Of the House of Israel

Jesus sent out these twelve, charging them, Go nowhere among the Gentiles and do not go into any town of the Samaritans; But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (Matthew 10:5-6)

It is interesting to me that, the moment when Jesus first grants His power and authority to His disciples, he does not send them out to those who would be considered 'lost,' but rather, He sends them into the midst of God's own people - 'the lost sheep of the house of Israel.' They were sent to preach the kingdom of heaven, to cure the sick, to raise the dead, to cleanse the diseased, and to drive out demons from among God's own people. I can't help but question, WHY would this be His first assignment for them? Why would He have them use the full extent of the power of God to address those who already know about Him when He Himself said He came to reach the lost - that all would come to know Him and that none would perish?

Because the same was true then that is true now - there are 'lost sheep' in the house of God. Probably then, just as now, most did not even know they were lost. They knew of Him, but did not recognize a difference between knowing of Him and knowing Him. There were individuals among God's people who struggled with the truth of the kingdom of heaven; who battled illness that was contrary to God's perfect plan for their lives; and who were tormented by demons that contaminated their hearts and minds, keeping them from a pure and full relationship with God.

What was true then is true now. The body of Christ (the church) must be healed and made healthy and whole; it must be brought back to life; it must be consecrated wholly to the God, clean and uncontaminated, in order for it to function properly. When the church is healthy, it will be a powerful, unstoppable force for reaching the lost, which is the purpose of the church - You shall be My witnesses...to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8)

We cannot reach out to those who do not know God and invite them to enter into an unhealthy, dead, sickly, and muddled, ambiguous church. If the body is not as it is intended to be, if it is not alive and vibrant and healthy, completely in love with Jesus, serving only Him, with no other motive than to glorify Him, then what we are presenting is a church that looks one way on the surface and is something altogether different at the core. It will not take long for someone on the outside looking in, or someone who has just stepped in for the first time, to see through what lies on the surface. And why would they want that? What on earth would make them stay? We cannot offer a mirage of the truth when the truth is so much better!

The spirit of a person knows and recognizes the truth of God long before the mind begins to understand it. When someone is drawn to Jesus, it is because his or her spirit has recognized the truth and longs for it. When their experience 'in the church' is perceived to be something different than that truth they first recognized, a door is opened wide to make way for confusion, doubt, dissatisfaction, and even disgust and resentment to enter in.

It is critical that the observable - the perceivable, physical experience - genuinely reflects the truth of the Spirit. This can only happen if the church is healthy and is operating in God's design and purpose for His body. It must be made up of individuals who are healthy and whole, abiding in Him and vitally connected to Him, passionately in love with Him and living to please Him because of their love for Him. When this is the condition of God's people, our lives will speak volumes to the truth of Jesus, and all that He is, and all that He is offering and has already made available. Oh, how I wish we would live lives that reflect Him like this! Consistently live lives that testify to God's love and faithfulness! That is God's desire for us as individuals, and it is His design for His church as a whole.