What would you do when the moment finds you? The moment found Rosa Parks, on December 1st, 1955. Though she had been active in the civil rights movement for over a decade, she didn’t expect to become the face of the movement that day. She was just trying to get home from work. As you know the tale, she sat down on the first row of seats marked “coloureds”, just behind the section for the whites, and as that section filled up, the bus driver, James Blake, motioned for Ms. Parks and the three other black passengers to give up their seats. The others moved back. Ms. Rosa Parks settled in. Later she said:

People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.

I did not want to be mistreated, I did not want to be deprived of a seat that I had paid for. It was just time... there was opportunity for me to take a stand to express the way I felt about being treated in that manner. I had not planned to get arrested. I had plenty to do without having to end up in jail. But when I had to face that decision, I didn't hesitate to do so because I felt that we had endured that too long. The more we gave in, the more we complied with that kind of treatment, the more oppressive it became.

Her subsequent arrest launched her into the centre of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and into the middle of the civil rights movement. She didn’t set out to be a hero. She was just trying to get home from work. 

There was another women recently whom the moment found. After the death of her mom, Kim Davis experienced something of a spiritual conversion. Her lifestyle and attitudes changed, she began studying the Bible, she even led a women’s bible study at one of the local prisons. All in all however, she seemed to be a pretty ordinary women, who considered herself a pretty ordinary Christian. Everything changed for Kim on the morning of June 26th, 2015. For on that day, the Supreme Court of the United States declared that homosexual couples had a fundamental right to marry according to the United States Constitution. This put Kim in a difficult position, for she held the position in her county of signing the marriage licenses. Kim wasn’t a perfect person - she’d been divorced three times before finding her faith, but she suddenly felt a crisis of conscience, for she did not believe it right that five unelected judges could so redefine marriage, which she had come to believe was God-ordained. So she went to work that day, and while she fulfilled all other parts of her duties, she refused to sign any marriage licences. And like Rosa Parks, she soon found herself in jail, but more than that, she found herself in the centre of a nationwide storm. 

Now you might not agree with Ms. Parks or Ms. Davis. You might not think that they were justified in what they did, you might not agree with them politically, but that’s not the point I’m making. All I want you to see right now is that these two ordinary women woke up one day, went to work, and, because of decisions that their consciences called them to that day, found themselves in the centre of the storm there lives never to be the same again. Martin Luther: I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God. Amen. And my question for you this morning is this - what would you do when the moment finds you? What sorts of things are at the centre of your conscience? What would cause you to stay seated, or cause you to take a stand? 

In Acts chapter four, the moment hits Peter and John. We’ve been following there story the last couple of weeks in Acts chapter 3 - of how they woke up one day, went to the Temple to pray, and then found themselves at the centre of the storm. You remember what started this all, a beggar at the temple gates, asking to receive alms, and Peter and John saying to him, “we don’t have any to give you, but in the name of Jesus get up and walk!” the man was miraculously healed which led to Peter proclaiming to all who were gathered there that God had sent His Messiah, Jesus Christ, who healed this man and now commands us all to repent and believe on his name that we might be forgiven. And so here in chapter 4 we have the aftermath:

Acts 4:1   And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.

Acts 4:5   On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 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 raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 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 4:13   Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. 14 But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. 15 But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, 16 saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” 18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” 21 And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.

I want to direct you back to Acts 4:13:  Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. This is the quality that Luke highlights for us this chapter - though they are common men, they are bold. We read this a nobel, as praise, but their is mocking and scorn in these words: they were ungrammatai, and idiot - they weren’t trained rabbi’s. May that be our prayer for our church today when the moment hits us. 

Bold Witnesses Go In Where They are Told to Get Out: 

Acts 4:1   And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.

You can’t arrest people because they annoy you. The word is probably not strong enough in the ESV. Other translations use “Provoked/Disturbed/Distressed/Grieved”. Still, it seems odd that this would be enough to arrest someone.  But we need to understand, this is not a neutral site. The boldness of Peter and John is that they threatened the turf of their society’s sacred space - literally, the temple. They are at the temple, proclaiming Jesus, and because they are at the temple, the gatekeepers of the temple are able to shut them down, to arrest them. 

The first temptation: Give Up Ground, to privatize. This week I read, “Hostile Environment: Understanding and Responding to Anti-Christian Bias” by George Yancey. George Yancey (PhD, University of Texas) is professor of sociology at the University of North Texas, specializing in race/ethnicity, biracial families and anti-Christian bias. Party of Yancey’s argument is that anti-Christian bias exists in our culture, particularly in the institutions of academia, media and politics, but that it is different than racism or anti-semitism, homophobia or even islamophobia. That is, at least at this point in history, there is very little call for violence against Christians or elimination of our rights altogether, as sometimes is directed toward other groups. So Yancey says that we are overstating our situation and in fact undermining our cause when we cry persecution. But Yancey’s research demonstrates that there is a palpable suppression of the Christian faith in those institutions, particularly in academia. He writes: 

"Those with Christianophobia primarily want to inhibit the ability and willingness of Christians to advocate for Christian faith or values. They generally do not want to alter what is taught in Christian churches and homes, but believe Christians should shut up elsewhere."

We can live an easy life as a Christian, as long as we stay in the space society marks out for us.  The greatest temptation of the church today is to give up ground, to retreat into ourselves and our private bubbles. But Bold Witness Go in where they are told to get out.  This is why when the moment comes, it will most likely come to you at your jobs or at your schools, rather than to the church leaders. It’s why you need to be ready to think through what challenges to your faith may come in your profession, in your career. 

But look at the results - the number of men came to about five thousands. Revival will not come through retreat. Revival will not come to our city when the church unless the church boldly threatens the turf of societies sacred spaces; however, harvest will not come without hardship. 

Bold Witnesses of Jesus Do Not Minimize The Exclusive Claim’s of Christ to Get Out of Hard Spaces:

The question is not only will you go to where you’re not necessarily wanted, but then, when you’re there will you stand for Christ? The apostles did what bold witnesses of Jesus do, by not giving up the space. But they also spoke:

  • They spoke Spiritually: Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them,
  • They spoke respectfully: “Rulers of the people and elders,
  • They spoke realistically: 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 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 raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well

This is very important later - they don’t exaggerate their claims, but state very clearly the reality of what has happened. 14 But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. 15 But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, 16 saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.

  • They spoke uncompromisingly: 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 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.”

This is the main point: they had every opportunity to deflect or to minimize. It’s one thing to be bold enough to enter the sacred space, its another thing to speak out with clarity of conviction once you are there. Bold Witnesses of Jesus Do Not Minimize The Exclusive Claim’s of Christ to Get Out of Hard Spaces. They doubled-down on speaking uncompromisingly - and make no mistake, this is the message the world hates, but it is the very message that motivates us to walk into the sacred spaces in which we are not wanted: 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.

The emphasis is on the exclusivity of Christ. Reading in the original language, the sentence is as emphatic as can be: “Not in any other - no one, is this salvation - neither is there any other name under heaven, given to me, in which it must be that we are saved.” It’s Jesus or nothing. That’s the message that drove them to the temple. That’s the message that gave them boldness before the masters.   

Bold Witnesses of Jesus Must Defy Evil Directives

We have in verses 14:13-22 the response of the leaders to these bold Christians. They marvel and mock: Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. Yet the pivotal moment occurs in verses 18-20:

18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” 

Here we have Peter and John directly defying the orders of the temple authorities and the leaders of the people, and here we see where our obedience to the commandments of men must be defied. When Christian are called upon or are compelled by those in authority to violate the commands of God, we must listen to God rather than men. this is an exercise in civil disobedience. We do not do this lightly - both Peter and Paul wrote in their letters to the churches directing us Christians to honour and bey those who are in authority over us, seeing worldly governments as having been instituted by God to approve good conduct among the people and to avenge evil. Yet God’s people are never to offer worldly governments unconditional obedience. If the government seeks to compel us to do evil or forbid us from doing good, then we must obey God rather than man, and we see this through the scriptures:

  • God commended the Hebrew midwives when they disobeyed Pharaohs commands to throw the Hebrew baby boys into the river. 
  • God saved Rahab from destruction when she hosted and hid the Israelite spies in defiance of the King of Jericho.
  • The book of Daniel contains multiple acts of civil disobedience in which the Hebrews participated when the kings of Babylon commanded them to commit idolatry. 

We look to these men and women as heroes of the faith, yet in their generation, from the perspective of those in charge, they were villains, they were criminals, they were despised. And though in each one of these cases God vindicated these men and women - and so they were all ultimately spared, others faced imprisonment, torture, slander, and death. Listen, when the moment comes to you - you may not be heralded as a hero. You may just be getting up one day and going to work or to school, and God might thrust you into a scenario in which you’ve got to make a choice as to whether you will sit or whether you will stand. You’ve might have one chance to speak, and when you do I pray that you will not minimize Jesus, but that you will magnify him. Choose you this day what you will do, if that day should come to you.

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