There are some things that you just can't miss, and one of those was Sunday. I went through all the proper channels to ask off months ago, and prepared a sermon to preach; honored because my dad who has also been my Pastor much of my life asked me to deliver the Word of God concerning Salvation to his congregation Sunday was a Celebration of Salvation; my father's to be exact. Sunday was the 50th Anniversary of his Salvation & Baptism. 50 years ago this past weekend Bill Whittaker was confronted with his sin, the Holy Spirit drew him to God and did a work in his heart and as my Pastor here in Martin likes to say, "Bill Whittaker was gloriously saved!"
Every person that comes to Christ is gloriously saved, because the very work on Salvation is totally of God. The Creator of the Universe descending to be one of us, walking in our shoes, feeling what we feel, and dying for our sin - taking the Holy Wrath of God upon Himself as the perfect, holy, divinely offered sacrifice for that sin. As believers, we should never get over the Incarnation & Atonement of Jesus. We should do what my father did - CELEBRATE. So really, i didn't miss Church on Sunday, I was just celebrating in worship in a different building.
If you know Jesus, look back to the day of your Salvation - now draw a line through time to today. What have you done for Christ since then? Jesus saves us, but doesn't take us automatically to heaven. He has a job for us to do - Sharing the Gospel. The career you have chosen is a platform to reach others and tell them about the LOVE OF CHRIST that saved you. We need to invest wisely in that role.
1 Thessalonians 2:8 says, "Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well."
What that means is - we are obligated to share Christ no matter what, but as you grow in relationship with other people you share with them out of love too. And not just share Christ, but open up our life and show them how Jesus changed us. Through time with people, we see new things that need to be conformed to godliness. We trust people with our requests and hurts, and we begin to sharpen each other as Proverbs 27:17 says, "17As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." With the love of God as the relational bond, we rub off on each other - and the hope is that we hone each other into tools with an edge that cuts into the world's influence, taking back pieces & people for Kingdom of God.
It was a pleasure to be with the people that God had gathered as a result of my Dad's salvation. He has influenced many, many people with His fire for the Lord. I am one of them. What have you done with the platform you've been given? Your salvation was a gift meant to be shared.
