“It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.” Isaiah 55:11 NLT
Have you ever promised a child a treat before? That trusting child is confident that you will, most definitely and without fail, do as you have said. He or she might even promise to share your expected gift with a friend or sibling. Why? The child took you at your word and believed you.
When you read the book of Acts and see the great work that the early apostles did in the Church—particularly how they were able to preach the gospel so efficiently, evidenced with such great power—you may ask, “How were ‘ordinary people’ able to do all that?”
Well, the answer is quite obvious: they all believed! They fully believed that Jesus was who He said He was; therefore, every single word that Jesus spoke concerning them, the disciples took as incontrovertible truth. (Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:17, John 7:37-39, Acts 1:8) Those ‘ordinary people’ received the word and ran with it. They had faith in the power of God that indwelled them, and that made them extraordinary.
While it has been repeated throughout this month that you can work miracles, you might still be looking at yourself and wondering if it is indeed possible that God can use someone like you. The answer to that is a resounding yes! God can and wants to use you, just like He did the early apostles. In fact, the same gifts they functioned in are available to you by the same Spirit!
Our anchor text says that the word of our Lord always produces fruit. No wonder the writer of Hebrews describes it as “living and active.” (Hebrews 4:12) This means that God’s words are not inanimate or inoperative in us, but vibrant with life, and capable of producing the intended results! (1 Thessalonians 2:13)
Dear believer, you shouldn’t read this charge and feel detached or disconnected from the disciples’ experience. If anything, it should stir up your zeal and fervor because the same is true of you! Don’t exclude or alienate yourself from this reality. Do you believe the word of God is true? Then act like it!
The Peter who denied Jesus in Luke 22 is the same person who boldly declared Him before a large crowd in Acts 2. Whatever changed about Peter after receiving the Holy Ghost is the same thing that changed about you when you believed!
The Holy Spirit within you is abundant power to be and do all God has called you to. Therefore, your mindset toward operating in spiritual gifts should not be indifference or skepticism, but that “If Jesus said it, I believe it!” So, go out and do the word because you believe the Word!
Bible Reading Plan: Numbers 13-15, Psalms 90