Topic: World Changers [Thursday November 27, 2014]
Memorise: And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; - Acts 17:6
Read: Acts 8:5-12
5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.
6 And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.
7 For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.
8 And there was great joy in that city.
9 But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:
10 To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.
11 And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.
12 But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.MESSAGE:
Jesus left a group of 11 apostles behind when He ascended to heaven. He left them with a purpose and a mission to the world. He left them in the world, not to get absorbed or influenced by it, but to change it. Did they succeed? They very well did. Not long after Jesus had gone, in far away Thessalonica, the people exclaimed that the Christian brethren had “turned the world upside down”.
This was an acknowledgement of the fact that they had brought change to the world (Acts 17:6).
For us in this generation, we should realise that the generation that the world cannot change is the generation that will change the world. If the believers of old were flowing with the Satan influenced current of their time, they would not have made any impact and they would not have passed down the torch of the gospel effectively through successive subsequent generations.
To change the world, you need to understand the current situation of the world, its functions and the active players involved. You cannot change a system you know nothing about. Some of us don’t know the current trends in the world around us. If you truly see yourself as being on a mission for God on earth, you cannot afford not to care about what is going on around you.
Even our Lord Jesus Christ was aware that a tower fell on some people in Siloam and was able to appropriately reply those who asked Him questions regarding the incident (Luke 13:4). Next, you need to map out your strategy. Through careful planning, strategise for the desired change you want to introduce, considering the resources at your disposal in Christ and who is behind your vision (Luke 14:28). Having done all these, “stick to your guns” in Christ. Don’t be lured away from your objective, don’t succumb to intimidations or blackmail and don’t be distracted (Philippians 3:13-14).
Action Point: How much are you contributing towards changing the world by witnessing Jesus Christ? Be involved!
Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 10-13
Open Heavens Daily Devotional written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
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Holy Spirit, teach me to be a world changer.
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