“By What Power, Or In Whose Name, Have You Done This?”

Today’s "Life Journal" Daily Bible Reading can be found on Line. Click Here!
Exodus 21; Exodus 22; Psalm 12; Acts 4

“By What Power,

Or In Whose Name,

Have You Done This?”

Scripture

Acts 4

⁷ They brought in the two disciples and demanded, “By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?”

⁸ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of our people, ⁹ are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed? ¹⁰ Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. ¹¹ For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says,

‘The stone that you builders rejected
    has now become the cornerstone.’

¹² There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”

Observation

Someone very recently asked me this question, “Do you think that you (not me personally but speaking of our church) would have as many people as you do coming to your church if you didn’t use the gimmicks that you use to get people to attend? That question was followed up by this comment/question. If you just preached the Gospel and didn’t do all of those things (outreach events) do you think you would have all of those people coming?

My short answer to this person’s question, “No, we would not.”

It has been awhile since I have heard a question like that concerning our outreach ministry to our community. I used to hear things like that a lot when we brought in over 300 people on buses each week to church back in the early 1970’s. (Yes, the early 1970’s!) 

People would constantly question our motives back then. Many didn’t like us bringing those dirty - disruptive bus kids to church, but it was a life changing experience for both the bus kids we brought and the workers that served in the bus ministry. 

We had a team of over 50 people that would spend half a day every Saturday visiting the homes of those kids. Sundays were very long days by the time you picked up and then dropped off every one on your bus.

Two events happened in the first couple of chapters in the book of Acts that caused huge crowds to gather. Both of these events gave the Apostle Peter the opportunity to preach the Gospel and from those two events over 5,000 people were saved. 

The first event happened at Pentecost (Acts 2) when 3,000 people were saved and the second was the healing of the man who had been crippled for more than 40 years (Acts 3). After Peter and John healed the crippled man at the Temple the church grew to over 5,000 men (not including the number of women and children).

Peter took advantage of preaching the Gospel to these crowds!

Lets take advantage and invite people to the big days we have at church!

1. Friend Day Sunday – Dessert Breakfast Sunday - February 3^rd.
2. B’B’Q’ Sunday – February 10^th

I was so happy for one of our church members yesterday when one of her friends that she had invited came and this friend made a decision for Christ!

Yes, it is important to have special events to draw crowds because in those crowds are people that need our Savior!

Application

 I will invite some people to Friend Day this Sunday!

Prayer

Heavenly Father, help us reach people with the Good News of Jesus Christ! 

Today’s "Life Journal" Daily Bible Reading can be found on Line. Click Here!

http://www.enewhope.org/bible/