As soon
as they were freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told
them what the leading priests and elders had said. When
they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voices together in prayer
to God: “O Sovereign Lord, Creator of
heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—you spoke long ago by the
Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant, saying,
‘Why were the nations so angry?
Why did they waste their time with futile plans?
The kings of the earth prepared for battle; the rulers gathered together against
the Lord and against his Messiah.’
“In fact, this has happened here in this very city! For Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate the
governor, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus,
your holy servant, whom you anointed. But everything they
did was determined beforehand according to your will. And
now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in
preaching your word. Stretch out your hand with healing
power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy
servant Jesus.” After this prayer, the meeting place shook,
and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of
God with boldness. Acts 4:23-31
Indulge me for a few moments to argue with myself. Movements which have largely succeeded throughout
human history all have one thing in common – the strength of the group is
collectively greater than that of the resistance against the movement. Well, duh…of course, preacher…they wouldn’t
have been successful if they weren’t stronger, now, would they? Certainly not; but the corresponding truth about
what makes “movements” so strong is that even a perfect idea, moral, ethic, or
timing for change, is powerless without the group! A movement without a group is dead in the
water.
Peter and John, even though they were the leaders of God’s
sweeping movement of salvation, understood that God was empowering His church,
not just a few brave apostles. Earlier, Peter
and John had healed a crippled man, and were arrested and brought before the
powers-that-be. God’s Spirit helped them
to proclaim truth:
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of our people, are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed? Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’ There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:8-12
This truth unnerved the council and they set Peter and John
free. So, what did they do with their
newfound success? Did they run for
Congress or the next elections of the council?
What they did was head right back to the group, the church, and placed
this event in the hands of those who would offer up prayer to God for more
boldness to accomplish his will. And
when they all prayed, honoring God and freely placing themselves at God’s
disposal, the Spirit of God gave power that shook the building, and eventually
shook the world.
Peter and John understood that God’s promises would be
fulfilled through God’s church. They
understood that joining hands with God’s heart is a cooperative effort, and, apart
from each other we are departing from God’s will. But, joined together in lifting up God’s
Sovereign, holy will, the church is a tidal wave of a movement, unstoppable for
goodness and righteousness.
For You Today
If you’re like me, you’re tempted to do things yourself, rather
than depend on anyone else, let alone a group.
But that is allowing the enemy to make us little droplets of evaporating
puddles. Rather, God calls the church to
be a tsunami of righteousness for the sake of this world and His Kingdom!
So, church, put aside the drought of petty differences and
preferences – puddle-up, river-run, ocean-gather, and wash this world for the
sake of the cross.
[1] Title Image: Pixabay.com Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
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