Hold on tight...or let go if you have the courage.
1 Samuel 17:45-48
"The Philistine also said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field."Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of
"Then it happened when the Philistine rose and came and drew near to meet David, that David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine."
Are you running towards the battle line? Do you even know where the battle is?
Saint listen. The reality is that time is of the essence (Eph 5:16), the reality is that we are engaged in spiritual warfare (Eph 6:12), the reality is that there is an enemy (1 Peter 5:8), the reality is that Satan is at work (Eph 2:2), and we must stand, fight, and live (Eph 6:10, 1 Thess 3:8).
Satan has lulled us to sleep with the 'I go to class, I listen, and I leave' mentality. He has experienced success on nearly every front in the lives of Christians to incapacitate, immobilize, and render ineffective the calling Christ has placed on us. But even Satan can't hold us, his success can't last (Rom 8:37). Saint listen, we must pray. Pray, pray, pray (1 Thess 5:17). We must believe in the power of prayer (James 1:6) and fight. I fear that many of you are succumbing to the lies of the enemy are buying in bulk into the distractions of this world. Let me ask you this: is Christ your treasure? I mean, do you consider Him to be the supremely valuable thing in your life? If you are unsure as to the answer of this question then might I invite you to examine the things you currently want. Think about the way that money is spent. Think about the other uses of your time. Think about how often you've thought of others exclusively this past week. You may ask is such selflessness Biblical? The answer is YES, resoundingly so!
"Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;" Philippians 2:3
More than being Biblical is the reality that this is the cornerstone to boldness. If you don’t believe me then remind me to introduce you to my mother. I come from a bold family, and it’s time I shared the little I know as to how it operates.
Most people view boldness as a task, a mindset in which they must distance themselves from the individual they are approaching and make their statements and (hopefully) get out before weapons appear. However, boldness works based on Philippians 2:3 – it begins with being others oriented. Love, breathe, work for, be taken advantage of by, study, other people. This is the key to boldness. It’s seeing a harsh comment made by them as a potential sign of deep seated pain. It’s looking at what they wear and seeing a lost soul in search of an identity. It’s observing their attitude and noting when they pause, when you might have an in. It’s realizing that your pride isn’t worth their eternity. Are you sitting by them? Let your heart break. Let yourself ask enough questions about them mentally until you can’t take it anymore. For example:
I was waiting for a bus at the Trigon bus stop at around 830 at night. I noticed a kid sitting next to me that was obviously not American. I’m not too good with cultural backgrounds, but I thought to myself “that guy is just not attractive”, and about half a second later, my Spirit chimes in and reminds me “but Jesus loves him”. I thought about some words someone said to me a long time ago that most likely triggered the insecurity and began to think about this kid sitting next to me. I began to place myself in his shoes. Foreign, possibly few friends (which means alone), maybe a freshman…I tried to relate with my own feelings of loneliness and realized that this guy has probably felt on a deeper level what I’ve only scratched the surface on. I realized then and there that sitting next to him wasn’t a coincidence, but an opportunity. This is my thought process before I approach someone, I think about all the suicides I’ve heard about and wondered if they could have been stopped if only someone had had the courage to say ‘howdy’ or ‘how’s school?’ I mean, think about it: we get lied to by Satan into not saying these simple phrases just because we don’t want to feel awkward. Just so we don’t look stupid for not knowing what to say. What if that saves someone’s life? Okay, so maybe 98% of the time the person you talk to will be like SuHendra, the guy at the bus stop. While he was a freshman, he had lots of friends, and was plugged into a Chinese church – the Spirit let me know that he was going to be fine. That’s all I really feel called to look for, just get them to a Church, get them to a spiritual safe-haven where the Spirit of Grace can minister to them. Sometimes that’s Breakaway, sometimes it’s my own homegroup, just somewhere with good doctrine. I have my favorites depending on how the Spirit leads me.
My point is that the first line to open a conversation is often the hardest. To do it we are breaking the cultural norms with the express intent to share the gospel. Really? I’m just trying to get you to open your mouth. Welcome to the front lines friend. Run!
