The Jesus Church: Finding the Church of Jesus in the Book of Acts | Donovan Rillion | The Bold Church

So like I said, I was out of town this week,

and I was blessed to spend the last couple days

in California at Pepperdine University for their

Bible lectures. And while I was there, I spent

a lot of time in classes, listening to some amazing

lessons and worshiping with, like I said, hundreds,

there's probably over a thousand Christians,

and it was this awesome time. But in this time

there, There was this like overall theme that

I felt from these teachers, from the worship

leaders and from the leaders of this event. And

it was the idea that we have to depend on God.

that we need God in order to fulfill the mission.

In fact, we sang this song, and it's called Same

God, and it says, I'm calling on the God of Jacob,

and I'm calling on the God of Moses. I'm calling

on the God of Mary. I'm calling on the God of

the Bible, of the Old Testament, the New Testament,

throughout history, who has been with people,

who has been faithful so that his mission could

be fulfilled in this world over and over and

over again. And I'm calling on that same God.

And it was this idea that we can't do what God

has called us to do without his power. And on

the last night of the lectures, I'm sitting in

my dorm and I had my window open and I'm just

listening to the waves and I'm looking out over,

it's dark, but I can see the lights in the mountain

and kind of see the beach a little bit. And I

just started praying. And I'm praying and I'm

praying and I'm praying. And I didn't do this

on purpose, but thankfully, I'm really glad it

worked out this way. After I finished praying,

I felt like I needed to rewrite my sermon. The

sermon had been written, but Thursday night,

for some reason at midnight, I just decided I

need to say something else. And I'm going to

call it a spirit moment. Eliza might call it

my ADHD. I don't know. But either way, you're

getting a different sermon than what was planned.

But I think it's something that we need a little

bit more than what I had planned on saying. See,

we're in the beginning of this sermon series

called The Jesus Church, where we're looking

to find the way that the church of Jesus in the

book of Acts. And if you're not familiar with

the book of Acts, it's this powerful book, this

recorded history of the chronicles of the first

century church, of what the church of Jesus Christ

looked like in the first century. The people

that were closest to Jesus, what they did, how

they lived, how they operated in the world. And

I've been saying how excited I am for this series.

And I'm really excited because I think it reminds

us of our heritage. See, while I was at the lectures,

they showed this video of the last 50 years of

the Bible lectures there because they had been

in this one location at the Firestone Fieldhouse

on their campus. And for 50 years, the lectures

have been in that building. And they had people

that used to like take their RVs from across

the country and they'd camp out there. And those

same people, when they were like little kids,

are still going to these lectures today and now

they're old. And it was this really cool thing

of their heritage. And it reminds me that we

have a heritage, that our church, this church

here that sits here today has a heritage. Now,

this church was built maybe in the 70s or I can't

remember the history, but the Church of Christ,

it goes way back. And the church in this world

goes way back to that first century church. And

so I want us to remember our heritage as a community

of people that were empowered by the Holy Spirit

to do something remarkable, something that could

not be explained by earthly measures. Our heritage

as a community of people who lived life on a

mission for Jesus. Our heritage as a community

that lived to bring the kingdom of God to earth.

That's our heritage. That's where we come from.

It's not a part of this just like fading moment.

It's not this thing that's just drifting through.

We have a long standing heritage and it's a heritage

of boldness. It's a heritage of boldness that

looked death and looked harm in the face and

said, do what you need to do and we will do our

best as well. It was a boldness that said, we're

going to keep speaking Jesus. We're going to

keep proclaiming the gospel regardless of what

it costs us, regardless of what we have to sacrifice,

regardless of where we have to go, what we have

to do, who we have to be, and what we have to

say. We are going to boldly proclaim the name

of Jesus. And I believe that to be true because

that's what I find in the book of Acts. specifically

in Acts chapters three and four. In chapter three,

we see these two disciples, Peter and John, they're

going to the temple. They're on their way to

pray. This was a daily rhythm in the scripture.

It says it was the hour of prayer. And so they're

going to the temple to pray. But this time they

happen upon a paralyzed man and he's sitting

at this gate, but they don't have money. He's

begging and they don't have anything to give

him. What they do have though, is the ability

to offer this man healing. He's been paralyzed

since birth, but they are willing, they're able

to give him healing. They're able to help him

walk again or walk for the first time. And so

they heal the man. He gets up and he doesn't

just walk. He jumps up, he celebrates and he's

shouting these praises and he's standing for

the first time in his life. And all these people

around, they notice and they see this because

how could you not? And what happens then is this

doesn't just catch the attention of the crowd.

This catches the attention of the religious leaders.

And they have now caught the disciples of Jesus

healing someone. And they don't like this. Remember,

these are the same people that just killed Jesus

a few months ago. And so they don't want to know.

They don't want to see. And they don't want other

people to see that Jesus' followers are doing

the same things that Jesus was doing. And so

they arrest Peter and John. They take them to

this trial. before these religious elites known

as the Sanhedrin. And this is what we see happen

in Acts chapter 4, verses 7 through 12. If it's

Acts 4:7–12

underlined, I'd love for you to read with us.

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. Do you see what just

happened there? I want you to remember that these

aren't just random guys questioning Peter and

John. Peter says it himself that these are the

men that killed Jesus. These are the men that

killed their rabbi. These are the men that they

had a motive to make sure that nobody believed

in the power of this Jesus, that nobody believed

in the divinity of this Jesus, and that nobody

believed the message that Jesus' followers were

preaching. But Peter and John, they don't care.

They don't shy away from the message that they

have come to proclaim. Why? Because the Holy

Spirit filled them. The Holy Spirit gave them,

I want you to say this with me, boldness. Okay,

that wasn't very bold. So we're going to say

that again. The Holy Spirit filled them with?

Boldness. And I think that's so key to the message

today and so key to the church because we need

a boldness, not just a boldness that sings praises

loudly in here, but a boldness that is noticeable

to the world, a boldness that is noticeable to

our enemies. I love the song, Raise a Hallelujah.

I'm going to sing in the middle of the storm,

louder and louder, I'm going to let my praises

roar. I don't care what enemy hears me proclaim

the good news. I don't care where I'm at. I don't

care what you think. I don't care what it may

bring. I'm going to proclaim the gospel with

boldness. Because boldness is noticeable. It

catches attention. In fact, in my sermon notes,

I have in bold print the things I really need

to see. Because if I'm just like glancing at

my computer, I can see some of the notes, but

when I see them in bold, I know that's something

that needs to be paid attention to. And when

the gospel of Christ is proclaimed with boldness,

when it's lived out in a bold way, the world

has no choice but to pay attention to it. And

what we see in this instance here is something

so noticeable. In fact, the story goes on to

say that the religious leaders, they saw the

boldness of Peter and John. And not only did

they see it, but I want you to look at what happens

in verse 13. It says, when they saw the boldness

of Peter and John and perceived that they were

uneducated common men, basically they just called

them stupid, right? When they saw that they were

uneducated common men, they were astonished and

they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

They spoke. They acted in a way that when the

religious leaders who wanted to deny the divinity

of Jesus, when they saw them, when they heard

them, they had no choice but to say, these men,

they've got a glow. They've got an aura about

them that says they have been with the divine.

Last week, I read a quote to you from the spy

that reported back to Nero. And that spy... said,

surely there is something divine among these

people. What I mean by that and what the spy

meant and what the scripture means is that when

people saw the first century church, they saw

people that had a glow like they had just been

in the presence of God. And I asked the question

last week, I ask it again today, and I'm going

to keep asking it. When the world outside sees

us, when they see you, do they see someone? Do

they see a people that have a glow like they

have been in the presence of Jesus? These religious

leaders were astonished. They recognized that

these men had been with Jesus. I want you to

imagine facing persecution. Having your life

on the line and you behave in such a way that

the persecutor is amazed by your actions. That

you live so radically different than the average

person would in this moment that they look at

you and they say, this person has been with God.

That's a compliment. And the story goes on to

tell us that the council decided to let Peter

and John go. But it seems that they're doing

this in a way that... It's more for Peter and

John to go back and to tell their little friends

to be quiet about this Jesus thing. They're being

let go kind of as a, hey, go send the message

that we mean business. You know, like in the

mob movies where the enforcer might break a guy's

knees to make sure he goes and tells his little

friends, hey, the mob is not to be messed with.

That's what happens here. These leaders, they

let Peter and John go so that they can go warn

their friends. But I want you to see that Peter

and John, they're not concerned with these threats.

They don't care about these threats. In fact,

the way they respond is exactly how we said earlier.

It was with... It was with boldness. They respond

with boldness, which is why they're able to say

this in verses 19 and 20. 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. In other words,

we can't help but tell people about the miracles.

We can't help but tell people about his teachings.

We can't help but tell people about this radical

love that he showed, not just in the way that

he walked and encountered people, not just in

the way that he talked with people, not just

in the way that he taught people, but in the

way he died. on a cross for sinful men. And the

way Peter says it, it's for sinful men like you

that killed him. We can't help but speak of Jesus.

We can't help but show people the joy, the peace

that we feel because of the goodness of God.

We can't help but proclaim the resurrected Savior.

So threaten us all you want, but we will not

be quiet. We are going to sing. We are going

to shout. We are going to proclaim it from the

rooftops. We are going to keep healing. We're

going to keep changing communities because we

have sinned. seen. We have been with God. And

so they leave after being threatened some more

and saying, we're going to keep speaking Jesus.

And when they leave, they do exactly what I want

us to do this morning. They go to their church

family and they immediately pray for more what?

Notice they don't pray for safety. They don't

pray for Somebody within the church should be

put in a political position so that they can

keep proclaiming the gospel with freedom. They

don't pray that God would do harm to their enemies.

They don't pray that God would make it easy for

them. They don't pray for those things. What

they pray for is... Read Acts 4, 23 through 30

with me. When they were released, they went to

their friends and reported what the chief priests

and 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 in the people's 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 there were

gathered together against your holy servant Jesus,

whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate,

along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,

to do whatever your hand and your plan had 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. They had just had their

lives threatened. They had probably been told

all of these unspeakable things that would be

done to them if they didn't stop talking about

Jesus. And it wasn't hollow threats. Again, just

a few months ago, they saw their rabbi murdered.

They saw the rabbi not just murdered, but tortured,

spit on, beat, put a crown of thorns put on his

head, a spear driven into his side, nails driven

through his hands. They saw this happen. They

knew exactly what these men would do and could

do if they didn't stop speaking Jesus with boldness,

but they don't care. They just pray, God, would

you help us to look death in the face? and speak

Jesus? Would you help us to look our enemies

in the face and speak Jesus? And this wasn't

just about death. And it wasn't just about torture.

I mean, this was social outcast. They were losing

friends. They were losing family. They would

lose work. I mean, these people still had jobs,

but their jobs could be threatened. Their homes

could be threatened. Their lives, their livelihoods.

Their friendships, their families, everything

that they had, everything that they knew, and

everything that they loved could be taken away

from them. In fact, this is exactly what the

Hebrew writer is writing about in the book of

Hebrews. He's saying you've had your life damaged.

You've had your life destroyed. You've had everything

pillaged from you and taken from you, and you're

having your life threatened, but please don't

give up because there was a temptation to give

up. which is why they're praying, God, would

you make us bold so that we don't shrink back,

so that we don't cower down. They prayed for,

say it again, boldness. And it's not some solemn,

simple prayer. In verse 24, it says, they lifted

their voices together to God. Another way to

say that is they cried out together. They didn't

just say, God, would you give us boldness? Would

you help us to proclaim that? That wasn't it.

It was God. Would you help us to be unashamed?

Would you help us to be unafraid? Would you help

us to not care about this life? Would you help

us to not care about this world, but to care

only about you and speaking your goodness and

bringing people with us to your home? Would you

help us to give up ourselves? It was crying out.

It's like a baby crying out in the middle of

the night for their mama. Notice they're not

crying out for dad. They're crying out for mama.

And if you have multiple kids, this is why when

Easton and Peyton were little, we didn't have

them in rooms close together because if baby

starts crying out in the middle of the night,

guess who else is crying out in the middle of

the night? Older brother. And now you've got

these two voices crying out until somebody answers

their cry. And that's what I see in Acts. I see

a church, a community of people that were crying

out to God until he answered. And I love the

way God shows up and answers. I love what happens

here. I want you to read verse 31 with me. When

they had prayed, the place in which they were

gathered together was shaken, and they were all

filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to

speak the word of God with... Imagine, we're

praying, and we're pleading with God. God, my

wife's in danger. God, I've been struggling with

this diagnosis of cancer and I got to focus on

that. I don't have time. I don't have the mental

capacity to focus on bringing the gospel to others.

God, I'm struggling with finances and I've got

to work some extra shifts. I don't have time

to disciple this brother. God, I've been struggling

with my family. We're really dealing with some

things and so I don't have time. I don't have

the mental capacity. I don't have the energy.

My spirits are weak. I don't have the ability

to continue going to church right now. I just

need a break. But in all of this, God, would

you give me boldness so that I could set aside

the fear of the diagnosis? so that I can set

aside the anxiety of the financial stresses,

so that I can set aside the worries, so that

I can set aside all of the things that are trying

to distract me from the mission, that are trying

to distract me from the community, that are trying

to distract me from preaching, Jesus, God, would

you give me boldness so that I can keep going

in spite of all of that? And God shows up and

he shakes the very foundation of the ground you

stand on. He rocks your... You see, this lesson

was supposed to be about being a prayerful church.

The lesson title I had in my series outline was

the prayerful church. And in a sense, it still

is. But man, I just feel like our issue isn't

as much that we don't pray enough. When things

go bad, we're really quick to just, God, would

you help me? When things aren't going right,

we're really quick to throw up the prayer, and

that's great. I think our first resort should

always be prayer. But I think sometimes we pray

for the wrong things. We spend so much time,

and I'm not saying these are bad things, but

we spend so much time. God, pray for our nation.

Or we spend so much time saying, God, we pray

for our leaders. God, we pray for the poor and

needy. God, we pray for the widows and orphans.

God, we pray for the lost. God, we pray for the

blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And that's good.

We absolutely should pray for those things. But

more than that, I believe what we need to be

praying for is exactly what's on the screen,

exactly what we've been saying, exactly what

the church in Acts prayed for. It's boldness.

To live like Jesus, to speak like Jesus, to proclaim

the goodness of God. And do you know why I think

that? Because if God's church was bolder, this

nation could be great. If God's church was bolder,

this world could be great. If God's church was

bolder, the poor, the needy would never go without.

If God's church was bolder, the widows, the orphans,

the lost would have people to call family. If

God's church was bolder, all of the pain. All

of the sorrow, all of the sickness, all of the

hurt in this world could be mitigated. If God's

church was bolder, imagine what this world could

be. You see, I love the book of Acts. And I love

early church history because what it tells us

is that these people, these first Christians,

these people that had something divine among

them, Those people lived in such a way, they

spoke in such a way that changed the world. It

made people realize that the way that they were

living, the sinful, sick, twisted way they were

living wasn't good enough. It made people realize

that we need to give to the poor and needy. It

made people realize that we need to bring in

the outcasts. It made people realize that there

is no stranger in the church of Christ. It made

people realize that the kingdom of God is available

to everybody, even the least of these. And it

changed the world. And I'm not just like cliche

saying it changed, like it changed the world,

our hospitals. come from the church. Our orphanages

come from the church. Foster care came from the

church. Widow care came from the church. Welfare,

all of those things came from the church. The

best governments in the world came from the church.

Why? Because the way of God is so much better

than the way of the world. But the way of God

cannot take over if we act like we're afraid

of things, if we act like we're timid, for God

has not given us a spirit of fear. Sadly though,

I believe we, for far too long, individually

and collectively, have been too self -centered

to fulfill the mission. I've shared the illustration

before of the small boat rescue station that

started out with a mission of saving wrecked

ships out on the sea. And they'd go out and they'd

save the ships and they'd bring them back. the

crew members, not the ships. They'd bring the

crew members back and they'd bring them to their

rescue station. They'd heal them up. They'd feed

them and they'd clothe them. And then what would

happen is because these people, they're from

wherever and they're stranded here, they would

join the small boat rescue station. And then

the next time there's a distress signal out on

the water, they would go out and they would save

those people and they bring them back in this

cycle repeated. And they had like this fleet,

like a Coast Guard of people that could go out

and save wrecked ships anytime, any day, in any

weather. But over time, they started to fix up

the rescue station because it had some nasty

carpet and had some raggedy chairs and it needed

some fixing up. And so they did that. They made

it look real nice and it was real pretty and

it grew and it grew and it grew. And over time,

the distress signals would go up. But man, it's

really bad weather out there. If we go out there,

we might die. And if we die, then who's going

to take care of this and who's going to do the

saving? But they'd go and they'd save people.

But, you know, they were like, maybe we'll bring

like a small boat. We can put them on the small

boat and launch them off so they can go back

on their way. And then they'd go back and they'd

do their thing. And then the next, you know,

next time the distress signals would go up and

it's, ah, man, the weather's bad and the food

here, like we just, somebody just cooked up this

really good food. We got to stay. Oh, and we've

got a seminar. We've got to train, right? Because

if something were to happen and we needed to

go save these people, we need to know how. We

need to be equipped. And so they would do this.

And all of this training and taking care of each

other, and they had a really good community going

on, but the stress signals were going up in the

water, and nobody was going to save anybody because

of fear of what might happen. Fear that I might

have to give up something in my own life. Fear

that I would be uncomfortable. Fear that I would

have to go and do. And fear that if we bring

them back, maybe they'll, you know, we really

don't want those kind of people in our rescue

crew. When I say self -centered, what I mean

is we're too afraid of what might happen to us.

We're too afraid. of what we might have to give

up. And I mean this honestly. Fear is a symptom.

It's just a symptom of believing that my physical

life is more important than a lost soul. God,

if I do that, I got to give up my friends. And

I like my friends. They make me happy. God, if

I do that, I've got to give up where I live.

And I like where I live. It's not too hot. It's

not too cold. God, if I do that, I've got to

give up some of the things that I like to have.

God, if I do that, I've got to take time away

from... God, if I do that, and it's just all

of these things about what I might have to give

up, not considering the fact that this life is

temporary, but that person perishing in hell

is eternal. Are my 100 years in this life...

If I get that, I got like 50. If my few years

of life on this earth, are they more important

than that person's soul in eternity? I just,

I think that's what we need. We need a boldness

that says, I'm not going to be self -centered.

I'm not going to be fearful. I'm not going to

walk in a way that says, what if? I'm just going

to say, God, even if. I'm going to proclaim the

goodness. So today I want us to pray for boldness.

I want us to be in constant prayer that the Holy

Spirit would fill us with a confidence in Christ

that would allow us to fulfill the mission. And

I want us to pray this with expectation that

God will show up because I do believe that the

same God that showed up For Moses, the same God

that showed up for Jesus, the same God that showed

up for the disciples, the same God that we read

of shaking the ground and acts for that same

God can move in power right now. I believe that.

So today I don't want us to just pray more. I

want us to pray more for the right things and

I want us to pray it boldly. So I want us to

pray. like people who actually believe that God

will show up and pray like people who know what's

at stake. I'm not saying we pretend that the

fears of this world aren't real. I'm just saying

we live in a way that says, I don't care. And

I want us to pray like a people who have been

with Jesus. So let's pray. Father God. The same

God that defeated nations and armies. The same

God that flooded an entire earth. The same God

that created the entire universe. That same God

that has been with his people, that has been

fighting for his people. God, we are praying

to you. And we are praying to you that your church

would wake up. that your spirit would fill us

with a boldness, that your spirit would fill

us with a need to live and speak in a way that

cannot be denied that we have been with Jesus.

God, we are praying for your spirit to come and

shake this room. And although we know that it

may not be a physical shaking, although God,

I believe you can do it. Although we know that

we may not just get up and start shouting in

exclamations and God, we know that it may not

look like it did in Acts. God, I do believe that

you still are the same God that moved in power

then. And so God, we are praying that you would

wake your children up to speak boldly. to live

boldly, to stop worrying about ourselves, to

stop worrying about this life. And God, we're

not discounting the dangers. We're not discounting

the troubles. We're not discounting the suffering.

We're not discounting any of that. But God, what

we're saying is even if whatever comes, whatever

we have to give up, God, we want to speak your

good news boldly. We want to live good news boldly.

because, God, there is a world of people out

there suffering. There are people out there that

are struggling, that are hurting, that are in

need of hope. There are people out there, God,

that are in need of family. There are people

out there that are in need of your cleansing

power. There are people struggling with addictions,

that are struggling with loss, that are struggling

with grief, that are struggling with abuse, that

are struggling with being in need of all kinds

of things. And God, I don't want us to be a people

that just sit on our hands. So God, we pray that

you would move in your church. that you would

fill us, that you would stir us. God, would you

help us to raise our sails? And would your spirit

push us to the least of these? Would your spirit

push us to the lost, to the hurt? And may we

rescue them with your good news and bring them

in. so that they too can be a part of this good

news, life -saving, God -given mission. God,

we know you are the same God that you have always

been, and that God is a promise keeper, that

God is a way maker. And so, God, would you move

in power in your people today? We pray this in

the name of Jesus, and we believe with expectation

because of the power of the Spirit. that you

will do a mighty work in and through your people.

It is in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Now maybe

you're here today and you realize that you've

been living in fear. And I want to make sure

that you understand the reason Christians, the

reason the church has been able to look fear

in the face. The reason Christians have been

able to look diagnosis in the face, the reason

Christians have been able to look death in the

face, the reason Christians have been able to

look loss in the face for all of these centuries

is because the church has been founded on the

truth that God is greater than all of it. And

the church has been formed with the truth that

this is just supposed to be a glimpse. of our

eternal destination. And so whatever comes in

this life, we know our God is greater and what

he has in store for us is greater. And so if

you need to be reassured or if you need people

to walk alongside you and prop you up because

you can't feel that right now and you don't really

believe that right now, but you believe that

there are people that can help you along the

way. We want to pray for you. We want to lay

hands on you and pray over you and be in prayer

with you and walk with you. If you're struggling

with life and where you're at, we want to walk

with you. And if you're ready to give your life

to Jesus, if you're ready to make the boldest

statement of all by burying your life in the

watery grave of baptism and rising again to new

life to say, I am giving everything I am to Jesus.

If you're ready to make that proclamation. We

want to be there with you. We want to help you

with that, wherever you are today. I know we've

been sitting here for a long time. We're about

to stand, and we're going to proclaim the goodness

of God. We're going to sing a song of invitation,

and I don't want you to let this moment pass

by. I don't want you to listen to this invitation

and just go. Wherever you are, whatever you need,

let us pray boldly over you, with you today,

whatever it is you need.