Acts 4:1-31 Bold

We've been going through the book of Acts.

We're in Acts chapter 4.

Acts 4 · chapter mention

And uh, if you don't know what's going on right now in Acts chapter 4, in Acts chapter 3, we read about John and Peter, and they're on their way to pray in the afternoon.

Acts 4 · chapter mention Acts 3 · chapter mention

3 o'clock prayer service.

They're going in.

There's a lame man that's been there.

We find out been there for 40 years.

He's begging and he asks for money.

Peter and John said, Hey, look at us.

They look, he looks at him looking for money and goes, We don't have gold or silver, but what we do have, we give to you rise and walk in the name of Jesus of Nazareth.

He gets up after being there, being brought there for 40 years.

He is fully healed, and he is now celebrating.

They keep going on their way to the prayer service.

They enter into the temple gates.

The man is clinging to them, celebrating.

They're like, what is going on?

Everybody's seen this guy's been lame.

We called him Lame Larry.

Remember that?

Now he's leaping, Larry.

So Larry is with them and they're hanging out and they're rejoicing.

Everybody sees Larry and they know him as the gate guy that's always begging, but he's not the gate guy anymore because he's in the temple courts.

People gather around.

They're like, what is going on?

Peter sees an opportunity to preach the gospel.

So he shares the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ with everybody.

He's like, listen, this man's not healed because of us, but he's healed because of the name of Jesus Christ.

The man who you saw crucified, the man who you called to be crucified, has healed him.

And by the way, listen, there is repentance for all those.

Listen, you can be accepted into the kingdom.

You repent of your sin, turn, and come.

And so there is a revival happening.

Not everybody's always excited about things that God does.

Yeah?

It seems wild, right?

To think like you're like, man, Larry is dancing.

People are like hearing about this Messiah that they waited forever on, and oh, by the way, it really is him.

And heaven just affirmed it by Larry being healed.

The power of God affirmed the word of God.

You with me on that?

The power of God affirmed the word of God.

We are a church that believes the power of God is still affirming the word of God.

And it's not the work of man, but it's the work in the name of Jesus.

And so we're going to talk about that today.

Yeah?

So we are in Acts 4, verse 1.

Acts 4:1

I've got a lot to read through.

We will not make it all, but it's okay.

Verse 1.

While Peter and John were speaking to the people, they were confronted by the priest, the captain of the temple guard, and some Sadducees.

These leaders were very disturbed that Peter and John were teaching the people that through Jesus there is resurrection of the dead.

By the way, the Sadducees didn't believe in resurrection.

I'm fighting.

You guys know the last time I talked about Sadducees.

Yeah, that's why they were sad, you see.

They didn't believe in the resurrection of the dead.

Alright, somebody egged me on.

It's Julie's fault.

Alright.

These leaders were disturbed that Peter and John were teaching that through Jesus there is resurrection of the dead.

They arrested them, and since it was already evening, put them in jail until morning.

Check this out.

When does this all start?

It starts at three in the afternoon on the way to prayer service.

Now it's evening.

Ministry's been going on for a minute.

It wasn't like this was a 20-minute like happening, just a move of God.

For hours now, there's been revival going on in the temple courts.

And now it's night, and they're like, listen, we can't we can't do anything now.

We're gonna arrest these guys and throw them in prison.

Could you imagine being thrown in prison because you prayed for somebody to be healed and they got healed?

That doesn't make any sense.

It doesn't make any sense at all.

I don't know that they're upset about Lane Larry now being able to jump around, but what they're upset about is oh, the power of God affirms the word of God and the God that we serve, he heals people, and his name is Jesus Christ.

Christ is not a last name.

Right?

I don't know that you guys know that.

Christ is not Jesus' last name, right?

It's Smith.

I'm just kidding, it's not Smith.

Christ means anointed one, like the anointed one.

Uh we get it we get it from the Hebrew uh Meshiach, or we translate the Messiah.

And so it's Jesus, the Messiah.

Oh, by the way, from Nazareth.

We're not getting confused about who this is because Jesus was a common name then.

And so we are like very specific about who this is.

This is the one whom the Old Testament talked about.

Yeah?

Okay, so I gotta stay in the scripture.

Here we go.

They arrested them since it was already eaten and put them in jail until morning.

But many of the people, check this out, many of the people who heard the message believed it.

So the number of men who believed now totaled about 5,000.

So it's not including the women and children.

A few weeks before, don't forget, there's 120.

Now, if we include women and children, we're looking over 10,000 people for sure, now following Jesus, serving Jesus.

This is nothing short of revival.

You feel me on that?

It does not matter where you start, it just matters that you are faithful where you start.

It does not matter where you start, it matters that you're faithful where you start.

The next day, the council of all the rulers and elders and the teachers of religious law met in Jerusalem.

Verse 6.

Annas the high priest was there along with Caiaphas.

I don't know if you remember these names.

These guys were the chief architects of getting Jesus crucified.

These should be familiar names.

If they're not to you, these should be names that are highlighted, like, oh, these guys were behind getting Jesus crucified.

Annas the high priest along with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and other relatives of the high priest.

They brought in two disciples.

They brought in the two disciples and demanded, check this out, by what power or what, or in whose name have you done this?

The name is important.

I'm gonna say that again.

The name is important.

You might want to make that in your notes, write that in your Bible.

The name is important.

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit.

Pause.

Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit.

Let me ask you something.

If I remember correctly, in Acts chapter 2, Peter is in the upper room when the Holy Spirit comes, and Peter is filled in that moment.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

He goes out and then he preaches his first message, and 3,000 people come to Jesus.

Peter's filled.

Why is it telling me that Peter is filled with the Holy Spirit again?

He's already filled once.

Why is it telling me?

This is why it's important to go slow sometimes through scripture because you'll read something like, oh yeah, Peter's filled.

That's cool.

The filling of the Holy Spirit is not a one-time event.

Paul says in Ephesians chapter 5, verse 18, be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 5:18

Ephesians 5, 18.

The second part of that verse says, Paul's writing says, be filled with the Holy Spirit.

But when you do a word study on filled, it kind of means this being filled.

Don't stop being filled.

It's an ongoing process.

Are you with me on that?

Like imagine, I think sometimes we think filled with the spirit of like, okay, we have a glass and we pour into it and now it is filled.

Heaven's idea is I'm not done pouring, I'm not done pouring.

You're still breathing, I'm still pouring, you're still breathing, I'm still pouring.

Don't stop being filled with the spirit because you're going to need it every day of your life for everything that you encounter.

Isn't it incredible that at the moment of confrontation, he's filled with the Holy Spirit?

Some of us want to encounter God, but we don't want to encounter conflict.

We want another service, but we don't want conflict.

Maybe you don't need another service.

Maybe what you need in your life to feel closer to God is a conflict so that the Holy Spirit can fill you so that you can be empowered to endure what's in front of you.

We're a culture that seeks comfort, not conflict.

But what I see is that Peter, they had the whole night.

Can you imagine they had the whole night to sit in prison thinking about what's coming their way?

They know who sent them to prison, the same guy that sent Jesus to prison.

What were they thinking about that night?

We don't get an insight on that.

But we we see the next day, the first opportunity, the Holy Spirit fills them.

Holy Spirit wants to fill you today.

We prayed over this a few weeks ago that you'd be filled with the Spirit.

Holy Spirit wants to fill you fresh again today.

To empower you fresh again today.

Lord, I just pray right now.

I thank you, Holy Spirit, that you're not done filling, you're not done pouring out.

So we just position ourselves and I pray over every person in this room, be filled.

In the name of Jesus, be filled with the Holy Spirit, filled to overflowing, filled to encounter, endure all conflict, the enemy would send your way, filled with the boldness of God.

Thank you, Lord, for that in Jesus' name.

Be being filled.

I love this.

I love the details of this passage.

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers and elders of our people, are we being questioned today because we have done a good deed for a crippled man?

Do you want to know how he was healed?

Do you let me clearly state to all of you, check this out, to all the people of Israel, that he was healed by the powerful what name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene?

Again, Christ is not his last name.

It's a declaration in ancient Jewish culture, knowing and invoking someone's name and engaging with their very being.

When you mention the name Jesus, you're engaging with the person of Jesus.

You with me on that?

It's not a magic secret code that we say that when I lay hands on somebody in the name of Jesus be healed.

When I say in the name of Jesus, I am partnering with the physical Jesus, the reality of Jesus, the being of Jesus.

Yeah.

That's what it meant to these people.

But it doesn't really mean that to us.

Like, oh yeah, yeah, yeah.

I know Bob.

Right?

Or I know, I know, I know, I know the lady across the street.

I know her.

Like, and we we know names, but for these people, knowing or invoking somebody's name and engaging with their very being.

He was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ of Nazarene.

Check this out.

The man you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead.

I'm talking about bold.

This he he's not using a metaphor.

You are literally the ones looking them in the eye.

You are literally the ones who had him crucified.

I'm not like we're not saying a like just a universal, we're saying you are the ones.

Annas, Kaivas, I'm looking at you.

You are the ones.

Check this out.

The man you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead.

How crazy is it?

Because what they're being confronted with is you rejected Jesus, but God, by resurrecting Jesus, showed his acceptance of Jesus.

The resurrection was proof of God's acceptance.

And it was, and it was a complete opposition of the denial of the ruling class of religious leaders.

They're like, no, no, no, no, not Jesus.

But God said, Yeah, yeah, I accept him because he's my son.

You see what's going on here?

He's like, man, we're following the one that God accepts.

For Jesus is the one referred to in the scriptures where it says, the stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.

Check this out.

There is salvation in no one else.

That's highlightable, that's underlinable.

There is salvation in no one else.

God has given no other what?

Name.

The name is important.

God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.

We what?

We must be saved.

Not we should be saved.

Just a reminder.

I want to go back through this.

I like that it says there's salvation no one else.

God has given no other name under heaven.

Heaven is like everywhere.

You look around the world, there's no other name under everywhere.

Under everywhere that man might be saved.

There's no other name.

The name matters.

In universalism, talked about this maybe a few months ago, but I felt led to bring it back up again.

In universalism, Jesus was a human prophet or teacher inspired by God, but not God Himself.

Judaism considers Jesus a historical figure, but does not recognize him as the Messiah, divine, or prophet, often viewing him as a teacher.

Jehovah's Witnesses, they believe that Jesus is the Son of God, but that he's created by God and distinct from him, making him a subordinate and by the way a brother of Satan.

Islam, Muslims believe that Jesus is a major prophet and the Messiah, but believe he was a human messenger, not divine or the son of God.

And that he was not crucified, nor did he die again, or usually die and raised again from the dead.

In deism, enlightenment era thinkers often view Jesus as a wise moral teacher and a philosopher, but reject the miracles and divine natures attributed to him.

In New Age, Jesus is seen as ordinary human who lived 2,000 years ago.

Christ is viewed not as a last name or unique title, but as a universal divine energy or state of consciousness.

It's called, have you heard this before?

Christ consciousness.

The name matters.

I've been around people, I've had incredible conversations with people of different faiths.

Incredibly, can I tell you this?

Man, I had a conversation with this Indian guy one time, one of the sweetest individuals I've ever met.

I mean, absolutely kind.

It was just a genuinely nice conversation.

I've had conversations with people from different religious backgrounds.

And I've met people that are like, man, just good people.

Love their kids, like just contributors of uh of community, like that the average human lifespan in America is 80 years old.

It's shorter for men, women you bring the average up.

76 is the average for men.

Women, you help bring that average up to 80.

I don't know the math on that.

So.

Yes, that's right.

The enemy, Satan does not care if a person is good and kind and sweet and charitable and nice and a contributor to their society and just an all-around, nice person to be around, an enjoyable affect.

The enemy does not care that a person will do that for 80 years as long as they spend eternity separated from God.

Yeah, be good, be kind, be generous.

Be beyond I've met I've met people, I've met uh Muslims that are great, generous people.

Right?

I've met Buddhists that are kind, gentle, nice, tender-hearted people.

And then it means I could be that for 80 years, but you're gonna be separated from God for eternity.

And any other religion that changes the name is demonic in nature because it leads people down a different path away from Jesus.

You with me?

It is antichrist because it leads people away from the Messiah.

You change the name, you change his nature, you change everything about it.

So listen, I'm not gonna hug a Goliath and call it grace.

I'm gonna love people well, but I'm gonna deny what's going on in their religion and try to lead them in the love of Jesus to the truth of God's word.

I'm not gonna be mean, I'm not gonna be belligerent, but I'm not gonna say, yeah, you are super nice.

Maybe your way does work.

Because there's no other name by which man must be saved.

You with me on that?

Like, there's no, like, all I'm doing, listen, I'm not preaching Joey's ideas, I'm just preaching scripture.

There is salvation in no one else.

Exclamation point.

God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.

The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John.

This next part brings me a lot of peace.

For they could see they were ordinary men.

Thank you, Jesus.

Woo! Ordinary men.

They could see they were ordinary men with no special training.

It doesn't mean they were dumb.

It doesn't mean they were stupid.

They didn't have the training that the Sadducee elites had or the Pharisee elites had.

They didn't have that training.

It doesn't mean they were dumb, it just meant they didn't have special training in the scriptures like they did.

Check this out.

They also recognized them as men who what?

Had been with Jesus.

May we be recognized as women and men who have been with Jesus.

That you would like that somebody would see your life.

Man, there's something, something different about you.

You're ordinary.

That's not being negative.

But there's something going on here.

They recognize them as men who had been with Jesus.

Their boldness is not a personality or an aggression.

It's the confident witness of those who have seen and know God has vindicated Jesus by the resurrection.

It's it's not so boldness is not like this anger that you get.

I'm gonna yell louder to prove everybody else wrong.

I'm gonna make the most witty comment on social media.

I've got zingers for days.

And I'm just gonna zinger and zinger and zinger them all.

I don't care if they ever turn to Jesus as long as I sound cool in the statements I make.

That's not boldness.

That's not love.

I'm not trying to, I'm not trying to win arguments, I'm trying to lead people to Jesus.

Right?

I do want to study the word and show myself approved so that when people talk to me, I can say, hey, listen, here's what's going on, here are the differences.

And and be able to understand scripture and why it's trustworthy.

Why?

Why we can say, yeah, I read this and this is not okay.

I'm gonna bash it down a different path than we need to go down.

I've seen them as men who have been with Jesus.

But since they could see, I love scripture, since they could see the man who had been healed standing right there among them, there was nothing the council could say.

Imagine, this is fully hilarious.

You got all the Sadducees, all these curmudgeons, just looking like, you are preaching in whose name?

By what power are you doing this?

And they're thinking, like, how can we how can we stump these men?

How can we make them look foolish?

By the way, in the so like Peter and John are standing here.

Imagine in the background, you see Larry, and he's just like, he's just rocking on his toes.

Imagine you hadn't used your legs ever in life for 40 years.

Larry's just like right, just swirling his legs.

Larry's in the corner, like getting some lunges in.

You're making an argument against God who healed Larry, and he's just like.

Right?

Could you imagine?

This is the scene.

You look you look back there, Peter and John, we don't like you or you're God.

That's what it says.

He's right there.

He shows back up, been healed, standing by the way.

He's not listening.

You sat long enough.

You standing now, right?

You sat for 40 years, you get the opportunity, you're just standing.

You just like leaning this along, stretching out the right?

Just like this is Larry's life now.

Just look at my legs, y'all.

Just like kicking at random.

And they're like, they can't say anything.

There was nothing.

It literally says that there was nothing the council could say.

So they ordered Peter and John out of the council chamber and conferred amongst themselves.

What should we do with these men?

They asked each other.

We can't deny that they performed a miraculous miracle.

Look at that idiot doing lunges.

We can't we can't deny they performed a miraculous sign, and everybody in Jerusalem knows about it.

Word spread fast.

This dude's been laying for 40 years and now the whole city knows.

That's what it says, right?

All Jerusalem knows about it, but to keep them from spreading their propaganda any further, is it propaganda if it's real?

To keep them from spreading their propaganda any further, we must warn them not to speak to anyone in Jesus' name again.

So they called the apostles back in and commanded them to never again speak or teach in the name of Jesus.

The enemy loves to use fear and frustration to shut you up.

He will do it on repeat, as often as he can, frustrate you as much as he can, bring fear as much as he can.

But here's what I know is when you experience fear, you can be sure that that's not what God gave you.

Because what I know is 2 Timothy 1.7 says, God's not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord.

Isaiah 41.10 says, Don't be afraid, for I am with you.

Don't be discouraged, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you.

I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

Isaiah 26, 3 says, You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you.

Talking about if you trust in God, he's going to keep you in perfect peace, all whose thoughts are fixed on you.

When frustration comes, make the choice to rejoice.

James 1 2 says, Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it as an opportunity for great joy, for you know that your faith is being tested.

Your endurance has a chance to grow.

We don't like chances to grow our endurance.

You talk to most people, you're like, no, I'm good where I am.

As long as the bank account's solid and the fridge is full and the car is running and the AC's on while this heat wave is happening, I'm good.

The enemy will keep you as comfortable as possible if it'll keep you out of your potential, your purpose, and your calling.

Your comfort is not what you worship in life.

You worship God and go after him, and wherever he leads you, the Holy Spirit will be your comforter.

You're not the one to comfort yourself.

Okay.

So fear and frustration come.

We're trying to use fear never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus.

But Peter and John replied, Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him?

We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.

My son climbed up on my lap this morning.

Dad, what are you preaching about today?

I told him this, and I read this line to him.

Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him?

He goes, That's a bar.

Yeah, it is, right?

He's nine.

He gets it.

That is a bar.

What a line.

Do you think God wants to obey you rather than him?

We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.

We cannot, we physically cannot stop telling.

About everything we've seen or heard, we are compelled to tell.

We are compelled, because why?

If we don't, people that have no hope are gonna have to die without the hope that we have.

So I am compelled to tell everybody about the hope that I have, what I've seen, what I've heard, and I can share people with who the Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ.

I can share who He is, the hope he brings, the restoration he brings, the forgiveness he offers.

Right?

And so in that, I can't stop talking.

Like, so you want us to obey you or God.

Imagine now, here's still the picture.

You want us to be you or God.

Remember, Larry's still back in the corner, like just like dancing, right?

Like, I don't know what he's doing.

He's in the back, still doing a jig, and it's like, what do you want us to do?

The council then threatened them further.

Further?

I didn't read any threats yet.

So it's implied that they've already been threatened, right?

If you're gonna further do something, you have to start somewhere.

So they've already been threatened.

That's probably what the threat sounds like, right?

The council then threatened them further, but they finally let them go because they did not know how to punish them without starting a ride.

Why?

Everyone was praising God for the miraculous sign, the healing of the man who had been lame for more than 40 years.

Everybody's like, I hear what you Sadducees are saying, but this guy has not stretched stretching out his hamstring in 30 minutes.

He's jumping.

I'm saying, I hear what you're saying, but like God did this.

And so, because God's name, the name of Jesus did this, and the name of Jesus must be legit.

Because I hear what the name you're using, but it doesn't seem to be working.

I better hurry up.

Or it couldn't make me go longer, I don't know.

So we'll find out in a minute.

As soon as they were free, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said.

And when they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voice together in prayer to God.

Oh, sovereign Lord, creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them.

You spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant sang, Why were the nations so angry?

This is Psalm 2, by the way.

Why did they waste their time with feudal plans?

The kings of the earth prepared for battle, and the rulers gathered together against the Lord and against his Messiah.

Verse 27.

In fact, this happened here in this very city, for Herod Antipas and Pontius Pilate, the governor, uh, the Gentiles and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you anointed.

But everything they did was determined beforehand according to your will.

And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word.

Stretch out your hand with healing power.

May miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.

After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.

Then they preached the word of God with boldness.

I want to go back to verse 29.

And now, O Lord, hear their threats and give us your servants great boldness.

Why pray for boldness and not protection?

It's on the you can pray, you pray for whatever.

Why pray for boldness and not protection?

If I'm honest with you right now, a lot of the gospel I hear is more about trying to mitigate risk.

How can I get in as little risk as possible in my life?

It seems to be trying to mitigate risk as much as possible.

Get as much comfort as possible is what today's gospel sounds like.

Require the least amount of commitment or sacrifice as possible.

But they're out there and they're praying for what?

For boldness.

Why not pray for protection?

Because they were more concerned with obedience than safety.

I would rather be obedient than safe.

Safety.

If it means death, I'd rather be obedient than safe.

If it means I'm gonna lose my life, I still want to be obedient to God rather than be safe.

If it means I'm gonna die this week, I'd still rather be obedient than safe.

I'd rather be obedient and die this week than safe and live 30 more years.

Because obedience to him means more than safety in this life.

Because this life is not the end.

There's another one coming.

There's a different life happening.

After this one, I'm stepping into eternity with Jesus.

And I'd rather be obedient in this life than safe in this life so that I can have eternity with Jesus.

We get so sort, short-focused, so, so, so, so zoomed in on life, and this is all there is.

Oh my God, what happens in the next election?

Oh my God, what happens if gas prices go up?

Oh my gosh, what if what if egg prices go crazy again?

What if all these things were so zoomed in and whether than step out and say, God, in my life, may I be obedient to you rather than safe in how I live.

Boldness is the word paroissea.

That's what the original Greek word is.

It's unreserved, frank speech with cheerful courage.

Cheerful courage, I love that.

It's the opposite of cowardice.

It's a divine enablement produced by being filled with the Holy Spirit.

Boldness is a divine enablement.

Divine enablement comes from being filled with the Holy Spirit.

There's a writer I liked from back in the day, his name is G.K.

Chesterton.

He said, courage is the desire to live that takes the form of the readiness to die.

It's the desire to live with the readiness to die in that life.

The same Holy Spirit that gave the followers of Jesus boldness, then is the same Holy Spirit that's in this room right now.

Wants to give you boldness right now.

Not just boldness for today, but boldness for tomorrow.

Boldness, could you imagine?

Boldness for a Tuesday morning.

Boldness for a Thursday afternoon.

Could you imagine?

It's hard not to worship safe.

It's hard not to worship safe.

You want to know where I see the gospel thriving?

I see it thriving in countries in the world where death isn't.

I see the gospel spreading in places in the world where persecution is hot.

I see the gospel spreading in those places.

But I do believe there's a church here right now in this room.

I believe there's people here right now in this room that we will be bold enough to say we don't have to wait for the persecution to come to be obedient to God.

We're not going to be praying for safe.

We're not going to be praying for comfort.

We're going to be praying for boldness.

We're praying that God, we wake up in the morning on purpose, on mission.

If I'm going to school, I'm going to go learn, but I'm also on mission to love on kids that don't have anybody loving on them.

If I'm going to work, I'm going to go work and I'm going to earn a living from my family.

But I'm also going on mission to love on people that don't have anybody loving on them, to minister life, to speak hope, to speak purpose.

Not just to the people I like, but the people I can't stand.

But I'll have a life that I pray over my enemies.

I'll pray for the ones that like talk bad about me behind my back.

God, may they come to know you.

God, may they come to serve you.

God, may they come to see you in the fullness of who you are.

There will always be backstabbers and liars and people that cheat and try to get on your wrong side or they just don't like you.

Hard to believe, isn't it?

These people will always exist because they've always existed.

But may we have a boldness to love the way that Jesus did.

May we have a boldness not to be hugging Goliath and calling it grace.

But that we can have honest conversations with good-hearted people and still lead them to the cross because just a tender, gentle heart is not enough to get you to heaven.

If it was, Jesus wouldn't have had to die.

With me on that.

So Holy Spirit, fall on us fresh right now.

Man, would you just position even as like an outward sign of an inward act?

I'm just gonna just sit your hands in your laps like, okay, I've never done this, but I'm ready to receive.

Holy Spirit, I pray right now that you would fill every single one of your sons and daughters.

Fill them to overflowing, fill them with boldness right now.

Fill them, Holy Spirit, with the gifts that you give.

Thank you, God.

Gifts that not only build up your church and encourage your church, but gifts that allow us to go into this world on mission, on purpose, and see the gospel spread.

Lord, we pray as they did in the first church.

We pray for miracles, signs, and wonders that would happen in the mighty name of Jesus.

And they would direct people to the mighty name of Jesus.

May there be miracles in our life.

I'm talking about cancer leaving bodies.

I'm talking about wheelchairs being left empty.

I'm talking about anxiety leaving bodies.

I'm talking about blind eyes opening and deaf ears opening.

God, I'm talking about mute being able to sing, the lame being able to leap.

God, we thank you right now.

The signs, wonders, and miracles will follow those that follow you, and they would be confirmation that in your name it is the only way to be saved.

Thank you for holiness, a desire to recognize that you are a holy God.

And that calls us to live a consecrated life.

Not as close to the edge of sin as that we could get, but Lord, a consecrated life saying, Lord, I want to live in obedience rather than safety.

I'd rather live in obedience.

If it means discomfort, let it be discomfort.

I'm not going to begrudge the splinters of the cross, but I'll carry it boldly.

But I thank you for a heart in this family, a heart in this church, a heart in these people to go after you, to desire and want more of you, God.

I thank you that you're raising up a hunger for your word to spend time reading it.

That we would read it in such a way, even if we don't understand it, we would receive it until we can pursue understanding, God.

Thank you, Lord.

What I even pray right now, God, I pray not only the people of this room.

Lord, I know there's people that listen to this online.

I ask that you would move on them, whether they're in their cars, in their living room, in their house.

God, Holy Spirit, fill them fresh right now.

Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Thank you, God.

Fresh.

Fresh.

I just sense my heart, Lord says, I want to speak to you.

I want to speak to you.

I want you to listen.

I just sense the Lord that somebody you he's gonna begin to give you dreams.

That's Bible, right?

He'll give dreams and he'll give visions.

That's gonna begin to happen on the regular.

Write those down.

Don't toss them to the side.

And then pray into discernment for what's going on.

So I always just want to encourage you guys right now, just to practically.

Start journaling.

Write down.

God, what are you saying to me?

What's on my heart?

What are you speaking to?

Thank you.

Pray blessing over these are sons and daughters when your face shine upon them.

Pray blessing over the, pray blessing over the kids in the classrooms.

The babies in the nursery, God.

Thank you for a family.

We're seeing these little babies and toddlers all over the place, God.

For these children that love you and that they've got the image of God upon them.

Lord, I thank you.

May they walk in the plans and purposes you have for their life.

Lord, we pray for divine opportunity to love on our city, love on our community in profound and dynamic and real ways this week.

Give us the mind of Christ, the wisdom of God, and all that we do.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Would you give the Lord a hand clap?

Just grateful for what God's doing.