Wednesday, July 19, 2017, 3:33 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “He Touched My Mouth.” Speak, Lord, your
words to my heart. I read Matthew 10:16-39
(ESV).
Sheep Among Wolves (vv. 16-23)
“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of
wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of
men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their
synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my
sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they
deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are
to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For
it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through
you. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child,
and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you
will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the
end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to
the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns
of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”
When the Lord Jesus sends us
out into the world to be his witnesses, he is sending us out as sheep among
wolves, for not everyone will receive our messages with joy, but many will
malign us, and will resist the truth. So, we need the wisdom of God in knowing
what to say, and in what not to say. And, we need to trust the Lord, that he will
give us the words to speak.
Many Christians who have gone
before us have already experienced what this passage speaks of. In our world
today, many followers of Christ are experiencing this persecution in spades (to
a very high degree). Some of us have already faced this, to some degree, while
others of us have yet to undergo any of it. Yet, it will most surely come. So,
we need to be prepared.
Yet, we should not fear being
persecuted or maligned (slandered) for our faith in Jesus Christ, or for our
stand on his Word of Truth. We should not be afraid of being hated and mistreated
even by those within our own families, or even by those who also profess faith
in Jesus Christ. But, we must trust our lives into God’s capable hands, and
believe him to give us all we need to endure to the end, and to remain faithful
to him in love, faith, and in service. And, if God leads us to do so, there may
be times when he says to “leave” where we are, and to “go” where he is sending
us next.
They Malign You
(vv. 24-33)
“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a
servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like
his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the
master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his
household.
“So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered
that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell
you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim
on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but
cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body
in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will
fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your
head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value
than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also
will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever
denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”
When we follow (obey) Jesus
Christ with our lives, and we allow him to put his words into our mouths, and
we choose not to be afraid to speak the truth in love, we must be prepared for repercussions.
People, even those within the gatherings of the church, will not like us, and
they will think all manner of evil against us, and they will reject us and what
we tell them. We will be accused of being hyper-religious, or of being unkind,
hateful, opinionated, critical, bigoted and/or judgmental. Even some pastors of
some church fellowships are being trained to watch out for people like us, and
to discourage us from participation within their gatherings, because they are
afraid we may tell people the truth and/or offend them with the truth.
But, again, we are not to be
afraid of them. We are not to shrink back from sharing the messages God gives
us to speak from his Word, just because we are persecuted, ignored, ostracized
or rejected in return. If God gives us words to speak, which are in line
(consistent with, not contrary to) his Word, then we are to speak them, and not
be afraid. Yet, I know that not everyone who claims to have a word from God is
actually speaking from God, so we must be very discerning about what we hear,
and we must test it against the Word of God to make certain that what we are
listening to is actually truth, and from God, and not out of someone’s own
imagination.
So, regarding us speaking the
words God gives us to share, we must remember always that God can take care of
us. He will never abandon us. We are extremely valuable to him. He has a plan
and a purpose for everything that he does. His thoughts and ways are much
higher than ours, and we don’t always comprehend why he does things the way he
does. So, be bold, be brave, and keep on speaking in his name and for the sake
of his gospel, because he is working in ways which we cannot see.
Not Peace; A Sword (vv. 34-39)
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the
earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have
come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies
will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me
is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not
worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me
is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses
his life for my sake will find it.”
There are many preachers and
religious speakers today who like to give the impression of Jesus that he was a
do-gooder who just loved on everyone and that he didn’t make waves or ever say
anything to offend anyone. They would like you to believe that if you follow
Jesus as your model, that you will be liked by all, and that you will “stay in
your own lane,” and that you will not ruffle any feathers, i.e. that you will
never irritate or annoy anyone with your words. Some of them go so far as to
imply that Jesus would be inclusive of other gods from other religions, and
that he would be accepting of sinful lifestyles, as well. But, they would be
dead wrong!
Jesus Christ would never
compromise with the one world religion which is pushing the notion of “world
peace” in order to get people to compromise their faith and convictions for the
expressed goal of “unity” or “solidarity” with the rest of the world. Jesus
didn’t come to bring “world peace” or to get us to join hands and hearts with
the people of this world in singing “Kumbaya,” either. He came so that we might
be delivered out of slavery to sin and be set free from the control of Satan
over our lives. And, the devil doesn’t like that, so he fights back, and he
fights dirty, too. And, so he tries to convince professing Christians that
Jesus would be pleased if we all united together as the people of this world in
denying our faith.
But, Jesus’ goal was never to
bring harmony (agreement) among the people of the world regardless of religion
or lifestyle choice. His goal was our salvation, and since Satan hates that, the
devil’s followers also hate it, and so they will hate us, will persecute us,
and they will turn against us - even those of our own households. So, we can
either love ourselves and others more than God, and compromise with the world
of sin, in order to be accepted, or we can stand tall and strong in our faith
and convictions, without wavering, and be prepared for some strong persecution.
Jesus said that if we lose
our lives (die to sin and self), we will find our lives (live with him
eternally), but if we hold on to our lives, in order to be accepted of men, we
will lose them (die in our sins without Christ) (See: Lu. 9:23-25). So, what
shall it be?
He Touched My Mouth / An
Original Work / June 13, 2012
Based off Isaiah 6:1-8; Jeremiah 1:4-9
Oh, I saw the Lord seated on His
throne,
High and lifted up; Holy is the Lord!
The earth is full of His glory.
“Woe to me,” I cried,
“I’m of unclean lips.”
My Lord touched my mouth
With His cleansing pow’r;
Removed all my guilt, paid for by His
blood.
He asked, “Whom shall I send;
Who will go for us?”
I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Before I was born, God set me apart;
He appointed me to His servant be.
I said, “I don’t know how to speak.
I am but a child.” Then, the Lord
replied:
“Do not say to me, ‘I am but a child.’
You must go to all, and do what I say.
Do not fear them, for I’m with you.”
My Lord touched my mouth;
Gave me words to say.
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