Acts 5:17-42 | 27 April 2025
Pastor Charlotte explored the challenging topic of "Navigating 'The New'," drawing insights from Acts 5:17-42. While newness can be exciting, it often disrupts our comfort zones and routines, leading to feelings of unease, fear, or even resistance. This tension between the old and the new is seen in the confrontation between the apostles and the established Jewish leaders (the Sanhedrin).
The sermon highlighted the Sanhedrin's reaction, which was "filled with jealousy" (Acts 5:17). Representing the established order, they viewed the apostles' message about the resurrected Jesus as a direct threat to their authority. Theirs was a defensive posture rooted in a "loss mindset" – focusing on what they feared losing. In stark contrast stood the wisdom of Gamaliel, who urged discernment rather than immediate defence. His crucial question, "Is this of God?", forms the first key principle for navigating the new: we must Discern the source, prayerfully seeking God's perspective before reacting.
From discernment, we moved to the need to Shift our perspective from a "loss mindset" to a "gain mindset." While the Sanhedrin feared losing earthly power, the apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit, focused on the incredible gain offered through Christ: forgiveness, a real relationship with God, resurrection life, and the Spirit's power – an eternal gain far outweighing any temporary comfort.
This shift enables the third principle: to Respond not with human defensiveness, but in the Spirit-guided "newness of life." The apostles exemplified this astonishingly by rejoicing after being flogged, finding honour in suffering for Christ's Name – a response empowered by God, not natural inclination.
Ultimately, the message encouraged us to embrace new seasons and challenges not with fear, but with faith-filled intentionality. When faced with "the new" in our faith, families, workplaces, or church, we are called to pause and pray for discernment, seek godly counsel to gain perspective, and focus on God Himself, trusting in His good purposes.