How can my Faith be Seen?
About this time when
everyone is used to such state, a warm and energetic person rise from within
them and washes his car.
Then the difference is
clearly visible. One clean car makes all the difference in showing how much
dirt has accumulated on other cars..!
Our lifestyle should
also be like that one Clean car. It should stand out so brightly that, in
contrast the person’s lifestyle is seen for what it is – muddy and slushy in
darkness of sin.
1. Matthew 28:18-20 – Great Commission
Dear Reader,
When we read Matthew
28:18-20, we see that before Jesus was taken up into heaven, He commissioned
the disciples.
He said
“18.
Then Jesus came to them and said, “all authority in heaven and on earth has
been given to me.
19.
Therefore go and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit,
20.
and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with
you always, to the very end of the age.”
The story talked about
being light and here too Jesus is asking as to make disciples.
Forget disciples,
ARE WE EVEN LIVING OUT
OUR FAITH? ARE WE LIVING A LIFE WHERE PEOPLE WOULD SEE JESUS?
You know what the
problem is. We know that we need to live a changed life, we know that we
need to show and testify our faith to others, we know that we need to make disciples.
But
The problem is How?
Therefore
here we will be talking on how to live out my faith? And how to start
2. How to Live out my Faith (Biblical Model) – Acts 1:1-8
Just to give a
background.
The Book of Acts is
written by Luke. This Book talks the ministry of the disciples and how it
spread to the whole world. As the name suggest “Acts of the Apostles.” When we
read Acts 1:1-5, Luke gives a background.
Lets read step by step.
Verse 1-2, “In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote
about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to
heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he
had chosen.”
It is a kind of a recap
of the previous book. And Luke while writing this he is connecting it to the
Gospel of Luke. And he specifically mentions that, Gospel according to St. Luke
talks about Jesus (His ministry and Teachings).
In verse 2 basically he
also gives a timeframe.
So Luke starts with
this recap. Acts has not yet started actually.
This is very important
thing to notice. In verses 3-5, “after
his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs
that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke
about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he
gave them this command: do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father
promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water,
but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
We see repetition,
“Them”. It denotes the disciples.
This means that Luke is
emphasising on the disciples.
ü They
were with Jesus when he taught,
ü they
were with Jesus when he preached,
ü they
were with Jesus when he healed and did mighty things,
ü they
were with Jesus when he was on the cross
ü they
even got the proof of his resurrection.
They knew why he came
and he died. They knew real message of Jesus.
Lets read verse 6-7
“Then they gathered around him and asked him, Lord, are you at this time
going to restore the kingdom to Israel? He said to them, It is not for you to
know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.”
a. Revealing the consumerist attitude – Verse 6-7
Now this is a very
crucial dialogue that we see here between Jesus and his disciples.
And important is Jesus
is basically about to leave them. If you read further, then Jesus will be
lifted up to heaven.
Ok!
Just now we saw, Disciple
knew the purpose of his coming they knew what he preached.
But still they are
stuck up as to when will he deliver them from Romans.
For Example – when we
were kids our parents used to say no for chocolates because it affected our
teeth. Interestingly parents used to explain to us but still after a while we
again used to ask for chocolates.
Isn’t it too much...!
The disciples are stuck to the worldly desires. They are again having a consumerist
attitude.
We also do the same
thing...!
We follow Jesus so that
we get a car, bike, ration, healing, money, wife, school admission etc.
WHY ARE YOU FOLLOWING
JESUS?
WILL YOU STILL FOLLOW JESUS
EVEN THOUGH YOUR NEEDS ARE NOT MET?
We need to stop dealing
with Jesus as an ATM machine.
The question reveals
the true intention of disciples.
What is your intention
?
Now look at the reply that
Jesus gives. Verse 7.
Like he is just shutting
them up!
This shows that God has
authority over everything. Again the question comes up, will you still follow
Jesus if healing doesn’t come, if money doesn’t come, etc?
We cannot live out our
faith till the time we don’t know why did Jesus came on this earth.
Therefore,
First thing is, to know
Why Am I following Jesus? We cannot share gospel till the time we ourselves don’t
know what true gospel is.
Verse 8 “but you will receive power when the Holy
Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all
Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
It starts with “But”
that means it is connected to verse 7. Jesus corrects their focus.
He is like – your personal
needs God will take care according to his plan but rather you become my
witness.
Witness of Jesus’ Death
and Resurrection. That he saved us from eternal death and gave us life, life
after death. He is the true way, the truth and the life.
And next we see after “But”
is
“When the Holy Spirit
comes on you”
Now it takes us back up
to verse 5. There we see one word being repeated that is baptism. This takes us
back to the time when we were baptised.
Witness – the greek
word of witness is “Martureo” but the meaning here is “one who dies because of his
faith”. That’s how strong emphasis is.
Dear friends,
Holy Spirit is in you.
Are you ready to become a witness?
So in order to
live out my faith – become a witness.
Verse 8
He list out various
places. And interestingly when you read the whole book of Acts disciples
followed this, i.e, they started with – Jerusalem, Judea, samaria and ends of
the earth.
But for us These places
are not just places but they hold a lot of significance.
i.
Jerusalem
The first place where
we need to be a witness is in our family and church.
Now why Jerusalem,
because Jerusalem reflects the Christian church. (Gal 4:25-26.)
Dear Friends we need to
be a witness of Jesus Christ in our Family. Family is the prime institution
that God has kept. We need to share the love of Jesus to our Family members.
(You know what a real
witnessing act in family is seen when we are in Delhi traffic)
Does your spouse
testify about you have helped him/her to come closer to Jesus? Does your spouse
testify that you mean a lot to them?
Does your child testify
that my father/mother loves and cares for me and teach me about Jesus?
Even in church
Does your church member
say that He/she is the man/woman of prayer and faith?
ARE YOU A WITNESS IN
YOUR JERUSALEM (FAMILY AND CHURCH)?
ii.
Judea
Judea reflects what is outside Jerusalem. That means our
neighbours and workplace.
(For Example – In a police investigation or any kind of
investigation, police comes and asks your neighbours about you, because your
neighbours are also the one who knows the life you live.)
That’s what.
Our Judea is our neighbourhood.
How is our life with our neighbours? Yes we might have shared
about Jesus to them but does our words match with our conduct?
WHAT DOES YOUR NEIGHBOURS SAY ABOUT YOU?
iii.
Samaria
When we see Samaritans, they were not so much loved people.
The historians says that when the Jews had to go somewhere
and if the Samaritan village was on their way they used to go round it and not
through it.
Therefore, for us we need to show the love of Christ to those
who are not so much lovable.
(Example – the best person to show the love of Christ is our
sweepers or the Garbage fellow or the one who washes our care or the watchman.)
iv.
Ends of the earth
This is the last thing that Jesus asked us to be the witness
in.
But, we usually want to reach out to the world first and not
concentrate on our home.
I would like to end with a story
According to a legend,
When Jesus returned to
heaven following his death on the cross and resurrection from the tomb, the
angels gathered in amazement.
They gazed at the
wounds in his hands and feet and shuddered to recall his suffering
Finally Gabriel Spoke:
“Master, you suffer terribly down there. Do they know and appreciate the extent
of your sacrifice?”
No said Jesus. “Not
yet. Right now only a handful of people in Palestine know”
Gabriel Asked “Then
what have you done to let everyone else know?”
I’ve asked, Peter,
James and John and a few others to spread the news. They will tell others who
will tell others until the message spreads to the end of the earth.”
But Gabriel knowing the
nature of human beings asked, “What is Plan B?”
Christ said, “I have no
plan B” “There is no alternative strategy, I am counting on them.”
2000 years later he
still has no other plan. He is counting on you and me.
Therefore Dear Reader,
I want to challenge
you, Jesus is counting on us. Let us live out our faith in our family, church,
friends, offices and into the world.
God bless you
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