Daily Devotional for Saturday, March 18th

The Reaction to the Sermon

“Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them,” Acts 17:34.

We probably all have people in our lives with whom talking to is like talking to a brick wall. There are some who just will not listen to anything with which they do not already agree. The truth is, we might be like that ourselves. We often find talking to those folks frustrating because everyone in the conversation knows it is just a waste of time. Often, it is nothing but argument for the sake of an argument.
Being witnesses for the gospel can be that way as well. Some folks will never truly listen to what we have to say. Some may just want to argue, and some may be looking for a way to undermine our faith and make us doubt. What are we to do in these situations? Should we waste our time with people we feel will not listen?
Paul had just faced a similar situation. He had preached to the Stoics and Epicureans, and they had just departed, apparently not having really heard what Paul had said. Paul likely knew this would be the result. What do you think Paul would have done had this situation presented itself again in the future? I suspect he would have preached to them one more time! Why? Because, apparently people were listening who were not official members of the listening group. In the end people came to faith that were not even the intended audience.
When you preach Jesus, people are listening. Whether we know it or not, people are always listening and watching what we do. Because of this, your mission is not to decide who will hear and who will not. Your mission is to tell it to everyone, all of the time. God will do the rest.

JUST A THOUGHT: God tells us that whosoever calls on Him will be saved, and that means we have to preach it to whosoever.

Wally Fry