Please turn in your Bibles this morning to Acts chapter 4 as we look at two men who walked with Jesus, stayed close to Him, and the results it had in their lives. You see, I believe God desires that closeness with us. Now the complaint by many as they are called into service by the Lord is they are not qualified to do anything for Jesus, but, as we shall see, there is only one qualification for service that is needed. Before we get into our text this morning, listen to this true story, it goes like this:
Dr. Charles Weigle composed the favorite “No One Ever Cared for Me Like Jesus.” One day he visited Pasadena, California. Early that morning he had an opportunity to walk through some of the famous rose gardens when the full fragrance of the flowers filled the air.
Later in the day he arrived at the hotel where a Bible conference was being held. As he took his seat, a man turned to him and said, “Dr. Weigle, I know where you’ve been. You toured one of our lovely gardens, for I can smell the pleasing aroma on your clothing.”
“My prayer is that I may walk so closely with the Lord that the fragrance of His grace will pervade my being. I want them to know by my words, actions, and songs that I have been with Jesus.”
- H. G. Bosch
In our study this morning Peter and John have been arrested by the Sadducees for healing a lame man and preaching of the resurrection of Jesus, something the Sadducees did not believe in, life after death, a resurrection, a spirit world and-so-on. As their case comes up on the following day after their arrest, they stand before the Sanhedrin or a 71 member Jewish religious Supreme Court you might say, which included the high priest. This group wanted to know who gave them the right, the authority, the power to do and say these things.
So Peter, filled or empowered by the Holy Spirit, shares with them of the death and the resurrection of Jesus, the one they put to death, the one they, as the builders of the faith should have been bringing the people to, but have instead rejected Jesus, the chief cornerstone of our faith. In fact, Peter tells them that Jesus alone saves; there is salvation in no other name, no other person, no other thing, only Jesus! The religious leaders asked for it, and Peter gave it to them, he did not hold back!
Now let’s pick up our study this morning in Acts chapter 4, beginning in verse 13 and see the response of these religious leaders to what Peter said and then we will apply these things to our own lives, see where we are at and help to keep us walking closer to Jesus.
The religious leaders, as they watched Peter and John, as they heard the things that Peter and John were saying, were blown away, they didn’t get it. Peter and John spoke with such authority and that confused these religious leaders. How come? Because they knew Peter and John were uneducated men or they did not attend any of the Rabbinical Schools. They knew Peter and John were untrained men or they were not professionals, they were only laymen! Thus, how can they speak with such boldness, with such authority, with such power?
The only thing they could come up with, and it is a good one, is that these men, Peter and John had been with Jesus, which is partially correct, for they still were with Jesus. That is the thing that made the difference in their lives – JESUS! The problem, at least for these religious leaders, is they put to death Jesus, but now He is being manifested in the lives of His disciples! What a testimony that is!
Have you ever noticed in people certain passions they have for things? You can tell what they really love, what they really enjoy for as they speak they are so detailed in what they are saying on this particular subject. Let me give you a few examples to show you what I mean and I’m sure you can come up with some passion or passions in your own life. Mickey loves auto racing. How do I know that? Because when I talk to him about auto racing he can tell the different drivers, races, how much gas they can use in a race, the cost of the gas, the cost for the engines, how much the tires cost and how many of those tires they use in a race, and-so-on. You can tell he has a passion for auto racing as you talk with him.
Fred, when you mention the New York Yankees the light goes on and he can tell you anything you want to know about them. He can name players, give stats of certain players, tell you the years they won the World Series, which is a lot harder to do than naming the YEAR the Chicago Cubs won the World Series! Do you know the battle cry for the Chicago Cubs? “Wait till next year!” Anyway, you can tell I am a Chicago White Sox fan. But again, when you talk to Fred about the New York Yankees you can tell he has a passion for them.
Art, he loves guitars and he can tell you the names of different guitars that are out there, the various pedals that are used, which blows me away, because to me a guitar is a guitar – sorry Art! But again, he has a passion for guitars and music and you can tell when you talk to him about it!
And I can go on, but I think you get the point, whatever is the passion of your heart, and your life will be manifested in the things you do and the things you say. Now please, don’t misunderstand me, don’t take this wrong. I am not putting these men down for these things nor are these things evil or wrong, not at all. It is just a fact. We have various passions in our lives and it will be manifested when you begin to talk about that subject.
The thing I would like to focus on here is another passion, one that is important, more than anything else, and that is a passion for Jesus, because the more time you spend with Him, the more of Jesus will be manifested in your life and the less of self will be seen. That is what we see here in Acts chapter 4, because of the proximity, the closeness they had with Jesus, as the religious leaders looked at them, they saw Jesus in them!
A great example of this is seen in Exodus chapter 34 as Moses returns from spending time with the Lord, receiving the Law, and we read beginning in verse 29 of Exodus chapter 34, “Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses' hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him. So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. Then Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned to him; and Moses talked with them. Afterward all the children of Israel came near, and he gave them as commandments all that the LORD had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. But whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with Him, he would take the veil off until he came out; and he would come out and speak to the children of Israel whatever he had been commanded. And whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone, then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with Him.” Exodus 34:29-35.
The more Moses spent time with the Lord, the more his face shinned the glory of God! But, as Moses spent time away from God his face did not shine like it did before, it lost its glow. In fact, Paul picks up on this in II Corinthians 3:13 when he says, “unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away.”
These is some speculation to why Moses covered his face but I think Paul is telling us that it was because the glow of God in his life was diminishing, it was fading and Moses didn’t want the people to see that. Once he was refilled you might say, refreshed by spending time with the Lord, his face returned to that glow of God once again.
What does that have to do with you and me? Think about it, as we spend time with the Lord, as we spend time in His Word, in fellowship, our lives will glow for God, our face glows with the radiance of God. But, when we don’t spend time with the Lord, when we are not in His Word, when we are not in fellowship with Him, instead of our face glowing forth God, we are growling at people, biting their heads off, the works of the flesh are manifested in our lives instead of the fruit of the Spirit!
Paul, in Romans 13:14 says, “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” What does that mean to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ”? Think of it like this, when you get dressed you put on your clothes, that is a physical representation or response or action. Now let’s apply that spiritually. When you put on the Lord Jesus Christ you must immerse yourself in Him, start the day with Him and make Him a part of your entire day, never take Him off or you will be naked, spiritually speaking. Thus, as you put on the Lord Jesus Christ, you have no room for the flesh to come out; you have not made a provision or opened a door for the flesh to show itself in you. But, as you take off the Lord Jesus in your life, you then open that door and the flesh is manifested!
Peter and John had put on the Lord Jesus Christ and the religious leaders saw Jesus in them! They saw the power of God working through them as this man who was born lame some 40 years earlier is now walking! They could not deny the power working in these men and through them and out of this the people were worshiping and praising God!
Thus, these religious leaders had a problem. They put Jesus to death but now Jesus is being manifested in His disciples and the only thing they can now do, because they feared the people, was threaten Peter and John and tell them not to speak of this Jesus anymore. But they responded back to these religious leaders by telling them to judge for themselves what they should do, obey God and speak of Jesus or obey these men and not speak of Jesus. What a great response and they continued on by saying, “For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” Acts 4:20.
Now some of you might be thinking, “I’m not Peter or John. I could never do what they did!” You are right about one thing, you are not Peter or John and neither am I but we do have one thing in common. Do you know what that is? It is JESUS! You see, it is not my ability, my intellect, my strength, my power, it is my proximity to Jesus, am I abiding in Him? Yes, God does gift us and uses those gifts for His glory. I would not lead worship but God has given us gifted men and women to do that. And what a blessing our worship team is in leading us in the worship of God. The thing is, if they are going to rely on their talent, then that is as far as they will go. But if they use their talent, trusting God, realizing that it is God that has gifted them, then the sky is the limit on where God will take them! And that is true for anything we do for the Lord, we can do it in the power of our flesh or the power of His Spirit!
For those who are still struggling with this, wondering how God can use you, you have no talent, you have no gift, you are a nobody, let me give you a list to see if you do qualify for God to use you. After I read through this, if you still think you are not qualified to be used by God, see me and we will go over it again. Here are the qualifications for being used by God, being put into service for Him from I Corinthians 1:25-31 as Paul tells us, “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God -- and righteousness and sanctification and redemption -- that, as it is written, ‘He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.’”
Okay, here it is, God is looking for those who are not too wise according to the world, not too strong, not to influential, being a fool is good, being weak is good, being insignificant is good, being looked down upon or despised is good – now how many of you are now qualified for service?
You see, it is all about Jesus who will equip us for the work. Now that does not mean we just sit around and become a couch potato in our Lazy-Boy recliners, we need to be men and women of the Word, men and women of fellowship, men and women who are involved in communion, and men and women who are in prayer. Paul put it this way in I Timothy 4:8, “For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.”
Yes, bodily exercise does help some but spiritual exercise, exercising our faith is even more important for us to be involved in because it is profitable not only for our own walk, but for others who are around us! I like what Dave said in one of his teachings. When I am out of the Word one day, I know it. When I am out of the Word two days, my wife knows it. And when I am out of the Word for a week, everyone knows it! Remember that!
Let me give you an example of what I mean from an article in Today in the Word. The story goes like this:
John Mason Brown was a drama critic and speaker well known for his witty and informative lectures on theatrical topics. One of his first important appearances as a lecturer was at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Brown was pleased, but also rather nervous, and his nerves were not helped when he noticed by the light of the slide projector that someone was copying his every gesture. After a time he broke off his lecture and announced with great dignity that if anyone was not enjoying the talk, he was free to leave. Nobody did, and the mimicking continued. It was another 10 minutes before Brown realized that the mimic was his own shadow!
Was Brown’s shadow real? Of course. Does a shadow have the power to control a person’s actions? Of course not. It can only mimic us. But in Brown’s case, his shadow did control momentarily. Why? Because he allowed himself to be so distracted – “addicted,” if you will – by it that he completely forgot what he was supposed to be about. That’s a pretty good description of the sin nature we carry within us as redeemed people. It can cause havoc, even though it has been made powerless by our identification with Christ.
- Today in the Word, May 17, 1992
The solution to that, as I have said, is to put on the Lord Jesus Christ! Yes, it is a life-long process as we are being conformed into the image of Christ, becoming more like Him, having His nature flow from our lives and less of us and our nature, the flesh nature, sin. Paul put it this way in II Corinthians 3:18, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” God is transforming you, He is transforming me, and it is a word that means metamorphosis, like a caterpillar changing into a butterfly, which is what God is doing with us! And folks, that happens as we spend time with Him and allow Him to mold and shape us into the men and women He wants us to be!
How many of you have ever been camping before? Many of you have and I’m sure you remember what your clothes smelled like as you sat around the camp fire, they smelled like smoke! You could not escape that smell because of the proximity you had to the fire and the smoke!
The same is true with Jesus, the more we spend time with Him the more we will spread the fragrance of Jesus to those around us. Paul once again put it this way in when he said in II Corinthians 2:14-16, “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?”
What aroma or fragrance are you leaving behind? What aroma or fragrance are you giving to people? If it is the fragrance of Jesus, then those that receive it have the aroma of life as they accept Christ. For those who reject Jesus, they are receiving the aroma of death, eternally separated from Christ. Your responsibility is to release the fragrance of Jesus and then it is up to them what they do with that! But, if you are not putting on the Lord Jesus Christ each day, then you are not giving them the fragrance of Jesus, they, in a sense, are getting skunked by you!
Turn with me to I John chapter 3 for a minute and let’s begin reading in verse 1 which says “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” I John 3:1-3.
God has given to us a love that is out of this world, no words can give it justice, no words can express how much God loves us, but His actions speak louder than words. All you have to do is look at his outstretched arms as He hung on the Cross of Calvary, paying in full the penalty for our sins. Why did He do it? Because He loves us that much!
Not only that, we are His children, adopted into the family of God through Jesus Christ! And yes, we are not all that we should be, but God has not given up on us, because the work He has begun in us He will complete it and when we see Him fact-to-face we will be like Him! Thus, as we wait for Him, it is our desire, as we immerse ourselves in Jesus, that we are being transformed into His image, His nature, His love, His compassion, His forgiveness and-so-on as these things come flowing from our lives!
As I begin to rap this up this morning, listen to this article that will speak for itself, I don’t think I need to set it up. It goes like this:
In a bulletin of a Roman Catholic Church in Wisconsin this amazing statement by a priest was printed: “There have been a number of people leaving the church a few minutes after they have received Holy Communion . . . This is a great dishonor to our blessed Lord. The Church tells us Jesus remains in our bodies fifteen minutes after we have received Holy Communion. That means that our thanksgiving should be at least fifteen minutes long . . . We should not leave the church until our Lord is no longer with us!”
- J. Wilbur Smith
Obviously that is not a true statement. God does not enter us at Communion and then leave us fifteen minutes later! In Hebrews we are told, “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” Hebrews 13:5. So the Lord does not leave us, but we can leave the Lord, turn our backs to Him. May we not forget that, for God desires to dwell with us!
Folks, let me say this, we should not leave our homes, our church without the Lord because, when we do, what will flow from our lives will not be pretty, but petty; it will not be friendly, but frightening; it will not be loving, but lousy! The choice, though, is yours, but I am here to tell you, “Jesus, don’t leave home without Him!”
And as I close, let me just say this, you don’t have to go looking for ministry, ministry will find you, ministry does happen as you are walking with the Lord. Remember as Peter and John were going to the temple for prayer in the afternoon, and at the gate Beautiful they came across a man who was lame from birth begging for alms, lame for some 40 years, and as they were walking, God was getting ready to work and He did as He used Peter as an instrument to heal this man of his physical lameness and also his spiritual lameness. You see, ministry will find you as you walk with Him! And as you do, as you walk with the Lord, obeying His voice, see what He can do in you and through you as your heart is surrendered unto Him! As Jesus said, may we listen and obey, “For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” John 13:15-17.