Begin with two minutes of silence and stillness before God.
No good deed goes unpunished. I have no idea where that phrase came from, but reading Acts 4, it’s hard not to see it all over Peter and John’s story. After healing a crippled beggar at the temple gate in Acts 3, the pair are arrested and put in jail until they could face trial the next day. The religious leaders were frustrated because they could see their power and influence beginning to slip away through the rise of this Christian movement. You can see it in their question in verse 7, “By what power or authority did you do this?”
There really is nothing new under the sun. Power, popularity, authority, influence - that is what people crave. One of the most desired occupations in the world now is “Influencer.” We want influence, and we want to get paid to be influential. But when we look at the Church and God’s people, it is clear that power does not come from influence.
“Now, when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived they were uneducated common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” Acts 4:13-14.
Uneducated. Common. I can’t get past those characteristics. These were your everyday guys. They didn’t stand out in the crowd. They wouldn’t have drawn a huge social media following. They wouldn’t have been picked first for a job. Their resumes did not hold up to others’. These were not the guys whose charisma filled the room. As a matter of fact, if they weren’t there, most people probably wouldn’t have noticed.
Ordinary. But also, BOLD. That boldness is what led others to see that these men were unique, not because of their influence, but because they had been with Jesus. The presence of Jesus showed through them, and the world couldn’t help but notice.
Don’t miss this. The church that you and I are a part of today, the church that has outlived kings and kingdoms, the church that has thrived through every imaginable persecution and pandemic, that church began over 2,000 years ago with uneducated, common, but bold men.
God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things.
Take two minutes to reflect in silence.