You are an Aura of the Power of God's Grace

Last night's Bible study lesson focused on Philemon verse seven: "Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord's people."

Wow!  What a great verse.  The apostle Paul (author of Philemon) was intentionally aware of a great leadership quality within Philemon.  It was an incarnational quality to say the least.

1 Corinthians 12:7 says, "Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good."  Paul recognized Philemon was given a special spiritual aura of God's power in grace.  It was as if God so manifested Himself in the person of Philemon that his mere presence among the fellowship represented and permeated the presence of God.

This is the stuff that church leaders should be made of - to be incarnated with the same manifestation of the Spirit as Philemon.  Leaders should bring a sense of ease and peace by their very presence in the room.  How sad it is when leaders are confrontational by nature and people feel uneasy around them.  This type of approach to leadership can only have longlasting ill effects on the life and ministries of the church.

Paul was greatly encouraged by the manifestation of the Spirit upon Philemon.  He stated that Philemon "refreshed the hearts of the Lord's people."  The word refreshed has an interesting translation in the Greek; anapauō, literally meaning to set at ease.  It's likened to when a situation is very tense but at the last minute danger is diverted and a peaceful calmness is restored.

A few years ago my doctor told me that recent blood work showed my iron levels extremely low.  I asked him what was the cause.  He named a few possibilities, but I stopped listening when he mentioned the word cancer.  For days I walked around in a daze of shock at the possibility that I had cancer.  In the meantime he sent me for bloodwork again to double check my iron levels.  He called my cell phone one Friday evening and with elation stated, "Leo, it was a lab error!  Your iron levels are completely normal."  The sense of ease that came over me at that moment was nothing short of being phenomonal.

The Bible says that we should pray for the manifestation of the Spirit's gifting; and the manifestation of the Spirit upon Philemon is a must prayer for every leader in the charge of a fellowship.  Are you refreshing the hearts of God's people?

Blessings,

-Leo