Take your Bibles and find Acts chapter 5, as we continue in our series, “That Old-Time Religion.” We’re looking at the book of Acts—not the Acts of the Apostles, or even, in the strictest sense, the Acts of the Holy Spirit, but the Acts of the Lord Jesus Christ, as He continues to do what He began to do in the Gospels. 

But before we get to that, have you ever thought to yourself, I wish we were living in the days of the apostles?

You think, you know in the days of the apostles there were miracles, and signs, and wonders. The power of the Holy Spirit was falling. People were being baptized in power.

The lame were walking, and the deaf were hearing, and the blind were seeing. Those must have been glorious days.

I have thought that way. I've had those very same thoughts... Lord what it must have been like to have lived during the days of the apostles, and to have seen the miraculous supernatural power of God working and manifesting through the lives of the apostles and the disciples.

I thought about the very introduction of the Holy Spirit as the baptizer in Acts chapter 2 when He comes and baptizes His people with fire. Tongues of fire sitting upon their heads.

And they go forth with tongues of fire witnessing to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ with great power and authority.

It must have been glorious. It must have been amazing. And I have to admit, I have thought to myself ... I sure would have loved to have lived in the days of the apostles.

But to be honest about it I did not completely and accurately process the information that I had.

What I mean is, all the information is right there in the book of Acts, but I only saw what was glorious and exciting.

I didn't see the persecution, and the hostility that was raging against the church. I didn't see the intensity of the anger and hatred for the message of the gospel and toward those who carried it.

Now when I look in the book of Acts I see things differently. I understand that the apostles, as much as they were highly anointed and used by God, they were equally hated and persecuted because of their faith.

But they were bold and they were aggressive, and they were faithful to the calling and to the ministry.

I said all that to say... I believe that we are living now in apostolic days. Or I should say, in days such as the apostles lived in.

But my concern is that though we are living in days of apostolic persecution, we are not living in apostolic power.

The apostles lived under the continual threat of persecution, but the apostles also lived in the power of the Holy Spirit!

My concern is that we are in days of apostolic persecution against the church, or getting mighty close to it, but the church is not moving in apostolic power.

I’m praying that in as much as the church is beginning to experience persecution and hostility it is also going to be used by God as a catalyst for to ignite the church, and to get us back to that apostolic power.

But here is the question, how is the church going to get back to apostolic power?

The answer is very simple, although the path is not. We have to go the same route as the early apostles.

It all starts in the upper room, where 120 men and women who recognized the immensity of the work before them, and understood their inability to accomplish it in human strength or ability, set themselves to praying and seeking God, and crying out in faith, for the promise of power from on high.

Before Jesus left, He told them that they would receive power from on high after the Holy Ghost came upon them. (Acts chapter 1:8)

He told them, "Tarry in Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high." (Luke 24:49)

Jesus knew the work before them would require supernatural power, because Jesus knew that their battle was spiritual, against demons, principalities and powers of darkness.

Jesus also knew that the Baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire would equip them for this battle and this spiritual warfare.

As they came together in one place and one accord to contend in prayer for the promised power from on high, Bible scholars say they were there for ten days pleading for “power.”

That’s what Jesus said they would receive and that’s what they were contending for, “Power from on high.”

Then suddenly the answer came. Suddenly heaven responded to earth, and the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead came rushing in like a mighty wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.

The might of heaven, the strength of God, the mighty Holy Ghost, came suddenly upon them, and set upon them as cloven tongues of fire, and filled everyone of them until they began to speak with other tongues as the Holy Spirit gave them utterance.

Suddenly they were endued with a supernatural power from on high. They were not moving in the weakness of human flesh, they were moving by the power of the Spirit that created the universe. He was now living inside of them and flowing through them like rivers of water.

This is where we must come back to; we must come back to Jesus’ first words concerning their baptism of power.

He said... Go to Jerusalem and tarry there until. How long? Until!

How long is until? It is as long as it takes.

*Until the heavens open.

*Until our weakness is clothed with His strength.

*Until the fire of God sets upon us and sets us on fire.

*Until our tongues speak by Divine power and utterance, and authority.

They waited. We could stop right there for awhile. They waited.

Waiting is a lost art today. We live in a microwave age, we want everything on our time, and that means fast.

The Holy Spirit could have rushed in upon them as soon as they reached the upper room. But there is something important that takes place in the waiting.

In the waiting...

*Motives are exposed.

*Attitudes are corrected.

*Hunger is increased.

*The lukewarm, and half hearted are sifted out.

*Waiting increases our capacity to receive.

*Waiting is the way God prepares us to receive.

*The willingness to wait reveals the value you place on what you’re waiting for.

The greater value you place on something, the longer you are willing to wait, and persevere for it.

I hear the Holy Spirit saying, it’s time for the church to get back to the upper room and get in the receiving posture again.

It’s time to position ourselves before God as the early church, with the same “until” attitude.

Jacob had that until disposition as he wrestled with the angel of the Lord. The angel said; let me go the day breaketh. Jacob said, “I won’t let you go until you bless me.”

This is where we must come back to.

*I won’t let you go until you bless me.

*Until you pour your Spirit out upon me.

*Until you clothe me with your power.

*Until you fill me with your Spirit.

*Until you consume me with Holy fire.

The reason we are not experiencing apostolic power today is because there is so little apostolic praying.

When the church comes back to apostolic praying, she will come back to apostolic power.

In the book of acts chapter 4:29-31 says, the apostles had been threatened for their preaching and their teaching in Jesus’ name.

The Bible says they were gathered together, and they prayed. They prayed, they said, oh Lord behold their threatening's and grant unto servants that with all boldness they may speak thy word by stretching forth thine hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.

Then the Bible says, the place 

And then the Bible says in verse 33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.

Then in chapter 5 verse 12 it says, and by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought, or performed among the people.

The point is... They were all filled with the Holy Ghost. There was a fresh baptism of apostolic power that came upon them when they prayed.

When the church really gets down to the business of praying with power, then the church will emerge clothed with power, and that is what the devil is afraid of.

A praying church is a dangerous church, dangerous to the plans of hell.

If the church does not find her knees in prayer, then the church is going to lose everything she has.

What makes the church the church, is not chicken dinners, and padded pews and air conditioning and stained-glass windows. 

What makes the church the church is the presence and the power of God, residing in and flowing through her to heal and restore and deliver, and the only way to have that is to pray.

The greatest privilege and the greatest responsibility that has ever been given to the church is prayer. If we fail here, we fail everywhere.

Jesus said, my house shall be called of all nations “a house of prayer.”

We are well into apostolic days of evil and persecution. Now, today the church must return to apostolic prayer, and we will see an explosion of apostolic power.

Okay, back to today’s message. 

(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. (13) Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. (14) And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, (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. (16) 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.”

The fear that came upon the people as a result of the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira did not reduce the evangelistic effectiveness of the church. The apostles continued to minister in miraculous ways and reap an evangelistic harvest of souls. The fear that resulted from the death of Ananias and Sapphira caused the unbelievers to be unwilling to pass themselves off as believers. The church did not lower its standards in order to win the lost and the church’s growth did not slow down.

The message of Jesus Christ is spreading rapidly in Jerusalem as spirit-empowered witnesses shared the good news with the lost. No one could deny the power that they saw at work through the church. 

But not everyone was happy with the success of the church. The age-old conflict of living truth versus dead tradition brought a fresh confrontation with the religious establishment.

The blessings of verses 12-14 are accompanied by a fresh wave of persecution. We are now introduced to a third attempt to stifle the preaching of the gospel. Satan’s previous attempt to work within the church failed, so now he stirred up the Sanhedrin again.

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, (18) and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison.

The Sanhedrin was a coalition composed of those who are Sadducees and those who were Pharisees. The Sadducees were the theological liberals who did not believe in the supernatural; things like the resurrection from the dead and the existence of angels. 

The Pharisees were the theological conservatives, the orthodox who believed in resurrection, angels and the supernatural in general. The chief priest was of the Sadducee party.

Once again, the high priest and his associates are very upset. The word translated “indignation” in the Greek means the worse kind of jealousy. 

The high p

riest and his associates were enraged with the apostles for several reasons. 

First, the apostles denied their doctrine. Their preaching on the resurrection of Jesus was in direct conflict with the Sadducees teaching that denied everything supernatural. 

Secondly, the apostle defied their authority. They had given the apostles strict instruction to cease all preaching and teaching in the name of Jesus. That the apostle continued to do so was a slap in the face to their authority. 

Third, the apostles denounced their spirituality. By holding them responsible for the death of Jesus they found them guilty of sin and in need of repentance. 

Finally, the apostles were a danger to their domination of the people. The high priest and his associates, the Sadducees were filled with jealousy as they observed the growing popularity and success of the apostles. As they watched the crowds coming to hear the apostles preach and see them working miracles grew larger. 

They witnessed how the people held the apostles in high honor, and at the same time felt their own influence shrinking. Something had to be done!!!

The truth had to be stopped. But Satan’s opposition backfired, rather than stopping the truth it provided an opportunity for God to display His power.

“But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out.” 

From what the Bible says in other places the angel probably caused a deep sleep to come upon the guards so that they were unaware of the gates being opened or of the apostles departing. 

The angel tells the apostle to, “Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.”(21) And when they heard that, they entered the temple early in the morning and taught.”

The angel did more than release the apostles. He gave them a specific commission. The apostles are told to take their stand and to keep on speaking “to the people all the words of life” that is the words that are giving life to all that believed.

They were not freed that they might hide, but so that they could boldly return to the temple and continue to preach. 

(vv. 21-26) “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. (22) But when the officers came and did not find them in the prison, they returned and reported, (23) 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! (24) Now when the high priest, the captain of the temple, and the chief priests heard these things, they wondered what the outcome would be. (25) So one came and told them, saying, “Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!” (26) Then the captain went with the officers and brought them without violence, for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned.

Before the Sadducees are even aware that the apostles had been released, they were already back at work preaching the word to the people. 

(vv.27-28) “And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, (28) 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!”

I found it is interesting to note when the apostles are brought to stand before the council that the high priest did not ask the apostles how they had been delivered from the prison. I suspect that he  did not want to hear the answer. 

It was obvious that something supernatural took place, but it did not fit in with his theology and he certainly did not want to hear the apostle praise to God for their deliverance either.

Instead, he levels his first indictment by asking them, “did we not command you to not to teach in this name?” He would not even say the name of Jesus. The high priest accused the apostles of “filling Jerusalem” with their teaching. The statement is a great admission of the effectiveness of the witness of the apostles.

The second indictment of the High Priest was “you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” The high priest had conveniently forgotten that he and his associates had said to Pilate, in Matt. 27:25 “His blood be on us and on our children.”  

The high priest had totally misunderstood the purpose of what the apostles had said, probably because of his own guilty conscience. He thought that the apostles wanted to bring vengeance upon them for the death of Jesus when in reality the apostles wanted them to be convicted that they might repent and be forgiven.

Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.” (29) “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree.” (30)

He charged them with willfully rejecting and executing the Messiah and hence of being in rebellion against God.

They declared the truth by exalting Christ (31) “Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.”

(32) “And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

Successful Christians and churches will make waves, and the world and Satan will retaliate with persecution. 

To convicting preaching there are but three possible reactions, hostility, indifferent indecision and saving acceptance.

v. 33 “When they heard this, they were furious and plotted to kill them.”

The response of the priest and others in the courtroom was very volatile. They were as Luke tells us “cut to the quick” the same expression is used one other time, in chapter 7, to describe the reaction of those who heard Stephen speak (7:54). 

Here the exposure of their sin so angered the members of the Sanhedrin they could not even see straight. Conviction either brings repentance or rejection. Rejection often brings anger. The Council was so angry they wanted to kill them.

If the gospel we preach is not convicting enough to ever make anyone angry then it is not sufficiently convicting to bring anyone to salvation.

VV. 34-39 “Then one in the council stood up, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in respect by all the people, and commanded them to put the apostles outside for a little while. (35) And he said to them: “Men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men. (36) For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody. A number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was slain, and all who obeyed him were scattered and came to nothing. (37) After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census, and drew away many people after him. He also perished, and all who obeyed him were dispersed. (38) And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; (39) but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God.”

At this point the disciple found an unexpected ally in Gamaliel. He is the teacher under whom the apostle Paul studied. He was a great rabbi. He basically argues that the Sanhedrin should stop and think before they act. 

Although we can praise Gamaliel as a wise and gracious man, it was only good worldly advice. It sounds on the surface like sound reasoning, but it is not. This line of argument has some real fallacies.

First of all, he classified Jesus as just another rabble-rouser. 

Secondly, he assumes that history always repeats itself, just as the previous rebels had been subdued and their followers scattered so would the followers of Jesus. 

Thirdly he had the mistaken idea that if something was not of God it always fails; experience tells us that is not always so, look at the success of the cults and of the pagan religions of our day. 

Fourth, he assumed that it is possible to be neutral about Jesus and His message; and it is not! “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.” Matthew 12:30 

He was right in that he asserted that “if something is of God you can not overthrow it” v. 39. It’s amazing that Gamaliel would even entertain the possibility that the apostles were a divinely-ordained and divinely-empowered group.

Tragically Gamaliel did not make a commitment to follow Christ. Instead, as far as we know he died waiting to see whether the Christian movement was really of God. The call of the gospel is to respond to God’s invitation today (2 Corinthians 6:2, Hebrews 3:7, 15, 4:7).

5:40-42 “And they agreed with him, and when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. (41) So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. (42) And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.”

Let me assure you, no man can stop us from proclaiming the gospel. There is no stopping the spread of the gospel, not even in countries where Christians are being persecuted and killed. 

In fact, persecution promotes preaching, and we should never be ashamed of proclaiming the gospel. It is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes. 

When people hear the gospel, either they will repent and receive Christ, or they will reject Him, refuse Him, and be forever separated from Him. The moment you hear and understand the gospel, you must make a decision; either to receive or to reject it, the decision is yours.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen!