Carry no money belt, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way.

Luke 10:4 NASB

When Jesus sent out his disciples here in Luke chapter 10, He gave these instructions, that they should not greet anyone on the way.  Various explanations are proposed for the reason why He gave such specific instructions, but the rationale can be found in both understanding the Scriptures, and the power of God (see Mark 12:24).

Jesus introduced this command with this statement, “Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.” (Luke 10:3 NASB).

The understanding is found in the walking in the anointing, or the power of God.

They key understanding the Gospel of the Kingdom is in the “living by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16, 25).  While this is represented today at very many levels, for Christ, this included the manifestation of the “works of God”, or “good works” (as John’s Gospel calls them), holiness, and his calling, or preaching.

What anyone who has walked for a while with God can indicate, there is a momentum in the things of the Spirit.  For these disciples, they received this ‘momentum’ from Christ Himself, in the granting of authority.  Just in the previous chapter, we read of the twelve,

When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

Luke 9:1-2

Christ was now sending out the seventy-two (Luke 10:1), and he was giving them these instructions, they they limit their interactions with people to the limited scope of what he set before them.  Among other things, He was aware that the hearts of men were evil, and, more than that, the enemy would attempt to divert, distract, or dismantle their momentum, all of which they had received from Him.

But, in addition to this, He knew that they were unskilled in the carrying of this anointing themselves.  The power they were walking in could easily be lost should they become diverted, entangled, or otherwise enmeshed in the affairs of life (see Luke 13:22).  Further, they were like ‘lambs’, unskilled in discernment, understanding, and the wider array of dangers in the spiritual mission they were engaging.

It is about knowing the season, the time.  It is about knowing your authority, and what God has called you to do.  It is much like stepping out into anything unknown.  When you step out into a new endeavor, you may not know the conventional wisdom for a task.  You may not know all the proper tools, techniques, or operational procedures for that new dimension.  But, God does.

Consider His instructions on the return.

The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”

And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you.

Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”

Luke 10:17-20 NASB

Christ had given them the divinely inspired instructions to avoid superfluous contact with others, thus preventing distraction, diversion, and likely a host of other possibilities that could have taken them out of the realm of the Holy Spirit which was operating around them through the Spiritual authority which Jesus had granted.

Yet, when they returned to Him, his tone was different.  Now, His reflected the vision he saw of what their work accomplished.  Through their preaching of repentance to the nation of Israel, Jesus saw through discerning of spirits that ‘satan’ had been cast down.  Through the message of repentance and the message of the Kingdom, the spiritual power had been taken out of the way (temporarily, as we see in Matthew 12:45, as He was actually speaking of the generation, and not just deliverance in general).

It was in light of this fact, satan falling from heaven, that He could now tell them, “nothing will injure you”.  The difference was in the spiritual environment, in the atmosphere of the nation, which had shifted through the message preached in faith.

So, it becomes necessary to know, what time are you in.  The Kingdom walk is about the walk in the Spirit.  You may not know all of the ins and outs of any particular time, but if you stay close to the Father in prayer, you will.

Jesus discerned the times, the environment, by praying to the Father, and so must we.  We must know what season we are in, with respect to our callings, so that, by them, we will be able to walk in victory.  If we are new to things, we should be aware that we don’t know what we are doing, just as Joshua was instructed when the priests were carrying the ark.

…When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God with the Levitical priests carrying it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. However, there shall be between you and it a distance of about 2,000 cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.

Joshua 3:3b-4 NASB

In Joshua’s day, the instruction was to keep back from the ark, as opposed to previous times.  It is about, at all times, being aware of the commandments of the Lord, those in our heart, so that we may know how we should walk.

We can walk this walk with excellence.  But, it is a spiritual walk, often, with invisible hindrences, that must be overcome, if we are to bring ourselves forth into victory.

In simple terms, if you come into a new place in the Spirit, learn how to walk in it.  Don’t be hesitant or afraid, simply discern what the will of the Lord is in any given situation, and learn how to stay.

Anointings can be lost, and wills and minds can be taken captive.  Jesus gave these men in this situation a strategy to avoid temptation and other difficulties, simply by doing what could have appeared “unfriendly” to some.  But, by knowing what you are called to do, and in what manner, we can be assured that we will always have success.

Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.

John 5:19