Preached To The Saints At Riverview Baptist the Evening of March 19, 2017
At 798 Santa Fe Pike, Columbia, TN

Matthew 10:1-4 (KJV)  And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.  [2]  Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;  [3]  Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;  [4]  Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

Matthew 10:16-22 (KJV)   Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.   [17]   But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;   [18]   And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.   [19]   But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.   [20]   For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.   [21]   And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.   [22]   And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

A lot has passed in the first 9 chapters of Matthew’s Gospel. Jesus has healed the sick, given the blind eyes to see, caused the crippled to walk, and has cast demons out of people. He has already battled several times with the Pharisees and Scribes.

And now He calls His “Apostles”. We read in verse 2 “now the names of the twelve APOSTLES are these”. This is the Greek ἀπόστολος apostolos which means “one sent forth with orders, specialized messengers”. The word Apostolos occurs over 70 times in the New Testament. Lander Roark notes in his word study that in ancient Greece and Rome the Apostolos were envoys sent out to establish the dominion of an empire. These Apostolos were sent to territories to conquer, subdue, convert, instruct, train, and establish new subjects in the culture of that empire. Jesus sent His Apostles out with a very specific commission. He …

Matthew 10:5-7 (KJV) … commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:   [6]   But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.   [7]   And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

They preached a Kingdom message. “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”. God has come in the flesh. The promises that God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are now being fulfilled in the King of Kings and Lord of Lords Jesus Christ. These Apostles were pilgrims and pioneers. They were NOT to go to the Gentiles nor the mixed breed Samaritans, but were FIRST to go to God’s Israel. If they were rejected where they went Jesus told them:

Matthew 10:14-15 (KJV)   And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.   [15]   Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.

Christ came preaching His Kingdom in the first 9 chapters of Matthew.
Christ now sends these men out to preach His Kingdom.

Those who will not hear are not forced. We force no one to allegiance with Christ. They must decide, and if they die in their sins, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah IN THE DAY OF JUDGMENT than FOR THAT CITY.

The Darkness Will Fight The Light

These are Jesus’ words, and His commission. Jesus told His Apostles:

Matthew 10:16-17 (KJV)   Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.   [17]   But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;

The darkness would not like what these Apostles represented. Jesus warned His Apostles that they would be attacked, hated, beaten, judged harshly. Jesus wanted His disciples to know that what He was asking them to do was to go to battle with the darkness of a fallen world. That it would be a bad time. They were not going out to party, but to conquer through love and to take the Messiah’s message outward. Jesus said:

Matthew 10:18-22 (KJV)   And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.   [19]   But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.   [20]   For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.   [21]   And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.   [22]   And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

I want you to read verse 22 again with me, and focus on those words.

And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake:
BUT he that ENDURETH TO THE END SHALL BE SAVED.
Light Endures! The Saved Endure.

The First Mark Of The True Believer Is Christ’s CALLING

Jesus Christ is the Builder of His Church. He calls people into His Kingdom. No one comes to Christ until called – and once called, you choose whether to answer the call or not. Christ called His Apostles, and He calls all who will hear to come to Him. That’s what’s going on in this text. Jesus called the Apostles.

Matthew 10:1 (KJV)  And when HE HAD CALLED UNTO HIM his twelve disciples

Jesus called them. In fact, He called some of them more than once. We read that Jesus called:

Matthew 10:2 …. The first, SIMON, who is called PETER, and ANDREW his brother

The first two on Matthew’s list that Christ called Apostles were Simon Peter and Andrew. But the Bible tells us that this is not the very first time these men were called by Christ. Earlier in Matthew we read:

Matthew 4:18-20 (KJV)  And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.  [19]  And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.   [20]  And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.

Simon Peter and Andrew were called by Jesus to be disciples, then called again to be Apostles. But is this the only time that these men had contact with Jesus. No, not at all. Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist, as was John. The Bible tells us that these men heard John the Baptist speak on Jesus.

John 1:40-42 (KJV)  One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.  [41]  He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.  [42]  And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.

You own what you name. Jesus gave Simon the name of Peter or Cephas which means “A Small Stone”. Peter and Andrew were called more than once – I think THREE TIMES – to follow Jesus. Jesus calls people to follow Him. We like Andrew may take others to Jesus, but Jesus must call them just as He called us.

Christ calls unto salvation whosoever will.
Jesus loves us, and calls us to love Him.

Romans 8:28-30 (KJV)  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the CALLED according to his purpose.  [29]  For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.  [30]  Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also CALLED: and whom he CALLED, them he also JUSTIFIED: and whom he justified, them he also GLORIFIED.

People have debated, argued over, and twisted the words of the Apostle in this text. Yet the clear sense of the text is this. Jesus Christ called you, dear Christian, and called you with PURPOSE. You were not called to drift aimlessly on a cruise ship, and the Church is not the “Love Boat”. You are called to cut bait or fish for Jesus!

Nothing can happen to you outside of God’s purview. You are Predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. Do you know what that means? It means that you who have answered His call will one day be like Jesus. You will have an uncorrupt mind like Jesus. You will have a glorified Body like Jesus. You will be an adopted Child of God because of Jesus. You will stand before God:

Called
Justified
Glorified
Forever in His Presence!

Praise God for that. God calls to salvation. Christ calls to salvation. The Spirit calls to salvation. We are not called to be evil or darkness, but to be like Christ.

2 Timothy 1:7-10 (KJV)  For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.  [8]  Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;  [9]  Who hath saved us, and CALLED US WITH AN HOLY CALLING, not according to our works, but ACCORDING TO HIS OWN PURPOSE AND GRACE, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,  [10]  But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:

Every Christian is called by Christ to follow Christ. There was a time in your life He said to you “Come, follow Me” and you followed. You were called on purpose. You were called with purpose. You were called to follow Him first. Several years ago (June 28, 2006) then President Barack Obama stated:

“Whatever we once were, we are no longer a Christian nation – at least, not just.
We are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, and a Hindu nation,
and a nation of nonbelievers.”

A lot of people got upset over that (myself included), but it is true. Cultural Christianity is now dead in America. Of course, it’s always been dead. Jesus came to call us to life, and purpose, and the cultural Christian only takes the name of Christ when it’s convenient to do so. Christ never came for that. He came to call people:

1 Peter 2:9 (ESV) … a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who CALLED you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Colossians 1:13-14 (ESV) {God} has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

A Christian is called into the Light that is Christ.

We are called to be friends of Christ (John 15:15).
We are called to be a house of prayer (Mark 11:17).
We are called to be servants of all (Mark 9:35).
We are called to deny ourselves, to take up our cross and follow Him (Mark 8:34).
We are called to fellowship with Christ daily (1 Corinthians 1:9).
We are called the Children of the Living God (Romans 9:26).
We are called by the world foolish, but by God His own possession (1 Corinthians 1:26).
We are called to peace (1 Corinthians 7:15).
We are called into Christian liberty (Galatians 5:13),
and are called to love one another and to cherish God.
We are to walk worthy in our calling (Ephesians 4:1),
because God has not called us to uncleanness but unto holiness (1 Thessalonians 4:7).
We are called to eternal life (1 Timothy 6:12),
and are called to follow in Christ’s steps when suffering (1 Peter 2:21).

When we look at the Apostles and their calling we see that some were common fishermen, but at least one was of royal blood. One was good with money, another a retired government worker. They came from all walks of life, and were both white and blue collar – but Jesus called them all. In the last Book of the Bible we read:

Revelation 22:17 (KJV)  And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

The call unto salvation is whosoever will. Christ calls. His Apostles call. The Church calls. The Spirit calls. And whosoever will answer that call and follow Christ will be saved!

Romans 10:9-13 (ESV) … if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  [10]  For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.  [11]  For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”  [12]  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.  [13]  For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Everyone can be saved, if they will but hear His call and follow Him.

The Second Mark Of The True Believer Is ENDURANCE

Jesus called twelve, and twelve responded and began to follow Christ. But notice Jesus said:

Matthew 10:22 (KJV) And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: BUT he that ENDURETH TO THE END SHALL BE SAVED.

Do not miss these words. The proof of salvation is not what you do on the OUTSIDE, but what has occurred on the INSIDE. I have noticed people dressing up their animals, putting hats and coats and little britches on their little dogs or pot bellied pigs. You can dress up a dog. You can put a pig in a fur coat and call her “Miss Piggy”. But no matter what you do, a dog is still a dog, and a pig is still a pig. When I was a little boy I watched a show called “Mr. Ed”. Do you remember him saying “Hello Wilbur”? I still know the theme song:

A horse is a horse, of course, of course,
And no one can talk to a horse of course
That is, of course, unless the horse is the famous Mr. Ed.

Now that was all good tv, and clean entertainment. But in reality a horse will always be a horse! And a lost person can dress up and call himself a Christian, but unless God has changed you, you are still lost. Jesus called twelve men to follow Him:

Simon Peter
Andrew
James the son of Zebedee
John the other son of Zebedee
Philip
Bartholomew
Thomas
Matthew
James the son of Alphaeus
Lebbaeus Thaddaeus
Simon the Canaanite
Judas Iscariot

Jesus called these twelve, and all twelve followed after Him – but not in their hearts. If I were to pick the one that would betray Jesus out of this bunch I would have picked Simon the Canaanite. After all, the Canaanites were such bad people that God gave their land to Israel, and told Israel to run them out! Of course the Canaanite would betray Jesus! Wouldn’t he?

Dear friends, you can’t judge a book by it’s cover. Christ’s betrayer would be:

Matthew 10:4 … Judas Iscariot, who ALSO betrayed him.

Don’t skip over the word “ALSO”. Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus, but that ALSO indicates that more than just Judas betrayed Jesus. Every Apostle betrayed Jesus when He went to the Cross. They betrayed Him in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus asked them to pray with Him, to be with Him in His time of need.

Matthew 26:38-39 (ESV) …. “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.”   [39]  And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

Did they pray with Him? No. No. We are told in Matthew 26:40 … he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour?

Jesus prayed alone. And when the soldiers came to get Him, Jesus stood alone. We are told in Matthew 26:56 “all the disciples left him and fled.” Jesus stood alone, betrayed. He faced the Cross with none to help. Peter, the Chief Apostle, who said “I will never forsake You – I will fight to the death for You!” … it was Peter who denied Jesus before a crowd:

Matthew 26:74-75 (KJV)  Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew.  [75]  And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

I dare say every Christian who has ever lived has at one time denied Christ. Before you say you have not, think carefully. You have at times done what He has said not do. You have at times not loved God first, nor your neighbor as yourself. You have denied Him in works. And you, like Peter, have wept bitterly. Jesus knew Peter would fail. He knows we will fail. But if we fail, we who are genuinely His ALWAYS COME BACK TO JESUS. Like Salmon, we return to our birthplace. We swim upstream struggling, but we get back to our Lord and Master.

Not Judas Iscariot.
Judas Iscariot never loved Jesus.
And Jesus knew this when He called Judas.

Jesus said: John 6:70 … “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and YET ONE OF YOU IS A DEVIL?“

Jesus called all twelve, and all twelve followed. But one of those twelve WAS NOT SAVED. How do we know if a person is a brother in Christ? Jesus said “You shall know them by their FRUITS” (Matthew 7:20). It is not FRUIT that shows the inward change of Christ, but FRUITS, PLURAL. The Bible says:

1 Corinthians 9:24 (NIV) Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

Those Who Are Born Of God Are OVERCOMERS

1 John 5:4-5 For whatsoever is born of God OVERCOMETH the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 5 Who is he that OVERCOMETH the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

Revelation 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that OVERCOMETH will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

Revelation 2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that OVERCOMETH shall not be hurt of the second death.

Revelation 3:5 He that OVERCOMETH, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

Twelve men were called by Christ, but one of those twelve outwardly followed but never gave his heart. Judas Iscariot sold the Master for 30 pieces of silver, but he was never saved in the first place. The proof of salvation is PERSEVERANCE. Those who stay with Christ are the Children of God. Those who stay with His Church are of His Church. But those who are here today, but tomorrow gone like a fog when the sun rises were never His Children in the first place.

1 John 2:19-20 (KJV)  They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.  [20]  But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.

There is a difference between the Cultural Christian,
the Nominal Christian,
and the Genuine Christian.

The Genuine stays with Christ and His Church. The false believers do not stay when the darkness challenges. The pretend light, the picture of a candle, the dollar store imitation does not lighten nor fight the dark. Dark goes to dark.

After Judas betrayed Jesus he did not go to God repenting. He instead went back to the dark Pharisees and Priests and tried to give the 30 pieces of silver back. Then rather than repent he took the coward’s way out. He killed himself.

Matthew 27:5 (NKJV) Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and HANGED HIMSELF.

His death accomplished nothing but sent him to hell sooner. Would that he had repented. The other eleven men repented. They ran toward Christ. Not away, but toward.

Job 17:9 (NASB) Nevertheless the righteous will hold to his way, And he who has clean hands will grow stronger and stronger.

All betrayed Jesus, but those who are His sheep return to their Shepherd. Those who are His love their Lord forever! Oh Beloved, remember that God called all of Israel to follow Him out of Egypt, but ended up disowning all of that first generation but Moses, Joshua and Caleb. Why? Because many heard the call, but their hearts remained in Egypt. Those who belong to Jesus do not have their hearts in Egypt, but in Christ’s Kingdom. We love Him so!

We love Him on the mountaintop. We love Him in the valley. We love Him in pleasure. And love Jesus all the more in suffering. We love Him because He is our only hope.
We love Him because we belong to Him, And He belongs to us!
Praise Him forever! Because He is worthy!