OBEYING GOD RATHER THAN MEN Acts 5

Transcription

1 OBEYING GOD RATHER THAN MEN Acts 5 something else. This is the constant challenge of the Christian. Consider the words of our text: We must obey God rather than men. A few years ago, one Confirmation Sunday, when I was talking about putting one s life on the line for Jesus Christ, I described the courage and faith of one Cassie Bernall. Cassie, you ll remember, was the young lady from Columbine High School who, at gunpoint, was asked by the assassins whether she believed in God. Knowing that the two gunmen had been hostile to such belief, Cassie likely could guess that saying yes might mean a shot through the head. But, as the story is told by her classmates, she said yes. It did cost Cassie her life -- her earthly life, that is. But it did not, nor could anything, take away from her the inheritance she received from God through her Lord Jesus Christ. Because Jesus is alive, so is Cassie. A similar story could be told of Ronnie Smith. Ronnie was an American educator who was teaching in Libya. Because he was not afraid to tell others that he believed in Jesus Christ as his Savior, last December Ronnie was gunned down while out for a morning jog. Student Noor Hewaidi wrote on his facebook page: "You didn't have to know Mr. Smith to know what he was about -- which was respect, optimism, cooperation, team work. He believed in his students, and that's the greatest gift any teacher can grant a child." Ronnie Smith went to Libya because, says his pastor, "Ronnie's greatest desire was for peace and prosperity in Libya and for the people of Libya to have the joy of knowing God through Christ," This was the perspective which also guided the disciples in our text for today. Please notice what happens. They are put in jail for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They are, no doubt, threatened with physical harm and told to stop this thing. But God miraculously releases them from jail and they are told by an angel of the Lord, to go back out there and preach some more -- right in the domain of their enemies. Would you do it? After all, you can predict what s going to happen next. You know that there will be anger -- that you might face further retribution and punishment from the same people who killed Jesus.

2 I can tell you what it felt like the first time I went to Alaska and we were traveling, by boat, down the Kuskokwim river. We stopped at a small village called Kwethluck and began distributing Bibles there when all of a sudden our guide came hastily back to the boat and told us to move quickly that we shouldn t be here doing what we were doing. He seemed to sense danger. My first thought was, Yea, let s get out of here. Perhaps that s how the disciples felt also when the prison gates were opened by the angel of the Lord. After all, like us in our boat, they could always go to another village, another town, another city. They didn t have to be here; and they can still preach the Gospel. And yet the Angel told them here. Now. Nevertheless, as you can see, when they are confronted with the charge, We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name! they respond with, We must obey God rather than men! The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savor that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witness of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey. Not surprisingly, the Sanhedrin is furious and immediately wants to put them to death. But a teacher of the law named Gamaliel talks them out of it, and instead, they are flogged and let go with the charge, that they not speak in the name of Jesus. Chapter five concludes, The apostles left the Sanhedrin rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ. Incredible faith, don t you think? What courage. What confidence. Are these the same men who fled the Garden of Gethsemane? Is this the same Peter who denied Jesus three times even calling curses down on himself. Hardly. These men are filled with the Holy Spirit and have been transformed, by Him, into bold and brave men who have decided to obey God over men to live for Christ rather than themselves.

3 Which brings us right back where we began: The way of God, on the one hand, and the other way. Following Jesus, or following something else. There are many who have faced danger and death for the sake of Jesus Christ. In Syria, for instance, this story is from April 18 Good Friday: In Syria, targeted violence against Christians has escalated. Many Christians are reported to have been abducted, physically harmed or killed, and churches damaged or destroyed. Among the dead is a beloved Dutch priest, 75-yearold Fr. Frans van der Lugt. Christians have already fled the country, but a Jesuit priest, Fr. Nawras Samour, has decided to stay behind. What is it that enables folks like this to endure and persevere in their faith when they are put in jeopardy and danger? How do they live, as people of faith, when that faith puts them in harms way all day long? It is the same thing that fueled the disciples: The Holy Spirit, and the Resurrection. They are so grateful for the loving sacrifice that Jesus gave to pay the price for their sin, so confident of His incredible resurrection from the dead, so ignited by the fact that Jesus is God and has sent them the gift of the Holy Spirit, that they are ready to lay it all on the line for Him. Here in America, we are not facing this kind of pressure and danger, and, because of that, it s hard to put ourselves in the place of people like these. There are very few personal instances where we say, We must obey God rather than men and risk anything more than ridicule. Nevertheless, that does not mean we don t face the same kinds of challenges. Think again how I began my sermon. I started out not with conversation about persecution, but with these words: The way of God, on the one hand, and the other way. Following Jesus, or following something else. In a country like ours, where we enjoy religious tolerance and civil freedoms, perhaps our challenge is not so much, I must obey God rather than men. Perhaps our biggest challenge comes when we take the last letter off the sentence. I must obey God rather than.me.

4 Luther declared in his catechism that the three greatest dangers to the Christian are, the devil, the world, and -- my own flesh. And yet the current American Way seems to be saying to us that being you and living for you are the most important things that self is, above all things, to be honored. It s all about my feelings and my desires and my hopes and dreams. It s all about my success, my friendships, my career, my fun. I would submit to you that if God s angel were speaking to us, as he did to the disciples, he might talk less to us about the danger of persecution and standing up for Christ against government laws and civil authorities, and more to us about standing up for Christ against our own feelings, opinions, and desires. He might suggest to us that putting it on the line for Christ might mean laying down our pride at the foot of the cross, submitting our opinions to His perfect will, building our hopes and dreams around His righteousness rather than our comfort. something else. Are we ready to say, with our time: Lord, how do you want me to spend it? How can I give glory to you? And put ourselves at His disposal? It might mean some changes in our priorities. It might mean a readjustment of our values. Or how bout this? Are we ready to say to God, in a moment of anger: Lord, show me how to react with these feelings and give me the strength to do what you want? If I need to forgive, enable me to do it. If I need to take action, send your Holy Spirit to guide me. Going to another place. Are we ready to say with our habits: Lord, I don t want to be controlled by any single passion, but I want you and you alone to lead my life? Therefore, help me please with this thing that has become so much a part of my life, that I may find in you the peace and strength to either let go of it, or to modify it in ways that are pleasing to you. Are we ready to say, I must obey God rather than me when it comes to our language, our finances, our sexuality, our possessions, our care of our parents or children, our respect of those in authority, our compassion? Sometimes its awfully hard. Especially when we live in a culture that honors each individual and his freedom to do and think whatever he wants.

5 But let us not forget what transformed the disciples and enabled them to turn the world upside down. It was, plain and simple, the God who humbled Himself before us. Who loved us so much that he set aside His rights and honors so that He could pay the price for our sin with His own flesh and blood who suffered the punishment for our iniquity on His own innocent back. And then, when all seemed lost and hopeless, He burst forth from that cold stone tomb with outstretched arms and said, I am risen. I am risen for you. And soon His Holy Spirit filled their hearts and led them to new places and people and countries and nations. That same God sends His Spirit to us and says, Go.. go and make a difference. Go go and make disciples. Go go and shine with the light and love of Him who died for you. something else. May the strength of God s Spirit help us choose wisely every day. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.