WHY PREACHERS SHOULD BE PAID
REVISED 08-05-2006
FIVE REASONS WHY GOSPEL PREACHERS SHOULD BE PAID
1 Corinthians 9:1-27
(1 Cor 9:1 NIV) Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord?
(1 Cor 9:2 NIV) Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
(1 Cor 9:3 NIV) This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me.
(1 Cor 9:4 NIV) Don’t we have the right to food and drink?
(1 Cor 9:5 NIV) Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas ?
(1 Cor 9:6 NIV) Or is it only I and Barnabas who must work for a living?
(1 Cor 9:7 NIV) Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk?
(1 Cor 9:8 NIV) Do I say this merely from a human point of view? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing?
(1 Cor 9:9 NIV) For it is written in the Law of Moses: "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." Is it about oxen that God is concerned?
(1 Cor 9:10 NIV) Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest.
(1 Cor 9:11 NIV) If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?
(1 Cor 9:12 NIV) If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.
(1 Cor 9:13 NIV) Don’t you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar?
(1 Cor 9:14 NIV) In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.
(1 Cor 9:15 NIV) But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me. I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of this boast.
(1 Cor 9:16 NIV) Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
(1 Cor 9:17 NIV) If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me.
(1 Cor 9:18 NIV) What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it.
(1 Cor 9:19 NIV) Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.
(1 Cor 9:20 NIV) To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law.
(1 Cor 9:21 NIV) To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law.
(1 Cor 9:22 NIV) To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.
(1 Cor 9:23 NIV) I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
(1 Cor 9:24 NIV) Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
(1 Cor 9:25 NIV) Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
(1 Cor 9:26 NIV) Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.
(1 Cor 9:27 NIV) No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
I. THE SECULAR WORLD PAYS A MAN FOR WHAT HE DOES.
1 Corinthians 9:7
(1 Cor 9:7 NIV) Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk?
Luke 16:1-13
(Luke 16:1 NIV) Jesus told his disciples: "There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.
(Luke 16:2 NIV) So he called him in and asked him, ’What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’
(Luke 16:3 NIV) "The manager said to himself, ’What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg--
(Luke 16:4 NIV) I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’
(Luke 16:5 NIV) "So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ’How much do you owe my master?’
(Luke 16:6 NIV) "’Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied. "The manager told him, ’Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.’
(Luke 16:7 NIV) "Then he asked the second, ’And how much do you owe?’ "’A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied. "He told him, ’Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’
(Luke 16:8 NIV) "The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.
(Luke 16:9 NIV) I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
(Luke 16:10 NIV) "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
(Luke 16:11 NIV) So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?
(Luke 16:12 NIV) And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?
(Luke 16:13 NIV) "No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."
II. DEUTERONOMY 25:4 SAYS THAT OXEN WHICH TREAD OUT THE CORN SHOULD NOT BE MUZZLED.
1 Corinthians 9:8-10
(1 Cor 9:8 NIV) Do I say this merely from a human point of view? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing?
(1 Cor 9:9 NIV) For it is written in the Law of Moses: "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." Is it about oxen that God is concerned?
(1 Cor 9:10 NIV) Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest.
The question in the last part of verse 9 expects a negative answer. What Paul means is that God is not as much concerned about animals as he is about preachers.
Deuteronomy 25:4
(Deu 25:4 NIV) Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.
III. THE SPIRITUAL THINGS WHICH THE MINISTER GIVES ARE WORTH FAR MORE THAN ANY MATERIAL THINGS WHICH HE MIGHT RECEIVE.
1 Corinthians 9:11-12
(1 Cor 9:11 NIV) If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?
(1 Cor 9:12 NIV) If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.
IV. THE PRIESTS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT WERE SUPPORTED BY THE PEOPLE.
1 Corinthians 9:13
(1 Cor 9:13 NIV) Don’t you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar?
1, They received houses and lands.
Nehemiah 11:3,20-21
(Neh 11:3 NIV) These are the provincial leaders who settled in Jerusalem (now some Israelites, priests, Levites, temple servants and descendants of Solomon’s servants lived in the towns of Judah, each on his own property in the various towns,
(Neh 11:20 NIV) The rest of the Israelites, with the priests and Levites, were in all the towns of Judah, each on his ancestral property.
(Neh 11:21 NIV) The temple servants lived on the hill of Ophel, and Ziha and Gishpa were in charge of them.
Numbers 35:1-8
(Num 35:1 NIV) On the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho, the LORD said to Moses,
(Num 35:2 NIV) "Command the Israelites to give the Levites towns to live in from the inheritance the Israelites will possess. And give them pasturelands around the towns.
(Num 35:3 NIV) Then they will have towns to live in and pasturelands for their cattle, flocks and all their other livestock.
(Num 35:4 NIV) "The pasturelands around the towns that you give the Levites will extend out fifteen hundred feet from the town wall.
(Num 35:5 NIV) Outside the town, measure three thousand feet on the east side, three thousand on the south side, three thousand on the west and three thousand on the north, with the town in the center. They will have this area as pastureland for the towns.
(Num 35:6 NIV) "Six of the towns you give the Levites will be cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone may flee. In addition, give them forty-two other towns.
(Num 35:7 NIV) In all you must give the Levites forty-eight towns, together with their pasturelands.
(Num 35:8 NIV) The towns you give the Levites from the land the Israelites possess are to be given in proportion to the inheritance of each tribe: Take many towns from a tribe that has many, but few from one that has few."
Joshua 21:1-42
(Josh 21:1 NIV) Now the family heads of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the other tribal families of Israel
(Josh 21:2 NIV) at Shiloh in Canaan and said to them, "The LORD commanded through Moses that you give us towns to live in, with pasturelands for our livestock."
(Josh 21:3 NIV) So, as the LORD had commanded, the Israelites gave the Levites the following towns and pasturelands out of their own inheritance:
(Josh 21:4 NIV) The first lot came out for the Kohathites, clan by clan. The Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest were allotted thirteen towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin.
(Josh 21:5 NIV) The rest of Kohath’s descendants were allotted ten towns from the clans of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan and half of Manasseh.
(Josh 21:6 NIV) The descendants of Gershon were allotted thirteen towns from the clans of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.
(Josh 21:7 NIV) The descendants of Merari, clan by clan, received twelve towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun.
(Josh 21:8 NIV) So the Israelites allotted to the Levites these towns and their pasturelands, as the LORD had commanded through Moses.
(Josh 21:9 NIV) From the tribes of Judah and Simeon they allotted the following towns by name
(Josh 21:10 NIV) (these towns were assigned to the descendants of Aaron who were from the Kohathite clans of the Levites, because the first lot fell to them):
(Josh 21:11 NIV) They gave them Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), with its surrounding pastureland, in the hill country of Judah. (Arba was the forefather of Anak.)
(Josh 21:12 NIV) But the fields and villages around the city they had given to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.
(Josh 21:13 NIV) So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron (a city of refuge for one accused of murder), Libnah,
(Josh 21:14 NIV) Jattir, Eshtemoa,
(Josh 21:15 NIV) Holon, Debir,
(Josh 21:16 NIV) Ain, Juttah and Beth Shemesh, together with their
pasturelands--nine towns from these two tribes.
(Josh 21:17 NIV) And from the tribe of Benjamin they gave them Gibeon, Geba,
(Josh 21:18 NIV) Anathoth and Almon, together with their pasturelands--four towns.
(Josh 21:19 NIV) All the towns for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were thirteen, together with their pasturelands.
(Josh 21:20 NIV) The rest of the Kohathite clans of the Levites were allotted towns from the tribe of Ephraim:
(Josh 21:21 NIV) In the hill country of Ephraim they were given Shechem (a city of refuge for one accused of murder) and Gezer,
(Josh 21:22 NIV) Kibzaim and Beth Horon, together with their pasturelands--four towns.
(Josh 21:23 NIV) Also from the tribe of Dan they received Eltekeh, Gibbethon,
(Josh 21:24 NIV) Aijalon and Gath Rimmon, together with their
pasturelands--four towns.
(Josh 21:25 NIV) From half the tribe of Manasseh they received Taanach and Gath Rimmon, together with their pasturelands--two towns.
(Josh 21:26 NIV) All these ten towns and their pasturelands were given to the rest of the Kohathite clans.
(Josh 21:27 NIV) The Levite clans of the Gershonites were given: from the half-tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan (a city of refuge for one accused of murder) and Be Eshtarah, together with their pasturelands--two towns;
(Josh 21:28 NIV) from the tribe of Issachar, Kishion, Daberath,
(Josh 21:29 NIV) Jarmuth and En Gannim, together with their pasturelands--four towns;
(Josh 21:30 NIV) from the tribe of Asher, Mishal, Abdon,
(Josh 21:31 NIV) Helkath and Rehob, together with their pasturelands--four towns;
(Josh 21:32 NIV) from the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee (a city of refuge for one accused of murder), Hammoth Dor and Kartan, together with their pasturelands--three towns.
(Josh 21:33 NIV) All the towns of the Gershonite clans were thirteen, together with their pasturelands.
(Josh 21:34 NIV) The Merarite clans (the rest of the Levites) were given: from the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam, Kartah,
(Josh 21:35 NIV) Dimnah and Nahalal, together with their pasturelands--four towns;
(Josh 21:36 NIV) from the tribe of Reuben, Bezer, Jahaz,
(Josh 21:37 NIV) Kedemoth and Mephaath, together with their pasturelands—four towns;
(Josh 21:38 NIV) from the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead (a city of refuge for one accused of murder), Mahanaim,
(Josh 21:39 NIV) Heshbon and Jazer, together with their pasturelands--four towns in all.
(Josh 21:40 NIV) All the towns allotted to the Merarite clans, who were the rest of the Levites, were twelve.
(Josh 21:41 NIV) The towns of the Levites in the territory held by the
Israelites were forty-eight in all, together with their pasturelands.
(Josh 21:42 NIV) Each of these towns had pasturelands surrounding it; this was true for all these towns.
2. They received the regular tithes of the people.
Numbers 18:20-32
(Num 18:20 NIV) The LORD said to Aaron, "You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them; I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites.
(Num 18:21 NIV) "I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the Tent of Meeting.
(Num 18:22 NIV) From now on the Israelites must not go near the Tent of Meeting, or they will bear the consequences of their sin and will die.
(Num 18:23 NIV) It is the Levites who are to do the work at the Tent of Meeting and bear the responsibility for offenses against it. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. They will receive no inheritance among the Israelites.
(Num 18:24 NIV) Instead, I give to the Levites as their inheritance the tithes that the Israelites present as an offering to the LORD. That is why I said concerning them: ’They will have no inheritance among the Israelites.’"
(Num 18:25 NIV) The LORD said to Moses,
(Num 18:26 NIV) "Speak to the Levites and say to them: ’When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you as your inheritance, you must present a tenth of that tithe as the Lord’s offering.
(Num 18:27 NIV) Your offering will be reckoned to you as grain from the threshing floor or juice from the winepress.
(Num 18:28 NIV) In this way you also will present an offering to the LORD from all the tithes you receive from the Israelites. From these tithes you must give the Lord’s portion to Aaron the priest.
(Num 18:29 NIV) You must present as the Lord’s portion the best and holiest part of everything given to you.’
(Num 18:30 NIV) "Say to the Levites: ’When you present the best part, it will be reckoned to you as the product of the threshing floor or the winepress.
(Num 18:31 NIV) You and your households may eat the rest of it anywhere, for it is your wages for your work at the Tent of Meeting.
(Num 18:32 NIV) By presenting the best part of it you will not be guilty in this matter; then you will not defile the holy offerings of the Israelites, and you will not die.’"
3. They received certain sacrifices.
a. The bread of the presence.
Leviticus 24:5-9
(Lev 24:5 NIV) "Take fine flour and bake twelve loaves of bread, using
two-tenths of an ephah for each loaf.
(Lev 24:6 NIV) Set them in two rows, six in each row, on the table of pure gold before the LORD.
(Lev 24:7 NIV) Along each row put some pure incense as a memorial portion to represent the bread and to be an offering made to the LORD by fire.
(Lev 24:8 NIV) This bread is to be set out before the LORD regularly, Sabbath after Sabbath, on behalf of the Israelites, as a lasting covenant.
(Lev 24:9 NIV) It belongs to Aaron and his sons, who are to eat it in a holy place, because it is a most holy part of their regular share of the offerings made to the LORD by fire."
b. Almost all of the cereal offerings.
Leviticus 2:3,10
(Lev 2:3 NIV) The rest of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the offerings made to the LORD by fire.
(Lev 2:10 NIV) The rest of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the offerings made to the LORD by fire.
Leviticus 6:16
(Lev 6:16 NIV) Aaron and his sons shall eat the rest of it, but it is to be eaten without yeast in a holy place; they are to eat it in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting.
Leviticus 10:12-13
(Lev 10:12 NIV) Moses said to Aaron and his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, "Take the grain offering left over from the offerings made to the LORD by fire and eat it prepared without yeast beside the altar, for it is most holy.
(Lev 10:13 NIV) Eat it in a holy place, because it is your share and your sons’ share of the offerings made to the LORD by fire; for so I have been commanded.
Numbers 18:9
(Num 18:9 NIV) You are to have the part of the most holy offerings that is kept from the fire. From all the gifts they bring me as most holy offerings, whether grain or sin or guilt offerings, that part belongs to you and your sons.
c. Almost all of the sin offerings.
Leviticus 5:13
(Lev 5:13 NIV) In this way the priest will make atonement for him for any of these sins he has committed, and he will be forgiven. The rest of the offering will belong to the priest, as in the case of the grain offering.’"
Leviticus 6:26
(Lev 6:26 NIV) The priest who offers it shall eat it; it is to be eaten in a holy place, in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting.
Numbers 18:9
(Num 18:9 NIV) You are to have the part of the most holy offerings that is kept from the fire. From all the gifts they bring me as most holy offerings, whether grain or sin or guilt offerings, that part belongs to you and your sons.
d. The breast and the thigh – the choicest pieces – of the peace offerings.
Exodus 29:26-28
(Exo 29:26 NIV) After you take the breast of the ram for Aaron’s ordination, wave it before the LORD as a wave offering, and it will be your share.
(Exo 29:27 NIV) "Consecrate those parts of the ordination ram that belong to Aaron and his sons: the breast that was waved and the thigh that was presented.
(Exo 29:28 NIV) This is always to be the regular share from the Israelites for Aaron and his sons. It is the contribution the Israelites are to make to the LORD from their fellowship offerings.
Leviticus 7:30-34
(Lev 7:30 NIV) With his own hands he is to bring the offering made to the LORD by fire; he is to bring the fat, together with the breast, and wave the breast before the LORD as a wave offering.
(Lev 7:31 NIV) The priest shall burn the fat on the altar, but the breast belongs to Aaron and his sons.
(Lev 7:32 NIV) You are to give the right thigh of your fellowship offerings to the priest as a contribution.
(Lev 7:33 NIV) The son of Aaron who offers the blood and the fat of the fellowship offering shall have the right thigh as his share.
(Lev 7:34 NIV) From the fellowship offerings of the Israelites, I have taken the breast that is waved and the thigh that is presented and have given them to Aaron the priest and his sons as their regular share from the Israelites.’"
Leviticus 10:14-15
(Lev 10:14 NIV) But you and your sons and your daughters may eat the breast that was waved and the thigh that was presented. Eat them in a ceremonially clean place; they have been given to you and your children as your share of the Israelites’ fellowship offerings.
(Lev 10:15 NIV) The thigh that was presented and the breast that was waved must be brought with the fat portions of the offerings made by fire, to be waved before the LORD as a wave offering. This will be the regular share for you and your children, as the LORD has commanded."
Numbers 18:11
(Num 18:11 NIV) "This also is yours: whatever is set aside from the gifts of all the wave offerings of the Israelites. I give this to you and your sons and daughters as your regular share. Everyone in your household who is ceremonially clean may eat it.
e. The skins of the holocausts or whole burnt offerings.
Leviticus 7:8
(Lev 7:8 NIV) The priest who offers a burnt offering for anyone may keep its hide for himself.
4. They received the first-fruits of the field and the first-born of animals together with the redemption money which had to be paid for first-born sons and for firstlings of unclean beasts.
Exodus 13:12-13
(Exo 13:12 NIV) you are to give over to the LORD the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the LORD.
(Exo 13:13 NIV) Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among your sons.
Numbers 18:12-19
(Num 18:12 NIV) "I give you all the finest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain they give the LORD as the firstfruits of their harvest.
(Num 18:13 NIV) All the land’s firstfruits that they bring to the LORD will be yours. Everyone in your household who is ceremonially clean may eat it.
(Num 18:14 NIV) "Everything in Israel that is devoted to the LORD is yours.
(Num 18:15 NIV) The first offspring of every womb, both man and animal, that is offered to the LORD is yours. But you must redeem every firstborn son and every firstborn male of unclean animals.
(Num 18:16 NIV) When they are a month old, you must redeem them at the
redemption price set at five shekels of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. (Num 18:17 NIV) "But you must not redeem the firstborn of an ox, a sheep or a goat; they are holy. Sprinkle their blood on the altar and burn their fat as an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the LORD.
(Num 18:18 NIV) Their meat is to be yours, just as the breast of the wave offering and the right thigh are yours.
(Num 18:19 NIV) Whatever is set aside from the holy offerings the Israelites present to the LORD I give to you and your sons and daughters as your regular share. It is an everlasting covenant of salt before the LORD for both you and your offspring."
V. CHRIST DURING HIS EARTHLY MINISTRY ORDAINED THAT THEY WHO PREACH THE GOSPEL SHOULD LIVE OF THE GOSPEL.
1 Corinthians 9:14
(1 Cor 9:14 NIV) In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.
Matthew 10:1-15
(Mat 10:1 NIV) He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
(Mat 10:2 NIV) These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John;
(Mat 10:3 NIV) Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;
(Mat 10:4 NIV) Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
(Mat 10:5 NIV) These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans.
(Mat 10:6 NIV) Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.
(Mat 10:7 NIV) As you go, preach this message: ’The kingdom of heaven is near.’
(Mat 10:8 NIV) Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
(Mat 10:9 NIV) Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts;
(Mat 10:10 NIV) take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep.
(Mat 10:11 NIV) "Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave.
(Mat 10:12 NIV) As you enter the home, give it your greeting.
(Mat 10:13 NIV) If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you.
(Mat 10:14 NIV) If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your ords, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.
(Mat 10:15 NIV) I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
Luke 9:1-5
(Luke 9:1 NIV) When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases,
(Luke 9:2 NIV) and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
(Luke 9:3 NIV) He told them: "Take nothing for the journey--no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic.
(Luke 9:4 NIV) Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town.
(Luke 9:5 NIV) If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them."
Luke 10:1-16
(Luke 10:1 NIV) After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.
(Luke 10:2 NIV) He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.
(Luke 10:3 NIV) Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
(Luke 10:4 NIV) Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
(Luke 10:5 NIV) "When you enter a house, first say, ’Peace to this house.’
(Luke 10:6 NIV) If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you.
(Luke 10:7 NIV) Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
(Luke 10:8 NIV) "When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you.
(Luke 10:9 NIV) Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ’The kingdom of God is near you.’
(Luke 10:10 NIV) But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say,
(Luke 10:11 NIV) ’Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.’
(Luke 10:12 NIV) I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.
(Luke 10:13 NIV) "Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
(Luke 10:14 NIV) But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.
(Luke 10:15 NIV) And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths.
(Luke 10:16 NIV) "He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me."
SEE ALSO MY SERMON ON HOW PAUL MOTIVATED CHURCHES TO GIVE.
Galatians 6:6-10
(Gal 6:6 NIV) Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.
(Gal 6:7 NIV) Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.
(Gal 6:8 NIV) The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
(Gal 6:9 NIV) Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
(Gal 6:10 NIV) Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Philippians 4:10-19
(Phil 4:10 NIV) I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.
(Phil 4:11 NIV) I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
(Phil 4:12 NIV) I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
(Phil 4:13 NIV) I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
(Phil 4:14 NIV) Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles.
(Phil 4:15 NIV) Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only;
(Phil 4:16 NIV) for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need.
(Phil 4:17 NIV) Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account.
(Phil 4:18 NIV) I have received full payment and even more; I am amply
supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.
(Phil 4:19 NIV) And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
Acts 18:1-8
(Acts 18:1 NIV) After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.
(Acts 18:2 NIV) There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them,
(Acts 18:3 NIV) and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them.
(Acts 18:4 NIV) Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.
(Acts 18:5 NIV) When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.
(Acts 18:6 NIV) But when the Jews opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, "Your blood be on your own heads! I am clear of my responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles."
(Acts 18:7 NIV) Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God.
(Acts 18:8 NIV) Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized.
Acts 20:33-35
(Acts 20:33 NIV) I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.
(Acts 20:34 NIV) You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions.
(Acts 20:35 NIV) In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ’It is more blessed to give than to receive.’"
1 Timothy 5:17-18
(1 Tim 5:17 NIV) The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.
(1 Tim 5:18 NIV) For the Scripture says, "Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain," and "The worker deserves his wages."
