Sermon: SUNDAY 12/01/2014 PREACHER: Rev. Mokoko Simon TEXT: Acts 10:34-38 THEME: God has no favourite: Do same! Dear friends, at the end of last year 2013, we saw Peter defending the Gospel, and at the beginning of this year, Peter continues to defend the Gospel! And today, we learn from Peter’s teaching that God has no favourite. A favourite is usually someone or something that receives a special treatment from others; or someone expected to enjoy certain privileges which others would not. The notion of favourites is inherent in human beings, and manifests in various contexts: in the family, in school, work milieus and even in the Church. Even at this time of elections, one thing stands clear about the modalities: God has no favourite! It is true that many of us in the Church already have our favourites for upcoming election of Church leaders, based on various motives/factors, which can be tribal/family ties; drinking partners, social friends, political lineage, etc. But James 2:9 says anyone who shows favouritism inside the Church is guilty of sin. In our text, Peter brings out a blue-print of God’s intention for His people. Peter was faced with the household of Cornelius, a Gentile (set of people considered by the Jews as outcast and unclean; people with whom the Jews shared nothing in common; people considered as non-partakers of God’s Kingdom). Peter had a vision wherein he encountered Christ who personally declared to him that nothing created by God is unclean, not even the Gentiles. From his experience with Cornelius and his family, Peter declared, ‘In truth, I perceive that God has no favourite’ – v34’of our text In this, peter was breaking new grounds for missions, and passing across the message of equal treatment of all, irrespective of background, affiliation and status. Yes, as children of God, we must always remember that, in Christ Jesus, we are one – Gal 3:28-28! In this Congregation, we are one! There is neither Bakweri, nor Graffi; no son of the soil, or come-no-go, etc. And this sense of oneness should reflect even in our upcoming elections. In the Church, we should always look at people who are ready to lead righteous lives, who have the fear of God in them, and whose ways are acceptable before Jesus Christ, as we see in the text. Yes, we should always pray for people, who are ready to serve God’s people, and not to serve a particular tribe or affiliation Dear friends, in our day-to-day relationship with people, we must learn to see others as people who are also created in the image of God. In Christianity, there is no tribal or ethnic lineage; no political affiliation; no social group; in Christianity there is only Christ! The work of Christianity involves both the young and the old; the weak and the strong; the rich and the poor. Paul expresses this fact clearly in Gal 3:28-29. Yes, we are all one in the Lord, my dear friends. We must learn, as followers of Christ, to follow the examples of Christ, who showed no favouritsm. Our mentality must rise above the ordinary. Let us learn to pray and ask God to help us to overcome sentiments of favouritism, especially when we are about to take major decisions in the Church, and in all other areas of our life. Favouritism has diverse consequences. With favouritism, we place square pegs in round holes, and round pegs in square holes. In favouritism, we sin, and the consequence of sin is death. Dear friends, always remember that favouritism is sin. God does not practice favouritism, nor does He accept it. Rather, God accepts the one who lives in righteousness, and whose ways please Him. Always look at such persons when you consider taking major decisions as in this time of elections, and you will be on the right path. May God bless you. Amen.
Posted on: Thu, 23 Jan 2014 07:56:01 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015