Matthew 10:34-42

As the choir comes down, if you have a copy of

the scriptures, if you'd open to Matthew's gospel

and turn to chapter 10. Matthew chapter 10, we'll

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

pick up the text at verse 34. And every week

as a pastor, as your preacher, you wrestle with

the text, trying to make sure you understand

what it says, what it means, what its original

context was. And oftentimes it's not hard to

understand what it means, but it's certainly

hard to apply it to our lives. And I don't think

that is... ever been more true than in the case

of the passage that's before us today. Jesus

talking to the twelve, twelve apostles that is,

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

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

I have come to set a man against his father,

a daughter against her mother, and a daughter

-in -law against her mother -in -law. And a man's

enemies will be those of his own household. He

who loves father or mother more than me is not

worthy of me. And he who loves son or daughter

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

does not take his cross and follow after me is

not worthy of me. He who finds his life will

lose it. And he who loses his life for my sake

will find it. He who receives you receives me,

and he who receives me receives him who sent

me. He who receives a prophet in the name of

a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward. And

the one who receives a righteous man in the name

of a righteous man shall receive a righteous

man's reward. And whoever gives one of these

little ones only a cup of cold water in the name

of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall

by no means lose his reward. Let's pray. Father,

your word is true. It is righteous. Lord, it's

uttered by the Son of God. It's authoritative

in our lives. Lord, these are tough demands.

Lord, even radical demands, if we might say so.

God, would you help us? God, would you reveal

to us where our own hearts have gone astray?

Father, I pray that the Spirit of God, Lord,

would awaken those who might be here. dead in

their sins, cold -hearted. Lord, might you give

them life. And for those who belong to you, Father,

Lord, search us, try us, see if there have been

any wicked way in us, Lord, and lead us in the

way everlasting. We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen. When we think of Jesus, We normally think

of peace. I mean, after all, one of the titles

for him, it's a title of the Messiah found in

Isaiah chapter 9, verse 6, is he is the prince

Isaiah 9:6

of peace. When Zechariah was writing of the future

Messiah, he said, he shall speak peace to the

nations. At his birth in Bethlehem, the angels

were singing glory to God in the highest and

on earth, peace, goodwill toward men. It was

Jesus himself in Matthew chapter 5 in the Beatitudes,

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

he says, Blessed are the peacemakers, for they

shall be called the sons of God. So if all that

being true, why is he now saying in Matthew 10

that he did not come to bring peace, but rather

a sword? What did he mean by that statement?

First, let me say this, the sword which Jesus

spoke of did not refer to a literal sword. It's

a metaphor. He didn't come to bring peace. Rather,

his mission, because of who he was, would bring

conflict and division to many. How do we know

it's not a literal sword? Well, do you remember

when Jesus was arrested in the garden and Peter,

the very impetuous one, he grabbed his sword

and he cut off the high priest's servant's ear.

Jesus said to Peter, put your sword in its place.

Put it up, Peter. For all who take the sword

will perish. The Christian faith, this is so

important, has never been advanced by the sword.

The kingdom of God does not grow by weapons or

external force. Much of Islam in the western

hemisphere did expand by force. There were forced

conversions. You converted or you died. You see

that as the Moors came in there through Spain

and the influence is still felt very strongly

there in that part of the world. But that's not

been the Christian religion. It's not been advanced

by the sword. Now, what did Jesus mean by conflict

then? Well, many Jews had this expectation that

when the Messiah came, it would bring in a new

age of peace and prosperity to Israel. And that's

not wrong. But Jesus came and he was tempering

their expectations. There will be a time of universal

peace and prosperity on the earth. But it was

not now. It did not come with his first coming.

He warned, rather, that his arrival, speaking

of his first coming, would bring in a new era,

but it would be an era of division. Many, many

people, especially in Israel, they would reject

the Christ, and that rejection would divide even

the closest of relationships, including families.

Now the context here, we're in Matthew chapter

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

10. Jesus has been preparing the 12 apostles,

briefing them, if you will, as they prepare to

head out on their first missionary journey that

is to take place only within the confines of

Israel. And he's letting them know in advance

that this mission I'm sending you out on, it

is a dangerous mission. I'm sending you out as

sheep among wolves. Some's going to really...

They readily accept the message you bring. They

will gladly receive you. Yet there will be others,

and by the way, the majority, who will hate and

persecute you. The message of Christ, there's

three things it brings from this text. It brings

division. Then there's a denial, a self -denial.

It also brings, and I couldn't think of another

D word, so I threw in dividend. It brings a reward.

So let's look at the first part. The gospel brings

division. And you find that beginning in verse

34. I'm not going to reread the text because

we just read it. So the gospel brings division.

Now, that's what Jesus said. I did not come to

bring peace, but I came to bring a sword. However,

if we go to John's gospel in John 18, Jesus said

this. He's standing there before Pilate and he

said, for this cause I was born. And for this

cause I have come into the world, that I should

bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of

the truth hears my voice. Everyone who is of

the truth hears his voice. So why did the Lord

come? He says, I came to bear witness to the

truth. What does truth do? Truth by its very

nature divides. There has always been a conflict.

It's a cosmic conflict. It occurs between truth

and error or truth and lies, light and darkness,

the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness,

the kingdom of God versus the kingdom of Satan.

But Jesus said only those who are of the truth

will hear him. Only those. Implying that there

are many who are not of the truth who will not

hear him and will conversely reject him. And

this conflict, this rejection, will reach all

the way down to families where some in the family

will be believers and others will not be. Verse

35 and 36, he said, For I came to set, what,

a man against his father, a daughter against

her mother, a daughter -in -law against her mother

-in -law. But Jesus, no, I came to bear witness

to the truth. But now, in Matthew 10, he says,

I came to bring a division within families. I

mean, how are you reconciling these statements?

Well, the very first thing, the apostles, the

12 that are going to be sent out, they were to

expect conflict as they preached the truth that

Jesus had sent them to preach. Yes, the Jews

are correct. There is a time of universal peace

and prosperity that is to come, but that time

has not yet arrived. The world rejected Jesus.

And since they rejected Jesus, it will also reject

the apostles. And you're going to find a home

that is divided. Why? Why is it divided? Because

some in that home will believe the gospel and

others will reject it. And so a man's enemies

will be those of his own household. And again,

we see this play out as we read through the rest

of the gospel narrative and as we turn to the

epistles. Israel rejected Jesus. And those family

members who did not believe rejected those who

received Jesus. But friends, this reproach, this

rejection did not end in the first century. The

gospel of Jesus Christ still causes division

even today. Think of the many testimonies of

Muslims who have come to faith in Christ only

to find their family disowning them, disavowing

them, and some even seeking to kill them. There's

a story told of in the late 1800s, there was

an American missionary named Samuel Zwimmer.

He worked in Egypt, Bahrain, and Arabia at that

time. And he wrote of a well -known Muslim scholar

whose name was Sheikh Hassan. And Sheikh Hassan

knew of Zwemer and he sought to refute his claims.

He was going to refute the gospel that Zwemer

was preaching. So he began to read the Bible.

He began to engage with the writings of Christian

scholars. And as he did so, he became convinced

that Jesus was the Christ. the son of the living

God, the savior of the world. And because of

his conviction, eventually Sheikh Hassan was

baptized. And it was at that moment when he was

baptized, his family discovered his conversion.

They were outraged and they disowned him. They

kicked him out of his own home. They stripped

him of his inheritance. He lost his job. And

for the remainder of his later life, he lived

as an outcast. The Zwimmer, that American missionary,

said that Hassan said this, and I quote, Though

I have lost father and mother, I have found a

Savior who will never cast me out. This is exactly

what David wrote in the 27th Psalm, verse 10,

When father and mother forsake me, then the Lord

will take me up. The Lord will take care of me.

A few weeks ago, in August actually, one of our

missionaries, Todd Kincaid, he's our missionary

serving in Rome to the displaced people groups,

the migrant groups, mostly the Bengalis there

in Rome. He spoke of his co -laborer. His co

-laborer's name is Masun, and he comes from a

Muslim background. And Masun was baptized into

the Christian faith, and the moment his family

found out, they put a bounty onto his head, and

he can never return to his home country because

he will lose his life. He has no one except his

brothers and sisters there in the church. It's

not just Muslims. This happens also if you talk

to some Jews who have embraced Christ. They will

find themselves alienated, even expelled from

their families. You hear stories sometimes of

families even having funerals for those who have

received Christ or converted to Christianity.

What does all this mean? It has never been easy

or popular to follow Christ. Ever. And it never

will be. Jesus prepared his disciples, and by

way of extension, he's preparing us. If the world

hates you, John 15, next slide, guys. If the

world hates you, you know that it hated me before

it hated you. The world hates the Son of God.

The world hates God. It's not neutral. If you

were of the world, which you're not, the world

would love its own. Yet because you're not of

the world and I chose you out of the world, therefore,

because of that, the world hates you. Now remember

the word that I said to you. A servant is not

greater than his master. If or since they persecuted

me, they will also persecute you. If they kept

my word, they will keep yours also. But all these

things they will do to you for my namesake because

they do not know him who sent me. They're doing

all this because they don't know God. That means...

Judaism today, by extension Islam, they don't

know God. The only people who know God are those

who know Christ as Savior. Those who are of the

truth. Those who are of the truth embrace Christ

when they hear the gospel. They are his sheep.

They hear his voice in the gospel when they follow

him. Now listen carefully. Jesus said in John

18, everyone who is of the truth, what? Hears

my voice. If you're of the truth, you'll hear

him. In John 10, Jesus said, My sheep hear my

voice, and they follow me. So those who follow

him are his sheep who are of the truth. But there's

a group out there who are not of the truth, who

are not his sheep, and they hate the gospel,

and they seek to silence those who preach it.

Discipleship will create friction. That doesn't

mean you are failing. It probably means you are

faithful. In this. So what are you supposed to

do when those closest to you. Those in your very

home. With whom you live. Want to reject you.

Because of your loyalty to Christ. Jesus said

in verse 37. He who loves father or mother. More

than me is not worthy of me. But he goes a step

further. And he who loves son or daughter. More

than me. Is not worthy of me. There is a hierarchy

of love, church, that Jesus lays out very clearly.

And what he's saying is that no one, no man,

no woman, no father, no mother, no son, no daughter,

can come before your love for Christ. Christ

must be first. He must be preeminent in all things.

He must be above all people, including our own

children. That's a hard statement. Now notice

his words. If you do, if you love your dad or

mom or your son or daughter more than you love

Jesus, he said, you're not worthy of him. And

you see up there, that's a crazy statement. If

it were uttered by anyone other than the Lord

Jesus himself. It would be the highest level

of hubris and the highest level of arrogance

for a mere man to demand that you must love him

above all other people. I mean, think about it.

What if I were to tell you, hey, church, you

must love me more than you love your own children,

more than you love your own parents, more than

you love your own family. If I said that, if

I demanded you to love me like that, you would

think something is seriously wrong with me and

you would be right. But Jesus, he said this.

His words are actually an affirmation of his

deity. Because only God could demand devotion

and a love that supersedes everything else. It's

idolatry if we love anything more than him or

anyone more than him. And he says, if you do,

if you love even your children more than you

love me, you're not worthy of me. What does that

mean? It means you're not fit to be his disciple.

Jesus is telling us in advance what following

him demands. This is what it means. Now, honestly,

we in this room, the sanctuary, we may never

have to choose between a family member and following

Jesus. Nevertheless, though, this doesn't get

us off the hook. In our hearts, he, Jesus Christ,

must be preeminent and occupy the top spot. That's

a tough statement. But this will only happen

if you can see him for who he truly is. He's

not simply a rabbi or an enlightened teacher.

He is God in flesh. He is the Christ. He's the

Savior of mankind. If you read through the Gospels,

you'll see he's the all -surpassing treasure

that is greater even than life. This is Jesus.

I love the song that says, You can have all this

world, but give me Jesus. Take it. There's only

one that I have to have. Jesus said in Matthew

Matthew 6:33

6, verse 33, Seek first. Seek first. Protos,

first. His kingdom. And his righteousness. Matthew

10, you must love me above all else. Those are

the terms that he lays down for discipleship.

And the terms are non -negotiable. We don't go

back to him and with a counter offer. Because

he says, if you don't want to do it, don't follow

me. So the gospel is going to bring division.

It's going to bring division even to families,

but it's also going to cost us something. There

is a denial. If you see, it's not simply choosing

him above your family. Also, to be his disciple

is to choose Christ above our own life. Look

at verse 38. And he who does not take up his

cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.

I mean, he's just, he's narrowing this in. He's

not letting us off the hook. The Lord has already

warned them twice in Matthew 10 about the prospect

of death. You see that in verse 21. Jesus said,

brother will deliver a brother to death. Father,

his child. Children rise up against parents and

cause them to be put to death. All for Christ.

Verse 28. Do not fear those who kill the body

but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear him

who is able to destroy both soul and body in

hell. And now for the third time, the Lord Jesus

mentions the prospect of death in being his disciple.

It's a willingness to take up our cross and follow

him. And his commentary, R .T. France, says this,

Christian readers have become so used to the

cross as a word and a symbol that it is hard

now to recapture the shudder that the word must

have brought to a hearer in Galilee at that time.

Crucifixion was thus not only the most cruel

form of execution then in use, but it also carried

the stigma of social disgrace. It's not just

a person crucified, but if you were even related

or somehow affiliated with the person being crucified,

that was considered the ultimate shame. There

was an honor -shame culture in the East that

we don't necessarily have in the West. We're

more individualistic, but for them it's corporate.

So if you were associated, you bore shame. If

you were crucified, that was the most radical

public reproach that existed. And Jesus is saying,

you must be willing as his disciple to embrace

that calling. Part of the humiliation of crucifixion

wasn't just hanging there naked before everyone

on a wooden beam. But before that ever happened,

the condemned one was forced to carry their cross

through a public procession among the crowds.

where they were carrying their cross and the

crowds would be lined up screaming at them and

hurling insults at the very same time. And Jesus

said, you want to follow me? Well, you cannot

shrink back when public shame and ridicule comes

your way for my sake. You've got to be willing

to pick up your cross. What about ridicule? No,

you've got to be willing to be ridiculed and

maligned and continue to follow. And he says,

if you're not, you're not worthy of me. You're

not fit to be my disciple. These are not my words,

church. These are hard words coming from the

lips of our Savior. We are not fit to be his

disciples if we are unwilling for all this to

be our fate. This is why it's hard to wrestle.

It's not hard to understand. But it's certainly

hard as I look at my own life. Lawrence Farley,

in his commentary, he says to take up a cross

was to count oneself as dead to the world. It

is precisely this ruthless rejection of the world

that Jesus demands of any who would be his disciple.

The world with its popularity, pleasure, and

happiness, including the smiling approval of

family members, must be rejected if it stands

between the disciple and his Lord. Nothing before

him. He allows no wiggle room. Nothing can stop

us in our devotion to him. I like reading J .C.

Ryle. He was an Anglican bishop. And he said,

happy is he who thoroughly understands that although

Christianity holds a crown in the end, praise

God, it also brings a cross in the way. It's

the cross before the crown. Being a disciple,

it involves a denial. It involves sacrifice.

It involves hardship. But you're saying, is that

all there is? I mean, is there any prospect of

reward at all? There is. Verse 39. He who finds

his life will lose it, but he who loses his life

for my sake will find it. He who receives me

receives him who sent me. See, the greatest,

if you look at verse 39, the greatest and most

important paradox in history is written right

here. This is the greatest paradox you're going

to find. Jesus said, if you're going to find

your life, you lose it. And if you'll lose your

life, paradoxically, you find it. Okay, strong

words. So what does it mean if I want to find

my life? What does it mean if I find my life,

I lose it? What does it mean to find your life?

This is what it means. It means to seek to save

your life. Somehow this life holds sway. You're

living for this life. So you're seeking this

world's approval. You're seeking the world's

comfort. You're seeking the pleasures from this

world. You're trying to milk this life for all

that it is. Eat, drink, be merry, for tomorrow

we die. It's an unwillingness to seek to save

your life. It's an unwillingness to bear the

reproach of Christ. And Jesus said, you can do

that, but you lose ultimately. Eternally, you

lose everything. Yes, you may immediately save

your life. Shrink back. You may immediately save

it. Ultimately, you lose it. But on the other

hand, he said the one who loses his life, What's

that mean? He's willing to endure the persecution.

He's willing to identify with Christ publicly.

He is even willing to bear the reproach and shame

for following Christ. He said that person saves

his life. See, what it means to be a disciple

is we're willing to walk in the footsteps of

our Savior. Because somehow we are convinced

of all people, and this is ironic, we are convinced

that there is life in dying. You better believe

that or you won't follow him. You better understand

there's a life that waits that's much better

than this one or you won't follow him. Letting

go of your life for the sake of Christ results

in true life. You got to let go. Remember the

Ecuadorian missionary, missionary to Ecuador,

Jim Elliot. He said, he is no fool who gives

up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot

lose. To save your life. Friends, so many do

it. So many professed Christians are seeking

to save their life. They're living for the sake

of comfort and security and personal plans and

agendas. They're hanging on to this world's goods,

this world's agenda. But self -preservation will

lead to spiritual loss. So Jesus would say, stop

grasping for the things of the world. Stop it.

Because that's going to ensure you lose everything

you're grasping for. And I think one of the things

that we can see, this parable haunts me. And

I don't say that lightly. It really does haunt

me. It's the parable of the seed and the sower,

and it's that final group. When Jesus gave a

great warning, and I think that we who live in

the United States and we who live in basic, comfortable

accommodations ought to take heed. In Mark chapter

Mark 4 · chapter mention

4, 18 and 19, Jesus is explaining the parable.

Now these are the ones sown among thorns. Remember

the word. The sower goes out and sows the word.

Some fell among thorns. He says these are who

they are. They're the ones. They hear the word.

They understand it. They hear it. But the cares

of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and

the desire for other things entering in choke

the word so that it becomes unfruitful. It doesn't

produce any fruit in their life. Now notice they

hear the word. They don't outright reject it.

But it's not their priority. They have other

concerns. Concerns they deem more pressing, more

urgent, like making more money. The deceitfulness

of riches. And none of us think that we're deceived

by riches. Who does think they're deceived by

riches? The people who are deceived by riches

are deceived, and they don't think they're deceived

by riches. Well, how do you know? The gospel

produces no fruit. Notice that last part. It

becomes unfruitful. The gospel doesn't produce

a fruit in them. Why? Because it's choked out

by the love of all these other things. It's not

the center of the court. Christ isn't center.

His kingdom is not first. See, the only way for

you and I to have proper priorities is to have

Christ as the priority. His kingdom as the priority

of our lives. And if we have anything else in

that box, we are idolaters. To hold anything

or anyone above the Lord himself is idolatry.

And Jesus, though, he's wanting to give these

men as a head out on this dangerous journey.

There is some encouragement, verses 40 through

42. He says, all the sacrifices that you are

called to make are worth it. How are they worth

it? Because the work that is done for Christ

will be greatly rewarded. Even a cup of cold

water is not overlooked. The apostles were ambassadors

for Christ. That means they were sent out in

his name, vested with his authority. So if you

welcome the apostles, that was tantamount to

welcoming Christ. And to welcome Christ was to

welcome the one who sent Christ, which is the

Father himself. So conversely, on the other hand,

to reject the apostles and to reject their message

is to reject God. Now, let me just say this.

There are no apostles today. The office of apostle

was limited to those 12 men, yet everyone who

receives and helps promote the message of the

apostles will be promoted. Or rewarded, excuse

me. Christ, notice he places tremendous value

on how people treat his messengers. How they're

welcomed and received. If the messenger, and

he's talking about the one who comes in his name,

if they're welcomed, Christ said he will give

an equal reward for the kindness and care that

is shown to his messenger. So you and I are not

apostles. We're not going to get the apostles'

reward. He said, oh, but if you help this apostolic

message, if you welcome the messengers that's

preaching Christ, you're going to get the same

welcome and the same reward that they receive.

There is a reward for those who receive and treat

well the people whom he sends out. You support

the gospel. You share in the same reward as those

who preach the gospel. So you're not, this is

a blessing for us as well. Again, I like what

Lawrence Farley said. God will never forget to

recompense the one who helps Jesus' disciple.

Even though that help is little as a cup of cold

water. All acts of kindness done to his disciples

for his sake will have their eternal reward.

Amen. Everything. God takes great notice. Nothing

escapes his concern. Remember, two sparrows don't

even fall from the sky without him taking notice.

All the hairs on your head are all numbered.

Jesus knows when you give even a cup of water

to one of his disciples in his name, you don't

lose your reward. You just got to be living for

the life to come. So now what? How do we apply

this to our lives as we close? Friends, if you

listened carefully, if we have ears at all to

hear, Discipleship, biblical discipleship, following

Christ is far more comprehensive than we can

possibly think. A disciple is not just one who

says a prayer and never to be heard from again.

We've done so much injustice and so much harm

to the body of Christ by assuring those who have

no fruit in their lives that they are Christians

because of something they have done. It's just

false. It's terrible. Being a disciple doesn't

mean you go to church. You do go to church, but

that's not all that it means. To be a disciple

is to follow Jesus. We begin to think like him

and speak like him and love what he loves and

hate what he hates. But we also understand that

this following him comes with a price. It may

involve suffering. It may not involve physical

suffering here in the United States, but it certainly

will involve ridicule. Have you ever been tempted

to speak for Christ and then you kind of muted

your voice because you didn't want to be think

crazy? I have. And that's a shame to me. The

disciple should expect to be treated the same

way Christ is treated. We bear his reproach.

But it also means we surrender. There's surrender

any plans we've had of our own lives. We submit

to him without hesitation, without reservation.

And by the way, he lays down inflexible terms.

He lays them down here. My problem is not that

I don't understand what he wants. My problem

is that I see my own heart. We know, if you're

like me, and I suspect that you are, we know

that you and I, we're prone to renege on our

commitment to him. We know how cold our hearts

can be, but even worse, we know how fickle they

can be. Warm today, cold tomorrow, on fire, zealous,

and then indifferent. Because what happens is

we live in this warfare, right? And oftentimes

our lives, if we're not careful, which is why

we need the Lord's Day worship, we become focused

on what? Our own agendas. What we want to do,

what we want for our children. Our own desires.

Our own comfort. Our own pleasure. All those,

they easily creep in. And friends, we don't get

the say there. We're bought with a price. And

so what happens here is we subtly, not overtly,

we subtly, we replace God with self. And then

we hear the word of the gospel. We hear the words

of Christ. And that unmasks us. It exposes our

idolatry. But this is a good thing. God exposes

us this morning not to condemn us. but to bring

us to repentance. The gospel, notice what it,

it doesn't just confront our idolatry, it covers

the idolatry with grace. This is what we need.

So this morning, you and I, through the gospel,

we're invited to repent, not to despair. Why?

Why don't we despair? Because the blood of Jesus

Christ cleanses us from all unrighteousness.

And we believe that. Yes, the gospel forgives,

but it doesn't only forgive. It transforms. It

transforms you and me into people who can live

boldly and then die well. That's what I want

for each of us. Lord, let us live bold lives

and let us die well. That's what I want for my

own family. The gospel, as we hear the word of

the gospel this morning, we're reminded once

again as a hymn says, Jesus paid it all. All

to him I owe. See, friends, Jesus is the only

true and faithful one. Our hope could never be

found in our own efforts. Even the best we try

to be the disciples he's called us to be, our

hope is found in him alone. See, the bread and

the cup that we're going to partake of, they

confirm the promises of the gospel. For all those

in Christ, there is the promise of forgiveness

of sin because of his bloody death. And there

is a promise of union with Christ. We are where

he is, which is why we're seated with him in

the heavenly places even today. God is far more

gracious, and there's more grace in him than

there is sin in us. And this is what we celebrate

today. But friends, let us labor. First of all,

let us examine our hearts and pray. Take these

words seriously. God, make me willing. Show me

the idolatry of my own heart. Show me where I've

gone astray, where I love other things or other

people more than you. And God, may I repent before

you this morning. And I receive forgiveness through

the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Let's pray.

Father, thank you this morning. Lord, would you

help us now as we come to the table of the Lord.

Lord, even before we partake of the elements,

we do, Lord, want to spend some time just examining

ourselves. Father, we pray that you would search

us and try us, Lord, and know our hearts and

see if there be any wicked way. Father, would

you expose to us the idolatry and the spiritual

adultery that's taking place there. Lord God,

I cannot stand before your people as one, Lord,

who has perfected this. Lord, you know, Lord,

the weakness of my own flesh. The foolishness

of my own heart. How I'm tempered or tempted,

Lord, to darken or dampen the light, Lord of

Christ. Lord, I can think back of conversations

where I should have had a more bold witness and

I failed to do so. Lord, that is a shame to me.

Oh, God, forgive me. Forgive me of that. And,

Lord God, would you replace in me a holy boldness,

Lord. The righteous are as bold as a lion. Lord,

let us live boldly and die well. Lord God, we

pray that, Lord, we would make Christ known.

to know him and to make him known would be the

very agenda of our lives. Father, we might have

all kinds of competing loyalties, but Father,

the overwhelming, surpassing agenda is to know

Christ and to make him known. Lord, let us use

our occupations and all the ways in which we're

involved in the affairs of this world as an avenue

for the glory of Christ to shine brightly in

our lives. And we thank you for that in Jesus'

name. Amen.