March 10, 2024
Good morning Church!
Today, we are in Matthew chapter 10 starting in verse 16 marking today as the 31st message of our evangelism series
We will be shifting gears today as we are embarking into this next section of scripture. So I thought it would be helpful for a bit of a high level view looking at chapter ten of Matthew, which is also known as the missionary discourse or the little commission
So in looking at chapter 10 you can pretty readily see how it divides into three categories
- – verses 5-15 being Jesus’ nuts and bolts instructions on how to share the truth,
- – verses 16-39 Within this section he not only gives us warning about persecution but alsoinstructions on how to live out the truth
- – Lastly verses 40-42, rewards that come from sharing and living out the truthToday we are covering v 16 of chapter 10 of matthew, and while there is a lot to speak about in this one little verse, I believe the focal point of this verse is a call to action for us to live our lives with Godly wisdom at its core, especially as we are seeking to live out the great commission.So lets dive into matthew chapter 10:1616 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.Jesus is saying in verse 16 to his apostles both a warning as well as some instructionsBy going out and sharing truth in the way that he had instructed them to do so, they will be entering into places where people who just reject their message, but will seek to prevent them from going somewhere else to share that truth to impact othersIn other words, by the apostles being obedient to these instructions on how to share truth they were going to have a target placed on their backs, by those who will have a completely different nature from them.They have become like very easy prey, to a very skilled predator.So because of this, Jesus goes on to tell his apostles to watch their steps, not to be foolish, but to be wise. Be not wise in their own eyes; but to fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.In this verse Jesus is calling his apostles sheep, this label of sheep is a common term of endearment given to followers of the Lord, that can be seen throughout all of scripture both in the old and new testament writings.For us, as well as for the apostles, the important thing we need to take away from being called sheep is that Christ is our shepherd.
The more we grow in our walks with the Lord, the more he will allow us to recognize just how much like sheep we really are.
Like sheep, we can’t really do much of anything on our own. It has been our good shepherd who has been the one providing for us and keeping us safe among the wolves of this world the entire time.
During this process of maturing in our walks and growing in our identity of being sheep, our good shepherd will reveal to us the things in our life that we are holding onto that are not good, and simply put, things that we are holding onto that will slow us down in our efforts to follow after him.
It is only by God’s grace then, that he allows us to recognize these things that offer us a false sense of security and hand them over to our good shepherd so we can then be able to follow our shepherd even closer and not stray from his flock.
And the closer we walk to him, the more we learn to recognize the sound of his voice in our live
Which practically speaking, means we will continually be growing in experiential knowledge and trusting of His word, allowing him to produce in us a faith and confidence that is reflected in philippians 1:6 that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ
Church, I have had my heart drawn to this text now for a few months
“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.
And yes like I had mentioned already, while the main points of this message will be with regards to wisdom, this verse has stuck out so much to me because historically in my walk, and I am sure some of you can relate, but I have more moments of foolishness then I would care to remember.
But Praise God for his mercy
Because before we can really appreciate the value of wisdom we are going to explore briefly some aspects of those cringy foolish moments, with the hopes that it will highlight the contrast between foolishness and wisdom serving us in having a greater understanding of the call this verse is giving to us to live lives of Godly wisdom,
I can tell you that has certainly played out in my life where God had used those cringy moments in my walk, to show me just how out of step I was with the image of my savior I truly was.
In all reality, those cringy moments really were just fruit of my own acting in foolishness, whether deliberately prideful or because of my willful ignorance,
But Praise God that He is faithful even when I fail to be.
The Lord is faithful to use those cringy foolish moments, to increase humility in my life
And then by his Spirit, he picks me back up, dusts me off, teaches me where I went wrong, and has always been faithful to provide me with ample opportunities to walk out and share his truth
But rather than give any examples from my own walk, not for there being any lack to choose from, I would rather pull from the word of God.
I love the word of God because it does not try to hide those cringy moments either, for our example we are just going to look at the life of the apostle Peter.
And in the life of Peter we can find a multitude of examples, like when Jesus called him Satan, which was not a term of endearment, or remember where at the transfiguration when Moses and Elijah are there with Jesus, Peter not knowing what to say but feels necessary to say something, says It is a good thing that he was there so he can make them some tents.
Two thing to note here
1. The foolishness of man will never throw off the plans of God,
2. how these moments of foolishness provide great benchmarks to measure, for ourselves, our progression in spiritual maturity,
In other words, It shows that the life that has been submitted to Christ, submitted to the word and the will of God will not be perfect in this midst of this broken and fallen creation, but in the process of walking out the faith God has given, He will be faithful to bring about a great testimony pointing to not how great we are, but how great our God is who is at work in and through us
Let me show you what I mean for a second, still looking at Peter, remember when Christ said to his apostles, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’
Peter then robustly, and cringingly, pronounces even though everyone else will fall away I never will.
I can just feel for my brother pete as this was surly another cringey moment for him
Because, of course, just hours later, it happened just as Christ said and Peter denied that he was a follower of Jesus, and the word provided a little detail for us which I feel just adds insult to injury for Peter’s ego, was that he started cursing and denying the Lord to a little slave girl.
Pride will always be a common thread that will tie any of these cringy moments together, but the lessons of humility brought on from these moments are so powerful.
Church history will go on to tell us that years later Peter was to be crucified as Christ was, if it were not for Peter’s objection, saying he was not worthy to die in the same manner as His Lord and he had requested to be crucified upside down.
That little detail makes me wonder Church, In that moment of Peter facing how he would now die, or really in any of the other moments of suffering because of his faith in the Lord,
From the point when Peter was scared to admit that he was a disciple of Christ to a slave girl to the point of time where he was now objecting to being killed in the same manner as Christ because he was not worthy of it.
I wonder if his mind would be drawn to the time he was scared of the little slave girl who asked if he was a follower of Christ, and despite the suffering of the circumstances he found himself in, even to the point of his death he would be filled with joy recognizing the work the Lord has done in him.
The first part of the verse is Jesus bringing awareness to the situation they are being sent into, and the second part of this verse has a focus on their conduct while evangelizing.
Their conduct as they are seeking out the lost sheep who live amongst the wolves. Directly or indirectly we are always evangelizing right?
Our very lives are a testimony of how well we live out the truth and how well we are able to share the truth, all of that comes down to in essentially how well we have learned, by the grace of God to be obedient to following the example that was set for us by our savior Jesus Christ.
So when we have these, frankly very avoidable, but often inevitable moments, of what boils down to be pride filled foolishness, those cringe moments,
The enemy will try to use those moments to hurt your testimony,
But our enemy is not the sovereign of the universe, and what the enemy plans for evil our God purposes for good.
when we speak of evangelism in the light of wisdom we need to keep a two things in mind,
First and foremost, God is in full control of the results of someone making that conscious decision to take one step closer in their relationship with Jesus.
verse 16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents
and innocent as doves.
That means there is no one, including yourselves by the way, can have a relationship with God, unless God first draws that person to himself.
But secondly, hiding and running from your mistakes and pretending like they didn’t happen will lead to your testimony being hurt
So rather than that Church, own up to those moments, remember you yourself are not a fool, but, sometimes you can act like one,
So humbly acknowledge when those moments happen before God and others, and take comfort knowing that it is really only by the grace of God we do not act a fool more often.
In my own life, through the process of owning up to the cringe moments and taking them before the Lord and others who I believe I had impacted with my foolishness,
God would set my feet on the trajectory for growth in godly wisdom and humility. Giving me a more accurate view of my own standing before Him, and by His grace, He allowed for my testimony not damaged but rather strengthened.
This reminds me of 2 corinthians 12 where Paul hears the Lord tell him
My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Because, never forget who you are Church.
We are the sheep that are among wolves, and what sheep do you know that could possibly fight against even the weakest of wolves?
We stand no chance without our good shepherd Jesus Christ, we are told to be wise and innocent around these wolves around us. But never are we told we should fear or fight them, but rather verse 28 of this chapter
do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
The bible does says though,
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. Proverbs 9:10
I am certainly not going to stand up here and tell you that Christians have a corner on the market of wisdom, and unless you are a follower of Christ you can not act in wisdom. What I will
Now wisdom defined is the ability or result of an ability to think and act utilizing knowledge,
experience, understanding, common sense, and insight
say however, is that there is a clear difference in wisdom that comes from this world, and wisdom that comes from the Lord.
And for us to understand the difference between Godly wisdom and worldly wisdom will be the key to unlocking the main point behind our text that we are studying today, so we are going to use a few different scriptures to teach us what God has to say about this.
First is the parable of the dishonest manager found in Luke 16 1-13 which you can either turn to in your bibles or follow on the screen, here is where we can see a great example of what worldly wisdom looks like
“There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. 2 And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ 3 And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ 5 So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ 8 The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. 9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.
10 “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
The first thing we learn about the dishonest manager is in verse 1 that he was a poor steward of his masters goods, and when that accusation was brought to him, He offered no defense offered to his master, no plea for mercy that he had expressed, but rather when he learned this was the day of the other shoe dropping, He then in
verses 3 & 4 begins to take stock of the situation that he finds himself in, and looking at the resources that are available to his disposal, he then promptly hatches a plan that he believes will give him his best chance of salvation.
Verses 5-7 he then shows some great follow through on his plan with appropriate urgency, knowing his fate was already on borrowed time leading to
Verses 8- 13 In conclusion of the story the master acknowledges this dishonest manager’s cunning when it came to saving his own hide, which stood in direct contrast to the beginning of the story when the master’s dishonest manager was accused of being a poor steward of the master’s things.
The master did not offer him his job back, he did not change his mind about the judgment he had made earlier.
And I don’t think that this is really as much of a compliment the master is paying to the dishonest manager, I see it more of him recognizing that the dishonest manager was very capable of being a good steward of his masters things, but chose to only expend effort if it would be to his own benefit.
That would mean then the shrewdness of the dishonest manager is not what is being highlighted by the master, but rather his selfishness
Church, in trying to discern the difference between Godly wisdom and worldly wisdom there really is only one question that needs to be answered.
Whose kingdom are you building? Jesus’ or someone else’s?
Remember the context for verse 16 of the text we are studying today is all about proclaiming the arrival of the kingdom of heaven, it is all about evangelizing, helping people to get one step closer to Jesus.
About us boldly sharing and living out the truth
By sharing the truth, we are sharing what the word of God says, but by living out the truth we show with our lives, that everything we have, both material and immaterial possessions, have only been given to us for the purpose of being able to better serve him and build up his kingdom with true riches
Jesus puts it at the end of that parable, we can only have one master. Is Jesus Lord overall of your life?
Turn with me to the book of James chapter 3 verses 13-18, or read the verses on the screen behind me. Here we see James, the half brother of Jesus clearly laying out the difference by describing both worldly wisdom and wisdom from above
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.
Pause. That is the biblical definition of worldly wisdom clearly laid out, let’s keep reading
17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
Now that is the biblical definition of Godly wisdom.
Worldly wisdom is the driving force behind the self preserving, self centered, self sufficient motivation of elevating or protecting one’s status in this world. Consider the wisdom of this world to be rocket fuel for the sin of pride and the building up of egos.
Worldly wisdom is vanity, it is empty of eternal meaning and significance
Church, this was the original sin. The cunning serpent deceived Eve, leading her to believe that God was holding out on secret information that would make them the Gods of their own lives, and all she had to do to become God, was the one thing God had said not to do.
Adam of course was complicit, by choosing to be a bystander, in seeing how this was going to play out, and failing to lead his wife. We can relate to both Adam and Eve in this situation though can’t we?
All times we choose to sin, whether we realize it or not we are just telling God to get off of the throne of our lives we got it from here. And this pursuit of us becoming our own God and being able to do what we want when we want it, is so deeply ingrained in our sinful flesh nature it is hard to look away
Hollywood knows this, the world knows this.
How many sitcoms are being put out today where we see kids being disobedient to parents, and in their disobedience they are 5 steps ahead of their parents, where the kids are geniuses and the parents are being painted as dumb oafs.
Or I bet you had never watched a movie where the main character was committing a crime of some sort and you were hoping they were going to get caught. That law and order and justice would prevail.
In our flesh nature, we can do such a good job in justifying sin, painting such a pretty picture of various motivations for breaking the law, the end justifying the means,
or perform mental gymnastics in order to believe that there has been an undiscovered loophole, making possible the perfect victimless crime to be committed, where no one will be hurt, or if someone does get hurt it is a worse person than the main character so they had it coming the whole time.
Our flesh is so attracted to these stories, like a moth is to the flame
The reason that I wanted to spend a fair amount of time today covering how to identify what worldly wisdom is, because Church, sin is deceiving, it comes from the father of lies, and when we are told that in order to faithfully live out the great commission we need to be wise,
We need to be able to clearly make the distinction in our own hearts in whether or not we are acting in worldly wisdom or Godly wisdom.
Worldly wisdom is always building up ourselves while Godly wisdom is always about building up his kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven
Because remember Church who Jesus is speaking to in our text today, it was his 12 apostles. The very same disciples who later on we in the gospels we can read about the time they shared together in the upper room with Jesus during his last supper,
During that last super meal Jesus plainly told his apostles that one of them will betray him, all of the disciples were looking around and asking Jesus if it would be them, if they were the one who would betray him that night.
Among the 12 who were sent out to go and prepare the way in these towns and villages seeking out the lost sheep of the house of Israel was Judas Iscariot, the one who did betray the son of man. Doing so with a kiss.
Why do I put a spotlight on judas now?
Because Judas shared the gospel, he openly proclaimed the arrival of the kingdom of God, presumably, Judas took part in praying for people, casting out demons, healing the sick, cleansing the lepers and raising the dead.
Church
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ Matthew 7:21-23
The bible tells us that Judas was the one who Jesus appointed in charge of the group’s finances, would regularly help himself to money meant for ministry. Showing a pattern of a selfish heart, that had plenty of opportunities to recognize his own wickedness in the light of knowing the Lord.
But Judas hated the light, because the light exposed his true nature. Church, this was every one of us before God had drawn us to himself, this is the nature for all of those sheep who are lost in this world and have not yet been joined to the safety of the flock of our good shepherd Jesus.
Judas Iscariot, would one day betray Jesus, and would be overcome by shame for what he had done for his own selfish gain would shortly after seal his fate with his death by commiting suicide.
Judas was deceived and led astray, and he spent three years of his life living with Jesus.
Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
The Lord understands it, he knows what is in the heart of man and needs no one to tell him about it.
He says this in Mark 7:21-23
21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, I do not believe Judas had ever acted in fear of the Lord. But I do believe the fruit of Judas’ life did reflect the self centered nature of worldly wisdom.
There is nothing that will remain hidden in this world, and as the bible says “Your sin will find you out”
Judas’ life serves a cautionary tale for all who do fear the Lord of why it is important to look at the trajectory of their heart and not seek to compare it with others, but see how it aligns in the true light of Jesus.
This is why no one can truly serve the Lord unless they have placed their faith in the identity and the works of Jesus Christ, repented of their own sinful nature and have been born again by the Holy Spirit allowing them to be reconciled to the Father.
That is when God will give us a new heart and bring us in as sheep that belong to his flock.
.
Worldly wisdom has no innocence, but godly wisdom is innocent. Remember, we said earlier that worldly wisdom is behind the self preserving, self centered, self sufficient motivation of
“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and
innocent as doves
elevating or protecting one’s status in this world. It is rocket fuel for the sin of pride and the building up of egos, that in its very essence is vanity.
Worldly wisdom would just be one who acts as shrewd or cunning like the serpent who was in the garden with Eve. Being motivated by the building up of their own kingdom. Where Godly wisdom is as wise as the serpent and innocent as the dove.
The one who acts in Godly wisdom is clothed in humility, trusting that the Lord will preserve them, they are to spend their efforts focusing on the preservation of others and actively recognizing ,and denying the things of this world that will bring comfort to their flesh nature
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25
For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Matthew 16 24-26
Godly wisdom is not self preservation, but self sacrificing
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends. John 15:13
Godly wisdom is not consisted of self centered actions as worldly wisdom is, but Godly wisdom has a focus on being a reflection of God and serving others to their own advantage
just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” matthew 20:28
Jesus lived this out in so many ways as an example for us, remember when at the last supper he took on the role of the servant once more and began washing the feet of his apostles
Godly wisdom is not self-sufficient, it is poor in spirit, it is meekness, not trusting in yourself but in God and that he will work all things out for His maximum glory.
Godly wisdom is having an accurate understanding of where you stand before God, not comparing yourself to others but only comparing yourself to him, knowing that there is no aspect of you that will ever come close to measuring up to the one in whose image you are made of.
Jesus,6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:5-11
Jesus, while being fully man, was also fully God, who demonstrated for us as our great high priest how it is we are to rely on God. Godly wisdom is a growing dependency on him, and knowing his will and choosing his will over our own
where wisdom of this world says Eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow you will die Godly wisdom will say
or whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.
John 5:19
but remember when Jesus was in the garden before his crucifixion, and his body was having a physiological response to the stress he was facing before the drinking of the cup of God’s wrath,
He was sweating drops of blood while praying saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
Remember the goal of our sermon series really has been to take a deep dive into the topic of evangelism. And by God’s grace we have been able to approach this topic of evangelism expositionally by looking at the instructions that Christ was giving to his apostles the first time they were to go out on their own to evangelize in this chunk of scripture some theologians call “the little commission”.
I like the title of the little commission that was given to matthew chapter 10. Because for me, it helps keep my mind focused on what I believe the purpose behind why we have been given these specific instructions Jesus gave to his apostles 2000 years after it was spoken.
I believe the main purpose for this text is to equip us in our calling to walk out the great commission that Jesus gave to us, which is what Jesus said in matthew 28 starting in verse 18,
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you and behold I am with you always to the end of the age
It is from the lens of seeking to live out the great commission that we as Christ’s disciples looks through this verse in the little commission
Church, the call of this text is while we are evangelizing, for us to be mindful of our walks, not just how we are walking but also to be mindful who we are walking around.
We are to walk with wisdom and innocence, as we have been sent into the enemy’s domain.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the
Father doing. F
“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and
innocent as doves.
This is a call for us to be others minded, while continually looking to the example set by Jesus who is the wisdom of God.
This message, while having the backdrop of evangelism really boiled down to one topic. Wisdom. And within wisdom, we discussed the reality between worldly wisdom and Godly wisdom.
And the hallmark trait of how to identify whether someone is acting in worldly wisdom vs Godly wisdom really distills to whether that person is being
self centered in their motivation, or are they being God centered in their motivation?
So I would invite you to prayerfully look within, and take stock of your life. How are you doing with living out godly wisdom?
Do you remember the last cringe moment you have had, and the lesson God taught you through it?
Being convicted by the Holy Spirit is such a bitter sweet joy, is it not?
But initially, let’s be real, they are just bitter. It is only with the continued pursuit with your relationship with the Lord by faith, when those cringe moments of conviction become sweet.
Church, one characteristic that directly corresponds with Godly wisdom is humility. And humility can only come from having a proper view of where you stand before the Lord.
And as we seek to wrap this sermon up, you might be asking yourself how is it that you can grow in Godly wisdom?
There is no secret recipe Church, the answer for how one would be able to grow in Godly wisdom, is the same answer to the question how can I better reflect Jesus to my neighbor, or how is it I can find God’s will for my life, or what is my calling, or how can I increase in faith or have a better relationship with the Lord, or improve my marriage or be a better parent.
And here the answer to all of those things
Read the word of God, spend time in community with the believers and get alone with the Lord in prayer. Do this consistently, do this faithfully, do this with a right heart. This is how you will learn to recognize the voice of your shepherd.
Our faith is not a complicated one but it is a simple faith Church, but it is far from easy to live out, it is impossible to do in your own strength
These three things of getting in the word, spending time in the community of believers and spending time alone with the Father in prayer are three acts of faith.
The bible says that faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen.
Which means we need to do these things with a right heart of faithful expectation of God.
He knows our faults, he knows our sins, he knows our weaknesses and he will meet us right in the middle of all those things, and calls for us to embark on a journey and follow him, progressively learning to leave those things behind that we so tightly had once clung to for our security
he is faithful to bring the good work that is has started in you to completion
Don’t be discouraged if this is something that you feel is just not clicking for you, but fight that discouragement with faithful steadfastness.
Be reminded, that it is not about finding your trust in the process of getting into a good routine that will bring about growth in your life, but it is the God who is over all that will bring about the growth.
And that growth that God will bring, doesn’t happen in a vacuum. God will work through those cringy moments, as well as he works through the still small voice when you are in His word, or through the relationship he had blessed you with a brother or sister in Christ
It is the time we spend when we are not going through those growth moments, in the word, in community and in prayer by faith, that fuel those moments of growth to make us less like our old nature that has been crucified with Christ and more like our born again new creation selves.
The worst thing that you can do though church and be sure to listen to me, the worst thing you can do is nothing. Or maybe even worse than that is to just do these things as a matter of routine and not with faith filled expectation.
That will produce apathy in your heart, an indifference towards God, where you may still have good head knowledge but your heart towards him is regressing, it is entering into atrophy.
And when those looking in at the testimony of your life see you, they might just not be able to tell the difference between you and the wolves around you.
Depart from me you workers of lawlessness, for I never knew you. those people who have allowed themselves to be deceived through the continual ignoring and their disingenuous pursuit after Godly wisdom will hear,
that is a loving caution the Lord has given to all who place faith in his word as truth, of what reality will be like for some
“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.
To conclude this message I’m going to end with one question, one statement and one encouragement . Then we are going to pray and give room for the Spirit to work allow for an opportunity for anyone to share something the Lord is putting on them to share
The question is this,
How comfortable have you grow with the wolves that are around you?
And the statement is not my words but God’s word from the book of Proverbs 1:23–33
Wisdom cries aloud in the street,
in the markets she raises her voice;
21 at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
22 “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing
and fools hate knowledge?
23 If you turn at my reproof,
behold, I will pour out my spirit to you;
I will make my words known to you.
24 Because I have called and you refused to listen,
have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded, 25 because you have ignored all my counsel
and would have none of my reproof, 26 I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when terror strikes you, 27 when terror strikes you like a storm
and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish come upon you.
28 Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
they will seek me diligently but will not find me. 29 Because they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of the Lord, 30 would have none of my counsel
and despised all my reproof,
31 therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way,
and have their fill of their own devices.
32 For the simple are killed by their turning away,
and the complacency of fools destroys them; 33 but whoever listens to me will dwell secure
and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.”
Church, it is by the grace and mercy of our God, that for as long as we are still able to draw breath in these lungs and our heart is still able to carry out a beat we have the opportunity to turn to him, repent of our sins, and put aside our foolish ways, and live this life following in the steps of our great shepherd, the lamb of God Jesus Christ. To be wise as serpents and innocent as doves among a broken and hurting world.
Let’s pray