The Opposing Disciples

Intro:

What would it take to stop you? What would it take to stop the church?

Basketball story? By myself.

Taylor Swift and the Swiftee’s story.

This movement was one of those trends you couldn’t stop. Only way to avoid it was to stop watching the NFL or until Kelce and Taylor broke up.

People were willing to miss the SuperBowl because of this movement. I didn’t like it but it wasn’t enough for me to “boycott” the NFL.

What did this movement really do wrong? Nothing, absolutely nothing.

The media gave it attention, they started the noise, and they fueled the fire. Taylor Swift and company were just watching the games like everyone else. They were just hanging out and having fun with friends.

For those people that “boycotted” the event, really missed out on a good game because of their anger for something that didn’t make sense.

This is a new generation we live in and anything can start trending at any moment.

For example, the Tide Pods trend....what was that? The Cinamon trend....really? Planking, people would take photos of themselves planking at random places.

This is what social media does whether we like it or not.

There have also been great trends like, the Ice Bucket challenge that brought awareness to ALS. An estimated $115 million was raised for the cause in just a few short months that year. The ice bucket challenge was created to raise money for research purposes in hopes of finding a cure for ALS disease.

There is a TikTok trend called “pay off my debt” where people are sharing their videos asking to help pay their debt. The way it works is, they go online, create a TikTok video, post it, and people will share it until it gets to about 1M views. This generates money that TikTok pays out and that money is used to pay off your debt.

Preaching Jesus Requires Conviction

All these trends, whether you like them or not, become unstoppable. You literally have to turn off your TV, shut off your phone, and move to the mountains. They can’t be stopped and won’t be stopped.

These trends require one thing, passion. The only reason a trend catches fire is because of people’s passion for the trend topic. Again, whether it’s for a good cause or not, there is passion behind it.

Passion helps ignite conviction. I found this phrase online that I loved so much:

Passion is the essential element of conviction that enables leaders to inspire others. Passion is persuasive and it has the power to ignite conviction because building an inner fire helps light the fires of those around you. However, in order to be effective, it must be genuine, deep, and heartfelt.

I love it! As P. Brian said last week, “it comes from the heart”. If your relationship with God isn’t genuine, deep, and from the heart, your passion and conviction to preach Jesus will waiver at the first sign of trouble.

Preaching Jesus, preaching the gospel, preaching the good news, requires conviction.

Acts 5:14–16 “Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. 15 As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. 16 Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed.”

At this point, I started to ask myself, “What is NCFC passionate about?”. From the first day that I walked in here, it was obvious to me that this church is a group of people that really just love each other. They love others and put out a helping hand if needed.

Then I went to the website and found our missiong statement that reads:

Empowered Disciples

We are a praying church. We will pray as if no one else was praying. In prayer we invade the impossible, bring Heaven’s power to Earth and violently wrench from the enemy’s grasp what belongs to God and His people. We are a serving church. We believe God has gifted and prepared His people for the works of service and as members of His body we are joined and held together to grow and build itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Proclaiming the Gospel

We proclaim the love of Christ and the good news of the cross wherever and whenever God gives us the opportunity. We engage in evangelism (both in speech and good works) near us and far away, as a vital part of the church and as a lifestyle of each and every member.

This all sounds beautiful and amazing. It works great at times and sometimes we struggle to make it work but thanks to God, he always opens doors and helps us move forward as a church.

Acts 4:32–33 “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all”

This is what NCFC is to me, from my point of view of someone who has been here for 3 years.

No one is selling there properties or beautiful cars, I don’t expect that from anyone. If you did, I wouldn’t accept. It’s not what I’m looking for.

Look at the person next to you. At some point you’ve prayed for that person, you’ve said a few words of encouragement, heard their pain and struggles.

That is what a church, in my opinion, is all about. You add God and passion to the mix, we are stronger than the Swiftee’s!

Preaching Jesus causes opposition

But sadly, we are still human and make mistakes and have strong opinions and feelings. We express ourselves in a negative way at times, and it’s not healthy.

The external noise is something I have learned to handle, i’m sure many of you handle outside pressure pretty well. There is one thing I always tell my wife, “I can deal with anything that comes my way but when something is wrong within my family (her or my kids), I fall apart”

There is nothing worst than having internal problems, internal opposition. We can be on the same team and want the same things but destroy each other at the same time.

It is very common to find people that are opposed to what everyone is doing.

Acts 5:17–18 “Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.”

the AMP version says, “they were filled with jealousy and resentment”.

The high priest and all his associates were “filled with jealousy”. This comes immediately after hearing about the crowds of people—even from the surrounding cities—filling the streets with cots and mats in order to be healed by Peter.

The popularity of these rebel Christians was growing too fast. And their power to heal was too threatening to the high priests own influence.

The Greek term translated "jealous" here is zēlos, which implies a fierce, passionate emotion. It can mean a potent desire or love for something, or to want what someone else has.

Does jealousy ever control your actions? The high priest likely thought of himself as an upright and honest man. I doubt he even recognized his jealousy. That’s often the case isn’t it? Unchecked jealousy is not only a massive hindrance to our obedience, but it often lies beneath the worst kinds of injustice in the world.

Eve’s desire for what she didn’t have led to the first sin in Genesis 2.

In Genesis 4, jealousy led her son Cain to murder his brother Abel.

Jealousy was the root of the strife between sisters, Rachel and Leah (Genesis 30).

Jealously caused their children to sell their own brother, Joseph, into slavery (Genesis 37).

Mark 15:10 tells us that it was jealousy that led the chief priests to hand Jesus over to be crucified.

Then, it was the jealousy of the Jews and religious leaders that led to the persecution of the apostles (Acts 5:17, 13:45).

Jealousy isn’t new, but it’s just as powerful now as it was in the stories of the Bible. Jealousy divides and destroys relationships between friends, spouses, siblings, and co-workers. Jealousy causes A LOT of damage, so how do we avoid being jealous?

Opposition is a decision

The gospel will either humble you or enrage you. Back in Acts 2, many were humbled by the gospel. They repented and placed their faith in Christ.

Here in Acts 5, however, the religious leaders were filled with rage.

Acts 5:21-26: “At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people. When the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin—the full assembly of the elders of Israel—and sent to the jail for the apostles. 22 But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they went back and reported, 23 “We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.” 24 On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were at a loss, wondering what this might lead to.”

25 Then someone came and said, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people.” 26 At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the people would stone them.

The gospel will either humble you or enrage you.

Why were these religious leaders jealous and enraged?

They envied Jesus authority, his power, his teachings, his influence, his following. He was a threat to their positions of power and privilege.

Being a christian isn’t easy because the longer you are here, the harder it gets to stay close to God. It’s a constant battle to love God every single day. After a few years we tend to think we know it all.

“I’ve read the bible 10 times front to back” GREAT for you, how’s your heart?

“I’ve lead every bible study group we have to offer!” Great, how’s your heart?

“I’ve gone to seminary and have been a pastor for 40 years!” Great, how’s your heart?

These thoughts are dangerous because when someone new comes along, we feel threatened if they start being considered for positions we have held in the past. Instead of being happy to disciple and teach them, help them grow spiritually, we want to tear them down.

Jealousy is a dangerous thing.

Here are three ways the Bible shows us to steer clear of the power of jealousy:

1. Stop comparing

John 21:20-22 Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” 21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” 22 Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”

Our tendency is the same. Instead of gratefully accepting all that the Lord gives us, we look around, comparing our gifts, but Jesus tells Peter, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” We are responsible to God alone for what He has entrusted us with. Don’t compare, just follow Him where He is asking you to go.

2. Celebrate Other’s Gifts

Instead of seeing God’s good gifts to other people as a threat to what He has given you, let it encourage you and remind you that our God is good and gives good gifts to his children (Matthew 7:11). Our God owns everything! When He graciously provides someone else a good gift, remind yourself that God doesn’t have any less to give and celebrate His goodness to all of his children!

3. It’s hard to remember that God is the reason for your paycheck when it has your name on it. Or, it’s difficult to remind yourself that God provided that meal when you just picked it up from the grocery store. James writes, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change”(1:17). Take every opportunity to see God’s good gifts to you throughout your day and celebrate His goodness!

(My story about the worship team) (Freddie left)

William James Durant, an American Philosopher, once said, “A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself within.

NCFC and any church will not be destroyed by external forces but can only be destroyed by it’s own members and leadership.

I did so much damage from within.

I didn’t put people in jail so to speak but I definitely made them feel uncomfortable, uneasy, and maybe discouraged many from joining and learning.

But here is the funny thing, the worship team grew and thrived. Like the Grinch story, he stole all the presents from Whoville and on Xmas day, they all got up and sang Xmas songs and celebrated together as a town.

My bad intentions didn’t matter because God will always make a way no matter what.

It’s not fair that this person is getting picked over me! I deserve the attention!

I will quote Jesus here “what is that to you? You follow me!”

Preaching Jesus Prompts Joy

Acts 5:19–20 “But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. 20 “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people all about this new life.”

I love this verse! an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail! God please send your angels and free me from this jail of jealousy! I need to remember why I’m here, what the real purpose is, what the goal is.

I need to be freed from this feeling that brings bad and negative thoughts. It leads me to do things I don’t want to do.

Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

There is a church that before every sermon, the pastor recites the church’s mission statement. Woudn’t be a bad ideas for us to try that. We need that reminder every once in a while. We should all retake the membership class every year, just as a refresher.

We are on the same team!

A year later, Freddie came back to visit and saw what I was doing and completely shut me down. I asked for forgiveness and started to heal.

After the Angel freed them he said, ““Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people all about this new life.”