Compelled By Love
“For the love of Messiah compels us, since we have concluded that One died for all; as a result all died. And He died for all so that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for the One who died for them and was raised.”
— 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 TLV
Warm Up
- Have you ever felt compelled to share the love of Jesus with someone?
- How would you describe that feeling?
Lessons
Video coming soon
One misconception of today's faith culture is that we shouldn't offend people with the Gospel. This may sound acceptable in light of cancel-culture but it's just not biblical. All throughout the book of Acts we read one occurrence of disturbance after another. Nearly every city Paul traveled to meant trouble. Not only were people offended by the message of Christ crucified but they were hostile towards the messengers. Their entire way of life was threatened by the Kingdom of Heaven being instituted on earth.
Does this mean we should stand on a street corner and tell people they are going to hell? This is not my preferred method but if the Lord leads you to do this; who am I to tell you different? I would rather have honest conversations with people that leave room for the power of God to be displayed. But here's the thing. When miracles, signs and wonders begin to manifest, the crowd will start to gather. And persecution is not far away.
“They followed his advice; and after calling the apostles in, they flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them. So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not stop teaching and preaching the good news of Jesus as the Christ.”
— Acts 5:40-42 NASBHave you ever held back from sharing the gospel because you were afraid of offending someone? What happened?