Why You Should Pray For Boldness

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The hymns use language we're not familiar with, much to our chagrin.

But it says things like sin had left a crimson stain and you watched it white as snow.

We used to look this way and live this way and love this way.

But because of God and the gospel, we're different now.

We don't do those things anymore.

The greatest thing about you, God, is not that you forgive us for doing those things and keep on doing those things.

You alter our nature so we don't want to do those things anymore.

Let us get it right today.

We're not here to celebrate just forgiveness.

That's cheap grace that in the end will be no grace at all.

We're here to celebrate that you so alter our nature, that the Bible says in Proverbs, as a fool returns to his folly, so does a dog return to his vomit.

That makes sense for a dog to do that.

That's in his nature.

People who have their all their nature altered, sin begins to make less and less sense.

And so we sin less as a result of God and the gospel.

We don't just get forgiveness for sin, we get God.

And God changes everything, and it makes us a certain way.

We're gonna see in the book of Acts today.

Lord, give us eyes to see and a heart that savors what the Bible teaches.

This is our prayer, God.

Please make it our experience in Jesus' name.

And everyone said, Amen.

Amen.

You can have a seat if you got a Bible.

I invite you to take it and open up to Acts chapter 4.

Acts 4 · chapter mention

Acts chapter 4.

Acts 4 · chapter mention

If you're our guest today, we acknowledge Mother's Day.

We did it with a video to kick off the service.

Many of you were not here.

You missed it.

We'll send it to you.

But we acknowledge Mother's Day, but we leave it up to you to celebrate your mom.

Acts chapter 4.

Acts 4 · chapter mention

I want to talk to you this morning about why you should pray for boldness.

Why you should pray for boldness.

Not a thing you talk a lot about a lot.

And I could say a lot about this boldness thing, but I'm gonna limit myself to one simple statement about boldness.

Bold people increase the population of heaven.

Bold people make other people want to know what they know, live what they live.

And it's not about effort or technique or desire or branding or this crazy stuff they sell on the internet.

They do this because of two things: consistency and constancy.

Consistency.

They're just consistent and they're constant, day after day, uh month after month, year after year.

Uh they don't do new things, they do the same things for a long time.

And the problem with the church in America is that almost every Sunday we're introducing a new thing to you and a new emphasis and a new theme and a new whatever.

You don't need any new things.

You need some things that you're willing to do for the rest of your life.

Okay?

This is what makes you bold.

It's not through effort or technique or any of that kind of stuff, it is through understanding.

And so I would want to read in Acts chapter 4, verses 23 to verse 31.

Acts 4:23

And I'm gonna say three things about boldness this morning.

This is what the Bible says.

Acts chapter 4, verse 23.

Acts 4:23

When they were released, they went to their friends and they reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them.

And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, Sovereign Lord, who made heaven the heaven, the earth, and the sea, and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, Why do the Gentiles rage and the people's plot in vain?

The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his anointed.

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 people of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.

And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness while you stretch out your hand to heal, uh, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of our of your holy servant Jesus.

When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

I want to say three things about boldness.

I'll just lay them out here and I'll come back and unpack each one.

Number one, boldness answers the questions beforehand.

Number two, uh, boldness uh comes from right doctrine.

And then thirdly, boldness is about continuing, not starting.

Bold people, are you you won't find them starting some new emphasis, some new fad or some new cultural narrative every 30, 60 or 90 days.

Those cats have done the same thing for a long, long time.

Number one, boldness answers the question beforehand.

It's verse 23.

Look at it again.

He says, When they were released, they went to their friends and reported to the chief priest what the chief priests of the elders had said to them.

Now, we're preaching through the book of Acts.

If you haven't been here for the past couple, this all started back in chapter three in verse one, when he says, when they were released, that's talking about these two guys, Peter and John, who were just, as we would say, going to church one day.

They were going to, it was a time of prayer, and this is what gets kicks all this in motion.

They were released.

Why were they released?

Because they spent the night in prison, because they did something that religion couldn't do.

And you say, I don't know what you mean.

I'll show you in the text in just a minute, but boldness answers the questions beforehand.

If every circumstance is kind of an existential crisis for you, you will never be bold.

If you look around the room, uh, whatever room, whether it's the boardroom or the classroom or the living room, and you kind of figure out, oh, what am I gonna do?

You'll never be bold.

Because boldness answers the questions beforehand.

And what you'll see in the book of Acts is you don't see people starting a lot of new things.

They settle things in their mind, in their life, and in their beliefs, and then they let the chips fall where they may.

And people who make history are the same way.

For example, have you ever heard of a man named Martin Luther say amen?

Now, we've heard about Martin Luther, and you think, oh yeah, Martin Luther was a monk that realized, hey, you guys aren't teaching what the Bible actually says.

You're losing, you're using religion to control people and keep them in fear.

And so Martin Luther basically was a blue-collar preacher that began to tell people what the Bible actually said.

And the religious authorities said, we are going to put you in prison, kind of like these guys, or if you persist, we may have to kill you.

And so they had a big conference, a big powwow.

And they said to Martin Luther, you need to come and you need to apologize for saying what religion's been saying for being contrary to what religious people and religion have said for forever.

And Martin Luther was summoned to this thing called the Diet of Verms in 1521.

See, bold people have always existed and they will always exist.

1521, a bunch of religious monkeys in uh overdressed robes and costumes, they get Martin Luther, who is like a clown on fire.

You can't look away and you can't stop.

You're like, this is gonna be tragic or this is gonna be entertaining.

And they get him up there and they say, now here's your opportunity to recant.

If you will apologize for not teaching what the Catholic Church has taught for decades, it's the way we control people with fear, we're gonna put you in prison.

And this is the way bold people respond.

Martin Luther said this unless I am convinced by scripture and plain reason, my conscience is captive to the word of God.

I cannot and I will not recant anything.

When's the last time you were somewhere and somebody said to somebody, hey, dance monkey, say you're sorry, and we'll let you off?

And they just stood there and said, I cannot and will not recant anything.

For to go against conscience would be neither right nor safe.

God help me.

Here I stand, I can do no other.

The reason there's not that much boldness in America, the American church anymore is that we've got too many options.

We're not like Luther.

We we don't say, I can do no other.

I don't have multiple options on the response wheel.

I got one response.

God is right, and everybody who disagrees with him is wrong, and you will be wrong for all of eternity.

When's the last time you heard somebody say that in this multicultural, politically correct stew of mediocrity we're all living in?

This is like a hate crime.

They're like, dude, we're gonna put you in prison.

I don't care.

What are you gonna do?

You can't kill a man like that.

He died a long time ago.

So when I say boldness answers the questions beforehand, they summoned him.

He has to travel to this city, and they're like, now we got you.

You're really gonna, we're gonna put you in prison.

Okay, wonderful.

Is that all you got?

I don't know what you mean.

Boldness answers the questions beforehand.

Look back up in chapter four, if you would, at verse 14.

I want you to see the flow of thought of what happened.

Because in in in in chapter 3, verse 1, Peter and John are going up to the temple at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the time of prayer.

They're just doing what Christians do.

We go to church, okay?

This is what we do.

We don't get a cookie or a trophy.

If it rains, we don't get extra bonus points.

This is what we do.

We decided that a long time ago.

We don't decide on Saturday night or Sunday morning what we're going to do.

We decided way back there.

We came to faith, and so we're gonna live like people of faith.

So they just go into church.

They see a man lame from birth, chapter three tells us.

Lame from birth.

The cat has never walked, and he's begging for money, and they're like, This is jacked up, okay?

Here is this man who cannot walk.

They lay him at a gate called beautiful, and these guys are like, This is not beautiful because bold people see things that everybody else doesn't see.

Bold people are they have eyes to see, and everybody else is like a snowman.

They just got cold, they don't see anything.

And Peter and John are like, hey, hey, hey, hey, and the guy's like, uh, money, silver, go.

And he's like, Silver and gold, we don't have.

But what we have, we give to you in the name of Jesus.

Get up and walk.

And then he reaches out and takes the guy by the hand because bold people believe not what they see, but what they know, and they know that God has the power to heal.

And so they take the guy by the hand and they lift him up, and in that moment, his feet and ankles and legs were strengthened, and he follows them into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God.

And then all hell breaks loose.

Because religion, pe religion and religious people cannot fathom that anybody has power that they don't.

And so they gotta, Peter gets to preach the gospel because he's got to explain.

Because I told you on the very first sermon in Acts, miracles are the platform upon which people in the book of Acts stand to preach the gospel.

Okay?

And so God heals, so he gets everyone's attention and says, Are you sure you want to jerk with me?

I'm the God that makes crippled people walk.

And all of a sudden they're like, uh, we'll listen to you.

And then they bring them in.

Verse 14, but seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, this is Acts 4, verse 14.

Acts 4:14

I want you to get how we got to this part here where boldness it didn't happen in starting in verse 23.

It happened a long time ago when they got the Holy Spirit and they said, We're not gonna cower in fear from the religious police, but seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.

But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another.

Basically, they said, Hey, the council's got to meet.

You guys go out in the waiting room out there and look at verse 16 saying, What shall we do with these men?

Does the culture know what to do with you?

That's my concern.

The culture knows what to do with all of us, they threaten you.

Hey, you know what?

This is a this is a multicultural, pluralistic, LGBTQIA plus friendly environment.

You may be holding beliefs that are contrary to what Susie over here, who was Fred last week, but now she's Susie.

That may make her uncomfortable.

I'm not hating on her, I'm just like, I'm not gonna apologize for what I believe.

They said, What should 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.

This is what burns them to the core.

Monkeys, we cannot deny it.

Verse 17, 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.

Speak no more to anyone, stop it out, quit now.

Verse 18.

So they called them back in.

They get on the same page.

We're gonna really threaten them because, like us, you know, they're gonna be afraid.

So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

But Peter and John answered, This is boldness answers the questions before him.

Peter and John answered them, whether it's right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge.

You must decide.

We've already decided.

Notice how they framed it, they kind of let them know this is how we see life.

Whether it's right in the sight of God, we live in the sight of God, not in the sight of men.

So we don't care what you do to us.

Whether it's 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 what we have heard.

And when they further threaten them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them.

Why?

Because of the people.

Because of the people, because of the people.

Why?

People are just longing for someone to have the courage to live what you really believe.

For the people, uh, we're all praising God for what had happened.

And then this little seemingly throwaway line for the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than 40 years old.

Why is that in the Bible?

It seems like what that would you just run out of words, you have to write a 500-word essay and you had to jam some in there?

No.

What the Bible is saying is, hey, the guy that was healed was more than 40 years old.

Acts chapter 3 told us that he was lame from birth.

Acts 3 · chapter mention

And what the Bible is saying is indicting these people like, wait a minute, you can't be changing the status quo.

They're like, hey, for 40 years, religion and religious people did nothing for this man.

So we don't want to listen to you anymore.

You've had 40 years and you've done nothing.

These guys walk to church, and all of a sudden the guy that's been there for 40 years is walking and leaping and praising God.

We want to know what they know.

You've told us everything you know.

This is what I mean when I say boldness answers the questions beforehand.

People like this are not shaped by their circumstances.

Instead, they shape their circumstances.

You should ask yourself this morning what questions remain unanswered in your life?

What questions?

Because for these cats, they've already answered the question.

Put me on trial, put me in prison, kill me, whatever you gotta do.

You're not gonna change reality.

Your cultural narrative and your little spin doctors in some think tank in DC that's funded by some man that's got so much money he doesn't even know what to do with it all.

George Soros.

And so he just tries to pollute the culture.

Monkey, monkey, monkey.

You're nobody, you're you're just a little irreligious scribbler who sits around and writes policy in Washington, and judgment day will be hell for you, literally.

You should love that man enough to tell him that.

You should.

But question remains unanswered in your life.

Said differently, is there a question uh that you could settle today that would produce more boldness in you?

Here's the second thing boldness comes from the right doctrine, boldness comes from the right doctrine.

This is so sexy, you ought to write this down.

We don't even talk about doctrine anymore.

And by doctrine, what I mean is that what the Bible teaches about specific beliefs or topics, it sounds really elemental, and it is, but few things produce a more consequential life than lived doctrine.

Let me say it again.

Few things.

It's not an emphasis or a conference, those are run by many of them by godless people, aren't Christians?

They just know that you like to get together and sing with your friends.

Save your money.

If you've got to buy a ticket to it, it's probably not a good idea.

No, you don't have to, you shouldn't have to buy, because you won't get doctrine, you'll get an experience, you'll get a big wall, I mean, 60-foot wall video screen, and they'll fly in people from other countries to lead you in worship.

The same songs you sing on Sunday with little gusto.

You get together with a bunch of 18, 25-year-olds, all of a sudden, oh man, this is a revival.

No, it's not.

No, it's not.

It's just not.

I'm I'm impressed.

I'm not impressed with these college Bible studies, all have one name, or you get together and sing, and we all say sing.

This is awesome.

And I I'm not, I don't try to be bold, I just try to be faithful.

Ask about the same thing.

Is morality going down, immorality going down on your campus?

What do you mean?

What's it got to do with worship?

Everything.

If you believe the Bible, Romans chapter 12, verse 1, I urge you, brothers, brother, mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.

Romans 12:1

This is your spiritual act of worship.

So a couple months ago at Asbury, when a bunch of college kids start singing, I wasn't really moved by that.

So what do you think about that?

Is immorality going down in the state of Kentucky?

That's a sign of revival and spiritual awakening.

Not college kids singing.

That's all they know to do.

It's a boundaryless worship experience.

Doctrine kind of defines the field.

Doctrine says you can't sing all night and then go back to your apartment where you live with your boyfriend.

Yeah.

Crazy talk, right?

I wish I could see your faces.

You're like, dude, it's Mother's Day.

Did you know that?

You're supposed to be talking about five ways to be a more positive mother.

You want to be a consequential mother?

Live out doctrine in front of your kids.

Your kids will be stained by this.

They might as well get up and say, My mom's spitting my hair every day.

Boldness comes from right doctrine.

What do you mean?

Uh uh I mean that few things produce a more consequential life than lived doctrine, doctrine such as the sanctity of human life.

Uh, not just applied to everyone else, but applied to yourself.

Just take any Christian doctrine and just apply it to the culture today.

Like I remember years ago, I met with a lady who was an addict.

She said, I'm addicted to opioids.

She would steal them every chance she got.

She goes, I go to people's house, like an open house, I look when it's an open house for a realtor, and I go in the master bath and I look in the mess and I take all the meds in there.

And I'm like, man, you're not just an addict, but you're a thief.

And she said, Yeah.

Uh now, a lot of people, and I am not a therapist, I am I'm not that, but but but I try to be a bold, intentional person in a counseling setting that has some biblical doctrine.

And so I just said, Hey, you seem more committed to escaping your life than actually living your life.

And she's like, What are you saying?

What do you mean by that?

I said, You don't seem to believe that your life has any sanctity or dignity or value.

Well, that's kind of judgy, don't you think?

You're 37, you shouldn't be saying judgy.

That's a teenager word.

I said, Not being judgy at all.

You're not a victim.

I'm not attacking you.

Get off the cross, somebody else needs the wood.

Okay?

So just follow the dialogue.

I know it's hard when you're addicted and you live in a pharmacological fog your whole life, but you're 37.

Stop being a little girl and let's be a woman.

Anything that you value that has sanctity and value and dignity, you don't just treat it like you treat your life.

And so it makes me wonder when and how did you come to this belief about yourself?

And did someone help you or did you arrive at this conclusion by yourself?

And all of a sudden, here's the power of Christian doctrine the sanctity of human life.

She said, say that last part again.

I said, Did someone uh help you come to this conclusion about yourself, or did you get here on your own?

Eyes filled up with tears.

She said, I was 14, he was 16.

Here's my first boyfriend.

And ever since that relationship, I have begged men not to leave me.

I'll do whatever I have to do.

And I and I think now that I'm thinking about it, I think that this is where this deep sense of self-hatred and anxiety and depression and sadness, and so I have to self-medicate because of the way I feel on the inside.

Again, nothing has more consequence than lived out doctrine.

Sinclair Ferguson, who's a great Presbyterian preacher, he said this.

He said, the conviction that Christian doctrine matters for Christian living is one of the most important growth points of the Christian life.

Uh uh today's Mother's Day.

Uh, it's a very doctrinal day.

Did you know that?

You say, What do you mean?

Because most of what you do today and don't do today will be shaped by what you believe.

None of you men are playing golf today.

If you are, you're single.

And you're gonna be that way for a long time.

Yes, yes.

And so uh when I just say boldness comes from right doctrine, where do you get there?

Let me just there are four biblical doctrines on display in this text.

Let me point to them, starting in verse 24.

Uh, let me just read what it says.

It says, uh, and uh and when they were released, they went to their friends and they reported what the chief priests of the elders had said to them.

Verse 24, and when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, Why do the Gentiles rage and the people's plot in vain?

The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his anointed.

For truly, in this city, that is where it happened, right here in our city.

They were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had to predestined to take place.

Did you see all four of them right there?

Y'all were like, I don't think we're drinking.

What you're drinking.

Let me point to him again.

First of all, four biblical doctrines on display in this text.

Number one, the sovereignty of God.

Verse 24.

Oh sovereign Lord.

He is sovereign because not only because he creates, but he speaks, as we'll see in just a minute.

Our understanding, now, sovereignty, it's a Greek word.

They say, oh sovereign Lord.

The word they use is the Greek word despotis, where we get an English word despot.

Someone that acts with unchecked authority.

That's what it means when we say that the doctrine of the sovereignty of God.

Now, our understanding of this is shaped by the lens that we look through to see it.

And most people look through the wrong lens.

Here's what I mean: this has more to do with God's influence over than his responsibility for.

Let me say that again.

This is about God's influence over, his control over, not his responsibility for.

See, most people hear about God, oh well, you think God's sovereign.

Then what about this?

And what about the people dying in Africa?

What about this?

And what about my grandma?

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

You want God to be responsible for everything.

You cannot look at me.

I know it's Mother's Day, but let's think doctrinally just for a minute.

You cannot have human free will and then make God responsible for every decision humans make.

That is an illogical presupposition that will not withstand just simple logic.

You know, some person goes into a school when an AR-15 opens fire.

Where's God?

He's sovereign, but he gives humanity a free will.

And so what should be shaped by that moment is not your stance on gun control, but your doctrine of humanity.

You should never say again, oh, man is inherently good.

If man is inherently good and there's seven billion of us on this planet, why is the world not a better place?

You see, this is what we mean by the sovereignty of God.

See, uh influence over versus responsibility for.

One produces people who blame God for everything, while the other one produces people who pray to God about everything.

And this is what you see in Acts chapter 4.

Acts 4 · chapter mention

Oh sovereign Lord.

Here's the second doctrine you see is creation, right there in verse 24.

Who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them?

Now hear that list again.

Who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them?

What else exists apart from those spaces?

Who made the heaven and the earth and the sea that covers the earth and everything in them?

Everything in heaven and everything in the earth and everything in the sea.

Where else is there for anything to exist?

And the Bible says that God created those.

This is the doctrine of creation.

Nothing exists that God didn't create, and therefore, here's what we don't like has the moral authority over.

You see, because God created you, He has the moral authority to tell you what to do.

Isn't that good news today?

Now you're like, I don't know about that.

Yeah.

If you want to better understand this, just have kids.

If your kids do not understand that you have moral authority over them, okay, then you've either failed as a parent, or are they just some kind of sociopath who has no sense of consciousness?

Yes.

Uh we have an epidemic of gender dysphoria in America today because we've lost our doctrine of creation.

You go all the way back to hey, Genesis.

In his image, he created him, male and female, he created them.

You don't need a doctrine of creation when you're the creator.

And when you're the creator and you can decide your sex, whatever you want to do, because God didn't get it right the first time, then you eventually don't need God.

Which is why the church in America and Christians in America need to understand a doctrine of creation.

Otherwise, you're swept up in some cultural narrative where there's 105 or 168 different genders.

There's two, male and female.

Okay?

Now look at me.

Look at me.

This is not a political rally.

I'm not asking for applause lines.

I'm saying this.

We should compassionately love and weep over and pray for people who struggle with gender dysphoria.

Because up until a few years ago, in the DSM 5 manual, it was a mental illness.

And now all of a sudden, oh, it's a political hot button.

Okay, here we go.

You're not loving those people, you're using them to advance your crooked, iniquity-based agenda, and God have mercy on you.

You don't care about those people.

All they are is a big crowbar that you leverage your insufficient logic with.

And the God who is sovereign over the earth and the heavens and the sea, he sees you.

You're gonna get to tell him all your talking points one day.

And it's not gonna go well.

And I'm warning you out of love.

I'm not here to win some argument, I'm here just to tell the truth.

Here's the third doctrine you see.

You the inspiration of scripture.

Look at verse 25.

He says, Sovereign Lord who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, why do the Gentiles rage and the people's plot in vain?

The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his anointed.

Uh, for truly in this city they were gathered together against your holy servant, Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the people of Israel.

Okay?

Now, what do you mean inspiration of scripture?

What I want you to see in verse 25, he says, Who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit.

And then that little next part is kind of offset because he's quoting Psalm 2.

And so I brought you a little progression.

This is called the inspiration of scripture.

The doctrine of inspiration basically says this.

It starts off, who they're talking about, God.

Remember, oh sovereign Lord, God who spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant David, and you get Psalm 2.

And so basically, what the Bible's telling you is that Psalm 2 is breathed out by God.

And he did it through the mouth of a person.

So if you're one of those people who thinks, well, the Bible is just a book written by men, you've got a big problem right here.

This is why that's not a biblical doctrine, it's not a sustainable reality.

You say that because you want to give yourself permission that the Bible never does.

At the core, that's what it's all about.

This is why the Bible says what it says about the Bible, like 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 16 says all scripture is breathed out by God.

2 Timothy 3:16

This is this right here on display.

All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training and righteousness, that the man of God, the woman of God, may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Well, what what do you mean?

Here's the goal of the Bible, okay?

Is that you and I would be complete and equipped.

Put that up there if you would.

Second Timothy chapter 3, verse 16.

2 Timothy 3:16

It's right there in the Bible.

All scripture is breathed out by God and it's profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.

So that, why does it exist?

It goes on to tell you, he says, so that the man of God, that the person of God, the woman of God, the person that has a relationship with God can be complete and equipped for every good work.

There's two words I want you to see: complete and equipped.

Complete.

You ever get in a conversation with somebody and you don't know what to say?

And you're like, oh, where's my pocket preacher?

I wish I could pull him out right now.

He likes to talk, he loves conflict.

Go.

Yeah.

No, you're there.

Why are you not complete?

And why are you not equipped?

Because this is why you should read the Bible.

This is why you should go to a church that teaches what the Bible actually says.

Why?

Because you find yourself feeling a sense of completeness and equippedness, and things don't catch you off guard, and you don't walk away and two hours later go, Oh, I wish I would have said that.

Let me write that down.

I'll try to pin them in the conversation and get back.

No.

No, you're complete and equipped for every good work.

Here's the fourth doctrine you see on display here is prophecy.

Prophecy, what do you mean?

Uh, after he says, Why do the Gentiles rage and the peoples plot in vain, and the kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his anointed?

That's all from Psalm 2, written in the Old Testament, a long time before Jesus even comes.

Look at verse 27.

For truly, these next three words in this city.

In this city, they were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.

Sound familiar?

Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.

See, here's the sad thing.

Tragically, prophecy has eroded into an experience for people nowadays.

And then when in the Bible it was simply an understanding that God keeps his word.

It was just God said this in Psalm 2, it's fulfilled right here.

We've all experienced this, we've all seen this.

Prophecy is not an experience I'm gonna have.

This is just a reminder.

Oh, God said this, and now God does it.

It happens just the way God said.

All these people thought they had power.

Pontius Pilate and Herod and the Gentiles and the people of Israel, but all they did was whatever God's hand and his plan had predestined to take place.

Here's the third thing boldness is about continuing, not starting.

It's about continuing, not starting.

Look at verse 29.

We'll continue.

And now, Lord, now by the way, this is their only request.

This is where their prayer starts.

They gaze at God and they glance at the problem.

Verse 29, and now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants that you would continue to speak your word with all boldness.

That's not right.

That's not what they said.

And now, Lord, give us a number of Jim Hammer, the Jim Adler, the Texas Hammer, so we can sue these people.

They've infringed upon us.

No.

Hey, God, look and see what they want to do to us and do in us such that when they do to us, boldness comes out.

That's what they say.

It sounds like this in the Bible.

And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.

See, look at me.

I ain't got time to go into this, but without boldness, you don't get miracles.

The reason there's no miracles in your life and in the America, the American church, we're not bold.

We're just as afraid as our lost friends.

And your biggest fear is I'm gonna outlive my money.

Why would God bless that with miraculous power?

And when they prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they continued.

They continued, they continued.

Verse 29 and now, Lord, look up on their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness.

And they continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

Why?

Because boldness is about continuing, not starting.

If you're always starting something, you're seeking to be bold, but you're probably not.

Bold people are bold because they've settled the questions long ago.

They understand and they live out biblical doctrine.

And so here's what happens: they love the life that they live, they love the life that this produces in them.

And guess what they do?

They continue.

They keep living it, they don't worry about being popular.

You got to ask yourself, students, do I want to be popular or do I want to be bold?

Because bold people are not popular.

They're deeply consequential in the kingdom.

But in the 10th grade, 11th grade, seventh grade, junior in college, they're not that popular.

No.

Why?

Because the cultural narrative in the religious subculture where you have all the events and the conferences, they don't want boldness.

Boldness would expose all that for what it is.

Boldness is about continuing, not starting.

Every time I think about continuing, I think of a guy I went to high school with named Tony Ward.

I went to high school, by the way, uh, with one of the second, he was the second fastest man in the state of Texas.

The only person faster than the guy I went to high school with named Joseph Carlock was a kid from a town I'd never heard of.

The town was called Neadville, Texas.

And I remember growing up, I was like, where in the hoot and holler is Needville, Texas.

And the kid's name was Anthony Ketchum.

That's all I remember.

And why do I remember that?

I don't know.

It sticks in my brain.

Because we had a track team in high school that we had the fastest sprint relay team in the state.

We had one of the fastest mile relay teams in the state.

And I just got to go along because the coach liked me.

And so I was like, this is great.

And so we would go to invite-only tournament, I mean track meets with 4A and 5A high schools.

They didn't have 6A back then.

We were like 2A, okay?

We were Hooterville, okay?

And we would roll up on some janky bus that would break down three times on the way to the track meet, and we'd get off with gray sweats, and everybody had this matching silky things, and we were like, hey, where's the bathroom?

We hadn't stopped in three hours.

And then they would all make fun, they'd clown on us about our bus and everything, because it was a hoopty gangster wagon, okay?

And we'd roll off there, and it would be like, they just kind of shrug, and then we called him Kitty, Joseph Carlock, Kitty Carlock.

He was so fast, he would run the hundred-meter dash, it was a hundred-yard dash back then, and about 50 yards, he'd look around and go by and just hammer down and just run away from people.

And so people want to race against us.

And so we're there, and Tony Ward ran the two mile.

I'm we got threatened with punishment with the two mile.

The two-mile race, by the way, is eight times around the track.

I'd make it about lap two, and geez have to come back because I'd die, okay?

But Tony Ward could run from here to Dallas right now.

He it would take him a month.

He never runs at a different pace.

He just said we were doing the math.

We got down.

The two mile was the last thing before the uh mile relay, which was the last event in the track meet, okay?

We're in Jacksonville, Texas, which is home of the tomato bowl relays, by the way.

Some of the best tomatoes in Texas come from Jacksonville, Texas.

If you didn't know that, now you're enlightened.

So we're at the track meeting, we're doing the math, and the coach comes and says, Tony's got the place.

He's got to finish first through six for us to win.

Okay, and so go out there.

I want you to run along the infield and pace him.

And I'm like, eight times?

Let's get reasonable here, coach, okay?

Uh, I got a smoking habit, but there may be a problem here.

And so I I I recruited friends.

And so I had a friend here and at this corner, one at this corner, and one down here, and then I was here, and I would run the corner and then walk back and wait for him to come around.

And so they shoot the gun, Tony Ward takes off.

He's in the big pack.

They're all just kind of about lap three.

You can tell who's done this before.

And they start pacing themselves and pulling away, and Tony runs the same pace.

And I'm like, come on, Tony, come on, you gotta pick it up, you gotta pick it up.

He didn't even look at me, he's just running.

I'm like, come on.

The dude had some, I remember he had some shoes that weighed four ounces.

And I was like, How about them shoes now, bro?

Uh he said, he's just d- dun dun dun.

And they are, by the time they got to lap six, he's been lapped by the entire field.

And we are screaming because guys will high school guys will turn on each other on a dime.

He's running down the back straight.

All the buses are out there in the parking lot.

We're screaming, run to the bus, Tony, run to the bus.

I had his sweats in my hand.

I threw him down because I did not want to be associated with a loser.

And and they're they're picking everybody.

He's in the back stretch, just loping along like he's on a Sunday afternoon jog.

And I'm just like, oh man, it's over.

Stop.

He comes around.

Everybody's, hey, what school are you from?

Uh they're picking first through sixth place.

Tony comes down the straightaway.

He just veers over to the side and keeps running because it's only lap seven.

He's got one more lap to go.

And everybody has gathered to watch Pittsburgh High School run against Kaufman and all these other people on the mile relay.

It is packed.

And Tony, and I'm like, hey, hey, hey, it's over, it's over, it's over.

He doesn't even look at it.

He just keeps running.

And I'm just like, this is now, this has gone from embarrassing to mortifying to humiliation because he's just running.

Nothing's going on.

There's no field events, there's no track and field, no one's pole vaulted, no one's throwing the discus.

They got nothing, okay?

And then we hear this last call, last call.

Boys, high school boys, mile relay, runners report to the blocks, and they're hammering stuff down.

And you look up, and there's Tony just loping down the back straightaway, like, hey, hey, and I'm just like, hey, Tony.

Coach goes, go tell him to be done.

I'm like, hey, hey, hey, Tony, just go to the bus.

I'll bring you straight.

Just go to he doesn't even look.

He's just running with his four-ounce shoes, just running.

And then I'm 58.

I could tell you what shells we were wearing that day.

This was 1982.

Some of you little punky kids weren't even thought of, much less born.

This changed my life.

He comes around the corner and into the last straightaway.

And they stretch the tape back out for him.

I'm like, this is embarrassing.

And all of a sudden, one of the man in the stand stands up and starts clapping.

And then more people stand up and more people stand.

Pretty soon the whole grandstand is standing.

Come on, come on.

And then I'm not making this up.

Tony Ward kicks it in the gear and sprints the last 60 yards.

And I'm like, where was this when we needed you, bro?

And he just sprints down there.

And I've I picked the sweats up and I'm like, I don't know what to do with them.

He breaks the tape and they're like, What's really from?

Pittsburgh, what's your name?

Tony Ward.

And I'm like, hey man, here you go.

Here's your sweats.

The bus is that way.

And he went to the bus.

And they hammered the stakes, the starting blocks in.

The coach went to Kitty, who runs 100 and the 200 or the 220.

It was a 220-yard dash back then, when America was not on the metric system because we were Americans.

The coach looked at Kitty and said, Kitty, can you run a quarter?

He goes, I gotcha, coach.

I got you, coach.

This is back when they had cinder tracks.

Y'all don't remember that.

Y'all got rubber now and everything.

Yeah.

This is back when you didn't have high school budgets.

Kitty's there shaking his legs out.

Troy leads out first.

Kitty goes second.

I don't remember.

I think B.T.

Hamilton ran third.

But running anchor was my light-skinned friend Marcus Curlin.

He's like, we're like in fifth place.

They are clowning on us.

They're talking so much smack.

They're talking about our mom, our grandma, our hometown, our bus.

They're talking everything.

And standing there, now by the way, when you get my relay, you're like this.

The guy comes with a baton.

You take it, you take off.

Roger Curlin looked at Coach Fox and said, I got you, Coach.

Handed him the stick, and Roger Curlin look took off like a scalded dog.

He got into the first corner, corner.

He said, Just ride him in the corner.

And he gets on our heel in the corner and down the back stretch, he just pulls away.

The stand goes crazy.

1982, Roger Curlin runs a 49 flat open quarter.

We win.

We are going crazy.

All of a sudden, we're talking about their moms and their grandma.

And we are letting it, we are letting it out.

And I mean, they're gonna be a riot on there.

And the coach is like, hey McClendon, you're the only white guy here.

Shut up.

You're doing most of the talking.

I'm just I'm just translating what we feel, coach.

We get on the bus, we're going crazy.

The coach's got a packet, he's got a trophy.

Sitting on the ground, it's at least that tall.

He got a packet, and he's like, Lynn Wood, hand all his hashway, all the uh kitty.

And we're like, well, we know what kitty's done one.

And then he picks up this thing.

And I'm in the back.

That's where the cool people said.

Tony Ward's up in the third seat.

Eating a baloney sandwich that's been in the bus all day.

I was just like, You a brave man, man.

Triconella sound like anything you understand?

Anyway, the coach walks over and just leans it down because it was hitting the top of the bus and said, Hey son, thanks for finishing.

We were done.

It got dead quiet.

We stopped beating the top of the bus.

We beat, let's go eat.

We beat, let's go eat.

That's all we'll come out in 1982.

And by the way, we got to go to Bonanza.

And you got beef tips or a chicken fried steak.

And Don Harrison's like, Coach, how about some scrimps?

We done one.

We need some scrimps.

I was like, Coach, how about some scrimps?

He's like, if I hear your mouth one more time, I'm gonna whip you when we get back to the field house.

All right, I'm done.

What am I saying?

Look at me.

There's gonna come a day, you're gonna you're gonna you're gonna round that last turn for the last time.

You're gonna come down the home stretch.

And the grandstand is full if you believe the Bible.

It says in Hebrews chapter 12, since we're surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us run with endurance.

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

Continuation, this mindset to finish.

Run with endurance, the race set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who, for the joy set before him, endured the cross, scorning the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the Father.

Paul says it like this I fought the good fight.

I I finished the race.

I kept the faith.

And now is laid up for me a crown.

See, bold people understand this.

It's about continuing.

It's not about starting and restarting and starting over, and I'm gonna stop now.

For I'm stopping for good this time, God.

Just continue.

Just continue.

That's what bold people do.

So we're all in the back.

We're like, hey Tony, can we can we see the trophy?

And he goes, nah, man, I got it.

And then we turn on Tony.

You just just make a little pum, blah, blah, blah.

He rides all the way back.

Just staring at this trophy.

Just looking at it.

I wonder when you get to heaven what God's gonna hand you.

Are you gonna be like, oh I'm uh, you know, I'm so uh you know, I know, oh man, you know, God, it was so hard, it was 2023.

You know what it's like?

Political unrealistic.

I want this to sit in.

And God's not saying stand out.

God is just saying be bold.

Just be bold.

What if you just want to ever do that and say, hey, I I want to understand.

I want to understand one Christian doctrine and start just applying that to my life.

And I'm gonna get down.

I want to understand another one.

And another one.

And another one.

Because I want to be equipped.

I want to be complete.

I'm tired of not knowing what to say when people mock the faith.

If you're a guest, just relax.

You like to teach the Bible if you're here.

Because your mom, you ask your mom what you want for Mother's Day, and she said, I want you to come to church with me.

You made it, it's over.

You survived.

But you came and ring the bell that the Bible rings.

Boldness is not about personality, it's about understanding.

So I'm gonna voice a prayer and some questions come on the screen for us just to think about just for a little bit.

Let me pray.

Holy Spirit, just hover over us now as we think about our lives.

Thank you for little skinny Tony that we called the bony pony.

Weighed about 88 pounds with his four-ounce shoes.

And he wasn't embarrassed.

He just said, Hey, it's eight laps, and I'm gonna run all eight of them.

I don't care if everyone's done, I'm gonna continue.

I don't have to win, I just have to finish.

God, and I pray for people who just they blew a gasket and just quit.

I pray for people that run to the bus, they'd get off the bus and realize, hey, I gotta finish, I gotta keep going here.

So, Holy Spirit, just brood over us and give us what we need in this moment.

Lord, we say yes to that.

More boldness, which means more understanding.

It's not more effort, it's more understanding, it's lived out doctrines, it's nothing new.

So people who came before us, men like Martin Luther, stood up in the face of just religious people with no power and said, You can do what you want with me, it doesn't matter.

I'm not changing my mind, I will not recant anything.

Lord, that day may be coming to our country.

That would be a good thing for the church capital C, but it will be a hard thing for the make-believe believer.

So, Holy Spirit, cause us to think about our lives and how they're lived.

We ask in Christ's name, what everyone said.

Amen.

Amen.

If you're our guest today, let me say thanks for being here.

You're always welcome.

If you have any questions about anything you saw or heard today, we'll be available down front.

We have multiple things going on in the life of our church.

We don't like to overwhelm you, but we do like to make you aware.

So give your attention to our screens for our video announcements today.

Here's a look at what's happening at Grand Parkway Baptist Church.

If you're new, text Welcome to 281-626-5707.

This way we can know you're here and get you connected with the church.

This summer we're welcoming Sophie McClendon and Brooklyn Francis to our student ministry as our summer residence.

So you'll see them at camp and other ministry events as they work alongside Ian and Annie.

Be sure to say hello when you see them and let them know how you're praying for them.

Speaking of camp, our fifth and sixth grade students have their bridge camp coming up.

Campers will leave for Trinity Pines Camp on June 13th and will return June 16th.

For our 7th through 12th grade students, their camp will commence on July 17th and conclude on the 21st.

It will take place at Mount Lebanon Retreat and Conference Center.

Join us in welcoming Annie Stevens, our new associate student pastor, at her howdy party on May 24th from 6 to 8 p.m.

in the student building.

Dinner is on us, so plan to enjoy a night of introduction, information, and excitement.

Our women's summer book groups are starting up again the week of June 5th.

The book groups will meet all over town throughout the summer.

You can pick the book or the location that works for you.

Join in on the dialogue and connection.

To register for these events, please visit Grandparkway.org.

Finally, we're expanding our parking by adding 45 additional spaces just north of our student building.

The cost of this expansion is$134,000, and it's a gravel grid system that saves us a lot of money versus concrete.

It allows us to be completed in about a four-week time frame and will provide more convenient parking to our three busiest buildings, students, kids, and the worship center.

Look forward to that.

If you have any questions or want someone to pray for you, find one of our pastors at the front of the stage at the conclusion of our service.

Ladies, if you're one like, hey, I want to better understand Christian doctrine, those book clubs are a great opportunity.

Find one that's like, hey, I think I want to better understand this.

It's a great opportunity to be involved.

The parking lot expansion, some may be wondering where that's happening.

It's like if this parking lot right over here in front of the student ministry building kept going past the dumper dumpster on down to the detention pond.

It'll give us 45 additional spaces, which doesn't sound like much, but it is a lot because there's a lot of Sundays and it's packed around here.

That is also what's called an unbudgeted expense.

Uh and so if you'd like to help us with that, you can just mark parking lot on your check or whatever.

Or if you go online to give, there's a little place on there where you can designate it for the parking, okay?

Uh and we'll take care of that.

No pressure, just an opportunity.

Does it make sense?

Say amen.

Stand to your feet.

Let's get out of here.

It's time for brunch.

Now, by the way, before I speak a blessing over you, wayward sinners, it's Mother's Day all day today.

Not just at lunch.

It's Mother's Day this afternoon, tonight.

It's Mother's Day until you go to bed.

So, students, don't ask for anything, don't want anything, don't need anything.

Okay?

Get up off your mother.

Stop being so selfish.

That goes for you two husbands.

Don't want anything, don't need anything.

Don't ask for anything.

We're having papa.

Hold your hands out.