The Unstoppable Force, The Church 04
June 27, 2021

The Unstoppable Force, The Church

Acts 4:23-37 (NLT)

The Unstoppable Force, The Church 04 | Mick Veach | lead pastor | first aired on 06.27.2021

Read Scripture

As soon as they were freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said. When they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God: “O Sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them— you spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant, saying,

‘Why were the nations so angry?
Why did they waste their time with futile plans?

The kings of the earth prepared for battle;
the rulers gathered together
against the Lord
and against his Messiah.’

“In fact, this has happened here in this very city! For Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate the governor, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you anointed. But everything they did was determined beforehand according to your will. And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.

All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all. There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need.

For instance, there was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement”). He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus. He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles. —Acts 4:23-37

Introduction

1 ) Acts chapters 1 to 3 is a quick growth for the church without resistance

  • Ascension

  • Pentecost

  • Church birthed

  • The miraculous healing

  • Peter’s Preaching

2 ) This was short lived as we enter chapter 4 Satan begins to stand against the church’s advancement. Scripture clearly shows his attacks on the gospel advancement

  • 2 Corinthians 4:1 — “Gospel is veiled…the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers”

  • John 10:10 — “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy.”

  • John 8:44 — “… there is no truth in him, when he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

  • Revelation 12:9 — “…Satan, who deceives the world …”

3 ) We must understand that as the church moves forward attacks from Satan will be the norm:

  • Disunity

  • Self-centered

  • Mission drift

  • Un-Forgiveness

  • Strongholds

Three Truths that help move the church forward

I.

Reveal Answer
is God’s
Reveal Answer
— verse 1-22

A. Verses 2-3 — Peter and John are arrested—why?

  1. Their teaching about the resurrection of Jesus

  2. Verse 4 — the gathering had grown to 5,000 men but in in reality is closer to 10,000-20,000 people.

  • A mega church instantly

B. Let’s not be afraid of opposition, The Holy Spirit will grant us what we need in the moment that we need it

  1. Perspective

  2. Courage

  3. Power

C . We must take advantage of the moment of challenge and allow God’s glory to be seen

D. Verse 8 — Peter uses the opportunity to preach and the fact that he is so bold is proof of the Holy Spirit anointing

  1. Verse 12 — He boldly announces there is only way to be saved

    • Without this the church is in trouble

  2. Verse 13 — They noticed he was not a trained speaker or religious leader but

    a. He had been with Jesus
    b. Can people see that you have been with Jesus?

  3. Verse 19 — The decision that would change their life and the world—obey God rather than man

    a. Romans 13 — obey government authorities
    b. How do we reconcile this?
    c. We obey government authorities until it crosses the line of the gospel

    1. Can’t worship
    2. Can’t meet together
    3. Can’t teach bible

E. Peter and John stayed on mission when the heat was on and the result is that a church was birthed

Key Point — When opposition stands against you, allow God to stand up for you!

II. The Believers

Reveal Answer
God — Verses 23-31

A. Verse 23-24 — Immediately Peter and John engage with the other Christians in prayer

  1. The power of praying together in crisis changes everything

  2. Verses 25-27 — they prayed in context of scripture and history of how God has worked

a. We must pray in relationship not just telling God what or how He should respond

b. Remember prayer aligns us with God’s heart and purpose

B. Verse 29 — What did they pray?

  1. To be delivered or protected? —NO

    • This is not wrong to pray look at the Lord’s Prayer

  2. They prayed for God to give them great boldness in preaching the Word.

  3. Verse 30 — They prayed for God to:

a. Stretch out His hand for

  • Healings
  • Miraculous signs and wonders

b. They understood the demonstration of God’s power was essential for the advancement of the gospel

C. Biblical Example of opposition — Job

  1. Satan accuses before God why Job serves him

    • Because of the benefits—He’s a consumer

  2. Take away these things and he will turn away

D. Verse 31 — Results of their Prayers

  1. Place was shaken

a. Old Testament - God’s presence caused the earth shaking

  1. Moses could not stand his presence

  2. Isaiah declared he cannot be in his presence

  3. Daniel falls as dead

b. Nothing on earth can hold him

  • Like an ice quake

c. Matthew 27:27-28 — Jesus dies and the earth is shaken

  1. He takes God’s divine punishment

  2. Jesus was shaken so we could engage God

d. Filled with the Holy Spirit

  1. Implies that they were empty—not true

  2. They were filled in Acts 2

  3. The filling is the work of the Spirit in our lives that heightens what we already know about him

    • His characteristics engage us anew

  4. The filling empowers us for the task before us

e. Spoke boldly

  1. The Gospel of Jesus with conviction and power

  2. With no fears of the response

f. As they engaged God in prayer, they were equipped to move ahead with the gospel.

Key Point — Our greatest weapon is engaging God in prayer

III. Believers Engage

Reveal Answer
Reveal Answer
— verse 32-37

A. Verse 32 — Unity occurs for the believers

  1. They had a common mission

  2. They had a common experience

  3. They had common resources

B. Their boldness allowed them to share their resources without fear

  • God is more real than the fear of the future

C. Each believer chose not look at their possessions as first and foremost their own

  1. We struggle with this because in our country we don’t live this way

  2. They were all in

  3. They understood nothing was theirs, I am just entrusted with it temporarily

D. Verse 33 — Together they proclaimed the message of the resurrection

  1. This was possible because of the BLESSING was upon them

  2. Today we are missing the anointing and blessing in our lives and in the life of the church because of

    a. Disobedience
    b. Sin
    c. Broken relationships

E. Verse 34-35 — Caring and sharing are normative

  1. This is not communism where we are don’t own and don’t have a choice

  2. The key is that we listen and be bold in the spirit as He leads us in each situation

  3. We live in tension because we live in abundance and there are those around us that do not live with this.

  4. It is my goal that we become more multi-economic as a church

Key Point—We need each other if we are going to finish the mission that Jesus gave us

Call to Action:

1. Pray for boldness to stand for the gospel

2. Pray for unity among all your relationships

3. Pray for God’s leading that you can help those in need

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