Free to Serve
Acts 2:38-42 (TLB) And Peter replied, “Each one of you must turn from sin, return to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; then you also shall receive this gift, the Holy Spirit. For Christ promised him to each one of you who has been called by the Lord our God, and to your children and even to those in distant lands!” Then Peter preached a long sermon, telling about Jesus and strongly urging all his listeners to save themselves from the evils of their nation. And those who believed Peter were baptized—about three thousand in all! They joined with the other believers in regular attendance at the apostles’ teaching sessions and at the Communion services and prayer meetings.
Even in the days of the apostles, Believers were urged to turn from the sin of their nations. This same evil exists in our world today and as Christians we must warn others not to bow down to the ways of the world. God's holy ways come before the ways of man. As we teach the ways of Christ, preach repentance and baptize new Believers, God will continue to add to our churches and communities, a body of people who desire to live righteous before the Lord. As more people get saved, more disciples should become trained up in leadership to fulfill the calling upon their own lives - it could be worship, missions, evangelism, preaching, or teaching but all would be an act of serving our Lord.
1 Samuel 12:23-24 (NLT) As for me, I will certainly not sin against the Lord by ending my prayers for you. And I will continue to teach you what is good and right. But be sure to fear the Lord and faithfully serve him. Think of all the wonderful things he has done for you.
We have been given a great freedom to live an abundant life and I cannot think of a better way to describe an abundance than sharing the gospel and seeing multitudes come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. We will see all of these wonderful things come to pass as we are led by the Spirit of God and not our flesh. May we freely serve the Lord with a pure motive of bringing more people to Heaven and glorifying Him in all we do.
Romans 7:6 (NLT) But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.
