This is a Word to the Heavenly Father’s family. It emphasizes two ingredients, opportunity and encouragement, which are necessary for our ministry and function as members of the Body of Christ, members of the Father’s family. The Scriptures show us how to give encouragement to our brothers and sisters right at the moment when it is needed, and how to receive the encouragement they can give us in our need.
Galatians 6:9 is a simple verse of encouragement: And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary. If we do not grow weary, and if we take all the encouragement and strength that we can and keep pressing on, we will reap from our actions back again.
Sometimes we work until we almost want to give up in despair. But the persevering ones create the atmosphere that “in due season we will reap, if we faint not.” They are able to recover some who have grown weary, and these in turn become a source of encouragement to others who need it. Therefore, let us not lose heart.
Galatians 6:10: So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith (or, especially to “the Father’s family”). You must see your relationship in ministering to one another, first of all, as you “have opportunity.” The second point of ministering is that you give encouragement, “especially to the household of the faith.” Opportunity and encouragement seem to be two ingredients which go hand in hand in a right relationship between two people.
In the process of living, we reach our place of fulfillment in the faithfulness to responsibilities which the Lord lays upon us. It is quite a different section of our lifetime than when we were younger and striving to enter into a place of service. After we enter into the place God has given us, we try to maintain a stewardship and faithfulness; and our relationships seem to change. Regardless, there must always be the ingredients of opportunity and encouragement in a physical, human relationship or in a spiritual, Body-of-Christ relationship.
Have you noticed that many tend to hold back in a service when they have an opportunity to prophesy? They may need just a little encouragement from someone else to draw them into the spiritual flow of the service, so they will not feel as if they are falling short. They need to know that there is not some standard of excellence or performance they must attain, but only that they become participators with the flow. The family is excited over the babe who prophesies for the first time. There is also rejoicing in the prophecies of those who are older and seasoned, but they do not need as much encouragement because they are already moving along. Encouragement is usually received from them, rather than given to them.
After the little babe prophesies or sings a psalm, he thinks, “Oh, I made a fool out of myself.” Then for a few days he will need encouragement, because Satan will assault him with negative thoughts about his efforts. Keep encouraging him, so that the ground that he gains, he keeps. He needs both the opportunity and the encouragement. Sometimes people are very encouraged but they do not have the opportunity to serve the Lord. People seem to sit in a state of limbo if they do not have either the opportunity or the encouragement to serve Him.
What an opportunity we have to serve as citizens of God’s Kingdom! Let us never look upon our labors as being hard work. What an opportunity we have to do the will of the Lord!
It is a privilege we have to serve the Lord and to encourage one another! Never isolate yourself in a state of confusion, wondering what to do next. Such confusion will disappear if you stop thinking about yourself and think about your brothers and sisters who need help to progress. Discernment of yourself will be sharpened by your perception of your brother. For example, you may be totally stymied in discerning your own need, but perhaps you can clearly see the need of your brother. As you minister encouragement with the perception you have for him, usually you will relate to the wisdom which has been aimed toward him; and thus you will open up to more understanding of yourself.
You become more objective when you focus on another, and this helps you to become more objective in focusing on yourself. If you start with yourself, you will be too subjective, too involved. You are not as subjective with your brother; therefore you are able to pray, “Lord, show me how to meet his need. What am I to do for him?” As you minister to him on that plane of pure, objective spirit, you will receive revelation for yourself.
Let us talk about “opportunity.” Many people have lived all their lives without much opportunity to move into the spirit realm. Some have read all kinds of books and tried many methods, hoping for just one opportunity to have a ministry. At this present time there is an age gap, not a generation gap. Opportunity does not depend upon how old you are, but upon which age you are living in. Many Christians still live in such limitations and lacks and limited blessings of the past Church age that they have no concept of how to get into the dawning Kingdom. Some young people have been thrust into the Kingdom age, and for them there is a freedom and a liberty to walk in blessings which may take other people years to receive. First, all of them will have to throw off past conditionings. How deeply rooted the past is! How difficult it is for people to leap an age gap!
The younger generation does not seem to be so deeply rooted in traditions. They are staying away from denominational churches, but still they are seeking for some kind of reality in the spirit realm. Perhaps this is why so many have gone into cults and new movements. There is very definitely an age gap which is not really related to the ages of people; it is more related to the difference between the Church age and the coming Kingdom age. People are having difficulty making the transition into the Kingdom age.
Think of the people throughout the land who know nothing about God’s Kingdom age. Amos prophesied there would be a famine “for hearing the Words of the Lord” (Amos 8:11). He did not prophesy a famine for the Word, but a famine “for hearing the Words of the Lord.” People are hungry, but they do not know how to hear the Word of the Lord. They do not have an ear to hear it, though they wander around looking for it. The Word of the Lord is flowing to you who have an ear to hear. For you there is no famine for the Word of the Lord or for hearing the Word of the Lord. The Lord has given you ears to hear, and the Word is flowing. Think of the privilege you have!
Millions of people wander the face of the earth, but they do not hear the Word of the Lord. Take a world tour and walk among them—you will see spiritual blindness and deafness. There is a spiritual famine. Once in a while, someone who is very hungry reaches out. If you give him a “This Week” printed message and say, “Here is a Word from the Lord,” he may say, “Oh, no, no, no! I was told not to read that.” He does not know how to relate to the Word that is living.
We have an opportunity—an opportunity to hear the Word, to speak the Word, and to move in the Word in a depth that is unparalleled in the history of the world. No generation has ever been as privileged. No one has ever had as much opportunity as we have. Oh, that we might understand the supreme privilege we have of hearing this Word!
Instead of being upset over the Word or your circumstances or your relationships, worship and thank God that you have ears to hear Him. Be thankful that you have a heart that is sensitive to Him, that you want to worship Him, that you want to speak His Word, that the drive is there, and that you have the opportunity! Encourage one another by saying, “Don’t miss this! This is the golden gate into the Kingdom. Press into it with all your heart!” This is a unique principle encouraged by the Scriptures—see an open door and press into it.
The Lord said to the Church, “Behold, I have set before thee an open door which no man can shut” (Revelation 3:8). This was a true promise for the Church, but the people did not know what to do because they could not see the open door. They did not realize the unlimited opportunity they had.
I Peter 4:7–11 seems to describe exactly how we must walk with God at this time. We could put today’s date on these verses. The end of all things is at hand; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. Verse 7. Do you believe that this is where we are and that our emphasis is to be on prayer? As you see this age ending, you know that you must be of sound judgment and sober spirit because you have much praying to do. Prayer will pull you out of one age and thrust you into another. When all the disciples were in the upper room, in one accord in prayer, the whole Church age was launched by the Spirit of the Lord. How many times in the Scriptures do we find that a new period opened up with a great deal of prayer and intercession?
Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. Verse 8. During a time when an age is ending and a new age is coming forth, there is exposure and judgment. If the people do not repent, God judges them, and that is the end of them. An example of this was the end of the antediluvian age, when Noah preached repentance. He cried out to the people to repent; but they did not, and so they perished. First, there had to be an exposure of their wickedness, of their sin and violence which was filling all the earth. “And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days when the Son of Man comes” (Luke 17:26).
Each age sees the same exposure of sin, and the threat and the voicing of judgment. Therefore, Peter said, Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. In a time of exposure and judgment, we must love one another all the more—not just to keep us from falling, but because our love will help cover a multitude of sins. This is our true opportunity in the new age before us. Why must you love your brother? Why not every man for himself? You have sins that your brother will cover by his intercession, by his compassion, by his appropriating the grace of God for you—by his vicarious faith for you. You can have faith for your brother which will cover the multitude of his sins.
In this present move of God on the earth, He is shaking everything; and we must be determined to have enough love and compassion to intercede and pray for one another. If we do not, we will ask God to judge everyone as we see their sins. God is already judging sin and bringing it to the surface. James 2:13b tells us that mercy triumphs over judgment. Because mercy will triumph over judgment, this is a time when we can intercede and save a great number of people who would otherwise fail. The mercy and compassion of our heart will cover sin, and people who are guilty before God and walking without dedication will be forgiven. Though they are walking with failure in their lives, they will be saved because we have enough compassion and love to believe God for them.
Should we be praying for judgment? Yes. But when we see this judgment coming, we should also reach for mercy. Judgment begins by exposure, by ripping the package open and saying, “Here it is!” Then we can pray, “Lord, apply mercy. Bring forth the dealing that brings repentance, that brings the turning to You.” Then a multitude of sins will be covered by the blood of Jesus Christ because we had mercy and compassion.
Peter tells us: Be hospitable to one another without complaint. As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another. Some think that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to minister out to the world; but the basic, fundamental use of these gifts is to minister to one another in the family of the Father. This speaks again of opportunity and encouragement, which is a key of all ministry. As you have opportunity, you are to bless and minister to one another. As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. I Peter 4:9–10. Always see yourself as a steward of the grace of God.
Then Peter said, Whoever speaks, let him speak, as it were, the utterances of God; whoever serves, let him do so as by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Verse 11. This is a passage which every one of us should memorize. What a fantastic Word! It emphasizes the fact that we have an unlimited opportunity to serve God, though it may appear humble. We have a great opportunity to intercede.
Keep your prayers fresh and focused. Keep the sense of your destiny, as a humble people, to start a new age, to open the door for many people. Look around for some little brother to bless. No brother is so little or so insignificant that he is not important to God. He may be just little enough “to confound the mighty” (I Corinthians 1:27). He may be just “base” enough that God will use him to exalt His name to the ends of the earth. God chooses little vessels such as this. Hold onto them. Reach around and love one another. Keep the spirit of the Father’s family moving. Keep His love for one another moving. When you see anyone drifting away, do not evaluate him critically. Avoid the austere approach. Reach out to love, to embrace, and to help that one.
Love drains away to nothing when people start picking at each other. This is one of the worst signs in a church, or in a marriage. How crushing a marriage becomes when a couple start picking at each other and putting up walls. Let us not put up walls in the spirit to one another. Let us love one another and see that everyone has an opportunity to be blessed and to serve God. Keep looking for those opportunities. Life is like a hockey game. When you have the chance to shoot for the goal, shoot fast. As you have the opportunity, zero in with love, especially for those “of the household of faith”—the Father’s family.
We survive as a family, better than we do as individuals.
When we face a day filled with many problems, let us have faith to see those problems solved. As pressures and responsibilities are thrown upon us, we have the privilege of walking through the day believing that God will do what we claim. Look upon your daily walk with faith. Live it minute by minute, using every opportunity that comes along to move ahead with encouragement. Be very much encouraged!
Think of the many prayers which are going up to the Father for people, as we are burdened for one another. Know that your intercession is really effective, that you are accomplishing what the Father wants done. Be encouraged in your heart.
As the Lord deals with you, guard what you say to one another. It is easy to dump what you are suffering on your brother and leave feeling better, but what about your brother? He may go off in a corner and slowly die because you have laid such a heaviness on him. Do not lay too much on your brother. Rather, try to encourage him and share together with him the Word of the Lord. Keep the family spirit moving.
The family spirit should be preserved. It is beautiful to see the household of faith loving one another and lifting one another up. There will be every reason in the world for you to become discouraged; therefore, you must “trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). Just have faith; do not lean on all those reasons. Tell Satan, “I have the greatest opportunity in the world, and I will not listen to anything you say. I am pressing into God.”
One of the best things we can do is to walk without pride, without that false sense of dignity. Then we can be one big family without being embarrassed by our intensity in our love for God and for one another. This is one of the greatest victories we can have. Have you noticed that most people in the world are ashamed of intensity, unless they become excited about a football game or something similar? If someone is wholehearted toward the Lord, or intense concerning something important, he is called a fanatic and dropped by the wayside. People of the world are embarrassed by any great show of depth.
The world today wants to be shallow. People do not want to make deep commitments to one another. The trend now is even toward couples living together without marriage because they do not want a commitment. They do not want any lasting involvement of themselves. All of this is of Satan.
Let us make greater commitments than ever before. By the grace of God we will walk in the greatest discipleship and stewardship that the world has ever known. Let us not be ashamed of loving the Father and His family with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength.