Perhaps you’ve been in a situation before where something big happened, and you get back with your friends or family, and they ask, “How did it go?” Perhaps it was a job interview, a marriage proposal, or maybe even something that could be dangerous.
Well, we see a situation in today’s passage where we essentially get the answer to the question, “How did it go?”
You may remember from last week that Peter and John stood before the important leaders of Israel, and they were being questioned about the healing of a disabled man and their speaking in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
You may recall that the meeting ended with the leaders telling Peter and John not to speak in the name of Jesus, and Peter and John saying that they cannot help but speak about what they had seen and heard.
In today’s passage, the rest of the disciples will hear about what happened; then we will see how they respond.
While we hear about what happens, we will see “The Great Traits of the Early Church.”
Let’s pray together and then see what the Lord has to say to us.
(prayer)
Last night my family and I went to celebrate a milestone birthday with my mom, and we were so grateful that my brother was able to go as well (he’s in town for a few days). We went to a wonderful Italian restaurant in Lakeland and just had a great experience. Some of the traits that made this restaurant great were that it had great food, great service, and wonderful portions. Honestly, it was a wonderful time and wonderful way to celebrate my mother. Those traits I mentioned made a great dining experience.
Well, today we’re going to notice three great traits of the early church, which made them the God-filled, God-glorifying force that they were.
First, we see their . . .
I. Great faith.
Let’s begin by looking at verses 23-30:
23 After they were released, they went to their own people and reported everything the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together to God and said, “Master, you are the one who made the heaven, the earth, and the sea, and everything in them. 25 You said through the Holy Spirit, by the mouth of our father David your servant:
Why do the Gentiles rage
and the peoples plot futile things?
26 The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers assemble together
against the Lord and against his Messiah.
27 “For, in fact, in this city both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, 28 to do whatever your hand and your will had predestined to take place. 29 And now, Lord, consider their threats, and grant that your servants may speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand for healing, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
Ok, so let’s wrap our heads around what’s going on here.
Peter and John report back to the other disciples, and we see in verse 24 that it says, “Whey they heard this . . .”
The they in verse 24 is the other disciples. They heard what Peter and John said.
The this in verse 24 is the news about what happened to Peter and John. The this was essentially the answer to the question, “How did it go?”
Notice also what they did when they got this information. Look at verse 24 again. It says, “ . . . they raised their voices together to God.”
The reaction of the disciples to what happened to Peter and John (which included threats to never speak about Jesus again) was to raise their voices to God. Why? Because they had great faith in the One True Living God of the universe.
We see the great faith of the disciples when they acknowledge all that they say in verses 25-30. Listen to just a few of the elements from these verses:
They acknowledge that God is Master.
They acknowledge that God made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything in them.
They acknowledge that God spoke prophecies about what would happen to the Messiah. (We see that prophecy in verses 25 and 26, which is quote from Psalm 2:1-2.)
They recognize that what happened to Jesus is a fulfillment of prophecy.
They acknowledge that they see God’s plans unfolding in their day and time.
They acknowledge that God’s will and ways have been predestined.
They acknowledge that they need God to empower them to speak with boldness.
They acknowledge that God is the One who brings healing, signs, and wonders.
You see, the disciples at that time knew that there was a God, they knew He was in control, and they knew that they needed Him. They had great faith.
I also found it interesting how the disciples prayed regarding those who opposed Peter and John. They didn’t pray a strong prayer of condemnation against them; they didn’t pray that fire be rained down upon them; they simply prayed these words (look at verse 29): “And now, Lord, consider their threats.”
You see, it seems that because their faith was so great in the power of God, the will of God, and the sovereignty of God over all things, they could essentially say to God, “Hey, don’t forget about those guys and how they threatened us.”
They trusted that God was with them and He would work out all things. They had great faith.
I wonder about our faith.
Do we have faith that God is in control of all of creation?
Do we have faith that God is sovereign over all that His will and hand has predestined?
Do we have faith that God can be with us when we face difficulties, persecutions, or threats?
Do we have faith that God can use us to do wonders by His power?
Do we have great faith?
First, we see great faith.
Second, among the early disciples, we see . . .
II. Great power.
Great power is certainly nothing new at this point in Acts. However, we see it again here in today’s passage.
Let’s look at a couple of verses again, then read through verse 31.
“29 And now, Lord, consider their threats, and grant that your servants may speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand for healing, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God boldly.
Notice that the disciples anticipated a continued occurrence of healings, signs, and wonders performed through the name of Jesus.
These healings, signs, and wonders had been happening, and they expected that they would continue to happen only by the power of God.
As they had been told by Jesus, the disciples anticipated that they would receive power since the Holy Spirit had already come upon them.
As it would happen, we see in this passage that there was yet another magnificent manifestation of the power of God.
Look again at verse 31. It says, “When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God boldly.”
We ought not to overlook this miracle. Luke (the author of Acts) chose not to go into detail here, but this sounds very much like what the disciples experienced on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon them.
The place was shaken; they were filled with the Spirit of God; then they boldly spoke the Word of God.
There was great power that day among the early church.
What a beautiful display of the power of God. Boy, I want to see some of that great power in our church. Amen?
Finally, we see . . .
III. Great generosity.
Let’s pick it up in verse 32 and read through the end of the chapter.
32 Now the entire group of those who believed were of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but instead they held everything in common. 33 With great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on all of them. 34 For there was not a needy person among them because all those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the proceeds of what was sold, 35 and laid them at the apostles’ feet. This was then distributed to each person as any had need.
To many of you, this passage may seem very similar to what we’ve already studied from the end of Acts 2.
The reason it may seem very similar is because it is very similar. After all, these are the same people, gathering in the same area, around the same time.
Once again, we see a gathering of Christian brothers and sisters who are tremendously generous towards one another.
We see great generosity.
As a matter of review, this type of giving that we see here is not communism, and it is not forced. Rather, it is a voluntary sacrifice and devotion to one another because of the bond that is shared in the name of Jesus.
If you’d like to get more detailed teaching on what’s happening here, go back to my sermon from November 12, called “The Family Life of the Early Church.”
By the way, let’s not skip over this mention of great power again in verse 33.
It says, “With great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on all of them.”
I just want to be sure that we catch that, since point #2 was about the great power in the early church.
Ok, back to great generosity. Luke does something special here at the end of this chapter; he gives us an actual example of someone who sacrificed for the cause of the church. This person he speaks about is a special person.
Let’s look at verses 36 and 37: 36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus by birth, the one the apostles called Barnabas (which is translated Son of Encouragement), 37 sold a field he owned, brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
We see that this man named Joseph was extremely sacrificial for the cause of the church. He owned a field and sold it, giving the proceeds to the apostles for the work of the church.
This man is a real-life example of the sacrifice and generosity that Luke mentioned earlier.
We should ask ourselves why Luke singles out this man. Well, we should pay attention to the other name that the apostles used to refer to this man: Barnabas.
Barnabas is a man that we will hear a lot about as we journey through the book of Acts, and he is someone with whom Luke would end up spending a lot of time.
So it is, that Barnabas, as well as the other members of the early church, showed great generosity.
In the early church, we see great faith, great power, and great generosity.
Let this bottom line summarize what God is teaching us today:
Bottom Line: Our great God can do great things in His Church.
How did the early church respond to two of their most important leaders being threatened? They thanked God for His sovereign control over all things and asked God to bless them as they continued to minister in the name of Jesus!
What about us, church? What will be our response to the Lord God in 2024 and beyond?
Will we thank God for His sovereign will and hand in all things?
Will we ask Him for His power and blessing?
Will we trust His work in our church and in the world?
Will we be faithful to the mission to which He’s called us?
Will we be sacrificial and generous towards one another?
Do we truly believe that our great God can do great things in His church?
Challenge yourself this week in the following ways:
Weekly Challenge #1 – Consider the sovereign hand of God.
To say that God is sovereign means that He is King over everything.
Do you believe, as the disciples did, that God is Master and He created everything? Do you believe, as the disciples did, that God does whatever His hand and will have predestined to do?
Weekly Challenge #2 – Commit to being an Acts 4 Christian.
In Acts 4, we see great faith, great power, great generosity, and more.
Are you willing to commit to being this type of Christian? Are you willing to have greater faith, seek greater power, and show greater generosity in your life?
If so, accept the challenge this week to be an Acts 4 Christian.
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
(Benediction)
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