Acts 5:29
PROPOSITION: We must obey God rather than men.
OBJECTIVE: To lead in obedience to God.
This past Sunday, we celebrated Easter. We discussed this past Wednesday that of all the religious organizations in the world, only Christianity celebrates Easter. It is only the Christian that recognizes the resurrection as the focus event. It is only in a fellowship of believers, a gathering of His disciples, that the resurrection of the Lord is recognized and celebrated. And it is this point we bring to attention during this time between the resurrection and Pentecost.
Over the past month and a half, I asked to you give serious thought and prayer concerning your relationship with Jesus Christ. During the time of Lent, every one of us checked our spiritual attitude. I would suppose some were more serious than others; but regardless of your dedication during Lent, everyone did in fact experience an attitude check to their spiritual relationship with Jesus.
We experienced the journey of His passion. We ran and hid as He died upon the cross of crucifixion. We came together and peered into the tomb – and sure enough, it was empty. He is alive. He walks upon the terra firma. His feet wade in the water of the Jordan River. He eats the food of His followers. He is alive!
And the question now is ‘so what’? It is not a ‘so what’ that He is alive. It is not a ‘so what’ that the tomb was empty. It is not even a ‘so what’ that it was the women who were the first to witness this miracle of miracles. The ‘so what’ has to do with “so what are you going to do with the fact that He is alive, that the tomb is empty.” So what do you do with the risen Lord?
The reading from Acts is the result of Peter’s second sermon. It was following the first sermon that the religious leaders told him to go about his business, just don’t incite the people by preaching or teaching in His name.
Peter’s second sermon, exactly as the first, has him before the religious leaders again. And they say something like, ‘didn’t we tell you not to teach in that name?’ Peter must have said something like “Yep. That’s what you said.” I am sure the religious leaders were fit to be tied. They must have been thinking “I told you not to do that. And that is exactly what you did. Now, my friend, you will pay the consequence.’
But Peter went on to say something very important. Peter said in essence, ‘I must do what God tells me to do, rather than what men tell me to do.’ Peter was not telling them to go pound sand. He was not being ugly with the religious leaders. Peter was simply telling the people his ‘so what’ of Jesus.
Peter’s ‘so what’ is of vital importance to the church of the early 21st century. Peter said (and I paraphrase), “Yes you told me not to preach or teach in that name. That name, by the way, is Jesus. This same Jesus is the Son of God who told me to tend to His sheep. ‘So what’ if you told me not to teach in His name. He told me to tend His sheep, and by God’s good grace, the power of broken sin, the fact of the empty tomb, ‘so what’ I am going to do is what God tells me to do. ‘So what’ that you say otherwise. ‘So what’ if I must pay the consequences. So what I am going to do is that what God tells me to do.”
So what does the empty tomb mean to you? So what are you going to do with the risen Lord?
There are a lot of people that come to Easter and really get a bit time thrill over the Risen Lord. In His honor, large churches with big salary costs are built. In His Name, programs with all the ribbons and bows are instituted. So what did Jesus say to his followers? Did He say something like build large churches; institute major programs? Jesus said, “feed hungry; cloth the naked; give drink to the thirsty.’
There are a lot of people that come to Easter and get a major buzz over the Risen Lord. The first thing they do is go out and start a petition to get the 10 Commandments on all the walls of all the public schools. So what did Jesus say about the scripture? Jesus said that we are to write his words on your heart.
There are a lot of people that come to Easter and say that they are glad that another holiday is over. Then they plan for some other event. Jesus said for us not to be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will take care of itself. You only have today; rejoice and be glad in it.
So what! So what is God telling you to do?
Man will tell you to live an ethical life and you will be OK. Man will tell you to do good deeds and you will be loved. God tell you the first and most important thing in your life is to believe with all your heart that Jesus was raised from the dead. Repent, and in faith believe – and you will be saved. Peter said that he had to do what God was telling him to do, rather than do what man told him.
So what are you doing with Jesus? Have you done what God told you to do? Have you repented of your sin and placed your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? ‘So what’ if you haven’t; you are lost in your own sin. ‘So what’ if you face eternity totally separated from God the Father. ‘So what’ that you will slip from this life into an eternal hell of inextinguishable punishment. ‘So what’ are you doing with the Risen Lord?
One of the hardest of Christian disciplines is that of financial stewardship. There is nothing harder than to drop the money into the plate on the day you worship. So what the financial managers do is write the thick-paged books of simple words. So what they are quick to tell you that you should drop a cool 10% into the offering plate, and then invest 10% in your financial security.
So what does God tell you to do, rather than what man tells us to do.
It might be that God tells you to place only 5% into the offering. It might be that God tells you to place 55% into the offering. So what I don’t know is what God is telling you. So what I do know is that Peter told the religious leaders that he must do what God told him to do rather than man. So what you must do is listen to God – a novel idea – and then be obedient in your financial stewardship as God tells you. So what are you doing with Jesus, the Risen Lord?
Peter was doing what God told him to do when he was preaching and teaching. So what is God telling you to do? I doubt that God is telling anyone here to do nothing. If you believe that God is telling you to do nothing, I will suggest to you that the nothing is really the sincerity of your prayer life. Maybe God is telling you to be faithful in your contacting those absent from this meeting. God may be telling you to visit the sick. God may be telling you to sing in the choir. God may be leading you to teach a Sunday School class. So what God may be doing is leading you to commit your life to Him -–with no strings attached. So what are you doing with the Risen Lord?
‘So what’ are you doing with the Good News? Did you tell anyone this week that the tomb was empty? Several people asked me how was my Easter. I am not sure if they were concerned with my candy intake or what. I said “I went to the tomb of my Lord and it was empty, the Lord has risen. He is Alive! So what did you do with Easter?”
So what did God tell you to do with the news that the tomb is empty? The people with whom you associate will probably think you sorta goofy if you witness the fact that the Lord has Risen from the dead. But Peter said, “I must do what God tells me to do, and not of man.”
So what are you doing with Easter. Do you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Have you repented and in faith, accepted Him as Lord and Savior?
Are you faithful in service and stewardship as God leads you?
Are you the witness God expressly told all to be?
So what are you doing with Easter?
