“And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, by stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet,” Acts 4:29-37.

We are coming to the final study of this wonderful prayer. Please note briefly some truths we have yet mentioned.

1. In prayer they showed an understanding of prophecy, verses 25-27.

2. They understood Calvary, verse 28.

Our first main point is:

I. THE BELIEVERS WERE IN AGREEMENT WITH THE DEFIANCE OF PETER AND JOHN

“And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,”  verse 29.

1. Girls and boys, here is the ‘spirit’ of the New Testament church. They not only sought to obey the Lord but they were willing to defy any who tried to stop them obeying the Lord.

2. Furthermore, they wished to obey God with all the power He would grant them. “ . . . grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word.” They were not going to be ‘mealy-mouthed’ in their witness for the Lord! They were anxious to be helped by the Lord to be BOLD. The word ‘Boldness’ carried the meaning of ‘openly, unreservedly’. They were not going to hold ANYTHING back! That is how the people of God today should witness!

II. THE LORD ENDORSED THEIR ATTITUDE AND SPIRIT!

“And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness,” verse 31.

1. The Lord was going to help them defy the ungodly rulers! As Christians, the choice is simple. We obey God or we obey rebellious, anti-God men! Exodus 1:17; 1 Kings 22:14; 2 Chronicles 26:16-20; Daniel 3:18, 6:10; Matthew 22:21; 2 Corinthians 4:2; Hebrews 11:23.

2. It is clear that the Holy Spirit is the ‘Spirit’ of ‘Holy Defiance’ of the purpose of sinful men! Boys and girls, the Free Presbyterian Church was NEVER in a better state than when it unashamedly stood against the spirit of the age, resisted what false prophets said was the way of peace but which was the way of Bible-defiance!

In that day, hundreds of souls were saved, many congregations were formed and the ear of many thousands in our Province was open to the Word of God. Those were days of packed church services and overflowing congregations. That is not the case today! WHY? Because the general trend is to comply with the desires of the worldly citizen and avoid doing or saying anything to annoy them! The slang term for such things is ‘COOL’  — that is, it meets the approval and endorsement of the world!  Early Christianity was ‘very UNCOOL’!!

III. WHEN ENDUED WITH SUCH A SPIRIT OF BOLD DEFIANCE, THE EARLY CHURCH WAS IN A MOST HOLY, GRACIOUS AND LOVING STATE!

“And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all,” 33. They loved their neighbour as they loved themselves!

1. There was a wonderful, loving unity amongst the Christians. “And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. . . . Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need,” verses 32, 34-35.

2. It was time when good men came forward to serve the Lord. “And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet,” Acts 4:36-37.

Ministers back then were not complaining about not being paid enough! Oh, to see such times again!!