Fame Spreading

 In Matthew 4:24-25, you will read about Jesus healing the sick and delivering the demon possessed. The more He did these things the more His fame spread to the surrounding regions. People flocked to Him to help their loved ones. Multitudes migrated to Jesus for help. By word of mouth, His fame spread wider and further. 

The word fame can also be translated "reports or news." Jesus worked and people could not keep the good news to themselves. They testified to others about His powerful intervention in the lives of people. Contrast that with the church today. People come to worship weekly to get their religious fill up. They do not often talk about the power of Jesus to change lives, or the wondrous works of Jesus in a worship services. Ministers seem more interested in spreading their brand and image than the good news of Jesus. Certainly pew dwellers have little interest in spending the good news. 

I believe Jesus can do anything today He did back in the days He walked on the earth. He can still save people from their sins. He can still heal people of diseases. He can still deliver the demon possessed. So why do so many congregations not experience His power more consistently, and why are the masses not migrating to houses of worship to get a fresh touch from the Master?

Maybe some would argue there are no easy answers to those questions. Or maybe the answer is very simple. We are an impotent church. Powerless in these perilous times. Prayerless in these problematic days. Jesus told the disciples in Acts 1:8 that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came on them and they would become witnesses. How many powerful Christians do you know walking in the power of God's Spirit flowing through them? How many powerful preachers do you know? Not educated or eloquent preachers. Powerful. Anointed with Holy Ghost authority. I am betting not many. 

Jesus' fame does not spread because we have become satisfied with the rottenness of religious routines rather than the life transforming encounters with a rise Savior working through a prayer bathed and purified church should produce. 

Companies spread the fame of their products. Politicians spread the fame of their names and policies. Marketing gurus spread the fame of all sorts of things. What a tragedy that the people of God do not spread the fame of Jesus to a sin soaked sick world. The darkness of our times are only getting darker. May the people of God become salt and light once again. {Matt 5:14-16] May we live to spread His fame.