Sovereign Grace Chapel, located
at 135 Annabel Lane in Beaver, West Virginia, invites you to
listen to a gospel message concerning Jesus Christ our Lord. For this Lord's Day morning,
I want to look at our Lord's words that are recorded by Matthew
in Matthew chapter 10. That's Matthew chapter 10. If
you're able, I realize it's early in the morning, but if you're
able and you have one close by, I'd ask you to grab a Bible.
Pick up that Bible and turn to Matthew chapter 10 and follow
along as I read this passage. And if you don't have one handy,
that's fine. Just listen as I read. Here is our Lord's words, the
words of the Lord Jesus Christ as recorded by Matthew in Matthew
chapter 10. I'll begin reading in verse 32.
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. Think not that I am come to send
peace on earth. I came not to send peace, but
a sword. For I am 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 shall be they of his own household. He that loveth
father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and he that
loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. He that
taketh not his cross and followeth after me is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall
lose it, and he that loses his life for my sake shall find it. What an intense passage. What an astounding thing to consider,
especially when we consider that these words flowed from the lips
of the Lord Jesus Christ. These words were not flowing
from the lips of some radical denominational preacher trying
to push his own ideas or thoughts. These are the very words of God
manifest in the flesh. So for this morning, what I want
to do is examine this text and examine our Lord Jesus Christ's
words and how our Lord actually intended them. My title and my
subject would be this. God's Christ is no competitor. The Lord Jesus Christ refuses,
he refuses to compete with anything else in this world. Now, Jesus
Christ the Lord, Jesus Christ the Lord, God's Holy Son, God
manifest in the flesh, is most dear to God the Father. Jesus
Christ is the most dear thing to the heart of God Almighty. Jesus Christ is superior universally
to all things that are in this universe. And let me read these
words. If you have that Bible, if you
were able to get one, turn to John chapter five and listen
to just a few words of what our Lord Jesus Christ said as recorded
by John. John chapter five and verse 23.
Jesus Christ said these words, that all men should honor the
Son even as they honor the Father. But listen, there's more. He
that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father which hath sent
him. So again, Jesus Christ is the
most dear thing to God Almighty. Now Christ starts in our text,
he starts with what I will call a positive, starts on what I
will call and what men would probably think of as a good note.
Look again at verse 32. Whosoever, whosoever, that means
anyone, anyone, therefore, anyone, whosoever, therefore shall confess
me before men. Now notice what he said. Whosoever
shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before
my Father which is in heaven. Consider those words. To confess,
to confess is much more than acknowledging before others the
historical facts about Jesus Christ. He is not talking merely
about acknowledging or confessing that Jesus Christ came into the
world, that Jesus Christ lived in this world, that Jesus Christ
died on the cross, was buried, and rose again the third day,
or even the mere fact that he ascended back into heaven. But
he says, whosoever confesseth me before men. That's the point. To confess
is much more than just acknowledging the historical facts. It is to
willingly, knowingly, Lovingly in faith confess before men Christ
himself Christ himself it is to confess who he is It is to
confess what Jesus Christ accomplished when he came into this world
Jesus Christ came into this world and attempted to do nothing at
all as an attempt Jesus Christ came into this world to fulfill
the will of the Father. To confess Christ before men
is to confess His person and His work. It is to confess Christ's
deity. It is to confess Christ's humanity. It is to confess His sovereignty
over all things and all men. It is to confess His immutability. It is to confess His omniscience
and His omnipresence and his omnipotence. It is confessing
him before men. You see, Jesus Christ, in other
words, is saying to you and to me that he will not be admired
secretly only. I know of some people who say
they believe in the Christ of God. They believe and hold to
the Christ of God that is declared in this book, but they make statements
such as, well, I cannot say that or preach that or hold to that
in my church or they kick me out. Well, the best thing for
you to happen, the best thing to happen to you is that you
confess Jesus Christ before them and let them kick you out. Ah, but see the next phrase by
our Lord. Yes, he said, whosoever therefore
shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before
my Father which is in heaven. But then look at the next verse
again. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also
deny before my Father which is in heaven. What a warning. You see, such as this, such as
who would deny who Jesus Christ is, such as who would deny what
he actually came to do and accomplish, such as this will perish because
Jesus Christ said, I will deny that person, that individual
who does deny me before men. Christ said, I will deny them
before my Father. Can you confess the Christ of
God? Can you confess the Christ of God? I'm not asking you if
you can confess your merits. I'm not asking you Can you confess
that all you do for the church, or all you do for the Lord? I'm
asking, can you confess the Lord himself? I'm not asking, and
neither is Christ talking about confessing our works, or to confess
even our faith, or to confess our baptism, or to confess our
church membership, nor to confess our denomination. He said, whosoever
shall confess me before men, I, I will 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.
It's all about Christ. It's all about him. But that's
not all that our Lord Jesus Christ said. Christ will not compete
with family, Christ will not compete with human ease, and
Christ will not compete with ego or self. You see, if Christ
is not all to me, if Christ is not all to you, then what Christ
is teaching here is that we have nothing to do with Him. We will perish. We will perish
if we are not among that group that confess him as he is before
men. You see, as a matter of fact,
Christ exhorts us here to do one thing. Here's one thing to
do. Think. Think. Think. But he puts it
in the negative. But Think not. Do you see the words? If you
have that Bible, look at it again. Now we're in verse 34. Think
not. Often our Lord Jesus Christ spoke
to men and women about their thoughts, about what they think. And rarely did he have very much
good to say about what we think. But here he is encouraging us
to think. Think. But he puts it in the
negative. Think not. Do you see it? Think
not. Now, I realize that in our day
and age, that there is a satanic fraud that is being perpetrated
upon people, that Jesus Christ was sent into this world, and
that his gospel, his message, is one that is designed to bring
all of humanity together. There is that satanic perpetrated fraud upon men and
women that Jesus Christ and his message is to bring all families
together and bring peace in all facets of living in this world. But let's look at what the Lord
of glory himself said. Remember, this is not my opinion. This is not some preacher's opinion. This is not some denominational
pastor's opinion. These are the words of the Lord
of glory himself. And listen again to what he says.
Let's look at verse 34. Think not, think not that I am
come to send peace on earth. I came not to send peace but
a sword. For I am come. Now, three times
he mentions his coming. Once he says, I'm come not. I
am not come to send peace on earth. Don't think that I'm come
to send peace on earth. I came not to send peace. What
did he come to send? A sword. And then he goes on,
verse 35. For I am come, I am come. Here's why he came. For I am come to set a man at
variance. Do you see that word? That's
a strong word. The word means to cut apart.
It means to divide something in two. Figuratively, it's often
used in the scripture to alienate. So he says, for I am 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. This
is why I came. and a man's foes shall be they
of his own household. These, rather, are the very words
of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. You see, when God Almighty calls
a sinner to repentance, when God Almighty calls a sinner to
repent toward him and calls a sinner to faith toward the Lord Jesus
Christ, If that happens to you, if that happens to me, your unbelieving
kinfolk will oppose you. Your unbelieving kinfolk will
become your enemy, and Christ came for that very purpose. Do not think that this is some
unfortunate consequence because of men's rebellion. It is sad
that men rebel against their God and Creator, but this is
the reason Christ said he came. Again, think not that I am come
to send peace on earth. I came not to send peace, but
a sword, for I am come to set a man at variance, that is to
alienate one from another, to set a man at variance against
his father, and the daughter against her mother, the daughter-in-law
against her mother-in-law, and a man's foes shall be they of
his own household. He that loveth father or mother
more than me is not worthy of me. And he that loveth son or
daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Christ is competing
with no one and no thing in this world. You see, if your faith,
if my faith, if our faith, is not this kind of faith, the kind
of faith that separates the believing from the unbelieving, the kind
of faith that separates those who trust God and those who are
infidels. If the kind of faith you have
or that I have is not this kind of faith, then we have missed
the Christ of God. Listen to a sister or a companion
passage, and Luke records it in Luke chapter 12, And these
again are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. And they
are very similar to what Matthew wrote. Look at it. If you have
that Bible, look at it. Turn to Luke chapter 12. Our
Lord wrote these words. Listen to it. I am come to send
fire on the earth. And what will I if it already
be kindled? But I have a baptism to be baptized
with. And how am I straightened till
it be accomplished. Suppose ye that I am come to
give peace on earth, I tell you, no. Do you see that? Are you
reading it? Suppose ye that I am come to
give peace on the earth, I tell you, nay, but rather division. For from henceforth, There shall
be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against
three. The father shall be divided against
the son, and the son against the father, and the mother against
the daughter, and the daughter against the mother, and the mother-in-law
against the daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against
the mother. Those, I realize, are severe words, but our God
is both gracious and our God is also severe in his absolute
holiness. You see, the gospel of Christ
offends men because the gospel of Christ debases all of our
merits. It debases my merits and it debases
your merits. The gospel of Christ debases
my righteousnesses and it debases your righteousnesses. The gospel
of Christ debases all of men's religion. Jesus Christ did not
come to bring all religions together, and Jesus Christ did not even
come to bring all of humanity into the same religion, but he
came to bring a sword. So these are the words of Jesus
Christ concerning what he came to do when he came. This is the
truth. Secondly, our Lord Jesus Christ
also said this, Our physical ease, our physical ease is no
competitor to Christ. Verse 38, you got that Bible?
Verse 38. And he that taketh not his cross
and followeth after me is not worthy of me. Let me see if I
can give you an example of this. And it's a scriptural example.
Anyone hearing me this morning, are you familiar with Job? the
Job of what we call the Old Testament. Job was a very rich man, but
he was a man that believed God, and he loved God. And God Almighty
had so protected Job that even Satan himself could not touch
Job. But then God, in his own sovereign
purpose, said to Satan, have you considered my servant Job? And Satan said, basically, yeah,
I have, but you put a hedge about him, and I can't touch him. And
God told Satan, God permitted Satan, God suffered Satan to
touch Job in a way that would be detrimental to the mental
state of any human being apart from the grace of God. And Satan
took away from Job everything that Job had but his life. And yet, Job cried out these
words, though he slay me, though he slay me, yet will I trust
him. You see, I realize that in this
day and age, many are preaching that Jesus Christ came to put
us all at ease so we'd have great lives and have plenty of money
and plenty of friends, but that's just not so. The Lord himself
said, verse 38 again, and he that taketh not his cross and
followeth after me is not worthy of me. Here's the third thing.
Ourself. You and I, that is me and you,
that is your ego and my ego, is no competitor to Christ. Christ is not trying to win us
over. Do you hear what I said? Christ
is not trying to win us over. Here's another reason why he
came. He that findeth his life shall lose it. And he that loseth
his life, but specifically, look at it, and he that loseth his
life for my sake, my sake, not a doctrine's sake, not a handful
of doctrines' sake, not for a denomination's sake, not for human righteousness'
sake, not for legal righteousness' sake, but for Christ's sake,
he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. Me, self,
ego, you, yourself, your ego, will not, it will not compete
with Christ. Christ will conquer you, Christ
will conquer me, and he will do so to make me willingly, or
you willingly, lovingly, Conscientiously bow to him and he will do so
in this life by the preaching of his gospel. He will do that
or either he will put you under his foot hereafter and he will
damn you. God's Christ is no sissy. God's Christ is no effeminate
beggar. He is not that beggar that we
hear perpetrated upon the souls of men and women today in today's
so-called Christian religion. He is none other than God Almighty. Now, here's another passage.
If you have that Bible, still have it. Turn to Romans chapter
nine. And this is Jesus Christ. And
listen to what the Apostle Paul says about Jesus Christ, about
God manifest in the flesh in Romans chapter nine, verse 13. As it is written, Jacob have
I loved, but Esau have I hated. And someone says, but how can
that be? I don't know how God could love
Jacob. I don't know. How could God love
Jacob? I understand to some degree why
God could and would hate Esau, but it boggles my mind in amazement
to think that God would love Jacob. Listen, as it is written,
Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say
then? Is there unrighteousness with
God? God Do you see it? God forbid. For he saith to Moses,
I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. So then, here's the conclusion.
So then, it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth,
but of God that showeth mercy. For the scripture saith unto
Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up that I
might shew my power in thee and that my name might be declared
Throughout all the earth and listen here. It is here's it
summed up therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy and
whom he will he Hardness this is Jesus Christ This is Jesus
Christ. I ask you this. Here's a question
It's a question that I mean this sincerely. My heart goes out
because I know what it's like to be brought up under false
religion. I know what it's like to never
have heard the truth of God and then all of a sudden God Almighty
breaks down your walls and conquers your citadel and bows you to
the feet of Jesus Christ. I understand how tough that is,
but I ask you, can you, Will you, in love for Christ, confess
Christ as he is? No holds barred. No matter what
comes down the pike, here's who the book of God says Jesus Christ
is. I believe him. One more passage. If you have that Bible, turn
to Colossians chapter one. I want to show you, because someone
may say, well, but that's quoting, Paul's quoting in Romans nine
from the Old Testament, talking about God the Father. Yes, he
is, but he's also talking about God the Son, because in the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Listen, Colossians chapter one,
this is the Apostle Paul's prayer for the Colossians, and he says
these words, this starting down in verse Colossians 1 verse 12,
giving thanks unto the Father which hath made us meet or qualified
us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. who hath
delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated
us into the kingdom of his dear Son, in whom we have redemption
through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. Do you feel that need? Does that need, is that need
real within your soul? Even the forgiveness of sins,
who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. Here is Paul, by inspiration
of the Spirit of God, defining for us who Jesus Christ, God
manifest in the flesh is. for by him were all things created
that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers,
and all things were created by him and for him, and he is before
all things, and by him all things are, all things consist, and
he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning,
the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have
the preeminence. And why is that, Paul? Here's
why. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness
dwell. This is Jesus Christ. This is
who he is. And he said, don't think I've
come to send peace on this earth. Don't think that I've come to
bring all of humanity together. He came to call his people out
of humanity and bring them into a relationship with himself in
love and willingness and faith and mercy. I am grateful for
such a God as that. When this book says Jacob I love
but Esau I hated, I realize at least to some degree Certainly
not to the degree that I should realize it. I should be a Esau. I should be hated by God. My crimes against God are so
great that God should have cast me into the pits of the darkness
of the damned forever. But oh, thank God that he calls
out of humanity a people unto himself. And these people, hear
me now, these people come to reverence Jesus Christ. These
people come to bow to Jesus Christ. These people come to trust the
Lord Jesus Christ. I see my time is just about up. It's just about up. But I wanna
give you a reminder. every Sunday morning on this
same TV station, WVVACW. A portion of one of our Lord's
Day gospel messages can be watched starting at 12 noon. I would
encourage you to tune in. Now, when you tune in, you will
hear men preaching this same message. this same Jesus Christ,
because there is no other God. All else are idols. There is
no other God. All else is the imaginations
of fallen, rebellious men. So I do ask you, tune in and
listen.