Power of the Church

We're going to be thinking about power this morning. Our theme has been the power of the church as we look at Acts 4 and we see a powerful proclamation from Peter, and then the power of them not being afraid of the Sadducees and the priests, and then the power of doing what is right in the sight of God by praying and trusting Him. As I thought about power, I thought, how can I help demonstrate power? I thought of a couple of ways I could do that. The first thing that came to mind is the power team. The power team, they're the guys who come around and they do motivational speaking at schools and other events. The most popular thing they do is they show you power by ripping a phone book in half. Now, I couldn't find a phone book. Do they make phone books anymore? Because I was really looking forward to demonstrating that power to you, but I just couldn't find one. The other thing I thought was a good spy movie. In a spy movie, there's always somebody who always escapes death at every turn, but more importantly, there's a villain who wants world power. And the really good movies have a laser somewhere that's threatening to blow up the earth or the moon or take power from the sun. And so they're wanting great power to use for some evil end. Another way you could think about power is a great order. Winston Churchill, so I thought maybe I could redo one of his speeches, but I thought there's no way I could make the delivery. And really, I kept thinking of different examples of power that we normally think of in this world. None of them really touch or connect with the power we're going to think about today. This morning, we're going to be thinking about a very unique power. Because unlike the strong man who can rip a phone book in half, that's his natural power. God gave him muscles to be able to do that. The power the church is gonna use is given to them. It's not a natural power. It's one that God blesses from above when they're faithful. Secondly, it's a power that's not used for selfish ends. It's a power that says we're going to declare the glory of somebody else, Jesus Christ. And third, the power of the Church is not in persuasiveness. It's not in the power to persuade others. It's in the power that God blesses faithful proclamation. We're going to think about a unique power the Church has received from the Father, who sent His Son to die for that Church, to purchase her with His precious blood, and then sent the Spirit to empower them so they may proclaim Christ and know Him. Something you need to realize as a Church is that We're not helpless. The helper has come to empower us to fulfill the mission of exalting Jesus Christ. So look at our text, I want us to see three things. There's a power to save, that's verses one to 12. The church has been given the power of the gospel that saves. Secondly, there's a power that we have in living in the sight of God. There's a power, actually, in the fear of God. And then third, there's a power in supplication, the power of prayer. Now remember where we are. So we just heard our text read, but it fits into the bigger narrative beginning in chapter three. Peter and John were going to temple. There was a lame man who's been lame for 40 years, as we just heard. And he asked for money, and Peter says, I don't have silver or gold, but I do have this. Get up and walk in the name of Jesus Christ. And so then the crowds gather, there's awe, there's wonder, there's amazement, and Peter proclaims the Gospel. And in chapter 3, verse 13, he gets to the heart of the Gospel. Let's remember what he has said. Acts chapter 3, verse 13. The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, He glorified His servant, Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you. And you killed the author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. In his name, by faith in his name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. And the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all. That this was the declaration, this sign was performed in the name of the one who can save you, the one you put to death, and the one God raised to life. And now as the story continues, the story takes a turn as new characters are introduced. Notice chapter four, verse one. And as they were speaking to the people, the priest and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them. So the story first took the clear turn at the beginning as the lame man asked for alms. That's where the story takes a turn. And then the gather in Solomon's portico and the gospel proclaim, it takes another turn. Here it takes yet another turn. The new characters, the priest, the Sadducees, and the temple. And here we're going to see the power to save. The power to save. Enter the priest. Now, the key folks here are actually the Sadducees. And what's interesting, if you look at the Gospels, the Pharisees are the primary folks that were constantly giving Christ problems and that he was correcting. In the book of Acts, it changes. The Pharisees are much more sympathetic with the church after the resurrection. The folks have a real difficult time with the church or the Sadducees. And something that we see here very clearly is that they're annoyed because they're preaching the resurrection from the dead. The Sadducees, they denied immortality. They did not believe in angels, they did not believe in demons, and they denied the resurrection. That is how the gospel was offensive to them. There was a denial of the resurrection. And this is the key to Peter's gospel. This is the key to our gospel. Jesus Christ, God, who raised him from the dead. And so they're annoyed. And as we see there, that first section, one through four, comes to a conclusion of just that introduction of a new twist. It was already evening, the council was over, so they held them in prison for a day. Verse four introduces this little summary. We get summary statements of the book of Acts from Luke, because he's writing an orderly account. And this reminds us that many were coming to faith. And at this point, early in the church, there were already about 5,000 believers. Verse 5, still looking at the power to save, we see that the rulers and the elders and the scribes, they gather together. Annas, the high priest, Caiaphas, and John and Alexander. Caiaphas was the ruling high priest at this time. We don't know who Jonathan and Alexander are. It's possible that John here, rather, is one of Caiaphas' sons. We have to remember, these are the guys who put Jesus to death, and that will be significant in a moment. So they come together, they convene, and then verse seven, and when they had set them in the midst, they inquired. Now Luke records one question. It's possible this is a paraphrase, as Luke is often paraphrasing a message, but here's the one question we have that's asked, and it's a pointed question. By what power or by what name did you do this? By what power, by what name did you do this? Because they cannot deny a miracle has happened. Now, at some level we could say, this is just the priest doing their job. They're at the temple, a miracle has taken place, and the priests are supposed to make sure nothing magic took place. There was no witchcraft. So at one level we could say this is what the priest is supposed to be doing. They're on their turf. They should be asking these kind of questions. But if we look at the context, Annas and Caiaphas, they're the priests who put Christ forward to be crucified. And it's probably pretty assumed, you can easily assume that they've heard that the Holy Spirit has been poured out, that many have come to believe in this name, Jesus Christ, that now Peter has made a healing in the name of Jesus Christ, and they're greatly annoyed because they're proclaiming Jesus Christ is risen, and that you, too, can have eternal life. In the context, it's clearly a battle scene, and that's how Peter takes it. Now, verse 8, Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, And we have here yet another gospel proclamation. This is the third gospel proclamation from Peter. And if you've been with us, I want you just to hear a few things that have always been in these gospel proclamations. He's always referenced the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But more importantly, in every one of Peter's proclamations so far, he gets to the point, you crucified God's chosen one. God exalted him and raised him from the dead. In every single Gospel proclamation, Peter gets to the point that it is our sin that crucified Christ according to God's plan, and God raised him from the dead. And again, this is probably a paraphrase. You can see that very point in this message in verse 10. Now, let's look at verse 8. Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter, who is now filled with the Holy Spirit, it helps us see he's speaking with power from on high. Peter, remember, probably 100 days ago, we don't know exactly how long ago, but I'm guessing within 100 days, denied Jesus to a little girl who asked him, are you one of Jesus' disciples? Less than 100 days ago, most likely, Peter is afraid to in any way associate himself with Jesus Christ and denies him three times and yet here he's in front of the rulers who have the right to have him flogged and he because he's filled the Holy Spirit he proclaims the gospel boldly look back at Luke chapter 12 that's on page 871 if you're using a pew Bible Luke chapter 12 we see here Luke recording that what Jesus promised is actually coming true. Beginning in verse 11. Luke 12, beginning in verse 11. And when they bring you before the synagogue and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say. We see Peter now experiencing what he did not understand at that time, but here, in front of the synagogue, in front of the rulers and the authorities, the Holy Spirit empowers Peter. Well, what does Peter say? Notice how he addresses them. Rulers of the people and elders. It's a gracious appeal. He's appealing to their authority. He recognizes they do have authority. But notice what he says next. He said to them, rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined, he realizes this is a trial, they are being examined. If we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed. So he first makes it clear, you're putting us on trial for doing something nice? We healed a man who had been crippled and asking for alms for years? You are examining us over giving someone now, after 40 years of being a cripple, of being able to walk. That is what you're asking us. Okay, we'll tell you. Verse 10. 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, Peter is filled with the Holy Spirit. He's proclaiming the gospel boldly. You, Caiaphas, crucified, the one that God raised from the dead. It is His name that has the authority and the power to make this man before you, who was crippled for 40 years, He now stands before you. Look at Him. He's well. Notice the clarity of the gospel. Jesus Christ died. God raised him from the dead. There's a clearly implied in verse 12, you must believe him to be saved. Well, we'll get there, but here we see that that pointed gospel, that Peter, who once denied Christ, is now proclaiming boldly in front of the priest. As we look at this name, it represents who Jesus is and what he did. He's the Son of God, the very one who has the power over sin, the very one who has the power over death. He's the one who died for our sins and rose again. This is the name. Now, Peter makes another clear argument in verse 11. So he gets pointed and quite personal with these priests and Sadducees, and now verse 11. This Jesus, this name that you wanna know, so you wanna know who it was, it was Jesus, this same Jesus, He's the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. Now, Peter, it appears, is quoting Psalm 118. You can find Psalm 118 on page 511 of your Pew Bible. It is worth going there, because we're going to read it and look at it, because usually what we see in the New Testament is if they quote a simple verse or a simple phrase from a psalm, they're really thinking the whole thing. It's a shorthand reference. And what we see in Psalm 118 is important. I'm gonna begin reading in verse 19. Open to me the gates of righteousness that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord. The righteous shall enter through it. I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. The stones that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Save us, we pray. O Lord, O Lord, we pray, give us success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord. The Lord is good. He has made his light to shine upon us. bind the festal sacrifice with cords up to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will give thanks to you. You are my God, I will extol you. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. We see in verse nine there's a desire to enter the gates of righteousness. How can one enter the gates of righteousness until you've answered me and you've become my salvation, verse 21? And then we see our verse that the stone, the builders have rejected, he's become the cornerstone, he's the salvation. That God has done something, he who comes in the name of the Lord, he has brought about the salvation, that brings about this great declaration of praise that we end with. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. Peter's bold. God is doing something new. He's building a new house. He's building a new temple. And the cornerstone is Jesus Christ, whom you, priests, who are supposed to be the builders of God's house, you rejected him. The great high priest has come, Jesus Christ. And those who are supposed to be serving the Lord should have recognized him first, but instead of that, they rejected him. Peter says something very similar in 1 Peter 2, verse 7. He references this psalm in Christ the cornerstone. It is in his name we receive great mercy. This is the beauty of the gospel. The priest could not lead the people into God's presence at the temple. They did not have that power. But now the one who can lead his people into the presence of God with righteousness, with peace, Jesus Christ, he's come. Those old priests who were not obedient to God, they have rejected him by crucifying him. The last verse really makes the point abundantly clear. This name, this cornerstone, there is salvation in no one else. There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Now there is a play on words in this text that isn't real clear in the English translation. If you go back to verse 9, the man that was healed. That word healed is actually the same Greek word as the one saved in verse 12. That word has a wide range of meaning. And what Peter is saying, you see that this man was saved physically. Well, I'm telling you that there is no salvation for you at all if you don't believe in that name that saved him from his crippledness. The sign points to the Savior. And we need to pause here because there is something that is so important in this passage. There is only one name by which you can call to be saved. There is only one salvation. There are not many paths to God. As we read earlier, as John read and we listened earlier in John 14, there is one way. No one comes to the Father except through Jesus Christ. We need to make sure that we understand Jesus Christ is the only way. The gospel is exclusive. The good news is exclusive. You have to believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins, that he rose again, that he's now your mediator, that he is the one and only Savior. It's exclusive, and if you're not a Christian this morning, I want to tell you, it's also very welcoming. everyone who believes. If you hear the gospel this morning, there's a welcome, there's an invitation. Come and behold that you are a sinner. Come behold that Jesus Christ has died on the cross for sins, that if you believe in him, the wrath of God will no longer be upon you. You can be declared innocent. Right now, you're guilty. But if Jesus Christ dies on the cross for your sin, He takes your guilt, He removes it, He washes you. And then you have peace with God. It's the only way. I recall the first year I was a Christian, I was 18 years old, and I understood there was a difference between, you know, this new conversion that had taken place in my life, and other Christians that I'd known, or other folks who'd named Christ, and what I thought I was before as a Christian. And I asked my dad, what distinguishes a true believer? And his answer was so clear and helpful. He said, a Christian must believe that salvation is in no one else. I remember being struck by that because I was a new Christian. I thought, oh, everyone should just be happy. God would never judge anybody. I hadn't yet really understood the fullness of all the implications of God's truth and the exclusivity. It struck me as a new believer, but it also rang true. There's no way to deny it. If the father had to send his son to be crushed for iniquity, how can there be salvation in any other way? If there could be another way to be saved, God would have provided that way without having to crush His own Son for our wickedness. If we just look at the nature of the Gospel, there is no way we could possibly assume there's another way of salvation. Church, I want to make sure this is clear because if there is no other way, this gives us a great responsibility. Those who have not heard and have not believed, they're going to face a righteous judge. There's a great responsibility for those who know the Gospel to proclaim the Gospel. There's a great responsibility to recognize that there's folks who die and go to hell because they do not hear the Gospel. That's why we partner with brothers like Manasseh and Mark and Chris around the world. That's why we should be going out and proclaiming the Gospel. If we really believe there is no other salvation, there's no choice but to proclaim Him. I also want to make it clear, what an honor. What a privilege it is to know that name. To be able to find comfort in that name. To find assurance that Jesus Christ is our cornerstone. He is our salvation. So the power of the church in proclaiming Christ, it is the power of the proclamation that Jesus Christ has died and risen again. Now let's look at the second section, verse 13. There's power in the sight of God. Peter has just proclaimed a very offensive gospel, and it almost appears that he's trying to make it as offensive as possible. You crucified him. You rejected him. But God has made him the cornerstone. God has raised him from the dead. And so, verse 13. We have another sight word here. We continue to see Luke using these sight words. Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. Look back with me to Luke chapter 21. That's found on page 11. I have that page wrong. Luke 21, that is found on page 881. Dyslexia struck again. I wrote down 188 881 Luke 21 beginning in verse 10 Jesus says to them Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom There will be great earthquakes and in various places famines and pestilence and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you Delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons and you'll be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake This will be your opportunity to bear witness Jesus says, this will be your opportunity to bear witness. Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer. For I will give you a mouth and wisdom which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. You'll be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death, and you'll be hated by all for my name's sake, but not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance, you will gain your lives. I believe what we see here in 13 is testimony. They're astonished. If we look at this, you're gonna see, there's no way they can contradict the message of Peter. Settle in your minds, therefore, not to meditate beforehand. I will give you a mouth and wisdom which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict." They looked at Peter and John. They saw uneducated, common men proclaiming wisdom with boldness. They're common, they're disciples of Jesus, and they're bold. Then verse 14. They saw the boldness They saw how uneducated they were, they saw how common they are, and then they also see something else. Verse 14. But, but seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. Their mouths were shut. They cannot argue. Just as this name, Jesus Christ, has saved this man from being crippled, this name, Jesus Christ, is the one salvation that you must believe. They can say nothing in opposition. We look at verse 15. But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another. This is custom. They bring in witnesses. They excuse them to discuss. Notice what they say in verse 16. What shall we do with these men? for that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name. And they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. We're gonna see one more time that they They realize this is real. A man who had been crippled for 40 years, he's now standing with them. He's among them. They cannot deny it. There is no contradictory testimony. This man was healed by the name of Jesus. They have nothing to say. And what's sad here is you see these priests and these Sadducees, they have the evidence before them they need. And what they're trying to do is figure out how to spin it to protect their place in the temple, instead of actually coming to the right conclusion that if this name healed this man, then this name is the name of Christ, the Savior. They won't let the evidence go to the right conclusion. They're wanting to spin it. They're wanting to crush that proclamation of salvation. Look at Peter and John's response. 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. What boldness. In summary, they're saying we fear God more than we fear you. We fear God who raises the dead. More than we fear you who can flog us and crucify us. We fear him who has the power to give life. More than we fear you who can take away our physical life. They recognize the Sadducees and the priests. They have a clear power to judge. They can make a judgment. But they're more afraid of the one who makes that final judgment. They fear God more than they fear men. This is actually very important. as we think about next week and prepare for the lying that takes place in the church. Verse 21 and 22, the priests threatened them, but they could do nothing. Again, this is emphasized. They threatened them, but they cannot do anything because there's a man who was crippled for 40 years standing among them. They cannot believe. I want us to focus on this simple phrase in Peter and John's response in the sight of God. I want to just take a moment here and see that there's a power if we consider and recognize we are in the sight of God. There is a freedom that comes from this kind of fear. Most fears paralyze us, right? Fear of failure, fear of accusation, fear of being judged. Most fears keep us from being bold, but I want us to see the fear that Peter and John has It's an emboldening, empowering fear. This is a good and right fear. There's a reverence for God that empowers them and emboldens them to proclaim the gospel. They're saying here, let's, you judge in sight of God if we're going to listen to God or rather than you. I wanna think about this phrase in the sight of God. How often do you think about the concept of making decisions in the sight of God? That final judgment. Is it right for me to do this or that in the sight of God? When my daughter goes to school, this is a regular part of their teaching, and I appreciate it. It's captured in the Latin phrase quorum Deo. It literally means the face of God, and it's a shorthand way of saying, remember that whatever you're doing, you're doing in the sight of God. Which means if you're going to do something, you should do it as worship. You should do it in a way that would glorify by doing your best work. You see, when we do things that are bad, we like to think God's not looking. I assure you, God is always looking. When we do good things, we wanna make sure other humans are looking at us, and we might get the praise of men. We need to constantly be thinking about us. God is watching. I mentioned earlier, I became a Christian in 18, in high school, before I was a Christian, let me get that very clear. For some reason, a church let me and my friends on a basketball team. I don't know if they were just trying to win the championship or what, but we should not have been allowed on that basketball team. And there was one particular game I got ejected from because I was more nasty than normal that particular game. And it was an unusual game. The way I played and the way I spoke got me ejected. The ref should have probably done it a lot earlier. But what stands out about that game most is that my father was there. My dad rarely came to games, because it was a church basketball league. And I don't think he ever came to a game after this. And at my ejection, I normally, because I was a very prideful sinner, I was proud of how sinful I was, I normally would've walked out bragging and boasting and slammed the door, but my dad was there. He saw it. He saw what I said, he heard what I did, and it brought an amazing amount of shame that made me realize really how gross and nasty it was. Brothers and sisters, we have a Heavenly Father. He's always watching. And he's not watching us so that he can catch us in sin. He knows how sinful we are more than we know. He's not watching to see if we're sinful. He's watching like a father longing to see his children successful. Like a dad who's watching a child play a sport, he wants to see his son win. But he also wants to see his son play by the rules. He wants to see his son be a good teammate, to be a good sport, to win well, to lose well. He's watching to say, I love my son and I want to see him doing what he's supposed to do, the way he's supposed to do it, and to get the proper outcome. See, God the Father, He's watching us. He's longing to see His children succeed. to have life and life more abundantly, to listen to His abatements, to listen to His commandments, to trust Him, to love Him. We have to realize God is always watching and He's longing to see us worship Him by doing what He has commanded by the power of the Spirit. How often do you think about God is watching? How often do you think about the fact that what we're doing, the decisions we make, the priorities we make, God is watching. It's a real call to stewardship, to serve, to sacrifice, for the name that saves us. You see, there's a freedom. As we know, God is watching. He's the God who sent his son to die on the cross for us. He's a God who loves us. He's a God who longs to give us that abundant life. And if we would just recognize there's a real good fear of him, that empowers us to live a life that's abundant, as we enjoy His glory. It's not a fear that paralyzes. It's a fear that empowers us to live for His glory. Finally, we see the power of supplication, verse 23. Our last section, the power of supplication. Prayer so far has been a very significant part in Acts. In Acts 1.14, all the disciples, men and women, were in one accord devoted in prayer. In Acts 2.42, they all were devoted to the apostles' teaching, to fellowship, to breaking of bread, in prayer. And here, we see in this next story, it ends with prayer. Peter and John are released. They went to their friends and reported, and when they heard it, they lifted their voices together and they prayed. Prayer is an important part of what's happening in Acts, and I want to make it very clear, because I think it's clear in the text. Prayer is very important for the power that we're supposed to be enjoying as a church. Now, their first response is somewhat striking. The church has heard that Peter and John have been taken by the chief priest. They had to be worried about what's gonna happen, because Peter so far has been the vocal leader of the church. And when they heard what happened after receiving them back, they lifted their voices together. Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of your father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, It looks as if they're looking up to praise him. You, the almighty, great God, who has created all things, and now you've even given us an insight into your will. Verse 25 and 26, they're gonna meditate on Psalm 2. What they're quoting here is from Psalm 2. What you have already said by your servant David, why did the Gentiles rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his anointed. They've quoted Psalm 2 and now they interpret Psalm 2 in light of what's taking place. For truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant, Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. They're looking up and they're praising God. We see your sovereign hand in what is taking place. A crippled man. was healed by the name of Christ. Those who proclaimed the name of Christ have been under a trial, and now they're freed, and they see the Gentiles, the nations, the rulers, they're raging against Christ. They're raging against Christ. And what is really fascinating here is I believe what the Christians are doing is they're realizing if they hated Christ, they're gonna hate us. the persecution that the church just suffered with Peter and John being on trial, they're realizing this is just fruit of them being Christians, which means little Christ. If you're following the one they crucified, what are they going to do to you? Our Lord suffered. Our Lord was falsely accused. Our Lord was forsaken by friends, and he persevered by trusting the plan of God. We are now sons of God in Christ who were called for righteousness sake. There's a power to persevere as we seek God and trust Him. What's amazing here is what these disciples did is they were in circumstances that were difficult. There were circumstances that made them realize that we're in great danger, and what they did was they looked past the circumstances. They looked to God's word, and they recognized what God has said is true. He planned this, and it's all happening according to plan. When we go through suffering, we typically just look at the circumstances. We can't get past our noses. What we see here is that the early church, they looked past these things, and they trusted God. Now let's look at verse 29. Your hand has predestined these things. We're going to trust you. You are the good God. We see you sent your son to die for us. We're gonna trust you in this persecution. Now verse 29. And now, Lord, look upon their threats. Just for a moment, don't look down, look up. And now, Lord, look upon their threats. How would you end that sentence? And now, Lord, look upon their threats and do what? What would you ask next? I would say, and smite them with a mighty smiting. Look upon their threats. Look at these people who are attacking us. They attacked your son. Smite them. Not this church. Look what they say. Look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness. They don't say, God, would you please fix my circumstances so that I can be more faithful? They say, God, grant me boldness to be faithful. They don't ask God to fix the problem that's out there. They say, God, there's a bigger problem in my heart that I'm not gonna be faithful. Would you grant me boldness? This is a model way of praying in the midst of circumstances using scripture. We too often say, God, would you fix that problem, especially if it's another person and it's their sin, and their sin seems more obvious than our sins. We want to make sure, God, you need to recognize we need to fix this person. No. Help me to be faithful. Grant to your servant to continue. Pray for perseverance to continue with boldness in light of whatever threat there is. We too often pray for God to change our circumstances. We should be praying for God, give us perseverance. Let me say something that I believe this helps us see. To follow Christ, we take responsibility for our failures, and we give all the glory to God for any success. There's nothing we can do on our own that actually brings glory to God. It's all because He's given us the power to do it. When there's a failure, it's on us. When there's a success, it's God's glory. We too often make those two, we make that contrary. As we conclude, let's look at verse 31. And they, when they had prayed, when they had prayed, they prayed for more signs that would probably bring more persecution. They prayed that Jesus' name would be exalted. And this, verse 31, when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. They were empowered, they were emboldened, because that's exactly what they just prayed for. Prayed that we would continue to be bold. Peter was filled with the Spirit. He was bold. The Word of God, they were continuing to speak the Word of God with boldness. Last week, I quickly spoke of, should we expect signs that we read about in Acts to continue? And at one level, I want to say it appears to me that God is doing something unique in Acts. The church has begun. It's the birth of the church, and so signs are accompanying the proclamation of the gospel. If you go back to the early church writings, even in the second century, they recognized that what's happening in the book of Acts, it is uniquely packed in with the miraculous because God is doing something different. But I want to challenge this. God hasn't stopped doing the miraculous. It made us look differently. But I want you to see here what the church did is what we're supposed to do. They looked to his word. They trusted him. They asked for more faithfulness. They asked for boldness. They asked that they might be faithful servants of Jesus Christ. Now, the earth shook when they did it. I wanna challenge you, church. We need to pursue Christ this way with humility and dependence and trusting his word, and maybe the earth will shake, I don't know. I promise you that if we actually humble ourselves and seek God this way, it's not going to be disappointing whatever God does. The earth may not shake, but hearts may be changed. I prefer the latter. Hearts that are turned from darkness to light. The dead given life. But we first have to see, it's about the glory of Christ. It's about trusting His Word, trusting His grace to give us continual perseverance in that Word, and a bold proclamation. The early church had power because they depended upon Christ. It's an unusual power, but it's still our power that we have if we just simply trust Him, obey Him, and proclaim Him. Will you pray with me?