| Romans 15:16-17
"...To be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God." Paul said here that he gloried in something not for himself, but in serving those Gentiles who were accepted by God through Jesus Christ, even thought they were unworthy by their nature. Why God accepted them is not only due to Christ, but also due to our participation in the evangelical ministry. It was not easy for Paul, because the Jews didn't socialize with the Gentiles at that time. Some Jews even looked down on the Gentiles. Nevertheless, Paul could still transcend the racial and ethnic barriers to take the gospel to different groups. Likewise, God also wants us to take the gospel to different ethnic groups now. Those who are the Gentiles to us might be people with different nationality, languange and culture. Or they might share the same language, but come from different background and with different social status. We always would feel distant and hard to communicate with others just due to the difference in between. But for the sake of the gospel, may God put the compassion in our heart so that we are willing to overcome the ethnic barrier and bring the great gospel, the great news, to the needy people. It was very important that Paul became a slave of Jesus Christ for the sake of the Gentiles. When you serve God, or spread the gospel, don't help those needy people with the mentality of a savior. May God give us humility and the heart of a servant to serve people around us. Many years ago I attended a conference in a Taiwanese-speaking church. When they introduced the speaker for the day, they said he was God's "turnip". I was shocked, wondering "how come there is turnip in God's ministry?" Then I realized that he was God's "servant". That day I realized that someone serving God is actually God's servant. May God give us this mentality so that we are willing to become God's servant and serve Him with the heart of a servant. In addition, Paul said that he was given the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God. A priest is a mediator between God and people, taking God's gospel to people and people's needs to God. Today God also sends us to become the bridge between this unfortunate world and God. Do we have the compassion to intercede for others like a priest? Are we willing to bring God's great gospel to people around us? Pray with Pastor Tong Liu 
Lord, may you give us the compassion so that we are willing to become servants of Christ and priests of God's gospel, for the sake of many different people around us. Help us stand in between as a bridge to bring this great news to many needy people around us, starting from today. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen! |
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