Short Bible study / Devotion on Matt 9:35

Ivan Krishna, chairman of our CCM Executive, lead us in a short devotion on this text Matt 9:35. Enjoy it.

Matt 9:35 Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness.

36 Seeing the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and downcast, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then He *said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 38 Therefore, plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every sickness

 

1.  Going through all the cities and villages,
1. There were 204 cities and villages in Galilee ( according to Josephus)
2. This meant that in a very short time of less than 2 years the Lord Jesus went through them all
3. This shows extreme hard work in ministry for the Lord. He was not lazy
4. Furthermore, He would expect His disciple to pick up the baton from Him after His death, so He led by example.
5. Application:
1. If we are to be worthy disciples of Christ, may we not be lazy- that would be a poor reflection, misrepresentation of the Lord we serve
2. If we are to be faithful to the calling God calls us to, we must work hard and make every minute of the day count. Many go to their graves not having finished the work [c.f. John 17:4; 2 Tim. 4:5,7]
3. The energy & momentum of the CCM Executive will spiral out like a ripple effect when a stone is thrown in a pond. Never underestimate the impact the Executive members have on the entire network. We have the potential to inspire many to hard work or to subtly endorse passivity and laziness by our example
2. Teaching & proclaiming
1. The most important aspect of ministry is the announcement of the Good News- The Gospel
2. This Gospel takes the shape of the whole of Scripture to Believers and is narrowed to the Atonement for unbelievers
3. We can other things that will add to the ultimate goal of teaching and preaching such as skits/ dramas/ songs but the main instrument God uses to change lives is The Word of God [2 Tim 4:1-4; James 1:21; Romans 1:16,17; 1 Cor. 15:2
4. In these 2 words, it seems the Lord taught the believers and evangelised the non believers at the same time. He taught and evangelised together
1. He taught the disciples then demonstrated to them how to evangelise
2. Application: CCM’s ministry must be 2 fold
1. Provide training & resources for believers on how and what of Muslim evangelism
2. Starting from the Executive, we must lead the way for evangelism of Muslims. We cannot be closet evangelists or theoretical missionaries
3.  Seeing the crowds, He felt compassion for them
1. because they were distressed and downcast, like sheep without a shepherd
1. This deep brokenness for the lostness and hell-bound state of the unbelievers was felt powerfully by the Lord Jesus
2. Application:
1. We too, must be moved to compassion for every unbeliever we meet. It must be automatic. The closer you come to Christ the more you will share His heart. So compassion for the lost is a reflection of our relationship with Christ
2. The entire CCM network must be fundamentally characterised by compassion. Whether it is apologetics or evangelism, the essential motivation must be compassion
4. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.
1. Like then, we too today are so short of labourers. But the harvest is not short or getting any less. In fact they are growing in number. This statement true for general evangelism but is 100 times truer for Muslim evangelism
2. Application:
1. As an Exec we need a catalyst for getting the network to duplicate itself. We need to provide the motivation, guidelines and the accountability
2. All the wealth of experience and knowledge in this difficult ministry is being held by just a few. As an Exec we need a transfer mechanism to be put in place to take selected individuals under our wing and disciple them. We really do owe it to the next generation to have a ministry transfer process so that they are not left on the back foot
5. Plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.
1. The Lord tells His disciples that prayer for workers (and prayer in general) must accompany their ministry
2. Clearly the workforce comes as an answer to prayer
3. Application:
1. The lack of workers in the area of Muslim evangelism should trouble us. Thus, this should be a regular activity as an Executive to be praying for labourers
2.  
6. Jesus summoned His twelve disciples
1. The disciples became the answer to their own prayer
2. Again, this is the Lord showing them that they need to lead the ministry of teaching & proclamation by example.
3. Furthermore, even if God sends no one they must continue in this practical work
4. Application
1. As the Exec, we must practice teaching & personal evangelism ourselves
2. We must demonstrate with experience and knowledge what we stand for to the network of partners we lead
3. CCM partners must be known for an Active, personal and practical Muslim evangelism