I would like you all, please, to turn again today to the book of Acts. And the chapter that we are reading today is chapter 4. And the verses that we are reading today, beginning from verse 13. Acts chapter 4, beginning from verse 13. We are going to read to verse 31. And here we have, in these verses, the response of the assembly here, who were persecuted, the response to the first persecution that had happened in the city of Jerusalem. Let me read these verses. And we'll go back and we'll recuperate and really see what have happened here in this chapter. We read in verse 13. "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and they perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled, and they took knowledge of them that they have been with Jesus.

And beholding the man, and beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, and they said, 'What shall we do to these men?' For they indeed, that indeed a notable miracle has been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But that it spread no further among the people, let us straightly threaten them that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all, nor to teach in the name of Yeshua.

But Peter and John answered, and they said unto them, 'Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.' So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people for all men glorified God for that which was done. For the man was about forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was showed. And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said unto them.

And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and they said, 'Lord, thou art God, which has made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that is in them is, Who, by the mouth of thy servant David, has said, Why did the heathen rage and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Messiah? For of a truth against thy holy child Yeshua, whom thou hast anointed both Herod and Pointeous Pilate, With the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together, for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determine before to be done.

Now, Lord, behold their threatening, and grant unto thy servants that with all boldness they may speak thy word, By stretching forth thine hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Yeshua.' And when they have prayed, the place was shaken, where they were assembled together. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spake the word of God with boldness." What a beautiful passage in Acts chapter 4 that we just read. It takes us back to over 2000 years ago, where the early Jewish, Hebrew, Israeli believers who came to faith in Yeshua the Messiah, they were now, because of their faith in Yeshua, they were being persecuted by their own brethren.

But not really the totality of the nation of Israel persecuted them, but specifically the religious leaders of the day. The leaders of the day, the spiritual leaders of Israel, who assume responsibility over the nation. And when they have heard those disciples were preaching the resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah, they immediately got very unhappy and upset. And they held those two men, Peter and John, and they brought them, they locked them in jail. And then the next day, they put them before the council, the Sanhedrin, the religious leaders, and accusing them and trying to find fault in them. Similarly today, when there will be believers like you and I who may preach the message of the Gospel concerning Yeshua the Messiah, and you and I might at times will have to face those who oppose that message of the Gospel, who will reject what you have to say about the Messiah, and they will lock you and oppose the message that you preach concerning the Lord Yeshua the Messiah.

And if you remember, the last verse we have spoken about in our last session together was verse 12. And look what those disciples are saying to the leaders at that time. They said to them, "Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved." And I want you to notice that when they were speaking about salvation here, that word here for salvation is the very same word that is found for the name of our blessed Lord Yeshua. The word Yeshua and the word Yeshua, salvation, is synonym, it is the same. When they were speaking about salvation, they were speaking about that which had been brought about through the person of Yeshua, of Jesus, or our Lord Jesus the Messiah.

And so they are saying to them, "There is none other name given among men whereby we must be saved." Now can you imagine to say this to the world today? When these Hebrew believers spoke to the religious leaders of Israel at that time, they were telling that there is no other name to be saved by. You and I have the responsibility today to say to the world around us, "Really, there is no other way to be saved today." Sometimes they say that the believers in the Lord Jesus are very narrow-minded. Do you say that there is only one way to get saved? It is not what we say, it is what God says in His word.

And the only way of salvation is through Yeshua the Messiah and the reason for that is that He was the only one who paid for the price that we could never pay. He is the one who died, the just one, the Messiah Yeshua, for the unjust, you and I. He is the only one who was buried, the just one for the unjust. He is the only one who rose from among the dead, the just one for the unjust. He died, He was buried, and He rose. And that's why there is no other way of salvation. And there is no other name. And you notice that Peter and John do not exclude themselves because they say there is no other name given among men whereby we, us, Peter and John, and you, the Sanhedrin, the leaders of Israel, must be saved.

Notice they don't say, should be saved, may be saved, ought to be saved. No. They say you must be saved, and it is only through the name of Yeshua the Messiah. Well, when they said those things to the leaders of Israel, now they are sitting, can you imagine, right in the center, with the whole council, 71 religious leaders of Israel, plus the family of the high priest, and they're all surrounding them. And now, they're looking at them, and they were amazed. And in the next verses, where we begin in our reading today, verses 13 and 14, the leaders had a dilemma. We see in verse 13 and 14, the dilemma that the religious leaders of Israel had.

Look at the dilemma. It says in verse 13, Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, they perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men. They marveled. And they took knowledge of them that they have been with Yeshua, with Jesus. And beholding the man which was healed, standing with them, they could say nothing against it. Now here's the dilemma. You notice there are four things that we have here in those two verses. They saw the boldness of Peter and John. Where do you think they got this boldness? Some of us have natural boldness. But others might not have that natural boldness. They had the supernatural boldness that they received as they were empowered by the Spirit of God.

And we, by nature, usually do not have a lot of boldness. Maybe some of us have more than others. You know, those who jump from an airplane, the parachuters. One has to have a lot of boldness to jump from an airplane. Even if he knows that the parachute will hold him, how do you know that? To open the door of an airplane and to jump from there and hoping that the parachute will open, you have to have a lot of boldness. Now, not all of us are going to go and jump from an airplane like this. Some of us have more boldness than others. But here, beloved brothers and sisters, the boldness is not merely a human boldness, but it was boldness that was given to them from God.

If you notice that in verse 8 of our chapter, it says that Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit of God. You know, the Holy Spirit of God empowering us. The Holy Spirit of God, not only that he indwells us, but also empower us to speak for God. A time where there is so much opposition, we need the boldness from the Lord to be able to speak for him, to share the message with others concerning Yeshua the Messiah. This boldness coming from the Lord. Secondly, in verse 13b, they perceive that Peter and John were unlearned men. Well, where do they know all what they know? Look, it says here, they perceive that they were unlearned and ignorant men.

The word ignorant here means that they were uninstructed. They were from Galilee, from the Galil, from the north of Israel. They were not from Judea. They were not there in the temple learning the ways that the Pharisees and the Sadducees were searching the scripture. They were limited in their understanding of what those rabbis knew and what those spiritual leaders of Israel knew. They were unlearned. And they were ignorant, misinformed. The much information that the leaders of Israel had about the things of God, Peter and John did not have that. So, they were amazed at the fact that they were unlearned. And they called it ignorant, this word ignorant.

You know, Yeshua said in Matthew chapter 11, He was praying to the Father. And in verse 25, He said, "I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and the prudent, and have revealed them unto babes." You see, a man that is a religious man, if he is not saved, if his sins are not forgiven, if he or she do not have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God in them, all the information that they have is not sufficient. That's why Peter and John, even though they were unlearned and ignorant men, they were men who knew sin forgiven, and knew Yeshua the Messiah, and knew the things of God by divine inspiration.

Thirdly, in that very same verse, verse 13, the third thing that they were thinking about as they were speaking and seeking to judge Peter and John, it says in verse 13 that they took knowledge of them that they have been with Jesus. They realize, ah, wait a minute, these two men, Peter and John, we remember they have been with Yeshua. They look back before Yeshua died, and they remember the fact that when Yeshua was on earth, before he went to the cross, and before he died, that those disciples have been with Jesus, with Yeshua. And you know, they took knowledge of that. I wonder about you and I sometime.

How do you think people will know that we have been with Jesus? How do you think people will know that you and I really belong to the Lord, if we don't show in our life the character of the Messiah, in some small measure? How do you think people would know about your spiritual life? How? It's only as we spend time with our blessed Lord Jesus, the Messiah. The more we will spend time with Yeshua, in private, in secret, alone with Him, the more when we come out, there will be the features of the Messiah, evidence in our life. You will show me a brother, or a sister, that read the Word, spending time in prayer, working with the Lord in his personal life, in a real genuine way.

I will show you a brother or a sister, that his life or her life is really changed. Their behavior, their conduct, their attitude, their speech, is different. I remember when we read in the book of Exodus, where Moses, the lawgiver of our own nation Israel, went to the mountain to be with God. And God gave him the law to the nation of Israel. When he came down from the mountain, you remember what happened? That his face did shine. That they had to cover his face, because the glory of the Lord had been revealed before the people. Because he had been with God. See, Moses didn't need to say to the people, you see, I have been with God on the mountain.

Look at me. Look at me. No. They saw it. It was evident in him. The brightness of God's glory shone through the face of Moses, that they had to cover his face, because the glory of God was revealed through him. This is beautiful to see that. It says, in the book of Corinthians, 2nd Corinthians, it says, listen, it says, seeing then that we have such hope. 2nd Corinthians, chapter 3 and verse 12. We use great plainness of speech, and not as Moses, which put veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished. Paul, referring to the incident that happened in the book of Exodus, in 2nd Corinthians, chapter 3 and verse 12 and 13.

He is looking back, and he's showing us the glory of God, that was revealed in the face of Moses when he came out of the mountain. Well here, we see the glory of the person of Yeshua the Messiah, revealed to those men, to the Sanhedrin, when Peter and John were presenting before them, Jesus the Messiah. They took note of them that they have been with Yeshua the Messiah. May the Lord also help us that others will take a notice, will take the knowledge to see that we also have been with our blessed Lord, Yeshua the Messiah. Fourthly, in this dilemma that they had, we find in verse 14, that there was a proof that there was something happened here.

It says in verse 14, that they beheld the men that was sick before them. Look, they say in verse 14, here is the man which was healed, standing with them, and they could say nothing against it. They could say nothing against it, because they look and they saw this Jewish man, that was healed by Peter, of course in the name of Yeshua the Messiah, and they could not speak against it, because look at the man, there was the evidence right before them, and saw the dilemma that they have had, before they had to make a decision. You know, what do you think they should have done here, brothers and sisters, when they had all these facts before them, they should have really searched their hearts.

They should really say, wow, really? Look at this. There is a divine work here. God is speaking to us. But you know what they did? Instead of responding to Peter and John, instead of their conscience being pricked, and they will be confessing the fact that Yeshua is the Messiah, you know what they did? They came into a decision, and with the next verses 15 to 18, we see the Sanhedrin decision and conclusion. How sad the decision had been made. It is a person that had an opportunity to hear the message of the love of God, and rejecting the message of God, and concluding that he doesn't need the Yeshua the Messiah, he doesn't need forgiveness of sins, he or she do not need God, and the decision that they have made, many have made over the generation, including many among our own people, the nation of Israel.

Now remember, this is the council. This is the Sanhedrin. These are the leaders of our nation, the nation of Israel, who had the opportunity to accept and recognize that God has sent the Messiah for the nation. But the decision that they have made, is that they didn't want that the name of Yeshua will spread any further. And so in the next verses, we read in verse 15, they wondered what they could do. It says here, when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves. They began to speak with each other. They said, what can we do? Look, the proof is here.

The man that was sick is healed. These two men, Peter and John, are speaking with boldness in the name of Yeshua the Messiah. The issue of the resurrection, remember the 24 leaders there in the Sanhedrin were Sadducees, and they did not believe in the resurrection. There was a doctrinal issue here as well. And so because they didn't believe in the resurrection, they didn't want them at all to preach in the name of Yeshua the Messiah, the resurrection. And so what shall we do? Well, the conclusion was by them that in verse 16, they said, we don't want this thing, this miracle that is now manifest to all them that is in Jerusalem.

We cannot deny it. And so in verse 17, they said, we don't want it to be spread anymore among the people. Let us just threaten them that they speak hand force no more to anyone in this name. So they began to threaten those men. They began to give them a fear tactic. They caused them to be afraid because if they will speak in the name of Yeshua the Messiah, they are going to harm them or they are going to do something against them. Why? Because they do not want that this thing will be spread anymore. Now, it had been said over the history of the church age, of the assembly age, that the more the enemy seek to stop the message of the gospel to go forth, the more the Lord is using his people for the presentation and the spreading of the message of the gospel.

It is amazing. Look at us. We are already now 2,000 years in the history of the assembly, of the Kehillah, of the body of Messiah. And look what's happening. It began in Jerusalem and Jerusalem over 2,000 years ago. Then it was spread to Judea and later on to Samaria and even to the uttermost parts of this earth. the Lord himself said to the disciples in chapter 1 of Acts and verse 8, "Ye shall be my witnesses." And you're going to witness to me beginning in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the uttermost part of this earth. And look, beloved brothers and sisters, there is no country in the world today where there are no some believers there, even in Muslim countries, in communist countries, everywhere in the world, in atheist countries.

There are believers, maybe not in a great amount, in a larger sum, but there are believers everywhere in this world. And you know, what they wanted to defeat end up in their face. Because, if you notice, the progress of the growth of the body of Messiah, even beginning in Jerusalem. If you go back to chapter 1 of the book of Acts, and if you will notice there, in Acts chapter 1, just verse 15, it says, "And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples and he said," and notice here it says, "The number of the names together was about 120." That's how it began. 120 Jewish believers in the city of Jerusalem.

And the time passes by, the message is being presented. If you go to Acts chapter 2 now, after the Holy Spirit of God came, you notice that in verse 41, "And they that gladly received his word were baptized, and the same day there were added unto them about 3,000 souls." From 120, Peter presents the message of the Messiahship of Yeshua, the message of the forgiveness of sins. Through Yeshua the Messiah, 3,000 Jewish individuals came to faith in him. If you continue on and notice the last verse of chapter 2, it says, "Praising God, having favor with all the people." He says in verse 47, "And the Lord added unto the church or the assembly or the ecclesia daily such as should be saved." Every day that was passing by, more people became believers in Yeshua the Messiah.

And by the way, again, I would like to emphasize that we are here in the city of Jerusalem. Those believers were Jewish, were Hebrews, were Israelis. And they became believers in Yeshua the Messiah. And if you turn the page now, and come here to chapter 4 where we are, you notice in chapter 4 and verse 4, it says there, "However many of them which heard the word believed, and the number of them, of the men, was about 5,000." 120, plus 3,000, plus those that have been added by the Lord to the assembly every day, plus the 5,000 of chapter 4 and verse 4. As time is passing by, more and more individuals came to faith in Yeshua the Messiah.

Let's turn to chapter 5 for a moment. And you notice there in verse 14, "And believers were added more to the Lord." Multitudes, both men and women. Again in chapter 5, more people in the land of Israel, in the city of Jerusalem were added to the body of Messiah. And yet, those religious leaders of first century, they said they have threatened them, and they did not want there will be a spreading any further of the name of Yeshua in the land of Israel. In fact, I wanted just to mention, we can go quickly for a moment to chapter 6 for a second of the book of Acts. You will notice as it says in chapter 6 and verse 1, "In those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied." There were more have been added.

It was multiplying. And if you look again in verse 7 of Acts chapter 6, "And the word of God increased, and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly." And we only talk about Jerusalem. Brothers and sisters, we are not talking yet about Judea, Samaria, the uttermost part of the earth. These are Hebrews. These are Jewish people. These are Israelis who came to faith in the Messiah. The foundation of the assembly of the church, it began there and it multiplied. So the religious leaders did not want it to spread, but God had intended it to be spread. It spread to you. You hear the gospel today.

You hear the word of God today. You are here in this room. Why? Because God speaks to us. He draws us. He brings us to himself and he shows us the necessity of coming to know Yeshua the Messiah as our Lord and as our Savior. So, they warned them that they will spread no more this message. And again, I want you to notice that it is the name of Yeshua at stake here. It says in verse 18, "They called them and they said to them, they commanded them not to speak at all, nor to teach in the name of Yeshua." The issue is the Lord Jesus, is Yeshua the Messiah.

You know, it's so sad. It is really sad. You can talk about any religion today and it is fine. But when you talk about Yeshua, Jesus, as the answer for sin, men, by nature, oppose it. Men, by nature, reject it. And yet, Peter and John said, there is no other name given among men whereby we must be saved. In the upper room in John chapter 14, Yeshua spoke to his disciples and he said, "If no one come to the Father but by me." And brothers and sisters, ladies and gentlemen, there is no other way to be saved. There is no other way to receive forgiveness of sin.

No good works, no religion, no money, no position, no power, no authority, no name other than the name of Yeshua can give us forgiveness of sins. No background, no parents, no brother, no friends, no brothers and sisters, no family can save us. We are on our own before God. And God provided for us salvation through the Messiah, Yeshua. And he said, "Listen, I have given him to be judged for your sins and I can forgive your sins if you only will invite him and accept him into your heart." And here is what the disciples were saying to the leaders of Israel at that time, and instead of them accepting it, they rejected it and look what it says here, they have threatened them and they told them, "You go, but you don't speak anymore in the name of Yeshua." Now what do you think?

What would you do in a time like that? What would I do in a time like this? Humanly speaking, God's strength and the boldness. Humanly speaking, we would probably say, "Okay, just let me go." It's easy to say, "I can do everything like Peter said earlier in the life and when the time came and he could speak for the Lord, he didn't because of fear." But here, Peter empowered by the Spirit of God. And so we know we cannot trust ourselves. We have no divine power. God has to give this to us. God has to empower his people as they're presenting the Word of God to the lost world around us.

And so look at that. verses 19 to 22. Look at the response that Peter and John gave the council in the city of Jerusalem. Look at that. He really challenged them. And he said to them, "Listen, in verse 19 and 20, Peter and John answered and they said unto them, you tell us what is the right thing to do in the sight of God. You tell us to hearken and to listen to what you say or to listen unto God. You be the judge." You see what Peter and John did? They sent back to the Sanhedrin the message when they said to them, "You know, you are the one who tell us what is the right thing to do.

to listen to what you tell us to do or to listen to what God is telling us to do?" Well, the answer is very clear. The answer is that we are to listen to what God says rather than to what man says. Because God is the one that has authority over everything. He is in control. He is in charge. He is the one who makes the decision here in this world. You know, here is something very, very important that we need the grace of God to understand it. You know, the Bible does teach us that we are to submit to the law of the land.

The Bible does teach us that we are to obey the law of the land. In fact, Paul mentioned this in Romans chapter 13. And Paul, if you remember, Paul said in the beginning of the chapter, "Let every soul be subject unto a higher powers. For there is no power but of God. And the powers that be are ordained of God." You know, sometimes we don't understand this. We are very thankful that we live in a country like this, in Canada, a democratic government and we have the liberty of expression. But, nevertheless, even if we would have lived in another era, the Bible does teach us, according to Romans chapter 13 and verse 1, that the powers that be are ordained of God.

And even though the leadership are not doing the right things, nevertheless, everything that's been allowed today in this world are allowed by God. By the way, when Paul wrote Romans chapter 13, do you know who was the power at that time? Nero was the Caesar. And you know how many believers have died because of what he had done to those who believed in Yeshua the Messiah. And yet, Paul said, in the same chapter, chapter 13 of Romans verse 2, "Whosoever therefore resists the power, resists an ordinance of God. And they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation." In other words, what he is saying is that we are to recognize the authority that is placed above us.

Whether it is the time of the Romans, of the Romans, or whether it is the time in which we live in today, or whether it is the time in which Peter and John have been under the authority of the leaders of Israel, the Sanhedrin at that time. But, there is time that the believer having the word of God in his conscience is to understand that he is to obey God even above obedience to the government that be. but it has to be clearly given to him through the scripture, through the word of God. Let me give you an example. Do you remember when our people Israel had been many years ago in Egypt, in bondage, in slavery, in Egypt.

And you remember when Pharaoh saw that the Hebrews are multiplying, he went to the Jewish, the Hebrew midwives, and he told them, you know what? Every boy that is born, you make sure that he is going to be cast into the river. Don't allow him to be born. Allow a girl to be born, but not a boy, because he did not want the Hebrews to multiply. Now we find out in the book of Exodus that the midwives did not obey the voice of Pharaoh. You know why? Because they knew that God said, "Thou shall not murder." They had a clear-cut message from the Lord that murder is wrong.

So you know what they did? They didn't submit to the authority of the ruling king, and they submitted to the word of God. And God honored them for that, God blessed them for that, and the Hebrews continue to multiply. We read this in Exodus chapter 1 and verses 15, 16, and 17. I'm going to read that so we'll have this text before us. Exodus chapter 1 and verse 15. Look what it says. It says, "And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives of which the name of the one was Shiphrah and the name of the other was Puah, and he said, "When ye do the office of midwives to the Hebrew women and see them upon the stools, if it be a son, then ye shall kill him.

But if it be a daughter, ye shall keep alive. But the midwives fear God. And they did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they save the men, children alive." Very clear. Here you can see violation of the authority, but in obedience and submissiveness to God's authority. "Thou shall not murder." They knew it is wrong to murder, and therefore they stopped this and they did not kill the Hebrew boys that were born. The same thing we can see later on with Moses' parents. You remember Moses' parents? When the king of Egypt wanted that the boys will not be born and they will die, and the parents of Moses, they have hid their son Moses for those three months.

And the book of Hebrews tells us that they knew that he was a goodly child knowing that he had a purpose that God had for this child. and they have hid him in violation of the command of Pharaoh, but in obedience to the word of God. You see, those Hebrew people here, John and Peter, had the knowledge of information from God and they said to the leaders, "Listen, you tell us what it is the right thing to do. Should we hearken unto you or should we hearken unto God?" Sometimes, believers in the church history experienced such things as this. They had to make a decision.

Should we obey the authority of this country or should we obey the voice of God? Again, I would like to say that we are to submit to authorities, we are to obey the law of the land. But there come a time that when the conscience has a clear, cut message from God, we are to obey the voice of God rather than the voice of man. And so, they said in verse 19, "You tell us, you be the judges." And then verse 20, he says, "We cannot by speak the things which we have heard." That's what Peter and John are saying to the leaders of Israel. Israel. And you know, they have heard a message from the Lord.

If you remember what the Lord Jesus, where Yeshua said to them in Matthew chapter 10 and verse 5, he said to them, "You go, go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, you preach and you say the kingdom is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons, freely ye have received and freely you shall give." In verse 26 of Matthew chapter 10, Yeshua told them, "Fear them not, therefore, for there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, and hid that shall not be known. What I tell you in darkness that you speak in the light, and what you hear in the ear that you should preach upon the housetops.

And fear them not them that kill the body but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear him which is able to destroy both the soul and the body in hell." And he continued, and he told them, "Are they not two sparrows sold for farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your father? But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not, therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows." Jesus, the Messiah, already when he had chosen those disciples, he told them that they are to go to speak and to share what God is doing now for men through him.

The Messiah has come. Salvation is available. Forgiveness of sins is available for mankind. You go and share it. You go and tell it to others. So they said to the leaders of Israel, "You tell us. Is it better for us? Is the right thing for us to listen to you or to listen to God?" He said, "For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and have heard." And so, in verses 21 and 22, "So when they had further threatened them," you see, they continued to threaten them, "and they let them go, and they finding nothing how they might punish them because of the people for all men glorified God for that which was done and the man was above 40 years old on whom this miracle of healing have happened." You see, they see these men, above 40 years old men, standing beside them.

What they could do? He couldn't walk. He was impotent. In the name of Yeshua, he was healed. And now, instead of sitting at the gate of the beautiful, begging for money, he is standing. He is jumping. He is walking. He is praising God. Something has happened. And they cannot do anything because the rest of the nation observed it and they were amazed at what have happened. So they let them go, but they threatened them, they warned them not to speak in the name of Yeshua, the Messiah. What a sad thing it is. How often those missionaries today who serve the Lord, how often are they being opposed by those who do not want to believe and how many times many have been persecuted for the name of Yeshua, the name of Jesus, the Messiah.

Messiah. And so, look what happened. And I want us just quickly, bear with me, in verse 23 to verse 31, we see one of the most beautiful prayer meeting that have ever been, that ever recorded in the Word of God. when the persecuted believers have gone and collectively you see the assembly, the believers in the city of Jerusalem, the city of Jerusalem, praying together to the God of creation, to the God of their Father. and I believe there is great lesson for us to learn from these verses, verses 23 to 31. There are principles that respond to hostility and rejection. When you and I are being rejected by those who oppose the message of the Gospel, what do we do?

how do we react in a situation such as this? Those first century Hebrew believers in Yeshua the Messiah taught us a great lesson here and I believe that this principle is applied for us today to help us also in a time of hostility and in a time of rejection we learn how we are to behave and what we are to do. And look at this, brothers and sisters, there are six things that I want to point here quickly and I'll do it very fast. The first one that we learn here is found in verse 23. The first thing that we learn, it says here, "Being let go, they went to their own company and reported all that the chief priests and the elders have said unto them." The first thing that we find these Hebrew believers do is they turn around and they share with their brethren their concern.

They don't keep it within themselves and they don't seclude themselves into some place all alone, but they share this with their brethren, with those who know Yeshua the Messiah, who identify with their situation. Look how beautiful it is. It is so important for us when we are feeling opposed and people reject us and don't like the message that we share and don't like us to speak in the name of Yeshua, that we don't hold it in our own heart and kind of going alone somewhere secluded. We are to share it with our brothers sisters because they can identify with these. See, Peter and John, they went, notice, to their own company, to their own brethren.

They went and they shared what happened to them. You remember Daniel? In Daniel chapter 2 when the king wanted to kill all the people because he had a dream and he wanted the dream to be revealed. You know what Daniel did? Again, another Hebrew, another Jewish man. He went to his own brethren, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael and he shared with them the fact that they prayed together, the fact that here is the king is going to destroy everyone and they prayed together. Wonderful. Look at the second thing that we find here in verse 24. Not only that they shared with God's people, but now they turned together to God in prayer.

Look, verse 24. And when they heard that, this is all the brothers and sisters of the believers in Jerusalem, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord and they said, Lord, thou art God which has made heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them. The second thing that they did is they went to prayer. It's not enough to talk to the friends and talk to the brothers and sisters and tell them our problem. But you know, the wonderful thing is to go on our knees before the Lord and tell him together, collectively, the issues, the problems. problems. You know, we need that.

We need that as husband and wife in our family problem, with our children, the saved children who wanted, and the collective assembly. We need that, local assemblies, need to realize when we have problem, we need to talk to the Lord in prayer. So, they shared that with God's people and together, they went to God in prayer and they recognized that He is sovereign. They said to Him, You are the one that made heaven and earth and the sea and everything that is in Him. You made everything, including those who are opposing us. You know them. You made everything. You are the Creator, the sovereign God.

You know everything from the beginning to the end. God, we come to you in prayer. Thirdly, in verse 25 and 26, they not only turn to God, they not only turn to the people of God, but they also turn to the Word of God. Look, in verse 25 and 26, they went to the Word, to the Scriptures, to the Bible, to the Tanakh, to the Hebrew Scriptures. They said, "Who by the mouth of thy servant David, David has said, Why did the heathen rage? And the people imagined vain things? The king of the earth stood up and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Mashiach, His Messiah." You see, they went to the Hebrew Scriptures.

Peter, Peter, and John, and the whole assembled Hebrew believers there, opened the Bible, the Hebrew Scripture, the Tanakh, in the book of Psalms, and the second Psalm, David, as the prophet, is speaking. And David said, in verse 25, He says, "Why do the heathen rage? Why do the people imagine vain things?" See, David was asking this question of the Lord. And the disciples were asking this question of the Lord, as they were quoting this Scripture. They were asking, "Why?" And you know, you notice that it says here, that the heathen and the people imagine vain things. It says in verse 26, "The kings of the earth had stood up and the rulers, they gathered together against the Lord and against His Messiah." Mashiach, anointed one.

Do you know, brothers and sisters, that there is one thing that the world has in common? is the gathering together against God and against His anointed. We might disagree on a million things here in this world, but there is one thing that the human nature have agreed with the other. The rest of the world is agreeing on one thing. It's against the things of God and against the Messiah. That's the way we are, by nature, unless God has done divine work in our own hearts. You notice that David, was a prophet that was already speaking in the Psalms knowing that something is going to happen against the Lord and against His anointed.

The Hebrew word for anointed, for Christ here, is the Hebrew word Mashiach. Simply, Mashiach, anointed one, Messiah. So the whole world, it says here, the kings of the earth and the rulers were gathered together. The kings of the earth is the Gentile world. The rulers is the Jewish world. all has one thing in common. Those who are not redeemed is to gather against the Lord and against His anointed. Don't you see that today? Over the years, in human history, there is one thing, men prefer to believe in everything else, but not God. If you will read Psalm 2, the whole Psalm, you will see how men gather and say, let us break the bands.

They want to loosen up everything. We want to do what we want to do. We don't want to be subject to the things of God. That's what man does. Psalm 2 says that the kings of the earth, the rulers, gather against the Lord and look what they say. They don't want the Lord. They said, let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us. We do not want God in our life. We do not want the will of God in our life. That's what man does. And the whole world have gathered together against the Lord and against His anointed. So, they turn to the people of God.

Together in prayer, they turn in prayer to God. And then they turn to the Word of God. Verses 25 and 26. And what is the result? In verse 27 and 28, they receive the revelation of God to give them an understanding of His Word. Look, verse 27. of a truth against thy holy child, Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determine before to be done. this is the revelation of God. God revealed to them what Psalm 2 meant. When Psalm 2 was talking in general about the kings and the rulers, they understood by divine revelation with the help of the Spirit of God that those kings and those rulers are right in their midst at that time.

Herod, the king, Pontius Pilate and the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together. Notice that? That the apostles knew that the fact that man is rejecting Yeshua the Messiah is not only applied to Israel but they also understood that it is applied to the whole universe. you know, sometimes people accuse the Jewish people of killing Jesus. But beloved brothers and sisters and friends, your sins have killed Yeshua the Messiah. My sins. He had to die on the tree. He must die in order that we will receive forgiveness of sins. Every one of us is guilty and that's why you look at this, the revelation that God gave to this prayer group, the early believers.

He says, Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Gentiles, the people of Israel, everybody is placed here in the same pot and everyone is here end up to be against the Lord and against his Mashiach. That's where I came from. Before I became a believer in Yeshua, I didn't want to have anything to do with him. Before I read my Bible, I didn't want to have anything to do with the things of God and you the same way. That's where we came from. But listen, as God gave them the revelation, He also gave them to understand that it was in the plan of God. God knew that. It says in verse 28, they did whatsoever your hand and your counsel have determined before to be done.

You know, God knew what is going to happen. He knew that men will reject the Lord at his first coming. He knew that the Messiah will end up to suffer, to be rejected of men, to become a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, Isaiah 53. He knew that. Nothing had happened by accident. It was determined that he's going to come and men will go against him and they will issue a place him on a cross on a tree and he will die because the counsel of God determined it to happen because when Yeshua died and he paid for the price of sin and he was buried and he was buried and rose.

There is hope for sinners like you and I. And that's what we learn here from these verses. So, they turn to the people of God, turn in prayer to God, turn to the word of God, receive the revelation of God and now quickly towards the end in verse 29 and 30, they ask for the boldness of God. Look at the beautiful, they say, "Lord, behold their threatenings and grant unto your servant that with all boldness they speak thy word by stretching forth thine hand to heal and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Yeshua." They ask for boldness. You see, brothers and sisters, even though we saw Peter and John earlier having boldness, but here we see that a collective group asks for boldness because we don't have that boldness by nature.

And here they're praying to God that He will grant to them boldness. How He gonna get this boldness? By Him being using them and being affecting in the ministry through them by stretching your hand to heal. and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Yeshua. You know, God, in the early first century, you know, when people, the apostles, how many were used by God to heal people? Physical healing! And there were also signs and wonders that happened. It was not a mockery, it was not a joke, it was really the power of God that was effective in the first century.

But the apostles did so in the power of God. And so, finally, in the last verse of our chapter, is that the whole assembly there, the whole believers together, they were filled by the Holy Spirit of God. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken. Can you imagine? It was not something that makeshift, it was a real thing, the whole place shook. I don't know what's going to happen if one day, if you and I are going to come to a prayer meeting, can you imagine? We are praying and the whole building here is shaking. Not a tsunami, it's not an earthquake. It was real shaking of God's approval of their prayer.

Amazing, when you think of what happened here. And so, the place was shaken, and we assembled together, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit of God. And they speak the word of God with boldness. Again, the filling of the Spirit of God. It is not the fact only that they have received in the past the Holy Spirit of God to indwell them as believers, but they were filled with the Spirit of God. Ephesians teaches us, be not drunk with wine, where is there is excess, but be filled with the Spirit of God. To be filled with the Spirit of God means to be subject to the Word of God, subject to Yeshua, the Messiah.

And because of our obedience to His will, we will be filled with the person, the Holy Spirit of God, and He will use us to testify of Yeshua, the Messiah. the Messiah. How wonderful, beloved brothers and sisters, when we see what has happened here. And so, in closing, I want to say, here is those six points that we have here in this prayer time. They shared with God's people. They turned to God in prayer. They turned to God's Word. They received God's revelation. They asked for God's boldness and they were filled with God's Spirit. That's what happened here. The response of the assembly to the first persecution that had happened in the city of Jerusalem.

May the Lord help us to learn from that and encourage us to follow the Lord and ask from Him to give us the needed boldness as we continue to follow after Him. Can you say Amen to that? Amen.