January 26, 2025
Pastor John Hering
Acts 4:23–32
Acts 4:23–32
23 After Peter and John were released, they went to their own friends and reported everything the high priests and the elders had said. 24 When they heard this, with one mind they raised their voices to God and said, “Master, you are the God who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything in them. 25 By the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David, your servant, you said:
Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 26 The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers are gathered together against the Lord
and against his Anointed One.
27 “For certainly, in this city both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and people of Israel, were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. 28 They did whatever your hand and your plan had decided beforehand should happen.
29 “Now Lord, look at their threats and give to your servants the ability to keep on speaking your word with all boldness 30 as you stretch out your hand to heal and as signs and wonders take place through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
31 After they prayed, the place where they were gathered was shaken. Also, everyone was filled with the Holy Spirit, and they continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
What would you call a “baby church?” I suppose compared to the churches around us many would call us a “baby church.” And what would you call a successful church? Probably a church that has parking lots larger than our whole property filled with cars and a building that is seen from miles away. Pentecost has taken place and that day is recorded by Luke,
“41 Those who accepted his [Peter’s] message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added”
Acts 2
Would you call that a baby church? Probably not. But, neither would I call it “organized religion.” At this point the disciples are in Jerusalem doing stage 1 of God’s plan for them to,
“be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth”
Acts 1:8
Their congregation would still be a mixed crowd of Old Testament believers, some who heard about what the death and resurrection of Jesus had done for them, plenty who were still skeptics, and some who rejected Jesus and wanted him dead along with his disciples and those who believed in Jesus. They wanted to smother the baby Church. But, that wasn’t going to happen. While it was dangerous to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus and to be a believer, yet the disciples also believed the promises of God and were witnesses to the facts of Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection. If God could do that, he could also keep the promise he made to his Church,
“10 Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand”
Isaiah 41
This was the Gospel Message the disciples would proclaim and be blessed by the Lord.
God has given us those same promises of protection, however, we need to be reminded of them because we all too often underestimate those promises in the way we live our lives. Rather than boldly sharing Jesus’ Gospel with others we are guilty of being lazy, pre-occupied, shy, or even afraid of the devil’s lies. If we stay quiet no one will get hurt, will be happy and not get mad at us. While it is true that the message of Jesus may be rejected, today may the Holy Spirit inspire us to boldly
Succeed By Proclaiming The Gospel
Knowing Where To Turn For Strength
The Sanhedrin, the very group that arrested Jesus and had him crucified, also arrested Peter and John threw them into jail for preaching about Jesus. Can you imagine their anxiety? Does it make you wonder how in the world the church could grow? They knew what could happen next. However, we give thanks to the Lord that the early disciples did not shy away from sharing the Gospel. Those disciples were sinful and shy just like we are, yet they knew where to turn for strength. They prayed to God!
“23 After Peter and John were released, they went to their own friends and reported everything the high priests and the elders had said. 24 When they heard this, with one mind they raised their voices to God.”
Yes, Peter and John were released from prison and told not to proclaim the gospel of Jesus, but it didn’t stop them. They went back to the faithful followers of Christ and rejoiced in his deliverance. They thanked God for his Strength and deliverance and successfully Proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus with others and this Gospel was passed down generations even to you. The Church grew because they turned to the Lord for strength.
Jesus’ promises to set us free came true literally for Peter and John, but he set more free than just them. Jesus showed great compassion by healing those who were sick, and he gave strength to the early disciples as well. The disciples prayed this would continue,
“30 as you stretch out your hand to heal and as signs and wonders take place through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
God answered their prayers as he had promised and gave them the strength to heal people! In Acts 5
“12 Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles…. 16 The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.”
Along with the healing came the proclamation of Jesus Christ as their Savior. There was Great Success By Proclaiming The Gospel Knowing Where To Turn For Strength. Many received physical healing and through the Gospel of Jesus received freedom from the curse of sin, death and the devil.
There are even more captives that have been set free. You may have not had the experience of sitting behind bars for believing in Jesus, but you have been held captive by sin’s effects in your life. It happened just as Jesus read from the scroll of Isaiah in the synagogue that day,
“18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor”
Luke 4
Jesus was talking about you! Jesus has set you free from the captivity of sin in which you used to live. You were in spiritual darkness but Jesus opened your eyes of faith to see the light of his love, forgiveness and peace. Success By Proclaiming The Gospel to You resulted in you
Knowing Who To Trust For Victory
It certainly didn’t look like a victory when Jesus hung on the cross. It certainly didn’t look like Jesus was succeeding to save the world. But, he did. Jesus died and rose again to show his successful payment for sin, his defeat of the power of death and freed us from the power of the devil. Jesus uses this same power to protect us and promises us new lives in his name. This is the victory we trust even when it looks like the gospel isn’t being successful. We know the Kingdom of God is at work to control the events of the world for your good and his glory. Luke recorded,
“Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 26 The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers are gathered together against the Lord and against his Anointed One. 27 “For certainly, in this city both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and people of Israel, were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. 28 They did whatever your hand and your plan had decided beforehand should happen. 29 “Now Lord, look at their threats and give to your servants the ability to keep on speaking your word with all boldness.”
The Lord has delivered the ability to us to successfully keep speaking the Gospel of Jesus with all boldness. You received this ability at your baptism when the Lord set you free from the old way of life, and a new life in Christ. The Lord claimed you as his very own and motivates us To Trust Jesus For Our Victory. Now we can do the things that God wants of us. Now we can show our trust in Jesus’ victory for us with our choices, our attitudes and our lives.
What does a person do with this victory in Christ? Listen,
“29 “Now Lord, look at their threats and give to your servants the ability to keep on speaking your word with all boldness.”
The 2-year-old that is let out of his crib doesn’t cry to go back in. They are free and they are going to take advantage of their freedom. The high-school senior whose curfew has been bumped up to midnight, probably doesn’t return home at 10:00pm, but they are going to enjoy their freedom. You have been set free from the curse of sin, now you live what God has made you. Keep on Successfully Proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus with boldness. Success isn’t found in how many listen to you, but your success is in the proclamation itself. The success is not in how many people have come to church because you gave your time and talents, but in how many people were invited. Yes, we can look for those people in our lives who are still captives and might not even know it. We can boldly join Jesus on his mission to share the Gospel of freedom with them.
So, what does a “baby church” look like? A baby church looks like a church that can’t talk yet. But, a thriving church of people is the Thriving Church of God when the people Succeed by Proclaiming the Gospel with boldness and trust in Jesus for the victory. Now live in this freedom and peace! And may the Lord bless our church with his People Who Are Successfully Proclaiming The Gospel to Others. Amen.
