Participants: Jim & Mark Howard
Series Code: ABOTB
Program Code: ABOTB00009B
00:01 Welcome back to "Books of the Book."
00:03 Before our break, Mark, 00:04 we were taking a look here in Acts 5. 00:09 And we'd just read this amazing statement that the counsel 00:14 and specifically the high priest said in verse 28. 00:18 The high priest says, 00:20 "Did we not strictly command you not to teach this name." 00:24 As they have all authority over the apostles. 00:26 Exactly, and it seems interesting to me that 00:30 they felt that because of that position of high priest, 00:35 because of their authority 00:37 as counsel members and rulers of the people that 00:40 that position itself gave them 00:43 all of the authority that they needed. 00:45 Over the consciences of men. Exactly. 00:47 Exactly, and we see that we have to be very careful 00:51 not to ever feel that position 00:53 in it of itself is what provides authority. 00:55 We should respect position. That's right. 00:58 And I believe that the apostles did respect position, 01:00 but when that position 01:02 contradicted with the Word of God 01:05 and the clear will of God, their answer was quite clear. 01:09 In verse 29, we pick up and it says, 01:12 "But Peter and the other apostles answered and said, 01:14 We ought to obey God rather than men." 01:18 Now, this is another bold statement. 01:20 What's bold about it is, is evidently, 01:23 he's saying "Did we not strictly command you." Right. 01:25 And he's saying, "Well, shall we obey your command 01:28 or shall we obey the command of God." 01:30 And that's pretty much saying 01:32 that you're very contrary to what God is saying. 01:34 That's right, and to the Jews, 01:36 the high priest was the voice of God. 01:38 That's right. And so to call that high priest 01:40 not the voice of God was serious at time? 01:42 That's right. 01:43 But it does make very clear that because of the clarity 01:47 and distinction between what the high priest was saying 01:49 and the clear will of God. 01:51 The apostles were free to obey God 01:54 and contradict what the high priest 01:56 was saying and commanding. 01:58 Now they could have stopped right there. 02:00 But you know, they had the floor, 02:02 so they might as well give the gospel again. 02:04 So in verse 30, continue and say, 02:07 "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus 02:10 whom you murdered by hanging on a tree." 02:12 And so they started right here 02:14 and they once again placed the guilt 02:17 back on these religious leaders, 02:19 helped them once more to recognize. 02:20 They were trying to- the high priest was saying, 02:23 "You're trying to put this man's blood upon us?" 02:25 And instead of backing down from that 02:27 hey simply say, "Yes, you are the ones who murdered," 02:30 bringing it right back to them. 02:32 And the whole reason for that was so that they could do 02:35 what they did in the very next verse. 02:36 Verse 31, "Him, God exalted to His right hand 02:41 to be Prince and a Savior." Isn't that wonderful. 02:46 "Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel." 02:50 The same Israel that you are guardians of us 02:53 as high priest and leaders. 02:55 "And forgiveness of sins." 02:57 Here's that hope again 02:59 that Peter and the apostles always connected 03:01 with their clear, honest denunciations in many cases. 03:04 That hope of forgiveness of sins. 03:07 And then verse 32 says, 03:09 "And we are His witnesses to these things, 03:11 and so also is the Holy Spirit 03:13 whom God has given to those who obey Him." 03:16 Now, there's a couple of aspects, 03:18 it's almost the elements of salvation 03:20 and it's very short little statement. 03:22 It says "That God exalted Jesus to be Prince and Savior 03:26 to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins." 03:30 Now I have to comment on this, 03:31 because you know, we recognize 03:33 that God gives us the gift of forgiveness. 03:37 But too often we view the gift of repentance 03:39 as something that is our part and forgiveness is God's part. 03:43 But according to this passage 03:45 'repentance' which is that desire of the heart 03:50 and that ultimate turning away 03:52 from the things of my own selfish heart 03:54 and things of this world to the things of God. 03:57 And sorrow for sin. 03:58 That's right. Heartfelt. 04:00 The heartfelt conviction and sorrow for sin 04:01 and that turning back to do what's right. 04:04 The only way that can enter into my attitude 04:08 is through the power of God. 04:09 I can't manufacture that. 04:12 And so it's not a situation 04:14 where we have to clean ourselves up. 04:16 and then we come and God will forgive us. 04:18 You know I remember, when I was young, 04:20 we were young together at home. 04:22 And every once in a while 04:26 things would get really crazy and mom would- 04:28 well she'd have a maid come 04:31 and just to do a little cleaning, you know. 04:34 And I remember a couple of times 04:37 right before the maid came mom was so busy. 04:41 She was going around, picking up doing all these things. 04:44 You know, she is working all day, 04:46 she is doing, you know, she is so busy. 04:48 She can't possibly get to it all but now all of a sudden, 04:50 she's going you know, very intensely 04:52 and I said, "Mom what are you doing?" 04:54 She said, "Well, the maid is coming." 04:56 And it seems strange to me. 04:58 That we would clean up before the maid came. 05:00 But that's exactly what people do. 05:01 They feel like they've got to clean up. 05:03 They've got to stir up that desire. 05:06 Friends, we cannot have 05:08 an interest and hunger for spiritual things 05:10 and genuine spiritual desire unless we first come to Jesus. 05:14 And then Jesus gives us 05:16 that conviction, that gift of repentance. 05:19 And then that leads 05:20 to the beautiful experience of forgiveness. 05:23 And then it doesn't end there 05:24 because after we receive that forgiveness. 05:26 It says, we become witnesses immediately, 05:31 so every Christian is a witness. 05:33 And we receive the Holy Spirit 05:35 which God gives to those who obey him. Obey him. 05:38 It reminds me of John 14:15 where Jesus said 05:42 "If you love Me, keep My commandments, 05:45 and I will pray the Father, 05:46 and He will send you another helper." 05:49 That's right. "The Holy Spirit." 05:50 So when we make the commitment to follow God. 05:53 He then gives the Holy Spirit in a fuller way 05:57 than the Holy Spirit was in our life 05:59 before bringing conviction to us. 06:01 But we received the Holy Spirit in a fuller way 06:03 when we make a commitment to follow him. 06:05 And that's what said here. 06:06 The only way the Holy Spirit 06:08 is going to fall on the church today in marked measure 06:11 is if we are surrendered to obedience to God. 06:15 That's right, and I think that's an important point there, Jim, 06:17 that we were talking about surrender or commitment. 06:19 Sometimes we read obedient and get the same thing. 06:21 Those who obey Him, 06:23 oh, I've got to start obeying and clean my act up. 06:25 But obedience is lot more about our attitude, our commitment. 06:29 And in this particular case those who have- 06:31 who choose to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit. 06:35 We'll receive the power of the Holy Spirit. 06:36 We'll receive the power to follow through. 06:38 And not only they'll receive the repentance 06:41 that's true sorrow for sin 06:43 and the power to follow through in your decisions. Amen. 06:45 Yeah, so that is very powerful. 06:47 Now, it's interesting that once again 06:50 what we see is an opportunity for repentance here. 06:54 An opportunity for the Jewish leaders to respond 06:57 and they do respond, but it says in verse 33. 06:59 "When they heard this, they were furious 07:03 and plotted to kill them." Wow. 07:07 And so you know, repeatedly we're finding this 07:10 in the apostles this was a- 07:12 this was kind of a dangerous job. 07:14 Right, it was a risky business preaching the gospel. 07:17 And it says that they were furious. 07:20 Now, my Bible has a marginal reading, 07:21 they were cut to the quick. 07:24 Once again, this is a word the Bible is using to taught, 07:26 to explain the conviction of the Holy Spirit. 07:28 They were convicted, 07:29 but it's really important for us to understand. 07:31 I guess, sometimes people get the idea 07:34 that if I'm convicted by the Holy Spirit. 07:36 Well, it's a Holy Spirit and he reaches through 07:37 and actually he's able to convict me. 07:39 Then that's all that's needed, 07:41 I'll automatically make the right decision, 07:43 but the Holy Spirit never forces us. 07:45 God never forces our decision. 07:47 He brings the conviction and leaves the decision to us. 07:50 And as a Holy Spirit brings conviction 07:52 and urges them to make the right decision, 07:53 we see that their response is far from a positive one. 07:58 They are- they are cut to the quick, 08:00 but they respond by wanting to kill the apostle, 08:02 silence the message. 08:04 And we have to be ever so careful. 08:06 You know, in on two notes here. 08:09 When we feel conviction 08:10 sometimes we feel something that makes us angry. 08:13 We can assume that the preacher must have said it wrong, 08:16 because it made me mad 08:18 and I don't think anybody ever got mad at Jesus. 08:20 Well, that's not true at all. That's right. 08:22 And if we look at scripture, 08:23 that very well may be my heart responding 08:26 to the Holy Spirit's conviction- In a wrong way. 08:29 In a wrong way. Negative way. 08:30 And so I need to be aware of that. 08:32 The other thing is when we are sharing the truth with others. 08:34 It's so common for us when I- 08:38 we share with a friend or a loved one 08:40 and they get upset or angry or hurt. 08:43 Like the rich young ruler went away sorrowful, 08:46 we assume that we must have done something wrong. 08:49 But it may very well be that we allow the Lord to use us 08:51 and something right happened. 08:53 And the conviction 08:54 of the Holy Spirit has come upon them. 08:56 So we need to recognize that, 08:57 when we're looking at conviction. That's Right. 08:58 Now, right here in this passage right after it says, 09:01 they're furious and they plotted to kill them. 09:05 Fortunately, as we keep reading, 09:06 there is a voice of reason there in the council 09:09 because a Pharisee named Gamaliel it says in verse 34. 09:14 A teacher of the law held in respect by all the people, 09:18 commanded them to put the apostles 09:19 outside for a little while. 09:21 And then he began to talk to the people. 09:23 He essentially said, you know, 09:25 we've had this kind of thing happened before, 09:27 where different ones have risen up and claims to, 09:30 you know, have the truth 09:32 and be able to lead us down the right path. 09:34 And they start a little uprising 09:35 and then it died out and nothing worked out. 09:38 And we need to be careful 09:40 and he makes that point very clear in verse 38. 09:43 "And now I say to you 09:45 keep away from these men and let them alone 09:47 for if this plan or this work is of men 09:50 it will come to nothing. 09:52 But if it is of God you cannot over throw it. 09:56 Lest you even be found to fight against God." 09:59 And I don't know exactly where Gamaliel went 10:02 in terms of how he responded to this. 10:04 But I can say that this particular response 10:08 was a helpful response for the apostle sake. 10:11 And I believe that God was orchestrating this 10:14 in order to preserve them to carry the gospel further. 10:17 That's right. And as we read this. 10:18 I can't help to think, you know, we need to be careful not to, 10:23 too quickly approve something that perhaps God has condemned. 10:29 Or too quickly condemn something 10:31 for fear that God may have approved it. That's right. 10:34 We need to be thoughtful 10:35 and make sure that it agrees with scripture. 10:37 Yeah, sometimes we got to let 10:38 both grow together until the harvest. 10:39 That's right, the wheat and the tares. 10:42 And so yeah, he gives very good counsel there 10:44 and unfortunately for the apostles 10:46 it says in verse 40 10:48 "And they agreed with him 10:49 and when they had called for the apostles and beaten them. 10:53 They commanded that they should not speak 10:55 in the name of Jesus and let them go. 10:58 So they departed from the presence of the council, 11:02 rejoicing that they were counted worthy to escape." 11:05 No, it didn't say that, does it? 11:08 "They were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. 11:11 And they daily in temple, and in every house, 11:13 they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus Christ." 11:15 So it's interesting here that you know, 11:18 sometimes we look at the deliverances. 11:20 Amidst, you look at the mighty miracles 11:22 and say, wow, that we want to be apostles, 11:24 but we don't take into accounts sometimes 11:26 that in the midst of it all, 11:27 God still allowed them to suffer. That's right. 11:29 And sometimes severely, they were beaten 11:31 and it's interesting that when they get out. 11:33 I mean they rejoice and we may say, 11:35 well, of course, they rejoiced, that they would let go. 11:37 No, they rejoiced, 11:38 that they were counted worthy to suffer. 11:40 And I think of statements and scripture 11:41 and the scripture is full of them, 11:43 then James says in his letter. 11:46 In James 1:2-3, "My brother encountered all joy 11:51 when you fall into various trials 11:52 because these trials produce your character." 11:56 They refine your character 11:57 and there're so many places in scriptures 11:59 they'll speak to us 12:00 of how trials are part of God's refining process 12:04 and we ought to rejoice 12:06 that we are found worthy to suffer for Jesus. 12:09 He will never let the suffering be more than we can bear. 12:11 It's always for our good. That's right. 12:13 And another thing about this particular suffering 12:16 after they beat them 12:17 and they talked about being counted worthy. 12:19 Notice what it says, 12:20 "They were counted worthy to suffer shame." Shame. 12:24 Shame, so it wasn't just that they suffered physical lashes, 12:29 but they suffered shame. 12:31 They were not well respected. 12:32 They lost their credibility, they lost their approval of man. 12:37 They lost their reputation. 12:39 And sometimes we seem to think that, 12:41 you know, we should be able to have both worlds. 12:44 Be an active godly Christian and at the same time 12:47 be looked upon, loved by the world. 12:50 And that's simply not the case. 12:52 They were counted worthy to suffer shame 12:54 and they rejoiced in that fact. 12:56 You look at verse 42 and it really is amazing, 12:59 it says, "And daily in the temple, 13:01 and in every house, they did not cease teaching 13:04 and preaching Jesus as the Christ." 13:07 So despite all the suffering it only stirred them to do more. 13:11 Sometimes we think that well, when things get hard. 13:13 When people get discouraged is because people are, 13:16 you know, giving them opposition. 13:18 More often than not, the reason people stop working 13:20 for the Lord is not because of opposition, 13:23 but it's because of complacency and prosperity. 13:26 They found that, that persecution 13:28 God allowed it to keep them pure 13:30 and they actually built in character 13:32 and were stronger for God as we saw. 13:34 Well, we've run out of time once again. 13:37 But we invite you back next time for "Books of the Book" 13:40 where we'll dive back in to the Book of Acts. |
Revised 2014-12-17