November 19 Receiving Power Acts 1:8
Good morning from Pastor Glen Brock, Baptist Tabernacle Church, Wendell, North Carolina… “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
There is a recurring question that is asked of me, “What are we going to do?” Well, the answer is clear and plain for the Follower of Christ! “We are going to be WITNESSES for CHRIST, EVERYWHERE AND IN EVERYTHING!” When I came to Christ, I was told that I was obligated to share the message with others. So, on a Tuesday Night, I joined the “Witnessing Team” to canvas a subdivision that was just down the road form my house. “Lord, have mercy on me!” We arrived at the first house and the Lead Witness knocked on the door. The door slowly opened to reveal a young boy, peeping around the edge of the door. “What do you want?” Our leader, Billy, said, “Is your Daddy home?” “Yes, but he told me to find out what you are selling and to tell you that we do not need any!” Billy said Thank You and we moved on to the next house. He rang the bell and a lady appeared, with a smile on her face and a hearty “Hello!” Billy told her where we were from, who we represented and what our mission was. She listened and spoke with an air of confidence, when she said, “Thank you for your time, however, with supper and homework and all of the other issues in my life, I just want you to leave!” She did all of that with a beautiful smile on her face! So, the next house was where it really got serious. We were greeted by a “Come in the house!” We (three of us) went in and sat down. The wife came in and greeted us with great joy. Here comes the trauma…one of my classmates walked into the room and said, “Hey Glen, what’s going on?” I could have gone through the brand new floor! Sheepishly, I said that we were there to invite them to our church. He came over and sat beside of me and a great conversation began, with the entire family. I knew that it was coming…Billy directed the conversation around to Jesus…What was my classmate going to think? “We are Christians! We have just moved here and are looking for a church that we can be of service.” I leaned over and asked Kenny if he was a Christian and he quietly said, “Yes.” Why this story? I tell it because this was the day that I realized that our mission, as Followers of Christ, is to share His Grace and Good News and not to make assumptions about others and to not be afraid to tell the TRUTH! Keep in Mind, I still struggle and stumble and fumble and forget what I am to say, however, He promised that he would take my human shortcomings and my fumbling ways and use it for His Good! The first time that I stood on Roller Skates, I was unsure and I fell, A LOT, but the more, that, I did it, the more natural that it became and I got to be pretty good at it. So, what are we to do? We are to be witnesses for the cause of Christ. We are to be active in sharing Jesus and to live it every single day! How/ Through the POWER OF THE INDWELLING HOLY SPIRIT! Regardless of the Worldly Junk and Politics and Chaos and Unrest, we are to LIVE FOR JHESUS AND WE ARE TO BE THE BEACON OF HOPE AND GOOD NEWS IN THIS HUMAN WORLDLY MESS! Stay Strong, Stay Focused…THE BEST IS YET TO BE!