The Return Of The Apostate Apostle.

"He called His twelve disciples to Him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness." Matthew 10:1

As we continue our reflection on the introduction to Pastor Sam's sermon, let's stay parked at this crisis of "the many" who, in spite of their spiritual power, will not spend eternity with Christ.

Some Christians try to write off Judas as if he were not a true apostle. But the Scripture indicates that he was indeed one of the twelve, chosen by Christ, and empowered by Christ to work miracles and engage in deliverance ministry. This is underlined at the beginning of the book of Acts, when Peter shares the criteria for replacing Judas.

In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) and said, "Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus- he was one of our number and shared in this ministry." -Acts 1:15-17

Peter, what's that you said? Judas was one of us.

Seems that our Judas could get up with everyone else and preach, cast out demons, heal the sick, and all that... while at the same time being a self-serving thief.

But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray Him, objected, "Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages." He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. -John 12:4-6

The sad thing is that Judas is just one of "the many". Generations have come and gone, and the warning still stands: apostolic powerhouses, prayer warriors, great teachers, eloquent preachers, et cetera, are not guaranteed a place in the kingdom of God based on their skill sets.

What is the criteria?

"He who does the will of My Father who is in heaven". (see Matthew 7:21)

How do we know what the will of the Father is? Well, one way we can tell is by seeing what things the Lord identifies as commendable. As we move through the rest of this week, we'll look at some of the "commendable things" espoused in the Beatitudes. If you'd like a head-start, please take time to again read Matthew 5:1-16. See you online tomorrow my friends.