Topic for you, isn't it? It's distracting for me too. My freshman year was the best 11 years of my life. So, yeah, I was not ready for UTEP. I don't think I still am.
Rick Ramirez is— has become a good friend of mine. You heard Ricky pray for him earlier. And when we got the news about multiple family members getting sick and some of them even landing in the hospital and then coming back out of the hospital and Rick remaining in the hospital, it just bowled over our family. Personally, it just— I just can't believe it. I'm so relieved to hear any good news about it, and we got some this morning. That's a good thing. Pray for Rick.
Melody, my precious daughter-in-law, our baby, Scotty's wife, she is pregnant with her second, little Everett. He's due at the end of March, and many of you know that Everett has— you've got the word— Everett has a heart that's so deformed that Right now he's perfectly fine in God's miraculous place for infants in the womb, but as soon as he's born, he is not gonna live unless they can succeed in life-saving measures and open-heart surgery for him. That's all planned ahead, and our family, we have no idea what's coming.
What's the last couple years been like for you? It's not been easy, has it? And so we have it here in this text this morning, and it lands actually at the right time for us.
Ricky preached two Sundays ago, and he, uh, queried with this question, can we really trust Jesus? And immediately the answer resounding is yes, we can. And again, today the church is filled with God's amazing grace, but it is not perfect, and at times the path the path that she is on is not easy. Sometimes the trouble and sorrow is great, yet we will see in today's text that God's work— God is at work in it all and will accomplish His plan no matter what.
If I could have you stand with me as we read God's Word this morning out of Acts 5. So if you would turn in your Bibles to Acts 5. Hallelujah! Let me catch us up to speed in the context of where we find ourselves in Acts 5. Christ has ascended. The Holy Spirit has been poured out on His apostles and they began to preach in the mission of the Gospel. Preach the Good News that Jesus has come to save sinners. Forgiveness, preach repentance to people that so desperately need it, and the church begins to grow immediately in the text. And in this crazy expansive growth, 3,000 are added to their number that day. God kills two church members in a public gathering, Ananias and Sapphira. It's like a rock your world moment for the church. Everything is going their way, it seems. And Ananias and Sapphira sin so great in God's eyes and so publicly and lie to the Holy Spirit, as it were, to His face. God kills them in the gathering.
6 · The pastor reads the entire text of Acts 5:11-42 aloud, allowing the congregation to hear the full narrative arc from the aftermath of Ananias and Sapphira's judgment through miraculous healings, arrest, angelic deliverance, re-arrest, beating, and the apostles' joyful return to preaching
And now we have our text today. The end of that section is verse 11 in chapter 5. Let's begin reading there. Great fear came upon the whole church. And upon all who heard these things. Now many signs and wonders were regularly being done, were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon's Portico. None of the rest— hear this, these next two phrases, they seem like a conflict— none of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. And more than ever, believers were added to the Lord—multitudes of both men and women. Meaning this massive church growth, as far as the non-believers are concerned, is immediately halted and they will not attend the gathering, at least for a while. Ananias and Sapphira killed and they will not attend. And yet, the Gospel advances. We hear that in the very next phrase. 14, 'More than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that if as Peter would come by, at least his shadow might fall on some of them. The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.' healed. But, but the high priest rose up and all who were with him, that is the party of the Sadducees, and filled with jealousy, they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. But during the night, an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out and said, 'Go Stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.' And when they heard this, they entered the temple and at daybreak began to teach. Now when the high priest came and those who were with him— you have to get caught up in this narrative at this moment. They're clueless about what's happened. Now when the high priest came, those who were gathered with him, they called together the council and all the Senate, of Israel and sent to the prison to have them brought. When the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported, 'We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside.' Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them. Wondering what this would come to. And someone came and told him, 'Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple teaching the people.' Then the captain and the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people. And when they had brought them, brought them, set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them saying, 'We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this Man's blood upon us?' But Peter and the apostles answered, 'We must obey God.' Rather, than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging on a tree. And God exalted him at his right hand as leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him. When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while. And he said to the men of Israel, 'Take care about what you're about to do to these men, for before these days Theudas rose up claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about 400, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. After him, Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. So in the present case, I tell you, 'Keep away from these men and let them alone. For if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail. But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God.' So they took his advice. And when they had called the apostles, they beat them. Charge them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then the apostles left the presence of the council, rejoicing they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. Every day in the temple, from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ. Another translation: preaching the Christ is Jesus.
7 · The pastor prays for the Holy Spirit's superintendence of the preaching, for opened hearts, for the salvation of unbelievers present, and for Christ to be exalted in the pulpit
You may be seated. Let's pray together. Father, I pray, I pray that the narrative, the story of your word that's empowered by the Spirit in its declaration would ring true in our hearts and that we would be able to hold this story in its volume. There are so many things going on in what we've read. So Lord, my additional prayer is that You would constrain me, constrain me in my communication this morning regarding this. Superintend the preaching, Lord. If You'd be so merciful that You would superintend the preaching of Your Word by the power of Your Spirit present, opening and changing hearts of all of us present. God, I pray that You would be merciful to anybody present that is without Christ and lost in this world. Be merciful and save them, God, at the public preaching of Your Word. Jesus, may You be exalted. Again and again and again in this pulpit from now on, all the more, especially now. It's in your name we pray, Jesus. Amen.
8 · The pastor states the sermon's controlling thesis: the church's gospel mission will advance in power no matter what opposition or suffering comes
So I've sought to try to summarize what I would say about all of this And it seems crazy that I would try to do this, but here's my attempt. The big idea for the message this morning is the church is commissioned in the gospel of Jesus that will advance in power no matter what. The church is commissioned in the gospel, the good news of Jesus, that will advance. It will move on and on and on in power no matter what.
9 · The pastor previews the sermon's three-part structure: the gospel mission advances in power, in opposition, and in suffering
So we're going to look at 3 things that I believe emerge from the text. They're in these 3 points. I'm gonna give them to you ahead of time to make note-taking easy for you. The church's gospel mission, number 1, advances in power. The gospel mission advances in power, but it also advances in opposition, and it advances in suffering. It advances in power. It advances in opposition. It advances in suffering.
10 · The pastor signals the first major section — the gospel advances in power — and directs the congregation back to verse 12 as the launching point for exposition
Let's look at number 1. The gospel's— the church's gospel mission advances in power. Power. Well, the first observation, if you look at the text— let's do that, let's camp here— verse 12: Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by— before you go any further, you can already tell there's power involved.
11 · The pastor makes the first sub-claim under the power theme: the mission advances in power because it is fundamentally God's work, not ours
I think the first observation I think it's good for us to consider regarding this is that the gospel mission, it advances in power because it's God's work. It's power. It's powerful because it's God's work.
12 · The pastor walks through verses 12, 16, 20, and 32 to demonstrate God's power at work: signs and wonders, universal healings echoing the Gospels, angelic deliverance, and the Holy Spirit's empowerment
So if you look at verse 12, verse 16, verse 20, and 32. Let's look at them. Many signs and wonders. Clearly God's power is at work. Verse 16, people also gathered from towns all around Jerusalem bringing the sick. In other words, the word is going out in an amazing way, a powerful way, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed. Healed. The wording— Luke is not using hyperbole. In fact, the words are familiar if you're familiar with the Gospels. Jesus in Galilee, many with unclean spirits were brought to Him, many sick, all were healed. All are healed.
13 · The pastor connects the angelic command in verse 20 to Psalm 29's declaration of God's powerful voice, showing that the God who breaks cedars by His word is the same God who breaks open prison doors
Verse 20, we hear the command cry of heaven. Command cry of heaven. The King of Heaven is on the scene. Listen to what Ricky was referring to earlier as he read Psalm 29:4. The voice of the Lord is powerful. The voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars. The Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon. And in this case, his voice of command drives open the locked doors of the prison and he commands them to go in power as well.
14 · The pastor concludes the power-evidence survey by noting that the Holy Spirit empowers those who obey, and that the power's source is unmistakably divine
And in verse 32, as you look down, God's Holy Spirit is given and empowered to those who obey Him. In this advance of the Gospel, it advances in power. It advances in power such a way it is evident that it is God at work.
15 · The pastor uses Puritan sermon titling as a humorous illustration to acknowledge the complexity and God-centeredness of his first point
So what I could have done with this point is actually just drawn it out really long and just put a period at the end. Like the Puritans. If you're familiar with the Puritans, the title of their messages is like crazy long. It's like a paragraph, and that's like the book title, the message title.
16 · The pastor restates the first point in deliberately God-exalting terms, emphasizing that the power's divine origin moves believers to worship
Well, if I— this, by the way, this is Eastside's slandered version of a Puritan. If I expounded a little bit on this point, this is what the point should actually say: the church's gospel mission advances in power, God's power, in such a way that it is clear that God has done it and not man, that God has initiated it and not man, and accomplished it in such a way that it's clear that we did not accomplish this, and it moves us to turn to him in worship, thank him, and glorify him. Period. That's the point. Amen.
17 · The pastor draws out the pastoral implication: recognizing that God advances the mission (not us) is profoundly hopeful for believers
The point is God's mission advances in power, but it advances in power to make it clear he's the one advancing the mission. And boy, this is hopeful for you and I.
18 · The pastor applies the power-belongs-to-God truth to evangelism: believers can have joy knowing the gospel advances despite our weaknesses because God is the one doing the work
I don't know what your experience it is in sharing the gospel, but if it is up to me and my power of the declaration of gospel, have mercy on anyone I would ever say it to. But the power is his. The joy that you and I have knowing in this mission is that the gospel, in a sense, advances despite us. Or in all our weaknesses, because it is God. It is God doing it.
19 · The pastor qualifies his earlier claim by noting that while the apostles were ordinary men like us, they were chosen, commissioned, and empowered by God for the mission
The apostles are not supermen with special universal powers given that enables them to do superhuman acts. These men are— if I could say this, I would be careful with this and not diminish the apostles' special call— these men are just like you and I, but they've been chosen by God, given a mission by God, and empowered by God to declare the life-giving message of repentance and forgiveness and salvation that is in Jesus Christ and him alone.
20 · The pastor connects the apostolic mission to the church's mission: the same Holy Spirit who empowered the apostles superintends the church's preaching today
And so the church has been given this same call. And in this teaching and preaching that Christ is— that Jesus is the Christ, is it superintended by the Holy Spirit himself, that powerful witness that we hear of in verse 32.
21 · The pastor restates the first major claim as a summary: the mission advances in power because it is God's work, not ours
The church is commissioned in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and it will advance in power no matter what because it's empowered by God himself. The mission is God's work.
22 · The pastor makes a second sub-claim: while the power is God's, we are called as stewards and messengers — God works through His church to accomplish the mission
But also, it's important for you and I to understand that we are called, that we are called as stewards and messengers in this. Verse 12, look back at verse 12. That's why I told you you'd want to hold on to your Bible because we're going to go down to verse 12 again. By the hands of the apostles these miracles are being done. This is not saying these men had special power to do this. It's clear it's God's power. But what is clear is by the hands of the apostles, it means that God will work through His church, through His disciples to accomplish this message, this mission.
23 · The pastor clarifies the nature of the church's role: we are stewards and messengers declaring a message that belongs to God, and the message itself has the power to save
We are simply if we can say it that way, stewards and messengers, taking care, declaring that which belongs to another, but also delivering the good news that Jesus is the Christ. God's power, by the way, is the message itself. That which we deliver, not only does it not belong to us first, it belongs to Him first, is delivered, and that message has the power to save.
24 · The pastor references Romans 10 to show that preaching is the appointed means by which people hear and believe, but God is the one who saves through the preached message
How will they not believe unless they have heard? And how will they hear unless it has been preached? But we know in the end, God is the one that has saved because the message itself is empowered by God. We don't have that power ourselves. It's his message. It's his power.
25 · The pastor introduces a third sub-point: God's power is revealed in such a way that it is unmistakably clear He is the one advancing the mission
Third, little third. I don't know how you do your notes, like little i, 2i, now 3i. God's power is revealed in the advance of the mission. In such a way that it's clear that he's the one advancing this. I said this a minute ago, but it's worth repeating. Because of the God-exalting nature of the text.
26 · The pastor cites Paul's testimony of weakness to show that God intentionally works through weak instruments so that His power would be evident, not ours
Because if you and I begin to feel like that we've got this power, then we diminish the power of God that's so evident in men that Paul would say, 'When I came among you, I came in weakness.' He makes another— we were so weak, we were We were so bowed down even to the point of death. That's the apostle's speech.
27 · The pastor notes that the phrase 'angel of the Lord' signifies not merely an angelic messenger but the very presence of God Himself commanding the apostles
In our text today, we have signs and wonders, divine angelic presence. In fact, it's right to say this about the text. All the commentators say the same thing. The angel of the Lord is worded that way. Didn't say an angel appeared, but it's angel of the Lord, angel of the Lord, which literally means in this angelic presence, God himself makes himself God is present and announces to the disciples. He's the one. It's God's voice of command.
28 · The pastor connects the creative power of God's word in Genesis to the liberating power of His word in Acts 5 — the same God who spoke creation into existence speaks prison doors open
Ricky's already pointed out this morning, when He spoke, stars existed. When He spoke, the planet began to spin, much less come into being. There's real locked prison doors that are opened by this power. The Holy Spirit witnessing and empowering it all. He is the one advancing it. He is the one giving strength to continue on.
29 · The pastor notes that the apostles prayed for God to reveal His power through signs and wonders, and God answered that prayer — showing that the power on display is in response to Spirit-filled petition
And so we hear the apostles in their own cry to the Lord in verse 4. This is a Spirit-filled prayer to the Lord that they would pray. They prayed that God would reveal His power, perform signs and wonders, and He did.
30 · The pastor cites 1 Corinthians 2:3-5 to show that God works in weakness and power so that our faith would rest on His power, not human wisdom — giving Him all the glory
The apostle Paul would say, 'God did it in such a way that we would give honor to him in these words in 1 Corinthians 2:3-5, 'So that your and my faith might not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.'
31 · The pastor transitions from the first point (advances in power) to the second (advances in opposition), signaling that the power-focus prepares us for the opposition to come
We're grateful that he moves powerfully in our midst, but we're grateful it's him moving because there's real power. Church's gospel mission does advance in power, but we have been prepared by this because of what's coming. The gospel admission also advances in opposition.
32 · The pastor explicitly tells the congregation to anchor themselves in the power truth before facing the opposition truth — the power grounds us for the opposition
So it's good to know, anchor yourself in this first point. The gospel mission advances in God's power. So now when we consider advances in opposition, then it grounds our feet out.
33 · The pastor sets the scene: God miraculously frees the apostles from prison and then immediately commands them to go back into the very situation that imprisoned them — revealing that opposition is expected and unavoidable
Verses 17 and numbers of texts following, particularly verses 21, our text makes it clear God has commissioned us in this amazing gospel mission, and he knows that opposition will come. And so he calls for the church at that voice of command after setting them free. I don't know exactly where they're standing, but put yourself there just for a moment. God has appeared and has pulled you out of a locked prison.
34 · The pastor vividly describes the public prison as a place of real danger — not a holding cell but a violent place where ordinary men like the apostles are thrown in with hardened criminals
I didn't say this the first message, but I'm— it says the public prison, making it very clear from The facts, they'll be able to research this. It was real. But in my mind, it's also helpful to realize this is where all the guys with the tats doing push-ups in the corner of the room staring you down, and now the apostles are thrown. But these are just like tax collector guys. They're just like normal IRS dudes thrown in the public prison along with them.
35 · The pastor explains that the command 'go and stand' in verse 20 is not a call to simple defense but a call to firm, active resolve in the face of certain opposition
And God appears and rescues them out of the prison. And he says this, 'Go and stand.' So opposition is coming, and so his first call is to go, go right back to where you were preaching, but stand. The word in the original language is stand firm, hold your ground. And the effect of this command carries with it the need to be ready to be opposed. Not simple defense, like kind of be ready for anything. You will be opposed, go stand is the sense of the text. Go stand and stand firm.
36 · The pastor defines what 'standing firm' means theologically: not arrogance or bravado but a firm and humble resolve of the will submitted to God's will
It's not a simple defensive stance, but it's a readiness of the heart and the will and boldness in action. And God has called us to this. He's called these men to this. And maybe another way to word this is it's a firm and humble resolve of our will submitted to God's will. It's a firm, humble resolve, a firm, humble resolve.
37 · The pastor uses Peter's denial as a cautionary illustration: we cannot stand firm in our own strength — Peter thought he could, and he failed
It's not that, yeah, man, he's with us and we got this. I bet if you went to the apostles, I bet you most of them would say, no, actually we used to say that phrase before Jesus died. We got this. Jesus, I'll go with you to death, is what Peter would say. And I believe Peter wholeheartedly. I'm not diminishing him personally in any way. I'll bet Peter thought that day, I will go anywhere with Christ, and Christ had to tell him, You won't. You can't.
38 · The pastor shares a self-deprecating personal story about losing a childhood fight to illustrate that we naturally avoid conflict and cannot stand firm in our own strength
We are often caught off guard or turn tail and run from conflict. I don't know what you're like. I've avoided conflict like the plague ever since I was born, probably. The only fistfight I've ever been in was with a girl a foot taller than me, and I was in the 5th grade. She was probably in the 3rd. At Rusk Elementary School. It's probably in the annals of Rusk, the day Tom Wilkins went home crying. I swung at her and missed, and she threw me into a chain-link fence. She's a large girl. I mean, hi. She was big. And I went home crying. Mom had to drive me back 2 blocks. That's how far I lived from the school. She drove me back to the campus and said— I don't know if she said, 'Go stand firm.' Sorry, welcome to my world.
39 · The pastor traces opposition to the fall — Adam's first response to God after sin was accusation, showing that opposition to God is rooted in the human heart from the beginning
We hate conflict. And you and I are called right into it. You're called, we're called right into it. God is not surprised by the way of argument and opposition and hostility in the mouths and actions of men. It started in the garden. Adam and Eve turn on God by desiring to be gods, and when he moves graciously towards Adam In the garden, he calls out, 'Adam, where are you?' And Adam's first response is to charge and accuse God himself to his face.
40 · The pastor asserts that God is not surprised by opposition to the gospel — He knows it will come, which is why He commands us to stand firm
God is not surprised by opposition, and what he's called us to in the mission of the church is not a surprise to him. But you and I may be surprised by it, and so that's why he says, 'Go stand firm.' There's opposition coming.
41 · The pastor cites the apostles' prayer in Acts 4, which quotes Psalm 2, to show that opposition to the Lord and His Christ has always been part of God's redemptive plan
The opposition is great and certain. Acts 4:25-26, leading up to this, in the Gospels, in this prayer of the— sorry, in the apostles' prayer about needing power from the Lord, listen to what they say. Why did the Gentiles rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ, God is familiar with opposition. Go stand firm in the Gospel also because what we're going to face is great evil that's coming.
42 · The pastor transitions to a survey of redemptive history, warning that the church will face severe opposition because that has always been the pattern when the church advances
Go through redemptive history. I, in a way, that feels like I'm bearing bad news. It's going to get bad for us, the church. Because it always went bad for them as the church advanced. Not ultimately bad, but very bad.
43 · The pastor identifies the source of opposition as spiritual depravity — Jesus told the religious leaders they belonged to their father the devil, exposing the demonic root of opposition to the gospel
Note the depravity of the enemies of God and his kingdom belonging to the kingdom of this darkness. Jesus' harshest words for Sadducees and Pharisees in the gospel was a means to say, you think You're clean and can be saved. You are not clean. You need to be cleaned. You belong to your father the devil, is what he will tell them.
44 · The pastor identifies jealousy as the animating sin of the religious leaders in verse 17, noting that jealousy never ends well
The evil that the apostles face right now in this narrative is real. These men are jealous. Does it ever go well when we're jealous? It doesn't. There's actually a bookend on what they're doing. They're filled with jealousy, verse 17.
45 · The pastor explains the deeper reason for the religious leaders' jealousy: the gospel message undermines their authority and declares that Jesus is the true leader, not them
We know from the wider telling of the Gospels it's because their very way of life and power and strength is being completely undermined by this message of Jesus. Oh, the message of Jesus' sovereignty and holiness is still being declared in the gospel, but Christ comes on the scene, and even what the apostle declares in the preaching of the gospel is confrontational and necessary for these men. Jesus is the leader, not you.
46 · The pastor exposes the religious leaders' self-deception: they invited Jesus' blood on their heads at the crucifixion, but now they resent the apostles for preaching that they are guilty of His death
Consider their depravity regarding what was said prior to Jesus, right before Jesus hung on the cross. 'Let his blood be on our heads.' And now with this text so warped and deceived, they're like, 'And you and what you're preaching, you're going to put his blood on us?' These same men, 'Ah, put his blood on us. Put it on us. We'll take it. Are you going to blame us for that?'
47 · The pastor notes the tragic irony: the very men who need Jesus' blood to save them are enraged at the preaching of His gospel
All the while we know from the gospel they desperately need Jesus' blood to cover them and to save them. But they're not just jealous. They are enraged in verse 33. 'And when they heard this, they were enraged.'
48 · The pastor explains the Greek word for 'enraged' — sawn through — indicating a mental anguish so severe it leads to violence
So the message of Jesus is wrecking their world, of course. But the original meaning of this word enraged means they were sawn through. So cut to the mind. I heard a description of this. It's the anguish of the mind leading to violence. They were enraged, sawn through.
49 · The pastor summarizes the religious leaders' motives: jealousy, self-preservation, and murder — citing James 4 to show that these are the natural outcomes of covetous desire
The depravity and the black heart of evil is clear in their motives and actions. Self-preservation and murder fill their hearts. They're jealous. They're going to kill them. And James 2 rings true. You desire and you do not have. So you murder.
50 · The pastor reiterates the thesis in light of the opposition: the gospel will advance in power no matter what evil opposes it — and the opposition today is not merely disagreement but something more severe
This is the evil that faces the church. The church is commissioned though in the gospel of Jesus that will advance in power no matter what. No matter what. This is a powerful opposition. It's not simply in the air of disagreement and confrontation that you and I often— that's the way that we feel the opposition right now towards the church.
51 · The pastor applies the opposition theme to contemporary culture: opposition to the church is growing on issues like gender and sexuality, and it will move beyond disagreement to action against believers
Consider it. Consider social media. Consider whatever the message is of the world right now to the Christian church on the matter of gender definition or relationships and so on. That's just one. The opposition is growing against the church. And it's not just simply confrontational and disagreement. It moves and acts against the church, and it will again, against those who believe and follow Jesus, and it will again.
52 · The pastor warns that opposition will escalate to legal action, reputation destruction, physical harm, and even death for some believers — mirroring the pattern in Acts
Legal action, life-destroying action, reputation-killing action, leading to physical harm, torture, and even death to some. Opposition to the good news of Jesus though, with that bad news delivered, see providentially what occurs in our narrative.
53 · The pastor makes a crucial theological claim: opposition to the gospel does not hinder the mission but actually provides new paths for the gospel's advance and clarifies the message
Again, maybe you can cruise through these verses if you want to, starting in verse 17. But opposition to the good news of Jesus will, number one, provide further paths for the advance of the message of the cross, and it will, number two, clarify the message of the cross.
54 · The pastor traces the multiplication of gospel paths in Acts 5: from the prison to the temple to the courtroom to the council to house churches — opposition scatters the gospel into new contexts
So the amazing thing in God's sovereign plan is as suffering or as opposition begins to be poured out on the church, the gospel only finds more paths for it to be advanced and to clarify the message. Consider this, the paths of advance of the gospel in the public jail, in the temple, in the high priest's office, in Israel's courtroom, among the council members, among the officers, among the guards, among the believers and members of the church, among nonbelievers that are hearing the apostle's message, soon to become believers and members of the church, in the town, in the region, house to house. The paths just splinter.
55 · The pastor previews Acts 8 where persecution scatters the church into the surrounding regions, further multiplying the gospel's advance
Persecution is radically being poured out on the church beginning in our text that we've read today. Radically. They will— it will be so bad they have to flee to the surrounding region, and the gospel advances in those regions.
56 · The pastor exposes the gospel's clarifying power: the apostles tell the religious leaders that Jesus was killed by them (they are guilty), but by God (He was sent to die for sinners), and His blood is on them (they need it)
Well, it also serves to clarify the good news of Jesus as well. We find in verses 29 and 32, which is really the centerpiece of the text. One is that clarifying of the good news of Jesus is we must obey God. Jesus is killed on a cross by sinners, but by God for sinners. You're going to put His blood on us? And the message of the Gospel is, ja. His blood is on you. His blood is on me.
57 · The pastor uses hymn imagery to illustrate the gospel's personal claim: we are among the scoffers who cried 'Crucify Him,' yet God raised Jesus and exalted Him
We've sung the song in the past that I would hear my mocking voice cry out among the scoffers, 'Crucify him!' Yet God raises Jesus from the dead. God is exalted to the right hand of God. I mean, Jesus is exalted to the right hand of God.
58 · The pastor unpacks verses 29-32 to show the gospel's clarity: Jesus is Leader and Savior, He gives repentance and forgiveness, and the Holy Spirit empowers those who obey the mission
Leader and Savior, King Jesus is declared. Jesus gives repentance. He gives forgiveness. This is all in 2 verses. We are Jesus' witness and the Holy Spirit is Jesus' witness. And by the way, it says, 'Given to those who obey.' That's not a salvation necessarily kind of text. But what it's saying is, 'I've called you on mission. You apostles, I've called you on mission. When you obey me, I'll pour my Spirit out in power on you.' for the furtherance of this mission.
59 · The pastor issues an evangelistic appeal: if you are not a believer, God Himself is opposed to you, and the opposition you will face from Him is worse than anything the world can do
If you're present this morning in the room and you have not believed in Christ, I beg you to believe in Christ. Because opposition is coming, but it's worse than what you can imagine, because God himself is opposed to you.
60 · The pastor gives a direct evangelistic appeal, urging seekers to keep coming, keep reading Scripture, and believe in Christ before God's wrath falls
If you're here present, you're like, 'I'm wondering about this Jesus thing.' Keep wondering about it. I'm begging you to keep coming and hearing Christ preached in this pulpit. Go to your Bible, read about Christ, because you will find him as your Savior in there. And boy, you need to be saved without him. God's unfettered wrath is coming. It will be poured out on the earth. It will be poured out on all this evil that you described. It was going to be poured out on me. Because I grew up in the church knowing all of this, until that night he broke through and said, 'No, I'm not unless you repent and believe in Christ.' And yes, I mercifully was. Today, you mercifully can believe in Christ and be saved. Turn to Him. Turn away from sin. Place your faith in Jesus. Believe in him. He will save you.
61 · The pastor turns to the congregation of believers, calling them to cry out for God's renewal and to rally around suffering families, acknowledging that the church will not escape opposition
Church, if you've been saved, cry out to God for renewal and strengthening for our souls for this time that we're in. Consider how hard it's been. The Ramirez family needs your strength right now and the gospel to rally around them. We have those that have lost dear ones that are present today. They need this strength. We don't know what tomorrow holds. All I know is from redemptive history is we're not going to escape it. The church is not that escaped this.
62 · The pastor transitions to the third major point: the gospel advances in suffering, building on the previous two themes of power and opposition
So the Gospel mission does advance in power, but it also advances in opposition. And finally, the Gospel church advances in suffering.
63 · The pastor emphasizes the reality of suffering in the text: the apostles were beaten until their backs were laid open, and the suffering believers face will be overwhelming
The suffering is real in our narrative. It in our lives, in the church together, is going to be overwhelming. It's gonna be more than we can handle. The imprisonment is real. There's real charges, real violence. The apostles whipped until their backs were laid open. That's why we slowed down in the reading of the narrative Verse 40, they beat them.
64 · The pastor makes the central claim of the third point: suffering will not stop the mission; rather, Christ uses suffering to do a powerful work in believers that He accomplishes by no other means
But suffering will not stop the advance of the mission. It's here we're gonna find you personally, but together as the church, that it is in suffering that Christ does such a powerful work in us. And he won't use any other means to accomplish this alone. He includes this in the church.
65 · The pastor engages with the difficult reality of verse 41 — the apostles rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer — and admits his own struggle to grasp this
When we suffer for His name's sake, we are moved forward, we are moved toward rejoicing that we have been, quote, 'counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name of Jesus.' Verse 41. Every time I've come to the text, I've really really wrestled with this. I remember times believing that, and there was just that private sense of, 'The Lord is with me. He's gonna get us through this.'
66 · The pastor slows down the narrative to emphasize the apostles' condition: beaten senseless, left overnight to heal, and back to preaching the next morning — revealing God's supernatural sustaining power
But don't let the narrative get lost on you. These men are beat senseless seemingly and left overnight. They're released and they're left overnight to heal, and the next morning we find them preaching. I don't know what I would do the next day after being beaten Like this. So it certainly includes the empowerment of God with them to sustain them through the night and to get them to the mission. It certainly includes that.
67 · The pastor identifies the deeper reality: suffering connects the apostles to Christ's own suffering — they taste what He drank fully in His passion
But their suffering has so connected them further to their Master and King Jesus, who suffered greatly for their salvation and for yours and mine. It's now the disciples begin to taste of what Jesus drank fully. They only taste it, but Jesus drank fully in the suffering.
68 · The pastor clarifies that the apostles' rejoicing is not bravado or group identity but a profound personal connection to Jesus' suffering forged by their own suffering
And it's so connected them that it could be described that they could rejoice that they were counted worthy to suffer. It's not like, all right, we're the band of the way, as it was called back then. We're the Christians now, and so of course we're going to suffer. Suffer. No, for the believer and for the church, suffering can do such a personal work to connect us to the suffering of Jesus.
69 · The pastor summarizes the sanctifying work of suffering: it galvanizes the church's identity in Jesus, empowering believers to see Him more clearly
And the church finds her very identity further galvanized in Jesus through suffering. So certainly being added in, certainly growing in sanctification, certainly being empowered by Christ to see Him clearer and clearer and killer. Suffering does a unique work in the believer's life to galvanize us into Jesus all the more. And we're gonna need it.
70 · The pastor cites Kent Hughes' survey of the apostles' martyrdoms, showing that the angelic deliverance in Acts 5 was meant to encourage them that God could deliver them anytime — yet He allowed most of them to die violently for the faith
The apostles will go on and suffer in indescribable ways. Kent Hughes commenting on this in chapter 5 about the angelic liberation, as he refers to it. In Acts 5, he writes, 'The angelic liberation was not only meant to free them but to encourage them and us. The apostles now knew that God could deliver them from the world's clutches anytime, anywhere.' In the church traditions, if the church traditions are correct, he'll write, Matthew knew the reality of angelic presence when he suffered martyrdom by the sword. So did Mark when he died in Alexandria after being dragged through the streets of the city. Luke experienced the same when he was hanged on a large olive tree in Greece. It was John's realization when he was scarred in a cauldron of boiling water and lived out his days banished on an island. So it was with Peter as he was crucified upside down in Rome. James, as he was beheaded in Jerusalem. James the Less, when he was thrown from a high pinnacle and beaten to death with a club. Philip, when he was hanged. Bartholomew, when he was scourged and beaten until he died. Andrew, when he was bound to a cross and preached at the top of his voice to his persecutors until he perished. Thomas, who was run through with a lance; Jude, who was killed by executioner's arrows; Matthias, who was stoned and then beheaded; Barnabas, who suffered the same fate at Solonika; and Paul, who was beheaded in Rome. And on and on and on it goes.
71 · The pastor reads Kent Hughes' conclusion: the apostles died knowing God could have delivered them but chose not to — yet believers must trust that God can rescue us no matter how dark the trial
Kent Hughes writes this: All these died knowing that God can deliver his people any time he wants. Scripture says that when waves of persecution or trial come, God can deliver us if he so wills. No matter how dark— please get his last comment— no matter how dark or oppressive the wave He can rescue us. Believe it. Believe it.
72 · The pastor quotes Spurgeon to contrast worldly happiness with Christian joy: the Christian blesses God even when He smites, trusting Him where we cannot trace Him
Charles Spurgeon, in a message titled 'Happy Christian'— sorry, that is just a— it just seems like a conflict right now in my mind. 'Happy Christian.' The worldling blessings— the worldly blesses— excuse me, the worldling blesses God when he gives him plenty, but the Christian blesses God when he smites him. He believes him to be too wise to err and too good to be unkind. He trusts him where we cannot trace him, looks up to him in the darkest hour, and believes that all All is well.
73 · The pastor applies Spurgeon's exhortation to the congregation: trust God where we cannot trace Him, knowing that real suffering coexists with real trust that all is well
Church, trust him where he can— where we cannot trace him. Look up to him in the darkest hour and believe all that is well. It does not mean that there isn't any anguish or pain or tears or suffering that is real, but it does mean that in these times we are enabled to trust and believe all is well.
74 · The pastor references the hymn 'His Mercy Is More' and its roots in John Newton to set up a parallel between God's mercy for sin and His deliverance in suffering
We're going to sing here at the end of the service, 'His Mercy Is More Regarding Our Sin.' It's written by Papa, and the songwriter and writers and those that are informed by this are informed by a message preached by John Newton. And he merges this amazing song that we've been singing, and in this song is this phrase, 'Our sins are many, His mercy is more.' What a great hope for the sinner. Our sins are many, His mercy is more.
75 · The pastor proposes a new refrain mirroring the hymn's structure: 'Our sufferings are many, His deliverance is more' — drawing a parallel between God's mercy for sin and His sustaining power in suffering
I'm crazy enough, I would try to like add this to the song. But I think in the same stead, in our times of anguish, we could add this refrain to this song. Our sufferings are many, and His deliverance is more. Our sufferings are many, His deliverance is more.
76 · The pastor quotes John Newton to encourage believers: if our physician is Almighty, no disease (no suffering) can be desperate or beyond hope
John Newton writes this: Are not you amazed sometimes that you should have so such a hope that poor and needy as you are, the Lord thinketh, thinketh of you. But let not all you feel discourage you, for if our physician is Almighty, our disease cannot be desperate. And if he casts not one that come to him away, why should you fear? The word desperate Without hope.
77 · The pastor applies Newton's encouragement directly to the congregation: let not your suffering discourage you, for God is Almighty and will not cast you away
So church, let not all you feel discourage you, for if our physician is Almighty, our disease cannot be desperate. And if he cast not one that come to him, why should you fear? If you're here this morning, come to Jesus and believe.
78 · The pastor transitions to the conclusion by restating the logic of the sermon: if God can deliver from prison, He can deliver from anything — and calls the band to prepare for the closing worship
You know, the effect of the church on the church is if the Lord is able to save like this, If He is able to manifest His presence and literally set us free from prison, then He is able to save us, to free us at will from anything. John, if I could have you guys come up, the band, please.
79 · The pastor reflects on how personal suffering changes one's understanding of suffering — using a member's comment about parenting to illustrate that lived experience transforms comprehension
You know, sometimes when we preach, we haven't— quite got there yet. I remember Gloria Morales, long, long, long, long— okay, I'll stop there to not draw out her age— came up to me when our kids were little, and I remember preaching during that time. She looked me in the eye, she says, 'It's different now that you have kids, isn't it?' I said, 'Oh yes, it is.' I think sometimes when we study suffering We get it to some degree, but when we suffer, then we get it.
80 · The pastor shares personal testimony: the most precious truths about God were etched on his soul through suffering, and he can now say it was worth it
And for me personally, some of the most precious truths about the nature and character of God that have been, been etched on my soul forever, but it's been done so to the point where I can actually say afterwards and looking back, It was worth it. I would never, I would never go back and ask for the suffering again, but what the Lord accomplished through it.
81 · The pastor shares the story of his father's death and his own conversion, revealing that the suffering was so severe he has no memory of the gravesite — yet God used that suffering to save him
You know, when I was preparing this message, what kept coming to my mind was the death of Dad at 49. If you know me any period of time, you know that my testimony about believing in Christ is in that very time frame of my dad's death. My rescue occurs at the time my dad dies. So I was recounting the weekend, or the week, that Dad died. He died on Father's Day, 1984. I remember being in the hospital room with Lisa, who would be my wife one day, when Dad breathed his last. I remember being at the funeral home, what a nightmare it was. I remember the memorial service out at Jesus Chapel East as the pastors from our church and great church graciously opened their doors to us there because the number of people that came. But you know what I don't remember? I don't remember his gravesite. It occurred to me something happened so bad it just got blocked out of my memory. I don't have any recollection of it, not a minute. I don't remember the ride. I don't remember the grass. I don't remember any of it. I do remember the tombstone, but it was probably a visit later at a rest line on
82 · The pastor applies his personal testimony to the congregation: if you are suffering now, the church must rally around you; if you have suffered, you now have a message to deliver from experience
You know, the suffering can be blindingly difficult, but in the end, you're going to see in the church it's worth it. So if you're in that right now, you need us to rally around you, to encourage you to hang in there, to not give up, for us to cry with Thank you. And if you have been there, you have a message that you can deliver that you couldn't have delivered before you got there. So deliver it.
83 · The pastor gives the first concrete application: obey God rather than men, anchoring obedience in Scripture rather than political ideology, knowing opposition is coming
Our application is pretty straightforward from the text. In my mind, there's so many things we could apply, but one is obey God rather than men. The wave is coming. I don't know what it's going to be, but the day is going to come for you and I— maybe for some it already has to some degree. Obey God and not men. Let that be anchored in the clear revelation of the Word, not some strange political belief. Obey God according to His Word and not man. We're going to have to.
84 · The pastor gives the second application: get back to the mission after suffering or opposition, knowing that the Holy Spirit empowers those who obey
The mission will advance. But also get back to it. Obedience that is met with God's power. He's called us to obey in the text. The Holy Spirit will empower us if we obey Him. So go right back to it. You've been knocked off, you're on your heels. God calls you right back into the mission. You now have a powerful testimony that points to Christ and Him crucified, that now you're beginning to taste of. That He was crucified. So go right back to it.
85 · The pastor gives the third application: never give up in the mission — stand firm, preach every day, and count suffering as worthy because Jesus is worth it
And finally, never give up. Never give up in it. Maybe is a better way to say it. Verse 20: Stand firm. Hold your ground. But also in verse 42: Every day do not stop preaching that Jesus is the Christ. Counting it worthy to suffer. Get back to it no matter no matter what suffering may come. Suffering is worth it because Jesus is worth it.
86 · The pastor concludes by restating the sermon's thesis one final time: the church is commissioned in the gospel of Jesus, and it will advance in power no matter what
The church is commissioned in the power— is commissioned in the gospel of Jesus. It will advance in power no matter what will come. You stand with me. Let's pray.
87 · The pastor prays for the church to be empowered by the Spirit to preach the gospel, for those suffering to be strengthened, and for Jesus to receive glory through the preaching
So God, I pray that your word would accomplish what it has declared, that we would be empowered by you for the message and the good news of Jesus to be declared to our world that so desperately that the church would be strengthened by you, by your power. You would come and fill us with your presence and your Spirit even now so that we would go again right back out into it and encourage and to help and to preach the good news of Jesus. God, I pray for anyone that's present this morning that is rocked by suffering, rocked by opposition, Strengthen them. Jesus, receive glory. Be exalted through the preaching of your word. Amen. Let's sing this with Hope Church.