Can I pray for you in any way?
Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com
In Christ, Mark
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk
** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn
** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
“Fellow children of Abraham and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent. The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning Him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have Him executed. When they had carried out all that was written about Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb. But God raised Him from the dead, and for many days He was seen by those who had traveled with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people.”
Acts 13:26-31
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Have you ever heard of an “elevator speech”?
It’s typically used in the context of having a very short period of time, like time spent in an elevator, to tell someone about a product if they are selling or about themselves if they are at a job interview, perhaps answering the question, “Tell us a little bit about yourself?”
I know I have had several jobs where I have had to use an “elevator speech” in both of these examples, first to get a job and then to promote programs I was working in.
With this as a backdrop for the heart of this message, I would like to ask you a question:
What would your “elevator speech” sound like if you had to share the Gospel with someone? Remember, you only have a very short few minutes to do it.
If you’re thinking it might be impossible to do this, I would submit to you the Apostle Paul as we continue to look at his first recorded address in the scriptures, the message of exhortation he delivers to a group of Jews and Gentiles gathered in a synagogue in the city of Pisidian Antioch. Look again at our passage for today here:
“Fellow children of Abraham and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent. The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning Him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have Him executed. When they had carried out all that was written about Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb. But God raised Him from the dead, and for many days He was seen by those who had traveled with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people.” Acts 13:26-31
In looking at this, let’s break down the key components that formed the framework of Paul’s concise explanation of God’s gift of salvation through His Son.
First, Paul made it clear that the message of salvation had not been given to any one group of people. It was intended by God to be presented and heard by all people, Jew (the children of Abraham) or God-fearing Gentile (which basically meant anyone who wasn’t a Jew).
Second, Jesus was condemned by His own people who didn’t recognize Him for who He was. All this was in fulfillment of the words from the prophets who foretold of Jesus’ rejection before it came to be.
Third, not only was Jesus condemned by the people of Jerusalem and their rulers but He was falsely accused and then unjustly sentenced to death. To make matters worse, the Jerusalem rulers and the people convinced Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of the region, to carry out the execution for them. Pilate had Jesus nailed to a cross where He bled and died while subjected to a chorus of mocking and disrespect.
Finally, Jesus’ body was laid to rest in a tomb but on the third day after his crucifixion, God raised His one and only Son from the dead, an act that was validated by many people He appeared to, people who had traveled with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem. Jesus had predicted His destiny while alive and carrying out His ministry work and things transpired just as He said it would.
And there you have it, a perfect salvation “elevator speech” for any Christian to use, courtesy of the Apostle Paul.
Jesus came to bring salvation to all people. He was condemned and falsely convicted by His own people who handed Him over to the Romans to be executed. They crucified Jesus on a cross and after He died, they placed His body in a tomb. On the third day after His death, God raised Jesus from the dead, resurrected into a new life and He made multiple appearances to people who had traveled with Him. Jesus is still alive today and anyone who places their trust in Him as their living Savior will not perish for their sins but be granted eternal life.
Short and simple, but that’s the way that God intended the Gospel to be. Easy to share with anyone so that anyone could be saved.
We’ll continue to see Paul build on this succinct salvation message in our final two devotions from this series. Hope you’ll come back and see how he concludes his message of exhortation.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please
share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com
No comments:
Post a Comment