Copied
From Our Daily Bread
2012-05-23 Taking Risks
— by Dennis
Fisher
Our Daily
Bread Radio is
hosted by Les
Lamborn
Read: Acts
15:7-26
15:7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said
unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice
among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and
believe.
15:8 And God, which knoweth the hearts,
bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
15:10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to
put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we
were able to bear?
15:11 But we believe that through the grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
15:12 Then all the multitude kept silence,
and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God
had wrought among the Gentiles by them.
15:13 And after they had held their peace,
James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me:
15:14 Simeon hath declared how God at the
first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.
15:16 After this I will return, and will
build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build
again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:
15:17 That the residue of men might seek
after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the
Lord, who doeth all these things.
15:19 Wherefore my sentence is, that we
trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
15:20 But that we write unto them, that
they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things
strangled, and from blood.
15:21 For Moses of old time hath in every
city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.
15:22 Then pleased it the apostles and
elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to
Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely , Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas,
chief men among the brethren:
15:23 And they wrote letters by them after
this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the
brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia:
15:24 Forasmuch as we have heard, that
certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your
souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no
such commandment:
15:25 It seemed good unto us, being assembled
with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
Barnabas and Paul
. . . have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
—Acts
15:25-26
Bible in a Year : Job 32-34
In his book Stuntman! My Car-Crashing, Plane-Jumping, Bone-Breaking,
Death-Defying Hollywood Life, Hal Needham reflects on taking risks.
Needham has slugged it out in fist fights, raced cars at high speed,
walked on wings of airborne planes, fallen off horses, and has even been set on
fire!
He risked his life to entertain film audiences and to distinguish himself
as a top Hollywood stuntman.
Paul and Barnabas were also “men who have risked
their lives” (Acts
15:26).
But their motivation was far different. Their goal was to exalt Christ
through the preaching of the gospel.
As a missionary in the Roman Empire, Paul faced hazards that resulted in
shipwrecks, beatings, persecution, and imprisonment—just to name a few (2 Corinthians 11:22-30)
11:22 Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are
they the seed of Abraham? so am I.
11:23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I
speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure,
in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.
11:25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once
was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the
deep;
11:26 In journeyings often, in perils of
waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by
the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in
the sea, in perils among false brethren;
11:27 In weariness and painfulness, in
watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
11:28 Beside those things that are without,
that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.
But Paul was more than willing to
take these risks to make Christ known.
Many believers take risks to spread Jesus’ good news.
But fear of rejection causes others to remain silent.
Have you been passively sitting on the sidelines ignoring opportunities to
share the gospel? God has provided His
Spirit to empower you (Acts 1:8)
1:8 But
ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye
shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in
Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. power...: or, the power of
the Holy Ghost coming upon you
and His Word to make the message clear ( Romans 1 : 16 )
1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the
power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and
also to the Greek.
Ask God for the courage to speak up and
witness for the Savior.
Taking the risk will be well worth it.
Will you be bold
in your witness
By giving lost sinners God’s Word?
Jesus will honor your service,
And sinners will surely be stirred. —Bosch
The rewards of
witnessing are well worth the risks.
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