WEBVTT 00:00:02.859 --> 00:00:05.759 Father in heaven, speak to us this morning, we 00:00:05.759 --> 00:00:09.380 ask in Jesus' name. Amen. Once again, it is a 00:00:09.380 --> 00:00:11.380 privilege and an honor to be here at the Rainbow 00:00:11.380 --> 00:00:13.779 Church. This is my first time here. We have a 00:00:13.779 --> 00:00:16.800 beautiful facility. I drive by this road all 00:00:16.800 --> 00:00:18.980 the time, and I've always wondered what this 00:00:18.980 --> 00:00:22.019 church was like. As soon as I walked into Sandler 00:00:22.019 --> 00:00:24.179 School, I thought to myself, I wonder what this 00:00:24.179 --> 00:00:26.859 church is like. And the first announcement, to 00:00:26.859 --> 00:00:29.059 my dismay, I was a bit discouraged, I saw on 00:00:29.059 --> 00:00:32.909 the screen was... Potluck is next Saturday. I 00:00:32.909 --> 00:00:34.630 said to myself, man, I should have come next 00:00:34.630 --> 00:00:36.869 Saturday. Come on back. Maybe I'll come back 00:00:36.869 --> 00:00:38.469 just for Potluck. How does that sound, right? 00:00:38.990 --> 00:00:41.549 But it's good to see that there are still some 00:00:41.549 --> 00:00:44.549 churches who hold on to the tradition of Potluck. 00:00:45.310 --> 00:00:48.270 Potluck, friends, is more than the food. It's 00:00:48.270 --> 00:00:50.189 more than just eating food. You know, I passed 00:00:50.189 --> 00:00:51.990 it for a number of years, and I've said this 00:00:51.990 --> 00:00:54.329 to my elders and my leaders. You know, Potluck 00:00:54.329 --> 00:00:56.689 is not about the food. It's about connecting 00:00:56.689 --> 00:00:59.640 with people. It's about fellowshipping with people. 00:00:59.719 --> 00:01:01.859 And there may be times where the food will run 00:01:01.859 --> 00:01:03.920 out. That's okay. Because it was never about 00:01:03.920 --> 00:01:08.700 the food. And I'm so happy to see that some churches 00:01:08.700 --> 00:01:11.379 are still holding on to the tradition of potluck. 00:01:11.379 --> 00:01:14.799 It's a time to connect. It's a time to visit 00:01:14.799 --> 00:01:16.420 with each other. And as the pastor, it's a time 00:01:16.420 --> 00:01:18.620 for me to visit those that I couldn't visit during 00:01:18.620 --> 00:01:21.340 the week. And so I just want to commend you for 00:01:21.340 --> 00:01:23.500 that wonderful tradition that you're holding 00:01:23.500 --> 00:01:26.120 on to, potluck. It's one of my favorite parts 00:01:26.120 --> 00:01:29.049 of the Sabbath. Well, today I've entitled my 00:01:29.049 --> 00:01:32.950 sermon, Courage. Courage. I've thought a lot 00:01:32.950 --> 00:01:35.730 about this, and I've prayed about it. The Lord 00:01:35.730 --> 00:01:37.769 has impressed upon my heart to preach on this 00:01:37.769 --> 00:01:42.250 subject, this thing called courage. Ladies and 00:01:42.250 --> 00:01:44.329 gentlemen, if truth be told, if you're honest 00:01:44.329 --> 00:01:46.390 with yourself, and if we're honest with all of 00:01:46.390 --> 00:01:49.769 ourselves, if we're honest with ourselves, and 00:01:49.769 --> 00:01:57.420 if truth be told, we all admire courage. When 00:01:57.420 --> 00:02:00.760 we see it, we have this great respect. When we 00:02:00.760 --> 00:02:04.140 see courage being exemplified, it's an admiration. 00:02:05.099 --> 00:02:07.700 And I believe that the reason why courage is 00:02:07.700 --> 00:02:12.960 often admired is because it's a rarity. We hardly 00:02:12.960 --> 00:02:18.280 see it. It's a virtue that's lacking not only 00:02:18.280 --> 00:02:21.080 in our churches, not only in our families, but 00:02:21.080 --> 00:02:23.680 also in society today. When I think of courage, 00:02:23.780 --> 00:02:26.469 the metaphor that comes to mind, is a diamond 00:02:26.469 --> 00:02:28.729 or diamonds. You see, when we see a diamond, 00:02:28.849 --> 00:02:31.409 we're in awe. You know, we're amazed. We're excited. 00:02:31.669 --> 00:02:35.789 Why? Because diamonds are a rarity. And the same 00:02:35.789 --> 00:02:38.870 is often true when it comes to this virtue called 00:02:38.870 --> 00:02:42.990 courage. It is a virtue that is lacking today. 00:02:43.530 --> 00:02:47.069 It's a rarity. It's an anomaly. And I'm not just 00:02:47.069 --> 00:02:50.669 making that based on pure observation. As a matter 00:02:50.669 --> 00:02:55.539 of fact, research confirms it. There's a company, 00:02:55.599 --> 00:02:58.360 a survey was done and conducted by HisCos in 00:02:58.360 --> 00:03:01.620 partnership with Forbes Insiders insurance companies. 00:03:01.759 --> 00:03:04.259 And what they did was they came together and 00:03:04.259 --> 00:03:08.379 they wanted to measure the level of courage across 00:03:08.379 --> 00:03:12.939 aspects of American life today. And this survey 00:03:12.939 --> 00:03:16.259 was done over a span of 10 years. And they came 00:03:16.259 --> 00:03:19.759 up with a metric system called ACI, American 00:03:19.759 --> 00:03:23.490 Courage Index. And so they wanted to quantify, 00:03:23.729 --> 00:03:26.590 they wanted to measure this thing called courage 00:03:26.590 --> 00:03:30.610 in everyday American life. And over a span of 00:03:30.610 --> 00:03:33.650 a decade, the final conclusion was, according 00:03:33.650 --> 00:03:38.030 to the survey, is that in America, courage is 00:03:38.030 --> 00:03:43.250 on the decline. Research confirms it. Courage 00:03:43.250 --> 00:03:47.090 is on the decline. It's a rarity. It's a virtue 00:03:47.090 --> 00:03:50.270 that's lacking today. As a matter of fact, another 00:03:50.270 --> 00:03:53.650 independent research states that as courage is 00:03:53.650 --> 00:03:58.710 declining, fear is increasing. What's very interesting, 00:03:58.810 --> 00:04:01.830 according to this research, is that we are living 00:04:01.830 --> 00:04:06.240 in the most safest era in Earth's history. And 00:04:06.240 --> 00:04:08.400 what doesn't make sense according to these researchers 00:04:08.400 --> 00:04:10.740 are why is it that we are living in the most 00:04:10.740 --> 00:04:13.680 safest era when we talk about safety. Never before 00:04:13.680 --> 00:04:16.040 have we had so many locks on our doors. Never 00:04:16.040 --> 00:04:18.139 before have we had so many surveillance cameras. 00:04:18.279 --> 00:04:20.600 We are living in the most safest era in earth's 00:04:20.600 --> 00:04:25.139 history and yet fear is still increasing. That's 00:04:25.139 --> 00:04:28.240 what boggles the mind of these researchers. But 00:04:28.240 --> 00:04:30.019 here's the conundrum that I want to submit to 00:04:30.019 --> 00:04:33.600 your attention. Courage is on the decline. Courage. 00:04:33.980 --> 00:04:36.540 in the land of the free, in the home of the brave, 00:04:36.639 --> 00:04:42.680 is declining. If there's ever a virtue that we 00:04:42.680 --> 00:04:46.459 need in the Christian experience today, it is 00:04:46.459 --> 00:04:49.720 courage. Without courage, victory is impossible. 00:04:50.180 --> 00:04:52.839 Without courage, you cannot do the impossible. 00:04:53.180 --> 00:04:56.160 Without courage... You cannot share your faith 00:04:56.160 --> 00:04:58.819 without courage. You cannot tell others about 00:04:58.819 --> 00:05:01.920 Jesus. If there's ever a time, Ringgold Church, 00:05:02.120 --> 00:05:07.160 we need courage, it is now. Why? Well, first 00:05:07.160 --> 00:05:09.540 and foremost, this is the reason why we need 00:05:09.540 --> 00:05:14.860 courage. Because God commands it. God doesn't 00:05:14.860 --> 00:05:19.220 suggest it. God doesn't make it an option. You 00:05:19.220 --> 00:05:22.459 heard the scripture reading this morning in Joshua 00:05:22.459 --> 00:05:25.819 chapter 1 verse 9. Jesus said, God says, have 00:05:25.819 --> 00:05:35.300 not I commanded you? Courage is a command. God 00:05:35.300 --> 00:05:38.459 commands it of us. Be of good courage. He doesn't 00:05:38.459 --> 00:05:42.439 suggest it. He doesn't request it. He says, have 00:05:42.439 --> 00:05:49.410 not I commanded you? It's a command of God. It's 00:05:49.410 --> 00:05:51.769 a virtue in the Bible that we often overlook, 00:05:51.990 --> 00:05:57.529 but it has serious implications. It's crucial 00:05:57.529 --> 00:06:01.110 and imperative to the well -being and the success 00:06:01.110 --> 00:06:04.009 of the children of Israel in the Old Testament 00:06:04.009 --> 00:06:06.730 and also to the spiritual children of the New 00:06:06.730 --> 00:06:09.389 Testament. As a matter of fact, whenever you 00:06:09.389 --> 00:06:12.240 often see the word courage, Be of good courage. 00:06:12.360 --> 00:06:14.920 This is why God commanded courage. Please listen 00:06:14.920 --> 00:06:17.560 to what I'm about to say next. This is why God 00:06:17.560 --> 00:06:21.120 commanded courage in the Old Testament. Because 00:06:21.120 --> 00:06:26.939 it is a life or death issue. We often just read 00:06:26.939 --> 00:06:28.860 courage and we think, well, that's okay. But 00:06:28.860 --> 00:06:33.300 if you read it in its context, when the 12 tribes 00:06:33.300 --> 00:06:37.180 scattered the promised land, God commanded them 00:06:37.180 --> 00:06:39.779 to be of good courage because it was a life or 00:06:39.779 --> 00:06:43.610 death issue. Be of good courage. When the children 00:06:43.610 --> 00:06:46.389 of Israel were to cross over to Canaan land, 00:06:46.470 --> 00:06:49.129 God commanded them, be of good courage. Why? 00:06:49.370 --> 00:06:54.129 Because it was a life or death issue. If we are 00:06:54.129 --> 00:06:57.430 to prosper, if we are to triumph, if we are to 00:06:57.430 --> 00:07:00.470 be successful in reaching out our community, 00:07:00.689 --> 00:07:05.069 we must be of good courage. It's a life or death 00:07:05.069 --> 00:07:09.110 issue. There are so many verses in scripture. 00:07:09.790 --> 00:07:12.509 That we can read and we can see. But let me just 00:07:12.509 --> 00:07:14.949 share with you a few of them here this morning. 00:07:15.069 --> 00:07:19.629 Numbers. There's a plethora of promises, of commands 00:07:19.629 --> 00:07:22.930 where God commands his people. Be of good courage. 00:07:23.269 --> 00:07:25.850 Be of good courage. He doesn't request it. He 00:07:25.850 --> 00:07:27.930 doesn't make it optional. He says be of good 00:07:27.930 --> 00:07:30.810 courage. It's a life and death issue. And it's 00:07:30.810 --> 00:07:35.060 a rarity these days. It's lacking. Numbers chapter 00:07:35.060 --> 00:07:38.279 13 verse 20. Let me read it to you. And be ye 00:07:38.279 --> 00:07:41.720 of good courage and bring of the fruit of the 00:07:41.720 --> 00:07:45.500 land. Deuteronomy 31 verse 6. Be strong and of 00:07:45.500 --> 00:07:48.819 a good courage. Fear not nor be afraid of them. 00:07:49.439 --> 00:07:52.839 Deuteronomy 31 verse 7. The Bible says, And Moses 00:07:52.839 --> 00:07:55.759 called unto Joshua and said unto him in the sight 00:07:55.759 --> 00:08:00.139 of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage. 00:08:00.670 --> 00:08:03.449 For thou must go with this people unto the land 00:08:03.449 --> 00:08:06.230 which the Lord hath sworn unto their fathers 00:08:06.230 --> 00:08:10.110 to give them. Deuteronomy 31 verse 23, And he 00:08:10.110 --> 00:08:13.870 gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, 00:08:13.949 --> 00:08:17.410 Be strong and of a good courage, for thou shalt 00:08:17.410 --> 00:08:20.290 bring the children of Israel into the land which 00:08:20.290 --> 00:08:24.589 I promised you. Ezra chapter 10 verse 4, Arise, 00:08:24.589 --> 00:08:28.110 for this matter belongeth unto thee. We also 00:08:28.110 --> 00:08:32.149 will be with thee. Be of good courage and do 00:08:32.149 --> 00:08:38.049 it. You see, Satan knows that when we have courage, 00:08:38.250 --> 00:08:45.350 he will be defeated. Be of good courage. Psalm 00:08:45.350 --> 00:08:49.649 27 and verse 4. Wait on the Lord. Be of good 00:08:49.649 --> 00:08:53.509 courage and he shall strengthen your heart. Wait, 00:08:53.669 --> 00:08:58.389 I say, on the Lord. Psalm 31, 24. Be of good 00:08:58.389 --> 00:09:01.450 courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, 00:09:01.570 --> 00:09:05.190 all ye that hope in the Lord. Isaiah 41 verse 00:09:05.190 --> 00:09:08.570 6, they helped everyone his neighbor. Everyone 00:09:08.570 --> 00:09:12.149 said unto his brother, be of good courage. You 00:09:12.149 --> 00:09:15.269 see, this phrase, be of good courage, is written 00:09:15.269 --> 00:09:17.529 in a way that we're not supposed to just say 00:09:17.529 --> 00:09:19.889 it to ourselves. We're supposed to encourage 00:09:19.889 --> 00:09:23.649 each other with it. We turn to our brother, turn 00:09:23.649 --> 00:09:25.669 to our sister and say, brother, be of good courage. 00:09:26.600 --> 00:09:29.299 Be of good courage. That should be a habitual 00:09:29.299 --> 00:09:32.940 thing. Be of good courage. First thing you wake 00:09:32.940 --> 00:09:35.840 up in the morning, tell yourself, be of good 00:09:35.840 --> 00:09:38.139 courage in the Lord. First person you see at 00:09:38.139 --> 00:09:40.500 church, brother, happy Sabbath, be of good courage. 00:09:40.580 --> 00:09:42.700 Would you say amen to that? This statement, this 00:09:42.700 --> 00:09:45.580 promise is not confined, nor was it designed 00:09:45.580 --> 00:09:48.419 to be kept to yourself. It was meant to be shared. 00:09:49.200 --> 00:09:51.259 You imagine being on the receiving end and someone 00:09:51.259 --> 00:09:52.740 comes up to you and says, brother, be of good 00:09:52.740 --> 00:09:57.519 courage. Right? Turn to your brother. Be of good 00:09:57.519 --> 00:10:02.179 courage. You see, Satan wants your mind. I was 00:10:02.179 --> 00:10:05.419 reading a psychology paper and I came across 00:10:05.419 --> 00:10:07.399 this very interesting statement that I want to 00:10:07.399 --> 00:10:10.620 excerpt from it. It had this one -liner and it 00:10:10.620 --> 00:10:13.679 said in this psychology paper, it said, Courage 00:10:13.679 --> 00:10:24.220 is a buffer to mental illness. Courage is a buffer. 00:10:24.879 --> 00:10:29.860 To mental illness. According to a survey of 1 00:10:29.860 --> 00:10:34.539 ,000 soldiers in a brigade unit in the Iraq war, 00:10:34.720 --> 00:10:39.820 the results show that in this survey that brave, 00:10:40.059 --> 00:10:43.840 courageous soldiers who were, the results show 00:10:43.840 --> 00:10:47.440 that courageous soldiers who were able to effectively 00:10:47.440 --> 00:10:51.820 handle or regulate fear and show courage showed 00:10:51.820 --> 00:10:56.500 less. Combat fatigue showed less anger and showed 00:10:56.500 --> 00:11:02.820 less post -traumatic stress. Courage. Courage 00:11:02.820 --> 00:11:07.019 is a buffer to mental illness. You see, if there's 00:11:07.019 --> 00:11:11.360 anything that Satan wants, Satan wants control 00:11:11.360 --> 00:11:15.440 of your mind. The battle of the great controversy 00:11:15.440 --> 00:11:18.200 we all know, yes, it's the battle between truth 00:11:18.200 --> 00:11:21.019 and error. But the battle of the great controversy 00:11:21.019 --> 00:11:24.639 is the battle over our mind. Who has our mind? 00:11:25.600 --> 00:11:30.000 Who has your mind? For the servant of the Lord 00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:32.759 tells us that out of our mind come our actions. 00:11:32.860 --> 00:11:35.940 Out of our thoughts come our words and our actions. 00:11:36.059 --> 00:11:39.399 And the more we repeat our actions, those actions... 00:11:39.720 --> 00:11:42.639 become our habits. And the servant of the Lord 00:11:42.639 --> 00:11:45.600 tells us that our habits lay the foundation of 00:11:45.600 --> 00:11:48.779 our character and our character determines our 00:11:48.779 --> 00:11:53.000 destiny. And Satan will do anything that he can 00:11:53.000 --> 00:11:58.620 to control your mind. And if it means destroying 00:11:58.620 --> 00:12:02.379 courage, he will do that. If it means crushing 00:12:02.379 --> 00:12:04.879 your courage, He will do that. That's the reason 00:12:04.879 --> 00:12:09.080 why, friends, Satan is not concerned about your 00:12:09.080 --> 00:12:11.919 destiny. Satan is not concerned about your character. 00:12:12.120 --> 00:12:14.580 Satan is not concerned about what you do. Satan 00:12:14.580 --> 00:12:18.139 wants your mind. Because once he has your mind, 00:12:18.279 --> 00:12:21.480 he has your actions. He has your character. Once 00:12:21.480 --> 00:12:25.039 he has your mind, he has your destiny. That's 00:12:25.039 --> 00:12:27.580 the reason why the Bible says, let this mind 00:12:27.580 --> 00:12:34.680 be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Courage. 00:12:34.680 --> 00:12:37.080 Satan wants control of your mind and he will 00:12:37.080 --> 00:12:41.179 do anything that he can to crush your courage. 00:12:41.980 --> 00:12:44.299 It has an effect on your mind. Now I want to 00:12:44.299 --> 00:12:47.899 make it very clear. I want to be very specific 00:12:47.899 --> 00:12:51.659 and precise when I use the word courage. Because 00:12:51.659 --> 00:12:54.840 courage is often used very openly. So let me 00:12:54.840 --> 00:12:58.960 just kind of define what I mean by courage. And 00:12:58.960 --> 00:13:01.460 let me define courage by telling you what courage 00:13:01.460 --> 00:13:04.519 is not. I don't know if you think like me sometimes. 00:13:04.620 --> 00:13:06.580 Sometimes in order for you to know something, 00:13:06.639 --> 00:13:08.179 I've got to know what it's not. Do you guys think 00:13:08.179 --> 00:13:10.519 like me? I've got to find out what this is what 00:13:10.519 --> 00:13:13.620 it's not. By process of elimination, if this 00:13:13.620 --> 00:13:15.539 is what it's not, then this is what it must be. 00:13:16.379 --> 00:13:19.059 So let me define courage from that perspective. 00:13:19.580 --> 00:13:24.039 This is what courage is not. Courage is not confidence. 00:13:25.279 --> 00:13:27.759 There's a difference between courage and confidence. 00:13:27.820 --> 00:13:31.279 You see, when someone is confident, confidence... 00:13:31.840 --> 00:13:34.519 means that you have no fear. You're confident. 00:13:35.779 --> 00:13:38.419 If someone were to stand up here and sing or 00:13:38.419 --> 00:13:41.139 preach, and they were to sing and preach confidently, 00:13:41.419 --> 00:13:44.379 they have no fear. They preach confidently. Right? 00:13:44.840 --> 00:13:47.360 Confidence is the absence of fear. They're so 00:13:47.360 --> 00:13:49.740 confident in what they do. That's not courage. 00:13:50.159 --> 00:13:55.139 So let's not mix up the difference between courage 00:13:55.139 --> 00:13:58.080 and confidence. Courage, on the other hand, listen, 00:13:58.240 --> 00:14:03.129 courage... is mindful of that fear, and yet you 00:14:03.129 --> 00:14:09.250 proceed to do it. That's what courage is. Courage 00:14:09.250 --> 00:14:13.529 is acknowledging the fact that you're fearful 00:14:13.529 --> 00:14:16.029 to do something, but you go ahead and do it anyhow. 00:14:16.330 --> 00:14:19.610 Can anybody resonate with that? Right? Let's 00:14:19.610 --> 00:14:22.110 take, for example, singing. Someone can stand 00:14:22.110 --> 00:14:24.590 here and sing with confidence, and at the same 00:14:24.590 --> 00:14:26.809 time, standing next to that person is someone 00:14:26.809 --> 00:14:30.090 singing with courage. One person has no fear. 00:14:30.230 --> 00:14:32.850 The other person has fear, but yet they still 00:14:32.850 --> 00:14:37.190 proceed with it. Right? So courage is not the 00:14:37.190 --> 00:14:40.129 absence of fear. Courage is the presence of fear, 00:14:40.230 --> 00:14:43.870 but yet you still move ahead with it. That's 00:14:43.870 --> 00:14:45.970 courage. You know, if there's ever a place I 00:14:45.970 --> 00:14:47.889 learned, I started in my ministry learning courage, 00:14:48.029 --> 00:14:50.909 it was when I was a literature evangelist. When 00:14:50.909 --> 00:14:53.629 I was a coal porter. You know? When I had to 00:14:53.629 --> 00:14:56.620 go knock on those doors. It took a lot of courage, 00:14:56.659 --> 00:14:59.259 and we would knock on about 70, 80 doors a day. 00:15:00.340 --> 00:15:03.440 Each door, each door, each door taught me to 00:15:03.440 --> 00:15:06.340 be courageous. Each door, right? You have this 00:15:06.340 --> 00:15:09.960 internal fear that they might do something, but 00:15:09.960 --> 00:15:12.080 yet you still proceed along with it because someone 00:15:12.080 --> 00:15:16.480 needs to know about Jesus. So courage is not 00:15:16.480 --> 00:15:18.440 the removal of fear. Courage acknowledges fear, 00:15:18.659 --> 00:15:21.960 but yet still proceeds with it. Tell you what 00:15:21.960 --> 00:15:29.330 courage is not. is not recklessness I was driving 00:15:29.330 --> 00:15:31.870 the other day and as I was driving on interstate 00:15:31.870 --> 00:15:35.830 75 I saw this car group of young people they 00:15:35.830 --> 00:15:37.690 were weaving between the cars they were going 00:15:37.690 --> 00:15:42.830 at least at least 130 miles an hour and they 00:15:42.830 --> 00:15:46.350 were just weaving from car to car and I could 00:15:46.350 --> 00:15:48.529 see the young people inside they were high -fiving 00:15:48.529 --> 00:15:50.980 each other and I could probably I could probably 00:15:50.980 --> 00:15:53.200 see and listen to their conversation saying to 00:15:53.200 --> 00:15:55.320 the driver, wow, that was courageous of you to 00:15:55.320 --> 00:15:58.139 dodge that truck. Friends, that's not courage, 00:15:58.159 --> 00:16:02.340 that's stupidity. So let's not mix up courage 00:16:02.340 --> 00:16:05.080 and stupidity. Courage and recklessness, that's 00:16:05.080 --> 00:16:08.720 presumption. I want to make it very clear what 00:16:08.720 --> 00:16:18.970 courage is not. Courage is not coercion. If you 00:16:18.970 --> 00:16:22.470 are forced to take an action, that's not courage. 00:16:23.909 --> 00:16:26.429 If you are forced to stand up here and sing so 00:16:26.429 --> 00:16:28.450 you can have someone singing with confidence 00:16:28.450 --> 00:16:30.830 and standing next to that person is someone who's 00:16:30.830 --> 00:16:32.990 singing with courage and then standing next to 00:16:32.990 --> 00:16:35.590 that person is someone who's being coerced to 00:16:35.590 --> 00:16:43.629 sing. You see, in order for courage to be genuine, 00:16:43.789 --> 00:16:51.379 it must be a voluntary act. Or a choice. That's 00:16:51.379 --> 00:16:55.899 courage. Courage is not when you are forced to 00:16:55.899 --> 00:16:59.259 do something. And we see in scripture the display 00:16:59.259 --> 00:17:02.159 of courage. The three Hebrew boys, they refused 00:17:02.159 --> 00:17:05.019 to bow down to the image. That's courage. Not 00:17:05.019 --> 00:17:07.200 because they were forced to do it, but because 00:17:07.200 --> 00:17:10.839 they chose to. They loved their God so much that 00:17:10.839 --> 00:17:12.559 they willingly surrendered their life to God. 00:17:12.700 --> 00:17:15.559 Jesus displayed courage. No one forced Jesus 00:17:15.559 --> 00:17:21.140 to go to the cross. Courage is not coercion. 00:17:21.319 --> 00:17:26.660 He laid down his life voluntarily. That's courage. 00:17:28.640 --> 00:17:31.319 When we think of courage, we often think of physical 00:17:31.319 --> 00:17:33.519 courage, emotional courage. But I want to make 00:17:33.519 --> 00:17:35.380 it very clear what kind of courage I'm talking 00:17:35.380 --> 00:17:38.240 about this morning. If there's ever a courage 00:17:38.240 --> 00:17:42.859 that matters, it's moral courage. That's the 00:17:42.859 --> 00:17:44.980 kind of courage that will get us into glory land. 00:17:45.200 --> 00:17:48.339 No other courage matters. That's the kind of 00:17:48.339 --> 00:17:49.900 courage that Ellen White says the greatest one 00:17:49.900 --> 00:17:52.160 of the world is the one of men. Men who will 00:17:52.160 --> 00:17:53.759 not be bought or sold. And when she talks about 00:17:53.759 --> 00:17:55.119 men, she's not talking about the gender man. 00:17:55.220 --> 00:17:57.759 She's talking about mankind. The greatest one 00:17:57.759 --> 00:18:00.359 of the world are men and women who will not be 00:18:00.359 --> 00:18:02.599 bought or sold. Men who will call sin by its 00:18:02.599 --> 00:18:05.160 right name. Men whose true to duty is a needle 00:18:05.160 --> 00:18:08.000 to the pole. That's moral courage. That's the 00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:11.430 kind of courage we need today. And courage, I 00:18:11.430 --> 00:18:14.109 believe, when I analyze courage and I think about 00:18:14.109 --> 00:18:17.410 courage in our everyday life, I truly believe 00:18:17.410 --> 00:18:22.950 that courage should be our first virtue. If you 00:18:22.950 --> 00:18:28.089 want to be successful, it takes courage. If you 00:18:28.089 --> 00:18:30.970 want to learn and explore new things, you've 00:18:30.970 --> 00:18:35.029 got to have courage, yes or no. If you want to 00:18:35.029 --> 00:18:40.140 forgive your neighbor, You've got to have courage 00:18:40.140 --> 00:18:42.920 to call that person up. You've got to have courage 00:18:42.920 --> 00:18:44.920 to cross over to the other side and shake their 00:18:44.920 --> 00:18:48.440 hand and talk to them. It takes courage. If you 00:18:48.440 --> 00:18:50.660 want to reconcile with someone that has offended 00:18:50.660 --> 00:18:55.859 you, it takes courage. If you want to discover 00:18:55.859 --> 00:18:59.799 truth, it's going to take some courage, my brother. 00:19:01.859 --> 00:19:04.559 When I didn't grow up an Adventist, I grew up 00:19:04.559 --> 00:19:07.539 a Methodist. I'll tell you if there's one truth. 00:19:08.160 --> 00:19:11.460 that I needed courage to accept. It was the Sabbath. 00:19:13.819 --> 00:19:15.180 Now for those of you who were born and raised 00:19:15.180 --> 00:19:16.519 in the church, you may not realize this, but 00:19:16.519 --> 00:19:19.059 for those of you who did not grow up in Adventist, 00:19:19.160 --> 00:19:23.559 you probably can resonate with this. You see, 00:19:23.599 --> 00:19:26.480 in order for me to accept the Sabbath, I had 00:19:26.480 --> 00:19:31.900 to reject Sunday. And that takes courage. Can 00:19:31.900 --> 00:19:36.000 you resonate with me? It takes courage to discover 00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:41.470 truth. It takes courage. In order for me to accept 00:19:41.470 --> 00:19:43.210 that my body is the temple of the living God, 00:19:43.390 --> 00:19:47.490 I've got to reject certain kinds of foods. That 00:19:47.490 --> 00:19:51.829 takes courage. So you see, dear friends, courage 00:19:51.829 --> 00:19:54.650 is the first virtue. If you want to love your 00:19:54.650 --> 00:19:57.509 enemy, it's going to take courage. If you want 00:19:57.509 --> 00:20:00.230 to grow your church, it's going to take courage. 00:20:00.390 --> 00:20:03.210 If you want to do evangelism, it's going to take 00:20:03.210 --> 00:20:06.309 courage. You can have a nice articulated vision 00:20:06.309 --> 00:20:09.109 for your church. But it takes courage to act 00:20:09.109 --> 00:20:12.690 on that vision. You can have board meetings all 00:20:12.690 --> 00:20:15.509 day long. And you can come up with nice agendas. 00:20:15.630 --> 00:20:18.049 But it's going to take courage to implement those 00:20:18.049 --> 00:20:24.329 agendas. Courage. Greatest one of the world is 00:20:24.329 --> 00:20:27.490 the one of men. Courage is the first virtue. 00:20:27.630 --> 00:20:29.710 One of the most encouraging promises in scripture. 00:20:29.890 --> 00:20:32.410 I'm coming to a close here. Joshua chapter 1 00:20:32.410 --> 00:20:36.369 verse 9. Listen to this. God says, have not I. 00:20:37.519 --> 00:20:40.240 I've often wondered about this and I've asked 00:20:40.240 --> 00:20:44.880 myself, why is this in a question form? Why is 00:20:44.880 --> 00:20:48.200 it in a statement? Why doesn't just God come 00:20:48.200 --> 00:20:50.319 out directly and say, Joshua, be of good courage. 00:20:51.119 --> 00:20:54.779 But instead the Bible words it in a question 00:20:54.779 --> 00:20:59.859 form. It says, have not I commanded thee? And 00:20:59.859 --> 00:21:02.019 I can't help but think that the reason why God 00:21:02.019 --> 00:21:05.369 puts it in question form is because Often times 00:21:05.369 --> 00:21:09.650 we easily forget. And so God will have to keep 00:21:09.650 --> 00:21:12.410 reminding us. Didn't I command you? Didn't I 00:21:12.410 --> 00:21:15.390 command you? Be of good courage. Don't you remember? 00:21:15.829 --> 00:21:17.829 What was it that Joshua was supposed to remember? 00:21:17.930 --> 00:21:21.710 You see 40 years earlier. This was the same word 00:21:21.710 --> 00:21:24.769 that God gave Joshua. When they were about to 00:21:24.769 --> 00:21:29.690 scalp Canaan land. Be of good courage. And so 00:21:29.690 --> 00:21:32.970 here in Joshua chapter 1 verse 9. God was reminding 00:21:32.970 --> 00:21:36.799 Joshua. Of what he told him in Numbers chapter 00:21:36.799 --> 00:21:39.819 13. Didn't I tell you? Before you were to go 00:21:39.819 --> 00:21:42.380 and scout this new territory. Be of good courage. 00:21:42.720 --> 00:21:46.200 May you never forget that. We have nothing to 00:21:46.200 --> 00:21:49.859 fear for the future. Except we forget how God 00:21:49.859 --> 00:21:53.380 has led us in the past. Have not I reminded you? 00:21:53.480 --> 00:21:58.119 Be of good courage. Be of good courage. Joshua 00:21:58.119 --> 00:22:01.500 and Caleb displays this courage. One of the things 00:22:01.500 --> 00:22:05.079 we must remember. Courage doesn't come by just 00:22:05.079 --> 00:22:06.440 walking out there and says, well, I'm going to 00:22:06.440 --> 00:22:12.200 have courage. Courage rests upon God's word. 00:22:13.559 --> 00:22:19.420 Here in this book is the source of courage. When 00:22:19.420 --> 00:22:23.640 you spend time in God's word, when you make this 00:22:23.640 --> 00:22:28.680 book top priority in your life, you will find 00:22:28.680 --> 00:22:31.640 and you will notice your courage being strengthened. 00:22:32.170 --> 00:22:37.009 Day by day. No other book can give you courage 00:22:37.009 --> 00:22:40.710 like this book right here. I often have to remind 00:22:40.710 --> 00:22:43.670 my students every now and then what the pen of 00:22:43.670 --> 00:22:45.869 inspiration says. Ellen White says, no other 00:22:45.869 --> 00:22:47.670 book can do to your mind what this book can do. 00:22:49.049 --> 00:22:52.210 No other subject can do to your human brain what 00:22:52.210 --> 00:22:54.549 this subject can do. The subject of redemption. 00:22:56.089 --> 00:22:58.170 She says, no other book can do to your human 00:22:58.170 --> 00:23:01.049 brain. She says, this book, this subject. can 00:23:01.049 --> 00:23:05.210 expand the faculties of your mind. And I say 00:23:05.210 --> 00:23:07.250 that with all respect to all the other disciplines 00:23:07.250 --> 00:23:10.130 that are being taught in university, but know 00:23:10.130 --> 00:23:12.190 what a subject can do to your human brain, what 00:23:12.190 --> 00:23:15.789 this subject can do. And it's the same as courage. 00:23:17.109 --> 00:23:19.990 There are psychology books on courage. There 00:23:19.990 --> 00:23:23.869 are magazines on courage. But if you want godly 00:23:23.869 --> 00:23:28.990 courage, here's the source right here. I believe 00:23:28.990 --> 00:23:31.289 as we're about to embark in the next few weeks 00:23:31.289 --> 00:23:35.829 with this upcoming evangelistic meeting, I'm 00:23:35.829 --> 00:23:38.589 convinced we already have all the knowledge. 00:23:38.690 --> 00:23:42.130 We just need courage. We have all the light. 00:23:42.349 --> 00:23:46.029 We need courage. Would you say amen? We've sermonized. 00:23:46.049 --> 00:23:48.069 We've taught. We've listened to Sabbath school. 00:23:48.150 --> 00:23:51.029 We have this podcast, that podcast. With this 00:23:51.029 --> 00:23:53.569 media ministry, we have all the knowledge and 00:23:53.569 --> 00:23:57.029 information on how to do evangelism. Let's step 00:23:57.029 --> 00:23:59.960 out in courage. And let's put these things into 00:23:59.960 --> 00:24:04.420 practice and the Lord will bless. May God bless 00:24:04.420 --> 00:24:09.359 us. May God keep us as we pray for the success 00:24:09.359 --> 00:24:12.460 of these evangelistic meetings. It's going to 00:24:12.460 --> 00:24:15.460 take courage. It's going to take courage for 00:24:15.460 --> 00:24:18.980 you to step out in faith and invite someone to 00:24:18.980 --> 00:24:21.819 give a Bible study, to receive a Bible study. 00:24:22.640 --> 00:24:24.720 It's going to take courage for you to invite 00:24:24.720 --> 00:24:28.859 someone to these meetings. Yes, you will be ridiculed. 00:24:29.619 --> 00:24:34.180 You will be misunderstood. You will be tired. 00:24:35.720 --> 00:24:39.200 But be of good courage. And the Lord will bless. 00:24:40.019 --> 00:24:42.000 This courage can only come from the Lord. How 00:24:42.000 --> 00:24:43.799 many of you today want to say, Lord, give me 00:24:43.799 --> 00:24:46.579 that courage? I don't have that courage in and 00:24:46.579 --> 00:24:49.769 of my own self. I need that courage from you. 00:24:49.869 --> 00:24:52.150 Is that your prayer this morning? That's my prayer 00:24:52.150 --> 00:24:55.049 too. Let's pray. Father in heaven, give us the 00:24:55.049 --> 00:24:58.289 courage that we don't have, that only comes from 00:24:58.289 --> 00:25:00.930 your word. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.