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We are looking at this series on messengers of the King found in Matthew chapter 10. It's a passage of Scripture that tells us the instructions Jesus gave to His disciples when He sends them on mission. He sent them out to preach and proclaim the Good News of the kingdom. And in this passage, Jesus tells His disciples that the mission they will be on is not an easy one. It's a difficult mission, it's one where you may risk your life. And so He said earlier, “behold I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. I'm not sending wolves to you but you will be going out as sheep in the midst of the packs of wolves, people will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, you be dragged before governors and kings for My sake, brother will deliver brother over to death and the father his child, children will rise against parents and have and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for My name's sake.”

So this is a very difficult mission and you say, “why is this so?” Why will the messengers of Jesus Christ be persecuted and hated like this? It's not a surprise Jesus says, today we read in verse 24 and 25 Jesus, telling you exactly why. “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher and the servant like his master. So if they have called the master of the house. If they have called me Beelzebul, how much will they malign those of his household.” [Matthew 10:24-25]

So Jesus says, “if they have so spoken ill about me, your master, why would you expect them to treat you any better?” The disciple is not above his master. You say, “what's the meaning of the word, ‘Beelzebul’. They called me Beelzebul. What is that? Well, that's a term that means, ‘the lord of the flies’. Not the lord of the rings ah! They, they call me the lord of the flies. They call me the evil one. You say, “what is the lord of the flies?” -Beelzebul. It's a synonym for the Prince of demons. In Matthew 12, “it is only by Beelzebub, the Prince of demons that this man, cast out demons.” [Matthew 12:24]

So Jesus says, “I'm sent of God, I'm a man of God, I'm the Son of God.” But the people around says, “no, He is not the Son of God, no, He's not a man of God, he is empowered by Satan, he's one of Satan's minions.” So it's a very serious accusation against Jesus Christ. But if that is what they called Jesus, the lord of the flies, the Prince of demons, how much more will they malign those of his household? Don't you think it's expected that they should so hate you and persecute you. They don't see you as messengers of God. They see you as servants of the servant of the devil.

Now, what you do in such a case? When people will hate you and people will persecute you? We learned two weeks ago that we should be wise as serpents, flee from city to city. That is about wisdom, not risking your life unnecessarily, not been bravado not being gung-ho about it.

But then Jesus is very clear, even though there will be such clear and present danger, “I still want you to be faithful and bold in giving the Gospel. Be wise, but do not shirk from the responsibility. I've given you. Go!” “What I tell you in the dark, say it in the light and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.” [Matthew 10:27,] “But I fear,” you say, “I'm scared, they will take my life. I'm scared, I'm fearful of the people around me, I'm fearful of the wolves.”

Jesus then says in verses 26, 28 and 31 the same thing, He says in verse 26, “so have no fear of them.”

And then if you don't get it again, “and do not fear those who kill the body.” And in case you still do not get it, verse 31, “fear not therefore.” So today's text is very simple, you know reading the Bible is not that complicated. You take a passage, verses 24 to 31 in Matthew 10. You say what is this passage about, you look at these three recurring phrases. And it is clear, Jesus is saying, “when you are on mission, you need not fear.” And indeed you should not fear.

So this morning, we are going to look at what it means to be fearless in Gospel mission. What does it mean to not fear in giving the Gospel? Now, let me ask you, how many of you are never fearful? You're never anxious, never worried, when you share the Gospel. Can I see by a show of hands? How many of you here are never fearful? You, you're not concerned at all, you don't fear, you don't fear people, you're not afraid of what they think or say when you share the Gospel. Anyone? One of you. Anyone else? Well I guess except for him, the rest of us need this sermon. I do need this message because I fear in giving the Gospel. I fear about what they think. I fear about what they say. I fear about how they will respond towards me. I have still after all these years, this fear. And that's why I don't think I'm sharing the Gospel as much as I should.

But this is a passage that if you are like me, you are in my shoes as well, I hope will be encouraging to you. Because that's what Jesus is seeking to do. He's telling his apostles, “you're going to face tremendous danger, you may lose your life but you do not need to fear.” Why? Well, the reasoning is all given in the verses before us.

1]. The Vindication of God

The first reason is found in verse 26. In verse 26, Jesus is in a sense, telling us that you [didn't] do not need to fear because you can trust in the vindication by God. The vindication. What does it mean? It means, God will make sure truth will be revealed. Your name, though slandered and pulled through the mud will be ultimately cleared. You'll be proven right and you do not need to fear what they say.

So let's look at what He revealed. “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed or hidden that will not be known.” [verse 26] Now look at the Bible, look at what Jesus is saying, “have no fear of them.” Why? “For”, so this is direct clear reasoning, you don't have to be a scholar to understand these things.

He says, “as my messengers, you do not need to fear man.” You say , “why?” Because “nothing is covered that will not be revealed or hidden that will not be known.” [verse 26] They may accuse you, they may malign you, they may slander you. But do not fear because one day it will all be revealed. Your name will be cleared, you will be proven right and you do not need to fear.

There's a Chinese saying, we call it “水落石出”[shui3luo3shi2chu1], when the water subsides, the rock emerge]. I don't know why, recently I'm using a lot of Chinese, pardon me, but it is ah, I think it's a great little proverb, “水落石出”. For those who can't read Chinese, there's an explanation there. People may say, “[there is] there are rocks, there are rocks.” You say, “no, there are no rocks, it's just a river.” “There are rocks, there are rocks.” But one day, those who say, “there will be rocks, there are rocks,” will be proven right. Because the water level will lower down and the rocks will surface. At this point it doesn't look like it, but one day, “水落石出”, the reality will be known.

Supposed today, you can travel in time, you can go to the future. And supposed today, you can go to 2019, that's next year. Right? You can go to 2019, know all that's going to happen in the future, know all that's going to happen from now to 2019, and you come back to 2018. Now you begin to put in your investments, you know what is going to do well, what stocks, what properties going to do well. You put all your money into all these investments. And your friends look at you and say, “you're so stupid to put those money into those investments, if they will not work.” They laugh at you. What would you do? What would you do? Would you quit? No! You will smile at them and you say, “水落石出”, you say, “one day I will be proven right.”

Now, let me tell you something more concrete than your ability to travel into the future and that is what God says. God says that, “his servants will be vindicated at the end of time.” That's, that's our great hope! And by the way, this understanding that God will make all things right is so powerful that it is listed as one of the reasons why Jesus endured the cross.

Look at this, “when He was reviled, He did not revile in return. When He suffered, He did not threaten.” [1 Peter 2:23] Yesterday, I was reading the Bible with my kids about this story of being passed around. Jesus was passed around. The Jews passed Him to Pilate. Pilate didn't want to deal with the case, passed Him to Herod. Herod didn't want to deal with the case, passed Him back to Pilate. Jesus was passed around and I asked the kids, “why was Jesus passed around?” And my kids immediately said, “because He was innocent.” There's nothing to try, but the Jews wanted Him crucified.

Jesus was reviled when He was innocent. He was crucified and suffered when He was innocent, but He did not retaliate. Why? Didn't the sense of justice drive Him to say, “this is not right, I’ve got to get this right, I’ve got to punish …” He didn't do that! Why? “Because He entrusted Himself to Him that is God, the Father who judges rightly.” [1 Peter 2:23] In other words, He trusted one day it will all be vindicated. He will be vindicated.

So my dear friends, brothers and sisters as we go forward to share the Gospel, it doesn't really matter what they say, because ultimately “水落石出” . And you know what? Those who are enemies of God, those who slander his servants, those who persecute his servants, they will be judged. “水落石出”, they will, their evil deeds will be made known. And really, if you read the Bible, that's the cry of the psalmist in the book of Psalms. The Psalms are full of that lament, “God, why are the evil triumphing over Your servants, Your Name?” And they say, “Lord, make that right one day.” So in my own devotional reading, I come to Psalms 55[verses 22-23] and it's the same theme, “You will never permit the righteous to be moved but You O God will cast them down into the pit of destruction, men of blood and treachery.” Lord, we trust that You will do all things right. No one is going to get away with the sin. No one is to going to get away with his attack and persecution of God's servants. Unless of course Jesus, they believe in Jesus and their sins are taken by Him. So you will be vindicated as a servant of God. The reality about their evil deeds will be revealed and the truth about God's Word and His Gospel will be established.

That's why we have this song by Martin Luther, “Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also, the body, they may kill God's truth abides still.” At the end of the day, in the final analysis God's Gospel, God's truth stands. So we preach the Gospel fearlessly because it's the message that will and must stand. His Kingdom is forever.

So why is it that I do not need to fear? It looks scary now, but I do not need to fear. The book of Revelation tells me, the end of this whole history is that God wins, Jesus wins. So you may laugh at me at being a loser right now. You may attack me that and malign me and slander me but it doesn't matter because “nothing covered, that will not be revealed or hidden that will be not be known.” [verse 26] The messenger of God will be proven right. Those who attack God's people will be proven wrong and the Gospel will be proven sure. So with this knowledge, Jesus says, “fear not!” Got it? Probably the hardest one here.

2]. Veneration of God

Okay, let's go to the second reason. Is not just going to give you one, He's going to give you three. So when we go to the second reason, it's found in verse 28. Does anyone want to guess what that point might be? Alright, so the second point is clear, it's veneration? “What does veneration means? You say, “what, what a big word?” Actually no, you, you hear of those words, the venerable one. The, the, what's to revere someone, basically, it's the fear of God. Nothing very complicated. It says here, “do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” [verse 28] Why? Because you should fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. And who is this? God. So, the rationale Jesus is giving is - you do not fear man if you have a healthy fear of God, if you have a healthy veneration of God. It was Spurgeon who said, “there is no cure for the fear of man, like the fear of God.”

How do you fight the fear of man? You fight fear with fear. You fight the fear of man with the fear of God. You fight that fear of man with a greater fear - the fear of God. I, I suppose you can think of it like an aeroplane. An aeroplane rises into the skies, you say, “why?” Because there's a power of aerodynamic lift and that power of aerodynamic lift is greater than the power of gravity. There is gravity, the aeroplane experiences gravity all the time. You don't believe you shut off the engine and see what happens. But the power of aerodynamic lift is greater than the power of gravity and therefore it rises. And how is it that you and I can overcome the fear of man which will probably be there for the rest of our lives? When you understand what it means to revere God. When you have a high view of God, when you, when you do not see man as such a big deal and God so small. But you see God as the supreme One and men so small. When you have the fear of God, it will cure you, drive out that fear of man. You get that? That's what Jesus is saying, “you are so fearful of giving the Gospel, because you do not have the right view of Who I am.” Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.

You know, Jesus is saying something really radical here. John Piper makes it a bit more plain and straightforward when he said, “don't fear, you can only be killed.” What's the worst they can do for you? What's the worst they can do to you? Kill you. But so? Your soul is saved. Isn't it? It was said once, there was a preacher named John R Rice. He made someone so angry that, that guy took out a gun, a pistol and pointed it at his head and John R Rice just said to him, “sorry man, you can't threaten me with heaven. I'm not scared because all you can do is to kill my body but you cannot kill my soul. I am safely in heaven.”

So the Bible tells us, instead of fearing men who can only kill the body, fear God because He's greater, because He's in, in charge of the eternal soul, fear Him instead. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 29, “the fear of man lays a snare.” [Proverbs 29:25] The fear of man is a trap. Do you realize people, many people today are living in a trap. You say, “what trap?” The fear of men. The approval of men. So many of us do so many things to get what? Approval of men. Why do you need a big car? Actually, why do you need a branded car? Actually, all cars are branded. But okay, why, why, why, why do you need a, why do you need a super branded car? Why? Is it really because the engine is better? Is it really because the metal chassis is stronger? Is it really because the sound system is cooler? To be honest, a lot of it comes from a trap we are unaware of, inevitably found in the fear of man. Because we want you to not look down on me. We want you to think well of my capabilities.

That's why people today live in peer pressure. What's, what's peer pressure? Fear of man. Why do many people who, who have some kind of success still commit suicide and take their lives? Because they're afraid of what people say about them. The fear of man brings a snare. The fear of man makes me not step out of my comfort zone to tell people about Jesus, because I fear that disapproving shake of the head. I, I fear the way they sneer at me or scorn me. It is a trap! But it is the fear of God, the trust in God that delivers us and frees us from this trap.

So, the psalmist says, “the Lord is on my side, I will not fear, what can man do to me.” [Psalms 118:6] When you have a high view of God, when you have a proper fear of God, then you will not fear man. And I think that's the key to an effective preacher, a faithful preacher. First Thessalonians would tell us, “but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Gospel, so we speak not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.” [1 Thessalonians 2:4] A man pleaser is found in a trap, even in his preaching. But when you fear God, you preach His Word and even if man will reject you, scorn you, oppose you, you say it doesn't really matter. Because at the end of the day all you can do is to kill my body. But God is greater.

So what frees us from fear? Well, number one, knowing that God will make all things right. He's going to vindicate me. Number two, that I have a high view of God. I fear Him, He's the one I take my marching orders from.

3]. Valuation

Well, number three, verse 31, simple this one, and Gabriel no answer from you. Just kidding, Number three, what will it be for you? Sorry? Valuation. So smart all of you, all the bankers talking eh, *laugh, the third point is the valuation from God. Very simple straightforward because He said, fear not therefore you are of more value than many sparrows.

Well, here is the reasoning. What do You mean Jesus, when you say, “the apostles, the disciples are of more value than many sparrows?” So Jesus explained that in verse 29, “are not two sparrows sold for a penny.” Now, why do you sell sparrows? What are sparrows for? Food. You barbecue them alright, so sparrows are in those days supposedly their KFC. Huh, you don't like ah? Before Col. Sanders came along, it's sparrows, captain sparrows, I don't know. I mean there's sparrows for food and they are supposed to be cheap stuff, like street food, just something simple, easy, like your fish balls and chicken wing and stuff like that. And they are sold for a penny, two sparrows are sold for a penny. How much is a penny? Now, money, cents, the value is quite different nowadays and during that time. I think things are not so complicated and expensive. But in those days a penny is 1/16th of a denarius. Wah, you say, “what's a denarius?” A denarius is what an average guy earns in a day. Alright. You work out there in the field and so on, the owner gives you one denarius a day. So a penny is 1/16th of a denarius. It's supposed to be something really, really cheap.

So Jesus is saying, “in those days you're all familiar, sparrows are really cheap stuff, that's the point. Two are sold for one penny. And actually it's so cheap that if you give me two pennies, I will throw in an extra sparrow for you, so five sparrows sold for two pennies. “ Cheap stuff! And then He gives you the point. Even though they are so cheap, they are really viewed as quite insignificant for you. “Don't you know, not one sparrow will fall to the ground apart from your Father.” [verse 29] Now some people interpret fall to the ground as die, but actually not necessarily so. The, the Hebrew word is, the Greek word is to ‘light upon’, that is to land. And if you think about it, it is stunning that not a single sparrow lands apart from your Father. Have you watched birds in the parks? They don't stand there one, right? What do they do? They hop and they hop and they hop and they hop. Right? Every time they hop, every time a single sparrow hops, God knows. Your Father knows. Your Father has such attentiveness to each and every sparrow and each and every movement of the sparrow. Look at what God is able to do.

RC Sproul, he says, “God doesn't roll dice, nothing happens by chance.” That's why we don't believe in such a thing called luck. Because God is all knowing. God is all sovereign. Every single sparrow, every lighting of the sparrow. “fear not therefore, because you are of more value than many sparrows.” [verse 31] Add all the sparrows up together, they are nothing compared to you, my child. Notice this, it is your Father, not the sparrows' father. And even though they are not his redeemed sons and daughters, He cares for them so much. Don't you know that God will take care of you? There's this song that some of us might be familiar with, is - “His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches over me.” When you go through missional hardships, when you are like sheep sent in the midst of wolves. This is your confidence - my Father watches over me.

Now, it doesn't mean He will always pull me out of danger. It may mean that for some of us we would actually die. But this is what you're confident in, He has never and will never abandon or forsake or forget me. Why? He watches every sparrow and every suffering. I will go through it’s absolutely known to my Father. And I know He is working something for my good, for the good of others and ultimately for His glory. Our fearlessness is anchored in the character and omniscience and the sovereignty of our God, you see. It's not vain, it's not empty words like, “Oh, just don't fear, it's okay.” No! Rock solid biblical reasoning based on the character of who God is.

Recently, we are all fascinated with the blood moon that appeared. Right? So this is a photo of someone who took a … I don't know how they take this, time lapse ah. Don't know what you call this, but they, they trace the, the movement of the moon and it's a beautiful picture. Right? The blood moon, quite fascinating. And then there's another picture of the blood moon. For those who are more sensitive, you might be familiar of this. Now, why do I raise this? Because some of you are not so interested in sparrows, you may be interested in your hair. So, “but even the hairs of your head are all numbered.” [verse 30] So you don't like to talk about sparrows. You say, “what about hair? “How minute is hair?” “How, how, how insignificant is the strand of hair to anyone? Maybe unless your head is like that. But it says, “not a hair of your head will perish.”

Now, I, I read that on the average everyone has about 100,000 strands of hair. That's quite a lot and every day 50 strands will drop, just part of the renewal cycle. And the Bible tells us, “God numbers all our hair, not one of them will perish.” Fascinating, right? Can you do me a little favour and experiment? Can you just run through your, run your fingers through your hair a bit. Just try it, try it, try it and try to pull out one lose one or a few loose ones. Try that! How many of you managed to get some hair? Wash hair? Okay, I get some water for you. Now, just try and get, can anyone get some hair? Pluck some hair. Anyone? Ay, you all try and try and, show me one hair, show me one hair. Can you get one strand for me, just one strand? Sacrifice one, maybe the side one, not the top one. One hair, anyone? You got it? You know if you got that hair, if you pull out that hair. You know something? You changed something in heaven. The hair register changed. Seriously, it changed! Why? “Not one hair will perish without God.” [Luke 21:18] I mean, that is phenomenal! And the whole reasoning is again, if God takes care of birds and even your hair, why do you need to fear for yourself? [verse 31] Hey, Jesus is saying, “anchor yourself in my strong, strong love for you. You will never be forsaken, you will never be forgotten, you will never be abandoned.”

So the reasoning of Jesus Christ is powerful. The child of God can boldly take that message of the Gospel to hostile lands, to mission fronts, to antagonistic aunties and uncles. Why? Now, we don't want to be offensive, we don't want to be mean. We want to be gentle, we want to be kind, we want to be wise. But we need not fear what they say, because ultimately you know one day, it will be vindicated. We need not fear because we fear God more than we fear man. We have a high view of God and we need not fear because we know God loves me and He is with me. And with those words, I pray we will be fearless in the Gospel mission.

Let's bow for a word of prayer together. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes. And yet it is the same message that will divide families. Fathers will deliver the child, child will deliver the parents over to death. It's extremely risky if we are serious about faithfulness to this Gospel mission. And if you're like me, we all will struggle with fears. We all will struggle with acceptance by men, we all will struggle with anxiety, when we want to share the Gospel. But perhaps today, you will remember these three powerful reasonings given by Jesus, “my child, fear not, for nothing, nothing that is covered that will not be revealed.” Your righteous deeds, their wicked acts, the reality of the Gospel, it will all be vindicated one day. Be confident in God about this!

“My child, look to me, fear me, and not fear man.” The fear of man today is a trap, it's a snare but he who trusts in God dwells in safety. We can trust Him when we have a high view of God. And look at the sparrows, look at the hair. If your Father can take such good care of them, don't you think your Father, will take care of you. Look to God and His faithfulness, His character, His love, His power, His sovereignty. How can I fear? How can we fear?

So, let us as a church, rise in confident faith bringing this message to all around us. Can you imagine what Gospel Light will be? What this church will be? If every single one, not just full-time workers, not just my care group leader, not just him or her. But all of us, from the youngest to the oldest, we are fearless. We are gentle, we are kind, we are compassionate, but we are fearless in bringing the Gospel. How God will be glorified in our midst? How souls will be brought to salvation and life? How the light of the Gospel will then truly shine upon this town and in the homes and the our offices, God has called you to be in? What glory that will be!

And I pray that to be true very, very soon in our lives. Perhaps this morning, you're struggling because you are bitter about someone. You feel wronged, you feel aggrieved, you feel that justice must be done and you want to exact vengeance. Let me say this, “you don't have to, because God will vindicate one day, sin will be judged and saints will be gloriously justified.” So if you are struggling with bitterness, the Bible actually tells you, one of the key powers, key rationales to living a life of grace and forgiveness and freedom from bitterness is to know the justice of your God. He is the righteous God who will judge rightly, trust Him today. Don't get yourself trapped in bitterness, free yourself by the grace of God.

Perhaps today you yearn for a greater view and perspective of who God is, I say to you a great prayer you can pray right now is to say, “Lord, help me fear You more.” “Lord, help me when I look at the Scriptures, when I study the Word of God that I will see Your greatness, that I will not be stuck in the fear of man but I will fear You and live for the audience of One and only one.”

And dear friends, some of you are going through hardships and trials, you feel like God has given up on you. Let me tell you something, He has never given up on you and He never will. For I am convinced, for I am persuaded that nothing shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. If, while you were yet his enemy, while you were yet a rebel, He sent His Son to die for you. Why will He ever give you up now? Here is the strong, strong love of God. You might have sinned, you might have sinned last night, you might have sinned yesterday, you might have sinned this week, come to your God who loves you. He will never forsake you.

As you go through the hardships of your life, be confident of his love for you. Never doubt Him, He loves you! Oh what thoughts they are that flow from Scripture, may this enthrall your soul, may this encourage your soul, may you draw near to Jesus. May you draw near to your Father, through Jesus today. May you hear his voice, may you respond to his love, may you rise in obedience.

For those of you who are here with us and you do not know Jesus Christ. I tell you, this is the best news in the Bible that God loves us because of Jesus Christ. And I say to you today, “you who are a sinner, you who are a rebel, you can be in God's love.” How? When you repent and believe in Jesus His Son and you are beloved in Christ. So today, stop trying to earn favour with God. You can't! Jesus paid it all for you on the cross. Repent of your sins, believe in Jesus and may you be wonderfully saved today. So Father, thank You for this morning, for Your Word, bless it to each and every heart, we pray this in Jesus Name, Amen.
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