KEY SCRIPTURE: Acts 17:1 ” Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:”

 Apostle Paul after his ordeal and victory in Macedonia passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia and finally arrived in Thessalonica, where there was a Synagogue.

 Acts 17:2 says” And Paul as his manner was went unto them, and for three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures.” Apostle Paul although his calling was to the gentiles. Romans 11:13 ” For I speak unto you Gentiles, in as much as I am an apostle unto the gentiles, I magnify mine office.”  He made sure that he did not leave the Jews out. Anytime he was in any city where there was a synagogue, he went there to reason out the gospel with them. Paul expressed his heart desire for his people in Romans 10:1 as follows “Brethren my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved“. Paul never forgot the people who were his lineage. Every child of God must be concerned about his family and relations. You must seek for their salvation. Apostle Paul made sure he went first to the Jews and reasoned with them. In Acts 17:3 he explained from the old testament prophet all that was written about Jesus. He brought to their understanding that Jesus was the Messiah and he had to be killed and raised from death unto life.

  Apostle Paul was not afraid to confront them and reason out with them, because he had a very good understanding of the scriptures. Many of us today are afraid to confront other opposing views because we are not sure of what we know. It is simply because we have not taken time to study the bible. Paul wrote the following to Timothy in 2nd Timothy 2:15 ” Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that need not to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth.”

      The call is to study. This word translated study comes from the Greek word “spoudazo” which means “to be diligent”, “to use speed ” or “to labour. ”

 All these meanings tell us to make every effort to show ourselves approved unto God. You must be a studious child of God.  Our effectiveness will be seriously reduced if we don’t do everything or are not diligent to study hard so we could share the good news in all clarity and also in the power of the Spirit. The world lies in darkness and the Gospel remains the only light to illuminate the world.

  CONFESSION

 My life is given to the winning of mankind for the Lord. I feed myself with the truths of His word such that I am not ashamed to express it, because I am never found wanting in sharing it.

FURTHER STUDY:

Hebrews 4:11-12 ” Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Acts 16:30 “And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

This jailer for the first time had an encounter with the supernatural power of God. It was not any high-sounding convincing words. The Holy Spirit himself using the various events, that is

(1) Paul’s act of worshipping the father even at a perilous moment,

(2) the earthquake which tore their chain and broke the stocks asunder and

(3) the love demonstrated by Paul, when he asked him not to kill himself but they were all there. These events brought the reality of the divine power of God home to him. He had to surrender and accept the message and the truth Paul carried. Dear child of God your comportment and trust in the Lord in times of challenges speaks volumes. It even overshadows or throws great clarity on the messages you have been saying.

The man then asked what must I do to be saved? There is nothing in relation to works that one has to do to be saved. In Matthew 19:16-26 a man came to Jesus and asked good master what good thing must I do to be saved?  The Lord then narrated a number of good things that he had to do “to be saved”. This man said he has been doing these from his youthful age. The Lord then asked him to go and sell all that he had, and give it to the poor, then he would have treasure in heaven. This man could not do that one, and so left with a sad face. Jesus’ disciples then asked who then can be saved? The Lord answered this is impossible with man but with God all things are possible. Jesus was driving the point home that there is nothing one can do to inherit the Salvation of God. It is purely through the power of God.

Ephesians 2:8 and 9 reads “For by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourself it is the gift of God “. As the Lord said in Matthew 19:26 “But Jesus beheld them and said unto them, with men this is impossible but with God all things are possible”. All those who are trying to fulfill some righteousness before they could be saved are doing an impossible thing.

In the case of the jailer, Apostle Paul said it straight to him, “believe on the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved and your household”. Paul explained the gospel to him and to those of his household. The man with his household believed and they were baptised. Jesus is the only door through which one could be saved. Good works are the results of salvation not that which effects salvation.

CONFESSION

I am saved and born again, not on the grounds of any good thing I did, but because I accepted the finished work of my Lord Jesus Christ. I now live a holy life because I have received the NEW LIFE that makes holiness possible.

FURTHER STUDIES

Acts 4:12 ” Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved”.

Romans 10:9-10 ” That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto

KEY SCRIPTURE: Acts 16:27 “And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.”

Paul and Silas received a divine encounter through their faith in God expressed when their praised God. Their chains got broken and so the jailer had wanted to commit suicide. Acts 16:28 reads “But Paul cried with a loud voice saying do thyself no harm for we are all here.”

This man had earlier complicated the pain and suffering of Paul yet he was not the agenda of Paul. Paul’s concern was to please God. They praised God not for deliverance but purely to exalt the name of God and also being counted worthy to suffer for Jesus. Acts 5:41 “And they departed from the presence of the council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.”  This very verse referred to Peter and John, yet all the other apostles had the same mindset. This is a life committed to God and it is only God’s interest that matters to then. Would you also live likewise? 

There are many Christians these days who are calling for the head of those who persecute or torment them. Jesus said in Matthew 5:44″ But I say unto you, love your enemies bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, pray for them that despitefully use you.” This is the difference between one born from above and an ordinary mortal. We are born from above and must demonstrate love and forgiveness, instead of hate and vengeance.

The jailer knowing the consequences of losing prisoners had wanted to end his life before the authorities got hint of the case. Paul did not say that, good, kill yourself. He shouted, do not do yourself any harm. This man came to Paul and now he was trembling. God had intervened and Paul had also allowed the divine life in him to rule the situation and not the selfish fleshy nature. The truth is that the Christian fleshy nature is dead (Romans 8:10) and it is the supernatural life which is alive. Live with this consciousness. The formerly wicked jailer was now very sober, who brought Paul and Silas out and fell before them and asked ” What must I do to be saved “. Paul did not ‘preach’ to him but demonstrated the power of the new life through praise and thanksgiving coupled with the supernatural visitation of the spirit of God. Actions speaks far louder than words.

 CONFESSION

 Christ lives in me and so my body is dead because of sin, but my spirit is alive. It is my spirit that dominates all that I do, manifesting Christ to my world. I lead a glorious heavenly life on earth in Jesus name.

FURTHER STUDY:

Matthew 5:16 ” Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

Romans 8:9-10 ” But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Acts 16:25 “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.”

Paul and Silas were beaten, locked up in the prison. They were kept in the dungeon. The Bible said at mid night Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God, and the prisoners heard them. Don’t be shy to express your faith in a way that glorifies God

These were bound in hands and feet yet the mouths and hearts were not bound. Their God was also not bound. They expressed their gratitude to the Lord. These men did not complain or speak against God. Some Christians easily get bitter when things go bad with them.

There are two powers of influence in this life. God and Satan, good and evil. God is working all things for your good and the devil works to destroy you. Your responds determine which of these you have chosen to have the upper hand and bring His purposes to pass. When you complain and murmur you have chosen to align with Satan. In such a situation God our father is absolutely helpless to do anything. When you maintain your gratitude unto God, honouring His word that says “in all things give thanks, for this s the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you”. The will of God is not that wrong event. God did not cause it. God did not cause the Roman citizen to arrest Paul although He allowed it. His will is that you give thanks unto Him. This is what pleases Him.

When they decided to praise the Lord to the hearing of the other prisoners, the Bible said there was suddenly a great earthquake so that the foundation of the prison was shaken and immediately all the doors were opened and every one’s bands were loosed. (Acts 16:26)

This was never a coincidence. It was a direct response from the Spirit of God. God’s power will show up anytime men place Him first in all they do. What do you do in your moments of disappointments?

Do you act like Job’s wife suggested, that is to curse God and die? No give God the praise. Show an attitude of gratitude. We must be grateful at all times

Psalm 92:1,2,10,11 reads “…It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord and to give praises unto thy name, O most high. To show thy faithfulness every night. But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn. You shall be anointed with fresh oil. My eye shall also see my desire on mine enemies and mine ears shall hear my desire on the wicked that rise up against me.”

A heart filled with gratitude would experience the following:

1. His horn or strength would he exalted

2. He shall be anointed with fresh oil

3. His eyes shall see his desire on his enemies

4. His ears shall hear his desire on his enemies

This is exactly what apostle Paul and Silas experienced. Never stop being grateful unto God.

 CONFESSION

Praise is beautiful unto the Lord. No matter the challenges of life, His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

FURTHER STUDIES:

Psalms 100:4-5 ” Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.”

Psalms 116:17 ” I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Acts 16:19 “And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers,”

After Paul commanded the spirit of divination from the young girl her masters realised they could no longer make money from her services since the demons that worked through her were gone.

Please note, Christianity is not a faith of only talking, but the demonstration of the power of God. Your mouth is the trigger and your heart downloads the power. (Romans 10:10) Believe what God says with your heart and speak it out in faith and you would see the manifestation of the power of God.

Never be afraid to act for God in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 They took hold of Paul and Silas and brought them to the market place where the rulers were. They brought them to the magistrates saying these men being Jews exceedingly trouble our city. The Romans said the people are Jews who have come to disturb us. Africans claim Christianity is a Western faith, the Europeans claim this is a Jewish culture and Jews claim it to be alien to them. Please do not listen to anybody who tries to associate Christianity with any particular culture. Christianity is not from any earthly culture. It is purely a heavenly culture. It is characterised by love and the manifestation of power proceeding from believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus. There is no earthly culture that is Christian, it is a heavenly one.

It is superior to every earthly culture. Be very aggressive about sharing your faith, and do not be intimidated about whatever somebody says. Every anti-Christian opposition is not just human, but from demonic origin.

    Please listen to what these people said about Paul and Silas in Acts 16:21 ” And teach customs which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe being Romans.”

 Please what customs did Paul teach? He only manifested the power of God that destroyed the power of the devil which they used to deceive men. The whole world lies under the deception of the devil. Never allow yourself to be driven into arguments that would not help anyone. Please let’s consider what Paul said to the brethren in 1st Corinthians 2:1,2&4 “And I brethren when I came to you came not with the excellency of speech or of wisdom declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, save Christ and him crucified. And my speech and preaching were not with enticing words of man’s wisdom but in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power.” Please do not consider any human being as your opposer. It is against devils. Declare the kind of message that the demons cannot stand. That is the Gospel.  The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes. (Rom 1:16) The crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord, is what breaks the power of the enemy.

 CONFESSION

My faith in Jesus is sound and the true answer to the woes of humanity. I overcome every challenge opposes my faith in the name of Jesus.

FURTHER STUDY:

Ephesians 6:12 ” For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. “

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

KEY SCRIPTURE: Acts 16:18 ” And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.”

  After the young girl with the spirit of divination had followed Paul and his team declaring, these are servants of God who teach the way of salvation, he was grieved in his spirit and rebuked the demon to depart from her in Jesus name. The biblical account said the demon left that same hour or moment.

Many Christians or even a number of Pastors do not experience the casting out of demons in this fashion. During the ministering years of the master, the bible said he cast out devils by the word of his mouth. He never struggled to cast out demons. Why do most people struggle with casting out devils whiles the master and the first apostles always did it with one command, or at most a second?

 In Matthew 17:15 a man brought his son who was tormented by demons to the disciples of Jesus to cast it out. They did whatever they knew, said whatever they heard Jesus say but to no avail. It is at such times that you would see people do all kinds of things. Some of the scenes of casting out demons are rather inhuman. Some people end up beating the candidate seeking help.

The Lord Jesus said the following to his disciples after the father of the sick boy had complained to him about the failure of his disciples.

Matthew 17:17 “Then Jesus answered and said O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? Bring him here to me”

 The Lord plainly said it was because of their faithlessness. Faithlessness is the result of the lack of success in casting out demons.  The Lord on that occasion commanded the devil to depart and it left.

 One main reason why some Christians have a hell of time casting out demons is, THEY EXPECT TO HAVE A DIFFICULT TIME with casting out demons. They don’t expect to have the devil leave with one command. It has become a normal practice to strife with devils before getting them out.  Many people have unconsciously accepted this trend. They must keep commanding whiles the spirit talks back. This is not what the Lord said, nor what he practiced. Always expect to get the devils out with one word of command. This expectation become your faith stance and God would honour it for you. Just as we command demons causing diseases to depart and they obey we must do the same to people under the influence of demons. The Lord advised that one way to build faith to handle some of these cases is to fast and pray (Matthew 17:21). Note every Christian has the right and ability to cast our demons. (Mark 16:17)

 CONFESSION

I have been given the authority to cast out demons. I cast them out in Jesus name and they must always obey me because that is God’s decree. No devil can refuse my authority in Jesus name.

FURTHER STUDY:

 Matthew 17:20-21 ” And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.”

Mark 16:17 ” And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Acts 16:18 “And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.”

The scripture said as they went to pray, a young girl which had the spirit of divination (note: people with the secular worldview would say the girl had psychic powers yet the bible said she had the spirit of divination). A spirit is an invincible being with intelligence that lived in her and worked through her.

The girl followed Paul and his team declaring that these men are true servants of the most high and show unto us the way of salvation. (Acts 16:17). The bible said Paul was grieved in his spirit after a time. Was not this girl saying the truth? Yes, she was, yet she was having a contrary spirit that was imposing as the Spirit of truth. In our day to day encounters we come across people or even persons who hold the bible to preach yet they are liars. They have contrary spirits and not the spirit of the LORD.

How can we know such people? Jesus said in Matthew 7:16a that, “ye shall know them by their fruits….” Apostle Paul was grieved in his spirit. We need to allow the Spirit to lead us to know the credibility of certain individuals we may be dealing with. It takes the Holy Spirit to help us know whether some people are genuine or not.

The bible said she brought her masters much gain (money) by soothsaying. It is always dangerous when the Gospel becomes a means for extorting money from people.

  There are certain soothsayers who have camouflaged as servants of God. Soothsaying always goes with enchantments and the use of objects of divination. They have special perfumes, powders, oils and can even request the slaughter of animals as a form of sacrifice. Please if you find such people parading as men of God, run away from them.

   Some of them teach that these things were done under the old covenant. Yes, they might have been done under the old covenant but we are no more under the old testament. Our Lord Jesus established a new covenant. In Matthew 26:27-28, the Lord Jesus did the following “and he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them saying, drink ye all of it for this is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for the remission of sins.” Hebrews 8:8 also says “for finding fault with them he said, behold the days come Saith the Lord when I would make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. ” Please we are in a new covenant and our Lord Jesus is the sacrificial token of the covenant and no blood sacrifice is ever needed under any condition. Any man of God who asks you to sacrifice any animal for any form of pacification is practicing divination (occultic origin) and it has nothing to do with the Spirit of Christ. Beware!

  CONFESSION

Our Lord Jesus established a new covenant with His own blood. His sacrifice is an eternal one that requires no more blood sacrifice of any form. I an accepted, justified and eternally redeemed.

FURTHER STUDIES

Hebrews 8:9 ” Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord”. Colossians 2:8 “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Acts 16:13 “And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.”

 It was the custom of Paul to join the Jews in their times of prayer on the Sabbath. The Jews normally located their place of meeting or synagogue close to a source of water because of the many washings that characterised their worship procedures. This meeting place was by the river side.

 The apostle Paul took the advantage to share the Gospel with the women sitting by the river side. He sat close to them and shared the good news with them. Paul was an amazing servant of God who was totally addicted to pleasing the master at every moment and every opportunity that came up.

He said” I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, because it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes to the Jew first and to the Greek.

(Romans 1:16). He meant the Gospel is the only means by which man could be freed from the clutches of sin and spiritual death. 

If it is the only means then we must give it the needed attention at sharing it with all who we relate with.

Through the preaching of Paul to the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, a woman named Lydia received the message. The bible puts it this way in Acts 16:14 “and a certain woman named Lydia a seller of purple of the city of Thyatira which worshipped God heard us whose heart the Lord opened that she attended to the things which are spoken of Paul.”

It was the Lord who opened her heart to attend to the things spoken by Paul. This is the reason why we must not just stand up to go and preach. But to spend time in travailing   prayer for the Spirit of Christ to touch and open their hearts.

Some ministers believe that at their present status they are above witnessing on a one on one basis. If you think this way, it is pride and so repent from such an attitude. We have been commanded to go to all men and disciple them. Matthew 28:19-20. May we throw away every pride, shyness, fear etc. and go knocking on doors of houses, and go to our friends in the classroom, workplace, schools and everywhere we have the opportunity to speak to people or individuals.

Daniel 12:3 reminds us that “And they be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.”

  You are called the wise one if you turn one to the path of righteousness and you would shine like the stars. Do as apostle Paul did, share the gospel.

  PRAYER

Father awaken the church of God to your commission, to go and make disciples of all men. I pray breaking every deception that causes them to be shy or afraid. Work with your children to produce signs and wonders in Jesus name. Amen

FURTHER STUDIES

John 4:7 ” There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.”

Acts 20:20 ” And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house,”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Acts 16:7 After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.

Once again Paul was assayed to go to Mysia but the Holy Spirit did not allow him to go. The work of evangelism is, keep going wherever you find people to share the word with. The Holy Spirit is the chief executive of the work. As we go, he tells us where not to go and, in some cases, would tell us where to go. In the meanwhile, without any specific word from Him keep going.

Paul had a vision according to Acts 16:8 where a man from Macedonia was calling on him to come and help them.

In Acts 16:9 the Bible said he had the vision in the night. This was apparently through his dream at night.

 God can speak to his children through dreams. Dreams come in various forms. The dream from the Spirit of God may come as a symbolic dream or a direct dream. A symbolic dream through the Spirit may come being represented by certain symbols. An example is king Pharaoh’s dream of the seven fat cows being swallowed by the seven lean cows. (Gen 41:2&3)

These are the kind of dreams that one needs the Holy Spirit to interpret the meaning to him or her.

There are certain individuals, with the gift of interpretation of dreams like Joseph or Daniel who can help you decode such a dream. There are also direct dreams like Paul received in which a man from Macedonia was asking him to come there and help him. Such a dream needs no interpretation.

Beside all that have been discussed above the Bible says one’s activities that fills his mind can play back as a dream. Such dreams do not come from the Spirit of God or even from the devil in any way. Eccl. 5:3 “For a dream cometh through the multitudes of business, and a fool’s voice is known by the multitude of words”. Before you start worrying about or over your dream ask yourself what has been occupying my mind and my attention?

Thirdly, demons can also communicate their intention to you. Every demonic message always carries a bad message. They always convey failure, death, destruction and all forms of Satanic attacks. Reacting to such dreams depends on the depth of knowledge of God’s word in you, which has built up a strong confidence in God. Such a person may ignore these things and nothing would happen to him. But if your knowledge of the word is shallow and your faith is weak, then you must pray to resist the demonic activities. Make sure you refute every evil intention of the wicked one. (Isaiah 54:17)

Some people have allowed their dreams to control their moods and therefore have destroyed their lives as a whole. You have power in Jesus name over every devil. Don’t allow anything to torment your life.

CONFESSION

I am given to the word of God. My mind dwells constantly on the word. Demons cannot manipulate my life through whatever means in anyway, for it is only what God says that moves me.

FURTHER STUDIES

Daniel 1:17 “As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.”

Acts 2:17 ” And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Acts 16:3 ” Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek.”

Read Acts 16:1-6

Paul continued his missionary journey with Silas. In Lystra they found a disciple whose mother was a Jewess but a Grecian father. He was called Timothy. Apostle Paul discovered in this young man one who could be very useful for the work. He took him and circumcised him.

Circumcision in those days was without any anesthetic (an anesthesia is a drug given to a patient to numb the body so he or she would not feel any pain during surgery) support. It was extremely painful to be done by the elderly person yet, Paul insisted that he was circumcised. Paul knew that there was no sacrifice too dear for anyone to make for the course of Christ.  Apostle Paul made sure that there was nothing about Timothy that would place an impediment to the ministry of the gospel among the Jews. As Christian leaders and workers there may come a time as leaders that we have to take decisions that calls on our members to make grave sacrifices. Do not be afraid to let such members do it. There can be no sacrifice too dear to make that we can’t make for God. When it has to do with the course of Christ, no sacrifice is too dear.

In verse 5 Apostle Paul went round the churches and established their faith in the Lord. The churches increased in number (Verse 5). They taught them the word that made their faith to be established. A church that is well taught in the word whose faith is strong in the Lord would definitely increase in number. It is the spiritual growth that results in numerical growth. May we focus our attention on raising sound, strong and stable Christians and the effect would be a consistent growing church.

In Acts 16:6 the scripture says “Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia”. Paul was restrained from going ahead to preach in Asia. What does this mean? Was Paul not preaching in these places by asking for the direct instruction of the Holy Spirit before going to a place? The answers is no, he did not ask. They went anywhere they wanted to go because the word says so. This implies we must not wait to receive a specific instruction before going out to share the word. We must go because the Lord tells us in His word to go everywhere preaching the word. Acting on the word is the leading of the Holy Spirit. God’s word has given us the instruction, just go ahead and do it. If the Lord does not want you to go to a particular place, He would tell you. Until you have that specific word not to go to a particular place keep going to all people and as many that you can reach out to.

PRAYER

Father I pray for all children of God to be ready to make every sacrifice, even if it will cost our very lives, grant us grace to make it to glorify your name.

FURTHER STUDIES

2 Timothy 4:2. Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

Matthew 10:27 “What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.”