05-14-2023
May 14, 2023

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Text: Acts 4: 1-22
Topic: The Gospel, filled with the Spirit, Response to persecution.
Application Point: As we continue to devote ourselves to God and one another, God will draw people into His kingdom.
Sermon Title: The Uncommon Boldness of Common Men and Women

A Study of Acts 4:1-22 (NASB95)

Acts 4:1-3 (NASB95)
1 As they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple
[guard] and the Sadducees came up to them, 2 being greatly disturbed because
they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the
dead. 3 And they laid hands on them and put them in jail until the next day, for it
was already evening.

1) of scripture for of life.

Acts 4:4 (NASB95)
4 But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.

Acts 2:47 (NASB95)
47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Matthew 13:14-16 (NASB95)
14 “In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE; 15 FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES, OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.’ 16 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.

Genesis 15:6 (NASB95)
6 Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.

Acts 4:5-7 (NASB95)
5 On the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem; 6 and Annas the high priest [was there,] and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent. 7 When they had placed them in the center, they [began to] inquire, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?”

Acts 4:8-12 (NASB95)
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people, 9 if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead–by this [name] this man stands here before you in good health. 11 “He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, [but] WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER [stone.] 12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

Luke 21:14-15 (NASB95)
14 “So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; 15 for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.

2) Our about God can leave us in .

Acts 4:13-18 (NASB95)
13 Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and [began] to recognize them as having been with Jesus. 14 And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply. 15 But when they had ordered them to leave the Council, they [began] to confer with one another, 16 saying, “What shall we do with these men? For the fact that a noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 “But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no longer to any man in this name.”18 And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

3) Loving Jesus you in a way that others will recognize.

Acts 4:19-20 (NASB95)
19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; 20 for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

Acts 4:21-22 (NASB95)
21 When they had threatened them further, they let them go (finding no basis on which to punish them) on account of the people, because they were all glorifying God for what had happened; 22 for the man was more than forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed.

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Life Group Questions:

  1. How do you respond to persecution or opposition when sharing your faith with others? How can you prepare yourself to face opposition and continue to share the Gospel boldly?

  2. What can we learn from the response of the religious leaders in Acts 4 to the Gospel message? How can we apply this knowledge to our interactions with non-believers today?

  3. In what ways can we grow our love for God and others, and allow the Holy Spirit to lead us in sharing the Gospel with others? How can we balance sharing the Gospel with being respectful of others’ beliefs and backgrounds?