Early Acts: Speak Through Me
Last week at the Herndon Campus, we heard a sermon on Acts Chapter 4 and persecution—what Jesus faced and what Peter and John faced after they healed a man that had been lame since birth. And it wasn’t the act but the reason behind the act for which they were persecuted.
They weren’t being persecuted for being kind or a good neighbor or just semi-decent human beings—all of which they were. They were persecuted because of the gospel, because of the good news that Jesus brings and the threat that they presented to those in power by unapologetically following the gospel.
Now, I am an Enneagram type 6, the Loyalist, and truly relate and connect to the basic desire of the number, which is safety and security.
Disclaimer: I do not think my basic desires as expressed and defined through the Enneagram are a bad thing. After all, God gave them to me when he created me in his image. But I can’t always let those desires dictate my actions and the way I live because I am a follower of Christ and am called to something greater than myself.
So when it was stated in that sermon that persecution is inevitable when following Jesus and asked what it means if we are Christians and aren’t being persecuted, I perked up and freaked out a little inside. Because, if I am being honest, even though I follow God and I work at a church, I don’t always put myself in situations or conversations where I could be persecuted because of the gospel. Because that doesn’t really feel “safe” and definitely does not bring my desired “security.”
As I reflect this week about the sermon and the way it made me feel, I am asking God to take away the guilt and shame and inviting him to speak through me. I am asking that my basic desires not be at the forefront of my mind and heart but that I will trust in him and believe the truth of the gospel above all else. That I will choose God and persecution over safety and security.
“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
What or who is your cornerstone? Is it money, popularity, your family, success, or safety?
Or, is your cornerstone Jesus? And is it the single truth that his death paid for all of your sins—the ones already committed and the ones yet to even happen? What or who will you trust in when there’s an opportunity to present the gospel and possibly be persecuted? Will you go out of your comfort zone to glorify God?
As the service closed we sang the song “Cornerstone” together, to say I loved the direct connection to the sermon is an understatement. It sealed in my mind the truth that God spoke through that sermon; that as Christians, Christ alone is our cornerstone, we are weak, and we are made strong in the Savior's love. Through the storm, he is Lord, Lord of all.
He is Lord, Lord of all.
Jessica Meyer is the Executive Assistant at Summit Church, which basically means she can answer any question you have! Send her an email over at jmeyer@summitconnect.org.