Sharing is Caring

There is a song titled Sharing is Caring by Gracie’s Corner Nursery Rhymes + Kids Songs...

Sharing is Caring for others... share with me and I’ll share with you... yah, yah, yah

Sharing is Caring for others... because it is the right thing to do... yah, yah, yah

Yes, I care about you...And sharing the gospel with others is an expression of compassionate caring.

Central Text: Acts 28:30-31

30 For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. 31 He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!

Paul Receive the gospel message, He Owned the gospel message, and shared the gospel message...

Luke completed his Luke-Acts work with the proclamation of the gospel of the Kingdom of God to the Gentiles in the Roman capital, the city of Rome.

This is similar to how the Gospel writers stressed Jesus’s final approach to Jerusalem and His last days there to heighten the impact of His death and resurrection. Luke does the same with Paul’s approach to Rome. (Something is about to happen; a defining moment of the journey is about to take place.) This is to make sure that we the readers don’t miss it.

It is a subcomponent of a larger divine plan...

The Larger Plan is found in the third and twelfth chapters of Genesis. God is blessing humanity...

Genesis 3 14 So the Lord God said to the serpent:

“Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”

Genesis 12 Now the Lord had said to Abram:

“Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

John 3:16.

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Remember what Jesus told his disciples before he ascended back to heaven...

Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Peter, Stephen, Barnabas, John, Silas, Luke, Paul and others were part of this larger plan and so are you and me.

This plan to bless all the families of the earth...

Paul receivedthis blessing (the gospel) on his way to Damascus, while persecuting the Church... And he was never the same again... Acts 9:3-15

3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

15 ... the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.

Paul owned this blessing (the gospel) and demonstrated it by the way he lived...

He wrote Colossians, Philemon, Ephesians, and Philippians from Rome, while under house arrest. But he wrote to Rome from Corinth during his 2nd missionary journey. He was there for a year and a half. (between 50-52 AD) ... some 9 years before he would see Rome in AD 61.

Romans Chapter 12 tells us something about how Paul owned the blessing that he received.

Romans 12 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Paul knew that obedience results from a relationship with God, but obedience will not create or earn that relationship.

Psalms 97 10 Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

Paul compassionately shared this blessing (the gospel) fulfilling the command that he had received from Jesus...

Act 9:15 ...This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.

This is the same command that he gave to his disciples to mark the beginning of His church...

Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be [c]witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

We should compassionately share this blessing (the gospel) also, but instead of using a geographical reference, consider using a relational reference...

Let’s see Jerusalem as our immediate family

And Judea as our extended family

And Samaria as our non-familial friends

And the end of the earth as everyone else.

I believe that this idea of compassionately sharing is supported in the parable of the Good Samaritan...

Luke 10 25-37 And behold, a certain [h]lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”

27 So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

28 And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”

29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among [i]thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, [j]when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ 36 So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”

37 And he said, “He who showed mercy (compassion) on him.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Remember to Receive this gift...

The Good news is that forgiveness and eternal life are gifts of God’s grace, that are received by Faith in Christ and available to everyone.

Remember to own this gift...

Obedience results from a relationship with God.

Finally remember to compassionately share this gift...

God does not waste our time; he will use our past and present so we may serve him with our future.

The responsibility that Christ gave to his church and reiterated with Paul is our responsibility also as members of the Church that Christ began over 2 thousand years ago.

Sharing is Caring... and… Yes, I care about you...