Ashley and I have been talking about doing this song for a while, and it's by one of our favorite artists, Ray Brown. As I've been singing through this, I'm amazed at some of the lyrics, and they're inspired by Proverbs. This is from chapter 3, verse 5 and 6: 

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to Him, and He will direct your paths." 

Reach down, leaving strength in His right hand, and this prisoner of sin, the blood of Jesus has set free. 

"O Lord, my rock, be not silent. Thou art a lamp unto my feet. I long to see the face of my Redeemer. Just to thank you, Jesus, our mercy tis so sweet." 

Show me the ways, O Lord. Show me thy way. Teach me the paths, O Lord. Show me thy way. Lead me in truth, O Lord. Thou art my guide. 

Show me the ways, O Lord. Show me thy way. Teach me the paths, O Lord. Show me thy way. I need my soul, O Lord. God, my salvation. 

Trust in the Lord with all thy heart. Lean not unto thine own understanding. Always acknowledge Him, and He'll direct your paths. Show me the ways, O Lord. Show me thy way. Teach me the paths, O Lord. Show me thy way. Lead me in truth, O Lord. Thou art my guide. 

Show me the ways, O Lord. Show me thy way. Teach me the paths, O Lord. Show me thy way. I need my soul, O Lord. God, my salvation. 

God, my salvation. Thou art my guide. Amen. Thank you, Doug and Ashley, for that good song. And Ray, they say the greatest form of flattery is imitation, right? So, cover song for Ray there. 

Good morning to everyone. Good to see you all this morning. It was a little bit chilly on the farm this morning. Pastor said he had 26 below, so I'm not sure what it was at my house, but it felt a little cold. You could feel it seeping in.

We're continuing our study today in the book of Acts in chapter 4. And we've talked often about how this was really an amazing time, the beginning of the church from the day of Pentecost, as we see God working through His apostles, His disciples there, building the church. It was a time of signs and wonders and bold and powerful preaching, working of the Holy Spirit, and salvation of tens of thousands in Jerusalem. 

God was working powerfully through His witnesses, and He was having a tremendous impact in that city where it all started. And just as Jesus' powerful and popular ministry on earth did not go unnoticed by the religious leaders of His time, so the ministry of the apostles and the work that Jesus continued to do through them was starting to raise the eyebrows of these same religious leaders who had put Jesus to death. 

We started last time in chapter 3 examining the account of the healing of a lame man at the temple gate called Beautiful. Peter and John were on their way into the temple for evening prayer, and laying there was a lame man from his birth. For more than 40 years he had lived this way, unable to stand or walk, unable to work or provide for himself. So he lay there asking for alms. 

The people were used to seeing him lying there on his mat near the gate as they walked into the temple. But on this day, this man was healed. He was made completely whole. And we saw the undeniable miracle as the man was walking, leaping for joy, praising God, hanging on Peter and John after they had healed him in the name of Jesus the Christ. 

And this event drew quite a crowd. It was a busy time of day, and many were going into the temple to pray, and they marveled and they were amazed when they saw this lame man walking and leaping. God had brought together a tremendous crowd so that Peter could preach the gospel to them and call on them to come to faith in Jesus. And many did. 

It says in verse 4 of our text today that the number of the men came to be about 5,000. All in all, we may be approaching up to 20,000 people—men, women, and children—who had come to faith in Jesus and were part of the church in Jerusalem at this point. 

We saw that Peter boldly took the opportunity that God provided and spoke clearly of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. He reiterated the truth that the times of Messiah had come, and that God was willing and ready to make good on His promises to Israel concerning their King and the kingdom over which He would reign if they would just turn in faith and receive Him. 

What an amazing day. What a stunning, exciting time in which these fishermen from Galilee ministered and saw the mighty hand of God working through them to turn the world upside down. 

And what we're going to see in Acts 4 today is that when a believer or a group of believers are steadfast in prayer and fellowship in the Word of God, when they are witnesses for Jesus, when they are trusting and believing, abiding in Christ in this world, my friends, when we live for Jesus and preach the truth about Him and the need of man and the cross and sin and resurrection and eternal life, we will see the world—the men of this world, the ruler of this world—rise up against the church and bring persecution to the believers. 

In Peter and John's case, it was arrest and jail, a trial before the Sanhedrin and yet another opportunity to preach the truth. In our case, in our world today, it may be a simple mocking, a shunning, or threatening of a loss of a job or status or whatever. But as Paul writes to Timothy, the truth remains that whoever desires to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. 

What we're going to see is that it is Jesus that really riles them up. It's not so much us as individuals that they hate, but it is Jesus who they truly want to persecute, and especially the exclusivity of Jesus as the only Savior, the only way to God. 

I've given you four points on your outline this morning before we get to our text. First, we're going to see "riled up by Jesus." Second, "redefining smart." Third, "religious denial." And fourth, the application for us: "relying on God." 

Let's look in verse 1 of our text. We'll read down to verse 4 to start. 

Now, as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 

However, many of those who heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to be about 5,000. 

What we see here in verse 1 is that Peter and John were teaching the people. They were explaining to them that Jesus is the long-awaited Christ who they had killed and who God had raised from the dead. They were teaching the people doctrine about Jesus, and this was a real problem for the religious leaders. 

We see in verse 1 that while they were teaching, speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them. And here we see the first persecution of the church for the cause of Christ. Peter and John were seized, arrested, because they were preaching the gospel, because they were confronting the sins of men and calling them to turn from their religion, from their own self-righteousness, and turn to faith in Jesus. 

Notice verse 2, it says, "...being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead." They laid hands on them and put them in custody. 

Why are Christians persecuted? Why in this event did they lay hands on them and arrest them? The reason is because they were all riled up. They were greatly disturbed by Jesus and the truth of salvation through faith in Him. It is Jesus that men hate. 

The carnal men, the religious men of this world, they hate the truth about Jesus. And most of all, what they hate is the exclusive claim that Jesus made. We're going to see it from Peter's own mouth in verse 12 of our text: "...nor is there salvation in any other. For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." 

Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." 

The men of this world, lost men in Adam, especially religious men, cannot stand this claim, cannot handle this truth. It's fine to talk about God. It's fine to be spiritual and even to teach and preach what Paul calls another Jesus. But if you stand up and preach the Jesus of the Bible and the truth of the need of man to repent and believe Jesus alone and what He accomplished on the cross, and if you dare to say that there is no other way to get to heaven, then my friends, you will see the world react. 

And you will see persecution, animosity, hatred manifest for the only begotten Son of God, the only Savior of the world. 

There's been a lot of talk lately about Oprah Winfrey running for president. She's been one of the greatest proponents in our time of New Age theology. I saw a video of one of her shows the other day, and she and the guest were basically having a discussion about how you get to heaven. And she was going on about how there are many ways to heaven and how each person has to look inside themselves and find their own way. 

And there was a woman in the audience who stood up and said, "There's only one way, and that way is Jesus. That way is Christianity. Only by faith in Jesus can a man be saved." And Oprah went off on this lady. She was clearly perturbed by this notion that there was only one way. She was quite hostile, and she was kind of losing her composure, and then she cut herself short and ended the conversation by saying, "Well, I can't get into a religious argument with you."

Jesus said a servant is not greater than his master. If they hated me, they will hate you also. He told the disciples that they would be arrested, taken before councils, that there would be division even in their own households, and that they would be persecuted, even martyred for their witness to Him. 

And we see the beginning of this here in Acts chapter 4, where Peter and John are arrested because they were preaching Jesus. 

It's interesting to see how Peter and John react to a night in jail and being brought before the Sanhedrin. 

Look at verse 5 with me, please. 

And it came to pass on the next day that their rulers, elders, and scribes, as well as Annas, the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest were gathered together at Jerusalem. 

And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, "By what power or by what name have you done this?" 

Let's stop here for a second. It's fascinating to me to see how God is working through the apostles here. We can have two perspectives on this situation, and I think this is very instructive for us in every situation in our lives. 

Peter and John could be singing the blues; they could be complaining; they could be upset; they could be depressed; they could be doubting God. After all, they're sitting in prison. I mean, all they did was go out and do what Jesus told them to do. They were simply obeying Christ's command to preach the gospel. And look where it got them: rotting in jail, facing the council. This just isn't working out like they thought it would. 

Or, they could rejoice in the fact that they were experiencing persecution for their faith, for their witness. They could see this as a tremendous opportunity to further the kingdom, to preach Christ to the rulers of their time. And this is exactly how they saw this. They trusted God. They believed He was working and had them in this situation of persecution or threats against them of possible death or scourging so that they could preach to the very religious leaders who had crucified Jesus. 

How else could they ever have witnessed to this group of men? This powerful, influential group of men who were filled with hatred and hardness toward the truth. But God set this all up. And He was working. And He had a purpose in this persecution. 

Look at verse 8. It says, "Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, 'Rulers of the people and elders of Israel, if we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made weak, let it be known to you all and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.'" 

This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone. Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." 

And verse 13 says, "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled and they realized that they had been with Jesus." 

Peter is filled with the Spirit. He's walking in obedience to Christ, trusting the Lord, abiding in Him, and the opportunities just keep falling into his lap. And when they come, he just opens his mouth, and he preaches the gospel. 

"Jesus made this man well," he says. "Jesus, whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead." He keeps telling them this. He keeps showing them that in their hearts and in their actions, they are against God and His anointed and His truth. He quotes Psalm 118:22, their own Scriptures to them. And he shows them that Jesus is the chief cornerstone, and they, the builders, rejected Him. 

But God has raised Him up, has placed that stone right back in as the chief cornerstone. Jesus quoted this passage as well in the Gospels. And Peter uses it in his epistle. 

1 Peter 2:6 says, "Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious. And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame. Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious. But to those who are disobedient, the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone." 

Peter's just taking the opportunity that God provides, and being filled with the Spirit, he opens his mouth and preaches the truth. This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone. And there's no salvation in any other name. 

He makes the truth of their sin and their need clear. And he makes abundantly clear that Jesus is the only one, the only way to meet that need, to save them from the wrath of God for their sin. 

You know, my brothers and sisters in Christ, God is still creating opportunities for us today. He's prepared good works in advance for us to do. He's orchestrating the circumstances. If we are abiding in Christ, if we're praying, if we're looking for those opportunities, and if we're filled with the Spirit, then when those opportunities come, we will open our mouths and boldly preach Jesus. 

We have the same Holy Spirit living in us. We have the same God working out the details. And we have the same message of salvation in no other but redemption by grace through faith in Jesus alone. 

God is still working through us today to build His church. And we need to trust Him. We need to see every circumstance in life as an opportunity created by God to be a witness for Him and to glorify Him. 

I just want for you to look at the reaction of these learned, wise leaders of Israel in verse 13. It says, "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled and they realized that they had been with Jesus." 

There are two things that I think are important in this verse. First, we need to redefine smart. And second, men need to realize that we've been with Jesus. 

I heard a man on the radio the other day talking about Stephen Hawking. If you're familiar with Stephen Hawking, he's a world-renowned physicist and he's proclaimed to be the smartest man in the world. Hawking has a rare, early-onset, slow-progressing form of ALS, also known as motor neuron disease or Lou Gehrig's disease, and it's gradually paralyzed him. You may have seen him in his wheelchair, almost completely incapacitated by his condition. He moves himself about with his mouth, controlling a device that powers the chair. 

The news story that I heard on the radio the other day was about a new prediction that Hawking has made. He's been an alarmist about global warming, and last year he made a prediction that the earth would be uninhabitable within a thousand years. Well, a thousand years, that's a long time. That's hard to measure. Surely he'll be gone by then, and we'll all be long gone by then. So that's kind of an easy prediction to make. 

But recently, Hawking came out and said that because the U.S. pulled out of the Paris Accord, for this very reason, we would not make it another hundred years—that the earth would be boiling in less time than a hundred years and all humanity would perish. A hundred years, now that's getting a little more extreme. 

I thought, boy, my little Lucy, who's just three months old, my granddaughter, she could conceivably see the end of mankind in her lifetime. The radio host made this comment. He said, "Stephen Hawking's is the reason that we need to redefine smart." That caught my attention. 

And it made me think of these uneducated, untrained fishermen from Galilee: Peter and John. When the rulers perceived their boldness and that they were uneducated, they were untrained men, they marveled. 

Do you know what they meant by these terms? They meant that these men had not been to their schools. They had not been to their seminaries. They had not had formal indoctrination into their philosophies and systems and had not sat under teachers of Judaism who could have brainwashed them to think just like they do. They were ignorant fools—mere fishermen from, of all places, Galilee. 

There's this same attitude in our world today, and I'm afraid it's even true within the church. A few times in my life, I've been in teaching situations with people who have worn out their Bibles, who love the Lord. And I start talking about something like Calvinism or reform doctrine as an illustration or whatever's going on in the text. And these people have never even heard of such things. 

They've loved the Lord, they've served Him for years, they've witnessed, and they look at me and wonder, and they say, "How do you come up with something like that out of the Bible?" You know, the only answer that I have is that these men have read a lot of books, and they've been to seminary. And they've been taught by great and learned men. And they've learned these systems. 

Because you don't find them in the Bible. But you know, my brothers and sisters, I think it's time in the church that we redefine smart as well. 

Because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And the only way that we can speak wisdom and truth is found in this wonderful little phrase at the end of verse 13: "And they realized that they had been with Jesus." 

If you want to be wise, spend time with Jesus and His Word and in prayer and fellowship, learning, growing, knowing the truth, and simply trusting and believing what He says. And if you do this, when you open your mouth, you will speak words of wisdom. 

I can give you no better advice than that. I have a couple of young men involved in my life now that I'm discipling, and they go on and on about going to seminary and going to Bible school. I say, just study your Bible. Just read your Bible. Be faithful where you are today. 

We see that they were all riled up about Jesus. And we see that we need to redefine smart. And next in our text, we see religious denial. 

Verse 14: "And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, saying, What shall we do to these men? For indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them, as evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem. We cannot deny it. But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name." 

So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all, nor teach in the name of Jesus. 

Notice after the bold words of wisdom from Peter, verse 14 makes a stunning statement. Seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, it says they could say nothing against it. There was no denying the truth, my friends. There was no way to explain away the miracle, the healing of this lame man who had been that way for 40 years from his birth. 

And then the clear explanation that it was Jesus who did this, the one whom they had killed, the one whom God had raised from the dead. There was no logical rebuttal to the truth. They could say nothing. They simply returned to the hard heart and hatred within them in an act of irrational, illogical religious denial and plotted how to stop these men from spreading the truth. 

Verse 16, they admitted again, "We cannot deny it." They want so badly to deny the truth, but they cannot. So they must simply suppress it. Verse 17: "So that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name—the name of Jesus." 

Verse 18: "So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all, nor teach in the name of Jesus." They commanded them not to speak at all, nor teach in the name of Jesus. 

Against all evidence, against all logic and truth, we see religious denial, and that is what we see so often in our world today as well. And with this denial, a threat. They severely threatened them. 

How is it that Peter and John react? What do they say in this situation, this serious situation that they find themselves in? Can you imagine being brought before such a powerful religious and political council today? Perhaps in a Muslim country, or maybe even right here in the good old USA, the way things are progressing. 

Imagine yourself sitting in prison, warned, severely threatened. What would you do? I would think at the least I would say, "Okay, thanks," and I'd just get out of there as quick as I could. That's not what Peter and John do. 

Look at verse 19. We see the decision of Peter is to rely on God, to trust Him, to commit himself to the One who judges righteously and take one more opportunity to witness for Jesus. 

It says, "But Peter and John answered and said to them, 'Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than God, you judge; for we cannot but speak the things of which we have seen and heard.'" 

So when they further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done, for the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed. 

I want to just spend the rest of our time making application of what we see before us in this text. And I want to do that by talking about persecution for preaching Christ in the world. I'd like to frame it with three points. 

First, the promise of persecution. Second, the plan of persecution. And third, the purpose of persecution. And finally, the application for us in the midst of persecution is Peter and John, as our example, relying on God. 

Well, in the Word of God, we see the promise of persecution. It's made very clear. John 15:18 says, "If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you." 

Verse 20: "Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will keep yours also.'" 

Paul wrote in Timothy, "Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution." 

And we see this borne out in the lives of the apostles in the book of Acts, in the ministry of Peter and Paul, and in the lives of the martyrs all through church history. There is the promise of persecution for those who live godly, who preach the truth concerning Jesus. 

And we also see in the Scriptures a plan for persecution, even the calling of God to suffer for His sake. 

Philippians 1:29 says, "For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake." 

1 Peter 2:19 says, "For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. For what credit is it if when you are beaten for your faults you take it patiently, but when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God." 

Listen to verse 21: "For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow His steps." 

This is the promise of persecution. There's even a plan of persecution. But there's also clearly laid out the purpose of persecution in the church. God has a purpose. He has a plan to grow the church and to grow the individual believers through suffering. 

It is understanding this truth, trusting Him, relying on God, that we can really come to understand what James means when he talks about rejoicing in our tribulations, that we can stand boldly in the midst of persecution, that we can open our mouths and clearly preach Jesus in a hostile world. 

I'd like for you to just turn to Acts 16 with me, please, and look at the example of Paul and Silas. They were preaching in Philippi, and the demon-possessed girl was following them around, and Paul had cast out the demon, ruining the business of the men there who were using her for divination. It says they were arrested; they laid many stripes on them; they threw them into prison. The jail keeper fastened them in stocks. 

Verse 25 says, "...but at midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. And suddenly there was an earthquake, so the foundations of the prison were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's chains were loosed. And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. But Paul called with a loud voice saying, 'Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.' Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas, and he brought them out and said, 'Serves, what must I do to be saved?' So they said, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.'" 

The question comes: how can we rejoice in our trials? How can we stand in the midst of persecution? We know no real persecution here in our lives. It may come, but certainly others experience it in a much greater degree than we do. 

But Paul does say that if you desire to live godly, you will suffer persecution, and there is some aspect of that. The only way that we can rejoice in these trials is by relying on God. By knowing that He is working His will and plan to grow the church and to grow me through sufferings. 

In the early church, they were all centered in Jerusalem. But it was God's will to have them go out and to preach the Gospel to the Gentile world, to every creature. We see in Acts 7 and 8 that there was a man named Saul who was viciously attacking the church after the stoning of Stephen. Persecution broke out. There was arresting of Christian men and women, imprisoning, even having put to death. 

There was a great persecution in Jerusalem by the Jews against the believers, and the effect of this was that they were pushed out of Jerusalem. And they were scattered among the Gentile regions in the surrounding areas, and they took with them the Gospel of Jesus, and many were saved, and the Gospel spread, and the church grew. 

You're familiar with the saying that it is the blood of the martyrs that is the seed of the church, and we've seen this to be true throughout church history. 

Peter and the other apostles suffered. Paul suffered greatly. Think about that long list he gives us in 2 Corinthians 11. Even being stoned and left for dead. And what did he do? He got right back up and he went back into the city and he preached Christ. 

It was a powerful witness and testimony as we see in Acts 4 where the religious leaders marveled at the boldness and teaching of Peter and John. 

Persecution has facilitated the spreading of the Gospel and the building of the church throughout history by the dispersion of believers and by their witness in the midst of these persecutions. 

1,500 years after Peter and John were arrested, we see amazing persecution by religious leaders against the believers of that time. One of the most compelling stories I've ever heard was that of Thomas Hawks. You may be familiar with this story. He was condemned to death with six others on February 9, 1555. He was to be burned at the stake. 

Fox's book of martyrs records the following: "A little before death, several of Mr. Hawks' friends, terrified by the sharpness of the punishment he was going to suffer, privately desired that in the midst of the flames he should show them some token whether the pains of burning were so great that a man might not collectively endure it. This he promised to do. And it was agreed that if the rage of the pain might be suffered, then he should lift up his hands above his head toward heaven before he gave up the ghost. 

Being come to the stake, mildly and patiently prepared himself for the fire, having a strong chain cast about his middle, with a multitude of people on every side compassing him about, unto whom after he had spoken many things and poured out his soul unto God, the fire was kindled. He had continued long in it, and his speech was taken away by the violence of the flame, his skin drawn together and his fingers consumed with the fire, so that it was thought that he was gone. 

Suddenly, and contrary to all expectation, this good man, being mindful of his promise, reached up his hands, burning in the flames, over his head to the living God, and with great rejoicing, as it seemed, struck or clapped them three times together. A great shout followed this wonderful circumstance, and then this blessed martyr of Christ sinking down in the fire gave up his spirit, June 10th, 1555." 

Persecution was true in the beginning in Acts 4. It was true in 1555 for Thomas Hawks, and it's true today around the world. But God has a purpose in persecution. He grows His church through suffering, and the men of this world, like those of the council in Acts 4, cannot deny the truth and the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

Satan and all his demons and all the lost men of this world work to destroy Jesus and those who love Him. But in so doing, they spread the Gospel. They spread the truth. They actually cause the growth of the church. 

And God's other purpose in persecution is the growth of the believer individually, causing us to learn to trust Him, to depend on Him, to rely on Him. We see this in James 1 where James tells us to count it all joy when we fall into various trials, because God is working to refine us, to take away the dross that the essence of who we are might shine forth. 

Paul tells us in Romans 5 that it's like a press, like an olive press, the trials of this life, squeezing us and bringing out the essence of who we are, causing us to trust in Him and look to Him. 

Perhaps the clearest passage on this is the one we referred to in 1 Peter 2 before. I'd like for you to turn to 1 Peter 2 as we close. 

Verse 15: "For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men, as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bond-servants of God. Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the King." 

"Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. For what credit is it if when you are beaten for your faults you take it patiently, but when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. 

For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow His steps, who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth. Who when He was reviled, did not revile in return. When He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously. Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree that we having died to sins might live for righteousness, by whose stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls." 

The key phrase here is in verse 23, the example of Jesus. He committed Himself to Him who judges righteously. 

When we understand and believe that persecutions and trials and troubles actually work for our good and for the growth of the church, when we can trust and commit ourselves to God, when we know and believe that God has a purpose in persecutions, then we can, as Peter and John, rejoice in the midst of them and stand boldly, preaching Jesus, proclaiming His death, burial, and resurrection as a witness to men for salvation and for the glory of God. 

Let's close in prayer. 

Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for this account of what happened to Peter and John after the healing, this miracle that You did through them, Lord. We thank You for the opportunity we see here for Peter to preach the truth and for men to believe and be saved. 

We thank You for the opportunity that we have as witnesses in this world, as Your ambassadors, who've been given the word of reconciliation. Help us, Lord, to be focused on Jesus, to trust Him, to believe Him, to abide in Him, to depend on Him. Help us, Lord, to preach that truth, that Good News message, in the midst of any and all circumstances, so that men might be saved and that You would be glorified. 

It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.