Mark

Why was it that the church in the book of Acts was so impactful? You see, we are looking today for people who are influential, whereas God is looking for someone who will make an impact. When you're worried about being influential, you must compromise what you believe in order to be influential. However, if you're going to make an impact, you've got to do something that will change the status quo and that will change the heart in order to make an impact. The reason this church made such a great impact was because they did not just do what they were supposed to do in witnessing to the lost at an appointed time, but they did it daily. This church had a daily witness, and the Lord used them daily to see people saved. Imagine if people today witnessed on a daily basis. Imagine if today people realized that you don't have to wait until a certain day to get a concern for the lost, but had a concern for the lost on a daily basis. My friend, one of the greatest reasons this generation does not make an impact is because it is not willing to be a witness on a daily basis. One of the things I often hear is that we put too much pressure on people to go soul winning. Well, let me ask you a question: Do you think when someone goes to Hell that they will wish that we had not pushed so much and had not put so much pressure on people to go soul winning? Let me ask you, do you think that when someone gets to Heaven because someone witnessed to them that that person, when they get to Heaven, will say that you witnessed too much and you put too much time into being a soul winner? My friend, we will never make an impact in our society if we do not get the mindset of daily, as the church in the book of Acts had. It is a daily mindset to live for God, a daily mindset to reach the lost, and a daily mindset to be concerned about the souls of mankind that will absolutely allow you to make an impact on the lives of those around you. I want to challenge you to start today getting that daily mindset in your mind that you will go after the lost and try to reach them for the sake of souls going to Heaven. That is the only thing that will allow your life to make an impact on your world around you.

There is a wonderful phrase in Jeremiah 18:3 that ought to encourage every believer. This verse says, “he wrought a work on the wheels.” In other words, you could say it this way: He was working a work on the wheels. Jeremiah was saying that the potter was working with that piece of clay despite the piece of clay becoming marred in his hand. It's exciting to see that though the clay became marred in the hand of the potter, he kept working with that piece of clay. My friend, this should encourage you that God has not stopped working in your life. I'm thankful that though we become marred because of our foolish decisions, God does not give up on us. Oh, my friend, you have to understand that God loves you far more than you even love yourself, and though you may have become marred in His hand, He is still doing a work in your life to make out of you a beautiful vessel. Moreover, to those who want to criticize those who have become marred, may I remind you that God is still doing a work in their lives? Just because the clay became marred does not mean that God stopped working. In fact, because he said, “he wrought a work on the wheels,” that means He is still working a work in the life of the one who has marred his life with sin. Oh, those mars were his own personal choices, but God still has not given up because he is part of His creation. Let us all be a little bit more understanding of each other, knowing that we all are marred in the hand of the Potter, and God is still working in all of our lives. If we can understand that God is still working despite the flaws that we find with each other and with ourselves, we can keep serving God with encouragement and hope, knowing that God is still working on us.