Brother's Keeper, May 7, 2024

Reverend Michael Mwangi

Senior Pastor, Fedha Church, Kenya Assemblies of God 


The armour of God covers us and protects our front part. We engage the enemy head on and it is not anticipated at any time we will run away from our enemy and show him our back. Therefore you will notice no piece of armor covers our back.

What or who covers our backs?

Yet the back is very sensitive because of the spinal cord. Any slight injury on our back can paralyse us forever or kill us.

In a battle formation, it is our fellow brothers who watch over our backs.

We are to be our brother's keeper. 

Genesis 4:9-12

9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

10 The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. 11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”

They are our eyes and protected over our venerable back.

Being your brother's keeper means that you are conscious that your actions might cause your brother (or sister) to stumble so you adjust them accordingly.

Unfortunately, this is not always the case in the church. Sometimes brothers instead of watching your back, end up back biting and even worse back stabbing causing fatal injuries than even the enemy.

Such wounds are severe and painful and have left brethren spiritually immobilised or even backsliding.

Judas betrayed Jesus.

Psalm 41: 9

Even my close friend,

    someone I trusted,

one who shared my bread,

    has turned[a] against me.

Psalms 55:12-14

If an enemy were insulting me,

    I could endure it;

if a foe were rising against me,

    I could hide.

13 But it is you, a man like myself,

    my companion, my close friend,

14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship

    at the house of God,

as we walked about

    among the worshipers.

Philippians 2:3-5 New Living Translation

Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

Galatians 5:15-17 New International Version

If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh.

We are called to be brother's keeper

This means that when you notice your brother doing things that are not godly, you have enough of a relationship with him that you can have a hard conversation, pray with him, and help guide him back from the edge of sin.

It means emotional and spiritual, physical support is readily given.

It means iron sharpening iron.

It means you build relationships by making time for him, sharing meals, and getting to know each other’s families.

It means doing life together even when it’s not convenient and thinking more about them than you do about yourself.

Galatians 6

9. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

10. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.


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