Matthew 42
Every Christian is a sent Christian
We are all sent on mission, every one of us, no matter where you are in your walk.
Matthew 10:1–15 (NIV)
1 Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John;
3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;
4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans.
6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.
7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’
8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.
9 “Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts—
10 no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep.
11 Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave.
12 As you enter the home, give it your greeting.
13 If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you.
14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet.
15 Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town."
Stop lying to yourself
1Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John;
3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;
4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
· Jesus is about to send the 12 out on their first solo mission
· Sending them in pairs of twos
· Let’s look at the list
o Fishermen
o Tax collector
o A zealot revolutionary
o And a traitor
· The list is diverse
· And a little scary
· They had no formal training
· No seminary
· They might as well have been
o Truck drivers
o Or plumbers
o Farmers
o Or bank tellers
· They were just regular people like you and me
· And to top it all off, they had only been following Jesus for a short time
· Probably less than 6 months
What makes us think we are not worthy to spread the good news?
· I see so many folks lying to themselves about not being able to spread the gospel
· They think they are not smart enough
· Or haven't been following long enough
· And they are just lying to themselves
· Because Jesus gives us this information to set the example
o No fancy degree needed
o No expertise required
o Just a heart for Him!
So, what does spreading the good news look like??
What does it look like to be a sent Christian?
First, stay in your lane!
5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans.
6Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel."
· This has a much deeper meaning but for today stay in your lane
· He sent them to people they could relate to
· That their story would resonate with
· So, don’t go looking for folks to share the gospel with
· God has already put you in their path
Your story, your experience, and the Holy Spirit are all you need
· Trust in Jesus that the people in your path need to hear about Him
· They all won’t accept it, but don’t let that stop you from telling it
Two, You have to feed the body and the soul
7 "As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’
8a Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons."
· First this has always been Jesus' message
· First this has always been Jesus' message
Matthew 4:17 (NIV)
17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
· To proclaim to anyone that would listen
· That heaven is walking among them
· And that the time for repentance is now, tomorrow is not guaranteed
You have to feed both the body and soul
· Simply healing people does nothing for them in eternity
o If you build wells and feed the homeless
o If you create the next major medical break-thru
o Won’t mean anything if you don’t feed, heal to the soul as well
· The soul is for forever
There are some things that bear repeating!
· Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near
· Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and the only Savior.
· The church, the body of Christ, is an essential part of the Lord’s plan, now and forever.
· Salvation is all about the cross.
· We are not saved by works, but saved God’s grace alone.
· If you have faith, you will pray
· The Bible is the inspired word of God and the spiritual nutrition of believers.
· And Heaven is real and hell is hot!!!!
Three, give it away, as much and as often as you can!
8b Freely you have received; freely give.
9 “Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts—
10 no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep."
· We got this gift free and we should not hide it
· We should be giving it away as often as we can
· And not expecting anything in return for it
· Not money, not even a pat on the back
And always remember God will always provide for your needs
· We as brothers and sisters should be looking out for each other and helping those as in need
· You will reap what you sow
Four, don’t let the grass grow under your feet!
11 Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave.
12 As you enter the home, give it your greeting.
13 If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you.
14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet.
· We should share the gospel with everyone in our lives
· But if they reject it
· Move on, keep praying but move on
· You can spend way too much time and energy on folks
· Don't spend 80% of your time and resources on people that don’t want it
o We tend to do that
o We feel like we have failed so we keep going back
o Don’t
o If they welcome it, great, if they don’t move on
Last, Heaven is real, and hell is hot, and judgement is coming for all!
15 Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
· Judgment day is coming
· And it will be swift
· And it will be just
· So, do your part, and spread the gospel
· Stop lying to yourself and get in the game!
from Charles Spurgeon, in a 1873 sermon entitled “A Sermon and a Reminiscence”:
Once more, he who really has this high estimate of Jesus will think much of him, and as the thoughts are sure to run over at the mouth, he will talk much of him. Do we so?
If Jesus is precious to you, you will not be able to keep your good news to yourself; you will be whispering it into your child’s ear; you will be telling it to your husband; you will be earnestly imparting it to your friend; without the charms of eloquence you will be more than eloquent; your heart will speak, and your eyes will flash as you talk of his sweet love.
Every Christian here is either a missionary or an impostor. Recollect that. You either try to spread abroad the kingdom of Christ, or else you do not love him at all. It cannot be that there is a high appreciation of Jesus and a totally silent tongue about him. Of course, I do not mean by that, that those who use the pen are silent: they are not. And those who help others to use the tongue, or spread that which others have written, are doing their part well: but that man who says, “I believe in Jesus,” but does not think enough of Jesus ever to tell another about him, by mouth, or pen, or tract, is an impostor.
You are either doing good, or you are not good yourself. If thou knowest Christ, thou art as one that has found honey; thou wilt call others to taste of it; thou art like the lepers who found the food which the Syrians had cast away: thou wilt go to Samaria and tell the hungry crowd that thou hast found Jesus, and art anxious that they should find him too.
Be wise in your generation, and speak of him in fitting ways and at fitting times, and so in every place proclaim the fact that Jesus is most precious to your soul.
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