Freely Recieved, Freely Give
13. October 2008 by Bernice Davis.
Hello:
Welcome back from the weekend.
Our text for today is:
Matthew 10: 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, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is 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 take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts;
10 take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep.
11 ”Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his 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, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.
Last week we covered the first part of this text in giving you a brief history of the origin of the Samaritan and Jewish conflict. Today, we will continue to discuss the mission of the disciples.
We have already learned where they could not go, so let’s look at where they were instructed to go.
Jesus tells them to go to the “lost sheep of
Israel” and he is clear about the message that they were to preach. The message was that the kingdom of heaven is near. We talked about earlier in our study of Matthew the theology of the “kingdom of heaven” also called the “
kingdom of
God.” Sometimes it refers to God’s rule, reign, dominance, principles, ordinances, etc on earth and in other context it refers to the afterlife.
What is fascinating in this text and I simply want you to make a mental note of it is this. They were given power to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, and drive out demons. Later on in the gospel of Matthew, we will encounter a situation where they are no longer able to do this and the story is fascinating as to what happened. Again, just make a mental note; we will discuss it in details when we get to the text.
It is also interesting that the disciples are told here not to take anything on their journey. Their needs would be supplied by the people in whom they would bless. Jesus is clear that if people do not want to hear the gospel then leave that home and “shake the dust off their feet.” We don’t have to pressure people in receiving the gospel. If there hearts are ready they will receive it and if not they won’t. It’s just that simple. The bible teaches us that no man comes to Jesus unless the Father draws him. When God touches their heart, they will be ready. You may ask how do we know who to witness to and whose hearts have been touched? We do just as he instructed the disciples, those who freely receive, we minister to and those who are hostile we move on and “shake the dust off our feet.” The seed has been planted and we know that one person plants, another person waters and it is God who will give the increase.
Here is another note, I want you to observe. Here he tells them to take nothing for their journey, later on when he sends them out again, he will tell them to take provisions for their journey. We will explore those fascinating circumstances later; I simply want to bring it to your attention for a future reference.
The last point that I want to focus on here is the command that as they have been freely given to then they are to freely give.
One of the greatest tragedies that I see on a daily basis among not just Christians but the average person in general is the lack of sharing knowledge or mentorship or passing information down. We live in such a competitive world and everybody wants to hold on to what they know for whatever the reasons may be; whether intimidation, fear, etc.
Yes, number #1, we are to freely share the gospel as it has been freely shared with us and number #2, don’t hoard your experiences and information, just as someone freely shared it with you to increase your life and make it better be just as generous with others. It takes nothing away from you but opens you up for a bigger blessing for the laws of sowing and reaping are real.
Stay encouraged!!!!!!!!
God Bless!!!!!!!!!!
Don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.