Acts 9:31
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
[READING - Acts 9:31]
31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase.
[PRAYER]
[CONTEXT] The word church in Acts 9:31 means assembly or gathering. It refers to those who have by God’s grace been called out from the curse of sin and death to receive eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.
It can refer to a local gathering of those called out ones, or it can refer to the larger assembly of those called out ones all over the world.
Jesus loved the church and gave Himself up for her (Eph. 5:25). He is the head of the church (Eph. 5:23), and the church is united with Him. Ephesians 1:22-23 says…
22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
The church was born in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost as the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles of Jesus to preach the Gospel (the Good News of God’s saving grace in Jesus) and as the Holy Spirit opened the hearts of those who heard so that they believed on Jesus for salvation.
About three thousand souls were added to the church on that first day (Acts 2:41).
Their were arrests and threats, but the church continued to grow (Acts 4:4; 5:14; 6:7)
4 But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
14 And all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number,
7 The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.
But beginning with the murder of Stephen in Acts 7, a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem led by Paul.
And while the church continued to grow in greater Judea and Samaria as Christians fled the persecution in Jerusalem and shared the Gospel wherever they went, the growth of the church seems to have been hindered during the persecution.
Who wants to join in with people who are being killed for what they believe?
But Jesus ended the persecution by redeeming the prime persecutor.
Paul was on the road to Damascus, headed to persecute believers in that city when Jesus appeared to Him, saved Him by grace, and called Him into service.
With the salvation of Paul, the threat of persecution was lifted and the church began to flourish once again.
Like a perennial flower that dies back into the ground during the winter, the life of the church may appear to wilt during persecution.
But like the perennial, the root of the church always lives even if underground and will flourish once again in a better season.
Acts 9:31 summarizes for us a better season.
[TS] In this better season as the church blossomed once again, we notice…
…the peace of the church…
…the building of the church…
…the living of the church…
…and the increase of the church.
#1: The Peace of the Church
#1: The Peace of the Church
[ACTS 9:31] “So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace…”
[EXP] The beginning of Acts 9:31 reveals a significant milestone in the life of the church. In Acts 1:8 Jesus said…
8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
In Acts 9:31 the church, which was born in Jerusalem, was now enjoying peace as witnesses of Jesus in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria.
The church was on its way to bearing witness to Christ Jesus and bringing peace with God to remotest part of the earth.
The church itself already enjoyed peace with God. That peace is the result of Jesus’s death and resurrection, which paid the price for sin and imputed the righteousness necessary to be at peace with God.
But the peace spoken of here in Acts 9:31 also includes peace with man.
The church is not always at peace with man because man loves the darkness and hates for his deeds of darkness to be exposed by the truth of Christ Jesus, which is proclaimed by the church.
But this peace with man in Acts 9:31 was the result of the church’s prime persecutor becoming a beloved brother.
The church would be persecuted again in the future, but the present persecution of the church became a thing of the past with Paul’s salvation.
The early church enjoyed peace with man when Paul enjoyed peace with God.
[APP] As Christians, we are promised peace with God through faith in Jesus Christ, but we are not promised peace with man this side of eternity.
Nevertheless, the church’s best hope for peace with man is evangelism, sharing with others the good news of God’s saving grace in Jesus Christ crucified and resurrected.
It’s through evangelism that persecutors become proclaimers, that blasphemers become brothers, that deniers become disciples of Jesus.
[ILLUS] The American church today too often sets her hopes for peace with man in campaigning for the right politicians. The thinking is that if we can get the right politicians in office, they will pass legislation that will (among other things) help the church live in peace.
Recently a brother in Christ basically told me, “There some persecution already here in American, and there’s more coming; that’s why we have to get better people in office.”
[APP] Please don’t misunderstand me; I’m all for better politicians; we should pray for and vote for better politicians, but the church’s peace with man (if it will come at all) will only come as more men find peace with God.
The early church enjoyed peace with man when Paul enjoyed peace with God.
That means that we must pray.
We must pray that all persecutors of the church and enemies of Jesus will be saved by faith in Jesus.
It also means that we must proclaim.
We must proclaim the peace, love, forgiveness, and grace of Jesus to persecutors and enemies of the faith.
[TS] As more people find peace with God through faith in Christ, the church will enjoy more peace with man.
#2: The Building of the Church
#2: The Building of the Church
[ACTS 9:31] “So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up…”
[EXP] The church was being built up; it was getting stronger. Many English translations actually use the word ‘strengthened’ or ‘stronger’ in this verse.
The CSB and NIV say the church was strengthened.
The NLT says the church became stronger.
When we think of something being built up or getting stronger, we think of something being reinforced.
With the persecution having passed and peace prevailing, the church was being reinforced; it was being strengthened by doing what they had done before the persecution.
In Acts 2:42 it says…
42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
What was true during the time of Acts 2:42 could be true once again during the time of Acts 9:31 because the persecution was over.
As they more freely devoted themselves to these things once again, the church was getting stronger, being reinforced to take the Gospel farther and endure the next wave of persecution.
[ILLUS] Many people today want to feel stronger in the body. They pounce on new exercise programs or innovative diets that promise to make you stronger.
I’m not a nutritionist. I’m also not a personal trainer. But I can tell you four simple things that will make most of us stronger if we do them. Here they are: eat less, exercise more, get your sleep, and drink your water.
I promise you if you continually do those things you will be stronger in the body.
So why don’t more people do these things?
Well, they don’t seem innovative enough.
Surely getting stronger has to involve a personal trainer, a state-of-the-art gym, and a specialized diet, doesn’t it?
It can’t be as easy as eating less, moving more, getting enough sleep, and drinking enough water, can it?
[APP] People think the same way about the church. They think that if the church is going to be strong it has to have dynamic personalities, cutting-edge “worship” experiences, and specialized programs.
But all the church really needs to get stronger is four simple things. Here they are: devotion to the teaching of the Apostles, devotion to fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ, devotion to the breaking of bread together, and devotion to prayer.
The teaching of the Apostles is recorded for us in the NT.
Fellowship with fellow believers is bearing one another’s burdens, encouraging one another, reproving one another, living life with one another in general.
Breaking bread together can refer to fellowship meals in general but more specifically to remembering the body and blood of our Lord Jesus in the partaking of the Lord’s Supper.
Devotion to prayer is taking full advantage of what Jesus promised us in John 14:13-14…
13 “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 “If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.
Now, I believe the Word of God promises us that that if we continually do these things as a church we will get stronger as a body of Christ.
So why don’t more churches do these things?
Well, they don’t seem dynamic or innovative enough.
The church in America is weaker today because it has chased fads, gimmicks, and so-called innovation rather than simple faithfulness in Word, fellowship, and prayer.
If the church in America is going to get stronger, it will have to be built up in the teaching of the Apostles, in fellowship, in breaking of bread, and in prayer.
[TS]…
#3: The Living of the Church
#3: The Living of the Church
[ACTS 9:31] “So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit…”
[EXP] The phrase “going on” refers to the way the believers in the early church lived their lives.
A few different English translations say the church was “living in the fear of the Lord,” and the KJV and ESV says the church was “walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.”
Day-to-day the church was living in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
[ILLUS] In Luke 1:6 we read about the parents of John the Baptist. It says…
6 They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.
In the same way that Zechariah and Elizabeth walked or lived blamelessly in the commandments of the Lord, the followers of Jesus in the early church walked or lived in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
This was how they lived their lives.
[EXP] Servile fear fears the Lord like a disobedient slave would fear the wrath of his angry master. Filial fear fears the Lord like a rebellious son would fear the discipline of his loving father.
If we are in Christ Jesus, we no longer live in fear of the wrath of God because all the wrath we deserved was poured out on Jesus as He died for us on the cross.
However, if we are in Christ Jesus, we now live in fear of our loving Father’s displeasure because discipline, although good for us, is still painful.
Our Father is never displeased with us because we are in Christ Jesus who's perfection has been counted as our own.
That means when the Father looks at us in Jesus, He says, “This is My beloved son (or daughter) with whom I am well-pleased.”
But when our actions displease the Father, He will lovingly correct us so that we live more and more like His only perfect Son.
Because we love and revere our heavenly Father and because we don’t want to experience the pain of His discipline, we live carefully so as not to rebel against the Father we love.
Living in the comfort of the Holy Spirit is living comforted, guided, and encouraged by the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would be our Comforter, and He most certainly is, but the meaning here in Acts 9:31 may be closer to the idea of the Holy Spirit exhorting, encouraging, and guiding the church.
Thus, many English translations of this verse say the church was “encouraged by the Holy Spirit,” (e.g., CSB, NIV, LEB, NLT).
But the church didn’t have to choose between the Holy Spirit as Comforter or the Holy Spirit as encourager.
No, when the Holy Spirit comforted the church, the church was encouraged.
And when the Holy Spirit encouraged the church, the church was comforted.
The church in Acts 9:31 walked in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort and encouragement of the Holy Spirit as they walked through their days.
This reverence for the Father and fellowship with the Spirit was their way of life.
It was the air they breathed.
[APP] It ought to be ours as well.
[TS]…
#4: The Growth of the Church
#4: The Growth of the Church
[ACTS 9:31] “So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase.”
[EXP] This increase was a numerical increase. With the persecution lifted and the freedom to once again preach openly, more people believed on Jesus for salvation, more disciples were made, and the church once again began to grow.
But please notice that it didn’t grow because of church growth techniques; it grew out of the church walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
“and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, (the church) continued to increase.”
It was Jesus that caused the church to increase. To paraphrase Paul in a latter letter, “Some plant and others water, but God gives the growth.”
The church didn’t grow itself.
Jesus grew His church.
[ILLUS] Imagine with me that our little church begins to grow. Soon we are out of room. We have to go to multiple services. We have to build a bigger sanctuary, and people are still clamoring to get in. Then we start to get calls from people who never called before, and they ask they same question every time, “How did you do it?”
If that day ever comes, I hope that we will have the boldness and the humility to say, “We didn’t do it. Jesus did. He gave the growth.”
[TS]…
Conclusion
Conclusion
Matthew Henry wrote, “Sometimes the church multiplies the more for its being afflicted… At other times, its rest contributes to its growth, as it enlarges the opportunity of ministers, and invites those in who at first are afraid of suffering.”
Brothers and sisters, let us take full advantage of this rest, this peace we are experiencing as the church in America.
Let’s ask God to enlarge our opportunities.
Let’s ask God to send us the fearful.
Persecution may come to us soon just as it is a daily reality for many of our brothers and sisters around the world.
But while we enjoy this peace, let us pursue more of it by sharing the Gospel with our enemies.
While we enjoy this peace, let us build up the church through Word, fellowship, remembrance, and prayer.
While we enjoy this peace, let us walk in the fear of the Lord and comfort of the Holy Spirit.
And while we enjoy this peace, let us give the glory to Jesus because He gives the growth.
[PRAYER]