Verse by Verse

[0:00] Sunday morning, sure, no problem, and then he texted yesterday saying he had to work, and so I thought, who else can I get the lead singing?

[0:10] Let's start with Bob Thomas. So I didn't even bother.

[0:21] But it's something I used to do every week, and then I haven't done it for so many months, so we cut it short. Praise the Lord.

[0:36] Matthew chapter 10, we were in the 20s. I know we got into 20, let's see, 26, finished up there, and we're in the middle here of a tough passage in Matthew 10, and a commission of the 12 being sent forth and given power and given the signs of the world to come, the kingdom powers these men had to preach and to display that this is the movement of God and the kingdom of heaven's at hand, and so the signs and the powers that they possessed given to them by Jesus Christ was to enforce their message and to back it up and to reveal to them that this is, in fact, real.

[1:19] This is the kingdom that God promised. And then this section we got into last week, dealing with bewaring of men and being brought before governors and kings and people delivering you and taking you and then the brother and being put to death and the father, the child, and this kind of context.

[1:41] Some stuff comes up there that never, to our knowledge, came to pass in this sending forth of these disciples, and as they returned, we read elsewhere, they rejoiced.

[1:52] So they weren't put to death in this commission when they took off. There's no record of that. The persecution that Christ mentions in verse 23, not aware of any of that taking place.

[2:06] But there is some language that I showed you last week matches what Christ taught right before his death, and that's a very obvious tribulation doctrine. And we didn't go to Matthew 24, but much of the language matches Matthew 24.

[2:19] So this doesn't apply to these Jewish disciples literally in all cases, at least not in its entirety, because they were not put to death or brought before councils in this time.

[2:34] And then I showed you in the book of Acts that there's some of this stuff that kind of matches that, them being brought before councils, but they were outside of Judea, and so they violated the terms of this commission, as we saw they were in Philip's case in the city of Samaria.

[2:52] So this has the tribulation in view in his commissioning to the 12, and it's something that just wasn't fulfilled in its entirety, and it will be, and he'll restate that before he goes.

[3:05] So anyway, we're getting into verse, let's see, 26, 27. We'll pick it up there in verse, well, let's back up to 26. It says, Fear them not, therefore.

[3:17] So they're not to fear the men that he warned them about in verse 17. In verse 16, the wolves. But fear them not, therefore, for there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, and hid that shall not be known.

[3:30] What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light, and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

[3:47] Let's go to the Lord, then we'll get in the text. Father, please open our minds and our eyes to truth this morning, and help me to be clear and not to be misled myself or to mislead in any way.

[3:59] Father, this book is so pure and so holy and so above us, and it's going to be here long after we're gone. And Lord, I just pray that you'll help us to understand it and take practically what we can for this day and age that we live in and apply it to our hearts.

[4:15] We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. So fear not them. That would be man, obviously, the wolves, the men that are able to kill the body.

[4:26] And so they're sent forth to preach and to do some miracles and signs and are not to be afraid of anybody they come against. In some cases, they're going to be, like earlier he mentioned, they're going to go into cities and towns and they'll be received.

[4:38] In some cases, they won't be received. And so don't be afraid of them. They're to preach, and they're to preach boldly. And in contrast to fearing man, it's obvious he's telling them to fear God in verse 28.

[4:53] Fear him, at the end of the verse, but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. And there's such a thing as the fear of the Lord that's a real thing, as in fearing, afraid of.

[5:07] It's often downplayed that this term fear of the Lord is only just reverence and honor. And surely there's an aspect of that involved, but I can't help but say that God is to be feared, not just to be revered.

[5:21] He is to be, you're to be afraid of him. You very well should be. You read through the scriptures, you see how he reveals himself to man. And a lot of times they quake with fear and trembling because they see his power and they see who he is as a person.

[5:35] And the day that you just look at God as just like a father figure, then you're missing something. If you just say, well, I need to revere him or I need to give him honor.

[5:46] He's more than, he deserves more than your honor. You should tremble before who he is. And if we could see him in his holiness, we would drop on our faces. We'd think he's going to kill me. He's going to kill me right now.

[5:58] You'd feel that way if he was here because you'd feel like I don't belong in his presence. He's too holy. I'm too unclean. He knows everything about me. And it would all become so vivid and real, you'd just be scared for your life.

[6:09] You'd want to get away. And you think you'd want to get closer to him? I think if you got close to him, you'd want to get away from him. And that's just the self-preservation inside of you that wants to not be snuffed out of existence.

[6:23] Fearing God is the real thing. It ought to be a real thing. And one of the reasons I serve and obey him is because I'm afraid of him. Because I feel like I've used up eight of my lives by running from him, by telling him no, and I feel like I'm on the edge.

[6:39] And I honestly, in my younger years, I've turned my back on the Lord Jesus Christ enough times. And there was a time in my life I got such strong conviction that I'm not making something up just to make it sound big to me.

[6:52] It just fell in my heart that if I tell God no, I'm done. Like if I tell no, then I'm just going to be out there. And what happens, happens. And who knows how long I'll last. And I wasn't about to go that direction anymore.

[7:05] I got to get on my knees and humble myself. And one of the reasons was because I was afraid of him. Because he did too much for me, for me just to scoff at that and pretend that I can just do my thing in this life and get away with it and be justified.

[7:21] I couldn't do that. And the Lord just put that conviction on my heart that I owe my life to him. And one of the reasons I stay close is because I fear him. And it's a healthy thing, by the way.

[7:32] It's not a bad thing. Don't let the society tell you that you shouldn't make your kids fear you. Yes, you should. You should absolutely. I talked to this mother. She's an evangelist. Lutrix, if you know the Lutrix family.

[7:44] I spoke to Mrs. Lutrix one time at a revival meeting. And we were just, Carla and I were just young parents at the time. I think we probably had one, maybe two. I'm not even sure of that.

[7:55] And she had their family was up there singing. It was just a blessing. And I just said, we just, Carla and I were talking to her in the pew and said something. I don't even know how the conversation went.

[8:06] I don't think we said, how did you get your kids to turn out right? I don't know. But it was something along the lines of raising kids. And she just gave one little piece of advice. She said, make sure those boys are the, they fear their mother, like they're afraid of her.

[8:20] And so I just thought, hmm. And I thought, that's good. I liked it at the time. I like thinking, yeah, because I don't want my kids running over their mother. And it just, she said it like, as a matter of fact, my kids fear me.

[8:32] And I don't take nothing from them. Amen. Now, this is talking about fearing God. I don't know how we're talking about fearing mothers. It's a little bit different. But don't be afraid of men, is what he's telling them.

[8:45] You go preach to them. And if you're going to disobey somebody, you disobey men. But you don't disobey God. You better fear God. Now, we covered this material earlier in the book. At the end of this verse, 28, where he says he's able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

[9:02] And I remember from chapter 5, I'll just remind you about it. Go back to chapter 5 quickly. We covered this where Christ is talking about their body being cast into hell.

[9:14] And that never set well with me. I didn't understand what that meant until I got into scripture a little bit and found out from the scripture what that meant and where it applies. That's more important, where it applies.

[9:26] In verse 29, he's dealing with adultery, looking upon a woman with lust. And in verse 29, if thy right eye offend thee, Matthew 5, 29, pluck it out and cast it from thee, for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

[9:43] Now, when in the world is God sending, throwing a body into hell? Your body goes into the dirt. Why is he talking about the hell? So then other versions will go back to the Greek, and in the Old Testament, they'll go back through the Hebrew, and they'll try to adjust the word hell so it doesn't mean hell.

[10:00] And they'll make it come out grave or make it come out something else, because that makes more sense to man, rather than letting the scripture teach you something. And in this case, the whole body is getting cast into hell.

[10:11] But this is all kingdom-related material. This is not today when you die. God's not taking your body and throwing it into the fires of hell. This is when Christ comes back. And let's look at the verse.

[10:24] I want to talk about it. Go to Isaiah 66. This is the best spot. If you haven't written this down yet in connection with this, this is the one you want. Among many, but this is the strongest.

[10:34] In the kingdom, when Christ returns, judgment will be executed on the spot, and it'll be present, and hell will be visible.

[10:46] Hell will be on earth. The lake of fire, not the one we think of eternal lake of fire from Revelation. But there will be a burning, the land will be turned into burning pitch. And so at Isaiah 66, verse 23, It shall come to pass that from one moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.

[11:08] This is in the kingdom. Nations coming to Jerusalem to worship. Verse 24, And they shall go forth and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me. For their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched, and they shall be in a whoring to all flesh.

[11:23] And what does Christ say when he repeats this in Mark chapter 9, where their worm, he repeats this over and over again. In Mark 9, in connection with the hand offending thee, cut it off.

[11:36] It's better to enter into life maimed than having two hands going into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And so scripture was scripture.

[11:48] That's Mark 9, 44, 46, 48. Scripture was scripture. The body is getting cast into hell when Christ returns, because hell is present.

[12:00] So some things are altered a little bit there at that time. And that's why the scripture can say that your body will be cast into hell. And in Matthew 10, he says, Fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

[12:12] And this matches the whole concept of the kingdom material and the teaching, that we can't just get stuck on today and say, Well, that's a mistake, or we need to change that, because I don't understand that.

[12:26] No, we need to understand where it applies and who he's speaking to, who his audience is. And so we covered that in Matthew 5. There it is again. It's in Matthew 18, which I'm sure we'll hit again and just review it when we hit there so we're all familiar with it.

[12:39] You can't go through Isaiah without reading passages about men burning. You can't read, and it's not a spiritual hell situation, the heart of the earth.

[12:50] It's up here on the planet. He talks about kindling the land, and the land I mentioned burning pitch. He mentions where it's at.

[13:01] He mentions the tophet of old, or is ordained of old. I just want to read it now that I'm thinking of it. I think it's in 33. No.

[13:14] It's not in 33. Where is it at? I shouldn't have done that. It's 30.

[13:27] It shall come to pass that the ground staff pass. The Lord shall lay upon him. The tophet is ordained of old. Yea, for the king it is prepared. He hath made it deep and large, a pile thereof, is fire and much wood. The breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.

[13:41] This is here on the planet. The name of the Lord cometh from far, burning with his anger. And the burden thereof is heavy. His lips are full of indignation.

[13:52] And his tongue is a devouring fire. And his breath is an overflowing stream. It goes forth. It's all the second coming of Christ and the destruction and the burning that he kindles on earth.

[14:04] And starts tossing people in. All right. Matthew chapter 10. Let's move forward. Verse number 29. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? Is the question.

[14:16] And apparently, yes, they were. And if you read in Luke, they were also sold five for two farthings. And that's not a mistake in the Bible. Luke chapter 12, verse 6. You can check it out.

[14:28] That's just a deal. Two for one or five for two. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your father.

[14:44] Luke says in his rendition, he says they're not forgotten. Just clarifying what that without your father is meaning. That God is all knowing and he's all seeing and he's everywhere present.

[14:56] And he understands even when a sparrow falls to the ground. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. And it's not about the birds and it's not about the hairs.

[15:07] But it's about God being capable of caring for his own and protecting his own. And they can trust him and they're not to fear man. They're to follow him and obey him.

[15:18] And so I don't know that that's necessarily a literal statement. But I wouldn't have any trouble saying that God knows how many hairs are on my head. Even if they're getting less and less, little by little. He knows that.

[15:29] Look at Acts chapter 27. Acts 27. Here's the apostle Paul that God sends out.

[15:41] Gets himself in such a stormy situation on a boat that everybody thinks they're dead. They hadn't seen sun nor stars for many days. The tempest lay on them.

[15:53] All hope that we should be saved was then taken away. And God shows up and he tells Paul that everything's going to be all right. Verse 24 saying, fear not, Paul.

[16:03] Thou must be brought before Caesar. And lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. And so Paul relays this message from God to the men on the ship. And he says in verse 34, wherefore I pray you to take some meat.

[16:18] For this is for your health. For there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you. And so really it's talking about protection. Not just that God knows, but it's about God's protection over them.

[16:30] Back in Matthew 10. So moving forward from there, verse 31. Fear ye not, therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

[16:42] Well, I guess so. That's comforting to know. And if God knows what takes place with them, he knows what's taking place with you. And sometimes you need to hear that. Inside you probably know that. And you probably believe that and feel that.

[16:54] But probably sometimes you just need to hear it from the Lord. That I know what's going on. And I got you. And you can trust me. And that's why you got to get back to the book.

[17:04] You stray from the word of God. And then you start just, you're left to yourself. You're left to your own thoughts. Your own mind. Your own, you know, circumstances. The world around you.

[17:15] You get back to the book. And it reminds you what God says about you. And you can trust him. But you need to keep this in front of you. Verse 32. Whosoever, therefore, shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father, which is in heaven.

[17:31] But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father, which is in heaven. Now, again, we already commented on this passage when we were in chapter 6.

[17:43] When we were dealing with the prayer. And where it was about forgiving men. And if you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will forgive you. And I know we came to this passage to show you something, a similar situation here.

[17:55] And this is not church age doctrine by any means. Some people want to take it. They want to try to. But here, first of all, I'll tell you what. Let's just look at it. Look at Mark 14.

[18:09] Mark 14. The present company appears to have been excluded from this statement of confessing him before men. Versus denying him.

[18:29] Mark 14. And in verse 31, he's foretelling his death. And Peter said, verse 29.

[18:40] But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I. And this is where Christ predicts the cock crow twice. Thou shalt deny me thrice.

[18:51] But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Notice, likewise also said they all. The whole room's full of men. Grown men said, yeah, we're not going to deny you.

[19:04] You're accusing us of not being loyal. I mean, how dare you? You think we don't have anything in us? They all agreed. We're not going to deny you. And then you turn the page or whatever you need to do to get to verse 50.

[19:19] And they all forsook him. And fled. Well, a couple swords show up. A couple spears and staves.

[19:29] And they're gone. And these guys that he's teaching, right here in Matthew 10, forsook him and fled. Peter definitely denied him three times.

[19:41] Point blank scripture declares it. So what about that? Well, this statement back here is not necessarily applying to those guys. I can't say that it applies to Christians. This deny me before men.

[19:53] I'll deny you before my father, which is in heaven. Because, well, in a sense, you could kind of try to say, well, I mean, Romans 10, we're supposed to confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus.

[20:03] And that's salvation. And if you don't get saved, then you'll be denied. And that's a twist in a round of the passage a little bit. Come to 2 Timothy 2. This is a statement we have to know and be assured of as far as our eternal security in Christ.

[20:20] When it comes to what does Paul teach about denying Christ or the opportunity to confess him before men and be persecuted.

[20:31] And in this case, suffer is the word he uses. He promises that we'll get an opportunity to reign with Jesus Christ if we suffer with him in verse 12.

[20:42] Chapter 2, verse 12. If we suffer, we shall also reign with him. If we deny him, that is, when we're pushed by the, by, I would say, the lost.

[20:54] And instead of saying, yes, I'm with Christ. And, yes, I stand for truth. And then suffer the consequences. And instead of backing off and saying, no, we're going to be denied the reward of reigning with him.

[21:08] If we deny him, he will also deny us. It doesn't say that he's denying you before the Father like it's talking about in Matthew. It's two different things. But this is talking about denying a reign. Verse 13.

[21:19] If we believe not, yet he abides faithful, he cannot deny himself. So you're not getting cast out. You're not losing your eternal security in Christ. Even if you deny him, even if you believe not.

[21:32] If you're born of the Spirit with life from above, then you're born of the Spirit with life from above. It's eternal. Now, back in Matthew, this is, again, this is tribulation doctrine in context that's entering the kingdom.

[21:48] It's about that very thing, similar to the forgiveness of Matthew chapter 6. Somebody confesses me before men, I'll confess them before my Father.

[21:59] If they deny me before men, I'll deny them before my Father, which is in heaven. This is not Paul's church-age doctrine to you and I. This is connected to that kingdom and entering that kingdom.

[22:10] Remember that Christ said that if you accept your righteousness, exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven. It's about entering the kingdom. And so is all the format of this whole chapter here.

[22:23] As a matter of fact, most of this book. We can't get ahead of ourselves going through the Bible, studying Matthew, and try to remember all Paul's doctrine to the church that comes years down the road to a different people that's born again after Calvary to stay in the doctrine.

[22:40] We stay in with who's preaching and what's happening. And the kingdom of heaven is being heralded around Israel only. And so these statements and so much of this really has to stay within that context.

[22:52] So moving forward here, verse 34. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth. I came not to send peace, but a sword. Well, didn't the angels herald peace on earth, goodwill toward men?

[23:07] So what in the world is going on? Well, again, we have to stay with that context of the kingdom, of the tribulation, of the disciples' preaching, of these.

[23:20] Notice the word peace in verse 13. If the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if not worthy, let your peace return unto you. And then what's threatened if they reject them? Judgment. It'll be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than Gomorrah.

[23:33] So it's either peace or it's judgment. It's peace for those that are in line with Jesus Christ. My peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth give I unto you.

[23:44] But he's not coming to send peace on earth. He sends peace to his disciples individually to fear God and to obey God and to fulfill the calling and mission of God.

[23:55] But on earth, Christ is not bringing peace to the planet. Interesting that he comes to bring a sword because he describes it a little bit later now. Verse 35, I am come to set a man at variance against his father and a daughter against her mother and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

[24:11] And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. Now you can, men have always done this and there's a sense to it. You can spiritualize these things and say, yeah, the gospel, you know, it's divisive.

[24:22] And when somebody that's coming out of a very stout religious home that believes what they believe and somebody repents of that and receives Jesus Christ, he does set them at variance.

[24:34] And it is within the very home. And so you can make that application to a degree today. Anyway, it'll make sense and it means it's similar. But the context of this overall statement really is not about the gospel.

[24:47] This is about the kingdom and a man's foes shall be they of his own household. This is going beyond that when they're going to be in the tribulation and they're going to be turning on each other. Verse 37, he that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.

[25:01] And he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And the first commandment is have no other gods before me. And the first and great commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.

[25:13] And if you love somebody, even your very family more than God, you're not worthy of me. There's the word worthy showing up again. It was earlier in the chapter that it showed up in verses 13, verse 11 and 13.

[25:28] And again, it's not the thought of the value like we commonly think of, but rather the word means it's a match or suitable or like-minded in a sense.

[25:44] I mentioned this before, walking worthy of your vocation wherewith you are called. Another one says walk worthy of God. And it's not, you're not worthy of God. And who's worthy of the Lord Jesus Christ for that matter?

[25:55] How can you, just because you love him, does that make you worthy of him? So it's understanding the word itself can help you not to be confused in the verse. And verse 38, he that taketh not his cross and followeth after me is not worthy of me.

[26:10] So it's a discipline that Christ is calling his disciples to. It's a devotion to him. It's laying, you can't pick up a cross if you don't lay anything else down and deny yourself.

[26:22] You can't carry your career when you're carrying the cross. You can't carry your own personal love and desires. And you can't even carry your family in some cases when you take up the cross. You take up the cross and you follow him.

[26:35] And following Jesus Christ means your eyes are on him. You pick that cross up and follow him. He leads the way. You deny yourself. And in Luke, there's a passage about this that describes the counting the cost.

[26:48] It follows this very talk right here. Counting the cost. And about a man going to build. And he decides, do I have enough to finish it? If you remember that passage. He that taketh not his cross and followeth after me is not worthy of me.

[27:03] Verse 39 describes some of the few places in the Bible where there's true irony that comes out. He that findeth his life shall lose it. And he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

[27:17] The Christian irony. Look at Colossians chapter 3. I remember doing a Sunday school lesson on this once. And there are several places. And I'm not going to take you through them all. But here's the one about if you lose your life, then you'll find it.

[27:32] And this is a truth that you need to understand if you're afraid of serving or committing your life to Jesus Christ. And you're not sure if you can trust.

[27:44] Well, you're going to have to take the step if he's calling you. And here's why. You'll have to lose your life first. And losing your life is implying death.

[27:54] Just like you say so many people lost their lives. It implies death to self. Being crucified with Christ. Colossians 3. Look at verse number 3.

[28:06] For ye are dead. And your life is hid with Christ in God. Your life is hid. God has something for you. But it's hid with Christ in God.

[28:18] And until you lose your life and surrender to Jesus Christ, it's not until that moment that then he'll reveal to you what life could be and what it should be and what it is.

[28:31] And you might think that Christian life is a drag or it's just a checklist of I have to read my Bible and pray and attend church and give and have a smile and try not to sin or do these things.

[28:42] And it might feel like, okay, I did that today, but why don't I feel fulfillment? Well, maybe you didn't find your life that God has for you. And maybe it's because you haven't lost your life first. But surrendering to Christ, you'll find that you have a life that God has hid for you It's in Christ.

[28:58] It's with Christ in God. But it starts with you losing your own life first and being crucified with Christ. And if that's the case, then ye shall find it.

[29:08] He said in verse 39, He that findeth his life shall lose it, but he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. And I'm thankful. I was chasing a little bit of a pipe dream in my mind.

[29:20] I thought there was something out there for me in the world. And I had it in my heart that I was going to go after it. And I really thought I could succeed. I could do it. I know I can do it. I'm smart enough. I have enough of a tell it like it is cutthroat mentality inside.

[29:35] If I had to, I could do it. And thank the Lord that he, by his grace, pushed me off of that path and got me on his path to where I fell on an altar and said, I'm done.

[29:47] This life is for you. I'm done with me. I can just die right here. And you pick me up and whatever you want to do, I'll do. I have no aspirations anymore. No plans anymore.

[29:59] No desires. I'm just going to do what you tell me to do. And if you say go over there, then that's where I'll go because I know that that's what you want. And I found some life, something worth living.

[30:12] And it took a little while for me, and it may take some time for others as well. But it's worth losing your life for his sake. Because what you pick up, what you find, is that much better.

[30:24] And in Colossians 2, I didn't read it, but the verse before that, set your affections on things above. You find out, I'm convinced and I can't wait that there's some things above that wouldn't have been up there had I stayed on that life because I was just chasing things beneath.

[30:41] Verse number 40, and we'll continue in the passage and finish the chapter. He that receiveth you, receiveth me. And he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me. Now, this isn't receiving Christ and being saved.

[30:54] It's just the gesture of somebody receiving the men that are sent out by Jesus Christ. If they receive them and their message, they are, in fact, receiving the one that sent them.

[31:10] And when somebody receives Christ and brings him in and listens to him and follows and believes him, they're receiving or believing the Father that sent him.

[31:20] And in verse 41, he that receiveth the prophet in the name of the prophet shall receive a prophet's reward. He that receiveth the righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.

[31:32] And whosoever shall give a cup unto one of these little ones, shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall no wise lose his reward.

[31:45] He's just backing up what he's saying about receiving. If they receive you, they receive me. If they receive a prophet in a prophet in another prophet's name is what he's saying, in a prophet that trained a prophet, so to speak, like Christ and his disciples, then they'll receive a reward accordingly.

[32:02] Same with the righteous man. The reward is according to the man. And so they'll be rewarded undoubtedly for receiving you as they're receiving me.

[32:14] And they'll in no wise lose such a reward, even if it's such a small thing as a drink of cold water. Now, in the tribulation, again, I remind you, this is going to make a little bit more sense to them.

[32:28] And it's going to be words jumping off the page as far as receiving the preachers or receiving people that are running for their lives, receiving people that are trying to stay off the grid and avoid being beheaded by a monster that claimed he was God and he's not.

[32:47] And the whole world's believing him and worshiping him. And it's going to be a real thing. You know, as Christians today, your eyes have to be opened, I trust, to just how the world is so, I mean, in the last year, so programmable, so easily just spoon-fed and head-nod and go forward.

[33:10] And you see, you know, it's frustrating, right? It's to see elements of it today in people being overboard about things or just seeming to be so indoctrinated with what they've heard, what they've heard, what they've heard, what they've heard, that they can't think for themselves.

[33:26] You see how it's like sheep to the slaughter. And I don't want to equate today's circumstances with these days, but you can see the glimpse of the mindset of people to just follow, to just follow what they're told and eat what they're fed.

[33:41] And these days, there's going to be a real-world system set up. And men and women and children of men are going to believe it, and they're going to turn on their dad.

[33:52] And dads are going to believe it, and they're going to turn on their kids. I mean, you've got neighbors turning you in for having a party that's happening here. They're going to be doing it so much more.

[34:03] That guy's a believer. That guy is a defector. Or that's the guy who wouldn't receive the mark or was trying to stay away from the government. There's a reason.

[34:13] He must be a rebel because I've received it, and nothing's happened to me. I'm fine. This world needs to get together and come together as one. And those people over there at that church, they're not part of this, and they'll turn them in.

[34:26] And when these things start coming to pass, in Matthew 24, let me show you a verse. We'll close with this. Here's a verse here that is pointing to the end time and pointing to the tribulation.

[34:39] And I think it's valuable to consider this in light of some of these verses we're reading in Matthew 10 that just are tough to expound on or don't make clear sense to our way of life.

[34:51] Matthew 24. And here's the same context. You can see in verse 13. He that shall endure until the end, the same shall be saved. And so they are waiting or enduring throughout the tribulation time for the return of Christ to deliver them.

[35:08] And in verse 15, when you therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel, the prophet stand in the holy place. And notice the parentheses.

[35:20] Whoso readeth, let him understand. There's coming a day when somebody has this text in front of them, and when they see it with their eyes, it's going to click like that is what he's talking about.

[35:35] It's going to jump off the page, and their blinders will be off. For us, I think in some cases, the blinders are on to a degree with some of this material because it's not us.

[35:50] And because it's future, and there's this element of mystery trying to decipher it and understand it. But when it comes time, somebody reading verse 15 is going to say, it's time to pack up and go.

[36:03] Oh, wait, we don't have time to pack. We got to go. And they're in Judea, fleeing into the mountains. And they're running for their lives because it's on, and somebody's going to be looking to kill them.

[36:17] And while we may read these things and just get the general sense of it and what's going to take place, I have an imagination, and I see it one way, and you do too.

[36:30] And none of us are exactly right. Probably most of us are way off in how we picture this thing happening. But I'm telling you, when it takes place, it's going to be irrefutable and undeniable to those who are seeking the Lord and looking for the truth.

[36:45] It's going to scream at them. Same with some of this material in Matthew 10 and giving cold drinks of water and things of confessing before men and persecuting in this city and waiting for the Son of Man to come.

[37:00] And that stuff, when it takes place and when it's live, they'll know exactly what's happening. It's written for them, and that's why this book's got to stick around how badly we need it.

[37:11] We might as well stop there because we're at the chapter mark, and we can pick it up right there next week, Lord willing. With John the Baptist being in prison and Christ having some pretty incredible things to say about him.

[37:24] So we'll stop there and pick it up. Take a break.