Once I pull out of the driveway in my car, I
absolutely hate going back. I have gone without items for days rather than take
five minutes to turn around and go back. I have frustrated my family when they
say “oh wait I forgot something”, only to have me say “too bad we already left.”
This is surely a growth area for me. Though
this is a silly example, in do struggle with anything that makes we feel like I
am going backward. Real progress is something that is very important to me. I must
sense that I am moving forward and that my efforts are producing good results.
It drives me as a leader and it helps me be self-aware of my own progress.
At our church, we have a lot of activity. The
following are a few questions that can be continually asked. Are we bringing
salvation and life to each other and our community? Are we really connecting with God and each
other? Are we really growing? Are we really giving? As we ask this question sometimes we may get
discouraged because people that we love are not moving forward and are not
giving themselves to the Lord. So, in the spirit of self-reflection, and
seeking to count for zero we are going to take a look at Acts chapter 10. As we
do, may we discover some key aspects of our partnership with God in helping
others come to faith in Jesus.
A statement that summarizes this message
is, God uses us to reach people we would not think of reaching. In acts chapter
ten, the idea of reaching Gentiles with the gospel was something new to Peter,
but not to God. It was His idea from the
beginning, even as he chose Abraham and his descendants; he had the Gentiles in
mind.
The first thing that I wish to highlight
in this chapter is that prior to our efforts to reach people with the gospel,
God is at work in their life (Acts 10:1-8). May we never think that we initiate
any work of God. God was at work in the life of Cornelius and He is at work in
the lives of people around you. In fact, I believe that this is the very reason
why God has placed you in their lives.
Along with this thought, God moves in your
heart to share the gospel (Acts 10:9-29). In these verses, God was removing the
prejudice that resided in Peter’s heart. As Peter thought that He was being
true to the Word of God, he had formed prejudices. This is what happens when we
misunderstand why God give certain commands. Once these prejudices were
removed, Peter was ready to be used by God to reach Cornelius and those in his
home.
With God doing the work in the hearts of those
sharing and listening to Gospel, those who are sharing the gospel are to simply
tell the story and request a response (Acts 10:30-36). The words of Peter in
this passage summarize much of the Old Testament and focuses on the details of
the life of Jesus. They to this is always the death and resurrection of Jesus. This
requires those who wish to share the gospel to study and be able to summarize
the story.
In conclusion, I would like to ask what
roadblocks must be faced when you are attempting to share the gospel? Here are
a few that come to mind. People are difficult. There is heavy opposition from
non-Christian ideas about Christianity from Christians. You may therefore fear failure.
Remember that God is already at work in their life and the convincing power
resides only in the Holy Spirit. It is not your job to convince, but it is to
share.
Within the Church of the Nazarene, we have
an avenue of reaching the world. As a local church, we give the World
Evangelism Fund. This fund is held in our denominational headquarters and is
used in 159 world area. May we have a passion to share the gospel with all
those both near and far and may there be zero people around us that have not
heard the news of Jesus.
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