Acts 5:38-39

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.

These are tough verses to understand. In that context, the Jewish authorities really thought that they knew God's will and they were doing what they thought was in line with that. Sure, there were some among them who had self-seeking goals and various financial or political agendas, but at least this one, Gamaliel, was considering God's will here. So, according to what they thought God's will was, they were persecuting the apostles because of their faith in Jesus.

What does this mean in our 'post-modern' context? Should we be zealous in our pursuit of what we think God's will is, when possibly we don't know what that will actually is? On the flip-side, should we be lackadaisical in our faith and just assume that God's will is going to be manifested regardless of our input?

I don't know.

I hope that the Holy Spirit would guide us in each situation. And be cautious: it is easy to become pharisees ourselves, condemning others for their faith or actions when we don't fully know what God's plans are (for ourselves, let alone for others). We need to show the same grace that was shown to us through Jesus' death on the cross. We also need to remember that God's reasoning is so far above our own that we should consider ourselves very fortunate indeed to know His will at all.

Continue to move, but as you take those steps use the following as your compass and to judge your pace:

Compelling Spirit
Commanding Scripture
Council of the Saints
Common Sense
Circumstantial Signs

(these come from a sermon and via my brothers - and I wish I could credit the responsible pastor)