More or Less: Bold Witness
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More or Less
More or Less
Often times our faith is based a lot on us
often times more about us then of God
God bless me
Help Me
I came to God and
I didn’t get a better job
my life was still difficult
We think that the relationship that we have with Jesus is about us
BUT it is actually all about Him
God doesn’t exist for us BUT we exist to serve and worship Him
When Jesus told people how to follow Him...
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
we live in a selfish & self centered culture
we must learn how to be SELF-LESS
He must increase, but I must decrease.”
Rather than praying today for God to bless me
pray God help me to reach more people even if I get ridiculed
BOLD WITNESS
Jesus taught the disciples for 3 years
about faith
how to live
throughout He kept telling them to be prepared
that He was going to lay His life down
BUT not to worry that 3 days later He would raise again
they had a difficult time grasping this
They said that He wouldn’t have to do that
He said, I did not come for the healthy but for sick
not for righteous but for sinner
God will raise me from the dead
When it happened of course they were so excited and pumped knowing that He would be back in 3 days… NO
John 20
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
They were cowering behind locked doors
afraid
don’t know
don’t want to offend
mess it up
One event that changed their fear to boldness
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
John 20:19
Peter had shortly before this caved into pressure of a little girl
“I don’t know who Jesus is”
shortly after this ONE VERSE He is preaching boldly
“Repent and Be Baptized for the forgiveness of sins”
now several disciples lives were taken for their boldness in witnessing their faith
Annas: asks Peter by what power & by what Name do you do this
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well.
because the tomb was empty He became bold
1. We speak boldly about what we believe deeply
- Randy about MELT new restaurant
- Luke new LeBron’s
if we are not speaking boldly about Jesus… do we believe it deeply
And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.
Acts 4:12
ordinary people
How amazed are people by your boldness for Christ?
Rate it 1-10
1 unmoved
10 completely amazed
10 Jesus
1 is nothing
7-9 new people with you at church
telling your testimony to others
praying for the lost & that God would use you to reach them
4-5
never brought people with you to church
not sure that your co-workers even know that you are a believer
Times in my life when
One time I drove 2,500 miles round trip to spend a week with some people who I respected and looked up to in business to share my faith with them
I had people praying for my trip & that I would have the words to say
people all around just doing their thing… minding their own business
people told me how bold that I was for making this trip with the intentions that I had
and I preached a message about Abraham offering his son Isaac as an offering to the Lord
when I got their I immediately became intimidated and while I was with them for nearly a week my fear won and I never spoke about Jesus the entire trip
people were amazed at the boldness that we have had
How do we grow in our boldness?
How do we grow in our boldness?
Spend more time with Jesus
read, pray, church, ect.
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.
uneducated: greek word idiotase
what other word is translated idiotase?
if you ever feel like an idiot
you are a perfect candidate for Jesus to use
but they saw that they were men who have been with Jesus
Go about my day without Jesus time
carnal minded & worldly … just like you when you don’t spend time with Jesus
have a harder time dealing with rude drivers & people who block the line at the grocery with their cart
I feel discouraged the next day and am much less likely to study today if I didn’t yesterday
When I do read & pray
I feel encouraged and directed
I gain confidence knowing that He is with me and has sent me
addictive and want more
kid going out without a parent
nervous to order food
When I am with them they build confidence because I am showing them the way and I am their if they stumble they know that they can look to me because they brought me with them
If you want to be more bold
spend more time with Jesus
2. Ask Him to make you bold
just pray
When is the last time you asked for boldness?
more often we pray that God will keep us safe in our travels
bless us
comfort us
give us rest
peace
joy
We must stop this praying that God will take my needs
me, me, me, ...
God break me and make me new for your purpose
And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness,
and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel,
when we
spend time
ask Him
we will become more bold
Heaven & Hell are real and they will last for forever
For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything.
But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.”
this is what God has prepared for us...
do you believe it?
we will speak boldly about what we believe deeply
I know the worries that we have when thinking about sharing...
what if they don’t like what I say?
what if they don’t understand?
What about the worries if we don’t share our faith?
In one moment they were scared to death
when they realized that Jesus was with them everything changed...
this could be that moment for you.
ordinary but filled with the Holy Spirit
speaking boldly because you believe deeply
invite those who are believers and want to be more bold in faith to come pray
give us a heart for those who are lost
give us a greater concern for what will happen if we don’t share then if we do
If you are here and you are not a believer
many of us think that we are pretty good people and that we should be alright
problem is that we are all sinners
have you ever lied?
lusted?
You won’t be good enough
that’s why Christ came
Gospel
Who today is ready today to be bold today for the first time in saying that I recognize that I am a sinner in need of a Savior?
boldly invite you to come to pray
So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
If you deny me before men