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We are looking at Matthew chapter 10. So if you have your Bibles, it will be great if you could turn with us to Matthew chapter 10. These are instructions of Jesus Christ to his select group of 12, the Apostles. Although these instructions are specific in many ways, they are, however, teaching us wonderful transferable principles as well for our lives today. And let's begin.

Many of you would be familiar with cheats and scams in the world today. Isn't it? You have email cheats, you have job scams, you have love scams all around the world. There are many instances of dishonesty around us.

However, we could never say Jesus was dishonest, He's always very clear and upfront with what He called His disciples to do. And certainly, in the case of Him sending His disciples, sending the Apostles out for mission, He hid no truths.  He gave them just as it is. He sends them on a very dangerous mission.

He said, “behold I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. So be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for My sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of Your Father speaking through you. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.” [Matt 10:16-23]

1].  The Adversity
The messengers of the King are sent out like sheep in the midst of wolves and there are a few things from this passage, I like to share with you. First of all in this passage we notice the danger, the difficulty. If I may say, the adversity that Gospel messengers must expect to face. Jesus says that, “you are like sheep in the midst of wolves.” [Matt 10:16] Now, we have a Chinese saying, very close to this. Anybody knows? Ah, very good! Who is it that said it? Wow, excellent! “送羊入…”[song4yang2ru4]   O.K, at, at least you know 送羊入, not 狼口[lang2kou3] but 虎口[hu3kou3], in other words, to send the sheep into the tigers’ mouth. It's like literally courting your own death.

In this case, Jesus says, “you are like sheep in the midst of wolves, I'm sending you out almost like to the mouth of the wolves.” And wolves are scary animals. Isn't it? They are merciless, expert vicious killers. They are expert predators. I read about some reports that say that there were two wolves that killed 292 sheep in one night.  They are expert killers, even if I put a sheep in front of you and you want to chase them, you’ll be tired after 50.  But they could kill all 292 just like that. And Jesus is using, using this imagery to tell us of the danger, the hazards that a Gospel messenger has to face and notice.

This is not about wolves coming to the midst of sheep. This is about sheep going into the midst of wolves. That's a big difference. So it's not just one or two wolves coming amongst us, but that we will be sent out in a pack of wolves and they are vicious, waiting to pounce upon God's people. And if you're to read in Luke chapter 10 actually Jesus does not use the word, ‘sheep’. He uses the word, ‘lamb’, ‘little lambs’. Absolutely defenceless, absolutely vulnerable and that's the predicament some people will be in;  His disciples will be in when they preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  It's a dangerous mission.  It's a hazardous mission.  It's a life risking mission. That's what it means to carry the Gospel.  That's what it means to be a witness for Him.

You say, “who are the wolves?” I asked my kids after sermon yesterday, “who are the wolves?” They said, “Satan.” Well, not quite in this context. Yes, I think he's behind it all. But who are the wolves? People or man.  Yes, that's right. The wolves are pictures of man. What kind of a man? Well, men who will flog you, they'll whip you, inflict great pain upon you and men who will also kill you, put you to death, put you to death.  We see that twice right here [verse 17,21] . And they can be from synagogues, that's why, Pharisees, possibly. They may be from religious associations, organizations or they may be from political organizations, governors and kings or they may even be people very dear to you. Your own family, your brother, your father, your children.  This is scary!  When you share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, religion hates you, governors hate you, countries hate you and even your own family, people you love, people you have grown up with, people who have taken care of you. They hate you because of Jesus Christ. “You'll be hated by all for My name's sake.” [Matt 10:23] You know, Jesus is not all popular, He's not that popular, we think Jesus is popular, He's not. There are many people who hate the name of Jesus Christ and I think we all instinctively know that. Isn't it?

During dinner with your family and friends, you can talk about soccer, you can say you support Liverpool, you support Arsenal. And even though you support different teams, you still can be friends. But when you mentioned, “I am a follower of Jesus Christ. Do you know Jesus Christ?” The whole dinner, sort of freezes over. It's like, “who is this weird guy?” I, I don't like this Jesus chap, I don't like this guy who is so fervent about Jesus, let's avoid him. And the whole night is just a little bit different because not everybody loves Jesus. In fact, many people hate Jesus.

And that's what we fear. Now in Singapore we, we probably won't be brought to the stakes to be nailed and crucified. We, we won't. But we fear the losing of our friends, we, we fear the scorn and rejection and shame that comes when we attempt to tell them about Jesus. We, we fear that we may lose our jobs and that's because people don't all like Jesus.

Now this is not so I think, close to us here in Singapore, but just lift up our eyes a little and you think about the countries around us and you will know that persecution is not rare.  It is the norm elsewhere. I just met a missionary from US, he's been ministering in India, started a church in India. He has a company in India. He's been there for a few years, but now he's barred from entering India. Why? “Because you have a church in India,” they say. While his family, his wife and kids are in India but he can't get back to them.

We have brethren in China, they are hauled up to the police, they are hauled up to the government to answer for the gatherings they organize. Some are in prison because of the faith. Now, just because we don't get it here in Singapore, doesn't mean this is not true. It is true throughout history and even up to today in many, many parts of the world. Jesus is saying, “when you are faithfully carrying the Gospel to people around you, when you are My witnesses.  Whether they are from religions, whether they are from governments or whether they are families, you will be hated by all for My name sake.”  This is the adversity spoken of.  You're sheep in the midst of wolves, they are waiting to tear you apart. They don't want to hear you tell people about Jesus.  They hate Jesus.

2].  The Opportunity
But it's not all doom and gloom because in this text we see secondly, the opportunity.  Yes, there is adversity, but at the very same time, there is an opportunity. Again a Chinese phrase, adversity opportunity, Chinese phrase.  Anybody knows? Ah, that's right way, 危机[wei2ji], 危险[wei2xian3] is danger, sorry for all those who don't understand Chinese, I, that's the only other language I know. So in adversity, you find opportunity that's why you have the Chinese phrase 危机[wei2ji]. And it is true here. Because the persecution you face, the fact that you are hauled up to the court, is not because God couldn't keep you from going to the court.  It's not because God is impotent or because God forgot about you. Aiyah so suay[unlucky in Hokkien dialect], you got caught!

No, there is an opportunity in the midst of that adversity because Jesus says, “the reason why you will go to synagogues and governors and kings for My sake is so that you may bear witness before them and the Gentiles” [Matt 10:18].  This is God's amazing, mind blowing way.  That when it appears that the Christian is helpless and hopeless and God is not helping his servants, it is actually God's precise method to get the Gospel to kings and governors.

It's immediately reminding me of the story of the Trojan horse. You know this story? The Greeks, this is a tale, but the Greeks were said to lay siege on the city of Troy for 10 years, couldn't get in. It was locked up, they were well defended. So the Greeks decided to use a little ploy.  They pretended to sail away, but they left a huge gigantic horse, a kind of a huge massive structure at the gates of the city of Troy. So when the citizens of Troy see that the Greeks have sailed away after 10 years and that there was this massive horse.  They thought to themselves, this is a victory trophy, they have won the war, the Greeks have been repelled. And they celebrated their victory.  So they also opened the gates to bring this wooden horse into the city, this is their trophy. But unknown to them within the Trojan horse is hidden or are hidden many, many Greek soldiers.

So in the middle of the night when everybody is asleep, the soldiers would emerge from the horses, from the horse, open the gates.  The Greeks who pretended to sail away, came back, and the city of Troy is taken down. So what appeared to be a defeat by the Greeks turned out to be a tremendous victory for the Greeks. And that's exactly how it is with the Gospel.

You see, when Peter and John were brought before the Pharisees, the scribes, the religious leaders. It looked like they were failures. Isn't it? I mean, who are the ones in chains? Who are the ones who has to answer? Who are the one who were surrounded by wolves? God's people. “But God, why didn't You deliver them?” “Why didn't You strike blind all these Pharisees?” “Why didn't You?” Well, because God is sending them a trojan horse. You thought you had a victory. No! This is the victory, that My people will witness to these in high places.

Apostle Paul, he seemed like a failure, after preaching for some time he got caught. And he has to be appearing before governors like Festus and Felix and Agrippa. Paul is such a failure, he is an apostle who can do miracles and yet he is caught. Yes! Why? Trojan horse. You look at Paul in prison, in chains and he again looks like a failure. But he wasn't a failure. One of the most remarkable and forgotten verses in the Bible, let me say this.  One of the most remarkable and forgotten verses in the Bible is Philippians 4:22, that says, “all the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household.”

If you know a little bit of background, Philippians is written when Paul was in, when Paul was in prison. It's a prison letter and in prison, in Rome, he could say, “all of the saints greet you, especially they of Caesar's household.” Who got the Gospel to Caesar's household?  Paul! How? As a trojan horse, as a prisoner. God's ways are amazing ways. When they look like a defeat, when they look like all hope is gone. Well, God's ways are higher than our ways. He's using his servants to bear witness before others.

So sometimes it is inevitable that we will feel for those in the mission field. we will feel for those who are suffering today for the faith. And sometimes we may ask God, “are You, have You forgotten them?” “Is it that You are impotent?” “Is it that You do not love them?” We question Your ways, oh God. Well, let's be reminded, God is sovereign over all and He has a beautiful purpose and plan.

So sheep in the midst of wolves.  Number one, we read of the adversity, it's highly dangerous. You may lose your life but God is in control, He wants to use this as a glorious opportunity to witness to those in high places.

3].  The Responsibility
And thirdly if I may end this is the responsibility. So knowing these things, how are we to respond? How are we to look at persecutions and difficulties and adversities when we bear the message of the Gospel?

Four things all from this text, number one, Jesus says you got to be wise as serpents, wise as serpents [Matt 10:16]. When I read the word, ‘serpents’, I, I think about Jackie Chan. Why we think about Jackie Chan? For those who are older like me, the  “蛇形刁手” [she2xing2diao1shou3] tsk, tsk….. . He, he's famous for this. Right? He's also famous for drunken master, alright. 醉拳 [Zui4Quan2], but I remember “蛇形刁手” [she2xing2diao1shou3].  And he's always very sneaky lah, the, the stroke of the 蛇[she2’] or the snake is that it is sneaky. It's, it's very good at evading the enemy and he strikes you when you don't realize it.

Now if you notice snakes, sometimes, you might have cross, come across snakes in the parks or in a or in some of the forested areas in Singapore.  When you see the snake and you rustle the grass, you know what the snake will do? Just rustle the grass, what will the snake do? Slither away. That's why we have this Chinese saying again.  I'm so sorry, but we have one more Chinese saying. What is it? “打草惊蛇” [da3cao3jing1she2], you, you rustle the grass, it scares the snake. And what does the snake do? Runaway. You don't catch it anymore. They are very, very fast.  They're very, very smart. They're not stupid, they don't stay there and look at you and catch me. It, it is smart. It, it knows how to ‘siam’ [means escape in Hokkien dialect].

So when you are in the midst of difficulty, be wise as serpents. Don't be stupid, leh. Catch me. No, Don't do that!  Be wise as serpents – siam.  That's what Jesus says, “when they persecute you in one town, flee to the next one.” [Matt 10:23] There is no point for being stupid when you are being persecuted. There's some people who think, “oh, it's so good to be persecuted, come catch me.” No! You're supposed to extend as it, as if possible, your opportunity to witness the Gospel. And if you are really caught, you are really caught, you just have to trust that God is using that for His glorious purposes. But on our end we must be wise as serpents.

Now this is not cowardice, I know some of you may think, “wah, you very cowardly, pastor, next time the government want to catch you or if other religions want to catch you, you siam, you very cowardly.” I don't think that's cowardly because the goal here is not to flee so that you never have to preach the Gospel anymore.  But you flee to the next town so that you continue preaching the Gospel. So it's not abdicating your responsibility to witness the Gospel.  But it's being wise, understanding that you don't have to lose your life unnecessarily, understanding that there is no points for bravado or crazy fanaticism in this case.  But you are wise. And I think this is so important for us here in Singapore.

We live in a country that allows us freedom of worship. Isn't it? We are grateful, the government actually gave us this piece of land to have a church, to preach and to invite people come to hear God's Word. We, we love that! We are thankful for that. It would be terrible if the government were to say or if this nation is to say, “no more preaching, no more gatherings.” That will not be good.

So we are thankful for the freedom to practice and to preach our faith. So don't be silly. I hope this church, we are not silly to deliberately speak and post inflammatory remarks towards other people of other faiths. We are not saying that we are the same as people from other faiths. We, we believe very different things.  But just because we defer in our views, just, because we disagree, we don't have to be mean and insulting and denigrating. Right? I mean, that's just simple wisdom. We want to preserve this opportunity to preach God's Word as long as it comes. We don't shy away from preaching the Gospel, the whole Gospel and nothing but the Gospel.  But we don't have to be purposely insulting or giving inflammatory remarks.

So in our church, we are organizing yet another block visitation. We are going to the doors, to knock on doors to the neighbourhood here, invite them to church, to some of the activities. I hope you're wise as serpents. If people maybe are not in a good mood, they don't want to listen to you, understand that Jesus is not that popular. Not everyone likes Jesus, you got to see you silly guy, blah.. ......and you knock the door, you scold him. No, we say, “thank you so much for your time, sorry that we have disturbed you.” You move on to the next one, move on to the next one, move on to the next one, right?

And I think this is so important also for our missions work. Many countries that Christian ministries is in are restricted access nations. They don't really welcome Christian presence.  They don't really want to open Christian preaching.  And it is wise for us not to be overly overt, and blatant and we have to be creative. But longevity in ministry in these places is an important factor to consider. I mean after all Jesus says, “don't be silly but be wise as serpents.” Okay. So no extra points for those who are silly and risk their lives unnecessarily.

The second responsibility we have is not only to be wise, but also to be harmless, to be innocent as doves [Matt 10:16].  It means that when people attack you, persecute you, you don't take it back on them. Can anyone tell me what this picture is taken from?  Which story? Sorry? Stephen. That's right! The persecution or the stoning of Stephen. When Stephen was stoned, he preached the Gospel, but the religious leaders wouldn't let him go.  They, they couldn't take the conviction of God, when he preached.  They were so angry with him, so they stoned him. And what did Stephen do? He prayed what? Hah, he didn't pray for lightning and thunder meh? He could have, right? “Lord, strike these people down.”  Well, this is what he prayed, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” [Acts 7:60]  Harmless, innocent like a dove. And it is not a surprise if you consider what Jesus said on the cross, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” [Luke 23:24]

Amazing! These are simply examples of a principle Jesus laid down long time ago, before He went to the cross. He said, “love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.” [Luke 6:27].  Harmless as a dove!

Again, let's apply this, not only to individuals who hurt us or harm us. But what if one day, what if one day, Singapore or the country you would live and in the future, they clamp down Christianity. They say, “you're not allowed to practice this faith, you're not allowed to preach the Gospel.” What would you do? What would you do? Perhaps you say it's time for the church to protest.  It's time for all of us to stage a revolt, for all of us to have a riot. We need to let the government know that we demand our freedom to practise our faith. Would that be right? That maybe what people might want to do. But I really never find this in the Bible that Christians are to riot and to stage revolts. Instead I think it's very simple.  Simple but absolutely humbling that the church should make prayers, “we should have supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving made for all people for kings.” And in those days it was Rome. You pray for Caesar, “you pray for your kings, for your governors and all those who are in high positions that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” [1 Timothy 2:1-2]

The way to go about this is prayer, not revolt. When Israel was captured and brought to Babylon, their goal was to seek the peace of the city not to revolt. And God's people must be seen as a peaceable people, harmless as a dove. You get that?  I mean this is difficult, this is radical, this is not what the world understands. The world sees that when people bully us, we got the fight back. Well, but the church of Jesus Christ is wise.  We want to avoid as far as we can and we must refrain from retaliation or revenge.

What's the third thing?  The third thing in this text I see is that you must be calm because He says, “do not be anxious when you are brought before the governors, you are brought before kings to answer.” [Matt 10:19] You say, “I do not know what to do?” Well, Jesus says, “do not be anxious why because it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of Your Father speaking through you.” [Matt 10:20] So do not be anxious.” Let me say this, this is not an excuse to be lazy. Alright!  Uh, like that good lah, I never need to learn the Bible, I never need to prepare sharing the Gospel. This is not for that excuse. But this is to assure you that when you are brought before people, kings, governors in persecution, you can trust in God being with you.

This is what we see when Peter and John were brought before the priests. We are told that they were filled with the Holy Spirit. “The Holy Spirit empowered them to witness before these leaders.” [Acts 4:8] We read again of Stephen when he was persecuted. what was the reason he could bear that all up? Because “he was full of the Holy Spirit, full of the Holy Ghost!” [Acts 7:55] So be calm, don't be anxious. It is God who will be with you.

And then finally, the Bible tells us here in this text, when you face persecution or when you're in a very difficult environment to practice your faith. The last thing Jesus says is “that you've got to be patient, you've got to endure, you've got to keep believing.” Because the one who endures to the end will be saved. The mark of the true follower of Jesus Christ is that he endures to the end, he doesn't give up on his faith. Now this is expanded by Jesus, later on in Matthew 24:9-13. In Matthew 24, it says that, “they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death.” Now, Jesus is talking about a great time of tribulation and I think he's looking forward to a future event, the great tribulation, not yet come.  But it will come in the history of this world. So at that time, people will bring many, many Christians to be tried and put to death, you'll be hated by all nations for My name's sake. So there will be a global in a sense, conspiracy, global organization against the followers of Jesus Christ. And in that time because of the tremendous pressure everywhere, many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. This is, this is scary!

When times are easy, we say, “we belong to Jesus.” But when times are difficult, in the great tribulation, they'll be many, not some but many, many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. They will say, “he is a Christian, catch him, I am not.” And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. So in the end times, it'll be scary because it will be extreme pressure. There will be extreme deception, there will be many people who depart from the faith and because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

The believer, the follower of Jesus Christ, he endures to the end. So, keep enduring, keep believing. So are we saying here? Well, very simple, sheep in the midst of wolves, carrying the Gospel to others is not an easy task. Even for us where we are not put to death for our faith, we fear rejection and scorn, we fear the losing of face.  That's the adversity. What about those who are brought before kings? Well, God is not out of control there. There is an opportunity and the responsibility. Therefore for us today is, be wise, don't be silly.  Don't ruin the freedom we have here in Singapore. For example, be harmless. Our job is not to revolt or to stage riots. Be very calm, if you should be called to answer.  This I think is so important for our friends and brothers and sisters in China for example and then keep believing, be patient unto the end.

After the battle at Dunkirk, Winston Churchill said to his people, “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.” He says, “this war is not for cowards, this war is for heroes and I have nothing to offer you, but that you will shed blood, toil, tears and sweat.” And in the very same vein, I believe Jesus says, “I am sending you out not to enjoy this world. I'm sending you out, not to expect a red carpet treatment, I'm sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.”

The Gospel mission is not for cowards who will back off from the faith. But the Gospel mission is for men and women who love Jesus, who knows the love of Jesus and are willing to risk their lives for Jesus.  Who are willing to risk their face for Jesus, who are willing to risk their jobs for Jesus.  Who are willing to risk their friends for Jesus.  Because this is what the Gospel is all about, it's for heroes of the faith.

Isn't that what Hebrews 11[verses 32-38] tells us? Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life.” The people of faith endures to the end because they believe that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.  They endure to the end because they believe that God has prepared for them a celestial city. And so they refuse to back away from their faith.  They refuse to deny Jesus, that they might know they will rise again to better life, even if they should die. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.  They were stoned, they were sawn in two, there were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated, of whom the world was not worthy, wandering about in deserts and mountains, like serpents who are wise and in dens and caves of the earth.

Behold I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves.

Christianity is not a call to comfort, Christianity is a call to the cross. To take up the cross, to pick up the cross of shame and scorn and suffering. Christianity is not about me, you and I willing to give up all because Jesus paid it all.  I'm sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. You know why?  If I may say, ““Jesus would say Himself, “I am the Lamb who came in the midst of wolves, I came to give my life for you. I came to give my life for the Gospel. I came to give my life, so that men and women might be saved.””

What does it mean to follow Jesus? That we will be like sheep in the midst of wolves.  Would you be willing to give your life for the Gospel?  My friends, this is not a theoretical sermon. This is God's Word.  This is what it means to follow Jesus. It's so unfortunate in a sense that modern-day Christianity is seen in such a luxurious hall.  Isn't it? we have comfortable chairs that cost $200, 300 per chair. We have this beautiful building, nice aircon, everything is beautiful.  You are so well served downstairs, you have food for you. And we are conditioned over and over again with sleek Christian presentations that I, myself am lulled to think, Christianity is quite comfortable. See, many rich people here in Singapore they are Christians! Christians are well to do and we think that's what Christianity is all about - cool, rich, successful businessmen. No! They are destitute.  They are afflicted.  They live in dens and caves.  they are sawn in two, but they all looked towards the celestial city.  They believed God.

Gospel Light, what does it mean to be Gospel Light? It means we are willing to take up the cross. We are sheep.  God leads us and sometimes through the valley of the shadow of death, sometimes to the midst of wolves. Will you follow? Let us pray.

Christianity is about us following Jesus.  And to follow Jesus, you must be willing to leave what you have been pursuing.  To leave your comforts, your treasures, your own reputation, because Jesus laid aside all that for the sake of the Gospel. The Gospel call is not a call to comfort but the call to take up the cross. My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I'm not telling you today to go die in the mission field.  But I'm asking you this morning, what is your heart and your faith like? What brand of Christianity have you believed in today? The Singapore brand of cool, chic, successful life of health and wealth, or the biblical teaching of scorn and suffering and shame. Sure, in the goodness of God, He may prosper you in many physical, material ways.  That's not to say, God can't do that.  But that's not what you aim for. Isn't it? Will we pursue the glory of God in the spread of His Gospel?  Will we give our lives for the advancement of God's kingdom?  If that is your heart's desire and burden, then let us be reminded, we will be sheep in the midst of wolves. Don't expect yourself to be popular.  By all means be the gentlest kindest, most loving chap out there.  Be harmless as a dove, but you will be hated if you bear the name of Jesus Christ.  Will you do that?

Perhaps this morning, some of you are here and you do not know Jesus Christ and this sermon is absolutely difficult for you. You say, “what a crazy preacher this is?” I hope you'll realize that all that I say is really nothing new.  It's from the Bible. But I also hope you realize, we speak about radical sacrifice for Jesus not because we want to get saved but because we are already saved. We are recipients of the finished work of Jesus Christ.  That He has done it all on the cross, He has given His life on the cross.  He rose again the third day and as believers. As Christians, we say, “thank You God, we know that the sin debt is fully paid and we are recipients of this amazing gift and because of that we say, “we want to give our lives to Jesus, not to earn salvation but to say thank You God as an act of worship to Him.”

So I say to you, “if you're new here with us, you don't give your life to Jesus so that you can earn your salvation.” Oh no! But today, all you need to do, the Bible is very clear about that is to repent of your sins and believe in Jesus Christ. It's an amazing gift.  Not what you deserve, but that's what you need to do, to believe Him, to humble yourself and say Lord, “I can't save myself, I am a sinner, but thank You, You paid it all on the cross.”

I believed in Jesus some 20 over years ago, I didn't do anything for Jesus to get saved. I simply believe and God saved me. 20 over years later, it's still the same today.  Repent and believe in Jesus Christ and you will be saved. And when you are saved, when you truly believe, let me tell you, your heart will be different. You will know his love and you will love Him and then this sermon will make sense for you.  You will say, “yes, I know I'm going to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, but I know that you are with me Lord and I will fear no evil. I know that Your everlasting love is with me forever, and you will want to give your life and join the ranks of the heroes of the faith.”

This is the reality for which we all will die one day. How would you want to live your life? How would you want to give your life? That seed that dies in the ground, one day will bring forth much fruit. May that be true, for you and for me.

Father, thank You for Your Word.  It's so, so foreign to us here in cushy, comfy Singapore.  But we know that there's a purpose and plan in Your Word. And we know that these are important realities for us to grapple with. So may the Holy Spirit bring these truths to us, that as we are called today to suffer, to take up the cross, to journey from grace to glory.  Let us be refreshed in Your love. Let us rejoice in Your sovereign goodness. “Jesus, I my cross have taken, all to leave to follow thee.” May it be true in our lives today, we pray in Jesus Name, Amen.

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