Acts 4:31
“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.”
The boldness of the Apostles is clearly seen in this chapter as they preached about Jesus Christ. After the crowds heard their preaching, five thousand people accepted Christ as their Saviour. This troubled the religious leaders because they were quickly losing influence. This caused them to take Peter and John and hold them until they were questioned. Peter did not back down, but testified that Jesus was crucified by their hands, and that Jesus was the very One Who could save them from their sins. After being threatened and warned not to preach about Jesus, they were let go.
When Peter and John joined the rest of the church, they told them what happened, which caused the church to go to God in prayer. When they prayed, the place was shaken and they were filled with the Holy Ghost. The power of the Holy Ghost upon these Christians caused them to leave and speak the Word of God with boldness.
If there is anything this world needs, it needs Christians who are shaken with God’s power to speak God’s Word with boldness. We live in times when Christians are so involved with their own lives that they are not shaken. When this church saw the need of God, it moved them to pray which caused them to be shaken.
Let me ask you, are you shaken? Are you shaken with the sin of this world? This church saw the sin of the world, and it shook them. It ought to shake you that the world is so taken by sin. It should move you to go to God in prayer and ask for His power to reach this world. The darkness of sin and the grip it has on the lives of individuals should shake you to your core.
Let me ask you, are you shaken? Are you shaken with the need of a lost and dying world? Does it bother you that the world needs a Saviour? Yes, it should shake you to see how sin runs rampant in this world, but it should shake you enough to see that the only thing that will change this world is their need of a Saviour. It should shake you enough to cause you to go and try to reach this world for Christ. One of the greatest reasons people are not aggressively trying to reach the world is because they are not shaken of their need of a Saviour.
Let me ask you again, are you shaken? Are you shaken with your need of God’s power? Friend, only the power of God can change lives. Only God’s power can change the hardened hearts of sinners. You can’t do it with your own power. When you are shaken by the sin of this world, and shaken that this world needs a Saviour, it will shake you that you need God’s power to reach the world.
When you are shaken, you will find the boldness you need to speak God’s Word. Friend, until you are shaken you will continue to speak God’s Word timidly. Only when you are shaken will it move you to boldly speak God’s Word to those who are bound by sin and on their way to Hell. I beg you today to ask God to shake you. Ask God to shake you to the point that you will receive His power to reach this world for Him.