Christian Virtues - Courage

Intro:

Good evening!

Tonight I want to discuss the Christian virtue of courage.

If we think long and hard, we can probably come up with a LOT of verses that say things like:

Do not be afraid,

Or take courage,

Or “God has not given us the spirit of fear,”

etc.

There are a LOT of verses that deal with these concepts actually.

So we will cut straight to some of those in a moment, and maybe mention a few Biblical examples of people who acted with courage.

But first, I want to talk about …

The Reason Why Christians Need to Be Courageous:

And the answer is that it’s not easy standing up for what is right in the face of evil.

We know that evil is all around us.

We know that we are in a great fight, a spiritual battle between the forces of light and the forces of darkness.

We know what Ephesians 6:12 says:

Ephesians 6:12 NKJV

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

I don’t know about you, but to me that last part sounds pretty daunting doesn’t it?

“Against spiritual HOSTS of wickedness in the heavenly places” (or “in HIGH places”).

Now, admitedly I don’t know what all that intails.

But I know the devil and his angels are on the prowl.

I’ve read the book of Job!

I’ve read how he was walking to and fro on the earth trying to find who he could harm!

I’ve read Genesis chapter 3!

I’ve read 1 Pet. 5:8

1 Peter 5:8 NKJV

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

I’ve read even James 3:14-16, which says:

James 3:14–16 NKJV

But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.

So in short, the devil means business, doesn’t he?!

And he is a STRONG adversary!

A juggernaut of an enemy!

But you know what?

Jesus is stronger! And he’s already defeated the devil’s greatest tool which is death (which we talked about this morning).

And so that gives me … COURAGE!

And it ought to give YOU courage, too!

Why will you need courage Christian?

Because it’s going to take courage to resist the devil!

It’s going to take courage to say “no” when you’re worldly friends want you to join in on some sinful activity and the peer pressure is strong!

It’s going to take courage to confront your weaknesses, and your inconsistencies, and your hangups, and your insecurities, and your failures and addictions, etc. etc. etc.

It takes courage to EVANGELIZE!

It takes courage to USE OUR TALENTS for the Lord instead of burying them in the ground like the one-talent-man!

So on and on we could go giving reasons for WHY we must be courageous, but let’s talk about HOW to be courageous, using two or three examples of folks from the O.T.

HOW TO BE COURAGEOUS:

Be courageous like Joshua (Joshua 1:1-9).

Why would Joshua need courage? (He was leading the conquest of Canaan!)

How COULD Joshua be courageous? (By remembering that God was with him and would not forsake him - v. 5)!

Be courageous like David (1 Sam. 17:4-14, [Skip now to ...] 1 Sam. 17: 32-33 [Saul doesn’t want David to go, but David insists] 1 Sam. 17:37-47 - [And we know the rest of the story! David takes him out with one shot!]).

Why did David need courage? (One word — GIANT!)

How COULD David take courage? (Because He knew that God was on His side, and that the battle belongs to the Lord, as we sing!)

Well, we could look at other examples:

Daniel - Daniel chapter 6 (Thrown into a den of lions because he refused to stop praying to God)!

Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego - Daniel chapter 1 (Thrown into a fiery furnace because they would not bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image).

Joseph - The last several chapters of Genesis (Sent to prison under false charges, and yet he still prospered there and ended up back in high command under Pharaoh).

All of these Bible heroes and more needed courage, and they displayed it!

Let’s think about …

Some Final Thoughts on Courage:

I want to look at a few more verses that deal with being courageous.

The first one is 1 Chr. 28:20 - David is speaking to Solomon here as part of his final charge to him to build the temple before David is about to die.

1 Chronicles 28:20 NKJV

And David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God—my God—will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord.

Deuteronomy chapter 1, in recounting what happened that led to the wilderness wandering, we read how God expected his people to be courageous, but they were not!

10 out of the 12 spies came back with an evil report of fear, resulting in God’s people being punished with 40 years in the wilderness.

(Read Deut. 1:21-40).

(V. 38 - Root word of encourage is COURAGE!)

Conclusion:

It has been said that courage is not the absense of fear, but doing the right thing, doing the difficult thing IN SPITE OF FEAR.

THAT’S courage!

Do you think men like Daniel and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew their history?

Do you think they remembered the courage of David? The courage of Joshua? The courage of Caleb? The courage of Joseph? Etc.

I guarantee you they did!

And that helped them when it came time for them to take a stand for God!

Church, the time’s coming when WE too will have to take our stands for God, even moreso than we already do because of greater and greater persecution.

When that time comes, will we STAND?

Will we have COURAGE?

(Give invitation).