I. had been with Jesus, GIVES US BOLDNESS:
“They saw the boldness of Peter and John…” (v13)
Free From Fear
This is true courage which comes by faith. Yes; it is this boldness which comes by faith which makes men like Peter and John’s “...I will not fear,” just like David, “though the earth be moved, and the mountains carried into the midst of the sea.” (Psalm 46:2)
Their Courage and boldness properly denotes “openness” or “confidence in speaking in spite the danger and opposition they are facing against the religious leaders, leaders who masterminded the arrest, crucifixion and death of their Leader, Jesus! Peter and John declared and spoke without any attempt to conceal or disguise themselves. This is beyond their ability when their Teacher was still with them. Right after Pentecost, the wind moved in tongues of fire to 120 men and women, emboldened by the Holy Spirit. Surely, they can now remember what Jesus said to them; “On that day...” And now? The public and their religious leaders noticed their boldness, and concluded: THEY HAD BEEN WITH JESUS!
ILLUSTRATION:
Firemen and Policemen-
Look at the class of men who in times of peace undergo the most fearful dangers. Not a week passes without one or more of them, in trying to save life and property, doing things which are altogether heroic. What keeps them up to their work? High pay? The amusement and excitement of the fires? The vanity of being praised for their courage? Those are motives which would not keep a man’s heart calm and his head clear under such responsibility and danger as theirs.
No; it is the sense of duty. The knowledge that they are doing a good and noble work, and that no evil can happen to him who is doing right...
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”—2Timothy 1:7
II. had been with Jesus, PREPARES US FOR THE EXTRAORDINARY:
V.13 tells us that the temple leaders “realized that Peter and John were unschooled, ordinary men.” Untrained, common men with no educational advantages, they marveled! How can these men that just several weeks ago were cowering in fear, now were so bold, can perform such incredible feats? How can they do such feats? Let us go back to Acts 3 where it all started; 3Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms. 4And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. 5And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. 6Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; BUT SUCH AS I HAVE I GIVE THEE: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. 7And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. 9And all the people saw him walking and praising God: 10And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.
Again, How can they do such feats?
But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. BUT I’LL GIVE YOU WHAT I HAVE. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”(Acts 3:6 NLT)
And here’s a reminder to all of us, “... but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.” ( Daniel 11:32 KJV).
III. had been with Jesus, TEACHES US TO OBEY GOD:
Uncompromising disciples
-In v.19, Peter and John told the Sanhedrin: “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God”
When we stand for everything, we stand for nothing. God demands that we either be hot or cold, and all who are lukewarm (compromisers) will be spewed out of his mouth. Rev 3:15,16 To please everyone, is to please no one. Christians should seek to please only God. Peter and John fought a good fight of faith in the presence of the people and the Sanhedrin as they an uncompromising stand for Jesus. Observe also that they were again warned in Acts 5:29, but they again stood their ground of good testimony in-front fo many witnesses. This is how we should obey God. Nowadays, many preach a secular gospel, and they are adhering to the will of man, and not to the will of God. Any attempt to change the Word is to charge God with lying and unfaithfulness to His Word. To compromise the truth of God in the hope of saving a sinner, loses both the sinner, and ourselves ( Gal 1:8,9 ).
Compromised truth is nothing but lies that are disguised as truth.
Just like Peter and John, being with Jesus, let us continue to obey His Word. and never compromise the perfect will of God.
As the secular and religious world wanted then, and the world wants today, it hasn’t changed.... we, children of God should also be uncompromisingly be bold enough to stand side by side with those two grand men at Jerusalem, and live and act in the sight of God, asking always this question: ‘Whether it be right?’
The Word hasn’t changed in a world of secularism and religiosity even now. Our stand for this kind of faith in obeying our Master remains the same, even now. Let us be a good testimony. If they wanted more inquiry in our extraordinary living and beliefs, let us give them a good fight of faith!
IV. had been with Jesus GIVES US SOMETHING TO SAY:
-Peter and John said they could not keep silent, because they had seen and heard too much while they were with Jesus. “For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” ( v.20 ).
For what is it that the Peter and John has seen and heard. What is it that we, modern Christians had seen and heard? They and we of today had been flooded already with what we have heard: faithful sayings worthy of acceptation, words of salvation, words of life, words of God; the word of God to our fallen and perishing world. They are too wonderful, our own conscious obligation to the Gospel, should all move us to speak. If our doctrine were doubtful, we can be commanded with silence, but I believe that the propensity of our faith in the Gospel is to move us to boldly speak without compromise and obey to do what we have seen and heard so that we might speak.
“ Woe be unto me!”Paul said, “if I preach not the gospel, because the necessity is committed unto me,” (1 Corinthians 9:16 KJV)
We Christians should have one trademark: WE HAD BEEN WITH JESUS!
CONCLUSION:
Had they not had His teaching, these two men have confounded them; if we have not had His teachings, His Word, we would be confused, restrained, but they spoke and we should also emulate them with so much power and authority that the Sanhedrin and the public as a whole was confounded. We got a short time to do so.
Let’s be bold, what we have experienced in the faithfulness of the Bible, this we can give to this world. Let’s now start and fight the good fight of faith. Let us live in the realm of the extraordinary! As we obey God, definitely we have something to say to them what we have seen and heard. We are the salt and light!
WE HAD BEEN WITH JESUS!
“He who is taught in spiritual matters by Christ Jesus has a better gift than the tongue of the learned.”(Clarke Commentary)
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delivered:45thSunday2018
