Because He is Risen – You Can Be Filled. You Can Be Bold.

Whitney Nicole
Apr 29
9 min read

When a girlfriend asked me if I’d take a Tuesday in April to speak on the topic “He is Risen,” there were two things that I soon realized I wanted to touch on – the Holy Spirit and boldness. When a person places their dependence and trust in Yeshua as their Savior, they receive the guarantor of their soul – the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14). He makes His home with us, and we become His temple (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). But there’s more. We can be filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit to do more – to do the exploits and wonders Yeshua said His followers would do (John 14:12-17). And one of those wonders is actually speaking. But not with just any kind of speech – with boldness, in the face of opposition, rejection, and people who have the power and authority to do us harm. Believers who are filled with the Ruach are bold.

Stay with me. I want to read an account from Scripture where we see this played out and then I’ll expound on some of the nuggets we can gleam from this passage. Acts 4, here we go:

“The priests and the captain 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’s 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 was 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 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 peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band 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.” (Acts 4:1-31 NIV)

Two chapters ago, the disciples were in the upper room and they had all received the Holy Spirit. They spoke in other languages, languages they had not known. And they were emboldened to keep proclaiming the message of Christ and that He had been raised from the dead just as He said He would. As you can imagine the religious leaders didn’t like it. Not one bit. And they had the power to do to the disciples just as they had done to their leader – crucify them. But the disciples remained unmoved with fortitude. We talked about how fortitude means to be courageous in the face of pain and adversity. And this was the judgment standing before them.

It would be natural for the disciples to shrink back in fear as just weeks prior they saw their beaten and bloodied Savior hanging from a cross. But they had not only seen Him brought low. They had seen Him risen and lifted high, with all power. And now that power was dwelling in them.

How is it that the disciples came to be bold?

They had been with Yeshua.
And they had prayed to be filled.

Verse 13 states, “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.” The language here doesn’t suggest that they were men with no understanding and knowledge, but simply that they had not received a formal education in religious matters. They had no notable positions or titles. Things the religious leaders would have assumed was needed to speak with such authority. But Yahweh can take every day, ordinary men and women and empower them to speak. In Mark, when Yeshua is warning the disciples not to be deceived by false messiahs and prophets, he proclaims to them, “Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.”

Part of being with Yeshua is preparation. He had told His disciples beforehand the challenges and trials they would face. And He had gone before them to show them what their fate might be. When we spend time with God in His Word and in His presence, we’re prepared for the things that will face us too. So, when Peter was confronted by these men who had put his Savior to death, his heart had already been made ready to face his day at trial.

Not only had the disciples just been with God, they had prayed to Him. In the upper room, they were praying (Acts 2:12-14). The text said they did so constantly. And here we see them praying again, in which all the people who prayed received boldness to speak. I want to highlight something about their prayer. They didn’t pray about who they were and their power. They prayed about who their God was and His power. Starting in verse 24, they first acknowledge that He is the Sovereign God. That means everything and anything that had, can, and will happen is under His rule and authority. Nothing happens that has not been given permission to happen. Everything is subject to the King.

They then spoke about His mighty acts, acts that none of the men threatening them had the power to do: create the heavens, form the earth, fashion the sea, and establish everything in them. They reminded themselves of when other lesser kings had the audacity to rise against the King and what their efforts and fate had been – futile and defeated. They acknowledge their fear stating that the way men had threatened God’s followers in the past, they were threatening them now. And then they asked if Yahweh would grant them boldness to speak in the face of the threats anyhow. And they did.

Verse 31 states, “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

What was the impact of their boldness?

Men came to believe in the Messiah.
Those who sought to instill fear and command silence became fearful and silent themselves.

At the beginning of the chapter, we see that the disciples were teaching and proclaiming Christ crucified and resurrected. They didn’t shrink back from the message of truth but exclaimed it everywhere they went. And when men heard it, they believed and were saved. Men aren’t saved from watered down and distorted messages. They are saved when the people of God boldly proclaim what the world deems downright disrespectful – that there is only one God and one way to salvation – not many gods and many roads to redemption.

We know that the religious leaders took their words offensively because they call Peter and John before their judges’ seats and ask them by what power and name are they speaking (verse 7)? To which Peter calls them to account for their deeds – crucifying the Savior of the world and reminding them that their good deeds aren’t what saves them but the finished work of Christ on the cross they put Him on.

And then what happens? The religious leaders became fearful and silent. The disciples had just healed a man who had been lame since birth. It was evident that they were speaking and moving with a power and authority not of this world. An ability not even the religious leaders could give or operate in. There was no way they could discount the wonders in which had been performed. And so, the religious leaders became fearful of making an unjust ruling in front of the people who had just witnessed this miracle at the disciples’ mouths. The text said, “there was nothing they could say” (verse 14).

When we fear man, we obey and seek to please man. But when we fear God, we obey and seek to please Him. And we see this in Peter and John’s response when the Sanhedrin call them back and ask them not to speak again about Christ and His message. Verse 19 says, “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.”

So, what are our takeaways? Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 4:20 that “the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” The religious leaders had a lot to say, but they could say nothing in face of the wonders God was working in and among His people through the Holy Spirit. He was raised with power, and He has made His power available to His people that men might believe. Our responsibility is to be with Him. Commune in His presence and in His Word. It is by this that we’ll know not to think it strange when we face fiery trials. Trials that will come from others who proclaim to be followers of Christ but by their words and deeds, deny Him. When we abide with God and His Word, our response will be to rejoice as these brothers and sisters did when God’s glory is revealed (1 Peter 4:12-14).

And then we ought to pray and do so constantly. Pray being reminded of who our Big God is. Pray and remember His mighty deeds. Pray and ask for Him to come look at those who rise against us. And then pray and ask Him to fill us with His Holy Spirit who gives us power, power to be bold.

Reflection

Do you need to make being in the presence and Word of God and in prayer to Him of greater priority? If so, what’s standing in your way? Make one intentional effort to start today.

Do you live with a Kingdom mindset? Today, many messages are about our visions and bags (our moneymaking ventures), but Christ and the disciples show us an example that we are to live for the Father’s mission and are to abandon the riches and comforts of this world for a kingdom and purpose that will never fade or be irrelevant. Is your mind set on temporary or eternal things?