He is With Us Wherever We Go
Matthew 11:1 (NLT) When Jesus had finished giving these instructions to his twelve disciples, he went out to teach and preach in towns throughout the region.
Jesus sent the 12 disciples out, and THEN WENT OUT TO DO THE SAME HIMSELF. He does not ask us to do anything He will not also do. In fact, He is with us WHEREVER WE GO! What general does that? President Deby, in Chad, recently went to his army fighting the rebels in Chad that had come down from Libya and was wounded and died as a result... BUT JESUS ALREADY DIED AND WAS RAISED FOREVERMORE. HE IS THE FIRST BORN OF A NEW CREATION AND BECKONS US TO FOLLOW HIM. He came to DELIVER us from fear of death (Hebrews 2:14-15), by OVERCOMING it! We are saved in hope of the resurrection of the dead (Romans 8:24-25), a hope He has made sure and steadfast (Hebrews 6:17-20), being the first fruits of it (1 Corinthians 15:20,23)!
Matthew 11:2-3 (NLT) John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?”
John the Baptist, whom Jesus said was“greater than any man born of a woman” (Luke 7:28) before the resurrection doubted Jesus, whom he had even earlier declared was “the Lamb of God” (John 1:29,36)! Such is the influence of the prevailing world view (culture) on us! All the more, we must renew our minds (Romans 12:1-2) to be a useful vessel for the Lord.
As radical and aligned to the truth as John the Baptist was, he was rocked, because the Messiah did not come according to the prevailing world view of the day, namely Jesus coming to crush Rome and re-establish the Kingdom of David. WHAT ABOUT US? I’ve found that the Lord ALWAYS does exactly as He says, but it very rarely, if ever, happens according to “the spin” that I put on it.
Once we have surrendered our lives to Christ, we are no longer our own. We have the responsibility to reprogram our “stinking thinking” to God’s thoughts (Romans 12:1-2; Isaiah 55:6-13; 2 Corinthians 2:16). Let us DO IT!
Matthew 11:6 (NLT) And he added, “God blesses those who do not fall away because of me.”
You are going to have opportunity to be offended following Jesus, because His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-11). He will do just as He has said, but it won’t be as we envision it. “Blessed are the flexible, for they will not break.”
Faith is not passive (Matthew 11:12). And don’t scoff at another until you see the fruit! “Wisdom is shown to be right by its results” (Matthew 11:19).
And to whom does the Lord choose to reveal the Father (Matthew 11:27)? To the “childlike” (Matthew 11:25; Mark 10:15) to those who come to Him who are weary and heavy laden and are willing to learn from Him, who have come to the end of themselves and humble themselves before Him, who submit to His Lordship. That’s who (Matthew 28-30).