How Do We Take the Next Brave Step? | Acts 5:12-42 | Laurel Bunker

Let's stand as we get ready to worship this morning. Want to say hello to our friends watching at God Behind Bars and our friends watching online. Listen, happy Sunday, y'all. We're going to lock in today. As our fearless leader and pastor, Kevin, says, we are a singing church and a people of the word. So this morning, for starters, with worship, we're actually going to dial back some of the elements on stage so that we can focus on singing to God together. And then also this morning, we're actually going to worship him not only in song, but by reading his word. And so we're actually going to have some scriptures on the screen and we're going to read them together. As my pastor back home would say, he'd say, with big voices go. When I say big voices go, we're going to read the scriptures together. Sound good? Now listen, we've been going through the book of Acts. And today we're going to read about the church, how as they sought God, they got to be a part of and saw a move of God. Who here wants to see a move of God in our life? All right, y'all, let's read this together. Big voices go. The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people, and all the believers used to meet together in Solomon's colonnade. No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed the Lord and were added to their number. As a result, the people brought the sick into the streets

and laid them on beds and mats, so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those who were tormented by impure spirits, and all of them, all of them were healed. So again, I ask you all, who wants to see a move of God today? Who wants to see souls healed today? Who's ready to lift up the name above all names, the only one who can ever save? Come on, church, let's worship together. Amen. Y'all sing with me. We've come for a move of God. We've come for the Holy One. All we want, all we hunger for is You. Come on, y'all sing it. We've come with expected not undone, knowing who You are. Lord, we long for what only You can do. So Holy Spirit, come like fire on the altar, fresh wind blowing through. We're gonna stay here until we encounter You. So make us an offering, make us another room. We're gonna stay here until we encounter You. Until we encounter You. Make us desperate. Make us desperate. Tear our idols down. We're repenting. This is still Your hour. Lord, You meant it

when You said You'd pour Your Spirit out. Y'all sing. So Holy Spirit, come like fire on the altar, fresh wind blowing through. We're gonna stay here until we encounter You. So make us an offering, make us another room. We're gonna stay here until we encounter You. Until we encounter You. Let this be our prayer, church. We need a move of God. We need a move of God. Come on. We need a move of God. We need a move of God. We're hungry, we're desperate. Lord, open the heaven. We need a move of God in this city. We need a move of God in this church. We need a move of God. We're hungry, we're desperate. Lord, open the heaven. We need a move of God in our family. ♪ We need a move of God in our hearts ♪ ♪ We need a move of God though we're hungry ♪ ♪ We're desperate, Lord, oh, we need a move of God ♪ ♪ Fire on the altars, fresh wind blowin' through ♪ ♪ We're gonna stay here until we encounter You ♪ ♪ So make us an offering, make us an offering ♪ ♪ We're gonna stay here until we encounter You ♪ ♪ Fire on the altars, fresh wind blowin' through ♪

♪ We're gonna stay here until we encounter You ♪ ♪ So make us an offering, make us an offering ♪ ♪ We're gonna stay here until we encounter You ♪ ♪ We need a move of God, that's our prayer ♪ ♪ We need a move of God ♪ ♪ We need a move of God though we're hungry ♪ ♪ We're desperate, Lord, oh, we need a move of God ♪ ♪ We need a move of God ♪ ♪ We need a move of God, we're desperate, Father ♪ ♪ We need a move of God though we're hungry ♪ ♪ We're desperate, Lord, oh, we need a move of God ♪ ♪ We need a move of God in this city, Father ♪ ♪ We need a move of God, we're calling on Your name ♪ ♪ We need a move of God, we're hungry, we're desperate ♪ ♪ Lord, open the heavens ♪ Come on, y'all, lift them up. Let's believe for it. Amen, church. We are believing for a move of God and we can take encouragement that if He's done it before, He can do it again, amen? So let's read about how God moved in the early church. We're gonna read this together. I'll read a part and then you'll read a part in a story from Acts 5. You ready? Let's do it. Then the high priest and all his associates who were members of the party of Sadducees were filled with jealousy.

They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. And you say. But during the night, an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. Ghosts stand in the temple courts, he said, and tell the people. At daybreak, they entered the temple courts as they had been told and began to teach the people. When the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin, the full assembly of the elders of Israel and sent to the jail for the apostles. But on arriving at the jail, the apostles did not hear the voice of the high priest. The high priest did not hear the voice of the high priest. The Sanhedrin did not hear the voice of the high priest. And on hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were at a loss, wondering what this might, what this might lead to. Then someone came and said, look, the men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people. The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, he said, yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead, whom you killed by hanging him on a cross.

The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead, whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. Amen, thank you for reading with us. As we are witnesses of God's goodness, let us continue to respond through song, through singing, hallelujah, to the only one who is exalted above all names, Jesus. Oh, yeah. ♪ We sing to you Lord ♪ ♪ Who else would rocks cry out to worship ♪ ♪ Whose glory taught the stars to shine ♪ ♪ Perhaps creation longs to have the words to sing ♪ ♪ But this joy is mine ♪ You sing. ♪ With a thousand hallelujahs we magnify your name ♪ ♪ You alone deserve the glory, the honor and the praise ♪ ♪ Lord Jesus, this song is forever yours ♪ ♪ A thousand hallelujahs and a thousand more ♪ ♪ Who else would die for our redemption, thank you Jesus ♪ ♪ Whose resurrection means all right ♪ ♪ There isn't time enough to sing of all you've done, oh ♪ ♪ But I'll have eternity to try ♪ Let's start right now, come on. ♪ With a thousand hallelujahs we magnify your name ♪ ♪ You alone deserve the glory, the honor and the praise ♪ ♪ Lord Jesus, this song is forever yours ♪ ♪ A thousand hallelujahs and a thousand more ♪ ♪ Oh, you're worthy of a thousand more hallelujahs ♪ ♪ Come on, lift up a heart of praise to the Lord ♪ ♪ Sing praise to the Lord, to the Lamb, to the King of heaven ♪

♪ Praise for heroes, for heroes, now He reigns, now He reigns ♪ ♪ Now He reigns, we're gonna sing forever, sing forever ♪ ♪ Sing praise for heroes, to the Lamb, to the King of heaven ♪ ♪ We'll praise for heroes, yes you did, yes you did ♪ ♪ Now He reigns, we will sing forever ♪ ♪ With a thousand hallelujahs, we magnify your name ♪ ♪ You alone deserve the glory, the honor and the praise ♪ ♪ Lord Jesus, this song is forever, forever yours ♪ ♪ A thousand hallelujahs and a thousand more ♪ ♪ Oh, a thousand more, we'll praise you Lord ♪ ♪ You're worthy, you're worthy ♪ Come on church, let a heart of praise rise up. Let a heart of praise rise up. ♪ Hooray to the Lord, to the Lord, to the Lamb, to the Lamb ♪ ♪ He's the King of heaven and earth, to the King of heaven ♪ ♪ Sing praise for heroes, He overcame the grave ♪ ♪ He overcame the grave, He'll reign forever ♪ ♪ We will sing forever ♪ ♪ With a thousand hallelujahs, we magnify your name ♪ ♪ You alone deserve the glory, the honor and the praise ♪ Lord. ♪ He's forever yours, a thousand hallelujahs and a thousand more ♪ ♪ Oh, a thousand more, because you're worthy, you're worthy Lord ♪ We exalt Thee, we exalt Thee, we exalt Thee, O Lord Sing we exalt Thee, we exalt Thee, we exalt Thee, O Lord Sing we exalt Thee, we exalt Thee, we exalt Thee, O Lord Sing we exalt Thee, we exalt Thee, we exalt Thee, O Lord As we lift our hands and we open them I believe we're desperate for a real move of God today I believe we need You Lord to move mountains in the way

Come Lord Jesus, come Lord Jesus We exalt You above it all Lord Where there are things that are not as they should be That have taken up the place of an idol in our heart We remove them now and we put Jesus in His rightful place And we say we are Yours, equip us by Your Spirit Lead us by Your Spirit And receive all the glory in this house All the praise in this place Lord Oh, we wanna see You high and lifted up High and lifted up, sing it High and lifted up, high and lifted up Oh we wanna see King Jesus high and lifted up High and lifted up We call on You Jesus We need Your presence more today than yesterday Oh, fall afresh on us, fall afresh on us Come Holy Spirit as we lift You high In Your house, let's sing we exalt Thee We exalt Thee, lift it high We exalt Thee, yes we do We exalt Thee, oh Lord You're the King of my heart We exalt Thee, we lift You up We exalt Thee, lift You high We exalt Thee ♪ I'll be your light ♪ So as we continue to worship, I wanna finish reading Acts chapter five, starting in verse 33.

It says, when they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was honored by all people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. Then he addressed the Sanhedrin, men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do with these men. Sometime ago, Thutis appeared claiming to be somebody, and about 400 men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed and all his followers were scattered. Therefore, in the present case, I advise you, leave these men alone, let them go. For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men. You will only find yourself fighting against God. His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and let them go. The apostles left the Sanhedrin rejoicing because they had been counted worthy

of suffering disgrace for the name. Day after day in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah. So I don't know about you, but when I think about those verses, the thing that stuck out to me was that they rejoiced. They rejoiced after being flogged. They rejoiced for being persecuted for the name of Jesus. And so I think about circumstances that we might walk through, circumstances that I'm walking through. Maybe we walk into this room with financial difficulty or maybe it's family and needing to connect with somebody, but we're all walking through something. And if we can be like the disciples, we can walk through that with joy, with rejoicing, with hope, not because of who they were, but because of who they were with. They were with Jesus and they knew him. And so I wanna pray for us this morning into just that, that we'd have hope and joy through every single circumstance we might walk through outside of these doors. So will you pray with me? Father, we thank you, Lord. We thank you that we get to be in here and we get to open up your word.

Lord, we get to read your word through worship. We get to sing you praise. No matter what we walked in here with, whether that be a lot, whether that be a little, Lord, you take every single cup, no matter how full it is, and you turn it into an amazing song. And so Lord, thank you for this place. God, would you be with every single heart that's in this room today? Lord, would you fill them up with exactly what they need to be able to leave here with the hope and the joy that comes from walking with and following Jesus? And we trust that to you, God. We give it to you. It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Hey, hey, hey. How are you guys? Good morning, Crosspoint. You're like, Oh my Lord, what do we gotten ourselves into? Hey yo, I'm back. For those of you who haven't had the chance to meet I'm Pastor Laurel Bunker, and I'm honored to be here. I've been at Crosspoint a couple of times, I was here back in February when we had the awaken time. Wasn't that amazing? When we had awaken and we had to worship together. I'm still riding that. We asked people to step forward in boldness. Many of you did, you stepped into baptism. And God has just been continuing to take Crosspoint into incredible places. And so I'm honored. Thank you to my friend and my brother, Pastor Kevin Queen, and to all of you. I know the summers and I know regularly you get quite a few people who are here. But my hope is that I will just continue to be here and then I'll just be like one of the regulars

and you'll just be used to me. How about that? That's what the hope is. That's what the hope is, is I'll be with you regularly. But thank you to all of you, to all of our campuses, all of the other campus pastors. and to all of you. Summer is oftentimes a downtime for us where we get into a different rhythm, but I'm really grateful that here at Crosspoint, we're continuing to blaze a trail into boldness by looking at the book of Acts, particularly around this theme, brave and true. And so I wanna start this morning by asking you a question. What does it mean to you to be brave? When you think about an image of bravery, what does bravery look like to you? Who is maybe someone or an idea that you get when you think about bravery? For me, the first thing I think of is our military. I think about the men and women who honor us by guarding us. Come on, can we say thank you, God, for our military? Woo! For the brave men and women who have served us through world wars, through all manner of things. My daddy was a Korean War veteran, and I'm just so grateful for it. So if there are anyone in this room, any of you who have been military,

can you just wave at us and can you allow us to say thank you to you for serving our country? Thank you so much for guarding us and protecting our freedoms. It's always important to say thank you, y'all. It's so important for us to say thank you because you never know the sacrifice of people and the freedoms that we have because of those precious folks. Maybe some of you think about police officers, firemen, firewomen, people who do that work regularly, who are constantly there. What an image. I think about the work that they do daily, the work that oftentimes we criticize. And I know that it's tough work, but for all of us who have brothers and sisters, cousins, nieces, nephews, uncles, who are police officers and firemen, we need to continue to pray for them, for their presence of mind and peace of mind. It's a heavy, heavy lift, so let us never assume that we know what someone else is lifting. It's a heavy lift to constantly do that kind of work. I also think about nurses and doctors and others who work in our emergency rooms and those who do that heavy lifting. People who work in our trauma centers, people who are constantly responding

in those kind of places as well. And then maybe you think about this differently, but I think of teachers. I think about teachers who work regularly. Are there any teachers in the room? If you are, wave at us, thank you. May God stretch your summer, in Jesus' name. My mom taught for 40 years, fifth and sixth graders. Y'all, how many know we know our kids and we get tired? Can we please stretch a hand toward teachers? Because I'm like, Lord Jesus. That is a lot of work, not just instruction, but a lot of the kids that we're working with have a lot of needs, and so I thank God for them. Well, those might be heavy things, but maybe let's think about story. When you think of bravery and you think about stories, maybe you think about a number of individuals and different stories that you've read. One of my favorites, I will admit, I am a J.R.R. Tolkien Lord of the Rings fan. And I wasn't always, but you know, if I was ever going to be in a kingdom, I would be a part of the elfin kingdom because I love how those elves take those orcs out. Let me have three arrows at a time and just take those nasty things out. But I think about the story of Lord of the Rings. You all know that J.R.R. Tolkien was a Christian. He was a good friend of C.S. Lewis.

Some of you will know who C.S. Lewis is, but he wrote this story to help to bring the spiritual world to life. And you can look at all the characters, the kings, people like Aragorn, these extraordinary individuals who all could have been entrusted with destroying the ring, but instead, we find that the story of Lord of the Rings is around this little man named, initially, we think about Frodo and we think about others. And we think about this picture, and for any of you who have ever watched this, maybe you've ever asked yourself, why would they entrust the destruction of such a powerful force to a little hobbit, to a seeming nobody? But what was J.R.R. Tolkien trying to teach us? That it's not the somebodies always that are doing the heroics, it's the everyday nobodies. And Frodo was just a hobbit, but he had a heart, he had a determination, he had a will to do something extraordinary. And so in the line of stories, maybe you think about Frodo Baggins. But maybe you just think about your neighbors or other people, people who stand up for truth, people who stand in the face of crudeness or injustice. Friends, if you wanna take a simple step to be bold, maybe it's when somebody tells a crude joke that isn't funny, something that's racist or sexist,

you say, hey, not around me, we don't do that, that's not who we are, that's not of God. So often we just kind of backpedal and like. Like, okay, well, they didn't mean it. But no, we need to start to lovingly correct people and say, hey, uh-uh, that's not cool with me. Because the more we get comfortable with those kind of things and allow those kind of things, the more those things continue to happen. We need to be people who not only stand up for that, but stand up for truth. We need to be people who bow our heads and bless our food without looking like we're actually rubbing our eyes when we're in a restaurant. Maybe being bold, you think of everyday believers who have sacrificed and lived through the unimaginable for the sake of the gospel. How many have ever heard the name Corrie Ten Boom? Corrie Ten Boom is the author of the book, The Hiding Place. She and her family were jewelers who actually hid Jews in The Hiding Place. I had the privilege of going to Holland and actually seeing The Hiding Place. You can actually now look at this, a portion of the wall that's been removed where they were able to hide people, sometimes four hours at a time during the Nazi regime. Ultimately, she and her family were found out and they were brought into the concentration camps

where her family, her sisters, all of them died except for Corrie. But here's the amazing thing about her, even in the concentration camp, she brought people to Jesus. And even when she left there, rather than being angry and hostile, she spent the remainder of her days telling people about the love of Jesus Christ. Can you imagine that? Having survived the concentration camp and still having the love of God. Maybe you think about somebody like Richard Wumbrand. Most people don't know who this man is, but he is the founder of the ministry, Voice of the Martyrs. Richard Wumbrand was one who was persecuted, was in jail, was tortured for Christ, was separated from his wife and son and never saw them again before they all went to heaven. But he is the reason, Richard Wumbrand, this pastor and this man of God is the reason why most of us know what is happening with the persecuted church around the world. It is because of this man who lived and left the remainder of his life for the kingdom of God. I think often of Brother Juhn. Some of you have never heard of the name Brother Juhn,

but if you have never heard him, please read his book, The Heavenly Man. And or if you'd like to see a recent article, go to Jesus Image, who just brought Brother Juhn, who now lives in Germany there. He is considered a modern day Paul. And the joy that you see on that man's face, he had even while being persecuted and locked up in China as a founder of the underground church where he went through despicable things for the kingdom of God, and yet always prayed, God, give me more boldness. Brother Juhn is still alive among us. I think of Immaculee Eligabiza, who is the author of the book, Left to Tell. Some of you have heard that story, Left to Tell. She survived the Rwandan genocide in an eight by eight foot bathroom, while 1 million of her brothers and sisters and her family were slaughtered within 30 days. She came out of that with her faith intact and travels the world to share her faith and the reality of Jesus Christ. These are everyday individuals. When we think about being brave and true, it doesn't mean that we're called to that, but it's important that we know these kind of stories. Above and beyond these individuals, I think about our brothers and sisters right now in Nigeria.

I think about North Korea. I think about the underground church in China. I think about the burgeoning church in Iran. There are brothers and sisters who are growing in the kingdom of God, regardless of the persecution, because they know something true about Jesus. Final name I wanna give you is a man named Todd Beamer. Have any of you ever heard the name Todd Beamer? Todd Beamer was a businessman on a flight on the early morning of September 11th, 2001. Expecting to get to his destination, his flight was hijacked. He called to report the hijacking, but then the woman on the other line who was talking with him was asked this question, will you pray for me? And as she prayed with Todd Beamer, he looked to those who were on either side and said these two words, are you ready? Let's roll. And with that, Todd Beamer and others went, they stormed that cockpit, and they drove flight 93 into the ground. Rather than allowing it to reach Washington DC, Todd Beamer, a normal everyday businessman, gave up his life as well as all of those on flight 93 and the others that day, so that Washington DC and others could be spared. Let's roll means more to me than simply knowing those words in a part of the story.

See, my daughter is a Wheaton College graduate. Todd Beamer was a Wheaton College kid. And so when we moved our daughter to Wheaton College just a few years ago, we would, after all of the festivities, go to the student center, which is named the Todd Beamer Center. And in that center at Wheaton College, there's an entire wall that tells the story. And in the midst of that wall, it says those two words, let's roll. Friends, we may not be asked to handle that kind of situation, but I do think those two words, let's roll, is the center of what we're talking about today as we look at the story of the apostles who were called to be able to bring the gospel to the far corners of the earth. In this portion of scripture, we're gonna learn a bit of what it means to be bold. Now, what does it mean from a perspective of the gospel to be bold? The word is parousia, and in the New Testament, that boldness means to speak in Christ confidence despite persecution, to have the confidence in Christ despite persecution. I don't know about you, but a lot of times, we're willing to speak Jesus Christ if we don't have to experience persecution. How many know persecution isn't something always as dramatic as Corey Ten Boom or Brother Yoon? Sometimes persecution is friends

who don't wanna be friends with you anymore. Sometimes persecution is being talked about on Facebook or Instagram or having people mock your faith. But how many of you know that we, as Christians, ought to have Christ confidence? What does that look like for us to have Christ confidence? It means that our identity, it means that who we are, it matters that the way that we live is based on our identity in Christ, not what people think about us, not whether people will persecute us, not whether or not Christ will give us an easy life, but the confidence in Christ that we are called to have is based on the fact that not only because of him do we live but because of him, we will live again. We are emboldened by God because of confidence and we can overcome the natural by the supernatural. Here's a snapshot of what I'm saying to you, friends. Bravery is not the absence of fear. It doesn't mean that when we step into any of these things, we won't feel the fear, but instead bravery is the power of God in us to overcome in the midst of difficult circumstances. And I can't think of a better portion of scripture for us to identify what that looks like than the portion of scripture that has been read in our hearing in Acts chapter five. So let's go back and let's take a look at that, that reality of what it is to not just press through fear,

but to stand in the midst of it, no matter what. The scripture that we read today, we have just come out of Acts chapter five, verses 12 or so, where we heard the story of Ananias and Sapphira. Last week that was preached to you where Ananias and Sapphira had lost their lives. And we know that because of that, many people in Jerusalem and the surrounding areas feared. Now they feared, but the word of God tells us that they still came to faith in Christ. The scripture says the apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon's colonnade. Now no one dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. Here's the word, nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. Solomon's colonnade was a really important part in history. Jesus preached from Solomon's colonnade. It was on the east side of the temple. It was large columns and it was an open air classroom of sorts where people would come in and hear the gospel preached regularly. So I want you to think about it. The birth of the church is happening. The day of Pentecost has come.

The apostles have been filled with the Holy Spirit. People are starting to leave what they knew as Judaism and they are starting to become Christians. And the Sanhedrin and others are now angry because all of their power is being challenged because this Jesus who had been crucified is still alive, but he's now alive through his disciples. And they too are there next to the temple preaching in Solomon's colonnade, this very historic place. The people were terrified because of what had happened to Ananias and Sapphira, but the scriptures tell us nevertheless, they still came to faith in Christ and the numbers were added. It says, as a result, people brought their sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats. So at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as they passed by. Let's go back. That idea of bravery and ordinary people, we're talking about Peter. Anybody remember who Peter was? Stumbling and bumbling on the water, denying Jesus three times, but Jesus prayed for him. The day of Pentecost came. Jesus actually had been resurrected and ascended and Peter, this ordinary, stumbling, bumbling, I'll never deny you, Lord, follower, became a pillar of the church

because he was filled with the Holy Spirit. That is so powerful to me. I hope it encourages somebody in here because, guys, sometimes we can be so good at comparing ourselves to somebody else, can't we? Well, that person looks like they're always strong, they're always doing great things, but it's time for us to stop looking to the left and the right and it's time for us to start looking up and saying, Jesus, what can you do with me, an everyday, ordinary person who wants to be extraordinary, not for my glory, but for yours? Well, the scripture goes on to tell us that crowds gathered all over, but the high priest and his associates were angry, they were infuriated, they were losing their power, and so they brought the apostles and they brought them in and they arrested them and they put them in a public jail. And that word they're calling public means that they put them in an obvious place that was meant to harass them, meant to make a mockery of them. But it says, but during the night, an angel of the Lord opened the doors and brought them out. And what did the angel say? Go stand in the temple courts and tell the people about this new life. Guys, I don't know about you,

but if I was arrested and I was thrown in jail, I don't know if I'd wanna go right back to the same place that I was arrested, but the angels say, go back to the same place, know who your king is, go back and preach about this new life. See that the angel says this new life, not an old antiquated religious life, a new life, a life that has come because Jesus Christ has come into the world. I don't know about you, but I am living a new life. I was a church girl, I knew religion, but I did not know salvation until I encountered Jesus, until I said, Lord, save me from myself, save me from religious stuff, make me somebody who doesn't just do the religious thing, but make me someone that you can do something with. Guys, I'm not on this stage or anywhere else because I'm somebody other than a girl who said yes to God. And I said yes to him over and over and over. I started in the little things. Do you remember that the apostles were disciples? And Jesus said two words to each one of them, follow me. They didn't start out here. They didn't start out under the power of the Holy Spirit. They were fishermen, they were tax collectors, they were a mess. But shouldn't that encourage us today? Shouldn't that encourage us that no matter who you are or what you've done or where you've been,

God is saying the same thing to you that he said to the apostles, follow me. Follow me even if you can't see the way forward. Follow me even when you're afraid. Follow me even though you may lose friends. Follow me even when people might persecute you. Follow me even when it is scary. That's what these individuals did and some walked away. Some said this is too hard, we can't do it. But others stayed because they saw the miracle working power and the love of Jesus. Here's what I want us to focus on today. As they went back and were preaching, the high priests and others came together and they were angry. And they said, look, these men that you put in jail, they're free somehow and they're back preaching. Hear these words again on the screen because this to me is the primary portion of scripture that I want us to focus on today. Is that the apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, he said, yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood. Peter and the other apostles replied, we must obey God rather than human beings. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead

whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he was. He might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. We are witnesses of these things. And so is the Holy Spirit who God has given to those who obey Him. Hear the words, we must obey God rather than men. Now, hear me cross point clearly. This doesn't mean that we need to go rogue. This doesn't mean that we go and break laws and say to the police and other people, I'm following God rather than you. That's not what they're saying. They're saying at the end of that, there is a God who is a God of order who has given us all of these things. And God has called each one of us to be His hands and feet. Second Corinthians says that we are ambassadors, that our job and our call is to draw people into intimacy with Jesus. Brothers, sisters of cross point, you are called for more. You are called to be brave. You are called to be true in the areas in which you live and learn and work and live. You are called to pick up your cross. You are called like I am to be witnesses of the fact that even in a crazy and cruel world, God can use everyday folks like you and me

to do extraordinary things. Does it take sacrifice? Absolutely. Will it take sacrifice? Absolutely. But what is the difference between us and some of these other people, the Corrie Ten Booms, the Brother Younes, others? What does scripture tell us? Acts 14 verse 13 tells us this about the apostles. Not that they were brilliant, not that they all had PhDs. It says that they were ordinary, unschooled men who had been with Jesus. There it is, guys. They had been with Jesus. They had been with Jesus, not just living amongst Jesus. They had walked in the way. They had watched how Jesus lived. They had gathered together. They had seen the miracles. They were taught by Jesus. And how many of you know we're still being taught by Jesus? This word is alive. This word has power. This word transforms. This word changed my life. This word delivered me from the kingdom of darkness and delivered me into the kingdom of his dear son. This word took me from a churchgoer

to someone who will stand in the assembly and say Jesus lives. He lives. And how many of you know he lives? He lives in you. How many of you know he lives in you? Because if he didn't, you'd be somewhere else this Sunday morning. Maybe somebody dragged you in here. If they did, thank you for being brave. Keep showing up. For those of you who are unsure of what it means, I want you to know that there is bravery that is required of us in this hour. We live, yes, in the freest nation in the world, but that shouldn't make us spiritually lazy. It should make us more bold than any other nation in the world. We shouldn't just look to other people to say, you go do that. You go be brave. No, you step up and be brave. You do something that your flesh wants to crawl and repel. You ask Holy Spirit to push you forward. You ask Holy Spirit to say, despite how I feel, make me brave and courageous. That's what happened to these unschooled, ordinary guys. The difference is they had been with Jesus and they had the Holy Spirit. Come on, say it with me.

They had been with Jesus and they had the Holy Spirit. Dear friends, something in our lives might have to go. Some hobby or something else. Listen to me, in this hour, we have got to be with Jesus. I'm not just talking about our devotionals and Jesus calling. I'm talking about laying on our faces. I'm talking about saying no to the things that our flesh wants. I'm talking about deeper diving. I'm talking about opening that word. I'm asking for the Holy Spirit to give us a hunger. I'm asking that Jesus would teach me and teach us to be bold and courageous, to be people of uncommon faith, so that people will know she's been with Jesus. He's been with Jesus. I can see it on his countenance. Even though I talked about him at work, he still. gave me, what is that? They have been with Jesus. Are you hearing me? We have got to be with Jesus, not reading a verse alone, but laying before him, crying out, saying, Lord, give me the courage to be more like you. We know that in this story, the apostles didn't just go back to teach. They were sent out for a while and Gamaliel,

who is the high priest, said to others, listen, if these men are simply following some fad, then it will all go to nothing. But if, come on, someone say if. But if they are following God, you will be fighting against God. And how many of you know that what they stood for then, we stand for now. That Jesus Christ is no fad. That this is not some fluke. That this Bible, people have tried to tear apart for 2,000 plus years. That people of other religions have tried to mock it. They've tried to rip the pages out. Rich craft has tried to stop it. But how many of you know that the way, the truth and the life is still alive among us? That his Holy Spirit still cries out to us. That we are alive because of him. Some of us lived lives where we are only alive because of the grace of God. How many of you would say amen? Some of you are clean and sober, not just because you work so hard, but because of him. How many of you can say amen? God restored some of your marriages, not because you're so good, but because you bowed your knee to him. How many of you can say amen? God is destroying divorce and evil in your families

because you are the chain breaker. How many of you will say amen? God is on the move, not just in Nigeria and China and North Korea, in you and in me. Every day, people, God is calling us to do something great. These apostles, it says they were flogged. They were beaten. But did they go away and hide? Did they go away and be angry and say, ah, this is just too hard, I'm done with it? No, they counted it a joy. It says they left the Sanhedrin in joy. They were grateful to have suffered for Jesus and they went back. And it says they stood in the temple courts and they went from house to house to tell people, Jesus is the Messiah. Awaken, Jesus is the Messiah. Friends, the call for us is still the same today. Knock on doors, go wherever you are. Go to the Gulch, go to 12 South, go to wherever you are in your neighborhoods. Go wherever you are, Dixon. Go where you are, you guys. Go Mount Juliet. Go out there and tell people, Franklin, go tell people. Knock on doors, open eyes and say, Jesus is still the Messiah. He's the King of all creation. He's the one that saved my life.

He transforms. And yeah, guys, it's hard because we as the body of Christ have done some dumb, can we just say dumb stuff? You ever just think like, man, you just made my job a lot harder, like for real. There are some things that have been done in the name of Jesus that make it harder. But some of you in here are scholars who need to go back and study apologetics so you can help people know why Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. How are you gonna explain to a Buddhist, an atheist, a Muslim? How are you gonna explain to them that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life? Do it, do the work for your teenagers and for the sake of a generation coming behind us. Tell these kids why. That is the joy of my life to sit with teenagers and others and say, here's where faith and science meet. Here's why you have an opportunity for the gospel. Here's how we know Jesus is alive. Here are the texts that were not written by Christians who will tell us who Jesus Christ was and the resurrection of the dead. There is verifiable, historical, anthropological reason for belief in Jesus Christ. Let us not simply be people who believe because it's a good idea. You better know in this hour, in this world,

why you believe in Jesus Christ. Do the work. These brothers and sisters did the work and they believed and into their suffering. Dear friends, let me leave you with this. Bravery and boldness are not the end game. I'm not preaching to you and talking to you and just say bravery and boldness is what the end game is. Glorification of the King is. to lift up the name of Jesus. Because when we live in boldness, even when we are hurting, even when it costs us something, the world takes notice. They say, why? Why would you forgive me? Why would you forgive them? How can you? And it opens the door to a story, to an opportunity to serve. Just last night, my daughter and I brought one of my kids with me this time, you guys. I keep bringing family members. I brought one, now I gotta bring my husband, my daughter, and my son-in-law. Somebody find us a house so we can move to Nashville. It's gotta be a realtor in the house somewhere. We have just, we are smitten by you and by this place. But we were in 12 South and we went to Burger Up. Y'all go there before they close August 1st.

Not paid, I don't know who those people are. They got more money than me, but go there anyway. And we walked into a place, one of the cute places down there. And you know, there's a lot of us who come in and out. Please forgive all the weird people who come to Nashville. We are not one of them. We are very normal people. And they said, well, what brings you here? I said, I have the privilege and the honor of preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who saved my life. Have you ever heard of Crosspoint Church and the beautiful people of Crosspoint? And as I started to talk about the Lord Jesus Christ to these two young women who were standing there, one started to cry. He said, honey, I know that a lot of people come to Nashville just like they come to Washington, D.C. People come here to make something of themselves. And I imagine, and y'all nod if it's right, that it's hard to find community here. People come and go. People wanna be great. People want record deals. Everybody wants to be Luke Bryan or someone else. He's a cool dude. Everybody wants to be CeCe. They can't be. No one will ever be the great CeCe Winans.

But everybody wants a shot at it. But what happens when you don't get there? What happens then? So I shared with her, I know that it can be lonely, but I want you to know that there are people at a place called Crosspoint Church, an everyday wonderful group of people who will bring you in. And this girl started to cry, and I just put my arms around her. I said, girl, Jesus has a call for your life and for mine. And I just hugged her, and I told her I'd be back, y'all. It doesn't take that much to be a witness just to let people know. When they ask you, why have you come in a store? Why have you come somewhere? Just let them know, I'm just a follower of Jesus. I'm just one following the way. You know anything about that? Let me tell you what Jesus Christ has done in my life. Y'all, start practicing 30-second to one-minute testimonies of what God has done in your life, because how many of you know God has done something in your life today? How many of you know without Him, you would be dead? How many of you know He's worthy of praise in your life? Tell somebody, y'all. God hasn't given you that testimony to keep to yourself. Tell somebody He still saves. Here's the thing.

When we know our why, and we know our who, our why is to glorify the King. The who is our King who is great. We will be forever changed. So I'm asking you guys today not to be the apostles, not to be Brother Yoon. I'm not asking you to be Todd Beamer. Although I don't know what tomorrow holds for us, but I am asking you, would you take one small step? Take one small step that for you would be monumentally brave. For someone in this room, you need to go back to therapy. For someone in this room, you're falling backwards and you need to call your counselor. You need to go back into sobriety. For someone in this room, bravery looks like forgiving that family member who has wreaked havoc in your life, but you are tired of being in chains of unforgiveness. For somebody in this room, you've been walking with God a long time, but you need to be a little bit more bold and stop dragging your feet and start to leap in a little bit more. For somebody in this room, each one of you know what being brave and true means, but can I just ask you as your sister, someone who's no better than you, stretch out, be brave. Know the truth, follow the truth, study the truth, love the truth, know the truth, because the freedom that we have today

may not always be the freedom that we have. Let us be brave. Let us be true. let us link arms, let us high five each other, let us lock arms and let us lock eyes and say, brothers, sisters, by the mercies of God, let us not just be church goers, let us be disciples marked by Him with a fragrance that says to people, no, she's been with Jesus, I can tell. Her countenance, no, no, no, he knows Jesus. I know those Jesus followers. I don't know about you, I'll leave you with this. I want that said of me and maybe you have heard it. Do you have enough evidence in your life that if you were arrested for being a Christian, it would be obvious? Let my life and yours be so covered with the power of God that they would say of us, they are with the Holy Spirit and they have been with Jesus. And if we have to suffer for it, then so be it because everything that happens on this side of eternity will simply pass away. And one day we will be in the presence of the King and we will know that everything that we ever went through or suffered on this side was worth it. Y'all pray for me to be bold for Jesus as I pray for you to be bold for Jesus, not somebody that others will look at, but that they will look toward Him with a gaze.

And with that, let's pray. Lord, thank you for this day and thank you for Crosspoint Church. Thank you for all of our campuses and thank you for these precious people in this room. And now God, would you use these precious people to do exceedingly and abundantly above all that they could ever ask or think or imagine? Would you give everyone under the sound of my voice the courage to say, Lord, help me to be brave and true, true to you, true to the word, true to the way that you have lived, true to the gospel. Would you give me the courage to take one small step, one step forward. Lord, when you say, let's roll, let me roll with you, God. Let me go where you call me to go and do what you call me to do, fearing no man. Let me be like the apostles. We must, that word must is an imperative. We must obey God more than men. We must preach this gospel. We must tell somebody Jesus saves. God, would you do it? Do it in us, do it in Crosspoint Church. Transform Middle Tennessee. And by transforming Middle Tennessee, transform Tennessee as a whole. And as you transform Tennessee, transform the nation. Let the fires burn in Tennessee, God. Let it burn brightly for you, Lord Jesus.

Don't let us be comfortable, afflict us, oh God, that we might be people who transform the world. Use us as afraid or frail, as small as we might be. Use us, Lord, to do your will that someone might know Jesus is the Messiah. We thank you for it, Lord. And we ask it in earnest in the matchless name of the one that was and is and is to come, Jesus, the Messiah, the King of the world. And all who would agree with me would say, amen. Let's stand up and worship. Thanks for being here today, Crosspoint. Come on. Come on. God, my praise again, you're worthy. God, you're worthy of all of it. Oh, you're worthy of it all. You're worthy of it all. Thank you, Lord. Sing. ♪ I will witness it to the lost I will witness it ♪ ♪ And I'll tell them this I'll tell them what I've witnessed ♪ ♪ To my family I'll witness it to my city I'll witness it ♪ ♪ To the nations I'll witness it and I'll tell them this ♪ ♪ I'll tell them what I've witnessed ♪ ♪ Oh, I will tell them of your faithfulness ♪ ♪ Oh, how your spirit never left me, God, oh, I will tell them this ♪ ♪ Oh I will tell them ♪ Come on church, all together. ♪ I've witnessed your faithfulness ♪

♪ I've seen you breathe life within me so I'm proud of myself ♪ ♪ I'm worthy of it God you're worthy of all of it ♪ ♪ Your promises oh they never fail ♪ ♪ I've got stories I'll live to tell so I pour out my praise again ♪ ♪ You're worthy God you're worthy of all of it ♪ Hallelujah.