Loyal
Acts The Birth of the New Testament Churcb • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 9 viewsNotes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Loyal
Loyal
Introduction
Jab 1
Arabian horses go through rigorous training in the deserts of the Middle East. The trainers require absolute obedience from the horses, and test them to see if they are completely trained. The final test is almost beyond the endurance of any living thing. The trainers force the horses to do without water for many days. Then he turns them loose and of course they start running toward the water, but just as they get to the edge, ready to plunge in and drink, the trainer blows his whistle. The horses who have been completely trained and who have learned perfect obedience, stop. They turn around and come pacing back to the trainer. They stand there quivering, wanting water, but they wait in perfect obedience. When the trainer is sure that he has their obedience he gives them a signal to go back to drink.
Jab 2
Jab 3
Tension
Why this appeals to me
Explanation
17 But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy 18 they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, 20 “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” 21 And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.
Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. 22 But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported, 23 “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.” 24 Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to. 25 And someone came and told them, “Look! The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.” 26 Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.
27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, 28 saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
33 When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. 34 But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while. 35 And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. 36 For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. 37 After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. 38 So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; 39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice, 40 and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. 42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.
1 Loyalty through obedience
God’s will before mans will
29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.
That must have infuriated the Sanhedrin. THEY are God’s representatives and here are these heretics telling them that what they are preaching is from God and that they will not listen to them. In the minds of these religious leaders only they have a connection to God, not these uneducated fishermen. How dare they know something about God that they don’t know.
But Peter and all the disciples now are showing their loyalties here aren’t they?
This would have been tough and very intimidating.
They must obey God before men and they have to obey what the angel told them.
Acts 5:19-21a
English Standard Version Chapter 5
But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, 20 “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” 21 And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.
They are in jail, (arrested for preaching AGAIN) an angel busts them out and tells them what to do and lets them out.
They are loyal to the message God gives them through the angel to go from the prison and to speak life to all the people. (note that they went at daybreak, they didn’t waste any time. Their minds were set on obedience. Disciples disregarded the earlier order to not teach about Jesus.
English Standard Version Chapter 5
But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, 20 “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” 21 And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.
Nate Saint was one of five missionaries who were killed by the Auca Indians. He once said that his life did not change until he came to grips with the idea that “obedience is not a momentary option … it is a diecast decision made beforehand.”925
We need to be prepared for obedience. It’s much easier to obey a Godly principle when you know what your answer is going to be before it happens.
Baseball: “I tell kids playing baseball to think before every pitch, ‘what do I do if the ball is hit to me on the next pitch’? “ When you ready yourself like that you find that obedience is easier. The more you entertain the options the more difficult it is to do the right thing.
That’s why I don’t think about tithing, I write that check when I first get paid. I don’t think about what bills are due when it comes to tithing, I know God wants me to be obedient in that so I do that first. I have resolved to do it.
Prepare yourself to be obedient.
Disciples disregarded the earlier order to not teach about Jesus
They aren’t following the rules And they are disturbing the peace (they don’t want Rome to get involved) (things are stable right now)
after meeting with the sanhedrin they went right back doing what God told them to do
The Acts of the Apostles Arrest and Trial Once Again (Acts 5:17–32)
(1) They had courage. The command to go straight back and preach in the Temple sounds to a prudent mind almost incredible. To obey that command was an act of almost reckless boldness. And yet they went.
(2) They had principles. And their ruling principle was that in all circumstances obedience to God must come first. They never asked: ‘Is this course of action safe?’ They asked: ‘Is this what God wants me to do?’
(3) They had a clear idea of their function. They knew that they were witnesses for Christ. Witnesses are essentially people who speak from first-hand knowledge. They know from personal experience that what they say is true; and it is impossible to stop people like that, because it is impossible to stop the truth.
Sometimes our obeying God means that we have to break some other rules. Generally speaking, Christians are supposed to be followers of the law, followers of the rules.
22 Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.
13
English Standard Version Chapter 13
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.
The Message of Acts b. The Trial (5:26–39)
To be sure, Christians are called to be conscientious citizens and generally speaking, to submit to human authorities. But if the authority concerned misuses its God-given power to command what he forbids or forbid what he commands, then the Christian’s duty is to disobey the human authority in order to obey God’s.
The Message of Acts a. The Imprisonment (5:18–25)
We note that they disobeyed the Sanhedrin, who had told them not to speak in the name of Jesus (4:17), in order to obey the angel who told them to speak the words of life.
Follow the law, follow the rules, until those rules break a principle of God. The world gets crazier and crazier. I don’t know what is coming next. We do know again to follow the laws of man as long as those laws don’t violate God’s commands.
And so the perfect example are these disciples who are told ‘Don’t speak that name of Jesus anymore” but they have to because they are doing what God told them to do.
42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.
( can you imagine them teaching first at the temple, maybe the temple guards are closing in and they are saying, let’s continue this conversation at your house!)
So they are Loyal through their obedience and...
2. they are loyal to their message.
They tell the message to anyone who will hear them which is pretty cool in and of itself. But It’s really incredible that their message isn’t just for the people in the temple or in the homes but for the Sanhedrin themselves.
Thats right, the very men that have arrested them and are accusing them.
42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.
They tell the message to anyone who will hear them. Its incredible. And their message isn’t just for the people in the temple or in the homes but for the Sanhedrin themselves.
30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
Believe it or not, they are actually trying to persuade these religious leaders! That takes guts!
But they know the secret! They know that Salvation belongs to God and that the message of Jesus can change the hearts of the most lost person. They actually had a love for those who captured them. A love for Christ that wanted to see others, even their enemies surrender to Christ.
And we do know that there were some who would recognize Jesus as the messiah. Maybe it was through this speech that Peter gave that moved the heart of someone or planted a seed for someone to give their life to Jesus.
The Message of Acts b. The Trial (5:26–39)
To be sure, Christians are called to be conscientious citizens and generally speaking, to submit to human authorities. But if the authority concerned misuses its God-given power to command what he forbids or forbid what he commands, then the Christian’s duty is to disobey the human authority in order to obey God’s.
They are loyal to this message. And they would continue to be loyal to it. They would keep speaking the name of Jesus to all those who they would come in contact with.
The men are before the sanhedrin again, told again not to speak the name of Jesus (after Gamaliel gives his speech)
Their loyalty wouldn’t stop there. Finally, they were
3 loyal in their suffering. In there suffering.
40 and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. 42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.
The disciples had an ally in their corner, a man named Gamaliel. Chapter 5 talks about him and how he was the one who said that “look, if what these guys are doing is from themselves (meaning if they made it up themselves) then all of this will come to nothing and he gives some examples of people in the past who started a revolution that amounted to nothing.
Then he says, but if what these guys are doing has come from God then you won’t be able to stop them and you might find yourself in opposition to God. So let them go.
The leaders bring them back and we are told that they received a beating.
Don’t minimize that. The beating they would have received would have been the 40 lashes minus one which could kill a man.
The word tells us that they took that beating and they rejoiced! They rejoiced that they would have been counted worthy to suffer for the name of Christ.
They probably remember what Jesus went through. They remember the cross.
The men rejoice in suffering (probably remembering what Jesus said on the sermon on the mount
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
The men rejoice in suffering (probably remembering what Jesus said on the sermon on the mount
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
English Standard Version Chapter 5
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
This isn’t exactly the most popular thing for Christians to do. No one wants to suffer. But if we look at the history of the church we see that suffering produces some incredible results.
42: everyday in the temple and house to house ( can imagine them teaching, maybe the temple guards are closing in and they are saying, let’s continue this conversation at your house!
The Message of Acts c. The Conclusion (5:40–42)
Tertullian, addressing the rulers of the Roman Empire, cried out: ‘Kill us, torture us, condemn us, grind us to dust.… The more you mow us down, the more we grow; the seed is the blood of Christians.’ Or, as Bishop Festo Kivengere said in February 1979, on the second anniversary of the martyrdom of Archbishop Janani Luwum of Uganda: ‘Without bleeding the church fails to bless.’ Persecution will refine the church, but not destroy it. If it leads to prayer and praise, to an acknowledgment of the sovereignty of God and of solidarity with Christ in his sufferings, then—however painful—it may even be welcome.
12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
All who desire to live a godly life in Christ will be persecuted. If you aren’t being persecuted, if I am not being persecuted what does that mean? y
12
12 Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well.
Acts: An Introduction and Commentary h. The Second Arrest of the Apostles (5:17–42)
It may be observed that neither here, nor anywhere else, do the Christians respond with violence to being arrested; the lesson of Luke 22:50f. had been learned.
Acts: An Introduction and Commentary h. The Second Arrest of the Apostles (5:17–42)
29. Peter’s reply to the accusation is a plainer and more direct reaffirmation of what he said in 4:19. A command of God, such as that given in 5:20, takes precedence over human commands. It is the price of being a Christian that one must be prepared to obey God rather than men—and bear the cost of doing so.
Peter and the apostles use the opportunity in court to evangelize Jesus. Not just accusing but sharing their faith.
Acts: An Introduction and Commentary h. The Second Arrest of the Apostles (5:17–42)
40. Gamaliel’s arguments had the effect of restraining the Sadducean members of the Sanhedrin. When the apostles were recalled before the court, they were again admonished not to speak in the name of Jesus and the admonition was emphasized by a beating. This was the Jewish punishment of ‘forty lashes less one’ which could be inflicted by the Sanhedrin or the officials of a synagogue for offences against the Jewish law (22:19; 2 Cor. 11:24; Mark 13:9). It was no soft option; people were known to die from it, even if this was exceptional. It was meant to be a serious lesson to offenders.
They don’t fight back. They don’t fight the police when they are arrested. As a matter of fact, when they are arrested they come willingly because the guards arresting them knew that it would start a riot if they laid a hand on those men speaking the words of salvation and life.
Sermon Outlines from Acts 9. Divine Deliverance (Acts 5:17–42)
The apostles had a fire that burned within them. The prisons and beatings could not stop them. Jeremiah had this same fire—Jeremiah 20:9. A fire of God in the heart will send us out to witness and win others unto the Lord. We enjoy God’s blessings today because many were willing to suffer for the sake of the Lord. Are we willing to do the same?
God knows the dangers, God knows the results. God knows that they will be persecuted yet still wants them to proclaim Jesus.
Application
This question of loyalty is a question that every Christian, every follower of Jesus has to ask themselves.
Who are you loyal to? Whose side are you on? You have to pick a side. You can’t ride the fence forever, you can’t decide when its all over and try to figure out who won. God wins. You must make your choice to who you are loyal to.
Sometimes that might hurt. Sometimes that might be painful, or scary, or disappointing. But if we have surrenderd to Jesus then we have to be Loyal
Selected obedience is not obedience at all; it it merely convenience.922
Nate Saint was one of five missionaries who were killed by the Auca Indians. He once said that his life did not change until he came to grips with the idea that “obedience is not a momentary option … it is a diecast decision made beforehand.”925
When God puts a period, do not change it to a question mark.923
Loyal
Loyal
Introduction
Jab 1 Today I would like for us to talk about Loyalty. Now loyalties are funny. You can be loyal in lots of different ways. You can have Brand Loyalty, (coke people and pepsi people, Starbucks people verses dunkin people.
You can have brand loyalty with your clothing or your shoes.
You can have a loyalty to a certain political party.
Team Loyalty,
Jab 2 I have a friend who is a die hard Yankees fan. I am an orioles fan. They don’t really mix. He will actually post things on Facebook about how well the Yankees are doing and he will tag me on Facebook on that post knowing that I am not a Yankees fan in any way shape or form.
He is loyal, I am loyal but we are loyal to different things.
Jab 3
Today we are going to talk about loyalty. The loyalty that the disciples had for Jesus and even the loyalty that the Jews had for their understanding of who God is.
Because again, sometimes our loyalties lie on opposite ends of the spectrum.
Tension: But what happens when the thing you are loyal to isn’t as popular anymore? What happens if you actually could suffer for what you are loyal to? Whether it be just something that isn’t popular or actually dangerous to be loyal to?
Today we are going to talk about the loyalty that those disciples exhibited as this new church started. They were really loyal.
The new church is still growing and vibrant and we find Peter and the disciples once again at the temple. The Jewish temple, mind you and they continue to preach Jesus and those words of life.
The story is in
They get arrested for preaching. That night an angel breaks them out of prison and tells them to keep preaching. The word says that they went at daybreak to preach. I guess they were loyal because they didn’t even waste any time.
So they get arrested AGAIN, second time in two days. And this is where we pick up this morning.
Explanation
And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.
We find the apostles; Peter, John and the others again teaching in the temple courts. Again, speaking about this Jesus. They claimed that he was the Messiah, they claimed that he was God.
In the eyes of the Jews they were blaspheming the name of God. They were saying the worst possible things about God. And they were doing it on the turf of the Jews.
It’s not like they were in their own houses, they were doing it out in the open and in the church of the Jewish people. They actually went to a church and preached something else.
Can you imagine if you went to a mosque and started preaching Jesus? Sounds scary right? In a sense, that is what is going on here. But listen, their loyalty lies in Jesus and his message. And they were loyal in a few different ways. They were...
1 Loyalty through obedience
But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, 20 “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” 21 And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.
The angel gave them instructions from God and they were obedient to that message, they were loyal to that command from the angel. Even though they would get arrested again.
They are brought before the court, the chief religious leader and how does Peter answer him?
ESV But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.
That must have infuriated the Sanhedrin. THEY are God’s representatives, THEY speak for God and here are these heretics telling them that they know the truth of God.
In the minds of these religious leaders.. only they have a connection to God, not these uneducated fishermen. How dare they say they know something about God that they don’t know.
But Peter and all the disciples now are showing their loyalties here aren’t they?
This would have been tough and very intimidating.
They must obey God before men and they know that they can either die for that message or that God will take care of them.
They are loyal to the message God gives them through the angel to go from the prison and to speak life to all the people. (note that they went at daybreak, they didn’t waste any time. Their minds were set on obedience. The Disciples disregarded the earlier order to not teach about Jesus.
They had already made up their minds
1500 Illustrations for Biblical PreachingObedience
Selected obedience is not obedience at all; it it merely convenience.922
Sometimes our obeying God means that we have to break some other rules. Generally speaking, Christians are supposed to be followers of the law, followers of the rules.
ESV
Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.
The Message of Actsb. The Trial (5:26–39)
To be sure, Christians are called to be conscientious citizens and generally speaking, to submit to human authorities. But if the authority concerned misuses its God-given power to command what he forbids or forbid what he commands, then the Christian’s duty is to disobey the human authority in order to obey God’s.
The Message of Actsa. The Imprisonment (5:18–25)
We note that they disobeyed the Sanhedrin, who had told them not to speak in the name of Jesus (4:17), in order to obey the angel who told them to speak the words of life.
So for us today… Follow the law, follow the rules, until those rules break a principle of God. The world gets crazier and crazier. I don’t know what is coming next. We do know again to follow the laws of man as long as those laws don’t violate God’s commands.
And so the perfect example are these disciples who are told ‘Don’t speak that name of Jesus anymore” but they have to because they are doing what God told them to do.
ESV
And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.
( can you imagine them teaching first at the temple, maybe the temple guards are closing in and they are saying, let’s continue this conversation at your house!)
So they are Loyal through their obedience to God and...
2. they are loyal to their message.
They tell the message to anyone who will hear them which is pretty cool in and of itself. But It’s really incredible that their message isn’t just for the people in the temple or in the homes but for the Sanhedrin themselves.
That’s right, the very men that have arrested them and are accusing them.
ESV
The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
Believe it or not, they are actually trying to persuade these religious leaders! That takes guts!
But they know the secret! They know that Salvation belongs to God and that the message of Jesus can change the hearts of the most lost person. They actually had a love for those who captured them. A love for Christ that wanted to see others, even their enemies surrender to Christ.
And we do know that there were some who would recognize Jesus as the messiah. Maybe it was through this speech that Peter gave that moved the heart of someone or planted a seed for someone to give their life to Jesus.
They are loyal to this message. And they would continue to be loyal to it. They would keep speaking the name of Jesus to all those who they would come in contact with regardless of the dangers that might be associated with it.
They risk death, they risk being watched, scrutinize for the rest of their lives. They risked suffering.
Their loyalty wouldn’t stop there. Finally, they were
3 loyal in their suffering. In there suffering.
ESV
and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.
The disciples had an ally in their corner, a man named Gamaliel. Chapter 5 talks about him and how he was the one who said that “look, if what these guys are doing is from themselves (meaning if they made it up themselves) then all of this will come to nothing and he gives some examples of people in the past who started a revolution that amounted to nothing.
Then he says, but if what these guys are doing has come from God then you won’t be able to stop them and you might find yourself in opposition to God. So let them go.
The leaders bring them back and we are told that they received a beating.
Don’t minimize that. Don’t look at that as a slap on the wrist
The beating they would have received would have been the 40 lashes minus one which could kill a man.
The word tells us that they took that beating and they rejoiced! They rejoiced that they would have been counted worthy to suffer for the name of Christ.
Because look, they were nervous. This isn’t the movies where the manly man gets up and takes a beating and doesn’t talk. This is scary! They are nervous that they might not make it.
They remember what Jesus went through. They remember what his body, or what was left of his body went through before he went to the cross.
The men rejoice in suffering (probably) remembering what Jesus said on the sermon on the mount
ESV
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Being so loyal as to suffer.
This isn’t exactly the most popular thing for Christians to do. No one wants to suffer. But if we look at the history of the church we see that suffering produces some incredible results.
The Message of Actsc. The Conclusion (5:40–42)
Tertullian, addressing the rulers of the Roman Empire, cried out: ‘Kill us, torture us, condemn us, grind us to dust.… The more you mow us down, the more we grow; the seed is the blood of Christians.’
Or, as Bishop Festo Kivengere said ‘Without bleeding the church fails to bless.’ Persecution will refine the church, but not destroy it. If it leads to prayer and praise, to an acknowledgment of the sovereignty of God and of solidarity with Christ in his sufferings, then—however painful—it may even be welcome.
Boy we cannot escape this subject of suffering for Christ can we? It’s always there. So why do so many give up on God when things don’t go their way when we say that we have a sovereign God who runs the universe?
It’s not like we haven’t been warned.
ESV Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,..Might Be? Could Possibly Be? No! Will Be
All who desire to live a godly life in Christ will be persecuted. If you aren’t being persecuted, if I am not being persecuted what does that mean?
Sermon Outlines from Acts9. Divine Deliverance ()
The apostles had a fire that burned within them. The prisons and beatings could not stop them. Jeremiah had this same fire—. A fire of God in the heart will send us out to witness and win others unto the Lord. We enjoy God’s blessings today because many were willing to suffer for the sake of the Lord. Are we willing to do the same?
God knows the dangers, God knows the results. God knows that they will be persecuted yet still wants them to proclaim Jesus.
But quickly listen to this promise that even though we will be persecuted, even though we will suffer, we have hope.
2 cor 4:8-9 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our bodies.
Application
This question of loyalty is a question that every Christian, every follower of Jesus has to ask themselves.
Who are you loyal to? Whose side are you on? You have to pick a side. You can’t ride the fence forever, you can’t decide when it’s all over and try to figure out who won. God wins. You must make your choice to who you are loyal to.
Sometimes that choice might hurt. Sometimes that might be painful, or scary, or disappointing. But if we have surrendered to Jesus then we have to be loyal to him and what he says. Peter and the disciples….
The Acts of the ApostlesArrest and Trial Once Again ()
(1) They had courage. The command to go straight back and preach in the Temple sounds almost like reckless boldness. And yet they went.
(2) They had principles. And their ruling principle was that in all circumstances obedience to God must come first. They never asked: ‘Is this course of action safe?’ They asked: ‘Is this what God wants me to do?’
(3) They had a clear idea of their function. They knew that they were witnesses for Christ. Witnesses are essentially people who speak from first-hand knowledge. They know from personal experience that what they say is true; and it is impossible to stop people like that, because it is impossible to stop the truth.
Peter and the boys were loyal to Christ regardless of what the outcome would be. They aren’t thinking what are the consequences? They are thinking what have I already decided to do regarding this obedience?
And this is the last thing I want to say today. Because many of us claim to have surrendered to Christ but who are we loyal to and are we prepared for obedience? Are we prepared for loyalty?
I think we really need to be prepared for our loyalty to Jesus. We decide how we will react when we are faced with situations. We will make a decision as to how we will react to this difficult conversation beforehand. We will decide prior to how to be godly in this situation or that.
1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching Obedience
Nate Saint was one of five missionaries who were killed by the Auca Indians. He once said that his life did not change until he came to grips with the idea that “obedience is not a momentary option … it is a diecast decision made beforehand.”925
What that means is that we need to be prepared for obedience. It’s much easier to obey a Godly principle when you know what your answer is going to be before it happens.
If you decide what you are going to do or say before it happens you can prepare yourself to be obedient, to be loyal.
Baseball: “I tell kids playing baseball to think before every pitch, ‘what do I do if the ball is hit to me on the next pitch’? “ When you ready yourself like that you find that obedience is easier. The more you entertain the options the more difficult it is to do the right thing.
That’s why I don’t think about tithing, I write that check when I first get paid. I don’t think about what bills are due when it comes to tithing, I know God wants me to be obedient in that so I do that first. I have resolved to do it.
Prepare yourself to be LOYAL.
after meeting with the sanhedrin they went right back doing what God told them to do because the angel told them to. They were walking right back into the furnace. They knew what they were getting into but they decided beforehand how they were going to react.
We can do this too. Where do your loyalties lie? If you are a Christ follower then your loyalties must lie with God and his revealed Word. That you do what this thing says regardless of how it feels, regardless of how your situation looks. You do what this thing says.
Maybe you haven’t made yourself loyal to anyone but yourself. Today that can change. None of what I have talked about today applies to you if you haven’t surrendered your life to Jesus.
But that can change if you can believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God that he died for your sins and that he rose bodily from the dead to bridge that impossible gap between God and us.
Put your belief and trust in him and you can start being loyal to Him and to Him only.
Take up his cross...