Paul in his epistle to Romans, in Chapter 15, spoke about his ministry to the saints ."But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints. For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem. It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things"(Verses 25-27). There is no greater ministry in the Body of Christ than ministering to the poor saints. Paul not only preached the gospel in places where Christ was not named but also took upon himself the ministry unto the saints. He collected a certain contribution from the churches at Macedonia and Achaia and went himself to Jerusalem to minister to the poor saints there.
It is very easier for us to pray for God to bless the poor saints financially or to pray for financial miracles than to minister to them. How many of us share our good things with the poor saints in our towns or in our churches?
Dearly beloved in Christ, God has blessed you materially so that you may minister to the poor saints. These days, we find many preachers of the prosperity gospel preach how God would bless them who have donated towards their ministries by sowing "seeds". They also preach that poverty is a curse of God. These preachers themselves lead luxurious lives. Do they take upon themselves the ministry to the poor saints who attend their gospel/church meetings?
The churches in Macedonia and Achaia gave sacrificial offerings for the poor saints in Jerusalem because they truly loved the Body of Christ; they loved the needy people of God in Jerusalem.
Dearly beloved, if you have been partakers of certain blessings through the ministry of some servant of God, it is also your duty to minister to the servant of God concerned in carnal things. You need not await an appeal from the servant of God concerned. If you love the Body of Christ, your desire to help the Body of Christ should spring from your heart spontaneously. At times, you may worship the Lord through hymns/psalms and shout at the top of your voice, "Jesus, I love you". But if you do not love the saints of His Body, you are a hypocrite. Do not separate His Body from the Head!
Paul, the great apostle, personally collected some contributions from the churches in Macedonia and Achaia and went all the way to Jerusalem to minister to the poor saints. We find in our midst some servants of God call themselves as "apostles". They want to preach from church pulpits or during some "apostolic/prophetic" conferences and covet "chief places" wherever they go for ministry. How many of them have followed the foot-steps of the great apostle Paul in ministering to the poor saints?
In this Chapter, we find that though Paul wanted to go to Spain for ministry, he changed his plan all of a sudden just to go to Jerusalem. For Paul, the ministry to the poor saints in Jerusalem was more important than the ministry in Spain.
Paul in his epistle to Corinthians, in II Cor. Chapter 9, wrote about "the ministering to the saints". Here, he did not refer to the poor saints. He exhorted the Corinthians to take upon themselves the ministry of the saints by citing the examples of the churches in Macedonia and Achaia. You have to give your money to the servant of God concerned with a heart full of love and gratitude towards God. Do not give "grudgingly or of necessity for God loveth a cheerful giver" (Vs.7).
When a few people of God sent us their sacrificial offerings for our ministry, while acknowledging their "precious gifts" I used to tell them that their ministry is very precious and greater than any other ministry in the Body of Christ. For me, their ministry is greater than my ministry. If we read all the epistles of the New Testament, we may generally find the word "ministry" as a ministry to the saints and the poor saints. It is a ministry, and not an act of charity. If you throw away some dollars as an act of charity towards the Body of Christ, it is not at all a ministry to the Body of Christ.
- Job Anbalagan