Paul
Be The Center
Sing Sing Sing
Savior (How Great Is Your Love)
Oh How He Loves Us
Lead Me To The Cross
Who You Are
Jon
Acts 4:23-35
Book of the development of the first church of Christ
Chapters 3-5 talk of the first persecution levelled against the church
The response was astonishing and positive
They die unlike any other
Uneducated and socially marginalized took over Thr Roman Empire
Something happened to them to make them respond the way they did
In Acts 17, these men are causing this upheaval in the greatest empire we’ve ever known
Get to a point where empire isn’t shaking you, but you’re shaking empire
As we walk through this text we’re going to talk about this
Peter and John went back
Lord look upon their threats
The civil authorities over the church could take possession of vital things
If that threat happened to us, how would we respond
In v. 29 they say give us boldness
The fact that that’s what they asked for shows that they were afraid
No prayer for protection of family or money or friends or anything
Can’t take that example and just use it because it’s not verified by other verses
If the civil authorities were just removed, another circumstance would arise
Things shake us from time to time
It’s normal to feel absolutely immobilized when threatened
There’s a reaction inside that locks up and makes you stuck
These elemental things are meant to shift, to ebb and flow, to wax and wane
We don’t want to be vulnerable to those shifts to the point that we fall apart when they change
We’re trying to stop the shaking
Stop the world, I want to get off!
Wealth, freedom, love, life
We can work on forgiveness in relationships
You can jog and take all the vitamins you want, but your body will still break down
My family and I just spent the last week in Ventura with my parents, celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary
My dad (76) just lost his 94 YO mom, Loretta (same name as my mom)
Remembrance service
Mick, Deanna and Sarah and us
My grandfather after 30 years at one company retired and poorly invested the rewards
Grandma Loretta went to work for the Detroit Freepress
Grandpa didn’t like the circumstances so he started drinking
But Grandma didn’t try to stop the world from shaking
Look at Acts 4:25-36 they quote Psalms 102
Nations raging, wars
In the middle God says I have fixed my king on a bill
Psalm 103
Grass withers, flowers fade, mountains crumble, but the words of God go on forever and ever
Certain things that are stable and cannot be shaken
When you invest in the word of God and in relationships with people, those will go on forever and ever
1 Corinthians 15
Because the resurrection is true, stand firm and let nothing move you
Your labor in the Lord is not in vain so give your all
The apostle Paul was constantly persecuted
Because of the resurrection
Hebrews 12
There are things that are unshakeable
The stuff shaken off of us will be burnt up
Maybe God is shaking you right now because there are things that need to go
When confronted with shaking, it can shift inwards (like with my grandfather)
If I’m loving and caring for people in Jesus, it can’t be shaken
Because of His love I can forgive 70 times 7
After praying for boldness, the earth shook, the Holy Spirit came upon them and they spoke the word of God with boldness
I grew up in Detroit, where it’s cold enough that water freezes in the winter
…
Rio comes onto the ice and suddenly we’re more significant than the ice
We stop and slowly get off of the ice when suddenly
Ice quake
…
When God gets down in your heart and it becomes personal, that He wants to do business with me and change me
Don’t let the numbers in your bank account shake your faith in Him
My grandmother lost her wealth, her response was to praise God
Every Thanksgiving she would present a huge spread even though they were just getting by
Grandfather turned inwards and raged against everybody because he felt useless
Have you ever had a God experience?
Where you used to think certain things mattered and now they don’t?
I’m nothing without God
Has something greater than your career or your freedom come down into you?
The more the house shake, the less afraid the members of the church were
You can’t take God from us
Cry out Lord Jesus be real to me
Matthew 27
God rained His justice on all the sins that ever were and ever will be
But in Chapter 28, there is a 2nd quake that rolls the stone away
This is what life is about
In the Old Testament, God knew that Abraham loved Him
Acts 4:32-35
Their stuff became stuff
Radical generosity
When God’s spirit comes down, things happen
In the OT it says to tithe, to give 10%
in the NT we see give until it hurts
Radical giving
I’m going to give all that I can
The world will not stop shaking
My encouragement tonight is that you can pray for God to come down on us tonight
Think about these things