Matthew 10:24-27      Enough to be Like

Rev. David Holwick   ZD                                  Matthew 10 series

First Baptist Church

Ledgewood, New Jersey

October 1, 2006

Matthew 10:24-27


ENOUGH TO BE LIKE



  I. Who runs the asylum?

      A. One teacher's experience.


         Margaret Metzger has been a high school teacher for many years.

            When she began, she had a hard time controlling her students.

         After a while she became more confident, even to the point of

            letting the students take over her class.

         On these rare occasions she will let them decide what the

            homework will be, or the topic of the next day's class.


         Sometimes they would go even farther.

            One class went on strike, refusing to work on Fridays.

         The school administration wouldn't stand for this, so she

            compromised by letting them play a 10-minute game at the end

               of class on Fridays.

         Another year, a class said to her, "We hope you don't mind,

            but we've ordered Chinese food for the entire class tomorrow.

         We're bringing it by your room for lunch.  You're invited."


         Another class wrote on the board on a glorious spring day,

            "We're meeting at Friday's for ice cream today.

         See you there."                                        #33258


         Were any of your classes like this?

            Where any of your TEACHERS like this?


      B. Teachers have a great impact on us.

          1) Josiah had a favorite History teacher this year.

             This made me feel pretty good because Josiah is not exactly

                a scholar.

             Unfortunately, the teacher became ill and left after two

                weeks.

             He's had nothing but substitutes since then, and he

                ridicules them.

          2) I fondly remember four or five dynamic teachers.


      C. Jesus was defined by his role as a teacher.

          1) Most people called him this.  (Rabbi is an equivalent term)

          2) We should be defined by our role as students.

          3) In this passage, Jesus lays out some important principles

                for us.


II. Students shouldn't rule.

      A. Students are not above teachers, nor servants above masters.

          1) Some distinctions in society should be maintained.

              a) (I detest smart-alecky kids...)

              b) The movie "Animal House" aside, we know that education

                    shouldn't be left to students alone.

          2) All education involves submission.

              a) We must submit to knowledge, and to a teacher.

              b) Both images describe relationships of unequal power.

                  1> We need to recognize our place.

                  2> Jesus is not our buddy-buddy: he is our Lord,

                        master and instructor.


      B. "Signs of contradiction."

          1) It can be hard for us to bend to a master.

          2) Those who do, display Christ in the clearest terms.


         Christian historian Mark Noll notes that over the long course

            of Christian history, the most depressing thing -- because

               it has been repeated so often -- has been how tragically

                  far short of Christian ideals we ordinary Christians

                     so regularly fall.

         But even more remarkable -- because it is such a miracle of

            grace -- is how often believers have acted against the pride

               of life to honor Christ.


         Medieval Christians called this "signs of contradiction."

         It is when a person does something because of their Christian

            beliefs that you know must be due to God and not them,

               because it is so uncharacteristic of them.


         One of the most remarkable of those signs has been the ability

            of some Christians to act against the normal ways of the

               world in the exercise of power.


         Power has always been a far more potent narcotic than all the

            drugs or alcohol humans have used to get high.

         Power feeds on itself.

            It is never satisfied.

               It is almost never relinquished voluntarily.

         Think of all the examples in New Jersey politics alone!

            It takes a real Christian to put God over power.


         One example comes from the year 390.

         The Roman Empire was at its height, but Emperor Theodosius

            was frustrated at resistance to his rule.

         So he ordered the massacre of a considerable number of citizens

            in the Greek city of Thessalonica.


         When he returned to Italy and went to church, his local pastor

            publically denounced him as a notorious sinner and refused

               to serve him the Lord's Supper.

         How would YOU feel if the person next to you announced loudly,

            "You're not worthy of communion today" and passed the bread

               around you!


         Theodosius' pastor was the famous Bishop Ambrose of Milan, who

            only shortly before had played an influential role in the

               conversion of Augustine.

         Less than a century earlier, the Christian church had still

            been illegal.

         When Ambrose took his stand, most adults in his congregation

            had personal memory of government attacks on Christians.


         Theodosius, one of the last great Roman emperors, could have

            blown Ambrose away with ease.

         But he didn't.

         Instead, he submitted to the public penance demanded by Ambrose

            in order to be restored to church fellowship.

         It seems to have occurred substantially because of Theodosius'

            Christian convictions.

         He had done wrong before God and needed to make a public

            repentance, even though he was an emperor.

                                                                    #5212


          3) When is the last time you showed a sign of contradiction?

              a) Humbly confessing a sin.

              b) Apologizing to someone you hurt.

              c) Doing something so good or loving that those who

                    know you best are startled?


      C. Learn submission to Jesus, and to his teachings.


III. Students should emulate.

      A. Students should be like teachers, and servants like masters.

          1) We learn best from those we admire.


             Back during the first Iraq War when we liberated Kuwait,

                a native of New Jersey was acclaimed as a hero.

             Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf didn't actually fight, but his

                press conferences and forceful personality got

                   everyone's attention.


             One commentator said Schwarzkopf illustrated a modern

                business principle called "the shadow of the leader."

             It claims that an organization will, if properly trained

                and motivated, adopt the characteristics and basic

                   personality of its leader.


             Lots of majors and colonels wanted to be just like

                Gen. Schwarzkopf.

             Christians should seek to be like Jesus.

                                                                    #1545


          2) We must be formed by the Master.


             Carl Sewell sells cars in Texas: Cadillacs, Hyundais,

                Lexuses and Chevrolets.

             He runs some of the best dealerships in the United States.

             When a car salesman comes to work for him, Carl Sewell

                sends him through a course.

             It includes four sessions on how to ask the customer

                exactly what he wants, one whole session on how the

                   restroom is maintained, two more sessions on customer

                      service, and so on.


             In other words, Sewell wants his salespeople to forget

                everything they knew about selling cars and learn it

                   from him.

             When they come out, they live and breathe and love what

                Carl Sewell loves.

             They are just like their boss.


             The measure of a church's candlepower is how many people

                live and breathe and love what Jesus loves.

             How well have we been trained to be just like Him?

                                                                    #3072


      B. Follow Jesus' lead.

          1) We should believe what he believed.


          Why do Christians believe the Bible?

             It is certainly a controversial book.

          Many wonder why modern people would accept it as divine.

             It is not exactly an easy-to-understand textbook.

          Christians regard the Bible as the revealed word of God

             ultimately because we conclude that Jesus himself had

                that view of Scripture.

          Discipleship means intellectual as well as moral submission

             to his kingly rule.


          Jesus once said, "You call me Teacher and Lord.  You are

             right, for so I am."  (John 13:13)

          "No student is greater than his teacher" fits right in with

             this.


          Trusting the Bible is a proper consequence of submitting

             ourselves to Jesus and becoming his disciples.


          It is Jesus whom we are asking people to trust and obey,

             not a book.

                                                                    #33259

          1) We should live the way he lived.

              a) Jesus loved the little people - outcasts and sinners

                    especially.

              b) He forgave people, even those who nailed him to a cross.

              c) He practiced unwavering integrity in his lifestyle.

              d) Jesus was devoted to God.

                  1> He attended religious services.

                  2> He studied and memorized the Bible.

                  3> He spent nights in solitary prayer.

                  4> He told everyone about his Father.


      C. In what ways are you like Jesus?

          1) Forgiveness...

          2) Compassion and outreach...

          3) Moral integrity...

          4) Courage against opposition.

              a) Students will get the same treatment as the teacher.

                  1> Jesus was even called Beelzebub.

                      A> The actual term derives the name of a Canaanite

                            god in 2 Kings 1:2.

                         It means "Lord of the flies."

                         This could have been a mocking Jewish reference

                            to their god, or it could have been literal.

                      B> Connected with Matthew 12:24 - Jesus' power to

                            cast out demons was attributed to Satan by

                               his enemies.

                  2> We may get rejected and called names, too.


IV. Your education is not a secret.

      A. Don't be afraid.

          1) We are to boldly proclaim the Good News about salvation.

          2) It is nothing to be ashamed of.


      B. No more secrets.

          1) Everything will be revealed (or, exposed).

          2) We are in the business of Truth until he returns.



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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:


# 1545  "The Shadow of the Leader," Tel-News (New Jersey Bell), July 1991.


#3072  "Just Like Their Boss," by Rev. Jim Pocock, from his sermon

          "Salt And Light," September 17, 1995.


# 5212  "The Gift of Humility," by Mark Noll, Online Christianity Today,

          Vol. 43, No. 14, December 6, 1999, page 56.


#33258  "Who Runs The Asylum?" by Margaret Metzger, edited by David Holwick,

           http://www.pdkintl.org/kappan/k0209met.htm.


#33259  "Avoiding The Circular Argument: Why Christians Believe The Bible,"

           author unknown, Christian Medical Fellowship;

           http://www.cmf.org.uk/ literature/content.asp?context=article&id=1292.


These and 30,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be

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