To Encourage You

Acts 11:14 “. . . he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.”

The Word of God is such a powerful thing because it comes from the mouth of an omnipotent God.  Yet, if its words aren’t received, they can be of no effect and the wonderful benefits of them can be lost to us.  Jesus said it was like a person who is building a house that must pay close attention to the foundation on which he builds.  He said, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it” (Matthew 7:24-27).  Notice how He said that both men heard His words, but only one man heard them effectively.  To only one were Jesus’ powerful words of any benefit, for only that man both heard Jesus’ words and did them.  Jesus often said “Listen!” before He spoke, for it was His words that could bring eternal and wonderful change to their lives.  

Which brings us to the passage above from Acts 11.  It’s from an account of a man to whom an angel had appeared who told him to send for the apostle Peter. He told him that Peter had a message for him. It was a message by which he and all in his house could be saved.  Of course, the message Peter had for him was the gospel. It was the message that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).  It’s a message that brings salvation from the wrath of God that is coming upon the world. It’s salvation from being eternally lost, separated forever from the presence of God and all the blessings that come with that presence.  But that’s not where this salvation ends. It’s not just pointing to the blessings of heaven to those who respond to this message and the curses of hell to those who will not. No, salvation is a condition that affects a person’s life from the moment he or she believes.  It is in belief in the Word of God that a person can be saved from fear, anxiety, depression, and so many other negative emotions that afflict so many as they live their lives. It is in belief in what God has told born again believers that we can be freed from these things that can ravage our soul. 

God has told us to “Fear not” over and over again, for He has promised us over and over again that He will never leave us nor forsake us. But do we believe these powerful, life-giving words? He has told us to “not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” And He has promised us that if we do this “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).  But do we do this? Have we truly listened to these anxiety destroying words, believed them, and put them into practice? 

God’s Word can also save us from discontentment, for He has commanded us to ask ourselves “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?”  And the answer? “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35-39). But do you believe this?  Certainly, the apostle Paul did, the apostle through whom God gave us these wonderful words. 

And then there’s also salvation from deception – including self-deception. Of the many voices calling to us and promising salvation in some other way, there is only one voice that is the voice of Truth, the voice of the true Savior of the world. 

And so there is salvation from so much else available to those who will believe, e.g.,  salvation from heartache, disappointment, discouragement, and so many other consequences of sin.  But that salvation only comes to those who will hear God’s Word, believe it, and actually put what He has said into practice.  It’s such a wonderful invitation – this offer of salvation that comes to us from the one and only Savior of the world.