He That Winneth Souls Is Wise # 4

It was at that time that Vice President nominee Dan Quayle made reference to something that President John F. Kennedy said, to support what he believed. Senator Benson's response was, "Mr. Vice President, I knew President Kennedy, and you are no John Kennedy!"

Ever since then, when someone claimed to be like someone else, that phrase is used, "YOU ARE NO_________!"

Keeping that in mind, as we read in scripture of the DEVOTED and HUMBLE servants of God in New Testament times, we recognize WE ARE NOT THE CHRISTIANS THEY WERE. We may claim to be, but when you read of what they did for the Lord and how they suffered for the Lord, we cannot help but conclude WE ARE NOT WHAT THEY WERE.

However, IT IS OUR DESIRE that God will make us everything they were.

IT IS OUR DESIRE to win souls and be used of God the same way they were used of God, but before that can happen we need to learn, from God's Word, to have the Christ-like characteristics they possessed.

Why? BECAUSE that is why God was able to use them the way He did.

Notice also that...

I. THEY WERE COURAGEOUS.

We have many examples of courage in God's Word.

The devil knows all he has to do to stop some people from witnessing is place some FEARFUL SITUATION before them and they will run like scared rabbits and hide and you will not hear another thing out of them.

History reveals many men overcame their fear and went on to do great, courageous things.

Illus: Can you imagine what it must have been like to live in the days of Christopher Columbus and take off on a voyage across the ocean, not knowing if perhaps somewhere out there you might drop off the edge of the earth like going over a gigantic Niagara Falls?

Columbus and his men set out to discover a shorter route for commercial ships to travel and did not know what they would be facing. WHAT COURAGE!

Illus: Can you imagine the courage it took for the former astronaut, now Senator, John Glenn, to climb into Sputnik, and for the first time in the history of man be shot into outer space like a bullet out of a gun. WHAT COURAGE!

The history books are filled with accounts of men and women of great courage, but never have men shown greater courage than the men of God who suffered persecution and some, even death.

Illus: When John Knox was killed it was said of him as he was dying, 'There lies he who never feared the face of man.'

Yes, some of the most courageous men and women who ever lived on this earth were men and women of God.

We may claim that we are like them, but we are not. MANY Christians today lack raw courage.

Some Christians say, "Well, I am a courageous person, but I also believe a Christian should be cautious."

It is smart to be cautious, but we must remember, even a turtle knows he will never get anywhere until he sticks his head out of his shell. Multitudes of professing Christians are not making the impact the New Testament Christians made because they do not have the courage to stick their heads out of their spiritual shells.

This problem is not confined to Christian circles. In fact, in general, people are not very courageous.

Illus: Someone said, 'There are more twins born these days than ever before. Maybe it is because children today do not have the courage to come into the world alone!'

Let's examine some of the most outstanding examples we have of GODLY COURAGE in the New Testament. We see courage in...

A. THE LIFE OF STEPHEN.

Acts (6 & 7) tells us of Stephen, because of the great works God worked through him, being brought before a hostile council. There, in answer to their accusations, he demonstrated great courage as he charged them with:

BEING stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart (verse 51).

BEING a chip off of the old block and resisting the Holy Spirit as their fathers had done (verse 51).

BEING betrayers and murderers (verse 52).

He had the courage to look them in the eyes and tell them things about themselves that they did not want to hear.

lllus: Some folks have the courage to speak the truth, or a lie, about a person if that person is not present. Oh, what a marvelous job they do behind a person's back, but, when it comes to confronting that person face to face it is a different story, they do not have enough courage to open their mouths.

Stephen spoke to them face to face. He had the courage to tell them what they needed to hear. Did they pat him on the back and commend him for this courage? No! That crowd was so angry at his answer that, the Bible says, "...they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth."