Unstoppable Gospel
By Dean Collins
The launch of the church in Acts was electrifying. Miracles were happening. The apostles were proclaiming the truth of Jesus and his resurrection. The early followers were selling their possessions in order to help those in need and to advance the work of the apostles. Thousands and thousands of lives were being changed daily. The kingdom of God was advancing. And the enemy of God was working hard to interrupt the advancement of the gospel.
There really is good and evil. Surprisingly, we don’t talk about it much. I am pretty sure we believe it, especially when there are incidents and actions both locally, nationally, and globally where people are abused or killed. I don’t want to take away personal responsibility, but in those moments we can be sure that the enemy is involved somehow. If we believe that God is always working towards renewal and restoration of his creation, we can be equally sure that the enemy of God is actively attempting to interrupt this work.
I wonder if sometimes we don’t talk about the enemy or the devil because we have seen some talk about it so poorly, and we don’t want to look weird or sound weird when talking to others. But hear me, there is a real devil, and he really is working against God and against the advancement of his kingdom. Yes. In the context of all of God's story, you can't have one without the other. You cannot read the Bible and believe in God without accepting that he has an active enemy. We do know that ultimately the enemy has been defeated, but he has not yet been eliminated from action and won't be until Jesus returns to establish his final restoration of all that is his.
The apostles saw this reality play out as the enemy cleverly used the religious and political leaders to oppose the work of God. Some religious leaders thought they were working on God’s team, but in reality, the enemy had made them think their pride and confidence were actually humility and kindness. We humans are so weak and vulnerable to the ways Satan uses fear and jealousy to hinder God’s work. The enemy knows our tendency toward pride and selfishness, and he won't wait a second to stir up these core issues we all struggle to hide.
But filled with the Holy Spirit, believing in a resurrected Jesus, and practicing the power of prayer, the early Christians would not be stopped. Oh, they might be arrested and even beaten, but they knew their mission and they were committed to accomplishing it, even if it meant death. They knew and believed that even death would only bring victory and not defeat.
We have choices about how we live out our faith. We can quietly sit in church, sing a few songs, drop a twenty—or maybe even a hundred or more—in the plate, and live out our days, or we can accept the call of Jesus to action and, like the early church, begin to pray boldly and watch God work.
We all have to decide which course of action to take, but you do have to choose one.
Father, move our hearts to respond to your call to discipleship. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Your Time with God’s Word
Acts 4:1-5, 7-14, 15-20, 23-24, 29-31 ESV
Photo by Pexels
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