OFFERING - LUKE 10:1-7

1 After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.
2 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
3 Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.
4 Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way.
5 And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house.
6 And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again.
7 And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house. KJV

These passages of scriptures give us some brief insight into how to prepare for ministry. Obviously we will not cover everything but we will mention a few issues to consider and plan for while ministering to people. In verse 1 we notice that Jesus appointed an extra seventy in addition to the twelve that usually traveled with Him. Since Jesus public ministry was around 3 years plus this tells us that God will use you to minister the good news without 4 or 5 years of training. In college we are told to learn how to be a professional but with God's Kingdom you will always be a student. The difference is you can learn with practical experience right away to better equip you for the future. Pay attention to the fact that Jesus sent them out two-by-two. This means He paired them to be a team, those who believe they are a big shot are probably outside of God's Perfect Will. The Lord always establishes His Work in the mouth of two or three witnesses. Therefore all ministry should be established by at least two people, which means every minister should have at least one person working with them. This keeps you walking the straight and narrow path of truth, honesty and accountability. Is not God Himself three persons? Does not marriage require at least two? Nothing on this earth reproduces by itself, therefore take heed to a team concept. Amen! Although Jesus sent them out by themselves we can still understand that Jesus believes in follow up. This is because the Lord will personally confirm His word with signs following. They new ministers (evangelist) preached the message of the coming Messiah and the Messiah Himself fulfilled their prophecy to establish their testimony of Him. The Lord is all wise and He is all responsible to fulfil His Promises made unto men. This also gave Jesus an opportunity to elaborate on any question they might have and cover any topics of discrepancy. The Lord Jesus is very thorough even when we might think He is not paying attention. We can gather from verse 2 that even back then the Lord was hoping to send out more preachers but He was limited by the unwillingness of human hearts. Since we can not force people to do God's Will we must pray unto our Heavenly Father for the person to have a change in heart to obey God's Will. If a person won't listen to God’s dealing with their heart we have no chance at persuading them in our own power. We all know that there is a very corrupt world around us but we still must remain as lambs walking among wolves. This is basically warning us that there are those who will purpose to hurt us but when we stay close to the Good Shepherd we will feel no harm. We know the enemy is out there but he can do nothing against us when we walk in the light. Since wolves are predators (hunters) they prey on the easiest opportunity that comes across their path. Although they are meat eaters that attack sheep and other animals it is said they rarely attack humans. This means for us that the enemy may attempt to attack us but when we are close to Jesus the enemy does not desire to take on God. Simply put when we stay in the light of God's Word and love people we close the door on darkness conquering all attacks of the wicked one. The next verse (verse 4) simply reminds us not to plan on doing things are own way or the typical way of those in the world. Angela and I have a term we call "ministry mode" which means stay sensitive to the Holy Spirit and stay focused on ministering to the people you are sent to. The Lord wanted to remind His ministers not to be caught up in causal conversation because that could distract you from getting to the meeting on time. This also tells us no to pack all the natural resources (food) we may need for the whole meeting because it would make the journey more difficult. Why should we carry food around for seven days when we could eat with the people we are ministering to? This also applies to finances it is not wise to travel with large sums of cash money to pay for all your expenses when money can be collected and expensed as you go. In ministry it is said, “that one should travel lightly by planning on the Lord giving you what you need when you need it”. If we are to minister for the Lord we must allow the Lord to provide for us. If we try to do everything in our own might we will not learn how to follow God's provision in ministry. Generally, if you don't have much baggage people won't mind keeping you for a night or two but if you are walking around with four suitcases many people will not open their doors because they will think you are a professional traveler (hence a loafer). Verses 5 and 6 are encouraging us to abide with our own people. In those days when someone saluted a house they basically were pronouncing a blessing of God unto that household (Shalom, Shalom), if the owner of the house was a person of like faith they very well might answer back with the same words (Shalom, Shalom). However, if the owner of that house was ungodly or of another faith they would not acknowledge your greeting with a favorable response. Today Christians have their own vocabulary around the Name of Jesus just like the Jews speech of a coming Messiah excluding Jesus. The worshippers of Jehovah in the days of Jesus were of a different faith than those who worshipped Jesus Christ. This greeting of identification was started to establish unity and peace because even today we can have problems staying in the home of an unbeliever or a family of a different faith. It is sad but true that in the Christian religion today different denominations live in strife with each other due to doctrinal disputes. So if you are staying with someone as a visitor be sure they are believers that agree with your faith or at least they are wise enough to walk in love while you are with them in their home. The Lord told us that the servant of the Lord must not be in strife (2 Timothy 2:24) because it will negatively affect your ministry. If we allow offense to be in our heart it will definitely hinder the Power of Holy Spirit speaking from your heart. The Lord is very gracious and patient but He will not allow His power to flow through an offended vessel because that could spread bitterness. Our Lord is the God of all peace so seek peace and pursue it when you consider staying with the brethren. In verse 7 we gain some more useful insight, such as, don't keep moving around when engaged in ministering away from your local area. This helps to bring stability and consistence to your surroundings. If people need to get in touch with you they need to know how to find you. Moving around too much can cause confusion if the changes are unorganized and sporadic. This is why the Lord prefers for us to set up a schedule with a mature fellow believer that can accommodate our lifestyle for the duration of the meeting. The Lord also tells us not to be ashamed when receiving from people because the minister is qualified before God to receive wages for their service. The giving of food, drinks and shelter to a servant of God is why we titled this write-up as "offerings". When you give to a minister of God for the purpose of taking care of their needs it is always an "offering". Although, alms are gifts too, the giving of a gift to a person outside of the ministry is better classified as “alms”. The giving to a minister for the needs of their ministry is generally considered an "offering". The Minster of God must be open to receive from others because that is how the Lord ordained to established His Message in this earth. It takes humble obedience in receiving from God's channels (people) for God's provision to flow toward His servants properly. We notice that even though the giving was not monetary it is still considered an "offering" because it is meeting the provisional needs of the Servant of God. If ever you provide this type of blessing for a Minister of God please remember that you giving an “offering” to God, and you can fully believe that the Lord will give you a bountiful harvest on your seeds of offering sown in God's Love. For all men shall know you are a disciple of Christ Jesus because you love the brethren according to John 13:34,35. We have stated before that “offerings” come in various ways and forms but a harvest is always in store for the giver because God is faithful. Amen!

In His Love, Eric & Angela Foster

back to the top