WEBVTT

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Welcome to NECF Sermons. Each message here is

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designed to uplift and strengthen you in your

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walk with God. Don't miss out. Stay with us until

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the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive

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right in. Good evening everyone. So welcome to

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our midweek service. We're going to continue.

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We're going to continue with the teaching. On

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Sunday, I think we were about closing and then

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we looked at Joshua. And I want us to see, let's

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just start, let's just pick it up from there.

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And I want us to be reminded that there are times

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when the word comes and because we are still

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trying to grasp or understand because we can

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only act on the word. when we trust and we're

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persuaded that this is what the Lord is instructing

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us to do. And this is where we're convinced.

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And we know that this is what the Lord is instructing

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us to do. And it's one thing for us to have something.

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And it's another thing for us to exercise that

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which we have. And God is helping us. And we're

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seeing an example in Joshua's case. And we said,

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Joshua 9, we're looking at Joshua 1, 9. Joshua

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1, 9, it says, have I not commanded you? Have

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I not commanded you? be strong and of good courage.

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I have highly commanded you. And I want you to

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see that in Deuteronomy 3, in Deuteronomy 31

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verse 6, Deuteronomy 31 verse 6, we see Moses

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passing the baton to the young man Joshua. He

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says, be strong and of good courage. Do not fear,

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nor be afraid of them. For the Lord your God,

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he is the one who goes with you. He will not

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leave you nor forsake you. I want you to just

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continue to see how there's a reason why he says

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he's the one who goes with you. He's the one

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who goes with you. He will not leave you nor

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forsake you. And you will see all through scripture

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that that is the encouragement that comes to

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us when we are instructed not to fear. We're

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instructed to be strong. We're instructed to

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be of courage. And even in 23, when in 23, we'll

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see in 23, that's 31, 23. 31 verse 23. I would

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like to read it from the NLT. It says, Then the

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Lord commissioned Joshua, son of Nun, with these

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words, be strong and courageous. for you must

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bring the people of Israel into the land I swore

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to give them. I will be with you. He says, you

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must bring the children, the people of Israel,

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you must bring the people of Israel into the

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land I have sworn to give you. And there is a

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reason why he must be strong and courageous.

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Remember, I told us that it's not something because

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there's oppositions that we're going to face.

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That is why courage is necessary. Courage is

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not an add -on. Courage is not optional. Courage

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is necessary for the work. There are people that

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need to be saved and you cannot take on that

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task without ensuring that being courageous and

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being confident and placing your trust in God

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to get the work done. That is a necessity for

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us to be able to get the work done. And he says,

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the people of Israel, he says, the people of

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Israel, the land is already theirs. The action

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that is needed is Joshua has to take on that

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tax and responsibility. He has to be conscious

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of the fact that God, as he ends this verse,

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I will be, he says, I will, he says, I will be

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with you. I will be with you. I will be with

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you. And that is the, upon this, he's able to

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move. And we go back to the Joshua one. I want

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us to see the nine and then see 10. And in that

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Joshua 1, I told us that we see it in six, we

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see it in seven. Let's just read, let's start

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from six, seven, and then we go to six, seven,

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and then nine and 10. Six, it says, be strong

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and of good courage. For to these people, for

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this, to these people, you should, yeah, okay.

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For to these people. You shall divide as an inheritance

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the land which I swore to their fathers to give

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them. 7. Only be strong and very courageous,

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that you may observe to do according to all the

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law which Moses my servant commanded you. Do

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not turn from it to the right hand or to the

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left, that you may prosper wherever you go. Just

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jump to 9 and then let's do 9 and 10. And then

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we said, have I not commanded you? Be strong

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and be of good courage. Do not be afraid, nor

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be dismayed. For the Lord your God is with you

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wherever you go. Then 10, now we see him acting.

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It says, then Joshua commanded the officers of

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the people saying, 11. That's just the 11. It

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says, pass through the camp, command the people

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saying, prepare provisions for ourselves. For

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within three days you will cross over this Jordan

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to go in to possess the land which the Lord your

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God has given you to possess. Praise God. We

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see him not just hearing the word had come again

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and again. And the result is that he acts on

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the word. The result of the word, the action

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that we see from Joshua is that he takes on that

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stance of let's do this. And then they go and

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act on the word. God's word has to have a result

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in our lives. This has to be a tangible effect.

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It doesn't keep us in one place. It gets us to

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that place of action. And bravery is a result

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of reliance on God's strength because we see

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that the reliance on God's strength is what causes

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Joshua to say, we can do this because the word

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has come again and again. And note that God demands

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men to rise up. God demands men to rise up. God

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demands you to rise up. God demands me to rise

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up. He will keep bringing his word to us. Keep

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bringing his word to us. Keep bringing his word

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to us. And one very key thing we'll see again

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and again as we progress is that God's word comes

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to us to encourage us. God's word comes to us

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to encourage us. God's word comes to us to dispel

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doubt. God's word comes to us to dispel fear.

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God's word comes to us for us to rely on him

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to get the work done. Joshua is already doing

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something that has been instructed because it

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is already done. And if you remember, there were

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times like in Numbers, back in Numbers, where

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they were instructed, the spies, 12 of them were

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instructed to go. Notice that 10 of them came

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with their own report. Joshua and Caleb came

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with a positive report. And it is... You know,

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when one, two, three persons have said something,

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you know, you might just fall in line because

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that's like, who am I? What do I know? If all

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these people, 10 of them, have already said,

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you just respect yourself and say, yeah, these

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people, we cannot take it. But we see that there

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was something, we see if God has said it, we

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are going for it. Praise God. They are not taking

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on what those people are saying, how they see

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themselves. And that is what we should always

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look to. We should always count on. We should

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count on. I said the word strong there means

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you're firm. The word strong there means you're

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firm. And the word courage, the Hebrew word there

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means that you do not yield. You do not yield.

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Meaning that no matter what happens, you don't

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yield to anything other than the word of God.

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The word of God is what we yield to. The word

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of God is what we stand by. regardless of what

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happens. And the command will keep coming. The

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instruction will keep coming. And our response

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is that we yield to the word. We yield to the

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instruction. Why are we yielding? Because he

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has promised, right? Because he says he's there.

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He says he's going to be there with us. And we

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know that for us now, we know that he is there.

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We are not in doubt of God's power, God's presence

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in and through our life. And we say that courage

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is not detached from God. God's presence with

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us is what encourages us. God being with us is

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what encourages us. That's what we see every

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time he says, I am with you. I am with you. I

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am with you. I am with you. That is what stares

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away. It's not about your willpower. It's not

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about you saying, oh, I can do this. It's not

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motivational talk. It's not motivational talk.

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It's not about willpower. It's that God has said

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it. His presence is with us. And that is why

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everywhere we go, we know that he is with us.

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And it is his will that is at the forefront.

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His will is not at the back. is at the forefront

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of our minds. Meaning that we are in that particular

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place and we know that I am an ambassador. I

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am an ambassador. I am God's instrument in this

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place. I am the one that God is going to use

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to minister to that person. I'm the one that

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God is going to use to minister to him, to minister

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to her. I'm the one that God is going to use

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in my family to minister to my father, to minister

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to my mother. I'm the one that God is going to

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use. I'm not waiting for someone else to do it.

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Praise God. I'm not waiting for someone else.

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Because Joshua can say, Maybe Caleb will do it.

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Right? We have instances, and many men will just

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resign and say, okay, somebody else will do it.

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If I don't do it, God will raise up somebody.

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But that is not the stance of someone who knows

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that God has placed us in ecstasies for such

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a time as this. Praise God. In the book of Esther,

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I say for such a time as this, because... Monica

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had to tell her that, look, deliverance will

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come from somewhere else if you don't rise up.

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But she knows that it was not an accident that

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she found herself in the palace. So we should

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not undermine the fact that God has placed us

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strategically in the different places where we

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find ourselves. We should just be courageous.

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I told us on Sunday that fear is always the cause

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for people turning down or going back on the

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word. Fear is the threat. to everything, every

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instruction of the Lord. And that's why you see

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that many times it comes, the word comes, the

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word encourages us not to be afraid. The word

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encourages us not to be afraid. Praise God. When

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the word of the Lord comes, it ensures that fear

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is out of the window. Fear is out of the window.

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And what happens is that our courage grows from

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our confidence in God's word. Our courage grows

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from our confidence in God's word. Anytime that

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you are feeling like. or you are entertaining

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all manner of fears, just know that what is happening

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there is your word, your prayer, something is

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happening around that department that will result

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in that. Anytime you check yourself and you are

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seeing that, oh, I'm very fearful, I'm scared,

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I'm too scared, I'm always scared, I'm panicking,

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I'm all of that, just ask yourself this question,

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what are you feeding yourself on? What are you

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entertaining? Because there is no way you'll

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be entertaining the word of God and the entertaining

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fear at the same time. Because God's word comes

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to dispel fear. The two cannot be compatible.

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And even when you say, okay, sir, I am reading

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the word, I'm reading the word, I'm reading the

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word. What are you trusting on? Is it the word

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or the circumstances around you? Praise God.

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Because it's easy for us to look around us and

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say, Joshua should look at the people and say,

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Kai, these people, they will finish us. Praise

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God. It's easy for him to say that. But he chooses

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not to because he is trusting, he's relying on

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the word of the Lord. I said, we looked at Psalms

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a bit, Psalm 27. That Psalm is the Psalm of David.

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And David says, the Lord is my light and my salvation.

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You know, for you to come to a point where you

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say, the Lord is my light and my salvation, you

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know him to be your light and salvation. Praise

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God. And David is a man that, when you read through,

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Kings, Chronicles, you see that he took every

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action. He goes to seek God's guidance for every

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step and every action he does. That is almost

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like his go -to. His default setting is, what

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is the Lord saying? What does the Lord want us

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to do? What does the Lord want me to do? What

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is our stance? He says, the Lord is my light

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and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? That's the

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question. Whom shall I fear? If the Lord is my

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light and salvation, what then am I? Why should

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I be scared? He says, the Lord is the strength

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of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? Praise

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God. He says, the Lord is the strength of my

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life. Of whom shall I be afraid? You will say,

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oh, if the Lord is the strength of your life,

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then you will not be weak, right? But it means

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that there is the strength that dispels fear.

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There is the strength in the Lord. Note that

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there is the strength in the Lord that dispels

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fear. Because you can be strong physically. but

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weak in the face of fear. Praise God. You can

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be strong physically and still weak in the face

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of fear. And as I said on Sunday again, in the

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end of that chapter, he says, wait on the Lord.

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He says, wait on the Lord, be of good courage,

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and he shall strengthen your heart. Wait on the

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Lord. Wait, I say, on the Lord. He says, and

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he shall strengthen your heart. He said, wait

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on the Lord. And I encouraged us and I told us,

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I said, waiting on the Lord doesn't mean doing

00:14:17.879 --> 00:14:20.820
nothing. Waiting on the Lord doesn't mean doing

00:14:20.820 --> 00:14:23.740
nothing. Waiting on the Lord means that there

00:14:23.740 --> 00:14:26.179
is a posture in this. Waiting on the Lord will

00:14:26.179 --> 00:14:30.059
include you putting your trust in him. And putting

00:14:30.059 --> 00:14:32.460
your trust in him will mean that you are praying.

00:14:32.940 --> 00:14:34.779
Putting your trust in him will mean that you're

00:14:34.779 --> 00:14:36.399
reflecting on this word. Putting your trust in

00:14:36.399 --> 00:14:40.220
him will mean that you are posting yourself for...

00:14:40.720 --> 00:14:43.580
to obey every instruction that he gives. Because

00:14:43.580 --> 00:14:47.220
in your waiting, it's not a period of idleness.

00:14:47.360 --> 00:14:49.519
It's not the season of, okay, it's not the season

00:14:49.519 --> 00:14:53.960
of dryness or just doing nothing. But it's a

00:14:53.960 --> 00:14:57.159
season of where you are refined because you are

00:14:57.159 --> 00:14:59.860
in the place of praying. And that is the default

00:14:59.860 --> 00:15:02.480
setting. And I told us, I said, you're waiting

00:15:02.480 --> 00:15:05.019
for something to happen or you're waiting for

00:15:05.019 --> 00:15:07.429
graduation. As a student, it doesn't mean that

00:15:07.429 --> 00:15:09.370
you're doing nothing. At every step of the way,

00:15:09.409 --> 00:15:12.429
there's something that we need to do. And being

00:15:12.429 --> 00:15:14.889
courageous demands that you go ahead. You move

00:15:14.889 --> 00:15:17.350
forward. You don't stand in one place. You move

00:15:17.350 --> 00:15:19.710
forward. You're taking little steps. You are

00:15:19.710 --> 00:15:22.110
making the progress. Because even in Trinidad

00:15:22.110 --> 00:15:23.690
and Tobago, when they were asked to scout the

00:15:23.690 --> 00:15:26.450
land, scouting the land is, they're not yet taking

00:15:26.450 --> 00:15:29.289
the land, but they're just doing the scout. Scouting

00:15:29.289 --> 00:15:31.850
required work. And even in that, you had some

00:15:31.850 --> 00:15:33.490
people saying, we cannot take it. You have some

00:15:33.490 --> 00:15:36.610
people saying, we can take it. Praise God. So

00:15:36.610 --> 00:15:38.950
it means that at every point in time, you don't

00:15:38.950 --> 00:15:40.830
want to entertain any form of fear. You want

00:15:40.830 --> 00:15:43.970
to just go into it. You want to do it in the

00:15:43.970 --> 00:15:45.730
strength that the Lord supplies. Praise God.

00:15:45.970 --> 00:15:53.269
We say bravery. When we see a soldier, we say

00:15:53.269 --> 00:15:55.909
this is a brave soldier. This is a valiant soldier.

00:15:56.210 --> 00:15:58.789
But when we talk about bravery in our own sense,

00:15:59.070 --> 00:16:03.029
it's spiritual. Praise God. It's spiritual because

00:16:03.029 --> 00:16:06.490
the... Being brave is a function of our union

00:16:06.490 --> 00:16:09.450
with God. It's very different from that kind

00:16:09.450 --> 00:16:11.289
of bravery. And we'll get to the point where

00:16:11.289 --> 00:16:14.929
we give examples, see the example in our nature.

00:16:14.990 --> 00:16:18.269
And it's what God enables us to do. And that

00:16:18.269 --> 00:16:21.549
is, it's bravery that will make a person say,

00:16:21.629 --> 00:16:25.409
I will not bow down, like the Hebrew boys. It's

00:16:25.409 --> 00:16:29.269
bravery that will, that bravery that comes only

00:16:29.269 --> 00:16:33.120
from God, that will make them see. the phone

00:16:33.120 --> 00:16:35.940
has been hit seven times and not go back on their

00:16:35.940 --> 00:16:44.539
word. Because, you know, I was thinking about

00:16:44.539 --> 00:16:49.899
it. When somebody has nothing to lose, that person

00:16:49.899 --> 00:16:52.200
becomes very dangerous because you don't want

00:16:52.200 --> 00:16:56.179
to, you know, there's how, when athletes are

00:16:56.179 --> 00:16:57.500
looking, they're trying to gauge, is this person

00:16:57.500 --> 00:16:59.980
afraid of something? What is it exactly? And

00:16:59.980 --> 00:17:01.919
the moment they find weakness, that's where,

00:17:02.899 --> 00:17:05.880
That's where they attack. Right? The moment they

00:17:05.880 --> 00:17:07.240
find weakness, that's where they attack. But

00:17:07.240 --> 00:17:09.539
we see that these people were not, they were,

00:17:09.700 --> 00:17:13.420
there's no threats that could shift their stance.

00:17:13.700 --> 00:17:16.519
Praise God. There's no form of threat that could

00:17:16.519 --> 00:17:19.339
make them say, oh, let's just change our mind.

00:17:19.980 --> 00:17:22.119
As the furnace was being heated, they would see

00:17:22.119 --> 00:17:24.380
the furnace and they, you know, you could at

00:17:24.380 --> 00:17:28.740
this point say, hmm, self -preservation. Let's

00:17:28.740 --> 00:17:31.990
preserve ourselves. is we can fight. But they

00:17:31.990 --> 00:17:34.730
were very confident in the fact that, see, look,

00:17:34.829 --> 00:17:37.569
even if God doesn't show up, and that is the

00:17:37.569 --> 00:17:40.750
mindset we should have as believers. Whatever

00:17:40.750 --> 00:17:45.150
thing, whatever idol, whatever form of cultural

00:17:45.150 --> 00:17:48.809
pressure, what should be at the forefront of

00:17:48.809 --> 00:17:52.630
our minds is, how do I still honor God in the

00:17:52.630 --> 00:17:54.910
light of what is going on around me? How do I

00:17:54.910 --> 00:17:57.329
still glorify God in the light of what is going

00:17:57.329 --> 00:18:00.849
on around me? And we say true bravery is trust.

00:18:01.569 --> 00:18:04.890
True bravery is trust. True bravery is trusting

00:18:04.890 --> 00:18:08.509
in God, trusting in the one who declares, I am

00:18:08.509 --> 00:18:11.730
with you. Trusting in the one who declares, I

00:18:11.730 --> 00:18:14.029
am with you. Trusting in the one who declares,

00:18:14.170 --> 00:18:17.690
I am with you. And you should have no other one

00:18:17.690 --> 00:18:19.730
that you're trusting except this one who declares,

00:18:19.910 --> 00:18:25.589
I am with you. And we say being bold, bold obedience

00:18:25.589 --> 00:18:29.819
actually flows from, a steady heart that is anchored

00:18:29.819 --> 00:18:33.539
on God's character, notice that we always want

00:18:33.539 --> 00:18:37.440
to bring attention to the fact that if you have

00:18:37.440 --> 00:18:39.420
a wrong understanding of the character of this

00:18:39.420 --> 00:18:43.119
God, it will be shaky. Your confidence in him

00:18:43.119 --> 00:18:46.759
will be shaky. If you read your Bible and you

00:18:46.759 --> 00:18:50.160
still think that God is out to get you, anytime

00:18:50.160 --> 00:18:51.839
you're going through a difficult situation, you

00:18:51.839 --> 00:18:56.180
think it's him. You will start looking for the

00:18:56.180 --> 00:18:57.759
things that you've done wrong that is out to

00:18:57.759 --> 00:19:00.779
get you. You start looking for the things that...

00:19:00.779 --> 00:19:03.039
But once you know that he says he's with you,

00:19:03.119 --> 00:19:04.799
he's not going to turn his back on you because

00:19:04.799 --> 00:19:10.299
you did something that you shouldn't have done.

00:19:11.539 --> 00:19:14.019
And we say that you are doing it because you

00:19:14.019 --> 00:19:16.579
know that this God is faithful. This God is a

00:19:16.579 --> 00:19:18.579
God that keeps his words. This is a God that

00:19:18.579 --> 00:19:22.539
continues to stand by his word regardless of...

00:19:22.750 --> 00:19:24.990
the missteps that we make, regardless of the

00:19:24.990 --> 00:19:27.009
challenges that we do have. He stands on his

00:19:27.009 --> 00:19:29.470
word. And I want you all to see another example

00:19:29.470 --> 00:19:31.589
in Daniel, since we're still in Daniel. I want

00:19:31.589 --> 00:19:35.130
us to see Daniel 6. This is Daniel himself. Daniel

00:19:35.130 --> 00:19:39.029
6, I want us to look at 10. We look at 10. Daniel

00:19:39.029 --> 00:19:43.569
6 verse 10. Daniel 6 verse 10. It says, now when

00:19:43.569 --> 00:19:48.670
Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went

00:19:48.670 --> 00:19:53.000
home and in his upper room, with his windows

00:19:53.000 --> 00:19:57.099
open toward Jerusalem. He knelt down on his knees

00:19:57.099 --> 00:20:01.160
three times that day and prayed and gave thanks

00:20:01.160 --> 00:20:06.619
before his God, as was his custom since early

00:20:06.619 --> 00:20:10.119
days. As was his custom since early days. I want

00:20:10.119 --> 00:20:13.579
us to underline as was his custom since early

00:20:13.579 --> 00:20:17.700
days. It means that this Daniel had a custom

00:20:17.700 --> 00:20:23.990
of praying, giving thanks. That doesn't shift.

00:20:25.369 --> 00:20:29.950
It doesn't shift. That was his custom since early

00:20:29.950 --> 00:20:32.849
days. That was his custom since early days. What

00:20:32.849 --> 00:20:36.089
I want us to understand is that challenging times

00:20:36.089 --> 00:20:38.150
and difficult times is not when you start doing

00:20:38.150 --> 00:20:39.829
the disciplines that you should have done way

00:20:39.829 --> 00:20:43.710
before. Difficult times or challenging times

00:20:43.710 --> 00:20:45.730
is not when you start saying, I'm going to pray

00:20:45.730 --> 00:20:48.009
now because I'm going through this. I'm going

00:20:48.009 --> 00:20:50.349
to study my Bible more because I think I really

00:20:50.349 --> 00:20:53.759
need the Word. now than before. Meaning that

00:20:53.759 --> 00:20:57.019
we have to have a routine. We have to have a

00:20:57.019 --> 00:20:59.119
lifestyle. We have to have something that is

00:20:59.119 --> 00:21:02.460
customary. And this is not just unique to Daniel.

00:21:02.559 --> 00:21:05.359
We see it all through scriptures. We see it was

00:21:05.359 --> 00:21:07.839
customary for Apostle Paul, customary for Jesus

00:21:07.839 --> 00:21:11.440
himself to have a regular time of prayers. And

00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:14.839
I know that we say three times that day. So we

00:21:14.839 --> 00:21:18.460
don't prepare when it's in the face of danger.

00:21:18.640 --> 00:21:21.319
We are prepared. in the face of danger, praise

00:21:21.319 --> 00:21:23.240
God. But we don't prepare in the face of danger.

00:21:23.559 --> 00:21:28.200
So Daniel did not simply, what Daniel was doing

00:21:28.200 --> 00:21:31.240
when he went on to do, by the way, just the background,

00:21:31.619 --> 00:21:33.880
these people were trying to get something on

00:21:33.880 --> 00:21:35.880
Daniel. They looked for everything that they

00:21:35.880 --> 00:21:38.839
could. The only thing they could get on him was

00:21:38.839 --> 00:21:43.099
just his prayer. That's the only thing they could

00:21:43.099 --> 00:21:45.720
use, they could place their hands on. And that

00:21:45.720 --> 00:21:49.299
was why they capitalized on it. And Daniel actually

00:21:49.299 --> 00:21:55.200
echoed something that we see in 1 Kings 8. Daniel

00:21:55.200 --> 00:21:57.839
actually echoed something we see in 1 Kings 8

00:21:57.839 --> 00:22:00.599
because you'll be thinking, why is it important

00:22:00.599 --> 00:22:03.319
for him to pray towards Jerusalem? Or why is

00:22:03.319 --> 00:22:05.099
it important for him to open the window? He would

00:22:05.099 --> 00:22:07.079
have just closed the window and nobody knows

00:22:07.079 --> 00:22:10.279
he's praying, right? But we see that because

00:22:10.279 --> 00:22:14.599
it's customary, customary means that is something

00:22:14.599 --> 00:22:20.390
he does usually. And that is how he did it. And

00:22:20.390 --> 00:22:22.210
he didn't want to change it for anything because

00:22:22.210 --> 00:22:24.670
that is basically what he does regularly. And

00:22:24.670 --> 00:22:30.029
I want us to see 1 Kings 8, 35. What he was doing

00:22:30.029 --> 00:22:32.230
here was echoing something that King Solomon

00:22:32.230 --> 00:22:34.609
would see in his prayer at the delegation of

00:22:34.609 --> 00:22:38.829
the temple. In 35, he says, And when the heavens

00:22:38.829 --> 00:22:42.170
are shut up and there is no rain because they

00:22:42.170 --> 00:22:44.670
have sinned against you, When they pray towards

00:22:44.670 --> 00:22:47.910
this place, and this place is the temple, the

00:22:47.910 --> 00:22:50.930
place that they were dedicated temple, and confess

00:22:50.930 --> 00:22:54.210
your name and turn from their sin because you

00:22:54.210 --> 00:23:00.329
afflict them in 47. Let's jump to 47. 47. I want

00:23:00.329 --> 00:23:07.150
us to see why Daniel, so yet when they come to

00:23:07.150 --> 00:23:11.009
themselves in the land where they were carried

00:23:11.009 --> 00:23:13.279
captive, and we know that Daniel, was a captive

00:23:13.279 --> 00:23:16.200
in Babylon at that time, and repent and make

00:23:16.200 --> 00:23:20.099
supplications to you in the land of those who

00:23:20.099 --> 00:23:23.299
took them captive, saying, We have sinned and

00:23:23.299 --> 00:23:27.279
done wrong. We have committed wickedness. 48.

00:23:28.700 --> 00:23:32.140
And when they turn to you with all their heart

00:23:32.140 --> 00:23:35.359
and with all their soul in the land of their

00:23:35.359 --> 00:23:38.569
enemies, who led them away captive? and pray

00:23:38.569 --> 00:23:42.230
to you towards the land which you gave to their

00:23:42.230 --> 00:23:47.930
fathers, the city which you have chosen, and

00:23:47.930 --> 00:23:51.849
the temple which I have built for your name.

00:23:52.109 --> 00:23:57.930
So notice that Solomon here is praying and then

00:23:57.930 --> 00:24:01.529
is saying that there be a prayer, that there

00:24:01.529 --> 00:24:03.170
be a repentance and a prayer, and praying towards

00:24:03.170 --> 00:24:07.000
the temple is... how they are able to, that's

00:24:07.000 --> 00:24:09.619
the posture, that's the stance, that's what will

00:24:09.619 --> 00:24:12.400
ensure that they are able to, and that's basically

00:24:12.400 --> 00:24:15.920
what he's going by. That Daniel is going by this

00:24:15.920 --> 00:24:17.740
prayer of Solomon, he's going by this. And we

00:24:17.740 --> 00:24:21.259
see other instances, even with David. David in

00:24:21.259 --> 00:24:24.779
Psalms 55 verse 17, David in Psalms 55 verse

00:24:24.779 --> 00:24:28.380
17, talks about evening and morning and noon,

00:24:28.480 --> 00:24:30.640
he will pray and cry to the Lord and he will

00:24:30.640 --> 00:24:33.700
hear his cry. And notice that he says morning,

00:24:33.799 --> 00:24:37.509
evening. morning and at noon. And all of this

00:24:37.509 --> 00:24:40.430
will just be, all of this at times of the day

00:24:40.430 --> 00:24:43.609
is not like three times a day. It's just pointing

00:24:43.609 --> 00:24:45.589
to the importance of prayer and the discipline

00:24:45.589 --> 00:24:48.089
of prayer and then also suggesting, most importantly,

00:24:48.150 --> 00:24:51.470
the fact that you can wholly depend on God to

00:24:51.470 --> 00:24:54.950
hear you when you cry. You can wholly depend

00:24:54.950 --> 00:24:58.130
on God to hear you when you cry. And that's basically

00:24:58.130 --> 00:25:02.609
what Daniel is illustrating in that his posture.

00:25:02.869 --> 00:25:07.289
And it means that what, A consistent life of

00:25:07.289 --> 00:25:11.990
prayer naturally will cause us to express or

00:25:11.990 --> 00:25:14.109
manifest supernatural boldness. A consistent

00:25:14.109 --> 00:25:16.470
life of prayer will cause us to always naturally

00:25:16.470 --> 00:25:19.369
express that supernatural life of boldness. Because

00:25:19.369 --> 00:25:24.450
once a person is confident, he's wholly dependent

00:25:24.450 --> 00:25:27.109
on God, because your prayer is a function of

00:25:27.109 --> 00:25:30.230
your dependence on God. You going to pray is

00:25:30.230 --> 00:25:33.509
you saying, Lord, I depend on you. I'm giving

00:25:33.509 --> 00:25:35.900
thanks. I'm giving thanks to you because I know

00:25:35.900 --> 00:25:37.740
that everything I have, everything I am, everything

00:25:37.740 --> 00:25:40.200
I own is you, is your doing, is of your doing.

00:25:40.359 --> 00:25:42.279
And the encouragement of the scripture on death

00:25:42.279 --> 00:25:45.500
is the person is honoring God's word by placing

00:25:45.500 --> 00:25:47.359
themselves in that posture or placing themselves

00:25:47.359 --> 00:25:50.160
in that stance. And we see Daniel not regarding

00:25:50.160 --> 00:25:54.380
man, but rather honoring God in his stance to

00:25:54.380 --> 00:25:56.960
pray. Not regarding man, but honoring God in

00:25:56.960 --> 00:25:59.119
his stance to pray. And we see time and time

00:25:59.119 --> 00:26:02.359
again when men honor God in their stance. There

00:26:02.359 --> 00:26:04.220
is always deliverance. We see it as a pattern.

00:26:04.859 --> 00:26:07.500
When men honor God, take their stance and say,

00:26:07.599 --> 00:26:10.680
I choose to trust you. I choose to walk in your

00:26:10.680 --> 00:26:13.240
ways. We see that what happens is deliverance.

00:26:13.299 --> 00:26:15.839
And for Daniel, we saw that in lions, then the

00:26:15.839 --> 00:26:19.619
lions could not, God shut them out of the lions

00:26:19.619 --> 00:26:22.559
on his regard. And I want us to still see that

00:26:22.559 --> 00:26:25.200
this courage or this boldness we're talking about,

00:26:25.299 --> 00:26:27.539
we said, and we'll repeat again, is supernatural.

00:26:28.220 --> 00:26:32.890
It's supernatural. It doesn't come by a... natural

00:26:32.890 --> 00:26:38.230
means. It's not a function of your temperament.

00:26:38.730 --> 00:26:40.430
It's not a function of your temperament. You

00:26:40.430 --> 00:26:42.869
just say, I'm naturally a courageous person.

00:26:43.589 --> 00:26:45.970
I'm a courageous person, so I'm always courageous.

00:26:46.289 --> 00:26:48.329
It's not a function of our temperament. It's

00:26:48.329 --> 00:26:50.930
not a function if somebody says, I'm not that

00:26:50.930 --> 00:26:55.130
courageous. I'm just a very shy person. I can't

00:26:55.130 --> 00:26:58.190
do this. And I want us to see an example in the

00:26:58.190 --> 00:27:02.519
life of Peter. I want us to start from his low

00:27:02.519 --> 00:27:04.799
point. I want us to start from his low point

00:27:04.799 --> 00:27:07.059
and then build up to it because we'll later see

00:27:07.059 --> 00:27:12.980
him addressing the children of Israel. We'll

00:27:12.980 --> 00:27:15.400
see him addressing the people with Sahandrin.

00:27:15.500 --> 00:27:17.339
We'll see him addressing all of this. But let's

00:27:17.339 --> 00:27:20.119
start at his low point. Let's look at Luke 22,

00:27:20.339 --> 00:27:26.180
54 to 62. Let's see if we can run through. We

00:27:26.180 --> 00:27:30.700
just see Peter at the fire. So Luke 22, 54. Having

00:27:30.700 --> 00:27:37.099
arrested him, they led him and brought him into

00:27:37.099 --> 00:27:40.359
the high priest's house. But Peter followed at

00:27:40.359 --> 00:27:47.200
a distance. 55. Now when they had kindled a fire

00:27:47.200 --> 00:27:50.900
in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together,

00:27:51.119 --> 00:27:56.519
Peter sat among them. And a certain servant girl,

00:27:56.680 --> 00:28:00.930
seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently

00:28:00.930 --> 00:28:04.650
at him and said, this man was also with him.

00:28:06.089 --> 00:28:10.349
And he denied, but he denied, but he denied him

00:28:10.349 --> 00:28:13.009
saying, that's he denied Jesus saying, woman,

00:28:13.109 --> 00:28:16.789
I don't know him. I do not know him. And after

00:28:16.789 --> 00:28:20.609
a little while, another saw him and said, you

00:28:20.609 --> 00:28:26.089
also, you also are of them. But Peter said, man,

00:28:26.210 --> 00:28:33.680
I am not. 59. Then after about an hour had passed,

00:28:33.900 --> 00:28:38.619
another confidently affirmed, saying, Surely

00:28:38.619 --> 00:28:44.579
this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.

00:28:45.960 --> 00:28:50.039
60. Says, But Peter said, Man, I do not know

00:28:50.039 --> 00:28:54.140
what you are saying. Immediately, while he was

00:28:54.140 --> 00:28:58.990
still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord

00:28:58.990 --> 00:29:01.970
turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered

00:29:01.970 --> 00:29:05.150
the word of the Lord, how he had said to him,

00:29:05.250 --> 00:29:08.069
before the rooster crows, he will deny me three

00:29:08.069 --> 00:29:12.710
times. 62. So Peter went out and wept bitterly.

00:29:12.809 --> 00:29:22.309
63. Okay. So 62, that's where we stop. So we

00:29:22.309 --> 00:29:28.559
see that Peter had denied and we said, All this

00:29:28.559 --> 00:29:32.980
had happened afterwards while back in the garden,

00:29:33.140 --> 00:29:37.460
Peter had pulled out a sword. Peter has pulled

00:29:37.460 --> 00:29:39.519
out a sword, boldly pulled out, because for you

00:29:39.519 --> 00:29:41.480
to pull out a sword against someone, slice off

00:29:41.480 --> 00:29:44.779
somebody's ears, that requires a bit of bravery.

00:29:45.039 --> 00:29:47.279
But we say that that's of a physical sort, right?

00:29:47.480 --> 00:29:51.539
That's the one that comes naturally. But we see

00:29:51.539 --> 00:29:55.380
that in the face of just, okay, because you're

00:29:55.380 --> 00:30:00.799
like... See, I don't know the man. First time

00:30:00.799 --> 00:30:03.319
would have been a mistake. Second time, maybe

00:30:03.319 --> 00:30:06.039
somebody else was pointed at. Third time. And

00:30:06.039 --> 00:30:09.720
I want us to even look at it in Matthew. Matthew's

00:30:09.720 --> 00:30:14.440
account. Matthew 26. Matthew 26, 72. From the

00:30:14.440 --> 00:30:21.500
NLT. Matthew 26, 72. Matthew 26, 72 from the

00:30:21.500 --> 00:30:27.740
NLT. Again. Peter denied it, this time with an

00:30:27.740 --> 00:30:32.920
oath. I don't even know the man, he said. 73.

00:30:34.640 --> 00:30:38.519
A little later, some of the other bystanders

00:30:38.519 --> 00:30:41.019
came over to Peter and said, you must be one

00:30:41.019 --> 00:30:45.099
of them. We can tell by your Galilean accent.

00:30:45.519 --> 00:30:48.799
So something was giving him off. Peter swore

00:30:48.799 --> 00:30:54.410
a curse on me if I'm lying. I don't know the

00:30:54.410 --> 00:30:57.150
man. And immediately the rooster crowed, I can

00:30:57.150 --> 00:30:59.730
imagine. Immediately the rooster crowed 75. Suddenly

00:30:59.730 --> 00:31:04.430
Jesus' words flashed through Peter's mind. Before

00:31:04.430 --> 00:31:09.069
the rooster crows, you will deny three times

00:31:09.069 --> 00:31:12.349
that you even know me. And he went away weeping

00:31:12.349 --> 00:31:16.630
bitterly. So this one, Matthew tells us that

00:31:16.630 --> 00:31:20.950
it was just to just... sound to just make the

00:31:20.950 --> 00:31:23.630
person believe that he doesn't really know. He

00:31:23.630 --> 00:31:27.190
had to add a bit of swearing to it to just confirm

00:31:27.190 --> 00:31:30.269
that, see, I'm not the person. If I'm swearing

00:31:30.269 --> 00:31:35.430
like this, I'm not the person. And you can look

00:31:35.430 --> 00:31:40.569
at it and think to yourself, when you are depending

00:31:40.569 --> 00:31:43.690
on your strength, you're depending on your ability

00:31:43.690 --> 00:31:47.329
to be able to do God's work, you will get to

00:31:47.329 --> 00:31:50.670
points like this. Notice that when Jesus Christ

00:31:50.670 --> 00:31:53.289
speaking to Peter told him that he would deny

00:31:53.289 --> 00:31:56.230
him. You know, when you're thinking, oh, how

00:31:56.230 --> 00:32:00.670
can I? How can I? You're not thinking of the

00:32:00.670 --> 00:32:04.109
fact that there is a possibility for that to

00:32:04.109 --> 00:32:06.829
happen. You're thinking that, no, there's no

00:32:06.829 --> 00:32:11.390
way. Because in your mind, things will always

00:32:11.390 --> 00:32:14.109
be like this. Things will always be like when

00:32:14.109 --> 00:32:16.569
we gather like this. There's going to be a time

00:32:16.569 --> 00:32:19.069
where you go out. And then you are in a place

00:32:19.069 --> 00:32:24.250
where you're like, what do you believe in? Right?

00:32:24.269 --> 00:32:26.990
And you have instance, you know, the Lord loves

00:32:26.990 --> 00:32:29.990
everybody. He loves everybody. Like you can come

00:32:29.990 --> 00:32:32.390
to him, like any way, any path is a path that

00:32:32.390 --> 00:32:35.789
leads to him. Just to make everybody, just to

00:32:35.789 --> 00:32:38.410
accommodate everybody. But that will not be the

00:32:38.410 --> 00:32:40.390
truth because you know better than that, that

00:32:40.390 --> 00:32:43.410
Christ is the way, Christ is the only way, right?

00:32:43.730 --> 00:32:45.970
Christ is the only way to the Father. And we

00:32:45.970 --> 00:32:50.839
see that in, In John, like John 18 verse 10,

00:32:51.019 --> 00:32:57.019
John 18 verse 10, where John 18 verse 10, it

00:32:57.019 --> 00:32:59.420
says, and Simon Peter drew a sword and sliced

00:32:59.420 --> 00:33:02.880
off, if you can, then Peter said, having a sword,

00:33:03.000 --> 00:33:05.339
he drew it and struck the high priest's servants

00:33:05.339 --> 00:33:07.980
and cut off his ear. And the servant's name was

00:33:07.980 --> 00:33:13.279
Malchus. And I want you to see that I think John

00:33:13.279 --> 00:33:16.240
just gives us details. John just gives us details.

00:33:16.910 --> 00:33:19.630
Every other person that wrote this account just

00:33:19.630 --> 00:33:22.450
didn't disclose that Peter was the person that

00:33:22.450 --> 00:33:24.769
did it. And it's important for us to see that

00:33:24.769 --> 00:33:30.390
in that height, in the height of what was going

00:33:30.390 --> 00:33:34.769
on, his action, his willingness to defend and

00:33:34.769 --> 00:33:37.170
his willingness to, he just did the first thing

00:33:37.170 --> 00:33:39.029
that he could do. It is, okay, we had a sword.

00:33:39.670 --> 00:33:41.509
Initially when Jesus Christ was telling him,

00:33:41.569 --> 00:33:44.150
okay, go, he got the sword and then he put the

00:33:44.150 --> 00:33:47.029
sword to use. What we see, Jesus' action, even

00:33:47.029 --> 00:33:48.910
in that light, it was, he picked the ear of the

00:33:48.910 --> 00:33:51.329
person and there was healing. But what is most

00:33:51.329 --> 00:33:54.710
importantly is we contrast the character of Peter

00:33:54.710 --> 00:33:59.829
at this point and Peter next to the fire. You're

00:33:59.829 --> 00:34:02.789
looking at the person here and looking at the

00:34:02.789 --> 00:34:04.490
person there, you think it should be two different

00:34:04.490 --> 00:34:07.049
persons because one person is denying him, the

00:34:07.049 --> 00:34:10.230
other person is willing to defend him. Praise

00:34:10.230 --> 00:34:11.989
God. The other person is willing to defend him

00:34:11.989 --> 00:34:13.750
and you might say, okay, it was in the garden,

00:34:13.829 --> 00:34:16.219
it was dark. There was fire there. You could

00:34:16.219 --> 00:34:21.159
see him. So note that physical bravery is not

00:34:21.159 --> 00:34:22.639
what we're talking about when we're talking about

00:34:22.639 --> 00:34:25.179
supernatural bravery. Physical bravery, physical

00:34:25.179 --> 00:34:28.079
being, physically brave, pulling out a sword

00:34:28.079 --> 00:34:30.619
is not what we're talking about. Because you

00:34:30.619 --> 00:34:40.820
can have the spiritual and you can have the physical.

00:34:41.059 --> 00:34:43.099
Because your physical translated. Remember we

00:34:43.099 --> 00:34:46.150
said that. Once there's supernatural bravery

00:34:46.150 --> 00:34:48.550
or supernatural boldness, you are able to speak

00:34:48.550 --> 00:34:50.809
up. You are able to speak up. You're not silent.

00:34:51.409 --> 00:34:54.010
Supernatural bravery or supernatural boldness,

00:34:54.050 --> 00:34:57.710
you don't keep silent. And we'll see that as

00:34:57.710 --> 00:35:00.789
we progress. We'll see that Peter was able to

00:35:00.789 --> 00:35:03.789
stand before the Sanhedrin. Peter was able to

00:35:03.789 --> 00:35:06.309
stand before the children of Israel and boldly

00:35:06.309 --> 00:35:10.010
declare the word. We'll see that in Acts 2 .14.

00:35:10.960 --> 00:35:13.599
We see that in Acts 2 .14. I want us to read

00:35:13.599 --> 00:35:16.820
this from the NLT. Acts 2 .14. Then Peter, stepping

00:35:16.820 --> 00:35:21.860
forward with the 11 other apostles, shouted to

00:35:21.860 --> 00:35:27.179
the crowd, Listen carefully, all of you, fellow

00:35:27.179 --> 00:35:30.280
Jews and residents of Jerusalem. Make no mistake

00:35:30.280 --> 00:35:33.480
about this. Make no mistake about this. You can

00:35:33.480 --> 00:35:37.059
hear from his words. You can hear from his words

00:35:37.059 --> 00:35:40.719
that this person is persuaded. about what they

00:35:40.719 --> 00:35:43.940
are communicating. And note that it's the same

00:35:43.940 --> 00:35:46.800
person he denied his defending here to the Jews.

00:35:47.460 --> 00:35:49.920
Praise God. The same person he denied his defending

00:35:49.920 --> 00:35:52.119
here to the Jews. And what the result of all

00:35:52.119 --> 00:35:55.480
of this is 3 ,000 persons and more believed.

00:35:55.619 --> 00:35:59.260
Praise God. About 3 ,000 persons believed. And

00:35:59.260 --> 00:36:04.880
we see in Acts 3 .12, Acts 3 .12, Acts 3 .12,

00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:08.550
Peter saw this opportunity and addressed. the

00:36:08.550 --> 00:36:11.329
crowd, that was just after the man that was at

00:36:11.329 --> 00:36:16.349
the beautiful gate. People of Israel, he said,

00:36:16.570 --> 00:36:21.650
what is so surprising about this? And why stare

00:36:21.650 --> 00:36:25.809
at us as do we have made this man walk by our

00:36:25.809 --> 00:36:30.329
own power or godliness? And we will see as we

00:36:30.329 --> 00:36:36.909
progress that in Acts 4 .4, that about... 5 ,000

00:36:36.909 --> 00:36:40.309
also believed at the teaching or the preaching.

00:36:40.809 --> 00:36:44.730
But many of the people who heard the message

00:36:44.730 --> 00:36:49.550
believed it. So the number of believers now totaled

00:36:49.550 --> 00:36:53.469
about 5 ,000, not counting women and children.

00:36:53.590 --> 00:36:57.010
Praise God. So there's something about not looking

00:36:57.010 --> 00:37:01.309
at ourselves or thinking about, okay, we're convincing

00:37:01.309 --> 00:37:04.050
ourselves, okay, I can do it. Many of us, when

00:37:04.050 --> 00:37:05.860
we are faced with a situation where we are, to

00:37:05.860 --> 00:37:08.760
open our mouth and be bold. We look at ourselves,

00:37:08.980 --> 00:37:11.199
we say, I don't think I'm cut out for this. I

00:37:11.199 --> 00:37:13.619
don't think I can do this. I see how the sister

00:37:13.619 --> 00:37:16.179
does it graciously. I see how this brother does

00:37:16.179 --> 00:37:18.840
it graciously. I don't think I'm able to do it

00:37:18.840 --> 00:37:21.380
because we are looking at ourselves. We're looking

00:37:21.380 --> 00:37:24.019
at our ability. We're looking, we're trying to,

00:37:24.079 --> 00:37:26.820
and we're not really convinced that we're able

00:37:26.820 --> 00:37:29.719
to do it. And that's where there's a thing, there's

00:37:29.719 --> 00:37:32.940
a place of where you are confident in God's word.

00:37:32.980 --> 00:37:34.980
There's a place of where... You're trained. There's

00:37:34.980 --> 00:37:36.420
a place of where you understand what you're doing.

00:37:36.500 --> 00:37:38.519
There's a place of even where people don't necessarily,

00:37:38.780 --> 00:37:41.599
the woman or the whale, there's a place where

00:37:41.599 --> 00:37:44.039
you don't need to have it together or it's good.

00:37:44.260 --> 00:37:47.099
You just need to be persuaded that the person

00:37:47.099 --> 00:37:51.199
you saw is the Messiah or the person that you

00:37:51.199 --> 00:37:54.340
have a relationship with is the Messiah. So the

00:37:54.340 --> 00:37:56.559
challenge is stop looking at yourself, right?

00:37:56.699 --> 00:37:59.519
Stop looking at yourself. Stop looking at what

00:37:59.519 --> 00:38:02.320
you know. Stop looking at yourself. Stop looking

00:38:02.320 --> 00:38:06.000
at what you know. But look at the one who is

00:38:06.000 --> 00:38:08.360
with you, right? Look at the one who is with

00:38:08.360 --> 00:38:11.159
you, the one who has promised. So boldness is

00:38:11.159 --> 00:38:14.139
an expression of supernatural bravery and it

00:38:14.139 --> 00:38:17.559
comes out in words, through our speakings. It

00:38:17.559 --> 00:38:20.119
comes out in words. It's an expression of supernatural

00:38:20.119 --> 00:38:23.239
bravery in words and through our speaking. It

00:38:23.239 --> 00:38:28.980
comes out in words. And we say the outward working

00:38:28.980 --> 00:38:32.400
of faith in our lives is boldness. how you know

00:38:32.400 --> 00:38:34.980
or how you can see faith at work in your life

00:38:34.980 --> 00:38:38.679
is in your speaking. Because if you have faith,

00:38:38.840 --> 00:38:41.300
you will speak. Praise God. If you have faith,

00:38:41.360 --> 00:38:42.980
you will speak. We've been taught that again

00:38:42.980 --> 00:38:45.860
and again. And we see in Ephesians 6, verse 19

00:38:45.860 --> 00:38:50.159
to 20, as Apostle Paul was reminding us, he says,

00:38:50.179 --> 00:38:53.579
for me, he says, pray for me, that all trans

00:38:53.579 --> 00:38:57.159
may be given to me. All trans may be given to

00:38:57.159 --> 00:39:03.190
me that... I may open my mouth boldly to make

00:39:03.190 --> 00:39:06.849
known the mystery of the gospel, for which I

00:39:06.849 --> 00:39:09.949
am an ambassador in chains, that in it I may

00:39:09.949 --> 00:39:14.050
speak boldly as I ought to speak. I may speak

00:39:14.050 --> 00:39:17.690
boldly as I ought to speak. So we see here, utterance

00:39:17.690 --> 00:39:20.289
may be given to me, that I may open my mouth

00:39:20.289 --> 00:39:25.230
boldly, boldly, boldly to make known. Notice

00:39:25.230 --> 00:39:28.269
that the boldness there is to make known. To

00:39:28.269 --> 00:39:32.050
make known what? The mystery of the gospel. And

00:39:32.050 --> 00:39:33.989
he says, he continues, an ambassador in chains,

00:39:34.130 --> 00:39:38.329
telling it that I may speak boldly as I ought

00:39:38.329 --> 00:39:41.250
to speak. I may speak boldly as I ought to speak.

00:39:41.329 --> 00:39:47.809
The Greek word there is P -A -R -R -E -S -I -A.

00:39:48.409 --> 00:39:54.599
P -A -R -R -E -S -I -A. It means speaking plainly

00:39:54.599 --> 00:40:00.360
without reservation, public declaration, speaking

00:40:00.360 --> 00:40:02.239
boldly without reservation, public declaration.

00:40:02.320 --> 00:40:07.000
And even the other boldly there is perissia somae.

00:40:07.239 --> 00:40:11.739
It's similar, but it has the somae, which means

00:40:11.739 --> 00:40:18.460
to speak freely, to grow confident with boldness,

00:40:18.539 --> 00:40:20.659
to speak freely, to grow confident with boldness.

00:40:21.320 --> 00:40:24.039
Second boldly there. It's the same spelling.

00:40:24.139 --> 00:40:33.739
P -A -R -R -E -S -I -A. Then Z -O -M -A -I. Z

00:40:33.739 --> 00:40:37.079
-O -M -A -I. The first one without the Z -O -M

00:40:37.079 --> 00:40:41.179
-A -I. The second one is with the Z -O -M -A

00:40:41.179 --> 00:40:45.739
-I at the end. So it means that believers, boldness

00:40:45.739 --> 00:40:48.099
is supernatural and is in words. And Apostle

00:40:48.099 --> 00:40:50.619
Paul clearly... He's demanding that he's able

00:40:50.619 --> 00:40:53.659
to, because that is necessary for the work, that

00:40:53.659 --> 00:40:58.579
the utterance that he has is for declaring the

00:40:58.579 --> 00:41:00.579
gospel. The utterance that he has is for declaring

00:41:00.579 --> 00:41:04.179
the gospel. And even in our lives, we want to

00:41:04.179 --> 00:41:07.280
boldly declare the things that we are. Praise

00:41:07.280 --> 00:41:09.320
God. We want to boldly declare the things that

00:41:09.320 --> 00:41:11.380
we are. As David says, the Lord is my light and

00:41:11.380 --> 00:41:14.679
my salvation. You are to declare with confidence

00:41:14.679 --> 00:41:17.000
and with persuasion that I am a child of God,

00:41:17.139 --> 00:41:20.699
that I cannot be moved. I'm not afraid. I trust

00:41:20.699 --> 00:41:24.079
the Lord. The word of the Lord through me is

00:41:24.079 --> 00:41:26.800
mighty. The word of the Lord through me is mighty.

00:41:26.960 --> 00:41:31.800
I am alive and well. I am not sick. I will heal

00:41:31.800 --> 00:41:34.260
the sick. I will raise the dead. You want to

00:41:34.260 --> 00:41:37.639
be able to declare God's word with that level

00:41:37.639 --> 00:41:41.139
of persuasion. And basically what we do when

00:41:41.139 --> 00:41:43.820
we do affirmations is that we affirm God's word.

00:41:43.940 --> 00:41:47.630
Praise God. We affirm God's word. And we're affirming

00:41:47.630 --> 00:41:50.610
God's word and saying, through me, the Lord is

00:41:50.610 --> 00:41:53.030
winning billions of souls. Through me. And how

00:41:53.030 --> 00:41:56.269
would that happen? It's by me opening my mouth

00:41:56.269 --> 00:41:59.590
with boldness and declaring the gospel. Praise

00:41:59.590 --> 00:42:02.070
God. And declaring the gospel. And we see men

00:42:02.070 --> 00:42:04.889
and women doing the same. And all of them are

00:42:04.889 --> 00:42:07.650
an example to us. If these men and women are

00:42:07.650 --> 00:42:10.389
able to take a stand for this same thing that

00:42:10.389 --> 00:42:13.590
we're taking a stand for, and we can see the

00:42:13.590 --> 00:42:16.710
result. How much more? We. Praise God. In this

00:42:16.710 --> 00:42:18.429
day and age, we look around us, there are people

00:42:18.429 --> 00:42:20.869
that need to hear the gospel. Praise God. And

00:42:20.869 --> 00:42:24.849
our challenge is to be bold enough, to be brave

00:42:24.849 --> 00:42:27.070
enough, to be courageous enough to declare it

00:42:27.070 --> 00:42:30.050
without fear. Praise God. Declare without fear

00:42:30.050 --> 00:42:33.829
because you are God's hands and feet. You are

00:42:33.829 --> 00:42:36.610
his mouthpiece. You are opening your mouth and

00:42:36.610 --> 00:42:39.710
being an instrument through which God will use

00:42:39.710 --> 00:42:44.030
to deliver that person. Praise God. And in Acts

00:42:44.030 --> 00:42:49.909
2, In Acts 2 .29, we'll see examples of boldness.

00:42:49.949 --> 00:42:53.369
In Acts 2 .29, it says, Men and brethren, let

00:42:53.369 --> 00:42:57.909
me speak freely. The freely there is the parousia.

00:42:58.889 --> 00:43:03.070
Freely. To you of the Petrarch David, that he

00:43:03.070 --> 00:43:07.750
is both dead and buried, and in his tomb with

00:43:07.750 --> 00:43:11.969
us to this day. He says, let me speak freely.

00:43:12.030 --> 00:43:14.460
And he goes on and on and on and on. And Peter's

00:43:14.460 --> 00:43:17.420
confidence isn't in his, it's not his personality.

00:43:17.900 --> 00:43:22.139
He's confident that his spirit empowered and

00:43:22.139 --> 00:43:24.480
is anchored on his certainty because he's certain

00:43:24.480 --> 00:43:26.380
of what he's saying. He says, let me speak freely.

00:43:26.559 --> 00:43:30.139
Let me speak boldly. Let me speak to you of the

00:43:30.139 --> 00:43:32.440
patriarch David. Let me speak to you of this

00:43:32.440 --> 00:43:34.280
man. Let me speak to you of this man. And we

00:43:34.280 --> 00:43:39.019
see in Acts 4, 13. I love the example in Acts

00:43:39.019 --> 00:43:42.219
4, 13. It says, now when they saw the boldness

00:43:42.219 --> 00:43:45.280
of Peter and John, and perceived that they were

00:43:45.280 --> 00:43:48.539
uneducated and untrained men. They marveled.

00:43:49.000 --> 00:43:53.320
And they realized that they had been with Jesus.

00:43:53.420 --> 00:43:56.360
Praise God. They say they saw the boldness, that

00:43:56.360 --> 00:43:59.739
is the paresia, of Peter and John and perceived

00:43:59.739 --> 00:44:03.039
that they were uneducated. So it's not even a

00:44:03.039 --> 00:44:06.880
function of the normal education that you have.

00:44:07.019 --> 00:44:11.789
It's a function of the fact that you have. You

00:44:11.789 --> 00:44:15.349
have an encounter, you are saved, you have a

00:44:15.349 --> 00:44:18.050
union with him and you are grounded on the word

00:44:18.050 --> 00:44:20.329
because you have been hearing God's word. All

00:44:20.329 --> 00:44:22.130
the things that you've been hearing, what you're

00:44:22.130 --> 00:44:24.849
doing is that you are allowing God to use what

00:44:24.849 --> 00:44:26.949
you've learned to bless the other person. Praise

00:44:26.949 --> 00:44:29.690
God. You are doing it. And for many of us, we

00:44:29.690 --> 00:44:32.010
feel that we have not gotten enough. Same as

00:44:32.010 --> 00:44:34.030
Joshua. Joshua felt that, okay, I still have

00:44:34.030 --> 00:44:36.449
a lot of training to do. I still feel like I'm

00:44:36.449 --> 00:44:41.190
not ready to. And in fact, we even see, Instance

00:44:41.190 --> 00:44:43.909
that I think can just bring us back to Corinthians.

00:44:43.989 --> 00:44:48.809
In the first Corinthians 16 verse 10. First Corinthians

00:44:48.809 --> 00:44:52.769
16 verse 10. It says, when Timothy comes, don't

00:44:52.769 --> 00:44:54.989
intimidate him. I'm reading from the NLT. When

00:44:54.989 --> 00:44:57.769
Timothy comes, don't intimidate him. He's doing

00:44:57.769 --> 00:45:01.849
the Lord's work, just as I am. It says, don't

00:45:01.849 --> 00:45:06.110
let anyone treat him with contempt. Send him

00:45:06.110 --> 00:45:09.570
on his way with your blessings when he returns.

00:45:10.139 --> 00:45:14.900
to me. I expect him to come with the other believers,

00:45:14.980 --> 00:45:18.300
praise God. Meaning that he's charging the Corinthian

00:45:18.300 --> 00:45:20.780
church, don't intimidate the young man. Don't

00:45:20.780 --> 00:45:23.119
intimidate the young man. Don't, don't, like

00:45:23.119 --> 00:45:25.579
he's doing the Lord's work, praise God, just

00:45:25.579 --> 00:45:30.179
as Apostle Paul. And Apostle Paul is pushing

00:45:30.179 --> 00:45:33.880
him forward. Meaning that he's cheering him on,

00:45:33.900 --> 00:45:36.760
he's trying to, because you can have instances

00:45:36.760 --> 00:45:40.130
where you, people play, like, Things can come

00:45:40.130 --> 00:45:42.250
at you, right? People can intimidate you, praise

00:45:42.250 --> 00:45:45.750
God. But you don't get intimidated. You don't

00:45:45.750 --> 00:45:49.650
get intimidated. You don't allow anyone to intimidate

00:45:49.650 --> 00:45:52.369
you. He says, you are uneducated and untrained,

00:45:52.449 --> 00:45:55.210
and they marveled. And then they realized this

00:45:55.210 --> 00:45:57.730
one thing, that they had been with Jesus. 29

00:45:57.730 --> 00:46:03.590
now says, now look on their threatens. That is

00:46:03.590 --> 00:46:10.590
Acts 4, 29. Acts 4 .29. Say, Now, Lord, look

00:46:10.590 --> 00:46:14.849
on their threats and grant your servant that

00:46:14.849 --> 00:46:18.670
with all boldness that they may speak your word.

00:46:18.849 --> 00:46:21.769
With all boldness. That boldness there is the

00:46:21.769 --> 00:46:25.690
same word. And then 31. It says, And when they

00:46:25.690 --> 00:46:29.269
prayed, the place where they assembled together

00:46:29.269 --> 00:46:31.630
was shaken, and they were all filled with the

00:46:31.630 --> 00:46:34.690
Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with

00:46:34.690 --> 00:46:36.809
boldness. Praise God. They were threatened not

00:46:36.809 --> 00:46:39.480
to. And these people prayed and the place was

00:46:39.480 --> 00:46:42.920
shaken and they continued. Praise God. They continued

00:46:42.920 --> 00:46:46.280
to preach the word, meaning that no matter what

00:46:46.280 --> 00:46:48.780
threats, no matter what exactly it is that comes

00:46:48.780 --> 00:46:50.960
at you, you should not allow it to put you down.

00:46:51.079 --> 00:46:52.820
Praise God. You should not allow it to put you

00:46:52.820 --> 00:46:55.360
down. You should continue to do the work of the

00:46:55.360 --> 00:46:56.960
one who has called you because the one who has

00:46:56.960 --> 00:46:59.820
called you is greater. Praise God. The one who

00:46:59.820 --> 00:47:02.280
has called you is greater. Then Acts 28 .31.

00:47:03.239 --> 00:47:06.820
Acts 28 .31. It says, Preaching the kingdom of

00:47:06.820 --> 00:47:10.679
God and teaching the things which concerns the

00:47:10.679 --> 00:47:14.739
Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence. No one

00:47:14.739 --> 00:47:17.659
forbidding him. That's Apostle Paul. No one forbidding

00:47:17.659 --> 00:47:19.199
him with all confidence. Confidence there is

00:47:19.199 --> 00:47:22.719
heresia. No one forbidding him. So he kept on

00:47:22.719 --> 00:47:25.539
doing that. That's the end of the 28th. He kept

00:47:25.539 --> 00:47:28.400
on doing that. Preaching the kingdom of God.

00:47:28.480 --> 00:47:31.179
Teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus

00:47:31.179 --> 00:47:34.809
Christ. No one forbidding him. And then. Lastly,

00:47:34.949 --> 00:47:39.769
Ephesians 3 verse 12. That's Ephesians 3 verse

00:47:39.769 --> 00:47:43.510
12. It says, In whom we have boldness and access

00:47:43.510 --> 00:47:47.030
with confidence through faith in him. In whom.

00:47:47.050 --> 00:47:49.989
That's Christ Jesus. In whom we have boldness.

00:47:50.030 --> 00:47:52.929
In whom we have boldness. It's in him that we

00:47:52.929 --> 00:47:56.210
have boldness, access, and confidence in faith.

00:47:56.469 --> 00:47:59.969
Our boldness is not in our strength. It's not

00:47:59.969 --> 00:48:02.610
in our might. Our boldness and our confidence

00:48:02.610 --> 00:48:06.380
is in what? It's the word and the strength that

00:48:06.380 --> 00:48:08.880
the Lord supplies. Praise God. And as I said

00:48:08.880 --> 00:48:12.840
on Sunday in passing, our confidence is contagious.

00:48:13.400 --> 00:48:16.699
Our confidence is contagious. And I want to read

00:48:16.699 --> 00:48:20.260
to us the quote. It says, courage is contagious.

00:48:20.659 --> 00:48:25.179
When a brave man or woman takes a stand, the

00:48:25.179 --> 00:48:29.420
spines of others are often stiffened. The spines

00:48:29.420 --> 00:48:31.559
of others are often stiffened. Stephen. And we

00:48:31.559 --> 00:48:34.219
see this in the life of Apostle Paul in Philippians

00:48:34.219 --> 00:48:36.920
1 verse 14, as we read during the time of prayer.

00:48:37.039 --> 00:48:43.440
I said that on Sunday, that people saw what Apostle

00:48:43.440 --> 00:48:47.900
Paul was going through. And the scripture says,

00:48:48.099 --> 00:48:51.119
and most of the brethren in the Lord, having

00:48:51.119 --> 00:48:56.369
become confident by my change, are more I'm much

00:48:56.369 --> 00:48:59.349
more bold to speak the word without fear. That

00:48:59.349 --> 00:49:03.530
without fear there is boldly. That without fear

00:49:03.530 --> 00:49:07.849
there is boldly. Without fear is aphobos. It's

00:49:07.849 --> 00:49:14.230
not fear, no fear. And then no fear means that

00:49:14.230 --> 00:49:16.809
you are bold. Because once you remove fear from

00:49:16.809 --> 00:49:20.130
the equation, boldness is basically what is expressed.

00:49:20.469 --> 00:49:23.429
So they are able to speak boldly. They're able

00:49:23.429 --> 00:49:27.300
to speak. boldly and i want us to see matthew

00:49:27.300 --> 00:49:31.619
i want us to see peter again i want to see matthew

00:49:31.619 --> 00:49:35.659
14 27 and i want us to read it from the amplified

00:49:35.659 --> 00:49:45.039
matthew matthew 14 27 and he says but immediately

00:49:45.039 --> 00:49:50.159
he spoke to them saying take courage it is i

00:49:50.159 --> 00:49:53.940
do not be afraid take courage this i Do not be

00:49:53.940 --> 00:49:57.000
afraid. And just a background. The disciples

00:49:57.000 --> 00:50:00.360
were in the boat and then Jesus Christ was walking

00:50:00.360 --> 00:50:03.099
on water and they thought it was a ghost. And

00:50:03.099 --> 00:50:06.300
immediately he spoke to them, he says, but immediately

00:50:06.300 --> 00:50:09.579
he spoke to them saying, take courage. It is

00:50:09.579 --> 00:50:12.179
I, do not be afraid. Take courage, it is I, do

00:50:12.179 --> 00:50:14.639
not be afraid. That take courage there, you'll

00:50:14.639 --> 00:50:17.699
see it as in some translation as take heart.

00:50:17.840 --> 00:50:19.440
You see it as in some translation, take heart,

00:50:19.500 --> 00:50:22.019
be of good cheer. And we have several passages

00:50:22.019 --> 00:50:24.670
of scripture that has the same. Take courage

00:50:24.670 --> 00:50:30.349
is a word to mean be of good courage or be of

00:50:30.349 --> 00:50:33.010
good cheer. The word is be of good courage, be

00:50:33.010 --> 00:50:37.309
of good cheer. And he says it is I. Remember

00:50:37.309 --> 00:50:41.010
when we talk about when he says, be strong, be

00:50:41.010 --> 00:50:43.170
courageous, and then tells you I am with you,

00:50:43.210 --> 00:50:45.829
right? And then he says, do not be afraid. We

00:50:45.829 --> 00:50:47.949
see that it's the same pattern where you are

00:50:47.949 --> 00:50:50.909
reminded of the fact that God is with you, and

00:50:50.909 --> 00:50:52.329
that's the reason why you should not be afraid.

00:50:52.429 --> 00:50:54.380
Praise God. Because God is with you, that's the

00:50:54.380 --> 00:50:56.900
reason why we're afraid. And that word in a sense

00:50:56.900 --> 00:50:59.280
means that you should radiate confidence. You

00:50:59.280 --> 00:51:00.900
should be confident. You should be confident.

00:51:00.940 --> 00:51:03.119
Remember when we said be confident means that

00:51:03.119 --> 00:51:05.480
you are expressing or you're manifesting that

00:51:05.480 --> 00:51:08.400
which you have by virtue of your union with God.

00:51:08.579 --> 00:51:11.480
Because you have a relationship with him, because

00:51:11.480 --> 00:51:14.460
he is with you, you are confident. You're not

00:51:14.460 --> 00:51:18.079
manufacturing it, praise God. You're just manifesting

00:51:18.079 --> 00:51:20.199
that which you have. And it goes beyond human

00:51:20.199 --> 00:51:25.579
bravery. It's an assurance that you have and

00:51:25.579 --> 00:51:27.679
a peace that you have because of your faith in

00:51:27.679 --> 00:51:30.800
God. Because you have faith in God, you have

00:51:30.800 --> 00:51:33.539
that assurance that you are safe. Praise God.

00:51:33.719 --> 00:51:35.119
You have that assurance that you are safe. And

00:51:35.119 --> 00:51:39.840
the moment that kicks in, we see an action in

00:51:39.840 --> 00:51:42.960
the life of Peter. The moment, you know, all

00:51:42.960 --> 00:51:44.679
of them are in the boat. And that's the thing

00:51:44.679 --> 00:51:48.559
of how we can be here, but there can be a situation

00:51:48.559 --> 00:51:52.659
that demands people's... to act. And what happens

00:51:52.659 --> 00:51:56.219
is that somebody will, without thinking, and

00:51:56.219 --> 00:51:58.260
I can imagine, I can imagine what would have

00:51:58.260 --> 00:52:02.159
happened because going by how Peter is, he will

00:52:02.159 --> 00:52:04.440
act and then it's almost like he thinks about

00:52:04.440 --> 00:52:07.280
it later. And notice that he makes a request

00:52:07.280 --> 00:52:12.800
in 28. He makes a request in 28. Peter answered

00:52:12.800 --> 00:52:16.440
and said, just put it in New King James, in 28.

00:52:17.460 --> 00:52:21.190
Peter answered him saying, and said, Lord, if

00:52:21.190 --> 00:52:25.190
it is you, command me to come to you on the water.

00:52:25.449 --> 00:52:27.690
If it is you, command me to come to you on the

00:52:27.690 --> 00:52:31.230
water. And you will just be thinking to yourself,

00:52:31.429 --> 00:52:37.969
like, it's scary enough that you thought it was

00:52:37.969 --> 00:52:40.769
a ghost, right? It's scary enough that you thought

00:52:40.769 --> 00:52:44.250
it was a ghost. And then now, because now you

00:52:44.250 --> 00:52:47.530
believe it is him, your next response is, yeah.

00:52:48.090 --> 00:52:51.030
I would like to walk with you on the water. I

00:52:51.030 --> 00:52:54.070
would like to experience. I want to see what

00:52:54.070 --> 00:52:57.409
the view is. Praise God. I'd like to see what

00:52:57.409 --> 00:53:01.710
the view is. And that takes a level of confidence.

00:53:01.809 --> 00:53:04.710
Like you are persuaded. I see because it is him.

00:53:04.889 --> 00:53:09.610
I can do likewise. Praise God. And I want you

00:53:09.610 --> 00:53:15.250
to see it like this. Because God's word says

00:53:15.250 --> 00:53:19.940
so. I want to see it. in my life. Praise God.

00:53:20.360 --> 00:53:23.760
Because God's word says so, I want to see that

00:53:23.760 --> 00:53:28.059
same thing manifested through me. I'm not okay

00:53:28.059 --> 00:53:32.179
with me seeing it around me, right? I'm not okay

00:53:32.179 --> 00:53:34.519
with me seeing, just looking at him walk on water.

00:53:34.619 --> 00:53:38.860
I want to see that I'm able to do likewise. Praise

00:53:38.860 --> 00:53:42.539
God. And that is the boldness, that is the confidence,

00:53:42.579 --> 00:53:45.679
that's the courage in action. That's the courage

00:53:45.679 --> 00:53:50.239
in action. So it's not just Peter looking at

00:53:50.239 --> 00:53:54.599
it and admiring it, but it took him a lot to

00:53:54.599 --> 00:53:57.800
go ahead and say it. And I can imagine that when

00:53:57.800 --> 00:54:01.420
he has said, okay, Jesus Christ bids him come,

00:54:01.559 --> 00:54:06.139
and then he starts walking, and then the storms

00:54:06.139 --> 00:54:08.880
come, right? The storms come, and then you see

00:54:08.880 --> 00:54:11.239
fear being entertained, and then you see all

00:54:11.239 --> 00:54:13.940
of that happening. But I want you to pick on

00:54:13.940 --> 00:54:19.429
something very beautiful, There's no limit to

00:54:19.429 --> 00:54:23.190
what you can do once you rely on, you trust God.

00:54:23.690 --> 00:54:25.869
There's no limit to what you can do when your

00:54:25.869 --> 00:54:29.329
confidence is in his instruction. Because he's

00:54:29.329 --> 00:54:30.889
given that instruction. You say, if it is you,

00:54:30.949 --> 00:54:34.250
bid me to come. Praise God. And God's word is

00:54:34.250 --> 00:54:40.449
saying that without, from where we started, because

00:54:40.449 --> 00:54:45.150
he heard the word, because he believed that it

00:54:45.150 --> 00:54:49.440
was him, because he had put the full weight on

00:54:49.440 --> 00:54:54.619
God, he now says, and then God instructs him,

00:54:54.719 --> 00:54:58.059
he didn't stay in the boat. He still acted on

00:54:58.059 --> 00:55:00.139
the word and he came out of the boat. And he

00:55:00.139 --> 00:55:02.500
was able to walk. Praise God. He was able to

00:55:02.500 --> 00:55:09.059
walk. And you can just think of it like, how

00:55:09.059 --> 00:55:14.260
am I going to do this? How am I going to do this?

00:55:15.099 --> 00:55:18.760
how will God help me get this done? There are

00:55:18.760 --> 00:55:20.940
two things, two different things. How am I going

00:55:20.940 --> 00:55:23.559
to do this? And how will God help me do this?

00:55:24.559 --> 00:55:26.800
There are two different mindsets. There are two

00:55:26.800 --> 00:55:29.519
different, there are two different approach to

00:55:29.519 --> 00:55:31.420
the same challenge. You want to get this thing

00:55:31.420 --> 00:55:34.320
done. You want, one person wants to do it by

00:55:34.320 --> 00:55:36.079
their self. The other person wants to do it.

00:55:36.119 --> 00:55:38.500
And sometimes we can even say it spiritually,

00:55:38.639 --> 00:55:41.380
just spiritualize and say, how am I going to

00:55:41.380 --> 00:55:44.090
do this with God's help? But what you're... saying

00:55:44.090 --> 00:55:47.929
in essence is, how am I going to do this by my

00:55:47.929 --> 00:55:51.630
own strength? Praise God. But we see Peter walking

00:55:51.630 --> 00:55:54.889
on that water and even when he was sinking, he

00:55:54.889 --> 00:55:57.670
still cried out, save me. Praise God. He still

00:55:57.670 --> 00:56:00.449
cried out, save me. So I want to challenge you

00:56:00.449 --> 00:56:03.110
in closing. What is that fear that is holding

00:56:03.110 --> 00:56:05.550
you back from sharing the gospel? What is that

00:56:05.550 --> 00:56:09.969
fear that is denying someone an opportunity of

00:56:09.969 --> 00:56:12.369
being saved? What is that fear that you have?

00:56:12.829 --> 00:56:15.469
that's denying someone an opportunity of being

00:56:15.469 --> 00:56:19.750
saved? What's that fear that keeps you silent

00:56:19.750 --> 00:56:22.510
when you should be speaking? What is that fear

00:56:22.510 --> 00:56:24.530
that keeps you silent when you should be speaking?

00:56:25.849 --> 00:56:31.030
What is that fear? Because you, and then you

00:56:31.030 --> 00:56:34.869
just keep, you reject. You know, like Peter,

00:56:35.030 --> 00:56:39.630
you might just be, because you just, because

00:56:39.630 --> 00:56:42.280
you're scared. of what can happen, what people

00:56:42.280 --> 00:56:44.840
will do to you. You can just be silent or you

00:56:44.840 --> 00:56:49.980
can deny him. You can just keep running. Some

00:56:49.980 --> 00:56:52.780
people, they just know how to run. When there's

00:56:52.780 --> 00:56:55.059
anything that they don't understand, they just

00:56:55.059 --> 00:56:58.480
keep running, just keep running. I want you to

00:56:58.480 --> 00:57:01.480
understand that you can genuinely cry out to

00:57:01.480 --> 00:57:04.199
the Lord for boldness. You can genuinely cry

00:57:04.199 --> 00:57:06.920
out to the Lord for boldness and boldness will

00:57:06.920 --> 00:57:09.480
find expression in and through you. Boldness

00:57:09.480 --> 00:57:12.099
will find expression in you. So I want us to

00:57:12.099 --> 00:57:17.460
pray because in Acts we see that the people wanted

00:57:17.460 --> 00:57:20.860
to honor God rather than men. They wanted to

00:57:20.860 --> 00:57:23.559
honor God rather than men. And what they decided

00:57:23.559 --> 00:57:29.019
to do is that rather than we be cowards, rather

00:57:29.019 --> 00:57:31.719
than we be cowards, we would rather pray and

00:57:31.719 --> 00:57:34.059
then continue doing. I can imagine how they were

00:57:34.059 --> 00:57:36.460
supernaturally delivered from prison and they

00:57:36.460 --> 00:57:39.940
went back to what they were. arrested for. They

00:57:39.940 --> 00:57:41.980
went back to what they were arrested for. And

00:57:41.980 --> 00:57:46.099
whatever it is that is that fear, you want to

00:57:46.099 --> 00:57:48.260
pray that courage will continue to find expression

00:57:48.260 --> 00:57:50.280
in and through your life, courage will continue

00:57:50.280 --> 00:57:52.199
to find expression in and through my life, courage

00:57:52.199 --> 00:57:55.820
will continue to be my stance with regards to

00:57:55.820 --> 00:57:59.000
what God's will is for my life. And that courage

00:57:59.000 --> 00:58:03.300
is able to make ordinary men and women be, regardless

00:58:03.300 --> 00:58:05.800
of what the challenging situation is, where they

00:58:05.800 --> 00:58:09.269
put no fear. above the work of God. They put

00:58:09.269 --> 00:58:12.170
no fear above what God's responsibility, what

00:58:12.170 --> 00:58:14.349
the responsibility God has called them to. They

00:58:14.349 --> 00:58:16.610
put no fear. They put no fear. And they continue

00:58:16.610 --> 00:58:18.989
to declare that we'll continue to work. We'll

00:58:18.989 --> 00:58:20.730
continue to stand fast in faith. We'll continue

00:58:20.730 --> 00:58:22.550
to be brave for the work. We'll continue to be

00:58:22.550 --> 00:58:25.250
strong in the Lord. We'll continue to be steadfast.

00:58:25.309 --> 00:58:26.929
We'll continue to be immovable. We'll continue

00:58:26.929 --> 00:58:28.869
to abound in the work. We'll continue to abound

00:58:28.869 --> 00:58:31.739
in the work. We'll let nothing. We will let nothing

00:58:31.739 --> 00:58:34.360
stop us. We will let nothing hold us back. We

00:58:34.360 --> 00:58:37.019
will let nothing deny us the great privilege

00:58:37.019 --> 00:58:39.579
of the work that God has called us to. Because

00:58:39.579 --> 00:58:42.900
what he has called us to is great and requires

00:58:42.900 --> 00:58:46.159
great faith, great confidence, great boldness

00:58:46.159 --> 00:58:49.599
to do the work. And we will continue. We will

00:58:49.599 --> 00:58:53.579
not cower. We will not say no. We will continue

00:58:53.579 --> 00:58:55.760
to stand. We will continue to stand. We will

00:58:55.760 --> 00:58:57.780
continue to stand. We will continue to stand.

00:59:00.989 --> 00:59:03.449
And it's not about how we feel. It's about what

00:59:03.449 --> 00:59:08.750
he has said. And fear can be crippling. But we

00:59:08.750 --> 00:59:11.530
will continue to trust in the Lord. We will continue

00:59:11.530 --> 00:59:14.210
to trust in the Lord. We will be the ones who

00:59:14.210 --> 00:59:18.570
dare. Who dare to say, I will walk on the water.

00:59:18.769 --> 00:59:21.849
I will walk on the water. Because you have said

00:59:21.849 --> 00:59:24.769
so, I will do it. Because you said I can heal

00:59:24.769 --> 00:59:27.900
the sick, I will. put myself in that position.

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I will not pass out on an opportunity to do so.

00:59:30.619 --> 00:59:34.380
Even if it scares me, even if I'm afraid, even

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if I'm afraid, but I choose to, I will choose

00:59:36.960 --> 00:59:40.639
to trust you and allow the light of your word

00:59:40.639 --> 00:59:43.960
dispel every fear and any fear in me. I will

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not let anything hold me back. We appreciate

00:59:49.280 --> 00:59:51.960
you being here today. We hope you carry this

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word with you throughout your week. Don't forget

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to check the show notes for additional insights.

00:59:57.519 --> 01:00:00.420
Stay connected with us through our website or

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follow us on social media. If you are encouraged,

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share this message with someone you care about.

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Until next time, stay blessed.