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NOTE
Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver
Episode: Boldness
Publishing Date: 2025-03-30T06:04:44-07:00
Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca
Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/boldness/

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We are going to talk about boldness. It is a continuation from what we talked about at

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the camp because at the end of the day it is sometimes intimidating to face the world

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and face things that are happening in the world and how people look at Christians, rightly

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or wrongly. So then we need boldness for a day and it is an internal condition first.

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Before the Lord releases a new mantle, whenever God wants to give a people a mantle as in,

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Hey, this is what I would like you to do. So before the Lord releases a mantle,

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He challenges your heart to a place of greater boldness.

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It is like when you take your kid out and he has done the swing and he has done the

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seesaw and now you are taking him on that monkey bar thing. I still am frightened of

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the monkey bars. But it is his idea of, okay, now take him further and you challenge him

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to greater boldness. Before a new mantle can be released, He challenges your heart to a

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place of greater boldness. He prepares you for it. Most of the things that God throws

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us into is almost never without preparation. Only you do not realise that He has been preparing

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you. So it is still a shock for you but He has been preparing you. He never, like any

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good father, He will never throw you into the deep end without knowing that the boy

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can swim. It is this absurd notion that we have that God throws us into the deep end

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and expects us to learn how to swim. That is a cruel father and He is not. It is just

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that when He is training us, you are not aware that He is preparing you. But every time He

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wants us to do something new and He is asking this church to go and touch the 20s and the

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30s across the earth and when He is asking us to do that, with the mantle, He challenges

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your heart to a new place of boldness. And when you do not step up to it, you can always

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say no. When you do not step up, when I do not step up or you do not step up, to what?

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To the training of the heart. That is what we do not step up to. When you do not step

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up, you find yourself in the ebb and flow of unfinished battles. You find yourself in

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the ebb and flow of unfinished battles. As in, occasionally when you are not trained

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and you go anywhere, when God wants to train my heart to face deeper challenges, if I do

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not step up, then I will find myself in situations where sometimes I win, sometimes I lose. It

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is the ebb and flow. Some days I will sing a song and feel the pain of losing. Sometimes

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I will feel the pain of losing. Sometimes I will feel the pain of losing. Sometimes I

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will feel the pain of losing. Some days I will sing a song and feel fully ready, fully

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bold. Other days the song did not cut it, did not do nothing for me and I am scared.

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So we get caught up in the ebb and flow of unfinished battles. So at a time like this,

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when God is saying, hey Jacob, look at what awaits you. Do you have the courage for it?

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My answer should be, no I do not. All right, now that you do not have the courage for it,

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let me train you. And that is when I need to step up. So in ten days I have got to stand

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before 2500 young people between the ages of 14 and 25. I have got to tell them how

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to go into different countries and maybe lose their lives. It scares me. The responsibility

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scares me. I do not know how to anoint them with the Holy Spirit. I do not know how to

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give them the boldness they need because I do not have the boldness yet. What if some

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of these guys go die in Iraq, die in Syria? That is one of the things I ask the pastors.

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I ask the pastors, are you scared that when you send them, you may have to go tell their

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parents that your child died on the mission field or was put in prison? And they say it

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is a scary thought. And ten days from now I am supposed to do that. So now what happens?

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Now God says, hey, so you want to step into that mantle? Well then, why do not I challenge

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your heart? And then the question is, will I step up or will I not? Hey, can you take

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the echo off? There is a slight echo. Will you step up or will you not? And if I do,

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then he begins to bring me to a place of boldness. That is how this works. Then when you actually

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step into the situation, you are not afraid because you are trained for it. You still

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do not know how to do it. You are still dependent on the Spirit, but your heart is ready. They

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call him Richard the lion-hearted. They did not call him Richard the lion-faced or Richard

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the lion-footed. They said Richard the lion-hearted. Why? Because his heart was that of a lion.

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All boldness is internal before it is external. External boldness without internal conviction

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is bravado. This internal boldness is something that only the Spirit can give.

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It is not a mind thing. I remember when I was... Go ahead.

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Can you give an example of preparing your heart in the area of boldness?

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When I had to meet a businessman who asked for prayer and he flew me across to another

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city and the Lord is asking me, tell him he is an adulterer. I knew this man was powerful

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enough to do harm. And here I am sitting there saying, Father, my response to God was, Father,

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can you start with something nicer? Do you have to start with the line, you are an adulterer?

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Just give me a small example. When I went to Mongolia, it was the same thing. You go

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to a nation where you do not know anybody, you spent a lot of money. It takes boldness

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to spend money knowing that you could lose it all. Then you go there and you wait. Sometimes

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when you confront something enormous that God is asking you to confront and he is sending

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you alone or with somebody and you know that they might be pushed back or collateral damage,

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you require boldness. When these kids stand in the line for a visa to go to Iraq or Sudan

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or Syria, they require boldness but their hearts have been prepared for the last two

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years. This is all they have lived for. These are fourteen year olds who go in the morning

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and sell old clothes so they have enough money for the ticket and then they don't even know

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whether their visas will be rejected. It gets rejected once, twice, thrice. They still go

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up and then they get it. How much money do they have in their pocket when they fly to

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these places? Zilch. It's an internal condition. As I talk about it, we think to ourselves,

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boy, we don't have boldness. Boldness is for things that God has called you to and it changes

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from person to person. Jonathan's boldness was different from David's boldness. What

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was Jonathan's boldness? I am going to forego my right to the throne. I'm going to turn

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my back on my father's desires and I'm going to attach myself to David who is not from

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a royal family but will be the ultimate king before Christ comes. Jonathan's boldness was

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a different boldness. David's was another. David's was this uncircumcised Philistine,

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I can take him down. Boldness so depends on what you're being called for. This is not

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Tarzan, Kriga, Bandola. It's not that. This is all being recorded, right, on video too?

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Alrighty, so it's not boldness. It's not that. What am I being called for? Oh God, I want

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to be bold enough so that I complete everything you asked me to. That's the beauty of it and

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it's first internal. God has attained this internally to be ready for it. Sorry, my notes

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keep going off because I don't have paper notes because I was at the retreat. Alrighty,

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so how do we define boldness? It's courage in action. It is courage in action. It's courage

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in action by the power of the Spirit. By the power of the Spirit. By the power of the Spirit.

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On an urgent conviction for a task that ignores the cost. That is aware of it but ignores

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the cost or consequence in the face of threats. It's the power of the Spirit. It's the power

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of the Spirit. What is boldness? It is courage in action by the power of the Spirit on an

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urgent conviction for a task that ignores the cost and the consequence. That ignores

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the cost and the consequence in the face of threats. So it is courage and it is courage

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that expresses itself in action. It is brought about by the Spirit. It is internal first

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but it is then external. There's an urgency to it. Boldness is not something that's long

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out where in the street by and by it happens. There's an urgent conviction to it. And it's

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for a task that God has mandated and it ignores the cost, it ignores the consequence in the

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face of threats. This is impossible without the Spirit. Are you ignoring the consequence

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or you're willing to pay the cost? You're willing to pay the cost but you're aware of

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the consequences but you're not focusing on it. So maybe ignore is the wrong word. You're

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not focusing on the consequences. There's a good chance that it's going to end up not

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well. Courage does not guarantee preservation of life. Ouch. It's not going to end up well.

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Courage does not guarantee preservation of life. That is...

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True. But like I said, I don't mind dying. You can kill me, I've got no problem. But

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don't torture me before that. I don't like that. Yeah. Death I'm not afraid of but I

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don't like being tortured. I don't want pain. That is the hard part. Remember we talked

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about conviction. What are the five tests for conviction? One, your beliefs are convictions

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and not preferences if you will not succumb to peer pressure. If family puts pressure

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on you and you say no. If someone sues you and it's a lawsuit but you still not change

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your way. Someone threatens you with jail time and you will still say no. Someone threatens

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you with death and you will still say no. And so personally I don't think Christians

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should be afraid of death. Yeah. But pain sometimes scares me. When I see people who

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have been persecuted through torture and stuff like that, yeah that scares me. I'm just

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talking from my emotions. It doesn't mean that... That means I'll turn my back on faith.

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It's just that... Yeah. Death we don't need to be afraid of. This is what we... This is

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kind of what we see in Daniel 3 verse 18 when the boys were taken before the fire and so

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was Daniel, Esther 4, 16 when she had to take a step, Acts 9, 13 to 17 where the apartment

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fossils were threatened. They were able to stand. What happens if I don't have boldness

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is this. Boldness when absent, boldness when absent spawns indifference, non-conflict

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and sophistication. By sophistication I mean we come up with all kinds of sophistries to...

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Basically the same thing. It's indifference. If I'm not bold, I'll have to go for indifference.

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If I'm not bold, I'll have to go for indifference. I remember this lady long ago calling me

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a man. She said, I'm not bold. I'm not bold. I'm not bold. I'm not bold. I'm not bold.

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I'll have to go for indifference. If I'm not bold, I'll have to go for indifference. I

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remember this lady long ago calling me to a prison in the Philippines that is notorious

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for people that they execute. That's all that they do there. They just execute prisoners.

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Anyone who goes to that prison gets executed. And it was somewhere near Mindanao which was

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at that time a haven for terrorism. A lot of militants used to come from there. And

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I met her here in Vancouver. She was very affected by the way I taught and the way I

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preached and the healings that she saw. She asked if I would come to that prison and spend

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some time ministering to the prisoners there. And when I checked on what the conditions

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of the prison were, how close it was to these places that were really hotbeds of all kinds

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of things, I came up with a reason not to go because I was scared. So the only way you

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can avoid boldness is to go indifference or sophisticated reasons for not doing so. Therefore,

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one of the things I need to develop and you need to develop for any task we are called

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to is, father, if this is a task that you have mandated, give me the boldness. And here's

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the catch. One of the tasks mandated to everybody here is to go preach the gospel. Two things

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that I must ask for every day. Oh God, give me wisdom. Oh God, give me boldness. Two requirements

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for Christians every day. Oh God, give me wisdom. Oh God, give me boldness. Because

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one task that's mandated for everybody, this is not the realm of evangelists or professionals,

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it's the realm of everybody. How do we proclaim the gospel? We talked about it this morning.

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Seek and engage people. Second, build relationships. Third, open your life, open your home. And

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fourth, does the spaghetti stick? Five, minister to them. Intersect their lives with ministry

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and prayer. Six, make the gospel known. Getting them healed does not give them eternal life,

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gives them physical life. Make the gospel known. Wait for God to convert them. It might

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take a while. Kamal testified to that when he was at the camp. It took a while. His wife

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kept at it. And one day, I remember Kamal standing up in the middle of a meeting at

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Acts 29 when we were at Ross Street, and he stands up while I'm preaching, and he says,

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so what does it take to become a believer in this church? And that's how he got born

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again. Yeah. And so wait for God to convert him. Then baptize him and teach him how to

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observe everything that God has taught. This requires boldness. This requires boldness.

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This requires boldness. When boldness is present, holy imagination kicks in. When boldness is

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present, holy imagination kicks in. What does that mean? You begin to attempt things. Attempt

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God things that your reason would never entertain. You begin to attempt God things that your

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reason would never entertain. Who thinks they can win a war by putting a lamp in a pitcher

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and go up a mountain and break the lamp and shout, for Gideon and for the Lord? And thousands

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and thousands run away. Doesn't make any sense. But one of the things that happens is holy

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imagination kicks in, as in you begin to imagine the things that God is saying is possible.

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It only comes with boldness. I remember about a week or 10 days after I was born again,

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I was in this Muslim country and I'm at the airport and I see this man and I sense God

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saying, you need to give him a Bible. And I'm thinking to myself, bad idea. Not the kind

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of environment you give someone a Bible in. But he says, no, give him a Bible. And so

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what was the holy imagination part of it? God's saying, write on the first page of the

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Bible that this book will change your life on this flight today. It was meant for you.

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Take it. And then he said, go look at his luggage and see what his name is and say,

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dear whatever, this book will change your life. I write down his name on the first page,

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I go up to him and I say, hey, this is for you. He said, I don't want it. I don't have

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any interest in it. I said, it's got your name on it. He said, what do you mean? I flip

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it open and he sees his name on it saying, this book will change your life on this flight

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today. This was meant for you. He takes it and he walks into immigration. That's what

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I mean by holy imagination. He gives you ideas that your reason would not entertain. And

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this is not just for evangelism. Please understand. It's for business moves. It's for moves on

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the sports field. It's for how to approach people, how to sometimes get houses. Boldness

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gives permission. It's back to the people. It's back to the people. It's back to the

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backbone. I'll explain that. And let the spirit move freely. Let's say I'm giving you permission

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to do something. I'm your boss. I'm in a company. I've got this new AI technology.

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It's the only thing that I want to revolutionize the world with. I pick you and I say, hey,

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go do it, Don. And permission has been given. But Don is so scared because he doesn't know

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whether he has the knowledge for it, he has the backing for it, he has the resources for

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it. He's scared. He goes and prays and asks God, oh God, give me success. But even though

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permission is given, permission doesn't have a backbone unless there is boldness attached

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to it. Once you ask for boldness, even though he doesn't have the resources, the knowledge,

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the ability, something begins to stand up in him saying, I can do this. What was happening

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in Judges Chapter 6 and 7? What was being given Gideon? Gideon was being given a backbone.

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What was being said to him? Mighty warrior. Why call him that? He needed a backbone. One

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of the ways God gives backbones when we ask him to is by saying something about us that

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we know, but nobody said us. He says it and something clicks. Something clicks because

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that was in you before you were born. That was part of your DNA even before you were

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born. Tim, get out of where you're working right now. God will open a door for you. You

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work hard. God loves it. You're diligent. You work hard. And when you work with your

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people, if I went and asked the people that work around you, they'll say, he's such a

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good worker. He doesn't take part in the politics. He does his work. He doesn't blame anybody.

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He takes responsibility. And God is saying, I've seen how faithful you are in your work.

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And he's saying, Tim, it's time to leave your job and I will open a door for you. You won't

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even have to worry about it. It'll be like walking towards the door and it opens and

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you'll get another job where you have time, where you have time to think. You're a thinking

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man. When was the last time you got time to take a breath, put up your feet and think?

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Even that is not being allowed you. God is saying, great, you started in this. Time to

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leave it. And do not be afraid because I'm saying to you, son, that I'm giving you a

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spine that will give you the boldness to say, I'm done with this and walk. And as you walk,

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the door will open. This church will help you. That is how sure I am of this. So now

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that he's received that word, boldness will give him the backbone to begin to step out.

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And it happens because God says something. God says what? God says stuff like, I haven't

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seen him work, that you are faithful, that you're a thinking man, that you haven't had

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time to breathe, that you enjoy thinking. Little things that God knows and he says,

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son, I want this for you. It gives permission. Once you get that permission, you're willing

00:25:51.900 --> 00:25:57.600
to go. I dislike going to some countries. I'm scared. Once I get back on the air can

00:25:57.600 --> 00:26:04.600
and a flight, I'm happy. I don't know whether the phones are bugged. I don't know if there's

00:26:04.600 --> 00:26:09.320
anyone following. I stand out like a sore thumb. One of the cab drivers looked at me

00:26:09.320 --> 00:26:14.000
and said, you are very fat. And he took his hand and put it around my wrist and said,

00:26:14.000 --> 00:26:19.880
see I cannot meet. I didn't know when he said I cannot meet whether he meant M-E-E-T or

00:26:19.880 --> 00:26:26.880
M-E-E-T. But I left it. I didn't ask. Some countries are not fun to go to. I pray for

00:26:27.880 --> 00:26:34.880
boldness in those countries. I'm so relieved when I leave those countries. But when a task

00:26:40.040 --> 00:26:47.040
is given, ask God for help. This car thing has been happening often. I went with this

00:26:50.160 --> 00:26:56.160
guy called Tiju. You met Tiju in Maria, right? We went to Shillong recently. Slopes, a high

00:26:56.160 --> 00:27:01.000
slope. He's got a tiny little Maruti car. It came to the top of the slope and stopped.

00:27:01.000 --> 00:27:07.320
And he's looking at both of us saying, get out of the car. So we had a, I think it was

00:27:07.320 --> 00:27:12.720
Tiju, not me. Like I'd have been okay. So we both had to step out of the car before

00:27:12.720 --> 00:27:17.080
it went over the hill. Well, these are details you don't need to know. And I keep forgetting

00:27:17.080 --> 00:27:24.080
I'm being recorded. I hope Tiju watches this.

00:27:26.160 --> 00:27:33.160
Okay. Boldness upsets people. Boldness upsets people. Boldness upsets people. Why? Because

00:27:40.720 --> 00:27:47.720
you are flouting traditions, norms, limitations, reasonable limitations. You're flouting it

00:27:47.720 --> 00:27:54.720
and you're flaunting God and your faith. So it bothers people. It irritates people.

00:27:57.760 --> 00:28:04.760
Just expect that, eh? So how do we sustain it? How do we get it going? That's what we

00:28:06.760 --> 00:28:08.720
look at.

00:28:08.720 --> 00:28:15.720
So, how do we sustain it? How do we get it going? That's what we look at.

00:28:16.720 --> 00:28:23.720
Boldness upsets people because it flouts traditions, it flouts norms, it flouts limitations, reasonable

00:28:28.080 --> 00:28:35.080
limitations. And instead, it flaunts God and flaunts your faith.

00:28:35.080 --> 00:28:42.080
So, where do we start? Thing is, guys, boldness fled when Adam hid. Boldness fled when Adam

00:28:51.920 --> 00:28:56.200
hid. He had a bold relationship with God. Do you realize that people are still hiding

00:28:56.200 --> 00:29:00.540
from God? Do you realize that you and I used to hide from God? Do you realize that Christians

00:29:00.540 --> 00:29:06.620
hide from God? Do you realize how hard it is for Christians to go to Him as Father?

00:29:06.620 --> 00:29:10.820
They come up with all kinds of excuses to keep a healthy distance between God and them.

00:29:10.820 --> 00:29:17.340
Protestant Christianity and Catholic Christianity is full of people finding ways to keep a healthy

00:29:17.340 --> 00:29:22.820
distance from God. Just like they said to Moses, Moses, you go and speak to God. So

00:29:22.820 --> 00:29:29.820
we say. In Catholicism, it is, Father, you go, as in the priest. In Protestantism, it

00:29:30.760 --> 00:29:36.480
is the same. We think there is no clergy lady divide in Protestantism. It is not true.

00:29:36.480 --> 00:29:43.480
Prophet, you go. Pastor, you go. Only we don't kiss their rings. That is the only difference.

00:29:46.800 --> 00:29:53.800
So boldness fled when Adam hid. And one of the first people we hide from is God. And

00:29:53.800 --> 00:30:00.800
so sometimes the way back to boldness is quite simple actually. And so when boldness fled

00:30:03.020 --> 00:30:10.020
when Adam hid, what was it replaced by? Self-reservation. Adam goes into such self-reservation mode

00:30:11.500 --> 00:30:18.500
that he even says, he even begins to blame his wife. He even begins to blame his wife.

00:30:18.640 --> 00:30:25.640
He even begins to blame his wife. Oh, by the way, this was based on, this is on the side.

00:30:28.760 --> 00:30:35.760
Someone at the retreat was saying how man is meant to live for 70 years or 80 and that's

00:30:36.680 --> 00:30:42.200
what's appointed to us. I want you to understand the context of Psalm 90, verse 10 where it's

00:30:42.200 --> 00:30:49.200
talked about. God said to Israel, anybody over the age of 20 will die in the desert

00:30:54.540 --> 00:31:01.540
in the next 40 years. It was a curse. He took into the promised land everybody that was

00:31:04.500 --> 00:31:11.500
under 20. But anybody over 20 did not make it to the promised land. And so God said,

00:31:12.280 --> 00:31:19.280
make it to the promised land. It was a curse saying anyone over 20, 23, 24, 29, none of

00:31:21.280 --> 00:31:28.280
them would make it to the promised land. It was in that context that 70 was said. And

00:31:29.600 --> 00:31:36.600
so that doesn't apply to the rest of us or to the world right now. Yeah? Cool. Because

00:31:37.600 --> 00:31:44.600
if you were anything about 23, you'd die. Or 21. So where do we start? To walk in boldness.

00:31:44.600 --> 00:31:51.600
Remain at the center of the world. Remain at the center of the world. Remain at the center

00:32:15.600 --> 00:32:22.600
of God's affection. To walk in boldness, intentionally remain at the center of God's affection. Check

00:32:22.600 --> 00:32:29.600
Acts 4.13. You'll find that the people said of the disciples, these guys have been hanging

00:32:37.800 --> 00:32:44.800
around Jesus. Look at the boldness with which they preach. They're not going to be able

00:32:45.240 --> 00:32:52.240
to talk to you. Posters 18, 19, 21, 22, 23. Mark 7.13. In Garden of Spr meaningless

00:33:00.160 --> 00:33:06.160
Mine and Mama, Twenty-Two hookahs. The Yepes come to John, 23.김해fort이 arrive.

00:33:06.160 --> 00:33:19.680
and God. Mark 438. Let's go to John 19. John 19, I'll explain this, 26 and 27. Who was

00:33:19.680 --> 00:33:28.820
there at the cross when everybody else fled? John, the disciple that said that he was the

00:33:28.820 --> 00:33:36.580
beloved of the Lord. It's very easy to display this. Just give me a second. Mark 438. Mark

00:33:36.580 --> 00:33:53.820
438. Mark 438. It says there, Jesus is sleeping at the helm of the boat in the middle of a

00:33:53.820 --> 00:34:01.060
boat. Guys, have you seen Joey, Judah? They will come and they will slowly climb up these

00:34:01.060 --> 00:34:06.220
steps and then they climb up the steps and then they're looking. They're looking for

00:34:06.220 --> 00:34:13.820
either their dads or looking for Vibi or looking for someone they trust. And then they stand

00:34:13.820 --> 00:34:22.180
here and they launch themselves off. And it's quite high actually when you stand. I did

00:34:22.180 --> 00:34:26.860
this once. I went with my sister. We climbed a wall. I told her to jump. She jumped because

00:34:26.860 --> 00:34:31.420
she loved me. Then I stood on the wall and I realized, oh my God, this is very far. It

00:34:31.420 --> 00:34:35.740
is scary. People are gathering and I wouldn't get off the wall. My sister's saying, you

00:34:35.740 --> 00:34:40.460
made me jump. You jump. I said, no, I won't. It's too far. But the point is this. Judah

00:34:40.460 --> 00:34:47.420
and Joey stand here and the reason they're able to jump off is because they are the center.

00:34:47.420 --> 00:34:52.860
They intentionally remain at the center of their parents' affection. They will not trust

00:34:52.860 --> 00:35:03.360
me. They will not trust some of you. But they trust Vibi. They trust Remy. They trust Aaron.

00:35:03.360 --> 00:35:09.000
Sometimes they don't even trust their moms because their moms don't have enough strength.

00:35:09.000 --> 00:35:14.380
But they jump off from here. You have no idea how true this is. To walk in boldness, intentionally

00:35:14.540 --> 00:35:23.380
remain at the center of God's affection. Then Romans 8.35 kicks in. What can separate me?

00:35:23.380 --> 00:35:32.140
What can separate me? It's one of the first things. Boldness fled when Adam hid and I

00:35:32.140 --> 00:35:41.380
recover that center space in the intentional, when I intentionally recover that space that

00:35:41.380 --> 00:35:47.860
I have in the affection of God. Affection is a strange thing. It's not even love. Affection

00:35:47.860 --> 00:36:00.200
is what oozes when somebody loves. Affection is what oozes when somebody loves. You see

00:36:00.200 --> 00:36:10.380
a child's affection when he runs his hand over his mother's face. You see a spouse's

00:36:10.500 --> 00:36:15.500
affection when everything that she does, the way she talks, the way she touches, the way

00:36:15.500 --> 00:36:27.500
she speaks, the look of her eyes, it just oozes affection. It comes from love. You stand

00:36:27.500 --> 00:36:33.740
there. You'll be as blooming bold as you need to be. One of the things that's stuck in my

00:36:33.740 --> 00:36:38.260
head from Chronicles of Narnia is when Lucy goes with a little dagger, and I know I've

00:36:38.300 --> 00:36:43.580
said this before. She goes with a little dagger and there's an enemy horde before her and

00:36:43.580 --> 00:36:48.340
they're coming on the bridge and she decides she's not going to let them pass and she goes

00:36:48.340 --> 00:36:52.340
with the dagger, stands there and threatens them with a dagger that this tiny, you can't

00:36:52.340 --> 00:36:57.900
even eat chicken with it. And she's standing there. What she doesn't realize is that Aslan

00:36:57.900 --> 00:37:05.820
is behind her. And she threatens them with the dagger and they begin to run. And she

00:37:05.860 --> 00:37:18.860
thinks it's she who did it. She doesn't realize that there's a...Judah's not here. Aslan is

00:37:18.860 --> 00:37:27.860
behind. When you remain intentionally in the affections of Aslan, you can face things with

00:37:27.980 --> 00:37:34.980
a tiny little knife. In the mandate that you go for, in the morning, when you have to meet

00:37:34.980 --> 00:37:39.460
people, this is one of the things that we first should do. When you pray for boldness,

00:37:39.460 --> 00:37:45.140
God will say, hey, come. Let me collect you on my lap and hold you in my arms. And while

00:37:45.140 --> 00:37:52.140
I'm holding you in my arms, just feel my biceps. Second thing. How long will I go today? 645.

00:38:05.580 --> 00:38:16.580
Because we started at what time? 4.30. I'm being kind. What was...You know, self-reservation

00:38:19.060 --> 00:38:26.060
is what happened when Adam hid. What does self-reservation look like? Timidity. Fear.

00:38:27.060 --> 00:38:34.060
What is it? A spirit. What did God replace it with? Second Timothy. 1.7. We are all born

00:38:34.060 --> 00:38:41.060
or our human spirit is conditioned to be timid and to be fearful. Those that are timid

00:38:41.780 --> 00:38:48.780
and fearful are either bullies or are half-baked spirits. Those that are timid and fearful

00:38:49.760 --> 00:38:56.760
are either bullies or are half-baked spirits. So, all of us are all not human spirits. We

00:38:56.760 --> 00:39:02.760
to be timid and to be fearful. Those that are timid and fearful are either

00:39:02.760 --> 00:39:08.120
bullies or are highly compliant. It's only one or the other. Anyone who is timid

00:39:08.120 --> 00:39:14.680
and fearful ends up either being a nasty bully or utterly compliant. That is the

00:39:14.680 --> 00:39:20.000
condition of every human being. And then at some point Christ enters. But we are

00:39:20.000 --> 00:39:25.020
so conditioned to timidity that we cannot leave the carcass of that life

00:39:25.020 --> 00:39:32.820
and shift to what has become. Very hard. It's through practice that it happens.

00:39:35.940 --> 00:39:42.060
It's through practice. One of the things that often happens when you want to

00:39:42.060 --> 00:39:45.660
learn a teaching like this is God will bring situations into your life so you

00:39:45.700 --> 00:39:48.420
can practice it.

00:39:51.180 --> 00:39:58.420
For you and I will face situations where there'll be a call to be bold. It's the

00:39:58.420 --> 00:40:02.720
only way to learn, right? Otherwise it's just theory. God trains through actual

00:40:02.720 --> 00:40:05.260
situations.

00:40:05.260 --> 00:40:15.820
Next one. I love this one. The spirit you have received. This is not, we're not

00:40:15.820 --> 00:40:20.060
talking about the Holy Spirit. We are talking about the human spirit. You get

00:40:20.060 --> 00:40:25.780
a brand new spirit and that brand new spirit is one that is not self

00:40:25.780 --> 00:40:31.220
preservative. It is not timid. It's not fearful. It is different. You actually

00:40:31.220 --> 00:40:35.140
have it but we don't get to practice it so we don't believe it. But then we are

00:40:35.140 --> 00:40:40.540
also given the Holy Spirit and in Isaiah 11 2, in Isaiah 11 2 and this

00:40:40.540 --> 00:40:45.300
should really boost us. In Isaiah 11 2 it says you have been given the

00:40:45.300 --> 00:40:54.980
spirit of counsel. You've been given the spirit of counsel and might or in other

00:40:54.980 --> 00:40:58.680
words the Holy Spirit is the spirit of counsel and might and that is

00:40:58.680 --> 00:41:04.300
deliberate strategy. That is what it means. Deliberate strategy.

00:41:05.420 --> 00:41:11.300
Deliberate strategy and valiant courage. That's what is meant by you have been

00:41:11.300 --> 00:41:18.580
given the spirit of counsel and might. Can you trust this? Can I trust this as I

00:41:18.580 --> 00:41:22.820
go and speak to these men that oh God you are sending me, you mandated this. I

00:41:22.820 --> 00:41:28.820
actually operate by a spirit that is deliberate in its strategy. Boldness is

00:41:28.820 --> 00:41:34.300
not the absence of strategy. Boldness is the courage to put into effect divine

00:41:34.300 --> 00:41:42.700
strategy. And so can I stand there knowing that it has been given me by

00:41:42.700 --> 00:41:47.620
the Holy Spirit, the spirit of deliberate strategy as I watch these 2500 each

00:41:47.620 --> 00:41:53.060
needing different ways. Deliberate strategy and valiant courage to trust

00:41:53.060 --> 00:41:59.460
that what God will say he can bring to pass. Forget 2500. Let's take two people.

00:41:59.460 --> 00:42:07.060
I remember going to Victoria. There were some here with me. We are there and we go

00:42:07.060 --> 00:42:11.140
to a square where we need, we need, we know we need to pray. We go to that

00:42:11.140 --> 00:42:16.060
square and as we are entering that square a man comes and he takes a stick

00:42:16.060 --> 00:42:23.500
and he slams it and says you cannot pass. And under normal circumstances I

00:42:23.540 --> 00:42:29.420
beat a ten to ten hasty retreat, hasty retreat and this time it was you've been

00:42:29.420 --> 00:42:33.700
sent to Victoria because this is a city that God wants you to have so what are

00:42:33.700 --> 00:42:38.700
you gonna do? And we prayed and we prayed and the next time and shortly after when

00:42:38.700 --> 00:42:44.380
we began to walk the man started bowing. He started bowing and saying you're

00:42:44.380 --> 00:42:50.340
welcome here, you're welcome here, you're welcome here. He's backing off and bowing.

00:42:51.340 --> 00:43:06.300
Boldness brings results. This is a God thing. It's deliberate strategy, it's valiant

00:43:06.300 --> 00:43:08.620
courage.

00:43:08.620 --> 00:43:22.620
You are bold when you receive a commission from God. You are bold when

00:43:22.620 --> 00:43:28.580
you receive a commission, whatever you want to call it, commission, mandate,

00:43:28.580 --> 00:43:38.060
mantle, commission, when you receive a commission from God. You're bold when you

00:43:38.060 --> 00:43:43.140
receive a commission from God. Deuteronomy 9.3 says here's what God says, hey Israel

00:43:43.140 --> 00:43:47.420
just want you to know I'm sending you into a land where you've heard of those

00:43:47.420 --> 00:43:51.100
terrible guys, those giants, there'll be plenty of them and have you heard of

00:43:51.100 --> 00:43:56.180
those walled cities? Yeah that's where you're going and these giants and these

00:43:56.180 --> 00:44:00.860
walled cities nobody's ever been able to overcome them and you that's where I'm

00:44:00.860 --> 00:44:08.300
sending you. That's not a very rara message and then he goes on to say I'll

00:44:08.300 --> 00:44:14.660
send hornets before you and I'll make sure that they are cleared from the land

00:44:14.660 --> 00:44:20.100
and so the moment you receive a commission, God's commissions are always

00:44:20.100 --> 00:44:23.420
spelled out, he tells you what you're going to face and after he tells you

00:44:23.420 --> 00:44:27.080
what you're going to face and your knees start shaking then he'll tell you how

00:44:27.080 --> 00:44:34.120
he'll go about it. It does not guarantee safety, occasionally he'll say to you

00:44:34.120 --> 00:44:38.000
I'm sending you to this place and I'll bring you back safely, sometimes says

00:44:38.000 --> 00:44:42.400
that but do not think that boldness requires a guarantee of safety. If a

00:44:42.400 --> 00:44:52.920
guarantee of safety is there you don't require boldness. Boldness is only

00:44:52.920 --> 00:44:58.760
required because there is no guarantee of safety. There's no guarantee of reward,

00:44:58.760 --> 00:45:02.280
there is no guarantee of success.

00:45:03.280 --> 00:45:10.040
Beautiful eh? I can see many hallelujahs and amens being shouted out.

00:45:10.040 --> 00:45:12.800
Yeah.

00:45:12.800 --> 00:45:21.600
It's an act of obedience knowing that obedience always ends up being fruitful.

00:45:21.600 --> 00:45:29.000
Anytime someone obeys it's fruitful. Anytime a martyr, someone spills blood it's

00:45:29.000 --> 00:45:34.280
ridiculously fruitful. It's a very important thing to know.

00:45:34.480 --> 00:45:42.520
Anytime a martyr, someone spills blood it's ridiculously fruitful. Anytime Satan

00:45:42.520 --> 00:45:49.000
brings about the death of a believer he loses like crazy. He still hasn't learned

00:45:49.000 --> 00:45:54.240
that lesson. Jesus spilled his blood, he lost like crazy but somehow

00:45:54.240 --> 00:45:59.320
because he's not Omniscient he keeps repeating the same mistake. Nations get

00:45:59.360 --> 00:46:10.720
opened up because one man dies. Because the blood of Abel sought revenge but the

00:46:10.720 --> 00:46:24.280
blood of any believer does not seek revenge, it seeks mercy. And God will

00:46:24.320 --> 00:46:33.280
avenge what he wants to avenge. Vengeance is the Lord's. But the blood spilled cries

00:46:33.280 --> 00:46:46.920
out mercy. Boldness loses momentum, boldness loses momentum, boldness loses

00:46:46.920 --> 00:47:01.680
momentum when proclamation is subdued. Boldness loses momentum when proclamation

00:47:01.680 --> 00:47:08.760
is subdued. If you don't speak it, it usually dies. Boldness loses momentum. You

00:47:08.800 --> 00:47:17.000
cannot be bold without a voice. Please hear this. You cannot be bold without a

00:47:17.000 --> 00:47:23.280
voice. Boldness is expressive. Doesn't matter whether it's a war cry or a

00:47:23.280 --> 00:47:33.840
lament. It always speaks. How many of you have seen Braveheart? Boy this is a young

00:47:33.840 --> 00:47:48.960
church. You're old, Tooni. Today was your birthday, remember? No, in Braveheart

00:47:48.960 --> 00:47:54.320
there's a scene where Mel Gibson is going up and down and he's stirring up

00:47:54.320 --> 00:48:00.680
the army. It always speaks. Boldness speaks. And so when we choose not to

00:48:00.680 --> 00:48:05.160
speak, sometimes, and I know I've said this at the retreat, sometimes the things

00:48:05.160 --> 00:48:09.960
that God wants to birth through you die a slow death because you refuse to speak

00:48:09.960 --> 00:48:13.960
it because you will look foolish. Which brings me to the next point. Boldness

00:48:13.960 --> 00:48:23.840
will always look foolish. Boldness will always look foolish. Many of the things

00:48:23.840 --> 00:48:30.360
we don't say is because we are scared of how we'll sound. And people may mock

00:48:30.360 --> 00:48:35.320
people may laugh, people may think, boy what does he think of himself? But the

00:48:35.320 --> 00:48:45.920
fact remains that if you don't speak, doesn't work. David spoke before he slew

00:48:45.920 --> 00:48:53.000
Goliath. The woman with the issue of blood spoke before she got healed.

00:48:53.000 --> 00:49:03.640
Here's another one. Boldness is triggered by a greater cause.

00:49:03.640 --> 00:49:15.320
By a greater cause. Boldness is triggered by a greater cause. Which begs the

00:49:15.320 --> 00:49:22.920
question, if I'm not bold, is it because there's no greater cause than me?

00:49:23.000 --> 00:49:29.240
Let me ask that again. If I'm not bold in a situation, is it because there is no

00:49:29.240 --> 00:49:38.320
other greater cause than myself? I am my greatest cause. What is another word for

00:49:38.320 --> 00:49:42.040
another word for that phrase, I am my greatest cause? Another word is self

00:49:42.040 --> 00:49:53.320
reservation. Self reservation is when you are your greatest cause. And I am my

00:49:53.320 --> 00:50:01.440
greatest cause. So there must be a cause greater than me. That's how the world

00:50:01.440 --> 00:50:05.960
operates. How do you think men and women of the world have the boldness they do?

00:50:05.960 --> 00:50:16.360
Because they find a greater cause and it's not God. It fascinates me. It's not

00:50:16.360 --> 00:50:23.200
God but they have the boldness to do things because they find a greater cause.

00:50:23.200 --> 00:50:30.480
Bothers me, fascinates me and bothers me. What is my greater cause? How is it that

00:50:30.640 --> 00:50:41.720
they risk? What is it that motivates them to risk? I'm telling you this, very few

00:50:41.720 --> 00:50:47.400
things as evil as self preservation in the kingdom. We'll stop now. We'll finish.

00:50:47.400 --> 00:50:53.240
I think we need to make sure that tomorrow when we go out we begin with a

00:50:53.240 --> 00:50:57.960
prayer that father, give me the wisdom and give me boldness today because

00:50:57.960 --> 00:51:01.600
nothing in your kingdom progresses without these two things, wisdom and

00:51:01.600 --> 00:51:08.880
boldness. It is internal first day. Please remember that boldness is internal and

00:51:08.880 --> 00:51:14.000
the internal is the work of the spirit. Throughout the book of Acts you'll see

00:51:14.000 --> 00:51:17.400
it. I'll just give you these scriptures if you feel like you can check them out.

00:51:17.400 --> 00:51:34.760
Acts 1 8, it's the Holy Spirit. Acts 4, 29 to 31. Acts 9, 29. Acts 13, 46. Acts 14, 3.

00:51:34.760 --> 00:52:02.720
Acts 18, 26. Acts 19, 8. Acts 28, 31. Acts 29, 1. It says, it says that we must pray

00:52:02.720 --> 00:52:08.120
for it. The disciples prayed for it. I know you know this verse well but can

00:52:08.120 --> 00:52:13.080
you go to Acts 4, 29? Acts 4, 29.

00:52:21.680 --> 00:52:27.040
Now Lord consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word

00:52:27.040 --> 00:52:31.760
with great boldness, stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs

00:52:31.760 --> 00:52:36.120
and wonders through the name of your Holy servant. After they prayed the place

00:52:36.120 --> 00:52:39.440
where they were meeting was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy

00:52:39.440 --> 00:52:45.240
Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

00:52:49.720 --> 00:52:53.600
It's internal first.

00:52:53.600 --> 00:53:09.400
Let me read you something. Tidhu is watching on online, he just heard. Who has a question?

00:53:09.400 --> 00:53:27.400
Lenny, go ahead. No, you are called to go but the going is not effective enough

00:53:27.400 --> 00:53:34.080
when I'm not bold. I sometimes will do well, sometimes I'll do poorly. So my

00:53:34.080 --> 00:53:39.040
second sentence was, if I refuse to step up as God says, hey let me train you to

00:53:39.160 --> 00:53:43.600
be bold. If I refuse to step up on a daily basis so that he can make me bold

00:53:43.600 --> 00:53:48.920
for what he has for me, then I'll be caught up in the ebb and the flow of

00:53:48.920 --> 00:53:54.600
unfinished battles. So there'll be times that I'll get up and I'll be full of God

00:53:54.600 --> 00:53:59.840
is fighting for us and then the other day then two days later I'll sing the same

00:53:59.840 --> 00:54:03.480
song and it does nothing for me. So I'm caught up in the ebb and the flow of

00:54:03.640 --> 00:54:10.920
unfinished battles. A song does do things for you but it has to be something that

00:54:10.920 --> 00:54:14.920
is a daily prayer.

00:54:14.920 --> 00:54:17.920
Who's that?

00:54:22.920 --> 00:54:25.920
Okay, laugh, laugh.

00:54:31.920 --> 00:54:34.920
Trying to find this bit.

00:54:35.920 --> 00:54:38.920
Trying to find this bit.

00:54:43.920 --> 00:54:49.920
Okay, I'll end with this. Try and listen to this. Say I'll read it out a couple of

00:54:49.920 --> 00:54:55.920
times. Some of you have heard this before. Self-preservation. Remember what happened

00:54:55.920 --> 00:55:03.920
Dave, we were bold people. Adam was bold. Adam was bold over a large territory. Adam

00:55:03.920 --> 00:55:07.920
was bold over the animals. Adam was bold over receiving the mandate from God. Adam

00:55:07.920 --> 00:55:12.920
was bold in walking with God face to face. Why do you think every time people

00:55:12.920 --> 00:55:15.920
meet God in the New Testament and the Old Testament, the first thing God has to

00:55:15.920 --> 00:55:25.920
say to them is, do not be? He was bold. When Adam had boldness fled and it was

00:55:25.920 --> 00:55:31.920
replaced by self-preservation. Self-preservation is the greatest enemy

00:55:31.920 --> 00:55:39.920
of the kingdom. It spawns or gives birth to avoidance and indifference.

00:55:41.920 --> 00:55:50.920
The sin of self-preservation is that we choose to prioritize our own well-being,

00:55:50.920 --> 00:56:00.920
our safety, our comfort, our provision, our plans and even our very lives over

00:56:00.920 --> 00:56:06.920
the leading of the Spirit and the commands of Jesus in Scripture. Jesus

00:56:06.920 --> 00:56:11.920
would never ask us to lose our job, give up a month's salary, risk our lives or

00:56:11.920 --> 00:56:18.920
our livelihood. It is perhaps the most basic instinct of our flesh and the most

00:56:18.920 --> 00:56:25.920
deadly to our faith, to our witness and to the rest of the world. One more time.

00:56:25.920 --> 00:56:36.920
Self-preservation is the greatest enemy of the kingdom. It spawns avoidance and

00:56:36.920 --> 00:56:46.920
indifference. The sin of self-preservation is that we choose to prioritize our own

00:56:46.920 --> 00:56:52.920
well-being, my own well-being, my safety, my comfort, my provision, my plans and my

00:56:52.920 --> 00:56:58.920
life over the leading of the Spirit and the commands of Jesus in the Scriptures.

00:56:58.920 --> 00:57:05.920
Jesus would never ask me to lose my job, empty my bank, give up a month's salary,

00:57:05.920 --> 00:57:12.920
risk my life or my livelihood. It is perhaps the most basic instinct of my flesh

00:57:12.920 --> 00:57:21.920
and the most deadly to my faith, to my witness and to the rest of the world. As I

00:57:21.920 --> 00:57:27.920
say that, our minds go, that's an extreme way of living. Oh God, help me to get there

00:57:27.920 --> 00:57:34.920
one day. That's again avoidance. So how do we deal with it? We deal with it by

00:57:34.920 --> 00:57:41.920
saying tonight and tomorrow morning, Father, give me the boldness, give me the wisdom.

00:57:41.920 --> 00:57:47.920
And if you ask for that with a genuine heart, he will give you situations where you

00:57:47.920 --> 00:57:54.920
can exhibit the boldness and exhibit the wisdom. And as you get used to it, you will

00:57:54.920 --> 00:58:04.920
move further and further into deeper waters. Please hear that, eh? Ask and he will.

00:58:04.920 --> 00:58:10.920
Those that ask, receive. That's what we need to do. Please don't sit here like I am and

00:58:10.920 --> 00:58:15.920
think what I'm thinking. Oh, this is an extreme, yes, it's a great ideal to aspire for. But

00:58:15.920 --> 00:58:20.920
enough, we did enough at the retreat. Oh God, remove self-preservation from my life.

00:58:20.920 --> 00:58:27.920
Hallelujah. Shabba rabba kabba ya. That's pointless. Instead, what we do is, Father,

00:58:27.920 --> 00:58:35.920
this evening as we leave, give me boldness and give me wisdom. And then a situation

00:58:35.920 --> 00:58:41.920
presents itself. And as I'm bold and as I'm wise, because I have asked for it and he

00:58:41.920 --> 00:58:47.920
gives it without grudging and because the Spirit is present with me, I'll realize, easy

00:58:47.920 --> 00:58:54.920
peasy, this is so normal. Tomorrow it will be a little tougher, a little tougher. That's

00:58:54.920 --> 00:59:01.920
how children grow, right? You want your child to be a hero? Help him to deal with

00:59:01.920 --> 00:59:19.920
cockroaches and rats first. Yeah? Let's pray. Jesus, this message is for now. It isn't

00:59:19.920 --> 00:59:28.920
something I pulled out of the hat because I needed to do something this evening. It

00:59:28.920 --> 00:59:35.920
goes and it's continuous with what you've been doing and what you've taught us at the

00:59:35.920 --> 00:59:42.920
retreat and now I pray just one simple thing. Will you remind me tonight and tomorrow and

00:59:42.920 --> 00:59:48.920
will you remind everybody who's listening to pray this simple prayer of, oh God, can

00:59:48.920 --> 00:59:55.920
you train me in wisdom and in boldness? I ask for wisdom and boldness. Can you train

00:59:55.920 --> 01:00:03.920
me in wisdom and boldness? You're our Father. Let's assume that you actually gave me this

01:00:03.920 --> 01:00:09.920
message to preach to us. You're our Father. You're very deliberate in what you're doing.

01:00:09.920 --> 01:00:16.920
Then, starting tomorrow, you'll give me situations where I'll have the choice of boldness and

01:00:16.920 --> 01:00:22.920
the choice to exert wisdom. If I don't, you won't turn your back and walk away. You'll

01:00:22.920 --> 01:00:28.920
start again the next day and the next day. Why? Because you heard your son's prayer and

01:00:28.920 --> 01:00:35.920
you know your son is genuine in his desire even if he fails and he is scared. And a day

01:00:35.920 --> 01:00:40.920
will come when the boldness of every person in this room right now will be different from

01:00:40.920 --> 01:00:46.920
what it is today. And then another day will come when it will be greater and we'll begin

01:00:46.920 --> 01:00:52.920
to wade in ankle deep, knee deep, waist deep, boldness till one day we'll be swimming in

01:00:52.920 --> 01:00:57.920
wisdom and boldness. That kind of church, that kind of people, they'll be the sons of

01:00:57.920 --> 01:01:04.920
Issachar who knew their times and discerned what was necessary. They had both the ability

01:01:04.920 --> 01:01:09.920
to know the times and then there was the other tribe which fought with left and right

01:01:09.920 --> 01:01:17.920
hand. Oh God, let this be our gift to you. What's our gift to you? Simple prayer. Please

01:01:17.920 --> 01:01:22.920
give me wisdom and boldness and please train me in wisdom and boldness. Prayer answering

01:01:22.920 --> 01:01:26.920
faithful God, we bless your name. Thank you for a great week and I hope you enjoyed it

01:01:26.920 --> 01:01:33.920
as much as we did. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you guys for sticking with this for the

01:01:33.920 --> 01:01:38.920
last two and a half days and there'll be people here to pray with you so feel free

01:01:38.920 --> 01:01:43.920
to come up and they'll pray with you, yeah? Bless you guys. I might be here next week.

01:01:43.920 --> 01:01:48.920
I won't know till maybe two or three days from now. If I don't see you, I'll see you

01:01:48.920 --> 01:01:52.920
when I see you. That doesn't help at all.

01:02:03.920 --> 01:02:05.920
you