Unstoppable Church (Christians) Series

Lots of people get stopped by lots of things.

I remember being stopped in my tracks one day at church – Snake.

People are stopped in their tracks by all kinds of things.

Sadly, I have known people who were stopped in their tracks relationally.

Maybe they got burned in a relationship, or even in a marriage.

They thought the relationship was unstoppable, but sadly, it came to an end.

Either consciously or subconsciously, they decided to never to allow anyone to get that close again.

I am aware of situations where people have been stopped in their tracks vocationally.

Like those teachers who want to make a difference in the lives of their students.

They are struggling with whether their efforts are really making a difference, wondering if the students even care, or if their job will be discontinued after the next round of budget cuts.

They are tempted to quit trying or to just get by with minimal effort.

Or think about that person who is unemployed.

They have sent out so many resumes.

Still no job. Very few leads.

If that is you, you may feel like giving up.

You feel like you have been stopped in your tracks.

I have known people who been stopped in their tracks spiritually.

Something happened to cause them to either give up on the church, give up on their faith, or give up on God.

Some of you might have called it quits in some other area of your life,

and no one else knows about the decision you have made.

But you have thrown in the towel.

Maybe you are still going through the motions for the time being at least,

but your heart isn't in it, whatever IT IS.

You have been stopped in your tracks.

If you have ever felt like quitting or are facing obstacles that are insurmountable, I have good news for you, you are in the right place today.

We are digging into what it means to be unstoppable.

There is an unstoppable faith that is available to every single one of us, no matter what obstacles and outward circumstances seem to stand in our way.

God is greater than whatever it is that stands in our way,

and His all-surpassing power is available to us.

God is ready to enable you to stand strong, not lose heart, and not give up.

Unstoppable is the word that comes to mind when we look at the early days of the church.

Conflict and controversy threatened to take the young group down, but instead of killing it, the challenges fueled the fire that spread across the first-century landscape.

The religious leaders tried to put a muzzle on the message that Peter and John proclaimed so boldly.

“Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.” - Acts 4:18 (NIV)

Peter and John had been told on several occasions not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus at all.

So, when Peter and John wouldn't keep quiet, the leaders locked them up.

But then God sent a messenger to restart what they had stopped.

(I love this scene).

“But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. ‘Go, stand in the temple courts,’ he said, ‘and tell the people the full message of this new life.’" - Acts 5:19-20 (NIV)

After miraculously freeing them, the angel told the apostles to go back to the temple and pick up where they left off.

What I love about Peter and John is that they…

• Don't give in.

• Don’t give up.

• Wouldn’t allow themselves to get sidetracked or discouraged.

• They just keep on keeping on.

It was time for them to get back to work.

“At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people. When the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin--the full assembly of the elders of Israel--and sent to the jail for the apostles.” - Acts 5:21 (NIV)

Peter and John went right back to doing what God had called them to do.

The religious leaders tried to silence their message.

They worked to extinguish the passion of the early church.

But Peter, John, and the message they proclaimed were unstoppable.

The New Testament church was unstoppable.

As a result…

“The word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.” - Acts 6:7 (NIV)

You know the church is unstoppable when even the priests were becoming obedient to the faith!

• God’s hands cannot be tied.

• His message cannot be silenced.