New Loyalties

don't tell me what to do.

Don't worry, policeman.

I wasn't speeding that fast.

I wasn't really breaking the law.

Don't worry, doc.

You don't really need to tell me what to do.

I know how to take care of myself.

It's been fascinating watching people's response

to the medical recommendations

and directions about social distancing,

staying home, sanitizing hands, wearing masks.

Some people want to ignore everything.

It's that attitude of,

I don't care about your authority.

I don't want to wear a mask.

It's uncomfortable.

I want to make decisions for myself.

And there is a temptation to think

that these directives don't apply to me.

I'm the power and authority over my life.

I'll make up my mind when you show me the evidence.

And I feel this pull about whether I'll make up my mind,

whether I'll be the one that makes decisions for me.

I feel this battle.

But I'm wearing this mask not because I've done the study,

not because I have researched it

and found how helpful masks are,

but because I'm trusting other people

when they recommend that it is best to keep ourselves safe

and to protect other people.

Also, after shaving off my beard this week,

I've found the mask is actually really warm on my face.

It's been a little bit cold recently.

But we all know the temptation

of watering down Christianity to make it easier.

That says,

Jesus, I will follow some of your recommendations,

but I will pick and I will choose.

It makes it easier.

It makes it more palatable,

less confronting to other people around me.

I'll continue to be the one that makes the decisions

and has the power,

but Jesus, I'll allow you to advise me.

But when we make Jesus just one of the voices in our life,

Christianity gets watered down

to something that has no real value for us in our lives.

Here in chapter four of the book of Acts,

the apostles Peter and John are threatened

because Jesus is the power

and they are warned to water him down.

Give some authority over to the rulers of the time.

But Jesus has been given all of the power,

all of the authority over the universe,

over our culture,

over the Christianity,

and even over each of our lives.

And there is a very real battle that happened to them,

to Peter and John,

and a very real battle that happens to us now

in the life of the church and in our lives.

Who is in charge?

Is it Jesus or is it me?

Who will I submit to?

As we continue in our series

on looking at living in the new world,

today we're going to see what it means to have new loyalty,

what it means to be loyal to Jesus and to follow him.

First of all, we're going to see today,

we're going to look at Jesus' power and his authority

before we see the call to submit

and then we see the prayer for boldness in this life.

Please have your Bibles open on your phone

through the St. Paul's app in a physical Bible.

We're in chapter 4.

In chapter 3, at the end,

we saw Peter heal a lame man.

And then he preached to the crowd about repentance.

Repent so you can have times of refreshing

that come from following the Jesus

who was raised from the dead.

And at the start of chapter 4,

the Sadducees with the temple guard

hear Peter's preaching

and they don't think very much of it.

The Sadducees were a Jewish sect

who didn't believe in the resurrection of the dead.

And to deal with this problem,

they arrest Peter and John,

put them in prison because it was night,

and then deal with them the next day.

But despite this persecution,

God is doing amazing things.

Acts chapter 4, verse 4.

Acts 4:4

But many who heard this message believed,

so the number of men who grew to about 5,000.

But is only a three-letter, very small word.

But it is very big here.

Despite arrest and persecution,

despite the ruling religious authorities

disagreeing with the preacher and arresting him,

despite the apparent craziness

of believing in the resurrection of the dead,

thousands believe.

It's all because Jesus is working.

Peter and John have been arrested.

The ruling authorities gather the next day,

verse 6.

Annas, the high priest, was there,

and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander,

and others of the high priest's family.

These are the people who saw Jesus put to death.

They did not acknowledge Jesus' position

and his authority as the Son of God,

and so they put him to death.

Verse 7.

They had Peter and John brought before them

and began to question them.

By what power or what name did you do this?

Now, this is more than asking about

how the lame man was healed.

This is a question of power and authority.

By what power or what name?

In the first century,

you didn't have gods that were considered

to be over the whole world

or the whole cosmos.

Gods were considered to be regional.

You had the god of war,

the god of agriculture,

the god of love.

There was the god of Ephesus,

the god of Corinth.

It was a system which said,

everyone is right.

Everyone can have their own regional god.

You can follow your god.

That is fine.

It's called religious relativism,

where there is no absolute power.

There is no one religion that is right.

But all of the regions,

they've got their own religion,

and they were all valid.

We see the apostle Paul fight this battle

in Acts chapter 19,

Acts 19 · chapter mention

where the silversmith, Demetrius,

was against Paul

because he worshipped the god Artemis,

the god of fertility.

He was also worried about his job

as a silversmith.

But he was worried about this god

of the region in Ephesus.

Each religion had permission to preach.

They were licensed.

They had authority to preach

under the ruler Caesar.

And in one sense,

he was considered divine

because he was the one ruler

over all of these regions.

He was the one ruler

over all of these regional gods.

And so the religious leaders,

the Jewish leaders,

are questioning Peter and John,

likely with the thought

in the back of their minds

that the Romans didn't like them too much.

And they didn't want to see two upstarts

like Peter and John causing riots,

causing the Romans

to come down hard on them.

And so the question,

by what name,

by what power do you preach,

is much bigger

than just how did this happen.

It's a question of loyalty.

It's a question of who do you submit to?

How do we control you?

Peter, full of the Holy Spirit,

answers this question

of whose name and power

in verse 9.

It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,

whom you crucified,

but whom God raised from the dead,

that this man stands before you healed.

Jesus is the stone

you builders rejected,

which has become the cornerstone.

Salvation is found in no one else,

for there is no other name

under heaven given to mankind

by which we must be saved.

It is the Jesus that you crucified.

Again,

this is the third time now

that Peter has laid the blame

at his listeners' feet.

He's done it with the crowds,

saying that they were responsible

for Jesus' death,

and they were.

But these

are the men

who orchestrated

Jesus' death.

They were the ones

who were worried

about their own position.

They were jealous

of the crowds

that Jesus was getting.

So these

were the very men

who were

the ones

who orchestrated it.

And so Peter says,

you crucified Jesus,

but God

raised him.

You threw him away

like a piece of garbage,

but God

has made him

the cornerstone.

The cornerstone

marks the

orientation

and location

of a building,

and everything

is built off it.

Jesus

is the first.

Everything

finds its place

from him

and in relation

to him.

And Peter

makes an exclusive

claim.

Salvation

is found

in no one else.

It's found

nowhere else.

He is

the way,

the only

way

to get saved.

And this might

seem like a really

offensive

and arrogant

claim,

but it is

more the

implication

of the resurrection

and his ascension.

If it is

really true

that Jesus

was raised

from the dead,

then he

has been

given power

above all

powers.

He is the

cornerstone.

He is the

only way

to be saved.

But this

absolute

and ultimate

claim

was offensive

to the Jewish

religious leaders.

It was

offensive

to the other

religious leaders

and to Caesar,

and it

certainly

continues

to be

offensive

to people

today

to say

that Jesus

is the

only

power,

the only

way

to be

saved.

Today

in our

2020,

that's the year

isn't it?

Today in 2020,

our culture

might not be

based on

regional gods

and regional

deities,

but their

claim to

absolute

truth

that Jesus

is the

only

power,

the only

way you

can be

saved.

That claim

is still

very offensive.

People will

say,

oh,

well,

look,

you can

believe in

your Jesus,

you can

worship him,

but not

this

cornerstone

all-powerful

version.

That's

intolerant

to other

people and

the way

of life

that they

follow,

to say

that you

must

follow Jesus

and he's

the only

way to

be saved.

That's

intolerant.

Can you

please just

water down

your view

of Jesus

until he

is the

nice and

kind prophet

of love

version of

Jesus?

That's much

more palatable,

that's much

nicer,

it's much

less offensive.

You have

your prophet

of love

version of

Jesus and

everybody else

can have

their own

view of

God and

it will

be fine.

There's just

one problem

with that.

That kind

of Jesus

doesn't

exist.

the

Jesus

we have

in the

Bible

is the

same

one

that

Peter

is

preaching

about.

Either

Peter

is

right

that

Jesus

is

the

name

above

all

names

and

he

has

all

the

power

or

there

is

no

one.

There

is

no

version

of

a

Jesus

in

history

who

was

just

a

prophet

of

love

and

peace

who

was

not

the

son

of

God.

The

rulers

hear about

this

Jesus

and

it's

interesting

because

they

actually

don't

argue

theology

instead

they

want

Peter

and

John

to

water

down

their

theology

they

want

them

to

submit

you

can

follow

your

Jesus

I

suppose

but

we

want

you

to

submit

to

our

authority

that's

our

second

point

today

don't

submit

to

another's

power

and

authority

verse

13

when

they

saw

the

courage

of

Peter

and

John

and

realized

they

were

unschooled

ordinary

men

they

were

astonished

and

took

note

that

these

men

had

been

with

Jesus

now

this

reads

like

a

dig

at

these

men

you're

not

educated

you're

not

smart

like

me

I

think

it

reads

like

that

for

me

in

particular

but

it's

more

like

they

could

tell

that

they

didn't

have

the

same

religious

education

and

yet

Peter

is here

debating

theology

he

is

calling

him

the

cornerstone

who

was

prophesied

about

they

don't

have

the

same

education

and

yet

they

somehow

are

educated

and

Peter

has

the

courage

to

stand

up

to

the

people

who

saw

Jesus

killed

and

what

they

realize

is

that

in

a

sense

they

have

been

taught

theology

they've

been

taught

by

Jesus

himself

and

they

couldn't

argue

they

couldn't

ignore

what

had

been

done

because

the

man

who

was

lame

was

right

there

and

he

was

over

40

and

Luke

makes

a

real

point

of

this

that

that

is

quite

significant

that

he

was

over

40

and

he

was

healed

I'm

five

years

off

that

so

I

I'm

kind

of

happy

to

joke

about

that

number

at

this

point

people

who

were

that

old

did

not

get

better

in

the

first

century

they

died

something

miraculous

must

have

happened

they

can

see

that

Jesus

name

has

power

and

authority

over

diseases

and

Jesus

wasn't

even

there

in

person

the

rulers

realized

that

they

have

no

case

against

these

men

to

stop

them

and

so

instead

they

just

try

and

bully

them

submit

to

our

power

verse

18

then

they

called

them

in

again

and

commanded

them

not

to

speak

or

to

teach

at

all

in

the

name

of

Jesus

I'm

going

to

command

you

not

to

speak

submit

to

us

you

follow

us

we're

the

religious

rulers

water

down

your

view

of

Jesus

and

don't

talk

about

him

anymore

he's

commanded

you

to be

a witness

of what

you

have

seen

and

what

you

have

heard

how

about

you

don't

if

you

know

what's

good

for

you

we

are

the

authority

here

instituted

by

God

in

the

line

of

Abraham

and

Moses

we

are

warning

you

very

seriously

to

stop

this

don't

submit

to

Jesus

submit

to

our

power

and

authority

be

loyal

to

us

first

and

then

follow

Jesus

second

there

are

many

countries

where

religious

freedom

is

limited

and

controlled

by

the

government

continues

on

today

where

people

are

considered

to be

criminals

for their

faith

locked

up

just like

Peter

and John

were

sent off

for

re-education

not because

they have

done

anything

wrong

but because

they follow

a religion

that says

that the

government

is not

the ultimate

power

Christianity

is threatening

to the

power of

governments

it was

true of

King

Herod

when

Jesus

was born

and it

continues

to be

true

today

Christians

that choose

to submit

to Jesus

first

and not

to the

government

are

dangerous

however

Christians

want to

seek

to

love

and be

peaceful

and

honouring

and not

just tear

down

like a

government

would be

concerned

but

ultimately

submit

to

Jesus

and it's

the same

question

that the

religious

leaders

put to

Peter

and John

who

will you

submit

to

it's

also

true

of

Sydney

not in

an

organised

government

way

necessarily

but in

our

culture

it's

not

politically

correct

to say

that

Jesus

has

an

exclusive

claim

on

salvation

it's

not

nice

people

don't

like

it

people

will

say

that

it's

offensive

it's

insensitive

it's

intolerant

people

say

be careful

if you

say

that

you

will

get

cancelled

and

harassed

remove

all

the

insensitive

aspects

of your

Christianity

water

your

Christianity

down

so it

can

fit

into

society

because

our

culture

believes

that

everyone

is

right

no

one

view

is

more

valid

than

all

the

others

our

culture

argues

your

version

of

truth

can't

be

right

because

it's

exclusive

my

view

of

truth

has

to

be

right

which

is

that

all

views

are

equal

but

the

only

problem

is

they're

arguing

against

a

truth

claim

with

a

truth

claim

they're

saying

you

can't

make

this

truth

claim

that

Jesus

is

the

power

you

have

to

believe

my

truth

claim

that

all

truth

is

valid

many

don't

like

Jesus

claim

that

he

is

God

because

it's

an

absolute

so

instead

replace

it

with

everyone's

view

Peter

and

John's

response

to the

power

played

by the

Jewish

leaders

shows

where

they

put

their

trust

and I

really

love

Peter's

response

here

verse 19

Peter

and John

replied

which is

right in

God's

eyes

to listen

to you

or to

him

you be

the

judges

as for

us

we cannot

help

speaking

about what

we have

seen

and heard

it is

so simple

and direct

we will

do what

God tells

us to

do

and how

could

these

religious

leaders

argue

with

that

Peter

has

proclaimed

Jesus

power

they

have

been

bullied

to

submit

but

now

they

pray

for

boldness

Peter

and John

are

amazingly

released

from

prison

and they

head

back

to this

young

church

that is

growing

but still

forming

and that

in itself

shows how

much

change

has

happened

in

Peter's

life

Peter

when he

was

questioned

about

whether

he

was

submitting

to

Jesus

at

Jesus'

trial

Peter

flees

now

after

Peter

has

been

put

on

trial

he

stays

and

he

goes

back

to

the

church

verse

24

he

prays

reflecting

God's

power

and

authority

sovereign

Lord

they

said

you

made

the

heavens

and

the

earth

and

the

sea

and

everything

in

them

you

spoke

by

the

Holy

Spirit

through

the

mouth

of

your

servant

and

father

David

why

do

the

nations

rage

and

the

people's

plot

in

vain

they

see

the

actions

of

the

people

around

them

as

no

surprise

but

that

God

is

still

in

control

what

what

would

what

would

you

would

you

pray

for

an

easy

and

quiet

life

would

you

pray

for

the

ability

to

worship

in

peace

to

be

left

alone

of

prying

eyes

of

those

who

were

against

you

as

a

church

that

is

attempting

to get

used

to

gathering

again

faced

with

constant

change

now

wearing

masks

do

we

just

ask

for the

government

to leave

us

alone

so

that

we

can

meet

in

peace

they

instead

prayed

lord

verse

29

consider

their

threats

and

enable

your

servants

to

speak

your

word

with

great

boldness

they're

not

worried

about

themselves

they're

not

worried

about

their

state

or

the

danger

of

persecution

they

know

that

God

is

sovereign

and

instead

they

pray

for

boldness

to

speak

God's

word

they

don't

ask

for

boldness

to

understand

how

to

fit

into

their

culture

how

to

water

down

Christianity

so

that

they

aren't

persecuted

there

isn't

a

question

of

God's

power

but

their

desire

to

see

Jesus

known

verse

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

they

just

prayed

that

God

would

help

them

to

speak

the

word

of

God

boldly

and

they

get

that

they

are

filled

with

the

Holy

Spirit

and

they

start

speaking

the

word

of

God

boldly

we

need

boldness

to

speak

God's

word

to

each

other

to

ourselves

to

the

people

on

our

front

lines

to

the

one

plus

one

plus

one

person

that

we

are

praying

for

because

we

want

to

see

people

saved

and

God

uses

us

to

speak

his

word

to

them

but

we

can

be

fearful

and

we

need

to

be

praying

for

God's

boldness

and

we

need

boldness

to

be

willing

to

say

that

Jesus

is

the

power

over

all

powers

regardless

of

the

cost

in

2005

a

cancer

patient

Georgia

Hayes

won

a

2.2

billion

dollar

court

settlement

against

her

pharmacist

because

her

pharmacist

had

been

diluting

her

chemotherapy

drugs

with

water

in

the

process

she

had

lost

her

best

chance

for

her

recovery

what

should

have

been

saving

her

life

the

chemotherapy

drugs

was

in

fact

doing

nothing

for

her

the

most

deadly

way

to

follow

Jesus

is

having

a

watered

down

gospel

following

a

politically

correct

prophet

of

love

in

offensive

version

of

Jesus

that

kind

of

Jesus

will

not

make

an

impact

on

your

life

or

the

world

we

live

in

that

is

not

the

Jesus

that

is

of

the

Bible

he

is

too

small

and

too

weak

he

is

irrelevant

and

the

church

that

follows

him

will

be

emaciated

and

impotent

unable

to

do

anything

but

huddle

together

that

is

not

the

picture

of

Jesus

we

see

in

the

Bible

the

church

dared

to

challenge

the

authorities

to

challenge

Jesus

is

powerful

he

has

died

for

us

he

has

been

raised

and

he

has

promised

that

he

will

raise

us

too

years

ago

while

I

was

training

in

martial

arts

I

was

sparring

with

my

master

at the

time

and

he

did

a

really

wonderful

kick

that I

just

did not

see

coming

and

it

went

straight

into

my

face

and

I

went

down

on

the

floor

and

had

to

go

to

the

GP

sent

me

to

a

specialist

and

it

turns

out

I

fractured

my

cheekbone

and

when

I

was

speaking

with

the

specialist

he

advised

me

you

might

have

some

nerve

damage

in

there

we

are

most

worried

about