Arise Bold Believers

[Acts 4:29; Ps 68:1; Num 10:35; Eph 1:18; 3:12]

The trait that marked the early apostles of the Book of Acts was that they were exceptionally bold. In Acts 4, they were threatened, beaten, and jailed by government authorities and the religious establishment for preaching about Jesus in the public square. Rather than be intimidated or given to fear, they prayed that God would give them an even greater measure of boldness! It was almost as if they felt their current level of boldness wasn’t sufficient!

Acts 4:29 (ESV) –And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness,

We don’t stop when the enemy says, “STOP!” It is time to arise in boldness and stand firm on God’s promises. Wake up, arise and shine!

Ps 68:1 (KJV) –To the chief Musician, A Psalm or Song of David. Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him.

Let God arise: Hebrew “quwm”^[H6965] (koom) v. to rise. This root word that has many applications. In the Old Testament, it meant to pick up the ark of the covenant and go into battle before the army of Israel, –And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Arise,^[H6965] O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you” (Num 10:35 ESV).

In the New Covenant, God has already risen in the person of Jesus. Jesus rose from the dead (Lk 24:6-7) and took the keys of death and hell with Him (Rev 1:18). He has shared that power with us (Mt 28:18-20; Acts 1:8), and now, when we resist the devil, he flees from us (James 4:7).

So, the New Testament way of reading this verse would be “God has risen and scattered His enemies. Now I take that authority and resist you, devil. Go, in the name of Jesus! Now!”

Christ in us the hope of glory, He lives in us now, a living ark of the covenant. We rise up in authority and scatter the enemy.

Eph 1:18 (ESV) –having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.

Eph 3:12 (NASB) –in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.

Today, many Christians living in America just want to “be nice” with each other. They “nicely” are conformed to the culture of the world. They are fearful of being criticized and persecuted. They don’t want to get involved in a situation that will test their faith, even though ideologies and laws continue to advance that aim to destroy our Christian heritage. They think the only area where they should go beyond the four walls of the church is for the purpose of humanitarian outreach.

And while that is a key role of the church, the same church should also insert itself in the moral compass of our culture. Believers need to stand up for truth in our school systems, workplaces, and government. Christians also need to become a countering force against the lies of the media. Unless we arise, our Christian influence in these sectors of society will only continue to erode, eventually leaving our nation to become a completely secularized society. Without our bold voice, where is the world going to hear the truth? We need bold believers to arise!

Declare with me:

We decree that the company of believers across this nation shall be filled with a heavenly and holy boldness. We declare that the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ shall stand confident in her message without wavering.

We prophesy that God’s people shall stand in positions of influence and not cower or be intimidated by those who are guided by the antichrist spirit. We bind the coward-spirit of fear, and we loose the faint of heart, in the name of Jesus.

We declare that believers everywhere shall courageously arise and involve themselves into key issues of society, and be a voice of moral righteousness and truth. We pray for Christians to impact the culture with biblical values and boldly defend the Christian heritage of the United States of America.

We declare the pulpits of our nation shall be filled with pastors and leaders who are fearless and unafraid to address all realms of society and public life in accordance with the Bible. We say that bold believers shall arise in our schools, churches, workforce, government, and media. They shall speak the truth without wavering, regarding every issue that goes against the Word of God.

We prophesy that pastors, leaders, and believers shall rightly teach the Scriptures, and not shy away from passages deemed offensive by the culture. We say that bold believers are arising in America, in Jesus’ Name!

God bless you my friend,

— Dwight Hammond