How to help people (2)
2018-03-19Acts 3:6 NKJV
Notice two things in this story. First: It’s important to know what you have and don’t have. “Peter said, ‘Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you.'” You must become comfortable in your own skin and confident in your calling. Paul writes: “Let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without…trying to be something we aren’t. If you preach, just preach God’s Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don’t take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don’t get bossy; if you’re put in charge, don’t manipulate; if you’re called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don’t let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face. Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it” (Romans 12:6-9 TM). Second: Learn to recognize the difference between what people want and what they truly need. Sometimes they need to be strengthened; other times they need to be stretched. Sometimes they need comfort, not correction; other times they need correction, not comfort. This lame man didn’t need a handout – he needed a hand up. And that’s what Peter gave him. “He took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength” (Acts 3:7 NKJV). So in order to help people you must love them, recognize what they need, know what you have to offer, and connect with them at the point of their need.
Soul food: 2 Kings 18:17-20:21; Matt 25:1-23; Ps 115; Prov 8:1-3