“23 After they were released, they went to their own people and reported everything the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 When they heard this, they all raised their voices to God and said, “Master, You are the One who made the heaven, the earth, and the sea, and everything in them. 25 You said through the Holy Spirit, by the mouth of our father David Your servant:

“Why did the Gentiles rage

and the peoples plot futile things?

26 The kings of the earth took their stand

and the rulers assembled together

against the Lord and against His Messiah.”

27 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, 28 to do whatever Your hand and Your plan had predestined to take place. 29 And now, Lord, consider their threats, and grant that Your slaves may speak Your message with complete boldness, 30 while You stretch out Your hand for healing, signs, and wonders to be performed through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” 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 Gods message with boldness.”

Acts 4:23-31

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Boldness is a characteristic fitting the church. And not just the early church, but even the church still today. Whereas the Western church is often characterized by placating culture and trying not to offend, the church throughout the rest of the world is still very much counter-cultural, and is often buffeted and fought phsically against by others and the governments. Here in America, we are more often ignored, considered ‘irrelevant’ and occasionally vilified by secular sources, but we face no physical opposition, no personal threats. We worry about oppressive legistlation and breaking social morays instead. And often, we sit on our hands. It is well beyond time to begin a prayer for boldness within our churches!

Yesterday, in our church service, we read about the parables of the Vineyard Workers and the Good Samaritan, and looked at what it means to #OwnIt (the series title) in our service. Rather than moving with the flow and direction of the Spirit, as we see Peter and the early church doing here, we see lots of trying to dictate what is supposed to happen, and how, being laid out through programs and scheduled events. And the life of the church is much more organic than that…it is a daily living, and something shared. Our boldness comes through the Holy Spirit, a proximity with God and the commonality of a shared life together. 

IT is very difficult to be consistently bold with a group of people that you only see once a week. We must become more familiar with people, with one another, so that our walk with Christ becomes something taht isnt relgated to a time or a day, or even a time of day (like our personal reading/study time) but it instead becomes something that we live and move in, something we abide in through every moment of every day. And how does that happen? Through purposeful, consideration of the things of Christ, by making Him the priority over ‘me’ and by seeking Him out, boldly in prayer, offering up our selves that we have died to, in order that He might be glorified. 

Peter and company were able to do this so easily because they had cut those earthly ties and had truly invested themselves in the work and life of the Kingdom. It wasn’t a partial effort. Peter at one point told Jesus that they had left behind homes, families, jobs and everything to follow Him. Jesus’ response, then, was that they would receive a hundred-fold back of what they had invested in this life and then in the life to come. And so their families and joys increased as the church grew and spread, sticking with the truth of the Gospel message. THeir boldness, their wreckless abandon, opened the floodgates for the work of the Spirit in them. 

And so maybe we would all be well served by beginning our personal times everyday, and our weekly gathering times together, by abandoning ourselves to Him, leaving behind our plans and expectations, and instead coming with a set of holy expectations and anticipation for the Holy Spirit to move and glorify God. Throw our plans out the window and see what God is going to do in us and through us. We must grab a hold of Jesus by lettign go of our lives as we GoLove others in HIs precious Name…according to His plans and purposes. I’d love to see the Holy Spirit shake up the places where we meet!