I send you out as sheep in the midst of the wolves; therefore be shrewd as serpents, and innocent as doves.

  Good morning. Jesus then calls His 12 disciples. He gave them authority to cast out unclean spirits, and to heal every kind of disease and sickness. He tells them to not go to any place except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. They are to preach that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. They are to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons; freely they have received, and freely they were to give. They were to do exactly the same things that Jesus was doing. God gave to us freely, and we are to give to others freely. People who are not of God charge for their services. That does not mean that we do not support ministries. They were not supposed to take along provisions for their journey – they were to trust God to supply. “I send you out as sheep in the midst of the wolves; therefore be shrewd as serpents, and innocent as doves. Beware of men; for they will deliver you up to the courts, and scourge you in their synagogues.” There will be opposition to the preaching of the word of God. People of the world do not want to hear the truth. It would be easy to get fearful in that situation. But Jesus told them to not become anxious about how or what they would speak; But it would be given to them in that hour what they were to speak. For it was not they who spoke, but it was the Spirit of their Father who would be speaking in them. We also are not to worry about what we will speak. We are to rely on the Holy Spirit to give us the words to defend the Gospel. For it is the Gospel we should be defending and not ourselves. Father thank You that You give us the words to speak in all situations. We proclaim Your kingdom wherever we go.

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