Song Jirah by Elevation Worship playing…… Jirah means protector.  Today we want to talk about protecting and courage.  There is an old saying that says: “Courage is fear that has said its prayers.”  There are many stories in the Bible about courageous people.  Moses stood up to the Pharoh and led his people out of Egypt for 40 years to Israel.  Queen Ester stood up to the King because the king wanted to persecute the Jews when to confront or challene the King was punishable by death.  The list goes on and on.  One of the most famous is when David stood up to the giant Goliath when it seemed to be certain death.  In summer camp every year we talk about heroes of the Bible and every year we have different heroes because there are so many mentioned in scripture.  There is a continuous list of stories about courageous people like these and more. 

Today I would like to talk about the courage that we can see now.  Courage is a mixture of many things.  Courage is mental or moral strength to continue on, persevere, and withstand pain, danger, fear, or some kind of difficulty.  Notice that it doesn’t say physical strength.  Courage comes from within.  It is mental or moral strength.  Moral strength is doing the right thing when it could cause you physical or mental pain, but you keep on going.  Mental strength is what helps you keep going and never give up.  Another kind of courage is what you are called upon to do in the military protecting your friends or comrades when death or chaos are all around you.  I truly believe there are no atheists in a foxhole.  Everyone believes in God when bullets are flying overhead.  I remember when my son called me the night before his first mission in a combat zone.  As you can imagine, he was a little nervous.  I told him that he would or wouldn’t pee his pants when the first shots were fired.  Then I got serious.  That was irrelevant.  What was important was whether he could show the courage to protect his teammates.  That is true courage.  I told him God will give you strength.  You only need to ask for it.  Protect your teammates – who are your teammates?  They are not just Christians but all of God’s innocent people. 

Related to that, most adult Americans know the first verse of the Star Spangled Banner that starts out “O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light”.  We sing it before sporting events.  It is a symbol of the strength of our nation to stand together.  But many people forget that there are four other verses.  The last verse says:

O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand Between their lov’d home and the war’s desolation! Blest with vict’ry and peace may the heav’n rescued land Praise the power that hath made and preserv’d us a nation! Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto – “In God is our trust,” And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Do you feel it?  “ when freemen shall stand between their loved home and the war’s desolation”  That is true courage.  I was at a memorial service this last week for a service member who had passed a while back.  He had several medals for valor and two purple hearts.  I respect the sacrifice to earn a purple heart, but I greatly respect the sacrifice to earn the medals for valor.  A purple heart means he was wounded in battle.  A medal for valor means he willingly offered his life to protect others. He was truly a great man.

Another part that I really love is the part in the Star Spangled Banner where it says Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just. When our moral compass is following what Jesus taught us was right, then conquer we must. In other words, when we use our moral courage, we will conquer.  As a side note that doesn’t mean start a fight because you believe that God will protect you.  Moral courage is not to attack with words or physical action.  It is to protect.

But here is the main point to remember:  You don’t have to be fighting in a war to be courageous.  Courage is needed in the here and now. In Ephesians 6:10-18, it talks about the Armor of God.  It says ¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Let’s say that again: For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

The evil in the world is not just what our military finds on the battlefield.  There is another battlefield.  We are on the battlefield against the spiritual forces of evil, but when we take up our shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one, courage will win.  The evil one sends many kinds of arrows against us every day.  He makes us kick the chair leg and jam up out toe – just to make you say something bad or he will make you drop a jelly covered bagel on the floor.  The devil is constantly testing us.  We have here God’s blessing and instruction on how to fight him.  Our shield of faith in God will always hold us up.

So what is the simple version of all this.  It is called Faith over fear.  Our faith will always help us against evil.  Our faith is armor.  It shields us.  What did I say at the beginning?  “Courage is fear that has said its prayers.” Faith will give us that courage.  An just like it says in verse 18: ¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. This means prayer will build up our faith and Jesus wins. Courage wins.  So what fear has God helped you with today?  I know that he helps me with the panic from my PTSD.  What have you done for Gods today?  Have you helped someone.  Have you stopped the devil somehow? Why not?  You are protected!  How do you do it?  First don’t attack and only defend.  It is real easy.  SAY:  DEVIL YOU HAVE NO POWER OVER ME!  JESUS HELP ME!.  The devil will run away just like he did when He confronted him in the desert.  Try it – It works!  We are all going to be attacked this week by evil.  There are only two things to remember: 1.  Faith over Fear and 2. Jesus help me.

Don’t forget to say Thank you Jesus when you are done.