Sermon Tone Analysis

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)

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

“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

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?

- 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)

READ

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.