A Church On Offense
Notes
Transcript
Review
Review
Turn to Acts 5:12-42.
In Acts 5:1-11, we saw Satan strike again at the church in Jerusalem. This time he attacked not with physical persecution, but with sin among the believers.
Peter had to confront Ananias and Sapphira’s sin. It was the first time that discipline was exercised in this church and the consequences were severe. Sin’s consequences always are. For a time, it brought sadness to the church in Jerusalem, but it changed the church for the better. They had a healthy fear of our holy God. Now the church in Jerusalem was prepared to move forward together into new territory.
Message
Message
Read Acts 5:12-16.
Read slowly:
If you were to ask 10 different football enthusiasts to name some of the greatest offensive lines in NFL history, you may very well get ten different answers. Since I don’t know the stats myself, I did some searching online and found two teams that were commonly mentioned as being among the greatest offensive lines the league has ever known.
One of those teams was the 1999 St. Louis Rams.
“The St. Louis Rams…had one of the most explosive and prolific offenses in NFL history. Under the guidance of head coach Dick Vermeil and offensive coordinator Mike Martz, the Rams finished the regular season with a 13-3 record and went on to win Super Bowl [34]. The team's high-powered offense, led by quarterback Kurt Warner, was instrumental in their success.
The Rams' offense was known for its up-tempo, pass-heavy attack. Coined "The Greatest Show on Turf," the offense featured quick passes, spread formations, and a dynamic aerial assault. This offensive approach, orchestrated by Mike Martz, revolutionized the NFL's passing game. The Rams capped off their remarkable season with a thrilling 23-16 victory over the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV. The game featured one of the most memorable plays in Super Bowl history, known as the "Tackle at the One," where the Rams stopped Titans wide receiver Kevin Dyson just short of the end zone as time expired.”*
*See link to 1999 St Louis Rams for article.
No doubt, a strong offense is what defined the 1999 St Louis Rams, but I find the same could be said of the early church.
The church at Jerusalem was A Church On Offense. This church set an example that should make us pause and ask ourselves: what kind of church do we want to be? Do we want to live on defense? Shall we live content with our present sphere of influence in our community? Are we content with the number of lives that we are touching now? Are we complacent? Or will we take the name and the love of Jesus to everyone that we possibly can?
A Church On Offense.
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The church grows - Acts 5:12-16.
Verses 12-16 gives us an update on the church in Jerusalem. The sin of Ananias and Sapphira brought the church to a grinding halt, but with the sin addressed, the church begins to grow again!
Application: If we want to enjoy God’s blessings on our church, we must humble ourselves before a holy God. We must be tenacious against our own personal sins.
In this moment, don’t be concerned about your spouse or anyone else. You deal with you. You make sure you humble the one person in the world that you can: you.
If we all take that approach, God promises, He will not despise a broken and contrite heart. He will not despise a broken and contrite church. That’s a church ready to grow.
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It grew as the apostles were empowered
Notice everything that God enabled the apostles to do:
The sick were being healed if they were at the very least covered by Peter’s shadow.
People possessed by demons were healed - every one, verse 16 says.
Verse 12 says that “many signs and wonders were done among the people.” Perhaps you might be thinking, “why were there so many signs and miracles in the early days of the church in Jersualem? What about today?”
That’s a fair question. It’s one that we will be able to answer more thoroughly in our Wednesday night Bible study, but listen to what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:22. He gives us a good reason why signs were so commonplace in these early days:
For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
The church in Jerusalem was witnessing exclusively to Jews! They weren’t trying to witness to Gentiles!
Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.
The Jews demanded signs as evidence that their message was from God!
Read slowly:
The Holy Spirit empowered the apostles to do these miracles specifically as a confirmation for the Jews that they were witnessing to - just like when they spoke in other languages in Acts chapter two! But did you catch what Paul said towards the end of the passage? Our focus today should not be on signs or on human logic, but on Jesus Christ! We preach Christ crucified!
Application: Exalt Christ! Tell others about Jesus Christ! He alone can change their lives!
That is exactly what the apostles did, along with signs, so as to convince the Jews. As they did this, the church grew.
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It grew as the gospel spread to Judea - 5:16
Except for the day of Pentecost, this is the earliest indication that the Gospel is starting to reach outside the walls of Jerusalem. On the Day of Pentecost, thousands believed on the Lord Jesus. Many were Jewish travelers and would eventually return to their homes. But here is the first time that we hear of a multitude coming from the surrounding cities - the region of Judea - and coming to be healed. You can be certain that Peter was preaching along the way.
And so the church - the assembly of believers called out by God - continued to grow. Verses 12-14 indicates that the ones who believed in Christ for salvation were real. They were genuine, whereas those that refused to trust in Christ for salvation, they didn’t dare get near the church when it gathered on the Temple Mount. The church discipline and the threat of persecution assured that this was genuine, committed believers only.
Application: These believers made a difference in Jerusalem, but more specifically, they made a difference in people’s lives. God will give you many opportunities to do this if you listen and look for those opportunities. One life, one soul at a time, tell others about Jesus who loves them.
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The apostles’ persistence - Acts 5:17-33.
Read Acts 5:17-33.
The Jewish authorities were persistent in going after the apostles, but the apostles were even more persistent in preaching the name of Jesus.
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They persisted in going, standing, and speaking - 5:20-21
All of the apostles were rounded up and thrown into prison, but God bailed them out - maybe in a matter of hours. Early the next morning, they could be found preaching and teaching again at the Temple. Persistence! Obedience! They did exactly as God’s messenger instructed them to do.
The events almost gets comical in this text. It’s as though the high priest is forced to play a game of whack-a-mole with the apostles. The high priest tries to silence them with threats, but then the apostles pop up preaching Jesus somewhere else. The high priest gathers up the apostles, throws them in prison, and not long after they are back at it again, preaching the name of Jesus at the Temple.
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They persisted in exalting Jesus - 5:28-32
Notice what the high priest avoids in verse 28.
Read Acts 5:28.
The high priest wouldn’t dare to say the name of Jesus! He refers to Jesus as “this name” and “this man”. Twice he refuses to say the precious name of Jesus.
So what does Peter do? He does just the opposite. He honors the name of Jesus. He says that Jesus was the one whom God raised from the dead and exalted to be a Prince and a Savior. Peter and the others would keep witnessing of this Jesus, but they were not alone - so would the Holy Ghost. They would persist in exalting His name!
Application: A church on offense is a church that is persistent! Yes! Week after week, we will keep meeting here. Week after week, we will keep preaching and teaching the Scriptures. Week after week, we will keep ministering to each other. Week after week, we will tell others about Jesus and exalt His name in what we say and do. Christian, just be persistent.
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The work of God - Acts 5:34-42.
Dr. Gamaliel decided to stand and say a few words to the council. From what I’ve read, Gamaliel still remains one of the most preeminent rabbis in Jewish history. When he stood up to speak, he did so as the spokesman for all of the pharisees that were gathered there. He was not sympathetic toward the church, but he knew that God would reveal whether this was His work or not.
Gamaliel references two different men that gathered a following, lead people astray, and then eventually were defeated and scattered. We have no certainty today who this Theudas was. The second example, Judas of Galilee, has some reference in secular history. Judas was an early leader of the Zealots. The Zealots was a Jewish movement that attempted to overthrow foreign power over Israel, especially Roman power. Both of these men, according to Gamaliel, died and their movements died with them because they were the work of men. If this new assembly was the work of men, it would die like the others, but if it was the work of God, then the Jewish authorities should beware indeed.
I remind you of the words of our Lord Jesus:
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
This was the work of God! Jesus Christ was going to build His church and He will build His church today! That is why the apostles were willing to suffer for His sake. They knew it was the the work of God, so they had to obey God rather than men.
This passage shows us the perfect harmony that exists between man’s responsibility and God’s sovereignty. Here’s what I mean:
The apostles were persistent. They did everything they could to be on offense. They worked hard to reach every corner of Jerusalem with the name of Jesus. They held themselves personally responsible to tell others about Jesus and to live the love of Jesus.
But at the same time, the apostles realized that the growth of the church, the salvation of souls, and the power to change lives rested entirely in the sovereign hand of God! The success of the church had to be the work of God or it would come to nothing!
Application: Church family, the same thing is still true today. We have a God-given, personal responsibility to persistently labor in telling others about Jesus and in honoring Jesus in all we do. We must labor to have the greatest offensive line that the world has ever seen in a local church, but we must depend upon our Savior to keep His promise and to build His church. This spiritual work must be the work of God.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Church family, there’s nothing wrong with buildings, but we can’t stay cloistered in buildings. Let’s humble ourselves before God this morning, recognizing that without Him we can do nothing. Let’s plead with God to do a mighty work and to save souls in our community. And then let’s do our part. Let’s tell others about the Jesus that loves them. Let’s be like the church at Jerusalem: a church on offense.
Invitation
Invitation
Don’t rush it. Don’t talk too much. Be willing to ask for a showing of hands.