Acts 5:38-39
“So in the present case, I say to you, stay away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or action is from men, it will be overthrown; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found fighting against God.”
These are the words of one of Judaism’s most famous Scholars, Gamaliel. Among other things, he was the Apostle Paul’s teacher back when he was still Saul. Gamaliel was sitting on the counsel as the apostles were arrested. Christianity was spreading rapidly, and multitudes of people were saved daily. The leadership of Israel was concerned, and jealous. So they arrested all of the apostles, and put them in jail. That night, an angel released them. When the counsel found out, they re-arrested them.
“How can we keep them quiet?” “How can we stop them?” “Maybe threaten them further?”
It is so amazing to me that they are still asking this. Beyond question, these are the most educated people in all Israel. They know more about God than anyone on the planet at that time. They are asking the question of how to stop these guys. “We just haven’t been able to stop them because Angels keep showing up and releasing them.” Jesus was resurrected; the angels descended and scared all the guards away. All 12 of the guys were released because an angel set them free. It takes the greatest scholar in all of Israel to suggest an option that is blatantly obvious; God may be in this.
If God is in this, then you can’t win. Not only that, but also you may be fighting against God. They all stroke their beards, say hmm…and then carry on. This is their great opportunity to open their eyes just a hair, but they are unwilling to do it. In fact, they call the disciples in after that and have them all flogged. Which means that were each whipped 39 times (Tradition was that a man will die if he gets whipped 40 times).
As much as I am astonished at their unbelief, I have to admit that I don’t always have as much faith as they do. I have always struggled with this very issue. If God is in something, then it cannot be overthrown. If He is working, then HE is working. I take way too much responsibility for the work of God. Sometimes I try to take the credit, or other times I accept blame. As we are in the process of planting this church, I struggle with fear that I will really mess it up. That I am going to make a poor decision and it will all crumble. As if it depends on my great and vast wisdom to make all of the vital decisions at just the right time so that God can work. (I hope you caught the sarcasm in that). That is way too much pressure for any of us to handle.
Fortunately, God is in it, and Christ made a promise to all of us.
Matt. 16:18 “…I will build My church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it.”
I know it’s pretty obvious, but I have to remind myself; I can’t do what only God can do. Only He can build His church, we only get to help. Wait, let me re-phrase that; we actually get to help. Not that He ever needs our help, but He lets us be part of the fun because of the father / child relationship we have. If God is in something, all we need to do is listen, and obey. If we do that, then He alone gets the credit if it works; and if it doesn’t, then he gets the blame if it doesn’t. I don’t need to worry about it, especially since the gates of Hell can’t beat it. Phew, it’s not on our shoulders. We still have some things that are expected of us, but that is just God letting us be part of the process of redemption. Christ always involved people in the process of miracles. Whether it was to unwrap Lazarus, or to accept a boy’s donated lunch and have the disciples hand out the stuff. He will do his work, the work we can’t. So, He is going to build His church! The only question now is, “Who wants to help?”
