Bible Discourse 40 Jesus’ Counsel to Ministers of God’s Word Part l
Discourse 40
Jesus’ Counsel to Ministers of God’s Word Part l
And when he had called unto his twelve disciples, he
gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all
manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; the
first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of
Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the
publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and
Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot,
who also betrayed him.
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.
“Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your
purses, nor scrip your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet
staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.
“And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter,
enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence. And when ye come into an house, salute
it. And if the house be worthy, let your
peace come upon it; but if it not worthy, let your peace return to you. And
whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of
that house or city, shake off the dust
of your feet. Verily I say unto
you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day
of judgment, than for the city.”
Matthew 10:1—15
After these things the Lord appointed other seventy
also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place,
whither he himself would come. Therefore
said he unto them, “The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray
ye therefore the Lord of the harvest,
that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
“Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among
wolves. Carry neither purse, nor scrip,
nor shoes: and salute no man by the way.
“And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, ‘Peace
be this house.’ And if the son of peace
be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to again.
“And in the same house remain, eating and drinking
such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house. And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they
receive you, eat such things as are set before you: And heal the sick that are
there in, and say unto them, ‘The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.’
“But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive
you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say, ‘Even the very
dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: not
withstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto
you.’ But I say unto you, that it shall
be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.”
Luke 10:1--12
And when he had called unto his twelve disciples, he gave
them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of
sickness and all manner of disease.
Matthew 10:1
Prarthana, Japa and Dhyana…, Integral part of Spiritual Sadhana.., regardless of any faith on the planet, since the evolution of human consciousness..!
Prarthana is the
intention, Japa is the affirmation and Dhyana is a consolidation, to raise
human consciousness from ignorance of "INDHIRIYAS", which make us
prisoners.
Spirituality..
is the "Royal Way" to experience true peace, freedom and JOY, and it
is our birth RIGHT..! which can only be achieved by our own dedicated effort..!
And when he had called unto his twelve disciples, he
gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all
manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
Matthew 10:1
Jesus had transferred his spiritual power to his
twelve disciples as a great master does. and then
Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; the
first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of
Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the
publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and
Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot,
who also betrayed him. Matthew
10:2—4
Jesus gave his spiritual power to Judas equally along
with other twelve. The advanced disciple St. John was liberated during the life
time of Jesus. According to great saints
of India, Judas who made treachery against his Guru Jesus, and also blasphemed against Holy Ghost and
God the Father i.e., Cosmic
Consciousness, was liberated in 20th century.
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. Matthew
10:5—8
Jesus endowed his twelve apostle disciples with divine
power. Jesus commanded them to go and heal the receptive devotees to heal.
Before sending out his apostles, Jesus said: “Do not follow after the Gentiles,
heathens or pagans, spiritually indifferent people. Do not enter into rigid minded Samaritans.
Reach the true innocent people of Israel. Cleanse the lepers and those who are
unclean with sinful habits. Bring back to life, the physically dead, in
accordance with their karma, whom Heavenly Father tell you. Cast out Satan and
his satellites from obsessed souls.”
Jesus and his disciples preached what they knew from
God-contact. They did not have formal education.
“We speak that we do know, and testify that we have
seen.” John 3:11
They are different from who comes from theological training,
both in the Orient and Occident, to preach to others with the purpose of
converting and holding followers with dogma.
A truly holy person teaches one’s whole being with a “peace which passeth all understanding”.
Philippians 4:7
A true minister teaches actual contact of God to his
congregation. Churches should emphasize
inner development more than oratory and social activities. Realization of God
is the true and only purpose of Churches and temples. They should not become
places of mechanical chanting and ritualism.
It would be more peaceful and harmonious, if various
religions ceased condemnation of paths different from their own.
Sankhya (Gnaana), Yoga (Divine union with God), and Vedanta (the end of
the sabda) are three comprehensive philosophies of Sanatana Dharma.
Sankhya: Destroy threefold suffering, causal (soul), astral (mind), and
physical (body), stock, barrel, and gun, which is root cause of suffering.
Yoga: it is the science of the step by step union with God. Bhagvat Gita says Yoga is the sure and
supreme way.
Vedanta: Doctrine of the Ultimate. The Goal of God realization is Unity
in diversity, and Diversity in Unity.
External forms of congregational worship are of limited value for
God-communion. The purpose of Church is to give God-contact. Services should
not consist with various rituals of body and mind, like chanting and choirs,
standing and kneeling down, intoned prayers , scriptural recital, and other
external practices. God is found in silence.
“It is written, ‘My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye
have made it a den of thieves.” Matthew
21:13
The holy places should not be changed to a den where thieves of restless
thoughts and dogmatic bigotry disguised in holy robes hold supreme away.
Churches should become temples where both leaders and members in unison can
commune with God and with Christ Consciousness. Then the Christianity is
different from churchianity. Establish Christ first, then he will reign
church. I want to pray with soul, then
the thousands follow me. Ask yourself, “Am I a true Christian?.”
Krishna and Christ belong to all, irrespective of religion.
Truth cannot be received just by listening to dogmatic, moral, and
scriptural sermons. One ton of theory is
not even equal to one ounce of practice. Practice true religion.
“Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your
purses, nor scrip your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet
staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.
“And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter,
enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence. And when ye come into an house, salute
it. And if the house be worthy, let your
peace come upon it; but if it not worthy, let your peace return to you. Matthew
10:9—13
Parallel reference:
And commanded them that they should take nothing for
their journey, save staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse:
but be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats. And he said unto them, “In what place so ever
ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place.” Mark 6:8—10
After these things the Lord appointed other seventy
also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place,
whither he himself would come. Therefore
said he unto them, “The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray
ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his
harvest.”
“Go your ways: behold, I send you forth a lamb among
wolves. Carry neither purse , nor scrip,
nor shoes: and salute no man by the way.
“And whatsoever house ye enter, first say, ‘Peace be
to this house.’ And if the son of peace
be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again.
“And in the house remain, eating and drinking such
things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house. And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they
receive you, eat such things as are set before you: And heal the sick that are there in, and say
unto them, ‘The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you’” Luke
10:1—9
Jesus was saddened that people were interested to join
the services in the synagogue, but very few spiritual laborers were deserved to
be granted rich harvest of spiritual
abundance in God’s Kingdom. Jesus sent out his disciples not as salaried
preachers but as selfless renunciants.
He advocated his disciples before departing them: “Be
true divine laborers and after God-contact go across the world and share your
experiences. Do not stick to one place for long. Do not depend on material
things. Do not take money for your service. Do not extra clothing. Do not
salute and indulge in useless talks. Whatsoever to city or town you enter, find
out who are spiritual and worthy to receive your message.
There is a spiritual saying in India: Ritabhuk, Mitabhuk, Hitabhuk. i.e., Earn and eat, Eat limited, and eat in a
harmonious vibration of a household. Stay in such house accepting their
hospitality as ministerial wage until you have finished your counsel in that
area.
Wherever they receive you, eat and drink whatever is
given you. Heal the sick, and tell them God’s kingdom of heavenly bliss lies
hidden very near you, just behind their waking consciousness. Teach them meditation by which they can enter
into Cosmic Consciousness.
Jesus tells his disciples the way his disciples should
live in the world.
A follower may renounce outer world. He does not
marry, discards personal possessions and human relations. He seeks secluded
places like ashram. He may pursue his sadhana for attaining God-realization. The
order of Swamis belongs to the path of renunciation, akin to monastic orders in
the west.
The path of Yoga can be followed by devotees in all
walks of life. A house holder, a
celibate, a monastic, or anyone can follow Yoga, union of God. It can be followed
in the house, or secluded place. No gender difference for yoga. The advanced
yogi being intoxicated with God, having renounced all desires, and attachments.
He will be in this world but off the world.
The Yogi says, ‘Have God-contact first through meditation, and then
through attachment to God. Then the
attachment will drop away.’ The physical
austerities of renunciation alone without Yoga of God-union is unnecessarily arduous.
So even the devout renunciant ought to be a yogi as well.
The path of outer renunciation can be followed by few,
but yoga can be followed by all.
Jesus was a yogi. He was constantly engaged in divine
union. He was a man of renunciation also.
Dress code, is pertinent to the region, has to be
modified. You make your heart a hermitage. Your dress is the love of the Lord.
Jesus instructed his disciples to avoid commercialism
in religion. Jesus instructed his
disciples that you deserve to receive your bodily maintenance from those you
help. You may use business methods in religion, but please do not use religion
for business. It is blasphemy.
The aim of false prophets is to gratify their ego with
adoration of large following and reap financial gains. Jesus made it
unequivocally clear to his disciples, times change, as well as external modes
of expression, but the ideals are invariable.
Concentration was to be on those who were “worthy,”
receptive, regardless of their station—high or low, and rich or poor. The
commercial religious teacher uses his students to further his own ends where as
the true spiritual teacher brings his students nearer to God.
And whosoever
shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or
city, shake off the dust of your
feet. Verily I say unto you, it shall be
more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than
for the city.”
And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your
words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your
feet. Verily I say unto you, it shall be
more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than
for the city.”
Matthew
10:14--15
Parallel reference:
“But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive
you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say, ‘Even the very
dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: not
withstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.’ But I say unto you, that it shall be more
tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.” Luke 10:10—12
Jesus said: And whosoever will not appreciate your
exemplary lives, nor receive your message of divine liberation, nor listen to
your words of wisdom, depart you, without anger or arrogance, from that house
or city and shake off the dust of their disbelief and disdain; let not their
evil vibrations cling to you. Verily I
say unto you that the law of karma will record and punish that city or that
refused your soul-liberating message.
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