Boldness is Contagious | Acts 4:23-31

Speak God's truth and uh be the example He's called us to be.

We'll look at Acts chapter 4, verse 23.

Acts 4:23

We're gonna begin reading verse 23.

Acts chapter 4, verse 23 says, And being let go, they went to their own company and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them.

Acts 4:23

When they had heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them, by whom by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage and the people imagine vain things?

The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ.

He says, For ever truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together, for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before thee to be done.

He says, And now, Lord, behold thy tretenings, and grant unto thy servants that with all boldness they may speak thy word, thy stretching forth thine hand to heal, and thy signs, signs and wonders may be done by the name of the holy child Jesus.

And in verse 31 it says, And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

Let's go, Lord, in word of prayer.

Heavenly Father, we just humble Bible for you.

Again, Lord, just thank you for a beautiful day and for the freedoms we enjoy to be here together and uh worship together, to worship you in spirit and truth.

And Father, we're just so so very thankful for your truth and thankful for the gift of salvation that was purchased on Calvary's cross through the blood of Christ.

And uh, Lord, I just ask you this morning for your preaching grace.

Uh, you just hide me behind the cross.

And Lord, again, I just pray as we read your word that we understand it, that your Holy Spirit just teaches us, and that we not just have it in our mind, we have it written on our heart, and just be the disciples and the people you've called us to be.

And I do pray, Lord, if there's a lost one among us today, that today might be the day that'd be saved, and not just uh satisfied with salvation, but that we grow in their faith and become a disciple, leading the others to you, and be bold in our faith.

Again, we just love when we praise you and we thank you, Lord, for these examples of these men and women that's recorded for us.

Uh again, to in to encourage us and let our their boldness be contagious to us, again, to be the salt and the light that you've called us all to be.

Again, we love when we praise you.

We ask forgiveness of sins and we ask it's all in Jesus' name.

Amen.

So, the first thing we must understand is uh what boldness is.

Uh boldness is not an arrogance or a self-confidence in ourselves.

There's a lot of bold people in the world, but they're uh they're kind of off-putting because they're conceited all about themselves and uh even so-called believers.

Uh it's like the prayer of the Pharisees and publican in the book of Luke 18.

You see it 18, 9, 14.

We won't turn there, but uh Jesus tells the example.

Uh the Pharisee goes into the temple and prays with himself, basically, about how awesome he is.

And the publican, when he lifted up his voice, when he lifted up his head, the eyes toward heaven, beat upon his chest and said, God be merciful to me, a sinner.

And Jesus plainly says, of those two people, the boldest one was the one that asked for mercy and forgiveness.

And so that's what we're talking about when we see this about being bold in our faith.

It ain't, it's really understanding.

It isn't yelling and screaming at people.

Uh, it is humility, spiritual strength, and meekness to speak truth, speak the truth of who Jesus is, what he has done, and what he's going to do.

And uh the world hasn't changed.

Uh, the world hasn't changed since the time of the arrest of John and Peter.

That's who was arrested here.

We're going to look at this.

Uh, the world doesn't want to hear the truth.

Uh, but we're commanded.

We read uh the Great Commission in Matthew 28.

We are commanded to go out and to teach all people about Christ, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, understanding that's our commission.

We've all been commissioned to do that.

And uh it's uh it's so important that we do that because we are the salt, we are the light.

I don't have three points today, uh, but we're gonna look at a great story.

This story here is an amazing story that how about two men that had but had the boldness that the church needs to have today.

Uh and we're gonna look and see and understand the context and the end of the message and wants to look at ourselves and say, are we are we as bold as we ought to be for the Lord?

So that's the application.

But we must start and understand this whole context.

We're gonna go all the way back.

Hope you got your Bible, hope you got it open, hope you follow along.

We've got to go back to chapter three to see the really the context, who's been thrown into jail and what all's going on.

So it's gonna be quite a bit of reading, so I pray you'll just keep up and and read it.

And like I always try to share and tell you, it goes by a lot faster.

The message goes by a lot faster if you'll read and keep up and just just really, really fall into the story and put yourself in these people's, in these men's positions and say, how would I respond?

How would I act?

What would I be going?

How would I feel about all these different things?

And uh just see, and we grow and understand it.

And also we read God's word.

It's it's it's uh not to say it's more powerful, but it's we can understand, we can maybe uh hang on to it a little bit better if we read it.

We read it as we hear it.

And so we're gonna look at it all the way back in chapter 3 and verse 1.

It says, now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.

So we're gonna stop right there because it gives us a very specific thing about the time.

The ninth hour would be like three o'clock in the afternoon.

So that helps us.

Uh it's the last of the three daily prayers.

They prayed that like in the mornings when the sun was going up, they prayed at the midday, and they prayed in the afternoon.

So this is the third time of the prayer.

So they come the third time of that day to be prayed.

So they're there at the temple, being about the ninth hour.

Then we get to verse 2.

And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they lay daily at the gate of the temple, which is called beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple.

When seeing Peter and John about to go in the temple, we asked them alms, or he's like we see today, uh, which is sad.

I mean, you see it almost every big city, every small city, it's got a stoplight in it.

We see people all the time.

Make the trips that we make from Conway, especially really bad, to Fort Smith.

We go up through Aurora up through there, and you see people almost all the time begging, basically begging for money.

And it's sad to say in today's society, in today's world, it's hard to know who really has issues and really, if we're just doing it for like a job, which is so sad.

But this guy here, he has a serious illness.

He's lame.

And so the only way that he from Side of He, he had to ask, he'd be at the temple, ask him, begging for money.

And so he's asking him, he's asking alms for an offering or give something to give him something.

Look what he says in verse 4.

And Peter fastened his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.

And he gave him, gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.

Because most times when people say, Look here, I give you that.

He's looking at them, hey, all right.

Then Peter said, Look what he says, Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, I give thee, I give thee, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.

Wouldn't that be amazing?

Look what he did.

He said he gave him a lot more than just money.

He said, Take up and he said, He took him by the right hand, verse 7, and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength, and he leaping up stood and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God.

Can you imagine?

Can you imagine?

From his mother's womb.

Sounded like he was born lame and never walked.

And all the people saw him, verse 9, saw him walking and praising God, and they knew that it was he which sat at alms at the at the beautiful gate of the temple, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.

Uh what a miracle! And you can imagine that it got people's attention, not only just seeing the guy, but then you they heard him.

What was he doing?

He was praising God for being able to walk and not just walk, he was running and jumping.

I mean, he was, I mean, I mean, he looked like a probably like a pro-athlete, basketball players jumping up there and dunking and all the different things.

I mean, he was praising God.

I mean, it's an amazing miracle.

And it got people's attention.

So it was a crowd there.

And so we see in verse 11, and as a lame man which was healed, held Peter and John.

You can imagine.

I bet he was hugging them like he's never been hugged, but never hugged like never been hugged before.

He was hanging on to them.

He held Peter and John, and all people ran together unto them to the porch that is called Solomon's Great, wondering.

Wondering at who we're going to see.

Look what it says in verse 12.

And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this?

Or why ye look so earnestly on us?

This is such a great point.

This is such a great point for anybody that we go out and serve God.

We don't want people to look at us.

We want people to look at what Christ has done in us, how he has changed our lives.

It's all by the power for his honor and his glory.

And he says, as though by our own power or holiness, we had made this man to walk.

And that's Peter's man, it's such an awesome statement.

Especially in a world today of the TV evangelist, will you send me this and this and this and the prayer towels and all the memorabilia about, oh, we'll heal you and we'll do all that.

It's such nonsense.

Because it's about the people, it's about the man.

It's not about Christ, it's not about the power of God.

We see that, but Peter says, don't look on us like it's our own power of holiness.

We had made this man walk.

He says, then he says in verse 13 The God of Abraham and of Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his son Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied him in the presence of Pilate when he was determined to let him go.

But ye denied the holy one and just and desired a murderer to be granted unto you.

He's bringing up what just happened not too long ago, and killed the Prince of Life, whom God had raised from the dead, wherever you are witnesses.

And his name through faith, his name hath made uh this man strong, whom you see and know.

He says, Yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness, the presence of you all.

He says, And now, brethren, I want uh that through ignorance you did it, as did also your rulers.

But those things which God before has showed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, so hath he so hath so fulfilled.

And he says in verse 19, Repent ye, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord, and he shall send Jesus Christ, which was preached unto you.

And then verse 21, whom the heavens must receive until the times of restitution of all things which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

So what does Peter do?

He says, Don't look on us, don't look at us.

Like we did something.

We just asked God to heal him through the name of Christ.

And it was by the power of the word and the name of Christ and the Holy Spirit.

And then he tells them that they need to repent.

And what's it based on?

It's based on the prophets.

He said, on the prophets had prophesied that God was going to send the Messiah.

And he reminds them about what?

The Word of God.

To remember the Word, not just that you have it in your head, but it's in your heart.

It's alive, it's changing you.

You live by it.

What Peter says, remember the holy prophets.

I love what he says, repent.

And he understood their heart.

They needed to repent.

It's the same message for today.

What Jesus said when he started his ministry, same message of John the Baptist, the same message of the prophets.

We must repent.

Why?

Because we're all sinners.

But the only way to be saved is we must repent first, then receive God's grace.

And that's what Peter is saying here.

Then he goes, he goes even deeper in verse 22.

He says, For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me, him shall you hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.

And it shall come to pass that every soul which will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from among the people.

He says, Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as I have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.

Then he says, This, Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, unto the sea that shall all the kindred of the earth be blessed.

He says, Unto you first God, having raised up his son Jesus, sent him to bless you, and turning away every one of you from his iniquities.

And again, Peter reminds them of that one thing: that the prophets were prophesying about a man named Christ.

Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us.

Peter reminds them, Y'all have condemned him.

He's been crucified, but we know he's resurrected and he's alive.

And he says, you need to repent and turn from your iniquities.

And uh he goes all the way back to Moses.

And what did what did what did the prophets always do?

And how many times we see the saying in the word of God in the Old Testament?

Thus saith the Lord.

They were representing God, speaking God's message.

So just quickly, let's look at one of the prophets.

Look at Isaiah chapter 9.

Isaiah 9 · chapter mention

You can look at all the prophets of the Old Testament.

The major ones, the minor ones, I hate to call them minor because they're all equal in God's eyes.

The only thing we call them minor is because they have shorter books.

It's the only difference.

They're all godly men with a godly message.

But their books are only just a few chapters long.

And but we look in Isaiah chapter 9, look what his prophecy is.

Isaiah 9 · chapter mention

Isaiah 9, 6.

It says, For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.

Man, that sounds like a Christmas message, doesn't it?

That's what it is.

That's what he's talking about.

We celebrate the birth of Christ, but it's so sad we only look at this message, we only look at this prophecy when?

One time a year.

So we're going to look at it now.

It's like Christmas in October.

So we really look at it, what it's saying.

It says, Isaiah is saying this like 700 years or 400 years, probably about 700 years before Christ is even born.

He says, For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called wonderful, counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

And he says in verse 7, At the increase of his government and the peace shall be no end upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth, even forever.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

It was spoken centuries earlier, but it did happen.

It did happen.

That's what Peter's reminding them of that present day with Peter and John.

He's reminding them that it did happen.

And Jesus came, and one day, guess what?

He's going to come again.

Just as that prophecy was fulfilled, he promised, Jesus himself promised, I will come again.

So let not your heart be troubled, for I am there you may be also.

I will prepare a place for you.

And all those verses that he said, he will come again.

And so it's for us to understand.

But that's the whole context of what we just started with.

So now we get to the message.

That was the intro.

That was the intro.

Now we get to the message.

Look in chapter 4.

And as they spake unto the people, the priest and the captain of the temple, a temple, and the Sadducees came upon them.

And they weren't happy.

Being grieved, they taught the people and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

And they laid hands on them and put them in the hold until the next day, for it was now even tide.

Evening tide means it was sunset.

It was about to get dark.

They started preaching when I had that miracle at the prayer at three o'clock.

So we can see and understand they had been uh had the miracle, and then at least at least two hours, possibly three to four hours before it got dark, and people word had spread.

You can imagine how big the crowd was.

When it's like, hey, you hear about so-and-so getting healed at the temple?

You can imagine the people that came.

And so what was going on?

Peter was preaching.

And those was preaching what?

Jesus and the resurrection.

And they, the religious leaders that had Christ crucified, could not stand it.

Couldn't stand it.

They had a huge crowd of people listening.

And the devil cannot stand for people to hear the word of God for any amount of time, especially for hours after seeing a miracle.

You know, the devil, I encourage you if you never listened to it or read it, the screw tape letters, read it.

It's a really good book.

It's written, I think it's C.S.

Lewis, written from like the devil's perspective of how to keep people from becoming a follower of Christ.

And just one little simple walk to get along from the world.

He has a little minion.

And he says, Why are you letting them do this?

Why are you letting them think?

Why are you letting them have any silence, any peace?

He said, Don't they don't think about he that calls him the enemy, which is Jesus.

And that's what he does to us.

The devil wants us so busy, so preoccupied with things, even in our mind, especially in our mind.

Well, we can't think about the serious things of life.

Like where we're going to spend eternity.

That's a serious question.

The most serious question.

Where will you spend eternity?

So you think about it.

I need a way out of here.

There is a way.

Look to a cross.

A man named Jesus.

The prophet said he was going to come.

And God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.

And understanding that, and the devil can't stand it when people preach the truth that there is hope, that there is love, there is a way out.

That's what they do.

They laid hands on them, put them in the hold, and put them in jail until the next day, for it wasn't evening time.

But look at verse 4.

This is really why the devil was so mad.

Verse 4.

He says, How be it?

It was too late.

The word had already been out.

He says, How be it?

Many of them which heard the word believed.

And the number of the men was about five thousand.

You ever thought about the devil throwing a temperature natural fit like a two-year-old might?

I bet he's furious.

Five thousand people were saved.

So what'd he do?

Go arrest them.

Uses his minions, which was religious people of his day, of this time, to go arrest.

Peter and John.

Look at verse 5.

And it came to pass on the morrow, or we would say the next day, that the rulers and the elders and the scribes, and Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and as many as were kindred of the high priest, were gathered together in Jerusalem.

Now look at verse 7.

I love verse 7.

And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, by what name have you done this?

The next day they bring Peter and John, they bring them from jail, and they put them right in the middle of the whole council that's there.

I think it's hilarious.

You know that's so funny.

That's the worst place they could have possibly put them.

Right in the middle where everybody could hear.

But what they did, they put them in the middle to do what?

Thinking, well, I'm gonna bring you up here and put them right in the middle of this council where they might just be sheepish and be scared to death.

They might say, Well, we're sorry, we'll leave.

No.

He put them in the middle, and then what'd they do?

Then Peter, verse 8.

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, You rulers of the people and elders of Israel, if we that if we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man by what means he is made whole, is what he says.

You understand the miracle, you see everything, you want to know why it's all about, who done it.

Be it known unto you all and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God has raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.

Then he tells them, This is a stone which was set at not of you builders, which has become the head of the corner.

Neither is our salvation any other, for there is none other none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.

Same today.

Only one way.

Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

John 14, 6.

No one comes to the Father except through me.

And he was they were selling them very plainly, there's no name under heaven whereby a person can be saved.

It's the name of Jesus Christ.

And then we look in verse 13.

Because Peter had just told them exactly what they needed to hear.

That there was no other way.

And look in verse 13.

Now, when they had saw the boldness of Peter and John, they weren't sheep.

They weren't mice.

They weren't afraid.

They were speaking with boldness.

And perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men.

They marveled.

Marveled at what?

The way they were speaking, but also in the way that their bravery and their courage.

In the face of all these, as Agent Roger would say, uppity-ups.

They were the uppity-ups of the religious day.

They were the ones that had all the power, had all the prestige, had all the you know, the backing, all the different things.

And they put these unlearned and ignorant men.

They're like, well, we're gonna we're really gonna impose our will on them.

We're gonna really make them feel bad.

Feel inferior is basically what they're trying to do.

That's what the world tries to do to us.

You just so Inferior to be so narrow-minded that you believe in a man named Jesus and that God would raise him from the dead, that he died and he's resurrected.

Call me inferior all you want.

I'm a follower of Christ.

I'm on the winning side.

And it's what Peter and John they realized, they knew the truth.

Doesn't matter what the world says, they will try to intimidate us, they'll do all these different things.

They remind you of COVID.

Kind of reminds me of COVID, the COVID days.

Everybody stay in shelter.

Don't have any kind of Thanksgiving gathering.

If you do, be sure and tell your neighbors, call on your neighbors.

Call the cops on your neighbors.

I mean, people were doing that.

And yeah, when it first came back, like, yeah, maybe this is pretty serious.

And then you started seeing, like, hey, people are getting over this.

People are getting better.

Man.

Maybe we need to do this.

And they're like, we will tell you when to leave your house.

No, I don't think so.

I don't think so.

We'll tell you when you start having church.

No, I don't think so.

I don't think so.

And that's what's going on.

They're trying to tell them, okay, we want you to be quiet.

They're like, nah, I don't think so.

I don't think so.

And so they go on to say in verse 13.

They've seen the boldness of it.

I love the fact where it says in verse 13 that they had acknowledged that they had they had been with Jesus.

They had been with Jesus.

What's interesting about that is I thought they I didn't think they believed in Jesus.

I didn't think they believed in the resurrection, especially Sadducees.

But they knew.

They knew something was different about these men.

And what did they know was different about them?

That they were with Jesus.

I'm here to tell you.

The world knows whether or not you're walking in with Christ or not.

It knows.

It can spot a fake a million miles away.

The devil can.

And the world can.

And now just a little plug for a movie I called Nefarious.

If you ever watched it, I encourage you to watch it.

Kids may not want to watch it.

Because it's about demon possession.

But it's it's an interesting scene in it.

I don't want to tell you the whole story, but he gets kind of hung up because a priest comes in.

And he's like, Oh gosh, here comes the priest.

Then he then he looks at him and the priest talks.

He's like, Oh yeah, come on in.

The demon does.

Because he knows the guy's uh got the thing on around his neck, but he's not real.

He's not a saved man, what I'm trying to say.

He looks the part.

The demon's like, oh no, I don't want to hear about Jesus.

But then he hears him say a few things.

Oh, oh, you don't actually belong to Jesus.

Yeah, come on and talk to me all day long.

And that's what it's interesting.

Because the devil knows it, and not only does the devil know it, the world knows it.

The world knows it.

And the Sanhedrin and all those right there, they knew something was different about Peter and John.

And what was it?

That they had been with Christ.

Look at verse 14.

And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.

But when they had commanded them to go outside to the side of the council, they conferred among themselves.

It's kind of like they said, okay, we brought these people in.

Then they're just like stunned at the message.

And it's like, not to pick on school board members, but it's like you go to a board meeting, and then when they finally start talking about something you really want to hear about, they go to executive session.

I'm like, what?

What?

It doesn't make any sense to me, but I'm not on board, but I I don't understand it.

But that's what kind of what they do here.

Okay, y'all step outside for a minute, and let's talk about what we're going to do to y'all.

I mean, really, that's what he says.

So you step outside.

And then saying, verse 16, saying, What shall we do to these men?

For that indeed a notable miracle has been done by them.

It's manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem.

He says, We cannot deny it.

That's true.

They're saying, look at this crowd.

Look at this guy.

We cannot deny it.

Something is going on.

But in verse 17, it says, But that it spread no further among the people.

They were trying to put out this fire.

Like, man, these guys have created a fire.

How are we going to put it out?

It's kind of like the world, like our land today.

Boy, if fire gets out today, it's going to go.

It'll be very difficult to put it out.

Well, guess what?

They're not going to be able to here we are today.

Still proclaiming the same message.

Still proclaiming the same message.

But let it spread no further among the people.

Let us straightly threaten them that they speak henceforth to no man in this name.

And then they called him in.

In verse 18, and commanded them not to speak at all, nor teach in the name of Jesus.

But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Will it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto the God, judge you.

He says, For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.

So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them because of the people.

For all men glorified God that was which for which was done.

And they could not deny that a miracle had happened.

And when they said, like in verse 21, so they had further threatened them.

Like, this is your final warning.

You better not speak in the name of Jesus or else.

And so let's see what happens when they say, You better not speak.

So let's see what Peter and John do.

Look in verse 23.

And being let go, they went to their own company and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said unto them.

What's interesting about that?

They were released to go anywhere they could go.

What could they have done?

They could have hopped on the next ship to wherever, to the New World.

Wherever.

They could have high-tailed it out of town.

They were set free.

They'd been in jail.

Like, you know what?

We're out of here.

We can take off.

Well, what did they do?

For lack of better phrase for today, what did they do?

They came to church to tell everybody what had happened.

They came to other believers.

They came to their company, it says.

It's awesome.

It didn't go, it didn't go into hiding.

They came and told their fellow believers.

And look how the boldness, how their boldness had spread.

In verse 24, it says, When they had heard that they lifted up their voice to God with one accord and said, Lord, thou art God, who has made heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them.

By whom the mouth of thy servant David hath said, Why did the heathen rage and the people imagine vain things?

The king of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ.

For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together, for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before thee to be done.

He says, And now, Lord, behold thy threatenings, and grant unto thy servants that with all boldness that we may that they may speak thy word, by stretching forth thine hand to heal, that the signs and the wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.

Not just Peter and John, but the whole congregation was lifting up their voices to the Lord.

It reminds me really of what the Apostle Paul, when he was talking about us, the believers, that we must, when we go out into the lost and dying world representing Christ, we have to have our armor on.

We have to have our armor on.

So turn to Ephesians chapter 6.

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

Ephesians chapter 6.

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

He's talking to the church and believers in Ephesus, and he says, You have to have your armor.

Because when we look at Peter and John, you've seen the boldness, how it was so contagious.

They were so fired up, they were praising God.

We have to have our armor.

Verse 6, Ephesians chapter 6, verse 10, he says, Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and the power of his might.

Ephesians 6:10

It says, put on the whole armor of God, you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

He says, For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

He says, Wherefore, take unto you the whole armor of God, you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand.

He says, Stand, therefore, having your loins girded about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shy with the preparation of the gospel of peace, and above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Then he says in verse 17, and take the helmet of salvation that's for the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

And he says, Praying always with all prayer and supplication of the Spirit, and watching therefore with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.

Then he says, And for me, in verse 19.

What's this prayer for the church in Ephesus?

After they put on their armor, he says, Pray for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth what?

Boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel.

He says, For which I am an ambassador in bonds, that therein I may speak boldly as I ought to speak.

After we put our armor on, guess what?

We go out to present the gospel to the lost and dying world.

We are to be bold.

And that boldness, that boldness comes from a mature faith, growing in understanding, walking in humility, walking in service to the Lord.

So if you turn back to Acts chapter 30 or chapter 4, look at verse 31.

And you see how God was pleased with the church, praising him and seeing the testimony of the witness of John and Peter in verse 31.

It's an awesome verse.

When they came back and they had prayed, praising God.

And then we see in verse 31, and when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together.

And they all were filled with the Holy Ghost, not just John and Peter.

All that were there were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

So you think about that.

What an amazing story.

An amazing story to see the boldness of two was so contagious to the entire congregation, those that were followers of Christ.

And it only comes again from mature faith and a walk with Christ that begins with repentance and fellowship with the Lord and his church.

Let us all be bold for the Lord and let us see how boldness can be contagious.

If you would, please stand.

Miss Michelle and Brother William will come forward.

Really think about our walk with Christ.

Are we being as bold as God is commanding us to be?

Again, when people will see him.