Sermon Title: WHAT COMES OUT?
Sermon Text: ACTS 4:23-37
Sermon Series: UNSTOPPABLE: A Sermon Series Through the Book of Acts. | Part 2: The Church Under Fire
By: PTR NESTOR SY
Acts 4:23-37 ESV
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 to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 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?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers were gathered together,
against the Lord and against 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.
Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
SERMON NOTES
When pressure comes, what does it reveal about us?
I. PRESSURE REVEALS OUR FIRST INSTINCT.
“predestine” [proorizó | Greek ] “to determine beforehand, to decide beforehand, to appoint beforehand.”
Pressure reveals whether God’s sovereignty is merely something we believe intellectually or something we stand on when life shakes.
Reflect: When pressure enters your life, what tends to come out first?
The threat was not the biggest reality in that room. God was.
II. PRESSURE REVEALS OUR PRIORITY.
“boldness” [parrésia | Greek ] “confidence, openness, frankness.”
The church did not ask God for a safer world; they asked him for a bolder witness.
Biblical boldness is the freedom to speak truthfully about Jesus when fear gives you every reason to be quiet.
Reflect: Are you spending you courage on the right battles?
III. PRESSURE REVEALS WHAT WE ARE WILLING TO LOSE FOR GOD
Grace loosens the grip of people who know they already belong to Christ.
If grace has given us everything we ultimately need in Christ, then we don’t have to live as though our security depends on gripping everything in our hands.
Reflect: If pressure hits your income, your health, or your security tomorrow — would your hands close, or would they open?
God is not just interested in changing what comes out of us but in what fills us.