Key to Boldness

We all want to be accepted. There’s nothing wrong with that, but you can’t let the opinions of others distract you from what God has called you to be.

You don’t have to worry about what everyone else thinks about you. As long as you’re being true to what God has put in your heart. Stay focused on God.

Whatever path you take in life not everyone is going to cheer you on. Not everybody is going to be happy for you. Somebody will start finding a fault. In our everyday life we will see somebody who would love to bring somebody down-and that could be a friend or some one who is close. Don’t focus on pleasing people because, you’ll start changing and lose sight of what God has placed in your heart.

Don’t get distracted by people who are never going to affirm you. Don’t take it personally. It’s not about you. It’s their problem. We can’t always be liked by everyone.

So many people live life worried about what everyone else thinks and wondering how they can impress other people. But we have to realize that when we come to the end of life, we are going to stand before the Almighty God. God is going to ask, Did you become who I created you to be?

Don’t forfeit your destiny in order to please people. Pleasing God is all that matters when all is said and done!

Be true to who God created you to be. Don’t wear a mask. Don’t join a bunch of people who backtalk against each other. Because what becomes a habit-could then end up hurting you. Avoid gossip, it’s not good for the soul. Back biting did no good for any one.

Don’t be afraid to disappoint somebody. It’s your life-which is a gift of God. And God created you as His masterpiece, not somebody’s donkey. Don’t be who someone wants you to be, become all that and more of God’s expectations for you.

In life, there will always be people who try to pressure you into being who they want you to be. They may be good people. If you’re going to be all that God created you to be, you can’t focus on what everybody else thinks. If you change with every criticism, trying to win the favour of others, then you’ll go through life being manipulated. You have to realize that you can’t keep every person happy. You can’t make everyone like you. You’ll never win over all of your critics.

Ask the Lord if your ways are pleasing to Him. If people don’t understand you, that’s okay. If you lose some friends because you wouldn’t let them control you, they weren’t true friends anyway. You don’t need other people’s approval; you only need Almighty God’s approval.

Keep your heart and mind submitted to Him and be free from people pleasing!

Shake it off, be great anyway.

Greatness in the midst of criticism begins with forgiveness. Don’t hold a grudge. Bless those who curse you; pray for those who spitefully use you.

As you keep doing what is right, God will honor you.

REMEMBER: Honour and Shame from no conditions rise, act well your part there all your honour lies!

The more someone is with Jesus, the more that person becomes like Christ, in purity, holiness and love.

“The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion”. Proverbs 28:1

Holy boldness comes from a pure heart wanting to please God.

Proverbs 28:1 explains that the wicked person runs away though no one is chasing him, but the righteous are bold as a lion.

HOLY BOLDNESS IS:

• A gift from God to those who are in a right relationship with Him.
• Obeying God.
• Fearlessly presenting the truth.
• Lead by the Holy Spirit to go where and when God desires
• Anointed and appointed by God.
• Using God-given talents and privileges as tools to use for the sake of the gospel message and the common good.

  

When the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that she had found favour with God and was to conceive the son of the Most High, Mary responded “let it be to me as you say.” She embraced her destiny in faith, believing that God would do as He said and accepting God’s divine Will. In sum, because she had surrendered her life to God, she was humbly able to accept her role. It was a role that Simeon later prophesied would cause her heart to be pierced as with a sword.

The Magnificat: Luke 1:46-55 also reveals that Mary was humble. To both the angel and to Elizabeth she refers to herself as a “handmaid.” It would be best translated today as “servant” or “slave.” Mary was obedient and accepted her role. The only miracle she ever asked of Jesus was that He save a wedding from the embarrassment of not having wine for their guests.

We are all called in some way to serve God in this world, and to do so with no expectation.

But all of us die a bit internally when we know we should take a stand, but do not. When we simply must speak out, but refuse.

Whenever we take a stand we must not forget to love. We must always look back at our boldness. “Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, ‘You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven…” Mark 10:21. Before challenging this man to give up everything, Jesus looks at him, and loves him.

A charge to keep I have, A God to glorify, 
A never dying soul to save and fit it for the sky.
To serve the present age, My calling to fulfill; 
O may it all my powers engage, To do my Master’s will;
Arm me with jealous care, As in thy sight to live; 
And, oh, thy servant, Lord prepare a strict account to give;
Help me to watch and pray, And on thyself rely, 
And let me ne’er my trust betray, But press to realms on high.

Through Calvary—we know of —Gods love for us.

We must desire to serve Him by taking up the cross and be crucified with Christ. Success in serving God demands a willingness to endure rejection, humiliation and death to self. A crucified person can afford to be bold.

Boldness springs from having nothing to lose by stating what is right.

We don't want others to think us strange yet those who belong to God have always been burdened with the responsibility of being peculiar.

Holy boldness, on the other hand, entails more than bravery to act and speak. When David faced Goliath, he was more impressed that God was his advocate than Goliath was his opponent. David's boldness was confidence in God and reliance on God's strength and wisdom. Holy boldness is attended by wisdom.

The Bold do not fear the disapproval of others. They only fear the Lord and want His approval. They behave rightly because their souls are in tune with God.

The wicked behave in a cowardly manner to preserve as much of this life as they can, because in their consciences they know that they deserve adversity. The righteous move ahead in confidence because of a clear conscience.

The time has come when all Christians must choose to act on what we know to be right. We must boldly use God's message. For God, we must become lions.

"Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you." Thessalonians 1:2

1. Paul was full of the joy of the Lord. No earth-born trial could quench it, for it was Heaven-born; it was' the joy of the Lord' poured into his heart with the Holy Spirit.

2. Paul was a Bold Preacher. Boldness is a fruit of righteousness, and is always found in those who are filled with the Holy Spirit. Boldness thrives when selfishness is destroyed.

God commands His people to be courageous, and makes spiritual leaders only of those who possess courage. Joshua 1:9

The prophets were men of the highest courage, who fearlessly rebuked kings at the risk of life. And called the people back to righteousness and the faithful service of God. These men feared God, thus losing the fear of man. They believed God and so obeyed Him.

3. Paul spoke right out of his heart. Since God had honoured him with this infinite trust of preaching the gospel, he sought to preach it that he should please God regardless of men. Paul was to deliver his message (the Gospel). This was his great-commission(instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to His disciples that they spread His teachings to all the nations of the world) from God, and it is God who will try his heart and prove his ministry.

4. Paul was free from all vanity, and so is every man who is filled with the Holy Spirit. 

5. With all his boldness and faithfulness Paul was Gentle. And as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are gentle, so will be the servant of the Lord who is filled with the Spirit.

6. Paul preached not himself, but a crucified Christ, without the shedding of whose Blood there is no remission of sins; and through that precious Blood he preached present cleansing from all sin and the gift of the Holy Spirit for all who obediently believe.

And this love kept him faithful and humble and true to the end, so that at last he cried out:. . I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.

When you stand on God’s WORD, you are standing on an unshakable foundation...you are on holy ground and nothing, no man and no devil can touch you! When you know GOD and fear HIM, you cannot and will not submit to anything or anyone else. But, to get this boldness, you have to live in the WORD of GOD. When you know what the WORD says, you know how to answer the enemy when he tests you, just as he did our LORD. And when you know how to answer him, you know how to resist his attempts and renounce his ways, so that you can walk freely and boldly. You resist the devil with the sword of the SPIRIT, which is the WORD of GOD. You resist him by not doing what he wants you to do, and by moving forward when he tries to still you with fear. You resist him by believing what GOD says and not what he says. “So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” Hebrews 13:6

Being bold means being wise enough to know when to be quiet. And confident enough to answer when your faith is questioned. GOD is looking for such a man that would dare to speak what GOD speaks to him, rather than bowing down to fear.

One of the characteristics of a righteous man is holy boldness. Holy boldness is not relenting, standing steadfast, unmoving and headstrong for CHRIST. We can't say that GOD is LORD over something and give man supremacy in others. The day that the fear of a man, overrides your fear of the LORD, you have esteemed that man higher than GOD. Because when you fear something, you are submitting to it.

Many today will not dare lift a word of truth against the evil practices of another, simply because they fear retaliation.

"The wicked flee when no man pursueth..." When you know you have done wrong, you think everybody else knows it too. God had said that if His people strayed from His Word, they would have this condition of fear in their midst.

The boldness of a lion is here compared with a believer. Having confessed Jesus as the Son of God and believed in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, we were saved and we received the righteousness of God.

Let us consider the confidence a lion has. He is the king of the beasts. A lion is not afraid of any animal. If he is hungry, he'll go after almost anything.

Think of some of the men in the Word of God, such as Daniel, Moses, Elijah, Paul, Jesus; do we have courage like they manifested? They knew they were righteous, and so they were bold and fearless as lions. God has not given us the spirit of fear, but He has given us the spirit of love, and of power, and of a sound mind. Therefore we can be fearless and daring just like the lion. We as believers need to have some courage and daring upon the Word of God.

"We were bold in our God." That is where our boldness must be. We must be bold to the end of speaking about the good news. Paul was bold in one thing: "...in our God." You cannot find a better basis than that.

Our boldness is also to be manifested towards God.

"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" Hebrews 4:16. "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way..." Hebrews 10:19-20.We must make the effort to come boldly before our Father. "And this is the confidence [boldness] that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us" I John 5:14. And the particular area of boldness towards Him stated here is that if we ask anything of Him according to His will, He hears us. Then we know that we have the petition that we desired of Him. Yes, the righteous are bold as a lion.

Remember, you have boldness already. Now rise up and manifest it for the glory of God.

CONCLUSION: Holy boldness, combined with love while being rooted in Christ, will change the world. Together, let us seek this boldness, with humility to admit when we have crossed the line or failed to love and readiness to always get back up again, and let us be bold for the Kingdom.

REMEMBER: God resists the proud, but grace is given unto the humble. To be great in God’s Kingdom, you must First Be a SERVANT.

PRAYER:  Abba Father, Teach me to do your will always. Keep me always obedient and faithful I pray. Never let go.