4-21-24 Sermon "Boldly and With Confidence" - 17 Minutes

Acts 4:5-12

This morning I'll be reading Acts chapter 4 verses 5 through 12. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Acts 4:5-12 In these scriptures,,, Peter and John are standing before the religious leaders,,, and they are asked to explain the power that they have used to heal this man,,, or in what name they healed him. Acts 4:5–12 (HCSB) — 5 The next day, their rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem 6 with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John and Alexander, and all the members of the high-priestly family. 7 After they had Peter and John stand before them, they asked the question: “By what power or in what name have you done this?” 8 Then Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders: 9 If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a disabled man—by what means he was healed— 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead—by Him this man is standing here before you healthy. 11 This Jesus is the stone rejected by you builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people, and we must be saved by it.” The word of God for the people of God,,, thanks be to God! God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ___________________________________ Last Sunday we looked at 1 John 3:1-7,,, and we learned that John was warning them about being deceived,,, and we must watch out for that as well.

We looked back at our life and seen that we have become like those around us,,, those that we spend a lot of time around,,, and how it is usually our parents that we resemble as we get older.

In the same way,,, when we become a child of God,,, each and every day that we are near Him,,, we become more and more like Him as we strive daily,,, for the perfection that God intends for us to have!

We also learned that,,, right now we are children of God.

Right now we belong to God through Jesus Christ.

Right now we are justified,,, saved by grace,,, forgiven.

At the same time,,, we are not fully pure.

We are not righteous all of the time.

We make mistakes,,, more times than we can count.

But when we finally see God,,, when God is revealed to us,,, “we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.”

On the day when our lives are fully and perfectly found in Christ,,, there will be no more sin,,, no more suffering,,, no more darkness,,, no more pain.

We experience glimmers of that now,,, but it is far from perfect.

When we experience God,,, we are transformed.

We learn who we really are in the presence of God.

And as we are transformed,,, we become more like him until the day when we finally see,,, when God is finally revealed.

But until that day,,, we live with verse 3: And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself just as He is pure.

In this in-between,,, in this time where we are already children of God,,, but not yet completely who we are,,, we cling to hope.

When we fall down,,, we look to Jesus for direction.

When we struggle,,, we call out to Christ.

Even in the midst of hopelessness,,, our hope is in Jesus,,, and it is because of Jesus that we are being transformed and united to God.

It is because of Jesus,,, that we are being reconciled.

And in him,,, we find our "hope".

This morning we will look at these verses in Acts,,, and see how they help us in our walk with God this week.

___________________________________ Verses 5-6 said: 5 The next day, their rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem 6 with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John and Alexander, and all the members of the high-priestly family.

Peter and John have been arrested because of their healing of the lame man by the gate beautiful,,, and their teaching concerning the resurrection of Jesus Christ!

In these verses,,, they are brought before these religious leaders,,, all of those listed that were just read,,, and from this list we can see that they were very important people,,, at least from the way that they are listed here.

The religious council,,, known as the Sanhedrin,,, sat as a court of inquiry,,, intending to put a stop to the activities of these public nuisances,,, as they possibly thought of the disciples.

But in reality,,, all they succeeded in doing,,, was to give the disciples another chance to witness for Christ,,, and to speak boldly to the leaders that day!

As Peter and John are brought before these important men,,, they ask the questions that we see in the next set of verses.

___________________________________ Verses 7-10 said: 7 After they had Peter and John stand before them, they asked the question: “By what power or in what name have you done this?” 8 Then Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders: 9 If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a disabled man—by what means he was healed— 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead—by Him this man is standing here before you healthy.

The trial opened by their asking the disciples by what power,,, or by what name,,, they had performed the miracle.

Peter,,, filled with the Holy Spirit,,, stepped forward to deliver his third successive public confession of Christ in Jerusalem.

It was a priceless opportunity to preach the gospel to the religious establishment,,, and he seized it eagerly and fearlessly.

First he reminded them,,, the religious leaders,,, that they were unhappy,,, because the disciples had performed a good deed … to a helpless man.

Though Peter didn’t say it,,, the healed man had begged at the gate of the temple,,, and these rulers had never been able to heal him.

Then Peter,,, delivered a thunderbolt,,, by announcing that it was in the name of Jesus … whom they had crucified that the man was cured.

God had raised Jesus from the dead,,, and it was by His power that the miracle had been performed.

___________________________________ Verse 11 said: 11 This Jesus is the stone rejected by you builders, which has become the cornerstone.

The One who healed the crippled man,,, was the Stone which the builders rejected.

Here Peter quoted Psalm 118:22.

The background of this verse is disputed.

The rejected stone (Psalm 118) may be

(a) an actual building stone,,,

(b) the nation of Israel,,,

Or,,,

(c) David.

Or it may also be a proverb with no specific application.

Most probably,,, to David the rejected stone in Psalm 118:22 meant Israel,,, a nation spurned by other nations.

Either way,,, the verse finds its ultimate fulfillment in Christ Jesus who is the “ideal” Israel (cf. Isa. 5:1–7; Matt. 2:15; 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17; 1 Peter 2:7).

The rejected Stone,,, (Christ rejected by the nation in their crucifying Him),,, is the Cornerstone,,, the resurrected Lord.

The Jews did not have any place for Jesus in their building plan,,, so they rejected and crucified Him.

But God raised Him from the dead and exalted Him in heaven.

The rejected stone thus became the chief cornerstone,,, the indispensable stone,,, that completes the structure.

___________________________________ Verse 12 said: 12 There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people, and we must be saved by it.”

We can see from these words,,, that He is indispensable.

There is no salvation without Jesus Christ!

He is the exclusive Savior.

No other name under heaven has been given among men for salvation,,, and it is by this name alone,,, that we must be saved.

___________________________________ As we read verses 8–12,,, let us always remember,,, that these words were spoken by the same man,,, who had denied the Lord three times with oaths and curses.

We can see that confidence,,, not only from Peter and John,,, but from all of the disciples!

They aren't scared and hiding any longer,,, they have seen their Savior,,, they are filled with the Holy Spirit,,, and nothing can silence them now!

Even as they speak,,, to the same council,,, that had examined Jesus,,, and sentenced Him to death,,, they aren't afraid to speak out!

___________________________________ Today,,, we might not be asked to speak to a courtroom or council,,, but we still run the risk of opposition in the world that we live in.

It could be from those around us that disagree with us,,, it might be just a simple argument,,, or an outright attack of words,,, or a type of post,,, like a Facebook post,,, or twitter,,, etc.

More and more I've been receiving emails that warn of dangers that other Christians are experiencing in their country.

In many countries,,, Christians are being persecuted daily,,, and it seems like we are deaf to that type of news.

There have been many reports of people being arrested for even simple things like prayer in the streets.

And those same type of dangers might spread here at any time.

___________________________________ Satan is doing all that he can to silence us,,, and we need to take note of these dangers and deal with them now.

It is promising the way that the country seems to have turned in the last few months as we continue to deal with disagreements from the left,,, hopefully people are beginning to wake up and see the danger that we have been heading.

We must remain vigilant,,, and ready to speak up when needed.

Whether that voice is used as speech,,, or voting for a candidate of choice,,, our voices,,, as Christians,,, must be heard.

___________________________________ And to do that,,, we must be prepared to speak boldly,,, just as Peter and John have done before the religious leaders.

They were filled with the Holy Spirit,,, and it's through the Holy Spirit,,, that they were able to respond with the right words.

We need to remember these words in these verses,,, and be sure where our strength is coming from.

Because there are so many things that we just can't accomplish as well,,, nor as easy,,, unless we receive that help!

Jesus knew that we needed help,,, and it's here for us,,, if we just turn to Him for help.

___________________________________ I've told you many times,,, our opposition to those that we disagree with,,, must be done in a loving way,,, without hate,,, or hurtful words,,, but they should still be done boldly,,, and with conviction!

Relying on God's guidance as to the correct words and response to wrongs that we try to correct!

Peter and John's words weren't filled with hate as they confronted the religious leaders,,, but they were filled with confidence,,, because they knew that they were using the words given to them by God!

And God has given us everything that we need to face any problem that this world gives us,,, if we just take advantage of His help going forward,,, and use His power,,, to help us speak “boldly and with confidence”,,, no matter what we are facing,,, each and every day,,, of our life!

___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Hymn: 337 - Oakdale Hymn: 337 - Seminary Benediction -----------------------------------------------------------