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Acts 111 Acts 4:23-37 Prayer, and
personal possessions in the kingdom age
Peter and John had been thrown in jail and
threatened, for teaching about Jesus.
Acts 4:23
And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all
that the chief priests and elders had said unto them.
24 And when they heard that, they lifted up
their voice to God with one accord (they were
all in agreement), and
said,.....
Watch how their prayer in verses 24-30 is a two way
conversation with God. God speaks through the scripture and they
apply it to their circumstances.
Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven,
and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:
25 Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast
said, Why did the heathen (Gentiles)
rage, and the people (Israel)
imagine vain things?
26 The kings of the earth stood up, and the
rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his
Christ. (Psalms 2:1-3)
Christ’s crucifixion fulfilled this prophecy
(verse 27), and
then Psalms 2 goes on to tell what God is going to do next.
"He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have
them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath,
and vex them in his sore displeasure."
(Ps 2:4,5) The next thing
in prophecy is God’s wrath! Then in Ps 2:6-9, Jesus,
the Son of God, will be king in Zion, and will possess the whole
earth, violently breaking any opposition. Ps 2:10-12
foretells Peter’s message of warning.
Notice that the disciples quote Psalms 2:1& 2 in the past
tense. This has already happened. But verses 4 and 5 have not
yet, and we know now from Paul that God has postponed His
wrath until after our age. (Rom 9:22-24; I
Thes 1:10)
"Anointed" in Psalms 2 is translated as "Christ" in Acts 4, and
means to be consecrated, to be wholly dedicated to serve God.
27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast
anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles,
and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
28 For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before
to be done.
The leaders and the people, of both the Jews and the
Gentiles, joined together to kill Christ. That was part of
God’s plan or they could never have done it.
(Mat 26:53,54)
The disciples realized that the whole world system was against
God, and therefore against them.
29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto
thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy
word,
30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs
and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child
Jesus.
The disciples knew they had to go through the tribulation to
enter the kingdom, (Mat 24:9,21; Luke
21:12-18) so they didn’t pray to get out of the danger, but
to be fearless in it.
Healing and signs and wonders pointed to
Israel’s coming deliverance and backed up what the apostles said,
(Mark 16:20; Is 8:18) just as they did
when Moses delivered Israel. (Ex 4:29-31&7:3-5
)
The disciples were able to understand what was going on in
their time because they knew the scriptures. So can we. The
difference is that their understanding of the scriptures was
given miraculously (Jer 31:33,34; I John 2:27),
whereas in our dispensation, we must "study to shew
thyself approved unto God,... rightly dividing the word of truth...".(II
Tim 2:15&3:16,17)
Verse 31 is how God answered their prayer.
31 And when they had prayed, the place was
shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all
filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God
with boldness.
Remember what being "filled with the Holy Ghost" is.
(Review lessons 101,104,107) God was
doing their thinking. So they saw the big picture. The
world was against God, and they knew with certainty that they were
on the winning side with God. So they were bold!
We today can be bold too if we study God’s word enough to see
the big picture of what God is doing in our age.
(Eph 6:19,20; II Tim 1:7)
Here in Acts, the promise made in Luke 11:9-13 is put
into action. "Ask, and it shall be given
you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be
opened unto you. .... If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is
a father, will he give him a stone?....If ye then, being evil, know
how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your
heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask
him?" This promise is not about asking for possessions,
wealth, a spouse, or whatever. It is about seeking the things that
the Spirit gives, like wisdom, knowledge and godly attitudes.
(Gal 5:22,23) The disciples prayed for
power to speak with boldness, and God sent the Holy Spirit
with that power. (Luke 24:49; Acts1:8)
Let’s consider Mat 21:22 also. "And all
things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye
shall receive." When the disciples were filled with the Holy
Ghost, thinking with God’s Spirit (mind), would they know what to
ask? Yes! Would they ask selfish, silly things? No, they would only
desire and ask for what God wanted. Naturally God would give them
whatever they needed, to do what He wanted done.
In contrast, Paul in our dispensation says of us, "...for
we know not what we should pray for as we ought."
(Rom 8:26) And we do not expect the
room to shake today when we pray, or to see other signs and wonders.
(II Cor 4:18&5:7) The same Spirit is
working today with the same power, but in the "inner man"
(Eph 3:16, Phil 4:6,7), not in the
physical realm. (Prov 16:32)
:
32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one
heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that
ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had
all things common.
There were at least 8120 believers,(Acts
1:15; 2:41; 4:4) and not a single disagreement! Nobody
had a selfish thought because they were all filled with the Holy
Ghost’s thinking. This is the miraculous oneness that Jesus
prayed for them in John 17:20-23.
Possessions were of little importance at that time
because all would be lost in the war and political upheaval of the
coming tribulation time. (Zech 14:1,2; Mat
24:16-21; Luke 21:20-24) God will supernaturally care for His
people then, (Mat 6:30-32; Mark 8:1-9; Rev
12:6,14) just as He did when He brought them out of Egypt.
(Ex 16:13–15; Hosea 2:14,15; Micah 7:14,15;)
Jesus had said, "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell
that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have
treasure in heaven: and come and follow me."
(Mat 19:21; Luke 12:33) Here in Acts
they did that, knowing that when Christ returned He would bring
their treasure with Him (Is 62:11; Rev 22:12),
and it will be 100 times more than what they gave up.
(Mat 19:29)
When Christ’s return was unexpectedly delayed, and our time
period inserted, these saints in Judea became poor, and the Gentile
believers took up a collection for them. (Acts
11:29,30; Rom 15:25-27)
33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them
all.
34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as
were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices
of the things that were sold,
35 And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was
made unto every man according as he had need.
36 And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is,
being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the
country of Cyprus,
37 Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the
apostles' feet.
Does God recommend this kind of communal living in our
age? See II Thes 3:10 and I Tim 5:8. No! It wouldn’t
work for us in this dispensation, because we do not think God’s way
all the time, rather we choose moment by moment whether to
think with God’s Spirit or with the flesh nature.
(Gal 5:16,17)
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