As many of you know I take December off each year to get quiet with God, and be refreshed by His presence.  Inevitably speaking, what always seems to happen is God shows me what He’s doing in my life, and not only in my life but in the body of Christ.  

Proverbs 4 says with all your getting, get wisdom, get understanding.  Understanding isn’t an intellectual understanding, it’s having your eyes opened so you can comprehend God in your life.  That’s the power behind words of wisdom and words of knowledge.  The reason we are blessed by words of wisdom and words of knowledge is because they are a sign to us that God is active and engaged in our lives.  It feels nice to see God working in your life.  

God is always working life in us.  I know there’s times we might not think God is working in our lives because we see the world around us perishing.  But, the apostle Paul says though our outward man perish, God is renewing our inward man day by day.  We may see the world around us perishing but God is working His life in us every day in the midst of it all.  We are the workmanship of God, and we see in Jesus, God is with us, forming His faith within us, helping us to comprehend the height; the breadth; the width of His love for us.

The messages we’ve preached over the years arent happenstance.  The order of the messages isnt just coincidental.  It hasnt happened by accident.  Gods been systematically renewing our minds from the wisdom of the world to the wisdom that is Christ.  He’s been growing us up into Himself.  He’s been growing us up in the wisdom and stature of sonship.  Feeding us with honey and butter, exercising our senses so we can discern that which is unto life and that which is unto death.  

When we first came into a revelation of grace, we were a bit like the hebrews when God grabbed them by the hand and led them out of egypt.  Our minds were so stained with the strength of the flesh; they were so stained with the strength we see in our own hands and the strength that’s in the things of the world, as if those things were the bread that can feed us with life, that Gods been proving our hearts, so our trust would be towards him instead of the strength we see in ourselves and in the world.  

God’s been busy kicking over the idols that climbed into the high places of our hearts so He can fill us with meekness.  Meekness as its defined in the scriptures, is when the strength and ability of God is exalted in your sight instead of the strength and ability you see in yourself and in the world.  Its when a person makes nothing of their own strength and the strength in the world, and makes much of the strength of God.  Its when a person in no longer taking thought of their own life because their mind is filled with the thought God has taken to give their life the care it needs.  Its like with Abraham he didnt consider himself or Sarah, or the weakness he saw in them, when he thought of how he will be exceedingly fruitful, rather his thoughts were filled with the strength of God.  He was meek.  

God poured out the Spirit of His Son into us, working in us the way of the cross, to fill us with meekness.  The Foundation of meekness has been laid.  We see the cross and think nothing of the strength of the flesh or the strength in the world.  But that doesn’t mean strength is not present with us.  Biblical meekness is not to be confused with the absence of strength or ability.  Its not to be confused with shyness or passivity or being timid.  Meekness is not timidity.  

Theres a metaphor that says meek as a mouse.  A mouse is not a proper example of what the Bible is describing when it talks about meekness.  In Fact biblical meekness produces boldness and confidence.  David was the meek when he wrestled the lion and the bear.  He was the meek when he looked at Goliath and said who is this uncircumcised philistine speaking against the children of God.  There’s a boldness; a confidence that comes upon you when you’re no longer taking thought of the strength and ability you see in yourself but your mind is filled with the strength and the ability contained in the life God has in Himself.  

When John and Peter came upon the cripple man, their minds weren’t filled with their own name, or their own ability, or their own words; their minds were filled with Gods ability, and the strength that emanates from the life God has in Himself, and how it can even raise the dead.  They saw that sin and death and the weakness that was come upon the cripple man was bound in the body of Christ.  They saw the incorruptible life of God, and the strength that comes from His life was loosed in them and loosed in the earth when Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father.  They saw God was with them, even in them, having filled them with His Holy Spirit; with His Presence. 

Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. 

BDB Definition:  Boldness to trust, to trust, trust in, to have confidence, be confident, to be secure, to cause to trust, make secure! to feel safe, be careless … boldness is what comes out of a person should they believe they are safe.  Its what comes out of a person should they be free from the cares of the world, and the cares that pertain to the life the world has fathered. 

I know we think of the apostles as super human or something.  As if they’re so much better than we are.  Don’t get me wrong I hold the apostles in high regards but the apostles werent always filled with boldness.  Theres a lot of references in the scriptures that paint a picture of them being scaredy cats.  When Jesus was arrested the disciples scattered for fear of being arrested along with Jesus.  Peter denied even knowing Jesus 3 times because he was afraid.  When Jesus was crucified none of the disciples were at the crucifixion except for John and Mary.  These same disciples who were once scared for their lives all of a sudden are filled with boldness and confidence in the face of certain death. 

What happened to the disciples that they went from being fearful for their lives, to the place where they are filled with what looks like a reckless abandon, where they are careless, taking to the streets declaring the name of Jesus, even with the threat of death hanging over their heads.  What filled the disciples with boldness?  Where did this boldness come from?  

Act 1:7  And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
Act 1:8  But you shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

When the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit it meant something very specific to them.  There’s a reason it filled them with power and confidence and boldness.  

When the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples heaven and earth collided in them.  They were baptized in the presence of God.  Their bodies became the temple of the living God.  God Himself came to sup with them in their house; to keep their house from sin and death.  They saw the Father was in them and they were in the Father.  They were given the keys to heaven.  Sin and death was bound in them and eternal life was loosed in them.  The fear of what man can do to them and the fear of what the world can do to them was removed because they were anointed with an incorruptible life.  They saw the Holy Spirit rest upon them and they saw it a sign God had perfected them from death once for all time, by giving them His sinless life.  

You see the disciples were fearful before the pouring out of the Holy Spirit because their minds were filled with their own strength, the strength of their own name, and the strength thats in the world.  They were afraid of man because the life the world fathered, and the weakness of that life was lifted up in their hearts.  They saw the life they had from the world was fragile.  They saw it was earthy.  They saw it was able to be corrupted and put to death.  And that filled them with the cares of the world.  

When the Holy Spirit entered the upper room as a rushing mighty wind, baptizing them in God Himself.  They were filled with meekness.  They were no longer worried about their lives.  They saw they were the tabernacle of God.  They saw the presence of God and His indestructible life went before them.  That wherever they went GOD was with them upholding their lives, making straight everything sin made crooked.  They were no longer filled with the cares that pertain to the life thats of this world.  They no longer took thought of their own strength and the strength in the world.   They no longer considered their own name and their own reputation.  The death thats in the world, and the strength of death, and the strength of the flesh to preserve their life from death was no longer lifted up in their hearts. Their minds were filled with the Father, and His name, and the strength and ability of His life to superabound over sin and death.  They saw the Holy Spirit immerse them in the fire of Gods life, and they saw it as God giving their lives the care they need by sealing them with His indestructible life.  They had the assurance that comes from faith.  They had the assurance that comes from knowing the death in this world could not keep them from seeing the fulness of God manifested in them bodily.  

This is what I see God doing in our lives.  He’s working the way of the cross in us; to cause us to give up the ghost; to cause us to lay down the life thats in the world.  Filling us with meekness, so our hearts can be purified from fear, and we can be delivered from the fear of man, and we can live in this world bold as a lion.  

God’s working something in our hearts where we are more aware of His life than the life we see in the world.  He’s doing something in us, where we live in this world no longer in awe of the strength of death, but we live in this world with His incorruptible life exalted in our sight.  God’s persuading our hearts we have a life from Him thats without spot or blemish.  He’s persuading us the life we have from Him cannot be hurt by sin and death; that the life we have from him heals sin and death everywhere it goes.  

Listen Gods not telling us we should be bold.  He ‘s not sending us out to try and produce boldness.  That’s not how this works.  The scripture doesnt say God told the disciples to be bold, or to have boldness.  The scripture says they were filled with boldness by the Holy Spirit.  In fact Jesus told them to wait to go out until they received power from on high.  

The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of life.  Its called the Spirit of adoption.  The Holy Spirit is called the Comforter.  The Holy Spirit fills us with boldness by comforting us with the presence of the Father.  The Holy Spirit intercedes in our hearts giving us eyes to see the Father and His incorruptible life with us, even in us.  The Holy Spirit is a witness to us, testifying to us, God is with us, having accomplished our warfare, overcoming sin and death in the flesh through the body of Christ, immersing us in His sinless life

Theres a boldness that comes upon you; there’s a confidence that fills you when you see the life you have from God consumed sin and death in the body of Jesus.  Theres a confidence that comes upon you when you see the life you have from the Father wars against the sin and death in the world, consuming it to the point where it no longer exists.  You’re delivered from the fear of man and the fear of what the world can do to you.  Your heart begins to say what can they do to me, seeing my life is from heaven above, and superabounds over sin and death.  You become free from the judgments in the world and the judgments of people against you.  You no longer live in this world looking for a safe space.  You see the things people say and do to you cannot be a stain on your life because your life is from above.