Be Bold

Question: do you need boldness to witness to your family, your friends, or your neighbors?  With so many people being drawn away from the Lord and so much hostility against Christians surfacing and persecution on the rise, you may feel intimidated; maybe you are a timid person and more of an introvert than an extrovert.  

Think about the life of Peter before the day of Pentecost compared to after when the Holy Spirit was poured out; there seemed to be a different Peter.  Before this event took place Peter seemed to speak out before thinking, maybe from his emotions, sticking his foot in his mouth, so to speak, denying the Lord at His most crucial moment, just sort of wishy washy you might say.  After the day of Pentecost, Peter seemed to be very bold.  What made the difference?  The power of the Holy Spirit in Peter’s life made all the difference in the world.  The Holy Spirit helped Peter to be very bold in his witnessing!!  

Jesus told His disciples what would happen when the Holy Spirit was poured out.  Read what He said in Acts 1:4-8, “And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, ‘which,’ He said, ‘you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’ Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, ‘Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’ And He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’”

If you read Peter’s first sermon in Acts 2:1-41, you may notice a different Peter, one who was very bold, witnessing without fear.  There are a few reasons why you may not be bold in witnessing besides the ones I mentioned earlier.  You may have grieved the Holy Spirit by not being obedient or maybe there is unconfessed sin in your life that you need to confess and repent of.  Maybe you need to ask God for a refilling of His Holy Spirit in your life.  

The first step is that you have to be a born-again believer.  If that is the case, do what Peter told the people to do in his first sermon after being baptized in the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:36-39, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’

Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.’”

Spend a lot of time with the Lord studying the Word, praying and memorizing the verses that speak of salvation until you are comfortable with saying them.  Then step out in faith trusting the Holy Spirit to anoint and empower you, giving you the words you need to say at the time.  Be available and willing to be used by God.  Something to think about!  Have a super day and may the good Lord bless you and yours!!