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ACTS Sermon #1:@A_Challenger_Arrives

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@Project_Change: Thanks Arkada for the message and for participating in PCL's book ACTS! If you want to have awesome tools that will help you grow, like learning to give Bible studies and write sermons, or if you want to learn more about a certain part of scripture or do a Bible Study, or just whatever we can do to challenge and help you to Go Deeper, check out our book Apostolic Christians in Training Services on @PChangeLives!

And if you want to comment on this chapter, make sure to tag @A_Challenger_Arrives so he gets a notification!

@A_Challenger_Arrives:

A Struggle with Knowledge

Hello fellow readers of PChangeLives! I am Arkada, owner of the account @A_Challenger_Arrives. To begin, I'd like to thank Always and Noah for allowing me to write a sermon for their book. You guys are great teachers who work hard to write messages for Christians on Wattpad, and I hope this lesson impacts people in the same way yours do.

What I've noticed throughout my journey with God is that I doubt my knowledge and ability to follow Him quite often. Sometimes I ask myself, "Am I smart enough to communicate the messages God wants me to share?" or "How do I respond to the questions that non-believers or people from other religions ask me?" Throughout each Christian's journey, it is inevitable for uncertainty to arise about one's own knowledge and capabilities. Our doubts can hold us back from sharing God's Word to the best of our ability.

People react to these doubts in several different ways. Some people seek the answers to their questions, whether it be by researching sources online or by asking God. Some people ignore their doubts or questions and continue to do their best to follow God. However, God has already recommended a great way to address our doubts about our knowledge and to overcome our uncertainties about our ability to follow Him.

So how should we view our knowledge? How can we overcome our doubts about our ability to follow God and share His Word? The first chapter of 1 Corinthians provides plentiful information from the apostle Paul that directly relates to these topics. Paul writes that with God, Christians "have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge" (1 Corinthians 1:4).

When we ask God for guidance, we become more knowledgeable. Yet the knowledge God gives to us is unique and special. This knowledge comes from God, not from people. Quite obvious, right? So why is this gift of "special" knowledge from God so important? This is explained when Paul refers to the Book is Isaiah by writing: "For it is written: 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.' Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" (1 Corinthians 1:19-20).

To God, the knowledge of the world is complete foolishness. It has little meaning compared to the incredible knowledge God gives Christians. Remember the Pharisees? They were considered the most knowledgeable religious teachers in Jesus's time. Yet their human knowledge was a stumbling block that prevented them from seeing that Jesus was the Son of God. Their own knowledge led to Jesus's death, since the messages Jesus shared defied the knowledge of the Pharisees. It is even written that "For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him..." (1 Corinthians 1:21). Because the world was so reliant on its own knowledge, it wasn't able to acquire God's knowledge to see that Jesus was the Son of God.

Similarly, our own knowledge can cause us to stumble. Our knowledge can prevent us from understanding or effectively sharing God's Word. God does not want our potential to be restrained by our own knowledge, shown when Paul writes: "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power." (1 Corinthians 1:17). This is why God's gift of His knowledge is vital to our spiritual growth. His knowledge will allow us to effectively follow Him and share His Word. Overall, we need to accept God's unique gift of knowledge, since it is greater than the knowledge of any person. Our knowledge will hold us back, but God's knowledge will lead to success and spiritual growth.

Now that we know how to view human knowledge, how can this be applied when we share God's Word with others? First, we must remember that the knowledge of non-believers is of the world, and God's knowledge is much greater than the world's. Therefore, we should not be intimidated by how intelligent a person is. In addition, we should avoid stressing over trying to gain as much worldly knowledge. For example, it is helpful to know the basics of secular scientific theories or know the core beliefs of other religions. Yet we should not feel pressure to win people over by analyzing each part of their non-Christian beliefs and looking for flaws.

Instead, we should open ourselves to receive God's knowledge, which will be more helpful when we talk to non-believers and share God's Word. The final verse I want to show is this:

"Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called.Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong." (1 Corinthians 1:26-27)

Paul and many of Jesus's followers back then were not knowledgeable people by the world's standards. Yet they were willing to accept that their knowledge was limited, and chose to let God's knowledge guide them when they spread His Word.

I cannot stress this enough. Whenever you doubt your ability to share God's Word, remember to ask God to provide you with His guidance. Don't worry about being intelligent according to the world's standards. Instead, allow God's gift of knowledge to increase your confidence in your ability to follow God. With God in control, we are able to change the world by sharing the Word of God.

Thank you for reading my first lesson for PChangeLives! If you learned a lot, please let me know. If you didn't like or understand certain parts, also let me know. Don't forget God is always with you!