SCRIPTURE: Acts 5
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
Jesus replied, ‘If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me.’ [John 8:54]
Any venture undertaken without God is doomed to fail.
If God is not behind Jesus, then His teaching and miracles mean nothing.
If God is not behind this movement of Jesus-followers, it will fail.
Even Gamaliel saw this [Acts 5:33-39].
While Jesus was on earth, He was emptied of His God-powers.
He was not omnipotent, omniscient or omnipresent.
He was not self-taught, He was God-taught; His miracles were not self-empowered, they were God-empowered.
He relied on God daily, He spent much time orienting Himself in God’s will and purpose.
His ministry would amount to nothing if God did not vindicate Him.
And God did vindicate Him!
For the early church, their success did not lie in their numbers, their winning personalities, their abundant resources or in their gifts and abilities.
They were like a sailboat. Unless God generates the wind, the boat cannot move.
Even if everyone blows, it still can’t move.
It was the wind of the Spirit that enabled the apostles to perform miracles; it was the same wind that got them out of jail, and that gave them the words to witness for Jesus.
We depend on God, on Jesus, on the Spirit to succeed.
If God is for us, then nothing and no one can successfully stop us.
But, as Ananias and Sapphira discovered (the hard way), if we go against God, we will not succeed.
I believe that what happened to them was a signpost at this early stage of the church, a warning to all who follow God and serve Jesus.
It’s similar to what happened to Aachan when Israel first entered the promised land [Joshua 7].
This doesn’t happen to everyone in the same way, but it is a warning that You cannot resist the Holy Spirit and succeed; you will eventually crash.
Both Jesus and Gamaliel show us that our only hope for success is if God is behind us.
This is an important reminder to us, in regards to family life, work life, church and ministry, leadership, etc.
To make sure of this, we need to continually meet with God (as Jesus did), seek His will, His purpose, admit our selfishness, deny ourselves, and put Jesus and His kingdom first.
This doesn’t just HAPPEN, we need to discipline ourselves.
How much time do you spend establishing yourself and your efforts in the Lord?
Is He the wind in your sails?
PRAYER:
Lord, help me to set my sail to You. Blow, Holy Spirit, blow!
GodStrong.
SpiritStrong.
God gives His people strength and more. Peter could see what was in the ‘stomach’ of Ananias and Sapphira. They were obeying heir selfish desires and not the desires of God. The Pharisee Gamaliel saw this – if what they do is from God, it can not be stopped. Then we will be fighting against God.
Am I Spirit filled or man filled? The Pharisees also put the emphasis on themselves – they were the leaders; they had hold of the way; they had the position and they wanted the people to follow them. They too were puffed up, full of themselves rather than being Spirit led.
I just returned from the staff retreat on the theme of Be Strong. And the only way to be strong is to obey. The you will have ‘success’ – doing the will of the Lord. Proclaiming the Good News wherever He plants you. ‘Bloom where you are planted.’ GodPower. SpiritDriven.
May He always be the wind beneath our wings.
Spirit of the living God
Fall fresh on me
Spirit of the living God
Fall fresh on me
Break me, melt me, mold me fill me
Spirit of the living God
Fall fresh on me