Full Transcript

Did you come to church today wanting to hear God to speak with you? What do you think God might want to say to a church like ours? Let me ask you to get your Bible open to the book of Acts. Find chapter 4, and while you’re getting there, let me just suggest what the message might be that the Lord might want to speak to you.

Let me just boil it down to two words. If we’re going to ask God to speak, what do you think he might want to say during this season in our church? What do you think it is? Be bold! How did you know? Be bold! That’s the message I believe that God is speaking to our church. That’s why we’ve made that our theme for the year. And we’re going to be unpacking that over the course of a couple of weeks here in our church.

We’ve taken this theme from the verse last verse in the book of Acts. It’s a summary statement for everything that happened throughout the previous 28 chapters. The disciples, the first generation Christians, the first church was known for this. They were proclaiming the kingdom of God and they were teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all…what’s the word… boldness and without hindrance. That’s the way the book ends.

So what we’re going to do is we’re going to look back and see an episode this morning about how that happened practically. Now, before we jump into it, let me just identify who’s here. It helps me to know who’s here. How many of you have a job? Raise your hand if you have a job. How many of you are grateful for your job? Some of you lowered your hands. But that’s okay. You should be grateful you have a job.

How many of you have a job in the manufacturing industry? You make something? You make RV’s? Or a lot of you make grain bins, or you make widgets, or some of you just make trouble, but there’s manufacturing. It’s kind of an area of the country that’s kind of known for manufacturing.

Now, in order for us to understand our job as a Christian…do you know you have a job if you are a Christian? If you are a Christian, you have a job. It’s very important for us to understand our job as Christians is not manufacturing. We are not manufacturing anything. We don’t make anything.

You see, there’s another job that some of you have. You don’t make anything. What you do is you market something that has been made. You take the lame product that the manufacturing department created and it’s your job to make it look good enough for somebody to buy it. How many of you are in marketing? Raise your hand. Some of you are not going to raise your hand now because I just made your job sound lame. Right? So, it’s either manufacturing or it’s marketing.

Now please understand this. Your job as a Christian is not marketing. Because our product “the gospel” is not lame. You don’t have to make it look any better. You can’t make it look any better. It’s not some package, or you know, shave off the rough edges so somebody will get it. Our job is not marketing.

There’s a third type of job that some of you have. It’s not manufacturing, it’s not marketing, it is distribution. It’s sales. Right? How may of you are in distribution? You’re in sales. You take the product that’s been made and the product that’s been packaged and it’s your job to deliver it and get it into the hands of the people who need the product.

Please understand. Your job as a Christian is not in manufacturing. It is not in marketing. It is all about distribution. And your success as a Christian is not measured by the people who accept the product. Not the people who accept the gospel. Your success as a Christian, your job is simply to distribute the message.

Anybody here ever have a paper route? Where are all the paper boys and paper girls? These are the people that got up at ungodly hours to deliver the paper. And you understood as the paper boy, you didn’t write the news. You didn’t select what font they would use in the paper or how thick the paper would be or what kind of sleeve or package it would be delivered in. It was simply your job to get the message delivered as close to the front porch, the front door at the threshold of the door, as you possibly could. Not in the bushes. I’m on a soapbox now. Do you understand how important it is to deliver the message? To make it as available as possible? That’s what your job was as a paper boy.

Listen, listen, listen. What’s my job as a Christian? To distribute, to deliver the message. I’m not responsible for writing it or creating it. I’m not responsible for packaging it or making it look good. I am responsible simply to deliver it. We are God’s channels of distribution.

Now, if you understand that, it makes your job a little more understandable. A little more easy to deliver the message. So I want you to see how that happened here in the first century church here in Acts 4. Before we jump into it, I want to let you know the back story. Okay? We’re kind of jumping in at the middle of the story.

What happened was there were these two first generation Christians. Their names were Peter and John. They were disciples of Jesus, part of the original twelve. After Jesus has resurrected, after Jesus had ascended back to the Father, they were minding their own business. They were going into the synagogue to worship God, and on their way in, they met a man who was lame. Literally lame. He could not walk. He was paralyzed. He had a horrible condition.

And the man begged from Peter and John some money. You know what they said. “We don’t have any gold, we don’t have any silver, but what we have, we can give to you in the name of Jesus Christ. Rise and walk.” And what did he do? Man, he was filled with God’s Spirit. God immediately met him in a spontaneous healing. He stood and he met the Lord that day, not only in physical healing but in spiritual healing. So that created an uproar.

This man started walking around and everybody saw this guy who used to be lame who had now been healed. And so there was an uproar in the city. There was such an uproar that the ruler and the officials brought these two guys in. That’s where we pick up the story in Acts 4, beginning in verse 1.

By the way, we’re going to cover 31 verses this morning. You’ll know we’re approaching the landing strip when we get close to verse 31. So just to let you know how long you’ll be here this morning. So verse 1, “And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple…” Interesting they had a captain of the temple. Security I guess. Captain of the temple “…and the Sadducees came upon them…”

Verse 2, “…greatly annoyed…” Mark it down. If you become a bold distributor of God’s message, you will annoy some people. You say, “I don’t want to annoy people. I mean, I would feel like a failure if people got mad and upset.” No, no, no, no. If they’re annoyed, you might actually be doing something right. If you’ve never annoyed someone, it may be because you haven’t boldly been distributing the gospel. Mark it down. Bold distributors of the gospel will annoy some people.

And so some people were greatly annoyed “…because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the word believed.” Mark it down. If you become a bold distributor of the message, some people will believe. In every setting, there are people who will be annoyed and there are some people who will believe the message.

And notice the number of people in this context that believed. It says at the end of verse 4, “and the number of the men came to about five thousand.” Yes, the first church was a mega-church.

Now, think about this. Here’s point 1 of the message:

 

1. Be bold enough to distribute God’s offer of salvation. (v. 1-13)

 

Can you imagine if the people in this room would take seriously God’s admonition to you to be bold? And we went out into this community doing what these first generation Christians did? We proclaimed the kingdom and we taught about the Lord Jesus Christ? And in response to us being bold distributors of the message, God breathed life into five thousand people in this community? And they all showed up the next week at church?

Where would they park? Where would we put them? More importantly, here’s the question. Who would disciple them? Do you often hear from this platform encouragement that you need to stop being a consumer at church and start being a contributor? Do you often hear from this platform you need to leave your comfort zone of being fed and becoming someone who feeds? Do you often hear from this platform you need to take responsibility to step into a leadership role in this church and look for someone that you can bring under you to mentor, to counsel, to pray for and to disciple?

You know one of the reasons why I don’t believe God has yet to bring five thousand people in this past week is because we’re not equipped to deal with them. We don’t have enough leaders that have said, “Give me some disciples to mentor. I would love to lead a small group. I would love to take a group and teach them what’s been given to me. It’s not that I’m all that smart. Somebody gave it to me, I’d love to give it away.”

That’s what your responsibility is as a Christian. To step into a role where you are proclaiming the kingdom and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ. Not just out there with unbelievers, but in here, discipling those who have come to faith in Christ. That’s what I’m believing God for is a whole host of new leaders in our church that would become disciplers of disciples.

Look again here at verse 5. “On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high priestly family.” Verse 7, “And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired…” They asked them a question. They bring them in. Here’s the inquisition.

“By what power or by what name did you do this?” Translation: who do you think you are? “You didn’t check with us. I mean, if there’s going to be healing, it’s got to be authorized by people who have the religious credentials to do stuff like this. I mean, you went outside of our authority.” In other words, “We’re not going to get credit if you don’t do this in our name.”

And so, Peter and John very simply answer them. Verse 8, “Then Peter…” notice “…filled with the Holy Spirit…” Now stop right there. Do you know about this guy Peter? Peter is known as one of the boldest people in the Bible, right? But there are different versions of Peter as we see him unfold throughout Scripture. And there are some less than flattering episodes in Peter’s life. This episode is a good episode. This is good Peter. Peter filled with the Holy Spirit.

Do you remember Marvel Comics? Do you remember the Hulk? How many of you know the Hulk? What was his name before he’d get mad and turn into the Hulk? Bruce Banner. Do you know that phrase when he was about to get angry and he was trying to control himself? And he would look at somebody and say, “Don’t make me angry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.” Right?

Well, Peter would have a similar phrase. “Don’t find me empty. You wouldn’t like me when I’m empty.” Do you remember some previous episodes in Peter’s life when he was found empty? Not filled with the Holy Spirit?

Do you remember when he was with Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane and the Roman soldiers came to arrest Jesus? And Peter stood up and grabbed his sword and started fighting for Jesus? It’s like, “I’ll protect Jesus. He needs me. I’ll show how valued I am.” And he ends up cutting off the ear of one of these guys. Jesus graciously, lovingly picked up the ear, put it back on the guy and said, “Peter, put your sword away. Um, not necessary. I got this.” Okay?

And what you find there was a Peter who was reckless. Bold, but reckless. Wrong time, wrong instrument, wrong weapon. Okay? “This is not…Peter, Peter…just settle down.” And then just a few hours later, Jesus is on the cross and Peter is confronted by a little girl who says, “Weren’t you with Jesus?” And Peter says, “Uh uh, not me.” “Uh, yeah I think you were.” “No, no, no, no, wrong guy, wrong guy.” “No, I think you were with Jesus.” And he cusses the little girl out.

That’s fearful Peter. So, you wouldn’t like Peter when he’s not filled with the Holy Spirit. But let me introduce you to a Peter who is filled with the Holy Spirit. You know what we find when he’s filled with the Holy Spirit? We find appropriate boldness. Look at it in verse 8.

“And Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them…” Love it. “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed…” Underline that, “good deed.” Concerning a good deed “…done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ…” He drops the name. 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.”

I want you to notice something here. Peter was examined. Peter got a hearing. Peter got an opportunity to share the gospel because his good deed opened the door. Do you understand that your good deeds create an opening for the gospel? That’s why you can’t live a selfish life only concerned about yourself.  You’ve got to look for people with need. Look for people who are lame. Who need a little help. Who need somebody to come alongside them and do something good for them. Good deeds create an opening for the gospel.

That’s why around here we have things like Second Serve Saturday. That’s why we do the fall festival. It’s not about dressing up in costumes. It’s not about the candy. It’s an opportunity to say, “You know what? We want to show goodwill to people down in the heart of the city where it’s harder down there.” And to have conversations.

Why would you do this? Why would you go to all the trouble? Why would you do the expense of building a wheelchair ramp? Of hosting an event like that? Of cleaning up somebody’s house. Because we want our good deeds to create an opening, to create a gospel conversation. So boldness and good deeds lead to boldness in distributing the offer of salvation.

Now, if we only do good deeds in our name, people are going to think we are good. All that does is puff you up and make you arrogant and proud. We have to drop the name. So let me ask you this. In your attempt to distribute the gospel, do you use the name of Jesus Christ? Or do you stop short?

Do you say things like this, “I go to a wonderful church, Harvest Bible Chapel. We have such a wonderful worship leader. His name is Micah. We have a preacher who can hold most of the people’s attention for a few minutes. His name is Trent. And you’ve just got to come to Harvest Bible Chapel so you can hear Micah and Trent.”? And you stop short of using the name?

Do you go a little bit farther and say, “That’s where we worship God. God is so wonderful and God has done so much for me.”? That’s good, but the question in their mind is, “Which god?” And you’re like, “The one with the big ‘G’ and not the ones with the little ‘g.’” You’ve got to use the name, and Peter filled with the Holy Spirit, did not back up, he was not afraid. He was bold enough to use the name of Jesus Christ. And get the gospel where it needed to go.

And that gave him an opportunity to share the whole story. Because it’s not just about what Jesus taught, even though he taught some wonderful things. It’s ultimately about what Jesus did that communicates the gospel. What did he say to those people? Do you see it there in verse 10?

It says in the middle, in the “..name of Jesus Christ…” Now, by the way, they didn’t ask Peter what Jesus did. They just asked Peter by whose name have you healed this man. But he goes further than what they asked and used their question to get the gospel in.

And so, Peter looks at them and says, “…whom you crucified.” Yes. Peter looks him right in the eye and in essence says, “You dirty, rotten sinners nailed this man to the cross. You crucified him by your rebellion against God, the one that God sent to be your Savior, you rejected and hung him on the cross.”

Peter doesn’t skirt around the cross. He goes directly to the one thing that Jesus did to atone for the sin of dirty, rotten sinners. The message of the gospel is very simple. Do you know it? Do you know it?

My son Zac is a freshman at Cedarville University, and I had a chance to go see him last week, as I was a part of some council meetings there. And Zac took me to his spiritual formation class. I was so happy. Zac showed me that he sat on the front row. He showed me where the library was. He found the library. Yes! I’m so happy, as a father, my son has figured out school is good! You know?

So he told me about an episode that had happened the week before. He said, “In our spiritual formation class, our professor broke us into groups and he said, ‘This is what I want you to do. I want you to get in about groups of five.’” About fifty kids in the class. And he said, “I want your groups to work on this during class. I just want you to come back in your group with the answer to this one question: what is the gospel?”

And when Zac heard that, he leaned back and he said, “That has been drilled in to my head since I was four years old. I go to Harvest Bible Chapel. If I don’t know the answer to this question, I may as well just flunk out of school right now.” And so he told his group. It’s like, “Guys, I got this. Somebody take out a sheet of paper. I’ll give it to you.”

And he looked at them and he said, “Just write this down. God is holy. Man is sinful. Christ is a Savior. Repent and believe. Jesus died on a cross, in my place, as a substitute, for my sin. And only those who repent and believe will be saved. Just write that down. That is the gospel.” And he sat back and said, “Man, we can dismiss early from this class because I got this.” Right?

And the people in his group kind of looked at each other, and looked at Zac, and they were like, “That’s not the gospel. That’s way too simple. I mean, we’ve got to create like some big theological, you know, construct to try to impress our professor.” And Zac was just so confused that they would not just understand that it is Jesus crucified on a cross, in my place, as a substitute for my sin, and he will save all who will repent and believe.

He just couldn’t believe it. It was like, “Dad, what do I do with these people?” I’m like, “Okay Zac, now you’re going to have to understand the meaning of the words so that you can help them understand the significance of the offer of salvation.” And it’s got to be something more than just a rote definition.

But can I ask you, you’re a distributor of the gospel. It’s your job to distribute. Do you know the message? It’s not your job to manufacture the message. It’s not your job to market the message. It’s your job to distribute the message. Do you know it? Do you know it?

You crucified Jesus Christ. On the cross. What happened on the cross that wasn’t just a death that was like every other death. There was something cosmic that was taking place on the cross. God the Father was treating Jesus as if he had committed every sin of every person who would ever believe, so that those who would believe could be treated by God the Father as if they had never sinned. That’s the gospel.

Peter looks at them and says, “You crucified Jesus Christ.” But there’s hope beyond the grave. He goes on there in verse 10 and says, “But God raised him. You crucified him but God raised him. God overcame your terminal sentence of death.” There’s hope in the resurrection of Christ.

You see, part of our problem is this. We think that our sin…I mean, everybody kind of acknowledges, “Yeah, nobody’s perfect.” Even you’ll admit that? Right? Ah, nobody’s perfect. As if we would question whether or not that was a reality. Thank you for trying to convince us of that. We knew that. Okay?

The question is this: have you ever seen your sin as something that doesn’t just make you sick? It’s like, “I’ve got a cough. I’ll just clear my throat. Take a cough drop. I can function with this.” Have you ever seen your sin as something beyond something that makes you sick? Have you ever realized that your sin makes you dead? Dead! You are in the grave. No life. No hope. You are dead. You crucified him. Your sin is crucifying you. It’s going to make you dead. Separated from God for all eternity.

You don’t just need a prescription to make you feel better. You need a resurrection. And it is the gospel of Jesus Christ that says God’s offer to you is one of new life in Christ. Hope beyond the grave. You crucified Jesus Christ, but God raised him from the dead. And the same God that raised Jesus from the dead needs to raise you from the dead, spiritually, so that you can survive the grave that you’re headed to as well. That’s the offer of salvation. Do you know it? Do you know it?

By the way, if you’re not a Christian, you came here today. It’s like, “Dude, I don’t have the first clue about distributing anything. I’m just trying to figure this thing out.” I just gave you the gospel. And your responsibility is – what are you going to do with that? Will you be bold enough to believe it? Will you be bold enough to embrace it? You crucified Jesus, but God raised him and God can raise you too. If you’ll ever understand how your sin has separated you from Christ.

Now, those of us that are distributors of the gospel, we need to understand that as we offer salvation to people, and his name is Jesus, our job is hard because most of the people we will communicate with, it’s not so much they have a problem with Jesus. It’s not so much that they reject Jesus. It’s that they won’t reject their substitute saviors that they’re already believing will save them.

I want you to see verse 12. Look at it. It says, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given…” Underline the word “given” in verse 12. There is no other name under heaven given “…among men by which we must be saved.”

Do you understand that God who exists outside of time and space has been so gracious that he has given one way for you to be saved from your sin? It is the only way to escape the terminal illness that you have, which will result in you being separated from God, if you do not believe in the one way God has given for you to be saved. There is no other name. There is no other way to be made right with God.

Mohammed is not a name God has given for you to be saved. Buddha is not a name God has given for you to be saved. Hari Krishna is not a name that God has given. Pope Francis is not a name that God has given for you to be saved. Hillary is not a name God has given for you to be saved. And God knows Trump is not a name that God has given for you to be saved. Trent is not a name. Harvest Bible Chapel is not a name. Catholicism, Baptist, Methodist.

None of it is a name. There is one way and one way exclusively for you to come into relationship with God the Father. Does that shock you? God has only given one. One way. One way for young people. One way for old people. One way for Americans. One way for Russians. One way for Africans. One way for those in India. One way for those in China. There’s only one name that God has given. Does that upset you? Does that shock you?

“Well, why hasn’t God given more ways? I think God should be giving lots of different ways. And I think there’s lots of different ways that God would give.” There’s only one way. And it should not shock you that there is only one name by which you can be saved. It should shock you that there is any name that God has given by which you can be, and must, be saved.

We have declared war on God as rebels against him. Setting ourselves up as our own God, and this loving, gracious God has opened a way for rebels like you and me to come into right relationship. To be forgiven, to experience the joy of heaven, and the power of salvation, and to live with him forever. What a gracious God!

Don’t manufacture other ways. There’s only one. You’re not a manufacturer. You are simply a distributor of only one name. And that name is? Jesus Christ – the one name that God has given by which we must be saved.

I talked to a lady last night in the service. She came up afterwards and she said, “I’ve been in church all my life. I know Scripture.” I started to quote Scripture, she finished the verse. And yet her question to me is, “I just don’t know. I just don’t know if I’ve crossed the line. I just don’t know if I’ve done enough.” And I said, “Lady, you are trusting in some other name.”

And I looked at her and I said, “What’s your name?” And she told me. And I said, “That’s the name you’re trusting in for your salvation. You’re trying to manufacture your own salvation.” Give up. You’ll never be good enough. You’ll never do enough. You’ll never go hard enough or fast enough after God that you will ever feel like you have crossed a line. The good news of the gospel is this: Jesus crossed the line for you. And it is your trust and faith in what he did, not in what you do, that God will accept as your substitute for sin.

You are trusting in some other name. Namely, religion. Give up your substitute savior and trust in the offer of salvation through the only name by which you can be saved. You say, “Hey you’re making me really nervous here because I’m an introvert and you’re asking me to distribute this stuff and go talk to people and use the name and be bold. It’s just like..I don’t even like to talk to people about anything and you’re telling me I’m supposed to go like talk…”

All the introverts raise your hand. Introverts, I’m making you really nervous right now. Aren’t you? “You’re telling me my job is like to talk. I’m not smart enough and I don’t have the education you have, and you have like some kind of Bible degree, don’t you? And you got to, like memorize scripture, and you got to know outlines and you have to, like, have apologetics and answers for every objection. And I’m just not smart. I just think people would laugh at me. I’m just kind of a blue collar kind. I’m just kind of…I wouldn’t know the first thing. People would just reject me. They would think I would sound so silly.”

Verse 13, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men…” they laughed their heads off and kicked them out of the temple. Is that what your Bible says? No. It says, “..they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” Do you understand this? It is not education that creates boldness.

Boldness is a by-product of being with Jesus. Let me share a secret with you. People expect me to be bold because it’s, like, in my job description. They expect to come in here and kind of hear some crafted, articulated message that hopefully lines up with the Bible, because after all, I went to school. I’m a professional Christian. Right?

But when you take what you hear in here, and you go out there with your blue-collar or grease under your fingernails, or whatever it is that you do, and you get alongside other people that do what you do, and they hear the gospel from you…do you understand it is much more astonishing to them to hear it from you than it is for them to hear it from me?

It’s hard for me to astonish people, because I’m supposed to do this. But when you go out there and do that, they sit back and like, “I never expected to hear that from you. You’re not all that smart. You’re not really that good-looking, but the stuff that comes out of you is astonishing to me.”

And it’s not what you say or how you say it. It’s not your ability to articulate it. It is the fact that you say it alongside of people that are doing and living the same way that you are. That’s astonishing to them. It should be astonishing by the way that you live your life and the things that come out of your mouth.

Getting in the presence of God is what feeds your boldness. Do you see it there in verse 13? These people had been with Jesus. Boldness is simply a side effect of being in the presence of Jesus. So here’s the thing. I’m encouraging you to go out there and be bold. Be bold. Be bold. Be bold. Be bold. Be bold with the gospel. Distribute the offer of salvation.

But do you know that is never going to happen publically unless you prioritize spending time alone with Jesus? Do you know him? Do you love him? Has your world been rocked in his presence? If it has, it’s going to free you up to do all kinds of bold things that you never expected that you could ever do. It’s not your education. It’s not your ability. It is simply your love for Jesus that feeds the boldness and makes you a distributor of the offer of salvation.

Here’s the second thing:

2. Be bold enough to show the changes that you’ve experienced. (v. 14-16)

 

Look here in verse 14. “But seeing the man…” Underline the word “seeing”. But seeing the man “…who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.” Mark it down. They won’t be convinced by what you say. They will be convinced by what they see. Be bold enough to show the changes you’ve experienced. You were a lame man that God has changed, who has strengthened, who has stood.

You’re a person that used to have stinky attitudes. You’re a person that used to have fights and struggles and bitterness and rage in your heart toward other people. And God has changed that. By the way, maybe I’m assuming a little too much here. Has he changed you? How can we expect to go out and offer salvation to people – this life-altering experience with God, if when they look at our lives, we’re not any different than them?

There should be a regular occurrence of people looking at you and saying, “You’re weird. You’ve been married to the same woman for decades. Your kids, you love them even though they are a mess. You forgive people that hurt you. You pay your bills on time.  You don’t steal stuff. And in the weak moments when you did steal stuff, you took it back and asked forgiveness. That’s weird.” It’s not in what you say, it’s in what they see that will make your boldness believable to a world. Be bold enough to show the changes that you’ve experienced.

Again, look at verse 15. “But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, saying, ‘What shall we do with these men?’” They don’t know what to do with us. “..That a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.” Listen, the evidence of a changed life cannot be denied. That’s what makes us bold. That’s what makes our boldness even believable.

Now listen, I realize that the things I’m challenging you to do are some things that it’s like, “I want to do this, I just don’t know how. I need some practical handles.” How do you actually get in a conversation around the gospel? How do you steer a conversation away from Da Bears and Da Cubs and whoever else and how do you steer that into a conversation about Jesus? “There are actually some things that you can learn how to do that? I mean, what Scriptures would I say to people?”

There was a man that came to me again, last night, and he said, “You know what? I went in for a doctor’s appointment. I was having some chest pains. And I went in and the nurse was so nice,and I think maybe to kind of divert my attention from the heart problems I was having, she engaged me in some conversation around the culture and she just simply made this statement. It’s like, ‘What is wrong with this world?’” And he said, “I wanted to say something, but I didn’t really know…” I said, “Dude you missed an opportunity. You know what she was saying? ‘Would you please present the gospel to me?’”

What is the gospel? The gospel news – there’s something wrong with this world. As Christians, we know what it is. We have rebelled against God. We are living under the curse of our sin. That’s why there’s war. That’s why there’s hunger. That’s why there’s natural disaster in the world. That’s why there’s all kinds of dysfunction in this world because we have kicked God off the throne and we’re trying to do it without him.

And the good news is this that God loves us in spite of ourselves. He has sent Jesus into the world, and we even rejected him. We hung him on our cross. Because of our sin, he came off the cross, was put in the grave, God raised him from the dead to overcome the disease of death and sin. And all those who repent and believe can be saved. That’s what’s wrong with the world, and that’s the only way you’re going to survive it. Would you like to accept Jesus right now?

There’s a thousand ways to have that conversation. But you’ve got to be equipped. You say, “Man, I just wish I had known more Bible and I wish I could have just said a verse.” I’m like, Ephesians 2:8-9 would be a great place to start. Listen, there’s a way that we can kind of give ourselves some arsenal when those moments arise.

Now, there’s a lot of great evangelists in our church. There’s a lot of people that are bold in our church. And there are two men in our church that, to my knowledge, may be the boldest men in our church. And I have watched them do this on occasion and just sit back and like, “This is going to be good.” And watched a conversation they were having with somebody who didn’t know the gospel.

And I’ve asked these two men to do something for our church. Next Sunday night at 6 o’clock, I’ve asked these guys to share the tools of the trade. About how to “Share Jesus Without Fear.” Now, by the way, these two guys, they’re not that smart, they are certainly not attractive, but they’re sitting right down here. Kent and Paul, stand up right now and show them how unimpressive you are. Okay? Turn around. Turn around Paul. Let them see.

See these two guys down here? You know these guys? You’ve got to watch these guys work. It is better than going to a football game. All right? So I’ve asked these guys to give us a crash course on evangelism. I know it’s short notice. You weren’t planning on this, but we’ve stuck it on the calendar.

And so next week at 6 o’clock, I’d like to invite all of you who’d like to know how to get equipped to Share Jesus Without Fear. Just show up here at the church. A couple hours for the next three weeks, they’re going to be sharing the trade secrets, and get equipped to do this.

“Well I just don’t really know. I think there’s a good ball game on that night.” Listen, what if I told you these two guys had discovered the cure for cancer, and your family members had cancer? Like, “Well, you know we’ve been praying for our family, and that ball game is really going to be good, but…”

I think you’d figure out a way to get here so that you could distribute the cure for the disease, right? So, these guys are not all that special and there’s a thousand different ways to share all that. But this is just some good, practical, hands-on about how to get it done. I want to invite you to come to that.

Now listen, if you’re a small group leader, I want you to finish whatever curriculum you’re using right now, and I want you to pick up the curriculum these guys are going to be teaching. It’s just in a package. I think it’s in a four-week package and I want the small groups to go through this.

So if you’re a small group leader, I want your next curriculum to be this, Share Jesus Without Fear. Okay? Which means you might want to show up to listen to these guys so that you’ll look smarter when you tell it to your small group. I won’t tell your small group you’re going to do this and learned it all from them. All right? So be bold enough to show the changes that you’ve made.

Here’s the third thing:

 

3. Be bold enough to speak what you have seen and heard. (v. 17-22)

 

Be bold enough to speak what you’ve seen and heard. Look at verse 17. These guys are really upset. They do not like the gospel going out. So verse 17 says, “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.” That’s our plan. We’ll tell them stop. That’ll fix it. And if they don’t stop, we’ll do bad things to them.

So this is their plan. Verse 18, “So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.” And so you can see it there in verse 19. Peter and John answer them, “Oh sorry, we didn’t mean to upset anybody. We realize we were creating a hostile work environment for some. And boy, we really feel bad. We’ll never do that again.”

Is that what your Bible says? Oh that’s not what my Bible says either. You got to watch me on this thing, right? I’m trying to keep you sharp. Well, what did they do? You see if they had looked at them and said, “Okay, we realized it’s not legal to be a Christian. It’s illegal to spread the gospel.” If they had looked at those men and said, “Okay, we’ll stop,” we wouldn’t be here today. Do you understand that?

The Bible would have ended in Acts 4, and there would be no churches. There would be no gospel and there would be no people in heaven. Do you understand what’s at stake in distributing the gospel? That without the distribution of the gospel, no one can believe upon the name of Jesus Christ and be saved?

And so they had a little turmoil going on in their lives. They were realizing, “Okay, we’re either going to have to obey God or we’re going to obey man.” That’s why they said in verse 19, “But Peter and John answered them,” and said, “Whether it is right…” Underline the word “right” in verse 19. Whether it’s right “…in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”

“We have seen a dead man walking. It’s undeniable to us. We have heard the good news that he’s the promised Messiah. That if we would trust in him, our sins would be forgiven. We get a fresh start and new beginning no matter what we’ve done. We can live with God forever. We have seen it and we have heard it and we cannot help but speak it.”

You know what they were saying? “What you are asking us to do is a physical impossibility.” It’s like, okay, “Oh, I just got to tell you! God is so good. His grace…oh sorry, no Jesus on the cross, in my place, as a sub…heaven is so good! It’s going to be so good! The kingdom of God…” It’s an impossibility who have seen and heard the message not to distribute it.

We don’t have to manufacture it. We don’t have to market it. We just have to distribute it. And if you are a Christian, you will distribute the gospel. It’s always the right thing. If you’ve ever wondered, “Is it right in this scenario to actually speak the name of Jesus?” It’s always the right thing to speak the name.

Verse 21, “And when they had further threatened them…” Good luck. “…they let them go, finding no way to punish them because of the people…” What were the people doing? Look at it, verse 21, they “…were praising God for what had happened.” Do you get that?

Listen, the end game of boldness is not evangelism. Do you hear me? The end game of boldness is not building a big church. The end game of evangelism is not rescuing people from hell, as wonderful and as necessary as that is. That’s not the end game.

The end game of boldness is praise. Every soul who has yet to believe, the tragedy is not that they are going to hell. As much as a tragedy as that it. The biggest tragedy is, that is a soul that is robbing God of the praise he is worthy of. The end game of boldness is worship. And so we use boldness to step into places where praise is absent. Boldness must exist where praise does not.

We step into the vacuum of praise and we insert the gospel boldly because we want that place to erupt with praise – namely, in the heart of an unbeliever. And when that person responds in repentance and faith to the gospel, it gives God glory. It gives God honor. All glory, all honor, all wisdom, our praise – it is all deserving of God’s worship.

And so, we speak boldly.

Here’s the last thing:

4. Be bold enough to ask God for help. (v. 23-31)

 

Do you understand how hard this is? This is a really hard thing. So, notice what happened in verse 23. “When they were released they went to their friends…” Praise God for friends. Do you have some friends? Do you have some friends that do this so long with you?

Listen, boldness cannot exist, it cannot bear the weight of threats, when it is not bolstered by an uncommon community of boldness itself. And so it’s our friends, it’s the squad that we run to when we have been threatened, and when we have been intimidated, and when we have been beaten up, and when we are discouraged. We run to our friends just like they did in verse 23. And they said, “I need some help.”

And look at what they did. It says, they “…reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard it…” they knew immediately what to do. What did they do? “They lifted up their voices together to God…” They began to pray, and notice what it says they prayed. They said, “God, will you please kill all of these evil rulers? God, will you please make it easier for us? God, will you please remove the persecution? God, would you please restore the religious freedom that we once enjoyed in our country?”

Is that what your Bible says? That’s not what my Bible says either. That’s not what they prayed. They didn’t pray for freedom. They prayed for boldness. Stop praying for freedom. God never promised you freedom. God tells us that we’re always going to be the minority. We’re the remnant. And so what we need to distribute the gospel is not freedom. We need boldness when there is not freedom.

Notice the first word of their prayer. What is it? “Sovereign.” You know what that word means?

1. God is in control. (v. 23-28)

When you’ve been threatened, when you feel like you have adversity, the first thing you have to fill your mind with is thoughts of God’s sovereignty. And that’s exactly what they did. They said, “Sovereign Lord…” And they went further. “…who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them…” They said, “We can trust the God of creation.”

 

• I can trust the God of creation.

 

Did you know that boldness is sabotaged by every theory of origins that diminishes God’s role in creation? Some of you can’t be bold because you don’t even believe the first two pages of your Bible. You believe that your ancestors lived in a little, primordial soup and were this little amoeba, and they had babies ,and lighting zapped them, and it accelerated everything, and there were these billions and billions and billions of years. You don’t even believe God is sovereign over creation, and yet somehow you’re going to represent him and his offer of salvation?

These people said, “God, we just want to remember. You’re in control. You are the creator of heaven and earth and the sea. And you’re the creator of all these people that we’re going out there to talk to. You love them even more than we do. God, you are creator. We can trust the God of creation.”

Then he goes on in verse 25, “Who through the mouth…” Underline that, “through the mouth.” Who through the mouth “…of our father David, your servant, said, by the Holy Spirit…”

Couple things to notice here. First of all, it is the Holy Spirit that’s inspired Scripture. He’s getting ready to quote for us Psalm 2, and he says the author of that, kind of a double-edged sword, humanly speaking David was the author. God used David’s mouth. But who spoke through David’s mouth? The Holy Spirit. Do you understand? They understood they could trust the God of revelation.

 

• I can trust the God of revelation.

 

That this God who exists outside of human history, outside of time and space, has spoken into where we live and he has used the mouth of a human being to speak transcendent truth.

God wants to speak through your mouth too. To distribute the message. Thorough the mouth of David. What did David say? Verse 25, he’s quoting Psalm 2. “Why did the Gentiles rage and the peoples plot in vain?” He’s just kind of unpacking him in history here. There’s always been Gentiles raging. Enemies of God that think they can figure God out on their own. “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed.”

There’s always been opposition to the gospel. And so you know what, they understand this was not anything different than has ever happened in human history. God is sovereign. They can trust the God of history.

 

• I can trust the God of history.

 

Look at verse 27, “…for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate…” Those were the guys, humanly-speaking, who were responsible for hanging Jesus on the cross. “…along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel…” Verse 28, “…to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.”

Man, they knew God was in control. God had a plan. God hasn’t changed his plan. And God’s plan would never fail. Do you understand that as evangelists, we believe that as we distribute the gospel, God is responsible for the results? God has promised he’s at work. His Spirit is still moving. His plan is still in effect. His plan involves us. He wants to speak through our mouths as well.

Verse 29, “’And now, Lord, look upon their threats…” I love that. It’s like, “Hey God, do you see what they’re doing to us? God, as long as we know you’re looking at their threats, we’re not gonna. We’re not gonna take our eye off the ball of distribution. We’ll let you look at their threats. We’re going to keep our eye on the ball.” And now Lord, look upon their threats “…and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness…”

Verse 30, “’…while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’ And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was together shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.” They knew that God was in control and they knew that God was still on the job.

 

1. God is on the job. (v. 29-31)

 

God shook the place where they were. I think it was just kind of a loving act of God to say, “Hey guys, I hear you. I’m up here. I’m not taking a day off. I am on it.” I wonder as we conclude this service today if we might be so bold as to pray the way they prayed. Would you be willing to pray that God would shake you? And fill you? And embolden you?

 

• Shake me!
• Fill me!

 

• Embolden me!

 

Some of us need to be shaken. Out of our complacency. Out of our comfort zone. Out of our religion. And understand, we haven’t been good distributors. God, would you shake me? And then God, would you fill me like Peter? I do not want to go out into this world to try to do my job without you doing it through me. It’s not up to me. I don’t have the resources. I don’t have the education. I don’t have the persuasion to do this. But God, if you will fill me, I’ll be responsible and be a good distributor. And God, would you make me bold? Would you embolden me?