Chapter of Firsts
(Acts 5:17-41)
1. Kokomo is called the City of Firsts…. If you ’ve ever been to the Sieberling Mansion, AKA, The Howard County Museum just two blocks from here, you’ve probably seen the list of Kokomo’s firsts.
2. "City of Firsts" inventions
1894 - Elwood Haynes makes the first successful trial run of his "horseless carriage" on Pumpkinvine Pike.
1894 - The first pneumatic rubber tire was invented by D.C. Spraker at the Kokomo Rubber Tire Company.
1895 - The first aluminum casting was developed by William "Billy" Johnson from the Ford and Donnelly Foundry.
1902 - Kingston carburetor developed by George Kingston.
1906 - The first Stellite cobalt-base alloy was discovered by Elwood Haynes.
1912 - Stainless steel tableware was invented by Elwood Haynes as a response to his wife’s desire for tableware that wouldn’t tarnish.
1918 - The Howitzer shell, used in World War I, was created by the Superior Machine Tool Company.
1918 - The first aerial bomb with fins was first produced by the Liberty Pressed Metal Company.
1920 - The mechanical corn picker was created by John Powell.
1926 - Carl Molin developed Dirilyte golden-hued tableware.
1928 - The first canned tomato juice was created by Walter Kemp from Kemp Brothers Canning Company in response to a physician’s need for baby food.
1938 - The first push-button car radio was created at Delco Radio Division of General Motors Corporation.
1941 - Globe American Stove Company manufactured the first all-metal life boats and rafts.
1947 - The first signal-seeking car radio was created by the Delco Radio Division of General Motors.
1957 - Delco Radio Division of General Motors developed the first all transistor car radio.
3. Just as Kokomo is the City of Firsts, so the book we call "The Acts of the Apostles" is about the church’s firsts.
4. First time inventions or experiences can be frightening. Yet life consists of many first time experiences. And following Jesus Christ can be stressful and scary.
Main Idea Serving the Lord means walking into the unknown. We may have many unique experiences.
TS-- The Apostles had a number of first time experiences in Acts 5.
I. For the First Time, ALL the Apostles Are Arrested (17-18)
A. The Sadducees: ULTERIOR Motives
1. JEALOUSY
2. Roman PRIVELEGE
3. The Sadducees were the real "bad guys" of the NT; although Jesus condemned the Pharisees more aggressively, that was because He identified more with this group, and no one was as harsher about the failings of Pharisees than other Pharisees…they may have been zealous with knowledge of the Gospel, like Saul of Tarsus, they were generally sincere and devout…not so, the Sadducees; they were the "country-club" religious leaders…
B. ALL Apostles Arrested
1. When they arrested Jesus in Gethsemane, the apostles fled in fear; but now they are boldly preaching the Gospel after receiving orders from the high priest to do no more preaching or else. But they all fearlessly proclaim the word and are arrested. What has changed?
2. They have encountered a risen Savior; they are sure of Him, of His orders, and are now empowered by His Spirit. That’s what has changed!
3. Some of you never thought you would become part of the Bible-reading, praying, witnessing, serving crowd. You may have thought Christians were kind of weird or fanatical -- and now you are one of us!
4. From a human perspective, do you realize how vulnerable and fragile Christianity was?
5. If all the apostles were martyred at this point, all the disciples Jesus trained to initiate and lead the church would be no more!
6. Such experiences work in one of two ways: they can make you bolder, hesitant, or bold in a shrewd, cautious way…
II. For the First Time, an ANGEL Makes a Jail Break (19-32)
A. The ANGEL delivers them all (19-20)
According to Gene Edwards, there are over 300 instances in Scripture in which angels are mentioned. According to a Time Magazine/CNN poll, 69% of American adults believe in the existence of ANGELS; 46% believe they have their own Guardian Angel (2); almost one-third (32%) say they have, at one time or another, personally felt an angelic presence in their life. [Sermon Central]
1. Brought them out past the guards
2. Game them a message from the Lord
3. The phrase, “of this life”
B. The Apostles are COMICALLY found back at the Temple! (21-25)
C. The Apostles DEFEND themselves (29-32)
1. By citing HIGHER authority (29)
2. By exposing the Sadducees’ sinful BIAS (30)
3. By suggesting evidence that GOD was on their side (31)
4. By their TESTIMONY (32)
--Vs. 32 really irritated them, namely that the apostles had the Spirit while they, the high priestly family members, did not
--they also had to deal with public opinion…
III. For the First Time, Israel’s Leading PHARISEE Stands Up for Christianity’s Right to Exist (33-39)
A. Who was GAMALIEL?
1. Not thought to be present when the Sanhedrin met to condemn Jesus
2. In that era, only about 3 or 4 members of the Sanhedrin were Pharisees; mostly Sadducees…but Gamaliel was respected as the greatest Rabbi in the land
3. A descendent of King David, very distantly related to Jesus
4. The grandson of the great Rabbi, Hillel, whose teachings often parallel those of Jesus
5. The man who would train Saul of Tarsus to become a great Rabbi…who later became known as Paul the Apostle. In Acts 22:2-4, Paul said, “And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew dialect, they became even more quiet; and he said, "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated under Gamaliel, strictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as you all are today.
6. Rabbi Gamaliel may have single-handedly done more to help establish Christianity than anyone except for Jesus Himself, yet he was not a believer
7. There are many unbelievers who are not in the Kingdom of God but are friendly toward that Kingdom…
8. Professor Will Varner writes, " The question that needs to be considered is whether the stringent, hyperstrict Pharisaic scruples that received the strongest condemnation from Jesus might be those most often espoused by the Shammai school. Thus, Jesus’ harshest words may have been directed, on certain occasions, more toward a segment of the Pharisees than toward all of them.
B. His LOGIC
1. Other false Messiah’s had followings, but they burnt out
2. Gamaliel was wrong about one of them, Judas the Galilean; his grandson led the rebellion at Masada near the end of the 1st century
3. There is a chance we might be fighting God!
IV. For the First Time, They Are PHYSICALLY Punished (40-41)
A. They FOLLOWED Gamaliel’s advice
Even though he was in the minority on the council, he was such a godly man and so highly respected, that his opinion alone swayed them.
B. They ordered the apostles not to PREACH
They knew this would not stop them, but they at least hoped to slow things down.
C. Each apostle was WHIPPED 39 times
Sometimes people would die from these whippings, so this was no minor punishment
CONCLUSION
1. Believers all over the world are suffering for no other reason than they have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior.
2. In India this week, here is the latest:
"Christians feel unsafe even under government protection, and are leaving the refugee camps to escape to other areas of India. In Kandhamal, the destruction has continued for more than a month.
Bhubaneshwar (AsiaNews) - About 12,000 people have disappeared from the refugee camps set up by the government of Orissa to accommodate the Christians fleeing from the violence of Hindu radicals and from their destroyed villages. Meanwhile, a dozen more houses have been burned, while the government of the state assures that it is doing everything possible to maintain security.
Since August 24, a campaign of attacks against Christians and their institutions has been underway in the district of Kandhamal, killing 60 people and forcing 50,000 more to flee. Of these, at least 15,000 have been accommodated in refugee camps overseen by the government. But the Christians do not feel safe; in recent days, attacks have been conducted by Hindu fundamentalist groups against Christians in the camps, with threats and attempts to reconvert them to Hinduism."
3. Are we willing to suffer for our faith? How about suffering inconvenience? Being different? Mockery? Do we cherish and study the Word of God, the Scriptures for which countless others have died?
4. We cannot say whether or not we are willing to die for Christ. But are we willing to live for Him?
