“If it is of God…
….you will not be able to overthrow them.” Acts 5:39
The context for these words comes from an account in Acts 5. The apostles had begun ministering in the name of Jesus and were already encountering resistance from Pharisees and the devout religious people of their time.
One of these devout religious people, Gamaliel, cautions the other Pharisees from being so quick to shut down the apostle’s ministry. He gives an account of a man who had claimed to be the messiah — the man led a short-lived rebellion with a few hundred followers that ultimately failed, leading to his death and his followers going their separate ways.
Gamaliel never gives any impression that he believes Jesus is the Messiah, but he assures his counterparts that “if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” He recognizes that God alone moves the world and that he works everything out according to his purpose to restore all things.
Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.
Similar to Gamaliel warning his contemporaries that work that is not of the Lord will never come to anything, Psalm 127 warns that all our human & imperfect striving ultimately means nothing. It is so easy to believe and live based on the wrong thinking that our efforts produce outcomes in life. We completely leave the Lord out of the equation with this mindset and put all the emphasis on our futile human efforts. This is an exhausting way to live and leaves us in despair when kids reject us or don’t respond to things how we want them to.
Let truth prevail
As we settle into a routine of contact work & ministry and many of us tackle blitz week, let’s pray against lies that inundate our lives. Against the lie that people will come to know Christ because of our efforts. Against the lie that of our own power we can accomplish anything. Against the lie that our worth is found in the results of our ministry and not in Christ.
And let’s begin to truly believe that the Lord is the one orchestrating all things to work together for his glory. Let’s petition God to give us a deep understanding of his grace toward us. Let’s pray that the Holy Spirit will guide us and make us so in tune with the will of God that our deepest desire is to carry out his will. Let’s live based on the belief that if God is behind something it will not fail.
The year is off to a fruitful start and it feels like momentum is building in a really healthy way. Praise God that you opened your hands to his will and are bringing the gospel to those who so desperately need good news. Praise God that uses imperfect people.
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20–21
~Western Reserve Staff
