The sermon 'Some Good Reasons to Have Strong Confidence in Our God' by Trent Moody explores Acts 5:21-33, emphasizing the apostles' bravery and confidence in God amidst persecution. Moody underscores three main points: God thwarts the schemes of His enemies, God controls even unjust courts, and God is the ultimate authority. He draws parallels between the apostles' experiences and the timeless nature of God's sovereignty and deliverance, urging believers to find refuge and confidence in God. The sermon also discusses the importance of fearing God rather than man, the role of the Holy Spirit in witnessing, and the necessity of obeying God's commands over human decrees. Moody concludes with a modern-day example of an elderly woman demonstrating unwavering faith, reinforcing the sermon's call to boldness and obedience in the face of opposition.

Chapter 5 and we will actually pick up in verse 21 to grab a little context from last time and we will be reading down through verse 33. Acts chapter 5 and verse 21. Thus says the word of the Lord. 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.

But when the officers came and did not find them in the prison, they returned and reported saying, Indeed we found the prison shut securely and the guards standing outside before the doors. But when we opened them, we found no one inside. Now when the high priest, the captain of the temple, and the chief priest heard these things, they wondered what the outcome would be. So one came and told them saying, Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people. And then the captain went with the officers and brought them without violence, for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned.

And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, saying, Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine and intend to bring this man's blood on us. But Peter and the other apostles answered and said, we ought to obey God rather than men. For the God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you murdered by hanging on a tree.

Him God has exalted to the right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses to these things. And so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him. And when they heard this, they were furious and plotted to kill them. Let us pray.

Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for the word of the living God. We thank you, O God, that we are not left to our own devices and left to our own wisdom and left to our own counsel, but Lord, you instruct us in the word. You give us the Holy Spirit to teach us into your Word and help us to see what you would have us to see. And so this morning, Lord, I pray that you would grant us, as is prayed here, that you would grant us repentance, that you would grant us, Lord, insight into your Word, that you would grant forgiveness of sins this morning. There are those this morning standing right here this morning in this room who have never experienced repentance and forgiveness of sins.

And Lord I pray that you would grant them this morning. And I ask it in Jesus' name, amen. You may be seated. In the book of Proverbs chapter 14 and verse 26, God's word says this, in the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence and his children will have a place of refuge. In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence and his children will have a place of refuge.

If I could summarize this passage that is before us in the book of Acts into one verse outside of the verses that are here that would be it. That there are those within these verses who have the fear of the Lord and they also because of that fear have strong confidence in their God. And also we see that God's children are given a place of refuge. Not a refuge that is as if it was a fort or a fortress that would keep them out of troubles or keep them out of prison, but a refuge that would be with them in the prison. A refuge that is so strong that can deliver them from prison if he so chooses to do.

And that refuge is God Almighty. It is not something that we can grasp with our hands but it is something that goes right past the bounds of natural reality and can deliver people from prison but more importantly, more importantly, this God can deliver you from your sin. I really believe that this verse as I said in Proverbs characterizes the heart of this message. There isn't anything in the world that will give you confidence like the fear of the Lord. It is this strong confidence that we see in the lives of the apostles as they stand before the religious leaders with boldness.

These religious leaders who have abused their authority, who have roughly handled them and already thrown them in prison one time before and now here they are again doing the same thing. It is the fear of the Lord that will give you strong confidence and a place of refuge in the midst of this hostile world. Fear not what man can do to you but fear the Lord and you will find that you will fear nothing else. It is God who is our refuge. So what we have before us in this passage are some reasons for strong confidence in our God.

Some good reasons for strong confidence in our God. The first being found in verses 21, the latter part of 21, 21b and through verse 25. And I listed it this way, that God thwarts the schemes of his enemies. That is actually a very strong confidence that we can have in God. It's a good reason to have confidence in God is because the enemies of God have nothing upon you.

They can do nothing to you that God has not given permission and actually ordained to come about for the purpose of his decrees. And so in verses 21b, I'll say b, and we begin with, but the high priest there, look with me, 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. It's interesting as I was doing some study upon this of how many people were involved in this of the high priest and those with him, the council and the elders. It is a minimum of a hundred and sixteen people and actually a few more than that of what this council consisted of. So you could imagine having three quarters of this congregation almost or well over half of this congregation imagine That being the council that was being brought together to stand against the apostles who had just been preaching the Word of God, who had actually just been thrown into prison.

And this was that council that they were gathering together so that they could rebuke yet again the apostles for being obedient to the Lord. They've already told them we cannot but speak the things that we have seen and heard. They told them plainly and now they're surprised because they're doing what they said that they would do. They're speaking the things that they had seen and heard. Jesus Christ had commissioned them in Acts 1-8 that they would be his witnesses and they are being his witnesses.

But they don't like this. You know we find here is kind of, and I guess maybe this is just the way my mind works, I see here divine humor in this narrative. It sure seems like to me God here in this passage is laughing at the schemes of his enemies. While they plot and scheme and arrest and to throw into prison, God sovereignly rules. It's right in this text.

Nothing will thwart God's plan, whether it be through natural means or whether it be through miraculous means, whether it be through a servant of the Lord or an angel of the Lord. It matters not. God is in control of all things. But what we see here in verse 21, the latter part of verse 21, is the high priest, the council, and the elders designed to imitate, to bring intimidation. It's the intimidation scheme that they were working that God thwarts.

He says, but the high priest and those with him came. They called this council together. They're gathering this council together for the purpose of intimidating these men so that they will no longer do what they've been doing, and that is teaching in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. They need that to stop. This is a suppression of freedom of speech in the sense that you cannot speak in the name of Jesus Christ.

They come, you can imagine these men, these religious leaders in all their pomp and circumstance and probably dressed to the hilt in all of their garb that would show them to be what they are, the high priest and those with him, the elders and the council and all of these people brought together but God in His divine laughter sends them a perplexing conundrum if you will in verses 22 through 24 says but when the officers came and did not find them in the prison, they returned and reported saying, indeed we have found the prison shut securely and the guards standing outside before the doors. But when we opened them, we found no one inside. What a picture this is. It's kind of interesting. I didn't quite read all of it, but if you go back in verses 17 down to verse 21, you find that they were thrown into the common prison.

And in verse 19, but at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out and told them, go stand in the temple and speak to the people, all the words of this life. And so while this council is being gathered together, they do not even realize that their own authority had been thwarted by Almighty God by sending an angel of the Lord to deliver the Apostles and they were already in the temple preaching before they ever sent to get them out of prison. You have to find humor in this. God sits in the heavens and laughs. And it says they wondered about these things.

They wondered what the outcome would be. They've gone down to the prison, they have examined it, it says we found the prison shut securely. None of the bolts were loose, there was not a makeshift key in the lock, everything was as it should be, there was guards on the outside, There was no indication whatsoever that anyone wouldn't have escaped from that prison cell. But yet what do we find? They opened these doors and when they opened them they had vanished.

No one was there. We know that the angel opened the door, it says that he did, and he brought them out. Did he did he cause the guards to fall asleep? Did he just cause them to be blinded? We don't know, but we do know this.

God delivered them from the prison and sent them right back to the point of their arrest so that they can continue to do what they were doing when they were arrested, preaching all the words of this life. This is our God. This is the God that we serve. Nothing will thwart his plans. We see that they wondered about what the outcome of this would be because they were truly perplexed at this.

When the high priest in verse 24 and the captain of the temple and the priest came, the chief priest heard these things, they wondered what the outcome would be. This wondering here means to be greatly perplexed. They were quite at a loss to know what was going to become of this circumstance. Have you ever been in that kind of situation? You've been greatly perplexed.

I don't know what's going to happen here. This is going to be interesting to see how this turns out. That's kind of the idea here, but it was more of a negative in the sense that they were a little bit frightened by this. What in the world is going on? I cannot explain it.

They could not explain it. They had no rational way to explain it. Matthew Poole gives us some interesting insight. He says all means imaginable were used to secure their prisoners. But when God will deliver, what can keep them?

When God will work, who can hinder? You cannot stop the plans and the authority of Almighty God. We're given a great insight to who is actually in control in this and every other situation. And so let me say no matter what situation that you find yourself in, you can be assured that God is not weak to deliver you from it or bring you through it. There's no deficiency in God's power to deliver.

His abilities are not slack in any way. He can do all things. It doesn't matter what prison that you're thrown into, God can get you out. It doesn't matter what prison you're thrown into, God can sustain you in it. We've seen this throughout church history, that God is the sustainer of his people, even in prison.

Remember Proverbs 14, that they will find a refuge, and that refuge is God. You know we read of this in 2 Peter 2, 9, the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation. And you know we can bring this way back from being thrown into a prison cell, into this common prison that they were and we can see this application for our own lives, that the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation. If he can deliver them from the prison cell, how much more Can he deliver you from the temptations that you find yourself entrapped in? In what forms and fashions do you find yourself in a prison?

Perhaps a prison of sin. Perhaps the bars that hold you is your bondage to your sin. But I want you to know something that God can and is willing to deliver you. He does not lack the power. He is God.

In this circumstance that these high priests have found themselves in the bafflement of their minds of what in the world is going on here, we find that God has embarrassed his enemies. Verse 25, So one came and told them, now you get the picture here, they're sitting here, they go and they find no one's there, they're wondering at what is going on. Remember this council is gathered together, these hundred plus people, 116 plus people are gathered together and then all of a sudden a man comes in, it doesn't give us his name or position, so one came and told them saying, look the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people. They're doing the very thing you commanded them not to do and what you just arrested them for doing. You're wondering where they are.

They're out there doing what you commanded them not to do. Can you imagine the embarrassment of these? Because remember the first time it was the high priest and just a few others within his family and close-knit community there of the high priest. They are the ones who initially told them, do not speak in this name, do not teach in this name. But now we have the whole gathered assembly, the council has gathered.

They have come for the intimidation tactic to put these men in their place and what they found is that the men are in their place. They're actually in the place where they were supposed to be that God called them to be and that was standing in the temple proclaiming the words of this life, the glorious gospel of our Savior. You see human attempts to restrain the messengers of this new life and to curtail their influences among the people had been divinely frustrated. The report of the officers highlighted the wonder of the miracle. He says, we found the jail securely locked with the guards standing at the door, but when we opened, we found no one inside.

And when the captain of the temple and the guards and the chief priests heard these words, they were rightly puzzled. They were wondering what it might lead to, says David Peterson. It is interesting that we find this whole council here. It reminds me much of what Psalm 2 that I preached on a few months back in Psalm 2 1 through 4. We read these words, Why do the nations rage and the people plot vain things?

The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed saying let us break their bonds and pieces and cast away their cords from us he who sits in the heavens shall laugh The Lord shall hold them in derision." It's been said, it was this sovereign Lord who had prophesied in the Psalms the fruitless efforts of the rulers of this world to rebel against him and against his Messiah. The unspoken thought is quite clear that it is futile for men to scheme against a God who not only created the whole universe but also foresaw their scheming. How do you get one over on God? Before the foundation of the world, he knew your scheming. He knew their schemings.

He knew what was happening because he ordained all things whatsoever comes to pass. They had nothing on God. How do you fool a God like this? How do you trick him? How do you commit your sins in darkness and God not see?

He sees all things. Nothing is hidden from his sight. We also read in Psalm 37 the wicked plots against the just and gnashes at him with his teeth. Isn't that exactly what is taking place right here? These the high priests and the council and the elders they're gnashing at the Apostles with their teeth.

We command you we forbid you to speak in the name. But it goes on in verse 13 of Psalm 37, the Lord laughs at him, for he sees that his day is coming. God is not thrown off course. God is not messed up in his plans. There's nothing that thwarts the plans of Almighty God.

That is something and a good reason to give you great confidence in your God. When you are the child of God, you have a refuge and nothing will thwart his plan. But not only that, we see, and I'm going to explain this one a little bit for some of you younger ones that might not have a good understanding of what I'm talking about, but we see in this passage in verses 26 through 28, my second point is this, God controls the kangaroo courts. What is a kangaroo court? It's not a court in Australia.

It's a pejorative. It's a term for a court that ignores recognized standards of law and justice. It carries little or no official standing in the territory within which it resides and is typically convened ad hoc. That means just for that very purpose. A kangaroo court may ignore even the due process and come to a predetermined conclusion.

Have we seen any kangaroo courts in our day? They have convened for the very purpose of convening and they have concluded what they wanted to conclude and this is not anything new. This is a kangaroo court. We're watching it right here in the book of Acts and we've also seen it in our own day. Listen to what the Word of God says, then the captain went with the officers and brought them without violence for they feared the people lest they should be stoned.

And when they had brought them they seated them before the council and the high priest asked them saying, did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. Religious leaders are gathering to try to add some weight to their command to give to the apostles. They're bringing everyone in. This council is coming together to add weight to their command for the apostles to stop preaching in the name of Jesus.

They've convened because they do not like the authority by which the apostles said that they preach the word of God. They do not like the idea that the apostles have snubbed them and ignored their command. And so this court has disregarded the ultimate law which binds all men and that is the law of God. That is the ultimate authority. We see here first in verse 26 the fearfulness of these officers who came to get these men, these men who had been delivered from prison, we know not how, they've been delivered, they brought them but not as before.

They brought them without violence. This time they deal a little more gently with these apostles though They did not fear God, they did fear the people. Can I say that the fear of man brings a snare? Especially for those who do not fear God, usually their motivation is that they fear man in some form or fashion. Child of God, you have no business fearing man.

Man can only kill your body. You should fear God who has the power and the authority that once your body is dead can cast your soul into hell. They feared those who did not have ultimate authority and these religious leaders snubbed him who has all authority. It is great foolishness to fear a crowd more than you fear the God of the universe. I find that so often and it's not only a sin of young people but sometimes it is seen more in younger people.

When you're trying to come of age and you're trying to figure out who you are and what you're going to be. And there's great peer pressure. You're not the only ones with peer pressure. The adults feel it too. But I want you to realize something, you should not fear your peers.

They will have no judgment upon you. You will give them no accounting for at the judgment seat. In fact, what your peers may be pressing on you is something that is contrary to the very Word of God. And so I just want to encourage you young people, do not fear man. Matthew 10, 28 says, and do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul, but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

The apostles are now standing before this council in verses 27 and 28 and when they had brought them they set them before the council, the intimidation council and the high priest who was ruling over this council had some questions for them as many most councils do. They've got questions. We've seen this throughout history. Martin Luther stood before a council and they questioned him as well and many others. Many others, many of God's people have had to stand before councils of men to give an account for the preaching of the gospel.

And here we have it and don't be surprised if one day we are standing before some council to give an account for why we are preaching the gospel. But it is interesting to me that the first question that the high priest asked was, did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? It seems reasonable that the first question would be, how in the world did you get out of prison? That's what I would have asked. But you know what, I think that that would have probably brought more shame upon him.

He did not want to acknowledge that there was an authority working that was greater than theirs. There was a power at work that was greater than their power. They didn't even mention it. I think because this escape was such a revealer of their incompetence and impotence, It was a big embarrassment to them or perhaps they did not want to give credence to the miraculous nature of their escape even though they went and found the cell secure and the guard standing outside but no one in. They were more concerned about what was their own authority and their own reputation being diminished.

And there they were, they had these three main questions of interrogation. Number one, did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name." Isn't it interesting as well, just a side thought, that they are unwilling to even say his name. They so looked down upon the name of Jesus Christ that they were unwilling to speak the name of Jesus Christ. They were trying to snub Jesus. They said, don't teach in this name.

Secondly, the second question is you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine. This was somewhat of an accusation more than it was just a question. And then thirdly, you intend to bring this man's blood on us. These were these three parts of what they were really concerned about. These were the questionings that came upon them in verse 28.

Did we not strictly command you not to teach in His name? And then the accusations of, and look you filled Jerusalem with your doctrine and then you intend to bring this man's blood upon us. First, they confronted them regarding the name of Jesus. They detested even to speak his name. They rejected his authority and they denied his power and they refused to call upon his name.

In chapter 4 verse 16 you can look back there in the book of Acts chapter 4 verse 16 says what shall we do with these men For indeed that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem. We cannot deny it, but so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them that From now on they speak to no man in this name. They had commanded them and now they were wondering why they were continuing to do what they were commanded not to do. Secondly, they accused them of doing what God had commanded them to do. Look with me in verse 28 again and look you filled Jerusalem with your doctrine.

This is what Christ commanded the disciples and the apostles to do. Go and teach, be a witness of all that you have seen and heard and the angel himself commanded them, go stand in the temple and proclaim all the words of this life." This was what they were commanded to do and yet the high priest was confused and baffled at the idea that they were doing what God commanded them to do. Brothers and sisters, my desire is that it would be true of me, that my enemies would accuse me, that they would accuse me of doing what God has commanded me to do. May that be their accusations. May their accusations not be one of some fatal sin in my life or some grave inconsistency of which I am living.

But may their accusations be, you filled this whole town with the doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ. How dare you preach the gospel everywhere you go. May that be the accusation of all of us that as we go, that we will gladly be condemned by the enemies of God for obedience to him. That should be our heart's desire. They were commanded to be witnesses in Jerusalem and by their own judgment the apostles had filled Jerusalem with their doctrine.

What a testimony. What a testimony. I just wonder sometimes, would that ever be our testimony? Would that ever be the accusation brought against us? Not only individually, but as a church.

Or let's just widen this up to the churches in our county and in the churches in this state. Could it ever be said that we are guilty, guilty as charged, we have filled this land with our doctrine. I fear that it wouldn't, but I pray that it will. That we would fill Wake County with our doctrine, that we would fill Franklin County with our doctrine, that we would fill Granville County with our doctrine and every other county and township that we preside in may be filled with our doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ. May that be their charge against us.

I want to encourage you to go fill this land with your doctrine. Fill it up till everyone knows. They may not believe, but they will know what you believe. You may not convince them to believe it with you and turn from their sins, much like the apostles did not have that great success of winning the high priest and those with him and the elders and all of those. They did not see all of them turn, but they did know what they believed.

They believed in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. They believed that he raises the dead. They believed that he was the resurrection, and they taught that, and they knew that that's what they believed. Thirdly, they didn't like owning what they had asked for. Now this seems a little funny here but look with me in verse 28.

He says that they have an intention here. He's condemning the apostles. You intend to bring this man's blood on us. They accuse the apostles of doing what they themselves had asked for. Isn't it always the case we can see it even now that petty tyrants do not like to own their policies when its fruit ripens.

In Matthew 27 verses 1 and 2 we read this, when the morning came all the chief priests and the elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put him to death and when they had bound him they led him away and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor. Matthew 27 verse 24 and 25 says this, when Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all but rather that a tumult was rising, He took water and washed his hands before the multitude saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person you see to it. And all the people answered and said, his blood be on us and on our children. Petty tyrants do not like to own the policies when they come to fruition. And here it is, what they had sown they sown in blood and now they were reaping what they had sown.

The accusation that they had murdered their own Messiah. Think of the boldness of the Apostles to clearly articulate that it was these men who plotted and called for the death of Jesus Christ. The Apostles did not back down for fear of hurting their feelings. You know one of the accusations that I think is probably most damning of the American church is that we're more concerned about hurting people's feelings than we are about proclaiming the clear truth of the gospel. There is such thing as speaking the truth in love, But we're way too concerned about the truth part.

We only want to be known as being nice. We need to be known for speaking the truth in love. I'm not talking about going around condemning every person and you're throwing down judgment upon everyone, but I am saying this, that we speak the truth of the gospel, we speak very plainly and clearly that all men everywhere need to repent and turn away from their sins and that you can find grace and help in the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive you and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Come into the family of God. We can offer this glorious gospel to every creature.

But brothers and sisters, if all of we are concerned about is being nice, we will never get to the point of the gospel. They must know, they must know that they are dead in their sins and trespasses before they can ever understand their need for the cure of their sins and trespasses and that is the death of the Lord Jesus Christ in his resurrection. Do not be fearful to speak the truth and also do not be so harsh that you would be accused of having no love. Speak the truth in love. The third reason and my final point to have strong confidence in our God is found in the fact that God is the absolute and ultimate authority.

We see this in verses 29 through 33. But Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him, God has exalted to his right hand to be the prince and savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses to these things and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.

First I think one of our greatest needs as a church is that we as Christians in general not just this church but Christians all over we need to have an understanding of biblical authority and jurisdiction. Peter and the Apostles make this bold and inspiring response to the council that was gathered, that had gathered before them, and They say these words, we ought to obey God rather than men. I don't know about you, but that does something. It stirs something within me when I hear these men standing up in the face of this council. We ought to obey God rather than men.

Amen. We need people to be able to say that with gusto and with some conviction. But I want you to realize something. I do not believe that the Apostles were just mouthing off their defiance as rebels against their earthly authorities. We must be tempered in what we say in the sense that We are not to be known as those who are rebels.

Not in the sense that we reject Biblical authority. There is actually Biblical authority that God has laid out in the world that we are to submit to. And I want us to look at that just for a few moments to understand what it is that's actually taking place here. It's really fascinating as I was studying this. They make this great declarative statement, we ought to obey God rather than men, and then verses 30 through 32, they actually lay out their argument for what they just said.

They weren't just being mouthy rebels, They were actually being well disciplined and very clear in what they understood authority to be. So these men understood and submitted to biblical jurisdictional earthly authority. I want to show you that. Understanding that this biblical jurisdictional authority and the limits to that authority is one of the most important precepts that we can have in our toolbox or that we can know as Christians. We need to know these things.

Paul himself demonstrates this in the book of Acts later on in Acts chapter 23 in verses 1-5. We see Paul saying, then Paul looking earnestly at the council, Here he is, he's in front of a council and he says this, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. And then Paul said to him, God will strike you, you whitewashed wall, for you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law? And those who stood by said, do you revile God's high priest?

Now there would be a temptation there to say, yeah I do. What are you going to do about it? But that is not what Paul did. Paul said, I did not know brethren that he was the high priest for it is written, that means God's word says, you shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people. I'll admit there are times that this can be a bit challenging to know when we should obey and when we should disobey authority.

However, because it is difficult does not mean that we lose our responsibility of doing it. We're not exempt from actually doing these things. Understanding biblical jurisdictional authority and living in accordance with that authority. We are to obey our earthly authorities. The Word of God is very clear about this.

The Bible actually says that it is right. He tells children to obey your parents for this is right. God has ordained these earthly authorities in this world and if we disobey their authority we will be found to be disobeying God. Don't be one of those so arrogant and prideful in your defiance against authority that you actually cannot say we must obey God rather than men and you find out what you're really doing is disobeying God. There are some who are so arrogant that they will claim that they are obeying God rather than men when in fact they are disobeying God because they are not obeying men.

How does this work? So there are limits to all earthly authority. There's only one who has absolute and ultimate authority who must never be disobeyed and that of course is God. He is never to be disobeyed but every other earthly authority has limits to that authority. So with all earthly authorities again There is a limit.

I want to show you a few of these. All of these will kind of fall into this pattern here. So let's start with husbands. We see this as the first institution in the Bible, in the book of Genesis, that God brought man and woman and they were one flesh. There's the first institution that God created that actually had authority.

And so husbands, you have a limit to your authority. The next we see is parents. Adam and Eve had children. Children had to obey their parents. Children need to obey their parents, but parents, you have a limit to your authority.

Church elders have a limit to their authority. Although you are commanded to obey your elders, to obey those who rule over you, yet there is a limit to our authority. The civil government we are commanded to obey and yet there is a limit to their authority, the civil government and their agents. Here is the limit and I've spoken these before, it's been a little ways back, but I'm going to bring them back up for us to understand that there is an authority and a jurisdiction that we must have in our minds so that we can grapple with these things. You see whenever, let me just say here's the limit that I want to set that is from the Word of God.

I don't want to say that God's Word sets this limit. Whenever an earthly authority, be it a husband, be it a parent, be it an elder, or be it the civil government, whenever any of those authorities command you to do what God has forbidden, they have become illegitimate in that point. Or, they forbid you to do what God has commanded you to do. You must disobey that earthly authority. And in this case we see them forbidding the Apostles to do exactly what God through the angel had commanded them to do.

And therefore they understood the jurisdictional limits to that authority and they disobeyed. They disobeyed by doing what God had commanded them to do. They have moved these jurisdictional authorities. They move outside of their jurisdiction And their command is no longer enforceable in claims of obedience to God when they command you to do what God has forbidden or forbid you to do what God has commanded. However, it's also important to realize that when a person or a people or a nation neglect or willfully disobey God's appointed authorities, God has ordained that there are natural consequences to that rebellion.

When a child disobeys his parents, we understand that in the Ten Commandments that is the first commandment with a promise and that promise works for good and for ill. There are consequences for these things. What we see in the Word of God is also that wives who do not submit to their husbands in a biblical fashion, we're told in Titus, actually bring about the blasphemy of God's Word. It's serious when we disobey rightful authority. We see that throughout history and even in the Bible is when men disobey God they will find themselves put under tyrannical authorities that will work to humble them and to bring them to repentance.

If you want a case study of this you turn to the book of Judges chapter 1 and start reading. You'll read it over and over and over and over again. You will see God's people rebelling against his authority and you will see God giving them over to tyrants to humble them. So we also see this in Deuteronomy chapter 28. It's one of the clear statements on this.

God actually lists all of these authorities that I just mentioned to you that will overrun their jurisdictions in your life if you disobey God's authority. Did you catch that? He lists for you jurisdictions, jurisdictional authorities in your life that will overrun their jurisdiction when you disobey your biblical authority. I'll give you a few examples of this. Verse 15, listen to what God's Word says, But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God to observe carefully all his commandments and his statutes which I command you today that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you." He lists in verse 30, you shall betroth the wife but another man shall lie with her." That's outside of authority of that man.

Verse 32, your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people. So it breaks the jurisdictional bound of parents with children and the children are snatched away. Why? We'll see why in just a moment. Verse 36, The Lord will bring you and the king whom you set over you to a nation which neither knows you nor your fathers, and there you shall serve their gods, gods of wood and stone.

So we see these three jurisdictions here. We see it with a husband and a wife, we see it with parent and child, and then we see it in the nation. And what happens there is that they are brought because of their disobedience and that's what we're going to see in verse 45. He says, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded you. Right there we have the authority of the husband, the parent, and the civil government thrown to the ground because God's people refused to obey their biblical authority.

So brothers and sisters my recommendation for myself and for you and for everyone that you meet is to strive to live in obedience to God's biblical jurisdictional authorities in your life. As long as they are not commanding you to disobey God, and as long as they are not forbidding you to obey God, we should obey. Now, those things are broad. You're gonna have to actually study. You're gonna actually find that you may come up with a different conclusion than someone else.

You're going to have to pray over these things. You're going to have to seek God's face. You're going to have to read His Word and say, is this a command of God? Is He forbidding me? Is this authority forbidding me to do what God has commanded me to do?

And you're going to have to wrestle with it. And by God's grace you will make the right decision. But when you willfully cast off God's authority in your life, you are asking God to bring judgment in your life. You are asking God that those authorities will overrun their jurisdiction into your life. There are many examples of this.

When a person, individual does not have self-control as a child and that continues without self-control, that child will find himself under the control of the civil government at some point. And the freedoms that he enjoyed as a child to run and play and go and do will be greatly limited. And that person will find that they cannot run and go and play and do like they did before. And so God will bring that in. Anytime we reject that, you will find that that authority will overrun its jurisdiction and its misery.

It is utter misery to be in that state. The reason for this disobedience he says is we ought to obey God rather than men. They actually laid out their logical reasonings for this to command that their command was to stop speaking and teaching in the name of Jesus Christ. The God of our fathers he says, notice what in verse 30 there he lays out this beautiful argument. He says, the God of our fathers.

This is his reasoning. They appeal to the fact that they were not preaching some new doctrine. They weren't filling Jerusalem with some new doctrine. They were filling it with the doctrine of your fathers. It's the very doctrine from the beginning.

It's the doctrine of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. That was the accusation that was brought against them, but they were being obedient and faithful to God, the very God that they claim to worship. They resist God, these religious leaders, they resist God, the God of their fathers by murdering the Messiah. But the apostles did not back away from speaking this hard truth to them. But I want you to see in verse 31 that God has highly exalted the Lord Jesus Christ.

This was the second part of their argument. In verse 30 the God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. And now in verse 31, him God has exalted to his right hand to be prince and savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. You see the evil schemes of man will never thwart the decrees of God, as I said earlier. In fact, they unwittingly accomplish God's plan.

They thought they were going to get one up on God by killing the Messiah, but what they found out was their killing of the Messiah actually worked the greatest redemption story that has ever been told and redeemed people not only in that age but in our day as well. This is our God. God's plans are no more disturbed by the evil workings of men any more than an ant can hinder the steps of an elephant. And in fact, infinitely less than that. They can do nothing to thwart his plans.

Paul says in Philippians 2, 9-11, therefore God has also highly exalted him, given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of those in heaven and of those in earth and those under the earth and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. What they tried to do in humbling Jesus, God did and exalted Jesus so that his name is known throughout all generations and forever his name will be praised. That is the frailty and the impotence of the enemies of God to stop the name of Jesus Christ. Brothers and sisters these are good reasons to have great confidence in your God. Don't be shy when proclaiming the gospel.

We have a God who exalts the most humble Jesus Christ to the right hand of the Father and has redeemed a people for himself. These apostles testified that this Jesus whom they crucified had been exalted. He had been exalted to God's right hand as the Prince and Savior. You see here this is the part that we really can't lose is that when we are confronting the enemies of God with the truth and we are coming at them with reasonable logic, biblical reason that they have come to them and they didn't just cast judgment upon them, but look at what they're doing. They are proclaiming the gospel to them.

They said, look we ought to obey God rather than men. It's the very God that you say you believe in. This is the God of our fathers. And not only that, but God has highly exalted him. He has made him a prince and a savior.

Hey, guess what? He's getting right to repent and believe on the gospel. You're gonna have forgiveness of sins if you'll believe in this name. Do you see that speaking the truth and then the love is just coming right in there, just pushing this whole train forward and they're bringing their argumentation so that these men will hear of what Christ did upon the cross. Look at this.

So this prince is the initiator or the first cause or the originator And then the savior of course is the deliverer and the preserver of his people. He is the prince and savior. And he would be their prince and savior if they would repent. And I wanna tell you here this morning, If you've never bowed your knee, he will be your prince and savior. If you would, humble yourself and do what they've said here.

That you would repent, he would give you forgiveness of sins. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. What they intended for evil, God used for the unspeakable good of mankind throughout all of history. And this truth is not just something declared by the Apostles to these religious leaders, no, this truth is being declared to you right now in this place that Jesus Christ is the Prince and the Savior to give you repentance and forgiveness of sins, it doesn't get any better than that. He's here to grant you these things.

He is your only hope and yet there are some of you who sit here week after week after week. And these words of the gospel flow over your ears week after week and instead of your ears being opened and you receiving the gospel, your ears have become dull to the sound that you have heard so many times. And your hearts instead of becoming soft like flesh have become hard like flint. What are you waiting for? What are you waiting for?

Do you realize what Peter says in 2 Peter chapter 2? He says, For if after they have escaped the pollutions of this world, through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. They are again entangled in them and overcome. Listen to what he says, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. These words are amazing.

For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than having known it to turn from the Holy Commandment delivered to them. Do you realize if you remain in your unbelief and the hardness of heart sitting here week after week after week and that you don't even realize that it would be better for you if you have never heard it if you remain in that state of unbelief. May it not be on your tombstone, he would have been better off if he had never heard the gospel. Why do you sit there unmoved? Today is the day of salvation.

Don't leave this place until you've humbled yourself and repent of your sins and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. He offers repentance and forgiveness of sins. What better offer could you possibly imagine? That you would be forgiven and free and that you would be brought into the kingdom of our God, that you would be given the blessings of everlasting life. It doesn't only make eternity better, but it even makes this life better.

And just think of it as a Christian, this is as bad as it gets. We have only glory to look forward to. Eternity with our Father and eternity with His Son Jesus Christ who died for our sins. What better offer could there possibly be? Not only that, the Apostles said that they were, In verse 32, his witnesses.

Their final reason was that they have been commissioned by God. God did not leave himself without a witness. In Acts 1-8 he says, 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 end of the earth." This was their calling and commission. This is our calling and commission to take the gospel everywhere we go that we would be a witness of the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And brothers and sisters, these were faithful people because even their enemies said, you filled Jerusalem with your doctrine.

Well, guess what? We're not done. We're not done with Jerusalem. That's only the starting point. Next, we're going to Judea and then Samaria and then to the ends of the earth.

That's where we're gonna take the gospel. So if they command us to stop it here, we will just spread it everywhere else that we possibly will go. But I want you to see this last thing, this common response of petty tyrants, don't be surprised when you see it. When they heard this in verse 33, they were furious and plotted to kill them. Their response is not unlike most responses from those who abuse their authority.

People who abuse their authority when they are called on the carpet they get furious. They don't typically run and hide. They typically begin to plot. The unrepentant tyrant does not hide and does not soften. He plots.

He schemes. He tries to figure out a way to get you back and to destroy you or your reputation. That's what the enemies of God do when they will not repent. When their tyranny is exposed and their authority and commands are disobeyed and rebuffed, The tyrant does not turn from their abuse of authority, nor lay down and hide, because they become furious and they look for those ways in which they might destroy you. Guess what?

They did it to Christ. They will do it to you. If they do it to the Savior, they will do it to the saints. They had learned, these religious leaders had learned nothing. Their eyes were still blinded, their hearts were still hard, They murdered the Prince of Life.

Is it any wonder that they will plot to kill his witnesses? Not so much has changed in 2, 000 years. The enemies of God and his authority are still doing the same things. So I want to close by telling you a modern day story that I believe demonstrates and motivates us to have strong confidence in our God. I don't know if you've heard about the 89 year old woman Eva who was recently arrested by our Department of Justice in the United States.

She was charged with crimes against the FACE Act, which is the act by which if you hinder anyone from going into an abortion mill, that you can be charged with a federal crime. She was guilty for peacefully standing and asking women to not have an abortion. She's going to be sentenced this September on the 26th. She is facing 10 years in prison. She was born in Yugoslavia and became an American citizen.

When she was a young child, she experienced the invasion and occupation of her country by Nazi Germany, and by the end of World War II, her country had become a communist government. And at the age of nine, the government came after her and her family. They were sent to a concentration camp and shoved into a cattle trailer on a train and shipped to this concentration camp where they would ultimately, if they had stayed and not escaped, starve to death. However, God in His way in which He thwarts the plans of His enemies, He delivered this young girl and her family, and they lived eight years in a refugee camp in Austria before being brought to the United States as an immigrant where she became a Christian. Since that time she has been working tirelessly to save the preborn babies.

When asked about her possible 10-year prison sentence this was her response. Quote, well I'm prepared to die there and I'm not afraid really and I believe in the Lord Jesus. I have eternal life now in him and so why would I be afraid? The main reason I'm doing what I am doing is simply in obedience to him. He said in John chapter 14, he who has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves me and I love him and therefore I keep his commandments.

She was asked to close the interview with prayer and this is what she prayed. She said, Father God, Lord, we humbly come in the name of the Lord Jesus. Lord, our nation is in dire trouble. Lord God we are ripe for judgment and if we don't change you have to judge us because of the blood of these innocents that have been murdered and throughout the years not just 60 million many more. Their innocent blood cries out for justice and Lord there is still no repentance in our nation that is evident only in small pockets.

Father I just pray in your mercy give us a spirit of humility and repentance before you. Let your church arise and love you Jesus by obeying you Lord. Lord we ask you in Jesus name, Father, that you will shake our consciences and bring us into obedience before you, Lord, and have mercy on this nation. Lord, have mercy on this nation that you will not have to judge us in Jesus' name. This woman has found a refuge.

This woman fears the Lord. This woman has a strong confidence in her God. She stands in the face of illegitimate commands and says, we ought to obey God rather than men. Let us pray. Our Heavenly Father, we read text like this and we look at your scriptures and We truly stand in awe of the confidence and the boldness at which you gave the apostles to stand before your enemies.

And Lord, somehow we convince ourselves that those were different times. Those are times when the Spirit was powerful among your people. But God, I am convinced that you have not changed because your Word says that you have not changed. I'm convinced Lord that the same Spirit that gave boldness and confidence to the Apostles to stand before the Council and say, we must obey God rather than men, is the same Holy Spirit who lives in all true believers, even those here today. God, I pray for a spirit of boldness and confidence in our God because you've proven yourself, Lord, time and time again.

You've proven yourself strong to save and strong to deliver. Not only, Lord, from the physical things in this life like a prison cell but Lord you're strong to save us from our sins. The mercy seed is there and ready to receive all of those who would repent of their sins. And I pray, oh God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, you would open those deaf ears this morning. That you would open those blinded eyes and that you would do heart surgery and remove that heart of stony flint and that you would place there a heart of flesh.

I pray oh God that you would take all of us who have been redeemed by your grace and you would give us the boldness of Peter and the apostles that we would stand in the face of opposition, not arrogantly, Not as if we are mouthing off at our authorities, but Lord, that we would understand biblical authority, that we would prove ourselves to believe these things by obeying the authorities as you have called us to do, but also being willing to take the risk to stand against unbiblical authority and authorities that have overreached their jurisdiction and to such a point that they would command us to not speak at all in that name. But we will speak Lord in the name of Jesus Christ. Lord would you heal your church from fear of man? Would you grant your people an unworldly boldness to proclaim your truth everywhere we go. God would you forgive us of our sin of cowardice, being timid to stand for the truth.

Forgive us Lord for desiring more to be nice than to be holy. Help us oh God to be your people, a people who will fill this world with your doctrine. And I ask these things in the name which is above every name. At the name in which every knee will bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord. And we ask it in his name.

Amen.