All Boldness (Acts 4:23-32)

What happens when followers of Jesus face opposition, persecution, or pressure to stay silent? In Acts 4, Peter, John, and the early church respond in a surprising way—they don’t pray for safety, comfort, or escape. They pray for boldness.

In this powerful message from Acts 4:23–31, we explore how the early church became a fearless witness for Christ and what it means for believers today. Discover how gospel-centered community, confidence in God's sovereignty, and the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit produce a faith that remains courageous in every circumstance.

Whether you're facing challenges in your workplace, family, culture, or personal walk with God, this sermon will encourage you to stand firm, trust God's plan, and boldly proclaim the name of Jesus.

In This Sermon:

✅ The prayer that shook the early church
 ✅ Why boldness begins in Christian community
 ✅ How God's sovereignty fuels courage
 ✅ The role of the Holy Spirit in evangelism and witness
 ✅ What Acts teaches about persecution, revival, and mission
 ✅ Practical steps to live boldly for Jesus today

Scripture:

📖 Acts 4:23–31

Topics:

Acts, Early Church, Holy Spirit, Christian Boldness, Evangelism, Discipleship, Sovereignty of God, Prayer, Revival, Persecution, Gospel Mission, Spirit-Filled Living, Peter and John, Book of Acts Bible Study

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

But we are continuing in our series in the book of Acts as we see Jesus continue to work in the church, in the body of Christ, his hands and feet. To catch you up real quick, Jesus died. On the third day, he rose from the grave, victorious over sin, Satan, and death. And then 50 days later, he poured out the Holy Spirit to the church as the risen king, reigning and ruling at the right hand of the Father, victorious with all authority in heaven and earth. He poured out the Holy Spirit, not so that we could have a good time, not so that we can get Holy Ghost goosebumps, but to continue the work that he had begun in the incarnation, in his life, while he was walking the earth. And so this is the great mystery that we are the body of Christ. He is the head, the source, the authority. We are his church. We are the body of Christ. And it is an amazing thing as we begin to look through the book of Acts and see Jesus at work, continuing the ministry and the mission through his people. And this morning, if you are a Christian, if you are part of the body of Christ, then God wants to work in and through you and us as his church. And so here at Vintage Church, we do stand. Um, if you're willing and you're able, we stand for the reading of Scripture because we believe that Scripture is given to us by God. It's inspired, it's authoritative, it's the word of God. It's given to equip us, to empower us, to encourage us in our everyday life so that we might, here in our vernacular, make Jesus irresistible or make him known. We want to live for the glory of God, whether we eat, whether we drink, we want to do it all for the glory of God. And so we believe the scriptures are critical and paramount for us to do that. So here we are in Acts chapter 4, starting in verse 23. We've kind of been catching up this story of chapter three and chapter four. If you don't remember, Peter and James healed a lame man at the gate beautiful. They were thrown in prison, and now they've been released. And we pick up the story in verse 23. This is the word of the Lord. When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priest and the elders had said to them. And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, Why did the Gentiles rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his anointed. For truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. Would you pray with me this morning? Father, we come before you as we have read your word, inspired by the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit that filled those early church disciples in this room. And the fruit of that filling was boldness to continue to proclaim the resurrection and the good news of the gospel. And so this morning, as we ask the Holy Spirit to stir in our own hearts a boldness, Father, would you teach us how to be bold? Even in the face of persecution, of trial, of circumstances beyond our control. Jesus, your church in this hour, Lord, I believe needs to be bold. And so I pray, Lord, that you would convict where we are not, encourage where we are, and stir in us something that would see renewal and revival in our city, in our church, in our lives. Jesus, we want to be bold. And so teach us this morning from your word. We pray this in your name. Amen. You may be seated. Thank you. As I mentioned, just to catch you up with the story, if you're new or you're just joining us in the series of Acts, you pick it up right there in verse 23. It says, When they were released, and so the Sanhedrin, the religious rulers of the day, had arrested, detained, and questioned and interrogated, intimidated, and they haven't quite yet been physically harmed yet. That actually comes next chapter. So woohoo, fun for that. Um, but they were arrested and detained. And, you know, I want you to think about that with me. Let's say we are out at Bread of Life or we're in the city for the city, or Marvin's at the Lodi Access Center, and the authorities come, put you in handcuffs, put you in jail, arrest you, and say, listen, you cannot read the Bible. You cannot read the Bible publicly, you cannot preach in the name of Jesus. You cannot do this, or you will face punishment. You will face physical harm. You may even face death. That's the situation. That's what I want you to imagine with me this morning. And what would be the very first thing you do after being released? Let's say they they didn't physically harm you, they released you, and now you're you're you're free, and you're like, ooh, where are you going? What are you doing? What's your state of mind? What would you do? That's really what I want to unpack with you this morning. And I I want to preach a sermon to you called All Boldness. And I want to unpack this morning with you right there in the text. I think it's verse 29. It's from the prayer that they prayed that moment after being released, and it's in verse 29. And they pray, now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants, here it is, to continue to speak your word with all boldness. So that's what we're going to do this morning. We're going to unpack how might we continue to preach the gospel with all boldness this morning. And I want you to think about it with me this morning that this was the prayer of Peter and John, not just Peter and John the apostles, but this was the prayer of that early church missional community. They were united, they had one mind, they were in one accord. And their moment after seeing their friends, their brothers, Peter and John, leaders in the church, seeing them Cody, Jesus loves you, Cody. Can we just pray? Father, we come right now before you. That you are above every demonic authority. You are above the evil one. And so we come right now, knowing that a bold church is a dangerous church. And so, Lord, we ask that this morning that you would do what only you can do. We ask that you would touch Cody's body and his mind. We ask, Lord, that you would heal him, deliver him, and that you would work in his life. We pray for Debbie. We ask, Holy Spirit, that you would comfort her, you'd be strong, and that as a church family, we'd continue to pray and support and serve. Holy Spirit, we ask that you'd come even in this moment. We pray this in Jesus' name.

SPEAKER_00 9:46

Amen. So I want you to think about that. What would be your response?

SPEAKER_01 9:54

What would be our response if some of our friends were arrested? And some of our friends were brought to church that maybe came to your gospel community, they came to your small group. What would your response be?

SPEAKER_00 10:15

Would it be like, man, I need to take a break? I need a spa day. I need to grab some food, take a chill pill, hit the spa.

SPEAKER_01 10:29

I just need to decompress. What would be your response? What would be your response to opposition? What would be your response? Would it be to I need to protect my family? I need to protect my kids. I need to protect my future. I need to protect my reputation. What would be your response after you were arrested for preaching of the gospel, or your brother or sister was arrested and for the preaching of the gospel? What would be your response? Would it be to pray for more boldness? And I want you just to sit in that tension with me a little bit this morning and be honest. It's okay to be honest. We're in church.

SPEAKER_00 11:31

Really? You don't have to like say it out loud.

SPEAKER_01 11:35

But really, what would your response be if that happened? I had to wrestle with that this morning. What would your response be? Because now we live in America and think thankful that we have freedom of expression of religion. And you know, for the most part, we're good, right? For the most part, we're good. Maybe now though. Things are changing. We do know that, right? Our northern neighbor, it's a little dicey for our Christian brothers and sisters in the church in Canada. We do know that, right? There have been pastors arrested for the proclamation of the gospel or simply reading certain scriptures. Or even worse, in Nigeria. Right now, thousands and thousands of Christians are being killed, arrested, persecuted. Last time I checked, it was 35 Christians are killed every day in Nigeria. Nigeria accounts for, I think, 72% of all martyrdoms happening right now in the world. Recently, my wife shared a story, and I know there's some little ears here, so I'll be discerning. But there was a story of a mother who was forced to either recant her faith or watch two of her children severely harmed, even death. And in an interview, she said that she would never recant Christ, even after suffering what for a mother could only be the most horrific day of her life. I know this is heavy and it's sobering, and we're not there yet. But as a pastor, as a preacher, it's my job to equip you if that day would ever come. And I don't know if I I I would trust that it would be the Holy Spirit in me, but having just been arrested and coming home and having to talk with my family or come and talk with you, it might be a little hard in my own flesh and strength to say, Lord, give me more boldness to preach your word. But that is exactly what happened, and that's actually exactly what's happening in Nigeria and all over the world, where there is persecution. They are boldly proclaiming Christ. And you know, if you think about it, in our culture, we may be mocked, we may be trolled on social media, maybe we face marginalization at the workplace or family dinners. But right now, thankfully, we do have the freedom to proclaim Christ in public without threat of arrest or violence. And I am thankful for that. Because we should be bold in our faith and in our witness. And yet, maybe you would agree with me this morning. It seems that the church in America is less bold than the church in Nigeria. How can that be?

SPEAKER_00 15:19

We have freedom.

SPEAKER_01 15:21

They have threats of violence, not just threats, but actual violence. How is it that they are more bold in the face of persecution and threat than us in America? And I think if you were to look at this historically, the persecuted church is always more bold than the comfortable church. And if that's not stinging and convicting, then repent.

SPEAKER_00 15:54

It's stinging and convicting me. Would you all agree that the American church is comfortable?

SPEAKER_01 16:07

And yet what we see here that when the Spirit is working in the midst of the church, there is bold proclamation of the gospel. You will notice the pattern. The bold proclamation of the gospel. There will be an announcement that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead, crucified, buried, resurrected, that he is the King of Kings, He is the Lord of Lords, and here it is. There is no other name in heaven or on earth by which a man can be saved. And I want you to also wrestle with me this morning in this tension.

SPEAKER_00 16:53

If we really believe that, would we stay silent? Or would we be bold?

SPEAKER_01 17:05

If we really believed in hell, if we really believed that Jesus wanted to save, heal, and deliver the sick, the oppressed, and save those cosmic rebels who are doomed out of darkness into light, would we stay silent? And what we see over and over and over again in the book of Acts is a boldness, and that when they are faced with arrest, when they are faced with persecution, they do not stay silent. On the contrary, they actually pray for more boldness. The apostles and the early church were bold in their faith. Here's the kicker. Even if it cost them everything. Are you bold with your faith? So I want to talk a little bit this morning about how do you cultivate a bold faith? How do we continue to witness to the resurrection with all boldness? And so I want to share with you three things this morning on how to continue with all boldness. I think you have to have these three things to be bold in the face of persecution, in the face of arrest, in the face of hostility towards the gospel. And I think we pick it up right there in the text. The first thing, if you're taking notes, is the bold are part of a missional community. The bold are part of a missional community. Where do I get that? Look at verse 23 with me. When they were released, they went to their friends. Their community. And if you think about it, it's not just casual acquaintances or their buddies. I looked up the Greek word to see what was underneath that word because I thought friends seemed a little bit too light. And so I looked in the Greek, and this is what it says. It they went to their own people. Their own people. Their peeps, my people. That's where they went. And I had this image last night because if you look on my hands, you'll see some scars. My daughter Savannah said, You couldn't pay me to go and do that. But one thing that I noticed is there was a blue team and there was a red team. And each team had an objective and they had a mission. And after the buzzer went off and the mission was done, they went back into like the staging area. And it was there that I was reminded this morning of something. The teams were so excited to be like, look, I got hit. Look, I got hit. Oh man, like, did you see this, this, and that? And they were just so pumped up. And both teams were with their little huddles, blue team and red team, and they were just excited talking to their friends, to their own team, to their own people about this persecution of being shot by these little airsofts. And then they were like, You got this man, we're gonna get him next time, right? What is that? They had a mission, they had an objective, they had a goal. And when you are with a band of brothers and sisters, a community that has a mission or has a purpose, when you are intent and your face is set on accomplishing that mission, if there's ob if there's um obstacles or if there's hostility against that mission, and I guess you're not dead, right? Like you keep going, you keep encouraging one another. And you say, we need to go get them next time. Because that's what you do when you have a mission. And I think sometimes we're comfortable because maybe we haven't really received, we talked about this last week, the marching orders to be on mission for Christ. But if you and me were both convinced this morning that we had a mission to go make disciples of all nations to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. And if one of us on the path to do said mission, we got into a little trouble, or we got arrested, or we got persecuted or banged up a little bit, and we came back to our community and we said, listen, guys, I got a couple welts on my body for the preaching of the gospel. But you know what? I got said those people that this guy got saved. The gospel's being preached, it's advancing. We'd be like, yeah. Yes, let's do it. Let's get them again. Do you understand? Like, do you have that in the fiber of your soul? Maybe, just maybe, if that's not there. Let me ask this question this morning. Do you believe that you're on mission with the church, with the gospel community? Because the early church was convinced that they had a mission. And so they were connected to their own people. Their own people. Do you have a people, right? Like if you were preaching the gospel, do you have a group that you would eat you would go to immediately after you were arrested and released? Would you go to them and share with them? Look at what God has done. And I love this in the text. Look at it with me. Verse 23 says, When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And listen to verse 24. And when they heard it, who's the they? It's their friends, it's the community. When they heard it, they didn't go, you guys need to take it easy.

SPEAKER_00 23:13

You guys are living a reckless life. You guys need to take a chill pill.

SPEAKER_01 23:21

You guys are like Jesus freaks. What did they say? When they heard it, they lifted their voices together, one mind, one accord, to God, and they said, Sovereign Lord. And they begin to pray. They begin to pray. Who are your people? Because I think we all have people. We tell people our wins and losses. We tell people our successes and our struggles. We all have people. It might be a softball team. It might be a band. It might be an online gaming community. It might be a number of things. We all have our people. And I would ask that those people, those they have some form of mission. And you are excited to tell them about the wins and the losses, the struggles and the successes. So maybe, just maybe, if we cannot relate and identify with Peter and John and the early church in this moment, maybe, just maybe, we need to ask ourselves, do we believe that we are on mission? And if so, we need to find those people that are like-minded and working together to see the gospel advance. I mean, again, they didn't say cool your jets, dissuade them. You deserve a taco. They prayed for more boldness. So I want you to live in that tension. Think about it one more time. Would their first question, if you told someone I was just arrested for the gospel, would their first question be, Are you okay? Or how do we get out the gospel more?

SPEAKER_00 25:17

It's a radical shift, I know.

SPEAKER_01 25:21

But they didn't even ask if Peter and John were okay. It's not in the text. Now, maybe afterwards they're like, dude, are you okay? Like, so I'm not saying we don't care for people, but I'm saying that was what was primarily on their mind was how do we boldly preach the gospel? They didn't believe it was reckless, they believed it was all under the sovereignty of God. And that's number two. The bold believe in the sovereignty of God. How do I get that? It's right there in the text. What are the first words? I think when you pray, the how you address, we just talked about a thousand names this morning, singing it, right? And I think it matters when you pray how you address the Lord, right? So, for example, is it like, hey, my buddy Jesus, I need some help here? Or is it even comforter? No, it's sovereign Lord, ruler and reigner and king of everything. And it says it right here in the text, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them. And then it goes on to say that you are sovereignly giving your word through David, through the Psalms, you are superintending the scriptures. We have in our hands the Old Testament for those in this early church context. They had the 39 books of the Old Testament. They were not yet in hand, the New Testament. And so the early church is saying, Lord, we are thankful that you're sovereign over creation, you're sovereign over the Old Testament, you're sovereign over circumstances, you're sovereign over everything because you are God. And when you believe that God is sovereign, when you believe Romans 8:28, that God works all things for your good to those who are called according to his purpose, if you really believe that no matter what comes your way, you can be bold because he's sovereign. They believed deep down in their souls that God was sovereign. I want you to think about it. They witnessed Jesus, their friend, their rabbi, their teacher, be brutally murdered.

SPEAKER_00 27:56

And then they thought all hope was lost.

SPEAKER_01 27:59

But then they saw on the third day God raised him from the dead, and he witnessed to them for 40 days and then ascended and poured out the Holy Spirit. And so they had in their mind wait a minute, in the darkest hour of our life, God was still in control. What is that? It's a belief in the sovereignty of God, that God is in control. They saw God at work through Jesus, his death, his resurrection, and now they see prophecies come to pass. They were not surprised at the crucifixion. God was not surprised at the crucifixion. And it says here in Acts 2 and Acts 4 that it was actually God's plan. It's right there in the text. Look at it with me in verse 27. It says, For truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed or chose and put your Holy Spirit on, the Christ, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel. Listen to verse 28. To do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. God was sovereign. He wasn't surprised that the Roman armies crucified Jesus. He wasn't surprised that the religious leaders betrayed him and handed him over to be crucified. He actually prophesied it in the Old Testament. How could you prophesy something unless you are sovereign and in control? Look at it with me in Acts chapter 2. Peter on the day of Pentecost stands up and he says, This breathtaking statement of the sovereignty of God. In verse 22, just a couple pages over, it says, Men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst. As you yourselves know, look at verse 23. This Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. What is he saying? He's saying God is sovereign, but men are responsible. It was in, I think it was Charles Spurgeon who said that God's sovereignty and human responsibility are friends, so we shouldn't irreconcile them or something to that effect. Meaning that we cannot maybe understand how God is sovereign and yet humans are responsible. But the clear teaching of Scripture are that both are true. God is sovereign and our choices are real, and we are held responsible for those choices, and God somehow works in our choices to accomplish his purposes. Otherwise, we cannot really believe Romans 8:28 that says all things work together for good for those that are called according to his purpose. How can you have boldness when your life is on the line? How can you have boldness when your reputation is on the line if God is not sovereign? But God is sovereign. It is the clear teaching of Scripture. The early church believed, if you want another word for God is sovereign, they believed that God was in control of everything. Even the persecution, God was in control. He was still on the throne. One theologian said it this way: there is no maverick molecule in the universe. What does that mean? It means there's nothing outside of God's sovereignty. God is in control. He is on the throne. And I know that sometimes it feels like he's not. But again, may I direct you to the cross? May I direct you to the worst moment in human history when it seemed like God was not in control and God was nowhere to be found, my friends, that was the moment God was most in control and most working his plan of salvation. So, what does that mean for you this morning? If you feel like life is just dark right now, but you are in Christ and you are a follower of Jesus, then I can assure you that all things work together for the good of those who are called according to his purpose. God is in control. Or in the words of the old Sunday school song, he's got the whole world in his hands. Do you believe that? Really? Because if you do, you will be bold no matter what faces you. It's interesting. If you want a definition this morning for the sovereignty of God, here's one that you can maybe wrap your brain out. I get it's a huge theological idea, but here's one for you to write down or take a picture of. It says that the sovereignty of God is his absolute authority and power to ordain and govern all things according to his will for his glory and the good of his people in Christ. God is sovereign. And if you are convinced of that and believe in that, you will have a boldness no matter what happens. And I believe clearly from the text, this was at the core fiber of who the early church was because it's not only showing up in Acts 2 and Acts 4, they had just seen the plan of redemption unfold before them, and they truly go, God, you are the sovereign Lord. And through that, they are bold. It's interesting when you think about the modern missions movement. The father of modern missions, his name is William Carey. He had a firm, convincing belief in the sovereignty of God. He believed that God had sovereignly chosen people from every nation. He read Revelation and he knew that God would save people from every tribe and from every tongue. And so he went with a boldness, knowing that God would save people from every tribe and every tongue. And so he went with what would seem like us recklessness, but he went with reckless abandonment to proclaim the gospel. Think of Jim Elliot, who went with his own life to preach to the um, what is it? The um, oh I can't think of their names, but a tribe that ultimately would martyr him and murder him. And yet, even in God's plan and in God's story of redemption, his wife Elizabeth would go back later and see the whole tribe, I think it's the Aachen Indians, and the whole tribe radically saved and brought into the kingdom for the glory of God. There's a great movie called The End of the Spear, if you want to watch about it.

SPEAKER_00 35:47

How could you go? I mean, Jim Elliott had a wife, had kids.

SPEAKER_01 35:54

How could you go knowing that everything was on the line? You had to believe that God was sovereign. You had to believe that the gospel really is true, and you had to believe that God really is worth everything. You see, it was this conviction of the sovereignty of God that actually fueled missions, not hindered it. Because God had chosen to save, we can go with confidence that the gospel actually has the power to save people. See, a lot of times we think that it depends upon us. We're just the messengers. So we think, oh, I can't go be bold in my witness or evangelize because I don't know the words to say. God can use a donkey, God can use you. Right?

SPEAKER_00 36:49

You guys ever been to like a Billy Graham crusade?

SPEAKER_01 36:52

I went once, and um he was talking about some squirrel getting a nut. And then he's like, You guys want to come meet Jesus? And all these people I was like, how is that the gospel? God is sovereign, and we have the gospel, we have the good news, we have our testimony, we share with boldness, trusting God for the results. We can sow the seed, we can water the seed, but it's God who makes it grow. So I want you to hear this. The early church was bold because I think they had nothing to fear, because God was sovereign. So, in a sense, they were like, God's got this. Like Paul, who was in prison writing to the Philippians. Do you remember what Paul said? To live is Christ, to die is gain.

SPEAKER_00 37:52

Do you live like that? Do you believe you don't you won't live that unless you believe that?

SPEAKER_01 38:05

The early church believed that to live is Christ, to die is gain. So they literally were like, What's the worst thing that they could do to us?

SPEAKER_00 38:16

Introduce us to Jesus? Face to face? You're like, but what about my kids?

SPEAKER_01 38:25

What about my reputation? What about my finances? What about my family?

SPEAKER_00 38:29

God is sovereign. You're not that good. He loves your family more than you.

SPEAKER_01 38:39

He loves your wife and your children, and as a father, as a husband, I have learned more and more that I have to trust God with them. I do my best, I love them, I teach them, I disciple them, but at the end of the day, it's God and God alone who saves. So sometimes parents take that burden on your shoulders and breathe in the sovereignty of God. And pray, yes. Preach, yes, but trust God. They genuinely believe that he was working all things together for his glory and our good. So therefore, even persecution or suffering could produce boldness in them because they trusted in the sovereign Lord. Last point, and we as we close, the bold are righteous and spirit filled. The bold are righteous and spirit filled. Why do I say that? Because at the end of this passage, they're praying, and look at what happens. In verse 31, when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. You cannot be bold outside of the Spirit filling you with boldness. It is a supernatural boldness. But how can we be filled with the Spirit? Because of our sin, because of our imperfections. Well, the righteous are those who are filled with the Spirit. Well, how am I righteous? I think it's Proverbs 28:1 that says this. Can I get it on the screen next? It says, The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion. The righteous, my friends, how are we made righteous this morning? In Christ. It's the blood of Jesus that makes us righteous. It's why in Hebrews 10 it says that we can boldly approach the throne of grace because of the sacrifice of Jesus. We can boldly approach the throne of grace to receive what we need to be bold in these days. So when you go to prayer, are you confident and bold to ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit? Many of us, I feel, I fear, are not bold because we are putting our confidence in our sanctification and we're not putting our confidence in our justification. Our justification is freely given by grace through faith in Christ alone. Our sanctification is worked out over a lifetime. My friends, we are bold when we see that we are righteous in Christ. And so they go before the sovereign Lord in the name of Jesus, and they pray and they are filled again. So despite what some would believe in the church, the feeling of the Holy Spirit is not a one-time experience, it is a continual feeling. That's why in Ephesians chapter five it says this do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit. And the grammar tense there is to be continually filled. Meaning when you are out doing mission with your missional buddies and your missional community, and you feel depleted because maybe there's persecution, or maybe there's rejection, or maybe there's hostility, or maybe you're just having a really bad day. And so you go back to your missional community, you believe and pray to the sovereign Lord, and then you ask Him, because of the blood of Jesus, to fill you with the Holy Spirit again so that you can go out and do the mission that God has called you to do. That is the pattern in the book of Acts. And so again, how are we bold and continue to preach the word in all boldness? I think we have to have a missional community. We have to believe that God is sovereign and we have to believe in the blood of Jesus to make us righteous so that we can continue to be filled with the Holy Spirit over and over and over again on mission. Because there will be days when we are empty. There will be days when we are beat down, but in the words of the Apollo we are beat down but not destroyed. I'm tempted to read that verse, but I won't. We are beat down but not destroyed. Why? Because Christ's life is at work in us. Let's pray.