Acts 9-11

November 17

Acts 9-11

In chapter 5 of Acts, Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, speaking to the Sanhedrin about Peter and John said;  "Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”" (Acts 5:38-39, NIV) As we continue in the book of Acts, it is obvious their activity was from God and those who opposed them found themselves fighting against God.

Saul the great persecutor became, Paul the preacher. Jesus encountered him on the road to Damascus, knocked him to the ground, blinded him, and told him he would not longer be a tool of persecution against the Church, but would be an instrument of spreading the Good News to the Gentiles. In the mean time, God sent Peter to preach to Cornelius and other gentiles. The Word of God was spreading and there were no boundaries it could not cross. Jew, Gentile, slave free, male, female; all were hearing the message receiving Jesus as Savior and were being baptized by water in the name of Jesus and being filled with the Holy Spirit.

Why has the spread of the Gospel slowed down, stopped, and even gone backwards in the united States and other developed countries? Why don’t we see people asking to hear more about the message God has for them? Why is there no power displayed in the lives of believers? Perhaps it is because we no longer gather together and spend time in prayer asking God to give us boldness to proclaim the Word, asking for God to touch the lives of those who do not know Him. Perhaps it is because we do not seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit so we go through life proclaiming we know Jesus, but never living in the power available to those who will receive Him.