SCRIP-BITS

Acts 5:29.    Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
 
Oh Friends, it’s Friday! And all God’s people released a tired but grateful sigh as they mouthed: ‘Thank God is Friday yes!’ They have been looking forward to this day and the weekend of no labour, from since Monday morning as they left home to go to work. And unfortunately the constant mental, emotional and physical pressure of going to work for those five days has taken a toll on them. But Friends, I’m here to buoy and calm our spirits so that we don’t get too lethargic or too effervescent over the next couple of days. And we’ll start doing that by chanting our Friday Chant with as much gusto as we can muster. All together now, in one loud, prayerful voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’ Yes Friends, I know that some of you have it fairly rough, having young children to look after before work, then fight the traffic to work and deal with all sorts of emotional and physical situations there, then fight the traffic back home and look after your families again. Some of you work even harder at home on the weekends, cleaning up and preparing for the following week, than you do at the job that hopefully pays you a living wage. But don’t worry my people, the Lord sees all your efforts and eventually you will be well rewarded, if you don’t give up. Just remember that living for Jesus is not an easy lifestyle, but it certainly is interesting and oftimes adventurous, cause we never know what’s the next situation He’s going to throw up before us. Remember too, that whatever He brings us to, He will also bring us through it, if we allow Him to lead and guide us. This brings us to our Bit: ‘Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.’ And that my friends is gospel, gospel truth! Believers ought to obey the dictates of God if they seriously conflict with the dictates of men. And why is that? Simply because the law of God is higher than that of men. God is our Creator, Controller and Provider, while man is merely flesh and bones and cannot create or control most of the stuff around him. Our Bit gives us a perfect example of upholding God’s law over man’s. The apostles had been preaching Christ crucified and risen in the temple at Jerusalem, with great crowds gathering to listen and many being saved. This obviously did not sit well with the Jewish leaders, so they dragged the apostles off to jail, warning them to stop preaching Christ. But please remember my brethren that our God is the greatest Being in the universe, and when you’re doing His work nothing is impossible. Consequently, as the Good Book notes: ‘But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life. And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning and taught.’ (Acts 5:19-21a) Yes mih people, our God does move in mysterious ways, His sovereignty to show and glorify! So later on, when the elders, gathered together in the council chambers, sent for the apostles, they couldn’t be found in the prison, though all the gates and other security measures, including the keepers were perfectly all right and in place. And isn’t it strange that the elders who were supposed to be such godly and righteous beings doubted the situation. It just shows how little they really knew about or trusted God. But in the midst of their disbelief, someone came into the chamber and told them: ‘Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people.’ (Acts 5:25) Now can you imagine the anger, rage and disbelief that must have gone through that hypocritical bunch of council members? But good for them, they were smart enough to tread softly: ‘Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them (the apostles) without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned.’ (Acts 5:26) It makes me chuckle Friends, because in the final analysis, in spite of all their big talk, the council was afraid of the people, so they made sure that the apostles were taken without any fuss. And when they’re finally brought before the council, the high priest pompously declares: ‘Did we not straitly (strictly) command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.’ (Acts 5:28) That’s when the apostles put them in their place, told them where to get off. In the words of our Bit, they solemnly declared: ‘We ought to obey God rather than man.’  Oh Friends, that’s how we believers ought to act when we’re threatened or challenged by a secular power, or even a wrong, hypocritical religious one, re speaking the Word of God! And we’ll end with a brief explanation of our Bit by the scholars. ‘Peter is not sanctioning civil disobedience, as he makes clear in his first epistle (1 Pet.2:13-17; cf. Rom:13:1-7). We are to obey the civil government; but when it goes contrary to the explicit commands of God, we must obey God and be ready to suffer the consequences.’  Yes my people, if we’re to truly follow Jesus, then there will inevitably be consequences to pay, some light, but also harsh and difficult ones. However, we must always have that faith, that depth of feeling, that whatever the consequences, we will gladly pay them. In Jesus’ name. Amen. More on this tomorrow Friends, if God’s willing. Till then, please walk safely under His protective umbrella, proclaiming His holy name wherever we go, and willingly accepting whatever consequences come our way. Much LOVE!…whatever beliefs we hold…there will always be consequences to pay for holding them…