Lift Him Up

Jeremiah 38:10
Then the King commanded Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian saying, “Take from here thirty men with you, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon before he dies.”

Tony Dungy is a great Christian leader. A man who has known tragedy and triumph, He has been the first African-American coach to win a Super Bowl while at the same time losing his son to suicide. The thing I like the most about Tony Dungy is his work in going into the “Dungeons’” to lift up young men in prison. His most publicized effort is when he went on his own accord to mentor Michael Vick while he was incarcerated for dog fighting. He saw Michael as a son he didn’t want to lose and while everyone wanted to condemn him, Coach Dungy still saw some good in him and lifted Michael up with the Love of Christ.

The same thing happened to Jeremiah the prophet. He was thrown in a dungeon simply because he pronounced Judgment upon Israel. He told them what God told him to tell Israel, “Either surrender or Die.” Because of their wickedness God was turning Israel over to the Chaldeans. The princes didn’t want to hear nothing about surrendering, so they threw Jeremiah in jail, but more specifically a dungeon which was nothing more than an empty well with mud in the bottom. Jeremiah was sinking waist deep in mud in a dark well with no food. Have you ever felt like you were in a deep well with no food and no one to help you out? We’ve all been in our own pits, thrown in because of mistakes or thrown in because we took a stand for what was right. Right or wrong we’ve all been in the pits of life.

Thank God for Tony Dungy’s and Ebed-Melech’s. Ebed-Melech was an Ethiopian Eunuch who was the servant of the King. He told the King what the men did to Jeremiah the prophet and how he would die from hunger without intervention. I think what gave Ebed-Meclech compassion to Jeremiah is that he knew what it was like to be oppressed. He was an Ethiopian who had been taken from his homeland, castrated and made a servant. He recognized Jeremiah to be a “man of God.” So he went to plead on his behalf. The King knew Jeremiah to be a prophet also, so he sent 30 men to lift Jeremiah out of the pit.

We need to make it our business or our ministry to find people who are stuck in pits and lift them up. We live in a throw away society where it’s easer to walk past pits than it is to make a pit stop. Can you remember when Jesus made a pit stop for you? “Jesus while on others thou art calling do not pass me by.” And he didn’t, now it’s your turn to make a pit stop for somebody stuck, you’ve got to lift him up!
How do we lift our brothers and sisters out of pits?

1. Give your support to someone whose down and can’t get up. America loves kicking people while they are down. Be a part of the minority and go to the rescue of people who are being kicked whether deserved or not. Where is the ministry for those who are down and out?

2. Help those who can’t help themselves. It’s easy to help people who we know we are going to get something back. But can you help somebody who may never be able to pay you back? Can you help somebody who is not popular and it may even hurt your reputation by helping them?

3. Get other people to help you lift up those who are stuck in bad situations. Notice Ebed-Melech went to the King and the King sent him 30 men. Go get some grants, some volunteers to come back to your neighborhood to lift up those that are incarcerated, those stuck in bad neighborhoods and put together programs like the brother in Chicago, who has the ‘Cease the Killing’ ministry.

4. Do for others what you would want them to do for you. What would you want somebody to do for you if you were stuck in a situation you didn’t deserve to die in but you found yourself in? You would want a Coach to come and lift you up. Be that Coach.

When the city was destroyed, God spared Jeremiah and Ebed-Melech because he helped Jeremiah. The life you save may be your own.

Dear God, show me who to lift up. Give me compassion and discernment on whom to encourage and lift up today. Show me the captives you want to set free. Thank you that Love lifted me when nothing else could help, Your Love lifted me! Thank you Jesus.

Amen.