STANDING FIRM WHEN INTIMIDATED ACTS 4:13-22

Introduction

It was Sir Winston Churchill that once said the following words:

“I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival. We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France; we shall fight in the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air; we shall defend our island whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches; we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”

Our one and only enemy, Satan, is not only a discourager and a divider, he is also an intimidator. He is the sinister minister of evil who will use circumstances and even others in his plot and plan of intimidation. His goal is getting God’s genuine people to throw in the towel so as to halt the work of God.

That is the reason our homes will be attacked. That is the reason our children will be attacked. That is the reason churches will be attacked. Remember this. Intimidation creates an atmosphere of distrust and fear. Fear creates doubt and doubt is just one step away from stopping the work of God in and through you. No, the work of God will not stop because of intimidation. However, the work of God will stop in and through you.

When intimidation comes, we must stand firm under the authority of the truth of the written Word and under the sovereign care of the Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. The question becomes how are we to accomplish this. The text before us gives us four instructions on how to stay focused when intimidated.

Instruction #1: Stay Focused on the God-Given Task (4:13-14).

“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.

And seeing the man who had been healed standing they could say nothing against it.

Standing firm requires staying focused on the God-given task with a holy tenacity. Peter’s passionate preaching did not soften the stone cold hearts and the hard heads of the Sanhedrin. However, that does not mean Peter was a failure. Even when people refuse to listen, those who unapologetically preach the truth will experience success. In the mind of God, the only thing that matters is obedience.

Yet, the preaching of the Word of God did have an affect. The Sanhedrin could not help but be impressed with the confidence of Peter and John.

They saw.

They saw the boldness of Peter and John. They were bold in speaking the truth and would not bow when intimidated.

2. They perceived.

“They were uneducated and untrained men.” Literally, the original language states that Peter and John were “unlettered” (not formally educated in the rabbinical schools) and “uninstructed” (not professional theologians). This was problematic for the Sanhedrin, but not for Peter and John. This makes their bold proclamation of Jesus all the more remarkable. In the end, all the Sanhedrin, which the high priest was apart, could conclude was that “they had been with Jesus.”

3. They were silenced.

Then there was the silent testimony of the formally lame man standing in their presence. They did not believe in the miraculous. However, he was standing before them nonetheless. The Sanhedrin was rendered speechless.

Luke 21:15 “for I will give you such words and a wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.”

How do we handle persecution. We handle it by staying firmly focused on the truth.

INSTRUCTION #2: STAY FAITHFUL TO THE TRUTH (4:15-17)

“But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, saying, ‘What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.

But so that it spreads no further among the people let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name.”

Standing firm for and in the truth unsettles those who threaten. Peter and John were ordered to stand down. That is the point you know that you have hit a nerve. Folks, you will try to run from the truth, try to take down the one proclaiming the truth, or you will submit to the truth. The proclamation of the truth turns the tables on the Sanhedrin. It is now the Sanhedrin who is now on trial. They are now in a full blown panic as to what to do with Peter and John. They had broken no laws and had aptly defended themselves from the Old Testament Scriptures.

The Sanhedrin was living their worst nightmare. They had executed Jesus for claiming to be the Messiah. They were now powerless to stop Christ’s followers from repeating those same true claims. Worse than that, they were proclaiming with irrefutable evidence that He had risen from the dead. The Sanhedrin was forced into a corner. What would they do. In a word, they decided to use INTIMIDATION.

How do we handle intimidation? We plant our feet and rest in assurance of Jesus Christ by staying faithful to the truth of Scripture.

INSTRUCTION #3: STAY FEARLESS TO AN UNWAVERING TESTIMONY (4:18-20)

“So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor to teach in the name of Jesus.

But Peter and John answered and said to them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.’”

The moment the church was established, the demons of hell have tried to shut her down. The moment that Peter first opened his mouth to speak, the devil’s crowd tried to shut him up. The church was and is at an important crossroads in the history of the church. Everything hinged on the willingness of God’s people to obey Christ at all cost-even if it cost them their lives. No matter the cost, they would never stop proclaiming Jesus.

Here is the great irony. the early believers had to be commanded to be quiet. Today, so many believers have to be almost commanded to speak up.

Peter and John had no such hesitation problem. They immediately and clearly answered that they would refuse to obey the command of the Sanhedrin. This put the Sanhedrin on the great horns of a dilemma. They did not want Peter, John and the other disciples to continue to speak about Jesus. However, it was also true that they were not going to activate their only other option: admit that they were wrong concerning Jesus. Thus, Peter indicted them for being the enemies of the very God they claimed to represent.

Biblical Principle

When the mandates of the government conflict with the commands of God, the government must be disobeyed. However, notice the manner Peter and John defied and disobeyed the Sanhedrin (20). Although Peter and John refused to obey the Sanhedrin, they nevertheless treated the members of the Sanhedrin with respect. They carefully and respectfully explained that they could not stop speaking the truth. They were under divine compulsion to speak.

How do we stand firm when opposed? We fearlessly hold to an unwavering testimony as to the goodness and greatness of God who has called us to absolute obedience to Him.

INSTRUCTION #4: STAY FRUITFUL IN KINGDOM SERVICE (4:21-22)

“So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done.

For the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed.”

Standing firm will encourage the timid. Peter and John’s standing firm along with the miracle that could not be explained away manifested in the now wholly healed man, left the Sanhedrin cornered and confused. They had no viable options left. There was no legitimate basis on which they could punish Peter and John. It was further not a commitment to justice that caused them to free the apostles as much as it was practical politics. They simply feared the reaction of the people.

The former lame man that stood before the Sanhedrin was born in that condition, which was a time span of over forty years. Everyone knew him because he had sat at the same site of the temple every day (Acts 3:2 “A man who was lame from birth was being carried there. He was placed each day at the temple gate called Beautiful, so that he could beg from those entering the temple.”

Conclusion

In the midst of persecution, Peter and John remained obedient to God. In the midst of intimidation, Peter and John stood firm. They stood firm by staying focused on their God-given task. They stood firm by staying faithful to the truth of God’s Word. They stood firm by staying fearless and unwavering in their personal testimony. They stood firm by being fruitful in kingdom service to the King.

Thomas Paine

“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine pilot will, in the crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”

Christ is looking for the few, the humble, the bold-who will have the godly guts to stand firm for Him, especially when intimidated.

As we begin to turn our focus to the Lord’s Supper, we need to fight the temptation to make this yet another mindless act of religious activity. Jesus Christ was betrayed, beaten, slandered, and crucified the next day after instituting this ordinance. This should not be done in isolation of this message. Therefore, as we get ready to take the elements of the Lord’s Supper, there are two points of application I wish to make. First, beware threats from people that are thinly disguised as concern. Second, be ready to defend the truth against compromise.