Peter Tan Chi - Be Courageous
Over the past few weeks we have been discussing that truth matters. Please tell me: truth is important! In Acts, you will study the history of the early church, how it started, and you will learn about the Holy Spirit. Truth is important. For example, what was the first apostle's sermon in history? What is the most important truth that people need to know? You'll find the answer, remember? I preached on this a few weeks ago. What is the most important sermon message? It 's about Jesus, his death and resurrection. Today you are going to learn how to deal with objections, how to deal with disappointment, how to deal with trouble, because truth is important, and what is the truth about trouble? We are going to teach you today.
The truth is this: whether you ask for trouble or not, whether you like trouble or not, trouble will still come uninvited, right? How many of you are in trouble? Please raise your hand. We have people in trouble today, how many of you are not in trouble? These are the most honest people in the world, you guys are honest. All of us are in trouble. The question is this: What if you are in trouble and it's not because you did something wrong? You're in trouble because you did the right thing. Is this discouraging? Let me say it again, it is one thing to be in trouble; it is caused by our own ignorance, our own bad choices.
For example, I know some single people, and I know a lot of people, they disobey their parents, they make bad choices, they keep bad friends, they engage in premarital sex, they get pregnant, these are all inappropriate things. Necessary troubles are self-inflicted. I also know that there are people who have encountered problems, not because of their mistakes, but because they did the right thing. For example, I know that some government officials want to be honest, but because of honesty, They don't get promotions. I know some employees, they wanted to be honest, and they lost their jobs because of honesty. How would you feel because of honesty? Isn't it discouraging to do the right thing only to get into trouble? I think so.
Today I want to teach you how to deal with trouble caused by other people, even if it is actually caused by your own problems. I want to teach you, will you listen? In the fourth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, let's read it together. Everyone, please read: Acts 4:1 While the apostles were speaking to the people, suddenly there came the priests, the captains of the temple, and the Sadducees. Notice what the Bible says: When the apostles were speaking to the people, what were they saying? If you were here last week, you would have heard Pastor Ricky talk about this miraculous healing, and they continue to attract people's attention, and please pay attention to what they are saying, Acts 4:2, because they were teaching the people, according to Jesus' preaching of the resurrection of the dead, very troubled.
Remember that first sermon? It's about the resurrection of Jesus, right? The second sermon is also about the resurrection of Jesus, because the resurrection of Jesus is fundamental. Ladies and gentlemen, if Jesus did not rise from the dead, forget Christianity. The reason why you and I worship Jesus is because he claims to be God, the Son of God, and he rose from the dead. That is the foundation of our faith—resurrection. remember? If there is no resurrection, there is no true Christianity. All you have is religion, but because of the resurrection, Christianity is true. Do you know why? It was a relationship with God through Jesus, so they were troubled, and the Bible tells us, what did these people do?
Acts 4:3 So he laid hands on them and captured them. Because it was already late, they were escorted to the next day. Now imagine yourself, you are obeying the Lord, you are obeying Jesus, but because of your obedience to Jesus, you end up in jail. How would you react now? Please tell me honestly. What would be your reaction? Because many people feel discouraged. You know what they say in Filipino? In English, it means: Forget it! I give up! A lot of people don't know the theology of disappointment and suffering because they don't study the Bible or they're teaching the wrong information, saying that if you're in Christ and you obey the Lord, you won't have trouble, and that's what some groups are doing right now. They are extreme, if you walk with Jesus you shouldn't be in trouble, you are in trouble because you are in sin, understand this wrong theology? You are in trouble because God is displeased with you and He is punishing you.
Now if you have this kind of theological thought, and you have trouble, you will definitely become discouraged. I know there are men and women who have broken up because of theology, and you need to understand theology. So what is today's topic? Please remember: What matters is not what happens to you, but how you respond to what happens to you. Do you understand? What happens to you is beyond your control, but how you respond is everything. So today's sermon message is very simple. Everyone should read it: Be strong and courageous! Please turn to your neighbor and tell your neighbor: Be strong and courageous! The word Courageous comes from the Latin word core, Courageous. You keep pursuing the right thing.
You see, the word Courageous is not fearless. Being strong and courageous means continuing to do what needs to be done, even in the face of fear, so being strong and courageous is a kind of character, this is the ability you can teach your children to do what needs to be done, although facing fear, it is by no means without fear, so we need to learn to be strong and courageous. Now the Bible makes it very clear that we are commanded to be strong and courageous. Joshua 1:9 Did I not command you? Be strong and courageous! What is the opposite of being strong and courageous? Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for wherever you go, do not lose heart or give up, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. The foundation of being strong and courageous is: God is with us, amen?
So why should you be strong and courageous? Because God is with us. So the early church was persecuted and ran into trouble. So what did they do? They are strong and courageous. But, they know their theology, and if you understand the theology, you're really shocked, you're discouraged, you're like: How did I get into financial trouble? Why can't I get a promotion? Why am I in all kinds of trouble? I discovered that there are many kinds of troubles, some of which are self-inflicted. You know what you ask for? For example, you disobey your parents, you become addicted to drugs, you engage in premarital sex, and all of a sudden you find out that you are pregnant, an extramarital pregnancy, is this a problem brought by God, or is it something you brought on yourself? That's a stupid decision.
Many times we get into trouble because of our foolishness, but even so, God can turn bad things into good things if you learn to repent. Now there is another kind of trouble, it is not caused by us, it is not caused by us, it is caused by other people, they don't like us, so Jesus is a great discipler, he warned his disciples, Jesus in advance Tell them: John 15:20 Remember what I said to you: If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. You see, Jesus warned his disciples, Hey, everyone, I want to warn you, you will be persecuted. A lot of Christians don't know, they're not prepared, because your expectations are totally wrong, you think if you're in Christ, I should live happily ever after, after I surrender to you, if I'm in Christ Inside, yes, you're going to live happily ever after, but at the same time, there's going to be trouble, there's going to be trouble.
So Peter learned this lesson, and he wrote to his people: Men, let's read together: 1 Peter 1:6-7 Therefore, you have great joy; note that your attitude (about trouble) is everything. What happens to you is beyond your control, but what is within your control? your attitude. Therefore, you rejoice greatly; read it all, but if necessary grieve for a little while in the midst of your various trials. In other words, your trials, from God's perspective, are really only temporary and have nothing to do with eternity. Than, no matter what you experience, it is only for a short time, and if necessary, God will not let you encounter unnecessary trouble. All problems, whether you believe it or not, have been approved by God. There must be a purpose, continue reading, so that you... everyone read, 7 so that the testing of your faith, more precious than gold which perishes even though it is tested by fire, may lead to praise and glory and honor in Jesus When Christ appears.
Please pay attention to what the Bible is saying. The Bible is saying that the purpose of your trials is to test your faith. How do you know you are a true Christian? how do you know? That is when you are disappointed with life, when you are in trouble, will you continue to trust the Lord? You see, faith will be tested, your faith will be tested, it will be refined by fire, praise God! He wants refinement, He wants me to grow in faith, His purpose is for the glory of God, it's all about Him. James, the brother of Jesus, said the same thing, but you know what? Before I read James, let me tell you about Peter. Do you know what he said? Everyone read, 1 Peter 3:17 For if it is the will of God that you should suffer for doing good, it is better for you to suffer for doing evil.
You see, the truth is that you and I are going to suffer, and you're going to have disappointments, but God is saying, it better be that you're not in trouble because you did something stupid. James, the brother of Jesus, wrote the following scripture: James 1:2-4 Let's read: My brothers, count it all joy when you face trials of many kinds. What should your attitude be? Everyone thinks that there is great joy. This is an attitude. This is a crazy attitude. Why should I be happy? By the way, don't use this verse when you go to a funeral, okay? Don't use these words when someone dies. Is your husband dead? Hallelujah! No, no, no, this is just for you to learn how to use this scripture, and sometimes you have to use it carefully, and be wise in using the scriptures, OK? You fall into various trials, 3 because you know that your The testing of faith produces perseverance.
Note that the same principle produces patience. But let perseverance also have its success, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. Peter is talking about character development. This week, last Sunday, in the midst of our family reunion, which our extended family often gathers together, my daughter's heart is blessed, and she is sharing with us some of the things that scare her, and you know my daughter Joy), when she went through the surgery, she was really thinking, after going through this pain, she hoped that there would be no more problems, but she started to worry, because she told us last Sunday, I'm worried that I might have to do it again Going through surgery, we say, why? Because she was always scared, always worried that her intestines might for some reason... what's that medical term? Adhesions? Because... endometriosis, whatever the term is, when you have adhesions, it affects the bowel movement, but when we look at our daughter, when we look at her, all of us, especially my wife, she was in tears because it was really hard to explain to people, why, Lord, why?
I thought I was healed, but praise God, praise God, I mean, now I'm not saying she had adhesions, but that was her concern. I realize that many of you may be feeling discouraged today because you've had trouble, something that's been bothering you, and you're wondering, what's going to happen? You see, the devil wants you to think the worst, but the truth is, when God allows problems to happen, it's to build our character. Now whether you believe it or not, (whatever that says) we're very careful not to use any Bible verses, okay? On that Sunday night, we were listening, praying, hugging, but no one, and I was praising God and hitting my daughter over the head with Bible verses, What's wrong with you!
The Bible says, count it all joy! Your name is Joy, be joy! Oh my god! We didn't do that. If you want to know the outline of today's sermon message, there is only one key point. What is this key point? Be strong and courageous! Please turn to your neighbor and tell your neighbor: Be strong and courageous! What attitude should you have? It's very simple, number one, trouble is inevitable, trouble is opportunity, Jesus has been resurrected, that's the source of your victory, that's the source of your courage, and God is in control. So these are some of the main thoughts I want to give you. But listen to me, there is only one point that you must remember. When I see you at a large supermarket next week, what will be the theme of the sermon? Be strong and courageous! Never tell me: Pastor! That sermon was really good. Then I ask you: What is the sermon theme? Pastor, that's great, no, no, no, I want you to be strong and courageous.
Now notice, look at what the apostles did, what happened? Acts 4:4 But many of those who heard the message believed. How many males were there? Five thousand. I want you to remember, in the first sermon in Acts 2, how many people came to Jesus? Three thousand. A few days later, after this sermon, how many people came to Jesus? Five thousand. Only men. This means that the church suddenly grew. You know I hear people say, we want a small church, we want intimacy, my friend, and I don't know where they get their theology from. All I know is this: If you're preaching the gospel, if your people are loving, if the church is healthy, God will increase numbers and the church will grow, whether you like it or not, the church will grow. There's no such thing as a church not growing if it's healthy, amen? So what do we do?
As we get bigger, we keep opening chapters, we keep building groups, and that's why groups are important. We cannot establish intimacy in a large group of people. Any group larger than 30 people will have difficulty establishing intimacy. So Jesus is very wise. The maximum is 12 people. Of course, some of you are more powerful than Jesus. You have a small group of disciples, the number of people. There were 100 people, praising God. But I tell you, groups are very important. The Bible tells us that this is how they grew. God is involved. God is multiplying them.
Now look at Acts 4:5-6 On the next day the rulers, elders, and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and all the relatives of the high priest were also there. I want you to imagine right now, OK, you're Peter and John, and then the next day, you spend the whole night in jail. I wonder what they were praying, I'm sure they were praying: Lord, give us wisdom, Lord, what should we do, and then there were these leaders, Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, his son-in-law, John, Alexander, the sons of Annas, in other words, history tells us that the high priests were controlled by several families, six families historically, who wanted to monopolize power.
And the Bible tells us, Acts 4:7 they He asked the apostles to stand in the midst, and he said to them, please notice, you are dealing with all these religious leaders, called the Sanhedrin, which is the highest court of the Jews in Israel in Jerusalem, they are the highest court, they have 70 people, Satan All the Christians, the high priests, all the learned men, plus the high priest, a total of 71 people, gathered together in one place, can you put yourself in their shoes? Surrounded by all these people, what would they ask? I love this question, let's read it together, Acts 4:7 "With what power and in whose name do you do this"? What is this? Remember the lame man? How many years will they not be able to walk? Forty years.
Now he can walk and jump. Let me tell you, opportunities are not... Trouble is not just inevitable, you must be strong and courageous. Do you know why? Trouble is opportunity. Look at this opportunity: Oh my god, what better way to tell them the truth? So Peter, everyone, please read: Acts 4:8-10 At that time, Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit. The grammar here, Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit, in chapters one and two, he continued to be filled with the Holy Spirit until now. By the way, those of you who have taken the Holy Spirit course, by the way, how many of you have been filled with the Holy Spirit today? You are filled with the Holy Spirit. Please raise your hands and lift them high. Are you trying to tell me that some of you are not filled with the Holy Spirit? How can you live a Christian life without being filled with the Holy Spirit?
I need the Holy Spirit, you need the Holy Spirit. If I were you, I would get my video on the Holy Spirit. You need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Maybe we need to go over this again, Brother Ricky? How to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Please note, "O rulers and elders of the people, God is the one who gives us courage." Remember? My strength comes from the Lord, from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will give you wisdom and words to speak. Please Look at what Peter said, If you, rulers and elders of the people, ask us today how a disabled person was healed because of the good we did for him, 10 let this be known to you all and to the people of Israel.
Notice, you can imagine Was Peter's tone angry? Is he polite? I believe he was very polite. He emphasized that this man who stands before you is healed because God raised him from the dead. in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. What better opportunity to witness, to preach about Jesus, in front of all the leaders of the nation? Isn't it amazing that God allowed this to happen so that all the leaders, These unbelievers, the leaders, would listen to his testimony, and he said: Jesus Christ is the one you crucified, and he rose from the dead. Please note that the emphasis here is on the resurrection of Christ, on Jesus. He healed him, and then he went on to say, Acts 4:11-12 He is "the stone that you builders rejected, which has become the Cornerstone."
Now you must understand, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, including the apostles, they all know the Bible. Peter is now filled with the Holy Spirit. He is quoting the prophecy of the Old Testament. What is this prophecy? The stone that you builders rejected has become the corner stone. You understand this prophecy, and we give you an example of the prophecy mentioned in the Old Testament, Psalm 118:22, The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone, this is what the Lord has done in our eyes. Psalm 118 is also a prophetic psalm. Isaiah, the most prophetic book in the Old Testament, look at what Isaiah says, Isaiah 28:16. Therefore this is what the Lord God says: "Behold, I lay a stone in Zion as a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation, whoever believes will not be in a hurry."
What is the corner stone? Well, my friends, if you have ever seen that in the time of Jesus, during the Roman Empire, when they were building, the most important stone was this one. This is the corner stone. It determines the orientation of the whole building. Left and right. Right, do you understand? This is the foundation, called the corner stone. The Bible uses this to describe Jesus. Please look at "Ephesians". Let's read together, Ephesians 2:19-20. So you are no longer strangers and aliens, but fellow citizens with the saints. In other words, we are with the saints. We are members of the same country and are members of God's family. We belong to the same family. 20 And are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Who are the apostles and prophets? The apostles wrote the New Testament, what was Jesus teaching, what was he talking about? And the prophets wrote the Old Testament, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone.
Our church, our faith, and even your life are built on Jesus Christ, not on religion, but on the foundation of Jesus Christ. He goes on to say: 21 By him, each building is joined together and becomes a temple in the Lord. Look at this metaphor: We are a spiritual house, and our foundation is Jesus. So we belong to each other and there are no stragglers in the Kingdom of God. If you want to be a follower of Jesus, and you don't want to join a small group, and you don't want to join any local church, my friend, you're out of place, you don't understand theology. The Bible tells us that we are fitly joined together. Let's read: 22 In him you also are being built together for the habitation of God by the Holy Spirit.
You see, the Bible tells us that God lives among His people, amen? He lives in my heart. He lives in your heart. That's why if two or three people gather together in the name of the Lord, I'm in the midst of them. That's a wonderful theological idea. So Peter is quoting this scripture. Now look at his opportunity to speak about Jesus. This is the most amazing thing, Peter said. Now imagine speaking to the leaders. Let's read: Acts 4:12 There is salvation in no one else, for there is no salvation under heaven among men. There is no other name given by which we must be saved. Peter boldly proclaimed the gospel, saying that there is no salvation except in Jesus.
You see, Christianity is very exclusive and at the same time very inclusive. Many people will accuse us: You know, the problem with you Christians is that you are too dogmatic and you are too intolerant of other religions. My friends, that is not how we are. In fact, my advice is to preach the truth in love. What do I mean in love? Look, look what Peter said? Acts 4:12 There is salvation in no one else, in other words, there is only one name by which we can be saved, and no other name, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. The premise is that apart from Christ, man is lost. If you don't believe, you won't have courage. Peter was simply restating Jesus' statement. Jesus said, please read, John 14:6. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
I've seen many people, even politicians, even church leaders, who will say, I am the way, the truth, and the life. And then it's over. No, no, no, don't stop here. The next part is equally important. No one comes to the Father except through me. Ladies and gentlemen, is Jesus telling the truth? louder please! You have a choice. If you don't believe in Jesus, then He is not the only way, there are many ways. I grew up in a culture that I call Asian culture. My father often said: All religions are good, all religions are the same, it doesn't matter what you believe in, as long as you are sincere, because all religions teach people to be good. This is a mentality shared by many of us.
Here comes this man who, two thousand years ago, made the most amazing statement, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me. Then his disciples reiterated the same words, there is salvation in no one else. There is no other name under heaven given to men by which you can be saved. Besides Jesus, do you know what Jesus is saying? Religion won't save us. Joining a church won't save you. Joining a denomination won't save you. Who is the only way to be saved? Jesus Christ. You know why? He is the chief cornerstone, the Son of God. He died and rose again. Hallelujah! He is our savior. I want to show you a video about men, and specifically women, about two women who had a strong belief in Jesus and that Jesus was the only way. Look at their courage. OK, these two women were imprisoned in an Islamic country, but look at their testimonies. Would you like to see this short video? Okay, let's play this video, these two women were in jail.
Praise God, my friend, be strong and courageous. Please turn to the person next to you and tell them: Be strong and courageous. Be strong and courageous for Jesus. The Bible tells us that in Acts Chapter 4 Verse 13, let us read together. When they saw the boldness of Peter and John and saw that they were unlearned and unlearned people, they were amazed and realized that they had been with Jesus. of. My friend, courage does not come from higher education, courage comes from knowing Jesus, and when the Bible says they were untrained, unlearned, the Bible is not saying they were ignorant, no, but the Bible is saying they were not in the schools of the rabbis. Get an education.
They were not educated in seminary, they were not trained. They were ordinary men and women, but one qualification was most important: they knew Jesus. They had followed Jesus, note Acts 4:14-15, and they saw the man who had been healed standing with them, and they had no words to answer. This is the most amazing thing, to say the least in Filipino is speechless. They cannot deny this fact. You know, this is another piece of evidence that Jesus died and rose again. Let me tell you why, if Jesus had not risen from the dead, you know what the Pharisees would have done? These Sadducees, these rulers, they will show the bones of Jesus, and they will say: Come to the tomb of Jesus, His body is still here. But they can't show the body, they can't show the tomb, they can't show the cemetery. Do you know why? This tomb is empty!
My friend, you can't deny this, and that will cause Christianity to die very easily, because for those who will say, that was only six days ago, they know where Jesus is buried, but they can't produce such evidence, you know Why? This is the truth. Jesus rose from the dead! Please note, these educated religious leaders, Acts 4:16 What should we do with these two men? For indeed they performed a remarkable miracle, which was known to all who lived in Jerusalem, and we cannot say that they did not do it. You know, they had a moment of insight, you know what happened? They got together, and they said, you know what? It is time for us to repent and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Is that what they did? What did they do? You will learn from this human nature. Facts, truth, do not make people a Christian. You can know everything and have a hard heart. These people know it, they can't deny it. You know what they did?
Acts 4:17-18 Lest this thing become known among the people any more, we must intimidate them from speaking to anyone in this name. 18 So he called them and forbade them to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. Can you imagine? After knowing everything, because the conclusion is this: shut them up! How do people behave like that now? My Friend, please listen to me. The Bible tells us that the heart is more deceitful than anything else. When your heart is not right, because you are in sin, or you are doing something contrary to the will of God, no matter how much truth there is, no matter what. No amount of sermons will convince you, so don't be surprised now, listen to me, when you talk about Jesus, some people will believe it and some people won't. It's not against you, it's between them and the Lord. It's my job to tell people the truth in the most loving way.
But if people have different motives, listen to me, I guarantee you, they won't accept it, and you know why? Because sin is very deceptive, please remember what Ravi said: Sin will take you farther than you want to go, sin will hold you longer than you want to stay, sin will keep you Pay more than you want to pay. I've seen people allow sin to deceive their hearts and they can't understand the truth because they enjoy the sin more than the truth. Listen, my friend, repentance is crucial. If you don't repent, if you don't renounce your sin before God, your heart will be full of cunning. So no matter what I say here, you will just listen to it again and again, but you will be indifferent to it. How do you explain why so many people do it? Go to worship, but not many people follow it, and that's because of the heart, and your heart is deceitful, and you give excuses, and you make excuses, and that's scary to me, the Bible tells us, 2 Corinthians. 4:3,4.
If our gospel is deceived, it is deceived to those who perish. Please read: 4 The god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ cannot shine on them; It is the image of God. The Bible tells us, who is the god of this world? Satan. Satan has blinded the minds of unbelievers. This is why you need to be strong. Be brave. Trouble is inevitable, and trouble is opportunity. But courage comes from knowing this truth: Jesus is real! If you don't believe that people are lost, you will be timid and shy. You know why? So to the apostles, look at what they said in Acts 4:19-20: "Listen to you rather than to God". You decide for yourself whether it is reasonable before God or not! 20, "We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard".
My friends, I'm telling you the truth, religious people are not excited about Jesus, but people who have met Jesus, your life has been transformed, you have been healed by Jesus. I'm telling you, you are. My wife and I can't stop talking about Jesus. I see my wife and my wife sees me. No matter where we go, sooner or later, when we're with strangers or friends, sooner or later the conversation will turn to us. Talk about Jesus. You know why? I know the truth: Jesus has risen from the dead and he has touched my life. You have to have that certainty and know what you believe and know why you believe it and experience the truth. You won't get excited about talking about Jesus, really. You won't want to talk about Jesus. You'd rather be politically correct than talk about Jesus. But if you know the truth: leave Jesus alone. Are lost. I promise you: you will talk about Jesus no matter what. You know why? If you don't love people, you won't talk about Jesus.
Can you imagine that they even threatened them because they couldn't think of a way to punish them? The Bible tells us that this was because everyone glorified God for the miracles he had done. 22 For the one who was healed by the miracles. People are over forty years old. In other words, they can't deny the fact, but they are threatening the apostles. Can I tell you, have you ever been threatened? Well, let me tell you, I'm going to threaten you today. I warn you, be strong and courageous, and do not let anyone threaten you. You know that Jesus warned them, Luke 12:4,5 My friends, I say to you, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and can no longer do anything. Don't be afraid of people, the most they can do is kill you, but Jesus said: "I will show you who you should fear. Be afraid of him who has authority to kill you and to cast him into hell. Truly I say to you, be afraid of him!"
The fear of God protects you from fear of man. If you fear God, you will not fear man. But if you fear man, you will not fear God. You will not be afraid of the Lord. The Bible tells us, Acts 4:23 When they were released, they went to the church members and told them everything that the chief priests and elders had said. You know that courage will help you cope, whether you believe it or not. It's appropriate. In the early church they had small groups, so they went back to their small groups and told them what was going on. Some of you don't have any small groups, you need to have members like the early church, Acts 4. :24-25 When they heard this, they raised their voices to God with one accord and said, "Lord, you are the one who made heaven and earth and the sea and everything in them! You have said by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant our father David: Note that their courage comes from their high reverence for God".
They now quote the Old Testament to declare who God is. This verse tells us that, to be precise, if you look at the original text, which is the Greek text, the idea here comes from the word Despotus, which is the Lord, the word Despot (tyrant), have you heard of this word? It has a negative connotation, but actually, the meaning is that you are the absolute master, the absolute monarch, you created the heavens and the earth, and then through the prophets, you prophesied, what did they prophesy? Acts 4:26, which is a quote from Psalm 2, "Why do the Gentiles quarrel? Why do all the peoples plan vain things? The kings of the earth have risen together, and their princes have gathered together to oppose the Lord and the Lord's anointed one."
Ladies and gentlemen, do you realize that this is entirely a quotation from the Psalms? This is a prophetic psalm about Jesus. The kings of the earth have risen up and their princes have gathered together to oppose the Lord Yahweh and the Christ of the Lord, the Anointed One. What is he talking about? And just to show you that courage comes from knowing the truth, from knowing that God is in complete control, I'm going to give you a little extra bonus. To understand the Psalm, you have to realize that now this is just verses 1 through 12, the whole thing. This psalm is a prophecy about Jesus, and I'm going to read you the beginning and the end of this psalm, okay?
So Psalm 2:1 says, why do the Gentiles quarrel? Quoting verbatim, why do all the peoples plot vain things? The kings of the earth have risen together, and their princes have taken counsel together, to oppose the LORD and his anointed one, and then the last two verses, at the end, you will notice, Serve the Lord with fear, please read them together. 12 Kiss the Son with your lips, lest he be angry and you perish in the way. Blessed is everyone who takes refuge in him! Refers to the Son. The whole of Psalm 2 is about Jesus, Kiss your son with your mouth, which son? Son of God. How is this fulfilled? He now says that God is in complete control, He is never frightened, and there is no need for us to be afraid of people. Acts 4:27-28 Indeed, they are gathered in this city to fight against Jesus, your holy servant whom you have anointed.
Now he mentions Herod and Pontius Pilate, the Gentiles and the people of Israel, 28 so that it may be done by your hand and by you. What the will has ordained must happen. My friend, the reason you can be strong and courageous is because God is sovereign and God is in control. Someone once said that the history of the world has been written. The end of history has been written. You know what is written? I'll tell you, I saw this on our prayer mountain. History has been written, Philippians 2:10-11 Please read, everyone, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. History has been written: One day, when they hear the name of Jesus, all people will bow their knees, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
My friend, you can be strong and courageous because God is in control. Nothing can happen to you without His permission. His destiny, His will, will ultimately be fulfilled in your life. Amen? So, should we be strong and courageous? Well, turn to your neighbor and tell your neighbor: Be strong and courageous! God is in control. Now as we come to the end, please read the following verses: Acts 4:29-30 Now, Lord, watch as you give your servants boldness to speak your word. Notice their great prayer for boldness. They do not pray: Lord, take this trouble away, Lord, get me out of here, no no no, They prayed for one thing: one thing? Everyone read: Let your servants speak your word with boldness.
Have boldness, my friends, this boldness comes from God. 30 Stretch out your hand to heal diseases and cause signs and wonders to be performed in the name of your holy servant Jesus. Everyone read: They finished praying, everyone please read: They finished praying, what happened? The place where they were meeting was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.
My friends, be strong and courageous! Whether people believe it or not, be brave enough to share the gospel. Be brave enough to speak out and stand firm, whether they're angry with you or not, that's God's business. May I suggest, have the courage to love the unlovable, have some less lovable people around you, maybe the person next to you, no, no, not your neighbor. To love the unlovable, to have the courage to ask for forgiveness, and to have the courage to forgive, we need courage. Ladies and gentlemen, especially in today's society, but to be strong and courageous, you need to learn to pray. God is in control, amen?
Let's bow our heads, if God spoke to you, and you wanted to be bold and share your faith, and most importantly share your faith, by living your life in a way that brings glory to God, why would you do this? promise? You say, "Lord, please help me to be bold in sharing my faith." Would you like to raise your hand? If you want to make this commitment to preach Jesus, praise God, praise God, let it go.
Some of you have never experienced Jesus. You don't get excited about talking about Jesus. Do you know why? Because you don't even know Him and you want me to pray for you, if you want to meet Jesus, can you raise your hands? I will pray for you, lift up a little higher! You've never met Him personally, all you have is religion, you come here all the time, but you're not excited about Jesus because you don't really know Him, so please raise your hands, raise them high! Praise God, lift high, lift high. Now all of you who want to meet Jesus personally, please listen to me and put your hands up. And pray with me, pray like this:
Lord Jesus, I want to know you, I want to meet you truly, I want to experience real transformation in your presence, Lord Jesus, I surrender my life to You, I want to make yourself real in my life, please change my heart, my heart is hard, my heart is cunning, Lord, please change me, I want more Knowing you, I commit my life to you. We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen!