Acts 4:23

And being let go, they went to their own company and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. When they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord and said, "Lord, you are God, who has made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is therein. By the mouth of your servant David, you have said, 'Why do the nations rage and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ.' For of a truth, against your holy child, Jesus, whom you have anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatsoever your hand and your counsel determined before to be done.

And now, Lord, behold their threats and grant unto your servants that with all boldness they may speak your word, by the stretching forth of your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of your holy child, Jesus.

Let's pray. Father, we do ask now that you would speak to us as we look at this passage of Scripture this morning. God, that you would continue to teach us by your Spirit as you promised to do. Transform us more and more into the image of your Son. Lord, we pray that we, as a church and as a people, would be a bright shining light in this community and to the utter ends of the earth. That we would be salt to this earth, Lord, and that we would see many come to know you because of the bold proclamation of truth that comes not just from this pulpit, but from every single one here in this church. For we ask it in Jesus' name. All God's people said, "Amen."

You can be seated. We have this great passage of Scripture here as God is doing great things, even miraculous things, among His people, the church, the early church. God was moving in powerful ways, and the church, as you see in this passage, was growing. It was growing phenomenally. We've seen over the last...

Several weeks ago, as we started the book of Acts, we saw that immediately, as the Spirit was poured out on the church in Acts chapter 2, three thousand were saved. We saw last week in Acts chapter 4 that as God was speaking to the people through the Apostle Peter in the temple, another five thousand men were saved. The church is growing, and there are well more than five thousand people that are part of the church. This group that is now established could not be disregarded by the leadership in the city of Jerusalem.

Last week, we witnessed the confrontation between Peter, John, and many of the religious leaders. As you remember, Peter and John went up to the temple at the hour of prayer, at the ninth hour of the day. As they did, they came across a man at the gate called Beautiful. This man had been lame since birth and was over forty years old by the time Peter and John encountered him. Peter looked at him and said, "Here, look at us." The lame man, lying there by the gate, looked up to where Peter and John were.

Peter then said, "Silver and gold have I none, but what I do have I give unto you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise and walk." He took him by his right hand and lifted him up. The man went into the temple, jumping, leaping, and praising God. Because of this miracle performed on a man that people had seen many times going in and out of the temple, a great multitude of people gathered around Peter. The Lord overflowed him, filled him with the Spirit, and he began to speak and preach.

As he preached the resurrection from the dead by Jesus Christ, a group of the leaders of the temple and the Sadducees came upon Peter, John, and the man who had been healed. They laid them up in a prison cell for the night to keep them there because they wanted to interrogate them further. The next morning, we saw that all kinds of leaders of the children of Israel gathered in Jerusalem to interrogate them.

Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, once again spoke to that ruling council. In Acts chapter 4, verse 9, he said, "If we this day be examined of a good deed done to this impotent man, by what means he is made whole, be it known unto you all and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him does this man stand here before you whole."

This is the stone which was rejected by the builders, which has become the head of the corner. Notice this verse: "Neither is there salvation in any other. For there is no other name given among men under heaven whereby we must be saved." Peter gives this great and bold proclamation to the leaders of the nation. The same Peter who, several months before, was weak in his flesh, unable to stand for Christ on the night that Jesus was betrayed, on the night that He was arrested.

But now, filled with the Spirit, he speaks with power and boldness, proclaiming the truth. Not just Peter, but John and the other disciples in the church. As they were speaking with such great boldness, the church was growing, and God was doing great things. God was moving in the midst of His church. However, anytime that God is moving in His church, we always see that there is opposition. There will always be opposition to the work that God is doing.

The reason for this opposition is that we have a very real enemy. A very real enemy who is seeking to combat the work that God is doing. The Scriptures speak about this enemy quite a bit. It is the same enemy known by many different names. The Scriptures refer to him as the devil, the destroyer, the devouring lion, the dragon, the adversary, the enemy, the evil one, the father of lies, the god of this world, the man of sin, the serpent, the power of darkness, the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, the son of perdition, the tempter, and the wicked one.

There are so many different names applied to him, but we are given insight in the Scriptures that there is a very real spiritual entity called the devil, called Lucifer, called the tempter. He is not alone. The Scriptures also make it clear that he has with him many wicked angels that fell with him from heaven. We read about the fall of Lucifer in the book of Isaiah and also in the book of Ezekiel. He is very real, and he hates God. He hates the work of God, and he hates Christ.

All of those who do not know God in this world are under the sway of the wicked one, even though they may not like to admit it. Even though many times they do not believe it, the Scripture makes it very clear. Certainly, there are those who would disagree, but I am convinced.

Every earthly movement that we see against God and His church is the result of spiritual movements happening behind the scenes. The move against God's church in the natural realm here in the physical world is always because of the enemy moving behind the scenes. It was the enemy that was leading this council at Jerusalem and pushing them against the church.

The scary thing is that studies in our own nation over the last few years by different groups have found that people do not believe this enemy really exists. In fact, Barna Research in 2007 found that 46% of those classified as born-again Christians do not believe that Satan exists. Additionally, 64% of Catholics do not believe that there is a real devil. They view him as a non-existent figure, merely a symbol of evil in the world. Furthermore, 54% of Americans in general do not believe in a true, real Satan or devil. They do not believe in such a thing as evil.

We are seeing more and more of this mindset in our nation. There is a prevailing thought that there is no such thing as evil, and that evil only arises because of societal issues. People attribute wickedness and evil to man being oppressed by society, slumlords, poverty, and hunger. However, that is not the case. There is a very real spiritual entity that is against God in this world. The Scripture speaks extensively about this.

One of the great things we learn from the Scriptures is that this enemy will not prevail. Amen? Jesus said in Matthew chapter 16, as He was speaking to His disciples, that this was the first time He mentioned the idea of the church. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus said, "I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

We also find in the Scriptures that not only will the enemy not prevail against us, but we are not powerless in this spiritual battle that we are living in. Paul told the church at Corinth in 2 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 3, "For we walk in the flesh, but we do not war after the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not..."

Carnal weapons are not effective in spiritual battles, but they are mighty through God for the tearing down of strongholds. We are called to cast down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Paul tells the church at Corinth, and us today, that we are in a spiritual battle. We have weapons in this battle that are not carnal; they are powerful in God for the tearing down of strongholds.

Paul also addresses this in his letter to the church at Ephesus, specifically in Ephesians chapter 6. You may want to turn there. Ephesians chapter 6 is right after the book of Galatians in the New Testament and just before the book of Philippians. In Ephesians 6, verse 10, we read, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, and against spiritual wickedness in high places. Therefore, in verse 13, we are instructed to take unto ourselves the whole armor of God, that we may be able to withstand in the evil day. Having done all, we are to stand. Stand therefore, having our loins girt with truth, or putting on the belt of truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness, with our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.

Above all, we are to take up the shield of faith, with which we shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. We should also take unto ourselves the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. We are to pray always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.

In the scriptures, we see that we have an enemy. He has done a very good job of deceiving people in the world and even in the church, tricking them into believing that he does not even exist. Consider for a moment what a clever tactic it is for an enemy to make you think that he doesn't exist. He has deceived many within the church and in the world to the point where they do not even recognize his presence.

I believe that He exists, especially here in America. However, there is a very real enemy and a very real battle. We do know that this enemy will not prevail. In fact, he was defeated there on the cross by Jesus when Jesus said, "It is finished." Not only will he not prevail, but you and I, in this battle, are not powerless. We've been given weapons from our God. Our offensive weapons, most clearly, are the Word of God, which is the sword of the Spirit, and prayer. Paul says in Ephesians chapter 6 to pray always.

As you read through Matthew chapter 4, where Jesus was tempted by Satan, you notice that Jesus used the Word of God three times in that passage to defeat the enemy. The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit, and we have the sword of the Spirit that God has given to us.

Now, here in the book of Acts, specifically in Acts chapter 4, we find the church engaged in a very real physical battle that had spiritual entities behind it. They were engaged in spiritual warfare. Yes, it was manifested in the physical realm, but it was still spiritual warfare. Their reaction to that spiritual warfare is both instructive and important for us. It is very important that we, as the body of Christ, consider how the early church, as led by God, reacted when confronted with spiritual warfare.

We find this beginning in verse 24 of Acts chapter 4. When they heard all that had taken place, Peter, John, the man who had been healed, and whoever else was there came back to their own company and told them exactly what had happened. They explained what the chief priests had said and how they were told that they were not allowed to speak in the name of Jesus Christ any longer or to teach in His name.

When the church heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord and said, "Lord, You are God." After they had reported everything that had happened, the church resolved, first, to pray. We are going to see three things about this prayer that are important for us today. They were confronted with spiritual warfare in the physical realm. They came together, heard what had happened, and resolved to pray.

The very first thing, if you are taking notes this morning, is that the church remembered God and His Word.

They remembered God and His word. They said, "Lord, You are God." What a wonderful thing! Our Master, our Lord, our General, our Commander—however you want to put it—our Leader is God. Notice what they say about Him: "You are God, who has made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them." He is the God who created everything seen and unseen. Do you realize that this morning? The God that you worship is the one who spoke everything into existence.

This year, 2009, is the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's The Origin of the Species. There are going to be a lot of interesting things this year related to Charles Darwin and The Origin of the Species. In fact, in July, we're going to have a creation scientist come here and share with us on a Wednesday night. I think it's going to be really good along these very lines.

We are living in a day and age where people deny that there is a Creator. They deny that there is a God who made these things, which the Scripture says: "It is the fool that says there is no God." Now, that's for another day and another study. We don't have enough time to get into it today, although I'd like to.

Our God, the one that we look to, the one who leads us, takes care of us, has saved us, and provides for us, is the one who created everything seen and unseen. The first thing that the early church did when confronted with spiritual warfare was to remember who their God was. They took a moment to remember, "God, You are the God that created everything seen and unseen."

Not only that, they remembered His word. Look at the next verse, verse 25. The first thing that the church did when confronted with spiritual warfare here in the book of Acts was to resolve to pray, and their prayer first remembered God and His word. They remembered that their Lord is the God of all creation and that their Lord, their God, has spoken. Their God not only has spoken of great things, of how He loves them, but God has also spoken to reveal to us that this sort of battle would come. God does not want us to...

We should not be ignorant about the things that we are going to face. In fact, in a sense, God has strategically briefed us on everything that we will encounter in this world and in this life. So much so, as it relates to the enemy, Paul the Apostle in 2 Corinthians chapter 2 said that we are not ignorant of Satan's devices. We are not unaware of the way that Satan works against us, as stated in 2 Corinthians 2, verse 11. God has strategically informed us about all the things that are happening, as well as the things that are to come. We have been looking at this on Wednesday nights, considering prophetically what God wants to speak to us.

The early church remembered God and His word. They recalled that God had spoken through David, who prophesied that the heathen, the nations, would rage against God and His anointed, against God and His Christ and His church. The world would turn against them; the kings of the earth would stand up, and the rulers would gather together against the Lord and His anointed, as quoted from Psalm chapter 2, which Pastor Eric read at the beginning of our service this morning. The early church remembered that their God is the creator of everything seen and unseen, and they recognized that God had foretold the very events that were happening to them at that moment.

Think about that for a moment. Psalm 2 describes how the nations rage against God and imagine a vain thing. The kings of the earth stand in opposition to God Himself. How foolish is it to set yourself against God and declare, "I am going to war against God"? Who do you think is going to win?

In fact, turn to Psalm 2 for a moment because I want you to see what God thinks about this. How many of you have heard of Armageddon? We talk about Armageddon from time to time, referring to the great battle that is going to take place in the Valley of Megiddo. We read about it in the book of Revelation. When you read through the book of Revelation and learn about this great battle in the Valley of Megiddo, you find that it is a conflict of man coming with all of his swords and spears. In modern terms, we would say he comes with his tanks and nuclear weapons, ready to fight against God. Psalm 2 provides a picture of how God perceives this situation. Psalm 2, verse 1.

Why do the heathen or the nations rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His anointed, saying, "Let us break God's bands asunder and let us cast away their cords from us."

Now, he that sits in the heavens shall what? Notice that for a second. Man gathers himself against God. They bring all their tanks, guns, and bombs to fight against God. And God, sitting in heaven, looks at this and laughs. He looks at this and says, "What is this? You're going to fight with me?" He that sits in the heavens shall laugh, and the Lord shall have them in derision.

We read in verse 1 that they imagine a vain thing. I believe that the vain thing they imagine is that they can actually beat God. Where could man possibly get that mindset? I believe it comes from our enemy, the adversary, the devil. He is the one who stirs them to think that they could actually win when they fight against God.

The early church was confronted with spiritual warfare manifested in the physical realm through the leaders of Jerusalem telling them to keep quiet and shut up. When confronted with this, although they were over 5,000 strong, they didn't gather together and say, "Let's go start a picket line in front of the temple." They didn't say, "Let's boycott the priests." They didn't say, "Let's overthrow the government." They didn't say any of those things.

Instead, they went to God and said, "God, You are God in heaven who created the heavens and the earth. You created everything, and You told us beforehand that these very things would happen." They remembered God and His word.

The second thing, if you're taking notes, is that they recognized that God's word had application to their situation. Look at verse 27. They remembered in verses 24 through 26. They remembered God and His word, and in verses 27 and 28...

The church in prayer recognized that God's word had application to their situation. God, in His word in Psalm 2, said that the nations would gather together against God and against His anointed. They observed that in their day, the nations in Israel—the Gentiles, the Jews, the priests, and Pontius Pilate, the governor of the Romans—were coming against God and His anointed. They noted that they were witnessing the very same things they were reading about in the scriptures right before their eyes.

How many of you have been coming out on Wednesday nights to our "Prophets and the Prophets" series? A number of you have. As we've been going through that, one of the things we've seen is that the Old Testament scriptures apply to the situations we find ourselves in today, in 2009. When we remember God and His word, we recognize that there is application to the situations we face right now.

The church, confronted with spiritual warfare manifested in the physical realm, prayed and remembered God and His word. They recognized the application to their situation. In verses 29 and 30, we read that the third thing the church did, after they remembered God and His word and recognized the application to their situation, was to bring their requests to God. They brought their requests to God, and it was an important prayer that they prayed. They came before Him and said, "Lord, behold the threats of the enemy and grant unto Your servants boldness that they may speak the word."

Before we consider this prayer in a little more detail, I want you to think about what they did not pray. They did not pray, "God, remove this difficult obstacle from us. Make things easier for us. Lord, we're not supposed to go through these hard things. We're not supposed to experience persecution, trial, and tribulation. Lord, please take it away." Their prayer was not one of fear. Their prayer was not one of asking God to remove the difficulty facing them. Instead, their prayer was, "God, give us boldness so that we may be able to stand in the midst of this."

They were faced with opposition and persecution in the coming chapters of the Book of Acts. Instead of praying like I might pray, or maybe like we might pray when we're faced with a difficult time and a trying situation—where we go, "Oh God, just take it away"—we see a different response. Jesus promised that in this world, we will suffer trial, tribulation, and difficulty. In the world, you will have much persecution. In fact, Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy that all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. If you desire to follow God in this world and be a servant of God and a lover of God, you will encounter opposition because this world is under the sway of the wicked one.

We have a very real enemy in this world. However, we have great hope and understanding that greater is He who is in us than he who is in this world. Amen? We know that he is a defeated foe and one day will be cast bound in the lake that burns with fire. But until then, we have opposition. When faced with opposition, we need to confront it in the right way. Paul told the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that no temptation has overcome you that is not common to man. No difficulty, no temptation, trial, tribulation, persecution, or opposition has come against you that somebody else has not already experienced.

Paul went on to say that God is faithful and will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able. With the temptation, He will also provide an escape so that you may be able to bear it. We should read this more: God will give us the strength and ability to bear it.

In Acts chapter 4, the early church was confronted with a spiritual battle manifested in a physical way. They prayed and remembered that God is their God, the Creator of all things. They recalled that His word was given to them in the Old Testament and the Psalms, and God spoke to them about the very things happening to them. They recognized that it applied to their situation and brought their requests to God, saying, "God, would you behold their threats and give us boldness to speak Your word?" Even though they were told not to speak, they asked God to give them boldness to do so. They prayed that He would empower His servants by His Spirit so that they would be able to perform.

Miraculous works, that the hand of healing would go forth, that signs and wonders would be done by the name of Thy holy child Jesus. Remember, they told the leaders, they told Peter and John, "You're not allowed to do anything in Jesus' name any longer. You're not allowed to teach in Jesus' name."

They went before God and said, "God, give us boldness to do so." In verse 31 of Acts chapter 4, we read that they received a response. When they had prayed—note that, underline that—the place was shaken where they were assembled together, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

After they had been confronted with opposition, they reported it all to the church. The church resolved to pray. They remembered God and His word. They recognized the application of God's word to this present situation. They requested that the Lord would give them boldness, and they received a response. They returned to the work; they went back to do what God had told them to do. They spoke the word of God with boldness, even though the opposition had said, "Don't do it."

I believe for us today as well, we need to follow this pattern. Corporately here as a church, we are not so much receiving opposition. We may one day in our nation experience more persecution or opposition in America as the body of Christ. But I would say in a group this large, there are dozens of you that right now are going through trials. You're going through difficulty. You're going through hard times.

The temptation of our flesh is to say, "God, just take it away from me." How many of you have prayed that, and it didn't happen? You might think, "The Lord doesn't love me. He doesn't take it away." No, that's not the case. I would encourage you, I would exhort you to do what the early church did. Resolve to pray, but first remember who your God is and go back to His word.

Get to know who God is and how He works. Because it's when you see how God works that you'll begin to see the application to your own situation, your own life, the things that you're going through. I believe you will know how to pray properly. You see, a lot of times we do not...

Receive an answer to our prayer because we are praying according to our own will and not according to God's will. How will I know if I'm praying according to God's will? I have to know what His will is. I'm only going to find that in His Word.

The early church found that it was the will of God that they would go through difficulty. The world would be against them. When they recognized that, they were able to pray in accordance with God's Word and they received abundantly from the Lord. They prayed, "Lord, all right, we know we're going to be faced with this. We know we're going to go through this. So give us boldness to go through it well and to preach Your name."

If you find yourself today in the midst of a trial, a tribulation, or some sort of difficulty, whatever it may be, I encourage you, I exhort you to first go before the Lord in His Word and ask Him to apply His Word to your very situation. I guarantee He will. The Lord promised us through Jeremiah, "Call to Me and I will answer you and I will show you great and mighty things that you do not know."

How many of you have things that you don't understand or don't know? The Lord gives answers in His Word. As we begin to determine God's will through His Word, we can pray in accordance with His will and receive the things that we have requested. Amen?

There will be difficulty. You will never hear preached from this pulpit by myself or any of the other pastors that after you become a Christian, everything is just peachy keen. That would be a lie. The fact is, when you become a believer, you single yourself out in this world as the target of the enemy. Prior to becoming a believer, you were just right in his plan. He thought everything was great. But now that you've set yourself against him by following the Lord, you will experience difficulty.

When faced with difficulty, may we be those who respond by coming before the Lord in prayer, remembering who He is and what He has said. Let us recognize that His Word has practical application to the things that we're going through at this very moment, and then bring our requests to Him in line with what His Word reveals. God will speak, and He will give you the power to bear whatever it is He has you go through. He has promised to do so.

Let's stand and pray. Lord God, You are our God. We thank You that we can trust in You and lean upon You.

Lord, we do not have to be worried about 10,000 at our right hand or at our left, because You are our protection. You are our shield, our exceedingly great reward. You're the lifter of our head. Lord, You're even our rear guard. You take care of every problem that faces us.

Help us to be those who turn to You and trust in You. Whatever we're confronted with, may You be the one that we turn to first, not last, but first. Trusting that You, Lord, have promised to guide us in all truth. You've promised to keep that which we've committed unto You until that final day.

And Lord, we do look forward to that day knowing that You will come again. We praise You and thank You in Jesus' name. All God's people said, amen. Amen.