THE HAIRS OF YOUR HEAD NUMBERED
Matthew 10:30
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. I heard about a man who picked up a homeless man and took him to Denney’s for breakfast. While eating the man asked him how he ended up this way.
2. He said, "Up until last month, I still had it all. I had plenty to eat, my clothes were washed and pressed, I had a roof over my head, I had TV and Internet, and I went to the gym, and the library. I was working on my MBA on-line. I had no bills and no debt. I even had full medical coverage."
3. I felt sorry for him, so I asked, "What happened? Drugs? Alcohol? Divorce?" "Oh no, nothing like that," he said. "No, no.... I was paroled!”
B. TEXT
28Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Matthew 10:28-31
C. THESIS
1. Isn’t it wonderful how personal Jesus was with his disciples? Though He was God, yet he condescended to care about their deepest needs; He laid bare his very heart to them. In this passage, we see how gently the Lord Jesus deals with their fears.
2. Jesus comforted them, “And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” In these words, Jesus speaks of God’s FOREORDINATION, His detailed KNOWLEDGE of us, His high VALUATION of us, and His promise of PRESERVATION.
3. The title is “The Hairs of Your Head Numbered.”
I. FORE-ORDINATION
A. OF OUR LIVES FROM ALL ETERNITY
1. The Greek text actually says, “The very hairs of your head have been all numbered.” The verb is not in the present, but in the pluperfect tense. The very hairs of your head have been all numbered before worlds were made.
2. How far does God’s foresight extend? God ordained from eternity when and where we should be born, who our parents would be, the details of our childhood, our teenage years, and our growth to maturity. Acts 17:26 says, “From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.”
3. Everything about the Christian is fore-ordained by God, even to “the very hairs of your head.” We can all imagine that the biggest parts of our lives were planned, but the smallest details too? – that’s hard to grasp!
4. But notice that God was able to weave even our wrong choices into the great tapestry of His will and make them work for our good. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him…” Paul didn’t say everything was good, but that it worked out for the good!
B. THE PLACE OF PERSONAL CHOICE
1. There is a place for personal choice too. The Bible says, “The fear of the LORD adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.” God told Solomon, “14 And if you walk in my ways and obey my statutes and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life." We can play a part in shortening our lives or lengthening them; but whichever one it ends up being, God foreordained it. “Whom [God] foreknew, he also did predestinate…” Rom. 8:29.
2. God doesn’t foreordain evil, however. Whenever a person does wrong, they do it of their own free-will. All the sin in the world is caused by bad choices; yet God’s wisdom & power are so great, He can remedy them and make them turn to good purpose.
C. IT HELPS US FACE DIFFICULTIES
1. When the world faces wars, weather disasters, economic collapses, etc., fear can grip us; but when we Know our heavenly Father is in charge, the fear can be removed. Ps. 33:18-19 says, “But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him…to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.”
2. Suppose you became blind; You can feel sweet contentment when you can say, “This blindness was allowed by my tender and loving Father; I know it’s so, since the very hairs of my head are all numbered.” Health problems may cause you significant pain and threaten to end your life, but if God’s in charge, you can say, “It is the Lord, let him do what seems good to him.”
3. Job suffered a series of disasters at the hands of marauders and weather, but he said, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” He knew that his good God was in charge, and with broken heart trusted Him.
4. Often we want our “bitter cup” to pass from us; but true trust in God says, “May Thy will and not my will be done.”
II. GOD’S INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE OF HIS PEOPLE
A. THE EXTENT OF GOD’S KNOWLEDGE
1. God, because He knows everything, knows how many cells there are in your body; He knows how many atoms make up each strand of hair on your head. He knows how many breaths you’ve breathed and many times your heart has beaten in your whole life. He knows your every thought, every emotion, since you were a baby. Every dream, every hope, and every disappointment. God is that big!
2. It is staggering to think how much the Lord knows about us! He knows us better than our mother, better than our doctor who’s cared for us from childhood. God knows US better than we know ourselves. Nobody knows how many hairs they have on their heads. Our deepest secrets are not secrets to him, but He loves us anyway!
B. THIS IMPLIES SYMPATHETIC CONCERN
1. God’s close attention implies His sympathetic care! When you have a sick child, you watch over it day and night. Every little fact about it is known and noted; “she looks a little pale today,” or “he doesn’t have an appetite,” etc. God is the same; his watchfulness over us shows He cares.
2. David said that God knows when we lie down, get up, when we eat, our thoughts, our work, the things we love and the things we hate, etc. (Ps. 139:1-6). What lesson can we take away from this? It’s scary thinking we could sin or entertain evil thoughts with God so near! God’s infinite knowledge of us should impel us to forsake evil and live godly lives, knowing we’ll give an account. For “You are not your own, you were bought with a price.”
3. I remember a youth pastor telling his youth group, “Remember, when you’re parked in “lover’s lane” and start feeling romantic – that Jesus Christ is sitting right between you two!”
C. IT’S AN AID TO PRAYER
1. Knowing God’s intimate knowledge of us should help us to pray. Many Christians spend a lot of prayer time informing God about themselves, but Jesus said, “Your heavenly Father knows what you need.” God cares about us; He’s way ahead of us -- He’s already provided for our need before we need it.
2. ILLUS. I’m reminded of the story of Missionary Helen Roseveare who was working in an infirmary in central Africa when a preemie baby was born. It had to be kept warm or it would die. A ten-year-old orphan girl, Ruth, prayed "Please, God, send us a water bottle. It’ll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby’ll be dead, so please send it this afternoon."
3. To Helen’s amazement, a large package arrived that afternoon and at the bottom was a hot water bottle. It had been mailed 5 months before! An accident? No, our heavenly Father!
III. INDICATION OF VALUE
A. OUR INESTIMABLE VALUE
1. On the 6th Day of Creation, God made His masterpiece: YOU! We are so precious to God that He even keeps an inventory of the hairs of our heads! Imagine a mother caressing the hair of her little boy; every curl is precious. When he gets a haircut, she keeps a lock of his hair for all time, because she loves even his hairs so much!
2. Now if the hairs of our heads are worth so much that God registers each of them, what are our whole bodies worth? What our souls are worth? More than all the worlds! Jesus said, "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" Mark 8:36-37.
B. THE REAL MEASURE OF OUR WORTH
1. You can tell how much something’s worth by how much someone is willing to pay for it. John 3:16, We are worth so much to God that He was willing to pay the price of the death of His Son! 1 Peter 1:18, “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ!”
2. Since God set such a high price on us, we should understand that God will not forsake the great investment He made in us – now or forever! And we should realize that God values all the people around just as highly, and make sure they hear the Gospel of God’s Son.
IV. PROMISE OF PRESERVATION
A. PRESERVATION TO THE ATOM
1. God says “But not a hair of your head will perish.” Luke 21:18. That doesn’t mean they won’t fall out – you can tell by looking at me! It means that God will preserve every one. If you lose a hair, God keeps track of it until the Day of Resurrection, when He will gather all our atoms back together and mold them into a new resurrection body that will live forever!
2. This means the believer is free from all dangers, for God will resurrect our bodies and preserve them for all eternity! We won’t lose an essential particle. What Jesus bought at Calvary with His suffering and blood, will never be lost. Even if we die crippled or maimed or having one eye, we’ll rise whole, “without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.”
B. DEATH CAN’T STOP US!
1. Friends, if persecution comes, it can’t really hurt you. Even if you die for the cause of Christ, you’ll only gain -- the martyr’s crown! Therefore, we shouldn’t be afraid of anything. “Nothing shall by any means harm you.”
2. An accident may happen to you or some disaster. Never be afraid. Half the battle in a crisis, is to keep a level, cool head. Paul said, “But you, keep your head in all situations…” 2 Tim. 4:5. Hebrews 13:6 says, “So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"
3. Sycamore-fig tree fruit is never sweet until it is bruised. Jesus was made perfect by suffering; “it was fitting that God… should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering” Heb. 2:10. Are we better than Jesus?
4. It may be that our perfecting may require some fire to get out the dross. If so, it’s for our good! Natalie Grant sings a song called “Held,” about when God allows you to stay in a trial, you learn to cling to Him. The reward may not be deliverance, but learning to just be held. God says, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Praise God!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. Rob Chaffert was attending seminary in France. One afternoon he traveled to the Calvin Center in Geneva, Switzerland, a 5-hour drive. For some reason, he left too late to arrive back in time for dinner.
2. Then he realized he’d spent last Swiss francs that morning on gas! He’d have to go hungry tonight! But when he passed a Migros grocery store, the Lord prompted him to turn into the parking lot.
3. He wondered why he’d done it; they wouldn’t sell him food without money. He bowed his head & prayed: "Lord, I don't know what I’m doing. I don't have any money. Please help me! Thanks for providing for me. In Jesus' mighty name, Amen."
4. “A force compelled me to get out of my car and go into the grocery store. I stood around for a few minutes, then I bolted back to my car. As I neared my parking spot, however, I noticed something laying on the pavement. To my amazement, it was a bill for 5 Swiss Francs!”
5. Immediately, he heard a peaceful inner voice: "This is my gift for you." Those 5 Swiss Francs were just enough for him to buy a nice meal and return to his dorm room completely satisfied. God is watching over us!
B. ALTAR CALL
1. How many of you need a fresh reminder that God loves you? I’m sure there’s some of you that have some special need that only you and God know about. We’re going to go to God in prayer with it. Stand up if that’s you.
2. How many of know that you have unconfessed sin or want to start a new walk with God this morning? Let’s pray about those too right now. Stand to represent your need. PRAYER.
[This message is a rewrite of Charles Spurgeon’s sermon of the same title on Matt. 10:30.]
