Matthew 10

(Matt 10:8) Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

*Freely give what you have received from God. You do not need to be a Bible scholar to serve God, and share with other people. Whatever things you have already received from God you are able to share with others. Share them when God gives you the opportunity.

(Matt 10:12-14) As you enter the home, give it your greeting. If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.

*We are responsible for sharing, not for the results.

(Ezek 33:7-9) "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you will surely die,' and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself.

(Matt 10:16) I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

*God will send us to people who are open to hearing the Good News of Yeshua, but He will also send us to people who are not. Some of the people we share with might be looking to eat us alive. They might be hostile to the Good News, but go and be as wise as serpents and innocent as doves..

Wise as serpents

Genesis 3:1 says that the serpent was more "crafty" than any of the beasts of the field

(Prov 12:23) A crafty man conceals what he knows

*like playing poker or fighting in a war; you don’t want the enemy (or opposing players) to know what you have or are up to. You don’t want them to prepare for attacking or defeating you.

(Prov 13:16) The crafty man acts knowingly, not impulsively

*don’t try to wing it; prepare.

To be wise means to be able to understand, and deal with people and situations. To discern means to detect with the eyes and with senses other than vision. It also means to read character or motives. In place of "wise," other translations use "shrewd" and "wary." Shrewd means to be practical and to be given to an artful way of dealing with situations and people.

*1990 Jews for Jesus Summer Campaign. In July 1990 I spent 10 hours/day, 6 days/week on the streets of NYC. I learned how to deal with people & situations

To be wary is to use watchful prudence in detecting and escaping danger.

(Prov 22:3, 27:12) Crafty men see evil coming & step aside to avoid it.

*Snakes are pros at escaping.. Their most common form of self-protection is avoidance. A snake’s first line of defense is to escape to safety among rocks or vegetation. Snakes have to be alert to dangers. Most snakes are not aggressive. Snakes do not want to attack humans. Snakes bite humans only in self-defense. They would rather not confront us.

Innocent, Harmless, or Inoffensive as doves

To be harmless is to lack the capacity to injure or to be free from inflicting physical or mental damage. Innocent means to be harmless in effect or intention. Inoffensive means to be giving no provocation.

Doves aren’t referred to as the birds of peace for nothing. Their temperament is calm and their disposition is sweet. Doves do not bite. At most they might slap you with a wing if they are guarding the nest or do not want to be picked up. Doves really are harmless.to a man, but in the end it leads to death.