If God is for you...

Bottom line

When you know what God has called you to, and you choose to live it out, nothing can stop you.

Opening Line

This morning I want to start things off with a quote.

“Everyone ends up somewhere, but only a few get there on purpose.”

Intro

This is a line that Pastor Craig Groeschel says often, especially in his leadership teaching. He first penned it 2006 when he wrote the book Chazown. The premise of the book is that God has a plan for your life, and if you know what it is, it gives your life direction and purpose. It helps you keep focused and keep the main thing the main thing.

Chazown was later turned into a seminar, and it is one of my favorite seminars to run. I was just saying to Michelle that it was probably about time to run it again.

Main Point

In Chazown, it is called a vision for your life. In Scripture, it often talks about calling. The premise is the same. God has plan that is being realized everyday, and each of us has a part to play. When you know your part, nothing else matters except doing your part.

Why it matters

The problem is that many people never learn what their calling or vision is, and they end up wandering through life aimlessly. These are the people who fill their lives with so many different things, or bounce around from one to another. They are trying to find their thing, that purpose that will give them fulfillment. They might eventually find it, but it is going to take them a long time to get there. Others will just give up and reduce life to simply going through the motions.

I don’t want that for you. This morning in Acts 5, the apostles are going to be faced with some of their strongest opposition yet. In fact, they are even going to be threatened with death. Yet their determination remains unwavering. They are so laser focused on their calling, on the mission Jesus gave them that nothing seems to be able to deter them or slow them down. They seem to be unstoppable. I want that for you and for this church, to be so in tune with God’s plans that you become unstoppable.

Scripture

We are in Acts 5:17-25. Before we dive into it, I just want to catch us up to where we left off a couple of weeks ago. Chapter 5 started with Ananias and Sapphira selling property and lying about the amount. Peter tells them that they weren’t lying to man but to God, and both ended up dying.

The result was that fear spread through the church, reminding them that God is a holy God and their life should reflect that. But the church didn’t stop growing. In fact, miracles continued to happen. People were even being brought in from all over the country side so that they could just have Peter’s shadow fall on them and they could be healed.

What happened earlier when miracles were happening and people got healed? The high priest and his cronies showed up to put an end to it. Miracles are happening, so cue the high priest and his officials.

Acts 5:17–25 NLT

The high priest and his officials, who were Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. But an angel of the Lord came at night, opened the gates of the jail, and brought them out. Then he told them, “Go to the Temple and give the people this message of life!” So at daybreak the apostles entered the Temple, as they were told, and immediately began teaching. When the high priest and his officials arrived, they convened the high council—the full assembly of the elders of Israel. Then they sent for the apostles to be brought from the jail for trial. But when the Temple guards went to the jail, the men were gone. So they returned to the council and reported, “The jail was securely locked, with the guards standing outside, but when we opened the gates, no one was there!” When the captain of the Temple guard and the leading priests heard this, they were perplexed, wondering where it would all end. Then someone arrived with startling news: “The men you put in jail are standing in the Temple, teaching the people!”

Why are the high priest and the officials jealous? Because the apostles are drawing a crowd. One of the big criticisms Jesus had of the Pharisees is that they loved the attention the position brought them. Now the apostles are stealing their thunder and they don’t like it.

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But here is a fun fact for you. Luke mentions that the Sadducees were the officials with the high priest. The Sadducees were the wealthy upper class, but they didn’t believe in the resurrection. This is one of the reasons they opposed the apostles message. They also didn’t believe in angels. How did the apostles get out of the jail? By God sending an angel to open the gates! I love it. I love when people try to stick God in a box, and he just breaks the box.

I want you to put yourself in the shoes of the disciples for a second. You just had an angel of the Lord open the gates of your jail cell, lead you out, and tell you to keep doing what you’ve been doing, aka tell people about the message of life. You’d be feeling pretty good about yourself, right? Feel the confidence they would have. God is literally sending angels to open doors for them. You have to think that when they showed up to teach, there was a little extra gusto.

This is Romans 8:31 on full display. Romans 8:31

Romans 8:31 NLT

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?

The apostles have got to be feeling unstoppable at this point. The high priest is going to have something to say about that.

Acts 5:26–28 NLT

The captain went with his Temple guards and arrested the apostles, but without violence, for they were afraid the people would stone them. 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!”

I recently read about Socrates, and during his time in Athens he confronted a group of philosophers called the Sophists. The Sophists taught that it didn’t matter how true your argument was, as long as you were persuasive. By no coincidence, politicians loved to sit under the teachings of Sophists.

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When I read the words of the high priest, I had the same feeling. The truth is, he and his officials were directly responsible for the death of Jesus. It may have been the Romans who nailed him to the cross, but it was the Pharisees who ochestrated everything to put him there.

But there is this underlying fear of people for the high priest and his group. The high priest doesn’t like the fact that the apostles are telling everyone that he is responsible for the death of Jesus. The Sadducees don’t like the fact that their control over the people are slipping away. Even the Temple guards have to be careful because the people may kill them if they mistreat the apostles. They are afraid of the people and public opinion.

But Peter and the apostles do not have that problem. Acts 5:29-32

Acts 5:29–32 NLT

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 doesn’t care what the people think, and he’s not overly concerned with what the high priest thinks. His only concern is to obey God and do what Jesus told him to do. As long as God is pleased with them, the apostles aren’t too worried with anyone else.

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Now I feel like that needs a caveat. I don’t want you to hear what I just said and think, “Pastor Matt just told me I don’t have to listen to anyone in authority.” No, that’s not what I said, and that’s not what Peter is saying.

In Romans, the Apostle Paul writes that you are to honor those who are in positions of authority because no one has authority unless it was given to them by God. So where is the balance? As long as you live on earth, you are to submit, pray for, and honor those in authority. But in the scenario that submitting to human authority comes into direct contradiction with following God, you should err to obeying God. In this case in Acts, God has told the apostles to preach the gospel to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. The high priest is trying to stop them from doing that. Thus, the apostles choose to honor God rather than man.

Acts 5:33–39 NLT

When they heard this, the high council was furious and decided to kill them. But one member, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, who was an expert in religious law and respected by all the people, stood up and ordered that the men be sent outside the council chamber for a while. Then he said to his colleagues, “Men of Israel, take care what you are planning to do to these men! Some time ago there was that fellow Theudas, who pretended to be someone great. About 400 others joined him, but he was killed, and all his followers went their various ways. The whole movement came to nothing. After him, at the time of the census, there was Judas of Galilee. He got people to follow him, but he was killed, too, and all his followers were scattered. “So my advice is, leave these men alone. Let them go. If they are planning and doing these things merely on their own, it will soon be overthrown. But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God!”

Peter tells the council that they are not going to listen to them, and the response of the council is, “Let’s kill them.”

Then Gamaliel stands up. Gamaliel is a significant person in this time. Though it says one member, there is a very real possibility that he was actually the head of the council, second only to the high priest. It is why his words seem to carry so much weight. Gamaliel is also the one who taught the apostle Paul during his Pharisee days.

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Gamaliel throws out the apostles and proceeds to give the council a history lesson. First he mentions Theudas. Now there is a little confusion about who Theudas was. Part of the problem is that Theudas was a popular name at the time. The other problem is that Josephus, who recorded much of the history around the time of Acts, tells of a Theudas who would fit the story, but the timing is all wrong. The Theudas that Josephus speaks of would have happened 12 years after this meeting.

The Theudas that Josephus tells us is described as a sorcerer and a cheat. He convinced a large number of people to pick up their stuff and follow him to the Jordan River. He told them that when they arrived, he would speak to the river and it would part at his command. Unfortunately, before they reached the river, the Roman overseer sent horsemen after them, captured and killed many of them, including Theudas. Movement dead.

Judas of Galilee, however, we do know about. As it says, at the time of the census, the same one that drove Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem, Judas of Galilee rose up in opposition to the Romans, refusing to give tribute. The Romans killed Judas, and his followers scattered. Interestingly, the spirit of his cause lived on. Out of his rebellion came the Zealots, a group of Jews committed to undying hostility towards the Romans. One of the 12 of Jesus’ followers was listed as a Zealot.

So to Gamaliel’s point. If what the apostles are doing is of human origin, it will be snuffed out just like the other two and the countless other instances we could look at. However, if it is of God, there is really nothing the council would be able to do because they would be fighting against God himself.

I don’t know about you, but I want to be a part of what God is doing. I want to be a part of an unstoppable movement that even if people try to oppose it, they won’t be able to.

Acts 5:40–42 NLT

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.”

Just so we are clear on what happened. The apostles got the same treatment that Jesus got before he was crucified. 40 lashes minus 1. Whether it was a whip or rod, it would have been brutal.

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Yet they leave rejoicing that God counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus. That line should cause your brain to short circuit slightly. In our 21st century society, we spend most of life avoiding or minimizing the amount of suffering. We would not consider it a gift from God, let alone something to strive for.

But Jesus had taught them

Matthew 5:11–12 NLT

“God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.

So that’s what the apostles did. They rejoiced, they were happy, because they were among the people that Jesus talked about in Matthew 5.

Transition to Application

These guys were unstoppable. They had angels opening doors for them. They understood that they had to obey God first. Even when they were beaten, they left rejoicing and even more determined to keep preaching.

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Main To Do

This is what a life on mission, on purpose, looks like. They knew what they had to do, and nothing was going to stop them.

The mission of OneChurch is to Go, be disciples that Make, Baptize, and Teach new disciples. The vision of OneChurch this year is to average 100 people on a Sunday morning. This is called the collective vision and you are each a part of it.

On your table there is a little piece of paper that has our mission and vision printed on it. I want you to take it home, and sometime this week I want you to prayerfully ask how you can commit to the vision and mission more fully.

Why it matters

When the apostles understood the vision, that they would be witnesses of Christ to the ends of the earth, it was all they could do. That focus, along with the devotion to prayer, God’s word, and fellowship, created a movement that was rapidly adding people, seeing friends and neighbours find hope and healing in Jesus Christ.

What if all of you did the same? What if every single person committed to being disciples who made disciples? What if you were constantly looking for opportunites to share your faith with someone? Your priorities would shift. You would make prayer and God’s word a higher priority because you would want to be in step with what God is doing. You would want to be around other people on the same mission so you could bounce ideas off each other on how to reach others. The things that the early church were devoted to wasn’t just so they could grow, it was because they were so on mission that being together and praying for direction became necessities.

Don’t miss the most important part. Telling you to commit to the vision and mission may seem self serving, that it is just to see the church grow. Actually, committing to the vision and mission is about you. Like the apostles, when you commit to something bigger than yourself, you find purpose, belonging and fulfillment. It is actually about seeing you become all God has called you to be.

Closing Line

As we read this morning, the apostles seem to be unstoppable. I want that for you, and it starts with committing to the mission.

Discussion Questions

What stood out from the message?

How can you commit to the mission of OneChurch more fully?

What shifts can you make in your daily life to be better prepared to live on mission?

The vision of OneChurch this year is to reach an average attendance of 100 people. If everyone at OneChurch committed to making one disciple, we would surpass that mark easily. So who is your one?

When God gives you a name of someone, start to think about what you can do to have that conversation. Do you need to pray for that person more? What questions about faith do you need answers for? Where can you find those answers? Who are the people who can join you in praying for them? Start thinking missionally and intentionally about who you can reach.