Contemplate these questions as you dwell in Acts 4:23-31:

1. Why did Peter and John pray for boldness in the face of threats and persecution? How did they seek confirmation of their authority to teach through signs and wonders?

2. What was the significance of the place where they gathered being shaken and them being filled with the Holy Spirit? How did this serve as confirmation of their mission and message?

3. How does the affirmation received by Peter and John through the shaking of the place apply to believers today? Why is it important for Christians to trust in the power and authority of the Word of God rather than constantly seeking signs and wonders?

Transcript:

 Now, remember what we saw earlier on in this chapter. Peter and John go before the leaders in Jerusalem and their question about what they're doing, and they boldly proclaim Christ and him crucified and talk deeply about the gospel. And so now they are being released. We see that they are going out and so they go to their friends and they're reporting what all these people had said to them.

Remember, they were told to stop. And they said, no, not going to, we're going to obey God instead of man. Basically, that is what happened. And so now they are praying to God after they have told their friends what was said. And they talk about how God has made the heaven and the earth. And they pray from the Psalms here.

And then they get down to this important part that I want to focus on here. Verses 29 through 31.  They have had these threats put upon their lives and now they're going and telling their friends  What they have been told that you know, hey, you should be quiet and they've decided hey, we can't be silent We have to testify to what we've seen and so now  Their prayer is for boldness Look at verse 29 and 30 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.

They're praying for boldness. They don't want to stop. They know the pressure that is going to be put on them, the persecution that it's coming. And so, they're praying to God, saying, help us to continue to proclaim with boldness, all that we've seen.  And then what do they say? Stretch out your hand to heal, to do signs and wonders.

What are they asking for here? They're asking for God to confirm their authority as teachers to people around them that they might see That they are preaching the truth that they are doing what they have been called to do by God that the message that they're proclaiming Is about the fulfillment That Jesus did of the promises of the Old Testament that now something new is happening But God is confirming that this isn't just the Apostles going off on their own with some idea No, this is confirmed by signs and wonders that it is true That's why there were so many signs and wonders in this time because God was confirming to people around them that the Apostles had the authority to teach this in his name  And so what happened?

They prayed, and then the place that they were in GA that they had gathered together, it was shaken and they were filled with the Holy Spirit. Essentially, it's a confirmation of what they have been saying They're to do. That they're to continue to proclaim regardless of what the world says, regardless of the threats against them.

They're to continue in the face of persecution. God affirms this with the place being shaken and then being filled with the Holy Spirit. And so, what did they do? They continued to speak the Word of God with boldness.  Now in our time, we Have those who feel as though we should be silent. We have, and honestly, this is in every time.

There are those who want to silence the gospel.  And the temptation for us is to do just that. Well, we don't need to be bold. We don't need to proclaim Christ boldly. We can just kind of stay in our own little corner.  But what have we been called to do? We've been called to proclaim Christ and Him crucified.

We've been called to proclaim the Word of God with boldness. So may we say this prayer along with the Apostles. Now, we are not going to have the building around us shake. We're not going to have that kind of affirmation. But, we don't need that affirmation. Because we have the word of God that has been given to us.

We have scripture that shows and confirms to us the teaching of Christ. We know what that is. We don't have to ask for a sign every time. It has been settled.  This is the message that we are to proclaim.  The Holy Word of God is powerful, and strong, and good, and we can trust it. We don't need a sign every time.

That we ask for boldness because we have a sign, we have the word of Christ that has come to us has created faith In our hearts it is sure we do not need to have signs right now because we're not teaching something new God has worked in the past. He has confirmed it in the past and now it is our job to proclaim that with boldness and so may we look to that sign that we have received, the indwelling Holy Spirit that has given us a gift of faith.

May we trust in that and like the apostles and like those gathered there that day, may we step out into the world and proclaim the word of God with boldness.