Devotional
for the Week 30 April 2007
IT
ONLY TAKES A SPARK
Scripture Texts: Romans
10: 11-15, John
1:40-45
“But
how can they call on Him to save them, unless they believe in
Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard
about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells
them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent?"
(Romans: 10:14-15)
Why
Do Christians Need To Share The Gospel?
In
the book of Romans, Paul stressed the importance of sharing the
gospel with an unbelieving world. If Christians do not bear witness
to the Gospel, our loved ones and neighbours will not have the
opportunity to hear what God has done to save them and therefore
miss the chance of having eternal life.
How
Do We Witness?
With
loving readiness and promptness
These attitudes can be witnessed through Andrew and Philip. After
his encounter with the Lord, the first thing that Andrew did was
to bring his brother Simon (Peter) to meet the Lord (John 1:40-42).
Similarly, after Philip met Jesus, he went to look for Nathanael
to share his encounter (John 1:43-45).
It
can be seen that being ready and prompt are important in enabling
us to seize every opportunity to introduce non-believers to our
Lord, no matter how casual or trivial the situation may be. Even
if they do not respond at the moment, we would still have accomplished
something for the Lord by “planting the seed” through
our sharing.
With
loving simplicity
The examples of Philip and Andrew demonstrate how easy it is to
pass the message of God’s saving Grace to others. Witnessing
to others does not require spectacular acts. When we witness,
we simply share the love of Christ with others, because we have
experienced it. After all, Jesus came to give eternal life for
all. Hence, we only need to tell them what Jesus has done and
how this can bring salvation to all who believe.
With
steadfast faith
Paul did not say that, as we witnessed to the world, we would
never be discouraged, disappointed by people or thrown into dire
circumstances. In spite of these obstacles, our assurance comes
from the constant presence of our Lord (Isaiah 43:2). With this
assurance, we press on despite these difficulties which may not
be removed by God even though we petition Him to do so. God can
turn these obstacles into opportunities in His grand scheme of
things. When we cannot see His hand at work in our circumstances,
we must have faith and trust His heart.
What
Do We Share
To
be His witness means that we are to testify to what we have seen
or experienced. As a result, we give/share:
| (a)
|
what
we believe Jesus has done and how this can bring salvation
to those who believe,
|
| (b) |
our
experiences of His abundant love in our lives, so that the
world may be touched, be able to experience the same in
their lives and be transformed by His love through their
faith in Him, and
|
| (c)
|
of
ourselves – we must simply be willing to surrender
all that we have to the Lord and allow Him to lead us. In
the gospel of John, we read of how a little boy, with 5
barley loaves and 2 fish, offered the little that he had
to the Lord. In doing so, the hungry crowd of 5,000 was
fed.
|
| |
Are
we like this little boy - willing to surrender all so that
the Lord can use the little that we have to make a difference?
As long as we are willing, God is able to take whatever
we offer Him – our time, abilities, talents and money,
and multiply them for His purposes. |
Conclusion
1. |
The
unbelieving world desperately needs to hear the Gospel and
receive the Lord for deliverance from spiritual darkness
and death.
|
2. |
We
must be sensitive to opportunities for sharing the Gospel
and be ready to do so at the time. We do this in simplicity
and with love for the individual. In the process of sharing,
we hold fast to our faith and assurance that the Lord is
with us in discouraging situations.
|
3. |
God
does not remove obstacles. He transforms obstacles into
opportunities for missions and blessings.
|
4. |
All
we need is to be the spark for Jesus and He will get the
fire going. We give of ourselves in faith that He will take
what we have surrendered and multiply them to attain so
much more by His power. |
Prayer
Response
“Dear Lord Jesus, I am willing to surrender all that I have
for the use of your Kingdom. Let me go forth in a spirit of boldness
to share Your great and sacrificial love with those around me.
Let me be a spark which gets a fire going for You. Amen.”
Devotional based on a message by Rev. Dr. Clarence
Lim