Giving Help to the Hurting (Part 2)

As you can see from the previous examples, Moses, Joshua, and David all came to a place where they were speechless, angry, or fed up either with the situation they were dealing with or the people they were supposed to be ministering to.  As ministers of the Word of God, we can take hope that such men of renown were “stumped” sometimes.  Today, we have an advantage which those men did not have—the written Word of God.  What a wonderful source of infinite wisdom and divine guidance that we possess in our hands! We have the miracle of inspiration and preservation handed down to us so that we are not left defenseless.

Let’s take five lessons from the life of Christ to help us when we as ministers of Christ don’t know what to do or what to say.  We are going to take our lessons from the first chapter of Mark.  Mark is a unique study because he was not one of the disciples that walked with Christ.  Most believe that this is John Mark who was turned away by the Apostle Paul for a little time.  The Gospel of Mark is an action-packed book which is fitting for our study because it concentrates on the interactions of Christ with the crowds. Consider what the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia says about the Gospel of Mark:

“Judged by the space occupied, Mark is a Gospel of deeds. Jesus is a worker. His life is one of strenuous activity. He hastens from one task to another with energy and decision. The word εὐθύς, euthús, i.e. “straightway,” is used 42 times as against Matthew’s 7 and Luke’s 1. In 14 of these, as compared with 2 in Matthew and none in Luke, the word is used of the personal activity of Jesus.”

Lesson 1: Make Sure That You Have the Spirit’s Filling and Leading

“And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.  And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:  And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Mark 1:9-11). 

There is much disagreement about terminology when it comes to the Spirit’s working in a believer’s life.  I have found that the Spirit’s power, teaching, and guidance is very evident and clearly defined in Scripture.  We could take much time to reveal that fact in John 14, 15, and 16, but I will leave it up to the reader to do a further study on his own to see that the Spirit’s working in a believer’s life is needed to accomplish any spiritual good.  With this being true, we that lead others in full-time ministry must be ever vigilant to have the Spirit’s guidance as we lead and guide them through trials, overcoming sins, and fighting the devil.  I find it instructive in my own life that one of the first acts of Christ was a ceremonial baptism as He began His ministry here on this earth.  There must be balance when it comes to the doctrine of the Holy Spirit; however, we must not discard it altogether.  There are those who try to make the work of the Holy Spirit so mystical that it becomes unreachable or just for a chosen few.  There are those who may take the work of the Holy Spirit and relegate it to having no earthly affect on the believer while he is here on this earth.  Both instances are wrong.  A believer must understand that through the ministry and power of the Holy Spirit he can have victory.  We must follow the example of Christ and ask for the Holy Spirit’s power to be able to do the work of ministering to hurting people.