Missions Paul

Partnership
Acts 5:32

“We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

We and the Holy Spirit.
The partnership that Peter and then later Paul would continue to talk about throughout the New Testament.
Can you imagine if this was not the case?
Peter was announcing that they themselves saw the death of Jesus, they were there to see his resurrection, they were even there for his ascension. They saw it all and they wee verifying that Jesus was indeed Prince and Saviour of the world.
All that would have been well and good. But what would happen after Peter and his generation died. As with all other religions we would have to rely solely on their story as being accurately passed down.
But this is not the case. For the Holy Spirit has not passed away. He is alive today in our lives, in our generation, right across the globe. The same Holy Spirit who Peter says is a witness is today in our lives witnessing to us in every doubt, situation and circumstance that Jesus is our Prince and Saviour. In turn we with confidence continue to witness to the world. How do we know what we know? How can we speak so confidently that it would seem like we were witnesses of the events of Christianity? It is the partnership of the Holy Spirit who continually speaks to us and through us.
So today, thank Him. Ask Him to go on witnessing as your partner in the gospel. We are indeed not alone!

Prince and Saviour
Acts 5: 31
“God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Saviour that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.”

Who is Jesus? Peter continues addressing the Sanhedrin.

He is the Prince.
They understood the title very well.
It was the title of the head of a tribe or the commander of an army or the leader of people. He is someone to follow. What he says is carried out. No questions asked.
He has authority.
He gives commanded work.
He leads forward.
The question is, is he your Prince?

He is the Saviour.
They understood this title as well.
What they had waited for has come. There is no other to come.
The Saviour would bring freedom from captivity, but much more powerfully than they were expecting.
He is Saviour because he saves and sets free.
He is the divine rescuer.
The question is, is he your Saviour?

God behind it all
Acts 5:30
“The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead-whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree.”

Peter was saying this:
“The God of our fathers, the God who our ancestors worshipped. The previous generations who we value and who teach us continually, their God is our God. This same God has been so involved in the life of Jesus, that when he was dead He raised him to life. Your God and our God did this after you had ended his life. Your God stepped in and righted your wrong.”

Putting Jesus to death was the worst decision they had made. It was despicable that they would sentence the sinless Saviour to the cross.
What is the worst thing you have ever done?
If God can raise Jesus from the grave then He can right any wrong in your life also.
But of course there is one amazing thing about our Sovereign God!
The Sanhedrin thought and it looked like they were in control sentencing Jesus to death. The truth is that they were not in control. They were in the hands of God. Jesus came and laid his life down. He surrendered his spirit to the will of the Father for the salvation of the world. Jesus paid so that man does not need to pay for sin.
Even the work of the enemy sits in the Sovereign plan of God.
What is the worst thing that has ever happened to you?
You may not see this right away and there may be a considerable journey and not just 3 days, but there will come a resurrection of you and you will look back and see not the hand of the enemy but the finger of God.

Witness
Acts 5: 29
“Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than men!”

Speaking about Jesus to people is something that requires obedience. For our enemy will do all he can to silence our voice.
If we are silenced we are being disobedient.
If you are in that place of wondering whether you should step out, maybe even cross borders to tell people about Jesus and you wonder if God wants you to do it. Let me help you. He does.
When was the last time you told someone about Jesus?
Members of the Christian family across the world are obeying God in their testimony even though they live in nations where the law says it is illegal. They face this dilemma everyday. Should we obey the law or obey God. They choose obedience to God. One day in eternity they will ask us how we coped in obeying God not man. What will we say? We have no excuse. We live without such restrictions. So let’s join them and replicate Peter and the apostles and today be a witness to Jesus Christ.

Blood
Acts 5:28
“We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”

These are the very same people who sentenced Jesus to the cross. They accused him of blasphemy and condemned him in a mock trial. They were indeed guilty of his blood.
However isn’t it wonderful that these enemies of Jesus and the early church believed that Jerusalem was filled with their teaching on the blood of Jesus?!!
May our homes, towns and cities be filled in such a way.
May many know of the sacrificial death of Jesus for man’s salvation.
The enemy of our life does not want to hear of this.
Our enemy is afraid of the power of the blood of Jesus.
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus Name.

Your life is built on the saving, cleansing, redeeming, justifying, reconciling, eternal, sanctifying, overcoming power of the blood of Jesus! Let’s fill our Jerusalem with that message today!

Facing the big man
Acts 5: 27

“Having brought the apostles, they made them appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest.”

You are in a move of the Holy Spirit, things are taking place, real definite non-flaky stuff. Healings, salvations and very strange things that would clearly indicate that God was within the Church doing very powerful things.
Then you are brought before the rule book and the group that forcibly carry out the rule book, the Sanhedrin.
Seventy people plus the High Priest formed this group. This is a large formidable group to face its scrutiny.
They had the last word. You didn’t have it.
Within the group there were people called the Pharisees, they were incredibly popular with the people and this gave them further confidence bordering on the arrogance.
They met in what has been described as a great basilica near the temple.
Everything about this experience was nerve-wracking.
Rules are meant to control and bring into line.
There are times when the Holy Spirit breaks every rule of man.

You may be facing such threats today.
You may be facing the ruling bodies.
You may be going before a council who will determine your future.
Your life is in their hands.
You like these apostles are going to be questioned by the big man in charge, the high priest.
But hold on, you actually are serving the real High Priest, so do not fear, do not cower, Jesus is really the big man!

Ways
Acts 5: 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.”

The enemy of your life does not only move with force and violence.
Be careful of the gentle alluring words.
Watch out for the empty promises of no harm shall befall you.
Be attentive to the friendliness and understanding of your situation.
Ways, steps, paths, roads are more important than we think.
Be careful who you have signed up to walk with.
Better to walk alone than with a manipulative friend.
Many have eyes solely on the destination that they miss the importance of the journey.

Look there they are.
Acts 5:25
Then someone came and said, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people.”

Look there they are!
Behold!
It doesn’t matter where you put them they still remain standing.
We silenced them but now they are teaching the people.
Their voice will never go to,sleep.

Puzzled
Acts 5: 24
“On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were puzzled, wondering what would come of this.”

They were puzzled at the report. It was unexplainable. Magical. If this were true then what does this mean?
Oh that these kind of words would return in our generation.
Social media is full of rhetoric each day from the Church advertising to Christians in order to attract more, through words such as “Awesome, Incredibly anointed, fire falling, wind blowing, vision casting night!”
Oh that we may just read something of the sceptics, the unbelievers, the slanderers being silenced and not being able to understand what they have just witnessed and more importantly the ramifications of what they have just heard.
In 2009 radio DJ, Chris Moyes, on his morning show spoke of attending Kingsgate Community Church as “fascinating, it was amazing, people with their hands in the air, it was amazing, I’ve been in gigs with less atmosphere, I’ve never seen anything like it …”
Maybe the Church should stop reporting clearly to the Christian world on how the Church performed and leave it to radio 1 DJs to express their puzzlement. It feels more healthy that way.

You should not be there.
Acts 5:23
“We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no-one inside.”

So there was nothing wrong with the locks.
Security was impenetrable.
Along with that there were those keeping guard.
They were neither asleep or absent from their post.
We are describing how impossible it was to break in or break out.
We are not sure whether someone broke in or whether the prisoners broke out.
We cannot explain it.

Those who have stood guard over prisons of darkness have often found themselves unable to explain the unexplainable.
Think of the garden tomb.
The fact is that we must keep the unexplainable within our faith.
Not that it becomes the norm. But to know that there are times in our life when we have to say “that was God, I cannot explain it, I came through what I thought I would never do and it had to be God.” But even more so when others say it about you. When they look at you and say ‘You shouldn’t be there, you should be here! How did you get there?’
Do you know that experience? Think of it now and thank Him again.