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  Rushing Streams Ministries

Thinking out loud

Persecution and Growth

8/28/2015

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The persecution, rather than stopping the move of God, created an atmosphere for growth.  And with the growth came new distractions.

In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 

The enemy was still at work, creating a disturbance, and offense, that had in it seeds of division. The disciples understood that rather than dealing with any emergency, they needed to do the will of God.  Stand and speak the word of life.   Acts 5:20

When we obey, God partners with us.

God provided an answer: “Choose seven men who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.”

We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.  

Acts 6:1-3-4

In the season of persecution we must never forget to give our attention to what God calls us to. “…Tell the people all about this new life.” Acts 5:20
This becomes our mainstay. Without it we could end up hidden and unnoticed, doing the good works of waiting at tables and end up overlooking the very thing that turns a city, even a nation on its head: prayer and proclaiming of the word.

The disciples did not sway from this mandate and neither can we.
The results of obedience are always fruitful.

So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.  Acts 6:7
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Persecuted… and so it begins

8/22/2015

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“They called the apostles in and had them flogged."   Acts 5:40 

The beatings were a violent judgment, a statement and a warning for all to see. 

The words of the Sanhedrin were an echo of Jesus’ warning. 

"You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”  Matthew 10:22 

The apostles left the Sanhedrin rejoicing. Unfazed by the governmental and religious opposition, they left proclaiming the truth. 

"Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.”  Acts 5:42 

“We must obey God rather than human beings!”  Acts 5:29 

Are we also in that place? 
Will we also be confronted and reviled for using and speaking in the name of Jesus, the Messiah? 
Will we also be dragged into court for being faithful to the name and teaching of Jesus? 

His name was an outrage, an offense to the governmental powers of the day. 
Those who persisted in proclaiming it were in danger of punishment, and even death. 

Are we coming to that time when our love and dedication to Jesus, and His word, is such a threat to the world that we must prepare to face the laws that will not only to oppress, dispossess and persecute, but may even destroy those who call upon His name? 

Are our hearts preparing for a season of rejoicing or are we planning to become silent, by covering up His light in us? 

“Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.  Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven.  For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.”  Luke 6:22-23
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Perplexed

8/16/2015

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Acts 5:23 
During the night an angel released the disciples from prison.

No one saw or heard anything unusual. 
The jail was locked, the guards on duty, but the jail was empty. 
There was no explanation. They were GONE! 
The council was perplexed and confused. 

Even after all that was taking place—the death and resurrection of Jesus, the sudden outpouring of miracles and the excitement in the people. 

It did not occur to the Pharisees and Sadducees that there was a power at work, over which they had no control. 
In their confusion they did not seek an answer from the very one they were claiming to protect. 
Believing they “Knew God,” they could not see beyond their firmly held theology, and as a result could not see God’s hand in what was happening. 

When God is kept out of our deliberation, there is perplexity and confusion.



When there is no explanation in the natural, we must look to God foran answer; otherwise we may find ourselves working as an agent against the very thing God is doing. 
In our “Righteous offense,” when we think, “We know what is and what is not of God,”  we can easily become zealous in our attitude and behavior. 
Saul (Paul’s) “righteous zealousness” for God led him to acts of persecution and murder. 
Paul’s heart was to serve and “protect” the honor and integrity of the God he knew; he relied on his theological understanding of God. 
But his understanding was wrong. 

“…He a fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Acts 9:4 

However well intentioned we may be, if we rely upon our understanding, we will always be perplexed by what God is doing. 
By embracing the comfort of our theology, we may sadly end up opposing the very God we claim to serve and become hostile observers of a great event.
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Go, Stand and Tell

8/7/2015

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“…during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people all about this new life” Acts 5:19-20 

Freed from prison they went back to the place of their arrest. This message was too important to be ignored for safety sake. The people must hear and know; life must be spoken to them. 

“… Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."  John 6:3-5 
“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” John 6:63 

The words the disciples spoke did not fit the earthly language, but confronted the words of the world. 

The words the world speaks fiercely resist the Spirit of Truth. The flesh proudly declares that we are our own source of life and that anything else is foolishness. 

“For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."  

1 Corinthians 1:18


The words and death of Jesus draw us into a mystery that cannot be understood; it can only be believed and lived. 

The people came to the temple looking for a connection with God through their rituals and feasts. That was all they knew. 

In the temple they found the disciples, teaching about the Kingdom, challenging the status quo, and confirming their words with healing and deliverance. 

We too are a temple, and we speak the language of the one who lives in us. 

"Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?" 

1 Corinthians 3:16 

If the world is not challenged, but is comfortable with us, whose language are we speaking?
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    Thinking Out Loud

    These are short meditations on some of the thoughts and ideas we receive as we read, study or ponder the things of God.
    They are short blogs meant to cause us to think, explore, meditate or simply delight in the things of the Lord.


    Author

    In a counseling career spanning over 30 years, author and teacher Martin Frankena has shared the life-changing power of Christ’s redemption with individuals and churches in America, Canada, South America, and Europe.  Martin's heart is to further the Lord’s mandate of releasing people into freedom from bondages to experience greater wholeness and fulfillment in life. A major focus of the ministry is healing from generational issues.

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