thinking about what was happening
and we're going to read from Acts chapter 5 and verse 12. And by the hands of the apostles
were many signs and wonders wrought among the people and they were
all with one accord in Solomon's porch. And of the rest dost no
man join himself to them, but the people magnify them. And believers were the more added
to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women, insomuch that
they brought forth the sick into the streets and laid them on
beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing
by might overshadow some of them. There came also a multitude out
of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks
and them which were vexed with unclean spirits, and they were
healed every one. Then the high priest rose up,
and all they that were with him, which is the sect of the Sadducees,
and were filled with indignation, and laid their hands on the apostles
and put them in common prison. But the angel of the Lord by
night opened the prison doors and brought them forth, and said,
Go stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of
this life. And when they heard that, they
entered into the temple early in the morning and taught. But
the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called
the council together, and all the senate of the children of
Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. But when
the officers came and found them not in the prison, they returned
untold, saying, The prison truly found we shut with all safety,
and the keepers standing without before the doors. But when we
had opened, we found no man within. Now when the high priest and
the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these
things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow. Then
came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in
prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people. Then
went the captain with the officers and brought them without violence,
for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned.
And when they had brought them, they set them before the council,
and the high priest asked them, saying, Did not we straightly
command you that ye should not teach in this name? And behold,
ye have filled your usulam with your doctrine and intend to bring
this man's blood upon us. Then Peter and the other apostles
answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. The
God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged
on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his
right hand to be a prince and a saviour, for to give repentance
to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses
of these things, and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath
given to them that obey him. Amen, may God bless to us this
reading from his word. After the incident of Ananias
and Sapphira, And because of the signs and wonders which the
apostles were able to perform in these early days of the church,
following the time when the Lord Jesus Christ went back to heaven,
the apostles were held in high respect amongst the people. And the Holy Spirit showed great
power through these men who were dedicated to preaching the message
of Jesus. There was much healing of the
sick. There was much casting out of unclean spirits. And the
reputation of the apostles went outside of Jerusalem and extended
into the countryside around about. The power was seen beyond the
city walls. And the influence of the new
church was beginning to spread. As the Lord had said, starting
at Jerusalem and Judea, and ultimately to the ends of the earth. And
many more believers were added and we discovered that this was
a growing movement. Now is the time when we lose
count of the believers. We've known a little bit about
how many believers there were. First there was the 12 who were
called, and then there was the 70, and then 120. Then we discover
3,000 were converted on the day of Pentecost. And then 5,000
when Peter preached at the beautiful gate. And now we're just told
multitudes more. The numbers are too many to count. And beyond Jerusalem and into
the cities and the towns around about, we find that people are
identifying with this church. And the Jewish leaders, they
found this unacceptable. We know that there had been trouble
before, but now they put the apostles in prison. And it seems
as if all the apostles were rounded up and all of them were put in
prison. And the angel of the Lord came
in the night and opened the prison doors and let them all walk out. It seems that this angel had
a little bit of a sense of humour because he opened the doors,
he let them out and then he locked the doors behind them. So that
the next day when they went to find out where these men were,
The doors were still locked, the guards were still there,
but the disciples, the apostles, had disappeared. When the Jewish leaders found that these men had gone,
they said, we told you that you weren't to preach in the name
of Jesus. But do you see what the angel
told the apostles when he let them out of prison? He said,
go back to the temple, to where the people are, and preach the
gospel of Jesus Christ. You know, Christians have an
obligation. We have a duty to obey the authorities
and the laws of our land. And we do. We need to be careful
to do that. We need to pay our taxes. We
need to pay our dues. We need to stay within the speed
limit. We need to obey the laws, the
laws of the land. And if we don't obey those laws,
then the government has a right to take us and hold us accountable
for our disobedience. But we don't have a duty to obey
if the laws of the land and if the laws of the authorities contradict
the law of God. We cannot be commanded to do
an unjust thing, to do an improper act, to do something that is
contrary to the ways and the will of God. And that's what
the disciples, that's what the apostles had to say. They had
to preach the gospel because the word of God, because the
angel had commanded them to do so. It was honouring to God. to preach the gospel of Jesus
Christ. And in verse 31 we are told about
the essence of the message that they preached. That the Lord Jesus Christ had
been exalted at the right hand of God to be a prince and a saviour
for to give repentance To Israel, yes, but to all men and women
around the whole world, this message had to go forth, go ye
into all the world and preach the gospel, and to no forgiveness
of sins. This is the heart of the gospel
message that these men were called to preach, the forgiveness of
sins. We are all sinners, and whether
we are just little or whether we are big, whether we are young
or whether we are old, the testimony of our own hearts tells us that
we are sinners before a holy God. But there is forgiveness
with the Lord that he might be feared. There is forgiveness
in the person of Jesus Christ. There is forgiveness because
a representative and a substitute has been found. In a little while,
we are going to remember the Lord's death in this service
of communion that we spoke about. We are remembering there that
the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world, went to the cross
and died. But his death is not just an
historical thing. His death has a meaning for men
and women and boys and girls like everyone here. that there
is forgiveness to be found with God because of the sacrifice
and the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. He stood in our place. He took our punishment. He died
for those that come and seek repentance and forgiveness of
sins through his blood and his death. May the Lord be pleased
to encourage us to remember the importance of preaching the gospel. This is what the disciples were
called to do. These men stood in their own
day, declaring the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ, even although
the authorities opposed them, even although they were put in
prison. We're told a little bit later in this passage, in this
chapter, and I didn't read all the verses, that the Sadducees,
the authorities of the Jews, they took counsel to kill the
apostles. Can you just pause for a moment
and think about that? These men were standing before
the chief authority of the Jews at that time. Had it been the
will of God, these men could have been slain just like that.
And all of that work and all of that testimony would have
been completely wiped out. That's what Saul of Tarsus was
trying to do anyway. And Gamaliel stood up and he
gave some advice about not killing the apostles. But it was that
close, that close. The Lord preserved his people
and we have a lesson in that for us too. We need to be bold
and we need to be straightforward and we need to declare the things
that are true for the forgiveness of sins and for the gathering
in of the Church of Jesus Christ. And it might be dangerous sometimes
and it might be disruptive and it might be uncomfortable to
take a stand for what is right but the Lord will preserve his
message, protect his people, and he will build up his church
by the means of the preaching of that gospel. May the Lord
bless these thoughts to us. Amen.