YOU CANNOT STOP THE UNSTOPABLE GOD

Acts 1:8 ESV

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Acts 2 Jesus promise of the Spirit becomes a reality as the Spirit descends on the disciples at Pentecost. The disciples “began to speak in other languages, devout Jews from many nations were amazed. (Illustration of having the Haitian Pastors pray over me.) It was a Holy roar that came out of the people.

Acts 2:14-36 Peter’s first sermon

Peter explains how Pentecost is the glorious and long-anticipated fulfillment of God’s plan of redemption that has been in place since the beginning. Through Peter’s sermon we see the most prominent theme of Acts.

THE BIG PICTURE

Immediately following the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost, Acts 3:1-5:42 records the growing church’s experience as Jesus’ witnesses: Spirit-empowered ministry, and opposition to the ministry.

Acts 3:1-26

Note: 3:1-9 “Peter and John are going up to the temple to pray and meet a lame man who has been lame from birth who was being carried to the beautiful gate to beg for alms. This was a traditional place where beggars would come to seek money before people would enter the Temple. Peter and John’s response to the man when he fixed his sights on them was that they did not have any money to give but evoked the power of Jesus Christ of Nazareth and commanded the man to rise and walk.

The people were astounded to see the miracle taking place, however, the Apostles reply was that they should have expected these kinds of miracles because of Jesus Christ and his ministry. The power to heal comes from Christ alone.

Peter then calls them to repent and turn back from the ignorance of their sins. “God having raised up his servant sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”

DIVINE SOVEREIGNTY

Divine sovereignty refers to God’s all-encompassing rule over the entire universe.

The divine sovereignty of God is a central theme throughout the whole Bible. God delegates authority, establishes kings and kingdoms, and brings to ruin any king of kingdom that fail to submit to his authority. The Bible presents Yahweh as the Creator God, with a sovereign right to rule over his creation anyway he see’s fit.

SYNOPSIS

The fact that God is free and able to do all that he wills; that he reigns over all creation and that his will is the final cause of all things. This is often expressed in the language of kingship.

God is free and able to do whatever he wants

Psalm 135:6 ESV

6 Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.

God cannot be successfully opposed

Acts 5:39 ESV

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,

The iphone evangelist. You see what was happening? I was being "witnessed" to! This guy was an iPhone evangelist. Why? Because his own experience with the iPhone was so real, so satisfying, so life-changing, he couldn't keep quiet about it. And he couldn't stand the thought of me, a perfect stranger, not using it to its full potential. He'd gone "deep" into his iPhone, and he wanted everyone else to have the same experience.

In a similar way, the early church had gone deep in their experience with Christ. It was so real and satisfying that they couldn't help but reach out and tell others about him. In fact, did you pick up what the religious leaders noticed about these early believers? Verse 13 says, "they took note that these men had been with Jesus."

Big Idea: Nothing can stop the move of the unstoppable God.

THE GOSPEL OF JESUS WILL GO WORLD WIDE AND NOTHING CAN STOP THE MOVE OF GOD

The gospel of Jesus will go out to the nations, through the witness of his disciples and the enabling power of the Holy Spirit.

READ: Acts 4:1-17

I. God is free and able to do whatever He wants.

1. When God moves we learn to speak like citizens of Heaven.

NOTE: it shows that we are citizens of heaven and even better citizens of this world.

When we speak out for the Lord we are reminded that......

Acts 4:1-22

The gospel cannot be stopped.

The Priest, captain of the Temple, and Sadducees were greatly annoyed.

Trial Question: By what power and name did you do these things.

Response: By the name of Jesus of Nazareth whom you killed and God raised from the dead.

i. He was the stone rejected by you.

ii. He has now become the cornerstone

iii. There is salvation in no one else other than Christ. (exclusivity of the name of Christ, there is no universalism here.)

When we speak out for the Lord we receive............

When we speak out for the Lord we receive......

Courage in Public Places

a. Sadducees reaction

i. They were greatly annoyed

ii. They arrested them for questioning the next day.

c. Sanhedrin’s Conclusion

i. punishment was unwarranted

ii. denial of the miracle was impossible. (since the man had been blind since birth and was not 40)

d. Instructions give to the Apostles

i. They were not to teach in the name of Jesus again.

e. Response of the Apostles

i. Whether it is right in God’s eyes or man’s you must judge for yourselves.

ii. We must speak to what we have seen and heard.

NOTE: Do not miss the impact of this chapter. Religion doesn’t save. Philosophy doesn’t save. Eternal relationship with God does not rest in the Sanhedrin, nor in Buddhism, nor Hinduism, nor Islam. Salvation does not come in the Ayatollah or in the name of Mohammed (Even though the latter is the most common name used). The exclusivity of verse 12 prevails: There is no other name under heaven and earth given among men by which we must be saved.

Note: The Gospel was about to become illegal in Jerusalem because of this name.

TRANSITION: Look now at the immediate response of the believers to God’s move among the early apostles. We must ask ourselves this question, “should this not always be our response to the move of God?

READ: Acts 4:23-31

2. When God moves we start praying earth shattering spirit filled prayers.

Note: God is the only one who can empower the Church to be successful in what He has called us to do.

Acts 4:23-31

A. Pray to the Lord of the House (“despotes” sovereign Lord)

a. Lord over His creation

b. Lord in His revelation

B. Pray to the Lord of the incarnation

a. Lord over Christs suffering.

C. Pray to the Lord of our motivation

a. He gives us the courage to fulfill His mission.

Termite Teachings

As believers draw closer to their Lord, they become a powerful force, proclaiming his message with boldness.

We don’t dote on most insects in our society and certainly not on termites. They probably top the most hated list, but a community of termites is a rather remarkable group. One or two operating alone can do virtually nothing.

When they reach a critical mass, they organize platoons and create a cathedral in which the colony will live out its entire life. That termite cathedral, constructed of small pellets of wood, is air-conditioned, humidity controlled, and quite comfortable. Remarkably, the builders are stone blind. They simply follow a chemical blueprint the divine Creator coded in their genes.

A direct comparison of Christians with termites would be counterproductive, but certainly the group cooperation metaphor helps us to think about coming together as believers—just like these early Christians with courage.

3. When God moves we learn to bloom where we are planted.

Have you learned to serve the Lord in whatever situation you find yourself ?

You can still remember in our study of chapter 1 that the disciples anticipated kingdom restoration. It was suppose to be like this. They intended the Lord to throw out the Romans and let the good guys take over Israel. Through the Holy Spirits power and wisdom they adapted to the changing surroundings and learned to serve the Lord in whatever situation they found themselves. Peter could have no idea at this point that he would someday be proclaiming the gospel in the house of a Gentile. John could have never guessed that his life and ministry would extend beyond age ninety, and that he would write four books of the New Testament.

NOTE: Regardless of our ages, we cannot anticipate what God has in store for us.

We simply learn to bloom where we are planted. (stop being so selfish and learn what it looks like to truly think of others more significant than yourself.)

TRANSITION: The final chapter this morning should compel us to straighten our reversed and confused priorities in life, to subject our personal pride and feelings before the Lord, and use us to do what is best for his Church and his kingdom in the world. No matter what the consequences might be. This chapter contains an explanation of six events in the early days of the Church.

II. God cannot successfully be Opposed

A. Rebellion in the Church

Ananias and Sapphira: They wanted acclaim without sacrifice and comfort without commitment.

They caused the first demonstration of defeat within the ranks since the betrayal of Judas and the denial by Peter.

NOTE: The outward act seemed appropriate. Notice the identical working in 4:37 and 5:2.

Acts 4:36–37 ESV

36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Acts 5:2 ESV

2 and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Put it at the apostles feet. What appeared to be public generosity was actually family conspiracy, but God was looking.

Lying to the Holy Spirit is a sin that Christians often commit today.

Christians act hypocritically by pretending a devotion that is not there or a surrender of life that they have not really made, they lie to the Holy Spirit.

4. When God moves we stop lying and start dying.

We learn to die to ourselves and live to the greater Glory of God.

NOTE: This has got to be one of the most frightening incidents in the New Testament for Believers.

B. Reaction to the Crime

SUPPORTING IDEA: Sickness and death do not always result from sin, but God reserves the right to use whatever punishment he wishes when sin occurs in the Church.

NOTE: Sinning Christians do not always get the opportunity to repent and change their ways.

ILLUSTRATION: Lady in my first ministry position that called the guitar we used in worship the devils instrument. The next week she dropped dead of heart failure.

Do we fear the great power of God which He can unleash against sin.

CHRISTIAN SINNING: The initial question everyone asks is were Ananias and Sapphira really believers? Scholars have answered this question in one of two ways:

1) they were members of the church (so called nominal Christians) who never entered in faith into a personal saving relationship with Jesus;

2) they were Christians whose sin (possibly the sin unto death of 1 John 5:16-17 God punishes as an example to the Church but who gained eternal salvation.

The entire narrative seems to indicate that these people were born-again Christians and very much a part of the Jerusalem congregation. It is not unusual in scripture to finding death coming at the hand of God against believes.

C. Reputation in the City (vv. 12-16)

Note: People brought their sick into the streets that Peter’s shadow might fall on them as he walked by. Once again, the wording in the New Testament seems so foreign to our experience. Or does it? Even today people search for some kind of physical demonstration of God’s power and presence in their lives. (Consider Gideon and his fleece) people seem to crave physical contact with a spiritual God.

GEOGRAPHICAL SPREAD OF THE GOSPEL: All of these people were coming from towns around Jerusalem. Despite the awful episode recorded in verses 1-11, the Church continued to grow and to spread its vital life-giving message throughout the city and even beyond its urban boundaries.

The Power of Miracles attracts. The awesome power of the Spirit that judges also demands commitment and responsibility.

Before that power the crowd kept its distance with a healthy respect, unless they were willing to fully submit to that power and make a commitment.

Now enter the bad guys in black hats, the same crowd we met in Chapter 4. As they had done earlier they arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.

NOTE: Remember in Chapter 4 God’s grace intervened in the minds of the Sanhedrin, and the apostles were released. Next we are going to have the first jail break.

Now, here we have a physical deliverance and a divine revelation directing them precisely back to what they were doing, preaching the gospel in the temple courts.

D. Release of the Captives (17-26)

SUPPORTING IDEA: Our efforts to proclaim the gospel in an alien environment will often result in persecution, but God takes care of his people.

Acts 5:20 ESV

20 “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.”

A new word now appears in the narrative at the end of verse 20 - life (zoe). It is used 36 times in the New Testament, and is often used as a synonym for the Lord himself.

John 1:4 “In Him was life......” 1 John 1:1-2 “the life was made manifest and we have seen it....”

Note: Since the Sadducees did not believe in angels, this is a bit funny that God’s choice instrument for their delivery from prison were angels. Notice the increasing popularity of Christianity.

Rather than forcefully chaining these fugitives and returning them to their cells, the captain and his cohorts feared for their own lives.

Notice that Luke is using this whole situation to show us that God completely controlled all these events.

TRANSITION: Now you see how the spirit powerfully works in a man by the name of Gamaliel to move the gospel message forward in the early Church.

READ: Acts 5:27-42

E. Response in the Council (vv. 27-40)

5. When God moves nothing can stop the powerful name of Jesus.

Acts E. Gamaliel (v. 34)

Gamaliel appears not only in Scripture, but various places in rabbinical literature. The time of the events in Acts coincided with the prime of his influence in the Sanhedrin (A.D. 25–50). He so endeared himself to the entire Jewish community that they called him “Rabban” (our teacher) rather than Rabbi (my teacher). The Mishna records, “When Rabban Gamaliel the Elder died, the glory of the Law ceased and purity and abstinence died” (Polhill, 171).

VII. TEACHING OUTLINE

SUPPORTING IDEA: Witnessing Christians with the work of the Holy Spirit proclaim the message of crucifixion and resurrection. Anyone who apposes that message find themselves fighting against God.

Philippians 3:18 ESV

18 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.

NOTE: Notice that the high priest here makes no mention of the jail brake, I’m sure the last thing he wants here is to concede another miracle has taken place. Nor does he mention Jesus by name. The opposition was now in full swing, for the apostles no longer merely represented and annoyance; as lawbreakers they must be dealt with.

Acts 5:28 ESV

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.”

Notice how often today the name of Jesus has been evoked in our text. Now consider how often in our culture today we hear the name of Jesus used, and how rarely it is used in connection with praise. The most crude and ignorant people somehow learn to curse by using the name of God’s Son, Why? Because we live in a society like that, and because as Christians we so rarely uphold the honor that His name deserves.

We should daily ask God to give us the courage and power to honor rather than bring dishonor to the name of Jesus Christ alone. We should affirm as John Newton once said.

“How sweet the name of Jesus sounds in a believers ear. It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds, and drives away his fears. Dear Name - the Rock on which I build, my shield, and Hiding Place, My never-failing treasury with boundless stores of grace.

CONCLUSION

Born in Ardrishaig, Scotland, James Chalmers heard God’s call at the age of fifteen and committed his life to take the gospel to the cannibals. Actually, he didn’t come to christ until three years later in 1859. Eight years later in 1877, he sailed for the Cook Islands of Polynesia to join a pioneer work in New Guinea where he served for twenty-four years.

At the end of twenty-one years of missionary service, Chalmers reportedly prayed, “Recall the twenty-one years. Give me back all its experiences. Give me its shipwrecks, its standing in the face of death, surrounded by savages with spears and clubs… give it all back and I will still be your missionary.” He continued to press on with the gospel, and his success is attributed by reliable sources to the fact that he never doubted he had a gospel for the people of New Guinea. In 1901 he was murdered by cannibals at the age of sixty.

The story doesn’t end there. During World war II, some American fighter pilots were shot down over New Guinea and were led to faith in Christ by former cannibals impacted by the witness of James Chalmers, pioneer missionary.

The apostles and early Christians that we have read about today can be called the earliest pioneer missionaries. They pressed the gospel in places where it was not wanted. Though they did not have to learn new languages or enter new cultures, they suffered and, as we will see in the case of Stephen, died for their faith. Yet the effect of their witness spread to us today; and we, as someone has said, go forward on the backs of those who have gone before us.

Hebrews 12:1–3 ESV

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

Note: Notice at the end of chapter 5 in verses 41 and 42 when they had left the presence of the counsel they rejoiced at being counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of Christ. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.

As the Church begins to experience persecution, they are fulfilling what Jesus predicted. Jesus’ life was filled with rejection, loneliness, poverty, persecution, hunger, temptation, suffering, and finally death. The cross stands at the center of human history as God’s supreme act of love.

APPLICATION QUESTIONS

When is the last time you rejoiced at being counted worthy to be persecuted for the sake of Christ? or Maybe you shirk away from being associated with your faith in Christ.

Do you see yourself as an ambassador for Christ? What kind of citizen of heaven are you displaying in your daily life, your marriage, your job, your leisure activities.

Or, maybe you are like Ananias and Sapphira, you are lying to yourself and God. You are playing the game of being all in with Christ, when in reality you are deceiving yourself.

ACTION TO DO

SACRIFICE

an act of slaughtering something precious, an animal or person or surrendering a possession as an offering to God or to a divine or supernatural figure

What does it cost you? What does your faith cost you today? How are you daily being a living sacrifice not only with your words but with your actions?