| Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash
In Acts 5, we see that the Church is growing and reaching more people for Jesus. Many people were coming, and the Church was doing the work of Jesus, leading people to Christ, praying for people, and people were saved, healed, and delivered, and the Church was united and growing. The Church was doing what God intended for the Church to do! That is why Jesus said, “If I go away I will send the Holy Spirit.” We cannot do Church without the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is moving, and the enemy wants to stop God’s move. So opposition and persecution begin against the Church and the people of God. The apostles were arrested and thrown in jail, but God delivered them from jail. Where did they go, right back to the temple, and began to preach about Jesus. (They did not run, hide, or leave the city; they prayed for boldness, and they kept doing what God called them to do.)
In Acts 5: 29; “But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must OBEY GOD rather than any human authority.”
Acts 5: 38-39; One of the religious leaders, Gamaliel, stood up and said, “So my advice is this, leave the men alone. Let them go. If they are planning and doing these things merely on their own, it will soon be overthrown (fail). But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God.”
When we do things God’s way and obey what He tells us, we can trust that God will provide what we need! We must obey God in every season and situation in life, and know that “if God is for us, who can be against us!”
Lord, help us to trust and obey You, for there is no other way to be happy but to trust and obey!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Pastor Ronald Squibb has been the International Christian Center (ICC) Lead Senior Pastor at Staten Island, New York, since 2011. He draws on many experiences from his over 40 years as a pastor and from significant emotional experiences.
His new book, Following the Journey with Jesus, which he co-authored with Daniel McNaughton, was recently published and is receiving rave reviews. The daily devotion appears in this publication.
