Reading Plan:
Acts 5

Our Thoughts:
We pick up the storyline in verse 12 as the religious leaders are still trying their hardest to convince the apostles to stop talking about Jesus. Peter and John are arrested (again) and placed in jail. During the night, an angel appears and releases them from jail. The angel tells them to go back to the temple and continue to teach the Gospel. The next morning, the apostles return to the place where they were arrested, and they continue to teach. That same morning, the religious leaders gather to devise a plan to stop the apostles once and for all. They send for the apostles to be brought from jail, only to find out that they are no longer there. And not only are they not there, but they are also teaching again! The religious leaders could not win.
The religious leaders began to recognize that something powerful was happening with these “Jesus freaks.” I believe they were feeling the momentum shift in much the same way that we feel the momentum shift in a close football game. This kind of momentum, however, had the hand of God behind it and was turning into a movement. They feared they were losing control of the situation, and they were.
As the story continues, Peter and the apostles continue to teach at every opportunity they are given, and the religious leaders continue to scheme about how to stop them. I’m beginning to see a pattern. In one of their meetings, a Pharisee by the name Gamaliel offers some advice to the leaders, “Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”
I love that, “...but if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men...” Gamaliel was onto something. This Jesus movement was from God, and it couldn’t be stopped. As Jesus told Peter, “...I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”
Think for a moment about just how unstoppable the Church has been throughout history. The Church has survived persecution, pandemics, poverty, and war. It has even outlived those who have exploited it for their own agendas. The Church is resilient. Not only has it survived, but it has also thrived during some of the darkest times in history, and it still thrives today! We are living proof of Jesus’ promise to Peter. We are a part of something that is bigger than any individual Christian or single local church. We are a part of the unstoppable movement of God.
The Church is an inconceivable, unstoppable movement of God. Think about it. A Jewish man in an oppressed nation found 12 ordinary guys. He discipled them for just three years, teaching them to love and pray for their enemies, to serve and forgive others, and to be humble. He told them that if they wanted to save their lives, they must lose their lives. He told them that if they wanted to follow Him, they must take up their cross (an instrument of death). These aren’t exactly power play commands. In a society where power and class were the only way to rule, Jesus taught that the first would be last and the last would be first. These aren’t principles that help anyone climb the ladder of success in society, especially in the first century. Then, when it was all said and done, he turns the whole thing over to these ordinary, average guys — and physically leaves.
This was not the way to start a movement and yet, here we are some 2,000 plus years later with approximately 2.5 billion professing Christians across the world. This is inconceivable! Impossible for man. But not with God!
You and I have been invited into this inconceivable, unstoppable movement of God - one that’s more important than our own agendas, political views, or personal preferences. It’s bigger than Venture Church. It extends beyond our national borders to the very ends of Earth (Acts 1:8). Make no mistake, God does not need us to accomplish His mission. His plans and His purpose will continue with or without us, and yet He invites us to join in on the work He is already doing all over the world. What an opportunity we have before us!

More Questions:
Hebrews 12 describes “a great cloud of witnesses” encouraging us to throw off everything that would hinder us from running the race that God has laid out for us, fulfilling his mission to lead others to know, love, and follow him. Countless believers across the span of time have run the race before them and despite hardship, persecution, and fear, they have kept the faith and furthered the mission. How does knowing this help you to keep the faith and run your race?
One hundred years from now, if someone was reading your story, just as you’ve read the story of the early church this week, what would you want to be said of you and your role in the inconceivable, unstoppable movement of God?

Prayer:
Father, thank you for inviting me into your story and using my time on earth to make an eternal impact for your glory and the good of others. Help me to see where you are working and give me the courage to join you. Help me to live a life that is worthy of the calling you have given me.