Acts 4:23, “23As soon as they were freed, Peter and John found the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said.”
This here is a transition into the heart of the testimony of God’s active involvement as expressed in Acts 4:23-31 and the remainder of Acts as well. We have a God who expresses Himself through our present situations to gain our active attention so that we will understand and see His workings within the confines of our present situations.
Acts 4:24-26, “24Then all the believers were united as they lifted their voices in prayer: "O Sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them-- 25you spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor King David, your servant, saying,
`Why did the nations rage?
Why did the people waste their time with futile plans?
26
The kings of the earth prepared for battle;
the rulers gathered together
against the Lord
and against his Messiah.’[1]”
The early believers understanding of God’s involvement revolved around the foundations of the testimony of God’s Word. They were of so full of God’s Spirit that they result was speaking God’s Word right into the heart of this present situation. Luke’s usage of Old Testament phraseology of this prayer was more than likely a constructed prayer, prayed out loud by a congregational leader. The support for such a position would be strengthened by the fact the Spirit’s work within us is creative and redemptive. Therefore, the early believers understanding of God was based upon the reality and foundations of faith. The established leaders of Israel and the Roman government instead of making peace with God in turn went to war; against God, but in the end were proven faulty, because through the sins of the established leaders-God’s Son ultimately triumphed, and for us we should rejoice, because through that triumph we have eternal life in Christ Jesus!
The early believers were then united by prayer. This ought to show us the truth of the power of biblical unity. When we are united together as a believers-by our common citizenship as children of God, then the natural response to this will always be prayer, for prayer is a direct outgrowth of the Spirit’s working in our lives. Yet the reason for the gathered prayer is just as important. They were together as believers because of the miracle that occurred which has caused the persecution, which in turn drew them to each other. How that ought to draw us together! Persecution will always occur when we stand righteous and preach without compromise the Message of eternal life, because it is that message that stands in direct opposition to the ways of the world.
The reality is that what our focus as believers is to be resides within the residence of prayer. Prayer is the heartbeat of the church, the Body of Christ. If what we desire is a movement for God’s Kingdom, then what we must do begins with the bending of our knees rather than the lifting of our hands, for bending our knees is the foundation from which we can experience a radical move of God’s Holy Spirit. It was prayer that lead to the early church’s explosive growth and so it is today with our own churches and ministries as well. If we pray earnestly, humbling ourselves, then God will bless us, not with just a foretaste of His presence, but with His presence. This was the key to the early church’s power. Prayer binds us together, and together gives us the power to proclaim the acceptable year and season of the return of the Lord. May we all be a people marked by the testimony of prayer, as the early believers were.
Acts 4:27, “That is what has happened here in this city! For Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate the governor, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you anointed.”
Herod was appointed over the terrority of Galilee by the Romans; Pontius Pilate was the Roman Governor over Judea. It was Pilate who succumbed to the pressure from the crowd and sentenced Jesus to death. What we then see is thus important if we are willing to take heed. Our leaders; political, civil, military and religious need our prayers, for they carry a responsibility to care for us and to protect us from what could harm us. Yet all men and woman fail at some point; yet, what we must do, is to pray, and to acknowledge our dependency upon the Lord. Our strength is drawn in our afflictions, for as Jesus suffered, so we must, that we may gain further insight into the nature of the Christian life, for just as the established leaders of the day opposed Jesus, so will they today if we stand for Christ in purity. May we all be vigilant to present our lives before Christ as an offering for His Kingdom. A life characterized by the beatitudes, driven by the Great Commission and the Great Commandment will be a life that stands in direct opposition to the self righteous, intolerant, liberal, satanic ways of the world.
Acts 4:28, “In fact, everything they did occurred according to your eternal will and plan.”
God is Sovereign over the affairs of this life and the next as well. As humans we must, and as believers even more so understand that ultimately our destiny is in God’s hands, yet our choices affect the outcome of our lives, both presently, in the future and eternally. Our focus ought to be upon completing, understanding and discovering exactly what God’s eternal plan and His eternal will for us is exactly. In this we gain an insight into the meaning of life, and thus discover that at the heart of the early church was the understanding of the sovereignty of God. God is actively and passionately interested in the affairs of our humanity.
Acts 4:29, “And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give your servants great boldness in their preaching.”
The Gospel of Christ carries the power. When we are persecuted, we ought to rejoice in our present afflictions, because we have been counted worthy to suffer for the name of Christ Jesus. Being counted among the faithful, yet in a world characterized by self induced greed; the Gospel message carries with it the power therein to transform lives and hearts. The cry from our hearts must resound-let the Word never be compromised; let it be preached truthfully and faithfully that all who hear its call harken to understand its clarion call to salvation, and to run the race by grace through the work of His Spirit actively engaged in the believers life. Those who wish to spout off oppressive words; let them, for it reveals the true nature of the condition of where their heart exists in relation to faith in Christ. So praise the Lord in your present tribulations and trials, for the testing of your faith is grown in temperance leading to greater love for Christ through persecution for His name.
Acts 4:30, “Send your healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus."
This verse is definitely noteworthy. It is such because what was already occurring was miraculous signs and wonders and the plea was based upon the appeal for more of the same. Yet what is important is that persecution in turn leads to spiritual power. The fact that those believers prayed with an expectant faith was based upon the reality of the faith because ultimately they understood the testimony of the previous miracle was the direct result of what occurred. Persecution had opened the doors for the expansion of the church, for it has always caused the church to grow, and always will because persecution sparks and fans the embers of faith in Christ. May we all pray with faith and expectancy expecting God in turn through His grace to do many signs and wonders-pointing testimony to the fact of God’s revealed love through the atonement of Christ on the Cross.
Acts 4:31, “After this prayer, the building where they were meeting shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. And they preached God’s message with boldness.”
The plea was heard because of the expectancy of God’s active involvement within the confines of this situation. God acted on the basis of His Son, and the people’s response was for more boldness to proclaim the name of Christ. If we desire to have an expectant faith then what we ought to expect in turn is no less than for the flames of our faith to be inflamed with a holy passion derived from residing within the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit at work within our lives.
The answer to this prayer was based upon the reality of a faith that was expectant. Is that a reality in your own life today? The early believers were unified because of prayer, and as a direct outgrowth of that prayer; God moved amongst them granting them; a fresh revelation of His love. May we all seek His face, and have an expectant faith, for we have a God who always is not always was who wants to move on our behalf, but will only move as a direct result of the faith that we ourselves have.
Are you expecting God to move for you today? Is your faith weak? Ring the bells of faith and be encouraged. Healing exists within the confines of faith in Christ and your healing could be today, but it could also be determined by the direct proportion to your faith. Don’t be one whose faith is shaky built by men, but upon the foundations of God’s everlasting Word. The testimony of the healing of the lame man thus sparked the persecution of the church, but as a result of that healing; the community experienced greater understanding of what unity meant, for that meant that they must gather strength one from another, thus as a result; the healing of the lame man proved beneficial to the growth of the community. May our aim and our focus in all things be to bring glory to Christ whose sacrifice saves us from eternal wrath, and grants us eternal life.
We have now seen the importance of expectant faith in relation to understanding the importance of faith within the confines of our interaction with others, and the importance of prayer within the confines of our interaction within the community of faith as well. In all things, whether it be healing or teaching; may our focus always be upon the personhood and scope of salvation in our lives. Our testimony is directly related to the testimony of God’s Word. Are you growing today in your faith? Or find yourself stagnant and tired in faith? Take some time today to refresh yourself in the streams of life, and rejoice in your present situation.
May your heart sing Psalm 115:1, “Not to us, O LORD, but to you goes all the glory
for your unfailing love and faithfulness.”
May your heart sing Psalm 100, “1
Shout with joy to the LORD, O earth!
2
Worship the LORD with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
3
Acknowledge that the LORD is God!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4
Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and bless his name.
5
For the LORD is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.”
The reality of expectant faith resounds within the understanding that God desires to move on our behalf, but will only move on our behalf on the basis of our faith in Him. May the reality of expectant faith awaken in all of us a greater understanding, and a fresh revelation of His love.
To the glory of our Lord and Savior, Amen.
Pastor Jenkins
