Great Grace...Great Power

Wouldn't you like to experience greater power as a Christian? Would you like to be moved by God in a dynamic way? Would you like to be used by God in a dynamic way? That was the experience of the apostles. In Acts 4:33, we read: "And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all." Several observations about this verse...

1. Did the apostles experience great grace because they exerted great power, or did they experience great power because they were experiencing extra grace from the Lord? Grace cannot be earned or gained by effort, or else it would not be grace. Therefore great grace was not upon them because of their efforts and successes at great witnessing. Thus we must understand it this way: the power they displayed was the result of God's grace upon them. It was the means by which they experienced great power. Without God's graciously working through them, they would have never experienced great power. If not for God's grace, no one would have listened. Without God's grace, no one would have been converted. If we want to experience great power, the source is not seminary, conferences, beautiful buildings, strategies or gimmicks; we need the gracious appearance of God's power. "'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the Lord."

2. "Great grace was upon them all." Not some, not a few, but all of them. That encourages me. I can't earn grace. I can't earn the power that stems from grace. If I have power, it will be because of God's grace, and God's grace is a very real possibility -- even to me. Even to you.

3. They had great power, but notice for what purpose: to give "witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus." Too often we are asking for power to overcome an enemy, endure a hardship, or crest some mountain. More than anything we ought to desire the great grace that brings great power in order that we might be great witnesses of and for our Savior.

If we desire great power, we need great grace. So "let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace..." -- Hebrews 4:16

Magnify the Majesty

Our greatest obligation as well as our greatest opportunity is to glorify God. For this we have been designed and created. To this we are daily called. Our greatest joy is experienced and our highest success attained when we fulfill that purpose. Nothing can satisfy the soul as much as accomplishing the very thing for which we were created to perform.

1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." Of course we should glorify God in the church sanctuary. We should also glorify Him at work, at school, at the ball field, and every other place of importance in our lives. But we should also glorify Him at the dinner table. Eating and drinking are the two most basic activities of all humans, and the Bible tells us that even in these most basic, routine, seemingly mundane practices we are to make a conscious effort to bring glory to our God.

If glorifying God is intended to be a vital ingredient of our daily lives, we need to know exactly how to do it. What does it mean to glorify God? One way to glorify God is to magnify God. Just as a telescope zero's in on the majesty of the heavens and brings them close for our observation, so we should make much of the greatness of God by making Him as visible as possible to those around us.

I'll never forget the night I stood in an open field far from the lights and sounds of the city, and gazed at the moon through a powerful telescope provided by the science department of the college I was attending. The moon was beautiful that night, even to the naked eye, but it was breath-taking when I saw it through the scope of that powerful magnifier. We are to do the same. We are to show people how truly magnificent our God is as we speak of how much He means to us, what great things He has done for us, the joy we find in His service, the hope we have in His promises, and the peace we experience in His presence. When people hear about God from us, it should be as though they are seeing God in a way they have never seen Him before.

The moon and stars are beautiful, yet so many people rush around in the night with little thought of the majesty above them. Even when they chance to look up, so little can be seen because of the artificial lights and distractions of this world. Our God is also beautiful--so much more than the heavens He created--yet so few look His way. Those who do perhaps find it difficult to see through the haze the greatness of who we know Him to be. That's where we come in. We must glorify Him by magnifying Him, that the world might see.