INTRO>On one of his European tours, master magician and locksmith Harry Houdini found himself locked in jail for improper actions. After he had been searched and manacled in a Scottish town jail, the old jail keeper shut him in a cell and walked away. Houdini quickly freed himself from his shackles and then tackled the cell lock. However, despite all his efforts, the lock wouldn’t open. Finally, completely exhausted, he leaned against the door...and it swung open so unexpectedly he nearly fell headlong into the corridor. The jail keeper had not locked it!
--Well, the guard did lock the apostles into the public jail in Jerusalem. But, by the next morning, they were out and about.
--I invite you to open a Bible and turn once again to Acts, chapter 5.
The event described in our text today proved to be a turning point for the early church, and I want to examine it today in three parts:
1) THE PAIN.
--We need to be aware of the pain going on inside the lives of those apart from Jesus.
--And what we see exhibited by the Sanhedrin are the same characteristics we can see in the lives of those who don’t yet know Jesus.
<>The Jewish leaders were JEALOUS of how the crowds were listening to the apostles.
--Ac.5:17 -- ”But the high priest rose up, along with all his associates...and they were filled with jealousy;”
---QUOTE>Dr. Gary Collins has rightly noted: “There is a distinction between jealousy and envy. To envy is to want something which belongs to another person. So, ‘you shall not covet your neighbor’s house, his wife, his donkey, etc.’ In contrast, jealousy is the fear that something which you possess will be taken away by another person. So, although jealousy can apply to our jobs, possessions, or reputations, the word more often refers to anxiety which comes when we’re afraid that the affections of a loved one might be lost to a rival. We fear that our mates, perhaps our children, will be lured away by some other person who, when compared to us, seems more attractive.”
-->The Sanhedrin was filled with jealousy because they feared a personal loss of power / authority over others...lost to the disciples.
----Ultimately it all came down to their focus being on themselves, their own personal “agendas” and desire for personal power.
<>They MISTREATED others.
--Ac.5:18 -- ”...and they laid hands on the apostles, and put them in a public jail.”
--Ac.5:40 -- ”...and after calling the apostles in, they flogged them and ordered them to speak no more in the name of Jesus...”
--In contrast to the actions shown in the lives of the Sanhedrin, when the Holy Spirit is at work within the heart of a man he is tender-hearted, forgiving of others, and shows compassion.
--Again, the consuming desire within the members of the Sanhedrin for self-exaltation and their drive to please their own interests made them callous, uncaring toward others and others’ feelings, even to the point of not caring whether the other persons lived or not.
--Even when it was made clear to them that the apostles were going to continue teaching about Jesus, no matter what the Sanhedrin “ordered” them to do (although they had no real authority to do so and the Sanhedrin knew they didn’t have that authority), they just couldn’t let the apostles go without a “good” flogging.
----Understand, most people wouldn’t have survived the flogging...it was brutal....vicious...unnecessarily cruel.
--Notice: the Sanhedrin didn’t think the flogging would stop the apostles, but they did it anyway because they were angry, and wanted to mistreat them.
<>They were WORRIED about the future.
--Ac.5:24 -- ”Now when the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them as to what would come of this.”
---ILL>Worry is well-understood by the comment of an elderly lady about it. Speaking about how worry affects our lives she told a younger person, “I’ve had a lot of trouble, most of which never happened!”
--But worrying about the future is a very prominent characteristic of those who don’t have a relationship with Jesus.
--Notice: when the apostles were not in the jail cell, as the Sanhedrin had expected them to be, the Jewish leaders’ thoughts were not so much on “how did they do it?,” but on “what might happen to us now?”
----They were afraid the crowds might be even more attracted to the apostles than before.
----After all, the Sanhedrin was supposed to be “in control,” and this would expose the fallacy of that sentiment.
--The temple guard was likewise afraid that now they themselves might be executed by letting a prisoner escape.
<>They were secretly AFRAID.
--Ac.5:26 -- ”...for they were afraid of the people, lest they should be stoned.”
--You see, when your whole life revolves around your position and your popularity, what other people think about you, you’re going to live every day in fear of the bubble bursting, of somebody new coming in and taking your place.
--The lives of the Sanhedrin were a total contradiction.
----On one hand they viewed themselves as superior to others, and wanted the crowd to believe they were “in control.”
----But when they walked outside among the crowds, inwardly, secretly, they were actually afraid of them.
<>They DISTORTED the truth, even to the point of paranoia.
--Ac.5:28 -- ”...you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.”
--The actual message of the apostles was that every man’s sin had been the cause of Jesus’ death, but that forgiveness was offered in Christ.
--But the Sanhedrin refused to hear the good in the good news because they were so self-consumed they took the message as a personal attack on their positions...and refused to listen to anything beyond the fact that their sin had killed Jesus.
--You see, the pain exhibited in the lives of the members of the Sanhedrin is the same as what is being experienced today in the lives of those who come across our paths who don’t know Jesus:
----They’ve rejected Jesus’ offer for forgiveness because their focus is on themselves so much they’re not hearing the message.
----They’re so consumed with their own well-being, in getting head, in taking care of themselves, etc., they’re jealous of anyone else.
----They view others as a threat to their position or popularity...rather than electing to humble themselves before God.
----Their “taking care of my own needs” and “getting ahead at all costs” mentality is many times cruel to others.
----They’ll say that the fact that others get hurt is just the “cost of getting ahead,” that it comes with the territory as you’re on your way up the corporate ladder, when actually it is purely a matter of selfishness and self-centeredness.
----They’ve made the mistake of thinking that somehow they’re “in control.”
----But as soon as something happens that they didn’t anticipate, they get worried...and hustle to try and “cover themselves,” fearing it might bring down their house of cards.
----They are in essence living lives of contradiction.
----On the one hand they claim they’re not afraid of anything, but when bad things do happen, it becomes apparent that really they are afraid of losing what they’ve worked for.
----And many times, rather than giving an honest listen to the Gospel, they distort it and refuse to hear it.
----They make up stuff about it: “Oh, it’ll cramp my style” -- when actually it will set them free of their fears.
----Or they’ll try to rationalize it away: “Oh, I’m as good as those Christian hypocrites or those fallen preachers are!,” or “I don’t think it matters what you believe, so long as you’re sincere about it.”
<>SO, WHAT SHOULD WE DO, AS BELIEVERS?
-a) UNDERSTAND what they are experiencing.
---No matter how much they try to deny it, they’re actually jealous of persons who defy what Thoreau advocated, persons who don’t live lives “of quiet desperation,” persons who don’t “go to the grave with their sad song still in them.”
---And understand that down deep inside they are looking for what only a relationship with Jesus can bring them: peace.
---Consequently, we, as believers, can actually be correct in singing, “All we are saying, is give peace a chance!”
-b) BE KIND to them.
---Show them the difference that knowing Jesus can make in a person’s life...by how you live yours.
-c) BE READY to tell them the good news.
---Be ready to let them hear about how forgiveness, purpose, and joy are available...through a personal relationship with Jesus.
2) THE PROOF
--The apostles gave clear evidence in their actions that they were being led by the Spirit of God.
<>They showed COURAGE and CONFIDENCE.
--Ac.5:21 -- ”And upon hearing this, they entered into the temple about daybreak, and began to teach.”
--Ac.5:42 -- ”And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.”
--Awakened in the middle of the night, they went straight back to the “scene of the crime” and continued preaching and teaching the truth of the Gospel.
--That took courage!
--Understand, courage is a much misunderstood concept.
---ILL>I remember years ago a sports commentator described Evel Kneivel, the stuntman, as being “courageous.”
----No, there’s a difference between being courageous in a matter of doing something extremely dangerous, and being stupid in risking your life unnecessarily.
----If you go and serve our country in the military, you’re courageous.
----If, on the other hand, you attempt to jump over a canyon on a motorcycle just so people will give you some attention, you’re not courageous, you’re a moron.
---ILL>Similarly, Adrian Rogers used to tell of a man who bragged about cutting off the tail of a man-eating lion with his pocket knife. Someone asked him, “Why didn’t you cut off the lion’s head?” His reply, “Oh, someone else had already done that.”
--The disciples demonstrated genuine courage and genuine trust in the Lord.
--Even after being flogged and told again to never talk about Jesus, they continued every day to teach and preach Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah, the answer the crowds were looking for.
--NOTE: The key to their confidence is where it came from...
---As we have advocated as part of our radio broadcast, “Can Do,” the truth is...
---->If God leads us to it, He’ll lead us through it.
---->If God is in it, we can do it.
--They believed that since God had set them free from the prison He would clearly watch over them when they were outside.
--If He allowed their lives to spared, He had a reason for doing so, that He wasn’t done with them yet.
--Later, in the book of Acts, after James was beheaded and Christians were persecuted, these apostles continued to their dying breaths to testify of Jesus as being the Messiah, the Risen Lord...even to the point of their own crucifixions, their own tortured deaths.
--APP>Christian, here’s today’s question: What about you?
--->Are you showing courage?
--->Are you boldly going where God leads you to go?
<>They were OBEDIENT to God.
--Ac.5:29 -- ”But Peter and the apostles answered and said, ‘We must obey God rather than men.’”
---ILL>As a child I remember learning the song, “I may never march in the infantry, ride in the cavalry, shoot the artillery; I may never fly over land and sea, but I’m in the King’s army.”
--In the same way, these apostles knew they were in God’s army, their orders came from God, and they were determined to obey the commands of God.
--You see, believers, there comes a time when we must defy any law or “command” imposed on us by men that is a direct contradiction to the commands of God on our lives.
--Notice: Their explanation for why they defied the Sanhedrin’s “order” to not talk about Jesus any more wasn’t angry or mean-spirited...It was simply straight-forward: “We must obey God rather than men.”
--APP>Here’s the question again, Christian: What about you?
--->Are you aware that you’re engaged in a spiritual battle?
--->Are you cognizant that your Commander-in-Chief has given you specific instructions to go and make disciples of all that nations?
--->Are you?
<>They were UNASHAMED MESSENGERS.
--Ac.5:30 -- ”The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. He is the One whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins, and we are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”
--They didn’t pull any punches...they told the truth...that Jesus is alive, He’s the only Savior.
--They made sure, though, that they included God’s offer of forgiveness.
--And they spoke of their own personal knowledge...what they were eyewitnesses to.
--APP>Again, here’s the question, Christian: What about you?
--->Are you telling others the good news of Jesus’ resurrection, and of His willingness to forgive sins?
<>They demonstrated JOY.
--Ac.5:41 -- ”...they went on their way...rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.”
--They were rejoicing in the middle of what had to be the roughest twenty-four hours of their lives.
--And their rejoicing centered on the fact that they now understood Jesus’ suffering in a way they could now appreciate even more.
--APP>Christian, the question comes again: What about you?
--->What was your attitude the last time you encountered any degree of persecution?
--->Did you feel like God had abandoned you? Or were you rejoicing to experience a little taste of what Jesus experienced for you?
3) THE POWER
--We can also clearly see the power of God that guided the apostles.
<>God’s power is UNSTOPPABLE.
--It’s bigger than any obstacle.
--Ac.5:19 -- ”But an angel of the Lord during the night opened the gates of the prison, and taking them out...”
---LYR>We sing a song around here occasionally that is based on this event. The lyrics: “I’ve got a river of life flowing out of me, it makes the lame to walk and the blind to see. It opens prison doors, sets the captives free. I’ve got a river of life flowing out of me.”
--You see, it’s not just physical prisons that God can deliver you from or bring you out of.
-->God’s power is bigger than the hour.**
-->God’s power is bigger than...
----Addictions.
----Financial difficulties.
----Marital problems.
----Raising children.
----Even raising teenagers.
----Past regrets.
<>God’s Spirit DIRECTS us and EMPOWERS us to speak the Gospel.
--Ac.5:19-20 -- ”he (the Angel of the Lord) said, ‘Go your way, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life.’”
--We’ve mentioned it numerous times, but it is the Spirit who will speak through you when you need to know what to say.
<>God’s Power is the KEY and essential ingredient for the success of any ministry.
--Ac.5:38-39 -- ”...if this action should be of men, it will be overthrown; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them;”
--Remember: It’s HIS ministry...and HIS power that accomplishes it.
BRINGING IT HOME...
-If you haven’t yet received Jesus as personal Lord and Savior, I hope you’ll hear and heed the lyrics of a wonderful hymn:
--“Softly and tenderly, Jesus is calling; He’s calling for you and for me....Come home, come home. Ye, who are weary, come home.”
-If you are already a believer, already a committed follower of Jesus, I remind you of these lyrics:
--“He opens prison doors, sets the captives free.”
-In both cases, I urge you to trust God, and let Him bring you out...and about.
