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Lesson 10

More Than Damage Control

Acts 5:11-42

Many years ago before the age of GPS I was directed to go to New Jersey to look at a several Land Rovers for the International Mission Board. Directions were given to the hotel where I was to be staying and also the address where I would find the vehicles. Making it to New Jersey in the dark was adventure enough but when I tried to get to the hotel that became a real point of anxiety. I drove around for least an hour or more trying to find the entrance to a hotel that could be seen but which there seemed to be no way to get there. Finally in desperation after touring the same part of Newark several times I stepped beyond the box, made a management decision and went up a one-way street the wrong way and made it to the hotel safe but frazzled.

Doesn’t that sometimes represent the way we feel about our lives and what is occurring in the church universal? We seem to be going around in the same old circles and not getting anywhere. As we look around what needs to be done to get us healthy again seems overwhelming. How do we untangle the situation for which we have been partly responsible where we now find ourselves? We can look at our present circumstances and say everything for which I have work so diligently is falling apart. Some at this point may have the tendency to throw up their hands and ask is it worth all the effort to keep going?

The early church faced a dilemma much like ours today. We can put different names to it but it still involved the failure of man. As we saw in the last study many were in a panic mode. Today the lesson deals with how the apostles handled two very difficult situations.

Acts 5:11

Although this verse was the last one studied last time, it is a bridge between the events surrounding the actions of Ananias and Sapphira and what was to lie ahead for the church and the apostles. It says, “And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things.”

1. What was this fear?
2. What are some of the questions this may have invoked among the people?
3. How did it different from the fear of God talked about in many other places.

This had nothing to do with reverence of God. The people were terrified. Fear, terror/panic, comes from not acknowledging that God has us in His hands and that He knows the future and we do not. Reverence is submitting our will completely to the will of God and leaving the future to hand. To not hold God in awe is rebellion on our part and that was the sin of Ananias and Sapphira. As said above they were in panic mode much like is seen when an earthquake takes place or a Tsunami hits a particular place. The death of the couple brought great concern about future of the church. At this point they must have certainly been asking what would happen next.

Acts 5:12-14

The fear that had taken hold of the people was not evident in the apostles. They went about boldly and fearlessly performing signs and wonders among the people?

1. What was the importance of their actions?
2. What were the net results in the church to what was happening?
3. Why, even while the church continued to multiply, were there those who did not become a part of the church?
4. Why did the apostles continue to go to Solomon’s portico to speak?

By their actions they:

1. Proved to the people that the work of Christ could not be sidetracked or stopped by the sinful rebellious acts of two or a few. His kingdom work was to go on no matter what obstacles that the world may place before it. (Matthew 16:18)
2. Once again restored the faith of the people and calmed the fears of the people.

Acts 5:15-16

Even at this early stage it can be seen that the church was growing beyond the capabilities of the apostles to touch the lives of every person. It reached the point where Peter and the others could no longer go to everyone but that those needing help had to be brought to Peter. The news of what was happening led people from other cities to come to Jerusalem.

1. What was the danger for the church in what was taking place?
2. How did this fit in with the great commission that the apostles had been given?
3. Who did this leave out?

Acts 5:17-19

It was inevitable that a new confrontation would occur with the religious leaders. The Sadducees became jealous of what was happening and responded by having the apostles put in jail. The one thing they did not take into account was that “God’s word is not imprisoned.”

1. Why did God not leave them in jail until the next day?
2. What was to be accomplished by the angel intervening and telling them to go right on preaching in the temple?
3. What did the apostles show the people by obeying the command and began teaching again?
4. What did they expect to happen at this point?

 

Acts 5:20-26

You can imagine how surprised the guards and the council when word came to them that the apostles were no longer in jail. The greater consternation came when they received the news that they back at their old post teaching the people as if nothing had happened?

1. Upon delivering the news what could have happened to the guards?
2. What does it said about the position of the guards and the Sadducees with the people in the way they dealt with the men?
3. What was the reason that the people had gone from being the fearful to the ones to be feared?

Acts 5:27-32

Why did the Sadducees decide to arrest the apostles again? I contend that it was because panic, fear and desperation had set in among those men.

1. What did those powerful men have to fear?
2. How was it different from that experienced by the people?
3. What would happen if all the people would become followers of Jesus?
4. What would the Jewish religion look like?
5. Why would their fears continue after the confrontation with the apostles?

During the first trial the council questioned the authority and training of the apostles to be teaching and preaching as they were. As this trial unfolded there was a sense that they believed they were the focal point and the apostles were trying to lay the blame of Jesus’ death at their feet. They indicated that they believe it is about making personal attacks of them. Peter’s first statement indicated it was not about them and their personal feelings, but God. They were to do the His bidding not that of the Sadducees. The second part of what was said repeated the message that Peter shared in his first and second sermon and the previous trial that the death would not have occurred without the involvement of the Jewish religious leaders. It is interesting that the very words that put them on the defensive now are the very cries that they made at the trial of Jesus. The cry of the people urging of some of these very same religious leaders was, “His blood shall be on us and on our children!” (Matthew 27:25)

Peter finishes up this part of the trial saying that he and the others were witnesses of the death, resurrection and ascension. The Holy Spirit also gave evidence of these events also.

1. How different was this trial from the first one?
2. What conclusion can we draw from the statement, “(You) intend to bring this man’s blood upon us?”
3. What did Peters’ initial statement indicate?

Acts 5:33-39

The men of the Sanhedrin reacted in an all too familiar way. It was evident that they had no defense against what the apostles said. As they had done to Jesus they planned to kill them. This would have accomplished little but kill those few men it could not stop the ever expanding church.

Gamaliel a beloved, well respected, knowledgeable Pharisee stood and made the case for the apostles.

His points were:

1. If these men on trial were leaders of a cult the movement would die of itself.
2. He spoke of Theudas and Judas of Galilee who led short-lived revolts against the Roman government. Both of these men were self-serving, self-glorifying individuals who died and the movement they led disappeared.
3. Care must be taken that the Council not be found in opposition to God.

Acts 5:40

This verse tells that they heeded the advice of Gamaliel.

1. What part of the argument do you think persuaded them to let the men go?
2. What had happened to the Jews before when they disobeyed God?
3. Why do you think they added flogging to their warnings this time?

Acts 5:41

The apostles left the presence of the men in the Council.

1. How did they respond to the warnings of Sanhedrin?
2. How did the threats and commands of the council affect the ongoing work of the apostles?
3. Why did they continue teaching and preaching in the temple but also from house to house?

The contrast between the people, the apostles and the Sanhedrin should help you sort out what or who do you want to control your life. It will make a difference in the way you view things going on in your life and the life of the church. Surely you realize that the things that affect you in your workplace, school and home life sadly spills over into your relationships at Church. You do have an opportunity to work through what is the underlying causes of the way you act. Are you angry, fearful, grieving, frustrated etc. then begin to address those attitudes the way the apostles handled the crisis in the church? They looked at the future and decided that is where they needed to be.

We have the opportunity right now in the life of Bethany Place to take the advice of Paul in Philippians 3:13. He said,” One thing I do; forgetting what lies behind, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

We have to ask ourselves, what is the goal to which we need to point. Is it to live in a panic and fearful mode that cripples us or do we truly want to serve God in this community? How can this be accomplished?

1. Acknowledge the past but do not live there.
2. Take the lessons learned to help us move beyond where we are.
3. Focus on the future. The apostles did not look back at the flogging but rejoiced and continued to do the work to which they were called.
4. Medicate on how God has gifted you and determine to use those gifts for the kingdom.
5. Change those aspects of the church that may be hindering us from becoming a healthy church, but learn to do it as a community. This exercise will help us to be in a better position to witness for Christ where He has placed us.

Next time we will look at

1. How the apostles handled the growing needs of the church.
2. The kind of men God set apart to provide leadership to His Church.