- Acts 2:40-41 says below:

⁴⁰ And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” ⁴¹ So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.  

Yep! The first sermon EVER under the direct, empowered, baptized in the Holy Spirit and fire Christian LED to 3000 souls coming to Jesus Christ!

If you don’t like BIG CHURCH – you won’t like the church in the book of Acts when it was ONLY GETTING STARTED! Because in the next few verses after this the author talks about unity and fellowship and miracles and love with all these new believers – and then in Acts 2:46-47:

⁴⁶ And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Daily… this blows my mind! You know what this speaks to me?!! GOD’S DESIRE IS FOR HIS CHURCH TO GROW EVERY SINGLE DAY!!! This what what I’m living for!!!!!!!!!!!!

So at Dunamis Church – We are all about the numbers!

Allow me to borrow a blog entry to finish mine off from www.stevenfurtick.com - who is the pastor of a huge church called Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC! Enjoy – and I’ll see you at the bottom of the blog!

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Our church is all about the numbers.

The number of lives that Jesus can permeate and penetrate with the gospel.
The number of marriages that can be restored.
The number of teenagers following the Lord.
The number of depressed people that can find hope in Jesus.
The number of dads who don’t give their kids any attention who will learn to order their lives by the Word of God and start prioritizing their families.

What else matters? What else should we be about?

This might come as a shock to a lot of people, but measuring numbers and putting an emphasis on them isn’t a new phenomenon. 2000 years ago, Luke by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote:
41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day…47 And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Acts 2:41, 47

Apparently God is all about the numbers. So I want to be, too. And so should you.

It’s unacceptable to me as a pastor that we would stop growing when the Lord wants to add to our number daily those who are being saved.And in order for that to happen, we need to track every scrap of statistical data at our disposal. We’ve got to make sure we’re measuring ministry numbers to measure our effectiveness and enlarge the Kingdom of God. I don’t want to waste a single dollar or second on a program, piece of equipment, or ministry position that isn’t the best option for reaching the most people.

You might be averse to numbers for a number of reasons.

Maybe you don’t like the idea of big crowds. If that’s the case, you wouldn’t have liked the New Testament Church. And you really won’t like heaven.

Maybe you think it steals away from discipleship. It’s possible. But it’s just as possible for that to happen in a church of 10 people as it is in a church of 10,000.

Whatever your reason is, remember: every number is indicative of a story.
Personally, I don’t want to put a cap on the number of stories God wants to redeem. Especially when I read this:
9 I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God.”
Revelation 7:9-10

Now that’s a number worth shooting for. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to wait until I die to see this. I want to see this partially fulfilled in my lifetime. More people worshipping Jesus than I can count.

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I’m living for this reality! More people worshiping God than I can count! More movement and momentum and salvations and restoration of marriages and families and finances and businesses than we can mention!

God is on the move! And I encourage you to JUMP IN!

Many people mistake prayer as something mundane, boring, and perhaps even useless – BUT THAT COULD NOT BE FURTHER THAN THE TRUTH.

I saw a quote by Max Lucado, a well-known Christian author, who said, “When we work, we work. When we pray, God works.”

Now, this is not because we are twisting God’s arm into giving us what we want. But because we have a Creator and Heavenly Father who is intimately aware of our entire lives and actions and thoughts – and who from the beginning of His great creation has desired and even mandated us as His creation to WRITE THE SCRIPT OF HISTORY WITH HIM!

Someone said HISTORY is HIS – STORY. And in a manner of speaking it is, for we all come from God – BUT it is OUR STORY also.

Bottom line is this: The world is hurting, and prayer is the answer. Of course, there is more, much more involved than saying some simple prayers – this is a journey of intimacy into the heart of our God. This is a reality of co-creating with God as we spend time seeking His presence – seeking to speak words that are His heart and will – words empowered by the Holy Spirit – words that when spoken change people’s circumstances and open their hearts and draw people to God and healing and life! We are created to be intimate with God, then speak His inspired words in prayer, and also to people (preaching, or just talking with God’s inspiration).

PRAYER = POWER!

Just like if you wanted to ‘EMPOWER’ any appliance you will need to plug it in! Could you imagine a Television or computer without power? But that is just like many believers prayer lives!

PLUG YOUR PRAYER LIFE INTO THE HOLY SPIRIT AND YOU WILL PLUG IT INTO THE SOURCE OF ALL POWER! – this is when your life with God and the urgency of your spiritual calling will take on a whole new life! But also, prayer will no longer will be boring, IT WILL BE THE FUEL TO EMPOWER THE MOST JOURNEY WHO WILL EVER DECIDE TO TAKE – the life of being of follower of Jesus Christ!

I Do Not Choose to be a Common Man

You ever do something just because you can?

How about just because it’s the right thing to do?

I think too often in our society at large, and definitely within the church, we make the excuse of ‘not feeling’ like doing something and put God into it.

“I didn’t feel led to get up for morning prayer – therefore I didn’t get up.”

That’s fine… but what if I don’t feel led to push you out of the way of the Mack truck that’s about to pulverize you? Should I?

Sometimes you gotta just act in faith BECAUSE YOU KNOW it’s right… and let your feelings follow your character.

Someone said, “Feelings make GREAT FOLLOWERS, but TERRIBLE LEADERS!” – I think that’s true.

“JESUS SAVES SINNERS”

and He needs EVERY SINGLE PERSON WITH EVERY SINGLE GIFTING to make it happen!

I’m a loud (and sometimes obnoxious) preacher and communicator. I’m boisterous and bold, audacious and sometimes austere… and God uses me in my personality to reach people for Christ and help them get strong in their faith.

YOU – you may be shy and have a more quiet personality… you may not like to speak publicly and you may hate to speak loudly… BUT GOD WANTS TO USE IN YOUR PERSONALITY TO REACH PEOPLE!

You can listen better than me…

You can talk one-on-one to people without it sounding like a sermon…

You have many other passions and talents and giftings (or even hobbies) that will attract people to the saving Word of God!

GOD WANTS TO USE YOUUUUUUUU TO SAVE SINNERS!

So just because you’re not an evangelist like me – doesn’t mean God will not use you powerfully for His kingdom work as you yield to His Spirit!

Be encouraged today to be yourself, love Jesus, and love people! Speak His words – but do it (with confidence) through your own personality!

ps. I did not say you will stay comfortable! haha – we all have to give that one up as followers of Christ!!! and often!!!

For this is why He came to earth as a man…

“She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” – Matthew 1:21

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. – 1 Timothy 1:15

If this truth ever escapes from being our chief mandate – and allotted the resources, energies, time, money, creativity, labour, and the very heartbeats of our individual lives and the life of our churches… I daresay we are falling away from the heart of God.

Jesus loves the lost. He died for them…

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16

Let us continue to passionately share this good news! – That a generation may be saved from their sin and be reconciled to God! (see 2 Corinthians 5 for details!!)

and the transformation has just begun!

Or if you are like me (nearly 13 passionate years of following Christ) – the transformation is continuing.

Or perhaps you are 50 years following Christ – well, the transformation is still continuing!

Look at what Paul says in Galatians… (will go to a few verses)

3:26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.

4:4-7 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

4:19 my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!

Now, if you take the time to read the small letter in the Bible that Paul wrote to the people of Galatia, you will understand that the people were wavering in their identity… but even so – THEIR ADOPTION WAS SET! Their identity (the reality of who they were in Christ – was set). It didn’t matter what they believed about themselves, they were adopted into the family of God by believing in and receiving the gift of God’s grace!! The thing which was being contended for was THE REVELATION OF THEIR ADOPTION. 

Therefore Paul is passionate about labouring as a pregnant woman in birth pains (prayer, letter writing) for these people to get it! OUCH! Sounds painful and intense! Yet this is the life of those who would assume the great privilege and responsibility of making disciples of Jesus.

A continual transformation needed to take place in the people of Galatia!

And you know what? We need it too!

Two more verses:

Romans 12:1-2 I appeal to you therefore, bothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

If you have been baptized into the death of Christ, and risen into His life (see Romans 6)… THEN YOUR ADOPTION IS SET!!

You are a child of God!!!!

The war is now over your knowledge of this reality! 

Is someone labouring for you… until Christ is formed in you?

Are you labouring for someone?

Are you being transformed today?

to start heading in the right direction.

and I also need to write a book at some point entitled, “Why I Hate My life.”

Because I realize that the days I hate my life are the days when I’m not productive with my time and resources. The days I know I’m meant to be on my A-game and I’m sleeping in.

This is not who I want to be – so I’m gonna change.

ps. ‘hate’ is a strong word… it’s more like, “Why I’m frustrated with (some of) my life.”

CHANGE is the key word!

is probably what you are called to change!

As a pastor, people often come to me and say things like, “Pastor, we NEED to do ___________ to make this church/area of ministry/worship experience – BETTER!”

Hey! I agree! DO IT!

The reality is YOU as a believer are called to full-time ministry! In fact – every single believer is called to full-time ministry. Let’s look at Ephesians 4:11-16:

¹¹ And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, ¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, ¹³ till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; ¹⁴ that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, ¹⁵ but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Look at the bolded line! My job, my Biblical mandate as a pastor exists… to equip you! Your job is to the do ‘THE WORK OF MINISTRY’. The job that you do is the area of influence GOD has given you to be His representative – His ambassador. Your employer pays you your salary – but if God has brought you to that place of work, or you’re in school – you are IN FULL-TIME MINISTRY. Whatever you’re doing as a believer – you are in FULL-TIME MINISTRY… RIGHT NOW!

Now for the question of church involvement – here is my encouragement: whatever vexes you… whatever you see that needs to change and improve – get in! Get your hands dirty! Get in and make a difference – stand in the gap of WHAT IS and WHAT COULD BE if made your burden your ministry.

The THING that vexes you, will either frustrate you or give you vision and passion and motivation to make the difference.

Be the difference maker today! Because that vexation is probably from the Lord!