Bible
Study: Hosea 11, 1 to 9. Matthew 10, 7 to 15.
Today’s Gospel passage bears
a lot of similarity to that of Sunday. It is indeed Matthew’s version of Luke’s
account about the sending of Jesus’ disciples on a mission to preach. But then,
as we look at the words of Jesus here, there seems to be a new dimension to the
instructions; “Preach as you go.”
I think it was MTN that had
one popular advert those days with the caption; “pay as you go.” What that
simply meant was that as you make your calls, you pay simultaneously. It will
not be the case that MTN officials will set a date to come to your house to
collect their money for the calls you make. It is pay as you go.
When we apply that concept
to what Jesus says, “Preach as you go” would translate as, “preach while
moving, preach while on a bus, preach while in school, preach while you are
cooking, preach all the time.” So long as you are alive, keep preaching. There shouldn’t
be a particular time set aside for preaching. Preaching becomes the very life
you live.
Dear friends, time has come
for us Christians to realise that our very lives are loud sermons and that
everything we do from dusk to dawn is preaching something to others. Even what
we do in secret is preaching. We never stop preaching. When we let our light shine
by good works, we are preaching. When our actions betray our values and what we
stand for, we are also preaching. We preach as we go!
I was listening to radio few
days ago and I heard about a security man working in a bank who found ten
thousand dollars which was missing and he decided to return it to the manager. There
were a lot of reactions to this story from listeners on radio, but the fact is
that the action of that security man preached a great sermon. It has proved that
not all Nigerians are corrupt, that there are still people in this world who
can be content with the little they have and refuse to steal, that we shouldn’t
hide under the guise of “everybody does it” to do evil.
Even when we have to use words
to preach, we must ensure our actions do not later on contradict our words. It
would be a contradiction if I preach about the mercy of God if I refuse to
forgive my brother. I would be talking rubbish if I preach about the love of
God when my heart is so filled with bitterness and hate.
Hosea today speaks about the
love of God for Israel and the fact that despite how much Israel as a nation
has prostituted itself before Baal, God’s love still remained steadfast. It may
interest you to note that Hosea’s very life demonstrated the extent of God’s love
when he had to marry a prostitute who was unfaithful to him yet he kept going
back to get her. His ability to forgive her each time she went out with another
man was a testimony of how God forgives us. And Hosea wanted Israel to know
that if only they would turn to God, he would still receive then and prevent
the curses from coming to pass in their lives. Hosea speaking on God’s behalf
says; “my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my fierce anger…
for I am God and not a man… and I will not come to destroy.”
Preaching is not all about words
alone. It is a whole ministry that comprises freeing people from the darkness
that imprisons them; the darkness of ignorance, the darkness of sickness, spiritual
death and demonic possession. Hence Jesus added, “Heal the sick, raise the dead,
cleanse lepers, cast out demons.” Preaching begins on the pulpit but it is only
complete when the minister actually reaches out to touch the sick, the dead,
the lepers and those possessed. That is why the minister is called to go out to
meet the people where they are, to visit their homes. And he should not limit
these visitations to the homes of the rich or demand any payment for what he
does. The ministry should never become an avenue for making money. “You receive
without pay, give without pay, take no gold, nor silver, nor copper, no bag, no
two tunics, nor sandals, nor a staff.”
Let us Pray:
Lord Jesus, use me every day
that as my life continues to preach, what it says may be pleasing to your ears.
Amen.
Good morning.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you.
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