Sunday, May 31, 2015

When the Rock Rolled: The Gospel Reaction

May 31, 2015

When the Rock Rolled
The Gospel Reaction
Acts 5:12-42

(Advance Slide #1)

Introduction
You all know me as a ‘particular’ eater...I prefer this over picky.

(Advance Slide #2)

  • I remember sitting down to dinner when I was young and looking at what mom had prepared.
    • I did not like the selection of vegetables….the idea of having to eat them made me uncomfortable.
      • But I wanted one of the chocolate chip cookies that she also made.
    • So, I removed the items that made me uncomfortable by secretly placing them in my napkin, and going over to the trashcan.
    • After several trip to the trash can my trick was found out and I got vegetables and no cookies!

(Advance Slide #3)

In our text this morning the High Priest and the Sanhedrin are uncomfortable.
  • There is something about the Apostles that is exacerbating this.
  • So they try to remove this 'irritation' from their midst!
    • It all begins in chapter 4:
      • They warn, they jail, they flog, they warn some more.
      • Later they turn their persecution on the entire church.
      • Threats, beating, imprisonment, even stoning!

So what was at the root of all this persecution?

(Advance Slide #4)

  • I don't get it...weren't Peter and John good people...doing good things.
    • Helping the sick, the poor, standing up against what was evil...these were good people!
  • So, why exactly were they so upset with the Apostles?
    • It had nothing to do with what they were DOING, but what they were TEACHING.

(Advance Slide #5)

Text
27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, 28 saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” Acts 5:27-32

(Advance Slide #6)

The Apostles did not change their convictions.
  • They obeyed God and trusted Him to take care of the consequences.
    • They could not serve two masters, and they had already declared whose side they were on.
    • Had they been diplomats instead of ambassadors, they could have pleased everybody and escaped a beating.
    • But they stood firmly for the Lord, and He honored their courage and faith.

Neither did they change their message!
  • They were left to DEAL with the the world’s reaction to this message.

Lesson

(Advance Slide #7)

People ARE going to react to the gospel.
  • Their reaction long ago is very similar to the reaction that people still experience today.

(Advance Slide #8)

What about the teaching upset them?
  • When they are before the Sanhedrin we find out what the underlying reason for their anger.
“We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.”
  • So their message was this, "Your guilty of Jesus' blood!"

(Advance Slide #9)

  • Were they really...you better believe it!

What did they do?
  • Jesus was arrested around midnight...the Sanhedrin began His trial around 2 am before the Sabbath.
  • The trial was riddled with errors and illegalities:
    • Jesus was arrested even though He was not in the act of a crime...no warrant.
    • Jewish courts did not hear cases in the middle of the night.
    • Also, Jewish law didn't allow for death penalty cases to be heard in one day.
      • Jesus was tried convicted, and executed all in one day!
      • Their mind was already made up before the trial.

They were guilty...and they knew it!
  • They were not the only ones.
    • We are ALL guilty of His blood...it was our sin that condemned Him!
"...he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed." Isa. 53:5
  • We are part of the reason He was on the cross:
    • Our sin, guilt, lust, bitterness, selfishness, OUR sin!

The world reacts in anger when they hear this.

(Advance Slide #10)

What upsets people today?
  • Scripture tells us what the reaction of man will be.
"If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." John 15:18-19
  • See also: Matthew 10:22 and Luke 6:22

Why? Why still the hatred today?
  • Jesus is not an 'inclusive' God.
    • Living in Christ does not give us the right to live as we please.
    • We cannot belong to Him and go ahead entertaining our flesh like the rest of the world!

(Advance Slide #11)

      • When we belong to Jesus...we MUST change!
      • We must admit that we have been wrong, that we have sinned, that we truly want to be different.

(Advance Slide #12)

      • An acknowledgement that we NEED His mercy and grace!

Until we come to understand this reality we are not going to be happy around Jesus and His people...they will not be happy around us either!
  • The reality that we need forgiveness.
  • The reality that we need His mercy.

"For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life..."
  • We smell of a life to those loves Jesus.
  • We smell of death to those who hate Jesus.
    • Because of this the world: insults, excludes...and even worse!

Conclusion

(Advance Slide #13)

How will you handle the world's response against you?
  • It is really contingent upon if you love Jesus and how much you love Him.

I love my wife and boys...more than you.
  • I will do things for them that I will likely not do for you.
    • Why? Because I love them more deeply and in a different way than I love you.
  • The same can be said for our love for Jesus.
    • If our love is true and deeper and different than other's love it will show itself in how we react to those who reject us.

The Sanhedrin instructed Peter and the Apostles to NEVER speak the name of Jesus.
  • Because of the deep abiding love for Jesus, whom they preached he replied:

(Advance Slide #14)

"We must obey God rather than men!" - Acts 5:29

Sunday, May 24, 2015

When the Rock Rolled: Shaking Things Up

May 24, 2015


When the Rock Rolled
Shaking Things Up
Acts 2:1-47


(Advance Slide #1)


Introduction
How well do you embrace new technology?


(Advance Slide #2)


  • One customer called Dell Computers to report that he couldn’t get his computer to fax anything.
  • After at least 40 minutes to troubleshooting the problem the tech. discovered the problem.
    • The man was trying to fax something by holding a sheet of paper in front of the monitor and hitting the enter/send key.


Another man was trying to access a folder but was receiving the message “Access Denied”
  • The tech. asked the man if he to try the password again but in lower case letters.
  • The man replied, “I can’t I only have capital letters on my keyboard.”


(Advance Slide #3)


What happens when something new is introduced to our lives?
  • Often times, we find ourselves becoming overwhelmed and intimidated!
    • It’s just too complicated so I better not do it.


Sadly, people approach the sharing of their faith and talking about Jesus in much the same way.


(Advance Slide #4)


Wither we call it witnessing or evangelism, in Acts 2 we find a dynamic example.
  • We call is a sermon, and it is, but what Peter is doing is sharing what he knew about Jesus.
  • Now, we will likely never baptize 3,000 people like Peter, but what if we can change the life of one person?
    • If you did that you would be doing more than most people do in an entire lifetime.


(Advance Slide #5)


Text
22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. Acts 2:22-24


(Advance Slide #6)


News travels fast in the East.
  • Most of the adults in Jerusalem, residents and visitors, knew about the arrest, trial, and crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth.
    • They also had heard rumors, and the “official announcement” that His followers had stolen the body of Jesus.
      • An effort to make people think that He had kept His word and been raised from the dead.


(Advance Slide #7)


But Peter told them the truth.
  • Jesus of Nazareth had indeed been raised from the dead, and the Resurrection proves that He is the Messiah!
  • Peter gave them four proofs of the resurrection of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
  • He called on them to believe on Christ, to repent and be baptized.


Lesson
Is there someone that you care about that you want to see go to heaven?
  • What have you done about that?
  • What we learn in Acts 2 and Peter’s sermon are lessons that will make us better evangelists and witnesses.


(Advance Slide #8)


PRAY - that God is involved
  • God showed His mighty works at Pentecost!
  • There were ‘tongues of fires’ and ‘speaking in tongues.’


We might find ourselves saying, “If only things like this could happen...then I could save souls.”
  • We may not have all the bells and whistles (i.e. miraculous abilities), but we do have God on our side.
    • The truth of the matter is that no one was ever saved only because of ‘tongues of fire’.
    • No one was ever saved only because of ‘speaking strange languages.’
    • These things created an opportunity for Peter to speak.


Once the audience paid attention to Peter...he preached to them Jesus!


(Advance Slide #9)


TAKE - advantage of the situation
  • We must take advantage of every opportunity that God gives us!
    • Expect that God will give us opportunities; Pray for God to give you those opportunities; Look for the opportunities.
  • In Acts, God provided the opportunity and Peter stepped in.


What opportunities do you find yourself in regularly?
  • Can you see any a way in that situation where you can talk about Jesus?
  • There are opportunities every day, and we can share Jesus.


(Advance Slide #10)


USE - scripture whenever you can
  • This goes without saying.
    • If you look closely to Peter’s message you will find that about 70% of it was directly from scripture.
    • In fact, almost 2 of every 3 verses were OT quotes.


10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:10-11
  • Scripture has power!
  • It is the power to accomplish God’s goals and purposes!


(Advance Slide #11)


KNOW - what it is that changed you and why you became a Christian.
  • Peter’s message never changed:
Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” 2:36
  • You crucified...you’re guilty!
  • Again we find the same message in Acts 3:13-15 and Acts 4:10.


Why would Peter preach like this?
  • He preached like this because it changed his life!
  • He too felt guilt of betrayal…
    • 3 times on the night before Jesus was crucified he denied Jesus!
  • It was such a part of his life that it became a part of his message/his witness!


So here is the question…
  • Why did you become a Christian?
  • What was the message that changed your life?
  • If it is part of your life...it should be part of your message!


Conclusion


(Advance Slide #12)


If God has changed your life then you should want Him to change the lives of others you care for!


This morning there may be some people who want to know how to become a Christian.


(Advance Slide #13)


  • Just like the people on the day of Pentecost you may be asking, “What must I do to be saved?”
  • Peter tells us:


(Advance Slide #14)


“Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” Acts 3:38-39