Acts Chapter 5 Verses 12 – 15

• I know this sounds weird but listen to their hope! They dealt with the stuff we deal with now…cancer, human disease, but they didn’t have advanced medicine like we have today…or even   All they had was sick people that they loved.  And so hope arrives with the church.  That’s what I see!
• And this doesn’t say that Peter’s shadow brought any healing but it doesn’t not say that either! God does extraordinary things all of the time and if God decides to heal someone through a shadow then I see little difference in God deciding to heal someone through surgery.  Maybe that’s just me….but understand, the people were highly superstitious and believed that the shadow of a bad mad could bring cursing and the shadow of a good man could bring blessing!  Imagine it.  You’d never have to wonder if she’s mad at you anymore…just watch for when she’s dodging your shadow!  HA!
• You know, on that note, Luke doesn’t tell us that Peter was bobbing and weaving to keep people out of his shadow because their doctrine was wrong. The way by which they were coming was flawed but they were still coming and Peter knew the Word of God would be taught and God would move so he just strolled by casting his useless shadow, and I like that!
• My son Link who is now 8 years old gets up in the morning and I ask him, “How are you this morning.” And he replies, almost every morning, “good.”  I don’t snap and say, “Wrong!  There is none good, no not one!  All have fallen short of the glory of God!”  HA!!!  No, I say, “Good boy…,” and I grab him for a big dad hug…  There are folks out there with some weird ideas about God that are certainly not found in the Bible…can you hug ‘em?  I mean in your heart…or do you just want to correct them.  Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4:15, “For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.”

Acts Chapter 5 Verse 16

• ALL, a complete work of God is happening and notice its happening through a church that is pure and that is unified! Full of love for Him…full of love for others…full of love for His Word…and God blesses them with power!!

Acts Chapter 5 Verses 17 - 18

• This word for indignation in the Greek is zelos and while it does mean “zeal” it also means envy and jealousy! And they are filled with it!  It over powers them and they pop!  The word for filled in the Greek is pimplemi!  I can’t make this stuff up!  HA!  So these white heads POP!  HA!!  But you know what, what you are filled with is what comes out when you pop…Paul said in Ephesians 5:18, “Be being filled with the Holy Spirit!”  Ever heard someone say, “Man, he’s got spirit!”  Well what if that spirit is harmful to him?  I want to be filled with the spirit of everlasting life!

Acts Chapter 5 Verses 19 – 20

• “All the words of this life!?” That is a HUGE statement!  All the words of this life!  I looked at it in the Greek.  In the Greeks it’s literally that BUT it’s not life as in heartbeat – we exist – life, its zoe!  Abundant life.  Life alive.  Lit life!  Legit life!  Life on fleek!  I’m trying to reach y’all!  The angel says, “Tell them about what life is supposed to be…how it was designed!” 
• And what did they speak? The gospel of grace!  The love of God!  The provision of God and freedom of God through Jesus!  The forgiveness of sin and the resurrected life of Jesus!  And the truth is…THAT’S IT!  Those are all that is required to be received if you want to attain to a joyful, what I’ll call, a LOVE LIFE!  A life that you LOVE and the best is still yet to come!  Everything else is secondary if you receive and walk in that! 
• That’s it and all and I LOVE THAT! Show me one textbook that gives all knowledge ever to be required on a collegiate subject!  Even Google only reaches 4 percent of the knowledge that’s out there and yet a short conversation about Jesus mixed with a mustard seed of faith … ALL LIFE!

Acts Chapter 5 Verses 21 – 23

• Let the world imprison you…and the adversaries of your faith undermine you in their hearts…and while they see the doors shut, you’re not there! You’re free!  They set up guards and you pass by them like Casper, man!  God opens doors that no man can shut and even though your life may look horribly hard from the outside, Jesus, the gospel of grace, the hope of the Holy Spirit and the freedom – heart divorce – from sin makes you such a leader in this life!
• A huge part of being an effective leader is to be calm in the storm…the one who can see and navigate clearly and confidently even when the storm blinds others…but the difficulty is that you cannot manifest calm…not for too long…it’s either there or not…but to those that are in Christ, the doors are open man…and God is at the helm!

Acts Chapter 5 Verses 24 – 28

• Wait a second! Rewind!  You all were locked up in prison, how did you get out!?  That would have been the right question!  Instead they ask, “Why are you preaching!?”  This is crazy!  What if they had asked the right question?  I wonder how many of them would have been saved…
• You have filled Jerusalem with this doctrine! What?  The doctrine of healing?  The doctrine of love?  The doctrine of sin being obliterated by the blood of the Messiah?  What a compliment…I would love to hear, “Matt, you have made this place full of love and joy and hope!!  How dare you!!”  HA!!! 
• This man’s blood is on them…they called it back in Matthew 27:25…

Acts Chapter 5 Verses 29 – 32

• Big point! I love this clarity!  God gives His Holy Spirit to those that obey Him and HOLD UP before you get all discouraged because last I checked none of us are obedient 100, all the time!  Being obedient to God does not mean making a list and checking it twice…that’s Santa…making a list of what to do and what not to do…what has God asked of you?  Be good, do unto others, don’t sin, go to church…careful there Mr. Perfect…
• They asked Jesus in John Chapter 6 how to obey God…, “How do we do the works of God?” Jesus answered, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent!”  Check this out, Hebrews 3, 18 and 19, those who obey…BELIEVE!  What has God asked of you and how do you obey His ask?  Believe on the power and grace and love and righteousness of Jesus…then, every other commandment of God is no burden but your heart’s desire…why?  The Holy Spirit is surging within you!!  You are alive in the Spirit!!

Acts Chapter 5 Verses 33 – 39

• Sounds good and I agree with most of what Gamaliel said but his wisdom, just like the wisdom of unregenerate man, is earthly and it is flawed! Longevity and success are not the marks of something Godly.  What about fruit?  What about alignment with the Word of God!?  At any rate, they agreed with him…

Acts Chapter 5 Verses 40 – 42

• How do you stop men like this? That even when they suffer and are rejected, they rejoice!  How can you stop someone filled with the Holy Spirit?  That’s the question…you can’t…and you don’t!  And ultimately…they won’t.