Romans 5:17 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:17 The Message (MSG)

Yet the rescuing gift is not exactly parallel to the death-dealing sin. If one man’s sin put crowds of people at the dead-end abyss of separation from God, just think what God’s gift poured through one man, Jesus Christ, will do! There’s no comparison between that death-dealing sin and this generous, life-giving gift. The verdict on that one sin was the death sentence; the verdict on the many sins that followed was this wonderful life sentence. If death got the upper hand through one man’s wrongdoing, can you imagine the breathtaking recovery life makes, sovereign life, in those who grasp with both hands this wildly extravagant life-gift, this grand setting-everything-right, that the one man Jesus Christ provides?

God wants us to reign in life. But to reign in this life, we need to be courageous!

 

WHAT IS COURAGE?

The common definition of the word courage is: “the ability to do something that frightens one.” It originates from Middle English denoting the heart, as the seat of feelings; from Old French “corage”, from Latin “cor” “heart.” Simply stated, courage is commonly defined as being motivated from the heart to do something brave.
The ability to do something that frightens one; bravery; strength in the face of pain or grief,

bravery, courageousness, valour, fearlessness, nerve, daring, audacity, boldness;

 

Courage is not the absence of fear. Courageous people do feel fear, but they are able to manage and overcome their fear so that it does not stop them from taking the right action.

 

Without courage, "You won't have as much fun because you will always be scared of almost everything," says Alex, 7 years old.

God has called his people to live as heroes – who reign in life by His grace.

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind" – 2 Timothy 1:7

 

Courage doesn't happen by accident or by default. It is the result of intentional choices. It comes from being clear about our goals and the values at the heart of your life and then intentionally living those values through your actions on a daily basis.

C.S. Lewis said, "Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point."

 

WHY DO I NEED COURAGE?

Here is the story of Subedar Major Yogendra Singh from the Kargil War of 1999
Subedar Major Yogendra Singh Yadav PVC is a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) of the Indian Army, who was awarded the highest Indian military honour, the Param Vir Chakra, for his July 4, 1999 action during the Kargil War. He was aged 19 when he received the decoration. He is recorded as the youngest person to ever be awarded the Param Vir Chakra.

Yogendra Singh Yadav was born on 10 May 1980 in the Bulandshahr District, Uttar Pradesh. His father Karan Singh Yadav had served in the Kumaon Regiment, participating in the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pakistan wars.

Yadav, enlisted with 18 Grenadiers, was part of the commando platoon 'Ghatak', tasked to capture three strategic bunkers on Tiger Hill in the early morning hours of 4 July 1999. The bunkers were situated at the top of a vertical, snow-covered, 1000 foot high cliff face (approx. 92 stories high). Yadav, volunteering to lead the assault, climbed the cliff face and installed ropes that would allow further assaults on the feature. Halfway up, an enemy bunker opened up machine gun and rocket fire, killing the platoon commander and two others. In spite of having been hit by multiple bullets in his groin and shoulder, Yadav climbed the remaining 60 feet and reached the top. Though severely injured, he crawled to the first bunker and lobbed a grenade, killing four Pakistani soldiers and neutralizing enemy fire. This gave the rest of the platoon the opportunity to climb up the cliff face.

Yadav then charged the second bunker along with two of his fellow soldiers and engaged in hand-to-hand combat, killing four Pakistani soldiers. Overall Yadav was hit by 14 bullets and played a major role in capture of Tiger hills. The platoon subsequently succeeded in capturing Tiger Hill. Despite multiple bullet injuries, he refused to be evacuated and continued the charge. Inspired by his gallant act, the platoon charged on the other positions with renewed punch and captured Tiger Hill Top.

Grenadier Yogender Singh Yadav displayed the most conspicuous courage, indomitable gallantry, grit and determination under extreme adverse circumstances. The Param Vir Chakra was announced for Yadav posthumously. Subhedar Yogendra singh Yadav is an example of courage for us to press on upward.

Philippians 3: 12 - 13

13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

 

When you press on upward to accomplish your goals you will face opposition that’s larger than you. Knowing which battles to fight requires wisdom. No one in his right mind goes looking for Goliath. But when your Goliath appears, you don't want to back down.

 

WE NEED AUTHENTIC COURAGE

The only way to live in courage is to not live in the fear of man. And in our pursuit to not live in that fear we also exercise our privilege to love and give honour to people. Authentic courage is always displayed in an attitude of honour. Anything else is a counterfeit. If we can by the grace of God do both we will find many victories and breakthroughs that we’ve desiring and praying for.

We need authentic courage to overcome the fear of man. Fear of man is a replacement for the fear of God. Fear of man is taking the opinions and perspectives of people before and above the perspective and opinion of God. It masquerades itself in many ways. Manipulation is one of the tools that the fear of man brings e.g If you don’t do this, if you don’t do that… The voice of the fear of man is an unworthy voice. Everyone deserves to be loved but not listened to. It is a good gift to see the problem through somebody else’s eyes, but only under the Lordship of Jesus. Outside of His Lordship that view or opinion can become a trap. Don’t get manipulated by what people think.

Beware of the…..

1. Fear of loved ones
Matthew 10: 37
He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

 

2. Fear from political and religious system
Mark 8: 15
And He was giving orders to them, saying, “Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” 

Religious system thrives on judgment
Political system thrives on manipulation and isolation

3. Fear of multitude or society
Mark 5: 15

 

4. Fear of circumstance or season or a situation in our lives

Joshua 1: 8 - 9

 

When God commands us to fear not, to be of good cheer, and to have courage, He is always commanding against fear, which is the opposite of courage. “Fear not” has been given to us 366 times in the Bible. One for every day, including for the extra day for in a leap year.

Kingdom courage is the willingness to say and do the right thing for the glory of God regardless of the earthly cost, because God promises to help you and save you on account of Christ. An act takes courage if it will likely be painful. The pain may be physical, as in war and rescue operations. Or the pain may be mental as in confrontation and controversy.

Courage is indispensable for both spreading and preserving the truth of Christ. Jesus promised that spreading the gospel would meet resistance:
"Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name" - Matthew 24: 9
And Paul warned that, even in the church, faithfulness to the truth would be embattled:
"I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them" - Acts 20: 29 - 30

Therefore, true evangelism and true teaching will take courage. Running from the resistance one faces in evangelism or sound teaching dishonours Christ. There is a kind of cowardice that tells only the truths that are safe to tell.
Martin Luther put it like this: If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved, and to be steady on all the battlefield besides is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.

WHERE THEN SHALL I GET THIS COURAGE?

God doesn’t simply command courage with no reason behind it. In nearly every incident where God says “fear not,” there follows a reason to have courage, and that reason is God Himself - His nature, His promises and His perfect plans.

 

FROM BEING FORGIVEN AND BEING RIGHTEOUS -
"The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion" - Proverbs 28: 1
"Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, 'Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven'" - Matthew 9: 2

FROM TRUSTING GOD AND HOPING IN HIM -
"Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in the LORD" - Psalm 31: 24

FROM BEING FILLED WITH SPIRIT -
"They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness"  - Acts 4: 31

FROM GOD'S PROMISE TO BE WITH YOU -
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go" - Joshua 1: 9

FROM KNOWING THAT THE ONE WITH YOU IS GREATER THAN THE ADVERSARY: -
"Be strong and courageous . . . for the one with us is greater than the one with him. With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles" - 2 Chronicles 32: 7 – 8

FROM BEING SURE THAT GOD IS SOVEREIGN OVER THE BATTLES -
"Be strong, and let us show ourselves courageous for the sake of our people and for the cities of our God; and may the LORD do what is good in His sight" - 2 Samuel 10: 12

THROUGH PRAYER -
"On the day I called, You answered me; You made me bold with strength in my soul" - Psalm 138: 3

FROM THE EXAMPLE OF OTHERS -
"Most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear" - Philippians 1: 14

Therefore, be strong and be courageous!