Introduction

As we know, after His resurrection, Jesus commissioned the eleven disciples to let the world know His good news (Matt. 28:19-20).  Of course, we know that the Great Commission wasn’t just for the eleven but for all who follow Christ; we, as genuine believers, are to let the world know about Him.  So, after having listened to the Lord and recognized the great depth of love He has for us, it should not be hard for us to let the world know that God is good.  So, I ask you today:  Will you let the world know about Christ and all that God has done for you?

From the Housetops

In our scripture for today, we will see that Jesus said, “Whatever I tell you in the dark (in secret), speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops (Matt. 10:27).”  So, consider for a moment that if you’re preaching the Word from the top of your house, you’re preaching to be seen by all.  May I suggest to you that this is a call not to keep the Word of God to yourself but to share it with all of those around you.

For all to see and hear

This thought reminds me of what Jesus taught to the then twelve disciples on the mount.  On the mount, Jesus taught that they would be lights of the world and as lights of the world, they were to be like a city sat on a hill whose light could not be hidden (Matt. 5:14).

As genuine believers, we should also let our light shine before others so that they can see our good works and glorify God (Matt. 5:16).  The hope is that not only are we seen on our housetops, but that the Word is received by those who, hopefully, stop to listen.  You see, the word we share is the Word from Jesus’ mouth — the good news of God’s love, mercy, and salvation.  So, the word we share is a saving word!

Fearful to get on our housetops

Now, while some of us, figuratively speaking, get on the top of our houses to let the world know about God, many of us are fearful of doing so.  So, why is that?  Why are many of us afraid of letting the world know about the Lord?

Well, some of us are afraid that we will say something that is wrong; this keeps us from getting on top of our house to let the world know that God is good.  On the other hand, some of us are afraid of what others may think or say about us preaching from the top of our house; we worry how others will judge us.  Lastly, some of us are afraid of confrontation, and so, some move to be liked and loved by everyone.

Personally, I can understand these fears because at one point in time, I shared these same fears.  Yet, I warn you that we must be wary of where these fears can take, or better yet, not take us.  You see, our fears, in general, will always hold us back from pushing ahead and accomplishing our goals.  In our walk of faith, our fears will always hold us back from moving and being active in our faith.

Let us remember what Peter’s fears did to him after Jesus was arrested in the garden.  Peter, we will remember, tried to follow alongside John in the courtyard as Jesus was put on trial before the Sanhedrin (John 18:15-18).  However, as Peter stood around a fire and was accused of being one of Jesus’ closest followers, he grew fearful of the people and their accusations; he denied ever knowing Jesus (Matt. 26:69-75).

After he had denied Jesus, Peter’s soul was in critical condition; he was wounded and hurt in his soul.  You don’t want to be so fearful of others that your fear drives you to being ashamed of Christ; this will critically wound your soul.  Even more, as we see in one of my key verses, those who are ashamed and deny Christ before men will be denied by Him before the Father.  Even worse, Jesus said that those who do not take their cross and follow after Him are not worthy of Him (Matt. 10:38).

³² “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. ³³ But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.

MATTHEW 10:32-33 NKJV

Are you moving to be worthy of Christ?  I certainly hope that you are moving to be worthy of Christ.  In order for us to let the world know about Christ and His salvation, we must overcome our fears so that we can let the world know from the top of our houses that God is good.

Courage to Let the World Know

So, let us take a look at how we overcome these fears so that those who have them can begin to move with courage in telling somebody about God.

God will give you a word

Let’s first start off with those who are afraid to let the world know about God because they are afraid they will say the wrong thing.  Did you know that God will put a word in your mouth as to what you should say?

This is shown to us through scripture when Jesus first sent out the twelve to minister to the lost sheep of Israel; they were to preach that the kingdom of heaven was at hand (Matt. 10:5-6).  Like them, we are to minister and let the world know that salvation is nearer than when we first believed.  Like many of us, the disciples were considered to have not been well versed when it came to knowing the word of God.

So, the twelve faced a great challenge that many of us face.  How can we share a word when we feel like we don’t know what we’re talking about?  Jesus encouraged them not to worry about how or what they should speak.  He said to them that in the moment they speak, it would not be them who spoke but the Spirit of the Father who spoke in them (Matt. 10:19-20).

Let us understand that the Spirit of the Father is the Holy Spirit which all who love Christ (are of genuine faith, and obediently keep His way) receive.  The Helper, the Spirit of Truth, serves in a role to lead us sincere believers unto all truth.  Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus said, we bear witness of the Word of God — the divine truth (John 15:26-27, 16:13).

So, don’t be afraid you may say something wrong – lean on the Holy Spirit; He will guide you to what you should say.  Now, does that mean you should go without reading, studying, and dwelling in the Word of God?  Absolutely not.  We are to all be diligent in the Word so that we are ready to let the world know about the Lord, with no shame, no embarrassment, in season and out of season (2 Tim. 4:2)!

Fear nobody’s judgment

Now, are you one that fears what others may think or look at you as you stand on the top of your house to let the world know all that God has done for you?  There are many of us that worry about how people will judge us because we chose to believe in Christ.  Sadly, some of us who once walked by faith have fallen out of faith because we let the judgment of those around us persuade us away from God.

Rather than falling out of faith, some of us go silent on letting the world know about the goodness of God because we’re so afraid of how others will view us.  To that, I sincerely ask, who cares?  Who cares what others think about you?  Who cares how others may judge you?  What is their judgment going to do to you?

Jesus said to the disciples, “do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul (Matt. 10:28).”  So, I encourage you today and say to you, don’t worry about what others think about you!  Don’t worry about what others have to say about you.  Don’t worry about how others will judge you because God is the one true judge of all of us; His judgment is all that matters and He will judge whether or not we believe.

Admittedly, all of this is easier said than done as Jesus even admits that we, mankind, are more than capable of bringing harm upon each other.  We know for a fact that our enemy tries to afflict us physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually; all we have to do is take a look at the story of Job and reflect on our own story.

The one thing that we do learn from the story of Job is this:  no matter how much our enemy desires to harm us, he cannot kill our soul.  The one thing that we learn from our very own story is that no matter how much we have been afflicted, we are not destroyed in our soul.  Don’t fear what man may do to you when God is the one who is in control!

In God’s care

When you begin to fear what others may say or do to you because of your faith, just remember that God is on your side.  Jesus has already proclaimed our victory when He said that He overcame the world (John 16:33).  Let us move with the strength of David who proclaimed, “the Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid (Ps. 27:1)?

In His sermon on the mount, Jesus declared to the disciples, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.  Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matt. 5:10-12).”

Yes, in the world, you may be harmed but the Lord has told us that nobody can take us out of His hands!  Jesus proclaimed that He gives His sheep eternal life and nobody can take them out of His hand.  Of the Father, Jesus proclaimed that He is greater than all and no one is able to snatch us out of His hand (John 10:28-29).

If you fear what others may think, say, or do to you, I want you to know that your soul is always in the care of the Lord!  Wherever it is that life takes you and whoever stands in your way, just know that you are protected by the Lord.  Don’t be afraid of the scoffers when you go to get on the top of your house to let the world know that God is good and He has greatly blessed you!

The World’s Hatred

Now, I know that nobody wants to be disliked or hated, but the honest truth is that when you let the world know about God and His divine truth, not everybody is going to love you.  Some will be offended, some will reject you, and some will flat out hate you; they will do this because they despise, as they say “religion” — they despise God.

They hate Christ

To the twelve, Jesus warned them that they would be hated by those around them just as He was hated by those around Him (John 15:18); the world did not love Jesus!  So, why did the world hate Jesus?  The world hated Jesus because He was not of the world, and I tell you, Jesus did not mind that those of the world did not love Him.

Jesus said to the disciples, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth.  I did not come to bring peace but a sword (Matt. 10:34).”  Now, some will look at this statement kind of strange because it conflicts with our thoughts that Jesus came to save the world.  Yes, I say to you, Jesus did come to save, and not to condemn the world (John 3:17), however, in order to save souls, Jesus had to first rebuke the world!

Jesus rebuked the world with the sword of truth — the divine truth!  As the writer of the book of Hebrews said, the sword of the divine truth is sharper than any two-edged sword; it pierces the soul (Heb. 4:12).  As you have heard me say before, nobody likes to be rebuked when they feel that they are in the right!  Those who are of the world and move with a carnal mindset often feel that they are in the right.

So, I say to you that when you stand on the top of your house to let the world know about the divine truth, be prepared to be disliked and hated!  The reason why is because you are preaching against all that stands in opposition against God.  Like Jesus, in sharing the divine truth, it will show that you are no longer of the world.

Now, you may think that the only ones who will not like you will be those not close to you but Jesus warned that even those closest to you may end up despising you because of your faith.  Jesus said that brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death for His name’s sake (Matt. 10:21-22).

Jesus spoke to the disciples about how He had come to “set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law (Matt. 10:34).”  Jesus, by delivering the Word, caused divisions within households!  Understand that when you let the world know about the divine truth, those who would once stand closest to you, may stand the furthest away from you if they live according to the way of sin.

You may desire to be loved by all, but Jesus warned, “woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets (Luke 6:26).”  The false prophets have their reward today and their reward is not heaven because they did not rebuke sin but rejoiced in it.  If you are loved by the world, it is because you speak and live according to the world – according to sin.

Exalted by God

Do not be afraid to be despised by the world because you choose to stand on the top of your house to let the world know all that God has done for you.

In our key verse, Jesus said that the one who confesses Him before men, He (Jesus) will confess before the Father.  However, the one who is ashamed and denies Christ before men, Jesus said that He will deny them before the Father.

Again, I say to you today, don’t be ashamed of Christ nor be afraid to confess Christ to the world; don’t be afraid to let the world know that you are blessed and that God is good!  The Lord loves us, has blessed us, and shown us mercy and salvation , so, why should we be ashamed and afraid to let the world know that He is good?

Jesus said that those who do take their cross and follow Him are worthy of Him and will find life (Matt. 10:38).  Again, your faith and your testimony of God will be rewarded with a spiritual reward of life by the Lord.  In the world, we will be scoffed at and mocked because of our faith, however, the Lord will reward us openly.  When this world passes away, our salvation will be realized and and again we will be rewarded.

Where the world did not love you because you declared the Word, God will continue to love you and exalt you in His heavenly kingdom.  Jesus, on the mount, said to the disciples, “blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God (Matt. 5:9).”  I don’t need the love and praise of men when God loves me and praises He; His love and praise is far better!

So, in all that God has done for us, we ought not be ashamed to stand on the top of our houses and let the world know God is good.  We are blessed today because of the Lord and our faith in Him should stir us up to let the world know.