Sermon Tone Analysis

“As they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.

But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.

“On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family.

And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, ‘By what power or by what name did you do this?’

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders, 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.

This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.’

“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished.

And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.”

[1]

Fear is known to everyone.

Some fears are justified; many are irrational.

There are people who suffer from hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia.

Such individuals probably are uncomfortable in the services I lead.

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is a fear of long words.

[2] Other fears are ablutophobia, a fear of bathing, washing or cleansing; astraphobia, fear of thunder and lightning; and atychiphobia, fear of failure.

It would be unfortunate if you experienced chaetophobia, fear of hair, when in my presence.

Others have experienced decidophobia, fear of making decisions; and many people suffer from dentophobia, fear of dentists or dental procedures.

[3]

Christians, especially as they live in the light of eternity, cannot help but be courageous.

That this is so becomes abundantly clear when we consider the assertion made by the Apostle Paul which is recorded in his second Letter to the Christians of Corinth.

The Apostle attested, “We are always of good courage.

We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight.

Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord” [2 CORINTHIANS 5:6-8].

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Christians will be marked by boldness.

When they believers were threatened after the incident that is described in our text, the disciples returned to their friends.

Together, the believers prayed, and what a prayer they presented before the Master.

“Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,

“‘Why did the Gentiles rage,

and the peoples plot in vain?

The kings of the earth set themselves,

and the rulers were gathered together,

against the Lord and against his Anointed’—

“for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.

And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus” [ACTS 4:24-30].

Simply stated, their prayer was, “Make us bold!”

It is as though they said, “Master, enable us to disregard threats and persecution, remaining focused on You and Your will.

Enable us to fulfil the charge we received to declare your Name to all peoples.

One must love the concluding summary of the manner in which God granted what they asked.

“When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness” [ACTS 4: 31].

I need to pause for a moment to dispel a myth of modern evangelicalism.

Among evangelicals an error of epic proportions persists.

There is a perception that when one is “filled with the Holy Spirit,” they lose control over themselves.

Nothing could be farther from reality.

In the New Testament, we have multiple examples of people filled with the Holy Spirit.

John, the Baptist, would be “filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb” [LUKE 1:15].

His ministry was marked by boldness; there is not a hint of ecstatic utterances.

Elizabeth, mother of John, was “filled with the Holy Spirit” when Mary came into her presence [LUKE 1:41].

Her response to this filled was to praise God, declaring His majesty and power.

Likewise, Zechariah, when “filled with the Holy Spirit,” prophesied, or boldly declared the glories of God [LUKE 1:67-79].

In these instances, the evidence of being filled with the Spirit was to declare the glories and might of the Lord God.

Jesus is said to have been filled with the Spirit when He was led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil [LUKE 4:1].

There is not a hint of anything other than full control of Himself as He faced the evil one.

Filled with the Spirit, the Master answered the wicked one by pointing to the Word of God.

Surely, if He is our example, we should consider seriously this example of what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Another statement of when the Master revealed the power of the Spirit informs us that after being tempted by Satan, “Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee” [LUKE 4:14].

The power of the Spirit was demonstrated through confronting the people, teaching in the synagogues and bringing praise to His Name [LUKE 4:15].

Some argue that the disciples “were all filled with the Holy Spirit” at Pentecost.

The focus of those who point to this singular occurrence tends to exaggerate the fact that they are said to have begun “to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance” [ACTS 2:4].

Two responses must be made to such an assertion.

First, those who witnessed this phenomenon heard them speaking in the language of those listening.

If those who advocate that this is the necessary evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit today wish to make this universal, they must argue that anyone listening will hear what is said in a language that is readily understood.

Secondly, those hearing the disciples witnessed men that had formerly been cowed into silence now boldly proclaiming Christ the Lord.

They heard a message drawn from the Word and applied to their own hearts with the impact that they were convicted and convinced just as the Master had said the Spirit would act [ACTS 2:14-41].

Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, boldly and bravely stood his ground when attacked by the craven mob.

Despite being confronted by the enraged mob, his final words were not ecstatic utterance; rather, he made a bold proclamation of the grace and mercy of the Master [ACTS 7:55-60].

Saul of Tarsus, filled with the Holy Spirit, arose from his self-pity and boldly identified with the Risen, Living Master [ACTS 9:17-19].

Again, when Paul was confronted by Elymas the magician during his initial missionary journey, he was “filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Rather than breaking out in ecstatic utterances, he boldly proclaimed judgement on the evil man, resulting in salvation for the proconsul who witnessed these events [ACTS 13:4-12].

Those who are filled with the Spirit of Christ are made bold and enabled to stand courageously; those filled with the Spirit of God are equipped to teach with authority.

To contend that those who are filled with the Spirit have an ecstatic experience is to debase the power of God into something tawdry that is squandered on our own desire.

God’s Spirit is given for power.

The surest evidence that contemporary Christians are not filled with the Spirit is the lack of bold preaching in this day!

The resort to process and liturgy rather than bold declaration of the revealed will of God stands as a powerful witness that we know little of what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

When we preachers are more concerned about having a sermon than we are about delivering a message, we need to be filled with the Spirit.

When we Christians are more focused on being liked rather than being truthful, we need the filling of the Holy Spirit.

When we fail to attempt great things for God, expecting great things of God, we are condemned as those who are yet unfilled with the Spirit of God.

I want us to examine one instance of courage in the early church, endeavouring to learn what made the disciples courageous in the face of powerful opposition.

If we can discover the source of their courage, we will be equipped to draw upon that same source to stand courageously in these last days.

Join me, then, in reviewing how to be courageous.

ANNOYING THE RELIGIOUS — “As they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.

But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.”

Let your mind turn back to a matter of mere weeks prior to our text.

The disciples were gathered in a locked room “for fear of the Jews” [JOHN 20:19].

It was at this time that Jesus appeared in their midst, confronting them in their fear.

Even after walking in and out before them for forty days, even after they had witnessed His ascension into the heavens, the disciples returned to an upper room.

It is obvious that they were intimidated by the prospect of confronting the religious and civic leaders—the very people who had crucified the Master.

The incident before us began with Pentecost.

One hundred twenty Spirit-filled disciples came down from the upper room at Pentecost.

They boldly proclaimed the message that Jesus, recently crucified and buried, had conquered death.

Having been raised from the dead, He was seen by those to whom He revealed Himself and ascended into the heavens where He is now seated at the right hand of the Father.

The message was powerfully used by God to bring over three thousand individuals to believe the message of grace—the message that calls everyone to repent and believe the Risen Lord of Glory.

Those who believed demonstrated their commitment to the Master by immediately identifying in baptism.

They began the growing process through receiving instruction in the Faith, through fellowship and through telling others of what God had done in their lives.

As an aside of great significance, all who come to faith are called to identify openly and quickly through submitting to baptism after believing.

The new believers are urged to seek out a fellowship of disciples.

If that fellowship meets the criteria of the New Testament, the following elements will be evident.

The elders will present sound doctrine, adhering to the Word of God.

The believers will worship, enjoying the presence of the Risen Lord.

The worship will consist of knowledge of His presence because He is glorified through the Word that is declared and because the people are obedient to His will as revealed in that same Word.