HONOR AND THE BLESSING

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Further explanations in the audio

1 Corinthians 9:11 (NKJV)
If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things?

When Apostle Paul preached among the Corinthians, because he was very discerning, he knew that they were used to people bringing all kinds of marketing gimmicks and messages for the singular purpose of getting money from them. Corinth was a major metropolitan city in those days, and there were many money seeking speakers of all kinds. This probably made the Corinthians skeptical of any message that would eventually involve them bringing their money.

So even after many among them had believed and become members of the church, Paul still wouldn’t collect a personal offering from them because he didn’t want anything to be a hindrance to the furtherance of the gospel among them. He would rather work with his hands as a tent maker to pay his bills. It wasn’t that Paul didn’t collect personal gifts from disciples in other places (for example, we see in Philippians 4:15-16, he collected donations from the Philippians), but he decided not to collect donations while he was among the Corinthians.

In his first letter to the Corinthian church, it was time for them to understand an important spiritual principle that would be a blessing to them. This principle is that those who minister spiritual things to God’s people should receive physical things from them (see 1 Cor 9:4-15).

In Genesis 14:18-20, we see that it was after Melchizedek ministered spiritual blessings to Abraham that Abraham gave him physical gifts (a tithe of all). Abraham understood this spiritual principle. No wonder he is such a blessed man.

Go into today remembering that you are to honor those who minister spiritual things to you. That’s one sure way to honor God who sent them.