Telling others #3: Being real
| But some itinerant Jewish exorcists tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were possessed by evil spirits, saying, "I sternly warn you by Jesus whom Paul preaches." (Now seven sons of a man named Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were doing this.) But the evil spirit replied to them, "I know about Jesus and I am acquainted with Paul, but who are you?" Then the man who was possessed by the evil spirit jumped on them and beat them all into submission. He prevailed against them so that they fled from that house naked and wounded. (Acts19:13-16) |
Before we can tell others to be saved by Jesus, let us be sure that we have experienced His salvation ourselves. Before we can tell others about His forgiveness and His love, let us be sure that we have experienced it too. Before we tell others to place Christ at the centre of their lives, let us make sure that He is at our centre.
Not only does our message lack power if Christ is not Lord in our lives, but we will not be taken seriously by people who can see the discrepancy between our words and our lives.
Somebody once said: "Who you are is shouting so loudly that I can't hear a word that you say."
