3-21-14. Acts 4:23-37. THE BELIEVERS’ PRAYER – my devotional

Key Verse: 4:29-30                                                                                                                                                  Kevin E. Jesmer

“And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servant to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” (ESV)

Dear Lord, thank you for the Gospel of your forgiveness. Forgiveness is a very powerful act. Forgiveness opens the door to brand new beginnings. I pray, Lord, that you may help us to know that we are completely forgive in Christ and free to live a new life in your grace. Help us to extremely forgive others so that we can promote new beginnings in their lives. May we forgive whole communities so that communities may have a new start in the grace of God. Forgive us for driving people into isolation and fear through our condemning natures. May people be free around us so that we may tell them about Jesus Christ. I pray in the forgiving and graceful name of Jesus Christ.

Part 1: Lord, Enable Us To Speak Your Word Boldly (23-31).

Verses 23-31, “23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? 26 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’— 27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. 29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servant to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”

The believers must have felt intimidated by the religious leaders’ persecution. But they did not give in to fatalism. Rather they were excited about what happened. They shared it with the church. They were actually thankful to God for allowing that experience into their lives. Their first response was to pray to God. This is such a great response. My human nature would probably want to be silent and live a defeated life, after experiencing persecution. I would be living in dormancy. But these believers were energized to go out and preach the Gospel. Good for them! Let’s examine their faith through their prayers and realize the faith that missionaries require.

First, they trusted in God’s sovereignty. They knew that God is in control. He will not take us from this life before our time. His will, will be done in our lives. This is the fundamental faith that a missionary must have or else they will not be able to stand in the mission field, for there will be persecution.

Second, they knew God was powerful enough to see his will fulfilled. “…who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them,” God is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. If he is the Creator then he can do all things. He can create a way where there is no way. He can raise the dead. He can guide people. He can save missionaries lives. He can give martyr’s grace and advance the gospel through their sacrifice. He can advance his work despite opposition. He can do all things within the limits he sets for himself. Knowing that God is the Creator is fundamental for all missionaries.

They interpreted what was happening as the will of God. “who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,” (25a) They saw God who was working according to the word of God in the Old Testament. Our God is the same God who has been living and active through all of history. He is fulfilling his words that were uttered by the prophets. This shows that God is faithful and true to his word. We can trust God, even when we are faced with persecution like the apostles.

Those who oppose Christ are plotting in vain. Verses 25b-27 read, “…“Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? 26 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’—“ This is a good question. Why do the nations plot in vain? Why do they conspire against Jesus? They are wasting their time. Jesus will stand forever, when every nation will rise and fall. The people who were persecuting the apostles died and will have to face the judgment of God. They got nowhere despite their hatred of Jesus and the church. Missionaries need to know that those who plot against them for making the name of Jesus known are plotting in vain.

When these Christians possessed this faith, a wonderful affect occurred. 29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servant to continue to speak your word with all boldness,30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” They asked God to enable them to speak the word even more boldly and that God would perform signs and wonders in Jesus’ name. And we know that God answered their prayer. They did not just remain silent, thinking that all the persecution will just blow over if they remained quiet. No. They acknowledged their need and prayed for God’s help to speak the word of God with boldness. They knew God’s power and depended on God’s power. I need to be proactive like them and positively pray for the word of God to go out with boldness and power. I pray for the word of God to go out at my work, in my community, in the Northern reaches of Canada.

These Christians remind me of the reaction to some Chinese Pastors who get released from prison in China for their faith. Prison was like a seminary for them. When they were released some actually pray for God to send them where he needs the next martyr. They are praying for boldness in the face of persecution. It may take this kind of faith to go as missionaries into some communities in this world.

God still answers fervent, corporate prayers like we read about in the early church. When the persecuted early believers came to God, filled with faith, God responded. Look at verse Acts 4:31, “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.” God was pleased with their faith. He was pleased with their prayers and he was happy to come to dwell among them in power. God still answers prayers like this today. When I was in a Northern community this month, I was part of a church wide debriefing concerning a two week stay by missionaries in a remote northern community. The debriefing time was so blessed by God. One pastor stated that he did not see God work so powerfully in such a long time. Everyone was so hopeful. They were rejoicing at the obvious work of God. We were all trusting God and trusting each other. We were all dedicating the resources within our reach to the mission of God. We were all willing to sacrifice for the mission of God. All of us in the room were thanking and praising the Lord Jesus Christ. It was the closest I ever got to the “fire coming down” among the apostles. This is proof that it can still happen.

When we face opposition, inwardly and outwardly, we feel discouraged, it is easy to give up. We need to see our opposition from God’s point of view. We need to interpret it properly and rejoice that God has given us the opportunity to glorify the name of Jesus. We can see God’s will unfolding and it is the time to pray God for boldness to preach the word. It is not time to retreat into the fetal position in tears. No. It is time to fight spiritually and make the name of Christ known to the world. This may oversimplify things. But we can say that there is a way! Jesus can make it so. Muster enough strength to pray.

Part 2: The Believers Share Their Possessions (32-37).

Verses 32-37, “32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. 36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.”

Let’s learn some things about their fellowship and pray for our own fellowship.

There was unity among the people. The early Christians experienced a spiritual unity that included sharing their possessions. A loving community was formed. Times of adversity bring people together. God brings them together as one. We need unity among the members of our church. We also need a sense of unity among believers. After all we will be worshipping the Lord together around the throne of God. Or do we think that only believers that are exactly like ourselves are going to be saved? Unity is something to think about.

In their fellowship, peoples’ needs were met. Look at verse 34, “There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold” This is all good. But the question begs to be asked, what is a need? The standard to what a need is begs to be investigated. We think that a lot of expensive things in life are our needs and even our rights. These early Christians never needed heating oil or car repairs. They never needed cancer treatment or university tuition. One could say that their basic needs to live were met. I don’t think the church could, or even is able to supply these needs. Maybe they can outsource.

People offered and the apostles preached. The apostles were supported by the offerings of the believers. The Bible says that we should not muzzle the ox when it is treading out the grain. We need to make sure our pastors and our Bible teachers are supplied so that they can do the essential jobs of the church, one of which is preaching and teaching.

Among those who shared was a man they called Barnabas (Son of Encouragement). He set an example of giving sacrificially and encouraged the body of Christ. Barnabas sold a field. That could mean $20,000 to $90,000 today. That is a lot. That represented security for himself and his future kids. Are there believers today who would sacrifice that much for he work of God? They are out there. I know one person who offered $10,000 when the church had a need. There are many Baranbas’ with no money who offer up their time and money and talents. We can be Barnabas’ in our own generation as we seek to encourage one another by acts of selfless giving born of faith.

Barnabas was a Levite. He was very religious and had a clear identity as being called by God. But he went beyond being religious to practical giving. We need to be more than just pious and religious. We need to put our religion into practice and show some practical love. What good is it to just go to church every week and not love your neighbor as yourself?

Giving is not giving and micromanaging. Giving is giving. If you give to church you give to the church and allow the elders of the church to determine where the money goes and for what purpose, even if you are giving $50,000. This is an offering. The early believers were offering to God and not people. They trusted the Lord and trusted God to work through the church. The giving will allow the apostles to preach boldly and the name of Jesus can be made known. It will also attend to the needs of the believers and church maintenance. This is a missing quality in the church today. Just give and entrust it all to God. It wasn’t yours to begin with.

Prayer: Lord, give me courage to speak your word boldly and courage to share what I have with those in need.

One Word: Pray and share