FOUNDERS WEEK MESSAGE - JULY 2013 - WE MUST OBEY

ACTS, CHAPTER 5
29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.

31 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.

32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.

INTRODUCTION
The Narrative—the story—of the Early Church is both descriptive and prescriptive.  Nowhere is that more evident than in the 5^th chapter of Acts.

The chapter opens with the untimely deaths of Ananias and Sapphira a married couple who conspired to lie to the Church. 

It continues with reports of miraculous healing.  The shadow of the Apostles was sufficient to raise up the sick.  

Why was it that the influence of the first Christians was so far greater than their number?

Why was it that the Early Church was daily in the temple and in every house teaching and preaching Jesus Christ?

Why was it that the First Christians rejoiced when they were counted worthy to suffer shame for the name of Jesus Christ?

Why is it that 2,000 years after that first Christian Pentecost, the Church of Jesus Christ continues her glorious crusade on every continent and in every nation?

Threatened by the jealous High Priest and the self-righteous Sanhedrin, the Apostles were unshaken.  “WE ARE HIS WITNESSES, AND SO ALSO IS THE HOLY GHOST WHO IS GIVEN TO US” they testified.

Their witness was pure. 

Their witness was powerful.

And their witness was pervasive. 

The rebuke of the High Priest stands as one of the greatest compliments ever paid the Church—YOU HAVE FILLED JERUSALEM WITH YOUR DOCTRINE!  Oh that it could be said of us.  You have filled Champaign-Urbana—Indianapolis—Bloomington—Decatur—Danville—St. Louis— with your doctrine. 

That great British Revivalist G. Campbell Morgan saw the situation:

“Standing in the midst of the intellectual aristocracy of Jerusalem, Peter was saying in effect: You have no right to question the accuracy of what we say until you have accounted for what we are.

WE ARE WITNESSES! See what we were; see what we are; and know that the change has been wrought because God raised Jesus, exalted Him to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance and remission, and gave us the Spirit. We have followed Him; we have repented, our sins are remitted; we have the Spirit. "We are witnesses." See what we are.”

BROTHERS AND SISTERS…IT IS AT THIS POINT THAT I AM ARRESTED. 

THE DISCIPLES COULD NOT HAVE BEEN CLEARER!  HEAR THEM: “WE ARE HIS WITNESSES, AND SO ALSO IS THE HOLY GHOST WHO IS GIVEN TO US”

HAD THEIR WITNESS BEEN WITHOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT it may have been interesting, but it would not have been transforming.  Paul would later testify, “my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power!”

HAD THEIR WORKS BEEN WITHOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT they may have accomplished something, but they would not have accomplished that SPECIAL SOMETHING that GOD HIMSELF ordained.

And as it was with them, so it is with us! 

Words without anointing may prove interesting…but words spoken with anointing are transforming!

Works without anointing may accomplish something…but works infused by the Spirit are renewing!

Singing without anointing may impress an audience…but singing in the Spirit turns an audience into congregation of worshippers.

FORM IS VITAL…BUT FORM WITHOUT SPIRIT devolves into icy ritual, and lifelessness. 

Until God breathed into Adam’s body—he was lifeless. 

Until the Spirit filled Ezekiel’s soul-less Army—they were useless.

Until the Holy Ghost filled Christ’s disciples—they were powerless.

The law is good, the commandments are holy, but until the Spirit of the Lawgiver abides in our hearts—the good that we would, we do not!

OH THE FINGER OF GOD IS POINTING TO ME…

Our preaching, our singing, our worship, our praying, our teaching, our witnessing, everything that we do must be SPIRIT ORDERED, SPIRIT FILLED, AND SPIRIT DRIVEN (Not just “purpose driven” but “Holy Spirit driven!”) 

I AM CONVICTED…

WHY IS IT THAT THIS SPIRIT is not as present and powerful as we know and believe He should be?

IS IT OUR TIMES?

IS IT OUR ENEMIES?

IS IT OUR PRESIDENT?

IS IT OUR CULTURE?

IS IT OUR MEDIA?

IS IT OUR TECHNOLOGY?

IS IT OUR ECONOMIC SYSTEM?

IS IT OUR POLITICAL CIRCUMSTANCE?

IS IT OUR GLOBAL CONTEXT?

IS IT OUR PLACE, OUR TIME IN HISTORY?  Aren’t we near the end anyway?

Surely any of these taken separately might explain our spiritual weakness, but taking them all together-- how can we possibly meet the challenge of our day?

LISTEN AGAIN TO THE APOSTLES!

And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them,

²⁸ Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us.

²⁹ Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

HEAR THEM!

This was not the bravado of some anti-authoritarian sect!  They were not libertarians nor libertines.

INDEED THEY WERE SPIRIT FILLED WITNESSES BECAUSE THEY HAD SETTLED IT IN THEIR HEARTS AND IN THEIR MINDS… “WE OUGHT TO OBEY GOD!” 

This ought is more than a suggestion—it was a compulsion within!

The testimony of Peter and John was emphatic… WE MUST OBEY GOD! 

Every great move of God, from Genesis to this generation began with this singular conviction, “We must obey God!”

Abraham obeyed and a nation was born.

Moses obeyed and a nation was freed.

Joshua obeyed and a victory was won.

Gideon obeyed and an army was defeated.

Samson disobeyed and lost his strength—then he obeyed and pushed 4,000 Philistines into judgment.

David obeyed and a giant was slain.

Elijah obeyed and fire from heaven consumed his sacrifice then swept him to glory.

Daniel obeyed and slept with lions.

Shadrach Meshach and Abednego obeyed and walked through the fiery furnace.

Nehemiah obeyed and a wall was rebuilt.

John the Baptist obeyed and baptized Jesus…then lost his head.

Jesus obeyed…and “Whosoever will may be saved!”

The disciples obeyed…and the Spirit was given…a Church was born!

Luther obeyed…HERE I STAND I CAN DO NO OTHER GOD HELP ME… and God did and REFORMATION was on!

Wesley obeyed… And a history altering revival of Scriptural Holiness blazed through the British Empire.

Booth obeyed… And a mighty army…a SALVATION ARMY rescued the worst from sin’s degradation.

AND THOUGH HE WOULD HAVE NEVER BELIEVED his stand should be thought so courageous as his forebears, THE ALL CONSUMING PASSION that MOVED OUR FOUNDER TO ADDRESS a GENERAL ASSEMBLY of THOUSANDS, was this!  I MUST OBEY GOD!

From Eden to Mt Moriah, from Mt Sinai to that Upper Room in Jerusalem, God has sought for men and women who would without wavering obey HIM.

I refer again to G CAMPBELL MORGAN who comments:

We must put emphasis upon almost every word in that little sentence, in order to find the profound significance of it.

" We must obey God." That is the language of a company of people who have come into fellowship with God, and have swept out from their lives all other mastership and all other authority.

Or again, " We must obey God." Not we must consider Him, or patronize Him, or hold theories concerning Him, or defend the fact of His existence.

Yet further, " We must obey God." It is when a man, or a company of men, says, I must, or, We must, that we listen with respect. When a man says,

I ought, we are interested, but not moved.

A man may know what he ought to do, and never do it. When a man says I must, and begins to interpret his rights or his beliefs in the terms of obligation, then he is passing into the realm of power.

" We must." All these men are against you "

We must." You will be imprisoned "

We must." We are determined that you shall not " We must."

Finally, " We must obey God." They did not endeavour to persuade others to bear their responsi-

bility, but took the burden upon themselves.

If we lack cooperation with the Holy Spirit,

unless we are in business partnership with the Holy Spirit, we can do nothing to impress Jerusalem or

London.

                                                                                                                    

ACTS 5:32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.