Sue J Love
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- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
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This Was Then
I am reading in Matthew 10. Jesus was sending his twelve disciples out to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” i.e. to those physical descendants of Abraham (and Sarah) who had not yet believed in Jesus as the Christ (the Messiah), the promised seed of Abraham, who was to come, but who had now come. They were to proclaim, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand,” and they were to heal the sick, raise the dead, and cast out demons, like Jesus did, and in the power of God, and not in their own power and wisdom.
And they were to do all this without pay. And whatever town they entered, they were to find who was worthy and to stay there until they departed (a cultural thing of that day, I would assume). And then, if anyone would not receive them or listen to their words, they were to shake off the dust from their feet (another cultural thing but with present significance) when they left that house or town. But God would judge those who rejected them.
Then he let them know that he was sending them out as sheep in the midst of wolves (not literal sheep or literal wolves, but as his followers among those who would persecute them severely). And they would be delivered over to courts, and they would be flogged in the synagogues, which today could parallel over to our institutional “churches” partnered with the government being marketed to the people of the world. And the flogging today may not be physical but emotional and mental persecution.
And they would be dragged before government officials for the Lord’s sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. But they were not to be anxious about what to say, for what they were to say would be given them.
“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.” (Matthew 10:20-23 ESV)
This Is Now
Now, this was Jesus sending out his twelve disciples to a very specific group of people at that day and time, in that culture, with very specific instructions that were for them alone at that time in history. But some of this is repeated for us in other passages of Scripture, especially as it regards the last days before the return of Christ and the kinds of things that we should expect to happen to us, as followers of Jesus Christ who are obeying his will.
What we know from reading other Scriptures in the New Testament is that, if we believe in Jesus to be Lord and Savior of our lives, it involves death to our old lives of living in sin and for self, and it involves us now walking in obedience to our Lord and to his commands in holy living. It involves Jesus now being king of our lives, and our lives surrendered to him to do his will. And it engages us in sharing the truth of the message of the gospel of our salvation with the people of the world and with the church.
And when we do that, we will face opposition and rejection if we are truly telling people the truth of the gospel and not these altered and diluted gospel messages intended to tickle itching ears and to appease human flesh. And we may be invited out of some local “church” fellowships because they “were warned about people like us, people with strong convictions.” And we may be “cast off” some “Christian” websites, too, for teaching the truth and because we don’t tell people the lies that their itching ears want to hear.
And we might be falsely accused, by some, of wrongdoing just because they don’t like what we are teaching, or because they don’t like the length of the writings or talks, or because we are teaching the gospel that Jesus taught and not the altered “gospel” which is so popularized today. But, no matter how we are treated for the sake of our walks of faith in Jesus, and for the sake of the truth of the gospel, we are to remain steadfast in faith and keep obeying the Lord and keep speaking the truth of what Jesus taught.
For it is the one who endures to the end who will be saved, not the one to have seemed to have had a good start but then, because of persecution or temptation to sin, went back to living for self and for sin and not for the Lord and for his righteousness. For we don’t “get saved” and now heaven is guaranteed us when we die, regardless of how we live. Jesus requires that we deny self, die to sin daily, and walk in obedience to his commands in holy living if we are to have salvation from sin and eternal life with God.
[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]
In the Sweet By and By
Sanford F. Bennett / Joseph P. Webster, 1868
There’s a land that is fairer than day,
And by faith we can see it afar;
For the Father waits over the way
To prepare us a dwelling place there.
We shall sing on that beautiful shore
The melodious songs of the blessed;
And our spirits shall sorrow no more,
Not a sigh for the blessing of rest.
To our bountiful Father above,
We will offer our tribute of praise
For the glorious gift of His love
And the blessings that hallow our days.
In the sweet by and by,
We shall meet on that beautiful shore;
In the sweet by and by,
We shall meet on that beautiful shore.
Caution: This link may contain ads
For His Name’s Sake
An Original Work / January 24, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
I am reading in Matthew 10. Jesus was sending his twelve disciples out to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” i.e. to those physical descendants of Abraham (and Sarah) who had not yet believed in Jesus as the Christ (the Messiah), the promised seed of Abraham, who was to come, but who had now come. They were to proclaim, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand,” and they were to heal the sick, raise the dead, and cast out demons, like Jesus did, and in the power of God, and not in their own power and wisdom.
And they were to do all this without pay. And whatever town they entered, they were to find who was worthy and to stay there until they departed (a cultural thing of that day, I would assume). And then, if anyone would not receive them or listen to their words, they were to shake off the dust from their feet (another cultural thing but with present significance) when they left that house or town. But God would judge those who rejected them.
Then he let them know that he was sending them out as sheep in the midst of wolves (not literal sheep or literal wolves, but as his followers among those who would persecute them severely). And they would be delivered over to courts, and they would be flogged in the synagogues, which today could parallel over to our institutional “churches” partnered with the government being marketed to the people of the world. And the flogging today may not be physical but emotional and mental persecution.
And they would be dragged before government officials for the Lord’s sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. But they were not to be anxious about what to say, for what they were to say would be given them.
“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.” (Matthew 10:20-23 ESV)
This Is Now
Now, this was Jesus sending out his twelve disciples to a very specific group of people at that day and time, in that culture, with very specific instructions that were for them alone at that time in history. But some of this is repeated for us in other passages of Scripture, especially as it regards the last days before the return of Christ and the kinds of things that we should expect to happen to us, as followers of Jesus Christ who are obeying his will.
What we know from reading other Scriptures in the New Testament is that, if we believe in Jesus to be Lord and Savior of our lives, it involves death to our old lives of living in sin and for self, and it involves us now walking in obedience to our Lord and to his commands in holy living. It involves Jesus now being king of our lives, and our lives surrendered to him to do his will. And it engages us in sharing the truth of the message of the gospel of our salvation with the people of the world and with the church.
And when we do that, we will face opposition and rejection if we are truly telling people the truth of the gospel and not these altered and diluted gospel messages intended to tickle itching ears and to appease human flesh. And we may be invited out of some local “church” fellowships because they “were warned about people like us, people with strong convictions.” And we may be “cast off” some “Christian” websites, too, for teaching the truth and because we don’t tell people the lies that their itching ears want to hear.
And we might be falsely accused, by some, of wrongdoing just because they don’t like what we are teaching, or because they don’t like the length of the writings or talks, or because we are teaching the gospel that Jesus taught and not the altered “gospel” which is so popularized today. But, no matter how we are treated for the sake of our walks of faith in Jesus, and for the sake of the truth of the gospel, we are to remain steadfast in faith and keep obeying the Lord and keep speaking the truth of what Jesus taught.
For it is the one who endures to the end who will be saved, not the one to have seemed to have had a good start but then, because of persecution or temptation to sin, went back to living for self and for sin and not for the Lord and for his righteousness. For we don’t “get saved” and now heaven is guaranteed us when we die, regardless of how we live. Jesus requires that we deny self, die to sin daily, and walk in obedience to his commands in holy living if we are to have salvation from sin and eternal life with God.
[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]
In the Sweet By and By
Sanford F. Bennett / Joseph P. Webster, 1868
There’s a land that is fairer than day,
And by faith we can see it afar;
For the Father waits over the way
To prepare us a dwelling place there.
We shall sing on that beautiful shore
The melodious songs of the blessed;
And our spirits shall sorrow no more,
Not a sigh for the blessing of rest.
To our bountiful Father above,
We will offer our tribute of praise
For the glorious gift of His love
And the blessings that hallow our days.
In the sweet by and by,
We shall meet on that beautiful shore;
In the sweet by and by,
We shall meet on that beautiful shore.
Caution: This link may contain ads
For His Name’s Sake
An Original Work / January 24, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
