WEBVTT 00:00:00.330 --> 00:00:02.229 Well, that's certainly one of those great hymns 00:00:02.229 --> 00:00:06.410 of affirmation, isn't it? You know, there are 00:00:06.410 --> 00:00:10.789 just some things which are inevitable. Among 00:00:10.789 --> 00:00:15.169 those are said to be death and taxes. I came 00:00:15.169 --> 00:00:18.589 across a little poem here recently that expresses 00:00:18.589 --> 00:00:21.710 how some of us feel and our frustration about 00:00:21.710 --> 00:00:27.370 taxes in particular. It goes like this. Tax his 00:00:27.370 --> 00:00:30.829 cow. Tax his goat. Tax his pants. Tax his coat. 00:00:31.530 --> 00:00:34.789 Tax his crops. Tax his work. Tax his tie. Tax 00:00:34.789 --> 00:00:38.429 his shirt. Tax his chew. Tax his smoke. Teach 00:00:38.429 --> 00:00:42.049 him taxes are no joke. Tax his tractor. Tax his 00:00:42.049 --> 00:00:45.729 mule. Teach him taxes are a rule. Tax his oil. 00:00:45.950 --> 00:00:49.590 Tax his gas. Tax his notes. Tax his cash. Tax 00:00:49.590 --> 00:00:52.570 him good and let him know. After taxes he has 00:00:52.570 --> 00:00:56.619 no dough. If he hollers, tax him more. Tax him 00:00:56.619 --> 00:00:59.899 till he's good and sore. Tax his coffin. Tax 00:00:59.899 --> 00:01:03.340 his grave. Tax the sod in which he lays. Put 00:01:03.340 --> 00:01:06.900 these words upon his tomb. Taxes drove me to 00:01:06.900 --> 00:01:11.159 my doom. After he's gone, he can't relax. They'll 00:01:11.159 --> 00:01:17.700 still be after the inheritance tax. Even more 00:01:17.700 --> 00:01:21.599 sure than death and taxes, however, is the fact 00:01:21.599 --> 00:01:25.579 that when the Lord's work prospers, The enemy, 00:01:25.879 --> 00:01:30.040 Satan, will be active in his opposition. He will 00:01:30.040 --> 00:01:33.459 challenge every step of progress. He will seek 00:01:33.459 --> 00:01:37.920 to neutralize every believer and every church. 00:01:39.120 --> 00:01:51.760 Our text today illustrates that. This is the 00:01:51.760 --> 00:01:54.420 first opposition which the Church in Jerusalem 00:01:54.420 --> 00:01:59.099 experienced, the first of five in its first 11 00:01:59.099 --> 00:02:02.920 years. You will notice that it came not from 00:02:02.920 --> 00:02:07.280 the pagans, nor from the Roman government, but 00:02:07.280 --> 00:02:10.800 from religious people, the religious liberals 00:02:10.800 --> 00:02:14.139 of that day in Judaism called the Sadducees. 00:02:15.919 --> 00:02:19.000 As they were speaking to the people, the priests 00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:22.319 and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees 00:02:22.319 --> 00:02:26.400 came upon them, them as you recall being Peter 00:02:26.400 --> 00:02:29.740 and John as they preached to the multitude that 00:02:29.740 --> 00:02:31.740 had gathered because of the miracle that had 00:02:31.740 --> 00:02:35.460 been performed. Well these people came upon them 00:02:35.460 --> 00:02:38.479 being greatly disturbed because they were teaching 00:02:38.479 --> 00:02:41.979 the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection 00:02:41.979 --> 00:02:46.830 from the dead and they laid hands on them and 00:02:46.830 --> 00:02:49.430 put them in jail until the next day, for it was 00:02:49.430 --> 00:02:53.469 already evening. But many of those who had heard 00:02:53.469 --> 00:02:56.409 the message believed, and the number of the men 00:02:56.409 --> 00:03:00.750 came to about 5 ,000. It came about on the next 00:03:00.750 --> 00:03:03.210 day that their rulers and elders and scribes 00:03:03.210 --> 00:03:05.969 were gathered together in Jerusalem, and Annas 00:03:05.969 --> 00:03:08.469 the high priest was there, and Caiaphas, and 00:03:08.469 --> 00:03:11.490 John, and Alexander, and all who were of high 00:03:11.490 --> 00:03:15.210 priestly descent. And when they had placed them 00:03:15.210 --> 00:03:18.030 in the center, they began to inquire, by what 00:03:18.030 --> 00:03:21.770 power or in what name have you done this? Then 00:03:21.770 --> 00:03:24.909 Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, 00:03:25.710 --> 00:03:28.949 rulers and elders of the people, if we are on 00:03:28.949 --> 00:03:32.849 trial today for a benefit done to a sick man 00:03:32.849 --> 00:03:36.650 as to how this man has been made well, let it 00:03:36.650 --> 00:03:39.870 be known to all of you and to all the people 00:03:39.870 --> 00:03:43.770 of Israel. That by the name of Jesus Christ the 00:03:43.770 --> 00:03:47.810 Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised 00:03:47.810 --> 00:03:52.310 from the dead, by this name this man stands here 00:03:52.310 --> 00:03:56.310 before you in good health. He is the stone which 00:03:56.310 --> 00:03:59.449 was rejected by you, the builders, but which 00:03:59.449 --> 00:04:03.990 became the very cornerstone. And there is salvation 00:04:03.990 --> 00:04:07.590 in no one else, for there is no other name under 00:04:07.590 --> 00:04:11.210 heaven that has been given among men. by which 00:04:11.210 --> 00:04:15.750 we must be saved." Now, as they observed the 00:04:15.750 --> 00:04:18.149 confidence of Peter and John and understood that 00:04:18.149 --> 00:04:21.769 they were uneducated and untrained men, they 00:04:21.769 --> 00:04:24.009 were marveling and began to recognize them as 00:04:24.009 --> 00:04:27.189 having been with Jesus. And seeing the man who 00:04:27.189 --> 00:04:28.910 had been healed standing with them, they had 00:04:28.910 --> 00:04:32.750 nothing to say and reply. But when they had ordered 00:04:32.750 --> 00:04:35.850 them to go outside, out of the council, they 00:04:35.850 --> 00:04:38.990 began to confer with one another, saying, what 00:04:38.990 --> 00:04:41.730 shall we do with these men? For the fact that 00:04:41.730 --> 00:04:44.250 a noteworthy miracle has taken place through 00:04:44.250 --> 00:04:47.410 them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, 00:04:47.470 --> 00:04:51.189 and we cannot deny it. But in order that it may 00:04:51.189 --> 00:04:54.310 not spread any further among the people, let 00:04:54.310 --> 00:04:57.769 us warn them to speak no more to any man in this 00:04:57.769 --> 00:05:02.509 name. And when they had summoned them, they commanded 00:05:02.509 --> 00:05:05.089 them not to speak or teach at all in the name 00:05:05.089 --> 00:05:08.410 of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said 00:05:08.410 --> 00:05:10.930 to them, Whether it is right in the sight of 00:05:10.930 --> 00:05:13.470 God to give heed to you rather than to God, you 00:05:13.470 --> 00:05:16.509 be the judge. For we cannot stop speaking what 00:05:16.509 --> 00:05:19.170 we have seen and heard. When they had threatened 00:05:19.170 --> 00:05:22.050 them further, they let them go, finding no basis 00:05:22.050 --> 00:05:24.769 on which they might punish them. On account of 00:05:24.769 --> 00:05:26.889 the people, because they were all glorifying 00:05:26.889 --> 00:05:30.290 God for what had happened. For the man was more 00:05:30.290 --> 00:05:32.949 than forty years old on whom this miracle of 00:05:32.949 --> 00:05:36.910 healing had been performed. A whole generation 00:05:36.910 --> 00:05:41.920 of people. had seen this man at the temple. He 00:05:41.920 --> 00:05:45.680 was a permanent fixture there up to this day. 00:05:50.220 --> 00:05:55.480 As the situation develops in chapter 4, the trial, 00:05:55.480 --> 00:06:01.180 which was to hear the case against Peter and 00:06:01.180 --> 00:06:07.519 John, was actually reversed so that the people 00:06:07.519 --> 00:06:12.329 who were on trial in reality, were the religious 00:06:12.329 --> 00:06:19.029 leaders of that day. Religion was placed on trial 00:06:19.029 --> 00:06:23.370 by authentic Christianity as being represented 00:06:23.370 --> 00:06:28.949 by Peter and John. Religion and authentic Christianity 00:06:28.949 --> 00:06:34.910 are foes to the death. The two are in absolute 00:06:34.910 --> 00:06:40.040 contrast to one another. Religion, on the one 00:06:40.040 --> 00:06:43.339 hand, is man -initiated. It is man's attempt 00:06:43.339 --> 00:06:49.019 to reach to God. Authentic Christianity is God 00:06:49.019 --> 00:06:53.399 -initiated. It is God reaching down to man to 00:06:53.399 --> 00:07:02.040 save him. Religion is works -oriented. It teaches 00:07:02.040 --> 00:07:06.439 that in order to get to heaven or to please God, 00:07:06.480 --> 00:07:14.319 one must work. Authentic Christianity is faith 00:07:14.319 --> 00:07:17.160 -oriented. It says that the only way that we 00:07:17.160 --> 00:07:23.160 can please God is by receiving by faith the provision 00:07:23.160 --> 00:07:28.560 that God has made for our sins. Religion is institutional 00:07:28.560 --> 00:07:33.480 -centered. That is, it has an emphasis on traditions, 00:07:34.519 --> 00:07:38.839 on structure. and rules which promote fear and 00:07:38.839 --> 00:07:43.660 bondage in its adherents. Authentic Christianity 00:07:43.660 --> 00:07:48.240 is life -centered. It is spontaneous. It is life 00:07:48.240 --> 00:07:53.459 -giving and liberating in the soul. Some of you 00:07:53.459 --> 00:07:57.459 who have come out of religious backgrounds know 00:07:57.459 --> 00:08:00.600 the contrast that I'm talking about. Yesterday 00:08:00.600 --> 00:08:03.860 I sat down and read 16 testimonies of new members 00:08:03.860 --> 00:08:07.339 coming into our church. I can bring a number 00:08:07.339 --> 00:08:09.379 of them before you this morning and illustrate 00:08:09.379 --> 00:08:12.759 the contrast that I have just given to you between 00:08:12.759 --> 00:08:18.120 religion and authentic Christianity. Religion 00:08:18.120 --> 00:08:24.480 opposes biblical authentic Christianity. The 00:08:24.480 --> 00:08:27.459 three phases of the incident in our text illustrate 00:08:27.459 --> 00:08:31.839 this fact that religion opposes authentic Christianity. 00:08:33.000 --> 00:08:35.620 There are three actions indeed which religion 00:08:35.620 --> 00:08:40.740 takes in our text against authentic Christianity. 00:08:41.620 --> 00:08:43.820 And we will see that those actions are still 00:08:43.820 --> 00:08:47.980 taken today by religion as it opposes the work 00:08:47.980 --> 00:08:53.320 of God. The first phase of the incident is the 00:08:53.320 --> 00:08:57.940 arrest, verses one through four. And what we 00:08:57.940 --> 00:09:01.340 observe here is that religion seeks to limit. 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:07.779 It seeks to limit authentic Christianity. For 00:09:07.779 --> 00:09:11.659 decades, let me illustrate that in our society 00:09:11.659 --> 00:09:17.879 today, for decades religion has dominated the 00:09:17.879 --> 00:09:22.919 media and has had the arena of politics pretty 00:09:22.919 --> 00:09:27.840 much to itself. For the last five years something 00:09:27.840 --> 00:09:32.840 amazing has taken place. in a new wave of conservatism 00:09:32.840 --> 00:09:37.379 in our nation, which is being led in part and 00:09:37.379 --> 00:09:42.320 populated to a great extent by evangelicals, 00:09:42.480 --> 00:09:45.659 by those who are what I would call authentic 00:09:45.659 --> 00:09:49.120 Christians. Now there's an amazing thing that 00:09:49.120 --> 00:09:52.919 has taken place. Suddenly we are hearing a phrase 00:09:52.919 --> 00:09:56.399 called the separation of church and state. That 00:09:56.399 --> 00:10:00.480 has never been a concern to the media. or to 00:10:00.480 --> 00:10:05.019 politicians up until authentic Christianity began 00:10:05.019 --> 00:10:09.279 to be involved in the political arena. And I'm 00:10:09.279 --> 00:10:11.480 not defending everything that is done in the 00:10:11.480 --> 00:10:13.899 name of conservatism or even Christianity in 00:10:13.899 --> 00:10:17.080 the political arena today, but what I'm simply 00:10:17.080 --> 00:10:19.580 illustrating is the fact that when authentic 00:10:19.580 --> 00:10:23.100 biblical Christians began to be involved in the 00:10:23.100 --> 00:10:28.149 process of law, Then there was great alarm, especially 00:10:28.149 --> 00:10:33.129 by religionists, regarding what was taking place. 00:10:34.389 --> 00:10:43.230 Lawsuits have been established to limit authentic 00:10:43.230 --> 00:10:48.549 Christianity's influence in our society. And 00:10:48.549 --> 00:10:50.769 so what happened back then is still happening 00:10:50.769 --> 00:10:56.539 today. religion seeks to limit or contain authentic 00:10:56.539 --> 00:10:59.820 Christianity so that it cannot spread its influence. 00:11:00.539 --> 00:11:03.480 It essentially says, you stay in your little 00:11:03.480 --> 00:11:08.159 box and don't come out. That is what happened 00:11:08.159 --> 00:11:11.700 exactly in verses one through four. The arrest 00:11:11.700 --> 00:11:15.419 was occasioned by the large assembly listening 00:11:15.419 --> 00:11:19.649 to Peter deliver his sermon. The instigators 00:11:19.649 --> 00:11:22.289 of the arrest are listed for us. They were the 00:11:22.289 --> 00:11:27.730 priests. The priests were the Levites, the descendants 00:11:27.730 --> 00:11:33.610 of Aaron. These priests as a whole were divided 00:11:33.610 --> 00:11:37.970 into 24 groups or courses, and they served in 00:11:37.970 --> 00:11:42.429 the temple a week in rotating order. So the priests 00:11:42.429 --> 00:11:45.009 that are mentioned here are the priests who were 00:11:45.009 --> 00:11:49.779 on duty that particular week. They were accompanied 00:11:49.779 --> 00:11:51.919 by the captain of the temple guard. The Greek 00:11:51.919 --> 00:11:54.840 word is the stratigos. We get our word strategy 00:11:54.840 --> 00:11:59.940 from that word. This captain was the head of 00:11:59.940 --> 00:12:03.279 the Levitical police force. He was the police 00:12:03.279 --> 00:12:07.940 chief in the temple area. He was responsible 00:12:07.940 --> 00:12:12.259 for the order within that temple area. The Romans 00:12:12.259 --> 00:12:14.820 allowed the Jews to have their own police force 00:12:14.820 --> 00:12:18.039 in that limited geographical area around the 00:12:18.039 --> 00:12:22.799 temple. It was a compromise for them. This man, 00:12:22.940 --> 00:12:28.039 the strategos, was the second in command after 00:12:28.039 --> 00:12:32.139 the high priest in the temple area. And then 00:12:32.139 --> 00:12:35.799 there are the real instigators listed, the Sadducees. 00:12:36.899 --> 00:12:39.360 The Sadducees were one of the prominent religious 00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:42.740 parties of that time. They were fewer in number 00:12:42.740 --> 00:12:46.500 than the Pharisees. but they were more powerful 00:12:46.500 --> 00:12:51.120 than the Pharisees. They were the liberals theologically, 00:12:52.240 --> 00:12:55.620 as I'll illustrate in a few moments. They were 00:12:55.620 --> 00:13:02.159 more powerful than the Pharisees because the 00:13:02.159 --> 00:13:07.720 high priest was a member of their party and because 00:13:07.720 --> 00:13:10.559 though they were fewer in total number in the 00:13:10.559 --> 00:13:15.019 religious parties, they had the majority on the 00:13:15.019 --> 00:13:19.639 Sanhedrin, the ruling council. The Sadducees 00:13:19.639 --> 00:13:23.379 were the aristocratic, wealthy, and influential 00:13:23.379 --> 00:13:28.039 members of Jewish society. And their main desire 00:13:28.039 --> 00:13:31.240 was to keep the status quo so that they could 00:13:31.240 --> 00:13:35.919 protect their own power and position. And certainly 00:13:35.919 --> 00:13:38.679 what these men were proclaiming threatened them. 00:13:39.080 --> 00:13:42.379 For you see, the Sadducees rejected anything 00:13:42.379 --> 00:13:46.940 supernatural. They were Jews, but they did not 00:13:46.940 --> 00:13:51.539 believe in angels or in judgment or rewards. 00:13:52.659 --> 00:13:56.419 They denied any kind of a bodily resurrection, 00:13:56.620 --> 00:14:00.200 and they essentially believed that man is the 00:14:00.200 --> 00:14:05.399 master of his own fate. That was the theological 00:14:05.399 --> 00:14:08.659 statement. of the Sadducees. So you can see why 00:14:08.659 --> 00:14:11.500 they were sad, you see. They did not have the 00:14:11.500 --> 00:14:15.860 truth. And so when they came upon this scene, 00:14:15.980 --> 00:14:19.320 and here were two men proclaiming Jesus, whom 00:14:19.320 --> 00:14:22.139 they had put to death, and the resurrection, 00:14:22.340 --> 00:14:29.340 which they denied, they were very upset. This 00:14:29.340 --> 00:14:34.220 led to jailing overnight because the law forbade 00:14:34.220 --> 00:14:37.419 a trial to be held. during the nighttime hours. 00:14:37.879 --> 00:14:39.440 Of course, that didn't stop them when it came 00:14:39.440 --> 00:14:42.600 to Jesus, but it did stop them on this occasion. 00:14:44.019 --> 00:14:46.039 Despite the fact that men were arrested and put 00:14:46.039 --> 00:14:50.080 into some confining area in the temple called 00:14:50.080 --> 00:14:54.700 a jail, there were many who heard their message 00:14:54.700 --> 00:14:59.299 and who believed. Luke records for us for the 00:14:59.299 --> 00:15:03.179 last time a number. He says there were about 00:15:03.179 --> 00:15:08.570 5 ,000 men. who believed. In other words, there 00:15:08.570 --> 00:15:14.570 were probably some women and younger people who 00:15:14.570 --> 00:15:17.909 may have believed as well. But in typical Jewish 00:15:17.909 --> 00:15:20.690 fashion, they counted the men. There were about 00:15:20.690 --> 00:15:24.110 5 ,000. Probably, that means that there were 00:15:24.110 --> 00:15:27.950 a total of 5 ,000 believers in Jerusalem. And 00:15:27.950 --> 00:15:30.769 not that 5 ,000 believed on this particular occasion. 00:15:31.570 --> 00:15:33.750 There were 3 ,000 who believed on the day of 00:15:33.750 --> 00:15:37.809 Pentecost. And so what Luke is saying most probably 00:15:37.809 --> 00:15:41.129 is that now by this time when this incident took 00:15:41.129 --> 00:15:45.149 place, there were a total of 5 ,000 men who believed 00:15:45.149 --> 00:15:51.769 in Jesus as the Christ. That brings a paradox 00:15:51.769 --> 00:15:56.210 to mind, doesn't it? That at a time when persecution 00:15:56.210 --> 00:15:59.309 begins, there's another quantum leap in the number 00:15:59.309 --> 00:16:03.230 of believers. It is interesting that when there 00:16:03.230 --> 00:16:06.700 is persecution, It is often the very means by 00:16:06.700 --> 00:16:11.659 which God extends His work among men. As Paul 00:16:11.659 --> 00:16:17.480 writes, the Word of God is not bound. So although 00:16:17.480 --> 00:16:21.580 governments and individuals may try to persecute 00:16:21.580 --> 00:16:26.440 and limit influence of Christianity, that very 00:16:26.440 --> 00:16:29.539 persecution is but the means by which it spreads. 00:16:31.620 --> 00:16:33.659 This brings to mind a question though as we look 00:16:33.659 --> 00:16:38.129 at this number. The question is, how did the 00:16:38.129 --> 00:16:44.110 church deal with such growth? Obviously, the 00:16:44.110 --> 00:16:48.090 organization was not as developed as most churches 00:16:48.090 --> 00:16:51.509 are today. But nonetheless, how did they deal 00:16:51.509 --> 00:16:57.389 with a growth to 5 ,000 men plus others in a 00:16:57.389 --> 00:17:05.029 matter of a few weeks? This rapid growth created 00:17:05.029 --> 00:17:10.970 stress and eventually some dissension, as we'll 00:17:10.970 --> 00:17:15.210 see in chapter 6. That dissension, by the way, 00:17:15.509 --> 00:17:19.609 forced the apostles to delegate certain matters 00:17:19.609 --> 00:17:24.430 to three men, we believe were the prototype of 00:17:24.430 --> 00:17:29.009 deacons, so that they, the apostles, could retain 00:17:29.009 --> 00:17:31.369 their proper priorities of teaching the word 00:17:31.369 --> 00:17:35.589 and prayer. It seems to me the only way they 00:17:35.589 --> 00:17:40.829 could have dealt with 5 ,000 converts was to 00:17:40.829 --> 00:17:47.029 have a dynamic body life taking place. They had 00:17:47.029 --> 00:17:50.329 to minister to one another. That's the only way 00:17:50.329 --> 00:17:53.309 it could have happened. Twelve apostles could 00:17:53.309 --> 00:17:57.349 not possibly meet the needs of 5 ,000 new believers. 00:18:00.230 --> 00:18:03.650 In our Western culture, There is developed a 00:18:03.650 --> 00:18:08.589 concept of ministry involving a couple of things, 00:18:09.309 --> 00:18:12.029 involving in the first place the hiring of professionals 00:18:12.029 --> 00:18:21.150 to do the ministry. We hire staff people, according 00:18:21.150 --> 00:18:24.369 to the philosophy of some, in order to do the 00:18:24.369 --> 00:18:28.869 work of ministry. The problem with that is that 00:18:28.869 --> 00:18:33.140 it robs the people of God. of their opportunity 00:18:33.140 --> 00:18:38.420 for ministry. And accompanying that idea is the 00:18:38.420 --> 00:18:42.559 expecting of the pastor of a church to be a jack 00:18:42.559 --> 00:18:46.759 of all trades, so to speak, who does everything, 00:18:47.180 --> 00:18:52.759 knows everything, and is everything. In the typical 00:18:52.759 --> 00:18:55.579 church, the pastor is expected to study 40 hours 00:18:55.579 --> 00:19:00.019 a week in order to preach. He is expected to 00:19:00.019 --> 00:19:04.000 spend every afternoon, in addition, in visitation. 00:19:04.900 --> 00:19:07.420 But then he is to stay by the telephone to answer 00:19:07.420 --> 00:19:11.279 all emergency calls. He is expected to pray several 00:19:11.279 --> 00:19:15.000 hours daily and to spend time with his family, 00:19:15.019 --> 00:19:18.140 of course. Then he is to attend all committee 00:19:18.140 --> 00:19:22.099 meetings, participate in all of the local clergy 00:19:22.099 --> 00:19:25.500 fellowships, be available to counsel whenever 00:19:25.500 --> 00:19:30.450 anybody has a need. and be willing to socialize 00:19:30.450 --> 00:19:33.910 in a game of golf, but of course not to win, 00:19:33.970 --> 00:19:37.549 else it looks like he spends too much time golfing. 00:19:39.210 --> 00:19:43.170 And so is the predicament of the average pastor. 00:19:43.190 --> 00:19:47.470 And I have talked to dear friends of mine who 00:19:47.470 --> 00:19:50.390 are caught in traps of this in the churches where 00:19:50.390 --> 00:19:54.390 they minister. I want to state, we've stated 00:19:54.390 --> 00:19:56.569 this before, but I want to say it again today 00:19:56.569 --> 00:20:00.490 that As a church, we are committed to a philosophy 00:20:00.490 --> 00:20:03.309 of ministry which hopefully is a little closer 00:20:03.309 --> 00:20:06.329 to the New Testament example than what I've just 00:20:06.329 --> 00:20:11.509 described. I believe it's this, that every person 00:20:11.509 --> 00:20:15.089 who is a member of our church is given gifts 00:20:15.089 --> 00:20:19.390 by the Spirit of God and is called in some way 00:20:19.390 --> 00:20:23.609 to minister those gifts. It may be within our 00:20:23.609 --> 00:20:27.930 church, it may be in the community around us. 00:20:28.069 --> 00:20:31.970 It may be in another part of the world. But every 00:20:31.970 --> 00:20:37.869 one of us is a part of the ministry. Now that 00:20:37.869 --> 00:20:41.670 is essentially different than that which is usually 00:20:41.670 --> 00:20:45.170 described as ministry today in churches. All 00:20:45.170 --> 00:20:51.150 of us are ministers. The staff of a church then 00:20:51.150 --> 00:20:57.170 is hired to equip the saints. Ephesians 4, to 00:20:57.170 --> 00:21:00.289 equip the saints to do the work of the ministry 00:21:00.289 --> 00:21:05.309 so that the body then is built up. The staff 00:21:05.309 --> 00:21:09.329 is not hired to do the ministry for our people. 00:21:10.650 --> 00:21:14.829 Our staff is here to assist you and to equip 00:21:14.829 --> 00:21:19.130 you, to help you, to develop your spiritual gifts, 00:21:19.130 --> 00:21:22.710 and to encourage you to be involved in some vital 00:21:22.710 --> 00:21:26.730 ministry to which God would call you. You say, 00:21:26.869 --> 00:21:28.789 well how many staff does it take to do that? 00:21:29.650 --> 00:21:33.089 Fewer than it takes if the staff is expected 00:21:33.089 --> 00:21:37.369 to do all the work of the ministry. Some church 00:21:37.369 --> 00:21:39.789 growth people say that it takes about one staff 00:21:39.789 --> 00:21:44.809 member to every 150 active attenders in a church 00:21:44.809 --> 00:21:49.410 in order for that body to be equipped and prepared 00:21:49.410 --> 00:21:55.339 for growth. In our philosophy of ministry, each 00:21:55.339 --> 00:22:01.480 staff person has an area of responsibility. No 00:22:01.480 --> 00:22:05.359 one of us is a jack of all trades and able to 00:22:05.359 --> 00:22:10.220 do it all. But rather we are called by God to 00:22:10.220 --> 00:22:14.440 specialize in certain areas where we are gifted 00:22:14.440 --> 00:22:19.259 so that we then can equip you and help to oversee 00:22:19.259 --> 00:22:22.819 the ministry. of the church, which is all of 00:22:22.819 --> 00:22:27.319 us. It seems to me that the situation in Jerusalem 00:22:27.319 --> 00:22:32.900 required a similar philosophy of ministry, a 00:22:32.900 --> 00:22:36.700 dynamic interdependence of the people upon each 00:22:36.700 --> 00:22:40.339 other, a member -to -member caring ministry. 00:22:42.220 --> 00:22:44.539 It is certain that the apostles did the teaching 00:22:44.539 --> 00:22:48.910 and the praying. Not all the praying for the 00:22:48.910 --> 00:22:52.170 people but they led in the praying of the church 00:22:52.170 --> 00:22:56.369 the teaching and the praying were their priorities 00:22:56.369 --> 00:22:59.309 and the other things were left among the people 00:22:59.309 --> 00:23:02.150 to do to minister among themselves as the Spirit 00:23:02.150 --> 00:23:07.509 of God has enabled and equipped And so an answer 00:23:07.509 --> 00:23:10.369 the question how did the early church deal with 00:23:10.369 --> 00:23:13.609 such rapid growth? It was because every person 00:23:13.609 --> 00:23:17.569 in the church was involved in ministry every 00:23:17.569 --> 00:23:21.809 person. I hope that helps you understand how 00:23:21.809 --> 00:23:24.630 we function here a little bit and what we expect 00:23:24.630 --> 00:23:27.430 of the congregation who's a part of Grace Church 00:23:27.430 --> 00:23:32.109 Roseville. Now let's move ahead in our text to 00:23:32.109 --> 00:23:34.630 the second phase of this incident. It is the 00:23:34.630 --> 00:23:38.670 trial in verses 5 to 14. In the first phase, 00:23:38.690 --> 00:23:42.569 we saw that religion seeks to limit authentic 00:23:42.569 --> 00:23:45.289 Christianity. It threw the apostles into jail. 00:23:45.839 --> 00:23:49.740 to stop them preaching. Now in the trial, we 00:23:49.740 --> 00:23:53.500 see a second action of religion against biblical 00:23:53.500 --> 00:23:56.640 Christianity, and it is this. Religion seeks 00:23:56.640 --> 00:24:03.019 to discredit authentic Christianity. That can 00:24:03.019 --> 00:24:05.700 be illustrated today in a number of ways, but 00:24:05.700 --> 00:24:10.599 as an example, consider the subtle ridicule of 00:24:10.599 --> 00:24:15.420 such terms as fundamentalist by religion. and 00:24:15.420 --> 00:24:19.599 the media in our day. The term fundamentalist 00:24:19.599 --> 00:24:23.559 has historically been a very accurate, clear 00:24:23.559 --> 00:24:28.579 term describing those who are committed to certain 00:24:28.579 --> 00:24:33.539 fundamentals of the faith. These fundamentals 00:24:33.539 --> 00:24:36.460 were delineated in the early part of this century 00:24:36.460 --> 00:24:41.859 by such men as W .B. Riley, who pastored in the 00:24:41.859 --> 00:24:45.039 First Baptist Church in Minneapolis. and R .A. 00:24:45.140 --> 00:24:48.240 Torrey, who likewise pastored in Minneapolis 00:24:48.240 --> 00:24:55.000 for a time. The fundamentalists were the descendants 00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:58.460 of those who brought together in a written form 00:24:58.460 --> 00:25:02.019 in several volumes what were called the fundamentals 00:25:02.019 --> 00:25:06.920 of the faith. But today we see that term being 00:25:06.920 --> 00:25:11.920 applied to every weird duck under the sun. Any 00:25:11.920 --> 00:25:16.059 strange thing that comes along is labeled fundamentalist 00:25:16.059 --> 00:25:19.000 by the media and by religion, and the purpose 00:25:19.000 --> 00:25:23.220 of that is to subtly ridicule and to mock those 00:25:23.220 --> 00:25:25.339 who believe in the fundamentals of the faith. 00:25:26.180 --> 00:25:30.380 There is the questioning, even the denying, of 00:25:30.380 --> 00:25:34.519 such fundamental doctrines as the inerrancy of 00:25:34.519 --> 00:25:40.809 Scripture in all that it says, resulting in diminishing 00:25:40.809 --> 00:25:45.130 of the authority of the Bible. Now those kinds 00:25:45.130 --> 00:25:48.630 of things are happening all around us. And what 00:25:48.630 --> 00:25:52.250 is it? It is simply the work of religion seeking 00:25:52.250 --> 00:25:56.589 to discredit authentic Christianity. That's what 00:25:56.589 --> 00:26:00.730 it is, discrediting, undermining it in some subtle 00:26:00.730 --> 00:26:08.700 way. Can you think of a talk show host? who's 00:26:08.700 --> 00:26:15.339 now in New York, the one in my mind, who says 00:26:15.339 --> 00:26:18.660 when he has an authentic Christian on the witness 00:26:18.660 --> 00:26:23.019 stand there, now come, Reverend, so -and -so, 00:26:23.359 --> 00:26:29.759 do you really believe? Right? Now, is he simply 00:26:29.759 --> 00:26:34.400 asking a question there? No. No, you see he is 00:26:34.400 --> 00:26:40.660 subtly ridiculing. He is subtly seeking to discredit 00:26:40.660 --> 00:26:44.079 what the person believes. Now, notice that's 00:26:44.079 --> 00:26:46.619 what religion did with the apostles when they 00:26:46.619 --> 00:26:50.380 were on trial. The trial was carried out before 00:26:50.380 --> 00:26:53.319 the Jewish ruling council, which was called the 00:26:53.319 --> 00:27:00.480 Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was composed of 70 men 00:27:00.480 --> 00:27:06.220 plus the high priest. The high priest acted as 00:27:06.220 --> 00:27:10.390 the president. of the council. And it might be 00:27:10.390 --> 00:27:12.309 interesting for you to know that the high priest 00:27:12.309 --> 00:27:15.349 at this time was no longer an hereditary office. 00:27:16.069 --> 00:27:20.170 It was a political office. And to gain the office, 00:27:20.210 --> 00:27:24.150 one usually became involved in bribery, intrigue, 00:27:24.210 --> 00:27:30.269 and corruption. Josephus says that between the 00:27:30.269 --> 00:27:37.680 years 27 BC and 67 AD, about 100 years, There 00:27:37.680 --> 00:27:43.460 were 28 individual high priests. And it's interesting 00:27:43.460 --> 00:27:46.759 to note that all but six of those came from just 00:27:46.759 --> 00:27:51.839 four families. And so it was the kind of an office 00:27:51.839 --> 00:27:55.599 that was heavily dominated by certain powerful, 00:27:56.019 --> 00:28:02.359 influential, wealthy Sadducees. Now the Sanhedrin 00:28:02.359 --> 00:28:05.359 met in what was called the Hall of Hewn Stone. 00:28:05.869 --> 00:28:09.730 This kind of picture is what it was like. And 00:28:09.730 --> 00:28:14.190 it was deep within the temple complex. The Sanhedrin 00:28:14.190 --> 00:28:17.630 met in a semicircle fashion with the president, 00:28:17.750 --> 00:28:22.930 the high priest, being at the center. The Sanhedrin 00:28:22.930 --> 00:28:25.670 was composed of the people who are mentioned 00:28:25.670 --> 00:28:29.130 in our text, the rulers, the elders, and the 00:28:29.130 --> 00:28:33.029 scribes. The rulers refers to the chief priests 00:28:33.029 --> 00:28:37.720 or the leaders. of those 24 groups or courses, 00:28:38.019 --> 00:28:41.380 divisions, that is, of the priesthood. There 00:28:41.380 --> 00:28:47.099 were the elders. The elders were the family heads 00:28:47.099 --> 00:28:51.660 of the people. And then there were scribes. The 00:28:51.660 --> 00:28:54.180 scribes were the attorneys, so to speak. They 00:28:54.180 --> 00:28:57.460 were the experts in the Mosaic Law. And it was 00:28:57.460 --> 00:29:01.019 in this group, primarily, that the Pharisees 00:29:01.019 --> 00:29:04.920 were populated. On this occasion of the hearing, 00:29:05.319 --> 00:29:09.640 Annas was there. Annas is actually the former 00:29:09.640 --> 00:29:13.160 high priest at this time, although he retained 00:29:13.160 --> 00:29:16.700 the title, which was customary. So Luke is not 00:29:16.700 --> 00:29:20.420 incorrect in saying that. Annas was high priest 00:29:20.420 --> 00:29:25.299 from 6 A .D. until 15 A .D. You will notice then 00:29:25.299 --> 00:29:28.839 Caiaphas is mentioned. Caiaphas was actually 00:29:28.839 --> 00:29:32.630 the active high priest at this time. He was high 00:29:32.630 --> 00:29:37.009 priest from 18 to 36 A .D. And he was the son 00:29:37.009 --> 00:29:40.309 -in -law of Annas. So you see it was within the 00:29:40.309 --> 00:29:44.130 family. Also mentioned here are John and Alexander. 00:29:44.190 --> 00:29:48.170 They are totally unknown, although some think 00:29:48.170 --> 00:29:53.730 that John may be Jonathan, the son of Annas, 00:29:54.009 --> 00:29:56.970 who succeeded Caiaphas when his office was up 00:29:56.970 --> 00:30:01.019 in 36 A .D. Josephus, in fact, says that Jonathan 00:30:01.019 --> 00:30:07.119 succeeded Caiaphas. Now considering the identity 00:30:07.119 --> 00:30:08.980 of these people, you will notice that it was 00:30:08.980 --> 00:30:13.480 a rather imposing group. It could have been intimidating. 00:30:15.099 --> 00:30:17.720 In fact, it may have been for that very reason 00:30:17.720 --> 00:30:23.539 intimidation that it was called together. These 00:30:23.539 --> 00:30:27.359 were just two men, two street preachers, and 00:30:27.359 --> 00:30:30.289 yet the whole council meets. to consider the 00:30:30.289 --> 00:30:33.329 case. And keep in mind that these are the very 00:30:33.329 --> 00:30:36.369 people who just a few weeks before this had condemned 00:30:36.369 --> 00:30:42.509 Jesus. They had a basis for the trial found in 00:30:42.509 --> 00:30:46.430 Deuteronomy 13 verses 1 to 5 where God commands 00:30:46.430 --> 00:30:49.349 that when there's a prophet or a dreamer who 00:30:49.349 --> 00:30:51.549 has something to say to the people and a miracle 00:30:51.549 --> 00:30:54.910 is performed in relation to that, he is to be 00:30:54.910 --> 00:31:00.089 examined as to what he teaches. And if that person 00:31:00.089 --> 00:31:02.269 is teaching and leading the people away from 00:31:02.269 --> 00:31:04.309 the God of their fathers, he is to be killed. 00:31:06.269 --> 00:31:08.430 And so you see they call these two men in to 00:31:08.430 --> 00:31:10.710 find out what they were teaching. They were within 00:31:10.710 --> 00:31:13.769 their authority to ask them that question according 00:31:13.769 --> 00:31:18.750 to the Mosaic Law. And so to escape death actually, 00:31:19.130 --> 00:31:22.509 Peter and John needed to prove that their teaching 00:31:22.509 --> 00:31:25.089 did not lead the people away from the God of 00:31:25.089 --> 00:31:29.619 their fathers. And notice the course of the hearing 00:31:29.619 --> 00:31:35.599 as it develops. In verse 7, they ask regarding 00:31:35.599 --> 00:31:39.900 the authority for their teaching. They say to 00:31:39.900 --> 00:31:43.859 them, by what power or in what name have you 00:31:43.859 --> 00:31:49.339 done this? The answer is given in verses 8 to 00:31:49.339 --> 00:31:52.779 12. Before we get to the answer, I want you to 00:31:52.779 --> 00:31:54.599 notice what it says there regarding the filling 00:31:54.599 --> 00:31:57.759 of the Holy Spirit. Please keep in mind that 00:31:57.759 --> 00:31:59.700 the filling of the Holy Spirit does not occur 00:31:59.700 --> 00:32:04.319 once and for all. The filling or the empowering, 00:32:04.500 --> 00:32:08.859 the enabling of the Holy Spirit occurs each time 00:32:08.859 --> 00:32:15.799 we have need for it. When you are called upon 00:32:15.799 --> 00:32:21.940 in the office to say a word for Jesus Christ 00:32:21.940 --> 00:32:25.509 in terms of a witness, At that very moment, you 00:32:25.509 --> 00:32:27.690 may know the enabling of the Holy Spirit, the 00:32:27.690 --> 00:32:29.710 empowering of the Holy Spirit. Someone said to 00:32:29.710 --> 00:32:32.789 me just the other night that he was asked a certain 00:32:32.789 --> 00:32:35.569 question. A verse came to his mind that he had 00:32:35.569 --> 00:32:37.509 learned a long time ago, and he quoted that word 00:32:37.509 --> 00:32:41.490 perfectly. He just couldn't understand why. You 00:32:41.490 --> 00:32:45.150 see, the Holy Spirit is powerful, and He is able 00:32:45.150 --> 00:32:49.230 to make us sufficient for those situations as 00:32:49.230 --> 00:32:53.049 He did Peter here. And notice that Peter in verse 00:32:53.049 --> 00:32:56.809 9, points out that their accusation against them 00:32:56.809 --> 00:32:59.910 was actually not for a crime, but for a good 00:32:59.910 --> 00:33:05.289 deed, a benefit that had been performed, which 00:33:05.289 --> 00:33:08.869 immediately cuts them as to the reason for the 00:33:08.869 --> 00:33:13.250 arrest in the first place. In verse 10, he answers 00:33:13.250 --> 00:33:16.289 directly the question that had been asked, and 00:33:16.289 --> 00:33:19.150 he says, let everybody know that by the name 00:33:19.150 --> 00:33:23.430 of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, this man stands 00:33:23.430 --> 00:33:27.349 here. before you in good health." Now, it may 00:33:27.349 --> 00:33:30.710 be that that man, the crippled man who had been 00:33:30.710 --> 00:33:33.410 healed was standing. He was standing there. It 00:33:33.410 --> 00:33:34.970 may have been he was put in prison with them 00:33:34.970 --> 00:33:37.849 as well. It doesn't really say that, but he was 00:33:37.849 --> 00:33:41.789 there at the hearing. Now, notice that when Peter 00:33:41.789 --> 00:33:45.769 mentions Jesus the Nazarene, he could not help 00:33:45.769 --> 00:33:50.170 but slip in a couple extra statements. Whom you 00:33:50.170 --> 00:33:54.029 crucified, Whom God raised from the dead now 00:33:54.029 --> 00:33:56.329 remember the Sadducees didn't believe in the 00:33:56.329 --> 00:33:59.470 resurrection and So he is sticking it to him 00:33:59.470 --> 00:34:05.349 here a little bit verse 11 He he relates what's 00:34:05.349 --> 00:34:07.349 happened to Old Testament prophecy and if you 00:34:07.349 --> 00:34:09.150 think he stuck it to him before here. He goes 00:34:09.150 --> 00:34:14.489 all the way He says he this Jesus is the stone 00:34:14.489 --> 00:34:20.570 which was rejected by you the builders but which 00:34:20.570 --> 00:34:23.289 became the very cornerstone." Quoted from Psalm 00:34:23.289 --> 00:34:30.090 118. He says, you have rejected this one that 00:34:30.090 --> 00:34:35.389 God appointed to be the stone. But now he says 00:34:35.389 --> 00:34:39.949 he's become the very cornerstone. Peter quotes 00:34:39.949 --> 00:34:41.969 that. I wonder if he really knows what he's saying. 00:34:42.610 --> 00:34:45.750 Well, he cannot in full because the church had 00:34:45.750 --> 00:34:49.000 not been revealed yet. But the Holy Spirit knows 00:34:49.000 --> 00:34:52.460 what needs to be said here, and so He gives Peter 00:34:52.460 --> 00:34:55.880 these words, this quotation from the Old Testament, 00:34:55.980 --> 00:34:59.480 and we will see later that Jesus Christ has indeed 00:34:59.480 --> 00:35:02.420 become the cornerstone of the Church, this new 00:35:02.420 --> 00:35:06.420 thing that God is doing in this age, this new 00:35:06.420 --> 00:35:10.119 group of elect people being called out to be 00:35:10.119 --> 00:35:15.730 the bride of Jesus Christ. He drives home this 00:35:15.730 --> 00:35:18.869 declaration. He says, And there is salvation 00:35:18.869 --> 00:35:23.969 in no one else. For there is no other name under 00:35:23.969 --> 00:35:27.550 heaven that has been given among men by which 00:35:27.550 --> 00:35:33.449 we must be saved. Moses will not do it. Abraham 00:35:33.449 --> 00:35:37.670 is not sufficient. Only in the name of Jesus 00:35:37.670 --> 00:35:41.949 Christ, who in his resurrection power has healed 00:35:41.949 --> 00:35:46.920 this man. proclaims is their salvation of the 00:35:46.920 --> 00:35:50.099 soul. I want to say that to you this morning, 00:35:51.880 --> 00:35:56.980 especially to you my friend who may be here involved 00:35:56.980 --> 00:36:02.679 in religion, institutional centered, man initiated, 00:36:03.519 --> 00:36:07.480 works oriented. You my friend need to know that 00:36:07.480 --> 00:36:11.320 there is salvation only in the person of Jesus 00:36:11.320 --> 00:36:17.119 Christ. There is not another name under heaven 00:36:17.119 --> 00:36:21.159 that is given among men that can bring salvation 00:36:21.159 --> 00:36:26.840 Not the name of any saint Not the name of Mary 00:36:26.840 --> 00:36:32.159 the mother of Jesus Not the name of a great religious 00:36:32.159 --> 00:36:36.659 leader or philosopher But only in the name of 00:36:36.659 --> 00:36:42.989 Jesus Christ is their salvation Well, the response 00:36:42.989 --> 00:36:47.489 of the Sanhedrin was one of amazement and silence. 00:36:50.110 --> 00:36:55.469 They had only utter contempt for these uneducated, 00:36:55.730 --> 00:37:00.610 nonprofessional men who stood before them. Yet 00:37:00.610 --> 00:37:05.670 they had to marvel at the lucid argument that 00:37:05.670 --> 00:37:09.550 Peter gave, though he had no rabbinic authority. 00:37:10.660 --> 00:37:15.000 Perhaps, it was that very clearness of argument, 00:37:15.380 --> 00:37:17.780 though he had not been trained in their schools, 00:37:17.840 --> 00:37:22.900 that reminded them of Jesus Christ. But there 00:37:22.900 --> 00:37:28.280 was something about them, and undoubtedly partly 00:37:28.280 --> 00:37:31.960 what Peter said, that caused them to remember 00:37:31.960 --> 00:37:41.280 that they had been with Jesus. third phase of 00:37:41.280 --> 00:37:45.059 this incident. It is the results of the trial, 00:37:46.000 --> 00:37:50.019 verses 15 to 20. And once again, we see religion 00:37:50.019 --> 00:37:53.800 taking another tact against authentic Christianity. 00:37:55.460 --> 00:37:58.960 It seeks to limit biblical Christianity. If it 00:37:58.960 --> 00:38:02.059 can't do that, it will seek to discredit it. 00:38:03.139 --> 00:38:06.679 And if it's unsuccessful in discrediting authentic 00:38:06.679 --> 00:38:09.989 Christianity, Religion will take a third tact. 00:38:10.389 --> 00:38:15.190 It will seek to silence authentic Christianity. 00:38:17.150 --> 00:38:20.809 It will say in no uncertain terms, be quiet. 00:38:24.150 --> 00:38:26.289 You will notice it's exactly what these men did. 00:38:26.369 --> 00:38:31.329 The first result of the trial was a private discussion 00:38:31.329 --> 00:38:35.590 followed by a public warning. In that private 00:38:35.590 --> 00:38:40.789 discussion, They admitted they could not disprove 00:38:40.789 --> 00:38:45.030 what Peter had declared. They could not disprove 00:38:45.030 --> 00:38:48.670 the healing of the man, nor could they disprove 00:38:48.670 --> 00:38:51.070 the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which Peter 00:38:51.070 --> 00:38:54.650 had declared. Now this was the great opportunity 00:38:54.650 --> 00:38:57.590 for them to once and for all destroy Christianity. 00:38:58.210 --> 00:39:00.570 All they had to do was to produce the body of 00:39:00.570 --> 00:39:05.289 Jesus. But they didn't have His body, of course. 00:39:05.599 --> 00:39:08.659 And they were unable to disprove either the miracle 00:39:08.659 --> 00:39:13.340 or the preaching of Peter. And they knew that 00:39:13.340 --> 00:39:17.920 the people were following these apostles, that 00:39:17.920 --> 00:39:21.699 they were popular men. So to try to keep the 00:39:21.699 --> 00:39:23.519 status quo, and remember that was their major 00:39:23.519 --> 00:39:27.800 concern, to try to keep things in order so that 00:39:27.800 --> 00:39:30.599 they could preserve their own power, they called 00:39:30.599 --> 00:39:33.980 these men before them once again. And they simply 00:39:33.980 --> 00:39:39.460 commanded them not to speak or teach at all in 00:39:39.460 --> 00:39:42.719 the name of Jesus. The implication being that 00:39:42.719 --> 00:39:47.599 neither in public nor in private were they any 00:39:47.599 --> 00:39:54.900 more to talk about this Jesus. But there are 00:39:54.900 --> 00:39:57.159 more results of the trial than that because there 00:39:57.159 --> 00:40:01.360 is the result of a courageous response and God 00:40:01.360 --> 00:40:05.230 being honored. The courageous response, of course, 00:40:05.289 --> 00:40:08.730 is that of Peter and John. And their response 00:40:08.730 --> 00:40:11.010 in unison seems to have been, whether it is right 00:40:11.010 --> 00:40:13.429 in the sight of God to give heed to you rather 00:40:13.429 --> 00:40:17.670 than to God, you be the judge. You think we should 00:40:17.670 --> 00:40:23.369 listen to you or listen to God? He said. We cannot 00:40:23.369 --> 00:40:28.230 stop speaking what we have seen and heard. These 00:40:28.230 --> 00:40:33.119 men were without fear. I like the statement that 00:40:33.119 --> 00:40:39.139 was made of John Knox, he feared God so much 00:40:39.139 --> 00:40:45.139 he never feared the face of any man. That is 00:40:45.139 --> 00:40:48.880 the case with these two men. They do not fear 00:40:48.880 --> 00:40:54.199 the faces of those people, intimidating though 00:40:54.199 --> 00:41:00.280 they be. Generally, you will find that the early 00:41:00.280 --> 00:41:04.139 church sought to live in peace with authority, 00:41:05.019 --> 00:41:09.840 both religious and civil. But when it comes to 00:41:09.840 --> 00:41:12.800 making a choice, it did not take long for those 00:41:12.800 --> 00:41:15.639 early Christians to make a decision that they 00:41:15.639 --> 00:41:20.539 had to obey God rather than men. They said, we 00:41:20.539 --> 00:41:25.260 cannot stop. We cannot stop speaking about what 00:41:25.260 --> 00:41:30.389 we have seen and heard. Time out for just a moment. 00:41:31.190 --> 00:41:35.190 Verse 20 is probably the finest biblical definition 00:41:35.190 --> 00:41:41.829 of a witness that you will find. Some of us have 00:41:41.829 --> 00:41:45.369 the idea that in order to witness, we have to 00:41:45.369 --> 00:41:50.650 be trained in a seminary, or at least we have 00:41:50.650 --> 00:41:56.210 to be able to give a certain approach, whether 00:41:56.210 --> 00:42:00.090 it be the EE approach or the four spiritual laws 00:42:00.090 --> 00:42:03.230 or the bridge or whatever, we have to know some 00:42:03.230 --> 00:42:07.650 kind of a method before we can witness. My friend, 00:42:07.650 --> 00:42:11.869 that is not true. For a real witness involves 00:42:11.869 --> 00:42:16.469 simply relating your own experience, what you 00:42:16.469 --> 00:42:20.190 have seen and what you have heard. Very frankly, 00:42:20.869 --> 00:42:23.269 the people out there in the world are not interested 00:42:23.269 --> 00:42:30.610 in theology for the most part. Little diagrams 00:42:30.610 --> 00:42:32.989 that we have or booklets that we pass out are 00:42:32.989 --> 00:42:35.869 really not very keen as far as they're concerned. 00:42:38.389 --> 00:42:41.349 But when you talk about what's happened to you, 00:42:42.590 --> 00:42:45.210 the change that Jesus Christ has made in your 00:42:45.210 --> 00:42:51.949 life, they cannot get away from it. They cannot 00:42:51.949 --> 00:43:01.880 disprove it. He is a Christian who very simply, 00:43:02.119 --> 00:43:06.659 in his own words, shares what he has seen, what 00:43:06.659 --> 00:43:10.980 he has heard of Jesus Christ. And who can be 00:43:10.980 --> 00:43:13.420 honest enough when asked a question to even say, 00:43:13.539 --> 00:43:15.840 if necessary, you know, I really don't know the 00:43:15.840 --> 00:43:19.599 answer to that. I'll have to find out the answer. 00:43:20.539 --> 00:43:26.280 But this I know. That is what the apostles simply 00:43:26.280 --> 00:43:31.130 did, and we need to follow their example. In 00:43:31.130 --> 00:43:33.389 conclusion, I want to say this to you, that we 00:43:33.389 --> 00:43:37.989 need to be aware that the most potent enemy that 00:43:37.989 --> 00:43:45.750 we face in the world is not atheism, it's not 00:43:45.750 --> 00:43:50.750 the government, but it is humanistic religion 00:43:50.750 --> 00:43:56.409 like that of the Sadducees. It is the man -made, 00:43:56.969 --> 00:44:04.369 man -centered liberalism. of our day. It is the 00:44:04.369 --> 00:44:09.409 humanistic religion that is coming to be predominant 00:44:09.409 --> 00:44:13.730 in our society. I have a number of illustrations 00:44:13.730 --> 00:44:18.050 of this before me this morning. Let me read one 00:44:18.050 --> 00:44:21.730 illustration to you of a man who is a professor 00:44:21.730 --> 00:44:29.519 of psychiatry at Harvard University. an address 00:44:29.519 --> 00:44:34.820 that was given in 1973 at a childhood education 00:44:34.820 --> 00:44:40.559 seminar for public school teachers. When questioned 00:44:40.559 --> 00:44:43.539 in 1983, ten years later, if this statement was 00:44:43.539 --> 00:44:46.219 accurate, he agreed that it was. Some of you 00:44:46.219 --> 00:44:47.820 have heard this statement before, but it goes 00:44:47.820 --> 00:44:51.619 like this. Every child in America entering school 00:44:51.619 --> 00:44:54.739 at the age of five, says this Harvard psychiatrist, 00:44:55.579 --> 00:44:59.440 is mentally ill. Because he comes to school with 00:44:59.440 --> 00:45:02.179 certain allegiances toward our founding fathers, 00:45:02.960 --> 00:45:05.920 toward our elected officials, toward his parents, 00:45:06.800 --> 00:45:10.099 toward a belief in a supernatural being, and 00:45:10.099 --> 00:45:13.579 toward the sovereignty of this nation as a separate 00:45:13.579 --> 00:45:17.800 entity. It's up to you teachers to make all of 00:45:17.800 --> 00:45:21.639 these sick children well by creating the international 00:45:21.639 --> 00:45:28.960 children of the future. Now that Harvard psychiatrist, 00:45:29.239 --> 00:45:31.420 I know not whether he's a member of any church, 00:45:32.460 --> 00:45:37.340 is simply espousing the teaching of humanistic 00:45:37.340 --> 00:45:43.699 man -made religion in our day. I have a statement 00:45:43.699 --> 00:45:48.800 here from the Humanist publication, which was 00:45:48.800 --> 00:45:52.880 published two years ago this month, in an article 00:45:52.880 --> 00:45:56.449 entitled, A Religion for a New Age. The author 00:45:56.449 --> 00:45:59.889 says, the battle for humankind's future must 00:45:59.889 --> 00:46:02.289 be waged in one in the public school classroom 00:46:02.289 --> 00:46:05.010 by teachers who correctly perceive their role 00:46:05.010 --> 00:46:09.369 as the proselytizers of a new faith. The classroom 00:46:09.369 --> 00:46:13.110 must and will become an arena of conflict between 00:46:13.110 --> 00:46:17.090 the old and the new, the rotting corpse of Christianity, 00:46:17.769 --> 00:46:22.869 and the new faith of humanism. Now that does 00:46:22.869 --> 00:46:26.760 not at all mean. that all public school teachers 00:46:26.760 --> 00:46:29.099 and administrators are involved in humanism. 00:46:29.099 --> 00:46:54.320 That is not at all. light and love and power 00:46:54.320 --> 00:46:58.699 being restored to the plan on earth. I'm not 00:46:58.699 --> 00:47:01.659 going to read the whole prayer. But that was 00:47:01.659 --> 00:47:08.539 put into the Reader's Digest by a group called 00:47:08.539 --> 00:47:13.340 World Goodwill, which is an activity of Lucius 00:47:13.340 --> 00:47:17.900 Trust, a non -profit tax exempt educational corporation 00:47:17.900 --> 00:47:21.940 founded in 1922. and which is headquartered in 00:47:21.940 --> 00:47:24.380 New York, as well as in some other places in 00:47:24.380 --> 00:47:28.280 the world. Here's what Lucius Crust, through 00:47:28.280 --> 00:47:30.900 Goodwill and his other organizations, all a part 00:47:30.900 --> 00:47:35.360 of the New Age movement, says. That there exists 00:47:35.360 --> 00:47:37.860 a basic intelligence to whom we give the name 00:47:37.860 --> 00:47:42.019 of God. That there is a divine evolutionary plan 00:47:42.019 --> 00:47:44.400 in the universe, the motivating power of which 00:47:44.400 --> 00:47:49.570 is love. That a great individuality Called by 00:47:49.570 --> 00:47:53.250 Christians to Christ, the world teacher, came 00:47:53.250 --> 00:47:56.010 to earth and embodied that love so that we could 00:47:56.010 --> 00:47:58.929 understand that love and intelligence are effects 00:47:58.929 --> 00:48:02.809 of purpose, the will, and the plan of God. Many 00:48:02.809 --> 00:48:06.070 religions believe in a world teacher, knowing 00:48:06.070 --> 00:48:09.949 him under such names as the Lord Matreah, that 00:48:09.949 --> 00:48:13.449 is their name for him, the Imam Mahdi, or the 00:48:13.449 --> 00:48:18.679 Messiah. Then it goes on to say the truth that 00:48:18.679 --> 00:48:23.239 only through humanity itself can the design plan 00:48:23.239 --> 00:48:27.260 work out. What is this group doing? Well, they're 00:48:27.260 --> 00:48:30.199 taking a word here or a concept there out of 00:48:30.199 --> 00:48:33.400 Christianity, giving them brand new meaning, 00:48:34.139 --> 00:48:37.500 brand new theology, and they're saying that through 00:48:37.500 --> 00:48:42.760 humanity, the plan, capital T, will be worked 00:48:42.760 --> 00:48:47.239 out. And the more you read about that plan, in 00:48:47.239 --> 00:48:52.659 their publications, the more you see how it amazingly 00:48:52.659 --> 00:48:57.559 overlays exactly what the Bible calls the antichrist. 00:49:01.059 --> 00:49:05.159 You and I today are involved in a battle. We 00:49:05.159 --> 00:49:09.420 dare not be ignorant of that truth. There are 00:49:09.420 --> 00:49:13.380 contrasts between authentic Christianity and 00:49:13.380 --> 00:49:17.510 religion. in three areas which really are found 00:49:17.510 --> 00:49:21.190 in our text in Acts chapter 4. Just notice them 00:49:21.190 --> 00:49:24.190 quickly. One is the area of supernaturalism. 00:49:25.550 --> 00:49:29.670 Religion rejects or removes the supernatural 00:49:29.670 --> 00:49:35.409 from 20th century relevancy. It focuses itself 00:49:35.409 --> 00:49:38.929 upon man. Through humanity, the plan will come. 00:49:41.570 --> 00:49:47.139 Religion denies a transcendent god. who can intervene 00:49:47.139 --> 00:49:51.699 in history as he desires, and who sovereignly 00:49:51.699 --> 00:49:57.000 works out all things to his purpose. Religion 00:49:57.000 --> 00:50:01.420 believes in chance, in natural selection and 00:50:01.420 --> 00:50:05.159 the survival of the fittest, in the uniformity 00:50:05.159 --> 00:50:09.500 of history, that things never change, or in the 00:50:09.500 --> 00:50:13.579 cyclical nature of history, that we simply repeat 00:50:13.579 --> 00:50:18.039 one cycle. but things never basically change, 00:50:18.139 --> 00:50:22.440 a denial that God can intervene. That was the 00:50:22.440 --> 00:50:25.260 way the Sadducees felt. There's no resurrection. 00:50:26.139 --> 00:50:28.920 There are no angels. There's no judgment. There 00:50:28.920 --> 00:50:32.500 are no rewards. There's no supernatural. Religion 00:50:32.500 --> 00:50:37.219 still takes the same tact today. And then, in 00:50:37.219 --> 00:50:40.059 the area of exclusivism, there is a contrast 00:50:40.059 --> 00:50:46.260 between the two. Today religion says things like, 00:50:46.880 --> 00:50:50.860 all roads lead to God. God is whatever you wish 00:50:50.860 --> 00:50:55.159 him to be. It doesn't matter which religion you 00:50:55.159 --> 00:50:59.820 follow as long as you're sincere about it. And 00:50:59.820 --> 00:51:02.639 as a result of that, there is no right or wrong 00:51:02.639 --> 00:51:07.159 in ethics. All things are relative. There's no 00:51:07.159 --> 00:51:11.539 final authority in philosophy or theology or 00:51:11.539 --> 00:51:15.039 even in an area like art. There's no final authority. 00:51:16.260 --> 00:51:19.619 There is a denial of the authority of Jesus Christ, 00:51:20.780 --> 00:51:24.280 and specifically and vehemently a denial that 00:51:24.280 --> 00:51:28.360 salvation is found only in Jesus Christ. That 00:51:28.360 --> 00:51:32.679 is narrow -mindedness to religion. We follow 00:51:32.679 --> 00:51:35.659 in the train of those who teach, as did the apostles 00:51:35.659 --> 00:51:38.780 in verse 12, that there is salvation in no one 00:51:38.780 --> 00:51:46.170 else, period. And so in the area of the supernatural 00:51:46.170 --> 00:51:48.829 and the area of exclusivism, there's a contrast. 00:51:48.909 --> 00:51:52.269 And a third area, transformation. I think this 00:51:52.269 --> 00:51:55.530 gets to the heart of it. Religion can at best 00:51:55.530 --> 00:51:59.650 only produce a superficial, temporal change in 00:51:59.650 --> 00:52:03.230 a person's behavior. But authentic Christianity 00:52:03.230 --> 00:52:07.190 involves the entrance of the living Christ into 00:52:07.190 --> 00:52:12.550 a life, producing a new creation, a deep and 00:52:12.550 --> 00:52:17.179 permanent change within that individual. There 00:52:17.179 --> 00:52:20.320 is a contrast in the area of transformation. 00:52:21.119 --> 00:52:25.300 This man who had been crippled was changed. He 00:52:25.300 --> 00:52:30.059 was new. And religion said, now what do we do? 00:52:30.960 --> 00:52:34.900 We can't disprove it. A contrast. And it's still 00:52:34.900 --> 00:52:39.239 true today. I believe that we are moving forward 00:52:39.239 --> 00:52:44.869 in intensified conflict. with religion. Unfortunately, 00:52:44.949 --> 00:52:47.150 there are some evangelicals who seem willing 00:52:47.150 --> 00:52:51.389 to compromise, to accommodate, and to dialogue 00:52:51.389 --> 00:52:57.710 with religionists. That kind of activity only 00:52:57.710 --> 00:53:02.489 disgraces God and ultimately undermines the very 00:53:02.489 --> 00:53:07.349 work of God. I believe that rather we must courageously 00:53:07.349 --> 00:53:14.250 stand opposed to religion. and declare the revealed 00:53:14.250 --> 00:53:19.949 truth of the infinite personal God who has revealed 00:53:19.949 --> 00:53:25.369 himself in Jesus Christ. This week, there are 00:53:25.369 --> 00:53:27.530 many of you who will have to make a decision. 00:53:28.909 --> 00:53:33.269 You will have to decide if you're going to stand 00:53:33.269 --> 00:53:40.510 publicly and boldly for Jesus Christ or be silent. 00:53:42.389 --> 00:53:46.849 Our religion dominates. It may be a conversation 00:53:46.849 --> 00:53:49.809 in your office or in the neighborhood. It may 00:53:49.809 --> 00:53:55.090 be an article you will read in the paper. But 00:53:55.090 --> 00:53:56.969 I want to say to you there will be opportunities 00:53:56.969 --> 00:53:59.829 for you this week to stand for Jesus Christ. 00:54:01.570 --> 00:54:04.070 And I want to challenge you to take that stand. 00:54:05.949 --> 00:54:12.469 And if necessary, to stand alone. with the right 00:54:12.469 --> 00:54:17.949 kind of spirit, and thus take a stand with Peter 00:54:17.949 --> 00:54:24.730 and John, who said, we cannot but speak the truth. 00:54:27.190 --> 00:54:31.210 Let's bow together. I want to challenge you to 00:54:31.210 --> 00:54:34.289 do something right now. What I'm going to challenge 00:54:34.289 --> 00:54:39.510 you to do is easy. But I hope it won't be too 00:54:39.510 --> 00:54:44.920 easy. In a moment, we're going to stand and sing 00:54:44.920 --> 00:54:51.260 a hymn, but before we all do that, if you can 00:54:51.260 --> 00:54:55.260 say today that you are willing, whatever the 00:54:55.260 --> 00:55:00.980 cost may be to your business, your reputation, 00:55:03.960 --> 00:55:09.820 whatever the cost may be, you're willing to stand. 00:55:11.309 --> 00:55:20.030 for Jesus Christ and be counted with him, I wonder 00:55:20.030 --> 00:55:23.030 if you're willing to stand right now. Please 00:55:23.030 --> 00:55:25.690 do not stand quickly, unless you're prepared 00:55:25.690 --> 00:55:29.989 to do that, but understand what I'm saying. If 00:55:29.989 --> 00:55:35.309 you are willing to stand for Jesus Christ in 00:55:35.309 --> 00:55:38.389 this battle that we're talking about, then I 00:55:38.389 --> 00:55:41.639 want you to stand. Not so that I can see you 00:55:41.639 --> 00:55:44.900 or anybody else, but for the eyes of God who's 00:55:44.900 --> 00:55:52.940 watching us right now. There may be a heavier 00:55:52.940 --> 00:55:56.079 cost for some of us than others, but there will 00:55:56.079 --> 00:56:03.300 be a cost, a price to pay. Heavenly Father, we 00:56:03.300 --> 00:56:10.619 stand before you in silence because we sincerely 00:56:10.619 --> 00:56:15.539 and deeply in our hearts, since the conviction 00:56:15.539 --> 00:56:22.559 that the truth is in Jesus Christ. And we want 00:56:22.559 --> 00:56:25.619 to be faithful and courageous to stand for the 00:56:25.619 --> 00:56:29.320 truth. And I pray that whatever that challenge 00:56:29.320 --> 00:56:31.719 may be, whether it be this afternoon or tomorrow 00:56:31.719 --> 00:56:34.460 when we go into the office or later in the day 00:56:34.460 --> 00:56:39.000 in the cafeteria, it may be in the school. Wherever 00:56:39.000 --> 00:56:42.980 that opportunity is given to take a stand at 00:56:42.980 --> 00:56:45.440 that moment remind us father of this commitment 00:56:45.440 --> 00:56:50.219 and give us the courage to follow through lovingly 00:56:50.219 --> 00:56:59.420 and kindly Yet firmly Amen Let's all stand together 00:56:59.420 --> 00:57:02.500 and take a hymnal. I like for us to sing number 00:57:02.500 --> 00:57:09.010 456 Which says stand up for Jesus? Now as we 00:57:09.010 --> 00:57:11.570 sing this, if there is some spiritual conflict 00:57:11.570 --> 00:57:14.670 in your life and you need help today with that, 00:57:14.710 --> 00:57:17.510 you want someone to pray with you. For if there 00:57:17.510 --> 00:57:20.469 is a hunger to know more of the truth in Jesus 00:57:20.469 --> 00:57:23.989 Christ, you've been involved in religion but 00:57:23.989 --> 00:57:28.110 you do not know the meaning of the life -transforming 00:57:28.110 --> 00:57:30.929 salvation that comes through faith in Christ. 00:57:31.869 --> 00:57:33.889 Please feel free to slip out and come here to 00:57:33.889 --> 00:57:36.070 the front where I'll be standing. Let's sing 00:57:36.070 --> 00:57:38.150 together this hymn, 456.