Future Church: Power + Persecution | Part 3

Welcome to the Awakening Church podcast.

We pray this message encourages you and provides the hope and light of Jesus Christ.

Thanks for tuning in.

Welcome to Awakening Church.

My name's Ryan.

We're so glad to have you join us today.

And we're in this series, we're in part three of what we're calling Future Church.

We've been wrestling with this question as we emerge out of our COVID realities and worlds.

What is the future of the church?

Or maybe a better question, how do we return to God's design for his church?

What does it look like for us to be God's church the way he originally intended it?

And so we said to answer that question, we actually are going back to the very beginning to how the church began.

We're studying the book of Acts and how the church began to really discover what it means for us today to be the church.

And here's what we said, at least about the church.

We said that the church is the spirit-empowered community of Jesus on mission to invite the entire world into new life in the kingdom of God.

That's what we are as believers in Christ.

The church isn't a building, the church isn't a place, the church isn't a gathering, though we gather.

The church is the spirit-empowered community of Jesus.

It's all about him, it's all because of him, it's all for him.

And we are on mission or on purpose to invite the entire world into a new life, into the kingdom of God.

And really, how do you do that?

What does that look like practically?

Maybe said, another way is how do we be a church with lasting impact?

How do we actually have an impact in our city, in our community, in the lives of those around us?

Like, what does that look like?

Or maybe personally, how do you live a life of eternal significance?

Like your life, when you look back on it, it has meaning.

And you go, like, what the what I gave my life to had the weight of eternity to it.

How do we be a part of something like that?

Well, last week we left off with the arrival of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the church, and this new community formed.

And today, uh Luke, the writer of Acts, now begins to zoom in on Peter and on John and on really what is an ordinary day that turns into an extraordinary moment of impact.

Peter and John, they're in Jerusalem, uh, it's where the church began, and uh they're pastoring and ministering to the believers, about 3,000 strong at the time, and they're doing what they do on a daily routine.

Uh, a good Jewish person or devout Jew would actually take three times a day to pray um in the morning and afternoon and the evening.

And and for them, if you're in Jerusalem, you do that at the temple.

And so it's around 3 p.m.

and they're on their way to pray.

This is what they do.

This is just a part of normal life.

And on their way in front of the temple gate, it's this gate called beautiful because it's this magnificent, beautiful, huge 75-foot archway with this incredible bronze covering.

It's just magnificent.

As they're walking here, there is this beggar, beggar by the side, looking, calling.

Now he was strategically placed.

He's a not only just a beggar, but he's lame.

He had to be carried there.

And he's strategically placed because in Judaism, one of the, you know, great practices was giving to the poor.

And so he was right at the temple when people would be thinking about this practice and asking, you know, hey, could you spare some change?

Hey, could you could you help me out?

And day after day, this man had been there, you know, lame for 40 years.

He's been begging in this temple for a long time.

He was a known person and he's begging.

He's asking.

And then um Peter hears him and he looks at the man and he says, Look at me, which is amazing because I think so often we don't want to look at you know, those that are hurting or those that, you know, just make us feel uncomfortable.

He says, Look at me, and he's taking them in.

And what I love is that uh Peter and John had eyes to see those God had put along their path.

They're on the way to pray, but this man's calling out for help, and he says, Hey, look at me, and the man looks up at him and listen to what Peter says.

He says, Then silver and gold I don't have, but what I do have, I give to you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Walk.

And then taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong.

It was one of those full miracles where he was now, he was never walking before, and now the muscles are fully brought back into function.

And he's walking and he's jumping around and he's so excited, and they begin to walk into the temple together.

Think about this.

This is something this man had never done before in his entire life, ever walked or gone into the temple area, and he walked with Peter and he's praising God and he's holding on to them.

You see, Peter and John had eyes to see those that God put along his path.

You know what's interesting?

This miracle, this incredible moment.

This miracle moment happened in the middle of a mundane moment in life, an everyday moment in life.

Peter and John weren't hosting a revival, you know, uh service.

It wasn't some big extraordinary moment.

They were just going about their daily routine and they had an awareness.

They saw someone calling out for help, and then they responded in that moment to him, and God showed up.

You see, I think we miss miracle moments all the time in our lives.

I think we miss miracle moments because we're distracted.

You're you're ever at the store or maybe ever, you know, walking about and and you're on your phone the entire time.

How many times are we walking around with our heads down and we don't ever see the people that God put along our path?

I think we miss our miracle moments because we're busy.

My wife and I have talked about this.

We're like, how is it that we're still so incredibly busy?

So much of our life has been cut out.

We're not taking kids to sports and all sorts of things, and yet life's full, and we're not stopping to see others around them.

I think we miss some of the miracle moments in our lives because we're focused on what we do not have.

I love that line, by the way.

Silver and gold, we do not have, but what we do have, we miss out because we're like, I don't, you know what, I don't, I don't have enough.

I I don't I don't even know how what I would do in this.

It feels impossible and feels overwhelming.

And we're focused on what we don't have.

And Jesus says, just bring what you do have.

And by the way, 1 Peter 1 3 says this about you and about me, about what we do have.

It says his divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who's called us by his own glory and goodness, his divine power.

You have everything you need.

Miracle moments often happen in the mundane moments of life.

And we need and we have to be aware.

See, a life of eternal significance, uh, a church of lasting impact simply loves those along their path in the name of Jesus.

Peter, John, they had eyes for this man that everyone else passed by.

And they were on their way to pray, and they stopped and they met him right where he was at.

Well, as they headed into the temple court, as you can imagine, a crowd gathered.

I mean, uh, this man's leaping up and down, and people are recognizing him.

They've they've seen him, they've seen him day after day, uh, you know, begging, and all of a sudden he's walking.

Legs that were atrophied are now developed, and he's jumping.

And the text literally says that he's hanging on to Peter.

Uh, and just, I mean, you can only imagine the joy and what they um this man must have felt.

And and the crowd's amazed, and they're they're leaning in, they're looking at Peter and John and going, like, okay, who are you?

You're amazing, you're incredible.

We want to know who you are, what's going on.

And here's what's amazing Peter and John shifted the focus off of themselves and on to Jesus.

They shifted the focus off of themselves and on to Jesus.

They had a crowd crammering around them, wanting to know who they were.

And the first thing Peter does is he goes, guys, what do you why are you talking to us about like acting like we're somehow so godly that we could perform this miracle?

Come on.

And then he does what Peter does so often.

He seizes the opportunity to share about Jesus.

And he begins to tell the gospel just like he did last week and sharing, sharing about this salvation through Jesus alone.

And he's like, it's not about us, it's all about Jesus.

And in fact, as he's sharing the gospel, he he says this you killed the author of life.

Well, that's a little intense, uh, but it was true.

But God raised him from the dead.

What an incredible line! And he's saying, We're witnesses of this, we've seen this, and then he's gonna explain how this miracle happened.

By faith, how in the name of Jesus, this man who you see and know was made strong.

It is Jesus' name, and faith that comes through him that has completely healed him.

You all can see this.

Peter and John shifted the focus off of themselves and onto Jesus, off of themselves and onto Jesus, off of themselves.

I don't know about you, but I think COVID is just been one of those seasons where it's so easy for the focus to get up to be on to ourselves.

It's life's hard, I'm anxious, I'm tired, I don't I don't know what, and it's it's about me.

And he's like, get your focus off of yourself and on to Jesus.

The point of life, think about this.

The point of life is to point people to Jesus, the author of life.

Like for us, for you.

Like the weight of eternity to live in a out of a life of impact is simply to point people to Jesus.

It's that simple.

It's like my life.

It's simply how can I point you to Jesus?

The author of life, the one who gave me life.

You see, when people see, if you're a believer, when people see your compassion in the face of what's perceived of the other's cruelty, when people see your love in the face of hate, when people see your your gentleness in in the face of hardship and your perseverance in the face of difficulty, your joy.

Who gets the credit?

Who gets the glory?

You see, Peter took this moment when everybody else was looking at him and going, Wow, and he said, No, no, no, let me tell you about wow.

Wow, isn't here, wow, is your heavenly father who sent his only son, Jesus, and it's by Jesus that this man was saved.

It's like John the Baptist uh how he said it about Jesus.

He must increase and I must decrease.

And life works fast, not when you are the main point, but when Christ is the point that you're pointing everybody else to.

You know, I was thinking about it this way: it's like a website.

You ever had one of those like websites that you click on and then it redirects you to another site?

You know what I mean?

Like you click on it and then it takes you to a new page.

Like that's what we're supposed to be.

That's how we're designed.

Like that brings meaning and purpose in life.

That's that's who we're called to be.

Like, like my website might be Ryan Ingram.whatever, but when you click on Ryan Ingram, it should take you directly to Jesus, Savior.

Maybe the website says dad or mom or coach or employee or coworker or employer.

And when they click on that website, when they click on the website of your life, it just takes them straight to Jesus.

Does your life, does your life point people to Jesus?

See a life of eternal significance, lasting impact, just loves those along the path.

And then it points people to Jesus.

Well, Peter gave this sermon, and it says the total number of believers now was about 5,000.

A lot of people uh believed in that moment, and they saw the healed man, and people are celebrating, but not everybody was celebrating.

Not everybody was really happy about this.

In fact, there were some people that were not happy at all.

And here's what's incredible is in the midst of a miracle moment, in the midst of like this wow, and everybody's celebrating, Peter and John immediately experienced opposition.

Like, can you?

I mean, they're celebrating, it's cool, and there's people like coming to Christ and whoo! And then boom, they get hit with opposition.

Look at what the text says right at the beginning of Acts chapter four.

It says, the priest and the captain of the temple guard, the captains like the second in command to the high priest and the Sadducees.

Well, the Sadducees were an elite group of ruling religious people in Judaism.

There's only a few of them, but they were incredibly powerful.

They actually, you know, cuddled up with Rome, and uh, and so they were interested in keeping their own power.

And they had this belief, by the way, the Sadducees.

Uh, they had the belief that there was no resurrection from the dead.

And so they were sad, you see.

Bad pastor joke right there.

But they came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the temple.

They were greatly disturbed.

Why?

Because the apostles were teaching people, proclaiming in Jesus what?

The resurrection of the dead.

And so they seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day.

And so they go from this incredible high to being put in a jail and waiting and wondering what's going to happen next.

And friends, if you're really gonna follow Jesus, if you really want to live a life of significance and impact, you're gonna face opposition.

You will.

You and I will face opposition.

In fact, Jesus didn't come to make your life or my life comfortable, but to make it meaningful.

And we retreat to comfort as a value or safety.

In fact, safety is not a biblical value.

There's nothing wrong with being safe, by the way.

But it has become an American idol.

See, there's nothing wrong with being safe.

Safe is a good thing, but when it becomes an ultimate thing, and that is what it has become in America, and it has been uh even more so through this pandemic, when safety becomes an idol, uh it or expressed as an ultimate value, fear then becomes the operating system of our lives.

I can't do anything until it's 100% safe.

I can't do this.

Nothing is 100% safe, and we live in this fear because we can't control everything around us.

And our desire for comfort and safety causes us to retreat from meaning and purpose and significance.

Following Jesus is not safe, friends.

It's not, it is very best, it's filled with adventure, and you see God work, but it isn't safe.

That's why uh the apostle Paul in uh 1 Timothy 1 7 said it this way: uh, for God did not give us a spirit of fear or timidity, but a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.

Like when I see fear beginning to operate in my life, I have to go, okay, why am I afraid?

Where is that coming from?

And there's some legitimate fears, so I'm not saying that, but a lot of times our fear builds upon itself and we become afraid of things, uh, or afraid of fear itself.

Fear paralyzes us, faith propels us.

In a life of significance, a church of impact, it expects opposition.

Expects that as we as we step out and do what God calls us to do, it there's gonna be some people that go, Man, I'm out to get you.

And this is why Jesus would say, and I said it last week in our in-person service, in this world, you'll have trouble.

But take heart.

I have overcome the world.

So, whatever trouble the world can bring you, Jesus has already overcome the world.

And so, since he is overcoming the world, we can have confidence to move forward.

See a church of impact, a life of significance.

It simply loves those along your path, points people to Jesus.

It does, it does, however, expect opposition.

It knows that not everybody's gonna love what you're doing.

Well, Peter and uh John, they they spent the night in jail, and the next day they're brought before the Sanhedrin.

Now, the Sanhedrin, it's like the Jewish Supreme Court.

It's mainly made up of Sadducees, some Pharisees, and they and they're coming before this Sanhedrin.

Now, I want you to realize this is the same group that tried Jesus and sentenced him to death, and they sent him to Rome to have him executed.

This is the same group that when Peter, you know, uh walked uh, you know, to follow Jesus as he was going to be tried before them.

Um he wasn't even, you know, courageous enough to step up into that moment.

He stood on the outskirts, and even a servant girl was asking, Aren't you one of the ones who was with Jesus?

And he denied them.

This is this moment.

And in this moment, Peter and John responded with unflinching boldness for Jesus.

It says the text says, and Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, began to declare the gospel.

Peter, he steps up into this moment.

I mean, you can only imagine.

There's there's 70 Sanhedrin.

How intimidating of that?

And there's other people all around, and there's two, Peter and John, and they're standing there.

And then there's the man who was healed standing next to them.

And they're, you know, they're trying to begin to speak.

And Jesus promised, He promised them through this power of the Spirit, when you face moments like these, I'll give you words to say.

See, the deposit spirit of God in you will empower you, will enlighten you, will speak through you.

And so you don't have to worry about what to say.

You just step up into the moment and he'll give you words to say.

And Peter's like, you know what?

I've seen the resurrected Jesus.

I have experienced the power of the Spirit in my life.

I've already seen him bring thousands of people to Christ.

70 is no problem.

And he speaks boldly, knowing that his very life could hang in the balance.

And you know what he says as he's preaching the gospel?

Look how bold this is.

This is awesome.

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved other than Jesus.

Wow.

Peter steps into the moment.

Not by his power, not by his cleverness, but by the power of the Spirit of God.

And before we go on, I just want to make just a little highlight for you.

Because we hear this and I want about the gospel.

And I've been talking about the gospel the last few weeks.

The gospel, the good news of Jesus, it's inclusive, meaning it is an invitation for all people.

Anyone who would come and believe, all are welcome.

The gospel meets us where we are at.

It does not leave us where we're at, it transforms and changes our lives, and we become more and more like Christ.

The gospel is inclusive, it's for all people, but the gospel is also exclusive.

Only by Jesus can one be saved.

There are not many roads that lead to God.

It's Jesus and his name alone.

And for some, you're like, that's a hard word.

And I want to only say that because I want you to know him and experience life itself.

Well, the Sanhedrin, when they saw Peter and John, and as they were talking, then when they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized they were unschooled, not trained, ordinary men, they were astonished and took note of this, that these men had been with Jesus.

Even our opponents, friends, a church of impact, even those who hate us, who dislike us, who don't want anything to do or want to undermine whatever Jesus is doing, man, may they always notice that we had been with Jesus.

I mean, James and John, they're they're fishermen, blue car workers.

Never had really that formal rabbinic training.

And they're standing before the Stanford MIT Harvard Supreme Court.

And by the power of God, they were astonished.

And they didn't even know what to do with Peter and John.

They weren't exactly sure how to move forward.

The man whom they healed is standing next to them.

He just preached this gospel saying, is in the name of Jesus, and he's healed because of this.

What do we do with that?

And so they conferred with each other, they talked with one another, and then they eventually came up with this bright plan.

Let's tell them not to talk about Jesus anymore.

Let's just tell them, hey, you know what?

You are commanded not to talk about this Jesus or resurrection anymore.

But 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, which is right in God's eyes.

The church today.

These godly men and women.

Who live with courageous lives of conviction based on God's word, not compromising to the pressures of the world.

See, the call for you and for me is to live for God's approval above all else, not to appease others, not for the applause of others.

And what happens today, and this is not just in the church, this is all across the board, is the minute anyone pushes back, the minute anyone says something, the minute it feels like we retreat.

We take a step back.

We change.

We cave to the pressure and the demands of the world.

Maybe we should begin to ask, which is right in God's eyes?

God, I'm not asking what's right on social media.

I'm not asking what's right on political correctness.

I'm not asking what's right depending on your political party.

I'm not asking what's right, whatever.

God, what is right according to your word and whatever that is, that's what I'm gonna do, regardless of the cost.

Peter and John had no idea how the story was going to end, and they lived for God's approval above all else.

Church of Impact loves those along their path, points people to Jesus.

They expect opposition and then seeks the approval of God alone.

An audience of one.

So about all about you, it's all because of you, it's all for you.

Well, after this, they release John and Peter.

You can only imagine, I'm sure, the relief they felt.

And and they they went back to the believers and they started to share all that had happened in the last 24 hours.

I can only imagine for them how stressed out and how anxious and worried, and they've been praying for them and wondering what's gonna happen.

We're only a few days into this movement, and we just believed, and our leaders just got arrested.

Well, they show up, they're sharing uh what happened.

And I want us, I want you to notice the response of the believers because as we close, this is our response today.

They prayed.

And they prayed three specific things, and this is what I'm gonna ask you to do this week.

They prayed, and the first thing they did, listen to what it says.

It says, on their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them, when they heard this, they raised their voice together to pray to God.

Sovereign Lord, they said, You made the heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.

The first step, if we want to lean in, love those along our paths, point people to Jesus, expect opposition and seek God's approval is we have to look up at God's sovereignty.

Look up and see God for who he is.

Stop looking at the circumstances, stop looking even then inside, and you look up and you get a big, high, and holy picture of God.

You made it all.

You're sovereign.

You are God, and there is no other.

They looked up at God's sovereignty, and then they zoomed out at God's providence.

Notice it goes on.

You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David.

Why do the nations rage and the peoples pot in vain?

The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed.

And then it goes on indeed, Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.

They did what your power and will decided beforehand should happen.

Zoom out.

This persecution, this opposition, zoom out, is operating within the providence of God, what he is orchestrating and working and moving all of human history to its final conclusion and end when he brings the renewal of all things.

Zoom out and go, God, you're in the middle of this.

I can't see how it's all gonna work out.

I can't see what is all going on, but you are providentially working.

Romans 8 tells us that that God works all things together for the good of those who love him, who are called according to his name.

That is God's providence at work in your life, in my life, even when we can't see it or even understand it.

Look up God's sovereignty, zoom out, God's providence, and then move forward.

And they prayed for boldness.

Notice this stretch.

Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servant to speak your word with great boldness.

Stretch out your hands to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.

When you look up God's sovereignty, when you zoom out, understand that even in opposition, God's providence is not thwarted.

In fact, he's working, then you pray a prayer of God, give boldness.

You know what they didn't pray?

God, stop the persecution, take out these men.

I don't know that that's a bad prayer to pray.

It's just not what they prayed.

They didn't pray for protection or safety, they prayed for power and for boldness for God to work powerfully and for boldness to proclaim it.

And would you do that this week?

Would you zoom or look up, zoom out, and then move forward and begin to have eyes to see those God puts along your path.

How can I point them to Jesus?

Expecting opposition, but living for an audience of one.

The conclusion says this 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.

And so let me pray for you, Heavenly Father.

I pray for my friends right now, just that the place where they're at, the circumstances that they're in, the feelings and overwhelmness of anxiety or depression or discouragement right now would be shaken in the name of Jesus.

God, would you fill our church with your Holy Spirit and may we speak boldly in the name of Jesus.

There's no other name by which we can be saved.

May we live with the awareness of those you put along our path.

May we be that kind of church.

May we live with eternal significance for your name's sake and your glory.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

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