Living Boldly

Doug

Acts • Sermon • Submitted 10 months ago • Presented 10 months ago

Acts 4:1–31

Evangelism

Boldness

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Being more in love with Jesus than ourselves allows us to live a bold life.

Notes

Transcript

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Introduction

Speak to the healing last week

walking into the temple to pray, a man asking for money, Peter and John healed him through the Holy Spirit

This person was over joyed

he went with Peter and John into the temple, praising God and making a scene

people came running toward them and Peter did not miss the opportunity

he delivered a very personal gospel

you have sinned by killing the holy one that God has sent into the world

but there is grace… God raised up his servant and sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your evil ways.

Today - Living Boldly

the healing, the sermon to thousands brings attention

not all attention is good however.

Acts 4:1–31 (CSB)

1 While they were speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple police, and the Sadducees confronted them,

2 because they were annoyed that they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.

3 So they seized them and took them into custody until the next day since it was already evening.

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

5 The next day, their rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem

6 with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and all the members of the high-priestly family.

7 After they had Peter and John stand before them, they began to question them: “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 of Nazareth, 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 by which we must be saved.”

13 When they observed the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed and recognized that they had been with Jesus.

14 And since they saw the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in opposition.

15 After they ordered them to leave the Sanhedrin, they conferred among themselves,

16 saying, “What should we do with these men? For an obvious sign has been done through them, clear to everyone living in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.

17 But so that this does not spread any further among the people, let’s threaten them against speaking to anyone in this name again.”

18 So they called for them and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

19 Peter and John answered them, “Whether it’s right in the sight of God for us to listen to you rather than to God, you decide;

20 for we are unable to stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

21 After threatening them further, they released them. They found no way to punish them because the people were all giving glory to God over what had been done.

22 For this sign of healing had been performed on a man over forty years old.

23 After they were released, they went to their own people and reported everything the chief priests and the elders had said to them.

24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together to God and said, “Master, you are the one who made the heaven, the earth, and the sea, and everything in them.

25 You said through the Holy Spirit, by the mouth of our father David your servant: Why do the Gentiles rage and the peoples plot futile things?

26 The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers assemble together against the Lord and against his Messiah.

27 “For, in fact, in this city both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed,

28 to do whatever your hand and your will had predestined to take place.

29 And now, Lord, consider their threats, and grant that your servants may speak your word with all boldness,

30 while you stretch out your hand for healing, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

31 When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God boldly.

Prayer

Retell what happens in the first four verses…

while Peter is still speaking to the the people that came to him in amazement of the healed man

the religious leaders, the elites of the day come to them

they are not happy that somebody is preaching in Jesus name

preaching that Jesus has been resurrected

the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection

they did not believe the prophets either, only the first five books of the bible were considered inerrant to them

they arrest them because they could, put them in jail over night

but the damage had been done, many believed and the number came to about 5000

is this another five thousand, the church grew to five thousand, not sure it matters

the point is that God’s church was growing and the religious elites wanted to stop it

Being more in love with Jesus than ourselves allows us to live a bold life.

Boldness in Our Testimony

Our testimony did not begin and end on a day we said a prayer.

far too long we have been taught that our testimony is the story of how we came to Christ

that is not incorrect, but it is not the entirety of it

yes that is our testimony, our story, but so is the rest of what God is doing in our lives

how he saved us, sustains us, grows us,

there are a lot of reasons to praise God in our lives, each of them is a part of our testimony

Acts 4:7–12 (CSB)

7 After they had Peter and John stand before them, they began to question them: “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,

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 by which we must be saved.”

Boldness even if people we know do not like it

some struggle to share in a safe place… like here

we come up with different reasons

we do not like to talk in front of people

we do not think what God is doing in our lives is a big deal, or worth sharing

how can we expect to stand in a hostile place

I wonder what was going through the apostles minds

you should always be ready to give an account

2 Timothy 4:2–4 (CSB)

2 Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and teaching.

3 For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear.

4 They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths.

Preach in v2 means to publicly proclaim

that does not mean you stand behind a pulpit, but that we are always ready to proclaim the truth about Jesus

we need to be ready right now… a day is coming when they will listen no more

Peter did not mince words

if you are asking how a disabled man was healed

let it be known to everyone that it was by Jesus

not just the people there listening, but all of Israel

this was now the mission, first in Jerusalem, then Judea, Samaria, and the rest of the world

who you crucified

this has a different tone

I have said before, it is my sin, your sin that put Jesus on the cross and that is true

if there was no sin, there would be no need for a sacrifice

when Peter told those coming to him in Acts 3, he told them that they killed Jesus

this was true, remember there was a crowd of people crying out crucify him

but this is the Sanhedrin, the very group of elite religious leaders that took Jesus to Pilate and demanded that he be killed

so this was not a general your sin put him on the cross

this was not a you went along ignorantly with those who killed him

this was a pointed finger, looking directly at them, God sent him and you killed him

who God raised from the dead

proclaiming the resurrection to a group who mostly do not believe in a resurrection, let alone the resurrection of Jesus

that it is by the power of God that he is no longer dead

that it is by his name this man is healed

that it is by his name alone that people are saved

I challenge you to read this section of the story with a different tone in your mind

when I read through this the first few times Peter is very direct, confrontational, almost with a growl, “you killed him.”

but what if it is not

what if Peter is heartbroken at the lack of faith in his people

here is one last chance to proclaim to the religious leaders that they too can be saved

yes they killed him, but there is grace

I believe this is Peter’s heart

that is why he takes them to the OT,

Psalm 118:22 (CSB)

22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

reminding them of the OT and how it spoke of the messiah

You cannot do this in your own power

we must rely on the Holy Spirit

but that should not be an excuse to be lazy

Jesus told them do not be afraid the Holy Spirit will give you words

too many have taken this to mean that we do not have to do anything, God will speak

Jesus was also speaking of a time of tribulation, not going to speak to you neighbor

we must know what we believe

this cannot happen only on a Sunday morning

we need to read daily, study together

know what we believe and challenge each other

Acts 4:13–22 (CSB)

13 When they observed the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed and recognized that they had been with Jesus.

Do not misunderstand uneducated and untrained

this does not mean they do not know what they’re talking about

but instead, they were not professionally trained yet they spoke as those who knew

because they had been with Jesus

with a studied mind of knowing the scriptures and the power from the Holy Spirit to be a witness we will share the gospel with boldness

this is where Peter was

Boldness in Our Persecution

Sharing Jesus with the world will result in persecution

Jesus shared this with his disciples on multiple occasions

he told them they would be blessed when they were persecuted

he told them if the world hated him, they would hate them as well