|
Week:06, Season:1,
2014
Posted on Saturday by PCT
|
|
The Broadcasted Life
|
|
Scripture：《
1 Corinthians 2:1-12
》
2:1 And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power. 6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him— 10 these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.
|
|
|
|
In many rural areas of Taiwan, the radio broadcast system is still the essential channel for delivering messages to homes in the community. The broadcast aims to remind people about such important information as get prepared for the typhoon season, the timetable of the shipping and community activities. Take Qimei Township in Penghu Island for example, the radio broadcast announces in the morning and afternoon every day. Sometimes the broadcast in Nangang village is like this and quite interesting, “Dear residents, good morning. The village office has one announcement today: remember to attend church worship today!” When I firstly arrived Qimei town, I often did not pay attention to the broadcast and lost much important information and the opportunity to attend community events and so get to know people. Do we sometimes not pay attention to the gospel of the Lord on our faith journey and not understand what the gospel is telling us？
We have missed messages of gospel
In modern society with our information explosion, what is happening at the moment seems to always spread quickly through the media. We spend time every day learning world news through TV, newspapers, and the Internet: government scandals, military trials, conflicts between opposition parties, food safety issues, etc. We also spend time following the popular Taiwanese and Japanese TV dramas such as “Feng Shui family”, “Ming Dynasty”, and “Hanzawa Naoki.” All the above does not include the time we spend working, chatting with friends, and playing with smart phones. There are much more “yet to do” in our everyday life which makes our desires about the material life increase.
Is it true that for Christians we have put the desire of “wanting to know the gospel and God” behind us in second place to all of life’s pleasures？ Have we forgotten why we come to church and worship God and not clearly understand the foundation of the Christian faith and this life-changing gospel？ The church of God in Corinth to which Paul wrote letters seemed to have forgotten the nature of the gospel and the central concept of Christian faith, thus there were issues with their spiritual life.
The church of God in Corinth missed messages of gospel
Paul heard what had happened in the church in Corinth and decided to write to the church. He hoped the church would remember the mystery of the gospel, the cross and God. We can imagine that there must have been people in the church in Corinth who looked down on Paul’s statements. Therefore, Paul explained, “So it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” (Verse 1-2)
The word “proclaim” was translated into “promote” in the Chinese Union Version Bible. The meaning of “proclaim” is used when someone has a very important message to tell others. In other words, Paul carried his great mission to proclaim the mystery of God to the church in Corinth. Paul did not use eloquence or human wisdom to teach the gospel to the church in Corinth, rather, he came in weakness with great fear and trembling to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. This gospel was told by the power of the spirit. It is because the gospel taught by Paul is to allow people understanding that this faith does not build on human wisdom but the power of God.
Many years ago, teachers and students from the College of Daniel in Taichung contacted us to discuss their mission on Qimei, a small island less than five square kilometres. After several years, one little girl from Qimei, stood on the stage and shared her testimony of God and her story confidently in front of everyone. My tears came as she told her story and I admired her courage in talking about the darkest corner which once existed in her mind. By the hope of God, the light conquers the darkness in her heart now. On that evening, I experienced why Paul said to the church in Corinth that he was a “weak person with great fears and trembling.” Paul only talked about Jesus Christ and the cross, but each of his statements was powerful with the spirit.
What God has prepared for those who love him is something we have never seen, never heard and never thought before. God never forgets people in Qimei Island, no matter whether they are Christians or not. On 5 June 1886, Revd William Campbell, Mr. Ko Tióng and Mr. B Lee arrived in Magong and established the roots of Christianity in Penghu. These pioneers of the Christian faith might not know how to use eloquence and beautiful languages to proclaim the gospel but what they talked about was the same as Paul’s teaching, Jesus Christ and the cross. Mission in Penghu is now nearly 130 years old. At the peak time of its ministry, there were 21 churches in total and over 1,500 church members. Although only five churches are still open in Penghu and the number of church member less than 300, God never forgets this island and the islands next to it. Although young generations have relocated to other places, God never forgets Penghu and other islands surrounding Taiwan. Our ability to minister might be weak, but on the night that a little girl belonging to church in Penghu stood in front of people to speak of God’s word, it gave us the confidence that God is still with us, the people of Penghu Island.
It is our mission to proclaim the gospel
We might feel it is difficult to “proclaim” the gospel. What if we change the term to “broadcast”？ Does it sound easier to practice？ Will we be able to broadcast the mission of the kingdom of God like people who receive all kinds of information from the radio and television？ Will we be able to broadcast the message of the kingdom of God and help the lost sheep come to him for his touch and comfort？
Proclaiming the gospel sounds easy. However, we often do not know how to begin. What should we proclaim？ What should we say and broadcast？ Let me assure you that proclaiming the gospel is very easy with a few simple steps: 1. God loves you; 2. Confess your sins; 3. Jesus carries our sins; 4. Accept Jesus as saviour. Paul said the gospel he proclaimed was not the language of human wisdom but only about Jesus Christ and the cross. These two messages are strong enough to proclaim the mystery of our faith. We shall leave the rest in God’s hands!
1 Corinthians 2:9 says, “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”—the things God has prepared for those who love him.” God sent Paul to proclaim his salvation and help us to receive his words. 130 years ago God sent missionaries to proclaim the gospel in the islands of Penghu; 120 years ago God sent Mr Shia Chuan to Qijin District, Kaohsiung, to receive medical treatment and then he became a Christian; about 90 years ago God sent Mr Shia Tzai to extend missions in the Qimei area; 30 years ago God built the plan for our church in Qimei which has started to be constructed and fundraising begun this year. Until today, the broadcast of the kingdom of God never ceases. God continues sending his servants to Qimei so the gospel can be spread to every corner of this place and to the world. Jesus says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”(Matthew 28:19-20, NIV)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
For discussion：
1.Please share your own experiences of proclaiming the gospel. What did you share with others？
2.Please share your stories of your personal faith journey. What is the most unforgettable moment on this journey？
Please pray for：
1.May God give us sufficient strength to proclaim the gospel.<br/><br/>2.May God bless our friends and those with whom we want to share the good news.<br/><br/>3.For the need to fund Penghu Qimei Presbyterian Church and other small churches under construction.<br/><br/>
Prayer：
Dear heavenly father, thank you for giving us your covenant of grace so we can proclaim the gospel for you. Though we are weak and afraid, we pray that you can prepare the word of grace that no ear has heard, and that no human mind has conceived. Help the lost sheep to be found and become your children. In the name of Christ. Amen!
Something you can do：
1. Spend some time practicing telling your testimony of faith in front of the mirror.
2. Spend some time practicing sharing your faith stories with one church worker.
3. Spend some time practicing sharing your faith stories with a stranger.
|
|
|
|
|