DRAWING NEAR
MAY 4
Chosen to Be Sent
"Having summoned His twelve disciples, [Jesus] gave them
authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal
every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. Now the names
of the twelve apostles were these" (Matt. 10:1-2).
Have you ever met someone who constantly absorbs what the church has
to offer, yet never seems to plug into a ministry where he can give
to others? I've met many people like that. Some have attended church
for many years, and have even taken evangelism and other special
training classes. But they never quite feel qualified to minister to
others or even to share their testimony. Eventually that has a
crippling effect on their spiritual lives and on the life of the
church in general.
When Jesus called the disciples to Himself, He did so to train them
for ministry. We see that in Matthew 10:1-2. The Greek word
translated "disciples" means "learners." "Apostles" translates a
Greek word meaning "to dispatch away from" or "send." In classical
Greek it refers to a naval expedition dispatched to serve a foreign
city or country. Disciples are learners; apostles are emissaries.
Jesus called untrained disciples, but dispatched trained apostles.
That's the normal training process.
In Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus says, "Go . . . and make disciples of all
the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and
the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you."
Paul said to Timothy, "The things which you have heard from me in the
presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who will
be able to teach others also" (2 Tim. 2:2).
As wonderful and important as it is to learn of Christ, you must
never be content to be a disciple only. You must also be a discipler!
Suggestions for Prayer:
Memorize Matthew 28:18-20. If you aren't currently discipling
someone, ask the Lord for an opportunity to do so.
For Further Study:
An important part of discipleship is spending time with Christ. One
way to do that is to read through the gospels on a regular basis. You
might want to obtain a harmony of the gospels to help in your study.
Tell a friend of your plan so he or she can encourage you and hold
you accountable.
Drawing Near, Copyright 1993 John F. MacArthur, Jr.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
http://www.gty.org
~~~
Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV)
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been
given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you;
and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
~~~
These devotions are posted with permission from John MacArthur's
first (1993) devotional work, _Drawing Near_, and they are also sent
out daily for free to several folks via e-mail.
In addition, John's second (1997) devotional, _Strength for Today_,
is also available free via e-mail only. _Strength for Today_ follows
the same format as what you have seen here from _Drawing Near_, but
with different monthly themes.
If you would like to receive daily devotions via e-mail from either
of these series, just let me know (via e-mail), and I will gladly add
you to the list(s) of your choice.
You can hear John MacArthur daily via the Internet by visiting:
http://www2.oneplace.com/Ministries/Grace_to_You/
and
http://www.gty.org.uk/
You may email John MacArthur in care of Grace to You at:
letters@gty.org
NOTE for those of you reading via newsgroups: If you wish to reach
me, please contact me via e-mail for quickest results.
In Christ,
Peter
Peter G. Chase :: Columbus, Ohio, USA
pchase1@wideopenwest.com
STOP! Who do you think Jesus is?
http://www.gty.org/Gospel
http://www.gty.org/
http://www.nwbible.org/
To forgive is to set a prisoner free, and to discover that the prisoner was you. -Alistair Begg
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