Life of Christ #13 – Fear Not: Following Jesus Without Fear

Therefore, fear not, because you and I will not fall. Well, your Father will go down to the ground with you. He will pick you up when you lay down. What comfort to the Son, what comfort to the twelve, what comfort to every worker. Therefore, do not be afraid. Don’t be afraid of what? Don’t be afraid of wolves. Don’t be afraid of being a sheep. Don’t be afraid that you don’t have enough wisdom to stay out of trouble. Ultimately, it will come no matter how wise you are. Don’t be afraid that your guilelessness isn’t enough. It is not enough. It will help for a while, but ultimately it will fail. Do not fear the pressures of men; do not fear the destruction of your body. Fear only Him who can destroy the soul, and He will never let you come to your end until He Himself takes you in His arms and carries you personally to the ground; until that moment, you are indestructible. Hallelujah.

If He will not allow a sparrow to fall under any conditions worth a little less than a penny, will He not therefore decide your hour, because you are worth more than three or four sparrows? If several sparrows get such an accommodation, if they get such a funeral, if they have such a glorious death, if they have such attention at their demise, then surely you, who are worth more than several sparrows, will have even more of the Father’s attention, regardless of your circumstances. I have a Father; therefore, I’m not afraid in proclaiming the Gospel. The Lord Jesus wasn’t, and He died; the twelve weren’t, and they died…but not until the Father declared their death, no man could touch them.

Well, I don’t think that passage ends there; in my judgment, it goes just a little further. When they have you surrounded, and they look like a bunch of wolves, and you, at that moment, don’t back up for nothing, and you confess me before those men, I’m gonna confess you before my Father in the heavenlies.

Then I see the succession brought here so beautifully; listen, this whole passage is about the Father and His relationship to the Lord Jesus. I’m going to read this from the Son’s viewpoint. I have not loved my mother more than I loved my Father. If I had, I would not have been worthy of my Father. I have not loved my disciples more than I loved my Father because if I were, I would not be worthy of my Father. I have taken up My cross, and I am following My Father. If I did not, I would not be worthy of Him. I had a glorious life, and I lost it. In losing that life, I have found it. You have a life; if you keep it, you will lose, but if you lose it, you will find it. And now, I see succession here. The Father has received me; I have received you. You have received me. If you have received me, you have received Him who sent me.

In my judgment, dear saints of the Lord, the Lord Jesus is saying that everything I have said to you up until this very moment has been a succession. Everything I’ve said to you has been true of me and of my relationship to My Father. Whatever I have told you, I have already been told. Whatever my relationship is to the Father, that is your relationship to Me. I have clearly told you what my relationship to the Father is; that is your relationship to Me. My relationship with my Father remains unbroken in all I’ve said. I am remaining faithful in these things. You remain faithful to me in these same things. Not only will I receive you, but my Father will receive you too.

I am a prophet. Whoever gives me a cup of water, my Father will make known of it. I want you to know that you are a prophet, and whoever gives you a cup of water, I will make known of it. If you deny Me, I will deny you. If I deny My Father, He’d deny Me. But if you proclaim Me as I have proclaimed the Father, I will receive you as My Father has received you. The passage is there: My Father will receive you too.

Well, I think twelve men walked away from that day, very sober men. Sober in their realization of the tremendous commission their Lord and Savior carried; the pressure He was under; and the demands of loyalty He faced. If they had eyes to see then…perhaps they didn’t; then they saw it later, that He was under the sentence of death for having proclaimed His Father.

Brothers and sisters, I am not far amiss in saying to you: if you faithfully proclaim the Son of that Father, you will be under sentence of death. Maybe you will be one of the fortunate ones, but I’m not sure you can proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ faithfully without endangering your life. If you are not willing to die, you back up from the gospel to the point that whatever you’re proclaiming really isn’t worth hearing.

Use all the wisdom you can. Last as long as you can…but don’t water it down. He was under the sentence of death for proclaiming the same gospel; you are not above your Master. Expect to die, but remember this. You won’t until He comes to get you and carries you to the ground, you in one hand and a sparrow in the other. Praise the Lord.