Look at the word “knowledge” in our text. This is the word “epiginosko.” This word means that they had come to know something with certainty.
WHAT IS IT THAT THEY HAD COME TO KNOW WITH CERTAINTY?
They came to recognize a definite difference had occurred in the lives of these Christians, since they HAD BEEN WITH JESUS.
• Without a doubt, these were some of the greatest Christians that ever walked on this earth.
• Without a doubt, never has any group of Christians made any greater impact on the society in which they lived, than these Christians.
Again notice in our text when the lost world took notice that some major changes in their lives had occurred. They noticed it took place when THEY HAD BEEN WITH JESUS.
The people we associate with have a tremendous IMPACT on our lives for the GOOD or the BAD!!!
Illus: This is why we warn our children not to associate with bad children.
Why?
Because the BAD will rub off on the GOOD!
Illus: This is why we warn out teens not to date someone that is not saved. They can easily influence them to do something that they will regret of their life.
• John Rohn said: “You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with”
• Goethe said, “Tell me whom you consort with and I will tell you who you are.”
• Someone else, “No body grows up being smart or wise or successful just by themselves. It is all about the environment they put themselves in.”
• Reid Hoffman, founder of LinkedIn has put these types of relationships at the center of his career and suggests others to do the same. Because as he argues, in this information age it is not about what we know, but who we know.
Illus: For example, Elon Musk is a brilliant thinker and super-fast learner, but he also surrounds himself with the most brilliant people to make his businesses become successful.
Illus: One of the reasons that God established the church was because as Believers during the week we out of necessity mingle with the ungodly. So, God knew it would be important that we have a church we can attend and mingle with the GODLY.
When a Christian ceases to be faithful to the house of God and enjoy the fellowship of God’s people, they start to mingle with the world and get further and further from God.
What we can learn from successful people is that we have to be extremely picky with our time. That is, every minute spent with someone, is a minute we are not spending with someone else. And our time is valuable. So, it’s better to spend it on people that help us achieve our goals.
We live in an age that is known as THE INFORMATION AGE.
Illus: One of the things that many are seeking to get is information on people.
Illus: For example, if you were selected to serve on a jury in a high profile case, the lawyers would get all the information they could gather on you, before selecting you. They would want to know:
• Where do you work?
• What are your hobbies?
• Are you religious or not
• What kind of organizations have you joined?
• What kind of a neighborhood do you live in?
• What kind of a family do you come from?
• How much money do you make each year?
And if that wasn’t enough, they have these experts studying our facial expressions, watching how we walk, how we talk, how we sit, etc.. They get to know a great deal about us in our BODY LANGUAGE.
They know a great deal about us, and that is why, when we come before these lawyers, they will sometimes say, “Your honor, I reject this jury member!”
But one of the best ways to gain knowledge about people is to watch which people they associate with.
For example, if a person hangs around the Ku Klux Klan, it is obvious to everyone they are a racist. They may not talk like one, but their association with this hate group would certainly indicate they are the same.
Illus: People are like water, they always seek their own level.
• That is, I can pour a glass of water on the floor, and every time it will go to the lowest level.
• I can take a rag and wipe up the glass of water that I poured on the floor, and pour another glass of water on the floor, and it also will go to the lowest level.
If you want to know something about people, watch who they associate with. They will always GRAVITATE TO PEOPLE LIKE THEMSELVES, EVERY TIME! Not sometime, but EVERY TIME.
Illus: A pastor lived in a large neighborhood. On the outskirts of that neighborhood lived a wicked woman. And it so happened on the other side of this large neighborhood lived another wicked woman.
The pastor told his wife it is a good thing these two women do not live on the same side of this neighborhood.
One day he was driving through this neighborhood, guess who he saw walking down the street together…THESE TWO WOMEN!!
Illus: A young preacher was pastoring his first church.
This church had some real problems. He reached the place as a young pastor that he did not know what to do.
He went and talked with his pastor, and said, “Listen, I need to know something. I have three kinds of people in my church. “
• I know that I have some that love the Lord
• I also have some I know that do not love the Lord
• But I also have some I am not sure about
He said, “It is this third group that I am really concerned about. I want to know if they love the Lord or not. I do not want to put any confidence in them if I am not sure about them.”
He said, “Is there any way I can know for sure about those that I have doubts about?”
The old pastor smiled and said, “Yes, there is a way you can tell about those you are not sure of.” He said, “Do not go by what they say with their mouths, watch who they associate with!”
That is so true. If you want to know about people, the best way to find out about them is not by paying any attention to what they say, but PAY ATTENTION TO WHO THEY ASSOCIATE WITH.
The reason we associate with the people we do, is because we have something in common with them.
Notice, the early church Christians spent their time with the Lord Jesus and the lost world could clearly recognize that this made an impact on their lives.
That is, they recognized THEY HAD BEEN WITH JESUS!
There is nothing that you and I can do that will revolutionize our lives, like spending time with the Lord Jesus.
We can spend as much time with Him as we want to through PRAYER.
WE BECOME LIKE THOSE WE ASSOCIATE WITH!!!
Illus: For example, if a person is going to sit in front of a television, and spend their time with people who love the gods of this world, they really should not be surprised that they have become the same way.
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger always sent his two boys to a Christian school. One of his sons met a friend that went to the public school and wanted him to go to the public schools with him.
Dr. Belger called talked to son and told him he had some concerns about him attending the public schools.
He told him let us pray about this and I will let you know what I decide in a few weeks.
Later on, Dr. Belger agreed to let him go his senior year to a public school.
But he told him that he would be observing his behavior and if there was any change he was going to pull him out.
Several months went by and he talks to his son about his schooling.
His son said, “Dad, I know you are concern, but let me tell you how it works! THE BAD KIDS FIND HE BAD KIDS AND THEY HANG OUT TOGETHER AND THE GOOD KIDS FIND THE GOOD KIDS AND HANG OUT TOGETHER.”
The reason these New Testament Christians were such great Christians THE BIBLE SAYS THEY HAD BEEN WITH JESUS!
When we spend time in His presence, He rubs off on us, and we start to become more like Him everyday.
Illus: In marriage have you noticed the longer a couple is married they become like each other.
When they first got married they had to make some major adjustments, but as they spent time together all these adjustments worked out.
Let’s look at some of those wonderful characteristics that the lost world recognized were a result of THEIR BEING WITH THE LORD, and how it affected them.
I. LOOK AT THEIR FULLNESS
Look at verse 8. We read, “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,”
Illus: Today we hear about some terrible things taking place.
We have people:
• Stealing
• Killing
• Raping
• Molesting
• Committing Incest
• Practicing Homosexuality
• Gossiping and back stabbing
• Killing babies by Abortion
And we ask ourselves, HOW CAN PEOPLE DO SUCH THINGS?
• They can do things like that, because they are full of the devil.
• But when God’s people are full of the Holy Spirit, they do just the opposite.
One of the great needs of the church today, is for God’s people to be filled with the Holy Ghost.
• Not one-fourth full
• Not one-half full
• Not three-fourths full
BUT FULL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Notice what happened once Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Look at verses 10-13. We read, “Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.”
The Bible makes it clear that once Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit, he wanted to make something clear to the lost world.
There were four things in particular:
1. They crucified the Son of God
2. God raised Him from the dead
3. He is the corner stone that the builders had rejected.
4. There is no other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved
WHEN DID HE WANT TO MAKE THESE THINGS CLEAR TO THE LOST WORLD?
It was when He was full of the Holy Spirit.
The evidence of a church being filled with the Holy Spirit of God is that once they are filled with the Holy Spirit, they become witnesses of the Lord Jesus.
This is the Bible standard of being full of the Holy Spirit.
• It is not who can shout the loudest
• It is not who can pray the longest
• It is not who can wear the longest dress
• It is not who can speak in tongues
The Bible standard of being full of the Holy Spirit of God is that we become witnesses for Him.
Look at Acts 1:8, we read, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
Notice, God said “Ye shall receive….Ye shall be witnesses unto me…”
The Lord did not say:
• You might become witnesses
• You ought to become witnesses
• Perhaps you will become witnesses
God’s Word says that once you receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit of God, “YE SHALL RECEIVE…YE SHAL BE WITNESSES UNTO ME.”
We have people today who claim to be filled with the Holy Spirit and they cannot remember, if ever, they shared the gospel with a lost person..
The reason the church today can only find a handful of Christians to go out on visitation to witness for the Lord Jesus, is because today’s church is full of all kinds of things, but it certainly is not filled with the Holy Spirit of God.
• Mormons and the Jehovah Witnesses do it because they are trying to earn their way to heaven with good work.
• A Christians do it because the BIBLE SAYS ye shall receive and ye shall be witnesses.
The lost world could tell a noticeable difference in the unlearned men.
WHEN DID ALL THIS TAKE PLACE?
It was evident that it all took place when they HAD BEEN WITH JESUS.
Once these great Christians spent time in the presence of the Lord, they began to witness to the lost world about Christ.
We took a LOOK AT THEIR FULLNESS, but now-
II. LOOK AT THEIR FEARLESSNESS
When Peter preached these words to them, he was probably preaching to some of the very ones that participated in crucifying the Son of God.
Listen, it is one thing to stand up and speak to a crowd that believes the way you believe, and they have smiles on their faces. But it is another story when you stand before people who despise what you are preaching, and they are looking at you like they want to tear you apart.
Illus: This is exactly what happened to Stephen.
Look at Acts 7: 54-60, “When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord and cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord; lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.”
Illus: A mother started bringing her child to Sunday school. This little fellow was the nearest thing to being a cannibal that you can have.
She would take him to the nursery, and when he could not have things his way, he would walk over to some child or some adult, and take a bite out of them.
This is the way these people were who Stephen was preaching to. When Stephen was preaching, they did not like what he was saying. Stephen looked them in the eyes, and the Bible says, “When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.”
These are not the kind of people that a preacher enjoys preaching to.
I know some time when I am preaching the Word of God that I am stepping on some toes.
I do not like preaching like that because I love you folks and I do not want you to get mad at me.
But I have SUCK IT because I love you enough to tell you the truth. YOU DESERVE THE TRUTH IF YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!
When Peter stood before the crowd and preached, he had the courage to probably look right at the very ones who crucified the Son of God, and say, “YOU CRUCIFIED THE SON OF GOD!”
WHEN DID HE PREACH WITH SUCH LOVE AND COURAGE?
The Bible says it was evident to ever one that it was after THEY HAD BEEN WITH JESUS!
When we spend time with the Lord God’s courage rub off on us and we can witness to the ungodly.
We looked at their
I. FULLNESS,
II. FEARLESSNESS,
Now Let’s…
Ill. LOOK AT THEIR FAITHFULNESS
Look at Acts 4:18-21. We read, “And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done.”
Notice, they did not SUGGEST that it might be a good thing for them to stop preaching in the name of Christ.
The Bible clearly says, “And they called them, and COMMANDED THEM not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.”
But notice, they commanded them to stop doing something that God had commanded them to do.
Illus: I appreciate Franklin Graham when he is on television he will always say, IN JESUS NAME!
Over and over again in Scripture we read, "In my name," "In Jesus' name," or "In his name."
• The devils were powerless because of his name (Luke 10:17).
• The demons were cast out in his name (Mark 16:17-18).
• Healing occurred in his name (Acts 3:6, 3:16, 4:10).
• Salvation comes in his name (Acts 4:12, Rom. 10:13).
• We are to baptize in his name (Matt. 28:19).
• We are justified in his name (1 Cor. 6:11).
Everything we do and say is done in his name.
In fact, when most of us pray we conclude with the phrase, "in Jesus' name."
What does it mean to pray in the name of Jesus?
We recognize we have no AUTHORITY; WE ARE PRAYING IN HIS AUTHORITY.
AND NOW THEY ARE BEING TOLD BY THE AUTHORITES DO NOT MENTION THE NAME OF JESUS AGAIN!!!
THEY PAID THEM NO ATTENTION.
The Bible teaches we are to OBEY them who have rule over us.
But no one, absolutely no one, has a right to command you not to do something the Lord has commanded you to do.
Illus: For example, God tells the Christian woman she is supposed to submit to her own husband as unto the Lord.
Look at Eph. 5:22, “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.”
But what if this husband asks her to do something that God has commanded her not to do?
Illus: Let me give you an example. A lady that professed to be saved refused to tithe. She used the excuse that her refusal to tithe is because her lost husband tells her not to tithe from the money she makes each week, and she has to listen to her husband.
Listen, when a person does not tithe, they are stealing money that belongs to the Lord.
Look at Malachi 3:8-10, “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”
God’s Word clearly states that anyone who takes the tithe and spends it on themselves is a robber. Now I did not say that GOD SAID THAT!
Now concerning this lady that I mentioned to you; there are two things we need to consider about her.
(1) Perhaps she does not want to tithe, and she is using her lost husband as an excuse to hide behind. This could be the case, because there are other things her husband tells her to do or not to do, and she does not pay him any attention.
But one thing is for sure, if this is not the case-
(2) She is ignorant about the Word of God.
She needs to understand, no one, absolutely no one, has any right tell us not to do something God has told us to do.
And when they commanded these disciples to no longer mention the name of Christ, they made their position clear.
Look at verses 19-21, we read “But Peter and John answered and said unto them, whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. So, when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done.”
The Lost world could tell a noticeable difference in these disciples.
They were now FAITHFUL unto the Lord, even when they had been COMMANDED not to mention or teach in the name of Christ.
WHEN DID THIS NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCE OCCUR IN THEIR LIVES?
It was obvious to everyone, that A NOTICEAVLE CHANGE IN THEIR LIFE BECAUSE THEY HAD BEEN WITH JESUS.
Conclusion:
Once again look at Acts 4:13
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.
Peter and John stood before the council of religious leaders. But we are told that they were uneducated and untrained men.
The truth that knowing the Bible and a real relationship with Jesus is more important than a formal education has been proven in the lives of God’s servants again and again.
It has been proven true through such servants of God as Charles Spurgeon, D.L. Moody, William Carey, and Hudson Taylor.
Billy Graham did not have much of a formal education. He had one semester at Bob Jones and some correspondence courses at Wheat College
I am not against education; I am thankful for the three degrees God has allowed me to earn.
I am thankful God has honored me with an honorary doctorate degree Great Plains Bible College.
But It’s just as wrong to think that formal education disqualifies someone for effective service as it is to think that it automatically qualifies someone for effective service.
The boldness of Peter and John came from the fact that THEY HAD BEEN WITH JESUS!!!
It is interesting to note what the Jewish leaders did not do: they did not make any attempt to disprove the resurrection of Jesus.
If it were possible to do, this was the time to do it. Positive proof that Jesus had not actually risen from the dead would have crushed the early Christian movement.
Yet these religious leaders could see the BOLDNESS AND CONFIDENCE in what they believe they did not try and disprove the fact of the resurrection.
They realized that they had been with Jesus:
I. LOOK AT THEIR FULLNESS
II. LOOK AT THEIR FEARLESSNESS
III. LOOK AT THEIR FAITHFULNESS
