Thy Rod and Thy Staff (Part 2)

[PASTOR VICTOR AIGBEGHIAN]

The Staff Christian: This is the true Christian; and is the exact opposite of the rod Christian. A staff bears the weight of the one holding it. A staff is normally used for support. Hebrews 11: 21, "By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff." You can rest all your weight on a staff and never have to fear that it would break. The staff Christian is that Christian who gives all the necessary support to the leadership of the church. A staff Christian is an encouragement to the church leader or pastor. A staff Christian bears the weight of his pastor or church leadership without complains. A staff Christian will not get angry if his advices, counsel or opinions are not implemented by the pastor. A staff Christian will support any vision for the growth and establishment of the church even if the idea is from another person or it goes contrary to his/her own. The early church had one notable staff Christian who was nicknamed "son of encouragement" by the apostles because of his actions of kindness and support of the work of God(Acts 4: 36, 37).

The staff Christian can go any mile to see the that vision given to the leadership of the church is accomplished. Let us take for example the three mighty men of King David recorded in 2 Samuel 23: 8 - 17. David only had thirst for water from the well by the gate of Bethlehem, and these three men did not rest until they got that water for him. To do this, they had to break through a band of the Philistines encamped at Bethlehem. They fought a great battle just to satisfy the thirst of their master. For a jug of water, these three men went to war. They were a staff to David. If that was to be the request of some pastor today, I am sure some member would quickly fire back and say, "pastor, are you so wicked and cruel to make me go through hardship just to satisfy your thirst?" "Why don't you just drink water from the well over there, instead of sending someone to a suicide mission?" Some might even leave the church because of that, and may go about saying: "that pastor is wicked. He wants me to die in-order for him to live." "I will never go to that church again". Oh, how I long to see Christians who can go any mile for their Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in our time. Staff Christians who will not hold back anything from their God. These are believers who do "not love their lives so much as to shrink from death" (Rev. 12:11). The staff Christian is not selfish with anything that he/she owns.

If I may ask, can you go any mile for the Lord Jesus? Can you give up your ambitions, needs, opinions, wealth and or everything you own just to see that the vision God has given to the church leadership of your local assembly materialise? Are you willing to be or continue as a staff for the leadership of your church? Can your pastor or church leadership rest their weight on you? Will you not break under the weight? Are you a staff Christian? Is your Christian life an encouragement to the leadership of your local church? I am not just talking about being a member of the church staff or being in the church's payroll. But I mean a staff Christian, who can be reckoned as a son of encouragement by the church leadership.

They comfort me: King David said in Psalm 23: 4c, "thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. In this section I want to talk about the comfort you as a leader should receive from both those who support you and those who oppose you. Most leaders are often angry with their critics. They feel let down when their vision is not supported as it should. Many a pastor do not like those that stand against their plans. Some do not even talk to those board members who would not fully support their vision. As humans, we tend to love those who encourage us, and keep away from those who criticize us., I was told the story of a young man who committed a crime many years ago and was brought before the king for judgement. The king discovered that the criminal's late father was his friend. He did not know how he could free the young man without bending the law, so he asked him to perform a very difficult task. The criminal was to hold a tablespoon in his mouth with an egg on it and walk over a distance of 100 feet and come back to the starting position. If the criminal succeeds in coming back with the egg on the table spoon, then his life would be spared; if not, he was to be executed. At first, it looked easy. When he started, there were people on both sides of the line, some cursing him for his crime, while others were encouraging him to continue so that his life would be saved. By the time he was returning from the end of the 100 feet, the noise of both those cursing him and of those encouraging him was so loud he had to stop at times, wait, concentrate and continue. But, at last, he made it to the end with the egg still on top of the tablespoon in his mouth. The king asked him how he could achieve such a feat, because it was thought to be impossible. The young man replied, "I closed my ears both to those that were cursing and criticizing me and to those that were encouraging and praising me."

This is the reason King David said, "thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me." It simply means that as long as you are focused on where you are going, with your ears closed to both those criticizing you and those encouraging you, you will get there. Then, both the rod Christian and the staff Christian in your church will comfort you. You will no longer be moved by what people tell you, but by what the Lord tells you. You might be surprised I said you should close your ears to those encouraging you. This is so because, the greatest hindrance to your next breakthrough might be your last breakthrough. When you are always being encouraged by what you have done, you might not be able to lean on the Lord God for the next miracle. Do not curse your critics. They are there to help keep you on track. Imagine how it would be if everyone around you is encouraging and praising you. You would think that you have arrived. But, my dear, there is still much to be achieved with the help of the Holy Spirit. The harvest truly is ripe! Make yourself useful for God today. God bless you.