An Unstoppable Force Series

The angel says, “Go, stand in the temple courts, and tell the people the full message of this new life.” (vs 20). God sends them right back into the danger He had just miraculously delivered them from! He tells them to hold nothing back, but to share the “full message of this new life.” And do you see what they did? They went right back.

Now I want to pause at this point in the story for a moment. I know that many of you came to church this morning feeling like you are facing opposition. You came carrying a burden, feeling frustrated, feeling weary, feeling beat up, maybe even feeling imprisoned. The opposition is strong, and you feel it in your spirit.

Here is the key question for you: are you, to the best of your ability and in the power of the Holy Spirit, living a life of obedience? Has God asked you to do something, and you’ve said yes, and you are trying? If the answer is “no”, you are not being obedient, then the opposition shouldn’t surprise you. We’ll see a little more about that in a moment. But if the answer is yes, you are seeking to be obedient, then once again the opposition should not surprise you. If you are obeying God and facing opposition, hear the word of God to you: “But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. "Go, stand in the temple courts," he said, "and tell the people the full message of this new life.” (vss. 19-20). I believe there is a promise in here for you this morning, and it is simply this: God knows the opposition, and He will save you. Now He just might send you right back into the dangerous place, but He will meet you. He will strengthen you. He will give you boldness and courage. He will empower you to obey Him in the pursuit of His Kingdom.

Some Comic Relief: (vss. 22-26)

The story continues in verse 22, and it is a pretty comical scene. Court is in session; all the “important” people have arrived and are seated, the chairman calls the meeting to order and probably moves quickly but in a dignified way through the preliminaries, and then calls for the prisoners. And then the report comes back, “ummm… they aren’t there…” I’m sure the reactionaries were angry and wanted heads to roll, the thinkers were puzzled and trying to solve the problem, maybe there were even a few independents on the edge who saw the humor and chuckled. And then the second report comes: “Hey! We found them, right back where they were yesterday, doing exactly the same thing!” So they re-arrest them, and the trial begins – a little later than anticipated…

Gamaliel’s Wisdom: (vss. 34-40)

I read the exchange earlier; it is no doubt abbreviated but basically the High Priest makes and accusation and Peter responds, and the rulers are infuriated and wanted to kill them all. Then Gamaliel steps in. He was one of the most respected teachers in all of Judaism at the time, a man of great influence. He makes a recommendation: “Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” (vss. 38-39).