Now, last week in our lesson,
we looked at Paul's teaching us that even if something is
lawful for us to do, we would deny ourselves and not do it
if it would offend one of our brethren. And we do that out
of love for our brethren. Well, the same idea applies to
almost every area the believers walk, even though something would
be lawful for us, we wouldn't do it if it would offend or hurt
or harm one of our brethren, that out of a motive of love,
we're willing to deny ourselves for the good of the church. And
that applies to our lesson this morning. The subject is supporting
the ministry. That would apply to supporting
our pastor. A believer is willing to deny
themselves in order to support the ministry. And yet that's
a two-way street, because at the same time, while we would
deny ourselves and sacrifice to be able to support our pastor,
the pastor sacrificing himself, his time, his life himself, to
preach the gospel to us. And that's the subject of what
we're going to look at this morning here in 1 Corinthians 9. So verse
1, Paul says, Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen
Jesus Christ our Lord? Are not ye my work in the Lord?
If I be not an apostle unto others, yea, doubtless I am to you. For
the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord. Mine answer
to them that do examine me is this, or is you." Now, one of
the things, remember false prophets had come into the church there
at Corinth, and one of the things that they were telling the Corinthian
believers is Paul's not an apostle. He's not a real apostle. And
what they were trying to do is steal Paul's place in their hearts.
Now, they were meant for the heart of the people. They were
after the money of the people. And if they could steal Paul's
place in the heart, they'd steal his place in the wallet. And
that's what they were after, was money. And it's true that
Paul was not one of the original twelve apostles who went through
the ministry of our Lord here on earth, but he was a true apostle. And of all people, these believers
in Corinth should have known that. But apparently, they were
questioning Paul's apostleship. They were giving some weight
to what these false prophets were telling them. And remember,
Paul stayed in Corinth and preached to those people for two years.
Two whole years he stayed with them preaching and teaching the
Word. And many people were converted under his ministry. A whole church
was built up there during that time. And now, they're doubting
his ministry. You wouldn't think that would
happen, but it did. And when the same thing happens today,
and it will, be disappointed, but don't be surprised. Because
it happened in Paul's day, it's happened all throughout the history
of the church, and that's not going to change until the Lord
returns. Satan's attacks haven't changed, and the nature of man
hasn't changed. You know the saying, out of sight,
out of mind is true, because that's our nature. Out of sight,
out of mind. How quickly we forget. And to
show you that this has happened throughout the history of the
church, this is what Matthew Henry said. It's no new thing
for faithful ministers to meet with the worst treatment when
they would expect the best. They've earned the best treatment.
And it's not uncommon, he said, in his day for them to receive
the worst. Well, it's not going to be uncommon
in our day either. So be disappointed, but don't
be surprised if it happened to the Apostle Paul. It'll happen
to anybody. And Paul is unfortunately put
in the position to defend his apostleship. And he tells him,
am I not free? Now he means he's free from the
authority of men. And he was, because men didn't
teach him the gospel. The Lord Jesus Christ personally
taught him the gospel. He saw Christ in the flesh. And
in the flesh, our Lord Jesus taught him the gospel. So men
didn't teach Paul the gospel, and men didn't send him out to
preach the gospel. He wasn't going out under the
authority some churches sent him out to preach the gospel.
The Lord Jesus sent him out to preach. Just like all the other
apostles, he's sent out by Christ Himself. And Paul says, now even
though some people might not think I'm an apostle, you should. I should be to you. You know
my ministry. Because you were converted under
my minister. You know the power of my message
because you heard it consistently for two years. And sheep, God's
sheep, know when a man's preaching the gospel and when he's not.
Now, they know it. And they don't know it because
they can explain every detail. You know, he's preaching the
gospel because he says this, this, this and this. He's not preaching
the gospel because he says this, this. It's much more simple than
that. The sheep know when they're being
fed. It's that simple. When the sheep
know they're being fed, they know that man's preaching the
gospel to them, because that's how they're fed, by feeding on
Christ. Not on His ability to speak,
not on doctrine. It's on Christ. And if you've
been blessed, you've been fed by a man's ministry, then why
would we ever believe that when someone comes along and tells
us, you know, he never did preach the gospel? Well, I know he did. I was fed. has pointed to Christ. And that's what's happening here.
Paul says, you know, or you ought to. He says, my answer to those
who question my apostleship is you. You. Look what the Lord did through
my preaching. He saved you. He called you out. He built you up. You're good
fruit. And good fruit can only come
from good seed. The good seed of His message,
which was the Word, which was Christ. And the more you read
about what's going on here, the more you find out the issue is
money. Money is always the issue when
a false prophet's involved. You just write that down. When
a false prophet's involved, money is the issue. They wanted more
of it. They wanted more money. And they
were trying to say, since Paul's not a real apostle, you shouldn't
support him. If they don't support him, there's more money left
for me. That's the whole root of the whole problem. So Paul
is forced to defend his right to be supported by the church,
to be supported by believers. And the church is to support
God's servants. But money is never the reason
a true servant of God is in the ministry. Never. But you can't
underestimate The necessity of financial support. I mean, if
you don't have money, you can't pay for housing, you can't buy
food. I mean, it's necessary in this world. And the Lord could
use a variety of means to supply the necessities for his servants.
He could send birds bringing food every day. He could send
manna from heaven. But what he's chosen to do is
support his servants through the giving of the church. The
Lord could use any variety. I mean, He's able to do anything.
But He's chosen to support the ministry through what I can give.
I mean, He could send birds carrying food, but why not me? Why not? And that's the way He's chosen
to support His servants. So, verse 4, Paul says, now,
have we not power to eat and drink? Have we not power to lead
about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the
brethren of the Lord and as Cephas? Now Paul's saying, don't I have
the right to expect food and drink, the necessities of this
fleshly body at the expense of those people that I preach to?
Don't I have that right? Don't I have the right to expect
some financial support so that I can support my family while
I'm preaching the gospel to you? And when he talks about a sister
here, what he means is a wife. Don't I have the right to expect
enough support to be able to support my wife and my family?
No, Paul was not married, but if he did, if he chose to marry,
then he should expect the support to support his wife. Other apostles
did. They were married. They received
support to support their families. Peter did. James and John, these
men were all married. They all supported their families
through the giving of the church. And, you know, we need to remember
pastors are men just like you and me, just like you and me.
You know, we hear our pastor come. He preaches and we just
think, I never would have seen that in there. And somehow we
think, well, he's not like me. He's just on some higher spiritual
plane or something. He's just like me. He's just
a man just like you and me. God just chose to give him the
message. But he's still a man and enjoys his family. He shouldn't
have to be single and live in a one-room apartment and, you
know, wear the same clothes every day and think about poverty.
He shouldn't have to do that. He should be able to enjoy his
family, support his wife and children. You know, when a pastor
goes to the grocery store, they like to eat the same things you
and me do. And when they go to the cash register, it costs the
same things it does you and me. I mean, it just does. A house
costs the same, utilities, gasoline, a car, repairs. They cost the
same thing as it does you and me. It takes money to live in
this world. And it's reasonable to expect the church to support
them. as well as possible. Look over
at Luke chapter 10. I'll show you this. In Luke chapter
10. Verse 3, and it's our Lord sending
out his disciples. So he says, go your ways. Behold,
I send you forth as lambs among wolves that carry neither purse
nor script nor shoes And salute no man by the way. The way he's
saying it is don't take excess baggage with you to slow your
trip down. And when he says don't salute
anyone, he's not saying don't say hello, don't be courteous
to people that you meet. He's saying don't stop and have
excessive socializing so that it keeps you from your mission.
You have the attitude that our Lord did in the ministry that
I must be about my father's business. Don't let these things turn you
to the left or to the right, but you keep on task here. Now read on verse 5, and he says,
And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to
this house. And if the Son of Peace be there,
your peace shall rest upon it. If not, it shall turn to you
again. And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such
things as they give. For the laborer is worthy of
his hire. Go not from house to house. The
laborer is worthy of his hire. You go to a house, you go to
a new town, you find a household of believers, you stay with them. You preach and you study and
you eat and drink what things that they have, what things that
they give you. And obviously, you thank them for it. But you
remember, if you're laboring like you should, you're worthy
of your hire. This is proper for them to give
you food and drink. And don't go from house to house.
He's not saying don't visit people, don't go see other people. He's
saying don't go from house to house to house to house looking
for entertainment, having some sort of a party atmosphere. Just
do what's proper. Just take what they supply, eat
and drink. Now, verse six, back in our text,
he goes on here and he says, or I only and Barnabas have not
we power to forbear working. Paul says, are Barnabas and I
the only pastors, the only missionaries, as to what they were, missionaries?
Don't we have the right to receive support so that we can be in
the ministry full time? Are Barnabas and I the only missionaries,
the only pastors, who have to go out and get a job to support
ourselves financially while we're in the ministry? Now, look over
in Acts chapter 20. Paul and Barnabas did work to
support themselves when they came to Corinth. When Paul first
came to Corinth, He worked making tents. He lived with Priscilla
and Aquila and he made tents and didn't take support from
the church or from the people. There wasn't a church there yet.
In Acts chapter 20, verse 33, this is Paul talking to the Ephesian
elders. He says, I've coveted no man's
silver or gold or apparel. Yea, ye yourselves know that
these hands have ministered unto my necessities and to them that
were with me. Paul worked at places he was
at, at a job, to earn money, so that he wasn't chargeable
to the people. He didn't take money from them,
at least at the first. And I'll show you why in 1 Thessalonians
2. Now Paul was willing to do this,
and he did do it. 1 Thessalonians 2, I'll show you
why. Verse 9. For ye remember, brethren, our
labor and travail, for laboring night and day, we worked night
and day because we would not be chargeable unto any of you.
We preached unto you the gospel of God. We didn't take a penny
from you. We worked to support ourselves and at the same time
preach the gospel to you so we wouldn't be chargeable to you.
So you wouldn't think that we're in this for a covetous reason.
And Paul was willing to do that. Paul and Barnabas did it. They're
willing to do it and they did it. Because nothing was more
important than preaching the gospel. They are willing to do
that. But we shouldn't be willing that they do that for long. That's
the point. They are willing. God's pastors
have the same attitude today, willing to sacrifice and deny
themselves so they can preach the gospel because nothing is
more important than preaching the gospel. I hope you don't get mad at me.
John's done that here. willing to take less at the end
of the month so that we don't give less to missionaries or
other things that we support because nothing is more important
than preaching the gospel. But we shouldn't be willing that
a pastor deny himself forever doing that, first of all, because
we care about him. How deeply do we care about the
man who gives himself to preach the gospel to us? And second,
we ought to Because we're the ones who will suffer. We're the
ones who will suffer spiritually. Years ago, Henry told me this.
He said, just like what I said before, preachers are men. If
they've got a family, they have family responsibilities, they've
got a job, a full-time job, and they're trying to preach, something's
going to suffer. And Henry said, I'll tell you
what's going to suffer. It's study. That's what's going to
suffer. You've got family responsibilities, you've got to take care of them.
Just like we do. You've got a job, you've got
to go to it. You've got to work it while you're
there in order to keep it. Well, there's only so many hours
in the day. The human body's only got so much energy, something's
going to suffer, and it'll be study. If you've never done it, you
can't explain the time and the effort. There's a physical element
to it. The Spirit's willing and the
flesh is weak. You want to study and it's nine o'clock at night
and you just can't get it. The flesh is weak. It takes time and effort to study,
to preach, to do it right. And this is a giving people. I'm teaching this lesson to a
giving people. I'm not telling you something
that you don't do, that you don't live. You're generous, giving
people. But this topic, is like every topic in all of the gospel. We need to be reminded to write
the same things to you. To me, indeed, is not grievous,
but for you, it's safe. Well, that applies to doctrinal
truths as well as the teaching of the believer's walk. We have
to be reminded because we are in this flesh and we forget so
easy. Oh, how we forget. So that's
why we're reminded of these things. Now in verse 7, Paul gives three
illustrations of what he's talking about here. He says, Who goeth
to warfare any time in his own charges? Who planteth a vineyard,
and eateth not of the fruit thereof? Or who feedeth the flock, and
eateth not of the milk of the flock? Now first, Paul says,
what soldier goes to war at his own expense? Well, none. The country that he's defending
supplies everything he needs. He doesn't have to go buy his
uniform. He doesn't have to buy food to eat while the army's
out, you know, marching and fighting. He doesn't have to buy his own
weapon and his own ammunition. The country he's defending supplies
all that for him. He comes in, they give it all
to him. So here it is. You know, they make sure he's
got the right size uniform and boots and they teach him, give
him his weapon, teach him how to use it. You don't buy those
things. You know, a fighter pilot doesn't
have to buy that $100 million jet or how much ever those things
cost. The government supplies that for him because he's defending
us. And it's right that we do that. That's all supplied to him so
he can focus on defending us for our benefit. And a pastor
is God's soldier. Look at 2 Timothy chapter 2.
2 Timothy 2, verse 3. Thou therefore endure hardness
as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that woreth entangled
himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him
who hath chosen him to be a soldier. That's how God's pastors are
there, as soldiers. Then second, Paul says, who plants
a vineyard and doesn't eat of the fruit? Well, obviously no one. Well,
God's pastors are His farmers. They're laborers of the harvest,
sent out to the harvest by the Lord of the harvest. Look over
at 1 Corinthians chapter 3. We looked at this earlier in
this epistle, 1 Corinthians chapter 3. In verse 6, I have planted Paul's
water, we farmed, we worked out in the field, planting and watering.
But God gave the increase. They're God's farmers working
in his vineyard, bringing in the harvest. And then third,
Paul says, what shepherd tends to flock? Protects the flock,
provides for the flock, and doesn't drink of the milk of the flock,
doesn't eat the meat, doesn't use the wool of the flock for
clothing. Well, obviously no one would grudge the shepherd
that. Well, God's pastors are under
shepherds, feeding the flock, protecting the flock. Well, they
should be fed and clothed by the flock. And I can't say this
often enough, money's not the goal. Now, money is not the goal
of a true pastor, but he shouldn't be expected to do all that work
for free. And I thought of this, you know,
you can't fairly compensate a faithful pastor. How would you? How can you put a monetary value
on spiritual blessings? Our Lord said, what would a man
give in exchange for a soul? He'd give everything he had,
and it still wouldn't be enough. And unto you therefore which
believe, he is precious. He is priceless. Well, the preaching
of Christ is too, and the preaching of Christ is precious. It's priceless
to you that believe. So you can't fairly compensate
him for it. But he should at least expect
a living in this world for his labor in the word. Earlier this
week, Gary Faulkner and I were talking about John Calipari,
Kentucky's new coach. We're all so excited. You know,
I can't wait for basketball. Holly and I talked about it since
she's come home. I'm chance sick of it. And somebody was telling
Gary, you know, that's ridiculous. He's overpaid. Well, he is overpaid
compared to teachers. Compared to nurses, compared
to firemen, what things these people give society, I grant
you, in comparison to them, is overpaid. All he's doing is coaching
a game. These people are teaching our
children. They're saving our lives and the things that they're
doing. But you know what? The people that pay that man,
whatever, a million dollars a year, He brings into them much more
than four million dollars a year. So he's earning his keep in that
regard. The value of what a faithful
pastor produces is far more than what we ever put in that box.
But it's just worth it. And not only are we willing,
we're glad, the believers glad to do it. What an exchange. And
what Paul is saying here is not a self-serving comment, because
he's not begging for money. All he's doing is defending his
right to take it. He's not taking it. He's defending
his right to take it. Look at verse 8. He says, Say
I these things as a man, or sayeth not the law the same also? For
it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth
of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Does God take care for
oxen? Or saith he it altogether for
our sakes, for our sakes no doubt this is written, that he that
ploweth should plow in hope, and he that thresheth in hope
should be partaker of his hope. Now this is not just human logic,
this is not Paul's authority, this is the law of God. God in
his law forbade muzzling an ox when he was working treading
out the corn. He's working for you, working
up an appetite. And God says that's an act of
cruelty to muzzle him while he's working up an appetite so that
he can't eat. Well, if God takes care of that oxen, how much more
does he take care of his servants? You know, God feeds the sparrow
and two aren't sold for a farthing. And God feeds them. God clothes
the lilies of the field, which today are so beautiful and tomorrow
are wilted and cast into the oven. Well, how much more does
he care for his servants? He's going to provide for his
servants, and he does it through the church. Now, look at verse
11. This is the key to understanding
everything Paul teaches on this subject. Verse 11. If we have
sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing that we should
reap your carnal things? Now, if a pastor has worked hard
in the study to prepare to teach us the word, we come, we sit,
we listen. And we're the ones who benefited
spiritually. We left and we feasted on the
Lord Jesus Christ. Well, Paul says, is it too much
to ask that we supply His worldly needs? Well, of course not. We're happy to do it. What a
trade. Giving back carnal things to
receive spiritual? That's not a good business transaction
for the pastor and for us. What we're getting in return
is beyond comparison. And you know, a pastor will never
reap from what we give and never reap as good as he sows because
you cannot compare spiritual things with physical things.
He's giving us spiritual things. All we're giving back is physical
things. And we gladly support the physical life of our pastor
because he labors to support our spiritual lives. He labors
to feed our spiritual lives. It's not much to ask to feed
his physical life, is it? Because we can never give back
as much as we benefit. So verse 12, Paul says, Now if
others be partakers of this power over you, are not we rather? Nevertheless, we have not used
this power, but we suffer all things lest we should hinder
the gospel of Christ. Other preachers, Paul says, enjoy
your support, and rightfully so. He's not grudging them support,
but all he's saying is that Paul and Barnabas have the same rights.
At least the same right. These men were the first ones
to come preach the gospel to them. What a place those men
ought to hold in their hearts. The first ones that preached
the gospel to them. And Paul didn't exercise his
right to receive support from them so that they wouldn't think
he had covetous motives. He had the right, but he didn't
exercise it. But here false preachers would
come in. I guarantee you they were getting paid. I guarantee
you they wouldn't go a week pretending to minister without getting paid
because they're in it for the money. That's not why God's servant's
in it. He's in it for your good, for
the glory of the Savior and for your spiritual good. So verse
13, Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things
live of the things of the temple? And they which wait at the altar
are partakers with the altar? Even so hath the Lord ordained
that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel. And
the Lord's always supported his service through the giving of
the people. You know, I would say the offerings
of the people, but in the Old Testament it was a tithe. It
was a tax. The tribe of Levi was fed by
the offerings of the tithes of the people. People brought animals
to be sacrificed. The priests sacrificed them.
They offered to burn offerings. And then the priest ate the meat
that was offered. That's how they ate. They weren't
allowed to own land. They weren't allowed to own animals.
They ate what the people brought as sacrifices. That's what they
ate. They ate the bread that was on the show, the show bread
in the temple. Nobody else could eat that. But
the priests did, them and their family. And the same thing applies
today. Like I said, the Lord could use
a miracle. He could, you know, do whatever. But the means that
he's chosen to use to provide for his servants is the giving
of the church, the giving of the people. John Gill said this. This is excellent. You remember
this. Gill said the reason that we should support our pastors
so they don't have to go out and get a job, so we can free
up their time for this reason, so that they have time to labor
in the word, not loiter in the word. Isn't that good? So they
have time to labor in the word, not loiter in the word. And that's
a whole lot more. than just a duty. I'm not putting
duty on you. I hope you don't get that impression
at all. I'm not putting duty on you.
This is our privilege. Isn't it? This is our privilege.
All right.