The Ultimate Fear

In Matthew chapter 10 for those who can kill about fear not, who are unable to kill or perish your soul into eternal judgment, but rather be in reverential awe, this a literal translation be in reverential awe of he who is able to judge both the body and the soul into eternal condemnation is of the words of the Lord Jesus. In fact, in those six verses six verses three times. Jesus said, fear not, fear not feeling up and as I bring this short series of messages on conquering fear.

I want to focus on these three fear knots in those six verses in Matthew chapter 10 verses 24 to 31. Turn with me please. And as you are finding the passage in the word of God.

Let me remind you again that the church of the apostles mission and vision is that we are to equip the saints words of the apostle Paul to the Ephesians for the work of the ministry that the church mission and vision is to equip the believers to be witnesses for Jesus Christ to equip the believers so that they might bring men and women Boys and Girls Club to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and our role model for doing this is not other than the Lord Jesus himself.

He is the one we see calling his disciples, he is the one who equip his disciples, he is the one who trained his disciples.

Why so that they may go out and tell the truth about the gospel of Jesus Christ so that they may speak the truth of the gospel so that they may proclaim the truth of the gospel so that they may live the truth of the gospel all but the just a little problem whenever you speak the truth of the gospel and proclaim the truth of the gospel and live the truth of the gospel you going to face persecution you gonna face suffering and going to face rejection and of course Satan loves to use persecution and rejection and suffering in order to intimidate us into silence in order that he may frighten us into capitulation so that he may scare us into mediocrity more than the average Christian who lives an average Christian life of homegrown lifestyle today. Just trying to survive just trying to make life as comfortable as possible.

Just trying to make ends meet. Just trying to make a living just trying to keep afloat just trying to put out fires. Satan loves it. He absolutely loves the believer to be living that way and then with course we hit an economic crisis like the one we have been facing and will be facing for a while. What happens all of a sudden.

Most of the true believers those the children of the living God begin to set up and take notice. They begin to re-arrange and reorganize and rethink their priorities in life.

What we going through right now can be one of the greatest blessings that we have seen in the modern Christian history because it brings us back to basics it brings us back to evaluating life. It brings us back to evaluating our priorities in life with. It brings us back to evaluating our purpose for living, for so long we got so focused on the blessings of God is given us and God says he remember the one who blessed you and in the middle of this process of reevaluating our priorities in life and in the middle of this process of reevaluating our purpose for living Lord Jesus Christ hearing those words is saying to us, fear not, that you have absolutely no reason on God's earth to be fearful like the others that you have no reason to panic like the rest of society that you have no reason to allow fear to intimidate you to confuse you or to silence you, or to defeat you or to hold you hostage or to keep you captive and some with me please at these three fear knots. Matthew 1024 to 31 number one. He said fear not for the truth will ultimately triumph verses 26 and 27. Secondly, he said.

Fear not because heaven is your destiny and your destination. Verse 28.

Thirdly, he said.

Fear not because God has everything under control. Verses 29 to 31.

Fear not because the truth will ultimately triumph regardless of what it looks like now, regardless of how it feels now.

Regardless of what you see happening now. The truth will always ultimately triumph. Look at verse 26, so do not be afraid of them who are them anything and anybody that's causing your fear. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. Beloved, please listen to me. I know and you know that we live in the time where the truth has become a victim of political correctness that the truth is now the casualty of so-called pluralism that the truth is being drowned for the sake of avoiding cynicism that the truth is distorted for the sake of popularity that the truth is being mounted for the sake of self-preservation that the truth is being silenced for the sake of false peace that is not lasting but for those who walk with God. Those who love the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who walk with him in the secret places. Those who commune with him and commune with his word in the secret places those who hear his voice through his word in the secret places. Those of us who exercise daily intimacy with God in the secret places fear we have no reason to fear. Why, because we know that the truth will ultimately be manifested.

Sooner or later, we know the truth is going to be vindicated. Sooner or later the truth ultimately is going to be revealed the truth will be the Bible said like the moonlight day, the truth cannot be hidden forever. It cannot be covered up for too long, it cannot be destroyed, and it cannot be silenced forever and those of us who have put our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ were sooner or later we will be vindicated publicly before the whole world before the whole earth, and therefore, fear not, as Jesus is saying why because God has bound himself to vindicate his faithful children. God has bound himself to triumph through its God has bound himself to ultimately exalt righteousness and condemn and judge sin and deception. When James the six threatening to hang or exile Andrew Melville Melville of answer was you cannot hang or exile truth. Therefore, a child of the living God is been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ should not fear will not fear will not be intimidated but rather speak the truth in love, and are back in the days of Jesus his earthly ministry.

If somebody wants to announce something. Basically he would go up to the rooftop of the house. Small villages everybody lives within a very short distance within a very close confines of you gets up on the rooftop and he will yell out whatever is amounts that's what the rooftop is all and she begged and of course it did not have megaphones they did not have stadiums or Jumbotron's rep guys propose to girls to marry them. You know Jesus or will you marry me in the middle of a ballgame. Then have newspapers we come by and a page thereafter advertise now Nana back then in each village.

Everyone who wanted the villages to know something or just get up on the rooftop and announce it and everybody gets it, is what Jesus is saying is saying that our words that our lives are a big billboard announcing the presence of the holy God in our lives there now sitting the truth without fear. Fear not because the truth will ultimately triumph. Secondly, fear not because heaven is your destination. Look at verse 28, but do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul and the word here is judging judgment, eternal judgment nothing and killing to an end, but continuously judging in eternity, but rather be in reverential awe of who can destroy and judge the body and the soul in Haiti or hell. What is Jesus saying is what Jesus say listen carefully. Please. There may be a price to pay for standing firm for the truth of the gospel. There might be a price to pay for being faithful to Christ. There may be a price for speaking the truth from the rooftop and not hiding. There may be a price that may be a rejection.

It may be haunting.

It may be maligning it may be isolating and alienating.

In fact I know for a fact that some of our young people are literally taunted and persecuted for the sake of their sexual purity. I know for a fact that when our young people in the schools refused to compromise their convictions.

They suffered rejection mint businesses in other occupations you must suffer ridicule. You must suffer persecution for the span for moral consciousness public a letter to Gov. due to the monster can do the most peculiar and that is the biggie right as the ultimate in fear.

Fear of death. I know I know I understand well. Fear of death, that is the big one. Talk about fear of this in fear of that but that's really the Mr. big one so ultimate but Martin Luther saying years ago.

The body they may kill, but God's truth about the still, they can't take away my eternal life because the moment I close my eyes, and death in the presence of the Lord Jesus.

What Jesus is saying. He said because I will never never never touch your eternal life. They can never, never, never take away from you the gift of eternal life that Jesus gave you by his grace. They can never change your destination from heaven to help. They can never do it is what Jesus is saying that God who is the great judge. He is the one in the last day he will judge the whole world on the basis of either accepting the Lord Jesus Christ the Savior or rejecting him and he therefore ought to be the only one, and he alone because he's the only one who can save or terminate or condemn eternally. Because he and he alone can save or judge, and therefore revere him alone, bound to him alone by him alone honor him alone. I know some of you stumble over the fact this is fear him talk about feeling the Lord is the only one who can destroy is only one who consent to enter judgment, but let me explain to you fearing God here means reference to his Majesty, it's referencing his sovereign power, fearing here is seeking to please him above all else, fearing God means deeply desiring to honor him a fearing here means that you have a deep longing in your heart to obey him even when you stumble and fumble all over the place.

God honors the desire Bishop to Latimer was preaching one day in the presence of Henry VIII, King Henry was there sitting in the front pew and Hugh Latimer as he was preaching he began to have some thoughts about what he's about to say. He knew Henry VIII is renowned for chopping the heads of anybody disagreed with his got several wives heads to prove it. And so when he say what he planned to say or what he save his skin and not say what you plan to say and it was a dilemma for the godly man so in the middle of his sermon in the middle of his sermon, he began to have an audible conversation with himself and imagine I'm stop in the middle of the summer start talking myself or Michael Michael Europe.

He would say you need some counseling.

But Latimer did exactly that.

Right in the middle of the sermon he's in love, remember that the king of England is here so be careful what you say in the right immediately, almost in the next breath he said all but Latimer Latimer, remember that the King of Kings is here. Be careful what you do not say eventually of course for his unflinching faithfulness to biblical truth. Latimer was burnt at the stake, as well as many others. No wonder it was said of many of those faithful servants of God that they feared man so little because they feared God so much fear not because the truth will ultimately triumph. Secondly, fear not because heaven is your destination furtively. Fear not because God has everything under control. His were Jesus said this in his words are not two sparrows sold for a penny yet not one of them will fall literally would hop around all work alight or move apart from the will of your father, and even the very hairs of your head are numbered sparrows with the least small is going to come to the sentiment that here in a bag.

Then remember here is probably the least important in people's focus is what he chose. They had no bad headaches, pregnant. I was not important. I was the least of their thinking. Mineral otherwise but not the hair, and a slice specifically picked up the hair.

So don't be afraid.

Here's the third time they are afraid you are worth more than many sparrows is what Jesus is saying listen to me.

Beloved, listen to me listen is saying that every one of his own. His father, everyone who has Jesus for Savior and Lord is so intensely love by the heavenly father. In fact what Jesus is doing is what Peter and the others did later on in the epistles.

He literally took all the promises that were applicable to Israel in the Old Testament, and he applied them to the believers in the New Testament church and God promised that you are carried on his shoulders that you're engraved on the palms of his hands, that he who touches you, touches the apple of his eye, and that is why he said therefore memo asset you whenever you see the word therefore you find out what is therefore therefore for seat at that time two sparrows could be bought with the smallest coin ever stuck in those days in the room is right than the NIV says penny that's our smallest coin initiative transliterate the meaning is 1/16 of a denarius and that's what how much a two sparrows were sold for those cheap things going hop around without the permission of the heavenly father. How much more valuable are those who are his sons and daughters how much more valuable of those who been redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ his only son when he says that every detail of your life, not just the present life.

But the future is all not only known to him, but under his control because that's how much he loves his own. He said, not even one of the hundred and 40,000 hairs on your head will fall come up in the brush this morning and the comb he knows exactly what number that was 99,125 cameras this morning. He knew everything and if God takes interest in the minutest details of the hairs on your head how much more does he take interest on your need and the meeting of your needs.

That's what that's why should not fear. That's why you should not fear, but rather seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all of your needs are going to be met at his time in his way seek to make him known. First seek to testify to him first seek to sacrifice for his work.

First get the gospel out to the ends of the earth first and then watch out, watch out and see how God is going to meet all of you need not some of your needs with all of your needs. I want to tell you this, as I conclude it's a true story obviously recorded in history books, the dreadful brutal dictator of Rome, known as Nero was so paranoid that he would literally dip the Christians in tar and let them light the pathway to the parties that he would have in his palace, brutal man hated Christians he chose selected the finest athletic physical specimen of all of Roman empire and they wear the restless of his day, but then he chose those wrestlers to be actually his private army that he would send on special missions. This wrestlers motto when something like this. We wrestlers wrestling for you. All Emperor to wearing for you the victory and from use of the victor's crown. Listen to those words again because they're very important to the story we wrestlers wrestling for you. All Emperor to wearing for you the victory and from you. The victor's crown.

This wrestlers/soldiers were given a special assignment to go to goal which modern-day France and that was in the dead of winter. And while there there in goal. Many of them became believers in Jesus were converted to Christ. There converted to the Lord Jesus and received them a savior and Lord. Upon hearing this news, Nero become enraged and he ordered the commander a man by the name of Vespasian, he ordered him to kill every soldier/wrestler who would refused to recant and renounce their faith in Christ and renew their allegiance and worship to Nero when Nero's order was received by the captain, the commander he was so distort their were encamped at the time on the shore of a frozen lake. As I said in the dead of winter. He did not want to see these fine men be killed, many of whom were his friends. So he came out and he said how many of you have been converted to Christ. 40 step forward.

He said to them is that I give you until tomorrow, sundown tomorrow to recant and renounce your faith in Jesus Christ. The time came, but none of them would do it. Their diffuse they held tenaciously to the newfound faith in Christ than the captains again so torn. I don't want to kill these men. I don't want I don't want to see them killed by the hand of their fellow soldiers.

So he ordered the 40 men stripped of their arm is in the closed and to walk naked into that frozen lake throughout the night. He and the other soldiers were warming themselves by the fire of the shore. Hearing the singing of the 40 faithful believers is how they say 40 wrestlers wrestling for you all.

Christ, to wearing for you the victory and from use of the victor's crown as the night wore off the singing roofing to and fainter and fainter and as morning began to draw near dawn there was a lone figure came out of that frozen lake into the rest of the group and he confessed that his faith is not strong enough to face death but the voices of the others fade, as it were kept on singing 39 wrestlers wrestling for you in Christ. Upon hearing this, Vespasian became so moved that he himself is the commander took off his armor, took off his clothes and he marched into the frozen lake joined the others and he began to sing with a loud voice. 40 wrestlers wrestling for you or Christ to wearing for you the victory and from you.

The victor's crown for not because the truth will ultimately triumph. Fear not because heaven is your destination. Fear not because everything is under God's control. Our father, what an honor and the privilege to worship the great and mighty God we don't worship useless idols of false men and false prophets, false gods father, we thank you that we worship the living God, who created heaven and earth, Lord, we thank you that you have called us to be your sons and daughters and you called us not to live in fear, but to walk in faith and father.

We rejoice in you and father.

We know no matter what happens we are walking with the King of Kings and Lord of lords, the one who promised never to leave us nor forsake us. The one who promised that when we seek you first with all of our heart and your righteousness in your kingdom, that all of our needs will be met through the riches of Jesus. Father, we thank you that you're not affected by the economy that you have a different set of books that you reward your faithful children your way and we rejoice in who you are. We thank you that you give or take away that you are in charge and that you are home and that you and you alone are God, with whom going to spend eternity strengthen the heart of your children for Jesus say thanks for listening to this message from Dr. Michael. You sat recently featured on leading the way. If you'd like to know more about us, please visit LTW.org that's LTW.org