Friday, March 28, 2014

Salvation is Followed by Obedience


Scripture: Deuteronomy 30:16

in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it.

 

Insights: It was in this third point that the emotional cloud I wrote about Tuesday needs to get clarified.  We had on our sign out front of the church an announcement for the movie Courageous written in Spanish.  It was a part of our C3 (Carrying Christ to our Community) outreach event we had over the weekend.  The event went late into the evening on Saturday and we had not gotten to the sign to change it before Sunday.  Some people in our church had the audacity to ask me if we needed to learn Spanish to attend FBCBG before the Sunday morning service and told me it was stupid to have a sign in Spanish.  Mind you, our community is comprised of 50% Latino/Hispanics and our outreach was geared specifically at them.  Today’s verse is a command to obedience.  It is a command to live and multiply.  Now when the Lord gave the Israelites this command it was about literal procreation, but we can take the same principle and apply it to our spiritual lives.  The only reason that one is left here on earth after his or her conversion is to “procreate” for the kingdom of God.  In other words, we are to obediently tell other people about the love of Jesus.  We are to spread the gospel.  We are to sow seeds of redemption to those who are perishing.  We had 51 surveys filled out during C3 and of those 22 were interested in a Bible Study in Spanish, 6 were interested in a Bible Study in Creole, 2 desired a Bible and 4 prayed to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  14% of those who were surveyed came to the movie (which was in Spanish with English subtitles) and they were blessed.  Beloved of FBCBG, let me tell you again, as I did Sunday, I will become all things to all people that I might when some for Christ (1 Corinthians 9:22).  As long as the Lord allows me the privilege of being the pastor of FBCBG, then I will be intentionally reaching out to our community which is comprised of Spanish speakers, Creole speakers, English speakers and others that I am unaware of as yet.  We, as a body of believers, are going to obey God’s commands and multiply in this land.  You have a choice.  You can choose to get on board and walk in obedience to the Lord or you can choose to rebel against the commands of the Lord and fight against those who are about proclaiming the love of Jesus to lost people.  Just be aware, if you choose the later, you will not falter the Lord’s plan to reach the lost of Bowling Green.  My prayer is you will humble yourself and realize it is not about you, but about Him and walk in obedience to Him.  Let His great name be praised in all the earth!

 

Questions:

  1. Do you understand that if you are a Christ-follower, then your primary act of obedience is the proclamation of the gospel?
  2. Do you understand that any form of resistance to those who are sharing the gospel is actually rebellion against the Lord and is the pinnacle of self-aggrandizement?

Prayer: Father, forgive me when I am selfish and self-serving.  Transform my heart and make it one that fully obeys You and desires to tell the world about Your great love in Jesus Christ.  Amen.

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