Hope When Life is Out of Control
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Introduction
Introduction
Personal Introduction
Good Morning CrossPointe
I’m Steve McKenzie, the Lead Pastor here, and we are continuing through our series through the book of Acts.
Pray
Do you ever feel like life and faith are beginning to spin out of control, escalating quicker than we can keep up?
Hurricane Michael
Compounding problems in life (pets have fleas, oh we have bed bugs, the van isn’t working, unknown illness, did you pay that bill yet, etc…) - “we just can’t catch a break”
Spiritual Impact (
We’ll see today that life and faith for the disciples was escalating out of control as we continue in Acts chapter 5
In Peter and John are arrested after God heals the lame beggar outside the temple mount
They spend the night in jail and are threatened
They prayed and asked for help in
In the threat came from within the church.
Today we’ll look at the the end of and the Apostles will be arrested again, threatened, and beaten.
This is all escalating to the murder of of one of the disciples.
I want you to sense that tension is building. The costs are getting higher. Some people don’t want to be seen with the group because of fear and anxiety.
How do we respond when the the escalation begins?
Are we crushed beneath the uncertainty?
Do we just look to ourselves and try harder?
How did the early disciples respond and how does this apply to us today?
Big Idea
As people resist and attack God’s kingdom, he is supernaturally working to ensure victory while empowering the disciples’ Life.
1) God Answers prayer, 2) God empowers the disciples life, 3) God ensures the victory
God Answers Prayer (5:12-16)
God Answers Prayer (5:12-16)
We’ve seen throughout Acts that the early church was a praying church
- devoted to prayer, going to the temple to pray ()
Disciples Initial Response in
- God heals a lame beggar and Peter preaches the gospel in Solomon’s Portico. Peter and John are arrested and commanded to not speak.
"And now Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
See their threats
Give us boldness to proclaim your word
You perform miracles in Jesus’ name
READ - GOD ANSWERS PRAYER
There are two things I want us to see concerning prayer.
There are two things I want us to see concerning prayer.
1) Prayer moves the disciples from a spirit of fear to boldness
2) Prayer moves the disciples to trust in the supernatural power of God rather than their natural efforts
Fear vs. Boldness
Fear vs. Boldness
“They were all together in Solomon’s Portico”
Why is this important… ?
This is the same place they were when they got arrested the first time in .
They aren’t hiding - they went back to the exact same place
They aren’t avoiding the religious leaders
“none of the rest dared to join them...”
Did this really take boldness?
Look at the next verse, “none of the rest dared to join them...”
The rest seem to be the general people, not the other apostles or disciples
The disciples asked for boldness and God gave them boldness
Natural vs. Supernatural
Natural vs. Supernatural
The disciples also asked that God would stretch out his hand and perform miracles in the name of Jesus.
“Carried out the sick into the street and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them...”
The disciples asked for the impossible, the supernatural
God answered their prayers
How did the early disciples pray and how do we pray?
How did the early disciples pray and how do we pray?
- devoted to prayer, going to the temple to pray (Acts 3:1)
How did the early disciples pray and how do we pray?
Remove Obstacles or for Strength to Overcome the Obstacles?
Normal - Jesus, we have this obstacle, would you remove it. This person, this politician, this law, this threat, this cultural norm. Take it away. This thing is against you so it needs to go away so that we don’t have this struggle.
Spiritual - Asked that God would see the issue and give them the strength overcome.
Example: Imagine God sends you on a journey. While walking in obedience along the path God has placed you, you see a mountain blocking the path. One sits down and asks God to remove the mountain so they can continue forward. The other asks for strength to climb the mountain as they keep walking.
How do you typically pray?
May we become the kind of disciples who pray for strength as we continue walking in obedience to Jesus.
Natural Abilities (mine) or Supernatural Outcome (God)
Normal - Sometimes I catch myself praying very self-serving and simplistic prayers. Lord, help me do this or that. Bless my efforts (make my plans work out). Bless my words (make people do what I say), etc.
Spiritual - The early disciples asked that God would stretch out his hand and perform miracles. That the blind would see and the deaf would hear. The lame would walk and those with evil spirits would be set free.
The disciples had absolutely no ability to make any of this happen on their own.
You simply ask God and step back and wait
Application - I believe we serve a supernatural God who still performs miracles today according to his will and for his glory.
Last week a gentlemen was sitting right there...
He is someone I sent overseas and he currently works with nomads. This is a particularly difficult kind of people group to enter and then even more difficult to help establish and church that plants churches.
As we caught up after the service he described some of the challenges they face but also how God was working. God began to give one of the women dreams and visions of Jesus that led her to trust on Jesus and now there are 8 new disciples of Jesus among this people group.
How do we pray? - for God to bless our natural efforts or for God to do what only God can do?
Personally
Relationships
Politics
Spiritual Journey
Church
God Empowers the Disciple’s Life (5:17-32)
God Empowers the Disciple’s Life (5:17-32)
READ
Apostles are arrested BUT and angel sets them free...
Apostles are arrested BUT and angel sets them free...
There is something comical to me in this passage.
Sadduceees are ‘sad you see’ - remember - because they don’t believe in the supernatural and they are really ticked off now.
Passage reads quickly - Sadducees are mad and arrest the apostles and throw them into prison but God sends an angel and frees them telling them to keep preaching.
The religious leaders then call everyone together AND THEN sends people to the prison to get them.
They can’t find them but then it says LOOK! they are preaching again on the temple.
Please tell me that you see the God’s sense of humor....
Went to get them - but not by force because they are scared
Went to get them - but not by force because they are scared
God gives the the apostles boldness while the religious leaders are afraid
The situation is turned completely upside down from how we would expect things to go
God empowers the disciples with boldness - to proclaim “THIS LIFE”
Words of this Life
Words of this Life
“The angel tells the apostles, “Go and stand in the temple and speak to all the people all the words of this Life”
Disciples weren’t known yet as Christians. It seems like they were referred to as ‘The Way’ or ‘The Life’ - Not until Acts 11
Notice in the ESV how “Life” has a capital “L.”
There are three greek words used for life:
Bios (Bee-os)- where we get the work biology. This refers to the physical body
Psuche (Psu-hay)- Where we get the word psychology. This greek word refers to the psychological life of the human soul.
Zoé - here is the greek word referring to the uncreated, eternal life of God, the divine life uniquely possessed by God.
This term for life is the equivalent to ‘the gospel,’ ‘the faith,’ or ‘Christianity.’
Death came through sin - seperating us from God. We were dead in our sins, having rejected God.
“In Jesus’ sacrifice He endured the divine judgment due to man’s sin. By this means the believer becomes identified with Him in His eternal “life,” through His resurrection, and enjoys conscious and eternal fellowship with God.” Vines Expository Dictionary
“I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live (zoé), but Christ who lives (zoé) in me. The life (zoé) i now live in the body I live (zoé) by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
In His sacrifice He endured the divine judgment due to man’s sin. By this means the believer becomes identified with Him in His deathless “life,” through His resurrection, and enjoys conscious and eternal fellowship with God.
With this understanding - we hear the angel say to those in prison
Here’s the other funny thing - the last time Peter and John were arrested that told the religious leaders that they killed the the “Author of Life” (Zoé) but God raised him from the dead.
Now the angel tells them - go and keep telling people about this LIFE.
Application:
God isn’t afraid
In fact, it feels like God has a sense of humor when people try to puff themselves up to speak or action against his kingdom.
This should bring us comfort when life feels out of control.
It doesn’t mean that everything goes smoothly
The apostles are still going to be severely beaten at the end of this passage
In a short amount of time the first disciple will be killed
The comfort is knowing that God is in control. The God is active and nobody can do anything outside the will of God.
God Ensures Victory (5:33-42)
God Ensures Victory (5:33-42)
READ
READ
Gamaliel
Gamaliel
He was considered one of the best teachers t the time and highly respected.
One of his most famous pupils was Saul of Tarsus, better known as the Apostle Paul ()
He did not believe in Jesus nor do we get the sense that his actions were noble - rather, he was shrewd politician
Yet, God used him for his purposes
God is Victorious
God is Victorious
2,000 years have passed and here we are - celebrating the risen Jesus
, , , all say the same thing:
At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
God wins - as disciples of Jesus that means we win.
Apostles Response
Apostles Response
Religious leaders beat them and said don’t talk about jesus
Every day they were on the temple mount talking about Jesus.
What does this mean? This should change the way we live.
What does this mean? This should change the way we live.
What if this life (bios) isn’t everything. What if the real life is our eternal life that is from God (Zoé)
When life escalates
Soon after arriving in Chad we prayer for a man who was taken and our kids played with his kids and we would pray for their dad to be released.
When opposition arises outside of ourselves and even with our own community of faith
As we were preparing for the 2-day trek we had to delay our departure because of confirmed bandit activity along the path we would be traveling.
I remember sitting on a wooden bench with my daughter as she looked at me with concern in her eyes, asking, “Daddy, are the bandits dangerous? What would they do to us?”
I explained that most likely the would simply steal the vehicle and leave in the desert but in some circumstances that have killed the person driving. Obviously her eyes grew large.
BUT, they can’t touch us unless God allows. They have no power excep
Action Steps:
Action Steps:
Devoted to Pray This Week - 3 Ways
“See their threats” -
See -
Boldness -
Boldness and courage to be faithful
Tuesday -
Wednesday -
You Move -
Thursday -
God to move supernaturally in the situation
Friday -
May be continue to speak and proclaim all the words if this LIFE in Jesus.