Facing Persecution Without Falling Apart (Sep 27, 2009)
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ACTS M6 SERMON NOTES SEPT. 27, 2009
TITLE: Facing Persecution Without Falling Apart
TEXT: Acts 4:1-13
BIG IDEA: Suffering is part of our call as followers of Christ and a means for us to witness to the reality of Christ.
When I was in grade 8, a girl named Julie who had moved here to Canada from England cameinto our class part way through the year. She was pretty and had an elegant, British charm. Because of her beauty and charm some people in class were attracted to her and wanted to be her friend and others in the class resented because her and because she posed a threat to them.
In Acts 2 we read that the early church was astonishingly generous, wise, and courageous and that they enjoyed the favour of the people…
But, as we read Acts 3 and 4 (like the girl Julie from grade 8), we see that some of the very factors which caused people to be attracted to them (their generosity, wisdom, courage, and their growing influence) also caused them to be resented by others.
And so it will be for us. If we decide to truly follow Christ, we will be filled with His Spirit, his spirit, and we will begin to manifest a new beauty and strength in our lives which some people will be attracted to, and others will resent.
(If we follow Christ, we will experience priceless gifts, but also pushback and even persecution. But God will give us the power to face that persecution with such courage and grace that people will be drawn to God through you.)
This morning as we continue our series in the Book of Acts, we are going to look at Acts 4. We are going to be looking at why the early church faced resentment and even persecution and how this opposition became a catalyst for the growth of the early church.
If you have your Bibles, please turn to Acts 4
Acts 4:1-13:
1 The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. 2 They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3 They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. 4 But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.
5 The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest's family. 7 They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: "By what power or what name did you do this?" 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 Jesus is "'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.' 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved." 13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus
In Acts 3, we read how Peter and John, two of the key leaders of the early church, were used as channels of Jesus Christ to heal a man who was over 40 years old and had been crippled his whole life. This man who had been paralyzed whole life, through the power of Jesus Christ, stood for the first time and began to walk and then went into the temple courts, and he began jumping and praising God with all his might. This healing occurred about 3:00 in the afternoon as the people were making in the temple to pray. The people who saw this man healed were astonished and gathered around Peter and John and look at them as if they are Greek gods. Peter takes the opportunity to preach an impromptu sermon where he explains that the healing they had just seen did not occur because of Peter’s own power or virtue, but through the power of the risen Christ. Because there was so much excitement, certain religious authorities in charge of the temple had Peter and John arrested by the temple guard.
In verse 3 we read: 3 They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day.
Who initiated Peter and John’s arrest and imprisonment? It was likely the Sadducees. The Sadducees were highly-educated, wealthy Jewish elites who denied the supernatural activity of God. They did not believe in miracles. They certainly did not believe God would raise anyone from the dead. So they did not believe in that God raised Jesus from the dead. The Sadducees did not believe in a personal messiah (or saviour figure).
Because Peter and John were undeniably used as instruments of healing in the life of this forty- something year old man who had been paralyzed from birth, and because they proclaimed that Jesus had risen from the dead and that Jesus and none other (Acts 4:12) was the promised saviour of the world, the Sadducees became very agitated. According to their teachings, healings did not happen. God did not raise people from the dead. There was no savior figure.
So Peter and John were unintentionally undermining the authority of the Sadducees. Part of the reason the Sadducees had Peter and John thrown into prison was because they were a threat to their power.
The reason that followers of Christ were later persecuted by Rome was because of their declaration that Jesus, and not Caesar, was (kyrios) Lord. That was a threat, of course, to the Roman emperor and to those who were close supporters of the emperor.
When you decide to follow Jesus and are filled with the Holy Spirit, when you experience a new power, a new courage, and a new wisdom. These are the very qualities that will cause some people to be attracted to you as a true follower of Christ…
But your new power, courage, and wisdom may also be the same reasons why others may resent you because you pose some kind of threat to them.
Even though India is officially a secular state, it has been a country where Christians have been violently persecuted. About a year ago in India’s Orissa state, Christians were targeted by an extremist Hindu group and some 15 Christians were killed and 25 churches were torched or damaged and 500 Christian homes were set on fire.
Why has this kind of persecution happened? According to Joseph D’ Souza who was born into India’s upper class (into the Brahmin caste), people from India’s most powerful class have been violently opposed to Christians because Christians proclaim that all people are equal in the eyes of God and this teaching threatens to disrupt India’s ancient hierarchy where the elites can abuse and exploit untouchables.
Most of us are not going to have our houses set on fire because we follow Christ, but we may experience push-back from others because of our decision to follow Christ because following Christ may pose a threat to someone in our world.
(In response to Christ’s call to care for the poor, our church began a feeding ministry to the poor here at Tenth and a sheltered some them overnight. Most people would that’s a good thing. But, it created pushback from our neighbors, who saw the homeless people as a threat to their property—and to their property values. )
Part of the reason Peter and John commanded by the Sanhedrin, Israel’s Supreme Court, in vs. 18 and made threats against if they did not stay silent in vs. 21 was because many of the members of Israel’s supreme court were Sadducees and they did not believe God would miraculously heal someone, they did not believe God would raise someone from the dead, and did not believe in a personal savior figure for the world.
Peter filled with Spirit in vs. 10 proclaims Jesus Christ miraculously healed this man, that he was the one who they crucified but whom God raised from the dead, and that Jesus Christ was the savior of the world. Peter boldly proclaimed that Jesus was the one who brought physical healing to the paralyzed man and was the only one who can offer us spiritual healing from our sin and bring us into a right relationship with God.
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved."
Because this message was such a threat to the members of the Sanhedrin, the Supreme Court, Peter and John were threatened and commanded never to speak of Jesus Christ again.
When we experience the healing grace of Jesus Christ in our lives and conclude that he is the Saviour of the world, people may push back against us because they may not have that kind of certainty in their own lives.
In our culture many people say, “I am spiritual, but not religious.” It seems acceptable to raise questions and to pursue some kind of spiritual connection, but less acceptable to claim that we have found truth.
Some people assume that if you claim to have found the truth in Jesus Christ that must be arrogant, intolerant, and exclusive. It is true that some who claim to be followers of Christ are arrogant, intolerant and exclusive. But people who enter into a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ and are filled with the Spirit become far more inclusive. (I’ve said in this series that the reason Christianity spread like wildfire in the first century when they were “competing” with thousands of other mystery religions is because Christianity was the most inclusive movement the world had ever seen. It was the first movement in history that brought together people from every race and culture, people from all socio-economic background, proclaimed the equality of men and women.)
But when we experience Jesus’ healing grace in our lives, and we conclude that he is the unique Saviour of the world, other people may perceive our confidence in him as arrogance or naiveté and while we may not be violently assaulted… we experience pushback and perhaps ridicule by some.
A little like the Sadducees of old, someone might roll their eyes and say you believe in Jesus Christ rose from the dead? I thought you were smarter than that. (Obviously there are very intelligent people throughout history like Augustine, Pascal, Isaac Newton, and C.S. Lewis who were devoted Christians. Whether you are a fan our prime minister or not, whether you like the president of the country south of us or not, most people would agree these men are intelligent people and they both describe as committed Christians. But, there are also very intelligent people who Christians are not Christians as well. So being a Christian isn’t an issue of being intelligent or not, but experiencing disdain from someone because we are a Christian can feel like persecution.)
A woman named Courtney writes:
When I attended graduate school for English, there were many occasions when my fellow students openly ridiculed the name of Christ. I stayed silent. I was quite vocal about my belief in Christ at church and with my friends, but I was terrified of what might happen to my reputation if the people at my school found out I believed in Jesus. … Most of them were just ignorant about who Jesus is. Several of them had never even met a Christian before and assumed that all Christians were the uneducated, judgmental stereotypes we sometimes see in the media. Yet, I was still afraid.
One day a fellow student asked me flat out—right before class, when many other students were around—if I was a Christian. I took a deep breath, and, with God's help, I said a soft, shaky, "Yes." The student looked at me for a second, skeptically. "Interesting," she said. "I always thought that Christians were like circus freaks…but you're smart!"
Following Jesus Christ may also pose a threat to someone we work for. If we are not a follower of Jesus Christ, we are free to make our company our de facto God--our idol, but we will not do that if we truly following Christ and there may be pushback because of that.
When we become followers of Christ, we will be conscientious and dependable employees, but the company, the school and no single person, not even a family member will occupy the most central place in our lives. That place is reserved for God alone. When there is a clash between loyalty to our company and our loyalty to God, and we choose God, then we may experience pushback or even persecution.
George Galatis was someone who studied at same graduate school as me in Boston.
George Galatis had been an engineer at Millstone Nuclear Power Station in Waterford, Connecticut, when he discovered something was wrong.
The nuclear power plant was illegally dumping radioactive nuclear waste materials into pools and threatening the lives of thousands of people who if exposed to this radiation and would be more likely to contract cancer and or some kind of genetic disease.
The company leaders shrugged turned a blind eye this illegal dumping of radioactive waste thought was putting thousands of lives in jeopardy because they were saving millions of dollars because of these shortcuts.
When Galatis urged plant managers to stop the hazardous practices, but they refused.
Galatis began to seek for God's guidance. He awoke early in the morning to pray and read Scripture. During lunch breaks, he drove to a secluded place to pray and search the Bible. It was during one of these prayer times that Galatis believed God whispered to him, "Will you die for me?" Though he feared for his safety, Galatis realized there were many ways of dying: his livelihood, his reputation, and the well being of his family were at all stake….
Feeling like he answered to God, Galatis became a whistler blower.
He suffered great anguish as a result: When he sat down in the cafeteria, coworkers left. Co-workers spread false rumors that he was an alcoholic… He was called a troublemaker. He was told, "Shut up and keep your job." His performance evaluation became negative.
As a result of being a whistle blower, a criminal investigation was launched and Millstone forced to shut down 3 of their plants and make upgrades that cost the company over one billion dollars.
As Galatis fight became public (cover story in TIME Magazine: show image), the pressure on him and his family felt overwhelming. Galatis ended up leaving the company and entered graduate school to pursue another vocation.
When we follow Christ, we answer finally, not to our company, but to God. Of course, when we believe that we answer to God, most of the time, we will be considered an asset to our company—we’ll be conscientious, dependable employees. But when the dictates of a company clash with God’s call on us, then, if we choose God, we may experience push back and even persecution.
Sometimes in the context of our personal relationships and personal choices, we can even experience push-back if what God calls us to do clashes with what someone else wants us to do.
(I know people who have committed themselves to Christ and are in the midst of a dating relationship. As a result of their commitment to Christ, they want to commit themselves to reserving sex for marriage believing God, and, as you can imagine, there can be strong push-back from their partner who does not share that vision. I know people who have committed their lives to Christ who then respond to God’s call to give 10% of their income away. There is push-back from other family members.)
When we become followers of Christ and are filled with his Spirit, then we find that God, not the company, school, not money, not anything, or even any person, is at the very centre of our being.
And this can be perceived as a threat to others, especially if they feel their agenda or they are no longer at the center of your universe and there may be pushback and even persecution…
When what Scriptures describe as the spiritual forces of darkness are pushed to the edge of our lives, there can be push back from the “darkness” as well.
The Scriptures teach that just as there is a spiritual source of good in the world, what we would call God; there is also a spirit source of evil in the world as well. Evil in our world can the result of human nature and social environment, but it can also evil is also further by the spiritual darkness in the world (and this is topic for a future sermon). When spiritual forces of darkness are pushed the edges of lives, there can be pushback from the darkness.
One of my mentors and teachers, Tim Keller, a pastor in New York, says, “If we are followers of Christ, at some point along the way we will experience persecution.
Jesus said if they hated me, they will hate you (John 15). The apostle Paul said that anyone who lives a godly life will suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12).
If you are a follower of Christ, if you are always persecuted, it may not mean that you are just like Jesus, it may mean that you are just obnoxious.
But if you are followers of Christ and are never persecuted, it may mean that you are coward. It may mean that your manifesting much of Christ’s presence in the world.
If you’re always being persecuted, it may you have to ratchet thing down.
If you’re never persecuted, it may mean you have to ratchet things up.
Spend more time with Jesus and filled with more of Jesus and his Spirit that you might live a bolder life. According to Acts 4:30-21 after Peter and John had been put on trial for healing some a man in Jesus name and then warned to never speak of him they joined with other followers of Christ and prayed
30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus." 31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
Some of are being called to pray to be filled with the Spirit to become bold ambassadors for Jesus.
(I know may seem bad to experience persecution for doing something good, but it’s ennobling to have some good that you are so devoted that you are willing to suffer for and even die for it. If you something for which you are willing to suffer and die for, you have something for which to truly live for.)
(transition)
Those who were looking at Peter and John coming under persecution for their proclaiming Jesus as savior were amazed at their poise under pressure.
According to Acts 4 verse 13, they recognized that Peter and John were ordinary me (fishermen)… unschooled, and yet they saw, according to verse 13, their courage. They were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus
As result of Peter’s proclamation of Jesus, AND also the quality of Peter and John’s, courage and wisdom, poise, see in Acts 4:4 that the church grew from about 3000 to about 5000.
It is as we spend time with Jesus, and pray and are filled with the Holy Spirit, then we can become people who are like Jesus—and become bold ambassadors for Jesus in the world. As people see this boldness and courage in us, and when they see us willing to suffer with courage, faith, hope and love, they may well be drawn to the Jesus that we follow.
Part of the reason that the Christian movement spread like wildfire is because the Christians lived better and died better than other people in those years.
They faced died facing the lions better than others.
In the year 202 AD, the Roman emperor has decreed that there shall be no new Christians. Conversions are forbidden on pain of death.
Yet, in ancient Carthage, as all over the empire, men and women still come to Christ, risking execution for doing so. Among the new believers is a young 22 mother named Perpetua with an infant son. When the Roman soldiers swoop into the peaceful meeting they arrest all the new believers who are preparing for baptism, and arrest Perpetua….
Through her diary, Perpetua leaves a written record of their ordeal and the many ways the Lord comforted them: She experiences great joy when she is allowed to keep her baby in prison. She has visions, including one confirming one that she will be martyred, but will have victory over death with eternal life in heaven… Though many urge her to sacrifice to the emperor to preserve her life including her dad, she refuses and she faces mouths of wild animals in the arena at Carthage who wound, but don’t kill her. An executioner, then takes his sword and thrusts into her, but she didn’t die. The man who is a novice executioner can’t bring himself to lift stab her again… and so she raises his sword to her neck to help him… and she’s killed.
People are come to Christ because her poise and courage in face of suffering.
Tertullian said, The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.
A story a little bit closer to our time, the story of Ruby Bridges.
In 1960, a federal judge in New Orleans ordered the city to open its public schools to black children. The white parents decided that if the court let black children into their schools, then they would keep their children out of school. They made it clear that any black children who came to their school would be face trouble. So the black parents kept their children out of school too. All except of the parents of a six-year-old black student named Ruby Bridges. Her parents sent her to school, the first, and for a while, the only black child to enter a white New Orleans school.
Every morning Ruby walked through a heckling crowd to an empty school.
The white people, young and old, lined the street and shook fists at her and threatened to do horrible things to her if she kept coming to their school.
But every morning at ten minutes to eight, Ruby walked with her head up and eyes ahead through the mob with two US Marshals ahead of her and two behind her. Then she spent the day alone with her teachers.
A white teacher described what she saw when Ruby walked into school:
A woman spat at Ruby; Ruby smiled at her. A man shook his fist at Ruby; Ruby smiled at him. Then she walked up the stairs and she stopped and turned and smiled once more. You know what she told one of the marshals?
She told him she prays for those people every night before she goes to sleep.
Harvard Medical School Professor of Psychiatry, Robert Coles, tells Ruby's story in his book The Moral Life of Children. Coles spent time with Ruby Bridges and her parents.
Professor Coles asked Ruby about her prayers. "Why do you pray for these people?"
"Because they need praying for," answered Ruby.
Ruby's mother told Coles that Ruby had been taught in Sunday school to pray for them. The pastor of the black church to which Ruby and her family belonged also prayed for the hate-filled crowd publicly, every Sunday.
Coles asked Ruby's mother if asking a six-year-old to pray for these people who hated her was not expecting too much of Ruby, given their violent intent. Her mother replied: but we think that we all have to pray for people like that and we think Ruby should too.
Looking Dr. Coles in the eye, Ruby's mother asked, "Don't you think they need praying for?"
Ruby’s parents and Sunday School helped shape her, and the pastor and civil rights leader, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. who was an inspiration to her and her family.
Listen to King’s words of exhortation to those who persecuted him and his family.
We need not hate; we need not use violence. We can stand up before our most violent opponent and say: … Do to us what you will and we will still love you … throw us in jail. We will go in those jails and transform them from dungeons of shame to havens of freedom and human dignity.
Send your hooded perpetrators of violence into our communities after midnight hours and drag us out on some wayside road and beat us and leave us half-dead, and as difficult as it is, we will still love you. Go around the country and use your propaganda agents to make it appear that we are not fit culturally, morally, or otherwise for integration, and we will still love you.
Threaten our children and bomb our homes, and as difficult as it is, we will still love you.
But be assured that … one day we will win our freedom, but we will not only win freedom for ourselves, we will so appeal to your heart and your conscience [by our love] that we will win you in the process. And our victory will be a double victory.
Though our adversity we face may not be as dramatic, if we are followers of Christ we too face pushback and persecution. But in the midst of the pushback, God will enable you to stand with courage and grace and poise… and as was true of the early church people will drawn to Christ…
Communion lead in (Dan and Lee).
How can we become a person who suffers with courage and grace? By receiving the one who when unfairly beaten and nailed to the cross said, “Father forgive them for they do not know what they do.”
ACTS M6 SERMON NOTES SEPT. 27, 2009
TITLE: Facing Persecution Without Falling Apart
TEXT: Acts 4:1-13
BIG IDEA: Suffering is part of our call as followers of Christ and a means for us to witness to the reality of Christ.
When I was in grade 8, a girl named Julie who had moved here to Canada from England cameinto our class part way through the year. She was pretty and had an elegant, British charm. Because of her beauty and charm some people in class were attracted to her and wanted to be her friend and others in the class resented because her and because she posed a threat to them.
In Acts 2 we read that the early church was astonishingly generous, wise, and courageous and that they enjoyed the favour of the people…
But, as we read Acts 3 and 4 (like the girl Julie from grade 8), we see that some of the very factors which caused people to be attracted to them (their generosity, wisdom, courage, and their growing influence) also caused them to be resented by others.
And so it will be for us. If we decide to truly follow Christ, we will be filled with His Spirit, his spirit, and we will begin to manifest a new beauty and strength in our lives which some people will be attracted to, and others will resent.
(If we follow Christ, we will experience priceless gifts, but also pushback and even persecution. But God will give us the power to face that persecution with such courage and grace that people will be drawn to God through you.)
This morning as we continue our series in the Book of Acts, we are going to look at Acts 4. We are going to be looking at why the early church faced resentment and even persecution and how this opposition became a catalyst for the growth of the early church.
If you have your Bibles, please turn to Acts 4
Acts 4:1-13:
1 The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. 2 They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3 They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. 4 But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.
5 The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest's family. 7 They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: "By what power or what name did you do this?" 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 Jesus is "'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.' 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved." 13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus
In Acts 3, we read how Peter and John, two of the key leaders of the early church, were used as channels of Jesus Christ to heal a man who was over 40 years old and had been crippled his whole life. This man who had been paralyzed whole life, through the power of Jesus Christ, stood for the first time and began to walk and then went into the temple courts, and he began jumping and praising God with all his might. This healing occurred about 3:00 in the afternoon as the people were making in the temple to pray. The people who saw this man healed were astonished and gathered around Peter and John and look at them as if they are Greek gods. Peter takes the opportunity to preach an impromptu sermon where he explains that the healing they had just seen did not occur because of Peter’s own power or virtue, but through the power of the risen Christ. Because there was so much excitement, certain religious authorities in charge of the temple had Peter and John arrested by the temple guard.
In verse 3 we read: 3 They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day.
Who initiated Peter and John’s arrest and imprisonment? It was likely the Sadducees. The Sadducees were highly-educated, wealthy Jewish elites who denied the supernatural activity of God. They did not believe in miracles. They certainly did not believe God would raise anyone from the dead. So they did not believe in that God raised Jesus from the dead. The Sadducees did not believe in a personal messiah (or saviour figure).
Because Peter and John were undeniably used as instruments of healing in the life of this forty- something year old man who had been paralyzed from birth, and because they proclaimed that Jesus had risen from the dead and that Jesus and none other (Acts 4:12) was the promised saviour of the world, the Sadducees became very agitated. According to their teachings, healings did not happen. God did not raise people from the dead. There was no savior figure.
So Peter and John were unintentionally undermining the authority of the Sadducees. Part of the reason the Sadducees had Peter and John thrown into prison was because they were a threat to their power.
The reason that followers of Christ were later persecuted by Rome was because of their declaration that Jesus, and not Caesar, was (kyrios) Lord. That was a threat, of course, to the Roman emperor and to those who were close supporters of the emperor.
When you decide to follow Jesus and are filled with the Holy Spirit, when you experience a new power, a new courage, and a new wisdom. These are the very qualities that will cause some people to be attracted to you as a true follower of Christ…
But your new power, courage, and wisdom may also be the same reasons why others may resent you because you pose some kind of threat to them.
Even though India is officially a secular state, it has been a country where Christians have been violently persecuted. About a year ago in India’s Orissa state, Christians were targeted by an extremist Hindu group and some 15 Christians were killed and 25 churches were torched or damaged and 500 Christian homes were set on fire.
Why has this kind of persecution happened? According to Joseph D’ Souza who was born into India’s upper class (into the Brahmin caste), people from India’s most powerful class have been violently opposed to Christians because Christians proclaim that all people are equal in the eyes of God and this teaching threatens to disrupt India’s ancient hierarchy where the elites can abuse and exploit untouchables.
Most of us are not going to have our houses set on fire because we follow Christ, but we may experience push-back from others because of our decision to follow Christ because following Christ may pose a threat to someone in our world.
(In response to Christ’s call to care for the poor, our church began a feeding ministry to the poor here at Tenth and a sheltered some them overnight. Most people would that’s a good thing. But, it created pushback from our neighbors, who saw the homeless people as a threat to their property—and to their property values. )
Part of the reason Peter and John commanded by the Sanhedrin, Israel’s Supreme Court, in vs. 18 and made threats against if they did not stay silent in vs. 21 was because many of the members of Israel’s supreme court were Sadducees and they did not believe God would miraculously heal someone, they did not believe God would raise someone from the dead, and did not believe in a personal savior figure for the world.
Peter filled with Spirit in vs. 10 proclaims Jesus Christ miraculously healed this man, that he was the one who they crucified but whom God raised from the dead, and that Jesus Christ was the savior of the world. Peter boldly proclaimed that Jesus was the one who brought physical healing to the paralyzed man and was the only one who can offer us spiritual healing from our sin and bring us into a right relationship with God.
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved."
Because this message was such a threat to the members of the Sanhedrin, the Supreme Court, Peter and John were threatened and commanded never to speak of Jesus Christ again.
When we experience the healing grace of Jesus Christ in our lives and conclude that he is the Saviour of the world, people may push back against us because they may not have that kind of certainty in their own lives.
In our culture many people say, “I am spiritual, but not religious.” It seems acceptable to raise questions and to pursue some kind of spiritual connection, but less acceptable to claim that we have found truth.
Some people assume that if you claim to have found the truth in Jesus Christ that must be arrogant, intolerant, and exclusive. It is true that some who claim to be followers of Christ are arrogant, intolerant and exclusive. But people who enter into a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ and are filled with the Spirit become far more inclusive. (I’ve said in this series that the reason Christianity spread like wildfire in the first century when they were “competing” with thousands of other mystery religions is because Christianity was the most inclusive movement the world had ever seen. It was the first movement in history that brought together people from every race and culture, people from all socio-economic background, proclaimed the equality of men and women.)
But when we experience Jesus’ healing grace in our lives, and we conclude that he is the unique Saviour of the world, other people may perceive our confidence in him as arrogance or naiveté and while we may not be violently assaulted… we experience pushback and perhaps ridicule by some.
A little like the Sadducees of old, someone might roll their eyes and say you believe in Jesus Christ rose from the dead? I thought you were smarter than that. (Obviously there are very intelligent people throughout history like Augustine, Pascal, Isaac Newton, and C.S. Lewis who were devoted Christians. Whether you are a fan our prime minister or not, whether you like the president of the country south of us or not, most people would agree these men are intelligent people and they both describe as committed Christians. But, there are also very intelligent people who Christians are not Christians as well. So being a Christian isn’t an issue of being intelligent or not, but experiencing disdain from someone because we are a Christian can feel like persecution.)
A woman named Courtney writes:
When I attended graduate school for English, there were many occasions when my fellow students openly ridiculed the name of Christ. I stayed silent. I was quite vocal about my belief in Christ at church and with my friends, but I was terrified of what might happen to my reputation if the people at my school found out I believed in Jesus. … Most of them were just ignorant about who Jesus is. Several of them had never even met a Christian before and assumed that all Christians were the uneducated, judgmental stereotypes we sometimes see in the media. Yet, I was still afraid.
One day a fellow student asked me flat out—right before class, when many other students were around—if I was a Christian. I took a deep breath, and, with God's help, I said a soft, shaky, "Yes." The student looked at me for a second, skeptically. "Interesting," she said. "I always thought that Christians were like circus freaks…but you're smart!"
Following Jesus Christ may also pose a threat to someone we work for. If we are not a follower of Jesus Christ, we are free to make our company our de facto God--our idol, but we will not do that if we truly following Christ and there may be pushback because of that.
When we become followers of Christ, we will be conscientious and dependable employees, but the company, the school and no single person, not even a family member will occupy the most central place in our lives. That place is reserved for God alone. When there is a clash between loyalty to our company and our loyalty to God, and we choose God, then we may experience pushback or even persecution.
George Galatis was someone who studied at same graduate school as me in Boston.
George Galatis had been an engineer at Millstone Nuclear Power Station in Waterford, Connecticut, when he discovered something was wrong.
The nuclear power plant was illegally dumping radioactive nuclear waste materials into pools and threatening the lives of thousands of people who if exposed to this radiation and would be more likely to contract cancer and or some kind of genetic disease.
The company leaders shrugged turned a blind eye this illegal dumping of radioactive waste thought was putting thousands of lives in jeopardy because they were saving millions of dollars because of these shortcuts.
When Galatis urged plant managers to stop the hazardous practices, but they refused.
Galatis began to seek for God's guidance. He awoke early in the morning to pray and read Scripture. During lunch breaks, he drove to a secluded place to pray and search the Bible. It was during one of these prayer times that Galatis believed God whispered to him, "Will you die for me?" Though he feared for his safety, Galatis realized there were many ways of dying: his livelihood, his reputation, and the well being of his family were at all stake….
Feeling like he answered to God, Galatis became a whistler blower.
He suffered great anguish as a result: When he sat down in the cafeteria, coworkers left. Co-workers spread false rumors that he was an alcoholic… He was called a troublemaker. He was told, "Shut up and keep your job." His performance evaluation became negative.
As a result of being a whistle blower, a criminal investigation was launched and Millstone forced to shut down 3 of their plants and make upgrades that cost the company over one billion dollars.
As Galatis fight became public (cover story in TIME Magazine: show image), the pressure on him and his family felt overwhelming. Galatis ended up leaving the company and entered graduate school to pursue another vocation.
When we follow Christ, we answer finally, not to our company, but to God. Of course, when we believe that we answer to God, most of the time, we will be considered an asset to our company—we’ll be conscientious, dependable employees. But when the dictates of a company clash with God’s call on us, then, if we choose God, we may experience push back and even persecution.
Sometimes in the context of our personal relationships and personal choices, we can even experience push-back if what God calls us to do clashes with what someone else wants us to do.
(I know people who have committed themselves to Christ and are in the midst of a dating relationship. As a result of their commitment to Christ, they want to commit themselves to reserving sex for marriage believing God, and, as you can imagine, there can be strong push-back from their partner who does not share that vision. I know people who have committed their lives to Christ who then respond to God’s call to give 10% of their income away. There is push-back from other family members.)
When we become followers of Christ and are filled with his Spirit, then we find that God, not the company, school, not money, not anything, or even any person, is at the very centre of our being.
And this can be perceived as a threat to others, especially if they feel their agenda or they are no longer at the center of your universe and there may be pushback and even persecution…
When what Scriptures describe as the spiritual forces of darkness are pushed to the edge of our lives, there can be push back from the “darkness” as well.
The Scriptures teach that just as there is a spiritual source of good in the world, what we would call God; there is also a spirit source of evil in the world as well. Evil in our world can the result of human nature and social environment, but it can also evil is also further by the spiritual darkness in the world (and this is topic for a future sermon). When spiritual forces of darkness are pushed the edges of lives, there can be pushback from the darkness.
One of my mentors and teachers, Tim Keller, a pastor in New York, says, “If we are followers of Christ, at some point along the way we will experience persecution.
Jesus said if they hated me, they will hate you (John 15). The apostle Paul said that anyone who lives a godly life will suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12).
If you are a follower of Christ, if you are always persecuted, it may not mean that you are just like Jesus, it may mean that you are just obnoxious.
But if you are followers of Christ and are never persecuted, it may mean that you are coward. It may mean that your manifesting much of Christ’s presence in the world.
If you’re always being persecuted, it may you have to ratchet thing down.
If you’re never persecuted, it may mean you have to ratchet things up.
Spend more time with Jesus and filled with more of Jesus and his Spirit that you might live a bolder life. According to Acts 4:30-21 after Peter and John had been put on trial for healing some a man in Jesus name and then warned to never speak of him they joined with other followers of Christ and prayed
30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus." 31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
Some of are being called to pray to be filled with the Spirit to become bold ambassadors for Jesus.
(I know may seem bad to experience persecution for doing something good, but it’s ennobling to have some good that you are so devoted that you are willing to suffer for and even die for it. If you something for which you are willing to suffer and die for, you have something for which to truly live for.)
(transition)
Those who were looking at Peter and John coming under persecution for their proclaiming Jesus as savior were amazed at their poise under pressure.
According to Acts 4 verse 13, they recognized that Peter and John were ordinary me (fishermen)… unschooled, and yet they saw, according to verse 13, their courage. They were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus
As result of Peter’s proclamation of Jesus, AND also the quality of Peter and John’s, courage and wisdom, poise, see in Acts 4:4 that the church grew from about 3000 to about 5000.
It is as we spend time with Jesus, and pray and are filled with the Holy Spirit, then we can become people who are like Jesus—and become bold ambassadors for Jesus in the world. As people see this boldness and courage in us, and when they see us willing to suffer with courage, faith, hope and love, they may well be drawn to the Jesus that we follow.
Part of the reason that the Christian movement spread like wildfire is because the Christians lived better and died better than other people in those years.
They faced died facing the lions better than others.
In the year 202 AD, the Roman emperor has decreed that there shall be no new Christians. Conversions are forbidden on pain of death.
Yet, in ancient Carthage, as all over the empire, men and women still come to Christ, risking execution for doing so. Among the new believers is a young 22 mother named Perpetua with an infant son. When the Roman soldiers swoop into the peaceful meeting they arrest all the new believers who are preparing for baptism, and arrest Perpetua….
Through her diary, Perpetua leaves a written record of their ordeal and the many ways the Lord comforted them: She experiences great joy when she is allowed to keep her baby in prison. She has visions, including one confirming one that she will be martyred, but will have victory over death with eternal life in heaven… Though many urge her to sacrifice to the emperor to preserve her life including her dad, she refuses and she faces mouths of wild animals in the arena at Carthage who wound, but don’t kill her. An executioner, then takes his sword and thrusts into her, but she didn’t die. The man who is a novice executioner can’t bring himself to lift stab her again… and so she raises his sword to her neck to help him… and she’s killed.
People are come to Christ because her poise and courage in face of suffering.
Tertullian said, The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.
A story a little bit closer to our time, the story of Ruby Bridges.
In 1960, a federal judge in New Orleans ordered the city to open its public schools to black children. The white parents decided that if the court let black children into their schools, then they would keep their children out of school. They made it clear that any black children who came to their school would be face trouble. So the black parents kept their children out of school too. All except of the parents of a six-year-old black student named Ruby Bridges. Her parents sent her to school, the first, and for a while, the only black child to enter a white New Orleans school.
Every morning Ruby walked through a heckling crowd to an empty school.
The white people, young and old, lined the street and shook fists at her and threatened to do horrible things to her if she kept coming to their school.
But every morning at ten minutes to eight, Ruby walked with her head up and eyes ahead through the mob with two US Marshals ahead of her and two behind her. Then she spent the day alone with her teachers.
A white teacher described what she saw when Ruby walked into school:
A woman spat at Ruby; Ruby smiled at her. A man shook his fist at Ruby; Ruby smiled at him. Then she walked up the stairs and she stopped and turned and smiled once more. You know what she told one of the marshals?
She told him she prays for those people every night before she goes to sleep.
Harvard Medical School Professor of Psychiatry, Robert Coles, tells Ruby's story in his book The Moral Life of Children. Coles spent time with Ruby Bridges and her parents.
Professor Coles asked Ruby about her prayers. "Why do you pray for these people?"
"Because they need praying for," answered Ruby.
Ruby's mother told Coles that Ruby had been taught in Sunday school to pray for them. The pastor of the black church to which Ruby and her family belonged also prayed for the hate-filled crowd publicly, every Sunday.
Coles asked Ruby's mother if asking a six-year-old to pray for these people who hated her was not expecting too much of Ruby, given their violent intent. Her mother replied: but we think that we all have to pray for people like that and we think Ruby should too.
Looking Dr. Coles in the eye, Ruby's mother asked, "Don't you think they need praying for?"
Ruby’s parents and Sunday School helped shape her, and the pastor and civil rights leader, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. who was an inspiration to her and her family.
Listen to King’s words of exhortation to those who persecuted him and his family.
We need not hate; we need not use violence. We can stand up before our most violent opponent and say: … Do to us what you will and we will still love you … throw us in jail. We will go in those jails and transform them from dungeons of shame to havens of freedom and human dignity.
Send your hooded perpetrators of violence into our communities after midnight hours and drag us out on some wayside road and beat us and leave us half-dead, and as difficult as it is, we will still love you. Go around the country and use your propaganda agents to make it appear that we are not fit culturally, morally, or otherwise for integration, and we will still love you.
Threaten our children and bomb our homes, and as difficult as it is, we will still love you.
But be assured that … one day we will win our freedom, but we will not only win freedom for ourselves, we will so appeal to your heart and your conscience [by our love] that we will win you in the process. And our victory will be a double victory.
Though our adversity we face may not be as dramatic, if we are followers of Christ we too face pushback and persecution. But in the midst of the pushback, God will enable you to stand with courage and grace and poise… and as was true of the early church people will drawn to Christ…
Communion lead in (Dan and Lee).
How can we become a person who suffers with courage and grace? By receiving the one who when unfairly beaten and nailed to the cross said, “Father forgive them for they do not know what they do.”
posted by Shigematsu at 1:48 PM
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