Disturbing Good News
Acts 4:1-12
Intro: While staying in a hotel this past week, I saw the little signs they put in your room that you hang on your door when you don’t want to be bothered. You know what they say: DO NOT DISTURB! Or in espanol, no moleste. The idea is this: “I’m busy doing what I want to do, so don’t bother me.” Some people seem to go through life with one of these signs around their neck: “Don’t bother me. I’ve got my own thing going on and I don’t have time for you.” I do hope that isn’t the message we as Christians are sending to those around us, although I fear that our actions may sometimes give that message.
-Well, today we’re going to talk about a good kind of disturbance that needs to happen in everyone’s life. It is something that offends people, and makes some of them angry. This disturbance has gotten a lot of people hurt or killed. It has even divided families, causing one brother to turn against another. So, why would we want to talk about something like this? What’s so good about it? Here it is:
Prop: The disturbing good news about Jesus can bring healing and forgiveness to all who believe in Him.
TS: I’d like to look at 4 thoughts as they relate to the disturbing message of Jesus.
I. Jesus Disturbs Those Who Reject God
-V.2 says, “They were greatly disturbed….” This, of course, is a reference to the priests, the captain of the temple guard, and Sadducees. The priests were organized into 24 different groups who served at the temple on a rotating basis. The priests and Levites took care of the morning and evening sacrifices. The captain of the temple guard was a priest in charge of the temple police force. He ranked 2nd in authority to the high priest. His job was to maintain order in the temple and its surrounding area. The Sadducees were of priestly descent (supposedly from the line of the high priest Zadok- Ezek. 40-48). Their party controlled the temple and high priesthood, giving them a lot of political power. They accepted the 1st 5 books of the OT, but didn’t place much value on the rest of the OT. This led them to deny teachings about the Messiah, angels, demons, immortality, and resurrection. Incidentally, it was primarily the Sadducees who had Jesus arrested, falsely tried, and executed. There may have been some Pharisees involved, but most of Jesus’ opposition came from the Sadducees.
-These Sadducees thought they had done away with Jesus of Nazareth, so when they heard about the healing of the lame man who had been lame all of his life, and had been coming to the temple for most of it, they thought they’d better check it out. Jesus had really messed with their influence over the people, and now His followers were doing the same thing. The message of Jesus disturbed these religious leaders. Jesus has a way of disturbing those who reject God and His ways. He doesn’t do this out of spite or out of ill will toward those who think they know better than God. Jesus disturbs people because He wants them to realize the truth about themselves and about God.
-Jesus was speaking to some of these same rulers in Matthew 21:42-44: 42”Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: "’The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? 43 "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."
-See, all people need to come to a place where they realize that they cannot make it without God’s help. No amount of religious activity can erase the sin in our lives. Jesus said, “He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces.” Only by humbling ourselves at the feet of Jesus in repentance (being broken before Him) can we come into right standing with God. And the message of Jesus will disturb us until we surrender ourselves to Him. However, for those who continue to reject the message of Jesus, the stone will eventually crush them.
-If the message of Jesus disturbs you, please know that it is because He loves you and wants you to turn your life over to Him. Don’t fight against Him any longer. Make things right with Him today. Fall on Jesus and find what you’ve been looking for all of your life.
-TS: Let’s take a quick look at what happens to those who respond appropriately to being disturbed by God.
II. Jesus Changes the Lives of Those Who Trust Him
-V.4 says, “But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.”
-Back in Acts 2:37-38, Peter’s sermon had disturbed those who listened. Look at it in v.37: 37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" 38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
-Well, they did exactly what Peter said, and they found forgiveness for their sins and received the gift of the Holy Spirit. They were given a brand new start and found favor with God. The same thing happened to those in v.4. They heard the message and believed, and became part of the first church in Jerusalem. Their lives were changed.
-We’ve already studied some of the life changes that took place in the early church. They would gather together for meals together. They would gather and pray together. Many of them sold some of the extra land and houses they owned and gave the surplus to the apostles to distribute to those who were in need. Their lives were changed for the better, and their eternal destination also changed. Without God, they had no hope of living forever in heaven. However, because of what Jesus did on the cross, they now had peace with God, through a loving relationship. They trusted God for every need and helped everyone around them that they could.
-So, you might say that the disturbing message of Jesus changed them in this way: it made them willing to be disturbed for the sake of Jesus.
-Are you willing to be disturbed for Christ? Are you willing to be stretched beyond your comfort zone so that others can find forgiveness and help?
-TS: Well, many believed in Jesus after God healed the lame man and Peter and John preached to them. And as the Sanhedrin questioned them, Peter made it very clear that this was all about Jesus, our source of help in times of need.
III. Jesus Is the Only Source of Healing
-V.10 says, “Know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.”
-Whether God uses the knowledge and abilities He has given to doctors or others, or if He uses simple people like you and me to pray the prayer of faith, the fact remains that He is the only source of healing. The devil does not work miracles of healing, because His goal is to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). Granted, 2 Thessalonians 2:9 says “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders.” However, genuine healing only comes from God. Satan will try to imitate God in order to deceive, but His power is limited, and will always take more than it gives. Jesus, on the other hand, so loved that He gave.
-If you need a miracle in your life, you probably know where to turn. But just in case you don’t, let me tell you: Jesus is the source of our healing. At least 2 New Testament writers referred to Isa. 53, showing that Jesus is our Healer. First, Matthew 8:17 says that Jesus healed all the sick “to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.’” Also, 1 Peter 2:24 says that Jesus “Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness -- by whose stripes you were healed.”
-The lame man stood before the Sanhedrin as a witness to the healing power of Jesus Christ. Here was a man over 40 years old who had been brought to the temple for decades to beg, because he was lame and could not work. They could not argue that this man was healed. They tried to get the disciples to tell them what other power they had used to heal this man. Peter told them straight up: “Know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.”
-Maybe you need healing in your body today. You won’t get it from any other source than from Jesus Christ of Nazareth. One day, a boy’s father asked Jesus to help his son: “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." 23 "’If you can’?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." 24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" (Mark 9:22-24).
-Know that Jesus can and will, but if you’re not sure, then ask the Lord to make you sure. Say, “Lord, help my unbelief become faith!”
-TS: Not only is Jesus the source of our healing, but…
IV. Jesus Is the Only Source of Salvation
(Forgiveness, Relationship, Eternal Life)
-V.12 says, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
-The name “Jesus” or “Yeshua” means Yahweh saves or Savior. So, Peter made it clear that Jesus is our source. There is not an alternative source for forgiveness or salvation – just as there is no other source for healing.
-Remember, the Sanhedrin was hinting that Peter and John had used some other power or authority to heal this man: "By what power or what name did you do this?" So, Peter gave them the only name that brings healing – Jesus! Peter went even further and said that forgiveness and salvation are found only in the name of Jesus. No other person or power can deliver what Christ delivered for us through His death and resurrection.
Conclusion: As we bring this to a close today, the message of Jesus is a disturbing thing. It is disturbing to those who are living in sin because it is a reminder that they need a Savior. It reminds them that they need to give up their old life in order to receive the new life Jesus has for them. However, message of Jesus should also disturb every believer. It should disturb us enough to make us want to live it and tell it to others. The message that Jesus came to seek and save the lost should disturb us enough to want to seek out the lost and bring them to Jesus. Jesus isn’t interested in making your life easy and comfortable. Jesus wants to disturb you into action so you will do His will and tell others about Him.
-Maybe today you are disturbed about a problem you have. See, there is a problem that every human being has to face sometime. We all have a sin problem that separates us from God. All have sinned. Nobody is good enough to come close to God. However, that is why Jesus came – to take away our sins. If you need forgiveness today and are willing to ask God for His help, will you take care of that today?
-Maybe you are disturbed by sickness or pain. Jesus came not only to forgive, but to heal. He provided for our healing by the stripes He took on His back. Will you ask Him to heal you today? I will agree with you, and we will join our faith together to believe that God will heal you.
-If you have been disturbed by these or other things, I’d like you to come down to the front for prayer. God doesn’t have any “DO NOT DISTURB” signs on His door. He is willing and able to help you if you ask Him to. Come for prayer and let God help you today.
