Day 12 An Army of Ordinary People

Day 12: Matthew 10

AN ARMY OF ORDINARY PEOPLE (9:35-10:42)

Read Matthew 9:35-10:42 here first

 

In Matthew chapter 10, Jesus sends out the disciples. The guys who have followed Jesus so far are now released to go to share the message of the Kingdom of God with the people of Israel. This is an exciting passage, as we can look at it and draw some thoughts about how we are to go about our ministry as we go into our communities, bringing the same message thousands of years later. As we look at this, I think that there's a few things we can draw from the passage.

1. God uses ordinary people

As we've seen so far, the disciples were ordinary guys. They weren't religious experts, and they didn't have all the brilliant theological answers. They hadn't even been with Jesus for years and years, being taught exactly what to do in every situation. They had just spent time with him, and knew that what they had found was worth giving your life for.

In the same way, we are called to live out the message of the Kingdom of God. Wherever we are, whatever we do, it is our job to go out and declare that message to the people we deal with. God isn't waiting for us to get enough experience or skills; he just wants us to be able to share what we've found with people.

2. Be filled with the Holy Spirit

Jesus sends them, telling them to heal the sick, drive out demons, and that the Spirit will speak through them. As we go out, it is essential that we spend time listening to God, just waiting on Him, asking Him to fill us over and over with His Spirit. I believe that as we do this, as we put ourselves in the position to receive from Him then we will go out in power.

I know how often I have shared the gospel because I know that I should, rather than out of my passion or desire to bring people to God. I know those times are when I've been a bit dry, rather than determined to receive from God so that I'm able to minister to others.

3. Know the story

Jesus sent them out to tell the story of the Kingdom of heaven. As we seek to share the message with people, we must know it for ourselves. We must know our own story, of how God has changed our lives. We must also be so clear on how we fit into the big story of the Bible, of how God's plan to dwell with His people in eternity has been worked out through Jesus.

4. It must be done out of love

In verse 36 of chapter 9, it tells us Jesus had compassion on the people. What we do to reach out to people must be out of love. That is why Jesus came to us. It's the reason for everything. As we share the gospel with people, it's because it's good news of how important they are, how they were always meant to be God's people, and how Jesus came to restore that. It's not so that people can join our club, and it's not to convince them we're right. It's to show them love.

One of my favourite quotes is from a guy called Jamie Tworkowski, who says, “We were made to be lovers, bold in broken places, pouring ourselves out over and over until we're called home.” I completely agree.

As we read chapters like this, it's important to stop and reflect. Today, there are some practical things we can do to challenge ourselves on this. As we look at this, take some time to write some stuff down and reflect on a few things.

• Spend some time asking the Holy Spirit to fill you regularly, so that we go out in His strength and not simply drawing on our past experiences.
• Write down some key elements of your personal story
• Reflect on Jesus' life – what is it you love about Him?
• What people are there around you that need love? If Jesus was around, where would he be going?