Luke 10:1-17 

We will begin our study from Luke 10. It’s from verse 1 to 17 but because of time, let’s read from verse 1 to 7.

Praise the Lord 

Missions! Missionary work! 

The Bible says the Lord Jesus sent out 7 disciples , he sent them out in twos. He said to them, I’m sending you like sheep amongst wolves. How challenging it will be for these disciples sent out! 

He told them, ‘if a household receives you warmly, leave the peace of God with them. And if a household doesn’t receive you, your peace will return to you. This shows there was some sort of power backing them. 

He asked them not to pack up, and not to take extra clothes and not to stop to greet anyone on the road. I ask myself, ‘why should they not greet along the way?’ Let’s look at this, greetings take a lot of time, where you’re asked of your family and the conversations after a greeting  can go on and on.As I thought about it , I realised greetings can be a distraction and it also stands for any distraction on the path of the missionary. 

The work of God is great and we need many labourers. FD Walker for instance was a great man of God. 

Another thing Jesus said was that the disciples stay in a particular household for the period of time to be spent in a community ,that is, they stay in the household that receives them. 

Let’s read 2 Kings 15

A little background will be good. The Lord asked the Israelites not to be moving from camps to camps. They obeyed God but realised their enemies had encamped around them. This made the servant of Elisha afraid. Elisha said to him, those for us are more than those against us. He prayed that God opens his eyes and when his eyes were opened, he saw a vast army of God encamped around them.

So now, if Jesus asked his disciples to stay at a particular household for the period of a trip, it means he encamped around that house. Same for the missionaries today, he encamps around their houses and he protects them. 

It’s not an easy work, the work of a missionary. Sometimes, the indigenous people who are saved will see to the pastors after church to request for some money for upkeep or transportation fare. 

Let’s also read 2 Timothy 1:15-18 

The work of God sent Paul to Asia. And there, he had a huge support system and when even when he had left, these people searched for him so they can continue to support him.

So Paul said to them, May the compassion of God be with you. 

The Bible says that the righteous man is never forsaken nor do his children beg for bread. As you help a missionary today, you will be rewarded and these blessings will even get to your children 

2 Timothy 4:24 

Verse 14 of this verse talks about the judgement for those who work against missions. it says 

Alexander the copper smith did me much evil: may the Lord judge him for what he has done. 

You may not be able to go to these far places to spread the word of God but your resources support the course. 

Let’s help these front-line workers to spread the gospel.