With one accord
Acts 4:23-31 · Vern Peterman · Apr 23, 2017
Acts (2017-18), No. 14
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/4926554437538

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

Good morning. We had a whole lot of shaking going on here, even with two of them. OK, we're here in the book of Acts, the Apostles, chapter 4, 23 through 31, as Randy just read for us here. One of the things as we look at the Book of Acts, just to kind of keep our perspective as we go through it, it's a book that is lengthy. It extends a number of chapters, close to 30. Long time, however, almost three decades from the beginning to the end. So just to kind of keep our perspective. Acts begins with this final conversation between Christ and the eleven disciples, soon-to-be apostles, as they're called. After that, Christ ascends from the Mount of Olives to be seated there in the heavenlies, as the eleven watch on.

Before the Holy Spirit is given on the day of Pentecost, Matthias has been added to the apostles to restore the number 12, to replace that abandoned, if you will, by Judas. Then two are selected by apostolic criteria. including that these two had walked with the Lord during his earthly ministry, and then Matthias by lot then chosen among the two. The Holy Spirit was given then and the church began.

This is the day of Pentecost, Acts 2, chapter 2. This day was May 28, 33 AD. As Jesus had told them, the disciples were to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit to be given. They were not to go anywhere else, they were not to do anything else. That day came, as we know now, on the day of Pentecost, and Peter spoke.

Three thousand were saved in that day, and those who were saved devoted themselves to four things. The apostles' teaching, and to fellowship with one another. and to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Those four things are listed there at the end of Acts chapter 2. Then we have starting in chapter 3 and going on into chapter 4, which we'll be led into today. In Acts chapter 3, Peter and John go up at the three o'clock hour to the temple to pray as was customary among the Jews.

They encountered a man who had been lame from birth, seeking alms, and they healed him. rather than giving him alms. I'm sure he was initially disappointed. I don't have any silver or gold. Oh! Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, give I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ, stand up and walk. Oh! Right? So a whole different response. So Peter used this opportunity to proclaim the gospel to these thousands of Jews who were gathered there. Five thousand came to believe that one summer day, that summer day in 33 A.D. However, there were others who were differently minded.

The Sadducees, who were the ones in power among the Sanhedrin, also known as the Council, did not believe in a resurrection. So as Peter and John were proclaiming, nor in proclaiming the name of Jesus, that was a real problem to them. They sent the temple guard after John and Peter. and charged Peter and John not to speak in Jesus' name anymore. So John and Peter were respectful, but they boldly refused to disobey God.

They said, you're going to have to decide, but for us, we're going to do what the Lord has us doing. So when they had been released, and that brings us into today's passage, Acts 4, 23-31. Today's passage tells us what did happen among the apostles and the rest of the believers when John and Peter were released after these threats were given to them. We're going to find here as we go through the passage step by step John and Peter and the rest of the apostles that are gathered with them and the disciples respond and we're going to find that's very instructive to us on several levels at believers in our time. It is a set of events that took place almost 2,000 years ago, but it has great relevance for us.

So here's Acts 4.23.

When they had been released, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. So, immediately out, tell them what the chief priests and the elders said, and then we're going to deal with it. So, John and Peter had been under great pressure from the leaders of the Jews, known as the Sanhedrin or the Council.

And so it had been under pressure, but there was just kind of repeated threats is the way it came across at that point in time. There are lots of lessons for us to learn, however, from what these Jewish leaders said to them and what the apostles and the rest of the disciples did in response to what they said. So we're going to be taking a look at those many lessons in just a bit. These words by Dr. Luke. were written for our benefit.

So John and Peter went to their own. The word companions is actually not specifically in there, but they went to their own, which means that they went to the other apostles and the other believers who were with them. Those were their own. Of course, a great many had believed that day, and I'm sure that the ones that Peter and John talked to were the apostles and others who had been believers early on. in this time of the beginning of the church. So the other apostles and these believers who were with them had no doubt been praying for John and Peter.

I mean, if you think about it, now what would happen? We'd have a camera on the scene, right? Here at the Sanhedrin, we'd have a camera on the scene, and we'd have guys outside. And you know how those courtroom shows go? They have somebody stay in the hallways, and they get the exit interview. And what do you think about that? And all that. And today we would do that.

But these guys don't have all that. Nobody's calling up on the cell phones and saying, hey, they're doing okay. They come out and there's no blood. Right? And so anyway, we have advantages they didn't have. And so they're just finding out what is going on, and they just have to trust the Lord. You ever been in that situation? You don't know all of what's going on. You just have to trust the Lord. That's the circumstance they were in. They'd been praying for them and no doubt quite concerned about how things turned out. So John and Peter told their own, the other apostles and disciples, all of what the Sanhedrin had said to them. Turn back. This is what they said.

Now, Acts 4.24.

And when they had heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord. And I'm pretty sure it was a 2015 model. So at any rate, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, O Lord, it is You who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. So this lifted their voices to God was a figure of speech, so they all prayed together. That's the idea. This is a figure of speech. They didn't go, okay, here's our voices, let's pick them up. So this is the idea of they all prayed together.

And one accord said they prayed with unity. That doesn't necessarily mean that they all prayed in unison, which would be different reciting something. But in fact, they prayed in unity with one heart and in one mind. The idea is that their thinking was in support of Peter and John, but also with one heart and one mind because of the Lord's work among and within them as they move together. So this very same word pair will be used again in chapter 5, this one accord, and it will have nothing to do with cars.

So here's Acts 5.12, and at the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people and they were all with one accord in Solomon's portico. But the calling and encouraging of believers actually throughout the book of Acts and on into the letters that Paul and the others wrote was to encourage people to have one mind, one voice, to be one spirit. That's a common theme in the New Testament. So it says there, only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of that you are standing firm, what does he say there, in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. This is a potent verse here, but the idea that there's a call to be of one mind, there's a call to be of one voice, striving together in unity. They said, Oh, Lord, here.

And what's interesting is this is not the usual Lord word that is used in the Greek in much of the New Testament. This word for Lord is used only once in all the book of Acts right here. It's only used among the four Gospels once in the Gospel of Luke. So actually, of the Gospel writers, only Dr. Luke used this word. He used it once. In fact, this word is used only this once in all of the Book of Acts, and why here?

This word for Lord tells us that God is being addressed as sovereign. God is sovereign. That's a very key word. So the fact that it's an unusual word should be something we take note of. That it is used here because God is sovereign. That is key for us to take a look at when we get in circumstances that are difficult, when we get in situations where we find ourselves under tension, we find ourselves even wondering, God, why are you doing things this way? Right? But just to see God is sovereign, God is in charge, He is not pacing the floors of heaven wondering, what on earth am I going to do? Right?

But instead, God is sovereign, God is in charge, and that's the word that's used here. When God creates everything, as we'll read in the next word, God is the ruler of it all. That is why it talks about God's creation It means that God doesn't just create things and walk away. He remains sovereign and in charge.

This is very important for us in our time. We live in crazy times, as people have for centuries. We live in crazy times. And just to realize, God is sovereign. God's in charge. If you're worried about the last election, don't worry. God's in charge. If you're worried about the next one, God's in charge. If you're worried about what's going to happen in the Middle East, don't worry, God's in charge.

I sat down with my brother-in-law not too long ago and he told me, he doesn't know the Lord, he told me, he said, I'm really concerned about ISIS. And I told him because we had been talking about, you know, Nancy and I kind of believe a little bit differently than how he was brought up. And so I said, here's what's interesting. You know, you're concerned about ISIS, and I think your concerns are probably valid, but you know what?

I studied the Bible, and it tells me how it's all going to end up. And he was just stunned, right? So, I look at how it's all going to end up, and I know it not because I'm any wise or wizardry person, but because I know that God knows. When God creates everything, He's the ruler of it all. And that's yesterday. It was true back then. It will be true on into eternity future. God creates things. He's a ruler of it all. He's a creator, as they say, of the heaven, the earth and the sea. This is taken from Psalm 146. verses five and six is interesting, just right out of the middle of the Psalm, the chapter.

It's quoted in Acts 4.24, and it's going to be quoted again ten chapters out in Acts 14.15. And I hope the Lord doesn't make us wait that long. I hope he comes for us today.

But just in case, it'll be there in Acts 14.15. In Revelation 5, 13, 10, 6 and 14, 7, it shows up again. This is a very pivotal and critical verse, and especially this passage in Revelation in 5, 13, 10, 6 and 14, 7, we're talking about the beginning of and on into the middle of the tribulation period.

When things look crazy in the world, remember, He's in charge. He's in charge. He knows how it's all going to turn out. And in all the places where it's quoted and shows up, God creating the heavens and the earth and the sea is connected with praise for God and often His judgment on the earth, including this one right here. Here's Acts 4, 24 through 26 to get a larger context.

And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, O Lord, it is you who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, who by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said, Why did the Gentiles rage and the peoples devise futile things? And the kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ. Here we see some similar words just right there in Acts chapter 1 verses 15 through 17. At this time Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren.

A gathering about 120 persons was there together. said brethren the scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David Concerning Judas and he goes on but the reference to the scriptures reference to the Holy Spirit Being the author of scriptures and speaking through the scriptures and then by the mouth of David that is David being the one a thousand years earlier who recorded these things and Matthew 22, 43 and Mark 12, 36, the Lord does something very similar. He makes reference to the Holy Spirit speaking through David in the Word of God. So this passage, as all of scripture does, credits the Holy Spirit with inspiring its content. We find that from the Old Testament on into the New. We find it from the words of Jesus on into these words early in Acts. It's consistent with Peter's words as he wrote them years later. Here's 2 Peter 121.

He's writing, so far as we know, his last book. He says, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but by men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. These are not just human words. These are words that God intended to convey, even though they were written down by human beings. They were words God intended to convey and reveal for us.

Second Timothy 3, 16 and 17 says something similar. Now, one of the things we see here in this passage that is being quoted, this is from Psalm chapter 2, and it's the first two verses of what's a longer psalm. The actual whole psalm will actually be fulfilled at Christ's second coming, which I hope is as soon as seven years from now, right? I hope it happens quickly, because that would mean the rapture would happen first, and that's good if that happens quick.

But one of the things they do here is something that was done earlier, back in Acts chapter 2, Peter quoted Joel 2.30-32 and the first part of that verse, and he says this is similar to that.

He wasn't implying the fulfillment of it because that passage, Joel 2.30-32, is actually to be fulfilled in the second coming. This is the exact same thing as to be fulfilled in the second coming. But they said this is like that, making a comparison that way. So Psalm 2, 1 through 2 is similar to the events of this day. That's what it's saying.

So the leaders of Jews had pressed the Gentiles to carry out the crucifixion of Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One. So now these same leaders of the Jews, by the way Caiaphas was still in charge for several more years, Same leaders of Jews under the authority from the Gentile Romans.

You see that the one who was the chief priest had to be approved by the Romans. And if the chief priest did anything that the Romans didn't like, they could pull him out of office. They'd have to pick another one. And then the next one they put in would have to be approved. So that's why they had most of the changes in chief priests. It's not because the chief priest died, but because the Romans said, that's enough of you, right? That's enough out of you, and so they make them change.

So the Romans were really in charge, and these chief priests could rule only at the will of the Romans. So now these same leaders of the Jews, under the authority of the Gentile Romans, were opposing what Christ had appointed John and Peter to do. So John and Peter had a choice. We can listen to you guys, or we can listen to the Lord. Guess which one we're going to do, right?

So here's Acts 4, 27 and 28, "...for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your purpose predestined to occur." So one thing we see this phrase come up here, this is in Acts 4, 27 and 28, and then again we're going to see it in verse 30. And this is another unique thing about this specific passage. Your holy servant Jesus only shows up in these two places, in these two verses. That's it. So it's a very special one in that respect.

Scripture, of course, has lots of names for Christ, a whole bunch of them. Some people have counted, I have not gone through and checked them to see if they're right, but about 200 names and titles for Christ in the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. In this passage, your refers to the Father, so the pronoun. Your refers to the Father.

Jesus is holy, that He's holy and set apart and righteous for God's purpose. And then Jesus is called a servant, and that's actually out of the Old Testament in numerous places. We give reference here to Isaiah 42.1 and 53.11. Those aren't the only places, but that'll do as good examples. So he's called a servant in the Old Testament and here in these places with the combination, your holy servant Jesus, only in Acts 4, 27 and 30.

And next, the name Jesus means Savior. In the Hebrew it would be Yeshua or we carry it over into English as Joshua. Jesus is then the anglicized term, but it means Savior. So you're the Father's righteous, holy, set-apart, servant as designated by God the Father from long, long ago, and then who was also the Savior. That's what this name put together is talking about.

On the other hand, who should we blame with this? On the one hand, there were Gentile leaders and Jewish leaders who both had their part in taking opposition to Christ. The Gentile leaders, more by manipulation from the Jews, And the Jewish leaders had their part, manipulating the Gentile leaders, ultimately having them crucified on the cross. So what they did was bad, wasn't it? It was a bad thing. It was a bad thing, wasn't it?

Well, on the other hand, Christ's death on the cross for our sins had been foreknown. That's what we read earlier, what Peter said. foreknown and predestined from eternity past. In Acts 2.23, he said it was foreknown. Here, predestined. So foreknown and predestined are two different things, but they are both related in one way, and we'll talk about that in a minute. Foreknown means to know in advance. Predestined means to determine something in advance. Now, those are time tunnel words. What do I mean by that? We live in a time tunnel. I'm talking to you this week. We met a week ago. We intend to meet a week from now if the Lord doesn't take us all home. Those are time tunnel references. The Lord is not stuck in a time tunnel, is He? As we are. Does the Lord actually foreknow anything? As Jesus told the Jews before Abraham was born, not, I was, but what did He say? I am.

All times are present in God's perspective. It is from our perspective that God foreknows and predestines. These things were foreknown and predestined from eternity past. It was not a surprise to God. It was His plan and intent. So these guys did something bad. God planned and intended something good from it.

From the outset, it was God's plan there would be opposition. How about that? Plan that there would be opposition to His servant Jesus. That opposition was expected in Christ's first coming, and that opposition will be there at Christ's second coming. But what good will it do then? It won't, right? And that foreknown opposition to Christ will continue in the times between His first and second coming, including now. But particularly here we see in the passage, even at this time when the apostles are to be witnesses of His resurrection, that there would be opposition with something the disciples were told about before.

You're going to have persecution. Get used to it. You're going to have opposition. One of the characteristics of an apostle Of course, somebody who claims to be an apostle today doesn't like this particularly, but one of the characteristics is the apostles have the ability to endure suffering and persecution. A God-given special ability to endure suffering and persecution.

And so it's planned. As Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica, they're appointed to trials. Appointed. Here's Acts 4, 29 and 30, and now, Lord, take note of their threats and grant that Your bondservants may speak Your Word with all confidence while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus. What this is is a prayer, but let me summarize. Lord, thank You that we're going to go back and do all the stuff we were doing before, like this never happened. Right? Hallelujah. That's really what this whole thing is about. Okay? Now let's go through the details.

So the threats of the Jewish leaders were not actually against John and Peter, but this passage makes clear, but really against God Himself. John and Peter are just instrumental in receiving the opposition here and the threats. But it's really against the Lord.

So these apostles and other believers knew that God knew. So got this, I'm not confusing people. They knew that God knew about the opposition and the threats against John and Peter. Was God surprised to have the Jewish leaders opposing John and Peter and threatening them? God was not surprised. That is why I think earlier on this passage we find the word for Lord that means he is sovereign. God is not surprised this was, in fact, according to God's intent.

They were saying, Lord, take note of their threats for another reason, which we're going to see next. When they say, Lord, take note, this isn't, Lord, take a letter, right? This isn't, you know, take some notation. I want you to write a letter for me. This isn't to inform the Lord, right? It is not as if the Lord doesn't know he intended it. Alright, so they were looking to do exactly what the Lord had assigned to them.

And so it goes this way, grant that your bond servants may, who are they talking about? Themselves, right? Speak your word with all confidence. And what were the Jewish leaders amazed about with John and Peter that they spoke with Confidence, right? We're going to go back to doing what we did again. Some more, right? In spite of the threats, right?

And while you extend your hand to heal, what did we just do? We just healed this man who was leaping and praising God, right? Walking and leaping and jumping and praising God. We just healed this guy, and what are we going to do now that we've been released? We're going to do it again, right? It's going to happen again. They're going to do signs and wonders like they did before. And how are those going to happen?

Oh, they're going to take place through the name of your holy servant, Jesus. There's the term being used for the second time and the last time in the whole Bible. Through the name of your holy servant, Jesus. What name did the leaders say, you're not supposed to teach in anymore or do anything anymore?

What name? Jesus. What are we going to do? Jesus. That's the name we're going to use, right? Exactly that one. In spite of all the threats, that is exactly the name we're going to use. We're going to do things, these healings. We're going to proclaim the name of Jesus. We're going to talk about the resurrection. We're going to go out and do signs and wonders in the name of Jesus.

Everything we did before, we're going to do it all over again. The exact same thing in spite of the threats. Lord, You know that. And we know You know that. So just so You know that we know. So they're asking the Lord to make provision and allowance for them to carry out what the Lord has signed for them to do from the very beginning. Are they afraid? No. Are they worried about how this is going to turn out? No. Are they thinking, you know, this is the last time we're going to have any trouble from these guys?

No. Here's Acts 4.31, and when they prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness. Right?

Okay, so when they prayed, Dr. Luke wrote this in the verb tenses he used and all, as if they had finished praying and when that happened, then the things he described as happening took place. So Dr. Luke also wrote that the place where they had gathered together was shaken as in a small earthquake. The English translations don't usually carry across the idea with this gathered together or even that, that the idea of the Greek word that's translated gathered together means led together. led together. Now you say, well, wait a minute, who was doing the leading?

I think there are two very important answers to that question. Number one is the apostles were leading. They were leading the people in prayer. They were leading the people in praising the Lord, acknowledging what had taken place and what they were going to do. They were leading the people in that. And who was leading the apostles? the Holy Spirit was working among them and in them to lead them. So the people were being led by the apostles as a work of the Holy Spirit.

That was built into it. So anyway, this word that's translated gathered together is a much more potent and insightful word than often comes across in English there. The church body was led by these apostles And that was also a work of the Holy Spirit in parallel. It wasn't just one, it wasn't just the other. But they were being led together, not simply gathered together, like they just happened to show up in the same place. Now, this shaking of the earth there, right then and there, was a special shakin', right? Have you ever had a special shakin'? Anyway, how many of you have been through an earthquake? Been through that?

Okay, yeah. In California and Nevada, where Nancy and I did a lot of our growing up in time, you know, you get some earthquakes that are rather exciting and a little scary, and others are just sort of recreational. A recreational earthquake. Hey, that's great, you know. We went on this little thing, and we didn't have to wait in line like at Disneyland and the amusement parks, and didn't have to pay for this thing. I mean, it's kind of cool, you know. Then you get the others that are like, whoa, and you can hardly stand up, and things get broken.

So, typical translational character in the, transitional rather, character in the Book of Acts, the shaking after a prayer was not typical or normal. So we should not expect it after I'm done through, you know, you're saying amen, pray at the end of the message. And you don't have to worry about that, but this was given as a special indication to them, rather miraculously, but we shouldn't expect the shaking.

It also says they were filled with the Holy Spirit. Dr. Luke recorded that at this moment and at this particular event. We should not conclude, however, just like we said in Acts chapter 2, we should not conclude that being filled with the Holy Spirit will look like this.

Or like we saw in Acts 2.4.

In Acts 2.4, what did you have? You had the apostles at least, and possibly others, speaking another language in which they had not been trained or brought up. So that was one thing.

Here, we see them all praying together in unity. Praying in unity. and anticipating how the Lord is going to continue to work through them in spite of the threats of the Jewish leaders. And the Lord accommodates it, confirming it with what appears to be a small earthquake. We shouldn't expect that the Lord is always going to have a small earthquake after we say amen. And that's probably a good thing.

The Holy Spirit's filling does not appear the same every time, and that's true throughout the whole New Testament. And the terms vary as well as we go through the book of Acts, and as we go through the rest of the New Testament, we'll see receive and giving, filled or full of the Holy Spirit, comes, send, different words are used. So we've got to be careful about thinking cookie cutter. Oh, the Holy Spirit always does this, right? When believers are commanded to be filled with the Spirit, it appears to be individually.

As a matter of fact, this is Ephesians 5.18. That's the one place in the whole New Testament where there's a command to be filled with the Spirit.

There are five outcomes. And if you study through those, none of those are things that people go, wow! Right? They're amazing still, but not the wow factor. They don't have that. And so we should not expect the Holy Spirit's filling, which this Ephesians 5.18 applies to us, by the way. It applies to us, to you and to me, here in our modern era. And there are some outcomes that we actually should see among ourselves. But it's not that you're shaking and it's not speaking in other tongues and that sort of thing. They talked about, you know, speaking your word.

The Word of God has several meanings in the Bible. We won't cover all of them, but one of them is just the Bible itself is called the Word of God, even when the Word of God is only at the time only at the time the Old Testament books, that's still called the Word of God, and then on into the New Testament in its completion. Next, Jesus is called the Word of God, and we will put that in English, capital W, Word. He is the Word of God being the expression of God. The Bible is the Word of God, lowercase w, because it is the message of God. Jesus is the Word of God, is the personal expression of God. In English we would capitalize it.

Another use of the Word of God is the gospel, the good news of salvation. So the Word of God term is used in different ways in the Bible. Those are at least three of them. There are others, in fact. It's that third meaning here that Dr. Luke intends to tell us in verse 31. to speak your word.

The apostles and those with them don't respond to the threats, but instead were bold, just as they had been before. It didn't impact them. They didn't pull back, limit, and we better play it safe. They didn't do that. One of the things to look at, there's a time to listen to God first. There's a time to listen to God first rather than any of the court decisions, laws, regulations, etc., any other pressures or threats from the world, no matter how ominous they may seem or no matter how much the pressure comes along. There is a time for us to listen to God first. Our response, however, must be godly and not in contradiction to the content and principles of the Word of God.

The disciples didn't turn around after they walked out of the room, as they were walking out of the room, and shout some insult to those at the Sanhedrin. They didn't turn around and throw rocks. They didn't turn around and make threatening Statements or noises, right? They didn't do that in return their response was godly Even if the threats against them were not Our response should not come from how we feel and it must be clear this is key because it's real easy for us to as believers to respond out of our feelings.

I'm not talking about being ignorant of or ignoring our feelings all the time, but we should not be hardwired to them as the feelings constantly dictate what we do, right? There are times when I've heard stories of Christians saying, oh, I'm being persecuted or I'm being, you know, enduring difficulties and pressures and whatnot. And I look at it and I say, you aren't being persecuted. You were being obnoxious, right? Or you were being rude or something. A Christian could do that.

That certainly should not be our response. It is very important in the midst of these kinds of circumstances to still respond in a godly way, which comes, as we'll talk about in a minute, which comes by the Lord's doing and not our doing. Another lesson is, it's not time to stop praying. What we should not do is say, well, okay, I'm going to do what the Lord does, wants me to do, and that's what I'll do. And then we stop praying, right? No, it's time, as we saw here, it's time in the middle of circumstances that are difficult, especially in circumstances where we're being pressured by the world It's time to continue in fellowship and relationship with the Lord. It's time to continue to go back to the Lord. It's possible for us to just simply make an intellectual decision that says, OK, I'm going to do what God wants me to do and then walk off and try to do it on our own. That's not God's intent. This passage makes clear that the time to pray in such instances has just begun anew. Jesus says he was getting the disciples prepared for what was ahead.

He said, abide in me and I in you. Abide in me. What did he mean? This is the illustration of the vine and the branches. It means dependence upon the Lord. It means intimacy with him. At times when things seem most difficult, Our need to abide in and depend upon and rely upon Him is all the greater.

I was talking to someone not too long ago about, you know, this pray without ceasing. I said, I don't try to pray without ceasing. I said, actually, I realize I'm so desperate that I can't stop. That's really what it's a matter of, is realizing my desperate need for Him. It is not an effort for me to pray more and more or to try to increase and nudge the number up, right? Not looking down at my watch while I'm thinking of praying without ceasing, but it's a realization of how much we need Him every single moment. Bringing matters before the Lord is even more important at such times. We have the next slide here. It says, keeping what's important, important.

What happens often in life is we get busy. I don't know about you, but this last week, my to-do list has been really, really, really long, right? Lots of things to do, and some of them were kind of by surprise. Things can pop up, and it's very easy for the things that are urgent to push out what's important, isn't it? It's very easy for what's urgent to push out what's important. So one of the key things here as we look at this is these apostles, starting with Peter and John, these apostles looked at what's important. Not just what is the pressure of the moment pushing me towards, but what is important. get pressed out by what seems urgent.

Keeping what's important, important. Years ago, I heard a pastor put this in this way. He says, it's important that we keep the main thing, the main thing, right? And so that's key here. Determining what's important and making sure we don't get distracted from it by things that are urgent or seem important.

Some of these events and enduring circumstances will grab us by surprise. Have you had any surprises this week? Probably. Some of them will come along that we can even anticipate. Things we may have looked at, I've been anticipating this for a while. Both of those will happen.

In the midst of both of those things, it's important to keep what's important, important. and to recognize that, and not have the circumstances, whether by surprise or anticipation, pull us off track from what's important. In the midst of whatever it is, to depend upon the Lord, to trust in Him for the surprises, for that big thing on down the road that you've been anticipating for a while. but to trust the Lord and depend upon Him, to walk with Him, to abide in Him through those things. Big surprises, little ones. The ones that hit you and then you find fade off, and others that just kind of stay there. Another very important point, we cannot judge matters by the outcome alone. This was something that the Jews would do. We find a prime example of that. Jesus healed the blind man in John chapter 9. And what's the Jews' question? It wasn't, isn't it great? Jesus healed the blind man. So what's their great concern when this guy got healed?

Who sinned? Right? Who blew it? We got a pin who blew it here. Instead of rejoicing and seeing, this guy got healed. Right? But that was their perspective. It's real easy. I have seen it. I have even seen pastors counsel according to this principle. If something bad happened to you, you must have done something bad to deserve it. All the time I've seen that. And that perspective is just wrong.

Peter and John did not deserve what happened to them because they did something bad. What's going to happen next to them? We're going to see that. What's going to happen next to them will not happen because they did something bad. It's very important for us to get that straight. Does bad come along at times because someone has done something bad? Yeah. Sometimes it's called consequences.

There may also be God's discipline, and it could be, but we shouldn't automatically jump to that conclusion that something bad happened because the person did something bad. John and Peter did not do something bad to deserve what happened to them, nor what is going to happen to them in the chapters ahead. So here's the pool of Siloam where Jesus healed the blind man. This is prime example of the Jewish mindset of you had something bad to happen to you, you must have done something bad. We can also make the error of thinking that if everything seems to be going okay, or even great, that God is smiling upon us.

I talked to one pastor one time, and he says, you know, I get guys walking in here to my office, and he says, they want me to help them get the rock out of their road. And so he says, I want to have a talk with them first. He would tell them, he says, I don't want to get the rock out of your road if God put the rock there. And so my job is not just to get the rock out of your road.

Let's talk about this rock and why it might be there. And so that's another important thing. If everything's going great, it doesn't necessarily mean that there's not a problem. God works all things together for good. As we looked in the elective just before, everything that happens is not necessarily good. And God works all things together for good, but it doesn't necessarily look good.

So we're going to see that the waves of persecution here in Jerusalem and in the surrounding area get progressively worse. Was it just a bad event? Yes, they just had a bad event. Is it going to get worse? Yep. And it's also going to happen pretty fast. It's going to proceed from here, a warning without any teeth in it, to by the end of Chapter 7, just a few chapters down the road. And by the way, less than two years later, roughly 21 months later, Stephen will be stoned. It's going to get worse. Acts will tell us about a number of transitions that take place, and we won't have time to go through all of them.

I had first pulled up this map here, and I thought, well, wait a minute. This is showing how fast you can drive between Rome and Jerusalem. And at first I thought, well, that's not what I meant. And then I said, well, look, it also tells how fast you can fly from Rome to Jerusalem. And I thought, no, that's actually good, because that shows us in our time how fast this would have taken place. But for them, going between Jerusalem and Rome was a huge amount of travel.

But the church and the focus of the church would shift from Jerusalem to Rome as we go through the Book of Acts. At first, it would be Jews only, and then it would be Jews and Gentiles together. And finally, a growing number of New Testament documents were written. At this time, as we're reading here in Acts chapter 4, none. But by the end of the book of Acts, a great number of the documents will have been written. Also, Acts is a time of transition.

There are those who would like to have the church do now what the church did back then. Oh, isn't that great, man? They prayed, they said, Amen. Everything shook. Wouldn't you like to have that happen? Right? Isn't it great? Peter went and healed the lame man, and we ought to just be doing that every day. So you'll have people wanting to reproduce this time of transition.

There are lots of things, however, that are different by God's design and intent. Acts and the letters of the New Testament provide for us the pattern of what God intended for the long run. And we get the other letters to help confirm what was intended for the long run and what is to stay just as a temporary event. God told us these things as to how we would live in order to be clear with us. not foggy. And he did so until Jesus comes for us. Let's pray. that are to endure over time, into our own time, and through our own lives. Until the day we meet you face to face, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.