252 – Acts 4: How You
Can Help Change the World
Embrace adversity and
expect criticism for doing good
While Peter and John were speaking to the people, they were confronted by the
priests, the captain of the Temple guard, and some of the Sadducees. These leaders were very disturbed that Peter
and John were teaching the people that through Jesus there is a resurrection of
the dead. They arrested them and, since it was already
evening, put them in jail until morning. But many of the people who heard their message
believed it, so the number of believers now totaled about 5,000 men, not
counting women and children. ACTS 4:1-4
NLT
Stand up for the truth
The next day the council of all the
rulers and elders and teachers of religious law met in Jerusalem… They brought in the two disciples and
demanded, “By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of
our people, are we being questioned today because we’ve
done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed? Let me clearly state to all of you and to all
the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ
the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. For Jesus is the one referred to in the
Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone
that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’
There is salvation in no one else!
God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and
John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training
in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. But since they could see the man who had been
healed standing right there among them, there was nothing the council could
say. So they ordered Peter and John out of the
council chamber and conferred among themselves.
“What should we do with these men?” they asked each other. “We can’t deny that
they have performed a miraculous sign, and everybody in Jerusalem knows about
it. But to keep them from spreading their
propaganda any further, we must warn them not to speak to anyone in Jesus’ name
again.” So they called the apostles back in and
commanded them never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than
him? We cannot stop telling about everything we
have seen and heard.” ACTS 4:5-20 NLT
Ask God for courage when
you are afraid
The council then threatened
them further, but they finally let them go because they didn’t know how to
punish them without starting a riot. For everyone was praising God for this miraculous sign—the healing of a man
who had been lame for more than forty years. As soon as they were freed, Peter
and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests
and elders had said. When they heard the report, all the believers
lifted their voices together in prayer to God: …And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give
us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. Stretch out your hand with healing power; may
miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant
Jesus.” After this prayer, the meeting
place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached
the word of God with boldness. ACTS
4:21-24;29-31
Stay united and committed with my
church
All the believers were united in heart and
mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared
everything they had. The apostles testified powerfully to the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all. There were no needy people among them, because
those who owned land or houses would sell them and bring the money to the apostles to give to
those in need. ACTS 4:32-35 NLT
We are stronger together than we are
apart
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