Amen. All right, well, we're there in 1 Corinthians chapter number 9. And on Wednesday nights, we are studying through the books of 1 Corinthians. We're just going verse by verse, chapter by chapter, and learning what the Word of God has for us here. And in this chapter, in this passage, 1 Corinthians chapter 9, has a total of 27 verses. And the first part of this chapter deals with a very specific issue. And we're going to go through the first 19 verses tonight. Lord willing, we'll go through the first 19 verses. And then we'll do the second part of this chapter next Wednesday, or next time we're in First Corinthians. But it deals with a very specific issue, the first 19 verses. And the issue is on this. It's answering the question of should pastors get paid? Should pastors get paid? And I want to go through this passage and kind of teach this to you and help you to understand it. But I do want to just make this disclaimer. I'm not preaching this because there's any problems with our church as far as Payments or anything like that. Okay, our church takes care of me and my family. Well, we've got staff and you pay their salaries and you know, they all deserve to make more money than they then they do but You know, I don't want you sometimes you preach stuff like this and people think like oh, is there any problems or whatever? No, we're just preaching to the book of Corinthians. All right first Corinthians and we were in chapter 8 last week and we were in chapter 7 the week before that and And we're in chapter 9 tonight, and that's what the subject is about. But I do want you to learn it, and I don't want to skip it, because my job as a pastor is to teach you the Word of God, is to teach you the whole counsel of God, and the entire counsel of God. And if I don't teach this to you, then who will, right? And someone's got to stand up and preach the Word of God. So let's learn this together. I want you to notice, just kind of by way of introduction, if you look at verse 1 there, Paul says this, he 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, yet doubtless I am to you. For the seal of my apostleship are ye in the Lord. And I'm not gonna take a lot of time with this because I literally just preached a sermon about the office of an apostle like three weeks ago. So I don't wanna get a lot with this idea of apostleship. But Paul's basically defending his position as an apostle because of the fact that there were people in the church at Corinth. Apparently, there are people in the church at Corinth that are doubting his apostleship. Look at verse 3. He says, And basically, he's answering their question And when he's answering their question, he goes into a dissertation about whether or not pastors should get paid. And what I want you to understand is this, that as far as we can gather from scripture, it seems like there was people in the church at Corinth that were basically doubting whether the apostle Paul was a true apostle and the reason that they were giving for saying that they didn't think Paul was an apostle was because Paul did not get paid. And the other apostles did. And I'm going to explain that all to you here in a second. And I think you'll understand and it'll make sense. But that's what he's dealing with when he gets into chapter 9. But of course, he's talking about the fact that he is an apostle. He says, am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? And we know that all things that all of that he is and he does. But here's what's interesting. I want you to look at, and I'm not preaching on this, but I want you to look at the end of verse 1. He says, And I want you to understand, that what makes you a leader, what makes you a leader is not that you tell yourself or that you tell others, I'm the leader. What makes you a leader truly is the fact that people are following you. I remember my dad used to tell me, we've got different stands on Bible college and all of that and whether Bible college is even needed for people to go into the ministry. And my dad used to tell me years ago, he used to say, You know, what makes you a shepherd is not that you have a piece of paper on a wall that says you're a shepherd, it's whether or not you've got sheep, you know? And that's basically what the Apostle Paul is saying. He's saying, are not ye my work in the Lord? He says, if I be not an apostle unto others. He says, if other people don't want to acknowledge me as an apostle, or my position, or my leadership, he says, yet doubtless I am to you. For the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord." And I don't have time to develop this and I'm not preaching on this, but in Matthew chapter 7, Jesus taught that the way that you can tell a preacher is by the fruit that they produce. You can tell a corrupt tree if he produces evil fruit or corrupt fruit. You can tell a good tree if he produces good fruit. And that's what Paul is saying. Paul is saying, look, I don't care if you wanna, you know, say that I'm not an apostle or attack my apostleship or attack my position, He says, look, you are the proof. He said the proof is in the pudding. He said, you are the ones that are following me. He said, you are the ones that I minister to. You are the seal of my apostleship. So I just thought that was an interesting thought. But look at verse three. He says, my answer to them that do examine me is this. Now let me go ahead and say this. The title of the sermon is, Should Pastors Get Paid? And I want to title it that because that's a big controversy today, whether or not pastors should get paid. But I want you to understand that in the sermon, I'm going to use a different term, and I'm going to use this term, spiritual leader. You know, should a spiritual leader get paid? Why should a spiritual leader get paid? And the reason I want to use that term is because I want you to understand that this is bigger than just pastors. The Apostle Paul himself was actually not a pastor. He was an apostle, we know that. He held the position of an evangelist, alright? But in the Bible, the Bible teaches us that deacons should get paid. The Bible teaches us that pastors should get paid. We're learning here about an evangelist getting paid. So we know that churches will have staff and things like that. So it's really more than just the pastor. It's about spiritual leaders in general, deacons, pastors, evangelists, those that are working in the ministry should they get paid. Why should they get paid? How should they get paid? And all that. Now let me say this. You say, well, why preach this sermon or why is this important? This is actually a very important topic because this idea of pastoral leadership and the position of a pastor and whether he should get paid or not is under attack today. And one of the major churches, so-called churches, that teaches that pastors should not get paid is the Mormon church. The Mormon teaches that pastors should not get paid. And they've obviously got profits and whatever that are multimillionaires, but they're talking about their local pastors in the community. They pride themselves on the fact that they should not get paid. The Amish don't pay their pastors. But more than that, within the realm of fundamentalism, independent Baptist, there's a big home church movement. And when I say home church movement, I'm not talking about a church that's meeting in a home. When Verity Baptist Church first started seven years ago, we met in a living room for a couple of years, you know, and we outgrew the living room, and the Lord has blessed us. But the home church movement is a different thing, where it's these people that basically say, you know, we don't need a pastor, we don't need, we're just gonna get together at a coffee shop, or we're just gonna get together in a living room, it's just gonna be three guys or three, you know, just my family and my friends, we're gonna get together, we're gonna study the Bible, and this is what we're gonna call this church. That is not church, all right? And I'm not preaching on that either, but, you know, let me go ahead and say this. A church is, you know, because they'll say like, well, as long as it's believers gathering together, then that's a church. But here's what you need to understand. There is more to a church than simply gathering believers. You know, a church, and we teach that from the Bible, and the Bible actually says that a church is a congregation, obviously, but we need to understand, sometimes I think we try to make things a little too basic to the fact that people take it too far. Because here's what you need to understand. Yes, it's true that a church is an assembly of believers, but it's an assembly of baptized believers, number one, but they also need to be under the authority of a pastor. And they need to be assembling for the purpose of the Great Commission. And you know, it's important to understand this because today you'll go to conferences, you know, you'll go to the prophecy conference or the soul winning conference and people say like, well, this is a church. No, it's not. Because the church is a group of believers in a community that have bonded together under the authority of a pastor for the fulfillment of the Great Commission in that community. So when you go to a conference, you're not at church. All right. You know, you're at church, and you've got a pastor, and you're actually trying to reach people with the gospel. Let me get into this, and let me answer some questions. If you want to take notes, maybe you can write these statements down. Here's the first question that he answers, and the question is this. Should those in spiritual leadership get paid? Should they get paid? Because the Mormons say no, and the home church says no, and the Amish say no, and more and more people are saying no. And I want you to notice that the Apostle Paul answers that question. Look at verse four. He says, have we, now when he says we there, he's talking about himself and Barnabas. He says, have we not power to eat and to drink? Now when you look at that, you might think like, well, what do you mean, Paul? Of course you have power, or you have the ability. That's what the word power there means. It's talking about his ability. Of course you have the ability to eat and to drink. But here's what you need to understand. The question that he's asking is not whether they have the ability to eat or drink, but if you understand the context, what he's saying is, do we not have the power to eat and to drink? And what he's saying is, at your expense. Meaning, you know, because you provide what we need to eat and to drink. Look at verse 5. Have we not power to lead about a sister? Now when he says a sister there, he's talking about a sister in Christ. And you say, well, why does he say that? Because look at what he says. A wife. Alright? So he's saying, he's talking about leading a wife. But here's what we know, is that you should not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. He says, do I not have the power to find a sister in Christ, to find a lady that is saved, that loves the Lord, and to marry her, and to lead her as a wife, as well as other apostles? and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas." Now who's Cephas? Cephas is Peter. And here's what he's saying. He's saying, do we not have the power to eat and to drink at your expense? Do we not have the power to lead a wife, to lead a sister in Christ as a wife? Notice what he says, as well as other apostles. What is he saying? Here's what he's saying. He's saying the other apostles are all married. The other apostles are all eating and drinking at the expense of the ministries that they are serving in. He says, and as the brethren of the Lord and Cephas. Here's what he's saying. He's saying Peter is married. And if you read 9 chapters today in January, you might have caught in the Gospels that one of the people that the Lord Jesus Christ healed was Peter's mother-in-law. Now, how do you get a mother-in-law? You get a mother-in-law by getting married. So, you know, in the Gospels, we see that Jesus healed Peter's mother-in-law, so that shows us that he was married. But then here Paul is telling us that he was married. Look at verse 6. or I only in Barnabas." He said, is it just me and Barnabas? And here's what you need to understand, and we covered this already in previous chapters, that Paul was a single man. He was not married, and apparently, neither was Barnabas. And he says, or I only in Barnabas, have not we power to forbear? What does the word forbear mean? Forbear means to refrain from doing something. He says, have not we power to forbear working? What he's saying, he's saying, don't we have the power to restrain or refrain ourselves from working a job? Here's what he's saying, he's saying, all the other apostles are eating and drinking at the expense of the churches that they are ministering, and all of the other apostles are leading wives that are sisters in Christ. All of the other apostles have forebore, or have, you know, he says forebear, they have refrained from working a secular job. And he's saying, don't we have that same power? Now, before we move on, let me just say this, and I'm not preaching on this, but I just, you know, by the way, understand this. There's a couple of, you know, false doctrines that people, one's not that popular, but one is, I've heard this a lot lately where people want to talk about the fact that Paul, they'll try to act like Paul was divorced. And they'll say, Paul was divorced because, you know, as a Pharisee, you had to be married. And it's like, okay, well, show me that in the Bible. And they're like, well, I can't show you that in the Bible, but this extra biblical, you know, document. You know what? The only thing you can trust is the Word of God. All right? And if you gotta go and read all these other books to figure all this other stuff, and they'll say, well, Pharisees had to be married, so therefore, Paul was divorced. And I always hear people say Paul was divorced, and I think to myself, okay, well, if Pharisees had to be married, could it have been that Paul was just a widow? You know? But here's the thing. Here's what I want you to understand. He wasn't divorced. Maybe he was a widow or I don't know. But here's how we know he wasn't divorced. Because he just got done saying, have we not power to lead about a sister or wife? So here's what he said. He said, if I wanted to, couldn't I just go get married right now? Now look, he's the one that just got done telling us in 1 Corinthians 7 and in Romans 7 that if you're divorced, you should not get remarried. So you know what he's telling us? He's not divorced. He's eligible for marriage, you know, so he's not a divorced man. Here's another thing we can learn from this, and we already talked about it, the fact that Peter was married. You say, why is that important? Because today you've got the Roman Catholic Church that wants to go around and say Peter was the first pope. Well, here's the problem. Your pope's not married. Peter was married. And there's all sorts of problems with the Roman Catholic Church, and we understand that, but you know what? Peter was not the first pope. Peter was actually saved, number one, and married. Look at verse 7. So he begins by answering this question. And he says, you know, should pastors, should spiritual leaders, should those in ministry get saved? And he said, get saved. Of course they should get saved. Should those in spiritual leadership get paid? And the answer to the question is, yes. He says all the other apostles get paid. He said all the other apostles have wives. All the other apostles are having their needs taken care of. And we're going to talk and prove that to you more from the Word of God here in a minute. But then he answers this question. He kind of transitions. And then he begins to answer this question, why? So first he says, should they? Should those in spiritual leadership, pastors, deacons, evangelists, those that work in full-time ministry, should they get paid? And the answer to that question is yes. But then the question is this, why? Why should those in spiritual leadership get paid? And then he makes two points in regards to this. Look at verse seven. In verse seven, he gives us the logical reason. He says there's a logical reason as to why a pastor should get paid, verse seven. He says, who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? Now let me ask this question. I was in the United States Air Force for four years, and I know we've got a lot of veterans. If you serve in the military, raise your hand. If you're in the military, just raise your hand. All right. So we've got several guys and gals, ladies, that served in the military. Let me ask you this question. Whoever joined the military and had to purchase their own uniform? Anybody? Anybody had to purchase their own uniform? Is there anybody who ever joined the military and had to purchase their own weapon, did not get a weapon issued to them? Did anybody ever get deployed and you have to save up money to get your own ticket? Here's the thing. When you join the military and you go and fight for a country, you know what the country does? They take care of all your expenses. That's what Paul is saying. Notice what he says. He says, who goes to warfare any time at his own charges? He says, look, if you've got someone who's going to go fight for you, he says, you don't want them to have to sit there and say, man, I'm joining the military, but I've got to save up money because I've got to buy some boots. And I've got to save up money because I need some gloves. And I've got to save up money because it might be good to get some sort of a bulletproof vest or something. No, he says, look, when you join the military, they don't expect you to fight for them without taking care of you. He says, who goes to a warfare any time on his own charges? Then he says this. Who planted the vineyard? He says, who goes out and plants a vineyard and puts all the effort into getting a vineyard going and eateth not the fruit thereof? He said, who would go and get property and plant the vineyard and do all that work and then when the fruit comes up, not eat from it? Or, who feedeth a flock? Who would care for a flock and tend a flock? And eateth not the milk of the flock? And here's what he's saying. He's saying, look, it just makes logical sense that if you have a pastor who's working hard, if you have a pastor who gets up every day, who's writing sermons, who's making visits, who's praying for you, who's there to shepherd you and to help you, who's performing weddings, who's performing funerals, who's taking care of the spiritual needs. He says, look, it makes sense that when you work, you get paid. That's what he's saying. He says, if you go to warfare, you don't pay your own way. If you plant the vineyard, you expect to reap the rewards and to eat from the fruit. So he says, look, should a pastor get paid? The answer is yes. Why should a pastor, why should a spiritual leader get paid? He says, well, it's just, it's logical. And he gives a logical reason as to why they go get paid. And here's what he's saying. He says, logic demands it. Logic demands that if somebody works, they get paid. No matter what they're doing, whether it's pastoral or carnal, whether it's ministry or business, it just, you know, if you work, the laborer is worthy of his reward. We're gonna look at that here in a second. So he gives a logical reason. He says logic demands it. But then he gives a reason from the Word of God. He says the law demands it. So not only does logic demand it, but the law of God demands it. Look at verse 8. 1 Corinthians 9 and verse 8. He says, Because he just got done making all these logical arguments, right? Who goeth to war at any time, at his own charges? Who planted the vineyard and eateth not the fruit thereof? Who feedeth the flock and eateth not the milk? But then he says, am I just speaking as a man? Am I just looking at things logically alone? He says, say of these things as a man, or, notice what he says, saith not the law, the same also? So he says, look, the word of God, the law of God, says the same thing. What does it say? 1 Corinthians 9, look at verse 9. For it is written, in the Law of Moses. He's about to quote the Word of God. And if you want to jot down a note there next to your Bible, he's quoting from Deuteronomy 25 in verse 4. He says this, he's saying, look, Moses wrote in Deuteronomy 25 in verse 4, he wrote, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. He says, thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. He says, Moses wrote in the law that it, because in those days, you know, they would take an ox and they would make the ox tread or walk on or step on the corn to prepare it, you know, to make it the meal or whatever. And they would have this ox, you know, walk in circles, you know, for hours and hours as he treadeth out the corn. And he said, look, When you're doing that, don't put a muzzle on the mouth of the ox. He says, don't put a muzzle on his mouth to not allow him. He's already saying. He says, while he's walking around and he's treading the corn, you know, he's working on the corn, but while he's working, if he gets hungry and he wants to reach down and eat some of that corn, he says, let him. He says, thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. He says, look, he's working hard, you know, he's doing labor, he's earning, you know, the reward that he's going to get. And if he gets hungry, here's what he says, if the ox is working, feed him! If the ox is working, take care of his needs. He says, thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Now look at what he says right after that in verse 9. Doth God take care for oxen? He's saying, is God saying this for the benefit of the ox? Is God, you know, in Peta, and he's just really concerned about the rights of the ox? You know, don't mistreat the ox. He says, look, does God take care for oxen? He's saying, did God write that? Did Moses write that for the benefit of the ox? You know, here's the thing, the ox can't read, so he's not going to read that in Deuteronomy 25. Look at verse 10. saith he it altogether for our sakes." For our sakes, no doubt. Here's what he's saying. God gave us this example of the ox treading out the corn. He says he gave that to us as an example for the benefit of us, and what he's trying to teach us is that if someone is working, they should get paid. If someone is working, they should have their needs met. Look at verse 10. Or saith he it altogether for our sakes, for our sakes no doubt this is written, that he that knoweth, notice what it says, ploweth should plow in hope. He says look, you should work with the hope that there's going to be something that comes from that. And that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. Look at verse 11. If we Now he's getting back to the spiritual leader. He says, if we have sown unto you spiritual things, if we have labored with you in the spiritual, if we have invested in your life, and if we have helped you to grow, and if we have helped you to learn, and if we have helped you to draw closer to God, he says, if we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things? The carnal, they're talking about, you know, the things of this world. He said, look, if we're investing in you spiritually, is it that big of a deal if you take care of the food, if you take care of the finances, if you take care of, you know, our carnal needs? Verse 12, if others be partaker of this power over you, are not we rather? Nevertheless, we, and the we there is Paul and Barnabas, we, notice what he says, have not used this power. But suffer, the word suffer means we allow all things lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ. We're going to come back to verse 12 there in a second. But I just want you to understand, you know, why should a spiritual leader get paid? Well, number one, because it just makes logical sense that if you work, you should get paid. but also the law demands it. The word of God demands that you muzzle not the ox that treadeth out the corn. Now keep your place in 1 Corinthians 9, that's our text for tonight, but go read the book of 1 Timothy. If you find all the T books, they're all clustered together, 1 2 Thessalonians, 1 2 Timothy, Titus, go to 1 Timothy chapter number five, and do me a favor, when you get to 1 Timothy, put a ribbon or a bookmark there, because we're gonna leave 1 Timothy, and we're gonna come back to it, and I'd like you to be able to get to it quickly, 1 Timothy chapter five, Because the faster that we can do it, then I don't have to charge you overtime, you know? I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. I don't get paid hourly, alright? So, 1 Timothy 5, look at verse 3. 1st Timothy chapter 5 and verse, that's a pastor's getting paid joke, you guys, whatever. 1st Timothy 5.3, notice what he says. Now, I want you to notice the context, because we're actually going to get to verse 16, but I want you to notice the context. 1st Timothy 5.3, honor widows that are widows indeed. Now, we actually dealt with this in 1st Corinthians 7. We went through the whole widows thing, so I'm not going to go through that, but I want you to notice the word honor. You see the word honor there? Honor widows. He said, I want you to honor widows that are widows indeed. And I want you to understand that the word honor means to respect, it means to, you know, give reverence to, but there's also an idea in Scripture, and one of these days I'll preach a whole sermon on it, I don't have time to do it tonight, but there's an idea in Scripture that honor has a financial obligation with it. in the sense that he's saying you need to honor your widows, but what that means is you should take care of them financially. Look at the context. Let's skip down to verse 16. If any man or woman that believeth have widows, So if a saved person has a mother, an aunt, or a grandmother that's a widow, notice what he says, let them, the saved person, relieve them, the widow, and let not the church be charged. What's he saying? He's saying, look, the church should not have to pay the finances of a widow if that widow has children that could take care of her. Now, if she's desolate, If she has no one to care for her, and as long as she meets the qualifications found there in 1st Timothy 5, and I'm not going to go through all that, then the church should care for her financial needs. But he's saying, look, if she has a believing family, then her family should take care of her, and her sons should take care of her, and her daughters should take care of her. Verse 16, if any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be charged, that it may relieve them that are widows indeed. Now notice, so he said honor widows, and then the whole time he's talking about taking care of their financial needs, right? And then from that, he goes straight into verse 17. So the context of verse 17 is that you need to honor widows, which means you take care of their financial needs. Then in verse 17, he says, let the elders. He said, well, who are the elders there? Is that talking about old men? Well, notice what he says. Let the elders that rule well. That's talking about a pastor. Because one of the terms for pastor is elder. In the Bible, you have three terms for the same position. You have an elder, you have a bishop, and you have a pastor. All of those three terms are used interchangeably, and they all are referencing the same thing. You know, a pastor is a bishop is an elder. You say, why are there three terms for the same position? Because there are three aspects to the ministry of a pastor. The elder is meaning, because remember Paul in 1st Timothy told Timothy, let no man despise thy youth. So it's not that you can't be a pastor and be young physically, but he says you need to be mature in the faith. That's why they call him an elder. He says, not a novice, less being lifted up with pride. He'd fall into the condemnation of the devil. So he says a pastor needs to be spiritually mature, which is why they call him an elder. He needs to know the Bible. And look, we don't all know everything about the Bible, but he needs to be someone who knows the Bible, can preach the Bible, understands the Bible. He needs to be an elder. A bishop has to do with the oversight or the overseeing. That's the administrative part, or the ruling over. And I preached on that before, and you can study that out in scripture. And then the pastor has to do with the pastoral care. That's when you go to the hospitals, that's when you perform the weddings, that's when you do the funerals, that's when you write the notes, that's when you visit people, that's when you call upon people. Those are all aspects of the ministry. Notice, so we're talking about a pastor, verse 17. Let the elders that rule well, Be counted worthy of double, notice what he says, here's our key word, honor. Especially they, notice the context, who labor in the word and doctrine. For the scripture saith, thou shalt, does this sound familiar? Not muzzle the ox that trideth out the corn, and the laborer is worthy of his reward. I want you to notice that the word double honor is in reference to paying the pastor. Just like honoring widows that are widows indeed has to do with taking care of the financial needs of the widow that is desolate. So he says there, look, the elders that rule well should be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and doctrine. And you know, when people come to church, because people come to churches like this one, and they'll sit there and they'll say, you know, I remember this was years ago. But I just got done preaching a sermon or whatever. I was standing at the back door. And I was shaking hands with somebody. And some random first-time guest, he walks up to me and he says, I could do what you do. I could do what you do. He's like, I don't know why pastors get paid. That's literally what he said. I don't know why pastors get paid. I could do what you do. And I'm thinking to myself, you want to try? You know, that's why I love, I love the men's preaching nights, because you know, I love watching these grown men, you know, just sweat and worry. They spend an entire month writing a 10-minute sermon, you know, and then you say, well, why is that beneficial to you? Because hopefully they realize that when somebody gets up to preach three times a week, for an hour, you know, every time, and it's the same group, so you can't, it's not like I can re-preach the same sermon, you know, and it better be good, and it better be interesting, and it better be funny, and it better get a lot of views on YouTube, or whatever, you know. It's just realize, look, he's saying, it's work to labor in the Word of God. It's work to study the Word of God. You try outlining 1 Corinthians 9 and see what you come up with. Right? So he's saying, look, give them double honor, especially they who labor in the word and doctrine. For the scriptures say, thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And the laborer is worthy of his reward. So here's what he's saying. He's saying, look. Pastors, those in spiritual leadership, should get paid. Now keep your place there in 1st Timothy and go to Acts chapter number 6. Acts chapter number 6. Now, when you get to Acts 6, do me a favor. Put a ribbon or a bookmark or something there because we're going to leave it and we're going to come back to it, alright? So you should have your place in three places. 1st Corinthians 9, 1st Timothy 5, or just First Timothy and Acts chapter number six. All right, we're going to come back to all three of those. We're not going anywhere else. We're just going to go to those. Acts chapter six. Let me give you one more proof about the spiritual leaders getting paid. Acts chapter 6, look at verse 1. And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. Right? And look, you see the words there, daily ministration? Just realize that when it comes to church life, because people get this idea like, oh, the pastor, you know, the staff, they just work on Sunday. No, you know what? We work every day. There's a lot of work that goes into ministry. There's daily ministration, things that need to get done. And here, this church was growing, and they were lacking in that. Look at verse 2. And those are apostles, but they were also leading the church as pastors. Notice what they said. Then the Twelve called the multitude of disciples unto them and said, notice what they said. They said, it is not reason. And here's what they're saying. They're saying, it's not a good reason. They're saying, it is not a good reason. It's not reason that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. He's saying, look. the serving of the tables is important but really somebody else can do it because he said it's not a good reason for those that are in spiritual leadership to leave those that are in spiritual leadership to leave the word of God and serve tables look at verse 3 wherefore brethren looking out among you seven men of honest report for the holy ghost and wisdom whom we appoint over this business and this is the establishing of the deacons and by the way the deacons were full-time employees too Look at verse 4, but we, notice the pastors, the leaders of the church, but we will give ourselves continually, notice what he says, to prayer and to the ministry of the word. He says look, our job as pastors should be, you know, in a healthy church, in a growing church, to be able to give yourself to prayer and the ministry of the word. Now obviously that's not all we do, there's lots more that we do in ministry, but look, here's the bottom line. You know, and, you know, I don't want to paint with a big brush, I guess, you know, and say this, but here's what's on my mind. Most people are not going to spend an hour praying every day if they're having to work an outside job. Most people are not going to spend several hours studying the Bible, memorizing the Bible, writing sermons every day if they have to work an outside job. And he's saying, look, it's not a good reason for us to leave. And that's just one more proof that pastors got paid. So go back to First Corinthians 9. Keep your place there in Acts 6. Keep your place in First Timothy. We saw, number one, should those in spiritual leadership get paid? Yes. Why should those in spiritual leadership get paid? Because the law commands it and because logic demands it. But number three, how? How should those in spiritual leadership get paid? Now, I don't want to spend a lot of time on this because I feel like I've spent a lot of time on this in the past, but let me just make this point. This is important because these two things go hand in hand. Generally, those who are attacking the position of a pastor and saying, a pastor doesn't need to get paid, they will also attack this doctrine that Paul brings up. 1 Corinthians 9 verse 13. And I don't want to spend a lot of time on it because I've dealt with it a lot in other places, but let's just look at it together. He says, So he's about to explain, he's already explained that they should get paid and why they should get paid. Now he's going to tell us how they should get paid. How should a pastor get paid? How should a deacon get paid? How should an evangelist get paid? He says, do ye not know that they, now who's the they? Okay? The they is the Levitical priest. You say, how do you know that? Well, notice what he says. That they, which minister, the word minister means that serve or work in, about holy things. What are the holy things? He's talking about the tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, the holy tabernacle and all the furniture in there. He says, do you not know that they, which minister about holy things? Notice what he says. Live of the things of the temple. And they, talking about the Levitical priests, which wait at the altar, notice what he says, are partakers with the altar. And I'm not going to take time to develop this because I just, not that long ago, preached verse by verse, chapter by chapter, through the entire book of Leviticus, and we beat that horse, you know, till it was glue. But here's the thing, you know, it's very clear in the Old Testament, that the way that the Levitical priest got paid, because the Levitical priest was not allowed to work. He had to serve at the altar. He had to serve at the temple. They brought the sacrifices, and they brought the offerings, and they brought the tithe. And that's how they survived. They performed the sacrifices, and then, you know, they performed that sacrifice, and then they would, you know, they already put that cow on fire, you know, eventually they cut that thing up into steaks and ate it. You know, and they would make the meal offering, and then they would eat it. And people would bring in the tithes and the gifts, and they lived off of it. That's how they survived. And now Paul is saying, here's what Paul is saying. He's saying, do you not know? And look, there's no controversy. Nobody argues the fact that the Levitical priest got paid through the tithes of the congregation. You can't argue that. It's clear in the Bible. And then Paul makes a statement, he says, do ye not know that they which minister about the holy things live of the things of the temple, and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? Here's what he's saying. He's saying, don't you know that the Levitical priests lived off the sacrifice and the offerings and the tithes of the people? Verse 14, even so. What does that mean? He says, in the same way, in the same way as the Levitical priests got paid, he says, even so hath the Lord ordained that they, the spiritual leader, they, the pastor, the apostle, the evangelist, they, the deacon, which preach the gospel, should live of the gospel. And you know what you'll have people say today? They'll say, in the New Testament, you don't have to type. Well, no one gave Paul the memo. Paul seems to be under the assumption that New Testament believers tithe. Because he says, hey, because they're asking, well, how do we pay you, Paul? And he says, you pay the New Testament priest. He says, you pay the New Testament pastor and spiritual leader the same way you paid the Old Testament spiritual leader through the congregation's tithe. But you know, the same people that'll tell you, we don't need pastors, we don't need to pay the pastor, are the same people that'll tell you, we don't have to tithe in the New Testament. Well, you know what? I think I'm going to go with Paul. Because Paul seems to just be under the assumption that even so, at the Lord's name, that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel. And Paul seems to think, I mean, is 1 Corinthians and New Testament enough for you? You know, because you start arguing about New Testament, you know, you show someone something in the book of Matthew, and they're like, well, that's the wrong dispensation. All right, OK, well, I think your dispensations are stupid. I don't think you can find them in the Bible. But is 1 Corinthians the church dispensation? I'm pretty sure it is. You know, even if I believe the stupid dispensation stuff, which I don't, but even if I did, we're still in the right dispensation in 1 Corinthians 9. The church age. The church, you know, whatever. Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live up to God. So here's the question. How should those in spiritual leadership get paid? Here's how they should get paid. Through the tithes and offerings of God's people. Pastor, you know, should you really be preaching this? You're the one that gets paid. If I don't preach it, who's going to preach it? You're not? It's my job, you know. It's my job to preach to the whole Council of God. Go to 1 Corinthians 9. Oh, you're there on 1 Corinthians 9. Look at verse 15. Let's answer this question. Because there is this question, can those in spiritual leadership be bivocational or not get paid? Can those in spiritual leadership not get paid? Well, look at verse 12 again, 1 Corinthians 9, 12. Notice what Paul says. He says, if others be partaker of this power over you. He said, if other apostles have taken the power of the ability of getting paid, he said, are not we rather? Because remember, he's defending the fact that he is an apostle. And he's saying if other apostles got paid, if other apostles got married, if other apostles had their needs met, he says, are not we rather? But then he says this, nevertheless, we, Paul and Barnabas, he says, have not used this power. He said, we have the power to take a paycheck, but we've chosen not to, but suffer. The word suffer means we allow all things lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ. And here's what we need to understand. Paul is defending the fact that pastors should get paid. that evangelists should get paid, that deacons should get paid, but he's saying, I have chosen not to get paid. And here's what you need to understand. Those in spiritual leadership can be bivocational. They can choose not to get paid. Look at verse 15. But I have used none of these things, neither have I written these things that it should be done so unto me, or be so done unto me. He's saying, I'm not writing this so that you start paying me. All right? And look, I'm like Paul. I'm saying, I'm not preaching this sermon that it should be so done to me. OK, there's not a problem here. OK, you guys are great. The church is fine. All right? But he's saying, I'm not writing this to complain, to say you've got to pay me. He says, for it were better for me to die than that any man should make my glorying void. For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory. For necessity is laid upon me. Yea, woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel. Go to, did you keep your place in Acts? Go to Acts real quickly, and we're going to look at a couple more passages. We're going to come back to 1 Corinthians 9, and we'll be done, all right? I'll clock out, and we can finish for Acts chapter... Man, you guys just don't like those jokes. Acts 18. Acts chapter 18. Look at verse 1. Acts chapter 18. I think they're funny. Acts chapter 18. You guys are all nervous. Remember, we preach about tithing. We're nervous. You know, if you tithe, you wouldn't be that nervous about it. Acts 18, verse 1, just saying. Acts 18, 1. After these things, notice what it says. After these things, Paul departed from Athens and came to Corinth and found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because that Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome and came unto them. Look at verse 3. And because he was of the same craft, I want you to notice that Paul was bivocational, he was in ministry, and he also was a tent maker. So he chose not to get paid. because he worked that job. Go to 2 Thessalonians 3. If you kept your place in 1 Timothy 1, just go one book back to 2 Thessalonians 3. If you're there in 1 Timothy, just one book back to 2 Thessalonians 3. Look at verse 8. 2 Thessalonians 3 and verse number 8. 2 Thessalonians 3, 8. Notice what he says. He says, 2 Thessalonians chapter 3 and verse 8, he says, neither did we eat any man's bread for naught. He said we didn't eat any man's bread for nothing, that's what he's saying. But rot, the word rot means, he says, but, the word rot means work. He says, but work, but rot, with labor, and prevailed, night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you. What's he saying? He's saying, we worked night and day, that you wouldn't have to pay us, that we would not be chargeable to you. We didn't eat any man's bread. Verse nine, not because we have not power. Isn't that exactly what he's talking about in 1 Corinthians 9? Saying, not because I don't have the right to get paid, not because I can't take a paycheck if I don't want to. He says, not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an example unto you to follow us. For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. We need to get back to that in America today. Pastor, what do you think about the welfare system in America? You know, if someone can't work, I think we should care for them, and I think we should take care of them, and I primarily think that should be done through churches and things like that. But you know what? I'm not for giving money to a bunch of lazy people. It's not that they can't work, it's that they won't work. He says, look, if a man would not work, neither should he eat. And you should be careful about giving money to these homeless people out here and thinking that you're spiritual because you're helping them go get more drugs. You know what? If they won't work, they shouldn't eat. And if they can't work, that's a different thing. I'm talking about the young man that's on drugs and that's why he's homeless and there's nothing wrong with him and he needs to get off the drugs, he needs to go get a job, he needs to work. The Bible says if someone doesn't work, they shouldn't eat. Verse 11, for we hear, notice what Paul says, for we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but busy minds. You know what Paul's saying? Paul's saying a church will have trouble when you have too many unemployed guys. And didn't we learn that the hard way? He says, look, if a church has too many unemployed guys, you're going to have problems. That's what he's saying. For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly. You better believe, for the rest of my ministry, I'm going to be keeping track of how many unemployed guys we've got. Eventually, I'm going to hold meetings and say, look, you guys need to go get a job or go to another church. For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all but are busybodies. Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ that with quietness, here's the words, they work and eat their own bread. and mind their own business. That's what he's saying. Go back to 1 Corinthians chapter number 9. 1 Corinthians chapter 9. He's saying, can those in spiritual leadership be bivocational? And here's what I need to understand, OK? Paul chose to be bivocational. There's nothing wrong with that. But here's what you need to understand. There's nothing wrong with a pastor being bivocational and not receiving a paycheck from the church. But you need to understand, that's not what the Bible says. And you should never look down on a pastor that gets paid, because the Bible says the labor is worthy of his reward. And look, there are times when pastors may choose to be bivocational. You know, if a pastor's just independently wealthy, there's a guy who's just independently wealthy, he doesn't need the money, and he'd rather just not take a paycheck and invest the church's money back into the ministry, praise the Lord for that, you know? Or how about if the church can't support you? You know, when a church is new or when a church is small, maybe they just can't support their pastor, and the pastor has to be bivocational. There's nothing wrong with that. In fact, for the first several years of our church, I worked a full-time job and pastored this church. We started the church in September of 2010, and I did not become a full-time employee of this church until 2014. And since then, we've hired staff, and now we've got several families that are full-time in this ministry. But here's the thing, those first several years, He said, what did you do, pastor? I got up every day, I went to work, and on top of that, you know, I preached three times a week, Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night. I went soul winning and led our soul winning every week. You know, I did that. And here's the thing, it was hard. And I don't think it's the right, and you say, well, Paul did it. But keep in mind that Paul was not a pastor, he was an evangelist. And keep in mind that Paul was a single guy without a wife and without children. And look, yeah, I can see how Paul would decide that for the rest of life, he's just, I don't want to charge the church. I can just make tents and make, you know, I can skip meals and I can be frugal and I just want to be a blessing. But you know what? Peter, don't look down on Peter. Peter had a wife with kids. And you know, at first, you do it and you just do it, you know. And let me go ahead and tell some of you guys that want to go in ministry. I have a low empathy level and low mercy level. You know, guys want to complain to me about, I don't know about this, reading the Bible ten times and it's hard and it's, you know, ministry's hard. We make it hard. I want it to be hard. You say, why? Because the ministry's hard. I mean, there's times, and some of you were here in church when you remember this, but there's times, there's many times on a Wednesday night, I drove in to church in my work uniform, in my work clothes, and my wife was just standing at the front door with a hanger, with a suit, and I literally just grabbed the suit, went in the bathroom, changed, you know, came out like Superman or whatever, and, you know, walked up in the pulpit and preached. There was many times back when I was doing a lot of work where I was traveling. There was so many Sundays where I got up and I was at the work site at 6 a.m. on Sunday And I worked till 9 a.m., so I put in three hours of work, and I got this approved through my boss. I worked till 9 a.m. on Sunday. I went back home. By then, my wife had, by herself, set up all the chairs, got everything ready. People were already coming in for church. Came in on a Sunday morning in my work clothes, grabbed my clothes, changed into my suit, preached the Sunday morning sermon. You know, grab a quick bite to eat, went back to work, worked from like 12.30 till about 5, and then came back in time for the evening service, preached the evening service. You say, why are you telling me this? I'm not telling you this for you to feel sorry for me. I'm just telling you, the ministry is work. And the church couldn't pay me at that time. And we just worked. And I wrote sermons while I drove. And don't go back and listen to those sermons. They probably weren't very good. And we just made it work. We made it happen. And look, you say, Pastor, what if our church, what if persecution came and people left and we couldn't pay you anymore? Would you still pastor this church? Yes, I would. Say, well, how do we know that? I did it before, you know. I did it for years without getting paid. I've got the greatest job in the world. You know I've got the greatest job in the world because I do it for free. Say, how do you know that? Because I did it for free. And because other men, like Pastor Anderson, and like Pastor Berzins, and like Pastor Merrill, and like Pastor Perry, they do it for free. You say, why? Because you know what? When your heart's in the ministry, it's a blessing when the church can pay you. And it would help you. And I'd probably die a premature death if I had to keep that schedule, you know? But notice what Paul says. Look at 1 Corinthians 9.15. He says, but I have used none of these things, neither have I written these things, that it should be so done unto me. For it were better for me to die than that any man should make my glory void. For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of, for necessity is laid upon me. Yea, woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel. You know what he's saying? He's saying, look, necessity is laid upon me. I have to do this. God has called me to this. Verse 17, for if I do this thing willingly. Talking about not getting paid. He said, if I do it willingly, I have a reward. But if against my will, he said, if you just choose to not pay me, he said, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me. He says, if you just choose not to pay me, I still have to preach because a dispensation, that's the only real dispensation in the Bible, by the way. A dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me. What is my reward then? Verily, that when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel. Let me just say this, you guys that want to go start churches, you know, realize that you may have to put in several years of hard work. You know, and you may have to get up early and stay up late and be sleep-deprived and still try to make those hospital visits and still try to pray for your people and still write those sermons. I mean, I'm literally, because I used to drive a lot for my job, I'm writing sermons in the car, you know. I'm looking at my Bible, I'm like, 1 Corinthians 9, what do we say about this, you know. It's hard work. It's hard work. So when you guys are like, oh, the 10 times reading the Bible is kind of hard. Just like, you're not going to make it in ministry. You're never actually going to make it in the ministry. You're not going to make it in ministry. And by the way, you wives, if you're a little too needy, you're not going to make it in ministry. Because my wife had to hold down the fort by herself many times. And she had to set up the chairs and get things going with little children and all of that. And it's hard work. The ministry's work. That's why the Bible calls it work. So there's nothing wrong with a pastor being bivocational. But here's the thing. If the church can pay him, the church should pay him. And if he's working hard, and if he's laboring in the Word and Doctrine, you should give him double honor. You should take care of his needs. And that's what Paul is teaching in this chapter. So the question, should pastor get paid? All that to say this, yes. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you, Lord, for your word. Thank you for the Bible. Thank you for allowing us to learn from the Bible, Lord. And thank you for this church that takes good care of me and my family and takes care of the staff and provides our needs. And we don't have any problems here with those issues, Lord. But it's always good to just learn and be reminded why. And what I do ask, because I know there's men in our movement right now, that they are in their churches right now where we were years ago. And they've got pastors that are getting up every day and working hard and going to work. And they've got wives and they've got children and they've got all the stresses of that everybody else has. And on top of it, they're writing sermons and they're going soul winning and they're leading churches. Lord, and I'm just, I'm thinking of those men and I'm just praying that you, that you would give them a special blessing tonight, that you would bless them Lord, that you would bless their incomes, that you would bless their jobs. that you would bless their wives, Lord. I know it's hard. They have to be very independent as their husbands go to work all day, come home just to write sermons and to study and to prepare. But I'm thinking of men like Pastor Perry and like, I'm thinking of men that have to work jobs, Lord. And I'm just praying that you would please bless them and that you would please help them, Lord. And I'm thinking of men like Pastor Berzins. And Lord, if you could get their churches and bless their churches with growth that they might be able to be full time, I pray that you would allow that to happen. And Lord, I pray all of us to always consider when a man is working hard that he's worthy of the reward and that he should get paid. And help us, Lord, to always remember these things that the Bible teaches.