Like many people, Ananias struggled with duplicity. Along with a secret desire to impress his friends at church he also had another shameful secret behind closed doors. These two unfulfilled desires made him vulnerable to Satan’s deceptive plan. At a time when the church was unified in witness to their city, Satan found this man to be an easy target. In the shocking events that follow Ananias’ duplicity we discover that Jesus, from His exalted seat at the Father’s right hand, is committed to expose hypocrisy in those who claim to follow Him and to provide an opportunity for us to confess because He is resolute in His promise to build a united community among every nation against which “the gates of hell shall not prevail.”
Discovering the purpose for which God created us is deeply satisfying. Yet, often others will try to discourage us from becoming all that God intends for us to be and do. After healing a lame man and then explaining to the crowd that Jesus was the source of this man’s healing, some people in positions of authority were “greatly annoyed” and “charged” them not to do these things (the exact things that God had created them to do) any more. How these first disciples responded will expand your view of God and encourage you to remain faithful to His purpose for your life no matter what!
Acts 4 picks up the story a few hours after the crippled man has been healed… Peter and John are arrested and detained for upsetting the peace with their “uneducated” teaching, and for convincing people to join the “Jesus is Lord” movement. For the first time, the apostles find themselves in the exact same place Jesus was just weeks prior: in front of the ruling religious council of their day, being strongly questioned. Previously, this environment was the catalyst for Peter’s cowardly denials of Jesus as he observed the hostility and authority of the council to put his master to death. However, in this “second chance,” Peter stays on offense, yet respectfully. Through his response to the council’s intimidation, he provides one of the strongest case studies in the power of the Holy Spirit to transform people fully, into who they were created to be, in the image of Jesus himself.
When the Bible reports a miraculous healing it raises many questions. Why is there so much illness, disease and brokenness in our world? Does God heal today? What is our role in physical and other forms of restoration? Neither this text nor this message answer all the questions. Yet, it is clear that our exalted Jesus is still refurbishing bodies and more,…
Having ascended to the right hand of the Father, Jesus has been given all authority in Heaven and on earth. One of his roles as King of the Universe is to build His church. In this passage we see a beautiful picture of His followers in His young church. They were so hungry to learn, generous toward others, open on the God-ward side and hospitable with neighbors that the Lord entrusted new people to them on a daily basis. This truly is the church as she was (and is) intended to be.
A question is a window into the inquirer’s soul and an open door for the careful listener to bring a blessing. When Jesus’ disciples declared the wonders of God in various unlearned languages on the Day of Pentecost, those who had previously joined in the murder of Jesus raised a question, “What does this mean?” The former fisherman, whom Jesus had called with a vision to become a fisher of men, brought an unexpected blessing to all the inquirers of his day and ours. Peter declared this phenomenon to be further proof of a most astounding reality – God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ. Did you know that God the Father has given His Son all authority in heaven and on earth? In this message we hear this declaration and are called to turn from our lesser view of Jesus in order to enter the real world in which Jesus is Lord of all.
Throughout the Scriptures God promised to pour his own Spirit into his people. The eternal presence of God would one day come to live in us, be with us and empower us to joyfully tell others about God and his mighty works. While on earth Jesus also spoke of this “promise of the Father.” Then, 10 days after Jesus ascended into heaven,…
Disappointment comes from unmet expectations. Like everyone, followers of Jesus know how difficult life can be when things don’t go as we expect. Does God see? Does He care? As we study what happened in the 10 days between the ascending of Jesus to heaven and the descending of His Spirit to earth we discover that there is something about God that we need to learn in this world of disappointments. Before we head into Acts 2 (next week, hopefully) we must first discover God’s plan and vantage point in order to walk faithful in the midst of unmet expectations.
What should I do with my life? What can I do that could possibly make a difference? Is there some way I could improve the world? Followers of Jesus have the privilege of uniting with Him in the greatest mission of all – to see people in our city and around the world restored to God through faith in Jesus Christ so…
We all drift from God at times. After 3 years with Jesus, the events leading up to Jesus’ death caused the disciples to drift away. Yet, when Jesus rose from the grave He came to His disciples in peace to restore them and empower them to rejoin Him in His mission to change the world. For all who have wandered from God, the good news for the disciples on that day is also great news for us on this day.