History Repeated...

 

Acts 7:51 “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, 53 you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.”

As mentioned yesterday, Stephen had been arrested for boldly sharing his faith - something Christians had become know for in that day.  During his defense, he went back into their history of faith to show this repeated pattern.  Joseph was given a special dream and promise by God, but his brothers (greatly outnumbering him) became jealous and sold him into slavery, hoping to get rid of him later.  Moses was sent by God to deliver them from Egypt, but when he was gone too long on the mountain, giving up on him and turning to the golden calf.  When they were settled in the promised land, God finally allowed them to build a permanent temple, but soon they left Him there as if in a box, where they could walk away and do whatever they wanted to do. They had a history of resisting God's plan, persecuting His deliverers, and breaking His covenant.  They were now doing it all over again. How often do we repeat such history?

Transitional Statements...

 Acts 6:7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

The book of Acts records a balance of the extremes of the early Church: her struggles and her successes. Most are familiar with the account at the beginning of the chapter, and how that church resolved the issue of under-supported widows. It was a great success in unifying and strengthening the church, impressing the world around them, and drawing more to the Gospel.  This simple statement above is an understatement of the great power and influence of the church impacting her culture as we wish we could. It also serves as a transition into the sad-but-true account of Stephen, who was very vocal about his faith, which brought extreme opposition and imprisonment.  The picture is this: for the church to do what she needs to do and grow as she ought to grow, there will be challenges and opposition on an ongoing basis. There are no transitional statements like this when "all seems to be going smoothly." They are simple pauses to breathe in between the challenges and battles we are called on to face in the name of Christ. 

A Perplexing Problem

 

Acts 5:17 But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy 18 they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, 20 “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” 21 And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach. Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. 22 But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported, 23 “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.” 24 Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to. 

This chapter opens with the account of Ananias and Sapphira, trying to trick the apostles (and God) about how much they received from selling land and giving the proceeds to the ministry of the church. Their lie was no match for the Holy Spirit or the apostles whom He filled and directed. The incident was no problem. The ones who did have the problem were the Council of religious leaders. Every day the twelve would go to the temple and preach the good news of Christ and heal in His name, even though they had been warned to cease and desist such activity. The council tried putting them in prison, but the Holy Spirit delivered them.  The passage goes on to say there was much debate about what to do with them.  Some wanted to kill them; others wanted to wipe out the church.  But the church had already become too popular for the people to allow such things, let alone any reaction brought by Rome if there was too much commotion. Wiser heads gave counsel, giving examples of similar movements which had just fizzled out, saying: 

38 So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; 39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!”  So they did, beating them, warning them not to do it again, then sending them away.  But as we will see, the movement did not go away, but grew and remains today.

The Contrast...

 

Psalm 13:5 But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
    my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
    because he has dealt bountifully with me.

Psalm 14:1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
    They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;
    there is none who does good.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man,
    to see if there are any who understand,
    who seek after God.
3 They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
    there is none who does good,
    not even one.

Above we find the closing words of Psalm 13, followed immediately by the opening words of Psalm 14. David began Psalm 13 by repeatedly asking "How Long, Lord?"  He kept seeing evil men and nations seem to triumph and prosper, while he and his people struggled and suffered. On the other hand, the fools all around him could seem to care less; they lived as if God does not exist and never brings about His righteousness.  David closes Psalm 14 by calling his people to trust and rejoice in their God, because they know He is their refuge and will restore and bring justice, no matter what the fools around may think.  There is a God; He is good; He will judge. 

God is a Firm Foundation; Man? Not So Much...

Psalm 11: 4 The Lord is in his holy temple;
    the Lord's throne is in heaven;
    his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.
5 The Lord tests the righteous,
    but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.

Psalm 12:5 “Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,
    I will now arise,” says the Lord;
    “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”

In these successive psalms of David, he continues to cling to the righteousness of God (see the end of Psalm 11).  Though everyone around him tells him to "run for the hills," David chooses to look to the Holy Hill of God.  He calls out to Him once again while surrounded by evil men.  He clings to Him as the one who looks down on those who are being wrongly mistreated, who then says "Enough of this: "I AM going to do something."  David clings to the words of God as true, trusting Him to do as He says He will. It is the very character of God that assures us God hears, He cares, and His righteousness will prevail in the end. 

Moved by God

Acts 4:23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,
“‘Why did the Gentiles rage,
    and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth set themselves,
    and the rulers were gathered together,
    against the Lord and against his Anointed’—
27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. 29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

We saw yesterday in chapter 3 that Peter and John were directed by God to heal a lame man in the temple. This drew a lot of attention, giving them opportunity to share with many people more things about Jesus Christ as God's Messiah, Whom they had rejected. Things got quite loud in the temple, leading to the arrest of Peter and John. After an intense interrogation they were told "stop doing that" and sent away. This lead to the report above and to this prayer of praise and commitment. They knew that they were doing what God wanted and asked for courage and boldness to continue to do so. They also knew that God had called them to stick together, leading to a sense of care and community in which generosity and sacrificial love was common, furthering their witness to a watching world. May we emulate such a commitment to prayer, community, and intentionality in sharing the Gospel today.

By HIS Name...

 

Acts 3:11 While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon's. 12 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? 13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. 14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 16 And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

As we saw yesterday in Acts 2, the first Day of Pentecost after Christ's ascension was a big blast of answered questions, both for the followers of Jesus, and those who would join them in following Him. This chapter records the answer to the next question: will this continue? Had everyone in town who was going to believe already done so? Not by a long shot. Peter and John had come to the temple, where they and other believers continued to come and worship God. Upon entering, they encountered this lame man, who was asking for money.  Peter and John knew exactly what they had to do: heal Him in Jesus' name. Here, when they drew a crowd, they again knew what they needed to do: tell them all about Jesus, whom they had crucified. They bring out even more truths about Christ: The Holy One, the Author of Life, the One with the Power of God.  They go on in the rest of the chapter to tell how all the prophets from Moses forward had told of His coming, and that they needed to Repent and trust in Him. We never know each new day who God will bring our way, but He will make a way to tell them about Jesus, the Name above all names.