The “Annoying” Work of God

Read: Acts 4:1-32

The Work of God Speaks for Itself

“…many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand…Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished…and seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition…What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.” (Acts 4:4,13,14,16)

The work of God speaks for itself.

It cannot be thwarted. It cannot be silenced. The Kingdom of God is an unstoppable force, interrupting the trajectory of the broken world, the hopeless, and the downtrodden. When it comes to the GENUINE work of the Lord, there is really “nothing to say in opposition” to it. (v.14) The uncomfortable fact is that true, life-changing, spirit filled ministry is often “annoying” to the establishment. (v.2) Why? Because it cannot be controlled, manipulated, or corrupted. It is threatening to the “established” “religious” leaders because it is carried out in “boldness” by “uneducated, common men and women” who are “filled with the Holy Spirit”. (v.8,13) This is disorienting and “annoying” to the so-called professional-holy-people because it threatens their sense of job security and purpose! You can imagine the priests and leaders of the day saying to each other: “We can’t have common, everyday men and women being filled with the Spirit and carrying out powerful ministry for one another…studying the scriptures and teaching one another…what will we do all day then? They might wake up and decide that they don’t need us to broker their relationship with God anymore. What if they stop paying us!” You see, Jesus came to raise up a people of God who would be a “royal priesthood”. (cf. 1 Peter 2:9) This threatens the power and exclusivity of the current “priests”. If history has shown us anything, it is that no one gives up power and exclusivity easily… except Christ who did just that when he came to earth! (cf. Phil 2)

About the only thing someone who is trying to stifle or slow down the work of God can do is try to silence it… or not talk about it. This is exactly what they do here in Acts 4: “So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.”(v.18) When God is working in your life, there will be no shortage of things that will try to shut you up! This is about the worst you can throw at GOd’s work… not talking about it. And even that will do no good in stopping the spread of the Kingdom! The word always gets out. We are here today… having heard the “good news”… because the could not stop people from talking about it 2000 years ago! No matter what… the message expands… the family of God grows.

The people of God cannot help but speak about What they have seen and heard. The true children of God will not remain silent about what Gd is doing in their lives. “But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” (v.19-20) The people of God speak with BOLDNESS about the work HE is doing, and the people of God ASK for boldness to continue to declare. : “And now, Lord, look upon (the) threats (against us) and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” (v.29-30) We need to be asking for boldness to share what God is doing. When we have seen God work, we must not keep it to ourselves. We need to seek to be “filled with the Holy Spirit” and in boldness proclaim and work in the Kingdom of God. When we recognize the true POWER of God and acknowledge his unstoppable PLAN, we will be energized and emboldened to declare and participate in the TRUE work of the Kingdom. (cf. v.24,28)

This holiday season I had two very unique times to experience the work of the Lord. Both were gatherings in people’s homes. Both were moments when the people of God came together and declared what God was doing in their lives. These times were powerful and encouraging.These were times were “common” men and women - like Peter who is called “common” here - gathered and declared the goodness of the Lord and what he was doing in this world. One time we sat around a kitchen table, and I heard of a friend's aunt who was miraculously healed through a hug… and how God had given peace about a job decision to another… and about the gift of a song to a songwriter… and about the everyday mercies of a homeschooling mom. These were stories of what God is doing shared in boldness. I left these gatherings encouraged, and “spurred on towards love and good deeds”. (cf. Heb. 10:24) Christmas is often a season of looking back at how Jesus came… a remembering… a “past” focused event. Now let us shift gears to reflect on how Jesus is HERE… NOW… WITH US. Immanuel - “God with us”- is as true today as ever. God is with us NOW, as we prepare to enter into a new year. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! Love you guys. -JDP