Matthew 10:24-39
“The Messiah’s Messengers and Our Mission”
By: Rev. Kenneth Emerson Sauer, Pastor of Parkview United Methodist Church, Newport News, VA
Believers are often persecuted.
We are bypassed, shunned, withdrawn from, isolated, talked about, ridiculed, mocked, considered strange,
and joked about.
Our Gospel lesson for this morning is a great encouragement to all of us who face persecution.
Christ said 3 times: “Do not be afraid.”
He encouraged His disciples not to fear persecution.
As a matter of fact, we must expect persecution, because Jesus Himself was persecuted....
.... “A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.”
Whatever caused people to persecute Jesus Christ....well, the same thing should be in us!
Is it?
It better be....
...and if it is not....
....it is time to reassess our relationship with Jesus Christ....
....Are we following in His footsteps?....
....are we proclaiming the good news?....
....are we acknowledging Jesus Christ before other human beings?....
....have we lost our former lives for the sake of Christ?
Some years ago Japan took over Korea.
Many of the leading Christians were bitterly persecuted.
Some were imprisoned in Japanese jails.
Those who weren’t persecuted felt that they were somehow lacking in their Christianity.
A native Methodist went to a missionary and said, “There must be something wrong with us Methodists. I
fear that we are not living as godly as we ought to live. There are 37 Presbyterians in jail and only one Methodist!
Does not the Lord count us worthy to suffer shame for His name?”
Imagine!
We are called by God’s very own Son, the Master and Lord of the Universe---this is the highest privilege
imaginable!
Therefore it is a very high privilege to suffer for Him.
As the Bible says in 1st Timothy: “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be
persecuted.”
One day John Wesley--the founder of Methodism-- preached to a great throng in an outdoor meeting.
He pleaded with the unsaved to flee from the wrath to come.
Later, Wesely said, “Many of the people acted like beasts and did their best to disturb the meeting.
They tried to drive a herd of cows into the crowd, but without success.
Then they began to throw stones--showers of them.
One of them struck me between the eyes.
I wiped away the blood, and went right on, declaring that God has given to them that believe, ‘not the
spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.’
By the spirit which is now appeared...I saw what a blessing it is when it is given us, even in the lowest
degree, to suffer for His name’s sake!”
Jesus tells us: “What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim
from the roofs.”
My friends, the message must be preached!!!
And the message is urgent--it is to be proclaimed loud and clear for all to hear!
We are living in very desparate times....
....the end may very well be near.....
.....and those who perish without the saving grace of Jesus Christ will be condemned to hell!
If we believe this....we will proclaim this!!!
Jesus has given all of us--not just the paid clergy--for paid, ordained, or not--we are all ministers of
the Gospel....
...Christ has given all of us the great commission to “Go into all the world and preach the good news
to all creation.”
And there are many people who do this....there are many missionaries who we support financially to do
this.....but if we expect to be able to just pay somebody else to do what all of us as Christians are commanded
to do.....we are coping out---we are fooling ourselves....we are self-diluded!
Take a look around our neighborhoods....how many of our neighbors know Christ and attend a Solid
Christian Church?...
...or any church at all?
Look at the street corners of our city....look at the violence....look at the unhappy faces....look at the
spiritual deprevity....
.... “Go...and tell the people the full message of this new life.”
How many of us have Parkview bumper stickers on our cars?
How many of us have put up door hangers?
How many of us have handed out invitation cards?
How many of us have shared our faith in Christ Christ?
My friends....it’s the least we can do!!!
“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.”
Are we ashamed of the Gospel of Christ?
Are we ashamed that we are aligned under the Creator of this universe...rather than the destroyer of this
universe?
“Do 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.”
God has given each of us a great and glorious cause: to reach men women and children for Christ.
Now, some people don’t want to be reached; therefore they rebel and become our persecutors.
But some people do want to be saved!
And the fact that they are saved to live forever is so glorious that it is worth whatever suffering we may
have to bear.
We are called to confess Christ even to those who might sneer at us, mock us, curse us, slander us, abuse
us or avoid us....
....Jesus says, “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of
Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
Yes, Jesus lays some heavy demands upon His disciples....He states clearly what it will cost a person to
be His disciple.
And this is because Jesus’ presence automatically causes division.
As believers---our godly and divine nature is so completely opposite from our fallen nature.
As Paul writes in Galations: “For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what
is contrary to the sinful nature.
They are in conflict with each other.”
Let me hear an amen if you can relate to this biblical truth!
As certain people heed the call of Jesus--becoming one with Him and the Way of righteousness....
....there is suddenly a division inside and out.
Inside, there is division between the person’s old fallen self, and their new divine nature.
On the outside, there is division between the new Christian and those who choose to reject Jesus and
continue to follow the way of darkness.
And this division often occurs among family members and friends.
Shortly after I was saved, I was talking to a young lady who said: “Wow, what do your parents think? If I
became a born again Christian...my parents would kill me!”
A Christian friend of mine once told me that a girlfriend of his actually wept when he told her of his
decision to follow Christ.
The saved person becomes a totally new person.
Their perspective changes....and they will never, never ever be the same again!!!
This does not mean that the saved person suddenly becomes perfect....
....it means that the saved person’s values and priorities have been turned upside down and inside out.
And while this is happening, the unsaved family member or friend continues down the same
road....remaining in darkness.
The believer is called to a life of righteousness and to a warfare against sin and evil.
If a member of this person’s family is engaged on the side of evil--without a repentant heart--there is a
natural conflict between the believer and the family member.
The family member is still of the earth--they are repressing and subduing the very thought of God.
The believer is of this earth, but he or she is also of heaven.
He or she is both physical and spiritual.
They are living mainly for God and His righteousness, living to reach people with the glorious gospel of
Christ....
....and these two natures differ drastically.
Now, there is a danger here...for the believer because there is often an intense inner tormoil to return to
the ways of the world in order to stay on the ‘in’ with family members and friends who do not believe.
This is why Jesus says: “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone
who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; And anyone who does not take his cross and follow
me is not worthy of me.”
Jesus demands supreme love.
If there is anything or anyone in our way of following Christ....of putting Christ first in our lives....we
can not follow Him!
As believers, we are to love our families, but we are to love God more....
....God must be first and foremost.
When we allow our families to keep us from serving God and from doing what we should--we are making
our families the supreme love of our lives....
....We are worshipping them....
....we are allowing our families to become our idols.
In Luke, Jesus says: “In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my
disciple.”
What Christ says is strong....
We must die to self, sacrificing our wills, ambitions and desires.
Whatever it is that we want--comfort, ease, wealth, fame, power, family--all must be placed behind Christ
and His will.
Before I gave my life to Christ...my gods or idols were the rock stars that I worshiped.
Talking to a high school friend on the telephone; he said: “It’s like you’re turning your back on your lover.”
And that is exactly what I was doing....
But just look at what I gained......
Jesus demands our lives.
And life is the very thing that people are searching for, but what the world calls life is not real life....
...the flesh with all its goose bumps and chills and butterflies, it not life....
...wealth, with all the things it can purchase, is not life...
...recognition and fame, with all the ego it can boost, is not life...
....Power, with all the rights and privileges it can give, is not life...
....Pride, with all the self image it can build, is not life!
All this and everything else on the earth that fades and passes away....well....it just does not last.
How can life, real life, be something that ends so quickly and leaves a person so empty?
Real life is found only by giving up one’s life to Jesus.
The person who refuses to let go of their life and give it to Jesus misses out on the life that God has
intended for them.
They never get to experience the fulfillment of completing their mission on this earth and going on to that
special quality of life called eternal life.
So, those of us who believe are charged with the great commission....making disciples of all nations.
It is a big task, but their is no more important task imaginable.
So go.....
....tell the world about Christ....
So go...
....invite your friends, family members, neighbors, and even strangers to come to church.....
So go....
...and Do not be afraid....
So go....
....not one sparrow falls to the ground apart from the will of your Father....
So go....
....even the very hairs on your head are all numbered....
So go....
Do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Let us pray: Merciful Savior, when the waters of adversity mount up to our necks,
threatening to sweep over our heads, hear our cry for deliverance. You are the
Rock to which we cling, forbide that we ever lose our grip on Your grace and love.
In the powerful name of Jesus, we are bold to make known to You our every
thought or need. Give us the grace to proclaim your Gospel without fear. Amen.
