After they had prayed, their meeting place was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.When they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were gathered together. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.And when they had prayed, the place was shaken wherein they were gathered together; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spake the word of God with boldness.
6 sermons cite this verse
… I love that attitude. And in Acts 4.31 we read, after they prayed this prayer, the building where they were meeting shook and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and they preached God's message with boldness. So God refilled them again, didn't he? Now there's no better example of the difference that the Holy Spirit can make in a person's life than Simon Peter. Simon Peter who openly denied his Lord. Simon Peter who was more concerned about the opinions of some random stranger than what Christ himself thought. Who gets him to deliver this sermon? Simon Peter. Where did he get this chutzpah? Where did he get this courage? Where did he get this boldness? He got it from being filled with the Holy Spirit. Remember, Acts 1-8, you shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you to be witnesses unto me. This is practical power. This is power with a purpose. because that's not how high you can jump. It's how straight you walk when you hit the ground again. …
… while you stretch out your hand to heal and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. Amen. Just a brief prayer, an old Anglican prayer. Father, what we know not, teach us, what we have not give us, what we are not make us. We ask it in Christ's name. Amen. Well, I have actually been following what's been going on here at least the last couple of weeks so that I had some context into which I would come. And I know that you are in Romans chapter one. I hope that you know that because you are. And you also know that you have been purposefully delayed on the 16th verse for the last two weeks. And that is on account of the fact that Matt has been dealing with the unashamed testimony of Paul to the gospel of the Lord Jesus and the importance of that not only understood but lived out. I found that very helpful because the thought that I have had in mind to bring to us this morning has in many ways followed along from that. Paul says, I am not ashamed of the gospel. He then writes to Timothy and he says to him, and I don't want you to be ashamed of the gospel. Don't be timid about things. You haven't …
… of the earth, all the people in the world all bow down to him. He is sovereign over everything. The early church knew this. Did you catch that in Acts chapter 4 verse 23 through 31? When they came together to pray, here they are experiencing persecution and they come together and how do they address God? Do you remember? It said, sovereign Lord. Sovereign Lord. It's in verse 24. Sovereign Lord, they declared. The word literally means despot, despot, the one who has all authority and all dominion and all rule. And that was huge for them. When you're experiencing persecution, when your family is being threatened and you're experiencing attacks from different sides, it's good to look up and see that God is still in control, that he's still on the throne. And it's the same picture we see in Acts chapter 12. You've got the king, Herod, pitted against the true king, the king to whom all kings bow down. And you've got the power of King Herod and him having Peter put in prison and have James beheaded. …
… Holy Spirit. They begin to speak in utterances, and there it's the miracle of tongues. In Acts 4.8, it says Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit, and then he spoke the Word of God. Acts 4.31, we read they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the Word of God with boldness. In Acts 9, it says Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit, and then he preaches the Word. Acts 13, 9, again, Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit, and in this case, he looks intently at this false teacher, this magician named Elemas, and he rebukes him for his deceit. Do you detect a pattern? All of those examples in Luke and Acts, what happens when someone is filled with the Holy Spirit. They then speak boldly the truth about Jesus Christ. If you want evidence of someone being filled with the Spirit, sometimes use that language very casually, so-and-so is really, really filled with the Spirit. That was really Spirit-filled worship. Well, I hope so. What would spirit-filled worship look like? Well, it may show itself in different physical manifestations. …
… But there's one other illustration that's maybe most helpful. It's in Acts 4.31, and it says that they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the Word of God with boldness. They were filled with the Spirit and began to speak the Word of God with boldness. They lost their inhibitions. They lost their normal timidity. They literally were so moved and so permeated by the presence of the Spirit of God that all fears subsided and they spoke the Word of God with boldness. And then it says, and they were of one heart and one mind. It affected their life to the degree that it affected how they interacted with non-believers. They just unloaded on them the gospel with boldness. And it affected how they got along with each other and produced a kind of beautiful heart unity. So what we're talking about when we talk about the filling of the Spirit is something dominating, something permeating in your life on a regular basis, be being continuously kept filled with the Spirit. …
… to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret. Acts 4, verse 31, and when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. Acts 12, verse 24. But the word of God grew and multiplied. Romans 10, 17. So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by, now you say it this time, the word of God. All right, Ephesians 6, verse 17. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Colossians 1, 25, Whereof I am made a minister according to the dispensation of God, which is given to me for you to fulfill the Word of God. 1 Timothy 4, verse 5, For it is sanctified by the Word of God and prayer. Hebrews 4, 12, for the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. First Peter 1, verse 23, being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. …