In the Face of Opposition

Introduction

As we have been walking through the book of Acts things have seemed glorious. You have the Lord promising the coming of the Spirit, the coming of the Spirit and then you have Spirit inspired witnesses proclaiming the glories of Christ and we see the Spirit opening the ears of many in the crowds to hear and to respond to the gospel message.

We have seen the group of disciples grow from 120 to 3000.

The church is filled with the Spirit she is devoting herself to the teaching of God’s Word, to fellowship, to worship, to prayer, and to evangelism.

The Lord is blessing His church.

In chapter 3 we see the Lord heal a man who was lame from birth through the Apostle Peter and again Peter preaches the glories of Christ to the crowd that gathers and again the Lord is at work and about 2000 more are saved (4:4)

At the end of the first three chapters of Acts one may be tempted to think that all is going well for the church and that it will be smooth sailing until the Lord returns for His church.

Well as we turn to chapter 4 we see that is not quite the case.

One commentator put it this way, if the main character of the first three chapters is the Holy Spirit then the main character of the next three chapters is the enemy, Satan himself.

We see persecution from without and we see problems within the church.

But even as we continue to walk through Acts and we see persecution and we see problems within the church we must be reminded of something.

When the church faces difficulties, when there are problems then we must remember that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

We must remember that the church has a spiritual enemy that opposes the Name and the Glory of Christ.

And as we saw a little earlier in the gospel according to John this is something that the church should have expected.

Luke 21:12–17 ESV

But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness. Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. You will be hated by all for my name’s sake.

Luke 21:12-

So we will see how that opposition manifests itself in chapter 4 and we will see the churches response to that opposition.

I. Opposition to the Name of Jesus

We see the opposition in 4:1-3 and then in 4:15-22.

Peter and John are preaching and it is clear in chapter 4 that the leaders of the Jews did not like what was being preached.

They thought that they had gotten rid of Jesus and yet here are these men preaching the Christ centered sermons, teaching that Jesus had been raised from the dead

They thought that they had gotten rid of Jesus and yet here are these men preaching the Christ centered sermons, teaching that Jesus had been raised from the dead. (just a little side note, if they were so perturbed that these men were proclaiming Jesus had been raised from the dead and if they could have proven that it was not true then you can be sure that these men would have done so; this is even more evidence of the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ)

Notice v.2 says that they were greatly annoyed.

No doubt the teaching of Jesus resurrection annoyed the Sadducees. They were the theological liberals of the day. They did not believe in miracles, they did not believe in angels, and they surely did not believe in a miracle like the resurrection from the dead.

Another thing that we will point out quickly, notice “proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead”

They were not preaching your best life now, they were not preaching rules, there preaching was centered on Christ, on the glory of Christ, and on the hope that we have through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Brothers and sisters, remember that we are witness, and we are to be witnesses of Christ.

The preaching of the Apostles makes it clear that Jesus and the redemption He brings is central in all of the Bible, Jesus is the hero of the Bible, He is the One that all of the Bible points us to.

Jesus in our message, Jesus is our theme.

Another thing I will point out before we move on, we see Peter and John arrested in v.3 but look at v.4.

The world and Satan may attack the messengers, they may put them in jail to silence them, but they cannot stop the advance of the church.

Even though Peter and John are imprisoned many who hear the message believed.

Oh it is amazing at the power of the Holy Spirit. What a reason not to believe, right? Man these men are arrested and put in jail for this message, but the Holy Spirit was working powerfully such that even the threat of imprisonment did not stop some 2000 people from turning to Christ.

Even as I was thinking about this this past week I was reminded how far off base the American church is. We want to make Christianity look like the American dream, we want to make it look fun and entertaining and hip and cool. We want so bad to be accepted by the world and yet the American church is impotent and dying.

The most growth most churches in the American south sees is the transfer of membership from one church to another.

Macon is just like so many other towns, Churches aren’t growing because there are so many people being genuinely saved, (you may have people baptized at these spontaneous baptism services, which is a horrible idea by the way), but churches that are growing grow because they are feeding off of smaller churches.

They have more programs, more to entertain with, more to do and so people flock to the happening place.

grams, more to entertain with, more to do and so people flock to the happening place.

There is nothing cool or hip about Peter and John’s message, there is nothing entertaining or comfortable about being imprisoned and yet in the face of all of that, in the face of being called wicked and being called to repent and in the face of persecution you have 2000 people come to faith.

Brothers and sisters, healthy church growth does not come from having the best show in town, it does not come because we have a comfortable and easy message, it comes through the powerful working of the Holy Spirit bringing people to faith in Christ through the faithful preaching of the gospel.

In v.15-22 after bringing Peter, John, and the man who has been healed before the Sanhedrin and questioning them they decide to warn Peter and John, notice v.18

You are not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

These are the same men that had Jesus killed, they hated Him, and they hate His name.

Just notice the hardness of heart that we see with these men.

Instead of taking the time to st

Look at v.16-17

There has been a miracle that has taken place that cannot be denied. These are the same men that have ignored Jesus’ ministry, they have ignored the resurrection, and know they are ignoring clear evidence that Jesus is the resurrected Christ who is still continuing His ministry through Spirit filled apostles.

Not even thinking about turning to Christ, their only concern is trying to keep the message of the disciples from spreading so they threaten them.

Be scared of hardening your heart against Biblical truth. Be scared of hardening your heart against Jesus. Do not suppress what you know to be clear truth from the Scripture in order to protect a sin, a tradition, a lifestyle.

Instead of saying what must we do to be saved

They were saying what must we do to keep our power

The world had a hold on them, they could not turn away from it. They could not see the beauty and the glory of Christ because of the world’s and sin’s hold on them.

Well, let’s move on this was first, opposition to the name.

v.19-20

Do your worst, we will continue proclaiming the gospel.

Wow!

Brothers and sisters, oh how I pray for that kind of mindset within TBC.

We will be faithful witnesses of Christ no matter what.

Well, let’s move on this was first, opposition to the name.

II. Defending the Name of Jesus

We see the disciples defending the name of Jesus in this chapter.

Notice v.5-14

v.5-7 we see the setting for the questioning and the defense

Keep in mind that Peter and John are in the midst of the men that have just recently put their Lord to death.

v.8 is a key part to this

The Text says that Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit, we see this same language in v.31

These are not a repeat of Pentecost but simply we are being told here that the indwelling Spirit freshly empowered Peter which enabled him to preach boldly.

This is the same Peter that was afraid when questioned by a young girl the night Jesus was arrested and now here Peter filled with the Holy Spirit speaks with great boldness.

Brother, sister in Christ we are not called to muster up enough strength to be bold for Jesus, we instead are called to be empowered by the Holy Spirit, we are to pray for boldness, to pray for power from the Spirit. We must remember that we are in a spiritual battle and that we are helpless to be bold and faithful witnesses with the Spirit.

We are to see this event as a direct fulfillment of what our Lord said would take place

Luke 21:12–15 ESV

But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness. Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.

Luke

Filled with the Spirit, what does Peter do? He boldly proclaims to these rulers the last thing they wanted to hear.

This crippled man is standing before you today by the Name of Jesus of Nazareth.

The same Jesus you crucified and the same Jesus who God raised from the dead

Then Peter quotes

Psalm 118:22 ESV

The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

You have rejected Him but God has raised Him up and established Him.

Peter quotes this passage in 1 Peter as well

1 Peter 2:6–8 ESV

For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

1 Peter

Jesus is chosen and precious, He is the firstborn of God’s elect and all who believe in Him will not be put to shame

Yet we also see that this Cornerstone is a stone of stumbling, that is some will stumble over Him and be destroyed.

v.12, It is in Jesus that there salvation and in no one else.

Let me ask you this morning, have you found Jesus to be your Savior?

Let me ask you this morning,

Are you resting in Him?

There is salvation no where else, not in you, not in me, not in prophets, not in apostles, not in the pope, not in the church, not in religion

Salvation is found in Christ and in Him alone

v.13-14

These religious leaders are paralyzed before Peter and John, they are awestruck.

Here they have before them fishermen, common and uneducated men, these men have not been to the finest schools, they have not had the best tutors and yet these men are instructing them in the Scriptures and they are doing so with great boldness.

Brothers and sisters, we are reminded that God can effectively use anyone, even the uneducated, anyone who will listen to the teachings of our Lord and follow Him in obedience.

You may never get a chance to study in the best seminaries or have the best bible scholars teach you but be encouraged, the Lord can use you.

As one commentator said

God can use PhD’s like Paul, GED’s like Peter, doctor’s like Luke, or tax collectors like Matthew.

v.19-20

We have already seen the warning given to Peter and John but now notice Peter and John’s response to their warning

v.19-20

Do your worst, we will continue proclaiming the gospel.

Wow!

Brothers and sisters, oh how I pray for that kind of mindset within TBC.

We will be faithful witnesses of Christ no matter what.

They would be faithful to God’s Chosen, to God’s Servant, to the Cornerstone, to the Mediator of the New Covenant.

III. Praying in the Name of Jesus

We have seen opposition to Jesus’ Name, we have seen Peter and John’s faithfulness to the name of the Jesus and defending the name of Jesus and now notice the last part of this chapter

v.23-31

We see

Peter and John are released and they go to the church and report what has taken place and notice in v.24 the response of the church is to pray, they cry out to God.

Notice three things about this prayer

The prayer is rooted in who God is

Sovereign Lord, Master; first we see that the church understood that God alone rules with all authority

He is the Sovereign God who rules over all

He is the God of all creation

He is the God who has spoken to us in His Word

They come before God with great confidence. He is the God of Creation, Revelation, and History

You made all things (v.24)

You rule over all things (v.24)

You have decreed all things (v.28)

You have spoken

The church had a robust view of God.

The American church today has a weak view of God. He is the God of contemporary Christian music who is your cheerleader.

He is the God of social acceptability who won’t send anyone to hell and who wish he could help everybody but he is limited by their will

This god is not the God that is being prayed to here in and it is not the God of the Bible

The culture can have that god but that is not the God that I want, I want the God of

The God who sovereignly rules and reigns over all things, the God who has decreed all and is leading all of History to His great end which is a display of His glory, the God who is in perfect control even when it appears that things are out of control

That is the God who I worship, that is the God who I pray to

We see quoted in their prayer (weaving Scripture into prayer is a beautiful thing)

We see quoted in their prayer (weaving Scripture into prayer is a beautiful thing)

No doubt they know the end of the Psalm, the end is that God and His Anointed win

So they are able to pray with great confidence that God is in control.

Brothers and sisters we are reminded that we can God before God in great confidence because of who He is

Also notice

This prayer is for boldness and not comfort

This amazes me as i have grown up and live in Americanized comfort seeking Christianity

We would pray for comfort, we would pray for relief

That is not what they pray for, they pray for boldness.

Oh God make us bold for Jesus!

Make us bold for the war, it is a spiritual war (you realize that don’t you)

Brothers and sisters, are our prayers more about comfort than they are for holy boldness to make Jesus known?

This prayer was pleasing to God

I think that is the point of v.31

God gave a sign that He was pleased with their prayer.

God answered their prayer.

Why do you think that we are not seeing a move of the Spirit in our day like they saw it in the book of Acts?

Could it be that we are more worried about comfort and ease than we are worried about the advancement of God’s Kingdom and the good of the church.

Could it be that we are more worried about comfort and ease than we are worried about giving ourselves to pray for a move of the Spirit in our church?

Could it be that we are more worried about comfort and ease than we are about having holy boldness to proclaim the Word of God in a culture that is increasingly hostile to it?

Oh may God deliver us from Christianity that looks more like the American dream than it does Biblical Christianity!!!