Living for the Lord – A Formula for Success
Today’s Reading – 2 Chronicles 29 – 31 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers Read – Acts 25 – 28; Psalms 116 – 120; Proverbs 24)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Micah 6:8
Read the “0524 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Read a previous post from this passage – “Soulwinning in 2 Chronicles“
“And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the LORD his God. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.” (2Chronicles 31:20-21)
I think one of the main reasons that God wants us to daily spend time in His word is because that it serves to remind us daily of the basic truth that God will bless those who seek Him and serve Him. As we have been reading in these historical books, we have seen over and over again the blessings of God upon the godly kings; and conversely the judgment of God upon the wicked. Of course, none of the kings were perfect: all made mistakes; but when they sought the Lord for forgiveness, God would always respond in mercy. Even the bad kings that humbled themselves before God would receive mercy. As we look today at the life of Hezekiah we see the same principle in place. Hezekiah “wrought that which was good and right and truth before the Lord his God…with all his heart”, and God prospered him.
Child of God, the same applies to you and me today. I am not trying to over-simplify the Christian life, but the principles of succeeding in life are really very easy to understand. Find out what the will of God is for your life; and then fulfil it with all of your heart. Give it everything you’ve got. Live for God! I’m not saying that every day is going to be amusement parks and sunshine; but you will have that abundant life Jesus spoke of in John 10:10. It’s your choice: live for God, and your life will be blessed of God; live for self, and you will look back with regret.
“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” (Psalms 1:1-3)
Posted in Thoughts from 2 Chronicles by Phil Erickson with 5 comments.
No Longer Happy
Today’s Reading – 2 Chronicles 9 – 12 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers Read – Acts 10 – 12; Psalms 91 – 95; Proverbs 19)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 121
Read the “0519 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon
“Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and hear thy wisdom.” (2 Chronicles 9:7)
“Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore ease thou somewhat the grievous servitude of thy father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve thee.” (2 Chronicles 10:4)
“For whereas my father put a heavy yoke upon you, I will put more to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.” (2 Chronicles 10:11)
When the Queen of Sheba came to Jerusalem to visit King Solomon to see if all that she had heard about him was true, one of the many positive things that she observed was that the people of Israel were very happy as well as prosperous; and they seemed to all appreciate the godly wisdom and leadership of their King. You will recall that when Solomon was a very young king, his number one prayer request was for wisdom so that he could be a blessing to his people. It seems that he started out right as a great servant-leader. However, when we get to chapter ten of our reading passage today, we discover that at the end of Solomon’s reign the people were complaining that Solomon’s “yoke” was too heavy for them. I assume that had something to do with the financial burdens that Solomon laid upon the people. It seems that wise King Solomon was not using his God-given wisdom anymore to serve the people. Instead, it appears that he was using the people to benefit himself.
An older and wiser preacher once gave me good advice. He said, “Use your ministry to build your people, not your people to build your ministry.” That was, and still is, great advice. Spiritual leaders especially are ordained of God to serve and bless the people they serve. Jesus once contrasted the leadership style of the world with godly leadership:
“And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest. And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.” (Luke 22:24-26)
It is clear that Jesus wants His leaders to be servants, to lead by example as He did when He washed the feet of His disciples. Solomon started out serving the people, but it seems that he eventually took advantage of the ones he served and used them to his own advantage.
Posted in Thoughts from 2 Chronicles by Phil Erickson with 1 comment.
When God Moves In
Today’s Passage – 1 Kings 8 – 9 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Mark 9 – 10; Proverbs 19; Psalms 91 – 95
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 92:1 – 4
Read the “0419 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon
“And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.” – (1 Kings 8:10-11)
As we study Israel’s history, we know that there were many times that they were not where God wanted them to be, spiritually speaking. Often in their history Israel would forsake their God, and err into immorality, and idolatry. These were times when God would be forced to bring judgment upon His people in order to get them to turn back to Him. However, in today’s passage, we see Israel as right with the Lord as they had ever been. They had just completed building the Temple of God, and today was the day that the entire nation was gathered together in order to dedicate the temple (and themselves) to the Lord. God was well pleased with Israel at this time, and He demonstrated His approval with a physical appearance of his presence. Verse 11 tells us that “the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord”.
I have been saved for over thirty years now, and I have been involved in the local church since I was born-again into the family of God; and I have experienced the wonderful blessing of seeing God’s presence in the midst of His church. I did not see a physical manifestation of His presence, as these Israelites did, but I did experience the glory of God, nonetheless. Unfortunately, I have also seen the times when God’s presence was apparently absent from our church. Hindsight often provides a better perspective for analyzing the ingredients that went into the times when God seemed to be all over His church. When I look back at the times in our ministry when God was really working in a marvelous way among us, with many being saved and baptized, and wonderful Spirit-filled services, I can see that there were specific ingredients that were present. These same ingredients were present in our text today.
1 There was unity – God wants His children to be “in one accord”. A quick study of the early church from the Book of Acts will reveal that they were all together; they were all moving in the same direction.
2 There was humility – Notice in Solomon’s prayer that He recognizes that the people were prone to get away from God. He admits completely that these people were in God’s hands, and that it was God that blessed them. Notice:
“If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near; … Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause, And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them:” – (1 Kings 8:46, 49-50)
3 There was complete tenacity and loyalty toward God. These people were all consecrated to the Lord. They were not doing that which was right in their own eyes, they were pursuing God. They were not chasing after the world with all of its idols, and all of its immorality. They were not only separated from the world, but they were also separated unto the Lord. These people wanted to please the Lord. They were focused on God. They gave up two weeks of their lives to serve and sacrifice to the Lord.
We can see God’s glory in our churches again today if we have these three ingredients in place. I want to see God move in our church. I want to see Him do great thing in the midst of this world that denies Him. He’s just waiting for us to get on board.
Posted in Thoughts from 1 Kings by Phil Erickson with 3 comments.
Use Your Gifts for the Lord
Today’s Passage – 1 Kings 6 – 7 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Mark 7 – 8; Proverbs 18; Psalms 86 – 90)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 92:1 – 4
Read the “0418 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon
“And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre. He was a widow’s son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work.” – (1 Kings 7:13-14)
Not every Christian is gifted by God to be a teacher or a preacher. In this passage, we see Hiram, a man from Tyre, who was uniquely gifted by God to make all of the works of brass that were to be used in the Temple. Back in the Book of Exodus, we saw two other fellows. Bezaleel and Aholiab, who were also uniquely filled with wisdom (gifted) to build the Tabernacle in the Wilderness. As far as we know, these men never taught the Scriptures; they were not priests, or prophets; but they were greatly used of the Lord.
We have many people in our churches today who have also been uniquely crafted by the Lord to fulfill His purpose. They may be builders, like the men referenced above. They may be men or women that have a knack for cleaning, or landscaping. These are all very necessary and important jobs in the service of our churches today. As I read this passage today, I thought of a man in our church who was used of the Lord to build our platform in the auditorium along with the sound booth. He did a wonderful job, and our church building is much more beautiful and functional as a result of his using his gifts for the Lord. We also have some folks in our church that like to cook, and when we have a dinner of some kind, these people go to work, preparing delicious food for the rest of us to enjoy. They work mostly behind the scenes, but their work is very important to the Lord.
God tells us in 1 Corinthians 12:
“But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.” – (1 Corinthians 12:18)
Not every member is an eye or an ear: some are hands, some are feet. Not everybody is a preacher or teacher; and those that are gifted in areas other that teaching are just as important to the work of the ministry as those who teach or preach.
What is your gift? What is your sweet spot? The thing that you were born to do. Hiram was born to make brass, and he did it very well. God will be well pleased with your life if you find the thing that He has equipped you to do, and then do it for His glory.
Posted in Devotions by Phil Erickson with 3 comments.
Bittersweet
Today’s Passage – 2 Samuel 18 – 19 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
Second Milers also read – Matthew 25 – 26; Psalms 61 – 65; Proverbs 13
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 47:1
Read the “0413 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“And the victory that day was turned into mourning unto all the people: for the people heard say that day how the king was grieved for his son.” – (2 Samuel 19:2)
This was a “no win” situation for David. David won the nation back, but lost his son. After his son Absalom rebelled against David, and forced him to flee from Jerusalem with all of his men, David had to do something. Absalom certainly wanted to see his father dead; but David, however, wanted somehow to undo the damage that Absalom had done to the nation, and still keep him as a son. He asked his men in the final battle to “deal gently… with the young man”, which they did not do. The men were right. Absalom had to die. David should have realized that. I can understand, though, how David felt. He did not blame Absalom for the way he turned out. I think David blamed himself. And even though David and his men won the victory and got the kingdom back, he still wished that he could go back and re-do some things with his son Absalom.
I can relate to that. I wish that I could go back and re-do some things with my family as well. I know one thing that I would change is that I would give each one of them a little more of my time. Instead of consuming my life with my goals and ambitions, I would give a little more of myself to helping them reach theirs. David ignored his son Absalom for a long time, and now he wished that he had the opportunity to give him his attention. The rebellion of Absalom grew with every passing day that his father neglected him. Most of my children are grown now, but I am trying to spend more time with them even now. I cannot re-claim what I missed, but I can make the most of what I have left. I do have one daughter, Hannah, who is young and still at home. I am doing things differently with her. If you still have children to influence, I encourage you to take every opportunity to do it. I bet you if David was to do it all over again, he would trade some of his successes as king for a better relationship with his children.
Posted in Thoughts from 2 Samuel by Phil Erickson with 5 comments.
Little Is Much
Today’s Passage – Judges 7 – 8 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – 1 Peter 1 – 5; Proverbs 22; Psalms 106 – 110
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 47:1
Read the “0322 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go.” – (Judges 7:4)
This is one of my favorite passages in all of the Bible. The nation of Israel was at war with the Midianites, who numbered 135,000. The Bible says that even the number of their camels was too large to count. The camp of Israel, on the other hand, was much smaller, numbering only 32,000. The people of Israel were already outnumbered by more than 100,000 men, yet God said that Israel had too many men, and He wanted most of them weeded out. First, He eliminates all that are afraid. I have to admit right here that I know that I would have been eliminated in this first cut. Afraid!! I would have been scared to death. Israel was outnumbered nearly 5 to 1. Amazingly, after the fearful left, there was still 10,000 left. Now they were outnumbered 13 to 1. This is not good military strategy folks. Yet, God said that they still had too many. At the next cut the troops of Israel were reduced down to 300. This was 440 Midianites to every 1 Israelite. You would agree, that this left Israel in a (humanly) hopeless situation. But you know what happens, don’t you? God gave the victory.
Consider some other verses:
“And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the LORD will work for us: for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few.” – (1 Samuel 14:6)
“For with God nothing shall be impossible.” – (Luke 1:37)
“Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” – (Genesis 18:14)
Sometimes, I get a little discouraged that we don’t have more people in our town that are saved and living for the Lord, serving Him in one of the Bible preaching churches. It also bothers me when there seem to be so few within the local church that are really surrendered to the Lord. But when I read passages like this I am reminded that God can do an awful lot with a little. He took down a great big giant with a little teenager. On numerous occasions He destroyed powerful armies with a few sold out soldiers. God loves to back the “underdog”. He loves to show Himself powerful in impossible situations. We may only have a few soldiers in the army at Jersey Shore Baptist Church, but God is more than able to reach the multitudes with them. And God is also ready to show Himself powerful in your life. What impossible situation are you facing today? Remember, Little is much when God is in it.
Posted in Thoughts from Judges by Phil Erickson with 2 comments.
Get To Work
Today’s Passage – Joshua 16 – 18 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Titus 1 – 3; Proverbs 17; Psalms 81 – 85
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 18:3 & 46
Read the “0317 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“And Joshua answered them, If thou be a great people, then get thee up to the wood country, and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee.” – (Joshua 17:15)
In Joshua chapter seventeen, we see the land of Israel being divided up among the twelve tribes. The two half tribes that belonged to the sons of Joseph were a little concerned because they felt that they needed more land than what was given to them. They reasoned that because they were a “great people”, one portion of land would not be sufficient for them. The leader of Israel, Joshua, basically tells them that there is plenty more land available, but they would have to work a little to get it. The land he offered them was very mountainous and wooded, and needed to be cleared; and it also contained some pretty heavily armed Canaanites that also needed to be removed. I think the tribe of Joseph really wanted to just move right into a place where they would not have to put forth too much effort.
There is a great lesson to be learned here for us today. We often have desires for great things in life, but we usually are reluctant to work for those things. I know a man who today is very wealthy. He and his family enjoy many material possessions, and are very well off. However, those things did not come easy to him. He worked very hard over the course of many years to accumulate the wealth that he enjoys today. In fact, I knew this man when he was a boy in school. He studied hard, and applied himself. He continued to work hard through college; and when he received his first employment opportunity, he applied himself diligently there as well. Nobody handed his wealth to him. He had to work for it. He is envied by many people today who want what he has, but most of those people would not want to pay the price that he paid in time and sweat in order to achieve what he has.
As Christians, we need to get away from this entitlement mentality that everything is owed to us. There are plenty of opportunities out there for us to take advantage of, but few of them will come without a sacrifice on our part. We can see this lazy attitude in the ministry today. Some preachers, right out of Bible college, want a large ministry handed to them. They look for the perfect opportunity. Yet, there are millions of people out there who need a preacher. I remember when I came to Jersey Shore, there was no parsonage and there was no salary. We did have a beautiful little building, and a good group of people gathered together, but there were few perks that would attract many prospective preachers today. I was just thrilled that somebody wanted me to be their pastor. The church has grown some since then. By God’s grace we have been able to add on to our building, purchase more land, and add new ministries. But it took work. We had to cut down the woods, and drive out some of the Canaanites. It wasn’t easy, but God has blessed us all through the process.
Don’t expect all of the good things in life to be handed to you. Our God is a wonderful, gracious, and very giving God; but aside from our salvation, He often doesn’t hand us things on a silver platter. What He does do, however, is offer us opportunities to fight and work for things. Do you want something more in life? Go get it. Work for it.
Posted in Thoughts from Joshua by Phil Erickson with 2 comments.
I Want That Mountain
Today’s Passage – Joshua 13 – 15 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – 2 Timothy 1 – 4; Proverbs 16; Psalms 76 – 80)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Joshua 1:8
Read the “0316 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said.” – (Joshua 14:12)
One of my favorite men in the Bible is Caleb. He had an unshakable and an unwavering faith in the Lord. He wholly followed the Lord his God, and there was no obstacle that was too large, and no enemy that was too powerful, to keep Caleb from fulfilling God’s will for his life. You will remember that when the spies were sent in to check out the land of Canaan there were only two of them that came back with a positive report; only two that knew that God was much bigger than and giant Canaanite. One of those two men was Caleb. Ten of those spies came back and said, “It can’t be done; it’s too hard; we’re not ready yet. Not Caleb. He and Joshua were ready for a fight:
“And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes: And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not.” – (Numbers 14:6-9)
In our passage today, it is now forty-five years after the spies came back, and Caleb is an old man; yet, he still has a lot of fight left in him. He is not thinking about retirement. He is still looking to conquer more giants for the Lord. We need more Calebs in the church today! Men and women who trust the Lord wholly to do “greater works than these”. We need people who are willing to fight for what is right; people who still see areas that need to be conquered for the Lord.
What does God want you to conquer for Him? What giant obstacle is in your path that God is waiting for you to trust Him to remove in His power? What neighborhood, or city remains unreached with the gospel? What are you afraid of. I know it’s not going to be easy. I know that there are giants trying to stop you, but your God is greater than any Giant. Trust Him and take the mountain!
Posted in Thoughts from Joshua by Phil Erickson with 4 comments.
Face Your Fears
Today’s Passage – Joshua 10 – 12 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – 1 Timothy 1 – 6; Proverbs 15; Psalms 71 – 75)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Deuteronomy 32:4
Read a previous post from this passage – “The Day the Sun Stood Still“
Read the “0315 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“And at that time came Joshua, and cut off the Anakims from the mountains, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel: Joshua destroyed them utterly with their cities. There was none of the Anakims left in the land of the children of Israel: only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod, there remained. So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war.” – (Joshua 11:21-23)
Remember the Anakims?
“And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.” – (Numbers 13:32-33)
You might want to read Numbers chapter 13 in order to completely understand the point of this devotion. In a nutshell, Numbers 13 deals with Moses sending the 12 men into the land of Israel to spy out the land. They saw that the land surely was a good land, a land that flowed with milk and honey; but they also saw that the people of the land, especially the Anakims, were huge and pretty fierce looking people: they were giants. Instead of the spies returning with a good report of the wonderful opportunities that awaited them in their furture home, they returned with an evil report describing only the obstacles that stood in their way. To the people of Israel, the giants of the land were bigger than the God they served. As a result, God was highly displeased with their lack of faith and sentenced them to wander the wilderness for forty more years, until all of the naysayers had died off.
Here in our text in Joshua, we see the nation of Israel, forty plus years later, conquering those same giants that their fathers were afraid to face. Had that previous generation simply looked past the obstacles, they would have seen that their God was well able to bring them victoriously into that wonderful land of opportunity; but they let their fears control their destiny.
Don’t let your fear rob you of the opportunities that God is placing in front of you. Dr. Paul Fedena once preached a message at our church on the subject of fear. He taught that fear often paralyzes us from moving forward in the will of God. Fear is a natural human emotion, but we must not let it stop us from doing the things that God has called us to do. God will not ask us to do something that He will not enable us to do, in His strength. Too many Christians are wandering still in the wilderness of their fears, missing out on the wonderful blessings that await them in the promised land of a Spirit-filled life. Face your fears, not in your own strength, but in the power and might of the Lord.
Posted in Thoughts from Joshua by Phil Erickson with 1 comment.
Taking Care of the Preachers
Today’s Passage – Numbers 34 – 36 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – 1 Corinthians 5 – 8; Proverbs 28; Psalms 141 – 145
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 89
Read a previous post from this passage – “The City of Refuge”
Read the “Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“Command the children of Israel, that they give unto the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in; and ye shall give also unto the Levites suburbs for the cities round about them. And the cities shall they have to dwell in; and the suburbs of them shall be for their cattle, and for their goods, and for all their beasts.” – (Numbers 35:2-3)
When the children of Israel went in to possess the land that God had given them in Canaan, all of the tribes received a fair portion of the property. However, one tribe, Levi, was not given a section of the country as the other tribes were. Instead, God commanded the other eleven tribes to each give up portions of their territory to be used for cities for the tribe of Levi to live in. The entire congregation of Israel would be responsible for providing a place for the Levites to stay in. Remember, the tribe of Levi was made up of the priests, as well as the men that were responsible for transporting and serving in the tabernacle (and later the Temple). The Levites could not provide for their own families as the other tribes could, because they were busy serving in the ministry. Not only did the other tribes provide them with a place to stay, but they were also responsible to take care of their other material needs.
The same principle applies today. God’s people are responsible to do whatever they can in order to make sure that the people that minister to them are provided for. A preacher that has to work in a secular vocation will simply not be able to do as much for the Lord as one who does not. However, there is also a danger in some cases for preachers to get lazy when they are completely provided for, and when there is little accountibility. I personally know of a few full-time servants who accomplish little with the abundance of time they have available to them. I guess the bottom line to this thought is that the people in the church should do everything that they can do to meet the needs of the preacher and his family, but the preacher must also realize that even though he does not have a human boss watching over him, he must stay busy and work hard for the cause of Christ. And, because he is not in it for compensation (“not for filthy lucre” – 1 Peter 5:2), he must be willing to do whatever is needed in order to effectively minister to God’s flock whether he is paid or not. God will ultimately care for his needs anyway, regardless of whether or not the church can.
“Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.” – (1 Timothy 5:17-18)
“If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things? … 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.” – (1 Corinthians 9:11, 13-14)
Posted in Thoughts from Numbers by Phil Erickson with 7 comments.