Thursday, November 6th

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Thursday, November 6

Acts 5:25-33

And someone came and told them, "Look! The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people." Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people. And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, "We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us." But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him." When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them.

Some years ago we were blessed to have Pastor Joseph Tson preach at our church one Sunday morning. Joseph Tson was a pastor in Romania during the brutal rule of Nicolai Ceausescu during the 1970’s and 80’s.

Pastor Tson was arrested and imprisoned a number of times for the crime of being a Christian minister. Each time he was arrested he underwent several weeks of intense interrogation threats and sometimes physical beatings.

Pastor Tson said that when his tormentors threatened to kill him he would sometimes smile and say, “Sir, don't you understand that when you kill me you send me to glory? You cannot threaten me with glory.”

Such was the faith of Pastor Tson! 

During one particularly harrowing session of interrogation, an officer screamed at him, “Don’t you know I can have you killed today and your body will never be found?”

Pastor Tson said, “I know you can have me killed, but with all due respect, let me tell you how that will work. You know that my sermons are on cassette tapes all over this country. When you shoot me or crush me, whichever way you choose, you will sprinkle my sermons with my blood. I will speak 10 times louder in death than I ever did in life.”

As I recall his story, Pastor Tson said that he was released by that man but later called in by the chief of the secret police of Romania.

This man said, “Mr. Tson, we are aware of your plan. We know you want to become a martyr. We are not so foolish as to help you with your plan. We are not going to kill you.”
Instead they exiled Pastor Tson and he continued his ministry from outside Romania until the regime collapsed and today he is still a pastor!

This is the same kind of fearless witness we see in Acts 5:
 
But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."

What does this mean for us? What does it mean for us to be fearless witnesses for Christ where we live?

We who live in North America are not threatened with prison and death if we proclaim the name of Jesus; at least not yet. But we might have friends or family members who have rejected the gospel, or who ridicule our faith. We might work in an environment that is hostile toward the gospel and discourages any expression of faith.

In any case there are two things from this story that can encourage us. First, we can stand on the truth of the gospel.

The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

Jesus really died for our sins; Jesus really rose again from the dead; and in Jesus alone we find forgiveness from sin and the hope of eternal life! The gospel is as true today as it was 2,000 years ago!

Second, we must be willing to “obey God rather than men” when faced with the choice.

We never know when we will be faced with spiritual opposition. Ask the Holy Spirit to prepare you with boldness and confidence so you will be ready whenever that time comes!

Pastor Brian Coffey