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.