Zeal vs. Zeal (Part A)

Revelation course throughout its pages. All that angelic power that Angel was not called to preach the gospel with all that force with all of his knowledge and holiness.

The presence of God. Sinners saved by the grace of God called delivered from bondage from jail to preach the gospel.

This is cross reference radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville.

Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of acts.

Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching, but for now let's join Pastor Rick in the book of acts chapter 5 for a new message called seal versus seal just want to make a brief comment about what's going on concerning what is called abortion. If you have been guilty of such a sin. God is ready to forgive you completely forgive you and sometimes I think we fail to communicate that in our denouncing sin. It's important that we also make clear a Doris is there that is open, you must repent. It's not enough to be sorry for your sin, you must admit it before God and work to turn from and unfortunately many of those who are protesting what they don't even know what they are doing. I think none of them have been awarded and they just can't connect the dots because Satan has blinded them and so we stand firm and what we believe. We preach the truth and hopefully with love. That's what I want to start out by saying well we're going to's stand and read a moment from the book of acts chapter 5 we overlap from last session we will read again. Verses 17 and in addition to where we stopped last week on verse 21 will take it to verse 31. This message is entitled seal versus seal is a contest passion, which is stand please for the reading of God's word beginning in verse 17 the book of acts a little long but worth it all is and when we come to these long sections to stand and read just be grateful were not in Leviticus, 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 and laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison. But at night. An angel of the Lord opened the prison doors, and brought them out and said go stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life. When they heard that they enter the temple early in the morning and taught, 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 verse 22 now.

But when the officers came and did not find them in the prison they returned and reported saying. Indeed, we found the prison shut securely in the guards standing outside before the doors, but when we open them. We found no one inside that when the high priest the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they wondered what the outcome would be. So, one came and told them, saying, look, the man whom you put in prison or standing in the temple and teaching the people. The captain went with the officers and brought them without violence with a feared the people, lest they should be stoned and when they had brought them. They set them before the Council and the high priest asked him, 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 but Peter and the other apostles answered and said we ought to obey God rather than men, the God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you murdered by hanging on a tree him. God has exalted to his right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

We are his witnesses to these things, so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him, while the devil is zealous to not the only ones that are zealous for Jesus Christ. The prophet Isaiah said concerning the Messiah when he came that zeal for his father's house would consume him. And Christ repeated that and when we come to Christ we get some of that fire that zeal that passion for the things of God but Satan was also passionate in his insanity and he finds those who are still in their sin to be his vessel to do his bid. They don't have to believe in Satan to be his flunky. They do not have to believe in Satan too big to go to hell, all they have to do is reject Christ reject God and these Pharisees. They are very Israel Sadducees at this point they are very passionate about their lifestyle, their religion, their views and their hatred for the Christ.

And let's not forget that we may lose some of it in the print but in reality they brought about the crucifixion of violent and gruesome death of the Christ looking again at verse 17 then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him, which is the sect of Sadducees, and they were filled with indignation so the various leading groups of religious authorities than they were also civil authorities. The Pharisees and the Sadducees, they were the leading ones and hear the Sadducees, they they had more money, really, than than the Pharisees, and they were not is as spiritual and they became particularly hostile towards the church after the crucifixion of Jesus when he walked he went straight at the Pharisees that sect. But in the church as the church was born and moved forward. The Sadducees were the ones that came against us.

They were the spiritual liberals of their day. They did not believe in the angels they did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, they did not believe the spiritual things and they were quite indignant at the report of demonic activity being dealt with by the apostles know if you've not been following preceding verse 17, the apostles were there in Jerusalem and they were performing these miracles. They were delivering people from the bondage of Satan. They were preaching Christ and the resurrection is pointless to deliver someone from the bondage of Satan. Physically, if you not delivering them spiritually. What is it profit a man if he gains his health and still goes to hell. And this is something that we would never lose sight of. As believers, well, the teaching of the resurrection was a death blow to what the Sadducees believed and they were threatened by the reception that the apostles were receiving. As for instance today to preach that God created the universe from nothing. That is a death blow to those who believe in the evolution of the species and want to, block God out of just bringing it up to the time we live in, and they were filled with indignation while they were filled with the Holy Spirit because of they were.

It would've been on a whole another matter. This word now if you don't know this. The New Testament was originally recorded in the Greek language and is translated into various languages that word in the original language indignation is zealous in the Greek from where we get our English word zeal and jealousy.

It is equally translated jealousy or envy, and it takes a little time to get into the difference of the two and be involved more covetousness and jealousy, possessiveness, well this zeal. This indignation describes their jealousy how it showed up and it means in the Greek zealous hot to be burning hot and they were they were a hot we use a what I got was hot and he was angry at something and a how dare these nobodies defy us. They don't know who we are. So the high priest supposedly the high priest, the spiritual leader in Israel is jealous over Satan's work being defeated. What a defective way to think he was infuriated sick people were being healed by other people. What difference does it matter well to him and mattered everything verse 18 and laid hand and lay their hands on the apostles, and put them in common prison. So they arrested them for this. The officers doing the arresting, you know you look at them today. Some sometimes I am pro-police, but you certainly don't want to see them put in a situation like this, especially the believing Christians is just real is real.

That's the point I am trying to get that were not reading a fairytale reading about real events that can happen and do happen again. These men were imprisoned for doing good you committed no crime. The hope was to discredit to discredit them see their criminals to discourage them. You heard me referencing well you might know yourself about the Oxford martyrs. These three scholarly men. Now this happened in the year 1555. This is the year that they were burned at the stake. 1555 and 1556, one of them huge Vladimir. He wrote whenever you see persecution. There is more than a probability that truth is on the persecuted side.

These men are being censored there being shut down. Now you let a mere one of the scholars. The Oxford martyrs that was burned at the stake for daring to challenge blood. He married the Queen of London at the time and she was a devout Catholic, trying to reverse the English Reformation and violently so huge. Vladimir was the oldest of the three moderns. He was 68 years old when they burn him at the stake. Nicholas Ridley was 55 years old and Thomas Cranmer who was burned several months later he was 66 years old. Hatred. Hatred over what somebody believes that's different than what you believe is expressed in this violence I mean this wasn't a crime. This is not civil justice on people were murdering people. This was just we hate your religion. We hate you, and religious hatred is a special hatred well these men for them. These three men. The Bible is not only to live for but to die for and this is what got them in trouble that they stood by what the Scripture said and not what supposedly church authorities said church dogma they want by what the Bible says don't think for one minute that those days are gone forever book of Revelation makes it clear they are coming back and they're coming back with a vengeance.

I will get to some of that if you let me speed up here. Verse 19. But at night. An angel of the Lord opened the prison doors, and brought them out and said go stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life would take verse 19 first. Again, this header sees they didn't believe in angels.

That's why they were sad to see souls that we don't limit anyway. God uses an angel to deliver the apostles. I mean it's it's it's ironic it's it's humorous.

It's like God sort of defining their approach to whatever it is they were approaching. Yet with all of the you know the Angels a very powerful we talk about Weise look at them and from for example in in the book of Isaiah. One night when Angel wipes on Army thousand men interested in single night. The book of Revelation. Of course they thunder throughout its pages with all that angelic power that Angel was not called to preach the gospel with all that force with all of his knowledge and holiness in the presence of God. Sinners saved by the grace of God called were delivered from bondage from jail to preach the gospel. That should register with us now. This is an angel of the Lord not the angel of the Lord.

So in the Old Testament you come across the angel of the definite article the angel of the Lord all that is a Christophe and he that is an appearance of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament long before the virgin birth because he is the eternal son is God the son, and now looking at verse 20. The angel said to them, go stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life was a waste of time to speak to their persecutors.

At this point the people to the people they were sent, they returned to the very scene where they were arrested and not this is very important wasn't because of some self-determination of that which is defiant. Men, it was because they were commanded by the Lord to do this, the angel brought that message.

Here's your orders. Here are your orders go back to where you were preaching where they arrested you now going to Kings on Wednesday night. We talked about that powerful prophet Elijah God told him you need to get out of here. Go to the book curette Brook curette and hide out there the point that I am making is we must be led by the Lord and not some passion or view that is homegrown that comes from within its what is God leading me to do is the never going to lead us contrary to Scripture, but he will, and often does lead us. Contrary to what we might be thinking these men when they were delivered from jail. They might've thought what was going to go home.

That's not what was happening and they probably did go home first anywhere anyway. They return to that spot.

The place of arrest will land them in honorable beating before this is all over. He says and speak to the people all the words of this life well servants. That's what they were and they were called to be free, they were called to preach.

We have come to expect this from his apostles as we move through. We watch them mature from the days of his walk with Christ in Galilee. There are times to flee their times to engage directly engage go back to Kings again with that prophet Elijah. At one point they come to arrest him and he said man of God, come with us. You're under arrest and he says if I'm a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and they were gone. That is a pretty powerful prophet, but before that going back to his great escape.

God sent him get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook unit which flows into the Jordan. And he wasn't ashamed to hide at the command of God. That's what was called for and he wasn't ashamed to go stand in front of Ahab. When that was called for either but is this reference here speak to the people all the words of this life. Okay Christians, what do you speak to people well. I hope that when you do speak the words of life. It is at the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Peter has the honor of claiming this phrase in the Bible, the words of life in John's Gospel when Jesus didn't ask people to come back to church when they decided to leave his okay see and a transit on the state you stand, you going to and this is a pattern that I think the churches should follow well at this point, Jesus preached a sermon that a lot of people didn't like so much so they were out here leaving the church rack coming back.

There was talk like that get the feeling had to do some of your love other churches did you say that like that. I anyway just having a little fun don't go get uptight over that what you want because the anointing is on anyway. Jesus said to the 12. Do you also want to go away and Simon answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go. You have the words of eternal life. Love that where we gonna go nobodies got this just you not given it up for anybody. Some of those people that left I like them but this is where I belong, which we would catch more of that. So Peter is the one and later he will write his divine power has given to all things that pertain to life. It is one of the Scripture verses that a lot of Christians bypass even reject the don't believe that the Scripture gives you all the words that pertain to human behavior you want to know how to behave, what to do. I think one of the setbacks for great causes of Christians come crumbling is that they're not ready for the opposition God says I'm going to be with you, but he does not say you will not be opposed to promises all those who live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution in one form or another view from your flesh, be it from somebody else it's coming when you know this is the head is not slipknot sucker punched you ready for this and thinking that God is just going to sweep all of your bad feelings your moods away your depression away your your anger, your road rage is not going to happen like that, more than likely what is going to happen is you're going to have to draw your short sword because the enemy is going to be that close to you.

Your long-sought is going to be useless at that point, you need both and II think that the this is the role of the pastor to ready the sheep because he's gotta be ready himself so I'm not just telling you semi-retire words rhyme just up and semi retired on the face these things I faced them to their things and give me a knot in my stomach. There are things pastoring a job. Gosh how to deal with this. Well, that's the heat in the kitchen and that's where you been called to take it. Okay I'm going to take it. But, but don't want to take it. Lord, if you're not with me I'm going to be with you right everything gets better after that. This is an ongoing process.

It's not a one time deal is not I'm I'm strong today and I'm going to be strong forever in this life is not how it works it works is I'm strong today and I can be strong. Next time, if I follow the basics and stick with the Lord well they are told. Give the words that is the complete gospel. Do not leave out that which hurts and make sure you don't leave out that which helps. This is what they're told to do. You have filled prescription and kill somebody. We do not have and have filled gospel. We have the whole thing. The worst results follow. Keeping back the doctrine. What are you saving them to well I you know I I'm not going to tell them the truth, possibly because the tail truth and I know your enemy. Well, it has to be that way because of the colliding you to be your friend women. I see the results of holding back doctrine from preaching our faith in being witnesses, but they will follow they will come. The damage will happen if we withhold the truth, and the teaching maybe the next generation will parade the damage for us. Maybe some of that is what's going on.

The churches have been withholding the truth, withholding the doctrine preoccupied. Not all churches, of course, but many of them preoccupy which is getting people into the pews and getting attended to building on that additional whatever else is trying to do except preached Christ maybe that next generation will parade the damage done by truth concealed or withheld unsaved people are sinners under the blanket of darkness. Therefore, they are blind and to help them get out of that there is that witness of our life and there's the preaching of the truth. This is consider some doctrines that you should know the advents plural of Christ, that is his first coming and his second coming, which is not yet occurred. The virgin birth. You know how to preach about this a miracle so I don't believe in a rigorous, crated an avid well that's all point whole point of the virgin birth is saying this is unlike anything you've ever seen before and it's only the beginning of what's coming. The virtuous life of Christ that he and he alone was sinless, no one else, no one else of human beings sinless except the Christ, his death in my place doctrinally called vicarious death, the death of Christ for me.

Christ died on the cross as a sinner being sinless, though taking my punishment for my sin. He died for me as me covers all sinners is victorious resurrection delete that out. He's the one that died and got up again the deity of Christ, do you do we preach that Christ is the son of God. Therefore, equal with the father, not counting it robbery to be equal with the father, or we preoccupy with our own problems that we can get to these doctrines. Maybe that's why God doesn't bring the unbelievers our way.

The doctrine of justification how God sees me because of my relationship with Jesus Christ and he doesn't look at my sins, he sees with crisis.that he is washed them all away that this justification does not belong to everybody, but only to those who come sanctification. The processes of Christianity and the development as a Christian becoming more and more like Christ move you've been listening to cross reference radio daily radio ministry pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel in Mechanicsville, Virginia. As we mentioned at the beginning of today's broadcast.

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