Shall we turn now in our Bibles to
the 10th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew.
In the beginning of the 10th chapter we
find Christ sending his disciples out, telling them
to go to the lost sheep of the
house of Israel.
But in the fact that he is sending
them to go in the first part of
chapter 10 makes the last verse of chapter
9 quite significant.
For in the last verse of chapter 9
Jesus said to his disciples, Pray ye therefore
the Lord of harvest that he will send
forth laborers into his harvest.
And having told them to pray that the
Lord will send workers into the harvest, the
next thing he says is go.
So many times as we pray the Lord
speaks to our own hearts.
So many times we see a need and
we think, oh what a need.
You know the church really should be trying
to fulfill that need.
And we become all concerned with the need
and the Lord says, well pray about it.
And as we pray about it suddenly we
realize that God has called us he has
shown us the need because he wants us
to plug ourselves into the filling of that
particular need.
Many times the very fact that God has
made you conscious and aware of that particular
thing is the beginning of the call of
God upon your own life for that particular
field of service.
So the Lord says pray because the harvest
is plenteous the labors are few.
Pray that the Lord of harvest will send
forth laborers into the harvest and then in
the very next section the Lord says now
you go out into this harvest.
And so praying so often prepares us for
going.
It is while I am praying that the
Spirit of God can really get hold of
my heart.
As I've said I do believe that prayer
changes things mainly me.
I don't think that prayer changes God.
I wouldn't really want prayer to change God.
I think it would be extremely dangerous if
prayer could change God.
I think that God knows best in every
situation and I would not want to convince
God if I could I can't but if
I could I would not want to convince
him to see things my way.
I would rather that through prayer the Spirit
of God be able to get hold of
my own heart and mold me and shape
me into that which God has purposed and
that which God has designed.
So that so often as I say oh
Lord send forth workers into the harvest and
then I hear the call of God who
will go and I answer oh Lord here
am I send me.
And so Jesus said pray the Lord of
harvest and then he says now you go.
So when he had called unto him the
12 disciples he gave them power against unclean
spirits to cast them out and to heal
all manner of sickness and all manner of
disease.
So Jesus is first of all empowering his
disciples for that work before he sends them
out to do the work.
Empowering them against unclean spirits giving them the
power to heal all manner of sickness and
all manner of disease.
Now the names of the 12 apostles and
here they are first called apostles because of
the fact that he is sending them out
and the word apostle means one who is
sent.
So at up to this point they have
been disciples.
They have been learning of him.
They have been following him and learning as
he taught.
But now the time has come for them
to go out and they are now being
sent by him and thus the change from
disciple a follower to an apostle one who
has been sent.
And so the names of them first of
all was Simon who is called Peter and
Andrew his brother.
James the son of Zebedee and John his
brother.
And then Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew the publican
or the tax collector.
James the son of Alphaeus and Levius whose
surname was Thaddeus.
And Simon the Canaanite and Judas Iscariot who
also betrayed him.
Simon the Canaanite that word translated Canaanite is
actually Canaan and we are told in Luke's
gospel that he was Simon the Zealot.
Now Josephus tells us that the Zealots were
the extreme patriots.
These were men who valued freedom above life
itself.
These were men who were willing to sacrifice
their own lives or even see their own
families martyred in order that they might be
free.
They preferred freedom to life and they were
willing to do whatever is necessary to obtain
freedom.
They were the ones who rebelled constantly against
the Roman government.
Simon the Zealot.
Matthew a publican was considered a quisling by
the Jews.
He was one that had more or less
sold out to the enemy because he was
collecting taxes for the hated Roman government.
Now had Simon and Matthew met under any
other circumstances Simon would have done Matthew in.
I mean here you've got a Zealot, one
who hates the Roman yoke, one who is
willing to fight to overthrow it.
And you have another one who was almost
in league with Rome.
A turncoat so to speak.
It's interesting though how that Christ takes people
from many different backgrounds even adverse backgrounds and
brings us together in a loving fellowship.
Now it is also interesting to me that
as the Lord names these apostles there aren't
really any great marvelous people among them as
far as the world is concerned.
None of them are highly educated.
None of them are prominent or wealthy.
In fact they're just common ordinary people.
Four of them were fishermen.
One was a tax collector.
We're not really given much of a background
on the others but they were just plain
common people.
And that always interests me because these men
that God is preparing to send out to
do his work are just plain common people
like you.
And when God has a work to be
done he doesn't really go to the universities
to select those with the highest grades and
IQs and all.
But God chooses and calls just plain ordinary
people like you.
It is wrong for any of us to
excuse ourselves from serving the Lord because of
the fact that we are just so ordinary.
Because that's the kind of person God seeks
to use for his glory.
If God used the highly talented highly developed
kind of an individual then we would all
be saying oh but don't you know he's
got his doctorate don't you know he was
so brilliant don't you know he and we
would be putting the emphasis upon the ability
of the instrument rather upon rather than upon
the one who has used the instrument.
We would have a tendency then to glory
in man or man's educational processes.
So the Lord has chosen the simple things
to confound the wise and the foolish things
to put to not the wisdom of this
world.
And God uses just plain common ordinary people
like Raul Reis and Greg Laurie and Mike
McIntosh and Chuck Smith.
Just the plain ordinary people to do his
work.
I love to hear Raul on the radio.
I have to sacrifice listening to myself because
I'm on at KYMS at that hour.
I heard Raul this week as he was
describing his condition when he was in the
Marine Corps.
He had been such a vicious killer and
had killed so many people that he was
brought back and put in the hospital in
Vallejo for the mentally deficient.
And he said the psychiatrist said man I
was far and above beyond gone.
That's a typical Raul-ism.
Ordinary and yet anointed by the Spirit of
God and used by God to do his
work.
So not many wise, not many great, not
many notable of the world but just those
plain ordinary people who he sent out as
apostles to represent him.
These twelve Jesus sent forth.
That's what made them apostles.
And he commanded them saying go not into
the way of the Gentiles or into any
city of the Samaritans.
Do not enter but go rather to the
lost sheep of the house of Israel.
So by telling them not to go into
the way of the Gentiles, he was restricting
their area of ministry.
They were not to go south into Samaria.
They were not to go west over to
Tyre and Sidon.
They were not to go as far north
as Damascus.
But they were to go only around the
region of the Galilee.
Not even to the cities of the Decapolis.
But only to those Jewish communities around the
Galilee.
So in the first sending out of the
disciples, it was a very restricted area that
he gave them to work in.
And they were to be forerunners of his
coming.
For he was going to follow up and
to go into each of these villages.
And they were more or less the forerunners
of his own coming to these villages.
So they were sent to the lost sheep
of the house of Israel.
Paul the apostle said I am not ashamed
of the gospel of Christ.
It is the power of God unto salvation
to those that believe.
To the Jew first.
And so Jesus came to the Jew first.
And as he was sending them forth now,
it was very limited.
Only to the Jews.
Not to be going to the Gentiles or
to the Samaritans.
However, he himself later was to reveal himself
to that Samaritan woman.
He was to heal the daughter of this
Seraphim.
And finally he was to tell his disciples
go ye into all the world and preach
the gospel to every creature.
But it was important in God's plan that
the gospel come first to the Jew.
And so there was first of all that
restricted ministry of the disciples when he was
first sending them forth.
It was not to the world at this
time.
It was just among the Jews.
Not even into the Samaritans.
But only to the Jews at this point.
Later he said when the Holy Spirit comes
upon you, you will be witnesses unto me.
Not only in Judea but also in Samaria
and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.
But now restricted to the Galilee region only
to those Jewish communities.
The lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Notice it doesn't say the ten lost tribes
of the house of Israel.
Ten lost tribes is not a biblical term.
There are not ten lost tribes.
God knows exactly where they are and who
they are.
He's never lost them.
And when the time comes he's going to
seal ten thousand from each of the tribes
to be or twelve thousand from each of
the tribes to be preserved during the great
tribulation period.
And I discount the attempt to make a
Jew out of me because of my English
heritage.
The business of Denmark being the tribe of
Dan and Danmark.
And so they are called the Danish people.
And English.
The word I-S-H in Hebrew is
man.
So Dan's man.
Danish.
British.
English.
Foolish.
Just because it has an ish on the
end doesn't make it Jewish.
Now as Jesus sent them forth he said
go and preach saying the kingdom of heaven
is at hand.
What is the kingdom of heaven?
This glorious phrase.
Jesus, well we'll be getting parables about the
kingdom in our next study as we get
into Matthew 13 and 14.
These parables of the kingdom.
What is the kingdom of heaven?
Jesus said when you pray say thy kingdom
come.
Thy will be done in earth as it
is in heaven.
What are we praying for when we pray
for the kingdom of heaven?
Now Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is
at hand.
Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is among
you.
Rather than in you.
But in reality God's kingdom has come to
every man who has acknowledged Jesus Christ as
his Lord and King.
And if you tonight have acknowledged the Lordship
of Jesus Christ.
If he is the king of your life
you are already a citizen of the kingdom.
The kingdom of heaven has come to you.
And as a citizen of the kingdom there
are many tremendous benefits for the citizens of
that kingdom.
As a citizen of the United States I
have many benefits.
Even when I travel in a foreign country
there are certain protections that I have as
a citizen of the United States.
Should I get into trouble there are always
those embassies to which I can turn.
Who are there to help the citizens of
the United States out of whatever difficulty they
might find themselves in.
And those within the embassies in these foreign
countries will seek to help those citizens of
the United States.
That's just one of the benefits of citizenship.
Just because I'm a citizen they'll go to
bat for me.
And they'll speak up for me.
And they will pull strings for me because
I'm a citizen of the United States.
And the United States has an obligation to
guarantee its citizens certain rights, certain privileges.
So I enjoy being a citizen of the
United States because of those rights and privileges
that I have in as a citizen.
But I am also a citizen of a
kingdom.
The kingdom of God.
The kingdom of heaven.
And I'll tell you the rights and the
privileges that I have as a citizen of
the kingdom of heaven far exceed the rights
that I have and the privileges as a
citizen of the United States.
Wherever I go I have protection.
I have authority, the authority of the kingdom
of heaven behind me.
And Jesus is saying, now you go out
and preach, saying, the kingdom heralded, the kingdom
of heaven is at hand.
And they were to demonstrate the aspects of
the kingdom of heaven by healing the sick,
cleansing the lepers, and raising the dead, and
casting out the devils.
We read in the prophecy of Isaiah, chapter
35, some of the aspects of that kingdom
age.
Where the lame will leap for joy, the
dumb will sing praises unto God, and the
blind will behold the glory of the Lord.
And the gospel will be preached unto the
meek, to the poor.
And so Jesus is telling them to demonstrate
the aspects of the kingdom by setting men
free from the kingdom of darkness.
I love the commission that the Lord gave
to Paul the apostle when he called him
on the Damascus road.
And when Paul was talking to King Agrippa
and relating to Agrippa that calling of God
on the Damascus road, Paul said that the
Lord spoke to him to go to the
Gentiles to open their eyes and to turn
them from darkness to light, from the power
of Satan unto God, that they may receive
the forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them
which are sanctified by faith that is in
me.
So Paul's commission as he went to the
Gentiles was to deliver them from the power
of Satan unto God, from the power of
darkness to light.
And as a kingdom, a citizen of God's
kingdom, I've been delivered from the power of
darkness, and I am to bring deliverance to
those to whom I come.
To those who will heed the message and
receive Jesus Christ as King.
That is the effect.
They are delivered from the power of darkness
and brought into the light, from the power
of Satan and made a part of the
kingdom of God.
There are people today who are living in
the kingdom of darkness.
There are two basic kingdoms in the universe.
In the beginning when God created the heavens
and the earth, there was only one kingdom
in the universe, the kingdom of God, the
kingdom of light and life.
But God in his kingdom created these beings
we call angels and he endowed them with
the capacity of choice.
And one of the choicest of the angels,
the anointed cherub that covered, perfect in beauty,
perfect in wisdom, was lifted up by pride
and decided to exalt himself and be as
God, first Mormon.
And the inspiration behind the Mormons today to
be as God.
What was it?
Shakespeare has the statement in one of his
plays, O Cromwell, flee ambition, for by this
sin the angels fell.
What was the temptation that Satan offered to
Eve in the garden?
Eat of it because you will be as
God, knowing good from evil.
That bait still works.
And there are those who are attempting to
be as God still.
Tragic.
Now, in his rebellion against God, in his
pride being lifted up to be as God,
he formed a second kingdom in the universe,
a kingdom that was an antithesis to the
first kingdom, a kingdom that was in rebellion
to the first kingdom, the kingdom of death
and darkness.
So now in the universe there are two
opposing kingdoms, the kingdom of God, the kingdom
of light and life ruled by God, but
now a sub-kingdom in antagonism to the
first, rebelling against the first, the kingdom of
death and darkness.
Now when God created man and placed him
here upon the planet earth, he placed man
here in the kingdom of God and Adam
had fellowship with God.
God came down and he communed with Adam
there in the garden and there was this
beautiful fellowship with man and God in the
kingdom of light and life.
But Satan, the ruler of the kingdom of
death and darkness, came to Eve and said,
Did God say you can eat of all
the trees?
Yes, all but the one in the middle.
He told us if we ate of that
tree we would die.
Satan said, Oh, you really won't die.
Really, that's the finest tree in the garden.
God isn't really being fair to you, Eve.
He's trying to hold back something good.
You see, that tree holds the key to
knowledge and God doesn't want you to eat
that tree because he knows that when you
eat of it, you'll be wise as he
is, knowing good from evil.
And so he's trying to hold that back.
You really ought to try it.
How do you know unless you've tried it?
And so Eve, being deceived, ate of it
and her eyes were open and she gave
to her husband Adam and he did eat.
But in that act of disobedience to God,
which was a double act because it was
an act of obedience to Satan, they left
the kingdom of light and life and they
were drawn into the kingdom of death and
darkness.
And they drew all mankind into the kingdom
of death and darkness because they could not
pass on something they did not have.
They had lost that place in the kingdom
of God, the kingdom of light and life.
And so by one man, sin entered the
world and death by sin for death passed
unto all men for all sinned.
So each of us born of Adam were
born in sin and shapen in iniquity.
Born sinners by nature and we were all
by nature children of wrath even as others.
Born into the kingdom of death and darkness.
But there is another tree.
The tree of life is still available.
It is through Jesus Christ.
And if you choose to come into the
kingdom of light and life, you can come
by the cross of Jesus Christ.
Using that same exercise of free choice that
Adam used in leaving the kingdom of God,
you can use that to come back into
the kingdom of God since Jesus Christ made
provision.
And so the duty of the apostles was
to preach the kingdom.
It's possible for a man to now again
have fellowship with God.
You can come out of the kingdom of
darkness.
You can come into the kingdom of light.
You can have deliverance from the power of
Satan.
And you can know fellowship with God.
And that's the glorious gospel that we herald
today.
That's the glorious gospel we still preach.
That it's possible for that man who has
been bound in the kingdom of darkness and
death, that man who has been alienated by
God because of his life after the flesh,
it's possible for him to know the power
of God's Spirit in his life.
And he can come from that kingdom of
darkness into the glorious light and liberty of
the sons of God through faith in Jesus
Christ, through the tree, the cross.
And so a lot of people blame Adam
today for their problems.
And they feel that it is quite unfair
that they have to suffer for Adam's mistake.
I was hiking a group of kids from
the Haiwai camp there in Arizona coming down
the backside of Mount Lemmon from an old
mine.
And as I was leading them down this
trail, I heard this yell back the line.
And so I went back to see what
this horrible scream was about.
And this one little guy had brushed too
close to an Ochoa cactus.
Now the Ochoa is called the jumping cactus.
And if you just barely touch it, it'll
break off and just glom onto you.
And he had one really glommed onto him,
but good.
And he was really yelling.
So I got back there and I took
a couple of sticks and I carefully worked
the sticks in between the thorns.
And then I flipped that Ochoa cactus off
of him.
And as he was shaking his hand and
all, he said, That darn guy, Adam.
And I said, where do you go to
Sunday school?
He said, I go to the first Baptist
church.
I said, well, they're teaching you correct doctrine
anyhow.
You know that the thorns and the thistles
resulted from the curse.
Curse would be the ground, thorn shall it
bring forth.
But so many times we're looking at the
miseries that we're facing.
We say that darn guy, Adam, you know,
got us into this mess.
Made such a horrible choice.
When he had the choice of the tree
of life.
Or the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil.
Why couldn't he have chosen the tree of
life?
Why would he eat of the other tree
first?
That tree of life in the midst of
the garden of God.
Why didn't he eat of it?
How foolish.
And we're prone to really come down on
Adam for the foolish choice.
But in reality, there are still two trees
today.
And you have the choice.
You can choose to eat of the tree
of life today.
For God has given to you that choice.
By believing and receiving in Jesus Christ, you
can have eternal life.
Or you can choose to disobey God, to
rebel.
To eat of the fruit of the world
and abide in death.
So you really can't blame Adam for your
condition.
You can only blame yourself because you, many,
are following Adam's folly.
Not choosing to eat of the tree of
life that God has made available to all
men.
Through Jesus Christ.
Now, Jesus said to his disciples, freely you
have received, freely give.
I wonder how that fits with these modern
evangelists today.
I've got on my desk a letter.
I wish I had it here right now
before me.
If Romaine is around, maybe you can go
get it.
It's classic.
We have these Jewish friends in Israel that
we have been seeking to share the truths
of Jesus Christ with.
But it's a difficult task sharing with them
because he is a guide and he guides
a lot of Christian tours.
And as a guide, he sees a lot
of the inner workings and the background and
a lot of the rip-offs.
And when I go over, he'll start telling
me about these rip-offs that he sees.
Where these tour guides get the people over
there, the famous evangelists and all, and then
they'll really rip the people off.
And he'll tell me of these things.
And then somehow he's gotten on the mailing
list of some of these evangelists and he
gets these computerized letters.
Dear brother, you know.
And all of this junk.
You know, have you been bothered with an
ear problem lately?
Or maybe it's the eyes or the nose
or a knee or hepatitis.
I mean, you know, the guy goes down
a long list and you're bound to hit
something.
Somehow I've been impressed to pray for you
lately, you know.
And I think there might be something wrong.
And why don't you write me and share
with me?
Now, please don't send me any money for
my birthday.
But, you know, I've been laboring for the
Lord 341 nights a year.
And I'm really tired and I'm going to
take a vacation.
And we could use a little extra money,
you know.
And our organ blew up and all this
kind of stuff.
And here this guy's getting these computerized letters.
And he's smart enough to see through them.
And to him, the ministry is a sham.
He sees the rip-offs.
Jesus said to His disciples, freely you have
received, freely give.
They weren't to demand fees for their services.
They weren't to be taking offerings for themselves.
They had received freely from God and they
were to give freely.
I could spend the rest of the evening
on that verse, but we need to get
on.
I promised you we're going to go three
chapters.
Now, the Lord said, don't provide gold or
silver, nor brass in your purses.
Don't take any coins in your purses, nor
script for your journey.
Don't even take two coats, nor an extra
pair of shoes, nor yet staves.
For the workman is worthy of his meat.
Now, you can go and it's proper that
the people support you.
Don't take, you know, you don't have to
take a lot of money with you.
It's proper that the people support you.
The workman is worthy of his hire.
However, you're not to go in and make
yourself a burden or lay yourself upon people.
Now, into whatsoever city or town you shall
enter, inquire who is worthy and stay there
until you leave.
And when you come into a house, greet
it.
And if the house is worthy, let your
peace come upon it.
But if it is not worthy, let your
peace return to you.
Now, in those days, they really thought quite
a bit about giving a person a blessing.
If they would greet you, they would often
greet you with a blessing of the Lord.
The blessings of the Lord be upon you
and your seed.
But then if they get down the road
and think, oh, he wasn't worthy.
You know, that was a Gentile or something.
You come back and he said, I take
that blessing back.
You know, they felt that they had to
remove the blessings that they gave if the
person was undeserving or unworthy.
So Jesus is pretty much saying that if
the house is worthy, let your peace abide.
If it's not, take your peace with you.
And whosoever shall not receive you nor hear
your words when you depart out of that
house or city, just shake the dust off
your feet.
Verily, I say unto you, it will be
more tolerable for the land of Sodom and
Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for
that city.
Behold, I'm sending you forth as sheep in
the midst of wolves.
Be ye therefore as wise as serpents and
harmless as doves.
Now, someone said, well, serpents aren't really noted
to be very wise.
They're not considered to be a wise kind
of a creature.
And I heard a professor in biology making
fun of the knowledge of Christ by pointing
out to the class that serpents really weren't
wise.
And so for the Lord to say, be
as wise as serpents was a rather stupid
thing and showed that he had really very
little knowledge of biology.
And so, one of the students spoke up
in class and said, how long do you
think you would survive without any arms or
legs?
And you had to take care of yourself
out in the desert.
So, you have to give them some credit.
At least they survived.
There's more than we could do.
The sermon of the Lord, harmless as doves,
but beware of men, for they will deliver
you up to their councils.
They will scourge you in their synagogues.
That is, they will beat you.
You will be brought before governors and kings
for my sake, for a testimony against them
and the Gentiles.
But when they deliver you up, do not
take forethought on how or what you're going
to say.
For it will be given to you in
the same hour what you shall speak.
For it is not you that speak, but
the spirit of your father which speaks in
you.
So, you don't have to make up little
speeches in advance.
Just let the Lord anoint you by his
spirit.
The brother shall deliver up brother to death.
The father, the child, the children shall rise
up against their parents and cause them to
be put to death.
And you shall be hated of all men
for my name's sake.
But he that endureth to the end shall
be saved.
So, here we have that basis for the
doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, which
is oftentimes used as a contrast to those
who would go to antinomianism, to the extremes
of the security of the believer.
And there are those who press this side
of the coin, he that endures to the
end and the perseverance of the saints.
Truth lies somewhere in the middle.
But when they persecute you in this city,
flee to another.
For verily I say unto you, ye shall
not have gone over the cities of Israel
till the Son of Man be come.
Now, Jesus is referring to his journey that
he's going to be taking among these cities.
And so, if they persecute you in one
city and all, just go to the next.
You'll not actually go through all of these
cities before I'll be right behind you.
I'll be coming behind you and I'll be
ministering in these cities.
He's not really referring to his second coming
at all, but just to his ministry in
these cities of the Galilee.
Now, Jesus said the disciple is not above
his master nor the servant above his Lord.
It is enough for the disciple that he
be as his master.
Oh, what a, that's enough.
You betcha it is.
That's great.
If we could only be as our Lord.
And he said, you're not greater than the
Lord.
It's just enough that you be as the
Lord.
God help us to be as the Lord.
If they have called the master of the
house, Beelzebub or the Lord of Flies, how
much more shall they call them of his
household?
They call me names.
They're going to call you names.
Now, don't fear them.
For there is nothing covered that shall not
be revealed and hid that shall not be
known.
And what I am telling you in darkness
that speak in the light.
And what you hear sort of whispered in
the ear that preach from the housetops.
Now I've been teaching you.
I've been training you.
I've been telling you in these little intercessions
that we have.
Now you go out and proclaim these truths
openly.
That which you've heard in these little sessions
that we've had go out and proclaim it.
And don't fear them.
Which kill the body.
But are not able to kill the soul.
But rather fear him which is able to
destroy both soul and body in hell.
So he's not saying to fear Satan.
Satan has no capacity of destroying your soul
in hell.
He's saying fear God.
Don't fear man.
The worst thing man can do is kill
you.
So why should you fear man?
To be absent from this body is to
be present with the Lord.
You should fear the one who is able
to take both body and soul and cast
it into hell.
That's the one you really should be fearing.
Are not two sparrows sold for a half
of a cent.
And one of them shall not fall to
the ground without your father taking note.
Again your father.
And again your father oversees his creation.
And one of the common things of God's
creation are the little sparrows.
They are so common as to be almost
worthless.
You can buy four of them for a
penny.
In those days.
Two sparrows sold for a half of farthing.
And yet not a little sparrow falls but
what your father doesn't know it.
Doesn't make note of it.
Again how detailed is God's knowledge of you.
The very hairs of your head are all
numbered.
Now just look at all of us here
tonight.
Some make it easy on the Lord.
But isn't it interesting the trivia that God
knows about us.
And he knows more about us than we
know about ourselves.
God knows even trivia about you.
That's how concerned your father is with you.
Oh if we would only be aware of
the tremendous concern that our father has with
us his children.
For Jesus said you are worth more than
many sparrows.
If God takes note of the sparrows.
And he's been saying don't worry about you
know they kill you.
There's not even a sparrow falls to the
ground but what your father knows it.
If you fall to the ground in the
proclaiming of the gospel.
If you be killed in your endeavor to
reach others with the glorious love of Christ.
How much more will your father take note
be aware.
So you really have nothing to fear not
man.
The worst they can do is kill you.
Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men.
Him will I confess also before my father
which is in heaven.
But whosoever shall deny me before men.
Him will I also deny before my father
which is in heaven.
Heavy heavy verse.
Because we must all stand before God.
One day stand before the creator of the
universe.
Now if I have confessed Jesus Christ before
men.
When my name is called.
And I have to stand before God.
Jesus will step forth and confess me before
the father.
Father this is Chuck.
He's perfect.
Isn't that what Jude said now unto him
who is able to keep you from falling.
And to present you faultless.
Why should you laugh when I say I'm.
He says I'm perfect.
Because you know the truth.
And I know the truth.
But I also know the power of my
redeemer.
And when he confesses me before the father.
And when he presents me before the father.
I will be complete in him.
Faultless before the presence of his glory with
exceeding joy.
But if a person has denied Jesus before
men.
You're going to stand all alone before God.
The books will be open.
And he who knows all things.
He who knows the secrets of the heart.
He who can probe.
Actually the bible says everything is naked and
open.
Before him with whom we have to do.
And there in the embarrassment of your own.
Bare being and everything exposed.
And you might turn furtively to Jesus Christ
saying.
Lord Lord shake his head.
I never knew you.
I also will deny you before my father.
Oh what a heavy thing.
If you deny me before men.
I also will deny you before my father.
Don't think that I'm come to send peace
on the earth.
I came not to send peace but a
sword.
The gospel of Jesus Christ unifies men.
it brings together a tax collector and a
zealot.
But the gospel of Jesus Christ also divides
men.
It divides men into two categories.
Those who are a part of the kingdom
of God and those who are a part
of the kingdom of darkness.
But Jesus divides men as well as unifies
men.
And many times Jesus divides those within a
household.
A child comes into the kingdom of light,
but the father continues to rebel in the
kingdom of darkness.
And so a division comes and a difference
comes.
And this contention oftentimes arises over the differences
of being in the kingdom of light and
the kingdom of darkness.
So I'm come to set a man at
variance against his father and the daughter against
her mother and the daughter-in-law against
her mother-in-law.
And a man's foes will often be those
of his own household.
Jesus was speaking out of personal experience.
For at this particular time his brothers were
against him.
He that loves his father or mother more
than he loves me is not worthy of
me.
And he who loves the son or daughter
more than me is not worthy of me.
Our love for Christ has to be supreme
even above those of our family members if
they are not united with us in the
faith.
If they are not a part of that
kingdom of light, our love for Christ must
exceed even our love for those in our
own family.
And he that does not take his cross
and follow after me is not worthy of
me.
When we get to chapter 16, we'll take
up the cross and what it means.
He that finds his life shall lose it.
And he who loses life for my sake
shall find it.
That we will also take up in chapter
16.
He that receives you.
Now you see the authority that Jesus gives
to his disciples.
I mean you are there representing the Lord.
You should be as your Lord.
And those that receive you receive me.
And he that receives me receives the Father
who sent me.
And he who receives a prophet in the
name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's
reward.
And he that receives a righteous man in
the name of a righteous man shall receive
a righteous man's reward.
And whosoever shall give to drink unto one
of these little ones, even a cup of
cold water only in the name of a
disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall
in no wise lose his reward.
So you're doing it as unto the Lord.
Giving as unto the Lord.
Giving unto a servant of the Lord.
You receive him as you receive the Lord.
And as you give to him, it is
as giving unto the Lord.
And you will receive your reward for it.
Now the thought blew, so forget it.
But giving a cup of cold water in
the name of a disciple, verily I say
unto you, he shall in no wise lose
his reward.
Now it came to pass when Jesus had
made an end of these commandments.
He departed from there to teach and to
preach in their cities.
So he sent them out in front of
them.
And then he departed and was following up
now and coming into the cities.
They were sort of advance men for him
to go out in advance.
Now, when John had heard in prison, the
works of Christ, he sent two of his
disciples and he said unto him, are thou
he that should come?
Or do we look for another?
Now, John had been placed in prison by
Herod and John had been preaching the kingdom
of heaven is at hand.
And he said, there's one who is coming
after me.
He's mightier than I am.
I'm not worthy to untie his shoes.
But here is John still in Herod's prison.
And he's saying to the Lord, hey, let's
get the show on the road.
For even John did not fully understand the
mission of Christ in his first coming, but
was anticipating the immediate establishment of the kingdom
of God, as was promised in the Old
Testament scriptures.
And so the fact that Jesus had not
yet proclaimed his power and overthrown the Roman
yoke, and John was still in prison, he
was getting impatient.
And he sends his disciples to Jesus say,
hey, are you the one or shall we
start looking for someone else?
Which he was just really saying, let's get
this thing going.
I'm tired of sitting here in jail.
Let's get the kingdom on the road.
You know, let's get this movement going.
Are you the one that we should look
for?
Or shall we start looking for someone else?
Now, Jesus answered and said unto them, go
and show John those things which you hear
and see.
The blind receive their sight, the lame walk,
the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the
dead are raised up, and the poor have
the gospel preached to them.
And blessed is he, whoever is not offended
in me.
Now, Jesus, rather than answering John directly, points
to his ministry, the works that he was
doing.
You remember on the night that Jesus was
betrayed as he was talking to his disciples
and John records it so faithfully there in
the 14th chapter, where Jesus had been saying,
now look, I'm going to the Father, and
if I go, I'm going to come again
and receive you unto myself.
That where I am, there you may be
also.
And where I go, you know, and the
way you know.
And Thomas said, Lord, we really don't know
where you're going, and how can we know
the way?
And Jesus said, well, I am the way,
the truth, and the life, and no one
comes to the Father but by me.
And he said, if you have seen me,
you have seen the Father also.
And Philip said, Lord, if you'll just show
us the Father, it will suffice us.
Jesus said, have I been so long in
time with you, and haven't you seen me,
Philip?
He that hath seen me hath seen the
Father.
Why do you say then, show us the
Father?
Don't you believe that the Father is in
me, and the works that I do, I
don't really do of myself, but the Father
that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
Believe me that I am in the Father,
or else believe for the very works sake.
In other words, Jesus was pointing to the
works as the evidence of his commission, of
his person, of his authority, pointing to the
works.
He also said, the works that I do,
they do testify of me.
They were the evidence.
He was fulfilling the promises of the kingdom
in the Old Testament.
As far as the lame walking, the blind
seeing, the dumb speaking, the deaf hearing, he
was fulfilling.
The dead were being raised, the poor had
the gospel preached, and he was fulfilling those
aspects of the kingdom.
And so his works were a witness and
a testimony.
So all he did was heal a few
of the sick that were around there, open
the eyes of the blind, and all.
And he said, now you just go back
and tell John what you see.
And just tell him, blessed is the one
who doesn't get offended because of my not
really establishing the kingdom immediately and overthrowing the
Roman yoke and establishing a physical, visible earthly
kingdom.
Now they departed, and Jesus began to talk
to the multitudes concerning John the Baptist.
And he said, what did you go out
in the wilderness to see?
A reed shaken in the wind.
John was preaching down at the Jordan River,
a lot of reeds down at the Jordan
River.
Did you go down to the Jordan River
just to watch the reeds being blown by
the wind?
How come you went out of the cities
and down to the Jordan?
Why did you go there to see?
But what did you go out to see?
Obviously, you didn't go out to see the
reeds being blown in the wind.
What did you go out to see?
A man clothed in soft raiment?
A man who was wearing fancy clothes?
Behold, those that wear the soft clothing are
in the king's houses.
They're not in the king's prisons.
John was in the king's prison at that
time, and those who wear that kind of
clothes are in the king's houses, palaces.
What did you go out to see?
A prophet?
Yes, I say unto you, more than a
prophet.
For this is he of whom it was
written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy
face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
He is declaring to them that John was
indeed the fulfillment of the promise of a
forerunner who would come before the Messiah to
prepare his way.
Verily I say unto you, among them that
are born of women, there has not risen
a greater than John the Baptist.
Notwithstanding, he that is least in the kingdom
of heaven is greater than he.
In other words, our position as children of
God through Jesus Christ puts us in a
greater position than those of the Old Testament.
Our position of having the Holy Spirit indwelling
us puts us in a greater position.
Of all of the women or men born
of women, not a greater prophet than John
the Baptist.
Yet, the privileges that God has bestowed upon
us in the church exceed those privileges.
Now, so oftentimes we think, oh, how blessed
it must have been for Abraham to have
had that kind of a relationship with God
and Moses and David and all.
But in reality, the potential of relationship that
is ours through the Spirit is tremendous.
That God would dwell in us by His
Spirit.
That God would empower us with His Spirit.
Absolutely amazing.
So even the least of us, filled with
the Spirit of God, walking in this glorious
fellowship with Jesus Christ, have greater privileges than
those of the Old Dispensation.
And from the days of John the Baptist
until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence.
John was thrown into prison and soon he
is to be beheaded.
And the kingdom of heaven is going to
suffer violence.
The king himself is going to be crucified.
And so the kingdom of heaven is suffering
the violence of man.
And the violent take it by force.
For all the prophets and the law prophesied
until John.
And if you're able to receive it.
This is Elijah, which was to come.
He that hath ears to hear, let him
hear.
Now in a interesting way, according to Jesus,
John the Baptist was Elijah.
This does bring up some confusion.
And when we get to the 17th chapter,
we will look at this again in a
little more detail.
But when Zechariah, the priest, was fulfilling his
ministry in the temple, the angel Gabriel came
to him and told him that his wife
Elizabeth, who had been barren, was in her
old age going to bear a son and
he was to call his name John.
And the angel told him he shall go
forth in the spirit and in the power
of Elijah to turn the hearts of the
children under their fathers.
He quotes this prophecy that Jesus quoted concerning
the forerunner of the Messiah.
And basically the Lord was saying John the
Baptist was going to be the forerunner of
the Messiah coming in the spirit and in
the power of Elijah.
When in the gospel of John, John the
Baptist began his ministry, they came out to
him and began to challenge him concerning his
authority.
And they said unto him, who are you?
And they asked him, point blank, are you
Elijah?
And John answered, no.
Then they said, who are you?
And he said, I'm the voice of one
crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way
of the Lord, make straight his path.
Quoting another passage of scripture concerning the forerunner.
Now, the reason for the ambiguity here is
the fact that before Jesus comes again.
And establishes his visible physical kingdom upon the
earth.
John the Baptist will be coming again.
Elijah will be coming of which John the
Baptist was a type for he came in
the spirit and in the power.
So even as there were two aspects of
the coming of Jesus Christ, the first to
be crucified, suffering violence, the second to reign
as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
So there are two aspects of the forerunner
Elijah.
So John the Baptist came to fulfill the
first coming in the spirit and the power
of Elijah.
But Elijah himself will actually come before Jesus
returns again.
And Elijah will prophesy before the Lord to
the Jewish people, not to the world, but
to the Jewish people to turn the hearts
of the children to their fathers.
That is to bring the Jewish people back
into the faith of the patriarchs in God
the Father.
And in Revelation chapter 11, verse two, I
am convinced that one of those two witnesses
in Jerusalem will indeed be John the Baptist.
For he has the power to shut up
heaven that it not rain during the time
of his ministry.
Even as Elijah prayed in it, rain not.
And he has power to call down fire
on his enemies to consume them.
Even as Elijah called down fire upon the
captain with the fifties who came out from
the king to take him in.
So the Elijah coming before the Lord.
Now, because I believe that the coming of
the Lord is so near, I do believe
that somewhere in the earth today, Elijah probably
is alive and living.
Because I believe that we are that near
the coming of the Lord.
Now, I don't think that anybody knows who
he is or where he is.
He may know himself.
But I'm not looking for him.
I'm looking for the Lord to come for
me.
I think that it's easy for us to
get our eyes off the main attraction.
And start looking for little side events.
Oh, who's the Antichrist?
I wonder if this one could be the
Antichrist, you know.
Let's look for the main event.
Jesus Christ.
So, Jesus is saying, hey, this is tough
to tell, you know.
He that hath ears to hear, let him
hear.
I mean, if you can take it, if
you can handle it.
If you will receive it, you know, this
is he.
This is Elijah.
If you can receive it.
Now, if you can't receive it, then, you
know, take it however you want.
But he that hath ears to hear, let
him hear.
So, in a sense, it was Elijah coming
in the spirit and the power as a
forerunner of the Messiah.
But not the total fulfillment of that promise
in Malachi.
Now, what shall I liken this generation to?
It is like children who are sitting in
the marketplace.
That are calling to their fellows.
They're seeking entertainment.
And they say, hey, we've piped to you
and you didn't dance.
So, we mourned and you didn't cry.
What do you want?
What are you looking for?
So, John the Baptist came, neither eating nor
drinking.
And the Pharisee said, he has a devil.
And he said, the Son of Man came,
both eating and drinking.
And you say, behold, a gluttonous man, a
winebibber, a friend of the publicans and sinners.
But he said, wisdom is justified of her
children.
What do the people want?
They really didn't know what they want.
John came as an ascetic.
And they said, he's got a devil.
Jesus came mixing with people.
And they said, oh, he's a friend of
the sinners.
He's a friend of the publicans, a winebibber.
And then he began to upbraid the cities
wherein most of his mighty works were done
because they did not repent.
It is interesting that these cities that he
upbraided around the Galilee have all of them
been destroyed.
And today are nothing but ruins.
In fact, it wasn't until just recently that
they even discovered the site of Bethsaida.
And for a long time, thought that maybe
the Bible was just speaking of some fictitious
place.
Until more recently, the archaeologists have uncovered Bethsaida.
But Jesus, in the cities that he pronounces
woes upon, it is interesting that they have
totally disappeared.
Whereas many of the other cities, such as
Tiberias, which was the capital of the Galilee
region where Herod lived, and Jesus didn't really
go to Tiberias, it still remains today Tiberias.
The city is still there.
But Capernaum is gone, Bethsaida is gone, Chorazin
is gone.
Chorazin is gone, so that these cities that
he upbraided have disappeared off the map.
Woe unto thee, Chorazin!
Woe unto thee, Bethsaida!
For if the mighty works which were done
in you have been done in Tyre and
Sidon, they would have repented long ago in
sackcloth and ashes.
But I say unto you, it will be
more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the
day of judgment than for you.
And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven,
shall be brought down to hell.
For if the mighty works which have been
done in thee have been done in Sodom,
it would have remained unto this day.
Capernaum was the headquarters of Jesus.
That was his city.
That's where he spent the majority of his
ministry.
His earthly ministry was spent in and around
the city of Capernaum.
The majority of the miracles that Christ wrought
were wrought in Capernaum, and yet the people
there did not repent.
And he said, if the works have been
done in the city of Sodom that were
done here in Capernaum, they would have repented.
And so the judgment that he pronounces upon
Capernaum to be cast down to hell.
But I say unto you that it shall
be more tolerable for the land of Sodom
in the day of judgment than for thee.
Why?
Unto whom much is given, much is required.
The greater understanding and light that a man
receives, the greater will be the judgment of
that individual.
And so when God does judge, it will
be according to the understanding or the knowledge
that God has given.
According to the grace that has been, they've
been exposed to, will be the degree of
judgment by which they will be judged.
At that time Jesus answered and said, now
he has just rebuked these cities for their
failure to repent, for their failure to receive.
And then he turns from the rebuking of
these cities to the Father in a prayer
in which he says, said, I thank thee,
oh Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
you have hid these things from the wise
and prudent and have revealed them unto the
babes.
Father, I thank you.
The great people of the earth, those great
people of Capernaum and Bethsaida and all, you've
hid the truth from them, but here are
these babes, simple, ordinary people that you've chosen
to reveal your truth and your love to.
And Jesus said, even so, Father, for it
seemed good in your sight.
I thank you, Father, that you've chosen just
to use the common, ordinary people to reveal
your love and truth to.
I am too.
How glorious that God has chosen to reveal
himself to just the common.
All things are delivered, Jesus said, unto me
of my Father.
And no man really knows the Son, but
the Father.
And neither knows any man the Father, except
the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son
will reveal him.
Now, Jesus, after this prayer, thank you, Father,
you've chosen to reveal yourself to the babes,
not to the wise and the prudent, but
just to babes.
Then he said, no one really knows the
Father, but the Son.
And no one really knows the Son, but
the Father.
And the only ones who really know the
Father are those to whom the Son reveals
him.
There were a lot of people who thought
they knew the Father, but they had wrong
concepts of God.
There are a lot of people today who
think they know God, but their concepts of
God are all messed up.
Jesus said, no one really knows the Father,
unless I reveal the Father to them.
And I look at the concepts that many
people have of God, concepts that they have
developed in their own minds.
If I were God, this is how I
would live, this is what I would do,
this is how I would react, this is
how I would respond, and so this is
my God, and I've created my own God
after my own likes and wishes and all.
And this has been endemic of man through
history, creating his own gods.
No man really knows the Father, except the
Son and the ones to whom the Son
reveals.
And then Jesus makes the broad invitation, come
unto me, all ye that labor and are
heavy laden, I will give you rest.
You see, Jesus is relating the restlessness of
humanity with its godlessness.
And he is saying, you'll never really know
what it is to rest until you know
God.
Come unto me, I will give you rest.
Come unto me, I will reveal the Father
to you.
Now, the invitation, of course, is from Jesus
to you.
The invitation is to come to him, and
the promise is, if you come, he will
give you rest.
So that the first consciousness that a person
has when they have come to Jesus Christ,
the very first consciousness that they possess is
a deep, beautiful peace inside.
It just feels so good, I can't tell
you why.
But it just feel, I feel good.
You see, I'm not running from God anymore,
I'm not fighting God anymore.
In fact, I begin now to really understand
the Father, and my restlessness was my godlessness.
But now, as I've come to Jesus Christ,
suddenly, there's a beautiful peace inside, a rest.
And then Jesus said, take my yoke upon
you.
The yoke was the thing they put on
the ox so he could pull a plow.
And basically, what the Lord is saying is,
let me have the reins of your life,
and guide you to that work that I
have for you.
For the Lord has a purpose and a
plan for each one of you.
Paul the Apostle, writing to the Philippians, said,
I have not yet apprehended that for which
I was apprehended by Jesus Christ.
Now, Jesus Christ has apprehended every one of
you.
And when he apprehended you, he apprehended you
for a specific purpose and plan that he
has for your life.
The Lord has a work for each of
you to do for him.
He's got a plan for each one of
your lives.
The Lord does not waste anything.
He's very conservative, uses everything.
And when he apprehended you, he had in
mind a purpose and a plan for you
to fulfill for his glory and for the
kingdom's sake.
Paul, recognizing that, having devoted himself to serving
the Lord, after some thirty years, said, I've
not yet apprehended that for which I was
apprehended.
Neither are things yet complete, but I'm pressing
towards the mark for the prize of the
high calling of God.
I'm still pushing on, seeking to apprehend that
for which I was apprehended.
Take my yoke upon you.
I've got a plan for your life.
Now, you let me take over the reins
and let me begin to guide you into
my purposes and into my plans for you.
And then the third thing Jesus said was,
learn of me.
Now, you need to know the Father.
You can't know the Father unless I reveal
the Father to you.
Learn of me, because as you learn of
me, you'll know the Father.
He who has seen me has seen the
Father.
So learn of me, that you might know
the truth of God, that he might reveal
to you the truth of the nature of
God.
And as you learn the truth of God,
you'll learn that he is a God of
love, a God of compassion, a God of
great, deep concern for you, a God who
cares for you more than you can ever
dream, a God who is interested in every
minute detail of your life.
Learn of me, Jesus said, for in learning
of him, you will learn of the Father
and you'll have a true revelation of the
Father.
And then Jesus adds, for my yoke is
easy and my burden is light.
That's in sharp contrast to those who go
around telling me about the heavy burden they've
been under lately.
Oh, man, I've been under such a heavy
burden.
I don't know if I'm going to be
able to handle it, man, the burden is
so heavy on my...
Wait a minute.
I believe that it's possible for us to
take on burdens that are not from God,
burdens that we take upon ourselves.
It's possible for us to get ourselves into
some real messes.
I feel that I have taken on many
burdens that God didn't lay on me.
And I sometimes complain about the burdens.
Right now I'm sort of complaining at home
about the burden of going to Norway.
And I don't know if God laid it
on me or not.
I accepted the invitation and now I sort
of wish I hadn't.
I'm just tired.
I'd like to stay home.
But nonetheless, I have to go.
But I can't say, oh, the Lord has
laid this heavy burden on me, I've got
to go to Norway.
If the Lord indeed has sent me, then
He's going to give me the strength and
the energy and I'm going to do great.
If I've taken a burden on that He
hasn't, then pray for me, I'm in trouble.
For the Lord said, my yoke is easy,
my burden is light.
Hey, wait a minute.
What was His yoke?
Every man bears a burden.
A man's burden is that master passion by
which his life is governed.
Jesus said, my burden is light.
What was His burden?
What was behind the life of Jesus?
What was the main thrust behind His life?
He revealed it in His first recorded words
when He was just 12 years old.
When He said to His mother Mary, didn't
you know that I must be about my
father's business?
Now, when a person says, I must, you
better listen, because you're getting close to the
heart of the issues.
So many times a person said, well, I
really ought to do that.
I know I should.
Forget it, you're not getting close yet.
When a person says, I must, then listen.
Didn't you know I must be about my
father's business?
And that was the burden of his life,
his father's business.
I do always those things that please the
Father.
I came not to do my own will,
but the will of Him who sent me.
And He prayed, Father, I have finished the
work You have given me to do.
And what does He say about His burden?
He said, my burden is light.
It is light to do the will of
Father, to please the Father, not a heavy
burden.
Who is He calling?
Those who are heavy laden.
Those who are carrying a heavy burden.
Come unto me, all ye that labor and
are heavy laden.
What are the heavy burdens of man?
What is the burden of life that you
are trying to carry?
What is the master passion behind your whole
life?
You say, well, I am being honest and
looking at myself.
The master passion of my life is money.
I love good things.
I love nice things.
I want to live comfortably.
And so the master passion of my life
is just to possess nice things and to
live a comfortable life.
Someone else say, well, the master passion of
my life is fame.
I just want people to admire me and
to look up to me.
And I want to be famous.
Someone else may say, well, really, the real
thrust behind my life is pleasure.
Man, I just like excitement and pleasure.
And the only reason why I work is
to get enough money to go out and
have a good time.
And I hate the job.
I hate working.
But I have to work in order to
get the money.
But I can't wait for the weekends, man,
where we can just really have a great
time.
And my whole life is geared around the
weekends and the fun that I can have.
And I would have to say that's the
burden of my life.
Look a little deeper, because none of these
are the burdens that any of you are
carrying.
Who do you want the money for?
Who are you seeking fame for?
For whose pleasure are you looking?
And when you get behind these things, you
have to say, well, I'm seeking money for
myself.
I want to be wealthy.
I'm seeking fame for myself.
I'm seeking pleasure for myself.
And now you've come to the truth.
The burden that Jesus said is heavy.
One that will weigh you down is living
for yourself.
When a person is seeking to live for
himself, that is a heavy burden that one
day will become intolerable.
And you will just come to the cynicism
and say, life isn't worth going on.
And you become totally cynical, because you'll never
be able to satisfy yourself.
The yoke is too hard.
The burden is too heavy.
But Jesus said, take my yoke upon you.
My yoke is easy.
My burden is light.
Living for God has to be the most
satisfying life in the world.
Nothing is more satisfying than to commit your
life totally to God and to live for
His glory.
As Jesus said back in chapter 10, he
who finds his life shall lose it, but
he who loses his life for my sake
shall find it.
My yoke is easy.
My burden is light.
Because my yoke is living to satisfy and
to please God.
And you'll find that it is much easier
to please God than it is to please
yourself.
You'll never be able to please yourself as
you just live for yourself, because you're not
answering to the basic purpose of your creation.
When God designed you and created you, God
purposed that you should be for His pleasure
and for His glory.
As the elders are ascribing praise unto God
and the worthiness of God to receive the
praise of the cherubim, thou art worthy, O
Lord, to receive glory and honor, for thou
hast created all things, and for your good
pleasure they are and were created.
God did not create you to live for
your own pleasure.
And if you live for your own pleasure,
your life is going to be empty, frustrating,
and dissatisfying.
But if you will live for God's pleasure,
if you'll take up the light burden, then
your life will be fulfilling, rich, full.
In fact, even more, as David said, my
cup runneth over, and your life will be
like an overflowing.
Well, we got two chapters.
Keep trying.
Next time.
Now, next Sunday night, you'll have a special
worship night.
But then, the following Sunday night, we'll be
back and we'll continue.
And we will get into the parables of
the kingdom in chapter 13, after we take
chapter 12.
And I don't think we'll be able to
get more than two chapters next time.
So, just concentrate on 12 and 13.
I'm giving up.
The burden is too heavy.
And so, it must not be from Him.
May the Lord put His hand upon your
life, fill you with His Spirit, and guide
you with His counsel.
May you be strengthened in your walk with
Him.
May you begin to experience greater victories over
those areas of the flesh that have dominated.
And may you begin to experience more and
more the power of God's Spirit within your
life, giving victory.
May the Lord be with you, and may
the Lord keep you in His love, during
the time that we are absent from each
other.
And may you just grow in your knowledge
of Him and in your fellowship in Jesus'
name.