[Faith-talk] FW: [thefamilyoffaith] Charles Stanley - Do I have a role to play?

[Eric Calhoun]

Original Message: 
From: "TONY - Family of Faith" <familyoffaith at tampabay.rr.com>
To: <thefamilyoffaith at yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [thefamilyoffaith] Charles Stanley - Do I have a role to play?
Date: 
Mon, 6 Jun 2011 06:44:52 -0400




Do I have a role to play in communicating God's truth to others?

(Matthew 28:19-20) - "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing 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."


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God never wants us to keep what He teaches us to ourselves. Whether it is
money, insight, or truth, He wants us to share it with others. There is a
tremendous blessing to be gained by opening our hearts and lives to those
who need to know about the unconditional love and forgiveness of Jesus
Christ.

The truth is Jesus commands us to "make disciples of all the nations . .
. teaching them to observe all that I commanded you." (Matthew 28:19-20) . 

Just before He ascended to heaven, He told His disciples, "You shall be
My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to
the remotest part of the earth." (Acts 1:8) -. He never intended for the
disciples to keep the truth of His Word stored away in personal reservoirs
of knowledge. Instead, He instructed them to give away all they received
from Him. He commands us to do the same.

Paul also admonished Timothy, his young protégé, to communicate the truth
he had learned to others who would, in turn, pass it along (2 Tim. 2:2).
Elsewhere he noted, "We are ambassadors for Christ" (2 Cor. 5:20). The sole
purpose of an ambassador is to relay the policies and decisions of their
superiors to the people of the countries where they serve. Likewise, we
have an obligation to declare the divine plan and scriptural policies of
our Master.

Each one of us communicates something by what we say and don't say, by
what we do and fail to do. A father who never reads the Bible is
essentially telling his family that he does not care enough about the Lord
to study His Word. His lack of desire in this area sends the message that
he believes he is smart enough to make his own decisions apart from God's
input. The child who never sees her parents praying mistakenly learns that
trials and tribulations can be handled without any direction from the Lord.
This assumption is totally wrong.

On the other hand, a father who tells his family, "We are going to trust
the Lord to provide us with what we need," declares that God can be trusted
in every facet of life. When children hear their parents praying, they
quickly learn to trust God for every detail. They grow up viewing Him as
very loving-the God who has the very best in mind for their lives.

Even when we remain silent, we subtly state something. Although the
apostle Peter recognized the Gentiles as rightful recipients of God's
grace, he developed the bad habit of withdrawing from them during meals.
His fellow Jews soon picked up on his prideful practice, with the result
"that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy" (Gal. 2:13).
Without a word, Peter had effectively sent a message that the Gentiles were
inferior.

We must honestly evaluate our responses to the Lord's commands. Are we
deliberately and daily applying what He has taught us over the years? When
we comprehend the truth, are we conforming ourselves to the image of
Christ? Are we then communicating this truth to others?