Question: What is the primary function or duty of believers, one for another?
We are all like Lazarus when we are Born-again. We all respond to the voice of Jesus telling us to "Come forth" (and be ye separate) from our place of death, from our sin, from abiding apart from Him. Come forth from our path to Hell. Without Christ, without his resurrection life, we would forever abide in death. After we respond to His call, after we rejoice in His Truth, His voice, after we accept the Holy Spirit's guidance, we are still wrapped in our "grave clothes". We still have the stench of death, of our old, sinful nature upon us - we are still bound by sin. This is when we need our fellow believers the most - this is when they must obey Jesus' command to "LOOSE HIM AND LET HIM GO". Lazarus could not remove his own grave clothes!
"And he that was dead (insert your name here) came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes" John 11:44. Many in churches today are still "bound in their grave clothes", unable to enjoy the life God has given them. Those of us who are free of our "grave clothes" are to help others to be free of them. We are to lead by example, we are to model a Holy, godly, acceptable lifestyle that is pleasing to the Father. We are to raise our young (believers) on a diet of the Word of God and the fruits of the Spirit. We are to show them how to be filled with the Spirit and how to "walk in the Spirit", how to be led by Him. Like the good Samaritan, we are to bind each others wounds (not cause more wounds, or deepening wounds already there). We are meant by God to heal the broken hearted not break their hearts again. We are to restore sight to the blind and set at liberty them that are bruised.
And when we have done all this, when we have lovingly helped restore a soul to health and freedom from the lifestyle that leads to , that is full of, death, we are to "LET HIM GO"! Our focus is not to fill our churches but to fill the Kingdom of God with souls! With saints he can enjoy fellowship with forever. We read that after Jesus resurrected Lazarus he went to Bethany and "there they made him a supper; and Martha served but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him". Our ultimate goal for every soul Jesus rescues is to invite them to sit at the Lord's table and sup with him, to fall in love with him! Most churches are nurseries full of babies that never mature, yet the goal of all ministry is to present to Jesus a pure and mature bride that he can enjoy intimacy with forever - selah.
So, after you've disciple that young believer, after you've helped him out of his grave clothes - Let him go! Let him fellowship with Jesus, at His table, in his home, not in your church building. This, after all, is where Jesus wants to be invited into - homes. We are never to put believers newly freed back into another form of bondage where we control every aspect of their walk with God, where we make them dependent on us. Rather, as good parents with the Father's heart, we see them to maturity and we let them go! The goal of every teacher is to prepare their students with knowledge, then send them on to the next grade level, not keep them in their class forever. And eventually - the student is to take the knowledge and leave school and build a life of his own, replete with little ones of his own to teach. Spiritual children should grow up and produce more spiritual children. When I started my family, I did not take my children to my parents to raise. Yet, so many do just that, when they dutifully take souls God has blessed them with, souls they led to the Lord, out of their graves, they take them to their pastor to raise. Now, my children liked to visit their grandparents. They were a beautiful part of their childhood...but they were raised by my wife and I.
So I say to Pastors now - for those mature saints free of grave clothes in your church - LET THEM GO NOW! Amen.
We are all like Lazarus when we are Born-again. We all respond to the voice of Jesus telling us to "Come forth" (and be ye separate) from our place of death, from our sin, from abiding apart from Him. Come forth from our path to Hell. Without Christ, without his resurrection life, we would forever abide in death. After we respond to His call, after we rejoice in His Truth, His voice, after we accept the Holy Spirit's guidance, we are still wrapped in our "grave clothes". We still have the stench of death, of our old, sinful nature upon us - we are still bound by sin. This is when we need our fellow believers the most - this is when they must obey Jesus' command to "LOOSE HIM AND LET HIM GO". Lazarus could not remove his own grave clothes!
"And he that was dead (insert your name here) came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes" John 11:44. Many in churches today are still "bound in their grave clothes", unable to enjoy the life God has given them. Those of us who are free of our "grave clothes" are to help others to be free of them. We are to lead by example, we are to model a Holy, godly, acceptable lifestyle that is pleasing to the Father. We are to raise our young (believers) on a diet of the Word of God and the fruits of the Spirit. We are to show them how to be filled with the Spirit and how to "walk in the Spirit", how to be led by Him. Like the good Samaritan, we are to bind each others wounds (not cause more wounds, or deepening wounds already there). We are meant by God to heal the broken hearted not break their hearts again. We are to restore sight to the blind and set at liberty them that are bruised.
And when we have done all this, when we have lovingly helped restore a soul to health and freedom from the lifestyle that leads to , that is full of, death, we are to "LET HIM GO"! Our focus is not to fill our churches but to fill the Kingdom of God with souls! With saints he can enjoy fellowship with forever. We read that after Jesus resurrected Lazarus he went to Bethany and "there they made him a supper; and Martha served but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him". Our ultimate goal for every soul Jesus rescues is to invite them to sit at the Lord's table and sup with him, to fall in love with him! Most churches are nurseries full of babies that never mature, yet the goal of all ministry is to present to Jesus a pure and mature bride that he can enjoy intimacy with forever - selah.
So, after you've disciple that young believer, after you've helped him out of his grave clothes - Let him go! Let him fellowship with Jesus, at His table, in his home, not in your church building. This, after all, is where Jesus wants to be invited into - homes. We are never to put believers newly freed back into another form of bondage where we control every aspect of their walk with God, where we make them dependent on us. Rather, as good parents with the Father's heart, we see them to maturity and we let them go! The goal of every teacher is to prepare their students with knowledge, then send them on to the next grade level, not keep them in their class forever. And eventually - the student is to take the knowledge and leave school and build a life of his own, replete with little ones of his own to teach. Spiritual children should grow up and produce more spiritual children. When I started my family, I did not take my children to my parents to raise. Yet, so many do just that, when they dutifully take souls God has blessed them with, souls they led to the Lord, out of their graves, they take them to their pastor to raise. Now, my children liked to visit their grandparents. They were a beautiful part of their childhood...but they were raised by my wife and I.
So I say to Pastors now - for those mature saints free of grave clothes in your church - LET THEM GO NOW! Amen.
