Overcomers

Review

Turn to Acts 4:23-37.

Jesus had promised that persecution would come and eventually it did come to the church in Jerusalem. It began with Peter and John. What was their crime? They preached that through Jesus a person can be forgiven of their sins and one day be raised from the dead! They boldly declared these things to the Jews and to the religious authorities alike. It was so unmistakable and so uncharacteristic that the Jewish authorities came to one conclusion: these men had been with Jesus. He had changed their lives. The authorities, knowing it was a delicate situation because of the populace, commanded Peter and John to stop preaching about Jesus and then quietly released them.

Message

Read Acts 4:23-31.

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The church gathered - Acts 4:23-31.

Peter and John are ushered out of the council and quickly make their way to where the rest of the church was gathered. As verse 23 says, “They went to their own company.”

I enjoy a good gathering. When it involves my family, or my church family, or perhaps friends that I haven’t seen in years, I like a good gathering with people that I love - especially when its Thanksgiving or Christmas.

However, this gathering of the Jerusalem church wasn’t for some festive reason. They weren’t gathered to celebrate one of the Jewish holidays. They weren’t getting together for a church potluck, for dinner on the grounds, a pig pickin’, a homecoming, or whatever you might call it. They were gathered to discuss their new reality: persecution had begun.

May I remind you: by default, authentic Christianity is not going to be popular in our world. These apostles were not buddies with the Jewish religious leaders. They were not popular with the big wigs of Jerusalem.

Following Jesus will not be popular because Jesus said, “if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” People can talk big but what matters is how they live and whether they actually live our Savior’s commandments. Persecution has a way of cutting through all of that and revealing who is really a follower of Jesus.

Application: Christian, if and when persecution comes, be dedicated to Christ now so that you will be dedicated to Christ then. There should be no doubt whose side you’re on. The people that you rub shoulders with on a regular basis should know that you love Jesus. If they don’t know that you’re a Christian when its easy, don’t think that they will know you’re a Christian when it gets hard. If you’re living a closet Christianity now, chances are you’ll stay there if persecution comes knocking.

The church gathers and here’s what Peter and John did:

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They reported the threats made against them - 4:23

They didn’t go and “hunker down” with the door bolted shut like they did after Jesus was crucified.

They didn’t say, “forget this” and go back to fishing like Peter did in John chapter 21.

They didn’t censor themselves and run away from the confrontation!

No, Peter and John met with the rest of the church in Jerusalem and shared the news of what had happened. Keep in mind, everything had been going great for the church up to this point. Thousands were being saved. There was a wonderful spirit among the church. They were continually getting together for prayer, fellowship, and preaching. “Why persecution?” They would be tempted to ask God. “Why now? When everything is going so well!”

“God has a marvelous ability to make us need Him.” He is in the process of growing our faith. If you look at the human life, it’s a process of a baby being completely dependent upon their parents. As they mature, they become less and less dependent and more and more independent. The Christian life is the exact opposite. When we are born into the Christian life, the only thing we are dependent upon God for is salvation. And as we mature in the Christian life we become dependent upon Him for more and more things. God is always in the business of making us need Him.” - Pastor Tom Brennan

Application: You see, running from your problems in life doesn’t fix anything. It doesn’t fix the problem and it doesn’t fulfill God’s plan for you! God’s plan for your life is that you are transformed to be more like Jesus! God doesn’t want us to run from our problems; He wants us to run with our problems to Him! He wants us to need Him! That’s what the church at Jerusalem was in danger of not doing! Everything was going so well that they were in danger of not needing God anymore! So God allowed this persecution to come when everything was going great so that they would need Him.

Why do bad things happen to good people? Sometimes it’s because God simply wants us to need Him. So don’t run from your problems in life. The apostles didn’t try to escape their problems. They realized that they needed God and without Him they were helpless!

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They prayed for boldness - 4:24-31

Suddenly, they needed God in a whole new way. You can sense this as they begin to pray in verse 24.

You can hear it again in their words in verse 29.

They needed God, so they prayed for boldness.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary c. The Supplication (4:23–31)

Three movements may be discerned in this prayer of the early church: (1) God is sovereign (v. 24). (2) God’s plan includes believers’ facing opposition against the Messiah (vv. 25–28). (3) Because of these things they petitioned God to grant them boldness to preach (vv. 29–30).

As they prayed, they remind themselves of the Scriptures. They were careful to see their circumstances from God’s perspective and they did this by reminding themselves of Psalm 2 - the psalm that I read in the morning service two weeks ago. Psalm two presents God as the sovereign king over all the earth. Yes, persecution was coming, but God was still in control over these Jewish authorities. God’s plan for the church at Jerusalem was still on track and He would use even this persecution to accomplish His plan for that church.

The phrase, “thy holy child Jesus”, is seen twice in this prayer. This is the only time it is written in Scripture.

“The description of Jesus as God’s “Holy Child” pictures Him as seemingly helpless in the hands of brutal men. It is a title that [emphasizes] the wickedness done to Him.” - John Phillips, Exploring Acts, page 87.

It highlights the injustice these rulers brought against Jesus and against His followers, but this injustice did not surprise the Lord or His servants.

Just hours before His crucifixion, Jesus said these words to His disciples:

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John 16:33 KJV 1900

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

In the face of persecution; in the face of tribulation, these followers of Jesus were overcomers! Why? Because Jesus had already overcome the world. Literally, He had already conquered it and won the victory over it! Therefore, because they were in Christ, they were overcomers also. That’s exactly what happens in verse 31. The persecution didn’t stop them. It didn’t take the wind out of their sails. They moved forward together for Christ.

Application: Christian, God did not design you to play defense! His plan for you and for our local church is to continually be on offense. Stop living a defensive Christianity! Get out of the closet! Get out of your comfort zone! Get off the sidelines! Go on offense and be bold with your faith in Christ! Embrace the times when God tests the limits of your faith in Him because that’s the only way that it will grow! Boldly trust Him and boldly witness for Him and be assured that as you do, God will be pleased!

That’s what happened here as the church gathered.

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The church grew - Acts 4:32-37.

Read Acts 4:32-37.

As we’re starting to see, the expansion of the early church was incredible.

Acts—The Church Afire (8: When the Church is Great)

Earle Cairns writes in his [book,] Christianity Through the Centuries:

The number of active believers in Jerusalem after the Resurrection was estimated at approximately five hundred by Paul (1 Cor. 15:6).… Pliny’s letter proved that Christianity was strong in Asia Minor shortly after the beginning of the second century. During the first century it had been confined largely to the eastern section of the empire, with the Jews being given the first chance to accept Christianity as the gospel reached new cities. During the second century, expansion was rapid among the Greek-speaking Gentile population of the empire. The church in Alexandria became the chief church of Egypt. Christians could be found in all parts of the empire by 200.

The church in Jerusalem grew numerically, but our text specifies some other ways that it grew also:

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They grew with great unity - 4:32

“Pastor Tim, you keep preaching about unity.” Yes, that’s because we keep finding it repeated in the book of Acts. They were of “one heart and of one soul.” That’s a vivid way of saying that the entire church family was united as though they were one person with one objective. Their objective was “forward together.”

When Satan tries to destroy the forward motion of a church, he will try to destroy its unity.

Hint: that’s what Satan tries to do in the next chapter.

He will try to destroy our unity with your private sin, and with mine.

He will try to destroy our unity with spiritual complacency. That’s an “I don’t care attitude” or an “I’m doing okay with God” kind of attitude.

He will try to destroy our unity with squabbles about insignificant things.

Application: Sometimes people will offend each other. People will get hurt. Down south they call that getting some “grit in your craw.” When that happens, you need to ask the Lord if it really is that big a deal or can you forgive and quietly move on? If it continues to bother you, you need to go and humbly, gently talk with that person. Don’t just stew on it. Little things like that will chip away at our unity if we’re not vigilant. Let’s make sure that we are of one heart and of one soul.

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They grew with great power - 4:33

What were they empowered to do? Verse 33 tells us: to give witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

“Ye shall be witnesses unto me,” the Lord said. We are not sent out to spread American culture or to found colonies or to convert people to an ideology or a theological proposition. We are to introduce people to the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to be witnesses unto Him. The Holy Spirit does the rest. - John Phillips, Exploring Acts, page 22.

Theology certainly matters, but first we must be witnesses for Jesus.

Application: Christian, go obey the Lord and the Holy Spirit will empower you to do what you thought you could never do.

“But Pastor Tim, I don’t know how.”

If you’re saved this morning then you have a story to tell. Tell others what Jesus did for you. I mean tell them how that you were hopeless and had no peace. Tell them how that you were separated from God because of your sin. And then tell them all about Jesus. Tell them how that Jesus paid it all on the Cross and you trusted Him to save your soul.

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They grew with great grace - 4:33

They were continually witnessing for Jesus. We know this because the word “gave” is in the imperfect tense. The apostles continually gave witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. As they did this, they experienced God’s grace - His favor, His enabling. God’s power and God’s grace are very closely related, but the point here is simply that they had everything they needed to be obedient.

Application: Christian, so do you.

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They grew with great commitment - 4:34-37

As the need arose, they sold their possessions, they shared, and they sacrificed. They were “all in.” When someone within the church at Jerusalem had a need, the church helped meet that need. This wasn’t communism because it wasn’t mandatory. It was voluntary. It was a personal demonstration of commitment. These first followers of Christ invested themselves in the success of the church at Jerusalem. They bought into it. They invested their money, their time, and their energy towards the growth of that church. They didn’t sit on the sidelines. They didn’t watch others do the work. They committed themselves.

Application: Christian, are you committed to the success and growth of this local church that God has placed you in? If so, how is that being shown through your life? There was no mistaking that these folks were committed. It was evident by what they did. Persecution wasn’t going to stop them either because in Christ, they were overcomers.

Great unity, great power, great grace, and great commitment: that’s what it takes to move “forward together.” Those are all elements that contribute to the numerical and spiritual growth of our church.

Conclusion

In spite of persecution, the church at Jerusalem did not slow down. It did not clam up. It did not go crawling back into the closet. It moved forward. It overcame the persecution and it did so together. Consequently, the church grew.

Are you an overcomer? Or when problems come in life do you run from them? In Christ, we are more than conquerors. God intends for you to overcome those problems by complete dependence upon Christ and His strength.

Christian, in the quietness of our invitation, ask God if you are doing your part to ensure that our church grows in unity, in power, in grace, and in commitment.

Invitation

Don’t rush it. Don’t talk too much.