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Sermon
The Gospel of Matthew

Promises Amid Persecution

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June 29, 2025
Matthew 10:16-23
Steven Lee
Pastor for Preaching & Vision

Suffering & Trials

Courage & Boldness

The Gospel

Identity in Christ

Transcript

0:18Good morning. It's good to be together as we come now to God's word. This morning, we're in a passage where Jesus promises his disciples persecution. You just heard it read. It's a sobering word for us this morning, and yet embedded in the sobering word, I think there's great encouragement for God's people in the midst of persecution. So would we have ears to hear? Would you join me as I pray and ask the Lord for help? Father in heaven, Lord of the harvest, strengthen us now by your word so that we would see what you want us to see, and that we would be changed in the ways that you want us to be changed, and that we would be conformed to the image of your son, cause your word to go forth in power this morning, to enliven and encourage your people, for your work, for your glory, and for the advance of your kingdom.

1:27We pray that in Jesus' name. Amen. Many of you are familiar with the pharmaceutical, pharmaceutical commercials that love to show happy, smiling people frolicking through a field of flowers. And then halfway through the commercial, the narrator's voice kicks into double speed and goes. Side effects may include muscle and joint pain, diarrhea, upset, stomach, cold like symptoms, allergic reactions such as rash, itching, swelling, trouble breathing, less common, but serious. Side effects include unexplained weakness, possible liver damage, fatigue, loss of appetite, yellowing of the skin or eyes, memory loss or confusion, increased blood pressure leading to type two diabetes.

2:10In certain severe cases, it may lead to hallucinations, rapid heart rates slowed or stopped breathing, acute liver failure and cardiac arrest, leading coma or death if not treated immediately. You guys know what I'm talking about, right? These commercials often feel a little bit like a bait and switch. The drug helps you with your migraine or blood pressure, but in exchange, you get this list of side effects that seem much worse than your original symptoms. In hearing our passage this morning, though, some may think that Jesus is doing this sort of bait and switch, just track with me a little bit.

2:47We were in chapter 10 verses one to four. Jesus had just given his disciples authority to go out and heal all manner of diseases and to cast out demons. And, and so he, he, he goes on in five through 15, which we saw last week. He gives instructions on where to go and what to do and, and imagine what the disciples are thinking in that moment. This is amazing. We, we've just seen Jesus do all of these incredible miracles like casting out demons and we're given the same exact authority to do as he does. This is, this is incredible. And yet in the next section, Jesus kind of gives the catch, if you will.

3:34He warns his disciples of arrest, of public humiliation, of betrayal by family, of being hated and even death. Their mission is not gonna be marked by unicorns and rainbows, but by persecution. It's gonna be a dangerous mission. Maybe when you heard this text read this morning, you felt your blood pressure rise just a little bit. How do we balance our natural desire for self preservation with Jesus' promise of persecution for his disciples? We know that the scriptures say all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will not, may will be persecuted. How are we to think about suffering without being paralyzed by anxiety and fear even this morning?

4:29Is Jesus giving ab bait and switch to his disciples? Well, we're gonna look at that this morning as we unfold this text, as we kind of understand it in greater way. But let, let me just kind of set the main point right out at the beginning. Jesus is preparing his people for persecution with his glorious promises. Jesus is preparing his people for persecution with his promises. And we're gonna see four specific promises from Jesus that show that these promises will outweigh the persecution that his people will experience. So it's not a bait and switch, and these promises are to encourage us and to help us endure as his people, as we face persecution in this life.

5:23And so Jesus is trying to set expectations. They don't get caught off guard, and he's trying to show them that even severe persecution that they might experience in the future will not decisively undermine Christ's mission and the advance of his kingdom. So our plan is to look at the main assertion in verse 16, and then the four promises in verses 17 to 23. But before we jump into our text, I wanna show one more thing. As you remember, last week's text was very specific to the disciples at that specific time for that missionary journey. And I think what is happening in verse 16 onward is it's this broadening or expansion of Jesus instructions.

6:10So last week you saw in verse five, he says, go nowhere among the Gentiles. He wants them just to go to the lost sheep of Israel. But in our passage, if you look, he says in verse 18, the disciples are to eventually bear witness before Gentiles. So I think this passage is broadening out from the specific instructions in verses five to 15 to anticipate ministry among the Gentiles and into the great commission. There's this telescoping effect that these passages, this passage in particular applies not only to the disciples, I think post Pentecost, but also to us today. So let's look at the one main assertion of our text in verse 16.

6:55Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. So be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. We all know this passage. Well, we've heard it before, but as we know, sheep are kind of skittish animals. They're timid and they wander and they're passive, and they're given no defenses against predators. They have no claws, they have no sharp teeth, they don't run very fast, and they have no horns. And so in Matthew nine sheep referred to the Jewish people in general, that's 9 36, but now it refers specifically to his disciples. And Jesus is telling them, I'm sending you out and there's a vulnerability to the way in which I'm sending you.

7:40I don't send you out armed and dangerous. I haven't told you to take a sword. So he says, be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. This word wise could mean shrewd or sensible or prudent, even cunning. I think it's referring to Genesis three, one where it says the serpent was more crafty than any other beast. And so Jesus is commanding his disciples when you're in the midst of wolves. These are men who have bad intentions, they're anti-Christian. He says, you are to be shrewd, crafty, cunning, even. But we know being cunning or crafty, it can kind of go awry. It turns into lying and cheating and deception.

8:27And so Jesus calls to be his people to be innocent as doves, this shrewd innocence. Don't be naive, don't be gullible, but be shrewd in our interactions with the world. Don't be caught sin, don't be stupid, but yet be wise. And so we don't seek to be fired. We don't say things that are intentionally provocative, but we are to be wise. We see this in Jesus. Oh, when people came to question him, they, they said, are, are we to pay taxes to Caesar? And how did Jesus respond? Whose inscription is on a coin? Give to Caesar, what belongs to Caesar? Give to God what belongs to God. And then you have to figure it out.

9:12What, what does that mean? He could have said, Caesar is a low down scummy individual and you should not give a single scent to him. And and they would've crucified him in that moment. The Romans would've come and arrested him for creating, uh, insurrection. One writer says, if we're to be sheep among wolves, then we should at least be smart sheep, sheep who don't overestimate the benevolence of wolves. So what does this look like for us today? I, I think Paul did this. He was shrewd by appealing to his Roman citizenship to avoid being beaten. I think this means that in our day and age, we can utilize any legal means of protection.

9:53We could advocate in the courts for religious freedom or fair treatment or the exercise of our First Amendment rights, even as we put our ultimate hope in Jesus knowing that those things are not final. I think it even means things like we can exercise our Second Amendment rights to protect our families and even our church community. And yet we must resist at all times the temptation to ever take matters into our own hands or to seek revenge like the recent Minnesota shooter that is never defensible for God's people. The Lord says, vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord. So Jesus tells his disciples that he sends them out as vulnerable.

10:45He's not sent them to wage an earthly war. He's given them authority to heal, to cast out demonic powers and to bestow peace. And even if it's required to lay down your life for others so that they would see the love of Jesus, he's not given them authority to bring about forced conversions or to attack anyone physically or to destroy Christ's enemy physically. You're sent out as vulnerable. And so that that's true of us this morning, there is a certain level of invincibility. If you are in God's will, you are sent out for his purposes and you have nothing to be afraid of. And there's a lot of things to be afraid of because you're vulnerable in the world.

11:35You are God's messengers and persecution is promised. So the main assertion is that Christ's disciples are vulnerable. And yet that can be unnerving for many of us this morning. But Jesus gives us four incredible, glorious, wonderful promises in this text. So we're gonna look at each of those four promises. The first one is that persecution has a purpose, persecution has a purpose. Look at verse 17. Beware of men for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues and you will be dragged before governors and kings, for my sake to bear witness before them and the Gentiles.

12:17So notice the two types of persecution that are in this text. We see religious Jewish persecution, and then we see sort of gentile governmental state sponsored persecution. So verse 17, you'll be delivered over to courts and flogged in synagogues. So this is referring to the Sanhedrin. So essentially the Jewish court system, they would be able to give 39 lashes. And if you think church discipline is hard today, you should have saw it in those days, you would be brought before the chief priests, the high priests, the scribes, and they would kind of see what are you teaching? Is it an accord with the law?

12:54And then they could give you 39 lashes. In Acts four, Peter and John were dragged before the Sanhedrin by those same groups. And yet in verse 18, we see you'll be dragged before governors and kings for, for my namesake. So this would be gentile persecution or governmental persecution or state sponsored persecution. And we see this unfolding even with Jesus. He was brought before the Roman Governor Pilate, or as the gospel spread, the disciples testified before many Gentile rulers. Paul in particular, throughout the book of Acts, we see that he appears before Sergius Paulis and Acts 13 and Felix and Acts 24 and Festus, and Acts 25 and then King Agrippa and Acts 26.

13:42And then we believe that he eventually even made it before Emperor Nero. So Jesus warns that persecution is coming from the religious zealots, the religious people, and even from the government. And so he wants them to be prepared, but he shows them that persecution has a purpose. Do you see that in verse 18? Look at the latter half of verse 18. What does it say to bear witness before them? And the Gentiles, I don't think this is a throwaway phrase, persecution provides the disciples an opportunity to bear witness to Jesus. So Jesus is using persecution as an opportunity for the gospel to advance.

14:28And so persecution is not the end of the gospel, but it's actually one of the ways in which God uses hostility and opposition to advance his message. You remember Paul and Philippians? What did he say? I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me and what does he mean by what has happened to me? He was riding from prison, he had been imprisoned. I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. Some are even much more bold to speak the word without fear. And everyone knows why I'm here in prison. It's for the sake of Christ. And so that is how persecution advances the gospel.

15:12So how do we apply this today? I I don't think that we are ever to seek out persecution. I don't think we're supposed to find how we can be persecuted for our faith. We're supposed to be shrewd and innocent. And yet it may mean that if you experience some level of hostility from those around you, maybe family or neighbors or your community, that perhaps those are the ones God is working on and there's an opportunity to bear witness to the name of Christ where you see the most resistance to the gospel. Maybe a family member, maybe a neighbor that's like, oh, you Christians, maybe there's a sweet opportunity there to show the love of Christ and even engage them in conversation.

16:00We, we don't throw our pearls before swine, but we take every opportunity to bear witness of Christ. And it may may very well be that when you experience resistance and hostility, that is where God is working most. So be on the lookout to share Christ with hostile people. Or are there difficult people that you can engage in with spiritual conversations? Are there lonely people in your neighborhood that are hoping for an invitation into your home or to church? Is there an argumentative family member who might read the Bible with you this summer? This leads to our second promise. The first promise is that persecution has a purpose.

16:44The second promise is that the spirit helps us bear witness when, when we hear the fact that, okay, maybe persecution has a purpose. I'm supposed to bear witness, I'm supposed to testify, share the gospel with others. But what do I say? Uh, I I, I'm not a preacher. I'm not a theologian. I don't know how to answer those questions. Well, look at verse 19. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the spirit of your father speaking through you. Now, first I wanna say, what does this text not say?

17:25This text is not saying that we should only speak extemporaneously or that we should never prepare messages that somehow it was unbiblical for me to have a written manuscript up here because I should have just walked up and the spirit was supposed to give me the message. People unfortunately do in fact think that at times, uh, I was listening to Jay Vernon McGee, some of the old timers know that name, and he was telling a story of when he was in seminary, him and a, he had a classmate who he thought was a little bit odd, and he believed this, that you should never prepare sermons. And so they went with him when he went to preach at a church once and him and his friend, and they listened to him preach.

18:04And they asked him afterwards, did you have any notes or did you prepare? And he said, no, I didn't. And he said, well, what did you know? How did you come up with what you said? And he said, the Holy Spirit gave it to me. And he said, his friend said, you shouldn't blame that sermon on the Holy Spirit. It, it was bad. So it doesn't mean that we should not prepare. Rather Jesus is teaching that God will help us bear witness in the moments we need at most. By the power of the Holy Spirit. God's spirit will give us the words that we need to defend the gospel and to proclaim Christ, especially when we're under fire.

18:46When we're under arrest, the spirit of your father will speak through you. He's referring to the Holy Spirit. And we see that in fact, throughout the scriptures, even back in Exodus. Exodus chapter four, verse 12, Moses is, I don't know what to say, uh, I got a lisp, but I I'm really inadequate. And what does the Lord say to him? I will be your mouth. I will teach you what you are to say. Later on in acts, it says Peter, this is Acts four, eight Peter filled with the Holy Spirit said to them. And then we get Peter's sermon. I think that verse Acts four eight is trying to show the very fulfillment of what Jesus is talking about here.

19:34Or in Acts six, Stephen, the first martyr is described as a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. And the Jews could not withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he was speaking. The principle is this, the Holy Spirit will help us testify of Christ when we need it most. So that we don't need to be anxious. We don't need to prepare a little written script so that if we're arrested for some reason or dragged before HR or put before a court, we're in a foreign country that they say, why are you here? That we have to prepare this long, elaborate speech. It says that the Holy Spirit will give you help when you need it most.

20:19As I was preparing this, a a thought came back to my mind. And I remembered when this, I experienced something like this Once it, it was back in college and I had gone to, uh, Hong Kong to minister and teach English to maybe a group of, uh, 10 year olds. And we were teaching English lessons. And that final night, my translator said, you know, you've been speaking English this whole time and he knows that I can speak just like, uh, a smidgen. A smidgen is maybe generous of, of Cantonese. Uh, I can order food at a Chinese restaurant that that's about as much as I can do, which is really useful 'cause I get good food.

20:53But, um, he said, why don't you share your testimony in Cantonese? It's a dialect of Chinese. And I was like, I can't do that. I don't know. Like I've never prepared that. And he is like, I think that's just gonna resonate with them rather than me translating for you. So I did it. Uh, and by God's grace, I don't know how it came across, but all 10 of those young people made decisions to follow the Lord that night by God's grace. And so I can personally testify that the spirit will not leave us hanging when we need it most when we're under fire. If you're arrested someday, when you're dragged before courts and authorities and and you're thinking, I I don't know how to defend the gospel in this moment, no verses are coming to mind.

21:39I don't remember the sermons, I don't have my book of notes. God is going to be your help. Every believer this morning has been indwelt by the Holy Spirit and God's power courses through your veins and when you need it most, he's gonna be there. He's gonna be there to help you. Isn't that a glorious comfort for us this morning? You don't need to worry. You don't need to be anxious. You don't need to fret like what if, what if? And so what effect does that have upon us? We should be all the more bold to share Christ. We should be all the more bold to stand up faithfully for Jesus in the public sphere at work, at school.

22:23And others might say, well, why do you believe that? And we're just gonna trust that the Lord will be on our side in that moment. It should embolden us to share Christ, to stand up for Jesus and to testify of our faith in him. God's spirit, if you're a believer in Jesus right now, indwells you and will empower you when you need his help. So we've seen two promises so far. Persecution has a purpose. The Holy Spirit helps us bear witness. And then third, endurance is rewarded with salvation. Look with me at verse 21 and 22. Uh, here the persecution escalates quite a bit. We saw religious persecution, governmental persecution.

23:14Now we get familial persecution. Brother will deliver brother over to death and the father, his child and children rise against parents and have them put to death. And you will be hated by all for my namesake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. So rejection comes not only from people in general, but even from your own family, those who are closest to you. And it escalates from being arrested and beaten and dragged before courts to now being betrayed unto death. So it highlights sort of this unnerving reality, which is that the gospel creates division. It's what Jesus describes later in greater detail in Matthew 34 to 39, converting to Christianity will indeed divide families.

24:10It will bring about shame and betrayal. Many of you probably know of Christians in places like the Middle East or China or North Korea or certain parts of Africa like Sudan or Libya and Yemen and Somalia, where if you become a Christian, they might just hold a funeral for you because you're dead to them now and they might beat you. They might even betray you to death and to be executed, individuals face being disowned and ostracized for converting to Christianity. And, and so Jesus is preparing not only his disciples but all disciples for all time. This is the cost of discipleship.

24:55But he goes on to give them a promise. The one who endures to the end will be saved. Let me just give a comment, uh, about that earlier phrase that you'll be hated by all. It doesn't mean that every single person will hate you, but that every group of people will hate you. And so Jesus is telling his followers to not be surprised by persecution and hatred. And one John three 13 says, do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. Jesus is calling us to gird ourselves against opposition and rejection from our families. And and that's a reality for some of us this morning when you converted to Christianity, you alienated your closest family members, maybe some of your current family members, your children or your parents think, ah, cutting you out of the will.

25:52Ah, you're dead to me. You keep talking about that Jesus guy. They think you're in a cult. And the reality of the gospel is that it's an aroma of life to some, an aroma of death to others. Now, back to that promise he gives, look at verse 22. The one who endures to the end will be saved when we endure, when we persevere, it leads ultimately to end time salvation and everlasting life with Christ, even if we die physically. And so what Jesus is saying here is not you gotta endure. He is saying that, but he's saying it as a promise. All those who are in Christ, who are my sheep, who are my children, you're going to endure.

26:36And all those who endure will be saved. Jesus will ensure it. No one can snatch his sheep out of his hand. As long as you're abiding in Christ, his words abide in you and you're abiding in Jesus. You've been brought into union. And with Christ you will endure. And those who endure will be saved. Not only that, we know from the broader testimony of scripture that fiery trials like persecution produces endurance and endurance produces character. And character produces hope. And hope does not put us to shame. And so while suffering and persecution feels shameful in the moment, it's actually testifying of your allegiance and union with Jesus persecution enables believers to exercise the muscles of endurance.

27:35So the the way you build muscles, right, you gotta create those micro tears and stress. And I think in that same way, we build our muscles of endurance and perseverance by weathering persecution and hostility. So God, if he is bringing hostility and opposition and persecution into your life, maybe at work, maybe with family members, he's causing you to grow your muscles of endurance so that you would persevere to the very end. He's causing you to be conformed to the image of his son. And this idea will be saved, does not mean rescued from physical death because some indeed will be put to death.

28:20We see that in verse 21. But rather they're gonna experience the full blessings of salvation in eternity with Jesus forever. Uh, so the martyr, Stephen, he endured and he was stoned to death and he was saved. You get that he endured, he was stoned to death. He died and he was saved. He was able to look upon the face of Jesus and be received by king Jesus into his kingdom for all eternity. And he did not deny Jesus as the stones were being lifted. The fear didn't overcome him, but he had all the more boldness to say, do what you will. I am with Christ. I'm for Jesus. So we see persecution has a purpose.

29:10That's the first promise. The Holy Spirit helps us bear witness endurance is rewarded with salvation. And now fourth, the end is near. So verse 23 is a notoriously difficult passage. So listen as I read it again and see if you can discern why it's so difficult when they persecute you in one town, flee to the next. For truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the son of man comes. So first, the easy part, Jesus tells the disciples to keep moving from town to town whenever they encounter resistance. So in many ways, persecution is God's way of keeping the mission going.

29:57Not everyone's gonna respond to you, some are gonna run you out of town. That's all right. Just go to the next town. So God sovereignly directs our steps through persecution and even closed doors. He may direct us away even from one job to another. He closes one door of ministry to open up another one. Many of our global partners get their visas denied of a certain country. I think it's God's way to say, you can't get in there. Here's this new ministry before you where you are now to minister. So be encouraged when you're experiencing persecution, God is directing you through that. Our global partners in particular should feel encouraged.

30:38Now here's the hard part. Jesus says, the disciples will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of man comes it. I think the emphasis here is there's a note of urgency. Keep moving from town to town because before you can finish, the son of man will have come and and we need to figure out what that phrase means. Now, some believe that the Son of man coming refers to Jesus resurrection or maybe to the Holy Spirit coming at Pentecost. And I think that's unlikely because a lot of the sufferings and persecutions that are described in our passage don't happen until the book of Acts, which would be after Pentecost, after the resurrection.

31:24And so it doesn't make sense to have that level of urgency move from town to town until the son of man comes. Now, others believe that it's referring to Jesus second coming. But I also think that's unlikely. That's a commonly held view, but that Jesus disciples won't be able to visit all the towns of Israel before the second coming. When Christ consummate his kingdom. More likely is that they will have already gone through all the towns of Israel. In fact, the gospel will be preached throughout the entire world and then the end will come. So I don't think the son of man coming is referring to the second coming.

32:00I think it actually is most likely referring to Jesus' judgment upon Israel in the destruction of the temple in Ad 70. Now, AD 70 isn't in our Bibles and so we don't often think about it. But let me just try to guide us through this and then show us where what the payoff is. First, it's helpful to think of the coming of the Son of man in various stages. We could say the kingdom of God came at the birth of Jesus, and we could say the kingdom of God came at the transfiguration when we saw more of Jesus' identity and glory. And then we could say the kingdom of God came at his death, at his resurrection, at his ascension or at Pentecost when he empowered and enabled his disciples to minister with the Spirit, with the Holy Spirit.

32:47And then we could say the kingdom of God comes at various great awakenings where God stirs up faith and the kingdom of God awaits final judgment. And the second coming now one of those decis decisive moments where the son of man comes is Ad 70 where the temple was destroyed by the Romans. So this was a moment of judgment upon Israel. And if you remember, the son of man comes from Daniel seven in Daniel Seven's broader context is all about judgment that the son of man comes and brings judgment against these four beasts, which I think are four earthly kingdoms. And now what it's doing is it's fast forwarding ahead the kingdom of God, the Son of man comes in this judgment where there will be, where there was war and famine and starvation and the Roman forces burned the temple and and I think the temple was this key moment because that signified the end of the sacrificial system for the Jews.

33:47And then the priority of the gospel moving away from the Jews towards the Gentiles. It symbolically shows that the gospel is now for the Gentiles in light of that Jewish rejection. And Jesus himself foretold that the temple would be torn down. There would not be a stone left upon another. So in other words, I think the phrase, the the passage is saying, this disciples move quickly throughout the cities of Israel because judgment is coming soon upon Israel and the Gentiles will soon take priority in salvation history. And so from the time Jesus uttered these words to when I think the son of man came, that one of those comings is those 40 years that transpired between that.

34:34Now what's the payoff for us this morning? And maybe it, some of us might even be unconvinced of that argument and take one of the other views. I, I think the payoff doesn't change. The reality is that God's judgment is imminent for all who will reject him. God's judgment is imminent and the end is near. Judgment has already come to pass for Israel in some form, and every day we get closer and closer to the son of man coming decisively in his second coming. So if you get persecuted in the one town, go to the next. Why? Because judgment is coming, vengeance is mine, says the Lord. Don't dwell on what happened there.

35:16Move on to the next because there's an urgency to get the message out. God's kingdom is on the move. You're not fighting an endless mission or an unwinnable war, but rather Jesus Christ is establishing his kingdom, building his church, and even the gates of hell will not be able to withstand it. So there's no bait and switch. The fine print is not doom and gloom. Jesus sends his disciples out to be shrewdly innocent. When persecution comes, it has an ordained purpose. If we're arrested, the Holy Spirit is going to help us. If suffering persists, it's producing in us endurance that will be rewarded with salvation and the end of all things is near.

36:04Now, some of us this morning think I don't, I don't experience any persecution. I'm, I'm living here in America. I I'm in the burbs. Is this even relevant to North American Christians? And and it may be if, if you don't experience any resistance, any hostility, anyone disliking you for your Christian faith that you have somehow been silent when you should be speaking up. Do we hide the fact that we're Christians? Yes, be shrewd, but do we kind of tell other people that we're followers of Jesus? This is the most significant thing in my entire life. This is where all of of my life revolves around.

36:47Or are we ashamed of Jesus and the gospel? Are we undercover for Christ or are we public and unashamed in our allegiance to Jesus? This text is a rebuke of our fear and sinful anxiety, and it's an encouragement. Be witnesses of Jesus Christ. You have been sent to make disciples in our world. Others can very easily think of the persecution that we experience here in America. Your family thinks you're a religious freak or a zealot or that you've joined a cult. Your coworkers exclude you from certain conversations. Maybe Christian nurses and doctors might be discriminated against or looked down upon because they don't support abortion.

37:35Teachers might be fired or excluded because you don't use the right pronouns or support the sexual revolution. What do we do in all of these instances? We remember the central truth from this text. God is on our side. Jesus himself says, I will never leave you nor will I forsake you. I will always be with you even to the very end of the age and when you need it most, when you're under fire, when hostile forces are rising up against you. Don't worry. Don't even worry about what you're gonna say because I will be with you in that moment. You'll feel overwhelming, confident peace so that you can proclaim courageously and boldly because the spirit of my father will be with you.

38:28And it's not even you speaking, but it's Him speaking through you. That's the hope of the gospel for us this morning. That in the midst of persecution, which is here in various forms will increase perhaps here in our country, that we'll see various species of persecution over our lifetime. You do not need to worry this morning. Yes, this is a sobering passage and yet Christ is for us. He says, behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. His judgment is coming upon his enemies. And so there's urgency. Go and make disciples. There are people in our families, in our neighborhoods who are perishing without Christ.

39:19And you have been sent and there's nothing to be afraid of. Amen. Amen. Let's pray. Father, we thank you that we can abide in Christ and we can have this peace that surpasses all understanding. We can have unshakeable confidence in Jesus and that you will be with us. You will lead us in the fiercest battles for your glory, for our joy, and for the advance of your everlasting kingdom. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

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Sermon Text

Matthew 10:16-23

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