1 Kings 1:1-37; Acts 4:23-37; Psalms 123:3-4; Proverbs 27:11
NT: “After they were released, they went to their own people and reported everything the chief priests and the elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices together to God and said, “Master, you are the one who made the heaven, the earth, and the sea, and everything in them… And now, Lord, consider their threats, and grant that your servants may speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand for healing, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God boldly. Now the entire group of those who believed were of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but instead they held everything in common. With great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on all of them. For there was not a needy person among them because all those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the proceeds of what was sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet. This was then distributed to each person as any had need.” (Acts 4:23-24, 29-35 CSB)
After Peter and John were threatened by the Sanhedrin, they went back to their community of believers and reported everything that had happened. When the community of believers heard what had happened, they immediately went on social media to defame those who were against them…. No, that’s not what they did. They didn’t stand out in front of the temple protesting either. They immediately lifted up their voices in prayer. They didn’t ask God to rain down judgement and destruction on those who opposed them… they didn’t ask God to remove the opposition. They asked that God would give all of them grace to continue proclaiming the gospel with boldness and ministering to those around them with an unarguable demonstration of God’s kingdom power and authority. That was a prayer that God heard and that was a prayer that God answered. When they finished praying, they were all filled to a new level with the Holy Spirit, and were thus able to go into the world in a new level of boldness. Not only were they bold in their faith – they were also unified. The entire group of believers were of one heart (they had a singular passion and singular desire) and one mind (psyche in Greek, which refers to that which causes one to be alive). They were all alive in Christ with a singular desire to know Him and make Him known. They were all living in community with no self-serving agendas or hidden motives. All of this was possible through a unified faith in Christ and the filling of the Holy Spirit. Today, many people are saying that what this divided nation of the United States needs right now is a unified church. I believe that to be true. How then, do we become unified? It’s not through a unified disdain for those in power. It is not through a unified fear of what could happen to our rights. Unity comes as we lift up our voices in prayer to our Master Who made the heavens and the earth… to ask Him for grace to be bold witnesses for Him… to ask Him for grace to move in unity toward His kingdom purposes… to ask Him for grace to demonstrate the reality of His kingdom power and authority. Unity comes as we lay down all of our individual agendas and seek to live in community with one another through the ongoing filling of the Holy Spirit. What the world needs now is for the church to once again be of one heart and one mind. That, friends, is a revived church. Lord, let it be so.
Jamie Hicks 