Facing the Council - Acts 4:1-22

[0:00] Good morning. I am grateful that you have come to worship the Lord with us. If you have a copy of God's Word with you, if you would turn to Acts chapter 4, this is where we will begin in our text today. And if you have missed the previous two messages, I'm going to do a little bit of backdrop. But in order to do this, what I would like to do is share this image with you first.

[0:36] And Josh, could I have your help for a quick... I would like to give a bit of a backdrop here. In the last two weeks, we have walked through a passage of all chapter 3. First, Pastor Eric shared, and then Pastor Jay shared, two messages that walked through all of chapter 3. Chapter 3 began where Peter is and John are going up to the temple to pray. They have given this powerful message, there's been an outpouring of the Holy Spirit and 3,000 souls come to Christ and now they're going to go up to the temple to pray and on their way they see this man born lame from birth for 40 years we will learn today and he is begging. And Peter says, Silver and Gold I have not, but what I have I'll give to you in the name of Jesus Christ rise and stand and walk. And he stands and then they go to the temple mount and then they on their way to the temple mount they, the whole crowd of people gathers around them to hear. There's this man who is, we learned last week who is doing the electric slide, I think Jay said, that the man is now doing who is now healed and he is doing the electric slide and Peter is going to preach his second message. But I want us to capture verse from last week chapter 3 verse 11 and capture this scene. It says that while he clung to Peter and John and all the people utterly astonished they ran to them in the portico called Solomon's. And so imagine this whole crowd of people on the temple mount now everyone is wondering that's the guy we have seen him for 40 years begging he's now walking and leaping and he is healed and and then Peter tells them why and it's this Jesus who has healed them.

[2:50] He shares with everyone who looks on with astonishment that this man Peter does that has been healed that in Peter's sermon he states the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob glorified this person Jesus who healed him who you denied in front of Pilate and and Pilate wanted to release him but instead you you asked for a murderer whose name is Barabbas and you this rejected one Jesus is is the one who healed this man and I know you acted in ignorance Peter tells them in chapter 3 and so too did your rulers over you but that leaves you no excuse for the prophets foretold of this man who is Christ who he would suffer and die for sin and Jesus remained dead and rose from the grave three days later therefore repent of your sins and they can be forgiven and that was the message that we looked at last week with Pastor Jay and and we're gonna see the the result of that today is 5,000 more people were saved as a result of that message but I what I want you to see again in that verse 11 is this while he clung to Peter and John all the people utterly were astonished and they ran to him in the portico called Solomon if you will imagine the whole temple complex that was built by Herod was emptied everyone went under the the the the portico of Solomon which I'll show you hopefully in a moment and and they listened to the sermon and in the middle of this sermon Peter gets interrupted because there are some people who are not happy with this so let's pick up our account of this in chapter 4 verse 1 we'll read through verse 22 so let's read the word of God together this is our text for this morning and as they were speaking to the people the priests and the captain of the temple the Sadducees came upon them greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead and they arrested them and they put them in custody until the next day for it had already been evening but many of those who had heard the word believed and the number of them came to about 5,000 on the next day the rulers and the elders and the scribes gathered together in Jerusalem and the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander and all who were of the high priestly family and they had set them in the midst and they inquired by what power and by what name did you do this then Peter filled with the Holy Spirit said to them rulers of the people of and elders if we are being examined today concerning the good deed done to this crippled man by what means this man has been healed let it be known to all of you and to all the people of

[5:58] Israel that by the name of Jesus of Nazareth whom you crucified whom God raised up from the dead by this man is standing before you well this Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you the builders which has become the cornerstone and there is salvation and no one else for there is no other name under heaven given among man by which we must be saved now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated and common man they were astonished and they recognized that they had been with Jesus but seeing the man who was healed standing beside them they had nothing to say but opposite 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 for that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and we cannot deny it but in order that it may not spread any further among the people let us warn them and speak no more in the name anyone in his name so they called them and charged them not to speak and to teach 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 God you must judge for we cannot speak of what 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 for all were praising God for what had happened for the man on whom the sign of healing was performed was more than 40 years old when Wendy and I went to Israel approximately 12 years ago there is a model of the first century

[8:11] Jerusalem that you can go to on the top of the rooftop of a museum this is the model it takes up about probably a half an acre to a quarter of an acre to a half acre of land that is on this rooftop of a museum and you can go there and I took a picture of the temple mount why I took a picture of the temple mount is to give you an understanding you see the columned portico around it this is what is referred to as Solomon's porch and so imagine they went there they heard this sermon and Solomon's porch just off and if you will the whole temple mount was emptied to hear this they were they were over on one side I'm about 1% certain that it probably happened in that corner which really means I don't know where it happened but it's sound smarter just to say I'm about 1% confident so he was proclaiming and there were some people who are very unhappy and we read in verse one who they were while they were speaking Peter's sermon was just interrupted there were some people who are very rude and they interrupted the sermon and they are named who they were priests captain of the temple and the Sadducees and let's put in context though where this happened I'm sorry when this happened so let me just share let's put it if you are those people the priests the Sadducees let's put ourselves in their sandals for one moment and get some historical context less than three months earlier the entire city of Jerusalem because the Jews had made pilgrimage to celebrate the Passover was caught up in a controversy there was a man who is his name was Jesus who had a significant following he rode into Jerusalem on a colt people recognized him as the long-awaited Messiah and they were exclaiming Hosanna

[10:17] Hosanna blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord recognizing who he was the entire town was caught up in a flirty he had authority like no one else he had overturned tables no one seemed to be able to stop him because he what he said was true he taught like no one else yet the religious authorities wanted to put him to death pilot the roman governor didn't want to but he gave the crowd an option I will release to you either Barabbas who is a known murderer or Jesus and the crowds jeered and voiced Marabbas Jesus was then scourged he wore a crown of thorns was placed on his head Jesus carried his cross until he could not go any further he ascended a hill called Galgotha outside the city where he was crucified while on the cross he uh one of his crossmates believed in him the other ridiculed while on the cross the soldiers below him and the the rulers ridiculed him with disdain save yourself they said let him save himself if he is the Christ the chosen one of

[11:31] God and Jesus's response was father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing the afternoon sky was darkened for three hours and Jesus died and the earth shook violently Jesus was buried in a tomb of a wealthy man who was who offered his tomb to him Joseph of Eremethia and miraculously Jesus rose from the grave three days later as it was foretold yet upon the tomb being emptied the chief priest then quickly started a rumor and paid a large sum of money to roman soldiers to start this rumor to and to perpetuate it that someone had stolen his body to dismiss the fact that he had rose from the grave now place yourself in the religious leaders that was less than three months earlier they don't want another upheaval they don't want another upheaval in Jerusalem yet worse they want to remain in religious and social power and Peter and the apostles are preaching in this Jesus movement's name in Jesus's name and there's this Jesus movement that is threatening everything that they value they heard just days before that there was a guy there they heard the sound of the rushing wind they they heard of this event this where people heard the gospel in their own language at Pentecost and Peter gave a sermon and 3 000 people were saved and now there's already this stir in

[13:02] Jerusalem it's happening again and now they heard this guy who's Peter who also preached at Pentecost he's at it again and he's on the temple mount and there he is and there's a guy that we all know that was healed that we all was begging at that gate called beautiful every time we would go to the temple and to worship and so they can't stand it they had enough of this they don't want this up the stirring to happen again and they're going to put it to an end and so they interrupt the sermon it's too late 5 000 more people were saved but still they go and they interrupt the sermon that is the setting in which we must find ourselves in order to read this with some color we find the perpetrators of this the people who interrupted are the priests that is there were descendants of Aaron who would on a rotating basis serve as priests in the temple so there was the people who would be descendants of Aaron your lot would come and you would go and serve in the temple as a priest and the people would worship the Lord and you would do your temple duties there that's one crowd there's a captain of the temple the temple had a chief security guard what I also want you to notice is off here is a fortress like structure just off of the first century temple a fortress like structure is called the Antonia fortress it's named after Mark Antony who moved to get Herod into power he and so and to thank Mark Antony

[14:45] Herod named that fortress the Antonia fortress after Mark Antony that that fortress housed a elite not a legion but a regiment of Roman soldiers and so if need be the Roman soldiers are just off the temple mount where this commotion is happening and that chief temple guard he can take care of that he can get them if necessary and then there's one other group mentioned the Sadducees now the problem with the Sadducees is their opposition was mainly birthed out of a political motivation they were if you were the religious aristocracy of Jerusalem they were the who's who of Jerusalem they denied the supernatural they denied the existence of evil spirits and angels but chiefly they had a problem because they denied the resurrection and one of the things that's included in Peter's sermon if you go back to chapter three he says in verse 15 you killed the author of life whom God raised from the dead Peter is preaching the resurrection and the Sadducees can't have any of it this is undermining their authority and in their minds this is false teaching so as we capture the scene Peter was preaching not a set of rules please get this Peter was preaching not a set of rules he was preaching the resurrection I pray that we would not lay upon people a set of rules in order to be saved we are saved because of Christ's sinless life his death for sin and his resurrection from the dead yes include the resurrection overcoming sin and death that all who believe in in Christ can be saved not a set of rules but the Sadducees would preach a set of rules the law

[16:50] Peter was and so when we share Christ with others let us be clear what it takes for one to be acceptable to God it is not on the basis of being a good person that's a rule not on being a good neighbor or going to church it's based upon one's faith in Christ his sinless life his death for sin and resurrection and can you imagine Peter is in verse two it says they were greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming Jesus and the resurrection from the dead there it is and that greatly annoyed translation is is kind of an understatement they were hacked off and they so what did they do they arrested them put them in custody for a day for it was already evening can you imagine I don't know the dialogue that happened that night but if I were Peter I would say hey John hey John what was it so we're in prison you're spending the night there Peter and John and maybe the man healed is there as well because we see him the next day with Peter and John before the St. Hedron we'll get to that but Peter and John are at least there hey John what was it that Christ said to us you know the night before he was betrayed what was it that he said to us and John may have recalled this that we read and this is based on that some observations as text is that persecution is inevitable and it was foretold by Christ so John reading from John 15 18 through 20 this is perhaps what John may have recalled if the world hates you you notice that it will it has already hated me before it hated you for if you were of the world the world would love you as it loves its own but because you are not of this world but I chose you out of this world therefore the world hates you remember the word that I said to you a servant is not greater than his master if I if they persecuted me they will persecute you if they kept my word they will also keep yours and I can see Peter is saying hey John John you ought to write the life of Jesus down someday and you got to put that in your letter in your gospel and so John includes that in his letter he recalled that and perhaps that evening that night they recalled these words of Jesus it was foretold by Jesus also though it is the reward of Christ like virtue persecution is inevitable and it is the reward of Christ like virtue what's interesting in the gospel of Matthew is we read the Beatitudes and the Beatitudes are often known to us they're beautiful to us and so let's read them blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy blessed are the pure in heart for they shall seek God blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the sons of God up to this point I'm really good with all the Beatitudes but Christ like virtue built on Christ like virtue in a in a believer's life the reward for that is not fame the reward for that is not adulation the reward for that is persecution because the following two Beatitudes read this blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sakes for theirs is the kingdom of heaven blessed are those when others revile you and persecute you with all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven for those for so they persecuted the prophets who are before you persecution is inevitable it was foretold by Christ and it is the reward of Christ like virtue everywhere the early Christians went when we read the book of Acts it begins here this is the first event of persecution in the book of

[21:46] Acts but as we read we will find that this is going to be a theme throughout the book of Acts because everywhere the Christians go there are riots and beatings and persecutions that would inevitably occur today whenever Christians gather there are conferences break out marriage conferences gospel conferences revival prayer conferences missions conferences and I'm not saying anything bad about any of those conferences but it is interesting when Christians gather they're it's a little different but times are changing and there is localized persecution in America but not perhaps widespread but around the world that's not true there is persecution widespread persecution of the saints but we are quickly becoming offense and offense to our nation and people who are in the way of progress because the gospel is against a lot of things that this world stands for we are a people that are not with the program because of the gospel and because of Christ so prepare yourself for persecution it is inevitable Christ foretold it and it is the and it is the reward of Christ like virtue and I am deliberately using the word reward it is the reward persecution is the reward of Christ like virtue we then see some other observations that there is this unreserved boldness that Peter has when it comes to persecution and this this standing for Christ and Peter in verses five through seven the text tells us that they they ask them when they convene again oh by the way there's a parade of the who's who in verse six it says anise the high priest actually it's Caiaphas that is a high priest but he has the honorary title here by luke who authored the book of acts and and the reason for that is he's the he's the father in law of Caiaphas and in anise is the guy that when he's in the room and when he talks everyone listens so and and then the this parade of his family is also mentioned here John and Alexander's archivist is related to Caiaphas and so there's these who's who that show up to this council that is convened and this is this is the Sanhedrin and so the Sanhedrin's are 70 people who sit in a semi-circle and the and the with the chief priest overseeing it making it 71 and and they are here there before the religious authorities of Jerusalem that's who they're standing before being questioned it is the same group of people that recommended to pilot that Christ ought to be crucified so I don't know about you but if I'm standing in front of this crowd I'd be a little bit trembling they they have the authority to commend me to death and it's just been done by the one who I'm proclaiming whose name is Jesus if I'm Peter this would be a little bit of an intimidating setting the question and the concern that they have is found in verse seven by what power and by what name do you do this and that is who by what name did you heal this man and by what authority did you do that keeping in mind that 90 days earlier approximately they had commended Christ to be crucified and Peter's response is found in verses eight through twelve he answers them and I think that Peter neglected to read Dale Carnegie's book how to win friends and influence people because he's very insulting in verse 10 by the name of Jesus of Nazareth whom you crucified you crucified he's standing before the Sanhedrin you crucified this man you put him to pilot to crucify him in verse 11 this is the stone that was rejected by you this is who is who has become the cornerstone so this stone this rejected stone this despised stone of yours is actually the cornerstone and you're the builders but you you missed it you missed the chief cornerstone who is

[26:41] Christ he is not this would be insulting and there's a point of irony I want to show how it point out that the concern is with by what name and by what power what authority did you do this remember the crowd on the temple mount wondered about the source of the lame man's healing Peter responded with Jesus's name now the Sanhedrin wanted to know about the name and Peter points out the man who he just healed the point the two go together wholeness and salvation are found in the name of Jesus the name of Jesus brings wholeness the name of Jesus brings salvation many of you in this room like myself have come to christ for salvation but all of us I pray are becoming increasingly whole by the same name Jesus that is our emotions are becoming more whole our patterns of thought are becoming more whole are the compulsion of our will the energizing of our bodies all of this is also because of Christ so we find and I don't have these on slide but Peter's boldness is because his because the resurrection is true if you're keeping notes Peter's boldness is found and we can be bold I want to encourage us to also be bold when it comes to responding to who is Christ and by which one can be saved Peter's boldness is based because the the resurrection is true remember the Sadducees for whom he is standing have a problem with the resurrection but notice in verse 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus of Nazareth whom you crucified whom God raised from the dead he's he's bold because we serve no longer a dead God Jesus is alive he rose from the dead you crucified him God raised him Peter's response the death did not have the last word nor did it ever for those of us who are in Christ also Peter's boldness is out of love for their name for his neighbor there is not an explicit invitation found in verse 12 but I would come into you that it is implied notice the invitation in verse 12 and there is salvation and no one else for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved he didn't say and so so believe in him there is no explicit invitation but he gave it as a love for them listen you are my persecutors you are the ones who just threw me into jail I don't know what's going to come out of this meeting after we're convened here you may sentence me to death you may throw me in prison you may beat me you may scourge me I don't know what is next in store but I want you to know Sanhedrin those who are about to persecute me who already put me in jail for a night I want you to know that there's salvation and no other name but Jesus

[30:03] Jesus he's bold because of the resurrection he's bold out of his love for his neighbor and I pray that our love for our neighbor would cause us to be bold for the name of Christ he's bold also remembering the exclusivity of the gospel there aren't multiple ways to God begin bound in verse 12 and there is salvation and no one else there's there's an exclusivity to the gospel the pathway of salvation is narrow no one can create their own pathway to God based on their own efforts no one can create their pathway to God on their own ideas God has provided a glorious way for sin to be atoned and for righteousness to be found and that's only in Christ so the the gospel is incompatible with universalism that is that in the end all will be saved it's incompatible with inclusivism that is that in the end who are those who are ignorant of Jesus but who respond to the light that they have received even they will be saved no the exclusivity of Christ is the only way of salvation and it is an offense to the modern mind the early church took seriously the exclusivities of the claim of Christ I am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father but by me believers in Christ did preach Christ for several reasons to say that there is another way to God proves unloving why even if someone is sincere in their faith sincere to an idol sincere to an immoral code sincerity of faith does not save one can be a sincere atheist some can be a sincere animist a sincere Hindu a Mormon a Buddhist a Muslim some could be a sincere good person and believe that that could save them but sincerity of faith does not save rather it is the object of faith that saves the object of one's faith no one else can save other than the object of one's faith is Jesus it may seem accommodating or loving to tell someone that there is other ways to God but it is actually very wicked because it is the a lie from the enemy and it leads to an eternity in hell separated from God it leaves someone clinging to a thing that will never save them when my grandparents my father was overseas my uncle my dad's sibling is that lives in Minnesota and my grandparents were in Cheney and I was asked to care for them and I represented to them I love them dearly and they thought well of me but they thought me a little bit of a fool because I was a pastor and they did not know the Lord and those were some hard years caring for them before they passed away but I remember engaging them in conversations and both of my grandma parents basically thought they were good people and that was sufficient that one day when they meet the Lord

[34:04] God would accept them and it was hard to communicate to them I appreciate your answer grandma and grandpa but the Bible tells us differently what is true is actually different and so to tell them that only Christ in his work can atone for your sin those are the hardest conversations these are people I love and who's probably think of me as a fool until they're lying dying day but I didn't want them I didn't want to leave them with them just thinking if they're good enough they can go to heaven that would be absolutely cruel of me to leave them clinging on to an idea that could never save what I find interesting here and here lies some hope for us what I find interesting is who is speaking Peter Peter is filled with the spirit we're told he's responding daringly audaciously bold with courageous fear and bravery but remember 90 days prior Peter was warming himself by a fire outside the high priest Caiaphas's house and he was scared by a little girl's question an accusation aren't you one of the disciples aren't you one of the associates with with that guy Jesus aren't you that person and the question didn't come once twice three times and Peter denied every single time that girl asked a question what Jesus or sorry what Judas did for 30 pieces of silver Peter did for free now Peter who is formally denied Christ afraid of being associated Christ within Christ deepest hour Peter now stands as in a hope an example for us for those who have shied away from the testifying of Christ have you ever denied Christ whether verbally or with your life you had that opportunity to to share like maybe I had with my grandparents do I say it or do I don't do it do I do I do I declare Christ or not you had the opportunity for to stand with Christ and perhaps you failed perhaps you failed by your silence perhaps you didn't identify with Christ perhaps you failed by denying Christ outright perhaps you failed by providing a softball answer that would be acceptable to your listeners Jesus plus something else perhaps you've denied Christ through your lifestyle choices of something that is unbecoming of one who identifies with Christ maybe perhaps an addiction of some type do your friends and family and colleague roommates neighbors associates that you know know that you are a believer in Jesus Peter and John responded with confidence and with a powerful freedom in their speech ministering beyond their abilities they responded with daring boldness and with integrity without compromise what was different for Peter between the evening where he was warming himself by a fire being questioned by a girl a young lady and and today this day where we see him boldly proclaiming well first Peter was not alone Peter was not alone he had the Holy Spirit in him that's different and he was empowered and enabled by the Holy Spirit second he had time spent with the resurrected Christ who reinstated him in ministry Peter do you love me feed my sheep you can do this Peter it's okay he spent he was not alone he had the Holy Spirit and he spent time with the resurrected Christ and so too do we have that opportunity to spend time with Christ this is a book that God has written to us such that we can know him and what it is like what he is like and we have courage and boldness can come out of knowing the Lord better and knowing the Lord more and so we have the same advantage that Peter has we are indwelled with the Holy Spirit the moment of salvation Ephesians 1 13 you are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise and secondly we have this word to spend time and get to know the resurrected Christ Frederick the great was a king of Prussia in the 1700s he called for an evening for his generals to come which is modern-day Germany Austria region of the world Prussia 1700s he called the generals to come together for one night and he was going to have an evening together a dinner to share with his his generals and that night one of the generals his name was

[39:52] Hans von Zeitung and Hans von Zeitung though had responsibilities at the church he was a believer and he was going to serve communion that night among other responsibilities that he had and so he did not go to the meeting that Frederick the great called for and he is one of the generals that Frederick the great said be there after word there was another meeting of the generals and Hans von Zeitung could attend that one and at that meeting the other generals and Frederick the great made fun of him and he they made light of his religious duties and the Lord's supper and they joked about how religious he was and von Zeitung stood and said to the intimidating ruler Frederick the great my lord there is a greater king than you a king to whom I have sworn allegiance even unto death I am a christian man and it cannot and I cannot sit quietly as the Lord's name is dishonored his character belittled and his cause subjected to such ridicule with your permission

[41:02] I shall withdraw and retire for the night there was obviously silence in the room and the other general by the other generals because this daring act to speak to Frederick the great could mean his own death but Frederick the great was so struck by von Zeitung courage and he begged him to stay and he promised that he would never again demean the sacred things or the Lord long live the tribe of Hans von Zeitung I am blessed to hear by many of you in this season one lady came to me had a time to share who she had the opportunity with her CEO the head of HR and her supervisor I believe it was was the third one the president of the company HR and her supervisor to and she had opportunity to declare of her faith in Christ in front of these folks who could fire her I am encouraged by the testimonies of you who do this to this day this Christmas Wendy and I are likely going to invite a neighbor who lives near us who it's a husband and wife and they don't have children to come and be with us they are very much those who do not know the Lord but I look forward to the opportunity to give them a loving place and to declare what Christmas is about on Sunday morning we are seeking to offer classes at nine o'clock to bolster one's knowledge of God's word to increase our affections for the Lord and for one another which will in turn bolster your confidence in the Lord and his word we have nothing to be ashamed of so if there is open enrollment at nine o'clock you're welcome to jump in at any time in any of these classes and their purpose is to grow confident in his word confident in the confident in the resurrected Christ to be an effective witness for him we see some things there's an unreserved confidence that Jesus is the only way there's also resulting from being with Jesus in verse 13 you'll read and when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and they perceived that they were uneducated common men they were astonished and they recognized that they had been with Jesus keep in mind this group of men the Sanhedrin they interrogated Jesus the night he was betrayed and that interrogation would have seared in their minds this Jesus who was untaught formally was now had authority to teach like no one else they had witnessed before now they have now they have these fishermen from Galilee with a funny little accent who have no formal theological education yet they speak with such authority and such boldness and it reminds them perhaps of Christ what the Sanhedrin didn't understand nor does the world understand today that the apostles are still with Jesus and they and they were indwelling with the Holy Spirit who is God they were dwelt by the Holy Spirit who is God as Jesus is the God man Jesus is still saturating their minds or he is compelling their wills he is saturating their emotions he is energizing their bodies he is motivating their speech he is informing their actions and so he does with us today and through the Holy Spirit they were in constant communion with the Lord and they were astonished look at verse 13 this is funny to me they were astonished at this they were in awe there was a degree of amazement that fell on these pigish bullheaded self-consciously superior gospel-hearted menace members of the Sanhedrin this man Jesus could transform a bunch of theological nobodies country bumpkin overall wearing stinking fishermen to such people of such people of knowledge of God's word courageous miracle working individuals who were bold in his name who can do that Jesus so today and I'm going to give you the answer his name is Jesus and I'll indicate when I want you to say it today who can take a homeless person strung out on drugs and out on jaw drugs and make him an evangelist for his namesake today who can take someone who has been abused in childhood who had despised their parents with a growing distrust for children and make them a godly wife a godly father and mother an active servant of Christ who can do that today who can take a lazy person addicted to porn and transform their life into a purity a life of purity who strives to bless others who can do that today who can take a hum a wealthy person and humble them who associated formerly who associated formerly with their possessions and who exploited others with their wealth who can transform that wealthy person into a generous person who gives to others and the Lord's work for the advancement of the gospel who can do that who can take a person who has been going to church their whole life with divorced parents being passed around from parent to parent and their childhood has transformed and has been called to the ministry and becomes a mighty proclaimer of truth and a missionary around the world who can do that

[46:57] Jesus who can take a hardened pagan a worshiper of other gods and transform them into a mighty man of God who can do that Jesus and that's what the gospel did and that's what Jesus did he to conclude our time in our message the irony of this passage is that these unlearned common men were bold and courageous at the same time their accusers who had position authority were timid because this man was healed from birth for 40 years everyone knew this guy because every time you would go to the temple and pass through the gate called beautiful you would pass by this beggar for 40 years everyone knew he was healed everyone knew who he was and so because of him they were they didn't want to do anything but uh strongly discourage them from speaking in his name so the last point is they had unreserved confidence because of the greatness of of their authority so reading with me in verse 19 but Peter and John answered to them after they've been told not to speak not to teach in the name of Jesus Peter and John said answer to them whether there is a right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God you must judge 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 and look with me in verse 22 for the man whom this sign of healing was performed was more than 40 years old second Timothy reads this indeed all who desire to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted what we're going to find is today marks the day as we walk through the book of acts is the day where persecution is felt by the disciples first time in the recorded history of the church of persecution it's going to become commonplace and Timothy says even those who desire to live godly life in Christ Jesus they will be persecuted this unfinished task we entitled this sermon series unfinished this unfinished task of being spirit empowered witnesses of Jesus Christ is still occurring in the church today overseas yes persecution is felt more deeply but it's coming and it's already here and it is being felt here in the church and so I want us as a church to not be surprised Wendy and I have had conversations about Wendy here soon I'm not going to be terribly specific here soon I may our laws in the land may be such where what I proclaim concerning what God says about human relations and sex may be deemed as hate speech and there may come a day when where I may be in prison or I may be in jail or have some sentence against me or a crime at least charged against me and I'm just saying it's coming it's not far off and I want us as a church to be like what God's word says in the beatitudes blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake so I pray for righteousness sake for the gospel sake for Jesus's sake alone we would be persecuted be open to persecution let me conclude in prayer oh god thank you that you took up residents in us by sealing us with the Holy Spirit of promise help us to be disciplined in this moment and spending time in your word time with people time in prayer may the word may it be known that we are a people who spend time with Jesus please help us to be humble and dependent upon your Holy Spirit for your glory and honor sake alone in your name Jesus the name that is above all names the name that is the greatest in heaven on earth the name that upon every knee will bow we pray these things today it's in your name Jesus amen