Tag gospel

³¹ And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

The answer from Heaven was immediate. As if to say “Let’s shake things up,” the place where they were assembled together was shaken. It says that they were then all filled with the Holy Spirit. This was not a new anointing or fresh anointing as it is called in some circles. The same anointing they had received earlier, in response to the request and renewed surrender, is active in them with expression. What expression? They spoke the word of God in the boldness that they had requested.

But we are made to might ask, (1) why was the building shaken and (2) why is that not happening today when we ask for boldness? First, we must see that a sign was being used as an indicator of a spiritual response. What response, then, is being indicated? When you and I gather to request boldness and backing signs for a ministry that aligns with the mission of witnessing, God answers. The building was shaken as a sign that their prayer was being answered.

Second, for those of us who ask why this is not happening today, we are mistaken. The Spirit is still being poured out on people who believe just as He was poured out on Pentecost; the signs of rushing wind sounds and flaming tongues, however, are no longer needed. Each time a believer receives Jesus the Holy Spirit is given to them (Ephesians 1:13). With the Jews the sign of the promise of the Holy Spirit being provided was heard and seen and experienced as rushing wind, flaming tongues of fire above their heads, and speaking in other tongues respectively. A similar type of sign was given when the Gentiles received Christ (Acts 10:44-48). What was the sign? Gentiles, also known as the uncircumcised, spoke in tongues.

Speaking in tongues was sufficient sign for the circumcised (Jews) to believe that the same spiritual work that had been done in them was now happening in the uncircumcised (Gentiles). There is no mention of the sound of a rushing mighty wind or tongues of fire upon the heads of the Gentiles that heard Peter preach. It was not needed; speaking in tongues was enough to convince Peter and his fellow Jews that the Gentiles had been accepted by Jesus (Acts 10:46). Going forward Jews do not have flaming tongues above their heads when they receive Christ and Gentiles do not erupt in tongues. The purpose of the signs had been served; they had indicated spiritual realities that, when regarded rightly, affect the outlook and conduct of the witnesses. There are times in Scripture where a sign is used to indicate that something spiritual has taken place without seeking to make it normative. That is, there are instances of God performing a work in a special way so as to reveal how He will work in the future in a world we cannot readily perceive. Going forward He continues to do the work but without the sign.

Here is the point, beloved. Pray for boldness and backing signs for the mission of making Him known, the Lord answers these prayers and shakes things up.

God is listening now for prayers to answer. Action: Pray for boldness in the face of persecution. Pray for validation when confronting vicious opponents of the gospel. Let the church convene, call out to God for help, in order that we might succeed in our commission — witnessing.

A word of warning to my fellowship Jesus followers. Don’t try to force God to provide a particular sign. That is, do not insist on signs seen in the early church when there may be one more appropriate for your setting. Backing signs today may be different than what was used in the church in Jerusalem. Do not seek their sign when you may need your own. (In fact, don’t seek signs for yourself at all; they are for those you are trying to reach.) Seek, rather, to have evidence provided by God that will be lend support to the message of the gospel. For example, a sign certifying the gospel in a community that has been ravaged by racism could be real steps toward reconciliation between the races.

In His grip by His grace,
Roderick Barnes