An old Cherokee Indian from the tribe in North Carolina was in the services of a certain church while off the reservation, on vacation. The preacher preached with much zeal but never got around to the point of salvation and hell. He was afraid of making some of the uppity enlightened members uncomfortable especially regarding hell. After the service one of the prominent members, one of the boss ladies, remarked to the Indian, "Wasn't that just the most marvelous sermon!?" The old Indian's reply was:

BIG THUNDER, BIG LIGHTNING, NO RAIN.

 

   One thing that is missing in a great many churches today is boldness. In Acts 4:29 the Apostle Peter prayed for boldness, the kind of boldness the Apostle is praying for is the kind that is willing to meet dangers for the cause of Jesus Christ.

   Peter, John and company were threatened if they continued to speak in the name of Jesus Christ. Their reply was to pray, asking the Lord God for BOLDNESS,  and according to 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."

   Take the time to read the entire fourth chapter and the plight of those who diligently desired to serve God, the things said and done. We can narrow things down concerning the Apostle Peter in that he did until his life was taken, boldly proclaim the Word of God regardless of religion, government, threats, or ungodliness in any form. Peter boldly preached Jesus Christ! So did Paul and the others.

   It is a fact that in many of our churches (Baptists) speaking of the liberal leaning bunch, the sermons are so weak on the Gospel that the devil himself would have a hard time staying awake! 

   Peter and John would not be in trouble at all if they were not so bold in proclaiming the Word. If they had watered down the Gospel to suit the crowd and got the people to believing that they were all going to Heaven, there wouldn't be any problems, no friction, no hard feelings, no threats. But Peter and John said, "...We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." They had been with Jesus.

 

WHAT'S WRONG WITH JESUS CHRIST THAT UPSETS PEOPLE?

 

   Notice in this passage that there are no problems with the religions of the time, just Jesus. Take note of today. There are no problems with the religions of false prophets . Mohammed is OK. Buddha is OK. The elephant worshipers, cow worshipers, and animal worshipers in India are OK. The agenda of the sodomite crowd is OK. But, there is a problem with Jesus Christ! The ACLU, the liberals, the left, have worked hard to eliminate our Lord Jesus Christ out of our school systems and government. And they have met with success to a great degree.

 

WHY IS JESUS CHRIST UNWANTED?

 

   It is what Christianity stands for, and stands against. For example, God's definition of  marriage is ONE MAN - ONE WOMAN. The ungodly say this is utter discrimination! They say there is nothing wrong morally with two men or two women getting married. They say in essence that "we don't care what God said! We don't care what the Bible says!" Now, God's real people have a problem with this. God's people (some) speak BOLDLY against this, including this preacher, BECAUSE GOD IS AGAINST IT.

   The real reason, however, is SIN. We preach Christ crucified and risen again. We preach that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life; that no man cometh to the Father but by Jesus Christ. We preach that the "Wages of sin is death..." (Romans 6:23) and man does not like to classified as a sinner. The rest of that verse is "... but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." BOLD PREACHING convicts, cuts, exposes, demands a decision that involves Heaven or hell. The preaching of the Gospel draws or repels. So many just do not want to hear it or have anything to do with it.

 

NEVERTHELESS...

 

   Such as things are today, still one of the most needful things in every one of the Lord's Churches is BOLDNESS. Willing to meet dangers for the cause of Jesus Christ. BOLDNESS not FEAR! Don't be drawn into and confused by the liberal and moderate crowd who preach that  everyone is going to Heaven. The Bible does not teach such a thing. 

   I truly believe that most men and women want the TRUTH as much as is mortally possible, and that is what must be preached... the Truth, leading to the salvation of the soul. 

 

 The old Indian said, "Big Thunder, Big Lightning, NO RAIN.