The Substance Of Heaven

Read: Acts 8:4-12

The people believed Philip’s message of Good News concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. Acts 8:12

IN WORD

It was essentially a spiritual showdown, though neither participant would have categorized it that way. On one side was Simon, a magician who had amazed people for years with his unexplainable phenomena. On the other was Philip, a believer in the Jewish Messiah who preached a powerful message accompanied by miracles. Philip’s combination of message-plus-miracles was apparently more impressive than Simon’s feats, even though Simon had a reputation for being “the Power of God.” The crowds were drawn to Philip, and even Simon was impressed enough to believe. In this spiritual showdown, the Holy Spirit won.

Clearly, the Kingdom message Philip preached was not just a philosophy or a worldview. Philosophies and worldviews don’t match up well against paranormal signs. People are always drawn to evidence over ideas. They believed Philip’s message about the Kingdom because it was accompanied by evidence of power over the world and over other spirits. It was a taste of heaven on earth.

That’s what the Kingdom message is all about, isn’t it? The prayer Jesus gave His followers was toward that specific end—that God’s will and His Kingdom would come on earth as they were already being experienced in heaven. When Philip preached, people encountered the environment of heaven, and they were drawn to it.

IN DEED

The Kingdom message cannot be preached as an idea; it has to carry some substance of heaven with it. If people do not experience freedom, newness, hope, meaning, deliverance, healing, and wholeness along with the message, then they haven’t heard Kingdom truth. In whatever we say about the Kingdom, people need to encounter the power of God in it. That’s what brings them into it.

Make that your goal—to speak words that are so filled with Kingdom life that people encounter God when they hear them. Let your words be filled with hope, truth, freedom, healing, and more. Wherever you go on earth, give them a taste of heaven.

ADDITIONAL READING: Acts 5:12-16

I would not be Christian but for the miracles.

AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO