Revival - Acts 3 & 4 // 13 September 2026

Amen.

Why the guys are collecting the cups?

If you would like to, you could open your Bibles to Acts chapter three.

I'm going to be looking at a story that goes across Acts chapter three and chapter four.

But if you'd like to follow along or you'd like to know where it is to look at it more in depth later, why don't you open the chap Acts chapter 3?

Acts 3 · chapter mention

We're going to go across chapters 3 and 4.

It's a great moment in the Bible, and it's all about the name of Jesus.

So I think it matches not just communion, but Name Badge Sunday really well, like we planned it, but we didn't.

But Peter and John are going up to the temple for prayer.

And as they're going up to the temple for prayer, they see a crippled beggar sitting at the temple gates.

And that's the first thing to take notice of.

The fact that this crippled beggar was sitting at the temple gates.

He was sitting at the temple gates because their religion, their religious practices at the time, said if you had something wrong with you, if you had an affliction, you were not allowed past those gates and into the temple.

So you were left to beg at the gates.

Now the scripture makes it known that the gates were called beautiful.

So you've got this image of this beautiful human wealth and splendor, and then this poverty and brokenness below.

And so most people are going to be walking into the temple, looking up at the splendor and the beauty, and walking past the brokenness and the poverty.

But Peter and John don't.

It says they hear the cries of the crippled beggar, and then it says Peter looked straight at him, as did John.

Now it's worded with emphasis because it wants us to understand the divine empathy of this moment.

The restoration of this person's humanity in the way that Peter and John heard him, stopped, and saw him.

And it said the man who is used to just yelling out to anyone walking past for help stopped and looked back.

So it's not just that the man felt seen, it felt that he could also gaze upon them.

So let's then go to verse six, and we're going to read along for a minute in Acts chapter 3.

Acts 3 · chapter mention

It says, Peter then responded to the man, Silver or gold I do not have.

But what I do have, I give you.

In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.

In the name of Jesus.

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

He jumped to his feet and began to walk, then he went into the temple courts, walking and jumping and praising God.

When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

So, first and foremost, one of the things we notice here is once the affliction had been healed, the man was able to go into a space he wasn't able to go into before.

That exclusion that kept him out was now taken away, and he's jumping, dancing, and praising the name of God in a space he hadn't been before.

But the important thing is this phrase in the name of Jesus, because this phrase is going to be repeated many times in this story.

And here it's letting us know something really important that it's in the name of Jesus this man is healed.

That there is power in the name of Jesus.

It's not because of Peter, it's not because of John.

If anything, it's because of their obedience to go under the name of Jesus.

But it's the power of the name of Jesus that heals this man.

And so something then happens is Peter and John notice the reaction of the people.

And in some Bibles it's it's written, Peter's response is written as, why does this amaze you?

But the word amaze doesn't really fit what is actually happening here.

It's more like, why does this surprise you?

Why are you surprised by what you've seen?

These are temple courts where you come to worship and pay tribute to God.

Why are you surprised by the power of God that's happened in front of you?

So Peter's confused by their reaction.

But furthermore, what I find interesting is we we had this assumption that these people would just walk past and not notice this man.

But clearly, the truth according to the scripture is they knew very much who he was.

So they knew that this was the crippled beggar now dancing and walking around, which means they walked past him again and again.

And so what's happened in this story is a reminder to us that the good news is for everyone, especially those that society walks past.

But Peter asks the crowd, Why are you surprised?

And then he proclaims the truth and preaches to them.

He says, By faith, again, this phrase, in the name of Jesus, this man who you see and know was made strong.

It is in the name of Jesus and faith that has given this complete healing to him.

Peter begins to address and proclaim the power of Jesus to that crowd.

He talks about the death or resurrection of Jesus, and then he calls this crowd to repentance.

And it says that 2,000 of them answered that call of repentance and praised the Lord.

Now, as all of this is happening, all this excitement and happening, we read in the scripture that there's this rogues gallery of people watching.

It's the priest, the captain of the temple guard, and the Sadducees.

And this rogues gallery is disturbed by what they see because they're like, the name of Jesus is being preached, the death and resurrection is being preached, and people are getting caught up in it, and they're disturbed by what they see.

So then they arrest Peter and John.

And Peter and John, after arrested, are put on trial before the Sahedron, which is the Jewish High Court at the time.

And so we need a little sidebar to understand what's going on here, to understand why they are disturbed, what Peter and John are doing, and why they're putting Peter and John on trial.

And it comes down to authority and power.

Now, these are similar but two different things.

Now, the early followers of Jesus are operating under the authority of the Great Commission.

In Matthew, where Jesus said, All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me, therefore go and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of Jesus and teaching them to obey everything I have taught you, and surely am I with you forever till the very end of the age.

That is the commissioning that the early church is operating under.

It's what causing Peter and John to do what they're doing.

It's the same commissioning that we've been given.

And with that commissioning, the belief is all authority has been given to Jesus, and therefore his followers are able to act in his name.

Now, power and authority are different things.

Power is frequently defined by political scientists as the ability to influence other people's behavior with or without resistance.

So power is better understood as something by force.

It can either be with or without resistance.

However, authority is different because authority is power with legitimacy.

So the term authority is often used for power received as a legitimate by social structures, which means authority is influence without resistance.

So power doesn't matter if there's resistance or not, but authority is influence and power without resistance.

The key to understanding the commissioning is that all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Jesus.

Now that authority comes from God, who is the Father and the Creator of all things, which means that authority can only be exercised for his kingdom come, his will be done on earth as it is in heaven, in his great plan of all things being reconciled to God.

However, authority requires legitimacy.

So I know I notice we've had police officers, and we still have police officers in this room, so always feel like I'm like I'm going to use an example of the police, but I notice police officers and retired police officers in the room, but so I feel a little awkward.

But if you're a police officer, you get a badge.

With that badge comes the authority that's attached to that badge.

That authority is according to the legitimacy of the law.

So if you operate outside of the law, you're stripped of that authority because you didn't yourself had the authority, you were representing the authority of that badge and what it meant.

So the legitimacy of Jesus' authority is his death and resurrection and the miracles that are being performed under his name.

And because of this, this legitimacy is growing and becoming a threat to the power of the time, the power and authority of the Sahron.

And so you quickly need to understand that that's a difficult balance, really quickly.

So the Sahedron had power, but they didn't have authority.

If at best you could argue they had what I would refer to as delegated authority.

You see, the Sahedron and the Jewish council and the Jewish leaders, all the people that were leading Jerusalem were under the authority of the Roman Empire, which meant they weren't under the name of Jesus, they were under the name of Tiberius, which was the Roman Caesar at the time.

Now, this was a delegated authority because it was conditional.

It was conditional of peace.

If there's any kind of significant social unrest, the Romans will come in, they will clear house, they will strip the Sahedron of their power, and they will take care of the uprising.

So they had this conditional delegated authority.

They had this really difficult balance of holding on to position and power.

And so they were worried that what was happening with the increasing movement of people following Jesus was going to create social unrest, which meant they might lose their position of power.

But they maintained their power over the people through religion and tradition.

So people believing in Jesus was a threat to their traditions and was blasphemy to their religion.

So we've got a bit of a hotbed here.

But there's one other difference I want us to understand before we get back to the trial is the difference between the Jewish leaders and the followers of Jesus.

Because for the Jewish leaders, God was not the final authority.

They would say God was the final authority, but in their action, they were willing to compromise in obedience to the Roman Empire to maintain their position of power.

So if they had to worship Caesar, they would worship Caesar because it allowed them to maintain their position of power.

However, the followers of Jesus taught very clearly that he is a name above all names, that he is the Lord of lords.

They would not submit to the Roman Empire, they would not worship another other than Jesus, and they would die before they would compromise.

So there is a legitimacy of the authority in the name of Jesus when someone is willing to die rather than compromise the beliefs of Jesus, because the name of Jesus meant that much to them.

And so here we are on trial, and they say in Acts 4, verse 7, they had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them by what power or what name do you do this?

Acts 4:7

By what power or what name do you do this?

And then it says Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit as he spoke, which reminds us when we move in the name of Jesus, it comes with the power of the Holy Spirit.

And he responds, It is the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, but whom God rose from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.

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

The name of Jesus.

There is no other name.

It is by the name of Jesus this man is healed, and there is no other name that can bring salvation.

Now the Sahedron are in a bit of a spot because they notice it says the scripture says they notice that Peter and John are moving in wisdom and power of spirit, but these are ordinary, untaught men.

So all they can think of is these men walked with Jesus.

So they're trying to work out how do we manage this situation, how do we stop this crowd getting bigger?

And they're like, they first start with the miracle.

We can't deny the miracle because too many people have seen that it has happened.

So that's out the window.

So the solution they come up with is the only way to stop this from going is to stop them from using the name of Jesus, to stop them from speaking about Jesus and teaching about Jesus and doing things in Jesus' name.

And so that's what they basically tell Peter and John.

You are to stop.

Go about your business, but keep the name of Jesus out of it.

And then this is how they respond.

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.

Peter and John make it really clear.

They're gonna answer to God and they're not gonna stop proclaiming the name of Jesus, they're not gonna stop proclaiming his death and resurrection until he returns, because that is what is right.

He is the way, the truth, the life.

And because of the mass amount of people suddenly praising Jesus in the temple courts, they don't feel like they can hold Peter and John any longer, so they release them.

And then what they do next is really powerful because it says they go back to the others and they tell them everything that was happened, and it says they immediately then in loud voices pray out to God, sovereign Lord is what they pray out.

They speak then to their history about where God has helped them in these other moments, but then they say, they request the ability to speak his words with great boldness, despite the circumstances, offense and opposition.

You see, we learned that there was power in the name of Jesus.

We learned that there was boldness in the name of Jesus.

But what we're learning through the arrest and trial is there is offense and opposition to the name of Jesus.

And they have gathered together in prayer and they are saying, You are still sovereign, we will still speak and teach your name despite this opposition and offense.

Give us the boldness to do so.

And then it says, The place where they were meeting was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and spoke the word of God boldly.

So in this passage, we learn this power, boldness, compassion, and favor in the name of Jesus.

But we also learn that there is offense and opposition.

But what his followers do in the face of that opposition is they pray.

But it goes beyond the prayer because it speaks to a particular posture, a particular heart condition, a particular spiritual attitude to the situation, and it's also one of the types of praise.

So we've been looking at these different types of praise.

We know that when we hear praise in English, we hear praise, but we know that there's different seven different Hebrew words that are used throughout the Bible that we replace with the word praise.

We know that one of them is tahilia, which is a praise that bubbles up in thanks to what God has done.

It's spontaneous, it's filled with joy, it's in response.

We know that Shabbok praise is not in response, it's in anticipation.

It's singing loudly at the situations in our life where we want God to move and knowing that He is going to move.

It's not either of those praises.

The praise we see in the attitude at the end of this scripture is a praise that speaks much more to a spiritual condition and a heart attitude.

It's the praise known as barak praise, which means to kneel down, to bow down in reverence, submission, and adoration before the Lord.

Psalm 34, 1 says, I will barak the Lord at all times.

His praise shall continuously be in my mouth.

It talks about our spiritual attitude, our heart attitude, our condition towards God.

You know, the thing is, like we could all stand up right now and I could call us all to kneel down and bow down in the physical, but you know you can do that in the physical and have it mean nothing inside.

This isn't talking necessarily about doing something in the physical if it doesn't mean something in the spiritual.

This is a spiritual posture of humility in response to opposition.

So are we under the name of Jesus?

Are we under the covering of that name?

You see, if we're talking about a particular posture of humility, what we've got to watch for is pride.

See, pride sneaks in really subtly.

Pride sneaks in because it starts to make you think that you know better.

Pride starts to make you think, I've got this, I'll tell you God when I need you.

We do that.

We're like, I've got this, and then we're on to God when we don't got it.

But there's this there's an attitude in that that strips the reality of every day when meant to say, Hey God, I do this in your name.

But it sneaks in too, because then we read the Bible and we understand the teachings of the Bible, but then because of our circumstances, we go, well, yeah, it does say that, but this is right for me because I know better.

And where we repented to allow him to be the God of our existence, we're starting to become the God of our own existence again.

See, pride says I can go against these teachings and then worship his name at the same time.

There's a difference between not knowing any better and knowingly doing something different.

You see, humility says he is the way, the truth, the life.

With his name, there is no compromise.

So if we're talking about Barack praise, we've got to address that kind of humility that says, in my life, there is no compromise.

So as the band comes back up to lead us in what I think is going to be a real powerful moment because I heard them this morning, practice this song.

The question I want us to ask this morning, because this whole sermon has been about the power of the name of Jesus, about a group of people that moved in the name of Jesus without compromise in a world that meant compromise or die.

The question I've got to ask us in a different kind of situation is where is the compromise, Church?

Can we be like the followers of the early church?

Can we partake in communion in such a way that we know we're partaking it without compromise?

See, they're about to sing a song where the song is, It is well in my soul.

Is it well in our soul?

Have we let go of unforgiveness?

Have we let go of hurt?

Have we let go of bitterness?

Are we right with the Lord?

Is it well with our soul?

What really happened for us as we took communion this morning?

So as we sing this song, let's bring everything under the name of Jesus.

Let's make sure our spiritual posture and attitude is one of humility.

Let's make sure that we give everything to the power of his name.

Why don't we stand up?

And just before these guys start, let me just read this from the scripture.

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

No other name.

Why don't we worship that name now?