Two men plus Jesus and you have a miracle.
• You do not need a lot of people to make an impact. Just two disciples plus Jesus and you can have a miracle.
• And that was just the beginning. The next thing we know it caused a stir and a preaching opportunity.
• The Name of Jesus was proclaimed, and about 5000 men (4:4) believed and were saved. If you count the women you may probably have at least 10,000 people.
Two men and that’s enough for God to do a miracle, and another even greater miracle of seeing 10,000 lives saved.
• Those who accuse them were deeply impressed. 4:13 “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”
• These ordinary fishermen impressed the rulers and authorities of the day, so much so that they were astonished.
• Peter and John had been with Jesus, they concluded. Jesus transformed them!
A Persian Proverb says “a lump of clay emitted a beautiful odour, and on being asked for explanation, replied, “I have been near a rose!”
• The life of Jesus had been rubbed onto these disciples.
• You know Jesus? That qualifies you. You can be an effective witness for Him.
• You need not have to be highly educated to be effective. You need not have to be popular or influential to bring results.
God delights to use the very ordinary things in life to put His message across.
• Those who care to put their faith in Him and trust Him.
YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE BECAUSE YOU KNOW JESUS.
The early church had none of the “advantages” that we have today.
• They did not have big budgets provided by wealthy donors.
• They lacked credentials from well-known seminaries (there isn’t any). They were not trained in theology, leadership or church management.
• Most of the preachers had jail records; they were wanted men by the authorities.
So what was the secret of their success? They know Jesus.
• All they know about was Jesus, and that’s enough. Tell the people about Jesus.
• Peter did that the first time and 3000 were saved (2:41), and now another 5000 men.
• By all means, we go for all the courses and trainings we can get, but remember, it is not these skills that win souls.
Tell them about Jesus. Peter and John were not afraid to tell people about Him.
• Peter denied knowing Jesus earlier, but he is not going to deny Him now.
• They had already been jailed one night (for preaching to the crowd chapter 3). They may put them in jail for a longer time. Their lives may be at stake.
• But there was no sign of letting up. Peter went on to preach Jesus.
This time there were not ordinary men on the street.
• He was facing the rulers, elders and teachers of the law (4:5) – this is the Sanhedrin (religious court) – they are the religious echelon, learned and powerful men of Jerusalem.
• These unschooled men are now facing the court! But Peter just takes it as a captive audience for the Gospel.
• Whether to the man in the street, or to the high and mighty in society, there is no difference to the apostles. All of them need Jesus.
The Bible says in 4:8 “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them….”
• He was not alone in this. The Holy Spirit was working through Peter.
• It wasn’t just Peter speaking, but the Holy Spirit speaking through him.
• No wonder thousands were convicted each time Peter spoke. The Holy Spirit was there to convict the hearts of men.
WHEN WE SPEAK OF JESUS, THE HOLY SPIRIT CONVICTS.
• He is coming alongside – that’s the word paraklesis (Comforter) - "a calling to one’s side"
THE WHOLE HALL HEARD THE MALLET
In a major convention, the presiding officer will signal for the start of the meeting by hitting a small mallet (just like a judge or an auctioneer).
When doing sound tests, the audio engineer for the convention discovered that the noise the mallet actually made was not impressive enough to fill the huge hall, so he pre-recorded an "ideal mallet sound" that was played over the loudspeakers when the presiding officer struck the desk with the mallet. It triggers an "electronically reproduced mallet pulse."
It was heard throughout the entire hall.
When we witness for Christ, the Holy Spirit is that ‘loudspeaker’.
• He moves the hearts of thousands who are listening.
• So one person set on fire by the Lord can infect thousands.
So we see Peter went on to preach Jesus.
• No mincing of words. No compromise. No giving in.
• Peter said bluntly: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (4:12)
• In fact, he seems to be rubbing it in. No room for discussion here.
The elders’ hands were tied. They do not know what to do.
• They ordered them to stop preaching. But Peter said in verse 19: “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God.”
John Bunyan, the one who wrote The Pilgrim’s Progress, had a similar experience. He was in prison many years for preaching the Gospel. He was promised to be set free if he’d only promise not to preach again.
He replied, “If you let me out of prison today, I will preach again tomorrow, by the grace of God. …If I lie in jail till the moss grows on my eyelids, I will never conceal the truth
which God has taught me.”
It was a crisis but Peter had turned it into an opportunity for Christ.
• It happened to Paul too, when he was imprisoned in Philippi. He says he was able to preach to the palace guards.
GOD TAKES A BAD SITUATION AND WORKS SOMETHING GOOD OUT OF IT.
Karen Watson was a young missionary from the States who went into Iraq. On March 15, 2004, she was killed by unknown assailants. Later an envelope was found that said, “Open in case of death.”
Inside was a letter that said in part: “Dear Pastor Phil and Pastor Roger, You should only be opening this in the event of death. When God calls, there are no regrets. I tried to share my heart with you as much as possible, my heart for the nations. I wasn’t called to a place; I was called to Him. To obey was my objective, to suffer was expected, His glory my reward, His glory my reward...
The missionary heart: Cares more than some think is wise;
Risks more that some think is safe;
Dreams more than some think is practical;
Expects more than some think is possible.
I was called not to comfort or to success but to obedience... There is no joy outside of knowing Jesus and serving Him.
I love you two and my church family. In His care, Karen.”
Fear sees the obstacles, but faith sees the opportunities!
• Why were Peter and John so bold and confident?
• We can read it plainly from the text, but looking at the context I think we can safely guess - they knew Jesus was with them!
• That’s what Peter preached about – Jesus has been raised from the dead, He is alive!
• They trusted their Master. They had a living relationship with Him, He is not dead.
That’s the same confidence we have today. Don’t feel intimidated.
• Jesus’ promise: “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt 28:20b)
• We can be confident not because people will love our message, or that they will like us. In fact, they will probably mock us, or come at us in different ways.
• They are not rejecting you; they are rejecting Christ. Our confidence is in Christ, who is present to work with us.
When the Roman Emperor Valens threatened a faithful saint Eusebius, with confiscation of all his goods, torture, banishment, or even death, the saint replied, “He needs not fear confiscation, who has nothing to lose; nor banishment, to whom heaven is his country; nor torments, when his body can be destroyed at one blow; nor death, which is the only way to set him at liberty from sin and sorrow.”
Peter says in 4:20 “For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
• Just speak what you have seen and heard; what you’ve experienced in Christ.
• The world will see and say, “You had been with Jesus.” They will notice the Christ we worship and proclaim.
The religious leaders saw the JESUS who had influenced Peter and John lives.
• This is our goal in life. We want people to see Christ through us.
• They do not really see us. They see Christ. They experience Christ’s love, mercy, compassion, hope through us.
LET PEOPLE SEE CHRIST IN YOU.
Do not bring attention to ourselves. In whatever ministries we are in, whatever task we are doing, remember this - do not bring attention to yourselves.
• Lift up the Name of Jesus. Only Jesus has the power to touch and transform lives.
• If they see you and you alone, then Christ has been sidelined. And you’ve just robbed the people of the very power that can change their lives.
Let them see Jesus.
• After Peter spoke to them, the religious leaders were left with a picture of Jesus.
• Peter and John pointed them to Him, as they had always been doing in the past few chapters.
• To have an effective ministry, we need to point people to Jesus and Jesus alone.
• People need Jesus.
The disciples’ witness will be the only means of hope for these people.
• They had made the mistake of rejecting Christ, and for not hearing Him out when He was around.
• And probably some of them in this Sanhedrin were the ones who sentenced Christ to be crucified.
• God is giving them a second chance, or maybe for some, a third chance and a fourth chance. They are able to hear of Jesus Christ again, through His followers.
So we are the “fax machines” for Christ.
• Through the fax machine, you can send an exact duplicate of a document anywhere in the world. The receiving person doesn’t get the original, but a close duplicate.
• We are like a fax machine. If our relationship with Christ is right, people see us as a copy of Him. They don’t see the original, but they can see what the original looks like.
• We can show the world Jesus, wherever we are. Will you?
