Photos
Acts 5:12-16
March 17, 2002
Intro:
A. [Confusing Signs, Citation: Doug Lansky, signspotting.com; submitted by Lee Eclov]
Doug Lansky has been a travel writer and photographer for many years. In the course of his travels he has collected photos of odd signs from around the world. Some samples:
One photograph shows: A white highway sign in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, which says, "Entrance Only / Do Not Enter."
Another photograph shows: A yellow diamond-shaped sign from Mill Valley, California, which says, "Not a Through Street." Right below it is a blue circle with a white arrow pointing straight ahead and the words, "Evacuation Route."
Another photo shows: A sign in Pennsylvania which says, "Invisible Fence Now Open."
Another: A sign from Rome, Georgia, says, "Used Rainbows, $250 and Up."
And finally in the last photo there’s a blue sign with white letters that reads: "Pakistan-Narcotics Control Board Investigating Unit." But it is obscured a bit by the marijuana growing up in front of it.
B. Photos can often be curious, but there’s one thing about all photos: they tell a story.
1. Today we are going to look at a set of photos of the earlier church.
2. From looking at these photos, we will learn some things about that church, about the church today, and the church that God is making.
C. [Bring in a real photo album as a prop for the sermon.]
Photo #1: Apostles and Miracles
A. [Hold up photo album and point to a particular picture.] We see in this photo a picture of the apostles performing a miracle.
Acts 5:12, The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade.
B. The Scripture says at this point in the life of the early church that the leadership of the church were performing many miraculous signs and wonders.
1. The leadership was performing sings that proved they were men of God.
2. That’s what it means by "signs."
3. These miracles were signs of God that the apostles were representatives of God.
4. God was doing miraculous things as a sign that the leadership had God’s stamp of approval.
C. That’s how it should be today as well…
1. When the leadership of the church is anointed of God, we should see miraculous things happening.
2. You may see miraculous increases in attendance.
3. You may see sick people being healed.
4. You may see miraculous offerings.
5. You may see lives being changed by the power of the gospel.
6. You may see lots of people being saved and baptized.
7. You may see the church doing extraordinary things.
8. When the leadership of the church is anointed by God, we should see God doing things to put His stamp of approval on that church.
9. The miracles may be different from church to church, but there will be signs from God if He is there amongst the leadership of the church.
D. There’s no question that we have seen God show signs that the leadership of Somerset Church is being anointed of God.
1. We’ve seen a miraculous increase in attendance.
2. We’ve received a miraculous offering to enlarge the sanctuary.
3. We’ve seen God finally build an addition to the building after 25 years of talking about it.
4. We’ve seen dozens of people saved and baptized by the power of God.
5. We’ve seen lives miraculously changed by the power of God.
6. We’ve seen miraculous growth in our youth program with 60 and 70 kids in a small, country church.
7. We’ve seen miraculous growth in the fruit of the Spirit being displayed in members’ lives.
8. We’ve seen miraculous movement of the Holy Spirit in worship—especially on Sunday nights.
9. We’ve seen people miraculously healed of physical problems.
10. We’ve seen miraculous unity in the leadership of the church despite Satan’s attempts to fragment us.
E. Does that mean Somerset is a perfect church?
1. No. We have problems just like the early church did.
2. We’ve had our Ananias and Sapphiras just like the first church did.
3. It simply means that we have signs from God that He is anointing the leadership of the church just like He did the leadership of the early church.
Photo #2: Pretenders and Fears
A. [Hold up the photo album and point to another picture.] In this next photo, we see people who don’t have the normal smiles on their faces, but looks of fear.
Acts 5:13, No one else dared join them…
B. Now in order to understand this, we really need to look at verses 14 as well.
Acts 4:14, Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.
1. Now at first reading those two verses would seem to contradict each other.
2. How could it be that the no one would dare join them and yet more and more believers were being added?
3. Well the best way that I can explain this is to say that the way we use the words today is actually what the Scripture means.
4. You see the difference in the two verses lies in the words "join" and "believers."
5. There is a difference between joining the church and really believing.
6. There are people (like Ananias and Sapphira) who simply "join" the church and don’t really believe.
7. There are those who simply "join" the church but never really believe to the point of actually seeking a relationship with God.
8. There is a difference between "joining a church" and being a God-seeking believer.
9. The Scripture says that even though they were held in high regards, people were afraid to join them.
10. Even though the church was held in high regards in the community and even though it was good social testimony, the pretenders were afraid to join.
11. People were afraid to join the church (because of what happened to A & S) simply to get a leg up in their social standing.
12. Ananias and Sapphira had simply joined the church; they weren’t genuine believers, they were just pretending to be.
C. And sadly this is one of the greatest problems in the church today.
1. We’ve got too many people who have simply joined the church (like Ananias and Sapphira), but never seek a relationship with God.
2. There are too many people in churches all across America who have simply joined a church but have never developed a relationship with God.
3. There are too many people in churches that have simply joined and have never actually believed.
4. And there are far too many of those people in the leadership of churches.
5. And God is saying to churches today that this cannot continue.
6. God is calling every believer into a closer relationship with Him.
7. Unfortunately there are those who are resisting.
8. There are those who want to hang on to the past.
9. There are those who want to hang on to their power.
10. There are those who want to hang on to their theology.
11. There are those who want to hang on to lots of things that prevent them from seeking a genuine relationship with the Lord of the Universe.
D. But God is saying that the time for pretenders is ending.
1. There will be more signs like Ananias and Sapphira.
2. And great fear will come upon the pretenders just as it did then.
3. Acts 5:13, No one else dared join them…
4. Acts 5:5, When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened.
5. And when Sapphira died: Acts 5:11, Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.
6. God will do more things that will put fear into the hearts of pretenders.
Photo #3: Believers and Numbers
A. [Hold up the photo album and point to another picture.] In this next photo we see an altar call where dozens of people are coming to receive Christ.
Acts 5:14, Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.
B. Even though pretenders were afraid to join the church, genuine believers continued to be added.
1. The apostles were continuing to testify about the resurrection of Christ.
2. The apostles were continuing to perform miraculous signs and wonders.
3. And as a result people were coming to the Lord in droves.
4. Genuine believers were continuing to be added to the church.
5. Social-minded church-goers were afraid to join, but genuine believers were continually being added.
C. And that is exactly what the church of the end times is going to be like.
1. There won’t be pretenders in the church.
2. There will only be genuine believers.
3. Pretenders will truly be afraid to join the church, just like they were then.
4. But genuine believers will continue to be added.
5. Pretenders who have always been in the church will have a hard time accepting the genuine believers and will try to load the new genuine believers down with a lot of unnecessary burdens.
6. But the pretenders will either let go of everything they are so tightly clinging to and genuinely seek God or they leave the church.
7. The church of the end times will see (as it is seeing) dramatic increases in the amounts of people who are being saved and becoming genuine believers.
Photo #4: Shadows and Healings
A. [Hold up the photo album and point to another picture.] In this next picture we see something a little strange—but the reason it is so dark is because what we’re seeing is a person in a shadow.
Acts 5:15, As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.
B. This verse is saying that people were being healed when Peters’ shadow fell on them.
1. Sick people were being laid in the streets as Peter was walking down the street.
2. And as Peter walked down the street, his shadow fell on people and they were healed!
3. WOW!
4. The power of God was obviously ALL OVER Peter!
5. We’re not talking about Peter laying hands on somebody and calling down power from God through prayer in Jesus’ name.
6. There was clearly something different about Peter—we saw last week when he simply spoke the word and two people died instantaneously.
7. There are some people that when you are around them, you can just feel the power of God around them.
8. I’m not saying this to brag, because it really doesn’t have anything to do with me—but a couple of weeks ago I had a guy stop to talk to me and he put his hand on my shoulder and he said he felt the HS come upon Him.
9. I’m not even talking about that about Peter.
10. Peter didn’t just have the HS on him so powerfully that people could feel it when they touched him.
11. Peter didn’t just have the HS on him so powerfully that Peter could just pray over someone in order to heal them.
12. Peter didn’t just have the HS on him so powerfully that it just oozed out his pours and people were healed.
13. All of those things were true about Peter, but none of those was what was happening here.
14. What was happening was the power of the HS was even in his SHADOW!
15. WOW!!!
16. People healed because the HS was on Peter so much that it was even present in his SHADOW!
B. Was the HS a respecter of persons and he just really liked Peter?
1. Is this why Peter was this way?
2. No. The Scriptures say that we all receive the HS when we are saved.
3. No the reason Peter was this way was not because the HS was a respecter of persons, but because Peter WAS!
4. Peter WAS a respecter of persons!
5. Peter sought the HS in his life!
6. Peter sought the power of the HS in his life!
7. Peter believed Jesus when He said, John 14:12, I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
8. Did Jesus tell the truth?
9. Scripturally, anyone can do what Peter did–because Jesus said so!
10. The HS is not a respecter of persons—the only reason we do not have is because we do not ask!
11. "God give me the HS in such a way that when people touch me, they are filled with the HS!"
12. "God give me the HS in such a way that when I pray over people, they are healed."
13. "God give me the HS in such a way that when my shadow falls on people, they are healed."
14. "God give me the HS in such a way that when people are in my presence that people feel the need to confess their sin and get themselves right with You!"
15. I don’t want to be like Mike—I want to be like Peter.
Photo #5: Seekers and Signs
A. [Hold up the photo album and point to another picture.] In this last photo, we see great crowds of people gathering together.
Acts 5:16, Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed.
B. There were people coming from other towns to see what was going on.
1. There were people from other cities that wanted to see for themselves what they’d been hearing from others.
2. There were people coming from other towns to see if what they were hearing was true.
3. They brought their own sick family members to see if they could get them healed.
C. And I would to God that people would come from towns around to see if what they were hearing about Somerset is true.
1. The truth is that’s not happening yet.
2. The power of God is not present like that yet.
3. I do believe that in the last days, the church will be like that again.
4. I believe God is preparing the church for the greatest days she’s ever seen.
5. I do not believe that the church’s greatest days were in the book of Acts—I believe they are yet to be.
6. And I believe that God is preparing the church for that NOW!
7. Are you ready for the church to be like that?
8. So what do we need to do to move where God is leading?
Conclusion:
A. First, we need to ask ourselves: If the church today were like the church was then, which photo would you be in?
1. Photo #1: Apostles and Miracles? Photo #2: Pretenders and Fears?
2. Photo #3: Believers and Numbers? Photo #4: Shadows and Healings?
3. Photo #5: Seekers and Signs?
4. If the church today were like the church was then, which photo would you be in?
B. Now: If the church today were like the church was then, which photo do you believe God would want you in?
1. What do you need to do to move from one photo to another?
2. Believe that God wants you in that photo and that He will move you into it.
3. Repent of your non-belief that got you in the wrong photo in the first place.
4. Pray for God to show you how to move from one photo to the other.
5. Let go of whatever it is that you are so tightly holding on to and begin to seek God with ALL of your heart, soul, mind, and strength.
C. [THE POEM, unknown author, submitted by Jerry Pearcy]
I knelt to pray but not for long,
I had too much to do.
I had to hurry and get to work
For bills would soon be due.
So I knelt and said a hurried prayer,
And jumped up off my knees.
My Christian duty was now done
My soul could rest at ease.
All day long I had no time
To spread a word of cheer.
No time to speak of Christ to friends,
They’d laugh at me I’d fear.
No time, no time, too much to do,
That was my constant cry,
No time to give to souls in need
But at last the time, the time to die.
I went before the Lord,
I came, I stood with downcast eyes.
For in his hands God held a book;
It was the book of life.
God looked into his book and said
"Your name I cannot find.
I once was going to write it down...
But never found the time"
D. You see, Jesus made it clear in Matthew 7:21-23 that we must seek a relationship with Him in order to be saved, so how do you need to respond to Him today?
1. Perhaps you need to come and pray about what you’ve been holding onto that is preventing you from truly seeking a relationship with God.
2. Perhaps you need to come and pray about the pretending you’ve been doing and ask God to make you a genuine believer and teach you how to seek Him.
3. Perhaps you need to come and become a believer and be added to the Lord’s Church today.
Whatever response you need to make, you come as we sing…
