CAN’T TOUCH THIS
Acts 5:17-21a
My brothers and my sisters in 1990 a rapper by the name of Stanley Kirk Burrell wrote these word in a song. He said and I quote “my music hits me so hard -makes me say oh my Lord/Thank you for blessing me-with a mind to rhyme and hype a beat/That’s good when you know you’re down/ A super-bowl home-boy from Oaktown/And I’m known as such/And this is a beat uh u can’t touch/ I told you home-boy u can’t touch this. These are the words of a song that came out in 1990 by the artist called MC Hammer. It is about his self acclaimed greatness as a then modern day rapper and dancer. This baggy pants lyricist, even before there was a Hammer time, was a child hood success story in the Oakland, Ca. area. It was this young man as a child that used to dance at the Oakland “A’s” baseball games and Charlie “O” Finley the owner of the “A’s” liked him so much that he gave him free tickets to come to the games to dance, and the fans even looked for him to dance during the seventh inning stretch. That my brothers and sisters was the start of Hammer time.
The Disciples start was not that encouraging, although many miracles were done by them. After they were filled with the Holy Spirit, the world did not understand them. They were accused of being filled with new wine, accused of teaching the wrong doctrine, accused of causing public disobedience and they were constantly apprehended and beaten because of preaching and teaching in the name of Jesus. And again in the text the Disciples are being persecuted because of the wonderful name of Jesus.
In the previous text we talked about The Church, The Place of Miracles. There were found out that the church had taken its’ rightful place in time as the place of relevance and the place where miracles were wrought. From the healing of the lame man, to those that were healed at Solomon’ porch in the previous text, it was at the church or performed by the church, the healing of those that needed a miracle in the name of Jesus. So, it was pointed out to us that (1) there was evidence of wonder working power in the church, along with the fact that (2) there was so much power in the church that no one dared to join it under false pretenses, and finally, (3) we learned that the believers embraced the Lord because of the Apostles great deeds.
This week we will take a look at the second persecution of the church. Although it was relevant and had power, there were still those who thought that the apostles were defying the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They thought this because the apostles were teaching in a name that they did not understand. They did not understand that Jesus was the Son of God, they didn’t understand that He was the One they had been waiting for. All they knew is that Jesus, Joseph and Mary’s boy was teaching things that they were not familiar with. They were also envious of the signs and wonders that the apostles were doing, and it is always a problem to some when you do things that can change the life and direction of the people. So, the Sadducees in verse 17 was filled with indignation. They were jealous because of what the Apostles were doing. People were coming from everywhere to Solomon’ porch, and there were so many of them and they brought with them faith that was so great that according to verse 15 they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches that at least the shadow of Peter passing over them might heal them.
So, let us continue to look at this powerful church and discover why the traditions of the Sadducees, much like the Pharisees, can’t touch this.
First of all verse 17 let’ us know that...
1. THEIR JEALOUS HEARTS WOULD NOT ALLOW THEM TO UNDERSTAND (V.17)
There is a movie called “Cookout”. It is a Black comedy about this kid who was a basketball player, that was drafted and signed by an NBA franchise. He was worth millions. Everybody wanted to be him, his friends in the hood were jealous of him, his childhood buddies tried to exploit him, and he had an aunt that was jealous of his success as well because it wasn’t her son that got the contract to play in the NBA. She even tried to get her son a tryout with her nephews’ agent at the cookout, thinking that he had as much talent as her nephew. But that was not what he wanted to be, he was a scholar and did not want to be a ballplayer, he wanted to be a doctor. The point I’m trying to make here is that she was so filled with jealousy about her nephew’ success, that her jealous heart would let her understand that her son had a successful future in medicine.
Likewise, the text directs our attention to the Sadducees, and they were really sad you see. They were jealous because the Lord was using the apostles in areas that they were not. Now Josephus the Jewish historian said that the Sadducees was a high-priestly family that belonged to the Sadducean party. The Sadduceans were not, however, merely the priestly party but, they were aristocratic priests. They were the priestly party for the rich. But they were as verse 17 said filled with indignation or jealousy because of the miracles that the apostles were doing. In fact it was the Sadducees in chapter 4 that questioned the Apostle Peter. By asking him by what power, and by what name, had they healed the lame man, and it was the Sadducees that took them before the Sanhedrin which forbade them to teach or preach in Jesus’ name. So, they are jealous because now the people are following the apostles instead of them. And they followed the apostles because they had received from the apostles some new found hope. They were simply jealous because of what they did not understand.
Secondly verse 18 let’ us see...
2. THEIR JEALOUS HEARTS WANTED TO ISOLATE THE APOSTLES OF HOPE FROM THE PEOPLE THAT HAD NO HOPE (V.18)
There jealous hearts thought that they could put jail bars between the people and their hope. They fell to realize that they were dealing with someone greater than they. The Pharisees tried, when they plotted and schemed to eliminate Jesus, but they found out instead of eliminating Jesus, they helped create a movement that would change the way people worshiped and lived. So, they laid hands on them and placed them into a common prison. One thing that I’m learning is that the vision that the Lord has given will come to past and no one not even a majority vote can stop it. You see we have to learn that the Lord knows what the end will be, before it even starts. We must realize that He knows what we need before it becomes a need and what God has for us it is for us. No one can have it, no one can stop it, and no one can destroy it. So the Sadducees attempted to put a common jail between a people that is finally receiving hope and those that was to deliver that hope. Let me give you a real life example. There were some that left this church a few years back with the words on their lips that Salem was not going to survive...But God kept us. When God gave us the go ahead to restore His house some said that we were trying to do things too fast...But God promised us. Even today instead of enjoying what God has done, there are some that come looking for things not to like about this sanctuary...But God gave it to us. I tell you what God have for Salem it is for Salem and no one can stand in our way!!!
This reminds me of a nationally known church in our area, whose Bishop had passed away, and his family felt that certain things that he had belonged to him and not the church. So they moved his body from the sight that the church had selected and disassociated themselves from that church movement. The son talked so badly about the movement and it’ newly elected bishop that one day he was doing a funeral of a long time member and some of the people of the movement was there and he started preaching negatively about the organization and it’ Bishop, that he on his way out of the church dropped dead. I tell you God has a way of looking out for those who keep still and know that He is God.
Finally...
Verses 19-21a reminds us that...
3. OUR DISAPPOINTMENTS, ARE GOD’ OPPORTUNITIES (v.19-21a)
We can imagine that the apostles were very disappointed in the events that just occurred. They were doing the will of the Father, the people were being healed and delivered, and now things appeared to be going haywire for them. Isn’t it amazing how things can change so quickly. Have that ever happened to you? You are doing well, then out of nowhere trouble comes. You like the apostle probably wondered out loud how can this happen when we were doing so well. I’ve discovered that some things we go through is not to harm us, but they happen to keep us humbled. You see the apostles were basically like us. Salvation at this point was new to them, they had just received what Jesus had promised them...a comforter and they were still amazed about what they, through Him could do. So some if not all thought that they had arrived. Let me explain. Just because they walked with Jesus did not mean that they were all that. At that point they were not even saved. So they needed to be taught, and although He walked with them He was not their Savior, at least not yet. That is why they called Him teacher and Lord, He had not yet died for their sin which would make Him their Savior. Look what happened. As the apostles were locked up in prison, an angel of the Lord came to them by night and opened the prison door and told them to go into the temple and speak unto the people all the words of eternal life.
CONCLUSION
We must understand that when you are in the plan of God, He will make sure that nothing stands in your way. And some of us know that and from time to time we would become arrogant in our way, that is why the Lord allows disappointment to come in to our lives, because it is to keeps us humble and at the feet of the cross.
But I want you to know that if you are wrapped up, tied up, and tangled up in Jesus. No one or nothing can stop you. And you can break bad with Satan, and tell that rascal You Can’t Touch this.
If I can have Job here this morning he’ll tell you that things were going well, I had cattle, land, and a family. But one day God allowed Satan to bother me, but God also told him that he could not touch his soul.
