Bold As A Lion

[0:00] Proverbs 28 verse 1 it says, The wicked flee when no man pursueth but the righteous are as bold as a lion.

[0:17] ! The righteous are bold as a lion.! The word bold here, it means to be confident, to trust. And a related word is a place of refuge.

[0:29] So our boldness comes from our trust, comes from faith, comes from the one in who we can take refuge. That we are safe and secure, we're held by him. And the righteous have no need of fear.

[0:41] You have no need of fear if you are righteous. Think of a lion, the king of the beasts, the king of the jungle. He's not afraid of other animals, is he? The lion. Imagine that lion.

[0:53] Roar! You know, everybody trembles when the lion comes along and they see him, they hear him. He's not afraid of the other animals. He's known for his great strength and power.

[1:06] In Amos 3.8 it says, The lion hath roared, who will not fear? The Lord God hath spoken, who can but prophesy. So you're talking of a lion, the lion's roar.

[1:17] And it's been said that a lion's roar can be heard by humans up to nine kilometres away. Imagine that. You're out in the jungle and nine kilometres away you can hear that roar, that roar out in the distance.

[1:31] It's a warning before he goes out to hunt in the evening. After a successful hunt, and again in the morning, he roars, and you can hear that. And that would send a chill down your spine, wouldn't it?

[1:43] You're out in the jungle and you can hear that. How close is that lion? You know, you've got to be careful about your safety with a lion like that. But the lion doesn't have to be fearful.

[1:54] And the Bible says the righteous are bold as a lion. God says that his own people will have a boldness, there'll be a fearlessness, there'll be a faith. That can be strong and assured.

[2:09] Isaiah 41 verse 10 it says, The Lord speaks and he says, Fear thou not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee.

[2:21] Yea, I will help thee. Yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. That's a verse to take to heart, isn't it? That's a verse that would be good to imprint on the tablets of your heart, wouldn't it?

[2:34] That verse, fear not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee.

[2:45] Yea, I will help thee. Yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. And the word is full of promises like that. No wonder you can be bold, sister.

[2:56] No wonder you can be bold today. Because God is with you. You will have no reason to fear. He says, I am with you. Fear not. I am with you.

[3:07] Be not dismayed. I am with you, Daniel. I am with you wherever you go. He says that to you. Brother, sister, he is with you today. He says that you can be as bold as a lion.

[3:19] How can we get this boldness? How can we have this kind of boldness that the writer is talking of here? Our boldness, it does not come from pride, or from vain glory, or from some kind of motivational speaker, or some kind of brashness, or vain glory that is man-made and manufactured.

[3:38] This is a boldness that comes from him. It comes from him. Not from self-righteousness, but from his righteousness, from faith. Romans 4.3 it says, But what saith the scripture?

[3:52] Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

[4:03] That's the righteousness that we can have. A righteousness that comes as we believe God. That's Romans 4.3. And Romans 1.16 tells us of the gospel.

[4:15] It's the righteousness of God revealed. Romans 1.16, that familiar one, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

[4:33] For therein, in the gospel, is the righteousness of God revealed, from faith to faith, as it is written, that just shall live by faith.

[4:44] So there we have it. Therein is the righteousness of God revealed, in the gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation. To you that believe, it's God's power to you, that believe in his name.

[4:57] God's righteousness, it's revealed in his word, and it's received by us, by faith. By faith, we have that righteousness, that the writer in Proverbs is talking about.

[5:08] The righteous are bold as a lion. You can be righteous, decreed, stated, titled as righteous.

[5:19] The righteousness of God in Christ. You can have it, you can know it, you can receive it, you can identify with Christ, and you can know his righteousness, granted to you.

[5:30] By faith, we can have that righteousness, that confidence, not of ourselves, or our own doing, or of our own self-righteousness, but entirely of his doing. And friends, what a confidence you can have, what an assurance you can have, of knowing his grace.

[5:47] Some verses that talk about boldness, that you can take heart in today, you might want to write these down, and remember them, recall them, underline them, but most of all, have them in your heart.

[5:57] If possible, memorise the word, if you can. It's such a blessing to know it, and to be able to recall it. In Hebrews 13, 6, so that we may boldly, boldly, boldly say, so that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper, and I will not fear, what man shall do unto me.

[6:20] Maybe you're facing some challenges, or you worry about, what man shall do unto you. I don't know what it might be, that might face you in the days ahead, some challenges, some testings, some struggles, who knows what the path ahead, might bring your way.

[6:36] But whatever it will bring, the Lord is my helper, I will not fear, what man shall do unto me. You can be bold. Brother, you can be bold.

[6:47] Sister, you can be bold. You can be brave. You can be assured, not by any self-motivation, but because of the word, motivating your heart, and giving you that confidence within, that Christ is in you.

[7:03] Joshua 1, verse 7, it reads, only be thou strong and very courageous. Be thou strong and very courageous, that thou last observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee, turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou last prosper with us, however thou goest.

[7:30] There's an exhortation for you and for me. Only be thou strong and very courageous. The word is full of promises like that, challenges like that.

[7:40] That's a command. It says be strong. It says be very courageous. That's something you can claim and receive today. In Revelation 12, 11, it reads that those that they overcame him, talking of the enemy, Revelation 12, 11, they overcame him by the word of their testimony and by the blood of the Lamb.

[8:02] There was an overcoming power. You can be an overcomer. You can be on the victory side because of the blood. There's many scriptures we can look at that give us reason for boldness.

[8:14] Think of the reason you have for boldness. Proverbs 3, 26, it says, For the Lord shall be thy confidence. Take a hold of that one.

[8:24] For the Lord shall be thy confidence. It's not what's in the bank account. It's not having a job to turn up to next week. It's not having affluence or influence or anything that you can credit to your own working or doing or knowing.

[8:40] No educating. No qualifying. No undertaking of your own. The Lord shall be thy confidence. If you've got the Lord tonight, you've got confidence.

[8:50] If you've got the Lord, you have his confidence within. Remember there's an old advert that had the Colgate ring of confidence. You don't need Colgate, brother.

[9:01] You don't need Colgate, sister. You need the Lord. The Lord shall be thy confidence and shall keep thy foot from being taken. That's your confidence. Not in anything but Christ.

[9:13] And Psalm 18, 29, the psalmist says, For by thee I have run through a troop, and by my God have I leaped over a wall. As for God, his way is perfect.

[9:25] The word of the Lord is tried. He is a buckler or shield to all those that trust in him. He says, I've run through a troop. Now it's got the sense of smashing through this opposing army.

[9:39] He's run through a troop. And by my God, I've leaped over a wall, you know, faster than a speeding bullet. You know, there's a confidence there. Amen? There's an assurance there.

[9:50] There's a boldness there. By my God, I can do these things because he is with me. And I can trust in him. There's a boldness for you. If you're a believer tonight, if you love the Lord Jesus, think of the boldness that you have as you go about your day by day, that you represent the kingdom of heaven here on earth.

[10:10] He's called you an ambassador for his kingdom. Think of that. No wonder you can have boldness. You think of, you know, sometimes you see the ambassadors get up and they can speak with authority, can't they?

[10:24] They can speak with the nation behind them because they represent the nation that they stand for. Whatever embassy they might represent, whatever country they might represent, they are standing and speaking for their country.

[10:38] And you can likewise have a boldness as his ambassador, his representative, and he is with you. He is with you wherever you go. As he said to Joshua 1 verse 9, For the Lord thy God is with thee, with thee wherever you go.

[10:54] And we are to have the confidence, the boldness, that comes from a trust, from a faith in him, not to be afraid. It's a command. Do not be afraid.

[11:05] It reads there, I will not fear what man shall do unto me. He says, Fear thou not. Isaiah 41.10 That's a command. Now I know some people are afraid of the dark.

[11:18] They've got to have the lights on. We don't have to fear the dark. We don't have to fear the bogeyman. We don't have to fear the shadows. We don't have to fear the creaks and noises and the sounds about us when we're trying to get to sleep.

[11:30] Fear thou not, for I am with thee. Take confidence in that. In Ephesians 3.12 it says, In whom, speaking of Christ our Saviour, in whom, in Christ, we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

[11:46] If you know the Saviour, he is with you, wherever you go, wherever you go, and you have boldness, you have confidence, you have access by the faith of him. Psalm 27 verse 1.

[12:00] It says, The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? Take heart. You know, sometimes, I know at work, sometimes I get worried when the boss wants to see me.

[12:16] You know, you worry, what are they going to say? You know, is it going to be something negative, something that I've got to brush up on or pick up on? Or, you know, there's always a little bit of a trepidation, isn't there?

[12:28] When there's someone singing to you that you're having to report to and you're having to meet with and you wonder, are you going to get told off about something or other? But you don't have to be afraid what you face.

[12:40] What can man do unto me? The Lord is on my side. I will not fear. Psalm 118 verse 6. I will not fear.

[12:51] What can man do unto me? Think of that, brothers and sisters, that you've got a confidence and it's because of your salvation. You've got reason because He is with you. You've got biblical values and truth.

[13:02] Think of through the pages of Scripture some of the men and women of God that you can learn from. The men and women of God in Scripture that demonstrate that kind of boldness, that kind of courage in Christ, that kind of faith in the Lord.

[13:18] For example, Daniel 3 verse 17 to 18. Daniel 3 verses 7 to 18. That account of the three Hebrew children, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, were their names that they were given, although we know them as those Hebrew names that predated those names, but we know them as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

[13:39] These three Hebrew children, they faced the challenge of a fiery furnace, heated up seven times hotter than it was normally and the king was going to throw them into that fiery furnace because they would not bow down to the idol.

[13:56] In Daniel 3 verse 17 it says, they spoke and they said to the king, you know, imagine this, they were speaking to the king, the highest authority in the land. He says, they said to the king, if it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace.

[14:15] Our God is able, our God is able to deliver us from that burning fiery furnace and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

[14:34] We will not serve thy gods, they said to the highest authority in the land, the highest secular authority of the government of its day. We will not serve thy gods.

[14:46] That was boldness, wasn't it? Would you have stood with them? Would you have stood with them? Or would you have bowed down with the populace, with the, with the crowd?

[15:00] Or would you have stood with those three? God wants you to have boldness. And God blessed them for it, didn't he? God delivered them for it. Think of David as he faced Goliath, that familiar one too.

[15:12] 1 Samuel 17, verse 45. Then David said to the Philistine, this great big Goliath, the giant, Thou comest to me with a sword and with a spear and with a shield, but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.

[15:35] You know, that would have been a daunting spectacle, wouldn't it? This massive giant, huge, massive, tall giant, arrayed with the strongest, that he could find of armour, of shield, of sword, of spear.

[15:51] I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the Lord of armies, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.

[16:03] He wasn't afraid, was he? David, you know, humanly speaking, he could have been quaking in his boots and, you know, getting the butterflies in the stomach. Maybe he had that too. But he had faith, amen.

[16:14] He had boldness to stand. Daniel too stood. As we know, the record of scripture that the enemies of Daniel made a law that made it illegal for him to pray.

[16:27] Illegal for anyone to be prayed to, to be sought, to be beseeched, but the king. All the petitions had to be to the king. And anyone who was to make a petition, to make a request, to make a prayer, of anyone else was to be destroyed.

[16:47] And in Daniel 6, verse 10, now when Daniel knew the writing was signed, he knew the law had been decreed, that being made official, and the rubber stamp was on it, the king's seal, whatever had been done.

[17:00] This was law. He went into his house, and his windows being open in his chamber towards Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he did a four time.

[17:14] He prayed three times a day, gave thanks before his God, as he did a four time. The law, that ungodly law, he did not obey it, because he would rather obey his God.

[17:28] He had boldness there, didn't he? And he did it openly in front of the enemies, in front of those who would condemn him, and as we know, he was thrown into the den of lions, and God delivered him.

[17:39] Boldness. Boldness. God will help you. God will help you to be bold. He'll stand by you. Be bold. Think of Esther. Esther was one who spoke for her people before the king.

[17:51] She came in haste before the king to request the safety of her people, and this was something that, really, she faced a great danger, because it was something that was unauthorized.

[18:08] It was something that was not the done thing to do, and she faced great danger as she came before the king, but she was bold in entering in unto the king, because she knew that she was standing for God and his people, and God honoured her boldness too.

[18:25] Think of Joseph of Arimathea. As our Lord had died, and his body was there, in Mount 15, verse 43, Joseph of Arimathea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.

[18:45] He went in boldly, again, before the authority of his land, into the very centre of the authority of his land to Pilate. He went in boldly, and he craved the body of Jesus.

[18:59] And that was important to him. He was bold about it. He wasn't holding back. He was bold about it. We read of Stephen, as he preached in Acts 7, 51.

[19:10] Listen to his straight shooting words, as he spoke to them. Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart, and ears, ye do always resist, the Holy Ghost as your fathers did, so do ye.

[19:24] Ye stiff-necked, uncircumcised in heart. That was bold, wasn't it? He wasn't missing his words. He wasn't just gumming on, was he?

[19:34] He was forthright. He was bold in his God. And even though, as we know, it cost him his life, he was bold. Stephen was bold.

[19:45] Apollos was bold. In Acts 18, 26, he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. Aquila and Priscilla heard and took him unto them and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.

[19:59] Apollos spoke boldly in the synagogue. Likewise, Paul in Acts 19, verse 8, he went into the synagogue and spake boldly.

[20:10] There's that word again for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. And in Acts 9, 29, it speaks of Paul too.

[20:20] And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Grecians, but they went about to slay him. Think of these men and women of God.

[20:31] Esther, Stephen, Apollos, Paul. Friends, these folk who are bold like Joseph of Arimathea, Daniel, David, the three Hebrew children.

[20:43] How can we learn? How can we learn from them? Their boldness speaks to us. It speaks to you about how you can be as a Christian man or woman. How can we make this boldness happen?

[20:55] How can we live it out? How can we translate that into action? In our lives in this 21st century, you can have a boldness in prayer. Daniel did, didn't he? He was bold in prayer.

[21:06] He didn't care who was watching him. Not that he was doing it for show, but because he was committed to his times of prayer. He didn't care what the laws of the land were in relation to his faith. He was faithful to God and what his convictions were.

[21:20] And in Psalm 27, 14, speaks of a boldness in prayer. It says, Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage. Courage, boldness. And he shall strengthen thine heart.

[21:31] Wait, I say, on the Lord. Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage. Be courageous. Be bold. Wait on the Lord, it says. Be bold in prayer. Abraham was bold in prayer as he came to God and interceded for that wicked city of Sodom.

[21:48] He interceded. And he asked the Lord, If there be so many, would you pardon? Would you hold back your wrath, your judgment? He pleaded with God.

[21:59] Boldly. Pleading. Interceding. You can do that for your friends, your neighbours, for our city too. We need to intercede, to pray, to beseech him for his mercy, to hold back his wrath while there's still time for salvation.

[22:15] Hebrews 10, 19 describes a boldness in prayer. As we read of the blood of Christ, it gives us access. It gives us access. It gives us that open door.

[22:25] It gives us that welcome invitation. It gives us that opening into the very holy, the very holiest, the very holy place, the place of prayer. And we can come to the throne of grace.

[22:39] Grace. And it's a beautiful word. I love talking about grace. And thank God, grace is enthroned there. Grace is on the throne. Thank God grace is still on the throne.

[22:51] Amen. Grace is still on the throne today. Grace is still there. God's grace, His free, pardon, His unmerited, welcome, to the sinful.

[23:05] Grace is still there. If we but, come to Him. Grace is still on the throne today. Grace still rules. Grace rules. And so we can have confidence.

[23:17] You can have confidence because of grace. Because if grace wasn't on the throne, you wouldn't have a hope, would you? We wouldn't have a hope, would we? If it was wrath on the throne, then no.

[23:28] But thank God, His wrath has been paid. It's been vented. It's been poured out on Christ's cross, on His very person, in His bleeding, dying form, as He was whipped, and scarred, and bruised, and pierced, for you, for me.

[23:43] Grace has paid for His wrath. If you'll but receive it, come to His throne of grace. Find grace, find help, in time of need. And so, we can have confidence.

[23:54] That one, Hebrews 10, 19. Read it later. Come before His throne of grace. Come with boldness. Boldly enter in. Because of the blood, you can. Because of the blood shed, you can have boldness, because of what He's done for you.

[24:08] Because of what Christ's blood, is worth for you. It's worth heaven for you. His blood, has paid it all for you. Receive it. Come to Him. Boldness in prayer.

[24:20] Think of Isaiah 40, 29. It says, He giveth power to the faint. Sorry, there's lots of scriptures here, but there's so many, you could really, there's many more, you could really cover, to just touch on, just to scratch the surface, on the boldness, on the confidence you can have in Christ, on that assurance you can have.

[24:39] He giveth power to the faint. If you're feeling faint, He gives power to you. Just seek it. Just plug in. Just receive it. The power to the faint. To them that have no might, He increaseth strength.

[24:51] Even the youth shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. But they that wait upon the Lord, shall renew their strength. There's a renewing of strength, for those that wait upon the Lord.

[25:03] They shall mount up, with wings as eagles. They shall run, and not be weary. And they shall walk, and not faint. There's a power. There's a boldness in prayer.

[25:15] It's an untapped power, often, isn't it? Prayer. I know, we all could tap in, to prayer, and get more power. He giveth power to the faint. But seek Him for it.

[25:25] Seek His face. Pray. And He'll give you boldness, to pray more. Think of boldness, too, in witnessing. Boldness, in witnessing.

[25:38] Now that's a challenge, isn't it? Challenging. I know there's folk, that are keen to witness. They're writing out their own tracts, to give them out to people. Messages, of Christ's love.

[25:48] Messages, of salvation. Messages, of the gospel. It's the good news. It's the greatest thing you can talk about, and give about. The witnessing.

[25:59] And we need to have boldness in witnessing. Now I've seen some people, bold in witnessing. I thank God, for God's people, out there doing it. In the public place.

[26:10] In the marketplace. Boldly. Declaring the message. We need to declare it. Now, someone wrote it like this.

[26:22] They said, if you can watch a scary movie, if you can go down the show, and go on a roller coaster ride, or you can play a violent, scary video game, you can drive on a fast-paced highway, or just in heavy traffic, or if you can get into a car, with a teenager, who's just got their L plates, then you have the courage, to witness to the lost.

[26:49] The courage, the boldness, to witness to the lost. And the enemy doesn't want you to do it. The enemy doesn't want you to open your mouth. He wants you to keep it zipped up.

[26:59] Don't say a word about Jesus, about salvation, about the gospel, about the cross, about sin, about hell, about damnation, about the danger of the soul, that's Christless.

[27:11] Friends, the devil doesn't want you to do it. The devil doesn't want you to do it. To witness. But Christ commands you to. So be bold in witnessing.

[27:22] You've got the privilege of making him known. The privilege of introducing others to him. Take those God-given opportunities that come your way, to share your faith in Christ.

[27:36] As 1 Thessalonians 2, 2 says, But even after that, we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as you know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God, to speak unto you the gospel of God, with much contention.

[27:53] Even though the circumstances there, suffered, shamefully entreated, we were bold in our God, to speak unto you the gospel of God, with much contention.

[28:07] We need to speak the gospel. Have it on your lips, and share it. Have the boldness in witnessing. And lastly, a boldness in your resolve. A boldness in your resolve.

[28:18] A boldness to stand. Having done all, it says, stand. Having done all, when you've got the arrows flying at you, the burning arrows, you've got the shield of faith, above all, and you've got the armour on.

[28:31] Having done all, stand. Stand. Stand your ground. It's about being a warrior, who stands. Don't retreat. Advance. Stand your ground.

[28:42] Boldness means having the courage, to speak the truth. When you know this lie, speak the truth. It's having the courage, the boldness, to have a clear conscience, that you do the right, not the wrong, to support others, when they are right, to stand with God's people, to stand with the church, to stand with the gospel truth, to be willing to stand alone.

[29:04] You might be one, the only one, in your workplace, who's a Christian. That's often the case now. You might be the only Christian, where you work. You can be that, one, that shines the light.

[29:18] Let your little light shine, as it says, in that dark place, where you go about, your every day. There's a general, who took a stand. He took a stand. There was, a great general one day, he was a Christian.

[29:31] His name was Von Zeeland. And, his king, was Frederick the Great. Frederick the Great, was a scoffer. He used to mock, and curse, Christians, and Christianity.

[29:43] This king, he was making, these coarse jokes, about, the Lord Jesus Christ, one day. Making these coarse jokes, in this public gathering, and Von Zeeland came, and Von Zeeland, heard them, laughing, and joking, and all the loud, roar of laughter, at the cursing, of Christ's name, and of the mockery, of Christ.

[30:05] And, Von Zeeland, rose up, to his feet, and he said, Sire, to the king, he said, Sire, you know, I have not feared death. I am an old man. I soon shall have to go, into the presence of one, greater than yourself, the mighty God, who has saved me, from my sin, the Lord Jesus Christ, whom you are, blaspheming against.

[30:28] I salute thee, Sire, as an old man, who loves the Saviour, on the edge of eternity. And with trembling voice, King Frederick said, General Von Zeeland, I beg your pardon, I beg your pardon, I beg your pardon.

[30:42] Von Zeeland, made a stand, he was bold, to stand, he was bold, to stand, and the company, silently dispersed. Will you be one, who is bold? John Wesley said, Give me a hundred men, who fear nothing, but sin, and desire nothing, but God, and I will shape the world, I cannot restore, whether they be, clergymen or laymen, and such alone, will overthrow, the kingdom of Satan, and build up, the kingdom of God, on earth.

[31:11] That's the spirit, that we need, isn't it? That's the spirit of boldness. Give me some men, give me some women, who will stand, who will have boldness, who will have faith.

[31:23] John Knox, a 16th century reformer, boldly spoke the truth, to a large congregation, in Scotland, but he was arrested for it. They grabbed a hold of him, and dragged him down, to the galleys, and he became an oarsman, on a galley ship.

[31:41] During long months, of pulling the oars, in this galley ship, he built not only, his physical strength, but his spiritual, as he prayed. His cry was, Oh God, give me Scotland, or I die.

[31:58] His life, and work for God, became so powerful, that the Queen of Scotland, said, I fear the prayers, of John Knox more, than all the assembled, armies of Europe. And the record, on his tomb, says, Here lies the man, who never feared, the face of clay.

[32:17] Will you be that man, will you be that woman, who will be bold, in your God? Bold to stand. Bold to stand. Friends, there's much more, we could say.

[32:31] Think of it now, of yourself. When is the last time, that you stood alone, on the side of right, when it costs you something, can cost you to stand, can cost you, in the workplace, to stand as a Christian.

[32:44] I've experienced that. We can see, where there's mockery, there's scorn, there's rejection, of Christ, and the gospel, and friends, you'll face that. But be bold, stand for right, stand for the gospel, stand for Christ.

[32:58] When you hear, someone falsely accused, do you remain silent, or do you, stand, for what is right, even though it is unpopular, stand with the one, who is right. The last time, God prompted you, to witness to a stranger, did you do it, or did you remain silent?

[33:15] Have you followed through, on asking forgiveness, for someone, you know you have wronged? Have you dedicated, your life, to fulfilling God's calling? And are you determined, to make whatever sacrifices, God requires of you?

[33:30] What biblical convictions, do you have, that you are willing, to die for? Will you be bold? Or will you crumble, and cave in, and just flow, with the crowd, just go with the flow?

[33:44] Will you, bow down, with the throng, or will you stand, with the three, who stood for their God, against the idol, against the trend, against what was easy, and popular, and comfortable, and be bold?

[33:59] will you be bold, in prayer? Will you be bold, come boldly before him, boldly before him, and pray? Will you be bold, in witnessing, when there's opportunity?

[34:11] There's many opportunities, and there's folk here, who are much more, able in witnessing, than I, who can help you, to be more of a stronger witness, and give you good tools, and, and, you know, suggestions, on how you can witness, more effectively, for Christ.

[34:27] I'd love you to, tell me that you want to, learn how to witness more, and I'll point you, in their direction. Friends, there's opportunity, and we should have, boldness in witnessing, and we should have, a boldness in standing, boldness in standing, even though it be, unpopular, stand.

[34:41] Just lastly, one quick quote, again, another, record of history, another man of God, Hugh Latimer, he once preached, before King Henry the 8th, and Henry, was really displeased, he was really annoyed, it got under his skin, what Hugh Latimer, preached about, on the, on the Sunday there, and, he ordered that, Latimer preach again, on the following Sunday, and apologised, for the offence, that he'd caused.

[35:08] It was an offensive message, the king was really, cheesed off with Latimer, and he said, he's going to preach it again, but he's going to give, an official apology, to satisfy his, kingship, King Henry the 8th, and the next Sunday, after reading his text, he began his sermon, this way, he said, Hugh Latimer, dost thou know, before whom, thou art this day, to speak, to the high and mighty monarch, the king's most excellent majesty, who can take away thy life, if thou offendest, therefore take heed, that thou speakest not a word, that may displease, but then, consider well Hugh, dost thou not know, from whence thou comest, upon whose message, thou art sent, even by, the great and mighty God, who is all present, and who beholdeth all thy ways, and who is able, to cast thy soul, into hell, therefore take care, that thou deliverest, thy message faithfully, he then preached, the same sermon, he had preached, the preceding Sunday, and with considerably, more energy, hallelujah, that's what we need, isn't it, men with guts, with boldness, with, with fire, in their bones, with a love, for the truth, that love, for that truth, that sets them on fire, to burn for God, and friends, you can be that one, you can be that one, young people, older people, here tonight, be encouraged, to be bold in your God, fear thou not, for I am with thee,

[36:45] I will uphold thee, I will give thee, strength, and he will help you, every step of the way, because he is with you, wherever you go, and friends, take heart, in those promises of scripture tonight, and take it, not only to heart, but put it into action, be bold in your God, and any other brothers, you