Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 9. 1 Corinthians 9. Before we begin, let's pray together. Our Father, we call upon you
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And Lord, we thank you
and bless and praise your name. We ask you, Lord, would you help
us this evening to worship? Lord, without your blessing,
nothing is profitable. I ask you to help us to hear,
help us to see with new eyes given from above the glory of
the Lord Jesus Christ for it's in his name we pray. Amen. I'd like to look at verses 3
to 7. We had started this chapter last time I was in 1 Corinthians
9 and the Apostle Paul had revealed obviously that there were some
either at the church there in Corinth or some that knew of
his work there that questioned his apostleship questioned whether
or not he was actually the one that replaced Judas, making Paul
then the twelfth apostle. Now that action, trying to cast
a doubt upon Paul's apostleship, was for no other reason than
the hatred of God's word. And also to appease a guilty
conscience when there's a walk of consistency, when there's
found consistency in truth. Consistency in a walk. Consistency
in a conversation before God. All those that oppose the gospel
of God's free grace are going to find fault. There's always
resistance to that walk. You never find resistance to
those that are liars. But you do find resistance to
those that will walk godly in Christ Jesus. Believers are in
a world, a religious world, that hates them. And I'll be honest
with you, I'm seeing that more and more. The resistance against
the gospel of God's free grace. People say, well, I don't have
anybody, you know, resisting me, fighting against me. Just
hang on. Hang on. It won't be long. Believe
me, the time will arise when you'll find a stand for the truth
is going to be met with hatred and resistance. Rest assured,
the spirit of unbelief is going to manifest itself against the
Lord. There'll be an attempt to silence
those, especially those that are sent to preach the gospel. So Paul's call to the position
as being an apostle was one that was defended by Paul. And he
made this statement that we looked at last time under the direction
of God's spirit. He said, am I an apostle? Am I? Am I one that has personally
been called, personally taught, personally commissioned and sent
by the Lord Jesus Christ and given gifts as manifestations
of that calling. He said, am I not free? Have
I not been freed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ from
the bondage and the curse and the dominion of sin? Am I not
free from the penalty of the law? and the terror of the justice
of Almighty God? Am I not free from the lie of
my old man that tells me that I must keep the law for righteousness? That's a lie that every one of
us was born with. We've got a heart that is desperately
wicked. that it lies to us, tells us,
you've got to do something in order to be saved. Am I not free?
Then he said, have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Did the
Lord not appear to the apostle Paul, Saul of Tarsus, in resurrected
glory when he was on the road to Damascus? Then he asked, he
said, are ye not my work in the Lord? Has the Lord not actually
been pleased to raise up an assembly? He was asking here in Corinth,
and bless the word to the calling out of His elect. The only message
that is going to be blessed by the Spirit of God is going to
be the message of the gospel. Paul said, you're the evidence
of God's blessing. Then he says in verse 3, he said,
to them that do examine me is this. Now that statement right
there, it appears to be the opening or the beginning of the next
verses that we're gonna look at, but it could also be the
conclusion of what he's just said. He said, he gave these
statements that I just made. Am I an apostle? Am I not free?
Have I not seen Jesus? He said, this is my answer. This
is my answer to what men have been saying. Then he says in
verses four to six, have we not power to eat and drink? Have we not power or the right,
is what he said. When he says power, he's talking
about the right, to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as
other apostles. And as the brethren of the Lord
and Cephas, or I only and Barnabas have not we power or right to
forbear working when the Lord called his apostles, he called
them unto himself and he called them to the ministry. And I want
you to hold your place there and turn to Matthew 10, Matthew
chapter 10. Just look at a... few verses
here, when our Lord called the apostles. Look at Matthew 10,
verse 1. When he had called unto him his
12 disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits to cast
them out, to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of
disease, Then he says in verse 5 to 10, these 12, Jesus sent
forth and commanded them, saying, go not into the way of the Gentiles
and into any city of the Samaritans, enter ye not. But go rather to
the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach,
saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick. cleanse the lepers, raise the
dead, cast out devils. Freely you have received, freely
give. Provide neither gold, nor silver,
nor brass in your purses, nor script for your journey, neither
two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves, for the workman is
worthy of his meat. Twelve men were outwardly called
to the ministry. Eleven of them were heartily
made fit by the Lord Jesus Christ in regenerating grace for that
calling. Men called and commissioned to
the great work of being an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. These
men, eleven of them for sure, were taught and sent to preach
the gospel with a particular message, the gospel of God's
sovereign saving grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. And God's
preachers are never to deviate from that message. This thing
of prophecy and politics or matters of morality, they are never a
substitute for the proclamation that the kingdom of heaven is
at hand. That message that God's salvation
has been made manifest in Christ. That message that gives all the
glory unto the Lord Himself. Now there were eleven or twelve
men given this commission, of which I've said 11 of them were
heartily called. One of them was a terror. One
of them was a devil. That's what the Lord said. Have
I not called you 12? One of you is a devil. And the
Lord sent those 12 men, and Judas was doing what the others were
doing. He was preaching just exactly what he was hearing.
So these men were sent by the Lord to do this. He said, I want
you to go and preach to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Now, who are they? Well, they're God's elect. They
are those that have been given to Christ before the foundation
of the world. Those who have been redeemed
by the Lord Jesus Christ at Calvary, those sought out ones, those
who have been everlastingly loved in Christ, and those who will,
in regenerating grace, end up saying just exactly, I'll turn
to this in Philippians, what the Apostle Paul said of himself
after the Lord called him out of darkness. Ephesians chapter
3, 7-10, he said, were gained to me, those I counted
lost for Christ. We've read that so many times
before. But every person called out of darkness, this is what
they're going to say concerning what they used to find all their
comfort in, all their hope in. Yea, doubtless I count all things
but loss. for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus, my Lord, that which the Spirit of God has been
pleased to teach me concerning God's grace in Christ, for whom
I've suffered the loss of all things, I do count them but dung
that I may win Christ and be found in Him, not having mine
own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through
the faith of Christ. the righteousness which is of
God by faith, that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection,
the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his
death. I just read something that joggled
my mind. Yesterday, I got something in
the mail. I got a packet. It was about,
I don't know, a dozen, 15 of these newspapers. It was a religious newspaper
thing that was sent to me by an organization that I was familiar
with in another state. Why they started sending it to
me, I don't know. But anyway, when I read this verse 9, be
found in him not having mine own righteousness which is of
the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ. the faithfulness of Christ. His faithfulness imputed to me. When I got this packet of newspaper
things, I just, I opened it up. When I looked at it, I knew,
I knew what it was. But I got, I started reading
on the top of it what they believed. And here's what, here's what
they believed. They believed that the Bible
is the infallible word of God. That salvation is by faith. And that was far enough for me. Salvation is not by faith. Salvation
is by grace through faith. If you tell somebody that salvation
is by faith, that means what you're saying is salvation by
what you did. And so I just took them and pitched
them. Salvation by the faith of Jesus Christ. I want you to go to the lost
sheep of the house of Israel. This is what we're doing tonight.
You know who I'm preaching to? I'm preaching to the lost sheep
of the spiritual house of Israel. But here's the problem. Not a
problem, it's just my ignorance. I don't know who they are. But
I do know that they're among us. I know that the Lord has
a people. And I know that we have the message
that Almighty God is going to bless to the calling out. So
here's what we do. We preach it. We preach the message. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Almighty God has a kingdom. And this is the day of grace.
This is the period when the Lord is going to call out His people.
The kingdom of heaven. is at hand. So God's preachers
are sent, sent to preach. You go and preach to the lost
sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, the Lord told
them, He said, don't provide for yourself, don't worry about
what's going to be needed. God's preachers are not men of
greed. They've been given a message,
he said, as you freely have received, verse 8, Matthew 10, verse 8. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers,
raise the dead, cast out devils. Freely ye have received. What
do I have concerning the message of the gospel that I've not been
taught? Nothing. The message that I preach
is what the Lord has taught me. So what do I do? As I freely
received it, freely give it, freely preach it. God's people
have been sent to preach a message taught by Almighty God. And they're
not in the ministry to enrich themselves in this world's good,
but they're to be found faithful to the Lord's calling. and commission. They're not to deviate for the
sake of monetary gains or to grovel or beg. How many times
have you ever been watching television? Those, you know, the channels,
every time I stop on one and Glendall say, why? Why? All you're going to do is get
mad. I said, I know it. I want to hear it. Why? If you don't send money, this
ministry is going to shut down. Well then, let it shut down. But they'll never say that. God's
people don't grovel for the maintenance of the ministry. They don't deviate
because of sustenance. God's ministry is sustained by
the Lord himself. Those that are called of God
live by the gospel through the Lord's faithfulness to provide
for them through those that benefit from the gospel they preach.
God's people are not browbeaten. How many messages have you ever
heard me preaching on giving and tithing and stuff. It's the
truth. There's no doubt about that.
But here's what the Scriptures has to say. As the Lord prospers
the man, so let him give. What's the rule? No rules. God's Word. Almighty God is going to provide
the apostle Paul had told the church the Lord has called us
to the ministry. A full time ministry. A ministry
that demands faithfulness. And the labor of this ministry
is the life of God's preacher and it's the life of those to
whom he preaches. But the Apostle Paul asked this
question, do we not have the same rights as you do? Do we not have the right to lead
about a wife and to eat and drink and be married and support our
families just like the others? Someone asked Brother Henry one
time, he said, how much do you think we ought to pay our pastor?
He said, well, I'll tell you what to do. He said, just take
an average of what everybody makes in the congregation and
whatever the average is, pay him that. Good enough. When I was spoken to by the six
men, I think. I know Carl, you were there.
Brother Bob Wilson was there. Darrell Harden was there. Glenn,
you were there. Pat, you were there. And we didn't,
money wasn't even an issue. Money wasn't the issue. The only
issue was this. Is this where the Lord would
have me to be? And do you know what? I hadn't missed one meal. To my knowledge, I've not missed
one. Why? Because the Lord has provided. Back in 1 Corinthians 9, I'll
just let myself not get away. Look at verse 8. Say I these
things as a man, or sayeth not the law the same also? For it's
written, In the law of Moses, thou shalt not muzzle the mouth
of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Don't stop the ox. If he's pulling a plow, and he's
eating as he goes, don't try to stop him. Doth God not take
care of oxen? Or saith he, altogether for our
sakes, for our sakes, no doubt it is written that he that ploweth
should plow in hope. Faithfulness, believing that
God's going to provide and that thresheth in hope, confidence
in the Lord should be a taker or partaker of this hope. So even the law prohibited the
muzzling of the ox while he was plowing, trying to not stop him
from eating a few ears of corn. So the Lord who commanded these
things is telling all of us. He said, I will provide for you. I'll give you pastors. According
to my heart, they're going to feed you with knowledge and understanding,
and I'm not going to leave you. I'm not going to forsake you.
So the apostle declares those who plow should do so with expectation
that the Lord is going to keep them. But I want to now go and
look in closing. I purposefully didn't say anything
about verse 7. And I want to look at verse 7,
and this is actually where the whole message is going to be
found this evening. Verse 7, and I want to make a
few statements about this verse in light of the glory of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Paul has been talking about the
efforts and the rewards that are due. A pastor's called and
he's called to the ministry, he's called to be faithful to
this ministry, forsaking all else. What else does he give
up? Give up everything. People, you know, they'll say,
well, you could do so and so. Well, I guess I could. Charles
Spurgeon said one time, The world looks at a preacher, a God-called
preacher, and says he couldn't do anything else but that. Mr. Spurgeon says, all the God-called
preachers that I know are men that God has gifted and they
could do anything they wanted to do, humanly speaking. But
God's called them to the ministry, and they give up everything else
for the sake of the ministry. But let's look at verse 7. Who
goeth a warfare any time at his own charges. Who planteth a vineyard,
and eateth not of the fruit thereof? Or who feedeth a flock, and eateth
not of the milk of the flock? Now, this verse right here is
the summing up of everything that we've been talking about.
And the apostle gives three examples showing, well, humanly speaking,
how reasonable it is for ministers to be sustained and supported
by those to whom they minister. He asks this question, does a
soldier go to war, serve his country at his own expense, Does
he train himself, buy his own weapons, and provide all of his
daily needs? You men that were in the military,
how many of you bought all of your own weapons, and you trained
yourself? How many of you? None of you.
None of you. No, we went to boot camp, and
after we got out of boot camp, we went to wherever they told
us to go, and that's what we did. And they provided everything
that we needed. told us when to get up, when
to go to bed, where to be, what to do, what to eat. What man,
what soldier provides for himself? Or does a farmer plant a garden
and not eat of the fruits of that garden? Or does a shepherd
have a flock? And does he not partake of the
meat and milk of that flock? Now, these examples, though they
are pertaining to God's ministers, this passage right here has got
a much deeper significance than just talking about the responsibility
of God's preachers being sustained and the reward that is given
to God's ministers. It is a shadow, a picture of
the glory and the reward of the Lord Jesus Christ. He who is
the mighty God, he who has conquered the enemies of his people, death,
hell, and the grave, the blessed Lord Jesus Christ, is said to
have a garden. What man, what farmer has a garden
and he doesn't partake of that garden or benefit from that garden? Is that true? Yes, that's true.
But does the Lord Jesus Christ, let's look at Him who is the
minister. The true minister. Does he not
have a garden? And does he not tend that garden? The church, listen to Song of
Solomon 412. Does he have a garden? It says a garden enclosed is
my sister, my spouse, a spring. a fountain, sealed and protected. Does he have a garden? Yes. Well, Paul also asked, he
said, who planteth a vineyard and eateth not of the fruit thereof? Let me ask you this. Is the Lord
Jesus Christ refreshed by the fruit that He has produced by
His Spirit out of His garden. Song of Solomon 5.1. I am come
into my garden, my sister, my spouse. I've gathered my myrrh
with my spice. I've eaten my honeycomb with
my honey. I've drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, oh friends, drink. Drink abundantly, oh beloved. Does a farmer have a garden? And does he not benefit from
it? Yes. Yes, yes he does. Is a preacher
sustained by those that the Lord has given him, you know, humanly? Yes. But what about the Lord? What about His garden? Is He
refreshed? He says He is. He says that he
drinks and eats and enjoys the presence of his people. Eating,
and I'm way over my head here, eating of that which he has produced. Spiritually refreshing himself. Did the Lord say, who goes to
warfare anytime at his own charge? Was the Lord not called out from
among men as the great high priest? Yes, He was. He came into this
world. Now, let me ask you this. Of
Him who is the high priest, is He not also the mighty conqueror? Who goeth to war at any time
at His own expense? The Lord was sent by His Father,
sent and upheld by His Father. Listen to these words, as He's
the One that has been given power over all flesh, that He should
give eternal life to as many as the Father's given Him. That's
the Lord Jesus Christ. But listen to His words of complete
humiliation. He says, Psalm 40, verses 11-12,
"...withhold not thou thy tender mercies from Me, O Lord, Let
thy loving kindnesses and thy truth continually preserve me. Did he go to war at his own expense?
He was sent of his father. Does a soldier provide for himself?
The Lord Jesus Christ, it says here, humbled himself, made himself
of no reputation, calling upon his father, preserve me, provide
for me, uphold me, Was He not that soldier that went to warfare
not at His own charge? Was He not the victorious Savior
that John saw? In the book of Revelation, as
He beheld a white horse, He that sat on Him had a bow and a crown
was given unto Him. He went forth conquering and
to conquer. But is He not the mighty High
Priest to whom we look and believe? and trust, who goeth a warfare
any time at his own charges? Who planteth a garden, and eateth
not of the fruit thereof? Who feedeth the flock, and eateth
not of the milk of that flock? He is the good shepherd of the
sheep. He purchased that flock by his
own blood, And He daily cares for that flock, causing them
to rest in Him, making them to lie down in the green pastures
of His grace, those that He leads beside the still waters, the
still waters of what? Those waters of quietness, the
law that has been satisfied and now finds no fault in His own
through the merits of the great conqueror. And He feasts with
joy upon those that He continually cares for. O Beloved, may the
Lord be pleased this evening to give us all a heart to know
the blessed privilege that we have to hear and to trust in
the Lord Jesus Christ. And to know that the cost of
hearing and believing this truth, He paid with his precious blood. And though the work of the ministry
is one of great demands, I'll tell you, even the daily demands
of preparation, I understand this, but what a beautiful type
and picture of his sufferings and his faithfulness. I was talking
to Brother Tom Harding, we was talking the other day, and he
told me, he said, Marvin, he said, you know, I'm here about
seven days a week. And I said, I know. I said, yeah, me too. You know, the work of the ministry,
but all the work that he accomplished. Everything that we do is but
a picture. It's but a type. The sufferings that we suffer
for the sake of the gospel. What about his sufferings? What
about that work that he wrought and the demands upon him? That
burden that we have now, that we suffer, hated those of our
own family that hate us and despise us. You know what the Apostle
Paul, he said this burden is truly to us light, light as we
cast ourselves upon Him who has borne our grief. We bear grief,
but oh the grief that He did bear. the sorrows that we have,
but oh, the sorrows that He carried. He was smitten of God, afflicted
for us, wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, carried
the chastisement of His people, laid upon Him, and by whose stripes
we're eternally healed, Considering the resentment, the ridicule,
the accusations of us being unfaithful, hasn't the Lord been faithful
to us to keep us in the midst of these things? Has He not sustained
us up until this time? And let me ask you this, of all
the trials that we've suffered, trials and afflictions and lies
and everything else, Would you change it? He wouldn't change
it for anything. All of that which He's caused
us to bear. God's people, for the glory of
the Lord Jesus Christ, we call upon Him who called upon His
Father. We look to Him who looked to
His Father. We pray this evening that the
Lord might be pleased to teach us In all that He's been pleased
to do in this assembly, in the maintaining of this assembly
for over 60 years, 62 years, Almighty God has kept us and
we're still here. How many times have I, and I'm
just admitting my own faithlessness, how many times have I looked
around and I thought, well, some of us are getting older. Some
of us are getting older. I don't know, you know, the Lord
is faithful. You know how long this assembly
is going to be here? Just as long as the Lord is pleased to
keep it here. And when the Lord is pleased to remove it, He'll
remove it. But until that day, this is what
He's called us to do. Faithful to the ministry. Faithful
to the preaching of the gospel. And I want you to know, truthfully,
to those of you that love and sustain provide for this ministry. I thank God for you. Pray the
Lord's blessing upon you for Christ's sake. Amen.