Acts 5 - Dealing with the Highs and Lows in Ministry - 2/26/16
Turn with me this morning to Acts chapter 5. Whenever we look at the lives of individuals in scripture, we see that every one of us goes through highs and lows in ministry. Think of Abraham - willing to sacrifice his son Isaac - and entertaining angels - but the same Abraham lies about his wife and gives her to Pharaoh. Think Elijah calling fire down out of heaven - but in the next chapter running for his life, saying God, go ahead and kill me, I’d be better off dead. Think of David - killing Goliath, escaping King Saul, dancing before the ark - and yet we think of David sinning with Bathsheba and killing her husband Uriah so he can have her for himself. Think the 12 disciples - one moment rejoicing that the demons are subject to them, but the next minute arguing about who is the greatest in the kingdom.
Lest we ever forget, the examples we see of men and women in the bible are not the example of super-saints to be put up on a pedestal, but they are common, ordinary men and women like you and me, who were used by God to accomplish great things, but who left to their own passions and fears often made great mistakes. And scripture records both the triumphs and failures for us: the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, as the old ABC Wide World of Sports theme used to say.
Today, our goal as we come to the scripture is to learn from these examples lessons we can apply to our own lives so that we will live more faithfully for God. Let’s never forget that as we come to the scriptures, our goal is not just to see the story and understand what happened, but to pull out of the story principles that will guide us in our daily walk with God. Romans 15 tells us, For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. So here is our goal, to learn from the examples of scripture so that we may be encouraged to live faithfully for God each day. And not only will that help us individually, but it will help us corporately, as the church. The next verse in Romans continues with this idea: May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. So as we each learn from scripture, we build a unity in the body of Christ that enables us to glorify God in the way that He deserves.
So, having said all that - we each need to learn today, so that our whole body may be blessed. And as always, we realize that as God speaks to us, we each may pull out of the text something unique for our situation - and that is okay - but our goal is to each come away with some truth that will help us live more faithfully for God.
We are in the book of Acts - we see Jesus ascends, the Spirit descends, the disciples transform, the church unites, the testimony of Christ is spread. In Acts 4 we see the apostles were fearless with persecution, faithful with prayer, and free with their possessions. We see the positive example of sharing in Barnabas, and the negative example of deceit and greed in Ananias & Sapphira in the beginning of chapter 5. We pick up the story today in Acts 5:12. I’ll actually start reading at verse 11. Read Acts 5:11- 42 - Pray
Verse 11 says Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events. Is is any wonder people were afraid? How would you feel about coming out to church if God struck you dead for lying and deceit. How confidently would you sing Oh How I Love Jesus? How about singing I Surrender All? I mean, if God started striking Christians down dead for deceit, would ANY of us be left in church long? But this POWER of God being displayed is exactly what the early church needed. Because God needed to authenticate His messengers, the disciples, so that people would understand that the message they were delivering was true. Hebrews 2 tells us, This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. So the signs were a confirmation of the message. Everyone was able to see that these disciples were the messengers of the one true God. And as a result of the power of God displayed, we see
CROWDS - here in verse 16, we see the crowds gather to have their loved ones healed. Verse 13 - people are aloof from the disciples, but 16 the crowds gather. No one wants to get “too close” - but they want the power that only comes through God being at work.
Realize that the more faithfully you live for God, you may find some others feel uncomfortable around you - because they know that the jokes they want to tell might not be appropriate in your company. They realize as they talk about what they did over the weekend, they are ashamed for you to find out. That is a GOOD thing. We never want to look down on others and condemn them for a sinful life, but when our righteous life convicts them of wrongdoing, that is a good thing.
But the interesting thing about the crowds is their focus. The healings and miracles were given so people would believe the message. And in verse 14 we see that many men and women DO believe - but for many others their focus is on what the disciples can do for them. Their focus is just on the physical. But it was no different for Jesus. He fed the thousands and then taught them, but as they followed Him around the lake, Jesus said I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.
Some came for the message, some came for the healings, but the crowds gathered, and the disciples saw great success in their ministry. But the danger of success is always pride. When things go well for us, we never want to think that what we have is because of all our hard work and efforts. Rather, we always want to give all the credit to God. I’ll be the first to admit - I’d like to see more success in ministry - I’d like to have a problem with how we could find a seat for everyone - some churches have that problem. Yet our numbers are few. But the truth is that if we had that kind of success, it would be easy for pride to get in the way of what God was doing. We would want to brag about our church and all we have going for us instead of bragging about our God and His faithful blessings! So today I can humbly say, we continue on as a church only because God is gracious to us. He continues to provide wonderfully, miraculously, and even though we are a small church, God has continued to help us have meaningful ministry. And God uses your and my faithful giving each week to provide for that ongoing ministry. We don’t have crowds here, so we need each one of you to faithfully join us in seeking to do the will of God.
But the second thing we see in the chapter is
COVETING - and that is always the danger when we are not seeing the nickels and noses that we want to see. It is easy for us to covet the success and fame of another church. We get jealous when we drive by another church and see a full parking lot. We think, Why do they have so many cars there? Their church isn’t nearly as good as OUR church! Instead of coveting what God is doing there, we should CELEBRATE the blessings God is giving them. Remember that the other churches in town are not the COMPETITION but they are our TEAMMATES! We never want to be covetous when God chooses to bless someone else. Rather we should pray for the other churches and Christians in town who are faithfully teaching the word of God and seeking to faithfully serve Him.
But here in verse 17 we see the religious leaders of the Jews failed in exactly that very thing - they became covetous. Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. Why were they jealous? First, because they were not getting the same type of following that the disciples were getting. But secondly, because they aren’t able to heal the way the disciples are healing. When Jesus taught the people, the crowds gathered and The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. The idea of authority is not the idea of someone who has a “right” to teach, but of someone who has “God’s blessing” on them. As the Pharisees taught, they expressed all the rules and regulations - all the “hoops” they expected people to jump through. But as Jesus and as the disciples taught, they provided HOPE through the power of God at work in people’s lives.
Every who comes out is filled with hope. Those who listened to the Pharisees were filled with condemnation and guilt and despair. But the message of a crucified Christ is a message of life and hope!
As you talk to other about your faith, don’t talk about all the rules of scripture, all the things they shouldn’t DO and all the things they should be doing. Instead talk about the power of Christ to change their life. It’s isn’t our job to change their lifestyle - that’s Christ’s job. It’s like the quote says that we are to be fishers of men - you catch them and Christ will clean them. Far too often Christians are know for all the things they are “against” instead of the one thing we are FOR, our relationship with a risen Christ. Throughout the book of Acts, we see the disciples focus on teaching the people - we see that here in verse 21, 25, 28 - and their teaching focuses on the risen Christ.
The next “C” we see is in verse 20, and that is their
COMMISSION - in 18 the disciples are thrown in jail, in 19 God sends an angel to set them free. The book of Acts is all about the unstoppable power of the gospel. A mere jail is no match for the power of God. But while the angel sets them free, the angels gives THEM the commission to go teach the people. God steps in to do what only HE can do, but then He gives us a commission to do the things that WE can do. Far too often we want God to do things that we are capable of doing. We pray, God, take away this desire for____ and just fill in your controlling vice. Instead, we should be praying God, give me strength as I resist the devil and choose to refrain from indulging in this sin. We want God to do the hard work for us. God will give us the strength, the help, the encouragement, but we need to step out of our comfort zones to DO the things that WE can do. Once we have done OUR part, THEN we can ask God to step in to do what only HE can do. Don’t ask for God to save your loved one - YOU go be a witness to that loved one, and THEN ask God to work on their heart and use the scripture that you shared to reach their hearts. Don’t ask God to take off 20 pounds of excess weight - YOU choose to eat healthy and exercise more, and THEN ask God to use the healthy eating and lifestyle change to accomplish the weight loss you desire.
God has a commission for the disciples. God sends them BACK to the very place they were before - the temple courts. But THAT is where they were arrested. That is the very place where the Pharisees had found them and confronted them. Yet they are not afraid to be in the center of controversy, because the events of the night before - the angel rescuing them from the jail - was a reassurance to them that God was with them, that they were in the center of God’s plan.
It may be today that you have been hoping and praying for God to get you OUT of a situation - when what you really need to be praying is that God will use you IN the situation to accomplish His will. Paul rejoices in 2 Corinthians 12 when he talks about his “thorn in the flesh” and says, Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Many times the very things that we pray for God to remove are the very things that He wants to use to accomplish His will and bring glory to His name. Today, are you seeking for God to do YOUR will, or are you seeking to do HIS? The next C - vs 21 - is
COMPLIANCE - doing what they are called to do. At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people. The disciples had learned to obey - to do what God had called them to do. Is that a lesson that you have learned? Or do you fight against obeying? It’s all a matter of the will. Is your will submissive to Christ? If so, you will obey and do what you know you should do. Or is your will fighting against Christ? If so, you will resist and keep on doing the things you know you shouldn’t be doing. That is one of the problems of being human - when we get saved, God doesn’t take away our wills - rather He wants us to surrender our wills to be obedient to Him. Romans 7 talks about Paul’s struggle with this - he knew what he should do, but he found himself doing the very things he knew he shouldn’t be doing.
Today, how compliant are you? How obedient are you to doing what God has called you to do? The disciples set a beautiful pattern of doing the very thing God calls them to do. Next we see their
COURTESY - vs 26 - the Sanhedrin, the supreme court of the Jews gathers the next morning, thinking that a night in the jail will make the disciples ready to “toe the line” and obey their decrees - so as they gather in the morning they send to bring them out of jail and into court - only they can’t find them in the jail! The guards are still standing outside the doors, the jail is still locked, but the disciples are no where to be found.
It’s sort of like going to a magic show - you see the magician do the trick and you sit there watching and wondering “how did they DO that?!” The sanhedrin is perplexed, and while they are trying to figure out what happened, a report comes that the disciples are back at the temple - AGAIN! - and they are STILL teaching the people in the name of JESUS!
Verse 26 is where the courtesy comes into play: At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the people would stone them. Having brought the apostles, they made them appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest.
The sanhedrin politely “requests” that the disciples come with them. They are afraid of the people - and I’m sure to some extent they are afraid of these disciples - after all, the sanhedrin has seen and heard the great miracles these disciples are doing. But the courtesy I want you to focus on is not the courtesy of the sanhedrin, but the courtesy of the disciples. They are matched in a power play with the religious leaders, but notice how they handle themselves. First
* Their aim was to serve and glorify God. They were not motivated by ego or out to protect their own power.
• Their point of disobedience was specific and particular. They did not resist the authority of the Jewish council in total. They didn’t argue that the council should be ignored, but they resisted on this one particular poing.
• They approached the situation with a spirit of submissiveness toward both the council and God. They did not harbor rebellious anger toward authority in general.
• They delivered a positive, factual message about God’s plan and power in loving truth. They did not slander or show disrespect to their superiors.
• They accepted the cost of being loyal to the truth without resentment or bitterness. There are many Christians who, in their desire to take a stand for Christ, malign and slander authorities, or completely reject that there could be any authority over them. But the truth is that we are still to be compliant with authority - Romans 13 - Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. But where does Paul write Romans 13? From jail! There is a time we cannot submit to authorities trying to keep us from obeying God - but apart from that, we STILL need to be under authorities.
You can’t drive down the road at 85 mph and then say “I’m a Christian - they can’t tell ME what to do!” We show courtesy and respect to our government and the authorities over us, but obey God in times when God and government clash. We Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.
Our next C is
CONFESSION - verse 30 - The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead--whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
Whenever the disciples are teaching, they are always talking about Jesus. Because as we saw in chapter 4, Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. Sadly some Christians will say, Let’s talk about all we have in common - because mormons, Jehovah’s witnesses, Jews, Christians - we all believe in God. Let’s just agree to disagree and focus on the areas where we all agree. But the fact is that unless we can agree on Jesus, there is NO agreement.
Yes, we can work together on improving society, on treating diseases, on fighting abortion. But on issues of faith, there IS NO agreement if we can’t agree on Jesus! Mormons say He was a god, the brother of Satan - and we can all become gods one day. Jehovah’s witnesses say he was a lesser god - but not the real God. Jews say Jesus was not the Messiah, because he didn’t immediately restore the glory to the nation of Israel. Our attitude, as Paul says to the Corinthians, For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
The sanhedrin saw clearly what the disciples were saying. And they blatantly rejected it. They realized that if the Apostles were right, then the Jewish leaders had been wrong in condemning Jesus Christ. Indeed, if the Apostles were right, then the council was guilty of His blood, as they say in verse 28. As this “trial” progresses, the Apostles became the judges and the council became the accused.
It is interesting that they never ask them how they got out of jail! They don’t want to hear the answer! After all, the Sadducees don’t believe in angels. Here they were trying to stop the miracles, but their actions only multiplied the miracles! The whole ruling council rejects the power of God at work. In fact, they won’t even mention the name of Jesus. In verse 28 they simply say “in this name” and “this man’s blood.”
In our lives, don’t try to get others to change their lives, don’t try to get them to come to church - our main focus should be to tell them about Jesus. He alone has the power to save. He alone can change their lives. The ongoing continual confession of the early church is a focus on Jesus. In verse 34 we see
CONCESSION - Gamaliel stands up - he is one of the most respected Jewish leaders, and he urges the council to leave the disciples alone. Is he a believer? NO! But God uses him to avert the wrath of the sanhedrin. In verse 33, we see they were furious and wanted to put them to death. But God uses Gamaliel to avert their wrath and spare the lives of his servants. Verse 34 says he ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. In other words, he is saying, this won’t take long - just listen to me for a few minutes. He is that confident of the sway he has over the council.
The point here is this: Often God steps in to help us in our difficult situations - not by sending an angel - but by using even those opposed to our message to stand up for us. There was a little old Christian lady who would come out on her front porch every morning raise her arms to the sky and shout, "Praise the Lord!” An atheist moved into the house next door. Over time, he became irritated at the little old lady. One morning in the middle of winter, the atheist heard her praying for food. So, off the atheist went to the grocery store, thinking he was gonna fix the old lady once and for all. He bought two bags of groceries and, after placing them on her porch, he rang her bell and then hid in some nearby bushes. The lady stepped onto her porch and there were two huge bags of groceries sitting there. "Praise the Lord!" she cried out. "He has provided groceries for me!" The atheist jumped out of the hedges and shouted, "There is no God. I bought those groceries!" The little old lady threw her arms into the air and shouted, "Praise the Lord! He has provided me with groceries and He made the devil pay for them!"
That’s what God does here - he rescues the disciples from death through the confused reasoning of Gamaliel. Our next C is
CONSIDERATION - the disciples are not killed, but they are flogged and released. Verse 40 - They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. What is this flogging? They would take a leather whip - and in the strips of the whip would be pieces of metal and bone. It would tear their flesh and leave them bloody. In fact, the Jews limited how many blows a man could receive - only 39 - lest it kill him. But how do the disciples respond? Here’s our key - vs 41 - The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.
They could have left bitter and resentful - they could have wanted to hit back and retaliate - it could have shaken their faith and they could have blamed God - but we see none of these responses. Rather they rejoice!
So then it brings us the question: do WE rejoice when we have to suffer? Far too often we pray for God to “get us out” of suffering - we don’t like painful situations - we just want an easy life. But instead we should be praying for God to bring us whatever will accomplish His will in the greatest way. It may be that the very thing God uses to bring glory to His name will only be accomplished through our suffering.
I recently heard someone say, “Remember, there are two sides to every chain.” In Philippians Paul is chained and in prison - but he rejoices that through his chains others are hearing the gospel. He says, Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And in the end of the book - 4:22 - he states, All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household. How did those in Caesar’s household become Christians? Through Paul’s suffering. He didn’t see the fact of being chained to guards as a limitation to the gospel, but the very source for sharing the gospel. He had a captive audience!
God always “puts to use” what He “puts you through.” If you end up suffering, seek to use that suffering for the glory of God. Peter, in 1 Peter 1, reminds us to rejoice when we suffer, not because of the suffering, but because in the midst of the suffering God will strengthen our faith and accomplish His will. Then the last C -
CONTINUATION - verse 42 - Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ. They never gave up; they never stopped. They are like the energizer bunny - they keep going and going and going. It didn’t matter to them WHERE they were, but WHO was with them. Whether in prison or in court or in the temple or in homes - they were constantly aware of the presence of God with them, so they continued to faithfully follow the Lord.
Sadly, sometimes we get caught up in all the trinkets and baubles of the world, and it takes our eyes off of Jesus. And sometimes the very thing we hate - suffering - is the very thing that would put our focus back on Christ again. Think about it - when to you pray and cry out to God more: when times are good and everything is working out well - or - when times are desperate and you have no where else to turn. Let’s continue to praise God and serve Him faithfully every day - regardless of circumstances, regardless of opposition, but faithfully telling others of the love of God and the forgiveness we have through Jesus Christ. Let’s pray.
