Book of Acts

THE BOOK OF ACTS – Chapter 4

WEEK 9
ROME WAS AMERICA
All right, we’re in Acts 4:23
If you’ve got a Bible, go there. As we’re studying the book of Acts, it’s history, but it’s history for the purpose of case study. It’s not just looking at how Christianity began and how the early church grew, it’s actually a study of the person and work of the Holy Spirit. Some will call it the acts of the Apostles. I prefer to call it the acts of the Holy Spirit. It’s an extraordinary God working through ordinary people to accomplish an extraordinary mission. And the way he worked is the way he works, and the way he worked through them is the way that he wants to work through us.
So, as we come to the book of Acts, we’re not just looking at it in a way that is nostalgic—“Oh, look at what it used to be like”—but we look, rather, leaning into the future—“What does the future look like for us together on mission as God’s people?”
One thing I don’t think I’ve made clear to this point is the cultural context that the Book of Acts is set in. It happens in a culture that sounds eerily familiar to our own. It’s in the midst of the Roman Empire. Tell me if this doesn’t sound familiar: 
The Roman Empire was the biggest, most prominent, powerful, prosperous nation in the history of the world. The citizens lived relatively lavish lifestyles. They had multiple religions, multiple spiritualities, multiple gods, multiple goddesses. Their values included tolerance and diversity. They had widespread sexual sin. Homosexuality was very popular. Bisexuality was very popular. Cohabitation before marriage was frequent. Adultery within marriage was common. They also had child sacrifice where if they didn’t like the baby, they would kill it.
Does this sound like anything you have heard of, yes or no? Yeah,  so the church  is rooted and grows in the midst of a culture that is very, very, very, very much like ours, which gives us great hope: if the Holy Spirit could work through people in that day for this kind of great mission, he could do the same through us in our day.
As the church moves forward in the book of Acts, it does so in an increasingly strong headwind of opposition.
Let’s be honest, we are not big fans of suffering and/or persecution. We don’t like that. We’re not excited about that. In fact, when we share the gospel with someone, we don’t even include that. 
How many of you were told this: “Jesus loves you. He has a wonderful plan for your life. Confess your sins to Jesus and he will forgive you, and then he’ll take you to heaven to live with him forever. Would you like to become a Christian?” 
What they forgot to tell you was the middle. The time between “Give your life to Jesus” and “Go to heaven to be with Jesus,” that part that we call life, they omitted, right? And in that part, they forgot to tell you, “Some people will hate you. They will say horrible things about you. It may cost you a job. Your parents may turn their back on you. It’s going to be very difficult,” because they knew you wouldn’t sign up. 
And that’s what we’re going to talk about today: suffering, persecution, opposition. Now, I’ll share a verse with you before we jump into Acts. It’s from the Apostle Paul, 2 Timothy 3:12. And it’s sort of a big principle that’s illustrated in our study of Acts 4 today. 
“All”—how many? 
“All who desire to live a godly life”—do you desire to live a godly life?  “All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus”—you want Jesus as the center of your life, everything connected to and emanating from him? Yes, you do. 
“All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be”—what?
“All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be blessed.” 
You’re sick? Come to Jesus. You’re poor? Come to Jesus. You’re single? Come to Jesus. You’re married? Come to Jesus. Whatever you want, come to Jesus. He’ll bless you. He’ll give you a job. He’ll give you health. He’ll give you prosperity. He’ll give you a spouse. He’ll give you children. He’ll give you joy. Whatever you want, come to Jesus. All right, he’s the big ATM in the sky. 
But is that what the scripture really says? See, if this was written in America, it would say “blessed” because the prominent teaching today is that. 
But this verse actually says this: 
“All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” 
And so when Christians run into persecution they can get disappointed with God, and then frustrated with God.  And then some people even walk away from God. Now, you may be blessed as well, but you will also be persecuted.
When it comes to persecution, as soon as we start talking about persecution, there are always some religious people, right? And they’re always like, “Well, we’re not really persecuted. It’s not like you’re gonna get stabbed or killed or drawn and quartered. It’s not like they’re throwing us to the lions. It’s not really suffering. You know, around the world, the Christians are really suffering.” And all of a sudden, you’re supposed to feel bad because your suffering isn’t like that. Jesus speaks of two kinds of suffering. 
In Matthew 5:11, he says it this way: “Blessed are you”—so our blessing is actually our suffering—“when others revile you.” 
Stuff like, “Christians are idiots.” “Christians believe that God made the world.” “Christians are anti-science.” “Christians are bigots.” “Christians hate women.” “Christians hate sex.” “Christians hate homosexuals.” “Christians supported slavery.” “Christians are a blight on the planet.” “Christians don’t really love the rest of the people in the culture.” They’re intolerant. They’re discriminatory. They’re narrow-minded. And they are a problem.”
Anybody have a TV? Anybody have Internet access or a neighbor? Have you heard these things? It’s reviling. 
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” 
TROUBLE
There is overt persecution where you get thrown to the lions. 
There’s covert persecution where you get thrown to the critics. 
There’s overt persecution where you die for Christ. 
There’s covert persecution where you live for Christ. 
There’s overt persecution where they silence you by killing you, and then there’s covert persecution where they silence you by shaming you. 
The goal of both kinds of persecution is, “Don’t talk about Jesus. We’ll kill you or shame you. We just want to silence you. Stop talking about him.” And both forms count.

This story started in Acts 3, when a man who was lame from birth and he is healed. It’s a public healing. It’s confirmed here by Luke the physician, who’s recording this. And this guy’s leaping, praising God, celebrating, goes into the temple worshiping God.
How many of you think that you shouldn’t get in trouble for that? 
Like, we all would say, “Well, that seems like a good—” Anybody here anti-healing? No, we all would say, “Healing, yes.” Even the atheists who don’t believe in healing are still for it. 
Peter and John get arrested and thrown in jail— Why? Because the guy was healed? No, because they started talking about Jesus. 
“Who healed this guy?” “Jesus did.” “Who’s Jesus?” “Well, he’s God.” “Well, where is he?” “He’s in heaven.” “Well, how did he heal him?” “Well, he can heal from heaven because he’s Sovereign God who rules over all.” “Oh, tell me more about this Jesus.”
We won’t get in trouble for serving. We will get in trouble for speaking. 
There’s no controversy around serving. All the controversy’s around speaking. If we just go out and feed the hungry, no problem. We love the hurting, no problem. We give generously to support single moms and kids who don’t have a dad—that’s not a problem. We volunteer in the public schools to be part of the community and to love kids—that’s not a problem. We collect coats for the cold and food for the hungry—not a problem.
But if we say, “Jesus loves us, and he told us to love you,” well, then the problem is what we’ve spoken, what we’ve said. So, a lot of cowards like to turn Christianity into nothing but serving, and to get rid of the speaking because it’s the speaking that causes the suffering. And Jesus served and spoke, and Jesus’ people are to serve and speak, and to do so boldly, not cowardly.
What happens to these two guys when they get out of jail? 
We’ll read it, Acts 4:23. 
23 When they were released”—so they get out of jail—“they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them”—these are the religious leaders—“24And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God”—so they pray—“and said, ‘Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them.’”
I mean, now we’re even into controversy, right? If you just get up—let’s say you get up in your science class at the public university and say, “God made the world.” Just quote that verse, and all of a sudden you’re going to find yourself in trouble.
25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain?”’”
Here, he’s quoting Psalms 2, written 1,000 years prior by King David. 
26 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed—there’s Jesus— 27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate—two political leaders that he’s naming here. That’s very bold. These are the guys who just got out of prison now naming the leaders.
, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel—the Jewish people—28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. We’ll come back to this. It’s a church prayer meeting with Calvinists, all right? Right there, “Predestined to take place.”
All right, 29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all—what? Boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’ 31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken”—they get their own local earthquake—“and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”
5 RELEVANT QUESTIONS
There is a lot here. I’m going to ask five questions. We’ll unpack them in succession. 
1. WHO DO YOU THINK WROTE THE BIBLE?
This is the issue that really is the foundational issue. Once this question is answered, the other answers come as a result of what is written in this book. And it’s interesting because in our day, like every day, there is disagreement between Christians and non-Christians on various issues, be it gender, be it sexuality, be it marriage, be it spirituality. There are these conflicts that come over issues.
And here’s the bottom line: 
Christians believe the Bible; non-Christians don’t. 
Here is a better way to ask it:
Is this a book that people wrote about God? 
or 
Is this a book that God wrote through people?

There’s a big difference there. If it’s a book that people wrote about God, then, well, there’s philosophy, psychology, sociology, other religions, and this is one of the books on the shelf with all the other books that claims to have a little perspective on God. 
If this is the book that God wrote, then: 
It’s above all the other books. 
It’s the only perfect book. 
It’s not a word about God; it’s a word from God. 
It’s not speculation; it’s revelation. 
It’s not how we perceive God; it’s how God reveals himself to be. 

That’s entirely, entirely different.
We believe that this is the Word of God, and it alone is the Word of God, and part of the reason is that the Bible keeps telling us that’s exactly what it is.
And I’ll give you an example right here, Acts 4:25. So they’re praying, “Sovereign Lord”—that’s our God. He’s above all the other gods, all the rulers, all the nations, all the tribes, all the tongues, all the languages, all the sexualities, all the spiritualities. He’s the sovereign Lord, seated on a throne—alone. They’re praying to that God.
And then they, from memory, from their heart, are echoing Psalms 2, written 1,000 years prior through David, showing us how important it is to hide God’s word in our heart so that in the moment of need it is on our lips, so that we can remind ourselves of the truth that God has said. “Through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit.”
So, the words came through David, but they came from whom? The Holy Spirit. David is the messenger; he’s not the author. Big difference, right? 
And this is so important because what you’ll hear is—even sometimes among those who profess to be Christian—they’ll say, “Oh, well that’s what Moses said,” or “That’s what Paul said,” or “That’s what David said.” 
No, that’s what God said. You can’t say, “Well, I disagree with Moses” and “I disagree with Paul,” because what you’re saying is, “I disagree with God.”
And what you’re saying is, “I’m god, and the other God needs to submit to me. The other God needs to listen to me. The other God needs to echo me, so when I speak, I want that God to be my servant, and I want my words to go forth as his truth.” It’s deeply spiritual.
Here he says, “David speaks, but it’s God’s words.” 
Some of you right now, you’re bristling because it’s an issue of authority and lordship.
But ask yourself, “Is what I believe true? Because what happens is that some of us don’t reject what the Bible says, but we try and edit what it says. Usually based upon a personal experience or justification.
And there’s a great history of this. 
Did you know that Presidten Thomas Jefferson sat down with a copy of the Bible in the White House in the Oval Office and a pair of scissors, and he cut all the parts of the Bible out he didn’t like or agree with. 
He ended up with a much shorter version of the New Testament he called The Philosophy of Jesus Christ, which reduces Jesus down to yet another philosopher.
And the truth is, we all, in varying ways, do the same thing, and sometimes the scissors are scholars. I’m not against scholarship, but there are certain scholars who like to use scissors to edit parts of the Bible that we simply don’t like. 
I’ll give you an example. So, let’s say you’re in a poor, artsy, hipster, perverted hypothetical place like Seattle or Portland, OK? You’re like, everybody’s naked and riding a skateboard and plays guitar and has a tattoo.
And OK, so hypothetically, you’re in a place like that. So, what they’re going to do is they’re going to go the Bible and they’re going to say, “Oh, be generous and love the poor, and care for the hungry.” Are they going to cut that part out? No. 
BUT how about the part that says, “Don’t have sex outside of heterosexual marriage.” Yeah, that’s going to get cut really fast.
Now, let’s say you go to a place like Orange County or Bellevue or Sammamish, and there’s a lot of heterosexuals, maybe even a few closet Republicans, and they’ve got a decent income stream, and they’re trying to reduce their tax burden. Are they going to cut all the parts out about homosexuality, and sex before marriage? No, because they got teenage kids and they want them to keep their pants on. OK, so they’re going to keep those parts of the Bible.
But what about the parts—“Be generous and give money to God’s mission and the poor”? Are they going to get their scissors out for that? Yes. 
We’re all hypocrites: we’re just different kind of hypocrites. We all come to the Bible, and we’re all offended by something, and we all want to edit it out, and we all want it to say something it doesn’t, but we can’t because it’s the book that God wrote. So rather than editing the Bible, we need to study the Bible, and when we disagree with the Bible, we need to change our minds.
I’ll give you an interesting study that was recently conducted by the American Bible Society. Eighty-eight percent of Americans own a printed Bible. That’s a lot, right? A hundred percent of Americans have access to the Internet, whether it’s at work, on your computer, whether it’s on your smart phone, or you can just go to the library and it’s free, and there are computers and Internet access.
And online, we have more Bible study tools than at any time in the history of the world. It’s unbelievable—Bible translations, study tools, language helps, cultural backgrounds, podcasts, vodcasts, classes. It is an unbelievable amount of resources God has put freely at our disposal, including the YouVersion Bible app. A hundred million people have downloaded it. You can pick your translation. They’ll set up the Bible study reading plan. It’s free. You use your phone. Unbelievable.
Eighty percent of Americans think that the Bible is sacred. 
How many of you are surprised by that? They may not hold to it, but it’s a special book, it’s a unique book, it’s in its own category, maybe it is the book that God wrote and it’s something to be listened to. 
Yet 61 percent of Americans wished they read it.
That is so American. “Hey, God wrote a book and I have access to it. I should really read that sometime.” This is like, “What?” This is like starving to death at the grocery store. Like, that’s on you, right? 
There’s a whole menu in front of you, and you have availed yourself to none of it. I love teaching you the Bible, but I can’t be your only Bible. You’ve got to study for yourself, read for yourself. 
And I just—I tell you this, because we are in an age where there is greater hostility toward Christian faith, and those who are Christians have lowering biblical knowledge. They don’t really know what the Bible says. We need you to know what the Bible says. We need you to study what the Bible says. We need you to memorize what the Bible says. We need you to believe what the Bible says. We need you to obey what the Bible says. And we need you to share what the Bible says. Amen?
And they, (the early church) get together and that’s where they start, with the Bible. And then, they proceed forward with community.
2. WHICH CHRISTIAN FRIENDS DO YOU GO TO?
So, the next question is: which Christian friends do you go to? It says in Acts 4:23, “When they were released, they went to their friends.”
 Which Christian friends do you go to in your time of need, and which friends come to you in their time of need? And when we talk about friendship and community, we do so in the midst of a fractured society. You all know the statistics. The nuclear family is nuclear in that it is exploded, right? And parents are getting divorced, and kids are going off to college, and singles are running off to cities to start their career, and the family’s fragmented and fractured and everybody’s divided and separated and spread. And it’s a lonely day where you may have a lot of online relationships, but you don’t have a lot of face-to-face relationships. You’re not sure who you can trust, who you can confide in, who you can lean on, who you can run to.
Peter and John get out of prison. They run to their friends. And here’s the truth: it was a good thing they had their friends before their tragedy struck. And their tragedy was they just got out of jail. Might I encourage you to have Christian friends before your tragedy comes, before your trial comes, before your troubles come.
What I find at Pebble Hill is oftentimes people will ignore Christian community, they won’t get involved. They won’t pursue church membership, they won’t get in relational connection with God’s people, and then something happens. It could be something good. “Hey, we’re getting married. We need premarital counseling,” you know? It could be something bad. “I got cancer.” “We’re getting divorced,” or whatever. “I lost my job.” And then people run into the church, and they want to microwave relationships. “Give me, just, close friends whom I can totally trust and lean on, and they can do the same for me, and I’d like them all today.”
I would just beg you, because I love you and I want good for you, to pursue Christian friendship before it’s seemingly an urgent need. And the question is not just, “Who can you lean on?” but “Who can lean on you?” Who are you a friend to? Who are you inviting, saying, “You know, if you need me, call me. I’m checking in. I’m praying. I love you. I’m concerned for you. I want to be here for you. I’m part of your life. You can depend on me.” 
And when we think of community, what we often think of is people I can use to make my life better. That’s not the Christian concept. The Christian concept is people I can serve and love because Jesus loves them.
So, when you hear this—and many of you hear this and say, “Yeah, that’s right. I need better friends.” No, you need to be a better friend. 
Proverbs 18:24 King James Version
24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
So, if you don’t have a lot of friends, it’s because you’re not friendly. Friendly people have friends. People who are friends toward others have others reciprocate friendship toward them. But whom do you run to in your time of need?
3. WHOM DO YOU PRAY WITH?
And let me tell you very clearly: they have to be Christians. It’s great to have non-Christian friendships. Maybe your family, friends, neighbors, coworkers are non-Christians. You love them, you enjoy them, but when trouble comes, and you’re looking for support, and you’re looking for counsel, you need to run to God’s people to hear God’s word and to seek God’s will. And then, what do they do when they get together? What should you do when you get together, Community Groups and friendships? They pray. Whom do you pray with? Acts 4:24, “And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God...”
Again, this is why Christian friendship is so important. Your non-Christian friends may be able to give you counsel but not prayer. They may say, “Well, based on my experience and based upon my background and based upon my perspective, here’s what I would counsel you to do.” 
But they can’t pray for you. They can’t ask the Holy Spirit to lead you and guide you. They’re not going to open the Scripture with you as these friends are doing here, right? 
Would you please do these things? Open the Bible, seek Christian friendship, and pray together. 
These three things are like three legs on a stool. If one is missing, it’s falling over. Some of you are like, “I study the Bible,” but without Christian friends and prayer, it’s going to fall over. Some of you say, “I pray and have Christian friends, I just only hear the Bible on Sunday.” It’s going to fall over. “Well, I study the Bible and I pray, but I don’t have a lot of Christian friends.” It’s going to fall over. All right, this is like a three-legged stool. This is in balance. God’s word is open, God’s people are gathered, and then prayer occurs so that God is invited into that community with God’s people and God’s word.
And here’s what I’ve seen: people who don’t have these three things in place, eventually they leave the church, eventually they turn their back on Jesus, eventually they wander away from the faith, and they don’t come back until it’s a crisis. 
Pray for one another, and through the week, call, text, e-mail, get together, praying for one another. I always say that the shortest distance between two people is prayer.
The thing that knits God’s people better than anything is prayer. As you’re praying with them and for them, and they’re praying with you and for you, that’s how true friendship is built and God is welcomed in, amen? And it’s the cure for our grumbling. It’s the cure for our gossiping. The cure for grumbling and gossiping is praying. There’s another way to talk about it that’s not destructive, but constructive.
James 5:16 The Message
Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something to be reckoned with. Elijah, for instance, human just like us, prayed hard that it wouldn’t rain, and it didn’t—not a drop for three and a half years. Then he prayed that it would rain, and it did. The showers came and everything started growing again. 

Now, they’re in the midst of a hard season, so my next question for you is: when tough times come, do you trust or doubt the sovereignty of God? The church here in Acts, like our in own day, is facing opposition. Have you guys noticed that? Have you noticed that the culture shifted fairly quickly? 
4. WHEN TOUGH TIMES COME, DO YOU TRUST IN OR DOUBT THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD?
See, there’s a thing that happens in sports, and that is when a team starts winning, they get a lot of new fans, right? Everybody jumps on the proverbial bandwagon. 
Well, would you say that there is an anti-Christian sentiment, anti-Christian sexuality, anti-Christian morality, anti-Christian spirituality, etc? 
Everybody’s jumping on the bandwagon. 
So there’s opposition that comes—criticism, persecution. I mean, you can get up and say things now about Christians you can’t say about any other minority group. And we’re between 7 percent and 8.9 percent of the population. 
Can they get up and say these things about any other group? 
“They’re bigoted. They’re intolerant. They’re hateful. They’re discriminatory. They’re unloving. They’re uneducated.” 
Can you do that about any other religious group, any other sexual group, any other political group? No. But anti-Christianity right now, it’s very popular. 
And in those seasons when it seems like the cultural tide is against your team and/or personally in your own life when circumstances make it feel as if you’re losing, it’s not going well,  so the questions begin to come to your mind: 
Where is God in all of this? “Well, maybe God doesn’t exist,” or “Maybe God exists, but he’s not powerful,” or “Maybe God exists and he is powerful, but he’s not good.” We can end up in all kinds of bad places.
How about you? In your past, what’s the toughest season you’ve been in? What’s been the worst day of your life? OK, maybe it’s the place emotionally you don’t even want to go to. You want me to just pick up the sermon and move on very quickly because it’s very painful for you. OK, let’s revisit that place for a moment. Is it a place in your present, like right now—right now’s a really brutal season for you. You’d say, “No, my hard season is now,” whatever the situation and circumstance might be. When those seasons come, how do you view the sovereignty of God? How hard is it to believe this verse?? 
Romans 8:28 English Standard Version
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
WHAT SOVEREIGNTY MEANS AND DOESN’T MEAN
Let me explain sovereignty. Sovereignty doesn’t mean that everything that happens is what God wants, all right? There are things that happen that God doesn’t want, like sin. 
Genesis 6:6 English Standard Version
6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.
Sin is not just breaking the laws of God; it’s breaking the heart of God. That’s like foolish children who are out committing suicide and there’s a dad who loves them. That’s not what he wants.
To say that God is sovereign means that he is above all, that he rules over all gods and over all nations and over all kings and over all kingdoms and over all philosophies and over all ideologies, that he rules above all, that he towers above all, and that when he determines to do his will, none can ultimately thwart him because there’s no one that matches him in glory, there’s no one that matches him in power, there’s no one that matches him in majesty.
When we are struggling, when we are suffering, it increases the possibility of our questioning whether or not anyone is on that throne. 
Do I believe in the sovereignty of God? Yes. Are there seasons where I doubt the sovereignty of God? Yes. Because sometimes what I know theologically I struggle to translate emotionally. And so maybe it’s just me, but in case it’s you as well, I will know that God is sovereign, and then when I am suffering, it feels like the circumstances are sovereign, like this is all not going to work out for my good because it’s big, complicated circumstances.
Or sometimes, I feel like someone else is sovereign. They’re in control, they’re driving the boat, I’m just being drug along behind, and it’s out of control. And sometimes what that’ll cause for me personally is despair, sadness, depression. All right, circumstances are in control; someone else is in control. I’m doomed because that’s not a good sovereign. All right, who or what is sitting on the throne is not loving like Jesus and good like Jesus. I’m in trouble.
Or, usually they go in this order: I then try to figure out how I can get sovereign. I say, “I’ve got to get on top of this thing. I need to be in charge. You know what? I need to get on that throne. And I need to make everything work out according to some plan that I developed.”
Any of you like me or is this just me? 
What’s the answer? They’re not in control. It’s not in control. I’m not in control. He’s in control. Back to the book. 
Acts 4: 24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them
27 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,  28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. 
So, they pray to the sovereign Lord, and first they talk about people and things that think they’re sovereign. 
Herod and Pilate think they’re sovereign. They’re political rulers. They get to decide who lives and dies. The Gentiles are the masses who cried out to Jesus, “Crucify him, crucify him.” They think they’re sovereign because they all voted. People of Israel think they’re sovereign because they come up with a plan to kill Jesus. 
Everybody thinks they’re sovereign. The political leaders think they’re sovereign because of their position, the spiritual religious leaders think that they are sovereign because of their plan, and then the Gentiles think that they are sovereign because they constitute the populous.
And the one thing they all agree on is, “Let’s kill Jesus.” OK, now, Christians sometimes have gotten a bad rap as being anti-Semitic because we teach that the Jews killed Jesus. Here it tells us everybody killed Jesus. The Romans, the Jews, and the Gentiles, which is the miscellaneous bucket for the rest of us, 
I’m in the Gentile bucket. Jesus died for my sin; Jesus died for your sin. His blood is on all of our hands. We all killed Jesus.
GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY AT THE CROSS
And if there was ever a time that it looked like God was not sovereign and things were not going according to plan, it was at the cross of Jesus, amen? “Where’s God?” “He’s right there.”
 “Which one?” “The bloodied, nearly naked, beaten one who’s dying.” “Oh my gosh, he’s the sovereign one? He doesn’t look very sovereign. It doesn’t look like he’s in control. It doesn’t look like he’s winning; he’s losing. It doesn’t look like his plan is working; it’s failing.” But that was what your hand and plan had predestined to take place. Who’s plan was it that Jesus would die? He tells us it was the Romans’ plan, it was the Jews’ plan, it was the Gentiles’ plan, it was God’s plan.
When was this plan determined? Well, it was predetermined, it was predestined, meaning that this plan was, to quote Ephesians 1, “before the foundations of the earth.”
If you’re paying attention, your brain just exploded, OK? Because there’s a big debate in theology between a tribal called the Arminians and the Calvinists. The Arminians stress human responsibility and the Calvinists stress God’s sovereignty. 
The truth is, here, the Bible lays equal responsibility on the sinful choices of rebellious people and says that it’s all according to God’s predestined plan. So, the Bible here is saying people are responsible and God is sovereign. People do things that God does not want them to do, and God uses them as part of his predestined plan.
Some of you say, “How does this work?” I don’t know, OK?
Here’s what I do know: When you sin, it’s your fault. When I sin, it’s my fault. And God is so big and God is so good that he will use sin for good. It doesn’t mean that God causes sin. It means that God uses sin because God is both sovereign and good. How do I know?
Look to the cross of Jesus. The murder of Jesus was the most horrific thing that was ever done in the history of the world, and it’s the most wonderful thing that was ever done in the history of the world, because people have a plan, but God has a bigger plan. 
People have a plan, but God has a better plan. That’s what it means to be the sovereign. It doesn’t mean that everything that happens is what you want, but you use everything that happens for what you want. That’s an amazing God. That’s a majestic God. That’s a wonderful God. That’s a glorious God.
5. WHOM DOES THE HOLY SPIRIT WANT YOU TO SPEAK BOLDLY TO?
And this leads to the last point. We then need the Holy Spirit to empower us so that we can follow God’s plan for our life and speak boldly to others about this sovereign God. So, the last question is: whom does the Holy Spirit want you to speak boldly to? Acts 4:29, “And now, Lord”—they’re praying—“look upon their threats and grant your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness.”
So here’s the deal, they’re saying—they’re not praying, “God, get rid of our trial. Get rid of our trouble. Get rid of our tribulation. God, crush our enemies. God, close all the prisons. God, make the media trend in our direction. God, pass some laws that make everybody agree with us. God, give us a safe place to hide our families and our assets. God, make sure that it doesn’t go bad.” They don’t pray any of that. They don’t pray for anything out there to change. They pray for everything in here . . . to change. 
How many of you have prayed for the Nation to change but not yourself? 
MIRACLES
“While you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 
Anything miraculous, supernatural, godly, and good that happens is through the living Jesus working here and now. Jesus is the one who heals.
And so they’re praying, “Jesus, on occasion, please show up in a miraculous way so that everybody knows that you’re still alive.” 
Because it’s not about how powerful the church is or miracles or the supernatural, or somebody was healed, or a demon was cast out, or a person was delivered, or cancer was cured. Ultimately, it’s do they know that Jesus is alive? Do they know who Jesus is? Do they know where Jesus is? Do they know that he’s coming back? Do they know that they’re going to have to give an account to him? And so they’re praying for supernatural, miraculous things to happen.
And friends, I know that they don’t happen a lot. That’s why call them miracles and not Mondays. They’re unusual. They don’t happen all the time. You can’t set your clock by it. But as God’s people are on mission, trying to pray for boldness to invite people to come to know the Lord Jesus, the Lord Jesus will, upon occasion, do something extraordinary, something miraculous, something supernatural so that people know he’s still alive, and he shows up, and we just can’t explain him away.
SOVEREIGN EARTHQUAKE
And then the story continues and concludes. “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken.” 
They actually got a visible sign. Does God still do stuff like that? He can; he doesn’t have to. Some theologies say he has to do it all the time. No, he doesn’t. Others say, “No, he can’t do that.” Well, sure he can. He’s the sovereign. 
MANY FILLINGS
When God’s people receive the Holy Spirit, they do so at conversion. Ephesians calls it being “sealed with the Spirit.” You’re sealed with the Spirit once upon your salvation, and then there are many fillings that happen throughout the course of your life. And the filling of the Holy Spirit is to empower you for boldness to be on mission with Jesus.
So, in Acts, it says they received the Holy Spirit and they spoke in other tongues, meaning they spoke about Jesus boldly in languages they didn’t know. Sometimes it says it like this, that they received the Holy Spirit and spoke with boldness in a language they did know. In either occasion, it’s the same. If you have the Holy Spirit, there is a love for Jesus in you that you can’t contain within you. It comes out of you as you tell others about Jesus because you love them, and you love him, and you want his love to be made known to them.
How often do you gas up your car? You gas up your car; you go on a journey. You gas up your car to go on another journey. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is like that. Nobody’d ever buy a car and say, “I filled it up. Glad that’s over.” No, there’s fuel for that journey, then there’s fuel for the next journey, fuel for the next journey. We’re like that, all right? 
We’re on mission with Jesus, the Holy Spirit fills us to go on that journey, and fills us to go on the next journey, then fills us to go on the next journey. Every time you gas up your car, pray. “Holy Spirit, fill me so that I might journey with Jesus on the mission he’s laid before me. And give me boldness on that mission to talk to people about Jesus.”
I need you to pray that prayer. If you do it every time you gas up your car, that’ll be the way to remind you that as you need to fill up your tank, God needs to fill up your tank. As you need fuel for your journey, Jesus needs to fuel you for his journey.