Sunday, June 10, 2007
Acts 4:13-14,23-31
Minister of Discipleship
Have you ever heard
the old proverb “Be careful what you ask….you just might get it”? Sometimes we say this with mock sincerity –
parents may say this when “overnight” their cute little toddlers turn into
surly teenagers; dieters may say this when their diet plans are tested by an
invitation to try the latest new ice cream flavor at Braums! I am often reminded of this phrase when I
read the book of Acts, especially when I read about the early church praying
for “boldness!” What were they
thinking?
It reminds me of a sermon I heard
years ago while living in Houston during the oil boom days. Our church was situated on the edges of
River Oaks – the most affluent section of all of Houston, TX. The senior minister had just returned from a
trip behind the iron curtain – for those young people in the congregation, this
was the time when the USSR was still under the control and power of communism. In those days it was illegal to come
together and worship – in fact, you could be arrested, maybe even killed, if
you were caught. Our minister had gone
with a group from across the US to visit in the USSR, especially to spend some
time with the underground church. This
was a life-changing experience for him.
When he returned, the first Sunday he preached he told us about what it
was like…sneaking into a home and going down into the basement where a couple
of hundred people had gathered. It took
quite some time just for the group to gather because they had to arrive a few
at a time to avoid suspicion by the government authorities. Once everyone had gathered they began to
worship and praise God. This went on
for several hours – everyone standing the whole time because there wasn’t room
to sit down; everyone giving testimonies as to how they had tried to live out
the Christian life in a police state; everyone praying for boldness to continue
their life in Christ even if it meant getting caught.
At
the end of this dramatic retelling, Dr. Underwood stopped suddenly and looked
out at the congregation and said the words that have stuck with me for many,
many years. He said something like
this: “You know, many people would feel sorry for those Christians behind the
iron curtain. But, I feel sorry for us,
for the people of this country today!”
He let that sit in the air for a moment and then he continued, “In
places where people are oppressed, you KNOW if you are a Christian. There is no middle road; there is no easy
way. If you believe, you live out that
belief every day in everything you do..
I feel sorry for us because it isn’t so easy for people like us to know
if we are Christians! We can profess we
are Christians and come to church when it is convenient. Maybe we even live out the Christian life
when it fits in our schedules, but do we REALLY know we are Christians when it
is that easy?” That’s the question I
think Luke would want us to ponder today --- How do we know we are Christians
when it appears to be so easy? In fact,
I believe Luke would go even farther and ask, ARE we really Christians if it is
too easy?
The
word, “Boldness,” appears many times in this book called The Acts of the
Apostles. There must be a reason for
this. In the original Greek, the words
translated as “boldness” actually mean “to take up courage” or “to receive
courage.” Boldness must not be easy if
we need courage to face the actions J And, even more importantly, Boldness must
come from somewhere outside of ourselves if we are to “receive” it. This is exactly what Luke believes. Luke believes that Boldness is a gift given
to Christians by the Holy Spirit. It is
a gift we must ask to receive. And,
remember the old saying – if we ask for it, we just might get it – along with
all that implies!!
So,
what are the implications of asking for/praying for Boldness? Let’s look at the story of Peter and
John. Two weeks ago we read about how
Peter and John along with over a hundred other people were following the instructions
of Jesus at his ascension. They were
waiting together and praying in an upper room.
After a number of days the Holy Spirit “came upon them” and gave them
the “boldness” to go out into the streets and begin to speak about Jesus and
the message of his healing love. They
began to speak in many different languages to many different people. Last week we read about how the church
continued to grow as they came together to support one another, to learn more
about God, and to pray. So, the first
things we can learn about boldness are that we are able to speak the gospel
message to many different people in many different ways, and we are bold enough
to give what we have to the common goal of the church.
Today
we learn about what happened as the people began to go out into their world
emboldened by this fellowship and prayer.
In chapter 3 of Acts you can read how Peter and John were on their way
to the temple when they noticed a man who had laid by the gate every day for
many, many years. He had to be carried
to his place by the entrance because he had been born unable to stand or
walk. This beggar was a regular sight
by the gate. Some people threw him a
few coins as they walked on by. Others
didn’t even notice him. But it was
different for Peter and John—who were filled with the boldness of the Holy
Spirit. They noticed him, they stopped
and actually looked him in the eye as a fellow human being. They talked to him. And, they gave him a gift more valuable than
“gold and silver” – they offered him the healing of Jesus Christ. Of course, if you are a regular reader of
the Bible, you know what happened next….he got up and walked—actually the
scripture says he jumped up. He went
with Peter and John on into the temple area praising God for God’s great miracle.
The
people knew who this man was and they became very curious about his
life-change, and so Peter—filled with the boldness of the Holy Spirit—took the
opportunity to tell people about how God in Jesus Christ had brought about this
great healing. Unfortunately, not
everyone was pleased with these bold words of Peter. The leaders of the temple—the leaders of the status quo—took
offense to this just as they had taken offense to the words and actions of
Jesus himself. And, they did the same
thing they had done with Jesus—they arrested Peter and John thinking that would
stop them. (some people never
learn!!) But, instead it gave Peter
another opportunity to boldly speak out about Jesus. They soon learned that when the Holy Spirit gives a person boldness,
great things can happen!!
Luke
must think the church has something to learn about this gift of Boldness. So, just what can we see in this passage
from Acts? First, we see that people
filled with Boldness notice things that need to change. Many people walked right by that disabled
man every day – they had been doing that for years. It’s true that some gave him money, but no one thought about
trying to change his life situation. No
one until the Peter in his boldness came along. Peter and John actually took in the situation and then asked God
to help them intervene. Now that’s a
bold request! How many of us see things
going on around us every day, but we are so used to seeing these things that we
just walk on by? What would happen if
we were to stop and take a moment to pray boldly asking God what we could do
with God’s help to make a change in that situation – what might happen? Maybe the thing you need to pray about isn’t
something obvious out there in public view – maybe you know about a situation
going on in a family (maybe even your family).
Perhaps with the help of some prayers you could be strong enough/bold
enough to address that situation.
The
second thing we can learn today about Boldness is that true Godly Boldness
leads to healing not destruction.
Unfortunately, there are those in our midst (some are religious folk and
some are not) who think that being bold involves speaking out in loud, hurtful
ways to put down someone else’s views or actions. Notice that Peter and John don’t put down all the people of
Jerusalem or the leaders of the temple.
Instead they look for something positive to do or say. They focus instead on how the healing power
of Jesus Christ might improve this man’s life.
If you see a situation that seems to be calling for your Boldness,
please remember that there is a positive way, a caring approach that will do
more to bring about healing than strong, hateful words. If you see a situation with which you
disagree – ask yourself, “How can I boldly speak a positive word, a word of
care that might open up new ways to deal with this situation?”
The
last thing I would note about this scripture is that Boldness does not come
just to those who are educated in a topic or those who are skilled and trained
for the task at hand. This was one of
the things that most amazed the temple leaders – Peter and John were
“uneducated” men from a small town.
But, they knew the true source of power and wisdom…it comes from the
ultimate power-source, Jesus Christ.
Because they spent time with Jesus, because they spent time in prayer
waiting for the gifts of the Holy Spirit, they were able to accomplish
incredible things. That is why the
early church prayed for boldness….they saw situations that needed to change,
they saw lives that needed healing, and they wanted to make a positive
difference in their world. So, they
asked for Boldness – they asked to receive the power of the Holy Spirit to work
with them to bring about change in their world. Of course, it wasn’t always easy for them. Sometimes being Bold means that not everyone
will like what you do or say. But, if
you have true Godly boldness, you will
never act or speak alone. In the world
of science-fiction you may have to “boldly go where no one has gone
before.” [Star Trek quote] But in God’s world, you can boldly go where
the Spirit has already gone before you!!
So go ahead, pray for Boldness.
It may not be an easy journey, but at least you can be assured of what
you believe and who you are following.
This past week our children have been
learning about what it means to be a person of courage – what we have been
calling “heroes.” As I was preparing
this sermon, the lessons from Bible School kept coming back to me and I began
to see that a hero is someone who knows how to live with Boldness – the kind of
Boldness Luke wanted us to have. The
heroes we learned about this week didn’t always have an easy time. They didn’t have a simple life, but they
certainly knew something about Boldness. We learned from Mary and Joseph that
heroes step up and boldly “join the team” even when they can’t see the whole
“game plan.” We learned from John the
Baptist that heroes trust in God and have the boldness to play the position God
has asked them to play. We learned from
Jesus that heroes boldly give all they have to play for God’s team. And, we learned from the early church (the
people of the book of Acts) that heroes are bold enough to put others first
before their own needs or wants.
So,
are you ready to pray for Boldness?
Are you ready to “sign up” and become a hero who boldly goes out into
the world as a part of God’s team?? Be
careful what you pray because the results may not always be easy, but you’ll
have a great coach calling the plays!!