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okay let's dive back now into Matthew
chapter 10 I want to begin in verse
number 32 we're breaking in to the heart
of Jesus's instructions to the twelve as
he was sending them out and in the new
American Standard verse number
thirty-two of Matthew 10 begins a new
paragraph of course that's an arbitrary
decision by the translators but it's a
decision made with some degree of
thoughtfulness going into it because it
seems like it would it be appropriate
that in in the English language at least
a new paragraph would begin there and
the Greek you didn't have that type of
you even have paragraphs at all in the
Greek so for us to understand that they
put a new paragraph that is you know
it's not a completely new subject
necessarily but it's turning a corner
here as it were and the general theme of
what Jesus has said so far has been all
about how difficult it's gonna be for
the twelve as he sends them out there
and all their problems are gonna revolve
around hostile crowds that is the
unbelieving world who will persecute
them and in some cases persecute them to
death and all of the conflict that were
a result because of them going out and
preaching the gospel okay so the theme
doesn't completely change but now it
seems like it begins to have a wider and
broader application to not just the
twelve as Jesus sent them out but to
myself and yourself as well because
let's read it now in verse 32 therefore
everyone who confesses me before men I
will also confess him before my father
who is in heaven but whoever denies me
before men I will also deny him before
my father who is in heaven and so that's
a promise and it's also a threat and a
warning isn't it positive and negative
so we want to be in the positive side
that just like the Apostles as they went
out and preached they were within the
category of those who are confessing
Jesus before men you and I may not be
called to go out on street corners and
preacher go from village to village or
town to town
but we do have opportunities to confess
or deny Jesus before men throughout our
our lives don't we and so when given the
opportunity to confess Jesus before
others people we want to make sure that
we make it very clear whose side were on
and that we're not ashamed of being
associated with Jesus Christ and uh and
by the same token when given an
opportunity to deny him we want to make
sure that we don't seize that
opportunity but we confess him during
the times when others might deny him
because jesus said he will deny deniers
before the Father and of course the
emperor the clear implication there is
is that then they will be judged as
unbelievers Jesus will not testify on
your behalf in a positive way he'll
testify on your behalf
on a very negative way at your judgment
you don't want that now it is sometimes
asked what about you know in situations
like we read all these terrible things
in the book of Revelation maybe someday
that'll happen on this earth and I'll
still be here what if they're torturing
me what if you know they're threatening
to kill my family unless I deny Christ
well people have faced that at times in
history Christians have faced that and
again I I've not faced that myself but
reading some of the testimonies and the
histories of the martyrs of the church
there seems to be a common thread that
when facing such incredible temptation
under such pressure to deny the Lord
that they experience a special grace a
boldness and a firmness that is beyond
themselves you know can you imagine
being burnt alive at the stake as some
saints have in the past how would you
ever endure that and most all of them
had an opportunity if you just deny
Christ or denying this doctrine that
you're clinging to you'll spare your
life and they refused how do you get
that kind of boldness well I'd like to
think that there is special grace
help you in such cases don't forget also
that Jesus whether Peter one-time denied
the Lord three times
well did he seal his doom then and is he
in Hell today
no when he realized what he had done
Jesus looked at him you know because
Jesus had told him that's exactly what
he was going to do at Peter was ashamed
and he went out and wept bitterly and
later on the Sea of Galilee he had a
conversation with Jesus about that to
work through it Peter do you love me
more than these as you claimed and Peter
affirmed yes Lord you know I love you
yes what you said well you can prove it
to me
go feed my sheep and so on and that's in
John chapter 21 if you want to read it
for yourself and so even under intense
pressure as Peter was it would threat of
losing his life I suppose you know we
don't want to deny the Lord then but
don't think that you know there's no
mercy left for the the repentant denier
of Christ okay but I'm really talking
about those situations every day
situations where you know we're not not
under threat of death and so forth
there's no pressure just in casual
conversation are you gonna be a lover of
Jesus are you gonna say well I don't
really know Jesus I'm not one of those
Kooks and so forth or are you gonna
identify with the Lord Jesus Christ the
Lord said something very similar as
recorded in Mark's Gospel I want to read
to you verse number 38 of mark chapter 8
jesus said there whoever is ashamed of
me and my words in this adulterous and
sinful generation the son of man will
also be ashamed of him when he comes in
the glory of his father with the Holy
Angels and so that's saying almost the
same thing isn't it in a little
different language as what we've read in
Matthew 10 verses 32 and 33 so you you
know if you're one of those so-called
Christians just ashamed of Jesus and
nobody knows you're a Christian
Who am I you need to think about where
you're at with the Lord and if you
really have a relationship with them
because if in your actions you're
denying him if you're keeping it quiet
that you're a follower of Jesus Christ
if nobody knows that you're you know
he's your Lord the Savior probably he
isn't okay so you need to repent and get
it right before the Lord okay next time
Jesus said he came to bring a sword talk
about that bet
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