Good Morning Friends,
Traveling as a child, some things were too heavy to lift, so I was content that my parents picked up the weight of the luggage. But now as I have matured, I can bear a greater load. The same is true for our emotional and spiritual burdens as well as physical ones. We must mature to be strong. We must be sustained by God through it all as we grow. But I wonder, Just How Many Burdens Can We Carry On The Journey Of Evangelism?
Scripture: Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and after receiving instructions to have Silas and Timothy join him as soon as possible, they left him. Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we too are his offspring.’ Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed; but others said, “We will hear you again about this.” At that point Paul left them. But some of them joined him and became believers, including Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with them. After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.
Acts 17:15, 22—18:1 (NRSV)
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
John 16:12-15 (NRSV)
At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:25-30 (NRSV)
Message: Paul was guided by the Spirit to speak before the Athenian Council about an Unknown God that he had come to know through Jesus and the Spirit. He conveyed a message about four basic truths of the Unknown God to ease the burdens of the people in Greece. These inherent qualities are revealed as the greatness of God, the goodness of God, the government of God and the grace of God. Paul’s sermon is basically that the Unknown God was made known to him and that God gives to all people and all things life and breath. Paul reveals that the unknown god is the Lord of heaven and earth and having up to now overlooked our ignorance, is now declaring that all people everywhere should repent so their burdens might be lifted. The real message of Paul’s sermon is that the Unknown God has made Himself known, and we can know Him today, through the Spirit of Jesus, His Son. Friends, God has been revealed to us so that the burden of sin on our lives might be lifted and our journey through life made easier even in its suffering.
And So, we need to be guided by the Holy Spirit but also Scripture if we hope to see into the lives and hearts of others. To do that we need to lay down our presumptions that hinder the message and not only reform our content but always be reforming.We need to trust and love with our very souls.
Pray we journey through times of suffering. Pray we realize the great strength of our God. Pray we realize the goodness of God. Pray we embrace the government of God. Pray we believe in the grace of God. Pray we realize that we cannot internalize all that is happening in the world, but that God can. Pray we trust in God’s Spirit as our guide on the journey. Pray we recognize that God navigates our life in measure of what we can handle. Pray we realize that Jesus’s words…. the Word made flesh will be a great help to us in navigating our role in Evangelism. Pray we engage people in what is familiar to them. Pray we realize that imitating Paul imitating Jesus is not a bad approach. Pray we help others discover what was once unknown so that they might experience a more abundant life. Pray we are guided by the Holy Spirit. Pray that our message touches both mind and heart. Pray we realize that each situation is different but that the message of Jesus is always the same.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 