A Matter of the Heart - Matthew 9:27 - 10:38

Highlights:

* (From Mt. 9:29​-30): Jesus did not want publicity. He wanted to fulfill his mission without unnecessary hindrance, and he knew that the more this miracles were publicized, the larger the crowds would be.

* (From Mt. 9:34​, "But the Pharisees were saying, 'He is casting out demons.'"): The regular folk did not come up with that slander; they wouldn't have. It came from religious leaders who were envious of Jesus and were moved by Satan, and it was intended to preserve them in their exalted position by demeaning Jesus, whom the people gladly heard (Mk. 12:37​).

* The wicked cunning of slander is beyond the wisdom of men (see pastor John's book, Slander: What it is and how it works.. coming soon!)

* Keep your heart pure, and you will feel the right thing.

* (From Mt. 10:1): the disciples were not born again, but Jesus had authority to give spiritual power and gifts to them anyway.

* Jesus was sent only to Israel, and so, he commanded his disciples to go only to Israel.

* (From Mt. 10:7, "And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'"): Neither the disciples who preached that the kingdom of God was near nor the people who heard them preach understood that the kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom (cf. Rom. 14:17​).

* Whenever in our life god presents us with something else that is of Him, He has brought us to a crossroads. Be prepared.

* (From Mt. 10:11​-13): When your peace "returns to you", it is an awful feeling.

* Preacher Clark (George C. Clark, Sr.) told us once, speaking of the little flock he was pastoring, "There will be a hot place in hell for anyone who goes there from here."

* Many of Jesus' instructions to his disciples were a prophecy of things that would come to pass after the Spirit was sent (e.g. Mt. 10:16​-22).

* Pastor John (from Mt. 10:24​-25): The best I can hope to do for you all (Pastor John's congregation) is to bring you to the place where you have the same questions that I have. I cannot take you any farther than I have gone. I cannot feed you with more knowledge than I have been given.

* (From Mt. 10:25​): Nobody at that time knew that Satan was wicked, much less that he was the chief of evil spirits. If men had known that Satan was the ruler of demons, they would have accused Jesus of being Satan, not Beelzebul.

* (From Mt. 10:27​-38): A final, important warning...
Before sending them out, Jesus prepared his disciples for their hardest test - and ours. "What I say to you in the dark, speak in the lighht, and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops!" That is, wherever you are and whoever is there.

That "the hairs of your head are all numbered" does not mean that God sent an angel to you bed at night to count the hairs of your head after you fell asleep; it means He determined beforehand how many hairs you would have on your head, and He numbered them to you. Jesus' point is that if Good loves you so much that He pays attention to the smallest details of even the things around you, and if He even decided before you were born how many hairs were to be on your head, then He is certainly in control of the weightier matters of your life - and it is all for your good!

Hold on to the fundamental, unshakable truths of the gospel, regardless of who does not believe them.

there is on Lord, Jesus Christ, to start with, and only by faith in him will anyone escape damnation.

And this: Jesus said, "If you do not repent, you will perish" (Lk. 13:3, 5), and Peter said, "If you do repent, you will receive the holy Ghost" (Acts 2:38​).

And Paul said, "If an man have not the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him [have not repented]" (Rom. 8:14​).

And, "By one Spirit are we all baptized into one body" (1Corinthians 12:13​).

And, "He who endures to the end, the same shall be saved" (Mt. 24:13​).

Jesus wept and begged his Father to find some other way to save us. But Good would not. So, Jesus was content to do hi Father's will and surrender to the cross.

Jesus' cross was a real one, and wicked men had him nailed to it. That was God's will for him. Our cross is whatever the will of God is for us.

May god help us all to bear our cross, whatever it may be, as humbly and courageously as Jesus bore his, for "The world is passing away, and its lust, but he who does the will of God abides forever" (1Jn. 2:17​).

Scriptures referenced in this video:

Mark 6:30​-32
Proverbs 4:23​
Ezekiel 34:1-7, 10-12, 15-16, 22-24
Luke 19:37​-40
John 3:34​
John 8:26​
John 14:10​
John 12:47​-48
Luke 12:47​-48
Mark 13:3-5, 12-13
1Peter 2:21​, 23
1Peter 4:19​
Jeremiah 3:14​-15
Romans 8:14​
1Corinthians 12:13​
Matthew 24:13​
Ecclesiastes 1:18​
1John 2:17