63.2 Witness To The Nations

(Acts 26:12-18)

"It was for this purpose that I went to Damascus with authority and orders from the chief priests. It was on the road at midday, Your majesty, that I saw a light much brighter than the sun, coming from the sky and shining around me and the men traveling with me.  All of us fell to the ground, and I heard a voice say to me in Hebrew, 'Saul, Saul! Why are you persecuting me?  You are hurting yourself by hitting back, like an ox, kicking against its owner's stick." 'Who are you, Lord?' I asked.  And the Lord answered, 'I am Jesus, whom you persecute.  But get up and stand on your feet.  I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant.  You are to tell others what you have seen of me today and what I will show you in the future.  I will rescue you from the people of Israel and from the Gentiles to whom I will send you.  You are to open their eyes and turn them from the darkness to the light and from the power of Satan to God, so that through their faith in me they will have their sins forgiven and receive their place among God's chosen people."

63.1 Speak The Word Of God

(Ezekiel 2:1-3:11)

When I saw this, I fell face downward on the ground. Then I heard a voice saying, "Mortal man, stand up.  I want to talk to you." While the voice was speaking, God's spirit entered me and raised me to my feet, and I heard the voice continue, "Mortal man, I am sending you to the people of Israel.  They have rebelled and turned against me and are still rebels, just as their ancestors were.  They are stubborn and do not respect me, so I am sending you to tell them what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying to them.  Whether those rebels listen to you or not, they will know that a prophet has been among them.

"But you, mortal man, must not be afraid of them or of anything they say. They will defy and despise you; it will be like living among scorpions.  Still, don't be afraid of those rebels or of anything they say.  You will tell them whatever I tell you to say, whether they listen or not.  Remember what rebels they are.

"Mortal man, listen to what I tell you. Don't be rebellious like them.  Open your mouth and eat what I am going to give you." I saw a hand reaching out toward me, and it was holding a scroll.  The hand unrolled the scroll, and I saw that there was writing on both sides--cries of grief were written there, and wails and groans.

God said, "Mortal man, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel."

So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. He said, "mortal man, eat this scroll that I give you; fill your stomach with it." I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey.

Then God said, Mortal man, go to the people of Israel and say to them whatever I tell you to say.  I am not sending you to a nation that speaks a difficult foreign language, but to the Israelites.  If I sent you to great nations that spoke difficult languages you didn't understand, they would listen to you.  But none of people of Israel will be willing to listen; they will not even listen to me.  All of them are stubborn and defiant.  Now I will make you as stubborn and as tough as they are.  I will make you as firm as a rock, as hard as a diamond; don't be afraid of those rebels."

God continued, "Mortal man, pay close attention and remember everything I tell you.  Then go to your countrymen who are in exile and tell them what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying to them, whether they pay attention to you or not."

62.4 Unless The Lord Builds The House, We Labor In Vain

(Psalm 127)

If the Lord does not build the house, the work of the builders is useless;
If the Lord does not protect the city, it does no good for the sentries to stand guard
It is useless to work so hard for a living, getting up early and going to bed late.
For the Lord provides for those he loves, while they are asleep.
Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a real blessing.
The sons a man has when he is young are like arrows in a soldier's hand.
Happy is the man who has many such arrows.
He will never be defeated when he meets his enemies in the place of judgment.

62.3 Ministers Are Just Servants: The Real Growth Comes From God

(1 Corinthians 3:5-9)

After all, who is Apollos?  And who is Paul? We are simply God's servants, by whom you were led to believe.

Each one of us does the work which the Lord gave him to do: I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plant, but it was God who made the plant grow.  The one who plants and the one who waters really do not matter. It is God matters, because he makes the plant grow.  There is no difference between the man who plants and man who waters; God will reward each one according to the work he has done.  For we are partners working together for God, and you are God's field.

62.2 They Will Hate You As They Hated Me

(John 15:18-20)

"If the world hates you, just remember that it has hated me first.  If you belonged to the world, then the world would love you as its own.  But I chose you from this world, and you do not belong to it; that is why the world hates you.  Remember what I told you: 'No slave is greater than his master,' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you too; if they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours too.