Devotionary

There is little doubt that God was at work in those early days of the church. He was working behind the scenes, directing the paths of the disciples and orchestrating the timing of each and every event. He had a bigger plan in mind.

The disciples had been given eternal life and had been justified before God, their sins having been fully and completely forgiven.So, suffering was the least they could do for all that Christ had done for them.

The Son of God was alive. The Spirit of God was active. The children of God were expanding in number. And there was nothing anyone could do to stop it.

God was growing His church. And He was using persecution to make it happen. The attacks of the enemy never truly threatened the church, it only caused it to spread. Like trying to use gasoline in an attempt to put out a fire.

The church wasn’t made up of perfect people who did everything right and lived in complete obedience to the Holy Spirit’s direction. But God was going to make it perfectly clear from the get-go that He considered behavior just as important as belief in the lives of His people.

Even those who know Christ as their Savior still wrestle with the indwelling presence of their old sin nature. The flesh, as Paul would later call it, is an ever-present reality for any and all believers. And that was true in those early days of the church.

Luke points out is that they reacted to the news with prayer. They turned to God. And what they had to say to God is also a bit surprising and unexpected.

Lives were being changed. People were becoming ardent followers of Jesus – once again. And all the Sanhedrin could do was threaten Peter and John. Beyond that, they were helpless in the face of what God was doing in their midst.

Proclaiming the name of Jesus was going to result in converts, but also conflict. And in Acts 4:5-12, Luke gives us a glimpse into not-so-friendly encounter Peter and John had with the religious authorities of their day.

The growth of the early church was not the result of great preaching. It was not the byproduct of persuasive men. It was the sovereign work of a loving God.

The people of Israel were going to have to repent, or change their minds, regarding who Jesus was and what He came to do. They were going to have to accept Him as their Messiah. But remarkably, even if they failed to do so, the day was coming when God bless them by turning them from their wickedness.

This man walked because Jesus lived. The Spirit had come because Jesus had left. And the disciples were doing the works of God, because they were filled with the Spirit of God.

Neither the lame man or the crowds had showed up that day expecting anything spectacular to happen. They had come to the Temple to worship God, but never expected Him to show up.

While we can learn a great deal about the church, Luke seems much more interested that we learn about the work of God among His people through the presence and power of the Spirit.

And when the people heard the words of Peter, they responded, “What shall we do?” And Peter was more than happy to provide them with an answer.