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22 “Preparing to be Heard”
Passage: Acts 4:1-4
The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees
came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people.
They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the
people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They
seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them
in jail until the next day. But many who heard the message believed,
and the number of men grew to about five thousand.
Devotion:
The leaders of the Jewish community had a pretty significant problem
on their hands. Peter and John continued to talk to the people,
they couldn’t keep them quiet, and the people were beginning
to listen, so they put them in jail until the next day.
Witnessing is like that. It seems as if we’re making no progress.
Our words are falling on deaf ears. We have nothing but opposition,
disagreement, and argumentative people. To make matters worse, we’re
put in jail – in the present day it might be a new policy
at work prohibiting religious discussions. Whatever the circumstances,
it can feel like you are making no progress at sharing the message.
The encouragement for me is in Verse 4, “but many who heard
the message believed”. Despite the fact that Peter and John
were now in jail -- many who had heard believed.
Previously in Acts 3, the people’s hearts were prepared to
hear by witnessing the healing of a man crippled since birth, someone
they had all seen or known about. It wasn’t as if these people
had never heard about Jesus, His claims, or the claims of His followers.
The difference was the circumstance – before their eyes the
cripple was healed – the example or demonstration of Jesus
power.
Question to Ponder:
What is the example or power that is evident in your life? Think
carefully about that. If you are having a problem with getting people
to listen to you about Jesus, then it could be He is not evident
in your life? You are the witness, is your life convincing?
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