The Bold and the Beautiful
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Scared
Scared
Some of the very best parenting moments have come when my kids are terrified.
Logan learning to ride a bike? He was too afraid, unless I was running alongside him holding on. He was afraid, but he trusted that I was able to catch him if he fell on the bike, and that filled him with the courage to ride.
Seven years ago I took Logan, my son, to a Broncos game. He was so excited to go. My friend gave us his season tickets and he had two rules. We had to stay the whole time, like a true fan. And Logan had to wear his Bronco hat for luck. Logan was so excited, and took these requirements very seriously.
We parked over here at the park n' ride and took the bus down. Logan loves the bus.
We arrived at the stadium, Logan is thrilled.
We figure out where our section is and get on the escalator. On the way up the people behind us are talking about this particular escalator... why the security guards only let a few people at a time because one time it went crazy, malfunctioned, went into warp speed and threw people off and piled them up...
I'm like "cool story, I want to look that up." What I didn't see is that Logan's eyes going wide.
We get our hot dogs and sodas, and we walk out to our seats. We are on the third level and we are high up. The stairs are tiny and steep. We sit down and Logan is kind of shaking.
"Are you Okay?"
"Yeah... just... I didn't expect to be so high!"
He tries, like a champ to hold it together. He is more and more terrified. Then, late in the first quarter, we score. And everyone goes nuts, like you do. And they start stomping... and the stadium starts shaking... and Logan just starts losing it. He is terrified.
Now, I have to get my son home.
The buses don't start heading back until halftime. We take a taxi.
He was intimidated. He tried to face it. I tried to help him. But it just kept mounting and ultimately he was terrified. We had to leave.
We missed the game.
This was an intimidating situation that played on Logan’s fears.
How do you face that? How do you “fix that”? What do we do when we are simply too afraid to do the thing we are “supposed” to do and even want to do.
What do when we’re afraid?
We find Peter and John in the midst of a terrifying situation. One that plays on known fears in Peter: the fear of being called out, of being condemned, of being associated with Jesus and rejected by the crowd and by the religious authorities.
Recap
Recap
Peter and John are in this intensely intimidating situation. Before the religious leaders for preaching in the name of Jesus, they hold nothing back.
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders,
Peter is filled with the Holy Spirit (we read in Acts 4:8) and boldly proclaims the name of Jesus and declares:
It is Jesus by which the beggar was healed and...
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.”
How do we know he said it boldly and not hesitantly or cautiously or reluctantly? His boldness set these powerful men back on their heels in shock.
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.
Boldness. Confidence. Courage.
But there’s nothing the religious leaders can really do.
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.
Is that going to intimidate them?
Recall how easily Peter was intimidated before.
But Peter and John are no longer intimidated by men, they are living in light of God, mindful that the Sovereign God is with them.
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.”
Peter and John Full of God’s Spirit and mindful of His Sovereignty, speak boldly the name of Jesus.
And in the face of that boldness, there wasn’t much the authorities could do.
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.
Total success. Released in safety. What is the response of the people?
The people respond with prayer and it is the longest prayer in the book of Acts. They are inspired by what Peter and John have done, above all by their boldness in standing up to the powers and authorities for Jesus.
When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them.
And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them,
Sovereign Lord.
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’—
They quote from Psalm 2, and then they interpret it.
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.
They first affirm what Peter affirmed: the Sovereignty of God. It is the Sovereign Lord, who made everything. And even the plans of the rulers against Jesus… even that is in His hand and in His predestined plan.
God is Sovereign.
In view of the Sovereignty of God… what is it that they pray for?
My instinct would be to pray for safety. God, please make it so none of the rest of us are ever arrested. Please make the authorities back down.
That isn’t what they pray for. They are amped up and they want in the game!
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.”
They want boldness. They speak with boldness while God continues the miracles. They want to keep doing it!
Note that they want to “continue speaking” in boldness, they are fully aware that it is God who will do wonders and miracles. They just want courage to speak.
And God answers that prayer by giving Himself.
And 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.
They continued to speak the word of God with boldness. Ongoing imperfect action, over and over, constantly they were all speaking the word of God with “boldness”. Exactly that kind of boldness Peter and John showed.
He’s Here and He’s Got This
He’s Here and He’s Got This
Faced with threats and intimidation, Peter and John boldly proclaim the name of Jesus. Inspired by their example, all the believers pray for that kind of boldness. God sends the Holy Spirit… and they speak with boldness.
Peter and John had both of these things. They know the truth, that God is Sovereign.
and they experience the reality of the Spirit within them. God is with them.
God is Sovereign and He is with them. He is King and He is here.
Logan wasn’t confident on the bike when I wasn’t there. He needed my presence. and then he trusted that I could catch him.
But I was with him in the stadium. Why wasn’t that enough? Here’s my theory, he knew at a deep level that I could help him if the stadium started crumbling. That’s beyond Dad’s power.
But nothing is beyond our Father’s power. It is all in His hand. If He is with us what can stand against us?
Nothing.
And so we can be fearless. We can be courageous, bold beyond belief.
Because God is here (among us) and He has it all in hand.
Because God is here (in me) and He is strong enough.
Scared?
Scared?
What makes you timid? What makes you intimidated?
The good opinion of others, sometimes that alone is enough to intimidate me.
Two friends close friends in California: Ryan and Mike.
Had a talk with them. They were very complementary and essentially said how awesome it was that even though I was “Christian” I never talked about Jesus.
Now it is one thing not to be pushy about faith and church and witnessing.
Too afraid to speak the name of Jesus. It will be awkward! What will they say? How will they react?
A few weeks ago I was speaking with Ryan, catching up. He was sharing his story and at the end I had this terrifying thought: you know what he really needs? Jesus.
You know who should speak that name? Me.
But it’ll be awkward and weird and a HUGE shift in tone. It isn’t how we operate or communicate!
I asked “can I pray for you?”
There was a long silence. It was exactly as awkward as I thought it might be.
He says, with all skepticism, “uh… sure...”
So I do. and I prayed for him and his stuff in the name of Jesus.
and that was it. No fireworks or outcome that I could tell.
But in me, that was boldness in the name of Jesus. A step out in confidence, trusting that God has a plan for Ryan… and that I can speak the name of Jesus boldly with no fear of the repercussions or the awkwardness or even maybe/possibly offense. He’s got this… and He is here.
Do you want to be bold? How?
Filled with the Holy Spirit. Mindful of His Sovereign.
How did the church go after this, inspired by Peter and John? They prayed. They prayed to the Sovereign God.
They acknowledged God’s Sovereignty.
They asked for boldness.
And they were filled.
So let’
Prayer
Prayer
Three part prayer.
First we pray to the Sovereign God. He is Sovereign of every aspect of our lives. Let’s simply acknowledge that in prayer. From the general: “you are Lord of Creation” to the specific “you are King in my family.”
...
I want to be bold in the name of Jesus.
How often am I intimidated by authorities? By social pressure and norms? Intimidated by my friends? Protecting my reputation.
Lord make us boldness. Give us boldness to speak.
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We pray for the Holy Spirit to fall afresh on us. He is present within us always, but, just as he did on these believers, there can be fresh renewing, fresh filling and refilling. May He pour out on us in power, in presence. Let’s invite the Spirit.