On Courage

[Victor Kubik] I'd like to invite you to read along with me, in Joshua 1 beginning with verse 5. Please turn to Joshua 1:5. God is speaking to Joshua just before Israel entered into the Promised Land. He had some very, very words of note. Joshua 1:5, God says to Joshua, "As I was with Moses, I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as inheritance the land which I swore to your fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law of Moses My servant which he commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

We are celebrating the special 25th anniversary of the founding of the United Church of God. And our theme this year is conviction, commitment, and courage. And courage is what I want to talk to you about today. We proposed a gala event to bring to Cincinnati, as many as 80% of our ministry from around the world to celebrate this special event, the 25th Silver Anniversary of the United Church of God. But God wanted us to celebrate it differently. Very obviously, the timing is not unfortunate.

It was not a mistake. It is profound, what is taking place because we are going to have things impressed upon us that only a unique situation like this can bring about. COVID-19 is affecting many people's health, but even more so, it's affecting the world economy and geopolitics as well. We don't really fully know exactly how this will all end up. But we do know that God is with us, and God will protect us, and God will be with His Church. The health aspect is only one facet in this crisis. It has brought the world to a screeching halt and made it stop and think. I think all of us have been thinking as we have been homebound. I want to, first of all, thank all of our members who have been so patient and helpful to one another through phone calls, email, Zoom, Facebook, and other means, probably more so than when we were all together. I want to thank all of our pastors who have been valiantly caring for their congregations as well, without missing a beat, communicating with brethren through streaming video, email, along with prayers of encouragement for everyone who's isolated at home. Many have had steep learning curves in Zoom, Facebook, WebEx, Teams to communicate with the brethren, and have set up even extra meetings, creative meetings with online Sabbath School, and other meetings. I want to thank all those at the home office who've been working remotely, focusing on the jobs that we have to do. They're not at the home office. Most aren't. Most are working from home. But some have had to be here.

We've been finding ways to more resourcefully, imaginatively, and creatively do their jobs in vital functions with information technology, mail processing, sending out literature, which we've been sending out as much as ever have, through our media, vital banking functions, and much more, all with a handicap of being remote and trying to find ways to do it without missing a beat. I want to thank those who are making sure that this webcast is going out. Oftentimes, they're forgotten and only noted when something goes wrong. But I want to thank them for making certain that everything is covered and that this webcast is going out. It's a big responsibility to make sure that everything works.

And above all, I want to thank our God in heaven, who is protecting us, who is guiding us, and we're thankful for His daily grace upon us. With this almost seven-week lockdown, maybe God is saying the following to the world. "I have breaking news. Here's My message to the world. I interrupt human civilization with a special message. Please listen up, I want your attention. I have a few questions for you people on this planet. Number one, who and what do you worship?" Some people may scoff at those questions, but God is still asking them, "Who and what is occupying your time? What's most important to you? Is it money?" God's response, "I will adjust you at the stock market and economy to get your attention. Just remember that you may love money but money doesn't love you. You may love your stocks but they don't love you. They'll betray you and drop you in a flash. Is it sports that you love and focus your attention on exclusively? I'll close your stadiums."

At first, it was in arenas, first of all, it was basketball, now baseball. The NASCAR car race is going to be around with no spectators and the audience. "Do you love your movies and theaters? I'll close your theaters." A lot of people are making up for it on Netflix. Is it pleasure, leisure, cruises, restaurants, jetting, these things that you'll become used to and expect it to go on and on and on and on? Those activities have been cut back by 90%, and we're not even sure how they'll come back. Do you just worship yourself as well? Maybe you're thinking about yourself more than anybody else.” God is asking questions. God says, "You have profaned the Sabbath. I have wanted you to keep one day out of seven, holy to spend time with Me. Okay, you can't keep the Sabbath? I'll give you seven weeks of service. You just stay home and think about it day after day after day."

Why did Israel go into captivity? In 2 Kings 17, I'm not going to read that chapter but it's one for reference because you should read it as a homework assignment from this sermon. The entire chapter is devoted to why Israel went into captivity. It was for their idolatry. It was for them not putting God first. It was for them worshipping graven images that didn't love them. They could have worshipped God who did love them and had a plan for them. Their devotion to these idols led them to child sacrifice. And so God sent those tribes off to Assyria in captivity.

But also a message is being sounded through this crisis to the Church. Because it's only through crisis that we really start paying attention to the most important things. Hopefully, we in the Church listen closely to what is being said and what we're encouraged to do. But I do believe that the message is made very strong by the events that are occurring. We're being exposed to a call or… this is a wake-up call, and it's a look at character and integrity, that perhaps hasn't come out this way before. In my ministry, I've been in the ministry almost 50 years, this is my 50th year of employment in the Church, I have met many, many biblical people. I've met Timothy or someone like Timothy. I'm sure that we can identify with certain people that we've met. I've met young, eager people willing to serve and who had a heart to serve. I've met Lydia, I've met a few Lydia's, women that have groups of people at home and established churches. I've met two Lydia's and spend time with two Lydia's earlier this year. I've met the apostle Paul or those like him, who understood grace, and who could speak about all the dimensions of Jesus Christ, the heights, widths, and depths. I've met people like that. I've met Peter, who is bold, courageous. I've met John who truly loves people in a very special way by exemplifying the godly love of God. I've met Daniel, a person who was a captive and yet was on the board of Nebuchadnezzar advisors, as someone who did not compromise his beliefs one bit, yet could relate to people in government in the calling that he had. I've met Isaiah. I have met Barnabas, a person who encouraged others.

We've also met others. We've met antichrists. And we've met the atrophies types. But the Bible does bring out the character of so many, many good people for us to emulate. A crisis has the ability to reveal what a person is really like. It has the ability to reveal those who are courageous, those who have olive oil or have oil in their lamps, and those who don't, because you can't tell. The parable of the 10 virgins, all 10 were there with lamps but only half had oil, but you didn't know that until the midnight cry came and a call was made, and when a crisis occurred, and the midnight cry came.

We have seen in a crisis those who walked by faith, and we see those who capitulated and did not have faith. But you don't know these things until there is a crisis. We have seen how people have reacted in crises of faith, some compromised, some gave up, some became very strong, and you couldn't tell before the crisis which way who would go? A crisis can be beneficial because it awakens people from their moral stupor. And in danger, moral issues come into focus. When we face them, how do we face them? Do we face them courageously or do we run? Courage is forged in crisis and conflict, not so much in endless days of peace, where it's rarely shown except in platitudes and words. Courage is forged in crisis and conflict. The habit of courage isn't acquired by study. You can't study, take a course of courage. It is forged by practice, and it starts with ourselves. Well, today I've chosen to share with you the story of Peter and John, the first evangelists in the New Testament, starting with the day of Pentecost in Acts 2.

There are many stories that I could have chosen from the Bible. I could have chosen David and Goliath. I could have chosen Daniel in the lion's den. I could have chosen Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. But I've chosen one that I feel has special relevance to us in the ministry and doing the work of God. So I've chosen the story about the first sermons given in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost and beyond. I'd like you to turn to Acts 2:38. This was the sermon by Peter. When he spoke to the people and he said, "You have killed Christ." And the people I responded with, "What did we do?" Peter said, verse 38 of Acts 2, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins,” that's what you do. “And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."

He’s saying the Holy Spirit is available to you, it's available to your children, and it's available to all far off and in far distant times. What a promise! This promise is for us today. And it's a message that we are to share with others the promise of the Holy Spirit, which is the doorway to eternal life. This was now made available as God's Holy Spirit was being poured out. I'd like to look at the example that Peter and John have set for us today and to glean from their courage and their boldness in preaching the Word of God, which is for our children, as well, and for all who are far off. Continue on here in verse 40. "And with many other words," that's the sermon that Peter “testified and exhorted them, saying, ‘Be saved from this perverse generation.’ Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day, about three thousand souls were added to them.” A great day, in the words of Christianity."

"And they continued," verse 42, "steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles." A lot of wonderful things took place after this bold preaching by the apostle Peter. So continuing verse 46, "With one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." A great start for the church. Truly a great beginning. In chapter 3, we have the entry of the apostle John, where Peter and John are working together. Peter was the first one but John was with him. And here we see their character being tested because it wasn't going to be that easy now. It started off with a lot of encouragement, the 3,000 and 2,000 more people, 5,000 people at the beginning of the church.

Verse 1 of Acts 3, "One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer," which was 3:00 in the afternoon. "Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gates called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money." So he was sat down by these people who brought him in daily, this man, and so he saw Peter and John coming, and so he lowered his head, probably he had stuck his hand out. He asked them for money. "Peter looked at him, straight at him, as did John, then Peter said to the lame man, ‘Look at us. Look at us.’ So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, ‘Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.’ Taking him by the right hand, picked him up. He helped him up. And instantly that man's feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts walking and jumping and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit and beg at this temple gate called the Beautiful Gate; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him."

The story is still pretty good. Everything is going just extremely well. Sometimes we feel, "Hey, this is great progress. This is going to be easier than I thought. The healing drew a large, curious crowd. And then Peter began to preach to them about Jesus Christ of Nazareth. This is right there at the temple, a center point. Those who have been to Jerusalem just know it's up there on the Temple Mount. It's a noted location. "He told of how Jesus was crucified, buried, and rose from the dead. And he challenged them to repent and receive forgiveness of sins."

Verse 11, this is quite a narrative. To me, it has been the most encouraging stories about evangelism. “Now as the lame man," verse 11, "who was healed held on to Peter and John,” here he's, you know, been a lame man, he was over 40 years old, and he's hanging on to those who laid hands on him. Note what they said. And all the people started running to this threesome here. “All the people ran together to them and the porch, greatly amazed." Verse 12, "When Peter saw it, he responded to the people," this is the first thing he wants to make clear. "Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently on us, as though by our own power and godliness, we have made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers glorified His servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go."

He used this opportunity to talk about the origins of his people, of the Jewish people, the Israelite people, and he talked about Jesus Christ at the very end here. "But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.” We see great humility on their part in giving glory and credit to God. "And His name through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him, has given him perfect soundness and presence of you all. Yet now, brethren, I know that what you did is in ignorance, as did you rulers, but those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that Christ would suffer, He has fulfilled. Repent therefore," this is now the third time that repentance is brought up, "and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” These were the first messages of the New Testament Church, evangelism about Jesus Christ, about His crucifixion, about His resurrection, “that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive,” which heaven did receive Him shortly 10 days before Pentecost, “until the times of restoration of all things.”

So, Jesus Christ has ascended to heaven, and that's going to be the status of things “until the restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His prophets since the world began." So what's he talking about? What's going to be restored? The Kingdom of God is going to be restored on the earth. He’s talking about restoration. It talks about something that was, something that isn't, and something that will once again be, that was the Kingdom of God. And what was spoken by the prophets? Isaiah spoke about the mountain of the Lord. Daniel spoke about the stone that came from somewhere and destroyed the last kingdom of this earth. Jeremiah 31 spoke about the New Covenant, about a new heart being given. All this was known, all this was part of the prophets.

Verse 22, "For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The Lord your God will raise up to you a Prophet from your brethren. Him shall you hear in all things, whatever He says to you, and it shall be that every soul that will not hear the Prophet will be utterly destroyed from among the people.’ And all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days." He's linking the words of the Old Testament of the Scriptures to Jesus Christ. The religious leaders knew this because there was a renaissance of the Word of God in the time of Jesus Christ, and they knew these words, they knew what they were saying. "You are the sons of the prophets,” and the people that are here, you are the result of this nation's history. “Now, and of covenant which God made with our fathers,” going all the way back to Abraham, “‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, and turning away every one of you from your iniquities.”

These men, Peter and John, had just seen Jesus Christ a short time before. It was still very, very clear, and still very vivid to them. Pentecost was less than two months after Jesus Christ was crucified. The last time they saw Him was 10 days before Pentecost. And He had appeared to them many times after His resurrection in those 40 days after His crucifixion. So they were really filled with His subject. Jesus Christ was very real to them. And they were just filled with His subject as they spoke about it to the public. And before that, they were with Jesus Christ for three-and-a-half years. Well, upon hearing this preaching, because now the religious leaders are kind of coming in to listen to what's being said, and they see 3,000 people, they see another couple of thousand people following this movement, they were livid and they were put into jail. That's how the ministry began in the New Testament. They were not happy because they were told that they were the ones who killed Jesus Christ.

Let's go to the 4th chapter of Acts, as this narrative continues. "Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached Jesus… in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. They laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening." They went there at 3:00 in the afternoon, now it's already getting to be evening. "However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number came to about five thousand." Verse 5, "And it came to pass, the next day…" Now, this is after they spent a night in prison.

You know, how's that for first day of evangelism? I don't think if we had a public appearance campaign and the first result was, well, a lot of people would spend the night in prison. "It came to pass on the next day that the rulers, elders, and scribes, as well as Annas the high priest," I mean, these same characters that were there to bring about the death of Jesus Christ, "Caiaphas, John, Alexander, as many as were the families of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had set them in the midst, they asked…" John and Peter were brought to this group here. And they were asked, “'By what power or by what name have you done this?' And Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you and all, the people of Israel, and by the name of Jesus of Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified,’" talking to those… that group there, "whom God has raised from the dead, by Him this man stands before you whole."

And then they quote from Psalm 118:22, "This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone,’ nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." And how clear can you get as far as a message coming through? "When they saw the courage," verse 13, talking about the priests, Sadducees “of Peter and John, they realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished. They took note that these men had been with Jesus. But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there, they could see this great miracle that had taken place. There was nothing that they could say.

Verse 15, "So they ordered them to withdraw." So, "Okay, leave, we want to talk." "And they conferred together and then they talked about themselves, ‘What are we going to do with these men? Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it. But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in His name.’ Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or to teach at all in the name of Jesus."

Peter's response, and along with John, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God, for we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and what we have learned." And after further threats, they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them because all the people were praising God for what had happened, for the man who had been miraculously healed was over 40 years old." Actually, the apostles did nothing illegal. The priests didn't like it. But it was nothing illegal. The Romans didn't step in all of a sudden and shut the preaching down. But John and Peter condemned the Sadducees who were jealous. They were so jealous, they could not acknowledge the obvious. Their mind was on their own importance. But notice what the apostles did, just after this incident, after they were warned, and they spoke back to the Sadducees saying that, "We need to continue doing this."

They got back to their compatriots, the other Christians in verse 24. "So when they had heard that, they reported to their companions. They raised their voice to God with one accord." And to me, this is so inspiring about what they did. And they had this prayer, "Lord, You are God, who has made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, who by the mouth of your servant David has said," and here he quotes Psalm 2:1-2, "Why did the nations rage, and the people plot vain things? The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ." Verse 27, "For truly Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined to be done. Now, look,” this is their emotional, heartfelt prayer to God. “Look on their threats, and grant to Your servants with all boldness, with all courage, that they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal," as they did to the man who was lame “and the signs and the wonders that may be done through the name of Your holy servant Jesus."

This is truly an amazing start but it didn't come as something which was a committee thing, "Well, let's have this program." You know, it was two men that were filled with the Holy Spirit, who spoke very clearly about things that were so very, very convincing to them, things that were knowledgeable to them. They were convicted. They were committed and they were courageous. Verse 31, "And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with courage, with boldness."

I would hope that we can take a look at passages like this and say, "You know, is there anything that we can learn from this? Is there anything that we could do differently? Is there anything that we could have as part of our character be able to come out more than what has?" Verse 33, "And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all." This is how the Church began. Later the apostles were healing and preaching in the name of Jesus when, guess what? The leaders took them into prison again.

Acts 5:17, "And the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with indignation,” and they couldn't see the good. They couldn't see people being healed. They too, were very, very aware of Jesus Christ because they were hounding him for three-and-a-half years trying to kill Him and they did or they were responsible for it. And now they're trying to stamp out the movement that's starting here. "And they laid their hands on the apostles again and put them into a common prison. But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, saying, ‘Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.’ And when they heard that, they entered the temple early in the morning and taught. But the high priest and those with him called the council together, with all the elders of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. But when the officers came and did not find them in prison, they returned, saying, ‘Indeed we found the prison shut securely, and the guards standing outside before the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside!’ Now when the high priest, the captain of the temple, and the chief priests heard these things, they wondered what the outcome would be. So one came and told them, ‘Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing…Where? In the temple and teaching the people!’” at the back of the… "Oh, no, we stopped them three times."

"Then the captain," verse 26, “went with the officers and brought them without violence, just carefully brought them up because the people were excited about what was happening, for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned. And when they brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, asked John and Peter, ‘Did we strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and attempt to bring this Man's blood on us!’” How stubborn, how obstinate, how avoiding the obvious. Then Peter has one of the classic statements in the Bible. And he said, verse 29, "We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and the forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also as the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him."

What can we learn from this example of courage? And we might say, "Well, that was then. It was a start. We don't have conditions like this.” Every age is different. Conditions are different. But what is similar and what should be similar is the courage that these men had. They weren't afraid to speak up.

They weren't afraid to speak about, not only Jesus Christ, about His life, about His crucifixion, His death, His resurrection, but also about the fact that He was the very end of all the prophecies that were being said in the Old Testament, about the things that would be talking about the restoration of all things at His return. That courage was there. And that is part of what we are going to be learning and part of what this conference is about. We don't have all the lectures that we had hoped to have. But nonetheless, we still have the theme that we could apply to ourselves, conviction, commitment, and courage.

The apostles had unshakable belief, and the God they knew gave them the courage to speak out in the face of adversity. They knew that God would give them the courage. They assembled together specifically for the purpose of saying, "Give us the boldness, the courage to be able to speak your word." They knew also what they had personally experienced. That's a question to us too, have you personally experienced Jesus Christ working in your life, the working of the Holy Spirit? They knew that they had been taught by Christ, have we? Is Christ living His life in us? The man who was prophesied in many places throughout the Old Testament. By this time, they also had the Holy Spirit to give them the courage and they prayed with boldness. How could we follow the footsteps of these men? Now we too are being personally taught and convicted through the Word of God and through the Helper called the Holy Spirit. It's not just a word. It's a real Helper because the Holy Spirit helps us when we feel upset, when we feel frightened, when we feel fearful.

“God give me Your Spirit to help me to be courageous and bold in what I say, in what I write, in what I speak.” We have the promises of God and knowledge of God's Word to also be receivers of the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit would be upon our children and upon all those in faraway places, as the apostle Peter spoke on the first day of Pentecost. We have the Holy Spirit to give us courage into so doing the work of God. The apostles had first-hand knowledge of living and working with Christ, then we can have pretty much the same thing as He works in us, as we commit our lives to Him, and put Him first in our life. Jesus Christ should be living His life in us. We are going to be doing the work of God and preaching in the same manner towards the very end. The work of God began in the New Testament in Acts 2, but we see its final permutations in the end-times.

Matthew 24 and Matthew 25, not only about prophecy, we look to those chapters as, well, that's the listing of events, chronology of events that are going to be in the future. But what's interesting is, what those events are and how they are positioned. Verse 11 of Matthew 24, this is in the very end times. "Then many false prophets will arise and deceive many and because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold." "But he who endures," verse 13 of Matthew 24, "to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come."

Can we bring this down to us and how relevant this is to us and where we fit in? Can we preach this message with courage, as little as we are? Can we preach it with boldness, with whatever God has blessed us with or whatever job has given to us as a presenter, as a writer, as a pastor? This gospel of the kingdom will be preached, and be preached, it will take boldness and courage to do the same. You know, continuing further in that chapter, we're told to watch because you don't know when the Lord your God is coming. And we're talking about also so doing the work of God. But what is that doing? That doing is preaching the gospel. It isn't just being a nice Christian. It's preaching the gospel at the very end.

Verse 43, "You know, if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched. Therefore be ready for the Son of Man is coming in an hour you know not." Then verse 45, "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give him food in due season? Who? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing." Doing what? “Preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God… and then the end will come.” That's what that's about. Would it be watching? Would it be the watchmen of Ezekiel? Ezekiel 33, that's part of what is being spoken up here in this same chapter. Watch, therefore, verse 42, and also the job of the 10 virgins with the next chapter, Matthew 25, is to also be watching.

So, that's what's set before us. I feel it's a very important characteristic of not being fearful, of not shrinking back. But asking the question, "How can I preach the gospel? How can I proclaim God's Word?" John and Peter did it in their time. You can say, "Well, that was them as apostles. But they had the Holy Spirit." Do we not also have the Holy Spirit? Can we speak very, very courageously in the same way? Well, that's the job that's set before us.

So I'd like to conclude with where I started, in Joshua 1:5, God says, "As I was with Moses, I will be with you." We don't have to do it by ourselves. Because everything that John and Peter did was because of God helping them. "I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage. Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed the Lord God is with you wherever you go."