Our scripture reading this morning
will also serve as my text. Let's turn to Matthew chapter
10. Matthew chapter 10. I want to confine my comments
to the end of the chapter. But if you read over this chapter
after a while, you'll find that he's addressing his disciples
that he called to be apostles. And so all of these things are
exhortations to them and also to us. He says in verse 24, Matthew
10, 24, above his Lord. It is enough
for the disciple that he be as his master and the servant as
his Lord. If they have called the master
of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of
his household? Fear them not, therefore, for
there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed and hid
that shall not be known. What I tell you in darkness,
that speak ye in light. And what you hear in the ear,
that preach ye upon the housetops. And fear not them which kill
the body, but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear
which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for
a farther? And one of them shall not fall
on the ground without your father. But the very hairs of your head
are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are
of more value than many sparrows. 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 me, him will I
also deny before my Father which is in heaven. Think not that
I am come to send peace on earth. I am not come 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 foe 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. And 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 loseth his life for
my sake shall find it. He that receiveth you receiveth
me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. I invite you to turn back with
me now to Matthew chapter 10. This chapter begins, as I said,
with the separating of twelve men which he appoints as apostles. These were special men called
to do a special work. There are no apostles in our
day. These men would be used of God
to usher in the gospel age. What's that mean? That means
the temple and tabernacle worship of the Old Testament was coming
to an end. The Levitical priesthood, sacrifices,
holy days were being fulfilled by Jesus of Nazareth, whom they
all pictured. They all pictured Him. Paul wrote
that book of Hebrews, as sure as I'm standing here this morning,
and in detail showed them that all of these things pictured
Christ. He likens these things in the
book of Hebrews to a garment waxing old. It served its purpose. It communicated
its message and now something better was coming into view. You ever had an old coat or a
sweatshirt or something that you really liked and you just
wore it until it was wore out? And then you got something new.
You found out something new, something better. And that's
what this book of Hebrews is all about. These men were to
go out into a Jewish world, a world we're very unfamiliar with. They
were to go out into a Jewish world of established tradition,
outward show, and organized structure, and preach a person. No more holy days. No more Holy Day. You know what
you'd be saying if you said that to a Jew? No more? No more feast days,
no more Sabbaths, no more Jubilee, no more high priest, no more
temple, no more showbread, incense burning, animal sacrifices. Everything that their kinsmen
as well as themselves who grew up following after was coming
to a close and being replaced by man. For hundreds of years there was
a priesthood. A thousand years. A temple, sacrifices, holy days,
circumcision, cities of refuge, years of jubilee, a day of atonement. There was an entire tribe in
Israel devoted to temple worship, to service, what Paul calls service to God.
They served in that tabernacle. They served dispensing these
things, doing these things. And every Saturday was a Sabbath,
not Sunday. There is no Sunday Sabbath. Saturday
is Sabbath day. New moons, holy days throughout the year.
And what about the law? Didn't the law demand that they
keep these things? Where'd they come up with this,
these sacrifices? Where'd they come up with this
priesthood? The law commanded it. Provision was made in the
law. And didn't the law command them
to keep these things? Wasn't circumcision commanded
under the law? Didn't the law command the keeping
of a day? Didn't the law demand a sacrifice? Didn't the law make provision
for a high priest to enter beyond the veil one time a year? Yes, but Christ is the end of
the law for righteousness to everyone that believes. Everything they knew. Everything that they practiced. Everything that they promoted
was to be replaced by a person. And that, my friend, was the
mystery hidden from the foundation of the world. What these men
were preaching was a mystery. A total mystery. These men were
to go out and basically condemn the religion of their kinsmen. Condemning. John the Baptist
seen them coming. They didn't say anything. He
just saw them coming and he said, you bikers. Say that down to First Baptist
Church. Go up there and greet them when they come up the sidewalk
and say, you bikers. See what kind of reaction you
get. So what do you think would happen
today if we were to go out with this message? Go downtown, stand on the courthouse
steps and preach Christ as the fulfillment of all things. Christ
is all. Begin to condemn the keeping
of holy days. Tell folks that Christ is all
in all. Tell folks that their religion's
full of cobwebs, that it was done away 2,000 years ago, replaced
by a person. Take the mass out of Christmas,
and all you have left is Christ. Just Christ. Celebrate Him. Be inspired by Him. Look to Him. Rejoice in Him. Rest in Him.
He's everything. Paul said what things were gained
to me under that old temple worship, under that old law righteousness,
under that Old Testament economy, what things were gained unto
me, those I counted lost for Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I
count all things but lost for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord. For whom I've suffered the loss
of all things, and do count them but done, that I might win Christ,
and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is
by the law, but the righteousness of God by faith. These men didn't go out begging
folks to pretty please believe on Jesus, did they? Begging them, singing 29 verses
just as I am, trying to get them down Down and out, trying to
get a confession, get a decision. They went out preaching a new
king. Another king, one Jesus. When
he came into Jerusalem riding on the ash, they cut down palm
branches and threw them in the road in their coats and threw
these. What did they do? Hosannas to
the king. They were to preach Jesus as
Lord. He's the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what they called Him.
He said, you call me Master, you do well, for so I am. They preached Jesus as the only
acceptance to God. You had no other acceptance to
God. Just because Abraham's your father
don't mean beans. It's what that pictured. There
is no acceptance with God except in Christ. We're accepted in
the blood, Paul said, redeemed by His blood, the blood of the
Lamb, not that animal sacrifice, not that goat. Justified freely by His grace
through the accomplished redemption of Christ. And Christ said this,
I'm going to send you out. And here's where you're going. I'm sending you out as sheep
among wolves. Among wolves. And he said, what
I tell you in darkness, that speak you in light. You take
what I've taught you and you make it clear. That's what he
said. Make it clear. I can't make you
understand it, but I can make you understand what I'm saying.
Huh? Sure you can. And what you hear in the ear,
that preachy upon the house stops. And what our Lord's saying here
to all those he sends into this ungodly world is that what was
hid and covered in a mystery shall no longer be concealed
by it. And did you know that what this
world considered as light was darkness? It was darkness. And that's exactly
what the Lord told. He said, if the light that be
in thee... What light is He talking about?
He's not talking about daylight out here. He's talking about
light. He's talking about understanding. He's talking about truth. And
that truth that you think you know, if that's darkness, then
how great is that darkness? If that's darkness, and you've
rested your soul on it, you've camped out there, you've made
your house there, all your hopes there, you've rested your soul
on it. If the light that be in thee be darkness, then how great
is that darkness? My friend, truth is a revelation.
You can read it and memorize it, But it don't mean anything
until God reveals it in your heart. It's a revelation. It's God Himself
whispering in the ear, revealing His will and ways, uncovering
dark mysteries. Yea, the deep things of God,
my soul. told me that, he said, those
are the deep things of God. He was talking about predestination.
That's milk. That ain't the deep things of
God. But the deep things of God, he's revealed to us. Even the
deep things. These men had a message. They
didn't study to come up with a sermon. They had a message.
They preached a person, a glorious person. God come into the flesh. And all these other things were
just shadows and types and figures. They're like an old garment.
They waxed old. You don't need to shadow if the
body that's producing it's standing in front of you. I don't have
to look at your shadow and try to figure out who he is. I look
at him. Colossians 2.16. Let no man therefore judge you
in meat, or drink, or in respect of a holy day, or a new moon,
or Sabbath days. These things are shadows. They're
a shadow of things to come, but the body is Christ. In Him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and you're complete in Him who's the head
of all principality and power. I'm not sent to bring about some
moral reform in my community or persuade folks to believe
in some church creed. I'm sent to preach the person
and work of Jesus Christ. Salvation's in Him. Life is in
Him. Acceptance is in Him. Pardon's
in Him. Wisdom's in Him. Old J.C. Ryle said there were
two ways that a man could lose his soul. He can ignore the Word of God
and the means of grace and live out his days like a beast. Or he can take up some useless
kind of religion. Both will empty you into hell.
And Christ told these men to go where He sent them. They weren't
to get creative in their direction. He said, you go where I tell
you to go. They were not to go into the way of the Gentiles.
That time would come, but it wasn't yet. God had a messenger
in mind for that, but it wasn't then. Don't go into any city
of the Samaritans. Don't go there. You go, rather,
to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Forsaken nation, in
this ignorant nation, in this ungodly nation, I have a people.
I have a people. They're lost sheep, they're sheep
gone astray, lambs wandering from the flock. You go to them
and know this, I'm sending you into the midst of wolves. And
I'm sending you in the character of a sheep, of a lamb. Oh, my. Therefore you be wise
as serpents, but harmless as a dove. And beware of men. Beware of men. All the things
that... You know, Paul talks about beasts and robbers and
storms and all sorts of things that were a threat to him during
his ministry and he suffered. You know, but here he doesn't
mention any of these. The Lord said, beware of men. What men? Religious men, church-going men, priestly men,
masters of theology, men of high standing, reverenced among the
brethren, men holding titles of doctors and lawyers, High
degree and low attitude. That's right. You're not going to tell this
religious world to trash their religion and believe on Christ
alone and not have persecution. Huh? You're going to tell your
great aunt. She's so sweet to you, she's
given you stuff your whole life. And you go over there and sit
down with her and say, sweetheart, I need to tell you something. Your religion is Christ. Let
me tell you the truth. Boy, you're not going to be her
favorite niece anymore. Out the door you go. You're going to have persecution.
You're not going to tell your relatives to scrap their religion
and believe on Christ alone and win their fellowship. Verse 21, brother shall deliver
up brother to death. You can't even imagine that,
can you, Walter? Going over there, go down to
the committee and tell them, my brother, my brother is a heretic. He's a heretic. You need to kill
him. Brother shall deliver brother. That's what it says. Unto death. And the father, the child. And the children shall rise up
against their parents and cause them to be put to death. Take this message, Christ in
Him crucified, Christ alone, Christ the Lord, Christ the fulfillment
of all things, and preach Him, He said, on the housetop. What I've whispered in your ear,
that declare to the world. What about it? What about it? Has not our Lord in the privacy
of this place whispered this message in our ears? Has He not taught us one day
at a time? Whispered this message? Has He
not shown us in the confines of this assembly how Christ is
all in all? Has he not from the first book
of the Bible to the last shown us how Christ is the promised
Messiah, the Savior, the King, our Great High Priest? Then go,
he said, and preach it on a housetop. Preach it on a housetop. Find
some place where men can see and hear you and preach this
gospel. Is there going to be opposition? Oh, you bet there
will be. You bet there will be. Where's
it going to come from? Every direction. Every direction. In the last days, these men said,
shall come scoffers poking fun at God's message and his messenger. Told that beloved prophet, go
you up, you old bald head. Huh? Scoffers. Children. God sent a bear out of the woods
and ate him. Destroyed him. Killed every one
of them. Scalpers are coming. They're
going to poke fun of the message and the messenger of God, the
means of God. Scalpers walking after their
own lust. False prophets also. Among the people. Among the people
of God. False prophets who quietly creep
in, bringing with them damnable heresies. Making merchandise
of men's souls. But the worst of it all is anti-Christ
religion as a whole. Oh, how they hate this gospel.
And no matter how ridiculous their practice is, or their worship
is, they cling to it and will violently defend it. They'll put you out of their
synagogues. Get out of here. You're nuts. Get out of here. You can't preach that here. The time cometh, Christ said,
that whosoever killeth you will think he's doing God a service.
John 16, 2. And men won't hate you because
you care for the sick or shelter the homeless or give to the poor. They won't hate you for teaching
a proper attitude and conduct in this life. They'll sit and
listen. But they'll hate you if you preach Christ alone. Christ alone. Nothing with it. Christ alone. Christ is all.
Christ in you, the hope of glory. Christ sitting upon the throne
of omnipotence. Christ victorious. Huh? Sitting. waiting for his enemies
to become his footstool, expecting it. No Christ, no salvation. Christ
in you, the hope of glory. Is this what I'm preaching? Do I slip around quietly house
to house to a few chosen people and preach this or do I declare
it openly? Is this what I'm preaching? What
God taught me, what he's whispered in my ear, do I declare it on
the housetop. Where's my housetop? Right here. Wherever God sends me and opens
the door, that's my housetop. There's not a greater evangelist
in this world than Paul the Apostle. And Paul said, pray for us that
God would open to us a door of utterance to speak the mystery
of Christ. Where's my housetop? Right here,
right now in this place, and on occasion in other places.
That's my housetop. As Christ gave his apostles direction,
so he does all his servants in this world. Do I have this message? I believe I do. I believe I do. Christ alone, chosen in Him,
redeemed in Him, adopted in Him, raised up with Him, seated with
Him in glory. Then throw caution to the wind.
Say what needs to be said and say it in a way people can understand
you. Fear not them which kill the
body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather fear Him which
is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. The worst they can do to God's
preacher is just usher him into glory. That's the worst they
can do. Not only that, but our Lord Himself constrains even
the evildoers, don't He? Someone said, I think it was
Brother May, and he said one time, they constrained Christ
to nail him on a cross. If God hadn't constrained him,
they'd have boiled him in a pot and ate him. He even constrains
evildoers. Keeps men from being as evil
as they could be. Well, why then go into this kind
of situation? Why put myself in such a position? Have you got a death wish, Preacher?
No, sir. No, sir, I don't. But I've got
good reasons for going. I've got better reasons for going
than I do for fearing. I've got good reasons. First
and foremost, my Lord and Savior gave me the commission. How should they preach except
they be sent? Now, I'm going to tell you something.
You can go to seminary and learn. If that's what you want to do,
go there. They'll teach you how to study. They'll teach you how
to talk. They'll teach you all kinds of things. You can go to seminary, and you
can learn how to pastor. You can learn how to run a church.
You can learn how to build a church. And if you follow their methods,
it'll work. You'll have a big church. But
they can't teach you how to preach. Only God can do that. How shall
they preach except they be sent? Have to be sent. Go into all the world and preach
the gospel to every creature. And this one great commission
of the church of the living God is the preaching of the gospel. Or don't we have other things
to do? Yes, but they're all the fruit of gospel preaching. How
can I teach you how to live a moral life apart from pointing you
to Christ? You see what I'm saying? There's
all these other things. Do I teach those things? Well,
I teach verse by verse throughout the book. God has commissioned me to go. And then secondly, there's no
other means set forth in the Word of God to save children
from sinners. Just because I get them down
an aisle, that's not going to do anything. How shall you hear, he said,
without a preacher? And how's he going to preach
except he be a sinner? Listen to this verse. God hath
from the beginning chosen us to salvation through sanctification
of the spirit and belief of the truth. How else you gonna believe? Of his own will begat he us with
the word truth. This is the word which by the
gospel he said is preached unto you. That word, that spiritual
semen by which you were born. There are no other means. And
please God, through the foolishness of preaching, to save them that
believe. There are no other means out
there. Why do you preach, preacher? Because there's no other way.
That's why. And I live in a generation that's
got thousands of ways they're trying to sell men on. There's
just one way. And then thirdly, it's my heart's
desire for folks to hear and be saved. I want folks to believe. Don't you? I want them to believe. My friend, men and women are
perishing forever. They're deceived under the influence
of antichrist religion and running headlong into hell. Worldly religion
is crying peace, peace, where there is no peace. And like the
great horse she stands as a symbol of, she waits on every corner,
every corner. Her dress is inviting and her
words soft to the ear. The adulteress, it says in the
book of Proverbs, will hunt for the precious life. That's Proverbs 6, 26. And she
says, come, I perfume my bed with myrrh and aloes. Let's take
our field of love. That's all they talk about, ain't
it? Love. I preached the last message I
preached in Ball, Louisiana. And one of the old ladies from
the church come and said, you missed a great opportunity to
preach the love of God. Let us take our field of love,
she said. Can you see what's going on?
Can you see an overwhelming flood sweeping men and women into hell? An overflowing scourge, that's
what the Lord calls it. When He talks about that overflowing
scourge that's going to come through and reveal those in their
secret hiding places, what do you think He's talking about?
He's talking about the religion of our day, that's what He's
talking about. We're in a visible catastrophe,
men and women will be desperate But it's not so. It's called
the mystery of iniquity. It carries with it all deceivableness
of unrighteousness in them that perish. Will they hear if we preach?
I don't know. I don't know. Honestly, I don't
know. Some may. Some might. But I do know this, none will
if there's no voice. None will. None will. No one saw or believed on an
oncoming judgment in the days of Noah. He'd already condemned
them and a reprobate mind had bound them All around. All around. They thought they
were secure forever. These scalpers that will come
in the last day will say, where is the promise of His coming? Since the fathers fell asleep,
all things continue as they were from the beginning. Nothing's
changed. Nothing's changed. Well, what
do you see, preacher? I see my children and yours.
I see folks all around me, swallowed up in this world and the religion
of this world. And I see only one way, one hope
for any of them, and that's the preaching of the gospel. Oh, Spirit of God, help this
preacher to warn, if only a few, to flee from wrath to come, to
look to Christ, Oh my soul, if we could just see. If we could
just see what's invisible to this naked eye. And where do
we see it? We see it in the Word of God.
It's a discerner of the thoughts. You know, me and I used to hear
this all the time in religion. They'd say, search your heart.
My soul, the heart's deceitful above all things and desperately
wicked. Who can know it? You don't want to search your
heart. You want to know what's in your heart? Look into the
Word of God. The Word of God is a discerner
of the thoughts and intents of the heart. How do I know about
the wickedness of men's heart? The Word of God. The Word of
God. I believe God. And I believe
Him concerning His Son. Don't you? Oh, preaching on a
house. That's what the Lord said. Oh,
the day is coming. The day is coming. I'm going
to send my Holy Comforter. All these things I'm teaching
you are going to come to light, and when it does, you preach
these things on a housetop. You don't need to go hide in
a corner. Stand up and say what you mean. Stand up and tell men
the truth. The Lord will bless you.