INTRO.- ILL.- The mother of four young boys often had difficulty curbing their energy, especially in church. But when her minister preached on "turning the other cheek," the boys gave him their undivided attention. “No matter what others do to us,” he said, “we should never try to ‘get even.’”
That afternoon the youngest boy came into the house crying. Between sobs he said he’d kicked one of his brothers, who then kicked him in return.
"I’m sorry you’re hurt," his mother said. "But you shouldn’t go around kicking people."
Still choking back tears, he replied, "But the preacher said he isn’t supposed to kick me back."
There may be times in life when we feel like everybody is against us, kicking us, including our family members.
Jesus said, "Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.”
That sounds like pretty serious stuff. What does this remind you of? Any Bible story? Perhaps Joseph of old and how his brothers wanted to kill him. How jealous they were!
I would think you’d have to be pretty mean or evil spirited to want to kill your own brother. There have been times when I have not liked my brother, but I have certainly never wanted to kill him.
However, Jesus said that there would be a time when a brother would betray a brother to death. When would that be? In the context of what Jesus is saying it is when a man’s belief becomes so strong in him that he is willing to kill his own flesh and blood.
In a sense, isn’t this what we are seeing in our world today? And especially, in the world of protestants versus Catholic? Both believe in the deity of Jesus Christ and yet they fight. And what good has it accomplished? No good. It certainly doesn’t convince the rest of the world to believe in Jesus.
And we see this perhaps to a different degree when people in different churches who have confessed Christ and have been baptized into Him fight and argue with one another over matters of opinions! And some claim the other will not go to heaven over things that don’t matter at all. We may well have strained a gnat and yet have swallowed a camel.
It is true, however, that whenever a person follows the truth of God there will always be someone to oppose him. Why is this? Because the devil got kicked out of heaven and he is still very mad about it and trying to get back at God!
Anyway you look at it, when you follow Jesus, you will have opposition at times.
PROP.- In our text, Jesus tells us what to do in the face of opposition in this world.
1- Stand your ground
2- Follow the leader
3- Panic Not
I. STAND YOUR GROUND
Matt. 10:22 "All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.”
Stand your guard regardless of the opposition.
ILL.- Someone said, “It’s a shame. Now that there’s no more praying in the schools, kids will have to go to motels to read the Bible. And if this keeps up even the Gideons will have to go underground.”
If you take a stand for God, Christ and the Bible the world will oppose you.
ILL.- Jul 14, 2006. HONOLULU (AP) - Junior Stowers raised his hands and exclaimed, "Thank you, Jesus!" in court last month when he was acquitted by a jury. But his joy was short-lived when Circuit Judge Patrick Border held him in contempt of court for the "outburst" and threw him in jail.
His attorney said, "I don’t think there’s anything about saying ’Thank you, Jesus’ that raises to the level of contemptuous behavior in this case. Stowers is a devoutly religious man active in his church who spontaneously expressed his thanks to the higher power in which he believed.”
Brothers and sisters, you would think that here in America you could praise the Lord anywhere, but apparently, not so. But so what?! We must realize that we are living in a hostile world that is basically opposed to Jesus!
I Pet. 4:12-16 “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.”
Brothers and sisters, we are living in what we call the Bible Belt, which covers a large area. And you are pretty safe when you bow your head in a restaurant and give thanks to the Lord for your food, but there are some places in this world where you couldn’t do that!
ILL.- Someone said that shortly after the Supreme Court outlawed prayer in public schools, a student heard her teacher sneeze and said, “God bless you!” The teacher replied, “Cut that out or we’ll both be in trouble.”
We must realize that we will face opposition in this world if we follow Christ. Sometimes that opposition may even come from our own families, sad to say. Sometimes the waters of our baptism separate us from our families. This is especially true in some foreign countries.
How are we to react when we are opposed? We must stand our ground for Christ but we certainly don’t have to be mean about it. Stand your ground but don’t be mean or obnoxious.
ILL.- Howard Hendricks said, "In the midst of a generation screaming for answers, Christians are stuttering." Stand your ground in regard to your faith in Christ, but be loving about it.
II. FOLLOW THE LEADER
Matt. 10:24-25 "A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!”
ILL.- My father, Leo Shepherd, drove a truck and hauled cattle out of the Joplin, MO, stockyards. He drove an International Harvester truck. And I’m not sure he ever drove a truck that had air conditioning on it. And I don’t know if my dad ever wanted my brother and me to drive a truck or not, but we didn’t.
But now my son Shane now drives an International Harvester truck for RC Cola, however, it’s a 2006 model with air conditioning. It’s far better than anything my dad ever drove, but in a sense, Shane has followed the leader, my father. And he is proud of that fact.
The home or house that I was raised in was not much by today’s standards. It wasn’t even much when I was a kid but it was home. It was and still is a small home. Both my son and daughter live in a much better home than I ever did as a child. And now I live in the nicest home I’ve ever had!
It seems today that we have the mentality that we should have it better than our parents did. We should have a better home or house, drive a better car and have many more luxuries. Or have the latest of everything.
Where do we get this thinking? Personally, I think it’s the world. The world is constantly preaching more and better to the point where we think it should be this way no matter what we do to get there…beg, borrow or steal!
Whatever happened to the mentality of doing without something until you could pay cash for it? Whatever happened to the idea of having to work hard and suffer somewhat in order to make it in life?
And even in Christianity everything seems to be made easier or else we want it easier: Comfortable buildings, great programs, lots of fellowship, more entertainment, short sermons, etc. I’m certainly not against these things, but it seems like our concept of following Christ should be easier than it was 20 to 50 years ago and certainly easier than the first Christians had it. None of this persecution business and so on.
And yet Jesus said, "A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master.”
If they persecuted Christ they will persecute us in some form or another, that is, if we follow our leader faithfully.
ILL.- Someone said, “Jesus had enough love to suffer for me, that I might have enough faith to suffer with him.” We must follow our leader no matter how tough it may get. The payoff will be worth it.
III. PANIC NOT
Matt. 10:28-31 "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. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
Ever have a panic attack or an anxiety attack? There are many things that can cause fear in our lives or make us panic.
ILL.- A preacher friend of mine asked me to go to Israel on a tour this coming November. I said, “No way.” However, it wasn’t out of fear that I said “no,” it was just that I had no desire to go. BUT THE TRIP WAS CANCELED ANYWAY IN THE LIGHT OF ALL THE TURMOIL IN ISRAEL.
For many, that is a panic or fearful situation. For those who think about going over there but especially, for those who live there. For those who live there, it would be awful. And if I lived there I might be having some panic attacks or worse. We just don’t know what it is like to live like that.
ILL.- And did you hear about that Crown Princess cruise ship that listed or titled 15 degrees in the water on Tuesday, July 18th? Two hundred and Forty passengers were hurt and more than 90 were taken to hospitals. One passenger said, "I figured it was over. I thought we were dead already," recalling that he prayed for his three adult sons and made his final confession.
At one time, Elaine and I had considered taking a cruise, BUT NOT NOW!
ILL.- On another note, while my daughter and her family were here visiting recently they went to St. Louis to do a few things: take the kids to the zoo, see a Cardinals ball game, and take a ride to the top of the Arch. After hearing about that ride, this ole boy is not going! If I go up, it will be in a plane or because the Lord comes back! I’m not afraid of anything; I’m just scared to death of heights!
Brothers and sisters, there are many things or situations in life that can bring fear or panic into our lives, but Jesus says, “fear not.” We are in His hands.
Jesus said, “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.”
Obviously, our greatest fear and respect should be for our Creator, not those who can only harm our bodies.
“Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
We need to stop worrying about some things in life. The Lord is on our side. He is behind us, with us and ahead of us. If he cares for the lowly sparrows of this world, then what about us?
It’s not that we can go out and live recklessly, but there are situations in life where we need to stop worrying and exhibit more faith.
ILL.- When my son Shane had major abdominal surgery when he was only 8 days old I am ashamed to say that I balled my head off. Did I pray? Of course, I prayed, but I was so afraid that I might lose him. I SHOULD HAVE HAD MORE FAITH. I should not have panicked so much. But we all do at times.
Panic not. The Lord will be with you and strengthen you.
CONCLUSION---------------------------
ILL.- I read a story about a guy who sold everything in order to place a bet in Las Vegas. The article stated: “A British man who has sold all his possessions, including his clothes, will stand in a rented tuxedo on Sunday and bet everything on a single spin of the roulette wheel. If he wins, he doubles his money. If he loses, he will be left with only the television crew documenting his every move.”
His net worth was $138,000 after he sold everything. And he made his bet on Easter Sunday. How ironic!
Brothers and sisters, in a sense we are making the same gamble. Some of us are betting everything we have on the fact that Jesus died for our sins and rose from the grave so that we could have eternal life. Some people, however, may be gambling that it is all just a nice story. If those who believe in Christ are wrong, they lose nothing. If those who do not believe in Christ are wrong, they lose everything — and worse. But if those of us who believe in Christ are right, we will go to heaven. Have you placed your bet on Christ?
No matter how difficult it is to follow Christ when we get to heaven we’ll realize it’s been worth it all!
