|
Plainly Speaking
with Karl J. Forehand
Going to Class
with Jesus series
The Message and
the Mission
by Karl J. Forehand
These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them, saying, "Do
not go
in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the
Samaritans; but rather go to
the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
"And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at
hand.'
"Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out
demons;
freely you received, freely give.
"Do not acquire gold, or silver, or
copper for your money belts,
or a bag for your journey, or even two
tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is worthy of his
support.
(Matthew 10:5-10)
The Message
God’s
Timetable
Why only to the Jews? Why should the message of the Gospel go
only to the Jews? Matthew Henry says
that it was so they could reject it.
Israel is God’s chosen nation and they had to have the first
opportunity to accept or reject the message.
Several times, in the New Testament, we are reminded that the Jewish
people were first. Just in the book
of Romans were are reminded three times that Jewish people are first (Romans
1:16, 2:9, 2:10).
In WWII when the marines captured the island of Saipan, the
Japanese ordered the inhabitants to kill themselves by jumping off a cliff.
Hundreds of feet below were the rocks and waters of the beach. American
translators yelled through bullhorns that if the inhabitants would come to
the U. S. side, they would be spared. A few did. Most jumped. It is a fair picture of what the Jewish
people did initially with the Gospel.
Most of them rejected it.
Jesus responded the this rejection in
Matthew 21:42-44 when He said, “Jesus said to them,
"Did you never read in the Scriptures, 'The stone which the builders
rejected, This became the chief corner stone; This came about from the Lord,
And it is marvelous in our eyes '?
"Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away
from you, and be given to a nation producing the fruit of it. "And he who falls on this stone will
be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like
dust."
How does it get to the Gentiles? Jesus tells us, in the Great Commission, to take the Gospel to
“all nations.” In Acts, chapter 10 (right
after Saul’s conversion), Peter has a conversation with God and exclaims, "Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads
to life." (Acts 11:18). But, it had to be offered to His chosen people first. Some of them accepted – many did not. But, by their rejection, they made
possible the spread of the Gospel to the Gentiles.
What is the Gospel?
Jesus called it the “Gospel of
the Kingdom.” He tells the disciples
to tell people that the “Kingdom is Near.”
He is telling the multitudes and the disciples, “Because of me, the Kingdom
is imminently closer that it was a little while ago.“ Paul called it the “Gospel of Jesus.” He explained that the Gospel contains the
following elements:
- Christ died for our sins
- Christ was buried
- Christ rose again
We can look back at Old
Testament prophecy. We can examine
the life of Jesus. We can also look
at prophecy being fulfilled right before our eyes. We see that the eternal Kingdom will ultimately be set up when
Jesus comes again. Because of this,
the message of the Gospel for us should be “The Kingdom is nearer than it has
ever been.” The Gospel is that Jesus
was promised, Jesus delivered, and He is coming soon!
The Mission
1.
Preach boldly
Unbelievers are waiting for you to say what they know you believe. An atheist once chastised a Christian,
telling him, “This Christian thing can’t possibly be true because you are so
silent about it.” He went on to say,
“If it was true, you would be telling everyone.” In other words, if it’s so great, why are we so ashamed of it?
The Kingdom of Heaven is at
hand. We not only to proclaim that it
is real and true and existing; but also that it is near to them. It is available to them. It is applicable to them. It was given for them.
Why preach boldly? In short, because it takes some guts to
share the Gospel. We spend a lot of
time side-stepping problems in our life.
But, one problem we will never avoid is that we will all die. We are all heading to the time that has
been appointed for us to end our physical lives. Most of the disciples were martyred. But, as they were going (as they were dying), they shared the
Gospel and a few believed. As we are
“going,” we must be obedient – we must be bold – we must share the Gospel.
2.
Minister Freely
This Scripture says, “Freely you
received, freely give.” We have to
learn to let God to miracles in us.
The first reality of the miraculous is that YOU are God’s greatest
miracle. You CAN become a conduit of
God’s blessing. God does a miracle
every time I preach. I would be less
impressed if God turned my hair purple than the fact that He enables to
preach.
We have to open up to the
possibilities. Doctors can mend a
clogged artery, but only God can mend a broken heart. Dating clubs can introduce people, but
only God can make the two one.
Scientists can manipulate DNA, but only God can create life. God does make donkeys talk and mountains
move; but His greatest miracle is you.
His greatest potential for the miraculous is through you. Are you willing?
The miraculous begins in your
life when you begin to minister. God
rarely will do the miraculous just to impress you. Jesus often avoided the crowds because they were hungry to be
impressed. God will do the miraculous
through you when you start to serve Him.
3.
Travel lightly
The main hindrance to most
ministries is they are too well equipped.
They are like a military squadron that has too many vehicles for the
people to drive. What makes Billy
Graham so effective is that he can do what he does without any props.
Jesus told the disciples not to
pack a bunch of cash in their wallets.
He also told them not to take a beggars bag to beg for money. Then, he told them not to take fancy
clothes to impress people. He
encouraged them to travel light and stay dependent upon God’s provision.
When Jesus was teaching the 5000
and needed to feed them, His disciples panicked. Jesus simply told them to trust Him. By today’s standard, we would have cancelled the meeting. It wasn’t planned well enough.
Our ministries are so well
equipped, that we leave no room for God’s provision.
When David faced Goliath, Saul
tried to give him some excellent armor.
But, the armor was too heavy and he eventually shed it for the bare
necessities. The giant mocked David,
like some your friends will mock you.
Listen to the dialogue:
And the Philistine said to
David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the
Philistine cursed David by his gods.
The Philistine also said to David, "Come to me, and I will give
your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field." Then David said to the Philistine,
"You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you
in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you
have taunted. "This day the LORD
will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your
head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines
this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all
the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not
deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD's and He will give
you into our hands. (I Samuel
17:34-37)
Maybe the best battle plan for
evangelism is “Take Jesus with you.”
|