Today's Passage - Romans 15:18-19

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Romans 15:18-19   "I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done -by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ."   In this passage, Paul mentioned about four essential elements of spreading the gospel:   1. Our words. God's word needs to be preached. Romans chapter 10 says: "And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?" We often neglect the importance of preaching God's word, thinking that we just need to share our personal testimonies with others. The fact is that if we don't preach the name of Jesus, how would others know the existence of true God? If we don't preach the holiness of the Lord, how would others know the horror of sin? If we don't preach the gospel, how would others know that there is hope in life? If you don't preach it, the gospel is muffled. When we speak out by faith, we will see that the gospel "is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes."   2. Our action. Not only are our words important, so are the testimonies of our life. There are actually five Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and you. Everyone reads the first four, but people around you will read the fifth one. Not only should the gospel be preached by mouth, it should also be preached by our actions. The testimonies of our life speak louder than the testimonies from our mouths, and they will influence others to come to before God.   3. Power of signs and wonders. Although signs and wonders will not necessarily turn people back to God, they do convince people that God is full of mercy and grace. Mark 16:20 says: "Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it." We need to focus on the presence of the Lord, and also His work among us. The early church worked with the Lord and testified what they preached with signs and wonders. When the Lord is working with us, signs and wonders will follow us in order to draw the hearts of people to turn back to God.   4. Power of the Holy Spirit. Ultimately, only the Holy Spirit has the power to "convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment", thus we must welcome the work of Holy Spirit. When we preach the gospel, we often end up debating with rationality; actually, rational debates will never convince someone to believe. If you win the debate, the person you defeated won't submit to the result and would just want another round of debate; if you lose, then forget about convincing anyone to believe. Only the Holy Spirit can work in the souls of people and let them understand their own needs. May the Spirit of the Lord help us, make us His vessel in our daily life, and welcome the Holy Spirit to use us to accomplish His work.     Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, I thank you because you have infinite power and grace. May your spirit use us as vessels through the words from our mouths, actions in our life and our deep confidence in you. Let the people around us feel your love, mercy and grace so that their hearts will turn back to you. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!