The Courage of Christ

"The wilderness  and the desert will be glad... It will blossom profusely and rejoice with rejoicing and shouts of joy... They will see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God. Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble. Say to those with anxious heart,' Take courage, fear not'. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; the recompense of God will come, and He will save you."
                                                                                                                        Isaiah 35:1-4




When the prophet Isaiah penned the words above, it was quite likely that the Assyrians had ravaged the land of Israel. Their crops were destroyed and their highways were unsafe and impassable. The people were cooped up, afraid, and wondered what would happen next. There was a faithful remnant, however, that still trusted God's promises and were praying for His divine intervention. God heard their cries and He answered their prayers.

If God kept His promises to His people centuries ago, will He not also keep them today and in the future? His answer to us is similar to what it was to Isaiah and the faithful remnant. He promises during difficult times that He will bring forth more beauty and more fruit than our minds can even imagine. There will be rejoicing and shouts of joy and we will see the glory of our God!

The Lord admonished His people to encourage the people who were exhausted and to strengthen the feeble. He told them to tell the anxious and fearful to take courage and not to be afraid. This divine exchange only occurs when we give God our heavy burdens and receive from Him a yoke that is light and easy to bear (Matthew 11:30).

Right now, God is literally shaking the whole earth. The book of Hebrews says,"Then [at Mount Sinai] His voice shook the earth, but now He has given a promise: 'Yet once more I will shake and make tremble not only the earth but also the [starry] heavens.' Now this expression, 'Yet once more' indicates the final removal and transformation of all [that can be shaken- that is, of that which has been created- in order that what cannot be shaken may remain and continue. Let us, therefore, receiving a kingdom that is firm and stable and cannot be shaken, offer to God pleasing service and acceptable worship, with modesty and pious care and godly fear and awe; for our God [is indeed] a consuming fire" (Hebrews 12:26-29).

We are witnessing a shaking in every aspect of our world: politically, economically, legally, educationally, racially, sexually, morally, internationally, and spiritually. The value of humans and the sanctity of life is being challenged throughout the globe. Terrorism and lawlessness are increasing at unprecedented levels.

In our country, we are beginning to witness a huge rift in the Church between those who choose to honor and obey Biblical precepts and those who do not. It is easy at times like these to wonder if God is still sovereign and on His throne. It can be easier to focus on the worrisome aspects of our culture than to proclaim the promises of our God

This is what happened to John the Baptist. While he was sitting in his jail cell, "John summoned to him a certain two of his disciples and sent them to the Lord, saying, 'Are You He who is to come, or shall we [continue to] look for another?' So the men came to Jesus and said, 'John the Baptist sent us to You to ask, "Are you the One who is to come, or shall we [continue to] look for another?'"...
So He [Jesus] replied to them, 'Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Good News (the Gospel) preached to them. And blessed (happy- with life- joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, apart from outward conditions- and to be envied is he who takes no offense in Me and who is not hurt or resentful or annoyed or repelled or made to stumble [whatever may occur]'" (Luke 7:19-20; 22-23).

Jesus encouraged John the Baptist, despite the very real difficulties of his circumstances. Jesus literally infused courage into John the Baptist to help him in that moment and to sustain him during his most difficult trial that was to come. Jesus transfused His own courage into John's very receptive heart.

John the Baptist was a Reformer that God used to prepare the people for the first coming of Christ. Today, we need many Reformers that will do the same in preparation for the second coming of Christ. The world is crying out for true Reformers in every realm of society and throughout the world.

Webster's dictionary defines reform as "to make better by stopping abuses". We do not have to look very far to see the myriad of abuses that occur daily. In order to bring about true reformation, there must first be a confrontation of the truth. God has entrusted us with the spiritual authority to rise up and challenge those in positions of natural authority that do not yield to the truth of God's Word. Restoration can never fully happen until there has first been a true reformation.

Reformers are bold, courageous, and outspoken. Biblically, we find such examples in people like Moses, Elijah, Jeremiah, as well as John the Baptist. These men were God-centered and unwavering. It was not in their character to compromise. They did not bow down to people, idols, or the expectations or customs of their day.

Reformers count the cost and are compelled to persist, despite potential adverse ramifications. Jesus is the perfect example of this. Throughout His ministry, He taught us how to act, how to manage things, and how to think. He was preparing us for restoration, but first the reformation had to occur. Jesus reformed by: dying on a cross, grabbing the keys of hell and death, and then being resurrected so that we could receive His divine inheritance.

Jesus' goal was eternal, and so should ours be. Our life here is but a blink of an eye. After that, we will live forever and ever. In the meantime, every aspect of this generation must be touched by the hand of God so that His glorious light will penetrate and push back the darkness.

God always co-labors with people that are passionate for Him alone. What begins in the furnace of affliction can be transformed into a continual fire that burns in our souls if we allow The Refiner to have His way in our lives. This is the consuming fire that will change our nation and our generation.

In order to reach the maximum number of souls, we must be genuine and passionate and filled with God's holy fire. Courage will be required to stand against the vitriol that hates all things relating to Jesus. Not just any old kind of courage, either. In fact, in order to truly bring reformation and advance God's kingdom on earth, we need to be filled with the very courage of Christ!


      "Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point."
                                                            C.S. Lewis