Boldness

Transcript

Rob McFarlane 0:29

Today I'm going to be talking about boldness. Years ago, I was a guest speaker at a youth camp in the United States of America and I got up to speak on boldness. The young people completely misunderstood my Zimbabwe accent. They looked puzzled and confused because they thought I was talking about baldness or losing your hair. Today let's talk about being bold and not going bald. The Bible says in Proverbs 28 and verse 1 that the righteous are bold as a lion. And in Proverbs 30, verse 30, it describes the lion as mighty among beasts, who retreats before nothing. The lion is often referred to as the king of the beasts. And I want to ask you, have you ever seen a lion up close? Or have you ever heard a lion roar in the wild? I grew up in Zimbabwe and I have, and I can tell you that lions are awe-inspiring animals. Now, a definition for boldness is being confident and courageous without feelings of shame. We're going to look at how we as Christians need to be bold in three directions or three ways in our lives. Remember, Proverbs 28 verse 1 says, the righteous are bold as a lion. First, let's talk about being bold towards God or being confident in our relationship with Him. Our confidence or boldness is not because of our own achievements, but because of what Jesus Christ has done for us. Listen to Ephesians 3, verse 11 and 12, which says, This was according to the eternal purpose that He has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in Him. Our confidence before God is because of our faith in Jesus and because of His blood that was shed for us on the cross two thousand years ago. Hebrews 10 verse 19 says, Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus. As children of God, we are invited to come boldly into his presence, into the presence of our loving Heavenly Father. He tells us in Hebrews 4, verse 16, let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace for help in time of need. We can pray with boldness when we pray according to his will as revealed in the Bible. I love the way 1 John chapter 5, verse 14 and 15 promises us. This is the confidence, or some versions say the privilege of boldness that we have toward him. That if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we've asked of him. Now, as a dad, when my children were very young, they would often with boldness and confidence just come into my office to spend a little bit of time with their dad. Sometimes it was because they had a need for something, and other times it was just to hang out, to give me a hug and say hello. Other people needed to make an appointment to come and see me, but when my children were small, they had unfettered access to their father. They could come with confidence and boldness and always knew that they were welcome. You and I are welcome in our Heavenly Father's presence. Next, let's talk about being bold towards the devil. He is our enemy, and we can be courageous in Christ towards the devil. James 4, verse 7 and 8 says, Submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Notice the words submit, resist, and draw near. You see, our enemy will flee if we resist him, and we can only resist him to the extent that we are in submission to God. Is there an area in your life that you need to submit to God, resist the devil, and then draw near to God in? I'd like to give two examples. One is external and the other is internal. First, let's talk about an external example. When we find ourselves in a place where we feel a spirit of heaviness come on us, the best thing we can do is spend time in worship. I have often felt a spirit of heaviness come upon me or try and come upon me. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who's experienced this, but I found the antidote is not to fight in my own strength, but to put on worship music, to engage in worship, and a divine exchange takes place. Like it says in Isaiah 61, verse 3, he gives us this the garment of praise for a spirit of heaviness. Secondly, an internal example, like overcoming fear by claiming God's promises. The Bible says in 2 Timothy 1, verse 7, God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind. And when we look forward into the future, we can boldly proclaim God's great and precious promises over our lives. You see, he's a good God and he doesn't want us to fear, he wants us to go forward in faith and love, knowing that he has wonderful things planned for our future. Number three, let's talk about being bold towards others or not having feelings of shame, like Romans 1, verse 16 says, For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. In the book of Acts we see Christians boldly proclaiming the good news about Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. Acts chapter 1, verse 8 says, But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you so that you can be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. So how do we grow in boldness towards others as Christians? Well, in Acts chapter 4, we see three ways that the apostles were bold when they faced opposition, resistance, and threats for speaking out and ministering to others in the name of Jesus. Let's look at these together. Number one is to spend time with Jesus. In Acts chapter 4, verse 13, we read, 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. Spend time with Jesus, and he will rub off on you, and he will give you confidence and boldness to share with others. Number two, pray for boldness. After they had been told not to speak about Jesus, the apostles prayed. And look at Acts chapter 4, verse 29, which says, And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with boldness. It continues in Acts 4, verse 31, and when they had prayed, prayer is always more powerful than protests or petitions. And church family, if you're going to pray for me, and I really do hope you do, because I need all the prayer I can get, please include in your prayers that I would have boldness to preach God's word with confidence as I should. My request is the same as the Apostle Paul's request, read in Ephesians chapter 6, verse 19 and 20. And also pray for me that words may be given to me and opening my mouth to boldly proclaim the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly as I ought to speak. Thanks for your prayer, church family. Number three, we need to be full of the Holy Spirit. Listen to Acts chapter 4, verse 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. You know, church family, that's what we need to be. We need to be full to the brim and overflowing with the Holy Spirit. For us as Christians, being bold towards others as a witness for Jesus is not being rude or getting in people's faces, it's not Bible bashing or telling people off. It's being so full of the power, the peace, and the presence of God that you cannot help but tell others about his goodness and love. We do have good news, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, we need to share that with others. So, in conclusion, like Proverbs 28, verse 1 says, we should be bold as a lion. Let us, church family, roar out his love, his encouragement, and his blessing on a world that is so desperate for good news. Let's pray together. Thank you, Father God, that you are good. We come to you today with confidence and we ask you for help, for your mercy and your grace in our lives. We submit to you. We resist the spirit of heaviness by declaring your praise. We thank you that we can resist fear and worry as we submit our lives completely to you. We ask you to fill us with your Holy Spirit and to give us boldness to tell others about your goodness and love. May the world around us see that we have been with Jesus. We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. The most important decision you could ever make is to follow Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. If you'd like to know more about having a living relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ and growing in your relationship with God. I think it's the most wonderful thing to be a follower of Jesus. And we invite you to join us as a follower of Christ. It really is awesome. I've experienced his peace, his joy, and his blessing in my life. Today, as we close, I'd like to speak the blessing over us all. And it's from Numbers chapter six, verse twenty four to twenty six. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.