We open the Word of God today to the fifth chapter
of the book of Acts. A pattern emerges in Luke's
historical record which involves his relating
specific events followed by a general summary
of the situation in the early church. We see
that, for example, in the second chapter of Acts
when he talks specifically about what happened
on the day of Pentecost. That is followed in
verses 41 through 47 of a summary statement of
the condition of the early believers in the Jerusalem
church. Again, we see that happen when he speaks
in chapters 3 and 4 about the healing of the
lame man, the persecution which began after that.
followed by a summary statement beginning in
verse 32 of the fourth chapter. We see that again
in the text today. From the specifics that we
studied last week regarding the gift of Joseph
called Barnabas and the hypocrisy of Ananias
and Sapphira, we come to a summary statement
beginning in verse 12 in the fifth chapter. And
then once again, that leads us to more specific
records of what took place. He says, And all
the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of
men and women were constantly added to their
number, to such an extent that they even carried
the sick out into the streets and laid them on
cots and pallets, so that when Peter came by,
at least his shadow might fall on any one of
them. And also the people from the cities in
the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together,
bringing people who were sick or afflicted with
unclean spirits. And they were all being healed.
But the high priest rose up along with all his
associates, that is, the sect of the Sadducees,
and they were filled with jealousy. And they
laid hands on the apostles and put them in a
public jail. But an angel of the Lord, during
the night, opened the gates of the prison. And
taking them out, he said, Go your way, stand
and speak to the people in the temple the whole
message of this life. And upon hearing this,
they entered into the temple about daybreak and
began to teach. Now when the high priest and
his associates had come together, they called
the council together, even all the senate of
the sons of Israel, and sent orders to the prison
house for them to be brought. But the officers
who came did not find them in the prison. And
they returned and reported back, saying, We found
the prison doors locked quite securely and the
guards standing at the doors. When we had opened
up, we found no one inside. Now when the captain
of the temple guard and the chief priests heard
these words, they were greatly perplexed about
them as to what would come of this. But someone
came and reported to them, Behold, the men whom
you put in prison are standing in the temple
and teaching the people. Then the captain went
along with the officers and proceeded to bring
them back without violence, for they were afraid
of the people, lest they should be stoned. All
we have in the early part of our text today is
a summary report on the condition of the church.
It flows very naturally from chapter 4, verse
35, where it says they laid at the apostles'
feet the proceeds of the sales of their lands,
and they would distribute to each as any had
need. And at the hands of the apostles, many
signs and wonders were being done. So you see
how nicely that flows? But the Holy Spirit causes
Luke to interject the specifics, which he does
and which we studied in the text last week. Each
of the summaries in the book of Acts deals with
a similar theme. That theme seems to be the power
of God and its results in the lives of the converts
and of others. Thus, the book of Acts could better
be known as the Acts of the Holy Spirit, for
it is the working of God the Holy Spirit. in
the early church that is recorded in these texts.
Our passage today centers basically on two geographical
locations which were in the same proximity. The
one is the portico of Solomon, mentioned in verse
12, and the other is the public jail in verse
19. Now the jail in verse 19 may be the same
one as mentioned in chapter 4, verse 3, when
Peter and John were placed in jail until the
next day. The language is a little different
here. It's called the public jail. It may mean
that they were jailed publicly, or it could be
that this was, in fact, a jail which was more
ignominious than the one earlier mentioned. That
earlier one in chapter 4 was undoubtedly right
there on the Temple Mount, whereas this one may
have been another one, a more public jail, which
was nearby. But wherever the action takes place,
the theme clearly is God's power, His power being
released and manifested through His people to
achieve God's desired results. The thing that
I want to write upon our hearts today is this,
that the power of God is at work even today in
and through the lives of God's people. We are,
by the grace of God, a supernaturally empowered
people because of our relationship by faith with
the supernatural God. We are not people who have
only natural abilities. We do have those. But
there is about us that which is supernatural,
because we are a part of a supernatural kingdom
and family, the kingdom and the family of God.
That was true also of these people that we read
about in Acts 5. Let's look at the text. and
divided around the two locations that we've mentioned.
First we see God's power at the portico, or the
porch, of Solomon. This was a long colonnade
on the east side of the temple's outer court.
It is called the porch of Solomon because it
was supposed to have been a part of the original
temple built by Solomon. Thus it had his name.
It was a place that many people gathered. It
was, for example, a place where Jesus himself
taught. In John chapter 10, we have one instance
of that specifically recorded. But in verse 23,
it says it was winter and Jesus was walking in
the temple in the portico of Solomon. That was
not too long before what we're reading about
here in the book of Acts. You understand that.
Jesus walked in this very place, and he taught
the Jews there. On this occasion, they said to
him, how long will you keep us in suspense? If
you are the Christ, tell us plainly. And so he
did tell them plainly, and they picked up stones
to kill him. Now we see once again the very message
of Jesus Christ being delivered on the portico
of Solomon, and again, opposition comes. This
same porch was where Peter and John preached
to the great multitude that gathered after the
healing of the crippled man. It apparently became
a natural and popular meeting place for the early
church. They, of course, had no facility, as
churches have today, in which to meet, and they
thus used part of the temple area commonly for
their large gatherings. Now it says that there
at that porch, the power of God was manifested
in what are called signs and wonders. What are
signs and wonders? Well, the word signs is used
of miracles which point to a divine truth. In
other words, God has said something, and here
is a sign that points to the truthfulness of
that statement. A wonder is likewise a miracle,
but its purpose is to evoke awe. It is to strike
wonder in the hearts of the observers. There
may or may not be some revelation in connection
with it. Signs and wonders were being done. And
we have in verses 15 and 16, the kind of miracles,
wonders, and signs that were being performed.
By the way, the King James Version, I think properly,
puts a parenthesis in the middle of verse 12
through the end of verse 14. That section seems
to stand by itself, whereas if you read the first
part of verse 12, talking about the signs and
wonders taking place among the people, and go
to verse 15, it flows very naturally. He says
these were to such an extent that they even carried
the sick out into the streets. Now, those were
not the narrow Jerusalem streets. The word here
means the broad ways, the plazas, the squares
around the city. And they laid them on cots,
which were more substantial type beds, and pallets,
which were basically blankets, as we would think
of them, that could be rolled up quite easily,
so that when Peter... Now, it does not specifically
state here that anybody was healed by Peter's
shadow falling on him. There are those who say,
indeed, that is the suggestion, and therefore
probably the case, and it may have been. There
would be as much merit in that happening, I suppose,
as one touching the hem of our Lord's garment.
It does not specifically state that that was
the case, though, and this may have simply been
kind of a superstition that quickly rose up,
that only if they could get that close to Peter,
they might be healed. But whatever the case,
it says, also the people from the cities in the
vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together, bringing
the people who were sick or afflicted with unclean
spirits, and they were all being healed. It talks
here about those who were physically ill or diseased.
That is the sick. And it differentiates those
who were demon -possessed. Luke, being a careful
physician, carefully noted the difference between
the two groups. But it says whichever group they
were in, they were all being healed. There was
not a healing line for some of them. There was
not a case where they had a public meeting and
people were psyched up to be healed. But here
was a case where people were just streaming in
from all around Jerusalem here to the portico
of Solomon. And it says they were all, every
one of them, being healed. The signs and wonders
were amazing. These were miracles intended for
a divine purpose. And that purpose primarily
at this point was to testify to the unbelieving
nation of Israel that the message that was being
proclaimed by these men, these apostles, was
authentically, genuinely from God, and they had
better listen to it. Now, I think it's important
to notice what it says again back in verse 12,
that at the hands of the apostles, many signs
and wonders were being done. Not everybody was
doing these things. Only 12 men who were the
apostles. At their hands, the healings, the demon
deliverances were taking place. Now that's to
be expected after all. That's what Jesus really
predicted would happen. Back in the Gospel of
Mark in the 16th chapter. He says, these signs
will accompany those who have believed. In my
name they will cast out demons. They will speak
with new tongues. They will pick up serpents.
And if they drink any deadly poison, it shall
not hurt them. They will lay hands on the sick
and they will recover. Now there are those who
say, well, this is talking about all believers.
But if you look at the context, Jesus is talking
to the 11. To the 11. Later to become 12 when
they added Matthias. Here in the book of Acts.
And so it is at the hands of the apostles as
Jesus had predicted that all of these things
were taking place. That these were the signs
of the apostles is made clear by a word in 2
Corinthians chapter 12. And I'd like you to look
at that as well because it deals with another
individual who was an apostle, this time Paul.
He was not one of the twelve. In 2 Corinthians
12, 12, Paul, in defense of his own apostleship,
which was under attack, says, The signs of a
true apostle were performed among you with all
perseverance. Now, what were these signs that
he was truly an apostle? Well, he calls them
signs, wonders, and miracles. In other words,
these amazing feats were not being done by everybody
in general in the early church, as we are sometimes
led to believe, but they were being done by just
a few people. They were, in fact, the signs of
the apostles. And so one would expect, then,
that when the apostles left the scene, that the
signs, wonders, and miracles which were their
signs, would also leave. And in fact, that's
exactly what happened. In the first place, history
records that. And secondly, Scripture seems to
indicate that. Turn to Hebrews chapter 2. We
do not know who wrote this book. But whoever
it was seems to have been in the second generation
from the Lord Jesus. By what he says here. And
how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation,
he asks. After it was at the first spoken through
the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who
heard. That is, who heard him. And so he says,
the Lord spoke, and there were those who heard
him, and then they told us. So you see, he's
in that second generation. And he says, God also...
bearing witness with them, that is, those who
heard him, both by signs and wonders and by various
miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according
to his own will. This book was written in 68,
69 A .D. And by that time, all of the apostles
had been killed or had died except for the apostle
John. And the signs of the apostles were disappearing
quickly from the scene. In fact, he indicates
here. that for the most part, they were gone.
He says God bore witness to them with signs,
wonders, miracles. They were not the possession
of even that second generation of believers in
the early church. And so at the hands of the
apostles, as we come back to Acts chapter 5,
because that was their ministry, these signs
and wonders were being done. Now this manifestation
of God's power at the porch had five results.
Number one, there was the heightened sense of
unity among the believers. Notice that at the
end of verse 12. They were all with one accord
in Solomon's portico. The unity that they sensed
was not some relaxed feeling that they had. It
was not just a theological doctrine, but it was
something very intense, very real. Now why was
that? Well, because of the signs and wonders
that were being done. That brought them together
and made them sense their oneness. A second result
is found in verse 13. It was an intense fear.
And that fear was basically among the rest who
dared not to associate with them. Who are these
people? The rest. Well, there are commentators
who have different opinions about that, but it
seems that they are those who are merely curious.
These were the fringe onlookers. They were not
sincere seekers after the truth, but they were
only those who were there for the sideshow. There
were those who enjoyed seeing these kinds of
things happen. They heard about Ananias and Sapphira,
and then there were all these healings and demon
deliverances taking place with all the sights
and the sounds involved. They were there to see
these things, but they didn't get too close.
They kept their distance, you see, because of
the fear that was created in them. Back in verse
11, it mentions the great fear that was upon
the church, but also all those who heard of these
things. A third result of this power of God being
released is increased popularity. We notice in
verse 13 that the people, that is the masses
in general, held them, the apostles and the early
church, in high esteem. In other words, that
miracle in chapter 3 had captured their imagination.
And now the repeated miracles, not just one lame
man, but person after person being healed of
this disease or that, or demons being cast out.
All of these miracles caused the public awareness
and interest in this group of people to be multiplied
tremendously. So there was increased popularity.
as a result of the miracles and the power of
God. Fourthly, it resulted in multitudes of new
converts. Some of those people were saved. Verse
14, it says, all the more believers in the Lord,
multitudes of men and women were constantly added.
This is the first time that Luke specifically
notes that women were among the converts. That
doesn't mean that they were not converted before
this, but Luke... Take special note of the women
here, and you will find that that is characteristic
of Luke. He is very sympathetic toward women
and does all that he can in his writing of his
books to elevate them because they were oppressed
in the society in which he lived. And so he specifically
notes here that both men and women in multitudes
were believing on the Lord Jesus Christ and being
constantly added to the church. And notice also
that these people came from the cities around
Jerusalem, and it specifically states here that
now the gospel is going into Judea. Remember
the order, Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria? Well, here,
because of the miracles being done, the gospel
is going out into Judea, and from all these little
villages surrounding Jerusalem, back up in the
valleys and the ravines, on the hilltops, Around
the city, there were streams of people coming,
bringing their sick. And as a result of the healing
and the power of God being manifested there,
they believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. Then
there is a fifth result of God's power being
exposed and revealed here, and that is an angry
jealousy, verse 17, among the religious leaders,
especially the Sadducees. It says the high priest
rose up along with all his associates. And Luke
says that is the sect or the group of the Sadducees.
The Sadducees were quite opposed to this movement
because they denied the resurrection of anybody,
let alone the Lord Jesus Christ. They denied
supernatural things. Whereas the Pharisees...
were opposed to Jesus primarily in the Gospels.
They seemed to take a more moderate seat in the
book of Acts. And it's the Sadducees, the liberals,
we might say, of that day, which really opposed
the early church. We notice that it resulted
in the arrest of the twelve. It says that they
were filled with jealousy and laid hands on the...
Notice, by the way, what it was that motivated
them. This was more than just a doctrinal issue.
This was a matter of popularity among the people.
Remember I told you before, the Sadducees wanted
to keep the status quo. That was their primary
concern because they were on the top of the heap.
Everybody looked up to them. They were the wealthy
people. And they wanted everything to be quiet
around Jerusalem. And suddenly they have multitudes
of people on their hands who are getting all
excited about this Jesus and who are being healed
and delivered from demons. And so out of jealousy,
really, they were motivated to put the twelve
into jail. It is interesting to note that when
Jesus was arrested, and then turned over to the
Romans to be crucified, it is stated in Mark
15 .10 that it was envy on their part then that
turned him over. And this is the same Caiaphas,
the same Annas, the same group of Sadducees that
attacked the Lord Jesus Christ. The very same
people, motivated by a very similar sin, now
attacks the apostles. Well, that brings us to
the second location, which is the prison. It's
amazing how many times those early Christians
did their work behind the bars. It says here
that God's power was released in the prison through
a supernatural release. And isn't it rather ironic
that it was done by an angel? First time, by
the way, angels are mentioned in the book of
Acts. but in this part of Acts. But isn't it
ironic that the very beings that the Sadducees
denied even existed were those who released the
apostles? The Sadducees said angels don't exist.
So in response to that, God sent an angel down
and got the 12 out of jail. And it says that
it happened during the night. I think it's also
interesting here that with all these miracles
going on, that the apostles consented to go to
jail. Why didn't they say, Lord, would you just
send down a little fire here and lick up these
people? We'll be rid of them. We'll get on about
our business. They didn't do that. Nor did God
initiate that. God took them away from that miraculous
atmosphere at the porch. and allowed them to
be put into jail. And it was during the night
that the gates of the prison were opened by the
angel. He took them out, and notice what he says
to them. Go your way, stand your ground, essentially
is what he says, be steadfast, and preach or
speak to the people. Now what were they to speak?
He calls it here, The whole message of this life.
This is an unusual description of the gospel.
It's called the message of this life. Why is
it called that? Well, one reason may be because
the Hebrews basically associated salvation with
life. In fact, there's one Hebrew word that's
translated into the Greek by both the words salvation
and life. The very same Hebrew word. Because
you see, when the Hebrews spoke of salvation,
they thought of life. And when they thought of
life, they thought of salvation. The two were
together to them. And so it could as well say
the whole message of this salvation. I think
it's called life here specifically. And the Holy
Spirit does choose that particular Greek word
in this context. It's called life here specifically.
Because the Lord Jesus Christ is the life. And
because those who believe on him receive life.
And so it's called the message of this life.
I want to say something else at this point as
well. I hear some people talk about the Christian
way of life as though almost to imply that Christianity
is only an ethical system which people can follow.
It is true that Christianity does involve an
ethical system, but it is much more than a system
of ethics. It is more than a Christian, quote,
way of life. For the biblical Christianity involves
a message which says that people are dead in
trespasses and sins, but that they can be made
alive through faith in Jesus Christ. In other
words, it involves the message that life is imparted
from God to man through the new birth. That's
why it's called the message of this life. When
a person is saved, it means that he is raised
from the dead on the inside. He is something
he wasn't before. He is a new creature and old
things have passed away. That is biblical Christianity.
It involves the actual impartation of life itself.
And as a result of that, then, of course, there
is a way of life. But I feel sorry for those
people who think that being a Christian means
living a Christian way, or a Christianly way,
as I've heard it expressed. because that's not
what it means to be a Christian. To be a Christian
means to be the recipient of life from God. And
then as a result of that life, of course, the
individual's lifestyle is impacted. Well, we
have the miracle here in God's power revealed
in the prison doors being opened, but there's
a subtle miracle that is not specifically stated,
and that is that the doors were locked again.
And the guards didn't even know that they were
gone. You say, how does that happen? I have no
idea. It's a miracle. But what's the outcome
of this anyway? Well, there are two. Number one,
there's a great opportunity. The apostles were
given even greater notoriety because of what
happened. After all, it was in public that they
were arrested there at the temple. Everybody
knew that they were arrested. I am sure that
that news went through Jerusalem like a wildfire.
And now at dawn on the next day, here these same
guys are back in the temple preaching. That is
going to arrest the people's attention once again,
and they're going to say, what has happened here?
And so there was a great opportunity given by
the Lord for the gospel to be preached by the
apostles. As someone said, the apostles were
saved out of prison to serve. And that's why
we are saved as well out of our prison of sin
to serve the Lord. And then there was great perplexity
as well. In verse 24 it says that when the captain
of the temple guard, the chief priest, heard
these words, they were greatly perplexed. Literally
it says they were at their wit's end. They did
not know what to do next. They could not handle
this group of people. They tried to warn them
in a firm way to be quiet. They could not shut
them up. They tried to ignore them and they began
doing miracles at the temple. They threw them
into jail and now they're out of jail and they
can't explain how. Even to save their own skins,
they can't explain how. And here they've called
together this great council. which involved not
only the Sanhedrin, but also probably a large
group of the elders of Israel, and they have
no way to explain why they don't have the prisoners.
But they are delivered from their dilemma, because
someone came and said, Behold, the men that you
put in prison are standing in the temple teaching
the people. I would imagine they threw their
hands to their head, and they said, Now, now
what? Well, the captain... went along with officers,
and they proceeded to bring them back without
violence. And so there was a second arrest. And
notice that Luke records specifically it was
without violence. Basically, you could put it
this way. The officers went to the temple, and
they said, Hey, fellas, look, we know you got
out of jail, but we're not finished with you
yet. Would you mind coming back? We'd like to
have a little trial. So please, pretty please.
And so without violence, very calmly, they took
them. Now the reason they had to approach it
that way, Luke also explains, the officers were
afraid of the people, lest they should be stoned.
You see, the Jews, when they would get upset
in those days, had this habit of picking up rocks
and throwing them. Now they're going to do that
in just a couple of chapters to Stephen. They're
going to kill him. And the soldiers knew that
they could as well be targets. because they would
not be popular with these masses who were thronging
around the apostles in their preaching. But we're
going to leave the narrative at that point and
pick it up again next week and close with some
lessons that we can hope, I hope, apply to our
lives. What can we learn from this record of
God's power in action? God's power expressed
there at the portico is signs and wonders and
in prison with a miraculous release. What can
we learn from all of this? Well, it seems to
me that there are four expectations that you
and I can have. Number one, we can expect God's
power to make a difference in lives. My friend,
where God is working, there will be amazing things
take place. The entrance of God into a life...
into a family makes a difference. I wish that
all of you could read the testimonies that I'm
privileged to read when our new members come
into the church. As most of you know, they write
out those testimonies. And some of the expressions
of God's reality and God's power in lives and
in marriages, in families, has brought me to
tears. As people express what God has done, in
delivering them from sin, from habits, from the
work of Satan, from alcohol and drugs, from depression
and misery. It is a marvelous thing to see the
difference that the power of God makes in individual
lives. We can expect that to always happen. But
that does not mean that we will necessarily see
identical things happen today as happened back
here in Acts chapter 5. God doesn't always do
the same things in the same way. Keep that in
mind. I know there are people who say, well,
it says Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today,
and forever. And bless God, that's true. He is
the same. He is the same. That's his nature.
But he doesn't always work. in the same way.
You see, God is a God of infinite variety, of
unlimited creativity, of absolute freedom, and
he can work any way that he wishes to. Well,
someone says, why don't we see miracles today?
Why don't we see signs and wonders today, like
in Acts chapter 5? Did you realize that all of
history, since the beginning, that all of history
records only three general periods of time when
miracles were prominently God's way. I'm speaking
about the time of God's release of his people
from Egypt, the exodus, and the conquest of the
land of Canaan. That's one period. A second period
is the time of the prophets, primarily Elijah
and Elisha. And the third time is the ministry
of Christ and the early church and the apostles.
Only three periods of time in all of history
when God's way of dealing with mankind has been
primarily in that order. You say, is it ever
going to happen again? Yes. In the tribulation
period, there will be amazing miracles that will
take place, unexplainable things. Perhaps even
some of the greatest of miracles will take place
at that time in the future. But friend, miracles
are not the norm. Or they wouldn't be miracles.
You think about that. Well, someone says if there
were only more miracles, then we'd see more people
coming to Christ. We need more miracles. Do you
realize that that is man's way of thinking and
it's not God's wisdom? Go back to Luke chapter
16. I'll prove this to you. Luke chapter 16.
The last part of the chapter records the story
of the poor man, Lazarus, who died and went to
paradise, to Abraham's bosom it's called, and
then the rich man who died and went to hell,
to Hades. He cried out to Abraham, saying, Send
Lazarus to give me some comfort. And Abraham
said, Child, remember, verse 25, that during
your life you received your good things, and
likewise Lazarus bad things, but now he's being
comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides
all this, between us and you, there's a great
chasm fixed, in order that those who wish to
come over from here to you may not be able. and
that none may cross from there to us. So he said,
Then I beg you, Father, that you send him to
my father's house, for I have five brothers,
that he may warn them, lest they also come to
this place of torment. And Abraham said, They
have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them.
And he said, No, Father Abraham, but if someone
goes to them from the dead, they'll repent. Do
you see what he's saying? This man who's in hell
is pleading that someone be sent to his family
who's still on the earth. And he's saying, tell
someone to go to them, that they may be saved.
And Abraham's response is, well, they have the
law. They have the writings of the prophets.
Let them hear them. And so this man is... regenerate
man who is in hell says, no, wait a minute. If
only there was a miracle. If only somebody would
rise from the dead, they would listen. But notice
Abraham's response. If they do not listen to
Moses and the prophets, neither will they be
persuaded if someone rises from the dead. That's
God's wisdom. You say, well, that isn't true.
If someone were to rise from the dead, the people
would listen. Do you realize someone has been
raised from the dead? His name is Jesus Christ,
but people will not listen. My friend, faith
does not rest upon miracles. It rests upon the
word of God. We do not need more miracles today
so the people will get saved. It is no less miraculous,
though, no less powerful to see one person converted.
The heart of man is so hardened in his rebellion
against God that it is a miracle that anybody,
that any one of us, repents of his sin and turns
to Jesus Christ in faith. God is still a miracle
-working God. may respond and answer to prayer
today because God still can deliver the diseased.
He still can deliver the demonized. He still
can deliver his disciples who are in jail. But
that is not the norm. God does do it. God can
do it. But that is not the norm for the age in
which you and I are living at this point. Nonetheless,
we can expect to see the power of God manifested
in individuals' lives as they respond to Jesus
Christ. That is God's method. There's a second
expectation. We can expect that formal religion
will oppose the genuine work of God. You see
that here in Acts 5. The formal religion of the
Sadducees and all of its deadness. in all of
its status quo condition, opposed the genuine
work of God. That's because there are basically
two religious systems in the world. There's God's
and there's the devil's. God's is based upon
faith as man's response to salvation. The devil's
is based upon works, saying man has to work.
God's system of true religion, involves the gift
of righteousness to an individual who believes
so that he's right with God. The devil's clever
system involves self -righteousness so that a
person senses that he is right with God because
of his own goodness. God's system leads to heaven.
The devil's system leads to hell. The two are...
to one another, and they are locked in conflict.
We have not seen a great deal of that outwardly
in our day. There have been believers before
us who have faced the sword or other forms of
martyrdom or imprisonment because of the battle
between formal religion and the true work of
God. I do believe this, I am persuaded of this,
that we are on the brink of another period like
that. There's a third expectation that we can
have as we look at the text today, and that is
that we can expect that suffering will often
follow success in ministry. Oh, we would like
it that there was always success, that there
was always blessing, that we were always on the
mountain. We can trace it in the ministry of
organizations and of churches, of individuals,
that when there is success, there often follows
suffering. And indeed, I think that we can say
that the work that claims to be God's, but which
in the long run faces no opposition and no battle,
no suffering, is probably a fraud. Because Satan
will attack and work against the work of God.
From within, from without, he will attack. And
God allows that to take place, to test and to
prove what is genuinely his, to sift and to purify.
That's why we must make the most of our brief
opportunity. We're not guaranteed tomorrow. And
then there is a final expectation as a result
of the look at our text this morning. We can
expect that all of life's circumstances, yours
and mine, are ordained by a loving, sovereign
God.