Take Part in Missions - Matthew 9 and 10

WHERE AS: The First Baptist Church, Heber Springs, Arkansas donates the first sixteen percent of all undesignated funds it receives to the Southern Baptist Cooperative Program for world wide missions and

WHERE AS: The Church gives the next five percent of all undesignated funds to The Little Red River Association in support of its mission program and

WHERE AS: The Church participates in the Lottie Moon annual mission drive by continually exceeding its designated goal and

WHERE AS: The Church participates in the Dixie Jackson annual mission drive by continually exceeding its designated goal and

WHERE AS: The Church supports other local and state programs such as the Children’s Home and Boy’s Ranch and

WHERE AS: The Church supports the Pastor, Music Director and Youth Director in their annual participation in The World Changers, The Century Men and other specified mission projects and

WHERE AS: The Church is blessed with a cadre of men and their wives that build and repair churches and work in disaster relief in many states throughout the USA and

WHERE AS: The Church supports the Nail Benders and Hammer Heads with a supply and tool trailer and the church van and

WHERE AS: The Church Mission Committee is continually active in planning and involving the church in other numerous mission minded activities throughout the year so THEREFORE

MAY IT NOW BE DECLARED: “THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF HEBER SPRINGS, ARKANSAS BLESSES THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IN ITS EFFORTS TO MEET THE COMMAND OF THE MASTRER WHEN HE TOLD US TO GO INTO THE ENTIRE WORLD AND PREACH THE GOOD NEWS OF SAVING GRACE; FOR IT IS BY OUR GOOD WORKS; PEOPLE SHALL KNOW US! THIS CHURCH IS THE “LIGHT” ON A HILL; AND THE “SALT” OF THE EARTH THAT HAS NOT LOST ITS SAVOR.

First Baptist has an average of slightly less than 300 in Sunday school each week and just fewer than 400 in worship services each Sunday morning. I am eighty three years old and have been a member of, and worshipped in a total of six different Southern Baptist churches during the last sixty four years. Two of these were more than double the size of the Heber Church. Man for man, and pound for pound, this Church delivers the greatest blow to Satan through its united mission mindedness. WE MUST BE ETERNALLY PROUD!
To all other churches, to my readers everywhere, I challenge you in the name of Christ, to join FIRST BAPTIST OF HEBER SPRINGS to “TAKE PART IN MISSIONS.” Read Matthew 9 and 10 and see what Christ taught his Church to do. We are to go preach and teach the Good News and always remember that the example set by your daily life speaks louder than any words can proclaim.

In 9: 34, there is recorded one of the most ridiculous charges ever made against our Lord. The Pharisees did not deny that Christ was able to perform great miracles; but their argument was that he got his power to cast out demons from the prince of demons—the devil—Satan—and not from God. They actually made four separate charges against him; 1] blasphemy 2] befriending outcasts 3] impiety and 4] serving Satan which is the most ridiculous claim. Satan is a demon! How and why would Christ use the power of Satan to destroy Satan and his demons? This would be equal to “self-destruction.” A parallel would be for an atheist to use an example of the proven power of God to prove there is no God.

The stories told in chapter nine indicate that the work of Christ had exploded; crowds grew larger and followed Jesus as he performed miracles one after another. It soon became evident that out there in the multitudes of people there were more problems than there were helpers and Jesus proclaimed that the fields were white unto harvest and that additional workers were desperately needed. In the last verses of chapter nine we learn that Christ became burdened beyond his capacity to deliver. He turned to his disciples and told them that the people were without shepherds, lost, undone, and needful… and he instructed them to pray that the lord of the harvest would send out the needed workers to help gather in the lost. He needed help and so he chose twelve apostles first; and now he needs more help so he is telling the apostles to seek others who would shepherd new flocks.

A special call came to the twelve disciples in the first verses of chapter ten and it is here that you will find the first compiled list of the twelve disciples. It is here that you will find one of the first challenges to the disciples regarding the importance of MISSION work. Remember their names: 1] Simon Peter, 2] Andrew, 3] James son of Zebedee, 4] John, 5] Phillip, 6] Bartholomew, 7] Thomas, 8] Matthew, 9] James the son of Alphaeus, 10] Thaddaeus, 11] Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot.

In verse five their first instructions were given and it is one of the most perplexing things that Jesus says during his commissioning of his disciples. One would think that his first commandment would have been a positive direction for them to go, but it wasn’t—instead it was a negative statement. “Do not go to the Gentiles or any town where the Samaritans live.” He then turned positive and said they were to go to the lost sheep of Israel; those are his ancestors that were already in rebellion against him. We are told that there are some things written in the Word that we will not understand this side of his second coming. Some times he told the healed person not to tell anyone about his healing; and then in other places he would instruct the recipient of healing to go and tell. The reasons for contrasting instructions are not always perfectly clear to us. There are some obvious “may-bees” as to why he would leave out these two groups.

Anyone that is not a Jew is considered a Gentile. Anyone that was half Jew was considered a Samaritan; the Samaritans came into existence as a result of forbidden marriages between Jews and husbands or wives that were members of the heathen nations that conquered Jewish nations. In the beginning, God had chosen his people to bring the story of creation, fallen man, and paradise regained. It had always been God’s intention for his chosen people to be his messengers. It is true, when Jesus came in to the world, the chosen people did not accept him, rejected him and finally were responsible for his death on the cross, but we must realize that this must have broken the heart of God the Father. So, “may-be” Christ is asking his disciples not to go to the Gentile or the Samaritan first…because this was not the original plan of his Father—God.

Jesus called many, but chose, ordained, or set apart only twelve men. “May-be this was supposed to represent one leader for each of the twelve-tribes of Israel; however, regardless of the reason for only twelve, it was a small number assigned to a big job. At that point in time the Israelite nation was located in the smaller area known as the Holy Land, located in and around Jerusalem. The lands located in the north, south and far eastern part of the country was occupied primarily by the Gentiles, Samaritans and heathen tribes. May-be the smaller area of Israelites knew more about God’s promises and would be more receptive at this point in time; and he wanted to make sure that the disciples were successful.

May-be the disciples were better prepared to start their work among their own people. May-be Jesus was limiting the area because of the problems of transportation and travel in those days. One thing we do know—Jesus had no intent to leave these people out of his plan of salvation. Later on, he met Paul on the Road to Damascus and specifically chose him to witness to the Gentile world; proving that he came to save both Jews and Gentiles.

Let us go back to the call. As Christ went about preaching, teaching, and healing, he used every opportunity to ‘call’ disciples to follow him. The word “disciples” means learners. He kept his eyes open and watched for the learners that followed him closely and regularly. He finally decided on the twelve that were most dedicated and worthy to be named as his chosen disciples. Then he called them individually and commissioned them—that is he sent them out with instructions as to what they were to do and not do—which has already been mentioned above. You can read these instructions in verses 5 through 16. The instructions contained warnings that they would not always be accepted; that they would be as sheep among wolves and hated because of him, Jesus. He then gave them his assurance that he would keep them safe until their work was finished. Jesus reminded the disciples that the Jewish leaders had accused him of being Beelzebub [the devil] so they should expect the same kind of treatment. However, the disciples were not to have any fear of the enemy that could destroy the body…but they should fear [respect] the one that can destroy the soul.

Christ told them to stand firm, and if a city, town, church fail to receive and support them they were to “Shake the dust off their feet and go on to another place.” This same instruction was given by Jewish leaders to their people when they went into a Gentile city and were not accepted. The disciples were Jews, and they were witnessing to Jews, and they all realized that this was the way they had treated the Gentiles. Now Christ is telling them to use the same gesture that Jews had instigated. When the pious Jew dusted his feet it meant that he was not accepting the Gentile practices. If the disciples shuck the dust of a Jewish town from their feet it would show that they were separating themselves from the pious Jews who had rejected the Messiah. The Jews were warned that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because of their wickedness and they will be in worse condition for rejecting the Messiah.

The series of teaching in the last verses of the tenth chapter were some of the hardest for the Jewish families to accept. It was of great importance to be a Jew. Families were close and structured always accepted and promoted because of their lawful inheritance rights…with first rights going to the oldest son. Now Matthew is warning the Jews that it is not ‘who they are’ that counts…but it is what they think about Christ that matters. He is telling them that they are to no longer put family members first, but that Jesus comes first. He tells them that families will be broken…father against son…and son against father any time either one will not accept Christ first.

Jesus sees the peril of the misguided crowds in the cities and the misguided parents and children and is moving here to address their needs through his disciples. In Chapter nine he declares and demonstrates that he has absolute authority and through his compassion is proving himself to be the Promised One. In chapter ten he delegates his authority to his disciples and commands them to carry on his ministry—even the ability to perform miracles. Surely the disciples had begun to realize that their load was heavy and that it would continue to grow worse as His earthly ministry drew toward the end. But he did not let them fully realize what their burden would be like toward the end. As late as the Last Supper in the Garden, some were still asking questions about what was ahead. In fact He had to come back from the grave before they reached the point of total surrender.