Luke 24;49 ‘And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high’

DAILY READING       Acts 27:1-12; 1 Samuel 2:11-36; Psalm 50

Reggie White has been called the most honored athlete ever to play defensive end in America’s NFL history. They called him the “Minister of Defense” when he played, largely because he was an ordained Evangelical minister. Standing at 6 feet 5 inches tall, and weighing 300 pounds, White was a force to be reckoned with on the field. But off the field, he was known as a “gentle giant” very outspoken about his faith and preaching to everyone he could. He even proselytized to those he was beating on the field; he was known to warn opposing linemen, “Jesus is coming, I hope you’re ready,” before proceeding to pound through them on his way to the quarterback.  In his time, White spoke regularly at churches and often used post-game interviews as opportunities to proclaim Jesus. He has been credited with the rise of Christianity in the National Football League.  Indeed Reggie White was mightily used by the Spirit of God to draw many into God’s kingdom.

Our lives should continually glorify God wherever we go. We should be signposts leading men to Jesus.

Not all of us can stand and preach in a church or go to a mission field, but all of us can play a vital role in God’s work in our world by using what talent He has given us for His Kingdom. For the church to operate as it should, it must have the contributions from the different members, each playing the role and doing the jobs God has equipped them to do. The kingdom mandate requires us to use every possible available means to take the message of the Gospel into all the world.

We must be willing to use the talents and resources that God has given to us in whatever capacity it is needed to spread the Gospel. Do not hide your light. Don’t sit on the fence, doing nothing to reach the dying world around you with the Gospel. Life is about taking sides; it is dangerous to walk in the middle of the road. Be radical for Jesus; proclaim your faith boldly; let your light shine for men to see. However, to live a life of such conviction, we must be deeply impacted by The Holy Spirit.  You cannot impact your world until you have first been impacted by the Spirit of God. The anointing of the Holy Spirit, has absolutely no substitute in the preaching of the Gospel.  Before the disciples could go to preach, Jesus said to them in Luke 24:49 ‘And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high’

They needed to wait and receive the power of The Spirit before going to win souls. No one can be an effective witness without the help of The Holy Spirit. His number one mission on earth is soul winning. In Acts 2:41, when the Holy Ghost came on the day of Pentecost, 3,000 people were saved.  Again in Acts 4:4, the number of men saved were 5,000. Then in Acts 5:14, multitudes of men and women were added to the church.

From the book of Acts we saw that the first major mission of The Holy Spirit is to depopulate hell, and populate Heaven. And as we seek to be effective witnesses  through using the gifts and talents God has given us to reach the world, we must more importantly engage the help of The Spirit of God through a lifestyle of prayer and diligent study of God’s Word.

PRAYER: Lord, please help me to use every possible available means, including the gifts and talents You have given me to spread Your Word wherever I go. As I go preaching Your Word, I thank You for empowering me by Your Spirit to be an effective witness for Your Kingdom in Jesus Name.

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God protects and shields us when we are being led by Him. – WORDBITE 222.