A PROPHET’S REWARD

 

A PROPHET’S REWARD Anyone who helps a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. And anyone who welcomes an honorable, righteous person because he’s righteous will receive a righteous person’s reward. Matthew 10:41 Rev. Ern Baxter told a story of his early days as a pastor. Things were going very well. He was a dynamic preacher and his church was growing. And his grandma always sat front row and center, beaming at him as he preached. Then one day his grandmother died. The following Sunday after the funeral, Ern Baxter moved to the pulpit and prepared to speak. He said a few words and then he stopped. He put his head down on the podium and the congregation could see that he was crying. Then he lifted his head and told the people, "I have been so arrogant. I was confident in my own abilities. But now my Grandma is gone and I realize it was her prayers that held me up and brought the anointing. I don't feel anything this morning. I don't know how I can go on." And he stood before them, humbled and broken. Then a black woman at the back of the church stood up and declared, "Pastor, I'll be your Grandma!" Many other women around the congregation also stood and made the same declaration, promising to pray for him and the ministry of the church. Prayer warriors, how can the ministry of the Church move forward without the prayers of the faithful? Jesus has called on all of us to participate in His work in some way or other. Perhaps some of us feel as if we've been set aside. Health problems, and many other situations can make it impossible or difficult to go out in the fields and labor for the Lord. But we can pray for those who do! And God's word says that when we devote ourselves to helping from the sidelines in any way we can, then we will share in the rewards. Ern Baxter (1914–1993) was a Canadian evangelist who ministered in countries around the world.