The Gospel Demands Radical Compassion

Some Christians wrongly assume that the safest place to be is in the center of God’s will. However, if we’re going to follow Jesus and demonstrate radical compassion toward those in need, then safety should not be our ultimate concern. In this message from Matthew 9:35–10:42, David Platt points out that the danger of our lives may actually increase as we follow God’s will. But the good news is that the One who sends us out into the world has promised to be with us, to sustain us, and to give us an eternal reward based on the salvation that he has provided.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
You are listening to Radical with David Platt, a
weekly podcast with sermons andmessages from pastor, author and
teacher David Platt.
We are in a series callingRadical what the Gospel Demands.
Most of the year, up to thispoint, we have been talking
about the gospel and theimplications of the gospel for

(00:24):
our lives.
If we really believe thisgospel, it changes everything
about how we live.
If we don't believe this gospel, then routine, perfunctory
religious motion and activitymake sense.
We're just playing games anywayon Sundays.

(00:48):
But if we believe this gospel,the implications are radical for
the way we view our lives, forthe way we view the church, for
the way we view those who arelost and the way we view those
who are poor and the way we viewthose who are poor.
This morning we're going tolook at the way the gospel

(01:10):
radically changes the way weview the lost, the way we view
people who do not have arelationship with Christ.
Gospel demands radicalcompassion.
I want to show you twoingredients of radical
compassion in Matthew 9 and 10today.
Number one I want to show youtwo ingredients of radical
compassion in Matthew 9 and 10today.
Number one I want to show you,in the Word, supernatural
awareness of the condition ofthe lost.

(01:31):
First ingredient of radicalcompassion is a supernatural
awareness of the condition ofthe lost, and second ingredient
is a sacrificial obedience tothe commission of Christ.
Supernatural awareness of thecondition of the lost and
sacrificial obedience to thecommission of Christ.
Supernatural awareness of thecondition of the lost and
sacrificial obedience to thecommission of Christ.
You bring these two together,you've got the radical

(01:51):
compassion that the gospeldemands, that the gospel
requires.
Remember, we're talking aboutcoming to Jesus on his terms.
And we come to Matthew, chapternine, verse 35 to 38.
And these verses one of theclearest links between
supernatural awareness, orawareness of the condition of
the lost, and the commission ofChrist to go to those who are

(02:14):
lost.
And so what we're going to dois we're going to read the end
of Matthew 9, and then we'regoing to read all the way
through chapter 10.
Matthew, chapter 9, sets thestage, give a picture of
condition of the lost, and thenI want you to see how Jesus
responds to that when he callsout his disciples and what he
calls them to do.
And so we're going to read apretty extended passage of
Scripture.
I want you to picture this withme.

(02:35):
Matthew, chapter 9, verse 35.
Jesus went through all the townsand villages, teaching in their
synagogues, preaching the goodnews of the kingdom.
Awareness of the condition ofthe lost here.
When Jesus saw the crowds, hehad compassion on them Because
they were harassed and helpless,like sheep without a shepherd.

(02:57):
He said to his disciples theharvest is plentiful but the
workers are few.
So there's the condition of thelost.

(03:17):
Now it transitions to thecommission of Christ.
He says every disease andsickness.
These are the names of thetwelve apostles First, simon,
who is called Peter, and hisbrother Andrew.
James, son of Zebedee, and hisbrother, john Philip, and
Bartholomew.
Thomas and Matthew, the taxcollector.
James, son of Alphaeus, andThaddaeus.
Simon, the zealot.
And Judas, iscariot, whobetrayed him.
These twelve Jesus sent outwith the following instructions

(03:42):
Do not go among the Gentiles orenter any town of the Samaritans
.
This is Jesus' kind of marchingorders, about to send them out.
Go, rather, to the lost sheepof Israel and as you go, preach
this message the kingdom ofheaven is near.
Heal the sick, raise the dead,cleanse those who have leprosy,
drive out demons.
Freely you have received,freely give.

(04:03):
Do not take along any gold orsilver or copper in your belts.
Take no bag for the journey, orextra tunic or sandals or staff
for the worker is worth hiskeep.
Whatever town or village youenter, search for some worthy
person there and stay at hishouse until you leave.
As you enter the home, give ityour greeting.
If the home is deserving, letyour peace rest on it.

(04:24):
If it is not, let your peacereturn to you.
If anyone will not welcome youor listen to your words, shake
the dust off your feet.
When you leave that home ortown, I tell you the truth, it
will be more bearable for Sodomand Gomorrah on the day of
judgment than for that town.
Jesus says I am sending you outlike sheep among wolves.
Therefore, be as shrewd assnakes and as innocent as doves.

(04:47):
Be on your guard against men.
They will hand you over to thelocal councils and flog you in
their synagogues.
On my account, you will bebrought before governors and
kings as witnesses to them andto the Gentiles.
But when they arrest you, donot worry about what to say or
how to say it.
At that time you will be givenwhat to say, for it will not be

(05:15):
you speaking, but the Spirit ofyour Father speaking through you
.
Verse 9.
You are persecuted in one place, flee to another.
I tell you the truth.
You will not finish goingthrough the cities of Israel
before the Son of man comes.
A student is not above histeacher, nor a servant above his
master.
It is enough for the student tobe like his teacher and the

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servant like his master.
If the head of the house hasbeen called Beelzebub, how much
more the members of hishousehold.
So do not be afraid of them.
There is nothing concealed thatwill not be disclosed or hidden
, that will not be made known.
What I tell you in the dark,speak in the daylight.
What is whispered in your ear,proclaim from the rooftops.
Do not be afraid of those whokill the body but cannot kill
the soul.
Rather, be afraid of the onewho can destroy both soul and

(05:57):
body in hell.
Are not two sparrows sold for apenny?
Yet not one of them will fallto the ground apart from the
will of your Father, and eventhe very hairs of your head are
all numbered.
So don't be afraid.
You're worth more than manysparrows.
Whoever acknowledges me beforemen, I will also acknowledge him
before my Father in heaven.
But whoever disowns me beforemen, I will disown him before my

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Father in heaven.
Do not suppose that I have cometo bring peace to the earth.
This is Jesus speaking.
He says I did not come to bringpeace but a sword, for I have
come to turn a man against hisfather, a daughter against her
mother, a daughter-in-lawagainst her mother-in-law.
A man's enemies will be themembers of his own household.
Anyone who loves his father ormother more than me is not
worthy of me.
Anyone who loves his son ordaughter more than me is not

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worthy of me.
And anyone who does not takehis cross and follow me is not
worthy of me.
Whoever finds his life willlose it, and whoever loses his
life for my sake will find it.
He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me
receives the one who sent me.
Anyone who receives a prophetbecause he is a prophet will
receive a prophet's reward, andanyone who receives a righteous

(07:02):
man because he is a righteousman will receive a righteous
man's reward.
And if anyone gives even a cupof cold water to one of these
little ones because he is mydisciple, I tell you the truth
he will certainly not lose hisreward.
So here's the picture Conditionof the lost leading into the
commission of Christ.
So let's start with thecondition of the lost.

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I want you to see and we'regoing to go briefly through a
variety of points in your notesthere and we're going to camp
out on a couple of others, sofollow along.
Condition of the lost See theirsize.
When Jesus saw the crowds, hehad compassion on them.
He saw the crowds.
Historians estimate that inthis region of Galilee at this
point there were probably around200 different cities or

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villages.
Some estimate up to about threemillion people.
That Jesus was interacting in aregion with that many people,
and when he saw the crowds, hehad compassion on them.
There's a depth of feeling herethat goes beyond just an
emotional feeling, even aspiritual feeling.
This word is a physical feeling.
Jesus saw the masses of peopleand it agonized him physically,

(08:09):
spiritually, emotionally to seethe crowds, and this is the
Jesus who lives in you and me,and so I implore you this
morning to look.
And so I implore you thismorning to look, to look beyond

(08:33):
this room, to look beyond thecomfortable chairs we find
ourselves in and to see thecrowds.
6.7 billion people.
6.7 billion people.
We've talked about this.
Out of those 6.7 billion people, one-third claim to be

(09:01):
Christian, and those are thosewho claim in many senses senses
politically or socially to beChristian, likely not all
actually followers of Christ.
But even if we assumed theywere all followers of Christ,
that leaves over 4.5 billionpeople.

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Over 4.5 billion people,including hundreds of thousands
of people in Birmingham, alabama, who today stand under the
judgment of God and are on aroad that leads to an eternal
hell.
If this gospel is true.

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If this gospel is true, then4.5 billion people today are
headed for everlastingdestruction.
And if that is the case, thenwe cannot play games with the

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church.
And if that's true, we cannotplay games with our lives, not
with that size of crowd.
See their size.
Second, feel their suffering.

(10:24):
Jesus didn't just see theirsize and he didn't just see
their size and he didn't justsee their sin.
He saw the depth of sufferingthat plagued them because of
their sin.
It says they were harassed andhelpless, downcast and destitute
, like sheep without a shepherd.
Whether he was preaching tothem or healing them, jesus had
a depth of compassion for thepeople who he was ministering to

(10:47):
, who he was around.
I love what a guy named PaulBrand says.
Dr Brand worked among lepersfor many years and he reflects
on the way Jesus interacted withthe crowds, especially those
who were diseased, and I wantyou to listen to what he writes.
He says Jesus reached out hishand and touched the eyes of the
blind, the skin of the personwith leprosy and the legs of the

(11:08):
cripple.
I have sometimes wondered Brandwrites wondered why Jesus so
frequently touched the people hehealed, many of whom must have
been unattractive, obviouslydiseased, unsanitary and smelly.
With his power he easily couldhave waved a magic wand, but he
chose not to.
Jesus' mission was not chiefly acrusade against disease, but

(11:29):
rather a ministry to individualpeople, some of whom happened to
have a disease.
He wanted those people, one byone, to feel his love and warmth
and full identification withthem.
Jesus knew he could not readilydemonstrate love to a crowd,
for love usually involvestouching.
See the size, feel theirsuffering, individually, feeling

(11:49):
their suffering.
Aren't you thankful that Christis willing to touch the dirty,
diseased and despised?
This is the picture here, andthis is huge, because what we
need to realize is this depth ofcompassion in Christ does not
arise from qualities orcharacteristics that are

(12:12):
inherent in others.
The reality is the people.
He saw sinners, and he was theone who had been sinned against.
There was absolutely nothing inthem that would cause
compassion to rise up in him.
He was the infinitely holy Godof the universe.
There was nothing in him thatwould cause compassion to rise

(12:35):
up when looking at sin.
It's indignation towards sin.
So how did he respond this way?
Think about it with me when wesee a child.
Last night, heather and I weredriving back into town late in
the evening and our two boyswere sleeping in the back and
I'm looking at them as they'resleeping and you know that scene

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, when you see a child sleepingand just this innocent, and it's
easy to have compassion justwell up in you at that moment.
But it's a whole other storywhen that two and a half year
old is indignant toward his dadand he is being defiant and
saying no in my face.
Now this compassion is notquite so automatic anymore.

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Does that make sense?
Yes, amen.
We respond to others, but thebeauty of Christ is his
compassion is not based onexternals and others.
His compassion is based on aninternal reality in him, a
compassion that wells up, andthe reality is.
The only way you and I couldever have this kind of
compassion is if Christ is in us.

(13:37):
This is so different in the waywe view sinners.
We see people in their sin andwe see evidences of sin.
This is so different than theway we view sinners.
We see people in their sin andwe see evidences of sin and we
have frustration rises up in usand indignation and disgust in
some instances and some facetsof sin.

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These are the emotions thatrise up in us and that's natural
.
But it's supernatural when wesee sin and compassion rises up
in us and we feel and identifywith people's need and hurt and
suffering.
This is the picture of ChristSee their size, feel their
suffering and, third, realizetheir separation.
A couple of weeks ago, when welooked at this passage briefly,

(14:19):
I mentioned that harvest here.
Harvest is plentiful, the workof this view, the Lord of the
harvest.
Harvest is biblical imagery inso many different places for
judgment.
Isaiah, chapter 17,.
We won't turn to these.
You might write them down.
Isaiah, chapter 17, verse 10and 11.
The harvest will be a heap anda day of sickliness and
incurable pain.
Joel says bring all the nationsto where I will sit to judge

(14:41):
them.
Put in the sickle, for theharvest is ripe.
Listen to what Joel says Come,tread, for the winepress is full
and multitudes are in thevalley of decision.
The picture in Joel is there'sa multitude of people in the
harvest and their eternaldestiny is at stake, and there's
a Lord of a harvest who islooking over them.
It's the same picture inMatthew, chapter 13.
At the end of the age, jesuswill come and he will separate

(15:02):
the wheat from the tares.
The wheat, those who arerighteous go to eternal life.
Tares, those who areunrighteous, to everlasting
destruction, to a furnace offire that is never quenched.
When Jesus looked at the crowds, he saw eternal realities at
stake.
He saw multitudes of people ina valley of decision, to use

(15:24):
Joel's words.
Same thing, revelation, chapter14, verse 14 through 20.
This is the picture.
Realize their separation, andit's exactly what.
2 Thessalonians 1, 7.
I put it in there in your notes.
Listen to this.
The Bible says this will happenwhen the Lord Jesus is revealed
from heaven in blazing firewith his powerful angels.
He will punish those who do notknow God and do not obey the

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gospel of our Lord Jesus.
They will be punished witheverlasting destruction and shut
out from the presence of theLord and from the majesty of his
power.
Ladies and gentlemen, this iswhat the Bible teaches.
The word of God says that thereis coming a day when multitudes

(16:09):
of people will be punished witheverlasting destruction.
In Revelation, chapter 20, verse15 that you have there says
they will be thrown into a lakeof fire.
Earlier in that chapter ittalks about how the smoke of
that fire, the smoke of theirtorment, the word says will rise
forever and ever, and ever andever.

(16:30):
These are eternal realitiesthat are at stake in the harvest
, and Jesus knew these things.
It's at this point where I knowsome people will check out and
say that's not real.
I don't believe those verses,and that's one option.

(16:52):
But the reality is, if you takethat option, you cannot follow
Christ.
You cannot be a follower ofChrist and choose to receive
some of His words and ignoreother words from Him.
So you check out on His Word,you check out on Christ
altogether.
This is what the Bible teaches.

(17:13):
The question then is do webelieve Jesus?
Do we believe these words?
And if we do, if we believethese words 2 Thessalonians 1 7
and Revelation 20 and what he'stalking about with the harvest
and we do exactly what Jesussaid we fall on our faces and we

(17:34):
ask God, we plead with God toopen our eyes to the condition
of the lost around us.
We ask and we plead him to freeus from temporary views, to
deliver us from temporary viewson the lost around us.
We ask and we plead him to freeus from temporary views, to
deliver us from temporary viewson the people around us and to
give us eternal perspectives.
We need to see like this wecannot ignore the crowds, ladies

(17:56):
and gentlemen.
We cannot ignore the crowds,turn a deaf ear to sin and
suffering around us.
We have this temptation towring our hands in pious concern
.
When we look at what's going onin the news, we wring our hands
in pious concern and we thankGod that we're not sinners like
them.
That's exactly what Jesus wasrebuking in the first century.

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We cannot be those sorts ofpeople.
We are so, so blind to theseeternal realities.
We get so caught up.
We're so consumed with suchtrivial things, our emotions so
consumed with games on SaturdayI wish I could say this every
single Sunday it doesn't matterwho cares.

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There are thousands of peoplewho are going to eternal
damnation.
Who cares who wins or loses?
Artificial battles,supernatural battle at stake
here.
Let's live for this.
Let's have our emotions wrappedup in this.
We need God to deliver us fromnatural affections to

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supernatural affections, asupernatural awareness of the
condition of the lost.
This is true, this is true,this is true and it changes
everything.
God give us a gripping,compelling, consuming awareness
of the condition of the lost.
And this is where the linkcomes in.

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Jesus sees the crowds this wayand he gives this commission.
He says ask the Lord of theharvest, therefore, to send out
workers into His harvest field.
The commission of Christ Jesusfirst beckons us to pray.
Jesus says disciples, look atthe harvest, pray they need

(19:48):
workers.
Pray that God would send out.
Ask God to send out workersinto His harvest field.
Do you want to know how I prayas a pastor for this church?
This is how I pray.
I pray that God would send outworkers from across this room.
I pray that God would send outstudents from across this room
into schools working for theharvest.
I pray that God would send outbusinessmen and women from

(20:10):
across this room into themarketplace of Birmingham
working for the harvest.
And I pray that God would sendout moms and dads into
communities all across singles,onto different realms of
influence that God has entrustedto you.
I pray that God would send usout in the highways and the
byways of Birmingham and scatterthis people for the sake of the

(20:30):
harvest.
Send us out in the highways andthe byways of Birmingham and
scatter this people for the sakeof the harvest.
I pray that God would scatterus beyond Birmingham to cities
in the United States and aroundthe world.
I was traveling this weekend andmet a church leader from
another state who went toEcuador after one of our teams
had gone to Ecuador and therewas a student who had gone on
that team to Ecuador, supposedto be there for a week, got

(20:52):
there and decided didn't want tocome home, so decided to stay
in Ecuador and praise God, hisparents.
Let him do.
That Isn't that great.
But let's just give ourselvesofficial freedom for this one.
Okay, you go on a short-termtrip and you get there and God

(21:13):
says, stay.
We're just going to officiallygive each other permission to
say, yes, that's a good thingand we will gladly send your
stuff to you.
I pray for people to leave.
I pray for people to leave thisbase of ministry and go around
Birmingham and around the worldfor the harvest.

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This is the kind of praying thatGod is pleased with.
He's pleased with praying forworkers going out and he has
ordained, sovereignly ordained,to bring in a harvest through
the prayers of his people.
So let's pray like this.
God likes answering, delightsin answering prayers like this.
So he beckons us to pray andthen, second, he summons us to

(21:55):
go.
What happens in chapter 10 is hecalls his disciples to him.
He said, okay, since you'repraying, we're going to go out.
And so the picture is he callsthem to himself.
It's a great word.
In the original language of theNew Testament it's a compound
word that basically means tocall someone to yourself to
confront him face to face.

(22:16):
And he gives them instructionsSent out with the following
instructions verse 5, 7,.
It says in the word picture here, original language of the New
Testament, it's like a militarycommander calling in the
soldiers to give orders.
You know, military commandergives orders to the soldiers.

(22:39):
This is not the opportunity forthe soldiers to express their
opinions about those orders.
Soldiers don't express opinions.
Soldiers obey orders.
That's what he's doing.
Same word.
It's used in legal settings inthe first century.
When you're summoned to courtor summoned before a judge to
receive a sentence, you don'task questions, you do what the

(23:03):
judge says.
It's a reminder for us, ladiesand gentlemen, that we are the
children of God and we are notin a position to express
opinions.
We are in a position to obeyorders, and the instructions he
gives are quite interesting.
Obviously, we do not have timeto dive in-depth into every

(23:26):
single verse here.
What I want to do is, in a sense, paint through Matthew, chapter
10, with a broad brush, and Iwant us to see summarized Jesus'
orders.
How does Jesus commission hispeople?
And here's the deal.
This was a commission that wasgiven to certain disciples,

(23:47):
specifically to these disciplesat this particular time.
At the same time, there aretruths, principles, orders that
are given throughout thischapter that are reiterated in
other places in the NewTestament for all disciples of
all time, and that's really thepicture you have.
This starts with a specificcall to these disciples in a
specific way and then gradually,as you read through the chapter

(24:10):
, it just gets more general andmore general.
By the time you get to I thinkit's verse 24, what you've got
is Jesus saying if anyone wouldcome after me, any disciple.
This is a picture.
So the words were spokenspecifically to these guys at
that time.
The application is definitelyfor all disciples, all times In
different ways.
The application is there, andso this is the Jesus who

(24:33):
commissions us in this room, andI want you to hear how he
commissions His disciples.
First of all, he says go togreat need.
Go to great need.
This is verses 5 through 8.
Do not go among the Gentiles orany town of the Samaritans.
Go, rather, the lost sheep ofIsrael.
Again, that's more specific.
We know that we're not justsupposed to go to Israel, we see

(24:56):
even later in this book go toall nations.
So that was part of thespecific on this particular task
.
As you go, preach this message.
The kingdom of heaven is near.
Now listen to verse 8.
Heal the sick, raise the dead,cleanse those who have leprosy
and drive out demons.
I want you to listen whereJesus is calling them to go.
He's calling them to go first.
He's calling them to go to thediseased.

(25:16):
Heal the sick, go to the sick.
Don't go to the healthy.
Go to the sick, not the people.
It's easy to be around People.
It's hard to be around.
May get you sick.
Go to the sick, not to whereit's safe.
Go to the dangerous places.
Go to the diseased Second.
Go to the dying.

(25:36):
Raise the dead.
Spend time those who are dying.
Third, go to the despised.
Cleanse those who have leprosy.
Do we realize how huge this is?
This is a culture where ifsomebody has leprosy, they are
ostracized.
You don't get anywhere close tosomeone who has leprosy in the
first century.
You avoid people who haveleprosy.
They make sure to let you knowwhere they are so that you can

(25:59):
avoid them safely.
And Jesus says go to them.
Go to the people that nobodyelse wants to go to.
Go to the despised.
And then he says drive outdemons.
Go to the dirty, those who aremost tainted with sin.
This is counter-cultural,ladies and gentlemen.
Jesus is saying very clearly tohis disciples you know the
people that the world ignores.
You know the people that theworld burdens down.

(26:20):
You know the people that theworld avoids altogether and
oppresses.
Those are the people that yougo to.
We're going to talk about thismore in the coming days when we
talk about the implications ofthe gospel for how we approach
the poor.
But the reality is, if we are achurch, if we are a people, if

(26:41):
I'm a pastor who is constantlyspending time around the healthy
and the well-to-do, then I amdisobeying the commission of
Christ.
And if we are a people who areknown for always being around
the healthy and the well-to-do,then I am disobeying the
commission of Christ.
And if we are a people who areknown for always being around
the healthy and the well-to-do,then we are disobeying the
commission of Christ.
Because he said go to thedisease, the dying, the despised
and the dirty.

(27:02):
Jesus' commission is to go tothe areas of greatest need, not
the areas of least need.
We are drawn to need by thecommission of Christ.
The beauty of it is let's knowwhat he says in verse 9.
Do not take along any gold orsilver or copper in your belts.
Take no bag for the journey, orextra tunic or sandals or staff

(27:22):
, for the worker is worth hiskeep.
Here's the beauty.
As you go to the needy, you willlearn to trust his provision.
I love this.
Reach out to the need, jesussays, and what you'll find is
I'm sufficient to meet all yourneeds.
Isn't that great?
Go to the areas of great needand you'll find that I'm
sufficient to meet all yourneeds.

(27:43):
So you don't need extra money,you don't need an extra bag, you
don't need an extra coat, youdon't need extra shoes.
You don't need extra anything.
You don't need any excesswhatsoever.
You trust me.
You take the minimum along andwhat you'll find is, when you're
meeting needs, I'm sufficientnot only to meet their needs,
but your needs.
Isn't it a good thing to knowthat when we go to the needy, we
go to the one who Jesus haspromised to meet our needs?
Along the way, as you go to theneedy, you will learn to trust

(28:04):
his provision.
Go to the needy.
Find your needs met.
That's a good deal.
Go to great need.
Second, go to great danger.
In verse 11, jesus startstalking about how they will be
received.
He starts talking about homesyou'll go into, and the reality
is there's some homes willaccept you and some homes will
reject you.
Then he gets down to verse 16.
I want you to listen to what hesays there.

(28:24):
Jesus says I am sending you outlike sheep among wolves.
Now, do you think that'sintended to be an encouragement?
What is the responsibility of ashepherd?
A shepherd protects sheep fromwhat Wolves.

(28:46):
A good shepherd keeps wolvesfrom getting near the sheep.
Wolves will try to come inattack the sheep.
Shepherd's job is to keep thewolves out of the sheep.
Here we've got Jesus the goodshepherd, the great shepherd and
he says go hang out with wolves, go be with wolves.

(29:08):
You hear what he's saying here.
Jesus is saying to his disciplesbe as foolish as sheep.
Sheep are among the mosthelpless, foolish of all
domesticated animals.
Sheep, even something harmless,a harmless noise, can cause
them to go into a frenzy.
They have no clue.

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As a result, when they findthemselves surrounded by wolves,
it's not a particularly goodsituation because sheep really
don't have any line of defense.
The only thing they know to dois run, and they're very, very
slow.
And so Jesus says when you goout, this is what you're going

(29:52):
to be like.
You're going to be like dumbsheep walking into the middle of
wolves and it's going to seemlike the most senseless thing.
What are they thinking?
Going into those places?
Don't they know what's involvedthere?
Don't they know the dangerthat's involved there?
And people will think thatyou're nuts, because where are

(30:14):
you going into?
And Jesus says that's my design.
You will find yourself in themiddle of evil, rapacious,
vicious people who want nothingto do with you.
And you're actually there by mydesign.
We don't think like this.
We think if it's dangerous,then God must not be in it.
We think if it's going to costme money, if it's going to cost
me my life, then obviously Godwould not be leading me there.

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What if that's actually theprimary criteria by which we
know whether or not God isleading us there?
Like sheep among wolves, go todanger.
Let it be said of you, churchof Brook Hills, just like it
would be said of sheep they'renuts going into those places.
They're going to great danger,they have no clue.
And Jesus says that's what itmeans to be my disciple, like a

(30:59):
sheep going in the middle of thewolves.
But then he says therefore, beas shrewd as snakes.
So be as foolish as sheep andbe as smart as snakes.
Now, how do you do that?
How do you be as foolish assheep and smart as snakes?
Jesus is saying go withoutreservation into areas of danger

(31:20):
, go without reservation toareas of need and when you get
there, be smart, be wise.
This is a picture of Jesus onhis way to a cross, standing
boldly before Pilate, beforeRoman officials, like a sheep
among wolves.
Right, but he speaks withwisdom.

(31:40):
He does not incite unnecessarytrouble, unnecessary conflict.
He knows conflict will come,but he's wise.
He says Be as smart, as shrewdas snakes and as innocent as
doves.
Be as foolish as sheep, assmart as snakes and be as pure
as doves.
When you are in the middle ofthe wolves, do not let them have

(32:03):
anything against you.
Do not be abrasive.
Inconsiderate belligerentinnocence here.
Show purity.
And considerate belligerentinnocence here, show purity.
Like a sheep before hershearers is silent Sheep, a lamb
on his way to a slaughter.
This is the picture Jesus wentbefore those who killed him in
this way and he says you do thesame.

(32:25):
And here's his promise.
Listen to what he says in verse19.
When they arrest, you, do notworry about what to say or how
to say it.
At that time you will be givenwhat to say, for it will not be
you speaking, but the Spirit ofyour Father speaking through you
.
So as you go into danger, asyou go to need, you'll learn to
trust his provision.
As you go into danger, you'lllearn to depend on his power.
Jesus says go into danger andknow that when you go into

(32:47):
danger, you are not alone.
I, when you go into danger, youare not alone.
I am right, there with you andI will empower you with
everything you need to speak andto live and to preach and to
speak in a way that brings megreat honor.
This is the only way that onebrother in India who was being
skinned alive could look atthose who were skinning him
alive and say to them you takeoff my old garment today, but I
put on a new garment ofrighteousness.

(33:08):
How do you say that if thespirit of Christ is not in you?
This is how Christopher Love'swife, when he was being led to
the gallows, could cry out tohim, watching her husband go to
the gallows, could cry out tohim today they will sever you
from your physical head, butthey cannot sever you from your
spiritual head, christ.
And she applauded him as hewent.
How do you do that?

(33:28):
Only by the Spirit of Christ.
And Jesus says I guarantee you,I promise you, in those moments
I will be with you and you willlearn to depend on my power.
Here's the reality.
We live our lives within thesafety and security that we can
make for ourselves in this world.
We do not need the power of God, we do not need the power of
the Spirit to live comfortablereligious routine.
We don't need the power of theSpirit.

(33:49):
We can do that on our own.
We live our lives on the frontlines, making the gospel known
in Birmingham and all nationsrisking our lives, going to
great need and going to greatdanger.
We need the Spirit of God allof a sudden, and he says you
will learn to depend on my power.
You'll need my power.
Go to great need, go to greatdanger.
These are interestinginstructions.

(34:10):
Seem need.
Go to great danger.
These are interestinginstructions.
They seem a little foreign tous.
Look at verse 21.
A brother will betray a brotherto death and a father his child
Children will rebel againsttheir parents and have them put
to death.
You will be betrayed.
Ladies and gentlemen, thekingdom of God is divisive.
It's what Jesus talks aboutdown in verse 34, 35, 36.

(34:32):
Do not suppose that I have cometo bring peace to the earth.
I didn't come to bring peacewith a sword.
I've come to turn a man againsthis father, a daughter against
her mother, a daughter-in-lawagainst her mother-in-law.
A man's enemies will be themembers of his own household.
Don't miss the picture here.
Family members, you followafter Jesus and you give

(34:52):
yourself to the commission ofChrist.
Family members will notunderstand you.
They may even turn against you.
You will be misunderstood forsure.
In obedience to the mission ofChrist.
You will be misunderstood forsure in obedience to the mission

(35:15):
of Christ, and that betrayalmay come from the places where
you would have least expected itto come from.
You will be betrayed.
Jesus says you will be betrayed, you will be hated.
Chapter 10, verse 22.
All men will hate you becauseof me.
These are strong verses.
These are not usually theverses that we have like pink

(35:37):
highlights around in our Bibleswith little stars everywhere
Like, yes, this is what I clingto today.
All men will hate me.
This gives me inspiration.
This is what Jesus said and thepicture is clear.
Clear and obviously not all men, every single person, because
there will be people who come tofaith in Christ and they won't

(35:57):
hate you.
We see that at the end of thischapter.
But the reality that Jesus issaying is it may come from your
family, it may come from thegovernment, or it may come did
you hear?
Flogged in synagogues.
It may come, ladies andgentlemen, from the religious
establishment and you may behated by religious people when

(36:20):
you obey the commission ofChrist, but he who perseveres?
Now, why will they hate us?
We don't need to give themreasons to hate us.
By the way.
This is not an excuse forliving in a way that just makes
people mad.
What he's saying is they willhate you because they hated

(36:43):
Jesus.
All men will hate you becauseof me.
We'll talk about that more whenwe look at this.
One you will be betrayed, hatedand third, you will be
persecuted.
When you are persecuted in oneplace, flee to another.
Did you notice the differencethere?
Not if you're persecuted in oneplace, when you are persecuted.
Jesus did not say if you'regoing to be persecuted.

(37:04):
He said guys, you're going tobe persecuted.
And this was not one of thoseplaces.
That was just for these guys atthis time.
Because Paul says in 2 Timothy,chapter 3, verse 12, everyone,
everyone, everyone in this roomwho wants to live a godly life
in Christ Jesus will bepersecuted.
This will be a reality forfollowers of Christ.
Again, that doesn't mean weseek persecution.

(37:24):
Here's the picture.
And it says at the very nextverse, verse 24, a student is
not above his teacher, nor aservant above his master.
It is enough for the student tobe like his teacher and the
servant like his master.
If the head of the house hasbeen called Beelzebub, how much
more the members of his ownhousehold.
Here's the picture Jesus wasbetrayed, jesus was hated and
Jesus was persecuted.

(37:45):
If you are a disciple of Jesusand a student is like his
teacher and a servant like hismaster, servant doesn't go above
his master, student doesn't goabove his teacher.
They become like teacher, likethe master.
And the picture is if Jesus wasall these things, then all of
these things will be a realityfor you if you follow Jesus.
And this is where a starkreality comes home.

(38:10):
And this is where a starkreality comes home.
It's a reality.
I think that is largelyunrealized, but it is thoroughly
biblical.
The reality we must face, ladiesand gentlemen.
The danger of our livesincreases in proportion to the
depth of our relationship withChrist, increases in proportion

(38:32):
to the depth of our relationshipwith Christ.
The danger of our livesincreases in proportion to the
depth of our relationship, ouridentification with Christ.
This is unavoidable.
I'm not saying this.
Jesus is saying this To all inthis room who want to avoid
danger and live a carefree, easylife.

(38:53):
Don't follow Christ.
If you want to avoid beingbetrayed and avoid being hated
and avoid being persecuted, thenavoid Jesus, because the

(39:16):
reality is that Jesus wasbetrayed and hated and
persecuted, and the more hislife becomes manifest in your
life, the more his presenceconsumes you.
Then the more the world willrespond to you, just like the
world responded to him.

(39:36):
People say, well, if we'd alljust become like Jesus, the
world would love us.
On the contrary, if we allbecome like Jesus, the Bible
says the world will hate usbecause the world hated Christ.
The world betrayed and hatedand persecuted Christ.
We find this so hard to get ourminds around.
Our brothers and sisters aroundthis world say hearty amens at

(39:56):
every point here.
They know this reality, theyknow it and we miss it.
We miss it because of theroutine system of Christianity
we've created.
I'm convinced I've been studyingthis passage this is one of the
reasons that we have createdthis comfortable subculture

(40:18):
called Christianity in ourregion of this country, where it
is easy to be a Christian, andwe've built a whole philosophy
of church based around how wecan best mimic the world in
order to be appealing to theworld.
It's what our whole system isbased on and we think the more
we mimic the world, the more weappeal to the world, the better.

(40:40):
And the reality is we do thatand we do all that we can to do
that and in the process wecompletely lose our
identification with Jesus Christ, our Savior.
He didn't live to mimic theworld.
He didn't live to appeal to theworld.
The world responded like thisto him the reality is, if we're

(41:05):
appealing to the world, thenwe're not identified with Christ
.
Now, I'm not Scripture's notsaying Jesus is not saying.
Obviously, the whole point ishe wants to draw lost people,
people who don't know him, tohimself.
But the reality is he says youwill go out and there will be
people who will be diametricallyopposed to you and the world
and all of its system and theruler of this world will be
diametrically opposed to you andyou will feel it.

(41:27):
The more we know Christ andbecome like Christ ladies and
gentlemen, don't miss this themore you become like Christ, the
more I become like Christ.
Things will not get easier inour lives and the more this
church becomes like Christ, themore things will not get easier.
They will get harder.
They will get harder.
Listen to Luke, chapter six,verse 40.

(41:48):
Jesus says everyone, after hehas listen to this verse.
Jesus says everyone, after hehas been fully trained, will be
like his teacher.
Does that frighten you?
It does me.
Everyone after he has beenfully trained, will be like his
teacher.
Jesus is our teacher, and sowe're going to be like the one

(42:08):
who was mocked and beaten andscourged and spit upon, had a
crown of thorns thrust into hishead.
This is the one we're wantingto be like and it brings this
question to the forefront.
It begs this question that wemust ask in this room.

(42:30):
Ladies and gentlemen do wereally want to be like Christ?
I mean really want to be likehim, because if we are like him,
if our lives are identifiedwith him, then our lives will
not be the same as the worldaround us.
Our lives will be radicallydifferent and it will not be
easy, it will be dangerous.
This is what he is saying.
This is not what I'm saying.

(42:50):
I'm not trying toover-dramatize.
This is what Jesus is sayinghere.
It's a question we've got toask in this room.
Do we really want to be likeChrist?
Because if we continue to feedour comfort and our pleasures,
then we will not be like Christ.
We will miss identificationwith Christ altogether and we
will find ourselves enjoying thepleasures and the appeal of
this world, but we will missChrist and miss the whole point

(43:10):
and the process.
First 300 years of Christianityfollowing this kind of
commission involved terriblepersecution of Christians.
And Christians built miles andmiles and miles and miles of
catacombs under Rome,underground tombs to bury

(43:33):
Christians who lost their livesfollowing Christ.
Countless tombs, andarchaeologists, as they have
looked at those, have seen thosetombs identified.
This is where this wholepicture, the Greek word ikthus,
which is an acrostic, it saysstands for Jesus, god's Son, our
Savior, and that's the acrostic.

(43:54):
It's the word that was put overthese underground tombs of
those who had trusted in Christand identified with Christ and
paid with their lives for it.
How far we have come that wetake the same sign and put it on
Lexuses and BMWs and say that'sour identification with Christ.
God help us.
Do we really want Christ?
Do we really want to be likeChrist in this room?

(44:17):
Do we really want to be likehim?
If so, it will cost useverything.
You will be betrayed, you willbe hated, you will be persecuted
.
And Jesus says along the waynext verses, verse 26, do not be
afraid of them.

(44:37):
There's nothing concealed thatwill not be disclosed or hidden,
that will not be made known.
What I tell you in the dark,speak in the daylight.
What is whispered in the air,proclaim from the roofs Do not
be afraid of those who kill thebody but cannot kill the soul.
Rather, be afraid of the onewho can destroy both soul and
body in hell.
Three times in those threeverses he says don't be afraid.
What Jesus is saying is youfollow this commission, fear
will tempt you.
You will be tempted by fear,guaranteed, it's a real

(45:05):
temptation.
And I want you to see how Jesusprepares them for the fear
that's going to face them, thefear that will face any one of
us in this room when we begin totake radical steps in our lives
in following Christ.
He says here's how you confrontit.
Number one see with an eternalperspective, nothing concealed
that will not be made disclosed,or hidden that will not be made
known.
In other words, you see allaround you the ways of this

(45:26):
world and the thoughts of thisworld and the ideas of this
world, and you're going againstthose.
And he says don't be afraid,because one day those thoughts
and those ideas and those valuesin this world will be turned
upside down and it will be shownwhat is true and what is right.
So you believe in what is true.
You believe in what is right,even when it goes against the
grain in the culture, even whenyou desire to be vindicated in

(45:47):
this world.
Don't fear, because God willvindicate you His truth, what is
right, justice, what is pure,what his word says will be
exposed as right.
So cling to that.
Even when you can't see it,even when everybody in the world
says you're foolish, you clingto that.
See with an eternal perspective.

(46:08):
Second, speak with a holyboldness.
I love this imagery.
What I tell you in the dark,speak in the daylight.
What is whispered in your ear,proclaim from the roofs.
God whispers his word in ourears and we proclaim it loudly
from the rooftops.
We speak with a holy boldness.
We don't take a light and putit under a bowl.
We take a light and we put iton its stand so that it gives

(46:28):
light to everyone in the house.
This is what Jesus talks about.
He says take my word and speakit.
Speak it with great boldness.
It won't make sense to manyaround you, but no, no going
back.
See it in an eternalperspective.
This is what matters in the end, not the stuff that everybody
else talks about and is soconsumed with.
This is what matters.
So cling to that and speakabout that and trust that it

(46:49):
matters.
And this is my favorite partSee with an eternal perspective,
speak with a holy boldness andsacrifice with reckless
abandonment.
I want you to listen to this.
Jesus says you're going to facefear, and he says these words,
this is how he encourages them.
Follow along.
He says verse 28,.
Guys, do not be afraid of thosewho kill the body but cannot

(47:13):
kill the soul.
Rather, be afraid of the onewho can destroy both soul and
body in hell.
Did you catch that?
Jesus says you'll be tempted tofear man, but he looks at them
and he says man is only able tokill the body.

(47:36):
God, not talking about Satanhere.
Satan does not have authorityover life and death.
God, I'm not talking aboutSatan here.
Satan does not have authorityover life and death.
God is able to destroy bothsoul and body in hell.
It's not man who holds youreternal destiny in his hands.
It's God who does.
And so don't be afraid of manand what man can do to you.

(47:59):
Be afraid of God.
Live with the fear of God.
Now put that together.
Do you realize what Jesus justsaid?
He just said to these guysyou're going to go out and
people are going to want to killyou, and he said don't be
afraid of that.
He said the worst they can dois what?

(48:22):
Kill you?
I mean, think about it.
You have nothing to fear whenyou go to this country or you go
to this part of Birmingham.
What's the worst thing thatcould happen to you?
Die?
That's a weird way to talk.
Does that comfort you?
The only way that comforts usis if we have already died to

(48:48):
ourselves, as if we live inChrist and we know that far
worse than dying on this earthfor the name of Jesus Christ
would be in any way beingdisobedient to the Father who
holds our life in his hands.
It was said of saints of oldthat they feared men so little

(49:10):
because they feared God so much.
They feared men so littlebecause they feared God so much.
And so I would say to you,based on the authority of the
word of Christ, today, as achurch, let's give ourselves to
the mission.
What's the worst thing thatcould happen?
They could kill all of us.
It lives Christ, and to die isgain.

(49:36):
This is a very otherworldly wayto think.
It's a Christ-like way to think.
The worst they can do to you iskill you, so give yourself to
the commission of Christ.
It's a radical way to live.
These are intense instructions.
But listen to what he says next,verse 29,.
Are not two sparrows sold for apenny?

(49:57):
Yet not one of them will fallto the ground apart from the
will of your father, and eventhe very hairs of your head are
all numbered.
So don't be afraid.
You are worth more than manysparrows.
Fear will tempt you, but thefather will take care of you.
This is his promise.
The father will take care ofyou.
And listen to the illustrationhe uses.
He talks about a sparrow.
A sparrow can't even fall tothe ground without God and his

(50:17):
sovereignty ruling that.
So, number one, he rules yousovereignly.
This is how he takes care ofyou.
He rules every detail in yourlife sovereignly.
There is nothing that willhappen in your obedience to this
commission, absolutely nothingthat is not under the sovereign
guidance of Almighty God.
That's a good thing.
He rules you sovereignly.
Second, he knows you completely.
He knows every single hair onyour head.
He knows, men, how many hairsthat used to be on your head.

(50:40):
He knows every single one ofthem.
He knows.
He knows, for some of us, whatthe true color is of our hair.
He knows every single detailabout us.
He knows more than we knowabout ourselves.
Who in this room knows how manyhairs are on their head?
There's only a couple peoplethat might actually be able to
accomplish that feat.
But the reality is God knows uscompletely.
He knows everything about usbetter than we know ourselves.

(51:01):
He rules us sovereignly.
He put the hares there, heknows us, or took them away.
He rules us completely, knowsus completely.
And the third thing is he lovesyou deeply.
Are you not much more valuablethan all of these things?
Sparrow?
He knows everything about thesparrow.
He knows everything about you.
He rules you sovereignly and heloves you deeply.
You are valuable before God.

(51:25):
Ladies and gentlemen, the onewho calls you to go like sheep
in the middle of wolves is good.
He is a father, jesus says, andhe will take care of you.
He will take care of you nowand he will take care of you in
all of eternity.
This is why my disciples wouldrespond in obedience to this
kind of commission toughinstructions.
You get to the next verses,verse 32,.
Whoever acknowledges me beforemen, I will also acknowledge him

(51:47):
before my Father in heaven.
But whoever disowns me beforemen.
I will disown him before myFather in heaven.
Next instruction we confess himpublicly.
I'm going to fly through thesenext two.
We confess him publicly.
We publicly identify withChrist through these next two.
We confess Him publicly.
We publicly identify withChrist.
The people you work with, thepeople you go to school, with
the people you live around areyou publicly identifying with

(52:09):
Christ before them?
Are you confessing Him publicly?
And it is an amazing thought tothink that there is coming a
day when we will stand beforethe Father in heaven and Jesus
will publicly identify with usbefore Him.
I cannot wait for that day.
An incredible picture.
Confess Him publicly and loveHim supremely.

(52:30):
We talked about this last week.
Love for Jesus is superior toany love for parent, love for
wife, love for children.
All of these earthlyrelationships are ultimately
temporary.
Love for Christ, supremelyeternal.
He loves us sacrificially.
We love Him supremely.
Love Him supremely.
Next, take the ultimate risk.

(52:52):
This is when we get down toverse 39.
Whoever finds his life willlose it, and whoever loses his
life for my sake will find it.
Take the ultimate risk.
What Jesus is saying to Hisdisciples is lose your life,
pick up your cross.
He said at the end of verse 38,and die, lose your life.
Take this risk, ladies andgentlemen.
Take the risk of losing yourlife today Figurative sense here

(53:15):
losing your life to ChristCompletely and totally.
Take that risk and in takingthat risk you will find the
ultimate reward you will findlife in Christ.
This is where we came back tolast week.
This is where we will come backto every single week in this

(53:36):
series.
This is not a call to gloom, itis not a call to misery.
It is a call to satisfaction.
It is a call to reward, not acall to gloom.
It is not a call to misery.
It is a call to satisfaction.
It is a call to reward, not acall as much to be sacrificial,
as much as it is a call to besmart.
Try to find your life in thisworld.
You'll end up losing it for allof eternity.

(53:57):
Not smart Lose your life inthis world, you will find it now
and in all eternity.
That's smart.
Find the ultimate reward andthe beauty of it is what he
talks about in verses 40 through42, is that this reward is not
just for us, but all who willreceive us, all who will see our
identification with Christ, whowill hear our proclamation,
public proclamation of Christ,and who will receive us.
In other words, receive Christis the language there.

(54:19):
This is a reward that isinvisible, that we cannot see in
this life.
It is a reward of findingChrist in all of his fullness,
and not just you finding Christin all of his fullness, but
others finding Christ in all ofhis fullness.
And now Matthew 9, 35-38, comesfull circle here, at the end of
chapter 10.
Matthew, chapter 10, let's behonest, those are hard

(54:42):
instructions.
And 10, let's be honest, thoseare hard instructions and
obviously, like we talked about,there are specifics here that
were specifically geared tothose disciples at that time.
But, like we talked about,these are general truths that
are applicable to all disciplesof all times.
This is the Jesus whocommissions you and me.
This is frightening in somecases, all across this passage.
Why is it so hard?

(55:07):
Why are these words so tough?
Here's why Because in that daythere were three million people
and today there are 4.5 plusbillion people who do not know
this reward and they need toseek Christ.

(55:28):
And they will not see Christ inlives that are not identified
with Him.
They will not seek Christ inearthly pleasure and worldly
comfort.
They won't seek Christ in thatand they will go to a Christless
eternity as a result.
They need to see Christ.
They need to see people who areidentified with Christ, and

(55:50):
it's worth it Matthew chapter 10, is worth it for the sake of
people who do not know Christ.
These words seem so foreign tous today, don't they?
This kind of language incontemporary Christianity?
We ask questions in our lives.
Well, what's best for me?
We ask questions in the churchwhat's best for me?

(56:11):
What's best for my family?
What's most safe for me and myfamily?
What's most secure?
What best appeals to me and myfamily?
These are the questions thatconsume us in our lives and our
families and in the church.
These consume us and thereality is, if this is true,
then those questions make nosense anymore.
Not one of them.
What about me?
Does not make sense at allBecause our lives are dead.
We are living in Christ andChrist wants the harvest.

(56:33):
It changes everything about theway we live, we schedule our
time, we plan our lives and ourfamilies and the church.
It changes everything becausewe have a gospel that demands
radical compassion.
He has given us orders.
We're not living for selfishreward and earthly pleasure.
We're not living forself-soothing desires or
self-saturated Christianity.

(56:53):
We have put these things aside.
We don't live in those.
We died to those things.
How can we live in them anylonger?
We live to Christ, to Christ'sreward, to eternal pleasure, to
God honoring desires and plansfor our lives.
Jonathan Edwards said this.
He said I claim no right tomyself, no right to this

(57:15):
understanding, this will, theseaffections that are in me.
Neither do I have any right tothis body or its members, no
right to this tongue, to thesehands, feet, ears or eyes.
I have given myself clearlyaway and not retained anything
of my own.
I have been to God this morningand told him I have given
myself wholly to him.
I have given every power sothat for the future I claim no
right to myself in any respect.

(57:37):
I have expressly promised himfor, by his grace, I will not
fail.
I take him as my whole portionand facility, looking upon
nothing else as any part of myhappiness.
His law is the constant rule ofmy obedience.
I will fight with all my mightagainst the world, the flesh and
the devil, to the end of mylife.
I will adhere to the faith ofthe gospel, however hazardous
and difficult the profession andpractice of it may be.

(58:00):
I pray that God, for the sake ofothers, would cause them to
look upon this asself-dedication.
For his sake, henceforth, I amnot to act in any respect as my
own.
I purpose to be absolutely hisChristian.
You are not your own.
Are not your own For the sakeof billions of people who are

(58:26):
headed to eternal hell.
You're not your own.
Whatever this means for ourlives, it means this the gospel
demands that we sacrifice ourlives for the sake of people who
do not know Christ.
Do we believe what this booksays about those who are lost?

(58:47):
If so, we sacrifice ourschedule and our time and our
money and our resources, thischurch and everything we are for
the sake of people who do notknow Christ.
We pray and we go.