The Acts of the Apostles
Acts 4:1-23
Introduction- Good Morning Church-
Welcome to Rosedale online, we would invite you to join us if you are able to be in the area and experience the presence of the Lord as we worship together.
Prayer-
If you would turn in your bibles to Acts 4
Here is some background as we set up the unique encounter with the religious leaders of the day and the unlearned disciples of Jesus.
Those who have been with Jesus and those who oppose Jesus.
The book of Acts is exactly that – The acts of the apostles recorded for us to see and learn from-
Acts one is Jesus after being crucified and appearing before hundreds of people after his resurrection.
He ascends with the promise that he must ascend so the Holy Spirit can descend and fill HIs people with God’s Holy Spirit.
Acts two is 120 believers waiting on God to accomplish what he had promised in an upper room and the explosion of the gospel is set in motion as the Holy Spirit of God fills these men and women and they begin spreading the gospel with power and authority.
Acts four, our text is the confrontation of religious leaders and the righteous of God.
Peter after being filled with the Spirit at Pentecost saw over 3000 men give their life to Christ.
Now he is with John in the most crowded place outside the holy temple and God begins to use them to win souls for the kingdom.
Acts chapter 4:1-7
Can you picture what happening here?
The crowd has gathered to hear Peter and John tell about the power of Jesus resurrection and they are making a difference because Peter is preaching under the anointing of the Holy Spirit and people are being drawn to the Spirit of God.
The religious leaders of the day are seeing that they are not only drawing a crowd the crowd is responding to them and the gospel is winning souls.
The Sadducees are offended and upset that the very thing they disagree with which is the resurrection of Christ is the very thing that is drawing people to God.
They are the aristocrats who make their money by making the Romans happy and by padding their own pockets.
John and Peter preaching the resurrection was a disturbance that could create a crowd movement that would bring the Roman soldiers to break it up- not that they cared about that but Romans would be mad for the crowd outbreak and it could hurt their pockets and future money.
They had to do something with Peter and John- so they put them in jail for the night and would deal with them in the morning-
In a short time, they estimate that over 5000 Jews had been converted and responding to the gospel.
Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, Alexander were there- they brought them to the Sanhedrin, the supreme court of the day the most powerful question of the day- By what power and what name did you do this?
Here’s what filled believers can do- (8) Then Peter filled with the Holy Spirit “Rulers and elders of the people. If we are being called to account today for the act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all of the people of Israel. It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who you crucified and whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed!
Do you know what a slap in the face that was! The very thing they did not believe that Jesus was resurrected was done by the very Son of God that God the Father raised from the dead to heal this man that was lame but now stands before you healed!
It is going to take courage to do what God has called you to do
It’s one thing to be filled with His Spirit but it is another to stand in the gap and allow God to use you to speak to the world about Jesus.
I speak this truth in the power of Jesus the Nazarene!
The resurrected one that ascended so that the Holy Spirit can descend and give us the power to proclaim His name!
It took courage to stand before the most intelligent and most powerful people in the land and this unlearned fisherman faced them as their judge instead of as a victim.
This was the very court that condemned Jesus to die.
Peter and John knew that he was taking his life in his hands.
There is two kinds of courage. Reckless which is hardly aware of the danger that you are getting into, and the courage that says I fully understand what is before me but I come in the powerful name of Jesus and I refuse to be intimated by you. I win either way… I am a child of God and I will not be silenced by your threats and actions.
You have to decide if what your to do lines up with the word of God and you need to decide if you are going to be intimated or fearless.
Lyrics to unstoppable God
Freedom conquered
All our chains undone
Sin defeated, Jesus has overcome
Mercy triumphed
When the third day dawned
Darkness was denied, when the stone was gone
Oh, unstoppable God
Let Your glory go on and on
Impossible things
In Your name, they shall be done
Unstoppable God
Let Your glory go on and on
Make sure what you believe lines up with God word and you cannot be stopped.
Don’t let others tell you their opinion/ seek the Lord and have the facts for yourself.
What the world cannot do-
The world cannot stop the plan of God
They can deny the power of God but they cannot stop the power of God!
Let me tell what power and name that I am able to do these things.
The Jesus that raised me up out of a Covid-19 hospital bed,
The Jesus that took a mass out of my body 21 years ago and incased so that it could not spread to other parts of my body.
The Jesus that used medical doctors to give my wife two more years of life after aggressive pelvic cancer.
The Jesus when he did take her home promised her and me that he would take care of her and one day because I am a believer also that we will see each other again.
This world can’t kill a believer, only take them home with the Lords permission.
The one you rejected is the one that is now the capstone doing these things.
Christians, believers, those who are secure in Christ know that whatever the world has to dish out to us is only a moment of time- where as the things of God last forever- the promises of God are everlasting, eternal.
Let me tell you about the name of Jesus- (12) “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved,”
Faced with this attack of character and harm, there defense was one undeniable truth- this lame man that all knew was lame was now healed in the name of Jesus! It was impossible to deny.
The undeniable truth of Christianity is the Son of God Jesus Christ was crucified and then resurrected by God the Father, because of that there is salvation for those that believe in Him and there is healing in the power of Jesus Name- Even in death, there is for the believer ultimate healing- it is a win either way. To live is Christ and to die is gain.
(16) “What are we going to do with these men? Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in His name.”
The Sadducees tried to stop Jesus. THEY COULD NOT
The world in all its chaos is trying to stop Jesus, by persecuting His people. THEY CAN NOT
The message that will get the most attention is the resurrection of Christ and what that means to us.
We see in this passage the enemies attack and the Christian defense. The enemy will do whatever he can to shut down the speaking of the resurrection and healing power of Jesus Christ.
To shutdown the need to live a life pleasing to God.
The Sadducees with their contempt thought of them as ignorant, unlearned fisherman.
Unlearned by definition as unskilled, unlearned, no professional status.
Not able to do anything to stop them! But then they met Spirit filled Peter and John and they didn’t know what to do with them because they saw that they had been with Jesus and there was something different about them.
They were filled with wisdom beyond their means and had a Holy boldness that was life changing!
They saw men that their hearts were changed and they didn’t need status because they had the anointing!
God’s people in the schools will make a difference!
God’s people in the government will make a difference
God’s people in the public places not afraid to stand up and be the people of God will make a difference.
NORMAIL IS NOT COMING BACK! JESUS IS!
They could not change the facts that a man was healed and Jesus did it
Who are you going to follow?
Loyalty to God
(18) “Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, which is right in God’s eyes; to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we seen and heard.”
When it is more than head knowledge, you cannot help but speak the things of God because it is truth down to the core of your heart. I cannot help but speak the truth because the truth has me and I know it to be true.
David when he was up against it with Goliath-
Goliath “This day I defy the armies of Israel”
David under the power of God – “let no one lose heart over this Philistine, your servant will go and fight him”
Saul- “Go and the Lord be with you”
David says to the enemy (Philistine) “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord almighty”
God is looking for those willing to stand for the things of God and stand in the Gap
As I close,
In Ezekiel 22:30 the Lord says, “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.”
The word picture painted in this verse is that of a wall with a hole or a gap in it.
A wall was the best means of protection in ancient times.
A breach in the wall would let the enemy through.
If there was a breach in the wall, defenders would have to swarm to that location and hold the breach.
The gap would need to be repaired as soon as possible. If a breach was left unattended or unrepaired, the city would fall.
Ezekiel 22 summarizes the sins and abuses of the nation. As punishment for Israel’s sins, God says He will disperse them among the nations. He says in verses 30–31, “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one. So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
The “gap” here represents the danger facing Jerusalem: God’s wrath is about to break through in judgment on the sinful city.
Was there no one who would, in righteousness, intercede on behalf of the city and seek God’s mercy?
God searched for such a defender, but He could find none. It seems that, if someone had been willing to “stand in the gap,” the destruction of Jerusalem could have been avoided. Since no one was available or willing to defend the breach and rebuild the wall, judgment fell.
Are we willing to stand in the gap?
Are you praying for Ukraine? We can’t be freedom fighters but we can be prayer warriors!
We can be people standing in the gap at our work place and be who God called us to be.
We can be a voice in a dark world that needs to hear that Jesus loves them and cares and sees what they are going through.
