This is the time period in which Jesus Christ had died on the cross for our sins and had been resurrected from the dead by God the Father, and had ascended back to the Father in heaven, and then had sent his Holy Spirit to indwell his followers. And now Jesus’ disciples, who were now his apostles, were taking the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the people.
Yet, some of the religious rulers and leaders in the temple
of God were annoyed by and were opposed to the apostles of Jesus Christ
teaching about Jesus and about the resurrection of the dead. So, they arrested
the apostles (Peter and John) and they put them in custody. Then the next day they
called the apostles to give an account for their actions.
Acts 4:7-12 ESV
“And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, ‘By what power or by what name did you do this?’ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.’”
Oh, what boldness! When we are called by man to account for
our walks of faith in Jesus Christ and for our testimonies for him, may we all
be so bold to stand up and say, without fear, that it is by the name of Jesus
Christ that we do what we do and say (or write) what we say (or write). And may
we proclaim his gospel without fear and with full conviction, too, that the
name of Jesus Christ might be honored and glorified. Amen!
May we not shrink back leading us to not say what the Lord
commands us to say out of fear of what other humans will think about us or say
about us or do to us. May we proclaim boldly the reason Jesus Christ came to
this earth, and why he died for us on that cross, and what that means for us
who believe in him as our Lord and Savior. May we proclaim boldly that Jesus is
the promised Messiah, the Christ, the Savior of the world.
And may we not fear reprisal for telling people the truth
about their sins and that it was our sins that sent Jesus Christ to that cross.
My we be bold in telling them that Jesus Christ gave his life up for us on that
cross to put our sins to death so that we would die with him to sin and live to
him and to his righteousness. May we love others enough to tell them the truth
that if they reject Jesus Christ, and they refuse to die with him to sin and to
live to him and to his righteousness that heaven is not what awaits them when
they die.
I hear so many people, when they lose people they love to
death, automatically assume their loved ones went to heaven and that they are
now with other loved ones who preceded them in death, and now they are having a
happy reunion together or else they are now throwing a big party together like
they did when they lived on this earth. But not everyone goes to heaven. Not
even all good people go to heaven.
For, rejecting Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord is not just
something we do with our lips, for we may profess him with our lips and yet
reject him with our actions. For, if we claim Jesus is our Savior and Lord and
yet we refuse to forsake our sins to follow him in obedience, and if we refuse to
honor him as Lord and to surrender our lives to him, and if we choose to
continue in deliberate and habitual sin, we don’t have eternal life with God.
Acts 4:13-20 ESV
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, saying, ‘What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.’ So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, or we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.’”
Amen! Don’t you just love it? Do our actions reveal that we have
been with Jesus Christ? Is there evidence by our words and by our deeds that we
spend time with Jesus, and that we are walking with him in obedience to his
commands, and that his thoughts are our thoughts, and that we are doing what he
has called us to do?
If our lives truly represent Jesus Christ, everyone should
not like us. We shouldn’t have a ton of friends and be voted most popular. We
should be opposed. We should have people wanting to silence us. We should have
people ignoring us and defriending or unfollowing us on social media. That
should be the norm. For when we speak the Scriptures in their fulness they are
going to offend people, including they will offend many who call themselves
Christians but who do not embrace the full gospel message.
But we should not conform to the norms of society in order
to be liked by others. That is not why God placed us on this earth. He put us
here to be a light for him and to spread his gospel message and to teach others
to repent of their sins and to follow Jesus in obedience to his ways. For if
they don’t, they will die and go to hell, not to heaven. So the most loving
thing we can ever do for them is to tell them the truth, not lies that make
them feel good.
So, no matter what opposition we face for our testimonies
for Jesus Christ and for his gospel we must persevere in spreading the truth of
God’s word (in context) and in exposing the lies which are leading the masses
astray. We must do what is right in the eyes of God even if the world and other
Christians reject us, for the message that we have to give is the message of
life, and if we don’t give it then we are depriving people of life.
But we don’t do this in our own strength and power or even
in our own wisdom. When we share the truth of God’s word with others we are to
do so in the power of God’s Spirit, letting the Lord lead us in what to say,
and then trusting him to use it for his glory and purposes in other people’s
lives, even if we can’t see now how that is being used. And we trust the Lord
with our lives and with our reputations, and we keep going in his power and
strength.
Written by David
Foster, Carole Bayer Sager,
Alberto Testa and
Tony Renis
I pray you'll be our
eyes
And watch us where
we go
And help us to be
wise
In times when we
don't know
Let this be our
prayer
When we lose our way
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your
grace
To a place where
we'll be safe.
I pray we'll find
your light
And hold it in our
hearts
When the stars go
out each night
Remind us where you
are.
Let this be our
prayer
When shadows fill
our day
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your
grace
To a place where
we'll be safe.
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