Where the Church Gets Its Power (cont.)
John 17:6-19
The Church gets its power from the world's needs, from the fellowship we have together, and from the knowledge that God is with us through the power of the Holy Spirit.
I was reading about a pastor who says that he was totally unprepared when he was assigned to his first church. He says, "I will never forget my first shut-in. She was a dear lady who had been a member of that church for eighty years, but now she was in the declining years of her life. For all practical purposes this dear lady was deaf. She could hear you if you cupped your hands around her ear and shouted, "Good morning ! How are you?" She would nod in reply. because she had Parkinson's disease and her speech was garbled. For all practical purposes she was also blind, and she was bedfast.
"I was not used to being with older people." said this pastor. "I wanted so badly to minister to her but I felt so awkward. What kind of small talk could we make, even if, with all her handicapping conditions, we could talk? What did we have in common? I was totally incompetent. but I was faithful. I visited her regularly -- though each time I felt like a complete fool. I had a prayeto close each visit--but how can you shout a prayer into someone's ear? It was a totally frustrating experience.
"Eighteen months after my first visit with her, this dear lady died, and I conducted her funeral. Can you imagine my surprise when at that funeral the two daughters of this poor lady handed me a note? On it was scrawled almost illegibly the last message this lady ever communicated to anyone. On it were these words: "Please tell my young pastor how much his visits meant to me."
"I have often looked back on this experience with wonderment and awe. I have come to this conclusion: As I sought to minister to this dear lady, it was not I who was giving comfort to her. It was Christ."
That is Christ's comfort to us, isn't it? "Lo, I am with you, even unto the end of the age." It's not easy ministering to others, but he will give us the power to overcome our weaknesses and to accomplish the task to which he has assigned us. Where does the Church get its power? From the world's needs, from our fellowship together and from the presence of the One who goes with us.
Jesus prayed that God would secure and unify his Church. That prayer has been answered in a great and marvelous way --even though the Church today is certainly not all that He means for it to be. But we are still meeting many of the world's needs. And He is still with us.
Questions to Ponder
How often has Christ ministered to other people through you?
Did you feel that Christ was with you?
In His Service,
Terry Phillips
