Acts 4:29 And now, Lord, look upon their threatenings and grant Your slaves to speak Your word with all boldness, (31) And when they had so besought, the place in which they were gathered was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.
Some have an excellent inward disposition, but they are very timid. They have to make up their mind a few times before they can stand up to speak or testify for the Lord. Some have believed in the Lord, but they are afraid of passing out gospel tracts to others. Before I received the outpouring of the Spirit, I would follow a gospel friend for a mile or two and still not muster enough boldness to open up my mouth to testify to him. After I received the outpouring of the Spirit, I was no longer afraid of anything.
A self-conscious person pays attention to how well he dresses and how others respond to his words, etc. When he is invited to a meal, he cannot speak to others about the gospel in a released way. He cannot speak to a stranger without preparing himself carefully before he speaks… Sometimes we are too restrained in the meetings. When there is too much restraint, no one will dare to speak. We may hold a meeting and the Spirit comes down, and everyone who is present may be released. This kind of freedom is not wastefulness but a liberation in the spirit…. Only those who are free from self-consciousness can work for God, and the only way we can be delivered from our self-consciousness is through the outpouring of the Spirit.
