1 Corinthians 15:3
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
Don't you love a to do list? What about a set of instructions? Many of you immediately said no. I'm sure you have your reasons. Most of the time people hate lists or instructions because of the order they are given. I cannot stand putting something together at the house that has a book with it. I want to get straight to the finished product. I also want to do that last thing on the "to do" lists. It makes us feel like we have accomplished more by doing the last thing. But if we have bypassed all the others on the list then we've done nothing.
The words, "first..., first of all..., start with..." are very important words. In a book, these words cannot be overlooked. If you skip over these words you'll never understand anything from that moment on. If it is an instruction booklet you cannot skip over "Step 1". If you do, you will have parts left over that you'll have no idea where they go.
This morning, if you have passed over receiving the Gospel of Jesus Christ, you can't deliver it to anyone else. If you have not made Jesus the Savior of your life then you can't share Him with anyone else. How can we speak of someone we don't know personally? We can know things about Him, but not enough to share Him.
Too many today are trying to tell others about a Jesus that they don't personally know themselves. They try to share the truth of His Love without receiving His Love. Speaking of His Grace without experiencing His Grace. This is why there is such a misconstrued view of who Christ really is. It's why we have a distorted understanding of His a Grace, Mercy and Wrath.
Before you tell others about Jesus, make sure you have received Jesus. Not just believing in Jesus, but believing upon Jesus. Trusting Him as your Savior. Making sure you are in Christ before you share Christ. Some learned a hard lesson in the Bible about this very thing.
Acts 19:13-16
Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
Paul said he preached what he received. Lord help us to do the same.
