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Sermon:
Caleb—Apollos—James
MP3
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Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have that kind of Bold Confidence in our Christian Lives?
God, much like that man’s wife, has called us but has given us much more than a lottery win. Notice…
In prayer: John 16:24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
In healing: James 5:14-15 14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
In deliverance from trouble: Proverbs 11:8 The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead.
In stopping evil: Proverbs 12:21 There shall no evil happen to the just: but the wicked shall be filled with mischief.
In promise of Salvation: Matthew 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved..
In inheriting all things: Revelation 21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
In gaining Eternal Life: 1 John 2:25 And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.
God has given us and/or promised us everything.
Now that is cause for us to be confident And that is my purpose today, to encourage all of us to be
………Boldly Confident
Now to be Boldly confident we must first define terms…
Confidence: The main word is baTach and is found in several forms including the words Kecel and Peitho.
BaTach is translated “confidence”. It means “to be open” …and originated from the idea, ---“where nothing was hidden a person felt safe”
…often rendered “trust” and to have “good courage”
In some translations it is rendered “boldness” showing a direct relationship between “Bold” and “Confident”.
Bold --- Boldness
parresia meaning “confidence”, “fearlessness”
The International Standard Bible Encylopaedia says that “boldness” was one of the results of discipleship. It was a necessary qualification for the work assigned them. They were not only subject to violent persecutions, but also were the constant subject of ridicule and contempt.
This aspect is probably summed up in Acts 4:13
Acts 4:13
I now want to look at some specific scriptures that encourage us to have Bold Confidence in our Christian lives.
Boldness: Proverbs 28:1 The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion. (notice…”the righteous”)
Mark 15:43 Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.
Philippians 1:14 And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. (Read this whole chapter to get the real meaning of “waxing confident by my bonds)
Acts 19:8 –speaking of Paul And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God.
Confidence: Proverbs 14:26 In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.
Hebrews 3:14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Philemon 1:21 Having confidence in thy obedience I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou wilt also do more than I say.
(Notice: In Philippians 1:14 we as members have confidence because of Paul’s righteousness and here Paul has confidence because of the righteousness of one member)
Now some of you might be asking…
Where do I get my confidence and boldness?
Turn to Psalm 27
Psalm 27:1-3 1 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? 2 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. 3 Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.
1 John 3:1 tells us that confidence comes from knowing that God loves us and call us His sons.
Psalm 118 tells us that confidence comes from knowing that God is completely trustworthy.
For Boldness turn to 1 John 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. (Read all of this chapter to really understand this concept of being like God)
Now, to conclude, I want to briefly look at Caleb, Apollos and James…3 people that were Boldly Confident.
First Caleb…Scout, soldier and shepherd. One of only two people to leave Egypt and enter the promised land. He was one of the spies sent out to see the promised land and report back. Let’s Notice…
Numbers 13:25-30 25 And they returned from searching of the land after forty days. 26 And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land. 27 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. 28 Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan. 30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
Caleb was bold because he had great faith in God and His promises. And God said…
Numbers 14:24 But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.
Now Apollos---the learned “eloquent” Jew of Alexandria,
Acts 18:24-28 24 And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. 25 This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. 26 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. 27 And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace: 28 For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.
Finally James…son of Zebedee and an elder brother of John the apostle.
He was one of the twelve. He was by trade a fisherman, in partnership with Peter. With John and Peter he was present at the transfiguration (Matthew 17:1 and Mark 9:2); at the raising of Jairus’s daughter (Mark 5:37-43), and in the garden with Jesus (Mark 14:33). Because of their boldness and energy, he and John were called “sons of thunder.”
The commentaries say that James responded to his calling by Jesus and because of his eagerness was rendered a model of obedience.
Mark 1:19-20 19 And when he had gone a little further thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets. 20 And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him.
These are just three people that had Bold Confidence. We see how and we see why. They are examples for us.
Be Bold and all the forces of God’s universe will come to your aid.
Behind you is infinite power. Before you is endless possibility.
Be Bold Be a leader
Be consistent Be persistent
Be thorough Be confident
Boldly claim Eternal Life |
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