We’ve been walking through the challenges to the early community of believers that began with Ananias and Sapphira’s lying in Acts 5.1 – 11 and the apostles’ short stay in prison (thanks to an angel!) in Acts 5.17 – 23. So far, God’s power has won out, and we come to Acts 6: partiality.

Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. (Acts 6.1, ESV)

Greek-speaking (out-of-town) Jews versus local Jews – discrimination (real or perceived) has always been with us, yes?

The apostles saw this in two ways: a problem that needed to be solved AND a potential distraction:

And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” (Acts 6.2 – 4, ESV)

Two observations here:

• They chose seven men, all with Greek names (Acts 6.5) to take care of this important matter. Feeding the poor and taking care of widows is important. (See, for example, Zechariah 7.9, 10.)
• By “prayer and ministry of the word,” the apostles did NOT mean, as some pastors today practice, 20 – 30 hours of preparation for one 30- 45-minute sermon. Bob, how do you know that?

Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah. (Acts 5.42, NIV)

Their teaching was daily, in the temple courts (where people were gathering) and from house to house.

And the result of this simple strategy of appointing “deacons” to take care of food distribution while the apostles concentrated on their mission? First, we never about a food distribution problem again. Second:

So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. (Acts 6.7, NIV)

Continuing with POWER observations from Acts 5, we have the first records of difficulty. Members of the church, apparently believers, Ananias and Sapphira lied about the selling price of their property. Peter called them out. Then we had more signs and wonders (Acts 5:12 – 16).

In Jerusalem, city of God, where no good deed goes unpunished, the reward for the apostles’ healing a lot of people is that they get to go to prison:

But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. (Acts 5.17, 18, ESV)

And then the fun begins. Please don’t say that God doesn’t have a sense of humor! Can you picture the guards diligently and vigilantly guarding an empty prison?

But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach. Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported, “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.” (Acts 5.19 – 23, ESV)

Forgive the alliteration – it’s a character flaw: there is opposition, but God’s power prevails over prevarication and prisons, and tomorrow we’ll see what happens to accusations of partiality.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. (Romans 15.13, ESV)

I intended to continue with more incidences of God’s power in Acts 5, but I have a “word of knowledge” story that’s too good not to share. Yesterday, I referred to Peter’s response to Ananias and Sapphira as a word of knowledge:

But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?” (Acts 5.3, ESV)

There are those today who believe that all such manifestations of God’s power in the book of Acts have ceased. (They’re called “cessationists.”) Here’s a story of such a fellow from J.P. Moreland’s book A Simple Guide to Experience Miracles. Remember, Dr. Moreland is a respected professor of philosophy at Talbot Seminary. Dr. Moreland was at the front of the church available to pray for people after a service. He saw a young man approaching, and here’s the story from there.

Along the way, a clear thought had come into my mind from the outside: Tell him not to leave his current ministry. That was it. So after receiving permission to pray and lay hands on the young man, I said, “I have a sense that the Lord may be giving me a word for you—namely, you are not to leave your current ministry.” His jaw practically hit the floor. He responded, “Dr. Moreland, I graduated from Dallas Seminary, and I don’t believe in signs and wonders, including God’s ability to speak outside the Bible. But I heard you were preaching at this Vineyard church, so I came to hear you. Here’s the crazy thing—I’m a leader of a local parachurch ministry, and I’ve been struggling the last few weeks about whether or not I should leave and look for a new ministry.” (Page 152, emphasis mine)

Back to my blog about the falling iguanas weather forecast, just because I don’t know about something or don’t believe in something doesn’t make it not real. God is at work, I’m making it a goal not to miss what he’s doing or what he wants to do.

There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:

• for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit,
• to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit,
• to another faith by the same Spirit,
• to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit,
• to another the working of miracles,
• to another prophecy,
• to another discerning of spirits,
• to another different kinds of tongues,
• to another the interpretation of tongues.

But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. (1 Corinthians 12.4 – 11, NKJV, bulleted for clarity)

We continue looking at the book of Acts – last week, the 5x5x5 Reading Plan had us in Acts 5 – 9. As we would expect in any story that starts with a bang, successes at every turn, when is the “uh-oh” coming? And we’re not disappointed. It starts with deception in the ranks:

But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife’s knowledge, he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. (Acts 5.1, 2, ESV)

But the central message of Acts 5 is more POWER. It starts with what some would call today “a word of knowledge.”

But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?” (Acts 5.3, ESV)

You can read the whole story here, which ends, after the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira, with this understatement:

And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things. (Acts 5.11, ESV)

A friend of mine was reading this chapter with someone who had never read it before, and that new believer exclaimed, “Well I guess!”

First problem solved, and we’re right back into POWER:

Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles…And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed. (Acts 5.12 – 16, ESV)

More success, followed by a continuation of the Acts 4 persecution. Details to follow.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. (Acts 1.8, ESV)

You’ve seen the old unofficial motto of the Postal Service, haven’t you?

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

I haven’t put much stock in it since moving to Colorado: our guys don’t come out in heavy snow (nor do I expect them to). It’s apparently a different story in the northeast. In the middle of CNN’s reporting of the historic blizzard last weekend in New England was this inspiring act:

For Nick, about whom I know nothing except this report, it’s just another day at the office. You have to be impressed with his dedication, yes, faithfulness.

What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. (2 Timothy 2.2, ESV, emphasis mine)

I started yesterday’s blog on falling iguanas as a bit of whimsy and to underscore the point that just because I haven’t heard of something doesn’t mean it’s not real. But the blog ended with this scripture:

And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” (Acts 19.1, 2, ESV)

I put it in as an example of “just because I haven’t heard of something doesn’t mean it’s not real.” These Ephesian believers hadn’t heard of the Holy Spirit. But there’s something bigger going on, and it ties back to the healing of the lame man in Acts 3 we’ve been looking at this week.

The question is, do we expect these kinds of things to happen today? Many of us don’t, or we might say, “Sure, they could happen, but they probably don’t.”

The fact is that miracles are happening today, and just because they’re not happening around me doesn’t mean they’re not happening. Look at this story from Dr. J.P. Moreland, distinguished professor of philosophy at Talbot School of Theology (a conservative seminary):

In the middle of nowhere, two Christians were driving in the mountains of Iran in a car that was full of Bibles. Without warning, the steering wheel jammed and they were forced to the side of the road. Suddenly an old man was knocking at the car’s window, asking them where the books were. Confused, they asked what books he was referring to, and he responded, “The books about Jesus.” Continuing, the old man said an angel had recently appeared to him in a vision and shared about Jesus, and the man later discovered that everyone in his village had just had the very same vision! They had all believed in Jesus. Now the old man had a village full of infant Christians who had no idea what to do next. The old man shared that in another dream, Jesus told him to walk down the mountain and stand beside the road, and someone would bring him books about Jesus. He obeyed and selected the spot where he would stand, and just as expected, a supply of Bibles written in their language was provided for his village.

— A Simple Guide to Experience Miracles: Instruction and Inspiration for Living Supernaturally in Christ by J. P. Moreland, page 1

Or how about this answer to prayer? Dr. Moreland moved to Southern California in 1989 to teach at Talbot, and they wanted to keep their two girls, age 10 and 8 at the time, close to them. So they turned their garage into a recreation room so that their friends would want to play at their house. Four years later, the girls asked if they could add a pool table to the recreation room. Dr. Moreland said they could have one if God provided one for free. Here’s the story from there:

The girls responded by saying that we should ask God for it, so we gathered in the living room, formed a circle, and held hands. We each prayed for the table, but I wanted a good one, so when it was my turn to pray, I asked the Lord, specifically, for a free pool table—like the good ones you find in a sports bar. And that was that. Allison was on a soccer team that involved about fifteen families we didn’t know very well. Two weeks after our prayer circle, a father I had never spoken with walked up to me during a game—literally out of the blue and for no apparent reason. After about a minute of chatting, he asked me if I could use a pool table. Only our immediate family knew we were praying for one, and when he asked me this question, I almost fell over! I was astonished, so I asked him why he had approached me—out of all the other people at the game. We didn’t even know each other! He responded by saying that he was a Christian, and he had simply sensed that the Lord was nudging him to approach me.

— A Simple Guide to Experience Miracles: Instruction and Inspiration for Living Supernaturally in Christ by J. P. Moreland, page 73, 74

I’m beginning to believe that there is power available whether I have availed myself of it or not. If you have a miracle story, please share it with us either as a comment, or you can send it to me in an email: bob@ewell.com.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1.8, ESV)

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us… (Ephesians 3.20, ESV)

This blog falls into the category of whimsical, but when I learn something new, no matter how useless, I like to share it! And there’s an application, too, I think:

Just because I haven’t heard of it, doesn’t mean it’s not real.

Check out this recent weather forecast from the Weather Prediction Center, the official site of the National Weather Service:

Elsewhere, Freeze Watches and Warnings are in effect for much of the Florida Peninsula for tonight. Much of the state will remain mostly clear and frigid tonight with the chance for scattered to isolated falling iguanas…

Say what? It turns out that since iguanas are cold-blooded, temperatures below 40 degrees paralyze them temporarily, and if they’re up in a tree when that happens, they fall out. They’re not dead, and people should stay away from them because some of them are big, and when they wake up, they can hurt you. I would also think they can hurt you if they fall on you! Hence the warning.

And again, just because I haven’t heard of something, doesn’t mean it’s not real.

And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” (Acts 19.1, 2, ESV)

Wow. That sparks a thought… More tomorrow.

The story of the healing of the lame man in Acts 3 continues into Acts 4 where Peter and John face the Jewish authorities and make only one point:

Power to heal through Jesus

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4.8 – 12, ESV)

The authorities threaten them, Peter and John return to their community and pray. They requested only one thing:

Power to speak about Jesus boldly

And now, Lord, look upon their threats 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.” And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. (Acts 4.29 – 31, ESV)

The chapter then closes with another source of power:

Power through community and on community

Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. (Acts 4.32 – 35, ESV)

What a combination! Power to heal, power to speak boldly, power through the community of believers. Again, it’s all about POWER.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1.8, ESV)

Let’s continue our observations from Acts. I love the story of Peter and John healing the lame man in Acts 3:

One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. (Acts 3.1 – 8, NIV)

When I read this story, I’m reminded of this exchange:

According to Cornelius a Lapide, Thomas Aquinas once called on Pope Innocent II when the latter was counting out a large sum of money. “You see, Thomas,” said the Pope, “the church can no longer say, ‘Silver and gold have I none.’” “True, holy father,” was the reply; “neither can she now say, ‘Rise and walk.’” Cited by F.F. Bruce

And it’s not just the Catholics. Few of our churches of any stripe would say, “Rise and walk.” Some argue that the ability to heal as Peter did in Acts 3 went away with the apostles. I don’t think so. If it went away, it went away when churches became part of the mainstream in 300 A.D. In short, many of our churches believe, as the church of Ladodecia believed:

I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing… (Revelation 3.17, ESV)

But here are Peter and John who heard Jesus say:

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. (John 14.12, ESV)

“Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do” – and Peter and John believed Jesus! So he told the man to rise and walk because he had seen Jesus cause people to rise and walk. (See, for example, John 5.1 – 8.) Later, Peter was clear:

And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all. (Acts 3.12 – 16, ESV)

It’s not my power, it’s his power, as we observed a couple weeks ago.

And from the beginning, it’s been about POWER. We’ll stay on this subject another day or two.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1.8, ESV)