Essentials for Boldly Making a Defense | Acts 4:1-31

Good morning, Watermark. How are we doing today? Welcome to church. I'm glad you're here. If this is your first time ever with us on a Sunday and you feel overwhelmed…overwhelmed by the parking, overwhelmed by all of the people…let me just say we want this church to feel small to you, and that can happen. Our goal is that you can come in here and take either your first step or your next step with Jesus and get connected to God's people.

There will be people down front after the service. There's a welcome center out in the Town Center. Please allow us to help you get connected. I'm so glad you made it today. We're going to jump into studying God's Word. I am expectant for what God wants to do in our church. Just remember, we have a decision to make right now. We're either going to play church or we're going to meet with God. Let's meet with God.

We're going to open up his Word. We can hear from him today if we want to lean in. Let's do that. So, if you will, just take a moment and pray for yourself. I just want to invite you to pray and say, "God, would you speak to me today?" Then, would you pray for the people around you, your family, friends, and other people in the room? Would you ask God to speak to them as well? Then, would you pray for me and just ask God to speak through me to you?

Lord, you've gone to great lengths to give us your Word, so, Lord, as we open it, I pray that I would handle it accurately, that your Spirit would empower me as I teach. As that is happening, I pray for your Spirit to work in every person sitting in this room, that as they hear the Word of God taught, your Spirit would take your Word and so custom-fit it to every one of our hearts that we would all leave here changed, that something would be different, that tomorrow morning would look different, that the rest of this week, that Friday would look different because of what you're going to do right now. We give this time to you, and we love you. In Jesus' name, amen.

When I was the director of Breakaway Ministries at Texas A&M University… It has been a few weeks since I've mentioned A&M, so it's good to bring that back. When I was the director, I developed some relationships with students from the Muslim student group. The relationship started because these students initiated it. They were so nice. They were so kind. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them. We developed, honestly, a friendship. We would get together, and we would make a case to one another for why we believed what we believed.

I still remember sitting and just talking about why I was convinced that we needed Christ and his sacrifice in order for us to be saved. We had a great relationship. Well, one of them was graduating. It was April of 2021. One of them was graduating, and he invited me to a gathering. This was totally on me. This was my fault. It was not his fault. But somewhere in the mix, I mixed up what the invitation was.

Because it was the end of April, I was convinced, somehow, that he was inviting me to a graduation party. It turned out that was not the case. He was inviting me to a gathering. I believed he was inviting me to a graduation party. I told him I didn't know if I was going to make it. Then on the day of, I decided, "I am going to be able to make it. I'm going to stop by for about 15 minutes, say hello, and leave."

So, I texted him about an hour before the event, and I said, "Hey, I'm going to end up making it." Then I pulled into the parking garage at Texas A&M, and I just want to show you the text thread I experienced when I pulled in just about 15 minutes before the event. Here's what it said. I said at the very top at about 6:23, "Will be stopping by tonight but will be running a little late." He said, "Perfect. We changed locations."

Then he said, "We have the room set up for you and Brother Fahad to share the stage." Then, if you'll read my text, "Remind me what you would like for me to share." He said, "We're going to be talking about spirituality and how Muslims and Christians perceive them." So, I walk into the room. It's a U-shaped room, and there are two tables set up like this.

I tried to put my stuff over here. He was like, "No, no, no. You're at this table." Then he introduced me to Fahad, who had driven in from Houston. This is what he does. Then 30 to 40 Muslim students entered the room and sat. I was the only Christian in the room. I realized really quickly, "This is a debate." I sat down, and I was asked to give my opening arguments.

So, I thought I was going to a graduation party. I showed up to a debate. I was not expecting that. It turned out to be awesome. I ended up genuinely loving the 30-minute debate that I ended up having with this guy, because I feel like the Holy Spirit showed up. They had just broken their fast for Ramadan, so the Spirit was like, "Why don't you talk about how Jesus declares himself to be the Bread of Life?"

So, I was able to talk to people who had just gone hungry all day about how the satisfaction they'd just experienced is the satisfaction of the soul that Jesus Christ can supply. The reason I tell you that is because that night brought new meaning to 1 Peter 3:15 for me, which says, "…but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect…" It brought new meaning.

Now, you might hear that story and be like, "Of course that happened to you. You're a pastor. What else do you do during the week? All we know is you spend about 45 minutes talking on Sundays. You must have the rest of the week free, so of course you're going to get pulled into debates all the time." Well, I'm glad that's what you think my life is, but here's the reality. That experience I had is the normal Christian life.

The normal Christian life is a life where we, as followers of Jesus, are to be prepared to give a defense for the hope that is in us. You might not realize it, but God is inviting you into opportunities all throughout the week to give a defense. It just might not look as obvious as being handed a microphone on a debate stage. I showed up thinking I was going to a graduation party. It turned out to be an opportunity given by God to make a defense.

This week, you might think you're showing up to your kid's sporting event. You might think you're showing up to a work meeting. You might think you're just showing up to happy hour when, in actuality, it is God inviting you into a divinely appointed moment where he is asking you, by the power of the Spirit, to enjoy what he has designed you to do, which is to give a defense for the hope that is in you.

So, what I want to talk about today is boldly declaring the hope that is in you. My hope is from today, what would ripple forth into the week is thousands of people walking out of here lit up with a passion, like, "God, I'm ready. You give me that opportunity. My eyes are open. I am ready to give a defense. I want to be used by you. Would you fill up my week with divinely appointed conversations where I get to declare the hope I've found in Jesus Christ?"

Some of you are like, "TA, that's every week for me." Others of you are like, "Please, no. Don't pray that for me. I don't want that." My hope is that we're going to all get aligned and that we're going to leave here 10,000 strong this week and that this week is going to be filled with tens of thousands of conversations.

If you have a Bible, turn with me to Acts, chapter 4. This story is a continuation of the story we started two weeks ago. If you remember, there's a lame man, and he is raised to walk. What Peter and John do is they tell the crowd, "This man's story physically is every person's story spiritually. Everyone is broken. Everyone is in need of healing. This man was healed in the powerful name of Jesus. You, too, can be healed in the powerful name of Jesus." This is a continuation of that story.

What we see is Peter and John give a bold defense for the faith. I want you to clue into the fact that I've used the word bold twice now. The reason I've used that word is because the word boldness is used four times in the book of Acts. Three of those times are found right here in Acts, chapter 4. The point of this story is a bold defense for the faith. That's what I hope for you.

So, just evaluate really quickly. Would you consider yourself bold in your faith? Just think. Are you bold in your faith? If the answer is "No," I don't want you to feel guilt or shame. I actually want you to get excited that today what I'm going to give you are the essentials, the things that are required for you to have a bold faith. So here we go. Acts, chapter 4.

1. You have to have the right expectations. Listen to what happens after this lame man is healed and Peter and John call out the brokenness in the people. Verse 1: "And 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."

Do you see what's happening? As they're talking, what happens is the captain of the temple (that's basically the temple police) and the Sadducees… The Sadducees were a wealthy ruling class that did not believe in the resurrection, and they were politically inclined. What they see the apostles doing, in their eyes, is disturbing the peace and serving as enemies of the truth. So, what do they do? It says they are greatly annoyed and they arrest them.

I want you to think about where we've been in Acts so far and how the apostles' experiences prior to this and this couldn't be more different. Up until this point in the book of Acts, every day has felt like the last night of a Christian camp. Some of you are like, "I didn't grow up in that world." Some of you are like, "I know exactly what you're talking about right now." It feels like the last night of camp. Everything is just amazing.

The Holy Spirit has come. They've spoken in foreign languages. Peter gives his first sermon, and 3,000 people trust Christ. The church is full of joy. Then the page turns and they're put in prison. That's important, because this is a moment where God is clarifying the expectations they should have for the remainder of their lives. The normal Christian life is a life where there is a mixture of reception and rejection.

When it comes to living for Jesus and declaring Jesus, the apostles should expect for people to receive them and for people to reject them. Their expectation should be our expectation. Do you have the right expectations? Do you expect for some people to receive the message of Jesus you share with them and others to reject that message? It's good for us to just state it. I don't think I've said anything which is new information, for the majority of you, but sometimes it's just helpful to articulate it.

There are people in our neighborhoods, at our gyms, and in our workplaces who are simply indifferent to Jesus. There are other people, though, who are absolutely offended by Jesus. They are greatly annoyed by Jesus. Many people in our spheres of influence are passionately opposed to the claims of Jesus. We have someone in our extended family, and she can't stand the idea that Jesus would be the only way to heaven. She sees it as so exclusive and so unloving. That reality, that truth claim of Christianity, is highly offensive to her, and she makes that known.

I remember meeting a guy and having lunch with him. As we talked about Christianity, in the middle of our lunch, he got up, walked out the door, and never came back because he was so offended by the truths of Christianity I was sharing with him. Some people are indifferent to Christ; others are absolutely offended by him, and we shouldn't be surprised by that. We shouldn't be caught off guard when someone has a strong reaction to us or to Jesus. Now, let me show you why. Watch this in the story. Verse 4:

"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 the midst, they inquired, 'By what power or by what name did you do this?'"

Now, this is important. If you're tuned out, welcome back. This is such an important detail that you might not see when reading on your own. They are arrested, just like Jesus was. They stand before the Sanhedrin, which is basically the 71-member Supreme Court, just like Jesus did when he was on trial. Annas and Caiaphas are there, just as they were at Jesus' trial. Peter and John are asked by what power or authority they did what they did, just as Jesus was asked the same thing when he cleansed the temple.

What's the point? The point is God is showing the apostles and us the normal Christian life includes sharing in Christ's sufferings. The normal Christian life. I'm not just talking about Christians who live in persecuted countries. I'm not just talking about people who are full-time people in ministry, professional Christians who might find themselves experiencing suffering or persecution. No, the normal Christian life.

If you consider yourself a Christian, you should expect to share in Christ's sufferings, which means you should expect to be misunderstood or considered weird or considered intolerant or even crazy. It could include unjust or harsh treatment by others. It could even include being arrested or killed.

From this point on, the apostles will move forward with the expectation that life with Jesus will include both sharing in Christ's work of salvation and sharing in Christ's sufferings. Do you understand what I mean by the two? The two are very different. They can expect to be used by God to save people, and they can also expect to suffer in a variety of ways. Do you have the right expectations? Let's just talk about those two really quickly.

I want you to think about this. Before we get to the sufferings, let me just ask you. Do you expect to share in God's work of salvation? Let me clarify what I'm asking. Do you expect for God to use you in such a powerful, supernatural way that as the Spirit of the living God is strengthening you and empowering you to share your faith, at that exact time, the Spirit will be working in someone, drawing them to salvation? Do you expect that God would use you in such a way that you would find yourself praying with people to receive Jesus Christ as Savior? Do you expect that to happen?

I think one of the reasons people don't boldly share their faith is they just don't expect God to use them. They see other people, and they're like, "Yeah, of course God would use them, but I don't think God wants to use me like he uses them." God might use you in a different way, but here's the reality: God has called all of us to be ambassadors for Christ. Do you expect God to use you? Because I believe he does. The more you share, I believe the more you're going to see the Spirit of God working right in front of your eyes.

But do you also expect to share in Christ's sufferings? This is where we struggle. We don't like the idea of people rejecting us. Do you expect that relationships could get strained or conversations could get awkward or people might ghost you or think less of you or people could get mad at you or even yell at you? You should expect that as well. That is part of the Christian life. That's where we struggle. That's why the second essential is…

2. You have to have the right relationship with the Holy Spirit. Verse 8: "Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them…" That wording is important. Did you notice it didn't say, "Then Peter said to them"? No, it said, "Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit…" I was speaking at an event this week, and I was like, "God, I pray that it would read, for my life, 'Then Timothy Ateek, filled by the Holy Spirit, said,' not 'Then Timothy Ateek said.'" Those are two totally different experiences. One is in my own strength, and one is solely by the power of the Spirit.

"Then 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 watch verse 13. "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus." We're going to talk about the apostles' message in my next point, but right now, I just want you to see the work of the Spirit in them. It says they were filled with the Spirit. What that means is that the Holy Spirit takes over. The Holy Spirit goes to work.

I don't know what your understanding of the Holy Spirit is, but the Spirit of God is God himself living inside of every single Christian. You need to know that God the Holy Spirit salivates for moments like this. I just picture the Holy Spirit inside of Peter and John, like, "Excellent!" What do you picture the Spirit doing? Do you think he's like, "I don't know. What do you want to do?" No. I think he's like, "Oh man! This is going to be good. Would you just let it rip? Let's do this!"

Do you ever picture the Spirit like that? Like, "Yes! Get in there! You're not going by yourself. I'm going with you. This is going to be fun." I think, for so many of us, we think the Spirit is like, "Oh, geez. Oh man. This is a… Woo! Are you nervous? Because I'm nervous too. Oh man, those pitters (24:16). Woo!" No, the Spirit is power.

Do you know what I love? When the Spirit goes to work in them… Did you see the leaders' response? It says when they saw their boldness, they recognized that they had been with Jesus. Do you know why I love this? This is a complete reversal for the apostles, for Peter especially. It wasn't just Peter who deserted Jesus. They all did. If you go back and look, they all did…in fear. Do you know why I appreciate that? It's just good for us to establish that fear and failure were part of the apostles' story. That should encourage you. Fear and failure were part of their story.

But since their fear and failure, Christ has died, Christ has conquered the grave, and the Holy Spirit has come. So just imagine. In this moment, I bet internally Peter and John are like, "That's what Jesus meant when he said (in Acts 1:8), 'But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you'll be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and to the end of the earth.'"

I think they're probably like, "We get it, God. That makes sense. There's the power." Isn't it great news that we have the same exact Holy Spirit the apostles had in the first century? The same Holy Spirit lives inside of you and me. We have the same amount of the Spirit. We have all of the Spirit. But we have to have the right relationship with the Holy Spirit.

We had a white Lab named Maddie for 13 and a half years. When Maddie was a puppy, she had all of that puppy energy. If you have a puppy, you know exactly what I'm talking about. I would have to wake up and take Maddie on 45-minute to hour-long walks to just work out some of that puppy energy before we were gone all day. But there was a time… And some of y'all are going to hear this and be like, "Yeah, that's an unhealthy relationship with your dog." That's not the comparison I'm making to the Holy Spirit, just so you know.

For a while, Maddie would pull us on the walk. Do you know what I'm talking about? You look out the window, and you see someone, and you're like, "Oh, that dog is walking that person. That person isn't walking the dog; the dog is walking them." Maddie would just pull. You could see her back muscles. She was like, "Let's go. This is not normal for me. I've got more power."

Then I would take Maddie to the park and take the leash off, and I would start running. Maddie would just come, and she would open it up. It was honestly a beautiful sight to just see Maddie do what she was made to do. There was power. There was speed. It was so much more enjoyable.

I tell you that to say… And don't email me about the theological intricacies of where this analogy breaks down. So many of us act (key word act) or live like we have the Holy Spirit on a leash of our fear. Nothing can restrain the Spirit, but we can quench the Spirit. I think one of the ways we quench the Spirit…

I just think the Spirit is pulling us, saying, "Let's go. We're not made to just walk. Take the leash of fear off. Let's run together. I want to strengthen you, and I want to empower you. You can step into this conversation, and you don't have to worry about it being awkward. It might be awkward for three seconds, and then it's going to be beautiful. Would you let us run?" We just need to know God is inviting us to take the leash of fear off and to run and boldly share.

This week, as I was preparing, God used 2 Timothy 1:7. He used it in my life in a new way. I've known about this verse for a long time. Paul says, "…for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." I want you to notice the wording. Notice that Paul doesn't say, "For God gave us a spirit of power and love and self-control." No, he clarifies. He says, "For God gave us a spirit not of fear…"

Why would he clarify that? Because Christians have a tendency to live like God gave them a spirit of fear instead of a spirit of power, love, and self-control. So, let me just ask you. Paul clarifies for Timothy because there are people who need that clarification. Just evaluate. Do you live like God has given you a spirit of fear or do you live like he has given you a spirit of power? Which one is truer for you?

I think so many of us don't realize that sometimes we live and operate like God actually gave us a spirit of fear. Whenever we say things like, "You know what? I'm just an insecure person" or "You know what? I'm not an extroverted person" or "I'm just not an outgoing person" or "You know what? I'm not built like that person. I'm just not a courageous person…" When you say stuff like that, when you believe stuff like that, you're saying, "You know what? I actually believe God gave me a spirit of fear."

Can I just remind you that you're a new creation, that God has made you new? Yes, he has made us with different personalities and different wirings, which means we won't all operate the same way. Boldness for you might look different than boldness for me. He has made some of us introverted and others extroverted, some loud and some soft-spoken. One isn't better than the other, but God has given us all the same Spirit.

The same limitless power of God, the same power that created the heavens and the earth, the same power that raised Christ from the dead, actually lives in you. Sometimes we just need to speak back to the fear and preach the gospel to ourselves. "No. God hasn't just saved me; he has filled me with his Spirit. He has not handed me a spirit of fear. When I trusted Christ, he gave me his Spirit, and his Spirit has come to be the source of power for me to witness to an unbelieving world." We have to have the right relationship with the Spirit.

3. We have to have the right gospel. Look at verse 10. Peter packs so much about Jesus into these few verses. Just watch it. If you're here today, and you don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ, or you're at a place where you're exploring the claims of Christianity, hey, dial in. This section is especially for you. Look at what it says.

Peter says, "…let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth…" Those few words are pregnant with meaning. Jesus Christ. You know Christ isn't Jesus' last name, right? "What is Jesus' last name?" "Oh, I think it's Jesus Christ." No, no, no. Christ isn't his last name. Christ means Anointed One. It means he was the promised Messiah. Jesus the Christ.

So, what does that mean? It means he's the answer to all of the brokenness in history. He is the answer to the brokenness in the world. He's the answer to the brokenness in us. He's the promised Messiah, the one who would come to rescue sinners. He's of Nazareth. What does that mean? It means he was human. He was fully God and fully man.

Why is it even important that Jesus was fully God? Well, it's important he was fully God, which means he was perfect. It's important that he was fully man so he could fully identify with us and be a suitable substitute in our place for our sins. "…Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified…" Watch the activity. "Whom you crucified." What does that mean? Jesus died. He was crucified. Why did he die? He died in our place. He was punished for all of our failures. The punishment that was ours became his.

"…whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead…" He rose from the dead. Why is that important? Because the resurrection is a declaration from God the Father that Jesus' payment for your sin and mine was enough. "…by him this man is standing before you well." What does that mean? It means Christ's ministry continues. He's alive today. He's moving and working in our lives.

"This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone." That means Jesus is the centerpiece, and all of God's plans fit together in Christ. He's the foundation. He's not just the foundation of all God's plans. He's the foundation. He's the centerpiece of our lives. The only way our lives can hold together for all of eternity is through a real relationship with Jesus Christ.

That is why Peter says, "And there is salvation in no one else…" No one can hold you together. No one can save you. No one can take away your sins like Jesus can. "…for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." That's the right gospel. When you think about being sent out from here to go and share boldly, do you have the right gospel? Let me encourage you to practice the gospel message.

I've shared this before. I'll share it again just in case it's a new encouragement to anyone in the room. From time to time, we tend to talk about Jesus at the dinner table. There will be some nights, from time to time, where I'll say, "Hey…" I'll look at one of my kids or I'll look at all of them, and I'll say, "Hey, you're walking by, and there's a car wreck, and someone is lying there. You walk up to them, and they're like, 'I've got 30 seconds before I die. Can you tell me how I can be saved?' What are you going to do?" You might be like, "That's traumatic for your kids." Well, it works. Okay?

I'll ask them, "What would you say?" One of my sons knows by now. He messes with me. He's like, "Well, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth…" I'll fake die. That's what I do in the chair. The reason I ask this question is so my boys will grow up with clarity on what matters most.

I think some people get into conversation, and they're not expecting it. Have you ever had a spiritual conversation you weren't planning on? You're like, "Oh! Well, this is happening." Then you're like, "Oh, I'm actually supposed to give an answer now." You're like, "Okay. Well, here's the deal. Okay, so there's Jesus. There's a guy named Jesus, and he was born of a virgin Mary. Do you know what that means? Okay. Well, so the Spirit kind of worked…" And the people are like, "I am so sad I asked you."

It's good to practice, to rehearse. What would you say? Do you have the right gospel? I was talking to my friend Jeremy this week, and we were talking about someone right now who's exploring the faith. I loved what he said. He was like, "I hope it's clear to him that it's not complex." I love that. That is true. We should be able to share our faith in a way that isn't complicated for people. It's not complicated. It's not complex. It's very weighty, but it's not complex.

God has made us for relationship with him. That relationship is broken because we are broken by sin. We can't do anything about that in our own strength. God himself has done everything. Christ has come. He has lived the life we couldn't live. He has died the death we all deserve to die. He has risen from the grave, demonstrating that his payment was enough. When you put your trust in him as your Lord and Savior, you are completely forgiven. You are completely made new. You are right with God now and forevermore. That's it.

So, I just encourage you to practice it. Rehearse it. Rehearse the bridge illustration or rehearse the bad news/good news or rehearse the three circles. If you don't know what I'm talking about, go look these things up so you can clearly share with people. I love what verse 14 says. "But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition." Isn't that beautiful? Do you know what that means? Nobody can argue with life change.

That's why I've been pushing your 15-second testimony so much. No one can argue with it. For me to say, "Hey, there was a time in my life when I wasn't a child of God; I was God's enemy, but Jesus Christ rescued me. Now I'm filled with joy and peace belonging to his family…" No one can argue with that. What's someone going to say? "No, you're not. No, he didn't." No one can argue with it.

That's why I've encouraged you to rehearse it. Don't wait until you're in the moment where you're like, "Okay. Holy Spirit, let's do it." What if you prepare and the Holy Spirit is like, "That's why you've been preparing. Let me just put wind in these sails, and let me use it." I don't have time to read it right now, but in verses 15-17… You know, it's possible for someone to hear a message of life change and still reject it. That's part of it.

4. We need the right allegiance. Look at verse 18. "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."

Do you see what they declared? This is so refreshing from people who had denied Jesus. Now they're like, "Hey, look, guys. You decide for yourself. Should we listen to God or you? You decide. No, we're listening to God. We can't help but speak of what we've seen and heard." There is freedom in caring more about pleasing God than pleasing man. Sometimes, to please God, you will have to disappoint or offend men and women. This is an aspect of God's will for a Christian.

Let me just share really quickly. For some of you, this isn't going to apply at all because God hasn't wired you like this. For others of you… Look. Some of my most compromising decisions in life, some of my worst moments as a leader, have been due to people-pleasing or fear of man or a need for people's approval.

When I say those three things, some of you are like, "I get it. I have a tendency toward people-pleasing. I have a tendency toward fear of man or a need for people's approval." I'm just telling you, Proverbs 29:25 is right on. "Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the Lord means safety." Fearing people can handcuff our witness. It can hold us back. We won't speak freely or boldly because of fear or a need for people's approval.

If you tend to struggle with people-pleasing, fear of man, or need for approval, here's what I want to invite you to do. We're not talking right now about sharing your faith any longer. I'm inviting you to zoom out. I just want you to begin to call out that people-pleasing or need for approval in all areas of your life, because when you address it and identify it in all areas of your life, it's going to begin to impact the area of your life known as sharing your faith.

I want to invite you to preach the gospel to yourself in those areas. My message to you isn't "Just suck it up. Just sweep that people-pleasing under the rug. Just suppress it and suck it up and do it." No. You don't have to do that. We have power. We can be changed by the gospel. Preach the gospel to yourself.

Like, this week, I was driving to speak at an event, and what I did as I was driving was preach the gospel to myself, just to remind myself, "Don't walk in there needing to please people. You don't need people's approval." So, as I drove, I just told myself, "Look. I'm already full, so there's nothing these people have that I need. I am full of God's love. I'm known by God. I'm loved by God. That love comes through a real relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has given me access to love."

So, I can be filled with God's love, which means I don't need anything from you this morning. I have something you need, which is the Word of God, but I don't need you to fill me up in some way. You can preach the gospel to yourself. Just think about how that spills over into boldness and sharing faith. You can tell yourself, "Jesus was rejected by man so I could be accepted by God; therefore, because I'm accepted by God, I can be rejected by man." You have to have the right allegiance. It's more important to me to please God than to please you.

5. We need the right priorities. Watch what they do immediately. Verse 23: "When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them." They immediately go to their Community Group. "And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God…" They went to their Community Group and prayed. Isn't that awesome?

One of the beauties of being a Christian is you've been saved into a family. You have brothers and sisters in the faith. If you go and read the majority of the verses, it's just a prayer, but look at how verse 29 goes. "And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness…"

Watch verse 30. They're clear on what they do and what God does. What does God do? Verse 30: "…while you stretch out your hand to heal…" It's God who heals, not us. It's God who saves, not us. "…and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus."

Watch verse 31. "And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit…" So now it's not just Peter and John. They're all filled up full of the Holy Spirit. And what do they do? "…and continued to speak the word of God with boldness."

Here are the priorities: They prayed. Prayer led to being filled by the Spirit, and being filled by the Spirit led them to go out and speak with boldness. As they went out speaking boldly, they trusted God to do what only he could do. I will end today by reading you this quote, and then I'm going to invite us to respond.

Samuel Chadwick said this. Blake Holmes put this quote on my radar over the last couple of weeks, and it's so good. He said, "The one concern of the Devil is to keep the saints from prayer. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray."

So, I just want to invite us to pray now. I'm committed this year to inviting you to respond now. This is not your moment to slip out early to beat the traffic. This is a moment for you to respond to God. Here's what I want to invite you to do. I want to invite you to just sit quietly for a moment. Make yourself aware of God's presence here. Make yourself aware of God's presence in you, the Holy Spirit living inside of you if you know Jesus Christ.

First, I want to invite you to pray right now that, this week, God would give you opportunities to give a defense for the hope that is in you. Just ask him. Ask him right now that he would give you opportunities. Then, pray that you would have the right expectations. Do you expect God to use you this week, and do you expect to share in Christ's sufferings? Pray that God would use you and pray that God would strengthen you. Whether people are receptive or whether they reject, pray for God's strength and peace.

We want to have the right relationship with the Spirit, so pray now that the Holy Spirit would fill you with power. Reject that spirit of fear that might be in you. God hasn't given you that. We want to have the right gospel, so pray from now that God would give you the words, that God would remind you to rehearse the right words, and that when you have an opportunity the Spirit in you would glorify Christ through you.

We want to have the right allegiance, so pray for a desire to please God that is greater than a desire to please people. Then, just pray this week that some unbelievers in your life would either begin to explore Jesus or they would actually commit their lives to Jesus this week. Pray for salvation.

If you're here today, and you don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ, maybe the good news of Christianity has finally made sense to you today and you want to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. If that's you, I invite you right now. This isn't a rabbit's foot prayer. I just want to help you have the words to articulate to God. You can just say, "Lord Jesus, would you come into my life? Thank you that you died on the cross for me. Thank you that you rose from the dead for me. Would you forgive me of all of my sins, and would you lead me in a new life with you as my Savior and my King?"

Lord, I just ask you to use your people here at Watermark Community Church. I pray that we would all leave here filled with your Spirit, that even at lunch today you would give us opportunities; throughout the rest of the day and at dinner tonight you would give us opportunities to boldly give a defense for the hope that is in us. We love you, God. In Jesus' name, amen.