The Daily Fountain Daily Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 29 April 2020 – TOPIC: THE BALANCED GOSPEL
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DATE: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020
TOPIC: THE BALANCED GOSPEL
READ: ACTS 3:17-26 (NKJV)
17. “Yet now, brethren, I know that you did [it] in ignorance, as [did] also your rulers.
18. “But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.
19. “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,
20. “and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before,
21. “whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.
22. “For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you.
23. ‘And it shall be [that] every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’
24. “Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days.
25. “You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’
26. “To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one [of you] from your iniquities.”
THE MESSAGE:
We live in a generation where all sorts of messages are preached in the name of the Gospel. Some of such messages are sensational and motivational and sometimes, accompanied by miracles. Ask yourself, if the healing of this lame man occurred in some Churches or ministries today, what do you think the message will be like? Will it glorify God, the preacher or denomination?The disciples have given us the pattern of a balanced gospel: In yesterday’s passage, they gave glory to God for the miracle. They explained the ministry of Jesus, His death and resurrection and man’s sinful response to God’s gift, Jesus. In today’s passage, Peter pointed out the need and gains of repentance (verse 19), God’s judgment for the disobedient (verse 23) and future restoration of all things according to God’s plan (verse 21). They ended by challenging their hearers to adhere personally to the word that they heard (verses 25-26).
It is unfortunate that such sermons that emphasise repentance and the ministry of Jesus is lacking in some gatherings today. It is also unfortunate that some of us hearers fail to appropriate the word personally in our lives. We are reminded today that we are the heirs of God’s covenant (verse 23). We preach and act in accordance to God’s instruction.
PRAYER: Pray for ministers to preach the balanced Gospel.