June 10, 2020
Central Truth
Don't underestimate the power of the gospel. Faithfully share it and enjoy witnessing God move in someone's life!
"If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way?"
1 Now the apostles and the brothers 1 11:1 Or brothers and sisters who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party 2 11:2 Or Jerusalem, those of the circumcision criticized him, saying, 3 “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” 4 But Peter began and explained it to them in order: 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me. 6 Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air. 7 And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ 8 But I said, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9 But the voice answered a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.’ 10 This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven. 11 And behold, at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea. 12 And the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man's house. 13 And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; 14 he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’ 15 As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way?” 18 When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”
Have you ever shared the gospel with someone and felt like it fell on deaf ears? Have you ever heard of an awesome story of someone coming to know Jesus? Have you seen the gospel resonate with someone for the very first time? It's such a sweet and beautiful thing to see the impact and life-changing power of the gospel (and also be a part of it).
Here in Acts 11, Peter is the faithful steward to take this message of hope to the Gentiles for the very first time. He could have questioned the visions from God and the nudge from the Holy Spirit, but he didn't. He simply acted out of obedience and followed the Lord's lead. And as Acts 11:15b states, "the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning."
The calling here is simple: share the gospel with everyone you possibly can and leave the rest up to God. The challenge for most of us is that we get too comfortable in our daily lives, and we begin to let the gospel lose its luster, overlooking all of the opportunities around us to share. How can the very thing that changed our lives become so . . . mundane? (Just me?)
I often underestimate what God can do when I share with people. Sometimes, the light bulb goes off in their head, and other times it's just planting or watering a seed that someone will later harvest. Whatever the outcome, when I take the time to love on someone and share the gospel, it fires me up and brings me great joy. It's exciting to imagine who all we will see in heaven because of our intentional acts of faithfulness with sharing the gospel.
But remember, our job is simply to be unashamed (as Romans 1:16-17 says) and to love. It is the Holy Spirit's job to convict and God's job to save. We are called to walk humbly with this message, sharing it faithfully and leaving the rest up to God. Who am I to stand in God's way?
1. With whom have you most recently shared the gospel?
2. With whom do you still need to share the gospel?
3. Invite a friend to share the gospel with someone this week, and then follow up to see how it went.