The Word Made Plain

Guest (Male): Welcome to The Word Made Plain with Senior Pastor Tony Clark of Calvary Chapel Newport News in Virginia. Currently, Pastor Tony is teaching a study in the book of Acts. Please open your Bibles to Acts chapter 5, verses 17 through 21.

Tony Clark: Now, how ironic that God used an angel to open the prison doors when Acts 23 and verse 8 says that the Sadducees deny anything that is miraculous and they deny the existence of angels. It doesn't matter what prison a person tries to put us in because they are jealous of us; God is able to free us, like we see in these verses.

When someone puts us in their common prison because they are jealous of us, God will free us and they end up the prisoner. God has freed us and leaves these people as prisoners. You've heard it said many times and in many different ways: envy, jealousy, unforgiveness, bitterness, anger—all of this is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die when we are the ones who end up dying from it. In the same way, the people who try to put us in their own prison because they're jealous and envious of us end up the prisoner.

Did this angel free them and tell them to go and hide out somewhere? No, he said in verse 20 to go, stand in the temple, and speak to the people all the words of this life. There are three things I want to bring to your attention from this particular verse alone. Number one, I love how the angel told them to go and tell the people all the words of this life. I want to draw your attention to the word life. Yes, this refers to eternal life that Jesus gives to all who repent of their sins and accept him as their Lord and Savior; however, there is an abundant life that Jesus wants us to experience as well.

John 10:10, Jesus said, "I've come that you might have life and that you might have it more abundantly." Too many Christians are not experiencing the abundant life that Jesus offers, and please don't equate abundant life to having a bunch of material or monetary things. Jesus offers an abundant life that is filled with love, joy, peace, longsuffering, faithfulness, gentleness, kindness, and self-control—all of the things that Galatians 5 and verses 22 and 23 talk about, something money and material things can never buy.

I bring this up because a lot of Christians lack joy. You're sour. You're sour. I'm here to tell you, I'm your friend, and I'm here to tell you you're sour. You're a sourpuss. Unfortunately, I have to look at your face every Sunday and Wednesday, and you have that look on your face. You don't realize it, but you're sour. You're a sour person. You lack joy. You lack peace in your life. You're just filled with confusion. You don't know what direction to turn. You don't have wisdom on what to do. You lack peace. You lack kindness. You're mean and nasty. I see it. Some of you are trying to smile now and your face is cracking.

You're mean and nasty. You lack gentleness. You're harsh and cruel, the way you talk to your wife, the way you speak to your children. You're harsh and cruel. And please, there is a lack of self-control that you exhibit. You're out of control with your eating, you're out of control with your weight, you're out of control with all kinds of things. You lack self-control, which God said is part of the abundant life that the Lord gives us and that he wants us, his people, to experience. Jesus wants to give us an abundant life where we experience these qualities in our lives in abundance. That's why it's called abundant life.

Children of God, Christians, addicted to all kinds of things when the Spirit is supposed to give us self-control. We're supposed to be different, and we're no different. We're hooked on all kinds of medicines and mess and things just like the world. There's no difference between us because we're not experiencing the abundant life that Christ offers. Now, some of you need to be on that medicine. Don't be fooling around and say Pastor Tony said get off that medicine. You stay on that medicine until that doctor tells you. I'm just trying to tell you, don't be fooling around coming up in here and tripping out and all wired up. The watchmen will escort you right on out of here and tell you as they boot you out to go get your medicine.

The second thing I want you to see is that the angel said go and tell the people all of the words of this life. I want to draw your attention to the word all. All the words, not some of them. This is why at Calvary Chapel we're committed to giving you all the words that pertain to this life according to the Word of God, the Bible. All 66 books contain all of the words of this life. This is why we teach it chapter by chapter, verse by verse, book by book, from Genesis to Revelation. In these 1,189 chapters and 31,102 verses are contained all of the words of this life.

The third thing I want you to see is the angel told them to go. We've been given the same mandate to go. Matthew 28:19 and 20 says, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Watch verse 20: "teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you." teaching them to observe all things that I've commanded you, and "lo, I'm with you always, even to the end of the age." I know God is with us as we teach you all things that pertain to this life and that pertain to this book.

Mark 16:15 says, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." Many people try to get real spiritual to justify their laziness and to justify their disobedience to go. "Well, I'm just waiting on the Lord to lead me to go." He told you to go 2,000 years ago. How much leading do you need? He said go 2,000 years ago and you're waiting on him to lead you to go? He told you. He's not going to lead you because he's already told you 2,000 years ago to go. Go.

We have been given the command to go as well. Notice it's not a suggestion; it's a command to go as well, giving people all the words that pertain to this life. Did the apostles go, or did they do what we would have done? We would have run out of that prison, run home, and hid somewhere. Look at verse 21: "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."

As we can see from this verse, they entered the temple early in the morning and taught. They didn't wait until noon or in the evening after they went home and sat around and fooled around a bit. No, it said that they went to the temple early in the morning and taught. It has been rightfully said the greatest nation in the world is procrastination. We have a bad tendency to say, "Lord, thank you for opening up the prison doors for me to get out of this abusive relationship," or "Thank you, Lord, for opening up the prison doors and setting me free from this habit, this hobby, or this addiction. I promise I will start back going to church and reading my Bible pretty soon, Lord."

Procrastination is one of the biggest problems in Christianity today, especially here in America. God gently speaks to our hearts to turn off the TV and spend time in prayer and reading the Bible, and we say, "Okay, Lord, but let me first finish up this movie, or this game, or this show." Then we never do it. Before we go to sleep, God whispers to our hearts to read the Bible before we get in bed, and we jump in and say, "I will read, but tomorrow," or "I will get more involved at church, but when the announcement comes to sign up, maybe next time."

This is a major problem in the church today. Too many people are citizens of the nation called procrastination. We see a couple of examples of procrastination in Luke chapter 9 in verses 57 to 62. When Jesus asked someone to follow him, he replied in Luke 9:59, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." Jesus replied in the next verse, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God." On the surface, we would say, "Man, Jesus, you're mean and tough. You won't even let this man go bury his father and go to his father's funeral? What's that? That's mean and harsh."

No, it's not. You have to understand his father wasn't dead. He was saying, "Whenever my father dies, whenever that will be, and I get to spend my inheritance that he left behind, then I will come and follow you." Another citizen of procrastination. I thought about this and I said how family has kept a lot of people from following the Lord. Family and family obligations have caused many people to procrastinate in their obligations to God. Some people we don't see all summer long because of family obligations.

"Can you serve in the children's ministry? Can you serve as one of the greeters, parking lot ushers, or something?" "No, not right now because we have these trips planned and when we return, then we have sports activities all summer. Hit me up in the fall." Procrastination. Jesus saw another individual in Luke 9:61 and said, "Follow me," and they said, "Lord, I will, but let me first go and bid farewell to everyone at my house." But Jesus replied in Luke 9:62, "No one having put his hand to the plow, looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

Once again, on the surface, Jesus sounds insensitive. He won't even let this man go and say goodbye to those at his house. He just said follow me and just forget them. He won't even let them go and say goodbye. Hold up, you've got to understand something. In this culture, when someone was leaving home, their relatives would throw them a going-away party that could last for days or weeks. So this man was saying, "I will follow you, but let me first finish partying. Once I have this out of my system, then I will come and follow you." How many people have procrastinated in this area?

"Let me first party and get this out of my system and sow my wild oats, and I will start getting serious about church and the things of God." However, in both cases, the problem is with one statement voiced by both of these individuals: "Let me first." This is always at the foundation of procrastination. "Let me first." It is the slogan of the citizens of procrastination. No, God is to be first. God is to be first. When we put ourselves ahead of God, when we put our families ahead of God, when we put anything ahead of God, you become a true citizen of procrastination.

I'm amazed. "I can't serve God, I can't be faithful, I can't be committed because I have school and I have homework and I've got to do my homework." Is that the excuse when you stand before God? "God, I had homework." Are we serious? Is that the excuse we're going to give God? "God, forgive me because I had to take little Sally and Johnny to soccer practice." Are we serious? Are these the excuses we're going to give God when we stand before him? The kids had basketball or AAU or whatever you can list. Is that excuse going to stand before God? The Bible says when we stand before God, man would be without excuse.

The excuses we give to God, are we serious? "I've got family in town so I can't come to church because I've got family in town." People serving in children's ministry, they call up the day of they're supposed to serve and say, "I can't serve because so-and-so came into town." Are we serious? We're not in church all day. Trust me when I say that. An hour? An hour, five, ten minutes? You can't tell Uncle Joe or Uncle Jimmy or Auntie Ruby that I'll be back in an hour and then I can fix breakfast or whatever? Are these the excuses that we're giving God today here in America?

"I can't serve God," or "It's raining out so I'm not going to church today." So if it's raining tomorrow for work, are you going to call out of work? "No, I've got to go to work." Are we serious? So God is now an option. I don't get us today here in America, and we wonder why Christianity is sorry here in America. Because it's filled with sorry Christians. It's like, are we serious? These are excuses we give to God, and we feel justified. God is an option. Church is an option. I don't have to go. I've got to go to work.

When the God that you're supposed to put first takes away that job, then you'll be calling upon him. You'll be calling upon him to give you another one. It's amazing to me. "I've got to go to work, but you don't have to serve." Did you know that the essence of the Fourth Commandment—keep the Sabbath day holy—is not for us to be worshipping on Saturday? Quit fooling around. The spirit of that commandment is, is there at least one day a week that we set aside that we worship him in spirit and in truth? That's the essence. That's the spirit of that law, that commandment that's given, and we can't even do that.

Because let some event, some sports thing, and see people say, "Yeah, catch me in the fall." Then in the fall, then it is school sports, school activity, PTAs, and all other foolishness that we put in front of God. We wonder why our lives are the way they are. We wonder why we don't see any victory. We wonder why our lives are out of control. We have no self-control. We have no abundant life. We wonder why our lives are the way they are. It's because everything is first but God. We put everything first but the God who gave us these things and we expect this to be Christianity. We're just citizens of not Christianity, but procrastination.

Really, Christianity in America should be termed convenience Christianity, because we only serve God and come to church when it's convenient. If it's no longer convenient, I'm out of time for that. Or whenever I want God to come do something in my life, then I come call upon him. Don't you think God can see through your manipulation? "I'm going to come and get my praise on because I'm going to hit God up this week coming up about some request." Don't you think God can see through that? He can see right through that kind of mess, but this is what we offer to God.

I'm just so amazed at us. So we see the apostles after they were freed from prison, they entered the temple early in the morning and taught. They went right back to it. They said, "Okay, God set me free. You think I'm going to go and hide now? God set me free. I'm going back to the temple. You want me to go back to the temple? I'm back. I'm there." Many of us, you aren't going to see me again at that temple. I'm not going to get arrested again and put in prison. No. Remember, I've said that there is such a difference between the early church and the church today. And so they send some people to the prison to bring the apostles out. They don't know those apostles have been set free. They're like, "Okay, let's go get them out," and then they hear about them at the temple preaching. They said, "First of all, how'd they get out? Do we have a conspiracy with the guards? What's going on?" We've got to wait until next time before we find out what happened. Let me conclude with this. Open prison doors. Are you in the prison of jealousy and envy? Jesus is here to set you free.