After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. Acts 4:31
I knew of a church once, many years ago, which had to close its balcony. It was one of those old buildings, perhaps not in the best state of repair, and the problem was that, in that heyday of the charismatic movement, when everyone was jumping around and getting very excited, there was a real danger that the balcony might collapse. (Which wouldn’t be a very good witness - imagine the headlines in the local paper.)
Such a humanly caused event is one thing. But the Bible does describe occasions when something similar, but of supernatural origin, takes place. And here in Acts 4 is one: “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken” (verse 31). There’s no record of any injury or damage, but I imagine this must have been an unnerving experience - you’ll know only too well if you’ve ever been caught in an earthquake or tremor.
What was going on that day?
It’s shortly after the momentous events of Pentecost (Acts 2). God has poured out his Holy Spirit on the infant church, and this is accompanied, not by an earthquake, but by other strange signs (verses 1-4). The first followers of Jesus are transformed from lambs into lions; they spill out into the centre of Jerusalem; and Simon Peter preaches a powerful message.
It seems that for several dizzying days Jerusalem is rocking (though not literally) with God at work, including “many wonders and signs” (2: 43) and powerful preaching (3:11-26).
The religious authorities eventually decide that this must stop, so Peter and John are hauled up and told to do just that - stop this preaching and miracle-working! Peter (the man, remember, who had pathetically caved in under threats just before the crucifixion) looks them in the eye and tells them plainly that “we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (4:20). In effect: Do with us what you like! - you could no more stop a waterfall than shut our mouths.
This episode of the shaken building then takes place as they go back “to their own people” (verse 23) and burst out into excited prayer.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if something similar were to happen in our day or in our town? Something that couldn’t possibly be souped up by emotional manipulation, but something purely supernatural?
Well, we can’t, of course, “magic up” such an event, and Christians who try to do so are at best deluded and at worst dishonest. But we can notice the ingredients which combined to produce the events described in Acts 4. Especially, we can notice what the people involved were like.
Four things strike me...
First, they were fully confident in the Gospel message. They believed totally in Jesus crucified and risen, and they were convinced he was good news for every man, woman and child. They believed they had a message to change the world.
In comparison, do we come across as hesitant, timid and riddled with doubts? Do we need to pray, “Lord God, re-convince me! Set my heart on fire afresh with the wonder of the Gospel!”
Second, they were courageous. Peter and John - rough, uneducated men - stood up against authorities who were used to having their own way and being meekly obeyed. “If we have to disobey you, well, that’s exactly what we will do”, they said.
Do we have the courage to stand up staunchly - politely, of course, but staunchly - for what we believe is true and right, even at risk of becoming unpopular? Or do we weakly take the line of least resistance, and passively blend in with every trend - “go with the flow”?
Third, they took prayer seriously. Not just Acts 4, but all those early chapters of Acts demonstrate that fervent prayer was the life-blood of the church. True, they were pretty well intoxicated on sheer excitement as history-changing events were going on around them, which is a million miles from where most of us are. So perhaps for them prayer was relatively easy and we shouldn’t be too hard on ourselves. But still, how anaemic our praying can often be by comparison!
Fourth, and most important, they were Spirit-filled. Luke spells this out in verse 31.
The Holy Spirit is the very breath of God, his energy and power, without whom we are bound to be feeble and ineffective. He comes to live within every child of God, so we can be thankful for that. And, of course, we can’t have more of him by snapping our fingers. But we can seek to be open to his presence and his movement in our lives. And, according to Jesus himself, we can always ask for more (Luke 11:13).
The joke about that church I mentioned was that it probably had a clause in its buildings insurance to safeguard it against “acts of God” - which is sort-of-funny, I suppose, in a not-really-very-funny way.
As we read these early chapters of Acts, the question is this: Is it possible that we really have developed attitudes and practices which effectively combine to quench the fire of the Spirit - which virtually guarantee there will be no “acts of God”?
Heavenly Father, give me a hunger and thirst for righteousness, a passion for more of your Spirit, an appetite for prayer, and a longing to see Jesus lifted high in our world. Amen!
I knew of a church once, many years ago, which had to close its balcony. It was one of those old buildings, perhaps not in the best state of repair, and the problem was that, in that heyday of the charismatic movement, when everyone was jumping around and getting very excited, there was a real danger that the balcony might collapse. (Which wouldn’t be a very good witness - imagine the headlines in the local paper.)
Such a humanly caused event is one thing. But the Bible does describe occasions when something similar, but of supernatural origin, takes place. And here in Acts 4 is one: “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken” (verse 31). There’s no record of any injury or damage, but I imagine this must have been an unnerving experience - you’ll know only too well if you’ve ever been caught in an earthquake or tremor.
What was going on that day?
It’s shortly after the momentous events of Pentecost (Acts 2). God has poured out his Holy Spirit on the infant church, and this is accompanied, not by an earthquake, but by other strange signs (verses 1-4). The first followers of Jesus are transformed from lambs into lions; they spill out into the centre of Jerusalem; and Simon Peter preaches a powerful message.
It seems that for several dizzying days Jerusalem is rocking (though not literally) with God at work, including “many wonders and signs” (2: 43) and powerful preaching (3:11-26).
The religious authorities eventually decide that this must stop, so Peter and John are hauled up and told to do just that - stop this preaching and miracle-working! Peter (the man, remember, who had pathetically caved in under threats just before the crucifixion) looks them in the eye and tells them plainly that “we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (4:20). In effect: Do with us what you like! - you could no more stop a waterfall than shut our mouths.
This episode of the shaken building then takes place as they go back “to their own people” (verse 23) and burst out into excited prayer.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if something similar were to happen in our day or in our town? Something that couldn’t possibly be souped up by emotional manipulation, but something purely supernatural?
Well, we can’t, of course, “magic up” such an event, and Christians who try to do so are at best deluded and at worst dishonest. But we can notice the ingredients which combined to produce the events described in Acts 4. Especially, we can notice what the people involved were like.
Four things strike me...
First, they were fully confident in the Gospel message. They believed totally in Jesus crucified and risen, and they were convinced he was good news for every man, woman and child. They believed they had a message to change the world.
In comparison, do we come across as hesitant, timid and riddled with doubts? Do we need to pray, “Lord God, re-convince me! Set my heart on fire afresh with the wonder of the Gospel!”
Second, they were courageous. Peter and John - rough, uneducated men - stood up against authorities who were used to having their own way and being meekly obeyed. “If we have to disobey you, well, that’s exactly what we will do”, they said.
Do we have the courage to stand up staunchly - politely, of course, but staunchly - for what we believe is true and right, even at risk of becoming unpopular? Or do we weakly take the line of least resistance, and passively blend in with every trend - “go with the flow”?
Third, they took prayer seriously. Not just Acts 4, but all those early chapters of Acts demonstrate that fervent prayer was the life-blood of the church. True, they were pretty well intoxicated on sheer excitement as history-changing events were going on around them, which is a million miles from where most of us are. So perhaps for them prayer was relatively easy and we shouldn’t be too hard on ourselves. But still, how anaemic our praying can often be by comparison!
Fourth, and most important, they were Spirit-filled. Luke spells this out in verse 31.
The Holy Spirit is the very breath of God, his energy and power, without whom we are bound to be feeble and ineffective. He comes to live within every child of God, so we can be thankful for that. And, of course, we can’t have more of him by snapping our fingers. But we can seek to be open to his presence and his movement in our lives. And, according to Jesus himself, we can always ask for more (Luke 11:13).
The joke about that church I mentioned was that it probably had a clause in its buildings insurance to safeguard it against “acts of God” - which is sort-of-funny, I suppose, in a not-really-very-funny way.
As we read these early chapters of Acts, the question is this: Is it possible that we really have developed attitudes and practices which effectively combine to quench the fire of the Spirit - which virtually guarantee there will be no “acts of God”?
Heavenly Father, give me a hunger and thirst for righteousness, a passion for more of your Spirit, an appetite for prayer, and a longing to see Jesus lifted high in our world. Amen!
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