Identity of Boldness, STAND UP!

IDENTITY OF BOLDNESS • Sermon • Submitted 4 months ago • Presented 4 months ago

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Stand Up

Church, on the day of Pentecost, God sent us the amazing gift of the Holy Spirit! There’s a power that comes along with that Spirit that enables us to become the person God created us to be! It enables us to STAND UP with boldness and witness to people who need Jesus.

That same Spirit allows me…

To STAND UP in the midst of the enemy.

Acts 1:8 CSB

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Acts 2:14 CSB

14 Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them, “Fellow Jews and all you residents of Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and pay attention to my words.

Acts 12:1–10 CSB

1 About that time King Herod violently attacked some who belonged to the church, 2 and he executed James, John’s brother, with the sword. 3 When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter too, during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 4 After the arrest, he put him in prison and assigned four squads of four soldiers each to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was praying fervently to God for him. 6 When Herod was about to bring him out for trial, that very night Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while the sentries in front of the door guarded the prison. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light shone in the cell. Striking Peter on the side, he woke him up and said, “Quick, get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists. 8 “Get dressed,” the angel told him, “and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Wrap your cloak around you,” he told him, “and follow me.” 9 So he went out and followed, and he did not know that what the angel did was really happening, but he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 After they passed the first and second guards, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened to them by itself. They went outside and passed one street, and suddenly the angel left him.

That same Spirit has the Power to Break The Chains that have been holding me back.

It has the power to Guide Me Out Of The Prison Satan has had me bound in, and leads me to freedom

Church, that same Spirit helps me Stand Up In Submission to God while the enemy is attacking

And that same Holy Spirit of God enables us to have Victory Over The Enemy!

And that same Spirit Lives In Each One Of Us who has accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.

I don’t know about you but that excites me!

In Acts, Chapter 2, God sends us the precious gift of the Holy Spirit like a mighty, rushing wind!

We all know how specific God is when he does things, so a little fun fact…Pentecost means 50 and it was exactly 50 days after Jesus rose from the grave that He sent the Holy Spirit. So, if you think about it, it was just over a month and a half from Peter hitting his rock bottom.

He denied Jesus three times and then cursed. But Peter had Godly sorrow that made him sad that he had wronged God and it led to his repentance.

After spending an additional 40 days with Jesus and 10 days in prayer, he was a changed man. Around 9:00 AM on the day of Pentecost, Jesus made good on His promise and sent the Holy Spirit that entered them, and just like Jesus said in Acts, Chapter 1, verse 8; But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth!

So now it says in Chapter 2, verse 14 Peter STOOD UP with the eleven; the same Peter that followed Jesus from a safe distance less than two months ago is now Standing Up!

The same Peter that emphatically denied Jesus three times is now Standing Up.

The same Peter who cursed and swore…then remembering what Jesus said…went out and wept bitterly is now Standing Up!

I don’t know about you but I think they put this one sentence in there because when Peter Stood Up, it meant so much more than just standing up.

I believe that Luke, as he was writing this story, remembered

Peter Standing Up as a new man;

He remembered Peter Standing Up redeemed,

Standing Up boldly,

Standing Up as a man changed by Jesus.

You see all it says is that Peter stood up with the eleven, but what it means is so much more than those five words.

It means that God calls us as unqualified sinners but He transforms us into qualified disciples of Jesus.

It means that even though we have been around Jesus for a bit of time, we may still find ourselves denying him, but if we repent, then He’s all the more willing to help us Stand Up!

What that means is when you pray and fast and spend time with Jesus and build that Spirit that’s living in you, then you too can Stand Up, and once you Stand Up with the Spirit of God, you will speak with a raised voice proclaiming the Word of the Lord!

And that stubborn fisherman named Simon became Peter the Rock that the church was built on and once he Stood Up, he preached the Word of God and 3,000 people got saved and baptized!

Exodus 17:12 CSB

12 When Moses’s hands grew heavy, they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat down on it. Then Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other so that his hands remained steady until the sun went down.

Church It’s Time To STAND UP. It’s time we STAND UP boldly as children of God and testify that…

Just like Peter, I was stubborn when Jesus found me.

Just like Peter I have struggled with thinking and living carnally.

And just like Peter I’ve acted like I didn’t know Jesus at times.

But just like Peter, Jesus sent that Holy Spirit to sanctify me holy…enabling me to STAND UP as a disciple of Christ… enabling me to STAND UP as a redeemed son of God.

AND CHURCH IT’S TIME WE STAND UP.

The people in the world are laughing and scoffing and saying we’re crazy, but when we Stand Up and allow the Holy Spirit to use us, those people get to see and hear how a man named Jesus can take you from fearfully standing down to boldly Standing Up.

Church we all have A Stand Up Moment! Let tonight be your stand up moment!

Maybe you feel like you’re still trapped in a prison, maybe there’s some chains you are wrapped in…or, you are surrounded by the enemy. I think more people feel this way than we think, but I’ve got good news for you. You don’t have to stay this way!

Let’s look at freedom in Acts Chapter 12:1-5.

So I’ve got to stop right here and point a couple of things out.

Number one is that it says he, being Herod, surrounded Peter with four squadrons of soldiers each to guard him intending to bring Peter out for trial after Passover.

Church, I want you to know that God’s purpose always overcomes human intentions! No matter what people do to you, no matter what someone conspires against you, God’s purpose is always on your side!

Number two, Scripture says Peter was kept in jail, BUT, the church was fervently praying to God for him. That one sentence should give you a ton of hope. Because what Luke is saying is that yes, Herod killed James, and yes He intends to bring Peter to the same fate, and yes he put four squads of soldiers to guard one man – Peter - while he was in prison.

But despite all that - the church is fervently praying to God! So what I hear is “man, we’re praying for so and so, they claim they are an atheist, they have a drinking problem, BUT!! They have a mother or father who goes to a church who is fervently praying. What I hear is that no matter what the problem is, we have a say in the outcome.

As long as there is a BUT, someone is praying. Church, I am a product of BUT…parents praying fervently, praying for him.

Acts 12:6-10

6 When Herod was about to bring him out for trial, that very night Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while the sentries in front of the door guarded the prison. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light shone in the cell. Striking Peter on the side, he woke him up and said, “Quick, get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists. 8 “Get dressed,” the angel told him, “and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Wrap your cloak around you,” he told him, “and follow me.” 9 So he went out and followed, and he did not know that what the angel did was really happening, but he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 After they passed the first and second guards, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened to them by itself. They went outside and passed one street, and suddenly the angel left him.

So, Peter is in jail with two chains binding him between two guards on the night before – as far as he knows – the biggest day of his life and he is asleep!

Don’t tell me the rest of the Lord is not real. As far as Peter knows he is going to die just like James, but he’s asleep because he is completely sold out to Jesus and he knows to live is Christ and to die is gain. In fact he’s sleeping so deeply the light from the Angel of the Lord did not wake him up…the angel had to hit him on the side to wake him up!

But here is where I wanted to get us to. The angel of the Lord tells Peter, “Quick, get up!” And Scripture says once Peter stood up, the chains fell off!

See the way we think is that the chains fell off so we can get up, but that is not what it says. It says the Angel of the Lord told him to get up and once Peter got up, once he stood up, that’s when the chains fell off.

Listen to me. We think that the chains are going to fall off and it’s going to get easier and we’ll feel free, so then we can obey God, but it doesn’t work that way. You’ve got to stand up for the chains to fall off because obedience always comes before freedom. It’s the obedience to what God is telling you to do that leads to the freedom! The blind obedience allows you to be free from needing to know the outcome before you take the step or before you stand up!

When opportunity knocks it just looks like obedience. So if Peter never stood up, the chains would stay on and if we don’t live in obedience to God, he can’t do the things he wants to do in our lives that we don’t learn about.

God intended the whole time to take Peter’s chains off but if Peter never stood up, the chains wouldn’t have fallen off. So church we must STAND UP in obedience and in faith to get the freedom and see the miracle God wants to do, but that first step is so important.

Church, we’ve got to STAND UP to see the miracle. We have to STAND UP to have the chains fall off and just like this story, God has already worked every step out for Peter’s escape from prison but all he needs us to do is one step at a time.

Church insert your own struggles as the prison in this story. Addiction is a prison, depression is a prison, mind sets can be a prison.

We don’t need to know every step of God’s plan. We just need to know at this present moment God is telling me to STAND UP! So we STAND UP and the chains fall off and next the angel tells him to put his clothes on. Peter didn’t ask why or where are we going. He just started putting on his clothes.

Church, we must blindly follow Jesus. We don’t need to know 10 steps ahead. We just need to STAND UP, because He is telling us to stand because Obedience comes before Freedom. Freedom from what? Freedom from needing to know the next step and because we know that when opportunity knocks, it looks like obedience.

Church, there are times when God calls on us to STAND UP, calls on us to make the first move of faith, calls on us to STAND UP in obedience to him and in doing the simple act of standing up, God reveals what His true opportunity for you is.

Once we STAND UP then, the revival can break loose.

Once we STAND UP then the chains and strongholds can be broken, and when we STAND UP in faith and belief, victory is assured.

CHURCH ARE YOU READY TO STAND UP IN FAITH?

We’ve seen two new test stories about STAND UP moments, but let’s take a look at Moses’ Stand Up Moment in Exodus 17:12.

So Moses, an elderly man, who was not able to fight anymore, goes on top of the hill. He held his hands up in a traditional Jewish prayer stance, and as Amalek came on the attack against Moses and Israel, Moses Stood Up on the hill overlooking the battle. As long as his hands were held high, Israel prevailed…but when he started getting tired, God had the right people around him who slid a rock under him so he could lean on it. These men got on both sides of him and helped him hold his arms up until the sun went down and Israel won because of Moses’ prayers and Aaron’s and Hur’s diligence to be where God needed them to be.

See, there are times in life when we feel like we can’t Stand Up anymore; the enemy is attacking. I’m tired and feel beat down, but God gives me the will to Stand Up and He gives me the will to get in that position of prayer, of surrender, and pray. God puts people with me to give me a rock to lean on and shoulders to hold my arms up in prayer a little longer, ensuring me the victory!

See, there are going to be times where we feel like Peter in Acts 2, where we’re so full of the Spirit and anointed in prayer, we can’t help but Stand Up and preach the good news of Jesus Christ! We can’t help but testify, then there’s going to be times where it seems like all hope is gone.

I’ve had one Stand Up moment and here I am again, locked up in a prison with chains holding me down and the enemy surrounding me, but I’ve got a church full of people praying for me and out of nowhere an angel of God shows up and says, “Quick, Stand Up!”

And, without knowing that obedience is disguised as opportunity, I stand up and the chains fell off, and the guards are blinded and the doors open and I’m led to freedom, but it’s because I Stood Up in obedience; it’s because I didn’t ask questions. I followed God blindly, the doors opened and I walked through them to freedom.

See there’s so many of us standing, knocking at doors God has already opened. We don’t need to know anything other than God opened the door. And then there’s time where we can’t do it alone. We can stand up but we need our Christian brothers and sisters to slide a rock under us to lean on, and I need someone on each side of me to help me keep my arms in a praying position because the problems I’m having takes fervent prayer, but as long as I have help praying through, God will assure me the victory!