Internal Combustion

"And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all."

Acts 4:33

By today's standards of a successful ministry, the Jerusalem church would look like a failure.  They didn’t own a building, had no programs and very little money. The religious establishment harassed them and their leaders were in and out of jail for preaching Jesus Christ as “The Way” to salvation. But instead of folding under pressure, the church flourished, enjoying “the favor of all people.  And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). The late Vance Havner said, “We are not going to move the world by criticism of it nor conformity to it, but by the combustion within it of lives ignited by the Spirit of God.” The truth of his words can be seen in the impact the early church had in spreading the gospel of Christ. A small group of believers “ignited by the Spirit of God” turned the world upside down. Holy Spirit power is no less available to us today than it was in the early days of Christianity. If we're not moving the world toward God, maybe it's because there's no internal combustion in our lives.