WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.160 Now, if you have your Bibles, and if you're using a church Bible, you'll find Acts chapter 4 00:00:07.160 --> 00:00:14.240 ! there on page 1095. And we're going to pick up the theme of this chapter, just to remind you, 00:00:14.880 --> 00:00:20.440 if you would find it helpful to have the translation into your own language, there's the code up on the 00:00:20.440 --> 00:00:28.640 screen. This morning we're thinking about the theme of our chapter, which is gospel boldness. I guess 00:00:28.640 --> 00:00:38.179 we know that boldness is a quality that can be, and often is, infectious. Courage is contagious. 00:00:39.120 --> 00:00:44.840 You spend time with a person who is persuaded that they're going to change the world, and you can be 00:00:44.840 --> 00:00:50.240 part of that. If you spend time with someone who's got big plans for their group, for their community, 00:00:50.480 --> 00:00:56.400 for their church, and they take leadership and ownership, often we can find ourselves swept up 00:00:56.399 --> 00:01:02.199 in that. If you're here today, and you are a bold and courageous person, if you're the kind of 00:01:02.199 --> 00:01:07.679 Christian that's eager to share your faith, or if you have ideas that you really believe in, 00:01:08.140 --> 00:01:14.079 you will find that you will become a person of influence, because courage and boldness are 00:01:14.079 --> 00:01:19.859 infectious. Now, I want to say straight out, I'm 100% not that kind of person. 00:01:19.859 --> 00:01:27.980 Listen, I'm the timid guy. On my holiday, I read a wonderful, I should have read it years ago, 00:01:28.079 --> 00:01:35.340 William Carey in 1792 wrote a pamphlet about the responsibility of the church for global mission, 00:01:36.379 --> 00:01:41.780 and Carey was one of those bold, courageous Christians. You know, he basically said in that 00:01:41.780 --> 00:01:47.620 document, since Jesus is alive, since he's raised from the dead, there is no barrier to the spread of 00:01:47.620 --> 00:01:52.960 the gospel. Nothing is going to halt God's work of building his kingdom. Therefore, Christians have 00:01:52.960 --> 00:01:59.680 every reason to go to the nations. And he would say, there are places with cannibals, people that 00:01:59.680 --> 00:02:06.980 eat other people. Don't let that stop you. You don't know that other language? That's no problem. 00:02:07.120 --> 00:02:12.360 God can help you with that. He basically had that kind of pattern that dealt with every excuse, 00:02:12.360 --> 00:02:17.720 and it led to a massive missionary movement, thousands of people going across the globe. 00:02:18.060 --> 00:02:24.960 His boldness sparked a great missionary movement. And actually, even as I was reading it at the 00:02:24.960 --> 00:02:30.320 distance of however many 250 or so years, it got me fired up as well for the glory of God in his world, 00:02:30.400 --> 00:02:37.820 because boldness, even when we just read it, is infectious. And that's what takes us to Acts chapter 00:02:37.819 --> 00:02:44.719 four, because Acts chapter four is all about gospel boldness that we see from the apostles in the early 00:02:44.719 --> 00:02:49.379 church. So we're going to ask ourselves three questions related to gospel boldness. Very simple. 00:02:49.919 --> 00:02:57.299 First of all, how do we see it in our chapter? How do we explain it from our chapter? And then how can 00:02:57.299 --> 00:03:03.419 we get it in our day? Because when we read Acts chapter four as a church, what are we being given? 00:03:03.419 --> 00:03:15.019 We are being given a compelling vision of what Jesus wants us to be, of what by his spirit we can be, 00:03:15.919 --> 00:03:23.439 regular Christians, timid Christians, but with an amazing message, an amazing savior, 00:03:24.299 --> 00:03:28.939 and with courage and power to both share it and to live it. So let's get into our text. First of all, 00:03:28.939 --> 00:03:34.340 first question, how do we see it? How do we see this boldness? Just to remind folks who haven't been 00:03:34.340 --> 00:03:39.400 around, perhaps in chapter three, here's what's happened. Peter has healed a man who was lame from 00:03:39.400 --> 00:03:45.319 birth, so for 40 years couldn't walk. Now he can. He's been healed by the powerful name of Jesus, 00:03:46.060 --> 00:03:53.479 and that has drawn an amazed crowd around the temple on that day, and it led Peter to preach powerfully 00:03:53.479 --> 00:03:59.899 in Jesus' name, that faith in Jesus is what brings healing and brings salvation. And then comes chapter 00:03:59.899 --> 00:04:07.819 four. What happens next? Two things, I think, happen. We find the religious leaders, they are, verse two, 00:04:07.899 --> 00:04:16.300 greatly disturbed because of this teaching, especially about the resurrection. The temple police are then 00:04:16.300 --> 00:04:21.139 sent to arrest Peter and John, so they throw them in jail overnight. But at the same time, 00:04:21.139 --> 00:04:28.139 many who heard the message believed, verse four, the number of men who believed grew to about 5,000. 00:04:28.199 --> 00:04:32.379 So now the church sits at about 5,000 men, not including women, not including children. 00:04:33.719 --> 00:04:39.360 Verse five to seven, after a night in the cells, Peter and John are then brought out, 00:04:40.120 --> 00:04:46.339 and they're asked a question. And this is a total gimme for Peter. Listen to the question. 00:04:46.339 --> 00:04:56.539 By what power or what name did you do this? Now, for Peter, this is a dream question. 00:04:57.319 --> 00:05:05.319 Because as Jesus promised to his followers, when you are confronted by opponents, trust that the 00:05:05.319 --> 00:05:12.739 Holy Spirit will give you words to speak. And so as he trusts, he gets his message. So the first thing 00:05:12.740 --> 00:05:18.500 that we see in terms of boldness is we see bold preaching. It's here in verses eight to 12. So he 00:05:18.500 --> 00:05:24.040 begins with that kind of, that irony. Listen, are you really arresting us and getting us into trouble 00:05:24.040 --> 00:05:30.400 for healing a man? Remember how often Jesus got in trouble for doing good works. And so he's calling 00:05:30.400 --> 00:05:36.660 into a question that kind of logic. But then he returns to a theme we've seen a number of times. 00:05:36.660 --> 00:05:47.600 That comparison, your verdict versus God's verdict on Jesus. Look at verse 10. Know this, 00:05:48.280 --> 00:05:55.600 you and all the people of Israel, it is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified. 00:05:56.760 --> 00:06:02.420 Okay, so he's bringing to their attention, here was your verdict, you rejected Jesus and you killed 00:06:02.420 --> 00:06:12.460 him. But what's God's verdict? God raised him from the dead. God gave his son honor and glory. 00:06:15.580 --> 00:06:25.939 Then he goes on to quote from Psalm 118. Jesus is the stone you builders rejected. So he's got this 00:06:25.939 --> 00:06:30.379 picture of the religious leaders being like a bunch of builders who look at a particular stone and say, 00:06:30.379 --> 00:06:38.560 well, that's of no value. They looked at Jesus and said, Jesus is of no value. He's not worthy of God's 00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:44.620 kingdom. He's not needed as a savior. We're perfectly fine without him. But what was God's verdict? 00:06:45.699 --> 00:06:54.319 Jesus is the one who has become the cornerstone. He is the key stone in God's building project. He is the 00:06:54.319 --> 00:07:05.300 foundation upon which the church and the mission of God is built. And following that, second theme of the 00:07:05.300 --> 00:07:13.560 preaching is that Jesus is the only way of salvation. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no 00:07:13.560 --> 00:07:22.019 other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. Your salvation does not come in your 00:07:22.019 --> 00:07:29.899 law keeping. Your salvation will not come in trusting in a Caesar or the gods of Rome. The only way to be 00:07:29.899 --> 00:07:37.419 saved, the only way to be right with God is believing in God's risen son, Jesus. He is the one way to have 00:07:37.419 --> 00:07:48.500 peace with God. Peter is very bold when he preaches, especially when we take into account the fact that 00:07:48.500 --> 00:07:54.899 Luke emphasizes that Sadducees make up a lot of this hostile crowd. And the Sadducees, they don't 00:07:54.899 --> 00:08:00.920 believe in any resurrection. Not in the middle of time, not at the end of time. There's no resurrection 00:08:00.920 --> 00:08:11.100 ever. But what does Peter say? He says, God is pleased to save people through the risen Lord Jesus. 00:08:11.100 --> 00:08:16.780 That's the only way to be saved, that's the only way to be saved, is to accept the reality of Jesus 00:08:16.780 --> 00:08:26.740 raised from the dead and to trust in him. And a pattern is being set from the early church until today, 00:08:27.840 --> 00:08:39.340 that Christianity challenges wrong cultural ideas about Jesus. The Jews, the religious leaders, 00:08:39.340 --> 00:08:43.740 they were wrong because they thought Jesus was a nobody guilty of blasphemy. 00:08:46.060 --> 00:08:54.620 But think very soon, Christianity is going to jump into the Roman Empire. And to the Roman Empire, 00:08:55.240 --> 00:09:03.800 the cross of Jesus was the ultimate scandal. The way you dealt with the lowest of the low and the worst 00:09:03.799 --> 00:09:11.719 of the worst was by nailing them to a cross. And crucifixion was used by the Roman Empire as a billboard to say, 00:09:12.519 --> 00:09:23.379 we have power. We have power to humiliate and to punish. So get in line and follow Caesar. But in God's hands, 00:09:23.379 --> 00:09:35.960 what happens to the cross of Christ? Humiliation turns to glory. Death becomes life. The suffering servant 00:09:35.960 --> 00:09:43.899 proclaimed King of Kings. And in the gospel, where do we go to find our demonstration of God's love? 00:09:43.899 --> 00:09:52.939 We now go to the cross. Here is love. God's sending his own son to die in our place for our sins. 00:09:54.259 --> 00:09:59.399 So Christianity has always challenged wrong ideas about Jesus. 00:10:01.480 --> 00:10:06.139 Same is true in our day. You know, the idea that Jesus is just one of the prophets. 00:10:07.179 --> 00:10:13.779 Jesus is just one of many options. Jesus is a good man, good teacher perhaps, but not the God man. 00:10:13.899 --> 00:10:23.939 Or Jesus is simply of no relevance to my life. Into that context, we boldly and lovingly declare 00:10:23.939 --> 00:10:36.159 the risen Jesus is Lord. So we see bold preaching. We also see bold persistence. Look at verses 13 to 22. 00:10:36.799 --> 00:10:42.480 And we discover something. We discover that the authorities have got a problem on their hands. 00:10:42.480 --> 00:10:49.060 We can see the problem really clearly in verse 16. What are we going to do with these men? They asked. 00:10:49.300 --> 00:10:54.180 Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they've performed a notable sign and we cannot deny it. 00:10:54.899 --> 00:10:59.100 Okay, so there's thousands of eyewitnesses to the fact that a miracle has taken place. 00:10:59.600 --> 00:11:03.840 Friends and enemies of Jesus, everybody knows a miracle has happened. They can't deny it. They can't 00:11:03.840 --> 00:11:12.399 challenge the facts. So what are they going to do? Their new plan is threat and intimidation. 00:11:13.660 --> 00:11:20.800 To stop this thing, verse 17, from spreading any further, we must warn them to speak no longer to 00:11:20.800 --> 00:11:26.379 anyone in this name. So they call them in and command them not to speak or teach at all. 00:11:26.379 --> 00:11:32.120 In the name of Jesus, verse 21, after further threats, they let them go. Here's a group of 00:11:32.120 --> 00:11:38.600 people who are stubbornly resistant to the claims of Jesus. They've just seen Jesus' power. They raised 00:11:38.600 --> 00:11:44.240 someone who couldn't walk and now he's running and jumping and praising God. They are still determined 00:11:44.240 --> 00:11:51.799 to stop the good news message of Jesus from spreading. And again, we need to recognize this is a 00:11:51.799 --> 00:11:57.139 situation faced by many of our brothers and sisters in Christ today. It's not our story, but it is theirs. 00:11:59.139 --> 00:12:10.059 Governments, local authorities, community leaders who act to ban public worship, the owning of a Bible, 00:12:11.379 --> 00:12:18.779 talking to others about Jesus. So we always need to be praying for courage, for boldness, for 00:12:18.779 --> 00:12:27.419 perseverance, for them as well as ourselves. But how do Peter and John respond? So picture the scene 00:12:27.419 --> 00:12:33.360 for a moment. You know, they've spent a night in jail and then they've been dragged out of their cell 00:12:33.360 --> 00:12:39.459 and they're surrounded now by the most powerful figures in the city, these religious leaders, 00:12:39.459 --> 00:12:48.299 and they're issuing threats to them. What happens next? Verse 19, 00:12:48.779 --> 00:12:57.759 Peter and John replied, which is right in God's eyes, to listen to you or to him. You be the judges. 00:12:59.259 --> 00:13:06.600 They know what God wants for them. So what the authorities tell them is of no concern in this 00:13:06.600 --> 00:13:14.559 occasion. We might say the fear of the Lord is greater to the apostles than the fear of men. 00:13:14.559 --> 00:13:22.199 And so they are going to carry on. They know who Jesus is. And they know what Jesus has done. 00:13:23.059 --> 00:13:31.159 So look at verse 20. As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we've seen and heard. 00:13:32.199 --> 00:13:37.119 Now that Jesus has been raised in victory, now that from heaven he has sent the Spirit, 00:13:37.120 --> 00:13:44.100 they are beginning to discover this reality that no opposition is going to stop the kingdom building 00:13:44.100 --> 00:13:51.000 project of the Lord Jesus. There are no barriers that the good news of salvation will not smash 00:13:51.000 --> 00:13:56.779 through. That the joy of sins being forgiven, of having peace with God, the gift of eternal life, 00:13:56.840 --> 00:14:03.440 of getting to serve and be a part of his kingdom, that's a joy they can't and they won't hold in. 00:14:03.440 --> 00:14:10.080 Like the very best of news that just needs to be shared. And so we get this beautiful picture 00:14:10.080 --> 00:14:17.840 in Peter and John of hearts that are captured by the love and the goodness of the Lord Jesus. 00:14:19.180 --> 00:14:24.980 It was Jesus said, out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. Their hearts are full of Jesus and 00:14:24.980 --> 00:14:31.680 what he's done for them. And so they can't but speak about him. The reaction of other people, 00:14:31.679 --> 00:14:38.519 the results of their preaching, that's in God's hands. But for them, they're going to keep talking 00:14:38.519 --> 00:14:45.219 and keep serving. So we see bold preaching, bold perseverance. And then we see bold praying, 00:14:45.359 --> 00:14:50.739 verse 23 to 31. And we were looking at this in our community groups on Wednesday, but I love the 00:14:50.739 --> 00:14:57.419 response of the church. Verse 23, Peter and John are released. They go back to the church. 00:14:57.419 --> 00:15:02.740 They told all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them and their response, their instinct, 00:15:04.379 --> 00:15:14.399 let's pray. Let's pray about this. And notice who they pray to. Verse 24, they pray to the sovereign 00:15:14.399 --> 00:15:18.699 Lord, the Lord who is King, the one who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in 00:15:18.700 --> 00:15:28.140 them. The one who is in control. The one who is powerful. And also to the one who planned and 00:15:28.140 --> 00:15:36.440 prophesied all this. Verse 25 to 28. This is when they quote from Psalm 2. Why do the nations rage and 00:15:36.440 --> 00:15:42.340 the people's plot in vain against God's anointed King? And they see that being worked out and 00:15:42.340 --> 00:15:48.360 inherited and Pontius Pilate and the religious leaders conspiring against Jesus. Now they're looking at 00:15:48.360 --> 00:15:54.680 Psalm 2 and they're saying, this has been fulfilled. Because we know that Jesus is God's chosen Savior 00:15:54.680 --> 00:16:02.060 King. We saw that he was opposed and he was conspired against, but we know that that attempt to halt his 00:16:02.060 --> 00:16:10.659 mission failed because he's alive. And further, they know this is all part of God's plan of salvation. 00:16:10.659 --> 00:16:20.779 Verse 28, they did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. It was always 00:16:20.779 --> 00:16:28.899 established from before the world came into existence that God's suffering servant King, 00:16:29.279 --> 00:16:36.899 the Lord Jesus, would come. And that he would build his kingdom through humble sacrifice. That he would 00:16:36.899 --> 00:16:43.600 come to bear our sin and the punishment that sin deserves. He would come to die in our place. 00:16:43.879 --> 00:16:50.899 So you and I might be forgiven. You and I might find life in Jesus. That you and I, although by nature 00:16:50.899 --> 00:17:00.000 guilty, we might be declared righteous as a gift of God's grace. And then notice how they pray. 00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:09.259 This is a great fill in the blanks moment. How would we fill in this blank? Now, Lord, here's their prayer 00:17:09.259 --> 00:17:18.720 request. Consider their threats and... How would we fill that in? Consider their threats and stop them, 00:17:18.980 --> 00:17:28.680 perhaps? Consider their threats and punish them? Maybe. Consider their threats and spare us, protect us? 00:17:28.680 --> 00:17:39.420 Likely. But this church, totally focused on God's glory and God's mission. What do they pray? Consider 00:17:39.420 --> 00:17:46.480 their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. That's their request. 00:17:46.860 --> 00:17:55.140 Give us more boldness so that we will keep speaking. Verse 30, God, stretch out your hand, 00:17:55.140 --> 00:18:01.900 show your power, show your signs and wonders to show the powerful name of Jesus as the only one that saves. 00:18:04.780 --> 00:18:10.380 And we see that God loves to answer this prayer, this faith-filled prayer. After they prayed, 00:18:10.480 --> 00:18:14.540 the place where they were meeting was shaken. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the 00:18:14.540 --> 00:18:20.900 Word of God boldly. It's words that sound similar to Pentecost, when God poured out the Spirit the first 00:18:20.900 --> 00:18:26.220 time. And now He pours out the Spirit so that they might have more of His power and His presence to be 00:18:26.220 --> 00:18:35.160 able to keep speaking boldly about Jesus. Prayer, mission, boldness. The history of the church shows 00:18:35.160 --> 00:18:40.759 Spirit-filled prayer is the fuel on which God's mission runs. 00:18:40.759 --> 00:18:51.079 Some of us were maybe brought up on the story of the Lewis revivals, two women praying in their 00:18:51.079 --> 00:18:58.920 croft and revival came. Maybe you've heard about the great prayer movements that birthed the church in 00:18:58.920 --> 00:19:07.799 Korea. Maybe you've heard of a guy called Count Zinzendorf, a great name and wonderful guy. In the 1600s, 00:19:07.799 --> 00:19:16.639 he was part of this Moravian movement of Christians, and they organized a 24-7 prayer movement. So, 00:19:16.779 --> 00:19:21.919 there's a great movement in prayer happening again today, but they organized a 24-7 prayer movement. 00:19:22.059 --> 00:19:27.740 They divided the week into, oh no, I've forgotten how many hours are in a week, but you'll figure it out. 00:19:27.919 --> 00:19:32.839 But anyway, so they divided it into that number of slots and allocated people slots. This is in the 1600s, 00:19:32.839 --> 00:19:40.039 this is before WhatsApp and email, and they had this 24-7 missionary prayer movement, not just for one 00:19:40.039 --> 00:19:49.779 day, one week, one month, one year, 110 years. And after that, there was an incredible outburst of 00:19:49.779 --> 00:19:57.740 global mission. Hundreds of missionaries sent to the furthest reaches of the globe because God loves 00:19:57.740 --> 00:20:07.620 to answer faith-fueled prayer. So, this is what gospel boldness looks like, where Jesus is being 00:20:07.620 --> 00:20:13.500 spoken about, where nothing is going to hold us back, where we're praying for God to keep pouring 00:20:13.500 --> 00:20:20.859 out the Spirit to give us more boldness. Friends, isn't this an amazing vision of what the local church 00:20:20.859 --> 00:20:30.679 could be and should be? So, how might we see it in Beclu? How might we work towards that in Beclu? 00:20:33.679 --> 00:20:44.039 As we pray for the Spirit to direct our encounters and our conversations, as we continue to pray for the 00:20:44.039 --> 00:20:49.859 power and the boldness and the wisdom to say, Jesus is unique. He's not just a good man. He's not just one 00:20:49.859 --> 00:20:56.819 option among many, and you really need to know Him for yourself. Perhaps as we have the courage to 00:20:56.819 --> 00:21:04.599 invite someone to church, or to invite them to the solace meal, and if there's hesitation that we 00:21:04.599 --> 00:21:12.939 invite them again. Maybe it's as we look to think about adding, have you ever wondered into our 00:21:12.939 --> 00:21:19.699 conversations? Maybe it looks like taking a risk to move a friendship forward in depth. 00:21:19.859 --> 00:21:23.939 So that we begin to talk about things that really matter, so we can share Jesus. 00:21:25.319 --> 00:21:31.319 Maybe it looks like us collectively praying with passion for the glory of Jesus' name. 00:21:32.419 --> 00:21:38.099 Committing together as a band of brothers and sisters to boldly serve. 00:21:40.799 --> 00:21:43.639 But here we get a great picture of what gospel boldness looks like. 00:21:43.640 --> 00:21:51.580 The second question, this is way more brief, is how do we explain this kind of boldness? I think this is 00:21:51.580 --> 00:21:58.680 really important for us to ask. Because like me, you might read William Cady's pamphlet and say, 00:21:58.780 --> 00:22:02.980 wow. Or you might read Acts chapter 4 and say, wow. But in the next breath, you might say, but that's not 00:22:02.980 --> 00:22:04.500 for me because I'm not a bold person. 00:22:07.819 --> 00:22:12.059 We were joking about it a little bit in community group. And then I was speaking to our mission partner, 00:22:12.200 --> 00:22:18.920 Manuel. He lived in Scotland for a while, and he has a great way of talking about us Stoic Scots. 00:22:19.920 --> 00:22:24.680 Some of us here are Scots. We know what it is to be Stoic. And he said this, he's like, you look at Scottish 00:22:24.680 --> 00:22:31.279 history, and you see that when there's a fight, when our backs are against the wall, then Scots can 00:22:31.279 --> 00:22:37.480 become like warriors. Then we get those brave heart moments. But ordinarily, we're kind of backwards, 00:22:38.400 --> 00:22:45.259 and kind of polite, and kind of apologetic. So here's the question. Maybe for us, if we're Scottish, 00:22:45.340 --> 00:22:52.680 if we're that kind of temperament, is boldness just for other cultures? Is it just for other types of 00:22:52.680 --> 00:23:00.320 people who are not like me or not like us? We need to recognize something about Peter and John, 00:23:02.080 --> 00:23:07.519 that as we encounter them in the gospel, we discover they were not always and not naturally 00:23:07.519 --> 00:23:18.779 courageous and bold. Just a few weeks earlier, at the point of Jesus' arrest, they had run away. 00:23:18.779 --> 00:23:26.779 And when Peter was asked by a servant girl and by a small crowd around the phone, weren't you a friend 00:23:26.779 --> 00:23:36.559 of Jesus? No, I didn't know that man. That's really important, because it helps us to see that the 00:23:36.559 --> 00:23:43.720 boldness of a Christian, it does not come from ourselves. This isn't about a personality type, 00:23:43.720 --> 00:23:50.120 and this is not either about willpower. Let me roll my sleeves up in my endeavor to be more bold. 00:23:50.319 --> 00:24:01.319 How do we explain it? The key verse is verse 13. Look with me at verse 13. When they saw the courage, 00:24:01.900 --> 00:24:08.059 the boldness of Peter and John, and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, 00:24:08.059 --> 00:24:16.700 they were astonished, they were astonished, and they took notes of what? That these men had been 00:24:16.700 --> 00:24:25.859 with Jesus. They hadn't been enrolled in some fancy school for rabbis to learn how to argue theology, 00:24:26.419 --> 00:24:33.319 but they had been enrolled in the school of Christ. They were witnesses of his ministry, 00:24:33.319 --> 00:24:42.879 and his miracles, and his life. They saw him die. They met him risen from the dead, 00:24:42.879 --> 00:24:50.799 and they know that Jesus is still with them by his Spirit. How can they powerfully defend their faith 00:24:50.799 --> 00:24:55.839 against religious leaders that just a few weeks ago they'd run in terror from? 00:24:55.839 --> 00:25:06.099 Because they know Jesus is alive, and he is God's anointed King and Savior. They have seen, 00:25:06.199 --> 00:25:10.379 and they have experienced, and they are still experiencing the power, the love, and the goodness 00:25:10.379 --> 00:25:17.159 of Jesus. Now, as we keep seeing in the book of Acts, they're reading their Bibles, and they're 00:25:17.159 --> 00:25:22.639 listening to God's Word, and they're encountering Jesus again, and again, and again, like here in Psalm 118, 00:25:22.640 --> 00:25:33.220 or here in Psalm 2. And when they pray, now the powerful name of Jesus, seeking more of his Spirit. 00:25:33.759 --> 00:25:38.840 We see that there in verse 30. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the 00:25:38.840 --> 00:25:49.020 name of your holy servant, Jesus. For you and I, to have this kind of boldness, we need to be those 00:25:49.019 --> 00:26:03.819 who spend time with Jesus. We need to be awakened to the gospel again and again. We need to find our joy, 00:26:04.379 --> 00:26:11.819 our freedom, our hope, our love, our life in knowing and being known by Jesus. 00:26:11.819 --> 00:26:23.539 To remember the gospel, to consider the cost of our salvation. The Father sending the Son he loves, 00:26:23.599 --> 00:26:30.419 the Son being rejected, crucified. We need to consider the reason for the cross. 00:26:32.079 --> 00:26:38.319 God's justice being satisfied, God's love being displayed, my sin being dealt with, 00:26:38.319 --> 00:26:47.419 my rescue secured. And we need to consider Jesus now. No longer dead, but raised and glorified, 00:26:47.639 --> 00:26:53.639 seated in honor at the Father's right hand, united to his people, and still building his church as he 00:26:53.639 --> 00:27:01.339 sends the Spirit. It's knowing Jesus and his gospel that creates boldness. That's the only explanation. 00:27:01.339 --> 00:27:11.139 Back to William Carey. He went to India as a missionary. He was there for decades. He wrote this. He said, 00:27:11.140 --> 00:27:18.300 when I left England, my hope of India's conversion was very strong, but amongst so many obstacles, 00:27:19.300 --> 00:27:30.060 it would die unless upheld by God. Well, I have God, and his word is true. God's cause will triumph. 00:27:30.060 --> 00:27:39.500 And then after years waiting for his first convert to Christ, he wrote this. 00:27:39.500 --> 00:28:00.740 He was only one. He was convinced that God and his word and the gospel were true and powerful. 00:28:00.740 --> 00:28:11.819 Are we convinced that God's promises are totally true? Are we convinced that Jesus lives in our 00:28:11.819 --> 00:28:18.779 hearts right now and he pours out the Spirit to help us in our mission? Are we persuaded that God 00:28:18.779 --> 00:28:27.099 is Lord over all and he deserves all glory and worship in all people, in all places? Are we persuaded 00:28:27.099 --> 00:28:34.259 that God has raised Jesus, that he has defeated Satan and sin and death? He is establishing his kingdom. 00:28:35.839 --> 00:28:44.939 Do we have faith that God's grace has the power to change a heart and a family and a city and a nation? 00:28:45.480 --> 00:28:52.000 Because it's as we believe gospel truths and Jesus, who is the heart of the gospel, 00:28:52.000 --> 00:29:02.099 that we will find gospel boldness. There's a third question, and it's where it gets really personal. 00:29:02.220 --> 00:29:10.140 How can we get this kind of boldness? So we leave the church in Acts 4. They've prayed for boldness. 00:29:10.220 --> 00:29:15.720 The Spirit has come, and we see them boldly speaking and living for Jesus. There's this continuing. 00:29:15.720 --> 00:29:23.440 They're praying for power. They're going out on mission in the power of the Spirit. And it's good for us to ask, 00:29:24.120 --> 00:29:33.660 how can our encounter with their gospel boldness be infectious in our day? So it's not just then 00:29:33.660 --> 00:29:41.400 and there, but it's here and now. How can this be the pattern? How can this be the power 00:29:41.400 --> 00:29:47.440 for our mission? Whether we're thinking about Newington on the south side, whether we're thinking 00:29:47.440 --> 00:29:52.180 about Edinburgh as a whole, or whether we're thinking about the communities where we have our 00:29:52.180 --> 00:29:59.340 relationships, the places where we work and study? What have we seen in Acts chapter 4? 00:30:00.920 --> 00:30:07.759 Let me suggest this by way of a summary, and then we'll think of some points. The boldness that we see 00:30:07.759 --> 00:30:18.140 is the gift of the risen Lord Jesus through His Spirit's transforming power in response to His people's 00:30:18.140 --> 00:30:28.559 prayers. So that gives us some follow-up. First, let's pray together in Jesus' name for boldness. 00:30:29.400 --> 00:30:36.140 We're going to be adding new times of prayer for our church as of next week, because we need it. 00:30:36.140 --> 00:30:43.340 To seek help from the Holy Spirit for those times when our testimony is met by apathy or opposition. 00:30:44.480 --> 00:30:48.080 To seek the help of the Holy Spirit so that together we'd have courage and wisdom 00:30:48.080 --> 00:30:54.580 to know how to have meaningful conversations. To pray for one another, to have boldness, 00:30:54.660 --> 00:31:00.680 to live out our faith before others in whatever context we find ourselves in. 00:31:00.680 --> 00:31:07.620 So let's be praying. Let's spend time listening to Jesus in His Word. Why? 00:31:09.860 --> 00:31:18.420 Because isn't it the case that the more we get to know someone we love, the more we love them? 00:31:19.600 --> 00:31:24.560 And the more that we get to know and to love Jesus, the more we will want to share Him with others. 00:31:24.559 --> 00:31:33.759 As we commit to worshiping together on Sundays, spending time in community groups, reading and 00:31:33.759 --> 00:31:40.679 reflecting daily on God's Word, let's pray that our love would grow and flow from us. 00:31:43.539 --> 00:31:51.539 Let's band together for shared strength. Whenever you watch the church in the book of Acts, 00:31:51.539 --> 00:31:55.619 you think about the pattern of Jesus sending His followers two by two, we recognize that we're made 00:31:55.619 --> 00:32:02.359 for community. If you're like me, not a bold person, but you know someone who is bold, 00:32:04.279 --> 00:32:11.720 watch them, learn from them, stick close to them, partner with them. And remember, mission is the work 00:32:11.720 --> 00:32:20.420 of the church. And finally, let's depend on the Spirit. What do we know about the Spirit? Well, He is truly God. 00:32:21.539 --> 00:32:30.299 And He is passionate about the glory of Jesus. He is with us to lead us and to teach us and to give us 00:32:30.299 --> 00:32:38.619 power. And we know that every single Christian has the Spirit of Christ living in us. So we have 00:32:38.619 --> 00:32:46.519 within us individually and collectively the source of true boldness, the one who wants the world to come, 00:32:46.519 --> 00:32:54.019 to see and to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord. Let's pray.