Who Is Worthy?
Foundation: Matthew 10:11-14-It is not fitting to honor someone with
precious things who doesn’t honor the Lord
I.
Matthew 10:11-Why do you
need to inquire who in it is worthy?
A. What they are preaching
and what they are doing who they are sent by is precious
1.
5-These
men sent to these people are sent by Jesus which means they represent Jesus and
that means however you treat them is how you treat Him and that makes them
extremely precious and sacred and valuable and it’s not because of who they
are, but because who sent them
2.
8-The
business they are tending to is precious; There’s nothing more important going
on in the Earth than business of God’s kingdom
B. What they are doing and
who they are representing is just to precious allow somebody to partake of it
that doesn’t value it and that’s why they need to find out who in it is worthy
1.
Matthew
7:6-Don’t give precious things to people that don’t value them
2.
Because
of the preciousness of who sent them and what they are doing they don’t need to
be going to somebody’s house who doesn’t honor the Lord, who won’t honor them
– Jesus is too precious for that, what they have to minister is to
precious for that; it’s too big and too holy to just be cavalier with
3.
Who
in the town is worthy to house the ones Jesus sent? That is such a precious
honor and a thing to be esteemed
a. This is too valuable and
to big of honor to just give out with inquiring who is worthy
b. The idea in this is that
don’t just go anywhere and stay with anybody because this is too precious for
that
C. They are inquiring of the
Lord who in it is worthy and God is on the search for who in it is worthy of it
1.
The more precious a thing
you’re giving out the more selective you have to be about to whom you give it
and the more extensive the time of proving must be
II.
Matthew 10:11-What is Worthy?-Befitting-Suitable, fit, qualified, proper; Congruous-Rational,
fit, agreeable to reason; opposed to absurd
A. When you’re talking about
who is worthy you are talking who is fit and suitable and qualified to handle
it, to have it
1.
When
Jesus says, “Inquire who in it is worthy,” he’s saying find who is suitable,
fit, qualified
B. You can be saved and
unsuitable, unfit, unqualified to have and handle certain things and to give
some saved people precious and holy things would be absurd, not rational
because they don’t value God and His things
1.
If you got no time for
the things of God and God and His stuff don’t me that much to you, then you are
not fit for Him to honor you with precious things and it would be absurd to
give you precious and holy things
2.
Luke
16:10-If you are not faithful with the least then you are unfit to have and
handle the much
3.
Luke
16:11-If you are not faithful with money then you are unfit to have and handle
true riches
4.
1
Timothy 3-If you are not self-controlled, if you are not gentle, if you are
contentious, if you are not friendly, if you are not well-arranged, if you are
governed by your feelings, if you are covetous, if you’re family is out of
order, if you are a novice, if your wife is not honorable and worthy of respect
then you are not fit for this office of overseer
C. There’s an underlying
idea in “worthy,” that if they are not fit and suitable and qualified then it
wouldn’t be proper, rational, agreeable to reason to allow them to have it and
to handle it; It would be absurd
1.
1 Samuel 2:28-30-God says
“BE IT FAR FROM ME” when referring to honoring those who don’t honor Him and
that is an expression of impossibility – God cannot possibly honor those
who have dishonored and despised Him
2.
It’s
not fit, it’s not suitable, it’s not proper, it’s not rational for God to honor
those who don’t honor Him or for Him to give precious things to people who
don’t value them – That would be absurd
III.
Matthew 10:11-Who would
not be worthy?
A. People that are going to
treat these guys and what they are doing as little and with no regard and no
esteem would be people who are not worthy; People who don’t have time to go the
meetings they’re having, people who are too busy for God and his things, people
who are going to treat them as common would be unworthy
1.
Matthew
10:40-If they don’t receive these men, Jesus said they don’t receive him
2.
John
5:23-How you honor the one God sends is how you honor the Lord
3.
Luke 4:25-The widow and
Naaman didn’t treat these prophets like common men; there was a level of honor
for these men that they had and as they honored these men, God took it as them
honoring Him and they judged themselves worthy of this (not because they were
perfect or had compiled a bunch of good behavior, but because God and his
things meant enough to them to treat the one God sent with respect and honor)
B. It’s not the one who
behaves the best, it’s the one who God’s things mean the most to – THAT’S
WHO IS WORTHY OF IT
1.
That’s
an issue of the heart because where what you value is there will your heart be
also
IV.
Matthew 10:12-13-Bless
the house when you leave and if it’s worthy let your peace come on it
A. Salute the house and let
your peace come upon it
1.
Salute-To address with
expressions of kind wishes, Honor it
2.
Peace-Prosperity, security,
safety
B. If it be worthy? What
would make it worthy?
1.
Their
honor for Jesus reflected in their honor for these men would make it worthy
2.
If
these men sent by Jesus bless it and the words of these men are lightly
esteemed by these people then they’ve judged themselves unworthy to have that
peace come on it, but if the words of these men mean something to these people
and they receive that blessing by faith they’ve judged themselves worthy of it
3.
14-Why
wouldn’t people receive them or their words? They do not honor/value them and
what they don’t know is why they are doing that to the one Jesus sends, they
are doing it to Jesus
C. Dishonor would make it
unworthy and dishonor can cause you to miss out on something God wants you to
have (this peace)
1.
It’s
not good behavior that would make you deserving; it’s an issue of the heart and
if it means something to you, then you’ve judge yourself worthy to partake of
it
2.
To
be clear it doesn’t just means something to you b/c you say it does; the way
you live your life reveals what means the most to you
D. 14-Notice it didn’t say
stay there and try to convince them and explain what you meant and cry over
them not receiving you
V.
How do you judge yourself
worthy? HONOR makes you worthy
A. When you value God and
His things enough that it leads you to you treating them with great respect,
then you judge yourself worthy to have and to handle and to experience God and
His precious things