Appeal to Caesar
Acts 25:1~10 If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar! (11)
Hymn for scheduled worship: Korean/English Hymnal #505 Christ for the Whole Wide World (#268 in previous version)
Numerous people are failing to overcome the problems of their family lines. Your circumstances, nature and even illnesses are similar to that of the flow of your family line. It goes so far that even while leading a walk of faith, you follow the flow of the same spiritual problems. Regardless of success or finances, unbeknownst to yourself, you are following in the same steps. We must have the complete Gospel to be freed from this problem. If not by the complete Gospel, you cannot escape. Going further, the evangelist who wants to save an era must lay down his or her life before the Gospel. Paul, as described in the passage, is that very model of an evangelist. How must we resolve our lives before the Gospel?
1. Self-sacrifice for the complete Gospel
You can sacrifice yourself if you know the complete Gospel. In the passage, the moment Paul was about to be released from lack of evidences, he appeals to Caesar. To testify of the Gospel before Caesar, Paul sacrifices himself. He laid his life down before the complete Gospel for God’s purpose, the evangelization of Rome. Paul possessed the answer of the complete Gospel by which he was able to give the confession of faith that he has been crucified upon the cross with Christ and that Christ must work through him.
2. God’s plan
Because an evangelist knows the plan of God, he is never shaken. Paul had confidence that appealing to Caesar was God’s plan. It was the moment in which his confession, ‘I must see Rome also,’ was fulfilled. In that brief time, he could have easily been freed from the courts, but he made a resolution to stand before Caesar.
3. Answer that changes the world
The evangelist with the conclusion of the complete Gospel will come to enjoy the answer that changes the world. The evangelist can foresee the future and will gain strength to prepare today amidst great conviction. Jesus promised to give us the filling of the Holy Spirit. He promised to make us witnesses to the ends of the earth. In that case, I must reconfirm where I am today. God’s purpose is the today for evangelism. In here lies our studies, business, health, finances and everything. If you start gaining today’s answers for evangelism, you will be capable of seeing the age beforehand. You must lay everything of yours down before the conclusion that Jesus is the Christ, the solution to all problems, and begin praying for world evangelization.
- Where am I headed right now? By chance, am I headed for the spiritual problems of my family line? Make the most of today, the crucial today, in changing directions toward the complete Gospel that God desires through the life of an evangelist.
Core Training Message / 2010.9.4