Amen. Deuteronomy 31, it starts out by saying,
And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel, and he said unto them,
I am a hundred and twenty years old this day, I can no more go out and come in.
Also the Lord has said unto me, Thou should not go over this Jordan.
Verse number six and seven is what I want to focus on.
There's a couple words in each one of those verses that I want to point out.
So Moses is clearly talking to the children of Israel,
and he continues his, I guess you could say, his sermon here in verse number six,
where he says this, he's talking to children of Israel and he commands them and tells them,
Be strong and of a good courage. Fear not nor be afraid of them,
for the Lord thy God he it is that does go with thee, he will not fail thee nor forsake thee.
And then he switches from talking to them, talking specifically to Joshua.
So verse seven says that Moses called unto Joshua and said unto him in the sight of all Israel,
Be strong, and there it is again, of a good courage, of a good courage.
And the title of my sermon is simply this, Having Good Courage.
Having good courage. Take your Bibles and go to Genesis 131 please.
So my title is Having Good Courage.
I want to remind you guys today that God wants us to be people that are very courageous.
That's what it comes down to when it says being of good courage.
Being very courageous, being very bold, that's what God wants from every single one of us.
So remember, my core message is simply this, just be very courageous.
You know, courageous is good, but God wants us to be people that are very courageous.
And here he's commanding through Moses the entire nation saying,
Hey, I want you guys to be a nation, not just as courageous, but of good courage.
And then he goes to Joshua and he says, Hey, I want you as the leader to start out
by being the leader, being the example, and being a person of good courage.
So go ahead and just stay there in Genesis 131.
And what exactly am I referring to?
Well, I guess a small example would be simply this.
I mean, we've all been there, you know, especially when you're new
and it's time for us to go soul winning.
And you realize it's very important for you to go soul winning.
And you're thinking, Man, I really want to go soul winning, but I'm afraid.
But of course, here at this church, we're going to make it as easy as possible
because we have a lot of talkers.
And we just say, Hey, if you're new and soul winning, come on out.
Don't worry about it.
Just be a silent partner.
It's easy.
You're just going to be a silent partner.
Walk around with a talker.
You don't say anything, not a single thing.
Why?
Because they're trying to get you enough, you know, of a reason to come out.
So you can build that courage.
Well, I guess sometimes, you know, it just takes maybe a month or so
of just hearing the pastor say, coming out, soul winning, come out,
soul winning, come out, soul winning.
But sooner or later, hey, let's just face it.
You know, being at this church, you're probably going to need enough courage
to just come out at least as a silent partner.
And that's great.
So you end up coming out, whatever soul winning time you come out to.
And sure enough, you're like, Hey, I'm here.
And you get the bonus to pretty much come out as a silent partner.
Well, maybe down the road, if you continue to come
and you continue to get into the word, you continue to grow,
you're going to go from having the courage of just being a silent partner
to becoming a talker.
And then as a talker, you're going to go out there
and you're just going to start exercising courage, which is good.
Everybody has to start out somewhere.
And just like faith, when you see Christ talking about faith in the Bible,
he mentions people that have no faith.
Then he mentions people that have little faith.
Then he mentions people that have great faith.
Courage is similar.
There's different degrees to it.
But the one thing I want you guys to remember is that having courage is what God wants,
but he wants us to be people that have good courage, good courage.
An example of this would be something like,
maybe you start out as a talker and you're out there.
You're excited.
Hey, you're knocking doors or ringing those doorbells.
One after another, you ring that doorbell.
Sure enough, the person comes out.
May I help you?
Hey, we're just some faithful.
We're Baptist Church.
We want to invite you to church.
You go to church anywhere.
Oh, I'm not interested.
Okay, no problem.
God bless you.
They close the door.
Then it's your silent partner's turn and they knock on the door.
Hey, they get rejected.
Now it's your turn again.
Then you ring that doorbell.
Sure enough, no one's home.
You place that invite on the door and then you continue to do so
and just keep ringing those doorbells.
But you know, it's going to get to the point where you're going to get to a door
and as you're going up the door, what do you see?
A no soliciting sign waiting right there for me.
Who's seen those?
And I'm not just talking about no soliciting.
I'm talking about those big ones that want to say,
no soliciting.
We found Jesus.
Too broke to buy anything.
Unless you have Girl Scout cookies, go away.
No, seriously, go away.
Don't make this weird.
Who knows what I'm talking about?
Well, I'm not going to lie.
I've gotten into those early on in my days
and I just put an invite in the door
and just left as soon as I could before they see me and say anything.
And if that's you, I'm not knocking you.
I'm not saying anything about you right here.
But what I want you guys to understand is that,
hey, let's just be real.
99% of the time, why we don't ring that no soliciting sign, that doorbell,
is because we're scared.
And we don't want the trouble.
We don't want the drama.
We don't want to ring in it.
And in our heads, it's worse than it actually will ever be,
knocking on those doorbells, ringing those doorbells.
We're thinking, oh man, if I ring this bell,
this guy's going to come out and he's going to shoot me.
You know?
And that's not what God wants.
God wants us to go up to those doors and ring those no soliciting signs.
Why?
So we can be annoying?
No.
Because the reality is simply this.
Maybe some reprobate did put that sign up there.
But that doesn't mean their wives are reprobate
or their boys or their daughters or their moms
or their friends to come and visit.
And a lot of times I'll ring that no soliciting sign
and a person comes out and says, man, this isn't even my house.
Well, you know what?
Hey, you're important as well.
Do you believe God loves you?
I do.
And if God loves you, where do you think he wants you to go?
Heaven or hell?
Heaven.
Exactly right.
Well, look, if you've got about five minutes,
I'd like to show you what it takes to go to heaven
and get a little bit of time.
Sure.
And they end up getting saved.
Who's had those experiences where you knock on those nasty no soliciting signs
and sure enough, the person is going to say, amen.
And so knock on those.
Why?
Because you know what?
If you don't knock on them, you're giving up great opportunities.
Great opportunities.
And let me just tell you this from experience.
About 95% or maybe even 99% of these doors, they have no soliciting.
Hey, we found Jesus.
Hey, I'm not interested in anything.
We're too broke for this.
Only girls got cookies.
No, seriously, go away.
Don't make it weird.
Hey, about 99% of those doors, the people are cool.
They're fine.
You know?
It's just that whoever put it up there, hey, just forgive them
for they know not what they do.
And I'm pretty sure they're probably putting those signs up
because of the Mormons and the Jehovah's Witnesses
because I don't think it's the Baptist.
I mean, even a God-hating atheist is not going to get mad by you saying,
look, man, I just want you all to go to heaven.
That's the main reason I'm here because I care about you.
I love you.
And I know you believe different, but can I just show you something
and it's up to you to believe it?
I don't think they're going to get really upset and want to kill you for that.
But I'm pretty sure the Mormons, everybody else,
leaving all these things that they just really don't agree with.
And they're obviously, you know, probably dealing with them
in their personal lives at work or whatever.
And they realize that they're weird.
You know, but Baptists, hey, we don't have to be like that.
You know, but don't be the one that goes out there
and just has enough courage to show up and ring the doorbells that are easy.
And ring the ones that look ugly as well.
All right.
And that's just a small little example of how we can start exercising bigger courage.
Not just having the courage to show up as a silent partner or be a talker.
But when you get to those doors, just ring them.
Just ring them, ring them, ring them.
You're giving up opportunities if you don't.
And guess what?
God wants us to exercise good courage everywhere we go.
And that's just a small example that can help you to do bigger things down the road.
You know, but what exactly do I mean by good?
What exactly do I mean by that?
I think it's the same good that we see in Genesis chapter number one.
And I'll just read Genesis 1, 4, 1, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25 really quickly.
Just to remind us that the word good is in the Bible.
And God uses it in a positive way.
And it says in Genesis 1, 4, if you want to follow along, keep up.
That's great.
It says in God saw the light that it was good.
And God divided the light from the darkness.
Genesis 1, 10.
And God called the dry land earth.
And it got in together of the waters called he seas.
And God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1, 12.
And the earth brought forth grass and herbaline seed after his kind and the tree yielding fruit
whose seed was in itself after his kind.
And God saw that it was good.
And to rule over the day and over the night, verse 18.
And to divide the light from the darkness.
And God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1, 21.
And God created great whales and every living creature of that movement,
which the waters brought forth abundantly after their kind.
And every wing filed after his kind.
And God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1, 25.
And God made the beast of the earth after his kind.
And cut after their kind.
And everything that creepeth upon the earth after his kind.
And God saw that it was good.
You're there on Genesis 1, 31.
And God saw everything that he had made.
And behold, it was very good.
Very good.
And I just ended up searching that word good.
Just give me like a clearer understanding.
You know, sometimes we know words.
But it's good to define them or even Google them or whatever and look them up in a dictionary.
Just to give you a clearer understanding,
which helps you understand the scripture a whole lot better.
So I just Googled good and this is what came up.
Good.
Excellent.
Superb.
Outstanding.
Magnificent.
Of the highest quality.
Highest standards.
Exceptional.
Marvelous.
Wonderful.
Verse rate.
First class.
Splendid.
Super.
Great.
Hunky Dory.
A1.
I always wonder, why did they call this barbecue sauce A1?
Whoever knew that A1 means great, outstanding, excellent, superb.
Whoever knew that?
Well, you know what?
Hey, who's in charge of the money bag?
No, I'm just kidding.
Where'd you go buy some barbecue sauce?
Make sure it's A1.
Stick it in the fridge every time you guys get water.
Hey, reminds you to have good courage, okay?
I'm just kidding, by the way.
But there's more.
Terrific.
Tremendous.
Fantastic.
Fab.
Hey, for you people that love Disney.
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
That's the definition for good.
You know, I'm not promoting for, you know, you guys that are holier than thou.
I'm not promoting Disney here.
But there's a few more.
Look at this.
Top notch, tip top.
What does the word good mean?
It means awesome.
And if you're from Australia, it means wicked.
That's how they talk down there.
Wicked, mate.
No, in America, wicked is not good.
But here's what we got.
Words that describe good to the T.
Because God said it was very good.
So you subtract the word good and not any of those, it'll work.
And God saw that it was excellent, superb, outstanding, magnificent, of the highest quality,
highest standards, exceptional, marvelous, wonderful, first-rate, first-class, splendid,
superb, great, hunky-dory, 8-1, terrific, tremendous, fantastic, fabulous.
All that fits perfectly with Genesis 131, does it not?
Absolutely perfect to the T.
Pucking God look at you and say, look, I know he has courage, but can you think about God
just thinking about you for a second?
Do you think he'll say, hey, I know Fabian.
That guy has good courage.
That guy has supercalifragilisticexpialidocious type of courage.
How about you?
Can you say that about you?
Can you say that about me?
I don't know, but hey, that's the goal, just so you know.
Showing up is not enough, and that's great.
Somebody has to start somewhere, but never forget, hey, courage is not enough.
Having good courage, great courage, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious courage is what God wants, yes or no?
Now if you have your Bible, go to Genesis 31, 3.
So now that you have a bunch of words that can help you to figure out what good means,
hey, let's just talk about the other word, which is courage.
And when I looked up that word courage, I came across three definitions, and I tend
to agree with all three.
They're 90% similar.
One is a little bit different, but I want you guys to see all these, and I agree with
them because I do see these in Scripture.
So when I Googled the word courage, here's just the basic web definition of courage that
I saw.
This is what it says.
I just Googled it.
Didn't do anything crazy.
This is just a web definition that came up on Google.
And this is what it said.
Courage, the ability to do something that frightens one.
Who's ever heard that definition before?
I think I've heard that from that reprobate guy, Ray Comfort.
Who's heard of Ray Comfort?
You know, when he teaches about, you know, giving the gospel.
He says that, you know, courage is not the absence of fear, is the overcoming of fear,
something like that.
So this is kind of like where he got it, more than likely.
But I do see in the Scripture, you're right there in Genesis 31, 3, and let's just quickly
read.
And the Lord said, who's talking here?
It's the Lord.
He's talking to who?
He's talking to Jacob.
And the Lord said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers and to thy kindred,
and I will be with thee.
And Jacob said and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flocks, and said unto
them, I see your father's content is that it is not towards me as before, but the God
of my father had been with me.
And the angel, verse 11, and the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob,
and I said, Here am I.
And he said, Let thou not thy eyes, and see all the ramparts leap upon the cattle are
ringed, straight, speckled, and grizzled.
For I have seen all that lay been doeth unto thee.
I am the God of Bethel, where thy anointing is a pillar, and where thy vow is a vow unto
me.
Now rise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.
So God is the one that's giving him orders saying, Jacob, get up and go back where you
came from.
And last time he was there, somebody wanted to kill him, and that person was who?
Esau, his brother.
So I'm sure he's wondering, what in the world?
I'm going back?
Hey, last time I was there, somebody wanted to kill me, which is the reason why I even
left.
But let's just go to the next chapter.
32.1.
Let's take a look at Genesis 32.1.
And then we'll see exactly whether or not this definition is biblical or not.
It says, And Jacob went in his way, and the angels of God met him.
And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host.
And he called the name of that place, Mahanaim.
And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau, his brother, unto the land of Seir, the country
of Edom.
And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall you speak unto my Lord Esau.
That servant Jacob sayeth thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now.
And I have oxen and asses, flocks, and men servants, and women servants, and I have sent
to tell my Lord that I may find grace in thy sight.
And the messengers returned to Jacob.
So he's going over there.
He's near there.
He sent some of his servants to go talk to Esau, and now they're coming back.
And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to their brother Esau, and also he
cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.
Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed, and he divided the people that was with him,
and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands, and said, If Esau come to
the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.
And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the Lord would
say unto me, Return unto thy country and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee.
I am not worthy of the lease of all the mercies, and of all the truth which thou hast shown
unto thy servant.
For with my staff I pass over this Jordan, and now am become two bands.
Look at this.
Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear
him.
So what was that first definition?
The ability to do something that frightens one.
So here we see it in Scripture.
He's afraid, but yet he's still doing it.
So what are we learning?
We're learning that, A, he does have courage, but this is not the example courage.
This isn't where you ought to be.
This is where I'm afraid, but I'm still going to do it.
Well, you know what?
If you have to do that, then do it.
Fake it till you make a time deal.
But remember, the goal is to have good courage, not just courage.
Now he has good courage in a sense, but he doesn't have the courage that's complete,
because it's lacking one thing, and we'll get to that in a second.
So we see that in Scripture, where he is doing something that does frighten him.
Now let's look at the Merriam-Wipster definition of courage, and I do see it in Scripture in
a way.
It says, mental moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or
difficulty.
If you got your Bibles, go ahead and go to 1 Samuel 17 32.
While you go to 1 Samuel 17 32, I'm just going to quickly talk about the Apostle Paul.
This is a famous story, so I'm not going to have you guys go there and read it with me,
but I'll quickly read it.
Acts 20 21 says this, testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance towards
God and faith towards the Lord Jesus Christ.
And now behold, I go bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem.
So now Paul is getting ready to go back to Jerusalem, and he says, not knowing the things
that shall befall me there, saying that the Holy Ghost witnesses in every city, saying
that bonds and afflictions abide me.
So that's not a good thing.
That's enough to scare the average person.
But this is what he says, but none of these things move me.
Neither cannot my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy.
So he knows, hey, I might go to Jerusalem, and there's some danger there.
Not just some dangers going to be difficult.
He's been there before.
He wasn't treated very well.
He was persecuted.
And that's what this definition in Merriam-Wipster says.
A, the moral or mental strength to venture, persevere, withstand danger, fear, or difficulty,
which is what he's doing.
He's saying, hey, these things don't move me.
But this definition is lacking one thing that I believe we all need to know that God wants
us to have in our lives.
So you see that definition, mental, moral strength, to venture, persevere, without danger,
fear, or difficulty?
Now I'm going to give you dictionary.com.
And this is the one that I believe is the one that we should apply.
This is the one that God is referring to, this type of definition.
It says, the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger,
pain, sounds similar to the other ones, but here's the key thing, without fear.
Without fear.
So let's look at 1 Samuel 17 32.
It's the story of David when he's about to fight Goliath.
And it says this, and David said to Saul, so he's talking to the king, let no man's heart
fail because of him.
That him is Goliath.
So here David is saying, look, don't be afraid.
Don't quit.
Don't give up.
Don't fail.
Oh king, tell everybody that.
Let's not quit because of this Philistine.
And this is what David does.
He says, thy serpent would go and fight with the Philistine.
And it came to pass when the Philistine arose and came and drew nigh to me, David, that
David walked.
No, it doesn't say that.
David jogged.
Nope.
It said that David hasted and ran, ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
I'm pretty sure he had no fear.
That's why he started running.
He didn't care about this guy.
He had good courage.
See the troops, they had courage.
They showed up, but they weren't fighting.
And God said, okay.
He was just waiting, waiting to do what?
Provide a miracle and kill this guy, kill this enemy.
But it was waiting for somebody to show up with good courage.
And sure enough, David shows up.
Hey, and he's showing everybody, I'm not afraid.
I'm going to kill this guy.
Got a lot of me to kill bearing the line.
Hey, this guy's nothing.
I'm going to do the same to him.
I cut off his head and he ran towards the Philistine.
That's the kind of courage that God wants and it'll be heavily rewarded.
You're like, okay, what's, what's the point?
The point is, hey, I want you to be heavily rewarded as well.
Just like David was.
If you got your Bible, go to Daniel 3 14.
And so we know that he ran towards him.
He wasn't afraid of him at all.
You know, Goliath tried to taunt him and even King Saul didn't believe in him.
But David believed in himself because he had faith in his God.
He knew that God would come through.
So if you got your Bibles, go to Daniel 3 14.
And we'll take another look at individuals that they didn't haste, they didn't hesitate.
Hey, they showed good courage and they were heavily rewarded for it.
So if you can get to Daniel chapter number three,
the famous stories of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, we'll start in verse number 14.
So we saw that definition, which says this,
the ability to do something that frightens one.
That was Jacob.
He was scared.
He still did it.
That was courage.
We see what the Apostle Paul did.
He was mentally tough.
He said, hey, none of these things move me.
I know I'm going to go through some danger.
I know, I know that I'm probably going to have moments of fear and it's going to be difficult,
but these things don't move me.
I don't count my life dear unto myself.
I'm ready to die and I'm going to go with joy.
And then we have the third definition by dictionary.com.
They're similar to the other ones, except for the last part that says without fear, without fear.
And that's biblical.
And that's the kind of courage that God wants us to have that has zero fear.
So if you're right there in Daniel 14, it says this,
Never can I ever speak and said unto them,
This is true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
Do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up.
And it says simply this, verse number 15,
Now if ye be ready, that at what time ye hear the sound of the corned flute,
heart, sack, butt.
Sorry about that.
This is a very tiny writing.
Saltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music ye fall down and worship the image which I have made.
But if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
Hey, that's a threat that can pretty much make any man, the average person,
you know, just fear really quick, you know,
and melt from the inside before they even get near that fire.
Saying, hey, here's the law.
You don't bow down.
You're going to be burned.
You're going to be burned the same hour.
And the king means it, and he has killed already many to prove that he means business.
But what do we see these men doing?
Says in Shadrach, Michigan, and Bendigo, answer to say to the king,
O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
They're like, we're not even going to hesitate to answer you.
And this is what ends up happening.
If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace,
and he will deliver us out of thy hand, O king.
But if not be known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods,
nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his vicious was changed
against Shadrach, Michigan, and Bendigo.
Therefore, his faith commended that they should heed the furnace
one seven times more than it was wont to be heeded.
Go to the third round to meet 31-6 again.
Now, I don't know, but chances are that these men stood up,
and they knew what was going to happen.
They were surprised.
They're like, hey, we're going to have issues.
But I don't know.
They stood up with boldness.
We're not afraid.
We're not careful.
We're going to answer you right here, right now.
I wonder how they got that boldness.
I mean, could it be that they knew about Deuteronomy 31-6?
Well, that's exactly what it tells them to do, to be strong, enough good courage.
And remember to dictionary.com, without fear.
This is why I agree with that definition as being the complete definition,
because if you look right there, Deuteronomy 31-6, that's exactly what it tells us.
Be strong, enough good courage.
What's that word?
Fear.
What comes after that?
Not.
What does that mean?
Don't have fear.
That's what God expects.
That's what God wants.
And it says it twice.
Nor be afraid of them.
For the Lord thy God, He it is that does go with thee.
He will not fail thee nor forsake thee.
This is Moses talking to the children of Israel.
But if you have your Bibles, I mean, chapter 31 is kind of like the good courage chapter,
because you see it three times.
So go ahead and go all the way to verse 23, and we see it again,
because it's that important of an issue.
Saying, look, you guys are about to go to a promised land and fight some battles,
but be of good courage, because that's what God wants.
And you will be heavily rewarded, because our God is a gracious God,
and He goes above and beyond.
He's the God of the extra mile.
He tells you to go the extra mile, He'll go the extra mile for you as well.
And if you see right there in verse number 23, it says,
And He gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said,
now Moses is talking to Joshua again,
be strong and of a what?
Good courage.
Go ahead and flip a few pages and go to Joshua 1.1.
Joshua 1.1.
So I wonder if they even knew about this.
I'm pretty sure they did.
Shadrach, Michigan, Abednego, I mean, this is before their time.
So how did they end up being so bold?
Well, I'm pretty sure they saw this, and they're like, hey, we need to obey that.
We need to stand up, and we're going to stand up and make it very clear we're not afraid.
And that's why they ended up saying what they said.
We're not careful to answer thee, O neighbor Kenezer,
our God whom we worship is able to deliver us out of thy hand,
but if not, so what?
We're still not going to worship your stupid, you know, golden image.
And send us in a fire if you want, we're ready to die.
And that's how we need to be ultimately.
Now if you're a new Christian, I understand, but you can get to this point as well
by continuing to see these promises in Deuteronomy and in Joshua 1.1.
Go ahead and take a look at Joshua 1.1.
It says, now after the death of Moses, so now he's dead.
The servant of the Lord.
It came to pass that now what's going on?
The Lord.
So now the Lord's talking to Joshua because he wants to remind him of this important subject.
He wants to remind him of how he wants him to be as a leader.
And it says that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun,
Moses' minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead.
Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan,
down all these people unto the land which I do give to them,
even to the children of Israel.
Every place the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you.
As I said unto Moses from the wilderness and this Lebanon,
even unto the great river, the river Euphrates,
all the land of the Hittites and unto the great sea,
towards the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.
There shall not even be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life,
as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.
I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
There it is again.
Be strong and of a good courage.
From unto this people shall I divide for inheritance the land,
which I swear unto their fathers to give them.
Only be thou strong and what?
Very courageous.
Not just courageous, very courageous.
So going up to that door and kind of seeing that notes of listening sign
and slapping a little invite and backing up all quick to get to the next door
isn't being very courageous, people.
Let's just be honest with ourselves, okay?
So the goal is to get you guys to start knocking those doors
so you don't give up the strategies because at the end of the day it's about saving souls.
And then if they don't have ears to hear, then don't let them hear, move on.
Move on to the next door.
But hey, even if they put it right on top, you know, right on top of the doorbell,
they've done that, who's seen those?
Right on top of the doorbell.
No soliciting, like right on top.
Bing, bing!
Can I help you?
You see, that's just how it turns out.
But you know what?
God is seeing from heaven.
So if you pray, Lord, hey, I don't care if they have no soliciting sign, I'm going to knock it.
Can you make it to where somebody that wants to hear opens the door
and not the idiot that put that up there?
And if the person that put that up there is not a reprobate,
Lord, be merciful for you know not what he does.
And God will answer you if you have good courage.
He will.
And that's what God wants to see all day, every day.
Let's keep reading.
We'll start with verse number 8.
So who's talking?
God is still talking.
Who's he talking to?
Joshua.
Now look at what it says.
Have not I suggested thee?
Is that what it says?
No.
Have not I what?
Commanded thee.
Like thou shall not kill, thou shall not steal, thou shall not commit adultery.
Hey, did you know that God is commanding us to have good courage, to be very courageous?
And how do you know if you're being very courageous?
Look at the next part.
Be not afraid.
And he says it again.
Neither be thou what?
Dismayed.
It's the same thing, being afraid, terrified.
That's what it means to be dismayed.
For the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
Now go back to Deuteronomy 31 6.
I'll skip all the way to Joshua 10 25.
So God obviously sent Moses to talk to the children of Israel.
Then he had them specifically talk to Joshua.
Then Moses ends up dying.
Now it's God again talking to Joshua because this is a very important subject.
He's about to go to war, in a sense start his ministry.
And if you guys want to be pastors, I'm reminding you that courage is not enough.
You have to have good courage.
Be very courageous.
Yeah you can get up here and preach the easy stuff,
but how about the hard stuff and we'll talk about that later.
But that's the thing that we all need to focus on.
Hey I need to be a man of good courage.
I need to be a dad of good courage.
I need to be a husband of good courage.
You need to take the bull by the horns and it takes good courage to do that.
But we need to focus on these things because they're very important.
And Joshua, he reminded the people in Joshua 10 25.
This is what it says.
You don't have to go there.
And it says in Joshua said unto them,
Fear not, nor be dismayed.
Be strong and of good courage.
Good courage.
And that's what I'm doing today.
What Joshua did 2,000 years ago, 3,000 years ago, however long ago.
Just telling the people, reminding them, saying hey you heard it from Moses.
As a good minister I'm helping you to remember what he said.
I'm putting you in remembrance.
Have good courage.
That's what God wants.
Men, women, and children.
God wants you to have good courage.
Knock that no soliciting sign from now on.
Don't let a single one escape you.
And what I mean by dismayed, I'll just read the definition.
Merriam Webster's, to cause the loose courage or resolution as because of alarm or fear.
Knocking those doors.
This isn't so bad.
Oh, no soliciting.
What do I do with this?
What do I do with this, brother?
You know, ring that sucker.
That's what you do with it.
Whoa, why?
Isn't it going to annoy them?
Who do you think is going to be more annoying, me or hell?
Just realize that as you're knocking doors.
Show some courage.
Very courageous.
And that's what God wants us to make sure we understand.
He wants us to be courageous.
How do you know if you don't have fear?
You're probably being very courageous.
In fact, you are.
Remind you once again, Deuteronomy 31 says this,
Be strong and have a good courage.
Once again,
Fear not, nor be afraid.
Go to 1 Chronicles 22 6.
We see it right there in Deuteronomy.
We see it in Joshua.
Have not I commanded thee?
Be strong and have a good courage.
And he says it again.
Be not afraid.
Telling people, hey, don't be afraid.
At the end, there's nothing to fear but fear himself.
And God is the one that said, hey,
fear not them that kill the body, but never to kill the soul,
but rather fear him which they will destroy both soul and body in hell.
So if you happen to get there, 1 Chronicles 22 6, great.
If not, meet me at verse number 12.
But I'm going to start at verse number 6.
And this is what we should be focused on as husbands,
as Christians, church members, workers, co-workers, whatever the case may be,
soul winners, talkers, silent partners.
Hey, this is the thing that we need to focus.
It's like, hey, watch the fear level.
Make sure it's God who you're fearing and not be going soul winning
with a heart that's already melting before you even get to the first door.
You know?
And so when it comes to teaching this stuff,
it's not me just teaching it to you guys.
That God wants it to go from you to your children.
Here's a perfect example of that.
And this story isn't about for a reason.
It's an example unto us today, especially us dads.
In 1 Chronicles 22 6, as David talking to Solomon,
he's about to die and he ends up giving him some orders.
And look at the last words.
One of the last words that he says to his son Solomon.
It says this,
Then he called for Solomon his son and charged him to build a house for the Lord God of Israel.
And David said to Solomon,
My son, it says,
As for me, it was in my mind to build a house unto the name of the Lord my God.
But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly,
and hast made great wars.
Thou shalt not build a house unto my name,
because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight.
Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest,
and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about.
For his name shall be Solomon, and I will give him peace and quietness unto Israel in his days.
He shall build a house for my name, and he shall be my son, and I will be his father,
and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.
Now, my son, the Lord be with thee and prosper thou, and build a house of the Lord thy God,
as he has said of thee.
Only the Lord give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel,
that thou mayst keep the law of the Lord thy God, then shall thou prosper,
if thou takest he to fulfill the statutes and judgment which the Lord charged Moses
with concerning Israel.
And what will some of those things that Moses charged Israel?
It says right there, be strong and of good courage.
So here's David's about to die.
He can say anything to his son, and what does he do?
He quotes Moses.
Say, be of good courage.
And in case you don't know what that means, Solomon, look at the next part.
Dread not, dread not, nor be dismayed.
Once again, what is dismayed?
A losing courage because of alarm or fear, becoming fearful.
Says, look, don't be dismayed.
Dread not.
That's how I want you to be, Solomon.
When I die, that's the kind of man I want you to be, of good courage, very courageous,
very bold, and he wants you to do that, and he wants you to obviously understand that
it means to dread not, and that's to not have fear.
You know, but that's what we need to ask ourselves.
Am I afraid or just excited?
Because sometimes we can confuse, you know, both of them.
It's like, man, I can't wait to knock doors.
You know, a little nervous maybe because you don't really know what to say.
You haven't gone sober in a while or whatever the case.
I don't think that's the same as, hey, you know, being fearful because you're like,
hey, I'm going.
I know there's nothing to fear.
I got faith in the Lord.
I just wish I had a little bit more practice or whatever, but you know what?
You only and you know whether you're fearful or not, and if you are, at least confess it
to the Lord and say, Lord, hey, I'm afraid right now.
I'm sorry.
You know, at least I'm out here, and that's great.
At least you have courage.
You're going out.
Hey, maybe now step it up, be the talker.
Down the road, step it up, and not just be the talker, but the guy that's the talker
that knocks on those no soliciting signs.
All right, that's how we need to look at things, you know.
But here's a few areas that God wants us to be very courageous and have good courage.
One is preaching, not just preaching out, knocking door to door, but opportunities that
can come up.
Here's a perfect example.
In my early Christian life, I was going to the police academy, and sure enough, they
wanted us all to introduce ourselves.
Hey, you got three minutes.
Go up there, introduce yourselves, and the instructors are like, look, I want you to
give us your name.
I want you to tell us where you're from, and I want you to tell us the greatest day of
your life.
So I'm sitting there at my desk, and I'm like, oh, I know what that is.
What do you think it is?
The day I got saved.
Who said that?
Did I tell you the story?
No.
Okay, good.
It was the day I got saved.
Right away, I'm sitting there like, oh, man, yeah, this is the perfect opportunity.
There's 40 students, and of course, I cared about them, and I always had it on my mind.
I already had been going to church for about six months.
I already did some soul winning, and it was important.
It was God's will for me.
It's the purpose I'm here on this earth, and sometimes I go to different places.
I'm like, man, I want you to give everybody the gospel, but here I am, perfect opportunity
to tell people, hey, here's the greatest day of my life.
This is the day I got saved, because then I figured the first thing that's going to
come out of their mouth is, what do you mean by that?
And then I could just tell them my story, how I ended up getting saved, and from just
going to help out my cousin.
I ran into my pastor, and he asked me for sure going to heaven.
I said, yeah, but I gave him the wrong answers.
Then he said, well, can I show you what the Bible says?
He's like, sure.
He gave me a Romans road, and boom, 25 minutes later, I'm saved.
I was ready to give him that.
So sure enough, I'm there.
I'm getting a little nervous, palms are sweaty and whatever, but I'm like, I'm going to do
this, man.
I'm going to do this, you know?
And I was like, all right, Recruit Segura, get up there.
Boom, I come up there.
All right, my name is Recruit Segura.
I'm from East Palo Alto, California, and the greatest day of my life is the day I graduated
Marine Corps boot camp.
And I knew that was a lie.
I knew it.
It's just that what happened, I lost courage.
I lost courage.
But hey, you know what?
That can happen to you too, you know?
Be ready for that opportunity.
Be ready to go up there with good courage and be like, hey, the greatest day of my life,
the day I got saved.
Who knows what I'm talking about?
How many of you are saved?
Who knows what I mean?
And just give it to them.
And if you think that, hey, what an idiot, brothers and girl, you're lame.
Let me tell you something.
I had an assistant pastor, my assistant pastor.
He ended up deciding that God didn't want him in the ministry anymore and God wanted
him to be a police officer.
Well, when I went to go sign up, guess what's going on?
As I'm walking into the building, guess who's walking out?
My assistant pastor.
Oh, he walks out, right?
The man, you know?
The guy that's the next that gets up, you know?
He's preached at us.
He taught us.
He did Sunday school class.
You know, he taught me this, taught me that.
He even got up one time.
He says, look, the ministry is the greatest job in the world.
I'm so grateful, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
And then when I run into him, I'm like, yo, what are you doing?
Oh, I'm having spiritual problems.
Spiritual problems.
I'm like, okay, whatever, you know?
And then I guess the spiritual problem was that he wasn't making enough money and he
wanted to make more money.
This is in Northern California.
So sure enough, you know, he decided, hey, let me check into law enforcement.
And he was a smart dude, scored very high.
And they're like, yeah, man, through an application, ended up getting higher, went to the academy.
But when I found out he started the academy, you know what I did?
I went straight to him and I said, you know what?
Started the academy this week?
Yeah, hey, tell me.
Because I knew they did it the first week.
He's like, tell me.
I was like, tell me.
When they told you to get up there and tell people what is the greatest day of your life,
tell them, tell me you told me, tell me you told them it's the day you got saved and
you gave them the gospel.
You know what he says?
No, I didn't.
I didn't because guess what?
He lost courage too.
And this guy's a Bible college student.
He grew up in a Baptist church.
He graduated.
He's an assistant pastor.
Think about it.
Come on, you can be merciful.
Me, I was brand new.
I just started going to church.
I just started learning about this Baptist lifestyle and soul winning and everything else.
But this is a guy with maybe 15, almost 20 years of experience and he cowered down.
He didn't take the opportunity to win this to his class.
And you know what he said that following day or the same week on a Sunday?
He's like, man.
He's like, you messed me up.
I can't stop thinking about that.
I can't get out of my head.
I said, well, you need to tell a guy you're sorry.
You need to confess and forsake what you just did, man.
Because if anybody had an excuse, it was me.
You had no excuse.
You totally bombed it.
But that can happen to anybody, you know.
But how about pastors?
Doesn't God want pastors to preach this word with courage?
Go to Matthew 10, 24.
If you can, go to Matthew 10, 24.
And I'll slowly start reading and I'll talk fast, but I'll start with verse number 24.
And meet me right there in verse number 28.
So I'm gonna start in 24.
You guys meet me right there in Matthew 10, 28.
It says this,
And the disciples not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.
It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master and the servant as his lord.
And they have called the master of the house Beelzebub.
How much more so they call them of his household?
Fear them not therefore, for there is nothing covered that should not be revealed,
and head that shall not be known.
What I tell you in darkness that speak ye in the light,
and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops,
and fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul,
but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Isn't it interesting that he's talking about preaching this word,
preaching upon the housetops, and what does he say right afterwards?
And don't be afraid when you do that.
Don't be afraid of these people that can kill you.
Hey, be afraid of me, is what he's saying.
So when it comes to areas that God wants us to be bold in,
hey, preaching is one of them.
Not just door to door, but also in your personal lives.
Watch for those opportunities that God will give you.
Take advantage of them. Prepare for them now.
And if you're ever a pastor, never forget that you need to get up there without any fear
when you preach God's word.
And that's when you know you're filled with the Holy Ghost.
And I'm not trying to boast about it right now.
I'm not afraid at all at this second.
I'm not, you know.
I've already had somebody pray for me.
I'm not nervous.
Hey, this sermon, I've just looked at it really quickly.
But all that to say simply this.
That's when you know that you're good to go.
When you're up here and you're a little bit nervous or shaky,
maybe you didn't prepare well enough or whatever.
Okay, I understand that.
But you know what?
Once you have it down or whatever,
you should get up here when you're preaching and not be afraid.
And not have your heart pumping,
oh man, how am I doing?
Am I going to faint out here from just the nervousness?
You know?
No, you need to get up there and be bold about it and tell people,
hey, this is just simple stuff to remind you guys that we need to
aim at this.
This is the goal.
But if you have your Bible, go to Jeremiah 4-8.
Here's another example of how God wants His Word preached.
And you guys can go to verse number 8.
I'm going to start in verse number 4, nice and slow.
It says this in verse number 4,
Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee.
And before thou cameest forth out of the womb,
I sanctified thee and ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
Then said I, O Lord, behold, I cannot speak.
I am a child.
But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child,
for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee,
and whatsoever command thee, thou shalt speak.
Be not afraid of their faces.
Be not afraid.
That's what God wants us to do is to preach His Word with boldness,
with no fear, with good courage.
Go to Hebrews 4-16, and while you're going to Hebrews 4-16,
here's a warning from God.
If you're going to get up here and preach the Word
and afraid about what the deacons are going to say,
or afraid about what the government is going to say,
or afraid about whatever church members are going to say,
this is what God says.
Jeremiah 1-17, you don't have to go there,
you guys go to Hebrews 4-16.
It says, is thou therefore good of thy loins?
He's talking to Jeremiah.
And arise and speak unto them all that I command thee.
Be not dismayed.
He's like, hey, don't be afraid.
Be not dismayed of their faces.
Lest I confound thee before them.
To confound me is to confuse, to trouble.
Basically saying, look, I'm going to embarrass you
if you get up there and you're afraid to preach my Word.
I'm going to embarrass the daylights out of you.
That should be a warning that should put the fear of God in you.
And you can't fear both.
I don't believe you can.
I don't think you fear a man and then be afraid of God.
It's one or the other.
If you fear God, amen, it's really not a big deal anymore.
It's like, what are you going to do to me?
You know?
Oh, you're going to call the cops?
But you guys are right there in Hebrews 4 16.
So whenever you have to focus, you know, our efforts to be very courageous
or have a good courage is preaching this Word, whether it's door to door,
personal life, personal opportunities, whatever the case may be.
Preachers, obviously preaching God's Word.
But God also wants us to show good courage or boldness in praying to Him.
You guys are right there in Hebrews 4 16.
It says this, let us therefore come boldly.
That's another way of saying having good courage.
Let us therefore come boldly onto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy
and find grace to help in time of need.
Go to Jonah 3 8.
God wants us to come with Him with boldness.
Now you can come with Him and have boldness and be humble and be torn up
and be brokenhearted, you know?
But if you come to Him and you're brokenhearted, you're all torn up,
but you really don't think He's going to answer,
that's not having boldness when you come to the Lord.
You must believe that He is a rewarder than to diligently seek Him.
I mean, John 14 14 says this, if you shall ask anything in my name, I will do it.
Do you look at that verse and believe it?
Or do you look at that verse and kind of still fear, still kind of tremble and wonder?
Of course, the second part to it, it says this,
if you love me, keep my commandments.
And that's the key to getting your answers prayer or your prayers answered,
is to love God and keep His commandments.
The Bible says in James 1 5, if any of you lack wisdom,
let him ask of God to give it to all men liberally and abraid if not,
and they shall be given him, but let him ask in faith.
Nothing wavering.
That's somebody who has no fear.
He's nothing wavering, he knows it can happen.
If anything, he's like Chad, Drake, Michigan, Abednego,
God can deliver us, but if not, we're not going to worship.
Bottom line, we're not going to worship your stupid golden image, Nebuchadnezzar.
John 3 8, if you haven't gotten there, I'm almost there.
But it says, let him ask in faith, nothing wavering,
for he that wavers like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed,
for letting out that man think that he should receive anything of the Lord.
This is the attitude that we should have.
Hey, I know God can do it, he will do it, but if not,
hey, I know he's still going to answer my prayer better than I expect.
It may not be exactly what I asked for, and for good reason,
because if he gave us everything we actually asked for,
hey, we're going to be in a lot of trouble.
I heard this one church member say, man, I'm glad God doesn't always answer my prayers,
because sometimes I ask him if he could just take me to heaven,
and I'm glad he didn't, because I would have missed out.
You know, I would have missed out in my life.
You know, I would have missed out on my kids,
but sometimes I get so sad in the prayers, I'm like, Lord, just take me home,
but we see that in the scripture as well,
and they're like, oh, but I'm so glad he didn't answer that.
So let's just know that God can answer any prayer, any prayer,
you name it, he can answer it, and he's always the God of the extra mile,
so he's going to answer your prayer better than you expect,
but you have to believe that without fear.
When you come to him, you have to say that without fear,
and if you're brokenhearted, you can still have boldness
as you're brokenhearted and humble before him,
because a broken and contrite spirit, the Lord's not going to reject,
but we're right here in Jonah 3.7,
here's a good example of somebody that I believe prayed with good courage,
and therefore God answered him and his people,
and it says in the cause that he is the king of Nineveh,
so he hears that Jonah shows up,
Jonah's saying that God's going to destroy your land, your country,
all of you guys are doomed, and what does he do?
Does he just run?
No, he says this, and he caused it to be proclaimed,
saying, look, go out there and proclaim and publish this through Nineveh
by the decree of the king and his nobles,
saying, let neither man nor beast hurt nor flock taste anything.
I'm sure that wasn't hard to tell people,
but look at the next part.
Let them not feed nor drink water, but let man and beast,
so now he's including people,
says let man and beast be covered with sackcloth and cry mightily unto God.
Yea, let them turn every one from his evil way,
and from the violence that is in their hands,
who can tell that God would turn and repent
and turn away from his fierce anger,
that we perish not, and God saw their works,
that they turned from their evil way,
and God repented of the evil that he had said that he would do unto them,
and he did not.
If you just read that, you probably won't catch it,
if you're just kind of like just going right through it,
but just imagine having to do that,
imagine having to say, hey, tell everyone to quit it,
to stop it, to turn from their evil sins,
to turn from their wicked ways,
hey, and I want them not just that,
but to stop feeding their animals,
stop giving them water,
you know, it's like this is what we need to do,
I want that done now, that takes bonus,
that's a bold leader,
to be able to execute such an order,
because it wasn't proclaimed to some people,
he proclaimed it to everyone,
and what didn't it have like 60,000 at the time,
it was a great city,
so to get the word to all of them,
and for him to do that,
and he had to put his foot down,
show some courage,
and get people to go out there and do it,
and make them cry mightily unto God,
that wasn't a suggestion,
hey, cry mightily unto God,
perhaps he will see us and repent
from all the evil that he said it was going to do unto us,
and they did it,
and of course when it says,
hey, let us come to God,
but we become to God,
Hebrews 11 says this,
it says,
but without faith it is impossible to please him,
for he that cometh to God must believe that he is,
and that is the reward of them that did seek him,
I believe he prayed,
and he knew I could get it done,
he's again,
we're doomed, we're doomed,
I'm afraid of God,
and that's the fear that we should have,
if we're going to have fear,
and therefore God looked down and said,
look, now they fear me,
hey, they've turned from their evil ways,
because by the fear of the Lord,
man depart from what?
Evil.
So that's more evidence that,
hey, this is why God answered,
because they did their turn,
they switched their fear probably from each other,
to just fearing God,
and God came in,
and he heard their prayer,
because they prayed with boldness,
like it says right here in Hebrews 4 16,
let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace,
and that's what this king did,
and he made his people do the same,
and that's why God came through,
and that's the kind of praying we need to have,
we'll become to God with boldness,
so one area to be bold in,
obviously preaching,
show good courage,
and praying,
but here's another one,
I'll quickly go over it,
because a lot of people want to hate me,
when I mention this,
paying God,
what do I mean by that?
Tithing,
tithing,
let's read it,
Deuteronomy 14 23,
in fact,
you guys could just stay where you're at,
I'm going to read,
Deuteronomy 14 23,
if you're wondering if you should tithe,
and I've talked about this before,
because it will bring,
you know,
God's curse upon you,
if you rob God,
but if you're wondering,
should I really tithe,
what's the big deal?
Well, Deuteronomy 14 starts off by saying this,
thou shall truly tithe,
all the increase shall I see,
that the field bringeth forth year by year,
and for these people,
that are trying to use the New Testament,
to say tithing is the Old Testament,
etc, etc,
if they're honest with themselves,
the reason they don't tithe,
is because they're afraid,
or they love money,
one or the other,
when I talk to people,
and they're like,
man,
I know I should tithe,
but I'm afraid,
I barely make it,
I'm making 14 bucks an hour,
I barely pay my bills,
it's like,
well,
you know what,
you need to just fear God,
you know,
and stop fearing everything else,
and stop pretending,
like you're this certain individual,
that somehow needs to fix this,
and fix that,
just start obeying,
and let God deal with it,
but a lot of people tend to forget,
hey,
you know what,
first you obey,
then the promises come in,
but if they want first the promise,
and then they want to obey,
it's like,
well,
I want first God to provide,
and everything else,
fix everything,
and then I'll start tithing,
no,
first you obey,
then the promise comes,
and that's just the way things are,
and always will be,
when it comes to God.
My quick tip,
if somebody comes to you asking you for money,
just ask them,
look,
if you're asking me for money,
I have the right to ask you,
are you tithing?
You'd be surprised how many of them are not.
Think it's a coincidence?
It's not.
It's like,
look man,
you need to start that,
or you're going to be doing this all your life,
and it's not funny,
but,
Saint Corinthians 9 says this,
but this I say,
he that soweth sparingly,
shall reap also sparingly,
and he that soweth bountifully,
shall reap also bountifully,
every man according to his purpose in his heart,
so let him give,
not grudgingly,
but of necessity,
for God loveth a cheerful giver.
This is not a tithing verse,
because giving obviously is not the same as paying.
We've paid our tithe,
but this is an example of somebody who's giving,
and they're happy.
Why?
Because he believes in his God.
He believes God's going to provide.
This is what's right.
Hey,
God's going to take care of me.
He's not afraid.
That's why he's a cheerful giver.
You know,
when we give,
and we're not,
you know,
doing it cheerfully,
it's probably because on the inside,
we're kind of nervous.
On the inside,
we're a little fearful.
Am I making the right decision giving this to my friend,
that obviously I know is a need,
or when you cut that tie check,
you're like,
you know,
hope that doesn't bite me in the butt.
You know,
you're showing a little bit of fear.
God doesn't like that.
You know,
he doesn't like that at all.
He wants you to not worry about it,
and just move on.
Just pay the tithe,
and move on.
And do you think it's a coincidence that people that tithe,
they're always taken care of?
Always taken care of.
You know,
they're not going to live luxuries or whatever.
I mean,
they might,
you know,
but hey,
the people that tithe,
they're always taken care of by God.
They don't have issues.
Yeah,
they may need to borrow here and there,
but they're still good to go.
You know,
but here's the thing.
Now we know some areas that we need to kind of step it up,
and when it comes to boldness,
obviously,
you know,
preaching God's word,
praying,
paying God's tithe,
but let's quickly talk on how we can just increase our courage
to where it can be good courage.
Well,
the simplest,
easiest,
quickest way is to get right with God.
Get the sin out of your life.
Get it out of your life.
How do we know?
Because look what it says in the Bible.
Proverbs 28 one,
it says,
the wicked flee when no man pursueth,
it's a very famous verse,
but the who?
The righteous are what?
Bold.
That's another way of saying courageous,
or very courageous,
of good courage.
It says the righteous are bold as a lion.
If you have your Bibles,
go to Psalm 34 20.
Go to Psalm 34 20.
And here's what the Bible says in Psalm 34 seven,
the angel of the Lord and cap is round about them,
that fear him and deliver them.
That's a great promise to those that fear God.
It says,
so taste and see the Lord is good.
Blessed is the man that trusted him.
The righteous cry and the Lord hearth,
and delivered them out of all their troubles.
Many of the afflictions of the righteous,
but the Lord delivered him out of them all.
He keepeth all his bones.
Not one of them is broken.
And a great example of this is Daniel.
Daniel,
I'll just read it really quickly.
Daniel chapter six says this in verse number 10.
Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed,
he went into his house and his windows being open in his chambers towards Jerusalem.
He kneeled upon his knees three times a day and prayed,
and gave thanks before his God as he did a fourth time.
Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying to make a supplication for his God.
And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice.
You know skipping to verse number 20,
when he's about to get cast into the alliance then,
for obviously this obeying, this commandment that went out,
that nobody's allowed to pray to their own God,
except the God that you know the king had at the time.
And verse 20 says this,
and when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel.
And the king spake and said to Daniel,
O Daniel, servant of the living God,
is that God whom thou serve is continually able to deliver thee from the lions.
Then said Daniel unto the king, O king live forever.
My God has sent his angel and has shut the lion's mouth,
that they have not hurt me, for as much as before him innocency was found in me,
and also before thee, O king, I have done no hurt.
Then was the king exceeding glad for him,
and commanded to take Daniel up out of the den.
So Daniel was taken up out of the den,
and no manner of hurt was found upon him,
because he believed in his God.
So of course it took boldness to pray,
understanding that he's going to be cast into a den of lions.
He didn't just show courage, he showed good courage,
because he could have just prayed with the windows closed,
but he went the extra mile and said,
Lord, I believe in your word, I'm going to show you that I believe it.
And he opened up the windows, making it clear to everyone three times a day,
hey, I'm still praying to my Lord, I'm not obeying the stupid law.
He could have just kept those windows closed, could he not?
But he did, and he popped them open, and was loud and proud.
They heard it, they saw him, king, he broke your law.
All right, well, you know, I guess I got to throw him in the lions den.
He felt bad about it, he did, and none of his bones were broken.
Why? Because in verse 34, 20, you're right there,
it says that the Lord, for those that are righteous, that's the key thing,
not every one of his children is going to be guaranteed this promise.
It says he keepeth all his bones, not one of them is broken.
So doing the right thing is going to save you physically from harm,
it's going to provide for your own when you're doing what's right.
But another way to build up your courage is what you guys are already doing, reading God's Word.
I'll quickly read some verses, and then we'll finish.
Through Psalm 17, it says,
And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom,
that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book,
out of that which is before the priests of Levi's.
This is Moses saying, hey, when you make up, when you get a king,
which is not what they were supposed to do,
hey, we want him to write the Bible by hand,
and have him with him.
Why?
So he may learn the fear of the Lord, so his heart doesn't get lifted above his brethren.
So you can stay humble and righteous.
And how is that going to happen?
By him reading the Word, it says right there,
He shall read therein all the days of his life.
And we should make that a point to read the Bible,
even if it's for 10 minutes, read it every day of life.
Some days you'll have more time than others,
by letting out a day go by, because it's God's commandment for us.
It's like, does God really care about me reading my Bible every day?
He sure did.
He made this king do it by hand, and keep it with him, and read every day.
And not just that.
Look at Joshua 1-7, it says,
Only be thou strong and very courageous,
that thou mayest deserve to do according to all the law,
which Moses and my servant commandeth thee.
Turn not from me to the right hand or to the left,
that thou mayest prostrate with thy goest.
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth,
but thou shalt meditate therein day and night.
Day and night, every day, for the rest of his life.
Why?
Because it's going to help him to do what's right.
The Bible says that words have a hit in my heart,
that I might not sin against thee.
And by reading God's word, it sticks in your heart a lot more.
And what does that do?
It helps you not to sin against God, helps you be a righteous person,
and that's going to help you to have courage.
Because what?
The righteous are as bold as a lion.
And that's the main message of the sermon.
Hey, let's just be people of good courage.
Be very courageous.
Obviously, what happens as well as you're getting courage,
you're getting faith.
You know, because then the Marines will show you this.
Hey, you guys that are fearful, here's where we're going to overcome your fear.
We're going to train you.
We're going to train you like crazy and train you some more.
And you're like, why?
Because training builds confidence.
What is confidence?
Faith.
It's that training builds confidence.
A confidence will give you courage, and courage is going to help you overcome that fear.
It's the same thing with God.
The Bible says simply this.
Hey, so faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Third round of me 31, we were just there, but I'll just read verse 12.
Gather the people together, men and women and children,
that they, that the strangers within thy gates,
that they may fear, and that they may learn and fear the Lord your God,
and to observe to do all the words of this law.
He's saying, hey, get them together and tell them God's word, Joshua.
Why?
That they may learn to fear the Lord.
Because by fearing the Lord, you're not going to fear men.
And you're going to do what's right.
And that's what God wants us to do.
He wants us to read God's word.
Hey, repent of sin, turn from it, confess and forsake it.
Obviously hearing God's word is great.
That's what you guys are doing here.
And I highly recommend you listen to a lot of preaching.
Listen to Pastor Jimenez.
He's a great guy to listen to.
You know, even if you don't like him, listen to him.
Trust me, God will bless you for going even the extra mile,
listening to somebody, even when you don't want to.
You know, it's called character.
And of course, another way is just to pray for boldness.
Acts 4 29.
And now, Lord, behold, they're threatening and granting to thy servants,
that with all boldness they may speak thy word.
And of course, being filled with power, pray for the Holy Ghost.
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children,
how much more should your heavenly Father give the Holy Ghost to them that ask him.
Some people say, oh, that's talking about salvation.
No, it's not.
Because it's saying this, show your heavenly Father.
Is he talking to saved or unsaved people?
Of course, because guess what?
Not everyone's a child of God.
World children of God by what?
Faith in Christ Jesus.
But just because you're saved doesn't mean you have the Holy Ghost,
meaning you don't have the power of the Holy Ghost.
He's obviously sealed within us.
We have him.
He's inside of us.
But it doesn't mean that you're filled with him.
It has nothing to do with being filled with him just because you're saved.
What's going to allow you to be filled?
Hey, asking God to fill you with boldness.
Fill you with the Holy Ghost because it says right there,
hey, us that are evil, not that we're all living a wicked lifestyle,
but it's saying, hey, you know how to give gifts unto your children.
And it says simply this, how much more shall your heavenly Father
give the Holy Spirit to them to ask him.
So ask for the Holy Spirit.
Lord, give me the fullness power of the Holy Spirit.
I want the Holy Spirit when I go out.
I want to have his full power when I preach, his full power when I live my life.
Hey, I want him.
Give him to me.
And that's something to be desired.
I mean, wouldn't you rather have a trillion dollars for the Holy Spirit?
Right?
What you rather have?
You know, nothing comparable to the Holy Ghost.
You know, he's the one that has all the power.
You know, he's the one that can give you all the wisdom.
The Bible says that God gives to a man that is good in his sight.
It says that he gives him wisdom, knowledge, and what?
Joy.
And people are working their butts off, making millions and millions of dollars,
trying to get that, trying to get the wisdom, knowledge, and joy,
when any one of you guys can get that.
Any one of you, any of these kids can get that.
You know?
How?
By being righteous, by reading your Bible, by meditating on God's Word,
by listening to preaching.
Obviously that's going to church, etc., or listening to sermons online or whatever the case.
And you're just simply praying for boldness that'll give you courage.
And not just that, asking for the Holy Ghost.
Ask for the Holy Ghost.
And God will give it to you.
So look, I'll give it to you.
I'll give it to you.
But obviously there's a catch.
You do have to have, you know, a right heart with God.
The Bible says you have iniquity in your heart.
The Lord will not hear you.
That's what's important to repent of sin.
You know?
But in conclusion, what's the whole point?
The whole point is that this is what God wants in our lives,
to be filled with good courage.
Not everybody can be the pastor.
Not everybody can be the trash can collector.
You know, that's what I do at church.
You know?
Not everyone can be the coolest guy in class.
But you know what?
Everybody, everybody, even the kids, can have good courage.
Even the kids can do that by doing these.
Okay?
And let's remember that.
Their father...