Bold in Opposition

You were created to know and enjoy God. You were called to be in community so that you can become all that God desires you to be. God designed you with a purpose so you can be the difference in this world, and we exist to help you on that journey. Graceway. Graceway, how we feeling today? Welcome to church. Whether you're viewing online or in person for the first time, welcome to Graceway. Come on, let's go. Welcome to church. Whether you're viewing online or in person for the first time, welcome to Graceway. Come on, let's worship. Come on. Let me see you clap those hands in here. Come let's worship our king. Come let's bow as we. He has done a great thing. Come on. See what the savior has done. See how his love overcomes. He has done a great thing. He has done a great thing. Oh, oh, oh, oh. Oh, hero of heaven, you conquered the grave. You free every captive and break every chain of God. You have done great. We're going to dance it. Come on. Awaken to life.

Oh, Jesus, my savior. Your name lifted high, oh God. You have done great things. Clap those hands. Come on, did you come to worship King Jesus today? Yeah. You've been faithful through every storm. You'll be faithful forevermore. You have done great things. And I know, I know. And I know you will do it again. For your promise is yes and amen. You will do great things. Come on, tell them. God, you'll do great things. Oh, hero of heaven, you conquered the grave. You free every captive and break every chain of God. You have done great things. We dance in your freedom. Awaken to life. Oh, Jesus, our savior. Your name lifted high, oh God. You have done great things. Come on, lift your hands. Hallelujah, God, above it all. Hallelujah, God, unshakable. Hallelujah, you have done great things. Yes, you have. Come on, sing hallelujah. Hallelujah, God, above it all.

Hallelujah, God, unshakable. Hallelujah, you have done great things. You've done great things. Oh, hero of heaven, you conquered the grave. You free every captive and break every chain of God. You have done great things. We're going to dance in your freedom. Awaken to life. Oh, Jesus, our savior. Your name lifted high, oh God. You have done great things. Come on, tell them. You have done great things. Oh, God, into grace. Clap those hands. Come on, did you come to worship King Jesus? Let everything that has breath praise Jesus, Lord. Come on, give the Lord a shout of praise if you're grateful. Grace way, we're going to teach you a new song this morning. It's called God, I'm just grateful for you. Have you all heard that one? Some of you all have, some of you all haven't. But if you have not, it's okay. We're going to sing it and we're going to learn it together today. While we're singing this song, I want you to posture your heart in a posture of grace. Gratitude, say, God, I just thank you for being you. God, I thank you for keeping me this week. I thank you for breathing the breath of life in my body. I thank you for salvation. And so while we sing this song,

let's posture our hearts just to say, thank you, God. Thank you for being. Thank you for being present. Thank you for carrying us through this week. Is that all right? Let's do it together, y'all. Let's thank the Lord together. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, God. ♪ There was no way until you made one ♪ ♪ Grace upon grace, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Even though I don't deserve it, you give it ♪ ♪ Even though I couldn't earn it, you give it ♪ ♪ Who am I that you keep me on your mind ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ All my life, you've been right here by my side ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ Holy, holy, there's only one ♪ ♪ I give you glory for all that you've done ♪ ♪ Even though I don't deserve it, you did it, ooh ♪ ♪ Ooh, even though I couldn't earn it, you give it ♪ ♪ Who am I that you keep me on your mind ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ And all my life, you've been right here by my side ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ Who am I that you keep me on your mind ♪

♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ And all my life, you've been right here by my side ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ Yeah, oh, it's been with us here all this time ♪ Do I have any grateful people in the building? ♪ And I, I'm lifting both of my hands ♪ ♪ I'm lifting both of my hands ♪ ♪ Cause you gave me chance after chance, after chance ♪ ♪ And I, I'm giving all that I am ♪ ♪ Cause you gave me chance after chance, after chance ♪ ♪ And I, I'm lifting both of my hands ♪ ♪ I'm lifting both of my hands ♪ ♪ Cause you gave me chance after chance, after chance ♪ ♪ And I, I'm giving all that I am ♪ ♪ Cause you gave me chance after chance, after chance ♪ ♪ Who am I that you keep me on your mind? God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ In all my life, you've been right here by my side ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you, God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ Say who am I, who am I that you keep me on your mind? God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ Who am I that you keep me on your mind? God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ In all my life, you've been right here by my side ♪ ♪ God, I'm just grateful for you, God, I'm just grateful for you ♪ ♪ And I survived, and I'm here to testify ♪ I'm just grateful for you. God, I'm just grateful for you. And I'm alright if they say I'm out of my mind. God, I'm just grateful for you. God, I'm just grateful for you.

How many grateful people in the building? When we were singing this, I was reminded of Moses talking to God. And I love that God said to him, I know your name. Come on, you want to talk about being a grateful people is when God knows your name. When you are known by the mighty God who created the universe, and you woke up today and he wasn't like, who? No, he was like, I know exactly who you are. Intimately by name, and we can give God a hand of praise for that. Come on. Man, we are so excited that you are here today at Graceway. And look, if you're new to Graceway, we want to welcome you. We're grateful that you're here. And if I haven't met you yet—I'm Pastor Jeremy, by the way— I will be out in the lobby as soon as the service is over. We'd love to just shake your hand at Guest Central. The other thing you could do is grab that Connect card or the QR code in the seat back in front of you. Fill that out. You can drop the card in the bucket as they come by in just a minute. I'm going to invite our ushers to make their way down. We're going to receive today's tithes and offerings. And I wanted to just continue to keep in front of you a couple of things about this. We understand that tithes is just what we regularly give. And offerings are on top of that. And I want to remind you about the work that's going to be happening up at the Point. Incredibly excited about that. The remodel that we're going to do this year on the gym. Along with that, that becoming a community center to be able to support the people of Raytown. And so, y'all, if you still want to give to that, what you're going to do is you're just going to write Building Project or Building Fund on your offering envelope. That goes to the same place. And you can see on the screen different ways to get connected to giving here at Graceway, whether you just put it in the bucket as it goes by or do it digitally. Any one of those things work.

Let's go to the Lord in prayer as we worship him through this. God, we do come to you today an incredibly grateful people. God, we woke up this morning and we were not unknown. And in a world where it's easy to hide. In a world where it's easy to have thousands of virtual friends. But, Lord, we get to call you friend. The God of the universe who knows each and every one of our names. When we woke up, he was like, that's my kid. I'm so excited they're awake. I'm so excited they're going to walk into church today and worship me. Or maybe I'm so excited they're coming to a place they've never been before. And I get to encounter them. What a blessing that is, Lord, so we thank you. God, we come to you in gratitude for that today. I thank you, Lord, for the opportunity we have to give. What a blessing it is, Lord, to know that our daily bread is met by you each and every week. So, God, we thank you for that. God, we say would you use this offering to be a blessing to this church, to this community, to the global theater, Lord, where so many people don't know Jesus. Thank you for the opportunity we have to give to that. Lord, we ask you, bring your future kingdom right here into the present. Thank you, Lord, that you live among us. So, God, today as we continue in worship, would you speak to our hearts? Would you soften them? Lord, if we've walked in carrying something, God, I pray that you'd help us to lay it down at your feet for you to do a good work in our hearts. We pray all these things in the name of Jesus and all God's people said amen, amen. Hey, John's going to lead us singing gratitude, y'all. Let's sing out together. ♪♪♪

♪ All my words for sure I've got nothing new How could I express all my gratitude I could sing these songs as I often do But every song must end And you'll never do Lift your voice and sing. All that matters, I pray that you'll get it Cause all that I have is a hallelujah Hallelujah I know it's not much, but I have nothing else But for you, except for us, it's a hallelujah Hallelujah I've got one big smile, I've got just one move With my arms stretched wide, I will worship you So I'll throw up my hands and praise you again and again Cause all that I have is a hallelujah Hallelujah I know it's not much, but I have nothing else But for you, except for our hearts, it's a hallelujah Hallelujah We worship you, Lord Come on all over the room, lift your hands and sing it out loud and strong Sing it out, so come on my song, let's hear it I've got one big smile, I've got just one move With my arms stretched wide, I will worship you And I'll praise the Lord So come on my song, say Come on my song, oh don't you get shy Lift up your song, cause you've got a lion inside of those Get up, get up, come on lift your hands and sing

Say come on my, come on my Come on my song, oh don't you get shy Lift up your song, cause you've got a lion inside of those So get up and praise the Lord Praise the Lord Praise the Lord Praise the Lord We worship you, Jesus We worship you, Lord Sing it out, so I throw up my hands and praise you again We worship you, Lord Come on my song, say Come on my song, oh don't you get shy Lift up your song, cause you've got a lion inside of those Get up, get up, come on lift your hands and sing We worship you, Jesus Come on my song, oh don't you get shy Lift up your song, cause you've got a lion inside of those Get up, get up, come on lift your hands and sing Come on my song, oh don't you get shy Lift up your song, cause you've got a lion inside of those Get up, get up, come on lift your hands and sing One more time, come on my Come on my song, oh don't you get shy Lift up your song, cause you've got a lion inside of those Get up and praise the Lord Say praise the Lord Come on and praise the Lord Praise the Lord With every voice, sing it out

So I I God this is our humble sacrifice to you Lord that we say take the most tender part of who you've created me to be take my heart Lord And I offer it to you And God I proclaim that all of who you've created me to be is yours God I submit to you father Not to anything else, but Lord to you fully surrendered to who you are God And Lord as we Worship you in this place and proclaim God that all that we have is yours Lord. I Thank you that you hear the cry of our hearts today Well that you haven't missed something you haven't forgotten something And Lord there are hearts in this room God that need to be mended Brokenness that needs to be healed bodies that need to be redeemed Relationships that need to be fixed Marriages that need healing kids that need to redeem themselves back to their parents and Lord. None of that's possible Except that we do what we just did and I throw up my hands and just say hallelujah and Offer all of it to you Lord So, thank you God that you hear every word Thank you. God that you know every thought. Thank you. God that you hear Where our hearts are at today? And Lord, would you move? In church. Will you just proclaim gratitude to God today just with your own voice. Thank you Lord. Just tell him Thank you for who he is God we worship you this morning We ask you all these things in the name of Jesus and all God's people said Amen, and thank God. Hey, we all pass a little bit of peace in the room this morning All Right grace way on the heels of

Roostergate from last week's Super Bowl Right pastor Dan super Roostergate. Is that work on it? So glad that you are here today and we are super excited to get to hear from dr Dan this morning in just a moment Yeah, I want to put just a couple of things in front of you before we do that number one today is step three of Growth track and if you have never done growth track step three is your opportunity to really discover who God's created you to be We're gonna do a simple kind of personality test with you along with helping you discover what your spiritual gifts are You can either attend that right now and during the 930 service or we'll offer that class again at 1115 Right through those doors in the growth track room would love to see you get connected to that process. It is awesome the other thing I want to do is it's just really honor you grace way and This weekend we were able to do the night to shine prom with the Tim Tebow foundation and y'all it was Amazing. So yeah, I a couple of things number one. There were over 2,000 people connected to that event That included our VIPs and their their caretakers But we also just want to give a shout out to pastor Brandon Smith and Alex Carruth Will you all do that for leading beautifully on that event? Yeah Next week pastor Tim will give a little bit more of an update on how things went with that But what an incredible opportunity for us to just be able to bless our community. It was amazing I love the incredible depth that we have on our pastoral team and I know That dr. Dan has studied and has spent time with God. You all are going to be incredibly blessed. So will you help welcome? Dr. Dan to the stage Good morning, good morning. Welcome, my brothers at Crossroads and Ozarks, know that we love you here, your Grace Way family loves you, let's give it up for them. All right, second service. Second service. We always went, me and my wife, to second service, but I have a confession.

I was a first service guy. But when you got a second service wife, that means you are going to second service. Somebody out there knows what I am talking about, right? You have been up for hours before you got to church. All right, any dog lovers out there? Cat lovers? I'm praying for you, I'm praying for you. Well, many years ago, I had a dog named Bear. And Bear was the best dog you can have if you are broke like we were. He was free. So he got a free dog. He was supposed to be a family dog. But Bear was a little loco. And he only liked me, and he was kind of mean. So my wife at one point was like, hey, we are supposed to have this family dog, he doesn't even like the kids, he growls at everybody. Let's get a dog. Okay, what do you want to get? She's like, I want to get a Cocker Spaniel. There is no free Cocker Spaniels, at least there weren't at that time. And we drive hours away to get this dog. And she picks out the smallest dog in the litter. She was so cute, party colored, black and white Cocker Spaniel, female. And we bring her home and she's kind of like my wife's dog and the family dog.

And that goes on for a couple of months. And then one day Bear dog, I told you he's a little off, decided to attack Pepper. Yeah. So she just screeches and yelps and takes off running and then Bear is in hot pursuit after her. And she runs into my son's bedroom and under the bed, this low bed, they had bunk beds, all the way back into the corner. And so I run after them and I grab Bear and I pull him out of there and get rid of him. And I can only crawl so far underneath the bed and I'm reaching to her. She's still crying and yelping in the corner. Come on, come on. And at one point she just crawls into my arms. Well, at that point my wife no longer had a dog. She was my dog. And this dog, because I saved her, was so loyal, in fact, and bold. I couldn't walk across the street and leave her home because if I walked across the street and I'm talking to one of the neighbors and one of my kids opens the door, she would bolt and just eyes locked on me, running across through traffic, just boldly not worrying about the traffic. So I had to like take her just in case she didn't get run over. At one point I was studying for a promotional test, so I had to study for hours. And we had six kids, so if you got six kids, there's no quiet place to study. So I studied in the middle of our backyard in August.

And this dog would sit with me in the sun and pant. And I would try to get her to go back into the air, but she wouldn't. She would just sit there and suffer just to be with me. And if I took ten steps this way, that dog moved. When I cut the grass, she followed me in lines. The loyalty was just amazing. And one day I was standing in the hallway near a bathroom and I would look down when I moved so I didn't step on her and she wasn't there. So I knew something was wrong and I looked. And at the end of the hallway, she was crawling, dragging her legs, trying to get to me. Well, she had a heart defect and she was dying. And I picked her up into my arms and that was the last time I held her. But I want you to notice I saved her, at least in her mind. And the boldness she had for me. The faithfulness she had to me. And if you got your Bibles, I want you to go to Acts 1. I'm sorry, Acts 4, 1-31. And I want you to look at this text and be asking why Peter and John are so faithful. Why are they so bold? And as I read this text, I want you to think, how can we be faithful and bold? And to give you a little background, right, we're in the book of Acts, unstoppable, we're seeing the church doing amazing things, Pentecost, Peter preaches, thousands of people are saved.

Peter and John go to the portico, Pastor Tim preached the message, they're standing in this public area and they heal a man who was lame from birth amongst the crowds. And now they're standing, our text picks up, they're in this portico or this covered area with pillars outside the temple that is just filled with people. It was a public gathering. When you go to the portico, there's gonna be people everywhere and they know this and that's where our text picks up. But before I read the text, let me pray one more time. Father, as we go to your holy word, the book of Acts that shows us really the blueprints of your church, God, and the faithfulness of these people that we're reading today is because why we stand here, they've preached Jesus and his name has been proclaimed for thousands of years and here we stand. Father, we want people to come to Christ. We want it to be hard to go to hell in Kansas city and we need boldness and faithfulness in this house, Lord. So I pray that you would silence me in this sermon so that you may speak. Spirit, reach hearts, change hearts, change minds, change lives by the same power that existed 2000 years ago. That exists today. Father, that we would step out of these doors today, changed, emboldened, faithful. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen. All right, I'm going to read one through 21 and then I promised to read the last verses at the end of the sermon, but we're going to stop there. So Acts four, one through 31 and it's Peter and John in the portico. Peter and John in the portico. And as they were speaking to the people,

the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead and they arrested them, put them in custody until the next day for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the word believed and a number of men came to about 5,000. 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 don't miss this 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. Don't miss this. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus, but seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. 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 can't deny it. But in order that it may not spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in his 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 for all we're praising God for what had happened. What an amazing narrative of boldness. What's Luke telling us in this text? He's describing Peter and John as having Holy Spirit filled boldness in the Lord Jesus Christ. Today we need to be a people with spirit filled boldness in our Lord Jesus Christ. So what is this boldness that they had? And how do we get it? And I'm going to go through this text and I'm going to give you three characteristics of spirit-filled boldness. And then I'm going to give you a fourth. The three describe what boldness really is, but the fourth one is the source of those characteristics. So the first characteristic, spirit-filled boldness in our Lord Jesus Christ is truthful. Truthful. So the text says that the captain of the temple and the priests and Sadducees come upon Peter and John. Now let me help you understand who the captain of the temple is.

That's the captain of the temple police. So Peter and John are surrounded by the police, the captain, and the religious leaders. There's something you need to know about all these folks. The captain of the temple, his primary job is to keep the peace with Rome, especially against any claims of a Messiah, because those tend to be highly disruptive to the peace. And the priests and Sadducees are the materialistic sect of the Jews. And they're the big compromisers. They deny the resurrection and all they really want to do is keep their good thing going by compromising the faith and staying tight with Rome. And the last thing they want is somebody talking about a Messiah. So Peter and John realize what they're saying is going to bring the heat. So the text says in verse 2, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. Now I want you to understand, Peter and John, before they show up, they know the heat is about to be on. This would be like me, you guys know I'm from Cleveland, right? Buying the cheapest ticket in the Kansas City stadium when they play Cleveland. If in fact they play Cleveland, I don't even know. But I put on all my Cleveland gear, buy the cheapest seat, show up at the stadium, walk all the way down onto the field with a chair, jump the wall, sit down on the field next to Kansas City in my Cleveland gear and begin the route for the Browns. If I did that, it would be highly offensive and I could expect the heat. I could even expect that, Dan, you're probably going to jail. So what happens? Peter and John are arrested. No surprise to them. And then they're brought before the Jewish Supreme Court, essentially. This is the religious leaders, this is the highest court among the Jews, and they're standing before them to be grilled for why they healed this man. Look at what the text, verse 7.

So they asked them, by what power or by what name did you do this? Because they were the power. And it was in their name that things were supposed to be done. Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, rulers of the people and elders, he's respectful. If we're 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 all the people of Israel. In other words, on the field. Let the Kansas City Chiefs know. Let the coach know. Let the owner know. And let everybody in this stadium know. Boldness. But, Peter and John, let it be known to all that Christ, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you. The Messiah you feared, the one you killed, it's his power that did this. Wow. Can you imagine how that landed to them? See they're afraid of the Messiah, that he'll disrupt the peace, and they just said, he's alive. And he did this. Not only that, verse 11, this Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you. So you guys were supposed to point us to him, but you didn't. And he has become the cornerstone. Everything that's in your Old Testament was pointing to him, and you missed it. And all your laws, and all the things you've added to them, and all your legalism can't accomplish anything because there is salvation in no one else. For there is no other name under heaven given among men. by which we must be saved.

So he's saying, you failed as religious leaders, too. And then Peter steps back, and he drops the mic. Wow. What boldness. It reminds me of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3, when they're told to worship Nebuchadnezzar and the idols, and they just refuse. They just won't do it. And look, they get that there might be real consequences. So they say, look, O King, God can deliver us. But even if he doesn't, even if we have to go into the furnace, we will not bow down. And Peter and John, standing there, know we might get killed. In fact, they killed Jesus. We won't bow down. So I want you to understand something in this truthfulness that they're preaching. I guarantee you they were afraid. I guarantee you Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were shaking in their boots, because they're human beings. And we can be afraid, because there is no boldness. There is no courage without fear. But when they stand there in that fear, they had boldness. They had boldness, because it came from the Holy Spirit, not from them. So if you're here today, and you're afraid to share your faith in certain places, what's that look like? I call it the punch out, the clock out, punch out.

The clock out, punch out. When I go to work, there's not a lot of Christians there, and they make fun of me. So I just punch out from Christianity while I'm at work. And if asked about the truth of who he is, I'll shy away. When I get around my friends from the world, who I really want to see saved for Christ, who just make fun of the church and don't understand, I just clock out, and I don't talk about them. I don't want to answer questions about them. When I get around my family, who knows how messed up I used to be, they're never going to believe what I have to say, so I just punch out. Church, we can't clock out. Can't punch out. You can be afraid. In fact, you should be. All of us are afraid. Peter and John were afraid. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were afraid. But when asked, they spoke out boldly about the truth. Jesus is Lord, crucified, buried, risen, ascended, and coming again. We can never compromise that truth, even when we're scared. We must be truthful. Must be a people with spirit-filled boldness in our Lord Jesus Christ. And not only must we be truthful, spirit-filled boldness in the Lord Jesus Christ is tangible.

What do I mean by that? Look at verse 13. Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived they were uneducated, common men. So you understand, Peter and John didn't roll up to the portico in a Benz, hop out in three-piece suits, and hit everybody with the business cards. Peter and John Esquire, bam. They were nobodies. They weren't impressive. They were just common men. And the religious leaders are seeing this tangible boldness of faith in them. And they're saying, how can this be? Because look what the verse says. They were astonished. Astonished. Why were they astonished? Look what the text says. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. Can the people around us see that we've been with Jesus? Moses wanted to see God so bad. He said, I want to see you, Lord. And God tells him, you can't see me or you will die. And we know that Jesus is the full revelation of the Father of God. To see Jesus is to see God. And the same truth holds today. You cannot see Jesus and live.

Because if you see the Jesus who went to the cross for you, then you die. And you're born again. And the old man doesn't come back. And we can all say, Dan is dead, Jesus Christ lives here now. If you've seen Jesus through the eyes of faith, the old life is dead. The shame, the guilt, dead. So if that's true and it absolutely is true, then people must be able to see the Jesus in us. They have to see it. Look at verse 14, but seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. It was the fruit of their life, the fruit of their ministry. What can they say? What can people say when they see the Jesus in you? It silences the opposition. It silences the naysayers. You see, people may be able to deny the Jesus who they can't see, but they can never deny the Jesus they see in you, your testimony. And what's that look like? The fruit of our ministry, the fruit of our lives that silences people, like it silenced the religious leaders. But let me tell you with some examples. When you forgive the person who hurt you deeply and the world will tell you you have the right to be angry, but you forgive them anyways, people see the Jesus in you. When you bless those who curse you and talk about you, they see the Jesus in you. When you're in the midst of a tragedy and people like Job's wife would say you should curse God and die and you say you just don't know how good He is, they see the Jesus in you. When you're walking through a trial and you have joy, they see the tangible faith that

is Jesus in you. Spirit-filled boldness in our Lord Jesus Christ is tangible, you can see it in our lives. Thirdly, spirit-filled boldness in our Lord Jesus Christ is tenacious. So Peter and John, they get locked up, the council puts them, sets them to the side and now they're like, what are we going to do with these guys? They're so bold. I think these guys are legit. I think they're too legit. They might be too legit to quit. What the heck are we going to do with these guys? Well, I can't deny this guy, he's crippled, what are we going to do? I know, we'll warn him not to preach Jesus, that should work. Let's bring him back in. Hey guys, no more of the Jesus thing, it's over. We're going to let you go but you keep quiet. Verse 19, but Peter and John answered them, whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than God, you must judge. By the way, fellas, you're expert in the Old Testament, you know we can't do that. Don't miss verse 20, for we cannot, not will not, cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard. Cannot. What do you mean they cannot? What are they trying to say? This reminds me so much of Jeremiah 20, it's one of my favorite verses in the Bible where Jeremiah's been beat up for telling the truth, locked up in shackles for telling the truth. He hates him for telling the truth and he's suffering because of it and he's like, God, this is rough, man. I'm ready to throw in the towel. I don't know if I want to do this anymore, I don't know if I want to tell them what you say.

Don't we get there? I don't know if I want to tell them, there's consequence, I don't know. What does Jeremiah say? But if I say I won't mention him or speak anymore in his name, there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones and I'm weary with holding it in and I cannot. The fire of the gospel ignited by the Holy Spirit can't be silenced in those who love Jesus. We have to speak up, even with consequences. And that's what Peter and John are talking about, I can't do that. So we may struggle, face consequences for faithfulness, but we don't fall back. Church don't fall back, be tenacious. We cannot stop the burning fire of the Holy Spirit in us. So we must be a people with spirit-filled boldness in our Lord Jesus Christ. Number three, spirit-filled boldness is truthful, it's tangible, and it's tenacious. It's tenacious. We never fall back. We trust in Him. Now those three attributes, truthful, tangible, tenacious, that's what boldness is. And I want to explain to you where they come from. Where they come from. Why were Peter and John truthful, tangible, tenacious? Where did this come from? Because spirit-filled boldness in our Lord Jesus Christ is trepid or fearful. Wait a minute, fearful? What do you mean fearful? Look back to the text. Watch what they do. I'll explain. Verse 23, when they were released they went to their friends, reported that the chief priests and elders had said to them and what they had heard. In other words, we got locked up. It looked like it was going bad. So the church lifted their voices together to God and said, Oh Sovereign Lord! Oh Sovereign Lord, who's in control of everything and

everything's under your feet. You created this world. I'm gonna quote Psalms 2. They've been coming against you since the beginning, but you've always overcome. And by the way, didn't Herod, who was the king, and Pontius Pilate, who was the authority of Rome, try to come against you? Yet they were just pawns in your game. In fact, through them and their wickedness, the greatest event in human history took place. Christ was crucified and sins were atoned for. They're reminding themselves of who God is and that everything is under His hand and power. Why? Because they felt fear. And what are they steadying themselves in? Don't miss this. They're trepid. They're steadying themselves in the fear of God. Because when you fear God, you need not fear men. Or circumstances. So after they remind themselves of who God is, then they say this. Look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness. Yeah, they're threatening there may be consequences, but you're in control Lord. Give me the boldness that comes from understanding that. While you stretch out your hand to heal and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus. They didn't fear men because they feared God. They were trepid, God-fearing, which is the source of all boldness. And because they feared God, they could be truthful. Their faith was tangible. They were tenacious. We must be trepid or fearful of God if we want to be truthful. Because you will feel the fear. We must be trepid or fearful of God if we want our faith to be tangible. We must be trepid if we want to be tenacious. What would it look like in this local body? If we were trepid. If we feared God. What would we do? Same thing they did. We would get on our knees.

And we would say, With trembling hands, Oh Sovereign Lord That doctor's report is under your authority. It's in your hands. My wayward children and all their nonsense are in your hands and under your authority. My broken marriage Is in your hands and under your authority. That addiction that I walked in with is in your hands and under your authority. My boss at work is under your authority. Every king who's ever sat on a throne and Every president who's ever been in the White House is under his authority. All our lives in every circumstance are under his authority. So we fear him and in fear of him comes on a boldness and what does God do if we do that? Look at verse 31. 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 holiness. God shook the earth that they stood on. And they were bold. Surely God can shake that circumstance that's making you afraid today. He can shake that doctor's report. He can shake that fear. He can shake that situation and he can can give you boldness in Him, because we need not fear men or situations, because we have a God that's on the throne. So what do we do with this? What should you do? Stay on your knees daily. Because let me tell you something, the reason Peter and John stepped into the portico with boldness in the truth, with boldness in their faith, with tenacity, is because every day they were on their knees before the Lord. You will not be bold if you're not on your knees. You will fall back when it's time to tell the truth.

They won't see the Jesus in you. There won't be tenacity unless you fear God and you're on your knees daily. And then we will be bold. Maybe you're here and you're tired of being afraid, afraid of circumstances, afraid of the reports, afraid of the next turn in life. Fear God, remind yourself who He is, and let Him take that fear from you. Maybe you're here today and you go, you know, I, I've never surrendered to Jesus Christ. I've never given Him my life. And I don't understand how some Christians can have joy in difficulty, how they can be bold when there's consequences. And I'm tired of being afraid and I'm tired of being angry. Let me tell you what you can do. Just like I reached my hands out to save Pepper and she crawled to me, Jesus is here today reaching His hands out to you. And if you come to Him, all the fear can be gone. All the anger can be gone. Because Jesus went to the cross for your fear, for your shame. He died for your sins. And if you come to Him, you'll experience salvation because He rose from the dead and defeated your past. And if you come to Him, the old person is dead because you see God and you can be alive again in peace and joy. If that's you here this morning and you want to receive Christ, you want to come out of that corner and be saved with every head bowed and every eye closed. Let's pray. Jesus, thank you for creating me, for loving me, even when I've ignored you and gone my own way. I know I need you in my life. I'm sorry for my sins against you and others. I believe you died on the cross for my sins and you rose again.

You are God and I am not. I ask you to forgive me as much as I know how. I'm ready to change direction by giving you my life. I'm ready to follow you from now on and do what you want me to do. Please come into my life and make me new on the inside. Help me to grow so that I can be like you. If you've prayed that prayer today and you've asked Jesus to save you, please raise your hand. We're not going to do anything weird. We just want to give you a Bible before you leave. Let us get a Bible in your hand if you've turned to Jesus this morning. If you're online, please go to the Graceway app and click Salvation. Let me pray, Lord, we need boldness, Father. We need boldness in life to go through the trials. We need boldness in our faith. We need it and it can only come from the Holy Spirit. Help us to surrender daily, Lord, on our knees to our sovereign Lord so we can see your power so it would truly be hard to go to hell in Kansas City. Father, use this church, use this local body unto your glory. It's in Jesus' name I pray, amen. If you need prayer, prayer ministers, if you want to come down, they'll be available to pray for you. Brothers and sisters, I love you. Be blessed. We'll see you next time. Hey, what's up, y'all? It's Pastor Jeremy from Graceway. Thank you so much for watching our service online. Hey, if you are a resident of Crossroads Correctional, I want to personally invite you to join us every Sunday evening at 7 o'clock p.m. in the gym.

We would love to see you in person. And if you're joining us from another facility, thanks for watching. Be encouraged. Know that God is at work in your life. Hey, if you're a family member of somebody and you live locally here in the KC metro area, we would love for you to join us. at Graceway on Sunday mornings. Our services are at nine and 10.30 a.m. and you can get plenty of information on what's going on here at Graceway at our website, which is visitgraceway.org. If you're not a part of the Kansas City metro area, I would just encourage you to find and seek out a local church where you can begin to build community, find friends, and experience life together. Thanks again for joining us. We hope to see you again soon. We'll see you next time.