2025.04.06 Sermon Notes. THE RIGHT ATTITUDE - TO BE MORE LIKE HIM - MATTHEW 10.24-42
William Akehurst, HSWC
SCRIPTURES: Matthew 10:24-42, Matthew 9:34, Romans 8:29, Psalms 17:15, 1John 2:6, 1John 3:2, John 15:20-21, 1 Peter 4:14, Romans 1:16, Luke 12:4-5, Luke 12:8-9, Luke 12:51-53, Luke 14:27, Mark 10:21-22, Mark 9:41
BIG IDEA: JESUS was teaching the disciples that following HIM and taking the message to the world would not be easy. Some will receive it, others won’t and may even be hostile towards it. But they would learn the LORD provides, and to lean on JESUS. Our Desire is to be more like HIM and know that we are to carry the TRUTH to the world around us.
(24-25) Why JESUS’ disciples must expect persecution.
24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household!
A disciple is not above his teacher:
JESUS describes the relationship of the disciple to the teacher.
To be a disciple is to be a student, learning from the teacher, and applying those teachings to their own lives.
A servant to the master. Serving the Master.
If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household!
If they called the master of the house something BAD, they would call all of his household BAD.
Simply put, JESUS was saying that the disciples should not expect to be treated any better than JESUS HIMSELF was treated. If they called JESUS-Satan (Beelzebub), how much worse should the disciples of JESUS expect!
JESUS uses the Pharisees words of being a ruler of demons (Matt 9:34) to Beelzebub = Lord of the Flies. When they rejected JESUS as GOD.
Matthew 9:34 But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.”
POINT: You will be identified by the teacher or master over you.
And people may call you names, good or bad.
25 It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master:
POINT: The goal for the Disciple and Servant of CHRIST is to be LIKE our teacher and master. Conformed to the HIS image. As we abide in HIM.
SONG: LORD I WANT TO BE A CHRISTIAN…TO BE LIKE JESUS
POINT: It’s what the HOLY SPIRIT is working to do in our lives.
To conform us to HIM as our teacher and our master.
Romans 8:29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
King David writes:
Psalms 17:15 As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness;
I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.
1 John 2:6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
POINT: Our desire = His plan, His promise, our destiny.
It is enough that we will be like JESUS.
John 15:20-21 20 Remember the word that I said to you, A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. 21 But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.
1 Peter 4:14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.
Knowing the TRUTH we carry, we should never be ashamed.
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
POINT: As HIS Disciple, we are to:
• Listen (read and hear) HIS teachings.
• Apply HIS teachings to our own lives.
• Seek HIS interests.
• Understand that we carry the TRUTH. The GOSPEL power of GOD to salvation.
We are to be UNDER HIS Teaching.
We are to be serving HIM and HIS WILL
We are to listen to him (by HOLY SPIRIT) and seeking to advance HIS agenda in this world. As servants of our master.
POINT: We are to want to be MORE like JESUS every day.
(26-31) WHEN FACING PERSECUTION, DO NOT FEAR, BUT BOLDLY PROCLAMING THE GOSPEL
26 Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.
27 “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Therefore do not fear them:
POINT: THE TRUTH SETS US FREE. With this knowledge , we can be confident to know GOD’s TRUTH will prevail. So we are to go out and preach it with boldness, even when there is danger of persecution.
POINT: JESUS IS THE VICTORY. IF we allow persecution to hinder or stop us from speaking or preaching GOD’s WORD, then in a way, we give victory to the enemy. The threat may not succeed in bringing us harm, but rather holding back the Message of GOD’s WORD.
For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known:
PRINCIPLE: GOD’s WORD will complete its purpose. Justice will be served. Everything will be exposed. GOD’s Judgment will prevail and one day EVERY KNEE shall bow.
Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops:
The GOSPEL is not to be hidden, it’s not for a select few. It is for all people everywhere. While there will be those who may not understand the message of the Gospel, they need to hear it. It should not be hidden from them.
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell:
GOD is the ONE to fear, not those who persecute followers of CHRIST.
The body is physical. The soul is eternal. GOD’s Judgment has eternal impact. There are Eternal Rewards or Consequences.
Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows:
Don’t be afraid, GOD’s got you! IF HE cares for a bird and to know the number of hairs on your head, HE’s GOT THIS. HE’s GOT YOU!
When persecuted, we may feel that GOD has forgotten us, but know this…HE HAS NOT.
POINT: The GOD WHO knows you so well, will take care of you.
Song: GOD will take care of you.
(32-39) BE EQUIPPED WITH THE RIGHT ATTITUDE
CONFESS CHRIST BEFORE MEN (Luke 12:8, 9)
32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.
Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven:
As a disciple, we must confess JESUS publicly – before others.
ILLUSTRATION: I’ve heard people say that their faith or religion is “personal” and that they don’t talk about it openly. JESUS says we are to be open about our relationship with HIM. And HE will be open about HIS relationship to us…to the FATHER. An important understanding for when we stand before Almighty GOD. In judgment or as welcomed in.
Everyone JESUS called He called publicly. There is really no such thing as a “secret” Christian.
POINT: A believer must live a life with evidence (fruits of the SPIRIT)
that can be seen by the world, that sets them apart as Christians.
ILLUSTRATION: IF you were arrested for the crime of following JESUS; in court, would the charges stick with proven evidence, or be dismissed for lack of evidence?
“What Christ is to you on earth, that you will be to Christ in heaven. I shall repeat that truth. Whatever JESUS Christ is to you on earth, you will be to him in the day of judgment. If he be dear and precious to you, you will be precious and dear to him. If you thought everything of him, he will think everything of you.” (Spurgeon)
POINT: OUR Eternal Destiny depends on our response to JESUS now!
CHRIST BRINGS DIVISION (Luke 12:51–53; 14:26, 27)
34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 36 and a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ 37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword
The Message of JESUS IS a message of peace. But in that message of peace, it will divide those who choose to accept it from those who choose to reject it.
This division between these two choices explains how JESUS did not come to bring peace but a sword.
For I have come to “set a man against his father”…and “a man’s enemies will be those of his own household”:
A Dividing line. Accept or Reject JESUS, cuts through relationships and even families.
He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me:
JESUS explains that a disciple must love and follow JESUS so strongly that our devotion to HIM comes first, even in our own family.
ORDER: GOD, FAITH, FAMILY
POINT: As followers of CHRIST we should be better as husbands, fathers, wives, mothers, sons and daughters. But there will be times when the presence of CHRIST will divide us in our families. We pray for unity, in that all of our family members will be UNITED together in our love for CHRIST.
Take his cross and follow after Me:
The disciple must follow JESUS even to the place of taking his cross.
POINT: In JESUS’ day, when a person took a cross, it was for one reason: to die. The Roman cross demanded total commitment—no compromises, no second chances. Once you carried it, there was no turning back, and your only hope lay in resurrection.
His cross:
The cross means one thing: death – death to self, but resurrection life unto God.
NOTE: This is the first mention of the cross in Matthew's Gospel, and it is not directly related to JESUS' own crucifixion.
THOUGHT: This is an extreme statement that must have shaken the disciples. They knew what the cross was all about. Cross=Death.
In a sense, JESUS is saying, “follow me to the death.”
He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it:
POINT: As a disciple, we find life by losing it (our own desires, goals and pursuits), and Only Live by dying (to ourselves). The Resurrection life can only come after we take up our cross to follow JESUS.
(40-42) The reward due to those who, in contrast to the persecutors, receive the disciples of JESUS.
A CUP OF COLD WATER (Mark 9:41)
40 “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. 41 He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. 42 And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”
He who receives you receives Me:
As a disciple, we are JESUS’ Representatives, carrying HIS Message to others. When people receive the message we carry, they receive HIM.
He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward:
We can share in the reward of God’s servants by supporting them in their work. Even seemingly insignificant works of kindness (a cup of cold water) performed for God’s people are meaningful in God’s eyes.
whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water
What could seem more insignificant than giving a person a cup of cold water? In a short time, they will be thirsty again. Yet even such a small gesture will always be remembered and rewarded by God. They shall by no means lose their reward.
Mark 9:41 For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.
SUMMARY: JESUS teaches what the message of the gospel will do in the lives of those who carry it forward. We know it’s purpose brings life, but to those who refuse, it brings death. Our purpose is to follow JESUS and desire to be more like him as his ambassadors to carry HIS MESSAGE of TRUTH to the world in which we live.
FATHER, We hear the heart of CHRIST for HIS Followers, and understand that to live for HIM, means that we may face some of the very things HE faced, when HE brought the message of the KINGDOM to us. Give us the Strength to carry out HIS WORD to those who will receive it. HOLY SPIRIT, move on our hearts, Lead, guide and guard us to fulfill the Mission of the Cross. Let us lay aside everything that distracts us from the Testimony of CHRIST, to be workers of the Harvest in these last days. ORDER our steps LORD JESUS, Amen.
SONG: LORD I WANT TO BE A CHRISTIAN…TO BE LIKE JESUS.
1 Lord, I want to be a Christian, in my heart, in my heart.
Lord, I want to be a Christian in my heart.
In my heart, in my heart,
Lord, I want to be a Christian in my heart.
2 Lord, I want to be more loving in my heart, in my heart.
Lord, I want to be more loving in my heart.
In my heart, in my heart,
Lord, I want to be more loving in my heart.
3 Lord, I want to be more holy in my heart, in my heart.
Lord, I want to be more holy in my heart.
In my heart, in my heart,
Lord, I want to be more holy in my heart.
4 Lord, I want to be like JESUS in my heart, in my heart.
Lord, I want to be like JESUS in my heart.
In my heart, in my heart,
Lord, I want to be like JESUS in my heart.
Psalter Hymnal, (Gray)
