Victory Action #10 Care For Others

The Apostle Paul’s Strategy to Winning Life’s Battles

Victory Action #10 Care for Others

Ephesians 6:18b

 

Ephesians 6:18b.

“With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” 

 

Introduction

            Welcome back to our final episode in our study called, “The Apostle Paul’s Strategy to Winning Life’s Battles.”  For weeks now, we recognize that there are times in life when we face severe temptations and even when life’s problems seem to knock us down.  Bad things do happen to good people.  The Apostle Paul taught us that we can stand firm as the storms of life rage around us by following his primary directive found in Ephesians 6:10, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”

            The Victory Actions in Paul’s strategy to winning life’s battles are to put on the armor of God, to stand firm, to live in truth, righteousness, the Gospel of peace, faith, salvation, the Word of God, and to pray in the Spirit.  Our final victory action is found in the last part of Ephesians 6:18, “With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”

 

Caring for Others 

            In our last time together, we discussed the importance of prayer as we stand firm in the Lord.  As important as prayer is in our lives, the application of the command to “always keep on praying for all the saints” is that we must continually be caring for others.  Caring for others involves prayer, thankfully, but means that we must be involved practically in the lives of those who are placed by God in our life.

            A tactic of our spiritual enemy is to attack us with temptations and trials and then manipulate us to feel isolated.  If we focus on our life difficulties and then remove ourselves from the life of other believers then we will lose hope, we will feel alone, and we will be defeated before we apply the victory actions the Apostle Paul’s strategy to winning life’s battles.

            Life’s trials can knock us out of balance so that we are so self-focused that we lose sight of God’s call on our lives and the fact that we are blessed to be a blessing to others.  A natural response to being knocked down by life is self-protection and withdrawing from life for self-examination.  This appropriate but, only for a season.  We need times to pull back from life so that we can evaluate, heal, and be energized.  But, times of being self-focused must be defined clearly or we will disqualify ourselves from living life as God intended us to live.

            Life has meaning when we live in God’s context.  By “God’s context” I mean that we are to be engaged actively with family, friends, Christian community, and those who are in the world.  True living does not focus on “me,” my wants, desires, and cravings but, on how we together can fulfill God’s Will in our lives.  The concept of living life to the fullest finds fulfillment as we are connected with others in righteous relationships.  A life focused on “self” is just that: a selfish life that loves things and uses people instead of loving people and using things.

It is interesting to me to note that Victory Action #10 Care for Other is the last item on this list.  The reason is that you will need time to make the proper adjustments in your life after being knocked down by trials and temptations.  But, a key to fulfilling the primary directive involves caring for others.  Often, we wonder if we have stood firm against our enemy long enough so that we can now press forward.  A key sign of your inner healing from your life trial is your ability to intercede genuinely and to care for others.  Healthy people can rely on the Lord to deal with their life issues AND to bless others. 

            You know that you are ready to advance when you can interact and help others without mentioning your trails and temptations.  Instead, you can focus on the issues of the ones you want to bless and you focus on how they can follow the Apostle Paul’s victory actions.

           

Bible Verses

Let’s consider some verses from God’s Word, the Bible, that encourage us to obey Victory Action #10 Care for Others.

Proverbs 11:25, “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”  Proverbs 19:17, “He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done.”  Proverbs 22:9a, “A generous man will himself be blessed …”  When you care for other people you will receive the reward of feeling good about your actions because helping others is the right action to do.  Also, the Lord will see what you do and reward you accordingly because He blesses those who bless others.

            II Corinthians 9:6-8, “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.  Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.  And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”

            James 1:27, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

James 2:14-17, “¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? ¹⁵ Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶ If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷ In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

            Galatians 6:2, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

The Lord wants you to interact with others.  He pours out blessings to you for your benefit but also for you to be a blessing to others.  So, when you are knocked down by life and yet you still do your best to bless others then you are not allowing the devil to dictate your life direction.  Victory Action #10 Care for Others helps you focus on Jesus and fulfilling His will, in spite of your life circumstances.  In do so, you are fulfilling Paul’s primary directive by being “strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”

 

Conclusion

            Thank you for joining me in the study of “The Apostle Paul’s Strategy to Winning Life’s Battles.”  I hope that this will encourage you when you face life’s trials and temptations.  Please remember that you are not alone.  Call on the Lord, especially in your seasons of weakness, and He will answer.  May the Lord bless you as you are obedient to His will.

           

 

Prayer

Dear Lord, we thank your Word that teaches us the strategy to winning life’s battles.  Thank you that you are always present in our lives and that you bring us the victory.  May you be glorified in my life.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

 

For You to Consider

 

1.  Why is it not good for Christians to remain self-focused after being knocked down by life?

 

2.  Describe the context of your life currently.  What can you do to live a fully life that honors Christ?

 

3.  How does caring for others equip you to “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power” while you withstand the enemy?

 

4.  We are told to “Carry one another’s burdens” in Galatians 6:2.  What burdens should you carry and what burdens should you release?

 

5.  List three people who you can refresh and state how you can do it.