Equipping The Saints - Crossing The Threshold In Personal Ministry #27

Summary:

So may Christians have a fear of stepping out and praying of lifting others up, whether it is at the golf course, in a group of guys drinking coffee, or at your workplace. That’s why this teaching of equipping the saints is so important. There are so many opportunities out in life, where people are reaching out for help, but not many Christians are really willing to step out and take the chance in asking them if they would like some prayer or encouragement. Crossing the threshold means that you have matured enough in the spirit to recognize and seize an opportunity to minister when the opportunity presents itself. Everyone looses when we, as Christians, fail to recognize and take advantage of these times, but, on the other hand, everyone wins when we do.

 

Show Notes:

• When you are talking about the ministry, everyone automatically thinks of the head guy. But he is there to equip the SAINTS for the work of the ministry...so that everyone is sufficently equipped when you're ministering out there in the workplace, or when you are praying for or encouraging someone.

• It is a good idea to use the scriptures when you pray. It is a great way to lay hold of what is already ours, through the promises already given.

• So many Christians think that knowing what the Bible says is the pinnacle for Christian success. The Bible was never meant to be a substitute for our relationship to the Lord. It was written to enhance our relationship with our Lord and Father.

• When we seize an opportunity to connect and pray for someone out there, it might look like a tiny thing, but when you really look close, it’s really a big thing, because it’s relational, and that is a manifestation of the Kingdom of God coming. That’s what I’m trying to get our people to look for. It can be so simple.

• When people draw you close to share something with you, first off, they trust you enough to share a problem or concern, and second, they are really looking for help. That’s a very big deal.

• When you miss an opportunity, afterwards you can feel a little remorse, but if you have seized an opportunity, usually you feel blessing coming back to you.

• What’s the importance of touching someone when you pray for them? There’s the possibility of an impartation of wellness or other spiritual things to that person. The Bible doesn’t use the act of laying on of hands just for the heck of it. When you do that, you’re contributing to their whole body, soul and spirit.

 

Quotes:

• Equipping the saints for the work of the ministry is as biblical as you can get, but it’s been ignored, hasn’t been talked about, hasn’t been prioritized in the Bible Belt church. Equipping the saints is one of those key elements that causes the church to really be the church.

• “Your Word says that by Jesus’s stripes, we are healed” and “You want us to prosper and be in health, even as our soul prospers”. I think there’s some significant spiritual things happening when we use the written Word of God when we pray.

• When Jesus was being beaten on His way to the cross, He was purchasing for us, 2000 years later, the legal rights in the court room of God, to appropriate the healing that He paid for with His stripes. We aren’t begging God to heal us; we’re just basically laying hold of what is already ours.

• You have crossed that threshold when you discover, “I can do this too!”. That’s a big deal. That’s what needs to happen in the whole body of Christ. After you do it a time or two, it becomes second nature and part of your life.

 

References:

Isaiah 53:5

3 John, 1:2

 

Takeaways:

When people come to us, personally wanting to share something that is heavy on their heart, let’s recognize that they are putting trust in us, and they are reaching out for help. Let’s not fail to step in to help because of fear or feeling embarrassed to be an encouragement, or pray with them over whatever it is that is happening in their life. It is an opportunity to bring forth the Kingdom of God in both their lives and ours.