“Be Bold, Not Afraid”
(Matthew 10:26-31)
Series: God’s Fulfilled Promise [on screen]
Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD
First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida
June 2, 2019
The Passage
Matthew 10:26-31
26 “Therefore, don’t be afraid of them, since there is nothing covered that won’t be uncovered and nothing hidden that won’t be made known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the light. What you hear in a whisper, proclaim on the housetops. 28 Don’t fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s consent. 30 But even the hairs of your head have all been counted. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Introductory Comments:
Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Roger Youderian, and Pete Fleming were American missionaries sent to Ecuador in 1952 to reach the indigenous tribes in Ecuador. They would all five be killed by the very people whom they were trying to reach with the Gospel. There are indications based on journal entries that the men understood that they very well might be harmed. Yet, they were bold in their faith and their calling to proclaim the Gospel. One must wonder what caused these men to be so bold in their faith. Jim Elliot wrote this in one of his journal entries: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
These missionaries understood two things which led them to be bold: they understood the message they proclaimed and they understood the God whom they served.
Today, we learn how we can be led to be bold in these two ways as well.
Before we go any further, let’s pray together.
(prayer)
We are continuing our series in the Gospel of Matthew. Last week we learned that Jesus was sending out His apostles as sheep among wolves. We learned that there very well may be dangers, hatred, and rejection that Christians face as they faithfully live for Jesus and proclaim the Gospel.
In the midst of these potential persecutions, Jesus wants His followers to be bold. In this passage today, Jesus will say three times, “Don’t be afraid,” or “Don’t fear.”
Why aren’t we to be afraid? Well, because there is something different at play than only the material circumstances around us. There are supernatural and eternal factors at play when we share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and when we live faithfully for God.
As we go out as sheep among wolves, we must keep this heavenly and godly perspective.
This week, in these six verses, we’ll learn two ways that we can live boldly as we live in faithful obedience to God.
First, . . .
I. Boldly proclaim the message (26-28) [on screen]
We can and should proclaim the Gospel message boldly.
Jesus tells us why.
First of all, Jesus says in verse 26,
26 “Therefore, don’t be afraid of them, since there is nothing covered that won’t be uncovered and nothing hidden that won’t be made known.
We shouldn’t be afraid of any who may attempt to persecute us or who may reject the message of the Gospel because God sees all.
He sees and knows what is happening in our proclamation of the love of Jesus and He sees and knows what is happening in others’ rejection of the love of Jesus.
There are no secrets with God. What is covered will be uncovered. What is hidden will be made known.
Boldly proclaim because God sees what you’re going through and He sees the rejection of others as well.
He will reward us for our faithfulness and He will punish this who reject the Gospel.
He goes on in verse 27:
27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the light. What you hear in a whisper, proclaim on the housetops.
He has already told the disciples that He is sending them out. He has already told them that the message they have is the coming of the kingdom of God.
Now, He’s letting them know that what He has been telling them privately, He now wants them to proclaim publicly. Remember, this is one continuous conversation that Jesus is having with them (it’s taking us a few weeks to work through it).
Jesus doesn’t want them to keep it in the dark. He doesn’t want it to be a secret. He says to bring it to the light! Shout it from the rooftops!
Finally, Jesus shares this vitally significant instruction in verse 28.
28 Don’t fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Jesus gives us eternal and divine perspective here. He wants us to stop thinking just about what’s in front of us and think about what is to come.
Illustration: Have you ever been to a steakhouse that serves peanuts at the table, or sometimes even in the waiting area? When you do that, you don’t want to eat too many peanuts. Don’t fill up on the peanuts because you have a steak coming!
Don’t get focused on what’s in front of you so much that you forget about the more important thing.
Listen, church: don’t fear the persecution, don’t fear the hatred, don’t fear the rejection; fear the Creator of all things, fear the King of Kings, fear the Sovereign God of the Universe!
Now, some of you might be confused about fearing God. You might say, “Doesn’t God love me? Why should I fear Him?” Well, let’s talk about that for a minute.
Listen to what the Bible says on this:
Psalm 112:1 “Hallelujah! Happy is the person who fears the Lord, taking great delight in his commands.” [on screen]
Proverbs 19:23 “The fear of the Lord leads to life; one will sleep at night without danger.” [on screen]
Psalm 85:9 “His salvation is very near those who fear him, so that glory may dwell in our land.” [on screen]
Psalm 147:11 “The Lord values those who fear him, those who put their hope in his faithful love.” [on screen]
Ecclesiastes 12:13, “When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: fear God and keep his commands, because this is for all humanity.” [on screen]
I could go on and on, but trust me, the Bible says a lot about the fact that we should fear God.
When I was a kid my youth pastor defined the fear of God as this: “A conscious awareness of God’s presence.” I like that, but I would add to it. I would define the fear of God as, “A conscious awareness of God’s presence and character.”
Fearing God means understanding that He is real, He is there, understanding who He is, and understanding who we are in relation to who He is.
Illustration: Maybe this will help also. We don’t fear God like we would fear the boogie man. Rather, we may fear God like we would fear a good, perfectly fair, judge before whom we must stand because we have committed a crime of which we know we are guilty.
God is holy, just, righteous, fair, loving, omniscient (meaning all-knowing), omnipotent (meaning all-powerful), omnipresent (meaning He is ever-present), He is sovereign, He is wise, He is praiseworthy, and He is worthy to be feared with a holy and righteous awareness of who He is.
(pause)
Jesus tells us not to fear the persecutors but to fear the One who can send us and others to Hell. We need to faithfully obey the Father and others need to hear the only message that can offer them escape from eternal punishment in Hell.
The more we fear God, the less we will fear man.
The fear of God should drive us to boldly proclaim the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! The fear of God should drive us to boldly proclaim the coming of the kingdom of God.
Live boldly by proclaiming the message.
Second, . . .
II. Boldly trust God (29-31) [on screen]
In order for us to understand how we can trust God so much, Jesus gives us another illustration using an animal (Jesus must have really loved animals).
Look at verses 29-31:
29 Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s consent. 30 But even the hairs of your head have all been counted. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Jesus gives this illustration using a sparrow.
A sparrow was about the cheapest animal you could buy in the markets in Israel. In fact, very poor families would buy sparrows to eat.
So, a sparrow is worth very little. Yet, not one of them experiences harm without God the Father giving consent.
Jesus then says that God knows everything about us! Even the hairs of your head are numbered (or the lack thereof).
God knows every little detail about us and Jesus put these two facts together to prove a profound point: even the most insignificant animal is under the sovereign control of God, plus God knows everything about you! Therefore, since you are known by God and you are far more significant to God than anything else in all of Creation, you can trust God.
Everything in this universe is under God’s sovereign control.
As Abraham Kuyper famously said, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’”
You and I should not be afraid of any persecution which may come our way as a result of our faithfulness to God! He’s got this! He’s on our side! He has called us, equipped us, commissioned us, and command us. He will also guide us, watch over us, comfort us, and reward us.
Trust God!
Your life may come to an end, but all of our lives come to an end at some point. Don’t fear the one who can only destroy the body. Remember, those who endure to the end of their lives will be saved by the mercy and grace of God to an eternity of reward and blessing in the presence of God, forever.
Our home is not of this world. Our reward is not of this world. Our comfort is not found in this world. We should not fear this world. We have a temporary calling in this world. We may suffer in this world. Fear not, He has overcome the world. He is calling us to another world. Let’s take the message to the world. Let’s be used to reach the redeemed of this world. Till we reach the next world.
Concluding Thoughts:
Church, the truth of the matter is this: Christians cannot live in fear. We cannot live in fear generally speaking and we certainly cannot live in fear when it comes to sharing the message of Jesus Christ!
Illustration: For Memorial Day, my family decided to go down to Naples to visit some friends from when we used to live there. One of our favorite things to do in Naples is to walk on the Naples Pier. One of my boys was fearful to walk on the pier. I assured him that it was worth walking on the pier even if he’s afraid because it’s such a fun experience. He mustered up the courage and walked on the pier with the rest of our family. When we got to the end we got to see a dolphin up close and he was delighted. He would have missed the excitement if he let fear keep him from the pier.
Listen, church: we have the great joy and privilege to be used by God to reach people with the Gospel. We have the blessing of living a life in devotion and obedience to our Lord and Savior. We must not let fear keep us from faithfully following the Father. We must not miss out because we are afraid.
Let our fear of God and our trust in God drive us to be bold in our faith.
That takes us to our bottom line:
Bottom Line: Be bold because of your fear of God. [on screen]
(repeat)
By understanding that God is there and understanding who He is, we can be bold in our faith!
Be bold, church! Don’t be afraid!
Challenge yourself this week in the following ways:
Weekly Challenge: [on screen]
- Identify your fears in proclaiming the Gospel. [on screen]
What causes you to be afraid?
Name it, so you can be prepared to overcome it.
- Identify why you can be bold in proclaiming the Gospel. [on screen]
Spend some time reflecting on this passage and others that show you how you can be bold.
Let this list drive you to overcome the first list.
The reasons you can be bold are greater than the reasons you have to fear.
- Ask God to drive you to bold obedience. [on screen]
Do you want to be obedient to the Father?
Ask God’s Holy Spirit to convict you, equip you, lead you, guide you, comfort you, and fill you to be bold in your obedience.
Closing:
We must boldly proclaim the message and we must boldly trust God.
Our understanding of the Gospel and our fear of God must drive us.
Don’t fear the rejection of man. Fear Almighty God.
(Gospel Presentation)
(Closing Prayer)
Invitation Song – I Need Thee Every Hour
Benediction:
If you have any sort of spiritual decision that you would like to make, you can contact me or Pastor Richard and we would be glad to talk to you anytime.
We will have a special time of prayer tonight at 5:30 PM. We’ll be doing this the first Sunday of each month. Tonight we’ll be praying specifically for the ministries of our church.
Before we dismiss, let’s have a special time of prayer for our youth as they prepare to go to camp this week. They leave tomorrow and get back Friday.
(prayer for youth camp)
Let’s dismiss by singing the O How He Loves You and Me.
(Sing O How He Loves You and Me)
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