By What Power & What Name ?

[0:00] Amen. Let me turn in God's Word this morning. If you have your Bibles, I'm going to encourage you to open them at Acts, the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 4.

[0:17] We're going to be reading, really focusing this morning on verse 5 through to verse 22, the end of verse 22. However, just to set the context to remind us of that, I'm going to read the opening four verses as well.

[0:34] So I'll read from Acts 4, verse 1 through to verse 22. I know that Carl, last Sunday, did pick up on the opening four verses, and we'll really start at verse 5.

[0:49] But let's read in Acts, chapter 4, and at verse 1. And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed, because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

[1:14] And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.

[1:31] And they were teaching the serpent, and the king of the dead. And they were teaching the Lord, and the king of the dead. And the king of the dead. On the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexandra, and all who were of the high priest family.

[1:49] And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, By what power or by what name did you do this?

[2:02] Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people and elders, If we are being examined today, concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him, this man, is standing before you well.

[2:47] This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.

[2:59] And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven, given among men, by which we must be saved.

[3:14] Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished, and they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

[3:29] But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, saying, what shall we do with these men?

[3:49] For their unnotable sign has been performed through them, is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.

[4:02] But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.

[4:14] So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge.

[4:37] For we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard. And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them because of the people.

[4:52] For all were praising God for what had happened. For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than 40 years old.

[5:05] Amen. And we pray that God would speak to us as we open up his word this morning. Let's pray together. Our gracious Father, we thank you that your word is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword.

[5:22] And we pray, Lord God, that this morning you would give us light, that we might understand your word in its context, that we might understand all that you were saying and doing to those original hearers.

[5:38] But Father, we pray that by your spirit you would take this word and seal it in our hearts today, that we might be a people who are transformed by it and live with great boldness for your honor and for your glory.

[5:56] In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Well, we're in a very interesting place in our studies in the Acts of the Apostles.

[6:07] We have witnessed the power of the Spirit coming upon the early church. We've witnessed something of the shape and character of the early church.

[6:17] we've witnessed something of the sacrificial living and lifestyle of those who were absolutely consumed by our Lord Jesus Christ. He was their all in all and they were living for his honor and for his glory.

[6:32] And we've started to witness the way in which the church was growing as the power of God was manifest and people were coming to know the resurrected Christ for themselves.

[6:47] And last Sunday you concluded with that great note of 5,000 men and that's not including the women and children who are part of the worship and community of the people of God.

[6:59] The church growing at an incredible rate. But whenever the church of Jesus Christ grows there will always be opposition. And you see we must never forget that.

[7:10] Our Lord Jesus Christ declared it. Whenever we see the church of Jesus Christ wherever the gospel advances there will always be opposition.

[7:21] And sometimes that opposition can come from without. Here in the context of Acts chapter 4 it was coming from those who ought to have known better because they had all the rich history of Judaism behind them.

[7:37] But they did not know better and so they persecuted the church of Jesus Christ. And we see it also as we begin to go through into Acts chapter 5 disobedience amongst the people of God and Acts chapter 6 division you know amongst the people of God and so on and so forth.

[7:58] But the reality is that whenever the church of Jesus advances there is always persecution. There is always opposition. persecution.

[8:09] And the church advances in the face of and in the midst of and against hostile persecution. But the church of Jesus Christ always advances.

[8:22] That's why we're hungry for growth. That's why we're hungry to see more of the glory of God and the salvation of Christ in people's hearts and in people's lives.

[8:33] Well I want us to note the reason I read those opening four verses was not to go over anything that Carl had spoken about but to give us a context for verses 5 through the 22 because you'll notice at the beginning of chapter 4 it says that as they were Peter and John were speaking to the people preaching declaring the message of Christ the priests the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them three formidable groups the priests of course were the teachers in the temple and they did not like those who were preaching and proclaiming with great success the message of our Lord Jesus Christ and so they were angry.

[9:17] The captain of the guard were those responsible for maintaining order around the temple precincts and they didn't like the fact that it looked as if chaos was about to ensue because thousands were beginning to believe the preachers and the Sadducees of course didn't believe in the resurrection anyway and so there you find the three groups that are set against Peter and John and they do have power limited power the only power they have is power that God would allow him and God will always take that and turn it for his honour and for his glory and so what they do is they arrest Peter and John and they hold them in custody overnight so that's our context Peter and John preaching and proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ those who were the temple preachers the you know the temple priests unhappy those who were captain of the guard unhappy those who were

[10:18] Sadducees who didn't believe in the resurrection unhappy you know the gospel can make many people miserable and I don't mean by that people that should know better you know sometimes the people of God can just look miserable right and they've not really the gospel not really you know came alive in their heart and life right but it can make those who are opposed to its message a miserable people it's either the fragrance of life or the fragrance of death and the reality is it's one or the other and these formidable people this formidable group had you know arrested Peter and John and we we gather together this morning looking at this context and seeing the hand of God and knowing that the same God who was Lord in Peter and John's life is Lord in you and

[11:19] I's life and whatever persecution or whatever opposition or whatever we come against it's the same God is with us that's why that great promise in scripture lo I am with you always even unto the end of the age but there they are and the next day the rulers and the elders the scribes they gather together they form the court of 71 I think it is that they were allowed to form and you know they're going to conduct the trial my friends I want us to pause for a moment pause for a moment turn back seven or eight weeks I don't mean in our series I mean in the account that we have in scripture turn back a couple of months what was happening are you with me the same group were gathered to investigate christ sometimes when we hear peter and john say the one you crucified we can sometimes put distance between that it was eight weeks ago the kangaroo court had formed to investigate christ and even although at that time his disciples had all deserted him including peter who said he would never desert them fast forward eight weeks seven or eight weeks and here's peter and john standing before them quite remarkable isn't it think of the context what god does by his spirit because of course the day of pentecost has come right and the spirit of god has been poured out in his church what god does by his spirit in an unschooled ordinary man and suddenly it's peter and john who are standing before the priests and the captain of the guard and the sadducees nobody says annas the high priest and caiaphas this all sounds familiar doesn't it annas the high priest and caiaphas and john and alexander all who were of the high priestly family and when they had set peter and john in the midst of them they inquired by what power or by what name did you do this and then peter filled with the holy spirit said to them now my friend this is not a second baptism this is the spirit of god filling him as god had promised that when they stand before those to whom they must give a clear account of the gospel of the lord jesus christ that the spirit of god will enable them peter actually talks about this later in his own letter it's that unction of the spirit that god gives to his people in any given moment to bear testimony to bear witness to bear bold testimony to bear bold witness to the reality of who jesus is and so peter filled with the holy spirit speaks out boldly that's exactly what he does but he does that because he's a man who's in communion with god he's a man who's in touch with the resurrected savior he's a man who's living every day in the presence

[15:19] of god and those who live every day in the presence of god know what it is to be filled by the spirit of god and filled by the spirit of god to be a witness for him and that's who he's being and what is true of peter and john can be true of each one of us as followers of our lord jesus christ that we will find ourselves doing and saying the most remarkable things in the most remarkable circumstances by the power of god at work in us and you know i i was as i was reading i just wanted to read with a a boldness with a clarity look what he says rulers of the people and elders that's who they were if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man oh that that gets them doesn't it you know you know so you're examining us today for the healing of a cripple it's bizarre isn't it but that's exactly what they were doing you know this 40 year old man who's been crippled all his life known to everyone as cal said a beggar that would hardly lift his head if you're examining us today for a good work done to this man you see they're laying out the case aren't they it's inescapable think about what you're doing right now and then they give this bold testimony let it be known to all of you and not only to all of you but to all the people of Israel you see there's the spirit of

[17:20] God coming isn't it right let it be known to all of you that all of this has been done by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth and remember what I said eight weeks ago whom you crucified whom God raised from the dead by him this man is standing before you well this Jesus is the stone who was rejected by you the builder the one that's become the cornerstone and my friends that is a bold proclamation of the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ you know let me declare it to you and to all of you the one that you crucified the long promised Messiah the one that you crucified that God raised from the dead by the name of the resurrected

[18:21] Christ Messiah does this man stand before you well and then just to give the emphasis I love this Peter goes into the Old Testament the Old Testament they know so well Psalm 118 verse 22 and he says the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone now what he's effectively saying is that you guys are supposed to be the builders of the people of God and the temple of God and you cannot recognize the cornerstone it's an incredible message isn't it this is a little bit of amazing you know this part I could do the other part I couldn't do my oldest brother's a maths teacher but Lee teaching them equations right you know teaching them you know what should be actually showing them what they know but they don't know there's a bold proclamation of the power of Christ to transform a life and the scene is set the scene is set now you know

[19:45] I'm really enjoying looking at the Bellsville Church website these days and you know I go there just to see how it's developing and you know I go to kind of look at the way in which that communicates into our society but one of the things I love when I kind of go to the little download for the sermons and the wee list of the online sermons is there is that as I scroll down I get to a little text at the bottom you know what it says oh now I'm testing you it says we preach Christ crucified taken straight out of Paul's letter to the church at Corinth we preach Christ crucified for the sin of the world we also preach Christ raised from the dead as the first fruits of all those who will be raised and here we've got

[20:51] Peter and John every time when the Acts of the Apostles I sometimes say Paul because I'm preaching elsewhere in the Acts of the Apostles I'm in Paul so if I happen to say Paul rather than Peter forgive me it's only because I'm preaching in two parts of the Acts at once I'm in Paul's mystery journeys and here at Belselam with Peter and John but Peter and John they proclaim Jesus Christ the one you crucified and the one that God raised from the dead and you see my friend here is the gospel at its core at its heart and what Peter and John are saying is we're proclaiming you know the crucifixion you crucified Christ but in truth God put Christ on the cross because there had to be a perfect sacrifice for the sin of the world and Jesus gave himself up to be that perfect sacrifice but God raised them from the dead as the first fruits of all who will die in Christ that they will be raised to be with him and so here we have right in the kind of temple eight weeks after the events as it were

[22:04] Peter and John being tried by the court and this bold proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ you crucified God raised by Jesus this man is standing before you well he is the cornerstone the one that you have rejected and then we get this wonderful phrase verse 12 and there is salvation in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved when Jesus said I am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the father but by me what did he mean he meant there is only one way of salvation it's through me when Peter and John stood there amongst the temple you know court proclaiming why the man had been healed they said there is no other name under heaven given amongst men by which we must be saved there is salvation in no one else and my friends the reason the church of Jesus

[23:09] Christ will be persecuted is because when you stand and say that the conviction of your heart and life is that the only way in which a man or a woman can be put right with God is in Christ that is not popular but it is true but we live in a world that cares not a lot for truth and you will see that even when facts stare people in the face they will try and do away with the facts but facts are a very stubborn thing they don't change they don't go away and so the people of God are called in every age to be those who humbly and who honestly knowing that they don't deserve it themselves but amazed that they're entitled in Christ to it say there is salvation in no other name and that takes boldness that's why when I'm back with you in a couple of weeks time first Sunday in November we'll be praying for the place to shake and for the boldness to come right but the reality is it takes boldness and that's what was going on here a bold presentation amidst stiff opposition to the realities that there is no other name in heaven by which we must be saved salvation is in no one else absolutely no one else so if you've got one thing that you can give to anyone it is our Lord

[24:59] Jesus Christ if you've got one message that you can share with anyone it is the message of the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ if you would do anything by the spirit of God boldly for God it would be to share the good news of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ why because there is salvation in no one else other than in Christ how how on earth and I don't want to preach my message in November just yet right but how on earth how on earth do we get this kind of Peter and John boldness well strangely it's those who are opposing them that give us the answer look what it says verse 13 that when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated common men they were astonished and they recognized that they had been with Jesus now that's some recognition isn't it they look and they think how on earth can these guys you don't want to put it in these words but it's true how on earth can these guys get the better of us how on earth can these guys best us on the things of

[26:33] God because they had been with Jesus I said in my little letter to you this week if you've read the little newsletter what would it take for people to recognize that you and I had been with Jesus now we know that Peter and John had actually been in the company of Jesus while he was here on earth and that's a wonderful thing for them but we also know that Peter and John had been in the company of Jesus after Jesus had ascended into glory and poured out the Holy Spirit into their hearts and lives so they know what you and I's experience is they knew what it was like to be with the resurrected Christ when he descended into glory their experience is no different from you and I's experience in this context they had been with Jesus while he was here on earth but they had also by the

[27:36] Spirit of God been with Jesus because we read about it time and time again don't we what did they do they gave themselves to prayer and to the preaching of the word they gave themselves to you know sharing in the Lord's Supper and the fellowship of the people of God and the church of Jesus Christ they did what you and I did they knew what it was to be in the presence of Jesus where are we right now as the body of Christ but in the presence of Jesus where are we when we're obedient and shut the door and spend time with your father in heaven you're being with Jesus and it is interesting that it's the enemies of the gospel at this point in time it's those who were you know challenging Peter and John who actually perceived and recognized that they had been with Christ how powerful it would be if people would just recognize us as people who spend time with

[28:37] Jesus you know what I love I love their kind of charge against Peter and John uneducated common men why are uneducated common men astonishing us because they've been in the presence of Christ and when you've been in the presence of Christ and you know what it is to be filled by the spirit of God you're not too worried about the degrees that this world gives out not knocking that not mocking that but I'm just saying it doesn't compare with what it is to be a person who's in the presence of Jesus here's here's here's here's the stubborn fact my friends verse 14 but seeing the man who was healed standing beside them they had nothing to say in opposition you know it's that facts like a healed man are very stubborn they don't go away and so they had nothing to say but here's here's what i i see so often in our world the facts won't go away so what are we going to do we're going to retire to a little anteroom and there in the little anteroom we're going to try and work out how we can make the fact go away i mean that's what they do you know they they they retire they leave peter and john i don't know what peter and john do at that time probably have a prayer meeting right but peter and john you know they're left with the the man who was healed as well because he's in with them but when they commanded him to leave the council they conferred with one another saying what should we do with these men for that a notable sign has been performed through them as evident to all the inhabitants of jerusalem and we cannot deny it fact but in order that may spread no further among the people let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in his name tell you what we'll do we can't deny the fact but we'll just tell them you know don't talk about that fact to anybody my friends this is not that unusual today there's a fact that god was in christ reconciling the world to himself it's a fact there's a fact that jesus christ was here in the history of christendom there's a fact that jesus christ was born of the virgin now that fact ought to make an inquiring mind set up and take note but it doesn't there's a fact that jesus christ was crucified on calvary's cross there's a fact that jesus christ was raised from the dead three days after there's a fact that people witnessed the ascension of the lord jesus christ there's a fact that the holy spirit of god was poured out upon the church there's a fact that despite man's best efforts to quash to quash to vanquish to destroy to annihilate the church of jesus christ it has never been annihilated quashed or destroyed it still just keeps rising up you know when a whole communist country sets itself against the church of jesus christ and puts her underground fact the church gets stronger and larger and more powerful despite all the external things these are facts insurmountable facts and our world loves to go

[32:43] retiring into its wee rooms and think you know we can't deny these things but let's deny them that's what mankind does you know god is the creator of everything that we see but let's deny him his creation god is the savior of all who in repentance and faith would truly humble themselves and give themselves to him but let's let's deny that see the heart and mind it's always a matter of the heart the heart and mind of man has not changed until god in his gospel and by the spirit of god breaks them peter and john were broken men uneducated ordinary men who knew what it was to be in the presence of jesus and proclaim the facts but the temple priests and the temple guard and the sadducees you know they gather together and they could see it was a fact but they said let's deny the fact and so they turned around and said here's what we'll do we'll tell them that they've not to say anything about the power of the lord jesus christ of not to do anything in the name of the lord jesus christ so in order to spread this no further among the people let's want them to speak no more to anyone in his name so they call them back in and they charge them and here's the charge don't speak don't teach at all in the name of jesus i don't know how much you know the history of the church in scotland i don't know if you know much of the days of the covenanters or you go back to the days of the puritans there have been times in the the history of the church in scotland and the church in the uk covenanters and puritans when they've been basically told don't you preach or teach what the bible says about jesus that's a fact but you know what they did with great boldness they preached and they taught and they declared the truth about the name of the lord jesus christ and the church continued to thrive sometimes you might find yourself out in a wee walk somewhere in scotland you'll come across the odd monument and suddenly you realize you're looking at a monument to some covenanter people who laid down their lives you know i i i drove past bothwell to get here great battle took place there it's actually a battle about the covenanters about those who were being faithful to preach the gospel and they charged them don't you preach or speak in the name of jesus and you know what i love i love uneducated and ordinary peter and john here's what they say whether it is right in the sight of god to listen to you rather than to god you must judge now that's a great answer to those who thought themselves the teachers in israel whether it's right for us to listen to you or to listen to god you must judge now my friend this would be laughable if it wasn't tragic right you know here are those who are the keepers you know in israel the teachers in israel whether it is right to listen to you or to god what a great answer right judge for yourselves do right they should have known the answer but i tell you what we're going to do we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard in other words what we're going to do is we're going to do what's right because it's right

[36:48] yeah we speak to somebody the other day about an awful lot of politicians we used to have a thing called a statesman you know what a statesman was a statesman was somebody who did the right thing even if it wasn't in their own interest but nowadays an awful lot of people just do what's in their own self-interest tell the people of god are going to do in every age they're going to do what god says even if governments and authorities say you can't say that or do that they're going to do what god says why because it's right to do the right thing because the right thing is the right thing all the time and there's always a great temptation isn't there to water down to dilute to compromise what it is we're saying we should never do it with an arrogance we never do the right thing arrogantly never do the right thing violently always do it in the love and peace and grace and kindness of christ but we should do the right thing because it's the right thing and so i peter and john beautifully turn around and say you know whether it's right in the sight of god to listen to your arm to god you must judge but we cannot but speak of what we have seen and what we have heard and so what we are going to do is we are going to tell it as it is we are going to cut it straight we are going to say the right thing this man this man is standing before you this man who has been a cripple for 40 years this man is standing before you healed because of the power of the resurrected christ and so we are going to declare that now the court that have gathered in this instance cannot do as they've done with christ because they know that all the people have already testified to the fact that this has been done in the name of jesus and so they can't do anything further to these men they've got to let them go they let them go with threats because i say it's not an idle threat because once you turn on a few chapters you'll find you know peter's back in prison so not an idle threat but with threats you know there's no way to punish them so they threaten them that sounds so familiar they're not a way to punish you but will threaten you and what did they do well all the people were praising god for what had happened and the man who was there is a kind of immovable object as a kind of fact to the whole scenario and what you've got and the people of god is a boldness not an arrogance but a loving caring kind boldness a deep commitment to the truth of christ a deep desire to ensure that they will always do the right thing because the right thing glorifies god and peter and john glorify god in the boldness of their preaching and peter and john filled with the spirit of god give testimony to the things of god even in the persecuted place in the place where they're under trial and god on this occasion now let me say my friend it doesn't always mean that god will always free his people to preach another day you know the history of christian martyrs is that many in actual fact

[40:49] as they gave bold profession then paid the price with their lives but on this occasion they were free to preach another day what does it look like for you and i to be people who spend time in the presence of jesus and because we spend time in the presence of jesus we are christ-like and with christ-like love and care and kindness we do not compromise in truth we always speak what god has spoken and revealed we always do what is right in any and every situation and circumstance even if the results of that personally could be very expensive this is a fascinating passage in god's word you see you and i rightly can rejoice in the boldness you and i can reflect for a little while on what it is when any authority says you cannot but we know we must but you and i can reflect on what it is to do that in a christ-like way because we know it will honor and glorify him and so we look at peter and john in the face of opposition we pray by the spirit of god we would have that same boldness we realize that that boldness comes from being in the presence and the way into the presence of god the father is open to you and to me and we ask that from the presence we would always do the right thing for the glory of god in any and every circumstance that he might be magnified in our lives as he was magnified in the life of peter and of john now we're going to have a couple of songs in response just now probably good to stand oh praise the name and then praise the father