No matter how dark the conditions around us, “The Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it” (John 1:5, The Amplified Bible).
Living Like the Early Apostles
The first few chapters of Acts reveal just how true that is. There we find the apostles pouring out of the upper room on the day of Pentecost, ablaze with the fire of God and facing folks so hardhearted that just a few weeks earlier they’d been in favor of crucifying Jesus. Talk about a tough mission field! The devil had been having great success with that bunch.
But when the light of God shined on them through that first group of Holy Spirit baptized believers, things changed. Thousands were born again in a single day. Right in the middle of that spiritual darkness, a fellowship of believers sprang up; believers so in love with one another and so excited about giving they wiped out lack from their
midst almost overnight (Acts 4:34). God’s healing power flowed among them at such a flood tide, the citizens of the region dragged sick people out into the streets “and they were healed every one” (Acts 5:16).
Within days, those first apostles turned one of the roughest mission fields in history into a veritable Garden of Eden. They brought THE BLESSING of God to that place in such measure it brought forth a church full of
people totally in love with Jesus and one another. A church where there was no strife, no lack and no sickness.
“Yeah, but those first apostles had a special calling. They had walked and talked with Jesus.”
That’s true. But, according to 2 Peter 1:1, we can walk in the same measure of faith because we got our faith the same place they got theirs. We have “obtained like precious faith” with them through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ.
We can also have the same kind of fellowship with Jesus those first apostles had. The Apostle John (a personal
friend and disciple of Jesus) assured us of it. He wrote: “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full”
(1 John 1:3-4).
I realize it goes crosswise with religious thinking, but in simple terms what John said was this, “If you’ll pay attention to the message I’m about to give you, you can walk in the same place with Jesus that we, as apostles, do. You can live the faith life the same way we live it.”
I don’t know about you but that statement puts me on the edge of my seat. What message could possibly propel us into
the kind of power and fellowship with Jesus the first apostles enjoyed?
The next verse gives us the answer: “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (verse 5).
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