Naylor Community Christian Church
Naylor, Georgia
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Acts 3:11-16
Acts
3:11 While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished
and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. 12 When Peter
saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why
do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man
walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has
glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned
him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. 14 You disowned the
Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. 15 You
killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses
of this. 16 By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was
made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has
completely healed him, as you can all see.
-- in the foreword to Nik Ripken’s
book, “The Insanity of Obedience,” about Christians boldly standing up for God
in persecuted regions, Brother Andrew shared a personal story about the faith
of two of his Muslim friends, who he called S and Q to protect their identities
and the identities of their families
-- he first met the men in 2002,
when he was staying in a hotel in a radical Muslim region – the men came to his
room secretly at night to meet him and to share their stories
-- S came from a religious family,
with both his father, his grandfather, and two of his brothers serving as Muslim
imams – prayer leaders and spiritual teachers – in the local area
-- S followed suit, becoming an imam
himself -- teaching religion at a government school and leading prayers in the
neighborhood mosque – as a very young man, S had memorized the entire Qur’an in
Arabic and was known in his community as a devout Muslim and dedicated follower
of Allah
-- the teaching job gave S access to
a library, where he found other religious books besides those dedicated to
Islam – he began to read about Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity, learning
more about each of these religions
-- one day, another imam recognized
S’s desire for knowledge, and he began meeting with him to discuss religion –
as they met to discuss which religion was true, it soon became evident that
this new imam was secretly a follower of Jesus Christ – and after several
conversations comparing Islam to Christianity, the imam shared a copy of the
New Testament with S – which was illegal in their country
-- S began reading the Gospels and realized
that Jesus was the true revelation of God on earth – in fact, S came to believe
that Jesus was God in the flesh – he quickly became a Christian and stopped
serving as an imam and teacher of Islam, causing him to struggle to earn a
living
--
on top of that, once his brothers learned that he had become a Christian, they
vowed to kill him – so S was forced into hiding and had only sneaked out so
that he could meet Brother Andrew
--
Andrew asked him what he was going to do now that he faced such persecution –
he proudly announced, “I am going to be an imam for Jesus!” – and after a brief
time of prayer, he and Q left Brother Andrew’s room
--
a couple of years later, Brother Andrew heard from a ministry colleague that S had
been serving Christ covertly in a region where a fierce fundamentalist Muslim
group was in charge – he had planted several house churches and had led them to
grow in faith in Christ – but, he had just been captured by the fundamentalist
group – no one, not even his family, ever saw him or heard from him again after
his capture -- Brother Andrew’s colleagues believed that S had been martyred
for his faith and his bold witness for Christ in a hostile land
--
Q was just as bold in working for Christ and the death of S did nothing to
dampen his passion – after S was captured, Q took over his ministry -- he
traveled the same route as S and took over care of the house churches that S
had founded – he taught the Christians in those underground churches the way of
Christ – and continued to lead them in their Christian walk
--
Like S, he continued to share the gospel with people in the community when he
could, narrowly evading a couple of
attempts on his life by radical Muslims who sought to silence him -- But after
a few years, his “luck” ran out and Q was also captured and killed
--
Brother Andrew closed his story by talking about the grief he still had for
these two dear brothers he had lost – but, at the same time, he said that he
stood in awe of their example
--
like us here in this room, Brother Andrew said he could freely cross the street
and knock on someone’s door and share the message of Christ with them – they
might slam the door in his face, but he didn’t face the threat of being
kidnapped and tortured or killed for talking about Jesus, like S & Q had – but
even with this freedom, Brother Andrew admitted that he didn’t go and share his
faith as Christ commanded
--
his unwillingness to share the gospel stands in contrast to the boldness of S
and Q – who woke up every morning eager to tell people about Jesus, even though
they knew it could cost them their lives that very day – they stood boldly
against the fear of death, and continued to be faithful witnesses of Christ in
lands hostile to the gospel -- eventually, they paid the ultimate price and
lost their lives as martyrs for Jesus
--
S and Q followed the way of Jesus – they boldly witnessed for Christ with their
lives and with their words – and they stand before us as modern day examples of
bold and faithful Christians -- this is the way of the cross – this is the way
of Jesus – this is what Jesus commanded us to do
--
how would our world change today – how would our country change today – if we
could but have the boldness of S and Q – faithful witnesses who took up their
cross and followed Jesus in order to share the good news of the gospel with all,
regardless of the cost?
II. Becoming Bold
--
this morning, we are continuing in our sermon series on the Book of Acts –
Being Bold Witnesses for Christ
--
our goal in this study is to grow in our faith and become bold witnesses of
Christ who go forth to do the stuff that He has called us to do – to share the
good news of Christ as we follow the examples of the men and women that we read
about here in the Book of Acts and that we see modeled for us in the lives of
men like S and Q
--
our key verse – our guiding light – throughout this series is Acts 1:8 – “But
you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my
witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the
earth”
--
we are currently working through the first major area in the Book of Acts that
I am calling, “A New Hope – the Beginning of the Church of Christ on Earth” –
this section will go through the first part of Chapter 8
--
so far, we have discussed the scope of the Book of Acts, looking in detail at
Christ’s promise in Acts 1:8 and the Great Commission from Matthew 28:18-20 –
including looking at the sending of the Holy Spirit to the church at Pentecost
and the realization of the power of Christ within us to accomplish His purposes
in the world today
--
and let me remind you that if you missed those messages, you can find the
transcript on our blog – onlyimagine.blogspot.com – the link is pinned to the
top of our Facebook page
--
this morning, we are in Acts 3 and 4, where we are starting to see how the
disciples are engaging with the presence of the Holy Spirit within them – and
how they are learning to be empowered through His presence to be bold witnesses
for Christ, even in the face of adversity and persecution
--
as this passage opens up, Peter and John have come to the temple to worship and
to share the message of Christ with those present – as they were entering the
temple courts, they passed through the gate called Beautiful, and they were met
with the cries of a lame beggar – who came everyday asking the passers-by for
money
--
Peter and John, moved by the Spirit, witnessed to the lame beggar and instead
of giving him money, healed him through the power of Christ within them – the now-healed
man followed them into the temple courts -- walking and jumping and loudly
praising God – the commotion he made drew a crowd, who surrounded Peter and
John as they came to see what was going on
--
look back at verse 11
Acts
3:11 While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished
and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. 12 When Peter
saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why
do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man
walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has
glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned
him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. 14 You disowned the
Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. 15 You
killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses
of this. 16 By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was
made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has
completely healed him, as you can all see.
--
as the crowd surrounds Peter, he is filled with the Holy Spirit and begins to
share a bold message of faith to the people in the temple – he asks them why
they are surprised – why do they stare in astonishment at him and John – for it
wasn’t they who did the miracle of healing that day, but Jesus Himself who had
healed the man and made him walk
--
he shares with them the story of Jesus – His death and resurrection – and he
ends by telling them that it was by faith in the name of Jesus that this man
had been healed –that this faith is what set him free
--
and then he goes on to tell the people how they, too, can be set free from that
which binds them and has made their spirits lame – verse 17
Acts 3:17 “Now, fellow Israelites, I know that you
acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. 18 But this is how God fulfilled what
he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer.
19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that
times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20 and that he may send the
Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. 21 Heaven must receive him
until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through
his holy prophets. 22 For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you
a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he
tells you. 23 Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from
their people.’
--
so, I want you to get the whole picture here – the whole scope of what has just
happened -- Jesus promised in Acts 1:8 that His followers would receive power
when the Holy Spirit came on them, and that they would be His witnesses in
Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth – what we are seeing
here is the fulfillment of this promise
--
after healing the man at the gate called Beautiful, Peter boldly stands up in
the middle of the temple courts and proclaims that Jesus is the Messiah – that
He had been put to death by the Jews – specifically, the priests and the
Sanhedrin – and that He had risen from the dead on the third day and ascended
to heaven – that through Jesus, salvation and the forgiveness of sins and
healing of the body, soul, and spirit were available to all through faith in
Him as the Messiah
--
as he says in verse 19, all they have to do is “repent, then, and turn to God,
that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the
Lord”
--
and the people are amazed at the message that Peter has shared – for not only
do the words that he shared ring true, but the proof is right before them in
the presence of the healed beggar who continues to stand and jump for joy and
praise God before their very eyes
--
but here’s something that we often miss in this story – the true miracle that
day was not the healing of the lame beggar – the true miracle that day was the
example of Peter standing there before that crowd of people, sharing a bold
message of faith
--
let’s put this in perspective – we don’t know the exact timing of this event, but
it was not long after Pentecost – after the Father sent the Holy Spirit to
indwell and empower the church on earth
--
Pentecost was 50 days after the Passover, which was when Jesus died on the
cross – so, it’s only been a few weeks since Jesus died and rose again and
ascended to heaven – it’s only been a few days since the Holy Spirit came on
the believers at Pentecost – and I want you to grasp that, because the change
in Peter is nothing short of miraculous
--
do you remember Peter and what he did on the night Jesus was betrayed? – do you
remember Peter after Jesus’ arrest? – do you remember his denials?
–
three times in the courtyard of the high priest – when the servant girl and the
others around the fire accused Peter of being one of Jesus’ followers -- Peter denied
that he ever knew Him – he refused to say that he was a follower of Jesus – he
feared for his life and turned away from Jesus
--
and then we have the scene after the resurrection, when Jesus appeared to the
disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee – when Jesus turned to Peter three
times and asked him if he loved Him
--
flip over to John 21:15 or listen as I read that passage
-- verse
15
John 21:15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said
to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
--
when Jesus asks Peter here if he loves Him, He asks him, “do you agape me more
than these?” – do you love Me with all your heart and soul and mind and
strength – do you love Me unconditionally – with the love of God
--
and Peter replies, “I phileo you” – I love you like a brother – Peter is unable
to love Jesus as Jesus wanted
--
verse 16
John 21:16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do
you love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
–
again Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him – if he agapes Him – and, once again,
Peter can’t say, “yes” – he responds again, “I phileo you” – I love You, but
not like that
--
verse 17
John 21:17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son
of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time,
“Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love
you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.
–
finally, Jesus asks Peter if he can at least love Him like a brother – instead
of asking if Peter agapes Him, He says, “Do you phileo Me?” – and it hurts him
to say so, but Peter replies that yes, he does love Jesus as a brother
--
now, put those two events together – first, we see Peter trying to be bold –
proclaiming before all the disciples in the Upper Room that he would never deny
Jesus – that he would never turn away from Jesus – but a few hours later, he
does – three times, in fact, he denies knowing Jesus
--
and then, after the resurrection, Jesus comes to Peter and asks him if he loves
Him – Jesus wants to know if Peter can love Him with the same agape –
unconditional love -- that God has – that God wants from us – but Peter
confesses that he doesn’t
--
not that he doesn’t want to – he just can’t – it’s not in him – he doesn’t have
the power to do so
--
now, consider what we just read in Acts 3 – this man who is boldly standing up
in the face of the priests and the Sanhedrin – who boldly shares the message
with everyone there that Jesus was killed by the Jews and raised by God on the
third day to offer salvation and the forgiveness of sins to all who believed
and repented and trusted in Him in faith
–
this man who has just healed a lame beggar in his forties who had been laid at
the gate called Beautiful for decades
–
this man is the same man who denied ever knowing Christ on the night He was
betrayed and who wasn’t able to love Jesus with an agape, unconditional love,
even after the resurrection – it’s only been a few weeks – a few days
--
so, what changed? – what happened to turn Peter from a cowering coward before
the crucifixion and from a weak follower after the resurrection into the bold
man that we see standing up for Christ in front of a hostile crowd in this
passage?
--
the Holy Spirit
-- that is what happened at
Pentecost – that is the importance of that day – for it is the fulfillment of
the promise of Acts 1:8 – it is power coming in the presence of the Holy Spirit
to indwell Christians – to indwell the church – and to make it possible for
them – and us -- to stand boldly in the face of adversity and persecution and
witness to the truth of the gospel of Christ
-- Peter is still the same man he
was before the death and resurrection of Jesus – he still has that same desire
in his heart to follow Jesus and to stand for Him and to not deny Him or turn
away from Him
-- the only difference is that now
he actually has the ability to do that through the power of the Holy Spirit
within him – now he can be who he wanted to be – now he can live up to who
Christ has called him to be – and that is true for all of us, as well
-- empowered by the Holy Spirit,
Peter can now stand up and proclaim a bold message of faith in Christ before
the same priests and temple guards he feared just a few weeks before – in fact,
when they have him and John stand before them and command that they not speak
or teach at all in the name of Jesus, Peter refuses – look at Acts 4:18
Acts
4:18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at
all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in
God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20 As for us, we
cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
21
After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish
them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. 22 For
the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.
-- Peter is a changed man because of
the Holy Spirit within him -- but Peter is not the only one who has been
empowered to boldly stand for Christ
-- look at verse 23
Acts
4:23 On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and
reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 When
they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign
Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and
everything in them. 25 You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your
servant, our father David:
“‘Why
do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
26
The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
against
the Lord
and against his anointed one.’
27
Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people
of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you
anointed. 28 They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should
happen. 29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak
your word with great boldness. 30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform
signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
31
After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were
all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
-- a bold message is followed by a
bold prayer – empowered by the Spirit and emboldened by Peter and John’s
defiance of the high priest and the Sanhedrin – the believers turn to God and
raise their voices in praise and faith as they recount the great things that He
has done and ask Him to enable them to continue to speak His word with boldness
and to perform signs and wonders in His name
-- there is a difference in the
disciples now – where before, they cowered behind locked doors in fear of the
Jews – now they gather together without fear of what man might do to them – they
boldly proclaim the Lord’s name in their speech and their conduct and their
prayers
-- the power of the Holy Spirit has made
all the difference – and He makes all the difference in our lives, too
III. Closing
-- I opened this message with the
story of S and Q and their bold witness for Christ – but I want you to
understand that neither of them did what they did on their own – neither of
them boldly stood up as witnesses for Christ in a hostile land in their own
strength or through their own knowledge and education in the faith
-- S and Q were able to stand up for
Christ solely through the power of the Spirit within them – and that same
Spirit that enabled them to be bold witnesses for Jesus – that same Spirit that
empowered Peter and John to heal a lame beggar at the gate called Beautiful –
that same Spirit who gave Peter the bold message of faith that he shared with
the crowd in the temple courts that day – that same Spirit who moved the church
to pray with boldness and faith in the face of persecution – that same Spirit
is within you right now
-- so, the reason we are not doing
the stuff that we read about in the Book of Acts is not because of who we are –
it’s not because we’re not strong enough or knowledgeable enough – it’s simply
because we aren’t trusting in the Holy Spirit to work in us and through us like
He has these other people
--
the presence of the Holy Spirit is what changes us and enables us to live for
Christ and to be His witness in the world today – just like with Peter – just
like with S and Q -- the Spirit allows us to become who God has called us to be
– and with His strength working through us, we too can have a bold message,
bold prayers, and bold hearts – because through Him, we have all that we need
to go and do the stuff that He has called us to do
--
so, the reason we’re not doing the stuff today – the reason we don’t see God
working in His church like He did in the Book of Acts – comes down to two
things:
--
first, it is a lack of faith – we read about the Holy Spirit indwelling and
empowering us – we believe it is true – but we don’t trust Him to do so – we
don’t believe He can do in us what He did in Peter and John and S and Q
--
we quench the ability of the Spirit to work in us because we don’t have faith
in Him – and without faith, we have nothing – without faith, we can do nothing
-- and, second, the other reason we
don’t see God working in us and in the church today is disobedience – we simply
are not trying to do what He has called us to do – we are not following His
commands
-- as Brother Andrew pointed out in
his foreword to Nik Ripken’s book, even though we have nothing to fear in this
country but rejection and slamming doors, we don’t take the initiative to share
the word of God with those around us – we sit passively and wait for them to
come to us first
–
we don’t take the initiative to do what Jesus told us to do – to go forth and
make disciples – to baptize them and to teach them to obey everything that He
has commanded us to do – because we are not doing what He has commanded us to
do
-- and until we start doing what
Jesus wants us to do – until we start going and doing – we’re not going to see
anything happen in our lives – we’re not going to see anything happen in our
churches – we’re not going to see the stuff
-- in his book Radical, David Platt
has a chapter entitled "Beginning at the End of Ourselves -- The
Importance of Relying on God's Power”
--
let me share with you a quote from that chapter:
"This is where I am most convicted as a pastor. I
am part of a system that has created a whole host of means and methods, plans
and strategies for doing church that require little if any power from God.
“I am frightened by the reality that the church I lead
can carry on most of our activities .....never realizing that the Holy Spirit
of God is virtually absent from the picture.”
-- this is exactly why we are not
seeing the stuff in our churches and in our lives today – it is because the
Spirit is not there – He may be inside of us, but we have quenched His presence
and His power through our lack of faith and our willful disobedience
-- do we want to be bold witnesses
of Christ today? – do we want to see Him move in us and through us? – do we
want to experience our church doing the stuff that we read about in the Book of
Acts?
-- if so, it has to start with us –
first, let us be aware of the presence of the Spirit within us – and let us
learn to put our faith and trust in Him and in His power to make us into the
people who Christ has called us to be – let us pray to the Spirit and ask that
He transform and change us as He transformed and changed Peter and John – S and
Q
-- and then we have to get up and go
– we have to start moving – we have to go across the street and knock on the
door and share the message of Christ with others – we have to get out there and
get our hands dirty by ministering to those in need in Jesus’ name – we have to
stand up for justice in the face of injustice – to take care of the orphan and
the widows – to advocate and care for the poor and needy – to be the voice and
the hands and feet of Jesus
-- we’re never going to see Jesus
and the Spirit do anything through us until we get up and move and ask Him to
empower us to do it – and trust through faith that He will
-- so, as we close in prayer, let us
turn to the Spirit and ask for His power and His presence to be made manifest
in our lives and in this church – and let’s get ready to go forth in His name
with a bold message, bold prayers, and bold hearts
-- let us pray
