Prayer for Boldness

Summary

This morning I want to look at text that is particularly timely.

I’m a story-teller by nature. I love stories and the book of Acts is just that. It’s a narrative of the early church. We’re going to pick up the story of where we left off last time and just to recap what has happened so far. Jesus has ascended into heaven and left the disciples with the task of serving as witnesses to the world. He asked them to wait for the Holy Spirit. He came and filled the church. 3,000 people got saved. Then Peter and John healed the lame beggar and 5,000 more people came to faith. We left off with Peter and John being arrested.

They were left in prison overnight. and brought before the high priest the next day. They asked Peter and John, by what power or what name did you do this?

Peter “filled with the Holy Spirit” has an amazing response. The guy who managed to always say something dumb, now that he is filled with the Holy Spirit, is just on fire! He responds in an incredible way! He basically says, so, you’re saying we’re here today because of the “good deed” we did for a crippled man. Is that what we’re talking about. Just checking. Apparently you can be filled with the Holy Spirit and a smart aleck at the same time. That’s a relief for me. He says if that’s what we’re talking about, he was healed

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 only in his name

So basically, this is all about Jesus…that guy you killed and rejected. He was the stone rejected by you, but is now the cornerstone of the only true religion. Oh and everything you thought you knew about God is wrong.

So the religious leaders are noticing the same thing that we talked about. These guys aren’t well educated. They have no business being so convincing. The council is astonished, but sing the man who was healed standing beside them, had nothing to say in opposition.

So these guys are mad! They send them away and huddle up for a secret meeting. What do we do with these guys. We can’t deny they did a good thing, but let’s tell them to shut up or next time, we’re going to have a bigger problem.

Peter and John respond, whether it’s right to listen to you or God, you guys can decide that for yourselves. We however can’t help but speak of what we’ve seen or heard.

So the threatened them some more but they couldn’t find any way to punish them without turning the people agains them, so they let them go...

So the are released and sent back to their home. And here’s where I want to focus our time this morning. Their response to the ordeal they have just been through is so fascinating. Lets read from Acts 4 what happened in verse 23

English Standard Version Chapter 4

23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 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, 25 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?

26  The kings of the earth set themselves,

and the rulers were gathered together,

against the Lord and against his Anointed’—

I’d like to think if anyone from our leadership team were arrested because of their faith in Christ, that our response would be similar to the one of the early church in that we would get together and pray. That seems like the only thing that would make sense in that moment. You can bet that their faith was shaken to the core. You can be sure that they were scared and fearful.

And in this moment they are acknowledging that the world has always been against the things of God. This is the challenging part of tall of this. The world doesn’t find agreement in the things that we stand for. There are moments in time where our values align with other groups, but our agenda isn’t a worldly agenda so we will NEVER find perfect alignment with the world. Then they continue in verse 27.

English Standard Version Chapter 4

27 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, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.

They said, what the Romans and the Jews did to Jesus wasn’t happenstance. It wasn’t an accident. It was part of the perfect plan of God. The path to following the call of Christ is not an easy one. We are called to do scary things and follow the path of Christ. They are acknowledging that what Jesus went through ultimately moved the kingdom of God forward. Look at that wording one more time. They are saying that all of the people who were responsible for Jesus’ death were operating by both the hand and the plan of God. If God was willing to do that to his son and our call is to follow in the footsteps of Christ then we cannot be surprised when hardship comes our way for following Christ. Scripture doesn’t promise us safety, comfort, and luxury.

Here’s the good news though.

When your hope is in Christ, your circumstances don’t govern your hope, your peace, or your joy!

He doesn’t promise us comfort. He promises us peace. He doesn’t promise us luxury, he promises us a helper. He doesn’t promise us safety, but he promises victory. Somebody type this of these in the comments,

I have peace, I have help, I have victory.

Listen, there are a lot of things stacked against the church of Jesus, but we can say this with confidence. I have peace. I have help. I have victory. C’mon church if we don’t believe that, we’re hopeless. I’m going to tell you what they asked for next but if you don’t believe what we just declared, it’s not going to help you. We have to start from a position of faith. We have to believe what we are praying!

Ok, here’s what they pray next

English Standard Version Chapter 4

29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness,

We know the world is against us. We know that people will try to harm us. We know that there will be hardship, but help us to be bold. They didn’t even pray for change in the government. They prayed for boldness to speak the truth. Wow.

We need to pray for boldness!

Then they pray this…vs 29 again

English Standard Version Chapter 4

29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

I LOVE that. Give us boldness to speak and YOU stretch out your hand to show people you are real. Let me ask you something. When it comes to the great commission, who has the harder job here. Us or God. We so often think, how am I going to convince people that my God is real. We should speak with compassion. We should let the Holy Spirit lead us but GOD is the one who convinces, who changes hearts, who reaches his hand out to heal and restore. Let’s not get it confused. You be bold in your faith and speak it.

So what happened. And when they prayed, they all went to peppermint twist for a raspberry shake.

Here’s the thing we miss sometimes church. Prayer is not final step. It’s not the end of the journey. We’ve allowed the enemy to run around and determine what we are doing for far too long.

Prayer should be the launching point for what God has called us to to do.

English Standard Version Chapter 4

31 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.

Somebody listening today needs to pray for their son that needs Jesus and when they finish praying should call them up and speak the truth.

Somebody has a friend that is sick and needs a touch from God. And they need to go to the father on their behalf and intercede and then they need to run over to their house and lay hands on the sick and believe for God to heal them.

Somebody listening has a dream that God has put on their heart and you’ve been praying about it for a while and it’s time to put the pen to paper and began to set into motion in the physical world what God has already set to motion in your heart.

Holy Spirit shake this place. We are ready to see what you have for us. We are ready to speak with boldness the truth of you word. We speak, he heals. We proclaim, he performs.

Don’t just listen to this message today and leave the same way you started. What is God leading you to boldly do.

I’m going to pray that our faith in Christ would move us to make a difference in our world.