A paradox contains two things that seem contradictory but both are true at the same time. Following Jesus contains a lot of these seemingly contradictory ideas. In this sermon we will dig into our calling as followers of Jesus and through understanding paradox we will become more faithful and fruitful followers of Him.

Transcript

INTRODUCTION

Paradox: Two things that seem like opposites, that are contrary to one another, that are both true at the same time.

Every year I am convinced that this is going to be the year that the Vikings will win the Super Bowl. And at the same time, I am equally convinced that this year they have no chance to win the Super Bowl. Two things that seem like opposites that both exist as truth in my mind. That’s why I bought this shirt that says “SOMEDAY” to explain the paradox.

Here’s a paradox to mess with your mind: If you try to fail, and succeed, which one have you done?

There are some paradoxes in our faith as well, and today I want to talk to you about two things that are true about following Jesus that seem like opposites, and living in the tension between the two will lead you to be a more fruitful and faithful follower of Jesus.

Here’s our paradox for today: Following Jesus is safe, and following Jesus is dangerous.

We start today in Matthew 9, which shows us a number of amazing miracles that Jesus does, like healing a bleeding woman, raising a girl from the dead, and healing two blind men and driving out demons that were making a man mute. This paradox will become clear as we turn to Matthew 10. Let’s start at the end of Matthew 9, verse 32.

Matthew 9:32-38 – 32 While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. 33 And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”

34 But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.”

35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

It is at that moment, if I were one of those earliest disciples, that I would have been glad to be on Jesus’ team. I would have just witnessed him have ultimate power and authority over sickness, death and the spiritual world. I would have come to the conclusion that the safest place in the entire world that I could be would be in the loving care of this Jesus.

At the end of chapter 9 I would have been convinced that following Jesus is safe.

There is also this word about the workers being few. Now as we turn to chapter 10 something unexpected happens. A turn in the story that will lead us to the paradox we are looking at today. Instead of Jesus having all of the authority and the disciples watching, Matthew 10:1 opens with this amazing verse that turns the story of Jesus on it’s head:

Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.

Instead of Jesus doing all the work and the disciples watching in safety, Jesus is now giving them authority to do some of the dangerous work of the Kingdom. The workers are few? Guess what guys, you are the new workers! So following Jesus just went from being safe to being dangerous. We see Jesus outline some of the danger of following him throughout the instructions that he gave the disciples in Matthew 10. And that is what Matthew 10 is – the instructions Jesus gave the disciples to go out and do ministry. As we read imagine these are your instructions from Jesus:

Matthew 10:5-27 – 5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

9 “Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts—10 no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep. 11 Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave. 12 As you enter the home, give it your greeting. 13 If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. 14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. 15 Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. 17 Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. 18 On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 19 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, 20 for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

21 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 22 You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 23 When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

24 “The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!

26 “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.

I read this passage and come this conclusion: following Jesus is dangerous. It is not for the faint of heart. Jesus calls his disciples to do difficult things, to withstand persecution, to experience betrayal by those who are closest to them. As safe as following Jesus seemed to be in chapter 9, we now see here that following Jesus is dangerous! If you were a disciple how would you feel about the turn of events from Matthew 9 to Matthew 10? Would you be excited? Scared? Ready to go and take the next hill, proclaiming God’s Kingdom, or ready to walk away, thinking this is too much for you? How do you feel about Jesus’ words today?

The next words Jesus speaks plays again into this paradox that following Jesus is safe, and following Jesus is dangerous:

Matthew 10:28-31 – 28 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. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

And now Jesus comes back and comforts the disciples. In the midst of their dangerous calling, Jesus reminds them that they are safe in following him. The hairs on their heads are numbered. The Father cares more about them than the sparrows which the Father sustains. So this passage contains a great paradox that we see throughout the New Testament:

THESIS :

Following Jesus is safe, and following Jesus is dangerous.

Church planting: starting a new church from nothing. It is hard. It can fail. It is a dangerous calling. YET if we discern Jesus is calling someone into church planting, it is the safest thing one can do.

Let me illustrate a few ways that following Jesus is safe and following Jesus is dangerous:

Following Jesus is safe – Jesus’ love is unconditional

Romans 5:6-8 – 6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Following Jesus is dangerous – Jesus calls us to love our enemies

Matthew 5:43-45 – 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor z and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven.

Loving an enemy doesn’t mean that they will love you back, they might actually harm you most. Which feels like a dangerous risk in following Jesus.

Following Jesus is safe – Jesus’ forgiveness brings freedom

Colossians 2:13-15 – 13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Following Jesus is dangerous – Confession is the risky path to freedom

1 John 1:8-10 – 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

The path to experience the freedom is to admit that we are failures. Live a confessional lifestyle, regularly admitting our faults and failures, extending and receiving grace for one another.

Following Jesus is safe and following Jesus is dangerous – Sometimes when we follow Jesus, we lean too far on the side of the paradox that following Jesus is safe.

BOREDOM

Sometimes when we follow Jesus, we lean too far on the side of the paradox that following Jesus is dangerous.

BURNOUT – this is where church planters live

Which side do you lean towards?

One of the most difficult things about preaching – I don’t actually know what is going on in your following of Jesus, I don’t know what is going on in your heart, and I don’t know what exactly you need to hear today.

I know that there are some of you that desperately need to hear that Jesus is safe, that you can rest in Him, and that you don’t need to risk yourself into burnout. You need to know that the Father knows how many hairs are on your head, and that he cares deeply about you. You need to come to Jesus for healing or deliverance or hope like all of those stories in Matthew 9. You need the message that following Jesus is the safest thing for you. You need a sermon on Matthew 9.

I know there are others of you that need to hear the message that following Jesus is supposed to be dangerous, risky. You need to be nudged in the direction of living out your faith in a more desperate fashion. You need the push to forgive your enemy, to confess your sin that would lead to deeper restoration and wholeness, to take a step in Jesus’ mission to start deepening a friendship with someone you want to share the hope of Jesus with, to pray for someone for healing or deliverance, or to give more generously than you have before. You need a sermon on Matthew 10.

This is the paradox – both are true at the same time. Following Jesus is safe and following Jesus is dangerous. We need sermons on both Matthew 9 and 10, sometimes at the same time.

What I want for you today:

• If you need the message that following Jesus is safe and you have been striving and on the verge of burnout, please receive that. If you need healing or hope or restoration or deliverance, following Jesus is for you!

• If you need the message that following Jesus is dangerous and you have been on the sidelines of Jesus mission and you need to get away from the boredom, please receive that. If you need to get back in the game and partner with God in seeing people renewed, following Jesus is for you!

Which side does your church lean towards??? Boredom or Burnout?

There is no better way that I have seen for a church to get engaged with this paradox than planting a church. When a church plants a church, they have to rely on the promise that Jesus and safe that Jesus is with them. When a church plants a church they have to recognize that there is risk and it might not work out so following Jesus in this way is dangerous.

APPLICATION:

Receive from Jesus what you need today: His safety or his call to be more engaged in His dangerous mission.

I am going to lead us into a time of listening to Jesus so that we all can enter into what Jesus has for us this morning.

Rest in the safety of Jesus love and care, Jesus is present with you

Listen for Jesus’ dangerous calling in your life:

• To forgive your enemy

• To confess your sin that would lead to deeper restoration

• To take a step in Jesus mission to share Jesus’ love with someone or start discipling someone

• To pray for someone for healing or deliverance

• Give more generously than you would have before

Matthew 10:39 – 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.