Ephesians 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.
Yesterday, we entered into a discussion concerning what happened to the Apostles and all the believers in the 5th Chapter of the Book of Acts. You may want to go back and read the Morning Message from yesterday (December 15, 2022) before continuing here.
What the Apostles and the First Century Church faced is EXACTLY what the Body of Christ is facing today. The Sadducees were the governing body at that time. They were in power over the people and the Temple was their domain. We can compare them to our governing officials today. They make the laws and they demand that we keep them no matter how ungodly they may be.
The Sadducees commanded that the Apostles stop preaching and teaching the Gospel of Christ, especially in the Temple. Why? Because they were losing their power and position. This is exactly what has happened in America over the past several decades and that is why the government took the Bible and prayer out of our public schools back in 1963.
The Sadducees arrested the Apostles and put them in prison in an attempt to stop the preaching of the Gospel. Obviously, if these men were in jail they could not preach to the people. The U.S. government has done the very same thing in America and over the past sixty years, we have seen a decline in the moral fiber of this nation because the leaders of the Church have acquiesced to the laws of men instead of standing on the Word of God!
But God had a Plan for His Church so He sent an Angel to open the doors of the prison and let the Apostles out. The Angel also spoke a Message to them. He said, “Go, stand in the Temple and speak to the people all the Words of this life.” (Acts 5:20) As stated yesterday, the Apostles, out of fear of the government, could have packed up their things and taken the Church to another place but they did not! They did exactly what the Word of the Angel of the Lord told them to do. They went right back to the Temple and continued doing what the Lord God Called them to do: Preach and Teach the Gospel of Christ!
I hope you can see the correlation between the Apostles in the First Century Church and the Body of Christ today. The government has done everything in its power to shut up Preachers and shut down the Gospel of Christ. This is also why they have encouraged the infiltration of Islam into America but that is a topic for another day.
The Apostles did not tuck tail and run. They stood strong in their faith and they obeyed the Word of God and because of their strength and obedience, the Sadducees became afraid of the people! They were not afraid of the twelve Apostles. They could easily seize twelve men. They were afraid of the thousands of people who were gathered in the Court of the Temple! The Bible tells us that they were afraid the people would stone them to death! Then the captain went with the officers and brought them without violence, for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned. (Acts 5:26)
The Constitution of the United States of America begins with “WE THE PEOPLE.” This nation belongs to we the people. It does not belong to the government and those who sit in high positions and make laws against us and the Word of God.
We the people must stand and obey the Word of God. The Apostle Paul said, And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. (Ephesians 5:11) It’s time for we the people of the Body of Christ to come together and take a stand for the Word of God. As Peter said, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29)
When we the people stand, God will…...….turn the tide
Standing strong! Doreen
www.bettsministries.org
