Dear People Who Keep Company With God,
There are times in the Bible where a major change takes place from one verse to the next. Acts 18:4 & 5 records such a change. In verse 4, it tells us Paul “reasoned and persuaded” in the synagogue at Corinth every Sabbath. In verse 5 it tells us Paul was “compelled by the Spirit” and testified.
We should note that it doesn’t record what Paul was reasoning and persuading about, but it does tell us plainly what He testified about – Jesus is the Christ! That is pretty much all the Holy Spirit is interested in talking about, the Kingdom of God and the things that pertain to Jesus Christ (Acts 28:31).
Apparently, there was nothing worth noting in his reasoning and persuading, but when he began to testify under the anointing of the Holy Spirit things heated up pretty quickly. In verse 6, there was opposition. When the Spirit begins to move and the word of the kingdom comes forth, there will be conflict (Matt. 13: 21). Why? It is the only way we can discover the power of the word, otherwise, we live our Christians lives in theory only and that is nothing more than religion.
The word of the kingdom also causes disruption to normal routines. In verse 7, Paul left the synagogue and began to minister in a home. The word of the kingdom produces results. In verse 8, many people came to a saving knowledge of the Lord. In verse 9-10, there was an increase in revelation of God’s purpose and plans for the city and in verse 11, the church was established and people were trained and equipped. This is an example of what it looks like when the Kingdom of God is present with power (Mark 9:1).
I believe we are in a transition from verse 4 to 5. I look at where the church was back in the 1970’s when I was first saved and where we are today and we are much closer to verse 5. There are a lot of “everyday people” doing what once only the “special people” did – ministering healing, deliverance and salvation in the church, marketplace and streets. Prophecy and other spiritual gifts have taken their rightful place in many believer’s lives and churches around the world.
Ministries such as YWAM have opened the door for countless young people to be trained, equipped and deployed to the four corners of the world with the gospel of the Kingdom. We hear more and more of the dead being raised, sight being restored to the blind and deaf hearing in distant lands, and those miracles are beginning to happen more frequently in our nation.
With the aid of technology the Bible is being translated into new languages at an unheard of pace by ministries like Wycliffe. The underground church is alive and thriving and that is just a drop in the bucket of what is really going on. There really is a move of God going on worldwide. It is important to understand that sometimes the Kingdom of heaven is like leaven spreading quietly and steadily (Matt. 13:33). It is unstoppable.
There is still significant work to be done. Almost two-thirds of the world’s population, more than 4.4 billion people live in what is called the 10/40 Window. 3.5 billion of the people living in the 10/40 Window have not been reached with the gospel yet.
The nations, including ours, are in turmoil. Disease is rampant. Children are being enslaved, abused and dying in untold numbers and on and on. I believe we are living in the days of destiny. We are at the door of Acts 18:5. We were created for such a time as this (Est. 4:14).
Many Blessings, BW