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Boldness in the Early Church 0:10 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word this morning. We have 1 of the most powerful instructive passages of scripture. By the way, it's 1 of my favorites. As we look at Acts chapters 3 and 40:22 verse 29 of chapter 4, now, Lord, look on their threats and grant to your servants that with all boldness, they may speak your word. Now just days after Pentecost, the0:33 apostles are still in Jerusalem, and Peter and John are headed to the temple to pray. Beginning verse 1, chapter 3. Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the0:45 ninth hour, that's 3 in the afternoon, and a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple, which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who0:57 entered the temple, who sing Peter and John about to go in the temple asked for alms. So Peter and John encounter a lame man on their path, on their way to church. Do they go1:08 around? Do they look the other way? They stopped. And quite frankly, they did what most people avoid doing. Peter made eye contact with the man. Look at verse 4. And1:20 fixing his eyes on him with John, Peter said, look at us. Then Peter said, silver and gold, I do not have. But what I do have, I give1:32 you. In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, rise up and walk. So I don't have any pocket change, but I have something that will change your life. Verse 7. And he took him by the right1:44 hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. Now they didn't see this lame man in their path as an obstacle, but rather as an opportunity,1:56 which opened the door to an even greater opportunity to share the gospel with literally thousands. Another interesting aspect of this encounter, I think, reveals the growth2:09 of the the apostle's spiritual understanding. You remember, back in John, the blind man that was blind from birth that Jesus healed, the disciples asked Jesus, you know, who sinned?2:21 Was it this man? Was it his parents? And recall what Jesus said, he said neither, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. Now this man, this lame man that they encountered was 40 years2:33 old, and he had been lame from birth. And I'm confident that Peter and John knew that God would be glorified through the miracle of healing that they2:45 were gonna be a part of. Verse 11. Now as a layman who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them to the porch, which is called Solomon2:57 Solomon's, greatly amazed. So when Peter saw it, he responded to people, men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why do you look so intently at us as though by our own power3:08 or godliness, we made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant, Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence3:20 of Pilate when he was determined to let him go. But you denied the holy 1 and the just and asked for a murderer to be granted to you3:33 and killed the prince of life, whom God raised from the dead of which we are all witnesses. Repent therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out so that3:44 times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send Jesus Christ who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all3:56 things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. Now this account continues over into, to chapter 4 where we are told 5000 people4:09 believed because Peter and John saw the lame man not as an obstacle to get around, but as an opportunity to share Jesus as they served. Verse 1, chapter 4. Now4:21 as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captains of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. Remember,4:32 the sadducees didn't believe in the resurrection. So they were angry about the resurrection, the Pharisees, about preaching Jesus. And they laid hands on them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was4:43 already evening. However, many of them who heard the word believed in the number of the men came to be about 5000. Now some say that was a total of 5000 from the 3000 previously, but4:55 we what we do see and it's very interesting in the book of Acts. These first 2 chapters are the first time they about the only time we see the numbers, from here on out, we'll have individual encounters. We'll have5:07 many will be saved. The the point is not to get caught up in the numbers, but the fact that it is changing lives, person by person, soul by soul.5:19 Now Peter sees here yet another opportunity to preach the gospel. Now remember, or we'll we'll see it. We haven't we can't remember it because we haven't read it yet, but you might recall from Ephesians chapter 5 verse5:30 16, Paul talks about redeeming the time for the days are evil. I think this is what it looks like, taking every opportunity to share the truth. And and I think I find5:42 this, more relevant as I get older as I have friends who, you know, pass away. And and and people that we encounter and we acquaintances and5:54 we, you know, we we sometimes wonder, should we have been bolder in sharing the gospel? And I think the answer is absolutely yes. We need to take every opportunity to share the gospel. Verse 8, then Peter filled with6:06 the Holy Spirit said to them, rulers of the people and elders of Israel. Now this is pretty interesting. You have to ask the question, what was the source of Peter's boldness?6:18 Right? And we're gonna see this guy is bold. Remember, this was the same guy who denied Jesus just a couple of months before. Right? Now he's standing face to face with those who were6:30 responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus. Here it is. The source of his courage and his power was the holy spirit. This is what it looks like to live6:42 filled with the holy spirit. Verse 9. If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to all, to6:54 you all, 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 stands before you whole.7:06 This is the stone, speaking of Jesus, which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief corner stone. Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is7:18 no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Notice this statement of exclusivity. Alright? There is no other7:29 way of salvation. Jesus said this, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the father but by me. Yes.7:41 Christianity, the following of Jesus Christ is exclusive, not because we've made it that way, but because Jesus declared it, that he is the only way of salvation.7:53 There is no other way of salvation, not by works, not by some other God, not some other path. All religions are not the same. They're not. Alright. Verse 13.8:05 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. Now I mean, they had not been to the, they had not been under the teaching of a rabbi, a8:17 rabbinical school. And they realized here it is. Look. They had been with Jesus. You see, boldness is unmistakable, especially in an age like ours when political correctness feeds8:29 on moral cowardice. And the cancel cult the cancel culture demands the silence, the silencing of its op of its opponents. And so when someone stands up in the face of that, that that boldness8:41 is recognizable. Verse 14, and seeing the men the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. You see, the evidence was overwhelming.8:53 Here's exhibit a that the Lord still heals. But when they commanded him to go outside of the council, they conferred among themselves saying, what shall we do with these men? For indeed that a notable miracle has9:05 been done through them evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. Now we need to live filled with the Holy Spirit so that it's undeniable that the holy spirit is working through9:17 us. 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. What name? They wouldn't even mention it, the name of Jesus. I mean, doesn't9:29 this sound familiar familiar? The cancel culture. We're not facing today anything that the early church did not face. Alright? I think it's almost coming full circle because I think I think9:41 the Messiah is coming back. He's coming back the second time, and I think it's very soon. And and we see, as we talked about before, we see some parallels in those times. The means and the methods9:53 have changed, obviously, since the advent of the church, but the desired effects, they're still the same. Verse 18. So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.10:05 You know, they could not refute what the apostles were saying about Jesus and the power of the gospel. So what they do? They attempted to silence him. Him. Again, the same is true today with the the cultural left.10:17 They cannot defend their positions. I mean, who can defend the fact, you know, that you can declare your your own gender or that men who can defend men in women's sports?10:30 So what do they do? They they, they wanna silence those who disagree with them. And oftentimes, until most recently, they've been using the power of the state to silence10:42 them. Now it's still happening in certain states, But this is the power in the in the in the the things that we should be concerned about with government that is in the hands of those who wants want to silence10:53 their political enemies. That's not what government is for. That's why we need to pray. We need to be in the word of God. We need to vote, and we need to stand for biblical truth. Verse 19. But Peter and John11:05 answered and said to them, whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than God, you judge. They're saying, alright. Okay. Well, do you think God wants us to listen to you11:17 or him? Now the answer is pretty clear. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them11:29 because of the people since they all glorified God for what had been done. You see, when you live in fear of people, you're always taking a poll trying to figure out where people are. Verse 29. So11:42 when when when this this opposition came because they took, an opportunity, they didn't see this lame man as an obstacle. They saw it as an opportunity. It opened up another door of11:53 opportunity to preach the gospel, then the opposition came. So how did they respond? What did they do? Well, they got together and they prayed. What'd they pray for? Did they pray for a way out? Did they pray for God to12:05 remove the opposition? No. Look what's recorded here that they prayed prayed for, and take take note of this. Verse 29. Now, lord, look on their threats.12:17 Look at what they're saying. Look at what they're threatening to do. And you know this is real, lord, because they crucified you. Look on their threats and grant to your servants that with all12:29 boldness, they may speak your word. By stretching out your hand to heal and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of your holy servant, Jesus. And when they had prayed, the12:41 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. They prayed for boldness,12:53 and they were filled with the holy spirit. Now they had already received the holy spirit, but remember, we're gonna see this in Ephesians where Paul says be filled with the spirit. It's an ongoing process. It's not like13:05 it's not like there's 1 time you get filled up with the holy spirit and it's it's just always there. I mean, the holy spirit is always there, but we have to be filled, consumed, filled to the brim with the13:17 spirit by the things we choose to listen to and meditate upon. So they were filled with the spirit, and then they spoke the very words they were told not to speak with boldness.13:30 This is what the followers of Jesus this is what we should be praying for today, Boldness to speak the word of God. Father, we thank13:42 you for this example of the early church in the very early days of the church, just days after the establishment of the church with the holy spirit coming at Pentecost,13:54 we see the boldness in the lives of these disciples who scattered just weeks before when the opposition came. And now they are boldly proclaiming your truth and praying for more14:06 praying for more boldness to continue to stand and speak your word. May we may we, as your disciples today, as followers of Jesus Christ, lord, give us boldness.14:18 Give us the unity to stand together and the boldness to speak your truth. And, Lord, may may you reach forth your hand and bolster the boldness14:30 by healing, by by strengthening, by changing hearts and minds. And, Lord, yes, changing the culture and turning men and women and children, their hearts to you. We pray14:42 and ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining me this morning. And until next time, keep standing on the word.14:54 Today's study comes from the stand on the word bible reading plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you15:06 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 Boldness in the Early Church
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