The Book of Matthew • Matthew 10:16-42

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Good morning.

If you have your Bibles, and I hope you do, I want to invite you to join us in Matthew

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10.

If you do not have a copy of God's Word and you would like one, we have some of these black

copies that are available.

They are back in the back at our connections table.

You do not have to wait to the end of the service.

You can go by and get one right now if you would like one.

We want everyone to make sure they have a copy of God's Word, or you can stop by there after

the service.

Feel free to come by and get one.

But also, keep coming to my shelf down here.

At the end of the service today, we will be partaking in the Lord's Supper together, and

we have our elements.

Hopefully, you got some from our greeters as you came in.

If you did not, it's okay.

If you want to take part in this with us, if you're a follower of Jesus Christ, we want

to encourage you to go back to the back.

Make sure you grab one of those, and we will do the instructions for that at the end of our

service.

Also, at the very end, we've got another missions team who is going out.

Our young adult team will be headed out this week back to New York City, where the high

schoolers just got back from to do ministry, do a VBS-type event there with our partner church.

And so, if you would like to, we're going to be praying for them, and I want to encourage

you to pray for that team over the course of this week as they minister in New York City.

Also, I hope you all had a wonderful fourth yesterday.

Several years, you ever make a decision, and then look back on that decision and go, yeah,

probably shouldn't have done that?

About five years ago, our family decided to make a purchase.

And we purchased a red-bone coonhound, and then made him an indoor dog.

Now, I'm not sure which one of those was the worst of the bad decisions that we made.

We love our dog.

We love him dearly.

His name is Otis.

If you follow us on Facebook, you can see all type of things with Otis.

But around holidays that have fireworks, we take what's called pupcations, and we get out

of town into the most remote areas that we can find to try to hide our family from fireworks

because of our dog.

Now, our dog does not get nervous with fireworks.

Instead, he gets angry and tries to attack fireworks.

And so, Aaron and him, we've been camping up in McCormick, South Carolina, for the last

several days.

I came back last night.

I don't know how your neighborhood was, but in the suburbs of Red Bank, let me just tell

you, there was about $10 million.

We're blown up right around my house last night.

So, hey, enjoy it.

Have fun, man.

America's birthday.

But I do, I love the 4th of July.

I love being able to get away.

I love being able to spend time.

But I do love what the 4th represents for us as a country.

You know, when we think through the freedoms that we have, and we talk to, especially in my world,

where we talk to pastors who pastor and minister, Christians in other countries and other parts

of the world that do not have the same freedoms that we have, it wears on them and reveals to

us the joys and the privilege that we do have.

And I think what holidays like the 4th of July remind me of within that is not just the freedoms

that I have, but the men and the women and families who made sacrifices in order so that my family

could do things like camp at a state park and boil shrimp and eat them together.

The sacrifices that were made so that we could gather here today.

None of us were afraid when we got out of our car and made that journey here today.

None of us are afraid as we go out into our homes and our neighborhoods to carry the name of Jesus Christ today.

And that has a lot to do with those who made a sacrifice.

What I also like about July 4th is it does remind me of the gospel story.

How Jesus Christ made the sacrifice so that you and I could be set free from our sin.

And there is no tyrant that can come and enforce the rule of sin back on your life and mine, the penalty.

Jesus has paid for it.

And so in light of all that we see, in light of all that's going on and what we can get into,

we can thank God that you and I live in a country that we can celebrate

and people can spend way too much money on fireworks

and we can eat hot dogs and get together with family and go camping and do all those things.

But may it continually remind us about the greatest freedom that we have.

Freedom in Christ Jesus.

And so would you join me as we pray, as we thank God for the freedom that we celebrate both here in this country and in Christ.

Would you join me?

God, I thank you so much for this time that we could be here together today.

God, I thank you for this country, Lord, and your sovereignty and your grace.

God, in all of the places, in all of the time of the history of the world of where you could have placed us,

Lord, you placed us here with purpose and reason.

And God, we thank you for that.

We thank you for that.

God, where we may disagree on things in politics,

where we may disagree from one political party to the next,

Lord, may we thank you that we live in a country that has freedoms that allow us to disagree.

May we thank you that we live in a country that allows us to gather here together today.

But God, may we also remember those who sacrificed so that this would be possible.

But God, could we also lift up the men and women of our armed forces who today are scattered all over this world,

fighting a fight and ensuring that the freedoms that we have maintained.

And God, in that, as in with everything, may it remind us more of who Jesus is and more of what he's done.

That he has fought the battle.

And that today, while it seems that the war is still going on,

God, for those of us in Christ, we stand in the victory.

We stand in the victory.

So, God, as we open your word today, may we respond to you and who you are and what you've called us to.

And it's in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

If you know me, you know one of my favorite TV shows of all time is the Andy Griffith Show.

It was the first TV show that my wife and kids and I could come together and watch.

And honestly, we were all four entertained.

I've got some characters.

In fact, our dog, Otis, right?

And then there's Otis.

But we've got all the characters.

We've got all of our favorites.

But one of my favorite episodes,

one of my all-time favorite episodes,

happens in season three.

And it's entitled Barney's First Car.

I hear some of you chuckling.

How many of you remember that episode, Barney's First Car?

I've got a handful.

If you haven't seen it, let me kind of summarize what happens in this.

Barney, who's always the guy who gets himself in trouble, right?

He's the illogical one.

Andy is the voice of reason.

And Barney decides to buy a car.

Now, with all the guidance that his boss, the sheriff, Andy,

and best friend since childhood has given him of what he needs to do

before he buys this first car,

Barney caught up in all of the emotion of buying a car from little old lady Lesh,

who's selling her husband's car that she only puts five miles a month on, right?

Barney gives all of his money over and then decides,

to take everyone out for a nice Sunday afternoon ride.

A couple of things amazed me about that.

Number one, it's the fact that how everyone in choosing in that time frame to relax still

decided to wear dresses and suits, right?

But they're all out in the car and they're all out on their Sunday drive to enjoy this new car.

Barney gets in, he's got a straw hat on, he's so proud, he's got a salt and pepper suit with his little bow tie on and they begin on their journey.

And if you know how these shows go, you know what happens.

Miss Lesh turns out to not be kind, sweet, little widow Miss Lesh.

And instead, she's a con artist and she's ripped Barney off.

And sure enough, over the course of the drive, the car begins to experience trouble.

The car begins to overheat, the car breaks down and Barney is left with no money and without a car.

Miss Lesh had hidden and held back all of the issues that Barney would face.

And conned him so that he would give something to her and she would give him something that wasn't really what she promised it would be.

Today, in our passage of Scripture, we're going to look at some verses.

We're going to look at verse 7 to 42.

Let me pause real quick.

I know we got the kids in here and I promise, I promise we're going to move fast this morning.

Jesus is not going to hide the struggles that the disciples will face when they give their yes to him.

When they say to him, we're going to be obedient and do what you've called us to do,

then Jesus prepares his followers for what they will face when they give their yes to God.

This morning, I want us to look at this with that in mind.

If you, and hopefully building off of last week's message, are giving your yes to God,

to live as a missionary in a scent culture where God has placed you,

what to expect when I give God my yes?

You see, Jesus in this passage is not going to try to bait and switch.

He's not going to try to con you.

He's not going to try to lead you to something, hoping that it's this and then under-fulfill.

Jesus is going to lay out, this is what you should expect as you follow me.

Last week, we looked at the passage where Jesus says the harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few.

And the challenge was within that, within the calling in first century for Christ in that moment for his people,

is the calling that he extends to us today.

Would you and I be willing to live every day, not looking for the time that we are going to go on a mission trip,

but would we live every single day, right here, right now, with our yes to him,

that I will live every single day on mission, looking for opportunities, everyday moments,

everyday conversations, to turn them into conversations with others about Jesus.

What if we did that?

And the very last thing that we looked at is Jesus goes and he sends the 12.

He sends the 12.

And I want you to look with me in verse 7 of Matthew 10,

as Jesus lays out what they will face.

And it's what you and I will face if we honestly and earnestly give our yes to God.

Starting in verse 7.

And proclaim as you go, saying the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the leper, cast out demons.

You receive without paying, give without pay, acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belt,

no bag for your journey or tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food.

The first thing that I want us to see within this, if we're going to give our yes to God,

is God is calling us to go to the great need.

God is calling us to go to the great need.

Now, while the gospel and what we're called to, all are welcomed to come and hear.

All are welcome to come and hear.

I don't care where you've found yourself.

If you found yourself here today, you are welcome.

There's a message that God has for us, the truth of the gospel.

And we hope that we can all come together and hear of the truth of the gospel.

But at the heart of the gospel is not simply a come and hear message.

At the heart of the gospel is a go and tell message.

That you and I are to go and to tell, to go and to proclaim, to leave and go into the world

where God has placed us in this world.

Look at the imagery of where he's sending them to.

Go and heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the leopards, cast out demons.

He sends them to the most difficult of the difficult that they would find in their times.

In fact, he sends them to the group of people that you would avoid if you were religious.

But Jesus says, in a relationship with me, these are not the people that you avoid,

but that these are the people that you go to.

Wouldn't it be a whole lot easier and a whole lot more appealing

if Jesus said, hey, listen, go to the best.

Go to the most affluent.

Go to the easy.

Go to the receptive.

But Jesus says, go to the diseased.

Go to the dying.

Go to the despised.

Go to the dirty.

It's the messengers of where he sends them.

You see, folks, gospel work is not easy work.

Gospel work is dirty and difficult work.

And you and I are called to go.

While we may not go to those and heal the sick and raise the dead

and cleanse the leper and cast out demons,

that you and I are called to go and carry the message of the gospel

to those who are diseased by sin, dirty from sin, despised by their sin.

And the Bible tells us dead and their trespasses and sins.

And that we carry with us the message of the kingdom, the hope of the gospel.

Folks, the gospel isn't about making good people better, but about making dead people alive.

Not through our power or our means, but by the hope of the gospel.

Continue with me in verse 11 through 16.

And he says,

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 be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah for that town

verse 16 behold I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves so be wise as a serpent

and innocent as doves look what Jesus says Jesus lays out he's like listen there's gonna be people

who hear there's gonna be people who receive there's gonna be people who reject you keep going you keep

going you keep moving in fact as it goes through you know the story right be better

it would be better for for those more bearable in the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and

Gomorrah than for those who reject but Jesus says you're to be sheep in the midst of wolves

so be wise as serpent and innocent as doves Jesus not only sends us to the great need

but Jesus in full transparency not a bait and switch not a con job

Jesus is also says you're going to go to the great danger you're going to go to the great danger

folks when we give our yes to God we cannot bring our yes with stipulations

when a couple gets married one of the things that I love about the vows that we share

in a marriage ceremony are these as you make a commitment to one another as you enter into a

covenant relationship between you and the person before the Lord is this to have and to hold from

this day forward for better for worse for richer for poor for sickness and in health to love and to

cherish until death do us part you're saying my yes is my yes

richer or poor sick or or well for better for worse my yes is my yes and even more so in my commitment

to the Lord my yes is my yes I don't come to Jesus with saying my yes is my yes as long as my bank

account looks good my yes is my yes as long as my health is okay my yes is my yes as long as you take

care of my family my yes is my yes as long as there's not tension between me and my wife my yes

is my yes as long as my kids are submissive and respectful to me my yes is my yes God as long as you

do for me in my ideal world what I think it should look like then God my yes is my yes for you

we do not bring our yes with stipulations we bring our yes to our shepherd who says we are his

sheep and we go where the shepherd takes us he says we are to be like sheep

why does he say we're to be like sheep you know here's the thing about sheep

sheep will always go where the shepherd takes them you see in a sheep's mind is not the concept that this field

is better than that this is safer than there that this is more beneficial for me than this the sheep just

go where the shepherd takes them and Jesus says that he's going to take us into the difficult into the hard

and we're to go and to be like the sheep follow the shepherd but in this to be as wise as serpents

and innocent as doves there's a combination of what we're seeing that's there now if you know me I'm not

crazy about serpent illustrations serpent pictures or being around serpents but the day I don't know if

y'all are aware of this it's been hot here lately and so we were up at the lake Clarks Hill Lake Lake Thurman

we'd go out and I just hit the point where like I would walk out into the water and stand where the water

was covering my shoulders and just kind of stand there and every now and then I would just go

and go underwater kind of cool down a little bit and come back up like that's how we're surviving right

that's that's where we're at and my mom and dad are camping with us and my mom's kind of out there by me in the

water and then Aaron's standing here and Aaron's looking out at the water and I'm facing uh the shoreline

right there because we got the dogs that whole whole situation and then my wife says

I think I see a snake

done late day over right like we're finished we're not going I don't care how hot it is

we will endure all right but Jesus says here Jesus says here be as wise as a serpent

you see we're called to be sheep who follow and trust the shepherd but we're to take the wisdom of

the world I'm sorry the wisdom of the word and to live in the truth that God has for us

you see Jesus isn't calling us to be foolish

he's calling us to be obedient and with that as he

grows us in the wisdom and the truth of the word

and then he places us in the world

that we're to live in the wisdom that's there

and then with that he says and to be

as innocent as innocent as a dove

so that as we are sheep who follow the shepherd who live in the wisdom of the truth

that we are those that are in the culture but not of the culture

so that our message of hope that we proclaim

the invitation that we give at the core matches

that's who we are who we are so I can share the gospel of Christ

not because I just know it but I can share the gospel of Christ

because I believe it and there's the evidence

of that in me let's continue on verse 17 through 20

he goes he says beware of men

beware of men

for they will deliver you over to courts

and flog you in their synagogues

and you'll be dragged before governors and kings for my 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

verse 20 for it is not

you who speak

but the spirit of your father

speaking through you

you know there's been the false narratives

that have been spoken about Jesus

that Jesus was just this great politician

and when people say things like that

I just kind of want to ask them

have you ever read the things that he said

like if you want to get elected

I don't necessarily know that like

hey listen you're going to be arrested

and you're going to be beaten

if you do what I tell you to do

if you obey me

there's going to be this difficulty

that you're going to go through

and so Jesus comes out

and he says listen

like be mindful

like beware

like there are people out there

who are actively

like spiritual warfare is real

spiritual warfare is real

and there are demons at work

and people who are at work

that hate God

they hate the truth of the gospel

and they want to destroy you

that's not just in first century

it's today as well

and Jesus says

beware

beware

because this is what will happen

you're doing the right thing

this is what will take place

do not be anxious

do not be anxious

when you have to stand

to give an account

and give a testimony

do not be anxious

when we give our yes to God

when we give our yes to God

we have to be dependent on God

we have to be dependent on God

God says in this moment

beware

do not be anxious

because here's what's going to happen

and here's what's going to take place

for it is not you who will speak

but the spirit of your father

speaking through you

the spirit of your father

speaking through you

be aware of the situation

be dependent on God

folks here's what I have found

in my life

and in the life of so many people

who struggle with

being dependent on God

here's where the conflict rubs

when everything in our life

is going okay to great

we get a little cocky

we get a little loose

we get a little bit dependent

on ourselves

we begin to think

that I'm the reason for this

that I'm the source of my success

we begin to feel within ourselves

we would never say it

but we sit on the throne

of the idolatry of our hearts

look at what I am capable

of achieving

and doing

in my life

and then

then we begin to hit

a bottom

we begin to hit a lull

and this concept

of being dependent

dependent on God

when we've been dependent

on ourself

in our mind

for everything

in our life

seems foreign

and impossible

because the weak God

of our heart

our idol

ourselves

has failed us

folks

dependency

on the Lord

is a daily

commitment

commitment

not a moment

by moment

adjustment

I will praise you

in the valley

and on the mountaintop

that I'm dependent

on you

and in sickness

and in health

that I'm engaged

with you

that I'm abiding

in Christ

no matter

no matter

what

the circumstance

don't wait

for things

to be tough

to start

depending on God

make that choice

today

and then

don't listen

to the devil

when your timeline

falls short

be

dependent

on God

let's keep

going

verse 21

brother

will deliver

brother

over to death

and the father

his child

and children

will rise

against parents

and have them

put to death

and you'll be

hated by all

for my name's sake

and I want you

to underline this

if you're an underliner

in your Bible

I want you to

underline this

next part

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

a disciple

is not

above his

teacher

nor a servant

above his

master

it is enough

for the disciple

to be like his

teacher

and the servant

like his

master

if they have

called the

master

of the house

Beelzebub

how much more

will they

malign those

of his

household

but the one

who endures

to the end

will be saved

folks we have

to be ready

to endure

we have

to be ready

to endure

the kingdom

of God

will face

its own

troubles

and then

those

imposters

who proclaim

to be

a part

will even

find in their

false faith

divisiveness

which is

there

Jesus

says you

will be

hated

you

will be

persecuted

but endure

and to endure

is to be

like Christ

and to endure

like Christ

is to

abide

in

Christ

we

we

don't

abide

in

one

another

we

don't

abide

in

our

context

we

don't

abide

in

our

situations

we

don't

abide

in

our

mind

frame

we

abide

in

Christ

I did

a little

word study

this week

and wanted

to

understand

this

word

endure

and

this

word

endure

it's

a word

that's

used

that

defines

more

than

I

think

what

you

and

I

think

of

in

enduring

for

me

when I

think

of

enduring

it's

a

one

man

journey

and

task

to

the

end

and

when I

think

of

this

word

endure

that's

what

I

think

of

but

in

my

word

study

this

word

means

more

than

that

this

word

endure

carries

with

it

a

picture

of

a

person

persevering

through

while

others

are

quitting

while

others

are

quitting

so

here's

what

Jesus

is

saying

but

the

one

who

endures

when

other

people

are

dropping

out

folks

how

many

times

have

we

attached

our

faith

to

fallible

men

and

women

and

they

fall

and

what

happens

is

it

crumbles

and falls

around

them

I

don't

know

I

don't

know

if

you're

seeing

and

watching

things

that

are

going

on

not

only

in

this

world

in

this

country

but

in

our

community

and

there

are

pastors

who

are

failing

left

and

right

and

left

and

right

and

left

and

right

and

the

devil

comes

in

and

wreaks

havoc

and

destroys

the

work

oftentimes

that's

going

in on

those

situations

because

what

people

have

done

is

they've

attached

their

faith

their

perseverance

their

hope

their joy

to a

person

and not

to

Christ

endure

others

are

going

to

quit

others

are

going

to

be

exposed

others

are

going

to

fall

to

the

side

we

don't

keep

our

eyes

focused

on

man

but

on

Christ

on

Christ

endure

abide

in

him

he

continues

on

verse

26

so have

no fear

of them

for

nothing

is

covered

that

will

not

be

revealed

or

hidden

that

will

not

be

known

I

tell

you

in

the

dark

say

in

the

light

in

what

you

hear

whispered

proclaim

on

the

rooftop

on

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

numbered

fear

not

therefore

you

are

of

more

value

than

many

sparrows

with

Christ

folks

with

Christ

face

your

fears

face

your

fears

face

your

fears

what

do

we

see

from

this

number

one

face

your

fears

with

an

eternal

perspective

folks

this

life

is

temporary

this

life

is

temporary

we're

not

promised

not

a

moment

more

than

what

God

has

set

for

us

this

life

is

temporary

face

fears

with

the

boldness

of

the

word

we

don't

just

put

our

faith

in

what

Christ

has

done

of

what

we

will

see

in

scripture

for

what

he

did

in

the

cross

and

the

power

of

the

resurrection

and

the

ascension

but

we

can

place

the

truth

and

the

hope

that

of

who

he

is

of

what

is

revealed

in

revelation

of

the

return

of

the

hope

of

eternity

with

the

boldness

of

the

word

God

tells

us

the

story

but

we

can

face

fears

with

confidence

of

faith

to

put

our

faith

in

the

one

over

your

circumstances

where

you

find

yourself

today

God

has

not

forgotten

you

God

has

not

left

you

and

God

is

not

making

mistakes

as

you

walk

through

what

you're

facing

would

you

put

your

faith

in

him

and

move

past

the

fears

of

this

world

verse

32

so

so

everyone

who

acknowledges

me

before

men

I

also

will

acknowledge

before

my

father

who

is

in

heaven

but

whoever

denies

me

before

men

I

will

deny

before

my

father

who

is

in

heaven

do

not

think

I

have

come

to

bring

peace

to

the

earth

I

have

not

come

to

bring

peace

but

a

sword

for

I

have

come

to set

a man

against

his

father

and

daughter

against

her

mother

and

daughter

in law

against her

mother

in law

and

a

person's

enemies

will

be

those

of

his

own

household

verse

37

whoever

loves

father

or

mother

more

than

me

is

not

worthy

of

me

and

whoever

loves

a

son

or

daughter

more

than

me

is

not

worthy

of

me

and

whoever

does

not

take

his

cross

and

follow

me

is

not

worthy

of

me

whoever

finds

his

life

will

lose

it

and

whoever

loses

his

life

for

my

sake

will

find

it

what

does

your

yes

to

God

mean

your

yes

to

God

means

public

faith

but

our

faith

is

not

situational

and

private

but

our

faith

is

in

every

moment

and

it

is

public

Jesus

says

that

you

would

acknowledge

me

before

men

with

the

words

that

we

say

in

the

life

that

we

live

and

then

Jesus

begins

to

draw

a

picture

the

picture

of

the

family

what

greater

love

than

that

between

those

of

the

family

and

Jesus

says

in

this

public

faith

that

is

there

you

not

only

confess

me

with

your

life

but

you

love

him

above

all

above

all

all

right

so

last

night

I'm

driving

in

had

dinner

with

Aaron

and

my

mom

and

I'm

driving

back

so

that

I

can

get

some

rest

and

be

here

this

morning

and

I'll

drive

back

to the

campground

after church

is over

with

today

to get

ready to

pack up

to head

back

tomorrow

and

somehow

like I'm

on a free

trial right

now

of

Sirius

Satellite

Radio

and they've

got a

90s

country

station

that just

does it

for me

I got an

oh yeah

over here

like I'm

loving it

I'm

loving it

and I'm

driving back

yesterday

and there's

a song

that begins

to play

now somewhere

between Saluda

and Batesburg

I'm losing

it

I'm losing

it

I'm crying

I'll tell you

the song

it's Alan

Jackson

it's that

song

Drive

my kids

loved that

song when

they were

little

my daughter

especially

loved it

and I'm

sitting there

and I'm

just boohooing

just me

in the

truck

and no

one around

to be able

to see

me

in this

embarrassing

moment

as I'm

crying

and got

done

and I

thought about

how much

I love

my kids

and my

kids

man

they're in

that stage

of life

now right

like

they're my

kids

and I'm

so proud

of them

that they're

we're walking

through together

what this

looks like

to make

adult

decisions

and they're

taking ownership

and responsibility

and when

they make

mistakes

they're

learning

from them

and so

we're just

having to

kind of

resort

and walk

through

all that

that looks

like

right

well

this is

just all

that's

going

through my

mind

now

earlier

I was

watching

a movie

in our

camper

and the

dad

his daughter

is getting

married

and he

says

to the

groom

the only

thing

that I

could ask

of you

is

above

all

else

love

my

daughter

more

than

anyone

or

anything

in this

world

and I

thought

man I

hope my

daughter

does not

marry a guy

like that

folks if

you're in

here

and you

got a

boyfriend

you got

a

girlfriend

you've

got a

fiance

or you

want a

boyfriend

or a

girlfriend

here's

what I

want to

tell you

they need

to love

Jesus more

than they

love you

and folks

if you

got kids

you need

to love

Jesus more

than you

love them

and if

you got a

spouse

you need

to love

Jesus more

than you

love them

and here's

what's

remarkable

when I

love

something

of this

world

you know

what it

does

it

lessens

the more

that I

love

this

thing

it

begins

to rob

the love

that I

have

for other

people

and other

things

in this

world

the more

that I

build up

my idols

and love

them

the more

that it

robs

the love

that God's

calling me

to give

but here's

the miracle

working of

our God

the more

I love

Jesus

the more

that Jesus

is and I

say this

don't put him

on a list

because he's

greater than

your list

or mine

the more

I love

Jesus

the more

I love

my wife

the more

I love

Jesus

the more

I love

my kids

the more

I love

Jesus

the more

I love

you

the more

I love

Jesus

the more

I love

myself

you say

you gotta

begin with

yourself

you gotta

love

yourself

no no

no

you gotta

love

Jesus

and that's

how

he

works

this isn't

a call

to deny

your family

this is a

call

to love

Jesus

confess him

with your

life

love him

above all

and whoever

does not

take his

cross

and follow

me

is not

worthy of

me

trust him

with

everything

trust him

with

everything

that's

public

faith

we'll

close with

this

verse 40

and 42

43

42

whoever

receives

you

receives

me

and whoever

receives

me

receives

him

who sent

me

the one

who

receives

a prophet

because he's

a prophet

will receive

a prophet's

reward

and the one

who receives

a righteous

person

because he

is a righteous

person

will receive

a righteous

person's

award

whoever

gives

one of

these

little

ones

even a

cold

water

a cold

cup of

water

because he

is my

disciple

truly I

say to

you

he will

by no

means

lose

his

reward

folks

we laid

out some

tough

things

that Jesus

points us

to

of what

giving our

yes to

him looks

like

but then

in the

end

what he

points us

to

is that

he's

worth

it

he's

worth

it

I'm

going to

ask the

praise team

if they'll

make their

way up onto

the stage

if our

prayer

encouragers

will move

to either

side of

our

auditorium

as we

close in

our message

this

morning

he's

worth

it

because

Jesus

is our

world

Jesus

is

our

reward

you see

when we

begin to

be

when we

start out

with our

yes

to God

but we

set our

reward

here

what begins

to happen

is we

begin to

see

that this

world

is not

our

reward

and within

that for

those who

will not

endure

we begin

to think

and buy

into the

belief

that the

temporary

things

of this

world

are what

makes this

life

worth it

but it's

not

because

Jesus

is our

reward

in 1st

Timothy

I'm sorry

in 2nd

Timothy

chapter 4

the apostle

Paul

is writing

this to

Timothy

his son

in the

faith

Paul

is

imprisoned

waiting

a death

sentence

and this

is what

he writes

for I'm

already being

poured out

as a drink

offering

and the

time of my

departure

has come

I have

fought the

good fight

I have

finished

the race

I have