In The World To Change The World
When Jesus was ready to go to the cross, He desired that His disciples
would not fall in love with the world.
He noted that those who loved the world lacked love for the Father (1
John 2:15). He went on to pray to the
Father that just as He had sent Jesus into the world, He was sending His
disciples into the world. He wanted them to remember that they were sanctified
or set apart for a holy purpose (John 17:18-19). They were to bring sinners to Christ in spite
of the cost. Leon H. Ellis wrote the
lyrics, “Souls are crying, men are dying, won't you lead them to the cross. Go
and find them, please help to win them, win the lost at any cost.”
He continued to pray that His disciples would remember that the
world would hate them since they were not like the world (John 17:14). We as Christians must remember this and to
know that we are not here to make our neighbors comfortable, relaxed, or to
lull them into a false sense of complacency.
The early Christians shook things up (Acts 17:6-8) because they asserted
that they followed Jesus Christ.
Today, we should not be shocked and hurt when we assert that Jesus
is Lord, He died for our sins, and that He wants the best for everyone and some
do not accept that message. It may be a
strange concept, but if we want to obey Jesus and to fulfill the mission that
He gave us to, we have to be prepared to challenge and provoke others to good
works in Christ and to follow Him. We must remember that God always loves us and
protects us as we obey His words (John 17:15). We must win the lost at any
cost.
1 John 2:15
New
International Version (NIV)
15 Do
not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love
for the Father is not in them.
John 17:14-19
New International Version (NIV)
New International Version (NIV)
14 I
have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the
world any more than I am of the world.
15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.
15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.
17 Sanctify
them by the truth; your word is truth.
18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
Acts 17:6-8
Amplified Bible (AMP)
Amplified Bible (AMP)
6 But
when they failed to find them [Paul and Silas], they dragged Jason and some of
the brethren before the city authorities, crying, These men who have turned the
world upside down have come here also,
7 And
Jason has received them to his house and privately protected them! And they are
all ignoring and acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, [actually] asserting
that there is another king, one Jesus!
8 And
both the crowd and the city authorities, on hearing this, were irritated
(stirred up and troubled).
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