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On Tuesday night, I walked into the historic St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church for the combined church prayer meeting. As we prayed, a relatively small group of us wandered around to different prayer stations in this very old, traditional, but remarkable church building with lofty ceilings. As the night went on, I had the privilege of hearing some of the older members pray for various aspects of the life of the church. But as some of them prayed, I got a bit nervous. As these faithful older men and women began to pray for the future of the church, I started to wonder: What is the future of the church? As I looked around the room, gazing at this beautiful but aging church building, I felt a bit unsettled about what’s next for the church.
In his book, Futureproof, Australian author Stephen McAlpine asks an important question: “How do we future-proof the church?”.1
As we witness the decline of church attendance, as volunteer rates continue to drop both inside and outside the church, as our work becomes more invasive of our time and our values, as radical gender theory infests our education systems, as social media continues to contribute to the division and deconstructing of the faith, and as our society remains either ambivalent or hostile toward the gospel-how do we future-proof the church?2 What will it take for the church to become resilient and (dare I say) courageous in the midst of opposition to the gospel? How do we prepare ourselves for whatever we’re facing now or in the future?
Well, that’s where Acts 4 comes in. As Theophilus and the early church face moments of persecution, rejection, and exclusion-Acts 4 would have been really helpful. As the future of the church was in question, seeing the apostles navigate opposition would have been an encouraging thing. It would have given these nervous believers certainty as they face their own challenges. It would have reminded them to be people who (1) hold their nerve by the power of the Spirit and to be people (2) who pray for their sovereign God to be at work. It would have reminded them, that at the end of the day, that any opposition is all part of God’s glorious plan.
This morning/evening, as we continue on from last week’s story, I think we’ll find this just as helpful. Luke gives us two really important ways to future-proof the church as we face opposition.
So, how do we future-proof the church? Well, first, we hold our nerve by the power of the Spirit. Now, I don’t know about you, but I find holding my nerve pretty hard.
Yesterday, I was in the city and I caught an Uber outside the front of Ann Street Presbyterian. As the Uber driver saw me walk from the church to the car, he asked me “How’s your day been?” “I said, pretty good-I’ve been at a church event today and tomorrow I’ve got another one”. Then he said, “Hey, I’ve got a question: What’s the difference between all the different types of Christianity? You know, Catholicism and Orthodox?” In that moment, I had no trouble detailing the events of the 3rd and 4th Century, followed by a detour during the period of the reformation in the 16th Century. No trouble at all! But when it came to actually telling this man to trust in the Lord Jesus, I chickened out! I said “well this is what I believe… ” I made the gospel seem optional, unimportant, kinda pithy. It can be hard to hold your nerve… can’t it? I was worried that I was going to offend, or that I was going to say the wrong thing, I think I just expected that this man was inevitably going to reject the gospel. I didn’t hold my nerve!
But here in these verses, we see people who do hold their nerve. It’s an encouraging sight!
1.1. The arrest (v1-4)
Following the restoration of the man who was once lame, the Apostle Peter addresses the crowd in the temple. As Peter speaks about the resurrection of Christ and everything that his resurrection establishes (like Jesus’ lordship, the blotting out of sins, refreshment through the Spirit, and the restoration of all things), the leaders of the temple “confront” him.3 They’re “annoyed”, ticked off, and disturbed.4 The “priests” (who helped perform sacrifices)5, the “captain of the temple guard” (who was the highest ranking priest after the high priest)6, and the Sadducees (who were an Israelite sect that denied the resurrection)7-they all confront Peter and John, seize them, and put them in jail.
1.2. The Trial (v5-12)
Then, the next day, Peter and John stand trial. The rulers, the elders, and the teachers of the law meet together in Jerusalem to form a court which was known as “the Sanhedrin” (cf. Acts 4:15). At the time, the Sanhedrin was a Jewish court made up of “seventy-one members” and whose authority “extended over the spiritual, political and legal affairs of all Jews”.8 As Peter and John soon discover, these Israelite big-wigs were not to be messed with. Among the seventy-one members was “Annas the high priest”, “Caiaphas” (his son-in-law), and others of Annas’ family such as “John and Alexander”. Men who were all in power when the Lord Jesus was crucified (cf. Luke 3:2). This is not going to be an easy trial. No, it was going to be an intimidating one.
As the court forms, Peter and John are brought before them. With seventy-one members surrounding them (in what would have been a U-Shape formation9), Peter and John are interrogated from every side. The rulers question them: “By what power did you do this?” “In what name did you perform this miracle?” “What’s the power? And who’s the source of it?”.10 The rulers are concerned with power and influence.11
But after the rulers question the apostles, Peter responds. As he is filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter boldly answers them. “Rulers… of the people” “If you want to know how we did this… ” If you want to know how we did this act of kindness (because that’s all this is!)… ” “If you want to know how this man was saved… ” “Then know this!” Know this! “It is by the name of Jesus Christ… that this man stands before you healed”. “It is by the name of Jesus Christ, who you crucified but who God raised from the dead, that this mean was healed!” “Jesus did this!” Remember Jesus? Jesus is “the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone”. It’s as Psalm 118 says! You we’re like builders on a job-site. You saw how precious this stone was, but you turfed it in the pile. You turfed it! You didn’t trust it, believe it, accept it. But God, God has made this precious stone the cornerstone, the thing that holds the building together. Don’t you get it! Jesus is the chosen cornerstone that we should trust! There is no other option, no other hope, no other name by which we can be saved. “Salvation is found in no one else”. The blotting out of sins? Refreshment through the dwelling of the Spirit? The restoration of all things? That’s only available for those who call upon the name of the Lord. Peter hold’s his nerve.
1.3. The Ruling (v13-22)
As the rulers see the courage of Peter and John, they’re astonished. Despite Peter and John being “unschooled” and “ordinary men” (men who weren’t trained in the expert ways of the Scribes and Pharisees), the members of the Sanhedrin are in awe. Peter and John are “speaking beyond their own human capacity”.12 Their speaking is not human-powered, but Spirit-powered. There is a boldness which comes, not from themselves, but from God. This boldness continues…
Whilst the rulers cannot deny the miracle that has taken place, they attempt to cancel and silence the apostles. They “warn them” “threaten them” “demand them” with all their human authority, “not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus”. But this boldness continues… the apostles hold their nerve. As Peter and John, before the entire seventy-one members, declare: “Which is right in God’s eyes: To listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard”. The apostles would not and could not “comply”.13 They declare to the Jewish rulers “I will obey God rather than you”.
Throughout his account, Luke shows Theophilus (and us) that the apostles hold their nerve. It’s a reminder: in whatever situation we face, we’re to hold our nerve as we speak about Jesus by the power of the Spirit.
I’m not too sure about how you feel about evangelism, but if I took a guess: I’d say that you wished it was easier. And it makes sense! It makes sense that we might want it easy. It makes sense that we don’t want to be “that guy” or “that girl” who awkwardly sticks our neck out for Jesus. If we could just create an event, invite our friends, and listen to a cool speaker-then “bang” Christian, that would be awesome!
But the problem is, speaking about Jesus will never be that easy. We will always have our insecurities, our doubts, and our fears… We will almost always wish we could have said it better, or taken this or that opportunity, or said things more convincingly… … But, the good news is that God fills us with his Spirit. If you feel “ordinary”, if you feel “unschooled”, if you feel a bit weak when it comes to holding your nerve for Jesus-it’s okay. You’re not alone. God gives his Spirit.
The divine Spirit is the one who helps us take the risk. The divine Spirit is the one who helps us hold our nerve. Throughout his account, Luke shows Theophilus (and us) that the community of believers are always given divine help to hold their nerve.
God will always give his people divine help to hold their nerve.
So, hold your nerve. Entrust yourself to the divine Spirit who gives boldness. By the Spirit, double down. Double down on the message of Jesus. Double down on speaking about the ascended Christ.
How do we future-proof the church? We hold our nerve by the Spirit.
But how else do we future-proof the church? Well, we also pray. We unite together in prayer to our sovereign Lord .
When I was studying at the Queensland Theological College, I distinctly remember one moment in our world-missions class where we were asked “What is essential to the spread of the gospel?” Many of us went around the group and said “Evangelism” “Preaching” “Teaching”. But when it came to one the dear old missionaries in our group, she said: “No, it’s prayer”. We all had stunned looks on our faces. Prayer? Really? Surely not!
Well, the more I’ve been reading this part of Acts, the more I think that that missionary was right.
2.1. The report (v23)
Following their release, Peter and John go back “to their own people”. As they return to the community of believers, Peter and John tell them everything. They report back on everything that “the chief priests and the elders had said to them” (Acts 4:23). After hearing the report, notice what the community does… They “raised their voices together in prayer to God” (Acts 4:24). The people’s hearts are united and aligned, praying together for the same thing. There is a “togetherness” in prayer (cf. Acts 1:14; Acts 4:24), as if they’re praying “with one voice”.14
2.2. The Praise (v23)
The community’s prayer begins with praise. Following their rejection and persecution, the community acknowledges God’s rule over all things.15 They begin the prayer with a formal introduction: “Sovereign Lord” or more literally “Master”.16 Then, they describe how God is the “Master” over creation.17 By quoting Psalm 146:6, God is praised as the one who has “made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them”. The community praises God, he is the master over creation.
Then, they describe how God is the “Master” over history.18 By directly quoting Psalm 2:1-2 (a psalm written by King David), the community praises God as the one who reigns over all human events, even the nasty ones. The persecution that King David experienced (and recorded in Psalm 2) is a prefiguring of the persecution that Jesus’ suffered. Just as “the nations raged” and “the rulers banded together against the Lord and his anointed one” in the time of David, so also at the time of Jesus. When Herod, Pontius Pilate, the nations (Rome), and even the people Israel conspired against Jesus (God’s new David)-this was all part of God’s plan.19 They did “what God had decided beforehand”. The community praises God, he is the master over human history. Despite rejection, persecution, or opposition-God is always in control.
The community’s prayer begins with praise to the God who reigns over all things.
2.3. The Supplication (v29-30)
Following their praise for God, the community’s prayer ends with supplication. They ask God for stuff. Take a look at what they pray for…
The community prays that the Lord would “consider their threats” (Acts 4:29a). They don’t pray for vindication… They don’t pray for the removal of their enemies… No, they ask God to “take note”. To take note of the threats that the rulers have made.20 Lord, pay attention! Lord, take note! Lord, continue to control these events! They ask God to take note-to consider their threats.
Then, the community also prays that the Lord would loosen their lips. That God would enable them “to speak [the] word with great boldness” (Acts 4:29b). That God would give the community the courage and freedom to proclaim the gospel in the face of opposition.21 Lord, fill us with your Spirit. Lord, give us Spirit-courage. Lord, grant us Spirit-boldness. Lord, we’re scared, so enable us to speak your word freely! They ask God to enable them to speak the gospel boldly-to loosen their lips.
Finally, the community also prays that the Lord would “stretch out his hand” (Acts 4:30). Throughout the Old Testament, the Lord’s “hand” was often spoken about, especially throughout the time of Moses in the book of Exodus. The Lord would “stretch out his hand” to perform wonders and signs amongst the Egyptians to authenticate Moses’ ministry and to bring restoration to Israel (cf. Exodus 3:20; 6:6; 6:8; 7:5). Throughout the book of Acts, the Lord stretches out his hand once more to do a similar thing. The Lord heals and performs signs and wonders in the name of Jesus, to authenticate the apostles’ ministry and to bring about restoration in the gospel. The Lord’s miracles act as one big neon sign: “Christ has ascended!” “Restoration is found in the apostles’ message” “So listen!”. The community prays “stretch out your hand”.
2.4. God’s response (v31)
After the people pray, the Lord responds.
The place where they were gathered together “was shaken”. Suddenly, there is a rumbling, a shaking, a trembling within the ground. The transcendent God becomes imminent, much like the past at Sinai (cf. Exodus 19:18).22 God is present amongst this community. And as the place shakes, the people are filled. The apostles, and all those with them, are “filled with the Holy Spirit”. They’re given more of the Spirit’s power. More of the Spirit’s energy to speak the word of God with boldness.
Throughout this account, Luke shows Theophilus (and us) that the church is to be a community of prayer. As we face all manner of threats, rejection, and opposition, we are to be people who come together and pray.
This morning/evening, I’m going to be a little honest. I think we really need to work on this. When we’re faced with crisis, opposition, or rejection-we need to actually pray together. Our leaders (myself included) need to lead you (the congregation) in prayer-so that we can pray with one heart and mind. We need session, staff, and the committee leading the congregation in prayer so that we can praise our God and ask him to be at work in the midst of our situation.
And, we the congregation (myself included) need to be more concerned about praying in crisis than about complaining, grumbling, or spreading the goss’. We need each one of us to be pursuing prayer so that our God might work amongst us. We need to ask each other “how can I be praying… ?” instead of “what’s the go with… ?” or “did you hear that… ?”. Our response to crisis, rejection, or opposition in the church should be to approach our sovereign Lord in prayer.
Throughout the book of Acts, Luke shows Theophilus (and us) that prayer is central to the life of the church.
Throughout each page of Acts, there is no instruction to pray or command to pray, but there is a beautiful portrait of the church who is regularly engaged in prayer.23 The community is praying constantly, whether that’s in houses, on-roof tops, in the face opposition and death, or in the temple at the regular hours of the day.24 You see “prayer was the convincing mark of spiritual life”; “prayer was a way of life”; “prayer was a top priority”; “prayer changed things”; “prayer led to spiritual power and boldness” “prayer led to visions and experiences of gospel expansion and fruitfulness”.25 Prayer was “the doorway” to signs, wonders, and the spread of the gospel.26
So, let’s be people who pray to our Sovereign Master who is in control of all things.
So, how do we future-proof the church? What will it take for the church to become resilient and courageous in the midst of opposition to the gospel? Well, Acts 4 gives us just two things: we hold our nerve and we pray.
So this morning/evening, I wonder… I wonder what the future of the church will look like? I wonder what the future of our church will look like? Well, maybe we can dream and hope together:
I hope for a community that remains steadfast in the gospel. We “double down on things that we know are true”. We cultivate resilient churches. We pursue a church life “that takes forgiveness seriously in a cancel culture”… “practices deep community as more and more people live alone”… “offers costly generosity in an era that worships self-care”… “and discerns how to navigate a culture given over to self-gratification”.27 The divine Spirit is so present that our kids hold their nerve at school, they’re so well discipled by their parents that they know the difference between the good and the bad. The youth confidently hold their ground amongst their peers, they’re not afraid to disagree or offend or speak the truth of the gospel. The divine Spirit is so present that we all embrace the awkward, and speak of the name of Jesus. The hand of the Lord is so powerful amongst us that we boldly speak the name of Jesus, get rejected, but then pray, and get back up again. We’re a community of prayer. We depend on the Lord! We pray in small groups, large groups, one to one, in the family at home and together at church. We praise him, we delight in him, we trust in his rule and control. We ask him to give us boldness. We don’t fear, we hold our ground because we know that our Lord and God rules over all things. Nothing can stop the gospel going to the ends of the earth.
What a future that would be! A future-proof church because of our great and glorious God at work in, through, and for us.
In the early twentieth-century, missionary James O. Fraser abandoned a promising career and went to China. He was the first to take the Gospel to the pagan Chinese of Lisuland. The Lisu are an immense, formerly unreached people group, originally located several hundred miles west of Wuhan. Eileen Crossman (Fraser’s Daughter) wrote his biography, Mountain Rain, to encourage us to be people who live bold and prayerful lives. This morning/this evening, I want to leave you with these wonderful words from James O Fraser. He wrote this:
“I find myself able to do little or nothing apart from God’s going before me and working among (the Lisu people). Without this I feel like a man who grounded his boat in shallow water. Pull or push as he may, he is not able to make his boat move more than a few inches. But when he lets the tide come in and lift his boat off the bottom-then he is able to move it as far as he pleases, quite easily and without friction. It is indeed necessary for me to go around among our Lisu-preaching, teaching, exhorting, rebuking… … but the amount of progress made thereby depends almost entirely on the state of the spiritual tide in the village-a condition which only we can control upon our knees.”.28
1 McAlpine, Futureproof: How to Live for Jesus in a Culture that Keeps on Changing, Chapter 1.
3 Louw and Nida, 499.
4 BDAG, 235.
5 Peterson, Acts of the Apostles, 186.
6 Peterson, Acts of the Apostles, 186.
7 Peterson, Acts of the Apostles, 186.
8 Twelftree, Dictionary of New Testament Background, 1063.
9 Twelftree, Dictionary of New Testament Background, 1063.
10 Peterson, Acts of the Apostles, 188.
11 Peterson, Acts of the Apostles, 188.
12 Tannehill, The Narrative Unity of Luke-Acts, 62.
13 Peterson, Acts of the Apostles, 194.
14 Peterson, Acts of the Apostles, 197,
15 Peterson, Acts of the Apostles, 197.
16 BDAG, 220.
17 Wahlde, The Theological Assessment of the First Christian Persecution: The Apostles’ Prayer and Its Consequences, 526.
18 Wahlde, The Theological Assessment of the First Christian Persecution: The Apostles’ Prayer and Its Consequences, 526-527.
19 Wahlde, The Theological Assessment of the First Christian Persecution: The Apostles’ Prayer and Its Consequences, 526.
20 Peterson, Acts of the Apostles, 200.
21 Peterson, Acts of the Apostles, 200.
22 Peterson, Acts of the Apostles, 201.
23 O’Brien, Prayer in Luke-Acts, 123.
24 O’Brien, Prayer in Luke-Acts, 123.
25 Green, Thirty Years that Changed the World, 273.
26 Green, Thirty Years that Changed the World, 273.
28 Crossman, Mountain Rain: Biography of James O. Fraser, 148.
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