Ephesians 2:8-10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
Continuing Pastor Herk's message, he asks, Can you make a difference in their life for Christ’s sake and the kingdom of God? Yes, yes, yes … a big difference. God created us to make a difference. We need to develop a “yes, we can do it” attitude. We tend to think that we don’t know enough to go out and tell people about Jesus. There is not one Christian walking with the Lord that doesn’t know enough to go out and tell others about Jesus, making a difference in their life and impacting their world for Christ. We need to get that “can do” attitude into our hearts. Many are considered a “good person”; a productive member of society, active in and serving the community, helping people who need help, but those are “good works”. It isn’t good works that we are doing for the Lord, it was good work that they do for their community and makes them look and feel good. But, these good work works head us in the “right” direction and prepare us for the Lord’s work.
Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
There are people out there that care enough to disciple those who do not know the Lord yet. We get discipled, become disciples and then work to make more disciples. We proclaim the Gospel, profess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, spread saving faith and advance the kingdom of God. We all have a story about what has taken place in our life about where we were and where we are now because of God. You may need to stop and think about it for a while, but each one of us has a story about how you came to where you are in the Lord. And, that personal (sin to salvation, slave in bondage to redemption freedom, convicted shame to blameless forgiveness, deserved wrath to unconditional love of God, and spiritual death to abundant life in Christ) story is the key to talking to people comfortably about Jesus. Do not be afraid to tell others about your victorious in Christ story. But, also, we are not alone.
Matthew 10:32-33 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”
We need to tell everyone that we know, about who we know. Tell them your story; everyone has one. It seems that we can talk about everything under the sun but when it comes to talking about what we know about the Lord, for one reason or another, we clam up. You know why, because we are afraid of rejection. When a Scientist discovers a new cure for a disease, they want the whole world to know what has happened. When a cure works, people need to find out about it. You have discovered something wonderful, and cure for sin and eternal damnation, and it is Jesus! Don’t be afraid to tell people about this wonderful redemption and salvation in Christ. Don’t be afraid to tell your road to redemption story. They cannot contradict your personal story and it is a part of the “good news” gospel message. In your story, you are just talking about yourself.
Let's continue Pastor Herk"s message on "Making a Difference" in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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