by David Howard | Mar 4, 2024 | Foxhole Ministry - Republished with Permission
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Biblical research reveals there was a period of exactly 7 days from when Jesus went to heaven to when the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost. This was the start of the true biblical ACTS Church. This is when the Holy Spirit was poured out on all believers and they were given their commission to witness Christ to the ends of the earth, (Acts 1:8). Through faith they became disciple makers and then were first called Christians, (Acts 11:26). They became the light of Christ to their community and brought the great salvation through Jesus the Christ. “…throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria they were …walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied, (Acts 9:31).
They prayed, “Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness’ (Acts 4:29). This is because they lived in a time of active persecution by the political powers of the Jewish government under King Herod. They refused to blend into the culture because they were open, engaged, and avowed Christians that represented the truth of Christ. Government tried to prevent the truth of Christ from being taught and persecuted those who ignored the edicts as is happening in America, but the disciples responded with prayers for boldness. Peter and John answered the Jewish government during their trial by stating, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:13-20). They did this because they knew Jesus taught, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven…, (Matthew 5:11-12).
The government later imprisoned several of the Apostles and this resulted in the martyrdom of Stephen for the invented charge of blasphemy, (Acts 7). This brought Saul’s persecution of the Church and the conversion of Saul who became Paul on the road to Damascus, (Acts 9). Then the Holy Spirit fell on all the Gentiles, (Acts 10:47), and Peter defended God’s grace and interestingly they had no church building.
King Herod’s violence against the Church increased and resulted in the killing of James the brother of John with a sword. This brought the arrest of Peter, (Acts 12:1-4) who was freed by an angel of the Lord, (Acts 12:5-19), but persecutions continued. Paul was assaulted in the temple at Jerusalem and only the intervention of a detachment of Roman soldiers saves him from death. “Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city,” (Acts 18:9-10). This led to two years in custody for alleged sedition. Paul was kept under guard in Herod’s palace in Caesarea (Acts 23:34-35) as the politicians — Roman governors and politically appointed Jewish kings — seek to use Paul to gain political advantage with the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem.
This enabled Paul to have many hearings before Roman Governor Antonius Felix, who was filling the position held by Pontius Pilate. Paul then testified before Jewish King Agrippa II, (Acts chapters 21 to 25). During these testimonies Paul was able to give his glorious defense of the Gospel of Christ, and recounted his conversion when Christ commanded him and all future disciples saying, “I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me,’ (Acts 26:17-18). This is when Paul was sent to Rome and the rest of the books of the bible were later written.
There is one undeniable fact in Acts, the disciples of Christ first called Christians accepted their commission from Christ to be disciple makers and to “Go and make disciples of all the nations,” (Matthew 28:19). They believed and they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit gave them the boldness to act for Christ during persecution and receive Christ’s blessing. They did not fail to represent Christ’s truth in the public square against the Jewish government because they knew God rewards faith not fear. The Acts church represents the community standard for all future Churches that they must be bold witnesses to win converts to Christ in the public square of opinion.
However, today there are many “Almost There” churches led by Shepherds who have created an invisible line preventing the bold and powerful inspirational word of truth from being spoken from the pulpit and in the public square. They are without knowing, preventing the unlimited power of the God’s word from being used as the offensive weapon against cultural darkness. This is the sword of the Spirit, the word of God (Ephesians 6:17) that encapsulates and motivates the grace and truth that alters the human journey to achieve eternal life through Jesus the Christ. But the people today of the “Almost There” go to Church, the minister preaches and they go home. This is all they do. These Shepherds many thinking they are right to stay on the hidden non-conflict pietism side of the line has the effect of preventing boldness as if boldness is a sin. Thankfully, they do teach the church body to love everyone, go to their church and tithe. The “Almost There” Churches do focus on teaching salvation, worship, praying, marriages, and loving people into healing through Jesus Christ, etc. This includes missionary programs to heal people from drugs and men and women groups that bring the people together, etc. but this church learns to go to Church, the minister preaches and go home.
This invisible line prevents the “Almost There” Church from their main purpose of actively occupying the community as disciple makers bringing Christ’s light to the world, (Matthew 5:14), because they go to church, the minister preaches and go home. This may be caused by Shepherds who are more interested in harmony through appeasement than boldly speaking the truth of Christ into the darkness that surrounds them. They should ask themselves, “What harmony is there between Christ and Belial” (2 Corinthians 6:15)?
This is a curiosity because they claim to read and adhere to the same word of God as the original Acts Christians, but somehow cheapen and decry boldness having the effect of influencing their church body not to stand firm in the faith, (1 Cor 16:13). What happened to “the righteous are bold as a lion” (Proverbs 28:1)? This shows the danger that without preaching the bold faithful obedience to go out and make disciples the Church will have form, but will not strive for its ultimate purpose. Thus, sadly becoming a group of saved users of God’s grace. I pray they will wake-up and “…remember, (the word of God) is a message to obey, not just to listen to. So don’t fool yourselves. For if a person just listens and doesn’t obey, he is like a man looking at his face in a mirror; as soon as he walks away, he can’t see himself anymore or remember what he looks like”, (James 1:22-24). Is this not walking, “…according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,” (Ephesians 2:2)?
Christians today must be taught to boldly stand firm in the faith because once they are saved by God’s grace through Jesus the Christ, they instantly become disciple makers and are commissioned by Christ to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth, (Acts 1:8). Christians must know they “…can do all things through Christ, (Philippians 4:13) and Christ, “…has given them the ministry of reconciliation”, (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). Then our commission is clear. “He now sends us, to open people’s eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Christ,” (Acts 26:17-18). This charge is the most important command of living the gospel after individual salvation. This is the part that is mostly lost or absent in “Almost There” churches in America today. May God give them the strength to be Acts Christians.
David Howard, Foxhole Ministry
