May 29, 2005Reverend
Richard B. KnightCategory
- New Testament OverviewActs
4:13-31This
month we’re studying the Book of Acts, known as the Acts of the Apostles. This
book contains the earliest days of the Christian Church. Jesus trained his
disciples to carry out his earthly ministry once he would return to heaven. He
trained them for the 3 years that he was with them. He retrained them for 40
days following his resurrection, leading up to his ascension to heaven. Then on
the Day of Pentecost, 10 days after the Ascension, the Holy Spirit fell upon
those disciples left behind and the church was born. Acts is their story - of
course it’s really God’s story lived through them.Last
Sunday we looked at one theme in the book of Acts, namely awe - an overwhelming
sense of reverence. The early church had a keen awareness of God’s presence,
power & greatness. We said we who live in a such a technological,
scientific age would do well to cultivate a sense of awe within us -awe
before the mysteries of life & of God. There’s one other dominant theme in
the book that would also serve us well in our discipleship. And that’s
boldness.Let’s
look at Acts 4:13-31(setting
- Peter & John have healed a man “in the name of Jesus”)13
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were
uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized them as companions
of Jesus. 14When they saw the man who had been cured standing beside them, they
had nothing to say in opposition. 15So they ordered them to leave the council
while they discussed the matter with one another. 16They said, ‘What will we do
with them? For it is obvious to all who live in Jerusalem that a notable
sign has been done through them; we cannot deny it. 17But to keep it from
spreading further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone
in this name.’ 18So they called them and ordered them not to speak or teach at
all in the name of Jesus. 19But Peter and John answered them, ‘Whether it is
right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; 20for
we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard.’ 21After
threatening them again, they let them go, finding no way to punish them because
of the people, for all of them praised God for what had happened. 22For the man
on whom this sign of healing had been performed was more than forty years old.23
After they were released, they went to their friends* and reported what the
chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24When they heard it, they
raised their voices together to God and said, ‘Sovereign Lord, who made the
heaven and the earth, the sea, and everything in them, 25it is you who said by
the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant:“Why did the Gentiles rage, and the
peoples imagine vain things? 26The
kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers have gathered together
against the Lord and against his Messiah.”*27For in this city, in fact, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the
Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, gathered together against your holy servant*
Jesus, whom you anointed, 28to do whatever your hand and your plan had
predestined to take place. 29And now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant to
your servants* to speak your word with all boldness, 30while you stretch out
your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your
holy servant* Jesus.’ 31When they had prayed, the place in which they were
gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and
spoke the word of God with boldness.Webster’s dictionary defines bold as “courageous or daring.” That certainly
describes the early Christians. Bold is also one of Luke’s favorite words that
he uses to describe them.Acts 4:13 - When people
saw the boldness of Peter & John and they were amazed because they were
uneducated and ordinary men.Act 9:27,29 - Paul preached boldly in the name of the Jesus,
boldly in the name of the LordActs 13:46 - Paul &
Barnabas are in Antioch and it says
nearly the whole town turned out to hear them and they spoke out boldly Acts 14:3 - Paul & Barnabas remained in Iconium a long time speaking boldly for
the LordActs 19:8 - Paul entered the synagogue and for 3 months spoke out boldly and argued
persuasively about the kingdom of God.Bold Christians. The concept makes people nervous today, doesn’t it?- Bold Christians.Can that be good?I
think it make us nervous because some people have confused boldness with
arrogance. We’ve all had people try to shove their brand of Christianity down
our throats, claiming that they’re the only ones who’ve got it right.Boldness is a Christian virtue.
Rudeness is not.We can have convictions without
condescension.We can be strong in our faith but not
arrogant in our approach.“Speaking the truth in love,” as St. Paul put it.“Restoring such a one gently,” Galatians
6.Christian boldness, Holy boldness - is
a beautiful thing. Let’s take a look at it and see it in action.In Acts chapter 4, Peter and John have been called before the council of
religious leaders. They had been preaching about Jesus the Messiah and
healing people in his name.Vs. 18 - So the council “called them and
ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.” But Peter
answered, “Whether it is right in God’s
sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep
from speaking about what we have seen and heard.” Peter says, “You’ll have
to decide if it’s OK for us to listen to you or to God, but we’re just going to
keep telling people about this Jesus we know. That’s Holy Boldness.They have it again in chapter 5.The
High Priest has all the Apostles arrested for teaching about Jesus in Jerusalem. During their
night in prison, an angel comes down and opens the prison doors and leads them
out and tells them go back to preaching. And so they do, right back to the
temple to proclaim that the Messiah has come. Holy Boldness.When
they’re brought before the council again, they give basically the same answer
as before - “We must obey God rather than
human authority.”They’re
bold in obeying God in spite of the consequences. Are we?They’re also bold in their perseverance. That’s one of the main story
lines in the book of Acts.They’re imprisoned. They go back to
preaching.They’re beaten. They go back to
preaching.Stephen’s martyred for preaching. They
go back preaching.They’re thrown out of town -- go to
next townThey’re bold in their perseverance. Are we?Aren’t
we often tempted to give up at the first setback?- the first criticism- the first opposition- the first misunderstanding- the first failureHere
we are in chapters 4 & 5 and the Apostles have already been taken captive
twice, brought before the council twice, and thrown in jail, and do you think
they’re going to give up? We wouldn’t be here if they had.Holy,
Persevering Boldness.Another example of the boldness of their faith is found in Chapter 16.Paul
has been thrown in jail again. Listen to how Luke tells it.22The
crowd joined in attacking them (Paul & Silas), and the magistrates had them
stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods. 23After
they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered
the jailer to keep them securely. 24Following these instructions, he put them
in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.25
About midnight Paul and Silas
were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to
them. 26Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of
the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and
everyone’s chains were unfastened.How
bold is that? They’re beaten, flogged (whipped), and thrown into the darkest
cell in the prison. And what they do?The start praying & singing to God. That’s a HOLY boldness.It’s
also some of the purest praise that we ever offer to God - to sing when our
hearts are heavy, to pray when our spirits are crushed, to praise even when
hope seems lost. There is a boldness to such faith. It’s Job saying,
“Nevertheless, I will praise him.”Illustration. I think of Mary Davis picking the hymns for
her memorial service. She called me back 3 times to review the list, and she
kept adding to it.And
as she thought of all her favorite hymns and sung them in her heart to God,
death was no longer the enemy. The chains were unfastened and she was free.Holy
Boldness.There’s some more Holy Boldness in chapters 10 & 15.I mentioned this last Sunday.First,
think about religions for a minute - do religions change quickly? Do religions
adapt quickly? No. Religious tend to adapt and change very, very slowly largely
because a big part of religion is tradition. Most religions have a specific
tradition to preserve and hand down to the next generation.Changes are made to religious traditions very
slowly and only after much careful consideration. Think about that as we
consider the next bold act of the early church.One of the great dilemmas of the early church was did Gentiles
have to practice Jewish religious customs to become Christians? The first
disciples were all Jews. They celebrated Passover and all the other festivals.
Most of them continued to follow the laws concerning what to eat & what not
to eat. They were all Jews - Jewish followers of Jesus. But Peter & Paul
began to share the good news of Jesus with non-Jews, Gentiles. So the question
came up - did these non-Jews have to become Jews to be Christ-followers? And
the early church said no - just come to Christ.Now that was radical for them - bold.It suggests that religion sometimes
has to evolve, change.That’s one of my favorite things about our church - we evolve . . . change. And you as a
congregation are much more open to change than people think & more than
most people realize.- guitars in church, children
everywhere- two services, a woman preacher- new members, new people in
leadership roles- new hymnals, new songs, new Bibles- we even carpeted Moody Hall(Now that’s boldness)Illustration. Our denomination has come out with an identity campaign, and
part of it has involved a few TV commercials. Linda wrote about this in a very
bold article in the newspaper. One of our denomination’s ads was deemed too
controversial to air because it depicted what appeared to be a gay couple
coming to worship in one of our churches. I don’t think Jesus would have called
that controversial - the church welcoming all people. I think Jesus would have
called it “Love.” And perhaps our religion has to keep evolving into love?One last bit of boldness that I found prominent in the Book of Acts
concerns Peter & Paul. They are the central characters in the book, aside
from the Holy Spirit who is the main character. Peter & Paul are the
primary movers & shakers in the early church. And they’re both unlikely
leaders.Peter was not the most stable and steady of the disciples.Once
he was telling Jesus that the Messiah shouldn’t have to suffer and die, and
Jesus had to say to him, “Get behind me, Satan.” Peter could be impulsive,
emotional, jump out of the boat & walk on water and then sink.He
also did something rather embarrassing and disappointing. At the night of the
Last Supper he told Jesus he would never leave his side, he would be with him
until the very end. Jesus said, “Peter, tonight you’ll deny me, more than
once.” And so he did as you know, as Jesus was being arrested and beaten, three
times Peter denied ever knowing him.So
fast forward 40 days to the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit has fallen upon
the believers, and wild things are happening, and God needs someone to stand up
and boldly tell everyone what’s going on. And who does God pick?Peter. And does Peter say, “No, I’m no longer
worthy. Chose someone else.”No.
Peter proclaimed the word of the Lord boldly.- “Men of Judea and all Jerusalem, listen to what
I have to say!”It’s
takes a little bit of boldness to go on in the faith after you’ve messed up.St. Paul is another example in the book of Acts. We talked about
this last week. Before Paul was a saint he was quite a sinner - a fierce
persecutor of Christians - Saul he was called. Paul was so ashamed of his past
that he once called himself the worst of all sinners, the chief among sinners.But did that stop him from
preaching?(No)And how did he preach?- with boldness.On a personal note, I have found their examples inspiring.Because
they found out that God’s grace was bigger than their failures.And
that their failures did not disqualify them from serving God. They served God
boldly.Holy Boldness.That’s what the early church had.- in the face of hardship &
opposition,- in the culture & climate that
did not usually embrace them- in their darkest moments, in prison
cells- in their challenging & even
confusing momentsThey continued boldly in faith and
discipleship.I’ll leave you with just one
question:Is there any place in our Christian
lives today, in your life & mine as
Christians . . . Is there any area where we are bold?In my discipleship, in my following
Christ today, am I ever bold as a Christian?Are you ever bold?That’s
the assignment this week - do something bold for God’s sake.Amen.Holy Spirit, give us a boldness
that is holy and courageous and even daring at times. Thank you for the example
of the earliest Christians. Make us bold to serve you. Bold to speak when that
is called for. Bold to believe. Bold to pray, to dream, to act. And most of all
make us bold to love. In your name. Amen.
