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2 Samuel 10:12 Be courageous!  Let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. 

What’s courage?  The ability to move forward in confidence knowing you are doing the right thing regardless of what is taking place around you.  I’m heading to the middle-east this afternoon.  My mom knows I go there some, I don’t always tell her where I am and what I do so she won’t worry.  She doesn’t get on the computer, read my blog, etc. nor do her friends.  Man if she ever figures that out, I’m in serious trouble!  She told me last week “Bobby Gene - don’t you go to that Middle-East anytime soon it’s crazy over there right now.”  Where I’m going, and what I’m doing - no reason to fear, but our media sometimes projects things as larger than what they are to give impressions that aren’t always accurate. 

This verse has incredible meaning for me.  I read through the Bible every year.  The first time I ever went to Vietnam I went to Ho Chi Minh City.  On Sunday I went to the only legal open Baptist Church there.  It was a very moving experience for me.  It was a church that had the deed to its land - so the pastor refused to leave and held the deed up every time they came to try to take the land away.  Many of these had paid a dear price to continue in their faith with Christ.  I sat during the worship service, and recognized the melody to some of the songs they sang.  I didn’t know what was being said - yet I knew exactly what was being said.  It was very moving - after 15 minutes of listening to the pastor preach not knowing what he was saying - I decided to read my Bible in that service and journal what I was feeling.  It was this verse that I came to.  I thought to myself - even in Vietnam - this is true.  This pastor loved his city and was committed to it.  He loved his Lord and was committed to him.  It made me think – I, too, must love my city because he is Lord of the city and I must love my people, and love all of God’s people.  I was watching a person of courage live a life of courage because he believed in something bigger than himself. 

When I first started working in Vietnam, my fear was what the communist might do to me, looking back on it now - that should have been the least of my fear.  I didn’t understand, at that time, geo-political realities and how faith gets caught up in that.  It’s not faith, often it’s politics and alliances and how they create questions sometimes. 

I’m in and out of crazy places in the world that most only see on the news - and yes - sometimes I fear.  But I come back to this verse and other verses, especially Jesus’ “fear not” and “Lo I am with you always” and I keep my chunky legs moving.  But, being a pastor, I see courage on a daily basis in people’s lives that demands as much - if not more courage than entering a war zone - or meeting with people that could harm you. 

Real courage means looking beyond your own stuff.  It’s Tim Pierce serving meals to seniors in Haltom City - a man broken - yet restored, healed, redeemed - and doing something perhaps not big in the eyes of the world, but big in the eyes of those seniors.  Courage for him to get up and serve others instead of falling back into a past that was hopeless.  It’s a lot easier to wallow in the mud, than get up, clean up - and then STAY CLEAN.  Significance is found, not in whom you run with - but loving those you serve whether they are Kings or senior citizens at the end of their lives, forgotten.  That takes courage - being old, alone, not knowing how things are going to end - but still being kind and knowing God is with you - not becoming bitter.  The greatest fear of all is being alone.  I love the movie the Bucket List - it was Nicholson’s fierce rejection of needing anyone that made it so obvious he feared being alone and Morgan Freeman pushes him to reach out.  That required courage to reach out to someone he’d been in a broken relationship with and to heal it. 

Real courage means loving people others despise.  I have a friend that will be spending time with a world leader we all love to hate.  That leader needs God; maybe my friend can help him find Him.  My friend may get in trouble for even being with this man - his own tribe will definitely come after him for that - but I’m proud of him.  I’ll be praying for him - because God can still do a work of grace and take a Saul and turn him into a Paul.  I don’t know how many times I’ve watched a radical on TV somewhere in the world or here - and thought - “Wow, if that guy could find Jesus he’d be an awesome church planter!” 

Real courage means faithfulness to the course of action even when it looks impossible.  It’s rare I go to “preacher” conferences and hear sermons, lectures, talks on churches not doing so good but people finding God in the midst of the struggle.  I want my church to grow - I don’t want headaches - I want to fulfill the Great Commission - but the greatest things I’ve learned about God, and even his church for that matter - have come not when we were on the mountain but when we were in the valley.  It’s like life is that game we play as kids “King of the Hill” - you fight to get to the top, only to be knocked off and start the ascent again - that takes courage.  There are many hills we try to take in work, relationships, dreams, etc.  It’s the same in business, education, etc.  I feel bad for all these graduating teachers in universities needing jobs and at the same time school districts laying off teachers in unprecedented numbers.  Don’t give up college graduates - God has something for you.  Your significance isn’t in a job description - use what you have where ever you can, whether you are paid or not. 

Real courage means walking with hope even when you’ve been told it’s hopeless.  I walked into the hospital room of Stephen Best - one of our members fighting brain cancer.  A couple of operations - being told it was clean - then it wasn’t.  Walking into his room, watching his 8 year old son read the Bible to him was powerful for me.  Seeing his wife and daughter there - and him grinning from ear to ear.  He knows how serious it is - but he refuses to be driven by despair.  He had another emergency brain surgery a couple of Monday’s ago - I was getting on a plane when he called me - “I thought you had surgery today Stephen?”  “I did Bob, but it’s over and I did great!”  “Stephen what are you doing on the phone?”  He cracked me up - he doesn’t remember calling me.  I love Matt Chandler - I’m not old enough to be his daddy but am old enough to be his big brother.  He preached at NorthWood before he was the Matt most people know today - I love his wide, goofy grin and his loud, booming voice. - keep fighting it Matt.  I love Jim Gayle, a missionary that went to seminary with my dad - I grew up with his kids - I remember him going to be a missionary in the 70’s in Vietnam, we all cried.  He’s fighting cancer - but refuses to give in.  All of this takes courage. 

John McCain wrote on courage - he should know.  Kennedy wrote on courage - his life was filled with it.  Gandhi upon entering a village saw a sad person and asked them why he was so sad - the person said because they were suffering for doing right and were a part of what Gandhi was doing.  Gandhi told the man, if you can’t suffer with joy, don’t suffer for his cause.  Seems like Paul said that also.
Courage doesn’t mean the absence of fear, it doesn’t mean questions and uncertainty, it doesn’t mean feebleness, it doesn’t mean we don’t want to be accepted by our own tribe - it just means the action we are taking is so right within us that we must remain true to our conviction and course of action. 

Courage - what we need in our country today.  Some confuse courage with bullying.  Some confuse courage with exhibitionist behavior.  Courage isn’t about others - it’s about us and what we know is right, and what we must do, and how we do it in love.