Proverbs 28:1 - Introduction
A minister was rung up by a Satanist. As soon as the minister answered the phone the Satanist spoke a stream of curses over the man and his ministry. He cursed the man, he cursed his wife, he cursed his family. He cursed the church, the people in the church and the activities of the church. Everything he could think of cursing and every way imaginable he cursed this minister. The minister listened patiently and when the Satanist had finished he asked him how long he had been a Satanist. The Satanist replied, “12 years, why do you ask?” The minister suggested he was not very good at what he was doing. If he knew his Bible he would realise that every curse that had come from his mouth God had turned into his blessing. The Satanist thought he was cursing the minister but he was in fact blessing him. The minister was highly amused. He suggested to the Satanist that he might think that Satan had prompted him to ring him and speak curses over him. The Satanist said agreed that this was true. The minister told him it was not the case, God had in fact prompted him because he had a prophetic message to give to him. This was it, “I’m going to get you!” And the minister hung up.
Two years later the minister had a phone call. It was the Satanist again. He and 23 other Satanist were holding a gathering on the moor, worshipping Satan and preparing to offer animal sacrifices to him. In the middle of the flames of the fire Jesus appeared. All 24 Satanists gave their lives to Christ. He was ringing to tell the minister that God had indeed got him.
If you had answered the phone and received that torrent of abuse how would you have responded? Would you have been scarred? Would you have felt intimidated? Would you have felt threatened? Would you have felt angry? Would you have been able to respond as the minister responded? This year we would like to take for our theme part of Proverbs 28:1, “The righteous are as bold as lions.” We would like to unpack what this may mean for us as individuals and as a church over the next few weeks. This morning I would like to do a brief introduction. There are three parts to this verse and I want to deal with each one in turn.
Who we are – The righteous
The first thing I want us to look at is who we are – the righteous. One of the joys over the Christmas period was helping the various churches in Bingley with the Scripture Union schools project, “Rewind to Christmas” where we invite schools into the church and rewind to the first Christmas and get the children to think what it is all about. As I was welcoming children into our church I was greeted on several occasions by, “Hello Bananaman!” Over the summer, at Holiday Club, I had dressed up as Bananaman and though I had tried to tell the children it was not me, it was in fact Eric, none of them believed me. Now I may put on the Bananaman costume but that does not make me Bananaman. I can’t fly and have no amazing powers. Underneath the costume I am still me. When some children don Spiderman and Batman costumes, or Disney Princess’ costumes they think they turn into something of the character they are wearing. The truth is they are still themselves.
We can feel that when we are talking about being righteous. Talk about it as much as you want, we know that deep down the thoughts we have had this week, the words we have spoken, even some of the actions we have taken are not righteous. To call ourselves righteous would be like wearing a costume where the truth is vastly different. Yet Galatians 3:27 reminds us, “for all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” Philippians 1:11 goes on, “filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ.” The righteousness of Jesus Christ is to define who we are. It is to be how we see ourselves. We all have a choice to make, do we believe what the Bible says or do we trust what we feel? Or experience? Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying we are perfect. The New Testament does not say we are perfect, for example, 1 Peter 2:24 says, “so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness.” There is a need to pursue righteousness, that character or quality of being just. It was formerly translated “rightwiseness” and this carries a greater emphasis on our need to pursue this quality. But this does not undermine the truth that we are to see ourselves as the righteous. This is our identity in Christ. This is our inheritance that was purchased at great price on the cross. If we deny who we are we are rejecting all that Jesus has achieved for us through his death and resurrection. We are the righteous. Romans 4 talks about this righteousness being credited, or imputed, to us through faith in Jesus. It is not just a costume, it is who we are.
Yet as I have just mentioned, that does not mean we are perfect. Even though we live in Yorkshire and we are always right! It leads us to ask the question, “Can we lose our righteousness?” Perhaps if we sin in some way, or do not pursue or run the Christian race or we are just a bad Christian. The answer is found in Romans 8:1, “There is now no condemnation, for those who are in Christ Jesus.” The righteousness of Christ overcomes all. We cannot lose our righteousness. All past, present and future sin is dealt with on the cross. A secondary question we are then led to ask, can our sin affect our relationship with God? God sees us through the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Yet we are often mindful of what we have done. Perhaps we have bad-mouthed someone. Most of us who have a conscience would find next time we meet that person our relationship with them has been affected by the words we have spoken. They are still there normal self. Yet you feel more distant. Perhaps a little embarrassed. Certainly not at ease in their presence. And this can be true of our relationship with God. God still blessed Samson even though he had reneged on every vow he had taken. David was still seen as a man after God’s own heart even when he had sinned greatly. It does not excuse what they did. Perhaps God is more patient and gracious and loving than we think and stands with arms outstretched to embrace us when we come back because we withdraw when we sin. Perhaps, instead of withdrawing we need to understand we are righteous and learn even when we sin to live in the embrace of God.
How we are – The bold
The second thing I want us to look at is how we are – the bold. Returning to our opening illustration – how could the minister be so bold in the face of such a horrible verbal attack. What the Satanist was doing had real power. We have said before, “The tongue has the power of life and death” (Proverbs 18:21) We can speak blessings and curses over people and they affect people’s lives. In one sense the minister was in real danger but ended up laughing it off. How could he be so bold?
It is important to know who we are. The Bible describes us in so many ways, each is helpful in understanding our identity. We are the righteous of God, dearly loved children, Christ’s ambassadors, a chosen people, a royal priesthood and so it goes on. Simply knowing who we are gives us a certain degree of boldness so that we are not intimidated when threatening noises come our way. This does not leave room for arrogance, just quiet confidence and assurance that as the Bible says, “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)
It’s important to know your Bible so you know how to respond. Psalm 109:28 says, “They may curse, but you will bless.” Deuteronomy 23:5 says, “However, the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam but turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you.” Knowing you are loved by God turns the curse of the world into blessings. The minister knew his Bible and was bold enough to reject the words or curses spoken over him. He had a Biblical mandate to do so. There was another alternative, he could have accepted them and in entertaining them begun to see them produce fruit in his life. But he chose to reject them. I don’t know if he had a direct word from God and told to tell the man “I’m going to get you!” but again he knew his Bible and had the authority to prophecy over the man’s life. The verse we love tells us that God loved the world – he is out to get it. 2 Samuel 14:14 reminds us, “God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him.” God is in the business of getting people. The minister was simply forth-telling the truth.
It’s important to know what authority we now live with. Jesus says that all authority has been given to him – go. In other words we live with the authority of Jesus. As Christ’s ambassadors we carry ambassadorial authority into the world. Yet the world can be a scary place. A lot of noise and a lot of opposition. We should not be fearful. Romans 8:15 reminds us, “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.” We should be bold because the spirit of God is in us. That does not mean we are rude and aggressive, that is boldness rooted in our own ability, but boldness through the Spirit means that the world can have a gentle encounter with God and the powers of darkness are confronted by the full power of the force of the Holy Spirit. We are to be bold rooted in who we are in Christ.
Why we are – The lions
The third thing I would like us to look at is why we are – the lions. We can be bold because we are lions. One thing has always puzzled me – why is the lion called the king of the jungle. A lion does not live in the jungle. It lives on grassy plains and open woodland. Perhaps the reason is because it is the top predator. Though in a fight a tiger would probably kill a lion, lions tend to be found in prides and tigers are solitary so the lion would eventually win. I think these two things help us understand why we are to be as bold as lions.
We should see ourselves as the Kings and Queens of the jungle, or rather the world and in particular where we live and work. Again, I don’t think there is any need for arrogance but as children of the King of kings, royal heirs to the eternal kingdom, we need to flee any pauper mentality. We are to see ourselves as lions, displaying God’s love and grace, living under God’s authority and not fearful of the world. The world is under our authority and we should think and act with the authority that we have been given. When we come up against resistance we should expect them to yield. We are the lions! We should not think as losers but expect to be conquerors because of who we are and who is at work within us.
We should see ourselves as working together. A lone lion can actually get picked off by other predators. A lone lion often struggles to catch prey and may have to resort to scavenging A lone lion cannot take on large pray but would have to yield. However, together Lions have taken on Elephants, giraffe, buffalo and crocodiles, animals that are bigger and more powerful than them. We may feel weak and powerless but if we are prepared to work together we may surprise ourselves as to what we might be able to take on. We are told, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” We should not be naive, some of the battles we face are large, we cannot do it on our own, but together we are more than conquerors. We are lions. We are the top predators because God is with us. We need to more fully understand what that means.
