Sunday Sermons
Be Bold!
Be Bold!
Clarence Darrow once stated, "Common experience shows how much rarer is moral courage than physical bravery. A Thousand men will march to the mouth of the cannon where one man will dare espouse an unpopular case." What a contrast and how great an example we have in the apostles who were so bold in their Christian living, especially in preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ:
· “And how at Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus” (Acts 9:27).
· “He was with them moving freely in Jerusalem, speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord” (Acts 9:28).
· “Therefore they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord” (Acts 14:3).
· “And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months” (Acts 19:8).
It's important to note that those who do bold things, don’t always feel very bold.
They were afraid too:
The same Bible that speaks of Paul being bold in his preaching likewise speaks of his fear:
· “And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling” (1 Corinthians 2:3).
· When Paul was in Corinth, God said to him, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent” (Acts 18:9).
Timothy, who is presented to us as such a great example of a young Christian man, was very courageous, yet Paul still reminded him, “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7). One act of boldness did not guarantee boldness in the future. The apostles never reached a point in their lives in which boldness was effortless or where every fear vanished. Even Peter who could be so bold in his preaching (Acts 4:2, 13) experienced fear from time to time (Galatians 2:12).
Therefore, boldness or courage in living the Christian life and speaking up for the Lord does not mean that we are immune to all feelings of fear. Sometimes we erroneously think we are not being courageous or bold unless we have reached a point in which all fear is gone, yet a hero is not someone who is immune to fear, rather, a hero is often someone quite afraid, yet moving anyway in the direction of what they fear. How? By realizing the need not move forward by their own innate strength:
They prayed for courage and boldness
· Even after the apostles had been courageous, they still prayed for boldness for future efforts, “And now Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Thy bond-servants may speak Thy word with all confidence” (Acts 4:29).
· Paul, who could be amazingly bold in the face of difficulty and opposition, wanted other Christians to pray for him, that he would remain bold in future days, “and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel…that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly as I ought to speak” (Ephesians 6:19-20).
The next time you must listen to your conscience instead of your emotions, pray for boldness, and ask others to pray for you as well.
How do you want to be remembered?
I believe asking oneself this question, helps one tap into one's boldness. Do you want to be remembered as one of those who kept silent? One who was a secret disciple? (John 19:38) One who bowed to human peer pressure? Or one who even stood at times alone for the Lord? The Bible is filled with the names of those who were courageous and those who caved. I will end up on one of these lists, now is the time when I chose.
Do I really want to be free?
The reason I say this is because the coward dies a thousand deaths. When one is constantly thinking about “what might happen”. Or when one is trying to remain popular with the “people who matter”, and when one is trying to take the safe position, there isn’t any real freedom. Rather, life is one of constant concern over what if’s and trying to please the right people. It is exhausting to live like this, and it isn’t any fun either. One can never relax for their will be always something to dread, someone will always try to put you on the spot, you must be constantly aware of the changing currents in the culture, less you find yourself by yourself. May I suggest to you that when Peter was attempting to remain somewhat close to what was happening to Jesus and yet trying to keep his distance—he found that life would not simply leave him alone. Rather, he was constantly confronted with direct questions (Matthew 27:69-74). How much to better to "Resolve, and thou art free." Henry Wadsworth Long fellow
You are bold! Just Keep Building!
Many Christians may not view themselves as being very courageous but just in becoming a Christian we have done something that the vast majority of the human race are scared to do—be baptized and publically declare our siding with God (Acts 2:41). In fact, there are many things that Christians do that many people would never do:
· We went forward and confessed Christ: Matthew 10:32-33
· We admitted that we were sinners in need of salvation: Acts 16:30
· We humbled ourselves and submitted to baptism: Mark 16:16
· We were honest about the truth concerning baptism.
· Some of us upset family members by being baptized.
· We let others know in our families and at work that we were Christians.
· We started praying publicly.
· We started to lead a congregation in prayer.
· We started singing in a congregation.
· We started to speak publicly, teach a class, and get involved.
· We decided to become a member of the Lord’s church and not a man-made religious group.
· We decided to support a group that actually does follow the Bible, does not water down the truth, and opposes the popular yet false positions in the world.
· We have the courage to share with people the correct plan of salvation.
All of these are very courageous acts in light of the fact how many people cannot bring themselves to do any of them. We do need to continue to improve, but we have already manifested quite a bit of courage thus far in our lives.
Which one do I want—an exciting or boring life?
May I suggest to you that being popular and living an exciting life are not necessarily related. The men who refused to confess Jesus in John 12:42-43 remained popular, but did not accomplish anything worthwhile in the process. The apostles on the other hand confessed Christ, and in doing so changed the world! Saul of Tarsus could have rejected Jesus and remained comfortable for much of his life—and yet no one would even know about him today if he had taken that course. He would have become just one more nameless Pharisee who opposed Christ. Choosing to remain popular with the current culture often results in being completely forgotten in the long run, and rarely appreciated by future generations. He decided to follow Christ and became the apostle Paul—one of the most well known and respected individuals in the history of the human race.
How does playing it safe really look?
It looks really selfish, because, frankly, it is. It looks like I did not hold my convictions deeply enough to be willing to do anything to risk saving my own skin. Be the person who inspires others to action by standing firm and finding your voice. Many will say and do amazing things to God's glory. Let's be one of them.
Mark Dunagan | Beaverton Church of Christ | 503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net | mdunagan@frontier.com
