What
Happened Next #5 Acts 4:1-22 Holy Boldness
“What
Do I Do If I'm Afraid of Getting It Wrong?”
The
Spirit was promised – and the promise was delivered at Pentecost.
The promise is still true for us who are “far off” in time and
place. Now we have to live in that power – we are not powerless.
But
we are a bit scared.
I
used to sit on my Mum's Mobylette Moped in the garage and pretend to
be at the TT races. I even put on the helmet and goggles! Brrrm
Brrrm! Then I discovered the key! By turning the little key and
pedaling Broom! The engine started! Wow! 49 cubic centimetres of
power! But I kept it safely on the stand – you can't be too
careful.... Danger! Excitement! Speed!Of course the only real
dangers were a) My mum would find out. b) It would slip off the stand
and crash into to garage wall. c) (and I didn't know about this
though its the only real danger) I would asphyxiate myself with
Carbon Monoxide. I wasn't worried about that - but I should have
been!
The
Sanhedrin tried to scare Peter into staying in the garage with the
moped on its stand. “Make all the noise you like” they sort of
said “But don't take it out on the streets. Otherwise you'll be in
trouble if we find out.” They were afraid of the power. It wasn't
just the teaching about Jesus -I'm sure they could have coped with
that as a theological debate. After all they had all sorts of
disagreements between Pharisee and Sadducee about Resurrection. But
the problem was this demonstration of power – the healed crippled
man who annoyingly kept bounding up and down “walking and leaping
and praising God” they had “nothing to say in opposition” v14
to that.
They'd
have preferred the “moped on its stand in the garage saying brmm
brmm” model.
They
could just about live with the “engine running behind closed doors
in fear” model.
But
they didn't want the moped out on the streets.
Today
a moped.
Tomorrow
a Tiger Cub
Next
it will be a Mini, an Estate Car, an MGB!
Of
course the Council wanted to restrict what the newborn church would
do with this Holy Spirit Power. If they could be kept just talking
about it then they would get bored, disagree with one another,
disperse, fragment and make no impact on the world. Brmm Brmm.
Is
it just words with us?
And
if they tried to practice behind closed doors, a secret mystery sect
with arcane mysteries kept for the committed and advanced recipients
of gnosis only – they would eventually choke themselves to death
and disappear.
Do
we want to keep it private and personal?
But
once they hit the streets everyone will notice.
And
that's a whole new world of fears to wrestle with. What if I fall
off? What if everyone laughs at me? What if I break down or run out
of fuel? What if someone crashes into me? What about pot holes? How
much is the insurance – how much! I'll have to learn the Highway
Code, pass a test. And then someone will want a lift. But once you
have the bug – you can't NOT ride it, can you? Peter says “We
cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard” v20.
Are
some of these your fears?
Well
Ok they are some of mine too.
Its
sensible to be scared on a moped.
But
it mustn't stop you from setting off, keeping going, learning and
growing.
And
in Faith all of those things have happened – falling, scorn,
attacks, tragedies, expense, learning, testing, demands – but once
you have the bug – the power of the Holy Spirit in you – you
cannot stop.
If
you are afraid of getting it wrong. Don't worry. You will. But that's
OK. God likes mistakes.
You'll
get used to it! Start pedaling.
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