Jump Start # 904

Hebrews 11:33-34 who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.

Profiles in Courage, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning book written by John F. Kennedy in the late 1950’s that highlighted the bravery of eight United States senators throughout the history of the United States. Long before that book was written, God’s book, the Bible, showed us the profiles of many courageous men and women of faith throughout history. This week, I want to highlight a few of these people of courage. Men and women of faith. They endured harsh treatment, stood up to powerful kings, refused to cave in to pressure, and looked death in the eye. There are many stories to choose from. Many put the cause of God before their own safety and comfort.

We read in Revelation, “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.”  They did not love their life even when faced with death. How does a person do that? We are not faced with near the threats nor the trouble that the early disciples did. But that doesn’t mean we do not have a need for courage today. The student walking down the hallway of high school needs spiritual courage. The Christian whose family is not believers and they don’t want to be believers, needs courage. The Christian that works for an employer who is corrupt and offensive, needs courage. It takes courage to share the Gospel of Christ. It takes courage to travel to a foreign land and preach and teach. Don’t think because we live in America and not Rome, that we do not need courage. We do. Reading about others ought to motivate us, help us, and make us realize that we too, can stand up for what is right.

Courage is not just a characteristic of believers, many must up courage each day in what they do. The firefighter racing to a burning structure has to have courage to do his job well. The nurse who works with addicts or inmates survives on courage. Our soldiers in foreign lands are called to the lines of attack. They have must have courage.

There are moments we face uncertain and scary circumstances. The boss who must fire an employee because rules were broken, must be strong and courageous at that moment. The whistle blower who brings evidence of corruption before authorities has to have courage. Even the faithful wife who has had enough of her unfaithful husband’s cheating, relies upon courage to end the broken relationship. Courage.

Courage is built upon the idea of believing something right. There is a principle, a conviction that is so true and right, no matter what the circumstances. This is the heart of courage. It is belief. It is faith.

Secondly, courage puts the preservation of that principle above self. What is right is bigger than self. It is more important than self. This is why a person will take risks, even risking all, for what they believe in. Some have lost jobs, standing for what they believe. Others have lost their life, standing for what they believe.

Thinking spiritually, what this means, is the cause of God, the rightness of what the Bible says, is unbending, unchanging, and worthy of all that we are. This is why when some were told you cannot preach any more, or else, they took the “or else.” This is why when called upon to do brave things, they did them. They believed. They knew what was right. Were they scared? Certainly. Did they wish for other ways, most likely. But they knew God was right. They knew the cause was right. They were even thankful to be used in such ways.

We remember the words of encouragement, from Jesus and the apostles, to rejoice in suffering. Hold your head up. Don’t be ashamed.

To have courage is to have a moral and spiritual backbone. It is to speak out when things are not right. It is to put the brakes on things that are contrary to God’s will. It is not to be afraid of being unpopular, standing alone, or even called out. It is standing with God. These moments of courage have caused brethren to break fellowship with others because some wanted the church to do things that were not taught in the Bible. False ways and false voices had convinced the majority in the church to do progressive and unsound things. When it got to a point that no one would listen to reason, the courageous left and started their own congregation that would be true to God’s word. Often, they left nice church buildings to start meeting in someone’s living room. Often, ugly letters were mailed accusing them of wrong, when they were simply standing with God. Our spiritual forefathers walked by faith and lived daily with courage. They stood upon the backs of the heroes in the Bible.

Our verse today, illustrates some of the courageous acts that were common among God’s people. A new generation needs to know these stories. Without courage, brethren compromise. The message gets diluted. The cause of Christ changes.

There is a hymn that sings, “To Christ be loyal and be true…” To Christ, be courageous. Even today, the courage to say, “You shouldn’t say that.” The courage to say, “will you come with me to services next week?” The courage to say, “No, that’s not accurate. Here’s what the Bible actually says…” Courage. You need. I need it. It is scary, but it will strengthen your faith.

Roger