How to Be Courageous Against Culture | Kingdom

Courage in the Kingdom and the Spiritual Battle

Welcome to the Kingdom podcast. I'm John Moffitt, I'm your host and the pastor of Grace Reformed Church in Spring Hill, Tennessee. And if you've ever wondered how in the world do you seek first God's kingdom and what is the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness and is there really a spiritual battle going on, all of that is what this little podcast is hoping to help you and encourage you.

Our main goal is to clarify the gospel and reclaim the purpose of the kingdom, so stay tuned. So today's episode, how to be courageous. I know, doesn't really fit the Theocast model, does it? For those of you who've been listening for a while.

And if you're new and you grabbed this title because you're thinking about courage in a certain way and the culture, this is not a cultural war either. We're talking about how do you stand up for the truth of the gospel when Peter says do not be surprised, church, that you are going to be faced with fiery trials.

He doesn't just say trials, he says fiery trials, ones that hurt and burn and are scary. To stand up for the truth of the gospel actually does take courage because the world around us mocks us, it makes fun of us, and then we have our own fears, our own friends, and our own family.

So how is it that Paul and the New Testament writers bring courage to the believer? Paul makes a statement, he says act like men, be strong. And the statement I know could be offensive to Americans but what he meant by that is be courageous, is another interpretation of that.

Be courageous, be strong. Where does that strength come from? Telling someone not to be afraid and to be strong never works. I've tried it with my children, you know. When my child is terrified, simply telling them don't be afraid doesn't work.

I have to give them the evidence and the proofs of why it is they can trust my words. So we're going to look at Scripture and we're going to take a look at words that are used by the Apostle Paul and Peter that I think are helpful when thinking about standing up against the culture that is drawing people into slavery.

The whole world is under the power of the evil one, 1st John 5. And there is a legitimate real attack coming against believers and we can see it. And often in many places we're losing. I mean millions of babies are being aborted and that's a serious thing.

There are lies about the gospel. Unfortunately there are even pastors who are being convinced to preach the law only and not preach the gospel. And the law diminishes courage. The law destroys courage.

The gospel is what builds up our confidence. I'll give you a great example. I'm preaching through Ephesians chapter 6. Paul warns the church, we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against a power that should terrify you.

Things you cannot see. What scares us about darkness, right? You can't see the dangers that await you. He says you're fighting a darkness you can't see and the power is far stronger than you. If you were to face them you will fail.

This is why he says how do you think you're going to stand against the fiery darts of the evil one? He says this, stand in the strength of the Lord and in the power of his might. In 2nd Corinthians he says the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but of divine power.

David and Goliath: Courage That Trusts God

I know this sounds creepy but if you're going to have courage when facing a giant, and I hate this illustration because it's often used wrong, but the whole story of David and Goliath, we love to just emphasize David.

That is not the point of the story. David had faith in who? Goliath was mocking God and David heard this and understood what he could do. I can trust in the Lord whom you're mocking, I don't think it's funny.

The story is David didn't kill Goliath, God killed Goliath, but he ended up using a human to do it. People are brought to life, miracles happen from death to life by humans. It's when we preach the gospel, but we have to have the courage to do that.

So if you go back to, he's using military terms in Ephesians chapter 6, and he says stand in the strength of the Lord. What's the opposite of that? People who are afraid don't stand, they hide in foxholes, they lay down, they crouch.

He's saying in the midst of evil and darkness and a power that is far stronger than you, you can do something that defies odds. You can do something that doesn't make sense. You can stand with confidence because you're standing in a power that is not your own, you're standing in the strength of the Lord.

The Breastplate of Righteousness and Acceptance in Christ

Last week we talked about truth, I want to talk a little bit about the breastplate of righteousness. I'm not going to get into all of the details of it, you can listen to my sermon, but this is the point I wanted to highlight that I did get to spend a lot of time on my sermon.

The breastplate really protects the vital organs of the soldier, and when you think about if you're going to stand with things flying at you, it gives you a little bit more confidence thinking that I can take a shot in the arm and the leg and I'll survive, but if I take a shot to the stomach or to the back, those are where all the vital organs are, I'm gone.

Paul is saying, you put on, and he titles it this way, the breastplate of righteousness. He says what guards the most vital part of you, you are this, and I don't think one part of the armor is more significant than the other, so don't miss the point of it.

He's saying righteousness is what protects the most vital part of your being, and what is righteousness to us? Now he means there, to be very clear, he means Jesus's righteousness. So you understand the two parts of the gospel.

Just because you are no longer guilty for a crime does not mean that you're a righteous good person, right? It just means that you have been set free from the crime, okay? If a murderer has been set free from it, it doesn't mean that we would consider that person to be a good person, he's just no longer guilty for being a murderer, okay?

When he says put on righteousness, he does not mean your holiness, your obedience. Now there's an evangelical preacher who is taught this, and he's wrong, and it's deceitful, because all of a sudden you're not standing in the strength of the Lord, you're standing in your own righteousness.

May I remind you of 1 Corinthians when he says God, 1 Corinthians 2, God didn't choose the powerful and the strong, he chose the weak and the frail, those what are not what? To take down the wise. You know, God's horrible at picking cookball teams.

He's like, we always pick the oldest biggest kid, right? And God's like, I'm gonna win this war with those of you who people mock and make fun of, the least of the least. Why? Because they will not find themselves standing in their own holiness, they will put on my righteousness.

They will put on my... So what does righteousness protect? If you haven't heard anything, if you're driving and you're running, whatever, hear this right here. This is what you have to learn if you want courage.

The righteousness of Christ is what protects our acceptance. You want to be accepted as a person that God loves and trusts, and he puts his total affection on you, and his blessings on you, and he smiles upon you, you don't want him looking at your obedience.

You won't have enough. I'll steal this illustration from someone I saw use it. If someone's embezzling money to the tune of several million dollars over the course of their life at a career, and they're standing before the judge, and they said, but judge, I worked at this place for 30 years, and yes, I embezzled money, but when I was doing my job, I did it right, and I was good at it.

What you do as what you're so called to do, you're actually supposed to do that. It's not, you shouldn't get a reward for doing your job, that's your job. Doing your job does not outweigh the crimes. It's not, God doesn't look at it as, well, you've done a bunch of good things, and these little bad things that you did over here, they're kind of bad, they, it doesn't work that way.

It's required obedience constantly, always. So you can either stand in your failed attempts at obeying, and you will never have confidence. You won't have courage, you won't be, because every accusation that comes your way, he is going to destroy your confidence.

You won't be courageous, you won't be strong. Just even going back to 1st Corinthians 16, 13, he says it this way. First of all, he says, be watchful. Why? Weak people need to be aware of their dangers, right?

I don't technically walk around in my home afraid of somebody hurting me, because I'm in a safe place. But you take me out to downtown city, where there's a bunch of chaos, and I'm very much aware of my surroundings.

Why? Because I'm vulnerable to danger. Be watchful. First of all, he's saying you're weak, you need to be, but then where does it point you for your strength? Stand firm in the faith. Now, the faith in what?

Christ, the object of our faith. Not faith in general, the object of our faith. Then he tells you you can be courageous. Be like men, be strong. So the pattern is always you begin with your weakness, then you move towards where do you find strength, then when you're standing firm in that, you have reasons to be courageous.

I think it's vital to understand that the idea of putting on the righteousness of Christ is not something that you do when needed or daily, it just never comes off. He says walk by faith and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh, right?

The moment you take your eyes off of Christ and his righteousness, you begin to put confidence in the flesh. The flesh is weak, it fails. Every time we sin, we believe the lie of Lucifer, we believe the lie of Satan, that to obey him is better than to obey God, and his command is gratify your flesh.

God's command is trust my words, right? So we don't want to trust our flesh, we know how weak it is. I've met people who are confident in the flesh. They point to their own righteousness, they point to how they haven't sinned.

Just so you understand, just because you haven't cheated on your spouse and haven't murdered someone doesn't mean you're righteous. The absent of sin is not righteous. The presence of obedience perpetually without fail is a righteous person.

If you want to stand up a fight against lies and against all kinds of evil darkness, the only way that can happen is to constantly be reminded I am NOT accepted because of who I am and what I've done.

I am accepted because of who Christ is. I am NOT the sum of my deeds or the lack of my obedience. I am who God says I am, and by faith I can stand firm in that, knowing that my obedience, which is absolutely necessary—you can't fight darkness if you don't obey.

Soldiers have to obey. If you want to accomplish something, we have to listen to the King, and the King's like, go out and fight. Take the sword of the truth. Divine power is the gospel, and you knock down every lie that's out there.

So listen, I'm all for obeying, but you want confidence to obey? You want to wake up every day knowing how to obey with more strength and more courage in the face of real danger, a face of real fiery danger?

Stand in the courage of the gospel, and that is, I am only accepted because of what Christ has done for me. You will always have the strength. If you're in a context, or you're listening to a podcast, or your pastor's telling you to put your confidence, or you're constantly looking self-introspective, looking at yourself, you'll never have confidence.

If you're lacking courage, if you're lacking strength, listen to your diet. What are they telling you? If they're not pointing you to Christ's righteousness, turn it off. Run away. If you don't believe that Satan uses false teachers, Paul says, they're among us.

They appear as angels of light. He uses the internet. There's all kinds of garbage that they have a tie on, okay? They sound conservative. They sound fundamental. They quote scriptures. Satan knows the Bible.

If he is attacking your assurance, if he's attacking who you are, your acceptability, run away from them. Go to where the pure gospel is being preached. Then you'll have strength and courage. My last statement is this.

Courage Is Loving, Truthful, and Willing to Be Mocked

Courage is not being loud and obnoxious. Courage is not being critical. Courage is not pointing out the obvious failures of the culture. Abortion is wrong. We know that. But why are people aborting their children?

Because they've been lied to. They're under the power of the evil one. They don't need to be shamed. They need to be set free. And what sets them free? The gospel. So we use the law. This is wrong. We speak the truth with love because love is what God uses to change the heart.

He's what he used to change our heart. For God's to love the world that he died for you. He starts the gospel with love. No greater love than this that a man laid down his life. So courage is not being loud and obnoxious and angry and vulgar.

Courage is being willing to be loving and be mocked. To be taken advantage of. To be lied about. But knowing what you're standing for and taking it week after week after week. And teaching your children how to be strong at school and in their neighborhoods.

That's what real courage is. I pray this was encouraging to you. If you found comfort in this, I'd encourage you to go download our free e-book called Rest. Once you learn to rest and find your acceptance in Jesus, you'll have courage beyond your imagination.

Because it comes not from your flesh, but it comes from the Spirit.

We'll see you next week.