The Word of the LORD

We're in the dark of Christ.

Good to worship with you this morning.

My name is Sean.

For those of you who are visiting,

it's my privilege to preach God's word to you.

And before we do that, let me pray and ask for God's help.

Heavenly Father, we believe that you speak from your word today.

And we are here to listen to you.

We want to submit ourselves to you and to your word.

So I want you to address us, convict us, comfort us, assure us

of our salvation stored up in Jesus Christ.

Amen.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

We're in Jeremiah 26, 1 to 24.

And according to the Wycliffe Bible translators,

there are still about 1,600 languages that still don't have any Bible translation.

And this is in spite of the fact that Bible is the single most translated work of literature

in human history.

But we here as English speakers are spoiled because according to the American Bible Society,

there are about 900 different English translations of the Bible in the world,

especially if you count both the partial and the complete translations.

And it's no wonder then that we are sometimes tempted to take the English Bibles that we have

in our hands for granted.

But this wasn't always the case.

In the early 16th century, William Tyndale attempted to translate the whole Bible into English for the

first time because he believed that, quote,

it was impossible to establish the people in any truth unless the scriptures were plainly laid before their eyes

in their mother tongue.

And it's hard to believe that such an academic and, you know,

pious pursuit would come with occupational hazards.

But it did because at the time, Roman Catholic Church held their services mostly in Latin,

which most Christians in the world no longer understood.

And the Latin translation of the Bible was only accessible to the trained clergy.

And they at the time, the Roman Catholic Church, violently opposed any attempt to translate the Bible

into the lay language of the people because they believed that doing so undermined the authority

of the Catholic Church.

So in 1536, William Tyndale was convicted of heresy and executed by strangulation.

And afterward, his body was burned at the stake as a demonstration and a warning to similarly-minded believers.

But his translation of the Bible, known as the Tyndale Bible, was completed after his death.

And it became the first mass-produced English Bible in the world.

And it spread like wildfire.

It became the basis for subsequent English translations of the Bible, including about 90% of the King James Version.

It's directly Tyndale's translation.

For this reason, many English scholars contend that William Tyndale was more influential in shaping

and enriching the English language than even William Shakespeare.

Now, Tyndale gave his life that we might have God's Word in English.

And he wasn't the first nor the last to give his life in order to make God's Word available to all people,

in order to speak God's Word even at the cost of his own life.

Because about 2,000 years before William Tyndale, we see here Prophet Jeremiah engaged in a similar struggle

and a contest to proclaim the Word of God when he was facing resistance,

even at the cost of his own life, even at the risk of his own life in this case.

And really, the main point of this passage is that we should listen to and speak the Word of the Lord

even to the point of death.

So first, in the first six verses, we'll see the Word spoken.

And then in the rest of the passage, we'll see the Word spurned by the religious leaders.

And so verse 1 tells us, read with me,

In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah,

this Word came from the Lord.

We usually use the Word as an object, right?

So we say to somebody, hey, let me say a word.

Or, can I have a word with you?

But unconventionally in this verse, the Word is the subject of the sentence.

This Word came from the Lord,

as if the Word itself is a character in the story or a person with its own agency, right?

And Jeremiah did not come up with this Word, that means.

He is the messenger of this Word, but he's not the author of this Word.

This Word came from the Lord.

And this phrase, the Word of the Lord came to me,

really begins most of the major sections of this book.

And it's conveying to us something unique about God's Word.

Ever since J.L. Austin, who was a British philosopher and linguist,

wrote the book, How to Do Things with Words, in 1962,

a lot of scholarly ink had been spilled over the difference between

constative words and performative words.

So just bear with me for a second.

This is relevant.

So constative words inform us, right?

They tell us something about something, right?

So they inform us, constative words.

Performative words, they perform something.

So constative words, they say something,

but performative words, they do something.

So let me illustrate with a simple example.

When you tell someone, thank you, or I'm sorry, right?

You're not just describing that you are thankful or that you feel sorry.

You're actually thanking that person and apologizing to that person.

You're doing something with your words to that person.

Those words are performative, not merely informative.

And when someone says in response, I forgive you,

that's also performing something.

It's forgiving, dispensing forgiveness, not merely saying that,

hey, well, sure, maybe I'll think about forgiving you.

When at a wedding, for example, the emcee tells you,

well, the wedding will start promptly at 11 a.m., that's informative, right?

But when two couples stand and face each other,

and before witnesses and before a duly ordained minister of the gospel,

they say to each other, I do.

That's performative.

They're making a promise, and they're taking vows upon themselves

for each other, toward each other.

And then when the minister responds and says,

I now pronounce you husband and wife, again, that's performative.

It's not just an announcement.

It's a pronouncement that affects the union of the two people

that are coming in together in marriage.

But there's something important about performative words.

It's that it's only effective, it only has performative power

when the person speaking the word has the proper authority to do so.

So if some random stranger comes up to a man and a woman that's dating and says,

I pronounce you husband and wife, it doesn't do anything, right?

When you go to court and a judge says to you, not guilty, that does something.

It acquits you of guilt, exempts you from punishment.

But when some random civilian comes to you and says, oh, not guilty, means nothing.

Why am I getting into all this?

Because God's word is not merely informative, but performative.

Because God is the creator and Lord over all things,

because he has all authority, power, and dominion.

When he speaks, when his word comes,

it always comes with performative authority and efficacy.

So when I say, let there be light, nothing happens, right?

Because I'm just a creature.

I can't create anything.

But when God says, let there be light,

light is created out of nothing.

When we say, I'll be there tomorrow,

we may or may not show up, depending on how reliable that person is,

and depending on the circumstances.

Because we are fickle and fallible creatures,

and our words often fall to the ground.

But when God says, I am with you,

always to the end of the age,

as Jesus said at the end of his great commission,

you can count on that.

That's going to happen.

It's guaranteed.

And when God, so when God renames someone in the Bible,

the meaning of that name becomes a reality in their life.

When God orders a blessing,

a real blessing is imparted.

When he orders a curse,

a real curse takes hold in the person's life.

Because when God says anything,

it happens.

Hebrews 4.12 says,

The word of God is living and active,

sharper than any two-edged sword,

piercing to the division of soul and of spirit,

of joints and of marrow,

and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

The word of God is living and active.

It pierces our souls and searches our hearts.

So when we think of scripture,

we shouldn't think of it merely as this encyclopedia of spiritual knowledge.

Yes, scripture informs us,

but it also transforms us.

Scripture is not merely a record of what God has said in the past.

God speaks through his word today.

And by the power of the spirit,

the word of God reveals God to us.

It renews our minds.

It revives our hearts.

It confronts us with the God who speaks for himself.

That he is a God who speaks and not a mute God

that we can attribute whatever we want to.

Scripture, through his word, God makes promises to us.

He commands us,

comforts us,

convicts us.

So as Isaiah 55,

which we read today,

says,

for as the rain and the snow come down from heaven

and do not return there,

but water the earth,

making it bring forth and sprout,

giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth.

It shall not return to me empty,

but it shall accomplish that which I purpose

and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

The word of God goes forth

and accomplishes God's purposes.

God's word is not a boring, static thing.

It's not like any other book.

It's living and active.

So when verse 1 tells us

that this word came from the Lord,

it's not a dull and dry,

this formulaic statement

because it's the word from the Lord.

It's dynamic and dramatic.

It's saying it means we better listen up

because the king is about to say something

and his word has decretive force.

This is why at the end of every scripture reading,

we say as a church,

this is the word of the Lord

to impress upon our minds this truth,

important truth.

What should this mean for us?

Is daily Bible reading for you a chore

or is it something you cherish?

Do you yawn at God's word?

Or do you tremble at God's word?

Do you come on Sunday morning

to sit under the preaching of God's word apathetically

or in eager anticipation

of what God might say to you and do in you?

So let's listen with bated breath

for what God says next.

Verses 2 to 3.

Thus says the Lord,

stand in the court of the Lord's house

and speak to all the cities of Judah

that come to worship in the house of the Lord

and speak all the words

that I command you to speak to them.

Do not hold back a word.

The historical context of this sermon

that Jeremiah is giving

as well as the content,

it's identical to the sermon

that Jeremiah was giving in chapter 7,

verses 1 to 15.

So it's likely a continuation of that time.

And here, Jeremiah is commanded repeatedly

to speak the words of the Lord.

And the word speak

is actually just the verbal form

of the word word.

It's the same.

So it's very repetitive

reading through this passage.

Speak this.

Speak these words.

Word.

Repeated 16 times in this chapter.

That's really the main idea

of this passage

to reinforce the fact

that it's God's word that is coming.

It is God who is speaking.

And because of that,

Jeremiah is not to meddle with any of it,

but to faithfully speak the word of God.

And because of this,

it says in verse 3,

speak all the words that I command, right?

God says,

not and don't hold back a word, right?

The phrase not holding back a word

is particularly vivid

because the word holding back

literally means here

to shave or to trim.

So God's telling Jeremiah,

don't clip off any of it.

Don't you trim any of my words.

Don't leave any of it out.

And I think God knows

that Jeremiah is entering

into a hostile crowd.

Jeremiah knew well

that his audience

could reject his word

and punish him.

That God's word

may not be received favorably.

He was likely aware

that there could be severe,

even fatal consequences

for speaking God's word.

And even then,

God tells him,

you are not at liberty

to leave out any of my words

because they are my words.

He was to speak every single word

that God commands.

And this is a recurring command

throughout scripture.

For example,

after relaying the commandments of God,

Moses wrote this in Deuteronomy 4.2,

you shall not add to the word

that I command you,

nor take from it

that you may keep the commandments

of the Lord your God

that I command you.

We are,

as God's people,

not at liberty

to ignore the parts of God's word

that we don't like.

Do you take God at his word?

It's tempting to trim God's word

to make it fit our expectations.

It's tempting to cherry pick God's word

and turn only to the passages

that seem to corroborate our opinions,

not contradict us.

It's tempting to shave off God's word

to slid it.

It doesn't offend our cultural sensitivities

or sensibilities.

It's tempting to search God's word

for reflections of ourselves

rather than the reflection

of the glory of God.

But we must never yield

to such temptations.

We must listen to all of it.

We must speak all of it,

obey all of it.

We must not shrink

from declaring the whole counsel

of God.

And that's why,

as a church,

we make it our practice

to alternate

between the Old and New Testaments

and preach through the entire books

of the Bible at a time.

And it's partly because

I don't trust myself.

If we jump from one place to another

intentionally or not,

we end up self-selecting parts

of scripture

that we naturally gravitate toward.

Parts that are familiar to us.

Parts that are easier

to preach and accept.

Parts that we think

better suits our needs.

And there is a time and place

for such topical teaching

from scripture.

But if that becomes

our predominant

or exclusive diet,

scripture will only speak

to our perceived needs,

which are not necessarily

our real needs.

it's like a sick person

self-diagnosing himself,

his disease,

with his limited medical knowledge

using Google or whatnot.

Instead of letting a trained

and qualified doctor

methodically question

and thoroughly examine him

for an accurate diagnosis.

God doesn't waste his words.

We need all of God's word

to address us.

So likewise,

Jeremiah is to speak

all of God's words

without holding any of it back.

And the goal

of Jeremiah's proclamation

is that Judah might listen.

In the same way

that the word speak

is repeated throughout

this passage,

the word listen

or hear,

which also means obey,

is repeated 11 times

throughout this chapter.

God speaks

through his prophets

and God's people

are to listen and obey.

So God says,

read with me,

verses 3 to 6.

It may be they will listen

and everyone turn

from his evil way

that I may relent

of the disaster

that I intend to do to them

because of their evil deeds.

You shall say to them,

thus says the Lord,

if you will not listen to me

to walk in my law

that I have set before you

and to listen

to the words of my servants,

the prophets

whom I sent to you urgently,

though you have not listened,

then I will make this house

like Shiloh

and I will make this city

a curse for all the nations

of the earth.

If they heed God's words

and turn from their evil ways,

then they will be spared

and evil will not come unto them.

Disaster will not come on them.

But if they don't,

it will fall on them

like Shiloh.

Shiloh was the place

where the tabernacle of God

was formally set up,

the housing for God.

But due to Israel's disobedience,

God abandoned Shiloh

and the place

was subsequently reduced

to a heap of ruins.

And that's what God

is saying here,

that this will happen

to Jerusalem also.

So that's the word spoken.

And from verse 7 and onward,

we see how these religious leaders,

the priests and the prophets

and all the people

who are Jeremiah

speaking these words

in the temple,

how they spurned the word of God.

It's the word spurned.

It says in verses 8 to 9,

And when Jeremiah

had finished speaking

all that the Lord

had commanded him to speak

to all the people,

then the priests

and the prophets

and all the people

laid hold of him,

saying,

You shall die.

Why have you prophesied

in the name of the Lord,

saying,

This house shall be like Shiloh,

and this city shall be desolate

without inhabitant?

And all the people

gathered around Jeremiah

in the house of the Lord.

So Jeremiah is delivering

this prophecy

in the temple precinct,

so it's not surprising

that the priests

and the prophets

were in the audience.

But all the other people

that are also there

are probably there

to worship

because they're at the temple.

The worshipers

that are gathered

around the temple.

And after Jeremiah

gives the sermon,

it must have caused

quite the stir

and the commotion

because people are now

thronging around him.

And the result,

it says,

All the people

gathered around Jeremiah

in the house of the Lord.

And the word gathered,

the word is interesting here

because it's a neutral word

that could refer

either to a good crowd,

for example,

a congregation gathered

for worship,

but it's also used

sometimes in Scripture

to refer to a mob

that has hostile intentions.

So in this case,

the congregation of worship,

people who had gathered

to worship God,

now is degenerating

into this hostile mob

that's beginning

to throng around Jeremiah

and he's feeling threatened

because they say to him,

you shall die.

The verdict of the public

was that Jeremiah

was a blasphemer,

someone who spoke

what is false

in the name of the Lord

and the blasphemer

is because they threatened

the very foundation

of Israel

which was a society,

it's a theocratic nation

founded on worship

of the true God

and because of that,

it was punishable by death,

blasphemy was

in the Old Testament.

And fortunately for Jeremiah,

the court officials

are also at hand

to restore order

and initiate

a proper legal procedure

and so he says

in verse 10,

when the officials

of Judah heard

these things,

they came up

from the king's house

to the house of the Lord

and took their seat

in the entry

of the new gate

of the house of the Lord.

The commotion

has reached

the king's palace

and so the rulers

of the nation

came down to the temple

and took their seat.

That's a formal way

of saying that

they took the seat

for rendering judgment.

The court is now

in session.

And in verse 11,

the prosecution

presents their case.

This man deserves

the sentence of death

because he has prophesied

against the city

as you have heard

with your own ears.

Notice how they are

more concerned

with Jeremiah

prophesying harm

against the city

rather than with

whether or not

he is truly speaking

the word of the Lord.

Because the real issue

at hand is not

whether Jeremiah's prophecy

bodes well or ill

for Jerusalem.

The real issue

is whether Jeremiah

is speaking God's word.

Because if God

sent Jeremiah

to speak this prophecy

against Jerusalem

then he's done

nothing wrong.

Isn't that often

how we come to

scripture as well?

We're more upset

that it tells us

not to do something

that we want to do

rather than

being concerned

with whether it's

truly the word

of the Lord

that this is

what God

asks of us.

Jeremiah knows this

and so he gets

right to the heart

of the issue

in verses 12 to 13

when he as the defendant

presents his case.

The Lord sent me

to prophesy

against this house

and this city

all the words

you have heard.

Now therefore

mend your ways

and your deeds

and obey the voice

of the Lord your God

and the Lord

will relent

of the disaster

that he has

pronounced against you.

Jeremiah does not

recant anything.

Instead he doubles

down on his prophecy

and declares God's word

once again

even while he's

being tried

for blasphemy

and his very life

is unaligned.

So Jeremiah

faithfully fulfills

his prophetic role

and calls the people

to repentance.

And Jeremiah

was not unaware

of the possible

consequences

of his bold testimony

because look at

verses 14 to 15.

But as for me

behold

I am in your hands

do with me

as seems good

and right to you

only know

for certain

that if you

put me to death

you will bring

innocent blood

upon yourselves

and upon this city

and its inhabitants

for in truth

the Lord

sent me to you

to speak

all these words

in your ears.

The people

at this point

are swayed

by Jeremiah's defense

but we know

that they don't

actually repent later

so probably

they're swayed

by Jeremiah's defense

not because

of their faith

but because

of their fear

of bringing

innocent blood

upon themselves.

But regardless

they support

the official's verdict

in verse 16.

This man does not

deserve the sentence

of death

for he has spoken

to us

in the name

of the Lord

our God.

And after this verdict

is given by the officials

then we hear

the elders

kind of approval

expression of approval

in verses 18 to 19.

Micah of Moresheth

prophesied in the days

of Hezekiah king of Judah

and said to all

the people of Judah

thus says the Lord

of hosts

Zion shall be plowed

as a field

Jerusalem shall become

a heap of ruins

and the mountain

of the house

a wooded height.

Did Hezekiah king of Judah

and all Judah

put him to death?

Did he not fear the Lord

and entreat the favor

of the Lord?

And did not the Lord

relent of the disaster

that he had pronounced

against him?

But we are about

to bring great disaster

upon ourselves.

They are quoting here

from Micah chapter 3

Micah 3:12

verse 12.

Prophet Micah

like Jeremiah

had prophesied judgment

and doom

against Jerusalem

and at that point

the king and the nation

repented of their evil ways

so that God relented

of his judgment

so should they not

also do the same

is what the elders

are saying

the leaders of

the people.

It's what if Jeremiah

really is speaking

God's word

putting him to death

would bring great disaster

upon ourselves.

But lest we

mistakenly think

that the people

of Judah

and their leaders

were always

this reasonable

and sensible

Jeremiah

adds another incident

when things

didn't turn out

so well

for the prophet

of the Lord

in verses 20

to 23

there was another man

who prophesied

in the name of the Lord

Uriah the son of Shemaiah

from Kiriath-Jerim

he prophesied

against this city

and against this land

in words like

those of Jeremiah

and when King Jehoiakim

he's the present king

at the time of Jeremiah

speaking

with all his warriors

and all the officials

heard his words

the king sought

to put him to death

but when Uriah

heard of it

he was afraid

and fled

and escaped to Egypt

then King Jehoiakim

sent to Egypt

certain men

Elnathan

the son of Akbar

and others with him

and they took Uriah

from Egypt

and brought him

to King Jehoiakim

who struck him

down with the sword

and dumped his dead body

into the burial place

of the common people

this is a contemporary

of his

of Jeremiah's

another prophet

and it happened

under the same king's reign

of Jehoiakim

so even though

Jeremiah went free

this time

it didn't always

happen this way

for the Lord's prophets

because Uriah

who also prophesied

in the same way

Jeremiah did

was put to death

by King Jehoiakim

so the narrator

whether it's Jeremiah

himself

or later scribe

who organized

and put together

his prophecies

thematically

is including

this story here

to make sure

we understand

the mortal danger

that Jeremiah

put himself in

by speaking

the word of the Lord

but Jeremiah

faced a different outcome

why

verse 24

tells us

the hand

of Ahicham

the son of Shaphan

was with Jeremiah

so that he

was not given over

to the people

to be put to death

it's a wonderful

story about this family

because Shaphan

was the secretary

of King Josiah

during his reforms

Josiah was

a pious king

he loved the Lord

wanted to reform

the nation

in true worship

of God

and so Shaphan

was the secretary

to Josiah

as mentioned

in 2 Kings 22

and his family

whole family

and his sons

appear to have been

godly faithful people

because they are seen

over and over again

leveraging their political power

to shield Jeremiah

so for example

later in Jeremiah

Jeremiah 36 · chapter mention

chapter 36

another one

of Shaphan's sons

Gemariah

urges Jehoiakim

not to burn

Jeremiah's scroll

he does it anyway

but at least

he tried

right

and in chapter 39

and chapter 40

yet another one

of Shaphan's sons

Gedaliah

takes charge

of Jeremiah

and ensures

his survival

after Jerusalem

has fallen

and here

it's because

of another one

of Shaphan's sons

Ahichem

and his influence

over the official's

decision

that Jeremiah

was not handed

over to the people

to be put to death

it's not such a cool story

I wish

God give us families

like that

earlier in verse 14

remember what Jeremiah

said to the officials

behold

I am in your hands

do with me

as seems good

and right to you

but in truth

Jeremiah was never

given up

to the hands

of the mob

he was always

in God's hands

which is why

the hand of Ahichem

the son of Shaphan

was with Jeremiah

this is a fulfillment

of the promise

that God had made

to Jeremiah

at the very beginning

of his prophetic calling

in chapter 1

verses 18 to 19

God had said to him

and I

behold I

make you this day

a fortified city

in iron pillar

and bronze walls

against the whole land

against the kings of Judah

its officials

its priests

and the people of the land

they will fight against you

but they shall not prevail

against you

for

I am with you

declares the Lord

to deliver

you

the Lord

God was with Jeremiah

to deliver him

his mighty sovereign hand

was protecting

and guiding Jeremiah

so that even though

it appeared to him

as though he was

completely at the mercy

of the mob

at their hands

in reality

he was under the care

of the sovereign God

because Jeremiah

was sent by the Lord

the Lord himself

took charge of his welfare

and nothing will happen

to him outside

of God's oversight

the Lord himself

ensures that his word

will go forth

let this truth

be a comfort to you

even when you feel

you are

completely

at the mercy

of other people

in your life

whether it's your

professor

or boss

or parent

or spouse

ultimately

those who belong

to God

are under his

provident care

even when you feel

that the proclamation

of God's word

when you share

the gospel

with someone

and that it's

not going anywhere

that it's jeopardized

that it's threatened

God's word

will go forth

and accomplish

his purposes

it cannot be thwarted

and it will never

return void

but of course

that doesn't

necessarily mean

that things

will always turn out

the way

we want

right

because God's

will is not

necessarily identical

to ours

as you can see

in the contrasting

examples of Uriah

and Jeremiah

sometimes prophets

of the Lord

were put to death

other times

prophets of the Lord

were preserved

from harm

the point

that Jeremiah

is driving home

in this passage

is that we should

listen to

and speak

the word

of the Lord

even to the

point of death

Jeremiah preached

even at the risk

of his own life

because he knew

that speaking

God's word

could mean

the life

or death

of the people

of his nation

and if he

didn't warn them

of God's judgment

they would not

repent

and they would

surely perish

and in this sense

Jeremiah was

a type

of the Messiah

that was to come

his prophetic role

pointed to

and was ultimately

fulfilled by

Jesus Christ

and Hebrews 1

1-2 says this

long ago

at many times

and in many ways

God spoke to our fathers

by the prophets

but in these last days

he has spoken to us

by his son

whom he appointed

the heir of all things

through whom also

he created

the world

Jesus

the son of God

is the prophet

par excellence

he is the ultimate prophet

that all the Old Testament

prophets were pointing to

and he faithfully

speaks

the words

of God

and that's why

in John 12

Jesus says to us

the one

who rejects me

and does not receive my words

has a judge

the word that I have spoken

will judge him

on the last day

for I have not spoken

on my own authority

but the father

who sent me

has himself

given me a commandment

what to say

and what to speak

and I know

that his commandment

is eternal life

what I say

therefore

I say

as the father

has told me

Jesus spoke

what he heard

from the father

and he did not

hold back

a word

but Jesus

is more than

a prophet

he doesn't merely

declare the word

of God

he is

the word

of God

as John 1

describes

he is the word

made flesh

he is more than

a messenger

who announces

the good news

of salvation

he is himself

the embodiment

of the good news

of salvation

because Jeremiah

was a great prophet

he was a faithful prophet

and he warned

the people of Judah

about God's impending judgment

but when the people

refused

to repent

there was nothing

Jeremiah could do

to save him

but say

I warned you

but Jesus

he warns

of God's judgment

but not only that

he himself

even when

even sinners

who resist

God's will

he makes a way

for them

to return

to the Father

and be reconciled

to him

by dying

on the cross

for their

own sins

so that he

can say

for Jesus

when people

sin

and are all

yielding

and stubborn

in their sins

his response

isn't too bad

I told you already

he says

no I made a way

for you

follow me

I died

for your sins

trust in me

and I can save

you

that's

what Jesus

does

and this

is not

like

if you

are not

yet a

follower

of Jesus

Christ

I urge you

this morning

to give

your life

to him

today

to the one

who gave

his life

to save

you

and this

is not

a commitment

to take

lightly

it requires

aligning

all of your

purposes

and priorities

with God

it means

listening to

God's word

and obeying

it at all

costs

it means

losing your

life

in order

to find

it

it means

no longer

living for

yourself

but living

wholly for

God

but it's

worth it

all

and this

is an

important

reminder

for those

of us

who have

put

their faith

in Jesus

Christ

for salvation

remember

that this

is not

a casual

commitment

it's not

one thing

on your

to-do list

among many

rather

it's the

one thing

that occupies

all that

you do

Jesus

said

if anyone

would come

after me

let him

deny

himself

and take

up his

cross

and follow

me

for whoever

would save

his life

will lose

it

but whoever

loses

his life

for my

sake

and the

gospels

will save

it

do you

believe

in Jesus

Christ

enough

to stake

your entire

life

on it

to go

all in

to forsake

all

selfish

pursuits

and pursue

Jesus

only

if you try

to save

your life

if you try

to keep

some aspects

of your

life

to yourself

instead of

giving it

up to God

you will

lose it

what is

your life

about

is it

about God

or is it

about yourself

are you

working

who are you

working for

studying

for

living

for

and if

you really

believe

the gospel

of Jesus

Christ

that it

is the

power

of God

unto

salvation

then are

you willing

to risk

your life

to share

it

Boston

is one

of the

least

churched

and least

bible minded

cities

in the

US

there is

need

for the

gospel

here

that's

why we

started

this

church

here

but even

here

if people

want

to learn

about

Christ

they could

find

other

churches

that

faithfully

proclaim

the gospel

of Jesus

Christ

but there

are places

in the

world

where people

have no

way

of hearing

this gospel

preached

and some

of those

places

if you

preach the

gospel

and people

convert

it could

be their

death

it could

be your

death

are you

willing

to risk

your life

to tell

people about

Jesus

who need

to hear

it

are you

willing

to risk

your

reputation

and embarrass

yourself

sharing

the gospel

of Jesus

Christ

down the

block

with a

neighbor

or with

a co-worker

apart from

the saving

message of

Jesus

there is

no salvation

there's no

eternal life

and people

all around us

are perishing

without knowledge

of it

our own

neighbors

and friends

and family

members

and co-workers

do you

share

this good

news

of

Jesus

with

others

or do

you

keep

it

to

yourself

do

you

hold

back

the

word

maybe a

third of

you have

heard me

tell this

story a

couple

years

back

but

there's

one of my

favorite

missionary

stories

this is

Robert

Germain

Thomas

who was

a

Welsh

missionary

in

China

he

had

a

burning

desire

to

share

the

gospel

he

did

it

faithfully

in

China

but

he

also

had

a

desire

to

share

the

gospel

with

the

neighboring

nation

of

Korea

which

at

the

time

was

known

as

the

hermit

nation

and

did

not

have

gospel

witness

so he

started

studying

Korean

on his

own

in

1866

Thomas

learned

that

an

American

boat

the

German

Sherman

the

General

Sherman

was

going

to

try

to

establish

trade

relations

with

Korea

and

the

U.S.

and

so he

offered

to

accompany

the

boat

as

an

interpreter

in

exchange

for

a

chance

to

spread

the

gospel

and

as

the

ship

approached

the

coast

of

Korea

Robert

tossed

gospel

tracks

onto

the

river

bank

but

Korea

having

observed

how

some

westerners

had

mistreated

China

they were

leery of

foreigners

and so

when they

saw

this

ship

the

Korean

officials

ordered

the

American

boat

to

leave

whether

it's

through

miscommunication

or

just

stubbornness

they

didn't

leave

they defied

the

warning

and

consequently

they

were

attacked

by the

Koreans

killed

them

but

true

to

his

mission

and

counting

even

his

survival

as

secondary

to

sharing

the

gospel

Robert

Jermaine

Thomas

instead

of

running

away

left

from

the

boat

carrying

Bibles

in his

hands

and

yelling

Jesus

Jesus

as

he

was

throwing

Chinese

Bibles

to

these

Korean

people

because

a lot

of

the

Koreans

spoke

Chinese

at

the

time

and

there

were

no

Korean

translations

of

the

Bible

but

sadly

he

was

promptly

beheaded

with

a

machete

that's

all

he

got

to

do

yell

Jesus

Jesus

throw

some

Bibles

down

but

God

worked

in the

heart

of the

man

who

killed

Robert

Jermaine

Thomas

convinced

by

Robert's

beaming

face

at the

time

of

his

death

he

kept

one

of

the

Bibles

that

he

had

thrown

and

then

he

ripped

it

apart

to

use

it

as

wallpaper

and

God's

unstoppable

word

began

to

do

its

work

people

came

from

far

and

near

to

read

its

words

a

church

grew

and

Robert's

nephew

the

killer

the

Robert's

killer's

nephew

became

the

pastor

of

the

church

and

today

150

years

later

30%

of

South

Koreans

14

million

people

call

themselves

Christians

whoever

loses

his

life

for

Christ's

sake

and

the

gospel

sake

will

save

it

let's

be

a

church

that

listens

to

and

speaks

the

word

of

the

Lord

even

to

the

point

of

death

close

your

eyes

with

me

reflect

on

this

message

this

passage

for

a few

moments

and

we

will

pray

together

as a

church

corporately

in

response