Acts 5:17-42
“But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison.”
Sermon Transcript:
Like I said, I am, my name is Jared. I am one of the pastors here. I’m the youth pastor. And I’m a little bit about me. I just got married in January, 2021. So this past January, we celebrated a year. I’m married to my wife, JC, and one thing awesome about being married and not having kids is we get to have date time all the time.
So a couple Saturdays ago we had nothing to do and we didn’t feel like doing chores around the house. So we’re like, you know what, let’s go grab some breakfast. So we live it all the way on the other side of Mount Laurel, closer to like Del ran in Mount Holly and stuff like that. So we went to our favorite, one of our favorite breakfast spots in Mount Holly kitchen, 87.
Really good. If you haven’t been there and we just got breakfast and then. We still have nothing to do. Let’s just walk around. We grabbed some coffee, we’re just walking down the street. You know, Mount Holly is a very like historic town. There’s like really cool things to look at. So we’re walking down and it’s a beautiful day.
It’s like 70 degrees or something like that. And we’re like coming up and we’re going down the street. We’ve never been down like JC that looks like a prison. Is that a prison? And she’s like, I don’t think so. And before I know I, we see in letters, prison. So I did not know this, but there’s two things. I didn’t know.
There’s an actual working prison in Mount Holly didn’t know that. Secondly, there’s a historic prison in Mount Holly that you can actually take a tour. Um, and we’re like, all right, if this tour is $5 or under we’re doing it, it was $5. So we’re like, okay, JC and I are not museum people. We’re not like history.
People were like, this seems cool. So we’re just going and we’re looking around and turns out this is, was a really. Well constructed prison at the time, it was built by God and a guy named Robert Mills. He was one of the first American architects to really like push the limit on things, come up with new ideas and ways to build things.
It was constructed in 1811 and was active until 1965. So this was like a really well-built prison. Not, it’s not active now, obviously just the museum. So we just are looking through this museum. I mean, it is really cool. There’s like old graffiti on the wall from inmates. We’re learning, we’re reading, there’s like sound effects.
It’s very cool. But there’s one story that really stood out to us that was like really cool. There’s a number of escapes from this prison. And one really stood out to me. There was four guys that were on second floor of the prison and they decided they were going to get out and they were going to dig through a hole in the.
And to get out through the roof, right? Solid plan solvent. I don’t know exactly how, like they got the tools to do this or how long this took, but they fashioned this hole in the roof and they start filing through one by one, but they realize they messed something up. So I guess when they measured this hole that they’re going to cut out, they kind of measured the skinniest guy.
So, so three of them get through the hole and the fourth guy is trying his heart. To get through this hole, but he cannot fit and they’re pulling on them. They’re yanking them and try and get through this hole and nothing’s working and they’re trying, they’re trying until all of a sudden they’re like, Nope, we got to get out of here.
We’re leaving. They leave this guy. This guy actually alerts the guards that people are escaping. I don’t know how he sold that. Like I actually wasn’t trying to escape. I was trying to see the hall. I don’t know, but he actually alerts the guards. These guys get out through the roof. I think one of them like broke their legs, jumping off the roof.
They ended up all getting recaptured again. It was a fail of the attempt of escape. Um, it was, but it sure was interesting. Um, but this morning we’re going to look at a prison escape that went a whole lot smoother than four guys trying to hit fit through a tiny hole. Would you turn with me to acts five and we’ll be starting in verse 17.
It is a little bit of a lengthier passage, but I will be reading it and walking us through. So acts chapter five, verse 17, it will be on the screen as well too. But the high priest rose up and all who were with him, that is the party of the Sadducees and filled with jealousy. They rested the apostles and put them in public prison.
But during the night, angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out and said, go and stand in the temple and speak to the people, all the words of this life. And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began the teach. Now when the high priest came and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the Senate of the people of Israel and sent to the prison to have them brought.
But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison. So they returned and report it. We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors. But when we opened them, we found no one in. Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them.
Wondering what this would come to. And someone came and told them, look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people. Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force where they were afraid of being stoned by the people. And when they had brought them, they set them before the council and the high priest questioned them, saying, we strictly charged you not to teach in this name yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.
But Peter and the apostles answered. We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on. God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things. And so as the holy spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him, when they heard this, they were enraged and wanting to kill them.
But a Pharisee in the counsel named Gamaliel teacher of the law held in honor by all the people stood up and gave orders to put them outside for a little while. And he said to the men of Israel, take of what you are about to do with these men. For before these days, Theotis rose up claiming to be somebody and a number of men, about 400 joined him.
He was killed and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing after him, Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away. Some of the people after him, he too perished and all who followed him were scattered. So in the present case, I tell you keep away from these men and let them alone for a fist plan.
Or this undertaking is of man. It will. But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be opposing God. So they took his advice. And when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charge them not to speak in the name of Jesus and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted, worthy to suffer dishonor for the name and every day in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that Christ is Jesus let’s pray.
Or we come before you this morning. Just desperate to hear you, Lord, we’re desperate to just be transformed and renewed by your word. God, we are so blessed that you often so speak to us. Lord. You’ve given us your scriptures. God, that aren’t just words on a page. God, these words have. And God, if there’s one thing that we’re learning in the book of acts is that your spirit has power.
God. So I even pray that your spirit would just, just be so tangible in this room today. God, that you would just speak through me that you would speak to each and every one of us, Lord, no one is here by accident. God, you brought each and every one in this room by your plan, God, and we just pray that you would move Florida, that your spirit would move.
And that we would hear from you. We pray in Jesus’s name, amen. Looking at this whole section and chapter five in its entirety. And just even one of the major themes of this book. We see this main idea that God’s plan to build his church and spread his gospel will not be forwarded by human intervention or persecution.
I want to just take time to kind of just walk us through. Immediate context of kind of what we looked at last week and just, this is a lengthy twenty-five versus a passage I’m going to just walk us through. So we really get the gist of what is really happening here. If you remember last week, we S we looked at Anna nice, and Safira right.
We’re about a couple of years into the start of the church. And we saw this huge problem with these two individuals, right? This line problem that caused conflict in the church. They actually were ended up dying, right? God got punished them. And this, and there’s the examples of what not to do in this church with this horrible, horrible thing happening.
But then we have verses 12 through 16, which it kind of seems God has purify the church is put them back on the right track again. And we see incredible things happening. We see kind of this happily, ever moment after people were being healed, people were getting blessed, right? They were increasing in number, but then verse 17 says it introduced the problem, but the high point.
Right. But the high priests were jealous. Right. And they were filled with jealousy. Why? Because the Apostle’s message was becoming more popular than them. Right? These religious leaders, especially the Sadducees were so wrapped up in political power that they wanted control of these people. And they realized these apostles, what they’re preaching.
People were latching onto it and it scared them. Right. And they got, they get arrested. We see this and get arrested. And there’s this huge problem here. After 12 through 16, a couple of things happen, more people were added to their number. People actually from Drew’s outside of Jerusalem are coming into Jerusalem, trying to find out what is happening.
It says people were brought with lame and sick people and it says all were. Right. So we have this beautiful moment of what’s happening in the church and this next problem is introduced and it’s not a problem, like an absence of fire. So this problem is not within the church. It’s coming without the church, from these, the form of persecution from these religious leaders against God’s church.
So they get arrested, right? They get thrown in the prison, right? This is not new. Uh, John and Peter were already arrested, but they want to make a statement here. They said, we’re going to get all the parcels. We’re going to throw them in jail. They’re going to spend in jail overnight and right away the same very night angel, the Lord appears, someone says, opens up the door and says, go in verse 29, says go and do that very thing.
Right. Go and stand in that temple, speak to the people, all the words of life, go and do that. Very thing that just got you around. Right. Go out. Right. You’re free from prison. I don’t know how you guys would have taken this, but I’m like, all right, we’re good. We’re going to lay low for a little bit. We just got out of prison.
Let’s just take maybe a day off or something just to rest, you know, recuperate. No, he says, go and preach the words of life. Go right back in the temple. And they do, as soon as they come, when morning comes, they go right back into the temple preaching that Jesus is the Christ. So they go out and the next, this next part of the passage is kind of my favorite because the religious leaders are like, all right, we got our guys, all right, we’re going to send our guys to go get them from the prison.
So they send their guards and they go, and what happens? The guards there, the doors are locked. They opened the doors where the apostles they’re nowhere to be found. I would love to see the look on these religious leaders face, like what we thought we had them. We were so close. Like what happened? They went from being.
To just being super confused. Like they say, what is going to come of this? They had no idea who they’re dealing with. So the high priest sir, are jealous, then they’re confused. And then they’re like, you know what? We’re going out. We’re getting them again. So they go out in verse 26, let’s read it together, says this.
Then the captain with the officers went and brought them. But not by force for, they were afraid of being stoned by the people, the apostles didn’t put up a fight, right? They didn’t make a big deal of it. If I was having pride, like I just was in prison. I don’t want to go back. No, they, they go right with these people, but it says they were afraid.
They were afraid that the people were going to stone them. Why? Because the apostles message was more popular than these religious leaders. The religious leaders realized they lost control of the. They lost control of the people and they were scared what they’re going to do, but the apostles, they’re not scared.
They’re not scared. They say, take us right back to prison. We know who’s in control. You’re scared because you’ve lost control that people were not scared because we know who is in control. And if God needs to send another angel tonight to get us out of prison, who’ll do exactly that to accomplish his well, they were not scared.
So they bring them back and you know, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, they put on their poker face again. And they’re like, did it? We tell you stop teaching in this name. They can’t even say the name of Jesus. They’re like this name that you keep saying, please don’t say it, please. But to say, didn’t we say, stop teaching this.
And, and you intend to put this man’s blood on us. And verse 29 is, is really important. I think it’s one of the most central verses to this passage. It says both Peter and the apostles answered. I don’t know how this worked. Like, I don’t know if Peter kind of like looked at that parcels and they all were like, tell him Peter, tell him what’s up.
I don’t know if they like they’ve rehearsed this before. And they were like, we’re saying in unison, we’re all gonna say it. Like, or if they just knew, and Peter was like, I got this guy stressed me out. I’ll handle these Cody. What does he say? He says, we must obey God, rather than men not you. We know who’s in charge.
We know who’s in control. We must obey God. So you can put us in prison. You can beat us. We can’t obey you. And he goes on to just even accusing them. That said you killed Jesus. Right. And he takes this chance to actually share the gospel with them. Not in, in a, maybe in a sense that we necessarily would.
We usually don’t start with you. Kill Jesus. Right. That usually doesn’t work. But Peter filled with the holy spirit says you were in charge of this. This is on you. But God raised Jesus from the dead, putting him at the right hand of God. Why for the repentance of Israel and the forgiveness of sins, he’s inviting them into this.
He’s saying, yes, yes, you’re guilty of this. But so were we, and you are welcomed into this forgiveness of sin. You are welcomed into this repentance that if you would just turn that you just turn from this and turn to God and why, why are they going through all this trouble to go against these religious leaders, to go against the grain and, and do something even illegal that they’re going to be put in prison with because they are witnesses, right?
They’re just saying, this is what we’ve seen. We have to say what we’ve seen and not only. The holy spirit is a witness to this. This is not just what we are saying. So this really set the religious leaders off. I mean, they must have been so angry from this because they went from being jealous, right. To being confused, to being afraid of these people.
And now they’re just so angry that they’re ready to kill the apostles, but we see it Pharisee kind of come up. This guy named Gamaliel, and this man was very respected. He was, he was high held in high praise. We actually know a fun fact here about this guy. He was Paul, the apostle Paul actually studied under Gamaliel.
It says in acts 22 3, it says I made you born in Tarsus. But brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel, according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, this guy was a big deal, right. We actually know that he was giving the title Rabat, which is different from rabbi. Rabat actually means our teacher, right?
It’s a step above rabbi, which means my teacher, this guy was considered like all of our teachers, if like, if we need to know something, this guy was here, gamma, Leah was the guy to go. So he comes up and he’s like, let’s just send the apostles out before we get hasty. Let’s just send them out for a little bit.
And just let’s just think. And here’s his plan, right? It’s outlined in 38 and 39, it says. So in the present case, I tell you keep away from these men and let them alone for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail. But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found at posing.
So they took his advice, right? Even this man Gamaliel, this Pharisee can recognize, listen, we’ve seen this before. We’ve seen two different guys raised up. They got following, they got some disciples. They died and the disciples and the followers dispersed, right? If this is a man, this will surely fail. But if this is of God, there’s nothing we can do about it.
There’s no amount of prison sentence you can give on them. There’s no amount of beatings or charges that you can tell them. This will not fail because of God. He even had that wisdom. That sense to be able to say, if this is of God, there’s nothing we can do about it. So what happens next? Right? They decide not to kill them, to let these men be.
So they just let them out right now. They bring them in and they beat them super weird. Right. They beat them and they charge them again. Do not. And this name of Jesus. And when I first read this, I like pictured a beating. Like, all right, maybe they’d beat them up, push them around a little bit. No, this word for beat actually means Darrow.
And it means the flog or to skin, right? This was not no light beating. This was a beating where they lost skin, too, that they were bleeding, that they were bruised bloodied. And then they send them on the way and say, do not preach in this name. Um, what would we have done? Right. Pro probably walked out with our heads, held low defeat.
It frustrated, embarrassed, right? Every time I, I try to preach the gospel. Every time I try to evangelize just to just get shut down right now, this is not what they do. Verse 21 verse 41 says they were rejoicing. They went out rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer in the name of Jesus. I mean, this is convicting, right?
I mean, how often are we like so discouraged. Like I tried to talk to my coworker about Jesus and they just weren’t even listening to me. So like, I’m just, I’m going to throw in the towel. I’m just going to call it a day. Right? These men were just imprisoned twice in a span of 24 hours. Be in charged again, not to preach in this name.
And they go out rejoicing and not only rejoicing, it says every day they were in the temple and from house to house preaching that Jesus is Christ. They didn’t take a day off. They didn’t take a week off. They didn’t say guys, let’s rest up. Let’s recuperate. Let’s mend to our wounds. Right? Let’s go see a doctor.
No, every day they went out preaching that crime. As the Lord, these men were not ordinary, man. These men were not men acting in their own strength. These men were empowered by the holy spirit. These men were witnesses to something that was bigger than them. These men knew the spirit of God. These men knew God’s plan and how big it was.
All right. So what do we do with this passage? Luke, doesn’t often zoom right into a story, right? We know this is a historical narrative and, but it’s piece by piece, right? He doesn’t include every single detail of every single story. Oftentimes we see through the book of acts that he kind of zooms up pass a couple of years and only a couple verses are mentioned, but we have 25 verses here of a story with many details and many different things going on.
So what do we do? Why is this important? We have to ask ourselves why, why is this in here? Why did Luke spend so much time. Well, I think we have three takeaways. And if you’re following along in your notes, this is when you can start taking them. Okay. The first one is God wants us to obey his voice, right?
God wants us to obey his voice. Verse 20 says this,
go and stand in the temple and speak to the people. All the words of this life, right? God wants us to be his voice. They were imprisoned, but God sent his angel and said, go and do this. And what did the apostles do? They went and did that. He wants us to hear him. He wants us obey his voice. Verse 29 says the same thing, but Peter and that parcels answered.
We must obey God. Rather than men. There was a lot of other voices. There was a lot of other conflicts. There was a lot of other pressures they were experiencing, but they decided to obey God’s voice rather than. Right. God, his voice is greater than any other voice in our lives, right? Then your kid’s voice, then your boss’s voice, then your spouse’s voice and your parents’ voice.
Then thousands about hundreds of voices on social media, right? This is, this is bigger than your favorite person in the world. Your favorite pastor, your favorite political figure. God’s voice is greater and we must obey it. We must listen to it. Psalms 29 describes the voice of the Lord as such Psalm 29.
Four says this, the voice of the Lord is powerful. The voice of the Lord is full of majesty. Psalm 29 5 says this, the voice of the Lord breaks. The Cedars verse seven says this, the voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire. Verse eight says the voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness. Verse nine says the voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth and strips the forest bare.
This is not like any other voice in our lives and we need to hear it and we need to obey it and we need to do it. But part of that is listening for it, right? If we’re so distracted, if we’re so gung ho about getting through the day, again, checking this off and going to work and doing this. And I got to do that and I got to do that.
There’s no room there to hear the voice of the Lord. We need to know our father’s voice. When he calls. I am one of five brothers. You probably know this. I talk about a lot and it’s given me a Labrot form of illustrations that I can use in sermons for the rest of my. And if you can imagine, um, five boys, it’s a lot to handle.
There’s a lot going on. There’s a lot of loud voices. There’s a lot of fights and arguments. We did not grow up in a girl’s household. It goes from like words to punches really quick. There’s not a lot of in-between. So one thing, um, that my dad came up with that was really good was he had a whistle for us.
Okay. And I know he, yes. He trained us like dogs. Yep. And it worked. So, I mean, whether we were at a soccer field soccer tournament and we’re like miles away, or we’re like two miles into the woods and like, we hear this whistle and like, it’s like hearing Mr. Softy truck, you just get up and running. You don’t know why you’re running anymore, but you’re just like, JC knows this.
Mr. Softy comes on. She was like, how did you hear that? I’m like, get the wallet. Let’s go. We got it. But, I mean, as kids, we would be, I’m not kidding, like a mile and a half in the woods. We’re like prancing through the woods, tackling each other, whatever. We hear the whistle and we’re like go in the direction now.
Right at my dad happens to be here today. So I have, I’m asking that dad get, just give us a little taste of what the whistle sounds like.
Right. But we knew, we knew our father’s voice. We knew that call when we heard it, we went, it didn’t no matter where we were, how far we were, what we were doing, who we were talking to, we went to our father’s call and this is what we need to do as children of God. When we hear our father, right. We have to be listening.
Right. And sometimes he speaks like that, like a whistle, like a two by four over our head. Right. We know that everyone’s been there, but sometimes it’s a whisper. And if we’re not listening, we can’t hear. We need to be listening to our possible, through the father’s voice in our life. The apostles knew this, right?
Despite getting arrested twice in 24 hours, they knew I must obey my father’s voice. I must obey his voice and we need to know his voice and we need to obey number two God’s plan is on deniable, right? God’s plan is undeniable verse 38 through 39. I already read it, but I want to read it again. So in the present case, I tell you keep away from these men and let them alone for if this plan or this undertaken is of man, it will fail.
But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God God’s plan is undeniable. Even the Pharisee Gamaliel knew this, that God’s plan is unstoppable. You cannot do anything despite being arrested. Despite being beaten, they knew God’s plan will not fail. They knew it was God’s plan for them to be in that prison, that they could be brought forward to the council to preach the gospel to these Pharisees.
And we know later on, right in acts six, seven, it says the word of the Lord continued to increase. And the numbers of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. Right? How could that have happened if God didn’t have them arrest it brought before the council and preach the gospel to write what we understand as God’s plan is that it should be our opinion of success, right.
That, you know, I think this should work out this way. So God, you got to agree with me, right? No, it doesn’t work like that. But if we’re in tune to the father’s voice, if we’re knowing his. Then we’re going to hear and trust and have faith in his plan. And it is on deniable. It cannot be stopped. So if God is going after you in your life about something, you can resist all you want.
We saw Jonah do that. What happened? He got swallowed yet. Okay. We know that we know that story you can resist for all, as long as you want, his plan is deniable. It will get to the priests. It’ll get to the outcasts, it’ll get where everyone, we know that it was his plan that this gospel, that this message would go to Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
This was God’s plan. And it would not be stopped, not by a problem within the church with an right, or a problem, a problem without the church from persecution. And this plan would not be stopped. There’s a couple other examples that we can understand. Things that are undeniable and, uh, specifically people that are undeniable, anybody been to the mall recently?
That’s what I thought. Yep. Weird place. Now. It was cool when I was a teenager, but like COVID happened and yeah. Malls are going down. But if you remember from your experience, well, I don’t think you want racer head. There goes that house. Right. So if you remember from your experience, you’re walking through the mall, what’s in the central.
The kiosks, right? The huts. Okay. These people are undeniable. I’m telling you what, and I’m a sucker. I’m walking down. I’m like, Nope, I’ve done this before. I see what’s going to happen. Eyes forward. Don’t look at them. Jared. Before I know it, I got lotion in my hand and they’re rubbing it in on me. I’m like, how did I get here?
And then I’m buying the bottle right there. It’s like, they already got you. They’re like this, guy’s a sucker. I got him. He’s coming in. Maybe that’s not you. Maybe you’re like, sorry. No, I’m gone. But they get me every single time. I’m telling you what? Right? The lotions already on their hand, they’re selling me.
They’re talking me up. And now I feel guilty because they just wasted some lotion on me. So now I got at least buy something, right. These people will go to any and all costs to get your business. They will do anything. Another. Solar panel guys. I was not ready for this as a homeowner. Oh my goodness. I actually gotten a little bit of a dispute with my solar guy the other day.
And I call him my solar guy because he comes off. And even though I keep saying no, he came on my door and was like, and I’m like, are the police at the door what’s going on? And these guys are smart. They know exactly like all of them. They’re like, I noticed your car. It’s a pretty nice car. That must be fun to go around.
I’m like, who are you with? Who’s your agency. I was like, I’ve been this for right. And I actually told the guy, I was like, dude, you got to work on your knock because I thought someone was breaking into my house and I don’t want to buy solar anymore. But these people are literally relentless. They send out different guys weekly to try to get me.
They’re like, nah, he’s not good with a type a personality. We’re going to send a type B. We’re going to touch C, D E whatever it is. But they are relentless after. Whether it’s the kiosk worker, putting the lotion on your hand or the solar people bothering you when you’re trying to do yard work, they’re relentless, right?
This is, this is God’s plan in our life. There there’s nothing. We can do it. Ignore it. There’s nothing that how long that we can run from it, it is an undeniable. It will be accomplished. And the apostles knew this. The apostles knew what the will of God was because they were listening to their father’s voice and they knew no matter what obstacle came against them, no matter what persecution and we’re going to see, this is just the start of persecution in the church.
It’s going to get a lot worse, but each and every step of persecution of confrontation of aggression or, or a plan that they try to destroy God’s plan continues, right? His will continues to spread his message. To preach in his name to share the gospel. There’s nothing that we can do to stop it. My last point is God has invited us into that plan.
Verse 32 says this, and we are witnesses to these things. And so as the holy spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him, yes, the apostles are talking about themselves. We are witnesses, but we are witnesses to what God has done in our lives. It’s all we are, were witnesses to Christ. We’re witnesses to God’s victories in our life, the past couple of weeks and youth group, we’ve been having our leaders share their testimonies and it fires me up because each and every story is a victory that Christ says, I want this person despite their sin, despite where they are, I’m going to have victory over them.
And now what does that person become a witness to God’s power, a witness to God’s plan in their life that they can’t help, but talk about what God has done. It is the most powerful way that we can evangelize that we can love on people, right? Because like, I’ll say I’m a pastor to people. It’s like a thing that comes, oh, what, what do you do there, pastor like, oh, I’m sorry.
I’m not very religious. You must be very religious. I’m like, no, I just have a relationship with Jesus. I’d love to tell you about it. Look right. It’s like people think this, this building and the church, and I’m like, no, God is really working in my life. And he cares about me and he cares about you too.
It’s real. And we are witnesses and God has invited us into that plan. Verse 41 and 42. It says this way, then they left the presence of the council. Rejoice. That they were counted worthy to suffer this honor for the name and every day in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that Christ is Jesus.
God has invited us into this plan. Right. And it’s not always painless. Right? And it’s not always super easy, right? These pastas were getting beat and thrown in a prison. Right. But he’s invited us to be witnesses and he’s not invited to in our own strength. Right. Who else do they say? That’s a witness. The holy spirit and God has given us his spirit to empower us.
Second Timothy one seven says for God, gave us a spirit, not a fear, but of power and love and self control. We’re not meant to be scared. Right? The religious leaders were scared because they were out of control the apostles. We don’t see them scared. Because they know exactly who they’re trusting and they know exactly the spirit God’s given them to empower them with love, power and self-control.
And if you’re worried, like, I don’t know how to put this house, God invited me in for this. I don’t like Jared, what does that even mean? That’s so generic. Like how Ephesians two 10 tells us this for we are his workmanship. God created us in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Right. If we’re really hearing the father’s voice, if we’re really focused on his plan and we realize that God has invited us into that plan, that God wants to use us, that he wants to use you and you and you, then he’s prepared in advance for us. If we’re listening to his voice, then we’ll see like you, some of you know exactly what I’m talking about when you.
Then you’re like, I just have to do this. I know I have to do this because God has really prompted me to do this and I don’t want to do this. And my flesh, I don’t want to talk to that person. And my flesh, I don’t want to apologize or a pen to that person. And my flesh. I don’t want to do this or don’t want to go there.
But if we’re truly following the Lord and listening for his voice, we know is for paired works for us to do an advance. And I don’t want you to get confused. I don’t want you to get like, well works. What are you talking about Jared grace yet? No, these aren’t works that you can be, you know, the prettier to the father.
No, God has done everything already for you. Jesus has accomplished all the works for you, but he’s prepared us to do works for him to live through and walk in them. These are not works. That gets you into heaven. Right? Let’s be clear about that. God has done all the work for that, but these are works that if we’re living and walking.
That he’s going to continue to reveal. And if we trust in him and we’re listening to his voice, that we’re going to say, man, God, this was so easy to follow you here because you prepared it for me. You prepared it in advance. God has invited us into his beautiful undeniable glorious plan. And he’s provided for us a spirit that we can’t do this alone.
We can’t walk in this alone. Something God’s caused us to do are, are scary. They’re nerve wracking. Oftentimes they’re out of our comfort zone, but he’s given us a spirit that empowers us. That’s not a fear, but of power love and self-control that we can really actually walk in them that we can really start looking like our savior Jesus.
And it’s a step by step by step, right? That’s that is the Christian like that. We would just be humbly before the Lord and say, God, how do you want to use me in this. We would just wake up and say, God, what is your will for my life? What are the works that you’ve prepared in me in advance? And that’s sometimes a really scary prayer because I’m like, I don’t know what you have.
God, I’m a little nervous about it, but I’m praying in faith, right? But he will provide those things. We need to hear the father’s voice and obey it. We need to know that his plan is undeniable despite persecution or, or hardship or pain or suffering. The Lord is still working even in the midst of all that.
And he’s invited us into that plan to walk and step with his spirit and powered by his spirit. In that I want to leave you with this. May you leave this building today in tune with the voice of the Lord with a full knowledge of God’s immeasurable. And filled to the brim with the truth that God has invited you into his plan to be the hands and the feet of Jesus.
Thank you. Fast