Daily Bread 2011 - Matthew 18
Daily Bread Together – Monday – Matthew 18
Verse of the Day: 18:10-14 “The Parable of the Wandering Sheep”
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.
What Does This Mean? As Jesus has given the disciples the invitation to be part of the coming Kingdom through the Church, he reminds them at the beginning of the chapter to be humble. The disciples ask him “Who is the greatest in the kingdom?” It is natural for us after having been conferred this great privilege to start thinking of all of this in human terms. But Jesus reminds them that the greatest is like a child who simply trusts will be in the greatest position to be of maximum influence in the Kingdom.
Then he tells this parable to remind them that it is just “not all about them”. This might also be called the parable of the “Good Shepherd”. A Good Shepherd cares about the sheep, but when one is lost they drop everything to find the one that has wandered off. This parable reveals God’s heart for all people. Sure He is happy for those who are found, but His heart is willing to leave the found to find the one lost.
The context for the chapter is losing the “little ones”. Jesus is teaching how important it is to pass on faith to those who will follow our generation. Jesus challenges us that it is great if our generation is found, but what if those coming after us our lost. Will we leave the safety and comfort of what we know to find lost people who matter to God?
What Does This Mean For Us? The generational theorists warn us that us we unless we intentionally reach out to the next generation (let’s say for simplicity those age 25 and under) that we are in danger of losing the next generation of Christ followers. We can no longer operate under the “build it and they will come” philosophy of the 80’s, where the institutional church thrived.
The church of the 21st needs to be going out where lost people are and earning the right to share the gospel through relationships and meeting felt needs of the people we are trying to reach. We need to leave the 99 to reach the 1. It doesn’t make sense from a human standpoint, but from God’s view it does. Why? Because every person is someone made in God’s image and God cares for every person regardless of their background.
Pray that God would use you and open the eyes of your heart to see the lost people in the spheres you live, and then be willing to leave your comfort zone to find them and share Christ’s love for them.
Jesus, thank you for finding us when we were lost! Open our eyes to see those who are lost and be willing to do anything to find them including leaving our comfort zones and also just hanging out with those who are found. Amen.
Verse of the Day: 18:10-14 “The Parable of the Wandering Sheep”
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.
What Does This Mean? As Jesus has given the disciples the invitation to be part of the coming Kingdom through the Church, he reminds them at the beginning of the chapter to be humble. The disciples ask him “Who is the greatest in the kingdom?” It is natural for us after having been conferred this great privilege to start thinking of all of this in human terms. But Jesus reminds them that the greatest is like a child who simply trusts will be in the greatest position to be of maximum influence in the Kingdom.
Then he tells this parable to remind them that it is just “not all about them”. This might also be called the parable of the “Good Shepherd”. A Good Shepherd cares about the sheep, but when one is lost they drop everything to find the one that has wandered off. This parable reveals God’s heart for all people. Sure He is happy for those who are found, but His heart is willing to leave the found to find the one lost.
The context for the chapter is losing the “little ones”. Jesus is teaching how important it is to pass on faith to those who will follow our generation. Jesus challenges us that it is great if our generation is found, but what if those coming after us our lost. Will we leave the safety and comfort of what we know to find lost people who matter to God?
What Does This Mean For Us? The generational theorists warn us that us we unless we intentionally reach out to the next generation (let’s say for simplicity those age 25 and under) that we are in danger of losing the next generation of Christ followers. We can no longer operate under the “build it and they will come” philosophy of the 80’s, where the institutional church thrived.
The church of the 21st needs to be going out where lost people are and earning the right to share the gospel through relationships and meeting felt needs of the people we are trying to reach. We need to leave the 99 to reach the 1. It doesn’t make sense from a human standpoint, but from God’s view it does. Why? Because every person is someone made in God’s image and God cares for every person regardless of their background.
Pray that God would use you and open the eyes of your heart to see the lost people in the spheres you live, and then be willing to leave your comfort zone to find them and share Christ’s love for them.
Jesus, thank you for finding us when we were lost! Open our eyes to see those who are lost and be willing to do anything to find them including leaving our comfort zones and also just hanging out with those who are found. Amen.
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