Sent to Bless

Good morning, church family.

It is good to be with all of you on this Thanksgiving weekend

And we have much to be thankful for as undeserving people who have been shown the grace of God in every area of our lives

[And just so we are clear… you are now allowed to put up your Christmas decorations]

If you are a guest with us this morning, my name is Stefan, and I have the privilege of serving as the Pastor of Preaching here at Harvest.

And we have been going through Matthew’s Gospel and today we come to the final message in our mini-series through Matthew chapter 10

… in which Jesus sends his disciples out on his mission

The mission of taking the good news of the Kingdom of heaven to those who desperately need it

And we have been seeing each week how Jesus’ words to his disciples back then are still relevant to us as his disciples today

Jesus is sending us out on his mission as well

He is sending us with the good news of the Kingdom of Heaven

Jesus sends us with all that we need

Jesus sends us into hostility with help

Jesus sends us without fear, confident in God’s sovereign care

Jesus sends us to die to ourselves and to live for him

But this begs an important question: Why should we go?

What reason would compel us to go to our neighbors? To go to our family? To go to our coworkers… To go those in need in our community? To go to the nations…?

We need a compelling vision for why we should care about being sent by Jesus to be a part of his mission in the world

What has been clear throughout this whole chapter is that being a disciple is not merely believing something about Jesus… it’s being sent to represent Jesus to the world for a specific purpose.

And in this final passage in Matthew 10, Jesus shows us the reason that should compel us to go for him:

We are sent to bless

We are sent to be the means through which God blesses the world.

We do not go out into the world begrudgingly, because we have to…

If we understand Jesus’ words this morning, we will see that we are sent into the world on the mission of Jesus, for the sake of the good of those who do not yet know him.

And to see how this, we are going to be in Matt. 10:40-11:1

So would you turn there in your Bibles

And in these verses, Jesus is going to give us a reason that should compel us to go out on mission for him to a world that so desperately needs him

So let’s give these words our full attention

Matthew 10:40–11:1 “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.” When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.”

These are God’s words for us as a church - May we have ears to hear them and hearts to obey them.

Big Idea: Jesus sends us to bring his blessing to the world. [5:00]

For those who belong to Jesus, who follow him by faith, we live in the blessing of being made right with God, being forgiven of our sins, being changed each day more and more into the image of Jesus Christ

And that blessing is not meant to be kept and hidden…

We are sent by Jesus to be messengers of the blessing only God can give

So hear me, church family, at the very outset…

We have to get our heads above the fray of our own lives and see that God has sovereignly puts us in this place, at this time, surrounded by these people…

Not by accident…

But on purpose, for a purpose…

To bring the blessing of Jesus Christ to them… That they might believe and enjoy the fullness of what God offers.

Restoration, forgiveness, healing of hearts, newness of life, and communion with the living God.

[Bridge] How is it that we bring the blessing of Jesus to the world?

And Jesus is going to show that he is sending us with three things that should compel us to go so that we can be a blessing to those around us

So, for the last time in Matthew 10, we will say “Jesus sends us” and then we will see these three things that we take with us as he sends us to bring his blessing to the world

Jesus sends us…

With his Welcome (40) [8:00]

Look with me at v. 40

Matthew 10:40 “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.”

Jesus is unpacking a logical progression here, and to understand it, we should look at it in reverse order

I was sent… now I am sending you… so when you go out, and someone receives you, he is receiving the one who sent you

And when they receive the one who sent you (Jesus), they receive the one who sent him (God the Father)

Jesus here is giving us a window into the trinitarian structure of God’s mission in the world

The mission of God is trinitarian… It involves the whole triune godhead

Scripture makes clear that God has eternally existed as one God, in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

He is not three parts that make up a whole

Nor is he one God who appears in three different forms

Three persons, eternally existing as one God - All three possessing perfectly and fully the attributes of God

All three playing particular roles in relation to the world

The Father architects all that will come to pass

The Son accomplishes in the world all that the Father decrees

The Spirit personally applies what the Son accomplishes, according to the decree of the Father

And salvation is fully a Trinitarian work

The Father architects salvation according to his will

The Son accomplishes salvation through his life, death, and resurrection

The Spirit applies salvation to us, according to the will of the Father and according to the work of the Son.

So if salvation is a trinitarian work, then the mission by which salvation is brought to the lost is also a Trinitarian work.

You could summarize the entire missional structure of Scripture this way:

The Father sends the Son.

The Son gives the Holy Spirit to the church.

The Holy Spirit empowers the Church to represent the Son,

so that the world might be reconciled to the Father.

Jesus is highlighting this trinitarian mission when he says “Whoever receives me, receives the one who sent me.”

You and I have been welcomed by the Father, through the Son, and we are now given the Holy Spirit as we go out into the world

And we now offer that same welcome to those who do not yet know God.

And Jesus says that the way that you can know that they are receiving him, is by how they receive you.

“Whoever receives you, receives me…”

In the ancient world, “receiving” a messenger meant:

Embracing their message

Align with the person who sent the message

Jesus is making a staggering claim:

God has so joined His mission to His people

that the way people respond to the messenger is revealing their heart toward the Sender.

This means that you and I are being sent by Jesus as ambassadors of the welcome that God offers

And what are people being welcomed into?

(John 1:12) - They are welcomed into the family of God

(Rom. 5:1–2) - They are welcomed into the grace of God

(Col. 1:13) - They are welcomed into the kingdom of God

(Eph. 1:3) - They are welcomed into the blessings of God

(2 Peter 1:3–4) - They are welcomed into the life of God

You and I have received the blessing of that welcome…

Now we are sent to bring that blessing to those who do not yet know it.

And as people receive us, they will receive Christ… and when they receive him, they will receive life by the blessing of the Father who sent him.

So the question you and I have to ask of ourselves is:

Do the people in your life encounter the welcome of God through you?

Or do we reduce our witness to arguing for ideas, all the while keeping the blessing of God hidden?

Jesus’ words highlight for us that the world will know the welcome of God the Father as his people live as representatives of the Son, through the work of the Spirit in our lives.

People will see…

His peace through our peace

His compassion through our kindness

His holiness through our lives

His truth through our words

His patience through our gentleness

His grace through our forgiveness

His sovereignty through our hope

His love through our love

So that is the first

Second, Jesus sends us…

With his Reward (41-42) [16:00]

Verse 40 teaches us the logical connection between receiving us and receiving the father

Versus 41 and 42 teach us the way that those who receive us are blessed by the father

Matthew 10:41–42 “The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

Notice, Jesus gives us three categories of people, and with each category there is a reward attached

First, he says that if you receive a prophet, you receive a prophet’s reward.

It is common for people to misunderstand what a prophet is in the biblical sense, so let me clear up ay confusion…

In the Old Testament, the role of the prophet was to point to call people back to what God had said

There were times in which the prophet would make declarations about what was coming in the future, but those declarations about the future were still tied directly to their present disobedience and what God had previously said.

And the New Testament idea of prophet is the exact same - It is someone who tells you what God has said and calls you to obedience to what God has said

New Testament prophecy is not that you have a new word from God…

It is that you use what God has said to encourage people toward obedience

So the biblical view of a prophet is someone who speaks the word of God and calls you to obedience

And when you receive that person, you are affirming that the message they speak is the truth of God and that the obedience they call you to is good and right

And Jesus is saying that when you receive that person and their message you receive the same blessing they receive…

Because by receiving them, you are receiving the one they speak for.

Second, Jesus says if you receive a righteous person, you will receive a righteous persons reward

A righteous person in biblical language is someone who lives according to God’s word

So a prophet is someone who speaks according to God’s word and a righteous person is someone who lives according to God’s word

And Jesus is saying, “When you receive that person, you are affirming that their life is right and good and you are aligning with their way of life.”

And Jesus is saying that when you receive that person and align with their way of life, you receive the same blessing they receive…

Because by receiving them, you are receiving the one they live for

Third, Jesus says “And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

Little one is pointing at the insignificance of the person and a cup of cold water is the smallest of gestures…

Jesus is saying that when you do the smallest of gestures to the most insignificant of people, but the reason that you do that gesture is because that person is a disciple of Jesus, you are showing that you are in fact receptive to Jesus himself

I want you to notice: There is no gradation of reward in these three categories

The person who receives a disciple of Jesus because of the message of the Gospel, receives the same reward as anyone else.

And experiences the same security of that reward.

Now, I think we should talk for a moment as to why Jesus uses these examples…

I want you to turn back to 1 Kgs. 17 [Give time to turn] [21:30]

Background - King Ahab and his wife Jezebel are leading Israel to worship false gods and Elijah is called by God to be the prophet who calls Israel back to obedience.

He pronounces a drought on Israel and then he leaves is Israel and goes to a gentile area during the drought.

And notice what happens, starting in v. 8

1 Kings 17:8–16 “Then the word of the Lord came to him, “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.” And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’ ” And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.”

Notice - A man who appears insignificant, but who speaks God’s word and who lives in obedience to God’s word asked this woman for a cup of water…

All three categories from v. 41-42.

And he tells her that if she will believe him, she will be provided for just like God provides for him

If she will receive him… she will experience the same blessing as him

And then notice what happens next

1 Kings 17:17–24 “After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. And she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!” And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed. And he cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?” Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.” And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.” And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.””

She received the insignificant man according to the word of the Lord, God provides food for her and her son, and then she experiences the miracle of the dead coming to life.

She received Elijah who came on behalf of God, and she received the blessing that only God can give.

Do you see that? This account in 1 Kgs 17 is displaying the reality that Jesus is teaching in Matt. 10:41-42…

She was not just receiving Elijah, she was believing the God of Elijah and so she received the one who spoke on his behalf.

Now, let’s turn back to Matt. 10… [28:00]

So why does Jesus use the language of 1 Kgs. 17 as he sends his disciples out???

He is saying, “When you are faithfully living on my mission and someone embraces you because of the message you carry, they are responding rightly to the One you represent.”

And as they respond to God, they receive the reward from God.

Listen to they way that Craig Blomberg puts it:

“These verses show the astonishing generosity of God, that even the smallest act of kindness toward Jesus’ messengers draws God’s eternal attention and results in divine reward.”

There is a missional quality here that we must not miss:

The mission of Jesus is relational, not transactional

The image we often have of evangelism is that it is pushy, awkward, combative, intrusive

But in Matthew 10, Jesus frames it as welcome, reception, embrace, reward.

We have to see ourselves, not as forcing something on someone, but offering something to someone.

When you engage your neighbor, coworker, family member, or friend with the gospel…

You are not trying to win an argument…you are offering them the chance to be welcomed by God Himself.

You and I serve as the relational bridge for someone to encounter Christ and receive him by faith.

Jesus is the bridge between us and the Father

He sends us out to be the bridge between him and the lost

So my question for you is:

With whom are you building that bridge?

Where in your life are you engaging non-believers so the you can introduce them to the God who can bless them the same way he has blessed you?

Jesus is sending us with his reward, to be representatives of him, and as we are received for the message we carry, people will believe in Jesus and will receive the blessing that only Jesus can give.

With his Orders (11:1) [32:00]

v. 1 of ch. 11 serves as the closing statement of all of ch. 8-10

And we must not see it as insignificant

Matthew 11:1 “When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.”

At first glance, this verse looks like a simple transition:

Jesus finishes instructing them, and then He moves on.

But Matthew includes this to teach us the nature of the mission

The mission of Jesus is mandatory

Matthew says Jesus “finished instructing” His disciples.

The word for “instructing” is a military word: giving orders to soldiers.

He is issuing commands as the King of heaven to His people on earth.

And he doesn’t instruct only some, but all of his disciples.

The mission of Jesus is not for some of God’s people - It is for all of God’s people.

It is very easy to think that you can’t participate in the mission of Christ because of the phase of life that you are in

But it is actually the phase of life that you are in that helps to orient you to your place in the mission

You are not exempt from the mission of Jesus because you have young kids - That is your mission field, along with the other parents you rub shoulders with

You are not exempt from the mission of Jesus because you are older - You have a lifetime of testimony to share with those who are facing the same things you are… but they face it without the hope that you have.

You are not exempt from the mission of Jesus because of your career - Your career is a part of your mission

Jesus gives orders to his disciples, and those orders are for us today as well

The question is: What will it look like for me to obey the orders of my king?

To be his ambassador…

To bring the message of his Gospel to those who need it?

But he doesn’t send us with orders and leave us…

Look again at verse 1 - “He went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.”

Jesus does not send them out on their own to go about the mission without him

He went to their cities, to the places they would go.

The language here seems to suggest that Jesus paved the way for them

And he has already told his disciples that his Spirit will be with them wherever they go

Wherever Jesus sends you, he has paved the way before you

And wherever he sends you, he goes with you by his Spirit within you.

So where is he sending us as a church? And how is he sending us?

Sent to our community - Projects and HCC (highlight their new location and the option to give), toy drive (announced earlier in the service)

Sent to our city - Planting and Revitalization

Sent with our partners - AMG, Chennai, Cam/Emma Kessner

Sent to our world - Trips

PRAY, GIVE, GO

Jesus sends us with His orders

And as we obey Him, we participate in the most glorious purpose in the world: bringing the blessing of Christ to people who desperately need Him.

[Conclusion] 37:00

The world desperately needs the truth of the gospel because the world needs more than anything else to be reconciled to God through the forgiveness of sin and the newness of life

Our mission is to go to them, offering them the blessing that they so desperately need

And pointing them to the only one who can give it to them.

Jesus Christ

“… the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Jesus is sending us to bring his blessing to the world - May we be a faithful church that takes it to the ends of the earth.