Acts Series Part 6: Knowing How to Stand: The Disciples Face the Authorities

Acts Chapter 4

This podcast continues our series in Acts by looking at Chapter 4 and one of the simplest yet most striking descriptions of the early church.

Peter and John found themselves standing before the very authorities who had orchestrated Jesus' crucifixion just weeks earlier. They were ordinary fishermen, not trained religious experts, yet they spoke with such courage and conviction that the religious leaders were astonished. Luke tells us the reason: "They took note that these men had been with Jesus."

There is a danger in separating what God intended to keep together. Some of us settle for what we might call "bread Christianity"—structure, routine, attendance, and activity, but without much spiritual life. Others pursue "filling Christianity"—experiences, emotions, and spiritual highs, but without deep roots or lasting formation. Chapter 4 shows us a better way. The Holy Spirit was never meant to remain in the upper room. The life of God was meant to fill ordinary people and overflow into everyday faithfulness.

Discipleship is not primarily about becoming more impressive, knowledgeable, or skilled. It is about being with Jesus and allowing His life to shape ours. Peter and John had first come and seen, then spent years with Jesus, and now they were becoming like Him—speaking with courage, living with faithfulness, and doing what He did.

The challenge for all of us is simple: make room to be with Jesus. In a world full of podcasts, books, videos, and endless content, it is possible to know more about Jesus while spending less time with Him. Information alone does not transform us. Formation happens when we abide in Him, walk with Him, pray, listen, and learn to follow Him day by day.

The good news from Acts Chapter 4 is that God delights in filling ordinary people. Whether you are taking your first steps of faith, returning after a season of drifting, or simply feeling weary, the invitation remains the same: come back to Jesus, abide in Him, and allow His life to fill the ordinary bread of your everyday life.

You can see past sermons on the Leominster Baptist Church website at  Leominster Baptist Church - YouTube and can contact us directly with your feedback or queries through the Contact Us link at the top of the episode description text.

Leominster Baptist Church can be found on Etnam Street in Leominster, Herefordshire. To find out more about us, visit our website leobc.co.uk. If you would like to speak to someone about anything that you have heard on our podcasts please give us a call and ask for a chat.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:03

This podcast continues our series in Acts by looking at chapter 4 on one of the simplest yet most striking descriptions of the early church. Peter and John found themselves standing before the very authorities who had orchestrated Jesus' crucifixion just weeks earlier. They were ordinary fishermen, not trained religious experts, yet they spoke with such courage and conviction that the religious leaders were astonished. Luke tells us the reason. They took note that these men had been with Jesus. Discipleship is not primarily about becoming more impressive, knowledgeable, or skilled. It is about being with Jesus and allowing his life to shape ours. Peter and John had first come and seen, then they'd spent years with Jesus. And now they were becoming alike. Speaking with courage, living with faithfulness, and doing what he did. Let's find out more about this wonderful chapter with Dean.

SPEAKER_00 1:10

So a few weeks ago we were in Acts chapter 3, and we saw there, like I said, the first miracle that took place in that early church. A man lame for years sat outside the temple, suddenly leaping and for joy and celebrating, proclaiming Jesus has done this, and Peter preaches this sermon, announcing it is by Jesus' name this man has been made well. And Acts chapter 4 is the follow-on from that. It's the repercussions of what takes place next. That's where we're going to be today. I'm just going to read through uh part of the chapter uh as we we look together at what takes place. So they've they've raised up this man, and it says, The priests and the captains of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. But many who heard the message believed. So the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand. The next day the rulers, the elders, and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and others of the high priest family. They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them. By what power or what name did you do this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers and elders of the people, if we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who is lame and are being asked how he was healed, then know this. You and all the people of Israel, it is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished, and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say, so they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin, and they then conferred together. What are we going to do with these men? They asked. Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name. Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, Which is right in God's eyes? To listen to you or to him? You be the judges. As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard. After further threats, they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them because all the people were praising God for what had happened. For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old. On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. Sovereign Lord, they said, You made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our Father David. Why do the nations rage and the people plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up, and the rulers bond together against the Lord and against his anointed one. Indeed, Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus. After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. We have a new baby in our midst. We also have another member of our church family, who or at least we who we consider a member of our church family, who's come back. He's been away for a little while in New Zealand. He's upstairs. Dan, do you mind coming down for a second? He's never gonna come back because every time he does, I get him. Come on. Come on. We miss Dan. That's what Willie came and said to me. He dubbed you in. I need another helper, actually. Is there anyone else who just be gonna? Anyone? Do you want to come and help? Yeah? Come on, bro. Oh, we've got to give him a microphone. You don't need a microphone, but you can you can come up. Should we just welcome back, Dan? Come on up. Dan's been away for a while. He's come back. How long are you back for? Uh for a bit. For a bit. Oh nice. We'll see you for a bit. Lovely. Do you mind helping me out quickly? Absolutely. Anyone hungry? Do a snack? I've got a sandwich here. Classic sandwich. In fact, do you mind just popping those on, Dan? Is that helpful or not helpful? Okay, there you go. A sandwich, right? There you go. One sandwich for you? Okay. And then put your hands out. Now no, I don't know if in New Zealand is it is peanut butter and jelly a thing? Oh, always. Oh, there we go. Get some peanut butter in there then. Ooh, don't spread it. Oh, there you go. There you go. That's it. Enjoy. Now, every sandwich needs two things, does it not? It needs bread and it needs filling. Here we've got a problem. Because someone's got the bread and someone's got the filling. Now, what we're going to talk about today is this is a bit like Christianity. Christianity can often become a bit of dry bread. It's good, stable, it's the thing that holds it together. It's the outward forms, it's the things we do. We come to church, we read our Bibles, we active, we serve, we do we do ministry, we do all these things, but by itself, it's good, it's got some solid structure to it, but it's it's a bit dry. After a while, it becomes a bit empty, it becomes a bit hollow, and it feels like you're just doing the same thing again and again. It gets a bit, you know, what's that word, claggy, you know, in your mouth where just a bit hard work, a bit difficult. Other times, Christianity can be incredible. God breaking in, amazing things happening, people healed, people's lives being changed, it's all the filling, but it hasn't got any of the structure. It can get a bit messy, a bit chaotic, and that's alright for a while. We love it, but after a while we're kind of longing for a bit of bread just to hold it together. Today we're going to consider both the bread of Christianity, but also the filling, the thing that makes it make sense. Acts 4 gives us this picture. The spirit isn't meant to stay in the upper room, the spirit is broken out, it's done something, but but it needs it needs a way to be contained. They have they've healed this man, but now they've been dragged before these priests, and and something's gonna happen. They're gonna you're gonna see in this wonderful thing that is a Christian person. This incredible thing that that we all, or many of us will be, some maybe exploring this or thinking about this. We're gonna think about what that means. You see, the man's been healed, and so they get dragged before these people. We're told it's Annas and Caiaphas, and then a man called Alexander and John, these different people. Now, these are these are big names in that day. These are special characters. Annas, he's called the high priest. In fact, he's not the high priest, he's retired, but he's so well known. He's still called the high priest. His son is Caiaphas, he is the head of this dynasty, this group of people, this legacy, important men who have risen up to the heights of being high priests of all of Israel. And he's dragged before this person. His son Caiaphas, a man involved in the crucifixion of Jesus, a man who saw this man and made sure that he was killed on his orders or his complicity, he is there. And you've got John and Alexander, these are incredible people with a reputation. They are not just illegal leaders, they are political leaders, they are social hierarchy, they're at the top of the hierarchy. They are like the Chief Justice and the Archbishop or leading members of Parliament and then the theologians of Oxford and Cambridge. These are the people. And poor little Peter and John, fishermen a few months ago, dragged before this elite group of people. You suddenly see the disparity. It's like two bricklayers out in there being suddenly dragged in front of Parliament and made to answer questions. And you start to see, wow, this is this is a quite a moment. They see these men and they're challenging them and questioning them. By what name, what authority, what power have you done this? They are not happy. And their answer is, let me tell you, it is by the name of Jesus that we have done this. And so they respond and they say, well, after they've they've questioned them, that they say, when they saw them and they hear their answer, they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized they were unschooled, ordinary men. They were astonished. Unschooled and ordinary. Bit of plain bread, not much to them. By themselves, can't do much. By themselves shouldn't be able to speak in this way. By themselves, they could probably do a few things and muster up a few clever words or maybe a response, but by themselves they are unschooled and ordinary. Fairly plain, nothing to write home about. But they've stood before these elites, these men who are so highly educated, these people who are not ordinary men, they are not mere mortals, they are wholly chosen by God for the office they hold. They are the legacy of generations that it's been passed through. They have prestige, they have power, they have aura around them. And here before them, these unschooled ordinary men, and they are astonished. How do these unschooled ordinary men speak in this way? How do they do these things? They are not elite, they're not professional, they are not skilled, there is no charisma about them, there is no performance about them. They are simply unschooled ordinary people. But they notice one more thing. They took note that these men had been with Jesus. Unschooled and ordinary, that's the bread, but they had been with Jesus. That's the filling. That's the thing that makes the difference. That's the thing that makes them stand out. And that is the thing in Acts and in the Gospels that we have to understand is that is the secret source of Christianity. It is the filling that makes it all different. Other religions have buildings and they have services and they have performances and they have songs and they have praise and they have worship and they have ministries and they have outreach and they have all these things they do. The one thing that makes Christianity different is that we have Jesus. We have his presence. We have his spirit, which is his presence with us. And when people see that we are with Jesus, that is what stands out. The spirit of the extraordinary God fills ordinary lives and it makes all the difference in the world. The question isn't whether they were intimidated, I'm sure they were, standing before these people, humanly speaking, but they're standing before the merit, they're also the very people who had orchestrated Jesus' death. Were they intimidated? Absolutely, but there is something in them that means they can speak in a way that they shouldn't be able to speak. They can live in a way that they shouldn't be able to live, they can do things they shouldn't be able to do. They took note these men had been with Jesus. Not that they'd had good training or attended a lot of meetings or mastered religious language, didn't have impressive online opinions, they'd been with Jesus. And that made all the difference. You love people, and you don't be weird about it. And it's that last one that Christians often get wrong because we are known for lots of things. Christians are known for obscure arguments, we're known for internet controversies, we're known for secondary issues, we're known for Christian subcultures and bubbles that we create. We're known for speculating about things that Jesus barely mentioned. When you ask people about Christianity, they'll give all sorts of answers. What is a Christian to you? But the one answer they should be able to give is there are people who have been with Jesus. There are people who live with. I don't know what that means or what that, but but I when I see them, I just note that they've been with him. That's what makes them different. And this is this is something we have to wrestle with in our culture. We are known for many things, but we should be known for one thing. We have been with Jesus. This is their center. Jesus is alive, he is present, he is transforming them. Jesus didn't have fans. There are lots of people who would stand a crowd, the crowds that would see him and say, That's wonderful, but Jesus didn't want fans, he wanted followers. When you see what Jesus did, here's what he says it, how he says it in Mark. It says he appointed twelve that they what might be with him, and that he might send them out to preach. The first thing Jesus does is invite us thousands of people, all interested, all wanting to know, all curious. But I want to choose twelve that will be with me. Because being with me is the most important thing. In the upper room as they as they of the Last Supper, as they share their last meal, Jesus talks about the Holy Spirit that will come. The advocate will come, I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me, and you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning. Your qualification, your power, your authority comes from the fact you have been with me. And so you find when they question them, they say, Well, you're not allowed to talk in Jesus' name, and they say, Well, you can decide whether it's right for us to do that or not. As for us, we're just gonna talk about what we've seen and heard. We have been with him. So we have something that we've seen, something that we've heard, and that is what we're gonna talk about. And that is what makes the difference. They have been with Jesus. The worrying tend, the reason this makes this is so important is that there's a tendency for those who who have had some of that secret source, who have had some of that that filling, and the filling's great, so they've been with Jesus, but if the bread falls off, if you get a bit above your station, if there's arrogance that creeps in, if there's pride that creeps in, that's the that's the humility, that's the ordinary humbleness of the bread, that you don't dismiss that. It's important because if you lose that, all you end up with is a mess. And you've probably seen many Christian leaders who at a time were with Jesus and he was being used and God used powerfully, but pride crept in, arrogance crept in. There's a sudden thinking, oh, maybe this isn't the spirit, maybe this is just me. And suddenly ministries fall apart, people are hurt, and things go crazy. Both are needed. The humility of I am unordinary, unschooled, but I'm extraordinary because I've been with Jesus and it makes all the difference. That's why the idea of abiding is so important. Abiding is the heart. I have nothing to offer, but when I'm with Jesus, that filling. That filling makes the sandwich taste good. That feeling binds it together, it gives it flavor, it gives it power. It is something different. Being with Jesus is the heart of the book of Acts, of the gospels, of Christianity, of your faith. And today it's simply a reminder this is where we start. Over the last few weeks, we've been talking as a church about how we grow people. Our job is to make disciples, and so we want to try and make that as clear as possible. So we have this pathway. It's not something we came up with. It's just looking in scripture and seeing how people grow with Jesus. They start off by coming and seeing him. You explore Jesus, you ask questions, you find out about him, you learn about him. You maybe sit and listen into some of his teaching, you see what he has done, you come and explore. You're invited to do that. If you're here today and you're on the fence, you're not sure, come and see. Come and ask. No question is off-limit. We invite you to poke and to prod to explore. We think there is something to it, but we're not going to force that on you. We're going to invite you to come and see. Come and taste. Come and see for yourself if there is anything to it. Don't you don't have to stand at a distance always questioning. There are there are answers, and when there aren't answers, there's a person who you can come to know for yourself. Come and see. But the first thing after the come and see is come and be with. To be with Jesus, to learn how to sit at his feet, to learn how to walk with him. Jesus' first command, the most common command more than any other to all his disciples was follow me. Not even believe in me, as much as it as important as that might be, or have faith in me, as much as that hopefully comes with time. But the first instruction was just follow me. Come and walk with me. And when you spend time with me, then you'll learn to trust me. When you spend time with me, then you'll learn to believe in me. When you spend time with me, you'll learn what I've done for you and what I'm asking for you. But it starts with being with you, to being with Jesus. It then leads to being like him, the character, the forms, doing what Jesus did, which we see in the book of Acts, and then raising up others to go and do likewise. And so I just put that out there. There's a little booklet thing that flies on the welcome desk if you want to take that away, just for us to consider. Each one of us, where am I? And what might my next step be? Or maybe I've gone to a point where it's just dry bread and I need to go back to being with Jesus. That I've done, I've gone so far, but but I've lost that route. I've lost the the source that feels, I've lost the filling. I need to be refilled. I need to come back and learn to be with Jesus, to learn to abide with him, because consuming content is not the same as a commitment to Jesus. This is the danger of our time. Information is not the same as formation. Learning is not the same as growing. And as Christians, and I know I've said this before, but in this room, you have had access to more sermons, podcasts, worship, music, books, theology, Bible apps, and Christian teaching than the early church could have ever imagined. Certainly far more than Peter and John had at this point in their walk. But they'd been with Jesus. The danger, the illusion that the enemy, I think, is going to do in our time because we have so much access is to convince us because we have access to so much, we have been with Jesus. And my fear is that he's so clever, and we need to be aware of his schemes, that he'll convince us that having enough information is the same as being with Jesus. And it's not that they're completely separate. The things you learn, the sermons, reading the Bible, prayer, all these tools that we have, they should help us to be with Jesus. But it's very possible to have all the bread and none of the filling. To do all this stuff and not use it as a way to be with Jesus. And so perhaps there's a challenge to come back and say, right, maybe you have a quiet time if that's how you do it. Okay, is my quiet time leading me to be with Jesus? Does it lead me to does it help me when I go out to be with him? Or do I close the book? That's my time because Jesus is only accessible between 8 and 8:30 each day. Or is it teaching me that when I go then I am with Jesus? As I parent, I'm with Jesus. As I work, I'm with Jesus. As I drive, I am with Jesus. Does it lead me to walk with him? Because you can listen constantly and still be spiritually distant. That's in the gospels. Loads of people listen to Jesus, but they stand at a distance. You can binge sermons but neglect communion with him. Discipleship is not merely learning about Jesus, but it's being with him. It's not downloading information, it's being a person who knows his master's voice, knows his shepherd's calling, knows his presence, and is seeing that transformer to be like him, to do what he did. Sometimes we hide inside content, whatever that content may be, we hide it because it's safer. It's safer than prayer, where I really wrestle with God. It's safer. Learning about all the things that I should and shouldn't do is safer than repenting from the things I shouldn't shouldn't do. Knowing the right answer is safer than slowing down and asking God to show me what is wrong with myself, what is right, where he wants to lead me. It's safer than actually being known by God and allowing myself to be known. It's safer than allowing the Spirit to change me. So just watch out for that. Because increased information doesn't mean that we are being with Jesus. The good news is God doesn't abandon his people when they are weary. Doesn't it? If you feel like you've got to this point, God doesn't say, Well, tough, you've missed it. He just says, Okay, come back. Return to me. Sit at my feet. He doesn't say sort yourself out first. He says, Come back, abide. In me again. That filling was never meant to be a one-time moment. I love that Acts does this because they go away and they pray and it pray and it says the room is shaken again. It's a little reminder, Pentecost wasn't a one-off, wasn't meant to be something you did, and then that was it for the rest of your life. No, the room shakes again, the spirit fills again, they're refreshed again, they're renewed again, and off they go, carrying on. We're going to keep talking about what we've seen and heard. We've been with Jesus. And so we can't help talking about it. As we do that, we start to grow. And the way that we grow it is interesting because you see it in Paul's letters. Paul meets Jesus, he's been with Jesus, and he spends time with Jesus. And as you follow his letters, these are in chronological order, you see that he starts to speak differently about himself. In the first ones, he's saying, I'm Paul an apostle. Stent not for men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ. That's quite a lofty idea, isn't it? It's true. It's quite a lofty opinion. But it's true, it's not a bad thing. But then a few years later, when he writes 1 Corinthians, he says, I'm the least of the apostles. That sounds like a step down, doesn't it? And then in Ephesians 3:8, a few years later, he says, I'm less than the least of all the Lord's people. Hang on a minute. Where are we going with this? In 1 Timothy, he says, Christ Jesus came to the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst. I wonder if Paul's having a crisis of identity. He seems to be getting lower and lower in his esteem of himself. But I think this is what we mean when we grow, when we spend time with Jesus. It's not that we become greater and greater, that our opinion of ourselves, it's not that the bread gets transformed into super special bread with extra protein and flour and all the iron stuff they put in it nowadays. It's still ordinary bread. But what happens is my humility and my need grow less, grow, my awareness, I go down, but God's glory and goodness get bigger. And what happens is Jesus becomes greater. The more time I spend with him, it's not that I get any better, really. I just become more aware of my need. I'm more humbled that he would use me, and I'm more aware of his goodness and his mercy and his kindness to me. And in that gap, Jesus just becomes better. I become more humble, he becomes more glorious, and I just stand in awe of the grace that bridges those two things. As you grow in Jesus, it doesn't mean that you become something special. As John the Baptist said, I become less that he might become more. And that's that's the bread that keeps it safe. That's where things go off the rails. When the Holy Spirit fills people and things start to go wrong, it's often because there is a pride that creeps in. But the bread, that's the thing that keeps it. That humble, ordinary, unschooled. I don't need to be any more than that. Paul, Peter, and John at no point thought, yeah, I better go get some training now. Better go get some life skills, some qualifications, some letters after my name. They remained for the rest of their lives unschooled and ordinary. At the same time, they remained tools that God used powerfully and mightily to build his church. Never becoming any more, in many cases, as Paul shows us, becoming less. More aware of God's grace, more aware of his holiness, more aware of his mercy, but Jesus all the time becoming bigger and more beautiful and more wonderful as he fills that gap. I've been reading the Narnia books to James, so please brace yourself for many, many quotes over the next few weeks from them. But there is a line in one of them where whether they bump into Aslan, you know, Aslan he comes and goes, you can't control him, but he appears and Lucy says, Aslan, you're bigger. And his answer is no, you are just older. And Jesus Lewis in these wonderful ways he does. He throws in these little theological points that they're just a line, but they're so deep. That's the idea. You're older. So you understand a bit more about yourself, your frailty, your weakness, but you then understand my goodness and glory. It's not that I'm any bigger. You can't make Jesus bigger, Jesus doesn't get bigger, God doesn't get bigger, but your awareness of it, your awareness of his grace and his mercy, your awareness of the filling that he does and the gap that he fills becomes more and more as time comes, goes on. You grow, and then you get to do what Jesus did, which is how they end, if you notice. They say, Lord, we don't we don't want you to remove the difficulty, that would be my prayer. God, these guys that they seem to have taken issue with you, and they're quite bigwigs, so we're gonna be in a lot of trouble if we carry on. So could you just rein in Peter a bit? He's getting a bit off the rails. Could you could just rein in John? Maybe perhaps not do so much because he's he's a young lad, he's a bit excitable. Would you protect us, God? Would you remove the difficulty? And yet that isn't their prayer. They simply pray, Lord, enable your servants to speak your word with greater boldness. After that, and then they pray, Lord, would you do more signs and wonders in your holy name? That becomes their prayer. That's the only the only way I can think that you'd pray that prayer is if you'd been with Jesus and you you you would know I can't stop talking about this. I can't stop it's impossible to. I can't be with him and not share him in word indeed. I can't be with him and do that. And so if there's difficulty, let there be difficulty. But I've been with Jesus, so I'm gonna keep speaking about him. I've been with Jesus, and so I'm gonna pass on what he's given to me. Remember, this isn't this isn't weeks after, we're only two chapters in the time. It's only two days ago. They've done this, they've been thrown in prison the next day. They brush themselves off. Right, let's go. Let's go again. We've been with Jesus. In the prison, we were with Jesus. In our prayer meeting, we've been with Jesus, so let's go out and be with Jesus. And so they pray for courage, they pray for witness, they pray for endurance, because they know the filling is never meant to stay in the jar. The filling is not meant to stay with them, it's meant to spread into the ordinary, unschooled lives of other people. This whole chapter, it's a reminder that we cannot separate what God has joined together. God has joined together you, ordinary, unschooled, you, flesh and blood, you frail and weak. He's bound that together with God, divine and holy, Holy Spirit, powerful and pure, God's presence, life and light. That is what he's brought together. That is what it is to be a Christian. And when we have those two things, we we get something beautiful. Not always tidy, but a bit dry. Sometimes there's a bit of a mess, but it's it's held within people who are humble and gracious. The Spirit produces both the fire and the fruit. We have things that help us and things that guide us, but the goal is not dry bread. It's not chaotic filling everywhere, it is both together. God has brought together the power of heaven in the weakness of humanity. And the result is something that people look at and go, What is going on here? This is different. That they shouldn't be able to do that. They shouldn't be able to say that. I know my my my role is perhaps quite unique, but people often say, Did you still get nervous when you preach? And the answer is absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt. I'm constantly filling my time. If you ask me to do a job before service, I'll do it just to distract me from the fact that in a moment I've got to stand up and try and speak for 30 minutes on something. I constantly, and and and I've often thought, well, how do I get rid of that? How do I get beyond that? Surely, after all this time, it should become easier and easier. And what I've learned is actually, no God, may it never become easier. May I remain nervous, may I remain anxious, may it always be intimidating to stand up, because then I'll always go, as Spurgeon himself did, standing up into his pulpit, going, I believe in the Holy Spirit, I believe in the Holy Spirit, because I need something beyond me to fill this ordinary, unschooled body. I need something beyond me to help me to do that. And that not only applies to this, that applies to every other area. God, as I go into these different places, as I encounter difficulties and struggles, as I meet my fellow humans and I want to meet a need and reach into their lives and give them something. I am ordinary and unschooled, I have nothing. But I'm filled with something special. So we go back to what Peter said when he healed this man. I don't have silver or gold. I'm not wealthy or influential. So let me give you what I have in the name of Jesus. Walk. That's all I have to offer. But what a thing to offer. It's only Jesus. But it's only Jesus. It's just him, but it's him. It's a beautiful thing. And so where do we begin? This is going to become familiar language, I hope, this pathway as we learn to grow as disciples. But that be with Jesus really is the cornerstone. And so today, if you are exploring, here's our invitation. Come spend some time with Jesus. You can walk away if you want, you can turn away. I don't think you will if you see him as he really is, because very few people do. But you are invited to come and explore. Come and ask. Come and listen. Come and see what he is about. Spend time, make some space just to be with him. We have alpha courses that we run. We have opportunities. You can buy me a coffee and I'll answer any question you want. You have to get a donut for some questions, but uh and come and come and we will talk and I'll share what I've seen and heard. That's all I can do. Can't persuade you, can't I talk about what I've seen and heard. But but come, come and investigate. But for some of us, perhaps we're on the other side and we've been doing things for Jesus, we've grown like Jesus, we're trying to raise up others, but perhaps we've lost our anchor. So the invitation is just make sure, make sure that being with Jesus is the priority. It's the first thing he asks you to do. Come to me and be with me. In case we forget, the very last thing Jesus says that he wants ringing in our ears as he leaves this earth and sends his spirit is I will be with you always. I will be with you. That's all I that's all you need to know. But don't forget it. That's the very heart of everything that is your Christian faith being with me. It's from which everything flows. It's all it's the filling, it's the thing that makes it different. Without it, Christianity can become dry and dead and lifeless. And it's tragedy. It's a tragedy when that happens. Because Jesus didn't come for that. I've come that you might have life in abundance. But it's with me that that happens. And so I don't know how that looks for you. It's carving out time, perhaps, to do that. We are gonna, part of our website, we're gonna set up a resources section to help people do this. There's a whole background thing going on because we want to make this part of what we're doing. So there's more than that. There's a book here I picked up off the shelf, it's called One by Clive Boucher. Great little book, only 100 or so pages on what it means to be one with Jesus, to be with him, buy a copy or rush out and get the one copy that's on the bookshelf after the service. But but make this, this is my goal before anything else. This is why I exist. To be with him. If it isn't your goal, then heaven is gonna be a bit boring because after you've eaten chocolate and not gone fat and you've admired the golden pavements and and you've realized you're never gonna get a cold again. After all that, all there is is being with Jesus, enjoying his glory, being in his presence, knowing his favor, dwelling and basking in his love. It's what we are made for, it's what we have now. I am with you always. And so let's cultivate this, make this our practice. The other thing to do, there's you and Jesus, and that's a thing to cultivate, but there's also you with others with Jesus. That Jesus isn't just a personal savior, although he is a personal savior. He is there is a community, there are groups that you get alongside that help you to be with Jesus. There are spaces and friendships that you need to form to be with Jesus. If you want to explore that again, come and have a chat. But it's about cultivating this is what this is the most important thing in my life. Being with him. Not being impressive people, not celebrity Christians, just people who have clearly been with Jesus. So do that. If your life feels like dry bread, he's with you. Be with him. Let's pray, shall we? Father, we thank you. We thank you for your spirit who dwells within us. We thank you that you have made your home in our hearts. And if that is true, God, then that it should be the most simple thing in the world to say that being with you is what we are made for. You know, we feel we feel often that there is a distraction, though, there is a pull, there's a tendency to go on our own way, to leave you behind, as it were, and to move on. And so today, Lord, we want to come back to to realize that there is nothing special about us. But there is something special in us. So ordinary. And yet you have chosen to put something extraordinary within us. And when we miss that, Lord, life does grow. It gets hard, it becomes dry. Today I want to just pray, Jesus, with you by your spirit. May we hear your voice calling us back. Be with me. Be with me. Abide in me. Rest in me. Sit with me. Talk with me. Listen to me. I know each one of us, Lord. You know each one of us and how we all work. I know that the way you relate to each one of us is wonderfully different because you understand your children. But may each of us commit to finding a way to abide in you. That we might walk with you. And as we do, God, may it just show in the way that we live. May others look at us and not see anything impressive on the outside, but just say there's something about them. They've been with Jesus. May that continue to grow, Lord. May we learn to live with that courage, to simply speak what we've seen and heard. May we continue to live with boldness, not lifting up our own name, but proclaiming the name of Jesus. May we go on, Lord, continually filled. And so we pray today as those disciples prayed, Lord, would you come and would you work? Or would you would you help us to speak your word with great boldness? Would you stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus? May you fill us afresh with the Holy Spirit that we might go out boldly because we have been with you. Lead us, Lord, we pray. Draw us, Lord, to yourself. May you be our foundation, Jesus. May you be our refuge. May we deepen our relationship with you. Be with us, Lord. We know we don't really have to ask you, but help us to be with you then. We ask it in your precious name. Amen.

SPEAKER_01 37:49

We hope that you've enjoyed listening to Dean's thoughts today. If anything that he has said has challenged you or raised questions that you'd like answers to, please don't hesitate to contact us and ask for a chat. You can find our details on our website, which is leobc.co.uk, as well as on the information that we have posted for this podcast. Alternatively, if you live in our area, you're very welcome to join us on Sunday morning at 10 30 to hear things first hand. We'd love to see you there.