A Brave Heart… to over come fear
Scripture reading: 2 Timothy 1:1-8
We are leaving in a time of great uncertainty. Never before in my life time have I sense such angst and anger, distrust, unkindness and disturbing behavior from people both in and outside of the church. We have lived with a sense of fear since February of 2020 when the COVID virus starting to spread like wild fire.
Then along came a vaccine that got many of us out of our
covid caves and started to trust others again. But that seem short lived. We are now more divided than ever. My guess
is that in a room full of people like this we could argue all night about this
one topic alone. But I won’t suffice to
say I have lost too many friends to this dreaded virus. My heart is so full of sorrow these days its
dripping.
So where do we go from here? Should we continue to stay mad and fear the whole
world, or should we play it smart and move along the road with a sense of courage.
I contend that we must be people who are willing to have brave hearts that are
filled once again with courage, joy and love. Living a life that is connected
to God and that connection flows into others.
God needs men with Brave Hearts – full of His holy power to make a
difference in the lives of those we come into contact with each day.
In my time to share with you this weekend off this
theme of having a Braveheart I want to
explore three area in God’s word, in context, with this theme in mind.
The first is over coming fear. God does not want us to
be crippled any longer with unmanageable fears and unrealistic expectations on
ourselves or others. So how do lower our anxiety levels to move on in courage
and confidence?
Second, we go at this Braveheart thing together. Us
guys tend to be lone rangers. We are wired to survive really by ourselves. This
works for me because I am an introvert.
But that isn’t how God wants us to do community. He created us for each
other. We will look at a passage in
the old testament that speaks to the unique courage and duty that the guard of
the thirty, the temple guards of King David
And lastly on Sunday morning we will explore that theme
passage in Joshua 1. That is to be a Braveheart
that follows on no matter what.
Paul reminded Timothy that nothing He does or will do or has done is in his own strength. When we commit ourselves to the lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives nothing happens by happenstance or luck. Paul encouraged his young mentee to keep four things in mind that matter in life
1. Courage –
courage is what it takes to bring service to the world. Courage to be a follower of Christ, a
Christian – that courage comes from the continual presences of Christ in our
lives. That calls for the discipline of
practicing the presence of God in our lives
2. Power
–
power to cope, to overcome, to take a stand, to keep the faith. We pass the
breaking point in our lives but do not break.
Being bamboo for others – we bend but we do not break. Remaining firm
and strong.
3. Love –
for others, for those in the household of faith (and outside of it!) Loving others
so much that we never find any toil too great to undertake for others. Love
must abide in us to be a Braveheart.
4. Self-discipline –
the sanity of saintliness is to control oneself in the fire of panic or passion.
Christ can give us that sense of self mastery that prevents us from giving up
or running away from difficult situations or circumstances.
Application
To be a man of a brave heart doesn’t me we load up our
weapons, beat our chests and run across fields. It simply means we submit to the
lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives and began living a life that serves God
and other. We overcome our fears only by
putting ourselves in a place where God by the power of His Holy Spirit can be
unleashed in our lives. Learn to become a servant of Christ. Allow God to help
you overcome your fears and learn the art of mastery over your selfish
pursuits.
Saturday pm
A brave heart to go at this together 2 Samuel 23:8-39 (passage to be read is 2
Sam 23:8-17)
I never considered myself to be a “manly man.” And this goes way back. I was always the
smallest and scrawniest kid in the school yard growing up. I was always behind
in the percentiles of height, weight and overall size through my child hold and
even as a young adult. One of my last meetings with a staff member at the
training college I was told I was too skinny to be an officer. “You need to gain weight” I was told by the
college nurse. I think I have complied
pretty well with that request.
My best friend in middle school and high school was
Chach. Chach was Japanese American and came from a highly dysfunctional family.
He used to live in the house behind us.
We met when I caught him throwing rocks at my dog and told him to knock
it off. Chach eventually became an unofficial adopted son of my parents. We
hung out and did everything together.
Except one thing. Chach was into
martial arts. Big time. So much in fact that he eventually went on to
winning all types of awards and eventually opened and ran his own martial arts
studio successfully. I didn’t.
Obviously.
Chach and his brother Jim were Bruce Lee
fanatics. In fact, they both cut their
hair like Bruce Lee and kept swinging num-chuks around all the time. Chach would try over and over to get me to go
to the gym with him to put on a little “meat on those skinny bones” of mine. I
always refused. I never felt strong enough or manly enough.
I lost my best friend in December of 2019 to brain
cancer. He considered me one of his brave heart men because of my lifetime
commitment to serving God and suffering humanity. That comment floored me. Chach
came to know Jesus as savior a few years after I did. Our last long
conversation happened in my office in San Francisco where he was seeking my
advice on how to help the homeless in the city he was living.
He left me too soon.
He was a good, adopted son to my aging parents and took care of so many
people. He was physically much stronger
than me and faced his battle with cancer with unmeasurable courage and strength.
There isn’t a day that doesn’t go by without me reflecting on him and our
friendship.
When you have someone bravehearted like that in your
life and then they are gone, you are lost. Rudderless, like a ship sailing lost
at sea. Its very hard for me to make deep close friends. I live a nomadic,
sheltered life. People only see me as Tim, the boss man, the leader, the
colonel, the doctor, the upper crest. Chach just saw
me as the scrawny kid who told him to stop attacking the dog which grew into a
life long friendship. That ended with
his premature death at age 60.
I stumbled across an obscure passage hidden near the
end of 2 Samuel 23:8-17 that reminded me of my friend Chach. When I think of being brave hearted, I think
of the warrior type men in my life.
Chach was one of them. King David
had 37.
Three in particular stood out:
Josheb-Basshebeth – who was called the chief of the
three. He was credited to killing 800 men
at one time.
Eleazar – was known to stand his ground in intense
battles alongside David against their enemies, the Philistines.
Shammah son of Agee – another soldier who stood the
fields and defeated their enemies.
David surrounded himself with men he could count on,
not only to defend him and his family but to the cause they were fighting for
and the God they served. They didn’t always agree. They fought and debated with
each other. They pushed back. But in the end they stuck together.
The context of these passage comes in light of the
surrounding chapters that highlight some of these intense battles. In the midst
of the battle, the scripture tells us v.
15 that David longed for some water from
the well that was near the gate of the city of Bethlehem.
v. 16 tells us that these three warriors broke thru
their enemies camp to get this water for David. They eventually drew the water
and brought it back to David. David in
turn tossed the water on the ground, knowing that these men literally put their
lives on the line to bring it to him.
v. 17: Far be it from me, O Lord, to do this! He said.
Is it not the blood of men who went at the risk of their lives?” And David would not drink it.
David’s sincere heart is exposed here. And his
conviction as well. The pouring of the water was a type of ritual sacrifice
that emphasized the specialness of their gift to David. Instead of taking it himself the outpouring
symbolized the offering to God. David
was not worthy, in his eyes to receive from these brave hearted men. He didn’t
measure up in his manliness to this sort of bravery.
Application
These three men showed to their leader and friend
three traits: courage, loyalty and respect. Though on the historical record
these men didn’t always agree with their boss. There were times when they were
not on the same page with each other but when push came to shove it was obvious
they had each others back.
Who has your back these days? And whose back to you have? Or are you a victim of being stabbed in the
back? Or do you have the reputation of
being a back stabber? Who are you showing courage, loyalty and respect to? Or
are you just trotting thru life now lonely, bitter, angry and harboring resentment
letting no one near you. You would rather go it alone.
Now more then ever we each need our brave band of
brothers who will see us through thick and thin. I am at deep personal loss since
Chach left me and went to be with Jesus.
But since then, God has sent other men into my life. Guys I work with. Some
guys living far away. Men who I am not worthy to take a cup of water for due to
their devotion and dedication to the cause of Christ. Let us consider ways in our own lives to
support others. If not a part of a small
group of men who will keep you accountable, begin seeking that out and praying
about it. Then commit to being brave
hearted with your sense of loyal, love and courage for those who are joining with
you on the journey.
Sunday
AM
A brave heart…to follow on no matter
what. Joshua 1:1-9
I grew up in a family where quitting wasn’t allowed. A
blue collar, Irish Roman Catholic military family, quitting wasn’t in our vocabulary.
I am grateful to my parents he instilled that in me that no matter what, never
give in and never give up. We may call that being Irish and stubborn. The
scriptures consider that sticking too it as known as perseverance.
I can’t say adapting the attitude of not quitting has ever
been easy. Whether its on my lousy attitude or my murmuring and complaining and
muttering, either to my wife or the sky. There was only one time I quit
something that I always regretted – that was studying biblical Greek. Granted
it was Christmas time, I was a corps officer, and I had the worst teacher in
the world – three great reasons to quit and so I did. But to this day I regret
it. Deeply.
In my world view putting my hand to the plow and
pressing on is the only option. But that’s not the world I live in. During this
time that is becoming known as “the Great Resignation” many people for a myriad
of reasons, are quitting their jobs and walking into a future of great
uncertainty. Loyalty to a company or even a brand name is a thing of the past.
Doing things the way we want, when we want and how we want to pushing the
systems to a new edge and almost to collapse. Companies that refuse to pivot
and make adaptations soon have to shutter their business or be bought out by
more industrious and creative businesses.
If there ever was a group of people who had all the
reasons in the world to quit what they were doing, it was the Israelites. Just
recently having lost their inspired leader, Moses, who did all he could to keep
them steady and together on their wilderness wanderings, the Israelites were
literally on the banks of a new day and direction. Do they cross the Jordan as Moses had
encouraged them or did they cash it all in and go back to their wandering and
eventually back to the familiar places in Egypt.
Thus we come to our verse for the weekend:
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified;
do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you
go.” Joshua 1:9
I am hard pressed to think of a greater verse we can
find for the times we are living in right now.
There is so much to unpack in this portion of
scripture that we would be here until 9 pm tonight – which the very thought of
makes me want to quit! I would encourage you perhaps to take some time to study
this on your own or even better, in a men’s bible study, to get the full impact
of the meaning of the passage here.
v. 6 Be strong
and courageous…for you will lead. There
is a task ahead Joshua reminds everyone.
There was a task for the people of Israel and there is
a purpose of each of us in these days. The world is ripe for a life that has
been transformed by God’s spirit. Where people are on edge we can be a reminder
of peace, kindness, warmth and caring. Where people are angry, hostile and full
of hate, we can be the example of love.
We must not just speak all of the god languages we know but we must show
the love language that God wants us to be. All brave hearted men must set the
example and lead with wisdom, courage and grace. The time is now for this.
v. 7 Be strong and “very” courageous… and obey God’s
word. “Do not turn from it, to the left or to the right.”
The foundation of our journey with God rests on the
surety of God’s word. If you haven’t by now developed a daily habit of reading
and studying scripture, then make it a priority as something going forward from
this time together.
v.9 Be strong and courageous…for God will be with you
wherever you go.
We are never alone on this journey. “I will never
leave you nor forsake you” is a familiar passage throughout all of scripture.
There is nothing worse than the feeling of being abandoned. That kills off self
esteem and confidence. The God we follow
isn’t a God who plays games with our emotions and our assurance. He never
abandons us. Duet. 31:6; Heb. 13:6; Matt
28:20
Do we turn our back on Him? Absolutely. But He never turns from us. He
will continue to be with us as our lives go on facing all sorts of challenges, obstacles
and opportunities.
Application
Some of you God is calling you to give up your petty
addictions to whatever it is from overeating to constant complaining.
The time now to is to act on the courage and not just
squander the opportunities in front of you.
Be assured that God is with you. God will lead
you. God will never depart from you, but
he isn’t going to force you to move. You need to take the first steps. The
brave hearted individual can go about these tasks in the world today with
assurance and courage, when learning to complete rely on and lean into God.
