What You’re Missing by Staying Quiet | A Church That Pleases God: Part 3

Summary

Podcast Summary

Podcast: Life.Church with Craig Groeschel
Episode: What You’re Missing by Staying Quiet | A Church That Pleases God: Part 3
Date: January 18, 2026
Host: Life.Church
Speaker: Craig Groeschel, Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor, Pastor Sam

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Episode Overview

This episode focuses on the importance of boldness in the Christian faith and how a church that pleases God is made up of people who are unapologetically bold about their relationship with Jesus. Pastor Craig Groeschel draws from the Book of Acts to illustrate how the early church was marked by extraordinary courage and shares practical insights into cultivating that same boldness today. Listeners are challenged to reflect on their own spiritual boldness and inspired to pursue a deeper relationship with Jesus as the source of true courage.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Everyone Is Bold About Something [00:22–02:23]

• Craig opens by noting: "Every single one of you. Some of you, you're bold about your kids...your favorite team...your politics..." (00:31).
• He reframes the question from “Are you bold?” to “What are you bold about?” and then targets the main subject: “Are you bold about your faith in Jesus?” (02:23).

2. Boldness as a Defining Mark of the Early Church [03:08–05:23]

• Boldness is not a side theme but "the defining mark of the first century church" (03:23).
• Craig gives an overview of Acts: the Holy Spirit empowers boldness (Acts 1), unites the church (Acts 2), the church prays for boldness despite persecution (Acts 4), and believers choose obedience over safety (Acts 5–28).
• “From Acts chapter 1 to Acts 28, the church...is marked with a boldness for the bold love of a Savior who died so we could be made new.” (05:19)

3. Boldness Comes from Knowing Jesus [05:25–06:37]

• “Boldness isn’t what the church does when it feels strong, it's what the church does when it knows Jesus.” (05:36)
• It's "born out of a living relationship with the risen Christ that moves us out of our comfort into a self sacrificing boldness..." (05:36).

4. Peter and John: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Boldness [07:20–14:08]

• Story of Peter and John in Acts 4: uneducated fishermen, yet "they were amazed at the boldness" (07:40).
• Craig invites reflection: "When was the last time that someone looked on and was amazed by how bold you were?" (09:02)
• Personal anecdote about Craig's transformation post-conversion, “I went from bad word guy to Jesus guy.” (10:10).
• Craig introduces the idea that boldness is not a personality trait but an overflow of a real relationship with Jesus: “Boldness isn't a personality trait. It's the overflow of a real relationship with Jesus.” (13:08).

Notable Quote

“God uses ordinary people.” (14:19)

5. Self-Reflection: How Bold Are You? [11:03–14:19]

• Craig asks listeners to rate their boldness for Jesus on a scale from 1 (devil) to 10 (Jesus).
• “If you’re a Christian, how bold…where would you put yourself?” (11:12).
• Encourages listeners not to equate boldness with extroversion; references the Greek word translated as “ordinary” (idiotes) to reinforce that God works through anyone (14:10-14:19).

Memorable Moment

A humorous personal story about Craig's first funeral and the meaning of “bless your heart” as “idiot” in southern slang (15:40).

6. The Source of Boldness: Time with Jesus [17:19–20:21]

• “If you find yourself on the lower end of the scale…chances are, not in everyone's case, but in many cases, it's a reflection of how much time you're spending with Jesus.” (18:24)
• Craig describes two cycles:
  • Positive Cycle: Time with Jesus → Increased Boldness → Greater Spiritual Impact → Deeper Spiritual Hunger → More Time with Jesus
  • Negative Cycle: Less Time with Jesus → Less Boldness → Diminished Impact → Spiritual Drift

Notable Quote

"It's not that you don't love Him, it's just you haven't spent a lot of time with Him." (20:23)

7. Prayer for Boldness in Persecution [21:36–23:23]

• When threatened, early Christians prayed not for safety, but for “great boldness in preaching your word.” (22:16)
• “A church that pleases God doesn't ask God to make life easier. We ask God to make us bolder.” (22:45)

8. Boldness Triggers Opposition, But God Honors Bold Faith [24:06–25:49]

• “Boldness triggers spiritual opposition...When you walk in bold obedience to God, you aren't shocked by the miraculous power of God.” (24:08–25:49)

Notable Quote

"Don't worry if you're criticized or persecuted for your boldness. Worry if you're not." (24:16)

9. Expecting Miracles as a Result of Boldness [25:49–27:15]

• The story of the angel releasing the apostles from jail is told with humor—Luke doesn’t make a big deal of the miracle, expecting God to move because of bold obedience (25:49).

10. Contemporary Application: The Cost of Silence [27:15–29:55]

• Craig shares a personal story about not sharing faith at a family outing, reflecting, “I actually just chose my comfort over really caring for them.” (28:48)
• Challenges listeners: “Is your faith strong enough to believe in Jesus but too timid to be bold for Him?” (28:52–29:50)

11. How to Cultivate Boldness [29:50–30:00]

• “If we’re going to be a bold church, we’re not going to pray for comfort and protection. We’re going to pray for boldness.” (29:50)
• “A comfortable church may feel good, but a bold church makes a difference in this world.” (29:57)

12. Practical Call and Corporate Prayer [30:00–32:12]

• Craig leads listeners in a hands-raised prayer for boldness, encouraging transparency and humility: “God, I need you to help me be bold.” (31:17)
• "When the world grows darker, guess what? The light shines brighter. Church, be the light." (31:51)

13. Invitation to Salvation [32:12–34:58]

• For those unsure of their standing with God, Craig invites a clear, bold confession of faith: “If you'll confess me before people, I'll confess you before my Father in heaven.” (33:30)
• An altar call for surrender to Jesus, emphasizing the need for public faith: "Who cares what anybody says? I'm stepping away from my sin. I'm giving my life to Jesus before God and everybody else." (34:02)
• Pastor Sam leads new believers in a salvation prayer (34:58).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Craig Groeschel (05:36):
  “Boldness isn’t what the church does when it feels strong, it's what the church does when it knows Jesus.”
• Craig, on the early church (13:08):
  “Boldness isn't a personality trait. It's the overflow of a real relationship with Jesus.”
• Craig, on the Greek word for 'ordinary' (14:19):
  "God uses ordinary people."
• Craig, self-reflection (20:23):
  "It's not that you don't love Him, it's just you haven't spent a lot of time with Him."
• Craig, on opposition (24:16):
  "Don't worry if you're criticized or persecuted for your boldness. Worry if you're not."
• Craig, on cycles of faith (18:24–20:21):
  “Whenever you spend more time with Jesus, your boldness increases because you feel a sense of spiritual urgency and you wanna make a difference...”
• Craig, on missed opportunities (28:48):
  "I actually just chose my comfort over really caring for them."
• Craig (31:51):
  “When the world grows darker, guess what? The light shines brighter. Church, be the light.”

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Important Timestamps

• 00:22: Craig introduces the concept of boldness and pivots to faith.
• 03:08: Overview of boldness in the Book of Acts.
• 07:20: The boldness of Peter and John before religious authorities.
• 09:02: Challenge: When was the last time someone was amazed by your boldness?
• 11:12: Self-assessment: How bold are you for Jesus?
• 13:08: Boldness is not a personality trait, but the result of closeness with Jesus.
• 14:19: God uses ordinary people (“idiotes”).
• 18:24–20:21: The cycles of spiritual growth and drift linked to time with Jesus.
• 22:16: Early believers’ prayer for boldness under threat.
• 24:08: Opposition is a sign of genuine boldness.
• 25:49: God's miracles amid bold faith are unsurprising to those walking in obedience.
• 28:52: “Is your faith strong enough to believe in Jesus but too timid to be bold for Him?”
• 31:17: Corporate prayer for boldness.
• 32:12: Invitation for salvation and public declaration of faith.
• 34:58: Pastor Sam leads the prayer of salvation.

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Conclusion

Main Takeaway:
A church that pleases God is full of people who are bold in living and sharing their faith, and this boldness doesn’t come from personality or natural courage, but from time spent with Jesus. Bold believers create bold churches that make an impact, embracing discomfort, facing opposition, and expecting God to move. The call isn’t just to believe, but to declare and live it out loud—every day, everywhere.

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Calls to Action:

• Spend more intentional time with Jesus.
• Pray specifically for boldness, not comfort.
• Share your faith proactively and without fear.
• Let boldness be the mark of your life and your church.

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If you’re seeking to take a step in faith, the episode ends with a clear invitation to surrender to Jesus and live a bold, new life.

Transcript

[Host/Announcer]

Welcome to Life Church. We're here to help you become who God created you to be. And we'd love to hear from you. Take a quick survey at Life Church PodcastConnect to let us know how we can support you on your faith journey. And now let's go to the message.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Well, there's something I know about every single one of you.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Every single everyone at every Life Church location in every state, those of you.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Around the world, online. What I know about every single one of you is that you are bold about something. Every single one of you. Some of you, you're bold about your kids, because objectively speaking, you do have the most amazing kids in the history of the world. You're bold about your kids. Some of you, you're bold about your favorite team. Embarrassingly bold about your favorite team. So much so you take your shirt off and paint yourself colors and tell yourself this is the year your team's gonna do it. Some of you are bold about your workout plans because it changed your life. Many of you are bold about your politics because you're right and everybody else is wrong. Some of you, you're just bold about coffee. And you know the only way it should be made is we don't have to talk to be bold. We already know how to be bold. Why? Because we're bold about what we value. We speak up about what matters to us. We defend the things that we love. So today, I'm not gonna ask you if you are bold because you actually are bold. What I'm asking you is, like, what are you bold about? And for those of you that are Christians, and what I don't mean is, like, you're born in the United States of America and you're not Muslim, so you're Christian. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about that your sins have been forgiven. That you've been filled with the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead. That you know that you're an ambassador into this world, that you're called to be light. That you're called to go into all the world to make disciples preaching the name of Jesus, I'm talking to you. If those of you who would say, yes, I have been changed by Jesus, I know I am His. My name is written in the Lamb's book of life. I want to ask you, for those of you that know your Christians, are.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

You bold about your faith in Jesus? Are you bold about your faith in Jesus?

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Because if your life has truly been.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Changed by Jesus, you don't have to be Pushed to talk about him. You actually want to talk about him.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

We're in a message series that we're.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Calling a church that pleases God.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

And a church that pleases God is made up of what if you know, just go ahead and say it's made up of what?

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

It's made up of people that are pleasing God.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

And one of the qualities that we're gonna find that is actually pleasing to God are people that are bold about.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Their faith in Jesus.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Jesus even said that if you boldly confess me before people, I'll confess you before my Father in heaven. But if you're ashamed of me, if you're not bold about me, if you don't tell others about me, Jesus said.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

I'm not gonna confess you before my Father.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

And when you look at the first century church in the book of Acts, the very first followers of Jesus, what you're gonna see is that boldness isn't a side theme in the book of Acts. Boldness is the defining mark of the first century church and one of the marks of a church that pleases God. What I'm gonna do is I'm gonna give you just a very, very brief overview and then we're gonna dive into some specific verses in the book of Acts, but I'm gonna show you. In Acts chapter one, we see this. God promises to send the Holy Spirit in power, unleashing an unshakable boldness to spread the gospel of Jesus. Then in Acts chapter two, the Holy Spirit unites believers into a church boldly devoted to God's word, to God's people, and to God's mission. Then in Acts chapter 4, under Threats of severe persecution, the church prays and asks God for boldness. And God fills them with power and releases radical generosity through the body of Christ. Acts chapter 5, verse. The believers choose obedience over safety and the disciples preach Christ boldly in the face of suffering and persecution. Then in Acts 17, Paul boldly preaches Jesus and hostile cultures, reasoning publicly without compromising the Gospel. Then the last chapter of the book of Acts, Acts 28 and the very last verse of the last chapter of the Book of Acts, you see that even in chains, Paul proclaims the Gospel with boldness and without hindrance. From Acts chapter 1 to Acts 28, the church made up of spirit filled believers is marked with a boldness for the bold love of a Savior who.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Died so we could be made new.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

And it kind of raises the question.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

When you think about it.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

In spite of all of the opposition those first century Christians face All the.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Threat, all the pain they endured, all.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

The persecution, why did they continue to risk their lives boldly for the sake of the gospel? And the answer is because boldness isn't what the church does when it feels strong, it's what the church does when it knows Jesus. It's not something that we work up whenever we think, oh my gosh, I've got to go be bold for him. It's born out of a living relationship with the risen Christ that moves us out of our comfort into a self sacrificing boldness to help others know who he is and what it means to know him. And so if we're going to be a church that pleases God, we're going to be made up of people that are pleasing God. And one of the qualities of people that are pleasing God are those who are bold, sharing a reflection of God's love for us through us to help others know the grace and life they can have in Christ. So how do we do that? Like, how do we do it individually? Like you when you go to school, or you when you go to work, or you in your family that may not believe in Jesus? And then how do we do it corporately when we come together as the church to show the love of Jesus in the world? We're gonna look at the book of Acts and we're gonna start in Acts, chapter four, and we're gonna look at one of the most powerful stories. To give you the context, there's two guys named Peter and John. And these guys were probably that they weren't the best educated people. They were fishermen that had kind of ordinary jobs and they had prayed and God healed a man that had been crippled from birth. And so they're out there telling everybody, hey, Jesus did this, and it's by the power of God. And what they did was they were kind of poking at the religious leaders because they said it was the same guy that you crucified Jesus that God raised from the dead. He's the one who did this. Now whenever they said that God raised him from the dead, that was considered heresy to the Sadducees. So they were kind of poking at him and they were saying, you killed him, but God raised him, you killed him, but God raised him. And they were so bold saying this before the leaders who had the power to take their lives, that the leaders were astonished. And so they arrested the religious leaders, arrested Peter and John, and they were standing before the same council that crucified Jesus. And these ordinary fishermen spoke with so much confidence and so much courage and so much passion and so much boldness that the leaders were stunned. Acts chapter 4, verse 13 tells us this. The members of the council were amazed. They're taken aback when they saw the boldness of Peter and John. They weren't amazed with their education. They weren't amazed with their oratory skills. They weren't amazed with the fly look that they had in the brand of shoes they were wearing. They were amazed at the boldness. For they could see that these two guys, Peter and John, were ordinary men with no special training in. In scripture. How'd they do this? How are these ordinary guys with no.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Training so bold and so confident? They were amazed by their boldness. When was the last time that someone looked on and was amazed by how bold you were? I'll tell you. When I first became a follower of Jesus, they were amazed because I was a punk that got saved. And when. I don't even know.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Is punk a word nowadays?

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Not really. Back then it was a word punk. I was a punk. And I'm saying I was a punk. Like you would've seen me.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

You go, he's a punk. I was playing college tennis. I was very, very lost.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

And back then, and they still have.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

It on rackets, you'd have the label. I'll show you a picture just so you'll see. You'll see the P on there that stood for prints. Well, we had to string our own rackets. And we were on a really good team. Always ranked top 10 in the nation.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Nai. But never mind that. But anyway, Nai.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

And so we were cocky and what we would do is we would write bad words with markers on our rackets. Bad words.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Like if.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Like when you think of a bad one. Yeah, maybe that one. I was a punk. And then I got radically changed by Jesus. And immediately I went from bad word guy to. I put a cross on my racket. It felt so bold. I put the little fish Christian symbol. I would write Jesus on there. I went from bad word guy to Jesus guy. And then I would pray before every match. And everybody was so confused. And then I got this award one time and they said, would you like to say a few words?

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

And I said, yes, I would.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

And I stepped forward and in about 60 seconds, I told the whole gospel. I preached from Genesis to Revelation, talked about sin, salvation, sanctification, justification, the resurrection, the soon returning king, King of kings and Lord of Lords.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

And they were amazed. They were amazed. Like, that guy's so bold. They made fun of me. They persecuted me. They were amazed.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

And so, again, I want to talk to those of you that are followers of Jesus. If you're not a committed follower of.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Jesus, you get a pass on this question. So no pressure.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

For those of you that are Christians, and this is not to shame you, it's not to guilt you. It's not to. Is just to get you to reflect, I would ask you this question. On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the lowest, 10 being the highest, how bold are you about your faith for Jesus? If you're a Christian, how bold? To make it easier for you, I'm gonna say you're not a one. We're gonna say one is the devil.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

And 10 is Jesus. You're not the devil and you're not Jesus.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

So we'll make it a little bit easier for you. Let's start on the high end. If you're like an 8 or a 9, you are not at church by yourself because you brought two or three people with you, because you're always inviting people. And you probably shared your faith with multiple people this week. You're praying for lots of people who need Jesus. You may have led someone to Christ yesterday, because why? You're bold in your faith. You're an 8 or a 9. You might be in the middle. And that is you're bringing someone to church with you once every three or four months, and you are praying for somebody right now. And people at work would say, oh, yeah, yeah, she's probably a Christian in your fraternity. Oh, yeah, yeah, we know he's a Christian guy. Or maybe you're on the lower end of the scale where you really do believe in Jesus. But the people at work might say, oh, my gosh, I've worked with you for seven years and I didn't know you're a Christian. I'm a Christian, too. And it's not that you don't love Jesus, it's just that they don't know about it. You probably haven't brought anyone to church. You probably haven't led anyone to Christ. You probably haven't shared your faith. For you, being a witness is just living a life that's a pretty good life. And you'd be a little bit lower on the scale. Again, not to shame you, but just to think about it, on a scale of 1 to 10, where would you put yourself? The religious leaders, they said, these guys, they're like a nine. We're shocked by it. And what some of you are going to think is kind of what I would think, too, which is, well, I'm more introverted and I'm more reserved. I've got people that are loud. You know, you've all got that friend. In fact, if you're an introverted, you're probably married to the annoying loud person. Because that's how it tends to work. And I'm not that person. I'm just not very. I'm not naturally bold. And what I wanna remind you is that boldness isn't a personality trait. It's the overflow of a real relationship with Jesus. And you can see it in God's word. The leaders, they're amazed at Peter and John's boldness because they were ordinary people. I'll show you a really cool thing that came from my time in seminary. Because I studied the original language in seminary. And every time I show you those words, just so you know, I actually.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Worked really hard in school.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

The word in the Greek translated as ordinary is the word idiot. And this mean. This word is translated as ordinary. That's exactly what it means.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

It means ordinary.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Ordinary, untrained, with no credentials, no religious status, and outside of the traditional system. They were amazed because these guys were idiotized. In other words, they were very ordinary. Nothing special that stood out about them. No training, which is really good news to say it politely. God uses ordinary people. And if you think more like I do, you're asking yourself, I wonder what English word comes from the word idiot. And if you ask yourself that and you think it's the word idiot, you are exactly right. God is using a bunch of ordinary idiots. Which is great news for people like me. Because you don't have to always be the one they expect. God uses ordinary people. And for those of you in Life Church, Albany, because you're in the Northeast, you don't know this, but in the south, if somebody ever says bless your heart, just so you know, they already know what that means is you're an idiot. Just so you know, if someone says bless your heart, that means you're an idiot. If I fell off this stage cause I got too close, they say, well, bless his heart. That means he's an idiot. For example, the time I did my very first funeral, I was 22 years of age. A lady died, that was like 190. It was time for her to go to heaven.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

She was.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Should have been an easy funeral. It was an outdoor funeral. And they said, craig, would you lead them and have everyone sing Amazing Grace? And so I said, sure, I will. And so they were all there, maybe 20 people. And so I started singing Amazing Grace, if you don't know, I'm a joyful noise type of guy, not one who leads worship. I started singing Amazing Grace and no one joined in. My only solo is horrible. In the middle of my solo, a fly outside, I'm singing amazing. And it wasn't amazing, it was bad. A fly flew in, hit my little uvula thing. The little dingly thing back there dropped into my throat about there. I've got two choices. Grandma's dead, I'm singing a solo, I hack a loogie, or I take one. What do you think I did? Oh, you know what I did? I took one for Team Jesus right there at the moment, in the middle of my funeral. I digested the fly, got to the end of the funeral. True story. And I go for the closing part. I put my hand on the casket. I look very pastoral. And you know what they say at the end of funerals, right? You know, they say, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. I said it. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. And then I thought, what comes after that? What comes after that? I still don't even know what comes after that. I don't know. So I thought, everybody's sad. I just swallowed a fly. I'm gonna make this funny. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. I sure hope this coffin doesn't rust. I said it. I said it. See, you laughed. I thought it was funny. They didn't. They didn't have a personality. The funeral's over. I'm walking to the car with the funeral home director guy. He's an older guy in a suit. He looks at me and says, first funeral. I said, yes, sir. And he said, bless your heart. That's what it means. And in the Greek, the word of God said, they were amazed because they were just ordinary idiots. They're looking on, they're going, where did the boldness come from? How'd these guys get so bold? And the last part of the verse shows us the religious leaders were amazed by their boldness. And Scripture says they were astonished. And they took note that why were these guys bold? They took note that these men had been with Jesus. You see, boldness isn't a personality trait. It's reflection. It's a reflection of time with Jesus. And if you find yourself on the lower end of the scale, maybe like you're a two or a three, and you realize you're not that bold. Chances are, not in everyone's case, but in many cases, it's a reflection of.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

How much time you're spending with Jesus.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Because there's a couple of cycles that tend to happen and I'll show you both of them. The first one is whenever you spend more time with Jesus, you're in his word and you're praying. And worship isn't just what you do on Sunday, but it's a part of your life. Your life is worship and you're being directed by the Spirit of God. Whenever you spend more time with Jesus, your boldness increases because you feel a sense of spiritual urgency and you wann make a difference. And when your boldness increases, what happens is your spiritual impact intensifies. Because like you're serving in church and you're seeing God use you in the lives of people and you're praying for people at work and then someone asks a question, you actually share your faith with them. And your boldness, your spiritual impact intensifies. And so then your spiritual hunger grows because you're making a difference. And you spent time with Jesus and now you want more time with Jesus. And the cycle goes and you continue to grow. When you spend time with Jesus, your passion grows and your impact grows and therefore your hunger grows and you spend more time with Jesus and your boldness continues to make a difference. And then sometimes you actually get distracted. And instead of more time with Jesus, you spend less time with Jesus. Because life gets busy, doesn't it? Sometimes? And you skip your Bible time one day and then you skip it another day and your prayer life kind of falters and you don't make it to church cause of the game. And the next week you don't make it to church because it's too hot. And the next week you don't make it to church because it's too cold and you're not serving anywhere and you haven't really shared your faith. And because you spent less time with Jesus, you're just not as bold because it's not front of mind. You've got your mind on other things. You're paying the bills, you're trying to keep your yard, you're trying to keep your kids going and get them everywhere. And when your boldness decreases, your spiritual impact diminishes. I mean, you're not serving in church and you're not serving in the community and you haven't shared your faith in the community. And when your spiritual impact diminishes, then you just drift from Jesus. It's not that you don't love him, it's just you haven't spent a lot.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Of time with him.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

You just got busy, you got distracted. And when you Drift from Jesus, your.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Boldness decreases and you find yourself in a negative cycle. The key is time. In his presence, it's like, it's not.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

That we're reading his word to make ourselves, like, smarter so we can win the Bible drill.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

When they say, can you find the book of Obadiah?

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

You know, it's more like, it's like.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

I actually need him. I need him to renew his mind. I need his word to direct my steps.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

I need to be convicted by the Spirit, so I walk away with sin. I need him to build my faith.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

So that I'm walking by faith and not by sight. And when I'm spending time with him, I'm just bolder. And when I'm bolder, I'm making a bigger difference. When I'm making a bigger difference, my spiritual hunger grows and I get bolder and bolder. And then you're becoming a fully devoted follower of Christ. So in our story, these guys had been with Jesus. They heard him teach, they saw the miracles, therefore they were bold. The guy you crucified, God raised from the dead, he's the one who has all power. He is the only way to God. And they're preaching faithfully. And the religious leaders got angry and said, hey, you can't do that.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

You can't do that. If you preach like that anymore, we'll arrest you, we'll beat you, we may even kill you.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

They threaten their lives. So if your life is threatened for your faith in Jesus, do you get bolder or do you get more timid? These guys, they prayed, and they should because their lives were in danger. And what's crazy is to see what they prayed for. If my life was in danger, I'm probably gonna pray.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Protect me, God. You know, most Christians pray, bless me, God. Keep me safe on my dangerous four mile drive to work today.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

But when their lives were threatened, let me show you what these disciples prayed. Oh, now, O Lord, hear their threats and give us your servants great boldness in preaching your word. Oh, Lord, hear their threats and give us great boldness in preaching your word. Lord, hear their threats and give us great boldness.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Because a church that pleases God doesn't.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Ask God to make life easier. We ask God to make us bolder. Look at their whole prayer, and I want to show you God's answer. Their whole prayer is this. And now, O Lord, hear their threats and give us your servants great boldness in preaching the word. Stretch out your hand with healing power. May miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of. Of Your holy servant, Jesus.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

And after this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and they preached the.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Word of God with boldness. Lord, hear their threats and make us bold. Wonder what would happen in your life if every day, as part of your time with Jesus, when you open up the Word and you talk to him, if you said, make me bold, help me be bold at work, Help me be bold at the gym, help me be bold in front of my family. What do you think God would do if daily you asked him to make you bold? The guys kept preaching even though their lives were in danger and miracles happened and people were saved and everything went well, Perfectly. No problems because they were doing the.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Work of God, right?

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

No. Why? Because boldness triggers spiritual opposition. Opposition.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

You step out in faith, the enemy pushes back. Scripture says this. The religious leaders arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. If you're paying careful attention, this is the second time they've been in prison this week. Most people today, if that happened, they'd be like, I can't take it anymore. I'm leaving the church. Christianity's too hard. God's not with me. I mean, that's kind of the way we are. I prayed and it got hard. Where's God? If you're bold in your faith, get ready to be persecuted. Get ready for opposition. If you're bold for your faith in school, get ready for them to make fun of you. If you stand up for Jesus online, get ready to be berated and mocked and scoffed at and cussed at. If you stand up for your faith boldly, with integrity at work, you may get looked over for a promotion. Why? Because boldness triggers opposition. I say it this way. Don't worry if you're criticized or persecuted for your boldness. Worry if you're not. Because when you're truly living for Jesus, the forces of darkness push back. That boldness triggers spiritual opposition. That's the bad news. But the good news is that God honors bold faith. Watch what happens. They stand bold. They continue to pray. The religious leaders arrested the apostles and put them in a public jail. Luke, he's the doctor. He's writing this. And Luke says, but during the night, an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. Would you pause here? And I want you to look at.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Just this verse for a moment.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Luke barely makes a deal out of the angel.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

I'm gonna read it again.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

But during the night, an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them Out. There's not even an exclamation point. There's not like a. Oh, my gosh. That angel was, like, 9ft tall, shining in white with a bronze sword. Amazing. There was nothing like that. It's nothing like this. Like, they were in trouble, they prayed, and the angel of the Lord showed up and got him out. Matter of fact, no. Like, oh, my gosh, this is crazy. Almost like they were expecting God to do something. Why? Because when you walk in bold obedience to God, you aren't shocked by the miraculous power of God. You're just walking by faith, believing by faith that God's gonna show up and do something. And he does. And then in verse 20, the angel tells him this. The angel says, go stand in the temple courts and tell the people about this new life. And at daybreak, they enter the temple courts as they've been told and begin to teach the people. Now, what did the angel tell them to do? Go do what got you arrested twice before and may get you beaten, which inspires me to be bold in my faith. And I have been bolder than you can imagine. And I've been timid. Amy and I took one of my sons, Stephen, and his wife Ashlyn, to.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

This little camp ranch thing where you.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Had an archery and horseback riding. I'll show you this video. Stephen doing archery. Can you zoom in on this, Mike? Zoom in. Cause this, he's never shot before. This is him doing. Zoom in. Quick, quick, quick. This is him.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Boom. Look at that. Boom. Look at that. That's just amazing. That's a pastor you wanna learn from right there. He's a pastor who can shoot like that.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Anyway, that had nothing to do with.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Anything, but I was just proud. I'm just the dad of the pastor who did that. Pastor to students. If your kids aren't in switch, men are missing out. Oh, they're missing out. The power of God working through our students.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

You want to see passion?

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Look at our students.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

You want to see boldness?

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Look at our students. So we were there at this place, and the people that worked at the camp lived there.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

And so to this day, I can.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Tell you five names of the people we interacted with.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

I could tell you I don't want.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

To do it in case they don't want to think I'm gossiping about them.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

But we prayed over our meals, and.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

We talked a little bit about God, but we never went all the way to share our faith. We got home and Amy came in. Great trip. And she walked in looking kind of sad. And my Mind's racing. What did I not do? What did I forget? Was I not paying attention? Did I not repeat back what she just said?

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

And I said, what's going on? She said, oh, nothing. I had to pull it out of her. And she went, and she went and.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Named the people so and so and.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

So and so and so and so and so.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

So we never shared our faith directly with them. And I thought, you're exactly right, and Steven would have my son, but he was following my lead. I almost did. I almost did. I almost did. But I just didn't want to push them. The trip was so much fun.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

I didn't want to make it uncomfortable. I didn't want to make it awkward for them. So I actually just chose my comfort.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Over really caring for them. Because you could believe in Jesus privately and still not share his love boldly. And it raises the piercing question that I have to ask myself, is your faith strong enough to believe in Jesus but too timid to be bold for him? If it is, if you find yourself going, yeah, I'm actually on the lower end of that scale of 1 to 10, what do you do? Well, you spend time with Jesus, you get in his word and you get in his presence, and you make worship a part of your life. And you let his spirit lead you and convict you and speak to you. And then when you do, you just naturally become bold. As boldness isn't a personality trait. It's a reflection of time with Jesus. And so what kind of a church pleases God? The church that pleases God is made up of people that are pleasing God, and people who are bold for Jesus are pleasing to God. And so if we're going to be.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

A bold church, we're not going to.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Pray for comfort and protection. We're going to pray for boldness.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Because a comfortable church may feel good.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

But a bold church makes a difference in this world.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

And so what are we going to do?

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

We're going to spend time with Jesus. I'm going to tell you right now, I'm not going to be in an environment like that again with people that I care about and not share my faith. I'm going to spend enough time with Jesus till the fire is hot and the love is deep. And if we genuinely believe what we say we believe, we are not gonna be timid. For our God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a power and of love and of a sound mind. So what we're gonna do today is we're gonna do something just a little bit Different. Normally I'd say, close your eyes and pray, but you could actually pray with your eyes open. Jesus said, watch and pray, which is a good model if you're ever praying and driving at the same time. So we're gonna watch and pray. God, we ask that you'd make us bold. Would you just say it? God, make me bold. If you're a Christian today, I'm just speaking to Christians and you would say, yeah, Craig, I've been like you. Sometimes I wasn't as bold as I know I could be, should be, and I want to be bold. Let's just call it what it is. Right in front of everybody, say, God, I need you to help me be bold. Raise up your hands just all over the place, man. Praise God for boldness online. Just type in the comment section. God, help me.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Leave your hands up just for fun.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Let's make it awkward.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Make it awkward.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Leave him out for just a second. I'm gonna pray for you with your hand lifted up.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

God, as we lift our hands up to you.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

This is a sign of worship of who you are and what your son has done for us. And because of who Jesus is and what he's done, we repent of our timidity. We repent of our fear. God, I repent of my comfort. Make us bold. Make individually, make us bold, corporately. Make us bold so that we can show the love of Jesus in a dark world. When the world grows darker, guess what? The light shines brighter. Church.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Be the light.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Be the light.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Be the light. Be the light.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Be the light.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Be light. Don't come to church alone. Don't not pray for somebody.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Spend time with Jesus till it overflows. If you agree, say in Jesus name, say Amen. Amen.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

We're still praying.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

We're watching and praying. There are those of you that you don't really know where you stand with God. I said earlier, if you know that you're a child of God, that you.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

Know if your life was over, you.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Know beyond a shadow of a doubt, you would spend eternity with God in heaven. There are those of you, I could ask you that.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

On a scale of 1 to 10.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

How sure are you? How sure would spend eternity with heaven? Some of you say five, six, seven. I'm going to tell you right now, if you don't know I'm talking to you because scripture says our spirit will bear witness. How do we know if we're right with God? Well, scripture tells us that on our own we're not, meaning we've all sinned and you know that feeling when you feel guilty and ashamed of what you did? Like, I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't have done that.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

You think, well, I'm probably not good enough for God, so I better try hard.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

That's where we all start. That's humanism. That's not Christianity. Christianity is God doing for us what we couldn't do for ourselves. God became flesh in the person of Jesus. For God so loved the world that he sent his one and only son. Jesus, whosoever believes in him wouldn't perish but have eternal life. Scripture says that we are dead in our sins and the only way we're made right with God is to repent, to turn away from our sins, to put our faith in Jesus. We're not saved by our own good works. We're saved by our faith in Jesus. Now, here's what Jesus said, and this is where it gets a little tricky. He said this. He said, if you'll confess me before people, I'll confess you before my Father in heaven. But Jesus said this.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

He said, if you don't, I won't.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Like, if you're ashamed of me, maybe you don't really know me. So today, instead of preaching it up, I'm just gonna preach it out. Just say, if you don't know where you stand with Jesus and you wanna be right with him. We're stepping away from our sins and we're gonna give our lives to Jesus. Not a prayer to save me, a prayer of devotion to him. A prayer of, he is everything. Like, I wanna know him. I wanna serve him.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

I want.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

I want my life to reflect him.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

I need his grace.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

I need his forgiveness. My life is no longer my own. I give it to him. When you call on him.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

He hears your prayers.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

He forgives your sins.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

He makes you brand new. In front of everybody that's looking, who cares? I need him. Who cares? What they think I want is forgiveness. Who cares what anybody says? I'm stepping away from my sin. I'm giving my life to Jesus before God and everybody else. If you're surrendering your life to Jesus today, lift up your hands and say, that's me. I'm giving my life to him.

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Up there.

[Craig (Lead Speaker/Pastor)]

God bless you guys. Right here, over there. Others of you, they say, yes, right back over there. And over there, listen. Oh, praise God for you. Praise God today. Others of you say, yes, right back over there. All right here. Praise God. And up there. Oh, yes. Ah, come on, church. Give God glory. Praise God for your boldness your boldness. You're not ashamed of him. Online. Type in the comments section. I'm surrendering my life to Christ. Just type it. I'm surrendering. Just type it boldly online so everybody can see. Pastor Sam, hey, this is your campus. Would you come up today in front of some really bold people who don't care what anybody thinks, who want to say, I belong to Jesus. Would you lead us in prayer?

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Come on.

[Pastor Sam]

Those of you who made that decision, just repeat this prayer. But you're not going to pray alone. Let's all pray together. Say, heavenly Father, Almighty God, I give you my life. I surrender my heart. Today I boldly declare Jesus as my Lord and my Savior. I am forgiven of all my sins. Fill me with your spirit so I can boldly share your love with others. Thank you for new life. Now you have mine. In Jesus name I pray. Can somebody get a little loud? Can somebody celebrate this goodness?

[Co-Speaker/Assistant Pastor or Worship Leader]

Come on.

[Host/Announcer]

We are celebrating with those of you who just made the decision to follow Jesus. Check out the show notes for helpful resources and next steps. Remember to head over to Life Church podcast. Connect to share a little about yourself and how we can support you.