Eternity 117- Itinerant Christian Ministry And The Kingdom Of Heaven
(Matthew 10:5-15 NKJV) These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. {6} "But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. {7} "And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' {8} "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. {9} "Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, {10} "nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food. {11} "Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. {12} "And when you go into a household, greet it. {13} "If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. {14} "And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. {15} "Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!
This first ministry journey of the twelve contains many principles that
are valid for "apostolic" styles of ministry today:
1. Go to a selected target group and go to the lost sheep not to the saved
sheep
2. Keep moving - "as you go, preach".
3. Preach a clear and declarative gospel message.
4. Accompany the message with clear signs of the presence of the kingdom,
including the miraculous.
5.. Freely you have received freely give - ministry is not to be charged
for.
6. The workers are to be free of financial concerns and are worthy of their
food and basic necessities.
7. The gospel is to be preached to the worthy and righteous in the city
and associated with those who are of moral standing.
8. The Christian worker is to bring peace and a blessing upon those he stays
with and ministers to.
9. The Christian worker is to stay with the one family "until you go
out" - not to be unstable in relationships with the community or choosy
about accommodation.
10. There is to be a certain amount of finding out about the city "inquire
in it who is worthy".
11. Receptivity is important. If the group is unreceptive and hostile, move
on.
12. Rejection of the gospel proclaimed with power is not due to a poor messenger
but to hard hearts. Thus the rejection of the messenger is the rejection
of God and brings doom.
These are good instructions for itinerant ministries and indeed were adopted
by the Franciscans and other medieval preaching orders. A well-targeted,
mobilized, preaching ministry to the lost that offers the gospel freely
while demonstrating Christs's power clearly in word and deed, and which
builds good, wise relationships in the community and acts with financial
integrity is going to be blessed.
Each of us probably has a part of the above verses which we like to emphasize.
The evangelists will say "go to the lost sheep". The charismatic
will say "heal the sick, cleanse the lepers", the Baptist will
say "preach". The Franciscans will say "freely you have received
freely give" and yet others might say "the worker is worthy of
his food". However we need to combine ALL these emphases if we are
to have wise rules for itinerant ministry.
Jesus knew that the Jews were losing their window of opportunity for salvation,
and that their nation would be obliterated in AD 70. They needed the gospel
NOW. The Jews were the priority for reasons of theology and reasons of prophetic
history. In slightly less than forty years the Jews would reject the gospel
and lose their nation. By the very end of the book of Acts the gospel has
officially moved from the Jews to Rome:
(Acts 28:25-28 NKJV) So when they did not agree among themselves, they departed
after Paul had said one word: "The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through
Isaiah the prophet to our fathers, {26} "saying, 'Go to this people
and say: "Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; And seeing
you will see, and not perceive; {27} For the hearts of this people have
grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they
should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them."'
{28} "Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has
been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!"
The Gentiles would have 2000 years to hear! So in this urgent window of
time a certain people group (the Jews) is losing its chance to hear. Thus
it becomes a ministry priority. Today this situation is particularly acute
among the disappearing tribal peoples in the Amazon and in Papua New Guinea
and inland China (who are often amazingly receptive to the gospel) and to
the displaced urban poor in Asian mega-cities. In another 25 years many
of these tribes will no longer exist or they will be changed beyond recognition.
In another twenty-five years Asia's poor will have largely ceased the massive
migration to the cities that makes them open to the gospel and the urban
areas themselves will either have likely hardened into tough mean ghettos
or undergone urban renewal and become middle-class and materialistic. There
are some places that have evangelize NOW written all over them.
Other areas, such as North America, have heard until they are saturated.
It now costs on average $1.5 million to increase the US church by one baptized
believer. Yet in many tribal areas and among the poor in urban areas of
Asia and Africa it costs only one or two thousand dollars per additional
baptized believer! Surely the cost effective priority for itinerant ministry
should be among the most receptive peoples of the world?
One lst comment. The evangelization of Muslims is a difficult issue as they
clearly reject the proclamation of the gospel and we should perhaps be wiping
the dust off our feet and moving on. Or should we? I sense that the time
for Muslim evangelization has come. But we will only reach them with sacrificial
love and the demonstration of spiritual power. I personally know of an area
(which I cannot disclose) where a single healing miracle has led to over
100 Muslims becoming believers. When the Kingdom comes with power people
believe!
Take a look at your ministry compared with Jesus' instructions above. What
can you learn? What can you apply in your setting? How can you minister
in a way that gives people a clear proclamation of the wonder of the Kingdom
of Heaven?