Acts 9:31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.
Two important ingredient - the fear of the Lord and the Spirit-filled life, leads to mulitiplication.
Looking at the life of Peter. He was restored - meaning he was not what he was before Jesus after His resurection restored him. Peter went back after Jesus death and became what he used to be - a fisheraman, instead of a fisher of man.
He started off with nothing - but now he did what Jesus did - healing and even resurecting the dead! He knew the Lord, love Him, walking in the fear of the Lord (look at how he react when he was confronted by the council) and of course filled with the Holy Spirit.
Now look at Jeroboam - a servant of Solomon whom God has promised to give ten tribes of Israel for him to rule. He started off with nothing, but when the kingdom just landed on his lap - suddenly he became a king. But because he fear man and not God and seek the advise of man and not be lead by the Spirit of God, he created 2 golden calves and it became a sin for Israel.
1 King 12:25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And he went out from there and built Penuel. 26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. 27 If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” 28 So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” 29 And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. 30 Then this thing became a sin, for the people went as far as Dan to be before one.
I have started with nothing, but the Lord has blessed. I have therefore to remember to know and to fear the Lord - not by my hand, but by His grace and His blessings. I pray that I will not forget what the Lord has done.
It is therefore not about how to preseve what I have now, by my own strength, but by continue to walk in the fear of the Lord and be right with Him. It is also not the consuel of man on what to do to expand what the world would do to exapnd a business - but it will be the guidance of the Lord through the work of the Holy Spirit.
Even I were to lose everything, I started with nothing. I pray that I can be like Peter - doing the things that is right before God and right in the heart.
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