Courage: Is Based on Fear
'And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.' - Matthew 10:28 (NKJV)
It sounds paradoxical, but do you know that courage is based on fear? How's that? When we examine God's Word, we discover that we can choose to fear man or fear God. If we fear man, we'll go through life as quivering cowards, subservient to every human whim and will. But when we fear God, it creates courage in us.
There's a perfect portrait of this in the book of Acts. The apostles were arrested by the Jewish leaders for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Keep in mind that these leaders were accustomed to being obeyed because they portrayed themselves as God's ambassadors on earth. They held the common people in sway, and they were taken aback when Jesus' followers started to defy them by proclaiming that Jesus was the way to truly know God. Threatened, they commanded the apostles to keep quiet and forbade them to utter another word about Jesus, which is what they went right on doing. They were seized and questioned:
'Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name [Jesus]? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man's blood on us!' But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: 'We ought to obey God rather than men.' (Acts 5:28-29 NKJV)
Rather than back down from the religious rulers, Peter and the rest of the apostles courageously stood up to them. They did so because they feared the One who told them to preach (Matthew 28:19) more than the ones who told them not to preach. For them it was this simple: the consequences for disobeying man are always temporary, but the consequences for disobeying God are eternal.
If you find yourself lacking courage before men, let me lovingly remind you that your fear is misplaced. Fear God first, for then, and only then, will you experience courage in the face of man.
DIG - How is courage based on fear?
DISCOVER - Whom do you fear more, God or man?
DISPLAY - How can you personally apply the apostle's example from the book of Acts?
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At the age of 24, Bob Coy left a coveted position in the music industry to serve as an associate pastor with Calvary Chapel of Las Vegas. In 1985, Bob and his wife, Diane, moved to Fort Lauderdale and began Calvary Chapel of Fort Lauderdale. As senior pastor, he has become well known for his unique style in expounding the Scriptures, making them come alive and relate to those of us living in the 21st century. His teaching style emphasizes the believer's "life application" of the highest standards of God's truth while his delivery captures the loving heart of God's Spirit.
Pastor Bob has had the rare privilege of watching God's miraculous hand move in the individual lives of those in the fellowship as well as the corporate body as a whole. From the first meeting in a living room with four in attendance, Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale has now become home to over 17,000 men and women from the tri-county area, and ranks as the eighth largest church in the country. Though many have tried to attribute its rapid growth to numerous reasons, no one is more surprised by the phenomenon than Pastor Bob, who gives total credit and all the glory to God alone.
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