Common Men

Kingdom of God: Week 7

Good morning, Church.

If you have your Bibles, make your way to Acts 4.

For the last two weeks, we have talked about being bold in our faith.

That— as Christians— we are to be bold in our obedience to Lord Jesus and we know that His Word is true. That the Holy Spirit dwells in us. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.

And if we truly believe that— we cant help but tell others about him, no matter the cost.

and there will always be a cost. Thats why Jesus tells us to count the cost.

Tomorrow is Memorial Day, and Memorial Day serves as a reminder that the freedoms we enjoy in this country did not come without sacrifice.

and let me just say this— America was founded as a Christian nation. You can deny it all you want, but the evidence is everywhere.

One of the primary reasons for the establishment of the 13 colonies was religious freedom from England.

When the colonies broke up with England with the greatest breakup letter of all time— the declaration of Independence— says “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

There is only one creator God. and the men who wrote it— were talking about the God of the Bible.

Well the Consitution doesn’t mention God. Okay.

What about State Constitutions?

Every single state constitution mentions God, and let’s be honest about what that meant when this nation was founded. They were not talking about Allah, Hindu gods, or some generic spiritual force. They were talking about the God of the Bible.

And let me just add this for “funzys: this nonsense that America was built on “stolen land” ignores how history has always worked. 1. Not stolen, conquered. Nations conquer nations. Kingdoms rise and fall. That has happened throughout all of human history. This land was undeveloped wilderness that settlers built, cultivated, defended, and turned into cities, farms, roads, and communities through sacrifice and hard work.

America is not perfect. No nation is. But the attempt to remove Christianity from the foundation of this country is revisionist history, plain and simple.

The values that shaped this country came directly from Christianity. The belief that our rights come from God and not government is a biblical idea. The concepts of morality, justice, personal responsibility, and the value of human life were shaped by a Christian worldview.

And generations of Americans believed those principles were worth preserving and defending.

That is why Memorial Day matters. Because the freedoms we enjoy today did not simply appear out of thin air. They were secured by men and women who understood the cost of what they were doing and yet willingly stepped forward anyway.

Men and women who loved something greater than themselves. Men and women who believed some things were worth suffering for, and if necessary, worth dying for.

General George S. Patton once said, “The supreme measure of a man is what he would risk his life for.”

And while Patton was speaking in a military context, I think there is a deeper truth there that presses on every single one of us. Because what we are willing to sacrifice for reveals what we truly value. It reveals what we genuinely believe in. It is easy to claim conviction when conviction costs us nothing. It is much harder to stand firm when obedience becomes uncomfortable, costly, or unpopular.

George Washington once said, “Real men despise battle, but will never run from it.”

And that really captures what courage actually is. Courage is not pretending fear does not exist. Courage is not enjoying conflict. Courage is remaining faithful even when everything in you would rather retreat. And that is exactly the kind of courage we begin to see in Acts chapter 4.

Peter and John are facing real opposition. These are not hypothetical threats. These religious leaders wanted them silent. They wanted them intimidated. They wanted fear to shut their mouths.

But Peter and John could not deny what they had seen and heard because they had become fully convinced that Jesus Christ truly was alive.

And throughout church history, that same kind of boldness has marked faithful believers.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who eventually lost his life standing against the evil of Nazi Germany, famously said, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil.”

Church, we are living in a time where silence is often celebrated as wisdom and compromise is often confused with compassion. Christians are increasingly told to keep biblical truth quiet, to keep the Gospel private, and to avoid saying anything that might offend the culture around us.

Because people dont want to hear the gospel.

There have always been people who hated the name of Jesus.

All throughout history. Even recent history.

Back in 2015, a horrific video spread across the internet showing twenty-one Egyptian Christians being marched to a shoreline by ISIS terrorists. It was brutal. Hard to even comprehend. Those men were forced to kneel down in the sand while their captors gave them one final opportunity to deny Christ and save their lives. And one by one, they refused.

They would not recant. They would not deny Jesus.

Instead, many of them quietly whispered, “Jesus, help me,” as they were executed.

Their crime? They were followers of Jesus.

This isn’t something confined to one terrible moment in 2015. Even today, believers around the world are still being persecuted for the name of Jesus.

Just this week, reports came out that ISIS affiliates in Africa claimed responsibility for killing Christians in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique. Entire homes were burned. Churches were destroyed. Families were attacked simply because they belonged to Christ.

The reality is this: throughout history, believers have been mocked, hated, arrested, silenced, persecuted, and killed simply because they belonged to Jesus. The book of Acts reminds us that opposition to the gospel did not start in our culture. It started from the very beginning.

And honestly, when we read a passage like this, it forces us to ask a hard question: Are we bold enough in our faith that anyone even knows where we stand?

Because if we can live our entire lives without any tension, without any pushback, without anybody ever being uncomfortable with our allegiance to Jesus, it may not be because the culture has changed. It may be because our faith has become private, quiet, and hidden.

I once heard a pastor say, “Everywhere Paul went there was either a revival or a riot. Everywhere American Christians go there’s a conference.”

Now, I don’t think we should go looking for persecution. That’s not the goal. But the question still stands: Are we bold with the gospel like Peter and John were?

Because Peter wasn’t always bold.

Less than a hundred days before Acts 4, Peter stood around a fire and denied even knowing Jesus in front of a servant girl. He panicked. He cowered. He cursed and ran. Judas betrayed Jesus for money, but Peter betrayed Him for free.

And yet now, Peter is standing face to face with the same religious leaders who crucified Jesus, and he’s fearless.

What changed?

He witnessed the resurrection Jesus and the Holy Spirit now dwells in Him.

Now— lets read Acts 4:1-22 and dive into God’s truths this morning

Acts 4:1–22 “And 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. But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 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.” And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened. For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.”

Opposition Always Follows Gospel Movement

The religious leaders come rushing in. The priests. The captain of the temple guard. The Sadducees. They are upset because Peter and John are teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

Now understand something here.

These men are not upset merely because a miracle happened. They are upset because Jesus is being preached publicly.

The Sadducees did not believe in resurrection. That is why they are sad you see.

They had built an entire religious system around power, influence, and maintaining peace with Rome. And now these ordinary common men are standing in the temple courts proclaiming that Jesus Christ—the One they helped crucify—is alive.

The Gospel threatened their authority.

And church, it still does.

The Gospel confronts our pride because it tells us we cannot save ourselves.

Every other worldview in existence appeals to human effort in someway. Be better. Try harder. Improve yourself. Earn it. Say this many prayers. Do this many things. Go to this place.

But the Gospel says you are so sinful that the Son of God had to die for you. That destroys pride. Nobody stands at the foot of the cross bragging about how good they are.

The Gospel confronts our desire for control because it demands surrender.

We want to rule our own lives. We want to decide what is right and wrong for ourselves.

We want Jesus as Savior without Jesus as Lord. But the Gospel calls us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. It means my life no longer belongs ultimately to me.

And the Gospel confronts our sin because Jesus did not come to affirm it, He came to die for it. He came to transform us.

Some people love to try to get Christians to stop talking about Jesus— and they’ll say things like Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world.

Of course he didnt. It was already condemned.

The Gospel does not say, “You are fine the way you are.” The Gospel says, “Repent and believe.”

That is why people often become uncomfortable with biblical Christianity. The message of Jesus forces every person to answer the question: Will I submit to Christ, or will I continue trying to be my own god?

People love a version of religion that makes them feel spiritual and warm and fuzzy inside without requiring surrender.

But the Gospel says Jesus is Lord. Not us. He’s either Lord of all or not at all.

And notice what they do—they arrest Peter and John.

The world’s response to truth has often been intimidation. Silence them. Pressure them. Threaten them. Mock them.

This has happened throughout history.

In the 1500s, William Tyndale wanted ordinary people to have the Bible in their own language. Religious leaders opposed him fiercely because once ordinary people could read Scripture for themselves, it threatened the control of those who had used religion for power and influence.

Tyndale was hunted down, arrested, and eventually executed for translating the Bible into English.

Before he died, his famous prayer was, “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes.”

And what happened?

They killed the man, but they could not stop the Gospel.

Not long afterward, English Bibles began spreading throughout England. The very thing the authorities tried to silence multiplied even more.

That is that.

The authorities think they can intimidate Peter and John into silence. Instead, the church grows to over five thousand.

Acts 4:4 says many who heard the Word believed, and the number of men came to about five thousand.

Do not miss that.

Opposition did not stop the Gospel.

In fact, the church keeps growing.

Because the Gospel does not depend upon favorable conditions to advance. The Gospel advances because Jesus is alive.

As Adrian Rogers once said, “The church of Jesus Christ is an anvil that has worn out many hammers.”

Kingdoms have risen and fallen. Governments have come and gone. Persecution has come in wave after wave. And yet the Gospel still advances.

The church exists for the mission. The mission does not exist for the church.

The Great Commission will not fail because Jesus said He will be with us, until the end of the age.

And I think sometimes we panic too quickly as Christians. We look around at culture and think Christianity is losing. That somehow darkness is winning.

I’ve read the back of the book. I know how the story ends.

But we turn on the television and Christianity is mocked. We saw it at the 2024 Olympics when they mocked the last supper.

The gay crazy lady who played the wicked witch in the wicked movies was cast to play Jesus in some play producers said it was meant to provoke and challenge norms.

So brave and stunning— Now go do that with Muhammad.

You watch corporations celebrate things God calls sin while portraying Christians as the problem.

The Chicago Bulls fired Jayden Ivey 2 months ago for conduct detrimental to the team for calling it out and saying it was unrighteousness.

Christian students on college campuses are often treated as intolerant if they hold to Christian doctrine.

Schools are teaching students that gender is completely self-created and disconnected from biological reality, truth is relative, and morality is self-defined while any disagreement is labeled harmful or hateful.

That’s why Voddie Baucham said “We cannot continue to send our children to Caesar for their education and be surprised when they come home as Romans.”

And the thing is, not that long ago biblical literacy was much more common in schools and communities.

They used to use the book of Ecclesiastes to teach rhetorical devices, poetic rhythm, and existential philosophy.

The 10 commandments were in class rooms.

Kids used to hear Bible stories regularly. Teachers could reference Scripture and most students at least understood the reference.

Prayer and biblical morality were not treated like radioactive material every time they entered a classroom.

Now many people can recognize movie quotes better than Bible verses.

And what is interesting is how quickly culture shifted.

For years, activists, secularists, and what I like to call the Co-exist with everyone but Christian crowd kept pushing the idea that Christianity had to be removed from public life because of “the separation of church and state.” You heard it over and over: “No prayer in schools.” “No Bible reading.” “No public expression of Christianity.”

And yet, the phrase “separation of church and state” is not found in the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, or the Declaration of Independence. The Founders absolutely believed government should not control the church, but they were not trying to erase Christianity from public influence.

And here is what makes the inconsistency obvious.

Many of the same people who demanded Christianity be pushed out of schools suddenly have no issue making accommodations for other religions. Public schools creating Muslim prayer spaces? Totally acceptable.

Cultural sensitivity for every religion imaginable? Encouraged.

But let a Christian teacher quietly reference biblical truth or let students pray publicly, and suddenly people start acting like democracy itself is under attack.

Separation of church and state. But “mosque and state” is fine.

Hear me carefully on this: This is not about hating Muslims. Christians are called to love all people because every person bears the image of God. And I want them to hear about Jesus and repent and believe that Jesus Christ is Lord.

But we also call out the spiritual inconsistency in our culture.

The issue was never really that religion could not influence public life. The issue was Christianity specifically.

Because biblical Christianity confronts sin.

We are black hearted wretched sinners in need of a savior.

Biblical Christianity says truth is objective.

The father of modern philosophy was a man named Immanuel Kant, and one of his big ideas was this: religion may be helpful to people personally, but it is not objectively true.

In other words, faith might make you feel better, help you cope, or give you comfort, but that does not mean it is actually real.

And honestly, most of our culture has bought into that way of thinking.

But we need to understand the difference between subjective truth and objective truth. Objective truth is something that is true whether you believe it or not.

If I ask what the capital of Florida is, there is a right answer.

Subjective things are personal preferences and experiences.

My wife and I can sit in the same room and one of us say it is freezing while the other says it feels fine. That is subjective.

The world wants to put Christianity in that subjective category. “If Jesus works for you, great. If another religion works for someone else, great.”

But Acts will not let us do that.

This paralyzed man that was healed by Peter was not healed by positive thinking.

He was not healed by religious feelings or inspirational stories that made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. He needed real power because his legs were really broken. He needed something outside of himself to change what he could not change.

And Peter says salvation works the same way.

Our problem is not that we needed better morals or more religious activity.

Our problem is that we were dead in sin. We were separated from God, chained to our flesh, unable to fix ourselves. We did not need self-help. We needed resurrection power.

That is why the resurrection matters so much. Jesus did not rise from the grave because people believed hard enough.

He rose because God has objective power over sin and death.

Christianity is not built on good advice. It is built on a historical event. An empty tomb. A risen Savior.

The Gospel says that God did for us what we could never do for ourselves.

Jesus lived the life we should have lived. He died the death we deserved to die. And when we trust in Him, we are declared righteous not because of what we have done, but because of what Christ has done for us.

Then through the Holy Spirit, He gives us new life. Real life. Resurrection life.

Jesus was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. By His wounds we are healed. Though our sins were scarlet, He makes them white as snow. And whoever believes in Him, though he die, yet shall he live.

At the end of the day, every religion really comes down to one question: Who can save us?

If we can save ourselves, then sure, pick a path. Try hard. Be moral. Do your best.

But if only God can save sinners, then salvation can only be found where God has provided it — and that is in the Lord Jesus Christ alone.

Biblical Christianity says Jesus is the only way to God.

Culture is fine with spirituality as long as it does not demand repentance or submission to Christ.

and we better understand- right here, right now—

Rome could not stop the Gospel. The Sanhedrin could not stop the Gospel. Prison could not stop the Gospel. Persecution could not stop the Gospel.

And the world we live in today will not stop the Gospel either.

Jesus said, “I will build My church.”

Not “I might.” Not “if culture cooperates.” “I will build My church.”

Boldness Comes From the Holy Spirit

Now Peter and John are brought before the rulers and elders. These are powerful men. Influential men. The same type of men who condemned Jesus.

And verse 8 says something incredibly important:

“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit…”

That is the key to everything that follows.

Peter was not naturally fearless.

This is the same Peter who denied Jesus around a fire because he was afraid of what people thought. The same Peter who folded under pressure. The same Peter who ran.

So what changed?

The Holy Spirit changed him.

Church, biblical boldness is not personality.

Some people are naturally outgoing. Some are naturally confrontational. That is not necessarily spiritual boldness.

I know some people who think being loud automatically means they are bold. That is not boldness.

A toddler in Walmart screaming because his mom would not buy him a toy is loud too. That does not make him courageous. It just makes everybody in aisle seven uncomfortable.

And honestly, we have confused personality with spirituality for a long time in the church.

There are people who are naturally opinionated. Naturally aggressive. Naturally argumentative. They will fight with anybody about anything. Sports. Politics. Facebook posts. The thermostat in the church lobby. They are not bold because they are loud. Sometimes they are just difficult.

Biblical boldness is very different.

Biblical boldness is not the absence of love. It is not being obnoxious. It is not winning arguments online. It is not yelling louder than everybody else. It is not acting rude and then calling persecution “spiritual warfare.”

There are Christians who think every negative reaction means they are being persecuted for righteousness, when in reality people are reacting to their attitude.

People don’t like you because you’re a jerk, not because you’re a Christian.

Peter says in 1 Peter 4 that there is a difference between suffering for Christ and suffering because you are acting foolish.

Biblical boldness speaks truth clearly while still reflecting the character of Christ.

Jesus was bold, but He was never sinful. Jesus confronted hypocrisy, but He also wept over Jerusalem. Jesus overturned tables in the temple, but He also welcomed children into His arms. Jesus could rebuke Pharisees and comfort broken sinners in the same chapter.

That is spiritual maturity.

Anybody can be rude. Anybody can lose their temper. Anybody can post something angry online.

And we have also let the pendulum swing too far the other way in a lot of churches.

Because in reacting against harshness, some Christians have decided that boldness itself must be wrong.

So now the highest virtue is being “nice.” Never confront. Never offend. Never disagree. Never speak clearly if somebody might feel uncomfortable.

There’s a word for that: cowardice

We have created a version of Christianity where being agreeable is treated like the fruit of the Spirit.

Jesus was not crucified for being nice.

Nobody in Acts is throwing Peter and John into prison because they were quietly encouraging everybody to “live their truth.”

They were arrested because they boldly proclaimed that Jesus alone is Lord.

And somewhere along the way, many Christians started acting like anybody who stands firmly on biblical truth must automatically be mean-spirited, arrogant, or hateful.

“Bold- hearted men are always called mean-spirited by cowards.”- C.H. Spurgeon

Now certainly some people are harsh. Some people do weaponize truth without love. That absolutely happens.

But loving people does not mean affirming what God calls sin. Compassion is not compromise. Grace is not silence.

You can be kind and still be clear. You can be loving and still say, “That is sin.” You can be compassionate and still say, “Jesus is the only way.”

In fact, refusing to speak truth is not loving at all.

If a doctor knows a patient has cancer but refuses to say anything because he does not want the conversation to feel uncomfortable, that is not compassion. That is cowardice.

And the church is called to speak truth lovingly, not avoid truth entirely.

Paul says in Ephesians to speak “the truth in love.” Not truth without love. But also not love without truth.

Because what often gets called “love” in our culture is really just approval. And what often gets called “tolerance” is really surrender.

The culture says: “If you really love me, you will affirm me.”

Jesus says: “If you really love Me, you will obey Me.”

Those are two very different messages.

The Holy Spirit does not produce spineless Christians who just drift with whatever culture says this week.

The same Spirit who comforts also convicts. The same Spirit who produces gentleness also produces courage.

And Peter shows us both here.

He is respectful in how he speaks. But he is unshakable in what he says.

That is biblical boldness.

But it takes the Holy Spirit to help you speak truth with both conviction and compassion.

And notice something else about Peter here.

Spirit-filled boldness did not make Peter arrogant. It made him faithful.

Peter is standing before powerful men who could ruin his life. And yet he calmly, clearly, faithfully proclaims Jesus.

That is courage.

Courage is not pretending fear does not exist. Courage is obeying God even when fear does exist.

A lot of people think bold Christians are fearless Christians. That is not true.

Most bold believers throughout church history felt fear. I can’t imagine how those 21 Egyptians brothers felt when they were killed one by one. I can’t imagine how the 20 brothers and sisters in Christ felt when terrorists showed up to steal, kill, and destroy.

They just feared God more than they feared people.

This is why the Holy Spirit matters so much here.

Because left to ourselves, most of us drift toward one of two extremes: Cowardice or carnality.

Some people stay silent because they are afraid. Other people become harsh because they are angry.

But the Holy Spirit produces something different:

That is what we see in Peter.

This is not the same man warming himself by the fire denying Jesus to a servant girl. The Spirit of God has transformed him.

It reminds me of the difference between Peter before Pentecost and Peter after Pentecost.

Before the Holy Spirit filled him, Peter looked like Scooby-Doo hearing a strange noise in a haunted house. Nervous. Ready to run.

But after the Holy Spirit came, Peter walks into the very same kind of opposition and starts preaching Jesus directly to the people who could have him arrested or killed.

That is not personality development. That is supernatural transformation.

Peter stands there and says, “If we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man… let it be known to all of you… 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.”

That is bold preaching.

Peter does not soften the message. He does not dance around the truth. He does not apologize for Jesus.

And then he says one of the boldest statements in all of Scripture:

“There is salvation in no one else.”

Hey Church, There is salvation in no one else!

Jesus is not one option among many. He is not merely a good moral teacher. He is not just another religious leader.

He is the eternal Son of God. The crucified Savior. The risen King.

And salvation belongs to Him and Him alone.

As Charles Spurgeon once said, “The Holy Spirit will move them by first moving you.” That is exactly what we here. Peter is not depending on charisma. He is not trusting his personality. He is filled with the Spirit of God, and the Spirit gives him courage to speak truth plainly.

Our culture hates exclusivity.

The only thing our tolerante culture will not tolerate is intolerance.

My pastor used to say all the time— people brains have become so open minded that their brains have fallen out.

People will tolerate spirituality as long as its not threatening to there way of life. think about this:

Church of Scientology teaches that human beings are actually immortal spiritual beings called “thetans” who have apparently been floating around the universe for trillions of years collecting trauma like your grandma collects decorative pillows.

According to Scientology, all your problems come from “engrams,” which are basically spiritual scars from bad experiences in this life and past lives, and the solution is a process called “auditing,” where you sit holding metal cylinders hooked up to something that looks like a middle school science fair lie detector.

The goal is to become “Clear,” which means you are supposedly free from all these negative influences and can operate at a higher spiritual level. And then, if you stay involved long enough and spend enough money, you move into increasingly secret teachings and advanced “Operating Thetan” levels that sound less like historic religion and more like somebody lost a bet while writing a sci-fi movie at 2 a.m. which interestingly enough, L Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology was a failed science fiction writer.

If i’m lying i’m dying. Also notice its a works based religion.

One more—

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ( the mormons) teaches that after the apostles died, the true church disappeared from the earth until Joseph Smith restored it in the 1800s after supposedly receiving visions from angels in New York.

Mormons believe the Book of Mormon is another testament alongside the Bible and teaches that Jesus visited the Americas after His resurrection. They also believe God the Father was once a man who progressed to godhood, and faithful humans can likewise progress in the afterlife. Another works based religion.

They also believe the new Jerusalem will be built in Independence, Missouri.

The Book of Mormon also describes massive civilizations called the Nephites and Lamanites living here, complete with giant wars, cities, and millions of people, yet archaeologists still have not uncovered one piece of evidence you would expect for civilizations that supposedly made Rome look small. Mormon theology mixes grace with temple rituals, church ordinances, and progression.

And honestly, some of the theology feels like somebody combined the Bible, American frontier history, genealogy research, and a really ambitious fantasy universe into one system.

Meanwhile the Gospel keeps coming back to the same simple truth: Jesus is God, salvation is by grace, and you do not become a god someday with your own planet like a celestial real estate developer.

The World Notices When People Have Been With Jesus

Verse 13 says the rulers saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized they were uneducated, common men.

I love that.

Because if we are honest, that describes most of us pretty well. Ordinary people. Regular people. People who forget where they put their keys while holding the keys in their hand. People who walk into a room and forget why they walked in there in the first place.

And yet God has always used ordinary people.

The church is not built upon celebrities. It is not built upon impressive personalities. It is not built upon people with perfect speaking ability or polished appearances.

It is built upon surrendered people filled with the Holy Spirit.

Peter and John were fishermen. Not scholars. Not religious elites. Not political leaders.

And yet these powerful rulers looked at them and could tell something was different.

And then Luke says this: “They recognized that they had been with Jesus.”

What a statement.

Not: “They are talented.” “They are successful.” “They are impressive.”

But: “They have been with Jesus.”

Church, that is one of the greatest compliments somebody could ever say about your life.

Can people tell you have been with Jesus?

By the way you speak? By the way you treat people? By the way you respond when things do not go your way?

Can people tell at the restaurant after church on Sunday?

Because let’s be honest, some Christians act more sanctified during worship than they do waiting twenty extra minutes for mozzarella sticks at Chili’s.

Can people tell by your love for the Word? By your humility? By your obedience?

Because when you genuinely spend time with Jesus, it changes you.

Not just in church. Not just when people are watching. But in everyday life.

Billy sent me a video this week of a pastor who was live streaming at some restaurant and he starts talking down to this waitress because she brought him out a water in a plastic cup and not a large cup.

He tells the guy recording to just delete that part of the video and the camera man is going uhhh this is live.

And the pastor starts talking about how that waitress is a stumbling block causing him to sin.

Like I said- people don’t hate you because your a christian, they dislike you because your a jerk.

I hope that pastor was just having a bad day.

Because when you genuinely spend time with Jesus it does change you. Maybe not all at once but over time.

You begin to love differently. Forgive differently. Speak differently. Handle conflict differently.

You do not become perfect. But you become different.

And the religious leaders could not deny the miracle because the healed man was standing right there beside them.

That is hard to argue with.

Transformed lives are difficult to explain away.

You can debate theology with somebody all day long. You can argue apologetics. You can discuss philosophy and worldviews.

But it is hard to deny what Jesus has done in somebody’s life.

It is hard to argue with the man whose marriage was restored. The woman delivered from addiction. The bitter person who became full of grace. The anxious person who found peace in Christ.

At some point the evidence is standing right there in front of you.

And again— I think sometimes Christians feel intimidated because they think they need to have every answer to every difficult question before they can talk about Jesus.

Now listen, we should study the Bible deeply. We should know what we believe.

But never underestimate the power of your testimony.

Because nobody can argue you out of what Jesus has done in your life.

“I once was blind, but now I see.”

That is difficult to debate.

There is something powerful about a life that has genuinely been changed by Jesus.

You can fake church attendance for a while.

You can fake Christian language for a while. You can even fake morality for a while.

But eventually people can tell when somebody has truly been with Jesus. It starts showing up in the way they live, the way they love people, the way they handle suffering, the way they speak, the way they carry themselves when life falls apart.

And that kind of transformation makes people uncomfortable sometimes.

Because when your life visibly changes, it forces people to deal with the reality that something happened to you. It is hard to dismiss a changed life.

That is exactly what is happening here in Acts 4. The religious leaders cannot deny the miracle. They cannot deny the boldness of Peter and John. They cannot deny that these are different men than they used to be. And because they cannot explain it away, they try to silence it instead.

So the council threatens Peter and John and commands them not to speak anymore in the name of Jesus.

this is the fourth truth we see: Obedience Matters More Than Approval

And Peter responds with one of the boldest statements in the entire book of Acts:

“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.”

I love that.

I love that because Peter is essentially saying, “You can threaten us all you want, but we are not going to act like Jesus did not completely change our lives.”

And church, that kind of boldness does not come from comfortable Christianity.

Nobody risks their reputation, their freedom, or even their life for something that is merely convenient to them. Peter and John were bold because they knew they needed Jesus. They had seen the risen Christ. They understood that apart from Him they had nothing.

And I think that exposes one of the greatest struggles in the modern American church. Because most of us are not in danger of being arrested for our faith. Most of us are not wondering if following Jesus will cost us our lives.

Our danger is far more subtle.

Our danger is becoming so comfortable that we slowly lose our desperation for God altogether.

One of the greatest dangers to the American church is not persecution. It is comfort.

Because comfort has a way of dulling our desperation for God.

When life is easy, when the bills are paid, when the fridge is full, when entertainment is endless, when we can distract ourselves every waking second of the day, it becomes very easy to coast spiritually. We start convincing ourselves we are doing fine because life feels manageable.

And listen, comfort itself is not sinful. I am thankful for air conditioning in Florida. Amen? Every summer reminds me that sanctification is real because if I had to plow fields in July, I would probably start questioning my spiritual gifts.

But comfort becomes dangerous when it makes us forget how desperately we need God.

Safety can weaken urgency. Prosperity can create self-sufficiency. And people who do not feel their need for hope rarely seek Christ deeply.

That is one of the reasons Christianity often explodes in places where there is suffering, persecution, and desperation. People know they need something greater than themselves. Meanwhile in America, we have become experts at medicating emptiness instead of surrendering to Christ.

And yet Peter and John stand in complete contrast to that mindset.

At some point every believer has to settle something in their heart before the pressure comes.

You have to decide beforehand who you belong to.

Because if you wait until the moment of temptation, compromise, or pressure to decide whether or not you are going to obey Jesus, you are already in a dangerous place.

Peter and John had already settled the issue. That is why their response came so quickly. The council threatens them, and they basically say, “We hear what you are saying, but we already made our decision. We are obeying Christ.”

Church, predetermined obedience matters.

It means deciding beforehand: “We are going to honor Christ regardless of the consequences.” Not because it is easy. Not because culture approves. Not because everybody agrees. But because Jesus is Lord.

That shows up everywhere in life.

It shows up in business ethics when everybody around you is cutting corners, lying, or being dishonest to get ahead.

It shows up in family dynamics when following Jesus may create tension with people you love.

It shows up publicly when culture pressures Christians to stay silent about biblical truth.

And hear me clearly: obedience to Jesus will eventually cost you something. It always has. But delayed obedience is still disobedience. And partial obedience is still disobedience.

Peter and John understood that Jesus was not merely a part of their lives. He was their authority.

And one of the reasons they were so bold is because Christianity is not built on fairy tales, myths, or blind emotionalism. Christianity is rooted in real history.

These men were eyewitnesses.

They saw Jesus crucified. They saw the empty tomb. They saw the resurrected Christ. They heard Him teach. They watched Him ascend into Heaven.

That is why Peter keeps saying, “what we have seen and heard.”

Church, Christianity is not asking people to take a blind leap into the dark. Biblical faith is trust based on truth.

We have eyewitness testimony. We have resurrection accounts. We have manuscript evidence that far surpasses most ancient historical documents. We have centuries of historical documentation supporting the reliability of Scripture.

That is why men like Lee Strobel went from atheism to Christianity after investigating the evidence as a journalist.

It is why Sir William Ramsay, who originally set out to disprove the Bible, eventually concluded that the book of Acts was remarkably accurate historically.

The Christian faith can withstand investigation because it is grounded in reality.

Now listen, faith still matters. Nobody gets saved by intellectual arguments alone. The Holy Spirit changes hearts. But Christianity is not irrational. We do not check our brains at the door to follow Jesus.

The Gospel happened in real places, in real history, with real people, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ changed the world forever.

let me challenge you with this as we close.

Christianity is not merely about knowing information. You don’t have to know it all to surrender all to Lord Jesus.

There are people who know Bible trivia and still do not know Christ. There are people who can quote verses, argue theology, and win debates online while their hearts are cold toward God.

Christianity is not moral improvement.

Jesus did not come just to make bad people behave a little better. Plenty of lost people can look moral externally. You can clean up your language, dress nicer, stop a few habits, and still be far from God.

Christianity is not religious performance.

Showing up to church does not save you any more than standing in a garage makes you a car. Some people are exhausted because they are trying to perform their way into peace with God instead of resting in Christ.

And Christianity is certainly not self-help.

The Gospel is not “five steps to a better you.” The Gospel is that spiritually dead sinners can be reconciled to a holy God through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Christianity is about encountering Jesus.

It is about being transformed by Jesus.

It is about living in intimacy with Jesus.

That is what changed Peter and John. These were ordinary men. Flawed men. Imperfect men. But they had been with Jesus, and it was obvious.

So as we close, there are really two groups I want to speak to this morning.

First, there may be some of you here today who know about Jesus, but you have never truly surrendered your life to Him.

Maybe you have been around church your whole life. Maybe you know the songs. Maybe you know the stories. Maybe you know all the right answers.

But deep down, you know you do not belong to Christ.

And today the invitation is simple: Repent of your sin. Trust in Jesus. Stop trying to save yourself. Stop trying to clean yourself up first. Surrender fully to Christ.

Jesus lived the life you could not live, died the death you deserved, and rose again victorious over sin and death so that you could be forgiven and made new.

But there is another group here too.

There are believers who have drifted.

And listen carefully: it is entirely possible to know facts about Jesus while neglecting intimacy with Him.

You can become busy with religion while your heart quietly grows distant from Christ.

You can serve in church, teach Bible studies, lead ministries, and still slowly lose your desperation for Jesus.

And maybe that is where some of you are right now.

You do not need more religious activity. You need to return to Him.

Stop pursuing religion without relationship.

Return to intimacy with Christ. Return to prayer. Return to dependence. Return to desperation for Him.

Because boldness does not come from personality.

It does not come from appearance. It does not come from pretending to be spiritually impressive. It does not come from religious performance.

Biblical boldness comes from a Spirit-filled life overflowing from intimacy with Jesus Christ.

And when people have truly been with Jesus, the world notices.

here is what we are going to do. In just a moment, we are going to go into a time of prayer together, and then we are going to sing one more song before we leave this place.

And during that time, if the Holy Spirit is dealing with your heart, do not ignore that.

If today is the day you need to surrender your life to Christ, come.

If you need prayer, come.

If you need to take your next step in obedience, whether that is baptism, joining the church, confessing sin, or simply admitting that you have drifted and need to come back to intimacy with Jesus, come.

Listen, there are people up here who would love nothing more than to pray with you, encourage you, and walk with you. Nobody up here is perfect. We are all just people who desperately need Jesus.

So do not let pride keep you in your seat if God is calling you to move.

Let’s pray together.