I was reading Acts 11 this morning and verse 18 literally jumped off the page. Peter is trying to explain why he was ministering to the Gentiles, and all of a sudden it sinks in to his fellow Jews that salvation is for all peoples. And when it sank in guess what? They started praising and glorifying God. What a breakthrough! This life was for all peoples. It was prophesied in Isaiah 42, mentioned in Luke 2:32, John 11:52 and Romans 10:12-13...and the Isaiah passage was referred to again in Romans 15:9-16.
History has a way of repeating itself. Over the years and even now I sometimes hear people say things like, "Why do we need to go to the other side of the world to tell people about Jesus?". There are some in the church today who have the same kind of attitude the Jews had before the breakthrough. We live in a country with evangelical churches on almost every other corner. We have the most advanced media in the world. People here have the opportunity to hear about Jesus. But there are many people groups across the earth that have never heard the name of Jesus. Of course we need to be telling people here at home about Jesus, but we must not stop there.
We can praise and glorify God which, by the way, is worship. We can praise Him that our church here in Rockwall gives around 40% of all of our giving every year to ministry and missions outside our church. This includes our giving through the Cooperative Program of the Southern Baptist Convention (which is a lifeline to our missionaries and other ministries), associational missions, our World Missions Offering, budgeted items for ministry and missions here in our community, monies set aside for our student and adult mission trips and other monies designated to mission projects. We praise and glorify God that we are part of a church with that kind of heart for missions. Praise and glorify God for the breakthrough to all peoples.
We are singing a hymn on Sunday, "Because I Have Been Given Much" which ends with these words by Grace Noll Crowell, . . . "I shall give love to those in need, Shall show that love by word and deed: Thus shall my thanks be thanks indeed." As we approach Thanksgiving, Christmas, and our World Missions Offering may those words be our heart's desire. Then, we can give praise and glory for the breakthrough of life to all peoples. mjm
