SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/19/2021 9:49 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-5 “Chosen
to be Prepared”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew
10:1a
Message of the
verse: “Jesus
summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority”
As promised we will look at the
fifth frailty of the disciples which is their lack of power in today’s SD. This fifth frailty will take us a bit longer
and that is one reason that I did not want to look at it last night when I was
very tired thus not giving it the look that it should have.
This
problem is like others they had in that they were not willing to admit it. It was true of them as it is true of
believers today that in and of themselves they were impotent and helpless, and
yet even after they failed on many occasions they continued to believe they
were strong and self-sufficient. There
is a story in the 17th chapter of Matthew that happens right after
Jesus and three of His disciples came down from a mountain (I believe it was
Mt. Hermon), where He was changed, as the disciples saw His glory and also
Moses and Elijah. When they came down
they encounter a man who had brought his son to have Jesus’ disciples to be
healed and the disciples tried in vain to heal the boy, but could not cure him
as seen in Matthew 17:16. Let us look at
the words of Jesus in Matthew 17:17 “"You unbelieving and perverted
generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you?
Bring him here to Me.’” Jesus then
healed the boy, but afterwards the disciples could not figure out why they did
not have the power to heal him and asked Jesus why they could not do this to
which He replied in verses 19-20 “19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately
and said, "Why could we not drive it out?" 20 And He said to them, "Because of the littleness of
your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a
mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it
will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.” MacArthur writes “The day came when the
disciples had such power of faith, but it was only after they were filled with
the Lord’s own Holy Spirit.”
Jesus
was very patient as He dealt with His disciples’ lack of understanding as He
continued to teach them. He also dealt
with their lack of humility by demonstrating humility. Next He dealt with their lack of faith by
demonstrating the power of God. He also
dealt with their lack of commitment by praying for them. Then afterwards Jesus gave them several
warnings of the persecutions they would face for His sake, examples seen in
John 15:18-21; 16:1-4, 22, 32-33. As
noted these examples are all seen in John’s gospel and then the most important
prayer that Jesus gives for His disciples, and in that prayer all believers are
also mentioned, which is found in the wonderful 17th chapter of John’s
gospel. I have heard this described as
the Lord’s Prayer, which I totally agree with as the other one with that title
could be called the disciples prayer.
Jesus also dealt with their lack of power by sending them His own Holy
Spirit as their divine Helper as seen also in John’s gospel 14:16; 16:7, 13-15.
I
mentioned in an earlier SD that after Jesus died and was resurrected and then
returned to heaven, and the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit that
there came a day seen in the 4th chapter of the book of Acts when
these disciples were in trouble over healing a man and had to come before the
Jewish counsel that we read the following about them: “Now as they observed the confidence of Peter
and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were
amazed, and began
to recognize them as having been with Jesus.” These same men who had all of the issues that
we have been going over are now living a life through the power of the Spirit
of God and were seen as having been with Jesus doing similar things that He had
done. MacArthur writes “The disciples
became living illustrations of the axiom that ‘everyone, after he has been
fully trained, will be like his teacher’ (Luke 6:40). Jesus had trained them well, and now they
went out and lived like their Master.
What they had learned by being with Christ and had received from Him
through His Spirit not only had transformed their lives but would, through
them, transform the world.”
Now
I want to quote the last paragraph in this section from MacArthur’s commentary
and then there is also one more small sub-section that we need to look at today
in order to finish this main-section we have been looking at for a while now.
“For
three years they lived with this Man among men who never uttered a word that
was not true, who never sinned in thought or deed, who never lost His temper,
and who was never angry except in righteous indignation over evil. Though He was the Son of God, He never followed
His own will or took glory for Himself.
He cared nothing for His own welfare but everything for the welfare of
others, literally wearing Himself out with fatigue in their service. He healed the sick, cleansed the demon
possessed, and raised the dead; and He loved anybody and everybody. Now He appointed the ‘twelve, that they might
be with Him’ (Mark. 3:14) in order that they might become like Him. And they did.”
This
is a lofty goal for every believer to strive for, to be like Jesus.
CHOSEN TO BE SENT
This
is the last sub-section from the first part of verse 1 of chapter 10 in Matthew’s
gospel.
MacArthur
writes: ‘Not only were the twelve
disciples chosen sovereignly, chosen with prayer, and chosen for training, but
they were also chosen to be sent. The
disciples (‘those who learn’) were trained to become apostles (‘those who were
sent’).
Jesus
calls all disciples in order to send them out.
There were only twelve apostles (Matthias was later added to replace
Judas, and Paul was a unique addition beyond the Twelve) who were the official ‘sent
ones’ of the early church and who one day will ‘sit upon twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel’ (Matt. 19:28). But every disciple of Jesus Christ is called
to make other disciples (Matt. 28:19-20).
We are all trained to be sent.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I have to say that I don’t take lightly doing
the things that I believe that the Lord called me to do before the world was
made and as seen in Ephesians 2:10, a verse I have mentioned on many occasions
in my Spiritual Diaries. I can only do
the things that I was called to do through the power of His Holy Spirit, and
when I try and do things on my own I end up like those disciples trying to cast
out a demon on their own, as they failed and so do I. It has been an answer to prayer that the Lord
give me joy as I study His Word each day, and I am thankful for that answer to
my prayer.
My Steps of Faith for Today: I desire to continue to pray for revival in
hopes and faith that the Lord will answer that prayer too.
7/19/2021 10:35 AM
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