A Gospel Response to the Rage of Satan: Whipped With Roses
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Acts • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 46:56
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· 9 viewsGod ensures the progress of the gospel will move forward despite those who rage agiainst it.
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Jealousy Rages Against God’s Kingdom
Jealousy Rages Against God’s Kingdom
Gustav Mahler was an Austrian Romantic composer in the late 1800’s. He was a brilliant composer of his own right. You will find his music in the sound tracks of movies like “Children of Men” (2006) and “Shutter Island” (2010).
He married another composer named Alma Schindler who was gaining a great deal of applause for her work. Gustav Mahler became insanely jealous of her notoriety. He wrote a note to her on the day of their wedding. “From now on,” he said, “there will only be my music. Not our music but my music.” Jealousy is a notoriously nasty sin, and unfortunately it powers so much of the world.
I like the way Derek Thomas describes the world we live:
Acts Jealousy
There seems to be a spiritual law that often operates in this world: for every exertion of supernatural power for good there is (or at least appears to be) an equal and opposite reaction of supernatural evil.
We know that the evil in this world is not equally as powerful as God, however, we also know every time God acts to advance his kingdom, Satan attacks God’s work with a jealous fury.
When God chose Abel’s sacrifice over Cain’s sacrifice, how did Cain respond?
but He did not have regard for Cain and his offering. Cain was furious, and he looked despondent.
What Cain do with his jealous fury?
Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
God made a covenant with Abraham that he would have a son, Isaac. And through his sons the Messiah would one day come. When Isaac had two boys, Jacob and Esau, God chose Jacob over Esau. Now Jacob was no peach, but he was God’s chosen instrument of grace. Isaac knew this and refused to remove the blessing he gave Jacob, even though he was deceived by Jacob. How did Esau respond?
Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. And Esau determined in his heart: “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
Jealousy fueled Esau's fury to want to kill Jacob.
Consider the story of Joseph. God chose to save His people from famine by lifting up Joseph above his brothers. How did His brothers respond?
When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not bring themselves to speak peaceably to him.
Jealousy fueled their fury against to the point they wanted to kill him.
What fueled Saul’s fury against David, a man of God’s own choosing? A man whom God would use his line to bring the One True King of the world. Why did Saul rage against David?
Saul was furious and resented this song. “They credited tens of thousands to David,” he complained, “but they only credited me with thousands. What more can he have but the kingdom?” So Saul watched David jealously from that day forward.
And when Jesus came into the world, what fueled the hostility of the Pharisees and Sadducees against Him? What fueled their fury to have Him crucified? Pilate saw the desire of their heart clearly
For he knew they had handed Him over because of envy.
The same jealousy that raged against Jesus still rages against his church. The Jews heaped abuse on Paul and Barnabas for proclaiming the gospel because their hearts were
But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to oppose what Paul was saying by insulting him.
When Paul was in Thessaloncia preaching the gospel,
But the Jews became jealous, and they brought together some scoundrels from the marketplace, formed a mob, and started a riot in the city. Attacking Jason’s house, they searched for them to bring them out to the public assembly.
Andin our text this morning, we see the same rage of fury fuled by jealousy attacking the kingdom of God
Then the high priest took action. He and all his colleagues, those who belonged to the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.
We know the force behind the rage of jealousy. We know of the one who hates the reality that God’s kingdom will be advanced despite those who rage against it. Satan hates truth, and he hates those who abide by it, He knows the power of the gospel and rages with jealousy to eradicate it from this world. The problem is, he knows he going to loose.
God ensures the progress of the gospel will advance forward despite those who rage against it.
The kingdom of God did not perish when Cain killed Abel. God raised up another. The covenant of God to bring about His kingdom was never in danger when Esau pursued Jacob to kill him. God turned their hearts toward each other. God’s people did not perish when Joseph was enslaved and separated from his family. God raised him up to judge his brothers with compassion and save the lineage of the Messiah to come through Judah. God’s earthly king who would one day bring about the One true King did not perish at the hands of Saul’s jealousy, but was delivered by God to unite God’s people under one monarchy. God’s Messiah, his one and only Son did not perish at the hands of jealous Jews and Satan fury at the cross. No, God raised him up on the third day pronouncing victory over death, and transferring those who believe in him from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. Furthermore, even though Jesus is physically away in heaven, he has empowered his people to endure until the end with his Holy Spirit so that when Satan rages with jealous fury against the church, the kingdom of God will advance regardless.
God ensures the progress of the gospel will advance forward despite those who rage against it.
Knowing that the kingdom of God will progress forward despite those who rage against it, how should believers respond to persecution? Keep in mind we are empowered to testify of Jesus. That is why we have the Holy Spirit. When we are persecuted we will give a testimony with our words and our lives. How must we respond when Satan’s jealousy rages against the church?
We must respond by trusting God’s deliverance.
We must respond by trusting God’s deliverance.
God will deliver his people from the rage of His enemies.
The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears,
and delivers them from all their troubles.
David said of the Lord when God delivered him from Saul
He said:
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,
my God, my mountain where I seek refuge.
My shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold, my refuge,
and my Savior, You save me from violence.
God’s deliverance can be miraculous.
But an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail during the night, brought them out, and said,
In obedience to this, they entered the temple complex at daybreak and began to teach.
When the high priest and those who were with him arrived, they convened the Sanhedrin—the full Senate of the sons of Israel—and sent orders to the jail to have them brought. But when the temple police got there, they did not find them in the jail, so they returned and reported, “We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing in front of the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside!” As the commander of the temple police and the chief priests heard these things, they were baffled about them, as to what could come of this.
The authorities were baffled or perplexed at what happened. The possibility of the apostles getting out of jail without the guards being alerted was non existent. It was impossible. God often does the impossible to prove a point. It was a sign and wonder meant to tell the world God was the only one who could have delivered the apostles from jail. Prison bars will not hinder the progress of the gospel.
In Acts 12, Peter is imprisoned by Herod. At night, he miraculously is rescued by an angel who breaks his chains and leads him out of to the gate of the city undetected. When Paul and Silas are imprisoned in Philippi for freeing a salve girl of a demon, they are freed from prison by earthquake (Acts 16:25-27).
I’m reminded of a story about Queen Victoria. She was riding on a British express train one night. The train had a lamp the pierced the black darkness ahead of the track.
Suddenly the engineer saw a startling sight. Revealed in the beam of the engine’s headlights was a weird figure in a black cloak standing in the middle of the tracks and waving its arms. The engineer grabbed for the brakes and brought the train to a grinding halt.
He and his fellow trainmen climbed out to see what had stopped them. But they could find no trace of the strange figure. On a hunch, he walked a few yards further up the tracks. Suddenly he stopped and stared into the fog in horror. The bridge had been washed out in the middle and had toppled into a swollen stream. If he had not heeded the ghostly figure, the train would have plunged into the stream.
While the bridge and the tracks were being repaired, the crew made a more intensive search for the strange flagman. But not until they got to London, did they solve the mystery.
At the base of the engine’s head lamp, the engineer discovered a huge dead moth. He looked at it a moment, then on impulse wet its wings and pasted it to the glass of the lamp.
Climbing back into his cab, he switched on the lamp and saw the “flagman” in the beam. He knew the answer now: the moth had flown into the beam, seconds before the train was due to reach the washed-out bridge. In the fog, it appeared to be a phantom figure, waving its arms.
When Queen Victoria was told of the strange happening she said, “I’m sure it was no accident. It was God’s way of protecting us.”
Whether it is an angel freeing you from a prison or a moth flying into a train lamp that got the attention of the conductor to stop the train before it hurls you to your death, God’s deliverance can be miraculous.
God deliverance can also be not what we expect.
You will notice that the apostles are arrested a second time.
Someone came and reported to them, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple complex and teaching the people.” Then the commander went with the temple police and brought them in without force, because they were afraid the people might stone them. After they brought them in, they had them stand before the Sanhedrin, and the high priest asked, “Didn’t we strictly order you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to bring this man’s blood on us!”
After a brief discussion, they decide to let them go.
After they called in the apostles and had them flogged, they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them.
Although God’s deliverance can be miraculous, it also can be with severe consequences. There are times when His deliverance will require greater testimony of our faith. For the apostles they testified of the authority of Jesus by refusing to compromise their convictions and the worth of Jesus by rejoicing in their suffering. Sometimes God’s deliverance will come through death.
Death is a gateway to our eternal glory. Jesus took the sting out of death so that we can live to the fullest for His kingdom now. When we live like that Satan is enraged and will be allowed at times to kill the saints. Jesus tells us
Don’t fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather, fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Sometimes God’s deliverance will be to take us home to be with him. I can’t think of a greater example than Stephen.
Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke boldly of Jesus to his people. God delivered Stephen from their hands through his death. We know he went home because just before he died he testified
But Stephen, filled by the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven. He saw God’s glory, with Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
When persecution rages against the church, we must trust God for our deliverance. Sometimes that deliverance will be miraculous, and sometimes it will not be what we expect. But know this for certain, God always delivers his people.
We must respond by preaching the gospel.
We must respond by preaching the gospel.
“Go and stand in the temple complex, and tell the people all about this life.”
Someone came and reported to them, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple complex and teaching the people.”
When the angel delivers them from prison, he gives them two imperatives. Go back and stand in the temple. And you must speak the words of life. The words of life refers to the salvation offered in Jesus’s name.
Jesus is our life.
“I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “No one who comes to Me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in Me will ever be thirsty again.
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Life was in Him,
and that life was the light of men.
What was from the beginning,
what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes,
what we have observed
and have touched with our hands,
concerning the Word of life—
that life was revealed,
and we have seen it
and we testify and declare to you
the eternal life that was with the Father
and was revealed to us —
“The glory of God is a man fully alive.” St. Frenaeus
Jealousy brings death. Jesus brings life. He calls us in every circumstance, whether it be in friendly conversations or hostile prisons, to bring the words of life to all people. That includes those who persecute us. For how do we not know that God has deliberately brought us to our persecutors to bring them life?
Think about Paul’s ministry. He wrote the letter of Philippians while he was in prison in Rome. In that letter he states
Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has actually resulted in the advance of the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is in the cause of Christ.
Paul says that it is by God’s design that he is in prison. That is what he means when he says “that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ.” He is in a Roman prison to offer the “words of life” to the imperial guard, the ones who are holding him captive. God used Paul’s imprisonment to save some in Caesar's household.
All the saints greet you, but especially those from Caesar’s household.
One of the ways God ensures His kingdom will always progress forward is He testifies of His saving grace through us to those who are raging against Him. We must respond to persecution by continuing to preach the gospel because that is How God advances his kingdom. he changes the hearts of those who hate him into hearts that love him. That is the power of the gospel. We know that it is true because he was able to change the heart in you and me.
We must respond by staying the course of God’s mission.
We must respond by staying the course of God’s mission.
After they brought them in, they had them stand before the Sanhedrin, and the high priest asked, “Didn’t we strictly order you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to bring this man’s blood on us!”
But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had murdered by hanging Him on a tree. God exalted this man to His right hand as ruler and Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”
When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. 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. He said to them, “Men of Israel, be careful about what you’re going to do to these men. Not long ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a group of about 400 men rallied to him. He was killed, and all his partisans were dispersed and came to nothing. After this man, Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and attracted a following. That man also perished, and all his partisans were scattered. And now, I tell you, stay away from these men and leave them alone. For if this plan or this work is of men, it will be overthrown; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even be found fighting against God.” So they were persuaded by him.
In verses 29-38, you see two roads. One is marked God’s Way and the other is marked the World’s Way. To stay the course on God’s Way is to persevere. Perseverance is the mark of a true believer. How does a believer persevere when persecuted on God’s Way?
First, you must have strong Christ-centered convictions. Peter says in 5:29, “We must obey God rather than man.” Peter’s conviction arises from loving Christ and desiring to do just as Christ desired to do, obey the Father, even unto death.
Peter knows where his Christ-centered convictions can take him. He testifies to them that the murdered Jesus on the cross. But what grounds Peter’s conviction is the promise that God offers life through His Son and to all who will obey him. This does not come from Peter alone but it comes from the testimony of the Holy Spirit empowering Peter.
To have Christ-centered convictions you must have the Holy Spirit. You can only have the holy Spirit if you have repented on your sins and trusted in Jesus work on the cross, and believe that god raised Him from the dead. If you believe this and confess him as Lord, you will be saved. You will be given the Holy Spirit to empower you and your convictions. You also need to be strong in God’ word. That is how he strengthens your convictions.
Second, you must work within God’s plan. Gamaliel was the most respected rabbi of his time. he was the man who discipled Saul who became Paul. He was not a Christian, but he was wise to recognize that whatever is of this world will eventually perish, but whatever comes from God will persevere. He offers two examples of religious zealots who rise up and gather a small but significant following; Theudas and Judas the Galilean. Eventually they die and so does their following. His point is clear. That is what happens to man’s plans.
Do not trust in nobles,
in man, who cannot save.
When his breath leaves him,
he returns to the ground;
on that day his plans die.
But God’s plans never fail.
The Lord of Hosts has sworn:
As I have purposed, so it will be;
as I have planned it, so it will happen.
God has made it clear to the world.
“For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
and that one day
The seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying:
The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom
of our Lord and of His Messiah,
and He will reign forever and ever!
God’s plan is to put every authority under Jesus’s feet and to have Him reign as King for all eternity. The church’s mission is to joyfully advance His kingdom by making much of Jesus in the Church, Community, and Home. That plan is mandated by the Great Commission
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.”
The church cannot steer to the left or to the right of God’s mission, especially under persecution. Our Christ-centered convictions keep us on the straight and narrow of God’s mission. We don’t need gimmicks or flashy programs or self-help books. We need a high view of Jesus Christ crucified and risen from the grave conquering sin and death and giving life to all who will take it.
Do you know what Christ-centered convictions that are committed to God’s plan look like in the midst of persecution. It looks like Paul.
Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and when they had won over the crowds and stoned Paul, they dragged him out of the city, thinking he was dead. After the disciples surrounded him, he got up and went into the town. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.
Paul stayed on course of God’s mission by going back to the very people who stoned him because he was convinced it was God’s plan to give eternal life to those people through Jesus Christ.
We must respond by rejoicing in our suffering.
We must respond by rejoicing in our suffering.
After they called in the apostles and had them flogged, they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them. Then they went out from the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to be dishonored on behalf of the Name. Every day in the temple complex, and in various homes, they continued teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.
The apostles received a beating for following Jesus. According to Deuteronomy 25:3, they can only be flogged with forty lashes. Jewish custom was to give 39 in order to ensure they would not break the law. It was also custom to give one third of the lashes on the chest and two-thirds on the back. Even though they were delivered, the apostles still suffered at the hands of captures jealous rage. How did they respond?
They responded with joy. They praised God. This is a gift of the Holy Spirit. natural human beings do not rejoice in their suffering. Common sense says it is wise to avoid suffering because 1) it hurts 2) there isn't much in this world worth the agony. The Holy Spirit helps us see that Jesus is supremely worth it.
The reason why they rejoice is because they suffered for the name of Jesus.It was an honor to them to suffer in the same manner Jesus suffered. It was counted as worthy to be identified with Jesus before their enemies. Their suffering spurred them on to continue offering the words of life in the temple complex-wit the threat of persecution hanging over their every word.
But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of Him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them filth, so that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ —the righteousness from God based on faith. My goal is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead.
In 1651 in Massachusetts, Rev. Obadiah Holmes, because he held a prayer meeting in his home, was ordered to be whipped by Governor Endicot. So severe was the whipping that for days he could lie only by resting on the tips of his elbows and his knees and yet when the last lash had fallen, he looked at his tormentors and through bloodstained lips cried, “Gentlemen, you have whipped me with roses!”
Conclusion
We know that with every supernatural action for good, there seems to be an equal and opposite reaction for evil. The rage of Satan’s jealousy tries to hinder the progress of the gospel by hurting the saints of God. But God has empowered his people to testify of Jesus’s supreme worth and value by responding to Satan’s rage by trusting In God to deliver them either miraculously or even through death. God empowers his people to continuing preaching the gospel, offering words of life, even to those who persecute them. God empowers his people to stay the course through Christ-centered convictions and remaining on God’s path. Finally, God empowers his people to suffer well, even rejoicing in their suffering. We can respond to persecution in these four ways because we know God’s plans will not be thwarted. Consider also, When we respond to persecution by trusting God deliverance, preaching the gospel, staying the course, and suffering well, God uses that to ensure the progress of the gospel will advance forward despite those who rage against it.