[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word. Matthew chapter 10, as you turn there, knowing He is stronger helps us overcome the difficulty of fearing the world, which is one of the distinctive marks of a true disciple, is that we don't fear the world because we know He is stronger.
[0:20] So what a great thing to be reminded of this morning. As you're turning to Matthew 10, I want to show you two pictures from this weekend. Jacob is going to help me, just the picture of Friday night, we had our teenagers around the farm.
[0:30] Dr. Hennigan was teaching about creation and not just about how to debate that, but how to really worship our God by how amazing everything was created, talking about a worldview. And then on Saturday, we went up to Hiawassee with the teenagers and we got muddy and we had a good time there.
[0:47] You could take those pictures down. But the weekend could have been called Worldview Weekend because on Friday night, we talked about looking at the world through a lens. On Saturday, we talked about looking through it through a lens of what it means to be a disciple, to look at evaluating things differently because now we have been saved by Jesus Christ.
[1:04] I'm glad to have Natasha's parents here with us. Mr. and Mrs. Witt, I didn't see you earlier, but I'm glad you're here. I know you're an encouragement to the family as they serve in China. And it's good that they know that they serve a God that's stronger.
[1:17] When things get scary at times in China or they're missed, they know that. I really feel for our missionary families who have unbelieving parents because what they do seems so radically different than what it doesn't make any sense.
[1:29] But all of us in this room and to their parents that are believers, it makes sense that you'd want to give your life to sharing and confessing Jesus around the world. So, so far, I've got to give you a review where pastors brought us to the disciples.
[1:42] They got their kind of their benefits package. He said, well, let me tell you what's going to happen if you follow me. And it didn't look very good. He said, speaking of ourselves, we're going to get beaten in the synagogue. If they were describing, they say, Jesus, let's review this.
[1:55] Verse 17, you said, we're going to get beaten in the synagogue. We're kind of like cheeses sent among wolves in verse 18. You're going to drag us out before pagan courts in verse 21. Our family's going to be put to death.
[2:06] We're going to be hated by all kinds of people. And we're going to have to endure them. Also, you told us that we're going to be persecuted all over the country so that we have to run from city to city and we'll never get to take any routes.
[2:18] Is that basically what you're telling us, Jesus? And he would say exactly. But in verse number 24, we get the promise that brings wonderful comfort to them. And he says, the disciples not above his master nor the servants above his Lord.
[2:33] It is enough for the disciple that be as his master and the servant as his Lord. He says, in doing all of that, you're going to identify with me. I know that's your benefit package, and I don't know why you thought it would be any better.
[2:45] I don't know why you thought the world would treat you any better than they treated me. They say that you can never be too simple when it comes to teaching the Bible. I'm going to put that to the test today, and we'll see if that axiom holds true by the end of the day.
[2:57] And he says that. He looks at them. Our slide for our theme is the king and his kingdom. So we're looking at people that recognize Jesus as a king who belong to a kingdom, and they act like it.
[3:10] And so the disciples are being tested here, and they're hearing all these things, and they say, well, nevertheless, that doesn't matter. You're still King Jesus. It doesn't matter what happens to us in this world.
[3:20] You're still King Jesus. And because of that, what else are we going to do than to worship you with their lives? And we're talking about a genuineness here, a real sincerity when we're looking at the disciples, the marks of a true disciple.
[3:37] And this is a common theme that gets brought up in the Bible. He told them back in chapter number 5, he says that your righteousness is going to have to exceed that of the Pharisees, which makes you take a step back and say, how is that going to happen?
[3:49] And he taught them it's going to happen because I'm going to provide that righteousness for you. Other times, he talks to them on the Sermon on the Mount, and he says, some people are going to say, Lord, Lord, and I'm going to respond with, I never knew you.
[4:02] Once again, he's dealing with sincerity or being authentic, that there's a group of people that profess to be disciples or Christians, but that's not really who they are. He talks about a broad way and a narrow way, once again, dealing with this issue of sincerity.
[4:15] He talks about two types of men. One builds his house upon a rock, which doesn't mean a good person or morality, but it's Jesus and his house stands, and the insincere person has a foundation that is faulty.
[4:27] A good tree and a bad tree, the sower and the seed, the seed goes out there, and in some place it looks like it's going to take root and grow, but it doesn't, because the devil comes in and snatches it away.
[4:38] He even goes as far to say it has weed and tares being planted in the same field, and he's constantly bringing up this idea of sincerity. Are you a true disciple? And then he mentioned some things that are found in a true disciple.
[4:51] In verses 24 and 25, he says they are students. What does it mean to be a disciple? In the most simple terms, it means that we are a student. We have a master, and we are his servant.
[5:03] As a teacher, he is one that knows, and as I'm a learner, I'm someone who doesn't know. I told you it's going to be painfully simple, right? As a disciple, I know that God knows things that I don't know, and so I submit to him, I sit down at his feet through his word, and I want to learn more about him.
[5:21] And we not only learn that he is the teacher and we are the student, that he's the one that knows and we're the ones who don't know, but we're told in Luke 6.40 that the disciple, not being above the master, but everyone that is perfect shall be as his master.
[5:34] So not only are we students and he is the teacher, but his goal is for us to become like him. And so, as a disciple, we are people that are growing in it. And in 1 John 3.2, we're told that when he appears, we shall be like him.
[5:49] But in Romans 8.29, we're told that until that day, we continue to strive and to grow, and through sanctification, we become more like our teacher. And the student will spend time with his teacher, and he'll begin to act like him.
[6:01] 1 John 2.6, He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he has walked. So if you are a disciple, you're a student, he's the teacher, you're becoming more like him, and you're going to look more and more like him with every passing day.
[6:17] And you do this because Colossians 3 tells us that the word of God dwells in us richly. So as we sit there and we hear what he says, we become his disciple. In our church, we talk about foundations, and we talk about discipling one another, and the minimal requirement would be that let's meet together and we will talk.
[6:36] But the expectation that you are a disciple of the Lord is so much greater because with your days, you're supposed to be giving to being his student and learning from him. So first of all, a mark is that we're a student.
[6:47] We're also a servant, which the difference there is that in a servant, we submit to his orders and we carry them out. Disciples know, know, but a servant will do. And so as disciples, we know and do as a student and as a servant.
[7:01] Matthew 28, 19, 20 says that we're going to observe all things. We're going to learn. Then we're going to go forth and do them. We're going to observe them, and then we're going to teach them the other people. So it's just a very simple question for all of you in here.
[7:12] The more we are like our teacher, the more we're going to be persecuted. The more we sit at his feet, the more we're going to be like him. The more we're like him, the more we are persecuted. And the more we're persecuted, the more we identify with him.
[7:26] And that's his comfort. He says, I know I just gave you a long list of things that don't sound very good, but in that long list of things, you're going to identify with me, and that's a wonderful thing. So I ask you in here, as an American Christian, why is there no persecution?
[7:42] Is it because America is so great and they're just really happy with us here? Is it because everyone around you loves Jesus? Or maybe we don't get much persecution because there's not much similarity between us and the teacher.
[7:56] Are you at the foot of Jesus as a student and as a servant? If you're not spending time at his feet as a student, then you're never going to be the servant that you're supposed to be. But in being that, you will identify with him.
[8:06] And I love what it says, verse number 25. It says, it is enough for the disciples that they be as his master. That's enough. That's all they need. They were saying, what you just said there, even though you gave us all these verses are really negative things, you said, oh, in all those things you're going to be like me?
[8:22] The disciple says, hey, that's plenty. That is enough in knowing that we will be like you. True disciples in here, we seek nothing more. Paul said he wanted nothing more than to know Christ and the fellowship of his sufferings.
[8:34] We do not ask for fame, wealth, or acceptance. We just want to know him regardless of the price. Do you say that it's enough when it comes to being a disciple of Jesus Christ? Is that in all of this, you're not promised anything in this world.
[8:48] The foxes have a place to live. You're not promised any of those things. But the one promise that you're giving in being the disciple is that you will be like the one who is your master and who is your teacher.
[8:59] And could you say in your heart right now, it's enough. That's all I need. Many times we can't because he's not all satisfying. We need more to that. We need to say, Jesus, go a little bit farther. That's not going to work.
[9:10] Based upon what you said, I am not taking the job this morning. Then he talks to us about fear. Verse 26, Fear them not, therefore, for there is nothing covered. Verse 28, And fear them not, which kill the body, because you should fear the one that can kill body and soul.
[9:25] And verse number 31, Fear them not, therefore, ye are more valued than the sparrows. So first of all, we're as disciples, we are a student, we are a servant, and just knowing him is enough.
[9:35] And secondly, we don't fear the world. We don't fear losing our identification with family. We don't fear not being unloved. We don't fear speaking to somebody about hell and sin because we know we identify with our Savior.
[9:47] We don't fear losing influence on our family or in our business. We don't have to look out for ourselves any longer because we know that he cares for us. And what are the reasons that we're not afraid?
[9:59] Verse 26 says that because first of all, as I said, this mistreatment, we find our identity in him. Ephesians 2.19 says that we are the household of God.
[10:09] So first of all, we don't fear persecution or inconvenience because we like it. Because it means we identify with Christ. We don't mind that the world doesn't get us because we get what Jesus was talking about.
[10:22] But not only that, that there's a promise that one day everything's going to be made right. Right now, we're misunderstood. We don't understand why the wicked prosper, why our Christian brothers in Iraq and other parts of the world are being persecuted.
[10:35] We don't fear appearing intelligently intellectually weak. People say, you know, for Christians it's just crutches. You need that but I don't.
[10:46] And all of us in here say it's much more than crutches. We need it more than crutches. He is our lifeline. He is our everything. And some of you work in an industry where very academic or intellectual and you have to be looked at as not intelligent.
[11:00] But you're okay with that because you know that one day everything will be set straight. Sometimes you're loving in here but you appear closed-minded and unloving. And to some of you that's just horrible because you're the most loving person and most accepting person that anybody could meet.
[11:16] But when you talk about the gospel people around you they're like, you don't appear to be very loving but we're okay with that because we don't fear the world looking at us like this because we know one day everything's going to be revealed.
[11:28] Everything's going to be said in its rightful place. A promise that all things will be made right someday. We live with this eternal perspective with our Lord that all things will be brought to life that coming one day he is coming quickly Revelation 22 and as he's coming he is bringing a reward with him that he's watching and he knows.
[11:49] Verse 28 we see that the power truly fearing God prevents fearing man that the fear of God is so strong that it makes the fear of man as nothing. Men can kill body but God alone can destroy the soul.
[12:01] Satan does not have the keys of hell. It's a comparison here. It's not about sinning and God taking your soul and body. That's not what's being taught here. It's a comparison. Man can only hurt your body but your body is not all you are.
[12:14] You are a soul that has a body but God can do both. And so because of that we fear him above all things. And that's why in verse number 27 it says what he whispers in our ear we proclaim upon the rooftop.
[12:28] That whatever he tells us we are not afraid of because the person whispering in our ear is more powerful than the people on the ground when we scream from the rooftop and we will proclaim him.
[12:40] Where is your rooftop? Verse 27 says what I say in your ear as my disciple as my student I want you to go to the rooftop and proclaim it. What's your rooftop look like?
[12:52] In this room all of you have different rooftops in here. You have different places of influence that you're given. You have different chains as we learned this morning in Sunday school that God used to take you somewhere.
[13:03] I'm sure work feels like chains sometimes. You're there six out of you in different shifts four people at a time you get to talk to but you have a rooftop to proclaim what he has given to you and you're not fearful to do it because the person whispering in your ear is more powerful than the people you're talking to.
[13:19] And protection being intimately cared for by God. He says these birds that you could buy two for a penny little appetizer birds that you would get half price at a restaurant you would pay two for it.
[13:31] He says I know everything about them. If one of them dies right now I will know where it fell down at my GPS location will be spot on where it is at. I know the hairs of your head.
[13:41] It's easier for some than others but it's not an easy job in here. He knows every hair upon your head. And he says knowing this you have value and because of that you know you are protected because he intimately cares for you.
[13:56] How much more than if he cares for the sparrow does he care for what you're going for. So a mark of us as true disciples is we don't fear the world because we love him and he has taken down every reason we could fear the world.
[14:09] We come back to him and say God I'm really fearful today because I just don't know that you're going to care for me so I need to take care of myself and he says I care for the sparrows and he says I fear for them because they can hurt me and he says I can do anything I want I will protect you.
[14:23] He has an answer for them and then verse 32 we get to confess in Christ whosoever therefore shall confess me before men we are unashamedly representing Christ in this world confess means to affirm to acknowledge to agree with your mouth as it says in Romans chapter number 10 that we will make confession and also with our lives whosoever believes with him shall not be ashamed our life and our conversation would show that we are not ashamed of Jesus Christ if you have the correct understanding or belief of God then you will confess Christ with every opportunity and I want to remind you this is not a work of righteousness but it's a response to the work of God in our lives so New York City many years ago with a youth group up and a young man came to me and we had been out all day sharing the gospel on the streets and he came to me and he says I'm not sure that I confess with my mouth that Jesus was Lord like I was supposed to when I got saved so I'm not sure if I did the right thing to get saved and he was concerned about himself and I could never tell a young person if they're saved or not that's a matter of the heart but I can tell him his misunderstanding of what was going on here with his life and with his testimony not just in a one time moment when you're younger but he lived a life that was a confession all the time that Jesus was Lord and it's not a work of right it's a response when you see God for who he is it's just going to be natural that you confess
[15:52] Jesus Christ as who he is and it is not a work of righteousness it will show itself in our life it will show itself in our unashamedness to be associated with him and it's that thing that is 2nd Timothy chapter number 1 verse number 8 that Paul calls upon Timothy to stir up he says little buddy little brother you've kind of been showing that you're ashamed of the testimony of the Lord and even that you're associated with me as a prisoner and I want to remind you that you're the partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God is that one brother encouraged another brother he says don't be embarrassed to be associated with me I pray that in here you would never be ashamed to be associated with another brother in Christ that you saw somebody you're at Walmart and you see somebody brother Ty is handing somebody a gospel track and you go the other direction because you're like I don't want to be associated with that crazy man hope you would never be ashamed of one another or the ministries in this church that would be advancing the gospel but most importantly
[16:52] I pray that you would never be ashamed of the Lord and Savior because one day there's two groups of people that will appear before the Lord and the sheep will be separated from the goats and this is a manifestation of what it's like like Christ here because of how we will respond so if you know that God if you know who he is and Jesus is Lord then you will be unashamed and that is a mark of a true disciple verse number 34 gets us to the sword of the gospel thank not I have come to send peace on earth but I came not to send peace and then he talks about setting different people against themselves the easiest one being the daughter in law versus the mother in law that one seems to be pretty easy to do you would think but it says here also that he would set the father and the daughter against the mother and the daughter in law against her mother in law and the man's foe shall be against his own household that the sword would bring division in here does Jesus come in peace John the Baptist said he came to proclaim peace the angel but it carries a sword it always brings division in the
[17:59] Old Testament it was foresaw that this peace would bring a division divided even in their house as it will say in Luke chapter number 12 and if Christ would not have come there would have been complete unity but we would have all been unified on our way to hell together but he creates a variance he cuts asunder in Luke chapter number 9 you could Luke 9 61 another also said Lord I will follow thee but let me go bid farewell which at my home at my house and Jesus said to them no man having put his hands to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God so in our theme for our missions conference the altar and also the work and the plow either one of those could cause separation when you set your hand to the plow and said I am going to serve God it could cause a separation like death could create and there is a division that is there 1st Corinthians 7 says it might even fall the sword might even fall in marriage that there could be two people one would love the
[19:00] Lord and one would not John 9 16 it even calls it the division and there was a Richard and his wife Sabinam they went there and while they were there they were talking and people were saying things that would blaspheme our God they were saying things that would make mockery of him they were saying that he was just a teacher and that he was not divine and because of that they should have no trouble setting aside their liberties and not preaching Christ and as they were sitting born and said if
[20:06] I do so you will lose your husband and listen to his wife's response he says I don't wish to have a coward as a husband and that man stood up and proclaimed Jesus Christ boldly you know the gospel of peace will bring a division but it also brings an incredible unity when a wife and a husband will say you stand for Jesus above me that when a wife can look at her husband and say your love for Jesus ought to be greater than your love for your family then there's not a division but there's an incredible unity that ought to be found there do not wish to have a husband as a coward then we will take up our cross it says he that love his father and mother more than me is not worthy of me so not only as a person would you be willing to identify with Christ if it causes your relationship with family but it says here that you are willing to walk death row to follow Christ you are willing to follow Jesus even when you know he is marching to his death a love for death for his sake is better than life for my sake when you say dying for you
[21:12] Jesus is kindness is better than life my lips shall praise thee his loving kindness is better than life the love of Christ has to overrule the instinct of self preservation they call it the lizard brain the thing that makes you want to protect yourself ask Jonathan Clapp one time if there's a zombie apocalypse which is something you don't really need to think about but we all have thought I said can I come over to your house you seem like you would protect me much better than I protect myself he says don't come over I would probably shoot you he says I'm taking care of myself without desire for self preservation it ought to be faint and that desire to make much of Jesus and we're always panicking we're always worried about our comfort or wealth or security is my family going to be provided for and that ought to be a far back seat to saying that I love Jesus more than any of those comforts the one thing we love more than family is self if you thought the last mark was hard to love
[22:14] Jesus more than family he takes it even farther and says I want you to love me more than you love yourself and that's hard because how are we told the devotional book and it will be cute and pretty and it will say your cross may be the annoying person at work or your cross may be somebody that doesn't like you you know what the cross is the cross is the execution device they knew what it was like in history there there might have been some 2,000 people executed by crosses there maybe it wasn't 2,000 but they had seen the cross before they had probably seen somebody in the distance upon it and they knew when he said follow me we're going on death row to be executed they said we know who you are and we will follow you as obedient soldiers of the cross when Nero was an emperor he had this group of men called the Roman wrestlers the emperor's wrestlers and if you're an emperor you're agreed and they had this saying they said we the wrestlers wrestling for thee oh emperor to win for thee the victory and from thee the victor's crown and they would say that mantra all together and it really puffed him up with pride we the wrestlers wrestling for thee the victory and from thee the victor's crown well they went off to fight in a little battle inside of the empire there to set things in place and when they come back the rumor had gotten to
[23:50] Nero that some of his soldiers had become Christians so the centurion there says if you are now a follower of Jesus let me know and 40 men stepped forward and they said we profess Jesus Christ and the centurion not wanting to deal with it he says I will give you till sundown tomorrow and say we profess Jesus Christ he says I can't allow you to die at the hands of the other men what we're going to do it being winter we're going to have you stripped down to nothing and you're going to stand out in the middle of that lake and you're going to die and they did so and as they went out there and as they were standing out in the middle of the lake this centurion he could hear them speaking he could hear them talking and they were saying as he said to them there he said 40 wrestlers wrestling for thee oh Christ to win for thee the victory and from the victor's crown and over and over throughout the night the centurion heard 40 wrestlers wrestling for thee oh
[24:57] Christ to win for thee the victory and from the victor's crown the next morning one man runs to the fire and he says I can't I don't believe in Jesus I just need to be warmed by this fire I can't take it and in the distance you hear them saying 39 wrestlers wrestling for thee oh Christ to win for thee the victor and the victor's crown and that centurion so moved strips off his clothes and takes off running and he says forty wrestlers wrestling for thee oh Christ to win for thee the victory and for the victor's crown that man was standing there and based upon the faith of those men in the middle of the lake he said this is real and if this is real it's worth living for and he went out there to die bravely with those men and I tell you that's an extreme story from history we're not even certain it's true since we didn't see it but from history maybe it is maybe it's not but it motivates something inside of you so we know what you should look like if you're standing by a fire and
[25:58] Nero is the emperor and your brothers are dying in the middle of the lake I can tell you what a true disciple does he strips off and runs in the middle of the lake and he says 40 wrestlers wrestling for thee we know what that looks like but I don't know what life is supposed to look like for you tomorrow as a true disciple but the Holy Spirit is able to equip you and enable you and to draw that picture for you right now what does it look like if you live unashamedly for him what does it look like if you live as if there is no fear that you confess him what does it look like that you say I love my family but I will allow the cross to make that division so I will go home and I call that family member who thinks I'm crazy and I will talk to them about a literal heaven and a literal hell what does it look like in your life and it ought to look like people that are really disciples sitting at the feet of Jesus it ought to look like him what does it look like in every scenario it looks like him what would our savior have done if 39 of his believers if 40 of his believers were off in a place he would have done whatever he could to identify reward says that we are instruments in which
[27:15] God uses to bless the world he that receiveth you receiveth me and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me whether you be a prophet or a righteous man it says here you have a blessed message to share we are the source of conflict and division for some but we also get to be the source of great blessing a true disciple is a channel of blessing to this world that we get to be a blessing to them when people receive God through your life there's an incredible joy when people say I was led to Christ by you there's no greater joy that anybody will ever get to experience when you know that God used you to help reconcile a person back to them when we watch update videos from the field and we hear people getting saved and say I was involved in that when our children say your God will be my God we know that not only God is good in saving people but he is good to us by allowing us to be part of the process as his disciple when people receive God you and
[28:16] I receive that eternal reward with them even the simplest of people helping in the cup of water only in the name of a disciple verily I say unto you he shall no wise lose his reward not only joy now but our effects will impact all of eternity so I have some questions for you before I pray here do you have the identifying marks of a true disciple are you in submission as a student as a servant are you not only a learner but you an obeyor have you not only received education at the foot of Jesus but you have also received the command and now you are obediently following it do you fear God more than the world does your relationship with God determine what you will do in this world or does your relationship in this world determine what you will do for God are you motivated by love for God are you stuck in that place because of fear of this world are you ashamed to identify with God will you proclaim from your rooftop what he has whispered in your ear because he is so intimately and close to you is your love for family greater than your love for
[29:25] Christ does it keep you from having that difficult conversation about the gospel does it keep you from stepping out in faith to serve does it monopolize your time manmade kingdom will fall apart or do you fear it or do you fear the savior more do you consider God's loving kindness better than life have you been crucified into this world where do you turn for comfort and happiness are you willing to take up a cross and recognize that he is allowing you to be a blessing do you see yourself as a channel of blessing to this world and as you walk out of here this day very simply the marks of disciple we met with some teenagers this weekend we showed them what we believe disciples look like from the word of God but today we had Jesus Christ speaking to us in his red letters to believers and he says this is the marks of a true disciple so there is three groups in here today but probably just two the higher fellow spirit none of those can be lived out for very long and there is hope for you today from the word of
[30:42] God somebody would show you answer your questions not rush you to make a decision and put no pressure on you to make a decision but they would like to represent God in his word today by opening it to you and showing you that then secondly in here oh 39 wrestlers that will fight for thee or are there 40 where do you stand today in that would God stir something up in your heart and say I want these the marks and I said there may be a third one as you say check check check check and check I got those things and if that's the case then use your life to encourage the rest of us around you because I like Timothy need to be stirred up I need somebody encouraging me and strengthening me so that I can say I'm unashamedly standing with the things of God and with him we are thankful in here if you have family and there's not a division there that what God has done some of you have a division in your family you have believers and unbelievers and you need to know that you need to identify with
[31:46] Christ and it's greater than your family and maybe you make a decision by name today of somebody that you will speak with let's pray together Heavenly Father we thank you for the simplicity of your word I thank you that you taught us how to be a true disciple how you told us to take evaluation of our lives in the seed our prayer of the day Lord is that this message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred Georgia for more information log on to www.visionbaptist.com where you can find our service times location contact information and more audio and video recordings