Multiplication
Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.
Reading this scripture out of Acts 9, I wonder what that early church experience was like. They had no big screens. No worship software. No YouTube videos to set up the scripture text. Without all of the bells and whistles they were experiencing peace and were edified. Personally they were built up and they walked in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit. They had a holy reverence for what God could do and how powerful he was. They walked in that knowledge and lived with that fear as a filter for the decisions they would make. It was not the fear that God would place his hand on them. It was the fear that God would take his hand off of them. Notice what happened to the church: it multiplied. It grew and grew exponentially!
Are we growing that way today? Have we lost that reverential awe for the Most High God? What if we got back to basics and taught about the power and revealed the gifts of the Spirit? Could we stop worrying about the presentation and deliver on the demonstration? When the Spirit of the Lord draws out the gifts, there is peace and edification. And the church will grow!
Reading this scripture out of Acts 9, I wonder what that early church experience was like. They had no big screens. No worship software. No YouTube videos to set up the scripture text. Without all of the bells and whistles they were experiencing peace and were edified. Personally they were built up and they walked in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit. They had a holy reverence for what God could do and how powerful he was. They walked in that knowledge and lived with that fear as a filter for the decisions they would make. It was not the fear that God would place his hand on them. It was the fear that God would take his hand off of them. Notice what happened to the church: it multiplied. It grew and grew exponentially!
Are we growing that way today? Have we lost that reverential awe for the Most High God? What if we got back to basics and taught about the power and revealed the gifts of the Spirit? Could we stop worrying about the presentation and deliver on the demonstration? When the Spirit of the Lord draws out the gifts, there is peace and edification. And the church will grow!
Comments