Go With Nothing!

My dear readers as we were preparing for the missions trip a few weeks ago two verses spoke to me from the book of Luke in a way completely new to my understanding. Luke 9:1-6 and Luke 10:1-18. I like most of you am used to reading this passage and see only that Jesus tells the disciples go with no money; no extra clothing; no food; and no bag to carry stuff in. And as it reads that is what it says.

Luke 9

1When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3He told them: "Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic. 4Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. 5If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them." 6So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.

The other morning however while making coffee I believe the Lord showed me a deeper meaning to this passage. Here is what He asked me, "What do the staff, bag, bread, money, and tunic represent"? I thought of several things like provision, and trusting in our own ability to take care of ourselves. Then I thought that it may also represent who they were as individuals. You see each person when traveling takes things that will help them feel comfortable. Some even go to the extreme of taking things like the Coffee they like to drink or DVD's of the movies they like to watch. This things could also represent our culture and way of life. What if the Lord was telling them to leave that behind and go only with Him as a companion. We live in very different times they the disciples but the Word of the Lord is as true today as it was then. If the Lord asked you to go with nothing, could you? Could you trust the Lord enough to literally take nothing with you. What if that even meant your identity as an American or even as a missionary. What if He asked you to go with only Him. Accept whatever hospitality He provides, eat the things He provides, drink only what He provides. There are valid concerns about health and safety today whether it is traveling to another state or another country, but remember who called you out. Remember who is making the way for you to go. It is in Him name we should go when called. It is for His glory we go when we are called. It is His kingdom only that we should be worried about representing when we visit others. Lets read together Luke 10 and see how the Lord drives this point home.

Luke 10

1 The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. 2 These were his instructions to them: "The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields. 3 Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves. 4 Don't take any money with you, nor a traveler's bag, nor an extra pair of sandals. And don't stop to greet anyone on the road.

5 "Whenever you enter someone's home, first say, 'May God's peace be on this house.' 6 If those who live there are peaceful, the blessing will stand; if they are not, the blessing will return to you. 7 Don't move around from home to home. Stay in one place, eating and drinking what they provide. Don't hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay.

8 "If you enter a town and it welcomes you, eat whatever is set before you. 9 Heal the sick, and tell them, 'The Kingdom of God is near you now.' 10 But if a town refuses to welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 11 'We wipe even the dust of your town from our feet to show that we have abandoned you to your fate. And know this—the Kingdom of God is near!' 12 I assure you, even wicked Sodom will be better off than such a town on judgment day.

13 "What sorrow awaits you, Korazin and Bethsaida! For if the miracles I did in you had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have repented of their sins long ago, clothing themselves in burlap and throwing ashes on their heads to show their remorse. 14 Yes, Tyre and Sidon will be better off on judgment day than you. 15 And you people of Capernaum, will you be honored in heaven? No, you will go down to the place of the dead."

16 Then he said to the disciples, "Anyone who accepts your message is also accepting me. And anyone who rejects you is rejecting me. And anyone who rejects me is rejecting God, who sent me."

17 When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, "Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!"

18 "Yes," he told them, "I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning! 19 Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. 20 But don't rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven."

If the timing of a mission trip is important, if the message that gets delivered during your trip is important, then going in the way the Lord instructs is also equally important. We must seek the Lord first each and every time we go out. To get His detailed plan of action right down to asking Him what you should take along. As missionaries we are ambassadors of the Lord. We represent His kingdom, we must follow the orders of our king or we will make a mockery of His authority and His reign. I pray that you would ask the Lord to prove this to your spirit. If it true then let this work itself out in your life. Go in peace and in the name of Jesus!