Text: Matthew 25:34-36
Memory text:
“Then Peter arose and went with them. When he had come, they brought him to the upper room. And all the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them.”
Acts 9:39 NKJV
Many years ago, a renowned professor was suddenly murdered in his house, and multitudes of people in the academia gathered at his funeral to give him the last respect or to witness the event. As the minister climbed up to give the sermon, he surprised the audience as he deviated from the traditional maxim, which says, “You don’t say evil about the dead”. With his fiery speech, he declared, “Somebody did not live right, you said he should rest in peace, he can’t rest in peace but in pieces”. The man, who was known as a flirt, used his position to intimidate students into sexual activity with him. He was such a powerful and influential man until death got him. Many people in the audience lauded the courage of the preacher to preach the truth.
For your life to count, you have to be intentional about making an impact in the lives of people for God. Are you destroying lives or building them? Are you creating pain in the hearts of people, or are you healing the pain? Are you a curse or a blessing? Is your life an encouragement or a discouragement? According to our memory text, when Dorcas died, all the widows whom she had impacted for God wept and showered the evidence of her impact.
According to our text, the King will say, “for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’” (Matt 25:35-36). Your life will count, not based on how long you have lived but how many lives you touched.
In Nigeria, every graduate is required to serve the nation in another state or region different from his for one year. While some spend the year on frivolity and leave without making a mark, others leave indelible marks. I can recall, some years ago how members of the church, laden with emotions, lavished a corp member with gifts at her send forth because of the great impact she made in the church within one year.
Friends, what will you be remembered for in your local church assembly, in your family, in your workplace, in your community, and in that place where God has placed you? It doesn’t matter how you have lived your life in the past, you can decide to let your days begin to count from now on.
Prayer points
1. Father, give me a heart for service and let my life impact my generation for You, in Jesus’ name.
2. Father, make me a blessing and let my life count for You, in Jesus’ name.
Today’s declarations
1. God will remember me, not by the number of years spent on earth but how many lives I have touched with His kindness.
2. I use what God has given me to touch lives.
Contact: pastor@thf.org.ng