And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them. Acts 4:1
On a summer day in 1960, two men made their way into a quiet little county community in northern Nova Scotia, with a special mission – they were looking for a place in which to hold a series of Gospel meetings. The little community had an old one-room schoolhouse, and the two men were urged by the Holy Spirit to make arrangements for that old schoolhouse to be the location for the meetings. All the permissions and arrangements fell into place, and so did the plans for the meetings. The two men completed the details, and the preachers arrived and began preaching and visiting; and the Christians began praying in earnest for blessing. And their prayers were answered. Everybody who lived in that little community of Millbrook attended at least one of those meetings, and most attended most of the meetings. The presence of the Lord was evident, and the preachers felt the power of the Lord in their efforts. By the time the meetings concluded, there were 25 meetings in all, and 25 people had professed faith in Christ. Many of those 25 – and the significant number saved in subsequent follow-up work – are continuing on for God to this day. All because God reached those people in Millbrook before the devil could get his opposition organized.
Before the religious leaders could get organized against the apostles as our text relates, five thousand people heard the Gospel and were saved. But the opponents soon stepped in to put a halt to that. So it was good that the apostles preached their hearts out before the opponents arrived. The preachers in Millbrook had a wonderful opportunity in Millbrook in the summer of 1960, because the minister of the local church had gone on vacation and was not available to warn the locals against the Gospel preachers. When he returned, he ramped up the opposition, but he was too late. But he did manage to put a halt to much more Gospel work in that area. That’s what the priests and the Sadducees were doing in today’s text. With so many being drawn away by the apostles, they were going to lose too many supporters. So they began their opposition. The devil always has his opponents of the Gospel, and he wastes little time in getting them into action to challenge and interfere. That’s why we need to be on the alert for opportunities before the devil gets organized.
Very few of us have ever seen a Gospel series like that one in Millbrook 63 years ago this summer. If three or four are saved in a Gospel series, we are happy and thankful. But 25, that is too much to expect. Does that mean God can’t save 25 people in a Gospel series anymore? Of course not! But the devil has his opponents well organized. And it will be a greater challenge to come up with ways to reach sinners with the Gospel before the devil gets organized. Pray that we may be up to the challenge. – Jim MacIntosh