Pages

Saturday 29 January 2011

Matthew 10:1-8 - Sent out

The twelve had been called, and now are sent out with the same authority that Jesus had, authority to cast out demons and to heal the sick. This is a pattern for the way that God works. He calls people to Himself, people who will trust and obey Him. Then He shares some of His authority and power with them. God's plan is that man works and lives in fellowship with Him, He shares all that He has with us. There is never any need to seek to grab something from the Lord, for if only we knew it, He intends to share all things with us (Romans 8:32).
This includes sharing the work of the kingdom. We are not passive recipients of the benefits of the good news, rather we are participants in the work of extending the kingdom. This includes sharing in His sufferings.
The twelve were given clear instructions. They were not to go to the Gentiles or Samaritans. Now this most definitely does not mean that God had no interest in them. Incidents in Jesus' life (John 4, Good Samaritan) show this, along with the events that unfolded in Acts, but now was not the time. We need to trust God and stick to His instructions. This will help us avoid a lot of unfruitful activity. People may put enormous pressure on us to do other things, but we should stick to the part of the work that God has assigned to us at this time.
Just like Jesus, they were to proclaim the message that the kingdom of God was near, and to heal people and cast out demons. They had received, now they were to give freely. Please note these important points: (i) they did not receive in order to give;  (ii) we are not to give in order to receive. We are to receive AND we are to give. The kingdom operates on the principle of giving and receiving, and on the principle of grace. Our evil hearts will try and turn this giving and receiving into a law (and this is where some forms of prosperity teaching go horribly wrong). God gives to me because He loves me. And the more like Christ that I become the more I will give freely to others.

No comments:

Post a Comment