Growing

March 14

(A Mini-Study of the Early Church; Last One)

Read: John 12:27-32, ACTS 2:47

Growing

“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” - Jesus

The Kingdom of God is growing… expanding… and nothing can stop it. Jesus declares this truth clearly in Matthew 16:18; “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” And again in Matthew 11:12; “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence (Literally: “exploded violently” / burst onto the scene) , and the violent take it by force.” There is a POWERFUL and “explosive” component to the Kingdom of God… it is CONTAGIOUS. The truth is, when Jesus is “lifted up” and “held up high” for the world to see - he will draw people to himself. This is not to say that Christianity becomes the majority; this is simply not the case. (Remember, the “wide path” and “narrow path” of Matt. 7:13,14 - Christians will remain “the few” until the resurrection and new earth.) What we need to trust is that the gospel message of Christ the King and the Kingdom of God has a genuine power and ability to draw those whom God is calling to himself. In these “last days” this is worked out in the midst of the church.

“…praising God and having favor with all the people. The Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:47) God is still drawing and calling a people to himself today. No different than 2000 some odd years ago. The “last days” are a time when the people of God can actual shine the brightest. A community, neighborhood, or geography can be radically transformed when the people of God become active and present. Notice how the passage says that they had “favor with all the people”. This is obviously not stating they had favor with every human on the planet. What it is touching on is that when we begin to interact with the world around us, God will bring favor between us and those people he is working in the midst of. The people that are experiencing the ministry of the church - and in turn the ministry of Christ - will respond with favor… not disdain.

God is adding to the number daily… even and still today. God is not done calling people to himself. While we may never become the majority here and now, we will have favor with those whom the Lord is leading us to. Healthy Christian ministry has a way of doing that. The enemy wants us to think that Jesus is not effective in drawing to himself and that the Kingdom of God is easily stalled out by the powers of darkness. As singer and song writer Thad Cockrell says, “No matter how small the flame, against the darkness don’t you know the light will win?” Each year we bring our students into a cave on a field trip of sorts. At some point we turn all of our headlamps off and sit in TOTAL darkness. When it comes time to turn the headlamps back on we start with just one person. It is astounding how the tiniest light from one single headlamp can eradicate the darkness in a MASSIVE cave. We often underestimate how powerful the light can be in the midst of darkness.

The “last days” are a time of expanding and growing “LIGHT” not a time of increasing darkness. God is working through his people and adding to their number daily. Jesus - The Son - is drawing people to himself when he is lifted up. The church is pushing back against the gates of hell and winning. The Kingdom of God is bursting forth… exploding… blowing a whole in the barriers and walls put up by the enemy. Men and women of dynamic action (cf. “and the violent take it by force” in Matt. 11) are taking hold of the Kingdom and carrying it deep into the darkness… into the nooks and crannies of their communities. This is the ministry we are called to. This is the work that the Lord blesses. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Josh 1:9) If we think the “last days” are a time of diminishing effectiveness for the Gospel - we must be reading a different version of Acts 2:47! Love you guys! - JDP