BOLD IN WITNESS Selfless – Part 1 1/1/2022 … “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24 NIV That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. John 20:19 NIV Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of our people, are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed? Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. Acts 4:8-10 NIV • WE SPEAK BOLDLY ABOUT WHAT WE BELIEVE DEEPLY. There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. Acts 4:12-13 NIV HOW AMAZED ARE PEOPLE BY YOUR BOLDNESS FOR CHRIST? Unmoved 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Amazed HOW DO WE GROW IN BOLDNESS? 1. SPEND MORE TIME WITH JESUS. [They were amazed by the disciples’ boldness]… for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13 NIV 2. ASK GOD TO MAKE YOU BOLD. And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. Acts 4:29 NIV … “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9 NIV Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared ... I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” And the one sitting on the throne said … “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children. Revelation 21:1, 3-7 NIV Speak boldly—Believe deeply. TALK ABOUT IT • Rank your selflessness on a scale of 1-10. Go. • How could you grow in boldness for sharing your faith? What do you think it will take? • Who’s one person you’ll share your faith with this week?