Boldness to Advance

While we are sitting, I want to sincerely talk to Jesus, and we must do it together. What

Jacob started off last week with, which is boldness to preach, and he talked about being

filled with boldness. We will have part two today, and the title is, The Boldness that

God Gives Us to Advance, to Push Through. So that's the title, but there's really no

point in talking about any of that without being centered around Jesus, because the whole

point of all of this is that, one, we serve Him, two, we give all of what we have to Him.

So let's just with our mouths quietly, with voice, just speak a Tao to Him. So Father,

we come to you. We come to you, Jesus. We come to you, Holy Spirit, this afternoon.

Jesus, one thing you really love is when your children come huddled around you, when they

centered around you. And so this afternoon, Jesus, we want to hear from you. We want to

be filled by you. We want to receive everything you have for us. Your Word is so fresh. Your

Word is alive. Your Word is life-giving for us, for every and anything in our life where

we need your touch, your presence to give us everything we need. Even that which seems

like just a sliver of hope. You brighten it up. Thank you, Jesus, for your presence. Jesus,

we don't serve an idol. We don't serve a thing that cannot speak or a thing that cannot move

or a thing that cannot see. We serve you. You fill our space with your glory. You fill

our spirits by being one with us. Jesus, it's a privilege for us as a people to know that

we serve a living God. So real. There is not a shadow of doubt in our being that you are

so present here, not just here, but to accomplish everything you have through us on this earth.

So we just praise you, Jesus. We give you our attention. We give you our honor. We give

you our praise. Like one of the songs said, yours is a name that's matchless, undefeated

name. Above every power, principality, you are the most powerful. You are the most powerful

in the world. You reign. You reign. Jesus, I love it when you said all authority in heaven

and on earth has been given to me. And so while we are seated here, we recognize who

you are. You are the risen Christ. And we go marching forward because you are right

in front of us. Your presence is with us. And so I thank you. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Okay. So when the first century church was born right after Jesus resurrected and the

spirit of God descended upon people, the 120 gathered there, the first thing they faced

is opposition. And the thing with opposition is that sometimes you can feel it without

hearing anything. But most times opposition is something you can perceive because there

is a real threat being spoken at you. And so for the first century church, yeah, the

opposition was real and it was spiritual opposition, but the spiritual opposition came in voices

that were communicated to them because they would talk about, hey, these guys are coming

to arrest you. They heard, hey, these guys are coming because they are going to catch

you and they may kill you. So threats and opposition is communicated in real words and

through feelings that these powers try to infiltrate with. And what we have is when

the spirit of God is in us and the spirit of God leads us, he gives us everything we

need to face opposition and then to advance through it. So the spirit of God isn't given

to us so that there is no opposition. The spirit of God is given to us so that in the

midst of opposition, which is often expressed through threats, we still advance through

it, which is what happened with, when you think about Elijah in second Kings chapter

2 Kings 19 · chapter mention

19, you see Elijah, he's in, by the time chapter 18 is closed off, you see he had the

biggest of victory perhaps in all of Old Testament. One man standing up knowing God is with him

and on that mountain top he experienced God's glory. Fire came down. Too many people watching

him. Threats and fire came down. He experienced what it is to receive God's power, stand in

it. But then what happens is in the next chapter, chapter 19, verse 1 and 2, you read this that

Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say this, that I'm going to kill you. And so the

opposition that was around then sent word to Elijah and basically said, Elijah, I'm

going to kill you. And the Bible says in verse 2 of chapter 19 that Elijah, recognizing what

was happening, he ran for his life. Yeah, he ran for his life because it was a real

threat to his life. And so while he had this amazing victory on the mountain top, in the

next chapter he's running for his life. But what I love is in the midst of all of that,

and this is where we're going in the New Testament, we'll have a completely different understanding

of this. In the midst of all of this, the opposition that he faced was real, that Elijah

faced was real. On one hand there was an attempt to arrest whatever he was doing and on the

other hand there was also an attempt so that Elijah doesn't show up. Chapter 19, the last

couple of verses actually talks about not Elijah but Elisha. That these powers that

tried to stop the advancement of what God was doing because in God's plan Elisha already

was there. Elijah just didn't know it. Elijah didn't know when chapter 19, verse 1 and 2

happened that there is an Elisha. But then when he found Elisha towards the end because

God worked with him to get him out of the cave, what did Elijah do? He found residence

in a cave. He was tired, he was done, he even said, God I'm done, take me. Not knowing what

God had prepared for him. And so for us in this time that we occupy, the threats are

different. The opposition is different. You don't have a Jezebel lady throwing threats

at the church. You have spiritual powers that try to bring fear, that try to bring opposition.

And the spirit of God is given to us very different from what happened with Elijah because

Elijah was in the Old Testament. He did not have the spirit of God living inside him.

But we now do have the spirit of God living inside of us and the spirit of God has been

given to us not to say well there is no opposition, there is no threat, I'll keep moving forward.

No. In the face of opposition, in the face of threats being hurled at the church, the

church is now given everything the church needs including boldness to stand up and say

yes there are threats, yes there is opposition, but we will advance. And that is how Elisha

how the early church did it. And if there was any opposition you can recount over and

over again, we just need to read what happened in the book of Acts and you keep seeing this.

Whenever they tried to do some things, people came around and said no you can't, we are

going to finish you, we are going to kill you. And even outside of the scripture when

you hear about what happened to the disciples, you see the level of threat there was. The

only difference is sometimes we don't even perceive the threats there are because we

are so not interested fully in doing everything that Christ has asked us to do. Sometimes

we hear about threats here and there and we are like oh yeah we'll pray about it. But

the reality is this, when we stand up together as a people of God and we say there is a mandate

given to me, there is a mandate given to us. What is that mandate? Matthew chapter 28,

Matthew 28 · chapter mention

19 when Jesus said go therefore make disciples. That is the mandate that has been given to

us. So when I really stand up and when we really stand up and say this is the mandate

that Christ gave us, all of our beings, all of what we have is toward this one purpose

and we stand up then God gives us power to advance. He gives us power to advance because

His mission will always happen. It is always going to be accomplished. There is no power

that can stop our father. There is no power that can bring about impediment toward what

God wants to do. God's plans always works out. Now what He is looking for is this, willing

participants. And so even though God's plan will always work out, we always have the will

and option to either be a willing participant and a partner in what He is doing or we can

here and there dabble with it. And what we must be about is we go full in the work that

Christ has commissioned for us. And that does not always mean standing up on the street

side and preaching. It means different things for different people. But we must huddle around

Jesus and say, Jesus if this is what you asked me to, then that is so fully mine to take

on. This mantle is not something I will wear on a Sunday and not on a Friday afternoon.

This is a mantle that has been given to me 24x7. And when I walk like that and you walk

like that and when we have this common understanding, this culture, this mindset that this is all

what we are about, everything else is gravy, then something happens. Gravy is a bad word.

It's so true. And that this becomes, whenever the church then comes together, which is what

happened with the first century church, when they got together, what was the deal? Were

they about just sitting and worshipping only? No. They were about sitting and worshipping

and hearing and learning and then going out. That was very natural for them. It was the

most natural thing for the first century church to do. And it is, even today, that it must

be natural to us. Yeah? So I want to talk about a few things. I'm hoping we'll go very

quickly through a bunch of points so we finish not too late. So I want to talk about the

point. So the attempt is to keep the light covered. Light as in you and I. Covered. Covered.

Because what the devil tries to do is, because the devil knows that the battle has already

been won. Christ already said that I have disarmed the enemy. And so as far as the devil

is concerned, he knows already that when darkness comes against light, what happens?

Light wins. It is established. You know that even just from a point of science. Light and

darkness, there is no match. When light comes, darkness goes. That's just a physical reflection

of what Christ has already done. Darkness, Bible says, cannot comprehend light. And so

I love it. It cannot comprehend light. The light of Christ cannot be comprehended by

darkness, even today. Even today, it does not have an answer and it will never have

an answer. And so as far as the devil is concerned, it fears light so much so the only thing it

can do is not fight light because there is no point fighting light because it's already

defeated. But what if light can be covered? And that is what the attack is. To keep the

church from recognizing that this light must go out. This light must be on the city hill.

It is up on the hill so everyone can see it. So that it attracts people to it. And that

is the attempt of the devil. Once we know that, then we must also realize the power

of light in us. That when I wake up, then when you wake up, Jesus is so present in us

that this power in us, this reality of Jesus in me makes the devil tremble. Makes the devil

tremble. That the reality of Jesus in the context of a church makes the devil tremble.

It is true. But we don't think like it because we sometimes don't even think that the battle

has been won. Christ has already won the battle. Bible says the devil is already disarmed.

And then like I said, what my mentality and your mentality should be, aha, if that is

so then Jesus, I want to rise up and shine this light so that it will not be covered.

And so you see from heaven when we are looked at, there is light. There is light. There

is light in us. That beyond the flesh and the bone and whatever we are, there is light.

Who gave you this light? Jesus. Where do I get that from? Jesus said, you are the light

of the world. Because he is the light of the world. And he has given his light to me and

to you. And so when I go around, the reality is this, I have the light. That when you go

around, the reality is this, you have the light. But what does the devil want to do?

Make you believe, make me believe that I don't have the light. But I have the light. And

as soon as and when this light confronts darkness, there is only one result. Always. It's established

at the cross. What is it? Darkness cannot comprehend light. And light always reigns

victorious. Yeah? So let's define a couple of things. True boldness is the expression

of the spirit of God in you. Expression of the spirit of God in you to express the spirit

of God in you to advance without compromise in the face of opposition. To advance without

compromise in the face of opposition. So genuine boldness then is not speaking with a loud

voice. Genuine boldness then is not standing up when 15 people march into the church and

say, oh no, I'm going to stand up. That's not genuine boldness. Probably a couple of

weeks ago I was driving and I saw a word before even Jacob started this theme. I saw a word

and I was like, what is this world? I've never understood the meaning or I haven't thought

about it. I think it is A-R-C-H-I-B-A-L-D. Archibald. I was like, what is that? So I

looked it up and it says genuine boldness. Genuine, sincere, true. That there is a type

of boldness that is genuine. Which is not raised voice. It is beyond that. It is the

internal posture of me and you. When we have the posture of hey, this is who I am inside.

Here is who I am inside and doesn't matter what happens, I always am this way. Doesn't

matter if I am woken up from night, when I'm sleeping, doesn't matter if I am at work,

doesn't matter if I am doing something. There is this boldness inside you that is sincere

and genuine because something has already happened to you. And we'll get to that. What

that is, we'll get to. It is so sincere, it's so real and genuine that you're not making

something up to be that. You know what I mean? Because sometimes we have pressure to become

something. And with Christ we don't have any pressure to become something because he makes

us everything we need to be and we then can walk exactly as he has designed us. And so

there is this thing called true, genuine, sincere boldness of the spirit that Christ

gives. He doesn't give you anything fake. If you can trust one person who can give you

things that are not fake and that which will withstand the test of fire, it's Jesus. He

doesn't give you fake stuff. He always gives precious things. And when he gives me boldness

and he gives you boldness, it is a real thing. It does not always have to be heightened

voice. Yeah? And so if that is the definition of boldness, then we go down this path of

what are a couple of things that you need to have in order to function in this? Number

one, it requires a cause, C-A-U-S-E, cause. It's pointless to have boldness if you don't

have a cause. Yeah? You must have a cause. And so if you ask David, he will tell you

that his dad sent him to the Israelite camp to check out what's going on and give some

supplies to the army, including his brothers. That's why he was sent. But when he is there

and he hears what's happening, he says, is there not a cause? Is there not a cause to

take away the reproach of Israel? That is what it says in the Bible. That this man found

in that place at that time, even though it wasn't for him to do, because there are much

more capable people in the land, he said, is there not a cause? And so one of the things

that the Holy Spirit desires in us is this, that we are so consumed by this reality. What

is this reality? That there is a cause which Christ has already made so clear to us. That

even though it is everything around us tries to tell us it is okay, that when we walk into

a grocery store or wherever we are at, we are surrounded by people who need Christ.

And that is the cause. If I don't have that, then I don't need boldness. But if I have

that, then God knows I need it. Yeah? So it's almost a prerequisite. I cannot ask him, God,

give me courage and boldness, when if that is not my cause. Now, the reality is this,

everyone sitting here, we have it. We know what the cause is. It's very clear to us.

We have heard that enough. We have understood it. We know it. We can all say, Matthew 28,

19. We can even quote other scriptures to communicate to other believers what this thing

is and how they ought to be. We can do that. But having the cause is one thing. There is

another thing which is conviction. Now, those who wrestle with the cause, they develop conviction.

Understanding 28, 19 is one thing. But then when I wrestle with 28, 19 and say, God, is

this what you want? Why? How? When? Conviction develops. And that conviction is so important

for the Spirit of God. Because I'm a willing participant, like I said before. So on one

hand, the Spirit of God gives me conviction, but there is also a need for me to wrestle

with what he has already said. And the reality is this, like I said that while all of us

know it, how can we all be so consumed? How can we all be so convicted by this? So convicted

by this. I wonder sometimes there are days when I feel so convicted about this and then

there are days when I am somewhere and I just want to do something else. Because I feel

like I've done enough or I feel like, yeah, now is the break time. But I feel like I'm

not. That is not how it ought to be. That always 24, 7, this is what I carry. That I'm

consumed by what he has already given me as my mandate 24, 7. Any questions? Because as

much as we want the courage and the boldness in the Spirit, we can't really walk in it

truthfully if we don't have the cause. And even if we have that, if we have not developed

the conviction, then it doesn't go together. We need conviction. We need to know why this

is important. And the recent conviction is something you develop. On one hand, Christ

gives you through his Holy Spirit this conviction, but it is also something you have to steward.

You have to nurture it. You have to work with it. You have to wrestle with it. And this,

I tell you, is important. Because if you think and if I think that we are rising up

to advance the kingdom of God, we must take time. We must take time to wrestle with that

word. Why did Jesus say what he said? We know it here, but it has to then travel the 18

inch journey from here to here. That it is not head knowledge we pass on to others. It

is this reality, which is why, see, we all know this. There are times when someone comes

to us and we know this person needs Christ. It's so easy to say. I just wanted you to

know, you know, Jesus loves you. Jesus is so real. I want you to know that Jesus will

help you. And you walk away because, yeah, you said what needed to be said. You may have

quoted even 15 scriptures. But that's one thing. There is another thing, which is to

look at the man and even without him knowing, see how Jesus sees him. And the love of Christ

then compels you not to just say a thing and move on, but to stay. But to look at him.

But to recognize who he is and then speak what the Holy Spirit births into your being.

It is a completely different thing. We sometimes become so proficient in our Christianity that

we know what the gospel is. But the gospel must be something we wrestle with. And those

who wrestle with the gospel, those who spend time to look at it, to understand it, to say,

God, I want to get to the bottom of this. I want to go so deep in it that my entire

being gets consumed by it. That is a different type of people. Otherwise, we are Christian-ies

The other thing is sons and daughters of the Father, which is what the firstborn in

that house of the prodigal did not have. He did not have the heart of the Father. He knew

everything. He knew there was a son gone. He knew that, you know, this and that. But

what he did not have is the heart of the Father. How can I have the heart of the Father? How

can you have the heart of the Father? Unless we wrestle, unless we are with him, unless

we spend time with him, it is impossible to have fully. And now even after we have

received it, it is something that must be stewarded. See, I know what I am saying is

so real, because we can all say the gospel easily. But to be convicted by the gospel

every day as you go about your affairs is another thing. It is an entirely another thing.

And that is something Christ wants us to have, because all of the Holy Spirit is real, in

his reality wants to impart that to me. And I can have it easily. All I need to do is

spend time working with that word. Why? Why, Abba? I know it here. Bring it here, Abba.

Have it move from here to here. That I am not about saying a few things and saying it

right, but I am about getting your heart. Once you are not about saying it right, when

you are more about getting his heart, that's good. Otherwise we want the right words. We

want to say it right. We don't want to look foolish. Who cares? Who cares if I then go

to Jonathan and say whatever I say, but he goes away because the power of the Holy Spirit

worked through me and he understood the reality of gospel in five seconds in the words that

I spoke. Otherwise I can sit there, stand there, talk to him for 20 minutes because

I am with all my head knowledge trying to convince him something, but he doesn't get

it. This is why the first century church was different. And we now, together with the

mandate that God has given us, let's be different. So one, we talked about is there not a cause?

Two, we talked about those who have wrestled with the cause develop conviction. Now, when

we talk about the spirit of the Spirit, and I want to give a very quick detour. The response

of the flesh to opposition and threats is fear. But the response of the Spirit is boldness

and joy. So when there is opposition and fear hurled at you, at the church, the natural

the church the natural response in the flesh is fear but the response from the

Spirit of God is not fear it is courage boldness and then joy which is important

because we don't put those things in the same sentence when we talk about

advancement but here is what Jesus said through the Bible when Apostle Paul

writes here is what he said about the kingdom what is the kingdom of God it

is not eating and drinking but it is righteousness peace and joy and so you

see kingdom the word itself if you were to just put it here kingdom means

conflict we have heard about that a few times here and so within that context of

kingdom there is righteousness there is peace and there is joy see joy is a

weapon it is something that God gives us to use in the midst of fear in the midst

of confusion in the midst of threats he gives us a weapon and that weapon is

also called joy which is why somewhere in Psalm 35 or somewhere there it says

who comes in the morning joy comes in the morning and all of heaven so let's

assume Jonathan sorry today you're sitting in the front so let's assume

Jonathan wakes up here's the reality as Jonathan opens his eyes who comes the

Holy Spirit has brought joy to him already now does he realize that or not

is his deal do I realize that or not is my deal but what the Holy Spirit wants

is Derek can you touch joy today it doesn't matter what's happening around

you but this morning I have delivered this greater kingdom reality to you that

in the midst of threats in the midst of pain in the midst of confusion I have a

weapon that I want you to use weapon joy we don't think like that but it is

the kingdom of God is made of not eating and drinking but righteousness

right standing with God peace will cover it another day and joy we must which is

why I think last week Tony was talking about Paul and Silas that these guys

were in the prison what are they doing it's not worship guys it's worship

that's born out of joy otherwise we think they're singing songs no no no it's

the internal conviction that floors flows outside of them through this music

songs clapping worship but what they have inside of them is this reality of

joy it is a different thing that we should spend more time about because

this is so critical to get somehow we we often think of joy as this that's not

that important because there are so many other important things to look at no it

is strength it's a weapon that's why God says rejoice rejoice rejoice rejoice

rejoice rejoice rejoice because when you rejoice there is something that happens

inside of you you say yes to what God says irrespective of what's happening

around you rejoice rejoice and one thing we must do is to learn how to be

more joyful without manufacturing it without faking it without somehow trying

to piece it all together trust the Holy Spirit to make us more joyful like

legitimate genuine true sincere joy because here's the other thing you

cannot represent Christ well and fully if you're not joyful I don't know if you

know this but there is this guy who who got born again and was so mad about the

cause of Jesus that he goes to the store where he works and a lady walks in at

9 a.m. and he says if you're not born again if you don't know Christ you're

going to be thrown into hell and so somehow the other employees hear about

what happened at 9 a.m. just as the store opened and they all reported what

happened to the boss the boss comes and he says what did you do Randy like you

should have never done that no one wants here it is is that's going to happen to

you too if you don't know what's the point because the message is right but

it's there is no the only objective there is to communicate it doesn't have

the heart and these things are rare in the world but the church must always

have it and when the church has it it will show not fake joy but real yeah so

let's go through a few other things we'll finish on time I'm telling it to

myself

son allow my joy to touch your past your present your future and that's also true

because see you can only have true joy when your past as you look at it is

covered in Thanksgiving it doesn't matter that yes there are scars yes

there are things that you wish were different but you must be able to look

back at your past and say thank you you must then be able to look at your

present and it must be marked by his presence and then you must be able to

look at your future and you must be able to say I've given it to you I trust you

you're good you're faithful and you'll see that your future is painted by his

promises when all these three things are done it is natural to have joy and so I

look at my past yeah there are things where I wish it was different but that's

okay he's got it now you say thank you you look at your present and you see his

presence has now marked it right now he's marking your presence your present

today he's it's marked by his presence and then you look at the future and you

have questions you still have things that you're not sure about but that is

okay because you look at your future and with the conviction that the Spirit of

God has given you you look at it and say I can see you being painted by his

promises and when you have those three then you say I have joy it's real that

is genuine that is sincere because all of your life has now been covered by

him so that let's get back to okay let's get back to what I wrote down here is

progressive boldness but doesn't really matter what the subtitle is there are

five or six types of boldness that I want to cover one to believe you see

this in rehab rehab in Joshua chapter 2 is a lady who should not even be in the

Joshua 2 · chapter mention

Bible if we are all going by what we have done but thank you because we don't

go by what we have done we go by what he has done and so you find rehab in

chapter 2 of the book of in the book of Joshua and you read this about rehab

that she heard about this God that did something miraculous somewhere else and

she was convicted that this God is a real God and that anything and

everything that happened in Jericho is not the real stuff and so she said uh-huh

if you guys came from that land and if you guys came here representing that God

then I'm gonna say I'm gonna give you hospitality I'm gonna have you guys be

hidden here because I trust in that God so to believe you need boldness in the

midst of opposition you must believe who he is in the midst of opposition can

you believe that this is the same God who split the sea open that when the

devil tries with all its deceit true to then bring these words of confusion to

you you say I have been given the boldness to stand the boldness to

believe I believe in who he is just like guys I talked about earlier we take time

to wrestle with what God has given in terms of the gospel in terms of his

cause so that it develops true conviction inside of us one thing we

must do is to spend time thinking and seeing and hearing who he really is we

think we know our God we think we've understood him but if you were to sit

down at his feet and say what does David even mean in Psalm 18 what is he talking

about what is he talking about about him coming on the clouds what is he

talking about that from his nostrils come what is can't get someone read some

18 real quick only if you can read it real quick

I can go there too

see it's so important that we think about these things differently otherwise

we fall trap to familiarity here is what David wrote then the earth reeled and

rocked the foundations also the mountains trembled and quaked because he

was angry smoke went up from his nostrils and devouring fire from his

mouth glowing coals flamed forth from him he bowed the heavens and came down

thick darkness was under his feet and then it goes on what is what is he

talking about because we all have our extent of understanding of God and all

of us are in different places with it one thing that we must do is to in in

times of fellowship with him also ask him to show you more of who he is

because otherwise we will live good Christian ease life for 70 80 years

without having understood what this is and God says when a son or a daughter

comes to him and says ABBA I really want to know haha you will know this morning

prefer the second thought we've already gotten used to the first thought because

just as you read that you know exactly what it means that's why we don't read

it again we go back to it the next time you read it but preferring the second

thought which is hold on hold on what is this I want to touch it father I want to

understand this father it changes it which is what rehab did she heard many

others heard it too but she said hold on I ain't going past what I just heard

right now and sleep no I have to think about what I just heard you think she

was the only one who heard no others heard it too but there was something

about rehab that insisted no I'm gonna go deeper that insisted that I want to

learn more and anytime you and I say about teach me he teaches me next

boldness to perceive who you are this is so important

X chapter 2 boldness to perceive who you are

if you want to write down this is accept the to 14 through 21 the whole idea is

this the Spirit of God came down powerfully and the believers have been

filled with the Holy Spirit all of a sudden when people started mocking what

was happening Peter rises up he stands up and he goes straight back to Joel

Joel 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2 to perceive what God is doing and more importantly also to perceive

who you are in the story of God is very important we don't think like that

sometimes because we are all about about who are you in this we also need to know

who we are in this otherwise we miss our roles Peter understood that there is a

reason why Jesus said what he said when he said I have given you the keys to the

kingdom Jesus said that back then and Jesus reminded him again in mark chapter

Mark 16 · chapter mention

16 and then now you see Peter just as the Holy Spirit came down the first

response is not all that good because now people are saying you guys just

drank a bunch of new wine and that's why you're doing all of this he rises up he

recognizes that this place this time has been reserved for him to rise up it is

important that on one hand we recognize who God is at the same time we need need

to also recognize who you are and I am it is deeply important because once you

realize his power in you once you realize how see he sees you everything

changes everything changes this is so real guys I I tell you this is so

important to know who you are in Christ it is so important for you to know who

you are in Christ it is deeply important you need to know who Christ is then you

need to know who you are in Christ once you have the understanding true

understanding of who you are in Christ things begin to change the way you stand

up changes the way you sit down changes the way you walk the streets changes

everything changes once you realize who you are in Christ because he did not

create us to be just somebody's our father is one who does not have unplanned

kids he does not have unplanned kids he is one father who does not have unplanned

kids meaning when I was formed he has plans when you were formed he has plans

it is not planned it is plans plural which means then those plans recognize I

must recognize I must see where I met in those plans once I recognize that then

my understanding of who I am in him changes drastically changes so important

otherwise we become like light that's covered is there light yes is it covered

yes and understanding this takes that lid off because we realize who we are in

Christ third

boldness to refuse I won't explain that much references Daniel chapter 3 16

Daniel 3 · chapter mention

sometimes you need power to not sometimes you need in life the power to

say no the boldness to say no

one thing that we can do sometimes is when we have a theme like this talked

about at in church on Sundays it seems like this is about the church advancing

and it is we can fall into the trap of thinking these things don't apply to our

individual lives all of these things super apply to our individual lives

outside of Richmond and it applies to everything that God wants to do as a

church it's true and so the power to say no the boldness to say no is something

that the Spirit of God gives and it is important in these times to sometimes

look at something and say no I refuse it I refuse it I refuse to go down that

path which I don't want to explain today because we all know the story of

Shadrach, Mesheke, and Abednego and what they did but I just wanted to flag that is

one of the things that we as believers are given by the Holy Spirit boldness to

stand boldness to stand next one first Chronicles chapter 11 12 first

1 Chronicles 11 · chapter mention

Chronicles 11 12 hey Brandon you don't need to bring it up now but the the

slides v2 just have it ready thanks not now okay first Chronicles chapter 11 12

1 Chronicles 11 · chapter mention

this is one of the three mighty men of David his name is Eliezer a beautiful

picture and may this picture never leave your mind there is an army coming but

there is Israelites have this land and it's it's it's it's filled with barley

yeah and everyone else on the Israelite side has run away but there is one man

standing his name is Elias Eliezer and he's standing right in the middle and he

wars when even when people leave God gives power to stand and it is important

that we have it which is why you know that song from Nagaland though no one

yes don't don't no one join me still I will follow that is what we are about

that it doesn't matter who it is with you who it is not with you that you are

so compelled by this truth so much so that you will stand up that you will say

no that you will say yes to his ways and no to the ways that are not from him

yeah last couple of things boldness to witness and then boldness to preach

boldness to witness and the point after that is boldness to preach Acts chapter

Acts 3 · chapter mention

3 if you read that you'll see this one you know again with all these these

things that I'm talking it's very natural to think that well this is about

standing up and preaching the gospel to 500 people on the street side if you do

that it is good there is nothing wrong with it it's a good thing to do as long

as we do it the right way but this is beyond that this is living out the

gospel and what Peter and John did in Acts chapter 3 was not any of these

Acts 3 · chapter mention

things first because they were walking to the temple when they saw this guy and

all they wanted to do was because they felt compelled to witness who Christ is

they witnessed to him because they had already been witnesses of his power and

of his healing might which they transferred onto this man who was needy

that's all they did so there is the boldness to witness that if I know that

this is who God is then before even I preach sometimes before even I say

anything anything with my word do I have the boldness to look at the situation

and say Christ is enough to heal this man Christ is enough to heal this woman

and then in that case because a miracle happened they also found room to preach

they weren't going to preach because it happened a lot of people came together

and said oh okay what's going on and then they preached the gospel see in

all of these things one thing is clear that the Spirit of God has certain

things that he has always done with the church that we can easily have and there

is no magic trick to it there is no five steps to it that this is the reality

that he wants this for us all we need to do is work with him desire this and then

this is our portion what I'm going to show you next is something that I came

across while sitting down to to prepare for the sermons I otherwise wouldn't

but I just want you to see something that I saw in the word and get something

from it just so that it gives us a fresh insight I really believe that nothing in

the word is placed in the word by chance everything in the word of God is placed

there to inform me educate me give me ways to live well righteousness all

these things that then in the New Testament it's talked about everything is

birthed by God we cannot take any story and anything in the Bible and say well

that's a story now everything is placed there for a reason it's life-giving so

for that reason I want to brand if you can bring this up please is that V2 go

go forward okay so there's this guy in second Chronicles chapter 20 I had

2 Chronicles 20 · chapter mention

read the story before but this time when I read this something stood out and it

reminded me very quickly as a Reddit of another passage in the Bible what had

happened here is if you just listen to me and then I'll show you what the

slides are see Jehoshaphat is the king and he finds out there are three types

of three armies coming to fight him and the natural response was fear oh wow

there are three armies coming to fight but what he does is he he asked God what

to do and here is what he does see oh you can't yeah you can see it so you can

see in verse 6 it says he is now talking to God Oh Lord God of our fathers are

you not God in heaven you rule over all the kingdoms of the nations in your

right in your hand of power and might so that none is able to withstand you this

is a key see when we face opposition and trial it is so important to first

recognize who God is this is why I said what I said before that we must all

regardless of us being new to faith perhaps and only being in faith and for

six months versus someone who has been in faith for 50 years we must all take

time to be with God to learn his magnificence his bigness his might his

power it is so important that part is deeply important for the work of God

through us it is absolutely important that we must know him beyond almighty

almighty is good but there is something beyond almighty a deep understanding of

what almighty means and this man had it when he said something like this you

rule over all the kingdoms of the nations in your hand our power and might

so that none is able to withstand you yes there are three armies coming

against me but no one is able to withstand you one number two he then

recognizes what God has already done and said so did you not our God drive out

the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the

descendants of Abraham your friend you see what he is doing without reading the

next verse verses what he is doing is he started with recognizing who God is

immediately he goes to God did you not say this did you not do this next slide

okay then he goes to the present reality when he says God now behold the men of

Amon and Moab and Mount Seir whom you would not let Israel invade when they

came from the land of Egypt and whom they avoided and did not destroy so now

he says here's what's happening but before he said what was happening he

started with who God is then he moved on to what God has already said what God

has already done and then he says this is my present reality and then he goes

on to pray what he needed pray for what he needed okay this is second Chronicles

2 Chronicles 20 · chapter mention

chapter 20 I was reading this passage and then immediately I realized that

this is Acts chapter 4 so go to ask can you go to the next slide and and and

Acts 4 · chapter mention

yeah next slide and then one after okay sorry yes go back thanks Brandon okay so

here acts have to for what's happening except for you now have the same

situation instead of three armies now the people of God the first century

church is faced with severe threat and opposition what do they do they do this

they pray together sovereign Lord who made the heaven and the earth and the

sea and everything in them what is it one before anything else recognizing who

God is see guys the victorious life that Christ has given for us to live on earth

is rooted in who he is it's rooted in who he is when we say you're the Lord of

heaven and of earth what do we mean by that let's go deeper to realize that

there is no power nothing that is beyond his control everything that is created

is created by him second or Colossians chapter 1 everything that is created is

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

created by him and so you see this pattern in the scripture where they go

back to who God is before making any requests because once you know that

something changes once you know who God is something shifts when I see him

accurately inside of me his spirit will help me understand aha Derek yes this is

real opposition but let me tell you who I am because there is nothing that is

too impossible for him everything is possible for him second thing here again

in Acts chapter 4 you see this what did God say what did God do so now he they

Acts 4 · chapter mention

say did you not through the mouth of our father David your servant said by the

Holy Spirit why did the Gentiles rate essentially quoting accepted or some to

that's all he's doing some to God did you not say this already did you not do

this already and then next slide then they say the present reality then they

ask God for boldness and then in the next verse they launch out in the gift

that God already gave them it says they were filled with boldness and then they

went on to proclaim the good news of God what am I saying with all these things

we can't shift our focus away from who God is in all these things one thing

that's primary is who is he who is he who is he his father his king his Lord

his creator and then to say ABBA I want to know you so much more I want to I

know you deeper I want to be like David who saw certain things that he and

others did not perhaps see I want to be like others who have experienced things

from you that I haven't experienced I want more I'm not satisfied with one I'm

not satisfied with two show me who you really are help see my father and your

father is someone when you and I go to him and say more he will reveal more

some things he has already kept in secret just so that we can ask and those

who ask will find it Proverbs it says it's a glory of God to conceal things

it is for us to go and ask and then to find it but it and even better not even

better the second part of it is Deuteronomy 29 29 where it actually says

that which you have found that God had kept secret which has now been revealed

to you that is now for yours that is now yours forever and your generations

that the awareness of God that he gives me is now for generations after that the

awareness of God that he gives you please read sorry I don't have can

someone read a Deuteronomy 29 29

the secret things belong to the Lord our God but the things revealed belong to

us and and to our generations forever you see this so we always go back to who

our goddess and then we say and understand see and understand and believe

what he has already said and done and then from that place we ask for more

boldness the boldness to advance he then gives it so that we can launch into

things that he has given us in the face of fear and then without it yeah

so Jesus we we don't want to live life to accumulate head knowledge we don't

want to live life to hear and hear again to simply hear and hear again we want to

experience kingdom realities here on earth that you have already kept as

inheritance for your church and so today I say this Jesus show us your

magnificence show us your glory Abba you are ruler of heaven and earth creator

you gave yourself the name I am who I am every other name points to something

you are I am who I am Holy Spirit there is no one like you you hovered over the

face of the earth and then you now fill us and so help us as a people to know

you more to not be Christians but to be sons and daughters to walk in our

inheritance Lord we ask you that you will give us understanding and wisdom

that you will cause us to be truly convicted by your cause convicted that we

would wrestle with what you have said and that you will impart to us your heart

that we carry then your heart as we go out into the world that this becomes not

a reality for some days but an ever-present state of our being that we

are always consumed by who you are and what you want so that we partner with

you in your work Jesus we desire this sincerely we ask this of you today and

we pray that you grant this to us in Jesus name Amen