During
Sunday’s sermon, Pastor Sam shared from Acts chapter 2. He noted that the
disciples experienced a particular dynamic in worship that caused outsiders to witness
the miraculous:
Utterly amazed, they
asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that
each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and
Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and
Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from
Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them
declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” (Acts 2:7-11)
As
we in Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene partner with other New York City
churches in evangelism, we can be encouraged by the example of the church in
Acts 2. Our pastor summarized this in a statement (paraphrased here): This is the witness: people will come to us
to ask what is going on, and we will give them the authoritative word that came
forth out of our authentic worship.
Our
first task, then, is to be grounded in what ought to be our deepest joy: authentic
worship. As we worship our great God, He sends His Spirit to fill our mouths
with His authoritative word. When this happens, people will come to us… and we
will point them to Christ.
What
is the “language” that the Spirit of God has given us? Some of us may have the
experience of communicating, clearly, in a language that we never studied.
Others of us may have the experience of being able to accurately give travel
directions in a region we’ve never lived in. Some may have the experience of full
immersion in a culture they’d never been exposed to previously. If the Spirit
is present, then we need not be concerned about what we appear to lack. Our
lack of experience, and even our lack of education in particular areas, is not
a problem for God. If we are found worshiping the Lord in spirit and in truth,
then we can trust the Holy Spirit to make a way for the love and grace of God
to be shown in and through us in ways that make it clear that the power is His and not our own.
But,
we are warned with the same words Jesus said to His beloved disciples: On one occasion, while he was eating with
them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for
the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.” (Acts
1:4) If we attempt to go out and do the work of the Lord without the presence
and power of His Spirit, we will not be effective in evangelism-- even if we are doing things that we believe are easy to get done (see John 15:5).
As
we go through our day today, let’s make time to reflect on Acts 1 and 2. And
let’s remain prayerful, and let’s be patient, as we wait for the Lord to
empower us for ministry in the places He will send us.
All Scripture references
are from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973,
1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®Used by permission. All rights
reserved worldwide.
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