Read Matthew 10:16
Here’s a recipe for disaster. Take a pack of hungry ferocious wolves and let them loose in a sheep paddock. Sounds crazy doesn’t it? But that’s the very image that Jesus uses as he sends the disciples out on their first mission. They are sheep among wolves. And since Jesus uttered these words, nothing has changed.
We are still being sent out like sheep among wolves.
The world was hostile to Jesus and sought to nail Him to the cross. We should expect it to be hostile to us as we preach and represent Jesus to them. That is why Jesus warns us. ‘Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.’ When in enemy territory we need to be shrewd in the way we conduct ourselves. We need to be astute and on the ball in the way we present the GOOD news. While the message itself will never change, the packaging may. We need to be wise in how and when we travel and where we travel to. But we also need to be innocent as doves. Antagonistic unbelievers will use anything against us and our Lord. We must give them no ammunition. But rather as 1 Peter 3:16 says, we must be constantly “keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behaviour in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.”
Jesus sends us out knowingly into hostile territory. But it’s not bad news at all. It’s GOOD news! Jesus has a plan and has every contingent covered. Next week we’ll see more good news and more of God’s plan. But for now, be content that at the end of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) Jesus said that He would surely be with us until the very end of the age.
Read Matthew 10:16. Ask the Lord to show you how your current mode or method of evangelism may need refining or tweaking.
Prayer:-
à Uphold John Mackay and Creation Research in prayer.
à Ask God to continue to bless their ministry in all areas of current need.
à Uphold Jim Lyons as he goes into surgery on Monday in Brisbane.
à Ask God to guide the surgeon’s hands as he does a procedure on Jim’s heart.
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