Daily Devo w/ Pastor Eric October 4,
2021
The Opportunity of Your Lifetime
Matthew 10:1-4, CEB - He called his twelve disciples and gave them authority
over unclean spirits to throw them out and to heal every disease and every
sickness. Here are the names of the
twelve apostles: first, Simon, who is called Peter; and Andrew his brother;
James the son of Zebedee; and John his brother; Philip; and Bartholomew; Thomas; and Matthew
the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus; and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean; and Judas, who betrayed
Jesus.
At the
end of chapter 9, we hear Jesus asking his audience to pray to the Lord of the
Harvest to send workers. Immediately, we
see here in the beginning of chapter 10, those prayers are answered as Jesus
calls his twelve disciples. Twelve is a
significant number as there were twelve tribes of Israel that stemmed from the
twelve sons of Jacob. In the Book of Revelation,
we see that the twelve foundations of the New Jerusalem are inscribed with the
names of the twelve apostles. Also in Revelation, there are twelve gates,
twelve pearls, and twelve angels.
Throughout the Bible, the number twelve is regarded as a divinely
perfect number. So Jesus calls twelve
disciples.
But
what Jesus does next is even more significant.
He gives them the same authority He possesses. The authority that we have seen in Matthew’s
gospel thus far is now conferred upon his disciples. Thus, the movement of God’s kingdom is now
multiplied twelve-fold. Matthew intends
for us to see that this is how the kingdom works – through multiplication. We don’t just invite others to be believers
in Jesus – we invite them to be disciples – fully investing their lives in the
mission of the Kingdom of God.
The
fact that you’re reading this means that you at least believe that the story of
Jesus is one worth investigating. You
should know, though, that the invitation is not just to investigate it or even
believe that it is true, but to become part of the effort to bring the Kingdom
of God to fruition here on earth. There
is no bigger cause in the universe, and you and I are asked to serve. Spend some time thinking about that today.
Question: What does it mean to you to be invited to
serve the Kingdom of the One God of the Universe?
Prayer: Lord, help us see your invitation for what it
is. Help us see the unique role you have
asked each of us to play in your Kingdom. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Pray for a clear sense of purpose about what
you can do to love God and love people.
Song:
Lead On King Eternal – Sara Groves
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