Founders Baptist

This is a sermon from the book of Ephesians, chapter 5 from 2003.

The Christian Wife - Part 2 | Ephesians 5: 22-24

Introduction: 
It is not long after the Lord saves someone that they experience a great sadness that every believer eventually knows. 
It is the sadness of realizing that giving someone the truth doesn’t mean they will receive it. 
It is the sadness of realizing that people can hear the truth without ever really hearing it. 
They can be shown the truth without ever really seeing it. 
They hear it with their physical ears, but they have no appetite for it, because they do not have spiritual ears. 
They can see it with their eyes — you can show them the truth in the Bible — but they don’t have the spiritual eyes to see what you show them. 
This can be especially frustrating in family situations. 
This is someone you know well. 
This is someone you have spent years with. 
You know them and they know you. 
You have communicated about all sorts of things over a lifetime. 
But they will not hear you when you speak to them of salvation, of faith in Jesus Christ. 
Or they will not hear you when you speak to them about some specific sin situation that threatens to destroy. 
AND WHAT IS EVEN SADDER, IN MANY CASES, IS THAT IN THE DESIRE TO ESCAPE THE TRUTH THAT YOU SHARE, THEY MISCHARACTERIZE WHO YOU ARE. 
They slander you. 
They may even take something legitimately associated with you, but they so exaggerate it, that what they say is a lie. 
In their desire to escape the truth, they must find fault with the messenger. 
To save their own face, their own reputation, they are willing to destroy yours. 
THIS IS THE CONFLICT, THIS IS THE VIOLENCE, THAT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN BRINGS. 
Tonight, we consider our Lord’s explanation for a foolish generation — for a group of people who wouldn’t listen. Four statements from our Lord that explain the generation that rejects the kingdom of heaven. 
 • THE SERIOUSNESS OF HEARING TRUTH (vs.15) 
Where we begin is by noting the seriousness of listening. 
Just a quick search on the word “hear” in the Word of God will demonstrate how much emphasis our God has placed on the seriousness of listening to His Word. 
After our Lord described John, and the violence that has been on display since John arrived, and after He affirmed John as the Elijah who was to come, HE GIVES A COMMAND TO LISTEN. 
NAU Matthew 11:15 "He who has ears to hear, let him hear. 
NET Matthew 11:15 The one who has ears had better listen! 
God’s truth ALWAYS REQUIRES A RESPONSE. 
You are never without a response when you are confronted with truth. 
You will either give the response that the truth demands, or you will refuse it — and that is a response of its own. 
NO RESPONSE 
INDIFFERENCE 
IS A DISOBEDIENT RESPONSE. 
What our Lord says is more than an exhortation. It is a solemn WARNING. 
ESV Luke 8:18 Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away." 
It is a dangerous thing to willfully turn a deaf ear to the truth. 
ESV Proverbs 29:1 He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing. 
 • THE STUBBORNNESS OF THOSE WHO WILL NOT HEAR TRUTH (vs.16-17) 
And then our Lord gives an illustration. He begins with a proverbial introduction, the kind of introduction that announces a matter of wisdom. 
“To what I shall compare this generation?” 
How can I illustrate the danger, and the foolishness, of what I’m witnessing in the people who are resisting the kingdom? 
 
 • JESUS TAKES US TO THE MARKET PLACE 
A central gathering place in a town, in a city, where good are sold or traded. 
 • JESUS TAKES US TO THE YOUNG ONES IN THAT MARKETPLACE 
The parents are engaged in business, or they are visiting, but the children take it as opportunity to meet with their friends and to play. 
 • JESUS TAKES US TO THEIR FAVORITE GAMES 
As children are prone to do, they imitate adults. We have all seen it, as children play “house.” Or they pretend to dress up and go to work. Or they pretend to preach, or to lead in singing, or to baptize. 
My children used to do all three of those things. 
In this case, the children in the marketplace are playing wedding and funeral. 
If the children were playing wedding, someone would pretend to play the flute, and people would dance. 
If the children played funeral, someone would play the dirge, and people would mourn. 
 • JESUS TAKES US TO THEIR STUBBORNNESS 
What is often on display when children get together is someone in the group who is stubbornly uncooperative. 
You cannot please them. 
If you say wedding, they say funeral. 
If you say funeral, they say wedding. 
They are unhappy, dissatisfied, regardless of what they are presented with. 
Why? Because the real issue is not the game, it’s their selfishness. In selfishness you meet with stubbornness.

Introduction:
It is not long after the Lord saves someone that they experience a great sadness that every believer eventually knows.
It is the sadness of realizing that giving someone the truth doesn’t mean they will receive it.
It is the sadness of realizing that people can hear the truth without ever really hearing it.
They can be shown the truth without ever really seeing it.
They hear it with their physical ears, but they have no appetite for it, because they do not have spiritual ears.
They can see it with their eyes — you can show them the truth in the Bible — but they don’t have the spiritual eyes to see what you show them.
This can be especially frustrating in family situations.
This is someone you know well.
This is someone you have spent years with.
You know them and they know you.
You have communicated about all sorts of things over a lifetime.
But they will not hear you when you speak to them of salvation, of faith in Jesus Christ.
Or they will not hear you when you speak t

A Foolish Generation | Matthew 11:16-19

This is a sermon from the book of John recorded in 2010.

Destroying Imaginations About God Followers | John 5:37-47

This is a sermon from 2014 on Luke 18:19.

Responsible & Helpless | Luke 18:19

Introduction: 
When Saul of Tarsus met the Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus, he met with a surprising question. 
Acts 9:1–5 (ESV) 
1 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 
“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting ME. 
The first thing about that question that would have been jarring for Saul is that this same Jesus whom Saul had so disregarded, was now stopping him in his tracks and introducing Himself with divine power. Saul recognizes the divine power, so that the one addressing him, Saul addresses as Lord. 
The second thing about the question that would have been shocking is that there was a people whom Saul also had no regard for — he despised them and sought to punish them with death. These lowly people are identified by Jesus as a people so united with Himself, that to persecute them is to persecute Him. 
This truth is rightly understood and applied in a way that is not only corporate, it is also to be applied in a way that is INDIVIDUAL. 
Colossians 1:24 (ESV) 
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 
When the church is persecuted, Christ is persecuted. When a disciple of Jesus Christ suffers for the church, that disciple suffers Christ’s afflictions. 
THIS TRUTH IS TAUGHT TO CHRIST’S DISCIPLES IN OUR VERSES. 
But as Jesus teaches this truth, He makes clear that the opposite is also true. It is not just the persecution of His people that Jesus identifies with. It is the reception of His people. It is the blessing of His people. 
This is a truth that our God demonstrated in the Old Testament with respect to Israel. 
Numbers 24:1–9 (ESV) 
1 When Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go, as at other times, to look for omens, but set his face toward the wilderness. 2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe. And the Spirit of God came upon him, 3 and he took up his discourse and said, “The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened, 4 the oracle of him who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down with his eyes uncovered: 5 How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, your encampments, O Israel! 6 Like palm groves that stretch afar, like gardens beside a river, like aloes that the Lord has planted, like cedar trees beside the waters. 7 Water shall flow from his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters; his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. 8 God brings him out of Egypt and is for him like the horns of the wild ox; he shall eat up the nations, his adversaries, and shall break their bones in pieces and pierce them through with his arrows. 9 He crouched, he lay down like a lion and like a lioness; who will rouse him up? Blessed are those who bless you, and cursed are those who curse you.” 
Deuteronomy 32:9–10 (ESV) 
9 But the Lord’s portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage. 10 “He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness; he encircled him, he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. 
 • THE REALITY OF IDENTIFICATION WITH CHRIST (vs.40) 
The first point that Jesus makes is simple, straightforward, uncomplicated, but profound. How His disciples are treated is a statement about Christ and the Father. 
Jesus commissions these men. 
They go out by His calling, with His authority, carrying His message, and identified with His name. 
Now, think about that for a moment.

Introduction:
When Saul of Tarsus met the Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus, he met with a surprising question.
Acts 9:1–5 (ESV) 
1 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 
“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting ME.
The first thing about that question that would have been jarring for Saul is that this same Jesus whom Saul had so disregarded, was now stopping him in his tracks and introducing Himself with divine power. Saul recognizes the divine power, so that the one addressing 

Christ & His People | Matthew 10:40-42

Introduction: 
When we follow our Lord’s instructions for ministry, opposition is certain to follow. 
When we meet with that opposition — that persecution — a temptation is sure to follow. 
That temptation is to be afraid of those who would persecute us. 
The temptation is to fear men, to fear flesh and blood, instead of honoring our God and trusting in His care for us. 
Our Lord is preparing His men for that temptation. 
So, in our verses we are looking at five necessary things for us to remember and to practice in order to have our fear rightly focused. 
This morning we looked at the first two. 
 • WE MUST BELIEVE CHRIST REGARDING FUTURE ILLUMINATION (vs.26) 
Justice will be served, and Christ’s disciples will be vindicated. 
 • WE MUST OBEY CHRIST REGARDING PRESENT ILLUMINATION (vs.27) 
The words of Christ are light, and they must be proclaimed openly. 
 
We begin tonight with a third commitment. 
 • WE MUST BELIEVE CHRIST REGARDING COMPARATIVE DANGERS (vs.28) 
Persecution CAN BE frightening. But we need to remind ourselves of the limits of what human beings can do to us. 
 • THE DANGER REPRESENTED IN MAN’S POWER 
THEY CAN KILL THE BODY 
BUT THEY CANNOT KILL THE SOUL 
They can make a believer’s life difficult in the temporal realm. 
But they offer no threat whatsoever with respect to eternity. 
In fact, if he takes the believer’s life in the temporal realm, he simply delivers us into paradise in the everlasting realm. 
The worst you do to me is prove to be God’s instrument for my graduation. 
 • THE DANGER REPRESENTED IN GOD’S POWER 
God can destroy temporally and eternally. 
Hell is a reality. 
Eternal torment is a reality. 
A resurrection unto judgment is a reality. 
The believer in Jesus Christ has nothing to fear in that judgment. 
The unbeliever has EVERYTHING to fear in that judgment. 
THIS WAS CHRIST’S MESSAGE TO THE CHURCH AT SMYRNA. 
ESV Revelation 2:10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.' 
THIS IS THE PROMISE MADE CONCERNING THE RIGHTEOUS WHO WILL BE RAISED FROM THE DEAD PRIOR TO THE THOUSAND YEAR KINGDOM 
ESV Revelation 20:4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. 
THIS IS THE FEARFUL REALITY THAT UNBELIEVERS WILL EXPERIENCE 
ESV Revelation 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 
THE CONCLUSION, THEREFORE, IS THAT IF ANYONE IS TO BE FEARED IT IS NOT PERSECUTORS — IT IS GOD.

Introduction:
When we follow our Lord’s instructions for ministry, opposition is certain to follow.
When we meet with that opposition — that persecution — a temptation is sure to follow.
That temptation is to be afraid of those who would persecute us.
The temptation is to fear men, to fear flesh and blood, instead of honoring our God and trusting in His care for us.
Our Lord is preparing His men for that temptation.
So, in our verses we are looking at five necessary things for us to remember and to practice in order to have our fear rightly focused.
This morning we looked at the first two.
 • WE MUST BELIEVE CHRIST REGARDING FUTURE ILLUMINATION (vs.26)
Justice will be served, and Christ’s disciples will be vindicated.
 • WE MUST OBEY CHRIST REGARDING PRESENT ILLUMINATION (vs.27)
The words of Christ are light, and they must be proclaimed openly.

We begin tonight with a third commitment.
 • WE MUST BELIEVE CHRIST REGARDING COMPARATIVE DANGERS (vs.28)
Persecution CAN BE frightening. But 

Fear Rightly Focused – Part 2 | Matthew 10:26-33

Introduction: 
What does persecution aim at? 
Why do the enemies of Christ, the enemies of the gospel, the enemies of the church — threaten the church, attack the church, inflict harm upon the church? 
What is persecution aiming at? 
Persecution does not ALWAYS aim at elimination. 
While lost humanity hates the church, it isn’t always aiming at martyring the church. 
But persecution ALWAYS aims at intimidation. 
What makes persecution effective, from the vantagepoint of the persecutor, is that it generates FEAR. 
If you don’t want to be in trouble. 
If you don’t want to lose your reputation. 
If you don’t want to lose your freedom. 
If you don’t want to lose relationships. 
If you don’t want to lose your ability to supply for yourself and your family financially. 
If you want to live in peace. 
“THEN YOU WILL STOP WHATEVER ACTIVITY IT IS YOU ARE DOING IN THE NAME OF CHRIST THAT BOTHERS US.” 
“And if you don’t, then you will experience something you dread.” 
THE POWER OF PERSECUTION IS THAT IT ACCESSES MAN’S FEARS. 
Our Lord has given His disciples’ instructions for their ministry mission. 
Our Lord has informed His disciples’ expectations not just for one mission, but for all time and for all ministry missions. 
And now our Lord addresses what He knows will be one of His disciples’ greatest areas of vulnerability. 
He addresses our fears. 
 
Knowing that we will certainly come under attack (vs.25… “so have no fear”), we must with certainty know what our temptation might be, and we must address that temptation with truth. 
THE TEMPTATION WILL BE FEAR OF THE PERSECUTORS. 
THE TRUTH WILL FOCUS OUR FEAR ON GOD. 
In our verses we will consider fear rightly focused. Five things we must do if we are to rightly focus our fear. 
 • WE MUST BELIEVE CHRIST REGARDING FUTURE ILLUMINATION (vs.26) 
He gives us a reason why we are to have no fear of them. We must not fear them (imperative) “for” whatever is covered now (καλύπτω – hidden, concealed, kept secret), whatever is hidden (κρυπτός – unknown because of being kept secret), it will all be brought into the light. 
IT WILL BE REVEALED — ἀποκαλύπτω — “brought into the light; unveiled.” 
IT WILL BE KNOWN. 
This is a two-fold unveiling. 
This is true of unrighteousness, and this is true of righteousness. 
And the unveiling will have to do with all sorts of things that manifest sin and righteousness. 
WORDS 
MOTIVES 
CONFEDERACIES 
SCHEMES 
THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH WILL BE ESTABLISHED. 
ESV 1 Corinthians 4:3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4 For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God. 
ESV 1 Timothy 5:24 The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later. 25 So also good works are conspicuous, and even those that are not cannot remain hidden. 
EVEN ONE’S TRUE RELATIONSHIP TO GOD WILL BE ESTABLISHED 
ESV Romans 8:19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 
This great day of illumination encompasses EVERY KIND OF JUDGMENT. 
THIS WILL BE TRUE WITH THE JUDGMENT THAT CONDEMNS 
THIS WILL BE TRUE WITH THE JUDGMENT THAT COMMENDS 
IT WILL BE A DAY WHEN RIGHTEOUSNESS IS ENTHRONED AND WICKEDNESS IS PUNISHED. 
Indeed, such will be the justice of God, that the people judged by this world to be unworthy of its acceptance will one day be involved in the judgment of the world. 
YOU TALK ABOUT A REVERSAL OF FORTUNES! 
All the powerful, the influencers, those who thought themselves favored because of their riches, who were considered wise as they mocked the truth of God, WHO CONDEMNED CHRISTIANITY — WHO MOCKED THE LORD’S BRIDE — ALL OF THEM will one day see the saints of God inherit the earth. 
ESV Luke 6:20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples and said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 "Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. "Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. 22 "Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! 23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets. 24 "But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. 25 "Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. "Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. 26 "Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.

Introduction:
What does persecution aim at? 
Why do the enemies of Christ, the enemies of the gospel, the enemies of the church — threaten the church, attack the church, inflict harm upon the church? 
What is persecution aiming at?
Persecution does not ALWAYS aim at elimination. 
While lost humanity hates the church, it isn’t always aiming at martyring the church.
But persecution ALWAYS aims at intimidation.
What makes persecution effective, from the vantagepoint of the persecutor, is that it generates FEAR.
If you don’t want to be in trouble.
If you don’t want to lose your reputation.
If you don’t want to lose your freedom.
If you don’t want to lose relationships.
If you don’t want to lose your ability to supply for yourself and your family financially.
If you want to live in peace.
“THEN YOU WILL STOP WHATEVER ACTIVITY IT IS YOU ARE DOING IN THE NAME OF CHRIST THAT BOTHERS US.”
“And if you don’t, then you will experience something you dread.”
THE POWER OF PERSECUTION IS THAT IT ACCES

Fear Rightly Focused – Part 1 | Matthew 10:26-33

This is a sermon from 2003 on the book of Ephesians, chapter 5, preached at Founders Baptist Church.

Characteristics Of The Spirit Filled Life - Part 1 | Ephesians 5:19-21

This is an audio message from 2008 on Jude, verses 3 through 4.

Change Of Plans | Jude 1:3-4

This video is from 2012 on a series from the book of Philippians.

Mature Thinking About Christian Progress | Philippians 3:15-16

This is a video from 2009 on 1 Corinthians 8. While the quality is not exceptional we do hope and pray that you will be edified by it.

Knowledge Turned To Sin | 1 Corinthians 8:7-13

Glorious Knowledge | 1 Corinthians 8:4-6

Introduction: 
Our Lord prepares His men for their first solo-mission (but with oversight) by giving them a set of instructions, but also informing their expectations. 
What can we expect to face when we serve Christ in the work of the ministry? 
HOW CAN WE PREPARED FOR THE INEVITABLE PERSECUTION THAT WE’RE GOING TO MEET WITH? 
This morning we noted three ways that His disciples are prepared. 
Review: 
 • BE PREPARED BY UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE OF YOUR MISSION FIELD (vs.16) 
 
 • BE PREPARED BY UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE OF MANKIND (vs.17-18) 
 
 • BE PREPARED BY CONFIDENCE IN THE FAITHFULNESS OF YOUR GOD (vs.19-20) 
Lesson: 
Tonight, we pick this up and note three additional ways that Christ’s disciples must be prepared. 
 • BE PREPARED BY THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE NEED FOR PAINFUL ENDURANCE (vs.21-22) 
Again, we are talking about expectations. 
One of the things we struggle with is that fact that even when we are prepared to meet with persecution, we may not have prepared to meet with it so close to home. 
Perhaps we could envision a world of people WHO DO NOT KNOW US coming against us. 
But what our Lord prepares His disciples for, as He looks beyond the immediate, to the age that will unfold before the church in the years to come, is that there will come times of persecution when those who come against the people of God are their nearest relations 
BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER – AND TO THE DEATH. 
FATHER AGAINST CHILD 
CHILDREN AGAINST PARENTS — AND TO THE DEATH. 
A UNIVERSAL KIND OF HATRED — THIS IS WHAT WE MUST BE PREPARED FOR (vs.22a). 
From the closet relationships to total strangers, people hating the church for no other reason than that the church represents a Lord and a worldview that it hates. 
God’s people will be despised and will suffer. 
AND THROUGH ALL OF THAT THE CHURCH IS CALLED TO PERSERVERANCE — THE PEOPLE OF GOD CONTINUE WITH JESUS. 
The suffering will be painful, but the sustaining power of God will be sufficient. 
PREPARE YOURSELVES BY TRULY BELIEVING JESUS ABOUT THESE POSSIBILITIES — AND FOR SOME, REALITIES. 
This is a sadness on top of a sadness. 
There is already profound sadness when someone we love doesn’t love Christ. 
There is profound sadness when our loved one’s distance themselves from us because of Christ. 
But there is an even GREATER sadness when there is a level of animosity that would not only distance them from us but move them to destroy us. 
SO, TO BE PREPARED FOR PERSECUTION WE MUST BE PREPARED TO ENDURE THAT PAINFUL REJECTION. 
Are you prepared for that? 
Our Lord goes on to talk about later in this chapter. 
ESV Matthew 10:34 "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. 
ENDURANCE IS NEEDED FOR FAITHFULNESS TO GOD IN SUFFERING, BUT A KIND OF ENDURANCE THAT WILL BE NEEDED IN THE FACE OF THE MOST PAINFUL KIND OF BETRAYAL. 
 • BE PREPARED BY TRUSTING GOD’S PROVIDENCE IN YOUR PERSEVERANCE (vs.23) 
The endurance we need must be matched with the shrewdness that we talked about earlier. 
It must also be matched with THE TRUST, THE CONFIDENCE, that our God is at work even through the hatred that we endure — and THAT WE ARE NOT ALONE. 
 
 • THE SHREWDNESS IN SUFFERING 
This is a very important statement for us to process. 
What our Lord makes plain is that faithfulness in the face of persecution does rule out seeking relief from it — seeking to escape it. 
NOT IN A WAY THAT IS COWARDLY, but in a way that is needful for ongoing ministry. 
THIS IS A KIND OF WISDOM THAT COMES WITH MATURITY. 
 • SOME PEOPLE SEEK PERSECUTION 
 • SOME PEOPLE FUEL PERSECUTION 
 • JESUS SAYS THERE IS A TIME TO FLEE IT 
Now, of course, this is a general statement, not a statement for every situation. 
But what it makes plain is that a part of the shrewdness necessary to faithfulness in ministry is recognizing when it is time to move on to another field of opportunity for the gospel. 
 • OUR LORD DEMONSTRATED THIS 
ESV Matthew 12:9 He went on from there and entered their synagogue. 10 And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"-- so that they might accuse him. 11 He said to them, "Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." 13 Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him. 15 Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all 
 • PAUL DEMONSTRATED THIS

Introduction:
Our Lord prepares His men for their first solo-mission (but with oversight) by giving them a set of instructions, but also informing their expectations.
What can we expect to face when we serve Christ in the work of the ministry?
HOW CAN WE PREPARED FOR THE INEVITABLE PERSECUTION THAT WE’RE GOING TO MEET WITH?
This morning we noted three ways that His disciples are prepared.
Review:
 • BE PREPARED BY UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE OF YOUR MISSION FIELD (vs.16)

 • BE PREPARED BY UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE OF MANKIND (vs.17-18)

 • BE PREPARED BY CONFIDENCE IN THE FAITHFULNESS OF YOUR GOD (vs.19-20)
Lesson:
Tonight, we pick this up and note three additional ways that Christ’s disciples must be prepared.
 • BE PREPARED BY THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE NEED FOR PAINFUL ENDURANCE (vs.21-22)
Again, we are talking about expectations.
One of the things we struggle with is that fact that even when we are prepared to meet with persecution, we may not have prepared to meet with it so close to home.

Prepared For Persecution – Part 2 | Matthew 10:16-25

Introduction: 
Our Lord gave instructions for a ministry mission. 
This was part of the training of the twelve. 
But to be faithful in ministry more is required than simply knowing what to do. It’s more than a set of instructions. 
The truth of the matter is that many people struggle in the Christian life, and in Christian ministry, who know what to do. 
Our Lord’s preparation of these men does not stop with where to go, what to say, what to do, how to prepare, where to stay, when to leave. No, He now takes it a step further. 
HE DEALS WITH THEIR EXPECTATIONS. 
HE DEALS WITH WHAT THEY MUST EXPECT IN RESPONSE TO THEIR MISSION. 
HE DEALS WITH WHAT THEY MIGHT BE TEMPTED TO UNDERESTIMATE IN FELLOW HUMAN BEINGS WHO DO NOT SHARE THEIR FAITH. 
ARE WE PREPARED — NOT JUST FOR OPPOSITION — FOR VICIOUS OPPOSITION? 
This is one of the great challenges to our walk with Christ — can we allow our God to instruct our expectations? 
Are our expectations rightly informed? 
Have we, in fact, surrendered our expectations to God? 
Do we recognize that the Christian life, and that Christian ministry, were never promised to be easy? 
So that after instructions, Jesus deals with what they must PREPARE FOR IN THE WAY OF DIFFICULTY. 
He hinted at this in His earlier words. There will be houses and cities that do not receive them or their words. But now, He expands on this because they dare not underestimate it. “Beware of men” (vs.17a). 
This is no passing matter. This is not something to be taken lightly. 
PREPARE YOURSELVES, ARM YOURSELVES, FOR SUFFERING. 
ESV 1 Peter 4:1 Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. 
What our Lord gives to His men, and to us, are six necessary preparations for persecution. 
We’ll mention each one as we come to them. 
 • BE PREPARED BY UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE OF YOUR MISSION FIELD (vs.16) 
Our Lord calls for His men to take note of something. “Behold” “Listen up” “Don’t miss this.” 
“I am sending you out” … and it’s going to be like this. 
YOU ARE SHEEP 
YOU ARE IN A WORLD FULL OF WOLVES 
Now, right away that should wake us up because sheep don’t fare well with wolves. 
IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE TAKE THESE WORDS TO HEART. 
I fear that many believers are naïve about the world into which they have been sent. 
Christ is giving us a true and accurate view of the theatre for our operations. 
An army needs to understand its battlefield. 
They understand the enemy. 
They understand the topography of the theatre in which they will engage in the conflict. 
Well, our Lord is telling us that we carry out ministry in a very dangerous context. 
NOW — WE ARE NOT SHEEP WITHOUT A SHEPHERD. 
The believer is in a vulnerable position. 
The believer is defenseless if depending upon his or her own strength. 
But the believer is not alone. 
These men are being told to pay attention by the very one WHO SENDS THEM OUT. He loves them. He cares for them. He is training them. 
He would not do this, unless He knew it to be wise, to be necessary — and unless He Himself was providing for them and preparing them in a way equal to the task. But a part of that preparation is a SOBER view of the assignment. 
 
 
 • WHAT THIS UNDERSTANDING DOES 
In view of this reality, the Lord Jesus gives a command. This knowledge requires WISDOM on the part of these servants. The Lord commands it of them. The knowledge of the predators requires shrewdness. 
WHY DOES HE ASSOCIATE THIS WISDOM WITH SERPENTS? Is Genesis 3:1 meant to enter our minds? 
ESV Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" 
I think what He might be indicating is that a part of the wisdom we need is to be aware of the mindset of those who would do us harm. 
We sort of have to climb into the scales of the snakes!

Introduction:
Our Lord gave instructions for a ministry mission. 
This was part of the training of the twelve.
But to be faithful in ministry more is required than simply knowing what to do. It’s more than a set of instructions.
The truth of the matter is that many people struggle in the Christian life, and in Christian ministry, who know what to do.
Our Lord’s preparation of these men does not stop with where to go, what to say, what to do, how to prepare, where to stay, when to leave. No, He now takes it a step further.
HE DEALS WITH THEIR EXPECTATIONS.
HE DEALS WITH WHAT THEY MUST EXPECT IN RESPONSE TO THEIR MISSION.
HE DEALS WITH WHAT THEY MIGHT BE TEMPTED TO UNDERESTIMATE IN FELLOW HUMAN BEINGS WHO DO NOT SHARE THEIR FAITH.
ARE WE PREPARED — NOT JUST FOR OPPOSITION — FOR VICIOUS OPPOSITION?
This is one of the great challenges to our walk with Christ — can we allow our God to instruct our expectations?
Are our expectations rightly informed?
Have we, in fact, surrendered our expecta

Prepared For Persecution – Part 1 | Matthew 10:16-25

This video is from a series on 1 Corinthians in 2009.

Reasoning Our Way To Repentance - Part 1 | 1 Corinthians 10:14-15

How To Heed The Warnings | 1 Corinthians 10:11-14

This sermon addresses what Christians need to know and understand about their physical bodies. The Scripture passage this pertains to is 1 Corinthians 6: 15-20, and the sermon is from 2009.

A Christians View of the Body | 1 Corinthians 6:15-20

David  - The Man After God's Own Heart | 1 Samuel 13:8-14

This sermon is from a series on Ephesians in 2002 at Founders Baptist Church.

A New Kind Of Anger For A New Man - Ephesians 4: 26-27

Introduction: 
Prayer is necessary to the mission of the church. Jesus made that clear just prior to the time when He would commission His disciples. 
He taught His disciples that the harvest is great, but the laborers are few. 
He taught them to pray to the Lord of the harvest — to pray earnestly — for the Lord to send laborers. 
But as we saw this morning, there is more than prayer. 
Prayer is essential. 
Prayer is non-negotiable. 
God has chosen to work through prayer, so in that sense, there are things that do not take place without prayer. 
But prayer is not the end as Christ builds His church. 
Review 
 • THE ACTION THAT ACCOMPANIES PRAYER 
We saw this morning that our Lord took action. 
Jesus, Himself, spent an entire night in prayer and then selected 12 out of that larger company of disciples who would serve as His apostles. 
He chose 12 who would serve as answer to the very prayer that He had called on His disciples to offer. 
These were saved men. 
They were men who would be devoted to a full-time season of training with Jesus. 
These are men who will be given ministry opportunities while our Lord was still present to watch over their efforts. 
Then these same men would eventually be sent out — they would serve as the foundation for the church after Jesus would ascend into heaven. 
What we see, as we begin tonight, is that with ministry assignments, Jesus granted ministry authority. 
THERE IS ACTION THAT ACCOMPANIES PRAYER AND THERE IS AUTHORITY THAT ACCOMPANIES PURPOSE. 
 • THE AUTHORITY THAT ACCOMPANIES PURPOSE (vs.1b) 
This is a principle for all time. God grants us authority in keeping with our assignments. 
That authority is biblical authority. 
That authority is limited and mediated authority (it doesn’t belong to us by nature). 
That authority is for edification not destruction. 
But that authority is also practical and effectual. 
 • A UNIQUE AUTHORITY 
The authority granted to these men was unique. It was unique for at least two reasons. 
 • IT WAS COMMUNICATED DIRECTLY BY CHRIST 
This speaks to the identity of Jesus of Nazareth, doesn’t it? Jesus has the authority to communicate authority. 
Jesus has the authority to communicate the USE OF THE POWER OF GOD. Or to say it another way, to extend His own authority and power by granting it to His representatives. 
 • IT WAS CONCERNING MIRACULOUS SIGNS 
Christ grants them a kind of authority that makes them an extension of His own work. 
HE CASTS OUT DEMONS — THEY DO SO IN HIS NAME 
HE HEALS ALL MANNER OF SICKNESS AND DISEASE — THEY DO SO IN HIS NAME 
When Jesus sends out the 72, they rejoiced in this reality. 
ESV Luke 10:17 aThe seventy-two returned with joy, saying, "Lord, beven the demons are subject to us in your name!" 18 And he said to them, a"I saw Satan bfall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority ato tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of bthe enemy, and cnothing shall hurt you. 20 aNevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that byour names are written in heaven." 
 • A COMMON ACTION (GOD GRANTS WHAT IS NECESSARY FOR WHAT HE CALLS US TO DO) 
Understand that in one sense this hasn’t changed. 
The signs of an apostle were unique. It is non-repeatable. 
But our Lord still sends us with authority. 
ESV Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and said to them, a"All authority bin heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 aGo therefore and bmake disciples of call nations, abaptizing them fin1 dthe name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them ato observe all that bI have commanded you. And behold, cI am with you always, to dthe end of the age." 
HE IS WITH US AS WE GO FORTH TO MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS. 
HE IS WITH US AS WE TEACH HIS WORD TO THOSE DISCIPLES. 
HE IS WITH US FOR AS LONG AS HE LEAVES US HERE TO DO HIS WORK. 
Our authority is confined to the Scriptures. But our authority is real, and it involves power. 
ESV Acts 1:8 But you will receive apower bwhen the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and cyou will be dmy witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and eSamaria, and fto the end of the earth." 
 • THE ASSOCIATIONS THAT ACCOMPANY PASTORAL MINISTRY (vs.2-4) 
Now, after recording how Christ commissioned them, Matthew records the names of those who were chosen. 
Our Lord trained men in such a way that they not only had a relationship to Him — they had a relationship to each other. 
Mark tells us that Jesus sent them out in pairs.

Introduction:
Prayer is necessary to the mission of the church. Jesus made that clear just prior to the time when He would commission His disciples.
He taught His disciples that the harvest is great, but the laborers are few.
He taught them to pray to the Lord of the harvest — to pray earnestly — for the Lord to send laborers.
But as we saw this morning, there is more than prayer.
Prayer is essential.
Prayer is non-negotiable.
God has chosen to work through prayer, so in that sense, there are things that do not take place without prayer.
But prayer is not the end as Christ builds His church.
Review
 • THE ACTION THAT ACCOMPANIES PRAYER 
We saw this morning that our Lord took action.
Jesus, Himself, spent an entire night in prayer and then selected 12 out of that larger company of disciples who would serve as His apostles.
He chose 12 who would serve as answer to the very prayer that He had called on His disciples to offer.
These were saved men.
They were men who would be devoted to a f

Founders Baptist Videos