The Unstoppable FORCE

(Second of a three-part series)

Pentecost—the Holy Spirit descending on the disciples

By Noralyn Dudt

THESE TWO fisherfolks Peter the speaker, and John the thinker who were arraigned in the Court of the Sanhedrin made quite an impression upon the Council.  Peter spoke so boldly that the Council remarked,  "they had been with Jesus." People with the Spirit make that impression. That is the impression which the filling of the Spirit creates. Peter and John would have been described as  plebeian in ancient Rome. They were "unschooled" as the members of the Sanhedrin noted with astonishment. But they had boldness of speech  --  a boldness that  suggests clear and daring statement; a clear enunciation of certain truths so that there could be no mistaking of the meaning; and almost blunt and defiant enunciation that arrested attention, and compelled men to listen. There is an utter absence of apology or hesitation. Prophets and apostles faced men and said: These things are so, thus saith the Lord….

When Paul and John were dismissed from the court, they immediately headed to a place they knew where they could find  solace.  They retreated to their own—the company of  disciples. What a relief they must have felt  to have been excused and dismissed, and that a death sentence was not hanging over them. However, deep in their minds, they must have realized that this will be the kind of life they will lead  from now on—that of being questioned, suspected, harassed, and possibly flogged.

They were released  but they were also threatened—not by a vulgar mob, but by the cultured elders. It was not by a crowd swept by passion, but by a quiet, calculating, subtle foes.

These disciples heard the story that Peter the doer, and John the poet  had to tell, and then with one of them undoubtedly speaking the mind of the rest—for they were of one mind and of one heart—they lifted up their voice in one prayer; and instantly, without any hesitation, the answer came, the place was shaken, and they were filled with the HOLY SPIRIT and spoke the word of God with boldness.

How did they pray ? Let us examine more particularly the nature of the prayer, and the nature of the answer to the prayer.

First, let's turn to the prayer itself.

"Sovereign Lord, maker of heaven and earth and sea and of everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of your servant, our father  David,

     'why do the nations rage and the people plot in  vain?

    The kings of the earth take

   their stand and the rulers gather

     together against the Lord and

   against his Anointed One.'

"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. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now,  Lord, consider their threats, and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness"  (Acts 4:25-31)

Notice two things first, the convictions that created the prayer, and second,  the desire expressed as it reveals the attitude of the men praying.

The prayer opened with the words, "Sovereign LORD"  and the word Lord denotes an absolute ruler, one who has the last word. "LORD"  indicates final sovereignty. Later, in the prayer they used the other and more common word, but it opened with a title that indicated their attitude toward God and their conviction concerning Him. The first thought suggested is that of their belief in the sovereignty of God, and they illustrated the meaning of this form of address by saying, "You who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them."

He made the heaven,  and the earth, and the sea; and therefore He is before, and He is more than they. He foretold, through the singing of a man long centuries ago ( the song of David in the Psalms) the course of events;  and therefore He is full of wisdom. But more, He presides over history.

Evidently, therefore, to them God was more than all. This was the subconscious conviction that bolstered the prayer of these men. Prayer always begins here. No one ever prays unless he has the conception of God, as being more than the sum total of the things which he is conscious in his philosophy and in his science. Implied in this prayer, therefore, which was issued in boldness, was the conviction of the sovereignty of God.

The Holy Spirit, the Unstoppable Force

"Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness" (Acts 4:29)  These men did not pray for deliverance from dangers looming  ahead. Their first petition was, "Look upon their threats."

They did not ask that the threatening might cease, nor even that the threatening might not be carried out. They did not ask that they might escape from the logical issue of persecution and death that they had seen. There was no such request. They asked that He would consider the threats, and then immediately, that they might have boldness to speak the Word, while God stretched out His hand to heal.  In the Name of Jesus, they healed a crippled man who had been begging at the Beautiful Gate of Solomon's Porch. That landed them in jail overnight and a court hearing the next day. Certainly, they were aware that  they will get in trouble again. But they finally understood the message and they knew they had a mission. They were to tell the world that Jesus is Lord. That this Jesus  was  their  Teacher who was with them for three years, patiently teaching and showing them the Kingdom of God. The Sanhedrin  had "commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus." ( Acts 4:18)  But these men were not to be deterred. They had been with Jesus, they had heard Him say, "Before Abraham was, I AM." They had seen Him bring Lazarus back to life.  They had seen Him die on the cross.  They had seen the empty tomb. They had eaten a meal  with Him after He came back to life. They had seen Him go up to heaven.  Naturally, Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking what we have seen and heard. " ( Acts 4:19-20)

Their numbers grew...an unstoppable force they were becoming...spreading like wildfire.

And the Jewish authorities—they were the religious  'House of Congress' and  the 'Supreme Court'  rolled into one—started to say, "what do we do to  put an end to this?"

And what did they do? That will be part three.