The Competing Powers of Fear and Faith

The passage today is from Acts 4, verses 1 to 31.

Acts 4:1–31

And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them,

greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.

But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.

On the next day, the rulers and the elders and the scribes gathered together in Jerusalem,

with Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high priestly family.

And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired,

By what power, or by what name, did you do this?

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them,

Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man,

by what means this man has been healed,

let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel,

that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified,

whom God raised from the dead,

by him this man is standing before you well.

This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you,

the builders, which has become the cornerstone.

And there is salvation in no one else,

for there is no other name under heaven given among men,

by which we must be saved.

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John,

and perceived that they were uneducated, common men,

they were astonished,

and they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them,

they had nothing to say in opposition.

But when they had commanded them to leave the council,

they conferred with one another, saying,

What shall we do with these men?

For that a notable sign has been performed through them

is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem,

and we cannot deny it.

But in order that it may spread no further among the people,

let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.

So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all

in the name of Jesus.

But Peter and John answered them,

Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God,

you must judge,

for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.

And when they had further threatened them,

they let them go,

finding no way to punish them,

because of the people,

who were all praising God for what had happened.

For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed

was more than forty years old.

When they were released,

they went to their friends and reported

what the chief priests and the elders had said to them.

And when they heard it,

they lifted their voices together to God and said,

Sovereign Lord,

who made the heaven and the earth and the sea

and everything in them,

who,

through the mouth of our father David,

your servant,

said by the Holy Spirit,

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 anointed.

For truly in this city

they were gathered together

against your holy servant Jesus,

whom you anointed,

both Herod and Pontius Pilate,

along with the Gentiles

and the people of Israel,

to do whatever your hand

and your plan

has predestined to take place.

And now, Lord,

look upon their threats

and grant to your servants

to continue to speak your word

with all boldness,

while you stretch out your hand

to heal,

and signs and wonders are performed

through the name of your holy servant Jesus.

And when they had prayed,

the place in which they were gathered together

were shaken,

and they were all filled

with the Holy Spirit

and continued to speak

the word of God

with boldness.

This is the word of the Lord.

All right, thank you.

Thanks, Hannah.

Let's pray together,

and then we're going to look

at this passage.

Father,

your word is so wonderful.

It's thousands of years old,

and yet it speaks to us

even today.

It speaks to our circumstances.

It speaks to our hearts.

Lord,

as we look at your word,

we pray that you will speak to us.

We are more interested in you speaking

than the opinions of man.

And so, God, I pray,

help us to see

what you want us to see

in your word.

Help us to do here

what you want us to do.

Help us to be the people

that you want us to be.

Lord,

we pray these things

in your wonderful

and your gracious name.

Amen.

As we come to this passage today,

I want us just to,

I want to ask us a question

up front,

and that is,

how do you respond

to fear?

How do you respond

to fear?

How do you respond

when what is maybe

most important to you,

maybe your family,

your life,

your job,

maybe your reputation,

the thing that makes you

feel secure in life,

when that,

when the thing that's

most important to you

is threatened,

is under threat,

is the potential

of being taken away from you.

Friends,

how do you react

when someone challenges you

or accuses you of something,

when someone wants

to take something precious

away from you?

Friends,

how do we respond

when somebody's actions

threaten our security,

our life,

maybe our family members?

I think we can all recognize

that in times such as these,

when we feel threatened

or afraid,

often the deepest,

most real part

of ourselves

is revealed.

There's a guy called Eric

with me for many years.

Eric Reid said,

over many years

I've learned this lesson.

A person's spiritual maturity

is not truly visible

until they don't

get their way.

Then you see

the real person.

And it's true, right?

It's very easy

to kind of play the part

and go through the actions

and have the smiley face.

But when things

don't go our way,

when things that are

precious to us

are threatened

or potentially

taken away,

what's most real to us,

what's deep inside of us

comes alive,

comes out.

Well,

we're working through

the book of Acts

and up until this point

the story has been

very wonderful

and encouraging, right?

In Acts chapter 2

Acts 2 · chapter mention

the Holy Spirit

is poured out

on the church

and they are filled

with the Spirit

in a remarkable way.

The gospel goes out

and many people respond

and come to saving faith.

An amazing,

amazing community

is formed.

A community of generosity

and selflessness

and giving is formed.

And signs and wonders

are being done.

Miracles are happening.

And everything seems

to be going well.

But the Christian life

isn't always this rosy.

And here on chapter 4

we see the first instances

of trouble coming their way.

Because here we see

the first opposition

against the church.

And what we see

in this passage

is two groups of people

who both are threatened

by the other group.

They both feel threatened.

One is perceived,

one is real.

And yet here in this passage

we see two different ways

of people responding

to the threat

that is in front of them.

Friends,

how do you respond

to feeling threatened

and afraid?

Here we're going to see

two different ways

by two different groups.

And so this passage

that Hannah read to us

is the fallout

from what happened last week.

Don't worry about that Oscar.

Last week

Alan preached

Acts chapter 3

Acts 3 · chapter mention

and what we saw there

is two disciples

Peter and John

are on their way

to the temple

to pray

at the regular hour

of prayer

and they walk past

a man who is crippled

and he's begging.

He says,

please give me some money

and they say,

we don't have silver and gold

but what we do have

is Jesus Christ.

And they pray for him

and miraculously

his legs are strengthened

and he starts to walk.

He's healed.

And suddenly this man

that's never walked

in his life before

is leaping and dancing

and celebrating

and a crowd starts to form

around Peter and John

and their new friend.

And the crowd forms

and a stir arises

and Peter stands up

and he says,

listen,

this miracle is great

but this isn't

the real miracle.

The real miracle

is that Jesus Christ

was dead

but is now alive again.

And the reason God did this

is because God sent Jesus

to save us from our rebellion.

To save us from our sin.

That's the real miracle.

You want miracles?

Miracles are great

but the amazing miracle,

Jesus Christ has risen

from the dead.

He's alive.

He said,

you can come to know him

and be saved.

And that's where we got to

at the end of last week.

Now in this passage

we're going to see

what happens

as a result

of that instance.

And today we're going to see

three things in this passage.

As always,

we're going to see

the crippling power

of fear and insecurity,

the compelling power

of faith and confidence,

and then thirdly,

how we grow

in this faith and confidence.

Okay,

so let's dive in

and take a look.

Firstly,

the crippling power

of fear and insecurity.

So here,

Peter has just finished

giving this amazing sermon.

He's described

what's happening

to the crowds.

He's impressed upon them

in the fact that

Jesus is the Messiah

who came to rescue

and save us

from our sin.

And look what happens.

Look at chapter 4,

verse 1.

It says,

As they were speaking

to the people,

the priests

and the captain

of the temple,

that means the captain

of the police,

and the Sadducees

came upon them

greatly annoyed

because they were

teaching the people

and proclaiming in Jesus

the resurrection

from the dead.

And they arrested them,

put them in custody

until the next day

for it was already evening.

I wonder what Peter

and John thought

at this, right?

Remember,

they are in Jerusalem,

the very city

that just a few weeks

and months earlier,

Jesus was arrested

one night,

put in custody overnight,

put on trial

the next day,

and then ended up

on a Roman cross.

And so here they are

arrested at night

and trial awaiting

them the next day.

And throughout the night

they must be thinking,

is our fate

going to be the same

as Jesus of Nazareth?

Are we going to end up

on a cross?

And look at verse 6,

Luke just happens

to tell us

who is overseeing

this arrest.

It's Caiaphas,

the high priest,

and his father-in-law,

Annas,

who John tells us

were the same two people

that oversaw the arrest

and the trial

and the crucifixion

of Jesus.

Now,

why would the religious leaders

arrest Peter and John?

I mean,

what have they done wrong?

All they've done

is they've helped

a crippled man

to get strong

and they've done

a sign and a wonder,

what's wrong with that?

Well,

look at what Luke

tells us.

He says,

as they were speaking,

the priests

and the captain

and the Sadducees

came upon them

greatly annoyed

because they were

teaching the people

and proclaiming

Jesus the resurrection

from the dead.

What causes

their annoyance?

Well,

it's not just

that they're telling

people about Jesus.

It's about the fact

that they're proclaiming

the resurrection.

That Jesus of Nazareth

died but didn't stay dead.

He rose again.

And what that means?

And what does it mean?

Well,

it means that Jesus

is the divine king.

He's the messianic king,

the one who rules

on the throne

of not just Israel

but all creation.

He is the king

of the entire universe.

The fact that he died

and rose again

means that Jesus

is not just a good man,

a moral man,

a religious teacher,

a rabbi.

He is the messianic king,

the divine king

that he said he was,

that he proclaimed to be.

And that means

that everyone,

everywhere,

needs to bow down

and surrender

to him as Lord.

Where is Jesus now?

Well,

he's not in the grave.

He's on the throne.

The throne of the entire universe.

And everyone needs to

bow down to him

as king

and as Lord.

Look at the last verse

of Peter's sermon,

chapter 3.

He says this,

God,

having raised Jesus up,

sent him to you first

to bless you.

How?

By turning every one of you

from your rebellion,

from your wickedness.

In the book of Acts,

whenever the apostles

are teaching about Jesus,

what do they proclaim?

The fact that he died

and he rose again,

that he's resurrected

from the grave.

Why?

Because that guarantees

as proof

that Jesus is who he said he is.

He is heaven and earth's

true king.

And this greatly gets

under the skin

of the religious leaders.

They are greatly annoyed.

The word there means

to be agitated,

to be disturbed.

It's like,

your peace has been disturbed.

And now the religious leaders

are agitated.

Something has got

under their skin.

Why?

Because the message

of Jesus as king

is a threat

to their own power.

Their own authority.

Their own influence.

And here the religious leaders

are watching their power,

their authority,

slipping through their hands.

And the more they try

and grasp,

the more it slips

like sand on the beach.

It's slipping through their hands.

And they are deeply afraid.

And they feel deeply threatened.

Friends,

what greatly annoys you?

What causes you

to be afraid?

To feel threatened?

To feel agitated?

If we look back

over the last week

of our lives,

when was it that

the words of our mouth

were harsh

and cutting

and vindictive?

When did we

threaten others

in response

to feeling threatened

ourselves?

When were our words

defensive and harsh?

Why did we speak

like that?

I was thinking

just Thursday night,

Oscar led us

at prayer meeting

and part of the time

was a prayer of confession

and like Alan

led us this morning.

And one of the things

I had to confess

was just that very morning,

taking our kids to school

and there was delays

and, you know,

shoes weren't on in time

and I was getting agitated.

I was getting frustrated

because my plan

and schedule

was being put out of plates, right?

And the words

that came out of my mouth

weren't the nicest words

to my teenage kids.

Friends,

as I look back

over my life,

the times

that I've been

the worst husband,

the worst father,

the worst son,

the worst friend

or colleague,

the times my words

have been the most

cutting and sharp

are often the times

I felt most insecure,

most threatened,

most afraid.

I've told you

this story once before.

I remember

a good friend

in Cape Town.

He was my friend

but also my boss

and I remember

we were texting each other

and he said something

and I felt backed

in a corner

and I sent this message

back saying,

okay Ryan,

if you want to play

like that,

I will also play hardball.

All right?

Probably not the kind

of thing you want

to say to your boss

but feeling pushed

in a corner,

I was going to come

out fighting.

Friends,

what makes us feel

agitated,

annoyed,

defensive,

or aggressive?

And yeah,

we see these

religious leaders,

they are feeling

threatened because

the message of Jesus

is destabilizing

their power,

their authority

and how do they

respond?

Well,

they threaten back.

Look at verse 15

here.

Verse 15 says,

when they had brought

the apostles in

for questioning

and then says,

when they commanded

the disciples

to leave the council,

they conferred

with one another

saying,

what shall we do

with these men?

For that a notable

sign has been performed

through them

is evident to all

the inhabitants

of Jerusalem.

We cannot deny it

but in order

that it may spread

no further,

let us warn them

and to speak

no more

to anybody

in this name.

And verse 21,

when they had

further threatened

them,

they let them go,

finding no way

to punish them

because of all

the people

for they were

praising God

for what had

happened.

How do they

respond to

feeling threatened?

They threaten

back in return.

And one of the

things that John

Stott points out

in his commentary

on this passage

is that nowhere

do the religious

leaders attempt

to discredit

the apostles'

message of the

resurrection

of Jesus.

Nowhere do they

say,

oh,

if Jesus rose,

show us the

body.

Where's the

body?

Where is he now?

They know where

do they attempt

to discredit the

message,

even though they

knew that message

was central to

their gospel.

Why?

Because it's not

the truthfulness

of the message

that they're worried

about,

it's what's going

to happen to

their power,

what's happening

to them.

It's not the

truthfulness of the

gospel that's

threatening them,

it's their own

insecurity and

their fear

that's got them

riled.

One of the things

that I saw in this

passage for the

very first time

this week,

I've never seen

it before actually,

is that the

people in this

passage that

actually hold all

of the power,

all of the

authority,

both political

power and social

power and military

power,

the people that

hold all the

power are those

that are most

afraid.

and conversely,

those that hold

no social power

whatsoever,

verse 13,

Luke describes,

they describe these

men as common

uneducated men,

fishermen turned

preachers,

those who hold

no power whatsoever

are fearless and

bold and courageous.

And that doesn't

make any sense,

right?

You think the

people that hold

all the power and

the authority,

they've got the

money,

they've got the

social power,

they've got the

military,

they should be the

ones that are not

afraid and they're

deeply afraid.

And these guys

that hold no

power whatsoever

are bold and

courageous.

Why?

Why?

Friends,

one of the things

that the Bible

tells us again and

again is that it's

not your circumstances

that gives you

peace,

it's not your

circumstances that

gives you joy or

confidence or rest,

it's something else.

Your circumstances

can be falling apart

and yet you can live

with joy and peace

and rest.

And conversely,

you can have all

the power and all

the authority and all

the money in the

world and yet be

deeply insecure,

deeply afraid,

deeply unrested.

Now,

friends,

what does this

tell us?

One of the things

that the scriptures

tell us again and

again is that in

most circumstances,

the thing that

causes us the

greatest fear,

the greatest angst

in our heart is

the thing that is

most precious to

us.

The thing that we

attach our value to,

the thing we

attach our self-worth

to,

the thing that in a

sense,

we feel like we

cannot live without.

The thing that is a

good thing that has

become almost like God

in our hearts.

And the idea of

losing this thing

causes our hearts

such fear and

anxiety and angst

in our hearts that

it causes us to act

and behave and to

say things that

normally we'd never

think we're possible

to say or do.

And the Bible

shows us that what

is most precious to

us actually has a

power over our

lives, a crippling

power, a destructive

power, a power to

control our behavior

and our relationships.

And what we fear,

we give immense power

to and power that

often is destructive

and harmful.

And so the crippling

power of fear and

anxiety in our lives.

But this passage also

shows us secondly,

the compelling power of

faith and conviction.

friends, what is our

greatest nightmare?

Losing the one thing

that we believe we

cannot live without.

But here the gospel

comes with great good

news.

Because the gospel

tells us that Jesus

Christ promises us

that the one thing

that matters most in

the world, the one

thing that we need

more than anything

else in the world,

the only thing that

can give us real

security and real

peace and real joy

and real hope and

boldness and

confidence is

something that can

actually never be

taken away from us,

can never be

devalued, never be

spoiled, never be

destroyed.

It's something that

inflation and

tariffs and markets

fluctuation and

inflation and these

things can never

touch.

And that is who

Jesus Christ is,

what he's done on

the cross by dying

and rising again,

and who you are

if you are in

Christ.

Jesus says that who

he is and what he's

done on the cross and

who you are, your

true identity, your

true security can

never be touched or

devalued or diminished

or subject to

inflation or anything

else.

The resurrection of

Jesus from the dead,

despite everything that

the authorities try to

throw at Jesus,

including being nailed

to a Roman cross,

the resurrection

guarantees that what

he offers is truly

unshakable, unbendable,

undestroyable, and

therefore rock solid.

And look at how this

plays out in the life

of these disciples,

these apostles.

It's this rock solid

confidence in the

unrivaled supremacy of

Jesus that causes

Peter and the

apostles to speak with

such boldness, such

confidence.

Look at what they say

in verse 8 here.

It says,

Then Peter, filled

with the Holy Spirit,

said to them,

Rulers of the people

and elders, let it be

known to all of you

and to all the people

of Israel, that by the

name of Jesus Christ

of Nazareth, this man

whom you crucified,

whom God raised up

from the dead, by him

this man is standing

before you well.

And then Peter quotes

Psalm 118.

He says,

This Jesus is the

stone that was

rejected by you, the

builders, which has

become the cornerstone.

And there is salvation

in no one else, for

no other name under

heaven given among

men by which we must

be saved.

And the leaders get

all threatening and

intimidating and

they threaten them.

Look at verse 19.

Peter says,

Whether it's right in

the sight of God to

listen to you rather

than God, you judge,

but we cannot but

speak of what we have

seen and heard.

Friends, just a few

weeks, these very

people in the council

have sent Jesus to

the cross.

And Peter, with

unbelievable boldness

and confidence, can

look them in the eye

and say, you

crucified him, but

that changes nothing.

And you can crucify us,

you can threaten us,

you can send us to the

Roman cross as well.

We cannot but speak of

what we've seen and

heard and known to be

true.

And Luke's point here

is that it's not the

boldness and the

authority and the

extroverted temperament

of these men, it's the

conviction that they

hold because they know

who Jesus is.

These common uneducated

men have discovered the

compelling power of

faith in Christ.

But in this passage,

there's something in

particular that Luke and

the apostles see, and I

want us to see it here.

There's something in

particular that leads to

their boldness and the

authority.

It's not just their

faith in general, it's

something in particular

that they've come to see

in the scriptures that's

led them to this

confidence.

And to see that, look at

the two Old Testament

quotes that they quote

here.

The apostles here quote

two Psalms, firstly

Psalm 118 and then

Psalm chapter 2.

Psalms 2 · chapter mention

And look at what Peter

says here in verse 11, I

read it earlier, Peter

says this, this Jesus is

the stone that was

rejected by you the

builders that has

become the chief

cornerstone.

Peter here is quoting

Psalm 118 and Psalm

118 is this amazingly

confident Psalm.

It's a Psalm about the

fact that the person who

trusts in the Lord will

prevail despite the

difficulties and the

hardships in life.

And let me read a couple

of verses to us.

This is what Psalm 118

says.

Out of my distress, I

called to the Lord.

The Lord answered me and

set me free.

The Lord is on my

side.

I shall not fear.

What can man do to me?

The Lord is on my side.

I shall look and triumph

on those who hate me.

It is better to take

refuge in the Lord than

to trust in man.

Better to take refuge in

the Lord than trust in

even princes.

And on and on it goes

about my confidence is in

God, not man.

And then verse 22.

The stone that the

builders rejected has

become the cornerstone.

It's a great picture,

isn't it?

I don't know.

I'm sure many of us

know the statue of

David, Michelangelo's

statue of David in

Florence of Italy.

Some people might have

just to go visit that a

few weeks ago.

The statue of David is

probably the greatest

statue ever sculpted by

human hands, right?

I mean, it's just

mind-blowingly remarkable.

But I'm not sure.

I'm sure many of you

know this.

The piece of marble

that Michelangelo used to

sculpture that statue was

actually rejected and

despised by many master

sculptors of his day.

And so sculptors like

Donatella and other

famous master sculptors

had all tried to work on

this piece of marble and

had rejected it,

describing it as

mediocre and

unworkable.

And so after three or

four master sculptors had

tried to work on this, it

was eventually discarded

and left in a yard for

25 years as something for

kind of amateurs to

practice on.

And then one day

Michelangelo finds this

piece of marble and

says, I will try and

bring something out of

it.

And he does.

And he carves the

greatest sculpture the

world has ever seen,

right?

It's still standing today

hundreds of years later.

What an amazing picture

of the stone that is

rejected and despised and

yet something remarkable

has come out of it.

And that's the imagery

that Peter is quoting

out of Psalm 118.

He's saying, Jesus is

like the stone that

you, the authorities,

you rejected, you

despised him, you

thought he's nothing

worthwhile, he's a

trouble causer, and you

try to get rid of him.

You try to kill him and

then throw him in the

yard.

But this rejected piece

of stone has become

the cornerstone, the

foundation stone upon

which God is building

his kingdom.

This is Jesus.

He's the one that you

crucified.

You try to get rid of

him.

You think he's a

nothing and a nobody,

but nothing, nothing,

not the authorities,

nothing in this world

will stop God's plans

and purposes.

For this despised and

rejected stone is the

foundation upon which

God's entire kingdom is

going to be built.

And then look at what

Peter does.

He says the same thing

in verse 25.

These guys are arrested

and they are then

released and they go

back to their friends

and they pray and they

quote Psalm 2.

And Psalm 2 is this

amazing Psalm about the

fact that God is a king

that he's going to anoint

and put on the throne.

But the nations around

him don't like this king.

They don't want him on

the throne.

And so they come together

and they have a

consultation about how

they can get rid of

this king.

Look at what Psalm 2

says.

Why did the Gentiles

rage and the people

plot in vain?

The kings of the earth

set themselves together.

The rulers gathered

together against the

Lord and against his

anointed.

This king that's going

to be on the throne,

the other kings gather

and say how can we get

rid of this king?

Well Psalm 2 goes on

to say he who sits in

the heavens laughs.

He laughs at the

futile intent.

So I was trying to

stop his son being

crowned king and Lord

of all.

The Lord is on the

throne.

He holds them in

derision.

Friends, this is Jesus.

And Peter says this is

who Jesus is.

He's the king.

He's despised.

He's rejected.

But he's the Lord who

will conquer and rule and

reign forever.

Ever and ever of

all opposition.

This was their

conviction.

That these apostles know

how the story is going

to end.

Yes, you killed Jesus,

but it didn't stop him.

And these apostles know

that nothing, that they

can arrest them, they

can persecute them, they

can terrorize them, they

can even take their

lives.

And that won't stop the

plans and purposes of

God.

That the gospel will go

out.

That Jesus will be

exalted.

That God is going to

bring about a new

creation where all evil

and wickedness will be

banished.

And those who know him

will be saved because

they've come to trust in

Jesus.

And they know how the

story ends.

And because of that

conviction, they have

immense power, immense

authority to stand up to

these leaders and say,

throw at us what you

will.

We will not back down

because you will die and

we will live forever and

ever and ever.

Friends, the compelling

power of faith and

conviction.

And in a sense, the

disciples know that what

happens to Jesus must

happen to them.

That for Jesus, the road

to glory is paved with

persecution and

opposition.

The cobblestones on the

way to glory are stones

of opposition and

persecution.

But the disciples know

that the same road that

Jesus walked is the same

road that they're going to

have to walk.

And since they're not

surprised, they say, you

did this to Jesus, you can

do it to us.

But we know where this

road ends.

It ends in glory.

Friends, where does your

ultimate hope lie?

To what have you pinned

your hopes, your confidence,

your joy, your security,

your peace?

Friends, how stable is that

hope?

Friends, what comes out of

us when that hope is

threatened?

When our security is

challenged?

When our authority is

challenged?

How do we respond when

somebody threatens our joy,

our peace, our security?

Are we like the religious

leaders, full of anger,

full of threats, full of

fear?

Or has the compelling power

of Jesus Christ in the

gospel produced a

confidence, a faith, a joy

in our hearts?

You know, towards the end

of Peter's life, when he's

an old man, he writes these

two letters to the church.

And in his first letter in

the New Testament, it's

just called the letter of

one Peter.

But he's an older man now

and he writes to these

Christians that are really

suffering.

They're going through a

very, very difficult time.

And he writes them and he

says, he reminds them that

because of the resurrection

of Jesus, they have been

baptized or immersed into

what he calls a living hope.

Such a great description.

It's not a vague hope that's

somewhere down there.

It's not a dead hope.

It's a living hope.

I hope that he says, cannot

perish, spoil, or fade.

I hope that it's kept rock

solid secure in heaven for

you.

It's like the picture of the

Swiss bank vaults, right?

Nobody's going to touch

them.

He says, your hope is like

those Swiss bank vaults, but

it's kept in heaven.

Nobody's going to touch it.

And then he says, now you're

going through suffering and

your suffering is like a

refiner's fire.

It's taking your faith and

it's refining it like gold in

the furnace.

But this suffering, because of

your hope in heaven is going

to lead to praise and glory

and inexpressible joy.

Oh my goodness.

Inexpressible joy in the

midst of suffering.

Where do you find that?

Peter says, because of your

hope in the resurrection of

Jesus.

Inexpressible joy, compelling

power of faith in the

resurrection of Jesus.

Friends, if you're a follower

of Jesus, you have every reason

for great confidence, great

remarkable peace, even joy, even

in the midst of suffering.

For the God who called you, who

gave you his spirit, who we've

come to worship this morning, is

not dead, but he's alive.

And he's sovereign over

everything and everyone.

And he will be victorious in the

end, no matter what the world

throws at him, no matter what the

world throws at you.

So, what should we do?

You know, friends, this week,

something is going to happen

that's going to cause fear and

anxiety in each one of our

hearts.

Each one of us this week are

going to face something that's

going to make us a heart rate

rise, right?

Something is going to cause us to

feel slightly threatened.

How should we respond?

Maybe you get a bad medical

report.

Maybe something happens at work.

Maybe it's the headlines or you

get a phone call from a family

member.

Something's going to challenge us

this week.

How do we respond?

Well, lastly, how do we grow in

faith?

In this passage, we see something

that Peter and the apostles do

that really helps us.

Something very practical that

helps us grow in faith.

On the surface, it looks like

they pray.

They turn to God in prayer.

And that is a good thing, right?

We should all pray.

But every Christian knows we

should grow in prayer.

Yes, yes, I know.

I should pray more.

You should pray more.

We know that.

But in this passage, there's

something very particular that

the apostles do that if you've

taken any of the CCF courses or

you're familiar with Paul Tripp's

writings or David Powlison, you

should notice something that they

do here, right?

David Powlison was an amazing,

amazing Christian counselor.

And one of the things that he says

is when the heat of life comes,

when life really heats up, when the

stuff of life comes to us, there's a

question that we all need to ask

ourselves.

I mean, there's a couple of

questions.

One of the questions is why is my

heart responding the way it is?

Why am I feeling the way I am?

But there's one question in

particular that's very, very

important.

And the question is this.

Who is God?

And in particular, who is God as it

relates to this situation I'm

facing, right?

I'm feeling unloved.

Who is God?

God is the one who promises his

love will never cease, never fail.

I'm feeling, I'm feeling, what else

do we feel?

I'm feeling like uncertain about the

future.

Who is God?

He's the one who knows all things

and omniscient about every single

thing, all the features in his

hands.

When the heat of life gets turned up,

we must ask ourselves the question,

who is God as it relates to the fear,

the anxiety, the worry, the sadness,

the joy, the hope.

Who is God as it relates to what I'm

going through?

Well, look at what the apostles do

here in verse 23.

Look at how they tell themselves who

God is.

How they answer this question.

Verse 23 says this,

When they were released, they went to

their friends and reported what the

chief priests and the elders had said

to them.

And when they heard it, they lifted up

their voices to God and said,

Sovereign Lord, you who made the

heaven and the earth and the sea and

everything in it.

And then they quote Psalm 2 about the

nations raging and God being sovereign

over everything.

It says,

They were filled with the spirit and they

continued to speak the word of God with

all boldness.

Two things to know about this prayer.

Firstly, nowhere do the prayers,

nowhere do the disciples pray for an easy

time.

Nowhere do they pray and say, God, please

just take it away.

Just make it easy.

Just make our path smooth and play it

sailing.

They never ask for an easy time.

But secondly, look what they do do.

They answer the question, who is God?

And who is he?

Look at what they pray.

He is the sovereign Lord.

That means the one who is in total control

of everything, of everyone.

He's control of Pontius Pilate.

He was in control of Herod.

He is in control of Judas Iscariot.

He's control of the authorities now.

He's control of the elders and the leaders

that are arresting these guys and

threatening them and trying to intimidate

them.

He is Lord of everyone, including your

boss and your colleague and your

neighbor and your parents and your

children.

He is Lord of everyone.

The sovereign Lord of everything.

He's not only Lord of everyone.

He's Lord of everything.

Everything in all of history.

Every atom that moves God is sovereign

Lord over every minute thing in the

history of the world.

Look at what he says here, including

the death of Jesus upon the cross and

the glorious resurrection of Jesus

from the grave.

Friends, who is God?

He's the one who's in total control of

everyone and everything.

Friends, what is our only hope in life

and death?

That the risen Christ alone, who lived

and died and rose again, is King and

Lord over everyone and everything.

See friends, what the apostles do here is

they have this deep conviction and they

remind themselves of this conviction in

prayer that this is who God is.

And because this is who God is, it gives

them incredible power to face the

difficulties that they are facing, to

stare them down, to walk through the

trials and the storms with immense

courage and confidence and boldness.

Friends, it's not the naturally bold or the

courageous or the extroverted who discover

this confidence.

It's those who irrespective of their

personality type and know who God is

and know how to remind themselves of who

God is in prayer and worship and know

how to find their confidence in him.

Friends, this week, as we said, you and I

are going to face a challenge.

No doubt about it.

We're all going to be confronted with real

fears.

How are we going to respond?

Are you going to be controlled by the

crippling power of fear and anxiety?

Are you going to be enabled by the power of

faith and confidence in God?

Will we come to Jesus and remind ourselves

of the gospel, remind ourselves of who he

is and turn to him in prayer and trust that

he who died and rose again is with us and

that our faith is in him.

Why don't we do that as we come to him now

in prayer?

Let's pray together.

Oh, sovereign Lord, the one who is Lord of

all, who made heaven and earth, the sea and

everything in it.

You, Lord God, are king over everything and

everyone.

And God, because you're king, we bow down and we

surrender our lives to you.

We don't want to be like the religious leaders

who buckle and resist your authority.

We want to receive you as king and Lord.

Help us to do that now, I pray.

God, help us this week in the midst of trials

and challenges and difficulties.

Please give us your Holy Spirit.

Help us to live full of faith and confidence.

Lord, we need your spirit.

We need you.

We need the sovereign God.

And so I pray, God, give us your spirit and

help us to walk in faith and confidence in you,

not in ourselves.

In your great name we pray.

Amen.