January 6 & 7, 2007
Matthew 10:16-28
“Beyond Good Intentions Series”
In Courage
We are told that the average person of sound mind and body takes, on the average, ten
thousand steps a day. From sunrise to sunset each day, every day of your life, you take, on
average, ten thousand steps a day. That adds up to 115,000 miles in a lifetime. I believe
that we all have good intentions to become better people, better spouses, better parents.
Everyone within the sound of my voice wants to be a better student of scripture, a better
church member, a better whatever…we have those intentions. Last week when I
introduced this series in each service it was evident that all of us know the statement
originally made by English author, James Boswell over two hundred and fifty years ago,
“The road to Hell is paved with good intentions. Most everyone has good intentions. Some
people know what actions will make dreams come true. But few people have a real road
map to turn intentions into actions. That‟s why life just happens to many people.
Everybody ends up somewhere in life. A few people end up somewhere on purpose. It
takes vision to end up somewhere on purpose.
This series was designed to help give you the road map of belief, character and action
that will deliver you beyond good intentions to the destination of accomplishment. It has
been said, “You can‟t build a reputation on what you‟re going to do.” So let‟s forge ahead
and get our lives beyond good intentions.
Ten thousand steps a day, we all take them. How many steps are we away from real
change? I would propose a thesis to you. In nearly every circumstance in life, you are
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probably no more than ten physical steps away from real change. Take this sanctuary for
instance. Every week I stand here at the front…about this spot here…and I offer you a
series of invitations. First, an invitation to new life in Christ. I do that by asking you to
make a public profession of faith that involves a prayer that says, “I‟m a sinner, I‟ve done
things wrong in my life. I believe the Bible when it says that the wages of sin is death.
Further I believe that God has paid that price through the death of his son. I believe that
Jesus is who he said he is and I want to live under his authority and not my own.” Then to
seal that I ask that you become baptized as Jesus did, when he forged out into his own
ministry as you will forge out in yours. Secondly, to church membership, aligning yourself
publicly with this fellowship or third, to just pray for God‟s movement in your life. The
third invitation is to pray for a movement of the Lord in your life or the lives of individuals
close to you., family, friends, co-workers. And whether you realize it or not, each of you is
only about ten steps from this spot to where you are invited to come. Just ten steps. (Point
out where the ten steps take you.)
In your homes, regardless of your relationship with the significant others in your life
you are probably less than ten steps from forgiveness and reconciliation. How far is it
across any room in your home where you sit silently watching TV or reading the
newspapers?
How far is it to the next cubicle in your office, to the desk where that person sits whom
you have had a run on conflict for years? Or, how far is it that you have to walk in your
kitchen or den or bedroom to the phone to call that loved one with words of humility,
encouragement or forgiveness and set straight a relationship that is twisted beyond
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anything you or the other ever imagined it would become. In reality, there is so little effort
required to right a wrong, to settle a conflict, to set a course that brings peace to conflict.
Sadly, we don‟t often take those steps. Unfortunately, we rarely take the effort. Not
because we believe that it‟s not worth it but simply because we are afraid and we lack the
courage to take that first step. There is much that we do need to be fearful of. Fear is a God
given emotion that protects us. But, unnatural fear can debilitate us and a fear that fails to
weigh the potential benefits vs. the potential losses and then acts through a God given
courage keeps us on a road paved with good intentions. Jesus spoke of what we should
have a healthy respect for and those things with which we should stride boldly ahead in
Matthew 10:16-28.
“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and
as innocent as doves. "Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local
councils and flog you in their synagogues. On my account you will be brought before
governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do
not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say,
for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
"Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their
parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of me, but he who
stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another.
I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of
Man comes. "A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is
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enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of
the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household! "So
do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden
that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is
whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body
but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body
in hell.”
During his years as premier of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev denounced many
of the policies and atrocities of Joseph Stalin. Once, as he censured Stalin in a public
meeting, Khrushchev was interrupted by a shout from a heckler in the audience. "You
were one of Stalin‟s colleagues. Why didn‟t you stop him?" "Who said that?" roared
Khrushchev. An agonizing silence followed as nobody in the room dared move a muscle.
Then Khrushchev replied quietly, "Now you know why." The point was well taken.
Fear is a powerful motivating factor. It can render people unmovable. It can lead them
to do irrational things. People wonder why Elizabeth Smart‟s sister didn‟t alert her parents
when her sister was abducted. Elizabeth smart was the Utah teenager that was abducted
from her home in June 2002 and not recovered for almost a year. Her little sister got up to
tell her parents, but saw the kidnapper still in the house and ran back to her bed. She was
undoubtedly frozen in terror, frightened into inaction for nearly three hours. Fear can
control our every thought, our every action; even as we try to live out our life of faith.
And I‟m not talking about a fear of losing our lives. Jesus‟ disciples – they obviously
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had a legitimate fear of this happening. It was not at all uncommon that those espousing
faith in Christ would be dragged out of town, beaten, stoned and left for dead. Stephen and
Paul are but two examples of this in the Scripture.
We fear the crowd. Even the Pharisees, the chief priest and elders of the people feared
the crowd. In chapter 21, for instance, it‟s clear that they want to arrest Jesus, but they fail
to take action because “they‟re afraid of the crowds” (21:26). We say, “Good, they were
on the wrong side anyway.” But the truth is we who have the truth of God‟s word, and the
assurances and promises of God, and know that we are His children and we still bow to
public pressure. We waffle on issues like abortion and assisted suicide. We close our eyes
to the growing problem of sexual immorality in our nation. We talk privately about the
growing depravity on TV and our movie screens, but then pay good money so that we can
see it like everyone else. We fear the crowds.
And we fear for our relationships with our children as well. Our kids are growing up
with these same pressures, and we‟re afraid to put our foot down. We don‟t want to be
seen by them as too oppressive or out of touch, and as a result we miss an opportunity to
teach them that such values are of importance to our Christian walk and that the world
need not have such a sway on their thinking. We fear that we‟ll lose their love if we do
this, but we end up losing their respect and our position of authority that enables us to be
the mentors and providers that we‟ve been called to be.
Funny, we fear that too; our providing that is. Everyone struggles to make ends meet.
Others are facing layoffs. There are hundreds of individuals at Whirlpool you could speak
to about that. And some of you, though ok yourselves, are watching investments which
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you had hoped to pass along to your families diminish in the wake of rising health care
costs and diminishing returns.
We‟re fearful, but our Lord assures us here today we need not be afraid. If we want to
fear something our God would accommodate us. “Do not be afraid of those who ill the
body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul an
body in hell.” Here‟s something to really fear. Take note of the fact that God has some
very clear expectations of us. Take note that we‟re responsible when we fail. Pay attention
to the fact that He holds the authority and power to judge us and our behavior. If you want
something to fear, remember that he holds not only the present, but also eternity in His
hands; but we need not be afraid.
Jesus, in Matthew 10 gives his prescription for courage in what we should remember in
times of fear. First he says that nothing happens apart from our God knowing. Which
might provoke an immediate response like, “What do you mean, „Don‟t be afraid. That
only adds to my concern. He knows what we‟re going through, but seemingly does
nothing. Worse yet, he knows all the things I‟ve covered up in my life, and maybe that
explains why this is happening now. After all Proverbs 28:13 does say, “What sins you
cover, God will uncover,” even as Jesus seems to imply in the text. „There is nothing
concealed that will not be disclosed.‟ It seems to me that there is much of which to be
afraid.” And the concern is natural, except for the truth of who He would make us to be.
The Proverb does read, “What sins you cover, God will uncover,” but it also goes on to say
that “what sins you are willing to uncover God will cover.” He would bid us this day to
admit our fears, to acknowledge how they‟ve controlled our actions at times for the worse,
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how they‟ve eroded our trust in Him. He would bid us today to confess, not to expose us,
but to make us whole; not to imprison us, but to make us free; not to sicken us in grief and
further worry, but to set us free.
Secondly he gives us the examples of the sparrow and the hairs on our heads. In
comparison to most matters, sparrow are cheap and insignificant. They‟re “a dime a
dozen” or as Jesus says “2 for a penny.” Most would have one hit a windshield and not
think twice about it. There‟s plenty where that one came, maybe even too many. The
world‟s scales won‟t be tipped by their loss. But that‟s not God‟s thinking. He cares for all
his creatures we‟re told and not a one falls to the ground without the Father‟s notice.
The same goes for our hairs. Every day we lose hairs in a comb or brush. Some of us
lose them a bit more easily than others. No one stops to count them; most of the time we
don‟t even notice them until we clean out our brush or wipe out the shower or tub. Yet
every one of them has a number in the mind of God. And the point is obvious. If God takes
notice of all these little things, how much more does he take notice of all that is happening
with you? How much more does God care about your well being?
In verses 24 & 25 Jesus is being very up front. Life as a follower of Christ in this world
is not easy one. It wasn‟t easy for Jesus. We can expect the same as one of His disciples.
But therein we‟re also reminded of the very important and comforting truth that we‟re not
going anywhere that the master hasn‟t gone before, where He hasn‟t already cleared the
way. He‟s faced the challenges to his reputation. He knows the struggles that come from
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family members and loved one questioning his teaching and direction in life. He knows the
kinds of pressures that people and authorities can exercise to try to sway your positions
and to turn public opinion against you. He knows what it‟s like to be in want, to lose
everything you own, your family, your friends, your livelihood and even your very life in
this world. He‟s been there. Just being with someone who has been there can inspire
courage. If they have been through this and escaped on the other side, maybe I can too.
Martin Niemoeller experienced it. One of Hitler‟s least favorite people, because he was
one of the few pastors in Germany who openly spoke against Hitler‟s excesses. Rev.
Niemoeller was placed in prison and summoned to a special court. He was suddenly afraid.
He had no idea what to expect! But according to Francis Gay, his biographer, as he was
taken along the seemingly endless corridor to the courtroom, he heard a low voice quoting
in the Latin version, used by the German Roman Catholic Church, a verse from the Book
of Proverbs: "Nomen Domini Turris fortissimo." It was the voice of his jailer speaking in
words that understandably only the two of them were meant to understand. ~"The name of
the Lord is a strong tower. The righteousness runneth into it, and it is safe." They were
words that dispelled Niemoeller‟s fears and renewed his confidence in God."
Don‟t be afraid. As an aside, in our scripture passage, it speaks of the household of
Beelzebub – some scholars have rendered that word to mean “ Lord of the manure pile.”
That‟s rather appropriate. That is exactly how some look on us, God‟s children, God‟s
Word and the hope we have in Christ, they see it as a waste – a waste of time and effort
and those of us who have the intention of living by his will, his word and his Spirit as
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being “full of it”, and I think you know, full of what.
But we know who will rule in the end. We have a victory that is already secured on the
cross and guaranteed with an empty grave. We know that it is the one true hope and life-
giving message in a lost world. We know that it is the one provision and protection that we
can give to our loved ones that no one can steal away. We know that while we are deemed
“full of it” today, even by some we love, that with the proper courage, sent itself from
God, that we can move beyond good intentions. Make sure that you take a step, go beyond
understanding what it is, what courage is to being truly courageous and you will never end
up like Burt Larr did in the wizard of oz. (Show courage video)
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