Acts 5:30-42
The disciples had been looking at the apostles to do everything, which was not conducive to the growth of the church or the physical, spiritual, and emotional needs of the apostles. But, when the believers stepped into their own call, listened to the Holy Spirit, and followed his lead, the word of God spread, and the number of disciples grew rapidly.
I’ve told y’all before that there are thousands upon thousands of books that give instructions on revitalizing your church and how to grow your church. And I have no doubt that many of the authors have written their books because they saw their method work in their own church. But that doesn’t mean that method will work anywhere else. I say that because I believe God gave these authors a vision for their own church, and they and their churches followed God’s direction, and the church grew. A human-led program for growth will not lead to sustainable growth.
Every human is born with an innate need to hear their Creator’s message. Our souls long to hear God. While we talk a lot about the world being different now and how people just don’t want to hear God’s message, verse seven shows us that no matter how determined someone is to hold on to their beliefs, God’s message will get through. When the early Christians began living into the call God placed on them, not only did the number of disciples in Jerusalem increase rapidly, a large number of priests became obedient to the faith! There couldn’t have been any people more resistant to accepting Christ than Jewish priests, but they heard God’s call through the disciples and came to Christ.
Sometimes, people may not listen because it is our message we are giving, not God’s message. We need to be in prayer listening for God to tell us through His Spirit how to speak Jesus to others.