Be of Good Courage

Pentecost was last Sunday. The disciples were empowered by the Holy Spirit and began to preach the Gospel to the world as they had been instructed. As heirs of their mission and ministry, we are also called to share the Good News. That can sometimes make us intimidated. “How can I do anything to further the Kingdom?” we might say, “I’m just one person with no influence.”

We (read I) can get caught in the trap of thinking we have to do something grand and glorious to make a difference and get frightened when asked to step outside our comfort zone. “Be of good courage,” Jesus says, “I have overcome the world.” Instead of trusting in the Spirit, we worry about what others might think if we speak up or act for Jesus. Recently I heard Sara Bareilles sing her song Brave live on the Ellen Show. I’d heard it before, but never really listened to the words. This time they really jumped out at me as if they were something the Spirit might have said in those tongues of fire on Pentecost. “Say what you wanna say and let the words fall out. Honestly I wanna see you be brave.” Maybe the Spirit is saying that to us today. As Bareilles says:

Everybody’s been there, everybody’s been stared down by the enemy
Fallen for the fear and done some disappearing, Bow down to the mighty
Don’t run, stop holding your tongue
Maybe there’s a way out of the cage where you live
Maybe one of these days you can let the light in
Show me how big your brave is.

If you haven’t ever heard the song, you can see a version here, with lyrics:

 

If we believe God is greater than any situation, then we can be “brave”. Bareilles challenges “Let your words be anything but empty. Why don’t you tell them the truth?” As Pentecost people, representatives of the One who conquered the grave, we CAN be filled with the courage of the Spirit and speak the truth of the Good News!

In John 16:33, Jesus tells his disciples “"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." Listening to and following the Spirit’s leading in the season of Pentecost and every day isn’t necessarily easy. Jesus himself warns “you will have trouble”. What we can be assured of is that God is with us every step of the way. Having spent a week in the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone recently I can think about all that grandeur and beauty created by the One who also created and loves us and know that God is bigger than anything that may cross our path.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll look at what John Stott called the recipe for living a Christian life found in Romans 12:9-16. Come along with me as we explore the dozen attributes listed in these verses:

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are.