Devotion - Acts 4:15-16 NKJV

"But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, saying, “What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it."

Peter and John find themselves in a very strange position. They have fearlessly proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ in front of the entire religious leaders of their time…thanks to an overnight sleepover in jail. That’s how God works. One day healing a man, witnessing to 5000, and then sent to a jail cell to preach to the religious elite. It doesn’t make a lick of sense to us…but its absolute divine wisdom in the spiritual realm of things.

These religious leaders were dumbfounded. They were left speechless at the sight of seeing the healed man standing before them. In front of the obvious they dared not say a word…but now in verse 15, we find them in private council. I don’t know about you, but that is so familiar. Listen, because here is a resounding truth…Men of little courage, often find some in private council. This is what makes gossip so dangerous. Some of the greatest attacks against the saints of God have happened in private council…because no one dares accuses a man or woman of God by themselves!

Matthew 12:10-14 NKJV

And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath days?”, that they might accuse him. And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days. Then, saith he to the man, “Stretch forth thine hand”. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other. Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.

Sound familiar…

Solomon in the book of Proverbs makes a redundant statement that seems so true now as much as it did then, “there is nothing new under the sun”. The same stuff they tried on Jesus then is the same thing the religious leaders were now trying on Peter and John…and listen…it’s the same thing that they will do today. A cowardice enemy always finds strength in private council…and yet men of God often find themselves alone. There is no private council for strength other than the solitude of the prayer closet. It is because God alone is our strength. God alone is our justice. God alone is our defense.

Luke 12:2-3

For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.

All will be exposed in due time. The day is coming when people are exposed for what they really are. If you don’t believe that you’re fooling yourself. There is no room in the church for hypocrisy…and yet hypocrites fill the church now more than ever. We are more interested in hiding who we really are and condemning others than then showcasing the grace of God in us. Why…because we are ashamed of ourselves. We would rather live a life of hypocrisy than admit that we are full of problems.

Let’s deal with verse 16 now…paying close attention to the last phrase in the sentence, “we cannot deny it.”
Here they are, the religious elders or elite, and they are saying that they cannot deny the physical evidence that is looking at them in the face. Signs and wonders staring them right in front of their face and they still refuse to accept the truth…and here is the thing, we don’t get to act like we can’t believe that they don’t just accept it….because we’re just as guilty as well at not buying into the vision of God sometimes. There are churches today that struggle because of the religious leaders can’t see the ministry of Jesus if it hit them in the face. Listen…don’t act surprised…the entire Bible is one story after another of God performing all kinds of miracles and the people still wanting to return to old rituals and routines. Over and over God sends His messengers…and over and over they are rejected…killed…murdered…you name it.

I would love to say that this is a problem that exists outside the church…but in all honesty, sinners have an easier time understanding the power of God, than church folk. Why? I think it has a lot to do with the understanding of grace and mercy. The sinners experience with that is first hand and fresh…as we grow older the tendency is to grow colder. We by nature get caught up in the legalistic side of the church and become what, in the beginning, we hated the most…

Can I be honest I pray against that for my own soul…cause I’ve been there. I’ve been the guy that said I am doing this and doing that so I must be on the right track…and I was so far off track it wasn’t funny. Anytime we start to look at what we are doing rather than looking at what He did we are missing the whole point.