27th Mar 26 | 16:08
Studies by Book
02 Acts 09 23-31 SAUL'S EARLY MINISTRY 21 Acts 09 31 The multiplication of churches
📖 Acts 09:23-31
21 – Tue28May2024 – *The multiplication of churches* - _Acts 09:23-31_ – SAUL’S EARLY MINISTRY – _Colossians 03:23-24_
_Acts 9:31 Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, *they were multiplied*._
The churches were multiplied. We must keep in mind that the churches were multiplied in the time of persecution, especially the church in Jerusalem. _Acts 8:1 Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a *great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem*; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles._
The growth of the church is hinged on all those things that we have considered in our verse for today. The churches had peace, were edified, walked in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit. The result was growth.
*Growth of the church is inevitable when the church builds itself on all of these principles.* Thus we have a model before us for church growth. Will we in the enablement of the Holy Spirit bring this model to reality in our times?
The Lord’s purpose is for the church to grow. This growth is far beyond numbers. The Lord is longing for the whole of creation, man and the whole earth, to come back to the life of Shalom that we lost, which we had at creation.
When we sinned against God by rebelling against His rule and authority over us, we came into the captivity of the devil and the state of death. _Hebrews 2:14-15 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, (15) and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage._
When the churches were multiplied, it meant that people were set free from the imprisonment of the devil, and were brought back to the fullness of life that we had initially with Christ. *Church growth and missions are synonymous.*
*Mission is not an activity of the church. The life of the church is mission.* We are all missionaries in the church. There is no separation of what is sacred and what is secular. We are all, at all times, in the sacred space.
*Every profession is not a place for securing our ‘bread’ but every profession is a place to bring the fullness of the rule of God.* We, therefore, need to be excellent in our professions for we represent God and we bring the rule of God into that world.
*We train our children and youth to study and do well in their careers because they represent God in their workplaces and professions and they are to bring the kingdom rule of Jesus into their places of work.*
_Colossians 3:23-24 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, (24) knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for *you serve the Lord Christ*._
The church is the ‘sending place of missionaries into all spheres of life’. The church is the place for worship, prayer, study of the word and fellowship of God’s people, to mobilise the whole church for missions. The pews are filled with missionaries. Many of them do not know that they are missionaries. They think that missionaries are those who are ‘full-time’ in the service of God. They do not realise that all of us in the church are full-time missionaries.
Here is a model missionary. _Daniel 6:1-4 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred and twenty satraps, to be over the whole kingdom; (2) and over these, three governors, of whom Daniel was one, that the satraps might give account to them, *so that the king would suffer no loss*. (3) Then this *Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm*. (4) So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but *they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him*._
The king did not want to suffer loss in the kingdom. This is a big ask. A kingdom has many assets and liabilities. All of these need to be managed judiciously and the best outcomes need to be created for the sake of the king and kingdom. A person is needed who is multifaceted in skills, attitude, knowledge and wisdom to bring it all together.
These are the kinds of people needed in all spheres of life. Daniel, in this situation, was proving to be ‘the person’ for the task.
This needs to be the work of the church and in our Christian homes. We must raise our children, from their early years, to become like Daniel, Nehemiah, Joseph, Ezra and Esther. We must prepare our children to be missionaries for they are to bring the kingdom rule of God in all spheres of life.
Sadly, the motivation that we give our children both at home and in our churches is that they must be successful in life and success for us is personal well-being. We are oblivious to our task of raising missionaries who will penetrate all spheres of life, be excellent, and bring the kingdom rule of God into that sphere.
```Consider the excellence of Daniel.```