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The Conquest (1780)
Acts 4 tells of the great conquest of Jesus Christ, the one who died and arose from the grave.
He is still alive and well; the Christ that walked the shores of Galilee is alive through His new body, the Church, even today.
Because He lives, His persecution continues. Adrian Rogers says, “When you persecute the church, you persecute Jesus.”
At the beginning of Acts 4, a miracle was performed by the disciple, Peter. He claimed it was the power of Christ in Him who healed. As a result, the people were beginning to follow Jesus. The religious leaders didn’t like it, and began persecuting the Church. But because the apostles were acting as the hands and the feet of the Lord, it was Jesus who was persecuted, too.
Because He lives, His preaching convinces. How did these uneducated fishermen preach and five thousand come to Christ? They were not dependent upon their power of persuasion or winsomeness to bring these people to Christ. It was the people’s encounter with Christ through the disciples that convinced them to believe.
Because He lives, His power confronts. There are things happening in this world today that are undeniably done by the hand of Jesus. He is still performing miracles.
Because He lives, His presence compels. After spending time with the resurrected Christ, Peter was compelled to tell others about Him. If we spend time with Jesus, we will be as bold as His disciples. His presence will compel us with a holy boldness; a knowledge that Jesus is alive and He lives through us.
Finally, because He lives, His people confess. Acts 4:20 says, “For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” Anybody who has known that Christ is alive cannot keep quiet; we cannot hold it in.
Because He is alive, we can wear persecution like a badge of honor. We can let Jesus convince, confront and compel others through us.
Let us not be ashamed to confess what He has done in our lives.
Apply it to your life
Do you know that Jesus is alive? Does your life reflect this? Stay in the presence of Jesus.
Like an iron in the fire, let there be a holy boldness about you. Tell someone about Jesus today.
REVEALING JESUS' MISSION BEYOND THE MANGER
Christmas’ true meaning is often overshadowed by the glitz and glamor of beautiful decorations, gifts, and parties. For the followers of Jesus Christ, the true meaning of Christmas began long before the manger scene in Bethlehem. By studying the Old and New Testaments, we can know who this Child is and why He came to Earth.
Jesus Himself told His disciples that all of Scripture testifies of who He is, but each of us must decide what we understand and believe about our Savior. When we know the author and the hero of the Bible, we can better understand all of what the Bible is saying to us as His followers. He did not come from Heaven down to Earth so we could celebrate a happy holiday; He came with an intentional ministry of redemption, revelation, and restoration—that is a great reason to celebrate!
