KEY SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 12:28 ” And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues”.

There is another area of. Service in the body of Christ which is not normally talked about, yet it is very. Important. This is a kind of service or ministry not appointed by any man, but the Holy. Spirit stirs the hearts of certain individuals to play this role.
We now look at the ministry of helps. The New Testament is filled with many examples of the ministry of help. The word “helps” in Acts 27:17 speaks of the rope-like cable that sailors used to wrap around the ship during a storm. This is a supporting ministry. The ministry of help is what God wraps around us to hold us together in our stormy times.

The Bible mentioned seven people who ministered in this area of help. For example, there is Phebe, in Romans 16:1-2 Paul said “I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church, that ye receive her in the Lord, for she has been a securer (helper) of many and of myself also”. Phebe was a helper. She carried the book of Romans to Rome for Paul at his request. Though she was not a preacher, Phebe helped to spread the gospel.

Lydia was another helper who supported Paul. We find in Acts 16:14-15, “And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.

And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us”.

She provided lodging in her house in Philippi for Paul and his group.

In Exodus 17:8-12, Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ hands during a battle. The victory of the Israelites depended on whether Moses’ hands were up or not. These men supported his hands which were getting too tired to remain up. This made Israel win the battle.

Every man of God needs helpers to help him to succeed. Our Lord needed helpers who provided things like a place for his last supper, the Colt he rode on to Jerusalem, and even Joseph of Arimathea who gave him his tomb when he died.

These helpers normally make great sacrifices for most men of God. It may surprise some of us to know that in heaven some of these helpers would receive greater rewards than some of these men of God. Why would this happen? The truth is that a number of these helpers are so faithful and make more sacrifices than the man of God. It would therefore be just right that God who sees more than the human eye sees would definitely reward them more than the man under whom they served.

Let everyone play his role to the best of his or her abilities. What is most important is to do everything in sincere love for God. and his people.

PRAYER

Lord, I pray for all helpers who make various levels of sacrifices to help God’s work move on very well. May you strengthen them to fulfil their services on earth.

FURTHER STUDIES.

Exodus 17:12 But Moses’ hands were heavy, and they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat thereon, and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

John 19:38 ” And after this Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore and took the body of Jesus”.