Acts Chapter 4,
Another chapter starting with another miracle, did you see it? 5,000 men believed. When did they believe? They believed when they heard the word of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. We need a revival of sharing the gospel. Letting people know they are separated from God because of sin, they are condemned because of their sin, and they will spend eternity in hell if they do not trust in Christ. The Jewish leaders did not believe and wanted to kill Peter and John. You know you truly believe when nothing stops you from sharing the truth.
Verses 8-12-Peter gives the clear gospel for the leaders. Guess what? The leader’s gospel was the same gospel for the regular folk. Do you know why it is the same? It is the same for everyone because there is only one gospel, one way, and only one salvation. People either come, in and through Christ or not at all. People are not okay in any religion or belief system that does not have the gospel as its foundation, its message and its purpose.
Peter and John were perceived as “uneducated” in verse 13. The world plays this card today trying to make those that believe in God as uneducated people, but don’t let their words stop you.
Peter and John where threatened. Christians have always found people who want to threaten them, because the cross of Jesus calls them sinners. The cross tells the world they need help. The cross of Jesus calls people to repent, change and live another way. God loving someone is easily accepted, but God not accepting someone brings a person to a place of decision. We must help people to realize if they reject this great love there is hell to pay. (This is the proper place to use this phrase.)
What should we do? Pray for the power of the Holy Spirit. We have the indwelling at salvation, but need to pray for the power of God’s Spirit to work in us. We need to also pray for boldness which comes from the power of the Holy Spirit – see verse 31. The next thing we need to do is pray for unity. I see a bond created by the Holy Spirit among God’s people in the closing verses. The sad thing I see as a pastor is my sheep coming together on Sunday, in a spirit of unity, but they leave and live in the world as individual sheep. The only defense the sheep have, other than the great protection from the shepherd, is the unity of the sheep. God’s Spirit will bring needed revival if we will pray for the power, the boldness and the unity.
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