When you are walking in Holiness, men cannot intimidate you!
Peter who denied Christ three times, now walks in boldness and Holiness. He is no longer a coward.
Luke wrote by The Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 5:
29 But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.
30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree.
31 Him God has exalted to His Right Hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
32 And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”
33 When they heard this, they were furious and plotted to kill them.
Those in power were seeing their positions of power disintegrate and they were furious. They wanted to quash this movement before it was too late.
34 Then one in the council stood up, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law held in respect by all the people, and commanded them to put the apostles outside for a little while.
Gamaliel was Israel’s top scholar and was Paul’s teacher of the Law. He applied logic to the issue of this uprising.
35 And he said to them: “Men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men.
36 For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody. A number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was slain, and all who obeyed him were scattered and came to nothing.
37 After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census, and drew away many people after him. He also perished, and all who obeyed him were dispersed.
38 And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing;
39 but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it-lest you even be found to fight against God.”
40 And they agreed with him, and when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the Name of Jesus, and let them go.
The rest of the council agreed with Gamaliel’s logic however they physically abused the disciples hoping to scare them into submission. Did it work?
41 So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His Mame.
42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.
It did not work! They were willing to suffer physical and verbal abuse as they were fulfilling the mandate to bring forth The Kingdom of GOD to earth. They were unwilling to compromise even after being threatened and beaten. How many believers today are willing to suffer in a similar manner, especially in the United States?
How convinced are you to fulfill the mandate given specifically by Jesus Christ to His followers? Will you cower down to the pressure of the nefarious ones in power? Will your soul and flesh win over your spirit man? Will you remain silent as sin abounds around you?
Now is the time for us to press in and pursue Holiness like never before!