Time To Stand For Jesus

Time to Stand for Jesus Christ of Nazareth

July 12, 2020

Acts 4 New International Version (NIV)

Peter and John Before the Sanhedrin

4 The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. 2 They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3 They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. 4 But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.

5 The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family. 7 They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”

8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 Jesus is

“‘the stone you builders rejected,

which has become the cornerstone.’[a]

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.”

13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. 15 So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 16 “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. 17 But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”

18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20 As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

21 After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.

Have you ever been ashamed?

I’ll answer for you…. Of course you have…..I hope you have anyway. How do I know?

Because when you do something wrong, and you either admit it or get caught, you should feel remorse, you should feel ashamed for doing what was wrong.

I have an example, I was in the 6th grade, living in Forest Grove, Oregon. When your in the 6th grade, that personality is starting to really shine, you know what I mean, I taught 6th grade for years, so I have a pretty good sample of 6th grade behavior to go by… many 6th graders are starting to think of themselves as teenagers, independent of any rules for some of them. When I was in the 6th grade, I was probably leaning that direction.

It was summertime, my brother and I were picking Strawberry’s for spending money, and to help buy our school clothes come fall. I don’t remember if I was not liking getting up early to go pick strawberries for 6 hours, but I’m guessing I would have rather been sleeping in….. and maybe that is why I got caught doing what I was doing one day on the way to the berry patch….

One day, we get home from picking berries, by the way they were great, we ate lot’s of our profit. We get home and there is a man standing in our living room talking to my parents, I didn’t think much of it until I was called over to join them. My dad, who’s a local Pastor mind you in town, begins to unravel my wrongdoing. He’s tells me that this man was standing on his front porch this morning when the Berry Bus went rolling by his house, and he says that you had your hand out the window, Flipping Him off and everyone else who happened to be outside this morning…. Is this true?