It Grows With Boldness | Built for the Comeback

Welcome to Reach KC, everybody, it's so great to have you with us. Just join in and worship with us. Welcome to Reach KC, everybody, it's so great to have you with us. Welcome to Reach KC, everybody, it's so great to have you with us. Welcome to Reach KC, everybody, it's so great to have you with us. Welcome to Reach KC, everybody, it's so great to have you with us. Welcome to Reach KC, everybody, it's so great to have you with us. Welcome to Reach KC, everybody, it's so great to have you with us. Welcome to Reach KC, everybody, it's so great to have you with us. Welcome to Reach KC, everybody, it's so great to have you with us. Welcome to Reach KC, everybody, it's so great to have you with us. Welcome to Reach KC, everybody, it's so great to have you with us. Welcome to Reach KC, everybody, it's so great to have you with us. Welcome to Reach KC, everybody, it's so great to have you with us. Hallelujah You call out my name So I sing out your praise Hallelujah You carry my pack So I'm not going back Hallelujah You call out my name So I sing out your praise Hallelujah You carry my pack So I'm not going back I was still made to be damned and afraid I was called by name Born and raised back to life again I was made for more So why would I make a bed in my shame When a fountain of grace Is running my way I know I am yours And I was made for more I was still made to be damned and afraid I was called by name Born and raised back to life again I was made for more So why would I make a bed in my shame When a fountain of grace Is running my way I know I am yours And I was made for more Yeah! Yeah! Hallelujah! You called the sun to rise You laid it down to rest

You hold this heart of mine You hold my every breath Such an awesome God So mighty, so holy So wonderful, such an awesome God So selfless, so generous So faithful, you are Seated in majesty Your name in holiness The table is set for me For you are the living bread Such an awesome God So mighty, so holy So wonderful, such an awesome God So selfless, so generous So faithful, you are Such an awesome God So mighty, so holy So wonderful, such an awesome God So selfless, so generous So faithful, you are And nothing comes close to the Lord Almighty Nothing as sweet as His love ♪ And mercy, nothing comes close to the Lord Almighty ♪ ♪ Nothing as sweet as His love ♪ ♪ And mercy, oh nothing comes close to the Lord Almighty ♪ ♪ Nothing as sweet as His love ♪ ♪ And mercy, yeah ♪ ♪ Ooh, nothing comes close to Jesus Almighty, holy ♪ ♪ To Jesus Almighty, holy ♪ ♪ Jesus, the Son of God, hung on a cross to die ♪ ♪ He hung on a cross to die, but not even death itself ♪ ♪ Could hold Him down, for He rose from the dead ♪ ♪ But You're an awesome God, so mighty, so holy, so wonderful ♪ ♪ Such an awesome God, so selfless, so generous, so faithful ♪ ♪ You are such an awesome God, so mighty, so holy, so wonderful ♪ ♪ You are such an awesome God, so mighty, so holy, so wonderful ♪ ♪ Such an awesome God, so selfless, so generous, so faithful ♪ ♪ You are such an awesome God, so mighty, so holy, so wonderful ♪ ♪ Such an awesome God, so mighty, so holy, so wonderful ♪ ♪ Such an awesome God, so selfless, so generous, so faithful ♪

♪ You are so awesome God, so mighty, so holy, so wonderful ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ What a wonderful name it is, nothing compares to this. What a wonderful name it is, the name of Jesus. What a wonderful name it is, the name of Jesus. What a wonderful name it is, the name of Jesus. Need a person that holds you, no self holding for you. With silence the Lord stands still and pray. The heavens are roaring, the praise of your glory. For you are raised to life again.

You have no rival, you have no equal. Now and forever God you reign. Yours is the kingdom, yours is the glory. Yours is the name above all names. What a powerful name it is, what a powerful name it is. The name of Jesus Christ my King. What a powerful name it is, nothing can stand against. What a powerful name it is, the name of Jesus. Need a person that holds you, no self holding for you. With silence the Lord stands still and pray. The heavens are roaring, the praise of your glory. For you are raised to life again. You have no rival, you have no equal. Now and forever God you reign. Yours is the kingdom, yours is the glory. Yours is the name above all names. What a powerful name it is, what a powerful name it is. The name of Jesus Christ my King. What a powerful name it is, nothing can stand against. What a powerful name it is, the name of Jesus. What a powerful name it is, the name of Jesus. What a powerful name it is, the name of Jesus. God, your name is powerful. Your name is above all names, Lord. God, it is worthy of praise. It is worthy of honor. It is worthy of glory. And so, Father, we just give you praise today. We give you thanks today. We just worship your holy name, God.

And we are so thankful. We're so thankful for you, Lord. May we just give you praise. May we just give you honor. May we lift you high today in Jesus' name. Come on, can we give a shout of praise to the Lord today? Amen, amen. Hey, before you find your seat, turn to one of your neighbors. Say, hey, it is so good to have you here today. Now turn to your second option. And say, hey, it is so good to have you here, too. Now, turn behind you. Come on, we're going to greet everybody in here, amen. Turn behind you, say, hey, it's good to see you, too. Say, hey, we ain't forgot about you, amen. Well, I believe that God is doing something amazing here at REACH, and I believe that he is doing something amazing here this morning. Matthew 6 tells us this in verses 20 and 21. It says, to store your treasures in heaven, because wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will be also. Literally, every week, every single one of us in here, almost, amen, we work for things that eventually wear out. We spend more time each week almost working to earn money so that we can pay for houses that will one day belong to somebody else. We do things that we buy cars that depreciate as soon as we pull them off of the lot. We do things that spend money on clothes

that will eventually end up in a donation bin somewhere. We do all the day. Hey, I'm just being honest. There is nothing wrong even with enjoying what God has given us, but Jesus reminds us that there is a way to use something temporary to invest in something eternal. Amen. That's what giving is. When we bring the tithe, we're saying, God, you are first. Everything I have comes before you, and I trust you with what you have placed in my hands. And when we give, I believe that this is just something that happens. And when we give above the tithe, we get the opportunity to invest in what God is building beyond us. That's why we mentioned things like Build 900. We've talked about this and what God is doing in it. And we're not just giving towards a building. We're building a place where people can meet Jesus. Amen. We're building a place where families can be restored. We're building a place where somebody battling addiction can walk through the doors and discover freedom. Maybe for the very first time in their life, they can discover freedom in their life. They can be set free from something. We're building a place where children can grow up knowing that they are loved by God and called by God. Amen.

Today, for the very first time in our church, we have over 20 kids going to kids camp. That is going to encounter the Lord this week and come back. And your families could be changed because of this. Amen. What could we do to help invest in that in our children? Here's what I love about generosity. You may never know the name of the person that you're giving reaches. You may never meet the family that gets restored. You may never know the child whose life gets changed. You may never see every person who comes to Jesus because the ministry has made room to reach them. But let me assure you this. Heaven keeps a way better record than we do. And so today, as we give, I want to challenge us in two ways. If this is your church home, honor God with the tithe. Amen. If this is your church home, and you're already tired of hearing me, hey, it's cool. It's cool. You're like, God, this is why I don't come to church. It's cool. We don't want your money. The Bible says, don't give it with a grudgingly heart. So keep it. Keep it. Because it ain't going to get blessed anyways. So it's OK.

See, that's contrary to what you thought, isn't it? Well, hey, this dude is cool. You know, he don't want my money. No, I don't. But if this is your church home, honor God with the tithe. is your church home honor God with the tithe give it give it back to the Lord and say hey Lord I trust you with this and then ask God hey what could I give towards build 900 what could I what could I give because long after the money leaves our hands the ministry that makes it possible keeps moving it keeps progressing we're not just funding what's happening today we're building for people who haven't even walked through the doors yet and so let's give in faith let's give with expectation and let's build something together that will outlive us it's been amazing in these last few weeks you know July 4th weekend we had a family come to us and say hey we want to give a hundred thousand dollar pledge that would go towards build 900 we need about two hundred and fifty thousand dollars to get everything finished up to get into this new building and they said we want to pledge a hundred grand and in three weeks we we have about thirty seven thousand dollars already raised towards that money and so I'm believing that God is just gonna keep doing what he's been doing and so if you give towards that or you wanted to give you can just get on the app you can give today and ear market build 900 or even Kingdom Builders we've been given a lot of our Kingdom Builders towards that and so if I could get some ushers to come forward Lord I thank you I thank you for stewardship I thank you for allowing us to be able to to steward what it is that you have given us and God I pray that you would do something so supernatural God through the giving that you would open up the floodgates of heaven God and that we would we would be able to see you at work through what is happening God Lord I pray that you would not only bless the gift but that you would bless the giver that you would open up the floodgates of

heaven as Malachi says to those who honor you with what it is that you have said to do father God and so we just thank you in Jesus name amen good morning and welcome to church this is Pastor Jessie and I am the missions and outreach director right here at reach KC you know here at reach we live to give but this summer we have the opportunity to receive and so we are so thankful for our partnership international and the missions teams that came here this summer to pour into us to serve alongside of us and help build up the kingdom right here at reach check out this recap video from this summer Oh Jesus I know you died for me You Don't know about partnership international that is a missions organization that we partner with pastor Doug Reed and his wife And they bring that many people out here over the summer You may not have even known it, but we did outreaches in the projects right up the street. We did homeless outreach We did vacation Bible school for kids. We did all kinds of stuff. And so let's give it up one time for P I can we do that? We're just thankful for the opportunity to be able to have connections like that and so just thank the Lord and so Hey, we just want to welcome Everybody home if this is your first time Man, welcome home. We are just so thankful that you are here. This is why we do what we do, because we just want the Lord to be able to just make room for you this morning and just in your heart and in your mind and in your spirit. And so we just believe the best for you and that the best is yet to come. We are in a series, we've been going through the book of Acts.

A couple of years ago, we just started going through books of the Bible. There's a form of preaching that's called expository. And so I just, we went through the book of Romans and now we are going through the book of Acts. And we are in our second segment that is titled, It Grows with Boldness. It started with, it starts with power. Because if you look at the book of Acts, you see the Holy Spirit comes and it starts with power. And then you also see in chapter three that it starts to grow with boldness. And today I wanna talk from the title, if you are taking notes, Built for the Comeback. Amen, Built for the Comeback. And have you ever watched a fight, right? Like a fight or like boxers, not like street fight. I mean, you know, I'm sure we've all seen some street fights, but that's not what I'm talking about. Have you ever watched a fighter return to his corner after a difficult round, right? From the crowd's perspective that's there, he may have actually won. Like he landed the strongest punches, he stood his ground. I mean, the crowd was cheering his name, but when he sits down, you get to see specifically from the TV's version, what the crowd does not get to see. His breathing is heavy, right? His hands are trembling, his face is bruised, why? Because even when you win the round,

sometimes that round can still take something out of you. Right, that's why every fighter needs a corner. When you're in the fight for a long time, every fighter needs a corner. His corner is what tends to hit his wounds. It restores his focus and it reminds him that the fight is not finished, yet the corner is not where he goes to quit, it's where he goes to receive what he needs to go back out again. And I believe that that describes some believers even here today, right? You've survived the battle, but it still shook you. You still feel the wounds and the bruises that it's put. You obeyed God, but criticism has made you question yourself or maybe even your call. You stepped out in faith, but rejection has affected your confidence. You know that God has used you, and yet still afterward you began replaying the moment and second guessing yourself time after time after time. Hear me on this, sometimes the enemy cannot undo the victory that he gave you, so he tries to intimidate you from ever stepping out back into the fight again. But hear me again on this, is if the enemy cannot change what God did through you, if the enemy cannot change what God did through you, he will try to change how you feel about what God did through you.

See, that's what I like to call the battle after the battle. And this is where we actually find Peter and John in Acts chapter four. They boldly preached Jesus. I mean, a man that had been unable to walk was walking and standing healed in front of him. Thousands of people have believed at this point, probably approximately 5,000 men, which including children and women could have been somewhere in the range of 20,000 people. Peter and John had faced the most powerful religious leaders in Jerusalem and refused to compromise. They walked out of the courtroom free, but yet they did not walk out unaffected. See, they had been arrested. They had been held overnight. They had been threatened with serious consequences if they ever preached in the name of Jesus again. From the outside, Peter and John had won the round, but that round had low-key taken something out of them because in verse 23, it says, as soon as they were freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers. They went back to their corner, right? They returned to people who could help them carry the pressure. Together, they lifted their voices in prayer and they reminded themselves that God was still sovereign. And they asked for renewed boldness. And then, all of the sudden, the room shook

and the whole- Spirit filled them again and they stepped back into the fight proclaiming Jesus with confidence. The enemy wanted that confrontation to become their final bold moment. That's what the enemy wanted. He wanted that moment right there where they seen a victory to be but instead God used it to produce an even bolder church. And maybe you walked into church today after winning a round that has still wounded you. You haven't abandoned your faith but pressure has affected your confidence. Fear, criticism, insecurity has caused you to pull back from something that God has once called you to but perhaps God brought you back to your corner today. Not so that you could quit but so that you could be strengthened, that you could be filled and you could be sent back out into the fight. Because today I want to show you three moves that every believer must make when the battle has shaken their confidence. Three moves that every believer must take when the battle has shaken their confidence. Why? Because you were built for the comeback. Every single one of us was built for the comeback. The first move is this, get back to your corner. Get back to your corner. It's time to get back to the corner. Acts 4 23 says this, as soon as they were freed, Peter and John, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priest and elders had said and when they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voice together in prayer to God. Come on somebody. This was the first time that the church had faced opposition in such magnitude. Peter and John had been arrested, they had spent the night in custody, they had literally stood before the same religious leaders that had condemned Jesus. Just a little bit before, we've talked about it, they had been threatened and commanded to stop speaking in Jesus name and think about what must have been running through their minds. The last time that the disciples saw Jesus stand before these same leaders, he was crucified. And it's like going before the worst judge in the county. Come on, we know what that is. It was Judge Dandaran for me, amen. You get in front of Judge Dandaran, you're hit. You know, I mean it's just, I mean if you're in Cass County, period, you're hit.

But still, and they knew this, they knew that the last time that the disciples saw Jesus, he was standing before these same leaders and sentenced to death. They had experienced a spiritual victory in this courtroom, but they were returning with a very real threat that was hanging over their heads. The pressure was no longer hypothetical. Following Jesus had just become very costly. Like their life was on the line. But thank God that they knew where to go after that battle had happened because verse 23 says that Peter and John returned back to their own people. They didn't isolate themselves. They didn't carry the weight alone. They didn't pretend the threats had not affected them. Instead, they went back to the people who could help them carry the pressure into the presence of God. That's where they went. They went back to their corner. That's why I believe that healthy spiritual community does. This is what it does, right? It gives you somewhere to go when the battle follows you home, right? It gives you somewhere to go. Sometimes we think that bold people never feel pressure. But sometimes that's not really the case. Biblical boldness does not mean that you never feel shaken. It just means that you know where to go when you are feeling shaken, right? Peter and John were courageous enough to stand before the Sanhedrin. They were courageous enough, they were bold enough to stand before the same people that had condemned Jesus, but yet they were also humble enough to admit that they still needed their church. See, you can be bold in public and still need prayer in private. See, spiritual victory does not eliminate your need for spiritual community. In fact, it endorses it. It says that, hey, if you have that victory, you better get back to your church. You better get back to your huddle. You better get back to your corner because there is something that's getting ready to come. Even strong believers need somewhere safe to bring the weight of the battle that they are feeling. Peter and John told the church everything that the religious leaders had said. But notice what happens next. The church didn't panic. They didn't organize a retaliation and develop a militia. They did not begin planning their escape or dismissal of the ministry. They lifted their voices together in prayer. See, the threat against two believers literally became the

prayer burden of the entire church. Notice how they did not discuss the pressure more than they prayed about it. I know that hits different. It's OK. Because a lot of us get stuck in the routine of just discussing the pressure and never praying about it. And we perceive that we have the capacity to change the pressure when it's really prayer that removes us and invites God into it. And see, this is where the church's response becomes part of Peter and John's recovery, I believe. When intimidation tried to make them question their boldness, they returned to a community that helped them hear God louder than they heard the threats that was real. See, there is also something powerful happening here that the entire, for the entire body of believers, because the last time they had seen a confrontation like this, Jesus was sentenced to death. But this time, Peter and John came walking back through the door. The leaders threatened them, but God had delivered them. Imagine what kind of testimony this was for this young church. The same people who crucified Jesus arrested Peter and John, but they could not stop what Jesus was doing through them. This moment, I believe, taught the church that opposition was real, but so was God's faithfulness. Because here's a fact to take note of, is we make our worst decisions when pressure separates us from people. We make some of the most uneducated, ignorant decisions when we ain't got nobody of resource or influence to speak into our life and help us. See, the enemy wants the battle to isolate you. He wants the battle to isolate you. He'll tell you things like, man, you should be completely embarrassed about what you have done. You should be ashamed of yourself. Honestly, nobody's even going to understand you. Why even go back to your corner? Why even go back? I mean, you need to just handle this by yourself, because you're the only ... You got yourself into this, and now you need to get yourself out of this. See, maybe you should just back away from that church, because they're just super religious when really they're just trying to hold you accountable. But see, isolation is what isolation does, is isolation magnifies the voice of intimidation, while community helps restore the voice of faith in your life. See, the enemy wants pressure to drive you back into isolation, but God wants the pressure, and he sends it with the intent to drive his people into agreement, so that you can come back to the corner, so that you can come back to your people. This is why we need the church, not merely just a Sunday crowd either, but people who can help us pray when the battle has been difficult for us to pray for ourselves.

When we have felt like we have lost the voice because of the pressure in our lives, we need the church. We need the body of believers. We need a growth group. We need growth track. We need some kind of smaller group that we can come and get connected and say, I need help, I need prayer, I need something because I have been struggling. When Peter and John's boldness was threatened, they went back to their people, because boldness may be demonstrated publicly or individually, but it's sustained in community. Like that happens, this boldness, you may be bold for a moment, but it's sustained. See, once they came together, they did not begin by telling God how powerful their enemies were. began by reminding themselves how powerful their God was. You can go back and read Acts 4 and see. See, getting back to your corner puts you around the right voices, but prayer silences the wrong ones. The enemy may not be able to take away your victory, but if you let him, he will use intimidation to keep you from pursuing another one, which takes us to our second move. The first one is get back in your corner. Get back in church, amen? Get back connected to where something and somebody can help speak into your life. Get back to your corner. And the second move is this, silence the intimidation. Silence the intimidation. Acts 4.29 says this, and now, oh Lord, hear their threats and give us your servants great boldness in preaching your word. See, this is an interesting prayer because Peter and John had already been bold.

They'd just left the Sanhedrin. They had literally healed a man at the temple. They had preached Jesus boldly to the crowd and thousands of people were saved. They boldly stood before the Sanhedrin. They boldly declared to the most powerful people at that time where they were at that we cannot stop talking about Jesus. We cannot stop talking about everything that we have seen and heard, and yet, after all of that boldness, they returned to the church and prayed, Lord, give us boldness. Why would people who had demonstrated such boldness need to pray for boldness? Like, that doesn't even make sense. If I was that bold, wouldn't you think that, you know, you preach with such passion on the stage, you would just automatically think I just walked through life and I'm just boxing demons, like, you know, like Pastor Adam don't have no, man, he don't deal with nothing, you know. He just, he out there slaying giants, you know. But here's the reality, is boldness demonstrated in one battle does not guarantee boldness for the next one. See, the Sanhedrin's warning was clear. Stop preaching in the name of Jesus or there will be consequences. And I wonder if perhaps they felt less confident

after leaving the courtroom than they did while they were standing in it. Because in the moment, the Spirit gave them the words to speak. You can go back and read it. But after the adrenaline subsided and they had began processing what had happened and the weight of the threats may have started setting in, see, the public battle was over, but the private battle had just begun. See, sometimes you can walk away victorious and still feel shaken. Yeah. You can know that God used you and still replay the moments over and over and over in your mind. You can stand boldly in the battle and yet struggle emotionally after it is over. Ministers will tell you, never make a ministry decision Monday morning. You can come up and preach Sunday and then walk away and feel like nothing ever even happened. See, it doesn't mean that your faith was fake. It means that you're human and you still need to be filled with the Holy Spirit again. See, we often prepare ourselves for the enemy's attack before the victory. But the truth is, is some of his greatest attacks come after the victory. After God uses you, the enemy begins questioning you.

Like, did you say too much? Like, man, you're gonna look like a fool. Do you even realize what you said? Do you even understand what the consequences? See, the enemy could not undo what God had accomplished through Peter and John. The man had already been healed. Jesus had already been preached. Thousands of lives had already believed. So if the enemy couldn't erase the victory, guess what? He will attempt to intimidate the people of God who used to produce it. If the enemy cannot change what God did through you, he will try to change how you feel about what God did through you. Literally, battle after the battle. Like, he tries to get you to reinterpret obedience as foolishness, right? He tries to get you to reinterpret courage. as recklessness, right? He tries to get you to reinterpret spiritual victory as personal embarrassment. Like he wants you to become so uncomfortable with how God used you yesterday that you refuse to let him use you again tomorrow. And you just had a victory. See, this pattern, it happens all throughout scripture. After Elijah called down fire on Mount Caramel and defeated 400 prophets of Baal, one threat from Jezebel made him run into the wilderness

and contemplate suicide. He had had enough faith to stand against hundreds of false prophets, but afterward, he became afraid, isolated, and discouraged. After Abraham had boldly refused King of Sodom's reward in Genesis 15 one, it records God telling him, hey, do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you and your reward will be great. Why would God tell Abraham not to be afraid? Because sometimes fear doesn't hit until after faith has been exercised. The victory may happen publicly, but the enemy's attack or counterattack often becomes privately. Do not confuse the emotions following obedience with evidence that you were wrong to obey. They didn't pretend that the threat wasn't real. They weren't naive, but the church prayed, and now, Lord, hear their threats. They acknowledged the threats. Faith didn't require them to deny that they were what they were facing. It didn't say be ignorant to the truth of what's actually happening, but watch, before they mentioned the threats, they reminded themselves of who God was. Oh, sovereign Lord, creator of the heavens and the earth, and then they go on to quote Psalms 2, which actually recognizes that the opposition to God's Messiah had already been anticipated in Scripture,

but none of them could overturn the purpose of God. Nobody that they had opposed, whether it was Herod, whether it was the Sanhedrin, whether it was Pilate, and in Acts 4.28, it says, everything they did was determined beforehand according to your will. They was not saying that opposition was good. They were just declaring that the opposition was not sovereign. This is not the end all. This is not the threat was real, but it was not in control. See, the enemy had a plan, but his plan was operating within the boundaries of God's authority. Come on, come on, come on. This is how prayer restores boldness. Prayer doesn't always just make the problem smaller, but it always reminds us that our God is bigger. See, they prayed for continuance, not just courage. God, help us be bold. Help us continue in the faith. They were not simply asking for God to make them brave. They were asking for him to help them continue doing the very thing that they had been threatened not to do. Yes, yes, yes. Give us your servants great boldness in preaching your word, God. See, their prayer was essentially, Lord, help us. Do not let us do what they said for us to do. Don't let us silence the voice of what you put inside of us.

In other words, don't let the intimidation interrupt our obedience. So they weren't asking God for a new assignment. They were asking God for strength so that they could remain faithful to the assignment that they already had. I've seen so many people who were once bold, but then something happened and made them pull back. See, you prayed boldly, but the answer did not come the way that you expected it would. See, you shared your faith, but somebody rejected you, and you thought that that was a sign to say that you was to stop. See, you stepped into ministry, but somebody criticized you and come to find out they was a Christian. Sheep bite. They are bad. See, you obeyed, you obeyed God, but the consequences were harder than you anticipated. You didn't see the pain that she was going to deal with after the battle. All you seen at the moment was the victory that God said that he would give you, but then you walked away from that victory and then all of the sudden your mind has been doing tricks on you that you didn't even know that it could do, and you still love Jesus. But you just don't step out like you used to. You're not, you're not living in rebellion, but you're living under intimidation. See, intimidation doesn't always make you quit believing, sometimes it just makes you stop speaking. Sometimes it makes you stop being bold. Sometimes it makes you stop having courage that you once had. This is why we need fresh boldness, church. Not because yesterday's boldness was false, but because today's battle is fresh. The battle that you're going through today is real, and you need a fresh feeling of the Holy Spirit.

You need something that is going to do, see the enemy's goal. The enemy's goal was not simply to threaten Peter and John, his goal was to make this their very last bold moment. Don't let the battle after the victory convince you to surrender the ground that God has given you. Stand the ground. Fight for it. Take post. Do what God has told you to do. The fight isn't over. You've had plenty of time to catch your breath. You've been sitting in the corner for a minute, now get back into prayer and ask for a fresh feeling of the Holy Spirit, because it's time for the third move. The third move is this, is step back into the fight. You can get back in your corner, but a fighter doesn't win the battle by sitting on the stool in the corner. You've got to silence the intimidation, because when you're fighting a battle, the enemy's going to start telling you lies. It's interesting how Jesus was baptized, and everybody that was around him heard God from the sky say, this is my beloved son. A few weeks later, you find him at the end of 40 days in the wilderness all by himself, and what does the enemy say? If you are the son of God. Isn't it funny how the enemy will always come and try to question what God has already told you, but he does it whenever you are in a moment of vulnerability, and you are secluded by yourself, even at the end of a 40-day fast. Come on, somebody. The enemy will always try to get you to question the identity that God has placed on you, and the identity that God has placed in you, and so now it's time to step back into the fight. Acts 4.29-31 says this, and now, O Lord, hear their threats. He said, you heard what they say unto us, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. He said, hear what they said, but give us the strength to not do what they said. Stretch out your hand with healing power, and miraculous signs and wonders be done, and may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant, Jesus. And after this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and then they preached the word of God with boldness. See, the church didn't just merely ask God to help them survive the opposition. They asked God to make Jesus so undeniable in the middle of it that they didn't back down. Because just because you've got the Holy Spirit doesn't mean that the power or the pain is going to stop.

It means that you've got the power to actually endure it and get to the other side of the battle, and now it's time to step back into the fight, and you need to put your dukes up, mate, because you're going to walk into a battle, and there are going to be some devils that don't like you. There are going to be some Christians that don't like you, and they will come against you, and there are going to be some people that try to get you to stand down, but you've got to step up and step back into the fight because you need to get in there and tell the devil where to go. Tell him what he can do. We need to pray for a boldness, a Holy Spirit moment. You can't fight the battle alone. You can't do it by yourself. You need a fresh feeling of the Holy Spirit. These people were already filled, Acts 2, and now they're coming back for some more Holy Spirit. What does that tell me? You can't get enough of God. You need to get back into his presence. Get back on your face. Get back in the church. Get back into serving. Get back into growth track. Get back into growth groups and get surrounded. By some people that will help get you filled with the Holy Spirit in your life See the church didn't merely just ask God to help them survive the opposition They asked God make Jesus so undeniable in the middle of it That I can't back down It's amazing their prayer contained to request Give us boldness to speak and Stretch out your hand to move See they wanted their words to proclaim that Jesus was alive And they wanted God's power to provide visible evidence that the message that they were preaching was true The boldness in this passage was not based on personality Church Some people are naturally outgoing They can speak to anybody they can walk in and command a room they can take risk without hesitation But biblical boldness is different See biblical boldness is the spirit given freedom to speak truth even when fear even when rejection

Even when criticism even when embarrassment or even when persecution is trying to silence you See Boldness is not the absence of fear. It is the refusal to let that fear control your obedience See this church had just heard what could happen if they continued preaching Everybody a sold-out believer till their friend gets their head cut off Come on somebody Isis was happening like all I'll go out no boy look 99.9% percent of Christians would have been like Peter who Jesus I only know Jesus I Don't know no Jesus. I know Jesus down off 23rd and Jackson He called he calls a fan See they understood That loyalty to Jesus could cost their reputation Their freedom and honestly eventually their lives. That is why human resolve was not enough They didn't just need a motivational speaker. They didn't just need Peter to stand up and say toughen up Church They needed the Holy Spirit to fill them again Because spiritual opposition can cannot be cost or consistently confronted through just natural confidence The feeling of the Spirit is what produced the boldness It says that they were filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the Word of God with boldness They asked for boldness God gave them the Spirit They spoke with boldness the boldness was not something that they just Manufactured it was something that the Holy Spirit produced in them. God did not command them to act more confident You just need to have more confidence Always said hey, you need to be filled with the Holy Spirit who give them confidence See far too many I believe that we have far too many defeated Christians walking around looking like the enemy is already won We've been forgiven but we are controlled by condemnation We have been called appointed to ministry But we are still controlled by insecurity We have been empowered But for some reason we are still controlled by what people might think You want to know what Paul told Timothy

He said for the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid But gives us power love and a sound mind So the Holy Spirit says You have seen what Jesus has done now open your mouth and testify the solution to spiritual Intimidation is not greater confidence. It's a greater dependence upon the Holy Spirit The miracle wasn't the message Jesus was the message But the miracle gave visibility That the Jesus that they preached was still alive and was still working Literally, they opened their mouths and God stretched out his hand This is this is what we should desire church God may we always Be the evidence that you are moving And that you are moving Be the evidence that you are moving give us the courage to preach your word and then confirm your word by transforming lives in ways that only you can do you want to know how how you can tell whether a church is moving it or God is moving in a church or not there should be evidence there should be people being saved there should be addictions being broken there should be marriages being restored there should be minds being renewed there should be bodies being healed there should be prodigals coming home there should be people that are unlikely becoming undeniable evidence that Jesus is alive the man at the beautiful gate was more than just a sermon illustration he was evidence that Jesus was alive see the religious leaders could argue with Peter's theology all late all day long but they could not deny the transformed life that was standing right beside him the strongest evidence of a spirit-filled church is not merely what happens in the room but it is the lives that walk out of this room completely transformed by the power of Jesus but here's the problem is I believe that some believers have allowed insecurity to silence their testimony you're scared to talk about what God has set you free from you're

scared to admit it because you think that people are gonna judge you differently you think that people are gonna look at you differently but what if you had the boldness to start speaking about the things that God has delivered you from because did you know that in the book of Revelation that that is the next thing beside the blood of Jesus Christ that sets and defeats the enemy I believe it's revelation 1211 or something like that 1222 I don't know somewhere in 12 I think but that we overcome the enemy by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony but we're scared to tell you're afraid that you're gonna say the wrong thing you're afraid that somebody's gonna reject you you're afraid that somebody's gonna criticize you you're afraid that somebody's gonna bring up your past who cares that highlights what God has done in me so today may the Spirit of the Lord just begin to give us encouragement may some of us return to our corner today may some of us silence the intimidation of the enemy may some of us allow ourselves to step back into the fight and get a boldness today that that would allow us to walk back I believe that there are some that walked into your corner today and you have felt defeated you have felt intimidated but don't allow the lies of the enemy to silence you don't allow the lies of the enemy to get you to be quiet but pray for boldness this morning maybe you've never had a relationship with the Lord but you want to do that today maybe maybe you say hey I want this this feeling I want this power I want this moment I want God to do something in my life well guess what you have walked into the place that it can happen at today hey man if I could have everybody stand with me for just a moment because I believe that God wants to do something in the lives of each one of us here this morning whether you've come in here heavy or whether you've come in here confident maybe maybe you've come in here without

a relationship with the Lord or maybe you've come in here with one and you have just felt beat down hey if you are in here today you say pastor I need to have a personal relationship with the Lord I've never had one and I came in here heavy and I didn't even know what it was until you started talking about some of this stuff and now I whatever I feel it right now even in my spirit and in my soul and I feel like I don't know what you're even about to say but I feel like I need to do it and if that's you and you you you say hey I need to have a personal relationship with God for the very first time or maybe you're in here and you say I've been walking with the Lord for years But man, I have just allowed this world to beat me up, and I have not been walking with the Lord like I should. Hey, do not be ashamed. Do not be ashamed, but say, hey, I need that commitment today. I need to get back in my corner. I need to get connected to a team that will help hold me up, hold me accountable. And so if that's you, and you just wanna make that decision today for the first time or for the first time in a long time, could I just get you to raise your hand real high so that we can pray with you? Come on, I see those hands. Come on, anybody else, I see that hand. Hey, if that's you, could I just get you to step down over here to my left right here? Come on, if that's you. Come on, there was about three or four of you.

Hey, if you made that decision, come on, just step on down. We wanna pray with you. Come on, and let's just get you connected. We believe in the power of Jesus that the Spirit can set us free. Come on, somebody. Let's believe, let's celebrate. Let's believe that God is still in the redeeming business, that He is still setting us free, even from ourselves and from the lies of the enemy. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Maybe some of us just need a fresh feeling. We have a relationship with God. So did Peter and John. But they went through a trial that was harder than anything that they had ever experienced on their own. And it was the fresh feeling of the Holy Spirit that did something powerful in their life. And so if that's you, I want the worship team to just begin to lead us in worship. And as we play this song,

if that's you and you need a fresh feeling, hey, I want you to come down here to the altar. There is no shame in the game. Come on, let's just get on our knees. And let's just begin to cry out to the Lord. Say, God, I need a fresh feeling of your Holy Spirit this morning, Lord. Come on. ♪ Good life again ♪ ♪ You have no rival, you have no equal ♪ ♪ Now and forever, God, you reign ♪