We’re currently studying the book of Acts in our Sunday morning Bible class. Chris Young is doing a great job teaching and he recently pointed out that there are multiple “growth reports” throughout the book. That sent me on a little quest to find them all, and just reading them one after the other was thrilling!
- Acts 2:41- “So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.”
- Acts 4:4- “But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.”
- Acts 5:14- “And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women.”
- Acts 6:1- “Now is these days when the disciples were increasing in number…”
- Acts 6:7- “And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.”
- Acts 14:1- “Now in Iconium they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed.”
- Acts 14:21-22- “When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith.”
- Acts 16:5- “So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.”
- Acts 17:3-4- “Explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, ‘This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you is the Christ.’ And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.”
- Acts 17:12- “Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.”
- Acts 17:34- “But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.”
- Acts 18:8- “Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.”
These growth reports are exciting (and I probably missed some), but what’s even more exciting is the fact that it’s all still going on!
People still care. Peter, Stephen, Paul…these men and others cared more about the gospel than they did about their own personal safety. They were courageous enough to tell others about Jesus. They prayed for boldness and then acted on it (Acts 4:1-3, 13,29). Still today there are men and women who love souls enough to share the Truth with them. I could name names and I know you could, too.
People are still receptive. Think of conversions like Paul and Crispus. They were both ‘all in’ with what they already believed and practiced, yet their hearts were open and they became disciples of Christ. Amazing! 2000 years later we are still hearing “growth reports” because people are still searching. I could share recent conversion stories that are surprising because of the person’s religious background or current occupation and I know you could, too.
The Word of God is still powerful. God chose His disciples to be the conduit for getting the saving message to the world. They were imperfect humans but that didn’t matter because they only had to “speak the word of God” (Acts 4:31). The power is in the Word and that’s why conversion and transformation take place (Heb. 4:12). There’s nothing like the aha moment when the Truth is shared with someone who hears or understands it for the first time. It’s amazing to watch the Word go to work on tender hearts. I could share stories and I know you could, too.
Rejoice in the growth reports!
The book of Acts appropriately closes with these words:
“Proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.”
(Acts 28:31)