Freely Ye Have Received, Freely Give.
Study Text: Matthew 10:1 - 8.
Introduction:
-. Jesus called His disciples and commission them for the preaching of the Gospel.
-. He empowered them for the great assignment because the Gospel is not expected to be preached in words only, but in the demonstration of the power of God for the blessings of mankind and to the glory of His name alone.
-. He however, warn them not to make merchandise of the grace and gifts of God given to them. This is because they received them freely and they must bless the people and profit the Kingdom of God with it freely.
-. We shall be discussing the topic under three subheadings:
1. The Commission Advancing the Preaching of the Gospel
2. The Care Accompanying the Preaching of the Gospel
3. The Caution Associating with the Preaching of the Gospel
1. The Commission Advancing the Preaching of the Gospel
-. Jesus sent forth His disciples to go out and preach the Gospel of the Kingdom.
-. His heart desire and the purpose for which He came was to reach everyone with the Gospel of Peace, so that they can be reconciled with God. 2 Corinthians 5: 15 - 17.
-. Even though Jesus wanted the Gospel to be preached, it must not be void of His power.
-. So, He empowered those He commissioned and gave them power and authority over sicknesses and the powers of darkness.
-. He had declared that the manifestation of His power is a sign that should follow every believer in Him, and should serve as evidence of our approval of Him. Mark 16:17
-. The same way Jesus sent out His disciples in the Bible days, He is also sending us out today to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom to every nation. Matthew 20: 28
-. Just as it is with them, He doesn't want us to go out without His power, for the manifestation of His power must accompany the preaching for the blessings of the people.
-. This power comes to us through the Holy Spirit, and by His Anoiting, we receive the boldness to preach and the power for signs and wonders. Acts 1: 8
-. The reason Jesus permitted His Church to remain after His assencion to Heaven was because of this assignment and great commission.
-. Everyone of us must be committed to this assignment as individual believer and as the Church till He comes back for His Church.
2. The Care Accompanying the Preaching of the Gospel
-. The Gospel of the Kingdom is a total package of liberation and freedom from the hold and bondage of Sin, Sickness and Satan, so as we preach for the people to receive Salvation from sin, they must also be receiving Healing from all manner of Sicknesses, and Deliverance from all manner of Satanic Afflictions and Oppressions.
-. So, the total Gospel is to care for the welfare of people in all ramifications: They are reconcile to God to live for Him, and release from Satan and Sicknesses to enjoy their new life in God. Colossians 1: 13 - 14.
-. This power and the Holy Spirit Anoiting must follow us if we are truly His disciples and are willing to obey His commands and be available for Him to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom.
-. We must believe Him for His words, and ensure that we carry out this ministry of Healing, Deliverance and Restoration in every where and at every time we have the opportunity to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom.
-. God is always faithful to His words, and we can see in the Bible testimonies that abound to His faithfulness in manifesting His power everywhere the Gospel of the Kingdom is preached.
-. Also, in our own days, several testimonies abound to His faithfulness in manifesting His power for signs and wonders and confirming the preaching of His word.
-. It is true that some Satanic agents parading themselves as Ministers of the Gospel are using demonic powers and lying wonders to deceive people, and many of them have been mistaken to be operating by the power of God, but the truth is the power of God is still in action today, backing up the faithful Ministers of the Gospel, and this will continue to be until Jesus come.
-. We have a very good example in the city of Samaria, where the Magician was using demonic powers to work miracles and the people believed in as a Man of God. But when Philip got there, preaching the real Gospel and manifesting the power of the Holy Spirit Anoiting, the difference was clear, and all the people who have been deceived were won back to the Lord and His Kingdom. Acts 8: 1 - 8
-. If we are willing to live a live pleasing to the Lord, and be willing to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom faithfully, we will always witness His power confirming our words for the blessings and total liberation of the people under Satanic bondage. Hebrews 2: 1 - 3.
3. The Caution Associating with the Preaching of the Gospel
-. Jesus gave a very important warning to His disciples never to make a merchandise of the grace and gifts of the Lord upon them.
-. The temptations are there when we begin to see the power of God in action to use it as an opportunity of enriching or promoting ourselves.
-. The power of the Holy Spirit Anoiting working with us and through us is not our power, we have received freely from God, so that we can use it for His purpose alone: Blessing the People and Glorifying the Lord.
-. We have the example of the Magician in Samaria mentioned above, when he offered money to the Apostles to receive the power to be baptizing people in the Holy Spirit, Peter has to pronounce a curse upon him and requested for his genuine repentance from the evil in his heart. Acts 8: 15 - 25.
-. This does not mean that a minister of the Gospel can't be supported financial or can't be paid if he works for the ministry in a full time basis, but must not under any disguise use the gifts of God as an opportunity of making money from the people.
Let us see some possible ways we can be guilty of this:
1. Selling material things to people with the claim that they will receive special miracles by buying them.
2. Raising a special offering after witnessing the power of God in action and making people to give more than they have planned.
3. Associating God's miracles with the money people can give or contribute to a course.
4. Organizing special miracle prayer for specific individual or group with the hope of receiving financial gain.
5. Bargaining for how much to be paid before honouring an invitation for true spiritual activity based on the grace of God upon your life.
6. Demanding or receiving financial gain with the view of being paid for the spiritual activity through the grace of God upon your life.
-. This is the reason God did not permit Elisha to receive the gifts of Naaman, because he came with the gifts with the view of giving them for the miracle he will receive.
-. We can not pay for the gifts and the grace of God, and we must not pay to enjoy it.
-. We can arrange to meet some needs in the life of the Ministers, but not to pay for the gifts and the grace of God upon their lives.
7. Organizing Gospel Crusades and spiritual meeting for the purpose of raising funds.
Conclusion:
-. As Jesus disciples, we have been called and commissioned to go out and preach the Gospel of the Kingdom to every nation.
-. God has empowered us for the great assignment and will work miracles, signs and wonders to confirm our messages in the lives of the people.
-. In all these, He wants us to manifest this grace and use the gifts He has given to us for the purpose of blessing the people and glorifying His name.
-. We are not to take advantage of the people in any way or make merchandize of the grace and gifts of God in our lives.
-. The rewards He has for us when we are faithful in the assignment are unquantifiable both in this world and in the one to come. So, freely have ye received, freely give them to others.
