WEBVTT 00:00:09.740 --> 00:00:13.320 Hello, and welcome to the Kalamazoo church of Christ podcast. 00:00:13.539 --> 00:00:14.839 Thank you so much for listening. 00:00:15.300 --> 00:00:16.199 We're startup church. 00:00:16.280 --> 00:00:23.460 We just planted in September, 2020 and at the Kalamazoo church, we believe that Christianity is done best when it is done together. 00:00:23.559 --> 00:00:32.299 And so if you live in the Kalamazoo area, we would love to connect, be it coming to a Sunday service, one of our small groups, or even just grabbing coffee with a member to learn more. 00:00:32.539 --> 00:00:36.439 You can visit kalamazoo.church in order to do that. 00:00:36.840 --> 00:00:40.399 We pray that you are inspired by what you hear today. 00:00:40.799 --> 00:00:52.409 Well, I say that I'm really grateful disciples to campus and youth group, especially. 00:00:56.590 --> 00:01:06.709 So thank you so much for taking the time or sacrificing your time and money and energy and spiritual focus or whatever. 00:01:06.709 --> 00:01:19.709 I know that you could be at home and work at your campuses, you know, evangelize Americans, which is your kind of goal, mission field, but you do it here to help us out. 00:01:19.810 --> 00:01:21.689 And we are really grateful for that. 00:01:21.849 --> 00:01:22.569 Thank you so much. 00:01:24.989 --> 00:01:25.790 All right. 00:01:25.989 --> 00:01:27.049 I have 15 minutes. 00:01:27.129 --> 00:01:34.090 Like you said, now I have 14 and a half, so let's talk about virtual courage for 15 minutes. 00:01:34.409 --> 00:01:34.750 Come on, bro. 00:01:34.750 --> 00:02:04.090 So, um, courage is one of the main virtues, um, amazing Greece, uh, if you read, if you have time and if you have interest, if you read old, um, Greek philosophers like Plato or Aristotle, they talked about virtues of courage all the time, because it was one of the main virtues that you had to have to sustain life of your household or your city or your country. 00:02:04.790 --> 00:02:09.349 So, and it was also very much connected with the virtue of friendship at that time. 00:02:09.909 --> 00:02:30.729 Uh, if you read, um, for example, the old, uh, Japanese Samurai codes of Bushido, uh, virtues, one of the main virtues there and, uh, somehow soldiers had to be courageous enough to give their life for the cause and not be afraid of death. 00:02:31.319 --> 00:02:44.629 And I think also in our times, virtue is one of the good, uh, courage is one of the virtues that's really highlighted that is, is, um, important in society. 00:02:44.930 --> 00:02:50.969 And if you look at the modern culture, the movies, you know, courage is something that people admire. 00:02:51.189 --> 00:02:53.909 They want to lift it up and they want to live courageously. 00:02:54.110 --> 00:02:56.469 But what does it mean to live courageously as a Christian? 00:02:57.069 --> 00:03:04.610 Is it similar to Bushido code or is it similar to Aristotle or Plato or ancient Greek virtue of courage? 00:03:05.229 --> 00:03:14.909 John 1633, John 1633, Jesus says, I have told you these things so that in me, you may have peace in this world. 00:03:15.009 --> 00:03:18.449 You will have trouble, but take heart. 00:03:18.629 --> 00:03:20.830 I have overcome the world. 00:03:21.289 --> 00:03:26.169 So to take heart means get courage, get confidence. 00:03:26.469 --> 00:03:40.349 And Jesus says that we need courage in this world because there is a lot of trouble, uh, not only in everyone's life, but also Christians have a particular kinds of troubles that they need to go through. 00:03:40.729 --> 00:03:43.310 So let me give a definition of courage. 00:03:43.990 --> 00:03:46.770 Um, it's not mine, but I like it. 00:03:46.770 --> 00:04:00.590 Person behaves courageously when he or she chooses a course of action based upon a criteria based upon a certain set of values or ideals against immense pressure to do otherwise. 00:04:01.469 --> 00:04:12.969 Person behaves courageously when he or she chooses a course of action based upon a certain set of values or ideals against immense pressure to do otherwise. 00:04:13.150 --> 00:04:22.230 So you need to have values or ideals and something goes against these values and ideas, but you still act according to these values or ideas. 00:04:22.769 --> 00:04:30.149 Um, I think Christian virtue is a specific kind of virtue because first it has to do with love. 00:04:30.649 --> 00:04:33.189 Christian courage is very much connected with love. 00:04:33.430 --> 00:04:46.389 And if you meet first John four in 17 and 18, John says, this is how love is made complete amongst us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment in this world. 00:04:46.509 --> 00:04:47.129 We are like Jesus. 00:04:47.389 --> 00:04:49.529 There is no fear in love. 00:04:50.170 --> 00:04:55.089 But perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment. 00:04:55.610 --> 00:04:58.709 The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 00:04:59.029 --> 00:05:06.290 So in verse 17, John tells us how to have confidence or boldness on the day of judgment. 00:05:07.930 --> 00:05:18.670 A lot of people are afraid of judgment and even as Christians, we can sometimes feel, you know, I don't know, have a little bit of good life. 00:05:19.149 --> 00:05:20.509 Am I good with God? 00:05:20.769 --> 00:05:25.850 God judged me mercifully, but the answer here is love. 00:05:26.329 --> 00:05:33.829 If we love God and if we believe that God loves us, then it takes away the fear. 00:05:33.990 --> 00:05:37.850 So love is pure against the fear. 00:05:39.029 --> 00:05:41.910 Also, love should be the motivation for Christian courage. 00:05:43.350 --> 00:05:47.370 We have black bears living in Estonia in the forests. 00:05:48.730 --> 00:05:50.189 There's quite a lot of them, actually. 00:05:50.689 --> 00:05:56.750 And, you know, I I've been doing hunting sometimes and I've seen them a couple of times quite closely. 00:05:57.149 --> 00:06:01.629 Once it was about 20 meters away from me and I have a gun and everything. 00:06:01.629 --> 00:06:07.250 But still, you see black bear in the forest, you know, your adrenaline goes up. 00:06:08.050 --> 00:06:10.389 But actually, they are quite fearful animals. 00:06:10.689 --> 00:06:14.689 You know, you don't have to be afraid of them because they are afraid of human beings. 00:06:14.689 --> 00:06:18.769 And when they smell human beings or when they hear something, they just run away. 00:06:19.189 --> 00:06:25.870 But when you get in between the mother and their cubs, that's the dangerous situation. 00:06:26.629 --> 00:06:29.670 That's when they will attack you almost certainly. 00:06:30.430 --> 00:06:33.209 So you have to be careful in this situation. 00:06:33.350 --> 00:06:35.709 So bear is a fearful animal. 00:06:36.449 --> 00:06:42.329 But if someone threatens their cubs, they will be ready to attack. 00:06:42.490 --> 00:06:43.550 They don't have fear. 00:06:43.689 --> 00:06:47.769 Of course, you can say that, you know, animals have fear or courage. 00:06:47.769 --> 00:06:49.029 I think it's more instinct. 00:06:49.329 --> 00:06:51.910 But same goes for human beings. 00:06:52.209 --> 00:06:52.310 Right. 00:06:52.810 --> 00:06:55.029 I mean, someone can be really timid person. 00:06:55.209 --> 00:07:00.990 But if someone is attacking somebody they love, suddenly they are courageous. 00:07:01.569 --> 00:07:08.670 If someone is attacking a child, parents can do crazy things to protect their child. 00:07:08.970 --> 00:07:09.250 Right. 00:07:09.470 --> 00:07:14.730 So love can really give strength or courage. 00:07:14.730 --> 00:07:17.790 So love is the motivation and strength for courage. 00:07:18.009 --> 00:07:21.250 But Christian courage is also lived out with love. 00:07:24.829 --> 00:07:32.110 There is a story of a man, he's actually from Michigan, I think, I don't think you ever heard of the guy. 00:07:32.370 --> 00:07:36.069 His name is Lawrence Rosebo, he's a Catholic missionary. 00:07:38.230 --> 00:07:41.310 He was a priest and nonviolent protester. 00:07:41.470 --> 00:07:42.649 So this was a crazy guy. 00:07:42.649 --> 00:07:44.730 He actually protested against the Vietnam War. 00:07:44.949 --> 00:07:56.129 So what he did actually was, I don't know if you can call it nonviolent, but he broke into the draft office and burned all the documents of the people that were supposed to be drafted into Vietnam War. 00:07:56.209 --> 00:07:57.509 So they didn't have the documents. 00:07:57.629 --> 00:07:59.509 In these days, you didn't have electronic files. 00:07:59.689 --> 00:07:59.870 Right. 00:08:00.129 --> 00:08:01.069 They were just gone. 00:08:01.329 --> 00:08:02.930 So they arrested him. 00:08:03.009 --> 00:08:07.170 He was in prison for 10 years for that, for a year for that, not 10 years. 00:08:07.170 --> 00:08:14.850 And then he climbed over the fence of a nuclear weapons silo and protested there. 00:08:14.949 --> 00:08:17.189 And he was arrested again as a crazy guy. 00:08:17.689 --> 00:08:20.529 But and he was actually killed in Guatemala. 00:08:20.829 --> 00:08:22.610 He served as a missionary and a priest there. 00:08:22.689 --> 00:08:23.550 And he was shot dead. 00:08:24.029 --> 00:08:26.750 You see, you know, probably he was doing some crazy stuff again. 00:08:27.170 --> 00:08:33.928 But before they went to protest against something, they always would pray the whole night before the protest. 00:08:34.590 --> 00:08:36.509 They would spend the whole night in prayer. 00:08:37.149 --> 00:08:39.649 And then in the morning they had a mass. 00:08:39.928 --> 00:08:41.548 You know, they were Catholics, of course. 00:08:42.570 --> 00:08:43.990 You know, let's call it devotional. 00:08:45.970 --> 00:08:51.830 So one thing they reminded each other was that don't hate the people that will arrest you. 00:08:52.350 --> 00:08:54.909 You can't hate the people that will arrest you. 00:08:55.230 --> 00:08:57.850 You need to do this out of love. 00:08:58.789 --> 00:09:01.629 And the world doesn't need another angry person. 00:09:02.809 --> 00:09:15.289 So if you can't do it out of love, if you can't love the people that will come and arrest you and maybe they have their hands and they will correct your behavior somehow, you have to love them. 00:09:15.830 --> 00:09:18.610 And if you can't do it out of love, don't do it at all. 00:09:20.710 --> 00:09:27.409 So Christian courage, if you look at Jesus, it's live out in love and with love. 00:09:27.950 --> 00:09:29.850 So love is cure against fear. 00:09:29.850 --> 00:09:36.730 Love is a motivation for courage in Christians lives and souls who live out in love. 00:09:37.370 --> 00:09:38.769 You didn't like what I said, right? 00:09:39.289 --> 00:09:44.789 I got this offer. 00:09:46.409 --> 00:09:50.629 So the second thing, Christian love has to do with vulnerability. 00:09:51.309 --> 00:09:55.549 OK, so when we are threatened, what's our natural response? 00:09:55.909 --> 00:09:56.929 To become defensive. 00:09:57.309 --> 00:09:58.429 Yeah, to fight back, right? 00:09:58.429 --> 00:10:01.990 We want to fight back or we want to flee. 00:10:02.610 --> 00:10:04.330 That's another response, right? 00:10:04.710 --> 00:10:08.149 If we believe we can resist and we can win, we fight back. 00:10:08.570 --> 00:10:11.629 Sometimes even if you don't believe that we can win, we fight back. 00:10:11.870 --> 00:10:15.250 We can call it and it's called courageous aggression. 00:10:15.710 --> 00:10:21.990 Not aggression in a bad sense, but you use force, you forcefully want to change the situation or fight back. 00:10:22.049 --> 00:10:30.389 But if you are not strong enough to resist, then we are in a position of vulnerability and our task is to bear up well. 00:10:30.830 --> 00:10:34.830 Well, there are situations where you can't do much. 00:10:35.070 --> 00:10:36.250 It's a good question. 00:10:36.509 --> 00:10:42.470 Prayer is a form of fighting as well, but you can't really change the situation sometimes. 00:10:42.789 --> 00:10:47.909 And sometimes God puts situations in our lives where we just have to bear it. 00:10:48.210 --> 00:10:54.909 Well, you get diagnosis, life threatening disease or you are arrested. 00:10:55.669 --> 00:11:04.929 For whatever reason, let's say for sharing your faith in some countries or doing the right thing, you can't really change the situation. 00:11:05.409 --> 00:11:13.210 Sometimes you can pray, but you can act vulnerable in vulnerability and you can call it courageous endurance. 00:11:13.830 --> 00:11:17.870 That's not courageous aggression, but courageous endurance. 00:11:19.149 --> 00:11:25.090 So our picture of courage is sometimes someone fighting for a good cause. 00:11:25.669 --> 00:11:29.049 You know, being active, doing something, taking action, doing something. 00:11:29.350 --> 00:11:32.049 We want Spider-Man and Superman to do something. 00:11:32.269 --> 00:11:33.750 You know, they have superpowers. 00:11:34.269 --> 00:11:36.389 Come on, act according to your powers. 00:11:36.529 --> 00:11:36.690 Right. 00:11:37.190 --> 00:11:41.009 And that is why many Jews had a hard time believing in Jesus. 00:11:42.269 --> 00:11:45.830 They looked at Jesus and they thought, you know, this guy has to be something else. 00:11:45.970 --> 00:11:47.490 I mean, he should be a king. 00:11:47.909 --> 00:11:49.909 He should fight against Romans. 00:11:50.029 --> 00:11:52.350 He should lead the revolution against the Romans. 00:11:52.350 --> 00:11:53.590 But he didn't. 00:11:53.889 --> 00:11:55.450 He was a different kind of Messiah. 00:11:56.110 --> 00:12:00.990 So actually, he let himself to be arrested, tortured and crucified. 00:12:02.690 --> 00:12:05.389 So he let this to do to himself. 00:12:05.610 --> 00:12:06.889 And that could be a good question. 00:12:07.070 --> 00:12:08.950 Was Christ a victor or a victim? 00:12:09.629 --> 00:12:12.769 For us, he is a victor, not a victim. 00:12:13.269 --> 00:12:18.649 And in the Gospels, we can see how Jesus, for the most part of his life, was extremely active. 00:12:18.990 --> 00:12:23.429 He was teaching us through his active life, through his activity. 00:12:23.649 --> 00:12:25.009 He was preaching the gospel. 00:12:25.210 --> 00:12:26.409 He was saving the lost. 00:12:26.990 --> 00:12:28.389 He was healing the people. 00:12:28.509 --> 00:12:32.210 He was taking care of the weak and he was giving a lot of teachings. 00:12:32.669 --> 00:12:41.450 But then in the end of his life, he was actually taken and people did things to him or with him. 00:12:41.909 --> 00:12:44.990 And he was passive at that moment of life. 00:12:45.570 --> 00:12:47.470 They took him to the court. 00:12:48.230 --> 00:12:49.950 They put him to prison. 00:12:50.909 --> 00:12:54.389 They took him and they beat him, they took him and they tortured him. 00:12:54.649 --> 00:12:58.870 And in the end of the day, they took him and put him to the cross and crucified him. 00:12:59.470 --> 00:13:05.690 And actually, he did more in his passivity for us than through his activities. 00:13:06.649 --> 00:13:11.549 So it was without salvation, without forgiveness of sins, without Jesus's death. 00:13:11.909 --> 00:13:15.049 Even the teachings are quite meaningless. 00:13:16.450 --> 00:13:20.190 So it has to do with courageous endurance. 00:13:20.730 --> 00:13:24.250 It could be that courageous endurance is the most courageous form of courage. 00:13:25.350 --> 00:13:25.590 Why? 00:13:26.049 --> 00:13:30.710 Because fear is naturally most intense when we are most vulnerable. 00:13:32.169 --> 00:13:35.090 Fear is most intense when we are most vulnerable. 00:13:37.730 --> 00:13:43.629 Estonians know that, but my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer a year ago, exactly a year ago. 00:13:43.990 --> 00:13:53.409 And since that, it's been constant treatment, surgery, eight times chemotherapy, twenty five sessions of radiation. 00:13:54.009 --> 00:13:55.590 And it's going on. 00:13:55.669 --> 00:13:57.769 It's going on after this day. 00:13:58.830 --> 00:14:04.190 And what I've seen in her is that at that moment, of course, you fight back and she fights back. 00:14:04.250 --> 00:14:09.210 We fight in prayer, but we can't do physically much to change the situation. 00:14:09.210 --> 00:14:15.409 We can't turn the situation around and make this happen. 00:14:15.649 --> 00:14:16.490 It has happened. 00:14:16.610 --> 00:14:22.750 God has allowed it to happen for some reason, and she has to endure it courageously. 00:14:23.330 --> 00:14:30.929 And I think seeing her doing that shows me that there is a lot of courage sometimes in actions that we don't realize. 00:14:31.669 --> 00:14:37.889 That's the courageous endurance that I see almost every day in her life, which is very inspiring to me. 00:14:38.049 --> 00:14:41.190 It's not courageous aggression, but it's courageous endurance. 00:14:41.710 --> 00:14:45.870 And third thing, Christian courage has to do with faith, of course, right? 00:14:46.350 --> 00:14:49.990 1 Samuel 17 tells us a story about David and Goliath. 00:14:50.730 --> 00:15:03.029 And, you know, sometimes people look at the story and think, you know, this guy's self-confident, he's an independent young man, he's brave enough to fight for what is right and relies on his own strength and skills. 00:15:03.889 --> 00:15:04.789 It is true. 00:15:05.129 --> 00:15:06.009 David is courageous. 00:15:06.600 --> 00:15:10.649 And courage is a great, glorious virtue. 00:15:10.970 --> 00:15:17.070 But when David faced Goliath, his courage was based upon faith. 00:15:17.289 --> 00:15:31.309 Because in the preceding chapter, in 1 Samuel 16, Samuel the prophet had informed David that God had chosen him to be the next king of Israel and anointed him with his brothers around him. 00:15:31.750 --> 00:15:38.429 1 Samuel 16, 13 says, Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. 00:15:38.809 --> 00:15:42.070 And the spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. 00:15:42.289 --> 00:15:44.049 And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah. 00:15:44.490 --> 00:15:46.649 So he relied on God's promise. 00:15:46.889 --> 00:15:51.029 God had told him through the prophet, you will be next king of Israel. 00:15:51.370 --> 00:15:54.429 And then later he meets this Goliath guy. 00:15:56.090 --> 00:16:12.570 You know, I should be a king, you know, I can't actually die on the battlefield for becoming a king, you know, so, but of course, it's a battle, it's, you know, it's the same would be with us if God tells us a promise or whatever, we are struggling with it. 00:16:13.029 --> 00:16:14.789 That's just the same for him. 00:16:15.029 --> 00:16:18.850 But he relied in faith on God's promise. 00:16:19.450 --> 00:16:29.529 And of course, he had experienced, like he says that I've, you know, I've been shepherd and I've taken care of the bear and, you know, whoever has attacked my lambs, he had experienced from before. 00:16:29.669 --> 00:16:32.850 He looked how God had helped him in the past. 00:16:33.149 --> 00:16:43.990 So he relied on God's promises, something that God has said, but not done yet, but also on something that God had already done in his life previously. 00:16:44.350 --> 00:16:47.470 He relied on this experience in his relationship with God. 00:16:48.070 --> 00:17:00.169 So Christian courage in some ways is similar to whatever kind of courage, but it's the distinctive, it's a specific kind of courage because it has to do first with love. 00:17:00.610 --> 00:17:02.669 It's our motivation for courage. 00:17:03.328 --> 00:17:05.368 Love is our strength for courage. 00:17:05.890 --> 00:17:07.269 Love is why we should do it. 00:17:07.309 --> 00:17:10.130 We should live it out in love. 00:17:10.769 --> 00:17:17.269 Courage has to do with vulnerability and sometimes the courageous endurance is the biggest kind of courage. 00:17:17.450 --> 00:17:23.130 We can say not only the courageous at first and the third thing, Christian courage has to do with faith. 00:17:23.750 --> 00:17:28.849 So it's a distinctive, it's a specific kind of courage in the scriptures that you can see. 00:17:29.609 --> 00:17:34.230 Thank you so much for listening to the Kalamazoo Church of Christ podcast. 00:17:34.549 --> 00:17:37.910 If you're in the Kalamazoo area, we'd love to get connected. 00:17:38.170 --> 00:17:45.549 Please go to Kalamazoo.Church and fill in your information to come to a Sunday service or any other event that we have going on. 00:17:45.549 --> 00:17:48.150 In any case, you'll be hearing from us next week.