24 “The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!
26 “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. 28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.[b] 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
32 “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.
34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn
“‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— 36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’[c]
37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
40 “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 41 Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”
What Makes a Missionary
- Some one whose measure of success in life is how like Christ they are becoming. This does not mean that they must be perfect, but that they measure themselves against a particular reference point. Many people today measure their success against the performance or character of others. For example, if we look at wealth we compare our wealth with those who are financially rich like Donald Trump, Michael Jordan, or Oprah Winfrey. If we look to The View and its opinions religiously we will become more like Barbara Walters. If we are addicted to Sports Center we will begin to value winning at sports as a superior value. However, the measure of life is how much like Christ in character and purpose have we become? To be able to do that, our time must be spent studying who he is.
- A missionary minimizes or releases fear. Someone who is afraid is often frozen. Many of us are afraid of other people. Some of us were raised in households where fear was used to shame us and control us. We learned to regulate ourselves by shame and fear and that is how we pattern our lives. Others of us have had traumatic experiences that left us scarred. We have not found ways to move on to a place of courageous peace. Jesus wants to remove all fear because fear has to do with punishment. We are disciplined by God in order to make us better people, but we are no longer punished by God as his children. The freedom from fear ought to be one of our main talking points in sharing the gospel, but often Christians are the most fearful and angry people on the block.
- A missionary shares Jesus’ teaching. There is nothing to share if we know nothing. Christians are meant to study Jesus’ teaching to the point where they can communicate it with others. This may be in their deeds, but it is important to know more about Jesus and his teaching each day. This is how love grows.
- A missionary has fortitude and courage. People will oppose a message that highlights how people are sinful or wrong. One of the biggest factors working against change is that people do not identify areas in which they are still wrong. We are conditioned to hate being wrong and we hate those who tell us ways in which we must change. Admitting a need for change means admitting that we are wrong.
- A missionary takes care of the needs of those who are suffering. They refresh the lives of those that they touch. This means giving food and drink to the hungry and thirsty, but it also means taking care of deep spiritual needs.
- To be a disciple means to be a missionary or apostle. If you follow Jesus, he is sending you to others.
Questions
- What characteristics make an apostle/missionary?
- What fears might the apostles have had?
- How is Matthew 10 to be understood as for the immediate time of the passage and for ages to come?
- If Jesus wants to equip all believers as apostles, how does that affect you?
- To whom are you called to share Christ in word and deed? How?
Plymothian 
As followers of Christ we need to be in constant learning of His word, we need to be learning ourselves in order to be sharing with others. When we have something so good in our life’s we want to shared with others. I love that when we become children of God we have no more fear because Jesus wants to remove it from our life’s. We are now call children of God what a blessing is that.