Are You About Your Father’s Business?
By Michelle Mihalakis
“How is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49)
When Jesus’ parents finally found Him in the temple, He gave them a rebuke that had far more than surface meaning. He was implying to them that He had chosen them; they hadn’t chosen Him. He wanted them to understand that the Spirit of God goes about continually seeking for the lost. And that is the business of the church. Jesus said in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Before I came to the truth, I felt empty and that my life had no purpose. Life was very confusing because I couldn’t find any meaning in life to help erase the hopelessness I felt. Now I can say that the only one who can truly meet the needs of the human soul is God.
We can unearth the spiritual problems of someone by again asking questions. Many times people have a spiritual need that displays itself as a physical problem. First we need to get the spiritual problem healed and the healing of the natural will follow. God cares more about the soul being healed then He ever does the human body. If someone will first try to get their soul healed, a physical healing often follows.
I know a gentleman named Eddy who had many afflictions leukemia, lupus, and hepatitis that had affected him for many years. This man visited deaths door several times. He visited a state hospital every month to have the doctor examine him and take blood tests. His wife was faithful to God for many years. He was baptized years ago, but didn’t receive the Holy Ghost. A year or so ago someone offered him a Bible study, and he accepted. The pastor who taught my friend the Bible study stood up after the last study of the series and said, “I would like to pray for you.” Eddy consented, and from that moment, he started to feel better. Sometime later, he decided to attend church services again. He went to the altar and God graciously filled him with His spirit.
Eddy went to the doctor like he had done so many times and asked the doctor, “Well, how is my blood?”
The doctor said, “It’s normal.”
Eddy said, “What?” Then he asked the doctor, “What about my liver?”
The doctor responded, “It’s normal.”
He left the doctor’s office in a daze! A second doctor was called in to check the records and verify what the first one was having trouble explaining.
The next time my friend went to the doctor, he asked the same physician to check his blood again. The doctor asked, “Why?” Eddy responded, “Because I want to see if it’s still normal.” The doctor checked his blood and it was still normal.
I truly believe when Eddy desired God and His word, God also honored his desire for healing. Today Eddy is a tremendous witness to the healing power of Jesus Christ. Everywhere he goes he gives his testimony of what God did for him. Even though Eddy likes to hunt in the natural, God uses him as a “bird dog” to win many souls into the kingdom of God. When Eddy’s church had its annual friend day this year, he took thirty-three visitors to church with him!
Proverbs 30:11-14 tells us, “There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother. There is a generation that is pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness. There is a generation, 0 how lofty are their eyes, and their eye lids are lifted up. There is a generation, whose teeth are swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.” One only needs to read the newspaper and statistics on crime to know that society has a void. The rapes, murders, thefts, and corruption are only a few of the gross crimes that abound in our world. People also have problems with their health, families, and poverty. Who can’t find somebody with a need?
We can find the mission of Jesus in Luke, the fourth chapter: “As Jesus stood up in the temple to read, he said, “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.” The mission of Jesus is the mission of the church.
Every group of people that Jesus mentioned in these scriptures obviously had a need. The only people looking for more truth are those who realize they have a deficit. If someone doesn’t believe they have a need, they will not have the desire to search for the solution. There has never been a day where people needed God as much as folks do today. Why? Because sin has been allowed to mutate from generation to generation. Sin is what causes sickness of the soul. The longer time goes on, the more vile man will become. But we have good news today because the more vile mankind becomes, the more grace will abound. Just as sin is more degrading than ever, grace is more powerful than at any other time in the history of man. The grace of God is still sufficient. Mark 2:17 states, “When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Anybody here know a sinner that needs to hear the truth? That needs a home Bible study?
In Proverbs 31 the Bible speaks of a virtuous woman. I believe that the scripture is referring to the bride of Christ. In the twentieth verse, the Bible says, “She stretcheth out her hands to the needy.” Jesus always had time for the needy. The people who have unmet needs are the people who will ultimately be open to being taught a home Bible study and will then accept the gospel.
The woman at the well had a need. Nicodemus obviously had a need. The blind man that Jesus healed had a need. If they followed Him, it was because they had a need. Those who really want Christ and what He has to offer, recognize they have needs. The Law pointed to Calvary and revealed to mankind that he needed a savior.
The church has what the world needs. We have to show them Christ and Him crucified. Once the needs of people are revealed through questions and conversation, we need to show them that God and the church can meet their needs. We should tell those who don’t know God that He delights in taking care of the many voids in their lives.
I read a banner at a church function one time that has stuck with me. It said, “If the business of the church is winning souls, then it is the only business.” Are you about your father’s business?
This article “Are You About Your Father’s Business?” written by Michelle Mihalakis is excerpted from The Hows And Whys Of Witnessing The Gospel written by Michelle Mihalakis chapter 6.
