God Sustains What He Initiates

God sustains what he initiates- Pastor Steven Furtick

“Therefore in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” –Acts 5:38-39

These verses have been burning in my heart the last few days. The first time I ever read these verses it was almost 4 years ago. They came as a loving rebuke of sorts; a conviction from the Lord to stop trying to control what I couldn’t control, in a situation.

But this time they come as an encouragement to my heart, soul and mind. That what God is for, no one can stop. If God is for something who can stand against it? That is God is in something nothing can stop it. If something is from God…He sustains what is of him and from him!

There are two sides to this: There is the group whose is like the High Priest and his associates, and then there is the apostles.

There is the person(s) who is trying to control or stop something they have no control over anyway. To that person (I have been you) and in love I say, STOP IT!  

To quote Pastor Steve, if God initiates something he will sustain it. So stop worrying about, having an opinion about, metaling in things that at the end of the day if its not God it will fail, but if something is of God… all your attempts will fail. You will find yourself just, “fighting against God.” 

So again, in some situation there comes a time when we need to just back off and “Leaves these men alone! Let them go!”

Who are the “men” for you. I don’t necessarily mean real men, but then again maybe that’s what it for you. Maybe God is saying, “leave that man alone.” Maybe your “men” are a family member, friend, a circumstance or situation that you keep trying to control, but at the end of day you may just be fighting against God.

I’m not talking here about situation that we need to be praying over, I’m talking about situation that in and of themselves are not bad we just personally have an issue for whatever reason. Maybe we’re jealous (years ago, that what my issue was) and that was the high priest issue and all his associates…that was their problem, jealousy (vs.17). Are we threatened, anxious, fearful, insecure, look at the root of your own knee-jerk reaction. 

There just comes a time when we need to lay it down (whatever IT is) and trust God and stop trying to have a hand in everything or an opinion about everything, and for some, keep your NOSE out everything and trust God. Again, if its not from Him it will eventually fail anyway, but if it is from God…nothing you can do to stop it anyway.

The other side of this is encouraging. In (Acts 5:17) the apostle are arrested and put in jail because the high priest and all his associates were jealous. Jealousy will make you do some crazy stuff…just saying.

But in (Acts 5:19-20) “…during the night an angle of the Lord open the doors of the jail and brought them out. ‘Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people the full message of this new life.”

The Apostle did as they were told, and when the high priest and his posy (vs. 21-26) went to the jail to get the men they found they were gone, but someone came and told these men were the Apostles were. They went to were they were and brought the apostles back and had them questioned by the Sanhedrin. They were threatened  again not to speak anymore about Jesus but they responded, “We must obey God rather than men!”  Then Peter and the other apostles shared the Gospel. The men were furious  and wanted to put them to death, but then one man by the name of Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men we put out for awhile (he needed to have a little chat with all these men).

His advise to them was (Acts 5:38), “Therefore in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.

His speech persuaded them to let the apostle go. Not without another warning to not speak in the name of Jesus and some flogging, but the Apostles were over joyed to counted worthy to suffer for the Gospel, and day after day they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news.

They knew what they were doing was of God!

“If God is for us, then who could ever stop up?” – Romans 8:31

So I hope that you will also be encouraged today, as I was when these verses came to mind, that if what you or I are doing is of God (even if its difficult) who could ever stop us? If there is something in your life that is from God, trust in the Lord that what he initiates, he will sustain.

Even though the Apostles were through in jail because of jealousy, God “open the door” and set them free so they could keep doing what they had been doing.

I cannot describe how these verses are just burning my soul this morning as a reminder that, “What God is for, nothing can stop!”

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:31-39