Don't Be Scared Now | Pastor Jamal Hegwood | Forward City Church

What's up our YouTube family? It's Pastor Jamal Hegwood here of Forward City Church, inviting you to listen in on my latest message entitled Don't Be Scared. Now listen, God has called each and every one of us to live a life full of boldness and full of faith. But most people don't understand that that boldness has to come from the Holy Spirit.

We cannot be bold in our own strength, but we have to be filled with boldness by him. And I want for you to grab your notebooks, grab your Bibles, grab your pens, and lean into this message today. Don't be scared. Now, send it to a friend or two and make sure that you get something out of it.

Acts 4, I only got one verse for you. I know you're going to be happy cuz then you get to sit down. Acts 4, the 31st verse, New Living Translation. It says, "After this prayer, the meeting place shook." Somebody say, "Shook. And they were all filled. Somebody say filled. >> Filled >> with the Holy Spirit. >> Then they preached the word of God >> with boldness. >> Father, thank you for your word.

I pray that you touch me, your servant, and help me to be able to preach this word with boldness in Jesus name. I need for you before you go to your seats to turn to a neighbor and help me with the title of this message. Tell your neighbor, the title of this message is don't be scared now. >> Don't be scared now.

You may take your seats. Type that in the chat for me. Don't be scared now. Don't be scared now. Don't be scared now. Don't be scared now. Uh-uh. Pastor Jamal, um, that's me. I like to talk to myself, you know, on the stage. So, um, but Pastor Jamal, uh, uh, you know, I I like to be honest and vulnerable in my messages.

I like to let you guys in on my life, and I don't want for you to think that I'm just, you know, somebody special. I'm just I'm just a nobody, you know. Um, and so I try to be vulnerable. I try to be open. I try to, you know, give you guys insight into my life.

And um little fun fact about me growing up as a kid um I was a pretty good kid. I was a pretty good kid. I didn't really start doing a whole lot of foolishness until I got older. But when I was a young kid, when I was a young lad, I was a pretty good kid.

Um the only thing really was that I talked too much. Um you know, hence why I'm a preacher now and you going to be listening to me for the next 30 minutes. Um, I talked a little too much and I had a little bit tiny wincchy bit of a slick mouth.

Um, and I didn't really get a whole lot of whoopins as a child. Um, my parents believed in it, trust me. Um, but I was one that I like to learn my lesson. Okay? You don't have to teach me twice. If I notice that that got me in trouble the last time, I'm not doing that again.

So what that means is the few whoopins that I got, they were memorable. And there was one in particular, I was talking to my dad a couple months ago. We were on vacation for his birthday. I was talking to him and he reminded me of one that y'all honestly I don't remember, but I believe him.

Okay? And he was telling me, he said, you know, I was a young lad and he told me to go do something and I didn't do it. Okay? First time, you know, it's polite. Now, this was before gentle parenting, so you know, um, but I'll be trying with y'all, nephew.

It's just it's it's hard. But, you know, he told me to do something, I didn't do it. So, the second time, you know, told me again, and I guess I was moving a little slow. Um, and then the third time, you know, the tone changes a little bit.

And so, then it it goes from, you know, can you to get your butt over there and do what I say. Um, something happened in me. I still don't remember. I must have blacked out or something like that because he was telling me when we were on vacation, he told me that once he got to that third that that tone change, my response was, now again, I don't remember this.

My response was, "What you going to do?" >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Give me that camera right there. big baller, >> shot caller, what you going to do? And then he said, then he said, I doubled down on it. So then he say again, go do I said, well, what you going to do, big baller, shot caller.

Now again, I must have blacked out. I don't remember what came over me. I don't remember what happened. But then obviously in typical black parent fashion, words did not come out of his mouth. Next, all you heard was the sound of And I'm sure it was all in one motion.

Like it didn't even it it I probably didn't even get the last word out before it was up. And he said, "My eyes bucked up." And and I think in that moment I realized, "Oh, God, what did I do?" A and then he let out the infamous phrase. >> Don't be scared.

Now, anybody ever had a moment like that? For some of us in here, for some for y'all, for some of y'all in here, y'all are y'all are fighters or or reformed fighters. Y'all used to be fighters. And you know, people used to talk a big talk and then when you finally decided that it uh don't be scared now, I'm here.

You was doing all that big talk on Facebook, MySpace. We here now. Don't be scared now. I I I don't I still don't remember what y'all. I I'm trying to I think the Lord just erased it from my memory cuz I can't even I'm just trusting that this happened based on this story.

I don't remember what happened. Uh but but but something must have given me some form of confidence. My dad ended up saying, "Don't be scared now." Right when I had to face the thing that I caused. >> And isn't that funny? Isn't that how God has to deal with us?

Sometimes he has to talk to us like that's I don't know about y'all, but God don't hold no punches me. So, you know, I know for some of y'all say, "Oh, my baby, my child." No, that's not how God talked to me. He'd be like, "Now, come on, brother.

What What we doing?" And I feel like sometimes God just be like, "Ah, don't be scared now." Because because when we're faced with what we asked for, >> you you wanted to walk with me and and now you scared because of the opposition. >> You wanted that promotion and now you upset cuz there's more responsibility. >> You wanted that bigger house and now you mad cuz you got to keep it clean.

Uh-uh. Uhuh. Uh-uh. Don't be scared now that you are facing the reality of whatever it was that you asked for. Don't don't be scared now because you said you wanted to believe me, right? This is what happens because of it. That's where we find the early church in Acts 4.

They've just seen miracles. They walking in power. I mean, they knocking folks out, healing folks, tumors falling off. But then they realize, oh, wait, the response to this is something that I don't like called pressure. They're experiencing the power, but they're also feeling the pressure. >> And and here's the reality that we have to understand.

The Holy Ghost didn't come just to make them loud. He came to make them bold. >> The Holy Ghost doesn't just come to give you power. He comes to give you boldness. And here's the reality that many of us do not understand. We understand the power. We understand Acts 2 and the flames came and fell on people's head and they were speaking in tongues and people getting healed and delivered and set free.

But then we don't understand that those same people had to come back to God at Acts 4 and say, "Woo, that's nice, >> but we need something else >> because for some reason this is not working for us." So the Holy Spirit comes to give us power, but that's only half the story.

He also comes to give us boldness. There are three main areas where the Holy Ghost comes to give you boldness. We're going to go through those three today. The the first is he gives you boldness to grow. He gives you boldness to grow. Let me make this clear.

Growth requires boldness because growth attracts pressure. I know that's not what you wanted to hear. I know that's not what you wanted to hear. But as you grow, your growth is going to attract pressure. I know that you thought that you could get the growth minus the pressure.

I know you thought you could get the growth minus the persecution. I know you thought you could get the growth minus the work. But that's not how it works. Growth actually attracts pressure. And here's the reality. Your growth scares the enemy. >> Everybody in this room has something that they are called to grow into.

And here's the reality. Heaven knows it. Hell knows it. You're the last one to catch up. >> Let me show you. You don't believe me. Let me show you in scripture. Exodus one. A lot of us, we know about the children being in the children of Israel being in Egypt.

They were in bondage. But most of us do not understand how that even started. We think that they just woke up one day and they were in bondage. The Bible actually shows us how it started. And the Bible gives us a clue into how all bondage begins. In Exodus 1:8, the Bible says, "Eventually, a new king came to power in Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done."

He said this this king in Egypt, he said to his people, "Look, the people of Israel now outnumber us and are stronger than we are." Watch this next verse. We must make a plan to keep them from growing. >> Okay? All right. If we don't and if war breaks out, they will join our enemies and fight against us. then they will escape from the country.

So the Egyptians made the Israel made the Israelites their slaves. They appointed bru brutal slave masters over them hoping to wear them down with crushing labor. >> Hold up. What you are telling me is that the Israelites growth attracted pressure. The enemy saw that they were growing and saw that they were becoming stronger than him.

And so in order to keep them bound, in order to keep them from growing, he employed slave masters over them. What does this look like in your life? The enemy sees that you're growing, so he employs the slave master of anxiety to hold you. The enemy sees that you're growing, so he employs the the slave master of fear to hold you.

The enemy sees that you're growing, and now you getting DMs from people that you should never be getting DMs from. The enemy sees you growing and now stuff popping up on your Instagram that you thought you had blocked. The enemy sees you growing and now you getting text messages from people that you thought you blocked and you thought you don't talk to no more.

The enemy sees you growing and instead of helping, he applies pressure. Oh yeah. You think that what you're going through is simply the enemy trying to bully you. No, it's the enemy trying to bind you. It's the enemy knowing that if you grow into who God created you to be, you would be bigger than him.

You would be stronger than him, you would understand who you are and who's you are. And so what the enemy does is he tries to get you to see yourself as small even though you're grown and big. What I need for you to understand is that God needs for you to grow and not be small.

Even even in our text in Acts 4, we see how growth attracted pressure. And I don't know about you, but maybe there's some people in here that's been feeling pressure in life. I don't know, but if that's you, just raise your hand at me if you've been feeling pressure this year.

Maybe you've been feeling pressure this month. Maybe you've been feeling pressure this week, this weekend. Baby, I've been feeling pressure today. And what I need you to understand is that pressure is not something to be afraid of because pressure points to promise. Now I know you don't want to talk to me but somebody in between service they asked me they said pastor Jamal what's the difference between pressure and weight because I feel like weight is not good but I also know what you said about pressure.

And here's what I told them. Weight distracts you but pressure is always assigned to purpose. So what does this look like? What does this look like? What does this look like? Pressure is they gave you that promotion at that job and I feel the pressure of responsibility, but I also know it's what I'm purposed to do.

Weight is a distraction trying to keep me from what God called me to do. So yes, you are feeling pressure, but you're anointed for the pressure. In Acts 4, we even see this in our scripture because in verses 1-3, we literally see Peter and John arrested for preaching.

They're preaching the gospel and they are arrested for it. And then in verses 13- 20, the council of priests and religious leaders watched that same Peter and John stand on business. They brought them before the council thinking that the council was going to intimidate them and that Peter and John were going to be like, "Oh, you know what?

I'm sorry. Let me stop preaching." No. Instead, Peter and John said, "You know what? I'm going to perform miracles right here up in front of y'all. I'm going to preach the gospel right here up in front of y'all because at the end of the day, I know who I was created to be.

And it don't matter where you take me. It don't matter if you arrest me. It don't matter if you bully me. It don't matter if you talk about me. It don't matter if you look at me funny or strange. But I know who God called me to be.

And I need some people who's willing to stand on business for the gospel and say, "I don't care what you got to say. I don't care what you got to do. But I'm supposed to grow. You can talk about me. You can pull me. You can push me.

You can bully me. You can look at me different. You can unfollow me. But I don't care because God called me. 
((applause))
 So he's standing before the council and they standing on business. They like, "Uh-uh. This is what we called to do. This what we was created to do and we going to do it even right in front of y'all."

Just imagine that. The religious leaders up in there like, "You got to stop preaching the gospel." And John like, "Your back hurt and God about to heal you right now cuz I don't care what like it is what it is." But here's what here's what kills me though.

The Bible says that the religious leaders couldn't deny what they were talking about due to their boldness and that they recognized that these men had been with Jesus. >> So what you're telling me is that boldness is one part of the story, but the reality is that the pressure was not only a result of their boldness, but it was also a result of their proximity. >> Okay, let me help you.

Let me help you, Justin. The pressure that you are feeling is not simply because you're bold. The pressure that you're feeling is because you've been close to him. You've been close to him. Because the closer I get to him, the closer I get to him, the more pressure I feel.

The pressure around you is proof that you've been close to him. If you're walking around in life and you're not feeling any pressure, maybe it's because you ain't been in your closet lately. If you're walking around life and you're not feeling any pressure, maybe it's because you haven't communed with him lately.

But when you start walking with him and when you start talking with him, you realize that the pressure gets turned on. Let me help somebody in here. Growth attracts pressure. And I want to encourage you. If those friends are treating you different, it's because I'm growing. If those doors are closing, it's because I'm growing.

If that circle's getting smaller, it's because I'm growing. 
((applause))
 
((music playing))
 Here's the reality. Here's the reality. You don't understand that your growth causes the enemy to lose his grip. >> When when you feel the pressure, yes, it's going to hurt. Yes, it's going to be frustrating. But that next thought needs to be rejoicing because it's a sign that the enemy is scared of who you're becoming.

And he's trying to bully you out of what God has called you to do and be. I don't know about you, but I know there have been seasons where my circle started to get smaller. Seasons where opportunities felt like they were drying up. Seasons where pressure felt like it was building.

Seasons where I felt like I was praying, but the more I prayed, the more problems I had. seasons where I thought that God was bringing me through, but it it seemed like my problems were stacking up. There were seasons where I thought that people were for me, but then it was exposed that they weren't for me.

Seasons where I felt like I was on my own. Seasons where I felt like I was by myself and God had to give me the revelation that he was growing me, that he was building me, that he was giving me new language and giving me new eyes. Here's what you have to understand.

Whenever you want a seed to become a plant, you have to bury it and put pressure around it. And the more pressure you put around it, the more soil you put around it, it causes for that seed to burst and grow. You're under pressure so you can grow.

When the Holy Spirit gives you boldness, that is not the absence of fear. It's not. It's simply the decision to grow in spite of it. >> The truth is growth prepares you for movement because once you start growing, God doesn't just want you to stay where you are. >> That's anti-gosspel.

He does not grow you for you to stay where you are. >> Which leads us to our second area the Holy Spirit gives you boldness in, which is holy. The Holy Spirit gives you boldness to go. So, he gives you boldness to grow and he gives you boldness to go.

Here's the here here's the thing that um I I want for you to get today is some of us in this room, you might be honest, you might not. I'm going to be honest. Some of us in this room, we we we might have this entire year been stuck in some things.

I don't know about you, but there have been some seasons and there are some areas in my life where I just feel stuck. I'm like, I've tried everything. I've prayed. I've fasted. I've given. I've swn. I've talked to gurus and mentors. And for some reason, I'm just still stuck.

Stuck in some stuff. Stuck in some cycles. Stuck in some perspective. Stuck in some relationships. But the word of the Lord for you today is it's time to go. I know that many of you have been waiting on a prophetic word. You've been waiting on God to download something from heaven, but it's time to go.

You've been stuck for too long, and it's time for you to get up, and it's time for you to go. You've been stuck because you lack boldness. And I need a hundred people in this room that say, "I've been stuck for way too long, and I've got to go."

((applause))
 I don't know about you, but I don't want to look the same way that I came into 2025. I got to leave 2025 looking different. I got to leave 2025 looking more like him. And in order to do that, I got to go. I need you to grab your neighbor and say, "It's time to go.

It's time to go. It's time to go. It's time to go. It's time to go. We got somewhere to go. We got some things to do and it's time for us to get up out of here. I've been stuck for too long. I've been bound for too long.

I've been going through the same thing for too long. 
((music playing))
 Aren't you sick and tired of going through the same thing? Aren't you sick and tired of the same old same old the same old trauma? the same old anxiety, the same old fear, the same old rejection. I'm sick and tired.

It's time for me to go. I got to get out of this poverty. I got to get out of this rejection. I got to get out of this fear. I got to get out of this anxiety. It's time to go. Oh, I need you to high five people and say, "It's time to go.

It's time to go. It's time to go. It's time to go. It's time to go. It's time to go." I feel that for somebody. It's time to go. It's time to go. It's time to go. It's time to go. I can't stay here. I can't stay here. But I've got to go.

I've got to get out of here. I've got to keep moving. I've got to keep shifting. It's time. 
((music playing))
 God called me to pull some people out of some stuff. You've been in the same stuff for too long. Baby, it's time to leave that man. He don't want you.

It's time to leave that job. It's suffocating you. It's time to leave that city. You can't thrive there. It's time to go. 
((applause))
 
((music playing))
 Oh, I just heard this. If you do not go, if you do not go, you will never see the fullness of what God created you to be.

I just heard this in the spirit. There are some places that the enemy has created to suffocate you. I hear this. Oh yes, there are some of you that have felt like you were out of breath. You felt like you couldn't do it any longer. You felt like you couldn't move any longer.

But the go the Lord says that as you go, I go with you. I don't know who this is for, but the Holy Ghost is giving you the boldness to go to go in boldness, to go in strength, to go in might. Somebody shout, "It's time to go.

((music playing))
 
((applause))
 It's time to go. It's time to go. >> But here's the reality here. Here's the catch. Here's the catch. Here's the catch. >> When I go, >> you don't go with your plan. >> You go with the gospel. 
((applause))
 >> Because here's the reality. Some of us, we want for God to blow >> on how we want to go >> when instead we are supposed to go with the gospel.

Ah, stay standing cuz I got something for you. >> Don't be scared now because God called you to go. everybody in this room who has a calling on their life uh to go for the kingdom of God. And there are lives assigned to your life and you got to stop being selfish and you got to go.

There's people that need to hear the gospel. There's people that need to see your life and it's time to go. It's time. Everybody lift your hands. Lift your hands right now. Lift your hands right now. I ordain you as a kingdom agent right now. It is time for you to go.

I knite you. I send you go. You don't have to wait on nobody's approval. You don't have to wait on what nobody say. It's your time to go. 
((applause))
 Listen. Listen. You need boldness to go where God sends you to go. God is sending you places. You are not just at that job just because >> you think you think God gave you favor with that job. >> You think you think you got that job just cuz they saw your resume and it was so cute. >> No, no, no.

God sent you there. You are an answer to problems. That is a mission field. And I know that boss get on your nerve, but that boss need the gospel. I know that them coworker get on your nerves, but them co-workers need the gospel. You were sent. You think that that school just accepted you because you so cute and because you had a good GPA.

No, you are called to flip that school upside down. You were sent to CIU. You were sent to USC. You were sent to Benedict. You were sent to Columbia College. You were sent to Allen. You were sent to Claplin. God sent you. The Holy The Holy Ghost does not enter our lives so we can sit on our hands. >> Too many of us have been sitting on our hands. >> He comes into our lives to empower us to go.

See, most Christians focus on power, but forget the requirement to go. I go when it's convenient. >> This makes me a little uncomfortable. I don't know. Yeah, that's the point. >> God, none of this makes sense. Duh. >> You supposed to trust me. >> Well, God, when everything start lining up, when the stars start aligning, no, baby, just go because I said so.

You don't have to wait till you got the money. Go. You don't have to wait till you got the plan. Go. You don't have to wait till somebody affirms you. Go. It's time to God is calling us to rise and grow. Here's why it's so important. Because there's a world in desperate need of the gospel. >> But here here's the more important thing.

And God is calling each and every one of you in this room to go because there's a Columbia, South Carolina in need of the gospel. There are people right outside these doors that need you to go and that need you to stand up in the fullness of your calling.

There are people at your job. There are people in your family. There are people at Kiki's Chicken and Waffles who need you to go. 
((music playing))
 Watch this. Watch this. Watch this. In our text, they didn't even pray for safety. They prayed for strength. >> I know you don't like this.

They didn't say, "God, scatter my enemies." They didn't say, "God, protect me from my enemies." They didn't say, "God, get rid of my enemies." No, they said, "God, give me the strength to stand up to my enemies. Give me the strength to stand up to them face to face and to tell them to get out of my face.

I don't need you to scatter them because you gave me what I need to destroy them. I don't need you to scatter them because you gave me what I need to speak to them. Listen, you you you are confused as to why you keep going through what you're going through.

It's because you asking God to scatter your enemies and they keep coming back. 
((music playing))
 God has given you the authority >> to be able to speak to those things >> and they have to flip. The Bible says in Acts 4:29, be seated. Be seated. Be seated. It says in Acts 4:29, it says, "And now, oh Lord, hear their threats and give us your servants great boldness in preaching your word."

Here's the reality. It takes boldness to go with the gospel. >> It takes boldness to preach his word. And here is the news flash that I need everybody in here to understand. You don't need a microphone to preach. 
((music playing))
 >> Oh, Jordan, I don't know how many of them like that cuz they was going to come up to me in the lobby and be like, "All right, pal.

Okay, you said preach, pastor. I'm available next Sunday if you need me. I have a word. No, no, no, no, no, no. You don't need a microphone to preach because the greatest sermon you will ever preach is your life. The greatest sermon you will ever preach is the life you live.

How do you show how do you show up on your job? How do you show up at your school? How do you show up when you're sad? How do you show up when you're frustrated? How do you show up when you're happy? How do you show up when you're upset?

How do you live? The greatest sermon you'll ever preach is the life you live. Watch this. The Bible says in Matthew 3:8, the Bible says in Matthews 3:8, it says, "Prove by the way you live. >> Not by how long you can pray, not by how many Sundays you come to church, not by how many scriptures you have memorized. prove by the way that you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.

That means that the way that you live should point somebody to Jesus. >> Watch this. That means that even if I never say a word, >> people should be able to notice something different about me. That means if I never got a chance to talk to them, somebody should walk up to me and be like, "Hey, something is different about you.

Whatever it is on your life, I want on my life." I see you walking to this job every day and say, "The stuff that affect me, it don't affect you. How do you do that? What goes on?" And you can say, "Baby, it was nothing but the blood of Jesus Christ.

He keeps my mind. He keeps my heart. He 
((music playing))
 Your life is the greatest sermon you'll ever preach. And too many of us are hiding out of fear and timidity when the Holy Spirit is trying to embolden us to live loudly. The Bible says in Matthew 28:19, it says, "Therefore, 
((music playing))
 >> not to church, >> I know you don't like that. >> Not to go corral, not go home."

It says, "Go and make disciples >> of all the nations, >> baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." Here is my encouragement to you. Don't be ashamed any longer. >> Don't you dare shrink back. Don't you dare be timid. Don't you dare be afraid.

But it's time for God to give us a backbone. It's time for God to give us some boldness so we can go. That brings me to our last our last thing that the Holy Spirit emboldens us to do. He gives us boldness to grow unique. He gives us boldness to go. >> And then he gives us boldness to give. >> He gives us boldness to grow.

He gives us boldness to go. And then he gives us boldness to give. The Bible talks about various ways of giving. It talks about I'm going run through these quickly. It talks about how you give of your time. I give my time. That's when you come and you serve.

That's when you do things for people that you don't even people don't even have to ask you. I give them my time. A lot of us, we we get so frustrated. I told people, I said, "You don't want a pastoral session with me cuz I just go straight Bible.

I'm going to tell you the truth. I just I'm sorry. Cuz people come to me, they be like, "Pastor Moses, everybody come to me with their problems and my family and my co-workers." And I'm just, "Whoa, Lord." >> Yeah, baby. That's what you signed up for >> because you are the only light that some of them will ever see.

So, yes, they come to you because they see something different. Yes, they come to you because they see Jesus on the inside of you. So, yeah, I got to sacrifice some time and sit here and cry with this coworker. Yeah, I got to sacrifice some time and sit here on the phone with this cousin that I know ain't going to listen.

I got to sit here and sacrifice some time because I'm the only light that they see. And then the Bible talks about the giving of your talents. >> Most of us, we serve and we are giving of our talent. given of things that that God has gifted us in the worship team, Kids City, the band, production, even even people, even our hosts in the lobby.

That is a talent. The way that you love on people, it's how God specifically made you, our health team, our parking team, our safety team. I am giving of my talent. But even for you on your job, you are giving that. Yeah, I know it's transactional and they pay you, but it's also a seed >> because the way you do your job is a reflection of the God you serve.

((applause))
 >> They don't want to talk. They don't want to talk to me. Because what reflection is it of the the God that you serve to your boss when you showing up late every day? When you doing your job half-hearted? When you complaining more than the folks that's not saved?

What reflection of your God is it? So even in the giving of our talent, Elder Curtis, we need boldness. And then comes the giving of your treasure. This is the one where most of us know we give of our treasure. We give of our money. We give tithe times.

We give offerings. And here's the only thing I want to encourage you in is when you give of your treasure, you're not giving to man. You're giving to God. Amen. >> Because I know that many of us, we tense up when conversations about money are involved in church.

Ah, I don't know. I don't know what they doing with my money. Baby, it is $20. Please, please, please. I'm just playing. I'm just playing. I'm just playing. I'm just playing. Everything is valuable because watch this. Because watch this. Watch this. That $20 is still used to save lives over in Israel.

It's still used to pull people out of sex trafficking here in Columbia, South Carolina. It's still used to sponsor schools all around the city. It's still used to to fund homelessness and to help families who lose everything. It's still used. So even if it's $20 or $20,000, you're not giving it to a building.

You're giving it to God. But >> the last thing that the scriptures encourage us to give is our testimony. >> Boldness isn't simply in what you say. It's showed in what you are willing to share. >> Amen. >> The Bible says in Acts 4:33 in our story, the apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

They testified powerfully and as a result of their testimony, it says God's great blessing was upon them all. >> Your testimony opens the door for great blessing. >> But here's one of my favorite scriptures in all of the Bible. It's Revelation 12:11. It says, "And they have defeated him, the enemy, the devil.

They have defeated him by the blood of the lamb. and by their testimony. 
((applause))
 >> Hold up. What this scripture suggests, the blood is powerful. We just sang about it. But this scripture suggests that there is a way for you to stifle the effectiveness of the blood. How can you say that, Pastor Jamal?

Because the scripture says that they defeated him by the blood of the lamb and >> not or >> and which means that there is a world where you can receive muel the blood of Jesus and still be bound because you don't share your testimony. So if you receive the blood but refuse to share your testimony, the enemy is not defeated in your life. >> Because the only thing that the enemy has to hang over your head is what has been and what could be.

But your testimony is a proclamation of what is. >> Okay. Okay. Okay. See, the blood gives us victory, but your boldness gives you a voice. >> And too many of us, we're okay with the victory. Because the victory is for us, but the voice is for them. And what I do not want, what God doesn't want, what the Holy Spirit does not want is for there to be self centered Christians. >> Watch this.

Because there's no such thing. The moment you made the decision to live for Christ, you gave your life as an offering. which means that your life is meant to be used as a tool to save the lives of others. >> And I know you probably will never hear a pastor say this, but if you are not up for that, then you might as well opt out >> because that is the gospel.

He gave his life for those of us who did not deserve it >> so that we could give our life to him >> and be used to rescue others that don't deserve it. >> Everyone standing to your feet. Stand to your feet. Stand to your feet. God, the Holy Spirit is not simply here to give you power.

He's here to give you power and boldness. We saw it in scripture. Acts two, the flames fall on their head and still came back and they were like, "Hold up now. We need something more." >> Like this power is great, but it's not enough because you can be powerful in private >> and weak in public.

((applause))
 If the only place you are powerful is in your prayer closet, you miss the point. >> If the only place you're powerful is in this building, you miss the point. >> If the only place you can share your faith is with other believers, you miss the point. Come on. >> The Holy Spirit has come to give us power and boldness. >> And today I want to pray spec man.

I hope you enjoy that word today. Don't be scared. Now listen, do not be stingy with the word. Share it with a friend, a family member, but then also make sure that you like and subscribe to our YouTube channel so you don't miss anything at Ford City has to offer.

I really hope that this word was not just one that you heard, but one that you are going to actually go and act on. And don't forget, don't be scared now.