Acts 4:23-31 

²³ On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. ²⁴ When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. ²⁵ You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: “‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? ²⁶ The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one. ²⁷ Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.  ²⁸ They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. ²⁹ Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. ³⁰ Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” ³¹ After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

Christian Era

A couple of decades or so, B.C. or before Christ and A.D. [Latin: Anno Domini] which means in the year of the Lord is commonly used to mark history events. Not long enough, modern scholars proposed it that instead of B.C. it should be known as B.C.E. [Before Common Era or Before Christian Era]. As for A.D., modern scholars proposed C.E. [Common Era or Christian Era.]

Before Christian Era, the Holy Spirit has been speaking through His chosen leaders. The Holy Spirit continued to speak through Christian leaders in the Christian Era.

Let’s keep learning from the experiences of the 1^st century church about the Spirit’s work.

²³ On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. ²⁴ When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.

The 1^st church experienced the power of the Holy Spirit and they became more dependent upon the Lord in prayer. Reminding themselves of the creativity God has done in heaven and on earth, they appealed for similar disclosure of the Lord’s supremacy. They recalled that the Holy Spirit’s has been speaking before Christian Era through King David and they wanted to have similar experience. They asked the Lord to enable them to speak His word just they way the Holy Spirit spoke through King David before Christian Era.

1. Before Christian Era [BCE]

²⁵ You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: “‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? ²⁶ The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one…

Before Christian Era, the Holy Spirit has been speaking through His anointed leaders. When God speaks through His servants, the Lord uses every aspect of the human life. Intellectually or emotionally, God would use them to reveal His plans and ideas to us. Verses 25 &26 were quoted from David’s words specifically recorded in Psalm 2:1-2. Perhaps originally, the phrase, “the anointed one,” King David was thinking of himself.

Check this out: In 1 Samuel 24:6 King David expressed about God’s anointed leaders. ⁶ He[King David] said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.”

King David has so much respect for the life of King Saul, the first anointed king of Israel. Then David was anointed as the next king of Israel that would succeed King Saul. King Saul became envious when David became more popular among the Israelite women.

In 1 Samuel 18:7-8 the Israelite women danced and sang… ⁷ As they danced, they sang: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” ⁸ Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?” 

King David knew that God has chosen him to be the next king of Israel. He just escaped and did not dare to kill King Saul even when Saul was trying to kill him. And when David was eventually crowned as king, he truly believed that those who would oppose God’s anointed will surely fail. David believed that only God can remove or retire His anointed one.

The 1^st century church understood it also and quoted King David’s words in v.25 ²⁵ You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: “‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?

To plot against God’s chosen leaders is a waste of effort because it would be just wrestling against God and not against the person whom God has anointed. The 1^st century Christians believed that the Holy Spirit has spoken through King David. The Holy Spirit was obviously active in the life of the 1^st century Christians. The Holy Spirit inspired them to believe that David’s words written in Psalm 2 were actually God’s words that the Holy Spirit spoke through King David.

That was the very thing that the 1^st century church wanted to experience.

They also appealed for boldness to speak God’s words. ²⁷ Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.  ²⁸ They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.

When the opposition plots something against God’s chosen leaders, the Lord sometimes allows their plan to succeed but the end result is always God’s victory. Those who crucified Christ Jesus might have thought that they were victorious in their plan. They succeeded in crucifying Christ and God allowed it to happen because of His plan.

God’s plan of salvation included the crucifixion of Christ but the opposition never grasp it. Christ’s resurrection after His death is a grand display of God’s power beyond measure.

And verses 29&30 were the prayer request for boldness to speak the words of God.

²⁹ Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. ³⁰ Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

The oppositions of the gospel warned the believers to stop testifying about Christ. The disciples were cautious, so they prayed that God would perform signs and wonders.

In Canada, there are nobody threatening the Christians to share the gospel but why is it that it is very hard to talk about our faith to others?

We need to understand that testifying about Christ is a spiritual battle. We need the power of God just as the 1^st century church prayed for boldness. We need to keep praying that God would enable the church, each believer at TMEC to have that boldness from God to speak about God’s word.

God has been speaking through His servants before and during Christian Eras. We need to hear God’s commands first then participate in the ministry the Lord commanded.

2. Christian Era

³¹ After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

The Lord Jesus has trained His disciples for three years. He also gave them O.J.T. [on-the-job-training] as recorded in the Gospels. After He ascended to heaven, Christ did not command the disciple to go witness right away. He made it clear and commanded them to wait for the empowering of the Holy Spirit. Once they were filled by the Holy Spirit, witnessing for Christ was a result consequently.

Verse 31, however, reminds us that speaking the word of God boldly or effective witnessing happens when we are filled with the Holy Spirit.

Why do the disciples needed to keep asking God for boldness when they have actually experienced being empowered by the Holy Spirit during the Pentecost?

Human nature and other outside factors prevent the Holy Spirit to be active in our life. Threats from oppositions bring unqualified fear and disturbing anxiety among believers. Overconfidence or trust on personal experiences or knowledge and failure to depend upon the Holy Spirit makes the witness becomes unproductive.

Typhoon Yolanda

One mayor said: God must be somewhere when typhoon Yolanda hit the Philippines. Some experts claim that combined nature and human error are to be blamed. Climate changes and geographical location of the Philippines contributed to the tragedy. Not to be ignored are the booming population, poverty, ill-advised constructions of houses and other buildings are also some of the many reasons that added to disaster.

Many of those who died would have ignored the government warning. Most of them thought that typhoon Yolanda would just be another regular typhoon. Still, others did not want to evacuate and save their lives because they were more fearful of looters or burglars who would take advantage of their thing if they leave their houses.

Was God speaking to people who glorify their traditional beliefs rather than trusting Christ?

Almost a month ago, on October 15, 2013 an earthquake hit the same geographical area which was centred in Bohol. We can be very emotional and jump into the situation to solicit help for the victims. If it is God’s plan for this church is to solicit for donations from our members and send that money to churches which could help the, let us pray for it.

Church ministry should not be reactionary but rather God-led kind of ministry. The 1^st century church spent time in prayer and asked for God’s empowerment. They asked the Lord for boldness to speak God’s words.

Let’s spend more time, appealing for God empowerment and proceed from there.

Let’s pray also for the B.O.T. members as they prepare for 2014 Budget to spend time in prayer for them to discern which ministry activity should they initiate and which activity to reject.

Most of our church activities were replicated activities from our previous leaders. Does God allow changes in leadership and want the church to do the same activities. Did God speak to the leaders in past and God is silent to the current leaders?

Our lesson teaches us that the Holy Spirit has been speaking in the past and at present. The 1^st century church was more effective than at present generation because they take time to pray and ask God’s leading.

Listen carefully to God’s command as to which ministry activity we should participate and do. God is not silent but speaks to believers who are willing to listen and obey Him.

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