Pastor, Can You Help Us?
Dear Pastor, Preacher, or Bible Teacher –
Many of you have shared with me how much you’ve been helped by using the Enduring Word commentary in your preaching and teaching ministry, and I wanted to take a moment and share how grateful I am for your encouragement.
I am also excited to share with you that the Enduring Word team has now completed translations of my New Testament commentary in the Arabic and Chinese (Simplified) languages, and the entire Bible commentary in Spanish.
I recently read that 95% of the world’s Christian pastors have no formal Bible training. Our heart at Enduring Word is to provide these leaders with the Enduring Word Bible commentary for free wherever the Lord opens the doors, particularly with leaders of the underground church – and, we want to ask for your help.
Can you help us connect with your missionary and Christian leader friends who teach in these languages worldwide so we can share the commentaries with them in their native tongue?
We are open to file sharing in any format that will help get the commentaries out in these languages. Any contact with these pastors, Christian workers, and ministries will be with absolute discretion to protect their safety and well-being. Accordingly, please contact Deven Berryhill at Enduring Word per the contact information given below, who is overseeing the global implementation.
Thank you once again for your fellow service in the Gospel. As the Apostle Paul said many years ago to his ministry friends and colleagues:
This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 2 Corinthians 9:12
With gratitude and appreciation,
David
Here is Deven’s Contact Information:
Email: deven@enduringword.com
Mobile: +1 949-244-4407
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deven.berryhill
Instagram: @devenberryhill
WhatsApp:
Mega Power, Mega Grace
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. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. (Acts 4:32-33)
Back in Acts 2:44-45 we saw the sharing heart of the early church. Those verses tell us how they shared with one another and even sold their possessions to help each other. That was true of the church when they were about 3,000 in number. Now, the number of Christians was much greater, and they still had that sharing heart.
We read of this great generosity: those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of things he possessed was his own. This was true of the multitude, not just a few. To say it simply, they regarded people more important than things. This unity was a wonderful evidence of the work of God’s Spirit among them.
James Boice made an interesting observation about this unity in the early church. It wasn’t the unity of conformity, where everyone is pressured to be exactly alike. This unity was something greater than that; it was the unity of God’s Spirit, centered on Jesus.
Because of their unity, they had all things in common. They recognized God’s ownership of everything; it all belonged to God and His people. Because God had touched their lives so deeply, they found it easy to share all things in common.
The unity and generosity of these early Christians was wonderful to see. Everyone would love to live in a community like that! Yet, those Jesus-focused hearts also experienced something else: with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. This great power was paradoxically both the result and the root of their unified, generous attitude. They put God first, people second, and material things a distant third.
We also notice that they gave witness to the resurrection. We see the central place that the resurrection of Jesus held in the message of the first Christians. They preached a resurrected Jesus.
We read that great grace was upon them all. Grace is God’s favor. Without sounding too sentimental, we can say that God’s grace is His smile from heaven. It is the favor and goodness of God to His people. Even better, this wasn’t just grace – it was great grace. One commentator says that literally this was mega grace. The phrase great power can be understood as mega power.
Did you notice who this was for? We read that this mega grace was upon them all. Not just a few special apostles, but for them all.
Today, radically put your focus on the resurrected Jesus. Receive the gifts of His generosity and spirit of unity. Then, receive His mega power and mega grace. It’s for us all!
El denuedo que necesitamos
Cuando hubieron orado, el lugar en que estaban congregados tembló; y todos fueron llenos del Espíritu Santo, y hablaban con denuedo la palabra de Dios (Hechos 4:31).
¿Ha visto usted a Dios responder a la oración? Espero que sí. Yo ciertamente he visto a Dios responder a muchas oraciones. Pero nunca he visto una respuesta a una oración como la que leemos en Hechos 4:31. Cuando los discípulos oraron pidiendo a Dios que les diera denuedo y continuara Su obra y entonces el lugar en que estaban congregados tembló. Dios les dio un terremoto como una señal única de su complacencia. No sabemos la magnitud del temblor. Tal vez se sintió en toda la ciudad, tal vez solo en el vecindario o tal vez solo en el lugar en que estaban congregados.
Las paredes de la habitación en la que se encontraban no tenían vida, ¡pero Dios las sacudió! Las paredes respondieron al poder del Espíritu Santo, pero esas paredes no cambiaron, ni se convirtieron en un lugar santo especial donde el Espíritu de Dios siempre habitara. De manera similar, una persona puede ser sacudida por el Espíritu Santo sin ser transformada o habitada por el Espíritu de Dios.
El temblor de las paredes fue asombroso y recordado durante mucho tiempo. Sin embargo, hubo algo aún más poderoso que sucedió ese día: todos fueron llenos del Espíritu Santo. No se pierda esas palabras: fueron llenos del Espíritu Santo, otra vez. La experiencia que todos tuvieron en Pentecostés en Hechos 2 no fue una experiencia única. Cuando leemos el Libro de los Hechos desde el principio hasta este punto, vemos que para Pedro, esta cuenta como la tercera vez que se dice específicamente que fue lleno del Espíritu Santo.
Yo creo en el bautismo del Espíritu Santo – la biblia nos habla de esta obra de Dios en el creyente. Pero la idea de que el creyente solo puede ser lleno del Espíritu Santo una vez y que el bautismo del Espíritu Santo solo es esa única vez – esa idea es incorrecta. Los creyentes pueden tener una maravillosa y primera entrega al poder del Espíritu. Debemos ser continuamente llenos del Espíritu Santo y hacer de nuestra “inmersión” en Él una experiencia constante.
Su llenura del Espíritu no fue la única respuesta a la oración. Oraron pidiendo denuedo en Hechos 4:29, y Hechos 4:31 dice: hablaban con denuedo la palabra de Dios. Su denuedo fue un regalo de Dios, recibido a través de la oración. No fue algo que intentaran desarrollar por sí mismos.
Un comentarista señaló que la idea detrás de esta palabra para denuedo es “contarlo todo”. Decían la verdad y no ocultaban nada.
¡Necesitamos más de este denuedo hoy! tenemos que contarlo todo. A veces ocultamos deliberadamente la obra de Dios en nuestra vida a otras personas que realmente se beneficiarían al oír hablar de ella.
Hoy, ore por más denuedo del Espíritu Santo en su vida y recíbalo por fe.