Alright, we're here in Matthew chapter 10, and this is the fourth and final sermon from Matthew chapter 10
It's a long chapter and the name of this sermon is loving God or loving family loving God or loving family now
Hopefully in life you don't have to make this decision
You can both be very close to God and be very close to your family, but unfortunately
Oftentimes you do have to make a decision
What are you gonna put first God or family because oftentimes your family can believe very different things about religion in the Bible
And God and so you've got to make that decision and of course we must always put God first in our lives
Now here's what it says in verse number 34 think not that I am come to send peace on earth
I came not to send peace
But a sword if you have a red letter Bible
Then you're gonna see that these letters are in red because these are the words of Jesus
And he says think not that I am come to send peace because most people think that
Jesus came to bring world peace and bring everybody together
See point number one is actually division point number one is division now turn your Bible to Genesis chapter 1
Genesis 1 and
I remember when I was a kid, you know, I my older sister my mom would sometimes watch, you know
the Miss America beauty pageant and
Miss Universe beauty pageant and
And you can say it's not a beauty pageant
It is a beauty pageant
But then they have like at least they did in the past like this this question that the women would ask
We're basically, you know
They'd be asked some political question or something like that
And what's your response and often they'd be asked a question like what is the biggest thing that's missing in this world?
Every single time there was a two-word answer world. Peace
world peace
World peace and here's the thing. It sounds good. I mean, I wish that there were no Wars
I wish that there was peace and it sounds great except it doesn't make any sense. It's not possible
It's illogical you say why because of the fact there are certain topics that you cannot agree to disagree
Now look we can agree to disagree on what's the best color? I mean you say it's red
I say it's blue, you know, whatever who cares we can agree to disagree on whether or not jolly be or chow
King is the better restaurants. I say chow King you might say jolly be okay
But there's certain topics such as I don't know abortion
Or it's not just a matter of differences like well, you know, you think it's murder, you know, and I don't think it's murder
Let's just agree to disagree about it. Right, you know, you think the LGBT are an abomination. I think they're perfectly fine and funny
That's not a minor thing that you disagree on or how about this?
You know you say that it all roads lead to heaven and I say Jesus is the only way no big deal
Just a minor disagreement
No
Those are big things that you're disagreeing on and see certain things in this life are not a matter of just well
We can agree to disagree. It's not a big deal. No certain things are a big deal now Genesis chapter 1
We see the concept of division right at the beginning of the Bible Genesis chapter 1
Genesis chapter 1 and it says here in verse 1 in the beginning
God created the heavenly earth and the earth was without form and void and
Darkness was upon the face of the deep and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters and God
said let there be light and there was light and God saw the light that it was good and God
Divided the light from the darkness even in Genesis chapter 1 we see that God is dividing you say
But that's literal light and darkness, but doesn't the Bible often talk about walking in light versus walking in darkness
Doesn't the Bible say that Jesus is the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world
Doesn't the Bible say that you're when you're reading the Bible and letting God guide you that you're in the light
Whereas other people are stumbling in darkness and right at the beginning. We're seeing a division between light and darkness
And this is not just saved and unsafe but even among saved people there can be a division you say why because some people want
to walk in light and
Others are perfectly happy to stumble around in darkness and right in Genesis chapter 1. What are we seeing that God is a God of?
division go to Exodus chapter 8
Exodus 8
You say but I thought God was just all love. It's like you need to go back and listen to my anniversary sermon
Right I didn't work division into the acronym of Jehovah, but you know what it also applies
You know God is a God of division. He said I did not come to send peace on earth
I came not to send peace, but a sword God is a God of division
You say well, why can't we just all get along well if everybody just starts believing what I believe about important topics
I'll get along perfectly well with them
Because in this room I get along with the people at this church I
Believe salvation's by grace through faith you believe salvation's by grace through faith. We can have good fellowship can't we?
But what about with people that believe different things it's like well certain things
You cannot just agree or disagree about us. It's no big deal. No certain things are a big deal
Exodus chapter 8 verse 22
And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen in which my people dwell that no swarms of flies shall be there
To the end thou mayest know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth
And I will put a division between my people and thy people
Tomorrow shall this sign be now there are a lot of references to God being a God of division in the Bible
I'm just showing you a couple here, but we're seeing that God makes a division between his people and the Egyptians
Because the Egyptians their holy book is known as the book of the dead. I
Mean I would look at our book and if you want to give it a name besides the Bible
It's it's the book of life, right? I mean, it's a book that gives life
It's a book that has the blessings of God very different than the book of the dead
Right the religions of the Egyptians and the Hebrews were very different. So what does God do?
He makes a division between his people and
The people under a wicked religion go in your Bible to Matthew chapter 5 Matthew 5
Matthew chapter 5
Now look I don't want you to misunderstand what I'm saying because you know
We should strive to get along with people in our lives
The Bible says as much as lieth in you if it's possible live at peace with all men live peaceably with all men
We should strive to get along with people
I mean if you're at a restaurant you go to Jollibee and you get in an argument with the cashier and
You know
You're just in your personal life you get an argument with your neighbor and it's like you're coming to church saying I'm going through so
Much persecution because I'm running into Catholics and they have a different religion
It's like no no, you're not being persecuted because of what you believe you're being persecuted because you're a jerk
I mean if you're fighting with every cashier and every single person you run into that's a problem with you
Because if everywhere you go there's fights around every corner
That's that's saying something about you because most of us if you go to a restaurant you don't get in fights
Right, you can live your life and just get along with people in your personal life
Look, you should strive to be at peace with your neighbors strive to be at peace with your family
Strive to be a peep at peace with people that you run into but there are times it is not possible
Okay. Now here's how you can be at peace with a cashier at a restaurant
The topic of what's the true religion never comes up when I order at Jollibee or whatever
It's like they're being paid
To you know serve you food or take your order or whatever and it's like I'm there for that purpose
It's like when we go soul-winning we'll give the gospel but in your personal life
You should be getting along with people that you run into
But here's the thing. We should not sacrifice
Our standards in order to have peace because notice what the Bible says here in Matthew 5 verse 8 in the Sermon on the Mount
Verse 8 blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God
Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God in these verses what comes first purity or peace?
purity
Blessed are the pure in heart and in the next verse blessed are the peacemakers and you're going to see this
Consistently in the Bible that purity precedes peace and see here's the thing
We should strive to be at peace with people but never
Sacrificing our purity for the sake of having peace
Right. So for example, somebody could come up to you and say well, you know, all religions are pretty much the same. Don't you agree?
Well, if you're striving to have peace, what are you gonna do? Well, yeah, you know
We kind of believe the same thing as the Muslims and other religions, but is that the right thing to do?
No
because what you'd be doing is sacrificing your purity for the sake of peace and we should never sacrifice our purity and our standards and
Righteousness in order to just get along with people going about a James 3
James 3
And
You know what this is a real issue that Christians have because many Christians people that are genuinely saved
You know how they spend their time at the turn of October November on All Saints Day and All Souls Day
They go down to the graveyards to hang out with a bunch of dead bodies with their Catholic relatives
And why do they do that? Do they think it's biblical? Nope
Do they think it's the right thing to do nope
Why do they do it in order to have peace with their family? Is that not true?
but you know what you're doing is you're sacrificing your purity and righteousness for the sake of peace and
You know, here's the thing. I would presume that nobody in this room got their relative saved at a graveyard
Most likely when you got your relative saved it was like in a normal location where they're not basically doing some satanic ritual
I mean, I'm all for trying to get your relative saved
I'm all for being at peace with your relatives, even if they believe a different religion, but not
Sacrificing your purity in order to have that peace
Look, you'll probably have a lot of Catholic relatives that want you to go to Catholic Mass with them during the Christmas season
And you say wow, I'm gonna go even though I don't believe in it just because I want to get along with them
Look the Bible shows you always put purity before peace
James 3 verse 17
You say well, maybe that's a coincidence in Matthew 5 it's just a coincidence that purity is mentioned the verse before peace
Well, let's just be very clear here then in James 3 verse 17 in case there's any doubt
but the wisdom that is from above is
first pure
Then peaceable. It doesn't just say it's pure and it's also peaceable. No, it says first pure
What is the Bible saying?
purity comes before
peace
we do not sacrifice our standards and our righteousness and what we believe for the sake of peace and
So if somebody is trying to bully you into accepting their lifestyle saying well, you know
There's nothing really wrong with the LGBT, you know, don't you agree or whatever?
It's like no don't sacrifice your purity in order to get along
And I'm not saying to go out and trying to get in fights
But don't go to the other extreme and just deny what you believe in order to get along with people
Turn your Bible to Hebrews chapter 4
Hebrews 4
Hebrews chapter 4
You
Look in life, you know, we should strive to live in a way where we can be at peace with people
You know if you have a neighbor and you know, we you know one thing that we're thankful for where we live
We don't have any mice or rats. We've never had a problem
the reason why we don't have any mice or rats is because there's a lot of cats and
What that means is sometimes I put the trash outside and then 30 minutes later
It's just like I gotta clean up, you know, the trash that's on the ground now and you know
Clean the ground and everything like that
I mean sometimes you know cats will just you know, leave their droppings everywhere and everything and it's like let's say for example
You know the cats like make a mess and it's kind of in between your house and the house next to you
You know what? You should do in order to have peace. Just clean it up
That's what you say what because you're striving to be at peace with people
It's kind of a gray area
It's like just clean it up
Right do what you can to go above and beyond in order to have peace in your life
And yes, I've done that many times. I will do that
But if it comes to my relative or my neighbors that are Catholic trying to say hey, you know, we all believe the same thing
It's like well, no, I mean, I don't believe the same thing as the Catholic Church, you know, and I'll be polite about it
I'll be nice about it
I'm not going to intentionally be rude, but I'm not going to sacrifice my peace in order for purity and
Probably most of you in this room
if not all you know, even though you're not Catholic most of your family is probably Catholic and
If most of your family is Catholic
You're kind of the bad guy in the family, right?
Everybody else is just getting along and you're the one causing the problem
Right. Look we've all been down that road
I
Understand how it works. They're gonna look at you as being the problem. Even if you're polite even if you're nice
So look, I'm not saying it's your fault
If you've got relatives that are basically just look at you as the bad guy or overly strict or overly religious
You know, I'm not saying it's your fault. We should strive to be at peace if it's possible and at times it is not possible
Most of my wife's family here in the Philippines is Catholic
My wife was raised Catholic like most people here
she became a Christian when she was 12 years old and so, you know her family her parents converted to Christianity and so
You know, sometimes they will have big get-togethers and they have a lot of influence in this giant family
So there's opportunities to preach the gospel
So I preach the gospel many times to a large group of her relatives and it's amazing that right when I get up to preach
The gospel all of a sudden you see like one-third of the crowd be like a lot
I'm gonna take a nap and then they just go into the house because they don't want to hear it
Because they've heard it many times and they don't want to hear it
Now here's the thing though. If you actually care about unsaved people. What are you gonna do?
you're gonna do everything you can to get them saved and
Sometimes that means you're gonna be looked at as the bad guy because you're striving to get them safe
But it's like if you care about them if you love them you're saying hey
What can I do to get these people saved? I'm not going to give up on them and
Look, I've seen family members that it took a long time to get saved that ended up getting saved
It is worth it to keep putting in the effort and keep trying but you know
what will take place sometimes is you're gonna be looked at as the the black sheep or the bad person in the family because
Everybody else is getting along and then you might have a situation you say well, you know you
You know, you're not Catholic and we get that but there's other relatives in the family and they go to born-again Church and we get
along perfectly well
But you are the one that's like too strict or has too strong of standards or whatever
that just is the way it is and the thing is you do not sacrifice your purity and
Your righteousness in order to have peace with your family
Now what Jesus said was this think not that I am come to send peace on earth
I came not to send peace but a
Sword and if you were to think back 2,000 years ago, if you were to fight in a battle
What is the primary weapon you would be using in a war or in a fight?
probably a sword a
literal
Physical sword is what you're gonna be fighting with right? And of course you immediately get that terminology
I mean, I think the first time I read the Bible immediately, that's what you're thinking
And of course, that's what it's literally saying. But what is he symbolically saying?
What is it that really causes the problems between?
You and somebody else and your family that believes something different because the context here is about family
Because you got to think about this. I mean if somebody is your flesh and blood
You were you know
Your brother your sister that you grew up with you spent time with that you had great
Fellowship with or maybe your parents that you get along with really? Well, it's like what could really drive
Such a difference between you and them and when he's saying a sword
He's not really speaking of a literal sword
But what he's speaking of is the sword of the Word of God as the Bible says
because what really caused the difference between us and our unsaved relatives is a difference in beliefs in what the Bible says and
So you quote the Bible and it's like oh, why do you always have to be a Bible thumper?
Why do you have to be so strict? Why do you have to be so religious?
I would say that probably for most of us if you got saved when you were older
You got saved you were excited
You try to talk to your family and your relatives and your co-workers and you're thinking man. I have this great truth
I learned and now I'm going to tell my family and my friends and my relatives and they're all going to be so excited
Just like I was and they're going to be so embraced and say hey, this is great
I never knew this and then you start giving the gospel to your family and most of them don't get saved
It doesn't cause them to embrace it. In fact, it does the opposite oftentimes they get mad at you and you think I'm
explaining a gift
Why would that offend you? I thought everybody loved Christmas, right? It's a gift. You don't have to work for it
How dare you say that and it's like it's like what I mean
But what's the difference is the Word of God and what we believe versus what somebody else believes
Because the Bible is the one that sets the standard of right and wrong and you know
Another thing I've noticed in life is that people get very mad when you quote the Bible sometimes to defend what you believe
Because the thing is if it's just a matter of opinion then who really knows who's correct?
But when you're saying thus saith the Word of God
This is what Jesus said you're basically saying this is the authority and they get really mad
It's like well, how dare you take the authority out of my hands?
Because I could just decide in my own mind what's right and wrong and now that you're saying well thus saith the Word of God
How dare you say it's wrong for me to have these rosary beads or this statue of Mary in my house?
It's like well thou shalt not make any graven image
I mean, it's why you don't have to get very far in the Ten Commandments to reach that and it's kind of like well
There's nothing to debate about because this is what the Bible says
It's like well, you know, I have my own opinion, but you said you believe the Bible. It's
So it's like, you know, that's what the Bible says and then of course, they're very mad and then you're wondering
What did I do? Right? I mean, I just I just told them what the Bible said
Probably almost all of us if not all of us have been down this road to some level degree where you just show what?
The Bible says and then people get mad at you for seeing what the Bible says and
What's really causing a division is actually our beliefs on the Bible notice what it says in Hebrews 4 verse 12
For the Word of God is quick and powerful when the Bible says quick and powerful
The word quick is a way to say alive like there is a you know, the Bible talks about the Holy Spirit quickening you
It's saying to be made alive
There is an old movie called the quick in the dead an old Western movie in the US meaning alive and the dead
Okay, sometimes people try to criticize the Bible and they say the Bible is so hard to understand quick and powerful
It's like my Bible doesn't move around it. It doesn't lift weight. So, you know, that's so confusing
I've never heard anybody confused with the word powerful. I mean, I think we understand that can be
Symbolic and you know, you might say well who actually says that I've read James White big book
He's like the big, you know critic of the King James and that was his argument where he said
Well, my Bible doesn't move around my Bible doesn't lift weight. So what do you mean is powerful?
It's like saying something is powerful. Everybody can understand the symbolism what's confusing but the word quick in case you're not sure is referring to
Alive, so the Word of God is alive. Okay, it's quick and powerful and
Sharper than any two-edged sword
Piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and
Intense of the heart now gives three examples in this verse it says soul and spirits and if you were to ask someone
What is the difference between soul and spirit even every single pastor you would ask?
It's not a very simple question to answer in a few seconds. They're very linked together
Okay, the Bible mentions joints and marrow our joints and marrow the same thing. No, but they're very linked, aren't they?
thoughts and intents of the hearts if you go to a dictionary website and look up synonyms for the word thought
Guess what?
you're gonna find you're gonna find the word intent and what the Bible is saying is the Word of God has a way of
Dividing things that are so closely linked together
Because the Bible is trying to put in your mind the idea of surgery and when somebody goes under the knife or goes under surgery
They will oftentimes fix something that's very small on the inside
That's the problem and
Yet the Word of God has a way to divide something even more small and narrow and what it's talking about is really that
The Word of God has a way to get to the inside of your heart like no physical sword could actually do
isn't it true that sometimes you quote the Bible and people get so angry and
So mad at what you said and it's like but if you don't believe the Bible
Why does it offend you?
Because if you were to sit up here and quote the Bhagavad Gita, nobody's gonna get offended
If you're gonna sit up here and quote the Vedas nobody gets offended by that
I mean if you're gonna sit up here and quote, you know
The pearl of great price to the Book of Mormon people don't get offended by those words because it's dead. It has no power
But see the Bible is alive and it's powerful and when you quote the Word of God
It truly does hit people on the inside
Isn't it true that you're in church and you hear sermons preach and sometimes it gets you
hits you on the inside and
I know this is true whether you admit it or not. Sometimes you get mad at me for what I say
And what I would say is there's really no easy way to drive a sword into somebody's heart
It's like no matter it's like, you know, I can say it as lovingly as possible
Like I mean if you're a drunk and I'm preaching against alcohol, it doesn't matter how lovingly I drive that sword in
I mean, it's gonna hurt
Because you're guilty
Right, and here's the thing. You have two possibilities when that hits you you can either make the change
Or be stubborn and get mad now to church like ours. What do people do they make the change?
You come to this church
Because you want to hear the truth and you hear the truth and you make the changes
But you do realize that most people don't want to make those changes
Just because you want to live for God doesn't mean that everybody wants to live for God
It's easy it easy for us to get this idea that since I am this way everybody's like this way
I don't understand why someone would want to listen to a Joel Osteen sermon. I
Don't get it. I
Don't understand why they would want to listen to Kenneth Copeland. I mean when your your pastor looks like a devil
I mean, that's kind of scary, but I guess a lot of people like, you know horror movies and stuff
Maybe that's why they like Kenneth Copeland. I don't understand why people like preaching like that. I
Don't understand why you would take time out of your day to learn nothing and to not hear anything
That's going to change your life
For me. I just want to know the truth and then make the changes
Look, I mean, it's not like I was a finished product when I got saved nor am I a finished product now
I mean I had a lot of issues when I first started coming to church and then you slowly change over time
Right on T on T. You slowly change and that's the way it is for anyone who starts coming to our church
This is all new to you oftentimes and you're learning new things. You're slowly making changes. That's perfectly fine. That's understandable
But you're here because you want to make changes you want to serve God you want to do what's right?
And yet most people they do not want to know what's right. They don't want to do what's right
I'm amazed at how many times I've heard people say that even if the Bible says this I don't want to know it
And I'm just thinking
What I've heard many people say that about the rapture sometimes even if the Bible teaches a post-term rapture. I don't want to hear it
It's like why don't you want to know the truth?
Right me I want to know the truth and then make the changes
But what's really making a division is the Word of God because even though you want to make changes in your life and do what's
Right and imagine that you've been doing something wrong for 20 years
The wrong thing and God is mad at you for it. It's a sin
It's wrong
But you do not know and then all of a sudden you hear a sermon or you read the Bible and you learn
Isn't it good to know that you've been doing something wrong for 20 years and God's not blessing you because of what you're doing
And just make the change
It's not a big deal you've messed up you've done wrong just make the change that's what all of us do
But a lot of people do not want to make the changes
They want to be able to live their life in whatever way they want without anybody telling them that what they're doing is wrong
Turn back your Bible to Matthew 10 Matthew 10
Matthew 10
Matthew chapter 10
The first thing we see in this passage is division a lot of people get this idea
Well, Jesus just came to bring love mercy and peace and bring everybody together
It's like you do realize, you know the story that they killed him, right?
You don't get killed by just saying nice things
Right, you do realize that even before they killed him. They tried to kill him. They tried to arrest him, right?
I mean so the idea that Jesus just came to bring love and peace and that's ridiculous. It's not what the Bible teaches
He said I came to bring a sword whatever one we see division point number two
We see differences with family
differences with family verse 35 for I'm come to set a man at variance against his father and the daughter against her mother and
The daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law and a man's foes shall that be they of his own household the Bible speaks that about a division
That would take place inside of your own family. Okay, go to Genesis chapter 12 Genesis 12
Genesis chapter 12
Now
Of course we're not intentionally
Trying to just not get along with our family
It's just the reality though
That if you believe something and your family does not believe that it will often cause a major division
Where you just don't get along with them
Right. I mean I would say this that when it comes to my wife's family
It's like I believe that we get along with everyone in my wife's family that that I've met
You know, I've met probably about a hundred family members. They're all in Pampanga pretty much we get along with all of them
But here's the thing. We're not super close
To them meaning we get along with them. We see them once a year and we act friendly we act nice
But they understand we believe very different things and we never take up
Invitations to visit a Catholic Church or to go to the graveyards or anything like that
And it's kind of like well, I can be at peace with them. I'm not seeing them all the time
We try to give them the gospel sometimes, but I'm not super close to them either
Okay, because there's differences with your family
Sometimes that cause you to be at enmity with one another or just not be that close to one another
Here's what it says in Genesis 12 verse 1
Now the Lord had said unto Abram get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred and from thy father's house
unto a land that I will show thee God specifically tells Abraham
Leave your family leave your country leave your kindred leave your father's house
I do not want you to be that close to your family now
Look, I don't think you need to take this sermon you say pastor. I'm motivated by this sermon
I'm gonna move to another country. I'm putting in the paperwork to move to China tomorrow or whatever
It's like that's not what I'm saying
But we are seeing here in this story that this is what God tells to Abraham very specifically leave your family leave your country leave
Your father's house. Why would God say that to Abraham go to Joshua 24, Joshua 24
Joshua chapter 24
Joshua 24 and notice what the Bible says here in Joshua 24 verse 1 Joshua chapter 24 verse 1
And
Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shesham and called for the elders of Israel and for their heads and for their judges and
For their officers and they presented themselves before God and Joshua said unto all the people
Thus saith the Lord God of Israel your father's dwelled on the other side of the flood in old time even
Terah the father of Abraham and the father of Nacor and they served other gods
Now, of course during these days usually when people are worshipping a different religion. They have literal
physical actual
Idolatry that they're worshipping
Same thing here in the Philippines most, you know Catholics have actual literal idolatry now in the United States
You don't really see a lot of literal physical idolatry that people are grasping on for but here it's everywhere, right?
And it was like that with Abraham's father Terah
So imagine that you know what you live in a house and you're trying to do, right?
You're trying to serve God and then you go to the living room and then all of a sudden, you know
You've got your you know relative your your parent or your cousin and they're bowing down before an idol
It's kind of like it's gonna grieve you all the time. It's gonna make you mad
Right and just seeing that all the time convex your righteous soul and you know what?
Here's the thing if somebody is really into idolatry
There's probably a lot of other sins that they could easily pass on to you and there's certainly a time where sometimes you got to
separate
Now that doesn't necessarily mean that you never see them again, but it might mean that hey
I need to live in a different place
I need to have a healthy bit of separation because I don't want this to influence my life and what the Bible is saying is
that Abraham was influenced by his unsaved father Terah and
Terah is worse being false gods and then it affects Abraham
Go to verse number 15
verse 15
And you know, this is a very famous verse Joshua 24 verse 15
We saw the context at the beginning of the chapter and it says verse 15
And if it seemed evil unto you to serve the Lord choose you this day whom you will serve whether the gods which your father
Served that were on the other side of the flood or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell
but as for me in my house, we will serve the Lord and
See Joshua saying that you need to have this attitude as a husband and a leader that I'm gonna serve God
Wife's gonna serve God our kids are gonna serve God, you know one thing that can hinder that is if you've got other gods
It's kind of hard to get your whole house serving God if in one room you got Shiva and then another room you got the Bible
it's gonna be hard and
There are times when maybe you do need to make a bit of a separation you say why because you don't want to be influenced
By a false religion turn your Bible to Ruth chapter 1 just forward in your Bible two books. Joshua judges Ruth
Now, let me say this. I do believe that the best
Situation if it's possible before you're married is to live with father and mother before you're married
The Bible says, you know leave father and mother and cleave on to your wife
Okay, but I don't think that everybody's in that ideal scenario where it's actually the best thing to live with your parents
You know before you get married you say why do you say that because of the fact if they're really
Worshipping a false religion and a false God or maybe they have a lot of sin and worldliness
I mean if they're getting drunk all the time and
Smoking or watching a lot of dirty things that might affect you in a really bad way where it's actually not a good thing
It is the best scenario it is ideal
But at the same time there's certainly exceptions because neither John the Baptist nor Jesus live with their parents until they're married
You know, they didn't get married, but I'm just saying they left the home and in some situations
It is the best thing for a single guy or a single girl to actually leave their home
You say why because they're being influenced by the wrong religion
And that's not always an easy question to have a direct answer to but I do believe there are times
When you might need to separate from your family before you're even married because they're just affecting you in a very negative way
And I'm not trying to drive a wedge between you and your family because even if they're unsaved
I think it's good to try to stay close to them if possible
But you have to be honest with yourself and ask yourself are they
Influencing me too far or do I need to set some real standards where it's like hey, we'll spend time fellowshipping
But there's certain rules where it's like we're not gonna allow that
I would not allow my kids to be around relatives drinking. I don't want my kids to be in the presence of alcohol
I'd you know, you might agree or disagree and that's fine with our family
It's like we see our you know, my wife's unsaved family every once in a while around holidays or whatever
But it's like if they're drinking it's like alright. Well, you know, we'll just quietly head out
I don't want to be around people that are drinking you say why because there's a lot of other sins that are associated when people
Are drinking it's not the atmosphere what I would be teaching my kids in my opinion is that alcohol is not that big of a deal
Which would go against everything I bet you say but I'm telling them it's wrong
So what difference does it make if you're in the presence of it if you've already told them it's wrong because
Actions speak louder than words and I can say all day that alcohol is wicked and sinful
But then if I allow my kids and my family to be in the presence of it like it's no big deal
That's gonna speak volumes about how I really feel about it, right?
And so you've got to make your own decisions of where you're gonna separate
I'll give you an example of a very godly woman in the Bible that
Separates from unsaved family as an unmarried woman
And in fact in Ruth chapter 1 the only woman that you will ever find called virtuous in the Bible is who?
Ruth
She's the only woman ever called a virtuous woman. We have the Proverbs 31. Here's the virtuous woman
The only woman ever referred to as being virtuous is actually Ruth
I'm not stating that she's the only woman who was virtuous obviously
I'm just stating she's the only one specifically called virtuous. And here's a woman who?
Separated from her parents and you know, she's working and she left her family not being married
You say why because she did it to serve God
and
So there are certainly times when it would be the right thing to actually leave your parents even before you're married you say why?
Because it's preventing you from actually serving God 100% Ruth 1 verse 14
And
They lifted up their voice and wept again and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law
But Ruth clave on to her and she said behold thy sister-in-law has gone back under her people and under her gods
return thou after thy sister-in-law and Ruth said and
Treat me not to leave thee or to return from following after thee for whether thou goest
I will go and where thou lodgest I will lodge thy people shall be my people and thy God my God
Where thou diest will I die and there will I be buried the Lord do so to me and more also of oppa death part
Be in me when she saw that she was steadfastly minded to go with her then she left speaking on to her
So in this story in Ruth chapter 1
Ruth forsakes a wicked culture and the the Moabites you say why for the purposes of
Religion for the purposes of serving God for the purposes of doing what's right. She makes a decision
You know what? I don't want to be around these false gods anymore
I want to end up serving God and loving God and look
I I believe that if someone's in a situation where they do not have access to a good church
They should try to do whatever they can to get to a good church if possible
I mean, what do you think would take place if you lived in an Arabic country and you got saved as
An 18 year old or a 20 year old. I do you think that your parents would be excited to find out that you know
Their daughter or their son converted to Christianity
They're more likely to kill you than shake your hand
Right
It's like the best thing for you could certainly be
Leave the country do whatever you can for safety purposes. You say why because sometimes religion causes such a wedge
Sometimes that's sort of the Word of God
Causes such a wedge with a difference of beliefs that honestly you need some separation from even your family turn back to Matthew 10
Matthew 10
Matthew chapter 10
And
I would say, you know, and this is my opinion and you can agree or disagree
And I'm not saying everybody's in the same situation here. I would say though that for most people
Once you decide to really start serving God, I don't believe you should have a 100%
Separation from your unsaved family. I think for more family that's not as zealous
I would say for most of us you should probably really kind of think in your mind
Okay, I need to make some separation and make some guidelines to help me make the right choices
I don't think for most people a hundred percent separation is the way to go now. It could be for you
I'm not saying it's like that for everybody
I would say for most of us it probably makes sense to have a bit of
Separation, you know a bit of a change or a bit of guidelines to help guide you but not a hundred percent
But you know
There might be some people that get saved and you can be around your family all the time and it does not influence you in
A bad way and you know, it's perfectly fine
Even if they're you know, not saved, maybe it doesn't really influence you in a bad way at all
But for some people you might even have to think about complete separation because the fact your family is just really ungodly or they hate
What you believe and so I'm not gonna stand up here and say this is a judgment for anybody specific situation
The way that it works is you hear preaching and you make the applications in your personal life if you have questions
I can try to help guide you or give you advice. I don't claim that my advice is always perfect though
And so as a safe person with the Holy Spirit of God inside of you pray to God
Let God guide you and he can help you, you know, make the right choices
now the reason why I don't think it's necessarily true that you should make a hundred percent separation from unsaved relatives is
Many people through the years of this church have gotten relative saved
And so it made sense that you didn't just completely cut them off. It's like hey, you know, I'm a Baptist
I'm never gonna talk to you ever again. I don't think that's normally the right way to go
But maybe it is in your situation. I don't know your exact situation that you have
Point number one we see division point number two
We see differences with family point number three
We see dedication being dedicated or really wanting to serve God Matthew 10 verse 37
Matthew 10 verse 37 he that loveth father mother more than me is not worthy of me
And he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me
And he that taketh not his cross and followeth after me is not worthy of me
Now some people try to use this and apply this to salvation
I don't think this has anything to do with salvation. And the reason why I say that is
None of us are worthy to be saved
We already know that
So it would mean nothing to say well if you're not gonna put me before your family you're not worthy to be saved
Well, we're not worthy to be saved regardless of how much relationship we have with our family
Right for all of sin to come short of the glory of God
We're not worthy to be saved
But I think what it's saying is if you're gonna go all in for serving God, you cannot make exceptions in your life
I'm gonna serve God a hundred percent and be dedicated and follow them to the end but
Here are some areas where I'm not gonna do what's right
it's like no you need to be willing to make the separations when necessary in your life to serve God and
He that taketh not his cross and followeth after me is not worthy of me
It says in verse 38 now go to Matthew 16 Matthew 16
And the Bible talks about taking up your cross and obviously there's symbolism too with the fact that we all have a cross to bear
We all of our situations in life that we deal with
Obviously, we don't take this literally like some people do in Pampanga and other parts of the Philippines where they literally take up a cross
And beat themselves, you know during Easter time
But the Bible speaks about not being worthy of following God and the Bible speaks about this a lot and it's only one point in the sermon
But I'll show you this reference in Matthew 16 verse 24
Then said Jesus on to his disciples if any man will come after me
Let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me the Bible speaks about denying ourself
now there are false religions like a lot of the Eastern religions and denominations of Hinduism and Buddhism where they will basically say
We've got to deny everything from our lives
And you know the ones that are most extreme that I know about are the Janes
Where they'll literally say that you know, you should not even wear clothing because you've got to deny yourself
You should not brush your teeth. I mean it that's bizarre
Because there's nothing sinful about brushing your teeth
What the Bible is saying is you deny things that are wrong or sinful or worldly
It's not saying deny yourself eating food. Well, there's nothing sinful about eating food
Okay, what the Bible teaches is yes, we should deny the sins in our life
We should deny our worldliness and our flesh has certain desires that are wrong
All of us have desires for certain things that are wrong and yeah, we should deny our flesh in those areas
Okay, and the Bible is saying that hey if you really want to follow God 100%
You've got to be willing to deny your personal desires and your personal ambitions
Right because look when you first get saved and start serving God
There are gonna be a lot of areas of your life that you have to change if you really want to follow God
You say well what areas are those?
Well when I got saved and I decided I want to start serving God I start reading the Bible
I realized I've got to change all of my music. I've got to change all of my movies
I've got to change all of my TV shows. I
Mean, there are a lot of things that you got to make changes on you say why because they're wrong
But my flesh desired that stuff. So what do you have to do? You got to deny your flesh
You basically got it every single day. Just say hey, you know what? I'm in charge
Not my flesh this is what I want, but this is what my flesh wants, but this is what is right
I'm gonna deny my flesh and do what's right?
So man, I have a desire to drink alcohol, but it's wrong. I'm gonna deny my flesh and do right
I have a desire to smoke but it's wrong. I'm gonna deny my flesh and do right all of us every single day
We've got to deny our flesh
We've got to set aside our personal desires that are sinful and wrong and just say it doesn't matter how much I desire it
I'm not going to do it
verse 25 for whosoever will save his life shall lose it and
Whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it for what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world?
And lose his own soul or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul when the Bible says losing your own soul
This is applied in some parts of the Bible to salvation for unsafe people
It is also applied to save people in situations saying that hey, you know what instead of serving God
You're allowing all these things to be before God and you let you basically lose your own soul not saying you're going to hell
But basically you lose out on all the promises of God and the blessings of God why because you're unwilling to make changes
Turn your Bible to Matthew 10
Matthew chapter 10
Point number one we say we see a division point number two
We see differences with family point number three
We see dedication being dedicated to serving God point number four. We see a discovery
Now I want to first show you that in Matthew 10
This is really parallel to what we just saw in Matthew 16 because notice verse 39
he that findeth his life shall lose it and
He that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. Isn't that pretty much?
Parallel the same thing we saw in Matthew chapter 16 sounds like it's pretty important
Right if over the course of just you know a handful of chapters the same exact idea is being brought up
It's obviously a very important thing. It says he that findeth his life shall lose it. What does it mean to find your life?
You're gonna lose it
Here's what it means a lot of people that they decide that they're not gonna go all out serving God because they don't want to
Change their personal desires. They don't want to change their music. They don't want to change their movies
They don't want to change what they want in life and they just feel like well
I'm saved and on my way to heaven, but it's like I don't want to make these sacrifices
I don't want to give up all these things to serve God because I feel like I'm missing out on a lot of stuff and
They're unwilling to make changes and the Bible says you're actually gonna lose your life
What does that mean?
It means that you are unwilling to make changes because you think it's gonna make you happy
By continuing to keep your sin and your worldliness and in reality, you're actually losing all of your happiness
You're losing out on all the blessings of God
You think that your life will be so much more fun by keeping your sin and your worldliness and the Bible actually says no
The person that wants to find their life is gonna lose it the Bible says
Maybe sometimes you talk to acquaintances or co-workers and they're like, hey, what did you do this past weekend? I went to church. I
Mean, I drove like three hours to go to town. I resolve. Oh, what were you doing there?
It's a great vacation spot, you know, I was preaching the gospel to people they're like what?
They're not gonna get it
They're like you you drove hours. I mean, I remember those conversations when I worked at a secular office
It's like oh, what are you doing this weekend? It's like, you know
I remember a couple times we did so many marathons where we drove through the night to get to the location me and my friends
It's like well, we're driving to New York City this weekend. It's like, oh, what are you doing there?
We're gonna tell people how to go to heaven. They're like
What
It's like go to go to a sporting event
Do something fun. I mean you're losing out on all these exciting things by being too dedicated to God
it's like loosen up a little bit and
they think
that by
Keeping all these things in their life. It's gonna make them happy and what the Bible actually says is they're gonna lose it
They're gonna lose out on what they could have because here's what it says in the second half of this verse and he that
Looseth his life for my sake
Shall find it now something you find is a discovery
Imagine that you're in your backyard and then all of a sudden, you know
You you're just kind of cleaning stuff up and all of a sudden you see a piece of gold
Like I had no idea that there was gold in my backyard or maybe you're cleaning up your house and all of a sudden you
See like a thousand peso bill. It's like man. I had no idea
I had a thousand pesos in my I mean that's happened to me before you find money
You didn't know you have you discover something you weren't aware of it's exciting
You had no idea it was there you found it you discovered it
You know what the Bible saying that when you make the decision to do what's right?
You do it because it's the right thing to do and what you do not realize is you're gonna discover
Happiness in a better life that you never knew even existed
Isn't that true? I?
Mean, I remember when I first started making changes in my life
I did not want to quit listening to the music that I listen to I
Enjoyed it. I had fun with it and I thought that man. I'm just gonna do it because it's the right thing to do
I'm not gonna be happy. It's gonna make me miserable and what ends up taking place. I'm like
Why didn't I give that up even earlier in my life?
I'm not missing out on anything
You make changes in your life you make sacrifices and you feel like man
I'm gonna do it because it's the right thing to do
But I'm not gonna be happy and it's like I'm missing out on all this stuff
And then all of a sudden you realize like six months later. Yeah, my life is so much better now
You found something you did not know existed
But it starts with just doing the right thing
Man, it's always frustrating we talk to people
They get saved we try to get them to come to church and we realize in the back of our head
Your life is going to be so much better
You start coming to church and make changes and make
Sacrifices people at first feel like I got to change the way I dress and what I watch and what I listen to
This is so hard and then all of a sudden they realize later on in their life, you know
I don't even miss that stuff and my life is so much better
being in God's will
That if I was not in God's will
you discover something you did not know existed and
That is the way it is with serving God that you know what you start doing something because it's the right thing to do and
Then one day you're gonna find out you know what not only is it the right thing to do
It's also making me so much happier than I ever was before
It says in verse 40 he that receiveth you receiveth me and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me
he never received the prophet the name of a prophet shall receive a prophets reward and he that received the righteous man in the
Name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward and whosoever shall give it on to drink under one of these little
ones a cup of cold water
Only in the name of a disciple verily I say to you he shall no wise losers reward now turn to Matthew 12 real quickly
We'll close up. I just want to show you very quickly that
Jesus is not a hypocrite with what he's telling them to do
Now I would say this that you know, sometimes people say well, you know, I don't I don't go to church because it's filled full of hypocrites
Well, yeah every single person in this world to some level of degree is a hypocrite because we're sinners, right
Sometimes we say things and we don't really do them, right?
All of us are hypocrites to some level of degree
To the best of my ability when I try to give advice or tell you things that you should do
I try to follow the same example
but I'm sure that I will fail you at times in my life because I am a sinner just like all of us are and
You know, sometimes I know what the Bible says
But it doesn't mean that even even if I can preach what the Bible says and try to live by it
It doesn't mean I perfectly always live by it. I make mistakes
I do things that are wrong all of us do but Jesus is the one person that is of course not a hypocrite at all
He's giving this advice of what to do
And here's what he says in Matthew chapter 12 when he actually deals with this situation
Matthew 12 verse 46 while yet talked to the people behold his mother and his brethren stood without
Desiring to speak with him
Now look imagine if you lived in an area and you're a pastor and you're preaching a sermon and your family lives nearby the area
they live a couple minute walk away or one tricycle right away or one jipney right away and
You're preaching a sermon and it's after the sermon
They didn't come to church and then all of a sudden it's like hey, they want to talk to you
It's like well, they could have talked to me last night. They could talk to me tonight, but it's like it's church time
But they want to talk to him and it's just kind of like the first question is well
Why aren't you listening to the sermon with everybody else?
Right, and here's what he says in verse 47 then one said on to him behold
I mother and my brethren stood without desire to speak with thee verse 48
But he answered and said unto him that told him who is my mother and who are my brethren and he stretched forth his hand
Toward his disciples and said behold my mother and my brethren for whosoever
So do the will my father which is in heaven the same as my brother and sister and mother and what he's basically
Saying here is you know, what my spiritual family is
More important than my physical family
Anyway, that is a tough truth for a lot of people to take for a lot of people
This is really the issue that prevents them from serving God
That our spiritual family should be closer to our physical than our physical family
If you've got unsaved relatives by all means try to get him saved
Don't give up unless it's really causing not to be able to serve God
I mean try to get him saved do whatever you can pray for them. Take every opportunity come up with ideas
Maybe even someone from our church can visit and talk to them if they live in the area
I mean do whatever to try to get him saved
But but here's the thing as close as you are with them or as close as you were with them before
They're only your brother or sister or your mother or father for your time on earth
For 80 years
But here's the thing about this if somebody's my brother in Christ, they're my brother in Christ for all eternity
You're only gonna be you know linked to your relatives here on earth now
Hopefully they're saved and hopefully you'll see them in heaven and I do believe that you're probably the person that is designed by God to
Give them the gospel because you have more opportunities than anybody else
But here's what I'm saying
If you have to make a decision
It's like is it about you know being close to my physical family or about you know serving God
It should not be a tough decision
you always put God number one and
What Jesus is saying is and look I'm sure Jesus had love for his physical brothers
I'm sure he had love for Mary who was also his sister in Christ, but here's the thing he's saying hey
I'm serving God right now. They're not here serving God
So, you know what I'm gonna be closer to my spiritual brothers and sisters in Christ that are serving God and doing right than my
physical brothers and
My physical family and look when it comes to making decisions in your life. You need to put your spiritual family
Above your physical family you say well, what if I'm not willing to do that, then you're not worthy to follow Jesus
Well, how dare you say that that's exactly what Jesus said
And look and look you can go on too big of extremes on this because I want to be very clear
I'm not saying that hey, you know what I was inspired by that sermon. I'm never talking to my family again
I doubt that would be the proper response for anybody in this room
But we do really need to stop and ask ourselves
Do I need to make some levels of separation or maybe I'm not as closed or put some guidelines in my life or in certain?
Times like well, hey, it's the Christmas season they go they get drunk on the 24th
I'm just not gonna hang out with them on the 24th
I'll hang out with them when they're not drunk, but not when they're getting drunk or whatever it is
You need to make decisions in your life and say hey, what's right? What does the Bible say?
What divisions do I need to make why because Jesus did not come to bring everybody at peace with one another?
He actually brought a sword the Bible says let's close the word of prayer your heavenly father
Thank you for allowing us to be here today and ask you to just bless the sermon our lives
Help us to apply this sermon including myself and my family God
Asking to help all of us make the right decisions and and and get your wisdom on what to do in there
They're their families and their situations God asking to help everyone in this room to get their unsafe family save God
Just give opportunities God open up doors of opportunities to preach the gospel to them that they would be receptive and willing to listen God
But help us also all be willing to make separations in our life for divisions if necessary in Jesus name we pray. Amen