Standing Firm as a Christian

Thank you again, Mr. Tolar. And I did remember an announcement I forgot. And I'm not going to feel too bad, because this is one that I didn't have written down. But I believe for the parents of pre-teen kids, we were, we wanted to have a Sabbath school next Sabbath. I'm not sure if we had that on the calendar, but we had some things bumped earlier.

So next Sabbath, for those who are pre-teen kids, we're going to have a Sabbath school. I believe Darlene Helstebrand is planning to teach that. She sent me a message. See, she wasn't here to hand me an announcement, so I'm going to put the blame on her. And Darlene, if you're online listening, you'll just have to get me back later.

I will mention, though, that one of the things that came out of the GCE is an idea in the church that we'd like to modify somewhat how we do Sabbath school and actually using the name Youth Instruction to involve the parents a bit more. So we're going to be presenting that, maybe have a meeting with parents later on. Once again, that will be B.C. or no, A.C., after camp. But we'll look for that to hopefully, as I said, just involve parents and make what we do here at Service is more supporting the parents and reviewing lessons that you'll be going through with your kids.

I think that's a nice model, and they've been practicing that out in some of the congregations to the west that I think we can learn from them and follow that procedure or that methodology. I'm going to stop talking about that. Good to have things written down. And actually, I want to start off by talking about something not written down.

Many of you, I hope, well, many of us like to go see a movie now and then. And I've never been one that goes to see a whole lot of movies, partly because I'm too cheap to go pay for them in the theater. But lately, when you have a young child at home, you learn you'd like to go see a movie, but you just can't get away.

But you know, there's nothing like a really good movie sometimes to just really tell a story or take you in your mind to a different place and present something in a way you wouldn't get another way. That is, if the movie's well done. We all know there have been quite a few stinkers that aren't worth watching. We tend to forget the bad ones, but the good ones can leave quite an impression and a memory. You see a movie that really moves you.

Sometimes you remember not only the movie, but how and when you saw it. And I was thinking of that as I was jotting down my notes for the sermon. I thought, I remember clearly, for years and years, my favorite movie was Raiders of the Lost Ark.

I'm guessing most of you have seen that one. And I still remember the first time I saw it, partly because there wasn't some build-up, oh, I can't wait to go see this movie. I'd never heard of the movie. This was when I was, I believe, 17 years old, working at Wendy's.

And one of the few times I didn't have to work late into the night. So a buddy of mine who worked there, he finished the shift the same time as me. He said, hey, let's go see a movie. No, okay, why not? Had no idea what was playing. We walked into the theater. I don't even remember if I knew what it was until you saw Harrison Ford going through the jungles and stealing that idol and fighting snakes. And boy, I was just sucked right in. Another one that stuck with me is about 10 years later, coincidentally, I was working at Wendy's, but at different Wendy's, you know, as an assistant manager, you know, I'd had a few years of college in between.

Goes to show how good college does for you. At that point, about six years of college, and I had essentially the same job as before. But there was one day, and so I was thinking the funny story, because I showed up at work, and the restaurant was closed. There had been a pipe break. There was a bad leak. And they would have had me come in anyways, as it turned out the restaurant was closed, but they didn't want to have the workers in there without a manager to oversee and make sure they didn't steal the french fries or something.

So I was going to be there end of the evening with nothing much to do. I didn't think to bring a book or something, because I was planning to work. So one of the other managers said, well, hey, I can go rent a couple movies for you. We had one of these little built-in DCRs with a screen about this big that we used for training videos. So she went to the local blockbuster.

And what do you want to see? Well, I've been hearing commercials for this movie called Dead Poets Society. That sounds kind of interesting. It was pretty interesting. How many of you have seen that one? Not everybody. It's one now. There are some messages in it that I don't fully agree with, but it's about a teacher who really wants to motivate the young men with whom he's working.

And it had inspired me in some ways. Matter of fact, it was one of those things that, you know, I was already contemplating what to do with my life, because as I said, after six years of college here I was working at Wendy's again. That was one of the things that cemented that I wanted to become a teacher. And, you know, within a year I was enrolled in the grad program studying history. And part of the reason I wanted to mention that, I've seen commercials on TV lately where they show different scenes, but for the soundtrack they play a section of that movie.

You might have heard it, and if you hadn't seen the movie you wouldn't recognize where it was from. But it's a bit of a speech that Robin Williams' character makes. The teachers played by Robin Williams, surprisingly not a funny role, but very inspiring. And if you've heard it, he starts off saying, medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life, but poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.

And he begins quoting a poem by Walt Whitman. At the end of that poem he says, you are here, life exists, and the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse. The powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be? And that's what they play in the commercial, and it's sort of, they do that because it's inspiring. It makes you think, I've got to get one of those computers so that I can do something extraordinary with my life.

Matter of fact, part they don't play, but I remember Robin Williams keeps telling those young men, make your lives extraordinary. And he motivates them to go do great things. And I don't know about you, that's why I want to talk about movies. I love it when they do that, and I'm not going to talk about movies the whole time. But you know, sometimes the right rhetoric, sometimes with the right setting can really move you.

With that in mind, I thought of a couple others, if you'll indulge me. There are a couple movies that have some brief but kind of stirring battle speeches. One of them is, as I said, for a long time Raiders was my favorite movie. If there's one that I would make as a candidate to possibly replace it, it was Braveheart.

And this one, of course, Mel Gibson plays William Wallace, the great patriot of Scotland. And he leads this poorly equipped 13th century Scottish army to face this vastly superior army of English soldiers. And so they're lined up on the field, and some of the Scottish men look at what's across the field, and they start just leaving. So he shouts at them, he's riding on a horseback, why do you go?

And they say, well, we're going to die. And this is where I start the speech. He says, we all end up dead. It's just a question of how and why. Every man dies, not every man really lives. And he says, I am William Wallace, and I see a whole army of my countrymen here in defiance of tyranny. You've come to fight as free men, and free men you are. What will you do with that freedom? Will you fight? Some of them say, no, no. One of them says, fight against that? No, we'll run and we'll live. William Wallace says, I fight and you may die.

Run and you'll live, at least for a while. And dying in your beds many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they will never take our freedom. And of course, he's riding on the horse and they all go, run! You know, they run across the field and win this improbable victory. And if you're like me, when you're sitting in a theater, you're thinking, yeah, I want to run across the field and fight the English.

I'll read one more. This is even shorter. And it's a speech, it's from one of the Lord of the Rings movies. And there's some, again, some parts of that that I don't want to agree with, but in the third movie, towards the climax, the good guys come and they're going to face the forces of evil. So they're in front of the gates of the evil empire and they become surrounded by this army of inhuman creatures.

They're really ugly. That's why you don't want to take little kids to see this movie. And it looks like it's going to be terrible. And so the king gives this rousing speech to the men. He says, sons of Gondor, sons of Rohan, my brothers, I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship. But it is not this day, an hour of woes and shattered shields and the age of men comes crashing down.

But it is not this day. This day we fight. By all that you hold dear on this good earth I bid you stand, men of the west. And of course, they win the battle. It's this great epic thing. And again, if you're watching, I hope you're caught up in it.

This powerful words that are a call to action for a noble cause. That kind of thing is stirring to me, especially when they're delivered by a well-trained orator, which is not me, with stirring music in the background. I'll confess, you know, I'm not going to be able to speak these lines as well as Mel Gibson. But as I was thinking of that, I said, I've got a, I've got something he didn't, I've got a nice stereophonic system and a little bit of stirring music. So before I move into the heart of this, perhaps I'd ask Mr.

Tolar if he'll play just a few seconds of some stirring music to lead into the rest of the sermon.

I'm not going to make a call to battle today. You don't know how much restraint it took. I usually play this when I'm in the car and I can sing it as loud as I want and nobody else hears it. But I would like to stir us up a little today to remind us of what it takes to stand firm as a Christian, that we have to endure to the end, as Jesus tells us. One of the ways I've heard this summarized, and I've heard it a number of times by Dr.

Ward, he sums it up in what he calls the Three C's. Courage, conviction, and commitment. Courage, conviction, and commitment. We are a special people. Not because any of us are particularly great on our own, but because God the Father has called us. He's chosen each of us to be in the forefront of this movement to bring many sons into his family. In a world that's deceived by Satan, and living in ways of life that disregard God's law, that spurn God's standards, and in a world that because of that is careening towards destruction, in that kind of world, God has called you.

And you and you, in all of us, he's called us to stand in the gap and make up the hedge, as it says in Ezekiel 23. And for us to do that, we very much need those Three C's. Courage, conviction, and commitment. I like to say them in that order because it rolls off the tongue a little better. But actually I want to begin with the one that tends to come first in chronological order, and that's conviction. Conviction. I like to describe it as that feeling, that knowing that you have to do something, or in some cases, to not do something.

I've heard it described as a weight that's laid upon your mind and your heart. It's that obligation you feel. Let's consider where that comes from. If you'll turn with me to John 16, in verse 8. John 16, in verse 8. Jesus Christ, of course, on the last night, he would have with his apostles before his crucifixion.

One of the things he did was introduce to them the idea that they would receive the Spirit of God within them, the Holy Spirit. And I'm going to correct to use the word it rather than he because we believe it's not correct because of the grammar. But it says, when it has come, it will convict the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment.

True spiritual conviction must occur as a result of God's Holy Spirit working in a person's mind, giving that person understanding, a knowing of right and wrong, of sin, of righteousness and judgment. The Holy Spirit enables that. But something else is also needed. And that something else is the word of God, as he says in verse 13 of this chapter. However, when it, the Spirit of truth, has come, it will guide you into all truth.

It will not speak of its own authority, but what it hears it will speak and it will tell you of things to come. One last scripture, if you want it, it might need to turn the page or it might be across your page. John 1717 is where Christ is praying to the Father and he says, sanctify them by your truth.

Your word is truth. The Holy Spirit doesn't just suddenly make us feel that we have to do something out of the blue or suddenly input information into our head, but it enables us to understand the words that are in this book. The word of God is truth. And that's why he called that the Spirit of truth. And the Holy Spirit enables us to understand those words. The words that God speaks. The words that he inspired his servants to write and that he preserved down through the ages.

So the Holy Spirit and the word of God we could call the two great convicting agents. Those two agents, the word of God with the Holy Spirit, are what convicts us. And you have God's word. It's sitting on your lap, most of you. Some of you might have it electronically stored in a tablet or notebook. But it takes more than just the knowledge. And that's where the Holy Spirit makes a difference.

That conviction is something more. It's the something that affects you. It can drive you in a sense, well, no, it's more appropriate to say the Holy Spirit leads you, but your conviction pushes you to want to live by that knowledge. It's not just knowing. One of the stories I remember from my past, and I think I've related this before, some 20 years or so ago when I was attending graduate school when I was finally done working at Wendy's.

I shouldn't say finally, I actually loved working at Wendy's, but I was going to graduate school down at Texas A&M, and I met a very pretty young lady. And surprisingly, she liked me. So we started spending some time together.

And she attended Sabbath services with me three or four times. We talked about the Bible. I explained our beliefs. I explained my beliefs. And I remember in the end, something she said stuck with me. She said, I understand what you believe, but I don't feel that I have to do those things.

I just don't feel I have to do that. And that was it. There was no more reason for us to spend time together. We want no reason to date. And I'll confess, you know, how when you're young, you get that sort of, I thought, well, she's not in the church, but maybe God is calling her just for me. Now, apparently he wasn't. And it worked out much better in the long run. I met someone just as pretty who was convicted and is. As I said, she was smart. She could comprehend the knowledge, but she was not convicted. I was. I knew the truth. And I knew that I knew it.

Just like you. You know the truth of God's way of life, of his plan of salvation for mankind.

You know it. And you know that you know it. You're convicted of it. At least I'm convinced most of you are. Some in this room are too small to perhaps have that conviction, but they have the calling, the invitation that's available. Now, some who are younger sometimes when in that case, they wait. They're looking for that dramatic calling that tells them, you know, a voice from heaven to say, okay, you are called. This is what you need to do. I believe we don't need that. You don't really. Now, you can realize your conviction without it. But it might be worth still looking at an example of someone who did. Let's see where that comes about. If you'll turn with me to the book of Acts, chapter 9. This is an often told and well-known story of the Apostle Paul before he was the Apostle Paul. And I want to consider his example. I'm going to come back to it a number of times today. At the point we first meet him in Scripture, he was known as Saul, not Paul. He wasn't some young adult who'd grown up in the church and was waiting for God to show him what he should do. He wasn't wondering if and when he should be baptized, but rather he was zealously persecuting God's church, thinking he was doing God a great service. So I'll begin reading in verse 1 of Acts 9. Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven, and he fell to the ground. Probably his knees buckled, and he was made weak. He heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? He said, who are you, Lord? And the Lord said, I'm Jesus, who you are persecuting. It's hard for you to kick against the goats.

Obviously, this came as quite a shock to Paul, who thought this Jesus must have been some upstart and people have been deceived into following, so he was going to make him change, and suddenly he's knocked to the ground in this blinding light. And who is this speaking to him? Jesus.

So, when he gets that answer, in verse 6, trembling and astonished, he said, Lord, what do you want me to do? Now, it's interesting. Once he was confronted with the knowledge of God, Paul, he didn't presume that he knew what to do. He didn't say, oh, you're Jesus. Well, in that case, this is what I need to do. And he'd tell him, no, he said, okay, you tell me what to do. He was feeling very humble at that point. What do you want me to do? That should be that way for all of us.

And we don't have to come to that knowledge by being knocked down and struck blind.

For us, it could be in the quiet of our own home or in our car. You know, it could be someone sitting in Sabbath services. And I think it was, I don't remember, it might have been something like that for me where suddenly I realized, oh, I do know this. This is God that I'm dealing with.

I need to do what he's telling me to do. Now, for Saul, the conclusion didn't come to him. All together, a little bit of time would pass. If we pick up here in verse 6, the Lord, what do you want me to do? Arise, go to the city and you'll be told what you must do.

And the men who journeyed with him, they stood speechless. They heard a voice but didn't see anyone. Now, a later account says they heard a noise and thought maybe it was thunder. So, they weren't privy to this conversation. And Saul arose from the ground. When his eyes were opened, he saw no one. He was blinded. They led him by the hand and took him into Damascus. And he was there three days. Three days without sight and without something else. He neither ate nor drank.

That's a good example for us. When we seek God's will and his direction, fasting can help us get past our own human short-sightedness. Because, as I said, it's easy to say, well, you're God, I'm going to decide what I need to do. Fasting can help us to humble ourselves and say, please, you tell me what to do. And I want to put my own will aside to see what you want me to do. And, of course, the Apostle Paul did something else, as we'll see it and we follow the story.

So, yeah, I'm going to pick up in verse 10, when God works with one of his members, perhaps probably a minister there in Damascus. The Eternal said to him, that is a person named Ananias, arise and go into the street called Straight and choir at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus. I'm sure Ananias said, what? Saul of Tarsus? He'd heard that name. For behold, he's praying. We're going to add this. We know Paul was fasting and he was also praying.

And God tells Ananias, in a vision, he's seen a man named Ananias coming and putting his hand on him so that he might receive his sight. But I wanted to point that out. Fasting and praying is a good way for us to seek God's will, and it's a way for us to test or to confirm our conviction.

As I said, that conviction, God's Spirit and God's Word, lays that weight on our mind and says, this is God's way. This is his will. But if we're not certain, fasting and praying can make it certain to us. And what Paul had to do next becomes clear in verse 17. Ananias went his way, entered his house and laying his hands on him. He said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales. He received his sight at once and he arose and was baptized. So the Apostle Paul was, unlike most people, usually it's be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit. God had a special calling for Paul and let it be the other way around. And that makes sense. Few of us have had or ever will have that type of dramatic calling.

But when we are called, when we feel that conviction, the first thing we need to do is still the same. It's what Peter said in Acts 2.38, repent and be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit.

But it doesn't end there. That's a beginning. We know from the writings of Paul himself that God gives different roles to different members of his church. Once you are baptized, you enter the body of Christ, you're filled with the Holy Spirit. What do you do next? We have different roles, different parts of the body. Paul's role was to travel and to preach the Gospel. And he felt a deep conviction. Let's turn over to Acts 18. A deep conviction is what we need to do.

A deep conviction that he couldn't ignore. Acts 18 and verse 5.

When Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit. He was compelled by the Spirit and he testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. And when they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook out his garments. He said, Your blood be upon your heads, I'm clean.

He followed through on that conviction of what he had to do. He said, From now on, I'll go to the Gentiles. And of course, this is kind of an amusing passage because he went to the home of the commander of the synagogue who was right next door. So Paul basically shook out his garments and said, I'm going to go preach to the Gentiles. And he walked next door and ended up having more followers come to hear him than were going to the synagogue. But remember, he was doing this because he felt compelled by the Holy Spirit. He was convicted. And as I said, Paul had a weight laid on his mind and on his heart through the conviction of God's Spirit. Let's read it one more time in his words in 1 Corinthians 9 and verse 16. Sorry, I thought I heard some dogs howling outside.

Might have been louder than I thought. 1 Corinthians 9 and verse 16. Paul is explaining part of what he does and why to the members in the congregation of Corinth. And he says, for if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me. Yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. He was compelled in the Spirit. He had to do this.

That seems similar to me to what we read of Peter and John in Acts 4 and 20. I'm not going to turn there, but remember they were challenged by the chief priests and told, don't preach in this name, the name of Jesus Christ. And they said, we cannot but speak the things that we've seen and heard. They were convicted. We too must be convicted. Not necessarily to preach. That's not for all of us, but we must be convicted to live by God's law, to follow this way of life. I've had conversations with people who describe that in their early calling as they were beginning to understand the truth. I've heard people say, I saw that the seventh day was the Sabbath. And at one point, you know, I've heard fellows say, I talked to my wife and said, I have to do this. I have to start keeping the Sabbath. People have felt this conviction sometimes when they didn't have any affiliation with the church. They studied God's Word and saw it in there and said, I need to do this. And some people have started seeking a church that teaches and practices this kind of truth.

And that was many of you. Some of you have grown up in it and learned it all along. Some of you came to this truth and said, I got to do this. I'm convicted. Are there some people out there I can do it with? And of course, God will lead you to find a group of his people. Do you still feel that way? Do you still feel that weight on your mind and heart? And I want to caution to mention, of course, it's not a heavy weight. Let's turn to Matthew 11. Matthew 11, verse 29. When I say it's a weight on your mind and heart, it's not a weight that crushes you and grinds you down. It's this weight. Matthew 11, verse 29. Jesus says, take my yoke upon you and learn from me. For I'm gentle and lowly in heart. You'll find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

So that yoke, that burden, that weight that's put on us is light, especially when God gives us the strength to carry it. But being convicted by God's word and by God's Spirit moves us. It leads us to take the right actions, to think the right thoughts. But that's the beginning. And then we follow through to continue that way requires commitment. Commitment means remaining true to the cause, not starting and then falling off. In many cases, a deep and total commitment means a person puts everything he has on the line in support of that to which he is committed.

I thought of a good... when I was searching for an example, I couldn't think of a better one than that of Ruth. If you want to turn to the book of Ruth, well, remember Ruth was a Moabite woman. We've studied or examined her life in Scripture recently. She, you know, she was raised not knowing God's way, but she married into a family of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Judah in particular. And at some point, we don't know when for sure, but at some point she became convicted. It became convinced in her mind that this God of Israel was the one true God. He wasn't just a God, he was the God. And at some point she made a commitment. Not only would she stay with her mother-in-law and be part of this Israelite family, but she made a commitment because she was convicted. This would be her God and her religion. Let's read her eloquent statement. It's one of my favorites in the Bible, so I turn to it when I can. In Ruth chapter 1 in verse 16, Naomi had been employing her, go back to your own family, you know, and you'll get married again. But Ruth said, and treat me not to leave you or to turn back from following after you. For wherever you go, I will go. Wherever you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. She could have said, the God will be my God. And where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. The eternal do so to me, and more also, if anything but death, parts you and me. That's a commitment. You know, in the Apollo space program, which seems like a very long time ago, when we were sending rockets and then men first to orbit the moon and then land on it, the planners and the engineers who designed this mission plotted out mathematically to know where a certain point in the journey was that they called the point of no return. The point of no return was when the rocket had gone enough distance that they would no longer have enough fuel to abort the mission and be able to return safely to Earth. The only way to get back was to continue on to the moon. And of course, the way it worked, they would be caught in the moon's gravitational pull and swing around and they could get enough momentum, they could return that way. But there was no other return other than that. You know, they'd made that, passed that point of no return. Ruth passed her point of no return on her way to Bethlehem when she made that statement to Naomi.

Likewise, I think most of us, we have passed the point of no return.

Jesus, I'm not going to turn there, but in Luke 9, 62, Jesus said that no one having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God. That's that point of no return. No one who puts his hand to the plow, if he looks back, he said, you're not fit for the kingdom of God. We've put our hands to the plow. We need our commitment to last. The scripture that we used to quote quite often, Matthew 24, 13, is where Christ said that, he who endures to the end shall be saved.

We never want to forget that. I don't think we say it quite as often as we used to, but it's not that we don't think about it. We each want to endure to the end, not just to be saved, it's not to avoid punishment and the tribulation and things like that, but because we want the good things that come from being in God's family. We want to keep our hand on that plow because we're committed to what God is doing, to what he wants us to become. He wants us to become his children, children of God, living with him, inhabiting eternity. The Apostle Paul believed in that kind of commitment. As I said, he was convicted and we can read all through the book of Acts and in his writings how he followed through. I want to look at the point where we see Paul didn't have a lot of patience for someone who lacked in commitment. If you'll turn to Acts chapter 13, there's an example, and I don't want to run the Apostle Paul down, but I always find this interesting because what he expected in himself he wanted to see in others as well. Acts 13 is when he and Barnabas were first sent out on their first, what's called missionary mission. That doesn't make sense. Their first tour to preach the gospel, to raise up churches. The Holy Spirit works somehow. We don't know if it was an audible voice or if God was speaking through prophets, but it says in Acts 13 verse 2, that they ministered to the Lord and fasted. The Holy Spirit said, separate to me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. Then, having fasted and prayed and lay hands on them, they sent them. That is, the membership of the church sent them away.

So being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seliukia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. They arrived in Salamis. They preached the Word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. I was coming to this point. They had John also as their assistant. This John is the one we call John Mark. Actually, the last verse in the previous chapter shows when they had been to Jerusalem, and they came back in chapter 12 verse 25. Barnabas and Saul returned to Jerusalem, and they took with them John, whose surname was Mark. This John Mark, he came back with him probably a young man saying, I want to be part of this. I'm convicted. I want to go preach the Gospel. I want to help do God's work. And so when they were moved by the Spirit to go travel and preach the Gospel, John Mark went with them. But, you know, he had a little bit of a problem.

He didn't finish the mission. In Acts 13 verse 13, when Paul and his party set sail from Paphos, they came to Persia and Pamphylia, and John, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem.

John, we don't know. And we wouldn't think anything necessarily bad. We might have thought, well, this was part of the plan. John was going to go with him just so long, and then he had family business. He had to go back to Jerusalem. But if we turn to chapter 15, we'll see that it probably wasn't like that. Probably Paul and Barnabas were expecting John Mark to go with them all the way through the good points and the bad points, through the stoning, through whatever would happen.

And we don't know why John Mark didn't. But later, Paul said, ah, you didn't have the commitment to go with us all the way last time. I don't want you to come on the second mission. They were going to go travel again. Earlier in the chapter, Paul said, hey, let's go visit all the people we've preached the gospel to and see how they're doing. Sorry, I knew I had more coffee than I should have.

We'll end the sermon early if I keep going at this rate, and I just put the jinx on it. Now we'll go late. Now let's go to verse 37. Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark. Paul insisted they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. The contention became so sharp they parted from one another. Barnabas took Mark and Paul took Silas and continued on.

So as a young man, Mark faltered in his commitment. He was convicted, but he didn't follow through. Now I don't want to make this as a permanent black mark on John Mark, because it doesn't mean that it's never acceptable to change your mind about something. You can make a commitment that turns out to be a bad one. You don't want to follow through on a commitment that's hurting others or yourself. And of course, later John Mark changed. I'll give you the reference. In 2 Timothy 4, verse 11, we see that Paul forgave John Mark. At that point, he says, bring him here. He's useful to me in the work. So at some point, between when he was a young man and faltered, and when he was older and was reliable, John Mark strengthened his commitment and learned to follow through. I want to show this, as I said, this comparison. Paul apparently never wavered. He was convicted, he was committed, he went through. He was a man of deep conviction and enduring commitment. And so he expected that of everyone. Paul might have been a little extreme or a little hard on others, but when we think about it, we would do well to be more like Paul and less like John Mark when he was young. Let's turn to Matthew, chapter 24. Matthew 24, verse 45.

This is another oft-quoted scripture that we would do well to remember.

Matthew 24, verse 45.

Who then is a faithful and a wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. Doesn't say, and of course it goes on, whether he comes in the first watch, the last watch, or the breaking of dawn, whenever he comes, you don't know when it'll be, but you want to be that servant who's found so doing. Honoring the commitment, not taking your hand off of the plow. It's easy in the excitement and flush of when we first feel convicted to say we're committed. I say, for some reason that stuck in my mind, you ever say something, you say, well, that's my story and I'm sticking with it. Well, we want to stick with our story, the one we said earlier, to endure and to stay committed. That's what we call being faithful. I want to bring in that word. Most often we talk about faith as a matter of our deep-held belief, which is really a part of our conviction. But being faithful also means being committed and honoring that commitment.

I want to tie in the concept of being faithful. I want to use a scripture to help me tie that to a slightly different meaning of the word commitment. So if you'll turn to 2 Timothy 2, 2 Timothy 2 and verse 2, but I want to, while you're turning there, I'll mention there another definition of the word commitment means to place something into a sacred trust. To place something into a sacred trust. Now, when we commit ourselves to God's way, we're putting ourselves into trust. That could tie into Mr. Shoemaker's sermonette, that we're trusting God. We put ourselves in His trust. And what we trust in is God Himself and His way of life. But at the same time, God has committed something to us. He's committed to us His truth. The knowledge and understanding of His way of life. God has entrusted us with that pearl of great price, as Jesus calls it in one of His parables. Paul highly valued that which was committed to Him. And so he carefully passed it on to others and gave them direction to make sure that you pass it on. As we're going to read here in 2 Timothy 2, verse 2, Paul writes to Timothy, who we believe was a younger minister, "...all the things that you've heard from me among many witnesses commit these to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also." There's a chain of trust, of commitment, that started back then, as continues up to now, and hopefully will continue beyond our generation.

If we read his letters, we can learn that Paul says that he learned the truth from Jesus Christ directly. After that incident where we read, he was knocked down on the way to Damascus. And he asked God, what do I do? Jesus told him to repent and be baptized. Later he went to Jerusalem. And then Paul says at one point he went into the wilderness for three years. And he says Jesus Christ taught him, taught him the truth, His way of life. And Paul, having that truth, committed it to Timothy. And we could see also to others, like Silas and Titus and John Mark even.

And he instructed them to do the same. God has made sure that His truth would continue being preserved, that it would be passed down to every generation, all the way up to us here today.

That puts a burden on us. We have to do the same. Just what it says here in 2 Timothy 2, 2, that could be written to us. All the things that you've heard from me, or that you've learned from this book, commit to faithful men, and hopefully they'll be able to teach others. To us has been committed the great and sacred truth of God's plan, the great and sacred truth of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. And like Timothy, we're committed, we're obligated to commit that truth to others. Can we commit ourselves to do that? Now I want to say, the ones we're most responsible to teach that truth is our children. That's where it starts. As I said, I'm not saying go buy a soap box so you can get out of the park and get on it and start teaching, because a lot of people, that'd be like throwing your pearl before swine. You don't want to do that. But Deuteronomy 6 tells us about how we should do that. When we have children, speak to them when we lie down, when we rise up, when we walk by the way. All the time we model this way of life. And we explain it as we go. We teach our children with the expectation that when they're grown, they will teach their children. And if opportunity arises to teach others, as Peter said, be ready to give an answer to anyone that asks you a reason of the hope that lies within you. The sacred truth has been committed to us. We need to be ready to commit it on to others. As a church, as the body of Christ, we must be committed to preach the gospel. Jesus commissioned the church. And I find interesting if you look at the root of those words, commissioned is another way of saying to have a commit, be committed to do something. So he commissioned to us, he committed to us the job of going to all the world, making disciples of all nations. So upon baptism, each of us committed ourselves to do the work, to live this way of life.

We must remain committed to the end. We must hold fast to the truth, the truth that was committed to us, put it in trust to others. That's not a small thing. It's a tall order. And that's where I say to fulfill these obligations, we need plenty of that third C. As I said, I like to say it first, but it comes next in the order of explanation, and that's courage. We need courage. I think we tend to talk about courage in sermons, perhaps a little more often than conviction and commitment, partly because there's so many great stories in the Bible to talk about courage. And we know what courage is, at least sort of. One of the things I like to stress when I talk about it is to realize that true courage doesn't mean never having any fear. Only a foolish or an ignorant person never feels afraid of anything. Courage is what leads a person to control his fear and then proceed in spite of danger or threat or challenge, controlling the fear that's there but not letting that control you. And in that sense, we can see courage as a product of conviction and commitment. If you have conviction, if you're committed, the courage flows from that. That's why, as I said, I like to say courage, conviction, and commitment, but I think it's best to talk about the courage after conviction and commitment. And if you start saying that three times fast, it gets difficult.

When a person is truly convicted of what's right and committed to stick with it, that person can courageously face and defeat challenges. And the challenges can come of various sorts. I've heard it said that there are two main types of courage. There's physical courage, which means being able to face physical danger or pain. And that's not inconsiderable. You know, if you, you know, they might cut your hand off, you need physical courage to defy that or to go out in the face of battle, as soldiers do. There's also moral courage. Moral courage is being willing to uphold true values, to live by God's standards, regardless of temptation, regardless of mental or emotional pain. And that mental or emotional pain can come from unexpected sources.

A couple of the classic examples of courage can be found in the book of Daniel, if you'd like to start turning there. In the third chapter of Daniel, matter of fact, maybe I'll turn there.

In the third chapter of Daniel, you read in the first part of it that King Nebuchadnezzar, the most powerful man in the world, physically speaking, had decided to set up this great gold alt-idle, and he commanded everybody, when this music plays, you bow down and you worship my idol. If not, you're going to suffer a very painful death. But three young Jewish men who had been taken and captive to this land, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael, whom we better know as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they were convicted that they should obey God, that they should worship no graven images. They were committed to live by God's law for life.

And that led to a display of great courage when they were challenged. Daniel 3, let's begin in verse 14. As I said, they refused to bow down when the music played and the officers saw it, rather than strike them down immediately, they brought them up to Nebuchadnezzar. Of course, they were officers in his government, so they weren't just, you know, peons that the soldiers felt free to punish. So the emperor himself spoke to them. Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image that I've set up? Now, if you're ready, at the same time that you hear the sound of the horn flute, harp, lyre, sultry, and all symphony of music, and if you fall down and worship the image which I've made, good! So he's giving them another chance. But if you do not worship, you'll be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

Who is the God that'll deliver you from my hands? No? How long did they take to answer? Apparently, not long. In verse 16, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. Or some translations say, we don't need to be careful in this. If this is the case, our God who we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O King. But if not, let it be known to you, O King, we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you've set up. And that if He wants to, our God can save us. And if He wants to, He will. But even if not, we're not bound down to that idol. We don't serve your gods, because they knew they are no gods. I said, that took courage. You know, we know the story so often from reading in Bible stories, but when... think of it, these were real young men showing the moral courage to talk back to the emperor of the nation, because he was wrong, but also to face that burning fiery furnace.

And that made Nebuchadnezzar mad. You know, he said, you heat up that furnace seven times hotter than usual. Bind, you know, tie him up and throw him in. It was so hot that it killed the soldiers that put him in. And we know the result of the story. God miraculously saved them alive.

God showed Nebuchadnezzar, they were right. I do have the power to save them. But the point I wanted to make is they had what they call... what we call the courage of their convictions, not knowing if God would save them or not. They didn't know but what they were going to die. So they had that courage regardless of whether or not God would save them, because they were convicted and committed. To them, it was all the same. We'll be in God's kingdom one way or the other. I'm not going to take the time to read the similar story of Daniel himself. I've sometimes wondered where was Daniel when this was going on? Maybe he was on vacation that week or... you know, he was somewhere, but he got his own chance. His story is in the sixth chapter. In that, Daniel was put under a threat of death because this proclamation goes out. Anybody who prays or makes a petition to anyone other than the king is going to be thrown into a lion's den.

Knowing that, Daniel was still committed to his conviction. In that story, Daniel will not stop worshiping and praying to that one true God. And he chooses to exercise the courage of his convictions by praying and doing so in a way that could be publicly seen. Not in a closet, not hiding, but where people could know that he was committed. And he was arrested, was tossed in the lion's den. God worked a miracle to save Daniel as well. But we do ought to remember, that came after Daniel's act of courage. And the courage came after he committed to God's way of life, which followed on the conviction that it was the only true way of life. And as I said, those stories come readily to mind, and I think of the cartoon images in the Bible stories. Let's return to the example of the Apostle Paul that we don't read in Bible stories as often. And it's interesting, I think of the Apostle Paul, knowing that he wrote most of the New Testament, we think of him as a scholar and a bookish sort. You know, I think of him, you know, as, you know, not an athlete and not some great physical specimen who would show this great physical courage. But we need to remember, of course, your size and strength has nothing to do with courage. And Paul repeatedly showed some amazing courage in the face of both physical and moral challenges. I'm going to turn to Acts 21. Acts 21 and verse 10. Because I love what he said in this case. He's on his way to Jerusalem, and he'll be told that he's going to be imprisoned if he goes to Jerusalem. And let's look at his reaction. Acts 21 and verse 10. Of course, he's traveling with a company, so it's written in first person, we believe, by Luke. And it says, we stayed many days, or as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agebus came down from Judea. When he'd come to us, he took Paul's belt and bound his own hands and his feet. And he said, thus says the Holy Spirit, so shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. When we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him. That is, we pleaded with Paul not to go to Jerusalem. So there's a clear danger. It's not just made up. And Paul has friends, fellow Christians, pleading with him, don't go face that danger. And then how does Paul react? In verse 13, Paul answered, what do you mean, weeping and breaking my heart? I'm ready not only to be bound, but to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. Now, I suspect Paul might have been kind of laughing. What are you talking about? You're trying to break my heart? I don't care about being bound. I'll die if I have to for the name of God. It wasn't that he was some thrill seeker or just wanting to defy odds and risk death. It was that he was committed to serving God. And for that, he would defy danger and death. And this wasn't a case of Paul bragging, you know, when there's no soldiers around, he'd follow through a number of times on this commitment with those things motivating him. With the courage... let me back up. With the conviction and the commitment, courage was the natural result for Paul. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians 11 and verse 23.

2 Corinthians 11. Let's see in Paul's own words. And once again, there's another part of this where he says, I don't like bragging like this, but you pushed me into it. So he wanted to go on record as saying, look, I've done these things. And he didn't glory in the fact that God had given him visions or worked miracles. He took the most pride in the suffering that he did, because I think perhaps it demonstrated his commitment and his conviction. 2 Corinthians 11 verse 23 says, Are they ministers of Christ? I speak as a fool. I am more, and labors more abundant, and stripes above measure, and prisons more frequently, and deaths often. From the Jews, five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times, I was beaten with rods. Once, I was stoned. Three times, I was shipwrecked. A night and a day, I've been in the deep. And journeys often, and perils of waters, perils of robbers, and perils of my own countrymen, and perils of the Gentiles, and perils in the city, and perils in the wilderness, and perils of the sea, and perils among false brethren, and weariness, and toil, and sleeplessness often, and hunger, and thirst, and fastings often, and cold and nakedness. Besides, the other things, which comes upon me daily, my deep concern for the churches. Who's weak, and I'm not weak. Who's made to stumble, and I don't burn with indignation. If I must boast, I'll boast in the things which concern my infirmity. The God of my Father and Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I'm not lying. This was no easy life that Paul led. But Paul was committed, and the courage of his convictions came through. He faced all these things with courage. As I said, largely because he'd made the previous commitment, and he was convicted. Now, all of us, I'm sure, hope we would and could show that same kind of commitment and courage in the face of death or torture.

And, to be honest, that might be ahead. We don't know how close we are to the end. We read of the great tribulation. In the 1960s and 70s, we thought it was right on top of us. It turned out not to be.

It might come at a time we don't expect. But, one thing I can say for certain, we tend to be more often tested in the areas of moral courage. We might be willing to face lions over prayer, like Daniel. But do we shrink in the face of ridicule? In a world that makes fun of Christianity, do we have the courage of our convictions to stand up and say, I'm one of them. I worship God. I am a believing and practicing Christian.

When everyone is saying, oh, do you believe that God created something? Everyone knows evolution is true. Our young members could be in a crowd of people using foul language, taking God's name in vain. It's real easy to just follow in and do the same. But it takes courage, conviction, and commitment to stand out in a crowd by not following those things. Or to be ostracized, people who don't want to be your friend anymore because you have these weird morals and standards.

I thought, you know, it might be easy to imagine braving death in a fiery furnace rather than forsake God's Sabbath. You're going to kill me if I don't break the Sabbath? Well, I'm not breaking the Sabbath. But sometimes challenges sneak up on us. Perhaps you're on a job and this big project is almost done on a Friday evening. And the boss insists you've got to stay a few minutes extra. You know, it'll only be a few minutes beyond sundown. Look, all your co-workers are staying.

It takes a lot of moral courage to say, no, I can't do that. And to walk out, especially when the others are staying. That kind of courage comes from the prior conviction and commitment.

We all have that. We need to rely on God for His strength in us.

And that's where I stop and say, are you feeling it? My purpose today is, I said, I'm not Mel Gibson wearing a kilt and swinging a sword. But I hope the words that I'm speaking today are getting us a little bit fired up. Help stir some of our excitement for our calling, for our place in God's work. It's good for us sometimes to feel that way. It's a long road we're on. We're called. We expect Christ to return and then, well, He hasn't come this year.

And He hasn't come this year. And it goes on and on. Sometimes the energy level wanes a little bit. And that's normal. But sometimes we need to lift ourselves up and say, yes, I am committed.

I'm going to be the one that charges that field.

God's Spirit is working in us. Now, we don't have to literally charge a field in most cases.

But God's Word is what convicts us of the truth. And then we need to live our lives by it.

And try to have our thoughts directed by it. With conviction in our hearts and minds, and we need to remain committed. Committed to our God. And we, in turn, commit to others the truth that has been entrusted to us. And then with that in mind, we need to build or have that courage of our convictions. And I hope we realize we don't need to find some secret way to create courage if we study God's Word, if we're convicted through His Word and the Spirit. And if we commit to it, courage is a natural product. It'll be there when you need it. Yes, my brethren, let's have the three C's in our lives, part of our minds. Courage, conviction, and commitment.