Acts 5:17-32 Different Responses To God's Truth

My commentary brought out four different responses to God's truth, two of which are covered in what I just finished reading:

1)  The Council Attacking The Truth:  "Peter and John had not obeyed their order to stop preaching about Jesus, the witness of the church was refuting the doctrines held by the Sadducees, and the religious leaders were filled with envy at the great success of these untrained and unauthorized men .... It is amazing how much envy can be hidden under the disguise of defending the faith.  My commentary states the belief that all of the apostles were arrested this time.  "The high priest realized that if the apostles were right, then the Jewish leaders had been wrong in condemning Jesus Christ.  Indeed, if the apostles were right, then the council was guilty of His blood."

2)  The Apostles Affirming The Truth:  "The apostles didn't change their convictions.  They obeyed God and trusted Him to take care of the consequences ... They stood firmly for the Lord, and He honored their courage and faith ... Peter indicted the leaders for the death of Jesus, and boldly affirmed once again that Jesus Christ had been raised from the dead ... He was also exalted by God to heaven ... The Sadducees certainly did not rejoice to hear the apostles speak about the resurrection from the dead ... Peter again called the nation to repentance and promised that the gift of the Spirit would be given to all who obey Him ... God does not suggest that sinners repent and believe; He commands it ... It was a bold witness that the apostles gave before the highest Jewish religious court ... and He would see them through."

Father, it appears that You are similarly moving in my life right now.  I thank You for the opportunity and ask for Your wisdom, discernment, guidance, and protection as well.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Acts 5:1-16 Their Sin

My commentary calls this section, "The Hypocrisy of Ananias and Sapphira."  Basically, they sold some of their land, which they had every right to do, since Christianity does not espouse Communism.  They chose to give part of the proceeds of the sale to the church; however, they made it sound like they'd turned over all of the proceeds from the sale.  "That was the sin of Ananias and Sapphira:  putting on a lovely front in order to conceal the shabby sin in their lives, sin that cost them their lives," my commentary said.

It enumerated several features of their sin:

1)  "It was energized by Satan.  If Satan cannot defeat the church by attacks from the outside, he will get on the inside and go to work.  He knows how to lie to the minds and hearts of church members, even genuine Christians, and get them to follow his orders."

2)  "Their sin was motivated by pride, and pride is a sin that God especially hates and judges."

3)  "Their sin was directed against God's church ... The fact that they were able to lie to the Spirit (v. 3) and tempt the Spirit (v. 9) would indicate that they had the Spirit of God living within ... Satan wants to destroy the church, and the easiest way to do it is to use those who are within the fellowship.  Had Peter not been discerning, Ananias and Sapphira would have become influential people in the church!  Satan would have been working through them to accomplish his purposes."

Father, make me extremely aware of Satan's attempts to do anything through me that might harm Your church, and direct me away from his attempts.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Acts 4:23-37 Once More

My commentary had so much to say about prayer, and I just had to revisit it again.  

"They did not pray to have their circumstances changed or their enemies put out of office.  Rather, they asked God to empower them to make the best use of their circumstances and to accomplish what He had already determined.  This was not fatalism, but rather faith in the Lord of history who has a perfect plan and is always victorious.  They asked for divine enablement, not escape, and God gave them the power that they needed."

"Do not pray for easy lives.  Pray to be stronger men and women.  Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers.  Pray for powers equal to your tasks.  That is the way the early Christians prayed, and that is the way God's people should pray today."

"The early church strongly believed in God's sovereignty and His perfect plan for His people.  But note that they did not permit their faith in divine sovereignty to destroy human responsibility, for they were faithful to witness and pray.  It is when God's people get out of balance and overemphasize either sovereignty or responsibility that the church loses power ... Pray as though everything depends on God,  and work as though everything depended on you."

"They did not ask for protection; they asked for power.  They did not ask for fire from heaven to destroy the enemy, but for power from heaven to preach the Word and heal the sick ... Their greatest desire was for boldness in the face of opposition.  Their emphasis is on the hand of God at work in the life of the church, not the hand of man at work for God.  Believing prayer releases God's power and enables God's hand to move."

Wow, Father!  This is the prayer I need to be praying myself!

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Acts 4:23-37 A Praise Meeting!

The Apostles were released and went to tell the others what had happened.  It was cause for a great prayer and praise meeting to glorify God!  My commentary said, "The greatest concentration of power in Jerusalem that day was in the prayer meeting that followed the trial ... To begin with, it was a prayer that was born out of witness and service for the Lord ... the church met to pray in order to defeat the enemy.  Too often today, believers gather for prayer as though attending a concert or a party.  There is little sense of urgency and danger because most of us are comfortable in our Christian walk."

"It was a united prayer meeting as they lifted up their voice to God with one accord.  The people were of one heart and mind, and God was pleased to answer their request.  Division in the church always hinders prayer and robs the church of spiritual power."

"Their prayer was based solidly on the Word of God, in this case, Psalm 2.  The Word of God and prayer must always go together.  In His Word, God speaks to us and tells us what He wants to do.  In prayer, we speak to Him and make ourselves available to accomplish His will.  True prayer is not telling God what to do, but asking God to do His will in us and through us.  It means getting God's will done on earth, not man's will done in heaven."

Father, thank You for this awesome reminder of what we're to be about in prayer!

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Acts 4:1-22 Defenders and Opposers

"Here we see what three groups of people do with Jesus' name," my commentary begins.  In these verses, two of those groups are discussed.  

"The Apostles were defending His name ... Peter respectfully began with an explanation of how the miracle occurred.  How was this well-known crippled beggar healed?  'By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth!'  Those words must have pierced the hearts of the members of the council!  They thought they had finished with the prophet from Nazareth, and now His followers were telling everyone that Jesus was alive!"

"The Council was opposing His name ... They were in a dilemma no matter which way they turned.  They were trapped.  They could not deny the miracle, because the man was standing before them, and yet they could not explain how uneducated and untrained men could perform such a mighty deed ... The Council did not seek for truth, but rather sought for some way to avoid the truth ... Their pride and hardness of heart stood in the way."

Father, I pray that You will give me courage to always defend Your name and keep me from the pride and hardness of heart that we see here.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Acts 3 Summary

I loved the summary my commentary gave for this chapter, and just couldn't "not share" it:

"Some practical truths to encourage us as we witness:

1)  God is long-suffering with lost sinners.

2)  True witness involves the bad news of sin and guilt as well as the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

3)  The way to reach the masses is by helping the individual sinner.

4)  The best defense of the truth of the Christian faith is a changed life.

5)  Whenever God blesses, Satan shows up to oppose the work and silence the witness, and often he uses religious people to do his work.  The same crowd that opposed the ministry of Jesus Christ also opposed the work of the apostles, and they will oppose our ministry today.  Expect it -- but don't let it stop you!

6)  God has promised to bless and use His Word, so let's be faithful to witness.  Jesus even prayed that our witness would have success (John 17:20), so we have every reason to be encouraged.

7)  The name of Jesus Christ still has power."

Father, let me not be so worried about possibly offending someone by suggesting that they may not be going to heaven, but instead guide and direct me to those You want to save.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Acts 3:17-26 God's Response

Peter did not leave the Jews he was addressing without hope.  He pointed out "that they had acted in ignorance while at the same time they had fulfilled the Word of God.  In the Old Testament law, there was a difference between deliberate sin and sins of ignorance (Lev 4-5).  The person who sinned presumptuously was a rebel against God and was guilty of great sin ... The defiant high-handed sinner was condemned, but the person who sinned unwittingly and without deliberate intent was given opportunity to repent and seek God's forgiveness.  Ignorance does not remove the sinner's guilt, but it does mitigate the circumstances."

"Jesus had prayed, 'Father, forgive them, for they know not what they doe,' and God had answered that prayer.  Instead of sending judgment, He sent the Holy Spirit to empower His church and to convict lost sinners ... The cross was the meeting place of divine sovereignty and human responsibility ... God had a plan from all eternity, yet His plan did not force men to act against their own will ... When God cannot rule, He overrules and always accomplishes His divine purposes and decrees."

Father, You are so wise and loving and forgiving.  Thank You for being all of that and more to me!

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Acts 3:1-16 The Indictment

Peter healed a crippled man at the gate leading into the temple, with John standing beside him.  A crowd of Jews quickly gathered, having witnessed the miracle.  Peter was quick to say that it was the resurrection power of Jesus Christ that had healed the man.  The Jews certainly couldn't dispute what had happened.

My commentary said, "The healed beggar was proof that Jesus was alive.  If ever a people were guilty, it was the people Peter addressed in the temple.  They were guilty of killing their own Messiah ... you can imagine the remorse of the people when they learned that they had betrayed and killed their own Messiah.  There must be conviction before a sinner can experience conversion.  Unless a patient is convinced that he is sick, he will never accept the diagnosis or take the treatment."

"How could two ordinary fishermen perform such a great miracle unless God was with them?  Nobody would dare deny the miracle because the beggar stood there before them all in perfect soundness.  To accept the miracle would have been to admit that Jesus Christ is indeed the living Son of God and that His name has power."

There's so much in this chapter that my commentary is fleshing out.  I don't want to skip anything in a hurry to move along.  

Father, help me to sense the wonder of what happened that day, especially that wonder of knowing that Jesus Christ lives!

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Acts 2:42-47 Wow! Now THAT's Church!

Man, I LOVED what I read in these verses and what my commentary had to add!

"The early church did more than make converts; they also made disciples."

"The church was unified (v. 44), magnified (v. 47a), and multiplied (v.47b).  It had a powerful testimony among the unsaved Jews ... because of the way the members of the fellowship loved each and served the Lord."

"The Christians you meet in the book of Acts were not content to meet once a week for services as usual.  They met daily, cared daily, won souls daily, searched the Scriptures daily, and increased in number daily.  Their Christian faith was a day-to-day reality, not a once-a-week routine.  Why?  Because the risen Christ was a living reality to them, and His resurrection power was at work in their lives through the Spirit."

Wow, Father!  Energize us like that!

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Acts 2:14-41 Peter Explains What's Happening

My commentary noted three explanations in Peter's sermon.  

"He explained what happened:  the Spirit had come.  The joyful worship of the believers ... was the evidence of the arrival of God's Holy Spirit to dwell in His people ... the Jews thought God's Spirit was given only to a few select people.  But here were 120 of their fellow Jews, men and women, enjoying the blessing of the same Holy Spirit that had empowered Moses, David, and the prophets."

"He explained how it happened:  Jesus was ALIVE ... Jesus of Nazareth had indeed been raised from the dead, and the resurrection proves that He is the Messiah."

"He explained why it happened:  to save sinners.  The Holy Spirit took Peter's message and used it to convict the hearts of the listeners.  After all, if they were guilty of crucifying their Messiah, what might God do to them!  Peter told them how to be saved:  they had to repent of their sins and believe on Jesus Christ."

What amazed me was Peter's boldness and his ability to quote from the prophet Joel, linking immediately what Joel had predicted to what was happening there at that time!  The Holy Spirit was certainly at work!

Father, I've let the cares of this world cause me to not listen as well as I once did.  I still hear You, but I need to regain the fervor I once felt.  As it says here, please increase the fullness of the Spirit in me!

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford