BOLDNESS 1

BOLDNESS (1)

INFILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Boldness is the ability to face anybody or any situation fearlessly. In Christianity, boldness does not recognize outside picture, it is dependent on the inside conviction of an individual. Boldness in the life of a Christian is as a result of the infilling of the Holy Spirit. The question is – have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed.

The infilling of the Holy Spirit is not a one time experience but a continuous process. The first infilling came when you received the Holy Spirit which is an experience you get after you got born again. But after the first infilling, it is your responsibility to continually get filled with the Holy Spirit. The bible says in Ephesians 5:18 –

“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit.”

God has put the responsibility on you to be filled with the Spirit. You might be timid as a Christian and you are afraid to preach the gospel, what you need is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. It affects your boldness in any situation. Your situation might look so big; it looks as if you would crumble anytime and you are afraid – what you need is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. This brings boldness to face any circumstance. Always know this – as a Christian your being bold is not based on what you are facing outside, it is based on what is on the inside of you.
What has boldness got to do with the Holy Spirit? Let us first observe the Old Testament. According to the life of David, Prophet Samuel anointed David to be king and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him (1Samuel 16:13). When the Spirit of God came on him, he became bold to face anything. The bible says in 1Samuel 17:36 that David killed a lion and a bear. This is not an ordinary feat. David is just a boy, a teenager (17 years) not even fit to go to war (1Samuel 17:33). One time when the Israelites were at war with the Philistines; the Israelite soldiers were afraid of Goliath. The soldiers of Israel were already defeated because of fear. Nobody was bold enough to come out. David and the soldiers were facing the same situation but each responded differently. The soldiers were afraid but David was bold. What is the difference? The Spirit of the Lord. David refused to recognize the opposition. Boldness refuses to recognize the opposition. The bible says Goliath was offended when he saw David. When Goliath took the first step, David ran towards him (1Samuel 17:48-51). Boldness always runs towards its opposition and obstacles. And be assured, boldness always results into victory.

The New Testament is even much better, because in the Old Testament the Holy Spirit could only come upon David. In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit not only comes on us, we can also be filled with him. We get to a state in which we are drunk with Him. That is what Ephesians 5:18 means. Paul was not talking about the quantity; being filled with the Holy Spirit is all about the controlling power. In other words, you are no longer controlled by your senses but by the Spirit. You look at something and you see differently. No fear!

Considering the life of Peter – He denied the Lord 3 times because he was afraid. Mark14:66 – 72. This happened after Peter had sworn that if he had to die, he would not deny the Lord.Mark14:30 – 31. Peter had walked with the Lord Jesus for three years. He had seen so many mighty works but he was still not bold enough when opposition came. But this same Peter after receiving the Holy Spirit and was filled with Him (Acts 2:1-4), he became bold.

Brethren, the infilling of the Holy Spirit will infuse conviction and boldness into your spirit. In Acts2:4, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in other tongues. This same Peter who was once afraid to stand by his convictions; after being filled with the Holy Spirit faced the crowd and preached the gospel to them. Three thousand people gave their heart to Jesus that same day. Acts2:41
If you will receive the Holy Spirit and continually be filled with Him, you will be bold to act the Word of God and also to face any situation. Acts 3 and 4 shows us that Peter and John healed a man lame from birth and they were arrested and threatened not to preach in the Name of Jesus. They became afraid because of the threat. The disciples then prayed, according to Acts4:29, that the Lord will grant them boldness to preach the gospel in the midst of threat and opposition. And in Acts4:31, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the Word of God with boldness; irrespective of the consequence.

The infilling of the Spirit is what made Paul to preach the gospel with boldness in the midst of threat and danger. And he was highly successful.
All you need to do is get filled with the Holy Spirit and you will be bold to accomplish anything in life. You will no longer consider oppositions, you will only see through the eyes of the Spirit. All you will see is the impossible becoming possible. No matter what you are facing now, get yourself filled with the Holy Spirit and you will see the results of boldness. Boldness will ensure your victory in Christ Jesus. We are not struggling to be victorious; we already have victory in Christ Jesus. So enforce your victory in Christ Jesus.

In the next article, I will teach you biblical principles on how to get filled with the Holy Spirit continually.