Caring for Others

We serve as priests to others.

We understand that Christ is our priest but forget what the Lord has to say about our service as priests. We should recognize that this is not the same as Roman Catholics priests. Instead every Christian serves as a priest to the living Lord. God has appointed us to be part of His holy priesthood.

1) Our Calling as Christians

You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:5)

Circle three descriptions of God’s people from above. This describes Christian leaders as well as all Christians including you. God calls His people unto himself from the world and built us into a spiritual house. We are God’s holy priesthood. What does 1 Peter 2:5 say our responsibility is as His priests?

“for a holy priesthood, to _________________________.”

Three kinds of spiritual sacrifices that we can offer to God are:

1) Share the Gospel with non-Christians,
2) Teach others about God’s Word, and
3) Pray for others.
4) Can you add a fourth?

2) The Need for Action

And He saw that there was no man, And was astonished that there was no one to intercede; Then His own arm brought salvation to Him; And His righteousness upheld Him. (Isaiah 59:16)

Very few people genuinely care for others. An even much smaller number care and do something about it! We, however, are to follow in Christ’s footsteps. We are not only to have compassion for people but also to intercede for them. Intercession is a fancy way to say praying on the behalf of others.

We as God’s people need to care for others as God has cared for us. As He prays for us, we are to pray for other Christians and the salvation of those who do not know Him. In order to be an intercessor, we need to:

(1) Be clean: Harbor no unconfessed sin and live uprightly.
(2) Be confident: Believe God can mightily wants to use your prayers.
(3) Be compassionate: Care about those around you. Be attentive to their needs.

Reflection:

A cell group leader once told me that he was very discouraged. Things were not going well in the group. At one point he was very eager and prayed a lot for the individuals. But as the situation got worse, he prayed less and less. His faith dribbled away. Then a leader exhorted him to get up early to pray like he had at first if that's what it took to meet God.  So the next morning, he got up early and had a good time in the Word. God encouraged him to continue. Interestingly, that night’s cell group went extremely well. He again is back to fervently praying for the group. We must pray in faith even in difficult circumstances.

Application: Mention two particular individuals or groups that need special prayer. Pray together for them.