So how do we not waver in our faith and give unbelief the boot?  By forgetting about self and dying to self and recognizing that the source of every bit of our power is Jesus and looking unto Him alone.  We have died and He has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: (Ephesians 2:6)

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.  Galatians 2:20  

Christ in us gives forth the spirit of life and the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus frees us from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2).  He is the vine and we are the branch.  All power and authority was given to Him after His victory on the cross whereby He conquered both death and hell.  He has since delegated His power to us right before He ascended, to do the very works that He did when we abide in Him.  Even whatsoever we ask, request or desire in His name, He will do it for us, without any limitations, so that the Father will be glorified in the Son.

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching I them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.  Matthew 28:18

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  John 14:12-13

Intimacy with Jesus is paramount because without Him we can do nothing.  All power flows from Him into us and through us into the ones we minister to by physically stretching forth God’s hand.  We are like a conduit or a transmitting utility conducting God’s power like electricity.  John Lake often compared the power of the Holy Spirit flowing through him with electricity flowing from the source to the recipient.

And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus. Act 4:29-30

The word “may” is an improper addition and a mistranslation in the KJV and other versions that never should have been added.  There is no “may” here in the Greek at all.  The literal translation says “to be occurring”.  Check out the Young’s Literal Translation of these verses:

`And now, Lord, look upon their threatenings, and grant to Thy servants with all freedom to speak Thy word, in the stretching forth of Thy hand, for healing, and signs, and wonders, to come to pass through the name of Thy holy child Jesus.’  Acts 4:29-30 YLT

It was boldness to speak His word in the stretching of His hand for healing and signs, and wonders, to come to pass that these disciples were praying for; not whether or not they might do signs and wonders if the Lord would perchance grant it.  The signs and wonders were already theirs.  That is exactly what they were arrested for.  They were praying for the boldness that Jesus had that overcomes the fear of man and obliterates doubt and unbelief in the face of the chief priests and elders, the kings of the earth who stood up, and the rulers that were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ (Act 4:26), both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel (Act 4:27).  A scary and intimidating lot of men indeed, but nevertheless, just mere men.

Most of these disciples had been caught without this boldness once before with the scribes questioning them and their actions and which had caused their failure to cast the demon out of the boy and they were not about to let this happen again.  Once they had let the fear of man make them respecters of the persons of the scribes which had cost them their faith, causing their unbelief and resulting in failure in ministering signs and wonders.  Never again!  Having overcome the accusations of all the rulers, elders and scribes of the Sanhedrin, and in the face of their threats not to speak at all or teach in the name of Jesus ever again, they now prayed for boldness to continue to speak the word of God while confirming the word with signs and wonders without the fear of man and his threats to hinder their faith or to cause their unbelief ever again.

And so we come full circle.

One of the definitions of the word boldness used here in Strong’s is “free and fearless confidence”.  In other words, they prayed for boldness to speak the word of God without allowing the intimidation of any man to hinder them and to minister signs and wonders freely in full confidence and without being fearful or intimidated by any man.

The fear of man, which is the same as being a respecter of persons, is the greatest hindrance still today for modern day Christians who profess to believe.  They are simply afraid to reach out and share the gospel with their fellow man.  A large part of that very small percentage of believers who also believe that they can minister healing by the laying on of hands to confirm the word, are still afraid to approach people even when they are clearly in need of healing.  Their biggest fear?  “What if it doesn’t work?”  As such, if they asked Jesus the same question, “Why could we not cast out the demon?”, the first step in laying on of hands for healing (see The ABC’s Of Healing) Jesus would give them the same answer, “Because of your unbelief.”  To confirm this, here is a personal account from one of our trainees whose permission I have to share this.

When we have died to self, we are no longer concerned about what others may think about us, only about what God thinks about us.  We no longer need self-confidence because we have God-confidence!  This truth alone destroys all the false teachings of the self-help and motivational gurus seeking to glorify man instead of God and attempting to make man self-reliant instead of relying on God.

What could be more exciting then to set someone free from the oppression of the enemy right before your very eyes?  What could be more simpler than to walk up to an individual with a cane, or crutch, or walker or in a wheelchair and say: “Excuse me but I noticed your wheelchair.  I am a minister and I pray for people and God heals them.  Can I pray for you?”  I often take out groups of people for activation and outreach and observe who will step out first in total faith to offer to pray for an individual we come across who is in obvious need of healing.  It is far and few between.

If this is you and the Lord is speaking to you right now through these messages, please do not feel judged or condemned.  Remember, there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus and all He wants to do is help you to live up to your full potential and all the power, authority and ability He has already placed inside of you and, to top it off, reward you for doing so.  May I encourage you that the disciples’ prayer for boldness become your personal prayer?

And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.  Acts 4:24-30

Look what happened after they prayed for boldness.  They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.

And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.  Acts 4:31

You may have been baptized in the Holy Ghost but do not let that hinder you from seeking fresh and new in fillings, again and again.  You may have a car but you still need gas every time to travel from place to place.  Be sure to stop regularly at your Holy Ghost filling station to tank up.

If you minister and don’t see instant results, take a step back and say, “Lord Jesus, forgive me, it is not me but You.  You are the vine and I am the branch.  Please have your way right here and right now.”  Hit it again by letting the power flow through you and watch the miracle happen.  Know that He loves you and be convicted that it is not your knowledge that gets the job done, but being filled with the fullness of God and letting His Spirit flow into you and then flow out of you into others.

And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.  Ephesians 3:19

It was only by the power of being full of the Holy Ghost that Peter was able to overcome his fear of man when he denied the Lord three times in the face of a servant girl accusing him of being a disciple.  Now he stood fearless in front of the mighty Sanhedrin, filled with the Holy Ghost and told them in no uncertain terms that it was the name of Jesus that had made this man whole and basically told the off when they threatened him not to speak or teach in that name.

Know this, that all demons are subject unto us.  Think about that.  Jesus did not say that we had to ask Him to defeat the enemy; He literally and physically gave that power to us.

Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.  Luke 10:19

Do you believe it?  Knowing that you are dead and it is Christ in you that goes forth to conquer the enemy, gives us the confidence to run into the battle charging with our head up high covered with the helmet of salvation, our front and back covered with the breastplate of righteousness, our feet shod with spreading the gospel, our belt of truth girding our loins, our shield of faith to quench the fiery arrows of the enemy, but most importantly, to strike forth with our sword of the spirit which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:11-20).

Jesus most powerful weapon of defense and attack against Satan himself was, “It is written…”, whereby He defeated the devil himself every single time.  You cannot overpower truth, for truth, and certainly God’s truth, will always overcome the lies of the enemy.

Now die!  Yes, die to yourself and live for God and His kingdom.  Every bit of you that doubts or is fearful, that is a part of you that has not died yet.  Death = Life!  You can only bring forth life and the fruit thereof by dying.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.  John 12:24-25

Franciscus M. Dartee

Grow in Faith | Walk in Power

 

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