It’s bad enough to face opposition from ordinary people, but what happens when your own governing authorities disagree with you? The stakes can be quite high for disobedience in those cases. That’s where Nicole and Sharon find the apostles in the early church, today. Join them for a discussion about how to handle opposition when you are doing what is right and still getting in trouble for it!
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Speaker 1:
It is time for a pause in your day. Welcome to a podcast where we press the pause button on our busy lives for a few moments, and we focus on God’s word with Sharon and Nicole. We pray this is a time of refreshing for you. The Sweet Selah Moments Podcast is a cooperative production of Word Radio and Sweet Selah Ministries.
Nicole:
Welcome to Sweet Selah Moments. This is episode 134, Facing Opposition. We are moving in our study of the Book of Acts from the earliest days when the Holy Spirit first indwelled believers to the beginning of persecution. Sharon, it seems like there has always been opposition and persecution for Christians.
Sharon:
Yes, there has. And you know what? It’s the strangest thing ’cause what did Jesus teach? He taught us to love. What is so scary about that? He calls us to come to him, that we might have life abundant. He forgives sins and cleanses people. He promises eternal life. We are even told to be nice to our enemies as Christians. So it puzzles me, Nicole, until I remember that the enemy, Satan, is as real as God is. The only explanation that makes sense to me considering Jesus’ teachings are so kind and so non-threatening, is that people throughout this century have been angry at peaceful Christians. So angry they wanna hurt them, is that the devil is at work in their hearts. There’s a battle raging.
Nicole:
Oh, there is.
Sharon:
And Satan does not want people to get clothed with immortality and live in heaven in a happy place.
Nicole:
No, he doesn’t. Well, he hates Jesus. He’s trying to be him. And he wants to get as many of us to follow him as possible. (Sharon: Yeah) I get get the Voice of the Martyr emails daily, and it’s always so staggering to me to see the persecution around the world. (Yes) And to see how powerful it’s happening and how big it’s happening, and how many people are affected by it ’cause we don’t, we don’t always see that here (We don’t) In the states.
Sharon:
I can remember communicating with a missionary in a restricted country and I could not use words like pray or God (Nicole: Wow) or Jesus or Bible. I could say, I talked to my dad about you. (Oh) And that was my way of saying, I’ve been praying for you. (Right) But she actually got kicked out because somebody was careless. (Oh, that’s so scary) And her phone was being tapped, and it’s a wonder she didn’t get imprisoned. (Yeah) You know? So, boy, oh boy, there’s persecution today, but here at the very beginning of the early church, there was persecution then. (Yeah) So, and I think it is absolutely related to the enemy. So we’re gonna look at what Paul has to say about the enemy and his tactics in a very familiar passage. Ephesians 6:10-20. Would you just read that for us? And let’s remember that God is real, but so is Satan and his demons. (Yes) Okay.
Nicole:
All right. So starting in verse 10. “A final word, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power, put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not
fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you’ll be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle, you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes put on the peace that comes from the good news, so that you’ll be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet and take the sword of the spirit, which is the Word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. And pray for me too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan. That the good news is for Jews and Gentiles alike. I am in chains now still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him as I should.”
Sharon:
We talked last week about prayers for boldness.
Nicole: Yeah.
Sharon:
Paul’s asking for that right here. Help me be bold. And I feel like the, one of the key verses here is stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. If it’s a spiritual battle, we need to spiritually fight it. And that’s with prayer.
Nicole:
Right. And that kind of keeps all that armor on and keeps it effective. We’ve actively put on these things and then we have to pray and remember.
Sharon: Yes. Yes.
Nicole:
Who’s on our side, who we’re fighting against, and that we’re not alone. I think if we’re praying for other believers, we’re not gonna feel alone in this battle.
Sharon:
No, no, exactly.
Nicole:
We’re gonna remember.
Sharon:
Exactly. I’ve said this before. I have a picture in my Bible and this Chinese pastor I pray for is now on his fourth year of captivity out of a nine year sentence. (Nicole: Wow) And I know his wife’s name and his son’s name and his name, and they’re my specials. I can’t pray for every persecuted Christian. {Right) But God told me this family for this season. (That’s so sweet) So I just pray for them. (Yeah) And that’s in obedience to this. Be persistent in your prayers for all believers. And I love to imagine that as I’m praying,
God just fills him anew with strength to share Jesus in the prison, that gives his teenage son the strength to keep walking the path with Christ. (Yeah) Oh, I pray all kinds of fun things.
Nicole:
Oh, that gives me the tingles.
Sharon:
So much fun. It’s a battle. It’s a battle.
Nicole:
It is, yeah. We cannot forget that.
Sharon:
Yeah. Well, let’s get to the heart of our lesson. More and more people are following Christ in the early church. And I guess I do understand why the religious leaders would be upset as people are leaving their teachings for the teachings of Christ. So I guess in that sense, I understand the opposition. They think people are being led astray, but wow. They seem more eager to stamp it out than to understand it. (Nicole: Yeah) Right? So we’re gonna read Acts 5:17-42, alternating verses. This is our passage for the day. And I’ll begin, verse 17. “The high priest and his officials who were Sadducees were filled with jealousy.”
Nicole:
“They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.”
Sharon:
“But an angel of the Lord came at night, opened the gates of the jail and brought them out. Then he told them,”
Nicole:
“Go to the temple and give the people this message of life.”
Sharon:
“So at Daybreak, the apostles entered the temple as they were told, and immediately began teaching.” (That’s still me. Okay.) “When the high priest and his officials arrived, they convened the high council, the full assembly of the elders of Israel. Then they sent for the apostles to be brought from the jail for trial.”
Nicole:
“But when the temple guards went to the jail, the men were gone. So they returned to the council and reported.”
Sharon:
“The jail was securely locked with the guard standing outside, but when we opened the gates, no one was there.”
Nicole:
“When the captain of the temple guard and the leading priest heard this, they were perplexed, wondering where it would all end.”
Sharon:
“Then someone arrived with startling news. The men you put in jail are standing in the temple preaching, teaching the people.”
Nicole:
“The captain went with his temple guards and arrested the apostles, but without violence, for they were afraid the people would stone them.”
Sharon:
“Then they brought the apostles before the high council where the high priest confronted them.”
Nicole:
“We gave you strict orders never again to teach in this man’s name, he said, Instead, you have filled all Jerusalem with your teaching about him, and you want to make us responsible for his death.”
Sharon:
“But Peter and the apostles replied, we must obey God rather than any human authority.”
Nicole:
“The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you killed him by hanging him on a cross.” (Right to his face.)
Sharon:
(You actually did. Yes.) “Then God put him (Jesus) in the place of honor at his right hand as Prince and Savior. He did this so the people of Israel would repent of their sins and be forgiven.”
Nicole:
“We are witnesses of these things. And so is the Holy Spirit who is given by God to those who obey him.”
Sharon:
“When they heard this, the high council was furious and decided to kill them.”
Nicole:
“But one member, a Pharisee named Gamaliel who was an expert in religious law and respected by all the people, stood up and ordered that these men be sent outside the council chamber for a while.”
Sharon:
“Then he said to his colleagues, men of Israel take care what you are planning to do to these men.”
Nicole:
“Sometime ago there was that fellow Theudas who pretended to be someone great. About 400 others joined him, but he was killed and all his followers went their various ways. The whole movement came to nothing.”
Sharon:
“And after him, at the time of the census, there was Judas of Galilee. He got people to follow him, but he was killed too. And all his followers were scattered.”
Nicole:
“So my advice is: leave these men alone. Let them go. If they are planning and doing these things merely on their own, it will soon be overthrown.”
Sharon:
“But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God.”
Nicole:
“The others accepted his advice. They called in the apostles and had them flogged. Then they ordered them never again to speak in the name of Jesus, and they let them go.”
Sharon:
“The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus.”
Nicole:
“And every day in the temple and from house to house, they continued to teach and preach this message: Jesus is the Messiah.”
Sharon:
Wow. Wow. Wow. There’s so much cool stuff in this
Nicole: There is.
Sharon:
Oh my goodness. I wanna start at the very beginning and talk about this jealousy angle. (Nicole: Yeah) It starts with saying that the priests are jealous, because the people are listening. I mean, the people might have thought they were boring, and now they’re like, Hey, why aren’t you listening to us anymore? (Right) I think sometimes we can resent others who are more successful than us, even if they’re doing good. We’re guilty of jealousy at times too.
Nicole:
Oh, sure. Even if we’re working toward the same goal. I mean, I don’t know if they thought they were working toward the same goal of guiding God’s people to God, but if we think we’re all kind of on the same team, we shouldn’t be jealous if we see someone else with more followers or more earthly accolades that seem more tangible when we could be having more heavenly things. We have to just trust the path God has given us.
Sharon:
We absolutely do. And it’s one of the things our ministry has in our general principles, is that big or small, just your will be done. We are not the only ministry out there saying, please stop and read your Bible and pray. There are thousands of them, and there should be. (Nicole: Yes) Because different ministries will reach different people. So we will be as big or as small as God wills it, and we’ll just, you know, stick to our niche, basically.
Nicole: Right.
Sharon:
But anything else can lead to jealousy. We wanna be the the best known for— No, no, we don’t.
Nicole:
Well, that jealousy gets in the way of doing the work. We’re so busy looking at the other person or other people. (Sharon: Right, right) That we’re not focused on the task at hand, what God has given us.
Sharon:
Right. It can get competitive.
Nicole: Oh, sure.
Sharon:
And pastors can do that too. So how many people are in your church, you know? No. Who cares? We need to do, you said it at the beginning, the path marked out for us. (Nicole: Yes) Yeah. So, so anyways, we’ve gotta watch out for jealousy.
Nicole:
Yeah, for sure.
Sharon:
We just do. So, okay, so then, I just wanna talk about the fact that they escape prison. Peter does this later in Acts chapter 12.
Nicole: He does.
Sharon:
And when you read about it, which we won’t, ’cause we won’t get that far. They put like extra chains on him and had extra guards and stuff. Now I get why. I forgot.
Nicole:
‘Cause he’s done this before.
Sharon:
They got out before.
Nicole:
Isn’t that funny?
Sharon:
I totally forgot about the first prison break.
Nicole: Yeah.
Sharon:
And I just remembered the Peter Prison break.
Nicole:
I don’t remember this one either. This one’s a little bit quieter. There’s not as many things happening about it. (Sharon: Right) Not as much talk about it. It’s just they went to check, there was no sign of breakout and they were just at the temple preaching.
Sharon:
So there they were. (Nicole: Yeah) Just so, so fascinating.
Nicole:
That’s so interesting. I wonder how they did get out because they didn’t really say what happened.
Sharon: No, no.
Nicole:
They didn’t say they unlocked the doors. They just escaped prison.
Sharon:
They just went out and the angel or whoever told them, go back to the temple, and don’t you love, it’s daybreak. They’re just out of prison.
Nicole:
First thing in the morning. They obeyed.
Sharon:
They’re like, my life is not my own. You command me and I do it, wow!
Nicole:
Man though, if the angel of the Lord comes and busts you outta prison and tells you to do something, I think I’d be like, yeah, sure.
Sharon:
Just do it. Yeah. Yeah.
Nicole:
You just got me outta prison.
Sharon:
Yes. Yes. Yeah. I hope that would be my attitude. I am such a comfort lover. I might have been, could I change my clothes?
Nicole:
Could I just shower first?
Sharon:
Could I have a cup of tea, you know, instead of just obeying. (Nicole: Yeah) I don’t know that I’m quite as good as they are, but we’ll see if the Lord ever tests me in that particular fashion. But I love their dogged determination.
Nicole: Yes.
Sharon:
And Nicole, it’s not like they’re going somewhere else to talk about Jesus. They are walking right back (Nicole: Yeah) to where they were arrested from (Right) and doing it again.
Nicole:
They weren’t even trying to be a little bit more covert about it, like, well, we’ll just hold this quiet thing in this back alley where no one hears. No. Right back into it.
Sharon:
They’re doing it again.
Nicole:
That’s boldness.
Sharon:
Unbelievable. So, just so funny.
Nicole: It is.
Sharon:
So, and then I wanna talk about Peter. So Peter gives a wonderful chat to these guys, and right after they say, you’re accusing us of killing him, as we know, part of the thing. So, I’m gonna just read this section again and let’s just talk about what Peter says.
Nicole: Okay.
Sharon:
They’re yelling at him. We gave you strict orders never again to teach in this man’s name. Instead, you’ve filled all Jerusalem with your teaching about him, and you wanna make us responsible for his death. Okay. So that’s their accusation.
Nicole: Right.
Sharon:
And then they actually let Peter and the apostles reply, and their first reply is sort of their thing. We must obey God rather than any human authority.
Nicole:
They say this every—
Sharon:
The third time.
Nicole:
Yes. It’s a pattern for them. They go right to it.
Sharon:
It’s the second time they’ve said it, but I also applied it to Sapphira last week. The fact that she needed to obey God about not deceiving, rather than man, Ananias. So, but she was in cahoots with him anyways. So, okay. So they’ve got this, they’ve got the order, right? (NIcole: Yep) God’s told us we have one mission. It’s not like we have multiple things and we could just stop the ‘preach about Jesus’ and go do something else.The thing we’re supposed to do is this. (Right) So we gotta obey him. And he didn’t give us any other command. This is the command. (Right) So, and then verse 30, the God of our ancestors. Here it is. “The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead.” Here’s this resurrection linchpin that the whole whole gospel hangs on, after you killed him by hanging him on a cross. Sorry. But, y’all are the ones that did it.
Nicole:
It’s like we’re telling people because it’s the truth. I just think that’s so funny that they said that to them.
Sharon:
Well, people had just gotten dropped dead for deceit. So.
Nicole:
Right. Let’s be really clear and honest with what we say to them.
Sharon:
That’s right. So then God put him in the place of honor at his right hand as Prince and Savior. He did this so the people of Israel would repent of their sins and be forgiven. We are witnesses of these things. That’s their whole purpose, to be witness. And so is the Holy Spirit who was given by God to those who obey him. So there is that beautiful speech. It wasn’t that long.
Nicole: Right.
Sharon:
But Peter’s back to talk about the resurrection.
Nicole:
I was gonna say, he sits there, they’re accusing them, they’re yelling at them. They say, we’re here under God’s authority. We have to obey God’s authority. Yes, you did kill him. But then he still gives the gospel message to these men.
Sharon: He does.
Nicole:
They never leave without clearly presenting it over and over again. But it’s the one that God raised from the dead and he’s here for the Jews and the Gentiles. They keep trying to offer the salvation even to—
Sharon:
They do! They do.
Nicole:
The Sadducees and the Pharisees and these men, I mean, that just struck me. The compassion and the faithfulness to the message (Sharon: Yes, yes) above all else.
Sharon:
And the purity of what they’re doing. They’re not fighting back. (Nicole: No) They’re not sneaking around. (No) They’re here we are. We have one mission and we’re gonna do it. It’s beautiful.
Nicole:
It’s admirable for sure.
Sharon:
And so nonviolent.
Nicole: Right.
Sharon:
Oh my goodness. Wow. Wow, wow. So what did you think of what Gamaliel said? After the anger that resulted in them wanting to literally kill the apostles?
Nicole:
Yeah. It’s like the voice of reason coming. Like, oh, hey guys. It’s interesting. I don’t know, his initial motive would’ve been like, oh yeah, just let it fizzle out. But then he does speak truth. But if they’re doing what God has told, you might be fighting against God. So he kinda gets serious really quickly. You
Sharon:
You wonder if Gamaliel is actually listening a little bit.
Nicole:
I wonder. And his heart’s starting to kind of ponder these things because, you know, he was, oh yeah, it’ll fade out. They’ll just, you know, the guys will die off and don’t worry about it. It’s not a big deal. This has happened before. (Sharon: Yeah. Yeah) But I think that, you know, they’ve seen so many healings and so much is happening so much more than those 400 followers that scattered before. That it’s this, this little movement is gaining traction. (Oh yeah) He’s like, well, but maybe you’ll find yourself fighting against God. This feels a little different.
Sharon:
You don’t wanna fight. God.
Nicole:
No. So he did give some good advice there.
Sharon:
He did. And they actually obeyed it.
Nicole: Yeah.
Sharon: Which is rare.
Nicole: I know.
Sharon:
But really good. Really, really good.
Nicole:
But they still flogged them, but,
Sharon:
I know. Well, we’ll still beat you up and tell you not to do it again. Right?
Nicole:
Right. But don’t fight against God. But and then they left rejoicing.
Sharon:
I love that.
Nicole:
That’s so cool. I mean, the fact that they just kind of, they defended their faith. They went and obeyed again and they’re back arrested again. Flogged. And there they go out rejoicing. Hey, we’re doing what’s right. We’ve followed God and been faithful.
Sharon: Yes.
Nicole:
We’ve gotten flogged.
Sharon: Yes.
Nicole:
And we’re thankful to do it.
Sharon:
They were worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus.
Nicole: Yeah.
Sharon:
And it’s almost like, Lord, you’re giving me this honor to join you in this suffering. You think I’m worthy of this, that I can do this? I mean, they were like thankful.
Nicole: Yeah.
Sharon:
They were thankful of it. It reminds me of the passage in Philippians, Philippians 3:10, where the first time I read this as an adult, the first part of the verse is, I wanna know Christ and the power of His Holy Spirit. And I’m like, amen. Amen. Love this verse. And I wanna know Christ and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings.
Nicole:
It’s like, oh wait, what?
Sharon:
Says Paul in the second part of verse 10. And I’m like, oh!
Nicole:
Do I have to do both things?
Sharon:
I kind of like the first part better.
Nicole: Yeah.
Sharon:
You know, I wanna just be with Jesus and be happy. But part of being with the man of sorrows is sharing in the fellowship of his suffering. And I love the word fellowship because it’s something we’re not gonna know unless we do it. Where he comes alongside us, he’s already within us, the Spirit of Christ is within us. That’s the Holy Spirit. And he’s like, I know. I know. So my beautiful Chinese pastor, when he’s being beaten or whatever’s happening, Jesus is right there with him in it because Jesus has been there. Done that. (Nicole: Yes) There’s a fellowship that comes. It’s kind of like if you’re a mama and you have lost a baby. There’s a fellowship you share only with other women who have lost a baby because it’s such a unique experience that other people can feel bad but they can’t enter in. Right? Or if you were abused as a child, there’s a kind of a bonding that goes on where you’re like, okay, you understand what it’s like to have your freedom taken away in that way. (Right) Right? So when you suffer for being good, for following God, you have an honor and a thing with Jesus (Yes) that you don’t get any other way. (That’s true) I don’t have that. (Yeah) ‘Cause I have not been persecuted. (Right) And I think it’s why those martyrs are robed in white and how Jesus wipes their tears away. It’s a high honor to be a martyr for Christ.
Nicole: Oh, it is.
Sharon:
It’s a high honor.
Nicole:
But you hear stories about people that have banded together, that have been persecuted in other countries. There’s a unique bond between them, a unity, this beautiful— to survive that together. Hearing their stories and the fact that they can continue to put themselves in harm’s way, (Sharon: Yes) at risk of their family. That (Yes) from a human perspective that sounds crazy. Why would you put your children in harm’s way? Why would you do something that’s gonna cause such grief to yourself and to your children? (Right. Right) But I think that when we fellowship with God in that way, there’s something unique about that and really precious. (There is. Yeah. There is) That no one can take away from that. (No, no) And it’s that extra boost to get them through the difficult path they have ahead.
Sharon:
Yeah. Yeah. And Paul knew it. So when he says, I want to know you, I want to share in the power of the Holy Spirit, I wanna share in your sufferings and the fellowship that comes. He had experienced that. He did, after being beaten severely and put in stocks in the innermost prison in Philippi, (Nicole: Oh gosh, yeah) end up singing hymns at midnight.
Nicole:
I know. I just dunno if I would do that. I’m trying to think about that.
Sharon:
There must be some kind of fellowship of which we are unaware.
Nicole:
An extra, well, there’s certain, you think about some of us have easier paths on earth and then there’s some that just seem to suffer for Christ continually. (Sharon: Yeah) And it’s like, this doesn’t seem fair, but we look at it from an earthly perspective, we don’t know. (Right) But there’s, I think there might be an extra measure of something (Yes) given to those that just have to go through hell on earth here to follow Christ.
Sharon:
Right. Oh, I definitely believe that. The first shall be last. The last shall be first. (Nicole: Yeah) All those things. You know, when I have my thankful Thursdays, I, you know, when I pray on Thursdays for Thanksgiving, I’m like, I don’t know why you had me born in cushy America. (I know right) Where, you know, I’m sitting on a brown leather couch with a cup of hot tea after having, you know, a hot shower.
Nicole:
And the fire toasting my toes, you know.
Sharon:
Yeah. I mean really we have been given so much.
Nicole:
So, so much.
Sharon: So much.
Nicole:
And our biggest persecution was recently, I think through Covid and dealing with pandemics and churches closing and to go to church or not. (Sharon: Yep) That’s probably the biggest thing I’ve experienced in my life. (Right) With opposition going to church (Yes) or not being able to, or whatever the conflict that kind of arose from that.
Sharon:
From that. Yeah.
Nicole:
And that was pretty mild. No one threatened my life.
Sharon:
Oh my goodness. And it didn’t hurt. (Nicole: No) We haven’t had pain. We have not. He says this at one point you have not yet suffered to the point of shedding blood. Well, that would be me. (Yeah) That would be me. So, so, okay, we need to be ready for this stuff. I hope it doesn’t happen, but we need to be ready for this stuff.
Nicole:
But we should so it doesn’t take us by surprise.
Sharon:
Yeah. And maybe if it does, Nicole, we’re gonna get the joy they felt. We are worthy to suffer with you, Jesus. Wow. I look to that as sort of my reassurance. That if it happens to me, that is what’s gonna come with it. That fellowship,
Nicole:
I think so. Yeah.
Sharon:
That I can’t imagine right now.
Nicole:
Right. Because we look at something hard, I remember when having one child and then two and then three, and then four. And people look at me and go, oh, how did you, how can you do four children? It’s like, well, I couldn’t at one and you have two kiddos, so yeah, right now if you had four, it’d be way too much.
Sharon: Right.
Nicole:
God gave me the grace. He gave me what I needed for each child as they came along.
Sharon:
At the right time.
Nicole:
Right. When I had Olivia, I didn’t have what I needed for four children. (Sharon: No) I had just enough for one, just barely enough. So I think if the way that they felt this joy and they could count it as a blessing to suffer with him in the moment, God gave them the strength they needed for the path for them.
Sharon:
I think so too.
Nicole:
We do not right now, have that strength (Sharon: No) ’cause we don’t need it right now.
Sharon:
No. Right. But we can trust we’ll get it.
Nicole:
Yes. But he’s ready. He’ll give it to us if we need it. And I rest in that.
Sharon:
And we might feel such joy that we’re like, why did I worry about this?
Nicole: That’s true.
Sharon:
This is so cool.
Nicole:
Right. It’s way better than I was worrying about.
Sharon:
Yes, yes, yes, yes. Oh my goodness. Okay. Well let’s go to favorite verses. Yeah. What was your favorite verse?
Nicole:
Oh, 41. “The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus.” This verse just feels there’s so much here. And I admire them so much for being at that point where they counted it, they were rejoicing, that God counted them worthy to suffer (Sharon: Yeah) disgrace for his name. And I’m not there today.
Sharon:
No. I don’t like being disgraced.
Nicole:
No. I’m not there today. And so it’s kind of a, okay God, if I need to be there, make me there, put me there.
Sharon:
Put me there.
Nicole:
Start working on my heart now, because I’m nowhere near rejoicing that I get to be disgrace for you. I’m not saying, Hey, I wanna suffer.
Sharon: No.
Nicole:
So work in my heart. It was very convicting. And I was just really inspired by their hearts.
Sharon:
Yeah. Oh, so good. Mine was 31.
Nicole:
Oh, a different one.
Sharon:
Yep. You never know with us. “Then God put him in the place of honor at his right hand as Prince and Savior. He did this so the people of Israel would repent of their sins and be forgiven.” And we’ve already really talked about it, but just the fact that Peter’s talking to the enemy and what’s he saying? God did this so you could be forgiven. (Nicole: Yeah) God did this for your good. I know you want to kill us. I know you’ve just hauled us out of the temple again after putting us in jail last night. I know you hate us. (Yep) But hey, he did this for you. (I know) And we’re talking about it ’cause we want good for you, not harm. Huh? So good.
Nicole:
There they are being peaceful again.
Sharon:
Yes. Oh my goodness. So yeah. So those are both great verses.
Nicole: Yeah.
Sharon:
So, number two question. What did we learn from God? Well, I learned that God can open prison doors.
Nicole:
Yeah. That’s a nifty skill.
Sharon:
That’s a skill. So as I’ve been praying for my Chinese pastor, I’m like, well, Thy will be done. But I feel like he’s been in there long enough.
Nicole:
And open some doors today,
Sharon:
I’ve been praying for four years for him
Nicole: Wow.
Sharon:
Could you just release him, Lord and let him go home?
Nicole: Oh!
Sharon:
I can ask. Right. I’m God’s kid. I can ask.
Nicole:
You can, you can certainly ask. You can always ask.
Sharon:
But his will be done. For all I know he’s got a great ministry going in the prison, so. (Nicole: Oh, yeah) Yeah. So that. God could open prison doors. The fact that God sent them right back to speak about him. (I love that) God is really clear. I need to be his witness. And I mean that is through and through. If you deny me, I will deny you. (Yes) We don’t get to lie about being Jesus’ followers. (Right) We don’t. And that’s repeated. (Yes) We are his followers and we have to be pure through and through and say it and say it and say it, even when it leads to, in the world’s eyes, disgrace. So that’s hard. But it’s true. (Yes) And then the last thing, God’s message for me, if you can tell me what you learned about God, God’s message of forgiveness is so vital that Peter repeats it in a room full of hostile people.
Nicole:
Yeah. No, that’s good. So what I learned about God from this passage, just that he’s faithful. The end of 39, it says, fighting against God. You may even find yourself fighting against God. He was with them. He was on their side. He was with them. God is faithful. He’s with us in this fight. No matter how difficult it is.
Sharon: He is.
Nicole:
He will not abandon us.
Sharon: Nope.
Nicole:
He is not frightened. My men’s words.
Sharon:
Nope. Nope. He’s not.
Nicole:
I love that.
Sharon:
Yes. So good.
Nicole:
That’s really neat. And then his authority, as they’ve said several times, every time they’re brought before the council and they’re accused, we told you to stop doing this, why didn’t you, we have to obey God’s
authority just to be reminded that he is an authority. And there’s no refuting that, if God tells me to do something, nothing you say should sway me.
Sharon: Right.
Nicole:
God’s authority is it.
Sharon:
That’s the one that wins. Absolutely. Yeah.
Nicole:
So I thought that was really neat. And then just again, that God’s, the message of his Son’s death. And that is so important. His gift of salvation, his message of salvation is of utmost importance.
Sharon: It is.
Nicole:
He put these men, he brought these men through tough times in order for that message to get out.
Sharon: Absolutely.
Nicole:
That’s incredibly important. And then it just leads me to think, am I doing that? Is it the most important thing in my heart, in my life? Am I looking for opportunities for that? Am I listening to God through difficult instead of going, oh, this is a hard time. I’m whatever. Why are you doing this to me? Okay, God, this is tough. But in it still, how can I show your love?
Sharon:
Exactly. And make me ready, you know? (Nicole: Yes) I’ve told you before about the woman that just sat down beside me in the bus when I first got married and I was going to University of Maryland and said, my husband and I have been reading the Bible. Do you know anything about the Bible? So I mean, he does bring the opportunities.
Nicole: He does.
Sharon:
But we wanna be ready for him.
Nicole:
We do. Because we can just be like, oh, I don’t know what you’re talking about. (Sharon: Yeah) And then read our book.
Sharon:
Yeah. I’m kind of busy today. Right?
Nicole:
Right. It’s about being ready. That’s good.
Sharon:
Yep. Okay. So what did I learn about the early church and how can I apply it? Well, they obeyed the Spirit and preached the gospel and all the things even when it was not easy. And they rejoiced in persecution and so I’m filing this away. I mean, Corrie ten Boom lived a pretty plush little life until her mid fifties. I’m only in my mid sixties, bad things could still happen.
Nicole:
Plenty of time for persecution.
Sharon:
Plenty of time for persecution. So if it happens, I want to be thankful that I was counted worthy for it.
Nicole:
Be ready to receive it well.
Sharon: Yes.
Nicole:
You’ve said that. I just wanna receive what you have for me, Lord. Even if it’s kind of yucky at the moment, to receive it.
Sharon: Right.
Nicole: That’s good.
Sharon:
Yeah. How about you?
Nicole:
Oh, they were so determined. I admire their determination. They just get busted outta prison and they don’t go hide. They go back. Crack of dawn they’re back right at the temple preaching again. (Sharon: Yeah) I love their determination. (Yes) And their passion for that message. I think it’s so good. So I think that applied to me today, again, do I have that same passion and determination to follow even when I’m opposed or whatever life throws at me?
Sharon:
Absolutely.
Nicole:
I think that’s really good.
Sharon:
Well, let’s pray. (Nicole: Yes) Father, I feel led today to pray for people that might be listening in another country that are being persecuted. Lord, may they feel that joy of being worthy to suffer for you. May they know the fellowship that comes from sharing with Jesus and his sufferings. Would you give them a touch of your presence that is so real and so vital that they can’t help but rejoice that they are yours. And for us who are not suffering, Father, help us to continue to stay close to you, to desire you to hide your word in our hearts. Make us ready if you have hard days ahead for us, Lord, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Nicole:
Amen. What a challenge we were given today to face opposition with the decision to follow Jesus and talk about him anyway. Was this hard for you? Do you wonder like we do if you can stand strong when the trials come? We can friends, by God’s grace and the help of the Holy Spirit. Let’s keep close to God in the good times so we are strong in Him when and if bad times come. We would love to hear from you. Email us at sharon@sweetselah.org. Review our podcast for us so it gets seen. Consider becoming a financial partner with us so we can continue this work of sharing God’s word through our show. You can donate at sweetselah.org/donations. It would really help us if you would consider that. And as always, we hope you’ll come back next week for episode 135 Growing Pains. Thanks so much for listening and have a great week.
Speaker 1:
We are so glad you stopped for a while with us. The Sweet Selah Moments Podcast is a cooperative production of Word Radio and Sweet Selah Ministries. More information about this podcast can be found @sweetselah.org. Thank you for joining us.
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