Session 9
Matthew 10:16-20,26-34
Memory Verse: Matthew 10:28
Many people have bought a car, house, or other big-ticket item
only to discover later that it needed repairs that drove up the overall cost.
Looking at it, they might shake their heads and say, “It wasn’t worth it.”
Buyer’s remorse applies to time and effort as well as to money.
Sometimes you pour yourself into a project with little to show for it afterwards.
Again, you sigh and say, “It just wasn’t worth it.”
Only one investment never leaves one unsatisfied:
a relationship with Jesus Christ.
He always exceeds expectations.
Make no mistake . . . following Jesus is costly.
Nevertheless, at the end of the day-
and at the end of life-
Christ followers can say without hesitation, “Jesus is worth everything.”
Like Paul, we even are willing to experience the loss of all things
for the “surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Phil. 3:8).
An innate part of human nature is loyalty.
People hold a variety of loyalties such as brand loyalties-
are you a Ford™ or Chevy™ person?
Coke™ or Pepsi™?
Loyalty is found in choice of
sports teams, television news channels, and political parties.
We are loyal to these things for a variety of reasons.
But the only valid reason should be, is it worthy of my loyalty?
Even more poignant-is my loyalty worth dying for? (PSG, p. 87)
This chapter is identified as the Lord’s second discourse
Summarize this content from Understand the Context (PSG, p. 88):
“After spending weeks and months with Jesus,
the time had come for Him to send His disciples out to test what they had learned.
They were to preach of the kingdom of God like Jesus did
and engage in a ministry of compassion as Jesus had done.
Before sending them out, Jesus gave instructions about what they were to do, how they were to do it, and what to expect.”
Jesus wanted His followers to experience both
the joys and the struggles of representing Him in the world.
While all of them (except Judas)
would help spread the news of God’s kingdom after Jesus went back to heaven,
this was their first taste of that kind of ministry.
By examining Jesus’s instruction to them,
we can get a better idea of what He expects of us
and how we can continue sharing His message with the world today.