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They Had Been With Jesus | Group Bible Study
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They Had Been With Jesus | Group Bible Study
Series: Acts: The Story Continues...
Alright, well let's get into the word this morning in Acts chapter 4. He sent his word to heal us. Let's go ahead and get into his word. Let's just start by reading the passage. It's Acts chapter 4. It says, as they were speaking to the people. Now you remember the background here before we even read. So you have the context as we read. This is that Peter and John have gone up to the temple. They laid hands on the lame man. The lame man was healed. He stood up on feet and legs that had never worked before in his entire life. Okay, and he is leaping and praising God, and he's jumping for joy, and he goes into the temple with them. They go to Solomon's portico. Peter starts preaching to the people. Okay, and then thousands come to salvation. Well, we we think maybe thousands. It says the total number of disciples came to 5,000. The previous time that it gave us a number was 3,000. And so we we know in that time thousands have come in. So it could have been hundreds that happened this time. But regardless, lots of people came to faith in Christ in this moment. And then it says, as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed, because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand. On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high priestly family, and when they had set them in their midst, they inquired, By what power or by what name did you do this? And Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, they perceived that they were uneducated common men. They were astonished, and they recognized that they had been with Jesus. 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, saying, What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed among them, or through them, is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name. So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge. For we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard. And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them because of the people. For all were praising God for what had happened. For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old. Oh, that's a big deal, huh?
SPEAKER_05That's older than dirt.
SPEAKER_06Older than dirt. That's right. That's right. So why do they arrest Peter and John?
SPEAKER_04They didn't want the uh any more exposure of the word.
SPEAKER_06So they're talking about Jesus, they didn't want any more exposure of, I mean, like the testimony about Jesus. Yeah. Okay.
SPEAKER_04Like we have to move on. Right.
SPEAKER_06So what else were they saying that maybe the Sadducees didn't like? Anybody know? Any ideas?
SPEAKER_01Jesus rose from the dead.
SPEAKER_06But Jesus rose from the dead.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_06And that's a problem on a couple of fronts with them. So one of the problems is, hey, we got rid of this guy, and he's not a threat to us anymore. He's not stealing all our audience, you know. Okay, but there's another side to that as well.
SPEAKER_02The body's gone.
SPEAKER_06The body's gone, yeah. So something I guess um that that maybe is not so explicit here in the text is that the Sadducees were a group of people. You know, there was the priests, there was the scribes, there was the Sadducees, there was the Pharisees, there were these groups, okay, and the Sadducees were one of the groups that was mostly the priestly line. Okay, so this was the high priest and his family, and it was, you know, these people who were in the temple service. These were Sadducees. Hold on, I'm gonna put this phone on Do Not Disturb, because I'm getting phone calls that are messing up on the video. Okay. Sorry, guys. So they didn't believe in the resurrection of the dead. They didn't believe in the afterlife. And these same people had had a run-in with Jesus. And, you know, they had come and talked to him about the resurrection of the dead, and that, you know, this was one of the ways, in fact, later Paul ends up kind of splitting the opposition from the religious leaders as he gets the Pharisees and the Sadducees fighting against each other about this topic. But they didn't believe in the resurrection of the dead, they didn't believe in the afterlife. And here these people are saying he rose from the dead. We saw him, we ate with him, he spoke with us, he gave us the commission, he commanded us, and then he ascended to the Father. We all saw him, we're witnesses of this thing. And what this is is they've been controlling the narrative, the religious narrative, the theological narrative. And now suddenly this group of people come along and they're saying something different, and the people are believing it. And not only are they believing it, but now God's performing signs and wonders to confirm their word. Okay? And so they're threatened. This group of people kind of kissed up to Rome. So they kind of just, you know, they sucked up to Rome to keep power and to consolidate power to themselves. So they're threatened theologically, they're threatened politically. It threatens their position, their authority. And I think it's kind of funny because there was um another story in the Gospels. Remember when Lazarus was raised from the dead? It it was, I it always stood out to me. You know, one of the times when I was reading through the Bible, I got to that section, and it just stood out to me as like, what was these people's problem? He literally stood outside of a grave that had been dead. The guy had been dead for days, okay? The sister's saying, Lord, he's gonna stink already. It's been like three days, you know. And he stands outside of the grave, he says, Lazarus, come out, come forth. And Lazarus gets up and walks out in his grave clothes. I mean, they just saw a man raised from the dead. And you know what they were doing? What are we gonna do? The people are all gonna go after him, and we're gonna lose our positions. That's literally what they say. We're gonna lose our positions with Rome. And it's funny how some people will not believe. You can't change their position. You can't change their mind because they've decided in their mind that they're gonna believe a certain thing. They've been trained. And seminary told me, you know, that, hey, the the gifts have all ceased. God doesn't do miracles anymore. You know, and we it's it's funny, it's like not just this, but when when Jennifer had her thing that happened to her, it's like we went to a pastor friend and we're like, look at what happened. He's and he starts immediately going, well, you know, maybe it was, you know, and he starts trying to find some way around it. And I'm like, really? Like it, like we're we're witnesses, you know, we're witnesses, we've seen this thing. And the the people, the religious leaders who saw Lazarus raised, it's like they were witnesses. They were there, they saw it with their own eyes. And instead of saying, maybe this Jesus is who he says he is, they just go, hmm. What are we going to do about this? And so they start plotting not only to kill Jesus, but they start plotting to kill Lazarus again. We're going to make him re-dead. So he can't be a witness against our position. This is something that's important for us that we need to not embrace doctrines and positions just because it's what we've been told. We need to know. That's why Tim Paul told Timothy, study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. He's saying, you need to know, and when God gives you evidence, believe him. And so that's obviously not all not in my notes right there. Um, Luke gives us specific names in this section. He says they were standing before Annas and Caiaphas and John and Alexander. It's interesting right here that these are people that are known historically. So Annas and Caiaphas are people who were known. The historian Josephus talks about them. I read about, I read his book, The War of the Jews, and in that book he talks about this whole time period. From before it, he gives us history all the way through, and he talks about this time when Rome had deposed Annas as high priest, but he was still there, present. Okay, and the people still looked at him as if he was high priest, and so he had a lot of influence and power, and Caiaphas is his son-in-law. Okay, and so these are real historical people. Um and so it's just another evidence I wanted to mention that our faith is not built on stories and mythology. Okay, Luke was a physician, he told us at the beginning of Luke, he wanted to give us an orderly account of the things that had come to pass. He carefully investigated these things, he spoke to eyewitnesses, and he put together this record, and that's what the book of Acts is. That's what we're reading right now. And I want you to think about this. Okay, so they put them in jail, they bring them back out, they gather the whole council. What they're doing is they're standing there. There's this probably this semicircle of religious leaders. These are all the power players, these are the high power people in Jerusalem standing there, and Peter and John and the lame man are standing there in front of this group. This is the exact same group that just did this to Jesus. How do you think that feels? For Peter and John? Yeah, I mean, they were there that night. Yeah. So they're standing there in that moment, and on that night when that happened, what did Peter do?
SPEAKER_02Not anymore.
SPEAKER_06And then he ran away. But now he's standing before the same people filled with the Holy Spirit, and he saw Jesus rise. You know, there's something that can, you know, people can talk you out of theory. They can't talk you out of what you've seen with your own eyes.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_06Right? Yeah.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_06It's it's funny because there was a time in my you know Christian walk where it was like I was almost afraid to get too far into things as far as like debating. I don't like debating anyway anymore. I don't like doing it. It's like that's a waste of my time. But I was afraid, you know, almost to talk to someone because it's almost like, ooh, I don't want him to talk me out of it, you know. But at this point in, decades and decades and decades into my faith in Jesus, like I've already seen him move in so many ways in my life that you can't talk me out of it anymore. You can't talk me out of what I know, what I've seen, what I've lived. You know, and so he's standing there now, changed. And so I have questions here, but I've kind of talked about these things. Let's move forward. It says, then Peter filled with the Holy Spirit. Okay, so Peter begins to speak. So they're saying, by they get them all together, they're standing before these elders. You do you think he's probably fear, feeling some fear. He's feeling a little trembling in him, you know, thinking these are the ones they can just take us to Pilate and accuse us, falsely accuse us, just like they did to Jesus, the one who deserved it least. And they, you know, so they start questioning, by what power or by what name did you do this? And what would you think would be the instinct in this situation when you're being faced with these people, these circumstances, understanding what could happen to you? What would you instinctively try to do, you think? Defend yourself. Yes. You would try to protect yourself, right? But what does Peter do? He just gets bold. Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, rulers of the people and elders, if we're being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, if you're making this big old deal over the fact that we did something nice for a crippled man, by what means he's been healed, well then let it be known to you and all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, who God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well. He is puts it right in their face. Like, where's that fearful little man that ran away and denied him? See, before he didn't understand. He didn't understand. He still thought Jesus was gonna set his kingdom up. He thought, you know, this is this is the way it's gonna go. And then back then he wasn't filled with the Holy Spirit. He just sees his Lord being put on trial and he's thinking this isn't going well, and he's afraid. But now it's like he's seen him alive. He's seen him alive, he saw him go. He was there when the Holy Spirit filled him. He saw the power of the gospel bring thousands to faith in Christ. It's like he knows now that the Holy Spirit has been confirming the word with signs and wonders. And so he just speaks clearly. He doesn't he doesn't pull any punches. And I think sometimes I pull punches. You know? You gotta be careful of that. Not to be offensive. Like we don't want to try to be offensive, right? But we gotta be careful that we don't pull punches, that we just tell the truth and tell it exactly like it is. We say it with grace and with respect and with kindness and gentleness, but we say the truth. We say what's true. It says his boldness is not arrogance, it's a spirit-filled conviction. And it says that at the center of Peter's message is one truth. Jesus is alive, and everything in Christianity flows from that one reality. If he's been raised, remember we talked about on Easter? If he's been raised, it's evidence that the payment for our sin was accepted. Sin has been dealt with now. Now death has no leverage or sting. It has no leverage over us anymore because our sin's been paid. Am I a dirty, rotten sinner? Absolutely. But my sin's been paid for by the blood of Jesus. And so the devil can't do nothing about it. He can't get a hold on me. This is why I have a problem when someone says that a Christian can be possessed by the devil. How does that work? How does that work? How's that work when the Holy Spirit's there, my sin's been dealt with, I've been cleansed by the blood of Jesus, and now some little weak spirit has some power over me? There's no way. That's why we don't have to fear. Think about Paul the Apostle when he was in Ephesus and he's, you know, preaching the gospel and all these signs and wonders are happening, and then it says that he's casting out demons in the name of Jesus, and it says that these seven sons of Skeva, they they try the same thing. Father, in the name of Jesus, who Paul preaches, you know, I adjure you, depart from the man. And it says, I know Jesus and I know Paul, but who are you?
SPEAKER_00And it jumps on them, you know.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, because he hadn't been cleansed by the blood of Jesus, his sin hadn't been dealt with, right? But if Christ rose, our sins have been dealt with. Death has been defeated, Christ is Lord, salvation is real, hope is eternal. Just as he rose, we also will rise. Just as his body was glorified, so also our bodies will be glorified. Like that's our hope. And then verse 12 is powerful. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone, and there is salvation in no one else, for there's no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Anybody ever heard that all paths lead to heaven thing? Like all roads lead to heaven. I've run into it several times. Had a conversation recently with a young guy that I actually like him. He's a really nice person, a good person. So I have nothing bad to say about him. But he's followed another teacher that I also know of a different sort of uh way of looking at faith. And um and basically it's finding hope in your true self, you know, finding your true self within yourself. It's like finding your hope and your salvation and your redemption in yourself, right? And but basically it's that all the different faiths and religions of the world that they all are God's way of just kind of you know drawing people in different ways to themselves, and yet all those things all contradict themselves too. And I'm, you know, so I was trying to, he was asking, why do you say Jesus is the only way? Why would you say he's the one way? You know, how could you say that? And so I'm explaining all the things we've walked through in the sanctuary since I started here, you know, of the fall of man and sin and how that was dealt with and how he, you know, began the plan of redemption. And anyway, we won't go through it all now. But he says, well, what about the fact that when people practice Buddhism or Hinduism or yoga or some other new age thing, that they actually experience real peace. They find a way to kind of it calms them and things. He said, Well, because those systems, it's not that they don't have any benefit, it's just that the benefits of those systems apply to the soul. They apply to the mind and the will and the emotions. And so they do have some sort of benefits, just the same way that anesthesia has benefits when you have pain. Just the same way that an epidural can take away back pain temporarily because it can cover it up. And so those things help us to have some sort of peace in the soul, but they don't deal with the deeper issue of our separation from God. They can't touch that. They don't deal with the fact that we are born spiritually dead. They can't bring us spiritual life and reconnection to the vine. That's something that only Jesus can do, and that's why God sent his son, because there was no other way. Jesus in the garden said, if there's any way that this cup can pass from me, let it pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will but yours be done. And did God let it pass?
SPEAKER_02No.
SPEAKER_06He didn't let it pass, did he? Because why?
SPEAKER_02We needed to be saved.
SPEAKER_06And why?
SPEAKER_02Because Jesus saw us. And that was Jesus.
SPEAKER_06Because there was no other way. There was no other way. And so Peter tells them, just so you understand, this lame man that was sat at the beautiful gate asking for alms all those years, that you all know, because you all hang out at the temple all day, every day. You know who that is, and you've seen him there for the last 30 years, 25 years. You all know him. Just so you know, that man that was lame all that time and now is healed and standing on perfect legs, he was healed by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified. And he says, By the way, there is salvation in no one else, for there's no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. We can find systems and ways of medicating our pain and our brokenness and our hurt and our past and all those things, and finding some sort of peace in this life, but it does nothing to deal with the sin that's deeper, that keeps us from God and separates us from him for eternity. And when we stand before him in the judgment, if we're still clothed in our own sin and not cleansed by the blood of Jesus, he's going to say, Depart from me, you worker of iniquity. Because I never knew you. And then verse thirteen is beautiful. Now, when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, they perceived that they were uneducated, common men, and they were astonished, and they recognized that they had been with Jesus. It's one of the things that they came upon them. It's like you're not authorized teachers. You're not trained by the teachers. You're not trained in the doctrines. Yeah. We haven't taught you. We didn't sit in our school so that we could teach you and make you understand that there is no resurrection from the dead. That there is no afterlife. You're not authorized to teach here. What are you doing? When they saw, they're looking at them. These are fishermen. These two men right here, that God did this amazing thing. These are just fishermen. Not that they're illiterate. They might be able to read and write, but they're not educated theologically. They don't have seminary degrees. Okay? And yet they recognized that they had been with Jesus. And Jesus wasn't educated by them either. He didn't have their degrees. He didn't have their certifications. He didn't have their authorization to teach. He was an authorized rabbi. But they had been with Jesus. The question is, when people see us in our lives, can they tell we've been with Jesus?
SPEAKER_04I know.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. You know. I'm not saying for anybody in the room here. I'm just saying. I remember being someplace one time and I thought, you know what? I'm really nervous about being in this place. I thought it was not an appropriate place for a Christian to be. So I don't think people saw Jesus in me then.
SPEAKER_06I don't I don't think people can always see Jesus in me. I I want them to. But I'm not always I don't always have a hat on. No, I don't always I don't always wear a halo. I don't have one actually. My halo is Jesus'. But no, I don't always behave perfectly. But that's the goal of our life, right? In the upper room, before he was taken and arrested, Jesus, you know, was telling them that I'm going to my father. And Philip said, Lord, show us the Father. And then he looks at Philip. Does anybody remember what he said?
SPEAKER_02Is this in the through me you've seen him?
SPEAKER_06Yeah, like that, yeah, pretty much. He says, Philip, have I been with you so long and you still don't know me? If you've seen me, you've seen the father. That's such a profound thing to say. Looking at my, you've known me, you've lived with me, you've ate with me, you've slept with me, you know, next to me, you've walked down the road with me, you've watched me heal, you've watched me teach, you've seen me in my, you know, tired moments, you've seen me in my, you know, just waking up moments. Like, you know, when you live close to someone, you see their good and their bad side. That's just part of it. You know, that was like a rude awakening when I first started getting close to leadership in churches, you know, that you realize that they're not just like these elevated holy saints, you know, they're just regular saints that God's given certain gifts to to help the body, you know. But he said, if you've seen me and you've seen all of that part of my life, Jesus lived so perfectly that he perfectly reflected his Father. And that's the goal of us. That we would be sanctified by the Holy Spirit, by the word, by prayer, by life in the body, to the point that when people look at our lives, they begin to see Jesus in us. That they could begin to know our Lord by knowing us. That they could believe our gospel because they see our lives. I mean, that's, you know. You feel the weight of that kind of settle on you when you hear that? So, what does it practically mean to be with Jesus today? How do we be with Jesus today? In 2026.
SPEAKER_02Go to his word.
SPEAKER_06Yeah. Yeah. Any other ways that we could be with Jesus today?
SPEAKER_01I have trouble hearing. I know. I'm trying to do it.
SPEAKER_06Showing care to say to people, you know.
SPEAKER_01Well, when you see someone struggle, when you see someone who has a need that they don't know what to do about, if you can anyway help them, then that's how you show Jesus to them just by your actions.
SPEAKER_06Yeah. When he said you will receive power, what was the power supposed to be for? When the Holy Spirit came, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be what? My witnesses. Yeah.
unknownWitnesses.
SPEAKER_06You'll receive power, and you'll be my witnesses, you know. And that's one way that we can be a witness to Jesus, right? We show grace and kindness and to others. Be in his word. Be with the body of Christ. You know, what did the early church do? Well, they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to the breaking of bread, to the fellowship, and to the prayers. We go to the Lord in prayer, not just when we meet up here, but in our own time, in our own moments, all throughout the day. What kinds of things become visible in a life that's transformed by Jesus?
SPEAKER_05What do you mean by that?
SPEAKER_06What kind of attributes become visible in our lives? Graciousness, yeah. Patience.
SPEAKER_02The fruit of the Spirit.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, well, that's, yeah, there's a whole list of nine of them in Galatians chapter five. Yeah. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_06I mean, those are nine of the attributes.
SPEAKER_04Yes, I know. My brother who has recently just come to the Lord. And I can see the difference. Totally different. And the calmness. I mean he was on all kinds of events and so on and so forth. Yeah. He has really and his wife have been attending a church, and finally he just accepted.
SPEAKER_06Amen.
SPEAKER_04Jesus recently.
SPEAKER_06And you can hear you can see a change in his demeanor, and yeah.
unknownYeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_06That's amazing.
unknownIs it?
SPEAKER_06Yeah, it's just the evidence. I mean, and all of us have been changed. Sometimes we don't see it because it takes place slowly over a long period of time. But all of us are different people because of our time with Jesus. What habits help believers remain close to Jesus?
SPEAKER_02Praying.
SPEAKER_06Praying. Prayer.
SPEAKER_02And reading the Bible.
SPEAKER_06Yep. Yeah. And what else?
SPEAKER_00I think also being with your friends that are Christians. Definitely.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, as iron sharpens iron. Mm-hmm. Being around other believers. It's hard to soar with eagles when you're hanging out with turkeys, right?
SPEAKER_04Almost messy feathers.
SPEAKER_06That's right. Sarah, yes. Sarah put up the gifts of the Spirit up there. Yeah. That's right. Me and my sisters have all been changed a lot by Jesus.
SPEAKER_05I had some real problems when God took my son.
unknownOkay, who talked about that?
SPEAKER_05I know. Just leave me alone.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_06Yeah. I know. It's hard.
SPEAKER_05It's something I think of every day where this young boy could have ended up.
SPEAKER_06Right.
SPEAKER_05And um it it's it's not something that ever leaves my head. Right. I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_06I don't think it could ever leave your head. That's your child, and that's a really difficult thing to deal with. That's understandable.
SPEAKER_02I know sometimes when I see pictures of Jana, I will think about what I just think, oh, thank God she's in a better place.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_02That's my reply to.
SPEAKER_06Anything's better than the pain, right? These Pharisees, these religious leaders, these Sadducees, they didn't like it. They didn't like that these people were standing here in the temple saying these things. They didn't like that the people were believing it. They didn't like that people were following them. But there's the lame man standing right next to him. And so, you know, that's one thing that's interesting. You know, these religious leaders, they don't deny what happened.
SPEAKER_03No.
SPEAKER_06They're not anywhere saying. No, and same with Lazarus. They didn't deny that Lazarus rose from the dead, they just plotted to re-kill him.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_06So instead of actually asking the important question, could it be that that really was our Messiah? Could it be that that was Jesus was the real one and that we crucified him? Instead, they're saying, how do we stamp this out? How do we stop it before it goes too far? Oh, there's Lazarus. We're going to skip over that because we already talked about that. And so the council, they just say, don't do it anymore. Don't talk about Jesus. Don't talk about him. Don't teach in his name anymore. And yet they can't stop it, can they? There was a time when Jesus in his ministry was taught, was confronted about the casting out of demons and by what power he does it and all that kind of stuff. And he said, you know, you can't plunder a strong man's house unless you first bind the strong man. And this is basically what he did when he conquered sin and conquered death. This restrained the hands of the enemy, the God of this world that had dominion over this earth because of his dominion over humanity. And humanity was the one that was given dominion. Have dominion, rule over it, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. That's the original commission that God gave to humanity. And then humanity bowed the knee to Satan. And so by proxy, Satan's the god of this world. Well, now the leverage, the reason that he had that power was because of sin. Because he can hold it over our heads, our sin. He's the accuser of the brethren, right? Stand before the judge and say, nope, these ones sinned. They can't, they're not yours. They're mine. But now Christ has conquered sin and he's conquered death. He's risen from the dead and he's taken away the leverage that Satan has, and nothing can stop the spread of the gospel. He can't do anything about it. Because God's word never returns void. It always accomplishes the purpose for which he sends it. So now the gospel goes out, it goes into a human heart. The Holy Spirit regenerates them. He brings them spiritually alive. He transfers their citizenship, pays their bloods, transfers their citizenship from the domain of darkness to the kingdom of the beloved son, in whom they have redemption and forgiveness of sins, and now they become his, and now they're outside of his control. And now there's two kingdoms. It's not just another one on the list. It's not just one way of getting to heaven, one way of getting to God, one way of finding peace. Christianity is the message that Jesus is alive, that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so that all who believed would not perish but have everlasting life. When people encounter Jesus, we talked about this. Lives change, they grow bold. The more that we know him, the more that we see him, the more that that evidence of our lives being transformed and that we see his power, the more that we're bold. The presence of Christ becomes visible, like in Linda's brother. What stood out to you most from Acts 4, from this passage?
SPEAKER_02The redemption? I don't know if that's right of Peter. In his boldness and his ability, you just say, no, I know. You know, that stands out in this chapter that really that God gave that to him, you know, after denying him.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_02And being so flawed, you know, that he did that.
SPEAKER_06Right. That he restored him, huh? Hi, Ryan. What days do you want what ways do you want to grow in boldness in Christ? Just want to. I guess I would say, when I look at that, I think, I'm inspired. You know, I think like that's that's the goal, right? That my whole life would reflect Jesus.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_06That I would have less and less and less weak moments or bad moments or moments where I don't represent him well. And that more and more and more I would be like this.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_06Just bold and strong and you know, unafraid to just say what's true in every circumstance with love and grace and you know, gently and peacefully and kindly, but just to say what's true and not be afraid.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_06And then have my life back that up. That's that's the tricky part. You can say all you want. Now, in the day of keyboard warriors, everybody's brave because of the internet. But when you sit across the table from someone, you realize, oh, they're just another human being like me. You know, and they hurt and they've had experiences and they've had trauma, and maybe that's why they feel the way they feel. And so, how do I represent Jesus to them? How would Jesus be to that person right now?
SPEAKER_00You need to get your life together. You need to explain.
SPEAKER_06No. No.
SPEAKER_03Say, come here.
SPEAKER_06He'd say, Come here, give me a hug. Come to me, you who are weary and heavy laden, let me give you rest. You ready to pray? They knew they had been with Jesus. Sarah says to stand firm in my faith and convictions, even if I'm the only one, strong in the Lord, trusting him in all things. Yeah. Sometimes you have to take a lonely stand, huh? Amen. Let's pray.