The Star of the Church (The Book of Acts #5)

Years ago, when my wife and I lived in Cedar Rapids, I was standing outside talking with one of my neighbors, and I found out he worked at the same company as a guy from our church.

I’ll call him Bob. I was on staff at a large church at the time, and I was the young adult pastor, so my world was mostly college students and twenty-somethings. I did a lot of weddings and very, very few funerals, and honestly, I kind of liked it that way. Which means I didn’t know Bob well at all. He was somewhere in his forties or fifties. What I knew of him was that he seemed like a sharp guy — quick, witty, a little bit charismatic in his personality. But that was about the extent of it.

So I’m standing there talking with my neighbor, and out of nowhere he says, “Did you know Bob is a star?”

A what?

It turns out my neighbor had been at an industry conference his company sent a bunch of people to, and Bob was one of the scheduled speakers. My neighbor was sitting at a lunch table with a coworker when a woman walked up and asked, “Do you guys work at the same company as Bob?”

“Well… yeah.”

And she just started gushing. What is he like? What’s it like to work with him? Is there any way — any way at all — that you could get me an autograph? Or maybe just a conversation?

In her world, Bob was a star.

There Are Stars Everywhere

We all know there are stars in Hollywood. There are stars in the music industry. There are stars in professional sports. But have you ever noticed that there are stars tucked into every little niche of every industry on the planet? There are Bobs everywhere.

I’ve learned through my kids that there are stars in the chess world. There are stars in Mario Kart. There are stars in Minecraft. There are stars in cat advice, in concrete research — pick a subject, any subject, and there is inevitably some Bob who is the star of it.

And what I’ve noticed is that people tend to have one of two reactions to these stars. There are probably dozens of possible reactions, but these are the two I see most.

The first reaction is to put all the attention on the star. This is the kid with the poster on the bedroom wall. This is the person with the fan account on their phone. It’s the person who starts dressing a little like the star, holding the same opinions as the star, rattling off trivia about the star. They make everything about that person. They shine the spotlight on the star.

The second reaction is the opposite. Rather than shine the spotlight on the star, they would very much like to be the star. So they work incredibly hard for the award. They clamor for the attention. They start the accounts, they push for the video to go viral, they angle to get the book published and noticed, they volunteer for everything — all in hopes that somebody will finally see them and shine a spotlight their direction.

As we get back into the book of Acts today, we’re going to watch two of Jesus’s disciples — Peter and John — get handed the second option on a silver platter. Over and over again, the spotlight swings toward them. And every single time, they grab it and redirect it. They shine it on their star. They shine it on the star of the church. They shine it on Jesus.

My hope is that if you’re a follower of Christ, you’ll want to be exactly like them. Not the person angling for the spotlight. Not the person who inevitably ends up shining their spotlight on some earthly star. But someone who makes their whole life about Jesus.

One Big Story in Three Parts

If you brought a Bible, open it to Acts 3. And let me warn you up front: we’re covering a huge chunk today. At least huge for us. I’ve heard of churches that do an entire book of the Bible in one Sunday, so I know this is relative — but we normally take a section at a time, and today we’re doing all of chapter 3 and half of chapter 4.

I originally had this broken into three weeks. But as I dove into it, I realized this is one big story, and there are things we’re only going to be able to see because we keep it together as one big story. So I reshuffled the entire preaching calendar for the year to pull three weeks into one morning.

That does mean we can’t read all of it out loud. So here’s my encouragement: sometime today or this week, get out your Bible and read Acts 3:1 all the way through 4:22. Read it on your own so you’re reminded of what we saw together — and so you catch the things we won’t have time to get to.

Since we can’t read the whole thing, let me give you the short version. It’s a story in three parts: a setup, a sermon, and a trial.

The setup is Acts 3:1–10. Peter and John are walking to the temple to pray when a lame beggar asks them for money. They don’t have any on them, so Peter does something very strange — some of you know this because of kids’ songs:

But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. (Acts 3:6–7)

Keep reading and you’ll see the man start to dance and leap and follow them into the temple, praising God the whole way. He’s been lame for most of his life, and now he can walk. He is so elated that he causes a commotion, and a crowd starts to form.

Which moves us into the sermon. Peter, being a man who simply cannot help himself the moment a crowd gathers, starts preaching. Just like in chapter 2, he does it again here in chapter 3. He preaches about Jesus — the crucifixion and the resurrection. And as we’ll see, over a thousand people put their faith in Jesus that day.

But a commotion that big draws attention from the temple leadership. They come, arrest Peter and John, and hold them in jail overnight — which brings us to the trial in chapter 4. Some of the Jewish leaders, the Sanhedrin, this high court, start questioning them about the healing.

In this three-part story, I see five things these guys do to shine the spotlight on Jesus. And if you’re a follower of Christ, I think these are five things you should be doing with your life, too.

So if you’re a fill-in-the-blank kind of person, today is your day. Sorry about all the other weeks. You get a great doodle page instead.

1. Point the Spotlight Through Your Actions

The first blank you can fill in is actions.

When Peter and John headed to the temple, they weren’t going there to heal anybody. They were going there to pray. Verse 1 tells us it was the ninth hour — the hour of prayer, roughly three o’clock in the afternoon. They were Jews. This is what they did.

But there’s this beggar. A man who must have had family who cared about him, because somebody carried him there every single day and set him down outside the gate the text calls Beautiful. As people walked in to worship, he asked for alms. Giving alms was considered honorable within Judaism, so it made sense that some of a worshiper’s devotion would include dropping coins to help this man out. It was probably just enough to get him the food he needed for the day.

He sees Peter and John and immediately asks for money. They don’t have any. But that’s when it dawns on Peter: if I only gave you money, I’d only help you for today. I have something better that can help you for life.

And notice what he says as he heals him. “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”

Peter knows he has neither the authority nor the power to pull this off. The only person with that kind of power is the one who raised Himself from the dead. The only one with that kind of authority is the one who was given all authority in heaven and on earth by the Father. So Peter doesn’t say, “I command you to be healed.” He says, “In the name of Jesus Christ.” His actions are motivated by Jesus. He’s pointing the spotlight at Christ.

Now, you may not have the spiritual gift of healing. But you can still use your actions to point to Jesus. You can still make the things you do point back to who God is and the good He’s done for you.

Sometimes those moments come out of nowhere, like this one did. This wasn’t planned. The opportunity came and they took it. But I don’t think you have to wait only for spontaneous moments. I think you can plan for these, too. It’s good to schedule time to go volunteer, to go help someone, to take somebody a meal. It is entirely okay to plan these things.

Colossians 3:17 tells us that whatever we do, whether in word or deed, we should do it all in the name of Jesus. So your planned moments and your spontaneous moments — use them both. Let your actions point the spotlight on Christ.

2. Point the Spotlight Through Your Attitude

The second thing we see is that we point the spotlight on Jesus through our attitude.

Back in verses 7 and 8, this man starts leaping and praising God. The healing happens at the Beautiful Gate, just outside the temple, but as you keep reading, they make their way inside and the man follows them. Verse 11 says he clung to them. They’ve just changed his life, and he is in absolute awe.

All of this praising and leaping has drawn attention. People are curious. A crowd forms. And verse 11 tells us the crowd is astounded. Word is spreading that Peter healed this man with nothing but a few words and an outstretched hand. How on earth did that happen?

This is the perfect moment for Peter to accept the spotlight. But his attitude isn’t about him. Watch what he says:

And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?” (Acts 3:12)

Peter is a little stunned. Seriously? You think we pulled this off? No — the only one who could have done this is God, and He did it through the name of Jesus.

That’s his attitude. His demeanor. His entire posture.

Too often, Christians will happily do the actions that outwardly look like they’re pointing the spotlight at Jesus, while inwardly kind of liking the spotlight themselves. They want everyone to notice how much time they’re sacrificing. How generous they are. How much they’re giving. Because then they’ll feel holier, more loved by God, and people will be so impressed.

Now, please don’t hear that and say, “Well, I can’t volunteer for that, I can’t help with that, because I wouldn’t be doing it with the right heart. I’d just be after the attention. So I’m not going to do it.”

No. Do the action. But when you notice your heart, pray and confess it. Just say: God, I don’t want to do this for my glory. I want to do this for Yours. So would You keep humbling me? Would You keep purifying me? And would You keep working through me?

Your actions matter. But for your actions to truly give the glory to God and put the spotlight on Jesus, your attitude has to come along with them. So go ahead — pray and ask God to purify your attitude.

Where That Attitude Comes From

One of the ways I can tell Peter and John had this attitude is the simple fact that they had spent time with Christ.

Before they met Jesus, there is no way they walk into the temple and tell a man he’s healed. It wouldn’t have crossed their minds. It wasn’t until they spent time with Jesus — heard His teaching, watched Him do miracles, and then witnessed the greatest miracle of all in the resurrection — that they began to have the confidence and the realization that God could actually use them this way. That they didn’t have to settle for handing a man a coin to get him through today. They could see his life changed through Christ.

That’s what gave them the guts. Time with Jesus.

Your attitude is shaped by your time with Jesus. The more time you spend with Him, the more your attitude and demeanor and posture will start to reflect Him.

So spend time talking to God in prayer. Spend time learning from Jesus through the Scriptures. Spend time talking about Him with a friend in a growth group or over coffee. Go for a walk with Jesus out in nature. Think about Him through the podcasts you listen to and the music you play.

Last week during our restoration service we were in Psalm 23, and at the very end we were invited to dwell in the house of the Lord. Or, as we saw in our email a couple weeks ago, we are to abide in Christ. The more you abide, the more you dwell with God, the more you simply spend time with Jesus — the more He shapes you. And the more your attitude becomes, I want to put the spotlight on Him.

3. Point the Spotlight Through Your Words

When you have that attitude, it leads straight into the third thing: pointing the spotlight on Jesus through your words.

Right after the crowd gathers, Peter starts to preach. No surprise. That’s just who he is. But notice that he doesn’t take the route a lot of our modern sermons take — here’s how Jesus can fix everything for you. He takes the route of Jesus died on a cross and rose again. And he doesn’t hold back:

The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. (Acts 3:13–15)

That’s a little in your face. But it’s true. These events had happened just a couple months earlier. Some of the people standing there in Solomon’s Portico had been in the crowd yelling for Barabbas to be released. Some of them had been shouting, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” Peter’s words are accurate.

But notice — he’s not trying to be a jerk. He’s not launching into hellfire and brimstone, so burn in hell, you evil heathens. No. He gives them mercy and grace:

And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. (Acts 3:17)

The reason Peter can extend that grace is that Peter himself spent three years with Jesus and still missed who He was, over and over. Here’s the Son of God, and Peter is terrified when the nets come up full of fish. He’s confused when Jesus calms the storm on the Sea of Galilee. There were times Jesus said something and Peter felt the need to correct Him. And then, at the worst possible moment, Peter acted like he didn’t know the star at all — he denied ever having been with Jesus.

And every single time, Jesus forgave him. Restored him. And handed him the platform he’s standing on right now in Solomon’s Portico, watching a thousand-plus people come to know Jesus.

If God could give Peter that kind of grace, Peter is going to extend that same grace to this crowd. Yes, you’re the ones who handed Jesus over to be killed. You didn’t know what you were doing. You didn’t fully understand who He was or what any of this was about. But now I’m here to tell you: Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and He rose again from the dead.

He can’t help but let the words come out, even when they might push people away.

The Interview That Never Changes

Some of you know that this past March I got to travel to Roanoke, Virginia to support the Wartburg wrestling team as seven of their wrestlers competed at nationals. The very next weekend was Division I nationals, so I was glued to ESPN watching as much of it as I possibly could.

One of the wrestlers I most enjoy watching is David Carr, who wrestles for Iowa State — much like his dad, Nate Carr, who was a phenomenal college wrestler back when I was in high school. So I remember watching Nate, and now his son is following in his footsteps at the same university and chasing the same goals.

Two years ago, David won the national championship at 157 pounds as a sophomore. The next year he lost in the quarterfinals in a big upset, which drops you into the losers bracket, and it is brutally hard to win out from there — but he did, and finished third. A great accomplishment. This year he made the finals and lost, finishing second. And the guy he lost to? He had beaten him twice in the previous month. He beat the national champion twice. He just didn’t do it when it mattered most.

And yet every single time somebody shoves a microphone in David Carr’s face — win or lose — he points to Jesus. I cannot remember an interview where I haven’t heard him talk about his faith. His answer runs something like this: Wrestling isn’t who I am. Wrestling is something I love to do, something God gave me the ability for. Who I am is a follower of Jesus. So win or lose, nothing has changed. I’m all about Him. I’m going to wrestle my best for His glory, and even if I lose, I can still worship and praise Him.

He can’t help himself. The second the spotlight hits him, he redirects it to Jesus.

That’s exactly what Peter and John do. Whether the light is coming from the healed man or from a curious crowd, they point it at Christ.

When People Don’t Want to Hear It

But it’s easy to point to Jesus when you’re with friends who already agree with you. It’s easy to talk about Jesus with people who are curious and asking questions. It gets a lot harder when you’re in front of people who don’t want to hear it.

Which is exactly what happens in chapter 4, in the trial:

If we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead — by him this man is standing before you well. (Acts 4:9–10)

Even in the face of persecution. Even in the face of opposition. Even in front of people who absolutely do not want to hear it — they can’t help but point to Jesus. Because they already have the attitude that it’s all about Christ, so it comes out through their words.

And notice they aren’t jerks about it. They’re not standing there with a bullhorn. The verse right before this one shows them being respectful, honoring these men as elders — even though these are the very men who handed Jesus over to be killed. They show respect. But they do not deny, and they do not backtrack. This is what we saw. This is what we know. Here’s what happened. And they point to Jesus.

4. Point the Spotlight Through Your Invitation

When you let your actions, your attitude, and your words point to Jesus, it inevitably leads to the fourth thing: pointing the spotlight through your invitation.

Back in chapter 3, right after Peter tells the people they handed Jesus over to be crucified — and then extends them mercy — he says this:

Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus. (Acts 3:19–20)

He gives them an invitation to put their faith in Christ. The same mercy and grace God gave him, he now extends to them.

This is the part where so many of us stop.

We’re fine letting our actions point to Jesus — I let my actions do my talking for me. We might have the right attitude, out serving with the right heart. We may even get bold enough to say, like David Carr, “Everything I do, I do for God.” But we stop short of the invitation. Would you want to put your faith in Christ?

Why are we so hesitant?

If Jesus is as great as He is — if He is truly the star not just of the church but of the entire universe — why do we stop short?

Because in our culture, it’s weird. It’s awkward. And it’s okay to admit that. Often it’s because we’re trying to say it to people we don’t actually have a relationship with.

So here’s my advice: practice inviting. And I don’t just mean evangelistically. I mean invite someone out to lunch or for coffee. Invite someone to a party at your house. Invite someone to a Sunday morning worship gathering. Invite someone to your growth group. Invite someone to serve at the food bank with you. Invite someone to a movie, or to go golfing, or to watch the game.

Just start inviting. Because an invitation says you matter to me — I’d like to spend time with you. Who wouldn’t feel honored by that?

Take baby steps. The more you invite people into your life, the more natural it becomes. And if the conversation is led by the Spirit to a place where they’re hearing the gospel and you extend the invitation to put their faith in Jesus, it is not nearly as weird and awkward as you feared. It can actually be a beautiful, life-changing moment.

5. Point the Spotlight Through Your Trials

So we point the spotlight through our actions, our attitude, our words, and our invitation. But there’s one more, and I believe it’s the most powerful of them all. We point the spotlight on Jesus through our trials.

I mentioned earlier that Peter saw over a thousand people put their faith in Christ that day, and some of you have been reading ahead thinking, I don’t see where it says that. So let me show you how I get there.

Acts 4:4 says the number came to five thousand — meaning the total number of people who had put their faith in Jesus. Not five thousand that day. And it’s specific: five thousand men are now part of the church.

Here’s how I get to a thousand. Back in Acts 1, we learn the church is about 120 people. In Acts 2, after the Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost and Peter preaches, three thousand are added. So we’re at 3,120. Then at the end of chapter 2, we’re told the Lord was adding to their number daily those who were being saved.

Now, the Jewish community was deeply relational. It wasn’t like us Americans, where you might see one or two people come to faith. It would be entire families, entire sections of a community. We’re talking dozens of people every single day. If that’s been happening for a couple of months, we’ve likely seen hundreds — maybe close to a thousand — more people. So the church is probably somewhere around four thousand when we arrive at Acts 3.

Which means when Peter preaches to this crowd and the number becomes five thousand men — not counting women and children — that’s roughly a thousand people in one afternoon.

And the fact that it’s counted in men tells me it was mostly guys there at the temple. There was a court for women, so there may well have been women in the audience, but the majority would have been male. They believed him and put their faith in Jesus.

I also believe there were people there who heard this and did not put their faith in Jesus. So we could be talking about a crowd of two thousand. That’s a lot of people. No wonder the temple leaders felt threatened — suddenly all these people who showed up to pray aren’t doing what they’re supposed to be doing, they’re standing there listening to this guy. So the leaders push through the crowd, hear him preaching in the name of Christ, and decide they have to put a stop to it. They arrest them, hold them overnight, and bring them out the next day.

You’ve already heard how Peter answered when they asked about the healing. But here’s what we didn’t get to: after hearing from Peter and John, the council sent them outside the chambers to deliberate.

And they’re stuck. Everyone saw this man. Everyone walked past him every day. They all know him — he’s over forty years old and he’s been lame his entire life. And now he’s walking around. They can’t deny it. But they also can’t have these men preaching about Jesus.

So they land on: we’ll just tell them to stop.

These leaders were so accustomed to their own authority and respect that they assumed telling someone to do something meant it would get done. They think it’ll be enough. If they say it strongly enough, threateningly enough, Peter and John will cave and go quiet and this will all go away.

So they bring them back in and say: you will never preach in the name of Jesus again.

Here’s the response:

But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19–20)

They are facing incredible pressure. Incredible opposition. In a real sense they are being persecuted, and they’re being told never again. And even in the middle of that trial, they can’t help but point the spotlight at Christ. I don’t care what you say against me or what’s happening to me — I’m still giving all the glory to God, because we cannot help but speak about what we have seen and heard.

Your trial may be the very thing God uses to help someone else find Christ.

Don’t get me wrong — your actions can be powerful, and I hope you do them with the right attitude. Your words could be life-changing. Your invitation might completely change someone’s eternity. But your brightest spotlight may well shine in your darkest moment.

A Spotlight in the Dark

Years ago, our church in Cedar Rapids was growing incredibly fast. Shortly after I was hired we added a third service early on Sunday morning, and we kept growing, so we started a Sunday night service as well. It was just like the morning services, but we asked some people, “Would you consider not coming Sunday mornings, to create space for others, and come Sunday nights at five instead?”

My family chose Sunday nights at five. We always sat in the same spot, front right. And there was a couple who sat directly in front of us every single week, so we slowly got to know them.

Because I was on staff, I knew the wife was battling cancer. But as we got to know them, we heard more and more of the fight. And they fought hard. She was stage four. I don’t remember exactly what type it was — I just remember it had spread through her entire body. And yet she was still coming to church on Sundays, still doing life. It was remarkable.

After they had exhausted essentially every course of action available in America, they raised money — this was before GoFundMe and all of that — and flew to Europe for a highly experimental treatment. They tried everything.

And here’s what has stayed with me. As much as the spotlight was on them through that battle — people praying for them, people giving them money — they took all of it and pointed it at Christ.

One day she told me about a conversation with her mom. Her mom had broken down in tears: “I’m just so worried for you. This cancer is going to take your life.”

And she looked at her mom and said, “Mom, I’m not worried for me. I’m more worried for you.”

Her mom said, “What do you mean? I don’t have cancer. You do.”

“But Mom, if I die, I know exactly where I’m going. I’m worried for you, because I don’t think you truly understand who Jesus is and what He’s done. And I don’t know that you’d be in heaven with me.”

She ended up sharing the gospel with her mom, and her mom put her faith in Christ. Then she started discipling her mom — and a couple weeks later her mom said, “I have got to share this with my friends.” So they started a Bible study. Out of that Bible study, I think three or four more women came to faith in Christ.

While all of this is happening, their two daughters — one in her early twenties, one in her late teens — who had walked away from Christ and from the church, started coming back and finding their faith in Jesus again.

Meanwhile, her husband was simply telling the guys at work what was going on. A couple of his coworkers put their faith in Jesus. One of them eventually became their son-in-law. The other one, ten years later, became a deacon at that church.

All of it because they refused to let the cancer keep the spotlight on them. They used the trial to shine it on Jesus.

Now, I wish I could tell you God miraculously healed her and she’s alive today. But a year after we moved away from Cedar Rapids, we got the news that she had lost her battle and passed away. So in a sense God did heal her — He just didn’t heal the body here.

What I can tell you is that heaven will look different because of how the two of them handled that trial. There are a whole lot of people who are going to be there because they didn’t let cancer take the spotlight. They used it to shine on Jesus.

This Isn’t Blind Faith

I don’t tell you that story so you’ll hear me saying, “Whatever you’re going through, just buck up. Just get with it.” Because that would make it sound like I’m asking for blind faith — just believe God no matter what.

That’s not what I’m saying at all. This isn’t blind faith. If you’re a follower of Jesus, you have already seen the cross and the empty tomb. You know what God has done for you. And if you’ve put your faith in that, your eternity is secure.

Which means you can trust God through the battle with cancer. You can trust God when you’re facing rejection. You can trust God when the bank account doesn’t have enough. You can trust God when the relationship isn’t what you want it to be. Because you’ve seen what He has done through the cross. You’ve seen the resurrected Christ. And that will get you through the trial — as well as supply you the words, the attitude, and the actions, and give you the guts to put the invitation on your lips.

When you keep your eyes on Jesus, you will end up putting the spotlight on Jesus.

God wants you to use it all. Your actions. Your attitude. Your words. Your invitation. And even your trials — the hard times — because that may be exactly where the spotlight shines brightest.

A Prayer

Heavenly Father, make us these kinds of people. Make us a little like Peter and John. Make us a little like David Carr. Make us like that couple who sat in front of us on Sunday nights and used everything they had to point the spotlight at You.

Because You, Jesus, came to this earth and left Your throne in heaven for us. You went to a cross to die in our place. You had the power and authority to raise Yourself from the dead, and You have now raised us spiritually from the dead. We were dead in our sins, and You have made us alive in Christ.

Because we can see that, we can follow You and trust You. So make us raving fans of Jesus. May we think about You. May we speak about You. May everything about us reflect who You are and what You’ve done.

Help us to be the kind of people who use all things — so that whatever we do, whether in word or deed, is done in the name of Jesus. And when any spotlight tries to shine on us, whether it’s positive or negative, help us simply become a mirror and redirect that light onto You.

Because we could not save ourselves. We do not have the power or the authority to do that, no matter how nicely we try to act. We can never fully pull it off. It is only through You, Jesus.

So through Your Holy Spirit, help us be like Peter and John. Help us make all of it about You. Because You, Jesus, are meant to be the star — not just of the church, not just of the universe, but the very star of our lives.

It’s in Your name we pray. Amen.