جارٍ تحميل الأرشيف الحي.
Boldness Grounded in Righteousness
واصِل الاستكشاف
مرتبطة بالمقطع الكتابي أو بموضوعات مشتركة.
لم تُترجم هذه الصفحة بالكامل بعد. يظهر بعض النص أدناه أو كله بلغة English، وهي لغته الأصلية.
Every significant endeavor that we undertake in life requires boldness. Everything important that we seek to do requires boldness. It takes boldness to rise from bed and face a new day, especially when troubles are facing you. It takes boldness to sit around people who you feel are ahead of you—smarter, more beautiful, more educated—and feel comfortable in their company.
It takes boldness to marry. For men, it takes boldness to propose. For women, it takes boldness to accept a proposal, because marriage is a very unknown enterprise. In this day and age, it also takes a lot of money, and so many young people are running away from marriage. May God give you the boldness to marry.
It takes boldness to believe God for big things. It takes boldness to step out of an abusive relationship when somebody keeps abusing you, belittling you—whether it's a boss or someone making your life miserable. Boldness is required for every important endeavor. It takes boldness to demand fairness and to be treated well.
It takes boldness to wear the clothes you love, to wear the hairstyle you love, to put on the lipstick you like, to wear the shoes you like. Some of you have a fashion sense that you wish you could express, but you're scared of what people would think. If you change your hairstyle, if you change your makeup, if you change your lipstick—what will people say? It takes boldness to try new things in your life.
So many of us are stuck in life because we are afraid. We're afraid: what will people think? Will we be accepted? What if I paint my hair pink? What will people say? What if I paint my hair blue? What if I change my clothes? What if I do something differently? Many of us are stuck in limited lives. We are stuck doing things we hate, but we don't have the boldness to do the things we truly want to do.
I pray that God will give us boldness to step out of limitation and into the life that he truly wants us to live. That's what taking bold steps is all about. God wants us to be bold.
Last week we looked at boldness in terms of defiance—the children of Israel coming out of Egypt with boldness. The Hebrew word meant arm or hand, literally a clenched fist. Today we're going to look at another sense of boldness. It's not the same root word in Hebrew, but it's also spoken about as boldness in English.
Proverbs 28:1 — "The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion."
The word bold here is from the Hebrew word Bak. This introduces a new concept of boldness—something that happens inside of us rather than what happens outside of us.
The root word for Bak means to trust. The bold person has a deep sense of trust in God. They have a sense of anchor in their lives. Their life is not tossed about; their life is anchored in God. That is the first meaning of bold: to trust.
Secondly, it means to be secure. The person who is bold has a sense of personal safety in the Lord and an inner sense of security. They are not insecure; they feel safe.
No wonder the Bible describes those people as bold as a lion. The lion is chosen as the metaphor for boldness because, in the jungle or savannah, lions are quite high on the food chain and don't have predators. Once in a while, when a lion is sick and weak, a hyena may try to attack it. Once in a while, when a lion faces an elephant, the elephant may defend itself and attack a lion. But naturally, no animal sees the lion as an animal to be attacked. The lion has no sense of attack; it has no sense of fear because it has no natural predator.
The Bible says the righteous person has that sense of security. They are so secure that they have no sense that somebody is coming against them.
Many of us have a sense of attack, even those of us who are Christians. We're constantly on the lookout for attackers, for spiritual attack, wicked spirits, demonic powers, entities in the realm of the spirit, witches and wizards, and all kinds of things. When you have this sense that you have predators or things that can attack you, you walk always looking around, always uneasy, always looking round. But a lion doesn't do that.
An antelope is always looking around because it has enemies. A gazelle is always looking round because it has enemies. But a lion doesn't look around because it is secure. The Bible says the righteous are as bold in the same way as the lion is bold. Why? Because they have a sense of security.
Thirdly, that word bold also means to have confidence, to be confident. You see it in the way the lion approaches life with confidence. It walks with confidence, attacks with confidence, goes for its food with confidence because it has a sense that when it sets out to do something, it can achieve it.
The Bible says the righteous are like that. The wicked runs when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.
When you look at that verse, it talks about the righteous and the wicked. It's not just talking about actions; it's talking about relationship. The wicked is wicked not because they do bad things—although doing bad things can be part of wickedness—but because they have no relationship with God. The righteous is righteous not because they do good things. The righteous is righteous primarily because they have a relationship with God.
Therefore, this verse is not even talking about your actions; it's talking about your relationship with God. The kind of relationship you have with God will determine how bold you are.
First, boldness is not wickedness. Many times when we say somebody is bold, the image that comes to mind is not a good image. Many times when we say somebody is bold, it means they are bullies who trample on other people. But boldness is not bullying and threatening others. Boldness is not being rough and inconsiderate. Boldness is not bullying people, threatening fire and brimstone. Boldness is not that boss or office person who gets up and screams at everybody, making everybody run helter-skelter. That's not the boldness we are talking about here. Boldness is not making people uncomfortable, taking advantage of people, destroying people's lives, bullying people, throwing tantrums. That's not bold.
Secondly, boldness is not boasting and being a loudmouth—talking big, talking about everybody, making yourself obnoxious. That's not boldness. It's not about trying to impress people; it's not pretense; it's not putting on a show; it's not about bragging. Because after you've talked the talk, you must walk the walk. Have you ever met people who talk so big and then the demonstration is very disappointing? "I can do this, I can do that, I can do this, I can do that." Then you ask them to do it, and they can't do it.
Thirdly, boldness is not acting without thought or wisdom. When we say you are bold, it doesn't mean you are foolish. It doesn't mean you're just taking risks without thinking. Boldness is not just stepping out to do something because you have to do something and making very unwise choices in the process. Boldness requires a sense of direction and perspective. It requires taking risks, but educated risks—calculated risks—not jumping into things you haven't thought through. Think, plan, act. That's boldness.
If you're a man looking for a wife, boldness is not just seeing a lady in the streets and saying, "I will marry you." People say, "He's bold," but that's not boldness; that's very close to foolishness. Because before you tell a woman that you want to marry her—considering that you're going to live the rest of your life with this person, that you're going to produce children with this person, that you're going to build a family budget with this person, make investments with their advice, raise children with character based on the home that all of you will build—you have to be thinking.
You can't just meet somebody in the street and say, "I love you the way you are. I see the way you walk. I love you. I want to marry." That's not boldness, my friend. Young man, you are heading in the other direction. Foolishness is getting close to you.
And of course, the ladies: the same way applies to you. Boldness doesn't mean just seeing men and running after them. That's not boldness; that is also close to foolishness. Boldness doesn't mean just acting without thinking. Boldness requires that we take strong actions, but they come from thinking and planning and acting. It's a risk, but it's educated. It's calculated. It's thought through. The pros and cons have been weighed, and now we take a bold step to make it happen.
So what boldness are we talking about? When we say the righteous are as bold as a lion, what kind of boldness is that?
First, it is boldness that is grounded in righteousness. That's where our boldness is. It is grounded in righteousness. This is the source of the Christian's boldness. We are bold because of what Christ has done for us. We are bold because of who God is to us.
I said at the beginning that righteous and wicked is not just about actions; it's about relationship with God. The wicked is the one who has no relationship with God. The righteous is the one who has a relationship with God. Therefore, my righteousness is based on my relationship with God. The deeper my relationship with God, the deeper my boldness. The less my relationship with God, the less my boldness.
If I'm far away from the Lord, I will feel threatened by every situation. If I'm close to the Lord, I am confident even in the valley of the shadow of death. The believer's righteousness is the source of their boldness.
So when it says the righteous are as bold as a lion, don't just be a lion first—but have a relationship with God. And on the back of that relationship, you are now going to enter life, and you would not be afraid of any predator that wants to take you out.
What does all of that mean? First, it means having a right relationship with God begins with our salvation. We take Jesus as the Lord of our lives. We ask the Holy Spirit to lead and to guide us. We walk in the light of God's word. That's where our righteousness starts from. We have a relationship with God through salvation, through Jesus Christ.
By coming on earth, Jesus bridged the gap between us and God. By dying on the cross, Jesus removed the obstacle of sin that existed between us and our Heavenly Father. By resurrecting from the dead, Jesus demonstrated that we have victory over every evil power. By his Ascension, Jesus guarantees the relationship we have with our Heavenly Father.
That is the first basis of our boldness: our relationship with God.
Secondly, it is seeing ourselves as God sees us. God sees us in Christ, and we should also see ourselves in Christ. And because he is beloved, we are also beloved. Because Christ is accepted, we are also accepted. As he is, so are we. He is above, so we are also above. He overcame, so we also overcome. He is a conqueror, so we are also conquerors.
When you see yourself the way God sees you, it changes your perspective.
The story is told of Gideon. He thinks he's a feeble person. He's threshing wheat in the vinepress; he's hiding from the Midianites. To all intents and purposes, if you saw Gideon, you would say, "What a weak guy. He's afraid. He's an afraid man." But how does God see Gideon?
The angel of the Lord comes to Gideon and says to him, "You are a mighty man of valor."
What? Mighty man of valor? But he's hiding! God says, "Yeah, you think you are weak, but I see you as strong. You think you are down; I see you as above. You think that you are prey; I see you as unable to be conquered." That's how God sees you.
And that's the source of our boldness: because God sees me as a conqueror, I see myself as a conqueror. And I believe no weapon formed against me shall prosper—not because I'm special or a very unique human being above all human beings, but because Christ has made me who I am. I see myself in him. That is the source of my boldness.
Boldness is not bravado. It's not going with your bit in your chest and saying, "Hey, me! I don't fear! I don't fear anything!" On what basis? "Yeah, I don't fear." "I don't fear. On what's the basis of your I don't fear?"
If you say, "Well, because my father was a brave man," that's a weak basis. Because me and my ancestors were hunters, that's a weak basis. Because in our family we don't fear anybody, that's weak. Your family is not the basis of your boldness.
But if you go about and say, "I don't fear anything. I'm strong," and they ask you why, you say, "Because Christ is in me, and I am in him. Because he overcame, I overcome. Because he conquers, I conquer too. Because he can do all things, I can do all things. All things are possible to God. All things are possible to him who believes."
My possibility is based on God's possibility. And when Christ is the source of your boldness, your family may change, your location may change, your tribe may change, your circumstance may change—but your boldness will never change. Because nobody can unundo the basis of your boldness. It's Jesus Christ: who he is and what he has made you.
If the Son set you free, you are freely free. You are freely free—free indeed. In other words, you are free, double. You are double free. Free—that's what free indeed means: free, free.
You are freely free. That's our boldness. And that's why you can do the things that God says you can do.
The bold person is a person who is able to do the things that God wants them to do. And the things that God wants you to do are not always easy to do. God is going to demand things from you that you think you can't do. But when God says you can do it, you can do it.
If God says build it, you can build it. If God says buy it, you can buy it. If God says marry, you can marry—economy or no economy. When God says do it, you can do it.
So one of the sources of your boldness is to find out: What is God impressing on my heart to do? Is he telling me to start a new project? Is he telling me to build a house? Is he telling me to buy land? Is he telling me to start something? Whatever he says you should do, you can do it because with every command of God, there comes an equal measure of grace to enable you to do it. Grace is God's addition and compensation for your human weaknesses so that where you are weak, you become strong.
If he says you can do it, you can do it. Grace is available.
Boldness is doing what God says you can do.
Many of us are doing the things that Ghana says we can do, and Ghana will tell you so many things cannot be done.
If you're a young man, you are in love. You've seen the love of your life—a young lady who just came out of university. You've worked for three or four years, but it's as if you are still in secondary school salary-wise. The salary is not good. The lady too—her salary is not good. You are in love. You want to marry. But Ghana tells you the economy is bad.
And if you are not careful, you reduce the relationship to a guilty relationship. You are there, and today you are having sex; tomorrow you are fornicating there. And you feel guilty and you feel bad. You are with a girl, and she gets pregnant, and you say, "Well, you haven't married her. Go and remove the pregnancy." And you are complicating your whole life, your future, your children—you are throwing them away. But you love the lady.
He that finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.
You already have favor. Marry.
But pastor, we are broke. Who told you broke is an enemy of marriage?
One shall put to flight a thousand; two shall put to flight ten thousand.
Your marriage makes you stronger, better, bolder, richer, more equipped, wiser, smarter. So you don't have the money, but the marriage is what will give you the money.
When you are making one foolish decision, you can tell her on the bed and say, "Honey, this is what I want to do. What do you think?" And she says, "Ah, honey, this one is foolish." Oh, then you're becoming wiser.
It takes boldness to say: God has given me the love of my life. I'm not going to mistreat her. I'm not going to start this relationship on guilt, on shame. I want to start this relationship in dignity, in honor.
When I was married, my wife would tell you I didn't have anything. Didn't have a bed. Didn't have a chair. Didn't have a cutlery. Didn't have a plate. We married.
The first furniture for our room was benches—discarded benches from the church. Those days, we didn't sit on nice chairs; benches. And I improved them by painting them white. I have always been a man of improvement, of excellence. I say, "It's a bench, but let's apply excellence here." Painted white, and that's what we had in our sitting room. If you will call that a sitting room—benches. But we were together. We prayed together. We believed together. Then we moved from benches.
If you are waiting to be rich before you marry, your head is not working. All of you young men and ladies, your head is not working. You don't want to marry, but you are sleeping together. You don't want to marry, but you are sleeping together. What is reserved for marriage, you want it—but you don't want the process. Your head, your head is hurting you. It's paining you.
Be bold. Marry. Set the date.
If you are afraid of a veil, don't veil. If you are afraid of a gown, don't gown. If you're afraid of a wedding cake, don't cake. Just come to the church office. "This is the woman I want. This is the man I want. Do you?" "I do." "I do." Go. That's how it's done. Then from there you start together in agreement, praying together, thinking together, planning together, acting together. And you would see that the battles you are fighting now become easier.
One gets down; the other pulls him back. The one is down; the other pulls him back. And step by step, step by step, step by step—that's how your parents got to where they are.
For all the young men and women, this message is for you: Be bold. Parents, tell your sons, be bold. Tell your daughters, be bold. You have stayed here for so long. Be bold and move out. Be bold.
Life is never going to be easy at any point. But when you come into agreement and you are purposeful, you boldly do things, and you will be able to turn your life around. Acquire property. Thirty years from now, forty years from now, you will see how far God has brought you.
But this dragging of feet—dragging of feet—drags you down. You want to wait till you are fifty-five, when you are now going to pension, and now you have a liar's two-bedroom house. That's when you want to marry? By the time you are seventy, your children are going to write WAEC. We'll be praying for them on Sunday morning: "Let's pray for all those who are going to write WAEC." You are seventy; your children are writing WAEC.
Somebody say, "I'll be bold! I'll be bold!" Say, "I'll be bold! I'll be bold!" Based on the righteousness of God. And if God says I can do it, I can do it.
Father, you are our backbone. You are our source. You are the one we lean on. When the waves are strong, we rest in you. When life is difficult, we rest in you. You have never given an assignment that you didn't provide for. And whatever you tell us to do, you have already made provision for it in our future.
So based on who you are, we take life with boldness. We seize the opportunities. We seize the moment. And I pray, Father, for your children that no one will be held back because of lack, because of what they don't have. But their eyes will be turned on you—your immeasurable provision, your boundless grace, your gift without limitation—so that we can boldly step out and do great things for you in our lives, in our families, as a nation, wherever we are.
Help us, Lord, to do both things for you. In Jesus's name, amen.
