God is our Refuge

Posted on May 16, 2016 by Don Merritt

I think we all have times when it seems that our world has been turned topsy-turvy.  I think we all have times when we aren’t quite sure which way to go or how best to proceed…

We might cry out to God and wonder where He has gone or why He is letting things be so crazy, but then we remember that God hasn’t left our side even for a minute. He is always there for us to lean on, for us to draw strength and courage from… and then we look directly at Him and things become more clear.

God is our refuge and strength, 
    an ever-present help in trouble. 
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way 
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 
 though its waters roar and foam 
    and the mountains quake with their surging. 

Psalm 46:1-3

Take heart, for God is near!  Even though we can’t always quite figure things out, we can have the courage to get back on the road and move forward because He renews our strength.  Even though we may not know exactly the best thing to do at any moment, we can be strong in the knowledge that we are not going alone.

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God’s Next Move

Posted on May 14, 2016 by Don Merritt

Acts 5:34-42

With the apostles standing before the Sanhedrin, having just infuriated everyone to the point of murder, something happens that is surprising to say the least. The greatest of the Pharisees in those days was a man named Gamaliel. He was highly respected by all, had descended from a line of Pharisaic superstars and was the greatest of the teachers of the law; most scholars believe that he was the mentor of a fellow called Saul of Tarsus, whom we will meet soon in Luke’s narrative.  Right at the moment of greatest fury, Gamaliel rises to speak…

He reminds the Sanhedrin that there have been false teachers before, and that they soon run out steam and then are gone, for their teaching comes from men (5:35-37). After citing a couple of names, he comes to his point:

Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” (5:38-39)

His argument carried the day; the high priest ordered the apostles flogged, gave them another warning and let them go. Luke mentions this almost as though it were nothing, but let’s remember that they would at minimum be scarred for life after this, and over the years many who received 39 lashes died from infection of the resulting wounds; this was no small matter, and as a result, the apostles rejoiced!

Upon release, they continued their teaching, even going from house to house in flagrant disregard of the Sanhedrin’s warning, for they were, at the leading of the Holy Spirit, moving forward with their purpose to do God’s will (5:41-42).

Soon, the Good News would spread into the surrounding regions…

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The Apostles Before the Sanhedrin

Posted on May 13, 2016 by Don Merritt

When Peter and John had first appeared before the Sanhedrin (4:1-22), they were not guilty of any particular offense against the Jewish leadership, but this time they were guilty of continuing to preach Christ after they had been ordered to cease and desist. In addition, there was the matter of their little escape from custody; surely the Twelve had cause for concern, and ample reason to be very careful about what they said.

The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.” (5:27-28)

So, here is the scene: They have been brought forward to be questioned by the high priest in front of the full leadership, only the high priest has no questions for them; look at what he said, there was no question asked at all. Any lawyer would tell the apostles to remain silent at this point.

The high priest, rather than ask a question, has made accusation without asking a question which I would suggest is a rather ominous sign that he has already made up his mind about what happens next. In fact, his accusation that the apostles have acted in disobedience to his previous command is accurate, for they have most assuredly disobeyed his order to cease and desist. Of course there is a rather humorous note to all of this when he accuses the apostles of being “determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood” which of course everyone in the room knows that they are guilty of.

If you were in the apostles’ sandals, what would you do at this point?

Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” (5:29-32)

Well, “in for a penny, in for a pound” as the saying goes; Peter and the others fire a full broadside at their attackers, who by the way are also their judges. That they must obey God and not humans is about the equivalent of telling the court that it lacks competent jurisdiction to judge them, not usually a wise assertion for a defendant to make. Then, they make their assertion that the Jewish leaders were in fact guilty of Jesus’ blood, which in this instance would be essentially a guilty plea considering what they’ve been accused of. Finally, they claim that Jesus sits at the right hand of Almighty God and is ready to forgive the Jewish leaders of their sins if they will only repent of their misdeeds.

At this point, we must remember who these leaders are; they consider themselves the most righteous and holy of all Creation, they keep the Law of God best of all, just ask them. Forgiveness  they don’t need forgiveness; they keep the Law.

At this point, we must come to grips with the real facts of the matter, which are that the apostles have only just begun to carry out their Commission from our Lord, and that Commission is God’s eternal purpose to build up a Body of believers on the earth. As long as the apostles still have work to do on the earth, no human authority is going to stop them.

Yet if we look upon this scene from an earthly perspective, the apostles are doomed:

When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death. (5:33)

It was now time for God to make His next move…

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Reason for Concern

Posted on May 13, 2016 by Don Merritt

Acts 5:17-26

While the followers of Jesus were filled with the Holy Spirit, the priests and teachers of the law were full of something quite different: jealousy. Consequently, they ordered that the apostles be arrested and thrown into jail. At some point during the night, the angel of the Lord came to the apostles and released them from custody, and commanded that they resume their teaching in the temple courts the next morning.

When morning came, they were once again in the temple courts teaching about the “new life”. As the Sanhedrin assembled, none of them had noticed what was going in the courts outside, and they sent for the apostles to be brought in, only to discover that the jail was locked up tight, the guards still posted at the door… and the cells were empty. Suddenly someone comes running in with the shocking news that their prisoners were out in the temple courts teaching another crowd of people!

It is hard to miss the fact that God has intervened in events to make complete fools of the Jewish leaders.

Upon hearing this, the captain, who was second in authority only to the high priest, took charge of his officers and went after the apostles, yet even now, enraged as he must have been at this humiliation, the captain dared not use force against the apostles, for fear of his own people. The apostles came along quietly.

Would anyone in the Sanhedrin, the wisest of all religious bodies, recognize what was going on; would anyone be able to see clearly enough through their jealousy and avarice to notice that the hand of God was against them? God was working His eternal purpose through these apostles, and no human agent, not even the devil they were serving, would stop these men until their mission was complete. Needless to say, there is a lesson for us in this story.

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The Work of the Apostles Continues

Posted on May 12, 2016 by Don Merritt

The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.  As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.  Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed.

Acts 5:12-16

For the third time, Luke interrupts his narrative to give a summarization of how things were going for the fledgling church. In his last summary statement (4:32-35) he spoke of their unity, here he speaks of the signs and wonders performed by the apostles.

It would seem that the word has spread about the healings of the sick and lame that have been going on, and people are shown bringing the sick to be healed; notice that people believe that even simply being in proximity of the apostles would bring healing, and here for the first time is specifically mentioned that people who are possessed by impure spirits are being delivered from oppression by the apostles’ presence; Luke is careful to mention that “all of them were healed”.

As a result of these wondrous events, the believers were highly regarded by the people, many of whom had come to believe.

Yet there is a problem in the background; notice that the believers were regularly gathering at Solomon’s Colonnade in the temple courts, but no one else “dared join them” (5:13). Notice the apparent contradiction between this and verse 14: “Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.” One might well ask how it could be that on the one hand “no one dared join them” and on the other hand many “were added to their number”. I would suggest that the answer to this seeming paradox is that while many came to believe, thus being added to “their number” not many of those new believers were committed enough to join the other believers right out in the open, at least not yet.

We face a similar phenomenon today, for there are many more who believe than who will be seen to believe, for to believe in Jesus Christ and to follow Him carries with it certain complications in this world. For instance rejection or ridicule of family and friends, and in some places even economic or political sanctions of various types; persecution in other words. Certainly in the first century this was the case as we will shortly see…

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The Curious Affair of Ananias and Sapphira

Posted on May 12, 2016 by Don Merritt

Acts 5:1-11

Two things are vital to the understanding of this most curious little affair: First, we must recognize that this is a part of the same narrative as 4:32-37. We must not be confused by the chapter break which is entirely arbitrary and added centuries later. Second, we must properly understand what is meant by “kept back” in verse 2.

Luke has just given his readers the example of Barnabas in 4:35-36, an example of sincere giving that recognized both the authority of the apostles and the legitimate needs of some of the community of believers. In this passage, Luke provides an example of something that was not so sincere. It would appear that Ananias and Sapphira were rich enough to own real property and that they have announced their intention to sell it and give the entire proceeds of the sale to the apostles to be used in their ministry of benevolence, but when the sale had been completed and Ananias had delivered the sale proceeds, he did not set all at the apostles’ feet, having “Kept back” some of the money.

To be very clear, this was money that belonged to Ananias and Sapphira, and they were under no legal obligation to give all of it to this ministry, yet it is clear from the text that at some point they had represented to the apostles that they would give the entire proceeds to God’s service. We can also infer from this that had conditions or circumstances changed in a way that necessitated their retaining a portion of those proceeds, they could have made those facts known, but they had made no such disclosures. I am taking this inference from Luke’s use of the Greek word nosphizō in 5:2 which is rendered “kept back” in the NIV. The word means “to deprive, rob; to misappropriate or to make secret reservation of something”. Peter confronted both of them; here is his conversation with Ananias:

Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” (5:3-4)

Then a curious thing happened as the Holy Spirit took over:

When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him. (5:5-6)

In these verses, Peter is acting in the role of God’s prophet, able to perceive the thoughts and motivations of others and pronouncing God’s righteous indictment, a role so evident nowhere else in the New Testament. I can’t help but add that one of my preacher friends calls verse 6 “History’s first youth group project”.

I’ve always thought that it is quite interesting that Peter attributes this to Satan, but I doubt that he does so because Satan cares about keeping cash out of church coffers, for in spiritual matters money is about as noteworthy as horse dung. No! Money is entirely our hang up, not God’s, and not even Satan’s. In truth, this curious affair is entirely apocalyptic in nature, for Ananias and Sapphira have told of their intention to give their all to the work of the Holy Spirit in the midst of the church, and when the moment came, they held onto the world’s greatest prize; money. A person may choose whether or not to follow Jesus Christ. If we choose to follow Him, we can do so wholeheartedly or we can do so halfheartedly, but we do not get to promise the former and do the latter and then willfully and deliberately lie about it to God, for falling short of the mark is one thing, and attempting to defraud God is quite another.

Needless to say, this little episode made quite an impression back in the day! The ministry of the apostles kept moving forward, as we will see next time…

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Photo of the Week: May 11, 2016

Posted on May 11, 2016 by Don Merritt

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Unity in the Body of Christ

Posted on May 11, 2016 by Don Merritt

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all  that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

Acts 4:32-35

After the things which we have seen in the last few sections, Luke gives us a glimpse into the lives of the believers in those early days. They lived in unity of purpose and of mind; they were generous, holding back nothing in their devotion to the Lord and each other. As we can see, those who had means often put their means at the feet of the apostles who used the resources to ensure that no one in the community of faith had unmet physical needs.

It should be observed by all that those donations from the sale of assets were entirely voluntary, for nowhere in our text are we told that anyone directed anyone else to dispose of an asset or give for the needs of others. Rather, we can rightly infer that those who made such gifts did so entirely of their own accord as the Lord led them to do so. Another thing we should note here is that there were believers of substantial economic resources and those with little or nothing in this world within the Body of Christ at that time, and since the text is clear that they lived in unity in “heart and mind” they were not divided along socio-economic lines, a concept as radical in the first century as it would be today; perhaps even more so in that time than this.

Luke adds a specific account of this generosity and in this case he mentions a name:

Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”); sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet. (4:36-37)

Here we are briefly introduced to Barnabas, of whom we will see much more later in the book. There is an interesting note here that we might not want to miss, for Luke notes that Barnabas was a Levite. The Levites served in the temple, and were not permitted to own property and so we must infer either that this practice was not observed in the first century or that Barnabas might have owned the property he sold through marriage, or perhaps that the non-ownership of property was only applied to those living in Jerusalem; as usual, scholars debate these things. Whatever the case was, Barnabas demonstrated his devotion to the community of believers and the leadership of the apostles in his act of generosity.

Barnabas also stands in marked contrast to what happens next in Like’s narrative…

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Peaceful Waters

Posted on May 11, 2016 by Don Merritt

 

memorial-0631

I was walking through the woods once  and I came upon this scene…  The woods were cool and fresh in the stillness of the early morning light and I came upon this little stream suddenly.  The babble of the water could be heard along with the singing of the birds and the crickets; I had to stop…

I wondered as I took in the sights and sounds if the Garden of Eden was like this back at the dawn of time.

A person could say that this was the kind of environment that we were intended to inhabit, surrounded by God’s creation in peace and wonder… only perhaps without the gnats! In scenes such as this God seems nearer somehow, and yet He is always near at hand.  Maybe this apparent nearness is caused by the lack of distractions, I don’t know, maybe it’s just my imagination.

We can be near to God whether we are in the city or the country, whether there is quiet or noise, whether we are relaxed or stressed; it’s a matter of understanding and desire to pull close to Him.  Yet, there are certain situations that are almost automatic…

Wherever you are, whatever is going on in your life, why not move near to Him today and give Him thanks and praise for the amazing things He is doing in your life?  Surely your day will be enriched by it.

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The Reaction of the Believers

Posted on May 10, 2016 by Don Merritt

On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.  When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.  You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:

“‘Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
against the Lord
and against his anointed one.

Act4:22-26

In the last section, Peter and John were arrested, thrown into jail overnight, and then questioned about their activities. They told the authorities that they had healed the lame beggar by the power of the name of Jesus, and were ordered to cease preaching in His name; they refused. After more warnings and threats they were released, and now we see what followed; they told the other believers exactly what had happened and then they had all begun to pray.

Interestingly enough, their prayer contains a quotation of Psalm 2:1-2 in which David seemed to describe the events of not only his day, but the times of the Apostles as well. Certainly, the words “anointed one” in the English could have just as accurately been rendered either “Messiah” or “Christ” in these verses since they all mean the same thing. If we never read any further, we might expect them to ask God to soften the resolve of the authorities so that the believers might not come under persecution, but is that what they asked God for?

Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. (4:27-31)

After the Psalm 2 quote, they mention that the same kinds of things were going on then as had been going on in David’s time, and then they did something quite remarkable, they asked for boldness in their preaching, not safety. To put it quite directly, they asked God for the courage to preach the Truth in spite of the danger, come what may.

In doing this, they were praying that God’s will would be done, for they had been commissioned to spread the good news of the Gospel, not to live lives of safety and security, and God answered their prayer immediately.

I have sat in church assemblies for decades now hearing prayer for healing, good health, good jobs and safe travels, yet very few for the advancement of the Gospel; I have heard many prayers for relief from oppression or persecution, but almost none for boldness in the face of persecution. Please understand, I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with the prayers I hear often, yet the absence of prayers concerning God’s will and purpose trouble me.

What is God telling us in these verses, and what will we do about it?

As I survey the times in which we are living, I should think such questions and the answers we give them are every bit as relevant as they were in the first century.

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