After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. (Acts 4:31 NIV)
So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. (Acts 6:2 NIV)
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. (Acts 6:7 NIV)
When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. (Acts 8:14 NIV)
The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. (Acts 11:1 NIV)
But the word of God continued to spread and flourish. (Acts 12:24 NIV)
When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper. (Acts 13:5 NIV)
They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. (Acts 13:6-7 NIV)
But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. (Acts 17:13 NIV)
When I preach and teach, I do try to get people's attention. But once I have their attention, I try to get the attention off of me. I try desperately to get them focused on the word of God. That is because the word of God is inspired by God's Spirit. It is protected by God's Spirit. It is truth delivered by God's Spirit. And there's more.
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:12-13 NIV)
When we reach the day that Jesus returns and all of us will be gathered together for judgement, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Jesus as Lord. On that day, though, it will be too late to make our decision for eternity. Our decision is now, in this day, before Jesus returns. In this day, God reaches out to us through people who carry and share the word of God.
How about you? Have you made your decision? Are you on God's team? Do you work to get people to believe you or do you simply share the word of God?
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