ACTS

It's Sunday!!  What a beautiful day it is outside.  It was supposed to rain all day and perhaps it will later, but it is lovely right now.  I'm so looking forward to Church today.  Today is Senior Sunday!  The whole service will be run by our seniors.  (those 60 and above)  Our speaker is Don Collins, (mid 80's) who left for the mission field in Central America over 52 years ago!  Our preacher in charge is Burl Yates (87), who started in the ministry 53 years ago!  On stage praying is Dwayne Dunham (78), who started in ministry over 50 years ago.  We will have almost 200 years of ministry experience sitting on stage in four men.  (I'm not one of them.)  Wow!  What a day it will be, and then we have a meal planned to feed 125 seniors right after the service.  I love Sundays! I'm in Acts, and here is just a thought or two: 1) MIRACULOUS- In Acts 14: 6-10; we have a man cripple from his mother's womb, who Paul perceived had faith to be healed.  He said to him "Stand upright on thy feet.  And he leaped and walked."  What a miracle!  Now the question is why?  Why was Paul given this miracle to perform?  Well, Jesus marked His ministry with the miraculous and as a signet of God's power in the truth of the Gospel, this miracle was given to Paul to perform.   So that the people would understand that Paul was representing Jesus Christ in the spreading of the Gospel, not some idea of Paul's.  The same power of God manifested in the ministry of Jesus Christ was allowed to be manifest in the ministry of Paul to some degree so that all would understand that Paul is preaching the good news of Jesus Christ, not of himself.  Whenever God feels the need to confirm His power and glory, God allows miracles to be performed.  But, if a man thinks he has the power to perform miracles, then God will sit silently on the sidelines and watch him fail.  God does not use miracles to magnify men, but to magnify the message!  Let us rejoice in the miraculous answers to prayer and the wonders of God, but let it magnify the message!  (not the one who prayed, and certainly not the one who was healed.)  Is the message being shared more clearly and powerfully because God allowed a miracle to be performed?  This should be our goal! 2) MAGNIFIED-  In Acts 19:17, it says:  "and the name of the LORD Jesus was magnified."  Here again, we see the goal of the message.  Verse eleven says:  "And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:"  and the goal was verse 17!  Jesus was magnified.  Now when we magnify Jesus, what is the results?  Verse 20 says:  "So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed."  This is the results.... ministry prevails!  So here was the pattern:  Miracle.... Magnification..... Ministry!  Now, let's look at one item:  Miracle.  When we think of this we think of divine healing usually; but how about every time a precious soul gets saved?  Isn't this the greatest miracle of all?  Let us rejoice to see these miracles that occur around us.  When this happens, we magnify Jesus and ministry occurs!  Have a wonderful day in the LORD!!   Pastor Mike Mutchler