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Acts chapter four is where we’re together today. I’m told there’s a a misprint in the bulletin, the top of the bulletin notes. If you have those, it says Acts two. It’s actually Acts chapter four where we’re going to be together. So Acts chapter four. And if you’ve not been a part of our series, we’re going through the book of Acts. It’s an incredible book for the church to learn, to be encouraged and follow Jesus faithfully as we get to learn from the first century church. The book of Acts was written to the church for the first 30 years after Jesus’s death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. So as you get to the very beginning of the chapter, you see Jesus ascended in the first few verses, and for the next 30 years. It follows the history of the church through a man named Luke who records this for us. And we’re discovering how the Spirit of God moved through the people of God to accomplish the will of God. And as we look at the first century church, we recognize we follow the same God today. And just as they see the beauty of God made known in the first century as the Word of God goes forth through the known world, we recognize that God has us in a particular place and that you are no accident, and God desires to move through you to make a difference in this world.
So as we grow in our own faith journey, we realize God not only wants to do a work in us, but he desires to do a work through us. And when you look at the the book of Acts, the story of Acts, we we recognize that God has called us on, on a mission. Acts chapter one, verse eight. He calls us to be his representatives in Jerusalem, Judea, to the uttermost parts of the earth. And not only does he call us on mission, he gave us the the means by which we do it, which is the Holy Spirit, the power of the Holy Spirit. So Acts chapter two, verse four, we see the Spirit of God empowering the people. And then we recognize the means that God desires to work through, which is the church. And we looked at that in Acts chapter two, verses 42 to 47, that God has created this church for a purpose bigger than itself, which is, we say, as a church, we exist for a reason greater than ourselves, to give ourselves away for the glory of God to the benefit of others. I mean, if you’re here this morning and you’re just hungry for a relationship with Lord. I’m thankful for that. I think that’s a wonderful thing to be hungry for. But but to also understand in my own faith journey that the beautiful work God does in me. He then starts moving in such a way that he wants to let that glory be made known through me.
And so as I grow in the Lord, I begin to lift my eyes to the opportunities that God has before me. And God uses me to make a difference in this world. And we say, even as a church, we’re not looking for a comfortable life, but rather a meaningful life that however long of a life God’s given me. I want to make a difference in this world for what God has called me to. And as you look at the first three chapters of Acts, you see this beautiful story start to unfold. Even in the beginning of chapter four, Peter and John go to the temple and they see a man who had been lame since birth, and they find him healed in the power of the Lord. And the. The people are celebrating to see this man who had been lame for 40 years of his life. All of a sudden he’s cured and he’s walking around, he’s celebrating, he’s giving praise to God. And Peter shares a message of how that happened. It’s in the name of Jesus. He said that Jesus of Nazareth, who was resurrected from the grave. And then all of a sudden in chapter four, things turn where this this particular group of people known as the Sadducees, who don’t like what the disciples are saying, and even in not liking it, they they can’t disagree with what took place.
And so we looked at last week that, you know, when we talk about the battles we might face in this world with believers, the battle really isn’t over what’s true. We already know what’s true in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. The problem is it’s really a battle of the wills. And what I mean by that is when you look at the life of the Sadducees, what we discovered is, yes, they acknowledged that what took place, that man is true. They’re acknowledging things with Jesus, but it doesn’t fit the narrative that they want. And what we’re discovering is what they’re more interested in is what they desire. Because at the center of their lives is really themselves. And it’s the same for people today that in order to follow Jesus, to do that, as believers, we recognize that you’ve got to get off the throne of your world and surrender that throne to the King of Kings, the Lord of glory. Meaning the purpose of your life isn’t found within you. The purpose of your life is found beyond you. And it’s not until you’re willing to surrender your life to him. The reason you were created was to find your life in Christ. You didn’t make you. He made you. And so it’s not until your life is surrendered to him that you discover that purpose. And so the early church moving in that they’re proclaiming that they’re sharing that.
Die to self, lived to Christ. I mean, Jesus told us in Matthew chapter 16, verse 24, if anyone wishes to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. And so it’s not until you surrender your life that you find the purpose for which you were created in Christ. But the Sadducees didn’t like this, and they warred against it, and they became a representative, really, of of how the world responds to the true King. The kingdom of this world is opposed to the kingdom of God. And here we find as God’s people, we’re caught in the in-between. What do we do in light of that? How do we truly honor God? And even for believers, if we’re not careful, we can lose our ever loving mind and retaliation against things. And I’m not saying God doesn’t want you to respond. I’m not telling you not to be a coward. What I’m saying is, you want to move boldly in Jesus, but the way you move forward matters. And learning how to do that, not to just swing the pendulum hard the other way and retaliate with this venomous attitude like, what is it God desires for me to do in this world in order to make a difference? Where if I’m one of 8 billion Christians in the world, or I’m the only Christian in the world, I want to wake up tomorrow and follow Jesus faithfully.
So what does that look like for me? In fact, that’s what we’re talking about today as we look in verse 23 to 37 is how do we as believers succeed in adversity? And can I tell you, that’s such a significant question for us to ask as, as followers of Christ? Because sometimes we have this tendency when we go through hard things to say, okay, let’s just hurry up and get past this hump. And when we get past this difficult moment, then we’ll start following Jesus again. But what you discover in the life of the church is that adversity becomes this beautiful opportunity for the glory of God to be made known. We don’t follow God despite adversity, but rather we can follow God through adversity. And he shines more brightly through us in some of the most darkest moments of life. So what does that look like for you and for me? Well, let me give you. Well, let me let me read actually the first few verses, and then I’ll give you the first answer to your notes. But in Acts chapter four, verse 23, you look at the church here, remember, they were arrested by the Sadducees. And then it says, verse 23, 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. Can I give you success in adversity? What these disciples are doing here, number one in your blanks, is this seek the Lord.
Seek the Lord. Which is kind of a simple answer, isn’t it? It’s kind of a Sunday school answer. But to be honest, sometimes when we go through difficult times ashamedly to even us as believers, God might be the last thing that we think about. And sometimes when we get so worried about the circumstances or what people might think about the circumstances that we all of a sudden find ourselves. Man, I never stopped to even pray about this. I never stopped to really seek the Lord in this. And while it’s the most simplest of thoughts, it’s also one of the most challenging to who we are as people. Because can I tell you? You know, sometimes we come into a body of believers, we gather with the church, and we have things we’re carrying on our shoulders and we’re like, man, there’s just parts of my life that are falling apart. And because of that, it feels like my whole life is falling apart. My marriage is falling apart. My job might be falling apart, my relationship with my kids and some of the choices my kids are making feels like it’s falling apart. And because of that, you just feel like you’re falling apart. And so you come into to a church and you’re like, man, I need some answers. I need to figure out how to get this where it needs to be.
I need to make this more comfortable. This needs to be better. I want this to improve. And can I tell you those those aren’t terrible things, but can I also tell you that’s that’s not your biggest battle, your biggest battle? Sometimes we may not even think about, we might not even be aware of. But our biggest battle is this it’s actually your relationship with the Lord. Now, if you come in this morning, you’ve got all those challenges on your shoulders. And I’m just saying sorry. I mean, those are problems, but you’ve got a bigger problem. It’s actually your relationship with Lord. You’re going to look at that and be like, oh my gosh, this is this is more stressful, right? Like I had three problems. Now I got four. You kidding me? But but can I tell you if you get that one problem right, everything else falls into place. I’m not telling you that it magically makes everything better. Sometimes we’ve got to work through some things. But I’m telling you, it’s that one thing that helps put every other thing in its proper place. Seeking the Lord. In fact, if we’re honest as Christians, or maybe even as unbelievers, when we gather to church to seek after God, can we just be honest in saying truthfully what we’re seeking after isn’t really God? And what I mean by that is we might call it seeking the Lord.
But what we’re really seeking sometimes is comfort. What we’re really seeking sometimes is convenience. And I’m not saying those things are wrong. I like to be comfortable. I hope at some point today my feet are up in a recliner. Right. Like comfort is is important and being able to rest is important. But if we’re not careful, we’re mistaking our seeking with the Lord for just the convenience of life. And what I mean by that is our primary interest isn’t really the Lord, but the things that we feel like the Lord’s going to give us. And the Lord is just simply a tool to get there. And so what we say is like, man, I’ve got these areas of my life that are falling apart, and I’m going to turn to God, because that’s the only answer I can think of at this point. But what I’m really interested in is that God would fix these problems so I can get back to being comfortable again, or my life could feel convenient again. And as soon as that fills that way, God, I won’t need you anymore until I get to another problem. And in which case, then I’ll come back to you. And can I tell you, that’s not truly seeking the Lord. That’s seeking comfort and convenience, but just using the Lord as the tool. It’s not until you realize that the Lord is truly the prize of life, that you seek him, and the way that God has called you to.
It doesn’t make it wrong to come before God and say, this is really hard right now, Lord, and I need you. But but can I tell you one of the best ways that we can test our faith is in the midst of trial, because a faith that has not been tested cannot be trusted. And it’s when our faith is tested that we see the genuineness of what makes it up. Meaning, if you really want to examine, do I follow Jesus simply because of circumstance and convenience, or do I follow Jesus for the sake of convenience? I would say looking at your prayer life is a great way to examine that. And one of the ways that we could say it is this, like when I’m a believer, truly seeking the Lord with the right attitude, the right heart, I might come to God and say, God, this is hard. I need you in this. Right? But but then I would also follow it up and say, But God, I also know that you’re a God who desires to do good things even in the heart. So Lord, even if it doesn’t change, show me how to honor you through this. The interest in the life of the believer is ultimately the glory of God made known. Certainly we we want things that feel convenient and we want things that that are comfortable.
But even above it all, remember our lives are not about a life of being comfortable. Our lives are about a life that’s lived in meaningful. And in order to do that, it’s a life that’s surrendered to him, to recognize God even in adversity. You’re going to be faithful to me. So therefore, I’m just going to seek you. You’re going to supply what I need in the midst of this. So, God, I’m seeking after you. Number two, can I give you a second point in your notes and I’ll read some verses here. I love this about the early church there. They’re demonstrating for us in this, in this by modeling how how we then can respond in, in similar situations in our own life. So number one is seek the Lord. Number two is this rest in his sovereignty, rest in his sovereignty. And this is this is challenging for all of us to learn. How do I how do I really do this? How do I rest in God’s sovereignty? Because, you know, when difficult things happen, sometimes we ask the question like God, I don’t understand why. Like why did this happen? Why am I going through this? And and I think those are important questions to ask. I think we should ask those questions. I don’t think it’s dishonoring to the Lord to ask those questions, because get this, God’s big enough to handle it, and God cares about where you are.
And in our limited understanding, we don’t always have those answers in the immediate. We go through difficult times and we want to know why. God, I want to understand. I want to understand why this is taking place. I want to understand how this is going to work out. God, I want to understand why. But can I can I just encourage you, even if you knew the answer? It doesn’t guarantee future or hope. The better thing is to be able to have Ahold of the one who does have the answer. Does that make sense? Even if you have an answer, doesn’t mean that you have the sovereignty to overcome that situation. And so so rather than just simply having an answer to the question, it’s better to be with the one who is the answer to all things, which is which is the Lord resting in his sovereignty becomes critical for us to learn how to do that as as God’s people, especially knowing in difficult times we don’t always have the answer. So what do we do? How do we respond? And looking at how the early church responds is important here because they’re doing the same thing. They’re going through adversity. They’ve got questions. This is challenging for them, but what do they do? Well, it tells you in these next verses. Verse 24 and the second half it says 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 people plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his anointed.
What they’re doing here and where they even go beyond this is critical for us to think about when our own lives are being rocked and a difficult circumstance, not only to seek after God, but to rest in his sovereignty. What does that look like for us? Well, the disciples, as they’re coming to the Lord, it tells us one of the first things they do here is they go back to Scripture and they’re actually quoting from the Bible. Right. And, and this is important for all of us to, to just think about, to get in the rhythm of that in our own life. And the Bible tells you in Isaiah, the grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of the Lord endures forever. So? So what we see in this world, it’s temporal, but God’s Word endures forever. And so we want to cling to a bedrock, a foundation, an anchor. This is what the disciples are doing. It feels like our life is falling apart right now. God, it feels difficult. We need something to anchor ourselves in. I need something to hold me right now.
And so they go back to the Book of Psalms and they’re quoting in this this section, Psalm chapter two, verse one and two. Now it’s unknown whether or not they recited the whole Psalm here, as Luke writes, that he might have just condensed it to the first couple of verses to let you know where the mentality of the church was going. But they’re going back and they’re quoting Psalm two. Now, why would they do this? Psalm chapter two is a messianic psalm. It’s a psalm of the promise of Jesus who would come as a deliverer. And the first few verses, verse 1 to 3, it talks about a kingdom of this world that wars against the Messiah. So here they are, challenging God. They’re they’re warring against the Lord. And then in verse 4 to 6, it says that God really laughs in their face because he knows he’s in charge. They’re challenging him. They’re bringing affront to him. And God in verse 4 to 6 knows who’s ultimately in control. And then verse 7 to 9, he shares the the messianic hope, the deliverer who is to come. And then verse ten to the end of the chapter, he invites you to receive him. And he warns those that refuse him. And the disciples are going back, and they’re saying, God, this is your promise to us. This is the anchor for which we find ourselves. This is when the world might come against me, how I solidify who I am.
And it’s by resting in who you are. And they look to the Old Testament to everything that God had told them. And then they moved forward. In verse 27 it says, for truly in this city they were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. But Herod, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. So they’re saying, God, not only did you say you would deliver us, but God, we also see your hand of deliverance. And Lord, you’re faithful. And Lord, we know the whole purpose to that delivery was for us, that we would belong to you because we are yours. And so they’re they’re looking at the the hand of God as this anchor to rest in and the faithfulness of God moving forward. And then in verse 29, they say this. And now, Lord, look upon their threats. And so here they’re saying, God, none of this is taking you by surprise. When the world was coming against you with what we thought was even the darkest day of history, when you went to the cross and we thought everything was over, even the most bleak of moments. The beauty of hope is made known and your light radiated forth to give all of us the opportunity to find rescue in you and God.
If you were able to do that in the most incredible of circumstances in the darkest day of history, and we consider just the complexity of our moment right now much smaller than what you went through. God, we know that you are faithful, and we know that you, we belong to you and therefore God. We can rest in your hands. And philosophers have debated often in the idea of God with with darkness in this world, why do bad things happen to people? Philosophers have speculated like this. They’ll say something like, well, if there is a God, because there are bad things that happen to people, one of two things is true. Either he’s good but lacks the power to do anything about it, or he’s able to do something about it. But he isn’t good and doesn’t care. Those are the two options either you got a good god that’s a wimp, or you got a strong God that doesn’t care. And either way, you’re just left to the whims of life. But Christianity has a third option. A third option just acknowledges I’m not omniscient. I don’t know everything, but but it doesn’t mean that God doesn’t care, and it doesn’t mean that God won’t do something. In fact, the Bible says the exact opposite of that. And if you want to know where we find ourselves solidified as God’s people, it’s through the cross of Christ. I mean, this is where everything is demonstrated to us and the greatness of who God is and why.
I can rest in his sovereign hands. And knowing I may not know what tomorrow holds, but I know who holds tomorrow. I may not have the immediate answer why, but I know my hands rest in a God who is good and sovereign. And you look in Isaiah chapter 53. It’s that prophetic chapter of Isaiah. It talks about the crucifixion of Jesus. And one of the things that describes over and over about of him, it says he’s acquainted with our grief over and over in this chapter and in verse three, he even says, he’s a man of sorrows, acquainted with our grief. And what it’s saying is, he’s not only a God who cares about what you’re going through, he cares so much he was willing to enter into it with you and go through the greatest of battles that we face as human beings, for you and for me. So yes, God cares. And how tangible is that care that he would take on flesh and suffer like you and I, so that we could find liberation? And not only is he willing to show his goodness, we also see his sovereignty over and over in Scripture. Like for example in Romans chapter eight, verse 28, it tells you, and we know that that that those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
So? So, yes, I may not know the details of why God allows things to happen the way they do. In the midst of the circumstance, I find myself, but I have something greater a sovereign God over it all who cares for me and God. I’m going to trust in that. So they seek the Lord and they rest in his sovereignty. And get this number three. We’ll read this. But this is interesting. They pray for boldness. They pray for boldness. Could you imagine this? Look at verse 29 to 30. It says, 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 the signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant. And this verse 30, they’re acknowledging God. I know you want to work. You want to move in this world. And God, I want to be a part of that. They’re saying in this verse they recognize not only is God moving and God wants to continue to move, but they also want to be a part of this movement that God is going to continue to do that. It’s not saying, oh, here comes a difficult moment. Let’s all just pause for a minute. And and then when, when, when God gets past this point with us, then we can move forward in doing things for the Lord again.
But it’s not until they get easy that that can happen. They’re saying, no, no. In the midst of this challenging moment, Jesus, you still want to move. And so they’re praying for boldness. Now, let’s just be honest about the condition of our spirituality here. Like when if you’ve gone through this kind of situation, you think about the disciples in this moment. They just got drug in front of their own friends, their, their, their community, and and they’re brought before these leaders and they’re they’re told to stop telling people about this Jesus, and specifically about his resurrection And of all the things you could be praying you could pray for in this moment. Right? They they they they’ve been threatened, right? They’ve seen what’s happened to Jesus. They’ve certainly been humiliated publicly by by the insults that have been hurled at them in front of those around them, like of all the things you could be praying for in this moment, what you would what would you pray for? God make it all go away. God, make them like me. God, make it comfortable again. God, this doesn’t feel convenient. There’s all sorts of things you could pray for. I don’t know that praying for boldness would necessarily be the first thing we might think of, but that’s rather incredible that that’s what the church is doing. God, make me bold. And can I tell you one of the reasons they’re praying for this? It’s because they’re afraid.
And sometimes we look at the first century church, and we kind of put them on a pedestal and think, wow, what incredible leaders. But guys, can I just say. For them, they’re just like us. They were afraid. They were afraid. And one of the things they were seeking after the Lord in order to follow faithfully in him was was boldness. Now when we say boldness, let’s just be clear and recognizing they’re not praying to be obnoxious, right? Easy. Think of all the things that they could pray for here, here. Are they in this moment to to pray for, for, for boldness. And it’s not so they can reciprocate in saying like, well, you were you were mean to me. So let me, let me be mean to you. And they’re just going to move forward boldly and I’ll put you in your place right now. They just want to honor God, and they don’t want to cower at fear to the world, but walk in faithfulness in Jesus because they know who they are in him and the resting in his sovereignty. They’re praying for boldness. Maybe we can even ask this morning. What? What are you afraid of in terms of taking a step in your own faith journey? What holds you back? Why is your God not big enough to trust in who he is? Can I tell you one of the greatest promises believers can rest in? Jesus says that the Lord says over and over throughout the Bible, I am with you always.
I’m with you always. Either you’re going to believe he’s big enough or you’re not. And if you if you don’t believe he’s big enough, what you’re going to allow to dictate your relationship with the Lord, get. This is fear. But your willingness to pray for boldness is acknowledging sometimes God, I am afraid. But rather than give in to that, I want to step confidently in the power of who you are. So here’s what God does in these next verses. When you see how the Lord responds to us. Verse verse 31, it goes on and says this. 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. So here it is. They pray for boldness and they move forward in boldness. But the reason I think they’re compelled to move forward in boldness is because of what God does at the beginning of verse 31. And you see that here’s here’s the question how how the Lord responds. And the answer is this. He shakes the ground. He shakes the ground. Because that is a weird answer, right? But you need to write down. He shakes the ground. Because we need to understand what this is. He shakes the ground. When you hear that phrase, you might recognize that this is actually a theme in the Bible, and this happens multiple times.
You’ll you’ll you’ll read this in the in the Torah. You can read this in the prophets, the Old Testament. You can read this in the Psalms and into the New Testament. This this theme is repeated that there are times in Scripture where God shakes the ground. Now why would you do that? And when that happens, why does Luke even want us to know that there’s something significant about the shaking of ground that’s important for God’s people? And when you look throughout the Bible, you see that the shaking the ground happen at very significant times, like in in Exodus chapter 19, verse 16 to 19, when when God gives the, the, the Ten Commandments, Moses goes on Mount Sinai and tells us on the ground shakes. Or at Jesus’s crucifixion in the final moments of his life when he says it is finished, paid in full. It tells us in those moments that the ground shakes and the temple veil is split from top to bottom. And Matthew chapter 27, verse 50 to 51, or again at the beginning of chapter 28, when Jesus’s resurrection takes place and the angel goes to remove the tomb, it tells tells us. The angel removes the tomb. The ground shakes now. Why? Why does the ground shake? Well, there’s a few reasons. That’s that’s important for us to think about.
One. One is it declares to us the authority of who God is. Right? And while also declaring to us the authority of who God is and wants us to recognize that that the world cannot sustain under the weight of his glory. And the only proper response is that the ground shakes in his presence. Now, even when Isaiah saw the presence of the Lord in Isaiah chapter six, he he gives this response as he shakes before God. He says, I am an unclean man and I am undone, meaning I am a dead man. And the power of God’s presence, because it’s critical to see the power of God made known, but then at the same time to recognize this is what Jesus did at the crucifixion, as his life was was passing from this earth. And he’s giving his life for you and for me. It tells us that the ground shakes at the cross of Christ. And what is helping us to learn is that God is shaking the earth so that you don’t have to shake. It’s helping you see the richness of who he is. So you find yourself resting in him, that God shakes the kingdoms of this world so that you remain unshakable before his presence, because you recognize that as Jesus is shaking at the cross for you and for me, he’s doing that so that we don’t have to. That you see the power and authority of who he is.
And therefore, in seeing that as the disciples move forward, they step in boldness because they realize that they’re on the side of this ground shaking God. Part of the reason we don’t give into the greatness of who God is and move in this world faithfully with him, is because we fear the world more than we fear our Lord. But when we realize the power of who this God is, and we rest on the side of this God when we lay our lives down before him. We move forward confidently. We move forward boldly. So God shakes the ground in this moment as if to remind the church, remember who I am because who I am and determines who you are. So last is listen, what’s the evidence? What is the evidence of a healthy success in adversity? The evidence of God’s power and his people and the the midst of the challenges we face? I mean, how do we know we’re really walking in victory and not in fear of the enemy? And sometimes we could just give those Sunday school answers. Yeah, I seek the Lord and yeah, our sovereignty. And yeah, I prayed for boldness. But. But how do I really know that that’s not just words I express, but that that’s at the depth of who I am. Well, the early church, they they demonstrate this in an incredible way because when you think about, you know, our lives and we have this tendency as people that when someone comes against us, we want to retaliate and response, right.
Act in the flesh. And sometimes we do that in anger. Sometimes we do it with like a chip on your shoulder. Oh, yeah. You believe negative of me. I’m going to prove you wrong. You know, we just want to move with that chip on our shoulder. And in either instance, right? Whether it’s anger, the chip on your shoulder, other people are still determining how you take those steps because the focus isn’t on the Lord. It’s on proving someone else wrong or forcing someone else to do something or get this. Rather than anger, we might respond in despair. We feel hopeless. How do we how do we know that we confidently believe in moving forward? The true answer in the Lord. The faithful answer. Can I tell you the only way to do this is supernaturally? Because left unto ourselves we we given our own devices. But God calls us to move supernaturally in him. So we we need to rest in him. Let me give you the answer. I’ll read some verses. How do we know it’s this selfless living through biblical unity and generosity, selfless living through biblical unity and generosity? How do I know I’m really following after the Lord? It’s demonstrated in our lives, in selfless living through biblical unity and generosity. Look at this, the early church, verse 32.
Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul. Look, what he’s saying is the sweetness of who they are in Jesus was actually more magnified in the adversity biblical unity. Now we might just run past this and not realize the significance of this, but I want us to think about this for a second. When when we face difficulty in this world and we’re uncertain, we’re fearful. Our tendency as human beings is not to run towards others and thinking about others. Our tendency is actually to become withdrawn and sort of live like a silo and begin to look internally because our worry is ourselves. And so we start looking at ourselves and thinking about ourselves and have this concern about ourselves because of the challenges that we find ourselves in, because we don’t have any confidence in what is in front of us. But that’s not the church’s response. Church’s response is the opposite of that. Rather than withdrawal and become this protective silo of individuality, they actually move boldly in community with one another. And get this, the reason they’re able to do this is because they’re able to take their eyes off themselves, because they’re not primarily concerned about themselves, because they know in whose hands they rest in. And therefore, because of that, they’re able to look towards other people and seeing what is it Jesus wants to do in us in the midst of these challenging moments? And I don’t have to worry about me because I know God’s got my back.
And so they move in a beautiful way in the midst of this challenging time, because they’re walking confidently in who they are in light of who God is as they’re resting in him. That’s why I say one of the greatest messages you can learn as believers is that Jesus is with you always. You know, even in something as simple as public speaking. I use this from time to time because for for me, I am not like I am not a public speaker. I’m not like I had never enjoyed it. I’m not like, even as a pastor, I should probably not say this as a pastor, but even as a pastor, I’m like, this is not like the thing that I’m like, oh, I can’t wait to speak in front of people, right? But and part of the reason why as a, as a child, before I knew the Lord, I was always self conscious, worried, worried what? People thought, worried about things around me. But then I came to know the Lord. And the thing that changed in my life is I began to realize if I’m worried about myself, I’m going to miss the opportunity of seeing what God wants to do in the hearts of other people, and what he wants to do in the hearts of other people is far more beautiful than me worrying about what other people think about me.
I don’t want to miss that blessing. I want to be a part about what God desires to do in the lives of people around me. In order to do that, I’ve got to be able to let go of myself. And in order to be able to let go of myself, I’ve got to become confident in the God that I follow. Either I believe he’s with me or he’s not. But when I rest in that, I get to see the beauty of what Jesus wants to do in the hearts of other people. Because I can let go of me for the sake of you, and it’s the same for you as you interact with others. Your worry about what other people think can become your greatest prohibitor to your own faith journey in the Lord. But you’re willing to let go of that. You can see the beauty of what Jesus desires to do through you. Not only that, but it says this. And no one said that any of these things. Excuse me. No one said that any of these things that belong to him was his own. But they had everything in common. And here you’re seeing the church with incredible generosity. In fact, the rest of the story talks about the unity of generosity that the early church has. And through this generosity, it’s it’s again demonstrating this the success they’re going to have and the selfless attitude and why it’s able to make a difference.
And when you think in terms of generosity, because sometimes we often think like this, that people, people don’t give because they’re greedy. And I don’t just mean monetarily. I’m just talking about any resource. God has given you your time, your talent, your abilities. They don’t give because they’re greedy. They’d rather spend it on themselves. And that can be an answer, right? But that’s not the only answer. Sometimes we don’t give get this because we’re afraid. Fear. Fear motivates why we do what we do. And you think for the early church in this moment, fear is a very good temptation for them. And they might think, well, the leaders are coming against us. And we saw what happened to Jesus. And that’s a real possibility of happening to us. And things might get a little tight in the future. So I should probably hunker down, really open up my savings account. And, you know, I’d like to be generous and I’ll probably be generous one day, but I just can’t be generous right now. And we just focus on self. But that’s not what the early church did like. No. This is a beautiful opportunity for the sweetness of Christ to be made known. And in fact, because the early church didn’t wait till the adversity was over before they started honoring God again, because the early church chose to honor Jesus even in the challenge.
Look what happens in verse 36 and 37. It says thus Joseph, who was 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. If you know anything about the book of Acts, one of the critical characters in the book of Acts is this man, Barnabas. Because you’re going to find in just a few chapters there’s going to be this individual named Saul who you might know him as Paul, who starts to persecute the church, and all of a sudden he’s radically converted to Jesus. And when Saul came to know Jesus, nobody wanted to touch that man with a ten foot pole. They’re like, I’m glad he says he belongs to Jesus. But I saw what he did to some other people. And so I’m not calling him a friend except for one individual. And that was Barnabas. And where did Barnabas cut his teeth? As a follower of Jesus? In the midst of adversity and through the adversity, he learned what it means to follow faithfully after the Lord in seasons of challenge. Those aren’t moments to wait until they pass. They’re beautiful moments to seize for the glory of God. I don’t know what you’re facing in your life, but can I tell you one of the most beautiful things you can do? Seek the Lord. Rest in his sovereignty. Pray for boldness and find a ground shaking God who desires to do a rich and incredible thing through you.