Revive Us Again | Week 4 | Acts 4

Revival, Prayer, and the Need for Scripture-Defined Awakening

If you will, at this time, take your copy of the scriptures. We're going to be in Acts chapter 4, Acts chapter 4. We will consider verses 1 through 31, Acts chapter 4, 1 through 31. This is the fourth message in this series.

Let me pray. Oh God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Lord, we call upon you, Yahweh. And Lord, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ that you will see fit, Lord, through your spirit to present to your people the message today.

Lord, let me not get in the way. Remove me and speak to your people. Lord, I have brought the book. Please speak to us. Amen. All right, so our overarching theme for this book is revive us again, right?

We want to know, just in case God chooses to give to us revival, well, what does revival look like? Like, is this something that when it's happening, that we should be able to say, that's it. That's it.

It's happening. Get ready.

Prepare yourselves. It's happening. Well, the only way for us to truly know what it looks like and to be able to recognize it is to actually see it in Scripture, hence why we're going through the book of Acts the way that we are, right?

We want to see the big picture of what's taking place at the birth of the New Testament church. What took place? And can that take place again? That's the question. And that's what we're looking at. And I believe it can.

I believe that revival can strike us soon, but there's work to be done. Christ finished the work of salvation and he gives a command for us to carry out this work through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Not through your power. You have no power. Outside of Christ, we are weak and pitiful men and women. We're the beggars begging for bread outside of Christ. But in Christ, we're supposed to be the beggars begging for the power, the power that you have.

And I don't know about you, but I have been to a lot of revivals in my time. Week long revivals where we would gather together in church buildings or under tents for evening services to hear different bands play or different preachers preach.

My uncle was a Baptist preacher and when the Pentecostals had revival, they called my uncle because he was a fireball. I grew up watching him preach and he was Baptist and he didn't run around the room, but he walked around the room and he caused tension, right?

He started out in a three-piece suit and ended up in a tank top. He'd be sitting there preaching, you'd be in the audience, next thing you know you get.

Hit with his jacket.

Like this man was a fireball.

Serious.

I grew up listening to this. It took me watching Steve Lawson behind a pulpit in order to be captivated because I was so used to people running around the room my whole life. I grew up in these kind of meet together and let's have a revival.

This is something that was done once a year at my church, but the other churches around, they have their once a year. And so we was always at these revivals, whether they was in buildings or tents. Two years ago, I was invited to a tent revival here in Tallahoma and last year as we built this church, I was invited to a revival at a church.

And both of these I was told takes place once a year. Once a year, they set aside three to five days where they gather together, listening to bands and for a preacher to preach planned revivals. I went to these revivals, not because I thought that they were revivals, but because I was invited and us being the new church on the block, I was hoping to make connections.

You see, because I don't believe we as men and women have the ability to plan revivals. Nor do I think gathering together for three to five days on a weeknight is how that revival sparks, how that fire is started.

If the fire of the Holy Spirit isn't being fanned to reach the loss for Jesus Christ, listen to me. There will be no revival. It's not happening. A church can set up as many planned revivals as it wishes and nothing is what is guaranteed to happen.

Why? Because men don't plan revivals. However, if we do what God has commanded us to do, revival will come. We must listen. We must put aside pride and spend time in prayer. Put aside pride and spend time in prayer.

Prayer for the lost, as well as for us to get up off the pews and go and tell someone.

About Jesus Christ.

Listen, if those two things aren't happening, guess what else is not happening? Revival. Revival. Revival if we are not seeking God in prayer and leaving the pew and taking the message to the people. Revival is the one thing you should not expect.

Hallelujah. To quote Voddie Bauckham, this ain't in my notes, but if you cannot say amen, say ouch. It's a hard pill to swallow. Our theme for today, for this Lord's Day, is this, true revival may bring about persecution.

Preaching Christ in the Face of Persecution

True revival may bring about persecution. My proposition is this, preaching Christ in persecution. That's what I believe is being taught here, as we're going to see John and Peter and how it spreads when they begin to preach Christ during persecution.

Ladies and gentlemen, if you do not want persecution, if you don't want persecution, if you do not want to be persecuted, I'm going to tell you a secret, don't preach Christ. Don't preach Christ. That's the secret sauce.

And Christians are really good at not being persecuted today, to our shame. Preaching Christ will bring about persecution, but revival is preaching Christ, and preaching Christ during persecution is taking serious your faith.

Are you serious about your faith? In our outline today, we're going to see the results of a good deed in preaching Christ. We're going to see salvation. We're going to see persecution, and we're going to see disobedience.

It's point number one, salvation. Point number two, persecution. And point number three, disobedience. And as we transition, this is only the beginning in this book. It is only the beginning of the persecution that is about to take place.

The persecution of Christians began with the religious Jews, and then it moves to the political Roman system, and it is still being carried out today by religious and political movements. Just not where Christ is not being preached.

But where he's being preached, there's persecution by religious and political movements. For the result of a good deed and preaching Christ, point number one, salvation. So look with me at Acts chapter four, look at verses one through five.

One through five. Now as they were speaking to the people, the priest and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came to them being greatly agitated because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

And they laid hands on them and put them in jail until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who heard the message believed, and the number of the men came to be about 5 ,000. In chapter three, if you recall, Peter and John were going to the gate called Beautiful during the hour of prayer.

Every day at this hour, they would gather together and pray. And as they were going to this gate, they laid a man who was lame from birth. His friends would take him to this gate every day to beg for alms, to beg for silver and to beg for gold.

This man was over 40 years old, and the theologians believed that he was more close to the latter part of it, and that his friends had been taking him to this gate for probably around 40 years. And so people were used to seeing him.

They recognized him, right? They knew who he was. They probably given him money on their way entering to the temple as a way to make them feel good about themselves. And I believe that this man could have been taken advantage of religious people as they're going into the temple to pray that maybe they would feel sorry for him and know that they're sinful and maybe try to give him some money.

We even see this being done today. People trying to take advantage of religious people for that purpose. And Peter and John catch eyes with him. And they said to him, silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give to you in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene.

Stand up and walk. The man's feet were made well. He began to leap, shout for joy. He enters into the temple with him, right? Everyone around is seeing what's taking place. They recognize the man. The man was asking for one thing and he left with something else.

He was asking for silver and gold and he left with the ability to walk. The text tells us Peter, but don't think for a second that John was quiet. But the text, our text tells us that Peter began to preach a message in order to get their eyes off of them and to put their eyes on Christ.

We talked last week that they had a split second before these people began to worship them for doing this great deed. And so Peter stands up knowing what's about to happen, begins to preach Christ. He uses the miracle in order to draw a crowd to preach Christ.

He preached prophecy fulfilled. He preached Moses. He says, Moses promised you that one was coming from among you. And when he came, you were to listen to him. He probably went deeper than what the scripture reveals to us, right?

As you read the scriptures, you can probably read what took place within two or three minutes, but this could have been a 30, 45 hour message. We don't know, but he preached prophecy. He spoke about Moses and how Moses spoke about Jesus and how when this prophet was to come that they were to listen to him, that they were to not hold on to Moses with this tight grip that they had, but they were to unloosen their grip to Moses and the old covenant and they were to listen to Jesus who was bringing the new covenant.

And he spoke about Abraham and how a prophecy was given to Abraham that through one of Abraham's seed and the seed was Christ, that through the seed of Christ that all the nations would be blessed. All the nations meaning not just the Jews.

The purpose of the Jewish nation was to bring about the offspring, which is Christ. And they fulfilled that Christ had fulfilled this promise to Abraham because Jesus Christ had to be made like his brothers in every way.

And this way was so that he could be, if you remember, as we went through Hebrews, a faithful high priest, if he was not a Jew, you could not be a high priest, but he was not a high.

Priest.

According to that covenant, he was a high priest according to the Melchizedek, the Melchizedek.

Priesthood.

And so John, I mean, John and Peter, they began to teach about Moses and to teach about the prophecy that was fulfilled through Abraham. And then they preach to these Jews, to these Jews that they, the Jews, had killed the author of life, their Messiah.

The Messiah that they were looking for, that they had anticipation for, that they were, they were asking, have you seen him? Do you know where he is? He's supposed to be coming soon. And they said, oh, he did come and you put him to death.

They killed their Messiah. Then he went on to preach that salvation and healing was in this Messiah, but particularly in his name, the name of Jesus, Yeshua Yamashiach, that salvation and healing was only through this Messiah whom they killed.

But he said that this was God's predetermined plan. This had to happen to bring about which you are now seeing as we looked in Acts chapter.

The Resurrection of the Dead and the Exclusivity of Christ

Two.

We're now here in Acts chapter four, verse two. It tells us that they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus, listen, the resurrection from the dead, the resurrection from the dead. Look at verse two, being greatly agitated because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

This is what they were teaching. As goes the king, so goes the kingdom. As goes the king who was put to death, buried and rose again, so goes the kingdom. His people who will one day die, be buried, and soon to rise again.

That just as Jesus was dead and buried and rose again, those who are in Christ will have that same faith. This teaching of the resurrection of the dead, listen to me, is first day discipleship. First day discipleship.

Day number one, the teaching of the resurrection of the dead, that as goes the king, this author of life whom you put to death, was buried and on the third day rose again, so goes his.

Kingdom.

Every one of us are going to die because we have broken God's law. The wages of sin is death. Your death will be God's payment to you. This is the message. This is what they were teaching. But there's going to come a day when this Jesus returns and you too will be raised from the dead.

First day, first day discipleship, our being glorified and being known as we are known is of first importance. And I don't know about you, but I was in church a long time before I heard of this wonderful and glorious teaching.

First day discipleship.

Turn with me to John chapter six. John chapter six. Look at verse 37. Jesus speaking here in our text says this, all that the father gives me will come to.

Me.

And the one who comes to me, I will never cast out, for I have come down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. Now this is the will of him who sent me that all that has been given to me, I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.

For this is the will of my father, that everyone who sees the son and believes in him will have eternal life. And I myself will, listen, raise him up on the last day. Jesus in this text makes it clear that all the father gives him will come to him.

If you have been given to Christ by the father, you will come to him. And we come to him by believing, by trusting, by putting our faith in him. And those who believe, who have trusted, who have put their faith in him, have eternal life, have present tense eternal life.

And those who have eternal life, he will raise them up on the last day. The raising up on the last day is the resurrection of the dead. This is when Christ returns at the second advent to fully consummate the kingdom.

One reason here, the text doesn't make it clear, but it says something that kind of, if you're paying attention, could draw your attention to it. So one of the reasons why I think this persecution could have started is because they were teaching about the resurrection of the dead.

So if you look at verse one real quick, it says, as they were speaking to the people, the priest, so that's one set of people, the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees.

Came to them.

The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. The Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead. And as you get into the book of Acts, you'll see an argument break out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees over Paul's teaching.

And the Pharisees will side with Paul concerning this teaching. And so being that the Sadducees were there, they heard that he's teaching the resurrection.

Of the dead.

And they see all this crowd of people coming to them and beginning to believe. And I think that this could be something that these Sadducees could have pushed more toward. We need to arrest these men.

Look back in verse four, verse four, it says, but as many of those who heard the message.

Believed.

Heard what message? The resurrection of the dead. Well, what comes before that? The crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection, right? And how he went to his father and how he's coming back. And when he comes back, then the resurrection of the dead.

As many as heard this message, I mean, it says, but many of those who heard this message believed, pursued, they trusted, they put their faith in Jesus Christ. And the number of the men came to about 5 ,000.

So they heard this message. And I want to say that in order for them to believe the message, they had to first hear the message. You can't believe something that you have not heard, right? It's like a big problem that we're having today in Christendom.

People think that you can just conjure up belief without even hearing the message. And faith comes by hearing, hearing of the word of God. So they heard. So some of those who heard this message believed, and it says that the men who believed were around 5 ,000 people.

The word here for men in the Greek is aneer. And it means men, singular or men, men, plural, basically, that's just, that's, that's what.

It means.

But let me tell you what it doesn't mean. It doesn't mean mankind. It's only speaking about man. Now, how many of these men had wives with them that it did not mention? If you just add half, let's say half of the men had wives, let's just, just, just half we're just going to go have, could have been more, could have been less, but let's just go with half.

Let's say half of these men had wives. There could have been seven and a half thousand people believe in one day. And that to the 3 ,000 on the day of Pentecost and the 120 that were in the upper room and roughly right now.

And at this point in the book of Acts, you have 10 ,620 people following Jesus Christ. See the ruckus? Salvation came that day through the preaching of the gospel. Peter and John boldly looking at a man, asking for one thing and give to him another.

They used the miracle to draw a crowd to preach the gospel and God granted them salvation. To the religious Jews, this was getting out of hand. For the result of a good deed in preaching Christ. Point number two, persecution.

Let's look at verse five and we'll read to verse 12. Now it happened that on the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem and Annas, the high priest was there and Caiaphas, excuse me, and Caiaphas, John and Alexander and all who were high priestly descent.

And when they had placed them in their midst, they began to inquire by what power or in what name have you done this? Then Peter filled with the Holy Spirit said to them, rulers and elders of the people, if we are being examined today for a good deed done to a sick man as to how this man has been saved from his sickness, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by this man stands, by this name, this man stands here before you in good health.

He is the stone which was rejected by you builders, but which became the chief cornerstone. Verse 12, and there is salvation in no one else for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.

Through the healing of a man and preaching Christ, they were arrested. They were persecuted and they're being, they're being persecuted. They were able to preach, listen, Christ crucified, dead and buried, resurrection and salvation in his name alone.

He said, there is no other name. There's no one else. Heaven is not sending anyone else. Again, let me quote Paul Washer this time. Paul Washer says, if heaven has sent to us its champion, the champion of heaven has come.

If heaven was to open up and to send us something else, it would fail in comparison. It has sent to us its champion and there is no salvation in anyone else outside of the name of Jesus Christ. These, these leaders were still looking for the Messiah.

He's saying he's already come and there is salvation in no one else. And through this persecution, they were able to preach to the religious elite. The who's who in Jerusalem. True revival may bring about persecution, but that same persecution can bring about an open door to preach the gospel to the elite.

That's what we see in our text. They preach the gospel, they were persecuted, but in their persecution, they were able to preach Christ crucified, dead and buried, rise again, resurrection, salvation in him alone.

You think God has a purpose in persecution. No revival equals no preaching in the public square. No preaching in the public square equals no persecution. And no persecution equals no opportunity. No open doors, no open doors to preach to the elite, Christ, God, the Father, the Holy.

Spirit.

They have a purpose in persecution. And if you don't want persecution, don't preach Christ. But if you want revival, we must preach Christ even in the face of persecution, a church that is not in the public square, listen to me, is a dead church.

Story time. I'm sure everyone here knows about the underground churches in China. I was watching this, it was something like the secret church that used to come on, but it wasn't involved with David Platt.

But it had this preacher who had went to these underground churches, and he spent weeks with them, ministering to them. He got to see how it would take some of them three days of walking to get to these underground churches to worship.

So it's three days, and you just think about it, what is that?

Because then you have to say, well, that's three days walking back, and I get a day at.

Home, and I have to start the journey again. It just sounds so foreign to us, what these people are going to gather together to worship. He says that he ministered to them, they ministered to him. The worship was phenomenal.

He was just talking about how great it was, and then he was speaking about what really got me. He was speaking about the day that he was leaving. He says that as he was about to board the plane, he's telling his goodbyes, and he tells them that he's going to be praying, and he's going to have his church praying, and those in America praying for the underground church in China.

And he turned around to board the plane, and someone in that gathering of the Chinese people screamed out, and we are going to pray for the churches in America. And it stopped him from boarding the plane.

And he looks back and he says, why would you pray for the churches in America? And they said, we are going to pray for their persecution. We're going to be praying that God grants America, the American churches, persecution, hence being so they can feel the reality of what we say we possess, that fire, that passion, that burning, that Holy Spirit in us.

The only way the prayers of those people are going to be answered is if God gives to us.

Revival.

If God doesn't give us men and women who are willing to face death for the sake of preaching Christ crucified, then their prayers will not be answered. This is hard. Now listen to me, and I mentioned this on my podcast this past week.

Hear me out. I do not want to be persecuted, but I do not not want to be persecuted. At the same time, we prayed about it earlier, there was a gentleman shot in the head this week for street preaching.

Immediately my daughter looks at me and says, don't street preach no more. You're not going to keep me from street preaching. As a gang member, when I was a gang member, I didn't care about the rival gang's threats, the two drive-bys that they pulled on me.

I kept doing what I was doing. And if I could do that for the devil, what else am I going to do for the Lord? I heard it said one time, if someone was to give you a thousand dollars for every person you told about Christ, how many people would you tell about Christ?

And I'm not going to ask all that. But the gentleman said, well, I would work all day. Then the man replied, so you would tell people about Jesus for money, but you won't tell them for the love of God.

Second Timothy, turn with me, please.

Second Timothy, chapter three.

We're going to begin in verse 10. This is Paul. He's right into Timothy. Listen to what he says to Timothy. But you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecution and sufferings such as happened to me at Antioch, in Iconium, in Lystria.

What persecutions I endured out of them all, the Lord rescued me. Verse 12, indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will. Be persecuted. Will be persecuted. He, Paul, was rejected by his kinsmen, according to the flesh in Antioch, and he was stoned by them in Iconium and so on and so forth.

Paul is telling us that these same things are happening to Timothy.

Timothy is being rejected.

Timothy is being persecuted. We're back in verse 12. Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus. Question, do you desire to live godly in Christ Jesus? Will and it's right here. Will be persecuted.

Will be persecuted. Again, I do not want to be persecuted. But I do not, not want to be persecuted at the same time. Should this be true of you and I? Should this be true of you and I? I think it's a sincere question.

I think it's something that we should ask. Should this be true of you and I? Do we desire to live godly? Does preaching Christ bring persecution? Listen, if you don't believe, then come hang out with me.

I've been downtown Nashville where people try to set me on fire. And I got to watch the Holy Spirit blow the fire out. The fire of God putting out fire. Is it just for those Christians in other countries and not for us?

And let me tell you something. The conversion that's taking place in those countries are in the thousands like we see in our text. I don't just want to read about it. I want to be about it. Can we say that again?

And this time, can we get some amens, Baptists? I don't just want to read about it. I want to be about it.

Amen.

Our evil government is not bothered by dead churches in America. And that's why I want our church to live. I want our government to fear this church. You say, Jeff, preaching like that is not going to get people in the church.

And to that I say, good. Because I don't want false converts in this church. The greatest thing that can happen to this church is for me while I'm preaching, police enter into that door and drag me to prison.

And for Pastor Cal to get up here and finish the message. It's the greatest thing that could happen to this church. Believe it or not, that's the greatest thing that can happen to this church. Because if it was to happen, we would have to look and get into a bigger building to accommodate the people whom God would bring.

He would bring true Israel. Because revival would be taking place in here. That's the greatest thing that could happen. Oh God, give us revival. Is that your prayer? Send us revival. Send it to where for them our government will say, by what power and what name are you doing these things?

And for us with one voice to say, by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazarene, who was crucified, who was raised from the dead. That's the name by which we're doing these things. Preaching this message may bring persecution.

But it is the message we are called to preach. Look at verse 11 and 12 of that text. In Acts chapter 4 verses 11 and 12. He, speaking of Jesus, is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief cornerstone.

The Bible tells us in the Old Testament that a stone of stumbling is coming. And that the Jews are going to trip over this stone of stumbling. And this tells us that this stone of stumbling has become the chief cornerstone of this house that we see that's being built.

And Hebrews chapter 3 tells us about this house. And that Jesus is the main stone, the cornerstone that holds up the structure. And verse 12 tells us, and there is salvation in no one else. For there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we should be saved.

They spoke about the exclusivity of Jesus Christ. Jesus said that he is the way, the truth, and the life. And no one comes to the Father except through him. That message will get you persecuted. For the result of a good deed in preaching Christ.

Apostolic Disobedience and Prayer for Boldness

Point number three, disobedience. Look with me at verse 13. This goes to 13 through 31, but we're going to stop at verse 22 and we'll pick up. Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and comprehended that they were uneducated, listen, and ordinary men, they were marveling and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.

And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply. Their mouths were shut. But when they had ordered them to leave the Sanhedrin, so the Sanhedrin is a group of 70, and it's kind of like the eldership.

If me and Kyle disagree about something because we only have two elders here as of right now, we have to get our deacon to come in and give that final vote, right? There was a group of 70, the Sanhedrin, whenever if it was half and half, then the high priest would cast the last vote.

So when the Sanhedrins gather, they're voting on what should be done. They began to confer with one another saying, verse 16, what should we do with these men? For in fact, that a noteworthy sign has happened through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem.

And we cannot deny it. But lest it spread any further, see, they're not wanting it to spread any further. I got 10 ,000 or something believers now. Among the people, let us warn them to speak no longer to any man in this name.

And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, listen, rather it is right in the sight of God to hear you rather than God.

You be the judge for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard. And when they had threatened them further, they let them go, finding no basis to punish them on the account of the people because they were all glorifying God for what had happened.

For the man who was more, for the man was more than 40 years old on whom this sign of healing had occur. The religious leaders could not deny the fact that a miracle was done in the name of Jesus by ordinary men, ordinary, uneducated Galileans.

These were the nobodies, the ghetto. To them, this was just ghetto. These were, in my ethnic circle, would be white trash, right?

These were the nobodies.

They could barely speak their own language.

They're uneducated. And they were marveled. They were marveled at their boneness in their imprisonment. They were warned to not speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus Christ. And again, Peter speaks up and he says, rather is this right in the sight of God to hear you rather than God, you be the judge for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.

During COVID, there were a lot of talks about Romans 13 and how we are to submit to the government. And if you ask me, my opinion, COVID helped the church more than it hurt the church. It helped the church remove those false converts from among her because they're still not gathering together in fear of death.

I guess they thought it was right to listen to the government instead of God. A good sign that revival may still come is the sign that we had during COVID. When churches stood up and said, rather it is right in the sight of God to hear you rather than God, you be the judge for we cannot stop speaking and hearing what we have heard.

This church planted during COVID because there were no churches meeting. We are a product of this situation and we decided then that we were gonna stand up here and proclaim Christ crucified and we was not going to let them stop us.

Luckily, nothing occurred because I don't wanna be persecuted but I do not not wanna be persecuted at the same time. When God has commanded us to gather and our government commands us not to, we must obey God rather than man.

Look at verses 21. 21, hold on, I got lost here.

Okay, sorry.

Now we'll finish reading. Verse, we stopped at 21. Where did we stop at? I got lost, excuse me. Okay, we stopped at 22. Verse 23, we'll read verse 23 to the end. So when they were released, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them and when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, listen, this is what they said to God.

O master, it is you who made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, who by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of our father David, your servant said, this is a quotation from Psalm 2 which was read earlier.