WEBVTT NOTE Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver Episode: Teleios – Boldness Publishing Date: 2020-10-25T06:00:44-07:00 Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/teleios-boldness/ 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.240 Okay, so today we talk about teleos from the terms of boldness. Boldness. If teleos is 00:00:10.240 --> 00:00:15.520 the moving of a person or a people from one stage of maturity to the to another, 00:00:15.520 --> 00:00:20.320 then it is required that as you move from one stage to the other, that you pick 00:00:20.320 --> 00:00:25.680 up this thing called boldness because it's greased to your wheels. If teleos 00:00:25.680 --> 00:00:32.760 is the process of maturity where one goes from one step to the next to the next, 00:00:32.760 --> 00:00:39.960 just as we show in that image that we have put online, where it's the moving of a caterpillar 00:00:39.960 --> 00:00:47.280 to a cocoon to a butterfly, boldness is what greases your wheels so that you're able to step 00:00:47.280 --> 00:00:54.040 from one stage to the other. The scripture that I want to look at is Matthew 11 15. 00:00:54.040 --> 00:01:08.720 Matthew 11 15. These are Jesus's words and he says, the kingdom of God is advancing forcefully 00:01:08.720 --> 00:01:16.840 and the violent take it by force. The kingdom of God is advancing forcefully and the violent 00:01:16.840 --> 00:01:26.520 take it by force. So the kingdom of God advances forcefully in your personal life, 00:01:26.520 --> 00:01:37.800 in our corporate lives, locally, globally. Be aware of that because when we think kingdom of 00:01:37.800 --> 00:01:43.600 God is advancing, we think it's removed from us, it's perhaps the job of someone else or it's 00:01:43.600 --> 00:01:48.040 happening in church or it's happening around the world. But the kingdom of God as in the 00:01:48.040 --> 00:01:55.920 rule of God, when you simplify it, why wouldn't the rule of God therefore advance forcefully in 00:01:55.920 --> 00:02:03.560 your personal life, in our corporate lives, locally and globally? Why would it not? It must. The rule 00:02:03.560 --> 00:02:11.040 of God must advance this way. The nature of the kingdom of God is such that it advances forcefully, 00:02:11.040 --> 00:02:20.920 meaning it's not this lazy evening walk that the kingdom of God is on. It's like a balloon that 00:02:20.920 --> 00:02:29.200 is pressing. Imagine a glass aquarium, like an aquarium, like one of those glass boxes. Imagine 00:02:29.200 --> 00:02:34.960 a balloon that is being lowered into it. Imagine the balloon full of water and you can see the 00:02:34.960 --> 00:02:40.440 balloon beginning to just gather water and you know that it's only a few more seconds and it's 00:02:40.440 --> 00:02:46.520 going to burst forth. We are at that stage where the kingdom of God is heavily forcefully advancing 00:02:46.520 --> 00:02:56.080 onto the earth. It's only a matter of time before it bursts forth. What I find sad is that many of 00:02:56.080 --> 00:03:05.800 us when it bursts forth will not be in a position to have enjoyed the process. It just bothers me 00:03:05.800 --> 00:03:12.360 so much that even in this church, even sitting right now, there can be people who miss out on 00:03:12.360 --> 00:03:17.400 the waiting for the kingdom to break through. You think it's not possible? What do you think 00:03:17.400 --> 00:03:23.720 happened when Jesus came and they missed it? You think they weren't good Jews? The Pharisees were 00:03:23.720 --> 00:03:30.360 the best of the best. They were scholarly. They had spent their times learning under brilliant 00:03:30.360 --> 00:03:37.240 teachers. They knew the ins and outs of the scriptures and yet they miss out. And why do 00:03:37.240 --> 00:03:48.280 they miss out? Because when the kingdom was pressing down, it was like, guys I'm telling you, 00:03:49.480 --> 00:03:54.440 if you don't participate now, if you stay on the periphery, if you're on the outskirts, 00:03:54.440 --> 00:04:00.600 you miss out on the most amazing thing that is happening on earth. It's wrong. It's wrong. 00:04:03.320 --> 00:04:06.840 And if it isn't my power, I will not allow you to get away with it. 00:04:13.240 --> 00:04:19.400 So the kingdom of God advances forcefully, but the thing is only the violent take it by force. 00:04:20.040 --> 00:04:26.680 By violent, God doesn't mean aggressive. Violent means assertive, reaching beyond your grasp, 00:04:26.680 --> 00:04:34.920 pressing in a pursuit that is so passionate that it cannot be stopped. A horse that has 00:04:34.920 --> 00:04:39.000 wanted to run all its life, a greyhound that has finally been released, 00:04:39.880 --> 00:04:43.720 wildebeests in South Africa that are stomping and snotting, waiting for that 00:04:43.720 --> 00:04:50.680 moment where they can burst forth. That is the kind of violence we are talking about, 00:04:50.680 --> 00:04:55.800 where you take it by force. So ask yourself this question now as you hear me. Are you like that? 00:04:57.960 --> 00:05:03.480 And if you're not like that, what do you want before that can happen for you? Do you want 00:05:03.480 --> 00:05:10.120 another sign? What will happen if God gives you that sign? Will you then oblige? What are 00:05:10.120 --> 00:05:16.200 you waiting for? If it is a sign, don't ask God for it because he's going to give it to you. And 00:05:16.200 --> 00:05:26.840 then what will happen? Is it a few dollars? Is it a visa? Is it a job? What will happen once he gives 00:05:26.840 --> 00:05:32.600 it to you? What will I do next? What am I going to ask for next? Because there's a point where Jesus 00:05:32.600 --> 00:05:36.600 says, if you still want me to jump off the steeple for you, I will not. 00:05:40.120 --> 00:05:56.440 He'll do. He'll oblige initially because if that is what will prove that you need to run after him, 00:05:56.440 --> 00:06:04.040 so be it. But my question is, are you actually approaching the king and his rule with a violence 00:06:04.040 --> 00:06:13.080 that this verse is talking about? Where you have decided that you will abandon all sense of balance, 00:06:13.080 --> 00:06:19.560 all sense of moderation, all sense of being careful, all sense of being dignified. This 00:06:19.560 --> 00:06:23.560 pursuit is undignified. It cannot be done in a way that is dignified. 00:06:23.560 --> 00:06:37.720 And it has to happen personally, corporately, locally, and globally. So before the Lord releases 00:06:37.720 --> 00:06:42.440 a new mantle upon you, and many of you over the last, just even the last one week, I've been 00:06:42.440 --> 00:06:48.040 meeting with some of you and you're at the threshold of a new orbit or a new place you're 00:06:48.040 --> 00:06:54.200 stepping into in God, in the world. Before the Lord releases a new mantle, he challenges your 00:06:54.200 --> 00:07:01.880 heart to a place of greater boldness. He challenges your heart to a place of greater boldness. Before 00:07:01.880 --> 00:07:08.360 God releases a new mantle, he challenges your heart to a place of greater boldness. As in, 00:07:08.360 --> 00:07:14.360 hey, let me push your heart to a place where you have to express greater boldness because what 00:07:14.360 --> 00:07:24.040 awaits you in me is so beyond you. Seeing Peter one day standing in the upper room and preaching 00:07:24.040 --> 00:07:31.080 and 3,000 people being saved, what does Jesus do? He says to Peter, come. And now he stretches or 00:07:31.080 --> 00:07:37.880 pushes or challenges Peter's heart to step out of the boat and begin to walk on a substance 00:07:37.880 --> 00:07:48.600 that no human has business walking on. And so he challenges your heart to a place of greater 00:07:48.600 --> 00:07:55.560 boldness. And when you don't step up, you find yourself caught in the ebb and flow of unfinished 00:07:55.560 --> 00:08:11.400 battles that God regrets that Satan advantages and that you pay a price for. Let me say that again. 00:08:14.040 --> 00:08:22.760 When God challenges you saying, hey, I know you're at the brink of a new orbit or I know that you've 00:08:22.760 --> 00:08:29.560 been hungering for this new mantle, I know that you want to step out into greater or more. I know 00:08:29.560 --> 00:08:35.880 this about you. But I'm going to push or challenge your heart to a place of greater boldness. If you 00:08:35.880 --> 00:08:42.040 don't step up, then what will happen is you will be there and yet not be there and you will fight 00:08:42.040 --> 00:08:48.600 unfinished battles that will ebb and flow for the next many months when you can actually take hold 00:08:48.600 --> 00:08:54.200 with force and end things personally, corporately, locally and globally so that you can step forward. 00:08:54.200 --> 00:08:58.440 But if you don't step forth, I'll give you examples. Then what happens is God begins to regret it, 00:08:58.440 --> 00:09:06.680 saying, man, I called Jacob into this. He's doing this half step. I've challenged his heart, but he's 00:09:06.680 --> 00:09:11.880 responding, then stepping back, responding, stepping back. He finds distractions on the way he goes, 00:09:11.880 --> 00:09:19.160 smells the roses, time goes by. God begins to regret it. Satan advantages it as in, ha, 00:09:19.880 --> 00:09:27.080 this could have ruined things for me, but now that he is sufficiently distracted and doing the half 00:09:27.080 --> 00:09:33.640 step, great, it is to my advantage. And you will end up paying a cost for it because many things 00:09:33.640 --> 00:09:39.640 that could have come into your grasp now escape. Let's look at some scriptures. Second Kings 13, 00:09:40.520 --> 00:09:43.400 Second Kings 13, 14 to 21. 00:09:53.000 --> 00:09:57.320 Second Kings 13, 14 to 21. 00:09:59.640 --> 00:10:03.160 Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness with which he was to die, 00:10:03.800 --> 00:10:09.240 Joash, king of Israel, went down to him and wept before him crying, my father, my father, 00:10:09.240 --> 00:10:14.440 the chariots of Israel and its horsemen. And Elisha said to him, take a bow and arrows. So he took a 00:10:14.440 --> 00:10:20.280 bow and arrows. Then he said to the king of Israel, draw the bow and he drew it. And Elisha even laid 00:10:20.280 --> 00:10:26.840 hands. I put that even in myself because in my mind it was man, he was so telling this guy how 00:10:26.840 --> 00:10:33.000 to go about it. And Elisha laid his hands on the king's hands and he said, open the window eastward 00:10:33.000 --> 00:10:38.920 and he opened it. Then Elisha said, shoot and he shot. And he said, the Lord's arrow of victory, 00:10:38.920 --> 00:10:45.240 the arrow of victory over Syria, for you shall fight the Syrians in affect until you make an end 00:10:45.240 --> 00:10:49.800 of them. And he said, take the arrows and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, strike the 00:10:49.800 --> 00:10:54.680 ground with them. And he struck three times and stopped. Then the man of God was angry with him 00:10:54.680 --> 00:10:59.480 and said, you should have struck five or six times. Then you would have struck down Syria until you 00:10:59.480 --> 00:11:06.440 made an end of it. But now you will strike down Syria only three times. So Elisha died and they 00:11:06.440 --> 00:11:11.240 buried him. Now the bands of Moabites used to invade the land in the spring of the year. 00:11:11.240 --> 00:11:17.720 And as a man was being buried, behold a marauding band was seen and the man was thrown into the 00:11:17.720 --> 00:11:22.840 grave of Elisha. And as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet. 00:11:23.480 --> 00:11:31.240 What a difference, what a difference. Here is one guy who could have ended Syria's invasions 00:11:31.240 --> 00:11:37.720 and it did not because it didn't move into that place where God had him invited into. 00:11:38.440 --> 00:11:45.080 Guys, I'm telling you, all of us in this room, all of us in this room fall short. We do not go 00:11:45.080 --> 00:11:52.840 whole hog. We stop short. I stop short. I'm wasting my life when I stop short. 00:11:56.360 --> 00:11:59.720 God is looking for an all or nothing church and he must find it here. 00:11:59.720 --> 00:12:10.440 1 Samuel 15, 00:12:11.800 --> 00:12:12.920 1 Samuel 15, 00:12:17.960 --> 00:12:20.120 1 Samuel 15, 9 onwards. 00:12:22.920 --> 00:12:27.000 Here's another guy who should have finished what he was supposed to finish but would not. 00:12:27.960 --> 00:12:34.280 In the case of the king we just read about with the arrows, he didn't because he decided 00:12:34.920 --> 00:12:39.800 three was enough and three was quite a lot. Three was more than one and was more than two and three 00:12:39.800 --> 00:12:46.360 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 00:12:46.360 --> 00:12:54.760 I hate in myself. But in this case, it was not an enough mentality. It was a different mentality. 00:12:54.760 --> 00:12:55.720 1 Samuel 15, 00:13:19.560 --> 00:13:24.360 Samuel was upset because you know why Samuel was upset? Because he had seen the potential in Saul. 00:13:24.840 --> 00:13:34.680 You know it is upsetting when you see the potential in someone and they refuse to step into it. 00:13:36.920 --> 00:13:44.280 One of the coolest things in this church is that God reveals his description of your potential 00:13:44.280 --> 00:13:51.240 early through the prophetic. So you're not even in the dark about it. Reuben for instance will be a 00:13:51.240 --> 00:13:58.440 giant slayer. I was praying for this boy and I started to weep so I stopped praying because I 00:13:58.440 --> 00:14:07.640 didn't want to cry in the beginning of the service. This boy you'll see if you give him Lego Lego 00:14:08.360 --> 00:14:14.120 to make this boy will know the main piece of the Lego. He can either put it and construct something 00:14:14.120 --> 00:14:19.960 or remove it and the whole thing will collapse. He has the ability to choose that one piece that 00:14:19.960 --> 00:14:28.120 can either dismantle or bring together. They should let him pray play hockey. His hockey sense 00:14:28.120 --> 00:14:33.560 in terms of positional hockey will be tremendous. He will know where to stand so that things come 00:14:33.560 --> 00:14:43.480 to him. This is the boy who you can send ahead of you to make clear the paths of the Lord. 00:14:43.480 --> 00:14:47.640 That is the kind of person this is. You can send him ahead so that he can use a machete to clear a 00:14:47.640 --> 00:14:54.760 path so that others can walk after him. That is the kind of boy this is. Why am I using this as an 00:14:54.760 --> 00:15:01.960 example? Because in our case in each person sitting here almost everybody sitting here has had their 00:15:01.960 --> 00:15:10.600 potential revealed to them by God himself through the prophetic and we don't have excuses. So 00:15:10.600 --> 00:15:20.920 we have excuses. Samuel cried because Saul wasn't turning up to be who he was. Samuel was angry with God 00:15:26.680 --> 00:15:29.960 but Saul didn't want to. In Saul's case it was a not following 00:15:29.960 --> 00:15:34.520 because he had better things to do. He just liked disobedience like we do. 00:15:34.520 --> 00:15:39.640 I have no desire to have you feel comfortable in this church if you're not pursuing him. 00:15:41.160 --> 00:15:49.400 I'm okay with us changing so that we pursue him but I cannot bear the thought that you will not 00:15:49.400 --> 00:15:54.440 pursue him and you would find yourself comfortable here. That we should not allow. I can't do that 00:15:54.440 --> 00:16:00.920 myself but we should do it in a way that people think to themselves, oh we can't sit here. 00:16:01.080 --> 00:16:04.520 This is too cranky or like the heat is too high. 00:16:09.240 --> 00:16:13.720 It's not a place for healed people. It is a place for people who need 00:16:13.720 --> 00:16:19.080 healing but it should be a place where if you think you are healed you'll feel uncomfortable. 00:16:19.080 --> 00:16:23.240 It should be a place where if you think you are healed you'll feel uncomfortable. 00:16:28.440 --> 00:16:32.840 1st Corinthians 9 26, 1st Corinthians 9 26, 00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:43.000 1st Corinthians 9 26 and 27. This is Paul talking and look what he does. 00:16:43.800 --> 00:16:50.520 He says I refuse to settle. He says I do not run aimlessly. I do not box as one beating the air 00:16:50.520 --> 00:16:56.760 but I discipline my body and keep it under control lest after preaching to myself, to others, 00:16:56.760 --> 00:17:03.480 I myself should be disqualified. There was this intent of pursuit that I will not settle. There's 00:17:03.480 --> 00:17:09.720 something that I have to keep pressing into and I'll keep doing that. Jesus actually in Matthew 18 00:17:10.520 --> 00:17:17.480 says that hey Jacob if in your following me, if in your pursuit of me, your hand causes you to 00:17:17.480 --> 00:17:25.400 do evil. He was exaggerating but he was trying to convey a point. If your hand happens to do evil, 00:17:25.400 --> 00:17:31.960 cut your hand off. If your eye happens to do evil, cut your eye out. I would rather that you come to 00:17:31.960 --> 00:17:39.160 me maimed than come to me with your hand or eye intact that is indulging in evil. This is the kind 00:17:39.160 --> 00:17:45.320 of pursuit we are talking about. Nothing left to chance. Nothing left to self-determination. 00:17:45.880 --> 00:17:47.800 Just this continuous running. Any questions? 00:17:54.360 --> 00:17:59.880 Guys all demonic enterprise is by permission. All demonic enterprise is by permission. 00:18:00.440 --> 00:18:05.400 I've said this before. All demonic enterprise, anything that the demons, anything that the 00:18:05.400 --> 00:18:09.880 devil does is by permission. First, God's permission. He's in accountable rebellion. He 00:18:09.880 --> 00:18:16.920 cannot do what he wants. God's permission. Second, my permission. Third, our permission. 00:18:17.720 --> 00:18:24.760 Satan cannot do what he wants. There are so many things that you know it's so brilliant. God has 00:18:24.760 --> 00:18:30.120 given us the ability to permit and to forbid. There are things that I can permit and forbid 00:18:30.200 --> 00:18:36.120 in my life and in the sphere of influence that I have charge over. So do you. 00:18:40.280 --> 00:18:47.080 And God's hope is, Jacob can I keep having you come to the very edge of your faith and then when 00:18:47.080 --> 00:18:53.960 I tell you step into not presumption but more faith and I'll challenge your heart so that you take 00:18:54.600 --> 00:19:00.040 the risk off and have the boldness to step into areas that you haven't gone into. You think this 00:19:00.040 --> 00:19:05.960 stage is what I've given you permission over. When I tell you to step here, this entire place 00:19:05.960 --> 00:19:14.040 now becomes your permission and it keeps increasing. All demonic enterprise is by permission. Are you 00:19:14.040 --> 00:19:26.360 sure the camera is not shooting over my head right now? Okay. All demonic enterprise is by permission. 00:19:26.360 --> 00:19:33.720 I want to get to a place as a church where God will be surprised at how much he can trust us with. 00:19:33.720 --> 00:19:39.560 One of the questions I want to ask next week in a teaching is can God commit himself to you? 00:19:45.240 --> 00:19:51.480 It's a piercing question. It's a painful question because you know why it is painful because I'm 00:19:51.560 --> 00:19:59.640 scared that the answer that I give personally may be no. Can God commit himself to you Jacob? 00:19:59.640 --> 00:20:04.040 Can he commit himself to you saying Jacob if I give you the favor, if I give you permission, 00:20:04.040 --> 00:20:10.600 if I give you a scepter, if I give you my right to do things, can I commit to you and can I trust 00:20:10.600 --> 00:20:16.040 that you will do it correctly tethered to my nature? Can I commit myself to you? I'll ask this question 00:20:16.040 --> 00:20:20.600 next week but it is bothersome. I'm hoping by next week I'll have it sorted out so I can preach it. 00:20:21.480 --> 00:20:36.040 I want us to get to a point where God will be surprised at how much permission he can give this 00:20:36.040 --> 00:20:44.600 church to affect events around the globe. And it begins with personal boldness then goes into 00:20:44.600 --> 00:20:48.920 corporate boldness then locally and globally. Now why connected to boldness? Because it allows us 00:20:48.920 --> 00:20:54.040 to keep stepping forward, keep stepping forward and as we do permission is granted to affect 00:20:54.600 --> 00:21:01.400 the earth. They will say of Acts 29, please don't think this is preaching. I hate this kind of ra 00:21:01.400 --> 00:21:10.280 ra preaching. They will say of Acts 29, those troublers have come here again. Those ones that 00:21:10.280 --> 00:21:17.160 trouble that city, those that trouble that city have come here again. They will say of Acts 29, 00:21:17.160 --> 00:21:23.560 and I mean this in all earnestness, Jesus we know, Acts 29 we know but who are you? 00:21:26.360 --> 00:21:29.960 It must become a standard. I'm not talking about these many people. I'm talking about whoever we 00:21:29.960 --> 00:21:35.880 touch that on the earth will rise up people amongst whom God finds himself very comfortable, 00:21:35.880 --> 00:21:39.800 very committed to and easily usable. Why not? 00:21:39.800 --> 00:21:49.960 I'm inviting us, this is really not doable by Jacob, definitely not. I'm inviting us to step and 00:21:49.960 --> 00:21:56.840 become these kind of people man. And for that there is no holding back. There is only a full committing too. 00:21:57.480 --> 00:22:03.240 Guys, if you want to define boldness, boldness is courage in action. Boldness is courage in action 00:22:05.480 --> 00:22:11.880 by the power of the spirit. So it's courage in action by the power of the spirit 00:22:15.880 --> 00:22:20.680 and by the power of the spirit. So that's what we're talking about. 00:22:20.680 --> 00:22:23.560 Courage in action by the power of the spirit 00:22:27.640 --> 00:22:29.080 because of a deep conviction 00:22:32.760 --> 00:22:40.680 and an urgency that has you pay any cost even when there are threats. 00:22:40.760 --> 00:22:45.240 That's the definition of boldness and that's why it is critical to advancing the kingdom 00:22:45.240 --> 00:22:51.400 because the kingdom is definitely advancing forcefully but only those that take it by force or 00:22:51.400 --> 00:22:59.160 violently grasp it are able to participate in it. See guys you must understand this is not something 00:22:59.160 --> 00:23:04.600 that you can shape and puppeteer because you are a fine Christian. There is a way that you can 00:23:04.600 --> 00:23:10.840 work and the kingdom works like this. It comes forcefully. If you and I cannot grasp it violently, 00:23:10.840 --> 00:23:17.160 we will not participate in it. You will enter the kingdom but you will not participate in it. 00:23:20.440 --> 00:23:25.240 Strange eh? You enter a theater but you don't see the movie. 00:23:25.240 --> 00:23:29.400 You're given a ticket to enter the theater. It's paid for but you don't see the movie. 00:23:40.840 --> 00:23:47.400 Boldness is courage in action by the power of the spirit. 00:23:48.200 --> 00:23:51.560 Boldness is courage in action 00:23:53.800 --> 00:23:57.960 by the power of the spirit because this is not the kind of courage you need to 00:24:01.640 --> 00:24:09.800 for normal earthly things like this. This is courage in action by the power of the spirit 00:24:09.800 --> 00:24:19.160 in action by the power of the spirit caused by a deep conviction in your heart and an urgency 00:24:22.520 --> 00:24:28.120 that then causes you to pay any cost even in the face of threats. 00:24:32.760 --> 00:24:38.680 So you see this in Daniel 3, 18, 17 and 18 and the boys are being going to be thrown into the fire 00:24:38.680 --> 00:24:43.960 and they say, oh king we just want you to know that our god is going to save us. And by the way, 00:24:43.960 --> 00:24:46.760 if he doesn't save us, we just want you to know that we're still not bowing. 00:24:50.040 --> 00:24:57.320 Or you go to Esther 4, verse 16 and Esther says that, all right guys start praying because usually 00:24:57.320 --> 00:25:02.840 if you go before the king and he isn't stretching out the scepter, you usually have your head chopped 00:25:02.840 --> 00:25:07.720 off and he hasn't called me for a month. But I'm going ahead, you guys start praying. Courage in 00:25:07.720 --> 00:25:16.440 action, deep conviction, urgency, urgency. You cannot have the kingdom at your time. 00:25:20.520 --> 00:25:28.200 The rule of God is not your mother-in-law's spices kept on the third shelf that you use when you make 00:25:28.200 --> 00:25:33.800 your favorite goulash. This is essential to living. It's like water. You don't drink it, you die. 00:25:37.880 --> 00:25:43.640 I don't know why the mother's, I think my mother's coming so mother-in-law's spices and all that 00:25:43.640 --> 00:25:48.760 stuff got mixed up. Sorry, I never go down there, I don't know. Yeah. 00:25:51.640 --> 00:25:56.120 Esther 4, 16 and she asks people to pray and she says, start praying because I'm going before the 00:25:56.120 --> 00:26:02.920 king and if I lose my head so be it but I'm going. This is what it looks like. Or Acts chapter 9, 00:26:02.920 --> 00:26:09.240 verse 13 to 17. I can't imagine what the guy was feeling where God says to Ananias, 00:26:09.240 --> 00:26:14.440 hey Ananias, I want you to go. There's this guy called Paul. Yeah Lord, I know about him. I've 00:26:14.440 --> 00:26:19.560 heard about him. He's got this letter saying he's coming to arrest guys like me and throw us in 00:26:19.560 --> 00:26:26.840 prison and kill us. Yeah, I want you to go to him. It's courage in action brought about by the Holy 00:26:26.840 --> 00:26:34.360 Spirit because of a deep conviction that causes an urgency in you to now begin to pay any cost 00:26:34.360 --> 00:26:41.160 even in the event of threats. Guys, make sure that if you're looking and I'm not talking about 00:26:41.160 --> 00:26:45.960 people who are checking scriptures but if you're on your phone and you're looking at stuff other 00:26:45.960 --> 00:26:53.240 than scriptures then I would suggest to you that you will miss out. It's not the same when you listen 00:26:53.240 --> 00:27:01.400 to this on tape. Please. Please. Having two more people hear me doesn't make me feel any better. 00:27:02.280 --> 00:27:09.000 Like this is not for my esteem or anything but these messages are life-changing, man. 00:27:09.000 --> 00:27:22.680 On the other hand, a lack of boldness, a lack of boldness spawns indifference. 00:27:25.480 --> 00:27:33.640 A lack of boldness spawns indifference. It spawns sophistication. I'll talk about that. It spawns 00:27:33.640 --> 00:27:47.560 indulgence. It spawns avoidance of conflict. Avoidance of conflict. 00:27:47.560 --> 00:27:56.720 Guys, just remember this. A lack of boldness in my life and boldness is not natural for me, man. 00:27:57.280 --> 00:28:04.240 Unfortunately, the day Adam hid, boldness fled. Boldness fled when Adam hid and so it's not 00:28:04.240 --> 00:28:10.400 not natural for me as a human and very often because I'm not living as a believer and I'm 00:28:10.400 --> 00:28:16.400 living as a human, boldness is something that I it's not intrinsic though it actually is and I have 00:28:16.400 --> 00:28:22.480 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 00:28:22.480 --> 00:28:29.280 indifference that comes over me with regard to the king and kingdom and so instead of once 00:28:29.280 --> 00:28:34.720 indifference settles in I would rather indulge myself and get a little sophisticated. It is odd 00:28:34.720 --> 00:28:43.200 how boldness strips away sophistication. Boldness strips away sophistication. Boldness strips away 00:28:43.200 --> 00:28:48.640 sophistication. You no longer want to be sophisticated in the eyes of the world. I love what Jesus said 00:28:48.640 --> 00:28:54.720 about John. What did you go out there to see? What did you go out there to see? A man dressed in fine 00:28:54.720 --> 00:29:00.800 linen living in glass houses or did you go to see a man dressed in camel hide in the wilderness? 00:29:00.800 --> 00:29:14.080 What did you go out to see? And then it brings an avoidance of conflict and an avoidance of conflict 00:29:14.080 --> 00:29:19.760 initially begins with person to person but then the avoidance of conflict spills into the devil 00:29:19.760 --> 00:29:23.600 where you avoid conflicts with the devil where there is no raising of your voice, where there is 00:29:23.600 --> 00:29:28.320 no commanding, where there's no rebuking, where there's no driving out, where there is no hatred 00:29:28.320 --> 00:29:34.080 against the things that David hated about the enemies of God. One of the things that I really 00:29:34.080 --> 00:29:43.840 like about David is he hated what God hated and if you don't hate what God hates you can never drive 00:29:43.840 --> 00:29:58.800 it out. Part of the reason we cannot talk is because we do not love or do not hate. Love and hate always speak. 00:30:03.360 --> 00:30:09.040 Part of the reason is so difficult for us to talk, for us to speak, for us to command, for us to say 00:30:09.120 --> 00:30:16.320 is because we do not love and do not hate because love always speaks, hate always speaks. 00:30:18.080 --> 00:30:19.680 Lukewarmness just swallows. 00:30:30.080 --> 00:30:34.240 If you want to see Jesus disliking things you should check out Matthew 23. 00:30:34.240 --> 00:30:40.400 You brood of vipers, you whitewash tombs, he goes on like a rampage man 00:30:43.360 --> 00:30:49.120 because he hated what was happening there. They would not go in themselves nor would they allow 00:30:49.120 --> 00:30:54.400 anybody to go in. He was talking about the teachers and the teachers of the law. 00:30:57.200 --> 00:31:02.160 The presence of boldness on the other hand, man this looks like some 00:31:02.160 --> 00:31:05.760 secondary school t-shirt with a lot of words scribbled. 00:31:09.120 --> 00:31:15.040 This is not a good day in terms of pens. Don, I don't like these pens. 00:31:15.600 --> 00:31:23.920 Don, I don't like these pens. 00:31:29.520 --> 00:31:31.920 Okay guys, the presence of boldness. 00:31:36.400 --> 00:31:41.360 I don't know why my sister is sending me text messages letting me know what my mother is wearing. 00:31:41.360 --> 00:31:46.720 I think I can, meaning like I do recognize her you know. 00:31:50.720 --> 00:31:53.760 I hope Reba's watching on TV. I know what Amma looks like. 00:31:58.000 --> 00:31:59.040 It's not been that long. 00:32:01.440 --> 00:32:09.760 Guys, the presence of boldness, so the absence of boldness we saw what happens. The presence of 00:32:09.760 --> 00:32:17.440 boldness, I love the presence of boldness, births holy imagination. This is critical guys. 00:32:19.280 --> 00:32:28.480 Births holy imagination. Everything starts with seeing. The bolder you are, the more you can catch 00:32:30.880 --> 00:32:34.320 what God is showing. It's like the iPhone when you have the 00:32:35.040 --> 00:32:40.000 photo that you take as a square or a rectangle and then you've got that panoramic thing where 00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:48.400 it catches an entire swath and that is what we're talking about. The bolder I am with God, 00:32:48.400 --> 00:32:58.800 in God, the greater the imagination I have to see what God is showing. Boldness births holy 00:32:58.800 --> 00:33:09.040 imagination and once it does that it opens up realms, it opens up realms of faith, 00:33:10.640 --> 00:33:14.320 of authority, of hearing, of authority 00:33:17.040 --> 00:33:23.760 and things that were restrained to you suddenly open up. Things that were restrained open. 00:33:24.560 --> 00:33:28.880 We'll pray for this guys. We'll pray before we leave that, Father, could you, 00:33:29.440 --> 00:33:33.920 could you, and the strange thing is every time in the New Testament anyone prayed for boldness, 00:33:33.920 --> 00:33:35.200 the Holy Spirit would turn up. 00:33:39.760 --> 00:33:44.640 The presence of boldness births holy imagination and opens up realms of hearing, faith and 00:33:44.640 --> 00:33:49.840 authority previously restricted, previously restricted and obedience becomes much easier 00:33:50.320 --> 00:33:55.680 when you're bold because once you commit to boldness, obedience is easy. Once you decide, 00:33:55.680 --> 00:34:01.280 okay, I'm going to walk the plank, then you, it's too late now. You should try it on Oculus, 00:34:01.840 --> 00:34:09.680 on a thing called where you walk out on a plank and then it's too late. Ricky's plank. 00:34:12.080 --> 00:34:18.880 Any questions guys? Any questions? So here's what we're saying just so we know the connections. 00:34:19.760 --> 00:34:24.560 The violent take the kingdom by force. 00:34:28.880 --> 00:34:31.680 Violence requires a pursuit 00:34:34.560 --> 00:34:37.600 that is relentless, 00:34:37.600 --> 00:34:40.640 boldog-ish. 00:34:44.720 --> 00:34:51.200 For that pursuit you need boldness. To get that boldness you need the Holy Spirit. 00:34:53.360 --> 00:34:59.440 Cry out for it because in the New Testament they would cry out for it often, or we will. 00:34:59.440 --> 00:35:07.280 So, once you become bold guys, it's always Philippians 1, 14 puts it this way that 00:35:07.280 --> 00:35:13.520 once people see your boldness in Christ it emboldens others. Paul put it this way, 00:35:13.520 --> 00:35:19.120 now that people in the Philippi have seen me in my chains, it has emboldened them to preach the 00:35:19.120 --> 00:35:27.520 gospel. Whenever I hear stories about young kids or young adults go do something crazy, 00:35:27.520 --> 00:35:30.640 I think to myself, ah shucks, if they can do it, I must do it. 00:35:35.520 --> 00:35:42.000 I want to do something that sometimes is rather sheer jealousy. Well, so be it if it's a motivating 00:35:42.000 --> 00:35:50.400 factor. I can do anything you can do. 00:35:50.640 --> 00:35:51.680 I can. 00:35:55.920 --> 00:35:56.960 Sorry, it's been a while. 00:36:00.720 --> 00:36:01.200 Yep. 00:36:04.160 --> 00:36:15.280 Yep. 00:36:15.360 --> 00:36:22.640 So, this is just a really small example. This week I was visiting with this lady who is, 00:36:23.200 --> 00:36:27.440 I mean things in her life are falling apart, they really are. So, she's telling me this story 00:36:27.440 --> 00:36:32.160 and then she starts going on and I've been telling her I'm praying for her and I believe 00:36:32.160 --> 00:36:36.400 God's coming through with it. She's going on about this and like she's almost in tears, 00:36:36.400 --> 00:36:41.760 it's getting worse. I just can't take it anymore. I don't know what God's doing. Everything's going 00:36:41.760 --> 00:36:49.200 bad. And so as she's sharing, I'm praying for one of my sons to be heard. And all of a sudden I 00:36:49.200 --> 00:36:55.600 hear myself saying, what is the confession of your mouth? What are you speaking of? You've got to be 00:36:55.600 --> 00:37:01.120 really, and her eyes get really large because you say, I know you needed to unload and that's fine, 00:37:01.120 --> 00:37:07.840 but you cannot keep saying how terrible it is. And she's just looking at me like, wow, 00:37:08.560 --> 00:37:14.080 like, you know, we're so much telling you all the things that are around our lives. They want you to 00:37:14.080 --> 00:37:19.840 listen to us. But it happens, all of a sudden, you've got to start speaking to God. You've got to start 00:37:19.840 --> 00:37:24.320 saying what God is doing and like you're working with a lot of value for our bones and how people 00:37:24.320 --> 00:37:31.280 have to speak, why does that situation happen? And she said, I'm proud. And then she texted me the next 00:37:31.280 --> 00:37:38.400 day and she said thank you for listening. And so I was really encouraged that as I asked her. 00:37:41.600 --> 00:37:42.320 Thank you so much. 00:37:46.560 --> 00:37:51.920 Guys, how do we sustain boldness? How do we sustain boldness? Today we'll pray and God will 00:37:51.920 --> 00:38:00.640 give because he loves giving boldness. Adam had it in like Trump's man before he hid. How do we 00:38:00.640 --> 00:38:10.160 sustain boldness? Like I said, boldness fled when Adam hid and it was replaced instead by 00:38:10.160 --> 00:38:19.520 self-preservation. Boldness fled when Adam hid and it was replaced by self-preservation. He hid and 00:38:19.520 --> 00:38:27.360 then boldness goes out of the way and he starts blaming, he starts displacing his responsibility 00:38:27.360 --> 00:38:33.440 onto somebody else. But the thing is, if you're born again, even though we don't necessarily 00:38:33.440 --> 00:38:39.440 believe it, think it, feel it, we have a spirit that is neither timid nor fearful. 00:38:40.880 --> 00:38:48.000 I have a spirit that in its DNA is neither timid nor fearful. It is actually a spirit 00:38:48.000 --> 00:38:55.600 that is of love, of power and of self-control. It is just that most of my life is, especially in 00:38:55.600 --> 00:39:02.000 dangerous situations or under threat or under duress, most of my life is lived from my soul 00:39:02.000 --> 00:39:09.120 and my emotions. Jesus, Paul, some of these champions of the faith learned how to deal with 00:39:09.120 --> 00:39:17.760 every situation from the spirit man. It was not their emotions that met external circumstances first. 00:39:18.960 --> 00:39:21.280 It is something we train ourselves to become. 00:39:26.480 --> 00:39:32.160 One of the fastest ways to get there is to learn how to come to a place of peace 00:39:32.960 --> 00:39:38.000 in a crisis. How long does it take you? Eight minutes, three minutes, two minutes, 50 seconds, 00:39:38.000 --> 00:39:43.360 20 seconds. When you are in a very difficult situation, crisis, what are you going to do? 00:39:43.360 --> 00:39:52.480 Usually it's fight, flight or deceit. Those are our three options. Fight it, fight it, 00:39:53.040 --> 00:40:03.520 fight it, flight, run from it, deceit. There's a fourth one, self-medicate by escaping through 00:40:03.520 --> 00:40:08.960 some sin or the other. Just put your head in the sand or in that sin and at least for the next 00:40:08.960 --> 00:40:17.920 eight hours it's gone and then we can try it again. And yet, because I don't live out of my spirit man, 00:40:18.160 --> 00:40:25.600 and yet because I don't live out of my spirit man, I do not ever experience what it is to have 00:40:25.600 --> 00:40:31.760 a place of love, power and self-control because everything I meet with my emotional self, with my 00:40:31.760 --> 00:40:39.840 soul. What if we learned how to first respond from the spirit man? It is a training. This is why Paul 00:40:39.840 --> 00:40:46.880 said, I don't box the air. I train myself, I discipline myself. We want a Christianity 00:40:46.880 --> 00:40:54.160 without responsibilities. Christ took on the responsibility. Now he wants us to 00:40:54.720 --> 00:40:59.280 walk with him and it is easy because his burden is light and his yoke is not heavy. 00:41:04.480 --> 00:41:12.000 To abide boldly, to abide boldly, once you enter boldness, how do you sustain it? To abide boldly, 00:41:12.000 --> 00:41:20.640 intentionally remain at the center of God's affection. Intentionally remain at the center 00:41:20.640 --> 00:41:26.960 of God's affection. If you can find God's affection every morning, you will find that you're 00:41:26.960 --> 00:41:33.760 bolder than you normally are. Intentionally remain at the center of God's affection. 00:41:35.600 --> 00:41:41.360 Jesus was intimately at the center of God's affection, so as a carpenter he does not 00:41:42.080 --> 00:41:46.160 have a problem going to sleep at the stern of a boat in a storm. 00:41:49.040 --> 00:41:55.280 One of the things that really amazes me is that John was actually at the cross when all the other 00:41:55.280 --> 00:42:01.040 disciples had fled. Peter fled, every one of those disciples was being threatened. They were all in 00:42:01.040 --> 00:42:06.880 the garden of Gethsemane, all of them fled. But he's there at the cross and Jesus is handing over 00:42:06.880 --> 00:42:14.160 his mother, earthly mother to John saying, here, here's your mother, mother here's your son. 00:42:14.160 --> 00:42:19.760 And that transfer takes place because one disciple stayed behind, but he was intimately always found 00:42:19.760 --> 00:42:25.680 at the center of God's affection. It gives you a strange boldness to be at the crucifixion when 00:42:25.680 --> 00:42:29.280 others who were more impetuous and older fled. 00:42:29.280 --> 00:42:31.680 There's a saying there, 00:42:34.720 --> 00:42:42.640 to abide boldly, once you pray for it, try and walk in righteousness because Proverbs 28.1 says, 00:42:42.640 --> 00:42:48.720 the righteous are as bold as a lion. When you are in right standing with God, 00:42:50.000 --> 00:42:55.200 all these songs that we sing where it says he will never leave us nor forsake us become real, 00:42:55.200 --> 00:42:58.240 because otherwise we think he may abandon us, which is not true. 00:42:58.960 --> 00:43:01.600 But righteousness gives you an odd swagger, man. 00:43:03.840 --> 00:43:09.760 As in I'm in right standing with God, both positionally and practically, and my God, 00:43:09.760 --> 00:43:17.360 the righteous are as bold as a lion. Even if you were not, nothing can separate you from his love. 00:43:17.360 --> 00:43:22.800 But when you are positionally and practically righteous, there is a boldness, man, that is so 00:43:22.800 --> 00:43:31.920 cool. I remember sitting in front of this guy who was demonized and he was lashing out at people. 00:43:32.640 --> 00:43:37.200 But I knew that as I sat before him, it was almost like there was an invisible barrier 00:43:37.200 --> 00:43:42.320 that he would not cross, that he would not cross. And I'm thinking to myself, oh shucks, 00:43:42.320 --> 00:43:47.200 you're really close. If he does anything, it'll really hurt. And then I'm thinking to myself, 00:43:47.200 --> 00:43:51.600 but oh shucks, he ain't going to do it because there's this barrier, because I know that the 00:43:51.600 --> 00:43:57.600 righteous can be as bold as a lion. And then there are other times where I keep a healthy distance, 00:43:58.160 --> 00:44:03.040 because I'm not very sure of my righteousness that day, even though in Christ I have been made righteous. 00:44:06.960 --> 00:44:12.880 I'm talking about ways to sustain our boldness, eh? Boldness can be provoked by the actions of others. 00:44:12.880 --> 00:44:17.920 Boldness can be provoked by the actions of others in two different ways. In Jonathan's case, 00:44:17.920 --> 00:44:22.240 he's going up this hill and he says to his armor bearer in 1st Samuel 14, 00:44:22.240 --> 00:44:26.240 hey, if they say come, are you willing to just walk with me and go ahead? And this 00:44:26.240 --> 00:44:31.520 armor bearer says, whatever you want, I'll do. Sometimes when you walk with people that are bold, 00:44:31.520 --> 00:44:37.680 you get a boldness. You go with Jeevan to Nandigama, you'll feel bold. Because kids half your age are 00:44:37.680 --> 00:44:43.440 doing things that normal people wouldn't do. I think every person here must go to Nandigama once 00:44:43.440 --> 00:44:47.040 and should be taken without Jeevan to a village called Poonavaram on your own. 00:44:50.560 --> 00:44:54.320 It'll put a strange boldness on you because you'll see these 9 and 10 year olds 00:44:55.040 --> 00:44:56.480 doing what you wouldn't dare to do. 00:45:01.840 --> 00:45:07.360 And then there's Esther. Sometimes you provoke boldness by saying, hey, if you think you are not 00:45:07.360 --> 00:45:11.760 going to do this, then let me tell you that someone else will arise in your place. Either step up and 00:45:11.760 --> 00:45:17.280 be bold or step behind and don't pretend to be queen. That's what Mordecai says to her. There's 00:45:17.280 --> 00:45:23.360 a provoking to boldness. Walk with people who are bold, man, and there will be a boldness that comes 00:45:23.360 --> 00:45:29.200 upon you. Everything in the kingdom is contagious because it is spirit to spirit, deep to deep. 00:45:29.200 --> 00:45:34.880 Everything that is good that comes from Christ in the kingdom is contagious. Walk with people who 00:45:34.880 --> 00:45:40.960 have that upon them because if you do not, you will not catch it. Many things in the kingdom are not 00:45:40.960 --> 00:45:44.960 taught. They are caught. That is why there's this term called impartation. 00:45:52.400 --> 00:46:00.320 This next one is a favorite horse that we flog at Acts 29. Boldness loses momentum and proclamation 00:46:00.320 --> 00:46:06.400 is subdued. Boldness loses momentum when proclamation is subdued. He who does not speak 00:46:06.480 --> 00:46:13.760 cannot be bold. He who does not speak cannot be bold. He who does not speak cannot be bold. 00:46:13.760 --> 00:46:18.960 You choose not to speak. It doesn't matter that you started out with oodles of boldness. It'll dry 00:46:18.960 --> 00:46:26.720 up. It needs oxygen and it needs the oxygen of speaking. Why do you think these armies doesn't 00:46:26.720 --> 00:46:31.040 matter whether it's Braveheart or doesn't matter whether it's Gideon? Why do they go, 00:46:31.200 --> 00:46:39.840 ah, and then start charging? Why does Gideon say to them as you come, everyone, all the kids went 00:46:39.840 --> 00:46:47.600 silent. As you come down these hills, Gideon says to them, shout out, break those pitchers and shout 00:46:47.600 --> 00:46:53.360 in the name of God and for the sword of Gideon and they come charging down. War cries were meant 00:46:53.920 --> 00:46:57.040 to bring out of you the boldness that was in you. 00:47:01.680 --> 00:47:06.800 Boldness loses momentum and proclamation is subdued. The thing is guys, we think speaking 00:47:06.800 --> 00:47:16.720 is futile because we are speaking things into situations and there's no visible shift and you 00:47:16.720 --> 00:47:20.880 think to yourself, man, this is so futile. I've done it at least 18 times and nothing has happened. 00:47:21.920 --> 00:47:27.920 And yet in Mark 11 verse 20 and 21, can you imagine what Peter is thinking? He must have 00:47:27.920 --> 00:47:33.680 thought the same thing. Poor Jesus spoke to that fig tree, seems to have been a little upset 00:47:33.680 --> 00:47:38.160 because he was hungry, went looking for figs, didn't find figs. This is one place where he 00:47:38.160 --> 00:47:41.760 erred a little and really got mad at the fig tree and cursed it and said, you shall never 00:47:41.760 --> 00:47:46.640 bear fruit again. And nothing's happening to the tree. And they come back a day later and in 00:47:46.640 --> 00:47:54.880 verse 21 he says, Jesus, look at the tree that you just cursed. I'm telling you, man, with patience 00:47:55.280 --> 00:48:03.600 with patience and with every promise is inherited through patience and 00:48:08.880 --> 00:48:11.280 Hebrews 10 36 00:48:16.720 --> 00:48:21.440 faith and patience. Every promise is inherited through faith and patience, 00:48:21.440 --> 00:48:28.960 immediacy, eventuality, both have to collide. Both have to collide. You can't have one or the other. 00:48:32.720 --> 00:48:37.840 Once it starts happening, there's this momentum. It's like a juggernaut. It's like this snowball 00:48:37.840 --> 00:48:43.920 that starts on the top of the hill. Once it starts happening, it needs initial momentum. Once the, 00:48:43.920 --> 00:48:49.520 it starts, my God, man, you'll see it happening all over the place. Speak, speak, speak. 00:48:50.000 --> 00:48:57.840 Boldness is triggered by a greater cause. I love this. Boldness, in the kingdom, boldness is triggered 00:48:57.840 --> 00:49:05.120 by a greater cause. You have to have something bigger, much, much bigger. In the King James, 00:49:06.160 --> 00:49:15.520 you have David going up and down in first Samuel 27 16 to sorry, first Samuel 17 26 to 29, 00:49:15.520 --> 00:49:20.320 26 to 29, first Samuel 17, first Samuel 17, 00:49:22.640 --> 00:49:24.880 26 to 29. I love this boy. 00:49:31.280 --> 00:49:38.240 Let me read from the King James or the NKJV. And David speak to the men that stood by him saying, 00:49:38.240 --> 00:49:41.840 what shall be done to the man that kills this Philistine and takes away their approach from 00:49:41.840 --> 00:49:46.240 Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? 00:49:46.240 --> 00:49:49.840 And the people answered him after this manner saying, so shall it be done to the man that kills 00:49:49.840 --> 00:49:55.280 him. And Eliab, his eldest brother, heard when he spoke unto the men and Eliab's anger was kindled 00:49:55.280 --> 00:50:01.600 against David. And he said, why did you come down here? With whom have you left those few sheep in 00:50:01.600 --> 00:50:06.400 the wilderness? I know your pride. I know the naughtiness of your heart. For you are here. 00:50:07.200 --> 00:50:13.920 You have come down here just to see the battle. And David said, what have I now done? Is there not 00:50:13.920 --> 00:50:21.760 a cause? That's how the NKJV and the KJV puts it. Is there not a cause? Boldness is triggered 00:50:21.760 --> 00:50:27.600 by you having a cause that is greater. You know what my cause is guys? And my cause is not unique. 00:50:28.320 --> 00:50:33.520 It is a cause that every believer should have. And that's why I'm saying it. My cause is just 00:50:33.520 --> 00:50:38.320 very simple. Christ and the body of Christ. There is no greater cause. 00:50:42.000 --> 00:50:51.520 Christ and the body of Christ. As in attaining, Jacob should press towards attaining the stature 00:50:51.520 --> 00:50:58.720 of Christ. And Jacob should press towards having the rest of us attain the stature of Christ. That 00:50:58.720 --> 00:51:04.160 is the end game. It is a far greater cause than anything else. It's a greater cause than Acts 29. 00:51:04.160 --> 00:51:08.240 It's a greater cause than healings and miracles. It's a greater cause than becoming a big church. 00:51:08.240 --> 00:51:14.560 It is a greater cause than all those things put together. Guess whose magnificent obsession that 00:51:14.560 --> 00:51:20.640 is? It is the obsession of Christ himself. If there is one obsession that God has, if there is one 00:51:20.720 --> 00:51:24.960 thing that dwells at the centrality of everything he is, it is the church. 00:51:28.960 --> 00:51:33.440 He thought of the church before there was marriage because he knew there would be a bridegroom 00:51:33.440 --> 00:51:42.240 and a bride. He thought of the church before there was earth because he said he already 00:51:42.240 --> 00:51:49.840 installed his king in Zion before Zion existed. 00:52:02.880 --> 00:52:08.880 You should ask God on the quiet day, father, can you give me a desire to build with you? 00:52:08.880 --> 00:52:12.640 Because it's the only thing you're building. You're not building mansions. What is Christ still 00:52:12.640 --> 00:52:22.000 building? Only one thing guys, the church. Please understand this. Christ isn't building mansions. 00:52:27.760 --> 00:52:31.040 Christ is building the church. I will build my church and the gates of hell 00:52:31.760 --> 00:52:37.120 shall not prevail against it. You call him Lord and Master. Join him in the only work that he is 00:52:37.120 --> 00:52:49.680 doing. God is inviting us to greater causes and the Spirit will give you boldness for lions, 00:52:49.680 --> 00:52:57.520 for bears and then for Goliaths. So I want us to just ask the Holy Spirit to begin to give us that 00:52:57.520 --> 00:53:03.520 boldness today. In this age of resistance to the truth when evil is called good, you know what the 00:53:03.520 --> 00:53:12.720 Holy Spirit wants? This really touched me, bothered me, made me feel bad. The Holy Spirit 00:53:12.720 --> 00:53:24.320 wants a people who will move from 1 Kings 18, who will move from 1 Kings 18, 21 to Revelations 12, 11. 00:53:24.560 --> 00:53:32.160 The Holy Spirit wants in this present time when truth is so resisted, the Holy Spirit wants a 00:53:32.160 --> 00:53:42.480 people who will move from 1 Kings 18, 21. I felt bad when he said this because it was almost like 00:53:42.480 --> 00:53:48.720 our shucks must really suck for you Holy Spirit when we behave this way. 1 Kings 18, 21. 00:53:48.880 --> 00:53:55.520 Here's what it says. Elijah went before the people and said, how long will you waver between two 00:53:55.520 --> 00:54:03.440 opinions? You need a Bible anybody? All of you have Bibles. Okay, 1 Kings 18, 21. Elijah went before 00:54:03.440 --> 00:54:10.640 the people and said, how long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow 00:54:10.640 --> 00:54:14.960 him. This is the part that really bothers us or bothers me but the people said nothing. 00:54:14.960 --> 00:54:20.880 But the people said nothing. I'm not talking about silence right now. I'm just talking about 00:54:20.880 --> 00:54:26.640 indifference. I'm talking about not particularly this way or that way. Just waiting to see how 00:54:26.640 --> 00:54:31.440 things will pan out. Will the lines fall in pleasant places? Let's see how things will pan out. 00:54:31.440 --> 00:54:36.240 Will the lines fall in pleasant places? Let's see how things will pan out. Will the lines fall in 00:54:36.400 --> 00:54:43.920 pleasant places? Let's just hedge our bets till we see which way this is going to go. 00:54:43.920 --> 00:54:47.920 And the Holy Spirit is saying, hey boldness is different. I want you to just throw yourself, 00:54:47.920 --> 00:54:55.920 abandon yourself and then go to Revelation 12, 11. Revelation 12, 11. And everything in that passage 00:54:55.920 --> 00:55:01.040 is about boldness man and this is what he's looking for and I pray God that he finds it with us. 00:55:01.040 --> 00:55:06.560 Revelation 12, 11. They overcame or they triumphed over the enemy or the devil by the blood of the 00:55:06.560 --> 00:55:12.480 lamb and by the word of their testimony and they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from 00:55:12.480 --> 00:55:18.960 death. What a statement to make on a church. If they buried all of us or if we all got raptured 00:55:18.960 --> 00:55:24.800 and they had to put up a plaque saying here lies Acts 29, may they put this on it. Here lies Acts 00:55:24.800 --> 00:55:30.560 29. They overcame by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony, by the word they spoke 00:55:30.560 --> 00:55:37.040 about him and they did not love their lives even unto death. This is where the Holy Spirit wants to 00:55:37.040 --> 00:55:46.080 move us to and once we begin this journey it'll gather momentum. But once we begin this journey 00:55:46.080 --> 00:55:53.360 guys, permission will be given to affect the earth. We will be given permission to move the earth. 00:55:53.360 --> 00:56:01.040 We will be given permission to affect the earth. Please understand why permission is important. 00:56:01.040 --> 00:56:06.240 It is not so that we are now a very powerful church that decrease things that should happen. 00:56:06.240 --> 00:56:14.640 No, we get to participate with God. You remember that story of the little boy going with his dad 00:56:14.640 --> 00:56:21.920 to paint a fence, right? What? How many haven't heard that? 00:56:24.720 --> 00:56:32.480 Okay, if my mom gets delayed it's your fault. Little boy, 00:56:34.640 --> 00:56:41.280 prodi day, has time to go off to work with his dad. His dad is a painter, paints fences. 00:56:42.160 --> 00:56:48.320 Dad says, son you want to come with me? Son says yes. So they both go. Dad decides he'll get his 00:56:48.880 --> 00:56:56.240 boy a small tin can of paint with a small brush. Mom packs a tiffin with sandwiches 00:56:57.440 --> 00:57:01.920 and they both go off in the morning. The little boy is dressed in his overalls and carrying this 00:57:01.920 --> 00:57:07.360 little tin can of paint. They go and they start painting the fence. The dad's doing his job like 00:57:07.360 --> 00:57:12.160 he does masterfully every now and then. The son will look at his handiwork. It's the dad who's 00:57:12.160 --> 00:57:17.440 doing all the painting but the son without knowing leans on the fence and looks at his handiwork and 00:57:17.440 --> 00:57:22.800 rubs sweat off his brow because he can't imagine that he's doing this amazing work. Little knowing 00:57:22.800 --> 00:57:27.360 that it's the dad who's doing it. Little knowing that he's just put his hand on wet paint and now 00:57:27.360 --> 00:57:33.920 there's a mark on that fence. The dad doesn't paint over the handprint because this boy is 00:57:33.920 --> 00:57:40.000 not his employee. This boy is his son. He lets the handprint stay. He lets the handprint stay 00:57:41.440 --> 00:57:46.160 and then they sit down and they have lunch together and the boy feels like ah shucks this is one of 00:57:46.160 --> 00:57:52.640 those days when he's really earned his lunch and they eat and they talk like men and then finally 00:57:52.640 --> 00:57:57.920 the evening comes and the entire fence is done and the boy feels like it is the greatest accomplishment 00:57:57.920 --> 00:58:03.680 of his life and they're both walking home. As the house nears the boy begins to run. Runs? Why? 00:58:03.680 --> 00:58:07.840 Because he wants to tell his mom and he tells his mom, mom mom you won't believe what we did. 00:58:07.840 --> 00:58:13.520 I painted an entire fence. We had those sandwiches. Oh my god what a difficulty. It's almost like when 00:58:13.520 --> 00:58:16.880 Derek does stuff after everyone else works and so it's this 00:58:21.200 --> 00:58:27.520 it's this oh my god mom you won't believe it and the dad watches the boy go tell the mom 00:58:28.240 --> 00:58:33.840 how hard he's worked and now we finished a white fence and the dad doesn't stop to say but son 00:58:33.840 --> 00:58:39.600 it's not you who did the work it's me who did the work. Why? Because his father enjoys the son 00:58:39.600 --> 00:58:46.480 taking glory for his work. We've been taught this lie that God doesn't want to share his glory with 00:58:46.480 --> 00:58:51.360 anyone else. He doesn't share his glory with idols but he loves sharing his glory with his kids. He 00:58:51.360 --> 00:58:57.440 has absolutely no problem and Jacob takes the glory. He he lives for Jacob taking his glory 00:58:58.080 --> 00:59:03.600 which that doesn't and Jacob knows how to take the glory and then throw it back right at him. 00:59:06.720 --> 00:59:12.960 This is how it's supposed to be guys. I always think to myself every time I do a good job 00:59:12.960 --> 00:59:19.360 and I say wow Jacob that is amazing preaching. I glory in it for a moment or two and then I 00:59:19.360 --> 00:59:24.480 remember the story and I think to myself wow he's got no problems with it but he did all the work. 00:59:27.040 --> 00:59:30.960 Let's move to revelations 12-11. Let's commit to that as a church. 00:59:31.840 --> 00:59:36.240 One of the marks of the Holy Spirit in the early church was the spirit of boldness. Acts chapter 00:59:36.240 --> 00:59:43.360 1-8 and the Holy Spirit shall come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me from Jerusalem to 00:59:43.360 --> 00:59:46.960 Judea to the ends of the earth. Acts chapter 4 verse 29 to 31. 00:59:48.560 --> 00:59:53.280 And when they saw the threats that had been issued to them they got together and they prayed and they 00:59:53.280 --> 00:59:58.320 cried out saying Jesus would you please stretch out your hands to do mighty signs and miracles. 00:59:59.760 --> 01:00:04.720 How would you give us boldness? Acts chapter 4 verse 29 to 31. Now Lord consider their threats 01:00:04.720 --> 01:00:09.280 and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness and what happened? Verse 31. After 01:00:09.280 --> 01:00:13.040 they prayed the place where they were meeting was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy 01:00:13.040 --> 01:00:19.360 Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. Acts chapter 9-29. Acts chapter 9-29. 01:00:22.240 --> 01:00:27.600 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 01:00:27.600 --> 01:00:32.880 He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews but they tried to kill him. So it doesn't matter what 01:00:32.880 --> 01:00:40.480 the threat was. Acts chapter 13 verse 46. Acts chapter 13 verse 46. Then Paul and Barnabas 01:00:40.480 --> 01:00:45.120 answered them boldly. We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you rejected 01:00:45.920 --> 01:00:53.120 we now turn to the Gentiles. This was in hostile situations. Acts 18-26. Acts 18-26. 01:00:54.400 --> 01:00:58.800 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him they invited him 01:00:58.800 --> 01:01:06.560 home and explained more to them the way of God. Acts chapter 19-8. Acts chapter 19 verse 8. Paul 01:01:06.560 --> 01:01:11.600 entered the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months arguing persuasively about the kingdom of 01:01:11.600 --> 01:01:20.080 God. Acts chapter 28-31. It ends there where it says in Acts chapter 38-21 boldly and without 01:01:20.080 --> 01:01:25.920 hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ. In Ephesians 6-20, 01:01:26.880 --> 01:01:32.880 Paul actually says to the Ephesians, guys could you pray for me? I'm in chains but could you pray for 01:01:32.880 --> 01:01:38.480 me so that I might be bold in my witness? He says pray also for me that whenever I open my mouth 01:01:38.480 --> 01:01:44.960 words may be given to me just like with Karen so that I'll fearlessly or boldly make the mystery 01:01:44.960 --> 01:01:51.680 of the gospel for which I'm an ambassador in chains. Matthew 10-20. I love what Jesus said 01:01:51.680 --> 01:01:56.640 in Matthew 10-20. He says hey guys don't worry about when you're brought before governors and 01:01:56.640 --> 01:02:01.200 kings. On my account you'll be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to 01:02:01.200 --> 01:02:05.840 the Gentiles but when they arrest you do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time 01:02:05.840 --> 01:02:10.880 you will be given what to say for it will not be you but the spirit that your father sent speaking 01:02:10.880 --> 01:02:18.240 through you. Every time they prayed for boldness the Holy Spirit showed up. May I say to you that 01:02:18.240 --> 01:02:24.800 he will show up today? I was asking God, father could you give me this rara conclusion where I 01:02:24.800 --> 01:02:30.800 can really and get people going and then I heard the Holy Spirit during worship saying I'm already 01:02:30.800 --> 01:02:37.760 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 01:02:37.760 --> 01:02:43.280 route but it's like at home and I was planning this it was going to reach a crescendo but it's 01:02:43.280 --> 01:02:49.120 going to end on a whimper and then the Holy Spirit will take over. Second Corinthians 3-17. 01:02:49.680 --> 01:02:53.680 It says where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty. I know I'm taking the words out of 01:02:53.680 --> 01:03:01.840 context but Jesus did it too. So second Corinthians 3-17. Where the Lord is now the Lord is spirit 01:03:01.840 --> 01:03:07.760 and where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty. There is liberty. So can we just ask the 01:03:07.760 --> 01:03:15.200 Lord to just give us boldness. So here's what we'll do first. First repent. Repent of not seeing 01:03:15.200 --> 01:03:26.640 boldness as something that was important. Repent of our sluggishness. Repent of our 01:03:28.880 --> 01:03:31.520 repent of our half-hearted half-baked pursuit. 01:03:34.240 --> 01:03:40.240 We'll start there and then we'll go to calling out to him saying please oh God 01:03:41.120 --> 01:03:44.560 need this and then we'll receive the spirit. Yeah. 01:03:53.760 --> 01:03:58.480 Sheldon can you just play the song that you guys would have sung awesome in this place. Just play 01:03:58.480 --> 01:04:02.560 it in the background. Guys try not to sing the song. I just want to play it in the background 01:04:02.560 --> 01:04:06.640 but don't go down that song route because if you go down that song route you'll miss out on this 01:04:06.640 --> 01:04:10.480 because we Christians are so finely tuned to songs that as soon as something starts playing 01:04:11.200 --> 01:04:18.720 we start singing. It's like Pavlov's Reflect sometimes. So just play the song and then 01:04:20.240 --> 01:04:22.480 just repent first. What are you repenting about?