Respecting the Potential in your brethren

Where you fellowship is of no accident. God has ordained for you to be with your brothers and sisters in Christ in that location on purpose, for a purpose.

One of those purposes is to grow closer together in Christ.

Now part of true fellowship means respecting and nurturing the potential in your brothers and sisters. This isn’t just the responsibility of the pastor. We all have our part to play.

As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another (Proverbs 27:17 NIV).

I have a lot of blunt knives in my kitchen, but there’s this one little black knife that I go to over and over again, it cuts everything so well.

Are you sharp?

A sharp Christian is one that is in the Word, has a consistent prayer life, is a true worshipper and is active in their gifting and calling. They operate in the overflow of the anointing which allows them to affect others.

Now the list above is aspirational for me currently, but I want to get there. I know that I can’t do it on my own. I need help.

We sharpen each other by showing love and forgiveness, and challenging each other to become more like Christ.

Iron-sharpening iron means not wearing each other down. We must support each other, encouraging, praying together and giving and receiving correction.

Never underestimate the power of support. It can make a wealth of difference. My first teaching post was extremely tough for me. Apart from many other factors, one poignant factor for my tough time was poor support structures.

However, in my new tenure of employment, the support offered is plentiful. As a coincidence of this, I have grown in my skills as a teacher and even feel ready to embrace new challenges in this field.

You see, when you respect the potential in somebody and offer the correct support and encouragement, you allow them to become a leader in their own right and then allow them to replicate the nurturing process.

Another key way to respect the potential in others is by mentoring. Over the years I have had different mentors who have fed positively into my life. Although im still in my twenties, God was calling me to mentor a teen. The relationship is in its initial stages, however, I look forward to the growth that will take place in both of our lives.

There is power in conversation. Monitor your foot traffic. Who do you go and talk with at church? Change it up a little. Just one positive conversation can be the beginnings of sharpening and refining an individual. Within you, you have the ability to sharpen somebody in a way that no one else can. File away.

If there is one thing I learnt this year, it is to have a circle of intensity! I read this in the book Prophetic Praise by Joshua Fowler. EVERY BELIEVER NEEDS A CIRCLE OF INTESITY. Christ had a circle of intensity which was Peter, James and John.

You need your Peter to be a person of passion to you, who will inspire you to walk on water, to die for Christ. Somebody to show you that it’s not about your ability but availability.

You need a James, now not much is said about James ‘the less’. But I’m sure he was special to Christ being part of his inner circle. It was thought he was the first of the disciples to die for the sake of the gospel.

You need a John. A John that will be a DEEP and DEAR friend to you. A tightness, like David and Jonathan that will see you through to the end.

In 2014, God put together my circle of intensity. They have been an immense blessing and support in my life and I thank God for them. You know who you are.

In 1 Corinthians 12, it analogizes the Christian fellowship as a human body. How healthy and effective that body is, boils down to us.

So if the eyes are not seeing right, fulfill the potential in them by offering some glasses to those eyes! Maybe the nails need a manicure. Time to get the nail files out! It’s your body, take care of it, respect it, nuture it. In doing so, the fellowship will be strengthened corporately and individually and we will have a healthy church with healthy believers.

Blessings,

Maz x