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"Here as in Heaven."
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You're listening to the Garden Church podcast. We're in a series called Church on Fire, a journey through the book of Acts. This is a story of ordinary people filled with the spirit, carrying the presence of Jesus into every corner of the world. The same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is alive and in us today. Join us as we step into the call to be people set on fire for his mission.
Darren Rouanzoin:Today, we open up Acts chapter four. So grab your Bibles. Let's see it. Church, we are a Bible believing church. We re Look at that.
Darren Rouanzoin:Let's let's look around. Let's just see how this church reads the bible. I remember when I started doing this there were like five and now look at this. This is it. A lot more than five.
Darren Rouanzoin:Acts chapter four, it's been a while since I've preached on Sunday. I've loved listening to pastor Slav's sermon. Did he crush it last in end of the year? Pastor Bill and now we continue in our series. Quick recap.
Darren Rouanzoin:If you are new, we It took us about, I don't know, fourteen weeks to get through three chapters. Acts chapter one, I'll call it the reset. Jesus is alive. Jesus is reigning. Jesus is not done.
Darren Rouanzoin:He tells the church to wait to receive what the father promised, the Holy Spirit. He says in Luke which is part one of this two part series, the Gospel of Luke in the book of Acts, to wait to be clothed with power. And he says here is the point. You are to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. And then Acts two they are waiting, are praying and then the Holy Spirit comes and there is this eruption.
Darren Rouanzoin:The Spirit comes and things start happening. And I I want you to think real quick that when the Holy Spirit comes there's not a strategy to the church. There is this power to proclaim the resurrected Jesus Christ. And the church is born and you see a snapshot of what the church looks like. Acts chapter two forty two to the end of chapter two.
Darren Rouanzoin:You see these characteristics that mark a Holy Spirit church. They are devoted. That's one thing we often read over. They're all in on prayer, on the teaching from the apostles, on fellowship, onto the mission of the church. It's absolutely amazing.
Darren Rouanzoin:And then it goes on to describe a generosity that's remarkable Talking about the expansion of the church God adds to their number daily. And then, in the casual ordinary way of doing, what the church did, Peter and John go to the temple at the time of prayer. And on their way into the temple, Acts three, we read the story of what the church's mission looks like practically. Peter and John see a man who's been paralyzed since birth and they say, don't have silver or gold but what I have I give to you freely in the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Walk and he walks.
Darren Rouanzoin:And then bewildered they now have to address the crowd that's watching this man jump and leap and and skip around the temple because he wasn't allowed into the temple because he was paralyzed according to the Old Testament. And they have to give an explanation for the power that was just demonstrated. I love this. They have to explain the power that Jesus performed and they don't What they say is this has nothing to do with us. This is Jesus.
Darren Rouanzoin:And and so he tells the crowd to repent and be filled with the Holy Spirit for a time of refreshing has come. This isn't about some future thing you prepare for but God is moving in their midst. How do you know? Here is our receipt. He is walking.
Darren Rouanzoin:You with me church? That is just my recap. Now we get to chapter four. And in the next several weeks I am gonna be preaching. You are gonna see Satan's strategy.
Darren Rouanzoin:Luke is so intentional about showing us the threats that are presented to the church. That are present in every church at all times. Some are more obvious than others. Times are more obvious than others. But in Acts four you are gonna see what, how, how, how Satan uses different things to try to stop this movement.
Darren Rouanzoin:What I have learned from this text is Satan, the devil loves two kinds of Christians. Silent Christians and Christians with private faith. Buckle up. The enemy doesn't need to destroy the church if he can domesticate the church. You see, if he can keep Christians silent or private, he can keep people from being changed.
Darren Rouanzoin:Silent Christians love Jesus but never speak when it costs them something. Private Christians follow Jesus but only in ways that keep Jesus contained and manageable for their lifestyle. Acts four is a moment where the authorities hand the church a deal. You can keep your faith just keep it quiet. You can believe in the name of Jesus just don't speak that name out loud.
Darren Rouanzoin:And this isn't an ancient story. It's present. It's what happens when the church actually lives as a witness to the world. You see liberal modernity trained us to treat religion like a harmless private preference. And secular modernity didn't remove God, it compartmentalized it.
Darren Rouanzoin:Secular scholars describe the pattern as compartmentalization. It's where faith gets pushed into private places and public, and the public square pretends to be a neutral place. So believe what you want as long as it doesn't touch the public life. Keep it personal. Keep it polite.
Darren Rouanzoin:Keep it off the streets. Believe but don't bring it out here. That's what we've been told. That's what the church has been doing in many places. And what we do instead is we just say, well we wanna be relevant and not weird.
Darren Rouanzoin:So the question I have today is will your faith stay personal or become a public witness? So let's read Acts for you with me. First seven verses, I'll read it. The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people.
Darren Rouanzoin:Proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They seized Peter and John because it was evening. They put him in the jail until the next day but many who heard the message believed. So that the number of men who believed grew to about 5,000. Everyone is like I don't like the mega church.
Darren Rouanzoin:By chapter four, five thousand dudes are following Jesus. They might not have enough coffee for the gathering. They might not have enough seating for the gathering or communion elements but the Gospel is moving forward anyway. The next day the rulers and the elders and the teachers of the law hold up met in Jerusalem. Annas the high priest was there.
Darren Rouanzoin:So was Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest's family. They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them by what power or what name did you do this? So this is the the setting of chapter four. I love this. What you see is Peter is preaching to the crowd at the temple and the temple leadership comes down real fast.
Darren Rouanzoin:It's the priest, the captain of the guard and the Sadducees. They show up. Luke is showing you how power works. So what's up with this group of people? First of all, the priests.
Darren Rouanzoin:The priests are the ones responsible for the temple activity. They, they're the custodians. They're, providing sacrifices. They are in charge of the temple. They are temple clergy.
Darren Rouanzoin:Temple back then was the worship space, the national bank, the public square and the political headquarters. Just pause right there for a second. It's the YouTube and the media. It's the head of the religion department. It's the head of the bank.
Darren Rouanzoin:It's where our finances go. It's the central headquarters for all of the activities of Israel. So the priests are there. They're in the temple. Then the captain of the guard comes out.
Darren Rouanzoin:And he and he's a high ranking officer responsible for the the Levite temple police. This is the head of the FBI, the head of the CIA, the chief of police. This is not just a random person. This is the most powerful person with authority to do something. And then it says the Sadducees which is a religious sect.
Darren Rouanzoin:They were a wealthy ruling class. The elite managers of religion and politics and their theology rejects the resurrection. So there is there is so Luke is giving you a framework to see these unschooled which we are going learn they are unschooled in ordinary. Peter and John. They are disciples of Jesus.
Darren Rouanzoin:They don't have a formal education. Most likely, late teens, early twenties. To be on the Sanhedrin which is we'll talk about in a second, you have to be of a specific age. You have to be much older than that. You can't be a rabbi until you're 30.
Darren Rouanzoin:So you have some kids, some youth that heal some random dude and then begin to proclaim Jesus and the resurrection and call people to a very Jewish concept, repent, change directions. You were going this way, move this way because he's Lord. How do we know he's Lord? This guy's walking. We saw him And now they're confronted by the rulers and the elders and the scribes.
Darren Rouanzoin:So they get arrested. They're thrown in. 5,000 people believe and the next day it lists another group rulers, elders, teachers of the law. This is the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin is I forgot I have water.
Darren Rouanzoin:Thank you Lord. Thank you Jesus. I don't know how your break was. I was sick for like twenty days. I'm better now.
Darren Rouanzoin:And my wife's like She's like, she's so gracious to me coughing all through the night. The Sanhedrin is the ruling council. It's like the modern senate or house of representatives. It's the governing body of all of the temple. The rulers are the high priestly leadership.
Darren Rouanzoin:The elders are the leading families. The the ones with influential land owners and power brokers and the scribes are the legal experts, they're the educated professionals. We're talking the PhDs, the Supreme Court, that's who they're meeting with. And they take it be away from the temple in the public square to behind closed doors. Because they want to manage this crisis.
Darren Rouanzoin:Because if Jesus is raised then it changes everything. The verdict that the Sanhedrin just a few months earlier ended with that killed Jesus are now the ones that Peter and John are being questioned by. Caiaphas was part of the Luke story earlier. Part of the community that crucified Jesus. Are you with me church?
Darren Rouanzoin:So some teenagers, some young 20 college students, anyone, if you are 25 and under, would you just raise your hand? I just want to see how many of There is a lot. Look at the hands. Keep them up. Look at this.
Darren Rouanzoin:So you all, you all confronted by the most educated and powerful people in the land. By what power and whose name did you do this? Because they need to correct it. They need to they need to they need to manage this crisis. The system that's being challenged by Peter, by Jesus through Peter, has revealed a public miracle and the leaders want to make it a private matter.
Darren Rouanzoin:Right? They're trying to relocate Jesus from the temple courts to the backroom conversation. Like relocate Jesus from your workplace to a conversation that you have on the DMs quietly. They are trying to relocate Jesus. So they interrupt.
Darren Rouanzoin:They intimidate. And here is the irony. I love this. The irony is they are being questioned questioned for healing a guy that's been paralyzed for forty years. They're Which I think Luke is trying to show they're arrested for helping someone.
Darren Rouanzoin:Doing what's right. They're they're being examined for healing the sick and Luke is exposing the sick system that the temple became. Which is why Jesus cursed the fig tree. This national symbol of the temple. May they never eat from your fruit again, he said.
Darren Rouanzoin:And now, the Holy Spirit comes in Acts two, most likely in the temple courts. And now, God heals outside of the temple, the location, the man who's paralyzed and he comes in and they give testimony to Jesus Christ and the systems of power wanna shut it down. Don't miss the irony that when power is threatened even goodness becomes suspicious. So the leaders go by what power or by what name did you do this? They cannot deny the miracle.
Darren Rouanzoin:They'll keep, they will try to silence the messengers. If they cannot stop the healing, they will try to stop the testimony and intimidate the weaknesses. And so the story goes on and this is one of my favorite passages in Acts. I just love it so much. Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit.
Darren Rouanzoin:Just pause on this. Do you remember who Peter was? Right? This is the guy that says, Oh, you're the Messiah. The Son of God.
Darren Rouanzoin:Jesus asked, Who do you say? You're the Messiah. And Jesus says, Okay. This isn't from me. This is from the Father in heaven.
Darren Rouanzoin:What happened Peter? Like you got it right for once. And then he's like, Okay. Now that you know, I'm gonna go to the cross. And Peter immediately says, no you don't.
Darren Rouanzoin:You can't do that. You can't go to the cross. And Jesus says, from blessed are you Simon. Hey Satan, get behind me. That's Peter is the guy that gets it wrong.
Darren Rouanzoin:He's the guy that when Jesus says you're gonna deny me three times. He knows he said it. He's walking following Jesus and he denies him three times. But Peter is also the guy that runs to Jesus on the shore in John's gospel and gets restored three times. Peter is also the guy that once he's filled the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost stands up and says, we're not drunk.
Darren Rouanzoin:This is the Old Testament fulfillment of the coming of the Holy Spirit. And in this moment, Peter's the guy that just keeps doing what Jesus would have done. Filled with the Holy Spirit. This isn't Remember that one time back in college I was wrecked at that worship night and felt the presence of God? This is battlefield.
Darren Rouanzoin:This is the presence of God that's moving the church forward in ordinary people. People who are available. And it says, it says, all right, filled with the Holy Spirit, rulers and elders of the people. Now he is addressing the Supreme Court. If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked now how he was healed.
Darren Rouanzoin:Then know this, you and all the people of Israel. It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is the stone you builders rejected which has become the cornerstone. Salvation is found in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. That preaches.
Darren Rouanzoin:Peter filled the spirit, recognizes, what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 10 verse 19. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what you, what to say or how to say it. At that time, you will be given what to say for it will not be you speaking but the spirit of your father speaking through you. Have you ever seen this verse? Oh, I read it every Saturday in college.
Darren Rouanzoin:Because I I used to do this outreach with a bunch of Vanguard students. Went to Vanguard. And we would go and share our faith to Skid Row and MacArthur Park passing out free lunches every Saturday for a couple of years. And I was so anxious and nervous. Anyone know what I am talking about?
Darren Rouanzoin:I had so much anxiety. And I would go to this passage and be like, Lord, you got to be true to your Word. I might not be arrested but I am doing what it says. When we started this church, I have shared this story but there are so many new people, I don't know if you know this and maybe you wouldn't think this because what it looks like now. But I was the worst preacher you have ever seen.
Darren Rouanzoin:Amen El? John? John is saying, You are not far off. If there is ever a testimony that there is a God it is that I am preaching still today. What do I mean?
Darren Rouanzoin:I I would have panic attacks. Serious panic. All week I had anxiety. Because I, when we started our church, I brought in another teacher thinking they are going be the teaching pastor, I will be the lead pastor. I am not gifted to teach.
Darren Rouanzoin:And I had so much anxiety, so much fear and yet I had to show up because that teaching pastor left and I had to be the one preaching. Out of what? Out of For the sake of mission, I'll do it. I'll put step aside from my anxiety and fear and do what's required of me for the moment and I would go to this verse. Lord you gotta do this.
Darren Rouanzoin:You gotta give me your words and sometimes without The words came out terribly. I stumbled over microphones. I stumbled to say the right words. I would say the wrong word. I would use the wrong text.
Darren Rouanzoin:I literally would knock waters over. Still do that now. I would trip over the cords because they were corded microphones. I struggled but I did it out of obedience. Why do I say this?
Darren Rouanzoin:Because at some point your faith has to become real. Yeah. Your faith has to cost you something. And we've sanitized, domesticated. We've made Christianity easy.
Darren Rouanzoin:We warm up the baptismal pool. We don't charge for coffee. We have enough parking unless it rains then you're paddle boarding in. But the We've got yachts in the backside outside. Would it grow if we moved?
Darren Rouanzoin:Would it change if we were in a dungeon? I'm telling you right now, you have to make your faith real. Jesus has to be real. And he will cost he will It will cost you everything to follow the real Jesus. We've sanitized the the Jesus of the scriptures to fit our political preference.
Darren Rouanzoin:And I'm worried about this right now. Because all of a sudden there's this movement towards Christianity and there's this movement towards politics. I have a lot of political beliefs. I tried my best ability to walk towards the kingdom light but I am telling you we have to have eyes to see that just like the left gets hijacked by spirits the right will get hijacked by a different spirit. We will associate Jesus as a mascot to our political party.
Darren Rouanzoin:We will we will become the kind of church that just makes him a therapist to make us feel good So we can fit into culture with relevance making sure all the people that are on the outside belong. Never confronting the sin that needs to be confessed. That doesn't get there because, you've become a public witness. It gets there because you privatized your faith. You've made it convenient.
Darren Rouanzoin:There is nothing convenient about a cross. Your story is hijacked when you are baptized into faith. It's now his story Because it's always been his story. So Peter, got off on a tangent. Oh, one of the things I think the key differences between Peter and so many Christians today is what does Peter do with the power he receives from the spirit?
Darren Rouanzoin:He doesn't self protect. He doesn't perform or platform himself. He doesn't shrink back. He simply proclaims the resurrected Christ. He calls out the system.
Darren Rouanzoin:We're being arrested for an act of kindness. Really? And then he goes straight for the center of reality. Let it be known to y'all. Jesus Christ of Nazareth you crucified him but God raised him from the dead and the man is standing here because of that.
Darren Rouanzoin:What he's saying is healing is what you can see. Resurrection is what God has done and salvation is what God is offering. Luke refuses to separate physical wholeness from salvation like they are two different ideas. Jesus does not patch up bodies. He also rescues people.
Darren Rouanzoin:And Peter quotes this scripture from Psalm chapter one eighteen. He says, The stone you builders rejected. Well that's the cornerstone. This isn't some clever biblical reference. This is the ultimate reversal to the system.
Darren Rouanzoin:You rejected Jesus. God enthroned him. You tried to remove him. God has made him foundational for the rest of life. And this is resurrection means.
Darren Rouanzoin:Resurrection is God's public no to every human verdict that tried to bury Jesus. Resurrection is God saying, You don't get the last word. And so Peter drops that line. Salvation is found in no one else. Come on.
Darren Rouanzoin:We need that line today. Right? This is not arrogance. This is exclusive preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is resurrection logic.
Darren Rouanzoin:Mohammed, Buddha, Joseph Smith and every other dead savior cannot save you. Only the resurrected son of God Jesus of Nazareth. Therapy cannot raise the dead. I love therapy by the way. It cannot raise the dead.
Darren Rouanzoin:Success cannot forgive sins. Influence cannot heal a conscience. Only a living king can save. And that is the message today. Jesus is not helpful.
Darren Rouanzoin:Jesus is not inspiring. Jesus is not my personal brand or vibe. Salvation is found in no one else. The name of Jesus is not a magical spell. It's authority.
Darren Rouanzoin:It's allegiance. It's representation. To speak in Jesus's name is to say Jesus is king and he's here. Over my life. Over my body.
Darren Rouanzoin:Over my money. Over my future. Over my sexuality, over my dreams, over my screen, over my anxiety, over my shame, over my city, over this generation. And that's exactly what the enemy wants to keep quiet. Silent Christians may be sincere but they're not dangerous.
Darren Rouanzoin:Private Christians may be saved but they are easily contained. And I've witnessed this my whole adult life in the Christian world. I've seen the Christian church blend into culture to be relevant. Not to be weird and this kind of thinking is what the authorities of Acts four want for the chore for the church. A relevant church.
Darren Rouanzoin:A cool church. A reasonable faith. Nothing unreasonable about following Jesus. And nothing reasonable about following Jesus. Jesus did not die to create a church that blends in.
Darren Rouanzoin:He is Lord of your life and he will show up in your life. If he is Lord of your life he will show up in your life. He will show up in your home. He will show up in your conversations. He will show up in your school because you are there.
Darren Rouanzoin:He will show up in your habits. He will show up in your digital life. Will show up in your public life. We need faith that is visible. It doesn't have to be loud and broadcasted or protested.
Darren Rouanzoin:It has to be powerful because it is you with him. Parents, I was thinking about this. We need your faith to be visible to your kids. Not because you showed up here on Sunday. But because they see you reading scripture.
Darren Rouanzoin:They see you praying when things are stressful. They hear the name of Jesus when you are afraid. So many of us have had Christian parents that didn't reveal their faith to us. It was a Sunday show. We need examples Monday through Saturday.
Darren Rouanzoin:You don't need to be perfect. That's the lie from the enemy. Kids need to see you repent when you make a mistake. They need to see you ask for forgiveness when you messed up. They need to see you give and be generous.
Darren Rouanzoin:They need to see you serve. They need to see you struggle in Jesus Jesus' name because that's what it's about. Imperfect examples moving towards Jesus. Kids can grab on to that. That's what family ministry looks like.
Darren Rouanzoin:You doing the best you can pushing yourself towards Jesus as they stumble along behind you. Youth. I love having the youth in here. I've been praying for you all week because of this sermon. Some of you are being discipled by your school, by your social media and by your fear of people and being liked and being labeled and being called a Christian.
Darren Rouanzoin:So many of you are desperate to fit in and I know more than anyone else. Some of you have this idea you've created that the friendships you have are the most important thing to fit into. And I have to say most of those friendships won't be here in four years. And you give them way too much power over your faith. I think it's time to take faith to the next level level.
Darren Rouanzoin:Like the disciples, you're the demographic Jesus discipled. As pastor Slav said, Jesus was a youth pastor. The only person that had to pay the temple tax was Peter and Jesus. So Peter was the only 20 year old plus. That's a fact.
Darren Rouanzoin:So his disciples were 19 and under. Some think John was 13 or 14. How many 13 year olds do we have in this room? The Apostle John. And then Jesus goes after three years.
Darren Rouanzoin:So now he is 16, 17 years old doing the things that Jesus did. This isn't some future reality. You are called to faith now. And look I am not saying go out and be a missionary. I am saying you are a missionary.
Darren Rouanzoin:It doesn't matter how old you are but I wanna invite you. This isn't a challenge. That your faith needs to be evident everywhere you go. Please don't trade your witness to the resurrected Christ with trying to fit in or be cool. That's for all of y'all.
Darren Rouanzoin:And I guess this isn't for youth but I wrote it for you guys. But listen, maybe, maybe that's not your issue. But I will say, maybe you show up to church or you go to youth but the person you are there is different than in the group chat. Maybe the person you are when you are around your Christians Christian friends is different than when you go to school and they talk differently so you talk differently. Or you go to work and the things that you were doing in the Bible study with the women are now not what you are doing on Monday and Tuesday with your coworkers.
Darren Rouanzoin:You just slide into the gossip. You just I know I got down. You just slide in. Jump in the water. You just slide in to the greed, the consumerism.
Darren Rouanzoin:You go out for drinks. You just you just deserve the extra alcohol to escape. This is what Jesus is after. The kind of life reflects him. You can't have a public faith unless you live it out in the private world.
Darren Rouanzoin:Now is the time. I said that in all my life, my all my adult life, I've witnessed this church on the margins. But there's this move momentum and movement happening right now. Where the church is growing like crazy. Where faith is becoming public.
Darren Rouanzoin:Let's just make sure that that face faith looks like Jesus. And let's be a part of it. Let's show the world. Let's give Jesus better PR than the other generations of the past. Does that make sense to you?
Darren Rouanzoin:Yeah. Now is the time. Some of you youth are launching Alpha groups. It's time to go after it. Tell your friends.
Darren Rouanzoin:Let's take our faith public. You with me Church? Okay. And then this next part. I got a few more minutes.
Darren Rouanzoin:This is one of my favorite passages that I have used my entire life as encouragement. Alright? When they saw, verse 13, when they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled and ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. But since they could see, so here is the receipt, the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and they conferred together.
Darren Rouanzoin:What are we going to do with these men? They asked. Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they had performed a notable sign and we can't deny it. But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people we must warn them, threaten them to speak no longer to anyone in this name. So they called them back in and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
Darren Rouanzoin:But this 21 year old kid named Peter and this 17 year old kid named John replied to the supreme court of their a era. Which is right in God's eyes? To listen to you or to him? You be the judge. As for us, We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.
Darren Rouanzoin:After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them because all the people were praising God for what had happened. For the man who was miraculously healed was over 40 years old. He was my age. I love the Book of Acts.
Darren Rouanzoin:When you read it in context, when you take away the Christian heroism of these saints, Peter and John. When you see them just a few chapter or chapters earlier, totally getting it wrong. Totally missing it. But now, all of a sudden because of this Holy Spirit that apparently continues to fill them and refill them and energize them, animate them for Jesus' purposes. They are unstoppable.
Darren Rouanzoin:When you read the story of walking into the temple and the guy walking, it's a Jesus story. It looks like Jesus exactly because that's the church. We're we're called to continue the ministry of Jesus wherever we go by the power of the Holy Spirit. And when the leaders see this, they can't handle it. They try to categorize.
Darren Rouanzoin:They try to put them in their categories. Where do you fit in to our world? It says, they saw the courage which is this word for boldness, frank, open, fearless speech but in ancient times, it meant speaking plainly to power or truth telling. These little kids are speaking to the Sanhedrin as if the Sanhedrin is not the ultimate authority. And then they say, they're unschooled and ordinary which is this Greek term for they lack formal elite training.
Darren Rouanzoin:They don't belong in this court. They don't belong with the upper class of leadership. They don't have the credentials. Exactly. This is the most inspiring thing for me when when I was 23 and started this church I didn't have the credentials.
Darren Rouanzoin:I didn't have anything. I had never preached. In fact the only time I preached was at Vanguard in a classroom for pastor Bill. Yeah. The one public sermon I ever gave is gonna be across the way from the campus we're starting next week.
Darren Rouanzoin:In Needham Chapel which my wife was there and her father-in-law and that's another story. But my my father-in-law, I was dating her at the time. He's like, Who is this boy dating you? And he became an advocate early on for me to stay in ministry when I was debating whether or not he's like, this is what you're called to. My point is the credentials don't matter.
Darren Rouanzoin:Have you been with Jesus? This is the leadership requirement for the rest of the book of Acts. When you show up, do you have wisdom in the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life? Is it observable? Does the presence of Jesus begin to flow from you in places or have you been a businessman that can handle money well and that's why you should be on the team?
Darren Rouanzoin:It's not what we're after here. I can't wait to teach the next several weeks because you'll get to Acts chapter six and they're having this crisis. Thousands of people are coming administrative assistance that can carry the load of hanging out, passing out food to widows, and managing the crisis of lots of people. And they don't say the criteria is that you're really good at making a casserole. You gotta be really good at Excel spreadsheets.
Darren Rouanzoin:You love admin. That's your Enneagram type. That's your Myers Briggs profile. No. The criteria is you're filled with the spirit, that there's observable characteristics, that you've been with Jesus.
Darren Rouanzoin:And now now we can see it here and you're put to work wherever is needed because that's the point. It's his body. It's not your ministry. It's all his. And the early observations we get for the church leadership is they had They were unschooled.
Darren Rouanzoin:They were uneducated but they had been with Jesus. In the first century context, leaders and rabbis were evaluated by their students. So the Sanhedrin rabbis would would want to know how good a rabbi was based on their students. And this is exactly what Luke is showing and confronting. He is confronting the most elite rabbinic community there is with unschooled ordinary people.
Darren Rouanzoin:Because this is what Jesus loves to do. He loves to take those that think, there's no way you don't know my past. I divorced. I failed. I had an affair.
Darren Rouanzoin:I am not educated. I struggle with sin. I did that thing. This thing happened to me. And Jesus comes and he covers it by the blood of Jesus and he just says, I can use you.
Darren Rouanzoin:I can use that. Here's the lie. The enemy wants you to think you're not good enough. You don't have what Jesus needs for this next season. That is the ultimate lie and you will build this criteria in your head of why you won't be used and what you have to see in Acts four is he will use anyone who has been with him.
Darren Rouanzoin:Who wakes up, does quiet time, quietly goes to school, looks for the spontaneous moments where God leads them and walks gently on this earth with Jesus and there will be opportune moments where you will have to decide because fear will come rushing in. Will I say what Jesus wants me to say? Or will I keep it in private closed doors? And when you step through that fear, when you stay committed to Jesus, he opens up doors for the miraculous. For the testimony to go forward.
Darren Rouanzoin:This is what we see throughout the world. The world isn't waiting for impressive Christians. The world is waiting for Christians who have been with Jesus. Not Christians that won the argument. Not Christians who vote their politics in power.
Darren Rouanzoin:Christians who carry the presence of God. Christians who have to explain why their prayers demonstrate Jesus' power. Christians whose transformed life makes no sense without Jesus. And Luke makes sure we do not miss the evidence. The healed man standing right here, he is not a rumor, he is not a story, he is not a second hand testimony, he is a human being with ankles and feet that, used to be deadweight and are now worship instruments.
Darren Rouanzoin:He's over forty and decades of brokenness reversed in public. Here's the receipt. Here's the proof and so the leaders call a private meeting. They play damage control. They admit the miracle happened but they refuse to face what it means.
Darren Rouanzoin:And then comes the official gag order. Don't speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. This is the devil strategy put into policy. I have experienced this in my life. We have witnessed the rise of post modernity.
Darren Rouanzoin:We want everyone to be tolerant just not be Christian. We live in a culture and a society that we accept strange ideologies and new fads that change bathrooms and sports but we accept, we want it and we will accept violent religions but we we we won't be tolerant of Christianity in our society anymore. Our battle is not to confront that. Our battle is to live from a different kingdom. We can't play along.
Darren Rouanzoin:We have to have faith. We just can't keep it private. They'll say, you can worship, just do it quietly. They'll say, you can pray but you can't proclaim. They'll say, you can follow Jesus, don't let it touch the public square.
Darren Rouanzoin:And Peter and John says something that we need to get into our bones in this generation. Judge for yourselves whether it's right in God's sight to listen to you or listen to God. This is not disrespecting authority. It's ordered obedience. God's authority is higher.
Darren Rouanzoin:Human commands directly contradict God's commission so obedience to God must win. We cannot help speak about what we have seen and heard. There are two ways Christians get domesticated. Through silence. Just don't say anything.
Darren Rouanzoin:Silence says, I love Jesus but I will not name him when it costs me. I love Jesus but keep my life comfortable. I love Jesus but you don't really need to know about him. And private faith. Private says, I follow him but only in ways that keep me safe, liked.
Darren Rouanzoin:And my life centered on my world. I follow Jesus but it can't cost me my reputation. I follow Jesus only where it leads to safety and security. Acts four exposes this temptation. And I would like to suggest that many of you here have lived a silent and private faith.
Darren Rouanzoin:You've obeyed the ancient gag order. And it's probably because of the fear you have around being rejected, being misunderstood, losing your influence or being labeled. And I just believe the Lord is calling us right now in the January back to Acts chapter one where Jesus says, You will be my witnesses. So here is, I got three things and then we are done and then we gonna baptize folks. Number one, I want to invite the church this Sunday to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Darren Rouanzoin:Hey, that's that is a humble act of dependence. We are dependent on the presence of God for all of our life. For our parenting, for our schooling, for being good friends, for being good spouses, for being a Christian. We need the Holy Spirit to fill us up. And, I wanna just say, if you have never received the Holy Spirit, I love to pray for you this this morning.
Darren Rouanzoin:I love to offer that to you that we love to pray for you. But, all the church, Ask God for more of his presence this year. Number two. Determine where you've been silent. At home, with your family, with your friends.
Darren Rouanzoin:Have you, like those secular scholars have said, compartmentalize your life? So if that's the case, name it. Repent and bring it to life. Last thing is take one step. Sorry, take one public step this week in your faith.
Darren Rouanzoin:That's a tough one. Have one conversation. One invitation. One prayer in front of your kids if you don't pray with your kids. One moment where you say Jesus is the reason because we are not called to be silent Christians.
Darren Rouanzoin:We're called to be and we're not called to be private Christians. We're called to be witnesses. So, I want us to become the kind of church that says, like Peter and John, we cannot help speak about what we have seen and heard. That's what we're after today. It's the kind of church that's unstoppable in the power of the spirit.
Darren Rouanzoin:Amen? Can we all stand together?
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