Speaker 1: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another episode of Commission Thursday, where we believe that every believer is the light, every believer is the salt, every believer is Christ ambassador and every believer is the carrier of the message of good news.
Speaker 1: I know we are about to enter that Easter season and one of the things that stand out especially for us as Christians is our devotion and commitment to the assignment that God has bestowed upon us.
Speaker 1: So I want us to look in one character in the Bible, in the book of Acts, chapter 10, verse 1 to 4.
Speaker 1: I'll read from the New King James New King James Version.
Speaker 1: That says there was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, a devotee, a devotee man and one who feared God with all his.
Speaker 1: One who feared God, a devotee man, one who feared God with all his household, who gave arms generously to the people and prayed to God.
Speaker 1: Always About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and said to him, Cornelius, and when he observed him he was afraid and said what is it the Lord?
Speaker 1: So he said to him your prayers and your arms have come for a memorial before God.
Speaker 1: So I want us to look at three things that stood out that made Cornelius to be the light and to be the salt in the people where he was living at that particular time.
Speaker 1: The first thing that the scripture talks about is a devoted lifestyle.
Speaker 1: For you to be a Christian, you must have a devoted lifestyle.
Speaker 1: The scripture says that this man, one thing that stood out for him, was the fear of God.
Speaker 1: That was evident in every person he related with and everything that he does.
Speaker 1: People could see the fear of God in him.
Speaker 1: As people would relate with him and interact with him.
Speaker 1: The fear of God was so loud and as they saw the fear of God, they were all drawn to the attention of knowing who God is.
Speaker 1: Because the moment we begin to fear God and we exalt God and we esteem in all our speech, people will begin to ask about the God that we are serving.
Speaker 1: The second thing that stand out as we hear about the story of Cornelius is about his devotion in giving.
Speaker 1: He was devoted in giving, especially to the needing, and I know many of the times you see that we are the light and we are the salt and probably we are praying and expecting a lot of things to move, but God has blessed us with a lot of things that we cannot see because we are blinded by our attitude and what we desire.
Speaker 1: And this scripture says that Cornelius was giving the little that he had and probably, according to your state, you don't have a lot that you can give, but there is a little thing that you can give and share with the people who are in need of that particular thing that you have.
Speaker 1: It is not only in the material things.
Speaker 1: It might be in your time.
Speaker 1: Probably that neighbor or your colleague just want you to spare one hour with them and that one hour will count.
Speaker 1: Probably it's about your gifting or your skill or spiritual gifting that you carry, you can design or you have the word of knowledge, the word of wisdom, and there is a group of people in a fellowship that are really praying and they're working in confusion and they're praying that God will lead them and guide them.
Speaker 1: This could be an opportunity for you to be the light and to be the salt by expressing and working in your gift.
Speaker 1: That will be a blessing unto others.
Speaker 1: And finally, we see that Cornelius was devoted in prayers, that all everything that he did, Cornelius was devoted in prayer, that every that he did people he would go back and ask God.
Speaker 1: He would seek direction and clarity from God and, through him, seeking clarity and guidance from God, he was able to work with God all his ways.
Speaker 1: And I know we live in a dispensation whereby we are going through a lot of things and probably the only thing that can sustain in this particular time is your work with God.
Speaker 1: And that's one thing that Cornelius did, and we hear Vosphotok about that.
Speaker 1: Every that he used to do he's devoted the devotion in lifestyle, devoted in giving and devotion in prayer.
Speaker 1: All were answered and I want to assure you that all your sacrifice and labor for the kingdom of God will one day be answered.
Speaker 1: So don't give up.
Speaker 1: Press on serving people, reaching out people, because you are the light, you are the salt and you are the carrier of the message of God News.
Speaker 1: Be blessed.