Acts Chapter 5 is a pretty wild section of scripture. It is a very difficult passage of scripture for many as well. Therefore, I'm going to apologize for not answering some of the obvious questions in this chapter like, "Why would God kill Ananias and Sapphira for something as small as a lie?"
In this chapter we have the story of Ananias and Sapphira. Following that story we see the miraculous signs and wonders that God performed through the apostles. We see people healed by the shadow of Peter. We see the Church getting a right fear of God. We see many added to the Church. And we see Peter and the apostles arrested... again.
This time Peter and the apostles were put in prison for the night. An angel of God busts them out of prison and tells them to preach again. So, when those in charge find the prison empty and the apostles doing again what they had been arrested for, those in charge were ticked off.
"We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name. Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood."
Peter and the guys replied: "We must obey God rather than men!" Then Peter gave the Gospel again to those in charge.
Those in charge were now even more ticked off and if it were not for a wise man named Gamaliel they would have killed the apostles. But instead they had the apostles flogged and released. (Remember the flogging scene in "The Passion of the Christ"? This is what they did to the apostles.)
So the apostles came away beaten and bloody with chunks of their back having been ripped out. And here is their response in verse 41, "The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name."
Wow! Rejoicing after being flogged?! Why?
Believe it or not I played football in high school. One thing about playing defense is that you won't get blocked if you aren't going toward the ball. No one would care if I was going to the left and the play was going to the right, no lineman would block me.
Same thing with Satan. He will not block you if you are not pressing on toward the prize. So when you get blocked in life you should rejoice. Easier said than done, right? Still, persecutions are road signs as we are running the race.
Be worthy of being blocked. Run toward the ball. Rejoice when you suffer for the Name today.
Just an observation I got with your analogy:
ReplyDeleteYou need to know the game plan so you know which way you are supposed to be moving. If you don't know the specific blitz, you aren't going to be effective. Study the rule book so you know which play needs to be used and how your role in that play works. If you aren't ready, you won't get passed the ball and you'll miss the winning touchdown. Be alert with the boots of readiness so your feet are swift to dodge the blockers, and prepare yourself to be the player that is supposed to catch the ball and score when your specific play comes.
Funny to think about...but we are all part of a spiritual football game whether we like the sport or not.