Acts the Story Continues (13)

Confidence

The idea of confidence is hard for many of us this morning. There is much of what we face in life that shapes our confidence. Parenting is scary thing and I’ll tell you why—Because is there are numerous ways to mess up your kids and so few ways to raise them right. It’s insane. We are extremely fragile creatures, especially when it comes to our confidence and security. So much so that there are entire groups of people who not only question their abilities, but question God’s ability to keep us safe. The idea of once saved always saved, I believe, comes from a root of fear. That God cannot sustain us in his presence unless he traps us.

I read a book by John Eldrage, called Wild At Heart, this was quite a few years ago when I first learned that I would be a parent and it has given me immense freedom to allow my children to explore, get hurt, and fail because through all of this when they succeed there is a building of confidence only failure could grow. Today we are afraid to allow our kids to fail. We are raising kids in a world of participation trophies and mediocre success. In high school graduation cerimonies I see the principle more as Oprah. You get a diploma, you and you and I don’t know who you are, but you’ll walk away with one as well.

We have become afraid of failure, but failure isn’t bad. Failure has shaped the World as we know it. One of the biggest failures, Christopher Columbus, gets celebrated because he got lost and missed the mark entirely.

This morning we aren’t going to get in depth into Paul’s second sermon because it’s much like the first. Peter is an evangelist. His message doesn’t have to change, he doesn’t need new stories because the people he preaches too are different each time he preaches.

We are going to open in Peter Healed the lamb man and preached his second sermon 5,000 came to Christ and then Peter got detained.

Bunny trail alert: Listen Satan’s biggest attacks are often after God’s biggest Miracles. We see it here, we see it Elisha when he defeated the Prophets of Ba’al then ran away from Jezebel. Satan isn’t going to let you marvel in victory because a well earned victory is an immediate confidence booster. We are going to cover a big chunk of scripture this morning so lets get right too it.

Acts 4:5-

Acts 4:5–12 ESV

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.”

Peter’s sermon, second sermon, and now third sermon all have the same thing in common. Peter started by showing people their failures or their sin.

If you want to help someone to become better show them your failures.

The issue I have with the word confidence is that all to often it’s directly linked to self. People who have failed in the past, been wounded in the past, or other wise have been put down in the past often see confidence as this unattainable object.

The issue with this is that we believe confidence must come from us. Peter laid it out that the Jews had nothing to be confident about. That they were failures, they crucified God and that their freedom lay in the hands of the man they crucified. How does Peter come with such confidence?

Acts 4:13 ESV

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.

Peter was an uneducated common man. Many of us here today would fit that description. I myself fit this description. There is so much about life, the world, and the bible we just don’t know. The more I learn the more I realize that I don’t know. It’s a never ending circle.

Philippians 3:3 ESV

For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—

puts it best. We are to have no confidence in ourselves.

The Saduccees Ask one simple question:

By what Power did you do this?

The the word of God says:

Peter, Being filled with the Holy Spirit

So where does Christian confidence come from?

Proverbs 3:26 ESV

for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.

2 Corinthians 12:

2 Corinthians 3:5 ESV

Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God,

The reality is you can’t, placing confidence in yourself is just misplaced arrogance and there is a huge difference between arrogance and confidence.

According to the dictionary

Arrogance- is having an inflated view of one’s importance

Confidence- feeling or showing certainty about something

Understand-Peter is standing in front of the Saducees. These people were considered to be some of the most educated people concerning religion and philosophy. He stood in front people who dedicated their lives to gaining knowledge, but on thier persuit of knowledge they neglected wisdom. You can know just about anything, but wisdom is the ability to rightly apply your knowledge. The saduccess were arrogant and over estimated themselves.

Most Christians fail at being like Christ because they believe arrogance and confidence are one in the same. They believe that because they said a prayer and recieved Jesus that they can overcome their issues. They can believe they can change themselves. This is what the Saducees believed. That by being obediant to the law they could taste salvation, But Peter exercised wisdom.

Being enlightened by the Holy Spirit, following His words. Peter spoke and the Saducees were

Amazed

Hebrews 4:12 ESV

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

When we place our confidence in Christ we access to not only an unbelievable amount of knowledge, but also the wisdom to know when to apply the knowledge we have.

So what is the outcome?

Acts 4:18–22 ESV

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.

When Christ is spoken about with Holy Boldness people will notice and praise God. Peter and John couldn’t be persecuted because of the amount of people who were praising God. The Saducees found NO WAY to PUNISH THEM

BECAUSE OF THE PEOPLE, FOR ALL WERE PRAISING GOR FOR WHAT HAD HAPPENED.

Are people who are in your life praising God for what he is doing in your life? Are you living with wuch confidence that you can preach the word of God with the full confidence of living the word of God because preaching without living is hypocrisy.

But living confidently what you preach confidently will equal the people coming to Christ.

1 Peter 2:12 The Message

Live an exemplary life among the natives so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they’ll be won over to God’s side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives.

Live confidently in Christ and Christ will never let you down. He will get you through the hard times. He will not only get you through it he will make it so that you increase your testimony amongst you unchurched friends. Your struggles are only avenues in which God can work his miracles to increase the moving of God’s message through the unchurched.

1 Peter 2:12