The Birth of the Church: A Rebirth of Boldness
The Birth of the Church • Sermon • Submitted
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Intro:
31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
Last Sunday was Pentecost Sunday, I want us to conclude to study [The Birth of the Church]. The subject of my message is, [A Rebirth of Boldness].
Boldness is defined, willingness to take rise. We could also say confidence or courage.
When I think of boldness I remember being with my brother when we were children. You all have seen Stephen, he has always been taller and stronger than me!
Having him around made me much bolder. I always knew I could say what I wanted and do what I wanted because Stephen would protect me.
Whether he protected me out of love or out of fear of our mom I do not know, but believe me I was bold. I remember once when my friend Thomas and I walked home and we saw someone in Stephen’s grade.
We mouthed him a little and he told us to stop or he would beat us up! I said, I am not afraid of you, MY BROTHER IS STEPHEN TIDMORE AND HE CAN TAKE YOU!
Somehow Stephen found out and mom told me, you have to stop telling everyone Stephen can beat them up. I stopped, sort of, but I remained bold.
When we read the story of the New Testament church there is a progression and it all started with the promise from Christ:
8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Jesus promised the church supernatural power from heaven and it arrived on the Day of Pentecost. After waiting for ten days, the 120 that gathered in the Upper Room and they were baptized in the Holy Spirit, which was evidenced by speaking in tongues.
With the newfound power, God used Peter on the same day to speak to the crowd that gathered to watch this peculiar sight. 3,000 of those who heard him speak accepted Christ, were baptized in water, and filled with the Holy Spirit.
The church walked in the supernatural power of God and the Lord worked through them. In Acts 3, God used Peter and John to heal the man who was sick from birth.
The man’s healing drew a crowd of people and Peter used the opportunity to tell them about Christ’s resurrection. Many who heard Peter’s message accepted Christ and were refreshed in the Holy Spirt.
As I prepared for Pentecost Sunday, I felt a strong stirring in my spirit to study the birth of the church. For I believe God wants to rebirth within us what the New Testament church possessed.
The New Testament Church had power, God wants to rebirth His power in us!
The New Testament Church experienced healing, God wants to rebirth healing and miracles in us!
Our world faces intense suffering and confusion right now. I believe God wants to use His Church to provide the remedy to our problems.
There are many questions, and we have the answer. Therefore, we must actively pursue a relationship with God, infused with power from the Holy Spirit, so we might display Jesus to everyone we meet.
While the power displayed on the Day of Pentecost and the healing experienced in Acts 3 was marvelous, the story is incomplete without understanding the aftermath in Acts 4.
I would have loved to been there in the Upper Room or when the man was healed, I would have celebrated and rejoiced at all God did. But that was not the case with everyone.
1 Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.
Instead of glorifying God for what He did, there were some who wanted to stifle the momentum of the New Testament Church by arresting Peter and John.
Sadly, we have the same problem today. The enemy and many in our society want to stop the Church of Jesus Christ.
However, God has an answer, He wants to give us BOLDNESS! Let’s look at Acts 4 and see how God gave boldness to His Church. I have three points, [A Bold Answer], [A Bold Address], and [A Bold Appeal].
Let’s begin
1. A Bold Answer
1. A Bold Answer
5 And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, 6 as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?”
At this point, the Church consisted of Jewish men and women who accepted Jesus as their Messiah. The apostles would not preach he Gospel to the Samaritans and Gentiles for some time.
The center of Jewish civilization was in Jerusalem. The leaders of religious life was called the Sanhedrin. They were the, “Senate and Supreme Court of the Jewish Nation.”
They had an intense problem. They thought they silenced Jesus by killing him. Now, his followers are preaching in His name and declaring He rose from the dead.
Though they wanted to kill the followers of Christ, the church grew to 5,000 men, not including their wives and children. It could have easily been 15,000 to 20,000 people.
And to make matters worse, everyone saw the man who was crippled from brith. So the Sanhedrin could not question what happened, but how someone like Peter and John could heal the man.
They asked, by what power have you done this? Notice the beginning of Peter’s answer:
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel:
Peter did not answer through his own power, but through the Holy Spirit. I will not read everything he said, but let me paraphrase.
This was not the first time Peter preached or spoke with such authority. His answer to the Sanhedrin mirrors his message on the Day of Pentecost and to those who witnessed the miracle in Acts 3.
You rejected Jesus as the Son of God. You killed Him and are guilty of His death. But God raised Him from the dead!
12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Think of Peter’s boldness. He looked at the same men who manipulated and connived to have Jesus murdered and told them, you crucified Jesus, but God raised Him from the dead.
Peter’s answer was not because of Peter. It was a direct result of the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. God equipped Peter with the necessary boldness to answer the Sanhedrin.
2. A Bold Address
2. A Bold Address
13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.
The Sanhedrin noticed the boldness of the Peter and John, but they were perplexed, they were uneducated, ordinary men with no special training.
At first glance that could seem offensive, what does their education or lack of education have to do withy anything?
But we need to see the contrast between the Sanhedrin and Peter and John.
The seemed Sanhedrin educated, influential, and exceptionally powerful. When in reality they were spineless, weak, and cowardly.
However, Peter and John were from Galilee, which was considered the sticks. They did not attend universities and from the outside looking in they were powerless, yet they possessed such boldness.
The Sanhedrin looked at Peter and John and they could see the man who was healed. They miracle was undeniable, so they had to address the issue.
If they punished Peter and John too severely, they would have an uprising in Jerusalem, because thousands believed in their message of Jesus as the Christ.
Furthermore, if they were too harsh and riots started, the Romans would get involved and they would lose their political influence. They decided act powerfully, when in reality they could do nothing.
17 But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name.” 18 So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.
They tried to sound really bold, DO NOT EVER PREACH OR TEACH IN THE NAME OF JESUS AGAIN! Surely that would work, but they forgot, these men followed the Man who laid down His life.
To them, imprisonment, threats, and death were not a possibility, they expected such persecution. They died to THIS life and awaited THAT life in heaven with God.
Therefore, they boldly addressed the seemingly strong Sanhedrin.
19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” 21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done.
19 But Peter and John replied, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? 20 We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.”
Imagine the audacity of Peter and John. They at 70 men, who were responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus and told them plainly, we will not obey you instead of God.
What gave them this boldness?
David said it this way in:
25 I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread.
They heard the words of Jesus. They saw Him after His resurrection. They saw the fire of God fall in the Upper Room. They saw the man get healed. And they knew God would never forsake them.
But what’s more, the heard the people praising and glorifying God for the miracles of the man who was healed. Therefore, they had a bold answer, they had a bold address, and then they made...
3. A Bold Appeal
3. A Bold Appeal
23 And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24 So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them,
While Peter and John stood before the Sanhedrin, the other believers were praying for them. When they were freed, they went to them and testified about what God did.
They all lifted their voices together and began to pray. Their prayer was more of an appeal.
Appeal is defined, make a serious or urgent request, typically to the public.
They spontaneously appealed to God’s sovereignty, acknowledging He has all power and authority. Why would they appeal to God’s position as God of the universe?
They knew what they were up against. They enemy wanted to stop the church and he was working hard and fast. Yet they were bold in their walk for they knew God was supreme.
So they established God’s status in their situation. Then they went to Him with their appeal.
Before we look at their request, imagine what many Christians today would want.
God, you got us off, so please protect us. Help us so we will never have to return to such intense persecution.
Some might have prayed, God I tried that once, I am never doing that again, I will serve you as long as it doesn’t require too much of me.
However, that is not what they wanted, we can summarize their appeal with one word, BOLDNESS.
29 Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, 30 by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”
They acknowledged the threats of their adversaries. They knew the stakes were high. Yet they wanted boldness to preach and proclaim His word!
They then appealed to heaven for God to stretch out His hand, not to protect them. But that He would perform healings, miracles, signs, and wonders through them!
Upon hearing their selfless prayer, God answered.
31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
As they prayed, the place was shaken and notice, they were ALL filled with the Holy Spirit.
That is significant for we know Peter and John were present. Why does that matter? They were filled with the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, but now they were filled again as they prayed.
God never intended the baptism in the Holy Spirit to be a one time deal. We must never view Spirit Baptism and speaking in tongues as something we do one time and never revisit.
No, God wants us to stay full of His Spirit. If Peter and John needed to be filled with the Spirit again, I can guarantee we do too!
Notice the byproduct of being filled with the Holy Spirit, they spoke the word of God with boldness.
They were unreserved, free, cheerfully courageous, without fear or cowardice in their walk with Christ. God divinely enabled them to continue to walk with boldness!
Close:
Boldness, willingness to take rise.
We can saw for sure, the New Testament church was extremely bold. God birthed within them power from heaven, which enabled them to boldly proclaim and testify of God’s goodness.
The contrast is obvious in Acts 4. They religious people, the Sanhedrin lacked the boldness of the Apostles.
The Sanhedrin had position, but they lacked power.
Peter and John had power, but they lacked a position.
And here is what I want us to take away this morning, as the church of Jesus Christ we have to determine:
Do we want position or do we want power?
Do we want acceptance by the world or do we want approval from God?
Do we want comfort or do we want boldness?
For I can promise this, Satan is doing all he can to stifle the church’s momentum and silence the church’s message.
But the same God who answered the prayers of the New Testament church is here today. If we will but ask Him, help us speak your word with boldness, then He will pour out His Spirit upon us one more time!
God wants us to go deeper in Him. So deep that we will boldly live out our faith every day of the week.
It is easy to pray bold prayers in the sanctuary or in the privacy of our home. But God wants to use us to pray bold prayers for people in public.
It is easy to boldly proclaim our faith around other Christians, but God wants to be bold enough to stand strong for Him and not compromise our walk for the sake of popularity.
It is easy to boldly attend church when it is convenient, but God wants us to be bold enough to tell others, God is the MOST IMPORTANT person on my schedule.
Who desires more boldness in our walk with God?
Then we cannot overlook the key ingredient: being full of the Holy Spirit.
Once they were filled with the Holy Spirit THEN they spoke the word of God with boldness.
God wants us to actively seek Jesus to fill us with the Holy Spirit. For there is supernatural boldness available.
And as we walk out the Spirit-filled life, as we pray in tongues/Spirit on a daily basis, greater boldness will grow in our hearts and lives!
Today, God wants to rebirth boldness within us so we might have boldness in:
prayer
singing
worship
praise
witness
inviting people to church
laying hands on the sick
sharing our faith with others
If people look at us, they will not see our education or lack of education, but they will sense, they have been with Jesus.
When the enemy attempts to silence us, we can look at him and declare, I CANNOT KEEP SILENT, I WILL BOLDLY TELL ALL THAT I HAVE HEARD AND SEEN
And as we pray, God can shake our lives, shake our church, and shake this region with the power of the Holy Spirit.
If we will but call on Him, He can deposit His power in us, filling us with the Holy Spirit, giving us the boldness we need!
