Everyone loves rewards! I love them. You love them. We all love them. So, it makes sense that the business world uses rewards as an incentive.

My wife Lynne is the master of rewards. We accumulate reward points of some kind on every credit card we have. (Word of caution — it only works if you pay the balance off every month.)

I have to tell you, though, that rewards are not a 21st-century innovation. Jesus initiated a rewards program that continues to this very day, and my guess is you may have read right past it without knowing it.

In Matthew’s Gospel, we find this statement made by Jesus to His disciples: “The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward.” (Matthew 10:41, ESV)

To properly understand this, we need to understand the New Testament use of the words “prophet” and “prophesy.”

Prophecy is listed as a spiritual gift in Romans 12:5 and 1 Corinthians 12:10. The Apostle Paul gives us a perspective of how it was to be used in the first-century church:

“Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.” (1 Corinthians 14:1-5)

Prophecy is a spiritual gift given to an individual to communicate God’s Word to the church. Agabus is a New Testament prophet whom we see twice in the Book of Acts. In Acts 11:28, he predicts a worldwide famine that “came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.” In Acts 21:10-11, we see him foretelling Paul’s imprisonment when he returned to Jerusalem.

But the most common manifestation of this gift is when God ministers the Word through the Holy Spirit. “The one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation” (1 Corinthians 14:3). The word translated as “upbuilding” in the ESV is translated as “edification” in the KJV. The New Testament teacher (Ephesians 4:11) was the individual most often exercising the gift of prophecy.

Which brings me to my point. Jesus told His disciples “The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward.” In our 21st-century churches, that would be the pastors and teachers, which means we should all want them to be faithful in their proclamation of the Word of God. If they are faithful in proclaiming it, then we are rewarded for hearing and applying it to our lives.

God wants us to grow in our faith, and “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). It is in our best interests, then, to pray for and submit ourselves to our pastors and teachers (Hebrews 13:17-18) that they would be faithful in preaching God’s Word in a way that builds up, encourages, and consoles the saints. For in doing so, we also receive a reward.

What say ye, Man of Valor?
Semper Fidelis!