I received a great inquiry today regarding the prices I charge for ministerial training. I wanted to share my response because it may help you know how to respond as you share the message the Lord has placed within you. Enjoy!
Thank you for this message. I praise God for you and all the work you are doing in the Body of Christ. I am happy to respond and am thankful for your inquiry.
Yes, I am well aware of Matthew 10:7 -9 (…freely ye have received, freely give.) and had to ask the Lord about this to make sure that the way He has instructed me to set up the training institute is in full alignment with His Word and Will. When I asked Him about this, He said that there are gifts that He freely gives that we, as His ministers, are to freely release to His people. He is very specific about these free gifts. Healing the sick cleansing the lepers, raising the dead, casting out devils, and the gifts of receiving the Holy Spirit.
Then, He said that there are things that we pay the highest price for – our lives – to learn. The lessons, teachings, learnings and all that it costs (beyond financial cost) to access the secrets of the gospel and revelation of the Lord so we can be pure and cleansed vessels for the works of Jesus upon the earth. It is these things that He has given us along with our gifts so that we can live by the gospel and these things for which we can expect to be honored for financially.
As you know, it is His intention for His ministers to be able to fully serve Him with full provision. And as you know, He also adds supernatural provision to us so we are always taken care of no matter what.
Actually, we have paid EVERYTHING to learn to carry our spiritual gifts. We have had to lay down our lives, leave loved ones, spend countless hours in His presence, go through many, many trials and tribulations, be broken from the things of the world, be emptied of everything we thought we knew, and then get stripped from any attachment to the things of the world.
We have had to lay on our faces before Him and lose everything. We have had to learn how to walk in and carry our gifts and that has taken years of blood, sweat and tears. We have had to turn away from the works of the flesh and get beaten up until we realize that Satan is subject to the name of Jesus in us. We have had to get completely stomped in order to learn to stand in our authority, power and dominion and take our rightful place in the Kingdom of God. We do pay an incredible price for the gifts we receive. They are anything but free.
We have the scriptural right to activate our power to live by the gospel. Many ministers may not choose to activate this right, but it is ours. According to 1 Corinthians 9:14, The Lord has ordained that they which preach the gospel should live by the gospel. It was this same issue that Paul was addressing in this scripture. I have been instructed by the Lord to activate my Biblical right to live by the gospel. He has shown me how to do this and has instructed me to teach others who are called to the Kingdom or the Body because provision is what often stops us from going out and doing that to which the Lord has called us.
Something very interesting has happened over the years. We have come to devalue the things of God when they are more valuable than anything upon the face of the earth. Yet, the things of God should be regarded more highly than anything else. Yet, we know that people do not truly value what they receive for free or with no price. We are happy to pay for the things of the world with no hesitation. For some reason, it seems to only be the things of God that we question investing in. This should not be. We must get free from this thinking.
I think we sometimes forget that our Heavenly Father is the Creator of all things and there is no dollar amount that is bigger than Him or too hard for Him. Yet, I see so many ministers who become uncomfortable with the topic of money. It is as if we stop believing when it comes to money and God providing for us. Yet, it is something that is subject to us in Jesus’ name and it is just one of the many, many tools the Lord provides for us to use in our time here upon the earth. It is just one minuscule form of provision and we have to learn how to take our power, dominion and authority over it so it works for us and is in its proper place as a tool to serve the ministry and seed into the Kingdom.
In addition, there are costs associated with the training I provide and it is wise to cover my costs and to have people make an investment in the training. We are very accustomed to pay for our schooling and education as ministers and that is what I offer.
Also, I have the Kingdom assignment to raise up and equip ministers called to the Body of Christ outside of the church structure and they must have a system of honoring the value of what they bring to the table so they can live off of the revenue of their ministry. All too often the ministers are giving so much and having to keep secular jobs to cover their costs or are really struggling financially and this can take a lot of energy from the work we have to do with the Lord.
At the same time it is not at all about the money. I have no interest in gathering material things. I only have interest in building the Kingdom of God. I have spent way too many years learning this by being completely stripped so that I may prove myself to serve the Lord no matter what. It all belongs to the Lord and it is for seeding into His Kingdom. Nor do I ever put money before the teaching and anytime anyone ever lets me know that they have been instructed to take a course I offer, I never allow money to come between them receiving what they need to further their ministry.
I hope that helps explain what the Lord has called me to do.
In Him,
Ericka