Acts 4 Boldness

A door-to-door salesman is selling encyclopedias. He knocks on the door of a house and when the man of the house answers, the salesman begins to expound the virtues of his product. He hasn’t got very far into his sales pitch when the prospective customer says, “It’s no good to me mate, I don’t need it.” The salesman is a bit taken aback, but nonetheless he carries on and begins to detail all the knowledge contained in the volumes he is trying to sell. Again the man of the house interrupts he and says, “Look, I told you I don’t need an encyclopedia; I’ve got a teenage son who knows everything.” I don’t know if you guys have friends that are good salesman but I grew up with a guy that could sell anything. He once sold Amway and did good with that product. He sold Kirby Vacuum cleaners and he did good selling vacuums – he actually sold my mom one. The last thing that I knew that he was involved with was selling gym memberships and health supplements and vitamins. The reason my friend was so good at selling things was because he always believed in his product. Whatever he was into at that time was the most fantastic thing ever and he was really convinced of that. Have you ever been around someone that really, really believes in something? Not just a passing fancy or just a type of hobby but someone that deep in their core believes in something. What is even more impressive is when that something that they believe in is worth changing your life over. Do we have the moral courage, the belief, the life transforming fire of God in us that we would want to be bold and courageous for God? The best evangelists are confident that Jesus Christ is the only Savior and that people desperately need to trust in Him or they will perish. Last week we saw the boldness of Peter and John – how they had been transformed and were willing to go out and preach, heal and engage people. Jesus had changed them to a group of people that wanted to make a difference, to bring healing to the broken and salvation to the lost. God had just used Peter and John to heal a beggar in his forties who had been lame from birth. The spectacle of this man walking, leaping, and praising God draws a crowd, and Peter begins to preach the gospel to them. Peter preaches a sermon to these folks in Acts 3 after he has healed this man born lame. He tells them that it was the Name of Jesus that healed this man – It was the power of Christ that did this. The same Christ they crucified in ignorance just a few days before. He then goes on to show in his sermon that Jesus was the fulfillment of the New Moses- this idea that God would raise up a prophet one day greater that Moses as was prophesied in Deuteronomy chapter 18. Also, Jesus was the promise to the fulfillment made to Abraham that all nations would be blessed through his seed – Jesus would bless all nations and bring healing and salvation to all that believe upon Him. Peter is telling them of a great time of healing and salvation has come upon them – Jesus is the Annointed, He is the Christ, He is the Son of God. Now let us turn to Acts 4- we will see that the Temple authorities will not tolerate this type of action or speech. Remember, they are preaching at the Temple at the area called the Court of the Gentiles and the Court of the Women. Acts 4: 1-12 1 As they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them, 2 being greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they laid hands on them and put them in jail until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the message believed ; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand. 5 On the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem ; 6 and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent. 7 When they had placed them in the center, they began to inquire, "By what power, or in what name, have you done this ?" 8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers and elders of the people, 9if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead -by this name this man stands here before you in good health. 11 "He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone. 12 "And there is salvation in no one else ; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved." Suddenly Peter is interrupted as the priests, the captain of the temple guard, and the Sadducees as they are upset that Peter was teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. They arrested Peter and John, put them in jail over night. The next day they are brought in front of the Jewish Sanhedrin. Although they were on trial before this intimidating council, Peter quickly turned the tables on the Sanhedrin, showing that it was they who were on trial. He points out that it was not a crime to do a good deed to a cripple. Then he indicts the Sanhedrin because they had crucified Jesus, whom God had raised from the dead and in whose name this lame man had been healed. Furthermore, Peter let them know that there is salvation in no one else except Jesus Christ (4:12). We Have to pause and point out that we cannot say that God allows people to be saved in other ways. The ONLY way a person can be saved is by Grace – through Faith – IN JESUS CHRIST – that is it, not Allah, not Muhammad, not the Confusious or any other faith that is not based on that FACT. But Peter doesn’t see a court; he sees a congregation- He sees lost people that need to hear the truth. The members of the council are amazed at the boldness of Peter and John, who had not been educated in their schools. After a private conference, the council commands Peter and John not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. However, Peter and John replied that they had to obey God, because they could not stop speaking what they had seen and heard. While Peter and John had to be commanded to stop speaking, most of us need to be reminded of the command to speak to others about Jesus Christ. Think of the Contrast with us today – we have to constantly talk each other up and encourage each other to talk about Jesus but Peter and John are talking so much about Jesus the authorities tell them to quit doing it. We all should seek to be a bold witnesses for the Lord Jesus Christ as Peter and John. I. A bold witness is EMPOWERED (filled) with the Spirit (8). We see in Verse 8 that one of the effects of being filled with the Spirit of God is boldness or courage. To picture this scene correctly, we need to understand how threatening it was for Peter and John. The Sanhedrin was like our Supreme Court. The high priest was the most powerful Jew in the city, and the captain of the temple guard was second behind him. They were standing before powerful men. Just a few weeks before, Peter in order to avoid possible arrest had denied that he knew Jesus Christ to a lowly servant girl. But here he is before this powerful body of men, boldly reminding them that they had crucified Jesus, that God had raised Him from the dead, and that He is God’s only way of salvation. What made the difference? Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit. Peter’s witness before the Sanhedrin was not due to his natural boldness, but to the filling of the Holy Spirit The key to everything in the Christian life is the power of the Holy Spirit Just a few days earlier Peter had reminded the crowd to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This same Spirit of God that hovered over the waters of Creation and brought order to the chaos now is bringing God’s power to the Church. Power to preach- Power to speak out – Power to do what is right. To be filled with the Spirit means that we are completely controlled by the Spirit. You become so intuned with what the Spirit has revealed and what the agenda of God is all about that you want to do God’s will Peter is filled with the Holy Spirit, and the empowering work of the Spirit gives Peter a boldness that enables him to share the gospel before a powerful, intimidating group of people. I think of Peter Cartwright, a circuit riding Methodist preacher of the 19th century. He was to preach to a large congregation, and right before the service, he was informed that President Andrew Jackson would be in attendance. They told Peter Cartwright, "We thought you would want to know so that what you say won’t be offensive to the President." Peter Cartwright said, "Thank you for telling me." He got into the pulpit and said, "I’ve been told that President Andrew Jackson is in the congregation, and I’ve been asked to carefully guard what I am going to say . I want to begin by saying that Andrew Jackson will go to hell if he doesn’t repent of his sin." You could have heard a pin drop. But, immediately after the service, President Andrew Jackson walked up to Peter Cartwright and said, "If I had a regiment of men like you, I could whip the whole world.” This preacher was bold just like Peter and John – he had God Given courage – Courage that finds its origins in the Heavenly Courts. Here was a couple of country bumpkins who should have stood with shuffling feet and downcast eyes. Instead they looked more like what they really were, ambassadors from the courts of heaven empowered with the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit transformed average men into bold and courageous men of God. II. A bold witness EMPLOYS the Scriptures (4:11). Peter quotes from the Old Testament in Acts 4:11. A confident witness will make much of the Scripture No Christian can progress very far in the Christian life or be effective in Christian service who does not make much of the Bible. The Bible is the Sword that is quick and powerful. A. The Bible paints the picture of the sinner B. The Bible presents the provision for salvation. C. The Bible produces the people called saints. The Bible provides the message and produces the members of the church. 1 Peter 1:23 “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.” The Word of God can bring about this transformation. Remember what Paul told us in Romans – the Gospel is God’s Power UNTO Salvation And later in Romans he points out that Belief comes from Hearing and Hearing comes from the Proclamation of this Powerful message. The Power is in the message and not in us – it is God that will work through that message if we will just open our mouths and have courage. God do things in the lives of people through the power of His word if we just believe it and act on that belief. A Christian can be a confident witness because he is employing something that is inspired, inerrant, and infallible. Saturate yourself with the Word of God if you want boldness III. A bold witness EXPRESSES what is SURE (4:20) The disciples could not stop speaking of what they had seen and heard (4:20). They had seen the risen Lord Jesus. They saw Him ascend into heaven. They had heard Him explain from the Scriptures the many passages about Himself. They had seen Him heal this lame man by His power; as a result, they spoke confidently about these matters. Dr. Bob Jones once said, "It is better to know a few things for certain than a whole lot of things that aren’t so." How true that it is – We need to be convinced of a few basic truths and not get so caught up in things that we cannot control. We can be convinced that Jesus is Lord and He is in control and wants us to live out that truth. There was a poll done about America’s moral decline by James Patterson and Peter Kim. They report that 74 percent of Americans will steal from those who won’t miss it, and 64 percent will lie for convenience as long as no one is hurt. Most Americans (93 percent) say they alone decide moral issues, basing their decisions on their own experience or whims. Eighty-four percent say they would break the rules of their own religion. And 81 percent have violated a law they felt to be inappropriate. Only 30 percent say they would be willing to die for their religious beliefs or for God. – This was Reported in The Day America Told the Truth in the year 1991. How many of you when I tell you that those statistics were taken in 1991 would now think well that was over 20 years ago so it must be worse now? We feel it in our bones and know that there is a moral decline in our country – this is something we don’t dispute. But why is this so? Why is there a decline? I will be frank and tell you why – we have been cowards- the church has not had courage but cowardice. With every challenge of the ACLU or any other liberal attack group we have withered and we have run. Do you think Peter and John are scared of the Sanhedrin? Do you think they would fold up tent today if they were threatened over a lawsuit concerning school prayer or public proclamation of the Bible’s truth. Are you kidding me? They are bold with their lives hanging in the balance – we are cowardly with just a threat of financial impunity. We need to be SURE about our faith and then act like we are sure IV. A bold witnesses EMPHATICALLY declares the SAVIOUR The Sanhedrin had asked Peter, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?” (4:7). Peter explained it simply: JESUS (4:10, 12). No one is saved unless they trust in Jesus There is no other way to God except through faith in Jesus Christ alone. I highly recommend that you memorize verse 12. It makes clear the exclusive way of salvation. Salvation is found only in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” There is no other name. There is no salvation in any other. Peter and John were straightforward and to the point. Jesus is the only way to get to heaven, not one of the ways, but the ONLY way. If there is salvation in none other, THEN there must be ONE that is all-sufficient and His name is Jesus. A story is told in which an accountant answered an advertisement for a top job with a large firm. At the end of the interview, the chairman asked, "One last question—what is three times seven?" The accountant thought for a moment and replied, "Twenty-two." Outside he checked himself on his calculator and concluded he had lost the job. But two weeks later he was offered the post. He asked the chairman why he had been appointed when he had given the wrong answer. "You were the closest," the chairman replied. Some people have the mistaken idea that God is like the man who conducted the interview. They think it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you’re close to the truth However, it does matter- it is Jesus or eternal tragedy. APPLICATION: 1) We need to be ready for the opportunities that come to us in our lives to share the truth with people. We need to think about how we will handle situations that will come across our paths. The Six Shooter was a popular western, broadcast on NBC radio from 1953-54. Jimmy Stewart starred as Britt Ponsett, a Texas plainsman. On one broadcast, Britt called a bully’s bluff even though his gun was several feet away on a dresser. In typical Stewart style, Ponsett told the tough guy he could draw his gun anytime he wanted. The surprised crook said, “But you ain’t got your six-shooter.” Ponsett stepped toward the thug and said, “Things might not work out the way you think they will.” The Six Shooter’s bold confidence made the rascal turn and run. How bold it would be for us to tell those who think they can go to heaven without Christ, “Things might not work out the way you think they will.” Only in this situation may the rascal not turn and run; instead may he come under conviction, drops to his knees, and obey the gospel. Clearly there is a present need for more boldness among the Body of Christ. Jesus didn’t die in order for us to become doormats for every godless person we encounter. Many of our brothers and sisters have become so fearful of the world and its demons that they have been fruitless in the battle for souls. 2) Prayer will be key in this struggle. To me prayer is the key to finding this type of boldness today – You may think that is strange but we need God’s help to achieve this type of boldness. In Ephesians 6:19-20, the apostle Paul shares a startling prayer request. Twice he repeats his request, that he might speak boldly. It’s the same Greek word translated “boldness” in Acts 4:13. If Paul had on his prayer list the need for boldness as a witness, then perhaps you and I should add it to our lists! We all should seek to proclaim with confident boldness the good news that there is salvation in no one else except in Jesus Christ. There was a preacher in Texas, spoke of being on an elevator in a high-rise building. He said he’d never been particularly comfortable on such elevators. There was something about riding up and down in a little box several hundred feet off the ground that has never sat well with him. He worried that something would go wrong. One day it did. The car he was riding in got stuck in between floors way up in the higher floors. He noted that some of the people in the car became frantic. They began to beat on the door hoping to get someone’s attention. Others began to yell in the hopes that their voices would get someone on the surrounding floors to come to the aid. But nobody heard their noise or their cries. Then Evans quietly made his way to the front of the car, opened a little door in the wall and pulled out a telephone. Immediately he was connected with someone on the outside. He didn’t need to beat on the wall to get their attention. He didn’t need to speak loudly in the phone to receive their help. He could have whispered and they would have heard him. Evans said that - in this world, we’re going to get "stuck" in places we aren’t comfortable with. Some people begin to beat against the walls, others cry out in dismay. But the person who trusts in the power of confident prayer knows there’s someone on the other end who hears their call and comes to their aid. Hebrews 10:19ff tells us that we now can have "boldness" (KJV) to enter into very presence of God because of the blood of Jesus. We can think this way only because Jesus has opened the way for us to approach God’s throne and earnestly ask whatever we desire according to His Will. We look at the situations around us and see the plight of the world. We see an onslaught against truth – we see an onslaught against morality. We see a country turn more and more violent by the day and we can become frantic like the people in the elevator, we can scream beat against the walls But all the while we have the answer – What would happen if we hit our knees and prayed? What would happen if we as a Church committed to praying for each other every day? What if we prayed for the good of our church – the spiritual development of our members? What if we prayed that the lost of our community would be sent to our doorstep and give us the opportunity to teach them? What if we prayed for our country for its conversion to Christ and then last of all – For our Boldness, For our Courage to be willing to carry out that task.