Acts of the Apostles.
Over the last five weeks, we've seen something strange about the Acts of the Apostles,
and that is the Acts of the Apostles isn't actually about the Acts of the Apostles.
Sounds a bit weird.
But primarily, the Acts of the Apostles is about the unstoppable Jesus.
The unstoppable Jesus gathering his died-for people from the four corners of the earth.
The first volume of this was Luke's Gospel, talking about how Jesus actually died for his people.
Now Jesus is gathering them for the four points of the earth.
Why is he gathering them?
Because he wants them to be a wonderful spiritual empire that we call the church.
Now, of course, the apostles had a critical role in Jesus' mission.
They were appointed as witnesses.
Witnesses of God's long-promised, long-awaited Savior and King.
And as we've gone through each of the five weeks, we've seen what happens when the Gospel of Jesus is spoken.
Remember?
Ordinary people speaking the extraordinary Gospel of Jesus.
What happens?
Well, all sorts of people are radically changed.
That's what happens.
From the inside out.
According to chapter 4, verse 4, we're at passage this morning.
That number is now in excess of 5,000 people.
Just get a feel of that.
Radically changed.
People who've turned to Jesus in repentance.
People who've now received complete forgiveness for their sin.
They've received a fresh start in new relationship with God.
A new acceptance before God.
Including, as we saw last week, this 40-year-old who had been profoundly disabled.
Unable to walk since birth.
And he, above all else, was thought to be visibly, thought to be carrying the curse of God.
That's how the Jews would have viewed him.
And yet, this man also was just renewed and swept into the kingdom of Jesus.
Nobody is beyond the scope and the power of the Gospel of Jesus.
And the renewing of Jesus.
But that's not all of it.
This renewal was expressed in a radical new community.
We see that at the end of chapter 2.
A radical new community defined and shaped by the mind of Jesus.
And we're told in chapter 2 that that community was marked out by people's concern to learn more about God's salvation.
To share in thankfulness to God, one with the other, and together.
Thankfulness for God's mercy and grace.
And they were caring for one another.
Practically.
Deeply.
And all of that combined to make them such a winsome community.
That people on the outside were looking in saying, hey, I want a part of that.
And so, they themselves were responsible for more people being attracted to the Gospel.
More people receiving a fresh start.
Now, if you want an exciting picture.
Man, the first three or four chapters of Acts give you just that.
An exciting picture.
What do we expect when we speak the Gospel of Jesus?
Make it more personal.
What do you expect when you speak this Gospel of Jesus?
At risk of perhaps being negative.
Do you expect anything if you speak the Gospel of Jesus?
Well, with all that excitement behind us, suddenly we move into chapter 4.
And it seems like all the excitement just disappears, dissipates.
And things go terribly, terribly dark.
Over the next two or three weeks, we're going to see the rise of opposition.
Opposition from outside in.
And even more awful, opposition from inside out.
But things go dark.
The Gospel of Jesus, which has given thousands a fresh start in relationship with God,
now attracts opposition and persecution.
So, we need to add one more thing.
What happens?
What can we expect when we hear the Gospel of Jesus spoken?
And the answer needs to be opposition.
Persecution.
We pick up the story here.
Once again, these Jewish political and religious authorities make it their business to stop any mention of Jesus.
Making it their business to reverse any influence that they perceive Jesus might be having.
Just a few weeks earlier, we're not sure exactly what time gap there is between the start of Acts and chapter 4.
But it could be as little as 6 or 7 weeks.
It could be a couple of months, 3 or 4 months.
But just recently, anyway, these guys had sought to silence Jesus by having them murdered illegally.
And they're up for the task again.
But, as we move into the story, we need to take with us this thought.
That as their first attempt to stop the unstoppable Jesus was an exercise in futility,
then so this attempt will be an exercise in futility.
We'll see that as the story plays out over the next few weeks.
Let's look at the story with the first heading, then.
A strong Gospel will most likely bring strong opposition.
Picking up the first 22 verses, really, just the story.
So, verse 1.
Quite literally, Peter is mid-sentence.
He's explaining how Jesus was the fulfillment of God's foundation promise of salvation.
And mid-sentence, he's interrupted.
And he's interrupted by a sizable contingent of people.
We're told here, as Simon reminds us,
the commander of the temple police was a contingent of police.
The duty priests at the temple.
A contingent of Sadducees.
They were the religious professors of the day.
Pretty heavy duty guys.
All of these made part of the Jewish religious authorities.
What's their intention?
Very clear.
They're going to silence any reference to Jesus.
And so, only hours after healing,
this profoundly disabled guy,
Peter and John were illegally arrested and locked up.
Just hours later.
He hasn't even finished explaining the context of it.
And he's dragged off and locked up.
Why?
Well, we're told in verse 2.
At first glance, it seems like it was a sort of doctrinal problem.
These Sadducees took exception.
They didn't believe in resurrection.
So, the Sadducees appeared to take exception to Peter and John speaking about the resurrection of Jesus.
But another possibility is that these guys were just intellectually outraged.
Because here are these uneducated, unsophisticated fishermen teaching the people in the temple precincts.
And these sort of Jewish religious professors may well have taken that, you know, not well.
How dare they?
Whatever the reason at heart, it was an association with Jesus.
These men, Peter and John, in their eyes were enemies of the truth.
They were danger to God's people.
They needed to be stopped.
The next day, Peter and John would have been seriously intimidated because they were dragged before what we would call today a high court.
Hastily convened.
And even that would have echoes in their mind of just a few weeks earlier.
That's exactly what happened with Jesus.
The heaviest court in the land, the Sanhedrin, was sort of rushed together, patched together for an ad hoc meeting.
And Peter and John were dragged before this court.
Now remember, this court was therefore full of the brightest professors of Jewish religion.
They were full of the most powerful Jewish political leaders who only weeks earlier had actually manipulated the Roman governor into turning a blind eye to an illegal murder.
These were seriously powerful men.
They had the power of life and death.
Weeks earlier, they had murdered Jesus without regard for truth or justice.
Yet, we're told in verse 7 that Peter and John are stood before them.
Uneducated, unsophisticated men are stood before them and asked to give account of what had just happened.
Overkill, you'd say.
Serious intimidation.
But their attempt to intimidate Peter into silence failed abjectly.
Verses 8 to 12.
Peter sort of takes a deep breath and you can just see it happening, can't you?
You can see him fighting down the fear and the nerves.
Trying to get control of his breathing and speech.
Takes a deep breath and with the enabling of God's spirit, we're told.
Looks them in the eye.
And repeats to these powerful men the same thing as he'd repeated to the crowd, as he'd said to the crowd the day before.
He'd talked to them about Jesus.
Now, that's what they call tweaking the tiger's tail, is it not?
You're standing there in the clink because of what you said about Jesus.
And you turn to the guys who've got the power of life and death and talk to them about Jesus.
Phew.
Strong stuff, isn't it?
And once again we see that the real issue is not the actual healing of the man.
They don't seem to have a particular issue with that.
They can't argue with what they see with their eyes.
No, the problem for them is their association with Jesus.
These guys thought they'd gotten rid of Jesus.
But through the words of Peter and John, he's back.
And once again drawing huge crowds.
Once again influencing deep responses from those crowds.
And look at verse 12.
I don't think it's possible to get more bold than what Peter's just going to say.
There's salvation in no one else.
For there's no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
And in that sentence, Peter exposes the useless traditions of the Jewish religious leaders and Judaism.
He exposes their blindness.
He exposes their false teaching.
He exposes their sin and their wickedness.
Which interestingly connects back to chapter 3, verse 26.
Because the whole point, Peter had been saying to the crowd, the whole point of God sending Jesus was to deliver his people from wickedness.
And here we see, rather than being delivered from wickedness, we see these guys pursuing wickedness.
They taught, these Jewish religious leaders taught, that heaven was secured by performing religious duties.
Going to the temple, saying your prayer.
Giving alms to the poor on your way to pray.
Peter says, salvation or acceptance with God is only found through faith in Jesus and is actually undeserved.
Chug and cheese.
They believed they were actually protecting God's name and God's character by killing Jesus.
Peter says, verse 11,
Uh-uh.
You guys need to understand that what you did with Jesus was essentially a rejection of not only God's plan of salvation,
but a rejection of God himself.
That's not really looking for common ground here, is it?
They taught that God kept heaven for good religious Jews.
Which meant that people like that profoundly handicapped man would never have gotten into heaven.
But there he is before them.
With Peter saying that this newly healed cripple was proof that heaven was for sinners.
That heaven was precisely for people who were under the curse of God.
Heaven was for sinners who turned to Jesus alone for their salvation like this man had just done the day before.
Friends, I suspect, as we read into the story here,
these guys, this Sanhedrin, this Supreme Jewish Council, this Supreme Court,
a term we might recognize,
were utterly frustrated and seething with anger.
And so,
they're caught.
They can't silence Peter.
They can't deny the reality of this guy standing before them healed and praising God
and looking to Jesus as a source of his healing.
They're surprised, utterly surprised by Peter's confident defense.
Their options are severely limited.
And so, what do they do?
They revert to type.
And they physically threaten violence on Peter and John before releasing them.
In their frustration,
they're saying that something needs to be done here.
But they recognize they couldn't simply kill Peter and John
because, if nothing else,
a fear of the crowd.
The crowd had seen what happened.
They couldn't deny it.
And the crowd as a whole were just praising God,
not quite understanding exactly what happened and how it happened,
but they could see the evidence of it.
So,
in a sort of lame
conclusion to this big drama,
they call Peter and John in again and threaten them.
Say,
look,
we're going to release you,
but we're warning you,
do not speak of Jesus again
or there'll be trouble.
And once again,
Peter looks them in the eye and says,
well,
you'll need to do what you do,
but I can tell you now,
I cannot but speak about Jesus.
Now,
that wouldn't have
sort of
helped the
speaker of the Sanhedrin
to sort of settle down inside,
would it?
Peter's defying them.
Not only defying them,
but defying them
knowing full well
what it's going to mean
physically.
It was a big call.
Friends,
let's just prop there for a minute
and just
step back
and get a bird's eye
in the story.
Now,
it's an absolutely
amazing
and
unexpected
response
to what was
an incredible miracle.
Less than 24 hours earlier
and everybody could see
the evidence of it.
Unexpected
and sad response
because these guys
seem to be
totally
lacking
any joy
at seeing
this man
suffering
relieved.
Their only
concern
appears to be
to stop
any mention
of Jesus.
and they've
taken the decision
once again
that if violence
is their only
option,
then violence
is a good
option.
And Peter and John
would have left
that,
been released
knowing that
full well.
So,
bring it up
into our day.
the cost
of refusing
to be
intimidated
and silenced,
I would suggest
he continues
unchanged
in our own
day.
How sad
is it then
that we are
so quickly
prepared
to pay
the cost
of not
speaking
about Jesus?
Now,
my friends
call me
Eeyore,
so I put
that really
negatively
there,
didn't I?
Because I
want to
emphasize
that the
point is
that a
quiet life
can be
purchased,
it may be
purchased.
The world
out there
makes it
clear to us
you can
purchase a
quiet life,
you can
exist well
among us.
But the
cost of that
quiet life
being quiet
about Jesus.
Being silent
about Jesus
before our
families,
and gosh,
we know
how easy
that is.
It's horrible
to be closed
out of family
discussions.
Christians.
It's horrible
to see the
family cluster
over here
and leave
one stuck
out like a
sore thumb
who happens
to be the
Christian.
It hurts.
It's difficult.
It makes
family gatherings
just awfully
tense.
but the
contract's
on the
table.
You can
be back
in the
family
if you
shut up
about that
Jesus of
yours.
Same
applies for
workmates
in the
workplace,
friends and
neighbors.
We've got a
neighbor across
the road who
hasn't spoken
to us in
20 years
except to
swear at us.
Keeps
telling all the
other neighbors
he's really
friendly with
how we've
devalued the
neighborhood.
We've
devalued the
price of
houses.
We've
devalued
everything.
Why?
I've asked
him.
He's never
been able to
tell me.
He just
yells at
me.
I suspect
it's because
I'm a
Christian.
We're a
Christian.
And it
hurts.
It hurts
when you see
the neighbors
round about
chatting away
and
that's
not
extended to
us.
Likewise,
my friends,
a quiet
form of
Christian
life can
be purchased
through a
modified gospel.
That's a real
pressure as
well.
So if we
have a form
of gospel
that sort of
plays down
unique and
life-changing
confrontation with
Jesus, if
we decide to
be flexible,
if we
decide we'll
just fit with
where people
are at,
and everybody
has a view
of God they
would like to
sort of
operate with
and hold
on to,
and a view
of what it
means to do
life well,
well, if we
can just
accommodate
that, then
we will have
a quiet
life.
People around
us will
think we're
nice.
But friends,
surely the
cost of no
opposition is
the cost of
betraying the
gospel.
Surely that
cost would be
far greater
than the
cost of
speaking about
Jesus.
This might
sound a bit
brash, but
in my mind
this week as
I was preparing,
I just thought,
well, it comes
down to a very
simple equation.
who would I
be prepared
to take a
beating for?
I don't
like pain,
not at all,
but that's the
equation,
potentially.
Anyway, let's
move on.
So a big,
a strong gospel
will most
likely bring
strong opposition,
and a big
gospel with
strong opposition
needs a big
response.
continue the
story, verse
24.
Once released,
Peter and
John waste
no time
getting back
to the
other
believers
to bring
some
potentially
disconcerting
news of
the new
normal for
them as
Christians,
a new
normal which
is starting
to look
dark with
violent
opposition.
situation.
Now, if
Peter and
John come
into the
room that
we were in
here today,
and they
said,
well, look,
okay, here,
this is what's
going to go
down in the
next few
days and
weeks.
Be prepared,
everybody.
These guys are
threatening serious
violence.
How would we
respond to
Peter and
John?
Well, I
think we
might be
tempted to
say, Peter
and John,
just come in
here, sit
down there,
pick your
head down
and be
quiet.
Don't stir
the possum
anymore.
Perhaps we
need to get
our best PR
people on the
job, and
let's try and
rebuild this
relationship with
the Jewish
political and
religious
authorities.
Let's get
them to see
that we're
not all
hotheads,
that we're
not going to
make life
miserable for
them.
Now, that's
not what
happens.
We're told
very simply,
the believers
just go to
prayer.
They go to
prayer.
Big
opposition,
big response.
Verse 25
and 26,
big response,
let's pray
to our
big God.
sovereign
Lord.
Do you
hear it?
Sovereign
Lord.
How comforting
is that to
say when
you're under
the shadow
or the
umbrella of
a potential
beating,
potential
powerful guys
who seem
to be out
of control.
Sovereign
Lord who
made the
heaven and
the earth
and the
sea and
everything in
them.
God is
in the
world.
That's a
powerful God.
That's a God
who's in
charge of
every single
moment and
part of his
universe.
God is.
And so
the big
response is
that they
remind
themselves
of just
how big
God is.
They remind
themselves
that what
they're part
of here
is God's
salvation
history,
God's
salvation
pathway.
It was
God's
cause
that they
were witnesses
to.
it was
the died
for people
of the
unstoppable
Jesus who
were being
opposed and
threatened.
The ones
that the
Lord has
said all
eternity
was shaped
to save
and having
been saved
would never
be lost,
not one
of them.
They
remind
themselves
that God
was not
threatened by
the wicked
threats of
evil people.
He
quoted from
Psalm 2
there.
And that
God would
deal with
opposition to
his cause
and his
people as
he has
always done.
What has
God done,
Psalm 2?
Well,
God sits
enthroned in
heaven and
he just has
a bit of a
cackle.
Is that the
best you got?
Even more
than that,
Peter's
confident that
as with the
death of
Christ,
the wickedness
of these
people will
actually just
become part
of God's
overarching
plan.
And so
rather than
stop or
derail God's
plan,
we'll actually
serve to
fulfill God's
plan.
Now that's
sovereignty,
isn't it?
That our
worst intentions
is simply
just picked
up by the
Lord and
used for
good.
And they
reminded
themselves,
verse 27 and
28,
that that's
exactly what
happened with
Jesus.
So,
friends,
do you see
the point
of their
prayer?
They're
reminding
themselves
that
opposition,
whatever
shape or
form or
severity it
took,
opposition
did not
mean the
unstoppable
Jesus
suddenly was
stopped.
But
opposition
does not
mean the
unstoppable
Jesus is
somehow or
other
unexpectedly
defeated in
his task of
gathering his
died for
people.
In fact,
they're reminding
themselves that
opposition has
always been the
trademark
response of
rebels,
especially to
God's servant,
Sam 2.
what else
might we have
expected is
really what
they're saying
as they pray.
And so
filling their
hearts and
minds with
that truth
squeezes out
any developing
panic and
enables them to
continue to have
a quiet trust
and confidence
in God's
care of
them.
And even
more than
that, as
we'll see in
just a
second, it
actually gives
them boldness
as they face a
potentially awful
future.
And so
verse 29, 31,
they actually
ask that.
They ask God
for boldness to
keep on keeping
on being
witnesses, to
keep on keeping
on speaking the
gospel of
Jesus.
and now
Lord,
this is the
bit when we
go to our
prayers and
we say,
Lord, this is
what we need,
this is what we
want.
This is the
supermarket aisle
of the prayer
list.
And now
Lord,
remember the
context?
And now
Lord,
look upon
their threats
and grant
to your
servants to
continue to
speak your
word with all
boldness.
What a
prayer.
They pray
to be
faithful
witnesses.
As God
wants them
to be,
and clearly
as they
want to
be.
And most
amazingly,
they pray
this,
knowing
the
likelihood
that this
prayer
would bring
them more
opposition
and very
likely
physical
harm.
And that's
exactly what
we'll see
as the
story unfolds
next week.
What a
prayer.
Pray it
in the
context and
under the
lordship of
the unstoppable
Jesus.
In the
power of
the secret
weapon of
witnesses,
the
Holy Spirit.
And not
only that,
they keep
on praying,
and they
pray for
the unstoppable
Jesus to
continue
demonstrating his
power among
unbelievers.
So they're
praying for
that,
that they
might be
faithful
witnesses,
while you
stretch out
your hand
to heal
and signs
and wonders
are performed
through the
name of
your holy
servant
Jesus.
Do you get
what they're
praying there?
the very
thing,
the healing
of this
profoundly
disabled man
and other
miraculous things,
the coming of
the spirit
and other
things,
the very
thing that
stirred up
these Jewish
religious
authorities to
see the
hand of
Jesus,
the fingerprint
of Jesus
back among
them when
they thought
they were
rid of him,
they're
praying for
more of
that.
Why?
Because that's
the thing
that's swept
to this
point in
time with
the interpretation
of the
focus on to
Jesus,
that's the
thing that's
swept more
than 5,000
people into
a fresh start
with Jesus.
And they
want that.
And they're
willing to
pay the
price for
that.
And they're
willing to
they know
full well the
consequences of
their prayer,
suffering and
pain for them
personally,
but forgiveness
and a fresh
start in a new
relationship with
God for
countless
thousands of
needy people.
Again,
as they saw
it,
a fresh start
for countless
more thousands
of people.
is well worth
the cost
they might
have to
pay.
My parents,
I got one
brother who's
not a believer,
and I could
never understand
why my parents
said,
until I became
a parent myself,
I could never
understand why
my mom and
dad said it was
so hard to
pray for my
brother.
and the
prayer had to
go along
these lines.
He was
married,
a lovely,
still is
married,
lovely wife,
three beautiful
girls,
very successful
businessmen.
Mom and dad
had to work out
if they were
prepared to
pray the
prayer that
said,
Lord,
do whatever
you need to
do in this
man's life
to get his
attention and
bring him to
repentance.
I'm a dad
of four kids,
twelve grandkids.
I'm finding the
same difficulty
praying the
same prayer.
What will it
mean?
What will it
mean for me
if the Lord
uses me as
the model of
sweeping my
children into
the kingdom,
and I believe
most of them
already are in
the kingdom,
thankfully?
what might
that mean to
see them
mature and
grow in
Christ?
Am I
prepared to
be the
model,
the model
of handling
illness,
or rejection,
or whatever
that model
might be?
Big prayers,
big responses
to the
gospel.
So my
friends,
hopefully that
personal thing
didn't clatter
what I've been
saying this
morning,
but question
now to you,
do you expect
and accept
opposition
and persecution
and real
loss when you
speak the
gospel of
Jesus?
To family,
friends,
workmates,
neighbours,
whoever?
Or do you
simply conclude
that opposition
really shows
that the
so-called
unstoppable
Jesus is
actually really
quite easily
stopped in
real life?
How sad
is it when
the first
response of
Christians to
opposition is
to lose
confidence in
the message of
salvation in
Jesus?
We need to,
we forget
rather,
we forget
that so
often people
don't oppose
God's pathway
to salvation
in Jesus
because it's
stupid or
there's a
lack of
evidence for
it.
They oppose
it because
they don't
want to go
to Jesus.
They don't
want to give
up their
autonomy.
they don't
want to
admit they're
not good
people.
They don't
want to
admit that
of themselves
they can't
earn heaven
and acceptance
before God
and they'll
stick at it
in their
defiance.
And so my
friends,
we need to
remember that
often times
opposition is
evidence that
the gospel is
getting under
the skin of
people.
Or perhaps
you're already
defeated when
you speak the
gospel of
Jesus to
your friends
and family
because your
horizon is
dominated by
the power of
those who are
opposing you.
Social media,
absolutely cruel.
People just
lash out and
tear you to
shreds if you
dare to say
anything against
the sort of
normal accepted
culture.
But if we
focus on that
horizon then we
will be
defeated.
But there's a
horizon behind
that horizon
which is the
sovereign Lord.
And yes,
the sovereign
Lord will use
social media.
This is a
really hard one
for me but
even the Lord
will use social
media for
good.
And probably
he's the only
one who can
use it for
good but I
won't start my
normal rant
about social
media.
Or perhaps
you're just
immobilized by
fear.
Fear of
verbal attack.
You just
find that you
can't cope with
the notion of
being dismissed
as a hate
speaker or a
lunatic.
Fear of
physical and
emotional loss.
Loss of
friendships.
Loss of
other relationships.
Loss of
career promotion.
Sometimes we
think that when
we become a
Christian that
that means our
career will be
onwards upwards.
Oftentimes it's
the opposite.
Oftentimes we
lose out on
promotion.
because we're
Christians.
And so on and
so forth.
Loss of a
hassle-free
life.
Loss of
ease and
comfort.
Fear will
immobilize us.
We need a
big prayer.
We need lots
of confidence
in God's
Holy Spirit
and confidence
in the
unstoppable
Jesus.
So the
question comes
down to this
and I'm
finishing on
this.
I'm sorry
I've gone
over time
this morning
but the
question is
this.
How much
has prayer
been part
of your
planning
to speak
the gospel
in the
past weeks
and months?
There's two
assumptions in
there.
One that you
have been
speaking the
gospel where
you've had
opportunity to
you've been
doing so in
the context
of prayer.
prayer.
Are you
daily spreading
out your
helplessness
before the
Lord in
prayer?
Looking to
his power
to effect
change in
those to
whom you're
speaking?
Is it
something that
you say is
important and
uniting for us
as a church
family?
We want to
impact our
community with
the gospel of
Jesus.
We want to
see people
saved.
But are
we praying?
One for
confidence to
speak and
two that the
Lord might
sovereignly
change stubborn
hard-hearted
lives,
rebellious
lives,
angry lives.
If not,
if we're not
praying then
most likely
we will be
carrying the
burden of
success as
witnesses
on our
own shoulders.
And my
friend, I
tell you, I've
learned, I've
learned really
painfully over
the years,
that's a
burden you
can't bear.
And let me
also say I've
learned it's a
burden you
don't need to
bear.
So let's
pray.
Lord, too
often prayer is
our last
resort.
Lord, may
our
Lord, may
our
Lord, may
our
Lord, may
our
horizon be
filled with
you and
your
sovereignty
and the
unstoppable
Jesus and
the power
of your
spirit to
change people
from the
inside out.
And help us
then, Lord,
just to be
happy to do
the part that
you've asked
us to do,
and that is
simply to speak
the message
of Jesus.
Help us to
hear this this
morning, Lord,
and change our
hearts, warmer
hearts.
In Jesus' name I
pray.
Amen.