Okay, so today we talk about teleos from the terms of boldness. Boldness. If teleos is
the moving of a person or a people from one stage of maturity to the to another,
then it is required that as you move from one stage to the other, that you pick
up this thing called boldness because it's greased to your wheels. If teleos
is the process of maturity where one goes from one step to the next to the next,
just as we show in that image that we have put online, where it's the moving of a caterpillar
to a cocoon to a butterfly, boldness is what greases your wheels so that you're able to step
from one stage to the other. The scripture that I want to look at is Matthew 11 15.
Matthew 11 15. These are Jesus's words and he says, the kingdom of God is advancing forcefully
and the violent take it by force. The kingdom of God is advancing forcefully and the violent
take it by force. So the kingdom of God advances forcefully in your personal life,
in our corporate lives, locally, globally. Be aware of that because when we think kingdom of
God is advancing, we think it's removed from us, it's perhaps the job of someone else or it's
happening in church or it's happening around the world. But the kingdom of God as in the
rule of God, when you simplify it, why wouldn't the rule of God therefore advance forcefully in
your personal life, in our corporate lives, locally and globally? Why would it not? It must. The rule
of God must advance this way. The nature of the kingdom of God is such that it advances forcefully,
meaning it's not this lazy evening walk that the kingdom of God is on. It's like a balloon that
is pressing. Imagine a glass aquarium, like an aquarium, like one of those glass boxes. Imagine
a balloon that is being lowered into it. Imagine the balloon full of water and you can see the
balloon beginning to just gather water and you know that it's only a few more seconds and it's
going to burst forth. We are at that stage where the kingdom of God is heavily forcefully advancing
onto the earth. It's only a matter of time before it bursts forth. What I find sad is that many of
us when it bursts forth will not be in a position to have enjoyed the process. It just bothers me
so much that even in this church, even sitting right now, there can be people who miss out on
the waiting for the kingdom to break through. You think it's not possible? What do you think
happened when Jesus came and they missed it? You think they weren't good Jews? The Pharisees were
the best of the best. They were scholarly. They had spent their times learning under brilliant
teachers. They knew the ins and outs of the scriptures and yet they miss out. And why do
they miss out? Because when the kingdom was pressing down, it was like, guys I'm telling you,
if you don't participate now, if you stay on the periphery, if you're on the outskirts,
you miss out on the most amazing thing that is happening on earth. It's wrong. It's wrong.
And if it isn't my power, I will not allow you to get away with it.
So the kingdom of God advances forcefully, but the thing is only the violent take it by force.
By violent, God doesn't mean aggressive. Violent means assertive, reaching beyond your grasp,
pressing in a pursuit that is so passionate that it cannot be stopped. A horse that has
wanted to run all its life, a greyhound that has finally been released,
wildebeests in South Africa that are stomping and snotting, waiting for that
moment where they can burst forth. That is the kind of violence we are talking about,
where you take it by force. So ask yourself this question now as you hear me. Are you like that?
And if you're not like that, what do you want before that can happen for you? Do you want
another sign? What will happen if God gives you that sign? Will you then oblige? What are
you waiting for? If it is a sign, don't ask God for it because he's going to give it to you. And
then what will happen? Is it a few dollars? Is it a visa? Is it a job? What will happen once he gives
it to you? What will I do next? What am I going to ask for next? Because there's a point where Jesus
says, if you still want me to jump off the steeple for you, I will not.
He'll do. He'll oblige initially because if that is what will prove that you need to run after him,
so be it. But my question is, are you actually approaching the king and his rule with a violence
that this verse is talking about? Where you have decided that you will abandon all sense of balance,
all sense of moderation, all sense of being careful, all sense of being dignified. This
pursuit is undignified. It cannot be done in a way that is dignified.
And it has to happen personally, corporately, locally, and globally. So before the Lord releases
a new mantle upon you, and many of you over the last, just even the last one week, I've been
meeting with some of you and you're at the threshold of a new orbit or a new place you're
stepping into in God, in the world. Before the Lord releases a new mantle, he challenges your
heart to a place of greater boldness. He challenges your heart to a place of greater boldness. Before
God releases a new mantle, he challenges your heart to a place of greater boldness. As in,
hey, let me push your heart to a place where you have to express greater boldness because what
awaits you in me is so beyond you. Seeing Peter one day standing in the upper room and preaching
and 3,000 people being saved, what does Jesus do? He says to Peter, come. And now he stretches or
pushes or challenges Peter's heart to step out of the boat and begin to walk on a substance
that no human has business walking on. And so he challenges your heart to a place of greater
boldness. And when you don't step up, you find yourself caught in the ebb and flow of unfinished
battles that God regrets that Satan advantages and that you pay a price for. Let me say that again.
When God challenges you saying, hey, I know you're at the brink of a new orbit or I know that you've
been hungering for this new mantle, I know that you want to step out into greater or more. I know
this about you. But I'm going to push or challenge your heart to a place of greater boldness. If you
don't step up, then what will happen is you will be there and yet not be there and you will fight
unfinished battles that will ebb and flow for the next many months when you can actually take hold
with force and end things personally, corporately, locally and globally so that you can step forward.
But if you don't step forth, I'll give you examples. Then what happens is God begins to regret it,
saying, man, I called Jacob into this. He's doing this half step. I've challenged his heart, but he's
responding, then stepping back, responding, stepping back. He finds distractions on the way he goes,
smells the roses, time goes by. God begins to regret it. Satan advantages it as in, ha,
this could have ruined things for me, but now that he is sufficiently distracted and doing the half
step, great, it is to my advantage. And you will end up paying a cost for it because many things
that could have come into your grasp now escape. Let's look at some scriptures. Second Kings 13,
Second Kings 13, 14 to 21.
Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness with which he was to die,
Joash, king of Israel, went down to him and wept before him crying, my father, my father,
the chariots of Israel and its horsemen. And Elisha said to him, take a bow and arrows. So he took a
bow and arrows. Then he said to the king of Israel, draw the bow and he drew it. And Elisha even laid
hands. I put that even in myself because in my mind it was man, he was so telling this guy how
to go about it. And Elisha laid his hands on the king's hands and he said, open the window eastward
and he opened it. Then Elisha said, shoot and he shot. And he said, the Lord's arrow of victory,
the arrow of victory over Syria, for you shall fight the Syrians in affect until you make an end
of them. And he said, take the arrows and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, strike the
ground with them. And he struck three times and stopped. Then the man of God was angry with him
and said, you should have struck five or six times. Then you would have struck down Syria until you
made an end of it. But now you will strike down Syria only three times. So Elisha died and they
buried him. Now the bands of Moabites used to invade the land in the spring of the year.
And as a man was being buried, behold a marauding band was seen and the man was thrown into the
grave of Elisha. And as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.
What a difference, what a difference. Here is one guy who could have ended Syria's invasions
and it did not because it didn't move into that place where God had him invited into.
Guys, I'm telling you, all of us in this room, all of us in this room fall short. We do not go
whole hog. We stop short. I stop short. I'm wasting my life when I stop short.
God is looking for an all or nothing church and he must find it here.
1 Samuel 15,
1 Samuel 15, 9 onwards.
Here's another guy who should have finished what he was supposed to finish but would not.
In the case of the king we just read about with the arrows, he didn't because he decided
three was enough and three was quite a lot. Three was more than one and was more than two and three
was enough. Do you know how many times you and I do that with God? I hate it. I hate it. It's a habit
I hate in myself. But in this case, it was not an enough mentality. It was a different mentality.
1 Samuel 15,
Samuel was upset because you know why Samuel was upset? Because he had seen the potential in Saul.
You know it is upsetting when you see the potential in someone and they refuse to step into it.
One of the coolest things in this church is that God reveals his description of your potential
early through the prophetic. So you're not even in the dark about it. Reuben for instance will be a
giant slayer. I was praying for this boy and I started to weep so I stopped praying because I
didn't want to cry in the beginning of the service. This boy you'll see if you give him Lego Lego
to make this boy will know the main piece of the Lego. He can either put it and construct something
or remove it and the whole thing will collapse. He has the ability to choose that one piece that
can either dismantle or bring together. They should let him pray play hockey. His hockey sense
in terms of positional hockey will be tremendous. He will know where to stand so that things come
to him. This is the boy who you can send ahead of you to make clear the paths of the Lord.
That is the kind of person this is. You can send him ahead so that he can use a machete to clear a
path so that others can walk after him. That is the kind of boy this is. Why am I using this as an
example? Because in our case in each person sitting here almost everybody sitting here has had their
potential revealed to them by God himself through the prophetic and we don't have excuses. So
we have excuses. Samuel cried because Saul wasn't turning up to be who he was. Samuel was angry with God
but Saul didn't want to. In Saul's case it was a not following
because he had better things to do. He just liked disobedience like we do.
I have no desire to have you feel comfortable in this church if you're not pursuing him.
I'm okay with us changing so that we pursue him but I cannot bear the thought that you will not
pursue him and you would find yourself comfortable here. That we should not allow. I can't do that
myself but we should do it in a way that people think to themselves, oh we can't sit here.
This is too cranky or like the heat is too high.
It's not a place for healed people. It is a place for people who need
healing but it should be a place where if you think you are healed you'll feel uncomfortable.
It should be a place where if you think you are healed you'll feel uncomfortable.
1st Corinthians 9 26, 1st Corinthians 9 26,
1st Corinthians 9 26 and 27. This is Paul talking and look what he does.
He says I refuse to settle. He says I do not run aimlessly. I do not box as one beating the air
but I discipline my body and keep it under control lest after preaching to myself, to others,
I myself should be disqualified. There was this intent of pursuit that I will not settle. There's
something that I have to keep pressing into and I'll keep doing that. Jesus actually in Matthew 18
says that hey Jacob if in your following me, if in your pursuit of me, your hand causes you to
do evil. He was exaggerating but he was trying to convey a point. If your hand happens to do evil,
cut your hand off. If your eye happens to do evil, cut your eye out. I would rather that you come to
me maimed than come to me with your hand or eye intact that is indulging in evil. This is the kind
of pursuit we are talking about. Nothing left to chance. Nothing left to self-determination.
Just this continuous running. Any questions?
Guys all demonic enterprise is by permission. All demonic enterprise is by permission.
I've said this before. All demonic enterprise, anything that the demons, anything that the
devil does is by permission. First, God's permission. He's in accountable rebellion. He
cannot do what he wants. God's permission. Second, my permission. Third, our permission.
Satan cannot do what he wants. There are so many things that you know it's so brilliant. God has
given us the ability to permit and to forbid. There are things that I can permit and forbid
in my life and in the sphere of influence that I have charge over. So do you.
And God's hope is, Jacob can I keep having you come to the very edge of your faith and then when
I tell you step into not presumption but more faith and I'll challenge your heart so that you take
the risk off and have the boldness to step into areas that you haven't gone into. You think this
stage is what I've given you permission over. When I tell you to step here, this entire place
now becomes your permission and it keeps increasing. All demonic enterprise is by permission. Are you
sure the camera is not shooting over my head right now? Okay. All demonic enterprise is by permission.
I want to get to a place as a church where God will be surprised at how much he can trust us with.
One of the questions I want to ask next week in a teaching is can God commit himself to you?
It's a piercing question. It's a painful question because you know why it is painful because I'm
scared that the answer that I give personally may be no. Can God commit himself to you Jacob?
Can he commit himself to you saying Jacob if I give you the favor, if I give you permission,
if I give you a scepter, if I give you my right to do things, can I commit to you and can I trust
that you will do it correctly tethered to my nature? Can I commit myself to you? I'll ask this question
next week but it is bothersome. I'm hoping by next week I'll have it sorted out so I can preach it.
I want us to get to a point where God will be surprised at how much permission he can give this
church to affect events around the globe. And it begins with personal boldness then goes into
corporate boldness then locally and globally. Now why connected to boldness? Because it allows us
to keep stepping forward, keep stepping forward and as we do permission is granted to affect
the earth. They will say of Acts 29, please don't think this is preaching. I hate this kind of ra
ra preaching. They will say of Acts 29, those troublers have come here again. Those ones that
trouble that city, those that trouble that city have come here again. They will say of Acts 29,
and I mean this in all earnestness, Jesus we know, Acts 29 we know but who are you?
It must become a standard. I'm not talking about these many people. I'm talking about whoever we
touch that on the earth will rise up people amongst whom God finds himself very comfortable,
very committed to and easily usable. Why not?
I'm inviting us, this is really not doable by Jacob, definitely not. I'm inviting us to step and
become these kind of people man. And for that there is no holding back. There is only a full committing too.
Guys, if you want to define boldness, boldness is courage in action. Boldness is courage in action
by the power of the spirit. So it's courage in action by the power of the spirit
and by the power of the spirit. So that's what we're talking about.
Courage in action by the power of the spirit
because of a deep conviction
and an urgency that has you pay any cost even when there are threats.
That's the definition of boldness and that's why it is critical to advancing the kingdom
because the kingdom is definitely advancing forcefully but only those that take it by force or
violently grasp it are able to participate in it. See guys you must understand this is not something
that you can shape and puppeteer because you are a fine Christian. There is a way that you can
work and the kingdom works like this. It comes forcefully. If you and I cannot grasp it violently,
we will not participate in it. You will enter the kingdom but you will not participate in it.
Strange eh? You enter a theater but you don't see the movie.
You're given a ticket to enter the theater. It's paid for but you don't see the movie.
Boldness is courage in action by the power of the spirit.
Boldness is courage in action
by the power of the spirit because this is not the kind of courage you need to
for normal earthly things like this. This is courage in action by the power of the spirit
in action by the power of the spirit caused by a deep conviction in your heart and an urgency
that then causes you to pay any cost even in the face of threats.
So you see this in Daniel 3, 18, 17 and 18 and the boys are being going to be thrown into the fire
and they say, oh king we just want you to know that our god is going to save us. And by the way,
if he doesn't save us, we just want you to know that we're still not bowing.
Or you go to Esther 4, verse 16 and Esther says that, all right guys start praying because usually
if you go before the king and he isn't stretching out the scepter, you usually have your head chopped
off and he hasn't called me for a month. But I'm going ahead, you guys start praying. Courage in
action, deep conviction, urgency, urgency. You cannot have the kingdom at your time.
The rule of God is not your mother-in-law's spices kept on the third shelf that you use when you make
your favorite goulash. This is essential to living. It's like water. You don't drink it, you die.
I don't know why the mother's, I think my mother's coming so mother-in-law's spices and all that
stuff got mixed up. Sorry, I never go down there, I don't know. Yeah.
Esther 4, 16 and she asks people to pray and she says, start praying because I'm going before the
king and if I lose my head so be it but I'm going. This is what it looks like. Or Acts chapter 9,
verse 13 to 17. I can't imagine what the guy was feeling where God says to Ananias,
hey Ananias, I want you to go. There's this guy called Paul. Yeah Lord, I know about him. I've
heard about him. He's got this letter saying he's coming to arrest guys like me and throw us in
prison and kill us. Yeah, I want you to go to him. It's courage in action brought about by the Holy
Spirit because of a deep conviction that causes an urgency in you to now begin to pay any cost
even in the event of threats. Guys, make sure that if you're looking and I'm not talking about
people who are checking scriptures but if you're on your phone and you're looking at stuff other
than scriptures then I would suggest to you that you will miss out. It's not the same when you listen
to this on tape. Please. Please. Having two more people hear me doesn't make me feel any better.
Like this is not for my esteem or anything but these messages are life-changing, man.
On the other hand, a lack of boldness, a lack of boldness spawns indifference.
A lack of boldness spawns indifference. It spawns sophistication. I'll talk about that. It spawns
indulgence. It spawns avoidance of conflict. Avoidance of conflict.
Guys, just remember this. A lack of boldness in my life and boldness is not natural for me, man.
Unfortunately, the day Adam hid, boldness fled. Boldness fled when Adam hid and so it's not
not natural for me as a human and very often because I'm not living as a believer and I'm
living as a human, boldness is something that I it's not intrinsic though it actually is and I have
to ask for it, pray for it and we will at the end. But when I'm not bold what happens is there's an
indifference that comes over me with regard to the king and kingdom and so instead of once
indifference settles in I would rather indulge myself and get a little sophisticated. It is odd
how boldness strips away sophistication. Boldness strips away sophistication. Boldness strips away
sophistication. You no longer want to be sophisticated in the eyes of the world. I love what Jesus said
about John. What did you go out there to see? What did you go out there to see? A man dressed in fine
linen living in glass houses or did you go to see a man dressed in camel hide in the wilderness?
What did you go out to see? And then it brings an avoidance of conflict and an avoidance of conflict
initially begins with person to person but then the avoidance of conflict spills into the devil
where you avoid conflicts with the devil where there is no raising of your voice, where there is
no commanding, where there's no rebuking, where there's no driving out, where there is no hatred
against the things that David hated about the enemies of God. One of the things that I really
like about David is he hated what God hated and if you don't hate what God hates you can never drive
it out. Part of the reason we cannot talk is because we do not love or do not hate. Love and hate always speak.
Part of the reason is so difficult for us to talk, for us to speak, for us to command, for us to say
is because we do not love and do not hate because love always speaks, hate always speaks.
Lukewarmness just swallows.
If you want to see Jesus disliking things you should check out Matthew 23.
You brood of vipers, you whitewash tombs, he goes on like a rampage man
because he hated what was happening there. They would not go in themselves nor would they allow
anybody to go in. He was talking about the teachers and the teachers of the law.
The presence of boldness on the other hand, man this looks like some
secondary school t-shirt with a lot of words scribbled.
This is not a good day in terms of pens. Don, I don't like these pens.
Don, I don't like these pens.
Okay guys, the presence of boldness.
I don't know why my sister is sending me text messages letting me know what my mother is wearing.
I think I can, meaning like I do recognize her you know.
I hope Reba's watching on TV. I know what Amma looks like.
It's not been that long.
Guys, the presence of boldness, so the absence of boldness we saw what happens. The presence of
boldness, I love the presence of boldness, births holy imagination. This is critical guys.
Births holy imagination. Everything starts with seeing. The bolder you are, the more you can catch
what God is showing. It's like the iPhone when you have the
photo that you take as a square or a rectangle and then you've got that panoramic thing where
it catches an entire swath and that is what we're talking about. The bolder I am with God,
in God, the greater the imagination I have to see what God is showing. Boldness births holy
imagination and once it does that it opens up realms, it opens up realms of faith,
of authority, of hearing, of authority
and things that were restrained to you suddenly open up. Things that were restrained open.
We'll pray for this guys. We'll pray before we leave that, Father, could you,
could you, and the strange thing is every time in the New Testament anyone prayed for boldness,
the Holy Spirit would turn up.
The presence of boldness births holy imagination and opens up realms of hearing, faith and
authority previously restricted, previously restricted and obedience becomes much easier
when you're bold because once you commit to boldness, obedience is easy. Once you decide,
okay, I'm going to walk the plank, then you, it's too late now. You should try it on Oculus,
on a thing called where you walk out on a plank and then it's too late. Ricky's plank.
Any questions guys? Any questions? So here's what we're saying just so we know the connections.
The violent take the kingdom by force.
Violence requires a pursuit
that is relentless,
boldog-ish.
For that pursuit you need boldness. To get that boldness you need the Holy Spirit.
Cry out for it because in the New Testament they would cry out for it often, or we will.
So, once you become bold guys, it's always Philippians 1, 14 puts it this way that
once people see your boldness in Christ it emboldens others. Paul put it this way,
now that people in the Philippi have seen me in my chains, it has emboldened them to preach the
gospel. Whenever I hear stories about young kids or young adults go do something crazy,
I think to myself, ah shucks, if they can do it, I must do it.
I want to do something that sometimes is rather sheer jealousy. Well, so be it if it's a motivating
factor. I can do anything you can do.
I can.
Sorry, it's been a while.
Yep.
So, this is just a really small example. This week I was visiting with this lady who is,
I mean things in her life are falling apart, they really are. So, she's telling me this story
and then she starts going on and I've been telling her I'm praying for her and I believe
God's coming through with it. She's going on about this and like she's almost in tears,
it's getting worse. I just can't take it anymore. I don't know what God's doing. Everything's going
bad. And so as she's sharing, I'm praying for one of my sons to be heard. And all of a sudden I
hear myself saying, what is the confession of your mouth? What are you speaking of? You've got to be
really, and her eyes get really large because you say, I know you needed to unload and that's fine,
but you cannot keep saying how terrible it is. And she's just looking at me like, wow,
like, you know, we're so much telling you all the things that are around our lives. They want you to
listen to us. But it happens, all of a sudden, you've got to start speaking to God. You've got to start
saying what God is doing and like you're working with a lot of value for our bones and how people
have to speak, why does that situation happen? And she said, I'm proud. And then she texted me the next
day and she said thank you for listening. And so I was really encouraged that as I asked her.
Thank you so much.
Guys, how do we sustain boldness? How do we sustain boldness? Today we'll pray and God will
give because he loves giving boldness. Adam had it in like Trump's man before he hid. How do we
sustain boldness? Like I said, boldness fled when Adam hid and it was replaced instead by
self-preservation. Boldness fled when Adam hid and it was replaced by self-preservation. He hid and
then boldness goes out of the way and he starts blaming, he starts displacing his responsibility
onto somebody else. But the thing is, if you're born again, even though we don't necessarily
believe it, think it, feel it, we have a spirit that is neither timid nor fearful.
I have a spirit that in its DNA is neither timid nor fearful. It is actually a spirit
that is of love, of power and of self-control. It is just that most of my life is, especially in
dangerous situations or under threat or under duress, most of my life is lived from my soul
and my emotions. Jesus, Paul, some of these champions of the faith learned how to deal with
every situation from the spirit man. It was not their emotions that met external circumstances first.
It is something we train ourselves to become.
One of the fastest ways to get there is to learn how to come to a place of peace
in a crisis. How long does it take you? Eight minutes, three minutes, two minutes, 50 seconds,
20 seconds. When you are in a very difficult situation, crisis, what are you going to do?
Usually it's fight, flight or deceit. Those are our three options. Fight it, fight it,
fight it, flight, run from it, deceit. There's a fourth one, self-medicate by escaping through
some sin or the other. Just put your head in the sand or in that sin and at least for the next
eight hours it's gone and then we can try it again. And yet, because I don't live out of my spirit man,
and yet because I don't live out of my spirit man, I do not ever experience what it is to have
a place of love, power and self-control because everything I meet with my emotional self, with my
soul. What if we learned how to first respond from the spirit man? It is a training. This is why Paul
said, I don't box the air. I train myself, I discipline myself. We want a Christianity
without responsibilities. Christ took on the responsibility. Now he wants us to
walk with him and it is easy because his burden is light and his yoke is not heavy.
To abide boldly, to abide boldly, once you enter boldness, how do you sustain it? To abide boldly,
intentionally remain at the center of God's affection. Intentionally remain at the center
of God's affection. If you can find God's affection every morning, you will find that you're
bolder than you normally are. Intentionally remain at the center of God's affection.
Jesus was intimately at the center of God's affection, so as a carpenter he does not
have a problem going to sleep at the stern of a boat in a storm.
One of the things that really amazes me is that John was actually at the cross when all the other
disciples had fled. Peter fled, every one of those disciples was being threatened. They were all in
the garden of Gethsemane, all of them fled. But he's there at the cross and Jesus is handing over
his mother, earthly mother to John saying, here, here's your mother, mother here's your son.
And that transfer takes place because one disciple stayed behind, but he was intimately always found
at the center of God's affection. It gives you a strange boldness to be at the crucifixion when
others who were more impetuous and older fled.
There's a saying there,
to abide boldly, once you pray for it, try and walk in righteousness because Proverbs 28.1 says,
the righteous are as bold as a lion. When you are in right standing with God,
all these songs that we sing where it says he will never leave us nor forsake us become real,
because otherwise we think he may abandon us, which is not true.
But righteousness gives you an odd swagger, man.
As in I'm in right standing with God, both positionally and practically, and my God,
the righteous are as bold as a lion. Even if you were not, nothing can separate you from his love.
But when you are positionally and practically righteous, there is a boldness, man, that is so
cool. I remember sitting in front of this guy who was demonized and he was lashing out at people.
But I knew that as I sat before him, it was almost like there was an invisible barrier
that he would not cross, that he would not cross. And I'm thinking to myself, oh shucks,
you're really close. If he does anything, it'll really hurt. And then I'm thinking to myself,
but oh shucks, he ain't going to do it because there's this barrier, because I know that the
righteous can be as bold as a lion. And then there are other times where I keep a healthy distance,
because I'm not very sure of my righteousness that day, even though in Christ I have been made righteous.
I'm talking about ways to sustain our boldness, eh? Boldness can be provoked by the actions of others.
Boldness can be provoked by the actions of others in two different ways. In Jonathan's case,
he's going up this hill and he says to his armor bearer in 1st Samuel 14,
hey, if they say come, are you willing to just walk with me and go ahead? And this
armor bearer says, whatever you want, I'll do. Sometimes when you walk with people that are bold,
you get a boldness. You go with Jeevan to Nandigama, you'll feel bold. Because kids half your age are
doing things that normal people wouldn't do. I think every person here must go to Nandigama once
and should be taken without Jeevan to a village called Poonavaram on your own.
It'll put a strange boldness on you because you'll see these 9 and 10 year olds
doing what you wouldn't dare to do.
And then there's Esther. Sometimes you provoke boldness by saying, hey, if you think you are not
going to do this, then let me tell you that someone else will arise in your place. Either step up and
be bold or step behind and don't pretend to be queen. That's what Mordecai says to her. There's
a provoking to boldness. Walk with people who are bold, man, and there will be a boldness that comes
upon you. Everything in the kingdom is contagious because it is spirit to spirit, deep to deep.
Everything that is good that comes from Christ in the kingdom is contagious. Walk with people who
have that upon them because if you do not, you will not catch it. Many things in the kingdom are not
taught. They are caught. That is why there's this term called impartation.
This next one is a favorite horse that we flog at Acts 29. Boldness loses momentum and proclamation
is subdued. Boldness loses momentum when proclamation is subdued. He who does not speak
cannot be bold. He who does not speak cannot be bold. He who does not speak cannot be bold.
You choose not to speak. It doesn't matter that you started out with oodles of boldness. It'll dry
up. It needs oxygen and it needs the oxygen of speaking. Why do you think these armies doesn't
matter whether it's Braveheart or doesn't matter whether it's Gideon? Why do they go,
ah, and then start charging? Why does Gideon say to them as you come, everyone, all the kids went
silent. As you come down these hills, Gideon says to them, shout out, break those pitchers and shout
in the name of God and for the sword of Gideon and they come charging down. War cries were meant
to bring out of you the boldness that was in you.
Boldness loses momentum and proclamation is subdued. The thing is guys, we think speaking
is futile because we are speaking things into situations and there's no visible shift and you
think to yourself, man, this is so futile. I've done it at least 18 times and nothing has happened.
And yet in Mark 11 verse 20 and 21, can you imagine what Peter is thinking? He must have
thought the same thing. Poor Jesus spoke to that fig tree, seems to have been a little upset
because he was hungry, went looking for figs, didn't find figs. This is one place where he
erred a little and really got mad at the fig tree and cursed it and said, you shall never
bear fruit again. And nothing's happening to the tree. And they come back a day later and in
verse 21 he says, Jesus, look at the tree that you just cursed. I'm telling you, man, with patience
with patience and with every promise is inherited through patience and
Hebrews 10 36
faith and patience. Every promise is inherited through faith and patience,
immediacy, eventuality, both have to collide. Both have to collide. You can't have one or the other.
Once it starts happening, there's this momentum. It's like a juggernaut. It's like this snowball
that starts on the top of the hill. Once it starts happening, it needs initial momentum. Once the,
it starts, my God, man, you'll see it happening all over the place. Speak, speak, speak.
Boldness is triggered by a greater cause. I love this. Boldness, in the kingdom, boldness is triggered
by a greater cause. You have to have something bigger, much, much bigger. In the King James,
you have David going up and down in first Samuel 27 16 to sorry, first Samuel 17 26 to 29,
26 to 29, first Samuel 17, first Samuel 17,
26 to 29. I love this boy.
Let me read from the King James or the NKJV. And David speak to the men that stood by him saying,
what shall be done to the man that kills this Philistine and takes away their approach from
Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?
And the people answered him after this manner saying, so shall it be done to the man that kills
him. And Eliab, his eldest brother, heard when he spoke unto the men and Eliab's anger was kindled
against David. And he said, why did you come down here? With whom have you left those few sheep in
the wilderness? I know your pride. I know the naughtiness of your heart. For you are here.
You have come down here just to see the battle. And David said, what have I now done? Is there not
a cause? That's how the NKJV and the KJV puts it. Is there not a cause? Boldness is triggered
by you having a cause that is greater. You know what my cause is guys? And my cause is not unique.
It is a cause that every believer should have. And that's why I'm saying it. My cause is just
very simple. Christ and the body of Christ. There is no greater cause.
Christ and the body of Christ. As in attaining, Jacob should press towards attaining the stature
of Christ. And Jacob should press towards having the rest of us attain the stature of Christ. That
is the end game. It is a far greater cause than anything else. It's a greater cause than Acts 29.
It's a greater cause than healings and miracles. It's a greater cause than becoming a big church.
It is a greater cause than all those things put together. Guess whose magnificent obsession that
is? It is the obsession of Christ himself. If there is one obsession that God has, if there is one
thing that dwells at the centrality of everything he is, it is the church.
He thought of the church before there was marriage because he knew there would be a bridegroom
and a bride. He thought of the church before there was earth because he said he already
installed his king in Zion before Zion existed.
You should ask God on the quiet day, father, can you give me a desire to build with you?
Because it's the only thing you're building. You're not building mansions. What is Christ still
building? Only one thing guys, the church. Please understand this. Christ isn't building mansions.
Christ is building the church. I will build my church and the gates of hell
shall not prevail against it. You call him Lord and Master. Join him in the only work that he is
doing. God is inviting us to greater causes and the Spirit will give you boldness for lions,
for bears and then for Goliaths. So I want us to just ask the Holy Spirit to begin to give us that
boldness today. In this age of resistance to the truth when evil is called good, you know what the
Holy Spirit wants? This really touched me, bothered me, made me feel bad. The Holy Spirit
wants a people who will move from 1 Kings 18, who will move from 1 Kings 18, 21 to Revelations 12, 11.
The Holy Spirit wants in this present time when truth is so resisted, the Holy Spirit wants a
people who will move from 1 Kings 18, 21. I felt bad when he said this because it was almost like
our shucks must really suck for you Holy Spirit when we behave this way. 1 Kings 18, 21.
Here's what it says. Elijah went before the people and said, how long will you waver between two
opinions? You need a Bible anybody? All of you have Bibles. Okay, 1 Kings 18, 21. Elijah went before
the people and said, how long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow
him. This is the part that really bothers us or bothers me but the people said nothing.
But the people said nothing. I'm not talking about silence right now. I'm just talking about
indifference. I'm talking about not particularly this way or that way. Just waiting to see how
things will pan out. Will the lines fall in pleasant places? Let's see how things will pan out.
Will the lines fall in pleasant places? Let's see how things will pan out. Will the lines fall in
pleasant places? Let's just hedge our bets till we see which way this is going to go.
And the Holy Spirit is saying, hey boldness is different. I want you to just throw yourself,
abandon yourself and then go to Revelation 12, 11. Revelation 12, 11. And everything in that passage
is about boldness man and this is what he's looking for and I pray God that he finds it with us.
Revelation 12, 11. They overcame or they triumphed over the enemy or the devil by the blood of the
lamb and by the word of their testimony and they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from
death. What a statement to make on a church. If they buried all of us or if we all got raptured
and they had to put up a plaque saying here lies Acts 29, may they put this on it. Here lies Acts
29. They overcame by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony, by the word they spoke
about him and they did not love their lives even unto death. This is where the Holy Spirit wants to
move us to and once we begin this journey it'll gather momentum. But once we begin this journey
guys, permission will be given to affect the earth. We will be given permission to move the earth.
We will be given permission to affect the earth. Please understand why permission is important.
It is not so that we are now a very powerful church that decrease things that should happen.
No, we get to participate with God. You remember that story of the little boy going with his dad
to paint a fence, right? What? How many haven't heard that?
Okay, if my mom gets delayed it's your fault. Little boy,
prodi day, has time to go off to work with his dad. His dad is a painter, paints fences.
Dad says, son you want to come with me? Son says yes. So they both go. Dad decides he'll get his
boy a small tin can of paint with a small brush. Mom packs a tiffin with sandwiches
and they both go off in the morning. The little boy is dressed in his overalls and carrying this
little tin can of paint. They go and they start painting the fence. The dad's doing his job like
he does masterfully every now and then. The son will look at his handiwork. It's the dad who's
doing all the painting but the son without knowing leans on the fence and looks at his handiwork and
rubs sweat off his brow because he can't imagine that he's doing this amazing work. Little knowing
that it's the dad who's doing it. Little knowing that he's just put his hand on wet paint and now
there's a mark on that fence. The dad doesn't paint over the handprint because this boy is
not his employee. This boy is his son. He lets the handprint stay. He lets the handprint stay
and then they sit down and they have lunch together and the boy feels like ah shucks this is one of
those days when he's really earned his lunch and they eat and they talk like men and then finally
the evening comes and the entire fence is done and the boy feels like it is the greatest accomplishment
of his life and they're both walking home. As the house nears the boy begins to run. Runs? Why?
Because he wants to tell his mom and he tells his mom, mom mom you won't believe what we did.
I painted an entire fence. We had those sandwiches. Oh my god what a difficulty. It's almost like when
Derek does stuff after everyone else works and so it's this
it's this oh my god mom you won't believe it and the dad watches the boy go tell the mom
how hard he's worked and now we finished a white fence and the dad doesn't stop to say but son
it's not you who did the work it's me who did the work. Why? Because his father enjoys the son
taking glory for his work. We've been taught this lie that God doesn't want to share his glory with
anyone else. He doesn't share his glory with idols but he loves sharing his glory with his kids. He
has absolutely no problem and Jacob takes the glory. He he lives for Jacob taking his glory
which that doesn't and Jacob knows how to take the glory and then throw it back right at him.
This is how it's supposed to be guys. I always think to myself every time I do a good job
and I say wow Jacob that is amazing preaching. I glory in it for a moment or two and then I
remember the story and I think to myself wow he's got no problems with it but he did all the work.
Let's move to revelations 12-11. Let's commit to that as a church.
One of the marks of the Holy Spirit in the early church was the spirit of boldness. Acts chapter
1-8 and the Holy Spirit shall come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me from Jerusalem to
Judea to the ends of the earth. Acts chapter 4 verse 29 to 31.
And when they saw the threats that had been issued to them they got together and they prayed and they
cried out saying Jesus would you please stretch out your hands to do mighty signs and miracles.
How would you give us boldness? Acts chapter 4 verse 29 to 31. Now Lord consider their threats
and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness and what happened? Verse 31. After
they prayed the place where they were meeting was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy
Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. Acts chapter 9-29. Acts chapter 9-29.
So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.
He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews but they tried to kill him. So it doesn't matter what
the threat was. Acts chapter 13 verse 46. Acts chapter 13 verse 46. Then Paul and Barnabas
answered them boldly. We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you rejected
we now turn to the Gentiles. This was in hostile situations. Acts 18-26. Acts 18-26.
He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him they invited him
home and explained more to them the way of God. Acts chapter 19-8. Acts chapter 19 verse 8. Paul
entered the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months arguing persuasively about the kingdom of
God. Acts chapter 28-31. It ends there where it says in Acts chapter 38-21 boldly and without
hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ. In Ephesians 6-20,
Paul actually says to the Ephesians, guys could you pray for me? I'm in chains but could you pray for
me so that I might be bold in my witness? He says pray also for me that whenever I open my mouth
words may be given to me just like with Karen so that I'll fearlessly or boldly make the mystery
of the gospel for which I'm an ambassador in chains. Matthew 10-20. I love what Jesus said
in Matthew 10-20. He says hey guys don't worry about when you're brought before governors and
kings. On my account you'll be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to
the Gentiles but when they arrest you do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time
you will be given what to say for it will not be you but the spirit that your father sent speaking
through you. Every time they prayed for boldness the Holy Spirit showed up. May I say to you that
he will show up today? I was asking God, father could you give me this rara conclusion where I
can really and get people going and then I heard the Holy Spirit during worship saying I'm already
here so it's okay and so it's a shame that not a shame it's good that I won't have to go down that
route but it's like at home and I was planning this it was going to reach a crescendo but it's
going to end on a whimper and then the Holy Spirit will take over. Second Corinthians 3-17.
It says where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty. I know I'm taking the words out of
context but Jesus did it too. So second Corinthians 3-17. Where the Lord is now the Lord is spirit
and where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty. There is liberty. So can we just ask the
Lord to just give us boldness. So here's what we'll do first. First repent. Repent of not seeing
boldness as something that was important. Repent of our sluggishness. Repent of our
repent of our half-hearted half-baked pursuit.
We'll start there and then we'll go to calling out to him saying please oh God
need this and then we'll receive the spirit. Yeah.
Sheldon can you just play the song that you guys would have sung awesome in this place. Just play
it in the background. Guys try not to sing the song. I just want to play it in the background
but don't go down that song route because if you go down that song route you'll miss out on this
because we Christians are so finely tuned to songs that as soon as something starts playing
we start singing. It's like Pavlov's Reflect sometimes. So just play the song and then
just repent first. What are you repenting about?