Bible Text:

“When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.”                                                                         (Acts 4:31)

I share a brief memory with you this morning—a memory of a sermon I heard when I was a child in the 1950s. The sermon was preached by my home church pastor, W. Ralph Ward, Jr. I remember the sermon because he was animated and energized as he talked. In his sermon, he quoted a number of passages from the Book of Acts—places where “Christian boldness” is stated.

I looked up some of those passages this past week. I found 10. Here are several examples. 

With boldness they spoke the word of God. (Acts 4:31)

When they saw the boldness of Peter and John, they were amazed. (4:13)

Barnabas spoke boldly in the name of the Lord. (9:27)

Paul spoke with all boldness and freedom. (28:31—which incidentally is the very last verse in the Book of Acts.) 

The preacher went through each of these texts, one by one. I remember that sermon. I’m not exactly sure why, but I do. 

I remember one other sermon he preached, but this memory is not as positive. He decided one Sunday morning that he would read to the congregation one of John Wesley’s sermons. It was deadly. It might have been a great idea, but the whole congregation was bored beyond belief. John Wesley does not preach well today. 

I don’t remember the occasion of the boldness sermon, but I remember the theme. And in my mind’s hearing I can still both hear and feel that sermon today. 

Why does the writer of Acts use the word “boldness” so often? More importantly, where does that description connect with your life and mine today? Where does Christian boldness connect with our reality? 

I noticed something in the appearances of that word in the Book of Acts. Most of the references had to do with speaking the word of God or speaking the name of Jesus. This is the way the disciples and others spoke to new believers and unbelievers. Boldness is the courage to speak the faith. 

In my past two messages on this series I talked one week about justice. Living justly means active involvement in societal and world issues. Last week I talked about living expectantly. This is a way of living before the world. But living boldly is a way of speaking, a way of talking about our faith. 

The clear implication here is that you and I are asked to speak about our faith with energy, excitement, and enthusiasm. To one person we might say, “Let me tell you about Jesus.” To another we might say, “Let me introduce you to someone who can change your life.”  

But you and I know we don’t do that very much. Tony Campolo, popular speaker and preacher, frequently travels by plane to his next speaking engagement. He says sometimes he ends up sitting next to a very chatty person on the plane. If he’s in the mood to talk, he tells people that he is a sociologist (which he is). If he’s too tired or not in the mood to talk, he tells people he’s a Baptist evangelist (which he is). 

We don’t chat much about Jesus or faith issues. Many of us, if not most of us, are what someone calls “E.B.s”—embarrassed believers. We’re not really embarrassed, of course, but we don’t want to talk about our faith. People of faith feel awkward about saying it in the world. 

One common example: we meet a person who needs or requests our prayers. While it would be very appropriate to say, “I will be praying for you each day this coming week,” most of us will end up saying something like “Well, I’ll be thinking of you.” 

Or take another example. Robert Schuller, at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California, frequently has the congregation stand and greet one another and say, “God loves you and so do I.” There is a huge roar while this happens inside the cathedral. But I’ve been there, and I know what people say. They turn to each other and say, “Good morning. How are you?” We’re not going to say, “God loves you and so do I” to a stranger. 

Why are we so uncomfortable? It’s not because we don’t believe. Rather it’s because of the public perception of a Christian. If you talk a lot about Jesus, you are considered something akin to a religious nut. 

I remember a story about a preacher who used a peanut for his sermon. All of the characteristics of a peanut became the illustrative material for his sermon. As people were leaving church that day one woman said to him, “Thank you, preacher. I never thought I could learn so much from a nut.” 

The caricature which some people place upon Christians makes us uncomfortable. How many of you would tell a friend this morning how much they need Jesus? How many of you would tell someone you barely know that Jesus is a close friend and the center of your life? How many of you would tell someone that Jesus could provide a much-needed turnaround? Even if all of these things were true, would you say it? 

But that’s what happened in the Book of Acts. In fact, Scripture is full of illustrations of outspoken, risky, irrepressible, turbo-charged believers. Such boldness is found in persons like Abraham, or Joseph, Ruth, David, Daniel, and Paul. 

Christian history is full of illustrations as well. We think of Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, or John and Charles Wesley. Even modern history is full of illustrations--people like Mother Teresa, Albert Schweitzer, Martin Luther King, Jr., or Billy Graham. 

If you are an embarrassed believer, you’ve got a lot of company. But the history of the church tells us that we are to live boldly and to speak boldly. Modern trends in our time tell us we can no longer afford to be “embarrassed believers.” 

So, how do we ratchet up our boldness a notch or two? How do we do this without seriously damaging our comfort level? How do we do it without feeding the possible perceptions others may have of us out there? 

There are books and classes available for church members on “Faith Sharing.” Many of them are well written. Few people sign up for such courses. What else can we do to respond to this challenge? What do I need to give me greater boldness? 

NEED SUPPORT

 First of all, I need support. I need the support of the church, or perhaps of a small group. I need some sensitive friends and colleagues who will join with me in the effort. This could be your CBS group or your covenant group or your Disciple Bible Study group or your Christian Believer group. 

My covenant group has as one of its clauses this promise; “I will seek to witness to Jesus and my faith to someone during the coming week.” The implication is that I will talk to someone about Jesus, that I will try my wings on this, that I will venture out more boldly. But most of us know this is not easily accomplished. We need support. 

One of my favorite stories from childhood is that of the Three Little Pigs. My father told it to us as children, I told it to my children, and now I’m telling it to my grandchildren. There are various versions of the story. At last count we had 7 different versions in our Three Little Pigs library.

 I read about a new version this week. (It’s not really new. In fact, the book is out of print.) It’s a story entitled “The Fourth Little Pig.”[i] The fourth little pig is a sister to the three boys. One day she finds her three brothers in the house made of bricks, crouching behind a couch, trembling for fear of the big bad wolf. The sister then encourages her brothers to open up the door and venture out again. 

We need to encourage each other toward boldness. 

There’s a story of a father and his young son who stopped at a diner one evening for dinner on their way home from a trip together. They ordered their food and shortly the waitress brought the meals and set them before the two on the counter. The little boy looked around and then said in a very loud voice, “Doesn’t anybody here give thanks to God for their food?” There was an awkward silence. The father thought that he would like to crawl under the counter and disappear. But after a few seconds a burly truck driver about 5 seats up said, “We certainly do, son, and we’re all going to stop eating right now while you help us do just that.”

 We need support and encouragement.

 NEED MODELS 

We also need some models. Read the stories in the Book of Acts. Underline the places where the world “boldness” is used. Reflect upon people you know. Who does it, in your circle of acquaintances? How do they do it? 

Share stories of boldness with your children and grandchildren. One father was trying to encourage his son. He wanted his son to remember people who never gave up. “Think of all the people who never gave up, son. There was Robert Fulton, Thomas Edison, Eli Whitney, and Isadore Pringle.” The son said, “Daddy, who was Isadore Pringle?” Replied the father, “See, you don’t remember him. He gave up!”

 Read or re-read the biographies of Martin Luther King or Albert Schweitzer or Mother Teresa. Or read the stories of Millard Fuller, the founder of Habitat for Humanity. Do you remember the story of the time when Fuller was traveling through Central America, visiting some of the projects where Habitat for Humanity had built homes? He was on a street where former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalyn had personally helped build one of the homes. A young boy was playing in the yard outside the house. Fuller stopped the car and got out and walked over to the boy. “Son,” he said, “do you know who helped build this house?” 

“Yes sir, I do,” said the boy. “Jesus helped build this house.” We need models to witness boldly.

 NEED PRACTICE 

We also need practice. We need to try it out.  

There’s a story of a traveler in Alaska who started driving his car down a dirt road. It was a road that had deep ruts. Apparently the ruts filled with water and froze in the winter. When spring came, the ruts got even deeper. There was a sign at the beginning of the road. This is what it said: “Choose your rut carefully. You will be in it for a long time.” 

When was the last time you said Jesus’ name in public? When was the last time you said to someone, “Well, I do this because I am a Christian”?  

Are there some risks? Sure there are. Are there some who will put you in a box? A few, yes. Is it awkward? Sometimes. Is it dangerous? Not often.

 We did see a story on television this week about one man who was witnessing as a Christian evangelist in India. He was attacked and wounded for his faith. That doesn’t happen often in this country. Someone said, “The will of God will never take you where the grace of God will not protect you.” 

But we need practice, however minimally, to get it going.

 What if you made this commitment this week? What if you said, “I will talk to someone about Jesus, using His name, this week”? Share the story of what happened with me. Write me a note or e-mail. 

NEED CONVICTION

 Finally, we need the conviction to do this. We need to believe at the deepest level of our being that Jesus is worth sharing. We need to believe that he is the center point and the fulcrum of life. 

A woman tells her story of her time in a mental hospital. 

Seven years ago I was in the locked ward of a mental hospital. My husband had divorced me and my kids were gone… both kids were addicts on the street somewhere.

I was catatonic…just lying on my bed. Everyone was giving up on me but I didn’t care. It felt wonderful…comfortable…safe…warm…nothing to worry about…just being taken care of.

That night I was resting…partly sleeping, I guess…when the door opened, and I saw a figure standing in the light of the hallway. At first I didn’t know who it was…it didn’t look like any of the doctors or people who worked in the hospital. Then I realized that it was Jesus standing in the doorway. He looked at me and said, “Get up! You can’t go yet. Your children need you.” There was nothing meek or mild about that voice. It was tough, not nice at all. But I heard him, and I knew what I had to do. The problem was that I was in a locked ward in a mental hospital. If I told the doctors that Jesus had come to me and told me to get up and go find my children…well, I’m not sure I would ever have gotten out of the hospital. But I did…I was able to convince them that I was all right. I was discharged. I went out and found my children and moved us all here. The kids are all right now—off drugs and clean. We’re finally a family again.[ii]

 We need the conviction that Jesus will see us through. It’s like the anthem the choir sings sometimes: “He Never Failed Me Yet!” 

There’s a theme in the United Methodist Church right now called “holy boldness.” It is taken from the life of John and Charles Wesley. That is exactly what is called for today. The challenge of the first century Book of Acts to the 21^st century South Hills of Pittsburgh is something akin to holy boldness. 

A quotation I came across on the Internet this week says this: “Discover the holy flame of boldness which ignited the first century church. Rise above the mediocrity of life. Live above the superficial.” 

Or this statement from Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann: “Because of Easter, I can come out from behind my desk, my stethoscope, my uniform, my competence, my credentials, my fears—to meet life a little more boldly.”

Meet life with a little more boldness this week. Exercise some holy boldness. Talk to someone about Jesus. Tell someone what He means to you or what He’s done for you. Tell someone where He fits into your life. 

Then write and tell me what happened.