If you joined us for worship yesterday, you may recall that Pastor Mary talked about how as believers we have a dynamic power, the Holy Spirit, working inside of us. She reminded us, that as God’s people, we have no clue just how powerful this dunamis (which is a Greek philosophical concept meaning power, potential, or ability) Spirit, that lives inside of us, truly is at any given moment. When we are operating in oneness with the Holy Spirit, no matter what is going on, we can stay in the abiding presence of Almighty God, and in His presence is the fulness of the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal 5:22-23)
In today’s passage, Luke reminds us of just how powerful the Holy Spirit is and how it operated through the Apostles as they were performing many miraculous signs and wonders. We see that God’s people, the believers, were meeting regularly; yet no one dared to join them, but at the same time, more and more people believed and were brought to the Lord, crowds of both men and women (v.12-14). Regardless, of who didn’t dare join to them or why, because there are many theories, the Apostles were still “among the people” while “all the believers were meeting regularly” (v.12), it was through their evangelistic Spirit that “more and more people believed and were brought to the Lord” (v.13), and “crowds came from the villages…and they were all healed” (v.16). It’s amazing that we contain this same Holy Spirit within us.
So, we are all called to evangelism, or to share Jesus with others, and we all do it in different ways. The key is that each of us share the love of Jesus, and the miraculous gift of His Holy Spirit, that we are given through salvation.
One day a lady criticized D.L. Moody, the American evangelist and founder of Moddy Bible Institute, for his methods of evangelism in attempting to win people to the Lord. Moody’s reply was, “I agree with you. I don’t like the way I do it either. Tell me, how do you do it?” The lady replied, “I don’t do it.” Moody retorted, “Then I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing it.”
Acts 5:12-16 (NLT)
The Apostles Heal Many
12 The apostles were performing many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers were meeting regularly at the Temple in the area known as Solomon’s Colonnade. 13 But no one else dared to join them, even though all the people had high regard for them. 14 Yet more and more people believed and were brought to the Lord—crowds of both men and women. 15 As a result of the apostles’ work, sick people were brought out into the streets on beds and mats so that Peter’s shadow might fall across some of them as he went by. 16 Crowds came from the villages around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those possessed by evil spirits, and they were all healed.
Prayer: Jesus, thank You for the gift of Your Holy Spirit. Please help us to be more aware of this gift each day, and especially as we are sharing Your message of love with others. We ask for the fruit of Your Spirit to grow more and more within us each day. We ask all of this in Your Name, Jesus. Amen.