Dealing With Opposition Series

Dealing With Opposition

Text: Acts 5:17-32

Introduction

1. Illustration: I’m reminded of an old song called “I’ve Been Redeemed.” It’s an old chorus that’s got like a million verse to it. One of those verses says, “Oh, the devil’s mad, and I’m so glad. Oh, the devil’s mad and I’m so glad. Oh, the devils mad and I’m so glad, he lost a soul that he thought he had. All my sins are washed away, I’ve been redeemed.”

2. This verse illustrates a great biblical truth; when God is moving and does something good, the devil is going to work in the background to fight against it.

3. But the reality is that God always wins!

4. Read Acts 5:17-32

Proposition: When dealing with opposition, realize that God has your back.

Transition: Realize that when opposition comes…

I. The Devil Is Behind It (17-18).

A. Filled With Jealousy

1. You can be assured, when God begins to move the devil will fight you tooth and nail.

2. So, with God moving, the church is growing, people are being healed, and signs and wonders are being performed, something bad had to be on the horizon.

3. So, Luke begins this story by saying, “The high priest and his officials, who were Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. 18 They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.”

a. Jealousy is a terrible thing.

b. “A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones” (Prov. 14:30).

c. That’s what happens here. Rather than listening to the message of life that the apostles were preaching and accepting the forgiveness and salvation that Jesus came to bring, these religious leaders were filled with jealousy.

d. They were jealous of the apostles because God was obviously working inside of them based on the signs and wonders they were performing.

e. If that wasn’t enough, they were also jealous of the apostles because the people were listening to them and coming to faith in Christ, and they were no longer listening to them.

f. They had lost their influence over the people, and this filled them with jealous hearts.

4. As a result, they arrested the apostles and put them in jail.

a. They had all the apostles thrown in jail overnight and planned to deal harshly with them in the morning.

b. Not only were they jealous, but they were also furious that their previous threats to Peter and John went unheeded, because they had told Peter and John not to speak in Jesus’ name again.

5. However, there is a great spiritual reality behind what’s happening here. The apostles were winning people to Christ and the church was growing. And the devil didn’t like it!

a. The sin that the council was committing here was jealousy, but the source of this jealousy is the devil.

b. He was working in their hearts to try and prevent the apostles from accomplishing their mission.

c. He was going to do everything he could to keep them from telling people about Jesus!

d. And he does the same thing to you and I, and we need to realize that we are in a spiritual battle and we need to fight it with spiritual weapons.

B. Spiritual Battle

1. Illustration: "Life is war. That’s not all it is. But it is always that. Our weakness in prayer is owing largely to our neglect of this truth. Prayer is primarily a wartime walkie-talkie for the mission of the church as it advances against the powers of darkness and unbelief. It is not surprising that prayer malfunctions when we try to make it a domestic intercom to call upstairs for more comforts in the den. God has given us prayer as a wartime walkie-talkie so that we can call headquarters for everything we need as the kingdom of Christ advances in the world. Prayer gives us the significance of front-line forces and gives God the glory of a limitless Provider. The one who gives the power gets the glory. Thus, prayer safeguards the supremacy of God in missions while linking us with endless grace for every need." --John Piper

2. "As we begin to focus upon God, the things of the Spirit will take shape before our inner eyes." -- A. W. Tozer

3. When opposition comes, we must recognize its source – the devil, and we need to deal with him through the spiritual authority given to us by God.

a. “A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” (Eph. 6:10-12).