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Oct. 28, 2024 - Health Ranger - Mike Adams
37:29
Sermon #091 - Acts Ch 5 - Peter and the Apostles RESIST Jewish threats...
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Welcome to today's sermon.
I'm Mike Adams of the Church of Natural Abundance.
The website is abundance.church.
And we're going to pick back up here with Acts chapter 4.
We left off last in this chapter with the desire by the Jewish leaders to censor the word Jesus and to censor any report of his miracles.
The miracle of healing the crippled man, for example.
That's what's mentioned.
Peter and John were arrested.
And it was stated that, yes, through Peter and John, by invoking Christ and invoking the Lord, this miracle did occur.
But the Jewish leaders, the ancient Israelites, the religious leaders, said that you're not allowed to speak of any of this because, you know, word might spread that Jesus is the real thing, you know, and we can't have that because, you know, we would lose control over people, you know, and we can't have that because, you know, we
So Acts chapter 4 verse 17, but so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them that from now on they speak to no man in this name.
Okay?
So the reason this is relevant to what's happening right now is because, number one, there is a mass awakening.
Of, I don't know, spirituality.
Some might call it religion, but I just think it's a mass awakening of the Spirit moving through people.
And even my own sermons in my own church are an example of that.
I never imagined I would be teaching the Bible.
Never imagined that in a million years, as we say.
Never in my previous years did I imagine I would be doing what I'm doing right now.
So what happened?
How did it come to be?
There's a calling.
There is a spiritual calling, and it's reaching a lot of people, a lot of people, even a lot of people that I know, who I'm also shocked.
I was talking to them, and they would announce, I'm launching a ministry.
I'm like, what?
Are you kidding me?
Like, I would never think that you would launch a ministry.
And they would answer, well, I'd never think that you'd be teaching Scripture, you know?
So something interesting is happening, something powerful, something divine.
Look, the Lord is working through us in ways that maybe we don't even understand yet.
I believe there is a mass awakening.
I believe that the power of Christ and His Father, the Lord, is moving through us and helping the truth bubble up to the surface about the real enemies of God on this planet, the real Satanists, the real threat against humanity.
And at the same time, the good news is that Real human principles are also being more and more talked about now.
Real love, the desire for real peace, the desire for coexistence among people of faith, even if they don't look like you or talk like you.
Remember, God is multilingual, obviously, speaks to people in their own languages, speaks in tongues whenever it's necessary.
So I think something amazing is happening, and the reason this is relevant is because There will be religious leaders today that want to silence you, and there will be efforts at the government, in Congress, at universities, and so on.
There will be efforts specifically by Zionists to silence any criticism of Jewish people in the present or in the past.
And specifically, these efforts will target Bible Scripture.
And one of these laws has already been passed in the U.S. Congress as of right now, as I'm recording this, and it would outlaw the reading of John chapter 19, for example, or the reading of Moses of Matthew or the reading of Acts chapter 4.
Or even, frankly, the passage that I just read for you would be outlawed in America.
Yes, outlawed in America because the Zionists don't want Christians to be able to read the parts of the Bible that talk about the Jews killing Christ or the Jews demanding that he be killed.
You know, crucify him, crucify him.
John chapter 19.
It was the Jewish religious leaders that demanded Christ be killed.
So as we are people, at least I hope you join me in this, we are people that recognize the fundamental human dignity in all people and, And we welcome people who are those of faith and who are good people with high moral standards, regardless of their religion.
They may be Jews, they may be Christians, they may be Catholics, they may be Seventh-day Adventists, they might be Muslims, they might be Sikhs, Buddhists, you name it.
If they are people of high moral character, then those are the kind of people that we want As our friends, our neighbors, our community leaders, and so on.
They don't have to worship in exactly the same way that we worship in order to be good people.
Now, of course, we can always share the gospel with them and see what they're open to.
If they want to learn about Christ, fantastic.
Let's share the word of Christ with them.
And different people are open to different chapters of learning at different times in their lives.
We don't have to be silent about Christ.
In fact, that's the whole point of what I'm saying here.
Don't be silent about Christ.
But also, we don't have to force it on anybody, and we don't have to shove it down their throats, and we don't have to silence the other things that they might say.
We allow people to come to Christ in their own way, on their own schedule, but we always have that door open for them.
So we believe in openness and transparency.
And as you know, personally, I believe in reading the Bible, reading the Old Testament, reading the New Testament.
I've started reading some passages of the Quran because I want to understand more about Islam.
And I'm also planning on reading the Talmud because I want to understand more about Judaism.
So talk about spanning time, right?
That's going to be very interesting.
How many millennia will that span in terms of religious teachings?
But I think that the more we learn and the more we understand about where people come from, then the more effectively we can be advocates for Christ and advocates for the promise that Christ held out to the world.
And so that's my point in all of this.
But let's continue in Acts because there's more here.
There's more here that we need to learn, I believe.
So let's start when Peter and John were released by the Jewish high priest, or whatever their titles were, who had threatened them with silence.
They were released, and in Acts 4, verse 23, it continues the story.
Quote, And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.
So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said, Lord, you are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them, who by the mouth of your servant David have said the following.
And here's a little saying, a little poem.
Quote, Why did the nations rage and the people plot vain things?
The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ.
Okay, so in other words, Peter and John are citing this little verse.
And then they continue to say, quote, for truly against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, you know, you, the Lord, anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate, who was the Roman judge, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together to do whatever your hand and your purpose determined before to be Now, Lord, look on their threats, because, you know, they were very threatening, right?
And grant to your servants that with all boldness they may speak your word by stretching out your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through.
Okay, so I love this verse.
Grant to your servants that with all boldness they may speak your word.
Now remember, I've done a sermon on the concept of courage and how the Lord says, well, through angels speaking to John of Patmos in Revelation, and I think it's in Revelation chapter 21, says that those who lack courage go to hell.
That courage is a necessary property of being obedient to God or Or serving what he commands of you, living in alignment with God and Christ, demands courage.
And here we have Peter and John saying, we have to be bold.
We have to be bold.
Even though they were just arrested by the Jews, the Jews that called for the murder of Christ, you know, they were just arrested by them and they were told to be silent.
Don't you dare mention the name Jesus.
But what did they do?
They reached out their hand to speak to the Lord and say, we're going to be bold, and we are going to share the word of the miracles and the wonders that are done through the name of your holy servant, Jesus.
Okay?
Wow!
In other words, they could not be intimidated.
So verse 31, and when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
Yes, yes.
That is what God wants of us, to speak the word of the Lord and to speak the word of Christ with boldness.
Not with coercion, just to be clear.
You know, you're not going to find an atheist and put a gun to their head and say, you know, believe in Christ or else.
No, that's not the way this works, right?
You speak with boldness, but also with dignity, with a sense of kindness, a sense of patience for others to come to Christ in their own time, in their own way.
But we will not be silenced, and we will not be coerced or threatened by the Jews into silence.
And this is something that is a Jewish tradition, of course, is silencing people so that you are not allowed to speak certain things.
And this threat is upon us in our world right now.
I'm recording this before the election in 2024, and if Trump becomes president, he might be influenced to support certain types of censorship that would violate the First Amendment of the Constitution,
which protects the freedom of religious expression, the freedom of speech, and the freedom of the press, and the freedom to peaceably assemble, and also the freedom of To seek redress from government abuse.
By the way, I think those are the five freedoms in the First Amendment.
But chief among them is freedom of religious expression, which means that we have codified in the Bill of Rights the freedom to read Scripture.
And you could argue, of course, the freedom to read Scripture out loud in a public place, like a public park, let's say, Without fear of being arrested or imprisoned because one certain group, namely the Jews, doesn't like one certain section that you're reading, like John chapter 19, for example.
So all of us who believe in religious expression and the First Amendment, we should speak boldly about the right to speak.
Because when we are speaking the Word of God, we're reading about history, we're citing the Bible, we should let no group and no politician and no religious group, certainly, silence us.
Because when we live with God, with the principles, we honor them, by the way, we will be blessed.
We will be blessed in so many ways.
God will help take care of us.
We will have the things that we need to move through life in teaching others and helping others as long as we are obedient to the truths that Christ shared with us, the truths that are in the Bible, the truths that God wants us to be very vocal about.
And in fact, the very next verse in Acts chapter 4...
It talks about how the apostles were given many, many gifts and things that they could use in order to support themselves as they went around teaching the Word of Christ.
Verse 32 says, Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul.
Neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.
And with great power, the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
And great grace was upon them all.
Nor was there anyone among them who lacked.
For all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them.
They sold their houses.
And brought the proceeds of the things that were sold and laid them at the apostles' feet.
And they distributed to each as anyone had need.
Now, I know some of you listening to this, if you're into Austrian economics, you might say, well, gosh, that sounds like communism.
Well, no.
This was not done through coercion.
This was voluntarism, you could say, because the people were so moved by the power of the Lord working through them that they felt that they needed to support the apostles to Financially, so that the apostles could continue their work in the name of the Lord.
And so these people volunteered to sell their lands or sell their houses and to provide that financial support to the apostles because they realized, I think, that this is historic.
This is revolutionary for humankind.
And they did so under their own free will, not by coercion.
So no, that's not communism.
That's not even taxation.
That's just people choosing to make a donation.
Anyway, it continues, verse 36, and Joseph, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles, which is translated son of encouragement, a Levite of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.
And then we go to Acts chapter 5.
So let's continue.
But a certain man named Ananias with Sapphira, his wife, sold a possession and he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles feet.
All right.
So he sold he sold a house or something.
And he kept part of it and took part of it to Peter.
Okay, this is kind of funny to me.
Verse 3, but Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?
Personally, I think that's a little harsh on Peter's part because he Hey, he sold his land and he was willing to give some of it to Peter.
That's generous, isn't it?
You would think.
I mean, who knows?
Maybe this guy, what's his name?
Ananias?
Maybe he had, you know, family members to care for that needed assistance.
Maybe he had a child's education to pay for or training or something.
How can we know?
We don't know.
It just seems like he was at least somewhat generous, but Peter is not happy with him.
So Peter says, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit?
Verse 4, while it remained, was it not your own?
Talking about the land of the house.
And after it was sold, was it not in your own control?
Why have you conceived this thing in your heart?
You have not lied to men, but to God.
Again, I think that's pretty harsh on Peter's part.
Verse 5, then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last.
He died, you know, out of shame.
So great fear came upon all those who heard these things, and the young men arose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.
Damn, that's a sad way to go.
Like, your donation wasn't big enough, and then you just collapse and die.
I will never do that to you listening.
I will never demand a donation and then hope you die.
That's kind of harsh from Peter right there.
That's pretty harsh.
Not that I haven't been harsh for other things, but I would not be harsh to someone being, let's say, partially generous.
Partially generous is pretty good these days.
Even a little generous is pretty good.
So that's just my take on it.
Okay.
Verse 7, Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.
And Peter answered her, Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?
And she said, Yes, for so much.
Then Peter said to her, How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord?
Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.
So Peter's like threatening the widow.
Right?
So, Peter made her a widow, in essence, and then he threatens her with death.
He's like, I killed your husband, I could kill you too.
And then verse 10, she immediately fell down at his feet and breathed her last.
And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband.
So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things.
Now, let me just say, this is horrifying, right?
The church should never threaten death in order to coerce donations.
I really prefer the previous chapter where people were, you know, voluntarily selling things and laying them at the feet of the apostles.
If you want to voluntarily do that, that's your own business.
But For Peter, who was just arrested by the Jews and threatened, like, you have to be silent.
You can never talk about Christ again.
And then he was like, after he got let loose, you know, he talks to God and says, we have to be bold in the teachings of God and Christ.
And the next thing, he's threatening people.
If you don't give me enough money, you're going to die?
That doesn't sound very Christ-like to me.
Does it to you?
Does that sound Christ-like?
Peter.
Peter, what are you doing?
But it turns out that if you kill people who don't donate, that word spreads about that, and a lot of people live in fear, which is not the purpose of the church.
That is not cool with Christ.
I can only imagine...
Did Paul comment on this at some point later?
I don't know.
What would Paul have said about this?
I mean, when he wasn't originally murdering Christians, but later, after he was Reformed, what would he have said about this?
He would have not liked this.
Because this is not a way to win friends and influence people, that's for sure.
But let's continue.
Verse 12.
This is Acts 5, verse 12.
And through the hands of the apostles, many signs and wonders were done among the people.
I'll bet.
I'll bet.
Are you a believer?
Oh, yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
I'm absolutely a believer.
Don't kill me.
Don't strike me dead.
You know, again, not a good way to run a church.
And they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch, yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly.
And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, So, you know, this is really interesting.
That Peter...
He heals the sick who don't donate anything to the church, but he kills the non-sick who only donate part of their assets to the church.
Hmm.
What do we make of that?
Well, whatever we make of it, the apostles, you know, more than just Peter, but the apostles here are stirring things up.
They're challenging the power of the Jewish high priests and They're killing some people who don't donate enough, and then they're healing other people at the same time.
So, you know, word is starting to spread.
So guess what happens next?
Verse 17.
Then the high priest rose up.
This would be the Jewish priest.
And all those who were with him, which is the sect of the Sadducees, and they were filled with indignation.
So it was a jailbreak.
And when they heard that, they entered 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.
So, you know, the jailbreak didn't last.
Verse 22, 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 and the guards standing outside before the doors.
But when we opened them, we found no one inside.
Huh.
And Jeffrey Epstein didn't kill himself either.
Okay.
Verse 24.
Now when the high priest, the captain of the temple, and the chief priests heard these things, they wondered what the outcome would be.
Yeah, we're all wondering.
So one came and told them, saying, look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.
It's like, look, the master over there teaching in the temple.
They're not in the prison.
Obviously, Sorry to use creative words here, but I do try to bring some of the scripture a little more to life, you know?
And some of this is really funny.
I mean, in a tragic kind of way sometimes.
Verse 26, then the captain went with the officers and brought them without violence, for they feared the people lest they should be stoned.
You know, stoned to death.
And when they had brought them, they set them before the council.
Okay, they're under arrest again.
And the high priest asked them, saying, Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name?
You know, the name of Jesus.
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.
Probably also whispered, and we can just kill you by saying so.
Because we already did that.
Anyway, verse 30.
The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you murdered by hanging on a tree.
You murdered Jesus by hanging on a tree, right?
So here's another reference to the fact that the Jews murdered Jesus.
Acts chapter 5, verse 30.
Him God has exalted to his right hand to be prince and savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
This is Peter saying that God sent Jesus to come here and help Israel repent for its sins, to help Israel achieve forgiveness.
And what did the Jews do?
You murdered Christ!
Verse 32, and we are his witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.
Verse 33, when they heard this, they were furious.
The Jewish high priests were furious and plotted to kill them, the apostles.
Then one in the council stood up, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, Gamaliel, The teacher of the law held in respect by all the people and commanded them to put the apostles outside for a little while.
And he said to them, Men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men.
For some time ago, Theodos rose up claiming to be somebody.
A number of men, about 400, joined him.
He was slain, and all who obeyed him were scattered and came to nothing.
After this man, Judas of Galilee, rose up in the days of the census and drew away many people after him, he also perished, and all who obeyed him were dispersed.
And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone.
For if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing.
But if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it, lest you even be found to fight against God.
So this is a pretty rational argument, isn't it?
I kind of like this argument.
This is, you know, a Jewish attorney saying, you know, hey, just ignore these people.
If they're just a bunch of crazy people, then it's all going to fade away.
But if they are people of God, you don't want to fight against God.
That's what he's saying.
Verse 40, and they agreed with him.
And when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, you know, Just a little beating to remind you who's in charge here.
We're the Jews.
We're going to beat you, even if we don't kill you.
They commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus and let them go.
So once again, we have the Jews demanding that Peter and the apostles do not utter the name Jesus.
Censorship demand again.
Verse 41, so they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name, the name of Jesus.
And daily in the temple and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.
Oh, isn't that great?
So Peter is like, oh, it took a beating, but that's not going to stop us.
We're still going to teach Christ.
We're going to teach Christ in the temples.
We're going to teach Christ in the homes.
We're going to teach Christ in the streets.
And if they want to beat us, let them beat us.
But they can't defeat us because we have Christ on our side, right?
So that's how this is going.
But recall a couple of things reestablished here in Acts chapter 5, which is that the Jews killed Christ.
Yes, they did.
And that the Jews demanded that the apostles...
Never mentioned the name of Christ or Jesus, that they demanded censorship.
Now, we're going to continue here, by the way, but I want to ask you, how many Christians do you know who do not know that the Jews murdered Christ?
Because this is something that modern-day Jews adamantly fight against.
They will argue with you, and they will call you an anti-Semite if you quote Acts chapter 5 or chapter 4.
If you quote Peter, reminding the Jews that you murdered Christ, then you will be called an anti-Semite.
And isn't that exactly the kind of thing that the Jewish priests were doing?
You know, deceptive.
Like, yeah, they murdered Christ, but you're not allowed to talk about it.
Or some people will center on a technicality.
No, Rome.
Rome killed Christ.
Rome killed Christ.
Well, not exactly.
Um...
Rome, the judge, Pilate, he had no problem with Christ.
He said, we don't have an issue with this guy.
We just think he's crazy.
It was the Jews that demanded, crucify him, crucify him.
It was the Jews that made sure that he was murdered.
It was the Jews that pushed Pilate to eventually sort of cave in and say, okay, you can kill him if you want, you know?
It was the Jews who did this.
And then they want to silence anybody telling the truth about this.
Even to this day, they don't want you to tell the truth.
So what I want to say in wrapping up this sermon right now, but we'll continue Acts in another sermon, but what I want to remind you of today is to do what Peter said in terms of speaking boldly.
Speak boldly the name of Jesus Christ.
Speak boldly the words of God.
Speak boldly even in the face of demands of censorship.
And, you know, there are a great many positive, constructive people of Jewish faith or Judaism today, and perhaps some of you listening are of that faith as well.
So I'm not saying that all Jews are horrible people or anything like that, but if there are people of Jewish faith who tell you that the Jews did not kill Christ and that you're not allowed to say that, and if you do say that, you're an anti-Semite, I think the proper spiritual answer is to answer in the spirit of Peter, to say we will not be silenced.
We will speak the truth, including the truth about who killed Jesus of Nazareth, who killed the prophet, the Savior, the Son of God, the ambassador of God that was sent to Israel to try to get Israel to wipe out their sins, to try to stop Israel from being wicked.
And I believe that one of the reasons that to this day God continues to judge Israel, and one of the reasons why Israel is so wicked to this day as a nation, is because They murdered Christ, and that energy, that vibration, that murderous intent has stayed with them ever since.
Israel today is murdering children in the Middle East, in Gaza, in Palestine, in Lebanon, in the West Bank, murdering doctors, dropping bombs on residential buildings and universities.
And even murdering Christians in Lebanon, bombing Christian churches in Lebanon, bombing Christian hospitals in Gaza.
Why?
Because Israel has the energy or the vibration of violence and murder, and it's the same energy that they use to inflict murder upon Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
But they don't want you to talk about it because they want to cover up their crimes of history.
They would rather call you an anti-Semite to try to silence you than to face the truth about what their ancestors did in the days of Christ.
They murdered the Son of God, but they don't want to take the blame for it.
Just like they murder today, but they claim it's self-defense.
I bet you they probably claim murdering Christ was self-defense too.
You know, they would say Israel has a right to defend itself, you know, crucify him.
Because that's how insane their reasoning is even to this day.
So, also, God does not save Israel.
God does not protect Israel.
Israel broke the covenant with God, and Israel murdered the Son of God.
So anybody thinking that God is going to save Israel in some Armageddon battle is, I believe, completely misled.
If anything, God is going to unleash His fury against Israel.
He will pour out His cup with His red wine and The fierceness of his wrath will be in the red wine.
He will pour out his bowl upon Israel.
He will show his face.
He will reveal his fury upon Israel.
And we've talked about that in other sermons.
And that's very clear in other parts of the Bible, including the sixth bowl, obviously, the sixth trumpet, the sixth bowl, the sixth seal.
It all refers to the same thing.
So this is what we're going to wrap it up with today, but we will continue with Acts, what would it be, chapter 6 in the next sermon or maybe the next one after that, but coming up.
So thank you for listening today, and whatever you do, folks, act with kindness, but speak the truth, and do not be coerced into silence.
Do not be cowed into silence.
Be someone who shares the Word of God and the teachings of Christ with boldness, but also with kindness.
Be a good person.
That's what it takes to get to heaven.
But also be a strong person.
Be a resilient person.
And if someone tries to label you, you know, quote, anti-Semite, it shows their ignorance because they don't know what Semites even are.
Semites would be the sons and daughters of Abraham, which would be the Palestinians, you know, and a lot of other people in the region, the Jordanians and so on.
Even the Egyptians, you know, they are the Semites.
So to be called an anti-Semite is to be called, what, like anti-Jordanian or something?
It doesn't even make any sense.
So, you know, don't be intimidated by these silly labels that are plastered upon you by wicked people who broke their covenant with God and are going to be judged by God, judged harshly, by the way.
Stick with the teachings of Christ.
Share the Word of God.
Be a kind person.
Help those in need.
Try not to create widows.
And if you do create a widow like Peter did, don't kill the widow too.
Try to save people.
Try to help people.
That's what the Bible teaches us.
But man, don't mess with Peter.
What did Peter have?
Like a death wand or something?
What did Peter have?
People would just die if he questioned them.
Like, you didn't give me enough money.
That sounds like an Italian mobster or something, huh?
Yeah.
Have you ever heard Peter described that way?
Anyway, don't mess with Peter.
That's for sure.
Okay.
What a wild chapter.
All right.
Thank you for listening.
God bless you all.
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