Courageous Faith
Reflective Reading: Ephesians 6:10-18
If you watched the Paris Olympics opening, you might have seen some disturbing acts. Though millions have decried the spectacle, the fact that such perversion exists in our world is alarming. Though I prefer to keep Sunday reflections free from political topics, this week I feel compelled to comment.
At the Paris Olympic opening, a group of drag queens flaunted their shameless agenda with a blasphemous representation of DaVinci’s Last Supper painting.
Also in the opening event, a child was included along with a headless depiction of Marie Antoinette, who, in early French history, was an acclaimed Christian (read Lamplighter Publishing’s The Little Dauphin for an eye-witness account of Marie Antoinette and her son’s faith).
Drag queens as well as many other perversions have spread throughout our public library system, schools, and even churches—all in the name of inclusion and tolerance. As horrendous as these depraved and inclusive influences are, they are not the root problem in society. The root problem is that man is trying to live independently of God’s rule, a resistance that has persisted since the beginning of time.
Whenever mankind moves away from God’s rule and authority, moral conditions on the earth always worsen. Among the dark days in earth’s history there is one that stands out more than others. It is recorded in the book of Judges:
“And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them (the sexually perverted men), and said unto them, No, my brethren, no, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into mine house, do not this folly. Behold, here is my daughter, a maiden, and my guest’s concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seems good unto you: but unto this man do not so vile a thing” (Judges 19:23-24).
What made this event even more reprehensible is that the master of the house, knowing that the men of the village had “vile” intentions, was willing to let his daughter and female guest be abused in order to protect himself and his male guest. His fear of man caused him to abrogate his responsibilities and devalue the women he was created to protect.
Whenever the fear of man becomes greater than the fear of God, lawlessness and immorality will advance. In Proverbs 4-8, Solomon defines the fear of God as loving what God loves and hating what God hates. Perversion occurs when this truth is reversed and people start to hate what God loves and love what God hates. The prophet Isaiah wrote,
“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!” (Isaiah 5:20).
If change is to occur, Christians need to start building. Building, you ask?
In the book of Jude, we read,
“But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh” (Jude 1:20-23).
It is time to rise and start building our faith, rekindling our prayer life, and cultivating our first love—the love we had when we gave our lives to Jesus. Once this love rekindles, then we can save others by snatching them out of the fire. With faith, prayer, and love for our Lord, we will be motivated to provoke one another to love and good works, and bring into captivity every thought unto the obedience of Christ.
Is it really that easy? Of course not. There are a lot of giants out there. This world is filled with nasty people who have agendas of hate and depravity. But what’s new? Jesus told us that if they hated Him they would hate us. He taught us that those who would live godly would suffer persecution. Thankfully, He also said,
“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10).
How does this relate to the Paris Olympics? In every way. There is an evil in the world, and God has placed his people throughout the world to act as light and salt. Without light and salt, perversion will prevail. In Psalm 94:16-17 we read,
“Who rises up for me against the wicked? Who stands up for me against evildoers? If the LORD had not been my help, my soul would have soon lived in the land of silence.”
In Eph 5:11-12 Paul writes,
“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.”
Edmund Burke wrote, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men should do nothing.”
The director of the Paris Olympics, after Christians protested the perversion, proclaimed, “We have freedom of expression in France, and we wanted to protect it.”
My friends, freedom is not freedom if it is immoral, illegal, or hurts someone—especially women and children. There is a time to speak truth in love, but there is also a time to be bold as a lion, especially when children are being exposed to and hurt by grotesque perversions. Will this be easy? No. Speaking up will require courage. (And courage is not the absence of fear, it’s facing fear and believing that God has your back.) Imagine being Joshua when God commanded him to lead the children of Israel through the land of giants. In Joshua 1:5-9 we read,
“No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
It is time to start building our faith, praying with passion, and kindling our love for our Lord. The only way that this will happen is to open God’s love letter to us and start reading and meditating upon his Words day and night. When we do, the light will begin to shine, the darkness will flee, the lost will be found, and “everything we do shall prosper!”
Following are several scriptural truths to memorize that have a good balance of boldness, restraint, and grace. For those unaccustomed to memorizing Scripture, these verses are a great place to start. Write them on a 3x5 card or copy and paste them into your phone. Set alarms throughout the day to remind you of the verse you are memorizing.
Let’s fill our cup with God’s Word and live from a cup that overflows! May these truths help you to be encouraged and become courageous.
But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy (2 Chronicles 36:16).
Who rises up for me against the wicked? Who stands up for me against evildoers? If the LORD had not been my help, my soul would have soon lived in the land of silence (Psalm 94:16, 17).
Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! (Psalm 105:1).
Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy (Proverbs 31:8, 9).
If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul (Ezekiel 3:18-19).
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children (Hosea 4:6).
Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops (Luke 12:3).
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed (John 3:20).
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid (John 14:27).
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek (Romans 1:16).
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh (for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds), casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted (Galatians 6:1).
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12).
If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless (James 1:26).
Let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins (James 5:20).
But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame (1 Peter 3:15-16).
As I bring this message to a close, I am hopeful. I’m seeing an awakening among some men; men who are filled with the Word of God and the Spirit of God and can say as the Psalmist and writer of Hebrews:
“The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
(Psalm 118:6)“So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6)
Sincerely,
Mark Hamby
M.S., M. Div., Th. M., D. Min.
Recommended Reading:
Joseph’s Shield (Ages 6+)
Tip Lewis and His Lamp book or audio (Ages 9+)
Dwell Deep (Ages 12+)
Sir Knight of the Splendid Way book or audio (Ages 12+)
