Six Elements of A Successful Mission Part 2 | Matthew 10:5-15

Scripture

• Matthew 10:5–15

About this sermon

Introduction: Our Lord is sending his apostles out on a ministry mission that will help prepare them for their future ministry after His ascension. He is the master disciple-maker, and as He instructs them about this mission, He identifies six elements of it. We are not only looking at what our Lord did, we are considering what we are to do. What can we learn from these six elements that our Lord identified for His apostles? This morning we looked at four of these elements. A successful ministry mission understands (1) Where we are to go (2) What we are to say (3) What we are to do (4) How we are to prepare. Review: • WHERE THEY ARE TO GO • WHAT THEY ARE TO SAY • WHAT THEY ARE TO DO • HOW THEY ARE TO PREPARE Lesson: Tonight, we begin with a 5th. Our Lord tells His men where they are to stay. • WHERE THEY ARE TO STAY (vs.11-13) Wherever these men traveled, they were to rely on hospitality for their provisions. What this means is that they were trusting God to work through people to meet their needs. They were depending on providence for their supply. Three interesting realities stand out in these verses. • WORTHINESS DETERMINES WHERE THEY STAY Jesus says that as they travel, when they reach a place for ministry, they are to try to find out where they might stay. What is this worthiness? It seems to refer to a home where someone was friendly to their presence and to their work. It probably doesn’t require that they were a believer. It might simply speak of the kind of household where hospitality would be offered — a person in whatever town or village they were in who was willing to help them. R.T. France — “Worthy suggests to us a test of character, but this is not essential to its meaning (AB translates ‘suitable’). They are to look for someone able and willing to accommodate them, and this would normally be someone open to their message, though not necessarily already committed to their cause.” • WORTHINESS DETERMINES WHERE THEY REMAIN When they found such a home, a place of hospitality and support, that is where they were to stay. They were to remain there. Not shopping around for something else. Not accepting better accommodations if they should emerge. TWO PRINCIPLES WOULD STAND OUT FROM THIS APPROACH. • THE LABORER IS WORTHY OF HIS HIRE • THE LORDS SERVANTS ARE NOT MOTIVATED BY GREED OR ADDICTED TO EASE. • WORTHINESS RECEIVES THE BLESSING OF THE MESSENGERS It seems that the emphasis on peace is not so much on the words spoken as on what they represent, entrance into the home. In other words, this was a normal kind of greeting. ESV Luke 10:5 Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house!' 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. What our Lord was saying about that peace returning to the disciples, amounts to, YOU DON’T STAY THERE. Imagine inquiring about hospitality, suitable arrangements, and someone directing you to a home with the belief that you will find help there. You arrive, and the people are not willing to help you. THEN YOU WILL MOVE ON. HOWEVER. While that greeting might have been customary, in the case of the twelve it represented something real. To have the representatives of the Messiah taking up residence in your home, and that home forming a home base for advancing the message of the King, would represent historic privilege. • WHEN THEY ARE TO LEAVE (vs.14-15) What are the messengers to do when their presence and message is rejected? Our Lord wanted these men to realize from the start that the message they were taking would reveal division. Some would prove open to the message, and some would even believe, but there would be others who refused them and their words. BOTH INDIVIDUAL REJECTION AND COMMUNITY REJECTION ARE CONSIDERED. Perhaps they would even meet with entire villages or towns where they will not be welcomed. What do they do? • DEMONSTRATE THE REALITY OF THEIR DECISION They shake the dust off their sandals. There is an example of this in the book of Acts. Paul and Barnabas are in Antioch of Pisidia. ESV Acts 13:46 And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, "It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, "'I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'" 48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. 49 And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. 50 But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district.