Beloved, I am glad to share with you today on the mission of the disciples under the theme : “for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” This passage corresponds to Matthew 10.20. The twelve disciples chosen by the Savior became apostles, because they are instructed by the words and the example of the divine Master, and time comes when they will be sent, after having learned the essential of the teachings, in particular that of our complete natural incapacity. Only then can the Lord use us. And he will wait until this moment has arrived.
Indeed, it’s the Lord who calls, prepares, sends, directs, supports, encourages and rewards his servants. They are not going on their own or sent by men. They do not expect any salary from them, but give what they have received for free. When we surrender to him, he instructs us and teaches us in the way we should go; he will counsel us with his loving eye on us. (Psa 32.8). So that our preparation time is fully filled for its glory.
That is why, whether Christian or Jewish at the time of affliction, the true disciple can expect to encounter from an unjust and wicked world, an opposition similar to that encountered by the Lord Jesus (Mat 10.16-22). But it will be an opportunity for him to taste all the resources of grace, this unlimited grace which knows and preserves the redeemed upto single hair (2 Cor 12.1-10).
Furthermore, it is not only hatred of the world that reaches the faithful believer, but he frequently has to deal with hostility from his own family. Let him not be discouraged! for the Lord has expressly announced that it will be so, and has also provided resources for his case. So the disciples have there a powerful reason for consolation and assurance in the midst of difficulties and dangers whose mere thought would have overwhelmed their souls. But there are two things the disciples might worry about: first how they will speak or what they will say; and what will be given to them at the same time and then they will no longer be embarrassed, even for the illiterate men among them. It is not up to them to leave the task of proclaiming and relaxing the divine truth; another takes care of it, it is the Spirit of light and life, which alone in divine things, makes them eloquent.
For he has given me a trained tongue so that I can uphold the word of the slain, and you wake up my ear every morning so that I listen as the disciples listen (Isa 50.4). He also gave them the Spirit of truth that the world cannot receive (1 Cor 2.10-13; Ep 6.19; Luke 21.15; John 14.16,17).
In other words, it’s to show that we have finished with the pleasures of the world, that we have given up our personal will. But still it must be for an essential reason: “for the love of me”, specifies the Lord Jesus (2 Cor. 5.14-15).
Today, he uses his authority to give eternal life, as we read in John 17.1, 2:“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him”. So, in preaching the kingdom of heaven, they were to heal the cripple, raise the dead, make lepers clean, and cast out demons. For all this power will be active again in the future establishment of the reign of Christ; therefore these miracles which the disciples performed in preaching the Gospel are called, in Hebrews 6.5, “the powers of the coming age.”
Indeed, the Lord touchingly shows that God takes care of all the smallest details relating to his own, and that nothing happens without his will. Passerines, for example, have little value for men, since we sell two for a penny; however, not one falls to the ground without our Father’s permission. David had already known the tender care and infinite goodness of God when he said, “Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me.”(Psalm 27:10).
It should be remembered that the Lord Jesus sent his disciples like sheep in the midst of wolves. They needed the caution of snakes and had to show the simplicity of doves; qualities which are seldom united, and which are found only in those who, by the Spirit of the Lord, are wise as to good, and simple as to evil. But if the disciples were not on guard against men, they could only suffer; they were indeed beaten with rods, brought before the sanhedrins, the governors and the kings, and all these tribulations became for them a testimony, a divine means of presenting the Gospel of the kingdom to kings and princes, without altering its character and without accommodating it to the world or mixing the disciples of Jesus with the uses and the false greatness of this world.
For the disciples’ relationship with their Father, a relationship which so obviously characterizes the sermon on the mountain, had become the basis of their capacity for the service they were to perform. This is why they should not resist, but, if the opposition took the form of persecution, they should flee and preach the Gospel elsewhere, because, before they could travel through the cities of Israel, the Son of man would have come. They were to announce the kingdom. For the Emmanuel was there among his people; Now the heads of the people had called the master of the house Beelzebub saying that it was he who drove out the demons. But that did not stop the testimony of Jesus, because it strongly characterized the circumstances in which this testimony was to be given. So he sent his disciples to warn them of this state of things, to maintain their testimony as long as possible among his beloved people.
This is why in the book of the Acts of the apostles, we find the interventions of these ones, inspired by the Holy Spirit and in particular arguments expressed by Paul to ensure his own defense following his accusation before chiefs and before governors.(Acts chp 24-26).
The passages below have been compiled for your edification on our subject and to facilitate your understanding.
- The teachers of the Word:
Mt 28.20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”;
1 Tim 3.2 Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach;
1 Tim 4.11 Command and teach these things.;
1 Tim 6.3 If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, ;
2 Tim 2.25 Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth,
Ac 20.28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.
- The promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit:
Isa 32.15 till the Spirit is poured on us from on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems like a forest.;
Isa 59.21 “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD.“My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the LORD.;
Ez 39.29 I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the people of Israel, declares the Sovereign LORD.”
Joel 2.28 “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
Mt 3.11 “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.;
Luke 11.3 Give us each day our daily bread.;
Luke 24.49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”;
Ac 1.8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”;
Acts 2:38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
- The predicted persecution in connection with the Church:
Mt 10.17 Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues.;
Mt 24.9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.
Luke 21.12 But before all this, they will lay hands on you, and they will persecute you; they will deliver you to the synagogues, they will throw you in prison, they will lead you before kings and before governors, because of my name;
John 15.20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.
John 16.2 They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God.;
2 Tim 3.12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted;
Rev 2.10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victory’s crown.
- Providence protects, watches over life with infinite care:
Psa 115.12 The LORD remembers us and will bless us: He will bless his people Israel, he will bless the house of Aaron,
Mat 6.32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.;
Luke 12.7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
1 P 5.7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
From all of the above, we understand that by following the Lord Jesus, he will guide us wherever he sends us, making us assisted by the Holy Spirit. Because it is he who calls, prepares, sends, directs, supports, encourages and rewards his servants. They are not going on their own or sent by men. They expect no wages from them, but give what they have received for free. Let’s therefore unload on him all our worries, because he is the good shepherd and we know his voice. Be faithful to death, and I will give you the crown of life, says the Lamb of God. Our prayers are with you all in your efforts to follow him in order to return to glory with him.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite anyone who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me as follows :
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I acknowledge that I have sinned against you and ask forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as my Lord and personal Savior. I acknowledge that you died on the cross of Calvary and that you rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me each day to eternal life you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal to me and strengthen my heart and my faith so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me in your divine family so that I too can contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
To you all worship, power, and glory, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be glad to respond to your queries and comments as necessary, before sharing with you next week on John the Baptist’s witness through the theme : “Go back and report to John what you hear and see:.. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you profusely.
David Feze, Servant of the Lord Almighty.