1. The Church under Attack
Acts 4

2. The Church under Attack
Looking back
Acts 1 – Jesus tells the disciples to wait for the promise of the Holy Spirit and power
Acts 2 – Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit comes, Peter preaches, and the church is born
Acts 3 – Peter and John go to the temple, heal the crippled man, and Peter preaches Jesus

3. The Church under Attack
Acts 4
We are faced with a reality of Christian life

4. The Church under Attack
Acts 4
We are faced with a reality of Christian life
If you attempt to live for Christ,
persecution will come

5. The Church under Attack
Acts 4
In Acts 4, some of the Lord’s disciples found themselves facing a time of persecution because of their work for the Lord
We have much we can learn from how they responded to the persecution they encountered

6. The Church under Attack
Trouble we will encounter
Persecution is defined as “hostility and ill-treatment, because of race, political, or religious beliefs
As a church, if we seek to advance the Kingdom of Christ – troubles are on the way

7. The Church under Attack
Trouble we will encounter
As Christians when we seek to grow closer in our walk with Jesus – difficulties will arise
When we obey God’s call on our lives we can rest assured – persecution will come

8. The Church under Attack
Trouble we will encounter
Source of Our Trouble
“And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.” (Acts 4:1-2)
The apostles were calling these people to repent and be saved

9. The Church under Attack
Trouble we will encounter
Source of Our Trouble
This did not sit well with the religious rulers in Jerusalem, so they came against Peter and John
Notice the three groups mentioned:
Priests – were hostile to Jesus
Sadducees – did not believe in the resurrection
Captain of the Temple – Levites who policed the temple

10. The Church under Attack
Trouble we will encounter
Source of Our Trouble
These religious rulers were not the true source of this persecution
They were mere men who were doing Satan’s work for him
Satan was the ultimate source of this persecution
When we face trouble, oppression or persecution, it can be traced directly to Satan

11. The Church under Attack
Trouble we will encounter
Source of Our Trouble
Satan has many people doing his bidding here on earth
From the United Nations general assembly to our federal government, down to our state and local governments, Satan has people in places of influence and authority who implement policies that are opposed to Christ and Christianity

12. The Church under Attack
Trouble we will encounter
Source of Our Trouble
We like to blame those in authority for the troubles we encounter, but we must not be deceived, Satan is behind it all
The devil is the source of our trouble

13. The Church under Attack
Trouble we will encounter
Severity of Our Trouble
“And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.” (Acts 4:3)
Peter and John were arrested and held overnight
The ultimate goal of the Apostles’ accusers was to stop them from preaching in the name of Jesus

14. The Church under Attack
Trouble we will encounter
Severity of Our Trouble
The authorities were not concerned with the lives that had been changed, they just wanted this uproar to go away
Those that would oppress and persecute the church today do not care about the great things that Christ is doing in the lives of people

15. The Church under Attack
Trouble we will encounter
Severity of Our Trouble
They just want to silence the people of God
Sometimes it seems that they are having great success
Our own government consistently implements policies that are directly opposed to what we stand for

16. The Church under Attack
Trouble we will encounter
Severity of Our Trouble
There are many examples of the increasing hostility toward the people of God
Business owners are being fined and sued for refusing to participate in practices that contradict their religious beliefs
Local government officials have been jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples

17. The Church under Attack
Trouble we will encounter
Severity of Our Trouble
There are many examples of the increasing hostility toward the people of God
Some have lost their jobs and/or business for taking a stand for Christ
There is a push to prosecute pastors who preach against homosexuality and charge them with hate crimes

18. The Church under Attack
Trouble we will encounter
Severity of Our Trouble
Trouble will come and things may get very intense
The persecution may increase and be severe
When this happens, our only hope is to look to Christ
To persevere in the midst of persecution, we must trust God to see us through

19. The Church under Attack
Trust that We must Exhibit
Peter and John had spent the night in prison
The next day they were brought before the rulers, elders and scribes and asked: “By what power, or by what name, did you do this?” (Acts 4:7)
We are told that Peter responded being “filled with the Holy Spirit” (v8)

20. The Church under Attack
Trust that We must Exhibit
Listen to what Peter said:
“if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God has raised from the dead – by Him this man is standing before you well.”

21. The Church under Attack
Trust that We must Exhibit
Listen to what Peter said:
“This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:9-12)

22. The Church under Attack
Trust that We must Exhibit
Peter was very bold – because he trusted God
This is the same Peter who had a tendency to stick his foot in his mouth – letting his quick temper boil to the surface
Remember, it was just a few short weeks prior that Peter had cut off a soldier’s ear as they came for Jesus in the garden

23. The Church under Attack
Trust that We must Exhibit
If Peter had attempted to handle the persecution himself, it would have probably been a disaster
The key to Peter persevering in the midst of this persecution is found in v8: “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit…”

24. The Church under Attack
Trust that We must Exhibit
When trouble comes, we want to take control of the situation
We want to “fix” things
Often, when we do, we make things worse

25. The Church under Attack
Trust that We must Exhibit
Or, worse yet, many times when we face persecution, we want revenge
We must not forget that the Lord said, “Vengeance is mine.” (Deuteronomy 32:35)

26. The Church under Attack
Trust that We must Exhibit
In order to persevere in the midst of persecution, we must look to Him
We must seek the answers in His Word
We must follow the direction of the Holy Spirit, and trust God to see us through
Peter and John trusted God and God saw them through

27. The Church under Attack
The Test that We must Endure
During this time of trouble, the followers of Christ were faced with the opportunity to compromise what they believed
When troubles arise in our lives and in our church, we may be tempted to give up or to compromise

28. The Church under Attack
The Test that We must Endure
When persecution comes we will be tested
Here is the test we will face:

29. The Church under Attack
The Test that We must Endure
When persecution comes we will be tested
Here is the test we will face:
Will we compromise or will we be courageous
and continue to move forward for Christ?

30. The Church under Attack
The Test that We must Endure
The religious leader who questioned Peter and John were amazed when they saw their boldness (v 13)
They also recognized that these were men who had been with Jesus
And, they could not deny that a miracle had taken place

31. The Church under Attack
The Test that We must Endure
After conferring among themselves, they decided to threaten Peter and John and charged them “not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus” (Acts 4:17)
At this point, Peter and John had a choice to make:

32. The Church under Attack
The Test that We must Endure
They could obey the religious leaders and be in opposition to God, or
They could obey God and be in opposition to the religious leaders

33. The Church under Attack
The Test that We must Endure
Here is a way of putting the danger they faced in perspective
They were standing before the very men who had been instrumental in crucifying Jesus
They did not know what the consequences would be if they refused to obey the command handed down

34. The Church under Attack
The Test that We must Endure
But they were bold, courageous, and trusted God
Note their words:
“Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19-20)

35. The Church under Attack
The Test that We must Endure
They passed the test!
And so did three young Hebrew men as we studied in Daniel (fiery furnace) who refused to bow to King Nebuchadnezzar’s idol

36. The Church under Attack
The Test that We must Endure
History records the stories of many others who refused to compromise in the face of severe persecution
We should note that not all were delivered

37. The Church under Attack
The Test that We must Endure
Multitudes of Christians have given their lives rather than compromise and deny Christ
This does not mean they have failed the test
Actually, they received the Ultimate Reward

38. The Church under Attack
The Test that We must Endure
We know that trouble will come
The question is how will we respond, if it brings financial loss, or cause physical pain, or costs us our life?
Will we be courageous and follow Christ?
If we pass the test…..

39. The Church under Attack
The Triumph that We can Experience
The religious rulers threatened the Apostles again and then let them go
They were opposed to them, but could not deny what was happening in their midst “because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened…” (Acts 4:21)

40. The Church under Attack
The Triumph that We can Experience
Peter and John were released and continued the mission that had been assigned to them
And the success continued
Multitudes of people heard the good news of Jesus Christ because of these men
And God was glorified through their work

41. The Church under Attack
The Triumph that We can Experience
Throughout the rest of their lives, Peter and John suffered great persecution because of their stand for Christ
John was exiled to the Isle of Patmos
Peter was eventually crucified
They continued to persevere until the end

42. The Church under Attack
The Triumph that We can Experience
We will face times of trouble when we serve Christ
Our church will be attacked when we faithfully do what we have been called to do
We will face trouble from without and from within
Peter and John were attacked after a great victory, and when we have progress, Satan will seek to cause us harm

43. The Church under Attack
Acts 4 teaches us that four things will occur when we attempt to live for Christ
Trouble will come
When troubles come, we must trust God
When we are tested we must be courageous
If we do, we can experience a great triumph

44. The Church under Attack
Will you live your life
for Christ?