Topic: Act of Apostles
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (Acts 1:8 KJV)
Now, we have arrived to the main theme or thesis verse of the Book of Acts, which it is evangelism or spreading of Christianity. Before He left His disciples, Jesus commanded them to go out to the world to teach others what He taught them to do. Throughout the books of Gospel, He showed them what their faiths can do if they'd believe in Him. Jesus also demonstrated them how to develop with God and people. Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-39, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."
The words Christian appears twice (Acts 26:28 and I Peter 4:16) and Christians appear only once (Acts 11:26) in the King James Version. The other modern translations of the Bible may have more verses, which they constrict from the original translation of the Bible, KJV. As we see, God is careless about which religious group we belong to. It's about our relationship with God and people. By the way, there is no single verse that contains with the word Christianity
Why Jesus commanded His disciples to be worldwide evangelists to the world, starting in Jerusalem? Unlike today, they walked hundred miles or more to share the Gospel of Jesus to several villages. While they proclaimed the Words of God, these disciples faced many hardships from unbelievers, as we read throughout the Book of Acts. They faced many persecutions from other religious leaders and groups. Did persecution stop? No! We still hear that many today's pastors faced persecutions because of their faiths in Jesus Christ. We want to thank God that we have American Center for Law and Justice to assist them to protect their Christian faiths. But ACLJ has limited resources for you to be a witness for Jesus Christ. Even though we believe that our nation was built by the biblical principles, it doesn't guarantee that we wouldn't face tribulations in our lives.
Look America today. This nation has turned against God more aggressively every day. Our primetime TV programs have filled with violence, sex, and foul languages rather than they are for family and children. Today's education system is filled with other religious and moral values than Christian and family values. If the child would draw a picture of Christian symbol, then the child would get trouble by her/his teacher. However, when the child would draw her Islamic or other religious symbols, then it doesn't matter as long as it's not related to Christianity. Churches have compromised with the world; we may don't realize what the truth is.
We have lost to reach other parts of the world to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. Nowadays, many preachers use satellite to reach other locations to preach the Gospel. Some American preachers, such as Bishop TD Jake, have three or four churches that use the satellite for him to do church services from his main location. We have to be like disciples, who travelled hundred or more miles with their feet, to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank God that we have airplane to travel to the next
destination, but we need to get dirty to do the Great Commission (Mathew 28:18-20). We need to make our standards higher. God doesn't want us to be lazy on the Lazy Boy furniture. We are His voice to share the messages on the grace of God through Jesus Christ. When we accept Jesus as our personal Savior, we become priests to represent God.
Do you have your relationship with the Heavenly Father? If not, I like to encourage you to develop your personal relationship with Jesus Christ today. First, confess your sins and invite Jesus Christ to your life. Paul said in Romans 10:9-11, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." There is no sinner prayer formula. Instead, you just talk to God at where you are now. Secondly, I'd like to encourage you to find a good solid biblical teaching church and Christian friends. They can help you to build strong relationship with God. If you'd need further assistance, you can email me at mgjcministries@mgjcweb.org or visit my ministries website at www.mgjcweb.org for further resources.
