Richard Roberts
My good friend, Dr Lester Sumrall, who went home to be with the Lord many years ago, told me the following story.
He was invited to teach a class on anthropology at one of our great universities in America. The university was founded on Christian principles, but it had turned secular. When Dr Sumrall arrived, the students and faculty had already gathered to hear the guest speaker. Just before they introduced him, one of the faculty members leaned over to him and said, “We want you to know, Dr Sumrall, that everyone you will be speaking to believes in the theory of evolution.”
Dr Sumrall got up to speak and opened his remarks by saying, “You know, it’s not nearly as important where you came from as where you’re going.” And before he finished his message, he was giving an altar call. Now that takes boldness! It takes a lack of fear and a determination to do what God called you to do, no matter what anybody thinks or says. I call it “holy boldness”!
That’s what the disciples had. In Acts 4 the disciples were arrested and warned not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. But as soon as they were freed, they found other believers and reported what had happened. They joined together in prayer and God answered in a powerful way: The building where they were meeting shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. And they preached God’s message with boldness (Acts 4:31 NLT).
The Holy Spirit empowers you with a holy boldness to go where God tells you to go, to do what He tells you to do, and to say what He tells you to say.