As hurricane Dennis rushed toward the Southern shores of our United
States we watched the news and were amazed at the enormous power of the
wind and the waves as they crash through man-made structures and topple
trees. Also, I am sure there are times we may feel as if our personal
lives are in the path of a spiritual hurricane that is wrecking as much
havoc as a hurricane on the coastlands. We carefully construct our world
around our own sense of well-being and then the winds of adversity sweeps
down upon us and attempts to blow it all away!
I want you to know that God knows who you are, where you are, and what
is occurring in your life! He has made promises to us for our safety
and He has a plan that He has already worked out! We can understand that
from His work with the Church in the Book of Acts.
We pick up the story of who it is about in Acts 4 …
Acts 4:23-24
23 And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all
that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24 So when they
heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: "Lord,
You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is
in them,
25 who by the mouth of Your servant David have said:
'Why did the nations rage,
And the people plot vain things?
26 The kings of the earth took their stand,
And the rulers were gathered together
Against the LORD and against His Christ.'
29 Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants
that with all boldness they may speak Your word, 30 by stretching out
Your
hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name
of Your holy Servant Jesus." 31 And when they had prayed, the place
where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled
with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
When the Sanhedrin let Peter and John go, they returned to their own people
and had a time of prayer. Look at the prophetic word they quoted from Psalms
two as they prayed. “… and the rulers were gathered together against the
Lord and against His Christ.”
They understood that the attack was not against them … it was against
God!
You and I must also understand this! You are not the one that Satan
is aiming at … you may be attacked … but the target is Jesus Christ!
The battle is not ours, but the Lord’s! Satan deceived Adam and Eve …
but his objective was to bring hurt to God! Satan has deceived, damaged,
ruined, cheated, and destroyed much of God’s creation in a wild rampage
of anger against the One who is truly God!
Satan has a history of attacking those who belong to God!
Num 22:6 Balak sent a messenger to Balaam the prophet, to curse Israel
so he would be able to defeat them.
Num 22:12 And God said to Balaam, "You shall not go with
them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.
Balaam could not curse what God had blessed!
Just as Israel is blessed … the Church of Jesus Christ is blessed.
We are blessed! We have blessings of forgiveness, and healing, and provision
of all kinds, which Satan wants to strip from us! When he attacks, he
wants to get our eyes off of Jesus and onto the difficulties of life
so we will become discouraged and downhearted. In that condition we begin
saying negative things to ourselves about life, our circumstances, the
body of Christ, and even about God Himself!
But when you know the attack is against God and not us … we know God
will enter the fight and bring a victory! When David defeated Goliath,
he knew the victory was his because 1 Sam 17:47 “… the battle is the
LORD's.”
Know this! The battle is the Lord’s! He will bring victory over Satan’s
attacks in your life! The early Church knew this and they prayed for
God to boldly fight the battle through them!
Acts 4:29-30
Grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word,
30 by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders
may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.
And when they completed their prayer … God revealed His power!
Acts 4:31
The place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were
all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with
boldness.
God was on the move! His power was being revealed because the battle
was the Lord’s! As we recognize the battle we are facing is the Lord’s,
we can release it to Him and allow Him to shake our place and fill us
with boldness to speak the Word of the Lord! That is when we see God
move on our behalf!
The Church in Acts 4 was elated! They ministered to each other and
shared their goods with each other. They generally were all in one accord
and full of the power and glory of God.
But that didn’t make Satan happy. In Acts chapter five Satan continues
the attack on the Church ….
Acts 5:1-3
But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession.
2 And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware
of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles' feet.
3 But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to
lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land
for yourself?
The Deceiver couldn’t stop the Church by attacking from the outside,
so he mounted an attack from within the church … an attack of deception.
Ananias and Sapphira were probably good people but Satan filled their
hearts to lie to the Church! But the Lord said the lie was to the Holy
Spirit!
Again, when Satan attacks … it isn’t against you … nor is it against
the Church … the attack is against God! Therefore the battle is the Lord’s
whether Satan attacks from without or from within! And God was swift
to respond!
Acts 5:4-5
“You have not lied to men but to God.” 5 Then Ananias, hearing these
words, fell down and breathed his last.
What a sobering turn of events! The same fate befell Sapphira when
she repeated the same deception. God was not about to tolerate a lying
spirit to invade His Church and destroy it!
I do not understand God’s methods in this, but I do know He is involved
in protecting His Church! The Book of Revelation has letters to seven
churches and the words uttered by Jesus to five of those churches are
very pointed!
The Church at Ephesus: Rev 2:4-5
“… you have left your first love. 5… Repent and do the first works, or
else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand (church)
from its place--unless you repent.
The Church at Pergamos: Rev 2:16
Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against (those
who hold the doctrine of Balaam) with the sword of My mouth.
The Church at Thyatira: Rev 2:20
“… You allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach
and seduce My servants … unless they repent … 23 I will kill her children
with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches
the minds and hearts.
The Church at Sardis: Rev 3:1-3
1 …you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead … 3 Therefore
if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will
not know what hour I will come upon you.
The Church at Laodicea: Rev 3:16-19
16 … because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit
you out of My mouth. 19 …As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore
be zealous and repent.
Jesus watches over His Church! When Satan attacks us with a lost love,
with false teachers, with a barren or a lukewarm heart; the Lord is faithful
to call us back to a place of repentance. I’m thankful that we don’t
all die when we fall into sin … God is gracious and calls us to repentance!
But notice! Those who will not repent do not escape the notice of Jesus!
Jesus still stands guard over His Church! Regardless of what happens
in what is known as “the church-world” Jesus still stands guard! Those
who practice immorality and encourage it within the Church are in danger
of God’s judgment! Those who teach heresy are in danger of God’s judgment!
Those who practice of form of religion with no commitment to Christ are
in danger of God’s judgment! Those who attempt to destroy the Body of
Christ are in danger of God’s judgment! Jesus guards His Church.
And what were the results of Jesus watching over His Church in Acts?
Acts 5:14-16
14 And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both
men and women, 15 so that they brought the sick out into the streets
and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter
passing by might fall on some of them. 16 Also a multitude gathered
from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and
those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.
Multitudes were saved and healings and miracles happened as Christ
blessed His Church!
Peter and John did not do this … Jesus did! This was a glorious work
of God! This was not an orchestrated plan for church growth … this was
God moving as people gave themselves to Him without reservations. God
had shaken the building and given them boldness to speak and they spoke
about Jesus to everyone who would listen … and God worked in peoples
lives!
Jesus is still moving in His Church. He is still looking for people
who will obey God rather than obey men. He is still looking for people
who will recognize that it isn’t about them, it is about Jesus. He is
still looking for people who repent of sin and follow Him.
Then He will show Himself strong.
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