Battle Drill #20:

Be a Hope-Bearer!

Proverbs 13:12-17 (NAS95)

Today, we are going to walk through the four action steps of a soldier’s training routine to learn the next battle drill – “Be a Hope-Bearer!”

In a recent news article, the author explained the importance of teaching your children the practical life skills of hope, a timely reminder since we are living in a world filled with hopelessness and darkness:

Research shows that hopefulness can dramatically reduce childhood anxiety and depression. Hopeful kids have an inner sense of control. They view challenges and obstacles as temporary and able to be overcome, so they are more likely to thrive and help others. Yet despite its immense power, hope is largely excluded from our parenting agendas. The good news? Hope is teachable. One of the best ways to increase this strength is by equipping children with skills to handle life’s inevitable bumps.[1]

The article continues with “nine science-backed ways to help kids maintain hope.” Those ideas include the following: stop negativity in the moment, share hopeful news, celebrate small gains, create gratitude rituals, and embrace service opportunities. I must point out to you that these “science-backed ways” all find their origin in the Bible; therefore, I am going to give you a Proverbs-backed battle drill that encourages you to train yourself everyday to be a hope-bearer.

Action Step #1) Know the Field Manual.

The battle drill we are going to learn and apply this week is from Proverbs 13:12-17:

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life. The one who despises the word will be in debt to it, but the one who fears the commandment will be rewarded. The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, to turn aside from the snares of death. Good understanding produces favor, but the way of the treacherous is hard. Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool displays folly. A wicked messenger falls into adversity, but a faithful envoy brings healing.

To better understand how I am applying this Scripture, you need to hear these verses in their context, as a part of the whole of Proverbs 13. This is what the Field Manual says, let’s now take the second action step to learn how to apply today’s battle drill to our everyday lives as good soldiers of Jesus Christ.

Action Step #2) Train together as one unit.

It is not God’s will that you become a jaded, cranky doomsdayer. Rather, it’s God’s will that you become a loving, patient hope-bearer! So, let’s get to the heart of this very real human experience. The biblical concept of hope is linguistically and thematically connected to waiting on the Lord. An example of this is found in Isaiah 40:31, “Yet those who wait for [hope in] the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.” The “wait for” and “hope in” are interchangeable; both translations are found in the same Hebrew word, “Qavah” (קָוָה), which has an original connotation of twisting or stretching.^[2]

How’s this for a new translation of Isaiah 40:31, “Yet those who are stretched by the Lord will gain new strength…” In response to that, maybe we should write a new Beatitude: “Blessed are the flexible for they shall not be bent out of shape.” Or “Blessed are those who are stretchable, for they shall not snap!” In returning to the soldier imagery of our sermon series, many a military person has expressed a common parody of the US Marine’s motto, “Semper Fi: Always Faithful” with the ever-present military reality of “Semper Gumby: Always Flexible!” I never realized that the US Army’s philosophy of “hurry up and wait” could bring about good.

Seriously, this is the key to being a hope-bearer. To truly understand biblical hope, you must understand that at the heart of hope is trusting God! Concepts like trust and hope are in short commodity in our culture today because we are not a patient people, we hate waiting and despise being inconvenienced. We are notorious for being the masters of our own fate. If we had to be honest, and not take offense at our own honesty, it is not the over 1.02 million deaths in America that dominates most American’s frustration with the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been the disruption and inconvenience to our schedules and lives. As a culture, we struggle with hope because we don’t wait gracefully, and we don’t tolerate inconvenience very well.

There is hope with every season of darkness because there is a sunrise coming! Creation reveals the majesty of God! As Jeremiah wrote in Lamentation 3:19-26, there is hope, even in the darkest night of the soul and in the worst possible circumstances:

Remember my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and bitterness. Surely my soul remembers and is bowed down within me. This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him. It is good that he waits silently for the salvation of the Lord.

This is real hope – biblical hope! It is not wishful thinking! It is not my life working out for me the way I want it to, or else everyone will hear about it. Quite the opposite, biblical hope is learning to trust God as the Good Shepherd of your soul. We train hope into our lives by learning to walk with the One described by David in Psalm 23, based on his life of waiting on God:

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

There is no secret sauce to hope! It is 100% trusting God! It is learning that God is who He says He is, to take Him at His word to do what He says He will do, when He wills to do it. His time is always best! That takes us to the third action step to training yourself to be a hope-bearer.

Action Step #3) Seek the Commander’s approval.

Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.

In John 10:10-11, Jesus described His purposes for our lives as our Good Shepherd, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” An essential reality to training to be a hope-bearers is found in not separating verses 10 and 11. Jesus came to give abundant life by laying down His life for the sheep! The lie of the thief is that you don’t have to lay down your life and you can still have abundance. God’s creation declares His glorious plan for our redemption: Just as there is no sunrise without the night and no spring without the winter, there is no crown without the cross and no resurrection without the grave.

There is no hope without the need to wait for “it.” It being God’s good pleasure for our lives – Jesus gave His life so that we may have life in Him. God’s good pleasure is to become like Jesus; therefore, even our waiting is a part of God’s redemptive purposes, every time, no matter the length of the wait, no matter the human explanation for the delay or inconvenience. God uses all things for His good pleasure; that is a fundamental truth of a hope-bearer! This is the reality of Paul’s promise in Romans 8:28-29, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son.” Therefore, wait upon the Lord and He will strengthen you for the mission. That brings us to the final action step.

Action Step #4) Live on mission.

It is why you were saved! In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus calls His disciples to the mission of God, to carry on His work as the Light of the world:

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

This is a radical statement – “You are the light of the world.” Jesus used the title given to Him and applied it to you. A significant way we train ourselves to be hope-bearers is to remember who we are, to memorize this truth and to recite it to ourselves – “I am the light of the world. I am a hope-bearer!” If we believe this about ourselves, then we can fight off the temptations of disappointment, despair, discouragement, and even depression. There is meaning and value in every dark season, in every delay and set back, and in all my waiting upon God.

Being the light of the world is more than a verse to memorize, it is a promise to experience, and a battle drill to train by giving yourself to the daily work of being hope-bearers. I wrote about this in Seize the Moment: New Testament Devotions for Today:

God is not surprised by your current darkness, whatever it is. But, if we let it, the darkness can prevent us from being the light of the world. Don’t let the darkness prevail – we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus! Shine the light into the darkness. Reflect specifically today on how you can help others to see the light of God in the midst of all the darkness. Seize the moment by being a hope-bearer, not a doomsdayer![3]

One person can make a difference by being a hope-bearer! It’s contagious. Bring the light of hope to all you encounter! Go from this place and may the light of your good works pierce the darkness. Christ is coming again to make all things new. Wait on Him and anchor your hope in His promise of the New Heaven and New Earth that awaits us all.

Make this battle drill a reflexive, instinctive, and habitual part of your Christian life so that you can CM – Continue the Mission! Therefore, live on mission today and train the battle drill of the week for the glory of God. Let us pray.

This message can be listened to here:

This message can be viewed by clicking HERE.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Michel Borba, “Child psychologist: The No. 1 skill that sets mentally strong kids apart from ‘those who give up’ – and how parents can teach it.” https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/04/psychologist-shares-the-top-skill-that-sets-mentally-strong-kids-from-those-who-give-up-easily.html. Accessed on July 6, 2022.

[2] Francis Brown, Samuel Rolles Driver, and Charles Augustus Briggs, Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977), 875.

[3] Jerry D. Ingalls, Seize the Moment: New Testament Devotions for Today (New Castle, IN: Northside Books & Media, an AGF Publishing Imprint, 2021), 7.

Battle Drill #19:

Give an Honest Report!

Proverbs 12:13-20 (NAS95)

Today, we are going to walk through the four action steps of a soldier’s training routine to learn the next battle drill – “Give an Honest Report!”

In the military, reporting is critical to the mission success, whether it’s your location, an update on your situation, or a description of enemy activity, giving an honest and accurate report is an essential task for every soldier. For example, reporting your accurate location, on time every time, saves lives because when artillery or close air support is called in, or when friendly forces are moving into your area of operation, your location being properly posted on the map is a life-or-death reality. A false report easily leads to confusion, friendly fire, and even death. The same is true within the Church of Jesus Christ in our mission to seek and to save the lost.

Action Step #1) Know the Field Manual.

The battle drill we are going to learn and apply this week is from Proverbs 12:13-20:

An evil man is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, but the righteous will escape from trouble. A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his words, and the deeds of a man’s hands will return to him. The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel. A fool’s anger is known at once, but a prudent man conceals dishonor. He who speaks truth tells what is right, but a false witness, deceit. There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Truthful lips will be established forever, but a lying tongue is only for a moment. Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but counselors of peace have joy.

To better understand how I am applying this Scripture, you need to hear these verses in their context, as a part of the whole of Proverbs 12. Read from the Bible. This is what the Field Manual says, let’s now take the second action step to learn how to apply today’s battle drill to our everyday lives as good soldiers of Jesus Christ.

Action Step #2) Train together as one unit.

Psalm 133:1 proclaims, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!” Paul teaches in Ephesians 4:1-3 that there is a way for the body of Christ to dwell together in unity:

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

We must, each one of us, walk in a manner worthy of our calling as soldiers of Jesus Christ – we are fellow members of the one body of Christ (Romans 12:4-5). For us to grow into maturity, Paul further teaches in Ephesians 4:11-16 that we must give an honest report to one another by speaking the truth in love, and he makes it very clear that it starts with the spiritual leaders:

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

To give one another an honest report is to speak the truth in love. This is how the body of Christ matures in Christlikeness. In John 1:14, Jesus is described as coming to us, “full of grace and truth.” We must go to others as Christ came to us – full of grace and truth, not full of grace and, most of the time or only when it feels comfortable, truth. And not full of truth and, when we feel like it, grace. Jesus was full of grace and full of truth. It seems to me that very few of us find this balance of doing both. It boils down to fear and trust. A fear that grace is the same as complicity. A distrust that truth will be received well. I find this tension within myself.[1]

I, and my fellow leaders, are to teach you the Word of God “until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and the knowledge of the Son of God.” Paul teaches us in Galatians 6:1-2 that we must be careful in how we do this, “Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.” Our logos of truth must be expressed in the pathos of grace so that the ethos of the gospel is love.

Our hearts must be aligned with our minds. We must live what we know is the truth. There is a prescribed way to go about giving honest reports to one another (accountability) and to avoid giving honest reports about one another (gossip). This is taught in Matthew 18:15-20:

If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.

This passage ends with a very popular promise – the promise of Jesus’ presence. We often forget that it is given within the context of loving confrontation and accountability. It’s not talking about worship or prayer times. Jesus is present during loving confrontation, and that should shape our conversations. Whereas Matthew 18 has been used to justify blacklisting people and shaming people for their decisions, that is not what God intends for us. It is to the glory of God and the good of His people that we do all things His way, which is why we now turn to action step 3 to see how we are to do this.

Action Step #3) Seek the Commander’s approval.

The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.

Let’s look at what it means to be LEADERS when it comes to applying today’s battle drill:

Lead by example; follow Jesus and the standards He has set for us in faith and practice. First and foremost, leaders live lives that are examples to imitate (Philippians 3:17; 1 Timothy 4:12; Titus 2:7-8; Hebrews 13:7; 1 Peter 5:1-3).

Evaluate the situation; start the process at the lowest level possible (brother to brother, sister to sister), just as Matthew 18:15 commands.

Approach the person prayerfully, with gentleness, humility, and in a timely manner, just as Galatians 6:1 teaches.

Discuss, discern, and decide the next steps with God in prayer, and with the person face-to-face, whenever possible. Pastors and elders must be prayerfully ready to uphold the holiness of the Lord in the body of Christ if we get to the final step of Matthew 18, which is for the purpose of loving the person back to a full fellowship with God, and then the church.

Empower the congregation before, during, and after the process to be a people who love well, relate as brothers and sisters in Christ, revere God, seek a holy life, and live a life as fellow members of the body of Christ according to 1 Corinthians 12-13.

Respect confidentiality; avoid all gossip, dissension, or unnecessary public exposure by walking in the Spirit through the process (Galatians 5:1-26).

Submit to and support your leaders. Trust that God works through God-fearing, Christ-exalting, Bible-teaching leaders, especially when you may not have all the facts (Hebrews 13:17).

When we each follow these seven steps as LEADERS, then we are living on mission in how we are conducting ourselves as His body in speaking the truth in love. This is how we are to give an honest report and that takes us to the fourth action step.

Action Step #4) Live on mission.

Follow up praise report for Backyard Bible Club (Davisson’s). Then, call up the DR short-term mission team to pray over them as they “go” to live on mission, taking the love of Jesus.

By training ourselves to deal with one another in love and according to God’s Word then we will not only give an honest report to one another, but our public witness will be an honest report that we belong to God and are proclaiming His gospel, in word, deed, and in how we do relationships. As a church leader expressed to me this week on this very point:

Many outside the church know the story of Jesus. They have heard the gospel. But they don’t believe it, or don’t want to associate themselves with it because of how they see the people within the church hurting each other, or hurting those outside the church, in the way they do relationships. Yes, the gospel is the uncompromised core of who we are and why we do what we do, but if our relationships, which are the thing that is the most relatable and most visible, are not loving and healthy, then we cannot hope to draw people to the Jesus we serve.[2]

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FOOTNOTES:

[1] Informed by my email conversations with both Curt Ferrell and Emily Hurst.

[2] From an email conversation with Emily Hurst, June 28, 2022.