Speak Boldly For The Lord

Have you ever felt the Lord leading you or had a strong desire to tell someone about Jesus, but you were too afraid to do it? Have you ever wanted to speak up when someone was spreading lies and misconceptions about Christ but decided to stay quiet? Or maybe a time when you knew sharing your faith would be ridiculed by those around you, so you kept it to yourself.

If you ever have faced these or similar problems, the apostles and believers in the early church could relate. In Acts chapter 4, Peter and John had a reason to be afraid after being thrown in jail for teaching about Jesus. They had a reason to stay quiet as they were threatened by the rulers, elders, and priests to not speak or teach about Jesus anymore. And going back to Acts chapter 2, they were ridiculed and accused of being drunk for declaring the wonders of God.

But they remain undeterred and prayed in Acts 4 verse 29 29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.

So how do we, as fellow believers in Jesus Christ, have that same mindset? How do we overcome our fear and our timidity and speak and teach about the Lord with boldness?

For one, we do as the believers in the early church did and pray. Our verse today says 29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. In the face of very real threats, the attitude of the believers turned to prayer. While you may encounter those who will tell you that prayer is pointless, as believers we know that it is powerful. In fact, James 5:16 says the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. We see evidence of this just two verses later in Acts 4:31 31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. God answered their prayer. Psalm 37:4 says 4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Notice that the believers didn’t pray for their own safety, they didn’t pray for those that made the threats to be destroyed, they prayed that they would speak God’s Word with great boldness because their delight was in the Lord.

Two, remember why we do it. God commanded us in Matthew 28:19-20 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. 1 Peter 3:15 says But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. In a world full of lost people, you have the Way. In a world full of lies, you have the Truth. In a world full of death, you have the Life. John 14:6 says 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Jesus is the answer, and we haven’t done anything to make us of worthy of Him, but God has given us Jesus and Jesus willingly gave up His life for us so that we can be saved for all eternity. The gospels translate into “Good News” for a reason and God calls us to share His Good News with the world.

And three, God gave us the Holy Spirit Ephesians 1:13-14 says 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. And that Spirit has no fear. 2 Timothy 1:7 says 7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.”

God knows that we will face trying circumstances in this life, in John 16:33 Jesus tells us that we will have trouble in this world. The believers in the early church were ridiculed, threatened, jailed, beaten, killed, scattered across the earth far from home. God knows that we wouldn’t be able to endure this all on our own, so He gave us His Spirit and it gives us the power to speak boldly for God in the face of threats like Peter and John in the Sanhedrin in Acts chapter 4. It gives us the love for God and the love for others that allowed Stephen to say “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,” and “Lord, do not hold this sin against them,” as he was being stoned to death for speaking about Jesus in Acts chapter 7. And it gives us the sound mind to act in accordance with God’s will, His good, pleasing, and perfect will.