Acts 4:13: "Now when they saw the BOLDNESS of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus."
Peter and John, in the face of persecution, did not act like timid lambs or nervous mice. They had so much boldness that it caused their persecutors to marvel. They realized that the source of this boldness did not come from education, for they were "unlearned" men. But they "took knowledge of them that they had BEEN WITH JESUS." This was the real source of their boldness.
The more time we spend with Jesus, the bolder we will be. Their persecutors did not know that Jesus had just baptized His disciples with power from on high which turned the denying Peter into the bold confessor.
Great boldness to testify for Jesus in the face of hot persecution is the greatest evidence of our claim to being filled with the Holy Spirit.
God is calling for BOLD MEN!
Be encouraged,
Colin Campbell