffering,

persecution

is part

of the kingdom work.

That's part of it.

If you flip back

to Matthew 5,

it's not like Jesus

is kind of showing us

the fine print right now.

Remember,

Matthew 5,

this is part

of the Beatitudes.

This is part

of a profile

of a faithful citizen

of the kingdom.

We read this.

Blessed are those

who are persecuted

for righteousness' sake,

for theirs is the kingdom

of heaven.

Blessed are you

when others revile you

and persecute you

and utter all kinds

of evil against you

falsely on My account.

Rejoice and be glad,

for your reward

is great in heaven.

For so they persecuted

the prophets

who were before you.

Suffering is part

of it, gang.

The work that Jesus

has called us to do,

it will not go forward

without resistance.

but I love verses 18 and 22.

It so helps me.

When I hear about persecution

and I start thinking,

oh, I don't want to get hurt.

When I read verses 18 and 22,

it helps out so much

because it's not about me.

It's not about you.

Look who it's about.

It's about Jesus.

It's about Jesus.

It's about Jesus.

It's about Jesus.

It's about Jesus.

And you will be hated

for My name's sake.

It's about Jesus.

You know what we need

to be asking ourselves?

Here's what we need

to be asking ourselves.

Is Jesus worth it?

Is He worth it?

Is who He is worth it?

Is getting His name

into this city worth it?

Is reconciling people

in this city worth it?

For people going from

the domain of darkness

into the kingdom

of the Beloved Son,

is that worth it?

Is it worth it

that eternity changes

here in this city?

Is it worth that?

It's worth it.

But we say it's worth it

knowing that it's

coming at a cost.

Here's another side of this.

Brothers, sisters,

if you became a Christian

and you're thinking

that being a Christian

means that you're going

to be liked by everybody

you meet,

Jesus says,

you're mistaken.

Some people will like you.

Some people will hate you.

Just because you claim Jesus.

Next thing I want you

to notice is this.

This is the stuff

that only God does.

It's astounding.

He says in verse 18,

and you will be dragged

before governors and kings

for My name's sake,

purpose to bear witness

before them and the Gentiles.

Jesus' purposes are suffering.

Jesus says,

the only way to get the gospel

to these folks

is if you get dragged away

and you got presented to them.

Then you get to bear witness to them.

You know what bearing witness means?

It's kind of a court scene

where you share the facts.

Nothing but the facts.

You give the facts.

You give the facts

about who Jesus is,

what He's done.

And so what Jesus is saying here is,

hey, you're getting dragged

before these rulers

and these synagogue leaders

and these councils,

it's all a part of my plan

to get the gospel out.

The gospel moves forward

when we suffer.

We're given opportunities.

And verses 19-20

is such a wonderful promise

that God will speak

by His Holy Spirit through us

when we find ourselves

in these very difficult

and trying circumstances.

Think of Stephen in Acts 6-7.

Do you remember that beautiful message

he delivered in chapter 7?

Do you remember what happened to Stephen?

He was then stoned

after delivering the goods.

And do you remember

where those people who stoned them,

they laid their cloaks down?

Do you remember whose feet

they laid them down by?

Saul of Tarsus.

God, it was that word.

So when you find yourself

in a hard situation,

dragged before somebody,

and you're having to bear witness

to Jesus,

our confidence is that

the Holy Spirit is going to give us

something to say.

But you know what?

We know what we're not going to say.

The Holy Spirit isn't going to compel me

to speak about mathematical theory.

The Holy Spirit isn't going to say,

okay, let's talk about

geological plate tectonics right now.

That's not it.

The Holy Spirit spotlights Jesus.

And so in those moments,

you can believe that

you're going to be compelled

to open your mouth up

about the One

who came to save you

and the One who came to save

the people that are persecuting

right there.

And so in light of that,

what's the call?

Look at verse 22.

And you will be hated

for my name's sake,

but the One who endures

to the end will be saved.

So when we face hardship,

and we will,

it's not getting easier

to be a Christian

in the United States.

We will face hardship.

All those who want to live

a godly life in Christ Jesus

will be persecuted.

2 Timothy 3.

The call is to endure.

Endure all the way to the end.

And then Jesus tells us

how to do that.

He tells us by looking

to the Son of Man.

I say to you,

you will not have gone

through all the towns of Israel

before the Son of Man comes.

Now, there's a lot of ink

on what is meant by

the coming of the Son of Man.

And I'm not going to bore you.

But what we see happening

is this.

Jesus is saying,

hey, when you face hardship,

you look to Me.

The Son of Man.

It's a reference

to Daniel 7.

When the Son of Man comes

and He's presented

before the Ancient of Days,

and the Ancient of Days

gives Him

an eternal dominion,

authority over everything.

He's like,

when you suffer it,

remember,

I am in control,

and God has put

all things under my feet.

It's a servant of purpose.

And if that weren't enough,

Jesus says in verses 24 and 25,

a disciple is not above his teacher,

nor a servant above his master.

It is enough for the disciple

to be like his teacher,

the servant like his master.

If they have called

the master of the house usable,

how much more will they malign

those of his household?

If you're My disciple

and they're calling Me the devil,

what do you think

they're going to call you?

Like Savior,

like follower.

Like teacher,

like disciple.

Like master,

like slave.

We'll suffer,

because He suffered.

But we'll be faithful

as He was faithful.

So,

we're ambassadors.

We're sent ones.

And Jesus is saying,

you're being sent

into a war zone.

You're being sent

into a hazardous harvest.

The advancement of the kingdom

will come at cost to us.

So the question is,

is He worth it?

Is Jesus worth it?

And when you've encountered Him,

and you know what He's done for you,

and you know what He wants

to do for others,

it's like,

oh yeah,

He's worth it.

He's worth it.

When you read things like this,

what happens in your heart?

You get a little nervous.

A little anxious.

Fear starts to well up.

Your Savior's all over it.

In verses 26-31,

He calls us to be brave.

Listen to this.

So have no fear of them,

those who will persecute you,

those who hate you.

For nothing is covered

that will not be revealed,

or hidden that will not be known.

What I tell you in the dark,

say in the light,

and what you hear whispered,

proclaimed to the housetops.

And do not fear those

who kill the body,

but cannot kill the soul.

Rather, fear Him

who can destroy both soul

and body in hell.

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?

And not one of them

will fall to the ground

apart from your Father?

But even the hairs of your head

are all numbered.

Fear not, therefore,

you are of more value

than many sparrows.

So everyone who acknowledges me,

I'll come to that

in just a second.

In this section,

in 22-31,

three times Jesus says,

fear not.

And then He gives a reason.

Why not to fear?

The first one is this.

Fear not,

everything is going to be

brought to the light.

There is a God.

He's accounting for everything.

And all is going to be seen

on that last day.

You can count on it.

Everything's going to come

and be seen.

What's being done to you,

it's seen.

It'll be made known.

You just need to proclaim

what I'm telling you.

That's what He's saying there.

Don't be afraid.

God's in control.

And the second one is striking.

Verse 28.

He says,

don't fear man.

Don't fear man

what they can do to you.

They can just kill you.

That's it.

That's all they can do.

Is that crazy?

Do you know what Jesus says there?

Fear man less

by fearing God more.

Did you see that?

Here's the logic.

Jesus says,

the most that they can do

is kill your body.

The one that you need to fear

is the one that can destroy

both your body

and your soul in hell.

That's the one you need to fear.

You know what?

For those of us

who've been reconciled to God,

we don't fear

our souls being destroyed in hell.

So you know what this does?

When we're persecuted

and we're fearing God,

the one that can destroy body

and soul in hell,

and we don't fear our souls

being destroyed in hell,

do you know whose souls

I'm going to be concerned about?

The one who's given me heat.

Did you know

that what you're doing

will result

in a lifelong,

eternal condemnation

of your soul?

The third thing that Jesus says

to fear not

is the same God

who's got authority

over body and soul.

Do you know what He does?

He takes care of the sparrow.

We've got these little sparrows

around the church

that fly and flutter

into the bushes.

What kind of value

would you put on them?

Ten cents?

Nickel?

Jesus says,

two sparrows aren't worth a penny.

And even your father,

they don't fall to the ground

without Him.

If God your Father

is sovereignly caring

for worthless sparrows,

and He's got the numbers

of your hair

on your head numbered,

if your God is concerned

about the details,

and caring for

insignificant things

like that,

Jesus says,

you're more valuable

than a sparrow.

Don't fear.

Check this out.

You ready?

Let's go big.

If God the Father,

this is Romans 8.32,

if He gave His Son

for you,

how much more,

along with Him,

will He give you

everything you need

to get through suffering?

God's for you.

Fear not.

He's for you.

Fear not.

He's with you.

Fear not.

He's going to give you

what you need to say.

Fear not.

It's about His mission.

It's about His glory.

What a God.

And so,

it doesn't make the hardship

go away,

but it gives us boldness

in the midst of it.

It makes us brave.

We don't have to fear.

The worst thing that I can have,

they'll take my life.

And Paul's logic

in Philippians 1

is like,

okay,

I've got to choose

or I'll stay,

fruitful labor,

I'll go,

and I'll be with Jesus.

It's a win-win situation.

We stay,

we suffer,

we proclaim Christ,

our lives are taken,

we're with Him.

It's win-win.

It just gets painful.

And Jesus is very familiar

with that.

You have nothing to fear, gang.

The work that Jesus did for you

on the cross

has secured your soul

in heaven.

Don't fear.

I'm running out of time.

In verses 32 through 39,

I want you to show you

the logic.

Jesus says,

you must be devoted to Me

above everything else.

You must be devoted to Me.

And here's what He does.

Your image before men,

you're either going to

acknowledge Me before men

or you're going to

deny Me before men.

If you acknowledge Me

before men,

if you claim Me as your own,

if you identify with Me,

I'll claim you as My own

before the Father.

But if you deny Me

before men,

you're not worthy of Me.

I will deny you

before the Father.

The issue there is

your image

in the eyes of men.

If you value

what people think about you

more than what Jesus

thinks about you,

you're not worthy of Him.

And then He moves on

from your image

in the eyes of men

to your family.

And He says,

I didn't come to bring peace,

I came to bring the sword.

And He's talking about

bringing divisiveness

and hardship and conflict

into a home.

Your family is the most

precious relationships

you have, most likely.

Could you imagine

what Jesus is saying here?

Look at v. 37.

Whoever loves father or mother

more than Me

is not worthy of Me.

Only Jesus can say

something like that.

Only God in the flesh

can say something like that.

Only the King of the Kingdom

of Heaven,

only the Savior of the world

can say things like that.

Only He can require

that kind of devotion.

And He's saying,

not even your family.

Not even your family.

Parents, not even your kids.

You're to be devoted

to Me first.

Kids, not even your parents.

Husbands, not even your wives.

Wives, not even your husbands.

First and foremost,

our devotion is to Jesus

because of who He is.

And then if that were not enough,

look where He goes from there.

In v. 38 and 39,

He moves from the eyes of men

to your family

and He moves to your own life.

He says,

and whoever does not take his cross

and follow Me

is not worthy of Me.

He's talking about your life.

Do you know what

taking up your cross means?

If we were living back in the day

and we saw somebody

taking up their cross,

do you know what we'd be thinking?

Well, that person is carrying

that cross to his own crucifixion.

Because a cross was an instrument of death.

If you're taking up your cross,

you're going to die.

Jesus is saying,

it's either you or it's Me.

He moves from eyes of man

to your family to you.

Who are you living for?

He's saying,

hey, if you want to be used by Me,

if you want to be sent by Me,

if you want to live after Me,

I take priority over everything.

It's all about Jesus.

And so the question we need to ask is,

is He worth it?

Is He worth it?

And in light of who He is,

in light of what He's done for you

and for me,

He's worth it.

In light of what He's going to make available

to people in this city,

He's worth it.

These are the big things.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer said it this way,

when Christ calls a man,

He bids him come and die.

To be a follower of Jesus

is to die to yourself

in order to live for Christ

who is your life.

The last piece,

you must be generous,

is just simply Jesus saying,

hey, we're working together

in this mission thing.

Receive other laborers.

Come alongside of them.

Help them.

Even the least of the disciples.

Give them a cup of cold water.

Brother and sister,

you've been sent by Jesus

into a hazardous harvest.

Do you see yourself as an ambassador?

Do you see yourself as one sent?

Are you aware of what is out there?

Are you aware of the dangers?

Are you afraid?

Don't be.

You have reasons not to be.

God is with you.

Be devoted.

Be devoted to Jesus

above everything else.

Work together.

Is Jesus worth it?

He is worth it.

He is worth it.

Be the ambassador

you were sent to be.

Let's pray.

Lord Jesus,

You are wonderful.

Lord Jesus,

You are the greatest hope

for this city.

Lord Jesus,

the best thing that we can do

in light of knowing who You are

and what You've done for us,

God,

is to make You known.

Is to introduce others to You.

Is to proclaim You,

Lord Jesus.

And so,

God,

we do ask,

together we ask,

that You would send us

into Your harvest field.

That You would use us.

That we would see ourselves differently

and see the harvest

for what it is.

That, God,

You would give us strength

to endure.

That You would give us

courage to be bold.

That, Lord,

You would help us

to be singular

and complete

in our devotion to You.

God,

would You use us

in this city

for the glory of Your name

and for the good

of all people.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.