Acts 2: 37

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the Apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

The intention of this passage is to bring us back to the consciousness of our central theme as believers, what drives us, what our message is and the purpose of the message.

The background of this story is, before Jesus ascended to heaven, he instructed his disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they were endued with power. This they did and the Holy ghost came upon them in the upper room. This led to them speaking in other tongues and declaring boldly about Jesus.

In Acts 2: 37, the men that listened to the Apostles said, men and brethren, what shall we do? We can see that this was the end result of an action by the Apostles. They spoke about God and the men were cut to the heart. This gives us a simple but classic example of what God expects of us as believers. After all is said and done, will men be cut to their hearts and inquire, what shall we do?

Being cut to the heart and inquiring meant that they were convicted, they saw the need for a turn around, but they didn’t even know what to do to turn around. Peter did not leave them without an answer, he went ahead and told them what to do, which was to repent, follow Jesus and turn to the true and Almighty God. That was their aim of speaking, that was the goal of them being empowered by the Spirit of God.

So, we must not miss that as believers, that in everything we are doing and will do in life, our career, ambitions, service in the body of Christ, our everyday life, we must always put in front of us -OUR CENTRAL THEME, OUR CENTRAL MESSAGE, the reason why we do the things we do, the reason for our being, the reason why we say what we say. The very essence that we flow from. Our message is simple. Our message is Jesus because he is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through him.

The same way we do programs and caption it with a theme and every other activity we do for the many days of the program falls in line with that theme, is the same way we have a central theme- Jesus. That’s the message. Every other thing has to align.

For every believer, irrespective of the different walks of life you might belong to, or what location you might be found, this is our central message and that is what unites us as the body of Christ. That at the end people can reflect and say, what shall we do? I see your life, I know I need to change, what can I do? So, what is the reason why I take my place as the salt of the earth, or shine as the light of the world? It is to show forth the message, the central theme- Jesus. To what end? That men be changed and reconciled back to God.  That men will be cut to their heart and want to know what to do? And yet my life will still be giving them direction on what to do- to turn to Jesus, because He has made the difference in my life.

When God gives us affluence, popularity, wealth, honour and all, when our gifts make a way for us, when he anoints us, the focus is not to have so many followers. With the help of social media these days, facebook friends, Instagram followers and all that, or make a name for ourselves, or let it be known that I have many disciples or mentees under me, for us to be seen, to be heard. But it’s that the central and only message be preached. For ministers of God that preach on the pulpit, every other message that we will prepare to preach or teach the people will have to flow from this central theme, Jesus. And more and more, men can come to the light and embrace Jesus. Be cut to their heart. The focus is that our central message be known- Jesus.

A quote says, and I will paraphrase it; that not many of us can be apostles, evangelists, pastors and shout behind a pulpit but we were all created to show forth the glory of God. If we cannot shout, we can shine. In essence, all that we do, on the pulpit, outside the pulpit, relating with friends and family, shouting or shining is with a central theme, a central message. The Apostles in Acts 4, when they were instructed not to teach about Christ again said, we cannot but speak of the things we have seen and heard. They were saying in essence, Jesus is our all in all, the reason for how existence, how can we live without saying it and showing it. That’s our life’s message, our central theme, our source. Without it, we are lifeless.

That’s why Apostle Paul can say in Galatians 2: 20, I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live. Yet not I but Christ lives in me…” He was saying Jesus is the life that I live, For me to live is Christ. If I am not showing and speaking about God, if my life is not showing it, then what is life to me?  

If you are in a fellowship, or a gathering where whatever message is preached is not to point people to Christ, where the message is not centred on Jesus, then it will be best to leave such a gathering. Another part of it is that, in many gatherings, many preachers can preach Jesus and yet not know the Jesus they preach or even mean what they say, this will take discernment to know this and leave such a place but if you are in a  place where Jeus is not boldly preached or spoken about, you need no discernment, the truth is you should not be there as a child of God.

When all is said and done, let Jesus be glorified. Let Jesus be seen and known. Let Him be your central theme, your central message.

 

 

 

Thanks for the gift of your time, I am Benedicta Apeh!

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