GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY IN THE MIDST OF CHRISTIAN SUFFERING
(Part 2)
Acts 4:23-28
(Antioch Baptist Church: Wednesday, August 27th, 2025)
Many unbelievers have a common misconception that “if our God is real”, and “if He is all powerful”, and “if we are His children”, and “if He loves us”, then we will never experience any sort of trouble, hardships or tragedy. This erroneous mindset can partly be attributed to the abundance of false teaching in our day. However, this mindset is not a new phenomenon, King David wrote about a time when the enemies of Isreal mocked their faith in God. In Psalm 115:2-3 he said, “Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.”
We should believe and echo that sentiment in each and every circumstance that we face. Indeed, our God is in the Heavens and He does all that He pleases. However, there will be many times when we do not like, agree with, or understand why God does what He does. Like the aforementioned unbelievers, there are times when we (Christians) ask the questions “if our God is real”, and “if He is all powerful”, and “if we are His children”, and “if He loves us”, then why does He allow us to suffer? For the answer to this question, we need not look any further than the Cross of Jesus Christ.
John MacArthur once said, “God has written all of history according to His eternal plan. The crucifixion of Jesus was no exception”. Everything that the enemies of Christ did to Him was part of God’s plan. This is clear evidence of His sovereignty. It was not Judas Iscariot who handed Jesus over to His enemies, it was God. Pilate, Herod, and the Sanhedrin were not the ones who saw to it that Jesus was crucified, it was God the Father. Jesus was handed over to death by God Himself and we must never forget that He did this on our behalf. (2 Corinthians 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.)
The rejection of the Jews, being betrayed by Judas, denied by Peter, and abandoned by the Disciples; the unjust trial, the mocking, beating, scourging and the crucifixion itself were all predestined by God. Scripture declares that Jesus is “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 13:8).
With that being said, those who were guilty of the death of Christ will still be held responsible for their rebellious acts. The fact that Jesus was delivered to death by the Sovereign Lord does not absolve Christ’s enemies of their responsibility concerning His death. This is why Peter continuously confronts their evil deeds and pleads with them to repent.
Acts 2:23 Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;)
(Acts 3:15 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. 14 But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.
Because of their rejection of the Promised One, it was necessary for the people in Jerusalem to hear the message of the Gospel. They needed to know the eternal importance of repenting and believing in Jesus Christ. Each time that Peter confronted their guilt, he called on them to respond in repentance.
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."
Acts 3:19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord
The necessity of repentance is a message that must be proclaimed today. There are many people who reject Christ just as those who were guilty of executing Him. In fact, they too are responsible for His death. But there is another similarity that modern day people have with the Jews in Christ’s day. I am referring to the fact that the grace, mercy, love and forgiveness of Jesus is available if they will humble themselves and repent and believe in Him.
Like those in the early church, we find much hope in the sovereignty of God. We belong to the ultimate authority and no government, leader or counsel can thwart his divine will! With this in mind we can have great boldness and courage as we set out to be His witnesses on the earth. It is important that we follow the example of the first century Christians and pray for boldness in this process. Notice their request in - v29 Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word,
Christ’s followers didn’t attempt to tell God what to do (it would have been foolish of them to try). Rather, they trusted Him to deal with their enemies. The saints did not ask for comfort or deliverance, instead, they asked God to enable them to be bold, courageous, and obedient in their preaching of the Word. Their prayer for boldness is evidence that they had no intention of compromising and listening to the threats of the court.
Keep in mind, the events that had occurred in the very early days of Christ’s Church. By this time God had already performed many signs and wonders through the Apostles. Many amazing things happened on the day of Pentecost, and the healing of the lame man was a miracle that astonished many. Along with their prayer for boldness, the servants of God went on to ask Him to continue to work signs and wonders through the Apostles as they continued to preach the Gospel.
v29 Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, 30 by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus."
The Apostles recognized the source of these miracles, and they trusted that God would continue to move in and through them. This prayer was not motivated by a desire for personal glory, but rather borne out of a desire for God to authenticate the Gospel message through these signs and wonders. After this time of worship and prayer, God made it clear that He heard and would answer their prayers. Verse 31 says that “when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.”
The earth shook at the conclusion of this prayer; this was a physical manifestation of the spiritual power that was present among the Believers. Luke says that “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit”. This was evidence of their obedience and submissiveness to the Lord.
In the following days, Christ’s servants continued to preach the word with boldness; this was content of their prayer and their prayer was answered! God’s people certainly understood the principle of asking things according to God’s will. If they had improper motives, God would not have answered them, but they had pure motives, they sought God’s glory, and He moved in a mighty way in response to their earnest request.
We can trust that God will move in and through us with great power if we are walking with Him and serving Him the way that we should. I think we would all agree that Christian suffering is a reality. Since this is the case, it is important for us to know how to endure these times of suffering. First of all:
WE MUST BE BOLD, COURAGEOUS AND PRESS ON IN OUR SERVICE TO THE LORD
Peter and John were standing before the very men who were responsible for the death of the Savior. They knew that they could hand down a verdict that would result in physical harm or even death. Yet, they planted their feet and remained faithful to the Lord.
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain”. When we suffer for the cause of Christ, we must resolve to be steadfast.
We must have the same mindset as Peter & John; when we are confronted with a situation where the easiest thing to do would be to compromise, we must say “Whether it’s right in the sight of God for us to listen to you rather than to God, you decide; for we are unable to stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19-20). We cannot allow fear to cause us to retreat, compromise, or water down the message of the Gospel.
- Intertwined with the importance of courage and endurance is the fact that:
WE MUST TRUST IN THE LORD IN TIMES OF CHRISTIAN SUFFERING
Our only hope of victory in these troublesome times is to put our faith in the Lord. We must remember that He is sovereign and whatever the end result of our suffering may be, it will be in accordance with His perfect will. We should trust in the Lord in times of suffering and at the same time the Lord can use times of suffering to increase our faith in Him. In fact, this is one of the greatest benefits of suffering as a child of God.
- Let’s also consider the reality that:
TO PROPERLY ENDURE CHRISTIAN SUFFERING WE MUST IMMERSE OURSELVES IN GOD’S HOLY WORD
The only way that we can successfully serve the Lord is to do it in accordance with His will. The only way to be in His will is to know His Word. The only way to know His Word is to spend time in His Word.
The Apostles were familiar with the Old Testament scriptures; this is evident in their quoting of Psalm 2 in their prayer. Because of this they were confident that they were in the will of God. They were seeing prophecy fulfilled right before their eyes. This contributed to their aforementioned trust in the Lord. If we will spend time in Gods’ Word we will constantly be reminded that suffering is a part of the Christian life. We will also be equipped to properly endure that suffering.
- Intertwined with the importance of immersing ourselves in God’s Word is the reality that:
WE MUST RESPOND TO CHRISTIAN SUFFERING WITH MUCH PRAYER
When the Apostles returned to the rest of the church they knew that their troubles were not over; in fact, they were only beginning. So, they joined together and prayed that God would move in and through them and that they would be bold in their efforts to carry out the great commission. We must do the same! It is imperative that we spend time in individual and corporate prayer. This is an important element of our daily walk, and even more so in times of suffering.
- It is also true that:
WE MUST RESPOND TO CHRISTIAN SUFFERING WITH PRAISE AND WORSHIP
The apostles didn’t go home and begin to pout or complain about all they had endured at the hands of their enemies. They returned to their brothers and sisters and praised the Lord for the opportunity to suffer. Together they worshipped Him for who He is and all that He has done. Again, we should do the same. Even in the most trying times of our lives, God is worthy of worship and praise. We should praise Him for the honor of being His and the privilege of suffering for the sake of Jesus Christ.
- Finally we will see that:
WHEN WE EXPERIENCE CHRISTIAN SUFFERING WE CAN DRAW STRENGTH AND ENCOURAGEMENT FROM OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST
Don’t overlook the importance of community in the Christian life. One of the reasons that these men were able to press on was the encouragement that they received from their brothers and sisters. After they worshiped, praised and prayed together “the place where they were assembled was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God boldly.” God heard and answered their prayer and He moved in a mighty way. Great blessings came to those who were gathered together in the name of Jesus Christ. Notice:
Acts 4:32 Now the entire group of those who believed were of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but instead they held everything in common. 33 With great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on all of them.
There are countless blessings that come from being a part of a unified body of believers. On the other hand, there is great danger in attempting to face the Christian life on your own. Not to mention the fact that those who forsake assembling with the Church are rebelling against God’s design for His church. Those who do not see the importance of gathering with their brothers and sisters are headed for disaster.
Throughout the book of Acts we see many amazing things that God did through His people. Over and over again we are told that they were “together and in one accord”. If you are suffering because of your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, one of the best and most important things you can do is to join together with your fellow believers.
We will experience Christian suffering, when this happens we must be bold, courageous, and press on in our service to the Lord. We must trust in the Lord. We must immerse ourselves in God’s Holy Word. We must spend time in prayer. We must never cease praising and worshipping our Savior. And we must join together with our brothers and sisters in Christ. This is how the saints in the early church survived and even thrived as they were being persecuted for the cause of Christ. If we will employ these same methods, we can do the same! In spite of how fierce the opposition or intense the persecution, we can rest in “God’s sovereignty in the midst of Christian suffering”.
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