The church God Establishes
(Acts 9:31)

The church is a pathway of blessing of God and the ark of salvation of God, which has been established by God. God’s will and His purpose toward the church will not change. God makes the church strong and achieves his will through the church until Jesus comes again.

1. The church in Peace of the Lord

Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was not in the status without hardships but it overcame great persecution, enjoying peace of God. After the death of Stephen, great persecution swept Jerusalem and the center of the turmoil, Paul led it. However, Paul met Jesus on the way to Damascus and he became the witness of Jesus. (Acts. 9:20) When the merciless persecutor, Paul had become a brave preacher, Christians gave glory to God. Encouraged by the experiences of miracles of God, they did their efforts to spread the Gospel and experienced peace of God to stand firmly.

2. The church in the fear of the Lord
The background of church growth thorough Judea, Galilee and Samaria was related to fear of God. (Acts. 9:31b) The church should become a community where Jesus becomes the head. (Col. 1:18) The owner of the church is Jesus. Therefore, the church should be under the control of Jesus and give glory to Jesus. By having fear to Jesus and serving to God, we should make it our first priority to have Jesus-centered life. Service and Volunteering works should be based on worshipping the Lord. The bible says that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. (Prov. 9:10) The church which has fear to God will become the community filled with the grace of God and it saves and heals the world, pouring blessing of God.
3. The church encouraged by the Holy Spirit.

The encouragement by the Holy Spirit was another background of the revival of the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria (Acts 9:31c). That is to say, the believers filled with the Holy Spirit spread the gospel boldly so that the revival came to the church (Acts 4:31). The revival of the church is the work of the Holy Spirit alone, and hardships and persecution to the church in the fullness of the Holy Spirit is a kind of catalyst for the revival. Life of faith does not mean to simply believe Jesus. Believers should be filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2) and become the witness of the gospel without fear (Acts 1:8). Moreover, when the whole church members come to be the faithful workers, they will be the heroes of the redemptive works that God does.