Bless His Servants
ICS Daily Devotions
1 Timothy 5:17-18 (NKJV) Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially those who labour in the word and doctrine. For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain,” and, “The labourer is worthy of his wages.”
The church is the body of Christ, and a channel of His blessings. God wants us to give to ministry projects and bless His servants. We can open up our home to house the ministers of God, whether they are pastors, evangelists, or missionaries. We can offer them usage of our cars, frequent flyer points for booking air tickets, or even timeshares in resorts so they can relax after being in the field. These are all forms of freewill offering, and examples of being a steward of everything that the Lord has blessed us with. Freely give and share whatever the Lord has blessed you with, and you will share in the prophet, pastor, and evangelist rewards for what they have done for the Lord (Matthew 10:41). That is the only way that God has indicated we can receive rewards besides serving God.
2 Corinthians 9:7 (NKJV). So, let each one gives as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.
We are to be cheerful givers. The Greek word for “cheerful” in this Scripture equates to hilarious. Therefore we should be excited and hilarious about the opportunity to give. Giving helps us to experience God and His faithfulness. It is also an avenue that God has given us to partner with Him in ministry. We should also be thankful that He has chosen to entrust us with abundance so that we can excel in every good work and increase the fruit of our righteousness. It is an act of righteousness whenever we give to a good cause, whether it is to bless the poor, support missionaries, or other worthy causes that God has placed in our paths. When we talk about being an imitator of Christ, we should also excel in the area of giving because Christ gave us His life in exchange for our souls. Because giving is very much a part of God’s nature, we should be cheerful whenever we are given an opportunity to give because it helps us to express the nature of God in us.
Practise the biblical financial principles of tithing and freewill offering of sowing and reaping, and experience God’s grace of the provision in your life. It is the first step for us to trust and declare that God is the source of all our blessings. There are supernatural favours and promotions for corporate people and businessmen. This will help us to anchor our faith in God and separate us from the ways of the world, and be developed into rock-solid Christians in good and bad economic times. We will not panic when we lose our jobs or when business is slowing because we have experienced God and we operate in God’s financial principles and not the world’s.
Sermon Series: Freely Received and Freely Give
