Set the Word Free

The Best Kept Secret in the World Is the Power of Word of the Lord Jesus Christ

Acts 19:20 And so the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing.

April 17, 1988

Introduction: The description of the early church's foundation-work in Ephesus here in the 19th of Acts, in the beginning and then in the end of the chapter, sounds almost as though two different places are being described. In the first half of the chapter the simple progress of the work of Paul and the growth of the church are described, in the establishing of the strong center for Christ at Ephesus; how Paul preached in the synagogue there for three months until it was no longer possible, then how he moved to the school of Tyrannus for two years.

The narrative tells of how some were healed, and some tried to copy Paul, of how many gave up false religion and occult practices. There is even a record of how 50,000 pieces of silver's worth of magic-arts books were voluntarily destroyed—at today's prices worth more than $1,000,000.00— which is an indication of the power and scope of the revival.

And then the story climaxes with the statement: "The word of God was growing mightily and prevailing." But then the last half of the chapter describes the same place: but now with disturbance, riot, danger...uproar. There was organized opposition, and the task seemed most difficult. Paul ended up leaving for Macedonia. Which was the true picture? The answer, of course, was both!...and so it is in our own time.

When we read the success stories of Acts, or when we hear or read of revival taking place in other parts of the world it is very easy to either focus on one extreme of the facts or the other, and forget the dynamic that makes it all go.

It is easy to see a plan or a method and think that we, too, must do exactly as "they" have done, OR, we are tempted to get our eyes on the formidable opposition, and think we need to take immediate action and seek to destroy it in our own wisdom and power.

But the story of the "seven sons of Sceva" is frightening and to the point here. These self-styled prophets tried to do God's work with a hand-me-down formula; they wanted to copy the methods without knowing either the true source of power or what it cost to see that power released in their lives. And they were put to shame. We need to focus on the true Source of the dynamic as we read the Book of Acts, or hear true accounts of revival stories going on just now.

The text says it: THE POWER WAS THE PREVAILING, MIGHTY POWER OF THE WORD OF GOD!

It was what was prevailing! The disciples gave themselves to the Word— to God through the Word— and the kingdom was established!

[Transition:]

Oh, make no mistake . . .

I. THERE WILL ALWAYS BE STRONG OPPOSITION TO THE WORD!

The doom cryers— they have their place .. what they say is true...evil men shall wax worse and worse ... We do need militancy against the evils of our age ... "Because iniquity shall abound the love of many shall wax cold."

But THE GREATEST DANGERS THAT FACE THE CHURCH ARE NOT THE TERRIBLE AND PERNICIOUS SINS THAT RAGE WITHOUT. NO, THE CHURCH IS IN DANGER BECAUSE OF THE SOFT, COMPROMISING, EASE-LOVING, CULTURE-ACCOMMODATING ATTITUDE WITHIN!

The church

  1. needs to be aware of the evils of our age. We cannot retreat into some modern version of monasticism. And we need to
  2. cry out against the evils of our times. And yet in our role as prophets, our primary task is to proclaim the word of God!

So-called religious leaders have abdicated their faithfulness to the Word of God. In The Naked Public Square Richard Neuhaus, far from an ardent evangelical, quotes verbatim from the minutes of a "mainline" church assembly (the 150th of this denomination)— the assembly joined in confession of sins:

"We confess our guilt as one of the wealthiest countries in the world...(not having kept faith with the generations gone before)­..."the dead who lived before us whose dreams we betrayed, the dreams of 1789 and of 1917."

And Neuhaus reminds his readers that those so called "dreams" were the French Revolution of 1789 and the Bolshevik takeover in 1917 in Soviet Russia.

To me, it is no wonder that some of the mainline churches are losing members by the hundreds and thousands. The good people want to hear what God has to say, and not Voltaire or Marx or Lenin. No wonder Jesus said, "When I come will I find faith on the earth?"!!

II. BUT WHERE GOD'S WORD IS GIVEN FULL RIGHT OF WAY, IT IS PREVAILING!

Our task is to release God's Word! Where God's Word has been faithfully proclaimed in the power of the Holy Spirit, and where God's people have waited before Him in prayer, without exception there has been quickening!

There is quickening in our own land! It is probably the best-kept secret in America— but in spite of excesses on the part of some leaders, and in spite of the many things that are wrong, there are still millions of people in our land that are turning to God!

There seems to be a conspiracy of silence on the part of the liberal media regarding the good things that happen to Christ's church.

Such things as "Congress '88 (and '87 and '86, etc.) get little or no press coverage even though thousands of people flood downtown Boston in the name of evangelical Christian faith.

Such things as the 1982 Billy Graham campaign, that was consistently shut out of Fenway Park and Shea Stadium, and that overflowed Nickerson Field in a driving rainstorm were not even mentioned.

In April some 500,000 or more evangelical Christians will march on Washington for a prayer meeting for God's mercy and revival on our nation— and you can count on it—it won't get 3 minutes worth of news on local stations, and nothing at all on CBS or NBC. And yet the strength is there; lives are being changed.

It isn't the power of the media, or the suggestion of TV, or the TV evangelists that make God's church go forward! They are a symptom, and not a cause! No— what we are seeing is the power of God! The mighty power of His Word, released in thousands of faithful pulpits and pews and churches.

And what we are seeing to some extent here in America is not keeping pace with the tremendous spiritual awakening in many areas of the "third world." Dr. Gailey, when he was here in January, told us of how Africa is turning to God in almost unbelievable numbers.

[So what are we to believe? What are we to think and to see? Is there great opposition? Is the Word going forward? What are we to do? Are we in trouble . . . or . . . are we perhaps standing on the brink of revival? Which is true? The answer is— both!]

III. WE HAVE THE SOLEMN AND AWESOME RESPONSIBILITY OF INVESTING OUR LIVES AND MAKING A DIFFERENCE!

  1. If we will let the Word of God be released IN OUR PERSONAL LIVES, WE WILL SEE PERSONAL REVIVAL. We cannot continue to get our orders "second hand" and our spiritual food from snatches on the radio and TV and the latest pop-theologian. There is a price to pay, of prayer and reading God's Word, and waiting before the Lord. But the Word of God is alive! And it will give our personal lives power!
  2. And AS A CHURCH, WE MUST SEE THAT THE WORD OF GOD IS RELEASED! WE NEED TO INVEST OUR MONEY AND OUR TIME AND OUR ENERGIES WAYS TO BRING OUR FRIENDS AND GOD'S WORD TOGETHER. And 'so the word of the Lord will grow mightily and prevail!'

Conclusion:

I would like to close my message this morning with a story.

It is a true story, and I assure you that no one asked or in any way slightly hinted that I should tell it to you. But I just felt I needed to:

John Nielson died alone in a little house trailer in Delaware, just across the toll bridge from Pennsville, New Jersey. He was an old man, and he lived alone. He died in his bed, where he had retired to read. On his bed were three or four reference books, and on his chest were his glasses and his Greek New Testament. You might say John Nielson died "mining gold in the Word of God."

And John Nielson died a wealthy man. How can I tell you how wealthy? The reason John Nielson died so wealthy was that (1) he had made very wise investments. And (2) he had made investments that went before him into eternity, and followed after him after he had gone into eternity.

Mr. Nielson invested in his family. He put his family ahead of worldly ambition, or even ambition within the visible kingdom of God. At the age of 29 he was elected superintendent of the Washington-Philadelphia district of the Church of the Nazarene, and being a DS at that age would seem to indicate that he "had it made" as far as the church was concerned. But he stepped down and took a home mission charge so that he would not have to be away from his family so much while they were growing up.

Mr. Nielson did not shirk his duty, wherever it led. He was a loyal husband even when he had to literally carry his wife into the churches with him on preaching assignments the last several years. She had been paralyzed with a stroke, and was unable even to speak. But Mr. Nielson was committed.

Mr. Nielson did not withhold his money. He tithed and gave regularly beyond his 10%, but also he participated in pledging and special needs when it meant postponing what others might term "necessities." You see, he was a wise man, and he was making eternal investments.

So, when John Nielson died, he died in a little house trailer, and had just a little money left over— enough to bury him and pay all his debts and not much more. He came to the end of this part of life having pretty much spent and expended all the resources and gifts and talents with which God had trusted him. He also left two daughters and three sons, and grandchildren and now great-grandchildren— and somehow he had handed down to them the idea that they had something to give to God and to God's kingdom, and that they could make a difference in this world through faithfulness to God's Word.

One quote Alice Kauffman makes in her book about Mr. Nielson is interesting to me: In a letter John Nielson wrote," I am an egoist, not an egotist!" I take this to mean that in a thoroughly Christian, sanctified way he was saying: "I do count! I can make a difference! God does use me!"

I want to be humble and Christ-like. But I want to be rich and wealthy like Mr. Nielson, too! I want to live a life that counts. I want to come to the end of my life and have invested wisely! I don't want too much left over!

What is the best-kept secret in the world? What is life FOR? What am I saving myself for? These are questions I ask myself! And I ask God today: "How may I invest in YOUR kingdom?"

I have some practical suggestions:

  1. Re-think your values. Re-order your life if necessary! What does it profit a man or a woman if we make $100,000 a year and lose our children for all eternity?
  2. Open your life to the Spirit, and to the Word. There is no short-cut to spirituality! No one else can do your praying and your Bible reading for you!
  3. Determine to live for God by loving people— and start with the people that are nearest you! Be ye kind! is one of the most important verses in all the Bible!
  4. Put your resources at God's disposal.

Please join with me in prayer!