The Presence - Jess Hammond
Have you ever found yourself gripping tightly to something—a situation, a relationship, a plan—knowing deep down that you need to let go, but feeling terrified of what might happen if you open your hands? That tension between control and trust, between fear and faith, sits at the heart of what it means to follow Jesus. It's a tension the first disciples knew intimately.
This past Sunday, Jess Hammond continued our series through Acts, taking us into Acts 4 and the remarkable prayer meeting that followed Peter and John's first encounter with persecution. After performing a miracle and preaching boldly about Jesus, the two disciples were arrested, threatened, and ordered to stop speaking about Jesus altogether. What they did next—and how God responded—offers us a profound picture of what it means to live in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.
You can watch Jess’s message on Acts 4 above or listen to the full sermon below.
Recap: The Story So Far
Before diving into Acts 4, Jess offered a helpful recap of the journey so far. Acts 1 showed us Jesus ascending to heaven after 40 days with his disciples, but not before promising them the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2 brought the dramatic arrival of that gift at Pentecost—the Spirit poured out, the church exploded into life, and a supernatural empowerment came upon this new community of believers.
Then in Acts 3, we saw the disciples stepping into the supernatural work of the Spirit. A man lame for 40 years was miraculously healed as Peter and John prayed for him in Jesus' name. Peter's sermon following the miracle became increasingly provocative, even casting blame for Jesus' death on the religious leaders. The atmosphere, as you might imagine, grew tense.
Now in Acts 4, that tension boils over into outright opposition. Peter and John are thrown into jail. But the miracle they performed was so undeniable, and the crowd so supportive, that the authorities can't actually charge them with anything. So they issue a threat: stop preaching about Jesus, or else. It's the kind of moment that would make most of us freeze with fear.
But Peter and John's response is stunning.
When Fear Meets Faith
Jess read Acts 4:23-31, where we discover that Peter and John, fresh from their encounter with the authorities, ran straight to their community and said, "Let's pray." What follows is one of the most powerful prayers in Scripture—and it's worth noting what they didn't pray for.
They didn't pray for God to smite their enemies or to vindicate them publicly. They didn't even pray for protection from persecution. Instead, they prayed for more boldness. They prayed for God to stretch out his hand in healing and signs and wonders. They essentially asked for more of the very thing that got them arrested in the first place.
"Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus."
And God's response? He poured out his power in such a dramatic way that the building shook. An earthquake. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit again and spoke the word of God boldly.
Jess pulled out three key takeaways from this passage for us today.
1. The Disciples Feared God More Than They Feared Man
The early disciples had a proper fear of the Lord—not a cowering terror, but a reverent awe and respect for the One who created the universe and holds the power of life and death in his hands. Jess unpacked the Hebrew word yare (fear) from Deuteronomy 10:12, which means to stand in awe of, to honour, to respect. It's the correct response to a holy God.
"The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life. Whom shall I fear?" (Psalm 27:1)
When David wrote that psalm, he was likely fleeing for his life, hiding in a cave. Yet he declared: I will not fear anyone except God.
Peter and John had that same conviction. They believed the outcome of not obeying God was far worse than anything the authorities could do to them. They cared more about what God thought than what anyone else thought. They carried an urgency about the gospel—if they didn't preach, people would perish. Many of them, we know from history, eventually gave their lives for this message.
"They did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die." (Revelation 12:11)
Jess posed a confronting question to us: Do we trust God? Do we trust that he is who he says he is? That he will sustain us no matter what we face? We may not be living under the threat of persecution like our brothers and sisters overseas—but are we ashamed to be known as followers of Jesus? Do we fear what standing up for what we believe might cost us—our career, our reputation, our friendships?
What does it look like in our everyday lives to fear God more than we fear man?
2. The Disciples Knew Their Dependence on the Spirit
The early church understood that they were completely dependent on God. Darrell Bock summarises the prayer in Acts 4 beautifully:
"This prayer is an expression of complete dependence on God, a recognition of his sovereignty, a call for God's justice and oversight in the midst of opposition, for an enablement for mission, for the working of his power to show that God is behind the preaching of the name of Jesus."
They knew that without God coming through for them, they were stuffed. They were dependent on him for protection, deliverance, courage, boldness, and the power to heal. It wasn't their power—it was God's.
Dependence, Jess reminded us, is not our natural human default. It goes all the way back to Eden, doesn't it? Do I trust what God says, or do I do what I think is best? We're uncomfortable with dependence because we like control. And at the root of our need for control is fear.
But here's the truth Paul gives us:
"We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." (2 Corinthians 4:7)
We are earthen vessels. The only real power we have is from God, not from our own effort or striving.
Jess acknowledged that some of us have had dependence thrust upon us—through chronic illness, mental health struggles, financial hardship, family crises, car accidents. If that's you, she said simply: You can trust him. Keep running to him. Don't run away. Don't try to do it on your own. Stay in that place of dependence.
But for the rest of us, what does dependence look like? It comes down to this: Who's in control? Are you including God in everyday decisions? Are you inviting him into the day-to-day thoughts of your life? Are you abiding, staying connected to the vine?
Jess shared the image of the monkey trap—a container with food inside and a hole just big enough for a monkey to slide its open hand through. Once the monkey grabs the food and makes a fist, it can't pull its hand back out. To be free, it has to open its grip and let the food go.
What about for you? Are there things you need to loosen your grip on and trust that God has them in his hands?
3. The Disciples Needed a Fresh Infilling of the Spirit
Throughout Acts, we see people being filled with the Holy Spirit not just once, but again and again. Peter was filled with the Spirit to preach boldly before the authorities (Acts 4:8). Then all the believers were filled again at the end of Acts 4 for fresh courage and boldness. Saul was filled at his conversion. The disciples were filled again in Acts 13—this time with joy.
God has different purposes for different fillings. But the pattern is clear: we need to keep being filled.
Paul writes in Ephesians 5:18, "Be filled with the Holy Spirit"—and the tense here is continuous. Keep being filled. Always be filled.
Michael Green puts it beautifully:
"However often we may be filled, we soon need filling again. We evaporate. We leak. We need refilling. However greatly we may have been used before, being filled with the Spirit is not a state we can claim as a permanent possession. It's a standing call for us to come again and again to the source to be filled afresh."
Jess said she found this deeply encouraging. The Holy Spirit is an unlimited resource offered to us by a generous, renewing God. We are cracked pots. We get beaten up by life. We dry out. We need to come back to the source again and again to be refreshed, renewed, strengthened—to receive courage and boldness to proclaim the gospel.
There is nothing too hard for God. And in him, we find all that we need. He is enough.
A Practical Exercise in Letting Go
Jess closed the sermon with a powerful, tangible exercise. She invited everyone to stand, close their eyes, and clench their fists—imagining they were holding all the burdens, worries, battles, inadequacies, self-doubt, shame, or need for control that they were carrying.
Then she invited them to open their hands—to loosen their grip, let it all go, turn their palms up to heaven, and acknowledge their need for God.
And then, with hands open, to invite the Holy Spirit afresh: "Holy Spirit, fill me afresh. I need you."
It's a picture of dependence. Of surrender. Of making space for God to do what only he can do.
One Way to Live It Out This Week
This week, try this simple practice each morning: make a fist, hold it for a moment as you think of the things you're trying to control or carry on your own, then open your hands and pray, "Holy Spirit, fill me afresh today. I trust you with all of this." Let it become a daily rhythm of letting go and being filled again.
A Prayer For Your Week
Father, we come to you as cracked pots, leaking vessels, people who so often try to hold on too tightly. Teach us what it means to fear you more than we fear what others think of us. Help us loosen our grip and trust that you are holding us, holding our lives, holding all that concerns us. Fill us afresh with your Holy Spirit—with courage, with boldness, with joy, with strength for today. We cannot do this on our own. We need you. Amen.
Personal Reflection Questions
What are you holding onto tightly right now that God might be inviting you to release into his hands?
In what areas of your life are you tempted to fear man more than you fear God? What would it look like to live differently in those areas?
When was the last time you invited the Holy Spirit to fill you afresh? What do you need from him today?
Small Group Discussion Questions
Read Acts 4:23-31 together. What stands out to you most about the disciples' prayer?
Why do you think the disciples prayed for more boldness instead of asking God to remove the opposition they were facing?
What does it mean to "fear God more than man"? How is this different from being afraid of God?
Jess said, "At the root of our need for control is fear." Do you agree? What are some ways our need for control shows up in daily life?
Why do you think we're so uncomfortable with dependence? What are some practical ways we can cultivate a posture of dependence on God?
The sermon emphasised that we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit not just once, but continuously. Why do you think that is? What does it look like practically to keep coming back to God to be filled afresh?
Is there an area of your life right now where you need fresh courage, boldness, or strength from the Holy Spirit? What would it look like to open your hands and invite him into that?
How can we pray for one another this week, particularly around the themes of trust, dependence, and being filled afresh with the Spirit?