Day Thirteen - Share the Gospel

1 Thessalonians 2:4 But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.

                  The devotions and exercises are written to stretch us in areas of faith. Faith is not a checklist that you mark off a day at a time.  If you get nine out of ten you are a great Christian, but four out of ten is a bad Christian.  Faith is defined in Romans 4 in referring to Abraham,

Romans 4:21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

Abraham was fully persuaded that God would keep His promises.  Abraham’s actions reflected that belief.  As we obey Him,  we place our trust in His promises that our obedience would produce the results that God has revealed in His word.  When we share the gospel,  we believe that God is able to take the seed sown and multiply it to produce fruit. 

1 Thessalonians 2:4 is not about our faith. It is about God’s faith in us as instruments for the spread of the gospel.  We were put in trust.  We were entrusted with the greatest message that has ever been given.  It is the difference between life and death.  It is the plan of God for eternity and it is given into our hands.  The entrusting shows trust in His children to be His messengers.   Because of that trust,  we speak not to please men,  but God who tries our hearts. 

Perhaps the hardest thing that you will ever do in your life is sharing the gospel.  It is easy to share anything with people except the gospel.   It is such good news that it should be easy,  but because there is a devil who hates this message,  and since the world is under that power,  it is very difficult. 

We need to understand that God has placed power in the gospel and power in the Holy Spirit to overcome the difficulty.  He has also prepared the hearts of men to hear and accept it.  We do not have to force people to accept it.  We can not convert them,  but we can speak,  and we can tell them about Christ. 

 An Exercise to increase our Faith:  On day one we shared an exercise of praying specifically for people that you work with or for family members that you would have an opportunity to share the gospel.   Would you sometime in the next week share the gospel with someone that you have prayed for.  Your prayers may result in their openness to hear and to understand.  You can start by passing out a tract or sharing a personal testimony.  Tell them about the death of Jesus and what He has done in your life and about the forgiveness of sins.