“And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece.” – Luke 9:3

Jesus said to his disciples that they should take nothing but that which is needful for the ministry, and that of course would be just them and their faith in HIM.

I would like to reveal another side to this story that the LORD has given me.

The first thing that Jesus said to HIS disciples was that they should not take anything FOR their journey.

I was praying about this, when I heard the LORD speak to me and say, “Clyde, remember when you had your 57 Chevy and someone came up to you and said, “what would you take FOR it?” All of a sudden this scripture took on a completely different meaning. The LORD began to speak to me about what HE wanted the church to hear at this hour. HE said, “that each person in HIM was on a journey to be conformed into the same image from glory to glory even as HE is,” then HE began to explain.

Luke 9:3    The first thing that the LORD said not to take was a staff. A staff represents power and authority. The shepherd rules his flocks with it. HE began to say yo me, “that when many of my people receive a little authority they begin to sell out their call as a servant, and begin to get the big head that they are someone to rule over the people.”  We know that HE hates the doctrine of the Nicolatians, the word Nicolatian means, “to rule victorious over my people.” Jesus wants us to have a Nicodemus spirit, the word Nicodemus means, “to rule victorious among my people.” Many a servant of GOD has sold his humble spirit for a proud and haughty one, and was bought off his journey.

The second thing Jesus said not to take was a scrip. A scrip was a leather bag that the shepherd carried his provisions in. We carry our provisions, which is the WORD of GOD, in our heart and mind. HE began to say, “does it take just a little knowledge that puffs up to get you off your journey.” When knowledge increases in some, they begin to think that they are the only one with the true revelation of GOD and begin to beat and mistreat the children of GOD. Don’t let the enemy buy you off your journey with knowledge. For all of the knowledge in the world will not help us without the understanding to use it. I have seen over the years that many a minister has begun to misuse his knowledge against the people, instead of for the people.

The third thing that Jesus said not to take was bread. When the blessings for our natural man begin to flow into our lives, we have a tendency to relax and think all is well, when in reality, we are slumbering in our laziness that comes from a full belly. You know how it is when you eat and then you want to sleep. That’s the way it is when we are full of the things of this world and forget that we were once purged from our old sins.

The fourth thing was money. The riches of this world seem to get our minds off those who have not. We seem to forget those that the Lord died for. All of our concerns now are on our possessions and how they will benefit us. The love of money is the root of all evil. The Lord warned Israel to not forget the GOD that gave them the power to get the wealth. The enemy wants us off our journey by getting our eyes on our wealth like the young rich ruler. When wealth increases, so does ruling in the world system.

The fifth thing Jesus said to not take was two coats apiece. He warns us that we can not serve two masters. We cannot serve GOD and mammon. We must choose this day whom we will serve and not let the enemy buy us off our journey.

Now we see that our journey in this life is to be conformed into the image of HIS son only.

We have been speaking about our journey of not selling out. I want to explain the true journey that HE wants us led into–the journey of being led by the Spirit.

We are going to study the life of the Apostle Paul and see how he was led by the Spirit in the Book of Acts.

The Apostle Paul was saved in a very powerful way. He had met Jesus by revelation and understood HIM the same way. In Acts 9 through Acts 13, Paul was a teacher and prophet. In chapter 13, Barnabas and Paul were sent out by the Holy Spirit to be called “apostles.” The great thing about this is that they knew the voice of the Spirit. They took the Word of God to many people by the Spirit and saw great miracles.

When we begin to look at chapter 16:6-10 we see that Paul tried to go to Asia, but was forbidden of the Holy Spirit. Then he tried to go to Bithynia, but the Holy Spirit would not let them go there either . Then he had a vision of a man from Macedonia praying and saying, “come and help us,” and believing that the Lord wanted them to go there they proceeded for Macedonia. This is very powerful leading and direction from the Lord. In verses 16-18, Paul discerned a spirited of divination in a young woman an cast it out, in verse 25 the anointing that came from Paul and Silas’ praise shook down the prison. This is a very powerful leading of the spirit. In chapter 17 Paul is in Athens and preaching to anyone that he could, truly following the Lord.

Remember that Paul was blameless according to the law. He knew all of the traditions of the fathers and all of the ordinances that Moses had taught. These traditions were still deep down in his spirit. Every thing that he had learned needed to be forgotten or it would surface. He had been on the mission field for many years, and now there comes a yearning for the old feasts and ceremonies.

Now in Acts 18:21 we see that the tradition of Pentecost starts to surface in his life. Notice that he says “by all means I must keep this feast!” He had started to make up his own mind of what he wanted to do. God had called him to the Gentiles not the Jews. He was to forget about the traditions of the fathers and walk with the Gentiles and bring in a great light.

Now Paul was still being used greatly with signs and wonders. In chapter 19:21 it says that Paul “purposed in his spirit to go to Jerusalem,” notice it was small “s” on the word spirit. That means that it was his spirit and not the Spirit of God. Always the Spirit of God is referred to with the capital “S.” Paul was still being used by the Lord greatly.

In chapter 20:16, we see that Paul now has “determined,” that he “would not” spend time in Asia. Is it not strange that before this, he wanted to go to Asia, but now because of tradition, he wouldn’t go.

We see a process of determination that is in all of us from our old ways of life if we are not careful. First he says, “I must go, then he purposed to go, then he determined to go.” It started in his spirit with I must, then in his soul that purposed or planned how to, now his flesh or body had full control for a fleshly tradition.

In verse 19-21 Paul is saying good-bye to the followers and then in verse 22 he says, “I go bound in the spirit.” Now here is a man that had never been bound in his spirit before, he seemed to always hear from God. The first sign that we are out of the will of God is when we are bound and can not hear Him. Now that he doesn’t hear the Spirit to follow, the Lord with His great love for Paul, starts a process of trying to get Paul’s attention.

In chapter 21:3-4 we see that Paul is on a ship going through different places and lands at Tyre. And finding “ disciples,” notice that these were believers in Jesus. Paul was there for seven days and that they said through the “Spirit” that Paul should not go.

Paul was to go to Rome, but not through Jerusalem. Now Paul does not listen to the disciples. The first thing that God does to us when we can’t hear Him, is, he will try to speak to us through disciples. But since Paul had started that church, then who are they to tell him what to do. But the Lord loves us so much that He will not stop trying to get our attention. Now in verse 8 Paul stops at Phillip the evangelist’s house, which had four daughters which prophesied. We can assume that they prophesied to Paul that he should not go because after many days the Lord sent Agabus a well known prophet that even Paul believed in. For Acts 11:27-30, Agabus prophesied of a drought that was coming and Paul and Silas took an offering to the disciples in Jerusalem believing the prophet. Agabus took the girdle of Paul and bound himself and told Paul what was going to happen to him in Jerusalem. The Lord loves us so much that when we refuse to hear His disciples, that He sends someone known to us which we believe in, but still Paul would not listen.

When Paul wouldn’t stop, then the Lord told him what was going to happen. Paul had said that he was “bound” in his spirit, now the Lord says that he would be “bound” in his flesh. First the disciples, then second Agabus. Now the love of the Lord to lead our every step is His whole desire. When Paul arrives in Jerusalem, the brethren received him gladly in verse 17.

In verses 18-26 we see that the brethren had talked Paul into going against his own preaching in order to try to bring in unity. Paul had preached against the traditions and ordinances of Moses. The strange thing is that when you start to miss the Lord that you will begin to do the very thing that you preached against. Now Paul was going to allow a poor little animal to be sacrificed for his purification, when he had preached that no animal could cleanse us but the blood of Jesus only.

This purification that Paul was going to do is shown to us in Numbers 19. It is the law of purification, that the unclean may become clean. Paul did not even notice that they in reallity were saying, “you’re unclean.”

Now in this time period of seven days, Paul gives us a testimony of what happened when he was arrested in chapter 22.

Paul asked to speak to the people before he was taken away. He shares his testimony and says in verse 17-21 that while he was in the temple that he was in a trance. The Lord told Paul to get “quickly” out of Jerusalem and that they would not receive his testimony concerning Jesus. The love of God is still trying to warn Paul and direct his life is shown to us. First the disciples, then Agabus, now the Lord Himself. God will never give up on us.

We will notice in verse 19 that Paul answers the Lord like he didn’t even hear the Lord. He tries to “reason” with the Lord and tell the Lord something that the Lord already knew. But notice that the Lord did not say, “oh! Yes Paul, I see what you’re saying.” But the Lord said, “to depart for I will send you far hence until the Gentiles.” If Paul would’ve obeyed the Lord at that moment and ran out of the temple made by hands, I believe that he would not of been arrested and would have lived a very long and successful life in Jesus. Now I know that he wrote many a wonderful letter to the church from prison. Now I can understand why Romans 8 says, “that all things work out for good to those who love the Lord.”

Paul was never free again. He lived four more years: two years on his journey to Rome, and two years in Rome before his death. While he was imprisoned he could now only appeal to the flesh or Caesar. I am not saying that the Lord was through with Paul. The Lord continued to use Paul even in ship wrecks, and healing all on the island of Malta. That’s why Paul says in Rom. 12 that we are to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to prove what is the perfect will of God.

Now lets look back at all that has been shown to us. Never think that we are so great that no one else can speak in our lives. Paul was and is the greatest of the Apostles that we have ever seen in the church, now and in the past. There have been great people of God in the church since Paul. All learned from Paul’s letters to the churches. Please see what the Lord is saying to us, and don’t think that I am trying to destroy the great Apostle Paul. For I know that if he were here to tell us, he would say, “never get off of your journey to be led by the Spirit of God.”

Three times Paul did what he wanted to do. Three times the Lord spoke to Him–once through disciples, once through Agabus, once Himself. We are spirit, soul and body. The first time Paul in his spirit said he must go–the first warning was through the Spirit by the disciples. The second time Paul in his soul purposed he must go–the second warning was revealed in his mind by Agabus, of what would happen to him if he went. The third time Paul committed his flesh by a ceremony of purification and appealing to Caesar, the third time the Lord committed Paul’s flesh to be taken by the Jews and delivered to the Romans for sacrifice.

In all of this God was pleased with the life of Paul. For he said, “I have kept the faith and I have finished my course.” I pray that we all can someday say the same thing. That we will hear the Lord say, “well done my good and faithful servant.”

May the Lord Jesus open to us the scriptures that we would not fail Him in all of His ways for our lives.

 

Written for the edifying of the saints till we all come into his fullness,

–Pastor Clyde Warner