2026.9.20. 주일예배ㅣ"닫힌 문이 열리니 ..."ㅣ사도행전 5:12-21ㅣ장세호 목사

Amen. Now, we will look at Acts chapter 5. Last week, we examined the incident of Ananias and Sapphira that occurred at the first gate of revival in the early church. It was truly a bewildering event. People died in a church that was producing life, experiencing revival, and witnessing the work of the Holy Spirit. It was a very heavy incident. God removed the false devotion of those who were obsessed with material things and deceived the Holy Spirit. At that time, a great fear fell upon the whole church, and through this, a true church that fears God's holiness was born. Now, what will happen to a church that has removed internal spiritual impurities and restored holy purity? Through today's text, we will see two amazing phenomena. First, internally, there will be an explosive revival of life that the world cannot imitate, and second, externally, there will be an inevitable confrontation with the world that holds power. I pray in Jesus' name that this time will be a precious moment for us to share what true power the church must recover and what the mission of believers is that cannot be stopped even in crisis. I pray that the words we hear today will become precious seeds sown in my field. May they not be taken away like the path, not grow like thorns, not be planted like rocky ground and disappear, but be well planted in my heart, take deep roots, and be well preserved so that our beloved saints may bear precious fruit. Please remember that this is the precious glory I can offer to God.

Now, the power of the Holy Spirit begins to explode without hindrance upon the church community that has removed falsehood and hypocrisy and restored purity. Let’s look at verse 12. Let’s read together. Start. "And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people." Yes, through the hands of the apostles—of course, the subject of the miracle is God. That power is realized through the hands of the apostles. Signs and wonders are abundantly continuing to happen among ordinary people. This is not happening just once but repeatedly. This connects with Acts 2:43, which says that everyone was filled with awe, and the apostles performed many wonders and signs. These continuously occurring signs and wonders serve to guarantee that the world cannot deny God's word. In particular, the events of verse 12 occurred after God's fearful judgment on Ananias and Sapphira. The Holy Spirit does not perform miracles where hypocrisy and secret greed are hidden behind the appearance of devotion. When the community ruthlessly purifies internal materialism and falsehood to restore purity, and when the holy fear of the living God is restored, true signs and wonders that transcend human limitations continue to occur. Here, we must clearly see that the power of God's kingdom operates only on the foundation of the church's holiness. God's work is accomplished only within holiness and purity. Let’s shout together. God, God, may our church, our church, become a holy church. May it become a holy church. Everyone, please remember this point. If there is no holiness or purity in our homes, the Holy Spirit cannot dwell there. Amen. We must keep in mind that the work of the Holy Spirit cannot manifest.

Looking at the latter part of verse 12, it says that the believers were all together in Solomon's Porch. Even in a situation where death was occurring among the people, the church was in fear. Nevertheless, the believers gathered in one heart at Solomon's Porch. Solomon's Porch is the most public place. It is the center of persecution where the powerful can monitor and control them. The saints did not hide here. The fact that they gathered in one heart in such a threatening space shows that they were not intimidated by the powers of the world. They had holy boldness as a result of being filled with the Holy Spirit. Now let’s look at verse 13. Another group appears. Start. "Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly." Yes, the difficult term here is "the rest." Were those who did not dare associate with them people within the church or outside the church? Looking at the original Greek, it says, "The others did not have the courage to associate closely with that community." The people within the church gathered to praise God in faith. However, the people outside the church, that is, "the rest," did not have the courage to associate with them or enter that community. They wanted to enter the community but lacked the courage. Why was that? They were afraid. "If I go to the church with the wrong intentions, I could be in danger too." So they thought, "I should not go to church," and left. They never even entered the church in the first place. They were fake believers who tried to parasite on the church out of religious vanity or secular curiosity.