The Church on Fire: When God Moves in Power (Greater Things)

I’d like to tell you the story of a young man whose life changed the world. He was only 26 years old. He grew up in Wales, England as a Coal miner. And around him and others stirred one of the greatest revivals in the history of the world.

His name was Evan Roberts. He was a young man who would carry his bible with him everywhere, and was deeply serious about scripture. He would take his bible with him to work in the coal mine, and read from it over their lunch. He became increasingly focused on the concept of revival.

In 1904 he attended a service where the minister prayed saying, "Lord, bend us." This affected Evan Roberts deeply. He realized he needed to be completely yielded to God. He got on his knees and surrendered all to the Lord. It was a profound experience with the Holy Spirit. And he began to have dreams and visions from God, and believed God would send a revival to Wales. He even began to pray for a particular number, he believed God would give: 100,000 souls.

Roberts returned to his home church. He asked his pastor for permission to speak. Roberts spoke powerfully before the congregation. Soon special meetings began, and Roberts began preaching regularly.

The meetings began attracting enormous crowds. The power of God was at work. Many came from across Wales to hear him speak, but they would often come to the meeting and Roberts would barely speak, someone would give a testimony, another person would break out in song, Roberts might pray for a while, then sit down, then go to his office off the chapel and pray, others would confess sins openly, the meetings would go on for hours.

The themes were:
-Confess every known sin.
-Get right with anyone you have wronged.
-Remove anything questionable from your life.
-Obey the Holy Spirit immediately.
-Publicly acknowledge Christ.

"Obey the Spirit" was the catchphrase of the movement. He was interviewed during the revival by the famous journalist W.T. Stead. He was asked about the revival taking place.  

“The movement is not of me,” said Mr. Roberts—“it is of God. I would not dare to try to direct it. Obey the Spirit, that is our word in everything.”

With about one year, tens of thousands of people had joined churches throughout Wales, and the revival after about 3 years had led to over 100,000 conversions to Christ. However Roberts faced increasing criticism, and eventually became exhausted and retreated from public life. Yet his life and actions show us God can move through the most unlikely people who are submitted to the Spirit.

We’ve gone through a series on the book of Acts, and we’ll be wrapping it up in a few weeks.

I hope over this series you’re beginning to see the larger story of the book of Acts. It follows the events that took place immediately after Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to heaven. We see the disciples mimicking the actions of Jesus in Jerusalem, first by receiving the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, and then by proclaiming the gospel, and healing the sick throughout the area.

Today we’re going to see a culmination of these events take place. Last time we saw how God purged sin from the early church, by eliminating Ananias and Sapphira. Now we’re going to see the cleansed church reach the heights of power and authority in ancient Jerusalem. And we're also going to see how the authorities respond to this move of God.

Today we’ll be in Acts 5:12-27.

Acts 5:12 says, “The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade.”

Just as Jesus did, the disciples continued to perform signs and wonders, supernatural events that gave credibility to their ministry. And they were meeting in a very public place. The place was called Solomon’s Colonnade. It was a porch that was part of the temple in Jerusalem, the most important cite in the entire nation. This was a huge porch, where thousands could gather.

They were meeting outdoors, in the public, and the whole city was beginning to take notice. By this time the number of believers in the city had reached well over 5,000.

Verse 13, “No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people.”

No one else dared join them, interesting statement, it reminds me of modern times though. Many may become aware of the activities of the church, but they won’t actually join in the activity. Even though they do highly regard the activity of the church. Which many still do in our society, who actually see the good churches do, instead of listening to the narrative in tv and news and movies, that churches and Christians are mean and bad and judgmental and everything else. When we actually see the food pantries, the pregnancy resource centers, the salvation armies, safe harbor, all these things, they tell a very different story than the television and social media does.

I think there’s a natural sort of barrier that makes is hard for someone to walk into a church for the first time. It can be stressful, you aren’t sure what to expect, it takes a certain level of bravery to step into a faith community. We see even at Solomon's colonnade most won’t dare to join them. And yet, the church is still growing.

Verse 14: “Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.”

It’s quite interesting the mention of both men and women, when the church grew from 3,000 they were just counting men, same when it grew to 5,000, but we see here both men and women were noted as turning to Jesus.

These people were being saved. Set free from their sins. They were turning to Jesus. And Jesus was changing them. And they became part of the faith community, and met together with them.

Next in verse 15 we see this revival, that has grown from 120 all way to most likely somewhere between 6 to 8 thousand, maybe more, reaching a moment of critical spiritual momentum. The energy and momentum, and love, unity, and purity, and their devotion to God is so strong, God begins to move in mighty ways. Impossible ways. Unspeakable ways.

That is where I want this church, our little church to go, we’ve got momentum, we are all growing in prayer, in the word, in sharing our faith, and if we continue to grow, and sanctify ourselves, and repent quickly of sins, and forgive quickly our enemies, we will see the momentum continue to grow. God will bless it.

It says in verse 15, “As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.”

The anointing over Peter was so strong from the Lord Jesus, that the sick would be brought on bed and mats and laid near and Peter’s shadow would pass over them, and they would be healed.

Jesus never did this in his earthly ministry. Yet it was happening because Jesus was ministering through Peter in a powerful way.

What words of Jesus does this draw us back to? What was being fulfilled from our Master’s lips?

Jesus said, in John 14:12-14: “12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

Greater things, because Jesus was doing it through them. Greater things, even Peter’s shadow falling on someone, and they would be healed. Wow.

Thousands of believers gathered at the temple courts, at Solomon’s Colonnade, praying, preaching the gospel, singing hymns, repenting, confessing, an all-out revival was taking place in Jerusalem. Jesus was moving through the apostles. It began to overflow...

Verse 16: "Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed.”

This movement begins to explode out of Jerusalem and into the smaller towns surrounding Jerusalem, and people begin bringing those oppressed by demons and impure spirits and those who were sick or injured, and they were all healed. Not just some, but all.

That is overflow, outpouring, a move of God, the early church was ready for it, they were living pure and holy, and they loved sincerely, and God moved through that. They believed in miracles, and miracles happened.

They were filled to the brim with the Holy Spirit.

But, their opponents were filled with something else: Jealousy.

Next, we see Satan begin to push back against the revival.

Verses 17-18: “17 Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. 18 They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.”

Jealousy is a very powerful human emotion. If we don’t repent of it quickly, and seek God’s help, it can cause serious problems in our lives. Jealousy gives the enemy a mighty foothold in us. The enemy uses jealousy to attempt to persecute and defeat the early church.

The religious leaders, seeing this gathering of thousands at the outer court of the temple, arrest the leaders and throw them in jail.

Next, verses 19-20: "But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people all about this new life.”

During the night. It may have felt like a dark moment, waiting in a cell, awaiting trial, but in the night, God shows up.

The doors of the jail miraculously open. And the angel brought them out. And they are given instructions, go stand right where you were before, and proclaim... 

My NIV translates it “the full message” of this “new life.”

All of it, every word, the gospel of Jesus Christ. His crucifixion, his resurrection, and the need to repent of our sins, and put our faith in Him. That is the full message.

It’s a new life. A whole new way of living. Every word of Jesus tells us how to live that life, and it’s very nuanced. We can study the sermon on the mount, the parables of Jesus, his sayings and his debates and his words to his disciples, and we find a whole picture of what it means to be a Christian. The whole, full message of salvation. Not part of it, but all of it, even the parts we find difficult or challenging. Yes, the grace and the love, but also the truth, justice, even judgment. The full message of this new life.

And if I ever begin to teach you a luke-warm gospel, and avoid scriptures that I find uncomfortable, you should find a different church where the full gospel and the whole bible is preached. All of it. Just like God tells the disciples: Give the full message of this new life. All of it.

Verse 21: "At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people."

What did the disciples do in response to the message? They were obedient. They went and did what God said. Sometimes I worry we show up to church, figure that’s good enough, and we do whatever we want to do the rest of the week, but a true believer is completely consumed with God, so in love with Jesus, so excited for their life in Him, they are chasing after His will for their lives, with all their might. Obedience is what God calls us to. It’s a wonderful joy.

Verses 21-22: "21 When the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin—the full assembly of the elders of Israel—and sent to the jail for the apostles. 22 But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there."

That must’ve been a comical moment. They show up to the jail, but they aren’t in their cell! The religious leaders felt they were in control, but God was actually in control. They felt they had authority over the apostles, but God had the ultimate authority.

Next, verses 22-24: "22b So they went back and reported, 23 “We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.” 24 On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were at a loss, wondering what this might lead to."

This scripture helps us understand just how powerful our God is. We can be locked in a cell of sin in our lives. And there are guards, there are bars so solid, and yet, when God says so, they fling open, and we’re set free. Chains break when Jesus shows up. And we walk free.

The enemy loses authority over us. Before we knew Christ we were under the authority of Satan, but when the Father drew us to Jesus, we gave our hearts to Him, and he changed us. Now the Satan has no authority over us.

So the Sanhedrin can’t find the apostles. But someone runs in, verse 25... "Then someone came and said, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people.”

This was a clear sign to the entire Sanhedrin: This is of God. You can’t control it. You can’t stop it. And it won’t submit to your authority.

Their jealousy had caused them to resist the move of God. I remember when the Asbury outpouring took place in February 2023, so many ministries became jealous and attacked the Asbury revival as being unbiblical. So many Youtubers attacked it, critiqued it. It was sad. And to be honest, when it happened, my initial reaction was jealousy as well. I thought to myself, "Why didn't it happen at my then church in Owosso, Mi?" And I had to stop myself, and say hold on, this isn’t what God would want from me. So I began to pray, "Lord take this jealousy away, it’s not from you. 'And I repented, and the Lord took it away.

So the jealousy of the Sanhedrin didn't matter in the end, God still moved. But I had to ask myself, why did God open the doors of the jail and send them back into the temple courts to continue preaching? Sometimes in scripture God open the doors, and sometimes he doesn't. But why this time? 

Jesus had predicted during his ministry that the temple would be destroyed, and Israel would be surrounded by her enemies. This would happen, because Israel had despised and rejected their messiah Jesus Christ and crucified him.

I believe God created this revival, and opened the jail doors, to continue to gather a holy remnant to himself, before the nation was destroyed. We know from history that in 66 AD Jewish forces rebelled and overthrew the Roman occupational forces, but in 70 AD Roman troops returned, surrounded the capital during Passover, and destroyed the city, and burned the temple to the ground. Perhaps this revival was taking place, to gather the remnant together before these events happened.

Now it's important to remember that God still had and has a purpose for the Jews. He's preserved them as a people, even after the temple's destruction, and down through the ages, so that during the end times they may be saved. Indeed that is one of the key purposes of the end times; the severity of the judgments that occur will persuade the Jewish people to at last turn to their one and only messiah, Yeshua (Jesus). Praise the Lord! 

Last two verses: “26 At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the people would stone them. 27 The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest.”

The temple guards went, but didn’t use force, they I’m sure 'requested' the apostles come with them, to appear before the Sanhedrin. And they apparently agreed. The guards were afraid that they might be stoned by the crowds if they acted too harshly. But again, now the apostles come before the great Sanhedrin, to give an answer for the things that were happening throughout Israel.

And I think we’ll see next week that God would give them this opportunity to bring about a surprising turn of events among the leaders.

In conclusion, we saw today how the revival that began on Pentecost grew and grew, and culminated in astonishing and strange signs and wonders, even the shadow of Peter passing over people, and they were healed. Jail doors miraculously opening. Angels appearing to people. These were miraculous and astonishing events: Signs and wonders, powerful and memorable events, and in the midst of all of it, people were getting saved. From 3,000, then to 5,000, and I would guess they were at 7,000 men by this point, perhaps many more. This revival spread to the towns surrounding Jerusalem, and the whole city must’ve been in a holy uproar. Why? All for the purpose of gathering the remnant of God’s people to Jesus Christ for salvation.

Do you need that touch today? Do you need Jesus Christ? Let Him be your savior today. Invite Him into your heart. Is He tugging at your heart right now? He died on the cross for your sins. He rose from the dead. He’s near you right now. Cry out to Him in your heart: "Jesus be my savior. Grant me your Holy Spirit. I bend myself, to you God. I surrender all!" As Evan Roberts was touched by that simple phrase "I bend myself" let the Lord touch your heart right now.

Evan Roberts, 1878-1951

Ananias and Sapphira: The Danger of Sin in the Church

Dumitru Duduman was a man who grew up in Romania during the cold war era, which was controlled by the Soviet Union. 

At one time he served in the military and helped stop Bible’s from coming into Romania. But one day he heard a voice that told him to help bring the bibles in. So he did. But he found out later they weren’t making it through.

Years later he became a Christian, and began organizing a new way to smuggle bibles into Russia. Over fifteen years Dumitru helped bring in over 300,000 bibles into the country. But in 1979, due to informants within the church, Dumitru was arrested. 

They demanded to know where the bibles were and how he got them across the border; but the Holy Spirit kept telling him, don’t be afraid, don’t tell them, I’m with you. They put him in a room full of rats, they beat his feet with rods, placed a wooden plank on his back and beat his back; they even attached him to an electric chair, but the Lord appeared to Him, and kept assuring Dumitru that everything would be OK. 

For 5 months this went on. The colonel who led the tortures of Dumitru was Colonel Preston. Dumitru prayed for the Colonel, instead of hating him. They all knew Dumitru followed God. And one day, they were going to kill Dumitru, but then an officer walked in and told him, Colonel Preston was going over your file and suddenly died. We know your God vindicated you, and we are letting you go. Please do not pray to your God about me, so I don’t die. I never harmed you. And they let him go. He went on to travel to America, and speak everywhere about his story.

Dumitru Duduman’s story is powerful and amazing. But I want you to think about his situation, and how God set him free. God set an example powerfully, by striking the Colonel who was torturing him, and it caused them to set free Dumitru, so he could continue his ministry. Was God right in doing this, to protect his beloved saint? I think God certainly was. Keep this example in mind, as we study the scripture for today. 

Last week we saw the disciples gather to pray, after facing persecution from the authorities. They prayed, united, and trusted in God’s sovereignty. They asked God for boldness, and miracles, and God gave both. As a result the church continued to grow.

We’re going examine two scriptures today, the last few verses of chapter 4, and the first 11 verses of chapter five, and we’re going to see both amazing unity, and a new problem faced by the early church, and how God chose to deal with it.

We’ll be studying today one of the most challenging passages in the New Testament, but knowing you are all growing in maturity in Christ, I believe we’ll all be able to receive it in the right way.

At the end of chapter 4, verses 32-37, we see a period of unparalleled unity among the early church.

It says this in verse 32: “All the believers were one in heart and mind.”

There was such a joyous unity among the believers, their hearts belonged to Jesus, and their minds were in alignment.

This is incredibly powerful. And it occurs when believers have centered their lives in Christ. They naturally walk in the ways of the Spirit. They naturally serve each other. They naturally unite together. They gather together at bible study or women’s group, or here in the sanctuary, and no one can quite explain it, but there is an electric sense of connectivity and shared action among them.

That’s what it means to be united in heart and mind. A church united in this way can accomplish great things for God.

But keep this in mind: It has to do with the heart, and the mind. Both are submitted to God. When one is out of alignment, or both are out of alignment there can be problems.

A heart in alignment is humbly centered on God and the leading of His Spirit.

A heart out of alignment may become hardened and drift away from God. Pride and jealousy creep in and soon this person is disruptive to the body of Christ, instead of in unity with it.

A mind in alignment is humbly centered on Jesus Christ, being renewed by the word, and seeking to think in alignment with the mind of Christ.

A mind out of alignment is centered on worldly concerns, carnal pursuits, a worldly mind isn’t concerned with the things of God, just entertainment and money, and tasks to do.

Where is your heart today? Is it soft and humble, or do you have to be right, do you have to be in control? Is there pride in it?

Where is your mind today? Is your mind centered on Christ, or your own pleasures and your own agenda, instead of the agenda of God?

Prayer: Father, we confess our need for a renewal of heart and mind. Please Father, mold and shape our heart into your likeness. Cleanse it from all impurity. Give us a soft heart, humbly submitted to your leading. We give you our hearts, and place them in your hands. Give us also a mind renewed by the word, and through prayer, a mind centered in humility, grant us the mind of Christ, in Jesus name we pray, amen.  

If your heart and mind are centered on Christ, you will be an instrument of unity in the body.

Second part of verse 32: “No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.”

This unity led to the sharing of possessions and resources. Any Christian who was in need, the church would look for ways to provide.

About 6 months ago, my wife Chelsey and I were praying for a vehicle, and God used several church members to help make that happen. We are so grateful for the body helping meet needs. 

Many bring food for events, others volunteer time, others give money for special projects. But I think we can go even further with this concept, what if we had a needs textgroup? What if we were able to help with the needs of our people at a greater scale? Pray God would do this even more among us.

Next, verse 33: “With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all”

They continued to testify. They didn’t get weary and give up. They kept proclaiming in the marketplace, in the streets, and in people’s homes that Jesus rose from the dead. God’s action in their boldness was to bless it all with His grace.

Verses 34-35 continues, God’s grace was so powerful… 

“34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.”

There was not a single needy person among them. Those who had land or houses, sold a property, sold a house, sold a field they owned, and gave all the proceeds to the church.

Does this mean you have to sell your house to be a good Christian? I don’t think so. It says in other portions of Acts that they were meeting in each other’s homes. So many still kept their homes. But this passage appears to be people who had many assets, selling them and giving the money to the church to care for the needy. Which is a beautiful thing. But it was by choice. There was no force. It was by the leading of the Holy Spirit. They saw believers who were poor and homeless, and sold assets to care for their needs. 

I want you to notice the level of generosity. They were giving big. Some of you have that spiritual gift of giving. You give generously, financially and you give assets for the church and for those in need. Use that gift as God leads you. Give abundant. Give big. And enjoy it. It’s fun to give. It feels good to do God’s will and it’s so rewarding to see how God uses it.

Verses 36-37, I think are a good example of what was happening: 

"36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), 37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet."

He didn’t sell his home and become homeless, he didn’t give up all his assets. But he had a field he owned, and he sold it for the good of the church. That’s pretty amazing.

What if you did the same thing, by the leading of the Spirit? What if the Spirit is saying sell that boat and give the money to the poor? What if the Spirit is saying give up something big for his kingdom?

Now if it’s your first visit today you may be thinking oh my goodness, all this church teaches about is money. That’s definitely not true. But I would challenge every Christian here today, we should all be tithing and giving offerings every Sunday. Because the church needs our money? No, because our hearts need to submit our wealth to God, and when we do, God blesses us abundantly. 

I remember about ten years ago, I wasn't tithing, and a church member testified to me, that he had begun tithing faithfully many years ago, and God had blessed him so abundantly he was now a millionaire. I was in deep debt at the time. But I decided to trust God. I sat down and calculated what 10% of my income was. And I began to give it in check form each Sunday. And in two years, I was out of debt. By submitting my first fruits to God, God blessed my finances. For years I never had enough, but now, by honoring God with my money, I had an abundance. Money always seemed to slip away, now it seemed to gather. 

So the early church were on fire for the Lord, bold, sharing the gospel, and giving big for those in need.

Now, flip over to Acts 5.We are going to see a problem develop in the church. Satan was not making the progress he desired by attacking the church from outside. In fact it just seemed to cause them to rely upon God even more. So we’re going to see Satan attempt to infiltrate the church from within. 

Acts 5:1-2 says, “Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.”

So we have a married couple, who see people in the church selling properties and homes, and giving the money to the apostles, and they decide to do something similar.

But something is very wrong within the hearts of Ananias and his wife. They take an action to attempt to deceive the Spirit. The people selling property were giving all the proceeds. But, this couple does something different.

They pretend that they are giving everything, but they actually hold back part of the money for themselves.

Now the issue isn’t that they didn’t give enough, or that they shouldn’t have held back money, but it’s that they lied. They pretended to be giving all, but they weren’t. 

And we see the Lord speak through Peter against this deception:

Verse 3: Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?”

Verse 3 helps us understand the severity of what is really going on spiritually in this situation. It’s not money, or even lying. It’s an issue of the heart.

Very few in all of scripture are said to be filled with Satan. The one who comes to mind is Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus. 

In Luke 22:3 it says: "Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, who was one of the Twelve."

I think there’s a lot more going on in this passage than we realize. Ananias and his wife have reached a state in which they are filled with Satan. 

It’s a heart issue. And he says, you didn’t just lie to people, you lied to the Holy Spirit.

Peter continues: “4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”

Peter rebukes Ananias, and tells him, this property was yours. You could do whatever you wanted with it. Then when you sold it, again, you could do whatever you wanted with the money. You didn’t have to come here and lie about it. Your sin isn’t just against people it’s against God.

And I think what was really going on here is, Satan was attempting to begin to infiltrate the church, and through Ananias and his wife, he could’ve began to divide the church and cause problems. But God deals with this threat swiftly.

Verse 5-6, “When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened.” 6 Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.”

God deals with this threat to the unity of the new and beloved early church, by immediately striking Ananias on the spot. And he fell down and died.

I think this is where we get the modern notion that people are afraid God is going to “smite” them. Or this fear that God is going to send a lightning bolt and hit us, or some fear that if they walk into a church they’ll burst into flames. But all of that is simply not true.

What we see here in Acts 5 is rare. I’m not saying it’s impossible, that God won’t move in and deal with someone in the world in this way if he chooses to. But, it is rare. God isn’t going to strike you with lightning, he’s not Zeus.

But he does deal with sin.  And if it were us at the time of the birth of the early church, at a time of complete unity when the church is not billions like it is today, but a few thousand, and one of us came in with division, filled with Satan, I might be worried. But that’s not our current situation. God’s actions are very situational, depending on what is going on in the moment.

But let’s keep going and see what happens next. 

Verses 7-8: 7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?”

“Yes,” she said, “that is the price.”

Sapphira apparently wasn’t there when her husband originally came in. But, she enters and joins in the lie of her husband. So, again we see the judgment of God land upon her. 

Verse 9-10 Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.” 10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

Same result, Saphira is judged by the Lord for her part in this scheme that served as a danger to the unity and witness of the early church. 

The result of this double judgment by the Lord against the spirit of Satan entering the church?

It says in verse 11: "Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events."

The fear of the Lord guards the growth of the church, it guards the church against compromise, and ultimately, the entry of Satan into the church.

The danger is serious, if Satan can sneak into the church, it can cause the church to lose it’s way, and become ineffective in carrying the gospel to the world.

I think that’s why God’s actions here are so fast and severe, he is protecting the early church from being infiltrated by the devil early on. As the church continues to form over the centuries, we see the Lord is more patient with people who bring evil into the church, but at this key early moment, the Lord was quick to deal with this issue.

It was at the core, a heart issue. We talked about how the early church was united in heart and mind. But these people were not. They in fact had Satan in their hearts. And that lead to God’s judgment against them.

The fear of the Lord is something we in the modern church need to rediscover. We need to remember the holy God we serve and tremble before Him, particularly when we're tempted to sin. God is holy. He is our loving Father, but sometimes, my wife's sister tells this story, that if she did something wrong, her mom would just go quiet, and she knew she was waiting for dad to get home. This brought fear. We love dad, but he we also fear dad. That's a good thing. 

In conclusion, let us always remember the power of unity in the church, when every believer’s heart is filled with Jesus Christ, it brings powerful unity. But when Satan is in the heart of people in the church, it brings a dangerous situation that can cripple, divide or even destroy a fellowship of believers. So God deals swiftly with those kinds of situations, if we will pray and trust Him to move on our behalf.

But remember, It’s not our job to deal out the justice of God, it’s our part to speak his word boldly, to pray for our enemies, and pray for the church, and God will work out the rest. God is the only one able to judge in this way. So we ought to fear God, shun evil in our own hearts, and love and pray for those who persecute us. Because God will deal with them, in His timing.

Recall Dumitru Duduman, and how the man who tortured him suddenly died right before Dumitru was going to be executed. And we are grateful that God protected him. I think we should have a similar attitude about the incident with Ananias and Saphira, God was protecting the church from the presence of Satan which had entered their hearts.

God protects his church. When we pray, God moves. God will fight for the unity of His church, and deliver us from anyone who might bring the spirit of Satan into our midst. Praise the Lord.

I fear my God, I love my Lord, and most of all, I trust my God. God is worthy of our trust. If we don’t fully understand, we can still trust. 

Prayer: Father, we love you and we fear you. We regard you as the Holy one. You protect your church. We may not fully understand the things of God, but Lord, we trust in you, and leave judgment in your hands, not ours. In Jesus name, amen. 

Acts 4:23-31: How the Church Stands Firm Against the Spirit of the Age

I remember growing up my mom would take my sister and I swimming at this park, it was off camp Philips rd. in my hometown. It was a beautiful park. But it was interesting, the swimming area was actually a river, called the Eau Claire river.

It was a lot of fun to swim in, and the waters would slowly move down the stream. The water didn’t move particularly fast. But it was interesting, I remember as we played in the water, we’d start to drift down stream.

My mom would have to call out to us and say, "Be careful, come back, you’re being pulled down the river!"

We’d look up from playing and realize where we were: Further down the river than we realized.

In fact, one time we were there a child got sucked down the river, and my mom and another man had to rescue them.

Later, they closed the park entirely because it was deemed unsafe for swimming.

I recall CS Lewis often spoke of a “spirit of the age” that has influence in the world all around us.

CS Lewis compared the spirit of the age to a stream of water, that without even realizing it, we as Christians can be swept down the river, of the beliefs of this world, and we end up believing lies.

The world and the church are at odds. And there is a spirit of the age, a worldview that is commonly held, that is often contrary to Christian beliefs. If we aren’t careful, we can be swept down stream, and sometimes we need someone to call out to us, and say look where you are, you’re not in a safe place!

It was similar in the time of the disciples. They faced a world that didn’t believe in Jesus. A spirit of the age hostile to Christianity, yet they spoke boldly, to disrupt that system.

The disciples had spoken to the crowds, after the man who couldn’t walk, was healed. The early church grew from 3,000 to 5,000. And Peter and John were arrested, and questioned by the religious leaders of Israel. But given that the people were rejoicing because of the healing, they didn’t know what to do with them, so they released them, threatening them not to speak about Jesus anymore. But the disciples had said, we can’t help but speaking about what we’ve seen and heard.

So we come to our scripture for today, in Acts 4:23-31. 

We begin in Acts 4:23, “On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.”

So they gathered with the early church, their people, and shared what happened.

Two things to notice, first, released, they were set free, God made sure they were delivered.

Second, they went back “gathered” to their own people, to rally the church to respond to these new developments.

Next, verse 24: "When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God."

As the church gathers, growing rapidly in Jerusalem, they immediately go to prayer.

I find this fascinating, they are growing rapidly, they’ve gone from 120, to 3000, to 5000. But they don’t sit back, and say well, job well done, let’s relax a bit. No, they press forward into prayer.

There’s something fundamental I’ve learned about prayer and spiritual warfare since coming here a year ago.

The enemy fought us at every turn in the first year. Now that’s not any different than when I was in Gary or Owosso or Escanaba, or anywhere else. The enemy fights what God is doing through His church.

But the spiritual warfare was intense, and we went constantly from prayer, to fasting, to prayer, to fasting, and it was constant. It always felt like the enemy was one step ahead. Or at least, always preparing a new attack. But I noticed, as this church prayed, gathered in prayer, even some of you fasted, around this summer, that I sensed a breakthrough spiritually. I don’t know exactly how to explain it, but it was like we had finally overthrown the enemy’s attacks. There was breakthrough to joy.

And so we may be wondering at this moment, of breakthrough, how do we respond? We should pray all the more. Pray even harder. If we’ve broken out of some enemy shell, now we should push forward even firmer in prayer, to stay 1, 2, even 3 steps ahead of the enemy. We leave the enemy in the dust, by pressing into prayer after the victory.

This may seem counter-intuitive, shouldn’t we rest and celebrate after a victory? Certainly, but immediately we should press into next level prayer, the enemy hasn’t quit, and we want to keep him under our feet, in the name of Jesus.

Notice also that it says the believers “raised their voices” in prayer. That’s fascinating, because Peter and John just raised their voices to speak to the crowds and then to the leaders, and now they raise their voices a third time to God. I think that should be our battle plan as well, to raise our voices to speak about Jesus to the world, to those who persecute us, and then just as fervently raise our voices in prayer to God. That equation is powerful, a double raised voice, to the world and to God.

Second portion of verse 24, they pray together: “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.”

God is sovereign. We often hear that phrase in church. But what does it actually mean? Sovereignty implies total authority, power, and I think it’s best stated in the phrase: “God is in control.” That’s 100% true. But, remember, this phrase factors in free will. God is in control, yet we also know, His will isn’t always done, whenever someone sins, that isn’t God’s will, but he allows it, because he is a God who gives freedom to the human race. Yet His sovereign will is always done, His sovereign will is different, it's the path we're moving on toward the final culmination in the end times, and the eventual revealing of the New City of God. 

The believers also note, that God made everything. He made the stars, he made the planet Earth, he made the heavens, he made the sea, and all things in those habitats he created. So he created, the universe, the earth, and the sea, and then populated those places. And he is in authority over all of it.

The believer’s prayer continues: (v.25-26) You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:

“‘Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
against the Lord
and against his anointed one.'

The believers quote from Psalm 2 here, as they pray. Always a wise thing to do, quoting scripture in our prayers. Scripture is what God has breathed out, and there is power in quoting scripture back to God.

The thought here is astonishing, they connect the opposition of the Sanhedrin to ancient scripture. They see the opposition of the rulers as being played out before their very eyes.

"Why do the nations conspire (or rage) and plot in vain?"

Notice, you have two main groups here. You have the body of Christ, the believers, and you have the world and it’s leaders. And we see from psalm 2 that the leaders of the world conspire, and plot against who? Against God. We’re told in the future ultimately, the nations of the Earth will rise up against God, band together and seek to “throw off their chains” which is mentioned in Psalm 2, the kings of the Earth want to throw off the constraints of God.

Holiness, love, purity, service to others, submission to each other, they seek to overthrow these things. They want to be in control, not God.  

The rulers band together against God, and his anointed one, which is Jesus.

In verse 27 they give evidence of this concept: “27 Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.”

They give evidence of the conspiracy against Jesus in their prayer, by citing how Herod, a ruler of the Jews, and Pilate, a ruler of the gentiles, met with both Jews and gentiles to create a plan to destroy Jesus, the anointed of God.

The leaders certainly did conspire to destroy Jesus, and essentially to try to stop God’s plan of redemption. But paradoxically by killing Jesus, they actually fulfilled God’s plan to provide a path for humanity to be brought home to him.

Similar things are happening in our world today. Governments and powerful entities world wide I have no doubt, are working plans and schemes against the Lord. In fact we’re told that this is God’s purpose being fulfilled, that the nations will gather together to appose God.

As it says in verse 28, “They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.”

Two movements happening, the working of the body of Christ, and the working of the spirit of the age (the world). Yet God is sovereign over all of it. 

It is God’s will, that the body of Christ will gather the lost to Christ. The body of Christ today is at about 2.67 billion people claiming Christ, the majority being Catholic, 37% Protestant, and 12% Orthodox. There are about 4 million church congregations in the world today, and about 5 million ministers. 

It is also God’s will that the nations will gather together against the Lord’s people, in a final standoff. This standoff is shifting into place year by year, decade by decade quietly behind the scenes, the nations gather, the body of Christ gathers.

And we know there are many conspiracy theories out there, about a new world order, a one world government, the world economic forum, and I have no doubt many of those things will be proven true in time. Then again, many things will also be proven false in time. 

It is a fact, according to scripture, that the nations will gather against the Lord in the last days. To suggest that it’s happening now, is not mere speculation, but scripturally accurate. But we aren’t there yet. And we can’t get caught up in constant conspiracy theories, instead we must keep our eyes focused on Jesus.

Think of the early church. They weren’t afraid. They weren’t looking at the conspiracy and saying oh my goodness what will we do everything's out of control, they affirmed that God was in control, and they had total peace despite the circumstances.

Too often we look at the problems in the world and we panic. But God doesn’t want us to panic. He wants us to look at the problems and say, my God is even greater, and I’m getting to work on his behalf.

But why is God allowing this culmination? Well, why did God allow Jesus to be crucified? There was a greater purpose in Jesus’ death and resurrection. So it is with the last days, if God is allowing Satan to influence the nations to gather together against the Lord, then I suspect God will use these events to prove how evil, evil really is, and how pure loving holiness really is.

In you recall in the book of Exodus, when the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, plague after plague fell upon the Egyptians, sent by God, why not just set the Israelites free right away? God was showing the world the truth, that every other god is false, and he is the only true Lord.

The early church understood that the religious leaders were beginning to fulfill this prophecy of the leaders of the Earth gathering against the Lord. But ultimately, psalm 2 speaks partially of Jesus first coming, but even more so of his second coming, it speaks of the 1,000 year millennial reign of Christ on the Earth, and God’s victory over the nations gathered by the Satan.

We truly live in biblical times friends.

All of this becomes part of the prayer of the church at this critical moment.

And so they continue praying: “29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.”

They ask the Lord to consider the threats of the rulers. And also, to enable them, average everyday men and women, not international bankers, not billionaires, not tech CEOs, not prime ministers or presidents, not learned professors with many degrees, not doctors or surgeons, not engineers or chemists, but average normal people, to be enabled by the power of the living God, to speak His word with “great boldness.”

May that be our prayer as well. We find ourselves surrounded with so many events and cultural trends and evils spreading in our society that we feel powerless to affect. But we are not powerless. The enemy wants us to think we are powerless. But God reminds us time and again, with me, you can do all things. Average normal people can change the world. Ordinary Christians who know their authority in Christ can pray and speak, and shift society away from the devil and toward the truth. Don’t let the devil steal your voice or your power.

Ask God to enable you to speak his word with great boldness. And then you’ll be enabled to do so by Him.

But they ask even more from the Lord, they are bold in their prayer request: (verse 30)

“30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

Don’t just make us bold, stretch out your hand God, into this reality, into this moment in time, and do healings, signs and wonders, through the power of the name of Jesus Christ. In hebrew: Yeshua HaMashiach. Koinen Greek: Iesous Christos (Ἰησοῦς Χριστός)."ee-ay-SOOS khris-TOS"

We should also ask for more than just boldness to speak, but also, for healings, signs and wonders for this city. For revival, for awakening, for the next move of God.

But don’t just wait for a move of God, be a move of God. That’s what William Booth, founder of The Salvation Army said, "I’m not waiting for a move of God, I am a move of God."

Now that’s not a statement of pride, but a statement of this: If we walk in the fire of the Spirit, our very life becomes God’s power moving through us. If we are praying for a move of God, well, that’s not bad; But, what if we said, "I’m going to live as a move of God." That’s a powerful shift in mindset.

All through the name of Jesus, not of ourselves, but through the name and presence of Jesus. Never forget that. Never. As much as I love to bask in the presence of the Father, I know the only reason I can take another breath is because Jesus is with me, is King of my life, and is interceding for me with the Father.

Last verse, “31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”

This united prayer was so humble, so devoted, there was such oneness, such earnestness, such inspiration of the Spirit, that after they prayed, the very building was shaken. Physically shaking around them. Imagine that!

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Now, hold on, the believers already have the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost. But, there is a difference between having the Holy Spirit and being filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit with us, is the gift of God for the believer. The Holy Spirit infilling is a special experience which empowers a believer to walk in supernatural giftings.

The result? Their prayer was answered, and they were enabled by this infilling to speak the word of God boldly to the city around them.

What teaching of Jesus, I wonder, came to mind for the disciples during these events? Perhaps they thought of what Jesus said in John 15:18-20:

He said: 18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.”

And the disciples lived this teaching out beautifully. They recognized the rulers were against them. They accepted it. They understood persecution was part of being a Christian. And they also saw the hope, that because so many accepted Jesus’ teaching, many would also accept theirs. So they prayed, prayed for boldness, to continue to carry that message, even as persecution rose against them.

So in conclusion, how do we apply this today?

Let’s review our main points for some clues…

1. The believers didn’t celebrate their victory by drawing back, they pressed even deeper into prayer

2. We ought to keep a powerful dual approach in mind: Raise our voices to people in love and raise our voices to God in prayer

3. The believers had confidence because they understood God’s sovereignty

4. Christians shouldn’t panic when seeing world opposition to God, we can know these people are unwittingly playing into God’s larger purposes.

5. The church ought to pray for big things from God, boldness, miracles, wonders.

6. God responds to our prayers in mighty ways, he baptizes us in blazing fire

7. As Jesus said, we can expect and accept resistance from the world, but we can also know many of that same world will listen to and obey the message from God.

The Courage of Average Men: How Jesus Gives Ordinary People Extraordinary Courage

One word: Courage. We can have courage, because we know the God who stands with us. We can know our identity. Because we really do know Jesus.

It reminds me of how the disciples became bold, after Jesus rose from the dead.

The disciples had waited in Jerusalem for the promised coming of the Holy Spirit. 120 disciples were gathered when the Holy Spirit descended upon them. At that moment Peter spoke boldly and 3000 men were baptized into the faith.

In the incident we discuss today, a second moment of opportunity occurred, Peter and John prayed over a man who couldn’t walk and he was miraculously healed. Peter began speaking to the crowds, and it says in Acts 4:4, that the number of men who believed became 5,000. As they spoke to the crowds, the priests and temple guards came and arrested them and threw them into jail.

The next morning Peter and John were brought before the Sanhedrin, the religious ruling body of the nation. This would be like being brought into a court room, or brought before the house of representatives to be questioned. This would be very intimidating. These were powerful and learned men.

Yet they spoke boldly of Jesus, declaring, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (v.12)

As they spoke before the governing authorities, they were respectful, they weren’t rude or antagonizing. They spoke politely, but clearly and plainly, the truth which they had witnessed: Jesus is really real.

Today for our devotional thought, we discuss the courage of average people. We’ll be in Acts 4:13-21 today. And it begins like this:

“13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”

They were courageous – (also often translated boldness) – The leaders noted their courage.

1828 dictionary: “Bravery; that quality of mind which enables men to encounter danger and difficulties with firmness”

Greek word for courage(boldness): parrēsia

From the Vines Expository Dictionary: (a), primarily, "freedom of speech, unreservedness of utterance..."

(b) "the absence of fear in speaking boldly; hence, confidence, cheerful courage...”

They were noted to be unschooled – Average ordinary men, no professional training in an academic setting (many of us are unschooled, but we may speak of Jesus plainly as well)

They had been with Jesus – Peter and John had been with Jesus and they could tell.

We’ve also been with Jesus. And if we spend time with Jesus, people will be able to tell. We will have the aroma of heaven around us.

Could someone today tell that you’ve been with Jesus? Or sense that you’ve been scrolling on your phone for the last hour?

Next, verse 14-15: “14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. 15 So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together.

The evidence was clear. The Sanhedrin had called the crippled man as well, and he’s standing there on his feet. The evidence silences them.

Is the evidence clear in your life? If you were called to a court room today, would there be enough evidence to convict you for being a Christian?

There are three power forms of evidence I’ve noticed that speak very clearly to a lost world. 

First, Empathy. When we reach out to someone, listen to them and share in their struggles. People take notice of that. No one listens anymore. Everyone talks. When we listen with caring, people take note of that.

Second, Holy Spirit power. When someone senses the presence of God around you, because you’ve been in prayer, they will be drawn to the words you speak, because the words are painted with the oil of God, they are anointed words. That Holy Spirit power, within the believer, is a clear sign that God is real.

Third, the most powerful evidence, is real love. Jesus said, all the world will know you are my disciples by your love for one another (John 13:35). 

Not just saying we love each other, but a heart felt love, a sincere love that is evidenced in actions. A unified love.

Empathy (relationship), Holy Spirit power (God’s presence) and real Love (community). Those three together prove God is really among us.

Now don’t get me wrong, apologetics are great, evidences for God’s existence, the first cause, fine tuning, historical evidence, moral law, all of that is wonderful, but if it’s not bathed in empathy, Spirit, and love, it will be empty, even offensive.

So the Sanhedrin, they see the evidence, they don’t have a word to say, so they head back to discuss it privately.

Verse 16: “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it.”

They can’t deny it. Jesus really did heal the crippled man. The people saw the change. And the church had grown to 5,000.

The word had spread, it had gone viral, the truth was out. So, the leaders knew what they had to do: Stop the spread.

Verse 17: They said… “But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”

Anytime God does something through his church, the enemy tries to stop it. Through these leaders he’s going to try to stop God’s message from going out.

And believe me, the same is true for you. The enemy wants to keep you quiet about Jesus. Sure, you can come to church and worship him; Talk to other Christians about Jesus, but my goodness you better not talk to unbelievers. The devil gets very mad at that. “Keep it in church!” as someone said to me. My Answer: No.

Verse 18: “Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.”

Stop. Talking. About. Jesus.

I often think about this in our city. There is no rule or law that says we can’t talk about Jesus to the people around us.

But there are powerful unwritten social rules. A silent pressure that weighs down on us: Don’t bring up politics, or religion. Don’t talk about that.

Keep quiet. Just talk about the weather.

No one says it out loud. But it’s just not polite to bring up Jesus, isn’t that it? It’s an unwritten rule. Religion is private. It’s none of your business. All the stuff the devil tells us, to keep us quiet about Jesus.

But, if it is the unwritten rule that we don’t talk about Jesus in our city, that is the one rule we must break. And I think we can do it in a way that will actually be received fairly well. I really do.

People are more open than I’ve ever seen to talk about God.

If we speak with love, and then listen, and then pray, and then speak with love, then listen, then pray, and speak with love about Jesus, then listen, and then pray, you’d be amazed how receptive someone can be.

It’s a very simply formula. You’re in a conversation. Bring up Jesus. "What do you think about Jesus? Did you know he died on the cross for your sins?" Then immediately begin listening with empathy, ask questions, keep listening, as you listen, pray in your heart for them, then make another statement about Jesus, then again listen, listen, and listen, pray as you listen, then make another statement about Jesus, listen, listen, listen, love on them. Make them feel understood and heard. Make them feel that they matter, because they do. Offer to pray with them, or invite them to church. Simple. Empathy, Love, Spirit. Those three together, they just can’t deny.

It does not matter how much they deny Jesus, or raise interesting questions, or push back, if you listen, and love, and speak in Spirit, they won’t forget your empathy, your love, or how God seemed to be with you.

Speak, Listen, Pray.

Spirit, Empathy, Love.

Next, verses 19-20: But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20 As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

We could stay silent... Obey the unwritten American rules. But, who should we obey? God or society? The Sanhedrin tells John and Peter to be silent. And they politely refuse. They even put the question back on them, “You be the judge, which is the right thing to do? Follow God or not?” We cannot help but speak about Jesus.

You must make a decision as well. I worry many of you already have. At times I do! We’ve decided to obey the old saying, don’t bring that up, instead of obeying the Bible. But let me challenge you today: Do you want to be liked, or do you want to be faithful? It’s time to speak up, politely, tactfully, with love, about Jesus.

And it will take courage. Boldness. Which God gives abundantly. Don’t be afraid. He is with you.

Make a decision today. A new choice.

Verse 21: “After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened.”

In the future, we will face further threats as well. But if we know who we are, if we aren’t shaky in our identity, we can be courageous. If someone throws it back at us, or tries to stop us, we can brush it off, because we know exactly who we are. And their opinion, or words, won’t affect how we view ourselves.

But I must confess that I've struggled with this, I recall a time in my life I was doing ministry in Gary, IN. Momentum was beginning to build in my personal evangelism, one person, then another, then another, but one day after church I stopped at this donut shop. And I thought to myself, you know what I'm going to minister to the woman at the drive through window. I offered her a gospel tract and she said, "I don't believe in God." And I began to respond and she interrupted me and demanded that I pull my car forward. And I let that incident affect me in a negative way. I began to pull back. It was like I hit a brick wall. 

But I was shaky in my identity in Christ back then, I was going through a hard time in my life. And I let it affect my heart negatively. 

If we know our identity in Christ, we can brush that off, like dust from our feet, and say, "So what?" It doesn't matter at all. I know who I am. I know the God I serve. And I know the devil is trying to stop me so I'm going to go minister to three more people just for good measure. If you struggle like I once did, make this your prayer today... 

Prayer for Boldness: Father, in the name of Jesus we ask for boldness, we choose courage, we reject fear, and we embrace our identity in Christ. God we know who we are in you, and we will walk in it boldly, thank you Lord! But if we're hurt, we ask you to heal us, if we're nervous we'd ask you to help us choose courage, Lord we seek your mercy today, and we repent of keeping silent before you, we commit to speak up, by your power within, in Jesus name, amen.