SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Enduring Grace Sermons Podcast.
SPEAKER_00: This is the home for the weekly teaching and ministry of Pastor Ben Hill.
SPEAKER_00: Our mission is to share the timeless truth of God's Word with the world in need of hope.
SPEAKER_00: For more resources, articles, and updates, visit us online at enduringgrace.com.
SPEAKER_00: And now, here is this week's message.
SPEAKER_01: Amen, amen.
SPEAKER_01: Great job, everybody.
SPEAKER_01: It is awesome to be in the house of the Lord, and you can taste and see that the Lord is good.
SPEAKER_01: It is so good to be with you all this morning.
SPEAKER_01: It's so good to have most of my voice back.
SPEAKER_01: It's still got its weak spots, but it is much better than it was.
SPEAKER_01: It's also great to have my whole family here.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, we were talking about it on the way in.
SPEAKER_01: It's been basically a month of flu and RSV in our house, and it is good to be out with people.
SPEAKER_01: And so if you're dealing with sickness and you're at home and watching us online this morning, know we're praying for you, and we miss you, and we can't wait to see you back together here with us worshiping next week.
SPEAKER_01: But also just wanted to let y'all uh know that it is March, it is already uh well into March.
SPEAKER_01: We are on our second Sunday of March, and uh Clay is going to be here in two weeks.
SPEAKER_01: Isn't that awesome?
SPEAKER_01: Uh, we're so thankful for Jan and all the work that she has put in.
SPEAKER_01: Uh and we know she is excited because Clay is coming and coming quickly.
SPEAKER_01: And so be praying for them as they transition.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, we want to make sure that uh we lift them up because moving is hard, but moving with an infant is always harder.
SPEAKER_01: And so uh they've got a lot that they're trying to get done.
SPEAKER_01: They're supposed to close on their house this week, and so there is just a lot of moving parts, so just lift them up in prayer this week.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, if you have your Bibles, go ahead and turn to Acts chapter five.
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna be there this morning, and we're going to be looking at the rest of chapter five.
SPEAKER_01: We stopped uh looking at Ananias and Sapphira last week, and we saw that there was a great fear and reverence that came upon the church because of the acts of God in the church, because of the lying of Ananias and Sapphira about the full gift of what they received from the sell of their property.
SPEAKER_01: But what we're going to pick up with is we're going to see that God is continuing to move in the church through the prophet uh the apostles and Peter.
SPEAKER_01: And so, as we look at this text, what I want you to see this morning is simply this that the gospel is unstoppable.
SPEAKER_01: And we have a great hope in Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And so this morning, I just want to spend just a moment reminding you of a story maybe that you're familiar with.
SPEAKER_01: If you've grew up about the same time I did, then maybe you saw the movie Balto, or maybe you should have shown that to your grandkids.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, but that movie, Balto, is inspired by a true event in January of 1925 in Nome, Alaska.
SPEAKER_01: Now, what you might not know is that in Nome, Alaska, uh, when they were going through the diphtheria that was killing children, it was one of the harshest winters that they've ever experienced.
SPEAKER_01: Now, I've been told that we've experienced harsher winters here than we've had in much uh in several years, the last two years, because we've had snow.
SPEAKER_01: And I was told we don't get snow, but that's okay.
SPEAKER_01: Um, but in this case, they were very used to snow, but they were not used to minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit temperatures.
SPEAKER_01: And so here in Gnome, Alaska, where it was minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit, the ice was too thick for ships to travel, and they were out of medicine.
SPEAKER_01: They were desperately in need of medicine that would save these children's lives.
SPEAKER_01: And with the winds and the intensity of the winter, it was hard for pilots to fly.
SPEAKER_01: It made it impossible during the height of this sickness that was in Gnome, Alaska.
SPEAKER_01: So, what they did was they derived a plan of having 20 different teams of dog sledders and mushers to rally and run a race, essentially, of time against time, to go all the way a thousand miles to Anchorage in order to get the medicine and bring it to Nome, Alaska.
SPEAKER_01: As they faced frozen limbs and exhaustion and literal walls of snow, those dogs and their mushers were able to succeed in bringing medicine to that city, saving many, many children's lives.
SPEAKER_01: And so what we see is that when people rally behind a cause, people do incredible things.
SPEAKER_01: The apostles rally behind the greatest cause, which is to bring the good news of life, eternal life, to a sick and dead world.
SPEAKER_01: And the gospel cannot be stopped.
SPEAKER_01: And so, with that said, if you have found your place in Acts chapter 5, verse 12, would you say word?
SPEAKER_01: And would you stand in the honor of reading God's word?
SPEAKER_01: Starting with verse 12.
SPEAKER_01: 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.
SPEAKER_01: 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 the cot on cots and mats, that as Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on some of them.
SPEAKER_01: The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.
SPEAKER_01: 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.
SPEAKER_01: 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.
SPEAKER_01: And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.
SPEAKER_01: Now when the high priest came and they were with or and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the sin of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to them ha to have them brought.
SPEAKER_01: But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison.
SPEAKER_01: So they returned and reported, We found the prison securely locked, and the guards standing at the door.
SPEAKER_01: But when we opened them, we found no one inside.
SPEAKER_01: 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.
SPEAKER_01: And someone came and told them, Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.
SPEAKER_01: Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.
SPEAKER_01: 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 the name in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us.
SPEAKER_01: But Peter and the apostles answered, We must obey God rather than men.
SPEAKER_01: The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.
SPEAKER_01: God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior, to give repentance to Jer to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
SPEAKER_01: And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.
SPEAKER_01: When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them.
SPEAKER_01: 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.
SPEAKER_01: And he said to them, Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men.
SPEAKER_01: For before these days Theodus rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him.
SPEAKER_01: He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed, and came to nothing.
SPEAKER_01: After him, Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him.
SPEAKER_01: He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered.
SPEAKER_01: 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 a man, it will fail.
SPEAKER_01: But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them.
SPEAKER_01: You might even be found opposing God.
SPEAKER_01: 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.
SPEAKER_01: Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.
SPEAKER_01: And every day in the temple and from house to house they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Father God, I pray that you would allow this text to encourage us to know that you are unstoppable, that your gospel is unstoppable, and a church who follows you is unstoppable in your will.
SPEAKER_01: Lord, we love you, and in your name we pray.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: You may be seated.
SPEAKER_01: There are four truths of this tax that I want us to see this morning, and all four of these are true for the believer.
SPEAKER_01: And the first is simply this that you can walk in God's power.
SPEAKER_01: Did you know that you can walk in God's power?
SPEAKER_01: We see this take place with Peter and the Apostles in the first few verses that we read.
SPEAKER_01: What we see is that Peter and the Apostles are doing many signs and wonders, and they were being regularly done.
SPEAKER_01: Now we don't go around seeing people healed because of them being able to touch our shadow, uh, and nor should they.
SPEAKER_01: But what we see is that God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, is revealing to the people of Israel that these apostles who are preaching Christ's name has the same power given to them, the authority given to Jesus by the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: And so they are conducting themselves in a God-honoring way.
SPEAKER_01: They're giving glory to the Lord, and as a result, people are being healed.
SPEAKER_01: And we see that they are gathering regularly at Solomon's portico, which is a gathering spot in the temple uh area, and as they are gathering, they're preaching and proclaiming Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Now, one of the things I would say is that it's interesting to me that not everyone, not all of the followers of Jesus, not all the believers join them.
SPEAKER_01: In fact, it says in verse 13, none of the rest dared join them.
SPEAKER_01: So there was a sense of fear here that's taking place as the disciples are being uh really following uh the apostles leading, these people that are being saved.
SPEAKER_01: And remember, there's over 8,000 that have been recorded that have been saved in the area, but not all of them are gathering at Solomon's Portico at the time.
SPEAKER_01: It says, but the people held them in high esteem.
SPEAKER_01: So they were praising them for the obedience of the apostles.
SPEAKER_01: And then in verse 14, what we see is more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women.
SPEAKER_01: Now keep in mind, we've seen over 8,000 saved already, and what it we see is that there's even more believers being added, and a multitude of both men and women.
SPEAKER_01: The church is exploding as the prophet or these apostles and Peter and are preaching the good news about Jesus, as people are seeing the miracles that are taking place.
SPEAKER_01: And what we understand is that by them walking faithfully in God's uh way and in following Jesus' example, God's power is filling them and overflowing and impacting those around them.
SPEAKER_01: Look at verse 15.
SPEAKER_01: It says, Peter came by at least, or that uh so that when they carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, and that as Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on some of them.
SPEAKER_01: That they were hoping that just maybe Peter's shadow would be enough to have for their loved one to be changed, transformed, and healed.
SPEAKER_01: You gotta remember that uh this really started with the healing of a layman outside the gate that's called beautiful.
SPEAKER_01: And this act is a catalyst that propels the gospel because they're saying that it's by Jesus' name that we have done this work.
SPEAKER_01: And as people are being saved, they're saying it's by Jesus that this is possible.
SPEAKER_01: And so the message was always about Christ.
SPEAKER_01: It wasn't about themselves, but it was about where the power came from, which was Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_01: For us in the church, what that means is simply this that we can do nothing for God's glory apart from being connected to the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: We cannot do anything for God's glory without being connected to the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: Think of a power strip.
SPEAKER_01: We all probably have them at our house, at least we should, and we've got some of our most precious things plugged into those power strips.
SPEAKER_01: Or if you need an outlet to have multiple or more than just two, then you plug a power strip in and you connect a few additional uh items that need electricity into the power strip.
SPEAKER_01: But here's the thing about a power strip: a power strip is useless without a power source, it has to plug in to electricity in order to distribute that electricity out into the world in our rooms, into our TVs and other devices.
SPEAKER_01: And so what we see with a power strip is that it is useless unless it's connected to its power supply.
SPEAKER_01: Christians are useless if they are not connected to Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_01: We cannot impact others, we cannot be a useful tool to the Lord in what he has called us to.
SPEAKER_01: We cannot walk faithfully in God's will unless we are walking with Jesus, which means that we need to study our Bibles and we need to be spending time with the Lord in prayer, and we need to be faithful and obediently sharing the gospel with other people as he has called us to go, therefore, and make disciples.
SPEAKER_01: If we're not going and making disciples, we are not plugged in to the power supply.
SPEAKER_01: We're not plugged into Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: But not only is there the ability when we place our faith and trust in Jesus to walk in God's power, there's also the fact that you can trust God to provide.
SPEAKER_01: We see that God provides for the apostles and for Peter here in verse 17 through 21.
SPEAKER_01: And so what you end up seeing is have it you have the priests.
SPEAKER_01: The priests are not happy.
SPEAKER_01: Uh they rise up, right?
SPEAKER_01: And all who were with him, which is the party of the Sadducees, and filled with jealousy.
SPEAKER_01: They did not like what they were seeing.
SPEAKER_01: Now keep in mind, these are the leaders, supposed to be the leaders, spiritual leaders of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: And yet, what they are watching transpire is thousands of people, literally thousands of people, are choosing to follow these uneducated fishermen, essentially, who are preaching a name that they crucified, preaching a person that they killed because they could not stand him.
SPEAKER_01: And jealousy rises up because the people are not following them, that they are following these men.
SPEAKER_01: So they arrest the apostles.
SPEAKER_01: Yet again, this is the second time that at least Peter and John have been arrested.
SPEAKER_01: And so they arrest them and put them in public prison, which is not a pleasant place.
SPEAKER_01: And so these men are now arrested, put in public prison.
SPEAKER_01: They're sitting in jail, and they have a visitor that comes to them.
SPEAKER_01: Now, I just want you to imagine just for a moment that you're in a dark jail cell that's locked, and all of a sudden before you is a person, an angel of the Lord, standing before you.
SPEAKER_01: That might be a little bit startling at first.
SPEAKER_01: You might go, whoa, what's happening?
SPEAKER_01: You how'd you get in here?
SPEAKER_01: But keep in mind, they've also spent time with Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: So maybe their first response was, Oh, the Lord has sent you.
SPEAKER_01: What is next?
SPEAKER_01: And this is what the angel of the Lord does.
SPEAKER_01: It says that the angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out and said, Now keep in mind, most of us probably would immediately go, okay, he's getting me out of jail.
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna go home and just lay low for a little while.
SPEAKER_01: But no, the instructions of the angel of the Lord say this go and stand in the temple and speak to the people, all the words of this life.
SPEAKER_01: You know the thing that you just got jailed for, go do it again.
SPEAKER_01: It's crazy fun, right?
SPEAKER_01: Like the angel of the Lord comes and goes, Hey, apostles, y'all are doing such a good job obeying the Lord and testifying.
SPEAKER_01: Keep it up, go do it again.
SPEAKER_01: I'm letting you out so that I can provide a way for you to continue to do the mission and the ministry that I've called you to do.
SPEAKER_01: And so, what do they do?
SPEAKER_01: It says, when they they broke, they were back at the temple preaching the same name, teaching the same name as they were before.
SPEAKER_01: They were obedient because they understood that God would provide for them.
SPEAKER_01: Now, oftentimes our world around us, they misunderstand what it means to say that if you trust God, God will provide.
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes they connect that to complete and total financial uh freedom in the sense of you're gonna be the wealthiest person on your block, you're gonna have the best life ever, but that's not what it's talking about.
SPEAKER_01: What it's talking about is God will provide for your needs in the season that he needs to provide for you so that you can give him glory and praise as you faithfully pursue him.
SPEAKER_01: It's not a get rich scheme, it's not a have the best life now scheme.
SPEAKER_01: It is to be faithful so that you can have the blessings of seeing God move in your life.
SPEAKER_01: Now, sometimes it means that God's going to provide financial gifts that are above and beyond our needs, but it's for the purpose of blessing others.
SPEAKER_01: It's for glorifying Him to be faithful and to meet the needs of others.
SPEAKER_01: And so here the disciples are being faithful.
SPEAKER_01: They are obeying the Lord, and they are coming out of the jail, going into the temple for the purpose of preaching the good news of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And so the high priest came the next morning, and those who were with him, and they called together the council, saying, Okay, we got these men in jail.
SPEAKER_01: It is time to do our ruling on them and make sure that they shut up because it didn't work last time.
SPEAKER_01: Let's do it a little more harsh this time.
SPEAKER_01: So let's get together and let's figure this out.
SPEAKER_01: And so they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent the prison or sent to the prison to have them brought.
SPEAKER_01: So essentially they get together, they get everybody, the Sadducees, the Pharisees, all of the leaders of Israel, and they're saying, okay, it's time to have our time with these men.
SPEAKER_01: Go get them.
SPEAKER_01: And what we will see is that they're not there because we know where they are.
SPEAKER_01: They're in the temple preaching.
SPEAKER_01: Now, here's the thing is that how many of you have ever done an escape room?
SPEAKER_01: Okay, we got a few.
SPEAKER_01: So, an escape room is simply this you pay to get locked in a room and try to figure out how to get out.
SPEAKER_01: So it's kind of fun.
SPEAKER_01: I enjoy those things.
SPEAKER_01: It's like a giant puzzle that's like you've got moving things, you've got to get creative.
SPEAKER_01: It's a lot of fun.
SPEAKER_01: And sometimes it's really hard to get out, and sometimes you will fail.
SPEAKER_01: But here's the thing with escape rooms you're trapped until you solve the problem, the puzzle, the problem.
SPEAKER_01: But here are the apostles.
SPEAKER_01: They have the problem, they're in jail.
SPEAKER_01: There is no puzzle to get them out of jail, they're just in there.
SPEAKER_01: But the Lord provides the answer.
SPEAKER_01: It'd be like it being in an escape room, and the person that owns the escape room coming in and opening the door, and you go, Why did I pay$30 to do this?
SPEAKER_01: Like, right?
SPEAKER_01: Like I wasted money, I can't do that.
SPEAKER_01: Like Lock me back in.
SPEAKER_01: I want to get out on my own.
SPEAKER_01: But here's the thing is that in life, sometimes it's like in a giant escape room.
SPEAKER_01: We try to figure out how to get out constantly.
SPEAKER_01: We're trying to figure out, okay, what can I do to get out of this situation?
SPEAKER_01: But the reality is we need to stop and pray and allow the Lord to move in our midst.
SPEAKER_01: It is not a matter of figuring out how to get out, it's a matter of asking the Lord to come and provide a way out.
SPEAKER_01: Because only the Lord can open and shut the doors of life.
SPEAKER_01: And the disciples understood that and they followed the Lord and walked out as they followed him faithfully.
SPEAKER_01: But it really boils down to the fact that when we are obedient and we trust God to provide, we choose like the disciples did, to obey God, not people.
SPEAKER_01: Which is what we see unfold in the next sequence of verses.
SPEAKER_01: So you have the council, they're getting together when the officers came back and they are giving their report that they found the prison securely locked, the guards standing at the doors, like they're supposed to, but when they opened the doors, there was nobody inside.
SPEAKER_01: Just imagine being that council, hearing a report that sounded very similar to some extent to Jesus' resurrection.
SPEAKER_01: Remember, there were guards outside the tomb, but the tomb was rolled away, and Jesus walked out while the guards were there.
SPEAKER_01: Here, the disciples walk out with guards present and a door that was securely locked.
SPEAKER_01: There was no way out except by God's providence, God's grace.
SPEAKER_01: And so here they are going, okay, this might sound a little familiar.
SPEAKER_01: And so the captain of the temple and the chief priest heard these words.
SPEAKER_01: They were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what would come, what would happen because of this.
SPEAKER_01: Basically, oh man, here we go again.
SPEAKER_01: These guys are different.
SPEAKER_01: What can we do to fix it?
SPEAKER_01: Where are they?
SPEAKER_01: They've probably gone long, far away from here, is what they're probably thinking in the back of their mind.
SPEAKER_01: But then came a report.
SPEAKER_01: And the report was look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple teaching the people.
SPEAKER_01: It's like these guys don't know when to quit.
SPEAKER_01: We jailed them, they get out for free, apparently, and now they're back in the same spot that they were before, saying the same things that they were before.
SPEAKER_01: What is wrong with these people?
SPEAKER_01: So what do they do?
SPEAKER_01: The chief priest goes out with the, or captain of the temple goes out with the officers and they go get them.
SPEAKER_01: But they don't get them by force because they're afraid of the people.
SPEAKER_01: They're afraid that they themselves would be the ones stoned to death because of arresting these men.
SPEAKER_01: Instead, they negotiate, and I can just see Peter going, okay, cool, let's go do this again.
SPEAKER_01: That's fine.
SPEAKER_01: Let's go talk.
SPEAKER_01: And walking gracefully, lovingly, for the purpose of sitting before, to give an account of what's taking place.
SPEAKER_01: Look at what it says.
SPEAKER_01: And when they brought them, they set them before the council, and the high priest questioned them, saying, We strictly charge 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.
SPEAKER_01: Essentially, you keep sharing this name of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: People keep receiving it, accepting it, following it, and you keep blaming us over and over for killing the dude.
SPEAKER_01: Stop it.
SPEAKER_01: I don't like it.
SPEAKER_01: You're making us look bad, is essentially what the priest is saying.
SPEAKER_01: You're taking people that follow us away from us.
SPEAKER_01: It's not cool.
SPEAKER_01: Stop it.
SPEAKER_01: Can't we oftentimes get a little perturbed when attention gets drawn away from us in our flesh?
SPEAKER_01: Isn't that a real temptation?
SPEAKER_01: That's the temptation these Pharisees and Sadducees are having, is that their attention is being taken away from them and being put on the true Savior of the world.
SPEAKER_01: And so here they are scolding them, and Peter doesn't know when to put his or to close his mouth, apparently, according to the text, because he goes straight into it because he's obeying the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: Look at what he says.
SPEAKER_01: We must obey God rather than men.
SPEAKER_01: He goes, this is the reason why I can't shut my mouth.
SPEAKER_01: This is the reason why I won't shut my mouth.
SPEAKER_01: It's because we must obey God rather than men in verse 29.
SPEAKER_01: And then he says this the God of our Father raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.
SPEAKER_01: He goes, you know what?
SPEAKER_01: You're so mad about us talking about how you killed him.
SPEAKER_01: I'm going to bring it back up.
SPEAKER_01: I love you so much.
SPEAKER_01: You killed him.
SPEAKER_01: He's like, man, what are you doing?
SPEAKER_01: What are you thinking?
SPEAKER_01: Like, get it through your head.
SPEAKER_01: You killed Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: But there's also good news that follows it.
SPEAKER_01: He says that God exalted him.
SPEAKER_01: Or the God, our Father, verse 30, raised Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: So this Jesus has been raised from the grave.
SPEAKER_01: That good news means that your killing of him wasn't permanent.
SPEAKER_01: And then verse 31, God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
SPEAKER_01: This Jesus that you killed, guess what?
SPEAKER_01: He's not dead anymore.
SPEAKER_01: And he is the savior of the world.
SPEAKER_01: He is at the right hand of God the Father.
SPEAKER_01: He is the forgiver of sins, and he provides righteousness to all who repent.
SPEAKER_01: You can have salvation if you will repent, is the message of Peter to this council.
SPEAKER_01: And he says, we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: And here's the reminder to the church is that the Holy Spirit is given to those who obey Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Every Christian who places their faith in Jesus is given the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: Which means that we too are witnesses, as were the apostles, of the good news that Jesus Christ lives, that he died, and that he provides forgiveness and repentance to all who confess Jesus as Lord.
SPEAKER_01: Have you confessed Jesus as Lord?
SPEAKER_01: Have you repented and turned to Christ?
SPEAKER_01: Are you taking your faith seriously?
SPEAKER_01: Do you trust and obey God rather than people?
SPEAKER_01: There's a great illustration of what it looks like to trust God rather than people in the life of Desmond Daws.
SPEAKER_01: Now you might not know Desmond Daws' name by his name, but you might be more familiar with Hacksaw Ridge, which is the inspiration for Desmond Daws.
SPEAKER_01: And during World War II, Desmond Daws believed that it was wrong.
SPEAKER_01: He was convictionally convicted that it was wrong for him to carry a weapon and take the life of another.
SPEAKER_01: And so he, despite being in the army, refused to carry a firearm.
SPEAKER_01: He refused to kill people despite the immense pressure and mockery from his superiors.
SPEAKER_01: And as a result, he chose to obey God rather than his superiors.
SPEAKER_01: And when it came time to be on the battlefield of Okinawa, what ended up happening was he was able to focus on saving people's lives and ended up saving 75 different lives on the battlefield because of his conviction.
SPEAKER_01: But here's the thing: those people still one day would die.
SPEAKER_01: How many of us are so focused on winning one more person for Christ so that they might have eternal life?
SPEAKER_01: That we keep going after people?
SPEAKER_01: Or are we more prone to get caught up in our own fears of maybe even not just people, but our own insecurities of being able to share our faith?
SPEAKER_01: Well, that we simply ignore what we've been called to do, which is take the gospel to one more person for Jesus' glory.
SPEAKER_01: We've been called to go after one more.
SPEAKER_01: And if we would go after one more person who is on the death, fill or filled nearly dead, like Desmond Dahl, how much more important is it to go after those who are living alive and they are truly spiritually dead and need Jesus?
SPEAKER_01: We need to pursue people and obey God, not people.
SPEAKER_01: But the fourth and final way or truth that we see in this text is that you can know God's will prevails.
SPEAKER_01: This is great news to us is that ultimately God's will will always prevail.
SPEAKER_01: Look at the next few verses of 33 through 42.
SPEAKER_01: What we see happen is the council is enraged and wants to kill them.
SPEAKER_01: They are so furious because this man, Peter, keeps bringing up the same thing over and over, no matter what they do.
SPEAKER_01: And so they're ready to kill Peter and the apostles with him.
SPEAKER_01: But a Pharisee in the council speaks up.
SPEAKER_01: And he says, Hey, I need you to listen, guys.
SPEAKER_01: Let's send these men out before we do anything.
SPEAKER_01: And let's talk about what's happening.
SPEAKER_01: Let's talk about it for just a moment.
SPEAKER_01: And what does Gamaliel say?
SPEAKER_01: He says, This men of Israel, take care what you're about to do with these men.
SPEAKER_01: He says, slow down, stop, think about this.
SPEAKER_01: And he goes back to two different events that were recorded, and they knew by heart.
SPEAKER_01: The first is Theodus.
SPEAKER_01: Theodus was a rebel, sort of, so to speak, and he says he rose up claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about 400, joined him, and he was killed.
SPEAKER_01: And all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing.
SPEAKER_01: He goes, This guy, he was a nobody.
SPEAKER_01: He claimed to be somebody, but he was a nobody.
SPEAKER_01: When he died, everything just stopped.
SPEAKER_01: But there's also another guy that we need to talk about.
SPEAKER_01: His name is Judas of Galilee.
SPEAKER_01: This guy also rose up in the days of the census.
SPEAKER_01: And he goes, hey, when he rose up, people followed him also.
SPEAKER_01: But when he died, you know what happened?
SPEAKER_01: His followers also dispersed and came to nothing.
SPEAKER_01: But this Jesus guy, it's different.
SPEAKER_01: He says, after, or so in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone.
SPEAKER_01: For if this plan or this undertaking is a man, it will fail.
SPEAKER_01: He goes, hey, if these guys are doing it out of man's will, it will ultimately falter and fall because their leader's already dead, as far as he was concerned.
SPEAKER_01: But he was alive.
SPEAKER_01: And then he says, But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them.
SPEAKER_01: You might even be found opposing God.
SPEAKER_01: And so the council heeds his advice and they decide not to kill the men.
SPEAKER_01: Even a lost man on in a Pharisee recognize the fact that these men would either falter and fail, or if it was God's will, that they would prevail, that they would succeed, because no one can stop God's will.
SPEAKER_01: So what do they do?
SPEAKER_01: They call the apostles in, they beat them and send them out to telling them, do not speak of Jesus' name anymore.
SPEAKER_01: And you know what they do?
SPEAKER_01: They leave the council worshiping.
SPEAKER_01: It says they were rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for his name.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_01: And then after that, you know what they did?
SPEAKER_01: Every day?
SPEAKER_01: They went back to the temple from house to house, preaching and teaching that the Christ is Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: It did no good.
SPEAKER_01: Beating them, jailing them, threatening them.
SPEAKER_01: Because God was with them.
SPEAKER_01: Are you trusting God to move in your life powerfully?
SPEAKER_01: To move in ways that is unstoppable because you are faithfully pursuing his will in your life.
SPEAKER_01: Are you trusting the Lord?
SPEAKER_01: See, the Pharisees and Sadducees, they tried to throw a big boulder in a river that could not stop.
SPEAKER_01: If you go to the river and you throw a boulder, doesn't matter how really how big that boulder is.
SPEAKER_01: You could block the whole waterway with that boulder, but eventually that water is going to start seeping around out of its banks, finding back where it needs to go so it can go to its ultimate destination into the ocean.
SPEAKER_01: Satan tries to throw boulders in the ways of God's children, the church.
SPEAKER_01: But when the church is focused on Christ, the Holy Spirit removes all those boulders and gives you the ability to walk faithfully, prevailing, because our God is unstoppable.
SPEAKER_01: You can rest assured, Christian, that if you pursue Christ, your life will give him glory and praise, and his will for your life is truly unstoppable.
SPEAKER_01: But in order to receive that blessing, you must first have a relationship with Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: This morning, maybe you do not have that relationship.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe you've never surrendered your life to Christ and received the grace of forgiveness.
SPEAKER_01: It is really simple.
SPEAKER_01: All you have to do this morning is simply believe and repent.
SPEAKER_01: Believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God who lived a perfect life, died on the cross, and rose from the grave so that you might have life.
SPEAKER_01: And repent that you are a sinner desperately need and set of saving grace.
SPEAKER_01: With every head bowed and eye closed this morning.