Who’s In Charge Here?

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The apostles establish the leaders’ complete lack of authority, whose intentions go against God and deserve no allegiance. In the book of Acts, we see where the apostles have gradually built the reputation and nature of Christ’s name. They first argued the leaders were ignorant (3:17). They then emphasized Jesus’ true authority and authentication of His sovereignty through the resurrection (4:1–12). Now, they lay out the implications of their argument: the authority of the religious leaders is false. The leaders cannot judge (compare 4:19) since they are not in the position to do so; they are not even on God’s side. Once again, the apostles assert Christ’s complete authority over all institutions. Peter now pits the authority of God against the authority of the council. Friend, how would you respond to local authorities if questioned in a very authoritative, condensating and threatening way? Will your church/ministry survive based on your reaction to authorities? It takes ‘guts’, but most of all, it takes being totally sold out to God. Are you?

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Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God, not men. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from death, after you had killed him by nailing him to a cross.

An Active Ministry Will Get The Attention of The Enemy

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In verse 17 we see where the activities of the apostles were recognized by the so called ‘spiritual’ leaders of that day. Jealousy resulted, so action was taken to break up the ministry. Today’s church leaders, and Christians as a whole, can take note of this passage and realize that because the ministry of the apostles was having an impact on the community, it got the attention of the community leaders who thought they had control of everything. Is your church comprised of only a meeting place for those who feel a need to fulfill a tradition of church attendance at least weekly? Or is it truly teaching, preaching and living out the Word of God in your community and having an impact on Christians and non-christians alike? If we are just ‘going with the flow’, and not impacting the masses at all, then we need to question if God is truly in charge. For in John 3:16 we are told that God came so that ALL may be impacted. Perhaps we need to pray, step out of the way, and let God have His way in our personal lives, and in the lives of our churches.
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Then the High Priest and all his companions, members of the local party of the Sadducees, became extremely jealous of the apostles; so they decided to take action. They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. But that night an angel of the Lord opened the prison gates, led the apostles out, and said to them, “Go and stand in the Temple, and tell the people all about this new life.”

Isn’t It Strange How……

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When we pray in times of trouble we seem convinced that God knows all about our troubles and that He will take care of us and see us through our difficulty, and praise God He is such an awesome God as to care for us in that way. But isn’t it strange how we pick and choose what we share with this loving God? When it comes to tithing, don’t you see how our churches will never have to beg for money, if God’s children will only be obedient and tithe, as instructed biblically? Why do we put the Lord’s Spirit to the test like Ananias and Sapphira? Now I’m sure that you have already told God how this whole thing will work for you. Of course you have earned more money at one time in your life than you do right now, and it was possible to easily give Him a bigger portion at that time, but friend, the Bible never shows us a tiered approach to tithing. It merely tells us to tithe 10% of our income. In bargaining with God, we often promise to give more when we can afford it. It will never happen friend. If you can’t give $10 of the $100 you earned this week, you will never see it in your heart to give $200 from the $2,000 you earned in your last paycheck. It’s an ownership and heart matter. God owns it all, your stewardship is to give 10% to His work. Satan will twist your heart in every way to convince you of the many other personal things that you can spend that $200 on, if your heart is not fully obedient to God. Don’t test the Spirit, be obedient to God and His Word, period. You will never be disappointed with the blessings from God. When He owns all of you, He will never fail you. Testing Him, is allowing Satan to interfere and have a ‘piece of the pie’. God never blesses you half-heartedly, He blesses you abundantly more that you can ever imagine. Why then would you do anything differently in return to Him?

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So Peter said to her, “Why did you and your husband decide to put the Lord’s Spirit to the test? The men who buried your husband are now at the door, and they will carry you out too!”

The Consequences to a Nation When Their Leader Abandons God

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Friends, we often hear about the danger to a nation when they stray away from God, and we often fear what will happen to our own country when we see our leaders’ total disregard for the Law of the Lord. I pray that God would prick your heart today to go and read 2 Chronicles 12 and 13 to understand how very real the consequences were to the people and leaders of Jerusalem during the reign and disobedience of King Rehoboam, then how it turned around for them when they acknowledged their sin. This was followed by an even clearer incident when, in chapter 13 King Jeroboam’s army of 800,000 was soundly defeated by the son of Rehoboam, King Abijah, because Abijah placed his faith and dependence solely on God. I would particularly refer you to 12:8 to note where God told the prophet Shemaiah that although Jerusalem acknowledged their sin, still He will show them the difference between serving Him and serving another. Also in 12:14 where it is declared that King Rehoboam did evil because he did not try to find the Lord’s will. In 13:12 where Abijah told his people to not fight against the Lord, because you can’t win! Then in 13:18 it declares that the small army of Judeans were victorious over the much larger Israel, because they relied on the Lord. Friends, this devotional is not to bad mouth any leader or any nation, it is all about Christians praying for our leadership, and that God would give them wisdom and opportunity to seek His face and depend on Him as they perform the humongous task of leading us, as a nation, for there are severe consequences to us if they don’t. Our God’s not dead, and He will not treat us any different today, for He is fair and just in all His dealings with His people. We must seek His face, and we must pray that our leaders will do the same. Won’t you commit to taking on the challenge today?
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As soon as Rehoboam had established his authority as king, he and all his people abandoned the Law of the LORD.

The Encouraging Power of Prayer

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In vs 24, when Peter and John returned from jail to their fellow believers, they all joined together in prayer to God. They reminded themselves of ways that God had previously answered prayer for their ancestors, and then in verse 29, they asked God to allow them to continue to speak His message boldly. Let us be encouraged by this action, because old Satan would much prefer seeing us sit down and weep over our lost power and give him credit for victory in stalling the work of the Lord. However, because of their sincere prayer, we read in vs 31 that immediately after praying, the whole building shook and they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and immediately began speaking God’s message with boldness! Friend, that’s the same God that we pray to and serve today! Are you encouraged by His power and His answer to prayer? We need to earnestly believe that He can, and will answer our sincere prayers today also! Prayer is a powerful tool that Christians often underutilize. Let us PRAY!
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And now, Lord, take notice of the threats they have made, and allow us, your servants, to speak your message with all boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal, and grant that wonders and miracles may be performed through the name of your holy Servant Jesus.” When they finished praying, the place where they were meeting was shaken. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to proclaim God’s message with boldness.

Evidence of God at Work

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There was open evidence of God being at work in and through Peter and John. It was hard for the leaders to deny that. Each Lord’s day, can we reflect on the events of the day and show our city leaders proof of God having been at work that day? Each day of our lives we should be able to reflect on how God had been at work among us that day. Then we must tell the world about His wondrous works!
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The members of the Council were amazed to see how bold Peter and John were and to learn that they were ordinary men of no education. They realized then that they had been companions of Jesus. But there was nothing that they could say, because they saw the man who had been healed standing there with Peter and John.

Boldly Proclaim the Truth

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Boldly proclaim the Truth, no matter who our audience might be. Peter was speaking to the leaders of his day, knowing that they could easily demand his persecution, but he didn’t let that stop him from proclaiming the Gospel. It is really unfortunate where we have gotten to in our society today where Christians hold back on what they say in public, outside of the church walls, because they fear for what might be said of them, or they might lose their license. Many times today our leaders are being told what words and/or phrases they must avoid saying in certain public forums. This is why some ministers refuse to speak in certain forums, for they seek to always speak Truth directed by God. This would have eaten Peter up! He needed his audience to know that there is only one way to salvation, so he boldly proclaimed it! Praise the name of the Lord! Father, please give us that same boldness today. Our leaders today especially need You. Please use us to open the doors of Truth to them.
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Salvation is to be found through him alone; in all the world there is no one else whom God has given who can save us.”

Pitfalls To Watch For in Christian Leadership

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In leadership, we have to realize that we are not an island, or a dictatorship. Without the cooperation of the people, who will we lead? Without respecting and caring for the people that we lead, we will have little concern for their well being. When we lose their love, respect and desire to follow us, we will have a lonely time at the top leading ourselves. In verse 17 Rehoboam was left to rule over one territory only. He lost his effectiveness as a leader of all the people. We have to be so careful of that. With God’s help and direction, we can gain the respect of the people we lead, and still respect them and be a part of them. Especially in leadership we must allow God to work in and through us. It is one thing to not personally obey God’s commands, or lead our family aright, but to lead a whole Bible School class, or church, or city or nation astray is altogether different, and results in an impact on God’s ministry through us. We should always look for ways to enhance the kingdom, not tear it down.
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When the people saw that the king would not listen to them, they shouted, “Down with David and his family! What have they ever done for us? People of Israel, let’s go home! Let Rehoboam look out for himself!” So the people of Israel rebelled, leaving Rehoboam as king only of the people who lived in the territory of Judah.

Pray for other Christian leaders

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I find it interesting how, even today, church leaders are quick to ridicule other church leaders, especially those of growing and/or thriving congregations. I was overjoyed to hear my pastor ask for prayer for a new incoming pastor of another church one morning, and he prefaced the request by reminding us that God has placed both churches in the area to minister in His name and meet the needs of this community. Both churches are needed. I pray that we can do that more often and pray for the needs of other church leaders instead of picking apart what they could do more like us, or at least differently. Peter and John was a threat to the Sadducees, probably because they were not doing all that they should do. With one common goal in mind, we should be praying for, and lifting up our brothers who are also evangelizing the lost of our communities, for they have the same goal as we do!
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They were annoyed because the two apostles were teaching the people that Jesus had risen from death, which proved that the dead will rise to life.

Boldly, Give God the Credit

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I believe that God blesses us with miracles so that we might be a witness for Him and of His power. I also believe that He uses us to work out His miracles in others, so that in all things we might give God the glory and praise that He deserves. Notice that in both scenarios I never mentioned anything about glory to self. Friend, I am absolutely powerless to do anything miraculous. However, through Jesus, and in alignment with His perfect will, ALL things are possible. We should constantly be ready to give a testimony for God. In the case of Peter and John, it was the healing of a lame man. Although they were powerless to do any such act, through Jesus, He could do all things. Please don’t take credit for anything accomplished through you by the Holy Spirit, but instead, use it to testify to the power of the Spirit in whom you prayed and seen His mighty hand at work. Give God praise at all times! Allow His work to be accomplished through you!
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Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, answered them, “Leaders of the people and elders: if we are being questioned today about the good deed done to the lame man and how he was healed, then you should all know, and all the people of Israel should know, that this man stands here before you completely well through the power of the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth—whom you crucified and whom God raised from death.