Catching The Ride Of Your Life - Part Two
Scripture of the Week: Acts 10:44–48
Message: This week we wrap up our series "Soul Surfer" We invite you to join us at 2pm today, April 3 to view the movie "Soul Surfer" in our Fellowship Hall.
What are the things in life that you are most concerned with?
o Getting good grades?
o Being popular?
o Having a boyfriend or girlfriend?
o Updating your Facebook page twenty-seven times a day?
None of these things are inherently wrong, but is it possible that your concerns are too small?
Let me ask another question. What do you think Jesus is most concerned about?
Here are a couple things:
o 25,000 children die every day from hunger or preventable diseases.
o 4.5 billion people on the planet don’t have a relationship with God.
o There are 1.2 million children being enslaved and abused around the world.
o There are people in your school who are contemplating suicide.
o There are people in your life who are far away from God.
Let me make it perfectly clear. If your concerns look nothing like God’s concerns, then your concerns are too small. It’s not that God doesn’t care about your grades, your friendships, or your future spouse, but He’s longing even more that you would join Him in dreaming for something bigger…something more meaningful.
Just like with Bethany, as God grows your concerns for others, He will grow your ability to make a difference in your world. It may be a difference within your circle of friends. It may be a difference at your school. He may even give you the opportunity to make a difference in the whole world.
In Peter’s story, he obediently visits this complete stranger named Cornelius. Peter is blown away to hear that God had actually spoken to this Gentile and told him to go and find Peter. So Peter goes against everything he has ever believed and actually tells these Gentiles about Jesus. Listen to what happens.
Cornelius’s and many others’ salvations depended on whether Peter was willing to raise his level of concern to the Gentiles. Cornelius’s dream would not have become a reality unless Peter acted and was responsive to God’s call. The same is true for you. There are people in your world who will not be helped, reached out to, listened to, or saved unless you are willing to raise your level of concern for them. If you are a follower of Christ, then now it’s your move.
Here is one of the coolest things in the world: God is the ultimate networker. There is no doubt that it was God orchestrating the connection between Peter and Cornelius. He was speaking to both of them. When you start allowing yourself to be concerned with the things that God is concerned about, He loves to connect you with others who are dreaming the same way. He will take your dreams and do things through you beyond what you could ever ask or imagine.
God will do immeasurably more than you could ever ask or imagine, but it must start when He increases your level of concern for the people around you. Are you ready to step out of the boat and catch the ride of your life?