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Scripture for the day: Acts 2:36-39 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” 37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
Thought for the day: So, the first key to salvation, the first step if you will, is the foolishness of preaching. God has ordained it as such. Following the preparation time of 50 days between the resurrection of the Lord and the apostles' experience at Pentecost, the first thing Peter did was stand on a balcony overlooking what must have been a fairly large area, and preach his first sermon. And what a sermon it must have been! 3,000 were added to the church that very day! If we assume what is recorded in Acts chapter 2 to be the entire content of Peter's sermon, there must have been something more happening on that day. To be honest, this isn't the best sermon I've ever read, nor is it anything the people listening that day hadn't probably heard before, either in person or through the stories reaching their homelands from Jerusalem. These arguments for the Messiahship of Jesus Christ were pretty common by this time. So what was the difference? Why were so many saved? What did Peter and the others (remember, Peter was on the balcony preaching but the others were somewhere in the vicinity witnessing and preaching as well) say that hadn't already been said?
Nothing. The difference wasn't in the message, it was in the messenger. The difference between this message and others was that it was aimed in a different direction. You see, too many times our message is developed in the head and aimed at another head. Peter's sermon shot right to the hearts of his listeners and, because it did, the Bible tells us they were "cut to the heart." They had the underpinnings of religiosity knocked right out from under them and the truth of the Gospel hit them square in the heart. They were moved to tears by the power of the Holy Spirit in the words of a man. Peter was able to preach effectively because he'd been in prayer, not because he'd spent countless hours in Bible study (not that study isn't important; it is). He was able to be effective in reaching the people because the Word had been effective in reaching him. A wise teacher once said, "The message will never move the people until it has moved the preacher."
My friends, pray for your pastor, not that his knowledge will increase but that he will make time to spend with God in such a way as to be mightily moved by the message he is preparing to give on Sunday. Only then can people be truly "cut to the heart" and find relief for their sins and help for their struggles.
As for the rest of us, if we are to reach our world for Christ, we too must have these close encounters with the living Word, allowing what is spoken there to change us at the heart level. Nothing convinces a skeptical world quicker than absolute conviction on the part of an individual. All great leaders, whether leading toward good or evil, have been able to rally others because of their single-minded conviction concerning their cause. Are we as convinced about ours?
Now go take on your world. - Bill