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Food for Thought: Stand Up, Stand Up For Jesus (If you don't maybe no one else will)

April 15 , 2007

Dr. Mark Ruppert

Acts 5:27-32

Think for a moment with me- when was the last time you got into trouble?  Was it years ago when you were in school?  I remember when I was in grade school getting paddled by Mr. Peterson, the gym teacher.  For the life of me I can’t remember what I did.  I do remember feeling awful and worried that I was going to get it when I got home.  The last time you got into trouble was it more recently because of something you said or didn’t say, did or didn’t do?  Now stop and think for a moment- even though you got into trouble were you in the right or were you wrong and you got caught? 

When I was in seminary one summer I served as a prison chaplain at the Luther Luckett Correctional Complex in LaGrange, Kentucky.  Whenever I would meet with prisoners for a counseling session more times than naught the reason they were in the “tank” was because they got set up and it was the other guy’s fault.  The trouble was their record sheet read like a litany of a lot of “other people’s mistakes, not theirs, interesting…. 

In this morning’s scripture passage we read of the second arrest of the apostles of Jesus.  We read about the first arrest in Acts, chapter 4 by the priests, the superintendent of the Temple and the Sadducees.   But in our passage the apostles had been ordered by the religious leaders, the Sanhedrin, to refrain from teaching in the name of Jesus and these apostles had publicly disregarded their orders.  There were two issues that the Sanhedrin had with these followers of Jesus.  One, these followers of Jesus were seen as heretics for they were teaching in the name of Jesus and proclaiming, through Jesus, a resurrection of the dead.  And two, they were disturbing the peace, for they were stirring up the people. 

Just like today, back in New Testament times, Palestine was always a turbulent country and if this band who followed Jesus were not kept in check there might be an uprising of the people which was the last thing the religious leaders wanted to see happen because it would bring the wrath of the occupying Romans down upon them. 

Now if you read Acts 5:17-26 you will find that the apostles had been in prison for the second time but verse 19 tells us that, “during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors, brought them out, and said, ‘Go, stand in the temple and tell the people the whole message about this life.’  When they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and went on with their teaching.”  And if you read further the temple police went and arrested them, brought them back before the council, and now the high priest is chastising them when we pick up our passage today. 

Beginning at verse 27 we read where the high priest questioned them, saying, “we gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you are determined to bring this man’s blood on us.”  And that is when Peter and the apostles make a very bold statement that emphasized three important points.  But before we get to those three points, let me ask you, if you were sharing your faith with someone else and someone overheard what you were saying and, all of a sudden, threatened to kill you for talking about God, would you keep silent or keep on talking?  But there is a catch, you feel that God is challenging you, no, He is inspiring you to share in Christ’s name but there is this person who wants to shut you up.  As a matter of fact, this person that seeks to quiet you is a person with authority.  So this authority figure tells you to be quiet and God says, “speak out.”  You can’t do both, you have to choose.  That is the dilemma when humans tell us to do one thing and God tells us to do the opposite.  What is the right thing to do- go with the crowd to fit in or stand out and stand up for Christ and what is right?  Do we stand up, stand up for Jesus or do we sit down?  Have you ever had to make a choice for Christ?  Maybe not threatened to keep quiet for Christ with the fear of death looming over your head but I think you get the picture.  Are we willing to be bold with our faith or are we silent?  This is the choice the apostles were left with and which side did they choose?  What would have been your choice that day?  The apostles know their priorities, do we?  Is Christ a top priority in our lives or not?  There are, there will be times in our lives when we cannot obey both God and people.  And that brings me to our first point as we look at this story.  First, do we obey God or people?  One of the things that keeps raising its ugly head in the church today is Biblical authority.  And one of the things that concerns me is when I hear people in the church who are debating a particular issue or problem will say things like, “I feel, I feel such and such or so and so.”  I remember discussing a hotly debated church issue with a person in the church who kept coming back to “I feel” and my question was, on what authority do you base your feeling?  Never once did they mention scripture.  And then my response was, if we are going to discuss this from a Christian perspective then you need to go to the scriptures, research the Word of God and then lets continue our discussion.  But we better be able to discuss, debate this issue from a Biblical perspective or then we are letting the world, the culture, or society set the norm, the standard, and then we are in big trouble because we are prone to every win of society.  Friends, Jesus, His word, the Word of God is offensive to many people in this world so we better know under who’s authority we stand, God or people?

Those first apostles where told by the religious leaders of the day to be silent and stop preaching the Good News or they would suffer.  Were they afraid, were they scared?  Maybe for a moment, but they worked through it all and when push came to shove they were not intimidated.  They were so sold, they were so convicted, compelled and consumed by the power and the truth of the Gospel that they saw it as a privilege to suffer for the sake of Jesus.  They were people of courage and principle.  They did what God told them to do and God came first and foremost, no matter what the cost?   Do we feel the same? 

Second, Do we believe that Jesus is God’s Messiah and do we believe He is alive?  Last Sunday, many of us were in this very sanctuary celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  And if you were with us last week at the beginning of the sermon I asked the question: “So what?”  So what that it is Easter and people claim Jesus rose from the dead? 

So what, if it doesn’t change us, transform us, make us people of “The Book”, people who are seeking to truly be a disciple of Jesus Christ, not just on Easter, not just on Sunday but every day of the week; 24/7, 365 days a year, for the rest of our lives.  There must be a connection to what we say we believe and what we do, or it means absolutely nothing.  Nothing.  Those apostles believed that Jesus was the Messiah, that He was alive, that He was the Savior of the world, the Lord of their lives and they told others and they acted on it.  How about us?  Are we seeking to grow and mature in our faith, are we seeking to get into this book on a daily basis and apply it to our lives or?  I mean, do we really believe this stuff or do we just go through the motions out of some sense of duty, to what?  I don’t know.  Maybe duty, or because it was somehow expected and we don’t want to disappoint someone, even if they are dead?  Is Jesus not only Savior but Lord of our lives?

The lives of those first apostles was an adventure, to say the least, and they boldly lived out that adventure to its fullest.  Are we living out the adventurous call of Christ in our own lives?

Jesus said to His disciples, “Follow me.”  Jesus says to us, “Follow me.”  What does that mean to you?  What do you think it should look like?  This call to His disciples back then is no different than His call to us today and this call does not, let me repeat it does not limit itself to just one hour plus a week on Sunday mornings in a sanctuary.  There is a huge difference between someone calling him or herself a Christian and really being a disciple of Christ.  What’s the difference?  Well it is found in living a committed, sold-out life for Christ and that it requires one four letter word.  And that word is RISK.  And one of risk that we need to make in following Christ is what His first followers were willing to do and that is change priorities.  It is putting Him before me, before you. 

It is getting real with God and being honest that our discipleship is not what it should be and it is making time for Him daily in the Word and in prayer, it is getting real with our lack of Biblical knowledge and doing something about it either through a class or getting together with someone or others to study and learn, it is seeking to fall deeper and deeper in love with Jesus and getting real with Him and taking off the mask.  We have to look deep within ourselves and be honest and repent and tell Him we want to learn how to love Him more than self or things.  It’s surrendering to Him and not saying, “Yes, Lord, I want you to save me from my sins, but I don’t want to give them over to you, at least not yet.” 

During the Revolutionary War, George Washington had an abundance of soldiers to fight during the summer.  But when winter came, with rations in short supply and blankets few and far between, soldiers began to slip silently away from camp to return to their warm homes.  After experiencing this, George Washington publicly said that he could not win a war with “summer soldiers.”  God doesn’t want “summer Christians” because, well it just will not get done and Christ and His church will suffer tremendous defeats.  God wants dedicated disciples, period.

And third, do we know and believe that Christ lives in us?  The Apostle Paul, writing to the Galatians said in Galatians 2:20, “and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”  That is what gave those early apostles the strength, the where-with-all, the determination, the hut spa to keep on going, to stand up in the midst of adversity and tell the message to those who would seek to literally kill.  They not only believed, they acted fearlessly because it was true.  The message was true, Christ was true, and they had a purpose- to tell the world about the Savior of the World. 

If we are His disciples, Christ lives within us.  If He has made a difference in your life say YES.  If He has touched your life say YES.  If you are committed to Him say YES.  If you truly are His disciple then you need to not only say YES you need to do try something.  You need to, “Stand Up, Stand Up For Jesus” and tell at least one person this week what He has done for you.  In a conversation with a friend or co-worker or whomever you have more than a quick “Hello” and “Goodbye” with just say something like, “God has really blessed me this week” and tell then how and see what happens.  Look for opportunities to share with someone how God has recently touched your life and ask the other person if they have ever had a similar experience.  If not, that’s OK but at least you got out of the batter’s box and are starting down to first base. 

Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary defines a disciple as “one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another; a convinced adherent of a school or individual.” If we are His then we need to Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus.  Amen.

Key Points

Introduction: When was the last time you got into trouble?

In this morning’s passage we read of the second arrest of the apostles

        The Sanhedrin had two issues with the followers of Jesus

                One, they were seen as _________

                    Two, they were disturbing the _______

Acts 16:17-26

Would you speak out or remain silent?

Three important points in this story

        First, do we obey God or people?

                    What is our authority?

          Second, do we believe that Jesus is God’s ________ and

          do we believe He is alive?

There must be a connection between what we say we believe and what we do

Living a committed, sold-out life for Christ requires one four letter word- _ _ _ _

         Third, do we know and believe that Christ lives in ___?

The dictionary defines a disciple as …

Conclusion: If we are His then we need to STAND UP, STAND UP FOR JESUS

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)