Bold As A Lion Part 5: The Necessity Of Boldness by Dr. Paul Enenche: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

The Necessity of Boldness

Proverbs 28:1 — the wicked flee when no man pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion. Understanding why we need boldness is critical, because boldness is righteousness. It is godly to be bold. There are serious losses we experience when we lack boldness, and we have a non-negotiable need to be bold in the world we live in today.

Boldness Helps Us Go After the Enemy to Recover What Is Ours

On a general note, boldness helps us engage the enemy. You need a heart to fight with the enemy. In Genesis 14:14, Abraham heard that his brother had been taken captive. He armed his 318 trained servants and pursued them unto Dan. Boldness helps us go after the enemy to take back what is ours.

In 1 Samuel 17:34–37, David recounted to Saul: "Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock, and I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth." It takes boldness to go after the lion. This is the generation of the Lion of the tribe of Judah going after the enemy — and declaring, "I went after him, and I took the lamb out of his mouth."

There are things the enemy took because men who are bold enough to go after the devil and say, "Devil, you cannot take what is mine. You cannot resist my assignment like this" — there is a shortage of such people.

In 1 Samuel 30:1, David and his men came to Ziklag and found it burned, their wives and children taken captive. David and his men wept until they had no more power to weep. The people even thought of stoning David. But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. That is the aspect of boldness — he refused to be discouraged, refused to be depressed, refused to bow.

Cowardice achieves nothing. Fear achieves nothing. Depression achieves nothing. But boldness recovers everything.

He pursued. And in verse 19, the Bible says there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters — David recovered all.

The story of Lester Sumrall carries this same spirit. He went to Latin America and saw a witch doctor performing occult acts. He laid hands on this agent of the devil and cast out the spirit. That night in his room, everything began to vibrate — the curtains, the bed, even the cotton standing upright. And he said: "Satan, I cast you out in the daytime and I have not changed my mind. Get out of here now." The vibration stopped. But the bed had shifted from the wall. He ran out shouting: "Devils, come back here. When you came in, you met this bed on the wall. Push it back before you go." And the vibration started again until the bed was returned.

Boldness to Dare Everything for the Sake of God's People

2 Samuel 23:15–17 — David longed for water from the well of Bethlehem, which was in the midst of enemy territory. Three mighty men heard the longing of their master and broke through the host of the Philistines to draw water from the well and brought it to David. They overheard the wish of their master and acted without even being asked.

• Boldness helps us go after the enemy to take back what is ours.
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Dr. Paul Enenche
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• Boldness helps us dare everything in order to fulfil the desires and pleasures of our Master.
• Boldness helps us take a stand for God in the face of threat and danger.
• Boldness helps us stand even if we have to stand alone.
• Boldness is needed to reject and react against ungodly laws and decrees.
• Boldness is needed to take godly actions in the interest of God and His people at any cost.
• Boldness helps us stand firm and speak out in the face of envy and opposition.
• Boldness makes us unstoppable, irresistible, causing us to identify alternative courses of action.

Boldness Needed for Godly Actions at Any Cost

In Esther 4:16, when Haman's decree threatened to annihilate the Jewish people, Esther declared: "Go, gather all the Jews in Shushan and fast for me three days. I also and my maidens will fast likewise. And so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law. And if I perish, I perish." I am bold enough to dare death — but the people must be saved.

When you say to the president of your country, "Your Excellency, this is wrong," that is boldness. When there is a need to speak on behalf of God and His kingdom, boldness is needed to get it done.

Joseph of Arimathea — Boldness and Resource Power

When Jesus died, everyone fled. Peter denied the Master faster than the speed of thought. Thomas doubted. But there was one man — when everybody was running from Pilate and Herod, his name was Joseph of Arimathea.

In Matthew 27:57, when the evening was come, there came a rich man of Arimathea named Joseph, himself also a disciple. He went to Pilate and demanded the body of Jesus. Peter couldn't have dared that. John couldn't have dared that. Thomas couldn't have dared that. But Joseph of Arimathea could. There are times when the Joseph of Arimathea kind of people are needed for the body of Christ — to address rulers, to go where apostles are afraid to go, to speak when people are afraid to speak.

One of the secrets of the Joseph of Arimathea kind of people is that alongside their underlying boldness, they also have resource power. There is nothing that enhances boldness and confidence like resources. He could approach Pilate as an equal — "You know me and I know you. We meet at the council meetings. We meet at the meeting for chief executives." That resource power gave him access to boldness in action.

Boldness Makes Us Unstoppable

Acts 13:46 — when the Jewish leaders stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out, Paul and Barnabas waxed bold and said: "It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you. But since you have put it from you, we turn to the Gentiles." They did not stop them — they redirected them. Paul's ministry to the Gentiles then exploded.

Paul the Apostle's ministry opened after they tried to stop him. Isaac found his place of enlargement. He dug a well and they stopped him. He dug another and they stopped him again. He dug a third and they pushed him to Rehoboth — his place of enlargement, where he could no longer be stopped.

Weak people end their journey with the opposition. Bold people begin their journey after the opposition.

• Everything they did before the opposition was a shadow.
• Their real life and ministry begin after people tried to stop them.

When they resist you, those who are weak are stopped. Those who are bold become unstoppable, irresistible, causing them to identify alternative courses of action and ushering them into their place of enlargement.