[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. Alright, thank you very much. Take your Bibles if you would and turn with me to the book of Matthew chapter 10.
[0:11] Matthew chapter 10, and we have already read from verse 16 down through verse 23. And we're going to study here what the Word of God says, preaching in the face of persecution.
[0:22] Preaching in the face of persecution. Preaching in the face of persecution. Before I begin the message, I would like to welcome Karina back. Where is Karina? Karina, not here. She probably went upstairs.
[0:34] And Karina just got back from Bolivia, if you haven't spoken to her. Been there several months. And then Alex Montero showed up around here. Oh, there he is. I hadn't seen him in a year, so glad to have him back from Boston.
[0:46] He's down here with us Southerners again. Alright, take your Bibles. Go with me if you would. To Matthew chapter 10, verse 16 and forward. The passage of Scripture that you read is dealing mainly with the apostles and the nation of Israel.
[1:01] And you may question and say, how do you know that? So look at verse 23, if you would. As you study your Bible, you watch for key things to help you know who he's talking to. And in verse 23, put a circle around the word cities of Israel.
[1:13] He said, but when they persecute you in this city, flee you into another. For verily I say unto you, ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel till the Son of Man be come.
[1:27] And so this is a passage of Scripture talking about what's going to happen in the great tribulation period. That's going to happen later on after the rapture of Jesus Christ. That he will send these Jewish people out.
[1:37] They will go out to witness and share the gospel. And persecution will be horrific. And Christians will be dying and being mistreated in horrible ways.
[1:48] And he's explaining that to them. And he's getting them started knowing that right up front as he gets them ready to take the gospel message of Jesus Christ. Now that happens after the church age.
[2:00] If you've been keeping up, we had the age of Israel when God was used in Israel. And now you're in the church age. And that's a time when God has put Israel on the shelf and said, I'm not going to use you right now.
[2:12] You failed to carry the gospel to the world. I'm going to use these Gentiles. That's us, non-Jewish people that get born again and Jewish people that get saved. And then after that, he's going to bring Israel back.
[2:23] And so right now, you're in the church age and the nation of Israel will be back. There are two very famous misunderstood sayings in this passage of Scripture.
[2:34] Look, if you would, at verse 19. How many of you grew up at a country church? Hold your hand up. Let me see. How many of you grew up at a country church? Maybe you don't know this, but let me just tell you what they said. When I was a little boy, it was like, do not study before you preach.
[2:50] Do not study before you preach. God will give you what to say. And it was against the rules to take any notes up to the pulpit to preach with. Because if you took notes, obviously, the Holy Spirit wasn't with you.
[3:03] And so I learned to take my notes and stick them in the back of my Bible. And then when I put my Bible down on the pulpit, I would slide them out real slick. And I would preach it. And when I got through, I'd slide them back in real slick.
[3:14] So all those church people couldn't figure out what I was doing, and they wouldn't know. I went walking with a famous old preacher that was just a very wise old guy.
[3:26] He was in his 90s. He was in a motel up in Rome, Georgia. He was there speaking. And so he said he went walking every morning about daybreak. And so before daybreak, me and two or three friends went up, and we sat outside his motel room.
[3:41] It's 4.30 in the morning. We're just sitting there waiting. The light clicks on, and we're waiting on him to come out. And he didn't come out, and he didn't come out. And he's like 90 years old, 91. And so finally, one of the guys knocked on the door, scared him to death.
[3:53] He was like, who in the world knocks on the door before dawn? And then we went walking with him. And I asked him, I said, can you preach with notes or not? He said, well, the old Welsh preacher and the Scottish preacher were fighting about that.
[4:06] And the Welsh preacher said, from Wales, he said, you know, you can't catch the fire of God on paper. And the Scottish guy said, no, but you might start a fire with some paper.
[4:17] Amen? So look at the verse, and it says, take no thought. Look at your verse, if you would, in verse 19. When they deliver you up, take no thought how or what you shall speak, for it shall be given you in that same hour what you shall speak.
[4:31] And here's a big Bible study lesson. When you read a passage of Scripture, you've got to know who he's talking to and what he's talking about. Or you'll get a wrong message. The Bible will say something, but it's not saying what you think it's saying.
[4:45] And this verse is saying, when you get arrested, when you get arrested and you're jerked out of your house and you're jerked out of your synagogue or you're jerked out of your church and you're taken down to the authorities and they're about ready to hurt you or beat you, whip you, whenever that gets ready to happen, don't worry about what you're going to say.
[5:01] I'm going to be there with you in a special way and I'm going to help you know what to say and I'm going to teach you the truth. All my life I was taught that when you preach, you do not need to prepare.
[5:12] Just open your mouth and the Lord will fill it. But that really means he'll fill it with hot air, which is what preachers are typically famous for. Now look at verse 22. Here's another crazy saying that you might have misunderstood.
[5:24] In verse 22, the Bible says, And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake, but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. He that endures to the end shall be saved.
[5:35] And when it says that about enduring to the end, you read that and you immediately say, Oh, I've got to hold on till I get to heaven. I've got to make sure I make it all the way to the end.
[5:46] My salvation is dependent upon how well I hold on. I must endure to the end. That's not what that's saying at all. That was talking about when you're in persecution and they're beating you up and they're whipping you.
[5:58] If you can hang on, you'll be saved. If you can wait long enough, the rescue moment comes. Let me explain to you about your salvation. You're saved by grace. And being saved by grace means you didn't do it.
[6:11] You're not doing it and you're not going to do it. The God of heaven did it, is doing it, and will do it. Can you say amen right there? And so here's a good example. If you can imagine the ark, when Noah gets on the ark and he gets inside the ark and the rains come and the floods come.
[6:28] Oh, Noah's inside the ark. You know what? He can sit back in his rocking chair or his recliner and the boat can be swishing from side to side and the rains can come and the winds can blow.
[6:39] He's not having to hold on. He's just riding it out. The boat's going to take care of him. He's inside the ark. Now, if you'd have driven a nail in the side of that boat, if you'd have driven a nail and you had to hang on and endure to the end, you probably wouldn't have made it 180 days.
[6:54] You cannot hold on to the end. We get held on to, we don't hold on. We get held on to, we don't hold on. And that's a wonderful bit of news.
[7:05] Many make like salvation, depending on you hanging on. But salvation isn't about you hanging on, but Jesus hanging on to you. The enduring to the end refers to the tribulation period.
[7:16] And if the Jews could endure to the end, they'd be rescued. It would end in seven years. It refers to us enduring tribulation and mistreatment because it can't last forever. We will be rescued.
[7:29] This passage will help us understand, however, what our missionaries are going through in many other countries. The people are suffering. You remember that not long ago, some of our missionaries were in China.
[7:40] And they were in China on a Sunday morning, on a very good morning, people we know personally. Many of you know them very well. And this passage of Scripture is really about them. And this will help you understand when people question you and they say, well, what about your missionaries?
[7:54] And how foolish were they and what they did wrong? If you'll stay with this passage, you're going to kind of understand it. They were in church. It was Easter Sunday. They were just doing their ministry, just preaching the gospel, just doing what's right.
[8:06] And 25 and 30 police and religious bureau people entered into the church, took them downtown, took them before the police, and they were eventually kicked out of the country.
[8:18] They were persecuted for preaching the gospel message of Jesus Christ. They were persecuted for not doing what the government wanted them to do. What's the Bible say about that?
[8:30] So look with me, if you would, at verse 16. The first thing I hope you'll write down somewhere. Persecution was to be expected. So just write, persecution expected.
[8:41] Persecution expected. From the very first mission Jesus gave his apostles. Verse 16. Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves.
[8:52] Be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Would you underline in your Bible, I send you forth. I send you forth.
[9:02] And he says this, I send you forth as sheep. Now, this is a wild thing, but look at this. Look at this. Wait a second. Catch on what's going on. He's not saying, y'all be careful. The wolves are coming.
[9:13] He said, no, I know where the wolves are. And I'm sending you to the wolves. I'm sending you like a sheep to the wolves. You're going to go to the people that would hurt you. You're going to go to the people that would stand against you.
[9:25] I send you into dangerous places to do dangerous things for the glory of God and for the kingdom of God. It comes as a shock to many Christians that we would be persecuted in this world.
[9:37] It surprises us when missionaries face opposition and persecution. It surprises us when people react harshly towards us because of our faith. But the apostles were sent out as sheep among wolves.
[9:51] Notice in the verse, he is not warning them that they're going to be attacked, but rather he is sending them into the wolf pack. Jesus knew that he was putting his men into harm's way, and he warned them of that publicly.
[10:05] The Bible says in Romans 8, 36, as it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long. We are counted as sheep for the slaughter. He knew exactly where he was sending them.
[10:18] He was sending sheep among the wolves. They knew that they were going out to die. They were to prepare for the fact. So if you've got your Bible, open underline this.
[10:29] I send you forth as sheep among wolves. Now, in just a few days, September the 1st, a very dear family that's sitting, I think they're in this room somewhere, they are going to go back to China, and they're going to go back as sheep.
[10:44] They're going to walk into a country where persecution is strong. They're going to go back where it's wrong to preach in the government's opinion. They don't want people teaching about Jesus.
[10:55] They don't want them going. What would Jesus say about this? He would say, you need to expect persecution. Expect persecution. I send you forth as sheep among wolves.
[11:08] Let me get you the second thing here, if you would. Here's how they were to handle persecution. How were they to handle persecution? Look at verse 16. He said, Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves.
[11:22] Be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves. They knew they were going into harm's way. I mean, when you're told as a sheep, do you know anything about wolves?
[11:34] Do you have any idea about wolves? You know they like to eat sheep. Do you realize that he's not saying we're going to corral all the sheep and put up big walls and put guys with guns to keep the wolves out? That's not the story here.
[11:44] The story is, I know there's a bunch of wolves over there who would love to eat a sheep, and I'm going to send you like a sheep out there. So, hey, Paul, get ready. Take off. Go on over there and go right to the middle of those wolves and preach the gospel.
[11:57] Hey, Peter, James, and John. Hey, apostles. Hey, missionaries. I know it's dangerous, but I send you forth. I know I'm sending you like a sheep. I know I'm sending you where it's dangerous.
[12:08] So now just let me tell you how to handle it when you go there. And so he says, go out as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves. So they wouldn't do they were going into harm's way.
[12:20] They were to be as wise as the serpent. That means they were to be smart and kind. It meant that they were to seize the opportunity. Colossians chapter 4 and verse 5, the Bible says, walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.
[12:34] Grab a hold of the time. Seize the time. It means to say the right thing at the right time in the right place. It means to be appropriate. It'd be foolish to try and anger the Jewish or the Roman leaders, but go be wise.
[12:48] Go be wise. So our missionaries go out. They don't hide who they are. When our missionaries go out on the field, they walk down the street. They're not ashamed of Jesus. They're willing to give out information.
[12:59] They don't use code talk. When you get around other missionaries from other places, you're going to hear about how they'll say, don't ever say the word Christian. Don't say the word Jesus. Don't say the word Bible.
[13:09] They're going to tell you to say something like water party for baptizing. And they're going to say have parties to go to church. But our guys just say, no, we go to church. We preach the Bible. We tell them about Jesus. You say, well, that's not being wise of the serpent.
[13:22] Well, it is been wise of the serpent. They knew they were being sent out as sheep among. They were being sent out as sheep among wolves. So we're not going to do something foolish. We're not going to get a megaphone and go sit in front of the local police station and say, by the way, here we are preaching the gospel.
[13:37] Y'all want to come arrest us? We're not going to do that. But we're not going to hide our light under a bushel. We're going to tell people about Jesus. They were going to tell the truth. Jesus showed us how when he was asked about paying taxes.
[13:50] In Matthew 22, 21, he said, they said to him, Caesars. They brought him a coin. He said, bring me a coin. They brought him a coin. He said, whose inscription's on there? They said, Caesars. Then said, he rendered therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's.
[14:06] So what they were doing, they were trying to trap Jesus. But he was as wise as a serpent. So they got him in front of these people. And they knew that if he gave too much homage to Caesar, he'd be bad.
[14:17] And they knew if he spoke too much against Caesar, he'd get in trouble. So they said, hey, do we give taxes or not? And he said, well, bring me a coin. He said, whose inscription's on the coin?
[14:27] Hey, give Caesar whatever you're supposed to give him and give God whatever you're supposed to give him. And they're like, wow. He didn't come down on either side of that. It's pretty hard for us to nail him. He was as wise as a serpent.
[14:38] He used his head as he explained what they were to do. He was also as harmless as a dove. You tell the truth. You do right. You just don't try to get in trouble. They were to be as harmless as doves.
[14:50] They were to treat people right. No reason to be mean and judgmental. No reason to just try to anger people. They were to adapt to the people and culture as much as they could.
[15:01] 1 Corinthians 9 and verse 19. Maybe you can make a note of that right there in the margin of your Bible. The Bible says, For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain them more.
[15:14] And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews. And to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law. To them that are without law, as without law, being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ, that I might gain them that are without the law.
[15:30] He says, That I might gain, that I might gain, that I might gain. Verse 22. To the weak became I as the weak, that I might gain the weak. I made all things to all men that I might by all means save some.
[15:42] And here's the deal. Watch this. We're going to send you forth as sheep among wolves. We know it's dangerous. We know you can get in trouble. So be wise and be harmless.
[15:52] Don't be troublemakers. You're not going over to stir up political trouble. You're not going over there to set up an American democracy. You're going over there to tell them about Jesus. And when you get over there, as much as you can, learn the culture.
[16:04] Fit in with the culture. Adapt to the people. But you preach Jesus. Preach Jesus. Announce Jesus with all your heart. Going out witnessing and sharing Christ brings risk.
[16:18] They may make fun of you. They may curse you. Your job is to do your best that only the gospel is offensive and not you. Work at being kind. Treating people right.
[16:28] Don't change the gospel. But do work at changing you. Now just let me say this to you. You're saying, well we're not missionaries. What's this message about? What's in the passage? We work our way through the Bible verse by verse.
[16:39] This is talking about missionaries. It's also talking about you going out soul winning. Some of you are a little bit afraid to go out and knock on some doors. You're afraid to invite somebody to come to church. You're afraid.
[16:50] It's a natural fear. Don't be worried. You're not unusual. You can talk about politics. You can talk about the weather. You can talk about sports. You can pretty well get along.
[17:01] But the second it comes to mention in Jesus, we kind of get lockjaw. We kind of get nervous and we kind of get scared. We think people are going to laugh at us and they're going to mock us. Well, they are. So just know it.
[17:13] Just expect it. Realize that a lot of people are going to say, no, just leave my house. A lot of people aren't going to listen to you. But he sent us forth as sheep among wolves. Go tell people about Jesus.
[17:25] Can you say amen right there? Yesterday, somebody knocked on a lady's door that's in this room. Last week, somebody knocked on a man's door who was in the room last week. And they invited them to church and they showed up.
[17:36] So God gave some fruit. But you go forth as sheep among wolves. So what was the persecution going to look like? Look at verse 17 if you would. Beware of men.
[17:47] Watch out. For men. For they will deliver you up to the councils and they will scourge you in their synagogues. And you shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake. For a testimony against them and the Gentiles.
[18:00] Here's what was going to happen. Jesus said they're going to call the religious police on you. That's what was going to happen. You see, the councils and the synagogues, that was the Jewish religion.
[18:11] He's sending out Jews to go witness. And he knows good and well when they get into a town, all the Jewish leaders are going to get together. Who got Jesus killed? It wasn't Pilate. It was the Jews who got together.
[18:23] The Jews who held councils. And the Jews who judged him. And the Jews who finally took Jesus to Pilate to see if they couldn't get him crucified. When you go out, you can expect opposition.
[18:35] Who's going to oppose the message of grace? Religion. Who's going to oppose the message of Jesus? Religion. Who's going to be the most upset? It's not even the political leader as much as it is religion.
[18:47] They're going to call the religious people. The religious police. That's what happened to our friends in China. They were out witnessing. They gave out gospel tracts. They invited people to come to a church. Some people complained.
[18:58] That's often what happens in closed countries. Religious people hate the message of grace. If you believe in Jesus and what he did on the cross, then there's no need at all for morality and psychological reprogramming done by so many.
[19:13] Churches today, their big job is don't do this and do this. Their big job is you can overcome. Their big job is today's the best day of your life. Smile and be awake and all that.
[19:24] They're going to say all these good pithy sayings that give you excitement and hope. But when you know about the cross of Jesus Christ, you know what transforms lives. People don't want to hear that.
[19:35] People are glad to have a Dr. Phil in the pulpit. People are glad to have a Joel who can give you a smiley face message. People don't want to hear about Jesus dying on the cross and about them being sinners and them needing to come to Christ.
[19:48] This is talking about what the apostles could expect from those in their own countries. They would beat them like they did Jesus before they got permission to have him crucified. This would mean being cut off from their friends and their family and even new believers where they lived and worked.
[20:02] Not only would the religious people be after them, but they would get the regular police and government after them. They would be considered rabble-rousers and troublemakers. They would be inciting to riot or civil disobedience.
[20:16] They might be seen as preaching a message of hate or committing a hate crime because they're talking about Jesus. That's what he's warning them. Their standing firm would be a testimony against both religious and political leaders.
[20:28] The apostles were not going out expecting everything to be beautiful. Here's a wild story for you. When Jesus gets the church started and he's sending his apostles out, he didn't say, man, it's going to go good, boys.
[20:42] Y'all go out there and everybody's going to believe. Y'all go out there and everybody's going to follow you. Y'all go out there and churches are going to be built and people are going to follow you. That's not what he said. He looked at them just like he said, Y'all know anything about wolves?
[20:54] You know about sheep? You know how sheep can get killed by wolves? I'm going to send y'all out like sheep among wolves so you can get hurt, so you can get killed. I'm going to send you in a dangerous way.
[21:05] I'm sending you where you could be harmed. The apostles didn't go out expecting it to be better than that. They knew that they nor their message would be well received. They were well warned.
[21:16] In John 15, 18, Jesus talking to his apostles said, If the world hates you, you know it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you.
[21:29] But because you're not of the world and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you. Remember the world? The word that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.
[21:40] If they've kept my sayings, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me. Look at this. What kind of persecution?
[21:51] Everybody was going to be against them. And Jesus looks at him and says, Guys, don't get upset. Don't be surprised that people won't like you. They don't like me. They don't like me.
[22:03] Why would they like you? They don't accept me. They're not going to accept you. They're going to crucify me. What do you think they're going to do to you? You're not better than I am. Christianity wasn't about beautiful buildings, fantastic cemeteries, and beautiful paintings.
[22:17] It was about people suffering for the cause of the truth and sharing the gospel message of Jesus Christ. It was even going to break up their family.
[22:28] It was even going to break up their families. Look at verse 21. Matthew chapter 10 and verse 21. And the brother shall deliver up brother to death, and the father of the child, and the children shall rise up against them, against their parents, and will cause them to be put to death.
[22:46] You shall be hated of all men for my name's sake, but he that endures to the end shall be saved. Can you imagine what he was telling them? All right, guys, I want you to go out, and you're going to go into a place where it's going to be extremely dangerous, and you're going to risk your life every day of your life.
[23:02] And people aren't going to like you because they don't like me. And I'll just go ahead and tell you up front, your own family is going to turn on you. They're going to say, if you want to serve Jesus, we don't like you. You can't take this Jesus thing too seriously.
[23:14] You can't be too on fire for God, or people aren't going to like you. Imagine the horror. Family members turning each other into the government or religious establishment.
[23:25] Family members. Somebody calls the police and says, hey, my son has become a believer. Y'all should arrest him. Hey, my cousin is following Jesus. Come get him.
[23:36] I know you're going to put him to death, but come get my husband. He is a Christian. Take his life. That's horrible. You're like reading that, and you're thinking to yourself, what in the world?
[23:49] But the Bible is trying to make it clear. We serve Jesus regardless of the consequences. We serve Jesus because He is our God and our Lord. Matthew chapter 10 and verse 35, the Bible said, I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man's foes.
[24:13] Look at verse 36. Matthew 10, 36. A man's foes shall be there of his own household. Guess who's going to be your biggest enemy? Your mother.
[24:23] Your brother. Your dad. Your family members. Everybody's against everybody because they don't want you to follow Jesus. And the story of the Pilgrim's Progress that John Bunyan wrote while he was in prison in Bedford, England.
[24:42] He finds out one day as he was reading the book, he said he was reading this book, and as he read this book, this great big burden appeared on his back, and all he saw in this book, the Bible that he was reading, was flee from the city of destruction because wrath is coming.
[24:58] And he goes to his wife and he says, Wife, please, let's get out of here. It's going to get horrible. And she said, I think you're crazy. And he said, no, there is a God.
[25:08] There is a God and there is a hell and bad things are going to happen, baby. We've got to get saved. And she said, you can just leave. And he leaves and she doesn't care. Then his friends go along with him for a few miles and all they do is tell him, you can't go on, you can't go on.
[25:25] And when he keeps going on, they leave him. And everybody's mocking him. That story is based on this kind of thing right here. When you serve Jesus, you can expect opposition. You can expect opposition.
[25:38] But if you love your daddy or your mother more than you love Jesus, Matthew 10, 37, you're not worthy of him. If you love your son or your daughter more than you love Jesus, you're not worthy of him.
[25:50] If you're not willing to take up your cross and follow after Jesus, you're not worthy of him. A brother would turn his brother in so that he would be put to death.
[26:02] Mothers and dads would have their children killed. Children would have their parents killed. By the way, that happened in Germany when the Germans were killing so many Jews.
[26:13] That happened. That same thing happened. A picture of this. Those that go out preaching knew, those that would go out preaching knew that everyone was going to hate them and wish to do them harm.
[26:26] The people of God would be alone. This may help you understand why the church family would be so strong to them. Boy, church was the biggest thing in the world to them. Because it was the one place you could run to and find somebody else that thought like you did.
[26:40] You could run to one place where everybody else loved Jesus like you did. You can understand why in the book of Acts every time they got whipped or beaten, they'd run home and see their mama. They ran to the church and hugged her other brothers and sisters and told what God had been allowing to happen in their lives.
[26:57] I don't know if you understand, but as Jesus is starting his church up, it wasn't go be in the ministry. You can make a lot of money. It wasn't go be a pastor and write a bunch of books and be famous and get a TV program, get you a private jet and everybody will love you.
[27:12] It was. The church people will love you if they love Jesus. But your own mother and daddy, brother and sister and everybody else might hate you for loving Jesus. And things are going to go wrong.
[27:23] Serving Jesus is like the most important thing you could ever do. But God promised them and he'd give them what to say in verse 19. He said things are going to be scary. I warn you guys, you're going out like sheep among wolves.
[27:37] I warn you that everybody's going to be against you. I warn you nobody likes me. They're not going to like you. I want you to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. But don't worry. In that moment, I'll give you what to say.
[27:48] Verse 19. But when they deliver you up, take no thought. How or what you shall speak for it shall be given you in that same hour what you shall speak. For it's not ye that speak, but the son of your father which speaks in you.
[28:01] They expected to be persecuted. They didn't walk into a country and when something went wrong, go, wow, I wasn't expecting that. When something went wrong, they were saying, yep, there it is. They were told that God would give them what to say.
[28:16] They would be able to answer to the police. They'd be able to handle the situation of being arrested. They would be arrested for sharing the gospel. Once they were arrested, God was going to help them even know how to handle it and what to say.
[28:30] They fully expected to have trouble. They were not hiding out. Being wise as a serpent never meant figuring out how not to get caught. They expected to be caught.
[28:42] They were told day one, I am sending you forth as sheep among wolves. The last thing I'd like to show you is this. They weren't just to be foolish about it.
[28:56] They were told, when you're in trouble, run to the next city. Look if you would in verse 23. Run to the next city. When they persecute you in this city, flee to another.
[29:08] For verily I say unto you, you shall have not gone over all the cities, over the cities of Israel till the Son of Man be come. So if you get persecuted in Alfreda for preaching the gospel, run to Cumming, Dawsonville, go to Alabama.
[29:21] If you're in trouble, go somewhere else. You can run. This passage of scripture is written primarily to the apostles. They and the Jews would once again serve God in the tribulation period. That's why Israel is mentioned so much.
[29:35] That's why it says that they will have to endure to the end. The truth about salvation isn't that you endure to the end. This is getting through the persecution. Enduring persecution doesn't save us. It does happen to reveal who we really believe in.
[29:47] We as Christians expect to be persecuted. Timothy was told by Paul, yea, all that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
[29:59] So as you and I go share the gospel, take some gospel tracks, give them out. Yeah, they may laugh at you. They may say, I don't want your tracks. They may be rude to you.
[30:10] In America, thank God. Probably nothing's going to happen to you more than a little bit of a, I don't want to hear from you. I don't like you telling me that. That may be all. But you ought to be doing it.
[30:20] You ought to get a slight taste of what it might be like to be a missionary. In just a handful of days, Mark and Natasha and the girls would get on an airplane and they will fly to another country and they'll get off on that country and they will know when they hit the ground outside that airport, we expect trouble.
[30:40] But we came here because we love Jesus. And we may be embarrassed. We may lose all of our goods. We may be kicked out of this country.
[30:51] Bad things might happen. But we love Jesus. We have friends in Northern Africa doing the exact same thing right now. We have friends in South Africa where AIDS is rampant and they are teaching and preaching the gospel message of Jesus Christ.
[31:09] And they're in the place where they could get hurt. And you might say, well, that's foolishness. Oh, no. Oh, no. Jesus, the king, the commander said, I send you forth as sheep among wolves.
[31:24] I know you're helpless. I know you can't defend yourself. I know you can't take care of yourself. I know the enemy is stronger than you in this way. But I still send you out. So I call on you to understand our missionaries.
[31:37] I call on you to understand and pray for them as they leave. I call on you to start learning a little bit about it by sharing the gospel, by going out and knocking on a door, inviting somebody to church, by inviting a waiter at a restaurant, by inviting the friends you work with.
[31:54] You say, I don't want to tell them I'm a Christian. People don't like Christians. Duh. I've been telling you that for 30 minutes. No, they don't. But what's new? We knew that when we got started.
[32:06] Jesus said, I'm sending you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. You can apply this to your life when you decide that Jesus is worth your life.
[32:16] When you decide that witnessing for Jesus might cost you friendships and business deals, but he's more important. This truth can help you as you pray for our missionaries and what they suffer as they try to serve God in creative access countries.
[32:32] Be prepared to serve and honor Jesus this week. Invite somebody to church. Share the gospel. Tell them what Jesus did for you. Share the gospel.
[32:43] And as you do that, you might feel a little bit of pushback. But it won't be anything like what we just read about. Not here in America. I mean, the honest truth is we don't really get in a lot of trouble.
[32:56] But somebody could walk up to a policeman by accident in China and hand him a gospel track and stir the whole police up. And by the way, it's a scary feeling. I've been there.
[33:08] I can remember when I was terrified to let a cop know I was a Christian and I was not even in a country where it was that illegal like some of these guys go to. Pray for them. Get a hold of God.
[33:18] Here's what was happening. Are you ready? Here's what he said. I send you forth as sheep among wolves. Preach the gospel in the face of persecution.
[33:32] Share Jesus no matter how people treat you. Share Jesus. Father in heaven, I ask you to help your people this morning. I know this message was not the most exciting message as they heard how it could be risky and dangerous.
[33:48] As they heard how things might be hard. I pray you'd encourage our missionaries. I pray you'd help us all to pray for our missionaries. and I pray dear God that you'd help us as we step forward this week to share your word, to share your gospel.
[34:01] I pray you'd make a difference. And I pray dear God that you'd help people to realize Jesus is worth anything that it might cost us to follow him and serve him. And I will give you praise and honor and glory for what you do.
[34:15] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfredo, 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.