Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven." Matthew 16:16-17
In yesterday's sermon, Pastor Mullen made a very helpful observation. God is not looking for us to have spectacular, or even eloquent, confessions or testimonies of faith. Instead, he wishes for us to have a clear confession. A clear confession of who Jesus is, and who he is in our lives.
Perhaps we think that "other people" have amazing stories of God's deliverance to share with others...but not us. And so we might discount or exempt ourselves from speaking to others about our faith. However, this dishonors the work of the Holy Spirit in our own lives.
God wants to use you, not someone else, to speak the gospel to those you know. And I've seen time and time again that he will use you (whoever "you" may be!).
I was once at a dinner party where an agnostic philosophy professor was present. I was confident that, as a ministry leader armed with thick books, I would be able to provide answers to this professor. But he dismissed me and my books quickly. Instead, God used a young girl who was also present, who spoke to the professor with a very simple testimony - yet silenced the objections he was voicing to the Christian faith.
Rich Mullins wrote a great song based on stories in the Bible where God used everyday people...and animals...to accomplish his purposes. The chorus, reflecting on the story of Moses' rescue from Pharaoh's infanticide, speaks to this point:
And a princess pulled a baby out of the water
He was hidden in the rushes
Sleeping in a basket made of reeds
And you never know who God is gonna use
A princess or a baby
Or maybe even you or me
Let's not worry about who we are or aren't. Let's instead think about who our Savior is, and make sure that we can speak with some clarity and even simplicity about Him.
* * *
Click here for the full text to the song mentioned above.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
In the past, especially when I was a teenager, I felt somewhat sheepish about my testimony when people asked. I thought mine was boring, and even sometimes wished I had a more powerful, stirring example of God's grace in my life.
But as I've gotten older, I realize that God can use me and my "boring" testimony for his glory. I've learned that God fulfilling his covenant promises to believers and Christ drawing me to himself at a young age is a great testimony to the power, love, and faithfulness of God.
My testimony is no longer "I grew up in a Christian home, etc., etc.," but it is "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Post a Comment