It is our intention in these services to adore you this morning and to look deeply into your word and find your worthiness for that adoration, O Lord, deep into our hearts of faith. We pray in Jesus' name and be seated this morning. Going to change it up a little this morning. I'm going to ask you to open your Bibles to Matthew chapter 10. Matthew chapter 10. Been in it for a while. There's a number of themes here that are worth looking at. I'm going to read to you verses 29 to 39 this morning. Matthew chapter 10, verses 29 to 39. And so the Lord says, are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your father's will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear, therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows. Therefore, whoever confesses me before men, I'll also confess before my Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies me before men, him I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven. Do not think I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, And a man's enemies will be those of his own household. 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. And he who does not take his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. He who finds his life will lose it. And he who loses his life For my sake, we'll find it. Father, we ask that you apply this teaching to our hearts this morning and make us the better, the more faithful for having trod this way in your word. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. And so I said to you last week as we began this section where Jesus takes his 12 hand-picked disciples and then warns them about all the troubles they're going to face because of the message that they bring with them. And for no other reason. The message is difficult to hear for many people. And so he begins here by telling them not to fear. Do not fear, therefore, you're of more value than many sparrows. And so he brings up this whole new section to encourage them. Now this section of chapter 10 of Matthew's gospel is a troubling and fearful passage as we have seen. Jesus commissions the 12 to go out into the countryside. He tells them to go into the cities, one after the other, and as you go, preach. And then he tells them, preach that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Now let's try to pull some of the details of this time together. Jesus' fame is already spread throughout the land. He's known as a great healer. He's known as a wise man. He came, he preached, he healed. There was nothing, there was no anomaly, no physical anomaly that he could not heal. Yet even though he came with such power and such willingness to bring comfort and restoration, immediate healing and restoration to his people, he still expected fierce opposition to the message. Even though he did all these wonderful, compassionate things, he still expected opposition. And so he sends out his 12 with dire warnings. And let's take a little review here. He says, behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. That's what he thought of the society of northern Israel where he sent them out. at the time. He said, be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. In other words, put on these two points of character. Be wise and harmless at the same time. Be wily. I like the old King James. Be wily as serpents. Beware of men, for they'll deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. Don't make light of the word scourge. It is a vicious term. It is not mere lashing or whipping. It is whipping until the skin comes off the bone. Jesus was scourged. They'll scourge you in their synagogues, he said. Brother will deliver up brother. You can't trust anybody. brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father, his child, and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. He goes on to tell them that they will be persecuted, and when they do, don't fight back, just move to the next city and go and be persecuted there as well. And yet in all of this turmoil, in all of this expected rejection and threatening, he tells them they're not to fear. You're not allowed to fear. That's not the proper response for persecution, not fear. And he tells them that they can't fear, because don't worry, all they can do is kill you. That's the worst they can do, is kill your body. I said last week, if the killing of the body was really killing, then evil would have won by now. In all this turmoil and rejection and threatening they are not to fear, he tells them that the words will come to them in their hour of need, when they're delivered up to councils, presumably in making their defense, as we saw the Apostle Paul do many times in the book of Acts, which hasn't, of course, happened yet. The words will come from the Spirit of God. The things that they should say will come from God in the hour that they need them. They don't have to rehearse them. They don't have to fret over them. So there's no reason to feel unattended during all this trial, during all this persecution. There's no reason to feel unattended by God. He is there. He has your case in mind. And though trial and danger and accusations and scourgings may come, it's God's will that the disciple not only endure it, but he endure it until the end. Either the end of his life or the end of the age, whichever comes first. He may not simply give in to fear. The disciple is not to be deterred from performing the commands of God, regardless of the spiritual and worldly forces that assemble to squelch it. The message must go out. For it is he who endures to the end who will be saved. And so through all the troubles and trials that confront us in this life, there is a divine assurance from Christ himself that the faithful one will always be attended by the sovereign one. And that's the point of the verses we have before us this morning, hence the sparrow illustration. Now, when this happens, I always picture the surroundings. Jesus is standing there somewhere in a field, or on a pavement of a city street, and people are gathered around. In this case, we know that the twelve disciples are there. Maybe there's no one else there. and he's talking to them and he's giving them these hard sayings and then he's thinking but how can I also encourage them to endure this which they must endure it is their destiny it is written before time began that these twelve would do this work at this time and would prevail and by the way they would also die for their trouble and so he's standing there And he's got them before him and they had to be a little fearful of like, did I really sign up for this? And then he heard the chirping of a bird in a tree and said, God cares for that Sparrow, but you are of much more value than the Sparrows. And so this whole illustration of the Sparrow. Comes into his mind to speak and he speaks it and Matthew records it. Friends, God is the creator of all things small and great. Jesus is reminding them of that. In the beginning he saw that all things were good. They're not all equal. Sparrows, people, they're not all equal. They're not all of the same value we're finding out, right? But they were all good, and we may be assured that God directs all things in this life according to their predetermined destinations. When we come to our end and we find our destiny, it will be a great surprise to us. But it won't be a surprise to God. It's been predetermined. It's already been written, as we'll see. And that's the essence of sovereignty. The essence of sovereignty is that the deity is in control. Now there's earthly kings and emperors we call sovereigns, but they have no real power. Jesus even said that to one of them. to one governor, right? You could have no power unless it was given to you from my father who has the real power, who is really directing all these things that are going on around us. And so we read last week, and do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul, but rather fear him who's able to destroy both body and soul in hell. As I read that, it reminds me of an old movie with George C. Scott called Patton. Anyone remember Patton? And he walked out and he was encouraging his soldiers and he said, and he said, I gotta help them lose their fear of the Germans, but God help them if they ever lose their fear of me. And Patton's taking on the place of God in that as the great general. But this is what God is saying. Don't fear men, but God help you if you lose your fear of me. In other words, friends, what happens in this life is only the beginning of your story. The end is in God's hand, and it's already written. There's no point fretting over it. He tells us not to worry. That's one of the hardest things to do, is not worry. The first thing that I do when I hear bad news is I start to worry. And I'm like, why am I doing this? It's already written. Or as Yul Brynner said back in the old Ten Commandments movie, so let it be written, so let it be done. All things considered, friends, it's the soul and not the body that is our ultimate concern. Now, we take care of our bodies quite a bit, don't we? Everybody's running, they get the Fitbit, get the heart rate up, you know, we're dieting. Everyone knows how to diet today. Nobody's losing weight, but everyone knows how to diet. We take shots today to lose weight, but we're taking care of our bodies. I hope we're taking care of our souls, right? And this is what this whole section is really about. Friends, in this country, it is the government that offers us a plan for our physical health. I'm on Medicaid, I'm Medicare, I'm sorry. Medicare's for old people, Medicaid's for poor people. So I'm on Medicare, right? I'm on Medicare, the government is paying for me because I'm old enough and contributed enough in my life for that. So the government gives you a medical plan for your body, but friends, it's supposed to be the church that gives you a health plan for your soul. The church is supposed to help you take care of your soul. And we're seeing the government's involvement in health bleed over into the area of the soul. They're taking over. They're taking over the church's place in that. These things ought not to be so. One Christian writer noted this trend from World Magazine, Andrea Sue Peterson. Some of you read World Magazine. She writes this. The 21st century West, that's us, in our time, is a place where normal human struggles of a thousand generations of young people are suddenly seen as a pathology. In other words, if you've got trouble in this life, there's something wrong with you, you need a pill. And it's a pathology to be labeled and treated and numbed with meds. That's the government trying to fix our souls. And then she writes, courtesy of a wildly lucrative pharmaceutical industry that entices into a dark labyrinth from which few ever escape. Once you start down that road, it's hard to get out of it. As we know, drugs are very powerful things. Friends, it's the soul that is our essence. We don't give it up. You know, I was thinking this morning as we were singing one of the songs of, um, Martin Lloyd-Jones' definition of a Puritan. If I was to give it in one word, he would say, a Puritan is a resistor. He's suspicious of authority. He's not willing to let illegitimate authority tell him what to do. He strives for only legitimate authority. The Christian has to get that spirit back. That's why Martin Lloyd-Jones, when you were to ask him who was the first Puritan, he'll say Martin Luther. Now, Puritan is usually a title you give to a political party in England. But he says, no, Martin Luther. And then his second one would be like William Tyndale. People who went against the authorities to do what God did, to do what Peter and John did in chapter 4 of the Book of Acts. Whether it is right to obey you or God, you judge. So the soul is our essence, the body is earthly and visible and I think we know quite fragile. The soul is heavenly and invisible and quite indestructible, at least by any earthly or human device, right? And so, Andrea Peterson goes on to note this very thing, saying of one mental patient that she knows, a woman, the Bible declares that there is a God in heaven who loves her. And this was the healing news for this lady. There is a God in heaven who loves her. He's not the God of confusion that scrambled up your thoughts. That happened from somewhere else. It's your responsibility to look out for your soul. But praise God, he's on your side in this. And so she goes further. He knows her to the depths because he formed her in the womb. Don't ever think that your problems are unique or unknown to God. He binds up broken hearts. He binds them up, friends. He bandages the heart, which is the spirit, right? He offers hope and a future, giving meaning to temporary sufferings. Let me tell you what sufferings are. There's only one kind, temporary. They're all temporary if you're in Christ. God help you if you're not. Sufferings are only for a time. He forgives sin so that we can start again with a clean conscience, Andrea writes. He proffers trustworthy rules for living that we may escape our moribund, self-sabotaging ways. Moribund means leading to death. So the God who cares for the sparrow The father who declares that you and me are of more value to him than many sparrows knows every detail of the depth of our beings, the scale of our hearts fondest longings, and he retained sovereign control over our every minute concern and life circumstance. Nothing takes God by surprise. Or as my old friend, Gwen Kimball used to say, God is not at his wits end. We are sometimes, but God is not. Peter spoke of this very thing when he said, therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your cares upon him because he cares for you. All your cares upon him. Someone said to me once, Christians are always saying, give it to God, give it to God. Too bad we turned it into a cliche. Poor guy didn't know what it meant anymore. Turn your cares, cast your cares upon God in prayer, for he cares for you. He's waiting to hear you unload your misgivings, your disappointments upon him. One version says it this way, cast all your anxieties upon him. For the believer, faith in God is our anxiety medicine. Someone said of me the other day that Dan doesn't believe in mental illness. Well, I follow after the teaching of J. Adams in this regard, and I do believe there are mental illnesses, but I don't believe there are as many mental illnesses as society today would like to label. Having a hard time in life and being sad about it or disappointed is not a mental illness, and it's not something you need drugs for, but it is something that you need faith for. So for the believer, faith in God is a sort of anxiety medicine. It's our depression medicine also. We're not to think that life's trials are strange. And friends, we're not even to think of them as unwelcomed. They're part of the plan. For they, our troubles, like the sparrows, are all what? In the hand of God. And they're in the plan of God. He says sparrows fall to the ground. They have their troubles, apparently. Peter writes again, he said, Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you. It's not a strange thing that you're in trouble or that you're troubled in heart or soul. Do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though some strange thing happened to you, but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's suffering, that when his glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. Now, there is a point of instruction here. We call it a teaching moment today. You see, according to the premier apostle of Christ, bad times, dire circumstances are not an indication that God is not with you. Now, have you ever felt that way? Times are really tough. What did I do to deserve this? We all think that way at times, don't we? It's not an indication. When you fall into troubles and trials in life, that's not an indication that God has left you according to Peter. That's an indication that He's still working in your life. Hard times are the proof that He's with you. Let's recount the assurances from the great sermon again, where the Lord says to the multitudes who follow Him, Look at the birds of the air. Once again, look at creation. Look at the birds of the air. They neither toil, or rather, they neither sow nor reap, nor gather into barns. Yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? You see, he's preaching the same thing again here as he did in the Sermon on the Mount. Which of you, by worrying, can add one cubit to his statute? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they neither toil nor spin. And yet I say to you that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? And surely this little reference to the sparrows reminded them of what they heard on the mount that day in Galilee. And so he concludes with them, therefore, do not worry. God takes care of the minute things of life. Not only the sparrows, which are small and diminutive creatures, He takes care of the grass, the flowers, the leaves. Everything's in His care. Therefore do not worry what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear, for after all these things the Gentiles seek. In other words, the people outside of the covenant with God seek those things. Your Heavenly Father knows that you need all these things, but he does give you an application. Applications are always priorities. Prioritization. Seek first the Kingdom of God. You can seek all those things, but seek first the Kingdom of God. You may find if you seek first the Kingdom of God, you may not have to seek all those other things. And that's what he insinuates here. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Friends, let me tell you about reality. It only exists in the moment. Tomorrow's reality does not exist. To worry about tomorrow is to worry about something that doesn't exist. And that's what the Lord is trying to put into our minds. It doesn't want to go in, I know. But that's what he's telling us. Paul writes of the same thing where he says, in him we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of him who, what, works all things according to the counsel of his will. Not the important things, not some things, all things. So you must be wondering, if the church is the health provider of the soul, what is my co-pay? I was thinking we ought to have a little sliding window at the front of the church door. And as people pull up, first you let them stand there a while, even though you're behind the glass and you know they're there, you don't notice them. You're like this, you're going like this. And you look up, oh yes, what is it? And you open the glass. And they say, your name. The other day, I went to the doctor. The woman said, what's your name? I said, Dan Kasiri. She looks down through the thing. You're here to see Dr. Patel? And I said, yes. And she said, date of birth? And I said, I don't know Dr. Patel's date of birth. No idea. No idea what his date of birth is. But the guy next to me goes, can I use that? And I said, absolutely, you can use that. And she was a very nice girl, and she put up with my antics. But the next thing you want to know is, what does it cost me? What's the copay? It's the application. It's the application. The agency, whether it's God or the government, does this part, but you have to contribute this part. So what's the copay? I told you before, the copay for a life in the hand of Almighty God is very expensive. It is indeed that pearl of great price for which a new believer must sell all he has to obtain it. I've told you many times, and every evangelical preacher worth his salt will say the same thing. Salvation is free. We all know that, right? Salvation is free. There's nothing you could do to earn it. It's unearnable. By us, Christ earned it. Christ earned it. Salvation is free, and of that there is no doubt. But the Savior also told us discipleship may cost you everything. It's been asked, what will you give in exchange for eternal life with God? And Jesus spoke of it this way. If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. And then he says this very famous passage here. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? Jesus is saying it could cost you your life, but don't fear that. So the Savior changes direction in his discourse. He moves from dire warnings to all these little affectionate assurances about the sparrow. And he does so by noting that the God of all the world is a detail-oriented God. God is up there sweating the small stuff. He cares about the little things. The seed on the plant that the sparrow will find to eat. He cares about the small things. Not the smallest thing in creation escapes His notice. Nothing is outside His control. Nothing is beside His concern. He's concerned, just like you would be concerned when your son or daughter comes to you with a great trouble that you think's kind of trifling, and it's just something you go through in life, right? Rite of passage type thing. But they are all worried about it, but you're there with all your knowledge and all your experience, but you still have to take it seriously. That's how God is. And so all of history, friends, all of creation is a patchwork of woven pieces, a tapestry of interconnected parts that are all placed and oriented according to his ultimate plan. Every part. And so the Lord turns to the discussion of the sparrow. And from there to the discussion of the minute details of human life. And so we read, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Now some of us have spent our adult lives making that easy for the Lord. On its face, a comparison of the value of a sparrow and the worth of a disciple of Christ, or even many sparrows for that matter, may seem a bit trifling. You might be thinking, big deal. He loves me more than a sparrow. Did anybody think that? That's because you're good Christians. You might think it a bit trifling. You might be thinking, big deal, I'm loved more than a diminutive creature flitting about the trees. The thought that I'm more important to God than these little worm eaters, these ubiquitous short-lived warblers. It's hardly impressive or endearing. Yet the Lord uses the comparison to administer a level of comfort following the charge of the previous passage to go out into a dangerous and inhospitable society to preach a contentious and unwavering message. Now, I wonder sometimes why he chooses to use certain illustrations. And I wondered about this one. But there are a couple of factors that might explain his choice of comparisons. First, the place that sparrows had in Jewish folklore. There was a lot about sparrows in Jewish folklore. Extra-biblical stuff, and some biblical stuff. And secondly, the idea that even the smallest, most insignificant of earthly creatures, in every minute aspect of their birth, and flight, and care, and even their death, what he calls their falling to the ground, does not escape the all-seeing eye of our Heavenly Father. He hasn't missed it. He hasn't missed the death of the sparrow, and he hasn't missed the minute details of your life. And so neither do the tiny concerns of his beloved escape his notice, his care, and his intervention. And as to the first point, there's some extra biblical legends corresponding to sparrows. Do you know any of them? Have you heard any of them in Jewish folklore? They're said to be a symbol of joy. They're said to be a symbol of foreboding as well in some legends. The song of birds, though, for the most part, was happiness and an indication that all is well in the land. There was a legend at the time that with all the ornate carvings on Solomon's throne, that one such carving was of a sparrow. Some rabbinic teachings spoke of a whole menagerie of various animals, including a golden sparrow associated with the throne of Solomon. These were said to assist the king in his many arduous tasks and decisions. And though such things are not stated in scripture and hardly seem likely, they were perhaps alluded to by the Lord knowing that popular culture had knowledge of these ideas. As to the second point with regard to God's sovereignty, with regard to God's omnipresence, the fact that he's everywhere, with regard to his omniscience, the fact that he sees and knows everything that all of us see and know, The falling of a sparrow to the earth, the death of a single bird anywhere in creation does not escape his notice. He's conscious of every minute detail of his creation and he remains lord over it. That's the essence of sovereignty. Friends, if we're going to rest our minds and our hearts and our souls on any aspect of God's character. It would be his sovereignty. He's in charge. It would seem that the most significant aspect of Jesus' reference to sparrows is their relative insignificance. The most significant thing about the sparrow in this encounter is their insignificance, or seeming insignificance in the whole scheme of things. Apparently, sparrows are important to God. And so we read, are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin and not one of them falls to the ground apart from your father's will? So the Lord's first reference with regard to sparrows must have been a thing that everyone could relate to. Sparrows are a cheap source of food. In fact, the smallest denomination of Hebrew currency doesn't buy you one, but two sparrows. I remember when a penny got you a couple pieces of candy. It was still like that there. And a sparrow, I got to tell you, there's not much to eat on a sparrow. I went out to eat. I went out to eat once a bunch of years ago. Karen and I were in Northern California. We were up in the Napa Valley area. And we went into a really nice restaurant. And they had quail on the menu. Now, my father used to hunt quail. They called it potridge. Same thing, right? And so I ordered the quail. And I thought I was getting a couple of things that are these little tiny and it's in a quail way outweighs the sparrow I would think I'm looking at Donny because he's kind of an outdoors guy. But sparrows, man, you need a whole dish full of sparrows to make a meal I would think by today's standards at least. are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin. So they're a cheap source of food for even the smallest denomination of Hebrew currency will buy you not one but two sparrows. It's hard to believe. And we read this, even the sparrow has found a home and the swallow a nest for herself where she may lay her young. Psalm 84. Sparrows were in Hebrew culture, in Hebrew thought, down through the ages. In another place, we read this. He sends the springs into the valleys. They flow among the hills. They give drink to every beast of the field. The wild donkeys quench their thirst. By them, the birds of the heaven have their home. They sing among the branches. He waters the hills from his upper chambers. The earth is satisfied with the fruit of your works. He causes the grass to grow for the cattle. God feeds all the creatures and cares for them and determines their lifespan and the moment of their demise. And after this, the psalmist speaks of God's provision for man in the same way. And so he goes on. He talks about God feeding all the creatures of the field, even the grasses, with the waters. And he writes, in vegetation for the service of man, that he may bring forth food from the earth, and wine that makes glad the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread which strengthens man's heart. Friends, it ought to encourage us that we're part of creation. And with regard to the Lord's loving attendance over us from beginning to end, David the psalmist writes this, my frame was not hidden from you when I was made in secret and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance being yet unformed. And in your book they were all written, the days fashioned for me when as yet there were none of them." What a marvelous piece of scripture that is. My days were fashioned for me when as yet there was none of them. Matthew's reminders from the Sermon on the Mount to our verses today may be the first New Testament reference to the meticulous care that the Lord bestows upon his beloved. Beware there are, or rather, there are a plethora of other assurances. Oh, the gospel of God is full of assurances. From the book of Romans, Paul assures us that all things work together for good. To those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose. Friends, if the death of a sparrow can garner the Lord's attention, how much more the life of a saint. And so Paul writes, I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor power, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. The most important word in that whole Passage, with regards to assurances, is the word us. Make sure you know that you're one of the us. And then he goes on, as it is written, for your sake we're killed all day long. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Yet in all things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Friends, conquerors win an earthly battle. Saints win the whole thing. Therefore, whoever confesses me before men, him I will confess before my Father who is in heaven. That's who the us is. There's your hint. The us is those who confess Christ before men. Speak well of me before men, he says, and I'll speak well of you before God. And he says the opposite. Speak poorly of me or badly of me before men, and I'll speak badly of you before God. And he's faithful to carry that out. The hearers that day should have left the meeting bragging to their friends, you won't believe the deal I just got. All I have to do is embrace Jesus Christ and God will embrace me. They should have left there thinking, what a deal. It's a steal. It seems a, it's a no-brainer. But when trouble, isn't the gospel a no-brainer? I don't know how people reject it. But then trouble comes. They think, what a great deal I got. All I have to do is claim Christ as my savior, and I'll be with God for eternity. And Christ will speak well of me before him, and I'll get in, and I'll be there with God in a nice place for eternity. But then trouble comes in our lives. Even still, we were so moved by the present, we became reluctant to save up for the future. The more the Savior says, the more difficult it is to represent him before an evil and adulterous generation. In other words, Jesus keeps talking. You've already claimed him, but he keeps talking and he comes up with some pretty hard sayings, the so-called hard sayings of scripture. Verse 34, do not think I came to bring peace on earth. That's a hard saying. Do not think I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. That's where the nominal believer, the earthly-minded disciple, the politically correct follower must object. I remember years ago, there was a news journalist, he's still around, his name was Bill O'Reilly. And you know O'Reilly, and I like O'Reilly. But he wrote a series of history books. He's sort of a student of history. He wrote a series of books, and I've read some of them, and they were good. But he wrote one called Killing Jesus. And you know I had to read that. You're looking at me like you didn't know that. He wrote a book, Killing Kennedy, Killing Lincoln, and then he throws in Killing Jesus. And I thought, I got to read this and see what he says. So here he is. He's writing a book about Jesus as a historical figure. And I read it, and some of you read it, and you had me read it along with you so that you would ask me questions about it. And he had so much wrong. It was amazing. And someone came on to his news show that he had in the evening, and I was watching it. And they said to him, you know, Jesus said, I did not come to bring peace but a sword. And he said, he never said it. Didn't even know. He said, Jesus never said that. the expert who's writing books about the life of Christ, the historical figure, had never read the gospel. And I don't say that to disparage a man. I say that to be careful where you get your information. And this is a guy who on many levels, I would respect his opinion on certain things. So this is where the nominal believer, the earthly-minded disciple, the politically correct follower must object. They hear that Jesus said such things and then they say this, not the Jesus I know. The world loves our little caricature of Jesus. We love our little blue-eyed Jesus with the long combed hair. He's the guy who gave us bracelets that say, what would Jesus do? And t-shirts that say, this blood's for you. I've seen that t-shirt. It's one of the most blasphemous things I think I've ever seen. So when they're asked, what would Jesus do? Their answer will always be, well, Jesus would do the polite thing. He'd do the nice thing. He'd do the peaceful, the encouraging, the affirmative thing. And so they create this little caricature, this little unreal Jesus. And as soon as he steps out of the box, He's not the Jesus they know anymore. It's not always easy to confess Jesus before men. That brother will deliver up brother and a father his child. The family members will put their parents to death. The children will put their parents to death. Those are difficult sayings. And what would Jesus do? He'd say, love me more than you love your own family. That's what he would do. That's what he just did. He spoke of the violent taking heaven by force. He spoke of the faithful eating his flesh and drinking his blood. And after that, we read from the Gospel of John, and many of his disciples that day said, this is a hard saying. Who can understand it? And they followed him no more. There's always believing disciples and unbelieving disciples, and they're always mixed together until they get to the place where Jesus disappoints them. or just confuses them. And so Jesus says, 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. Loving your children more than Christ is an abominable idolatry. And the nominal Christian would ask, who does this guy think he is? I mean, I'm willing to, you know, let you into my heart for a little while, but you gotta be reasonable, Lord. He's not always reasonable. Friends, if you won't take faith into the hard places and let it guide you to following after the hard sayings, your faith is in vain. And we may say with what Paul said in such cases, he said this to the Corinthians, you know, imagine You have the old creed, Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again, right? You can't leave any parts of it out or it's not a Christian creed anymore. But apparently there was some doing that in Corinth and so Christ, I mean Paul writes this to the Christians at Corinth, now if Christ is preached that he's been raised from the dead, how do some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? It's been preached, this is our religion, Christ was raised from the dead. And Paul goes on to reason with them. But if there's no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. You have a faith in a savior that couldn't save himself? What are you, one of the scorners at the cross? And then he goes on, yes, and we're found false witnesses of God because we've testified of God that he raised up Christ, whom he did not raise up, if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile. You're still in your sins. then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable." In other words, if our creeds, if our doctrine, if our understanding of the Word of God doesn't take us all the way to glory, all the way to our own resurrection, we are of all people the most pitiable, because we went around saying something that we didn't even believe. So take a moment to consider, there was the Savior standing there in the flesh. They couldn't just see him. I mean, they didn't just hear him, they saw him. They could look into his eyes when he said these things. And when they looked into his eyes, they could see eternity. Imagine how your troubles will play in eternity, friends. Think of the troubles you have. Even some of us who our whole lives are filled with trouble, right? A whole life shattered by difficulties cannot compare to the reward of faith, of a faith-filled life in eternity with God. Friends, life is a speck on the page. Eternity is the page. So surely the prophet was on to something when he declared, my people perish for lack of vision. Proverbs 29, 18. So let me paraphrase Solomon who said, whatever you get, get wisdom. I would say whatever you get, get vision. Get perspective. Get real about Christ. And know that the Lord who cares for the sparrow cares more for you. In the midst of your trouble, don't cry out to God that he's not with you. He's with you. He's walking through it with you. He's already endured it himself. The Lord who feeds and nourishes the small things, the Lord who clothes the lilies of the field in splendor, will much more clothe you and I in that same splendor. And remember that he who is provider to the sparrow is father to you and me. Father, put these assurances in the hearts of Christian people again today, for your word has gone out and will not come back to you void. And it will accomplish those things for which it was intended. Accomplish those things in us and in this church. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.