Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
March 31, 2013 - W1313

We are going to be continuing our series called “10X People”. The theme comes out of the book of Daniel where in chapter one, verse 20, it says, “As for every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them to be TEN TIMES better than… all who were in his realm.”

If we are people of God we should be people that optimize our marriages, other relationships and put no medals on mediocrity. Whether it is a marriage or a relationship or a church, or the way you live out your career, God wants us to be a people of excellence. In the book of Psalms 8:1 it says,

“O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name….”

So if God is an excellent God and we are created in His image we should be an excellent people. And so I want to talk about people of 10 times the courage.

Who in this place wouldn’t say that we could use a little more courage in our family, our jobs, our income, our careers, and our relationships? But if we were honest about it, often when we face a problem with our family, career, etc., we resemble more that cowardly lion in the Wizard of Oz rather than the people of God.

We need courage everyday of our lives. However, courage alone is not the answer. If you have courage without character that is a dangerous combination; you would produce a Hitler or a Mussolini. Or worse, you could have courage without brains. Often we have courage for what we should fear and fear for what we should have courage. The things we should fear we push ourselves toward and the things for which we should have courage, we shy away from. And especially in the area where God designed a life for us He says, “I will be with you; I will give you courage to do what I’ve asked you to do.” Moreover, you need to fear the things you should fear. Rightfully so, the fear of God should be on us. You will never understand the courage of God until you balance it off with the fear of God. Once you understand what God wants of you and where He will give courage, then you will be able to walk with confidence.

Today we are going to look at three circles that we need to have courage in. And God is saying, “I am going to walk with you in these three areas.” The Bible says, “Have I not commanded you, ‘Be strong and courageous. Do not tremble or be dismayed for
the Lord your God is with you wherever you go’” (Josh. 1:9).

God is saying, “Where I tell you to go I will walk with you and give you courage. My presence is going with you.” I remember when I used to walk through Palolo housing, I was so afraid of that place. But when my brother Jerome walked with me I had courage because his presence was there with me. So a million times more God is saying to Joshua, “I will be with you.”

A story is told of a young man, after a Boy Scouts meeting, had to go home but he had to pass by this old scary house and he said to the leader of the troop, “I don’t want to go home. It’s too scary. The leader said, “Come on, just be a man. The second guy said, “Here take this flashlight.” The third guy said, “You got to have faith. Go for it.” And the fourth guy said, “I will walk with you because I understand what it means to be afraid sometimes. It happens with me. So let’s do it together. I’ll walk you home.” Which one of these was a true friend? And that is the very same thing that the Lord says: “I’ll walk with you. And in the areas that I want you to have courage, I will walk with you.” And if you will open your heart to Christ He will be there to give you that courage, that wisdom, that insight, and the confidence you need when you need it.

So let’s take a look from the very basic where you need courage. And we are going to start on the lightest area which I refer to as the outer circle. You will need courage in these three areas.

1. Things that concern you

2. Career

3. Calling

1. THE OUTER CIRCLE: YOUR CONCERN

You’ll need to have some courage for things such as taxes, bad drivers, poverty, or graffiti: You will have to know how to deal with those. If not you will over react. We have concerns in our community, poverty, our economy. Everyone has concerns including Solomon as it is written in the Bible, “The righteous is concerned for the rights of the poor, but the wicked does not understand such a concern.” (Prov. 29:7)

Likewise, Apostle Paul had concerns for the churches. In 2 Cor. 11:29 it says, “Who is weak without me being weak? Who is being led into sin without my intense concern?”
(2 Cor. 11:29).

Here are the things for which we are going to need courage: It is when those things bother you such as bad service at a restaurant, or when people are obnoxious. You can overreact or you can have courage to deal with that correctly. Did you know that one of the greatest expressions of courage is courtesy? Indeed you can overreact. Did you know that it is so easy to overreact when it comes to stuff that concerns you. It takes courage to know when to speak up and to know when to shut up. But when does it move beyond that? It’s when you move from courtesy into the courage of compassion. There are some things that concern you, but you need to move a little further and it is compassion. Many times in the Bible Jesus was moved not with concern but with compassion. That’s when the miracles begin. Therefore, sometimes just courtesy is good; other times compassion is required. That’s the outer circle of 10 times the courage.

2. THE MIDDLE CIRCLE: YOUR CAREER

Now let’s travel a little bit towards the center and the second one is the concentric circle of your career. Did you know that God is very concerned about your career---about your welfare? In fact Jeremiah 29:11 says, “’For I know the plans I have for you’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”

Likewise God wants us to be a people of courage in our career. You need to be someone to have courage to contribute qualities such as a good work ethic and honesty. Otherwise we will never advance in our careers. That’s why in Gal. 6:4-5 it says, “Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.”

Consequently whatever lot you have been given in life, make it an A+. Whether you are a custodian or a neuro surgeon be A+. Because whatever field God gives you, be your creative best. And it’s going to take courage to improve yourself. You might be thinking that, “If I only make minimum wage then that’s all I’m going to give.” The fact of the matter is that’s why you are getting all that you are getting. The Bible says that you are not working for mankind; you are working for God. So,

“Whatever you do, do your work heartily as for the Lord
rather than for men knowing that from the Lord you will
receive the reward…” (Col. 3:23-24). And,

“For promotion cometh neither from the east nor the west
nor from the south. Promotion cometh from the Lord”
(Ps. 75:6-7).

You got to have courage for your career to say that, “I’m not working for a boss or working for a promotion from the owner, but I’m working for the Lord. If I show up early and no one says, ‘thanks’, it’s ok because I’m doing it for God and not for applause.” Everyone is looking for a reward, but God says, “I will give you a reward.”

So live in such a way as if you are going to meet Jesus personally one day, because you will. And as you receive that courage to work in such a way that is for God, then everything begins to change.

Do you know that the difference between an amateur and a professional is only 10 minutes more spent working on a problem? For instance, if you work 10 more minutes on that email you were planning to send to an irate person, the results are 10 times better. If you send it too soon it will be 10 times worse.

People once said to Albert Einstein, “You’re such a smart man.” His answer was, “It’s not that I’m smart; it’s just that I spend a lot longer on the question than most people do.” And he solves it. Consequently, I always say to people, “Always give more than is expected and take less than is offered. And watch God promote you. ”

3. AT THE CENTER: YOUR CALLING

Then we come to the final of the concentric circles and where you’re going to require the most courage and that courage will come from God because at the center is your calling. That’s what’s eternal and for which you are going to need the most courage.

In essence,

your career is what you are paid for; your calling is what you are made for.

Your career affects your present. Your calling will affect your eternity. Each of us are a people who have been called by God to represent Him. It’s your purpose in life. He did not create you and me just to exist and then die. When God made man in His image, that image is eternity and not like plants or animals. The only thing is that we have to choose where we are going to spend eternity. That’s the choice that He gives to you and He will not take that away. He has given you the inheritance of an eternal being. He gives you the choice as to where you want to spend eternity.

And we don’t have that much time. Did you know as still as it seems right now, we are traveling over 66,000 miles an hour. And a few more spins and we will be in eternity. In 40 or 50 more years this entire room is basically going to be empty. Therefore we don’t have much time.

You might ask, “How long is eternity?” It’s like shooting a cable from one end of the horizon to the other side and let it go on forever. Then you take a pen and draw a vertical scratch on the cable. That scratch represents how long our life is on earth compared to eternity. Some people think that all they have is that scratch. And so they hold on to the scratch and grip it and kiss it. But all they have is a scratch and they live scratch lives and scratch hopes and scratch dreams. But the Bible says, “God so loved that scratch that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever would believe in Him, would not perish on the scratch but have everlasting life. God came to tell you and me that He created us for eternal life. He gave us that calling. The Bible says,

“God saved us and called us with a holy calling, not
according to our works, but according to His own
purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus
from all eternity” (2 Tim. 1:8-9).

Do you know that God has a purpose for you? It is that we would be with Him forever. John 10:10 says that,

"I came that they may have life and have it more abundantly.”

You might say, “But when did he choose us?” 2 Thess. 2:13-14 says,

“God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation…
He called you through our gospel so that you may gain
the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

He called you through our gospel that you might gain the Lord Jesus Christ.

He wants us to get a grip on what eternity is all about. That’s why you’re here. That’s why there is Easter. Because Easter gives eternal life to those that are struggling on the scratch. That’s what it’s all about. Whether or not you have been invited here by a friend or family member, ultimately you have been invited by Christ Himself because He called you and He wants us to think about eternal life.

Easter gives us hope beyond the grave. And the purpose of the Enemy is to lie to you and say, “don’t think about that”. But mortal life is going to pass so quickly. I want to encourage you to think about eternity. What must you do? You need to acknowledge the fact that we need Christ. You need a savior. You can’t do it on your own---on your own performance. The Bible says that gaining salvation is not by works that we have done. We are all sinners and mess up all the time. So to think that we are perfect enough to deserve eternal life is wrong. There’s only one that lived a perfect life and He came and paid for your sins and mine on Good Friday. For the Bible says that He took the sins of the world upon Him and He became the wages that sin demanded which is death. But on Easter Sunday He was raised again from the dead to say to us that we have life beyond the grave. So the scripture says that if you‘ll acknowledge Him as Lord and Savior, let Him pay the price and in return receive His grace.

It’s sort of like this: Let’s say it’s a baseball game, last inning, two outs, your team is up to bat. If you don’t score you’re done and it will end up in a tie. But the batter comes to the plate, and he hits the ball over the fence---home run. You win. But there is one more thing to do to validate that home run and the win; he has to touch the bases.

Now listen carefully. When your life and mine were hanging in the balances, Jesus knocked it out of the park. He paid the price---done---almost. Now we need to validate what already happened. So it’s like the Lord knocked it out of the park. And now He is telling you and me to touch the bases. And every time someone raises their open hand to Jesus they are validating what Jesus has done. He is saying just go and touch the bases. You don’t need to run hard or slide, just touch the bases, because He has paid the price and as a gift, receive His grace and eternal life. God is saying right now He wants to give you all the courage you need so that your life will be changed forever.

Study Questions:

1. Why is God concerned about our careers? For your welfare?

2. Why should we have courage to contribute qualities such as a good work ethic and honesty?

3. What three areas do you need courage in? Which of these is most important and why?

4. What has God called us to be?

5. What must we do to inherit the gift of eternal life?

6. What is the significance of Easter?