blaze

(Part 3 of 5 on the book of Acts)

“So the word of God spread.” — Acts 6:7

I’ve often thought that the earliest days of the church must have resembled a kind of holy, uncontrollable brushfire. Once the word of God had ignited bone-dry hearts and empty, parched lives, salvation’s fire blazed out of control. It spread quickly from person to person, from village to village, from region to region.

Do the math: Jesus discipled 12 men during his three-year earthly ministry. By Pentecost (just 50 days after the resurrection), there are 120 disciples gathered for prayer. By the end of the day of Pentecost, that number surges to 3,120. Once we get to Acts 5, there are too many disciples to count.

This is where the growing pains kick in. In Acts 6 we hear some rumblings of discontent. Specifically, the Greek Jews thought their widows were being neglected by the Hebrew Jews. The apostles were spread pretty thin by now, too—their nonstop preaching, praying, healing, and table waiting were proving quite stressful. They knew that if they were to focus on their calling—prayer and ministry of the word—they needed to train others to tend to the practical needs of the growing church.

This is nothing short of a divine formula for implementing the great commission. Anointed preaching, supported by prayer and carried out in a setting where Christ’s love is faithfully and practically revealed, will spark a spectacular and Spirit-fueled blaze.

And that’s exactly what happened. In Acts 6:7, Luke writes, “So the Word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.”

Over and over, scripture reveals the power of God’s word. In Jeremiah 23:29, the Lord asks, “Is not my word like fire?” In Hebrews 4:12 we read that His word is “living and active.” In Isaiah 55:11, God declares, “My word…will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes from hearing the word of Christ.

As believers, we carry within us a powerful truth that is teeming with life and able to illuminate even the darkest places with its brilliant and heart-changing flame. Every day that God wakes us up to go out into a hurting and fallen world, we must choose to spread His word, or to hoard His word. In obedience and with a great sense that God was doing something truly immense, the believers of the early church boldly proclaimed Jesus—through preaching, through prayer, and through compassionate ministry. And like fire, the word spread.

Jesus, you are the Word. You are the reason that a rag-tag group of 12 disciples has grown into a church that spans the globe. Yet there are still so many who have not heard. Would you cause my life to intersect with those who need to hear the beautiful news of your salvation? Would you ignite their dry and brittle hearts with the powerful flame of your word? I ask this in your name, the only name worth proclaiming. Amen.