Matthew 9:32-10:31 - Skip Heitzig

[Music] welcome to expound our weekly worship and verse by verse study of the Bible our goal is to expand your knowledge of the truth of God by explaining the Word of God in a way that is interactive enjoyable and congregational we call this a textual community let's rejoice and learn God's Word in an interactive and enjoyable new way would you open your Bibles to the Gospel of Matthew chapter 9 exactly where we thought we might cover it last week but we did not and we did not do so on purpose no you laughs before we pray and get started in a Bible study a quick announcement next Tuesday the women's ministry is kicking back up for their next semester on living deliciously Tuesday mornings at 9:30 in the morning Tuesday evenings at 6:30 we welcome you gals out let's pray father when we consider that your son was sent into the world on a mission and declared as the father has sent me so send I you it becomes then the great question of our lives - what will you send us to whom when will that be and how will that task be completed those are questions really Lord that only you can answer individually in the lives and hearts of your people and we pray that tonight's study would be in part the answer to that Lord all of us in this room no matter what we do have been called by you for a purpose and even if we're on the staff of this church this is not a job this is a divine call help us to understand with great clarity according to the gifts you have provided for us and the need that we will see in our world all those answers to those questions when where how in Jesus name Amen I said that we left off in Matthew 9 on purpose strategically and we really did it it is exactly where we want to be part of life is growth you expect growth it's normal its natural everything that is in the physical world that is a living organism has some kind of a growth pattern you expect a baby to grow into a toddler a toddler to become an adolescent an adolescent to one day get out of the house when they become an adult you really don't want them to stay now I know moms get a little bit sentimental and say oh I don't want you to grow up this is such a beautiful age but if they were to stay at that age for 10 or 20 years you would have a change of heart growth is normal you expect it in fact when there's a lack of growth when there's some physical retardation or mental capacity that is diminished you get worried and rightfully so well what is true in the physical realm the physiological realm is also true in the spiritual realm Jesus talked about a relationship with him in terms of being born you must be born again to enter the kingdom of heaven but once you have been born you expect growth spiritual growth growth to become mature and one of the evidences that you are a mature Christian is that you take seriously the calling to go into all the world to be sent as we're going to read about tonight the disciples in the section we are about to enter into are facing a very unique opportunity they have been disciples they are about to become apostles sent ones that's what it means up to this point as I pols Moffatt ace is the Greek word it means a learner somebody who learns they were watching Jesus they were hearing Jesus they were processing all of the information but there came a point in their spiritual journey their growth when it was time to not just be a learner but to be a sent one not just a disciple but now an apostle a month eight days us a and then a learner then an apostle is sent out one and we'll see that in in this section the last part of job Matthew chapter 9 is a hinge point look at it as a hinge that upon which swings a great door of Jesus ministry up to this point Jesus has been doing all of the ministry and as I said the disciples have been watching them here now is the hinge from Jesus being with the crowds to Jesus now being with his disciples for the crowds Jesus has done all the teaching he's done all the healing he's done all the preaching the disciple the disciples have been watching now they will take part in it Jesus will spend time with them and in spending time with them prepare them for the ministry of teaching and preaching and healing so they're faced with an enormous opportunity will I just sit on the bench and continue to learn or will I be sent now we never stop learning we're always disciples till we day we die there's always things to process and to hear and do watch but the real excitement the real adventure comes in being sent in this section of John 9 Jesus will survey the crowd and see their condition and it's a pretty pitiful condition in seeing the condition he will then formulate a plan to meet the condition to healed the condition to fix the condition and that's where the Apostles come in in verse 32 we finished in verse 31 as they went out behold they brought to him Jesus a man mute and demon-possessed and when the demon was cast out the mute spoke and the multitudes noticed the word multitudes the crowds are gathering the multitudes marveled saying it was never seen like this in Israel this crowd these multitudes knew had heard in the synagogue's all of the Messianic prophecies like Isaiah chapter 35 Isaiah 45 and others that spoke about the son of David and the ministry in the kingdom age the healings the blind opening their eyes the the Deaf having their ears unstopped the lame being able to walk they had heard all of that and now they see Jesus and they hear Jesus and they say man it's never been like this it was prophesied like this but it was never seen like this in all of Israel but the Pharisees said he casts out demons by the ruler of demons what a contrast you have the multitudes attributing the miracles to God this is proof that he's the Messiah this is the one sent by God the Prophet spoke about it's never been seen like this in Israel this man must be the Messiah these miracles are from God the Pharisees on the other hand are attributing the miracles to Satan interesting contrast interesting way to process the same exact sermons and the same exact miracles now there was no denying that Jesus was a miracle worker but the Pharisees felt that though he was working there the source of those miracles must be by the devil verse 35 is a summation then Jesus went about all the cities and the villages teaching in their synagogues preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every sickness in every disease among the people now we have in that verse a summation of Jesus ministry in Galilee summing it all up this is what he did he preached he taught and he healed now we're gonna see a change before we do we have a question that's been texted in that asks why did demon possession seem more obvious and flagrant back then well I'm glad you asked the question that way why did it seem more obvious I don't know that it is it just seemed that way there's no proof that demon possession is still not seen in the same way today in fact many places around the world and not in Western civilization but in places that I've been to places like India places in remote parts of Asia a demon possession is more obvious and flagrant like it was in the New Testament these are cultures like in ancient Israel that were more in touch with the spiritual realm we live in a Western culture that denies the supernatural so when something manifests itself like this it's usually relegated to mental disorder mental disease and medication is given etc not always favorably so so when it comes to our culture Satan is not an idiot and we shouldn't be ignorant of his devices what works over here to deceive people may not be what worked in ancient Israel or in these other more primitive cultures but he's got his ways that are very effective besides obvious and flagrant demon possession now look at verse 36 but when he saw the multitudes he was moved with compassion for them because they were weary and scattered like sheep having no Shepherd and he said to his disciples the harvest truly is plenteous are few therefore pray the lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest jesus saw the crowds but when he looked over the crowds he didn't go oh man I hate crowds where'd all these people come from what a bother no that's what we say Jesus saw them differently he could look beyond the outward beyond just the fact that there were many people out there he could see their inner condition and we noticed that Jesus was moved with compassion stop right there moved with compassion is a very interesting Greek word the word is sprach mids oh my say that quickly ten times Splunk knids oh my comes from the word spock now which means the gut the intestine the bowels and that is because the ancient Hebrews believed that the deepest emotion of a person was felt in the gut the pit of one's stomach if you've ever had to speak in front of people and you're not used to it you dread being in front of people but they they call upon you for something you've got to come up and say a few words and you go oh no when you get up there you often get what we call butterflies you feel it and where do you feel it you feel it in your fingers you feel it in your head no you feel it in the pit of your stomach you look I hate that feeling if a catastrophe happens somebody tells you about a sudden death of a loved one you feel it in the pit of your stomach so the ancient Hebrews believed that when a person feels the deepest the deepest part of them emotionally is the pit of the make the intestines because of that feeling that is generated during those intense times now in our Western culture our modern culture we use a different figure of speech we say it's from the heart it's all about the deepest part of me deep deep deep in my heart the ancient Hebrews this was the heart there's a place where you think it's where you process your thoughts this is the biblical heart it's as a man thinks in his heart so is he whereas the deepest emotion that you feel is in the spankin ah so Splunk needs oh my Jesus was moved in the gut toward them it's a beautiful word and it reveals to us the kind of Savior we have here is Jesus feeling toward people having an emotion toward people emotionally moved toward the need of others and this isn't the only time when our Lord goes to the funeral of his friend Lazarus and he sees the crowd weeping and especially Mary and Martha their hearts are broken and they're weeping over the death of their brother the scripture tells us Jesus was moved in the spirit and troubled in spirit same word Splunk enough lanka needs oh my he was moved emotionally he felt deeply for those that he loved or how about this when Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane and they came to arrest him Jesus said if you're here to arrest me then let these my disciples go why do you say that because he cared about them he felt deeply toward them wanted to get them out of the fray of this arrest that was for the glory of God that he was to undergo when Jesus a few days before that was coming into Jerusalem and he saw the city of Jerusalem over him now if you go to Israel today and we'll be there in a few months some of us and you stand on the Mount of Olives the first time you crest the Mount of Olives and you look over Jerusalem you go wow this is there's a big smile on your face I've heard about this I've seen pictures of this this is awesome well Jesus didn't do that he didn't pull out his camera God God I get a shot disciples move over this week get the temple behind you this is awesome the Bible tells us Jesus wept and he cried out he's at Jerusalem Jerusalem how often I wanted to gather you together your children together as a hen would gather her chicks but you were not willing and he foresaw the coming of the Roman army against them and the destruction of the temple feeling deeply he wept over them like it Lazarus funeral Jesus wept with them on the cross a torture that you think would be so self consuming when you die a painful death you're usually only thinking about one thing the painful death Jesus was thinking about others he prayed Father forgive them and then the second statement on the cross today you'll be with me in paradise to the repentant robber and then before he died he made sure that his mother was taken care of by John the Apostle thinking of others feeling deeply for others so that's the picture that should be in your mind tonight as you read and Jesus was moved with compassion for them why because they were weary and scattered like sheep having no Shepherd the new American Standard Bible if you have one translates this verse a little bit differently they were distressed and they were downcast that's the words the new American Standard Bible uses what Jesus saw was the inward condition lives devastated by sin when we look at people we see people and we go nice hairdo ugly sweater he's gained a little weight lately he's lost a little hair lately she doesn't look the same week we see the outward Jesus looks at people differently and is able to see beyond the surface into the very condition of the soul and he sees them as distressed downcast or weary and scattered why because they were like sheep having no Shepherd interesting that the Pharisees and the scribes the Sadducees the religious leaders they were to be they should have been the shepherds of the flock of Israel the people of Israel they were false shepherds they didn't bind up their wounds they didn't make sure that they were fed and one of the heart cries of God is to raise up Shepherds that will feed his flock Ezekiel chapter 34 woe to the false shepherds who feed themselves and not my flock and God promises that his heart because he loves his flock he wants to raise up Shepherds who will feed them the knowledge of God so Jesus sees this flock that should have been tended was not and he said to his disciples the harvest speaking of the crowd is truly plentiful but the laborers are few the New Testament in basic English a more modern translation renders this verse there is much grain but few men to get it in or gather it in there is much grain but few men to get it in here Jesus changed his metaphors he's been seeing them like a flock but he speaks of them like a harvest now what was he speaking of well when you look out over a grain fields and you have these individual stocks of grain if they just stay there they're gonna die where they're at and you're gonna lose the grain you have to come in and cut them down harvest them and store them gather them in so Jesus sees the flock of the Jewish people Israel like stocks of standing grain that need to be brought in to the barn if you will of God's kingdom if they're left there they're just gonna die so he says therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into the harvest now what was true then happens to be true now the need outweighs the people to meet the need there's always more harvest more grain more work to be done in the field than workers who are willing to go out and do anything about it thus the concern of Jesus and he wants his disciples now who have been watching who have been listening who have been processing to get involved and first he says therefore pray the lord of the harvest to send out laborers into the harvest okay so we have no record that they prayed but I bet they did I bet he told him to do it and I bet that they did that I'm just inferring based upon what I know about Jesus and them that he said boys look at this crowd look at all the need out there look at their inward condition there's a lot of people but there's no workers to tend to their needs let's talk to God the lord of the harvest the one in charge the sovereign king and let's ask him to do something about it so I'm guessing that Peter might have said boys let's do it he said maybe they're bowed their heads maybe they lifted their eyes and raised their hands and they said Lord just like our master has taught us to do we pray that you would send out laborers into the harvest field interesting that Jesus didn't say pray that we get more supervisors all he needs is a laborer anybody who will say Here I am Lord send me that that's the ones Jesus looking forward to somebody to do the work okay so keep that thought in mind now we get to chapter 10 and when he had called his twelve disciples to him he gave them power over unclean spirits to cast them out and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease now the names of the Twelve Apostles are these first Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother James the son of Zebedee and John his brother Philip and Bartholomew Thomas and Matthew the tax collector James the son of Alphaeus and labias whose surname was thaddaeus simon the canaanite and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him all right in the New Testament we have four different lists of these disciples one in Matthew 1 and Mark one in Luke and one in the book of Acts it seems if you were to compare all four or less that there were three groups of four men in the twelve and these three groups were led by three leaders Peter being one Philip being another James the son of Alphaeus being a third just by the way their group it would just seem that they came in threes when you read the list there's always certain things that remain the same they're not exactly the same but there are certain things in all four lists that are always the same number one Peter is always mentioned first number two James and John are always coupled and James has always mentioned before John probably because James is older than John and in all three lists all four less Judas Iscariot is always named last and that's because he betrayed Jesus that has made mention of because it is written after the fact first on the list of these disciples and again I'm going to tie all of these thoughts together but let's follow the list first on the list is Simon who is called Peter who called him Peter Jesus renamed him Peter his name is Simon Simon means one who listens I can tell that you know Peter some of you because you laughed at that Peter wasn't a listener Peter was a doer he was impulsive he wasn't the kind of guy to to wait for things to happen he was the kind of guy to make things happen right he was the guy who wanted to move so he wanted to do something about what he heard Jesus say was gonna happen to him in Matthew 16 he said boys I'm going to Jerusalem they're gonna arrest me beat me up kill me and I'm gonna rise from the dead the third day Peter goes oh no no no no far be it from You Lord that is not and i underscore not gonna happen Jesus simple response was get behind me Satan you're thinking not like God but like a man then I love the story of Peter on the Mount of Transfiguration when Jesus is transfigured a physical transformation takes place with Moses and Elijah meeting with Jesus speaking about things pertaining to the kingdom and Peter James and John the inner circle they're watching this they were there with Jesus there watching this and Peter and seeing this incredible miraculous occurrence decides I've got to say something profound and he he interrupts the conversation he says it's good to be here I just wanted to say that I think Moses and Elijah won where'd you get this guy what is this that's Peter he has to say something he's impulsive he's the guy in the garden of gethsemane you remember who when Jesus was being arrested pulled out a sword and went after the guy's head it's good that he was a fisherman not a swordsman he missed got the ear Jesus heal the years that put your sword away if you live by the sword you're gonna die by the sword and Peter was the one who denied that he even knew Jesus I love that he's first on the list Peter warts and all first on the list marvelous testimony of the grace of God Jesus chose him he developed him he restored him after the resurrection and will use him for his whole life so Peters listed then Andrew his brother the word Andrew means manliness it's a great name I bet he loved his name and I bet he said Peter I'm Andrew he's mentioned second Bobby because Peter was older but he's the brother of Peter he was a disciple of John the Baptist he followed John the Baptist first and then later on followed Jesus it was Andrew who was reluctant to trust in Jesus Christ when Jesus was feeding the 5,000 and he was trying to work with the disciples and teach them faith it was Andrew who said well we have a kid with a few fish and a few loaves of bread but here's the question but what are they among so many well we know the answer to that question Andrew they're not much in and of themselves but the issue is when you play something little in the hands of Jesus they become mighty and he will multiply them but he was the guy reluctant to trust in Jesus just didn't know how this thing is gonna work that was Andrew next on the list are two brothers James the son of Zebedee and John his brother they had a fishing business they were Zebedee sons they were sons of Zebedee they're called Jesus gave them another title sons of thunder because these two boys were the ones who in a town of Samaria asked Jesus for permission for them to call fire down from heaven and nuke a samaritan village because they didn't receive him they just sort of were cold and indifferent I just thought Jesus can we just take care of the small stuff and just nuke this village call fire down from have dis destroy them Jesus after rebuking them gave them the title and it's stuck probably throughout their lifetime sons of thunder so I picked her James and John as these are sort of the these are the disciples wearing black leather robes a little bit edgier than the rest of the gang all right John of these disciples since they're listed I thought I'm just going through a little biographical John had the wonderful distinction the unique distinction of being called the disciple whom Jesus loved he had that distinction of course he was the one that wrote that about himself which I like even more because I think all of us should see ourselves as the disciple that Jesus loved who are you I'm the guy that Jesus loves now Jesus loved John and James and Bartholomew and Peter but to know that Jesus loves you and to write that of yourself is a wonderful realization John will write the Gospel of John first John second John 3rd John in the book of Revelation James his brother will become the very first martyr among these 12 apostles as will be seen in the book of Acts next on the list is Philip and Bartholomew and then Thomas and Matthew the tax collector Philip was slow and if Andrew was reluctant when Jesus fed the 5,000 then Philip was the slow one he he had a calculator for a brain he wasn't one to trust in the Lord he was the accountant among the bunch he was the guy who said I've run the numbers this isn't gonna work we just don't have the budget for this so when Jesus had this the crowd that he's about to feed he asked the question where will we buy bread that we may feed this crowd it was Philip who started thinking about that okay I'm looking at the crowd he put it all together to go okay 200 denarii worth of bread which is eight months of a working man's wage if we had that much money eight months of a man's salary we couldn't feed this crowd he has to calculate it now the right answer to the question where are we gonna find enough bread to feed this crowd the right answer I don't know your Jesus you got it covered we trust you you got us into this mess I trust that you'll get us out of this mess can't wait to watch what you're going to do but no he's calculating and trying to figure it out it goes I figured it out won't work can't do it that's Philip next is mentioned Bartholomew another name for Bartholomew you'll recognize Nathaniel Nathaniel is the guy that Philip comes to in John chapter one it says we found the ones that Moses and the prophets wrote about Jesus of Nazareth it was Nathanael or bartholomae who said Nazareth can anything could come out of Nazareth now I used to get myself in trouble when I first moved to New Mexico and I would name different towns that I thought were regard to small towns and I said you know Nazareth is sort of like this town or that town and I stopped mentioning them Thomas is next on the list Thomas was the skeptic he's axiomatic for disbelief if we want to say somebody's filled with disbelief we say that person is uh doubting Thomas that name comes down because of the kind of and he was the man from Missouri the disciple from Missouri the show-me-state I don't believe it till you show me I'm gonna see his hands you show me his hands and his feet I'll believe until then I won't believe show me that was the license plate on his chariot Thomas was the guy who in John 11 said our friend Lazarus is sleeping I'm gonna go wake him up let's go to Judea and somebody's one of the disciples said wait a minute Judea they want to kill you in Judea and Jesus says we've got to go it's daytime the nights come we've got to work Thomas says let's go to Judea that we may die with him he always saw the dark side of things but I will say this for Thomas cuz he does get a bad rap he was loyal let's go with him if we die we die we're gonna die he's a negative personality we're gonna die but let's go if he's gonna die let's die with him that's loyalty that part of him I admire and Matthew now Matthew's the author of this book he's the converted IRS agent the tax collectors now on the list of apostles then James the son of Alphaeus also known as James de les why is he called James de les cuz he's the younger in the list of the Twelve Apostles he's younger than James the greater James the brother of John don't know much about him I just know that his dad was Alphaeus and labias whose surname was thaddaeus he also goes by another name Judas the son of James verse four simon the canaanite and judas iscariot who also betrayed him Simon is also called Simon the zealot does that ring a bell do you know what a zealot is a zealot was a political party it was a religious political party it was a see if you can some of you'll be able to relate to this it's a religious group who believed that they should change their culture by their involvement in the political realm radically so they believed because they were under foreign occupation and it wasn't God's will God's original will for our nation was a theocracy and now Rome has taken over they were sworn assassins they were freedom fighters to kill Roman officers whenever they had a chance what I find interesting is that Jesus puts on the same team a tax collector and a zealot that's like putting an Israeli freedom fighter and a member of the PLO on the same team Matthew would be had been a target for murder in the natural realm I love how the body of Christ works how Jesus takes us from different backgrounds with different giftings and different callings and different dispositions and personalities and he says now I've made you my church get along put your differences aside love one another get past the personality and get past the politics and love one another for my sake and then finally Judas Iscariot the scariet means a man from kidiot which was a village in Judea these twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them saying do not go the way of the Gentiles do not enter the city of the Samaritans but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel okay we are now entering into the second major discourse in the Gospel of Matthew the first major discourse was called the Sermon on the Mount this is the second one this is the Sermon about the mission and here's the change up till now who's been doing all the work Jesus healing speaking preaching everything now he's gonna use them he's gonna gift them he's gonna send them he's just given him power it says to work miracles and these twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them saying and that word saying begins begins at the beginning of this second major discourse on the mission do not go the way of the Gentiles etc okay so Jesus the rest of this chapter is going to give a sermon let me give you the outline verses 5 through 15 is the call of the mission here's the calling I'm giving you the second point Jesus makes are the consequences of the mission beginning in verse 16 down to verse 23 and then finally verse 24 to verse 42 is the courage needed for the mission so those are the major points Jesus he's giving them a sermon it's a sermon about the mission their mission here's your call here are the consequences to your call and here's the courage you need to fulfill it so tied together what you just read in Chapter 9 in your mind with what you're reading here Jesus saw the multitude he sees the need the condition and he basically says there's so many people and there's so much need and here's the third part and so I'll send you so many people so much need and so I'll send you that's what we read in verse 5 these twelve Jesus sent out now what did he tell them to in the previous chapter look look at the harvest field there for prey so there they were Lord we pray for the harvest field that you would send out workers even as our master Jesus just told us we pray that you do that amen they thought it's all over now Jesus says boys good news your prayers been answered through you you're going and he sends them out he's commissioning them and he's preparing them now through this message that he's going to give them there is a solution to the president need today in our world do you agree that there's a big need in our world what would you agree that people need Jesus how many of you actually believe people out there need Jesus I want to see a show of hands okay that's that's most of us what's the solution to the condition now listen carefully these are all here number one look at it look look at the need look at people learn to look at people differently than you've been looking at people when Jesus looked at people he didn't see a crowd he saw the need of the heart you can't look at people just as clients anymore you can't look at people as your boss or the person that works for you or business people or people in front of you on the freeway you can't look at people anymore you have to look at people as Souls without Christ you have to look differently and look at the people of this world like Jesus looks at them so that's that's the first step in solving the problem and meeting the need to the condition look at it number two pray for it Jesus look at the harvest field therefore pray to the Father he didn't say therefore get up and go he said the second step after you notice them and your hardest move because of them is to pray for them you can always do more than pray after you prayed you can never do more than pray until you prayed that's where God begins to move in you and shows you your gifting in your part in meeting the need so you pray I feel that much of Christian service has neglected this important second step a stirring message is given about the need and we need you to get involved and so people get involved without praying and saying God is this how you want me to get involved what is my part in in the involvement they just go out and do instead of sitting down to think and pray and find out what the Lord's Direction is that's a mistake now granted Jesus will give later on the Great Commission and he will say go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature that's a sizable Commission but in Acts chapter 1 he tells his disciples after he rose from the dead he is a before he ascended into heaven he said but wait in Jerusalem until you be filled with power from on high for John truly baptized with water but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now go he said but first wait don't go yet go but before you go make sure that you are equipped with the power of the Holy Spirit and that's where the pray for it comes in look at it pray for it third step go for it look at it pray for it go for it there comes a point in verse five where Jesus sent them out see here's the interesting catch if you are a person who prays for the needs of people around you and you pray for the world if you go into our prayer chapel and you're one of those dear prayer warriors who actually takes time out of your life to look at that map and pray for people groups and pray for different ones what you'll discover is that while you're praying the Lord works deeply inside of your own life your own soul and he moves you with a compassion toward those people where eventually you can't just pray any longer you have to pray and go for it get involved somehow now that doesn't mean you're gonna go overseas or it might mean that you will go overseas but I don't know that it will but I do know this though you may never go overseas with your feet you can and should go overseas with your knees you should go out and do your community and your next-door neighbor hood with your knees you should pray you look at it you pray for it and then you go for it and so he's sending them out and he gives them a mission in verse five do not go the way of the Gentiles don't go so far up north don't go enter the city of the Samaritans don't go too far south where Samaria is he's now focusing their attention on a single people group their people group the Jewish people group that live around the area of the de gap the Decapolis and asketh offal as' and the Galilee that region but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel and as you go preach you can't just go you got to preach the word preach Kay Brousseau means to herald to speak out now I remember reading and hearing something some years ago and I hear it every now and then because people like to write this stuff because it makes them sound really chic and cool and spiritual I believe the saying is preach the gospel and if necessary use words well that sounds clever and that people don't go oh wow that's deep it is deep but it's wrong it's always necessary to use words as you go don't just do good deeds don't just heal the sick and go I preached the gospel I fed you a meal I did a nice deed and I hope you're gonna put two and two together and figure out that that I'm a Christian that this is God and the Jesus came from heaven died on the cross and rose from the dead and you I just hope you just figure that out if necessary I'll use words it is necessary use words as you go proclaim be a Herald speak preach it out be a representative of the king tell them why you're giving them a cup of cold water and healing their body and doing the wonderful philanthropic works that you're doing as you go preach saying the kingdom of heaven is at hand now understand the mission later on he's going to give them the Great Commission this is the smaller Commission and this is targeted on a single people group the Jewish nation the people living in that area announced to them that a Jewish Messiah has come according to Jewish scripture to fulfill all the predictions of the kingdom of God is predicted in the prophets it's come to you and if they require proof show them proof do these miracles that I've enabled you to do to show them the kingdom that I'm talking about heal the sick cleanse the lepers raise the dead cast out demons freely you have received freely give provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts nor beg for your money nor two tunics nor sandals nor staffs for a worker is worthy of his food he says go out travel light no backpack no extra money no extra shoes let's see should I wear the brown sandals or the black sandals well I'm wearing the brown sash maybe I should do the it just just go simply just go and the Lord will provide he's teaching them dependence it's not going to always stay this way don't take this and say well that's how a missionary is to go out because then we would just say to mr. C yeah go out take nothing with you not even a suitcase get on the plane just your ticket but this isn't always going to be it's temporary I'm gonna read something to you now in Luke chapter 22 that gives balance to this this is chapter 22 of Luke verse 35 he said to them when I sent you out without money bag knapsack and sandals did you lack anything so they said nothing then he said to them but now he who has a money bag let him take it and likewise a knapsack and he who has no sword let him take a sell his garment and buy one so take provisions take protection and go for it different kind of Commission he's training them here in the tenth chapter to live a life of faith in to travel light now whatever city or town you enter verse 11 inquire who in it is worthy and stay there till you go out and when you go out into the when you go into a household greet it if the household is worthy let your peace your Shalom as the Jews would call it come upon it but if it is not worthy let your peace return to you and whoever will not receive you nor hear your words when you depart from that house or city shake off the dust from your feet assuredly I say to you it will be more tolerable for the land of sodom and gomorrah in that day of judgment than for that City the practice of shaking the dust off of one's feet was a rabbinical practice the rabbis when they would travel to a Gentile land and re-enter the Land of Israel they would do this they take the dust off their feet publicly so as to say every particle of dust from this heathen area we're leaving off of our bodies because they believe that even the Gentile dust would defile them they were making the kind of a statement that there is a separation between non-believers non-jewish people at that time and Jewish people the idea of shaking the dust off was to disassociate yourself from the paganism of that place that's what it is I'm now entering into the covenant land I shake the dust off the off my feet from from that place I'm disassociating myself with paganism with idolatry I'm making a clean break and shaking of the dust off of your feet is a pronouncement of proclamation of judgement against that place especially these ambassadors for the King these apostles who are being sent out there representing Jesus the King if they don't receive them it's because they don't receive the message of Jesus the king and if they don't receive the message of Jesus the king they're not receiving Jesus and Jesus said have been received me they don't receive my father so to shake the dust off your feet was a proclamation of judgment as well as a cutting off a dissociation do we have anyone in the New Testament who actually did this you're staring at me like well answer yes we do Paul and Barnabas did when they went to Asia Minor modern-day Turkey they went into a town called Antioch of Pisidia they went into a synagogue they preached Christ and they Paul gave a beautiful sermon the ruler of the synagogue saw these visitors and after the reading of the scripture he said to Paul and Barnabas if you have any word of exhortation come on up man say on so Paul took it and spoke about the prophets and the promises of the Messiah in the Old Covenant spoke about Jesus and talked about God's plan to forgive that you can be justified from the things even the law of Moses couldn't justify you from well the Gentiles in the synagogue there were non-jewish believers who were close and they were in the back of the synagogue they were listening to the sermon they got all excited and they said to Paul hey can you come next week and do that again that was so exciting was the best sermon I ever heard so the very next Sabbath Paul and Barnabas were in the synagogue again and there were so many people said the whole town showed up which may the rulers of the synagogue jealous and they tried to stir up the people and create a division and call down curses from God blasphemies and Paul and Barnabas so they had to leave town before they left Antioch of Pisidia and went over to Iconium it says they shook the dust off their feet as a testimony against them so just as Jesus said they did and Jesus said it surely I say to you it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Day of Judgment than for that City behold I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves now I'd be going thanks a lot that's not a comforting position a sheep doesn't stand a chance against a wolf a wolf being a synonym typically in the scripture for a false prophet but you get the idea you're going into hostile territory as a disciple as a follower as a sent out apostle of Jesus they're not going to sympathize with you when you go out into this world and you say I love Jesus I'm going to tell you his message don't you realize you have a bull's-eye a target painted on you the enemy will do everything he can to get you to stop from being bad so Jesus is honest I'm sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves we're coming now to the second point in his sermon the first one was the call to the mission here's the consequence of the mission persecution therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves but beware of men for they will deliver you up to the council's and scourge you in their synagogues you will be brought before governors and Kings for my sake as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles but when they deliver you up do not worry about how or what you should speak for it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak for it is not you who speak but the Spirit of the father who speaks in you this is not a license for a lazy preacher to not study for a message the context is in a time of persecution when your life is on the line because of your witness God at that time will gloriously give you the right words to say at that time now brother will deliver a brother to death and a father his child and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death you will be hated by all for my name's sake but he who endures to the end will be saved don't let that throw you it doesn't mean that your spiritual salvation is contingent upon your faithful hold you know you're perfect witness in a time of persecution if you take this verse and you compare what we read about in the book of Revelation how after the three and a half years of hell on earth and God pouring out his wrath on earth and the wrath of the Antichrist that eventually the salvation will come salvation meaning not spiritual salvation but physical deliverance will come in the nick of time for those during that time that will come to pass when they persecute you in this city flee to another for surely I say to you you will not have gone through all the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes a disciple is not above his teacher nor servant above his master it is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher and that a servant be like his master if they've called the master of the house bill Zebub how much more will they call those of his household bills above was a Philistine deity aka a name for Satan and so if they've called if and they attribute the works of Jesus to demonic influences or bill Zebub or Satan therefore do not fear them for there is nothing covered that will not be revealed and hidden that will not be made known the gospel will become public knowledge whatever I tell you in the dark speak in the light and what you hear in the ear preach on the housetops do not fear those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin and not one of them falls to the ground apart from your father's will but the very hairs of your head are all numbered do not fear therefore are you of more value you are a more value than many sparrows just think about that truth and probably here we should clothes are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin even what you might consider the most trivial and insignificant aspects of life God's in control of even down to the bird that hit your window last week and died in the backyard God saw it God knew about it he's in sovereign providential control nothing escapes even the hairs on your head the very hairs of your head are numbered God counts the hairs on your head for some it's an easier task than for others but he knows every head now the average head has between ninety thousand to a hundred and forty thousand strands of hair or follicular units if you're a redhead it's about ninety thousand if you're a blonde typically you're a bit higher around one hundred and twenty two hundred and forty four or one hundred and hundred and forty four thousand one hundred and forty thousand about twelve thousand that's all tribes on my head but the point Jesus is making is wonderful every little aspect of your life is monitored and in control by sovereign god you're his child and again like we said the other day God never says the word oops not in his vocabulary even the very hairs of your head are numbered do not fear therefore you are of more value than many sparrows we'll pick it up next time Lord the joy about going from chapter to chapter verse by verse is that we will always pick up where we left off we believe Lord that you've allowed us to cover exactly what we need to hear but the overarching truth that we have heard tonight is that not only are we disciples but we are also apostles not only are we those who hear and watch and process information as learners or disciples but we're on a mission from God and each of us all of us are told to present our bodies as living sacrifices and not to conform to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds that we might prove what is that perfect an acceptable will of God for our lives and so tonight as we close Lord we close appropriately we we say here we are here's our bodies may our bodies be headquarters may our lives be the place where you reside and the base of operations from which you reach a very needy world many people much need and so I send you Lord fill us with your Holy Spirit we can't do it on our own we simply ask that you show us the task and give us what we need to glorify you in it we ask it in Jesus name Amen

Channel: Calvary Church with Skip Heitzig

Views: 4,903

Rating: 4.8857141 out of 5

Keywords: Calvary, Albuquerque, Skip, Heitzig, Sermon, Matthew, Calvary Church, Gospel, Beelzebub, Satan, persecution, Rabbinical, idolatry, judgment, dependence, Heal, Jewish nation, Messiah, Preach, lost sheep, Israel, pray, Mission, Judas Iscariot, Simon, James, Thomas, Bartholomew, Nathanael, Philip, John, Andrew, Peter, The Twelve, compassion, prophecies, disciples, Growth

Id: wCk8dBgGxcE

Length: 62min 8sec (3728 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 11 2018