Title: Wisdom for Living Today (Matthew 10:16-23)
Contents About ten years ago, an article about a weekly magazine was published on the social page of a newspaper. It is said that it is a book to be read hidden one by one in each book room, which is filled with obscenity, obscenity and violence, and cannot be seen by family members. How is today's reality? Even the daily newspaper TV programs that are delivered morning and night have come to a point where families can't see each other while having a conversation with each other. Because it's full of stuff you don't want your family to see. Even the Boeum newspapers in the Christian world are gradually filling up more and more pages with stories of fighting, separation, fighting, heresy, corrupt authoritarianism, slanderous explanations, and stories of buying and selling. It is today's reality that the image of corruption in the world and the image of corruption in the religious world are growing side by side without shame.
The text says, when Jesus sent out his twelve disciples into the world, behold, I am sending you, sending out sheep among wolves and taking them.
Jesus clearly sees this world as the world of wolves. He tells the world of wolves that his disciples, his true people, and true Christians must live together. There the Lord sends his disciples.
So you keep talking.
Therefore, be wise as serpents and innocent as doves, and beware of people. The saints tell us the secret of living in a harsh world. Jesus tells us that true believers are always living in crisis.
He says that the saints are separated and set apart and, by nature, live together with this world, but are different beings. He tells us that we have to live in a world with different goals, different ways of living, and different values of existence. Jesus tells us that the sheep need extraordinary wisdom and prudence to live among the predatory and hungry wolves. The reason he says these words while sending his disciples away is that if they suddenly encounter a disaster while preaching the gospel of the authority, He tells them in advance so that they do not think that such a disaster will occur because they lack the Lord's power. This is because it is difficult to recover if you are frustrated and doubtful because of unexpected events. The Lord knows the future we all have to live in. That's why He speaks today.
1. He says that you must come with wisdom like a serpent. In many places in the Bible, the serpent is symbolized as the devil, but there are also places where the copper serpent is symbolized by Jesus (John 3:14). The snake in the text means to learn the wisdom of the snake as a natural animal. Snakes have the habit of moving silently and hiding at any time, whether in danger or not, while they have careful discernment when encountering enemies, so they are agile and agile animals that can get out of the dangers they face very quickly. Snakes have the wisdom of preserving life. outperforms any other animal. Jesus teaches that this kind of wisdom is essential for believers living in the city of Sodom today.
But as a believer, it is very noisy. Careful discernment was too lacking. Let's treat the world of wolves wisely according to the Lord's concern.
2. He tells us to be as innocent as a dove in order to live through the harsh world. He teaches us that chastity is the secret of living in this world of wolves. This word of chastity means not having horns to attack, or strong teeth to bite, or stingers to injure. In other words, from a moral standpoint, it means having no intention of harming others. However, although the dove is a symbol of peace, it is also recorded in the Bible as an animal that is foolish and easily deceived because of its purity (Hos 7:11). Therefore, when innocence and wisdom are not combined, it is easy to be deceived by foolishness and ignorance.
Wisdom also lacks purity and is prone to corruption by cunning. That is why the Lord demands purity as well as wisdom from the saints living today. Therefore, believers must entrust their lives to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Wisdom to help the weak, and keep their chastity through the work of the Holy Spirit like a dove. The Lord wants us to live a life of the indwelling and fullness of the Holy Spirit, and He calls on His disciples today.
3. If you want to live in a world where sin is pervasive, He told people to beware. This verse means that the world has gotten worse because people are getting worse and worse. The scariest thing in the world is people. So, it is said to be careful when dating people. Protect yourself from evil people. It is a message to live with discernment and wisdom so as not to be drawn into danger by people unnecessarily. Because man is this spiritist, cruel and too good to change. This is because people are people who do not choose any means or methods for their own benefit.
At this time the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour, and the saints received the word of truth. Grace. Therefore, we must be more wise and sober. I'll have to quietly look at myself. We must do what is worthy of righteousness. Let's look around. And in order to be chaste, we must not lose our reverence. Today we have only wisdom and no chastity. So there is no light in darkness. You cannot become a conqueror against the evil world.
To overcome, let's pray to the Holy Spirit and ask for help to have the wisdom that pleases God and the purity that God desires. And let's become wise saints who have the courage to be bold and know how to make friends with mature believers who are sure of salvation, and who can keep holiness as the creed of faith. That's how you become a winner. First, let's show that those who have become leaders and influential people are sanctified. We must be servants who obey the Word and act according to the Word.
This text is not intended for lay people. These are the words to those who can be called leaders, teachers, and disciples. We all bow down, bearing in mind that this is the beginning of the wisdom of living in today's evil generation.