This week I want to start off with some verses from God’s word, “These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. As you enter the house, greet it. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.” Matthew 10:5-15
In these verses, Jesus sends out the twelve apostles not only to spread the word, but also to heal those who were sick. In a similar way God sends us to spread the same word and we can also heal the sick. But, unlike the disciples, at this time we have been given the command to go unto the whole world, not just to the Jews. Jesus came first for the Jews and then for the Gentiles. This is why Jesus tells the Disciples not to go to the Samaritans or Gentiles. Jesus also commands them not to take any payment for what they did. See, the grace and healing that comes from Jesus is not for sale you cannot buy it, it is a free gift that was paid for by Jesus dying on the cross.
We were all born into sin and death, from the moment we take our first breath, we start to sin and die. See, there is no way for us in ourselves to be able to be with God, it is impossible for God to be with us. So, God being rich in mercy, sent his Son which was a hundred percent man and a hundred percent God. Jesus was also a hundred percent sinless and in dying, He redeems the world, so we could know Him and be with God. It is a free gift that anyone can receive. There are no strings attached; you get to live forever with God. All you have to do to accept this free gift is to admit that you are a sinner, believe that He died on the cross for your sins, and confess Him as Lord of your life.
We are told by Jesus to go unto all the world. We can do that today whether we are at home alone, at work, at school, or hanging out with friends, we can share with those we are with or we can share the gospel on the worldwide web. I encourage you that our earthly purpose is to come to know God and to share the gospel with all we can reach.
This week I want to encourage you that the mission has not changed and we all have people in our lives that only we can reach. So, this week let’s put aside the fear of what people will think of us and remember that what they think of us doesn’t matter, it is whether they know Jesus that matters. For those of you who may be thinking of accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior, it is the most important thing you will ever do. There will never be another decision more important than choosing Him and you need to do it today, because we are not promised tomorrow.