Standing Fast in the Faith (Part 7)

Welcome to NECF sermons. Each message here is

designed to uplift and strengthen you in your

walk with God. Don't miss out. Stay with us until

the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive

right in. We're going to continue with our teaching

on standing fast in the faith. Standing fast

in the faith. The last time I taught I think

was April. I didn't finish off certain parts

and I think we have some parts to tidy up on.

And our key text is from 1 Corinthians 16 verse

1 Corinthians 16:13

13. 1 Corinthians 16 verse 13, it says, Watch,

1 Corinthians 16:13

stand fast in the fate. Be brave, be strong.

Watch, stand fast in the fate. Be brave, be strong.

We're going to be looking at being brave. That's

from the New King James. We're going to be looking

at being brave. We're going to look at being

brave. And I want to just recap for the sake

of those that are joining us, because this is

part seven of the teaching. This is part seven

of the teaching. And Apostle Paul in this first

letter to the Church in Corinth ends with this

series of commands. And you may not notice it,

but these four different commands are military

order. They are military terms. They are military

terms to watch, to be at alert, to stand, to

be on guard. The NLT will say to be on guard.

And you know, it's military. That's a very military

terminology, to be on guard. If you're a civilian,

you just move around about your entire day, except

if you have some people that are military conscious,

they're always looking around. It depends on

where you grew up from. You're always looking,

even when there's nothing. And you watch. Standing

fast is also a military term. Be brave is also

a military term. Be strong is a military term.

And these words are what you would use for people

in the military or even athletes. We are having

the World Cup and a lot of things are happening.

Some people are losing, some people are winning,

some people are drawing. And notice that there's

a mindset that the athletes go into the game

house, listen to someone talk about how they

interview the athletes and they ask them certain

things. And the athletes, even though it's scary,

they try not to communicate fear. They try not

to communicate fear. They will tell you, they

will say things like, it's exciting. They're

looking forward to their tournament, they're

looking forward to the game, they're looking

forward to this. The athletes don't communicate

fear because that in itself puts you at a point

of disadvantage. It will undermine all your preparation.

Because the moment you have a mindset of losing,

you have already started to lose. Those of us

that are students, if you say, I'm going to fail

for this exam, even with all the preparation

you did, you're going to make mistakes. because

you have put yourself in a situation where you

are panicking. And what Apostle Paul is doing

in this command and this charge to the church

is bringing the attention to how it is important

for them to guard whatever it is that they have

received, to stand fast in the faith and the

doctrine that they have received, also to be

brave. to be brave. And there's something about

being brave that doesn't keep you, you don't,

you're not quiet. You're not quiet. You're not

quiet. And there's a stance, even though when

you, when a person is brave, it's seen in their

actions. It's seen in how they act. And even

a strong person is seen now. All of those things

are very key ingredient for success, very key

ingredient for doing anything at all. And what

I want to do is for the purpose of just touching

on the things that we've looked at. I want us

to just see how the book itself starts off. We

see in the Corinthians, the first Corinthians,

we see in the first chapter. Apostle Paul starts

by first and foremost the introduction, the usual

introduction, and then he thanks God. And then

when you come down to the 10th verse of that

particular chapter, you see him already starting

to address issues that was going on, issues of

division. And basically the aim of writing this

letter is to be able to address certain things

that is going on in the church, be able to correct

certain things that are happening. And it's very

important that we understand that when things

are going south, we have to be bold enough. We

have to be brave to speak truth. We have to be

brave to come back to the foundations to the

basics because when people don't understand in

the root of all the problems are going on here

is because people are not watching people are

not standing fast in what they believe people

are not brave enough in the positive sense because

you can see people brave doing evil and people

are not strong in the Lord people are not holding

on to the truth that they have received and that's

why he starts off by admonishing them. He appeals

to them. He pleads with them. He pleads with

them. He says this division thing should stop.

Because at the heart of it is the one God that

we're serving. At the heart of it is what have

you like why are we having to do this? Praise

God. Why are we having to be addressing this?

This should not be happening if you really know

the truth and you're holding on to the truth.

Like you're not leaving out your identity. Praise

God you're not leaving out your identity and

he continues to tell them and I and I think we

started this teaching by When we started in the

first part we say paying attention One very key

thing that guarantees that you don't miss out

on anything is when you are listening when you

are attentive and That's why he says watch right

watch be at a lot because if you This if you

snooze you lose You will miss out on important

details if you look out and come. Like the players

that are playing in their sports. The moment

a player decides to daydream, when he comes back,

other players will just be looking at him. Because

you can't be, your goal is the ball. and the

people that are around you, you should not miss

out. And it's in everything for success, for

you to succeed, even in the work of ministry,

you have to pay attention. But we're in the world

and in a place where people just are looking

at you, but they're not listening. And it's very

important that, and even in the things he's communicating,

he's saying that it's important, right? And then

he goes down to even the... whole idea of standing

fast in the faith. Notice that there's something

that's been handed to them. They want to keep

holding on to that thing. And that is where you

see Him taking time to teach. To teach. He takes

time to teach. To teach. Even His letters, you

see Him communicating truth again and again and

again to remind them of their reality. To remind

them of their identity. To remind them. He keeps

doing that. Keeps doing that. Warning them of

the dangers of of the different thing he addresses.

I think in the last teachings we talked about

that division, right? We talked about division.

We talked about even the different, the false

teachings. The false teachings. And I want us

to see that. Let's start from there in 15. 1

1 Corinthians 15:1

Corinthians 15 verse 1. 1 Corinthians 15 verse

1 Corinthians 15:1

1. It says, lest anyone, 1 Corinthians 15 verse

1 Corinthians 15:1

1, not 1, 15. It says, moreover brethren, I declare

to you the gospel which I preach to you. I declare

to you the gospel which I preach to you, which

also you have received, and in which you stand."

See that word again, in which you stand. He declares

to them the gospel that has been preached to

them. If you see the second chapter, it says,

by which also you are saved. If you hold fast

to the word which I preach to you, unless you

believed in vain. Three now, you see where he

talks about it being delivered. Say, for I delivered

to you, first of all, in the NLT says most importantly,

most importantly, that which I have also received,

that Christ died for our sins according to the

scriptures. Let's look at four. It says, and

that he was buried. and that he rose again on

the third day according to the scriptures. Stop

there. He's laying a foundation to address a

certain issue. Because some people had come around

to say, why do they believe in the resurrection

of the dead? Why do they believe in it? And noted

at the root of that is if you don't believe in

the resurrection of the dead, which is what he

starts the chapter because this chapter goes

down to eight. This chapter goes down from 1

to 58 58 he starts to because it's very important

and he takes his time to talk and Explain why

if you hold on to that doctrine, we're gonna

look at that We are gonna do just a big bit of

a recap if you hold on to that doctrine that

false doctrine You are undermining the truth

Praise God means that if you swallow a lie the

The consequence is that you will be leaving a

lie and walking in a lie. And that's why He challenges

them. Say, look, this thing was passed to you,

except if you're saying it is in vain, but if

you had received this that was passed to you,

then walk in it. Then walk in it. Don't allow

somebody to lie to you. Don't allow somebody

to lie to you. Praise God. And when a day and

an age where... a lot of people are peddling

lies and if you're not careful you will swallow

a lie and leave with the consequence of that

lie. Praise God. And he establishes that and

he goes on and on and on and on till he explains

and first and foremost he establishes the fact

that Christ resurrected. Right? Which is what

he starts to build here. Christ resurrected and

if he did resurrect means that anyone that believes

in Him will also be resurrected. They will not

die. And that's why He uses the word. They're

very careful. You see the word sleep. He used

the word sleep to communicate death because when

we hear death, we feel everyone here will say

this person is normal. But there's something,

because of the hope that we have, because of

the hope that we have, we understand that death

is not the end of the story. But it's the beginning

of something better. Praise God. But it paves

way for the beginning, for something better.

Praise God. And we see that in the verse 58 of

this same chapter, he concludes with a dear four.

He says, dear four, my beloved brethren, be steadfast,

immovable, always abounding in the walk of the

Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain

in the Lord. Praise God. Knowing that your labor

is not in vain in the Lord because certain things

will come to fight against or oppose or oppose

the truth that you have received. You oppose

the truth that you are holding on to. Certain

things will oppose it, but you have a responsibility

to contend. Right? You have a responsibility

to contend. Some other translation will say defend

the faith. Because if you're holding on to something,

you know that someone really wants what you have

if it's something of value. Praise God. You have

to defend it. You have to hold it like your life

depends on it. And it says, stand fast, which

is on our translation, we'll say be strong. Right?

Immovable, always abounding. What we should be

abounding in is the walk. And there's a walk.

Praise God. There's a walk to be done. I was

very grateful to God for that, brother, because

there's walk. There are people that need to hear

the gospel, right? There are people in your family

that need to be strong, to hold on, to keep.

There are a lot of lies that will put people

at a point of disadvantage when they have a lot

to be grateful for, a lot to be thankful for,

a lot to live for. Praise God. We have a lot

to live for. We have a lot to do and we want

to stay in that place of doing the work. It says,

immovable, always abounding in the work of the

Lord. And all of this statement goes to prove

that there will be oppositions. There will be

oppositions. Hence the need for bravery. Hence

the need to be brave. Hence the need to contend.

I want us to see in Jude, and we will see this

in Jude 1 verse 3. I want us to see that even

Jude 1:3

the Apostle Peter also addresses individuals

that will come to peddle false doctrines, false

teachings. In Jude 2, it does the same. Peter

in 2 Peter verse 2 starts and talks, devotes

a whole chapter to tell you how this is very

important. He dedicates a whole chapter to talking

and teaching about people that peddle false teachings.

In Jude 1 -3, we see that it says, Beloved, where

I was very diligent to write to you, concerning

our common salvation. I found it necessary to

write to you, exalting you to contend earnestly

for the faith which was once for all delivered

to the saints." No, no, no. Go to the second

verse. That's four. Jude one verse four. Jude.

Okay, it says, for certain men have crept in

unnoticed. It says, for certain men have crept

in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out, we

discussed this in the cell, their actions is

what placed them in that position. Who long ago

were marked out for condemnation, ungodly men,

who turn the grace of God into lewdness and deny

the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

So notice that there's the characteristics of

these people. I think the NLT will say they warmed

from underneath the snorkel. And these people,

they are taking their time to infiltrate, taking

their time to lie, taking their time to do all

manner of things. I think I heard a minister

in the UK one time talking about how a certain

cult group was infiltrating the churches around

and they were teaching things like, it's okay

to lie if you're going to get away from trouble.

It's okay. They were just teaching all manner

of things and teaching that it's okay to split

the church. It's not a problem. In fact, they

would go to the school and say there were divisions.

That's not today. Divisions started. It was just

communicating all manner of things. And if anyone

is not holding fast or standing fast. Yes, you'll

be saved, but you'll be in another direction.

And as we have been taught, it's not a problem

for you to, because the devil knows that you

are already saved, right? But if he can only

get you to live in error, to live in what is

not your identity, it's kind of a partial win

for him. So you want to ensure that you are studious,

you know what his word for You put yourself on

the way you'll be taught and learn. Because learning

is important for growth. Nobody grows mentally.

Nobody grows. There's no growth that happens

without any form of learning. If you want to

be trained, you have to learn. Training happens

by learning. And that's why Apple Support takes

its time to address the false teachings, the

false doctrine. And I want us to see something.

I think I had done this before, but it's... something

that is important and worth mentioning. The reason

why, because the Bible that we have is in English

language, and we'll see that when we come to

the text, the key passage, which is, be brave.

I'm doing all of that just to get us to that

point. The reason why we go into the use of Greek

words, Hebrew words, is because our Bible that

we have in our hands is in English language.

And you can miss the richness of what has been

said if you don't go back to it and see. Because

in our text or when we read our Bibles, we'll

see doctrine and teaching. And that one or those

words used interchangeably can mean three different

Greek words. It can mean three different Greek

words and it can communicate, depending on the

context, something different. Praise God. Something

different. And we'll see the first of them, which

is the first of my words I'm talking about is

doctrine, or teaching. Doctrine or teaching.

Doctrine or teaching. And one of the words is

Didache. One of the words is Didache. D -I -D

-A -C -H -E. D -I -D -A -C -H -E. And this word

means the content of the teaching or what is

being taught. The content of the teaching or

what has been taught. The content of the teaching

or what has been taught or the truth that has

been passed down. The content of the teaching

or what has been taught or the truth that has

been passed down. And in the gospels, you will

see where this is used to qualify the teaching.

And teaching is very important because if nothing

is passed down, then we have nothing to hold

on to. Nothing to hold on to and people will

have nothing to learn because the people that

are listening Should and are always expected

to be learning Should and are always expected

to be learning and the gospel will see a couple

of times where this is used for Jesus Christ

in Matthew 7 28 in Matthew 7 28 we see that it

says and so it was when Jesus had ended these

sayings, the people were astonished at his teaching.

The people were astonished at his teaching, meaning

that when he taught, there was something about

the way he taught. There was something about

the teachings that was coming forth from his

mouth. In Matthew 22, 33, we see again, it says,

and the multitude heard this, and they were astonished

at his teaching. They were astonished at his

teaching. And then also we'll see another Greek

word, the second one, which is Didascalia. The

second Greek word is Didascalia. D -I -D -A.

They sound alike. D -I -D -A -S -K -A -L -I -A.

D -I -D -A -S -K -A -L -I -A. And this one is

The activity of teaching or learning speaks about

the process of instruction. The activity of teaching

or learning and speaks of the process of instructions.

And sometimes it can be used to communicate content

like the other one did here. Sometimes it can

be used and this one was used mostly by the Apostle

Paul. It was used mostly by the Apostle Paul

and he's the one that wrote the book, the main

book that we're looking at. And Paul will use

it extensively, especially in Timothy, we use

it extensively on how to teach, how to protect

and preserve sound doctrine. He uses it a lot.

And we'll see the first use of it in 2 Timothy

4. 2 Timothy 4, we'll look at 2 to 5. 2 Timothy

4, 2 to 5, and we'll see how the 2 even appears

in this. 2 Timothy 2 to 5. So preach the word

Be ready in season and out of season. Convince,

rebuke, exalt with all long -suffering and teaching.

The teaching there is Didache. It says, for the

time will come when they will not endure sound

doctrine. Sound doctrine there is Didascalia.

Sound doctrine. The time will come when they

will not endure sound doctrine. But according

to their own desires, because of because they

have itching ears they will heap up for themselves

teachers and they will turn their ears away from

the truth and be turned aside to fables but you

be watchful in all things praise god it says

but you be watchful in all things but you be

watchful in all things endure afflictions Do

the work of an evangelist fulfill your ministry

fulfill your ministry So we'll see and there

are many other instances where he uses that But

I just want us to just do this quickly and then

go to the third one. The third one is hetero

didascaleo The third one is hetero didascaleo

hetero H E T E R O D I D A S K -A -L -E -O. Very

similar to the Daskalia, but the Daskalia with

the hetero in front of it. And this is to teach

something other than what is correct. Teach something

other than the truth or deviate from the truth.

teach something other than the truth or deviate

from the truth. And the hetero there means different

than the dascalio there means to teach. So you

are teaching something different, something other

than the truth. And the two places where this

appears is in the book of Timothy where I think

Apostle Paul is the one that uses that. In 1

1 Timothy 1:3

Timothy 1 verse 3 says, charge some that they

teach no other doctrine that they teach no other

doctrine that that they teach no other doctrine

is the hetero didascaleo so that whole phrase

is the hetero didascaleo so it's a compound word

and notice that it's one word explaining a phrase

just one word qualifying and that's to tell you

the richness of these languages and that's why

you have different translation or different interpretations

of the Bible, and I will get to that. We will

see that very soon. In 1 Timothy 6 verse 3, he

1 Timothy 6:3

says, If anyone teaches otherwise, that teaches

otherwise is hetero didascaleo, that teaches

otherwise is hetero didascaleo, and does not

consent to wholesome words, that is the truth,

even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. And

to the doctrine, doctrine dna didascaleo, which

accords with godliness. So we see him bringing

our attention to the fact that you can have people

teach other things and if you are saying all

of that it means that we should be careful of

what it is that we are entertaining or listening

to and we cannot we cannot effectively know what

is false if we don't know the truth because to

anybody that doesn't know the truth everything

is truth. Praise God. Everything is true. Hence

the need. And we charged us on the church. We

said, okay, the church, we're doing a canonical,

right? And we're reading the books. We're reading

the books in the Bible and we have started from

January. And in the cell, we're like, where are

we now? Some people are still in Job. Some people

are somewhere in Genesis. Some people are somewhere

around, somewhere, somewhere. We're in the book

of Psalms. We're in the book of Psalms and we

have been... moving and moving and moving. And

Psalms is a lengthy book, praise God! And you

don't want to look back and give up. So, you

want to continue and today was five, I think

the beginning of Psalms, we were introduced into

Psalms with eight chapters, eight whole chapters.

I think some people are doing one, two, three

and all of a sudden, ha! Eight chapters! So,

that is the journey we have to take to get to

the promised land at the end of the year. Praise

God. And you want to stay consistent. You want

to keep at it. I think for the first year, if

it's your first time, you struggle. But once

you get used to the routine, it's very important

that we discipline ourselves. It's a discipline.

It's a discipline that we have to and we... And

if you're struggling, don't struggle in silence.

Don't wait until we ask you before we discover

that you have fallen somewhere along the way.

We want to carry everybody along. We want everybody

to be carried along. So, choose to be carried

along. So, we see that Apostle Paul does all

of this. Or, Apostle Paul takes his time and

energy explaining, teaching, ensuring that people

don't fall by the wayside. People don't enter

into error. And in the book of Corinthians, he

takes his time to address several issues. We

talked about the first, which is the fact that

people are looking at division. Somebody says,

I'm for this person. The other person says, I'm

for that person. We see all of those things.

It doesn't help the work go forward. If you're

doing, if you're solving problems in the house,

you cannot solve problems outside. You cannot

go and meet people's needs outside. You are always

resolving one issue or the other issue in the

house. It doesn't help the work move forward.

And then we see him addressing even issues around,

because with false doctrine was one. Divisions

was another. We see him addressing issues around

temptation from the surrounding cultures. Temptation

from the surrounding cultures. So we see that

around the culture, there's always this constant

pressure. And even in this day and age, we have

the same thing because we are in the same world.

So there's always a pressure for one thing or

the other. And yet system, they had different

idols. They had different idols. They have the

whole thing of sexual immorality. That was a

big thing. in the city and it's still a big thing

today in the world that we're living in. And

hence the charge to stand fast, hence the charge

to watch, to stand fast, to be brave and be strong

because it takes boldness. You have to be bold

to stand. In fact, you have to watch first and

foremost to be able to... be standing on something,

right? You have to be watching what people are

saying and you want to always be checking what

exactly it is they're doing. You want to be very

conscious of that. And in 1 Corinthians 10, 14,

he says, therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.

Here you have the proof that he was addressing.

See, flee from idolatry. He says, flee, flee.

That word there to flee is fugle. Sounds like

fugle. Fugo is P -H -E -U -G -O. Fugo. P -H -E

-U -G -O. And the word there means to run away.

I think everybody knows that the flea means to

run away. And it can be literal. It can be figurative.

And by implication, it means to shun. It means

you can look away, right? When somebody does

something in it, just look away. And the analogy

also means to vanish. The flea. Like you saw

somebody and you did not see the person again.

I think animation helps our imagination. You

don't see them again. So you want to have that

mindset, escape. You want to always have that

mindset of, when I'm faced with something as

an error, don't entertain it. Don't entertain

it. Don't entertain it. I'm saying it again,

don't entertain it. Because the moment you entertain,

I think our lead pastor was teaching us, the

moment you start entertaining, something you're

giving them audience and the words will take

root and before you know it you they have you

it's like if you don't want to buy something

i think those of us that do market when you're

somebody's trying to sell you something you know

if you say i don't need it and you hush them

you know that would be the end of it but some

people are persistent they will keep coming at

you but if you listen and listen and listen a

part of you will say i think i need this thing

and then you will give into it but At first,

your first response was the actual response because

you actually didn't need it. But because you

entertained the whole talk, it now got to a place.

That's why you don't entertain certain things.

Because you know that this is error, you don't

even give attention to it. You don't give attention

to it. Very important, you don't give attention

to it. And we see that retreating, sometimes

when we say retreating, we say, oh, it's not

brave to retreat. Notice that even in the military,

there are strategies that involve retreating

so that you can be able to win. Right? Retreating

looks like defeat. It looks at the go you like

why they're running away. They're lost. Right?

But we see even in scripture a strategy that

was employed in Georgia by the children of Israel

against the benjamite. In fact, the children

of Israel had lost a couple of times to the benjamite.

And because they had lost, they had to come up

with a plan. And they came up with a plan to

retreat. And then the benjamats will think that

we're winning as before. And for some of us will

think like, oh, I've done this before. It's nothing.

And then you almost will entertain something

you shouldn't even entertain in the first place.

And the result is that you'll be, because what

had happened is that when they say, oh, this

power retreating, then there was a smoke. You

can read that in judges 20. I don't want to go

into more details, but notice that. Fleeing from

a situation or running away from a situation

is not a sign of weakness. It's you trying to

preserve yourself because you know this is error.

Praise God. And we need to come to the consciousness

of the fact that, you know, sometimes some people,

you're just full of yourself. You think that

I can handle. I can handle it. I can handle it.

And we see in contrast the three Hebrew boys

in Daniel 3. In Daniel 3, we see the three Hebrew

boys, and I want us to just look at Daniel 3,

12 and 16. We'll come back to this at some point

in time in the teaching, but I just want us to

look at this. to do to you they do not serve

your gods or worship the golden image which you

have set let's go just jump to 16 let's just

leave it at 16 just jump to 16 and he's saying

that these people don't have a regard because

they they had grown up and been trained to serve

the only god the living god and then now someone

presents to them an idol and says they should

worship the idol, they should bow down to the

idol. And we see that this resolve didn't start

here. In the first chapter of this book, you

see that they made a resolve to not do certain

things contrary to the God that they serve. Anything

you want to do, if you don't make a resolve,

if you don't make a resolve, you are setting

up yourself for anything that comes. In anything

you want to do. If you say, I resolve, that I

will serve God, I resolve that I will fear Him,

I resolve that I will do His will, that is a

resolve that will determine how far you will

go with that. But once you do otherwise or say

anything goes, nobody makes any progress with

anything goes. Anything goes will mean that you

will do a lot of work but no results. Praise

God. You'll do a lot of work and no result and

this is a resolve that this man had made. And

we know them, or they are properly known as Shadrach,

Meshach, and Abednego, but their Hebrew names

are Hananeah, Meshael, and Zechariah. The names

that we see or the names that we know them for

are the names, the Babylonian names, the names

that were given to them. And this man spoke boldly.

We see them speaking boldly. They didn't just

act, they spoke. And what we're going to be seeing

in this teaching is that bravery comes from a

place of decision. Bravery comes from a place

of decision, but bravery also has the place of

action. And boldness is where we see bravery

manifest in your speaking. Boldness is where

we see bravery manifest in your speaking. Boldness

is where we see bravery manifest in your speaking.

And we see Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered

and said to the king, that's when the king told

them, he says, Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need

to answer you in this matter. They were challenged.

They were said, okay, why don't you want to bow

down to this? So they had now take a stand. It

will look like, you know, they acknowledge the

fact that yes, they are faulted, but they don't

want to even engage. And we know the story. We

see how God delivered them. And here is a picture

of bravery. Here's a picture of bravery. You

have what you believe. and you stand for it.

You have what you believe, you hold on to it

and you stand for it against all odds. Against

all odds. And anytime I think of this story,

what I see is that all the people that bow down

to the image, we don't hear of them. Right? We

only hear of the people that did something different.

It's the same thing with people that protest.

or people that do anybody that fights you the

people because it's you're fighting against something

you're fighting against a regime or something

that is going wrong and you do that It costs

you it's not comfortable It's not comfortable

to do what they did and nobody should convince

you to think that if it's not comfortable then

it's not good Praise god because we can get to

that point where we think that if something is

not comfortable if something is not convenient

then I was just given. And Apostle Paul, the

one thing I came here because he encourages to

flee. But we see these people not just fleeing,

there's a mindset. They stood because they will

be bowing down to something they don't believe

in. And if they don't believe in it, they don't

bow, they are not going to bow down to it. And

the image is an image that Nebuchadnezzar had

made. It's something that a man had made. I think

I saw something yesterday. I can't remember.

The person was asking me, like, why do you wear

this? He said he wears it for protection. So

he was like, you wear it for protection. Is it

not something that a man made that you're wearing

for protection? He says, okay, what if you lose

it? Say you buy another one. As you buy another

one and to keep protecting yourself. He says,

I believe God to protect me. That's basically

what I believe. I don't believe the thing that

God created will create something that will protect

me. And that understanding is what should tailor,

because the problem is that we sometimes say

we trust God in our words, but in our actions,

we do otherwise. We do otherwise. And it's very

practical. It's very practical. As we're going

to look at this thing called being brave, we'll

see something. I was thinking about it, I said,

If someone That you know or let's let's make

it yeah if a friend that you know that is rich

Tells you to do something that requires a lot

of money He tells you to do something request

a little Because you have knowledge of one singular

fact that that person has the money to fund it

and he's the one that Instructed you to do it.

You know that you're not you're not you're not

be afraid I think I was telling my wife, I said,

the best thing to say is just go to your cars

and say you will buy the place. You know, as

damning as that will be, buy up a place of some,

like, you will go there because you know who

instructed you. Right? You will go there and

you will, in fact, you might not have anything

on you. But the way you enter that place and

say, you guys are going to be my new staff, you

start talking to them with some kind of audacity.

because you know something that probably the

people around that you're talking to don't know.

Praise God! And when we say that for someone,

even when you say, okay, your father, your Eddie

father, because you know what your Eddie father

is capable of doing, when he says, okay, start

looking for an admission to come to North Cyprus,

you know you will go ahead. But if there's nothing,

you know that there's no, there's a place where

you say, let's just do it just to respect, but

you know that there's no, there's no going to

come, nothing's going to come out. Because you

know what, or you believe that for Him to tell

you, you know that something's going to come

out of it. Praise God. How much more Heavenly

Father? And then He tells you to trust Him. And

we'll see that as a team, a very consistent team

that are anchored on our, we are able to trust

Him because He's true to His Word. We're able

to trust Him because He has never broken or failed

to keep His promise. We're able to trust Him

because When He says something, He backs it up

with actions. When He says something, He backs

it up with actions. And we see this because it's

easy for you to make something an idol because

you feel like you're getting some results from

that thing. But I want you to know something

that anything you place above God is what qualifies

as an idol. Anything you place above God, anything

that you are willing to trade for God, You are

in the grip of that thing and it takes that place

of an idol. It's an idol. Because for them, in

their age, it's them bowing to something as an

idol. But in this day and age, we can easily

trade God for people. We do it. We just easily

shift and put God in that place. Which communicates

lack of trust? in God. And we see when you are

faced with a difficulty and you resort to other

things to find your way out rather than God,

someone says you don't run to the throne, you

run to the phone. When you resort to other things,

we're not saying that it's bad too, but we're

saying that What is your stance? What is your

posture? Are you already in panic mode? We read

Philippians 4 verse 4. Are you worrying? Is anxiety

Philippians 4:4

the motivation of your action? Is anxiety why

you're picking up that phone to call and then

you transfer the panic to the other person at

the other line? Is that what is motivating your

stance or your decision? And very importantly,

if you are finding the words You are making up

things to defend that thing and it's not the

gospel. It's an idol. Praise God! Somebody is

telling you that these things, you say, you are

defending with your life. It's not the gospel

you are defending. It's that particular thing.

That thing is obviously an idol. And in 2 Timothy

2 Timothy 2:22

2 verse 22, Apostle Paul writing to Timothy,

he says, Flee also, youthful, lost. It says,

but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace.

It says, with those who call on the Lord out

of a pure heart. It says, pursue. Say, but pursue.

Say, flee, but pursue. We are instructed to flee,

but there's something that we're instructed to

pursue. So the challenge to us is, what are you

pursuing? Are you pursuing learning? Are you

pursuing knowing God? Are you pursuing loving

God? Are you pursuing? What are you pursuing?

In James the book that we're asked to read in

this month the book that we're instructed to

read the book that we should have been should

be reading James 4 verse 7 it says therefore

James 4:7

submit to God Resist the devil and he will flee

from you Meaning that there's a stance that you

take there's a boldness. There's a strength that

you that the Lord supplies that makes you Pitch

in the place of advantage where you have an authority

over the enemy. Praise God. You're not the only

we are not you're not fleeing Right, you're not

always fleeing. You are taking the stands and

you are declaring and then let's look at What

Apostle Paul Brings to attention in that watch

We stand for the business. Let's go back to our

key scripture in 1st Corinthians 6 13 And we're

looking at the word brave, be brave. And when

we see be, be, I think it uses be brave and be

strong. Being brave and being strong is not,

you are instructed to be who you are. What you

are is what you are instructed to be. You're

not, nobody's, they're not giving you. Because

you have a union with God, that is what should

show forth. And it's not about saying, no, I'm

naturally quiet or I'm naturally bold. It's not

about your temperament. It's not about your temperament.

It's something that you have because you have

the Lord as your God. Praise God. And we'll see

that tied to His presence with us. His presence

with us. We'll see that tied to His presence

with us. So, the B -Brave is the Greek word and

the Greek word and Andrizomai. That's Andrizomai

is A -N -D -R -I -Z -O -M -A -I. A -N -D -R -I

-Z -O -D -O -M -A -I. It means to act like a

man. To act like a man. To act like a man. To

show yourself courageous. to show yourself courageous,

to conduct yourselves valiantly. To conduct yourselves

valiantly. And I told us that this is a military

word. And when the soldiers hear this, they are

like, they are lats. Men be brave. They are at

a stand, they are at a stand because they know

that they are ready for action. They are ready

because that is very important. Because any form

of cowardice is a loss. is a loss. And the different

translations word this word I think I've never

seen I think a word that has varying like this

word. So because in English language it captures

because of the culture and the Greek language

in English language it's because of how English

language is you see several words being used

to communicate this word. So in the ESV you see

it as act like men in the esv if your bible is

an esv you say this translations interpreter

you see act like men esv and then in the niv

you see be courageous in the niv you see it as

be courageous and in the footnote of the nlt

because the nlt also uses be courageous in the

footnote you also see be men be men is a good

thing that is father's day you say be men Amen!

And we also celebrate the women too as well,

because we will not be here if not for our mothers,

we will not be standing if not for our wives

and our friends around. We thank God for, even

though you have every other day, like we almost

feel left out, but we don't even know if we don't

celebrate it as much. It says be men. Then in

the King James version, it says quite like...

Is it quite you like a man or quit you like a

man, right? Quit you like a man. Quit you like

men. Sorry, quit you like men. That's the new

King James. It says, yeah, I'd like men. I was

looking at it, I was like, thank God for the

other translations. Then the new King James says,

be brave. Be brave. So we'll see that the nuance

of all of this, and we say this one is just,

it's act like, like you have a nature that you

are showing, right? Even when a woman does something

like a man does, there is a characteristic that

is expected from you and a characteristic that

is there in you. Praise God! There is a characteristic

that is there in you. It says, conduct yourselves

valiantly, which is what the expectation is.

You are conducting yourself valiantly. You are

conducting yourself valiantly and it is very

important that we see that... Fear is the biggest

thing that silences or cripples, as in, fear

does more damage to a believer than persecution.

Fear does more damage to a believer than persecution.

Think of all the things that you would have done

that you didn't do because you were afraid. Think

of all the things that you had, in fact, you

had said, I will do this, and you didn't do it

because you are, it's not even persecution now.

Because the fear of persecution is still the

fear, it's still fear. So this fear and the devil

does in mind because the defeat is already like

if you're having a debate the defeat is already

because when he closes your mouth to speak that's

the defeat because your inability to speak because

you're afraid cripples you. Some of us are like

you're so scared that you can't even talk you're

so scared that you can't even say the words and

that's how crippling fear can be and it has a

grip has a grip and that's why he says Apostle

Paul did not just say, he did not end his letter

saying, let's be all things to all men. He didn't

end it in that way. He didn't say, let's be agreeable.

He didn't say, let's be agreeable. But he says,

be brave. Praise God. He says, be brave because

being courageous is not optional. Being courageous

is not an add -on. It's not something you add

to the list. Being courageous is not something

you add to the list in your Christian life or

your Christian work. Being courageous is what

is as a result of your union with God. Praise

God. And it's a necessity for the work. It's

a necessity for the work. Being courageous is

a necessity for the work. Being brave is a necessity

for the work. It says, because you are not saved

to be a coward. You're not safe to to always

be behind and some of us we make that excuse

of oh, that's the way I am That's the way I do

things. I don't I I as I say this but when I

say this now because Yeah, most people I think

you if you you know me now I think I think I

think we lived with we lived with some of the

pastors I by nature even though my wife I told

me I should stop saying I'm a shy person. I said

I still feel like sometimes I have a tendency

to be shy, right? But when the need arises, you

have to be brave, right? You have to be brave.

Standing before people to talk is not the easiest

thing to do. But because you have to do it, you

have to be brave. Because nobody is going to

hear you when you are... Praise God. You have

to be brave, you have to... Open your mouth and

boldly declare what it is you're saying because

it's necessary for the work and the commission

demands it. What we are commissioned to do is

to go out. It demands courage. So when you go

out, you forget what your temperament is. Forget

what your temperament is. Forget what your temperament

is. In fact, when you've been doing it for long,

you will not even remember you have that as part

of the temperament. People will not believe because

when I say like, no, you don't look like a But

we're not born like this. Praise God. And that's

the things that God does in us. People that know

us now can't relate with what they know of us

from before. Praise God. Because you have to

come out. You have to come out. And as Apostle

Paul started off, he says you want to be alert.

Yeah, you want to hold on to the doctrine. You

want to be brave. You want to... There has to

be... You have to be active. You know, when we

talk about active, active means a lot of things

to a lot of people. Praise God. But active here

means that there's an active courage to face

opposition, right? And then there's a strength

and enduring power because the strength we're

talking about is not physical strength. In fact,

the bravery we're talking about is not the bravery

and I would have loved us, but let's just go

a little bit further. Because one thing is anchored

on the other and what Apple support does is that

he puts it layer and layer. You see how important

everything he says layers on itself. You see

because if you're not standing fast, if you're

not standing, if you cannot stand fast, it'll

be hard for you to watch. Like the watching will

be difficult. If you're not brave, you will not

have anything to stand on like you will not have

use because we're going to see a person that's

not brave is spineless. That's what we say in

English. The person doesn't have spine and we

will see in the teaching that being courageous

is contagious. I think a famous preacher that

is now late talks about how it says the same

thing being courageous as being contagious because

when you're around brave people you tend to like

yeah we can do this and Apostle Paul himself

He declares this I think in Philippians 1 verse

Philippians 1:14

14. He says, because of what he's going through,

other people are confident in preaching the gospel.

Because of the fact that he's in chains and they're

seeing him go through this thing and still stand

fast. It's motivating them to do it. They don't

have any excuse. They don't have any excuse.

I saw a video of someone with cerebral palsy.

And if you know what that condition is, it's

difficult for you to speak. And the person is

preaching, and then at the end it says, if I'm

doing it, what excuse do you have? Because you

are able to speak clearly, you're able to talk,

sometimes you're afraid, but regardless, this

man says you don't have any excuse. Praise God.

And what God calls us to is bravery. And I wanted

us to see, or let's just see this. Let's see

Joshua. Let's look at Joshua. Joshua 1 verse

Joshua 1:9

9. And because this command is important, this

command is very important. This command is very,

very important. We see how it is repeated again

and again from Deuteronomy into the book of Joshua.

And this command in this book of Joshua is coming

from God Himself. He says, Have I not commanded

you? Joshua 1 .9, Havanah had commanded you,

be strong and of good courage. Do not be afraid.

You see anywhere it says courageous, you see

most of the times you see do not be afraid. Because

your fear can undermine, like the courage disappears,

like there's no courage when there's fear. Those

two things can't be there at the same time. It

says, or be dismayed. For the Lord your God is

with you everywhere you go. For the Lord your

God is with you everywhere you go. There's a

reason why you're not afraid. Because the Lord

your God is with you everywhere you go and it's

important that you see this. It's important that

you know this. That the Lord your God is with

you everywhere you go. And he repeats this again

and again in Verse 6 says, Be strong and of good

courage. For to this people you shall divide

as an inheritance the land which I swore to their

fathers to give you. 7 now says, Only be strong

and very courageous that you may this observe

to do according to all the law which Moses my

servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to

the right hand or the left. Notice that you're

staying in what has been instructed, that you

may prosper everywhere you go. This word, the

word be strong means to be firm. The word courageous

there means to not yield, to not yield, to not

yield, to not be afraid, to not yield, to not

be afraid. Bravery is a result of our reliance

in God's strength. Bravery is a result of our

dependence in God. Our trust in God is what helps

us to stand fast. We don't look at our situation

when we're brave. Because if we look at ourselves,

we don't have any reason to be. What are you

brave about? But when we say we are standing

fast, when we say we're doing, we're doing that

in the strength He supplies. We're doing that

in the bravery that we have because we have Him.

And all of this, you see it, because He has Him,

He's brave. And all of it is anchored on the

Word of the Lord to Him. We see the Word of the

Lord come to Him in Deuteronomy 31. We see the

Word of the Lord keeps coming and then even in

Joshua, it tells Him. Be bold, be strong, right?

Be strong, be courageous. Be strong, be courageous.

Be strong, be courageous and when it keeps coming

again and again and again and again is to make

you see, make you know, make you express what...

He can't be demanding from you what He has not

given to you. God cannot be demanding from you

what He has not given to you and He says it again

and again that you will get it and our trust

is in what the Lord has said. If the Lord says,

you are my child, I believe it, I trust him and

then I move around as his child. If the Lord

says, I have healed you, I move around not as

someone that is sick but as someone that is healed.

If the Lord says, I have delivered you from all

your trials, you move around like that. If the

Lord says, you are sound, you are safe, I'm taking

care of you, I'm providing for you in spite of

the lack that you are looking at, you hold on

to that word. You hold on to that word. You hold

on to that word. And even in this season, I see

that there are people that will be saying, oh,

I don't think I'll be able to graduate because

of this, because of that. If you have started

it and the Lord says you'll finish it, hold on

to that word. The question is, what is the word

of God that you see from His word that, in fact,

we will have times here when a prophetic word

is given to you. Someone speaks to you and then

you are doubting. Doubt will not help you. move

forward, praise God. That will not help you move

forward. And it's important that we hold on to

the Word of God. We hold on to the Word of God.

That is where bravery starts from. Bravery is

not a function of your willpower. It's not willpower.

You don't, you don't, you know, people can act

brave. And I wanted, I wanted, if we had more

time, but time is up. I wanted to show us how

the Apostle Peter was very quick to carry, to

bring out a sword and cut off someone's ear.

But the same person, when they asked, do you

know this man? He was very quick to say, I don't

know, he even swore. Swore and it was just not

fair. So, being brave to declare, to confess

the Lord is not a function of Jim Jim, as they

say in the Greek word. It's not a function of

your ginger. It's a function of the knowledge

you have of God. That is why knowledge is important,

because you know God to be true to His Word.

That is why you hold on to His Word. Praise God!

I will close on this note. No matter what it

is you're going through, no matter what the difficulty

is, no matter what the circumstances are, hold

on to the Lord. In Psalm 27 verse 14, we looked

Psalms 27:14

at it. David started a psalm by saying, the Lord

is my light and salvation. In whom shall I be

afraid? The Lord is the strength of my life.

Of whom shall I be afraid? In the ending of the

psalm, he says, wait on the Lord. Be of good

courage. And he shall strengthen your heart.

Wait, I say, on the Lord. Wait on the Lord. And

for most of us, we think waiting is like doing

nothing. Waiting is not doing nothing. As a student,

if you are waiting for graduation, you are walking

towards graduation. Even when you have graduated,

you have done other things. You are making preparations

to ensure that your graduation is smooth. You

are able to do it and do it properly. I want

you to just open your mouth and just thank God

because you are seeing the strength of the Lord

like never before. You are engaging. Your waiting

involves prayer. Your waiting involves the word.

Your waiting involves obedience to every word

spoken. Your waiting involves trusting Him. Your

waiting involves not wasting your time. It's

not a season of waste. It's a season where you

are refined. It's a season where you're strengthened.

And even for those that are graduating, you're...

Believing God for direction. You're waiting on

the Lord is for direction. You're watching. You're

at alert spiritually. You're at alert spiritually.

You're sensing where the Lord is leading you

to. There's no confusion. Tell yourself, I am

not confused. I want you to declare this word,

I am not confused. I am not confused. I can't

hear us. I am not confused. I know God's plans

and purpose for my life. I will wait on Him even

when it doesn't feel like it. I will be of good

courage. I will take courage. I will act courageously.

I am courageous. I have the strength of the Lord.

I am strong. When it doesn't make sense, I will

still trust Him. Even when it makes sense, I

trust Him. I will trust Him all days, always.

I am not anxious. I am not anxious. I am not

fearful. I am not afraid. I am not afraid. Because

He is with me. Because He is in me. He is walking

through me. We appreciate you being here today.

We hope you carry this word with you throughout

your week. Don't forget to check the show notes

for additional insights. Stay connected with

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with someone you care about. Until next time,

stay blessed.