Made Possible by Our Hero and Savior

English

MADE POSSIBLE BY OUR HERO & SAVIOR

ACTS 5:17-32

We come to a text in the book of Acts today that I think is perfect for Father's Day. It's filled with action, intrigue, and the impact of a hero. Once timid Christians are arrested and slapped into a public prison by jealous power-mongers. But, a mysterious angelic visitor comes into the prison and opens the doors without any guards even knowing about it. The apostles go right back out into the same place they had been arrested teach about Jesus again. And when they are brought back in and strictly told not to teach in this name again, the apostles say just as strictly, "We must obey God rather than men."

Where did these once fear-filled men discover such courage? It's the kind of courage you and I need if we're going to live for God in this world. Their answer is what I want us to lock into today. They said they found courage by following a "hero and savior" (5:31).

When I read how the apostles were emboldened by following a hero who had rescued them, I began to think of my childhood and the old Superman TV show. Do you remember how the program opened?

I loved Superman when I was a kid. When it was time for the program to start each week, I would take the biggest towel I could find and tie it around my shoulders like a cape. Then, I'd go into a closet and spin around a couple of times (as Clark Kent always did in a phone booth to become Superman) and come out trying to fly around our living room as if I were Superman myself. I wanted to fight evil. I wanted to battle against the forces of hate and prejudice. When I think about it, I found a hero like Superman to be inspiring.

But, social scientists today would find that kind of heroism childish and naïve. We find few heroes like Superman in today's filmmaking. By that, I mean there are few heroes who are portrayed as completely good and who fight against truly evil villains. There are two reasons for this:

1. Social scientists point out that no person is completely good. They point out that we are all flawed and conflicted. It's therefore unrealistic to have a Superman we can relate to who always defends what is right and who fights against forces of true hate and prejudice. I'm wondering whether Zack Snyder's just-released Superman movie, Man of Steel, will change Superman from a hero who is always good into a man filled with irony and inner conflicts.

2. But more than just thinking that no person is fully good, social scientists increasingly believe that there is no such thing as absolute good and evil. Because of that widely held belief, our society usually portrays conflicted characters such as Batman – characters who themselves are flawed and who sometimes engage in wrongdoing themselves -- as being more true to the nature of things.

But, I believe the social scientists are wrong. Oh, they are right in saying that fallen human beings are not fully good – not yet. But they are wrong in saying that this means there is no such thing as "forces of hate and prejudice" such as those Superman battled against. Hate is real in our world. Prejudice is real. Evil is real. Who possibly can read the recent new reports about the Cleveland man who had kidnapped three girls and treated them so inhumanely and then say, "There is no such thing as evil." No! -- There is evil in this world that must be overcome. There is injustice in this world that must be made right.

And there is one more thing I must make clear: There is one man who came and lived the life we should have lived- though none of us has lived that perfect life. There is one who lived without sin and who came to make all things right. There is only one. But, there is one! It is that man who changed these apostles lives in Acts 5. He was their "hero and savior." When they met him and followed this hero, their lives were changed. Notice how they put it in v. 31: They told of "this Life" – the life we are meant to live.

You'll notice that I translate their description of Jesus in v. 31 as "hero" and savior. If you look at English translations, you'll see that the word I translate as "hero" (archegos in Greek) is translated in many, many different ways in our English versions. It's translated as "leader", as "prince", as "champion", as "author", and sometimes as "founder". But, in the 1st century world, the word archegos most often was simply used for a hero. It was used for people who embodied certain qualities.

What Is a Hero? A Person:

* Guided by a higher principle – like good, justice, honesty, true love – rather than by what everyone else thinks. A hero didn't commission a public opinion poll to determine what he or she was going to do. Editorialist Walter Truett Anderson rued the loss of this kind of heroic and principled leader in our world. He wrote, "Todays leaders are stars – not heroes. They do what gets them ahead." But, the true hero is one who sticks to higher principles even when no one else sticks to them. The hero is committed to doing what is right. This is the Jesus the disciples had met. He would not be turned from truth and justice by opposition or even by criticism. He knew the truth. He was the truth. He lived the truth.

* Heroic not by necessity but by choice – A hero often made the choice to sacrifice for others out of love. And the Jesus these apostles had met had said, "No one takes my life from me. I lay it down of my own accord. I lay down my life for my sheep."

* Willing to use whatever is his to rescue others in danger – All the great heroes of ancient literature used their special strength to rescue others in trouble. We still love those stories. We want them to be true. Why else are movies based on Marvel Comic books about superheroes like Ironman and Spiderman still so wildly popular all around the world? I say it's because people anywhere and at anytime long for a hero.

And these apostles had met the one true hero to whom all other mythical heroes point. What I want you to see is that meeting this hero in Acts 5:31, being saved by this hero, and following this hero transformed their lives. They became courageous when they make the decision to follow Jesus, their "hero and savior." In Acts 5, these same men who only a few months earlier had been self-centered and full of fear had to make a decision to exercise heroic courage themselves. They had just been thrown into prison for their faith. And, in Acts 5:20, they to decide whether to go back to the place they had been seized by force and preach once again about Jesus. Later, after they were taken again, they had to decide whether to obey the authorities' edict never to speak of Jesus again. And, without flinching, they said, "We will obey God rather than men."

And, I contend that every one here today will face many times in which you are called upon to show heroic courage. You will have to make decision about whether to be guided by integrity and God's ways rather than the world's. Times will come when you may have to decide whether to cheat or lie to make that sale or get that raise rather than to be guided by what is honest. Times will come when you know you need to go to a friend and confront him with the truth of his unfaithfulness when no one else will. Times will come when you have to confront your children and tell them what you should have told them long ago – to tell them what you know they need to hear. You will need to decide whether to do what is right and it will be costly to do so. And, I believe, times will come when you will face the very same issue these apostles faced – whether to speak the name of Jesus or to keep the name to yourself and go your own way.

Where do you find the courage to make heroic decisions?

Where will you find the courage to make that heroic decision and to do what is right? I contend you find it when you truly meet Jesus as your own hero and savior – and then you focus on him and live a life committed to staying close to him. When you meet Jesus, you find a person who gave his life to give you what can never be taken away. He is greater than evil because he bore its penalty on himself and offers forgiveness to all who follow him. Evil could not defeat Jesus. Jesus is greater even than death. He's the one who overcame death through a resurrection. He can save you from your sins and give you a life that cannot be taken away. As Acts 5:31 puts it, "Jesus is hero and savior!" So, prison and threats of death just didn't faze these apostles after they had met Jesus. Do you see it? Fixing their eyes on Jesus made them courageous too.

What do I want you to do today in response?

1. Fix your eyes on Jesus – In saying this, I want you to take time to remember who Jesus is and what he has done for you. I want you to tell him – even if you've told him before -- that he is your savior. Tell him once again that you know you needed his death in your place and for your sins for you to be saved. Here are the key verses: Let us throw off everything that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles us. Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the hero (yes, it's the same work as Acts 5:31) and completer of faith who, for the joy set before him, endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:1-2). How do you fix your eyes on Jesus?

As one practical piece of advice to you, I recommend that you do a personal study on the life and work of our hero and savior, Jesus Christ. One of the best helps I know of is John Stott's brief study guide entitled Jesus Christ: Teacher, Servant & Savior and put out by InterVarsity Press.

2. Make a new commitment today to obey Jesus – The basic issue in Acts 5 is, "Whom will you obey?" Your own desires or God's mandates? The powers of this world or God. The apostles made the clear decision in 5:29: We must obey God rather than man!" And, in this imperfect world, you daily face the decision of whether to obey this hero and savior or your own inclinations or the ways of the world. Just remember this: When the disciples obeyed God, they found courage as they had never found it before. When they obeyed God, they saw others come to faith in Jesus too. When they obeyed God, they met angels and they saw prison doors being opened. If you are never seeing the miraculous presence and work of God in your life, it may be that you are not living a life of obedience to your hero and savior. Fix your eyes on him. Live in obedience to him. Then, I tell you – you will see his glory.

Let me end just as the story ends in Acts 5:40-42: The ruling council called in the apostles and flogged them. They charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus and let them go. But the apostles left the presence of the council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for "the Name." Every day in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.

To His glory,

Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor

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