The Domino EffectSample

The disciples are becoming more and more comfortable living out the mission Jesus had given them. In Acts 5, we see the disciples healing many people. It actually says that all were healed that were brought to the disciples. Crowds were gathering. People were responding to the message of Jesus. Everything seemed to be going right for the disciples and the early church, and then it all came to a screeching halt. The high priest and his associates started to get jealous of the disciples and all the attention they were getting, and they decided to put them in jail.

But then an angel of the Lord appeared to them and told them to “tell the people all about this new life.”  Has Jesus ever spoken to you like that? Maybe it was in a dream, through another person, or as you were praying or reading the Bible. Maybe you felt the Lord telling you to pay for the person’s groceries in front of you or encourage that one coworker who seemed down and out. Maybe you felt the urge to call that one friend who you haven’t talked to in a while, or you thought about going over to your neighbor and inviting them to church or small group. But you have a reputation to lose. You could be rejected or judged. Or they might even receive it but then you get invited into their mess.

When the pharisees were trying to figure out what to do with the disciples, one of the Pharisees, Gamaliel, stood up and said this: “ Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail.  But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” If God is leading you, he promises he will not let you fail.