Nothing can stop God’s Kingdom

Introduction

Good morning LaFayette Baptist Church and happy father’s day. If you would all please go ahead and turn in your Bible’s to Acts 5, Acsts 5:33-42 will be our sermon text today.

Today we are going to do something a little different and get right into the scripture. So,

Scripture

If you would all please rise for the reading of God’s Word today. The words to the scripture will be on the screen, please read along with me as we are reading. When I am done I will say “this is The Word of The Lord” if you will all please respond with “Thanks be to God.” Let’s Practice that for a second. First, let’s pray.

Father, we come before You this day, this Lord’s Day, this Father’s Day. This day where we celebrate not just our earthly Fathers, but our heavenly Father as well. Father, our deepest wish is that everything we do this day, during Your worship service is pleasing to You. Most of all Father, we want to know You more and we know that often times, we come to know You more by the reading, listening, understanding, and application of Your Holy Word. We ask this day, as we are about to participate in the reading of Your Word, that You open our hearts, our ears, our minds, our hands that so we can receive whatever it is that You are going to show us about Yourself today; and put that into action in our own lives. Help us as we do this, because all to often our sin, our flesh, and the enemy war against us to keep us from doing so. We rely on You, on Jesus, and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to do this. Help us during this time, and take away any distraction that we may have and help us focus on in You and Your Word. It’s in these things that I ask, and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and Precious name that I pray, Amen.

33 When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. 34 But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was respected by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered the men to be taken outside for a little while. 35 He said to them, “Men of Israel, be careful about what you’re about to do to these men. 36 Some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a group of about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, and all his followers were dispersed and came to nothing. 37 After this man, Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and attracted a following. He also perished, and all his followers were scattered. 38 So in the present case, I tell you, stay away from these men and leave them alone. For if this plan or this work is of human origin, it will fail; 39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even be found fighting against God.” They were persuaded by him. 40 After they called in the apostles and had them flogged, they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them. 41 Then they went out from the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to be treated shamefully on behalf of the Name., 42 Every day in the temple, and in various homes, they continued teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah. [1]

Context

Today we round out chapter 5 in our walk through the book of Acts. So far in this chapter and beginning in Acts 3, we have been telling a large story. This is a story about how The apostles and the early church went out and shared their faith in their communities, to those nearest and around them, and did it despite the consequences. Already we have seen the apostles arrested for sharing their faith (with John and Peter and being arrested another time after they healed a man). Already we have also seen false charges of blaspheme and misleading the people come against them, this came from the highest authorities, the cultural elites, the financial elites, and the most learned men that the Jewish nation had to offer. But… Guess what God did. He freed them and told them to continue just as they were doing, continuing to share the Name of Jesus and salvation from Him. In fact, He had just freed them in a dramatic fashion, where an angel came and opened the doors of their prison and they simply walked out, while the guards were none the wiser!

They have shown us that when we work and act for the Kingdom of God, it is of the upmost importance, and You are in line with God’s Will. You cannot fail, no matter how hard it may seem or how difficult it is, God not only makes the way for You to do exactly what You need, He in fact is along the way all the time with You. Now, He may not do an obvious miracle as He did for them, but He bends and rearranges things in a way that both the lost World benefits (by being able to respond to the Gospel of Jesus) and you benefit, by understanding Him more and building Your trust relationship with Him. So, as we are delving to today’s text I want you to watch closely. This week I want you to think about preparing Yourself, being ready, because God is calling each and every person in this room not only into a deeper relationship with Him with more trust, but also to share Your faith with others and do the work of His kingdom. So, From the text I want you to be ready in these ways, because Nothing can stop God’s kingdom.

Message

Be ready to see false Gods fail

33 When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. 34 But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was respected by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered the men to be taken outside for a little while. 35 He said to them, “Men of Israel, be careful about what you’re about to do to these men. 36 Some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a group of about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, and all his followers were dispersed and came to nothing. 37 After this man, Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and attracted a following. He also perished, and all his followers were scattered.

So, what made them so mad that they wanted to kill them? Look with me in your Bible’s Verse 29. 9 Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than people. 30 The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had murdered by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted this man to his right hand as ruler and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.” Essentially, they said, we must do what God has told us to do, which is exactly the opposite of what you are saying to do. So, we aren’t going to do as you tell us, but as God is telling us. As they were, I would just say howling mad, a man named Gamaliel rose up and spoke to them. Now Gamaliel was an extremely well respected man, so much that when he spoke, you listened. So well respected was this man that just a few decades after His death it was written about him by another Rabbi, “Since Rabban Gamaliel the elder died there has been no more reverence for the law; and purity and abstinence died out at the same time.”[2]He rose up, and urged caution to the crowd. To be careful about what they were going to do to these men. He gave them several examples, of people in recent history who claimed to be working with and for God, and perhaps even a prophet, who have since died out and have become nothing. He warned them, don’t get to caught up in this anger that you have, because their God they were teaching about was false, and their following died out and are no more.

You know, there are a lot of things in the world that claimed to be good for us, and now we know are not. Let me give you an example. *turn the slide* Ovaltine. Once upon a time, Ovaltine was presented as a health drink, that it was very good for us. In fact, as this add claimed, the healthiest families drank Ovaltine; in fact you could go so far as to say that if you drink Ovaltine, you are a health conscious family. Now, granted Ovaltine may be much healthier than many of the drinks that we drink today. But, at the end of the day, it’s really just chocolate milk! We have much much better options, that we can honestly say is filled up with goodness. 100% goodness in fact, and guess what, it’s the easiest drink for us to get. What is it? Water, water is the true healthy and health-conscious drink. Ovaltine claimed to be something, a health product, but when you put it next to one another and you ask any doctor, which is better for the human body for regular and frequent consumption. 9 out of 10 are going to say water, and the other 1 is being paid by Ovaltine!

You know, just like ovaltine was a false health product. We to often encounter and come across many false God’s. In fact, many of us have them right now. False God’s can look like many things. For the people of old, they may have literally been figurines. In history past and present, false God’s may look and sound a lot like our God, but have something false added to Him, such as the necessity of works for salvation, or even additional actions to be saved that our outside of the simplicity of putting your faith in Jesus as the savior. Some of our God’s may be our pride, how we are perceived by others, our families or the want of one, our pocket books, our security, our farms. Essentially, a false God is anything in your life that seems more important to you than Your relationship with God. These can start off innocently enough, but mark my word, when you get in the habit, they will destroy you. So, ask yourself. When I wake up each morning, what am I getting up for? Is it to earn a paycheck? Maybe it’s to do ministry. Perhaps you really enjoy seeing someone or helping or serving them. Perhaps it’s even the love of your family. Now again, these aren’t bad things themselves, but the are when they are more important to You than investing in your own personal relationship with God. So, make God your first God, why you wake up and why you do everything you do. Trust in Him to help you with this and be ready because you will see false God’s fail.

Next, you need to: Be ready and see that God’s everlasting.

38 So in the present case, I tell you, stay away from these men and leave them alone. For if this plan or this work is of human origin, it will fail; 39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even be found fighting against God.” They were persuaded by him.

Gamaliel continues in his speech here. He tells the group exactly what they needed to hear, what was really at the heart of the matter when compared to those false prophets and leaders of rebellion in the past. That is, that it would do us very well to leave these men (the apostles) alone. Because, if whatever it is they are doing (which is sharing Jesus with people) if it is from mankind, or human fashioning or creation, it will fail just as those examples did. However…… if it is of God, then there is nothing you can do about it. So, don’t spend your time and energy on it. In fact, if you do so, you may find yourself even actively working against God; meaning that you are working for the enemy, Satan. This was a very good point. The gathering tempers were lessened, though not totally put out. So, instead of killing them, instead they had the apostles flogged (which means beaten) and once again told them not to speak in the name of Jesus and let them go.

This idea of anger being started and white hot, then eventually sputtering out, makes me think a lot about fire. Think about it, think about any fire you have seen, big or small. Eventually they all go out when they have run out of things to burn. Sometimes they are controlled, like the small flame you would see in a candle, these flames are small and can last awhile. That is, until the melted wax overtakes the flame or the candle runs out of wax or wick. What about campfires. These can last awhile too, though, after a while if not enough wood is put on them, they die out. You have to be careful though, because usually for several hours afterwards, underneath the ash is enough smoldering embers to start a fire again. Either way though, it will eventually go out if there is no more wood put on the fire. Then, there is the very odd fire that exists in only one place in the world. This is the fire of Chimaria, which is also called, “the fire which never goes out. This fire exists in Olympos National Park in Turkey. In fact, this fire is so old, that it is documented in the ancient text, the Iliad, which is estimated to have been written around 800 BC. So, needless to say this fire has been going on for a LOOOOONNGGG time. Well, unfortunately, just like the other fire examples, this fire is not eternal. It was not from the beginning and will ultimately stop when the world ends or it’s fuel source is used up. Fire is much like anything that is created by man, it can last and last for awhile, but eventually it will go out, it will cease to be; either sooner or later.

The same is not true of our God. Why? Because He is everlasting. He was before the beginning. In fact, HE created the beginning, and there’s no way of knowing how long He was around before then, Because God is eternal. As Gamaliel pointed out, you cannot over turn Him. Many people throughout History have tried to. Guess what, they are all dead or will be sometime in the next 100 years, and God will keep on living and going and sustaining and building His kingdom up, brick by brick, life by life, heart by heart, soul by soul, mind by mind. So, as your are going through the trials of this life, which is only temporary (both the trial and your life on earth) know that God is eternal. If you are in Him, if you have Jesus as your savior, then He not only “has your back” you arein His family. You are adopted into the family as beloved sons and daughters of God the Father. You are the dwelling place, the place that God The Holy Spirit lives, and you are the much beloved and dearly adored bride of Christ. So, as your body hurts and aches and pains and gives out on you. Remember this, that pain is temporary, but the God you are on your way to see and even understand a little more every day, will be their every day for you. When you’re broke, I mean PO, remember than the money pains you feel now will mean absolutely nothing in glory. When you fear for your family and friends, when you fear the worst for them or that it will happen to them, know that the same God that you serve is calling them into a relationship with Him and they have the same opportunity not just for comfort on earth that you do, but also for an eternity of joy with their savior, just as you do as well. So, never be afraid to share with both your loved ones and complete strangers the Gospel of Jesus, that He paid for sin. Because just like our God, the work you do for His kingdom in His name is everlasting as well. So, you know to be ready and see that God is everlasting.

Next we need to Be ready to suffer for Jesus Name.

40 After they called in the apostles and had them flogged, they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them. 41 Then they went out from the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to be treated shamefully on behalf of the Name., 42 Every day in the temple, and in various homes, they continued teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah. [3]

The gathering tempers were lessened, though not totally put out. So, instead of killing them, instead they had the apostles flogged (which means beaten) and once again told them not to speak in the name of Jesus and let them go. From here the apostles left. Where you would expect behaviors groaning and grunting, and even the frequently, “oh my back” while everyone held back tears, instead the apostles did something very different. Instead, they rejoiced. They rejoiced that they were able to participate in some small way in the suffering of Jesus. Being crucified has been called among the worst type of torture and execution that a person could endure.

Today, this act would be considered so barbaric and heinous, that civil rights activists everywhere would stand up against this. As painful as that suffering was, put on top of the fact that he was beaten to the point that he could barely be recognized before hand, was something even worse. A pain, a suffering that was the worst kind of suffering that has ever and will ever happen again. This was a pain of separation. We all know that being separated or away from something or someone can really bother or hurt us. Be it a permanent separation or a temporary separation like your spouse or loved one going away for a few days, at some point it gets hard if you love that person. This separation had never happened before in the history of ever and will never happen ever again. This was the separation of the sinless Christ. Jesus Christ, God the Son as God The Father turned his face and self away from Him as the sin of the world was put on His shoulders. This separation was the worst pain Jesus could have ever endured, because He had always been in the best graces of His heavenly Father, before the world and universe was ever created. Just the fact that they were worthy to be a small part of the suffering of Christ was a big deal to the disciples, and it likely even emboldened them to go share more about the messiah, the Christ, the savior with others. It should be for us as well, as believers.

Christ suffered for you, so that you would not know the worst separation, that could exist for you, that is separation from God. Now, Jesus took a suffering for you on the scale of 100, when the worst we can take on earth is a 1. So, we should rejoice when do get the “1” on the suffering scale, because it not only helps understand Jesus’ suffering for us, but it helps us grow closer to God, and it shows that God cares about us enough to show more about Himself to us. Now we may not be asked to be beaten or mocked as the apostles were; but we need to believe so much in Jesus and love Him so much that we are prepared to be. Mark my words though, you will be asked to suffer in some way for the name of Jesus. In fact, if you haven’t, then you’ve got something wrong. You see, the Gospel separates us from the rest of the world, and the rest of the world outside of God’s kingdom is actively working against You and Him. So, being persecuted will come to you when you are in the world and ministering to it. Don’t let that stop you. In fact, know that Jesus told us we would suffer in His name. In fact come in expecting it. So, we need to be ready to suffer for Jesus’ name.

Conclusion

There is nothing that I can really compare to how unstoppable God’s Kingdom is. However, when I think of men that at one time or another became unstoppable when they were at the peak of their career, one person that comes to mind is George Forman. Now, many of you know George Forman as the guy that sells those little panini grills, that were revolutionary when they were new. However, since it is father’s day, before the George Forman grill, he was known for his boxing career, being the two time world heavyweight champion. Did you know that George Forman was a great man of faith? In fact, he even as a Christian movie out right now about his faith. His story is one where he continually gives credit to God in fact, right now he is a pastor. In this video, it depicts him as a great, who became a “has been,” who got out of boxing after his championship loss and would focus his time and energy to a local at-risk children’s mission. With time, he would gain weight, get completely out of shape, and not think he would ever box again. That was, until one day the mission managers brought forth a terrible truth to him, that the mission had run out of money. Then, he decided to put back on the gloves, train, and get back in the game. Despite the huge odds, taking and going into a seemingly impossible task (being much older, much slower, and not hitting as hard as his opponent), George Forman was actually in an unstoppable road, winning the championship and gaining the money and support to keep the children’s mission. THIS is just a small portion of the power of the kingdom of God. This is just a small portion of what God’s power can do in a person’s life. Nothing can stop God’s Kingdom, so don’t delay child of God and do your part for the unstoppable kingdom, wherever God may be calling you.

With all of that being said, I would be remised if I didn’t share the Gospel (or the Good News) of Jesus Christ with you today, for the benefit of both believer and non-believer in the room. This begins all the way back at the beginning, God created everything, and he created all things good. He gave His most treasured creation (us, mankind) the ability of free will, the ability to choose Him or rebellion. Man was deceived by Satan and desired to be like God and sinned (or rebelled against God). This brought the curse of sin and death into the world and it remains with us to this day; which separates us from God. God though, loved His creation (mankind) so much that He worked through history to redeem all mankind that would turn to Him from sin so that we can experience a full and perfect relationship with Him again. This was through the perfect and final sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the pay for sins. Accepting this free gift from God, makes you new and forgiven. All you have to do accept this free gift by repenting and believing in the Lord Jesus and you will get to experience the good side of God’s justice forever. So, now that you know this, you can no longer plead ignorance. I invite and urge you to respond today non-believer and apply this to every part of your life believers in the audience today.

With that, Let’s conclude. Brothers and Sisters, I love you all. During our last song together, if you need prayer, or want to talk more about Jesus, or have something you want to talk about, I’ll be here, don’t be afraid to come on down. Let’s pray. Father God, we thank You for who You are and what You are doing to us here in this place. May whatever it is that You are doing in each of heart here, continue as we leave go out into the world this week. Change us, mold us, make us, re-arrange us, that we can be both better lovers of You and better showers of You. It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.

[1] Christian Standard Bible. Holman Bible Publishers, 2020, p. Ac 5:33–42. [2]Longenecker, Richard N. “Acts.” The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Luke–Acts (Revised Edition), edited by Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland, vol. 10, Zondervan, 2007, p. 796. [3] Christian Standard Bible. Holman Bible Publishers, 2020, p. Ac 5:33–42.