Back in Matthew chapter 10, our text shall be from verse
31, these words, fear ye not, fear ye not. Our Lord very often
spoke these words to His disciples, because they very often needed
to hear them, and so do I. So do I. Most of my fears prove
groundless. I've told you about when I was
a young boy walking up that hollow where we lived, the last house
in that hollow. And hearing a rustle in the bushes
and I was just convinced it was a werewolf. And man just, I'd
take off, take off. But of course, that was a groundless
fear. There was no such creature. And
since I've been serving God by His grace, most fears have proved
to be just that way, just groundless. Just groundless. Especially when
we consider who speaks these words to you and I so often.
Fear ye not. If they were coming from anybody
else, We wouldn't put much stock in them. We shouldn't. But he
that speaks these words is the mighty God. He's the everlasting
Father. He's the one that loved us, loved
us, and gave himself, gave himself. My, my. Think about that. Didn't give some of himself or
a part of himself or something about himself. He gave himself. Jesus Christ himself was made
sin. God didn't pretend that he was
sin. He was made sin. That's what
the text says. he who so loved us that he gave
himself that was made sin for us that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him who has loved his sheep with an everlasting
love it's he that comes before us and says fear ye not fear
ye not some years ago I was channel surfing and There was a documentary
on television that caught my eye. It was discussing the history
of the hymn, Amazing Grace, Don. That's one of my favorites. That's
one of my favorites. I had heard that hymn for years,
didn't pay much attention to it. But after God saved me, and
it seemed that I heard it for the first time, I thought, that's
exactly right. That describes what he's done
for me to a T. That's amazing. But they were
talking about the history of the hymn, and they covered everything. The different styles to which
it had been sung down through the years. the different tunes,
the different nationalities, different languages in which
it had been translated. They discussed everything but
the reason why the hymn was written. And, of course, they really couldn't
identify with that. That's why they didn't cover
that point. But the reason that the hymn was written in the very
first place, it was a tribute to God's grace. It was a testimony
by the writer to God's grace. It was an appreciation, if you
will, for God's unmerited favor. Now that's a word we throw out
pretty casually. That's how grace is most often
defined, and it's a good definition. God's unmerited favor. You ever thought what that really
means? You ever thought what that really means? Grace is God's
unmerited favor, which means there's no reason, Louie, in
this world that God should have saved you. No reason. Not in
you or me. God, by His free, free, without
cause or without cause in us or caused by us or from us, saved
us according to His everlasting purpose. And that's the thing
that caused that man to write that good old hymn, a tribute
to God's amazing grace. Picture, if you will, a ship
at sea. A ship at sea. And look into the hull of that
ship. And you see its cargo. And it's not fruits and vegetables.
No, the cargo in that ship are human beings stacked one upon
another to cram as many as possible into that ship so that they can
be sold like an animal. And you see the captain of that
ship as he sits in his quarters with his quill in his hand calculating
his profits and loss. And he includes in his arithmetic,
his calculations, a percentage of those that will probably die,
those slaves that will probably die before they reach their destination. He takes that into account because
not all of them will survive. Many of them will die. He counts
on that. He figures that will be so. And
now Picture, if you will, that same man. He's picking up his
quill again, he dips it in ink, and he's not going to record
his profits and his loss because what he's writing about now can't
be measured. It can't be added up. He feels
much like the psalmist did, when he said, Lord, how many are thy
thoughts to me? If I should count them up, they're
more than I can number. And he went on to write, such
thoughts are just too wonderful to me. I can't reach that high,
David said. And such is the thoughts of John
Newton. As he begins to write a tribute,
to God's mercy and grace. Because this man Newton has been
made, has been made to experience God's
amazing grace. He was made to. Don, if God didn't
make him experience his grace, he would have never experienced
Mr. Newton doesn't write about giving
God a chance. My soul, he wants to honor God. He wants to magnify and extol
his glorious God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. That would
be a dishonor to him. He doesn't write about taking
the first step or opening up his heart. No, he talks about
that grace that made him a new creature in Christ Jesus. Like
the Apostle Paul, he would say, by the grace of God, nothing
else, nothing else. But by the grace of God, I'm
not what I used to be. But by the grace of God, I am
what I am. When he was a very old man, He
heard someone quote that verse that I just did. And he sat silent
for quite a while and then he said, you know I'm not what I
want to be, old Newton said. And I'm not what I ought to be.
And I'm not what I'm going to be. But bless God, I'm not what
I used to be. Grace makes a man to differ. And as he dips his quill into
ink, he writes Amazing Grace. Is this the same guy? Is this
the same guy that made merchandise of human beings? Is this the
same man? Well, yes it is and no it's not.
He's a new creature and he says, Amazing Grace how sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost. Oh God. Draw back the curtain of memory
now and then. Show me and you. Remind us where
you brought us from and where we could have been. I once was
lost but now am found. I was blind but now I see. And our Lord was on another occasion
in private with his disciples. He asked them, whom do men say
that I the Son of God am? And they said, oh, there's various
opinions. Everybody's got an opinion. Let
me tell you what I think. Some say you're John the Baptist
risen from the dead. Some say you're Elijah, some great prophet. And the Lord said, well, let's
bring it down a little closer to home, boys. Who do you say
that I am? Who do you say that he is, Randy?
Who is he? The Larry Criss. Remember what
Simon said, Thou art the Christ. You're the Christ. You're the
Son of the Living God. Don't have any doubt about that. And remember what our Lord said
to him, Simon Bar-Jonah, flesh and blood hasn't revealed this
to you. That's not saving grace. That's not faith to have an intellectual
knowledge of Jesus Christ. I mean, you can open the Bible
just like you open this morning's newspaper and read it and say,
yes, yes, I believe that Jesus Christ lived and died and even
arose again. That's not saving faith. That's
the faith of devils. They have that. Oh, but Simon
had more, and our Lord told him why he had true faith. The flesh
and blood had not revealed this unto thee, Simon, but my Father. Oh, Simon, my Father, God Almighty
has done something for you. in his sovereign purpose and
power and majesty. He's not done it for everyone.
Oh, but Simon, my soul, he's done it to you. He's opened your
eyes to reveal to you who I am. Judas didn't see that. He didn't
see it. Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona. Oh, amazing grace that saved
a wretch like, not like Simon Barjona. Or not like John Newton? Oh, but me. But me. He saved a wretch like me. The
third verse of the Old Hymn says, through many dangers, toils and
snares we have already come. Tis grace that's brought us safe
thus far, and grace will lead me home. That same grace that
effectually That's what God's grace does. It's effectual. It works. Not some of the time. All of the time, Lester. All
of the time. God's grace doesn't reign in
most places. It reigns in all places. Just
as certainly when he said, let there be light and light was,
when the grace of God comes to a sinner, it raises that sinner
up out of the pit and sets his feet up on a solid rock and puts
a new song in his mouth, even praises to our God like it did
Newton. It fetches him. Everyone that's
learned of the Father, Christ says, comes to me. And Newton
went on to say, in that same grace, would lead me home. I'm counting on that. I am counting
on that. My soul, I hope I'm being honest. I hope I'm sincere in what I'm
about to say. If I had, no, no, I don't have
any hope of ever entering glory, of standing before God Almighty
and hearing Him say, enter into the joy prepared for you. I don't
have any hope of ever having that come to pass other than
the grace of God that's in Christ Jesus. That's the only hope I
have. His grace that's called me will
keep me. His grace that chose me will
bring me to glory. It's His grace, His reigning,
sovereign, mighty grace. You can have that grace that
trials. If you find any comfort in the grace that's dependent
upon your contribution, take what comfort you can from it.
I don't. I don't. This sinner needs reigning
grace. This sinner needs abounding grace. This sinner needs mighty grace. And that's exactly what the grace
of God is. Grace that is greater than all
my sins. I'm counting on that. And our
Lord says, in verse 31 again here in Matthew 10, Fear ye not
therefore. Christ so often spoke these words,
didn't He? in chapter 14 here that night
up on that stormy sea he came to Peter where brethren Peter
was walking to him verse 27 or verse 24 but the ship was now
in the midst of the sea tossed with waves mm-hmm I know how
that feels I know how that feels And the wind was contrary. Oh
yeah, I know how that feels. Everything at times just seems
contrary. All these things are against
me. And in the fourth watch of the night, three o'clock in the
morning, three o'clock in the morning, surely the disciples
were thinking, he sent us out on the sea and now he's not with
us? And the waves continued to beat into the ship. Twelve o'clock
he's not come. One o'clock he's not come. Two
o'clock. In the fourth watch of the night
Jesus went unto them walking on the sea. Oh my soul. Walking upon the sea. He has
his way in the whirlwind and the clouds are but the dust of
his feet. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they
were troubled, saying, It is a spirit. And they cried out
for fear. But straightway, straightway,
hasn't he always done so? Straightway Jesus spake unto
them, saying, Be of good cheer, it is I. Be not afraid." Mark
tells us that he was in the way going up to Jerusalem. And Jesus
went before them. I'm reading in Mark 10 verse
32. And Jesus went before them. And
they were amazed. And as they followed, they were
afraid. And He took again the twelve
and began to tell them what things should happen unto Him. Behold,
we go up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man shall be delivered
unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn
him to death. Notice the shalls. And they shall
deliver him up to the Gentiles, and they shall mock him, and
they shall scourge him, and they shall spit upon him. This was
all prophesied hundreds of years before. And they shall kill him. That's not the end of the story.
And the third day he shall rise again. Fear ye not. It is your father's good pleasure
to give you the kingdom. Who speaks these words? None
other than the Lord Jesus Christ himself. That's the foundation,
is it not? That's the bottom line. I mean,
after all, it's who he is. that gives credence, gives comfort
to what He says to you and I. That matters. Him being God Almighty,
Him being God in flesh, that makes a difference. That makes
a difference. That makes all the difference.
I read a story that Mr. Spurgeon told. He said in a certain
village years ago there was an earthquake and a lot of people
were gathered in this one place and just scared to death. And
there was this one elderly lady, an old mother in Israel, a believer. She sat just calm and composed. Everybody else is at their wits
end. And finally they asked her, Mother, aren't you afraid? What's
the matter with you? Aren't you afraid? And she said,
no, no, not at all. She said, I rejoice to know that
I have a God that can shake this world. Like Bobby sang a moment
ago. Just be still. Just be still
and know that I am God. That's the very thing that the
psalmist wrote about in Psalm 46. Turn there if you will for
a moment. Psalm 46. Look where he starts. God. God. God is our refuge. Then how secure we must be. God
is our refuge. Oh, what a shelter. And our strength. He's a very present help in trouble. It is I, he says, be not afraid. Therefore, if verse one is true,
Therefore, will not we fear, though the earth be removed,
and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, though
the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains
shake with the swelling thereof? See, La, if God is our refuge,
verse 10, be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among
the heathen. I will be exalted in the earth. That sounds much like what we
read in Philippians 2. Every knee shall bow to him,
and every tongue confess that he is Lord to the glory of God
the Father. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us.
The God of Jacob is our refuge, Selah. Yes, it matters who speaks
these words, fear not. He who says so is that one who
prayed, Father, you've given me power over all flesh. All flesh? That rebel son? Him too. That rebel daughter? Her too. Her too. You've given me power over all
flesh. That's who says, fear not. He
sends forth his disciples just as he did here in this chapter.
And the last time that he appeared to them he said, all power is
given unto me in heaven and in earth. All power. Go ye therefore. Go ye therefore. With that to
hold you up. With that to fortify you. Take
these words with you. All power is given unto me. Otherwise, his fear nots would
mean nothing, Don. They would mean nothing. If he
would come before us and say, fear not, be not afraid. If he weren't that one who possesses
all power, If all power in heaven and earth weren't in his hands,
if anything is above him, if everything is not beneath his
feet, these words mean nothing. They carry no weight at all.
Oh, but he who says, fear ye not, he's that one. who is in the heavens doing whatsoever
he hath pleased. Turn back, if you will, to Psalm
146. There are so many places we could
read, but let's just read a couple. Here in Psalm 146, along this very line, oh the
comfort of knowing that we are in the hands of one who possesses
all power. Oh, I believe that when the sun
is shining and everything's calm and there's no troubled sea.
Oh, I believe that when I'm lying next to the still waters. Yeah,
I believe the Lord is in control. Oh, the Lord's in control when
the wind blows, when the rain descends and our little boat
is tossed to and fro. He's still in control. Psalm
146, Praise ye the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul. While I
live will I praise the Lord. I will sing praises unto my God
while I have any being. Put not your trust in princes,
nor in the Son of Man, in whom there is no help. His breath
goeth forth, he returneth to this earth. In that very day
his thoughts perish. Happy is he that hath the God
of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God,
which made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that therein
is, which keepeth truth forever, which executeth judgment for
the oppressed, which giveth food to the hungry, the Lord looseth
the prisoners, the Lord openeth the eyes of the blind, I don't see a hint there that
he attempts to or tries to. No, it says he does. The Lord
openeth the eyes of the blind. The Lord raises them that are
bowed down. The Lord loveth the righteous.
The Lord preserveth the strangers. He relieveth the fatherless and
widow. But the way of the wicked he turneth upside down. That
man in the White House is not in control. The God upon the
throne is the one in control. The Lord shall reign forever,
even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the Lord. It's He that says, fear ye not. Paul, in Romans 8, that so very
familiar passage of scripture, asks the question when he says
God had loved us, whom he foreknow,
foreknew, foreloved. He did predestinate. Those he
predestinated he called, justified, glorified. And Paul says now,
what practical use are we going to make of that? Those blessed
and glorious truths that God does all of this for his people. What can we do in the way of
just putting that in shoe leather? He said, it's just this, if God
be for us, if God be for us, who can be against us? Where
our Lord just said here in Matthew 10, he told his disciples, there
will be many against you. You'll be hated of all men for
my name's sake, but they'll never be against you effectually. They'll never do to you anything
that I do not allow or permit. They're in my hands. They're
included in all flesh. And I have all power over all
flesh. If God be for us, who shall be
against us? And then secondly, to whom is
our Lord speaking? Well, as we pointed out in the
reading, his disciples, when he had called unto him his 12
disciples, that's to whom he speaks, those of whom the world
was not worthy. And yet, as you've heard said,
the best of men are still only men at their best. And as such,
they were subject to fear and subject to doubt. Peter, wherefore
did you doubt? And why do I? Fear paralyzes, doesn't it? Our Lord says, go forth, but
oh, fear just stops us in our tracks. Fear intimidates. Fear holds us in its grip. And
fear dishonors God. What would you think if your
son or daughter treated your word, your promise, your care
of them the way we react to God. I mean, what would you think
when your children were still young at home under your guidance,
your care, your protection, if they would come to you and wring
in their hands, you woke up one night and they're pacing the
floor, what's the matter son, what's the matter daughter, oh
I'm just afraid father you really don't love me. I know you say
you do and you'll care for me and you'll protect me but I'm
just not sure you'll be able to, I'm not sure that you're
capable of it. Oh, fear not little flock. It's your father's good pleasure
to give you the kingdom. Fear ye not therefore. Fear not to speak God's truth.
That's what he told the disciples among other things in this chapter.
There is a temptation that we fear we might offend someone.
So we pretend that unbelievers, because we don't want to offend
them, we pretend that unbelievers are believers. But as our Lord
told Paul, speak and hold not thy peace. And Paul would write
afterwards, there is even now a remnant according to the election
of grace. Fear not. Preach. My word shall
not return unto me void. Fear not to live in this world
and to identify with God's people. Now, there are many professing
Christians. I'm afraid we have a couple.
that we see on occasion, but they don't identify with God's
people. What did our Lord say? Whosoever shall be ashamed of
me before men Deny me before men? Don't want to identify with
me before men? With him shall I be ashamed when
I stand before my heavenly Father? Oh may God give us grace to father
that one who suffered for us without the camp. Let us go without
the camp, bearing his reproach. And fear not, child of God, fear
not regarding your present state. That state that Paul describes
in Romans 7. Now that's a real battle. When
you read Romans 7 and you hear the Apostle Paul, he's been an
apostle when he wrote that for many years. He'd been caught
up to third heaven. He saw things wasn't lawful for
him to utter. Oh, what experiences Paul had. What about his conversion. That
day on the Damascus road, oh my soul. What a miracle of God's
grace. What a trophy of God's reigning
grace. And yet that same man says, oh
wretched man that I Now I hear many professing Christians say,
well Paul was talking about when he was a lost man, when he was
lost in the religion of the Pharisees and the traditions of the fathers.
No, Paul was writing as an apostle, as a believer, as a regenerate
man, and he said, oh wretched man that I am. There is a warfare
goes on within me 24-7. 24-7. Now, A professing Christian, just
a professor only, knows nothing about that. They walk hand-in-hand
and arm-in-arm with the world. There's no conflict. There's
no problem. Why? Because they're friends.
Oh, but for the child of God, they know of this struggle. And
Paul cried out under the burden of it, O wretched man that I
am, who shall deliver me? Hear this. Our great emancipator
says, fear ye not. My grace is sufficient for you.
You know that the thief on the cross, that our Lord saved by
his mighty grace, went to heaven just as surely as the Apostle
Paul? Because he went the same way
that Paul did. They both have been called by
the same grace. The same grace saved both, and
the same blood redeemed both. Paul could say, I know whom I
have believed and persuaded that he's able to keep that which
I've committed unto him against that day. Oh, but the thief,
he heard the words of the Redeemer speaking right to him and saying,
today, today. Oh, my soul. What a glorious prospect. Today, death shall be with me
in paradise. Fear not, fear not. Did God choose
a people to salvation or not? Man, you got to put on blinders
to read the Word of God and not see that in so many different
places. Yes, God had from the beginning
chosen you to salvation. Well, if He's not able to bring
me all the way to glory, why even bother to choose me to salvation? Did Christ put away the sins
of His people or not? If He did, then fear ye not. Did He upon that cross not cry,
It is finished? Did He not then and there and
once for all, by Himself, by His glorious self, without any
help from anyone else, purge our sins? Did He not then and
there obtain eternal redemption for us? Then fear ye not. Will He keep all those He redeemed
or not? He said, this is my father's
will which is sent me, that all which he hath given me I should
lose none. My sheep hear my voice, and I
give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall
any man pluck them out of my hand. Is that true or not? Fear ye not. Oh, what wondrous
miracles. God's grace hath wrought. Let
me read a verse to you from Isaiah chapter 8. Behold, this is our
Lord speaking, behold I and the children, Paul quotes this in
Hebrews 2, behold I and the children whom the Lord hath given me therefore
signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts which
dwelleth in Mount Zion. Oh therefore wonders wonders. They're trophies of my grace.
As old Newton said, amazing, amazing grace. Fear ye not therefore. Let me wrap this up. Fear ye
not therefore to go down to the grave to die. We were one time all of our lifetimes
subject to bondage through the fear of death. Oh, but he has
conquered sin. He has conquered death, taken
the sting from it. Again, the words to the thief,
our Lord said, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. A few
years ago I was preaching in Danville with Brother Don Pastures.
Brother Bob Poncer was sitting there. And he had been suffering
for a while. More than once he told me, Larry,
I want this to be over. And I was using the illustration
about being in the hospital one time. And just before I was taken
down for surgery, my mother was standing there, dear mom. And she said, Larry, it'll be
over soon. And when you wake up, I'll be
right here. And she was. And I looked at Bob and said,
Bob, one of these days, your suffering is all going to be
over. You're going to shut your eyes. And when you wake up, Jesus
Christ is going to be right there. It wasn't long after that he
went home to behold that one who loved him and gave himself
for him. The last time I saw Brother Lowe
in the hospital, he said, Larry, if I don't see you again here,
I'll see you in glory. Oh, thank God for that good hope
through grace. Fear ye not, therefore, I am
with you always, even unto the end of the world. I was talking
to Brother Mike on the phone the other day while he was in
the hospital. First thing he said to me, he
said, Larry, you know how I'm thinking. I've been thinking. He said, you know, everything
about God is infinite. I said, Mike, that's right. Infinite
power, infinite wisdom, infinite grace, everything about Him is
infinite. Therefore, fear ye not. Last week I closed the message,
or not, no, week before last, I'm sorry, by quoting from Mr. Bunyan's famous allegory, Pilgrim's
Progress, and I used as an illustration of God's faithfulness to his
own, the story of Mr. Valiant for Truth, you remember? And when he received his summons
to go hence, Bunyan wrote, when the day that he must go was come,
many accompanied him to the riverside, into which when he went he said,
Death, where is thy sting? And as he went down deeper, he
said, Gray, where is thy victory? So he passed over, and all the
trumpets sounded for him on the other side. When I was preparing
this message, I remembered that there were quite a few characters
in Mr. Bunyan's story, and they were
all not Mr. Valiant for truth. There was
Mr. Ready to halt. There was Mr. Despondency with his daughter,
Much Afraid. But when they received their
summons to go hence, they too crossed over. Because the captain
of their salvation said, all that the Father giveth me, all
that the Father giveth me, whether they be valiant for truth, or
ready to halt, or Mr. despondency, or Mrs. much afraid, all that the Father
giveth me, She'll come to me. John, who are these that are
arrayed in white robes and where did they come from? These are
they which came out, they all came out of great tribulation. Mr. Bunyan wrote this, when Mr. Ready to halt received his summons,
that the king wanted to suck with him that very day at his
table. He thanked Mr. Greatheart for his conduct and
kindness and addressed himself to his journey. And when he came
at the brink of the river, he said, now I shall no more need
these crutches, since yonder the chariots and horses for me
are there for me to ride on. And the last words he was heard
to say was, welcome life. And so he went his way. And when
the days had many of them passed away, Mr. Despondency was sent
for, for a post was come and brought this message to him.
Trembling man, these are to summon thee to be ready with thy king
by the next Lord's day, to shout for joy for thy deliverance from
all thy doubtings and fear. Now Mr. Despondency's daughter,
whose name was much afraid, said when she heard what was done,
that she would go with her father. And when the time was come for
them to depart, they went to the brink of the river. And the
last words Mr. Despondency was heard to say
were, farewell, farewell night, welcome day. And his daughter,
much afraid, went through the river singing. These are they
that came out of great tribulation. Father, father, I will. These are the words of our glorious
Redeemer and high priest. Father I will also that those
whom thou has given me be with me where I am. What a description
of heaven where he is that they may behold my glory and he says
to you and I fear ye not. God bless you. Thank you for
your attention.