Words for Life Articles

Mathew 14:22 -23

22 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. 23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.

This scripture highlights an interesting contrast in how Jesus related with the disciples and the multitude.

What we notice in this scripture is that Jesus made the disciples get into a boat with Him, but the multitude/crowd he sent away.

When you read through the gospels, the one thing that will amaze you is how Jesus differentiated between disciples and the multitudes.

It is therefore of utmost importance for us to see the difference and take a lesson from this.

Let’s explore the differences in His interaction.

DISCIPLES WORK – Mathew 14:19-21

Called to Discipleship

Matthew 28:19

18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

It is extremely hard to convince Christians and especially Pentecostals, that the Church was never called to save souls but to preach the gospel. The saving of souls is the work of the Holy Spirit.

So, the question would then be what have we been called to do?

Well, I am glad you asked.

Jesus tells His disciples in Acts 1:8

8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

STANDING IN THE GAP FOR THE LOST

Ezekiel 22: 29-31

 29 The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger. 30 So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. 31 Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord God.

ISAIAH 59:16

16 He saw that there was no man, And wondered that there was no intercessor; Therefore, His own arm brought salvation for Him.

And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.

God looked for a man in Israel, just one person to stand in the gap and pray for the people and bring them back to God. There was no man.

God Himself says, “but I found no one” …. “And wondered that there was no intercessor”

God is still looking for a man or a woman, who can stand in the gap, “that I should not destroy it”.

MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME

Isaiah 53:6-10

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, everyone, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.

8 He was taken from [o]prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people, He was stricken.

9 And they made His grave with the wicked— But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.

The truth is that we can never tell or understand all that Jesus did on the cross. We can never fully understand the feelings of abandonment Jesus experienced on the cross.

Many of us have preached, taught and tried to explain what Jesus did on the cross, unfortunately most of our preachings and teachings merely scratch the surface.

I am not too sure we can fully explain or imagine what Jesus went through on that cross at Calvary for our redemption.

THE HELPER

Everyone needs help in one way or the other. No matter how capable we are. We all need help at one time or the other. No man is an island, and no man has the answer to all things.  Believers also need help no matter how anointed we are.

John 15:5

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

The Holy Spirit dropped this scripture in my spirit recently- Apart from me you can do nothing.

Many of us have become experts in most things we do. We have become so dependent on our experiences and less on the move of the Holy Spirit. Many of us have subtly pushed the Holy Spirit to the side, we have unwittingly depended on our limited knowledge and our expertise. We talk about the Holy Spirit, we preach, we teach but we have all become experts needing Him less and less in our daily work with God.

Jesus said to the disciples in John 14:12-15

GO TO THE HIGHWAYS

We must never put the benefits of the cross before HIS MISSION. Yes, the benefits are essential, but not as important as the mission.

The mission must always be in the forefront of our Christianity. When Jesus rose from the dead, He gave power, He gave authority to His disciples and then commanded His disciples to

“GO”

Matthew 28:18-20

18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 GO therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Amen.

Jesus said to His disciples, the harvest is in indeed plentiful, but the labourers are few. (Matthew 9:37)

We need labourers in the harvest field, if we are to reach the lost, we need labourers with the heart of Christ. Labourers who know the cry of God’s heart.

John 20:21

As the father has sent me, I also send you.”

5 WAYS TO REACH THE LOST.

1. COMPASSION

We need to start from a place of compassion for the lost. How compassionate are you for the lost? What is compassion? Compassion is having sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others: To have compassion for the lost is emulating Jesus.

In Matthew 9:35-36

35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. 36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.

How do you see the lost? Jesus saw them as sheep without shepherds and had compassion for them.