“Filling the City with the Gospel”
(Acts 5:17-32)
Series: The Church on Fire!
Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD
First Baptist Church, Henderson KY
(8-26-07) (AM)
- Take your Bible and open to Acts, chapter 5.
A few weeks ago we began a study through the Book of Acts. Our series of messages is entitled, “The Church on Fire.” And so far we’ve been learning a great deal about the first church in history, the early church of 2,000 years ago. The early Christians had been warned to keep silent and to no longer speak the name of Jesus Christ. But they continued doing so and we read what happens next beginning in verse 17.
- Stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
17 Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with indignation,
18 and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison.
19 But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said,
20 “Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.”
21 And when they heard that, they entered the temple early in the morning and taught. But the high priest and those with him came and called the council together, with all the elders of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.
22 But when the officers came and did not find them in the prison, they returned and reported,
23 saying, “Indeed we found the prison shut securely, and the guards standing outside before the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside!”
24 Now when the high priest, the captain of the temple, and the chief priests heard these things, they wondered what the outcome would be.
25 So one came and told them, saying, “Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!”
26 Then the captain went with the officers and brought them without violence, for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned.
27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them,
28 saying, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!”
29 But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.
30 “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree.
31 “Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
32 “And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”
- Pray.
Introduction:
The very first time I read through this passage of Scripture, verse 28 seemed to just rise up out of the passage and say, “Hey, I’m the main point of this text!” And I believe it is. In verse 28 you have the high priest angrily accusing the apostles of “filling Jerusalem with (their) doctrine.” And I began to think, “Wouldn’t it be fantastic if First Baptist Church filled our city with the gospel of Jesus Christ?” Wouldn’t it be astonishing if our church here were accused of such a thing? That’s a good thing to be accused of!
We know we’re supposed to be filling our city with the gospel. Jesus says to us in Acts 1:8, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be My witnesses beginning in Jerusalem, spreading to Judea and Samaria, and to the utter ends of the earth.” Our mission field begins in our own Jerusalem, our own city. Our Jerusalem is Henderson. Like the refreshing fall of rain that covers every square inch of the ground and flows into the gaps and crevices of an entire community, so are we to pour the refreshing waters of the gospel throughout Henderson, filling the entire city with the gospel. According to the Bible, that’s exactly what Jesus wants us to do, to fill the city with the gospel.
So I want to talk with you this morning about filling the city of Henderson with the gospel. Our text this morning gives us a few things we need to remember as we fill our city with the Gospel. First, remember:
I. God’s People will be Persecuted [17-18]
Now how’s that for a start?! Some of you may have invited a friend to church this morning. You said, “I want you to hear our pastor. He’ll preach an encouraging message Sunday morning.” And my very first point right out of box is, “God’s people will be persecuted.” That’s not very encouraging is it?
But I want to be honest with you. That’s what the text says. The Bible says in verses 17 and 18 that the apostles were arrested and thrown into prison. They were imprisoned for simply being Christians. They were telling others about Jesus and it got them into trouble. This isn’t the first time God’s people are persecuted in the Bible nor will it be the last. It happens.
The Bible says in 2 Timothy 3:12“All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” How many of you desire to live godly in Christ Jesus, can I see your hands, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus? Keep your hands up as I quote 2 Timothy 3:15 again, “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” All of us raising our hands. Put your hands down. Here’s another question, “How many of you would like to live godly in Christ Jesus without suffering (be honest!)? Wouldn’t that be nice? Here’s the deal: There’s no option two.
Listen, I don’t believe we can really experience the power and presence of God in our lives until we have a healthy theology of suffering. Let me say that again. I don’t think we can really experience the power and presence of God in our lives until we have a healthy theology of suffering. You say, “What does that mean?” Well, I mean we have to begin our Christian life understanding that until Jesus returns, until the end of time, we will continue to live in this world, a world that is still kind of messed up because of the presence of sin in the world. The Bible says the problem of sin began in the Garden of Eden and it won’t be completely fixed until Christ returns. So while Christians are saved from the penalty of sin and, over time saved from the power of sin, the presence of sin remains until the end of time or until we die to be with Jesus, whichever comes first.
So suffering is a common experience shared by Christians and non-Christians alike. Temptations, family problems, a job loss, a health crisis, sickness, death—all these are things we can expect in this fallen world in which we live. Getting saved doesn’t mean we don’t struggle with these things. Getting saved means that, by the power of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, God promises to be with us through these things and that He is going to somehow, as in the words of the hymn, “make all things beautiful in His time.”
God’s people suffer problems and God’s people suffer persecution. If we are living our lives openly for Jesus Christ we will suffer persecution. In the world of the apostles, persecution meant imprisonment and death. In our world, persecution typically comes in the form of ridicule. Co-workers, fellow students, or family members taunt you for being a Christian and try to make you feel like there’s something wrong with you. Don’t be discouraged. Remember that your persecution is evidence that you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ!
Someone boasts, “Well, I never suffer persecution!” There’s a problem with that statement. If God’s people suffer persecution and some person says he doesn’t suffer persecution, then we may rightly conclude that that particular person may not be identified with “God’s people.” If you are a Christian you will be persecuted.
Let’s move on. We’re talking about filling the city with the gospel. We have some reminders here in the passage of Scripture. Remember God’s people will suffer persecution. Secondly, remember:
II. God’s Purposes will Prevail [19-28]
I love this next portion of Scripture. It’s apparent that Luke, our writer, loves it, too. There is a lot of humor in the Bible, you know. I love humor. I love to laugh, don’t you? There’s humor in the Bible.
Here we have the apostles locked-up in prison and the Bible says that on that very evening an angel of the Lord opens the prison doors and releases the apostles. The angel tells the guys to go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.
By the way, I love that statement in verse 20, “Speak to the people all the words of this life.” That’s what the gospel is—words of life:
Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life,
Let me more of their beauty see, wonderful words of life;
Words of life and beauty teach me faith and duty.
Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life,
So the Bible says the angel frees the apostles and the apostles then go and stand in the temple the next morning and preach the gospel. They go and do the very thing they were arrested for. Then the Bible says that the high priest and all the Sanhedrin, this 70-member council of powerful religious elitists convenes the next morning and are sitting around waiting on the guards to bring back the apostles from the prison. Can you picture them? Some 70 of them all sitting around a big table, drinking their morning coffee and eating their bagels, you know. And they’re all thinking and plotting and scheming about how they’re going to further intimidate the Christians. They look up and see the officers returning from the prison, but they see the officers coming alone. Look again at verse 22:
22 But when the officers came and did not find them in the prison, they returned and reported,
23 saying, “Indeed we found the prison shut securely, and the guards standing outside before the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside!”
24 Now when the high priest, the captain of the temple, and the chief priests heard these things, they wondered what the outcome would be (that’s another way of saying, “They were scratching their heads in disbelief and confusion!”).
25 So one came and told them, saying, “Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!”
Now there’s the laugh line right there at the end of verse 25. Our writer, Luke, seems to be enjoying himself in reporting the events. I mean talk about delicious irony, you know! Who’s in power here, the Sanhedrin or the apostles?
See, you can’t thwart the purposes of God. You can’t lock-up the gospel. Jesus has already told His followers, “You will be My witnesses. You will take the gospel throughout the city and to the world.” It will happen. Bank on it. So here is God’s way of showing everyone who’s in power here.
This doesn’t mean that God’s people, when suffering persecution, will always be delivered from prison. That’s not the point. The point is that God’s purposes will prevail. When the apostles were imprisoned, God was not pacing the floor of heaven wondering what He was going to do next. He’s “large and in charge!” He’s relaxed. I heard someone say recently, “God rules with His feet up.” I like that. You can’t thwart the purposes of God. His purposes will prevail.
That means every single time God says something in the Scriptures, you can absolutely positively count on it to happen! So when God says in Matthew 6, “Don’t worry. Just seek Me first and I’ll take care of everything you worry about,” He really will take care of everything you worry about! And when God says Matthew 28:20, “I am with you always,” He really is with you always! And when God says in Philippians 4:19, “I will meet your need,” He really will meet your need. Nothing can stop Him. Nothing can slow Him. He will glorify Himself by fulfilling His promises. God’s purposes will prevail.
So these 70 members of the Sanhedrin are sitting around feeling really foolish. Nobody’s drinking the coffee anymore. Nobody’s laughing. In fact, they’re a little scared. Verse 26:
26 Then the captain went with the officers and brought them without violence, for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned.
That is, they themselves feared being stoned by the people! And then again this classic question that has formulated the title of our message. Verse 27:
27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them (and remember: he’s asking this angrily),
28 saying, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!”
You have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine. You intend to bring this Man’s blood on us. That is, “You want us to believe we are guilty for crucifying Jesus of Nazareth.” Well, yes. They were guilty just as we all are guilty of His death. But there again is the statement, “You have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine.” God’s purposes will prevail. No matter how persecuted the people of God, the purposes of God prevail. God sees that the entire city is filled with the gospel.
It’s interesting to me. The passage begins in verse 17 talking about the Sanhedrin being “filled with indignation” and then we read about Christians who are “filled” with the Holy Spirit, “filling” and entire city with the gospel!
How many of you believe God wants to do that same kind of filling right here in our city? He wants to do it the same way. He uses His people, filled with the Holy Spirit to fill the city with the gospel. That’s how God wants to do it in Henderson. Remember Acts 1:8: “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you shall be My witnesses in (your) Jerusalem.”
You know, I believe we’re an Acts 1:8 church. I believe we’re a church on fire. And I want to encourage you to “fan the flame” of your fire right here at First Baptist Church. We were talking about this in our recent staff meeting and Brother Rich Stratton, our Minister of Education, said that if every one of our Sunday school classes, during the month of September, increased the number of attenders in their Sunday school class just by four, we’d have 140 more people in Sunday school. I like that kind of multiplication!
So we’re encouraging everyone to “Fan the Flame” in our Sunday school ministry. During the month of September let’s ignite a spirit of revival in our church with an intentional effort to re-engage every member and to reach-out to every prospect. We’ve received power from the Holy Spirit so all we have to do now is be His witnesses.
And that takes us to the final thing we need to remember about filling our city with the gospel. God’s people will be persecuted, God’s purposes will prevail and:
III. God’s Power will be Present [29-32]
Always remember that God’s power will be present to you and in you. Remember, “You shall receive power (Acts 1:8).” There are two aspects of that power in the last four verses of our text. First, there is:
1) Power in the Savior we proclaim (29-31)
29 But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.
Peter is saying, “When the law of man goes against the law of God we must obey God rather than men.” Under normal circumstances we should obey the authorities whether we like the laws or not. But if the law goes directly against what God has said, then we must obey God rather than men. Then Peter shares the gospel message with the Sanhedrin in verses 30-31:
30 “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree.
31 “Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
That’s power in the Savior we proclaim. If you’re here this morning and you have never received forgiveness of your sins, all you have to do is to become a follower of Jesus Christ. You must believe that Jesus died for your sins on the cross. That’s the meaning of the word “tree’ there in verse 30. That’s a reference to the wood that was used to make the cross upon which our Savior died. He died there to take the punishment you deserved for your sin. He died, was buried, and rose again. God exalted Him to the glorious position of the right-hand of the Father. From God comes repentance and forgiveness of sins.
You’re here this morning and you’ve never repented and received forgiveness of your sins. God is granting to you right now repentance. That is, you are here this morning as a little boy, or a little girl, as a man, or a woman, sensing the movement of God upon your heart. What must you do? Repent. Turn away from your sin and turn to Jesus. Receive Him into your life and be saved and forgiven of your sins.
God’s power is present in the Savior we proclaim and God’s power is present in the Spirit we receive.
2) Power in the Spirit we receive (32)
32 “And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”
Peter speaks for all of us who are Christians. He says, “We are His witnesses to these things.” That is, we are witnesses to the gospel. We can tell others about the Lord Jesus Christ who died for us.
And then Peter says the Holy Spirit is also a witness to the gospel. He says, “And so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.” So the passage ends with the reminder that God has given the Holy Spirit to those who obey Him, to Christians. You and I can tell others about Jesus, we really can, because we’re not doing it in our power. We’re doing it in the power of the Spirit we have received.
Conclusion:
A couple of weeks ago we had a lot of fun talking about my running fiasco. Many of you have lovingly teased me since then, asking whether I’ve gotten lost running lately. You know something happened last night that reminded me yet again of how physical lostness mirrors spiritual lostness.
Michele and I went down to Muhlenberg County last night to watch Matthew and the Henderson County High School marching band. As we were coming back home I missed a turn. I think I was supposed to get on 175 and I missed it. Anyway, you know how it is: you’re going down the road and it narrows and gets really dark and all you see are farm houses. I knew I had to turn around so I’m looking for a safe place to turn around. Why is it that every time you’re trying to slow down on a busy road there’s always somebody right behind you?! Their headlights are blinding you and all you want to do is turn around without their tail-ending you. I finally found a dirt drive and pulled into it. Now what are the odds that the guy behind you lives in that very house you pulled into?! So here he comes. I have to pull over to the right to let him into his drive. But as he pulls by he stops and I see that the car is being driven by a woman. I roll my window down and apologize for pulling into her drive and she says, “Oh, I don’t live here. I was following you. I saw you were from Henderson and I thought you would know you’re way back!” I told her I was pretty sure I had missed a turn and she could follow me back. So back we went and she followed as I made the turn. She stayed behind me all the way to the Western Kentucky Parkway. Michele and I were going to stop and get a Coke or something, but I felt like I had to keep moving since this woman was counting on me to get going the right way. I was responsible for her. So she followed for a pretty good ways down the parkway and then drove around. She honked, waved, and went on her way.
And again, I was struck by just how much that mirrors spiritual lostness. Sometimes lost people are right next to us—sometimes right behind us! And sometimes they’re looking to us for spiritual direction. We must claim responsibility for them, showing them the right way, staying committed to them, discipling them, until they “wave” at us, thanking us for helping them come to the Lord Jesus Christ, as they embark on their mission field.
Let’s claim the souls around us in our community and fill the city of Henderson with the gospel for the glory of God!
- Stand for prayer.
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