In John Bunyan’s classic allegory of the Christian life, Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian meets two men along the path called Formalist and Hypocrisy. All three men claim to be travelling towards the Celestial City, to Heaven, but when they arrive at the Hill of Difficulty we see a separation take place. Bunyan explains: “Here the men were faced with a choice of three paths. The path that led directly from the gate continued straight up the steep hill. Another path turned to the left and a third to the right of the hill.” The paths that veer to the right and left appear to avoid the Hill of Difficulty, while the middle path—the King’s path—shoots straight up the steep incline. Formalist and Hypocrisy want nothing to do with difficulty, so they step off the King’s path and take the easy way, not realizing that those paths lead to Destruction. But Christian looks up and sings:
“The hill, though high, I desire to ascend.
The difficulty will not me offend;
For I perceive the way to life lies here.
Be strong, my heart, let’s neither faint nor fear;
Better, though difficult, the right way to go,
Than wrong, though easy, where the end is woe.”
I want to do something a little out of the ordinary this morning and it is born out of the time that Aaron and I spent visiting missionaries we support in a country to the south of us. There is so much I want to share with you and much I want to summon you to do in light of the need we saw there. But I will save most of that for next Wednesday from 6-8PM, where we will take the first Wednesday of our Midweek Gathering to share those things with you.
But what I want to invite you to consider was something I gleaned from my time there that I did not anticipate. If you have ever gone to a third-world country, you’ll notice that there is a very different standard of caution and safety. Many streets have sewage flowing down the middle of them; entire families pile onto one motorcycle (many times leaving the driver with one hand on the handlebars, and one holding a child on their lap) and drive down crowded streets where all of the other drivers provide new meaning to the term “aggressive driving”; residents pile their garbage in open fields and light it on fire, and then walk away, apparently unconcerned if the rest of the field catches on fire (which it sometimes does). And I don’t say any of this to speak disparagingly of this place—I left with an overwhelming admiration and respect for the people there. But when you come from a land of hand sanitizer, air-conditioning, car seats, and recycling, it is certainly a shock. But I anticipated that shock. What I didn’t anticipate was something that one of our missionaries said that has lodged in my mind: “Americans always assume that safety is the highest good, but it isn’t.”
I don’t think I thought about it that crisply before. Safety certainly is a good thing, but is it an unqualified good? Calories are a good thing, but is there such a thing as too much calories? I was aware of a kind of pathology that some Americans have about safety—the overprotective parent, or the hypochondriac. But it wasn’t until I was in an environment of needle points that I realized how balloon-like my assumptions about safety were.
The reason I have not named the country and the missionaries we visited is because this sermon will be recorded and put on the internet, and there currently is a totalitarian government in that country that has already imprisoned pastors, run Christian leaders out of the country, and closed churches and non-profits for not supporting the government. And I do not want to add unnecessary risk or jeopardize the work they are doing there. While asking other pastors what some of the difficulties were that they were facing, they mentioned the need for courage to preach the whole counsel of God, not just what the government approved of—even if it meant prison sentences. And the longer we stayed there, the more apparent it became of just how risky it is to be a faithful Christian there and the great need for courage.
By God’s grace, you and I do not live in a country where we fear our pastors being imprisoned for saying something negative about the government, we are not concerned that our neighbors are paid informants of the government. But there is an opposite danger we face: our muscles of courage are likely underdeveloped in this area. And, while we do not know what the future of our country holds—maybe we are headed that way--government persecution is not the only arena of risk for the Christian. Because the kingdom of God is always, at some point, at odds with the kingdom of this world, because Satan and his demons are constantly at war with the church, and because the Spirit desires us to grow in our faith through trials and adversity—you and I need to risk, and need courage. And to help us, I want to look at the example of Peter and John in the book of Acts.
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. – Acts 4:13
I want to pick up the story at the close of chapter three. Peter and John have healed a man who was crippled from birth at the gate of the temple in Jerusalem. This creates a large crowd who are astonished at the miracle that has been performed, so Peter preaches to the crowd and tells them that it is by the power of Jesus Christ that this man was healed.
And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. (Acts 4:1-3).
Why are the Sadducees “greatly annoyed”? Because Peter keeps preaching, rather pointedly, about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (see Acts 3:13-15). The Sadducees, along with the Pharisees, were one of the authoritative bodies that were actively working to crucify Jesus. So, greatly annoyed, they rely on brute force and intimidation. They throw them in jail and let them sit there overnight. Now, let me pause here briefly, and encourage you to imagine what that would be like. Peter was married (see Mark 1:30; 1 Cor 9:5), he may have had children at home, others who depended on him. These are the same authorities who executed Jesus. They have already demonstrated what they are capable of. What would be going through your mind that night sitting in a jail cell? Or if you were his wife? His child? What temptations would you be facing?
The next morning comes, and the Sadducees interrogate Peter and John about how they were able to perform this miracle. “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:8-12).
Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, isn’t intimidated by the show of force. Notice, he doesn’t just stand his ground, he doesn’t nervously mumble into the microphone—he reminds the authorities of their complicity in the great sin of killing the Son of God: let it be known to all…that…Jesus Christ, whom you crucified…
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus,” (Acts 4:13). Peter and John were not credentialed rhetoricians who had spent years polishing their craft of speaking truth to power. They lived their lives hauling nets into boats and gutting fish. They hadn’t received the kind of formal education that the Sadducees had. But there was a training they received. There is something about their bearing, their zeal, their unflaggable courage that cuts a certain figure. As the ominous boot of persecution hangs over their head, a threat that sends so many scattering like mice, Peter and John stand like men—and the Sadducees have seen this before; these are students of Jesus of Nazareth.
18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” 21 And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened.” (Acts 4:18-21)
Again, I want you to use your imagination here. The disciples were not being called into HR and told they needed to sign a paper or they might lose their job, or being told by their friends that if they keep doing this Jesus thing they won’t hang out anymore. They are being summoned by the authorities who could have them killed. And those authorities say don’t you dare speak about this Jesus. And Peter and John reply: Sorry, we can’t listen to you, we listen to God. And, just for time’s sake, we won’t be able to walk through chapter five, but in chapter five we see this same confrontation, only this time Peter speaks even more boldly, and the authorities are chomping at the bit to kill the disciples and are just barely talked down by Gamaliel (Acts 5:27-39), and they let Peter and John go, but only after they first rough them up with a beating and another severe warning (Acts 5:40). Could you imagine being surrounded by a group of men and being beaten, and then told, This is the last warning we are giving. How would you respond? Here is how they did: “Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. 42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus,” (Acts 5:41-42).
How Can We Grow in Courage?
What do you and I need courage for in America today? There are two different kinds of tools that Satan has at his disposal: persecution and worldliness; 1984 and Brave New World; fear and pleasure. We don’t live in a world of a boot stepping on the church’s face forever. We live in a world where the church is lulled into an anesthetic fog of indifference from our conveniences, comforts, and popularity. We do not fear the loss of life, but the loss of respect. If I tell the truth, they may not like me anymore. Courage is just another name for integrity. As Lewis says, courage isn’t just another virtue, but every virtue taken to its breaking point. Pilate was merciful until it became risky. And you and I need the courage to tell the truth when everyone around you is telling lies;
to love your enemy and pray for them when everyone else is suspicious that you aren’t animated by the same hatred as they are;
to confess our sins and ask for forgiveness when others around us remain guarded and manicured and now may view you differently;
to repent of worldliness when others around us may now mock us as fundamentalists or Bible-thumpers;
to worship the living God when our hearts feel cold and unwilling;
to sacrifice your time, and your energy, and your money to go and make disciples of all nations, even when it comes with risk, even when everyone else around you is playing it safe and hedging their bets. So, how do we grow in our courage? Let’s look at the second half of chapter four and the prayer of the church:
- Remember Who Is in Control
23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,
“‘Why did the Gentiles rage,
and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers were gathered together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed” (Acts 4:23-26).
Notice how the church addresses God: Sovereign Lord, maker of heaven and earth and the sea and everything…why do they do that? Because when you are under the thumb of tinpot dictators who think they are as powerful as God, you need to remind yourself of who the real God is. Our God is the one true Sovereign King—He is the one who made the earth that the little wannabe gods pretend to rule over. And then the church recalls Psalm 2, the classic psalm that describe the demise of kings and nations who reject the rule of Christ, and so are shattered by Christ like pots shattered by a rod of iron. The psalm ends with this warning: “Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling,” (Ps 2:10-11).
Every ruler, king, president, judge, governor, general…anyone in any position of authority who uses their power and authority to try to throw off the rule of the One Sovereign Lord, will eventually be shattered to pieces by the rod of God. It doesn’t matter how long their dynasty runs, how invincible they seem, sooner or later, God will cut them down.
But, you may say, it seems like there are a lot of bad guys out there who seem to be doing just fine. Who flaunt God’s Law and seem to only have their power and influence grow. Last year, 8,522 Christians were killed in Nigeria either by the government or by Muslim terrorists. Where is our Sovereign Lord who shatters these wicked rulers to pieces? Consider the next part of the church’s prayer.
“…for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place,” (Acts 4:27-28).
The rulers of the earth were gathered against the Lord and his Anointed: Herod, Pilate, the Gentiles, the people of Israel…to perform the most blasphemous, perverse, wicked, and unjust act ever performed in the history of man. And it was exactly what God had planned. As Satan fills Judas, as Pilate washes his hands, as the crowds shout out ‘Crucify Him!’, as the Roman soldiers pound in the nails, everything is following God’s plan perfectly. And through the darkest deed of evil, God performs the greatest good. The death of the Son of God purchases life for all who believe in Him, eternal life!
Why can Peter and John be so confident and bold as they stare down the same authorities who executed their Lord? Because they remember who is really in control. Whatever the wicked authorities do, they are simply fulfilling God’s plans for good. The further they push the church back, the tauter the bowstring of God’s blessings become. There is nothing the world can do to frustrate God’s plans, and His plans are good. It may not seem that way now to you. Maybe it seems like a dark Good Friday to you and you do not understand and it looks like Satan has won and God’s promises have unraveled. But Sunday is coming. In the end, we will get to step back and see how the threads of tears and suffering created a tapestry that is more beautiful than it would have been without them. We will arrive at a place of harmony and peace, and death and evil will be no more.
- Remember Prayer
“And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 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,” (Acts 4:29-31).
The whole church here is praying for God to do two things: (1) look and (2) act. God, look at what they are doing to us, and grant that we don’t stop speaking boldly. If you are tempted to think that Peter must have just been a man born with a disposition to boldness and courage, and other people (like yourself) don’t like to rock the boat, are a peacemaker by nature, then consider that the same Holy Spirit that filled Peter to speak this way, also fills you. If you feel like you lack courage, if risks feel terrifying and paralyzing to you, then bring that to the Lord in prayer and ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that you too may speak God’s Word with boldness. And our God hears our prayers! Our God isn’t just the Sovereign Lord, a puppet-master who stands behind a curtain and remains indifferent to the affairs of man. He is also a Sovereign Lord who invites His Church to pray, to intervene, to move His sovereign hand to work miracles, to strengthen the Church, to stop the wicked and sustain the righteous.
- Remember the Church
An overlooked aspect of courage in the Christian life is the community of the church. Two ways we see the church help us in our courage:
“When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said…” (Acts 4:23-24)
Peter and John return to their friends, and then with one voice, they together pray. One of the reasons that Satan loves to isolate Christians, to distance them from the church, is because when you are primarily surrounded by non-Christians, it is a lot harder to maintain your integrity. The Overton Window, what is normal and accepted, is shifted for you to the tastes of non-Christians. How they speak, what they laugh at, what they watch, what they love, what they hate…if that is the predominant influence in your life, then it becomes a lot harder to say the hard thing, to be the odd duck out. Imagine if Peter spent nearly all of his time hanging out with Sadducees and not other Christians? Would he have been as free to boldly proclaim the truth? But when you are integrated into a community of friends who will go to the throne of God with you in prayer, who will remind you who the real Sovereign Lord is and how transient the kings of the earth are, then it becomes a lot easier to exercise courage in the world. So, young people here about to graduate and go off to college, find a church before you move and knit your life into it so that you can maintain your courage.
“Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common,” (Acts 4:32)
The church takes care of each other. If we have a community that says: no one will go needy here. Then that makes it a lot easier for you to be courageous. If I lose my job because I will not endorse some sexual perversity that everyone else is calling normal, or I will not lie for my boss, or sacrifice my family time from overworking…but I know that I have a church who will help me bear the burden of my family’s needs if I no longer have a paycheck, who will help me find work, then I can be bold and courageous. If I feel a called to do missions, to adopt a child, to take responsibility for a need in our community, but feel overwhelmed at how I am to do it, I may not risk it. But if I know that God’s people are behind me? I’ll live a risky a life for the Lord.
Conclusion
As you have been listening, you may have thought, “But isn’t there such a thing as bad risks? Foolish risks?” Of course there is. The point isn’t that whatever is riskiest is the holiest thing to do. The question is: what does God want me to do? And when that takes you into a place of risk, where safety is not guaranteed, when the Hill of Difficulty is steep…what will you do? What have you done? Or, to put it more pointedly: When was the last time you did anything risky for the Lord?
Maybe you sense that something is off in your Christian life. You are making more money now than you ever have, but somehow your expenses have just risen with your income, so you don’t actually feel like you have more money. You have a nicer home now than you ever have, but it doesn’t feel new anymore. Your vacations, your leisure, your accomplishments all fade. You are busy, you are stressed, you are worried about all of the things typical modern people are worried, and stressed, and busy with. But there is a lingering sense that something is off. Your faith feels peripheral. Like a garnish on the plate of your life. The same lightning that animates Peter to risk everything by speaking the truth with boldness, doesn’t animate you. The same courage that leads our missionaries to go to stand before a tidal wave of need with nothing but their bare hands to stop it, doesn’t fill you.
But don’t you want it to? Even though the hill is high, don’t you desire to ascend it? It is not a sin to live in America, to have a nice home, to make more money than you need, to take vacations. But God has not given you those things so that you would put your treasure in them, where moth and rust can eat them up, and Ah! If moths and rust can eat them up I better avoid scary, dangerous places where my treasure might be destroyed! No, your treasure is in heaven, your hope is in heaven, so use the money, and time, and resources that God has blessed you with like your treasure is in heaven!
Some of you have more money than you need, and God is inviting you to use your abundance to bless those in need. Some of you are too cautious about serving, and God is inviting you to use your time and gifts to bless others. Some of you are too scared of what others think of you, and God is inviting you to sacrifice that in obedience to Him. Some of you are angry at God for not giving you the life you wanted, and God is inviting you now to see where your real treasure is.
The boldness that Peter and John have isn’t a boldness that assumes that God has put a forcefield around them to prevent them from suffering. Their boldness comes from knowing that even in their suffering, even in their deaths, God is in control, and He can be trusted. This world is not our home, we are sojourners and strangers here, passing through.
