Acts 5:12-42

The Ups and Downs of Gospel Ministry

INTRODUCTION

Gospel Ministry Blesses

Acts 5:12–16 ESV

Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon’s Portico. None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

Gospel Ministry Blesses

We see in this text that the ministry of the early church was about providing for people and meeting their needs.

Both their physical needs and their spiritual needs.

People were drawn to the work of the early church.

They would come out in droves to see what God was doing to gain access to the amazing power of the Lord.

Our Gospel Ministry needs to be like that.

We need to be attractive to the outside world through our words and deeds.

We need to be a blessing to all people so that they can see the goodness of God in our actions and words.

Ministry is designed to bless.

So the question is how are we being a blessing to our community?

How are we ministering to those around us?

How are we meeting the physical and spiritual needs of the sick, the hurting, and the broken?

The first church was devoted to meeting the needs of the people and through their ministry many were coming to know the King.

The reality is if we don’t have a desire, a conviction, and a willingness to serve the community we will surely die as a church body.

We will cease to exist b/c we aren’t doing what God has designed and built us to do.

We need to be about the ministry towards others.

Too often churches become very inward focused.

And the inward focus becomes self-preserving instead of Jesus Glorifying.

Each Year Thousands of churches are closing their doors.

That’s thousands of once living churches are now dead. There legacy forgotten.

They no longer exist to preach and proclaim the name of Jesus.

And a main component behind this is the fact that they started looking to themselves instead of looking to the world.

They became complacent in their comfortable chairs with their regular routines and forgot that they existed to make much of Jesus.

And they traded that mission for comfort, complacency, and selfishness.

I am not trying to make them look like bad or unloving people.

It is easy to become okay with the status quo. It’s easy to live in our comfort zone, b/c it’s comfortable.

But if we as a church body don’t want to be one of these statistics we need to be ministering to the community.

We need to be a beacon of light and hope to a world in crisis. To a world broken, confused, and in chaos.

We need to be bold in our witness of who Jesus is regardless of the consequences.

We need to meet the needs of all people not just those within the church.

We should be more focused on those outside of the church and drawing them into a deep and rich communion with Jesus.

One trap we need to be aware of when we think about meeting the physical and spiritual needs of people.

We need to remember that man’s greatest need is not physical it is spiritual.

We don’t need to fall into the trap of the Social Gospel Movement.

This is an idea that as Christians we focus on meeting people’s social needs without preaching the gospel of Christ.

Our work in meeting physical needs is only Gospel ministry when it is followed by the preaching of the Gospel.

We need to let others know that we do these things b/c we are new creations in Christ and that they can be transformed by him as well.

Even though their spiritual need is more important than their physical need it doesn’t mean that we need to ignore their current suffering.

Jesus preached about his Kingdom and had compassion on the people.

We need not ignore those needs.

We should be like Jesus. Fill their bellies and preach the gospel.

All of our ministry to the unbelieving world should be aimed at them coming to know Jesus as their savior.

We cannot hold onto the old “pull themselves up by their own bootstraps” mentality.

This is not helpful nor is it Gospel.

We need to see that some people don’t even have bootstraps.

That people need help. People want help. And as followers of Christ, we should be ready, willing, and able to help.

That’s what it means to love your neighbor. That how we show a dark world the light by Living out our Faith.

Our God is living and active. We must be living and active as well.

We cannot and will not be a light in the darkness if the only time we minister to the community is on Sunday Morning.

“If we ceased to exist tomorrow would the community even notice?”

How are we going to engage and impact the community around us?

How can we be a blessing to the community?

No doubt, some of you already have ideas about how we can engage the community through service and gospel preaching.

There may be some of you who think that this is a little uncomfortable.

Do you mean we need to reach out to people?

That we need to serve people?

That we need to get out of these walls and minister to others?

Simply put…Yes.

That’s what Jesus wants us to do.

He wants us to be a blessing to those around us.

Get uncomfortable.

Remember your five.

Pray. Serve. Invite. Share the gospel.

We like to think of our relationships with God as a private relationship.

But it’s not private. We are not called to be private with our beliefs.

We are to tell others about this Jesus we love and trust. We are to tell others about his grace and mercy. We are to tell others.

It is not a private faith, its a personal faith. It’s a personal public faith.

People should know that you believe and serve a God that is living and active.

They will know that if you tell them about the great God you serve.

This is our mandate and mission to make disciples of all nations.

You have been blessed by God to be a blessing to others. To share the good news of Jesus Christ with others.

Start with your five. Start somewhere.

Over the last couple of weeks I have talked to multiple congregation members who have either shared the gospel or invited people to church.

This is encouraging to me and it should be encouraging to you.

God is on the move here at FBC Louise.

Let’s all join him and let others here how awesome he is.

Let’s be a blessing.

Unfortunately, ministry is not always sunshine and rainbows. Doing ministry work will not always be easy. You may face opposition. B/c People don’t like Jesus. People are opposed to Jesus. Jesus Upsets People

Acts 5:17–40 ESV

But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” 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. But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported, “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.” 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. And someone came and told them, “Look! The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.” Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people. 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. 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.” When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. 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. And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. 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. 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. 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; 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, 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.

Gospel Ministry Upsets Unbelievers

Again we see that the early church and their proclamation of Jesus is making those in power angry and upset.

Hearing the truth makes people upset. But it can also set people free.

The leaders in Jerusalem were baffled by the following that the Jesus movement was getting.

They were afraid that they were going to lose their influence. They were going to lose their power.

They were jealous b/c the apostles were out doing the work of the ministry and people were changing.

They were changing their political views. They were changing their theological views.

They were changing the established culture through the preaching of the word and ministering to the poor, broken, and down trodden.

Jealousy is a real issue. Jealousy is a heart issue.

Think about it. The disciples of Christ were simply making people’s lives better and they were being hated on.

Jealousy leads to hatred. Jealousy can be irrational. Jealousy will lead to persecution.

One theologian, D.A. Carson says that more people have been martyred for following Christ in the last century than in all of the first nineteen hundred years of the church’s history.

Church history has been littered with people being beaten, imprisoned, and killed b/c of their faith in Jesus.

Because the name of Jesus is polarizing.

Pride is the enemy of Jesus.

People don’t reject Jesus b/c he was too kind, too loving, or too amazing.

People reject Jesus b/c he calls them to submit to his authority.

He calls them to live in obedience.

He calls them to deny their selves and take up their cross and follow after him.

People reject Jesus and are jealous of Jesus b/c of their pride.

At our core we don’t want help, we don’t believe we need help, we want to fix things on our own.

Jesus comes along and says you are broken and you can’t fix yourself.

But I will fix you if you give your life to me.

That’s what the problem was for these Jewish men.

They didn’t want to be fixed. They didn’t want to change.

They wanted to stay in power. They wanted to continue to rule.

But Jesus calls us to give up ourselves and submit to his ruling.

Pride will not allow us to do this.

We have to actively humble ourselves and realize that we need Jesus.

Pride stands in the way of salvation b/c it stands in the way of acknowledging that we need help.

That’s why these poor and broken people come to Jesus b/c they realize that they need something, someone greater to heal them.

Jesus says that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Why?

B/c it takes more for the wealthy to realize that they don’t have it all. That there is something more.

He doesn’t say that they can’t enter into the kingdom, but that it’s harder b/c they have to look past their stuff and look for something deeper, something greater, something better.

We talked about last week how wealth isn’t necessarily bad, but that Jesus is better and how he desires for us to use our wealth runs counter cultural.

But these wealthy powerful men didn’t like Jesus b/c they didn’t want to recognize or submit to his power and authority.

So they arrest the apostles and throw them in Jail.

Man, but God has a sense of humor.

We have talked about how the Sadducees didn’t believe in the resurrection, but you know what else they denied…angels.

So what does God do, he sends an angel to free these men from their Jail cell.

This ninja like angel swoops in and releases the prisoners and leaves no trace behind.

Everything was still locked up. Everything was still in order. Everything was the way it should have been except the prisoners were Gone.

And where did they go… back to preaching the gospel.

Nothing was going to stop them.

In Fact the angel even said to them “Go and Stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life” v. 20

When persecution came they didn’t back down. They Stood up. They continued to proclaim what they had seen and heard.

They were resilient. They were determined. They were empowered.

However, their commitment and determination didn’t curb the hatred they experienced.

They were found once again and pulled before the council of elders.

These men were so blinded by their own ambition and power that they couldn’t see what was happening right in front of them.

A man’s legs had been restored. Many other people came before the apostles and recieved healing from sickness and disease.

And the apostles that had been locked away in a public jail were freed in the middle of the night without a trace as to how they escaped, and yet this council wants them to stop speaking the name of Jesus.

They want them to stop preaching about the name that saves. They want them to be quiet. And they truly think that its gonna happen.

But the council is afraid as well. They were afraid of being stoned by the people. Because the people were believing. The people were seeing. The people were receiving the gift of life.

The power was shifting. Boldness through the power of the Spirit.

Fear through loss of power and influence.

Notice that the disciples go willingly with their accusers. They were willing to stand firm in their beliefs and convictions.

They were ready to stand up for Jesus. There was nothing that the rulers could do to shake their faith.

The rulers stated that the only thing off limits in their teaching was Jesus. v. 28

You can teach what you want except for Jesus.

He is the issue you can’t talk about.

His name is the thing that is stirring up trouble for us.

Jesus’ name is the only teaching that has power.

It has the power to change lives.

It has the power to shift power structures.

It has the power to cause outrage and persecution.

Not only were they teaching about Jesus, but they were holding the rulers accountable for their actions against Jesus

“…you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.”

They intended to do that b/c it was true.

These men were responsible for JC’s conviction. beating. death.

This would make them look guilty with the crowd. This would disrupt their power. This would shake their influence.

And that was unacceptable to them so the apostles are told to keep quiet.

But the disciples responded:

“We must obey God rather than men.” v.20

This is an act of civil disobedience.

As Christians we are called to obey the powers of the state unless it contradicts the Word of God.

We are to obey the law of the land unless we are being forced to be complicit in a command that runs against the law of God.

We aren’t called to civil disobedience if we don’t like our leaders. We aren’t called to civil disobedience if we don’t like a law.

We are only to civilly disobey when we are commanded to disobey the word of God.

Seat belts…yep.

Taxes…yep.

Speed Limits…yep.

Jury Duty…yep.

God has established authority in our lives in the family, the church, and the government and we should submit to their authority unless it goes against the gospel.

As long as our obedience to this authority allows us to love God and Love people we should submit to it even if we don’t like it.

But here the Apostles were standing against authority b/c it ran contra to the gospel edict.

They were going to be obedient to God no matter the cost.

But notice they again give these men an opportunity to repent.

They didn’t look at these men with hatred or contempt.

They looked upon them with love and mercy.

They wanted them to experience the same grace that they had recieved.

The disciples wanted them to repent and turn toward God.

And this enraged their accusers.

They wanted to kill them.

They wanted to do away with the problem.

They were incensed that they were accused of any wrong doing.

Unfortunately, this will be the response of some of those who hear the Gospel.

They probably won’t want to kill you but they will be angry with you.

People don’t want to hear that they need saving.

People don’t want to hear that they are wicked and evil and need righteousness.

That’s offensive. That enraging.

But it’s unloving to not tell someone of their need for Christ.

It’s unloving to keep Jesus a secret.

Would you rather?

Would you rather have someone angry at you b/c you told them the truth or have Jesus deny you b/c you denied him before man?

Would you rather enter into an awkward conversation and see someone come to know freedom in Christ or keep silent and know that they will be separated from God forever?

This is what is at stake when the gospel is ignored by the people that claim to be followers of Christ.

Lives are at stake.

After the disciples bold message about Jesus. The elders are still angry and they need a solution.

v. 34-39 In steps Gamaliel, to offer a suggestion. Probably the most brilliant guy in the room or at least the most logical

Gamaliel was Paul’s rabbi.

He basically says leave them alone and lets see what happens.

There had been other revolts. Other people who had claimed to be the messiah come to save Israel.

He gives 2 examples

Theudas and Judas.

Both men had a following. Both men had influence until they died.

Once they died their followers dispersed.

And the movement died.

v.38-39 His suggestion is to let this movement run its course. To let the disciples do their thing and if it is man made and man organized it will fail.

He does want to warn them though if this is of God and they run opposed to it they are not just opposing the movement they are opposing God.

So they did what they though was best and agreed with Gamaliel.

However the consequence for the disciples disobedience escalated. They weren’t let off with a warning, no, this time they were beaten.

They endured physical punishment but their response is truly astonishing.

Acts 5:41–42 ESV

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.

Gospel Ministry Encourages

This isn’t just a slap on the wrist. This was upwards of 39 lashes (forty stripes save one)

This was a flogging at the hands of the men that had issued the edict for Jesus to be beaten.

But the response of the apostles was astonishing.

They rejoiced at their beating. They rejoiced b/c they got to share in the suffering of Christ.

They found it to be an honor to be beaten for Christ.

The beating Energizes and Encourages the apostles to continue to be bold.

To continue speaking the name of the Lord all around the city.

They weren’t going to let a little beating get them down.

They had news that was too great to hold on to.

They knew they were on the right track. They knew that they had favor with God.

They knew that despite the opposition they were up against that Jesus’ name still needed to be proclaimed.

God gave them grace in their trial. God met them in their difficulty. They recognized that they aren’t greater than their master and that it is a joy to partake in the same thing their savior took part in.

They were willing to shed their blood b/c they were washed and cleansed by His Blood.

They were showing the council of elders that this movement is of God and it cannot be stopped.

All of Christian history has been marked by these types of beatings and death.

All of Christian history demonstrates that what man tries to destroy God will hold together.

This movement is of God, for God, and about God.

He is the power that pushes it forward. He is the one holding it together.

He is the one that sustains.

B/c he is in control, and because he is pushing his mission forward, and b/c he shed his blood for us, we need to be willing to shed ours for him.

We don’t go out looking for persecution, but we stand firm when we face it.

We don’t go praying for persecution, but we hold fast when we face it.

We need to be speaking about Jesus all the time and stand firm on the truth of who he is and how he has changed our life.

He is our refuge and strength. The more we talk about him to one another and to each other the more we will be energized.

What we need is a more energized church. What we need are more energized Christians.

We need to preach the gospel to a dying world regardless of the cost.

Conclusion

So what do we do with this?

How are we as believers to respond to this text?

1. We need to minister to those in need.

We need to open our eyes and realize that our faith is not private. We are called to meet the needs of the needy. We are called to love our neighbor as our self. We are called to be like Jesus and have compassion on the sick, hurting, and outcast.

2. Be Bold in your witness.

Tell others about Christ.

Start with your five. Start with one of them. Then move on to the next.

Invite someone to church. Pray for and with someone. Meet a physical need they may have.

3. Encourage one another.

When we see a brother or sister hurting encourage them.

When we see a brother or sister intimidated encourage them.

We need encouragement if we are going to be bold.

If you have shared the good news with someone, invited them to church, prayed with them or for them, tell someone. They will be emboldened and encouraged by your witness.

If you aren’t a follower of Christ, there is no time like the present.

I am not calling you to an easy believing. We don’t simply say a prayer and consider yourself safe. We are to take up our cross and follow after him.

Anything worth anything is gonna cost you something.

Give up your pride. Give up your reliance on self.

Turn and repent. Ask God for forgiveness.

Ask God to transform your heart.

Be ready to give up everything to follow him.

Let’s pray.