Live Free with Josh Howerton - Preaching the Word with Boldness // Acts 4:1-34

Episode Date: November 12, 2024

In Acts 4, Peter and John were taken to the Sanhedrin after they preached about Jesus to the crowds. The religious leaders were angry and demanded that they stop telling others about Jesus. However, the two disciples responded courageously that they would always choose to listen to God, not man. Because of their courage, we can continue to share the good news with others today!   For more information, visit lakepointe.church/dailydrive

Thanks for tuning in to today's Daily Drive with Lake Point Church, a daily dose of God's Word for your morning drive. When the word, not the world, becomes the majority of your week, your life will start to change. For that reason, our prayer is that God will speak to you through today's devotional. For more digital content to feed your faith, visit lakepoint.comit. Church slash daily drive. And now let's dive in to today's devotional. Hey, thanks for joining us on the Daily Dry of the Day. My name is Bro, and we are walking through some highlights in a book called The Book of Acts, which is the history of the early church.

All kinds of humble, faithful, courageous people are in this book, but I'm telling you, the star of the story is the Holy Spirit of God. We've already seen him empower ordinary men and women, equip them to do what they could not do on their own. We've seen him convict of sin and draw thousands of people to turn toward the God who loves them. We have witnessed the way he speaks and guides, prompts and what happens when people follow his lead. Mark Batterson in his book Wild Goose Chase writes about how the Celtic Christians had a unique name for the Holy Spirit. They called him on God gloss or the wild goose. They saw God's spirit as something, someone that could not be

tracked or tamed. There's an element of danger and an air of unpredictability surrounding him. Mark writes about having what he calls an inverted relationship with God. He says this. Instead of following the Spirit, we invite the Spirit to follow us. Instead of serving God's purposes, we want Him to serve our purposes. And while this may seem like a subtle distinction, it makes an ocean of difference. The result of this inverted relationship with God is not just a self-absorbed spiritual attitude, it's also the difference between spiritual boredom and spiritual adventure. I'm learning that if you chase the wild goose, so to speak, he will take you place.

you never could imagine going. You'll go down paths you never even knew existed. I'm telling you from my personal life experience, it's a chase that will be anything but boring. And it also might land you in trouble. You know, Jesus said in this famous sermon on the mount, God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you're my followers. Be happy about it. Be very glad. For a great reward awaits you in heaven. Peter and John would have heard those words come out of Jesus' mouth, and now they're experiencing it. We left off yesterday with the two of them being brought before the religious ruling council

called the Sanhedron because they had healed a lame man on the way to the temple. Well, these leaders, the same ones who had Jesus crucified, were incensed that they did it in the name of Jesus. So they arrest them and interrogate them and warn them to never speak again the name of Jesus. And Peter responds with sorry, but we can't help it. We can't stop talking about him. There is salvation found in no other name. Verse 21 of chapter 4. The council then threatened them further, but they finally let them go because they didn't know how to punish them without starting a riot. For everyone was praising God for this miraculous sign, the healing of a man who had been lame for more than 40 years. Well, as soon as they let them go, Peter and John tell the rest of the church what

had happened to them. And immediately, they hit their knees and start praying to God, asking for courage. They pray saying, we know it was your plan all along, but we saw this same kind of thing happened to Jesus in this very city. Verse 29, and now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us your servants, great boldness and preaching your word. Stretch out your hand with healing power. May miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant, Jesus. After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of the Lord with boldness. I love the way it says the meeting place shook, like it did when the Holy Spirit first came.

It was like God was saying to them, I'm still here, I'm with you, I got you, I'm in you, and I'm for you, just keep doing what you're doing. and I'm so grateful for these men and women. We know the good news of Jesus because guys like Peter and John just kept chasing the wild goose listening, following, and depending on him. So why not spend some time praying today when this podcast ends?

Thank God for all the courageous people in the early church. Ask him for the same kind of boldness to follow Jesus the way they did. Now the room may or may not shake when you get done praying, but I'll guarantee you he will assure you that he's with you, that he's in you, and he's for you. So why not step out and courage today and walk by faith? Hope you have an awesome day and I'll see you back here tomorrow. Thanks for tuning in today. For more biblical teaching and worship, join us for our church online live weekend services on Saturdays and Sundays.

For more information about all the digital ministries of Lake Point, visit lakepoint. Also, if this podcast was helpful to you, would you be sure to rate, review, and share this podcast to help get the word out.