Think of a time when you needed courage to overcome something intimidating.

I think of a time recently during our family trip to Universal Studios Florida. You need to understand that I have a fear of heights. Well, we all decided to end the day with a big ride: Jurassic Park River Adventure. For the most part, it was fine, just a calm water ride down a river. But at the very end, you go into a dark room and T-Rex attempts to bite your head off before the floor opens up and you drop 85 feet. It was one of those drops where you feel your stomach go up into your mouth.

This ride, with its massive drop, was intimidating, but we pushed through our fear and found the courage to do it.

Today we’re talking about finding the courage to do something intimidating–share the gospel. Sharing our faith in Jesus with our neighbors and families can be extremely intimidating. What should I say? What will they think? How will they respond?

I would guess that most people in this room can understand the fear of sharing the gospel. But we need to find the courage to overcome this fear because people desperately need to know Jesus.

How bold and courageous are you at sharing the gospel?

We’re continuing our series, Make Him Known: The Gospel Mission in the Book of Acts. We’re studying the example of the early church in their mission to share the gospel to the ends of the earth.

In today’s Scripture, we’ll see that the disciples in the book of Acts also had to contend with the fear and threats of persecution when sharing the gospel. We’ll discover the source of their courage and find out how we can courageously share the gospel today.

Here’s the big idea for today. Courage to share the gospel comes from prayerful dependence on God. To overcome fear and faithfully share the gospel, we must be a people of prayerful dependence on God’s power in us.

We’re in Acts 4. If you have your Bible, I encourage you to follow along.

Before we read the passage, let me give you the background story. Peter and John, leaders in the early church, recently miraculously healed a man who couldn’t walk by the power of the Holy Spirit. After they performed this miracle, they preached the gospel of Jesus’ death and resurrection, calling for a response from the crowd. In response to the healing and preaching, the religious authorities–the same ones who had Jesus crucified–confronted Peter and John and imprisoned them. They put them on trial and threatened them. But, ultimately, the release them with threats to stop proclaiming the gospel or else.

Therefore, the context is one of heated threats of persecution. Stop telling people about Jesus or face the consequences.

After they were released, they went to their own people and reported everything the chief priests and the elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices together to God and said, “Master, you are the one who made the heaven, the earth, and the sea, and everything in them. You said through the Holy Spirit, by the mouth of our father David your servant: Why do the Gentiles rage and the peoples plot futile things? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers assemble together against the Lord and against his Messiah. “For, in fact, in this city both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, to do whatever your hand and your will had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, consider their threats, and grant that your servants may speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand for healing, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God boldly.

Acts 4:23-31

First, notice that the disciples prayed because they were trying to overcome the intimidation of the threats. Preaching the gospel wasn’t safe or comfortable. They were experiencing opposition, and it was scary.

In Acts 4, we see the religious leaders threatening Peter and John to stop sharing the gospel.

Look with me at Acts 4:1-3. While they were speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple police, and the Sadducees confronted them, because they were annoyed that they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. So they seized them and took them into custody until the next day since it was already evening.

Then, after the trial, they release Peter and John, but not before threatening them. Look at Acts 4:17-18. “But so that this does not spread any further among the people, let’s threaten them against speaking to anyone in this name again.” So they called them and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

I wonder what those threats entailed? Scripture doesn’t say, but we can imagine. Stop sharing the gospel, or else we’ll have you thrown in jail for years, and you will not see your family again. Stop sharing the gospel, or else we will have you beaten and crucified. Stop sharing the gospel, or else we’ll do to you what we did to your master.

How scary would that be? I’d be afraid. I’d be tempted to stop sharing the gospel. I would need God’s help to have the courage to persevere in the gospel mission.

We need to address a common misconception in the modern church regarding sharing the gospel. Here’s the misconception: Sharing the gospel will be a comfortable experience. We shouldn’t ever share the gospel unless it is comfortable.

I believe this misconception stems from Christian consumerist culture. Where the church and its services are about our happiness and our comfort. Church becomes about helping me feel good and have a happy life. We discuss sharing the gospel in more approachable terms to make it more comfortable. We frame sharing the gospel as simply being friends and being nice to people, but there’s no need to actually discuss the uncomfortable details of the gospel.

The gospel mission isn’t about our comfort; it’s about our faithfulness. The gospel mission isn’t about our comfort; it’s about our faithfulness.

We share the gospel because Jesus commanded us to, and we follow Him as our risen Lord. We don’t share the gospel for our comfort. We don’t share the gospel for our happiness. It’s an act of faithfulness and obedience to the Lord who has called us to be His messengers of good news.

Can you imagine a soldier telling his commanding officer that he doesn’t want to go out into the battlefield, because it’s uncomfortable? Of course not! That soldier would not be fit for service. Similarly, we are called to be faithful to the orders Jesus gave us to be His witnesses.

If it were about comfort, Peter and John would have tapped out earlier. Yikes, we seem to be making people uncomfortable. Let’s slow down and back up. Let’s stop and cool down. But that’s not what they did. They prayed all the more for boldness and for more opportunities to share the gospel of Jesus.

We should acknowledge that sharing the gospel may offend people. Why? The gospel–apart from however kindly, respectfully, and tactfully you share it–is offensive. Yes, the gospel is the message of God’s love and mercy, but His love and mercy are for those who repent of sin. The gospel calls for repentance and turning from our wicked ways to follow Jesus.

Peter and John’s gospel included the offensive part. The gospel they preached included calls for repentance and for people to turn away from their wicked ways. Not everyone will respond positively to that news. It offends their pride and self-righteousness. It reveals that we are not the hero of the story, and that we need Jesus to save us.

“Ultimately, the gospel is offensive because the cross stands against all schemes of self-salvation.”

Tim Keller

Satan desires nothing more than for the church to share an unoffensive gospel. “It’s all good! No worries! No need to change!”

But then why was Jesus on the cross? Jesus didn’t die on the cross because everything was fine. Jesus didn’t die on the cross, because there was no problem. Jesus didn’t have his hands and feet pierced by nails, because God’s okay with us doing whatever we want.

Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins so that we might be rescued from eternal judgment and go a different direction.

The gospel is good news, but it is offensive. Because it’s offensive, it won’t always be a comfortable experience. Again, no matter how respectfully you articulate the gospel, some people will reject it. It takes courage and boldness to share the gospel.

But how do we get courage? The disciples show us how. The disciples found courage through prayer. They lifted their voices and called out to God, asking for a bold spirit in the face of intimidation.

There are two main parts to their prayer. First, their prayer for courage focused on God’s power.

Look at verse 24. When they heard this, they raised their voices together to God and said, “Master, you are the one who made the heaven, the earth, and the sea, and everything in them.

So, they begin their prayer by acknowledging God as the one who created everything. He created everything in the heavens–the stars, the planets, the sun, and the moon. He created everything on the earth–the land and the seas, and every living creature that exists. They begin by remembering that God is the powerful Creator of all things.

Then, notice in verses 25-26, their prayer quotes Psalm 2 to praise God’s power. You said through the Holy Spirit, by the mouth of our father David your servant: Why do the Gentiles rage and the peoples plot futile things? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers assemble together against the Lord and against his Messiah.

They are quoting Psalm 2 here. Psalm 2 is all about how foolish it is to oppose God and how blessed it is to obey Him. God is powerful, and those who oppose him will meet ruin. But those who trust in Him will be happy and blessed.

So, they’re praying Psalm 2 to remind themselves that God is powerful and will overcome his enemies.

Lastly, in verses 27-28, they acknowledge God has sovereign authority over all things. For, in fact, in this city both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, to do whatever your hand and your will had predestined to take place.

Here, their prayer acknowledges that nothing in history—even the crucifixion of Jesus and those who orchestrated the evil act—happens apart from God’s sovereign hand allowing it. God is entirely in control of history and people.

Many people become entangled in the debate over how God’s sovereignty relates to human free will and responsibility. I can tell you that the Bible presents both truths. God is entirely in control of history, people, and events. Nothing happens apart from God saying, “So be it.” At the same time, the Bible teaches that humans are responsible for their choices and actions. Both are true.

But let’s stay focused on our passage here today. Because the disciples’ prayer for courage saw God’s sovereignty as a point of great encouragement. Their logic was that if God is in control of events and history, then we can trust Him in uncertain circumstances. We trust Him with the unknowns and the threats. We can trust Him as we step out in faith to share the gospel.

So, the disciples’ prayer for courage began by acknowledging God’s power as Creator and Sovereign Lord.

We too should find courage by praising God’s power. When we are afraid, we should shift our focus away from our fears and onto the greatness of God. There is no more powerful antidote for fear than fixing your gaze on God’s glory. When we see how strong God is, then we can face anything.

When we walk through uncertainty, we can be certain of God’s power.

When you’re afraid, go outside and look at creation. Lift your eyes to the stars and moon, and remember how great He is. When we see His power in creation, we gain boldness to live for Him.

The first part of their prayer acknowledged God’s power. The second part of their prayer asked God to give them courage.

In Acts 4:29-30, we hear their request. “And now, Lord, consider their threats, and grant that your servants may speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand for healing, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

They didn’t pray for God to smite their enemies. They didn’t pray for comfort. They prayed for boldness and for God to keep empowering them to make Jesus known.

Their prayer reveals a posture of dependence on God. They weren’t taking the gospel to the ends of the world in their own strength. They were dependent on God through prayer. They knew He could provide them something they couldn’t muster up on their own.

Consider Peter’s transformation. He is our example today of how God can change someone from a coward to a courageous leader.

What do we remember about Peter when Jesus was captured and put on trial? What did Peter do? He denied Jesus three times. He was a coward who abandoned Jesus in the darkest hour.

Well, notice what the Holy Spirit can do to fill a person with courage. Let’s go back to Acts 4:8 to pick up the story. Picture this with me. Peter and John are brought in front of these priests and leaders. These are the same religious authorities who plotted and conspired to have Jesus crucified not too long ago. Consider the intense pressure of this moment. Depending on how the trial goes, they may face a similar fate to Jesus.

Let’s listen to how Peter responds in verses 8 through 13.

Then Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders: If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a disabled man, by what means he was 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 and whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing here before you healthy. This Jesus is the stone rejected by you builders, which has become the cornerstone. There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.”

Acts 4:8-12

Wow! Who is this guy!? What boldness Peter shows here! Peter is a radically changed person. No longer a coward denying Jesus, he is boldly proclaiming the gospel in front of the religious leaders who killed Jesus! What’s changed in Peter?

Look again at verse 8. “Then Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit…“

The Holy Spirit was the source of Peter’s boldness. Courage wasn’t something he conjured up on his own. He was filled with courage because of who was with him and in him–the Holy Spirit.

So, find courage through prayer.

We need to ask God daily to fill us with a spirit of courage, enabling us to share the good news of Jesus with others boldly. It’s a gift of God to empower those who sincerely rely on Him.

Our church is starting a seven-day prayer initiative today. We believe in the power of prayer. We’re following the example of the early church of being united in prayer for the sake of the gospel mission. We are starting today with praise. Just as the disciples spent time praising God’s power, we will take time to praise God together.

Then tomorrow, and every morning this week, we’ll gather at 7:00 AM at CrossRidge for prayer walks. We’ll start together and go over the theme for the day. Then, we’ll walk in groups of two or three around the pond while we pray out loud together.

Also, we’ll all stop and pray together at 1:08 PM daily. That time reminds us of Acts 1:8, where Jesus calls us to be His witnesses here in Indian Land to the ends of the earth.

So, commit to joining us in devoted prayer for these next seven days. We’re going to end our service today in a time of prayer as well.

Finally, let’s look at the last verse and God’s response to their prayer for courage. Look at Acts 4:31. When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God boldly.

God answered their prayer immediately. His answer was realized through an earthquake-like event, and the Holy Spirit filled them to share the gospel boldly.

This tells us that God was pleased with their prayer and their faith. He delights in answering and providing for his people when they pray for courage to share the gospel. He is ready and desiring to fill us with boldness so that we can speak the good news and make Jesus known.