Sunday Sermons
Courage - Part 1
Courage
There are many misconceptions concerning courage in our world. Some feel that courage means the complete absence of any fear, yet the apostles were courageous yet they still trembled (Acts 18:9-11; 1 Corinthians 2:3 “I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling”). Courage is not something that happens when all fears have been removed, but rather, one must be courageous in spite of whatever fears they have. In our society today we also find the term “courage” being used in reference to the wrong people. People who are convicted to various crimes are often spoken of as being “so brave, strong and courageous” as they undergo their trial, but God does not call this courage (1 Peter 2:20). In this lesson I want to cite various examples of courage in the Scriptures so that we can get a better understanding of what God is expecting of us in this area, “Be strong and courageous” (Joshua 1:6); “Only be strong and very courageous” (1:7); “Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13); “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7).
Daniel 3:14-18
Notice their humility. They believe that God can deliver them, but they also leave that decision to God. They do not demand that God deliver them in this case. They are prepared to serve God in the face of death even if God does not deliver them. “If it fits into the purposes of God to deliver us then He is able to do just that” (McGuiggan p. 65). Their words, our God whom we serve show that they recognized that God’s authority was greater than the authority claimed by the king. Though they were employed by the king, they “served” the true God. Nebuchadnezzar tries to intimidate them but as someone noted, “when you’ve lived constantly in the presence of the KING other little kings do not frighten you”. “A preacher told of his great fear of dogs and how it was cured. He was in the Smokey Mountains and spied a baby bear. Out of the car he jumped and lined up his camera. Suddenly a mother bear was standing alongside her baby and the preacher thought: Great! What a picture. As he looked through his viewfinder he found the figure of the mother bear was getting bigger she was coming at him with a growl like only a bear can make. He raced back to the car with the bear in hot pursuit; slammed the door shut just as the bear came crashing into it! It frightened him nearly to death but, said he, ‘It cured me of my fear of dogs, for once you’ve met a furious bear, dogs are a mere nuisance. I think that’s something like the experience of the three in Babylon” (p. 65). We need to be impressed with the convictions of these three young men. “How they might have excused themselves: 1. We are only three. What can we do? 2. We are young. What can the young do? 3. We are away from home. How can this be expected of us? 4. Everyone is doing it. Why should we dissent? 5. If we do not we will die, but if we do we can live long and useful lives to God. 6. We know it is only an idol so why shouldn’t we just go through the motions! All the Devil’s lies! All nobly repudiated!”(McGuiggan p. 66).
From the above example I want us to be impressed with the fact that godly people have courage, not because God has promised to deliver them from every hardship. God will always deliver us spiritually and give the faithful a home in heaven, but physical deliverance may not arrive. Being courageous means understanding that we might have to fully experience whatever hardship may come because of our faithfulness of God (Hebrews 11:35-37).
Luke 12:4-5
“I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!”
This reminds us that “courage” is not the complete absence of fear or the modern macho image of “no fear”, rather a healthy awe and respect for God should make all other concerns seem small. I may be persecuted for my faith, but if I am unfaithful, I have eternal problems! Isaiah noted, “I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies and of the son of man who is made like grass” (51:12). The point is that often people claim that they are afraid to do the right thing because of what others might say, and so on, yet God reminds us that in such a situation a person seems to have no fear of God! In a modern example, the young American man sentenced for fighting for the Taliban argued that he was afraid to leave the Taliban and that is why he continued with them. Yet the judge reminded him that initially he had no fear to leave the United States and go fight in a foreign country, and when it came to standing up for what was right, did not have the same type of courage. He loved the Taliban enough to be willing to initially die for their cause, but he did not love the United States enough to fight against something that was evil. In reality, when we give into such things as peer pressure we are standing up to God and that is one reason why God does not accept the excuse, “I was afraid”. How can we say we are afraid when we are not too fearful to stand up to God, rebel against Him, ignore His commands or accuse Him of being cruel or unkind? (Matthew 25:24-25).
Peer Pressure
God certainly understands the power of peer pressure, He told Ezekiel: “And you, son of man, neither fear them nor fear their words, though thistles and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions; neither fear their words nor be dismayed at their presence, for they are a rebellious house” (2:6).
First, pressure peer is real and true courage does not deny reality nor seek to ignore the obvious. Yes, persecution is real, and Christians do experience it (Acts 14:22; Luke 6:22-23). Unkind words hurt and no one enjoys being ignored, left out or ridiculed.
The Bondage to Fear
One reason to become courageous is to get out from underneath the bondage that is created when we are afraid of what man might do to us. Remember, the one talent man was completely unproductive (Matthew 25:25). One of the things that choke spiritual growth is “worry” which is often linked to fear (Matthew 13:14).
Proverbs 28:1 “The wicked flee when no one is pursuing, but the righteous are bold as a lion”: “The straightforward man, like the lion, has no need to look over his shoulder. What is at his heels is not his past (Numbers 32:23) but his rearguard: God’s goodness and mercy (Psalm 23:6)” (Kidner p. 168). Compare with Leviticus 26:17. Note the insight into human psychology. One cannot completely run away from their conscience, even the wicked, in the back of their minds they have a fear of judgment. Unfaithful people know that their deeds are going to catch up to them. Now, does this sound like freedom? The wicked are suspicious and fearful; in contrast, the righteous can have the confidence to live righteously under God’s providential care. “A guilty conscience and awareness that many enemies have been made leaves the wicked person perpetually anxious and paranoid” (Garrett p. 221). This verse offers tremendous motivation for a person to come to God in order to be forgiven. It is hard to be courageous when you know you are in sin, that God is not with you (1 Samuel 28:18-20).
Proverbs 29:25 “The fear of man brings a snare, but he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted”: The fear of man ensnares in the sense that one’s actions are controlled or confined by the person who is dreaded. Security in the Lord removes intimidation by man. See John 12:42-43. The desire to please men locks us into transient and imperfect goals. “The proverb’s teaching is clear; wean yourself away from what other people expect and do what God expects” (Alden p. 204). Fearing the Lord—releases us from every other fear (Acts 5:29). This verse describes any situation in which one is anxious about not offending another person. “For example, someone might be afraid to oppose the unethical actions of a superior out of fear of losing a job. The verse tells the reader to do what is right and trust the outcome of Yahweh” (Garrett p. 233).
John 9:13-23
The former blind man is a great example of courage. Notice, he was just an ordinary person, in fact, by being blind he would have been limited in his access to many things, such an education and other benefits. Why did the blind man face the Pharisees with such courage, and even when threatened refused to say anything bad about Jesus? (9:22,24-25). Because Jesus had given this blind man something far more important than being a member of the synagogue, that is, Jesus had given him sight! In like manner, when we really realize what Jesus has done for us (salvation, deliverance from hell, eternal life, a relationship with God), we will equally refuse to deny Him. But we will be tempted to deny Christ if we are under the impression that He really hasn’t done that much for us. The blind man realized that being put out of the synagogue was nothing compared to the regaining of his sight. In light of what Jesus had done for him, he really had nothing to lose of true and lasting value.
1 Samuel 17
In the eyes of Israel, Goliath was “this man” (17:25), in the eyes of David; Goliath was an “uncircumcised Philistine”. “David brings a whole new world view, now David injects the godly question into the episode. Doesn’t having a living God make a difference in all this? This fellow has mocked ‘the ranks of the living God’. If God is so identified with Israel, do you think He is indifferent toward such slurs on His reputation? Do you expect a living God to allow an uncircumcised Philistine to trample His name in military and theological mud? Israel thought the Philistine invulnerable; for David he was only uncircumcised. A living God gives a whole new view of things. David’s question is not a magic charm for solving every problem; but surely it instructs us. It shows us how crucial it is that we hold the right starting point, that we raise the right question at the very first. All the believer’s life and all the church’s life requires Theo centric thinking. The tragedy is that were someone to hear our thoughts and words in our dangers and troubles they would never guess that we have a living God” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 42). As David encounters Goliath, David has his own speech to give (17:43-47). “David can match Goliath for spicy speech; he can carry on about corpses and carrion. More important, David avers that all the earth will know from the box score in tomorrow’s papers that there is a God, a real God, in Israel. David especially stresses that Yahweh saves not by the instruments of human power but through the weakness of his servants. The theme of ‘weakness’ has been building throughout the chapter. All the important people regard David as weak. If we might colloquialize, Eliab tells him, ‘You’re a pain’ (28), Saul warns, ‘You’re green’ (33), and Goliath sneers, ‘You’re puny’. What matters is not whether you have the best weapons (or material resources) but whether you have the real God” (Dale Ralph Davis pp. 46-47). If we walk about from this chapter thinking that David won because he was clever or had more courage than Goliath, we have missed the point. Goliath has mocked God (45). “The driving concern of this chapter is the honor of Yahweh’s name, His reputation, His glory. David is driven by a passion for the honor of God. Hence in this chapter David essentially says to Israel and to us: ‘ Yahweh’s reputation is at stake; that matters to me; that matters enough to risk my life for it’. Can we say that? Is that our vision, our point of view? Can we say that that matters to us more than our advantage or reputation or security?” (Dale Ralph Davis p. 48). Our battles with Goliath may not appear to be as breath talking as the battle in this chapter, but they are just as important.
Mark Dunagan/Beaverton Church of Christ/503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net/mdunagan@easystreet.com
