“The Hero of the Day”
Pastor David Moore
Old Testament reading: Deuteronomy 21:18-23 (NIV)
If someone has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him, his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. They shall say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.” Then all the men of his town are to stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid.
If someone guilty of a capital offense is put to death and their body is exposed on a pole, you must not leave the body hanging on the pole overnight. Be sure to bury it that same day, because anyone who is hung on a pole is under God’s curse. You must not desecrate the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
Theme: Today we will talk about the Christian martyrs and the sacrifice they made in the early church. And the concept of a hero in relation to our present-day culture. And finding that Jesus Christ is the ultimate hero.
New Testament reading: Acts 5:29-33
Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than men! The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead—whom you had killed by hanging Him on a tree. God exalted Him to His own right hand as Prince and Savior that He might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”
When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death.
Context of what has happened in Acts for that lasted two weeks with the apostles. The apostles have been threatened:
∙ Hauled before important people
∙ Jailed
∙ Holy Spirit has come upon them
∙ Hiding after Jesus was captured and killed
∙ Hearing that Jesus was alive and seeing Him alive
∙ Watch Jesus leave in a cloud
∙ Holy Spirit showed up again and everyone began speaking in tongues
∙ Apostles have been healing people
∙ People saw and understood the power of Jesus
∙ Pharisees and teachers of the law became jealous
∙ The apostles were jailed again and asked to stop speaking boldly about Jesus Crazy times how would you respond to all of this?
The early church was persecuted for over 250 years and finally under Constantine legalized Christianity in 311 AD. ~D. Moore
Tertullian said, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”
It seems an impossibility of what the early church accomplished. The movement was successful because of the person they followed. The word arch egos translate as “prince”, “captain,” “author or pioneer” of our salvation. Some say the translation should be “hero.” Jesus is our ultimate hero. ~D. Moore
Characteristics of a hero
1. Character
2. The cause they are fighting is bigger than themselves
3. The hero is a substitute for other people.
Celebrity worship is a warped and unfulfilling substitute for religion. ~D. Moore
We were created in God’s image; we were meant to be heroes, meant to be great, we were meant to be perfect. God wanted us for to run and not grow faint, to walk and not get weary. But sin has broken us down, made us less than we should be. ~D. Moore
Jesus the ultimate Hero
1. Character: Jesus was consistent in public and in private, actions were faithful to a larger cause. He knew what Good Friday was going to bring for Himself and He stayed. He was faithful to a larger cause, and that was to free us from the consequences of our sins.
2. He exchanged His life for ours. Which secured for us a future with God, forever for us. What a hero! ~D. Moore
Jesus didn’t die a hero so that we would only watch. He calls us to be heroes like Him or a little like He was. ~D. Moore
Before we get there:
1. We must admit we are sinners and need Jesus to wash away our sins.
2. We then declare that Jesus is Lord.
3. Then grace and love will flow into our lives. We will then begin to seek to bless people with what God has given us. We will begin emulating Jesus in our lives, being His hands and feet on earth by sharing the Gospel. ~D. Moore
This week: Think about the miracle that we have been given, then think about how we can give what Christ has given us: grace and love to those around us. Have a great week, God bless. :