Be Courageous
Greetings in Grace, dear Beloved Family!
What a GLORY-ous (do ya see that word play there…) time with Pastor Rich and Ms. Dorothy we were blessed to experience together this past weekend. It is truly a joy and honor to share my pastors with you, my favorite peeps.
This past Tuesday, I was ministering to the leadership team on courage, and it is still resonating deeply in my heart. We have become a society of slaves, filled with fear and insecurity stemming from dark and repetitive lies. I desire to raise up courageous, bold, and passionate Christian patriots who will run into the battle with five smooth stones of faith to defeat a blowhard tyrant who thinks his size alone is enough to cower the Body of Christ.
Webster’s 1828 dictionary:
COURAGE, noun [From the Latin word for the heart.] Bravery; intrepidity; that quality of mind which enables men to encounter danger and difficulties with firmness, or without fear or depression of spirits; valor; boldness; resolution. It is a constituent part of fortitude; but fortitude implies patience to bear continued suffering.
COURAGE that grows from constitution (the frame or temper of mind, affections or passions), often forsakes a man when he has occasion for it; courage which arises from a sense of duty, acts in a uniform manner.
A very important point to highlight for us all is that this is not optional to authentic believers. There was only one common statement that Jesus made to ALL of the seven churches in Revelation two and three:
“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches” … “To him that overcometh…”
Five of the seven churches were openly rebuked for some depravity of heart, leadership, or lifestyle, and told to repent. Smyrna was not told to repent, but had some folks there that were, “of the synagogue of satan,” and needed to address that situation. The seventh church (Philadelphia) was the good church that was generally encouraged. But, all seven churches received this above exhortation from the Head of the Church, Jesus Christ. This is twofold:
- He that has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches
Notice a few things here. Everyone has ears to hear, and so, to say, “he that has an ear to hear,” seems awkward or redundant. But, that is only because the Lord was directing his statement to the ears of the heart, not head. This is not about just a simple or peripheral listening but rather a deep and introspective oriented directive. We know that much of the context of the Book of Revelation is about End Times (Eschatology). Because you and I are entering into THE Great Awakening, that is the precursor to End Time events, we should REALLY be paying attention to this type of command from the Lord of Hosts. Also note that it is the Spirit Who is speaking the words that are needful and necessary in this time. Not the media, not the authorized newscasters, not the government, not the elites, not our friends or neighbors gathered around the water-cooler… but the Spirit. This is such a necessity in today’s world, more than I have ever seen before. With an abundance of lies, deceit, disinformation, and misinformation, it is impossible to know truth without the inward witness of the Holy Spirit. In our world, boys are not always boys, gender is fluid, men give birth, feelings are gods, America was founded by greedy slave-mongers, marriage can be redefined at will, babies are targets of legalized murder, illegal vaccine mandates can determine your society involvement, sexual deviancy is love, our children are systemic racists, the compassionate educators are grooming a generation for abuse, government is filled with haughty tyrants, and God is reduced to a punchline of a nasty joke.
If one is foolish enough to think that they, alone, will successfully navigate this ideological minefield of enemy terrain, the stark reality of the explosion from beneath their feet that rips away the fabric of their life and family will be more often deadly than just injurious. I am cautioning the global Body of Christ to be on guard, to protect their heart, and to humbly listen and follow the still small voice of God that is perpetually speaking in wisdom, truth, and comfort. The Holy Spirit is the only leader who can take us through this dangerous physical reality into the victorious safety of the perfect will of God. As a side note… this direction will not be spoken to the The Church (universal Church) or the singular believer, but directed to the local, remnant “churches” that are honoring God and following His order in their congregations.
- To him that overcomes
I heard another preacher say one time that to be an overcomer you need some stuff to come over. Built into this earthly, temporal part of our eternal walk with Jesus is a ton of adversity, persecution, demonic activity, and enemies hell-bent on destroying you and everything God desires to do and build. Specifically, our Father is desiring to build a glorious Kingdom first, inside every humble believer, and, then, expand that garden around them to eventually encompass the whole earth. To think or build a disingenuous belief system around a, “roses, butterflies, and Jesus,” ideal is laughable and foolish. Many, wrongly, think that if they were living their life in perfect harmony with the will and plans of God, there would be no resistance. That is simply not true.
“Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” – 2 Timothy 3:12
I know that does not give anyone warm fuzzies, but knowing the truth will make you free. If you know that persecution is part of the overcoming process, you will face it head-on, with COURAGE and expectancy in the redeeming power of God. Any sacrifices of self, any assaults on you because of the Gospel, any vile treatment cast upon you for righteousness’ sake will be enormously rewarded by your faithful Lord! Jesus keeps good books, and as the Judge of the whole universe, you should peacefully rest knowing that every ledger will be properly balanced. Additionally:
“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding [and] eternal weight of glory” – 2 Corinthians 4:17
It is, “but for a moment!” Keep it as a moment instead of a lifetime. This is done by controlling your soul and determining you will live in peace, joy, and love. There is a way to go through persecution and never experience the sting of the attacks… Stephen proved that clearly. Jesus fully embodied it.
Courage is incredibly rare today and vitally necessary for an overcomer. We were once the, “Land of the free and the home of the brave.” We can be again if we will all embrace this necessary character trait of courage and stand up to the bullies of society and heart. Fear is the most acceptable sin in the world today, and I declare that we, Beloved, will fight against it with a ferocity that the enemy has never known before. A courageous person sees where the fear is emanating from and instead of fleeing from it, they charge into it with fervent resolve, sword in hand, expecting the enemies of our Lord to be made His footstools!
Be Bold! Be Courageous!
In deep love,
Steve
