Lesson 8 Review: Mission to the Needy

 

Introduction

Memory Text: “And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me’ ” (Matthew 25:40, NKJV).

God uses others to help us, or He uses us to help others. By helping others in need, we are modeling the ministry of Jesus Christ. We are to draw close to strangers as the Bible instructs and by winning their confidence we can find better ways of helping them find Jesus. Helping is the central part of what it means to be a Christian and what the mission must include.

What lesson can we draw from this story of the paralytic in the Gospels about mission and ministry?

God is calling us to be like the friends of the paralytic-to lead the needy to Jesus Christ. This work requires faith, action, patience, and a willingness, if need be, to be unconventional.

How does Jesus demonstrate how to help the helpless?

First, we become their friends; then we learn about their needs; and finally, we lead them to Jesus, who is the only One who can help them. The men in the story of the paralytic did this, we are to do likewise.

What is the five-step process of Jesus’ method to minister, especially to those in need?

‘First, we must mingle with the helpless, spend time getting to know them, and understand their needs with the intention of doing good for them.’

‘Second, we need to show sympathy.’

‘The third step is to minister to their needs.’

‘The fourth step is winning their confidence.’

‘The last step is to help lead them to Jesus, an act that requires faith from both you and the one whom you help.’

What is the gospel’s message to us concerning immigrants and refugees?

Jesus was a refugee in Egypt because His earthly parents had to flee Bethlehem, so refugees and immigrants among us indeed need our help. The gospel calls us to get out of our ethnic, national, and cultural comfort zones and to reach out to those in need, even immigrants and refugees, regardless of how different from us they might be. Begin with prayer, then seek information on immigrants and refugees.

What are the principles of being Jesus’ helper?

We are to meet the needs of people purely because they need help, even though we don’t know when or if they will accept Jesus. However, reaching them for Jesus is the foundation of mission. One who wants to help must have the goal of showing selfless love towards them, understanding their needs first before trying to help them. The need may be more than money or physical things.

What vital point does Thursday’s lesson make?

The needs never end, we should do what we can, when we can to help. Jesus helped those who could not help themselves. Sometimes, Jesus went to them, and sometimes they came to Him as in the story of the paralytic in Luke 5. Irrespective of gender, color, race, or nationalism, we should never relent in helping the needy.

In Conclusion,

We are to offer help to those in need as to the Lord, without expecting anything in return, knowing that God rewards those who help the needy. I pray that, by God’s grace, we help whenever we have to, in Jesus’ name.