Acts 4:13-22 

¹³ When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. ¹⁴ But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say.¹⁵ So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. ¹⁶ “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. ¹⁷ But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”

¹⁸ Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹ But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! ²⁰ As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

²¹ After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. ²² For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.

Holy Grail

The movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, featured the Holy Grail. The Holy Grail is a cup or chalice was believed to have unusual power. Near the end of the movie, Indiana Jones acted by Harrison Ford had to choose the Holy Grail from many fake grails or golden cups.

There were ornamented and sophisticated grails, silver and golden grails decorated with precious tones. Indiana Jones chose the most ordinary grail which turned out to be the Holy Grail. That simple and ordinary grail was believed to regenerate and purify life.

Some people believe that the Holy Grail or Holy Chalice was the same cup used by the Lord Jesus and the 12 Apostles during the Lord Supper.

Christ would rather use the simple and ordinary thing than sophisticated ones. Christ chose His 12 Apostles from ordinary people rather than from the High Priest or the teachers of the Law of Moses.

Paul, a Pharisee was also chosen to be an apostle to the Gentiles. This helps us understand that when Christ chooses someone to serve Him, He does not look at credentials, but chooses the any ordinary person who is willing to learn from Him.

1. Learn from Jesus

¹³ When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

People say, “They do not listen to me because I have no money!” when they are frustrated. They assume that people would listen only to those who have money.

In Acts 3:6 we remember Peter saying that he has nothing to give. ⁶ Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” 

We learned that the apostles were ordinary men yet people came to listen to them. The teachers of the law and leaders of the people were disturbed because these ordinary men were getting all the attention they needed to testify about Jesus.

Do you want people to listen to you when you testify about Jesus? Do you want others to pay attention to you when you are sharing the gospel?

Let us learn from the examples of the apostles, let us learn from Jesus.

In Acts 1:4 & 8 the Lord Jesus said… ⁴ On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about…. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses 

Peter was filled by the Holy Spirit and he did not struggle who would listen to him because people were prepared to listen to his testimony.

It is the work of God to bring us to a situation and it the Holy Spirit who would glorify Christ in our life. Witnessing is very easy once we are empowered by the Holy Spirit.

When witnessing becomes difficult and challenging, that’s the signal to ask God to fill us with His Holy Spirit to empower us.

The Sanhedrin or Highest Council of the Jewish people in the first century cannot find ways to contest or challenge the testimony of the Apostles.

¹⁴ But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say.¹⁵ So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. ¹⁶ “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. ¹⁷ But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”

They cannot do anything to prove the Apostles wrong or to charge them in court. All they can do was to warn the Apostles to stop from testifying about Jesus.

When we tell others about our experiences from our relationship with Christ, the Holy Spirit prepares those who will listen to see evidences in our life. There are also oppositions who do not like to hear us testify of what God has done in us.

There are also articles discouraging preachers to talk much about their own experiences. According to those articles, church-goers would eventually get tired of listening to preachers who always uses his personal experiences as illustrations in his sermons.

CEO to Pastor

A former manager felt the desire to serve a perfect boss and decided to be a pastor. He believed that his expertise and talent should be used to serve the best employer. He loves to testify that he found the joy to serve God, the best Boss. Rather than earning millions of money in a secular job, he considered the meagre or small salary of a pastor to be sufficient enough for him and his family needs. He loves to testify that God gave him peace in his decision. Serving the Lord as a pastor became more desirable than earning much money.

Well, not just a few church-goers tried to downgrade or devalue his testimony. The opposition felt like he was too proud of his decision to be a pastor.

In 2 Corinthians 10:17-18 Paul teaches us… ¹⁷ But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” ¹⁸ For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.

Some people love to hear humorous or even make-believe stories. Others want to listen to stories about their hobbies. Those who love cats and dogs talk about cats and dogs stories. But those who have grown closer to their relationship with Christ, it is very normal to hear them say about what Christ has done in their life.

What you usually want to hear or love to talk about tells what your heart is.

Christians desire to be used by God because love, joy, peace and the other fruit of the Spirit is experienced in the life of person whom the Spirit dwells. God uses ordinary people like you and me but we need to learn from Jesus and listen to God very attentively.

2.  Listen to God

¹⁸ Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹ But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! ²⁰ As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

These days, the impulse or the inclination of any person is to listen attentively to well-known personalities or high ranking officials. TV Talk Shows are a booming industry because more people are buying it. Many Christian churches do not want to be left behind but compete with other TV personalities in buying prime time slots for their own show. TV viewers equate listening to popular TV preachers as listening to God. More sadly, not a few would regard worship services shown in TV s as their regular church worship service.

Many worship leaders are becoming more like Rock Star performing on stage.

RSWL

One of the “Blogs” in our website talks about Rock Star Worship Leaders. Those Rock Star Worship Leaders would perform as if they are having a concert. Many church-goers would flock to churches with Rock Star Worship Leaders. Beautiful voices, great instrumentalist, good choices of praise songs are the main reason they go to church not because the Holy Spirit is working in their heart.

From our passage, we learn that Christ did not call Rock Stars leaders but ordinary people. People came to listen to the testimonies of the Apostles about Jesus not to listen to Rock Star Preachers or Rock Star Worship Leaders.

²¹ After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. ²² For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.

When the Holy Spirit is at work in a person’s life, the result produce praises to God. When church-goers talk about the wonders of God you know that it’s Spirit’s work.

When church goers talk about the good voice of the Rock Star Worship Leader or the humorous stories of the Rock Star Preacher, they are just imitations or counterfeits. When church goers think that good sermons or good worship songs make their church grow, it is purely human effort and will eventually fade away.

Human tendency is to get the credit for what God is doing.

Pray for our worship leaders that they will stop promoting themselves but glorify Christ. Pray for me too, so that every time I preach, God’s words will come out of my mouth. Be alert and discerning, test every Spirit, don’t just listen and be mesmerized or fascinated by anybody’s talent but learn to know the voice of God.

In 1 John 4:1 we are reminded… ¹ Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

We are all vulnerable and at risk of being misled by many sweet talking personalities. Keep praying and asking for the Spirit of God to help us learn to hear His voice. Learn from Christ, spend more extended time with God.

The more we spend time reading our Bible and praying, even in midst of busy days, the more we learn from Christ and learn how to discern and determine the voice of God.

><((‘> … ><(((‘> tmec\2021 <‘)))>< … <‘))><