Scripture:
Acts 4:18-22 NKJV
[18] So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. [19] But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. [20] For we can not but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” [21] So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done. [22] For the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed.
Observation:
I love the beginning of the Book of Acts. The first several chapters are very exciting to me. We see the birth of the church. The Holy Spirit delivered, and the apostles started walking in the authority and power given to them by Jesus Christ HIMSELF. They had found a boldness that they had never known prior to the Holy Spirit. This story we are looking at this morning actually starts in chapter 3 as Peter and John called on the name of Jesus to heal a lame beggar. The metrical caught the attention of the religious leaders of that time. I mean, how could it not? The scripture says they had seen him sitting there day after day week after week. Everyone knew him as the lame beggar who sat at the gate called Beautiful. Yet now he was walking, jumping, and dancing through the streets. The religious leaders didn’t understand how this had happened. So they brought Peter and John in to be questioned. Of course, Peter, with his newfound boldness given to him by the Holy Spirit, had no problem telling them it was all Jesus. Yes, the one you nailed to the cross… yes, the one that was placed in the tumb… that Jesus the very one you thought you had gotten rid of. It’s in HIS name that this miracle has happened. However, the religious leaders did not want to hear that. So they told Peter and John not to speak of Jesus. Don’t even mention or teach anything about HIM. Peter was not having that he knew how this had happened, and he knew what was right. He reminded me back to the morning of the shore eating fish with the one he had denied 3 times yet being restored that very day, and he just could not deny HIM again. No matter the cost. It was no longer man that Peter cared about, but GOD. He would rather die doing what is right than live with the guilt of doing the wrong thing again. He just couldn’t deny Jesus again. So, with one last ditch effort, the religious leaders made a few more threats and turned them loose. Peter and John knew whose opinion mattered and it was not the men they had stood in front of. They knew that they did not have to defend themselves or explain anything because they were right in GOD’S eyes, nothing else mattered.
Application:
Who are we really trying to please anyway? Let me ask you something. Do you alter or change what you want to say according to the crowd of people you are around? Are you afraid to speak the truth because of fear of those who are in your presence? I can’t help it personally. I know who saved my life and made me a new creation, and I’m honestly just not afraid to say it. In fact, I’m more afraid not to say it. The Bible says if you confess me before men, then I will confess you before the Father, but if you deny me before men, I will deny you before the Father. If we have a fear of talking about what Jesus has done, we need to just get our feet wet and tell one person. Once you break the ice, the boldness will come. I remember when I first got saved. I could feel the Holy Spirit prompt me to tell someone about the new life I had found. But my flesh would rise up… and I would think, but what if they don’t welcome the conversation and tell me they don’t care about it or reject what I’m saying? Then, I was directed to what Jesus said… they are not rejecting you they are rejecting ME, and it helped me to see that none of this is about me. It’s about HIM, and what they thought about me didn’t matter. But what I thought about HIM did. So I decided to give it a try and found that there was nothing to be afraid of. Most people gladly received the conversation about HIM. Some didn’t, but what mattered was the seed that was planted. That’s what I was responsible for. You see, it all comes down to sowing seeds. Whether or not a man’s heart is ready to receive the seed is not up to you. That’s up to GOD. After sharing what GOD had done the first few times, it got really easy. My fear was gone, and now you can’t shut me up… in case you couldn’t tell from this SOAP. I no longer care what others think about me because I know it’s not me they are accepting or rejecting. It’s Jesus who lives inside of me. I have a purpose. GOD made me for a specific calling. Just like HE made you. GO and make disciples. But if we are afraid of what man thinks, we allow the enemy to silence us, and that’s just not how HE created us. HE uses man to speak to man. HE takes the broken puts together a Mosaic and presents it to the world through testimony. So my encouragement to you today is to be bold and tell at least one person what GOD has done for you. If you have breath, you have something to tell. Remove any fear of what others think and consider what the Father thinks of you.
Prayer:
Father, we know that your plan is so much greater than we can understand. We also know that you have chosen to use man to advance your plan. You pick us up out of the muck and change us from pigs to sheep and all to advance your kingdom. We ask for boldness. Remove our fear of what man thinks and give us words to say that will draw people into your kingdom. We know that it is because of the blood of your SON that we have a testimony at all. So let us not be afraid to speak of what HE has done. Fill us with your Holy Spirit so that when we speak, the words will have authority. That same authority you gave Peter and John as they walked into the temple. Guide us into the right things to say in your eyes and help us to speak the absolute truth seasoned with grace so that it is received and we are not cutting the ears off of those who need you. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus I pray amen.