Lord Added

(Today’s audio reading on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0U1qFCf1LyxnfKGyEZOUD2)

And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. (Acts 2:47)

The Holy Spirit opened the door for the fellowship of believers to expand. And when He did, it grew rapidly! Notice that the text says that the “Lord added daily.”

With all that had happened with supernatural wonders, it’s hard to imagine anyone reducing its power, denying its source, or attributing it to human effort. This was not a wonderful, packaged church growth plan in operation, being implemented perfectly! “Step right up! Get your church growth manual before they are all gone and we have to reorder!”

No way. The Lord was the one doing the growing and the adding. This was not a human initiative. He had a daily plan for expansion and growth, and it was underway. Even the ones who had been with Jesus weren’t able to make this happen.

Peter the Preacher’s invitation was being fulfilled in an ongoing way. When he had urged his listeners to “save yourselves from this crooked generation,” obviously thousands took him seriously to turn from their sins. The fellowship that was increasing was not just marked by open doors to enjoy a meal together and celebrate the Lord’s Supper. But there was an attraction to new life that was irresistible. The harvest was underway, and while the First Fruits numbered an astounding 3,000 people, the harvest continued with an unspecified daily increase.

Statistics from those who survey the Christian world tell us that we continue to see the Lord add to His body on a daily basis around the world. When we step back and survey the growth that has taken place from this initial band of twelve followers, we are staggered.

Wherever you are, physically reading this, if you call yourself a Christ follower and are part of a fellowship of believers in that place, remember that at some point in history, someone was the first to go there with the Good News. The Lord adding to his fellowship from your community didn’t just happen by accident, chance, or spontaneous combustion of fellowship! The Lord sent someone, set something in motion, to make that happen. He intentionally added. Ruth Tucker captured this global advance in her masterpiece missions’ history, From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya.

When we step back and survey the advance of this Good News across the earth, we are stunned to see the growth of his body in places like China. There in the mid-20^th century, the Communist Chinese government moved to eradicate any presence of the Christ followers. The opposite result of their intentions has happened! Despite ongoing, formal opposition, researchers say that there are more Christians in China than in any other country on earth.  The Lord continues to add.

Korea did not have a Christian congregation until the year 1885. Now, not only do we marvel at the astounding growth of the church there, it’s said that Korea has 7 of the 10 largest congregations in the world. The Korean Church trails only the USA in numbers of cross-cultural mission workers sent out. This kind of growth is not accidental; the Korean Church is well-known for organized, fervent 24/7/365 (as they call it) prayer meetings. The Lord is adding, and He’s using His faithful servants to make it happen.

A few years ago I was in western Germany. I asked a friend of mine who lived there what was happening among Christian young people in that part of the country, which was a somewhat rural area. She said that every Thursday night, in a nearby town, 800 Christian youth were gathering for worship. I was stunned when I heard that number! I wasn’t expecting that.

Take heart! Pentecost Day-like harvest continues. Something leaps in us when we realize how the Lord of the Harvest orchestrated His plan in this Pentecost season of celebration in amazing detail and outcomes. We are witnesses of its continuation, while our hearts cry out, “Do it again, Lord! Please, keep adding!”

“Father, thank you for riveting our attention to this perfect plan of yours that cannot be manufactured, imitated or made up—truly, Lord, please do it again!”