Bold As A Lion | Acts 4:23-36

Takeaway: Verse 33

The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all.

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• Movie: Miracles From Heaven

Transcription:

Welcome to The Bible for Busy People. I’m Erica Parkerson. This is the place where we meet up to read half a chapter of God’s Word together and remember how loved we are. Jesus extends an amazing invitation to us in the Bible. He says, come to me and I WILL give you rest. This is us RSVPing: Yes!! to that invitation. So, take a deep breath and let’s get started.

Today’s episode is called Bold As A Lion. Yes, you and I can be as bold as a lion or a lioness because of Jesus. All right, before we dive into Acts chapter four, the second half, let’s say a little prayer, because we’re going to join Peter and John, where they’ve been in trouble with the leaders of the time.

Father, we come to you in the name of Jesus. And we thank you for the boldness that you’re about to give to Peter and John in the face of opposition. And we thank you in advance for the boldness you’re going to give us to share the hope in our hearts. Would you open our hearts and our eyes to understand and see what you would have us to see and understand in your word today? It’s in the powerful name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

Okay. I’m excited. Let’s pick up in verse 23, Acts chapter four where Luke, the writer and doctor left off. Again, peter and John were in trouble as soon as they were freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said when they heard the report.

All the believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God. Oh, sovereign Lord creator of heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them. As you spoke long ago, by the holy spirit through our ancestor, David, your servant saying, why were the nations so angry? Why did they waste their time with futile plans? The Kings of the earth prepared for battle. The rulers gathered together against the Lord and against his Messiah. In fact, this has happened here in this very city for Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate, the governor, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all United against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you anointed. But everything they did was determined beforehand, according to your will. And now, oh Lord. Hear their threats and give us your servants, great boldness in preaching your word.

That is something you and I can ask the Lord for today. “Lord, give us great boldness as we share your word and your hope with others.” It’s a prayer he will answer. He answered it for Peter and John and all the people who were listening, and he will answer it for us.

Stretch out your hand, they prayed with healing power, made miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant, Jesus. Makes me want to say amen right there. After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the holy spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.

I love this so much cause and effect. They pray for great boldness. The holy spirit comes upon them, and they go out and preach with great boldness. It’s beautiful. All the believers were United in heart and mind, and they felt that what they owned was not their own. So, they shared everything they had.

Here’s our takeaway verse; the apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all. There were no needy people among them because those who owned land or houses would sell them and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need. For instance, there was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas, which means son of encouragement.

Ah, isn’t that great. He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cypress. He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles. Oh, don’t you want to be a son or a daughter of encouragement, like Barnabas. I love this story. I love that God wants us to be bold and that he will answer our prayer to be bold.

Have you ever seen the movie, Miracles From Heaven? I highly recommend it. It’s a true story about a mom named Chrissy who was desperate to help her daughter, Anna, who was very sick. She couldn’t digest food. And so, she had all of these feeding tubes. And she kept knocking on the door of a doctor who could help her until she got that appointment. And the doctor did help Anna survive until the miracle from God arrived, which involved a tree. I’m not going to spoil the end of the movie because I really want you to watch it. If you haven’t seen it, it will inspire you and encourage you in your faith. Miracles from Heaven it’s called a true story. But Christie was bold as a lioness, and we can be that way because we believe that there is power in the name of Jesus.

Paul tells us, I think it’s in Hebrews, the, the writer of Hebrew tells us come boldly before the throne. We are invited to do that. The one sitting on the throne is the king of Kings. He is our dad. We can come boldly to him with our requests. We can go and share the hope that we have in our hearts, politely, and yet boldly. We can know that God will answer that prayer. I am so thankful for that today. All right. Till next time, remember, you are loved.

Thank you so much for listening to the Bible for Busy People. If you need prayer or you’re ready to go a little deeper in your faith, we’ve posted some resources for you in our show notes. We’d love for you to share this podcast with a friend and leave us a review. It helps us reach even more people with the hope of Jesus. This podcast is part of Purposely, a podcast network designed with practical podcasts to help you find and live in God’s purpose for your life. Find more podcasts that will recharge you at onpurposely.com.