Bold As Lions

Welcome to Verse by Verse. Thank you so much for joining us as we take a look at the book of Acts. We take things nice and slowly as we look and see what God is doing in the big picture of expanding the gospel from Jerusalem to Judea and to Samaria and to the ends of the earth. My name is David Humphrey and I'm the pastoral care and missions pastor here at United City Church in Humboldt, Texas. We're excited to be your church family while you're incarcerated, but we're going to be even more excited when you get out and you can come and be a part of our church in person. We love you very much. Please grab your Bible and a journal, perhaps a pen, and be ready to take some notes, and let's learn together through the book of Acts. Now we are. Great. All right, super glad that you've joined us. For those of you that are watching us online, both tonight and those that will be watching it a little bit later, we're so glad to have you and we love all of you. There's a room full of people. All the room full of people just say, hello! And you can hear there's a lot of folks that are in here with us, so we're super glad you've joined us for the book of Acts. We are still in chapter 4 and for the last several weeks we've been using some principles and I'm just gonna, I've decided I'm just going to bring them up every week. I think these are four of the greatest principles that will help you in your own Bible reading, not just when you study in this room, but when you study. And there were four things that we're supposed to do. We're supposed to read it how? Slowly. Yes, obediently, prayerfully, imaginatively. I'll tell you two of them I'm just going to harp on for just a minute. Slowly means if you'll take your time you will see amazing things in God's Word. Sometimes we we don't take our time, we just get in a big hurry and we miss a lot of the details and some of the best stuff is in all the little details. For those that might be new online or in the room, we take it slow in here. So we're not in any hurry. So reading it slowly and then reading it imaginatively, that just means think about what might have been happening at the time. Like what was going on around them? What was happening sort of between the lines? And so we're not adding to Scripture, we're

just using our heads and remembering that there were there are contexts and and things and we have to think about how it all flows together, some of the emotions. So we don't want to miss any of those things. But we are going to read, I'm going to start reading in Acts chapter 4 and verse 5, just to be sure that we get the context. Some of this we read last week but we can never read the Bible too much, that's for sure. There's no such thing as overdosing on the Bible. So Acts chapter 4, I'm going to begin reading in verse 5 and I like to read from the ESV, but you read from whatever you've got. If you'll just listen in to this. So Acts chapter 4 starting in verse 5 says the following. 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 and when they had set them in the midst they inquired by what power or by what name did you do this? Then Peter filled with the Holy Spirit said to them, rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today 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 all the people of Israel that 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. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone and there is salvation in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated common men they were astonished and recognized that they had been with Jesus. But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them they had nothing to say in opposition. But when they had commanded them to leave the council they conferred with one another saying, what shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and we cannot deny it. 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. So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and

John answered them, whether it is 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. And when they had further threatened them they let them go finding no way to punish them because of the people because all were praising God for what had happened. For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than 40 years old. Thanks be to God for not only just the reading of his word but the fact that we're not reading fairy tales, friends. We are reading a real-life account of something that happened on the planet Earth and Jerusalem. So I want to sort of bring it together and then we're gonna really start sort of midway with that. But you know, when we left off last week, we were talking about how Peter and John had been brought before all these guys that we read. All the religious power players were there. They were all trying to weigh in some kind of judgment because these guys were claiming that Jesus was resurrected. Well, that was already super problematic. They were like, wait, wait, wait, you're talking, wait, we don't believe that. But that was, anybody remember which religious group was really into rejecting the resurrection? Sadducees. You ever heard that, you know they're sad, you see, because they don't believe in the resurrection. That'd make me sad too. But anyway, they were claiming that Jesus was resurrected from the dead and now the power of that resurrected Jesus is actually flowing through them.

They're doing the kind of things that the resurrected Jesus had been doing. So they thought they had squashed the movement, but actually the movement is just growing like wildfire. You know, thousands upon thousands, we've already seen. And then of course, they were now healing people or in Jesus' name, people are being healed. And one of those is literally, as we read this, standing right beside them. It said he was clinging to them. Like, can't you just see him? He's just like, I can't believe this is happening. I mean, guys, remember, we just read that final verse. The man was 40 years old. He had never walked a day in his life. He was lame from birth. And he's just standing there, not just walking, but what else was he doing? Dancing. Walking and jumping and praising God. Write some little song about that. But he was just so excited. He was just able, fully mobile. No, I had to teach that man to walk. He just got up and went. So that's where we are. And basically, then of course, they asked, it's kind of a silly question, how did you do this? Was basically the question that they asked. And Peter was like, oh, I'm so glad you asked, right?

He was like, okay, thank you for the layup, right? Thanks, just the perfect setup. And so then he starts preaching another super bold message about what Jesus has done, who Jesus is, how he fits into the history of the world. And so what's going on? So that's the context. And Paul, I mean, Peter, sorry, is preaching about his understanding of how Jesus fits into history. And last week we talked about an important concept that is the Bible is not a book of stories. It is a story. It is one big story with a whole lot of chapters. And they're all pointing to Jesus. Every single story, guys. Leviticus is pointing to Jesus. Genesis chapter one is pointing to Jesus. Revelation chapter 21, I think is the last one, 22, I can't remember, is it 22, 22, pointing to Jesus. Guys, everything, it's all pointing to Jesus. All you have to do is just start digging and you will find him. Some pages, he's super explicit. It's like you just can't miss him. He's jumping off the page. Other pages, he's just sort of woven in quietly. Maybe it's, you have to look at verses in light of other verses to see it. But guys, it's all pointing to Jesus.

And I think Peter already knew that. I think Peter had that understanding that Jesus is the Messiah, the son of the living God. So, then I love what he says. He says, let it be known to you and the people of Israel, okay? He said several things that were very, very important. He said, this miracle that took place, took place by the name of, what were the names that he called it? Jesus. Jesus Christ of Nazareth, right? Jesus, you know that guy? You remember Jesus? That's what he's trying to tell them. But this is Jesus, the Messiah, the one from Nazareth, right? He is the son of God. He is the son of man. This is who we're talking about. He's the one you killed, but God brought him back to life. That was always the plan. He says, this is the Jesus that was the fulfillment of prophecies from David and Isaiah. Remember last week, we talked about two different places where Jesus was called the cornerstone. Remember, one of those was in Isaiah and one of those was in the Psalms. He was called the chief cornerstone that was rejected by who? The builders.

The builders. And who did Peter say were the builders? He's basically saying, all of you, let's just say we were the council. He's like, you are the builders that rejected the cornerstone. You actually rejected the most important piece of the whole thing you're building. For those of you who are engineers or kind of have that architectural mindset. He's like, this is the most important thing and you rejected him. He's the one that holds it all together. So he calls them out. Then he says, Jesus has the only name. by which we must be what? Saved. He said there is no other name. There's only one name given among men by which we must be saved and that is the name of Jesus. What he is inferring is you need to be saved. You're not saved. You've rejected Jesus. He might as well just be saying you are going to spend eternity apart from God because you have rejected God's Messiah. Guys, there's no way to overstate how bold Peter is being in these moments. He is speaking to the most powerful religious leaders in the land and who does he remind you of? Well, Peter is who we're speaking of, but who else was bold before religious leaders? John the Baptist was. Paul certainly is going to be. We're going to spend a lot of time with Paul as we get into further in Acts, but guys, there's this man named Jesus who, when the moment called for it, he was as bold as a lion, but when he was being, when he was on trial, he was really quiet. He could have stood up and roared, but we who kind of looked into that, and if you look at those chapters in the end of Luke, you find Jesus mostly quiet. Sometimes, as Isaiah had prophesied, right, as a sheep being led to the slaughter, he didn't

even open his mouth. So Jesus knew the times to be bold and loud. He knew the times to be quiet, but Peter, Peter's calling him out. It reminds me of those times when Jesus was calling him whitewashed tombs. Remember that? Yeah, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Like, that's not really, those are fighting words, but Jesus used him, and so basically what Peter is saying is you need to be saved. There's only one way to be saved. There's only one name you need to call on. It's the name of that Jesus that you crucified and rejected. You know the cornerstone that the builders rejected? He said the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone and absolutely the sure foundation. So it's kind of like, let's think about if we had, let's say we had an incurable disease and they came up with the cure, but we're like, well, we don't want the medicine. Guys, that's what it is. They're rejecting the cure for their disease, but you have to admit you have the disease, right, and sin is like a cancer that eats away at us. I'm telling you, all of us have seen, and you can see it in the mirror, but you have seen people where sin takes them farther than they mean to go, and it keeps them longer than they mean to stay. I don't like the word stupid, okay. I know my mama told me not to call people stupid, but you know sin makes us stupid. Have you ever noticed that? Like it just makes us, we just like, we just like lose all sense of wisdom, and we need a cure, and Peter speaks up and says, I've got, we got the cure, we got the cure, but it's only in that name. So now, that's all introductory. Now let's jump into what we're talking about brand new tonight. Verse 13, here we go. When they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated common men, they were astonished and recognized they had been with Jesus. Guys, we mentioned this last week, but these men who are so amazed by their boldness were the opposite of what they just described. They were educated, they were upper-class, these are highly respected people, and they're going, you? Peter? What was Peter by trade? Remember what he was before he left it? He was a fisherman. Guys, fishermen were not high on the totem pole. This is not, they were not highly respected. Oh, let's go ask the fishermen what they think of things. No,

guys, this is like the trashman, right? You know, this is like the, this is like the farmer, you know, just out, just, just out doing the work that feeds all of us. These are not people on the top. What were you gonna say, Dave? Okay. All these leaders, religious leaders, we know that ... we know that probably Joseph, the Pharaoh was sitting there? Yes. There had to be others. The Bible doesn't tell us except later on, when you start seeing priests and scribes getting saved. Yes. But you gotta wonder, the Bible just doesn't tell. I know that story one of these days. Yeah. Why all those religious leaders, somebody wasn't standing up, other than cowardice? Yeah. Well, I ... Wait a minute. This guy ... Jesus, who we crucified, was the Messiah. That's right. I think you nailed it. It's cowardice. I bet there were others among those religious leaders who were thinking, hmm. You know, I mean, they're kind of scratching their heads and they're going, the evidence, right? You know, I mean, some people, they're looking for the logic of it, right? I've got, we've got a really, a young man who's a friend of mine. He's a young adult. He attends our church a lot, but he's quick to tell you that he has not given his life to Christ. He's very, very smart. And now, it's not bad to be smart, but he's trying to figure it out. Guys, he shows up to Bible studies. He shows up to worship service. But he's trying, he's trying to figure it out. And I wonder if that was not some of what was going on, right? That there were men in the crowd, but none of them were as bold as Peter. And what obviously we know was the source of Peter's boldness was the Holy Spirit, right? The Holy Spirit was in Peter

because Peter, just two weeks before this, was not bold enough to stand up and do this. In fact, what was Peter doing on the night of Jesus' crucifixion? He's denying Christ just a few weeks before. And now he's standing up, which could lead to his death. And he's like, I don't care. I believe in Jesus. This is the one. So the boldness had come through the Holy Spirit. So I think those men, if the light bulb hadn't turned on and they hadn't opened their hearts, then the Holy Spirit was not living inside them and giving them that boldness. So they were cowards. And so that's what we see. And I love verse 13 because basically they're just like, there's no other explanation for this. It's not because they're really smart. It's not because this guy is kind of upper class. They said, it's just, they've just been with Jesus. That's the only thing we know. They didn't know, oh, he's full of the Holy Spirit. They don't know what a Holy Spirit was. They didn't watch the tongues of fire fall on him. So they are seeing the boldness and they're like, we don't understand what's going on. But verse 14, they couldn't deny that this had happened because number one, the guy's standing right there. They're like, we can't really say that this didn't happen, although we'd like to, but the testimony could not be refuted.

That's why there's something so powerful in testimony. Testimony is one of the most, I think it's one of the least understood aspects of evangelism. People get scared, evangelism is not a big word, it just seems so scary telling people about Jesus. You know what you need to do? Tell somebody that Jesus has changed your life. Tell them what happened. Like, you know, I love Amazing Grace, right? I once was lost, but now I'm found. I was blind and now I see. You could not, I mean, the guy would say, you know what? I was lame. I laid down for 40 years and I'm standing here. And it happened because in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I was raised up. And so guys, if we would just use testimony and just say, look, the proof, I'm living proof. You can say what you want to about theology and about Bible verses, but look, I met Jesus and I am a different person because I know Jesus. Yeah, you can't refute it. I love, I know you guys know this verse, Revelation chapter 12, verse 11. Somebody read that verse for us. Revelation. This is a spiritual warfare verse for sure. But this is talking about the saints at the end of time and it talks about, it also fits for we who are his saints today in 2026. How does it say that they overcame Satan in Revelation chapter 12, verse 11? By the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimonies. Do you guys, they just put up those two things as if they were somehow of equal weight. I'm not saying that a word of our testimony,

because the word of our testimony cannot save like the blood of the Lamb. Okay, the blood of the Lamb is one of a kind. Nothing else can say, but guys, do you understand the weight that it's putting on? Like when we say I was this and now I am this. There is power in that. And so people can disagree with their theology. They can go, well, you know, I don't believe the Bible came together. And you know, it's just a bunch of men. We've all heard people that we've talked to, right? Who don't believe in Jesus and they say, well, I can't really believe the Bible because what do people say? What do people say when they don't believe the Bible? Bunch of stories written by men. It's been a long time ago. You know there's all sorts. It's not relevant. Yeah, it's not relevant. People will say, so people will give you a thousand reasons why they don't believe the Bible, but you know something? They can't say anything to the fact of I was this and I am this. I'll call him out because he's a good friend of mine, but Jeff Oliver right back on the back row there, he's a good friend of mine, and I didn't know Jeff before he got saved, but he's told me all about it. And I'm just going to tell you, I know a Jeff that's very different than the Jeff before he got saved. The only Jeff I know is the redeemed by the blood of the Lamb Jeff. But many of you in this room could tell me the story of the old you, the before you met Jesus you. And I know some of us would say, well, I was saved when I was five, and I didn't live a life of sin. That's okay guys. You're still being transformed and changed. And so don't ever discount your testimony just because you were saved when you were young. Thank God that you were saved and you didn't have to go through all the things that people, you know, who lived a life that was just all over the place in the world. So all those things to say they couldn't deny the testimony. And so in verses 15 and 16, it says here that they sent them out. They're like, okay, well, we can't really deny that the guy is, you know, actually there's something that's happened here. This guy is alive. I mean, he's standing here. Can't deny that. So now we're going to just send them out and let's figure out what to do.

Then basically verses 15 and 16, you can see that, well, they told them to leave and they said, well, what should we do? Can't you just see them? They're like, guys, this is a problem. What are we going to do with them? And what was the problem that was happening? It's that they called it a notable sign that happened. What do we call that? A miracle. They're like, well, a notable sign has happened. So, you know, we can't really deny the fact that there was a man who had been laying down for 40 years, and now he's standing up and jumping around and calling on the name of Jesus. So, well, that's real. We've all watched it, right? This is not a magic trick. This guy is still standing there. So that was their notable sign. But then they also said the word is spreading all over the place. So they're like, and now everybody's talking about it. So we can't really squash it that way. So they come up with a brilliant plan, guys. I mean, verse 17 is, I mean, like the plan of all plans. They really thought this one out. I mean, somebody read their brilliant plan in verse 17 for us. Can we just all laugh together? Let's tell these guys, we're going to warn them. Don't speak any more in the name of Jesus. Guys, that's just so laughable. But the thing is, it's funny because they were just like, well, that's all we can come up with. I mean, like we can't public, like, you know, what are we going to do? We're going to flog them? Well, that's not going to go well, right? Because they've got the people are for what's happening. The people are being positive about the things that are happening. And so they couldn't punish them in some way. They could see that. And so like, well, we'll just tell them, you know, you need to stop talking. Just don't speak any more in Jesus' name. So then they bring them back in, verse 18, right? They said, okay, let's bring them in. Here's, we got all the big guns. Can't you just see them all puffed up like, oh, we got, here we go. They're like, okay, don't speak or teach any more in Jesus' name.

And I wonder if Peter laughed. I just wonder if they just sort of chuckled like we did. I mean, did they really think this was going to work? That's an honest question. Do you think when they said that they thought it was going to work? What do you think, Paul? You've got to remember the power that these people had over the Jewish people. Their word was more than law to the Jewish people. They fully expected, because it had happened for centuries, when they said this is to be done or this is not to be done, it was either done or not done, whatever they said. There was no arguing. There was no bickering. There was no blowback of any kind, at least not on the surface, that would be visible. I might write the Mary Jo poem about something like that, but I would never do it in public. Because they were afraid that if they offended these religious leaders, that might lead to an offense of God himself. So they thought this had tremendous power over these men, but they didn't have the Holy Spirit living with them. They hadn't really dealt with the Holy Spirit, right? They just really couldn't understand that the same power that was behind Jesus' miracles, guys, you understand? It was the Holy Spirit power in Jesus that let Him turn water into wine and make these few little fishes and all these little fish. loaves of bread to feed all those people, guys, that's the same power. And let's just push that forward. We have the Holy Spirit power living in us, guys. We have the Holy Spirit power. The power should not have, I mean, God's power has not diminished. Maybe we're not accessing the power, but guys, the power is still the power. It is the power of the Holy Spirit. So verse 19 and 20, classic, Peter and John answered, well, whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge. But we cannot, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard. Two things there. Do you understand?

Let's look at the wording there. Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge. Do you hear what they're saying? So what is he inferring by saying those words in that order? Well, yeah, that's your problem. That's for sure. Thank you, Peggy. In the 2026 version, that's your problem. We're going to do what we want to. But do you see they're pitting them against God? Basically, what they're saying, you think you're speaking for God, and I think I'm speaking for God. So we're just going to let, as he says, whether it's right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, do you see that? He's saying you are not speaking for God, even though they believe they were speaking for God. He said, it's either you or God, which is just kind of comical. And they're like, well, we cannot but speak of what we've seen and heard. Look, we've seen it. We've experienced it. You're not going to shut us up. There's nothing that's going to stop us. And so basically, if you think God wants you to judge us in this way, that's fine. We answer to a higher authority, and we're not backing down. Guys, this is in the line of civil disobedience that many of the saints of God throughout the Bible have lived in. Now, I know that kind of gets a little bit, wait, wait, wait, what are we talking about? Guys, these are religious leaders, but they had authority in the society. And so can anybody, well, before we do that, I want you to turn to Matthew 10.

We're going to read verses 18 through 22, because I want you to see what's happening here in light of Jesus's prediction of what was going to happen. Matthew 10, verses 18 through 22. And I will read that. It says this. Jesus is speaking to his disciples. And we'll just go back to verse 17. No, we'll just do 16. Why not? It's also good. Jesus said, Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. So be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Now listen to this. Beware of men. They will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake to bear witness before them and to the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. It is not you who speak, but the spirit of your father speaking through you. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next. For truly I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. Oh, it just keeps going. A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher and the servant like his master. If they call the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they malign those of his

household? Guys, those last couple of verses are basically saying if Jesus was persecuted, you should expect the same. Am I greater than my master? And so I can imagine that Peter might have been thinking back to that passage. Hey, remember when Jesus said we could expect this was coming? And I'm sure that that gave him a boldness when the Holy Spirit reminded him of it. But basically this whole idea of standing up against authority is a tricky one. Most of us have probably read or at least have the understanding of Romans 13. Do you remember what Romans 13 says? says about authority? We've got to be subject to it. That's what Paul said. And yet, we see throughout the Bible men and women of God defying government authorities in the name of God. What would be some examples of what we would call civil disobedience in the name of God? From the Old Testament to the New. We're seeing some right here, but somebody else. What's an example that you can think of of a story you know? Daniel. Perfect. Yes, Daniel is a great example. They said, stop praying. He said, I'm not stopping praying. You see, I answer to a higher authority than you. Okay? What's another example? Think about the book of Exodus. Okay. Joseph. Yes. Yes. Think early in the book of Exodus. I'll give you a hint. Okay. In the Pharaoh and Moses story, let's go back to even before Moses, right at Moses's birth, Moses's parents, what did they do? They disobeyed authority. And they hid that baby. Okay. The Hebrew midwives, when they were told to do what? Yeah, they were told, kill those babies when they're born. And remember what the midwives said? Give birth too fast. They're just too strong. It's kind of funny. But, but yeah, so you see, there's so many examples. Let me Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. John the Baptist before Herod. Like this is a common theme in the Bible. That doesn't mean that we just stand up any old time we please and we don't listen to our authority. No, it doesn't mean that at all. But what it does mean is we do have a higher authority than the authority of the United States of America. Why is it that we have a higher authority than that? Where are we? We, so I know we're citizens of the United States and that's great, but our citizenship is actually in heaven and we await a savior from there. So we don't go around making, you know, we're not trying

to stir the pot and be rebellious and all these kinds of things. But guys, when, when an authority stands between us and God, we go to the higher authority. I know that that can get a little bit complex, but guys, can anybody think of modern examples of a biblical account, as in like, this is according to the Bible, of civil disobedience? Can you think of any? Go ahead. Yeah. Yeah. Like right now, during COVID, when the government in many states told everything, including churches to shut down, many churches stayed open and defiant. That's right. Okay. There, there's a very modern day example. What about this? What about closed countries around the world? Countries that are closed to the gospel of Jesus Christ? Do you know that we, our church, help support missionaries who live in closed countries? They do legitimate business in these closed countries, but when the authorities find out, so look, I can, I can now, I won't name him. I have a very, a friend who's been in my home, who is, was one of, he still is one of our Southern Baptist missionaries. Daniel knows exactly what I'm talking about. He and his family had served many years in a, in a nation where we sometimes will go and serve. The authorities found out what he was doing after he'd been there for over 10 years. When he left the country, they wouldn't renew his visa. Said, you're not coming back in. He had been living there, doing legitimate business, but in the name, I'm here doing business, but I'm, I'm here to spread the kingdom. And so guys, many of our missionaries around the world are living out civil disobedience. What would you say, Paul? I just want to give you a statistic. It's, it's been estimated, uh, I believe 20, 20, 24, I think was the last one. It's estimated that there are over a hundred million Christians worldwide being actively persecuted every day. More persecution in this generation than in any other. Far more in 2026 than there was in the time of the Bible. I was with family up in Missouri this weekend, and one of my granddaughters was... a missionary to Japan and she came back and she's married and they're making a plan as a couple to go back. But one of the things that she gives God the credit for, she and her husband have developed a very successful photography business. So when she goes back, she told me, she said, I can't really go back, I mean I go back as a missionary, but I can't just tell the population I'm here to talk about Jesus. I can do my business and through that business share Christ. And that's what, I mean she's got that in their plan to do when they go back here in a few years. Missionaries call that a platform.

Okay, that means I have a legitimate reason to be in this country. And so while I am here doing that legitimate, like we're not lying. Okay, they're doing legitimate business. But look guys, if we're all missionaries wherever we are, we use our platform and then go and share Christ. That's what they do in these countries. So it's just helpful for you to understand that that's just part of what the Bible says. Look at verse 21, let's get back to our story here. Look at verse 21, I want us to see sort of what happened here. So it says, when they had further threatened them, they let them go. Because they couldn't find a way to punish them. And then look at the why. Why was it they couldn't find a way to punish them? Because of the people. It says the people are all praising God for what had happened. They're like, how are we going to punish these guys when everybody, like these are the most popular people in town. Because of the good things that they have done. I mean, look, you don't even have to believe in Jesus to think. If you can raise somebody from being lame their whole lives and bring them standing up, like that's good works whether you believe in Jesus or not, guys. They're like, we need these people around. They're doing good things. So of course you see in verse 22, as we already mentioned, let's give a little bit more information on the guy, which we had not known until this time in the story. We've talked about it earlier. But the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than 40 years old. For me, that makes it even more interesting and more significant, just the length of time. So those are some important exclamation points on the story. But I want us to read a little bit further, and we won't get very far into this, but this just gets so good here.

Look at this. This is verse 23 of Acts chapter 4. The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his anointed. They go on, they say, For truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 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 shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. Guys, all of this happened, and what happened was Peter and John's boldness just stirred up more boldness in the rest of them. They were like, oh, we want more of that. God make them bold to keep going and make us bold, and that's what it says the result was. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. Guys, boldness is the theme here. It's not just Peter and John that are being bold. We get a lot of stories of Peter. We get a lot of stories of John. We're going to see a few others along the way, but, guys, we're just getting the highlights. We're not getting the full background stories. Those are going to be saved for heaven, I guess, because God did not choose to share them with us. But I want us to look at what they said. So, of course, they went to their friends, verse 23.

They told them what happened, and what was the result? What did they do when they heard what had happened? The people just started praising God. And they declared over and over the sovereignty of God. You see that? Sovereign Lord. And then they go on and say that you predestined this to happen. What does the word sovereign mean? Unquestionable. Unquestionable. Okay. Yes. Sovereign means what? Almighty. Almighty. Almighty. Almighty. Almighty. Almighty. Almighty. Almighty. Like over everything. Guys, the sovereign is the top of the top of the top of the top. Like there's nobody over the sovereign. So when they say sovereign Lord, what that means, and that's a good name for you to call God by, sovereign God over everything. You reign above everything. They're saying, you know, all of this happened and you knew it was going to happen. So you're sovereign. You're in control.

You were in control. You were sovereign God when Jesus was on the cross. Pontius Pilate and the men that crucified him, they weren't sovereign. God was sovereign. Sovereign God. You knew this was going to happen. They were gathered against your holy servant Jesus. You had anointed them. Everybody was setting their hand against them. But look back. The quote here is from Psalm number two, okay? When he says, why do the nations rage and the people plot, how? In vain. In vain. Why do they plot in vain? Because it's pointless. It's pointless. You're not going to stop Jesus. You can say, okay, now y'all be quiet over here. Stop that. Right? It's kind of like your kids. You tell them, now stop that. And they'll just look at you like, I'm not stopping that. I'm doing whatever I want to do, right? You know, we're trying to be sovereign. And they're like, well, these little, they're not staying with the program over here, right? I'm trying to be the sovereign. But see, God is sovereign. And so whatever is happening in your life, it is under the sovereign hand of God.

And that's a great comfort. So the sovereign God who had said this is going to happen, look at that verse 28. They were allowed to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. You may or may not believe in predestination, but the Bible talks about it. Okay? So in other words, God knows what's going to take place. Okay. So he says, now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant us to speak your word with all boldness. I wonder why he said, now, Lord, look upon their threats. Whose threats? All these Jewish leaders, right? He says, look upon their threats. Why would he say, Lord, look upon their threats? What do you think? Okay, God judged them for what they're doing. It reminds me of the kind of language that you see in the Psalms. If you've read through the Psalms very much, it's kind of like David is saying, hey, God, don't you see this? And don't you see that? And you know, they're wrong. And this, and so it's not like he's bringing things to God's attention that God's not aware of because he just got finished saying, you're sovereign, God. But what he's saying is, he's like, hey, just look at these threats and just make us bolder. That's all we need. You don't have to shut their mouths. Just make us bolder. That's what it is. He goes on, and it reminds me of some of the verses that we were looking at on Sunday. John chapter 17. Y'all remember those?

Hey, good news, by the way, this Sunday we're continuing in John chapter 17. That high priestly prayer of Jesus in John 17 is so full of goodness, guys. Just go back to that. Look at it again and again. But Jesus had said in John 17, I've given them your word and the world has hated them because they're not of the world just as I'm not of the world. See, Jesus had warned them. Look, I've given you this. They're going to hate you just like they hated me. Don't worry about it. And then he says, and Pastor Chris really sat on this on Sunday, I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. You remember that? This is John 17. I'm reading verses like 14, 15, 16, right around in there. Jesus said, I'm not asking you to take them out of the difficulty. I am asking that you keep them from the evil one. Dave? You just can't think and talk about that and not think about Romans 8.28. Yes. It just means God's in control and we've got to trust him even when we don't understand. Yes, exactly. Romans 8. If you missed that, don't ever miss Romans 8.28. 28 and 29. God works all things together for the good of those who are called according to his purpose. I literally, I had to remind a friend this morning, was telling about some tough things that have happened and I said all of those things are tragic. That is so hard. Just never forget that God is working even that tragic thing together for your good. What has happened is not good, guys, but many of us, we've experienced bad things, but God can just mix it all together to

make something good out of it. And so basically what Jesus is saying is, I don't want you to pull them out of that, I just want you to just sanctify them through it. Sanctify them by your truth. Remember that? Your word is truth. And that's when Pastor Chris went on to say, we're not just sanctified to sit, we're sanctified to be sent. So God is allowing the tough things to go on in our lives because he's making us more like Jesus so that we can fulfill the mission that he has for us. And so that's what's happening to Peter. Actually they tried to put him down and actually just made him bolder. He's like, oh great. Look at Jesus. Jesus is strong. I'm not worried about you. I answer to a higher authority than you and that's what I'm gonna continue to do. I can imagine him just thinking about what Jesus already said, as you sent me into the world, so I've sent them into the world. God, Jesus sent me into the end of this world. He told me I was gonna face opposition. He said I would have the Holy Spirit. Oh yeah, I have the Holy Spirit. I've got everything I need. I'm good. What can man do to me? Right? If God be for us, who can be against us? So you can just see that Jesus had warned them ahead of time that this would be what would happen. Listen, I see the prayers of Jesus in John 13 being answered in this passage right here. Jesus said I want them to be full of joy. Did you see Peter full of joy in this passage? Absolutely. He's just like, I get to do this. I'm full of joy. He wanted him to be full of his word because the world was gonna hate them. Well, Peter is full of the Word of God. He is saying, oh yeah, it's the corner, the stone the builders rejected. He's become the cornerstone. They're full of God's Word even though they're being rejected. Jesus' prayer was don't take them out of the world or away from the hardship. Protect them from the evil one. Did God do that in this passage? He didn't take them out of the world. He just protected them from the evil one. Just said yeah. Jesus told them you're not of the world just like I'm not of the world. I can see Peter and John just saying yeah. Jesus told me that we weren't gonna be popular. Sanctify them in your truth. This is for us. This is for them. Give us this unity. I love when Peter and John come back to their friends. Their friends are like, you

crushed it guys. We're with you all the way. See they were in unity and that's when the end of John chapter 17 says it's our unity and get ready for it. I'm just giving you a preview for Sunday. It is our unity that is our witness guys. When we're unified to the mission, we're all different. We're different ages and we're different stages and we're different ethnicities and we're from different backgrounds and some are rich and some are poor and some are just all in between but when we're unified that's when the world believes in Jesus. So the boldness of Peter and John inspired the other believers to also pray bold prayers. So that happened in this story and I am hoping and praying that this story will inspire you, all of us who also have the Holy Spirit, to pray some bold prayers. Guys we are in 21 days of prayer but next week we are going to enter into a week of prayer and fasting and I'm gonna say like I've said before, if you have never done it, you need to do it. You can choose. There's different levels of fasting and nobody's gonna judge anybody for what level they choose but fasting is just saying no to something that you want to spend more time with God. That's all it is. You can say no to all food with the consultation of your doctor and I promise you God will bless whatever your sacrifice is guys. So let's let's let this week of prayer and fasting be a week of the boldest prayers we've ever prayed. Don't be afraid to pray bold prayers. Pray bold prayers for yourself that you will be bold like Peter and John but pray bold prayers for your kids, for your grandkids, for your neighbors, for this church, for our staff. Guys let's pray for our community and let's see God do something amazing. I think it's time to pray a bold prayer. And we'll be done. Abba Father, we come to you right now, and we ask you, just like these believers did, we ask you to make us bold in the face of opposition. That we would stand up as bold as lions. We would also, God, be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. That we would stand no matter what comes against us, remembering if God is for us, who can

be against us. I pray that you would give every one of us in this room a level of faith to take our fast next week just one step farther than we have in the past. God, so that we would hunger and thirst for you. Not so that we can have some notch on our spiritual belt, God. Not so that we can brag to others we did this or that. No. It's only for you, Jesus. It's just to love you more. It's just to serve you more. Thank you, God, for those who have been here tonight and who have heard this message. And we pray, God, that we would just be bold for you. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. All right, guys. Thank you for coming. This has been a good time. Yeah. Thanks again for joining us verse by verse through the book of Acts. I hope that you have learned a lot. More importantly, I hope that you'll apply these things to your life this week. Share it with a friend. Great thing for you to just have some discussion with the other people around you. Share the things that God is doing in your life. Again, remember, the Bible is a book about God far more than it is a book about us. So let's learn about him. Let's grow to love him more and more. Here at United City, this is not the only thing that we have on the Pando app. We would love for you to follow some of our other content, watch some of our worship services,

along with music and the messages, as well as podcasts. We've got a lot of great content. We would love for you to follow that. Also, if you would like to be in touch with us here at United City, the best way to do that is by writing us a letter. You can address that to Prison Ministry at United City Church, 19901 Townsend Boulevard, Humble, Texas 77338. We'll read that, we'll pray for you, and somebody will write you back. God bless you, and we'll see you in the Word.