Bold in Witness

NOTE:

This is a manuscript, and not a transcript of this message. The actual presentation of the message differed from the manuscript through the leading of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, it is possible, and even likely that there is material in this manuscript that was not included in the live presentation and that there was additional material in the live presentation that is not included in this manuscript.

Engagement

The first known “selfie” was taken by a photographer named Robert Cornelius in 1839. But the process was a lot slower and more difficult than it is today. Cornelius had to take the lens cap off the camera, run into the shot where he had to sit still for 15 minutes and then run back and put the lens cap back on.

Things have certainly changed a bit in almost 2 centuries, haven’t they? In 2013, the word “selfie” beat out the words “twerk” and “bitcoin” to become the Oxford English Dictionary’s coveted “Word of the year”. So it’s really not surprising that this week when I searched on Instagram for the hash tag “selfie”, there were almost half a billion hits.

This is just one indication of how self-obsessed we have become as a culture. I could certainly give you a lot of other examples that would confirm that.

Tension

And unfortunately that can even be true when it comes to our relationship with God. A lot of people, even those in the church are trying to get God to do what they want Him to do for them rather than trying to figure out what God wants for their life. If you doubt that, then consider this. J.I. Packer’s classic book, Knowing God, has sold over a million copies since it was published in 1973. I haven’t been able to find sales statistics for one of my favorite books, The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer, but total sales of that classic are probably much lower than that. Compare that to a book titled Your Best Life Now, which has sold over 100 million copies. So two great classics that focus on knowing God have sold roughly one hundredth of the number of copies of a book that focuses on what God can do for me.

But if I want to be a disciple of Jesus, it has to be all about Him and not about me. Don’t take my word on that. Listen to the words of Jesus:

Luke 9:23–24 ESV

23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

Rather than indulging ourselves, being a disciple of Jesus is about denying ourselves. And those who heard these words of Jesus would have also understood that the idea of taking up one’s cross meant dying to self since a cross was not some shiny piece of jewelry or a nice wall hanging, but rather an instrument of death.

So over the next four weeks, Ryan and I will be sharing messages about four areas of our lives that need to be more about Jesus and less about me - four areas where we need to be more selfless:

Today we’ll be talking about being bold in witness.

Next week we’ll focus on being faithful in service as we use our gifts to minister to others.

In the third week, our theme will be extravagant in our generosity.

And finally, we’ll talk about how to be grateful in the grind

I think that if we’re honest, most of us would admit that we’re not as bold in our witness as we’d like to be. And why is that? There are probably a number of reasons, but most of them boil down to fear - fear that I don’t know enough, fear of what other people are going to think of me or even fear that the other person will reject the gospel.

Truth

But the truth is that in general we speak boldly about what we believe deeply. We certainly see that was true in the case of Peter and John in the passage we’ll look at this morning. Go ahead and turn in your Bibles to Acts chapter 4. While you’re doing that, let me give you a little background.

In Acts chapter 3 we read the account of God using Peter and John to heal a man who had been lame from birth. The sight of this man walking and leaping and praising God drew a crowd, so Peter took advantage of that situation to boldly proclaim the gospel. Let’s pick up the account at the beginning of chapter 4:

Acts 4:1–22 ESV

1 And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand. 5 On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 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. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 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.” 13 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. 14 But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. 15 But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, 16 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. 17 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.” 18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 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, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” 21 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. 22 For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.

I’ve already hinted at the main idea we’ll be developing today:

We speak boldly about what we believe deeply

Let me give you an example from my own life that demonstrates this truth. I have been a Chicago Cubs fan all my life. I was even fortunate enough to have a family member who worked for the team and who would get us tickets to Wrigley Field to go watch them whenever our family was in Chicago. But for most of my life, the Cubs have always been the “lovable losers”. So while I followed the team and remained a fan, I didn’t always talk about them a lot.

But in 2016, the Cubs were actually good for a change. In fact they were good enough to win their first World Series in 108 years. That season, I followed the team closely. I watched quite a few of their games. I knew who all their players were. I proudly wore my Cubs t-shirts. And I talked to other people about the team every chance I got.

Fast forward to this year. Since the team wasn’t doing very well, they traded away all their best players before the middle of the season. So for the second half of the season, I didn’t even know most of the players in the starting lineup. I don’t think I watched a game all season, and I certainly wasn’t talking about the Cubs much, except may to commiserate with some fellow fans.

Peter and John were bold in their witness for Jesus because they believed deeply in Him. That hadn’t always been the case, especially for Peter. Not long before this, on the night before Jesus was crucified, Peter had denied that he even knew Jesus to a young girl. Now he was standing in front of large crowds boldly proclaiming Him.

And when he and John are arrested and taken before the Jewish religious leaders they didn’t back down one bit. First, they are confronted by the Sadducees, a Jewish sect that did not believe in the resurrection from the dead. Then they were brought before the entire Sanhedrin, a group of 71 men who were essentially the equivalent of the Supreme Court of Israel. That council included both Sadducees and Pharisees. This was the very same group who had tried Jesus and asked the Roman government to crucify Him.

Peter doesn’t pull any punches. He accuses the Sanhedrin of crucifying Jesus and rejecting the only one in whom there is salvation. And when they are ordered not to speak any more about Jesus, they make it clear that they are going to obey God and keep speaking about what they have seen and heard.

Application

So let’s see what we can learn from Peter and John about...

HOW TO BE A BOLD WITNESS FOR JESUS

Spend time with Jesus

Sometimes, we are afraid to be bold witnesses for Jesus because we’re afraid we don’t know enough. We worry that someone might ask us a question that we won’t be able to answer. So we decide to leave evangelism to the “experts” with the seminary degrees.

But Peter and John are perceived by the Jewish leaders as “uneducated, common men”. And that’s exactly what they were. They didn’t have the religious training of these religious leaders. But they had something more important “they had been with Jesus”.

Obviously we can’t physically spend time with Jesus like Peter and John had done for over three years. But we can spend time with Jesus by listening to Him as he speaks to us through His Word. We can talk to Him in prayer. We can spend time with other people who are also spending time with Him. And we don’t need to go to Bible school or seminary to do any of those things.

In fact, the word that is translated “common” in verse 13 is the Greek word from which we get our English word “idiot”. So we could even say that God specializes in using idiots who have been with Jesus.

Depend on the Holy Spirit

In verse 8, we read that Peter was “filled with the Holy Spirit” before he spoke to the religious leaders. This is exactly what Jesus had promised His disciples:

Luke 12:11–12 ESV

11 And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

Because the Holy Spirit dwells permanently in the lives of those who have placed their faith in Jesus, we have that very same power available to us. I can’t really give you a formula or some steps to take in order to harness that power. All I can suggest is that when you have an opportunity to be a witness for Jesus, you shoot up a brief prayer and ask the Holy Spirit for the right words. And then just be sensitive to His leading. I can’t tell you how many times that when I’ve done that, the Holy Spirit gives me words that I would have never come up with on my own.

Pray for boldness

We have several examples in the New Testament of disciples praying for boldness. In fact, later in this chapter as Peter and John are released and they gather with other disciples, that is exactly what they do:

Acts 4:29 ESV

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

And even though Paul was undoubtedly a bold witness for Jesus, even he asked the church in Ephesus to pray that he would be bold as he proclaimed the gospel.

Ephesians 6:18–19 ESV

18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel,

So I’m pretty sure that if Peter, John, Paul and the other disciples in the early church found it necessary to pray for boldness, that is something we probably ought to do on a regular basis, too.

Testify to what I know for certain

Let’s look at verse 20 again:

Acts 4:20 ESV

20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”

Peter and John merely spoke of what they had seen and heard - in other words they focused on what they knew based on their time with Jesus and what they had witnessed personally. They didn’t worry about what they didn’t know. They just focused on what they did know. And based on what they said, that includes at least these two crucial truths:

Jesus is risen from the dead

As I said earlier, Peter did not back down when blaming the religious leaders for the crucifixion of Jesus. But even more importantly, he focused on the fact that God had raised Jesus from the dead, something that he and John had witnessed personally.

Although we have not personally witnessed the resurrection of Jesus, we have the Bible which contains the testimony of over 500 people who did. So we should all be able to confidently proclaim that Jesus is risen from the dead, which is the key tenet of our faith.

Jesus is the only way to God

Today, most people won’t object if you tell them that you have put your faith in Jesus. They might even say something like, “I’m glad that works for you, but it’s just not right for me.” Or I’ve also heard people say something like this, “I basically just try to be a good person and I think as long as you’re sincere in your beliefs there are many different roads that lead to God.”

But Peter clearly argues against that kind of thinking here. He claims that there is no other name except that of Jesus by which anyone can be saved. He is merely putting in his own words what he had heard Jesus say right before He went to the cross:

John 14:6 ESV

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

There is just no ambiguity at all in those words is there? It is not the sincerity of our beliefs that matter and there are not many different roads to God.

These two truths are where we must keep our focus, too. If you are a disciple of Jesus then you should be confident in these two facts - Jesus is risen from the dead and He is the only way to God. If you don’t hold deeply to those two facts, then frankly it is doubtful you are a genuine disciple. So when you’re being a witness to Jesus, keep those two ideas as the focus of your conversation. Others may very well try to steer the conversation in another direction, but we need to do our best to not get distracted with those rabbit trails.

Seek the approval of God, not man

This was probably the most important difference between Peter and John and the religious leaders. We see in verse 21 that those religious leaders were basing their decisions heavily on what other people were going to think. So they were afraid to do anything that might end up costing them their power or influence because others might be unhappy with their decisions.

Peter and John, on the other hand, were only seeking the approval of God, not men. So they just kept on proclaiming the gospel even though they understood that most were going to reject that message and that they were likely to suffer personal harm.

Based on my own life and from observing others, I believe that this is the biggest obstacle for most of us when it comes to being a bold witness for Jesus. We are worried what others will think about us - they might call us “one of those Jesus freaks” or maybe much worse. Or we’re worried that they will reject the gospel and that will make us feel like we’ve been rejected personally.

Jesus has only called us to testify to what we have seen and heard. The results are up to Him. No person can come to Jesus unless God draws him so we’re not responsible for the results, only for being a bold witness and sharing what Jesus has done in our lives.

We speak boldly about what we believe deeply

Action

The early Christians were moved to boldly proclaim the gospel of Jesus because they understood that the souls of their family, friends, co-workers and neighbors were at stake. So they made an intentional decision to be selfless and be bold witnesses for Jesus because they believed so deeply in Him and cared so profoundly for others. And as a result they turned the world upside down as the church grew rapidly and had a tremendous influence on the culture.

So my question to you this morning is this: Do you believe in Jesus so deeply and care for others so profoundly that you are bold in your witness for Him?

The process of coming to that point in our lives begins with personally believing in Jesus and putting our faith in Him alone as the basis for our relationship with God. It requires a deep held belief in the truths we talked about earlier - that Jesus did indeed rise from the dead and that He is the only way to God. But it’s more than just an intellectual belief in those facts. It is the kind of belief in which I stake my life on those truths by putting my trust in Jesus alone.

Today’s message is certainly more about sharing my faith in Jesus with others than it is about putting my faith in Jesus for the first time. But in the passage we looked at today, the gospel has been clearly communicated and it may very well be that there are some of you who need to begin your journey with Jesus today by putting your faith in Him. So if God is putting that on your heart today, we urge you to follow His leading and make that decision.

For the rest of you who have already done that, today’s message should cause you to evaluate your walk with Jesus and consider why you aren’t bolder in your witness. Is it because you need to spend more time with Jesus? Is it because you need to let the Holy Spirit have more control in your life? Is it because you’re more worried about what men think than what God thinks? Do you need to pray for boldness?

In a moment, I’m going to give you a few minutes to prayerfully consider those questions and to commit to making one specific application from today’s message. I’ve given you some space on your sermon outline to write that down.

Inspiration

Today we often lament the fact that our culture is rapidly turning away from Jesus and from biblical principles. But the situation is not hopeless. Bold disciples like Peter and John turned their culture upside down because they loved Jesus so deeply and cared for the souls of others so profoundly. If we’ll follow their example, there is no reason God can’t use us to make that same kind of impact in our culture, too.