GET OFF THE BENCH

Brief Announcement: Last message, Pastor Micah

Acts 5:12–16 “The apostles were performing many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers were meeting regularly at the Temple in the area known as Solomon’s Colonnade. But no one else dared to join them, even though all the people had high regard for them. Yet more and more people believed and were brought to the Lord—crowds of both men and women. As a result of the apostles’ work, sick people were brought out into the streets on beds and mats so that Peter’s shadow might fall across some of them as he went by. Crowds came from the villages around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those possessed by evil spirits, and they were all healed.”

The Holy Spirit has fallen on the Church and lit the flame of ministry to go outside the walls of the upperroom and the believers who experienced it

We’ve seen Peter and John arrested and reprimanded for preaching Jesus, only to see them ask for more boldness to continue in the things Jesus had called them to due despite the opposition.

We see growth in numbers and in Christ-likeness throughout the members.

We even see God bring judgment on a couple, Ananias and Sapphira, who lied to the Holy Spirit by only giving a portion of themselves to the Kingdom.

Acts 5:11 “Great fear gripped the entire church and everyone else who heard what had happened.”

Fear: a holy terror/fear, one of reverence and respect

So we arrive at V12 to find the apostles doing signs and wonders amongst the people, meeting regularly in the open, but we also find those in V13 who “didn’t dare join them, but regarded them highly”.

Regard (esteemed): exalted, magnified, praise

The problem with these people is though they praised and magnified the right things, they were not participating in the right things.

There is a difference between being in the game and being on the bench.

Approval is not participation.

Just because you approve of something, condone something, or support something doesn’t mean you have skin in the game. It don’t mean that you are participating.

Acts 5:12–13 “The apostles were performing many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers were meeting regularly at the Temple in the area known as Solomon’s Colonnade. But no one else dared to join them, even though all the people had high regard for them.”

PICTURE OF SOLOMON’S COLONNADE

Out in the open

Was used for educational and commercial purposes

People would see and hear the things going on in this area. People frequented here.

The apostles were out in the colonnade, open to the religious people and the unbelievers of the day teaching, preaching, healing the sick, and other signs and wonders right out in the open while many others refused to participate.

The question is WHY?

Commitment requires sacrifice and sincerity where approval requires only high praise.

These people regarded the believers highly

They were men and women of integrity. They healed people. They gave sacrificially. They were changing lives by the words they spoke and the actions they did.

However, the level to which these believers walked in power did not seem desirable enough to these others.

Maybe you here tonight, if you are honest with yourself, find yourself in the same place.

You think its amazing to see people walk in the Truth and live out their faith

You may even say encouraging things to and about those who live their faith out loud

However, you personally refuse to live out in the open and instead live in the shadows, quietly praising those who live so open.

I want to address some lies tonight that you may have believed because God wants to accomplish through YOU exactly what He did through these obedient apostles, and these lies stand in your way:

Acts 5:14–16 “Yet more and more people believed and were brought to the Lord—crowds of both men and women. As a result of the apostles’ work, sick people were brought out into the streets on beds and mats so that Peter’s shadow might fall across some of them as he went by. Crowds came from the villages around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those possessed by evil spirits, and they were all healed.”

This doesn’t confirm that anyone got healed because of Peter’s shadow, but it shows the significance of what these people thought of his life lived out so openly preaching Jesus. They had an expectation for the miraculous to happen.

And that is what Jesus wants to do through YOUR LIFE too!

LIE #1: MAN OVER GOD

In Acts Chapter 4, we find Peter and John told not to preach in the name of Jesus and instead of listening to man’s advice, they continue on.

You get to Chapter 5 and you find the apostles in the exact same place again: imprisoned and being questioned by the religious leaders.

Acts 5:27–32 “Then they brought the apostles before the high council, where the high priest confronted them. “We gave you strict orders never again to teach in this man’s name!” he said. “Instead, you have filled all Jerusalem with your teaching about him, and you want to make us responsible for his death!” But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you killed him by hanging him on a cross. Then God put him in the place of honor at his right hand as Prince and Savior. He did this so the people of Israel would repent of their sins and be forgiven. We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, who is given by God to those who obey him.””

Peter didn’t pull any punches with these guys. He was honest about where he truly stood.

These men had authority in the city to handle them in whatever way they saw fit. The only thing that stopped them from bringing them in violently was the fear of a riot taking place.

In the face of knowing that these religious leaders had it out for them and wanted rid of them, Peter made a stand and said “We must obey God rather than any human authority”

What would cause someone to face man’s opposition with such boldness and to defy the rulers of the day that could subject them to punishment? PARTICIPATION THAT PRODUCED COMMITMENT

Peter was a man that walked with Jesus, saw what Jesus did, experienced the power of the Holy Spirit coming to reside with man and all of those times he chose participation over comfort, God surpassed his expectations and produced a commitment in his heart unto Him that wouldn’t be undone

Paul says it like this…

Philippians 3:4–11 (NLT)

though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more! I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!

It took a moment in the presence of God to change Paul’s entire outlook on his life from himself to His Savior who met him in the midst of his blindness to Truth!

Peter would end up crucified upside down. Paul would be martyred for his faith. They lost all care for the world and its threats and got lost in the only thing that truly matters.

If you have ever wondered why your commitment to God seems to waver once you get out of a church service, altar time, or you leave the grounds of Camp Cargill, could it be that you have succumbed to the lie that man’s approval matters more than God’s?

I’ve had conversations with some of you where you say “Its easier to worship at camp or go to the altar at camp because everyone else is doing it” or “at home, I’m concerned about who is watching me when I worship/go to pray/ etc.”

What if the fear of man is the very thing that is hindering you from experiencing breakthrough in your life?

Proverbs 29:25 “Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the Lord means safety.”

We have to break through the walls of the fear of man to step into the experiences God has for us. We must step out and stand up.

LIE #2 IF MY REPUTATION IS SUFFERING, I MUST BE DOING SOMETHING WRONG

Though suffering can be the result of being out of alignment with God, not all suffering means you are out of alignment with God.

How do you know whether you are in or out of alignment with God?

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any sin in your life

Keep your focus on the Word of God (we see this in the life of David)

Many men in Scripture suffered for their faith. Many of which were killed in response to their bold faith.

According to OpensDoorsUs.org, in 2023…

Almost 5,000 Christians were murdered

14,766 churches and Christian properties were attacked (which is 6x more than the previous year)

295,120 Christians were displaced from their homes, countries, and so on due to war and extremism

These men and women in real time and in biblical times that faced persecution for their bold faith wasn’t because they were in the wrong, but because they were on the right side of a spiritual war.

We see that the religious leaders wanted to take out the apostles because the Truth that they spread broke their control over people’s lives, and they wanted them dead because of it. They consulted among themselves and ended up deciding to let them go, but not without some sort of punishment.

Acts 5:40–42 “The others accepted his advice. They called in the apostles and had them flogged. Then they ordered them never again to speak in the name of Jesus, and they let them go. The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus. And every day, in the Temple and from house to house, they continued to teach and preach this message: “Jesus is the Messiah.””

This wasn’t just a little beating with a stick.

Flogged: beaten, struck, flayed (this would mean that skin would’ve been stripped from their bodies during the beating process)

The apostles were let off “easy” by the religious leaders standards, but make no mistake, this was a serious punishment to get a across a serious message that would acquire worse consequences in the future if further disobeyed.

After the beating they received, they may have suffered physical wounds, but their spirits remained higher than ever.

It says they left “rejoicing that God counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus”

This disgrace was dishonoring to their names and reputation amongst the religious crowd, shamed, and esteemed lightly

Remember at the beginning of our story that their were those who esteemed the apostles HIGHLY for what they were doing, but their were those here in the religious crowd (those they should’ve been accepted among) that esteemed them LOWLY?

They had every opportunity to be discouraged by their reputation being demoted among a crowd they were supposed to be accepted in

NEWSFLASH: Not every crowd is meant to be your circle.

Your circle should be those who stand in faith with you, support you in the highs/lows, and are not ashamed to be known to be in your circle when opposition comes.

Many times we seek the crowd’s approval, but forsake the circle God’s trying to surround us with and then we end up compromising in our relationship with God

Let God create your circle, ignore the crowds.

Setting aside their reputations among those they should’ve been accepted amongst most took a DAILY effort. A DAILY effort to keep teaching. A DAILY effort to keep living out the message that had transformed their lives.

How did they keep this effort daily?

THEY PARTICIPATED IN ENCOUNTERS

THEY PARTICIPATED IN COMMUNITY

Its time to stop overcomplicating and excusing away why we cannot be who God has called us to be.

God has invited us to participate in His will and His way for our lives that will not be one of ease, but one of worth.

Remember, PARTICIPATION PRODUCES COMMITMENT

Hebrews 12:1–2 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”

Will you accept His invitation to participate in His will and His way for your life?

VISION TO SHARE: As I worshipped, the things of this life began to pour out of me.