The Great Commission

Matthew 10:5-8  

"These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not 

into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans 

enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of 

Israel.  And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of 

heaven is at hand.  Heal the sick, cleanse the 

lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: 

freely ye have received, freely give."   

    The Twelve Apostles were commission and given special instructions, that they were to focus their ministry on the "Jews."  What was said to these disciples here are not assumed applicable to those who are commissioned by The Lord at other times.  For instance, in Luke 22:36, the Lord sent His disciples on an extended mission to the Gentiles and gave them instructions that were directly 0pposite for the ones here in Matt. chap 10. This was The Great Commission, that sent the Disciples "into the world," given just before our Lord's ascension, and only certain of the general principles of the ministry that were given to Christ' disciples can be applied to the commissioning of believers of today.

   For instance, the gifts of healing and raising the dead (v. 8) were only given to some, 1 Cor. 12:28-29 not to all.    

   "So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.  Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;  Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness," (Rom. 12:5-8). 

   This is not a complete list of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These were specifically mentioned because they constituted a portion of questions in the Corinthians letter to Paul.  Paul revived a letter from the household of Chloe concerning the bad conduct of some of the church members.  Many had been converted from paganism to Christianity, and were having a hard time breaking their old habits of their former lifestyles. There were divisions among them, some were bringing lawsuits against each other and allowing unbelieving

judges to settle the disputes. 

   My Friends, What Paul is telling the Corinthians and all Believers is this "The Grace Of God is Given unto Those in Jesus Christ,"  so that the believer would not be lacking in any spiritual gift.  Since every Christian has been given the Holy Spirit, he has potential to demonstrate the particular gift which has been given to him. You Must Believe To Receive!!

Amen!!

Reading:  Matt. 10:1-42

                   1 Cor. 12:28-30

                  Rom. 12:1-8 

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

  

Christ Calms A Storm

 Isaiah 26:3-4.   

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed 

on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the 

LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH 

is everlasting strength:"

    It is a comfort to those who travel by sea in ships, and are sometimes in danger, to reflect that they have a Savior to trust in and pray to. Who knows what it is to be on the water, and to be in storms.  All who are passing with Christ over the ocean of this world, must expect storms. 
    Christ' human nature, was like ours in every way "but sin."  He was wearied, and slept at this time to "try the faith of His disciples"  They, in their fear, came to their Master. It is the same in our soul; when lusts and temptations are swelling and raging, and we run to God. Will God be asleep to your call, if so this brings things to the brink of despair. Then you cry for a word from His mouth, Lord Jesus, Be not silent to me, or I am undone. Many that have true faith, are weak in it. Just as Christ disciples were during that raging storm on that ship.

    Christ' disciples are apt to be disquieted with fears in a stormy day; to torment themselves that things are bad with them, and with dismal thoughts that they will be worse. Great storms of doubt and fear in the soul, under the power of the spirit of bondage, sometimes end in a wonderful calm, created and spoken by the Spirit of adoption. They were astonished!      

    My Friends, They never saw and we never will see a storm such as this, turned at once into a perfect calm. He that can do this, can do anything which encourages confidence and comfort in Him during the most dangerous stormy day. 

Amen!

Reading: Matt. 8:23-27

Ref: HGSB

May God Bless You 

Ans Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

.

Believe And Receive

 Matthew 8:13  

"And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and 

as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.

And his servant was healed 

in the selfsame hour." 

  This centurion was a heathen, a Roman soldier. Though he was a soldier, yet he was a godly man. No man's calling or place will be an excuse for unbelief and sin. "See how he states his servant's case" (Matt. 8:5-10). We should concern ourselves for the souls of our children and others, who are spiritually sick, and don't feel the spiritual evils, and don't know that which is spiritually good; and we should bring them to Christ by faith and prayers. Humble souls are made more humble by Christ's gracious dealings with them.  

  Observe his faith. The more defiant we are of ourselves, the stronger our confidence in Christ. We all should serve God in that manner; we must go and come, according to the directions of His word. But when the Son of man comes and He finds little faith, He will also find little fruit.  Now outward profession may cause us to be called children of the kingdom; but if we rest in that, and have nothing else to show, we shall be cast out. 

  My Friends, The servant got a cure of his disease, and the master got the approval of his faith. What was said to him, is said to all, Believe, and ye shall receive; only believe. See the power of Christ, and the power of faith. The healing of our souls is at once the effect and evidence of our interest in the blood of Christ.

Amen!

Reading: Matt. 8:5-13

Ref: HGSB

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

   

The Gift Is Salvation

Matthew 8:3-4 

"And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; 

be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 

And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but 

go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer 

the gift that Moses commanded, for 

a testimony unto them."

 

    Christ's cleansed a leper, who came and worshipped Him, as one clothed with Divine power. This cleansing directs us, not only to believe in Christ, who has power over bodily diseases, for the cure of them, but it also teaches us in what manner to  come to Jesus and celebrate the gift of Salvation, now that our sins has been washed away by His blood.  No guilt is so great, but there is that in Christ's blood which atones for it; no corruption so strong, but there is that in His grace which can subdue it. 

   To be made clean we must commend ourselves to Him; we cannot demand it as a debt, but we must humbly request it for our sins. Those who by faith come to Christ for mercy and grace, may be sure that He is freely willing to wash your sins away, and send The Holy Spirit as your Comforter.

   My Friends, You may not be sick or have any kind of disease, but if you don't know  Jesus Christ as your Saviour, you need to seek Jesus Christ, just like the leper that came and worshipped him.  

Amen!

Reading: Matt. 8:1-4                  

Ref. HG SB

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

Does Christ Know You

 Matthew 7:21 

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter

into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the 

will of my Father which is in heaven" 

   Christ tells us here that it will not be enough to call Him our Saviour, only by word of mouth. It is necessary that we believe in Christ, that we repent of sin, that we live a Holy life, and that we love one another. This is the will of God. Let us take heed in our outward privileges and doings, lest we deceive ourselves, and perish eternally, as multitudes do, with a lie in our right hand.  Let everyone that names the name of Christ, depart from all sin. 

   There are others, whose religion rests in just hearing, and it goes no further, and their heads are filled with empty notions. These two types of hearers are represented as two kinds of builders.  The builders that builds his house on sand, and the builder that builds his house on rock. 

   My Friends, This parable teaches us to hear and do the sayings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Many may say it's hard to do because we are only flesh and blood, but they must be done. If you are going to follow Jesus Christ, you must first believe and let Him in your heart, which is the Holy Spirit that will comfort and guide you on your path. 

Amen!

Reading: Matt. 7:21-23

Ref: HG SB

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

The Cross Roads

 Matthew 7:14  

"Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which 

leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." 

    Christ came to teach us, not only what we are to know and believe, but what we are to do; not only toward God, but toward men; not only toward those of our party and persuasion, but toward men in general; However,  As my wife reminded me this morning while watching Fox News, we all seem to forget at times in our lives that we should pray for all people no matter what party or persuasion. 

   There are two ways right and wrong, good and evil; the way to heaven and the way to hell; there is no other way but walking: there is no middle place hereafter, no middle way now. You are saints or sinners, godly or ungodly. Now concerning the way of sin and sinners, that gate is strait and wide, and stands open and it leads to destruction. Now concerning saints, "strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life and few there be that find it." 

   The way to eternal life is narrow. We are not in heaven as soon as we get through the strait gate. Self must be denied, the body (The Temple kept Holy) and corruptions mortified. Daily temptations must be resisted; duties must be done. We must watch in all things, and walk with care; and we must go through some tribulation. 

   My Friends, This way should invite us all; it leads to life, to present comfort in the favor of God, which is the life of the soul. It's Eternal blessedness, for the hope of which at the end of our walk, should make all the difficulties of the road we chose. 

Amen!

Reading: Matt. 7:13-14

Ref: HG SB

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

Storehouse Tithing

 Malachi 3:10  

"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be 

meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the 

LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of 

heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there

 shall not be room enough to receive it." 

    This passage is often used by those who advocate "storehouse tithing;"  which means bringing the "tithe" into God's storehouse (the local church), rather than giving it anywhere else. They say that gifts to ministries other than the local church should be above the "tithe." We know that the "storehouse" in  Malachi represents the temple or a building on the temple grounds.  However, The Old Testament "tithe" or "tenth" cannot be reasonably equated with ten percent of gross salary of wages which most people earn today.

   My Friends, Above all, giving should be a matter between The Holy Spirit and the Beliver, not a regulation. Now the "tithe" may be an adequate guide for determining how much some people could give. I will say this; "For many in a prosperous society, it is probably an inadequate amount, but the amount of giving must be a personal decision. Apostle Paul wrote that God examines the motives for the giving, not the amount.  "Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver," (2Cor. 9:7).   

Amen!

Reading: Mal. 3:7-15

Ref: HG SB

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry