Do you have "this" Jesus?

Intro,

Talk about how you found out you were preaching, feelings you’ve had, thank them for opportunity and and encouragement, pray that God speaks through me.

God calls us to do things that we think are impossible … things we think we’re not worthy to do.

Why?

So He gets the glory.

Today, I want you to see a story of some men in the Bible who were jailed … beaten … and persecuted for their faith.

But Their mission to spread the Gospel couldn’t be stopped.

Not because they were worthy or strong enough, but because God was.

He supplied their needs so that He got the credit.

God has given each of us a message.

The GOSPEL — the Good News.

Jesus saves, we’re called to GO share that.

Are you ready to share no matter the cost?

The last few weeks we’ve been going through the book of Mark but today we will looking at a passage in Acts that the lord has laid on my heart. As i was preparing for this message, i went in a few different directions but just kept coming back to this passage and something Jesus was challenging me to solidify in my own heart …

And I want to ask you this morning too …

MAIN QUESTION

Do we have the same Jesus the Apostles had? The one they couldn’t stop talking about regardless of the cost?

So If you will, turn with me to Acts chapter 5, starting in verse 33.

Before we jump into the passage, let me give you a little context of what’s been happening leading up to this moment.

The book of Acts is one of my favorite books in the Bible. It shows us the very beginning of the Church and the foundation of Christianity as we know it today. More than that, Acts is the story of the unstoppable spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It gives us a clear picture of what it looks like to live on mission and carry out the Great Commission.

In Acts chapter 1, we see eyewitnesses of the risen Jesus receiving His final instructions and The apostles begin preparing for the mission He’s given them.

Then in Acts chapter 2, the Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost, and Peter boldly preaches his first sermon—leading to over 3,000 people being baptized. And actually, some of you will be getting baptized later this afternoon!

In Acts chapter 3, Peter and John heal a man who had never been able to walk, showing the power of Jesus at work through them.

In Acts chapter 4, we see the first persecution of Christians. Peter and John are arrested, but instead of backing down, they respond with boldness—giving us a powerful example of what it looks like to stand firm in our faith while the Holy Spirit continues to move.

So to make that a little easier to digest...

Jesus commissions the apostles

Pentecost empowers early believers

Peter spreads gospel boldly

Church grows despite persecution

That brings us to Acts chapter 5.

The apostles have now been arrested for a second time. But while they’re in prison, an angel of the Lord comes and sets them free, telling them to go right back to the temple and continue preaching.

As you can imagine, that didn’t sit well with the Sanhedrin.

And that’s exactly where we pick up today.

So let’s dive into —Acts chapter 5, starting in verse 33.”

Guh-may-lee-ullll**************

33 When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them.34 But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was respected by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered the men to be taken outside for a little while. 35 He said to them, “Men of Israel, be careful about what you’re about to do to these men.

36 Some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a group of about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, and all his followers were dispersed and came to nothing. 37 After this man, Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and attracted a following. He also perished, and all his followers were scattered.

38 So in the present case, I tell you, stay away from these men and leave them alone. For if this plan or this work is of human origin, it will fail; 39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even be found fighting against God.” They were persuaded by him.

40 After they called in the apostles and had them flogged, they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them.

41 Then they went out from the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to be treated shamefully on behalf of the Name. ,

42 Every day in the temple, and in various homes, they continued teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.

So lets break down the last few verses. I really want us to focus on verse 38-42. The first thing that is evident is our first point.....

Only God’s Plan Prevails

Starting in verse 36, Gamaliel ( Guh-may-lee-ullll ) starts telling the Sanhedrin about men that had risen up and had a following — he was comparing those men to Jesus.

You might have heard of the Sanhedrin, what is it?

The Sanhedrin was essentially the Jewish Supreme Court in Jesus' time.

They were a powerful group of religious and political leaders who made the laws ... ran the temple ... and ultimately led the trial that sentenced Jesus to the cross.

These men that Gamaliel ( Guh-may-lee-ullll ) spoke of could talk the good talk, attracted a following and after their death nothing came of them. Everything that these men spoke of, and everything that these men stood for, eventually came to nothing. He goes on to tell them, “Just let it play out, if it is of Human origin, it will fail. But if it is of God, you can’t do anything about it.

So that bears the question...

Is what your doing God’s will or your own?

(talk about your greatest fear, missing an opportunity, being disobedient)

(ask what is your biggest fear? What makes you toss and turn at night? what do you worry about?)

As our youth director I can tell you that our Youth have FOMO.... also known as the fear of missing out. Along with FOMO They also have the fear of “uncertainty", Which basically means, they need to know everything about what the plans are or what we’re doing and if they don’t. Prepare yourself for Questioning.

But what is your fear? Is your fear the fear of missing the mark?.… Do you fear being alone? Satan loves to tell you that you're the only one going through something. That nothing is going as planned and everything has been a failure. That’s just not the truth.

But with my fear of being disobedient, I find myself constantly praying, “Lord if it is your will, make it known. Lord if this is your plan, reveal it to me. Lord give me the discernment that I need.”

But, we can pray those prayers and still not believe it. We can claim we know that God’s plan is always perfect. That his will be done, but still never truly surrender to that plan and to his will.

We have it backwards. We say Lord if you give me a sign, I’ll surrender. Instead of, “Lord I surrender, give me that confirmation.”

We just need to stop asking for 47 signs from God before you Surrender to him. You don’t need to see your mom’s favorite color butterfly to be sure that God is speaking to you. Your favorite worship song doesn’t need to be next in que on k-love for you to surrender.

The lord calls us to live by faith not by sight.. That’s hard for us, but I've heard it said, if god brings you to it, he will take you through it. (**When it comes down to it, most of the time we don’t want that sign that he is sending us**)

This reminds of a story in the book of Judges about a Man named Gideon.

Gideon is called by God and he questions the angel of the lord by saying that he is the youngest of the weakest family. Doubting and Questioning Gods calling for him.

Gideon also requested multiple signs from God to confirm this calling. Asking for dew to be on the fleece only and to be on the ground only. God then responded to all these doubts by proving his plan never fails.

He reduced Gideons army from 32,000 men, to 300 and then proceeded to win the battle with only trumpets and torches. Gideon was hesitant, scared and doubtful, but eventually he became obedient to God’s will and God’s plan ultimately leading to peace in Israel.

Stop asking for those signs if you're not ready to accept them. When you ask the Lord to give you confirmation, he will, so be ready to commit. (**What kind of signs are you looking for?**)*)

Why do I say this? Because is says right here in verse 38 and 39, If its your plan, it will fail. If its god plan it will prevail, simple as that. We need to trust and Surrender to the Lord.

Proverbs 3:5–6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight.”

What else does David say in Psalm 37?

Psalm 37:5 “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act,”

Trust in the lord and he will act. Not you, Him.

What else does Gamaliel say to the Sanhedrin?

He Looked at the Sanhedrin and asked them “Do ya’ll really wanna fight against the Lord”.

I can imagine Gamaliel saw something different in those “ Jesus freaks.” Can others see the Jesus in you?

I don’t know how many of ya’ll were around in the 90’s but 5 years before i was born, Pastor Chris and Reggie were riding around Jamming to a Song by DC Talk called “Jesus Freak.” And the term Jesus Freak was originally known as a derogatory term to for people that were quote on quote obsessed with talking about Jesus. We talked about the fear of missing out which is wanting to belong to everything that the world has to offer.

What if the world labeled us as a Jesus Freak?.....

That we were willing to stand up, speak out and belong to something the world rejects.

That brings be to my second point…

Our God is not weak

In verse 39, Gamaliel asks the Sanhedrin, “Do you really want to fight against the Lord? If it is for God, you won’t be able to overthrow him them. The Lord is doesn’t lose. The Lord is undefeated. Are y’all sure?

Let me come out and tell ya’ll something that you might have never been told before… Jesus has already won and guess what the devil can’t do anything about it. -O- (gasp)

He lost already!

Why did Gamaliel tell the Sanhedrin not to mess with Peter and the apostles? Why did they tell Peter and the other Apostles not to speak of Jesus’s name anymore? Because the Power of the just the name of Jesus, Sends Satan running to the hills.

Jesus’s name saves Romans 10:13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

And when you are saved, John 10:39 says No one is able to snatch them out of the fathers hand.

That is something we can cling to, because no matter what sin we fall back into, if you have accepted the Lord Jesus, you can’t even snatch yourself out of the hands of the father.

Some of you need to remind yourself of that today.

Jesus’s name heals Acts 3:6-8 But Peter said, “I don’t have silver or gold, but what I do have, I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!” 7 Then, taking him by the right hand he raised him up, and at once his feet and ankles became strong. 8 So he jumped up and started to walk, and he entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God.

Jesus doesn’t just heal our physical bodies, Jesus heals the heart.

Jesus heals, not only the literal blind, but the those blind in there self.

In John chapter 9 verse 25. Jesus healed a blind man, and that mans word were, “I was blind and now I can see.”

Every true Christian can speak these words of truth. Many of you here today may be blind and not want to admit it. Some of us Let Jesus Heal you, he can.

Jesus’s name has authority Philippians 2:10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— in heaven and on earth and under the earth— and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Our God is not weak, Our God is powerful. Have you ever seen his power on display? All the sanhedrin could do to them was whip them a little bit and tell them “You better not do that again.” That’s harsh parenting nowadays.

(Tell story of guy at the dump in Georgetown)

But what could that guy at the dump do to me? nothing, he had no authority over me.

What could the Sanhedrin do to the apostles? nothing to truly stop them, they had no true Authority over them.

And what can Satan do to you, if you have the Lord? not a thing. Our God is not weak. Our God Prevails every single time.

******I'm going to actually skip down to verse 42 and then Go back to verse 41 so bear with me. But next truth I want you to see is....

We have the Good news… Proclaim it

Acts 5:42 “Every day in the temple, and in various homes, they continued teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.”

Nothing could stop them.

No matter what the Sanhedrin did to them, it didn't matter.

They had been arrested.... not once but twice. They had been imprisoned. They were even beaten!

And then told to stop speaking about Jesus. But you couldn’t stop these guys....

They knew something that could change lives. They knew the ticket to eternal life. They knew the way to get out of that pit of despair and depression.

They had the blueprint. The blueprint to Joy, the blueprint to peace, the blueprint to purpose.

They had the key. The key to Heaven. The one and only Key.

These guys had the ticket, and man they knew what they had. What do they tell the Sanhedrin in Chapter 4?

Acts 4:20 “for we are unable to stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.””

They knew truly knew Jesus.

I don't mean they just lived with him.

I'm not talking about them knowing what size sandals he put on his feet every day, which im sure they could probably have told you.

No, I mean they truly knew who Jesus was. Their Messiah and Savior.

They knew Who they had put their faith and trust in. And they knew what he had commanded of them.

Jesus tells us what to do after his resurrection

Matthew 28:18–20 “Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

He told them to go..… go teach..… go baptize, and go make disciples.

I don’t think he told them to go back home and make yourself comfortable.

He didn’t tell them to take it easy for six days of the week, and sit under the preaching of a preacher the 7th day and you’ll be fine. No.

He told them to Go. Go wherever, whenever and however. Doesn’t matter just Go.

My Goal is to live out Isaiah 6:8, my life verse.

Isaiah 6:8 “Then I heard the voice of the Lord asking: Who will I send? Who will go for us? I said: Here I am. Send me.”

He’s already told us to Go, How are we responding?

For some of us the “Go” part is hard. Here inside these walls, it comes easy.

We constantly let minor inconveniences to stop us from sharing the Gospel.

Someone cuts us off in traffic and there goes our light for the day..... Some of us even lose our Religion in traffic.

You have a bad customer, client, patient, and there it goes. Gospels never shared.

McDonalds gets your order wrong on your way to work and that Coworker that you were planning on inviting to church that day doesn’t even get a smile.

And I’m preaching to myself here, but if someone doesn’t acknowledge you holding the door for them. It’ll be ok, don’t let that stop you from being the light of Christ.

Our calling isn’t dependent on our attitudes, mood or circumstances.

Did you know there are FIVE Gospels?

Wait, I thought there are only four.

There are 5 Gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and...… You! … You're the 5th Gospel.

It won’t matter what you tell them is waiting for them in the other 4 if you're not showing them Jesus through yourself.

Simply going up and telling someone, “Go read the book of John!” doesn’t work.

You have to walk like Jesus, talk like Jesus, love like Jesus.

You have to look like Jesus, and yes that means look. Y’all think Jesus walked around looking like he was, as Chris would say, sucking on a lemon. No.

Fix your face, Check your heart.

I was going through some of my sermon notes the other day with My boss man, and he gave me a quote that he didn’t know where he got it from so he’s gonna get the credit.

If you were ever arrested for being a Christian, would they have the evidence to put you away? - Craig Hill

I’ll ask you again, Can others see Jesus in you?

Can people see something different in you?

I’ve had some conversations with some of our youth about ways to bring their friends to Christ.

The first step is making them ask, “What is different about him or her? Why are they smiling all the time? Why are they such a joy to be around?”

If others aren’t asking those questions about you, then its going to be very difficult to plant those seeds and do what Jesus has called you to do.

Jesus was different, you should be too.

(I know this is my first time preaching and i don’t know if or when I’ll ever preach again, but i want you to get your money’s worth so here is one more point...

Rejoice, No matter what!

Acts 5:41 “Then they went out from the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to be treated shamefully on behalf of the Name.”

Do yall understand what is happening here? 

That even though they were beaten, and jailed and persecuted, they rejoiced. Let me explain it to ya’ll in a way I know you’ll understand. Now if you know me, you know that I am a Huge Clemson Tiger fan. So this would be the best way I could explain it. It would be like me, Going to a Clemson/Carolina game in Williams Brice stadium, with all my Clemson gear on. Then a bunch of Gamecock fans beat me up and threw me out just because I was a Clemson fan. But when I left there, I left rejoicing because even though I got beat up and thrown out, I still am a tiger and not an ugly Chicken ..… We probably won anyway. But Rejoice doesn’t mean they were just happy, and glad and in a good mood. No, Rejoiced is a deep state of celebration. Rejoicing is an expression of Joy. In 2 Samuel 6:14 when David ran around in his underwear, dancing before the lord. That’s rejoicing. Now I’m not asking yall to do that here, but what you do at home is your business, but what I’m saying is, David was Rejoicing. He didn’t care who saw him, he was just praising the lord. So in v. 41 they were Rejoicing why? They Rejoiced because someone had recognized them as a follower of Christ. They were just glad to be spoke about in the same Sentence as Jesus. Can you imagine the apostles, leaving the temple, throwing their hands in the air, shouting at the top of their lungs. Praising the Lord. Just because someone called them a Christian. What does it say in 1 Peter 4:12–16?

12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you, as if something unusual were happening to you. 13 Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may also rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed.

14 If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 Let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a meddler. 16 But if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed but let him glorify God in having that name.

Now look at us, nervous to even bring up his name in conversation. Why can’t we be like the apostles just a few verses before in verses 29-32 when they looked at the Sanhedrin and said, sorry fellas, the lord says it and we do it. We are witnesses of the savior, so we gotta go and tell. No ifs, ands, or buts. Gotta go tell the Good news. God told us so. Well guess what, God told us to do the same thing. The Good news is the Good news, it hasn’t changed. So why has it become so hard? Why does the Gospel of Jesus feel so watered down in this day and age? 

Do we have the Jesus that they had?

Do we not have the same Jesus, that no matter what his plan is, it always prevails? 

Do we not have the same Jesus that heals, that saves, that breaks every chain?

Do we not have the same Jesus that conquered death? That defeated Satan? 

Do we not have the same Jesus that died on the cross, rose in three days and is still alive to this day?

Do we not have the same Jesus that Peter and the apostles had?

The Jesus that when they were treated shamefully according to his name, they rejoiced.

Do we have “that” Jesus? 

Do you and I worship this Jesus? Or do we just think we do?

There is no room for doubt, no room for worry, no room for shame, not with “this” Jesus. 

They knew and Understood what they had in Jesus, do you? 

Do you know he is the king of kings and Lord of Lords? If you don’t, you can today. 

“That” Jesus and “This” Jesus are the same and He can save you. Shoot you might even leave here rejoicing, that you were identified, as a follower of Jesus. 

Don’t leave here today with the Jesus you thought you had, leave here with the Jesus that you know he is! If you don’t know him today, come and let me introduce you to him .

*If you feel led to come to this alter and need time up here. Come, the alter is open.***

I’ll be down front and so will Pastor Chris, we invite you to come … [ let the Spirit lead]

Let’s quickly Review what we talked about today...

1) Only Gods plan prevails 2) Our God is not weak 3) We have Good news, Proclaim it! 4) Rejoice, No matter what!

I’d like to end with a quote by Pastor and Musician Travis Greene.

“The same Jesus who walked on water, healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, and raised the dead is the same Jesus who is with us today. The same love, power, grace, and mercy He showed back then is still available to us right now.” -Travis Greene

Do you have this Jesus?

let us pray.....