Easter Makes Everything NewSample

Boldness to Serve Christ

When we are victorious, new-life, new-covenant, Spirit-filled believers, the Holy Spirit living within us will give us boldness to serve Him. “The righteous shall be as bold as a lion” (Prov. 28:1), and we are righteous in Jesus Christ by His shed blood on the cross!

Too many of us, though, when God calls us to do something for Him, say, “But I’m afraid.” We worry, “I’m afraid I could fail. I’m afraid of tomorrow. I’m afraid of the new virus that’s supposed to be twenty times more deadly than HIV. I’m afraid of global warming. I’m afraid of my family turning on me. I’m afraid people will laugh at me. I’m afraid, I’m afraid, I’m afraid.”

Paul wrote to Timothy, a young minister, “The Spirit God gave us does not make us timid [fearful], but gives us power, love and self-discipline” (2 Tim. 1:7). Whenever we are walking in any kind of fear, it has nothing to do with the Holy Spirit. That doesn’t mean that we should act like bulls in a china shop trying to do things God never asked us to do, but as we walk in the Spirit, we will have a boldness and confidence that come from God. We will walk in faith, because the Spirit produces that in us, and faith is the opposite of fear.

A Christian living in the fullness of the Spirit can never say, “I see the door open, but I’m afraid.” Jesus didn’t hang back from the cross because He was afraid. We won’t find the apostle Paul pulling back in fear either. He never said, “A door for ministry is open, but I’m afraid I could end up in prison again.” When the early Christians were martyred after the close of Scripture, what stood out to the Romans who were killing them was that as they went to the flame or to get their heads cut off, they were praising God right to the final moment.

What are we worried about again? Run that by me, all the pressure you’re under.

A Christian living the old life says, “I know, but North Korea, and China, and Ukraine, and now Hezbollah and Hamas . . .” Listen, pray about it, but get up in the morning and do God’s will! God is with us!

When we live in fear, we’re not living the new life; we’re living the old life. We think, “God’s going to fix me up, and I’ll be more courageous than I used to be.” There’s nothing in the Bible that says God’s going to work with us and fix us up. We’re too hopelessly ruined. God says, “I’ll give you a new heart. I’ll put a new spirit in you. You’ll be filled with my power, love, and self-discipline.”

If you are overflowing with the Spirit, you will never say “But I’m afraid,” not to yourself or to anyone else. Like David wrote in Psalm 118:6, you will say, “The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid.”