“Influence and Enmity”
Acts 5:12-42
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Introduction: These last few weeks we have been learning about the start of the Christian church just after Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected. We have seen the courage, power, love, unity, and selflessness that were evident in this early church. Hopefully these passages have encouraged us and challenged us as a people of God. Hopefully these passages have reminded us who God desires us to be as His people and what is possible when we trust God.
This morning we see that our passage shows the power of God working through His followers, and how they were held in high esteem. By the works that were being demonstrated, people were drawn to Christ and being added to the church on a daily basis. I want us to look at how we can exhibit the power of God in and through our lives, and how when this happens God will draw people to Himself.
I. Being Courageous- (Matthew 26:31; Acts 5:12-18, 40-42)
a. Failure- Let me take a moment to remind you of who some of the
disciples were as they walked with Jesus. First, there is James and John, who were known as the “sons of thunder.” They were known this way because they were young, proud, and impressed with themselves. They sought to do things for themselves. Just a few days for Jesus was crucified, they were arguing for the places of prominence in heaven. But these would be 2 of the 12 apostles who would lead the church forward; who participated in the selling of property and giving to the needy as we talked about last week. What a radical change their was for James and John, going from wanting prominence, to this apostolic leadership.
Second, we have Peter. Peter, who denied Jesus 3 times, even cursing the slave girl who accused him of being a follower of Jesus. Yet it was this Peter who would preach with authority and power a few weeks later, that all must repent by the name of Jesus, the name that is above all names in heaven and on earth. Peter made it clear that Jesus was the only means to salvation.
These are just a couple examples of people who seemingly were failures. But Jesus knew this would happen, as He quoted the prophet Zechariah in Matthew 26:31, saying, “I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered.” And we saw this come true. After Jesus was arrested, the disciples were confused and unorganized. They watched Jesus be flogged, tried, and executed, not even standing by Jesus in this time. They were hiding in fear after Jesus was crucified. They showed great weakness, feeling hopeless about their future. But now we see them as strong and courageous, filled with the Spirit, certain of their message and their witness.
HOW DID THEY CHANGE?
b. Courage- This is an important question, because I think it goes
along with the question how can we change? Most people don’t think of themselves as courageous for the kingdom of God. We need to understand that what is in the Bible is not just informative, but transformative. Meaning that as we read the Bible, it should lead us to change as well. We need to believe that God can change our weaknesses to strength, take us from feeling inadequate to becoming more than adequate. Help us to move past any sin and shame we may feel. Help us to be certain of what we believe and how we are to live. We should be able to move to that place where we are encouraged and challenged to be the best Christians we can be.
The last part of this scripture reading we just read in Acts 5 is probably the best way to see how the disciples went from failure in their being a friend to Jesus, to showing their courage. Let’s read it again, Acts 5:40-42: “And after calling the apostles in, the Sanhedrin flogged them and ordered them to speak no more in the name of Jesus, and then released them. So the apostles went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for the name of Christ. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.”
They rejoiced that they had been considered worthy to suffer. Now that is quite a change. They had been hiding before, now they were speaking even after they had been flogged. They rejoiced that they were being identified with Christ. They had a new conviction of what their life was to be about. It was not to be about themselves, but about Jesus Christ. They were compelled to share this message and to live this message.
The focus is on the world, and getting Jesus’ message out to the world. And by their lives we see how they were viewed. First, in verse 13, we are told that “the people held them in high esteem.” But we are also told in verse 18 that “their enemies laid hands on the them and put them in a public jail.” So in preaching the message, they experienced approval and rejection from the world. We have to be willing to receive both.
II. High Esteem- (Acts 5:12-13; Isaiah 55:10-11; 2 Corinthians 2:14)
a. Those who were blessed- As we just read in verse 13, there were
many who held the apostles in high esteem. We see this because multitudes of people were being attracted to them, and ultimately to Christ. The apostles were leading the people to the life-transforming presence of the Holy Spirit. They were winning friends and associates because they were changing their lives for the better. They were also changing the city for the better. People were feeling more hopeful about their lives and the world around them.
Each of us have to ask ourselves this question: “Do I believe that people can come to Christ through me?” This is an important question, because the answer needs to be “yes.” Jesus calls each of us to talk about Him to others. And by doing this, people will come to Christ. But it takes courage to do this. God will open doors for us and give us opportunity. More often than not, when people say “no” to this question, it’s not because they don’t want people to know Jesus, it’s because they don’t know how to tell people, or they don’t think they have the right words to say.
But let me give you a couple of verses that might help you with this. The first is found in 1 Corinthians 3:6, where the apostle Paul says: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.” We aren’t responsible for people becoming Christians or not, we are just responsible for telling them about Jesus, and how Jesus died for them so that they have a way to heaven. Now let me read to you from Isaiah 55:10-11, “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” When we speak God’s word and not our own, we will see God working in people’s lives.
b. The shadow- Along with the signs and wonders that were being
done, Luke talks about how people were being healed by just standing in Peter’s shadow. How powerful this must have been for Peter. Think about healing people with your shadow! But if you really think about it, you would have to understand that it is all God. No one is powerful in their own right to heal others with their shadow. This power that was being exhibited through Peter led people to bring their sick from all over so that they could be healed. And it says that they were cured.
Think about this for a moment. I think that people were missing the point. I know that at times we miss the point. Just like the people there, we want healing for our own sake. We want healing because we want to avoid the frustrations that come from not being fully well. We don’t usually give God the glory He deserves when there is healing. And this is what is going on in Acts, they weren’t concerned with God, just themselves. They weren’t concerned about salvation or living for God. They weren’t concerned with the needs of others. They were only concerned about themselves, and having they own needs taken care of.
In verse 18 we see how the Council “laid hands on the apostles and put them in jail.” We have the power to heal with our lives, or power to hurt. If we are to be followers of Christ, then our lives need to bring healing. We actually have the power through God, to heal others just by our presence, if the Spirit of God is in us!
III. Enemies of the church- (Acts 5:18-33)
a. We’ve already talked about the end of the story, with them getting
flogged, warned, and released. But let’s go back to what happened before that. Here we see that there is jealousy on the part of the Council for what the apostles are doing. They are healing people. The power of God is exhibited through them. They are gaining popularity and notoriety. Because of this jealousy, they had to try and stop them somehow, and so they arrest them.
But an angel of the Lord comes to them while they are in jail and essentially breaks them out of jail. With the doors open, the angel tells the apostles to “Go and stand in the temple courts and tell the people about this new life.” Let’s stop for a moment. Even though this is an angel of God, and you are probably glad to be free from jail, you are being told to go out to a very public place and speak on behalf of God. Obviously you know that this will not go unnoticed, and that this will cause the Council to become even more upset at you.
So what do they do? The next day they do just that; they go to the temple courts and start to speak. At first it doesn’t get to the Council right away, because when they convene that morning, they send for the apostles. But they are told that the apostles are not in the jail because they are out in the temple courts speaking. So the captain of the officers goes out to get them. Force isn’t needed, since the apostles willfully go with the captain. They are brought before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the High Priest.
b. Dealing with the enemy- In this section we see how the enemy of
God acts. There is anger and denial: “We gave you strict orders not to teach in Jesus’ name…Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s (Jesus’) blood.” The anger is seen in the phrase “we gave you strict orders.” The Council can’t understand why their authority is being challenged, and they are not happy with the apostles’ lack of obedience to their words. The denial is seen in their accusing the apostles of blaming the Council for Jesus’ death. They weren’t going to admit that they had any responsibility in getting Jesus killed, even though it was the religious leaders who influenced the people to demand Jesus be crucified.
Peter is unmoved by the words of the High Priest, as he responds like he did back in chapter 4 when he was arrested for healing a crippled beggar. Peter simply says: “We must obey God rather than human beings…” And then he goes on to emphatically say that they were responsible for Jesus’ death, “whom you killed by hanging him on a cross.” Peter was not going to be coerced by their anger and threats. Of course this only made the Council all the more upset.
It is obvious that the authorities here are ineffective. Motivation through threats is never the way to go, especially here where they are so driven by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Council tells them “You must not do so,” and the apostles keep saying “I will obey God rather than men.” We see here that in the face of opposition, one must stand their ground and follow God.
IV. The church tested- (Acts 5:33-42)
a. The temple- “Leroy and the Preacher,” (e-mail): “There is a story
of a man named Leroy who goes to the revival that is in town. While there he listens to the preacher’s words and is moved by them. At the end when the preacher asks if there are any who need prayer, Leroy goes forward. He waits in line until it is finally his turn. The preacher asks him, ‘Leroy, what do you want me to pray about for you?’ To which Leroy says, ‘Preacher, I need you to pray for my hearing.’ So the preacher lifts his hand up to Leroy’s ear and begins to pray. He prays for several minutes, and then finally removes his hand, stands back and asks, ‘Leroy, how is your hearing now?’ To which Leroy says: ‘I don’t know, Reverend, it aint til next Wednesday!’”
Well, the apostles had lots of prayer support for their hearing. And this was an important test for the church. That is because if the apostles gave in to the demands of the Council, and stopped speaking in the name of Christ, and stopped speaking the message of Christ, and stopped healing in Jesus’ name, then the church would be doomed. The apostles knew that they couldn’t give in to the demands of the Council. It didn’t matter if their teaching made the Council feel guilty. They were guilty. And the truth needed to be told, both of the Council’s guilt, and of the truth that Jesus had been raised from the dead!!
The Council should have allowed the apostles words to convict them of their guilt so that they could turn to Jesus for forgiveness. But they couldn’t humble their hearts. If we can’t humble our hearts, and ask for forgiveness, then we will experience ongoing guilt that often shows itself in anger.
b. Speaking the truth- The apostles concern was to be obedient to
God. And without this truth being spoken, people would not be convicted of their guilt, and they would not find repentance. The only way to repentance is through the acknowledgement that you have a problem. The Council members needed this truth as much as anyone. And so the apostles took advantage of their opportunity. Instead of trying to give themselves over to what the Council wanted to hear, the apostles were dedicated to speaking the truth. And when the Council heard this truth, they blamed the messengers for their guilty feelings.
As their consciences bothered them, it led them to want to kill the apostles. This is not unheard of. I’m sure that you, like me, have seen people who are convicted by Jesus becoming jealous, angry, or having feelings of guilt. We, as God’s messengers, can’t feel hurt by this, or inadequate by their not receiving our message. Like the apostles, the test for us is to speak the truth and be obedient to God.
A new message comes to the Council by one of the Pharisees names Gamaliel. He tells a story of a man who led a group of about 400 people, but once he was slain the followers dispersed. So Gamaliel proposed that they leave them alone, and in time their movement will go away. Then Gamaliel says in Acts 5:38-39, “…If this plan or action should be of men, it will be overthrown; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them…you may even be found fighting against God.” This is why our obedience is a test. If we are God’s people, then when we are doing what God leads us to do, we will be successful!! That doesn’t mean we won’t have hardship; the apostles were flogged. That doesn’t mean we won’t have opposition; the apostles were jailed. That doesn’t our message will always be accepted. But it will mean that God will use us to influence others.
Conclusion: As a church, we need to ask ourselves, do we want to go along with society, or do we want to be obedient to God? To be obedient means that we must seek to influence others for God by speaking the message of God’s love and God’s salvation. People need to understand that it is my sin, and their sin, that put Jesus on the cross. But because Jesus went to the cross, and died on the cross, and was resurrected from the dead, we have forgiveness of sins, and we have salvation!
What leads you to have passion not only for the moment, but for a lifetime? Both as an individual and as a church it is having the privilege of being used by God. Sometimes this is challenging. Sometimes there is even some suffering involved. But in all things, it works out as a blessing, because God will use our faithfulness in powerful ways. If we want to see God alive in our lives and in this church, then we must speak the message of God, and let God work signs and miracles through us. Amen.
Acts 5:12-42
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Introduction: These last few weeks we have been learning about the start of the Christian church just after Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected. We have seen the courage, power, love, unity, and selflessness that were evident in this early church. Hopefully these passages have encouraged us and challenged us as a people of God. Hopefully these passages have reminded us who God desires us to be as His people and what is possible when we trust God.
This morning we see that our passage shows the power of God working through His followers, and how they were held in high esteem. By the works that were being demonstrated, people were drawn to Christ and being added to the church on a daily basis. I want us to look at how we can exhibit the power of God in and through our lives, and how when this happens God will draw people to Himself.
I. Being Courageous- (Matthew 26:31; Acts 5:12-18, 40-42)
a. Failure- Let me take a moment to remind you of who some of the
disciples were as they walked with Jesus. First, there is James and John, who were known as the “sons of thunder.” They were known this way because they were young, proud, and impressed with themselves. They sought to do things for themselves. Just a few days for Jesus was crucified, they were arguing for the places of prominence in heaven. But these would be 2 of the 12 apostles who would lead the church forward; who participated in the selling of property and giving to the needy as we talked about last week. What a radical change their was for James and John, going from wanting prominence, to this apostolic leadership.
Second, we have Peter. Peter, who denied Jesus 3 times, even cursing the slave girl who accused him of being a follower of Jesus. Yet it was this Peter who would preach with authority and power a few weeks later, that all must repent by the name of Jesus, the name that is above all names in heaven and on earth. Peter made it clear that Jesus was the only means to salvation.
These are just a couple examples of people who seemingly were failures. But Jesus knew this would happen, as He quoted the prophet Zechariah in Matthew 26:31, saying, “I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered.” And we saw this come true. After Jesus was arrested, the disciples were confused and unorganized. They watched Jesus be flogged, tried, and executed, not even standing by Jesus in this time. They were hiding in fear after Jesus was crucified. They showed great weakness, feeling hopeless about their future. But now we see them as strong and courageous, filled with the Spirit, certain of their message and their witness.
HOW DID THEY CHANGE?
b. Courage- This is an important question, because I think it goes
along with the question how can we change? Most people don’t think of themselves as courageous for the kingdom of God. We need to understand that what is in the Bible is not just informative, but transformative. Meaning that as we read the Bible, it should lead us to change as well. We need to believe that God can change our weaknesses to strength, take us from feeling inadequate to becoming more than adequate. Help us to move past any sin and shame we may feel. Help us to be certain of what we believe and how we are to live. We should be able to move to that place where we are encouraged and challenged to be the best Christians we can be.
The last part of this scripture reading we just read in Acts 5 is probably the best way to see how the disciples went from failure in their being a friend to Jesus, to showing their courage. Let’s read it again, Acts 5:40-42: “And after calling the apostles in, the Sanhedrin flogged them and ordered them to speak no more in the name of Jesus, and then released them. So the apostles went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for the name of Christ. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.”
They rejoiced that they had been considered worthy to suffer. Now that is quite a change. They had been hiding before, now they were speaking even after they had been flogged. They rejoiced that they were being identified with Christ. They had a new conviction of what their life was to be about. It was not to be about themselves, but about Jesus Christ. They were compelled to share this message and to live this message.
The focus is on the world, and getting Jesus’ message out to the world. And by their lives we see how they were viewed. First, in verse 13, we are told that “the people held them in high esteem.” But we are also told in verse 18 that “their enemies laid hands on the them and put them in a public jail.” So in preaching the message, they experienced approval and rejection from the world. We have to be willing to receive both.
II. High Esteem- (Acts 5:12-13; Isaiah 55:10-11; 2 Corinthians 2:14)
a. Those who were blessed- As we just read in verse 13, there were
many who held the apostles in high esteem. We see this because multitudes of people were being attracted to them, and ultimately to Christ. The apostles were leading the people to the life-transforming presence of the Holy Spirit. They were winning friends and associates because they were changing their lives for the better. They were also changing the city for the better. People were feeling more hopeful about their lives and the world around them.
Each of us have to ask ourselves this question: “Do I believe that people can come to Christ through me?” This is an important question, because the answer needs to be “yes.” Jesus calls each of us to talk about Him to others. And by doing this, people will come to Christ. But it takes courage to do this. God will open doors for us and give us opportunity. More often than not, when people say “no” to this question, it’s not because they don’t want people to know Jesus, it’s because they don’t know how to tell people, or they don’t think they have the right words to say.
But let me give you a couple of verses that might help you with this. The first is found in 1 Corinthians 3:6, where the apostle Paul says: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.” We aren’t responsible for people becoming Christians or not, we are just responsible for telling them about Jesus, and how Jesus died for them so that they have a way to heaven. Now let me read to you from Isaiah 55:10-11, “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” When we speak God’s word and not our own, we will see God working in people’s lives.
b. The shadow- Along with the signs and wonders that were being
done, Luke talks about how people were being healed by just standing in Peter’s shadow. How powerful this must have been for Peter. Think about healing people with your shadow! But if you really think about it, you would have to understand that it is all God. No one is powerful in their own right to heal others with their shadow. This power that was being exhibited through Peter led people to bring their sick from all over so that they could be healed. And it says that they were cured.
Think about this for a moment. I think that people were missing the point. I know that at times we miss the point. Just like the people there, we want healing for our own sake. We want healing because we want to avoid the frustrations that come from not being fully well. We don’t usually give God the glory He deserves when there is healing. And this is what is going on in Acts, they weren’t concerned with God, just themselves. They weren’t concerned about salvation or living for God. They weren’t concerned with the needs of others. They were only concerned about themselves, and having they own needs taken care of.
In verse 18 we see how the Council “laid hands on the apostles and put them in jail.” We have the power to heal with our lives, or power to hurt. If we are to be followers of Christ, then our lives need to bring healing. We actually have the power through God, to heal others just by our presence, if the Spirit of God is in us!
III. Enemies of the church- (Acts 5:18-33)
a. We’ve already talked about the end of the story, with them getting
flogged, warned, and released. But let’s go back to what happened before that. Here we see that there is jealousy on the part of the Council for what the apostles are doing. They are healing people. The power of God is exhibited through them. They are gaining popularity and notoriety. Because of this jealousy, they had to try and stop them somehow, and so they arrest them.
But an angel of the Lord comes to them while they are in jail and essentially breaks them out of jail. With the doors open, the angel tells the apostles to “Go and stand in the temple courts and tell the people about this new life.” Let’s stop for a moment. Even though this is an angel of God, and you are probably glad to be free from jail, you are being told to go out to a very public place and speak on behalf of God. Obviously you know that this will not go unnoticed, and that this will cause the Council to become even more upset at you.
So what do they do? The next day they do just that; they go to the temple courts and start to speak. At first it doesn’t get to the Council right away, because when they convene that morning, they send for the apostles. But they are told that the apostles are not in the jail because they are out in the temple courts speaking. So the captain of the officers goes out to get them. Force isn’t needed, since the apostles willfully go with the captain. They are brought before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the High Priest.
b. Dealing with the enemy- In this section we see how the enemy of
God acts. There is anger and denial: “We gave you strict orders not to teach in Jesus’ name…Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s (Jesus’) blood.” The anger is seen in the phrase “we gave you strict orders.” The Council can’t understand why their authority is being challenged, and they are not happy with the apostles’ lack of obedience to their words. The denial is seen in their accusing the apostles of blaming the Council for Jesus’ death. They weren’t going to admit that they had any responsibility in getting Jesus killed, even though it was the religious leaders who influenced the people to demand Jesus be crucified.
Peter is unmoved by the words of the High Priest, as he responds like he did back in chapter 4 when he was arrested for healing a crippled beggar. Peter simply says: “We must obey God rather than human beings…” And then he goes on to emphatically say that they were responsible for Jesus’ death, “whom you killed by hanging him on a cross.” Peter was not going to be coerced by their anger and threats. Of course this only made the Council all the more upset.
It is obvious that the authorities here are ineffective. Motivation through threats is never the way to go, especially here where they are so driven by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Council tells them “You must not do so,” and the apostles keep saying “I will obey God rather than men.” We see here that in the face of opposition, one must stand their ground and follow God.
IV. The church tested- (Acts 5:33-42)
a. The temple- “Leroy and the Preacher,” (e-mail): “There is a story
of a man named Leroy who goes to the revival that is in town. While there he listens to the preacher’s words and is moved by them. At the end when the preacher asks if there are any who need prayer, Leroy goes forward. He waits in line until it is finally his turn. The preacher asks him, ‘Leroy, what do you want me to pray about for you?’ To which Leroy says, ‘Preacher, I need you to pray for my hearing.’ So the preacher lifts his hand up to Leroy’s ear and begins to pray. He prays for several minutes, and then finally removes his hand, stands back and asks, ‘Leroy, how is your hearing now?’ To which Leroy says: ‘I don’t know, Reverend, it aint til next Wednesday!’”
Well, the apostles had lots of prayer support for their hearing. And this was an important test for the church. That is because if the apostles gave in to the demands of the Council, and stopped speaking in the name of Christ, and stopped speaking the message of Christ, and stopped healing in Jesus’ name, then the church would be doomed. The apostles knew that they couldn’t give in to the demands of the Council. It didn’t matter if their teaching made the Council feel guilty. They were guilty. And the truth needed to be told, both of the Council’s guilt, and of the truth that Jesus had been raised from the dead!!
The Council should have allowed the apostles words to convict them of their guilt so that they could turn to Jesus for forgiveness. But they couldn’t humble their hearts. If we can’t humble our hearts, and ask for forgiveness, then we will experience ongoing guilt that often shows itself in anger.
b. Speaking the truth- The apostles concern was to be obedient to
God. And without this truth being spoken, people would not be convicted of their guilt, and they would not find repentance. The only way to repentance is through the acknowledgement that you have a problem. The Council members needed this truth as much as anyone. And so the apostles took advantage of their opportunity. Instead of trying to give themselves over to what the Council wanted to hear, the apostles were dedicated to speaking the truth. And when the Council heard this truth, they blamed the messengers for their guilty feelings.
As their consciences bothered them, it led them to want to kill the apostles. This is not unheard of. I’m sure that you, like me, have seen people who are convicted by Jesus becoming jealous, angry, or having feelings of guilt. We, as God’s messengers, can’t feel hurt by this, or inadequate by their not receiving our message. Like the apostles, the test for us is to speak the truth and be obedient to God.
A new message comes to the Council by one of the Pharisees names Gamaliel. He tells a story of a man who led a group of about 400 people, but once he was slain the followers dispersed. So Gamaliel proposed that they leave them alone, and in time their movement will go away. Then Gamaliel says in Acts 5:38-39, “…If this plan or action should be of men, it will be overthrown; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them…you may even be found fighting against God.” This is why our obedience is a test. If we are God’s people, then when we are doing what God leads us to do, we will be successful!! That doesn’t mean we won’t have hardship; the apostles were flogged. That doesn’t mean we won’t have opposition; the apostles were jailed. That doesn’t our message will always be accepted. But it will mean that God will use us to influence others.
Conclusion: As a church, we need to ask ourselves, do we want to go along with society, or do we want to be obedient to God? To be obedient means that we must seek to influence others for God by speaking the message of God’s love and God’s salvation. People need to understand that it is my sin, and their sin, that put Jesus on the cross. But because Jesus went to the cross, and died on the cross, and was resurrected from the dead, we have forgiveness of sins, and we have salvation!
What leads you to have passion not only for the moment, but for a lifetime? Both as an individual and as a church it is having the privilege of being used by God. Sometimes this is challenging. Sometimes there is even some suffering involved. But in all things, it works out as a blessing, because God will use our faithfulness in powerful ways. If we want to see God alive in our lives and in this church, then we must speak the message of God, and let God work signs and miracles through us. Amen.
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