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Thoughts from the
Well
Every member is a
minister!
I heard about one pastor
who was confronted by a church member one day and
said, "Pastor, we pay you to minister! We pay you to
visit! We pay you to make hospital visits! In fact,
we pay you to be good!" Well, what he was saying was
that he didn't want to do those things. He was just
lazy! The pastor looked at him and said, "You know
what Brother, you're right. You pay me to be good.
You on the other hand are good for nothing."
Don't be that kind of
minister! We're in this thing together and that is
what Paul is talking about in Galatians chapter 6,
the Ministry of Restoration.
Galatians 6:1, "Brethren,
if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are
spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of
gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be
tempted."
The word Paul uses here [paraptwmati]
is a picture of somebody who stumbles or falls. It
describes saints who at one time were traveling on
the road of righteousness but are now living in the
ditch of defeat. It doesn't matter how long you've
been saved or how long you've been a church member
or how long you've been a Deacon or how long you've
been a Sunday School teacher, you can still be
overtaken in any trespass!
Peter says in 1Peter 5:8,
"Be sober (level thinking), be vigilant (alert);
because your adversary the devil walks about like a
roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."
They are on our Sunday
School roles. They are on our Choir roles. They are
on our Church roles, people that have been overtaken
in a trespass, people that have slipped into sin and
slipped out of church, people that need restoring!
But rather than restoring, do you know what we do?
Most of the time we ignore them, because that's
easier, isn't it? I wonder what would happen if the
church today became known as a place of restoration
for the wounded? A place where those who are down
could get up? Where those who are out could get in?
What would happen if the church became a place of
confirmation rather than a place of condemnation?
I believe we must be the
only army in the world that shoots its' wounded!
Most of the time we ignore those who are wounded!
And when we're not ignoring them, we are deploring
them. We're criticizing them! We're throwing stones
at them! And most of us have a pretty good aim when
it comes to rock throwing! Do you remember what
Jesus said about that in John 8:7, regarding the
woman caught in adultery? "He who is without sin
among you, let him throw a stone at her first."
But rather than ignoring
them and deploring them, God says that we are to
restore them! Galatians 6:1, "you who are spiritual
restore such a one .." And the Greek word translated
"restore" [katartizete] was used in Mark 1:19, of
James and John "mending" or "repairing" their nets.
This word was also used to describe a physician who
would set a broken bone. And when Paul says,
"restore such a one", he's saying to help that
brother or sister who has slipped into sin to get
back on their feet again!
This world is made up of
people who are wounded and broken, and it's our
responsibility to love them and to help restore
them. Yes, we can set the bones, then God can heal
them! Will you be a Minister of Restoration?
(Taken from
iExalt
Insider!)
Click below for a list of other
Thoughts from the Well
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