LISTEN UP

LISTEN UP

TEXT: MATTHEW 10 http://www.biblica.com/bible/verse/index.php?q=matthew10&niv=yes

PARAPHRASE

CALLING & INSTRUCTIONS

Jesus called out to twelve to be his disciples, his apostles, including: Simon (Peter) and Andrew (his brother); James (Zebedee’s son) and John (his brother); Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew (the tax collector); James (Alphaeus’ son), and Thaddaeus (Jude); Simon (the Zealot) and Judas Iscariot (the betrayer).
Giving them authority to drive out demons and to heal every disease and sickness He sent them out with the following instructions:

You mission is to the lost of Israel, not to the lost Gentiles or Samaritans and your message is that the kingdom of heaven is near. You are to heal those who are sick, raise those who are dead, purify those with leprosy, and drive out demons from those who are possessed.

And do these things free of charge because you received this message, calling and authority for free. And don’t take any money or extra clothes or anything else which could result in you relying on yourselves for provisions while on this mission because God provides for those who do the work of His kingdom through others.
In each town or village you go to look for someone willing and able to take you in while you’re there and when you enter their home greet them with a blessing of peace, but if it turns out they don’t take care of you, let your blessing of peace return to you. Upon entering a town or village, if no one welcomes you or listens to your message shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that home or town as a sign that because of their refusal to offer hospitality and to hear your message you will not be taking any of their dust from their roads from them as you leave either – a symbolical way of marking them as having rejected the My message. Truly, Sodom and Gomorrah will do better on Judgment Day than for any town that rejects you and the message you bring in this way. You need to keep in mind that since you are being sent out like sheep among wolves you need to be as clever as snakes while at the same time being as innocent as doves so that you can be effective and not undermine the message by being too cautious.

You need to be prepared because some of you will be handed over to the local religious councils and you will be flogged in their synagogues. Because of your preaching who I am, others of you will be brought before the Roman governors and the Jewish kings they appoint and will have the opportunity to witness this to them as well. Don’t worry what or how to say it when you are arrested because the Spirit of the Father will speak through you at that time.

Who I am will not only cause men to hate you, it will cause brother to betray brother, fathers to betray their children, and children to rebel against their parents – all to the point of death. But whoever remains faithful to me to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, there is no logical reason to put up with unnecessary persecution when it is clear you and the message you bring are unwanted. You are on a missionary journey for the purpose of helping to build the kingdom of God so move on to another place where your efforts can be productive – don’t stay where you are being persecuted just so you can be martyred. You will not complete the mission I am giving you to go throughout the cities of Israel before I return in judgment of Israel.

Remember that I’ve been called Beelzebub, the prince of demons, by the religious leaders for casting demons out of demon possessed people. So if I the Son of God have been called Satan, you as my disciples will be called the same thing because students and servants are not above their teachers or masters. You need to be prepared for this and know that strange as it may seem the kingdom message will advance in the world in this way.

But do not fear them because the truth of the good news will be brought out into the open despite what others will call you. What I’m telling you, proclaim for all to hear. Another reason not to fear them is because although they can kill you body, they can’t kill your soul; instead fear God who controls your destiny which can be hell where both body and soul are destroyed. Finally, do not fear them because you are more valuable than sparrows and not one of them perishes without it being the will of God – and He knows you so well that He could tell you how many hairs are on your head.

Those who recognize me before men will be recognized before my Father, but those who deny me before men will be denied to my Father. When it comes to the issue of entering the kingdom, I haven’t come to bring peace but a sword because it is “the” issue that will divide people and result in who does and doesn’t enter the kingdom of God. Therefore, my coming will turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law such that the members of a man’s household will become his enemies when his father, mother, son or daughter learn that he loves Me more than them. If he doesn’t, he isn’t worthy of me - just like anyone who fails to sacrifice his life by dying to himself for the sake of others in following me. And a person who works hard to find their life will actually end up losing it in the age to come, while a person who loses their life in the course of following me will find it in the age to come.

Whenever you are received by others, they are also receiving me and my Father who sent me. In the same way, anyone who receives a prophet receives the prophets reward, anyone who receives a righteous man receives the righteous man’s reward, and anyone who gives a cup of cold water to my disciple, one of these little ones, receives my disciple’s reward – the kingdom of God!


PRINCIPLES

1. MATTHEW TOLD HIS FIRST CENTURY READERS THAT AFTER JESUS CHOOSE TWELVE DISCIPLES HE INSTRUCTED THEM ABOUT THE MISSION HE WAS SENDING THEM ON.

2. WHAT DID MATTHEW TELL HIS FIRST CENTURY READERS JESUS’ INSTRUCTIONS FOR HIS DISCIPLES WERE FOR THE MISSION HE WAS SENDING THEM ON?


3. MATTHEW TOLD HIS FIRST CENTURY READERS THAT JESUS INSTRUCTED HIS DISCIPLES:

A. They had authority to drive out demons and to heal every sickness and disease.

B. They were to go only to the lost sheep of Israel.

C. They were to preach the message that kingdom of heaven was near.

D. They were to heal the sick, raise the dead, cure the lepers and drive out demons.

E. They have received freely from God so they were to give freely to others.

F. They were not to rely on their own provisions but instead to trust in God’s provision.

G. They were to stay with a worthy person and to give them their peace.

H. They were to leave behind the dust on their feet as a testimony against those who wouldn’t welcome or listen to them.

I. They were to be both clever in the way they operated as well as be innocent in the means they used so they didn’t undermine the message by being too cautious.

J. They were to be aware they would be persecuted in their synagogues & that they would witness to the Gentiles through the power of the Holy Spirit.

K. They were to be aware they would be hated because of preaching who Jesus is and they would need to stand firm in their faith about Him.

L. They were to flee to another place when persecuted by those who obviously wouldn’t accept them or their message rather than make themselves into martyrs and become unable to preach the message about the kingdom.

M. They were to know they wouldn’t finish their mission before Jesus returned in judgment of Israel.

N. They were to know they were not above their teacher so they would not be treated better than he was.

O. They were told to not be afraid because their Father knows them individually and was in control of everything.

P. They were told if they acknowledge Jesus before others He will acknowledge them before His Father.

Q. They were told Jesus has come as a sword in that when people have to decide whether he is first in their lives it creates conflict for them and between them and others in their lives, including in their family.

R. They were told if they don’t sacrifice their lives, die to themselves, for the sake of others they aren’t worthy of him.

S. They were told that if someone doesn’t give their life to Him they will lose it.

T. They were told that anyone who receives them, receives Him and His Father who sent him.


4. MATTHEW TELLS US TODAY THAT AFTER JESUS CHOOSES HIS DISCIPLES HE INSTRUCTS THEM ABOUT THE MISSION HE IS SENDING THEM ON.

5. WHAT DOES MATTHEW TELL US TODAY JESUS’ INSTRUCTIONS ARE FOR HIS DISCIPLES FOR THE MISSION HE IS SENDING THEM ON?

6. MATTHEW TELLS US THAT JESUS’ INSTRUCTIONS FOR HIS DISCIPLES TODAY ARE THAT:

A. We have authority to drive out demons and to heal every sickness and disease.

B. We are to go to the lost sheep of all Nations.

C. We are to preach the message that kingdom of heaven is here.

D. We are to heal the sick, raise the dead, cure the lepers and drive out demons.

E. We have received freely from God so we are to give freely to others.

F. We are not to rely on our own provisions but instead to trust in God’s provision.

G. We are to stay with a worthy person and to give them our peace.

H. We are to leave behind the dust on our feet as a testimony against those who don’t welcome or listen to us.

I. We are to be both clever in the way we operate as well as be innocent in the means we use so we don’t undermine the message by being too cautious.

J. We are to be aware we will be persecuted in our churches & that we will witness to the secular world through the power of the Holy Spirit.

K. We are to be aware we will be hated because of preaching who Jesus is and we will need to stand firm in our faith about Him.

L. We are to flee to another place when persecuted by those who obviously wouldn’t accept us or our message, rather than make ourselves into martyrs and become unable to preach the message about the kingdom.

M. We are to know we will not finish our mission before Jesus returns in judgment of Israel.

N. We are to know we are not above our teacher so we will not be treated better than he was.

O. We are told to not be afraid because our Father knows us individually and is in control of everything.

P. We are told if we acknowledge Jesus before others He will acknowledge us before His Father.

Q. We are told Jesus has come as a sword in that when people have to decide whether he is first in their lives it creates conflict for them and between them and others in their lives, including in their family.

R. We are told if we don’t sacrifice our lives, die to ourselves, for the sake of others we aren’t worthy of Him.

S. We are told that if we don’t give our life to Him we will lose it.

T. We are told that anyone who receives us, receives Him and His Father who sent him.


PRAYER


Our Father, we praise You for Your Son for His calling disciples and for His giving them authority preach and heal in His Name.

Our Father, we thank You for Your Son for His calling us as disciples and for giving us authority to preach and heal in His Name today.

Our Father, forgive us when we try to do the work of Your kingdom on our own strength, our own words and our own resources, rather than relying on Your provision and the power of Your Spirit.

Our Father, help us to use the minds You have given to us as we do the work of Your kingdom so that we will evaluate who we associate with, we prepare ourselves for the persecution that lies ahead, we cleverly preach with intelligence, we don’t let the ends of Your message justify the means by which we go about presenting it, we testify against those who reject us as Your messengers and Your message, and we leave pointless persecution behind us for another place where eyes, ears and hearts are open.

Our Father, help us to have no fear because You are with use at all times and even though we know that we will be treated no better than Your Son, who was insultingly called the prince of demons, give us peace in knowing that even though You are God, You know us so well that even the number of hairs on our head our known by You.

Our Father, we ask that we remain faithful at all times: never disowning Your Son, placing him first in our lives before all even those in our family, sacrificing our lives for His sake and that of others, losing our lives for Him, and receiving prophets, the righteous and other disciples in Your and Your Son’s Names.

Our Father, our prayer is in the Name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.



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