King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34
Date: Friday, October 16, 2020
Chapters: Matthew 10, 14
Message: The Greatest Gift
Hello My Friend,
What would be the greatest gift that you could ever receive? All kinds of things come to mind. I have never been one to get excited over a bunch of money, do not get e wrong, if someone gave me a million dollars would be excited, but give me a cozy house in a nice wooded area yet is close to the city over wealth any day. Oh to dream, but a cozy house is really not the greatest gift I could ever receive. You see, a house is a house, when I leave this earth I cannot take it with me, and it will fall apart one day, but Jesus gives us something that we can take with us when we leave this earth, and it will never fall apart, and that is eternal life. Yes, we can live forever, rather our soul can. Eternal life only comes through our faith in receiving Jesus Christ as our Saviour, and that is the greatest gift we will ever receive, [Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.]
While some of us have been blessed to grow up in a church that preaches the true Gospel, which is salvation by grace through our faith in Christ alone, or walk into one and learn of the greatest gift, most people will never hear the Gospel unless someone comes to them outside of the church. This is why Jesus sends His saved sheep out into the world to find His lost sheep, and He began with Israel. Jesus sent the disciples out preach the Gospel.
[Matthew 10:1,5-11 And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. 5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. 9 Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, 10 Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat. 11 And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence.]
[freely ye have received, freely give.] You have received the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ your Saviour. It has been given to you freely, solely upon your faith in Christ. That means that you have all the power in you against all evil, and while no one can literally touch someone and heal them, they can do all things in the power of Christ so that He can. Now, it is time for you to go out into the world and give that gift to someone who is lost, those who are worthy to receive it. That means those whom believe in God, and while none of us are really worthy to receive such an incredible gift, only those whom believe in God will get the opportunity to know Christ and get saved. If they believe in God and not that Jesus is their only way to be saved, they are not worthy. The only way God accepts you is by your faith in Christ.
[Matthew 10:32-38 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. 33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. 34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. 35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. 36 And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. 37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.]
[He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me:] The devil knows how to divide a nation, and the first place he starts is within the family and this also includes our brothers and sisters in Christ. Are we really to love Jesus more than anyone else to be worthy of Him? What Jesus is really referring to here are those who choose family over Him. An example being, parents who allow their children to play sports and go to their games rather than go to church on Sunday. Jesus comes first, and everything else follows. Let me tell you, we are not always going to be on fire for Jesus, but that is what grace is for, [James 4:5-6 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? 6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.]
We must understand that this is not an option, this is a command from Jesus that we are to go out into the world and preach the Gospel. Someone else is out there as well, Satan and his minions, and he will do anything to try to keep lost souls from hearing the Gospel, and that includes hindering us. We are not special here, if the devil messed with Jesus he will mess with His disciples, and that is each and every one of us. However, we are not alone in this, Jesus is definitely with us, watching over us. We find this out when Jesus sent the disciples off as He stayed behind to pray although He watching them from afar.
[Matthew 14:22-31 And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. 23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. 24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. 27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. 28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?]
[wherefore didst thou doubt?] We do not want to admit it, but we do have more doubts than faith at times. The path that Jesus leads us down is not always calm, in fact, it comes with lots of choppy waves, and sometimes tidal waves, but He is with us each step we take, and He will see us through. And by the way, people think they need to say elaborate prayers for Jesus to save them, but all they need to do is believe in the Gospel and simply say, “Lord, Save me.” It is that simple, [Romans 10:8-11 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.]
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You, for the incredible gift of eternal life, through our faith in Your Son, Jesus Christ. We do not always know where our present steps will take us, but we do know they lead to heaven if we received Your Son as our Saviour. Our steps here may lead to cold, dark mountains, deep valleys, or tidal waves, but You are right there with us. Lord, You have chosen us because we chose You, You have commanded us to go out into the world and preach the Gospel. Lead us and guide us, fill us with Your power and words that we might be a walking, talking light that shines the Gospel on all we pass by. Give us rest, peace, and joy as we serve You faithfully, let us not live in fear or doubt, but with the full assurance of Your watching every step we take. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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