The Hairs Of Your Head All Numbered

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.”