WEBVTT 00:00:01.870 --> 00:00:04.150 What seems like forever ago, but we did sing 00:00:04.150 --> 00:00:07.469 a song called, I'd love to tell the story, twill 00:00:07.469 --> 00:00:11.330 be my theme in glory. Not 100 % sure what twill 00:00:11.330 --> 00:00:13.529 means, but I just think it means, it will be 00:00:13.529 --> 00:00:16.469 my theme in glory to tell the old, old story 00:00:16.469 --> 00:00:20.989 of Jesus and his love. I don't know about you, 00:00:21.089 --> 00:00:23.670 but I hear that and I think about my church in 00:00:23.670 --> 00:00:25.690 Oak Lawn, Illinois growing up. We used to sing 00:00:25.690 --> 00:00:29.050 that song all the time, both with the organ but 00:00:29.050 --> 00:00:31.730 never with drums. So that was a first, or we 00:00:31.730 --> 00:00:33.030 have it done in here. Sorry, that was the other 00:00:33.030 --> 00:00:36.689 song, Mighty Fortress Our God. That when we stand 00:00:36.689 --> 00:00:38.890 and we sing that song, we're actually declaring 00:00:38.890 --> 00:00:42.649 something. That that is a song of proclamation. 00:00:43.289 --> 00:00:47.490 I love to tell the story. In some ways that assumes 00:00:47.490 --> 00:00:50.649 that you are. And that's where I had to start 00:00:50.649 --> 00:00:53.929 the sermon today. That not only could it be nostalgic, 00:00:54.009 --> 00:00:56.289 not only is that a song maybe like me, you remember 00:00:56.289 --> 00:01:00.030 singing growing up all the time, but if we say 00:01:00.030 --> 00:01:03.670 we are believers and we are singing that we love 00:01:03.670 --> 00:01:06.569 to tell the story, the question really is, are 00:01:06.569 --> 00:01:09.510 we doing that? And what story are we telling? 00:01:10.450 --> 00:01:14.790 Because the simple truth of the text today is 00:01:14.790 --> 00:01:18.519 that we all exist. to proclaim the truth of Jesus' 00:01:18.700 --> 00:01:23.019 death and resurrection in every generation that 00:01:23.019 --> 00:01:27.799 we are able until Christ comes back. And in Acts 00:01:27.799 --> 00:01:31.000 5, the apostles find themselves imprisoned for 00:01:31.000 --> 00:01:34.519 doing that same thing. Now I could ask for a 00:01:34.519 --> 00:01:37.280 show of hands, how many of you have ended up 00:01:37.280 --> 00:01:39.879 in prison because you told the story of your 00:01:39.879 --> 00:01:42.480 faith? My guess, there would be two or less. 00:01:43.790 --> 00:01:46.290 But maybe you go to somewhere in your life where, 00:01:46.349 --> 00:01:49.370 because of your faith, you've lost people in 00:01:49.370 --> 00:01:51.650 your life. Relationships, friendships, family 00:01:51.650 --> 00:01:53.230 members may say, I don't want anything to do 00:01:53.230 --> 00:01:55.209 with you. Or maybe now there's just that tension 00:01:55.209 --> 00:01:57.430 at the Thanksgiving table that no one really 00:01:57.430 --> 00:01:59.709 talks about because you have people telling the 00:01:59.709 --> 00:02:02.170 story of Christ and you have people telling a 00:02:02.170 --> 00:02:04.510 story that's very different. And how does that 00:02:04.510 --> 00:02:09.129 all work together? But one of the things we're 00:02:09.129 --> 00:02:11.250 going to see in Acts chapter 5 is no matter how 00:02:11.250 --> 00:02:14.169 low the lows are, no matter how high the highs 00:02:14.169 --> 00:02:18.349 are in our life, the story still needs to be 00:02:18.349 --> 00:02:24.090 told. And my hope is we love to tell it. The 00:02:24.090 --> 00:02:27.189 same religious leaders who condemned Jesus are 00:02:27.189 --> 00:02:29.090 now trying to silence his followers. This is 00:02:29.090 --> 00:02:32.349 the third week. Now of this tension going on 00:02:32.349 --> 00:02:34.110 that as people are telling the story, as the 00:02:34.110 --> 00:02:36.330 movement of the church or the way is moving, 00:02:36.530 --> 00:02:39.169 there are people trying to silence this. We should 00:02:39.169 --> 00:02:41.610 not be surprised by this. We see it even in the 00:02:41.610 --> 00:02:44.990 Gospels, in the end in the Gospel of John. People 00:02:44.990 --> 00:02:47.370 trying to silence the story of Christ, of the 00:02:47.370 --> 00:02:53.039 risen, resurrected Christ. But God opens. doors. 00:02:53.120 --> 00:02:54.400 We talk about that all the time. Today we're 00:02:54.400 --> 00:02:56.680 going to see he opens prison doors. He fills 00:02:56.680 --> 00:02:58.919 people with courage and sends them back to the 00:02:58.919 --> 00:03:03.099 very temple that tried to silence them. Because 00:03:03.099 --> 00:03:04.879 one of the things that's going to be called out 00:03:04.879 --> 00:03:07.280 today is the worst kind of evangelism I think 00:03:07.280 --> 00:03:09.840 we can do. What I call drive -by evangelism, 00:03:09.840 --> 00:03:11.979 where you kind of run up to someone with no relationship, 00:03:12.180 --> 00:03:14.199 vomit Jesus all over them, and then run away. 00:03:14.479 --> 00:03:17.099 More like cowards than anything. God may call 00:03:17.099 --> 00:03:20.860 you back. to not only plant the seeds, but maybe 00:03:20.860 --> 00:03:23.020 even water some of the seeds. And some of you 00:03:23.020 --> 00:03:25.120 are like, I'm just a planter. I don't know how 00:03:25.120 --> 00:03:27.479 to water the seeds. Well, guess what? If it's 00:03:27.479 --> 00:03:29.960 part of your story, God wants you to do it. So 00:03:29.960 --> 00:03:32.219 let's jump into the text. Acts chapter 5. We're 00:03:32.219 --> 00:03:36.719 going to be starting in verse 17. The jealousy 00:03:36.719 --> 00:03:38.759 of the leaders. We're going to kind of set the 00:03:38.759 --> 00:03:41.180 scene. So we're going to be in verse 17. Again, 00:03:41.240 --> 00:03:44.020 we use the ESV here, translation of the Bible. 00:03:44.099 --> 00:03:46.000 You use whatever you brought or is on your phone. 00:03:46.479 --> 00:03:49.000 So Acts 5, starting with verse 17. But the high 00:03:49.000 --> 00:03:52.120 priest rose up, and all who were with him, that 00:03:52.120 --> 00:03:55.780 is the party of the Sadducees, and filled with 00:03:55.780 --> 00:03:58.319 jealousy, they arrested the apostles and put 00:03:58.319 --> 00:04:04.840 them in the public prison. Public. There is a 00:04:04.840 --> 00:04:08.039 key part in that because they had in the temple, 00:04:08.280 --> 00:04:10.840 right? Listen, this is the religious leaders 00:04:10.840 --> 00:04:14.639 arresting people. They had that right. They had 00:04:14.639 --> 00:04:17.259 that authority. They had a public prison and 00:04:17.259 --> 00:04:20.259 they had a private prison. For a cup of coffee 00:04:20.259 --> 00:04:22.379 and a conversation with Pastor Jim, why do you 00:04:22.379 --> 00:04:25.019 think they had two different ones in their religious 00:04:25.019 --> 00:04:28.379 system? Which doesn't really make sense. Like, 00:04:28.379 --> 00:04:30.839 we don't have a prison here that I know of, right? 00:04:30.920 --> 00:04:33.160 Sometimes it feels like my office. But it's not, 00:04:33.199 --> 00:04:36.139 you know, that we don't do that. But they were 00:04:36.139 --> 00:04:38.759 allowed to. Any understanding or reason why they 00:04:38.759 --> 00:04:43.579 would have had both? Maybe I should have put 00:04:43.579 --> 00:04:47.879 lunch on this. Don't overthink it. Why would 00:04:47.879 --> 00:04:49.920 something be in public and why would something 00:04:49.920 --> 00:04:59.660 be in private? Think about your sin. Huh? So 00:04:59.660 --> 00:05:01.660 they could ridicule a person in public, okay? 00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:04.439 So we're there, right? You've ordered, but they've 00:05:04.439 --> 00:05:06.420 not brought it to you yet, the coffee, right? 00:05:06.500 --> 00:05:09.100 Your iced vanilla capa mochaccino, whatever you 00:05:09.100 --> 00:05:12.300 drink, Henry. Why do you think they have a private 00:05:12.300 --> 00:05:19.379 one? Ooh, church matters for secret? Combine 00:05:19.379 --> 00:05:25.259 those. Who was that? Oh, man, it's Henry. Sorry, 00:05:25.379 --> 00:05:28.709 Colin stole the coffee from you. And so... When 00:05:28.709 --> 00:05:32.810 they thought they could be wrong, when they were 00:05:32.810 --> 00:05:36.209 falsely accusing someone, or when the truth of 00:05:36.209 --> 00:05:38.110 the matter would make them look bad, they kept 00:05:38.110 --> 00:05:41.850 it all in private. They put them in the public, 00:05:42.089 --> 00:05:43.689 right? I'll still give you coffee because the 00:05:43.689 --> 00:05:45.110 ridicule, Henry, was fine, but you're an elder, 00:05:45.170 --> 00:05:47.850 so it doesn't count. So understand that they 00:05:47.850 --> 00:05:50.029 put them in the public prison for a reason, the 00:05:50.029 --> 00:05:53.550 jealousy of the leaders. The high priests and 00:05:53.550 --> 00:05:55.709 the Sadducees are filled with jealousy. They 00:05:55.709 --> 00:05:59.089 oppose miracles. They oppose the message behind 00:05:59.089 --> 00:06:06.149 the miracles. In short, they oppose who? Don't 00:06:06.149 --> 00:06:09.949 whisper. I hear a whisper. It's Jesus, right? 00:06:10.029 --> 00:06:12.069 That's the right answer. They're opposing Jesus. 00:06:12.949 --> 00:06:15.529 Jealousy is often the fruit of pride. When others 00:06:15.529 --> 00:06:19.829 receive attention that we crave, we don't like 00:06:19.829 --> 00:06:23.279 that. And what Jesus is doing, he's binding even 00:06:23.279 --> 00:06:26.959 the Pharisees, the Sadducees, to the truth of 00:06:26.959 --> 00:06:29.560 Christ. And he's going to blow it up in a really 00:06:29.560 --> 00:06:32.870 big way. So they're in the public prison. What 00:06:32.870 --> 00:06:36.470 they used, as Henry really got to us, they're 00:06:36.470 --> 00:06:39.410 doing it to publicly ridicule them. They're doing 00:06:39.410 --> 00:06:41.930 that because they think they got them. The gotcha 00:06:41.930 --> 00:06:44.529 journalism, the gotcha church authority, they 00:06:44.529 --> 00:06:47.410 got them. They're going to publicly do it. You 00:06:47.410 --> 00:06:49.370 look at our church order, if there's church discipline, 00:06:49.569 --> 00:06:53.870 everything is done confidentially until it shouldn't 00:06:53.870 --> 00:06:57.149 be. More on that in another sermon that's going 00:06:57.149 --> 00:06:58.949 to be super fun to preach on church discipline. 00:07:00.500 --> 00:07:02.980 They think they got it in the bag. And what Jesus 00:07:02.980 --> 00:07:04.860 is going to do, what the Spirit's going to do, 00:07:04.920 --> 00:07:07.899 he's going to blow it up for them with what I 00:07:07.899 --> 00:07:11.319 call the divine jailbreak. So the divine jailbreak, 00:07:11.360 --> 00:07:16.839 we're going to be in verse 19. But during the 00:07:16.839 --> 00:07:18.879 night, an angel of the Lord opened the prison 00:07:18.879 --> 00:07:21.839 doors and brought them out and said, Go and stand 00:07:21.839 --> 00:07:25.240 in the temple and speak to the people all the 00:07:25.240 --> 00:07:27.959 words of this life. And when they heard this, 00:07:27.980 --> 00:07:30.259 they entered the temple at daybreak and began 00:07:30.259 --> 00:07:35.139 to teach. Now, when the high priest came and 00:07:35.139 --> 00:07:37.399 those who were with him, they called together 00:07:37.399 --> 00:07:39.980 the council, all the senate of the people of 00:07:39.980 --> 00:07:45.540 Israel, and sent to the prison to... and sent 00:07:45.540 --> 00:07:48.879 to the prison to have them brought. So what we 00:07:48.879 --> 00:07:50.939 have is we have this jailbreak. The angel of 00:07:50.939 --> 00:07:53.000 the Lord comes. He opens the prison doors and 00:07:53.000 --> 00:07:56.420 commands, go and stand in the temple and speak 00:07:56.420 --> 00:07:59.699 to the people all the words of life. These are 00:07:59.699 --> 00:08:03.639 the apostles. What I think is hilarious is how 00:08:03.639 --> 00:08:07.819 many of us would be in awe at this moment. You're 00:08:07.819 --> 00:08:11.560 a bunch of liars. You are in prison. You are 00:08:11.560 --> 00:08:14.379 locked, chained in a prison. An angel comes, 00:08:14.560 --> 00:08:17.079 opens the door, and then directs you to go do 00:08:17.079 --> 00:08:20.899 something. We all should be wowed. These are 00:08:20.899 --> 00:08:22.560 the people that walk with Jesus. I wonder if 00:08:22.560 --> 00:08:24.500 they were wowed or not. Or if they're just like, 00:08:24.519 --> 00:08:27.519 well, this makes sense. We've seen this movie 00:08:27.519 --> 00:08:29.500 before, a little different, but okay, we're going 00:08:29.500 --> 00:08:32.740 to go. They don't even question it. This life 00:08:32.740 --> 00:08:35.799 is shorthand for the gospel. The life in Christ 00:08:35.799 --> 00:08:38.820 that death cannot destroy, that prison cannot 00:08:38.820 --> 00:08:42.700 contain. They are literally walking this out. 00:08:42.840 --> 00:08:46.480 That's why I call it the divine jailbreak. Now, 00:08:46.480 --> 00:08:49.090 if... Normal people are in prison and they do 00:08:49.090 --> 00:08:51.830 a jailbreak. What do they do? They probably go 00:08:51.830 --> 00:08:55.889 and hide, right? Rarely do you see Andy Dufresne 00:08:55.889 --> 00:08:59.289 in the Shawshank Redemption when he goes all 00:08:59.289 --> 00:09:02.570 through the muck and the mire and he leaves and 00:09:02.570 --> 00:09:05.250 he breaks free from the jail. He doesn't go right 00:09:05.250 --> 00:09:07.909 back to the warden's office. Where does he go? 00:09:09.970 --> 00:09:13.929 Mexico, right? Goes to Mexico. No, they're going 00:09:13.929 --> 00:09:15.570 to go right back to the people that put him in 00:09:15.570 --> 00:09:18.509 there. Belgian Confession, Article 27, reminds 00:09:18.509 --> 00:09:22.690 us that God continually preserves his church. 00:09:23.190 --> 00:09:25.909 Even though it sometimes appears very small, 00:09:26.250 --> 00:09:29.470 the imprisoned apostles are proof of that preservation. 00:09:30.610 --> 00:09:33.450 Just because man put them in prison, God didn't 00:09:33.450 --> 00:09:37.429 go, man, I can't use them anymore. They're out 00:09:37.429 --> 00:09:40.629 of the game. I got to go with somebody else. 00:09:42.490 --> 00:09:45.700 And let me say a word about this. For us here 00:09:45.700 --> 00:09:49.659 that have fallen, that have sinned and thought 00:09:49.659 --> 00:09:51.440 word and deed of what we prayed for a couple 00:09:51.440 --> 00:09:54.580 minutes ago, right? God doesn't look at that 00:09:54.580 --> 00:10:01.120 and go, man, I can't use you anymore. If we repent, 00:10:01.480 --> 00:10:05.419 there's the thing. If we just feel bad that we 00:10:05.419 --> 00:10:09.320 did it, okay, I sinned, right? Got caught, whatever, 00:10:09.620 --> 00:10:13.519 you know, fessed up. Eh, friend, that's not. 00:10:13.960 --> 00:10:18.159 That's not repentance, right? If we mourn over 00:10:18.159 --> 00:10:20.779 our sin, if we try to die and work towards a 00:10:20.779 --> 00:10:23.700 faithful life of obedience, we will continue 00:10:23.700 --> 00:10:27.740 to see the Lord at work. He will shape our eyes 00:10:27.740 --> 00:10:30.500 to see all of that. But it's going to bring confusion 00:10:30.500 --> 00:10:32.759 to people's lives, right? That's what we see 00:10:32.759 --> 00:10:35.940 here, the leader's confusion in verse 22. So 00:10:35.940 --> 00:10:37.659 now all of a sudden they wake up, they come there, 00:10:37.720 --> 00:10:39.720 and the people they just put in jail are now 00:10:39.720 --> 00:10:42.399 out, okay? And we're going to see in verse 22. 00:10:42.960 --> 00:10:45.259 But when the officers came, they did not find 00:10:45.259 --> 00:10:47.419 them in the prison. So they returned and reported, 00:10:47.620 --> 00:10:50.620 we found the prison securely locked and the guards 00:10:50.620 --> 00:10:53.120 standing at the doors. But when we opened them, 00:10:53.159 --> 00:10:58.220 we found no one inside. Now when the captain 00:10:58.220 --> 00:10:59.960 of the temple and the chief priest heard these 00:10:59.960 --> 00:11:02.480 words, they were greatly perplexed about them, 00:11:02.559 --> 00:11:08.029 wondering what this would come to. So the sting, 00:11:08.230 --> 00:11:11.169 right, the covering up of all of this, it's now 00:11:11.169 --> 00:11:14.409 unraveling. Their plan, their story that they 00:11:14.409 --> 00:11:17.009 wanted to write is now unraveling. The guards 00:11:17.009 --> 00:11:20.970 return to find the jail locked and empty. Proof 00:11:20.970 --> 00:11:24.250 that no human system can contain the purposes 00:11:24.250 --> 00:11:29.169 of God. The Sanhedrin is bewildered. God is at 00:11:29.169 --> 00:11:32.870 work. And we see the obedience. This could have 00:11:32.870 --> 00:11:35.419 been it. They could have fled. They could have 00:11:35.419 --> 00:11:36.980 gone somewhere and we would have been done with 00:11:36.980 --> 00:11:38.659 the story, but that's not what the angel tells 00:11:38.659 --> 00:11:41.879 them to do. Even when we're called to do things 00:11:41.879 --> 00:11:44.860 that don't make sense to us in the way we want 00:11:44.860 --> 00:11:47.220 to write our story, we have to remember we submit 00:11:47.220 --> 00:11:50.019 all of the words of our story to God. Let the 00:11:50.019 --> 00:11:53.860 conviction set in there. The stories we want 00:11:53.860 --> 00:11:57.059 to write in life are good, are bad, are uglies. 00:11:57.580 --> 00:12:00.059 We have to submit that to the one who's writing 00:12:00.059 --> 00:12:03.879 the actual story of our life, and that is God. 00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:07.919 We see the obedience in verse 25. And someone 00:12:07.919 --> 00:12:10.940 came and told them, look, the men whom you put 00:12:10.940 --> 00:12:13.120 in prison are standing in the temple and teaching 00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:16.480 the people. Then the captain with the officers 00:12:16.480 --> 00:12:19.860 went and brought them, but not by force, for 00:12:19.860 --> 00:12:23.440 they were afraid of being stoned by the people. 00:12:24.289 --> 00:12:26.210 Interesting, the story's starting to change. 00:12:26.769 --> 00:12:30.070 Authority and power have shifted. What they thought 00:12:30.070 --> 00:12:33.210 they could publicly ridicule, they are now needing 00:12:33.210 --> 00:12:37.090 to publicly submit to. They can't just go in 00:12:37.090 --> 00:12:39.389 with force and knock them out. And I'm sure some 00:12:39.389 --> 00:12:42.750 of them wanted to, because the best way to snuff 00:12:42.750 --> 00:12:45.909 out a story is to snuff it out. And I'm sure 00:12:45.909 --> 00:12:48.950 they wanted to do it. Instead of fleeing, they 00:12:48.950 --> 00:12:50.610 go right back to the preaching in the temple, 00:12:50.750 --> 00:12:53.490 the very place they were arrested. But how many 00:12:53.490 --> 00:12:55.490 times have you had that awkward moment with a 00:12:55.490 --> 00:12:58.990 family member or a friend about religion, right, 00:12:59.110 --> 00:13:02.269 politics, things going on in life? How often 00:13:02.269 --> 00:13:05.350 have you stood up for your faith in the midst 00:13:05.350 --> 00:13:07.970 of ridicule from family members or friends, and 00:13:07.970 --> 00:13:09.690 you go, Oop, and we're not going to have dinner 00:13:09.690 --> 00:13:12.429 with them anymore. And we go, nope. Or you come 00:13:12.429 --> 00:13:15.470 up with every other excuse, right? Like, nope, 00:13:15.529 --> 00:13:17.370 can't go. You know, I got to give more blood 00:13:17.370 --> 00:13:20.210 or my kid's sick again or whatever. And you come 00:13:20.210 --> 00:13:23.789 up with all these excuses. God's going, no, no, 00:13:23.830 --> 00:13:26.370 no, your job's not done yet. You got to go back 00:13:26.370 --> 00:13:29.210 and preach to the people. The very place they 00:13:29.210 --> 00:13:32.590 were arrested, they're going back to teach. True 00:13:32.590 --> 00:13:36.190 obedience. True obedience isn't cautious, my 00:13:36.190 --> 00:13:39.470 friends. True obedience is courageous. When you've 00:13:39.470 --> 00:13:44.230 been freed by God, we don't hide. We don't hide 00:13:44.230 --> 00:13:48.110 about it. We testify about it. And that means 00:13:48.110 --> 00:13:50.490 more than just putting something on the internet, 00:13:50.649 --> 00:13:55.529 hashtag blessed. Sometimes that's done in a ridiculous 00:13:55.529 --> 00:13:59.169 way. But when we've been freed by God about something, 00:13:59.490 --> 00:14:02.580 we want to give testimony to it. When we've been 00:14:02.580 --> 00:14:04.960 struggling and we're now not struggling because 00:14:04.960 --> 00:14:07.279 of the strength of the Lord, we want to tell 00:14:07.279 --> 00:14:10.139 the story. Hopefully you see where I'm going 00:14:10.139 --> 00:14:13.500 with this. The confrontation. Verse 27. There's 00:14:13.500 --> 00:14:15.659 going to be conflict. And when they had brought 00:14:15.659 --> 00:14:17.740 them, they set them before the council, and the 00:14:17.740 --> 00:14:21.610 high priest questioned them, saying, We strictly 00:14:21.610 --> 00:14:25.429 charged you not to teach in this name, yet here 00:14:25.429 --> 00:14:29.710 you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, 00:14:29.769 --> 00:14:33.350 and you intend to bring this man's blood upon 00:14:33.350 --> 00:14:37.690 us. Notice, what's an actual question you and 00:14:37.690 --> 00:14:42.210 I would have asked? How did you get out? We had 00:14:42.210 --> 00:14:45.049 you locked up. They're not worried about that. 00:14:45.169 --> 00:14:48.250 They're going to kind of gloss over that, and 00:14:48.250 --> 00:14:50.509 they're going to ask. We told you to stop doing 00:14:50.509 --> 00:14:52.690 this, yet you're doing this. And they're feeling 00:14:52.690 --> 00:14:55.470 the conviction. You intend to bring this man. 00:14:55.570 --> 00:15:00.850 Who's this man? Jesus' blood upon us. There's 00:15:00.850 --> 00:15:02.789 a little bind of conviction there, isn't there? 00:15:02.950 --> 00:15:05.950 The Sadducees, the Pharisees, they're being bound 00:15:05.950 --> 00:15:09.110 to this truth. The high priest accuses them. 00:15:09.190 --> 00:15:11.850 We gave you strict orders not to teach in his 00:15:11.850 --> 00:15:14.370 name. Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your 00:15:14.370 --> 00:15:19.490 teaching. I wrote in here, what a beautiful accusation. 00:15:20.549 --> 00:15:26.330 They filled the city with Jesus. Church, may 00:15:26.330 --> 00:15:29.690 the same be said of us today as we leave this 00:15:29.690 --> 00:15:34.690 place. May the city be filled with Jesus. And 00:15:34.690 --> 00:15:37.870 may we have a part in that. And I love that Peter's 00:15:37.870 --> 00:15:41.769 declaration comes in verse 29. But Peter and 00:15:41.769 --> 00:15:44.169 the apostles answered, we must obey God rather 00:15:44.169 --> 00:15:47.850 than man. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, 00:15:47.950 --> 00:15:51.429 whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God 00:15:51.429 --> 00:15:54.669 exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior 00:15:54.669 --> 00:15:57.350 to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness 00:15:57.350 --> 00:16:00.990 of sins. And we are witnesses to these truths. 00:16:01.309 --> 00:16:05.070 So this is the Holy Spirit whom God has given 00:16:05.070 --> 00:16:08.620 to us who obey him. who have given to those who 00:16:08.620 --> 00:16:12.120 obey him. Peter's response captures the heart 00:16:12.120 --> 00:16:16.539 of all of our obedience. We must obey God rather 00:16:16.539 --> 00:16:20.659 than men. Now, don't dive into here about government 00:16:20.659 --> 00:16:23.139 and submitting to the government. That's a whole 00:16:23.139 --> 00:16:26.740 separate conversation. This echoes the reformers. 00:16:28.019 --> 00:16:31.580 Luther, Zwigli, John Calvin, the Reformers' conviction 00:16:31.580 --> 00:16:34.399 that Scripture alone governs our conscience, 00:16:34.659 --> 00:16:37.200 not what the papacy, the Catholic Church, was 00:16:37.200 --> 00:16:41.220 doing in that time. We must obey God rather than 00:16:41.220 --> 00:16:43.799 man. This echoes Belgian Confession, Article 00:16:43.799 --> 00:16:47.519 7. We believe that the Holy Scripture fully contains 00:16:47.519 --> 00:16:50.440 the will of God and that all people are bound 00:16:50.440 --> 00:16:54.620 to live according to it. Our story is bound, 00:16:54.879 --> 00:16:57.330 friends. Part of that is helpful for when we're 00:16:57.330 --> 00:16:59.909 out of bounds. We know where the bounds are. 00:17:00.110 --> 00:17:02.269 We know what grace and forgiveness are going 00:17:02.269 --> 00:17:05.390 to bring us to. Peter then preaches the gospel 00:17:05.390 --> 00:17:08.809 again. Jesus was killed, but God exalted him 00:17:08.809 --> 00:17:14.049 as a leader and a savior. He uses argios in the 00:17:14.049 --> 00:17:17.109 Greek, the word leader, that he is the head. 00:17:17.769 --> 00:17:21.130 Who is he talking to? People that thought they 00:17:21.130 --> 00:17:23.750 were the head of the church or of the temple. 00:17:24.650 --> 00:17:28.170 Talk about the story changing. The Spirit, Peter 00:17:28.170 --> 00:17:31.730 says, is given to those who obey him. Obedience 00:17:31.730 --> 00:17:34.509 isn't a condition for salvation. It is a fruit 00:17:34.509 --> 00:17:39.170 of grace. I get to be obedient. Yet for a lot 00:17:39.170 --> 00:17:43.430 of us, it's, I have to be obedient. Friends, 00:17:43.490 --> 00:17:46.009 we get to be obedient. We know that there is 00:17:46.009 --> 00:17:49.509 something better that we're living for. Because 00:17:49.509 --> 00:17:53.279 that is part of our story. So the central parts 00:17:53.279 --> 00:17:56.579 of our story, there are five. As I land the plane, 00:17:56.799 --> 00:17:58.660 as the landing gears come out, right, as you 00:17:58.660 --> 00:18:00.420 bring all of your trash to the center aisle, 00:18:00.660 --> 00:18:05.980 the gospel cannot be silenced. When God opens 00:18:05.980 --> 00:18:10.960 doors, no one can shut them. If that doesn't 00:18:10.960 --> 00:18:13.339 punk you out, I don't know what will. The church 00:18:13.339 --> 00:18:16.720 must trust his power more than it fears the world's 00:18:16.720 --> 00:18:21.359 opposition. Obedience sometimes means defiance. 00:18:21.380 --> 00:18:25.059 And friends, don't dance in this word defiance 00:18:25.059 --> 00:18:28.400 because there is a reformed understanding of 00:18:28.400 --> 00:18:31.240 this. Peter and the apostles don't rebel for 00:18:31.240 --> 00:18:35.359 rebellion's sake. There it is. They obey a higher 00:18:35.359 --> 00:18:39.000 authority. When human law contradicts divine 00:18:39.000 --> 00:18:43.470 command, we need to stand with God. I understand 00:18:43.470 --> 00:18:45.690 that that is a charged sentence right now in 00:18:45.690 --> 00:18:51.009 2025. Almost 2026. Because we all are going to 00:18:51.009 --> 00:18:53.710 look at this differently. But if you can center 00:18:53.710 --> 00:18:56.269 on Christ, you will find we are more alike than 00:18:56.269 --> 00:19:01.190 we are different. If you can center it on Christ. 00:19:02.170 --> 00:19:04.369 Peter and the apostles don't rebel for rebellion's 00:19:04.369 --> 00:19:08.200 sake. They obey a higher authority. Why? Because 00:19:08.200 --> 00:19:11.559 third, the church's story is one of rescue and 00:19:11.559 --> 00:19:15.579 courage. I remember the first day of seminary, 00:19:15.599 --> 00:19:17.880 the provost of our seminary stood up and said, 00:19:17.960 --> 00:19:21.559 if any of you feel at all called to go do something 00:19:21.559 --> 00:19:25.940 else, go do it. And I always thought that was 00:19:25.940 --> 00:19:27.619 weird. Like, wow, that's really like welcoming 00:19:27.619 --> 00:19:29.900 for those running to get MDivs and become pastors 00:19:29.900 --> 00:19:32.660 and live the life of the ordained. Over the four 00:19:32.660 --> 00:19:34.940 years it took me for seminary, I understood why. 00:19:37.799 --> 00:19:41.059 That the gospel story, the church's story, is 00:19:41.059 --> 00:19:43.180 one of rescue and courage. The same God that 00:19:43.180 --> 00:19:45.980 freed the apostles from prison still frees hearts 00:19:45.980 --> 00:19:50.940 bound by sin. If you say that you are changed, 00:19:50.980 --> 00:19:53.920 yet your heart is bound by sin, you are not. 00:19:54.839 --> 00:19:57.559 Well, I'm struggling for the faith. Are you? 00:19:57.779 --> 00:20:00.799 Because the struggle is handing it over, bringing 00:20:00.799 --> 00:20:07.519 accountability around you. Four. Jealousy destroys, 00:20:07.839 --> 00:20:10.960 but joy multiplies. The leaders were jealous. 00:20:11.559 --> 00:20:15.440 The apostles rejoiced. Grace cures comparison 00:20:15.440 --> 00:20:21.339 and fuels mission. It is by grace Katie has been 00:20:21.339 --> 00:20:24.140 called to sit with those going through a dark 00:20:24.140 --> 00:20:26.819 time in their lives of infertility or infant 00:20:26.819 --> 00:20:30.579 loss or miscarriage. We've seen three different 00:20:30.579 --> 00:20:33.539 missionaries this month have the grace to go 00:20:33.539 --> 00:20:38.299 and be obedient into different areas of the world 00:20:38.299 --> 00:20:41.819 where maybe missionaries aren't allowed, but 00:20:41.819 --> 00:20:46.759 educators or doctors are. And for us, that really 00:20:46.759 --> 00:20:50.339 should put in perspective whether or not we should 00:20:50.339 --> 00:20:53.940 drive nicely in traffic or talk to that person 00:20:53.940 --> 00:20:58.069 we can't stand in the cubicle next to us. And 00:20:58.069 --> 00:21:01.930 fifth, obedience and witness go hand in hand. 00:21:05.349 --> 00:21:08.289 And the plane's going to hit the skids here. 00:21:09.690 --> 00:21:13.390 We must obey God rather than man isn't just about 00:21:13.390 --> 00:21:19.609 defiance. It's about devotion. For all of us 00:21:19.609 --> 00:21:23.349 that plan to come to the table next week, those 00:21:23.349 --> 00:21:26.049 that have joined the body of Christ, we'll talk 00:21:26.049 --> 00:21:28.869 about that next week. It means you've denied 00:21:28.869 --> 00:21:34.150 yourself. You've said no to sin and yes to God. 00:21:34.670 --> 00:21:39.769 That is your story. Yet for some of us, people 00:21:39.769 --> 00:21:42.009 may see the sin more because that's all you're 00:21:42.009 --> 00:21:45.049 still doing. What does that say about your story? 00:21:46.029 --> 00:21:48.690 For some of us, that means our story is found 00:21:48.690 --> 00:21:54.690 in the fiction section of that bookstore. And 00:21:54.690 --> 00:21:57.450 if that hurts, If that offends, I'm sorry, I 00:21:57.450 --> 00:22:00.529 don't mean it that way. But for some of you, 00:22:00.549 --> 00:22:04.529 you may be faking your story, faking your Christianity. 00:22:05.450 --> 00:22:07.809 Because the conclusion that we land to today 00:22:07.809 --> 00:22:11.670 together is we should love to tell the story. 00:22:11.890 --> 00:22:14.529 The apostles were jailed, threatened, warned. 00:22:14.869 --> 00:22:17.250 Yet when God opens doors, they went right back 00:22:17.250 --> 00:22:20.930 to telling the story. That's the power of the 00:22:20.930 --> 00:22:23.930 gospel. It's not a story that we tell to impress 00:22:23.930 --> 00:22:26.970 people, to puff our spiritual chest out, or to 00:22:26.970 --> 00:22:31.210 stand more over people. It's a story of transformation. 00:22:31.769 --> 00:22:35.640 When grace grips our heart, we cannot help but 00:22:35.640 --> 00:22:39.779 speak of the grace giver. Munster Church, may 00:22:39.779 --> 00:22:43.400 it be said of us as the apostles, you have filled 00:22:43.400 --> 00:22:49.039 the city with his teachings. May our homes, our 00:22:49.039 --> 00:22:52.920 schools, our workplaces have the story of Jesus' 00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:58.019 life, death, resurrection, his love. And may 00:22:58.019 --> 00:23:00.799 we be the ones telling that story. Because when 00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:04.960 we love the storyteller, And we will love to 00:23:04.960 --> 00:23:08.980 tell his story. Please stand if you are able. 00:23:09.480 --> 00:23:11.680 And let's pray this closing prayer together. 00:23:15.599 --> 00:23:19.819 Lord Jesus, you are the author of life and the 00:23:19.819 --> 00:23:23.359 savior of our souls. Thank you for freeing us 00:23:23.359 --> 00:23:27.339 from sin and fear. Give us courage to speak your 00:23:27.339 --> 00:23:30.920 name boldly. Wisdom to share your love clearly. 00:23:31.690 --> 00:23:35.710 and joy to tell your story faithfully. When opposition 00:23:35.710 --> 00:23:40.710 comes, help us to obey you rather than men. Fill 00:23:40.710 --> 00:23:44.109 Munster Church with your spirit until our community 00:23:44.109 --> 00:23:47.490 is full of your grace and truth. Amen.