The Third of Ten days

Acts 4:1-22

Jesus is the only hope for the entire world. (4:12)

Peter’s answer to the high priest was a simple presentation of the gospel message. This message is continually repeated throughout the book of Acts as followers of Christ are given opportunities to teach and to share. The message is that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, the Son of the Living God. There is no salvation anywhere else. Jesus is the only way.

That may not be the most popular message these days, but it is still the truth. In fact, this message wasn’t popular in those days either. It is common to find people today who believe there are many paths to God or many roads to heaven. Christianity is seen as intolerant and exclusive, and therefore only for the narrow minded. But no matter what the common perception is of Christianity’s claims, the truth still remains. There really is only one way to heaven, one way to God, and that way is through God’s son, Jesus.

And if this is truly our message, then we have to face the reality that the whole world must hear it. In the same way that Jesus is the only hope for your school campus, He is the only hope for Japan where they worship thousands of gods, or China where they deny God’s existence, or Turkey where almost everyone is Muslim. There is no other name that can bring salvation, therefore, we must go to our world and share this message of hope, whether it is received or not.

By working mightily through ordinary people, God receives glory. (4:13-22)

There really is no argument here. The man who was healed was standing there before them, and it was evident to all that Peter and John were in some way responsible. If Peter says that it was the power of Jesus who healed the man, there is no way to deny his claims. The thing that is hard for these religious leaders to swallow is the fact that Peter and John were just average guys. They hadn’t studied in the same schools as the high priest and his men. In fact, they had no substantial education at all. Even so, the boldness and power by which these followers of Jesus possessed caused them to take notice. Maybe the religious leaders didn’t get it, but the people did. In verse 21, we see all the people praising God for what happened. Whenever God decides to work through his ordinary people, He always gets the glory. This has to be why He has chosen this method for sharing His message with the world. He empowers people like you and me, and sends us out to the ends of the earth, or even to our schools and communities. He then works through us with His unbelievable power, and people are left praising the one true, living, and great God. There is no more time for excuses. God still doesn’t need your abilities, He will supply the power you need. Will you allow Him to work through you?

When we align our hearts with the heart of God, nothing will stop us from being His witnesses.

I hope there isn’t any confusion. Your decision to join God on mission in the world doesn’t promise to be an easy one. The task is a challenging one at best. For many years, people have hardened their hearts towards God and many are trapped by spiritual blindness to the truth. You may face opposition, rejection, even persecution when you decide that following Christ means being a witness for Him. However, when you truly BEcome a witness, there really is no other choice. Faced with the imminent threat of persecution if they continued as witnesses for Christ, Peter and John make a bold reply (verse 20). Their message is simple. Even if we wanted to stop telling others about Jesus, we couldn’t. This is who we are. We are His witnesses. We can not stop speaking about what He has done for us.

Is that a statement that matches up with your life as His witness? Many times we come up a little short of this mark. In fact, in most cases we don’t need any good reason to be quiet. Yet, when the God of the universe invades your life with power, it has to change the way you live. When you become truly convinced that Jesus is the only hope for the world, it should be difficult to remain silent with that news. There are thousands of people in our world today who have not even heard of this Jesus. Acts 1:8 witnesses will share this message no matter what it costs them personally, simply because Jesus is the only hope for the world.

Jesus, you are the only hope for the world, and yet there are so many who have never even heard of your love and forgiveness. Please empower me and use me to tell the world about you. Give me boldness and strength to speak your truth no matter how unpopular the message may be to those who hear it. Don’t let me be silent anymore when I know there are people all around me who do not know you, as well as people all across the planet who have never heard your name. Burden my heart with compassion for lost people and ignite my heart for the glory of your name in all the earth. Amen.