I want to speak from Matthew chapter 10, verses 16 to 33, we're going through Matthew's gospel.
! And if you remember last week, you'll remember that Jesus was speaking to his ambassadors,
! He was speaking to those who were going to carry his mission to the world.
And we saw, didn't we, that those words were given to the apostles, they were not given directly
to us, but they are given for us. And they were to go to the Jews and speak of the Jews
in Matthew 10. And we learn lots about God's plan and the progress of God, about his priorities
for mission, how God provides for us. And all those things are directed by the gospel.
But verse 16 shows us that Jesus is now looking further ahead. Look at verse 16. He's looking
beyond the immediate concerns of the 12 disciples. And he's looking to that time beyond Pentecost,
when the gospel would kind of go out to all peoples. When they would bring the gospel to
the world, verse 18. It speaks of mission to the Gentiles, whereas verse 6 speaks about
mission to the Jews. And if you look at verses 21 and 22, he's still speaking there, isn't
about the church's mission, about us and our mission to the world. It stretches to today.
This turmoil of parents against children. Of this hatred. And what Jesus is doing this
morning is he is shocking us. He is saying that in the mission of Jesus, which we carry
out, we must expect persecution. And in the light of that, we must be ready to persevere
to the end. So look at verse 16. It's an abiding principle. He says, doesn't he?
Behold, I'm sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and
innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over the courts and flog you in their
synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness
before them and the Gentiles. It's really smart, isn't it? He's saying, to be saved, you've
got to endure to the end. You've got to keep going. It means enduring to the end of the
persecutions. Enduring to the end of our lives as good soldiers of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Christian life is about keeping going. You fight the fight. You run the race so that
you will receive the crown. And it really is an obvious passage about persecution and perseverance
and endurance. And there will be much hardship in the Christian life and Christian witness.
What he's saying to you is, to live as a Christian, there will be danger and heartbreak. There will
be disappointment and there will be struggle. And that is Christian discipleship. That is what
it is like to be a Christian. And that is such a contrast, isn't it, to what we're often told
by the church today. You know the words like celebration. Words like experience, like worship.
You don't find, do you, on any website that I've gone on this week about churches, on the front
page, persecution, suffering, hatred. But there's no triumphalism with Jesus. There's no naivety
either. He says, beware of people. They are like, verse 16, they are like wolves. That's
pretty blunt. And he says you must therefore have wisdom and realism. You must be wise as
servants, gentler stuff. And it's clear, isn't it, that Jesus is not naive of a
Christian life. It's going to be tough right to the very end. And he says you must be surprised
by that. You must be shocked by that. But why is it going to be so tough? Well the answer
is very clear. And that is that the gospel of Jesus Christ always, always divides. So
do you remember in chapter 9, verse 33, we saw it in the summer, don't we? That after
all these miracles, the crowds, they marvel. We've never seen anything like it, they say.
We rejoice in the faith. But look at the very next verse. Look at verse 34. It's very clear,
isn't it? But the Pharisee said, he casts out demons by the prince of demons. Do you notice
how Matthew does that? He puts, doesn't he, faith and unbelief side by side. The gospel
of Jesus always divides. And the messages of Jesus always divide. So verse 34 is very clear,
isn't it? There is a division. Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth.
I've not come to bring peace, but sort of division. Can we reach up a sun? There are, there's stark
words, aren't there? There are two ways, two ways to live. Two gates. Two roads. There's a road
of life and the road of death. And the gospel is always a double-edged sword. It divides men
and women and boys and girls. And that is why it's hard to be a Christian. And the mark of
a false gospel, the mark of a false gospel preacher is that there's no division. The whole church
claims, isn't this wonderful? Isn't this terrific? This is the ministry that we want. And when the
ministry is uniformly popular, that means it's not likely to be the biblical gospel. If the
reaction to the gospel ministry is not the same reaction as what Jesus received, it's not
his message. Some are, on the one hand, will be hungry, they'll desire more, they'll want
more. But others, well there will be those whose hearts are closed. Or closing. And hardening.
And we have to come to terms with that in the Christian life. And it's not easy. From the
perspective of the preacher, it's not easy. It's hard to know if you're being faithful to
the message of Jesus. It's hard to know that if you are, you will always see division.
There will always be a mixed reaction. No matter how good your sermon is, no matter how good
your church is, how faithful it is, Jesus says there will always be a division. But Jesus
tells it as it is. He's not a spin doctor. And he says we must expect hardship and persecution
and struggle, and we must prepare for it, so that we're able to persevere to the end. And
he says we go out as sheep. Sheep in the world's eyes are powerless. We are foolish. We are
weak. Who is here of sending out sheep to convert wolves? It's madness. It's ridiculous in the
world's eyes, but we are not valueless, Jesus is saying. You go out as sacrificial lambs
for my sake. For my sake. That is why you're hated. And you have heavenly power and heavenly
resources the world doesn't see. Just look at verse 19 of chapter 10. When they deliver
over you, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are
to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the spirit of
your father speaking through you. I am with you. And because I will never abandon you,
well you must know that as well. So in this first paragraph, there are three areas where
persecution comes from. Three areas where you and I must expect persecution. The first
area is from the religious establishment. Look at verse 17. The danger is when we read the
gospels, we think of it like westerns. Do you remember westerns where you can always tell
the goodies and the baddies really easily? The baddies had stubble and beards. The goodies
were clean shaven when they, but it's not like that. It's not like that in life in general.
And it's not like that when you come to the gospels. We mustn't think of the Pharisees and
the synagogue leaders as these kind of very obvious bad and evil people. You see they were
the church of the New Testament age. Synagogues and rulers, they are closing their eyes and
hardening their eyes. The church, when Jesus came to it, persecuted him because they were
so adrift from the reality of the grace of God, they couldn't stand it. And so they flogged
the ministers of Jesus Christ and nothing has changed in 2,000 years. And so around the
world, so much of the persecution of true believers in Jesus Christ comes from institutional
churches. Just ask Christians in some of the former Iron Curtain countries where the Orthodox
church in Russia and in Greece persecutes relentlessly the evangelical people. It's the same in our
country. Religion despises evangelical gospel faith. It despises the words of Jesus and the
apostles' words being taken seriously. So save us from these fundamentalists. Let the church
be broad. Let it be very broad as long as it's narrow enough to keep us out. Because that's
the reality. Religion always hates real faith. And it always has done. It always will do.
Because real faith, real faith in Jesus Christ liberates people. That's why, where religion
it always seeks to control and enslave people. And religious leaders always want to make you
dependent upon them. They love to make you enslaved of them. They love to make the institution
the one that is in control. So there will always be persecution from the institutional church.
Secondly, there will be persecution in verse 18 from the state. From governors. From society
at large. That's true, isn't it? Throughout history. The history of the Christian faith. It's
something that is real and alive and has always been a terrible threat to society. Gospel believers.
A society that is militantly anti-Christ. That is why Nero burned those Christians in the first
century. Blamed the burning of Rome on them. Butchered them. That is why the Nazis and the
Soviets rounded Christians up and sent them to gulags and concentration camps. In our Western
secular democracy, it's no different. There's not the same physical violence, is there? But
there is the same vehemence. Just think of the media. How sneering and how scornful they are
of the biblical faith. They laugh Bible-believing Christians. They scorn, don't they? The disdain
of someone like John Humphreys. Or even Ricky Gervais. They love the liberal churchmen who
will tell them everything they want to hear. But when somebody is actually really clear on
stating the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching of the apostles, there will be
nothing but scorn. The third area is, it will be from within the family, verse 21. And maybe
that is most painful of all, isn't it? Think of the hurt and the hostility. The bitterness,
the pain that is in people's families. When a child is converted and they turn to Christ.
And the parent cannot stand the loss. Maybe the loss to their career or to their future.
When a child goes against the pattern of their parents by trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ,
what a heartbreak and what a pain that is. Or a husband against a wife.
But Jesus is saying, isn't it? This is genuine Christian discipleship. And this is what will
happen. And when that does happen, when your family turns on you being a Christian, that
is not an evidence of failure. That is the reality of following Jesus. So to sum up, verse
22, and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. And sometimes that experience is very
real, and we know that. I think as some of you hear it, it is very lonely, isn't it, for
you to bear the name of the Lord Jesus today. Sometimes it seems almost too much to bear.
And Jesus is warning you and I, and encouraging you and I, and saying, do not be deceived. It
is not a sign of failure when that happens. My mission is not out of control when these things
happen. Rather, it's the only way it can be in a world that disdains our Saviour. And
he says, rejoice in it for my sake. It can't be any other way. Do you remember the Beatitudes?
Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and slander you on my account. Rejoice.
Why? Well, they persecuted the prophets that went before you. In other words, what does
it show you? It shows you that you are the genuine article of faith when people hate you.
And great is your reward in heaven. In other words, you're not forgotten when these things
happen to you. And God is saying, I've not abandoned you. And he's preparing a reward and he sees it
all. And you've got to realise that is how mission works. Look at verse 80. He says,
and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake to bear witness to them and
the Gentiles. The word there, bear witness, it's the word we get martyr from. That's how
the church grows. Tertullian, in the second century, he was right when he said that the
blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. And Jesus, you see, is teaching his followers
all of this. That they will be prepared for lives of witness and discipleship and so they'll
be able to endure to the end. It's so much the opposite of what we hear today, isn't
it? So people say to me, do not speak about the negatives of the gospel up front. It'll
put people off. And don't talk about sin and suffering and the demands of Christ, particularly
in the area of sexuality. Don't speak about that on Sundays. Because on Sundays we are visitors.
This is great to have so many visitors here today. And those who are new to the Christian
faith. And we don't want those who come to be put off by the rough stuff. But if you don't
preach it on Sundays, when do you preach it? It's actually deceitful and dishonest, isn't
it, to hide this. And actually, a bigger problem is it's the antithesis of what Jesus does in
this chapter. Because Jesus is brutally and absolutely up front and clear. And you see,
Jesus knows your heart and mind. And he knows, doesn't he, Jesus knows that there are great
weapons in the hand of our enemy. And the great enemy of all Christians in particular. And fear,
fear is a great enemy, isn't it? Fear is a great enemy of Christian mission. Fear can neutralise
mission in our churches and in our lives and in our families even. And wherever fear is
so often the great enemy within, it is something that must be confronted and overcome. And how
Jesus helps you and I to do that is he forces us to face up to the causes of fear, which are
real and they're understandable. But Jesus wants to show you this morning that you should not
allow your thinking to be directed by fear, but by the true gospel. So that we need not
fear and we can endure. And so the second paragraph of verses 24 to 33, Jesus puts his finger on three
specific dangers that our great enemy, fear uses to cripple us. Three times Jesus tells you this
morning, do not be afraid. And each time he gives you the remedy. So the first fear that comes to us
is he brings before us the fear of the terrible sting of slander. The terrible sting of slander.
Slander. And slander, when people speak evil against you, leads to a silencing of the witness of the gospel.
Look at verse 25 and just see how horrible that sting can be.
Here is the religious establishment.
And here is the church of the day.
And they brand Jesus, the Son of God,
the Messiah.
They brand him Beelzebub, the Prince of Demons.
The devil himself.
Here is the clever and the powerful
religious experts of the day.
The theologians. The ones that come on the TV
and are asked to speak on documentaries.
And they sneer at gullible
simpletons who take the Bible seriously.
Who believe things like heaven or hell.
Or two ways.
Or a final judgment.
Or an exclusive way to God through Jesus Christ alone.
They say things,
Well I used to be like that.
But I've grown out of it.
I used to be a word man.
But then I discovered the Spirit.
Don't get me wrong,
I'm very glad of my evangelical roots.
But you have to move on.
It's far more complex.
It's too simplistic to take the Bible seriously.
In fact, people who do that
are quite a danger.
They are fanatically.
So how do you feel
when that kind of slander
is directed at you
and what you believe
and what you cherish most deeply
in your heart?
What you want to do
at that point
is shrivel up, don't you?
And hide.
And to get away from the
horrible, stinging sarcasm.
And it's very easy
for the sting of slander
to silence us.
To silence the gospel.
To silence the truth.
So we basically live
our privatized religion.
And the assault comes on us
from those three directions
that Jesus has already spoken about.
From the religious establishment.
From those who call themselves Christians.
And that particularly stinks, doesn't it?
That particularly stinks
when we feel
that we need to be accepted.
It's particularly hard
for Christian leaders.
I hope you pray for your elders.
We're not immune
from this.
And you must pray for those
who are in far harder places
than we are.
But it is often
a very, very lovely furrow.
When you're looked at
as a kind of narrow,
bigoted, fundamentalist.
They're coming
to family circles,
can't they?
That young teenager
who is converted
and starts to take God seriously
and the family
are desperately worried
about their fanaticism.
That's taken over them.
Parents worried sick
and the real temptation
is there
is you keep quiet.
We know, don't we,
it can happen in society.
In our workplace
or in our school,
in our colleges.
You get the sneers
behind your back
when you won't join
in the humour
of the office
or the classroom.
When you won't
take part
in the going on
and on
about sex
or whatever it is.
I heard this week
about a young teenager
who was at work
and he had his mobile phone
stolen by his colleagues.
And they managed
to get the courage
to get into it.
One message
they found in it
was sent
from a Christian friend.
It was the words
of a psalm
to encourage him.
And they taunted
this teenager
relentlessly
and remorselessly.
What do you think
that does
in a hostile
work environment?
Well I'll tell you
what it does.
You know what it does.
It makes you want
to be silenced
doesn't it
about your faith.
It makes you
want to be quiet
completely
and to make
that horrible
stinging slander
to go away.
And that pressure
is isn't it
very very
very strong
today.
But Jesus
says in verse 26
just look at it
with me
he says
have no
fear of them.
And he gives us
a reason
he says
nothing that is
covered
will not be
revealed.
Nothing is
that is hidden
will not be
made known.
In other words
Hebrews 4.13
says nothing
in all of creation
is hidden
from God's sight.
Everything is
uncovered
but everything
is laid bare
before the eyes
of him
whom we must
give an account
to.
God is true
and in time
the truth
will out.
That is what
Jesus is saying.
There is
a coming
judgment
when everything
will be laid
bare
exactly as it
is
and he will
vindicate his
people
and we can be
sure of that.
And so verse 27
the answer to
slander is not
silence
but what
proclamation.
It is to
proclaim the
truth of God
from the
house troughs
to be
unashamed
to speak.
Don't be
silenced
because God
is true.
Never forget
that.
Proclaim his
truth.
You see the
gospel proclaims
the hidden
things.
Things which
are invisible
to the eyes
of the world
but the day
will come
one day
when these
things will
be declared
openly
and all
the world
will see
it.
And Jesus
says to his
battle
disciples
and believers
he says
live in the
light of
that day.
Keep that
day and all
will be laid
bare on that
day.
Keep that
day at the
most in
your minds
and proclaim
the truth
of God.
Don't be
afraid.
Secondly
our enemy
fear beats
us with the
dread of
violence and
persecution
doesn't
it?
Verse 28
It beats
us with the
dread of
violence and
persecution.
And those
things that
fear and
that dread
can so
easily lead
to paralysis
and compromise.
Verse 28
speaks of
the reality
and the
violence of
martyrdom.
We're not
experiencing that
in this country
at the moment
but we must
never think
that that
has gone
away.
It's affected
every century
of the church.
There were
more martyrs
in the 21st
century than
all the other
centuries put
together.
It's very
likely this
century will
have even
more.
The most
conservative
average says
that there
will be
probably 20
martyrs for
the Christian
faith today.
People are
being relentlessly
persecuted for
the sake of
Jesus Christ.
And who's it
coming from?
It comes from
the establishment
the religious
establishment
and it comes
from families
in many places.
There are
Muslim converts
in this country
who've literally
disappeared.
some have
been physically
beaten and
some have
disappeared.
Some have
been assumed
dead by their
families when
they followed
Christ.
It comes too
doesn't it
from secular
governments in
many parts of
the world.
You look at
Burma.
The systematic
persecution of
the Kaurin
people.
Largely
Christian people
and many
many more.
But in our
western secular
democracy the
hostile is just
as great.
that's what I
want you to
see.
There is no
violence at
the moment
because it's
against the
law.
But if we
teach the
uniqueness of
Christ and
the falsity of
all other ways
to God, if we
teach the truth
of God's moral
law about
sexuality and
other things,
these things will
be turned
against us.
And Jesus
says, expect
it and be
ready for it.
And worse,
verse 28,
he says,
don't be afraid
even if those
have the power
to kill the
body.
Rather fear
God.
Because he's
not only true,
he's great.
And he is the
one who has
power of life
and death.
And that
power is for
eternity.
That fear,
Proverbs 9,
verse 10,
says, that
fear of God
is the
beginning of
wisdom.
And Psalm
34, which
we'll sing
right at the
end of our
service, teaches
us to fear
the Lord,
you his
saints.
For all
those who
fear him
have no
lack.
Fear him,
you saints,
and you will
then have
nothing else
to fear.
And that
God has
you in
his hands
now.
But more
importantly,
more importantly
than that,
verse 3,
33 makes
absolutely
plain,
doesn't it?
That we
will all be
in his
hands,
all of us,
every single
one of us,
ultimately,
on that
day.
That God
is the
one who
is to be
feared,
not the
one who
can beat
and hurt
our bodies.
So live
in the
light of
that day,
Jesus
says.
And
thirdly,
fear
taunts us
with the
kind of
desolation
of divine
distance.
What does
that mean?
That we
feel God
is far
away.
The
desolation
of divine
distance.
When God
seems to be
so far
away from
us,
that he's
abandoned
us,
and it's
so easy,
isn't it,
easy to
kind of
allow that
to lead
to an
erosion of
confidence
and a
loss of
trust.
And perhaps
this for us
is the most
difficult thing
of all.
Perhaps in
the UK,
this claims
more casualties
than any
other.
When life
is hard,
and when
our prayers
don't seem
to be
answered,
when it
seems like
the heavens
are like
brass,
and God
is dead,
where are
you,
Lord?
Why am I
still suffering
with this?
Why?
I've been
faithful.
Haven't you
prayed that?
Why have you
allowed my
beloved partner
to be taken
from me?
Why am I
still struggling
with this
sin when I
hate it?
Where are
you,
Lord?
Why haven't
I been
healed of
this disease
or this
illness that
dogs me?
Why haven't
I had any
sense of
breakthrough in
the Christian
ministry I'm
involved in?
Where are
you,
Lord?
Have you
gone away?
Are you
distant?
And you
see,
the religious
establishment
and the
world and
our families
very often
join in the
chorus.
Look at
these
pathetic
Bible
people,
so old
fashioned.
They don't
see anything
like the
kind of
church
growth
that we
see.
And God
has left
that kind
of thing.
I remember
when I
had just
come to
this
church
and
somebody
searched
me up
and said
you are
a really
good
preacher
to old
people.
Meaning,
I was
completely
out of
touch,
which may
be.
We live
in a
visual
age,
we live
in a
techno
age,
a church
that is
devoted to
the teaching
of God's
word and
the simple
means of
grace.
It just
won't cut
it anymore.
We've
left all
that behind
today.
You're a
dinosaur.
And God
feels distant.
Or your
family says,
look what you
could have
had.
Look how
you could
live if you
weren't so
fanatical.
How has
God provided
for you?
Where is
he?
Look what you
could have
had.
Where is
your God
when you
can't get
the job?
Why isn't
God provided
your wife
or husband
or family?
And we
say to
ourselves,
Lord,
have you
left us?
Well,
there's
nothing new
to that,
is there?
The
psalmist
says in
Psalm 42,
my tears
have been
my food
day and
night,
while they
continually
say,
where is
your God?
And the
answer is,
says,
Jesus is
not only,
Jesus says
that God
is not only
true,
but that he
is to be
proclaimed,
and not only
that he is
great,
and to be
feared,
but God
is far from
distant and
disinterested in
you.
So he is
near.
So look at
verses 29
and 30.
They are
wonderful
verses,
aren't
they?
it's not
just that
he sees
each sparrow
fall to
the ground,
but actually
a sparrow
cannot fall
to the
ground
without the
God of
heaven and
earth
deciding it
will happen.
Two little
sparrows,
and he
numbers the
very hairs
of your
head.
It's a
picture of
a mother,
isn't it,
with a
little girl
between her
knees,
and she's
gently
combing and
pleating her
hair,
and that
is the
Lord.
Except he's
counting them
to every single
one of them.
He is
near.
He is
near to
you,
and he
loves and
he cares
for every
single one
of his
beloved
children,
and every
hair on
your head.
And therefore
he says
in verse 31,
do not
be afraid,
because you
are more
valued than
many
sparrows.
I love
those words
God speaks
to Moses
at the
burning
bush.
When
Israel is
downtrodden,
and they
think that
God has
abandoned
them,
and they're
groaning
in slavery,
and all
the while
they're
unaware that
God is
working out
his great
plan of
redemption,
and God
says,
I have
seen the
affliction of
my people,
and I've
heard their
groaning,
and I've
come down
to deliver
them.
And maybe
you feel
this morning
that God
is distant,
that he's
got no
interest in
you personally.
And perhaps
you feel,
well, why
should God
be interested
in me?
I'm so
insignificant.
And perhaps
even more,
you're saying,
you don't
know how
I've let
him down
this week,
and he
must have
let me.
And all
your confidence
is sapping,
and your
faith is
teetering,
and the
enemy of
fear has
gripped inside
your heart,
then verse 31
is especially
for you,
isn't it?
Fear not,
because you
are of more
value than
many smarrows.
how do I
know that?
How do you
know that?
Well, because
Christ the
Redeemer came
down from
the glory
of heaven,
to die on
the cross
at Calvary,
because he
saw the
affliction of
his people,
and he
loved his
people,
so he
came.
And do
you think
he will
ever abandon
you in
your Christian
life,
having done
that?
Never.
He says,
to his
people,
I am with
you even
to the end
of the age,
even amid
all the
struggles that
you will
surely face,
right to the
end,
I am with
you.
I am
not
distant,
so take
heart.
And if
they did
those things
to you,
do you know
why they
did them
to you?
They
drew them
to you
because
they did
them to
me.
And if
they hate
you,
it's because
they hated
me,
and if
they persecute
you,
it's because
they persecuted
me.
But rejoice,
because it's
enough for
the servant
to be like
his master,
for the
pupil to be
like their
teacher.
It's for
me,
it's for
my sake.
It's not
because I've
abandoned
you.
One of the
Puritants
closest to
the
captain
is a
sure
target
for the
archers.
And so
if this
morning you
come to
worship and
you are
struggling,
take heart.
You live
life now
in the
light of
that coming
day,
that day
when a
war shall
be declared
and God
will vindicate
his people
and rejoice,
verse 32.
So
everyone who
acknowledges me
before men,
I also will
acknowledge before
my father who
is in
heaven.
You count
the cost.
And you
count the
cost of the
struggles and
the hardship
that there
will be in
the Christian
life.
Don't be
naive,
don't mistake.
Count the
cost this
morning.
But count it
in the only
terms that
matter,
that is
eternity.
Every
struggling
believer that
is faithful
to the name
of Jesus
Christ,
and the
onslaughts,
and the
assaults from
the world,
and the
flesh,
and the
devil,
and all its
forms,
every single
Christian
believer who
endures the
end will
hear the
Lord Jesus
Christ proclaim
their name
to the
Father in
heaven.
But we
need to
finish where
the passage
finishes in
verse 33,
which is a
shock.
Because what
Jesus wants
you to do in
verse 33 is he
wants you to
count the
cost of not
standing for
Jesus Christ.
Count the
cost of denying
him,
denying him
who loved
us and
gave everything
for us.
And if you
are not
willing to
stand for
him, it
will lead
to a loss
that is,
verse 33,
unimaginable.
You see, the
mission of
Jesus Christ
and his
kingdom claims
absolutely
everything.
Be clear
about that.
And
discipleship
always will
be a life of
struggle and
persecution.
It will be a
life of being
sheep amongst
wolves.
And it will
be a life of
persevering, of
keeping going
to the end.
Despite fears
within, but
Jesus says,
don't be
silenced by
the sting of
slander.
God is
true.
And so
proclaim his
truth from
the roof
jobs.
Fear not, and
don't be
paralysed by
the threat of
violence.
God is
great.
Fear him, not
men and
women and
boys and
girls and
all they can
do for you.
And don't
ever be
desolate and
think that
God has
forgotten you,
or that
God is
distant because
God is
near and
every hair
on your
head is
numbered.
And so
trust him.
He sees it
all and he
cares.
And he is
with you.
And above
all, live
now in
the light of
these, well
these light and
momentary
troubles.
But look at
them in the
light of an
eternal weight
of glory that
far outweighs
them all.
And so live in
the light of
that day.
And
everything we
face today will
only be a
cause of
rejoicing.
Even though
that joy will
be through
tears and
pain, it
will be a
solid joy and
a lasting
treasure that
only the
disciples, the
children of
Jesus Christ,
know anything
about.
Let's sing
before we
come to the
road stable.