An Earth-shaking Moment

That examination by the Jewish leaders had not gone quite as they expected

It didn’t end well at all for the leaders, if anything, it had been turn around on them

Rather than intimidate the apostles, it would serve only to embolden them

The stern “finger-shaking” they were given was one more thing to show the world how valueless that system based more on tradition than God had been, one more nail in the coffin of the established hierarchy of the Jewish culture

As a snapshot it time, this was physically earth-shaking

As a phenomenon it was earth-shaking as this growing movement, “the Way” as it was called early on, would shake the earth—it’s impact would impact the then-known world…and do it quickly

They Recognized the Sovereignty of God

Our ESV translation, Sovereign Lord is translation of despotes, only used 8 times, only 4 regarding the Lord

Other translations are Master, Lord, master (as in slave owner)

Denotes absolute power or ownership

Piece of trivia: Benevolent despotism, 18th century thought of an absolute monarch who acted in the best interest of the public (human nature always seemed to get in the way)

God is absolutely sovereign; He made heaven, earth and everything in them...

Theologians use the term ex-nihilo, out of nothing! He spoke it all into being

“…and God said...” Gen 1, vv 3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24…and I might have missed a couple

We’re further told that Jesus was the active force in creation John 1 3

John 1:3 ESV

All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

We have the recollection of Ps. 2 in vv. 25-26

They realized the fulfillment of this messianic portion of the Psalm had been fulfilled with Christ

Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Gentiles, the peoples of Israel were put in place to fulfill God’s plan regarding Jesus!

Warning: Doctrine Lesson Ahead

The word is used, we have to deal with it

Predestined

Most of our Baptist tribe shudders over this

Lexham Survey of Theology (Predestination)

The God who created all things rules over and directs those things to his intended ends

Lexham Survey of Theology

To bring about the salvation of man, God used some rather despicable human beings, some horrific events

No different than ancient history: among other incidents...

God used Assyria to judge Israel

He used Babylon to judge Jerusalem/Judah

Without going into the full discussion, within this sovereignty, He gives us true and meaningful choices

They Requested the Power of God

…look upon their threats

Not that the threat were terribly intimidating, we’re not told exactly what they were

…grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness

They recognized that it was not a one and done event; the process was to continue

…while you stretch out your hand to heal and do wonders

…through the name of your Holy Servant Jesus

The truly understood the source of the power; the one through whom the work was accomplished

They Received the Response of God

The place was shaken

The text does NOT say it was an earthquake…sounds like just an in-place event

They were filled with the Holy Spirit—sounds like that supercharging we discussed a couple weeks ago—preparation for a special mission…and they were off!

They continued to speak the word of God with boldness

WITFM?

Do We Understand God as Sovereign?

Or, do we merely pay Him lip-service

Let’s be brutally honest, do we trust him LORD? Owner, master?

Can we put Him into the roles of “benevolent despot?”

He HAS all authority

Proverbs 3:5–6 ESV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

If we truly understand that He IS in charge, what’s stopping us from acting that way?

If we are truly trusting in the plan of salvation that He put in place, even using such evil people to put His own Son to death

…to pay the penalty for our sins

…and we know our sins our paid for

…and we escape the Hell we deserve

…What is stopping us from trusting him with the rest of our lives as well?

If we’re getting that right

Are We Praying for God’s Power in our Lives

The apostles prayed for protection

When we look at Stephen in a few weeks we’ll see that from our perspective, things didn’t work out so well; but in the perspective of eternity, they worked out really well

They prayed for boldness

The apostles faced all sorts of things Paul listed all the indignities he suffered in 2 Cor.; but he kept moving forward

What might we fact that’s so terrible?

God’s power is sufficient

Are We Expecting God to Shake the World?

Are We Expecting Him to do it Using Us?