Preach Boldly

The Book of Acts • Sermon • Submitted 2 years ago

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Jesus never said following Him would be easy. In today’s message, we see the leaders of the early church standing up and boldly sharing about Jesus.

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June 12th 2022

Series: The Book of Acts

Sermon Title: Preach Boldly

Topic: Journey through the book of Acts.

Key Passages: Acts 4

Sermon Blurb: Jesus never said following Him would be easy. In today’s message, we see the leaders of the early church standing up and boldly sharing about Jesus.

Sermon:

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Well, hello everyone!

It is great to be back with you all.

Today, we pick back up where we left off in the Book of Acts.

If you are new, or newer, to Family Church we are on a journey walking through the book of Acts in our Bibles and you can open up there now if you would like.

We will pick up today in Acts chapter 4.

As you are getting there let me give some context to what we will read about today.

Remember the church started with 120 people.

The exploded in chapter 2 to over 3,000 people!

And today we are going to see the church growing yet again.

Reminder as we walk through the book of Acts circle all the times it talks about the church growing because we cannot forget that God CLEARLY expected then and no for his church to grow.

Church growth is a GOOD thing.

Church shrinking or maintaining its size was NOT God’s plan.

PAUSE

But just because God wants it to happen.

And Christians should want it to happen.

That does not mean culture wants it to happen!

PAUSE

Let’s read the first verse and then I want to remind us all of something else.

Acts 4:1 The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people.

Stop there…..

Let me make sure you all understand something.

Why are Peter and John preaching and teaching about Jesus at the Temple……

Does anyone know why?

Because they were Jews!

This movement starting here the early church did NOT think it was a NEW religion or faith!

This movement was not even called church yet!

This movement here was predominantly Jewish people trying to reach more Jewish people for Jesus!

That is why they are at the Jewish Temple.

The church didn’t really exist yet!

The term Christianity didn’t exist yet!

At this point, it was Jews trying to show Jews that Jesus was the Messiah they had been looking for!!!!

The early church didn’t meet at a church….they met at the same Jewish Temple they always had!

For you history buffs….they worshiped in the Temple Herod the Great began in 20 BC and was still under construction at this point!

And bear in mind that the Temple Mount was at this time one of the GREATEST structures in the World.

Here is a picture of the Temple Mount

As a reminder….

This structure is the size of 6 plus football fields!

That Temple in the middle was about 2 football fields in size!

That Temple inside had EVERYTHING COVERED in PURE gold!

That temple was PURE White Marble.

You see the Gold trim on the temple…..that was so that you could see it gleam MILES and MILES away!

This was then….and would be still today….impressive to say the least!

History Buffs….. This is the same Temple that will be destroyed by Rome in AD 70….we will get to that many chapters ahead…..

PAUSE

So this picture….this is where the guys are…..

You see that red roof off to the side?

That is where the Roman guards stayed…..So that gives context…to what we read…..

The leaders in that Temple….

They don’t like what Jesus followers are teaching, saying, and doing.

So they go grab the guards from over there….

And verse 2

2 They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.

So what do they do?

3 They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day.

Hold up there…. They were doing what God wanted and God allowed them to be thrown into jail?

Yup, that is exactly what the Bible says.

And I need to say something right here.

You need to be very careful of what is called the prosperity gospel.

It is a very popular movement in the church today.

Prosperity preachers tell you that God loves you so much that if you just give enough God will make you rich.

If you just follow God, you will never have anything bad happen in your life.

They teach God is a one-way ticket to an easy life…..

And you will CLEARLY see in the Book of Acts that is NOT true.

PAUSE

That is just not true.

If you look at the life of Jesus that was not true.

If look at the lives of his followers that has never been true.

Following God is not a one-way ticket to an easy life here on earth.

Following God IS a ticket to eternal life! NOT easy street!

PAUSE

Peter and John were thrown into jail for telling people about Jesus and listen to what happens next!

4 But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.

WOW!

Because they followed God and were doing what God called them to do….even though something bad happened to them…..the church just grew by 2,000+ people!

This first church has gone from a humble 120 to 3,000 to now 5,000 in a VERY SHORT period of time!

And bear in mind this is talking family units, not individuals so we are talking about WAY more people than just 5,000 people!

PAUSE

We are now into chapter 4 of Acts, and do you see a pattern yet?

A pattern of the church people going out to reach the lost!

A pattern of people going to church consistently.

A pattern of ALL believers in Jesus talking to others about Jesus.

A pattern of the church GROWING!

Do you see that when the people of God are not afraid to be out spreading the gospel, regular people like all of you sitting out there or listening online, GROWTH is what happens!

PAUSE

Today I am going to challenge all of you to invite someone to church with you next week…so just get ready for it!

Because we see the early church constantly telling others about Jesus!

See the inviting people to a place where Peter or John can preach to them and they can find Jesus.

And ALL of you can do the same thing!!!

And honestly….a lot of you are AWESOME at this!

Because take our church as an example…..we do not do much marketing at ALL….

We have grown because a lot of you were invited here by someone….and you came!!!

And you loved it!

And so you told some friend or family or neighbors or co-workers and they came!

And they told more people.

That is how we have grown from 1 service to 2 to 3 to 4 to soon 5.

That is how we have grown from one location to 2 to even more in the future!

Because we are LIVING this out!!!

So KUDOS to all of you for living out scripture!!!!

PAUSE

The Bible is SUPER clear we are ALL to be about the work of God….and NO ONE in this room gets a pass on that!

Not elders, Not Deacons, Not Pastors, No One gets a pass….

PAUSE

Let me push a little hard on this here……

Let me ask you a question:

When was the last time you shared the gospel with someone that does not know Jesus?

Can you think of the last time?

Do you even have a friend that is not a Christian?

Jesus called ALL of us to go and make disciples; so how are you doing at following that COMMAND?

PAUSE

You might remember we did a poll on this last year. And we will again at the end of this year.

You might remember Pastor Adam is doing his doctoral studies around this topic.

Pastor Adam’s problem statement was that he believed that average Christians have NEVER shared their faith with someone else.

And that the AVERAGE Christian had never been discipled by someone and therefore has never discipled someone.

Pastor Adam’s whole doctoral study is in how we can help the AVERAGE person in our church disciple a person in the ways of Jesus and then help that person go on to do the same with another person.

So, when we polled you we asked questions around this and let me show you the results…

Go to the first slide.

In our church

2% of the people here who responded said they are still just checking out this Jesus thing.

And that is AWESOME!

And if that is you we are so glad you are here!

Another 2% of our church said they came to faith here in the last year!

Awesome!!!!

About 4% of people said they accepted Jesus in the last 2 years and about another 4% in the last 5 years!

So that means 12% of the people who responded to our survey came to faith here….Awesome!

That means look down your row today….

On average one person in every row came to faith here!

Pretty cool!

But I want you to note….over 75% of those who took our survey said they have been following Jesus for over 20 years….

And that becomes important on the following slides….

PAUSE

So 75% of us are long-term Christians….

That should mean….we have become more like Jesus every year.

That should mean….every year we are growing in our ability to share the good news of Jesus…

Right?

PAUSE

So one of the other questions I asked was how many times have your shared your faith in the last year.

Here were the responses.

12% 4+ times

41% 1-3 times.

And that is SUPER encouraging that the majority of you are sharing your faith!!!!

GOOD JOB!!!

Keep it up!!!!

But there is a way to go….because 47% said you have not….

PAUSE

Let me ask you a question

What are you afraid of sharing the gospel??

You’re not going to be thrown in jail, like they were in the Bible…at least not yet in our country!

You’re not going to be killed!

So why?

PAUSE

Is your pride of looking foolish worth more than someone being separated from God for eternity?

LONG PAUSE

Here is what our survey told us….and thank you for the honest feedback!

OVER 74% of you said you have NEVER been discipled by someone else!

So I get it….if you have never had someone pour into you….

You do not know how to pour into someone else.

Only 25% of you said you are being actively discipled right now by someone else!

PAUSE

And the numbers are almost identical on if you are discipling someone else.

71% of you said nope…you never have discipled another person toward Jesus…

PAUSE

Church that is why we are doing this series!

So that we can all come to understand how the early church lived and see how that applies to our lives.

The WHOLE reason I am doing my doctoral studies is to come up with a way to help the average person in a church have conversations about Jeuss with someone who does not know Jesus.

And help that average person in a church be able to disciple that person toward Jesus.

And help that average person in a church feel equipped to teach that other person about Jesus.

And then help that person you disciple feel equipped to go and do the same with someone else.

That is my goal to develop through my studies…..

Let’s keep reading……Verse 5

5 The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family.

7 They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”

8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them:

Pause here for a second…

You might think God left them….because they got thrown in jail and now they are on trial….

But God is there right when Peter needs Him and fills him with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God!

The same Holy Spirit we learned about just a few weeks ago.

So they ask by what power and Peter says:

“Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed,

10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.

Note again….Peter takes NO credit!

He gives all the credit to Jesus!

He gives all the credit to God!

PAUSE

And….like we have seen in the last two sermons from Peter…

Peter starts with something everyone can relate to and understand….

And then he goes right into quoting the Bible, look at verse 11….

11 Jesus is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’

12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

PAUSE

13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

And pause here….

The most common reason why people do not share their faith is…..

I just don’t know the Bible very well.

I just don’t know what to say.

I just don’t know how to answer questions.

It all stems from this idea…that we all need to be trained pastors to lead someone to Jesus ….which is NOT TRUE!

Look at what you just saw with Peter….God gave him the words to speak RIGHT when he needed them!

Verse 13 says they were unschooled, ordinary men!

AKA they were just dumb fishermen!

They didn’t even graduate high school most likely!

They didn’t go to college or rabbi school!

They weren’t leaders in the synagogue!

PAUSE

They could not explain how these men could say the things they did in such an articulate way…..

Other than to say it had to have come from being with WHO???

Jesus!!!…

These SUPER educated religious people were questioning them they could not figure out how it was possible they could respond how they did….

And so they were amazed….

Because GOD was working through them!!!!

PAUSE

I know I just challenged all of you to share your faith and I KNOW a lot of you immediately said, “No, I cannot do that.”

Please hear me today…..God will give you the words! I promise you he will.

I cannot even tell you the number of times that I have pushed people to step out of their comfort zones and they were amazed at how God showed up because of it!

Step out in faith and watch God show up!!!!

Because look at what happens when we step out in faith and follow God…and don’t hide in fear…..verse 14

14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say.

When God moves….no one can dispute it!

When you give a personal testimony no one can dispute it!

When you are talking to people about Jesus….talk about what Jesus has done in your life.

NO ONE can dispute what personally happened with you!

So, look at what happens next:

15 So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 16 “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it.

17 But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”

Pause here….

These religious people could clearly see that God was working….that God was moving….and they wanted to stop it! Because they did not want to lose power.

Are you trying to stop God’s movement to cling on to power in someplace in your life?

LONG PAUSE

You all need to understand something.

God is moving here at Family Church there is no question.

You cannot explain what is happening at our church outside God.

But there is a real enemy out there that will try to stop that. As you can see in this passage….even some God-fearing people could be used by the enemy to try and stop what God is doing!

What you and I see right here is some people that are devoted to following God….do not want to acknowledge what God is doing.

It is right here in the Bible!

These devoted followers of God do not want to follow the FRESH NEW movement of God….

They do NOT want to see things changing…..so they are resisting that change….even when the change is REALLY GOOD!

I mean a guy was just healed and they do not like it!!!

And why do they not like it????

Because they cannot control it!

And let’s be real for a minute….

Are you acting this same way at work?

Are you acting this same way at school?

Are you acting this same way at home?

Are you acting this same way at church?

Are you acting this same way in your team?

Here is what we all need to learn from this passage:

Pursue God, not power.

Pursue God, not position.

PAUSE

Because hear me if you do not….you will be just like these church leaders….

So, listen to what the Jewish church leaders said to these people spreading the good news of Jesus.

Verse 18

18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20 As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

21 After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.

So they let them go…and look at what they do as soon as they are released!

23 On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.

25 You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:

“‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 26 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one.’

27 Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. 28 They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.

29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

Pause here….

Look at what they just said and let that sink in…..

Verse 29

PAUSE

They did not ask God to stop bad things from happening….

They did not ask God to stop the bad people…..

They did not ask God to stop their suffering….

They did not ask God to have the hard times of being persecuted at school to stop….

They did not ask God to make their life better…..

They did not ask God to make them the leader at work so they could then change things….

They did not ask for those things that seem to be at the forefront of our prayers…

LONG PAUSE

What did they do?

They asked God to enable them to keep doing what got them in trouble!

They asked God to make them bolder!

They asked God to heal people!

They asked God to perform signs!

They asked God to perform miracles!

They asked God to do all of it through HIS power….not theirs….

PAUSE

What do you pray for?

Take a second and think about your recent prayers…..

What did you pray about or for?

Now compare that to what they prayed for…..

Maybe there is something for us to learn right here…..

Let’s wrap this up….Verse 31

31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

They were in unity…..and because of that they were ALL ….circle the word ALL in your Bible….

They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and what happened after that? What does the word of God say?

They spoke the word of God boldly…..

They lead people to their real help….Jesus….

I love the Bible!

I love the fact that I can come to God with any problem I have and dive into the Bible and find peace, freedom, and help.

And today that is what some of you need. You need peace. You need freedom. You need help.

And if that is what you need today…..it comes from one place and one place alone…..

A REAL relationship with Jesus Christ.

It does not come from religion.

It does not come from Church.

It does not come from giving.

It does not come from serving.

It comes from a REAL relationship with Jesus….and if you need that we are going to pray in just a moment and ask Jesus to come into your life…..

But I have some marching orders for the people in this room that say they are followers of Jesus….some homework for the week!

Life Application: Invite someone to come to church with you next week!

I know that gets some of you nervous.

I know that gets some of you scared.

I know some of you are thinking, “But Pastor Adam I don’t even know a non-Christian.”

Then go find one!

Give out invitee cards to all as they exit.

Let’s Pray…..

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