Trent Moody's sermon titled 'The Results of Bold Prayers' focuses on the impact of bold prayers within the context of Acts chapter 5. Moody emphasizes that although the passage did not explicitly mention prayers, the context from earlier chapters, especially Acts 4:29, shows that the apostles prayed for boldness to speak God's word and for signs and wonders to be done in Jesus' name. He underscores that the apostles’ actions, empowered by the Holy Spirit, led to many signs and wonders among the people, resulting in the healing of the sick and the casting out of unclean spirits. The apostles' boldness and the miracles they performed drew both reverence and fear from the unbelievers, while believers were increasingly added to the Lord. However, the religious leaders, particularly the high priests and Sadducees, were filled with indignation and imprisoned the apostles. Despite the opposition, an angel of the Lord freed the apostles, who then returned to the temple to continue preaching. Moody concludes that believers should pray bold prayers, expect opposition, and trust in God's deliverance while continuing to preach the gospel.

Thank you, brother. Acts chapter 5, we will begin reading in verse 12, and we will read down through verse 21. Acts chapter 5, verse 12. Thus says the word of the Lord, And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people, And they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch. Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly.

And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed. And then the high priest rose up and all those who were with him, which is the sect of the Sadducees, and they were filled with indignation and laid their hands on the Apostles and put them in the common prison. But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out and said, Go stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life. And when they heard that they entered the temple early in the morning and taught.

But the high priest and those with him came and called the council together with all the elders of the children of Israel and sent to the prison to have them brought." Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, we are so thankful that you have brought us before your word today. Lord, you have chosen this passage for us that we would hear all the words of this life. Lord, we don't want to leave one word, not one jot or tittle. Do we want to fall to the ground we want to receive all of it Lord and I pray today that you would fill us with joy and eagerness Lord to hear the words of the Living God and we ask it in Jesus name amen you may be seated This morning I would like to speak to you on this theme the results of bold prayers.

The results of bold prayers. Now you say in this passage there wasn't any praying taking place. Well we're in a context here. We're not going to take this passage out of a context. We want to see it within the context of the Word of God.

In the gospel of John chapter 14 Our Lord said, most assuredly I say to you, he who believes in me the works that I do, he will do also. And greater works than these he will do because I go to my Father. And whatever you ask in my name, that I will do. And the Father may be glorified, that the Father may be glorified in the Son if you ask anything in my name I will do it. One of the main points that we must not lose sight of is the fact that what we are reading this morning, as I said, is placed within a context.

The context here is not only chapter 5, but also it flows backwards and forward, backwards into chapter 4, right to the beginning of the book. But very specifically, the book of Acts is given to us for a great testimony of the powerful working of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the early church, in the lives of the apostles, in the lives of the disciples, and all of these manifold and multiple new believers who are coming into the church and it's really astounding. But turn back with me in Acts chapter 4 to grab this context and it's written there in your outline I believe as well but Acts chapter 4 verse 29 and this really is the beginning and really what I want to catch our attention as we consider the results of bold prayers. Luke writes in Acts 4, 29, Now, Lord, look on their threats and grant to your servants that with all boldness they may speak your word by stretching out your hand to heal and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of your holy servant, Jesus." I just want to point out to you the passage that I read in John, chapter 14 of Jesus, telling his disciples that if they would ask anything in his name that he would do it and that if they would believe that the works that he saw them do, they also would do works like these and even, he said, greater works than these.

I believe greater in one sense because he has ascended to the Father and he has brought and given us the Holy Spirit of God as we read in Acts chapter 1 and in chapter 2, the coming of the Holy Spirit of God to fill believers with the Holy Spirit and empower the believers to do mighty things in the name of Jesus Christ. And because of that, we see the disciples and the apostles praying these very powerful and bold words. Listen again, now Lord look on their threats and grant to your servants that with all boldness they may speak your word." We see this being accomplished in the life of the early church and in the book of Acts that we have been looking at in the last months. And then we also see them, they pray this, by stretching out your hand to heal and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of your holy servant. There it is, it's all right there.

He's asking for, They are asking for boldness to proclaim the word of God. They are asking that signs and wonders and that healing would be done. And they're asking it to be done in the name of Jesus Christ. And that's what Jesus said in John 14, that they would do these things that were even greater. They would do like miracles and greater because He has gone to the Father and because He has given them the Holy Spirit.

And so the first thing that I want us to notice in chapter 5 and verse 12 is this spirit-empowered works of the apostles. This is not a work of an ordinary man or a group of ordinary men. This is the work of the Holy Spirit of God through men who have dedicated their lives to the service of the Lord. These are the men who walked with the Lord Jesus Christ. They had seen the miracles that he had done.

They had seen a dead man raised to life. They had seen eyes that were blinded that were now open. They had seen people who were sick be healed. They had seen the lepers cleansed and they understood the power of God. They did not doubt the power of God although they did have some timidity early on.

They did not have the power of the Holy Spirit within them. But now in the book of Acts, we see a boldness come upon these men to do Spirit-empowered work. There was spirit-empowered work that was being accomplished. We read in verse 12, and through the hands of the apostles, many signs and wonders were done among the people. The Apostles worked these signs and wonders as I said through the working and through the power of the Holy Spirit and this was an answer to a very bold prayer.

They had prayed that God would do this. Brothers and sisters something that I'm often convicted about in my own personal life and in the life of the church, not just this one, but universally, is that our prayers do not match the power and the authority of God. The power and the authority of God is this. It is limitless. He can do all things.

Is there anything too difficult for God? Can you imagine these apostles gathering together? They had walked with Jesus. They had seen what He had done. And now in the book of Acts they're praying this, Lord do this great and mighty work.

Number one give us boldness to speak and to preach your word and Lord that you would heal people, that you would do signs and wonders so that the Word of God would be validated, so that they would know that this word that we proclaim is from you. I preached a sermon back in January, on January 21st of this year regarding the signs and wonders. So I'm not going to rehearse that entire sermon this morning, but I want us to just suffice to say that the apostles worked signs and wonders. They were real signs and wonders. They were things that were unexplainable any other way than that the power of God did it.

And there were people who were healed, who were truly healed, by the working of the Holy Spirit through the Apostles. But what we have here in many other occasions, and in many other occasions in the book of Acts is a powerful working of the Holy Spirit through the lives of the Apostles and even some of the other leaders in the church to do mighty works of healing from physical affirmaties but also deliverances as we see in our text this morning from evil spirits that had tormented people which would work to validate the message of the gospel. This is proven out over and over again. Notice back in chapter 4 and verse 29, they are praying that the Lord would grant his servants that with all boldness they may speak your word by stretching out your hand to heal. There was a connection there between these two things.

The primary thing being that they needed the word of God. They needed all of the word of God, as our brother read this morning in his passage and that we find here in chapter five that the angel commanded the apostles, go and speak all the words of the Lord of this life. And so what we find here before us is this great outpouring of the workings of the Spirit of God in the power of God through the men of God. And verse 12 is in fact I want to present to you the fulfillment and the answer to these prayers prayed. The disciples understood the connection between these miracles and the preaching of the word of God and they understood it and they saw it to be that which God had granted to answer their request.

They prayed in the name of Jesus and God was willing to grant that request because it was according to the will of God. We are to pray according to the will of God. I'm not presenting here this morning a name it and claim it that you just proclaim anything that you want and if you just put the little hashtag Jesus Christ on the end that somehow or another it's going to grant you the thing in which you asked for. But I want you to understand that they were praying in accordance with the will of God. They understood the will of God because they understood the Word of God, because of the power and the clarity of the Spirit of God that he gave them in the Word of God.

So we have here this opportunity and this validation that the Word would be proclaimed in a very powerful way. One commentator notes that the healings are fulfilling the role as authentications of the Apostles preaching. Particularly it is a this primary claim that Jesus Christ is the Messiah and Lord. It was proving to the religious leaders, it was proving to the disciples, it was proving to the crowds that the message that they preached was by the power of the Living God. It was undeniable.

That's why the crowds were gathering around. It could not be denied. Even those who did not even receive it and still were trying to stamp it out said they could not deny that a mighty work had been done, that a miracle had been done, that this lame man had come who had been lame from the time of birth had walked into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God and they could not deny it. And that was showing that the very words that the apostles were preaching was the very word of God. Notice what we have in Acts chapter 1.

We must remember that the commission that Christ gave the disciples was this, but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. The main point is that the power received by the Holy Spirit was for the purpose of being the witnesses of Christ that Christ had told them that they would be and the Holy Spirit would enable them with boldness and with the miracles that he gave them, great opportunity to preach the gospel in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now Luke notes the continuing unity here that this produced among the disciples and among the believers. Look in verse 12, and through the hands of the Apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch. This is not the first time we've seen language like this.

We've seen it before and we're going to see it again in the book of Acts, that there was a unity among the body of Christ. This also was an answer to prayer. Do you remember Jesus himself praying, Father, that they may be one as we are one. And there was this unity that was being worked in the early church specifically and in this group of people that among the apostles and these disciples and the rest that were pouring into the church. And they were of one accord in Solomon's porch.

It's interesting that they say that because if you'll remember, let's don't forget the context, this passage of scripture comes right on the heels of the judgment that was brought down upon Ananias and Sapphira. It's really amazing here. It seems to lead us to believe that there was no murmuring and disputing among the believers regarding this stark judgment that God had brought. But in fact there was a unity, they were with one accord, they understood it to be the righteous judgment of God. It's something that is very uncommon in our day is when we we see a judgment, we can't see it quite as clearly as this because we have the Word of God telling us that God did this but when we see things in in our circumstance in our day of judgments of God that there is great confusion the great contradiction about what is taking place and we don't understand all that's going on but not here.

Here there is great unity and the people are with one accord. They understand. Listen to what Matthew Henry says. He says, they were there with one accord, unanimous in their doctrine, in their worship, and in their discipline. And there was no discontented or murmuring about the death of Ananias and Sapphira.

The separation of the hypocrites by distinguishing judgments should make the sincere cleave so much the closer to each other and to the gospel ministry. This is so true. It actually works to bring us together when there are judgments. It actually produces in us a godly fear of what God is doing. Why would anyone continue in such a group where such fearful judgments had just been meted out if God was not granting such unity of the Spirit and singleness of heart and purpose?

It's unexplainable really any other way than that this is a work of the unifying spirit of the Living God. It doesn't make sense in my mind any other way. Who would want to join a group where such fearful judgments are meted out unless the Spirit of God is the unifying factor. He had brought them together. We see that among this crowd there were certain results that worked out.

I say the crowd is described both by being believers and by being unbelievers. Look with me in verse 13, yet none of the rest dared join them. That's a true statement. Have you ever seen things like that happen? Something fearful has taking place.

We even see it in the scriptures, some fearful thing takes place like this and even though there is, as it says, the people highly esteemed them, even though there was a reverential fear, there was no desire to join. I can't deny something amazing is happening over there and wow, but I don't really want to be so close enough to be a part of it. And that's really what we have here. These people here, they didn't dare join. Though they esteemed them highly, I believe that this group specifically are unbelievers who had not necessarily strongly antagonistic, but those who had somewhat of a respect for the Church of the Living God, for Jesus Christ and for his people.

But yet there was still not true belief. They were witnessing these unusual signs and wonders. One commentator said, These unbelievers had respect for the followers of Jesus, but feared the deadly potential of joining them. I like what I see, but I'm not ready to join what I see. I don't want to get too close, lest I be found to be a hypocrite.

And the same judgment come upon me. So these unbelievers, they did not join the Christians, But as in verse 14 says, the believers did. You have this separation here. You have those who dared not join. But look in verse 14.

And believers were increasingly added to the Lord. I would like to say this was exponential growth. It wasn't just a few trickling in here and there. It wasn't one baptism and maybe three or four being baptized. This was hundreds and we read earlier there were thousands of people coming to the church.

There were thousands of people coming in and being baptized and these believers and believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes, multitudes of both men and women. And so we have these two different responses to the signs and the wonders and these miracles that were taking place. In one sense you had, I don't think so, I'll watch from over here. And then you had others that could not resist. They wanted to be there.

They knew God was there and that's where they wanted to be. Why? Because again remember there's this unity of the Holy Spirit and now you have the working of the Holy Spirit in the hearts and lives of these people and they must be there. Casting all of the fearful consequences of judgment, I must be with God's people. You know, I've known people like this in my life that They have respect for the church, they have respect for certain aspects of righteous living, they had respect for preachers, they had respect for the Word of God, but not enough respect to join a church and to live amongst us.

And I know that you know people like that as well. That's how I would describe these people in verse 13. And you who are here this morning, at least most of you I truly believe are verse 14. Multitudes of both men and women, I'm looking out this morning, I see multitudes of both men and women who have gathered to be a part of God's people, who have gathered to come and hear the Word of God proclaimed. There were multitudes of men and women.

You see, while the Unbelievers stayed away due to fear of the consequences of sin. There were multitudes who heard the gospel witness gladly and believed and joined the church, " MacArthur says. They were wholeheartedly embracing the things of the Lord. So the Lord was bringing both multitudes of men and women into the church and this brothers and sisters this was an unusual thing that was taking place especially among the Jews. It was not normal that women were involved in the religious services and activities of the church.

And I want you to understand women were always named among being the disciples of our Lord. In fact a woman was given the great honor of being one of the very first to see the Lord the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ. And so Christianity has done more to bring the female sex into close communion with God than at any other time throughout all of history. The gospel brings women into the kingdom as well as men. Galatians, Paul writes this, he says there's neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

You see Christianity again has done more for the female sex than all the world religions combined, especially feminism. The result of this mighty working of God though in saving souls was that many brought their sick. We see this in verse 15. They brought their sick to be at least near this divine outpouring of grace and mercy. Verse 15, so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them.

I'm not sure who exactly they are. Is it the new believers who had come in? Or was it just the people in general? It doesn't really matter. But I know this, Others were bringing crippled people.

They were bringing people to be healed. They saw what was happening and they wanted their loved ones to be healed. They laid them out into the streets. Why? Because they wouldn't be allowed into the temple.

You can't bring a lame person into the temple. It would defile the temple. But not into the church of the living God Jesus Christ broke that down he he takes the lame and the weak and the blind and he takes us doesn't he and he cleanses us and he makes us worthy through his blood that we can actually approach to the very throne room of God when he commands us come boldly to the throne of grace. That is the glorious truth of the gospel. And so here they were, they were bringing these sick people in and they were laying them on beds and couches and they were desiring that their loved ones would be healed.

These sick were brought out because they were not permitted in the temple. Can you imagine? Jesus loved to upset the apple cart of the Pharisees and the Sadducees by often healing someone on the Sabbath. And he would condemn them because they had more compassion on their animal that might have been falling into a ditch. They had more compassion to feed their animal on the Sabbath than they did to actually see people healed on the Sabbath.

But not with Jesus and not with his disciples. There was great compassion and great love. And it was an outpouring of the grace of God. And so what we have here, I don't know if it's meant here that regarding Peter's shadow passing by that it might fall, I don't know if this meant that his shadow actually did bring healing among them or was it just that people believed it would, and we're not really specifically told that they were healed because of the shadow, we just know simply that they were healed. And so there were many superstitions about these type things, and even we see that the woman with the issue of blood came up just to touch the garment of Jesus and she was healed.

And so they had an understanding that just to get close to someone that had the ability to heal them that they would draw near to them and whether by hand or shadow or simply by the word they were healed it matters not by the power of the living God they were healed and it was doing a mighty effect among the people and and there was an effect that was going out These are the results of bold prayer of the early church. They did great signs and wonders. They did miracles. The extent of these unusual signs and wonders were that these people were being healed. And the news of this, it spread quickly.

It's surrounded actually into the surrounding cities so that they, in verse 16, we see also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem. I believe this is also a fulfillment of what Jesus was speaking of in Acts chapter 1 verse 8 when he says not only in Jerusalem but in Judea. That the surrounding cities here, they were getting word and they were hearing of the miracles, they were hearing of what God was doing, and they were hearing the Word of God and they were drawing in to hear before even the disciples and the Apostles went out to preach. God was drawing them in as the great dragnet and he's dragging them right into the kingdom and they're being healed not only of their physical infirmities but they're being healed of their unclean spirits and we're going to talk about that just in just a moment. But what this passage is presenting to us is the movement of the gospel witness from in the confines of Jerusalem, specifically even the temple to the streets and then those from other cities are being drawn in by the power of the Holy Spirit and this power of the Spirit of God was working in the apostles to fulfill the great commission that they had been given and they were faithful to it.

They didn't stop off in what they were doing. They didn't minimize their ministry just to the Jews of inside the temple, but God was using them to reach those outside. And it was not only, as I said, the sick in body that were healed, but it was also those who were tormented by unclean spirits. This again is not the first time we've seen something like this in the scriptures. Jesus was often healing people of demon possession.

But here we have the first account in the book of Acts of people being healed by the tormenting effect of an unclean spirit. But we see Christ as I said cast out many demons. The disciples in Mark chapter 9 while Jesus was Jesus Peter James and John were up on the Mount of Transfiguration they could not cast out a demon in a boy but when Jesus came down from the mountain he said, your faithless generation. And he demonstrated the power of God in healing this boy of an unclean spirit because it was often tormenting him and causing such pain and agony even among his family. But one of the things that I think is important to note is that these unclean spirits were tormented or tormenting the one possessed by them.

We read also in Luke 6 in verse 17 we read these words, And he came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from Judea and Jerusalem and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon who came to hear him and He healed their diseases as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. The same language is used of the ministry of our Lord Jesus and it said he continues and they were healed. That's the same thing that says in the book of Acts and they were healed they were all healed and then he says this and the whole multitude sought to touch him for power went out of him and he healed them all. This was the ministry of mercy and grace that Jesus had and it was continuing in the life of the church. Can I just encourage us as a body of believers that our number one ministry apart from just the worship of God and the preaching of the word of God is that we be people of mercy?

That we be people who are concerned about the physical needs and the spiritual needs of all those around us. This is one of the ways in which God has always used these opportunities to bring the Word of God. Now don't get off on one side or the other. Some people only want to do some physical healing. They want to only feed people and never give them the gospel.

The point of the healing is the gospel. So that we can take the Word of God to them because ultimately if you heal every single person in this world, they will all die. But if you give them the gospel they will truly live and that's the goal that's what we want we want to see people come to the saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ and be taken from death to life this idea of this word of being tormented it means to cause trouble to be disturbed and again just the word itself to be tormented. You have the picture in your mind. The signs of someone with an unclean spirit are often evident.

We see these laid out for us in the scriptures in numerous places, but specifically, we see it in Mark chapter five. The man, you remember, the demoniac who was living out in the tombs, Here are some signs of someone with an unclean spirit. This is just extra, no extra charge, it's just on the side here. The man lived among the tombs. He was fascinated with the dead.

So here I am, I'm walking into Lowe's the other day to get some material. And as I'm walking down the front part of the store going towards the garden section, I walk in and there's this huge display of demonic mummy witch, I don't even know what kind of nonsense it was. It was a fascination and a demonstration and a display of demonic nature. It was witches and goblins and goons. It's August.

They're now starting to celebrate Halloween earlier than some people celebrate Christmas and Thanksgiving. It is a fascination with the dead and the demonic side of things. It's unbelievable that that people would be so drawn that they want to put these things up in their yard and demonstrate how loyal they are to the demonic activity. Any society that is fascinated with the dead, can I just say that society has an unclean spirit? Back to Mark 5, he had an unusual strength.

This demoniac was unusually strong. They would bind him with chains. They would try to bound him. But what would he do? He would break those asunder.

There's been many stories and articles regarding people with seemingly unhuman like strength. He cut himself. Self-harm. Self-harm is a sign of an unclean spirit. He was naked.

Public nudity is a sign of an unclean spirit. He was mentally unstable. How do I know this? We see it in Jesus's words here in Mark. What does he say when he casts out the demon?

We read Mark says, then they came to Jesus and saw the one who had been demon possessed and had the legion sitting and clothed and in his right mind. There's an unclean spirit in our age and that is why I believe there is such an unusual abundance of, and I'm not just talking about people who are mentally handicapped at all. I'm speaking about the insanity of our culture. Up is down and down is up and left is right and and black is green. Nothing makes sense.

We stand back and we look at the things taking place in our society and we think what like a two-year-old understands that this is not right and yet politicians and and people in power and influence all of them are flocking in to follow the insanity They used to put people who were insane in confines and now they want to put people who actually are sane in a con, and they want to be right here in these four walls and don't go out. You can be sane in here but nowhere else. But brothers and sisters, we're commanded to take God's truth and God's reason and God's logic and proclaim it to every creature that we meet. When we leave here, that is when the work begins of proclaiming the truth of God's Word. I brought that in just about this unclean spirit because we see how prevalent it was.

You don't hear about these things in America today. Well that's because we give so many pills away. We give pills to numb people and to just to make them just in this depressed state in which they do not act out quite as much. If you want to see the uprising of an unbelievable amount of demonic activity, you shut off all of those mental blocking pills that they are giving everyone. The rise of these antidepressants to the extent degree, I'm not saying they're never useful but I'm just saying to the extent that they're being used It is growing exponentially that people are being that they are so dependent on something to keep them sane and I'm not saying a person who hear me I am not saying that a person who has ever taken that has a unclean spirit I didn't say that The prevalence of it and the amount of it that has taken place is a sign that our society has an unclean spirit and there are those who do.

There are many who do. But in Mark 5 15 Jesus laid it out straight. What do you see of those who have been overwhelmed by the grace of God? You see them sitting at the feet of Jesus. You see them clothed and you see them in their right mind.

Where the gospel goes, evil spirits are cast out and the people are self-controlled. They are properly clothed and they're in their right mind. Our culture, brothers and sisters, obviously are heavily influenced in demonic activity. We see it everywhere. But here in Acts the demon possessed are healed by the power of the gospel.

And may I say the power of the gospel has not lost its power. For the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. That is what the book of Romans tells us. It is the very power of God unto salvation. So let's stop being worried about giving people a pill to heal them and let's give them the gospel to heal them.

Let's give them the very word of God so that they would be turned from death to light, from insanity to reason so that they would see clearly the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. But listen to what the people in this society say about things and you will understand just what a state that we're in. They need the gospel. They need to be brought to the truth of the word of God and be healed in soul. Matthew Henry says, never did any good work go on with any hope of success, but it meet with opposition.

Those that are bent to do mischief cannot be reconciled to those who make it their business to do good. Satan, the destroyer of mankind, ever was and will be an adversary to those who are the benefactors of mankind. And it would have been strange if the apostles had gone on and thus teaching and healing and had had no check. In these verses we have the malice of hell and the grace of heaven struggling about them the one to drive them all from this good work and the other to animate them in it how clear it is that he speaks these words regarding what is getting ready to take place because here we have this great outpouring of the working of God. There's been a little bit of pushback.

Don't say that anymore. Don't say that anymore. And they ordered the disciples and the apostles to say, we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. But now the words are turning into actions. And hear me, do not think for a moment that when you stand for the truth of God's Word, when you stand in the marketplace to proclaim the gospel, don't think for a minute that you're going to avoid opposition and persecution.

It will come to you. That's what happens here in verse 17. Then the high priest rose up and all those who were with him, which is the sect of the Sadducees, and they were filled with indignation. So the second result of bold prayers is this, the angry opposition of the religious leaders. There was this angry opposition.

People are not happy when you stand to proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in the town square. Have you noticed this? They don't like that. They will say things about you on Facebook and Instagram or whatever else. I don't even know and understand all of these different platforms, but they will say things about you that are evil.

They will malign you and they will oppose you and if they can they will oppress you. And So that's what the power of these high priests and the Sadducees had here. The high priests and the Sadducees, they're going to rise up. They're not just going to sit down and watch this take place. They're going to, they're moved to action.

Just like the apostles were moved to action by the power of the Holy Spirit to preach the gospel, here we have the high priest. The high priest who should have been the spokesperson for God himself is now ready to rise up against the very Son of God. And he stands in opposition to them. And this opposition will not only come to us and come to them from outside forces, but I want you to understand as it is seen here that those who often profess to serve God will be those who will resist you most wholeheartedly. Don't be surprised when those who profess to love and serve God are not happy with the work that you're doing in the name of God.

We have here this the high priest and the Sadducees, the religious leaders of their day, those who were ruling in the temple who had the majority. The Sadducees specifically were those who were most upset because they were in the majority. The majority never likes to have their status threatened. They never like to see someone with a larger crowd and that was what was happening. All of these people who had been under the bondage of the Sadducees and of the High Priest are now flocking to the Word of God.

They're flocking to the workings of God and what he was doing and they're not happy about it. One commentator reasons that the high priest and the ring leader Ananias and Caiaphas who saw their wealth and dignity, their power and tyranny, that is they're all at stake and inevitably lost. If the spiritual and heavenly doctrine of Christ should get ground and prevail among the people, Those that were most forward to join with the high priest herein were the sect of the Sadducees who had a particular enmity to the gospel of Christ. Why? Because he says it confronted and established doctrine of theirs of the invisible world of angels.

They did not, the Sadducees did not believe in angels but here it was the gospel and the working of God was bringing this right into their living room and it was denying their doctrine that they were holding to specifically that of the unseen world regarding angels and regarding the resurrection of the dead because they were preaching in Jesus the resurrection of the dead and of the future state because they were promising that we have an eternal home in heaven which they denied all. No wonder they were upset. No wonder they did not continue to sit but rose up with a high priest to resist them. They were filled with indignation. They're not happy.

You ever seen somebody filled with indignation? I have. It's not a pretty sight. And here we have it among a religious leader, somebody who actually has authority to do some pain, who actually has authority to put you in a common prison. The authority to actually have you beaten as we'll see later.

And they're upset with the apostles for preaching the gospel. They were earnestly concerned and deeply devoted to their zeal against them. They were jealous of what they were seeing, they were envious of what they were seeing, and they resented what they were seeing. And they were ready to bring all that they could against them. They were raging against them.

And so, on the hills of some of the most amazing and God-glorifying demonstrations of the power of God through the healing and the spiritual deliverance of these people that were in their midst, there can be only one response from the enemies of Christ. Opposition, anger, and jealousy. Don't be surprised. You know Peter gives us a warning about this. Think it not a strange thing when you're in various temptations and trials.

Knowing that the trying of your faith produces. He goes right on and he tells you, be ready for it. Hey, when you know something's coming, you're ready for it. You understand that these are the things that are going to happen. I want you to understand the more that we preach the gospel outside of these walls the more we will see the opposition.

We will see people who are angry. We will see people who resent what we are doing. And then what did they do? They laid their hands on the Apostles. That's what it says in verse 18.

And they laid their hands on them and put them in the common prison. What was their crime? They healed people. How terrible. What else did they do?

They cast out unclean spirits. They were delivering people from being tormented. What was their crime? They preached in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. That's really what will get people riled up.

When you stand to say that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and no man can come to the Father but by Him. You will see the indignation of those in authority, those in wicked authority. They laid their hands on them and they put them in this common prison because they were preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. Their true crime was that they were being disobedient to the authorities. Remember the authorities had told them in chapter 4, stop speaking in his name.

We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. And they cast them in prison. This was the crime. This was actually, is what has happened in some extent, even in our own country. Some believers have withstood what the authorities have said to stop doing.

There's actually people who are spending the next 27-28 months of their life in prison because they are standing for life. Think about the insanity of a society with an unclean spirit in which those who murder babies are praised and those who pray against it are put in prison. We have an unclean spirit. It's demonic. It's child sacrifice.

And they're coming to throw us in prison if we resist. If we do not obey by speaking, by praying. If we pray and if we speak, they want to put you there. They want you to understand that they have authority, that they can do with your life what they want to do. And that if you cross them, they will make your life miserable.

So again, do not be surprised if you're taken off to prison for trying to save those who are being slaughtered because you preach the gospel. It's not coming, it's here. Jesus warned of this, listen to what he says in John 15, if the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, Therefore the world hates you.

Remember the word that I said to you, a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. However, God thwarts the plans of the wicked on a daily basis. He delights to thwart their plans. He loves to show them who is actually sovereign, who is actually in control of all things.

And we're brought to this divine deliverance. This is the next result of bold prayer. We've seen this now in the book of Acts and other times and we're going to see it again in the book of Acts where the disciples are praying and they can't even believe it when they hear Peter knocking on the door. It can't be Peter. I mean we're praying for him to be released.

That cannot be Peter. And here he is and here they are again and they're in prison and no doubt there is prayer going on but look at what's said here in verse 19 there is divine deliverance but at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out He opened the prison doors and brought them out. I believe that this account of their deliverance goes really hand in hand with the other signs and wonders that were happening. This was not something that was natural. This was something that was supernatural.

This time it was not at the hand of the apostles, but rather for the apostles. They were the ones needing a sign and a miracle this time. They were needing to be released and God sent his messenger to them, his ministering spirit, because that's what angels are. They are ministering spirits for the saints and the Lord opened the prison doors. What was the sign?

Clearly it was to bolster, number one, it was to bolster the faith and courage of the apostles. Why did God do this great work? Number one, He did it to bolster their courage and their faith so that they would understand it's not the high priest and the Sadducees who actually have authority. It is our God who has sovereign authority over all things of which the high priest and the Sadducees and the Pharisees and any other seas can do nothing about. It is God who has authority.

Secondly, it demonstrates God's sovereignty over all things not only over people but over things. They opened the doors and they went out. Thirdly, it testified to their enemies that they were not in charge. God was. In fact, As we'll see next time, they're sending down people to look for the apostles who were arrested and they don't even know that the apostles are already preaching the gospel again in the temple.

And they spend a few verses here like, let's go down and find them and they can't find them because they're not sovereign. God is and he brings them out and he puts them smack dab right where they were to preach the gospel yet again. That's our God. Fourthly, it testifies to the believers that God was not blind to their persecutions and their trials. We must not brothers and sisters murmur or complain at the inconveniences of the persecutions that we receive from the enemies of God, but rather let's use them and learn from them that all that God wants to do he will do.

He is not limited. Now that does not mean an angel is gonna always come and open the door and let you out. That is up to God what he does and if he wants to demonstrate his power by getting you out he will get you out and nothing on heaven and earth can stop it. He will do all his holy will. But next I want you to see this in verse 20.

The angels give a command to the apostles. He says, go stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life. Get back to preaching. I want you to go and preach again. And here's your assignment.

Go right back to where they arrested you. I don't know about you. I may be a little timid of that. Go right back to the place where they arrested you for doing what I'm telling you to do again. But you got to remember they had just been released by an angel.

An angel of the Lord came and released them. Isn't it interesting that these releases were not simply for them to escape imprisonment but rather to demonstrate the power of God because you know what happens right after this? They're arrested again. Is God playing games? No, God is demonstrating his power and God is allowing these religious leaders to hear the gospel over and over again.

The apostles did not go and hide in an upper room. They did not leave Jerusalem, but they went right back to the temple to preach the words of life. I believe that this is so instructive that the command was not to go back and start doing signs and wonders. He said, go and speak all the words of this life. You've got their attention.

Now speak. Barnes comments on this. He says, these words of life pertaining to eternal life which they taught through the resurrection of Jesus. The word life is used sometimes to express the whole of the Christian religion as opposed to the spiritual death of sin. In John 1-4, listen to what is said, John writes, in him was life, and the life was the light of men.

And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. And in John 3-36, he who believes in the sun has everlasting life, and he who does not believe in the sun shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. He continues, their deliverance from prison was not that they might be idle and escape to a place of safety, again they were to engage in the toil and perils which they had just before encountered. God delivers us from dangers sometimes that we may be plunged into new dangers. He preserves us from one form of calamity that we may be tried in some new furnace of affliction.

He calls us to encounter trials simply because he demands it and as an expression of gratitude to him for his gracious interposition. Now I want to take a moment to comment regarding that word sometimes. Regarding this running back into the place of danger. I'm not here to present to you some super holy spiritual person that man every time there's something dangerous I'm just gonna plow right in the middle of it and hit it head on. They can arrest me a thousand times, I'm just going to go right...

I'm not saying that, but I am saying sometimes God may want you to go right back to where you were arrested and do it again, sometimes. But what I do want to say is this, there are those times, but there were also times in the life of Jesus that he miraculously moved through the crowds to escape them and went to another place. There were times when the Apostle Paul left certain areas for safety sake so that he could continue his ministry elsewhere. And many Christians left Jerusalem here in the coming chapters and were scattered in the book of Acts chapter 8 in verse 1 and verse 4. Listen to what it says, Now Saul was consenting to his death and at that time a great persecution arose against the church which is at Jerusalem and they were all scattered throughout the region of Judea and Samaria except the Apostles.

So here we have this whole this church of the Lord Jesus Christ and many of them were scattered because of the persecution but the Apostles were called to stand right in the midst of the persecution. And look at what it said in verse 4 of chapter 8. Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. So here is the point that I want us to get. There are times to go right back to the place of danger and there are times to move to other places but always preaching the gospel whether you stay or whether you go.

That's the principle that we learn from this. How are we to know which to do? This can be difficult. It can be difficult to determine what does God want me to do in this situation. One, we need to be walking very closely with the Lord and seeking his will.

There have been times, and there may be more in the future, that some stay in the heat of the battle while others take the battle to new fronts. There may be times that there is a division of labor if you would, but whether you stay or whether you go or whether you stay preaching the gospel, preach the gospel wherever you go. That's what we do. We go in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and we stay in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what God has called us to do.

In all the words of this life, brothers and sisters, I believe that this very simply means this, they were to preach the whole counsel of God. I don't believe that they were there just to preach about how to be saved although they were, that is primary, But I want you to understand that all the words of this life is all the words of this life. It is the entirety of the Word of God from the Old Testament to the New. It is not as many are doing today and they're only preaching about how people can be saved and they never tell them how they should live now that they are. And brothers and sisters what we want to do here and what we desire to do here is to teach you how to be saved and proclaim the clear gospel to you and we also want to teach how to live once you are saved.

And we want to teach you how to teach others how to be saved and how to teach others how to live once they're saved. And we want to see this. This is what the Lord Jesus Christ did. This is what the apostles did and this is what disciples throughout history have done. They preached all the Word of God, the whole counsel of God.

They do not leave any points unsaid. All that they had heard from Christ they were ready to teach and to preach for the benefit of the people and for the spread of the gospel. And then lastly I want us to note in verse 21 just the first part of verse 21 and when they heard that when they heard what the angels said They entered the temple early in the morning and talked. You know, I think about Abraham sometimes when he was supposed to take his son up onto the mountain. And it says that he rose early.

That's always fascinated me. He rose early. If there was ever a day to sleep late, that would have been it. But yet here, the disciples, the apostles were ready. They had a ready and willing mind.

We were just learning this again. I don't know if you'll teach your children the same things over and over and over and over and over and over and over again, but we do. And as we were going through this wonderful little help, it was talking about what obedience is. Obedience is doing what you were told, when you were told, with a good attitude. I don't believe that the the Apostles here were going with with pouty mouths and murmuring lips.

It says that they when they heard this they entered the temple in the morning early in the morning and they taught they did exactly what God had called them to do and that's all I want to tell any of you to do do exactly what God has told you to do in his word. Do it. Just do what God has commanded you to do. They did not hesitate. They entered early and they were ready to do all that the angel instructed them to do.

And so what do we learn from all of this? I've laid out these things here for you, these results of this bold prayer. And we see that in this bold prayer there's an extraordinary power that was alive and at work. That was one of the results in the apostles. God answered their prayers and helped them to do signs and enabled them to do signs and wonders.

We saw that one of the results will be that there's an opposition against that. And then we also see the divine intervention. So what do we learn? I just want to give you three things that hopefully you can take with you today and just meditate upon. You've heard them already but I just want to tell them to you again so that you can maybe take a note or two for yourselves to meditate upon.

I want you to learn, number one, I want you to leave here today eager to pray bold prayers, never doubting the power of God to accomplish them. I want you to leave here today eager to pray bold prayers never doubting the power of God to accomplish them with this caveat as they are according to his will. Whether that be the healing of the sick, the casting out of evil spirits, or that sinners be converted from death to life. Nothing hinders God. He will perform all His holy will.

Nothing can stop it. Number two, I want you to expect opposition when you proclaim the gospel and when you set your mind to do the work. Do not be surprised if the enemies of God hate you. They hated Christ. They will hate you.

Expect it. Anytime that you're taking ground in the battle, the enemy will be there. Number three, I want you to understand that God can and will deliver us according to His will. Now, His deliverance is not always in the way that we wish it to be. In this case, he delivered them from prison.

The doors flung open and they walked out. There are other faithful Christians around this world right now who have been sitting in prison for years and decades. That does not mean that God has not delivered them. There are sometimes in the sense of instead of deliverance, he is there in presence and he bears that with them because he has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. This is our God.

And I want you to understand that if you are delivered, it is not simply for personal peace and safety, but for the furtherance of the gospel. We are gospel people. We don't take vacations from the gospel. We don't retire from the gospel. We will preach the gospel and live the gospel until we take our last breath and we will then receive the fruits of the gospel.

Glorification and being with our Lord forever. So I hope that this has challenged your hearts and encouraged you as well to know that our God reigns. Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, we delight to call you our Father. We rejoice that you are our God.

We thank you Lord for the Word of God that you have given us that gives us such clear testimony of who you are and what you're able to do and what you're willing to do. And Lord we know that you will never leave us and Lord we know that you have given us the Holy Spirit to to equip us and and to empower us to do things that we cannot do in our own strength. We thank you for that dear Lord and I pray God for your people here today. Your people are sitting here eagerly listening to your word and I pray oh God that you would fill them, fill their mouths with your word. And may your word sink down deep into their soul.

May it be galvanized there. And may they never turn to the left or to the right, but always be ready to preach all the words of this life. And we ask it in Jesus' name, amen.