The book of Acts has countless examples of individuals who spoke boldly for the Kingdom of God. In most of the stories that you’ve been reading and studying the past few months, you’ve seen ordinary men who were asked to “Go, stand in the temple courts and tell the people all about this new life (Acts 5:20)” To accomplish this mission, knowing the scripture and even spending time with Jesus himself only got them part of the way there. They also needed the Holy Spirit to guide them through each interaction and direct their actions. The Holy Spirit needed to give them boldness to step out of their comfort zones, wisdom to make good decisions, and grace and mercy when they missed the mark.
They believed so deeply and earnestly in this mission that they each made huge sacrifices in their own ways to accomplish it.
Imagine you have 3 sandwiches, and you see your friend forgot his lunch. It’s not so hard to give up a sandwich but if you have only one sandwich, it becomes much harder to give up half of it. Doesn’t it? Suddenly, you might think:
If I give up some of my sandwich, will I have enough for myself?
Is it my responsibility or is there someone else that could do it?
Am I qualified, should I tell a teacher, maybe he or she is better qualified to solve this problem and I can probably keep what I have?
If I do it this time, the next time he doesn’t have a sandwich is he going to come ask me?
What will I say or do then?
Will my mom or those I care about be mad because I gave up part of my sandwich and I might be hungry later?
Is he or she going to like the sandwich, is he going to appreciate the sandwich that I’m giving up?
The interesting part to this situation is that if you ask yourself:
Do you really love this person? If you answer yes, NONE of the other questions matter. You’ll even give them the entire sandwich and not think twice about it. The other kids at the table will look at you and be unable to understand what you’re doing, because from a human stand point it doesn’t make any sense — but to you, the sacrifice was worth every crumb.
Once these apostles met Jesus, it took them time to get to know Him. Then, once they saw people the way Jesus saw them they could not help but speak boldly about this new life that is found in Christ. They understood that the consequences were real. The results were eternal. They not only accepted the challenges but rejoiced because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day after Day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah. (Acts 5:41,42) Despite all the things against them, the apostles preached the full gospel with unflinching boldness and they were rewarded with a measure of joy that can only come through sacrificing for Christ.
When we ask the Holy Spirit to help us make these sacrifices, we are empowered to Love those the world considers unlovable, touch those the world considers untouchables and reach those the world considers unreachable.
APPLICATIONS: While we don’t all have to make a grave sacrifice like Stephen or the rest of the apostles we read about in Acts, we are all called to make different sacrifices to Speak Boldly about our faith. Whether that be of our finances or our time. Continue to ask the Lord what you need to do to Speak Boldly for Christ and pray for the strength to do it to the best of your ability.
Thank you.