“When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds.”
Acts 19:17-18
Power is let loose when Christians start living out the Gospel on a grass-roots level. Just read Acts 19. The early church unlocked the power of God’s Word as they turned upside down their local communities. Neighbors in Ephesus were gripped with an awesome fear of God as they gathered to openly confess their waywardness. It even says they held the name of the Lord Jesus in high honor. Can you imagine such a thing in your community?
Because first-century Christians lived out the Gospel on a local level, God got people’s attention. And the same can happen today. The Lord wants to use this time of social unrest and political change as an unprecedented opportunity for the local church to demonstrate the power of God to change a situation, to change people’s lives, to change a community.
Empowerment involves the people closest to a problem learning how to solve it themselves. Need a few ideas? Just open your eyes. Elderly people in dilapidated houses. Suicide among teenagers. Lonely widows in busy neighborhoods. Abused wives and battered children. Girls with unwanted pregnancies. Disabled people needing housekeeping help. Drug abuse in schools.
These are the problems you live close to. And when believers begin living out the Gospel on a grass-roots level, God will get people’s attention.
God’s life-changing power shakes a community when a church directly addresses the needs in the streets, schools, and homes. The Gospel is best declared when it is demonstrated toward the people closest to you.
Empower my church, Lord, to make a difference in my community. And please begin with me!
