CONTENTS

1    Reaching Out to Those in Need

2    Seek First, God's Kingdom

3    Ministry in Action

A Sinner's Prayer To Receive Jesus as Savior

Chapter 1

REACHING OUT TO THOSE IN NEED

And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

—Luke 4:17-19

There are many hurting people in our own community who need ministering to before we go out to minister in the uttermost parts of the world.

So let's examine our own "world" first.

And to be very specific, let's draw the circumference of our world even smaller to look at a particular group—the local church.

The church is full of people who have needs which require our attention. Many in the local church are suffering from broken hearts—and no one ever takes the time to minister to them. Instead, these people are often casually given the advice: "Just believe God! Let the Spirit of God take care of you." Or, "If you'd had faith, you wouldn't have gotten into this mess in the first place." But Jesus said that we are to minister to the brokenhearted.

It is possible to reach a place, even if you're surrounded by people who know how to believe God, where you're under so much pressure and the hurt is so great that you cannot help yourself —you need the Body of Christ to reach out to you. You need someone who's gracious enough to put an arm around you and say, "We're with you! Hang on. We're standing with you."

Those of us who claim to have faith often seem to imply to those in need: "If you had any faith, you'd get out of the muck and the mire, and come up here with us spiritual giants." It's so easy to look down on someone from some great spiritual height and say, "Come up here with us." But it's another thing entirely to walk back down to where they are and grab ahold of that hurting person, and help bring him or her up to new heights in God with you. Some of you faith giants need to get your feet in the muck and mire to help those who are stuck and who need a helping hand. You raise them up!

Bruised! Jesus said we are to set at liberty the bruised. We are to minister to them! There are many battered and bruised individuals in the church today. And, sad to say, it has often been so-called "Christians" who have hurt them. You must realize that some of these bruised people are confused because they've heard one thing taught here and another thing taught there, and now they don't really know what to believe. Then the devil takes further advantage of the situation, and also slaps them around.

Too often these "faith giants" merely tell hurting people, "What's wrong with you? The Word of God says, 'Greater is He that's in you, than he that's in the world.'" They quote the Word to these battered and bruised individuals, but they make no further effort to help them.

Christians, you must realize that sometimes it's hard to believe God when you can't even see the sun for the stars that are in your eyes because you're being continually knocked around by the devil! When you're at that point, you need someone to grab your hand and show you the way until you can get the confusion out of your head. Old boxers or football wide receivers who are used to continual buffeting can relate to this. Sometimes when these players are knocked down, they need help just to get to the sidelines! They don't know where they are—up, down, sideways, or crossways—they've been knocked around so much. It can feel the same way in the spiritual realm.

Jesus also said that we are to "preach DELIVERANCE to the captives" (Luke 4:18). There are many in our midst who are oppressed. There are many who are lonely. Maybe they shouldn't be, because of their inheritance in Christ, but they are. But that's what a church is for—refuge and help. A church is a place to minister to those who are weary and hurting. Maybe these people have been standing so long in faith believing for something, that they've become weary in well doing, and they feel as if they're losing the battle. That's when they need someone to stand with them!

At a time like that, other people in the Body of Christ need to hold up their hands, like Aaron and Hur held up Moses' hands in the battle with Amalek (Exod. 17:12). These weary Christians need the saints to put their arms of faith around them and help them stand in their time of need.

I actually heard this remark made about a man who, although strong in faith, had died without receiving his healing: "Bless God, if he'd known how to believe God, he wouldn't have died!"

What comfort do you suppose that was to his bereaved family? Is that how Jesus told us to minister to the brokenhearted? Christians, we need to watch our words and really minister lovingly to hurting people; especially during times of trial, weariness, or grief.

It's true that this particular man wasn't old enough to die. And it's also true that he didn't have to die of sickness and disease. Yes, he could have received his healing—but for some reason, he didn't. On the other hand, he was born again, and filled with the Spirit. So he went to heaven— and in that sense, he's better off than we are!

Careless remarks do not help a bereaved family! Insensitive words minister to no one. Such words minister death, not life, and they certainly do not fulfill Jesus' commission to us to heal the brokenhearted!

Some people have charged that the Christian army is the only army that destroys its wounded instead of ministering to them. The excuse is that it's not faith to sympathize with troubled people. But someone gave us a helping hand to help us get where we are spiritually! And the Apostle Paul teaches that we are not to think of ourselves as some great "giants" of faith. Paul says that we are to take heed to ourselves, lest we find ourselves in a similar situation (Rom. 12:3; 1 Cor. 10:12).

In the natural, those who go into a battle often come back with battle scars. Many men who came back from World War II, the Korean Conflict, and Vietnam had battle scars. It took kind, loving people working with them to get them healed of their wounds.

There are Christians among us who are battle-scarred spiritually. They need to be ministered to; they need someone to help them. Realize that many of those who have just accepted Jesus—and others you may come into contact with—may be battle-scarred. It may take them a while sitting under the teaching of the Word of God before they are completely healed.

You as a member of the Body of Christ must have patience and long-suffering with these individuals! It's your responsibility to take them under your wing, so to speak, and to teach, train, and love them until they are strong enough to overcome their wounds.

Then there is another type of individual who has been battle-scarred in the ministry. Perhaps God told this person to do something, and as he tried to fulfill it, he met with great opposition. Maybe someone in authority told him, "You can't do that!" and rejected his ministry. Experiences like these can be very detrimental to people and can leave scars. And if pastors don't realize it and minister to that ministry, that person may never get back into the ministry God has for him or her.

Furthermore, in the Body of Christ, we need to be careful to minister to those Christians who have made mistakes. That's what churches are for. But too often when someone in church circles makes a mistake, and perhaps stumbles— everyone jumps on him like a vulture.

But First John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Romans 8:1 says, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

Psalm 103:12 says, "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. " In other words, our sins have been taken away and are completely done away with. As far as the Lord is concerned, they no longer exist. But sometimes we humans have a problem forgetting what someone did and the sin which they may have committed.

Chapter 2

SEEK FIRST GOD'S KINGDOM

There is another pitfall in the church today: Too many Christians have allowed their priorities to become other than God-centered. We need to get back to basics, emphasizing such things as dedication and commitment to God and place less emphasis on seeking after things. The Bible says when we seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, all these things shall be added unto us (Matt. 6:33).

Quit worrying about the things—the cars, the houses, the lands, the prosperity. These things will take care of themselves if you'll just get yourself lined up with God and His Kingdom. Seeking God's Kingdom first is getting people saved and ministering to the needs and hurts of others.

Actually, the reason why many Christians are not having the things added unto them, even though they are believing God and making all the right confessions, is because they are seeking first the things—not the Kingdom of God. Their priorities are reversed. It's not possible to receive the things God has promised until you've sought first His Kingdom. That's just the way this principle works!

We need to get back to the basics of the Gospel—and that means giving of ourselves to those in need, whether it is for salvation, healing, or whatever.

It's so easy to explain to a man in need how he should believe God in order to put food on the table for his family. Then as you leave, you cheerfully tell him, "Well, God bless you, brother. God will meet all of your needs." You walk off without a care in the world—but his stomach is still crying out for food!

That same person would be more apt to listen to what you have to say if you'd bring him some groceries to satisfy his hunger. After he's fed his physical body, he'll be able to hear what you have to say to his spiritual man. Let's get back to basics! Let's minister to the needs of people!

Many Christians don't mind hearing a sermon or a message, but when you ask them to give of their time, their money, or themselves, they whistle a different tune! This just points to the fact that seeking first the Kingdom of God is not uppermost in their minds!

One Christmas my heart became burdened for people in Tulsa who were out of work. The oil business had declined, the economy was down, and many people were suffering financially. I knew there were those who would not have presents or food for Christmas. I was praying one day, and I began to pray for these people. I prayed that the Lord would send laborers across their paths to minister to them in both the spiritual and the natural realms.

As I was praying, the Lord said to me, "Why don't you do something?"

I replied, "Lord, what can I do? I don't know any of the people in those homes."

Then the Lord gave me an idea: To play a charity basketball game—the RHEMA staff against a local Christian radio station—and give all the proceeds to the Salvation Army so they could minister to the needy in Tulsa.

I also said to the student body of RHEMA Bible Training Center, "We need to minister to needy people in Tulsa. I want every student here to bring some canned goods or groceries. If you have new toys or games you'd like to donate to families in need, bring those too."

As a result, the students brought in thousands of dollars worth of groceries and gifts, all of which went to needy families in Tulsa. We didn't advertise what we were doing, nor did we hold a big press conference. We just obeyed the Word!

You see, one reason why some Christians are not going to receive much reward in heaven is because they've already received their reward here on earth! They're always sticking their thumbs under their lapels, boasting, "Look what I did!" Bless God, none of us could do anything if it weren't for the power of God. It's God who does these things through us—and we'd better always give Him the credit for it!

Christians, it's time we minister to the brokenhearted! When a person is in financial need, if you're really going to minister to him— why don't you reach into your pocket and give him some money? The easy way out is just to preach to him, and then walk off and leave him with his problems and burdens! Of course, I'm talking about people who are really in need—not professional "con artists" who pretend to be in need just to take advantage of the Body of Christ. There's a big difference!

In the Body of Christ today, there are many so-called "faith" people who are selfish. They never think about the needs of others, or the difficulties others in the Body of Christ may be experiencing. That's contrary to the Word of God! Galatians 6:10 says, "As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith." Here the Bible tells us to do something. We are to help others in need! And it's not always just giving money, either; I'm talking about giving of yourself.

Proverbs 3:27 says, "Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it." When it's in your power to assist someone in need, and you neglect to do it— you're out of line with God's Word! You can give people all the instruction you want, but if they have needs, you need to obey the Word and help them!

For example, one time I was praying for a young man who had a financial need in his life. I prayed, "Lord, bless him! Lord, meet his need!" Finally, the Lord said to me, "You do something about his need!" You see, the Lord requires us to minister to the Body of Christ!

There have been times when my wife and I have heard about students who were having financial struggles. On one occasion, we knew of a couple who had a financial need. Lynette knew where the woman kept her purse, so she just slipped some money into it. I don't think that couple ever found out where that money came from!

The Lord didn't specifically speak to us to do that. We just knew what the Word said! These people had a financial need, and we had the means to help meet that need. That's what the Bible says in James 1:22, "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves."

It is the job of local churches to minister to the hurting and the needy in their own cities. This ministry can't meet the needs of people in other parts of the country or the world. There are too many people for one ministry to reach alone. But if every local church and every individual believer will do their part, we can make a difference together!

Christians get quiet when you start talking like this, because it puts the responsibility on them. Some don't mind hearing preaching or teaching about how to believe God so they can get their own needs met, but it's a different story if you talk about taking money out of their pocket to help someone else in need. But Christians, let's learn how to minister to needy people in our own community wherever we encounter them.

Chapter 3

MINISTRY IN ACTION

At 4:30 the morning of January 25, 1983, I heard a scream which I will never forget coming over the intercom in our home. It was coming from my son's bedroom.

I wasn't even awake when I hit the floor running. I fell three times scrambling up the stairs. By the time I reached the top of the stairs, I was crawling on all fours, because this wasn't a normal "Daddy" holler; it was a desperate cry, "Daddy!!!"

I found my 13-year-old son, Craig, lying in the middle of the floor, rolling and holding his head, screaming, "Oh, my head! Daddy, my head!" I began to pray. Craig's pain eased and he got back into bed, but I knew right then that this was a situation that needed either an instant manifestation of healing or immediate medical attention. Craig's pain persisted, so we took him to the City of Faith for evaluation.

There is no way to describe your feelings when five doctors sit you down and tell you, "Your son has a tumor the size of a large lemon in the back of his head. If he bumps his head the slightest bit, he will die, because the tumor is right against the brain stem."

No one knows the anguish a person feels in situations such as these, unless he's been through similar circumstances. At times like this, the Body of Christ needs to uphold you!

At the hospital we were looking at the X rays, when all of a sudden the door opened, and in walked Oral Roberts. He threw his arms around us and began to pray. I was never so glad to see anyone in my life! It meant so much to us to have someone reach out to us in our hour of need.

We were faced with a critical, life-and-death situation. Instant healing had not manifested, so I had to make a decision. I said to God, "Lord, now I'm going to my second option—to my second line of defense. I don't know what else to do. I'm going to allow the doctors to operate, but Lord, I'm going to put my faith in You for the complete miracle and manifestation of Craig's healing." And as I discussed it with my dad, he said, "No army ever enters into a battle without having a second line of defense."

So at 7 a.m. on January 28, our son was rolled into the operating room of the City of Faith for surgery.

It is impossible to put into words the anguish you go through sitting in a hospital waiting room for twelve hours with a loved one lying on the operating table. There are just no words to describe it.

Normally in hospitals, there's a certain amount of depression, but when you walk into the City of Faith, there is an atmosphere of life, because the life of God is there. The nurses and the doctors encourage and uplift the patients and their families with continual prayer.

The Spirit-filled neurosurgeon who performed Craig's surgery has dedicated his talents to the Lord. He believes that God has given him this talent to minister to people.

One of the nurses in the operating room has been a partner with our ministry for years. She had been believing God for the healing of a back problem. After Craig's surgery, she told us the power of God was so strong in that operating room, that her healing was manifested during the surgery!

And then the nurse in charge of the operating room told us, "It was a textbook operation; textbook perfect. Nothing—absolutely nothing—went wrong."

After the twelve-hour surgery, the neurosurgeon prayed with Lynette and me. He gave God all the glory for the success of the operation. He had discovered that Craig's tumor was larger than expected, and it was between the skull and the brain; it wasn't in the brain itself.

But the doctor told us that he couldn't get the lip edge of the tumor, so we agreed together in prayer that this remnant would disappear completely.

From Tuesday morning at 4:30, when I first heard Craig screaming, until Friday midnight, I didn't get more than an hour of sleep at a time. Finally, on Friday night, I was able to get a full night's sleep and woke up refreshed Saturday morning. Lynette had already gone to Intensive Care to see Craig.

About 8:30 that Saturday morning, a couple who pastor a large church in the Dallas area came to see us. I knew that this pastor had two Sunday morning services, a Sunday night service, and a Sunday night live television broadcast. Yet here he was in Tulsa early on a Saturday morning!

We talked as we drank some coffee in the waiting room, and I asked, "Are you just passing through?"

They replied, "No, we just flew up here to be with you and Lynette today."

At 4:30 that afternoon, they got in their rental car, drove back to the airport, got on a plane, and flew to Dallas for their Sunday morning services. What an example of ministering to the Body of Christ!

The Body of Christ ministered to us in other ways too. Some came to the hospital waiting room to pray with us. Others were continually holding us up in prayer as they went about their daily routine. There were nurses who prayed in the Spirit for Craig every time they came into his room. How that ministered to us!

Sometime later, when we took Craig back to the hospital for checkups, he underwent a CAT scan. It revealed that new bone was forming on his skull—and every trace of that tiny remnant of the tumor had disappeared. (Normally, when a person has reached Craig's age, the bone doesn't grow back.) This was a miracle! Five months after Craig was discharged from the hospital, he started playing freshman football.

Today Craig is entirely healed and normal. He has graduated from college and is in the fulltime ministry.

During this whole ordeal, we really needed the body of Christ to stand with us. We had preached, taught, and ministered to people ourselves, but this was a time when we needed to be ministered to by others.

Christians, we need to minister to the Body of Christ! Yes, we've got to reach out and minister salvation and healing to the world, but we also need to minister to the people in our own "Jerusalem"—right inside our own churches.

Yes, there's a world out there that's crying for help. We do need to be sensitive and give of ourselves before the pendulum swings too far and it's too late to help them. The harvest is ready, but the laborers are few. It's so easy to sing, "I'll go where You want me to go, dear Lord; I'll do what You want me to do." It's another thing entirely to be committed enough to do it! But on the other hand, let's not get so busy ministering to the world that we neglect to minister to the Body of Christ.

Thank God for all of our outreach programs —we need every one of them. But may we realize that standing beside us in the choir, sitting beside us in the church auditorium, are people who are hurting and crying out for help. No, they may not tell us about it. They're probably putting on a front. Maybe no one knows about their needs. But if you learn how to be sensitive to the needs of others, you will know about it, and you will also know how to minister to them.

Many times a pat on the back or an encouraging word like, "I appreciate you" does more than you realize for people. Sometimes a simple handshake or praise for a job well done will do more than anything else, because it ministers to the spirit man on the inside. Let people know that they are valuable and important to the Lord's work!

An area of ministry where we as Christians need great wisdom, is in ministering to the bereaved. When a family loses a loved one, we need to go to that home and minister to them. We need to take them food, and be there when they need us. Church, that widow and those children need your ministry two weeks and two months after the bereavement even more than they did that first day. It's not enough just to say, "Well, just believe God and He'll see you through." You can't know those lonely hours unless you've been there yourself.

You can build a church building or do a work for God, and you can put your heart, your life, your time, and your money—everything you have —into it. But it will all be for nothing if you don't learn how to minister to people. Christians, learn how to minister to the needs of others! That's what this Christian life is all about—doing something for someone else. Everything Jesus did when He was upon the earth reflected that principle. He didn't come to be ministered to, but to minister to others (Matt. 20:28). His time and attention were dedicated to meeting the needs of people. What the people needed was what counted with Jesus!

Too many in the Body of Christ have become selfish with their time, talent, and abilities. As Christians we have been called by Jesus as His representatives—His ministers upon the earth. Yet some Christians are always wanting to know what they're going to get out of it before they'll do anything for someone else!

As Jesus' representatives, we need to turn that attitude around and minister from His perspective. We need to ask, "What can I do for others?" We need to follow Jesus' example in ministering to others. In fact, the motto of every born-again Christian should be, "What can I do for Jesus?" not "What can Jesus do for me?"

The way to get out of your own problems and needs is to start ministering to someone else's needs. Begin to minister in your own "world"— right where you live—and watch God turn your situation around!

A Sinner's Prayer To Receive Jesus as Savior

Dear Heavenly Father,

I come to You in the Name of Jesus.

Your Word says, "... him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out" (John 6:37).

So I know You won't cast me out, but You take me in. And I thank You for it.

You said in Your Word, "... if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, THOU SHALT BE SAVED.... For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Rom. 10:9,13). I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I believe He was raised from the dead for my justification.

I am calling upon His Name—the Name of Jesus—so I know, Father, that You save me now.

Your Word says, " . . . with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" (Rom. 10:10).

I do believe with my heart, and I confess Jesus now as my Lord.

Therefore I am saved!

Thank You, Father!

Signed_

Date_

About the Author

Kenneth Hagin Jr., Executive Vice-President of Kenneth Hagin Ministries and Pastor of RHEMA Bible Church, writes from a rich and diversified background of more than thirty years in the ministry.

Rev. Hagin attended Southwestern Assemblies of God College and Oral Roberts University, graduating with a degree in religious education.

After serving as an associate pastor, Rev. Hagin traveled as an evangelist throughout the United States and abroad and was responsible for organizing RHEMA Bible Training Center, a school which equips men and women for the ministry.

In addition to his administrative and teaching responsibilities at RHEMA, Rev. Hagin is senior pastor of RHEMA Bible Church, a large and thriving congregation on the RHEMA campus. He is also International Director of RHEMA Ministerial Association International and has a weekly radio program, “RHEMA Radio Church,” which is heard on stations throughout the United States.

Table of Contents

1 Reaching Out to Those in Need

2 Seek First, God's Kingdom

3 Ministry in Action

A Sinner's Prayer To Receive Jesus as Savior