In this message series, we’re talking about Changing Your World. That might seem like a pretty daunting task, but God created you to do it. You were created to change your world. You were created to influence other people for eternity. You see, when help someone get connected to Jesus Christ, not only do you change the world, but you change eternity, forever. Talk about significance, talk about having an impact with your life. Nothing can top that.
To start off this morning, I want us to reflect on God’s sovereignty in our lives. God is sovereign, which means that He is in control of everything in our world. The world is not out of control, God is in charge of history.
Acts 17:26-27 (NIV2011) From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.
These verses tell us that God not only created everyone, He created nations to rise and fall at certain times in history. He created people to live in those nations in certain geographic areas at certain times. So, let’s apply this to our lives. God chose your parents, He chose where you were born and He chose in what year you were born. It is God’s will that you are alive in the year 2014 and living in the St. Louis area. Why does God put people in different places at different times? The last verse gives us the answer. God guides our lives so that we will seek Him, reach out for Him and find Him. He is not far from anyone on the face of the planet. So, in these verses we see God’s sovereignty over our lives and our responsibility to seek after Him, so that we may find Him.
If you’re reading this blog post, it is not an accident. It is part of God’s plan for your life to draw you closer to Him. Not only did God place you in St. Louis in the year 2014, so that you would find Him, He also placed people around you for you to influence for Him.
Today, my message is entitled “Communicate Creatively.” We’re going to look more closely at how we can communicate God’s truth with others.
Romans 10:14 (NLT) But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?
God uses people, like you and me to tell others about Jesus. God has placed certain people in your life that you alone can reach. If you don’t reach them, they will spend eternity in hell. It’s serious business. Sometimes, we are called to plant seeds of God’s truth, other times to water those seeds and yet other times to reap the harvest and lead someone into God’s kingdom. Today, we’re going to learn from the example of Jesus how to communicate God’s truth creatively.