Acts 4:32-35 "Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.
v.33 And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all."
There are grace givers and there are also grace killers in ministry. Grace killers are trying to get people under the law and control them. We desire to talk about a ministry build by grace not a graceless ministry. By ministry I mean those involved in ministry in church and also those vocational Christian service. I also include everyone who serves the body of Christ on a consistent basis. We often make a mistake by thinking that ministry means standing behind the pulpit. But true ministry means serving one another in the spirit of grace even in our family.
Whatever you do, do you dispense grace and do you free people or control them? Do you encourage, build up those who involved in ministry. Do you rely on your flesh and strength in doing the work of God? These are all questions we need to answer ourselves to serve one another.
In the book of Acts we see there were a flock of sheep struggling for survival in a hostile world of Christ-hating citizens and politicians. They had every reason to live fearful and frightened, selfish lives of isolation. But they were not so! Why? It was because the "abundant gracious grace was upon them all." They had a spirit of generosity, a genuine desire to meet needs. And the word says, "there was not a needy person among them..." The Grace of God united them into the Body of Christ. You can only see one Body, one spirit, one goal and one purpose. We really, really see the manifestation of God's grace upon them. They are all experiencing grace in a great measure with great power. It is not about knowing grace only in the head, it's about this amazing grace living among them so powerfully that it glorifies God.
God' atmosphere of grace creates an absence of selfishness. We say after all it isn't our money, it's God's money. So we give it generously. It isn't our church how much we build it, it's God's church; so we share it. They the believers aren't our people, they are God's people so we release them. This isn't our project, its God's project, so we rely on Him!
I see that God's work done in God's way for His Glory will never be insufficient of funds! vs. 32 tells us "mine, own, ours" are not heard in the ministry of grace. There were not one word of complaint and comparing. There was an abundance of gracious grace which brought generosity with personal possessions, such an unselfish joy was there and it was contagious! We believe this is the relationship, church and ministry God wants us to build. And it is happening right now!
May the Grace of the Lord Jesus be with your spirit. Amen!
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