Jesus Sends The Twelve Apostles

As Jesus Sends The Twelve Apostles, He reveals truth that still applies today, dismisses common Christian myths or misunderstandings and proves them wrong.

Jesus Sends The Twelve Apostles

Harmony Of The Gospels Series 18, Mt 10:5-42

For more information about Jesus see these books on the History of Jesus Christ.

Ever wondered why there were so many conflicting views on life as a follower of Jesus? One says all Christians should be rich, another says we should all be living with our faces in the mud, letting people walk all over us. It's hard to know what's the truth. Ever wondered what was the truth, and what was just myth? Usually, when we're in doubt it's because, instead of checking the Word to see what God says, we live in "the gospel of my opinion". Worse than that is when, being too lazy to form an opinion of our own, we simply regurgitate whatever we've heard a "name-brand" preacher say. After all, they know what they're talking about, right? I praise God that He led me to read through the Bible, myself, before I returned to the church and started listening to preachers, again. That got me on to serious Bible study, especially every time I heard someone say something that isn't in there.

Don't get me wrong! My understanding isn't perfect. I say as many stupid things as the next person. That's why you need to be studying for yourself. Here's the deal; if we're not studying God's Word for ourselves, we're inviting the devil to play mind games on us. We open ourselves up to deception by false concepts from our past, or by false teachers in our present. I wish I could tell you the sad stories of people I know who are this moment enslaved to some falsehood that turns the Gospel of Jesus upside down. Who enslaved them? They did; by not checking what their minister was teaching with the rest of God's Word and by not making a regular diet of God's Word in their lives. Ever had someone say, "I want to hear God's voice." And then find out they didn't even spend 10 minutes a day reading what He's already said? Why should He give us a new Word if we're not interested in the current Word? We can't even know if what we're hearing is from God unless we study His written Word. Once you're studying His Word, you can get a better perspective from these books on the Twelve Apostles.

Today's passage includes statements from Jesus that completely refute four myths being widely taught and accepted among Christians, today. If we seem to hit something you've accepted, I want to challenge you, if you start feeling angry, just stop, take a breath and pray for the Lord to lead you to the truth of His Word. If you want to discuss it further, use the "talk back" hyperlink. I'll be happy to hear from you, especially if you can use the Bible to correct me. As a Servant of God, one of my most difficult jobs is to protect His Church from the winds of false doctrine. Please begin by reading Mt 10, entirely. All we're going to do is review the myths and a few Scriptures that contradict the myths. I pray this challenges you to be more skeptical about what you hear, like the Bereans, who were considered nobler because they checked the Scriptures daily to verify Paul's teaching (Ac 17:11)

Myth 1: Bad things happen to us because we've turned away from God. You can't spend much time in Christian circles before running into this one. Some apply it personally, suggesting that a chronic ailment, birth defect or premature death is due to the "sin" in their life or that of a close relative. If you've ever been sick around people who believe this, you know just how heartless religious people can be. Others apply it more generally, like, to our country, suggesting that some nationally accepted "sin" causes God to remove His hand of protection and allow things like the WTC attack to "punish" us. What makes this bunk easy to swallow is it contains a partial truth; generally, sickness and death are a result of sin having entered the world. That's as close as you can get with it, though. Listen to the things in our passage that Jesus says will happen to His most dedicated followers: "They will…flog you…arrest you…betray…put to death…All men will hate you…" Vs 17-22 Even a child will tell you we're expected to take up our cross, deny ourselves, and follow Him. Jesus said, "…your Father…sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." Mt 5:45 Jesus predicted horrible things to happen to His followers throughout history. It doesn't take much New Testament reading to conclude that bad things happen to us because we turn to God, but God will sustain us even if we die from them. (see Mt 10:39)

Continued at Jesus Sends The Twelve Apostles-2

Jesus Sends The Twelve Apostles

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Love & Hugs,
Glen

As Jesus Sends The Twelve Apostles, He reveals truth that still applies today, dismisses common Christian myths or misunderstandings and proves them wrong.