The Boldest Prayer the Early Church Ever Prayed | Acts 4:23–31

You're listening to The Bible Guys, a podcast where a couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun, in practical ways. Hey, everybody, thanks for tuning in to another episode of The Bible Guys. Yeah, I'm Chris and I'm Wesley, and. So we're here. Where are your Bibba guys this week? Because Jeff's out of town and we're in the middle of a series called Dangerous Prayers. Yeah. But before we get do that, we have a segment called Hot Takes Showdown. This is a newer segment. You've ever done this one, you know, I've never done this one. Okay. So it says, and so Desiree says, I'll give you a controversial statement and you must either defend it or debunk it and get this no middle ground. Okay, so you got to go after it. Yeah, So whatever opinion. You have this is it, go after it with the. Reckless, abandoned. Okay, here we go. Ready, here's the first statement. Crocs are fashionable. Oh that's easy. No, yeah, they are not fashionable. They might be comfortable, yeah, but they are not fashionable. Yes. I'm a hard no on the cross and my daughter loves crocs like when we like, go on vacation or whatever, she'll throw all the Crocs in the suitcase. So yeah, but I'm a hard no on the fashionable aspect. Yeah no, what about I'm so sorry, this is low lighting. Room is killing me. What about crocs with no socks? Is it people wear crocs with socks all the top? No, that is a major pop No. No socks with no socks, with sandals of any kind. I agree, and I'm putting crocs in the sandals category. But and so I tell you what I like to be controversial. I like to like I would like to go the other way and say crocs are fashionable they're the worst. Yeah. So so yeah, I'm with you on that. That's my hot take as well. So that is fuel right, you want to do the second one? Okay, the moon landing was filmed but not faked. It was just really boring, so they reshot it. Oh my goodness. Yes, So it's not saying that before. I don't think this. Desiree choose this because she knows this is a hot topic. I'm not sure how well Desiree knows on this area. I'd be very interested to hear a serious take on this. For you. Yeah, I don't so, I'm in the camp. I don't believe it was faked, Okay, I was Was there something filmed that wasn't the actual moon landing? And was that part of the equation or. Was See that's a different conversation. Said, well, so it did they walk on the Moon? Did they? I believe that one hundred percent that that happened. Did This is a more complex question. And the reason I say that is you got to remember where the United States was at the time, with Russia, the Cold War, the space race and all of that. The US would have done whatever was necessary to cast a positive light on the mission. So could there have been some photo touch ups or something quite possibly? I don't know, but that's that could very well be possible. But as it relates to they actually go to the Moon, I think they actually went to the moon. You know, it's you know, it's you know, it's interesting. Is so. Fifty years ago, even even thirty years ago, before the Internet, there was really no debate at all about whether there was any conspiracy for moon lighting. Right, Yeah? Yeah, I mean we haven't heard this until probably the last what ten years, Yeah, probably the last five years. Really a lot depending on you know, your your chat threat of your algorithm. Some of you you're like, this is a thing, right, but you have no algorithm, you know whatever. That's fine, But once you sort of dive down the. Hole, go down the rabbit trail, on the rabbit trail, then all of. A sudden that the algorithm on your social media brings everything up. And because I went down the rabbit hole, I've seen everything there is to see. Just about I have seen every single conspiracy theory reel, and I've seen i would say almost as much, not quite as much, but almost as much defensive reels, right like this is this is absolute proof that we've gone to the moon. You know, just you know science, you know all the science behind everything, right, And so here's what I find very interesting. I find very interesting. I'll just say I'll just say this that. So let's pretend you're NASA, okay, and all of a sudden, and by the way, NASA claims currently this is all fact. You can google all this NASA currently claims. Number one, They're like, hey, let's where's the technology to go back to the moon. They literally say this is the this is their official statement. It get lost somehow, and they say, well, do we have the technology go back to the moon and they go no, and they say where why? They say, well, we lost that, we don't know. And they say, okay, well let's let's review original tapes. And they say they were misplaced, didn't know where they are, so nothing exists. Okay, okay, now that's just a fact. Now now your opinion about that, I don't know. Okay. They also say, uh, you know, back in the sixties, uh, with with with less technology that was in this phone, we were able to get past the you know, the h that radiation barrier, you know, the humans and get to the moon somehow with technology in a little chef you know, shuttle that looked like it was a tin can. And now here we are, you know, almost one hundred years later. It seems like, what is it eighty years later? And uh, and we can't even come close to doing that, So we've not send anybody back, right and all the technologies lost now right then and there you can have your opinions and then if you want to analyze all the footage and everything else. And so I'm just so I see very compelling things. For I see very compelling things against So, if you're NASA and you have the entire your world beating down on your door saying, I can't believe that you lied to us, Just prove that you went. And then of course you have buzz Aldron who's publicly said that it was a hoax. He's online saying we didn't go. He said that three times, he said that publicly, and people are like, oh, he's crazy, that old man, right, and and so so you have all these things. So if you're NASA and you have all this controversy, right, why would you allow the film that was just made by h Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson called Fly Me the Moon? Why would you allow that to be filmed on NASA property? Do you know what the film's about? No, Okay, we're only that six minutes, so I'll make this very quickly. Basically it's about what they're saying is it's not based on a true story, right. But basically what they're saying is they made they made a movie that says, no, the filming was real, but because because that the moon landing was real, it was it was absolutely what happened, but because they were worried that it might not have been able to happen. They hired the. Scarlett Johansson person to hire a director, and they created a movie set. And so all those controversial tapes where it says he's on wires, yeah, look, you can tell there's a wire, this movie said, no, there was a set. And so they filmed it, and they went live to the nation on set, right, and then all of a sudden when they landed, they're like, switch over, switch over, and then they switched over and so and so what they did was that movie somehow just planted like a solution to the controversy that says, oh, I guess both were true, right, I guess there was a set. For all the you know, the all the all the film analysis people that are like, here's the ten things that prove this is fake. The film this film said, oh, both things happened at once, and NASA agreed to have that film be filmed on NASA property. Now, if that, if there was no set, why would you. Ever entertain the idea of the idea and planet. In the American public that there was a set and by the way of all the things, and and it sounds crazy because I'm a Holloway guy. Of all the things that I'm confused about, that's the biggest one. NASA said yes to that film, And it's like, why would you ever do that? Dude? If I'm if I'm if I'm standing on the truth, I'm I'm going I'm doubling down and I'm saying, there is no guys, there is no way this is fake, right and and and come on there was nothing was faked in front of the public eye. Instead, they're like, yeah, come film. I think you're a private investigator in your part time. Yeah, yeah, well, which okay, listen, we have we have we have fifteen seconds for your response. Yeah, what is your hot take on my little NASA thing? So I think the idea of having a backup is plausible in terms of American morale during that period when we were up against the Russians. So they had already got spot Nick. But they didn't admit that that film is real. So no, I but I believe that it's plausible that someone thought, hey, we probably need to have a backup in case things go wrong. That that's plausible sure, in understanding how things were in that period. And I think that's the reason why the movie was made because of what you just said. But that's not my question. Yeah, my question is, and that'sad denies it. They said they said there was no set so why would they allow that film to be filmed? Yeah? I think if in some classified archive. Okay, think someone knows the truth. All right, all right, Well that it's definitely a hot take topic. Yeah, yeah, did good on that one. All right, Well, let's good move on, because even though that is super controversial, you know what else is controversial? Acts Chapter four. Yeah, I don't know about that one. Well, no, no, no, it is. Yeah, they pray for boldness even though they're being crucy cuted. Yeah, that's a dangerous prayer. Then that's controversial. That is true. It's a stretch, but it's true. Okay, well it's that transition. Yeah, So here we go, Acts Chapter four, versus twenty three through thirty one, and it says as soon as they were freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said. When they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voices together in prayers to God, Oh Sovereign Lord, Creator of Heaven and Earth, the sea, and everything in them. You spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit, through our ancestor David, your servants, saying, why are the nations so angry? Why did they waste their time with futile plans? The kings of the earth prepared for battle. The rulers gathered together against the Lord and against his Messiah Verse twenty seven. In fact, this has happened here in this very city for herod Antipus, pontious Pilot, the governor, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you anointed. But everything they did was determined beforehand, according to your will. And now, O Lord, hear their threats and give us your servants great boldness in preaching your word. Stretch out your hand with healing power. May your miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy Servant Jesus. After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the Word of God with boldness. Yeah that was good. Yeah, it's really good. And the context is in chapter four earlier. It says Peter and John went before the council. So they went to the council of all the rulers and elders and teachers of the religious law, and they met in Jerusalem. So they were. Being tried, they were being accused, and so they didn't back down. And so I want to read this note here in the Transformation Study Bible. It says, covering verses nineteen through twenty two, it says the failure of the council was evident when Peter refused to be intimidated by their threats. All we need to do is follow Peter's example to make our decisions on the basis of is it right and not is it popular or is it safe. We must be sure, however, that we have clear teaching of the Word of God on our side before we take a stand against the authority of the government. Peter knew what the Lord had commanded believers to do and ast chapter one, verse eight, for he was going to obey him at any cost. And so I love that. The idea that like Peter and John were accused, they stood up and then they said this prayer after they were freed, which is why it started by you saying as soon as they were freed, right, Peter and John returned. You know, it's interesting in our nation. Last weekend we made a statement about all the horrible things that were going on in our nation. And to be honest with you, it's always a difficult thing whenever, whenever something happens that shakes our nation to the core of its you know, faith and everything else. It's like people are feeling a lot of different things and you want to address it. But at the same time, if you're a leader, and by the way, that doesn't just mean church leader. It means if you're like a person on the news or Jimmy Kimmel, right, I mean he's in the news today because of it. Right, we all have to make choices about what we're going to say in the stand that we're going to take. And to be honest with you, it wasn't so we made a statement at our church, but it wasn't political. It wasn't about right or left. It wasn't about what happened to our nation according to all these arguments of agreeing or disagreeing, it wasn't about that. And that's one thing that I like about heritage is the fact that we don't take a political stance. If anyone wants to know what stance we take, it's that we believe that Jesus Christ is Lord. Yeah, that's the stance that we take. And if it is a political topic, we will preach from the Bible. Yes. And one of the things that I was always so impressed with is Jeff Forrest, Our lead pastor, says, he goes, Hey, he goes, instead of getting up there and using politically charged words, he said, those are man made words. So why would I use politically charged words that everybody has their own interpretation on what they're going to attach to those words. He says. Instead, here's what I do. He goes, I preach on the same topic, only I used Bible words. And he goes, So if you ever wonder what we believe, he goes, He goes, you can't yell at me because I didn't write it. I didn't write the Bible. He goes, I'm just going to preach the Bible, use Bible words, and it could be the same exact topic, and I'll preach the Bible, he goes. He goes, so there's no question on what we believe. So if somebody says, oh, pick a candidate it's like, well, you can probably guess which candidate we're going to vote for based on what we have preached and what we believe, right, because we're just going to preach the Bible and we're going to let you put two and two together, because after all, that's what every believer is called to do anyway. And I didn't mean to get on a topic rant. In fact, that wasn't even my focus or a political rant. I wasn't even I wasn't even trying to do that. What I was trying to say is this, we made a statement that wasn't you know, right or left or anything like that. We made a statement and said, it's not important about you know, whether you agree or disagree. The important thing is how do you act, interact, and react when you disagree? Right, Because that's what Christ called us to do. So it doesn't matter what the topic is when you disagree, the initiative is clear. Right, this is how you should behave as ladies and gentlemen. You can still disagree with somebody and worship them with them side by side. Right, You don't have to have acts of violence and hatred. Right. It's like Christ calls the church to be the church no matter what, and that was sort of our statement in our prayer, right, help us to be a nation that is willing to do that. Well, the idea of even making any kind of statement publicly, you have to go back to sort of this idea, which is like, am I going to do this? And then you have to ask your question, youlf, the question is this the right thing to do? And is it the wrong thing to do to be too cowardice not to say anything, or do you figure out a hard way and do the hard work to be able to say, no, this is the right thing to do, and we're going to put all the work into it. Dude. It took us hours to come up with a three minute response, hours of conversation, but because we felt like this is the right thing to do, and so we want to stand on the side of what is right. And we said what we meant and we didn't say anything wrong and it wasn't charged in any way. We just we just want to we just want to say what we feel like God wants us to say to the people who are fearful and going through a lot of different things. Right, Yeah, and it's not based on one event. I mean you know, there were things that happened in our country, they go back a month and a half ago, that are very, very disturbing, and people are having a really hard time. Yeah. Right, but you stand up for what is right. Yeah, you do what is right. Yeah, Verse twenty nine. Just to dig into that, it says, and now, oh Lord, hear their threats, and give us your servants great boldness in preaching your word. For some reason, when I read that, I think of a person at work in the context of Jesus not being convenient. Sometimes when you work out in the world, it's easier not to mention Jesus, not to mention that you go to work, to go to church, not to mention that you know, you're in a small group. It's just easier sometimes in the workplace to kind of I think of Homer, you know that meme of Homer Simpson going back into the bushes. Yes, it's just kind of good. Yeah, so good, because it's attached to so many different things. Yeah, but that's what it reminds me of when I read this, that you know, sometimes it's easier to not say that you're a follower of Jesus, Like when Peter was confronted, aren't Aren't you one of those you know, followers of Jesus. No, I never met the man, you know, that kind of thing. So I think they're saying here is in times like that, you need to have boldness. That's right, you need to speak up. There could be someone in your workplace that is going through something and they find out that you're a Christian and they're like, man, I can go to that person for advice. Yeah, I can go to that person for some godly counsel. Yeah. I can go to that person for help. But it's gonna take a little bit of boldness on your part to make that be known. Yeah. And you know what the funny thing is is people of most people, most people, they will follow if somebody first steps up. Yeah. Right. So I'm not saying that you have. To be this great and courageous leader of people right to lead them a great, big movement. Yeah. We're not saying go to work with a big house, Bible under your arm, and like all of those things. We're not. You know, in a social setting, most people have a tendency to just be quiet, Yeah, until, like, you know, somebody speaks up and I can't even tell you. I'm a speak up kind of person. So I can't even tell you the number of times in my entire life where I've been in a setting, a public setting, where there's either a handful or larger group of people in the room and and something's happening. It's going one way and it's a negative way or a wrong way, and then I'm looking around, going is anybody gonna say anything? And so then I'll speak up. And as soon as I speak up, like ten other people are like, yeah, I feel that way also. Yeah, And it's like, well, why didn't you say anything? Yeah. But it's like, but I don't have to be a great leader of this movement. I just have to voice my opinion and just be bold enough, which is. What Peter is saying. Peter's saying, let us be bold. Of course, this is the context of like, let us be bold in the sense to where we may lose our lives. Yeah, we may go to prison. There's a great cost to this. Great even in the workplace, there could be a great cost. You don't want to be kind of ostracized, right, you know, you don't want to be the oh you're one of those Jesus people one of those holy rollers, you know. So yeah, yeah, there could be a little bit of a cost, right, yeah, or a big cost. Yeah, but but yeah, when it comes down to being bold about your faith, and especially when it comes to standing up for what is right, if you're a believer and follower of Christ and and you know what the right thing to do is, then just know that, Like, hey, it's it's easier to live your life doing what's. Right and and and and. Just you know, accepting the consequences than it is to live your life in the shadows and in the cowardice of being too afraid to ever do what is right. Yeah, in the safe zone, just living your life in that as a safe area. Yeah, that's yeah, that's right. No, that's good. Yep. Well, hey, that's a great place to end. And uh, hopefully we will see you tomorrow. Thanks for tuning in on the Bible guys. H m hm hm h