Acts 9:31
The church then had peace throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, and it grew
in strength and numbers. The believers were walking in the fear of the Lord and
in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
When you talk
about growing the church you often only hear about ideas that involve
strategies on how to get more people interested in coming to church. I am not
against ideas in drawing people to church, but as a pastor I often think about
how we as a ministry can become more effective in reaching people for Christ.
In doing so to often I think we overlook the obvious, which is what they
actually did in the New Testament.
I don’t agree
with all the teachings today that we need to be more “relevant” to reach
people. The term relevant means to be pertinent, or applicable. To say that we
need to become relevant to the times is in essence saying that the Bible is not
applicable to today, but that is not true. Heaven and earth will pass away, but
God said His Word will never pass away. His truths are timeless and as relevant
today as when they were written. Having said that we should look to God’s Word
to learn what the church in their day did and apply that today.
In Acts 9:31
we find out that the church was now experiencing a time of peace, which was
simply a time in which some of the persecution they had been suffering had
ceased at the time. They grew in strength and in numbers. That type of growth
would be spiritual growth and numeric growth as well. It tells us that this
happened because the believers were walking in the “fear of the Lord” and the
“comfort of the Holy Spirit.” I want to talk about these two subjects this week
and explain what they mean and how that will help us to impact the world in
which we live.
Prov. 19:23
Fear of the LORD gives life, security, and protection from harm.
One subject
that seems to have been removed from many churches today is the fear of the
Lord. Yet it is clearly mentioned as we have pointed out in our foundation
verse above in the New Testament, and revealed in many scriptures in the Old
Testament as well. In fact, one of the attributes that the Old Testament
reveals would rest upon Jesus is the fear of the Lord. He is our example of how
we are to live, so certainly we should also be walking in the fear of the Lord.
If the church
today walks in the fear of the Lord they will begin to experience more of the
life of God manifested in them, they will walk in security, and protection from
harm. When you understand the fear of the Lord you can understand why this is
true. First of all let’s look at the definition of fear found in Acts 9:31 in
reference to the “fear of the Lord.”
Fear: reverence,
respect (for authority, rank, dignity).
When you think
about reverence or respect for rank, or authority I often think of our
military. They are trained to have a reverence and respect for their superior
officers. If this was not so can you imagine in the heat of battle how they
would respond if they did not want to take orders simply because they did not
have this reverence for those in authority over them. If they do have this
respect and reverence they are not going to think about a command that was
given to them, they are going to respond immediately.
If you want
protection from harm and the ability to walk in the life that God has chosen
for you, how is that going to happen if we don’t respond to what He has
commanded us to do? Our God knows what is best for our life. I know when you
start talking about commands people immediately get defensive and say there are
no commands that we have to follow in the New Testament. But they would be
wrong. Jesus Himself said in John 14:15 that if we love Him we would keep His
commandments. Notice it is plural. There are commandments given to us in the
New Testament.
For example
Jesus said if you do not forgive neither will your heavenly Father forgive you.
That was not an option or it would have said if you feel like forgiving someone
that it would be a good idea. It is obvious to see why walking in the fear of
the Lord, reverence and respect for Him, that this would cause us to live the
life God has for us. Unforgiveness produces bitterness and hatred which
certainly is not the life God wants you to live. So if we don’t have this type
of respect for God’s authority we are not doing things God’s way. This will
also clearly open up opportunity for the devil to take advantage of our life
thus causing us to not walk in the protection God has for our life.
If you fear
the Lord you don’t read the Word of God and then take time to decide whether
you are going to do what it says or not. When you find out what scripture
reveals is our responsibility you should not question whether you should do it
or not. Realize that by obeying what God’s Word says it is for your benefit.
But obedience by itself will not result in the blessing God has for your life.
Take a look at the following scripture.
Is. 1:19 If you are
willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land.
Obedience
without willingness is not going to bring God’s best for your life. If someone
has a form of obedience but does not first have a willing heart in what they
are doing this is only going to lead to not fulfilling all that God has
required. Often when you ask a child to do something that they really don’t
want to do they are not going to do it that well. They will only do what they
feel is necessary to get by. A willing heart is one who is truly grateful for
what God has done for them through Christ Jesus and therefore their obedience
is not a chore but a privilege, and they will completely carry out God’s Word.
There are
many scriptures on the fear of the Lord but simply stated it comes down to our
heart condition. If we have a heart of gratitude for what Christ has done, and
we have come to Him with godly sorrow, wanting to turn from our old ways to
Him, then we will be willing to submit to and obey His commands. But if we come
to Jesus as a self-help gospel and it’s all about what I want and not about
what He desires for my life, there isn’t going to be much reverence for God.
Those who walk in the fear of the Lord are going to grow spiritually because
they are applying what God’s Word says. They will also reach out to others
because they are grateful for what God has done for them and want to share it
with others.
The second
thing mentioned in our foundation verse is walking in the comfort of the Holy
Spirit. As I have heard my Pastor and others say many times God did not give
the Holy Spirit to make us comfortable. He will comfort us when we are hurting,
but walking in the comfort of the Holy Spirit is walking in the leading that He
brings to our life. This to is a subject that is being spoken of less and less
in many churches. The reason is because pastors are afraid of making people
feel uncomfortable about something they don’t understand. Just because someone
is uncomfortable about something does not mean that it is not good for you.
1 Cor. 2:12 Now, we
didn’t receive the spirit that belongs to the world. Instead, we received the
Spirit who comes from God so that we could know the things which God has freely
given us.
1 Cor. 2:13 We don’t
speak about these things using teachings that are based on intellectual
arguments like people do. Instead, we use the Spirit’s teachings. We explain
spiritual things to those who have the Spirit.
1 Cor. 2:14 A person
who isn’t spiritual doesn’t accept the teachings of God’s Spirit. He thinks
they’re nonsense. He can’t understand them because a person must be spiritual
to evaluate them.
As a born
again child of God we have access to all the Trinity which would obviously be
the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Many churches want to talk about the
Father and the Son, but they don’t seem to want to involve the Holy Spirit in
their teachings. They may refer to the Holy Spirit, but they don’t want His
gifts manifesting, again because people may become uneasy or offended.
Paul in
writing to the Corinthians clearly reveals that when you are born again you did
not receive the spirit that belongs to the world. You received the very Spirit
that comes from God so that we can know the things which God has freely given
to us. That includes all that comes with the Holy Spirit. People who reject
these things are those who still want to do things their way, the way of the
flesh. They don’t want to become spiritual and therefore they don’t accept the
teachings on the things of the Spirit.
This refers
to two different types of people. Those who are not born again, or those who
want to continue to live under the ways of the flesh in which they have become
comfortable with. But to be led by the Spirit is what God wants for every
believer, including being baptized in the Holy Spirit, and flowing in the gifts
of the Spirit as well. This is walking in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
The problem
for some is that they have become so accustomed to walking in the ways of the
old fleshly nature that they won’t receive what scripture teaches about the
Holy Spirit and His work in their life. The other problem is we have people in
church who think because they prayed a prayer years ago they have been saved,
but if they did not have godly sorrow when they did so there was no repentance
produced and therefore no salvation (2 Cor. 7:10). This is one reason why many
don’t understand the things of God clearly and Christianity to them is nothing
more than another type of religion. But being a Christian as the Bible teaches
is doing what Jesus did. Jesus walked in the fear of the Lord, and He walked in
the power of the Holy Spirit.
So if we
will fear the Lord and continue to yield to and be led by the Holy Spirit we to
can experience true spiritual growth in our lives, and we will impact our world
for Christ. That is what Christianity is all about. It is more than just saying
I am a Christian. It is living out through my life every day what Christ has
done for me, and therefore fulfilling what He desires to do through me in the
earth.
See You Again
Next Week For More “Weekly Wisdom”
May God’s Best
Be Yours!
Pastor Darryl
Baker
