Heralds Digest

  “ Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith .” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭6:7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ There is no doubt that the expression of disappointment and disaffection among members of the same family, same neighbourhood, same assembly at workplaces, same race in societies, or races in the same country often start with disagreement on the use of words. Words, cunningly expressed with wise human intelligence, have always constituted hate speech, racism, incitement, rebellion, backbiting, and character assassination. They promote the divide-and-rule strategy among members and congregation. Even in the early church, the limited wise words had characterized the growth of the church with murmuring, disaffection, and segregation of distribution on the basis of races and classes. Whereas, the solution to the problem was proffered by the Apostles, through the engagement of deacons who could leverage on g...

  “ And they agreed with him, and when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ .” Acts‬ ‭5:40-42‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The uniqueness of Chapter 5 of the Book of Acts of the Apostles is the variety in the Spirit shares to disciples. Starting with the share of shame and death to those who lied to the Spirit, we can learn that paying attention to the interests of the Spirit of God matters most in life. And when the Pharisees and Sadducees apprehended and imprisoned the spirit-filled Peter and his colleagues for declaring the interests of the Spirit, it was obvious that no one can successfully attempt to stop the train of the heaven’s locomotive without being crushed. Even when the co...

  “ Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. ”” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭4:12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Focus on Jesus as the only Way to salvation from sin and sickness, the only Truth against deceit and deception, and the Life out of destruction and death is good enough. However, the understanding of the fact that there is no other name elsewhere is more revealing. When the Sadducees asked Peter and John the question “ By what power or by what name have you done this? ”, they were probably thinking of discovering the emergence of another threat to their religious beliefs. Likewise, whenever the human mind find a way of doing things or providing certain services, the way is conceived as a competition to the original. And with market forces and the power of competitive prices, ‘No Name’ products and services have proven to be a force to reckon with. Unfortunately, true salvation is not a commodity for ‘No Name’ and the Sadducees (and ...

  “ Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common ,” Acts‬ ‭2:44‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ When the scriptures say ‘wisdom is a principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all you getting, get understanding ’, it is a common knowledge that many have often gotten the desirable wisdom in homes, works, and societal fellowship twisted. The wisdom of men will always produce nothing more than manipulating messages, borne with fake compliance, stylish deception, and cosmetic collaboration at the most. Whereas, the wisdom from God produces messages borne with the unction of the Holy Spirit. For example, the result of messenger’s messages was demonstrated by Peter, with all attendants and transformed believers  having all things (love, vision, lifestyle, and passion) in common. Unlike the diplomatic and manipulating messages that can only pose as the master’s messages, the messengers’ messages have the characteristics of speaking the mind of the Holy Spirit instead of personal opin...

  “ But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth .”” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭1:8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Planning for a good and laudable mission requires the gathering of strategies from people who are convinced to be motivated by the same vision statement. Whenever such personalities choose to gather in any corporate organization and institution, problems are bound to receive solutions. Unfortunately, the mission of liberating lost souls from the pit of sin and destruction cannot be accomplished by the collection of methods. More than anything else, the messengers of the gospel need the Holy Spirit as Mover and His power to get started. You don’t come upon the Holy Spirit with methods; but rather wait for Him to come upon you with power. Otherwise, all our strategies and methods of sincerely executing the mandate and mission will always attract fruitless frustration. And when the 120...

  “ Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” And He said to them, “ It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority .” Acts‬ ‭1:6-7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The post-resurrected conversation between the messengers and the Messiah provided a clear example of the misplacement of missions in life. The disciples were concerned about the political restoration of Israel by the promised Messiah; while the victorious Messiah was concerned about the disciples’ responsibilities in extending the message of salvation and victory at the Cross to the world. Therefore, Jesus responded that “ It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority” . There is nothing wrong with understanding times or seasons of events, particularly championed by other people around us. The only problem has been the danger of getting distracted from our own ordained responsib...

  “ And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them .”‭‭ John‬ ‭17:10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Even though we know that unity or oneness in fellowship and family is a perfect demonstration of the glory of God, it is difficult for believers to ignore the pursuit of personal glory without divine assistance and entire sanctification. When Jesus said in His priestly prayer to the Father “ And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them ”, He was demonstrating this unity in the pursuit of selfless glory through the relationship between Him and the Father. And in order to emulate similar pursuit, disciples and believers are enjoined to constantly seek divine assistance for grace to keep focus on the glory of God in all their relationships in fellowship and family. As long as personal glory has become entirely irrelevant, there would always be no disgrace in the pursuit of God’s glory. Therefore, a fully sanctified disciple of the Lord is sufficiently glorifi...