Matthew 10: 1-15 (AMP)
The Twelve Disciples; Instructions for Service
“Jesus summoned His
twelve disciples and gave them authority and power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal
every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. Now these are the names of
the twelve apostles (special messengers, personally chosen
representatives): first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother; James
the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew
(Nathanael); Thomas and Matthew (Levi) the tax collector; James the son
of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus (Judas, not Iscariot); Simon
the Cananaean (Zealot), and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him.
Jesus sent out these twelve, instructing them: “Do not go among the
Gentiles, and do not go into a city of the Samaritans; but rather go to
the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The
kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the
lepers, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Do not take
gold, or silver, or [even] copper money in your money belt, or a
provision bag for your journey, or even two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for
the worker deserves his support. Whatever city or village you enter, ask
who in it is worthy [who welcomes you and your message], and stay at
his house until you leave [that city].
As you go into the house, give it your greeting [that is, ‘Peace be
to this house’]. If [the family living in] the house is
worthy [welcoming you and your message], give it your [blessing
of peace [that is, a blessing of well-being and prosperity, the favour of
God]. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace. Whoever does not
welcome you, nor listen to your message, as you leave that house or city, shake
the dust [of it] off your feet [in contempt, breaking all ties]. I
assure you and most
solemnly say to you, it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the
land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that city [since it rejected the
Messiah’s messenger].”
Acts 16: 6-15 (AMP) – “Now they passed through the territory of Phrygia and Galatia, after
being forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in [the west coast
province of] Asia [Minor]; and after they came to
Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not permit
them; so passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. Then
a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man from [the Roman province
of] Macedonia was standing and pleading with him, saying, “Come over to
Macedonia and help us!” And when he had seen the vision, we (including
Luke) tried to go on into Macedonia at once, concluding that God had called us
to preach the gospel to them.
So setting sail from Troas, we ran a direct course to Samothrace, and
the next day [went on] to Neapolis; and from there [we came] to Philippi,
which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia, a Roman colony. We stayed on in this
city for several days; and on the Sabbath day we went outside the city
gate to the bank of the [Gangites] river, where we thought there would be
a place of prayer, and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had
come there.
A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a dealer in purple
fabrics who was [already] a worshiper of God, listened to us; and the Lord
opened her heart to pay attention and to
respond to the things said by Paul. And when she was baptized, along with
her household, she pleaded with us, saying, “If you have judged me and decided that I am faithful to the
Lord [a true believer], come to my house and stay.” And she persuaded us.”
Prayer point
· At
every point in time, specific instruction will come by the leading of Holy Spirit
- Father help them to obey; may they always recognise Your voice (Matthew
10:1; Acts13:2).
· Lord,
we pray that when such instruction comes there will not be any contention.
· Father,
let their hearts and ears be tuned to the cry of help from those in need of
salvation (the message of the cross delivers from sin nature) - Acts16:9.
· May
they continue to do the will of the Father even when it is not convenient.
· Father,
let none of them fall by the wayside as the son of perdition and the enemy will
not sift them as wheat.
· Their
names written in the book of life will not be removed (Matthew 10:2)
· Father,
the great commission You have given them, they will not deviate from it.
· Lord,
preserve their spirit from error, that they will only speak the truth which is
Your word (the Gospel).
· May
they go to prepare men for Your kingdom (Matthew 10:7).
· Lord,
endue them daily with power from the Holy Spirit to cast out demons, heal the
sick and set the captives free (Matthew 10:8).
· Father,
at every point in the journey of service, may Your Spirit direct them as to
where to go and who to minister (Matthew 10:5; Acts16:6-10).
· Lord,
we pray that to any house, city or nation that the sole of their feet will
tread upon, we possess it for Christ.
· Father,
prepare and open the hearts of men and women in these cities and nations where
You send them (Acts16:14b).
· We
pray that the heart of men and women be receptive to the preaching of the Gospel
(Matthew
10:11).
· Thank
You Father that whichever city or nation You send them, they will find one
whose heart is receptive to the message and established as a disciple of the
Lord.
·
Father,
every contention and activity of the enemy to withstand the Word we rebuke (Acts13:7-12).
· Father,
as they go out may they never be burdened with the resources needed, but trust
solely on You providing for their needs (Matthew 10:9-10).
· Lord,
we pray for disciples in cities and nations that will open their homes for the
use of the Kingdom labour.
· Father,
let their obedience to Your instruction bring forth fruits and may they abide (Matthew
10:15) - souls of men.
Join this HeartCry Prayer- Every Friday 11.30am-12.25pm (UK time)
Join this HeartCry Prayer- Every Friday 11.30am-12.25pm (UK time)
