A People Engaged: Grounded In a Turbulent World

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So last night was a lot of fun, and if you weren't able to make it, ask somebody about it. Get some good stories. Find out who sang what at the karaoke. There were a few surprises.

We're in Acts chapters 3 through 5 in a little series here that's going to take us into the Advent season. This section of Acts I'm calling A People Engaged. The people that God prepared, that's us, sent out into the world, still engaged with each other, but now engaged with the mission that he's given us, and ultimately engaged with the world in a particular and unique way.

So it's not smooth sailing for the people of God in Acts. All thoughts that it might be just this idyllic heaven on earth, you know, community, and that it will be nonstop success all throughout the book of Acts pretty much ends right at chapter 3. If you just read Acts 1 and 2, you can get a nice, you know, rosy picture.

I'm going to suggest to you that what we start seeing happening in Acts 3 through 5, the issues, the conflicts, the troubles, I'm going to offer you a perspective that it's reassuring. To read that. Because our life is full of conflicts and troubles and issues, right? It would be a little discouraging, wouldn't it, if we read Acts and it was just like nonstop success, boom, boom, boom, one thing after another, everything's going their way. That'd be a little discouraging.

What we read in Acts is actually a lot similar, a lot more similar to our life. Than kind of the nice storybook that we might have written. Life is confusing sometimes, isn't it?

Everything is in process. Everything is in process. Everything is unfinished. For people like me that like conclusions, that can be in and of itself a stress. Maybe you're not like me. Maybe you're fine with unfinished things.

Many things don't turn out the way we hope, even as they're unfolding. Doors that God opens lead to paths that are thorny and complicated and difficult.

Sometimes you have moments where you look around and you say, what is even happening? To me, this feels like Being at the beach, in the ocean, making your way out from shore. I remember this feeling as a kid when trips to the ocean were still— they were still new experiences. When you start going out, the waves, you feel the waves push you around. You don't even have to get up past your knees before you feel this is a strong force. When you're in at your ankles, it doesn't feel all that strong.

Very quickly you begin to feel how strong it is. And you don't have to get very far at all, maybe up to your waist, before a big wave hits you and your feet might start to lose their grip on the ocean floor. You know that feeling you get in your stomach when you're like, there's a force around me and it's pushing me around. I can't stay on the ocean floor. And eventually you get up to about your chest and you— it doesn't matter how strong you think you are, you get swept off your feet.

And not in the good, you know, I've fallen in love swept off your feet, but the kind that gives you the butterflies in your stomach, right? I think If you live long enough, you find that life is like that. Waves hit and you're like, what's going on? I feel unsettled. My feet feel off the ground. When the waves hit us, we've got to find some way to get our footing, to sort through the confusion. So good. And here's why, so that we can stay engaged.

With the mission of God, with him, with the people of God. That's what the church is doing here in Acts 4 in this passage. I think this passage is kind of like a quietly revolutionary passage for us. There's a bunch of fireworks in the last passage that I preached on. Peter's saying there's no other name under heaven and earth by which you can be saved. Quotable things was the last passage. This passage flies under the radar, but it's quietly pretty revolutionary for how we sort through a real life that is really messy.

Yes, it is. Anybody here have a real messy life that they want to take to the Scriptures now? I see that hand. Hallelujah, I see that hand. Okay, well, let's go to Acts 4 and see what the apostles do. Remember, they have just faced their first opposition.

This is the Holy Scriptures for us. It comes to us from a God who loves us, who wants to help us, not just with information, Though it is information, he helps us with his very presence and his active and working Spirit in us as we study his Word, as we receive it eagerly. So let's, let's have open hands like hungry children coming to their good Father with a meal ready to give us. This is Acts 4:23-31. All right. When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them.

And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together and said, Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, Amen. who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, why do the Gentiles rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and His anointed. 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 peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your plan had predestined to take place.

And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness while you stretch out your hand to heal and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. Pray with me.

Father, we come before you humbly and in need, and we come to the one, the only one, who is holy and righteous and gracious and merciful. Quick to show forgiveness, quick to give help. So we cry out and we ask for that help. Lord, teach us through this passage. Help us to apply this to our lives. Spirit, show us where it needs to land, how it needs to encourage us and direct us. Lord, set our feet on solid ground even though the waves are pushing us around.

We know that you can do this and that you will. We pray this eagerly and faithfully, looking to you, God, to fulfill your promises and your purposes in us. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

Okay, so like I said, last passage, the church had just experienced its first opposition. That is, first opposition after Jesus had ascended. The temple authorities in Jerusalem hauled them in, put them in jail overnight, interrogated them, told them, you stop talking about Jesus. This is your final warning.

Now, we might assume that they just expected this. You might assume that because you've read the Gospels or you've read Acts before, but I don't, I don't know that it's true that they expected this to happen. Think about Pentecost, right? The crowd that gathered at Pentecost included people who were there demanding that Jesus be crucified. That's what Peter says. It included people who themselves had personally met Jesus and rejected him. Other people who had heard about him and seen him from a distance and rejected him, right?

But after Peter's sermon, what happens? 3,000 of those people repented. Turned around, embraced Jesus, called upon the name of the Lord. Later, when they taught in the temple the very thing that had raised the wrath of the authorities, Another 2,000 put their faith in Jesus. So when the apostles are brought before the chief priests and the elders and the scribes and the Sanhedrin, they might have hoped for a similar outcome. I think I would have, right?

Maybe they thought, look, he sent us to preach to Jerusalem first. Now we have an audience with the leaders of our people. Maybe this is the moment when the scribes and elders, the people who know the scriptures, who have taught about the coming Messiah, our high priests— maybe this is the moment where they call upon Jesus for salvation.

Instead, they get Strident opposition. Orders to not preach and teach in the name of Jesus. I really— these were human people standing before the Sanhedrin. Surely they were disappointed, right?

Surely they were confused. But he's risen. There's people who've seen him. What, what do you mean you're still rejecting him? What more do you need? We had hoped this was the moment.

So they leave and they're like, Jesus sent us to Jerusalem, but the authorities are against us. They're watching our every move. Evangelism is a minefield. The very thing God called us to do, they're watching out for it. How do they process this? How do they stay engaged?

When Jose was calling us to worship today, he didn't know this, but the things he was saying were exactly what is in this passage. God knew. God knew, right? How do they stay engaged? How do they find their footing? How do they process this? By returning to this important truth: God is in control.

God is in control. Now listen, I— sometimes preachers can bury the lead a little bit. I'm bringing it right here to the front. This is it. This is the main point for today. They find their footing Through this truth that God is in control.

The waves have hit them, their feet have come off the ocean floor, but they are still grounded, and they're grounded in God's sovereignty, his absolute control over everything, every situation, every circumstance. In the middle of this difficulty, they are tethered to the Lord that has all things not just in his hands But who had it all in his mind, in his plan.

They call him Sovereign Lord. This is a single word in the Greek, Despota. Despota. It's a title for a ruler of unchallengeable power. And they call upon him with that title in joy, not in fear.

Happy that they can call him that. They talk about his control over creation. The universe didn't spontaneously come into being. It was formed and it was made from the creative act of God. God didn't stumble across some primordial Stuff and says, I can do something with this. There was nothing that existed before God. He created the universe out of the— with the word of his power, out of nothing.

He made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them. But he is not a watchmaker. He did not wind up the world. And then set it in motion and put it on his mantle and then just sit back and watch it go.

Hebrews tells us that Christ himself upholds the universe by the word of his power. Every planet orbiting every star, every electron orbiting every nucleus, from the great to the small, he holds it all together. All the time.

But it isn't these things that trip us up, is it? When things function normally, normally in quotes, as we call them normal, we'll gladly acknowledge God's sovereignty, right?

But here's the thing, here's where the resting place comes in. His control is so comprehensive it even includes when things go sideways. Even forces and people who oppose him are under his sovereign rule.

The church quotes Psalm 2 here and the people Who don't want God's authority. They want to be in charge, so they rage and they plot and they gather together against the Lord and against his anointed.

But it's not like God looks and he goes, oh, I, I kind of stopped paying attention over here. Things have gotten out of hand. I need to kind of move back over here and take the reins again. No, that's a low view of God's sovereignty. Right? He upholds the universe by the word of his power, even opposition. That's why it's all in vain, all of the opposition against God. Not simply because God has power that overcomes theirs— of course he does— it's in vain because even their opposition is directed by God to accomplish his purposes.

That's what they say in verse 28. The opposition to God and Jesus had done what? Whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. This is why they call him Sovereign Lord.

And this is what grounds them and keeps them engaged in the middle of confusion and difficulty. They know that nothing is happening to them apart from His will. Nothing can happen to them apart from His will.

In Ephesians 1:11, Paul says that God works all things according to the counsel of His will. All means all. God works all things according to the counsel of His will. You know, a powerful person might be able to look at something that's gone awry and move in and set it right. Maybe even move in and take the broken pieces and make something out of it. But there is no one like our God. That even the brokenness is part of his sovereign plan. That is what the disciples and the church are trusting in right now, and that is what I'm calling you to rest in today.

When you— when the waves knock you off the ocean floor, that is your footing. That nothing can happen to you apart from the will of God, the plan of God, the purposes of God. And yet, it's already gotten revolutionary, it's getting even more revolutionary, and yet God's sovereignty does not negate our responsibility.

When the rulers and the Gentiles and the peoples raged against God and rejected Jesus, it was accomplishing what God planned, yes, but they were still accountable.

It was still their choice. It was still their sin. Likewise, God's sovereignty does not mean that his people have no role to play. They have a role to play. They know that. And so they ask their in-control God something that our flesh and the world calls crazy. Look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word.

Rather than ask for a way out, they ask For his help to keep going. Yeah. Wanting hardship to stop is normal. It's not wrong to want hardship to stop. I pray it for myself. I pray it for you.

But wanting hardship to stop can be an idol. It can be— it can become the only outcome that we ask for or hope for. And that's an idol. When it's the only thing you ask for and only thing you want, watch out.

What a rebuke to read that the church doesn't say Father, please make this stop. Sovereign Lord in control over all things, punish them. Get us out of this hard situation. Don't you want us to preach your word? Don't you want us to succeed, God? You sent us on this mission and now these roadblocks have come up. Deal with those roadblocks. They say, Sovereign Lord, thy will be done. But Father, help us. They know that God has a role for them in this unfolding story, a role that is difficult and painful sometimes.

And they know that they're finite, easily discouraged and intimidated, fallible. Anybody else? Anybody else here finite, easily discouraged, easily intimidated, fallible? I'll put my hand up to that.

In their weakness, they are quick to ask, help us. Continue to speak your word with all boldness. And they also know their limitations. They know where their role stops. There is needed work around them that only God can do. So they confidently ask, while we speak your word, you— here's what we want you to do, God. Please stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus. Restoration, spiritual renewal, conviction— all of these things are God's responsibilities.

As the saying goes, that's above our pay grade. We can't do those things. We ask God to do those things. Only he can convince a sinner to turn to him. Only he can bring new life into dead people. And so they ask him to do it expectantly, knowing that he works all things according to his will.

The apostles are not trying to write theology here, but boy, they have given us a beautiful example of how divine sovereignty and human responsibility go together. We know you're in charge, that even this hard situation, Lord, that's confusing, it's happening to us by your will and your plan for us. We know you have a purpose for us and something— work that we're supposed to do. Help us do it while you do the things that only you can do.

I, I don't know about you, but I'm humbled to read their response, and I'm encouraged because I see an example to follow. God is in control, and this gives them the firm footing of peace and patience. Thank you. For their confusing and difficult life.

Thank you. The end. Before I end, we're going to look at how we can stay engaged. Let's take a few more steps to think, to work through how we can apply this to our lives. Okay, how can we stay engaged? So let's do this first by retracing the church's steps and see in this passage how they got there. How did they get to this firm footing? Well, first of all, did you notice this? They didn't get there alone.

They regroup after they're released with their friends. They regroup with the church. And after discussing what happened, they lift their voices together, the passage says. For confusing and difficult paths of discipleship that we're walking— and we're all walking at some level a confusing and difficult path of discipleship— for that path, for us to keep walking, we need more than what we come up with in our own minds.

Or what YouTube feeds or podcasts give us. We need even more than what books give us. Those things are helpful. There is truth there. But to apply it to your specific situation, to your life, to your struggles, it takes something more. It takes community to apply truth to your context.

To take ideas and put them together, seeking it together from other Spirit-led people, speaking honestly with each other about what's going on. That's the first step. What is going on in your life that's confusing and difficult? Bring it to somebody else, somebody that you trust. Listen to one another. Ask questions. Bounce ideas off each other. What do you think? What insights do you have?

This is the beginning of discerning how to respond faithfully in our real lives, our actual real lives. Nobody on YouTube knows your real life. Even the best author of the best book doesn't know your real life. If there's truth there, and there is, take it with other people and sharpen it, refine it, and then apply it to your life.

Being together is the beginning, but it's not the end. They didn't just talk to each other, did they? Most of this passage is what? It's prayer. Most of this passage is prayer. They lifted their voices together to God. They're reflecting their experiences back to God. In prayer, God becomes our conversation partner.

It's not quite the same as another physical person whose voices vibrate the air and reach our eardrums. But the Holy Spirit does lead us. Helps us know what to pray. Helps us hear from him as we pray. Anyone here ever gotten an insight because you heard somebody else pray to God? I know you have. I have many times.

That's why corporate prayer is such a blessing, such a vital thing. Prayer is an act of faith. It's acting on the truth that God is listening and God is leading.

He's a better conversation partner than your best friend. He's a better counselor than the one that you pay for. He's a better confidant than your spouse or your biological siblings.

Reflect your experiences back to God in prayer. Sometimes it starts with, Lord, I don't know what's going on. This is so hard, but I'm asking for your insight. I'm asking for your help.

You're going to the right person. And you will hear from him in particular ways that are helpful when you do that with other people. Don't overlook that the prayer here in Acts 4 is corporate. They didn't scatter off to their prayer closets and pray. Not that that would have been wrong. But that's not what they did. They prayed together.

And in Acts 4, they were grounded through Scripture. Now, now you're like, oh boy, here comes the pastor again, pointing us to prayer and Scripture and being together. You're right. I can be a broken record sometimes. But the Scriptures point us to these things, don't they? Prayer and Scripture and being together. Prayer and Scripture and being together. They're called means of grace. So I'm unashamed of being a broken record and offering you the means of grace.

God spoke through David, they said. He spoke through David by the Holy Spirit. You can see the high view of Scripture that they have. Scripture was how they knew that God is in control. They didn't turn over a rock and discover this truth. They read it in the Word. That's right. God— and they also learned in the Word that, that what his plans and purposes would mean for their life. Here's what I mean. When Psalm 2 was written, the Lord's anointed referred to David, but now the apostles see that this psalm was ultimately fulfilled in Christ.

Jesus was opposed and plotted against, but this was the Lord's hand fulfilling what he had predestined to take place— the Son of God dying for sinners. All right. But this shows them the road ahead for them. As they proclaim the gospel in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, to the ends of the earth, many will receive Christ as Lord, but many will oppose him.

And so they will oppose his people. You see the clarity that they're getting? God's sovereignty, his plan, but also the beginnings of what it means for their life.

Now, we are not apostles. I'm not an apostle. We cannot give an authoritative interpretation of the Old Testament that's binding for the whole church. Okay, but Scripture still gives us the firm footing of peace and purpose in a confusing world. First, just like for the early church, Scripture tells us about God, who he is, his nature, his character. Theology means study of God, and to some people theology is almost like a bad word.

They think it's just for classrooms. What do you think this passage says? I see here that theology is for real life. What I see here is that God's people have real assurance in difficulty because of their theology, because they have studied the Word and have studied God and have learned about him. They knew God personally and specifically through his word, and that's how they're helped.

Maybe theology is what some of you need to study in scripture so that you know the God that you worship and so that you have firm footing. But the scriptures also tell us that God's call For our life is active, it's part of his plan, and it tells us what it will require of us. If I were to sum up the disciples' prayer in this passage, it would be this: Lord, we know how you've called us to live, and we know that it will cost us, that we will endure hardships, but we also know this is part of your plan for us and for your kingdom.

So please give us boldness to obey you, and you do the work that only you can do. Now that prayer is the prayer that we can all pray, even though we're in a different situation.

When life is difficult and confusing, it does not mean that something is wrong. Everything that God calls us to do comes with some kind of difficulty, does it not? Isn't this why he said deny yourself and take up your cross?

Being the first person in an argument to repent, it costs you something. Forgiving even though you think you might get hurt again. Putting God's plans ahead of your own plans, being more generous with your money and your time than you feel comfortable with, giving thanks in all circumstances— that's costly— speaking about Jesus even if people get mad or pull away or call you names online. or to your face.

Worshiping God when life is hard. All of this is what God's people are called to, and it's difficult, isn't it? Discipleship has inherent difficulty, but I don't know about you, but I would choose the difficult life with him than the difficult life apart from him.

I hear that you would too. It's better to go the difficult life with him than the difficult life apart from him. Because he is in control even when you can't see it, even when you're confused. And the hardship itself comes from the hand of God. It comes with a purpose of God, to renew us in the image of Christ, to bring out the new self, the new creation self. Our God works all things according to the counsel of his will, and for the people of God, his will is for your good, for your total and deep eternal good.

He will sanctify you. He will call you out of darkness and into light. He will make you a testimony of his redeeming power. He will complete the work that he began in you and bring you to himself in glory. That's his will. That's his will. And that's what gives us assurance and a solid ground in the middle of difficulty and confusion.

In our scripture reading, Jesus went to a garden to pray. He took along some friends, and those friends fell asleep, but he kept praying. And his posture was the same as the apostles in Acts 4. Father, I know you want— what you want me to do. And I know that it will cost me.

Nevertheless, not my will but yours be done. But please, Father, help me. Help me, Jesus cried. Help me drink the cup of your wrath in the place of sinners. And Father, do your work. Call people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. To believe in my name and be united to you.

No matter what God— no matter what path God has you on, Jesus had the most difficult calling of all. The plans and the purposes of the will of God asked the most of him, but he did it. He did it. When the moment— when the moment came, he did not let that cup pass. He took it in our place, died in our place on the cross so that we could live in him.

So that we could live eternally. Whatever the will is of God for you, whatever difficulty you have in your life, Christ took the greater difficulty so that that plan and that purpose in your life could be working for your good and for your blessing.

So that you could be sanctified and set apart for purposes in his kingdom, come what may.