Boldly Go

When I was in first grade I lived in a neighborhood in Norfolk, Virginia, that was just outside of the inner city in the shadows of Interstate 64. We had much more freedom to just wander the streets and do whatever we wanted until we got into trouble: which we did quite often. One day I went with my mom across the street to visit with one of her friends. She had a little boy several years younger than me.

While our moms were inside talking, we went outside to play. I gave this boy a ride in my little red wagon. As I was pulling him, the handle started to come loose, so I stopped, raised the handle up to the wagon and bent over to tighten the nut around the bolt that connected the handle to the front wheels. While doing this, the little boy thought it would be funny to shove the handle toward me.

What happened is probably one of the many reasons that we now have so many strict regulations regarding toy safety. When the handle came down, the open hinge around the bolt and nut sliced through my thumb and almost completely severed it off. It was hanging by this small strand of something that I later learned was a nerve. Blood was gushing everywhere and I left the little boy and my wagon in the middle of the road as I ran to our neighbor’s house screaming.

My mom was a nurse, so she knew to wrap my hand and thumb in a cold washcloth with ice on it. The freezing did not stop the throbbing pain. When we got to the base hospital, the ER doctor immediately poured some type of alcohol on to cleanse it and then started to stich it back on without giving me any type of pain meds or numbing solution. It was critical that he worked fast if my thumb was to be saved. I was crying, screaming, and started to thrash around in pain. Then I hit my head against the side of the table and it split open and started to bleed.

The ER doctor was not what you would call a child-friendly doctor. He barked like all other navy officers I knew, “Now I have to put stitches in your head as well. Stop crying and sit still or you will need more stitches.” If you survived childhood in the 60s, you knew you could survive almost anything. I doubt I sat still and I am sure I kept crying, but he somehow managed to get my thumb back on with about 50 stitches and my head stitched up with another seven.

When I was a kid, we often heard adults say such things as, “Stop acting like a kid,” or “Grow up,” or “Men don’t cry,” or “Be a brave little boy.” Boys were expected to be brave. We were supposed to act like men from an early age. Especially when our dads were gone to war. We were expected to face every problem boldly and to go around without fear.

Today we look at a group of men that suddenly found themselves facing some extremely difficult and dangerous circumstances. They were facing a moment in their lives when they had to grow up and gain some boldness. It was just a little over a month prior when most of them fled for their lives. This Jesus that they had been following for three years had been arrested, beaten, and crucified for the things He had said and done. They were terrified that they would be next. They had reason to be afraid. All of the remaining Apostles at this time were eventually killed because of their faith, with the exception of John, who was exiled.

Now, this same Jesus had been raised from the dead, was giving them all instructions to go do and say the same things He had been doing and saying, the same things that had gotten Him killed. Then He ascended into the air and left them behind to grow up in their faith.

Last week we learned that Jesus had told them to wait for the promise of the Holy Spirit that would come and immerse them with His power and authority so that they would be able to do…what? To receive power to be witnesses of Jesus. In other words, the Holy Spirit would give them the ability to boldly go: to do and say the same things that they had heard from Jesus. To tell others about the Messiah and His salvation.

When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying. And tongues, like flames of fire that were divided, appeared to them and rested on each one of them. Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different languages, as the Spirit gave them ability for speech. 

There were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. When this sound occurred, a crowd came together and was confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. And they were astounded and amazed, saying, “Look, aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? How is it that each of us can hear in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites; those who live in Mesopotamia, in Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking the magnificent acts of God in our own languages.” They were all astounded and perplexed, saying to one another, “What could this be?” But some sneered and said, “They’re full of new wine!” (Acts 2:1-13, HCSB)

When Jesus was baptized by John, the Holy Spirit appeared in the image of a dove. Here we see the Holy Spirit appear like fire above the heads of the disciples. In other places in the Bible the Holy Spirit is described like the wind or water. I believe that the Spirit came like fire in this case because the disciples needed boldness for what they were about to do. They needed to be set on fire for the task ahead of them.

We see that many people were present in Jerusalem from all around the world. There are several reasons for this, Jerusalem was the center of the Jewish religion and the Bible says that many devout Jews from every nation lived in Jerusalem. Another reason that many foreigners were in Jerusalem was because it was one of the primary trade routes with actual Roman paved roads leading to and from it.

What better way to make sure that a message goes viral then to make sure that the whole world is listening? God had brought together people from every nation for this specific time for a specific message. And the Holy Spirit gave them the power and ability to speak in such a way that everyone heard them speak in their own language.

Imagine if we had a room filled with people who all spoke different languages: French, Spanish, German, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, etc., and as I talked everyone heard me speaking in their native language. That is what occurred. Some have called this speaking in tongues, because the Holy Spirit’s image of fire was described as tongues that settled over each disciple. This image has transferred into English because we even refer to different languages as different tongues.

In the following verses of Acts 2 we can see that Peter stood up and spoke to the entire crowd of people that had gathered. He spoke to them about the death and resurrection of Jesus, he told them about the prophesies of the Messiah, he showed them how Jesus fulfilled those prophecies. And the result can only be what we would call a viral response.

“Repent,” Peter said to them, “and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” And with many other words he testified and strongly urged them, saying, “Be saved from this corrupt generation!”

So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about 3,000 people were added to them. (Acts 2:38-41, HCSB)

Imagine a church growing from 12 people to over 3000 in just one day. That is what I mean by going viral. I doubt that the Apostles were even prepared for such viral growth. It wasn’t because of their great worship service. It wasn’t because they had a great summer Kids Club. It wasn’t because they handed out snow cones or gave away hotdogs. It wasn’t because they built a big building and invited people to attend.  It was because the disciples, filled with the boldness of the Holy Spirit, told others about Jesus Christ and the forgiveness that He offered to all.

Are we brave enough to do this? Are we bold enough to stand before a group of people and tell them what we have learned about Jesus? If not, then we need to be praying for the Holy Spirit to immerse us in His power and authority. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to use us to share with those around us every day. The last verse of Acts 2 says, “And every day the Lord added to them those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:47b, HCSB)

I pray that we can look back and see that today was the start of when the Holy Spirit used us in a miraculous way to reach thousands of people in the Annapolis area.