Understanding Opposition
Acts 5:12-42
May 13, 2012pm
As you remember last time we met
We talked about those subtle attacks of Satan.
And how Satan filled Ananias’ heart to lie to the Holy Spirit
And try to infiltrate the church with hypocrisy.
And we have noted that the church most certainly has an adversary.
While the book of Acts is clearly the record of how Christ grows His church, it simultaneously proves to be a record of the opposition that Satan gives to Christ’s work.
No sooner did the Holy Spirit arrive than resistance did as well.
It is only in the second recorded sermon of Peter in this book
That Peter and John were arrested and threatened.
Of course that didn’t stop them.
The church merely prayed for boldness and went forward.
Then we found that account of deception through Ananias and Sapphira, but thanks to Peter that event didn’t stop the church either.
God removed that threat.
But one thing that is clear is that threats continue.
Christ is growing His church, but Satan is opposing it.
Paul definitely reminded us of this in his letter to the Ephesians
Ephesians 6:11-12 “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
We know we have an enemy who seeks to stop our mission.
He worked against Paul in his travels…
1 Thessalonians 2:18 “For we wanted to come to you — I, Paul, more than once — and yet Satan hindered us.”
He worked against Paul by affecting his listeners…
2 Corinthians 4:3-4 “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
We know that even after a person is saved, Satan works to deceive them, primarily through false prophets and teachers.
2 Corinthians 11:13-15 “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.”
We know that Satan seeks to tempt us.
1 Corinthians 7:5 “Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.”
We know that Satan seeks to take advantage of us.
2 Corinthians 2:10-11 “But one whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ, so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.”
We know that Satan seeks to torment us.
2 Corinthians 12:7 “Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me — to keep me from exalting myself!”
We know that Satan wants to devour us.
1 Peter 5:8 “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
That is why Paul said about overseers
1 Timothy 3:7 “And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”
And we know that Satan continually seeks to accuse us before the Father.
Revelation 12:10 “Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.”
And I think you get the idea.
The church has an enemy.
The church has opposition.
And Jesus certainly wanted His disciples to know this ahead of time
So that they would not be shocked when it occurred.
He told them in the upper room
John 16:1-4 “These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. “They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. “These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me. “But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. These things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.”
It does no one any good to forget about our opposition.
We are called to be alert, to be ready, to be in defense,
And to take our stand against him.
And one of the things that is also helpful in this struggle
Is understanding why and how he works.
Here in the 5th chapter of Acts Luke helps us understand
Exactly why the church was so opposed.
And while Satan’s name is not mentioned in the chapter,
his fingerprints are everywhere.
We know that all opposition to the church is his doing.
Paul wrote to Timothy
2 Timothy 2:24-26 “The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”
All the opposition the church faces is the result of Satan’s activity.
He is the one we war against.
He is the one who seeks to devour us.
And when men attack the church,
It is only because they are held captive by him to do his will.
And that is certainly what we see here.
We see the opposition and we see why they give it.
5 things
#1 JEALOUS OF HER POPULARITY
Acts 5:12-18
What you will immediately notice here is
Luke is making a point about the church’s popularity.
EVENTS OF THE CHURCH’S LEADERS (12)
It is clear that nothing has slowed down.
God is still granting His apostles
The ability to work miraculous signs in the name of Jesus.
This was for their validity
And God is doing it a lot
ESTEEM OF THE CHURCH’S MEMBERS (13)
I really like this verse.
It is probably the most rarely duplicated aspect of the early church today.
First, that no one “dared to associate with them”
WHY?
Because Ananias and Sapphira were just struck dead,
And the people knew you don’t go to church and lie to God.
The early church had a reputation of being sincere and real and holy.
And that is why “the people held them in high esteem.”
Of all the things that church might have been accused of,
“Just being a bunch of hypocrites” wasn’t on the list.
Like them or not, the world knew they were for real.
EXTENT OF THE CHURCH’S GROWTH (14-16)
The point of these verses is merely to give you a picture
Of just how popular this church was.
“multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number”
• And those that weren’t added were lining the streets.
• And people from surrounding cities were showing up as well.
• And they were all being healed, which only added to the circus.
Luke wants you to understand the church
Was experiencing popularity in record fashion.
The church was the main attraction going in Jerusalem.
It might have used to be the temple,
But now people were coming to Jerusalem because of the church.
And that leads to the first explanation of opposition.
EXPLANATION OF THE CHURCH’S ENEMIES (17-18)
And now you see that Luke wasn’t bragging in those first few verses
He was merely explaining why they were so hated.
And it is a simple word: “JEALOUSY”
“and they were filled with jealousy.”
It may seem strange, but at the root of the opposition to the church
Is not only the jealousy of men, but also the jealousy of Satan.
We’ve actually studied it several times here recently,
But we know that jealousy and selfish ambition is demonic.
James 3:14-15 “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.”
And the reason James says that is because those things are an indicator of Satan’s personality ruling your life, not God’s.
Satan was himself jealous of God.
Isaiah 14:12-14 “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’”
And because of that we know that those
Who walk by Satan’s influence are also jealous.
Matthew 23:6-10 “They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men. “But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. “Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. “Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ.”
These men were influenced by Satan and they clearly
Wanted the glory that was reserved only for God.
• The point being here that Satan wants God’s glory and when the church glorifies God it sets Satan off.
• He then influences men and tempts them with jealousy as well and thus the church is under attack.
• And as we saw last week this not only happens from the outside, but also the inside.
Ananias was also jealous of the fame that Barnabas received
And that is why Peter noted that Satan had filled his heart.
But if you want to understand what is at the heart of opposition,
It is that Satan is jealous of God’s glory.
So I guess if you want to avoid opposition, then never glorify God.
Satan is Jealous of her popularity
#2 PERPLEXED BY HER POWER
Acts 5:19-26
Here is another reason why the church is opposed,
It is that the world simply doesn’t understand her power.
We know the apostles were arrested,
READ (19-24)
And there you see it.
“they were greatly perplexed”
How did the apostles escape from jail?
You will even notice they weren’t sure how to deal with them.
READ (25-26)
And this is another reason the church has opposition.
The world (and Satan) are perplexed by her.
We’ve already seen this once.
Acts 4:13-14 “Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply.”
And here we see it again.
There was no rational explanation for her power.
In the early church they were perplexed by her miraculous power,
But even today the world is perplexed
By the church’s power to see lives transformed.
We live in a world that loves for man to get glory.
Our world wants to credit science and medicine for everything.
There is simply no room for the supernatural.
• And so when sinners quit sinning…
• When drunks quit drinking…
• When drug addicts quit using…
• When the violent quit fighting…
The world is perplexed and ultimately opposed.
Listen to what Jude said:
Jude 8-10 “Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties. But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, ” The Lord rebuke you!” But these men revile the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed.”
The idea behind this is that the church makes the world
Look wrong and foolish, and they world hates that.
Certainly Satan hates it.
His way is in direct contradiction to God’s way,
And when God succeeds it makes Satan look dumb.
When the church succeeds in changing lives
It makes the world look dumb and they hate it.
So if you don’t want opposition, then don’t walk in the power of God’s Spirit and never do anything that the world doesn’t understand.
Jealous of her popularity; perplexed by her power
#3 ENRAGED AT HER CONVICTION
Acts 5:27-33
Boy we’ve seen this before haven’t we?
Here is that same intimidating Council.
This is that mob family again.
It is Caiaphas and Annas and all the crew, and they are already angry.
(28) “We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.”
I thought that was their idea?
Matthew 27:24-25 “When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this Man’s blood; see to that yourselves.” And all the people said, “His blood shall be on us and on our children!”
They clearly asked for His blood on their heads,
But at this point they aren’t happy about it.
And then Peter lowers the boom again.
PETER’S MOTIVE (29)
Peter made no bones about why he didn’t follow their orders.
He had sanctified Christ as Lord in his heart,
And if man’s orders and God’s orders were in conflict, then he had to obey God.
PETER’S MESSAGE (30-31)
This is classic Peter.
Not only does he answer the question,
But he again gives them truth they needed to hear.
Namely this:
Jesus is Risen & Jesus grants Repentance
The One whom you killed is alive
And He is the One that can forgive you of your sins.
So even though Peter is in danger of proclaiming Christ,
He not only continues, but he proclaims Christ right here in the court
That has him on trial.
PETER’S MISSION (32)
Peter let it be known why he did not obey their orders.
He served God not man, and God had told him
To share the truth of the resurrected Jesus.
We call that conviction.
Peter was not easily shaken.
Now the Council was angry before,
But look at their response to Peter’s conviction.
(33) “But when they heard this, they were cut to the quick and intended to kill them.”
And there you have a third reason
Why there is such opposition to the church.
Satan and his world are enraged at the church’s conviction.
• They hate the fact that the church cannot be bullied or intimidated.
• They hate the fact that the church won’t conform under their pressure.
• They hate the fact that they have no control over the church.
This is certainly reason for Satan’s rage.
• He longs to control.
• He is from long ago a usurper.
• He loves to be in control of things he has no right to control.
It was God’s world and Satan sought control of it.
And he still wants control of it.
And Satan has control of everything in the world
Except for one thing: The Church.
He can’t control the church.
John 10:1-5 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. “But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. “When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. “A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.”
The church is led by Christ.
The church is led by His Spirit.
And they refuse to follow the voice of another.
And this has always irritated Satan,
And this is why he and his world oppose the church.
It is the church’s non-conformity that angers the world.
• Why we won’t believe evolution…
• Why we won’t condone abortion…
• Why we won’t accept homosexuality…
• Why we won’t embrace drinking, or gambling, or other such things…
It is our conviction that angers the world.
So if you don’t want opposition, then just drop your convictions and go with the flow, stop going upstream and the opposition will stop.
They are Jealous of our Popularity They are Perplexed by our Power
They are Enraged at our Conviction
#4 LIMITED BY HER LEADER
Acts 5:34-40
And this really is a frustrating thing to the enemy.
WHAT WAS THE GOAL OF THE COUNCIL?
(33) “They…intended to kill them.”
This is what they wanted to do.
But God intervened.
And God intervened through a man named Gamaliel.
And he shows up with a logical argument that spares the disciples.
RENDER CAUTION (34-35)
Be careful Gamaliel says. It is not as easy as you think to kill this movement.
REMEMBER HISTORY (36-37)
Gamaliel wants them to realize man-made movements fail and fail quickly.
When people follow a man, they only follow until the man is dead.
“Cut the head off the snake and the body dies”
There is only one instance in which this doesn’t work…
RECOGNIZE GOD (38-39)
And what tremendous council he gives.
You can’t stop God if this is of God.
“but if it is God, you will not be able to overthrow them”
And this is another thing that drives Satan crazy.
God keeps limiting his plans.
Satan wanted Peter and John dead, but God didn’t allow it.
Just as the numerous times Satan tried to kill Jesus,
But we read, “His time had not yet come”
Satan is limited by God.
How many times have we read in regard to temptation..?
1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”
God won’t let Satan have free reign and this is infuriating to him.
He is always on a leash, never able to do all he wants.
God sent Gamaliel with a logical argument and the Council gave in.
(40) “They took his advice; and after calling the apostles in, they flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them.”
Now I certainly don’t want to make light of someone being “flogged”
But you see that it was less than Satan would have liked.
These men could not fight and overcome God’s will.
And that is also irritating to the world.
So if you don’t want opposition, then quit following God,
For He limits the world and that irritates them.
They are jealous of our popularity They are perplexed by our power
They are enraged at our conviction They are limited by our leader
#5 POWERLESS TO STOP HER
Acts 5:41-42
I doubt that was the effect they had hoped to have.
They went away “rejoicing” and continuing in the ministry.
Their attack had no effect whatsoever.
• It didn’t make the apostles mad at God…
• It didn’t make the apostles more cautious…
• It didn’t even slow them down.
They still preached not only in homes, but still in the temple.
This powerful council had no negative effect on the church at all.
To them, suffering was merely a confirmation of God’s favor.
1 Peter 4:12-14 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.”
Matthew 5:10-12 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
How do you argue with such logic?
People who delight in suffering because it is an indicator of Christ-likeness…
And this has to frustrate the enemy as well.
How long has he tried to stop the church and to absolutely no avail.
And so you understand their opposition.
• They are jealous of our popularity
• They are perplexed by our power
• They are enraged by our conviction
• They are limited by our leader
• They are powerless to stop us
So if you don’t want opposition, then your option is clear.
• Don’t ever glorify God – His popularity irritates them
• Don’t ever walk in His power – His success perplexes them
• Don’t ever stand on your convictions – His truth enrages them
• Don’t ever follow God – His power over the enemy frustrates him
• Don’t be a part of the church – Her resilience drives the enemy crazy
However, if you would rather be a part
Of the greatest organization the world has ever known,
Then embrace in your heart that opposition is part of the deal
And serve Christ with all you have.
1 Peter 3:14-17 “But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.”
