“Therefore those who accepted and welcomed his message were baptized, and there were added that day about 3,000 souls. And they steadfastly persevered, devoting themselves constantly to the instruction and fellowship of the apostles, to the breaking of bread [including the Lord’s Supper] and prayers.” Acts 2:41-42 (Amplified)
Have you ever asked yourself how the early Church was able to explode from as few as 120 people into a congregation of 3000 souls? Well, you can say that it was due to the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Of course, that is true. However, the key to such a radical growth can also be attributed to the dedication and preparedness of the initial 120 disciples on whom the Holy Spirit descended. They were the spiritual equivalent of the storm troopers that God had prepared to launch an assault first on Jerusalem and later the whole world and what a good job they did!
One important truth that we all need to understand is that God will not employ total strangers to do His work. He will use His Church, and only His Church, to accomplish His plan for the world. So, where the church is concerned, God has no plan B. We are it. We must either shape up willingly or give God the cause to forcibly shape us into conforming to His will and thus fulfil His purpose. The first 120 disciples were God’s “Here is the one I made earlier” and who became a template for the new disciples that were later added as a result of Peters message. In the discipleship process, the maxim, “People do what people see” is an unchangeable truth, as new disciples usually look up to and thus learn from older ones. This means that if there were unresolved issues in the church before the new disciples join up, the new additions will be thrown into the melee and this will ultimately impact on their growth and spiritual development.
Thankfully, it is on record that the 120 disciples were enjoying a wonderful time of revival when the event narrated above occurred. They were already on a spiritual high and thus proved to be the perfect model for the new addition; hence their conversion and retention in the body of Christ. Unlike the current lethargic state of our Churches, the strong witness and fast expansion of the Church after Pentecost owed much to the preparedness of her people to be used by God to fulfil His will. This is the way we too have to go if we are to receive the kind of fruit that they did, for God is not desperate to add to a Church that will make converts who are doubly the children of hell due to the bad examples of older so-called disciples. Therefore, the big question is that is my life actively furthering or hindering God’s move in my Church? Will God be happy to add to my local Church based on the kind of lifestyle I lead? If you answer “No”, it means that you need to seek God and make right everything that is wrong or offensive to the Holy Spirit in your life. When we all repent, first individually and then as a Church, we are signalling to God that we can be trusted with the souls of people that He will direct our way and thus start a mass movement leading people to heaven.
Prayer:
Lord, you word assures me that you have the utmost regard for any individual who is humble and of a broken heart and who trembles at your word. I humbly subject my life to the searchlight of your word today and ask that you reveal sinful actions and attitudes that will preclude your move first in my life and my Church. Make me like those 120 disciples whose lives attracted others to you. Let your word be so precious to me such that everything else pales into insignificance in comparison in Jesus name. Amen.