Sermon Audio

Last week in Acts 6, we saw the church adapt to the needs that growth brought. They came together and appointed seven men to oversee aspects of ministry in the Jerusalem church. Two of these men, Stephen and Phillip, will be the focus of the next few chapters in Acts. Through Stephen’s brief ministry, his testimony before the Sanhedrin, and his execution, God will propel the church out of Jerusalem to the nations. Although Stephen’s life will be cut short, it would be hard to find one who is more powerfully used by God for His kingdom. Sunday as we read Acts 6:8-15, we will acquaint ourselves with Stephen’s character and his ministry. He stands as an example for the church of one who is full of faith, grace, and the Holy Spirit. He demonstrates the character of one who draws strength from the presence of the Lord which is how he can face false accusations and martyrdom with peace and forgiveness for his murderers. Not only does his testimony and death propel the church outward, but they also have a profound effect on a man named Saul of Tarsus. His relatively short life shows us the power of a single witness wholly surrendered to Christ. No matter what the circumstances or the brevity of life, a single witness full of grace and power from the presence of Christ will resound throughout eternity.

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In the first five chapters of Acts, we have seen the church overcome many different attacks. Persecution from the religious leaders has increased as the disciples have been arrested, threatened, and beaten for teaching in the name of Jesus. We will see that continue in the coming chapters. The church has also been attacked from inside as Satan filled the heart of Ananias and Sapphira to lie to the Holy Spirit in an attempt to corrupt the church. But despite all the attempts to silence the church, chapter five ends by saying the apostles continued to teach in the temple and from house to house. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the church continued to grow despite the obstacles.

In chapter 6:1-7, it is that exponential growth that raises another obstacle the church must overcome. The issue this growing church faces is one of division and distraction. Both are serious threats to this new community striving for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Because the number of disciples has increased so much, the church must now adapt to more efficiently engage in the ministry to which God has called them. The anatomy of this growing church is one is willing to reorganize and change to follow the ministry needs to which God is calling them, yet to do so without sacrificing the centrality of the message of the gospel and the ministry of the word of God. It is a church that raises up leaders from among it as they all strive together, united in love, to obey every facet of the mission of Christ.

as we strive to be faithful to our calling and our mission, we cannot sacrifice our focus on our foundation - the source of our peace, our strength, and our passion in following Jesus - the gospel. The gospel the sinners entrance into relationship with God and it is the foundation of the believer’s faithful walk with Christ. We have been given everything in Christ...and as we engage in Jesus’ commission, we must continually preach this gospel to ourselves and fight to believe it in every situation. Jesus is better than all other things.

Jesus gave the church her marching orders. The body of Christ is commanded to make disciples of all nations. This involves many several different things, but at its core we are called to be witnesses for Jesus. Disciples are to be His witnesses to the lost as we evangelize and to each other as we strengthen one another through discipleship. And whenever the church is "on mission," faithfully carrying out the will and word of our Lord, there will always be opposition. This is a theme we have seen repeated in the book of Acts. There is opposition from inside, shown in the previous account of Ananias and Sapphira, and there is always opposition from the world outside. Persecution and opposition from religious leaders surfaces again in Acts 5:17-42. Yet as the Apostles are arrested again, and beaten this time, we see what radical obedience to Christ looks like...and what it costs.

As we examine this text, we find that the call to be His witnesses is not without risks and consequences. But ultimately we find that Jesus is better. Jesus is better than our comfort, our ease, our safety. Jesus is better than anything we could hope to gain by running from His calling. When our hearts desire Him more than all things, we obey His command despite the risk - despite the consequences - Not because we are strong but because our hearts have been changed to love Him over anything we might lose in this world.

In Acts 5, opposition to the church’s mission doesn’t come from outside forces seeking to kill or imprison the community. This time, opposition attacks the church from within as Satan fills the hearts of Ananias and Sapphira to introduce hidden sin into the community of faith. The account of this married couple’s fate is a disturbing reminder of the seriousness of sin, both for the individual and for the church as she walks out the mission of Christ.

Though the church is perfectly forgiven and the condemnation of sin is removed by the blood of Jesus, sin is still wicked and reprehensible to God. Therefore, it must be reprehensible to us as well. We dwell in the presence of the Holy One - and He dwells in us. Our hearts and lives are exposed before Him. Not only do we see the seriousness of sin in this account, but we also understand the urgency of repentance. Sapphira is given an opportunity before God and His people to repent of her sin and be forgiven. Although sin is inevitable because we still dwell in fallen flesh, it is never acceptable. So John writes to the church saying, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9) We must walk humbly with our God, admitting our sin and casting our hope upon the death and resurrection of Jesus in order to live out our mission in His power.

Judah takes leadership of his brothers and demonstrates that his heart has been changed since the day when they sold Joseph into slavery.

In Acts 4:23-31, the early church in Jerusalem is notified that the ruling council has banned all teaching and all speech in Jesus’ name. Peter and John responded boldly to the rulers saying, "We cannot help but speak..." but now they return to the body of believers and tell them the command of the Sanhedrin. The church is on notice. From this point on, there will be consequences if they choose to continue speaking of Jesus. In our text for Sunday, we will examine how the church responds the the threat upon their safety. Will they run? Will they fight back? What can they do?

In verses 4:23-31, they do the only thing they can. They go together to the Lord in prayer, and their prayer teaches us so much about how we must respond not only to opposition to the gospel, but to any trial. When we are afraid - when we are weary - when we are worried - when we are hurting - when we feel like we can’t go on anymore - this text shows us how we respond. Although we will learn several things in this passage, the overarching point is, we cannot be faithful in our own strength. We cannot walk out this Christian life under our own steam. In the face of persecution and the threat of death, this church doesn’t beg God to take the trial away. They don’t plead in prayer that they would be physically protected or that the enemies would be destroyed. They pray, "And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness..." (v.29). They asked for strength to be faithful to His calling regardless of what comes.

The same faith by which we cast ourselves upon Jesus for salvation is the faith by which we must cast ourselves upon Jesus to live the Christian life no matter what the circumstances.