Every Day

And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.

Acts 5:42

This verse is probably the greatest verse in the Bible about the early church.  It is a challenge to us today and gives us a model of what we should be doing and how we should be living.

“…daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.”

How often did they teach and preach Jesus Christ?  Daily.  Every single day.  We think that one or two, maybe three, times a week is enough teaching and preaching about Jesus Christ.  But that is not the same as daily.  That is not on the same level as these Christians.  We need to be teaching and preaching (and learning) about Jesus Christ every day.

Where did they teach and preach Jesus Christ?  They taught and preached in the temple and in every house.  There was not a house in which Jesus was not named.

It is said that they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.  They never stopped talking about Him.  He was the focus of their lives.  Some people have cars or cleaning products or diets that they just can’t seem to stop talking about.  For these people, they couldn’t stop talking about Jesus.

I’m sure that we all fall short of the mark set by these Christians.  I’m sure that we could all preach and teach Jesus Christ more often and more consistently.  I’m sure that we could all focus on Him a little more.  There are so many things we could improve on in our Christian lives.

Until we can say with these Christians that “daily in the temple, and in every house” we “cease not to teach and preach Jesus Christ,” we have room for improvement.

Worthy to Suffer

And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.  And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.

Acts 5:40-41

The council of high priests and elders had given Peter and John a very hard time.  They had rebuked them, commanded them not to speak of Jesus, imprisoned them and had them beaten.  Through all of this, they remained thankful, positive and praising the Lord.  In fact, verse 41 tells us that were “rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.”

It is both challenging and encouraging to read of these accounts of what men went through and how they reacted for the sake of the gospel.  Any of these things would be hard for us to bear.  They not only bore them, but they rejoiced.  That was the power of Jesus Christ in their lives.

None of us like rejection.  None of us like to be rebuked.  Definitely none of us like to be beaten.  But we do like to honour the Lord.  We do like for Him to be pleased with the things we do.  Sometime, we may be called to suffer for Him physically, but, more likely, we will be called to suffer for Him in other ways.

People might mock us and make fun of our beliefs.  People might get angry with us and yell at us.  People might even be hateful to us.  They might slam a door in our face.  We might have to deal with some nasty looks or rolled eyes.  But those things shouldn’t make us angry.  Those things should serve to let us know that we, like these apostles, are counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.  The next time we deal with something like that, we should count it an honour.

A Voice of Reason

Then stood there up on in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space; And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men.  For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought.

And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.

Acts 5:34-36, 38-39

After being punished and rebuked multiple times for speaking about Jesus, a voice of reason finally prevailed among the chief priests.  Gamaliel said that they should just leave Peter and John alone.  He said that, if their work was of men, it would soon fall apart and be gone.  On the other hand, if their work was of God, then neither these men nor any other men would be able to stop it, for even attempting to stop it would be fighting against God.

That was a reasonable attitude to take toward these new Christians.  We can now look at the historical record and see if Peter and John were just leading a movement started by men or if it really was of God.  I think we all know the answer.

The work continued far beyond the life of Gamaliel and far beyond even the lives of the apostles and members of this first church.  It continues even to this day.  You can follow it through the years, straight down from this church to our churches today.  What a wonderful Saviour!  And we can take Gamaliel’s advice and thank the Lord that we truly serve the God of Heaven!

Obey God or Men?

Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned.  And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them, Saying,Did not we straitly 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.  The Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

Acts 5:26-29

The high priests and elders had told Peter and John not to be teaching or preaching about Jesus.  This command had come after the healing of the lame man and amidst the people rejoicing about this miracle.  Of course, the apostles rejected this command and continued to preach and teach Jesus Christ.  In fact, they specifically prayed for power and boldness when proclaiming His name.

Now they are back in front of these chief priests and elders, who are demanding to know why they are still teaching and preaching about Jesus, even after being specifically commanded not to do so.  Peter and John gave these men a classic answer: “We ought to obey God rather than men.”

It really is that simple.  If any ruler over us passes a law of statute that contradicts the law and statutes of God, we have to side with God.  Now, we shouldn’t be looking for laws to break and should submit ourselves to the powers that God has placed over us.  But, if and when there does come a conflict, we must always side with God.

It is important to remember who we serve.  It is important to remember that, no matter who they are, we have an authority higher than any on earth.  We report directly to the King of kings.  We ought to obey God rather than man.

O How I Love Jesus (Hymn)

O How I Love Jesus
Frederick Whitfield (1855)

There is a Name I love hear,
I love to sing its worth;
It sounds like music in my ear,
The sweetest Name on earth.

Refrain
O how l love Jesus,
O how I love Jesus,
O how I love Jesus,
Because He first loved me!

It tells me of a Savior’s love,
Who died to set me free;
It tells me of His precious blood,
The sinner’s perfect plea.

Refrain

It tells me of a Father’s smile
Beaming upon His child;
It cheers me through this little while,
Through desert, waste, and wild.

Refrain

It tells me what my Father hath
In store for every day,
And though I tread a darksome path,
Yields sunshine all the way.

Refrain

It tells of One whose loving heart
Can feel my deepest woe;
Who in each sorrow bears
A part that none can bear below.

Refrain

It bids my trembling heart rejoice.
It dries each rising tear.
It tells me, in a “still small voice,”
To trust and never fear.

Refrain

Jesus, the Name I love so well,
The name I love to hear:
No saint on earth its worth can tell,
No heart conceive how dear.

Refrain

This Name shall shed its fragrance still
Along this thorny road,
Shall sweetly smooth the rugged hill
That leads me up to God.

Refrain

And there with all the blood-bought throng,
From sin and sorrow free,
I’ll sing the new eternal song
Of Jesus’ love for me.

Refrain

Only a Christian can truly sing this song.  You can only sing this song if you truly do love Jesus.  The name of Jesus truly is the sweetest name on earth and we should be loving Him and singing about it!

Who Praises Him? Part 6

Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth: Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children: Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.  He also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints; even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him.  Praise ye the LORD.

Psalm 148:11-14

In looking at this Psalm and all of the groups that are supposed to praise the Lord, we have seen a lot of different groups.  Everything from celestial bodies like the sun and moon to forces of nature like wind and fire is supposed to praise the Lord.  People are also, of course, supposed to praise the Lord.  Everyone from kings and princes to little children are supposed to praise the Lord.

The last verse of the Psalm gives us the group that should be praising Him the most: “all of his saints,” and “a people near unto him.”  That group should be one praising Him the most.  That group includes us, if we are Christians.

We should look at all that the Lord has done for us.  We should meditate on what He did for us at Calvary.  We should meditate on where we would be without Him.  Christians should be the most thankful people in the world.  We have been given more than anyone.  When it comes to praising the Lord, we should be the ones singing the loudest.  We should be the ones beginning to praise Him.

God wants to hear the praise of His saints.  He wants to hear the praise of “a people near unto him.”  He wants us to praise Him.  He certainly deserves our praise.  How are we doing?

Who Praises Him? Part 5

Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth: Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children: Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.

Psalm 148:11-13

As we continue on in our series, we find in this passage another group that is supposed to be praising the Lord.  We have already seen several things that praise the Lord: the sun, the moon, stars, the heavens, fire, hail, snow, wind, mountains, trees, beasts, cattle and fish.  Now we come to those we would expect to be praising the Lord.

In these verses, we find “kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges… both young men, and maidens; old men, and children.”  In short, everyone is supposed to be praising the Lord – from the highest kings and princes down the lowest paupers.  They are all supposed to be praising the Lord.  Young men and women all the way up to old men and women (I will let you categorize yourself) are all supposed to be praising Him.

We have now come to the category that often does not praise Him.  So far, everything on the list that is supposed to praise Him praises Him.  Nature does what it is supposed to do.  People are the rebellious ones.  People are the ones who do not do what they are supposed to do.  Kings often do not praise Him.  Judges often do not praise Him.  There are many people, both young and old, who do not praise Him.  But they all should.

“His name alone is excellent.”  We praise God because He is God.  We are not.  He created us.  He redeemed us.  Everything that we have, He has given to us.  Every single one of us should be praising the Lord.  Are we?

Who Praises Him? Part 4

Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps:  Fire, and hail; snow, and vapour; stormy wind fulfilling his word: Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars: Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl…

Psalm 148:7-10

As we look this week at this passage and all of the things that praise the Lord, we will pause today and look at one description of praising the Lord found in these verses.

“Fire, and hail; snow, and vapour; stormy wind fulfilling his word.”  In this list of things that praise the Lord, we find these forces of nature: fire, hail, snow, vapour, and stormy wind.  Then we read this about them: “fulfilling his word.”  These forces of nature praise the Lord and they do so by “fulfilling his word.”

That is a good lesson for us.  Sometimes we want to praise the Lord,  but we aren’t sure how.  We want to do something great for Him, but we aren’t sure what we should do.  This gives a good idea.  We should “fulfill His word.”  If we want to praise Him, we should do what He tells us to do.  We should look at His Word and do what it says.

The wind and water and other forces of nature obey Him and fulfill His word.  Sadly, many people do not obey Him.  In that way, the thoughtless and mindless forces of nature are wiser than many people.  How are we doing today?  Are we obeying Him?  Are we searching His Word and “fulfilling it?”  Are we finding out what He wants us to do and doing it?  If we are not, we are no better than the wind and rain and snow.  That would be a sad commentary on our lives.

Who Praises Him? Part 3

Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps: Fire, and hail; snow, and vapour; stormy wind fulfilling his word: Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars: Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl…

Psalm 148:7-10

In this passage, we have already seen that the sun, the moon, the stars, the heavens and the water above the heavens are all told to praise the Lord.  How these heavenly bodies praise the Lord I do not know, but apparently they do.  Today we will look at the next group this is commanded to praise the Lord.

“Ye dragons, and all deeps” are supposed to praise the Lord.  Fire, hail, snow, vapour, and stormy winds all praise Him by “fulfilling his word.”  Even the mountains, hills, fruitful trees and cedars praise Him.  Again, I am not sure exactly how all of this works, but it happens.  All of these things praise the Lord.  The song “Joy to the World” contains a line that says “And heaven and nature sing, and heaven and nature sing…”  This passage might be where those lines come from.

As humans, we like to think that we have a good handle on everything that is going on around us.  We like to think that we have done a good job of really figuring things out.  But I believe that God’s creation is far more complex than even the best scientists can understand.

This Psalm tells us that the forces of nature praise Him and even nature itself praises Him.  I believe that if the Lord opened our eyes to it, we would be able to see creation’s beautiful symphony of praise to it’s creator.  The next time we see a mountain or a hill or a tree or feel the wind or see the snow, we should think of this passage.  Though we might not understand, it is all praising the Lord.

Let us praise Him too.

Who Praises Him? Part 2

Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him all ye stars of light.  Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.  Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created.  He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass.

Psalm 148:3-6

In looking at this passage, we see several things that should be (and apparently are) praising the Lord.  Some of them we would expect and some might surprise us.

In these verses, we see that the sun, the moon, the stars and heavens and the waters above the heavens are all commanded to praise the Lord.  We look at the sun and moon and stars and think of inanimate objects.  God looks at them and receives praise from them.

They are told to praise Him because He “commanded and they were created.”  He spoke them into existence.  Without Him, they would not even exist.  He also “stablished them for ever and ever…”  Not only did He create them, but He established them forever.  He is the cause of their existence and He is the cause of their eternal existence.  They are told to praise Him for those reasons.  I’m not sure exactly how that works.  I don’t know exactly how the sun and moon and stars praise Him, but clearly they do.

If the sun, moon and stars are told to praise Him for creating them and establishing them forever, how much more should we praise Him for the same things?  He has created us.  Without Him, we would not exist.  If we have accepted His offer of salvation, we can say that He has “stablished us forever.”  If the sun, moon and stars praise Him for these things, we certainly should be doing the same!