Brother Rick Sunday School 10/4/15

Brother Rick Sunday School 10/4/15

Helps: God wants us to be an aid to each other and wherever He would have us work, to participate, to support, to be a partaker, and to help.

Barnes notes – helps –
Helps - (ἀντιλήμψεις  antilēmpseis). This word occurs no where else in the New Testament. It is derived from ἀντιλαμβάνω  antilambanō, and denotes properly, “aid, assistance, help;” and then those who render aid, assistance, or help; helpers. Who they were is not known. They might have been those to whom was entrusted the care of the poor, and the sick, and strangers, widows, and orphans, etc.; that is, those who performed the office of deacons. Or they may have been those who attended on the apostles to aid them in their work, such as Paul refers to in Rom_16:3. “Greet Priscilla, and Aquilla, my “helpers” in Christ Jesus;” and in 1Co_12:9,” Salute Urbane our helper in Christ;” see note on Rom_16:3. It is not possible, perhaps, to determine the precise meaning of the word, or the nature of the office which they discharged; but the word means, in general, those who in any way aided or rendered assistance in the church, and may refer to the temporal affairs of the church, to the care of the poor, the distribution of charity and alms, or to the instruction of the ignorant, or to aid rendered directly to the apostles. There is no evidence that it refers to a distinct and “permanent” office in the church; but may refer to aid rendered by any class in any way. Probably many persons were profitably and usefully employed in various ways as aids in promoting the temporal or spiritual welfare of the church.

Helps is involved with whatever or whoever in the church needs assistance to carry on the progress of the church.  To take part in the burdens of saints.  Being a help in prayer.  Isn’t it wonderful that we have a place to take our burdens and the saints agree with us in prayer?

2Co 1:9  But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:

2Co 1:10  Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;

2Co 1:11  Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf.

Isn’t it awesome how our prayers are heard?  If we mean business with God in prayer, He answers our prayer.  We are very fortunate to have the Body of Christ in Paradise, and all the congregations that we know of, that help and agree in prayer with us.

Eph 4:7  But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

Eph 4:8  Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

Having a desire to be a helper in your life is a gift from God.  As Christians it is important that we be surrendered to God.  It makes serving God to be a pleasure and a real help.  “Lord I am willing to do anything that you want me to do.  He will not put more on us than we can bear.  It will be a pleasure.

It is needful that we have a burden to hold up each other in our needs and agreeing in prayer.  Praying is a real priority.  And it is one of the most important ways that we can have the gift of helps.

Bible.org – Helps is the God given capacity of every Christian to carry out his position in the body of Christ.  The effectual functioning of the Body of Christ depends on the functioning of every small part.  Spiritual gifts enable us to carry out our function in a way that no one else can.  You can do what no one else can do. 

Encouragement is a wonderful help.  What a blessing!  How many times do I come to the house of God and while going through a battle and thank the Lord the battle is lifted because of being there.  What a wonderful gift to have the gift of encouragement! 

A sincere greeting.  That is encouraging.  I want to work on being better at greeting people.  We want to have a genuine friendliness, not put on, but inspired by God, having that love of God.

A kind word goes a long ways to encourage others.  A helping hand to some project is very encouraging.  Brother Rod has been a wonderful encouragement in this way and a helping hand.

A smile can be encouraging.  What a difference it can make!  It helps us to know, “It is just the enemy working; I know that I am loved by the saints and by the body.”

It is encouraging to be able to share some of our time with the saints. To encourage is to inspire with courage, and hope, pardon, to stir on, stimulate, foster.  Giving hope or promise, inspired. 

Ecc 4:9  Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.

Ecc 4:10  For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.

We need to be there to lift up our brother.  It is wonderful to have the saints there to lift us up when we have need.  We can be such a help when a brother or sister is overloaded or has an accusation or trial.  We need to lift each other up and help those that are newly saved and maybe going through accusation and lift them up; let them know that we have all been there.

We can lift each other up; God only expects a reasonable service from us.  We need to realize that we are nothing without God and can accomplish nothing without Him.

Jas 1:27  Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

We can be a real help if we can have compassion for the less fortunate. 

Brother Bill - There are times that God will lay a saint on someone’s heart.  God doesn’t even need to do that in a sense, the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us and Jesus makes intercession for us.  God does this, using the body, to be a help to one another in prayer.  God wants us to realize that we are to need one another.  God could bypass that and meet our needs.  He uses the Body in that capacity to be a help to the body.

We need to have patience with one another.  We may think, “Are they ever going to learn?”  We need to have patience. 

People with the gift of helps enjoy doing routine tasks to help others so that others can do the ministry that God has given them to do.