sound the trumpet agaiN!
The Courage to be (Yourself)
By Jamal-Harrison Bryant
CBN.com – And
Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee. And Saul armed David
with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed
him with a coat of mail…. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with
these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him. And he took
his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook,
and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a scrip; and
his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. (1 Samuel
17:37b-40)
My brothers, at the time of this writing, there are
more than six billion people on this great planet we call Earth. One of
the awesome wonders of God is that, of these six billion people, not one
of them is exactly alike. Of these six billion people, not one of them has
had the identical experience. However, if we would allow Jesus in our lives,
all of us have one thing in common—the opportunity to have a personal
savior!
In the Old Testament, we find a relationship with God
that blessed and cursed people simultaneously, but we were never able to
gain one accord. When Jesus came, he broke the boundaries of what many people
allow themselves to do as a part of a group philosophy. There are so many
churches that are practitioners of illegal cloning because they want everybody
to shout the same, speak in the same tongue, wear the same hat, adorn themselves
in the same colors, and bring the same Bible. But, they are going against
the New Testament legitimacies of individuality. What Jesus wants all of
us to honor and own up to is that God made us as individuals. As individual
people, he gave us a distinctive personality, as well as unique characteristics.
This is your personal I.D.—your identification. Your I.D. is a function
of your individual personality, and it shows that only you are you. Another
man may have the same first name as you, but he is not you. Another man
may share your last name, but he is not you. Another man may have both of
your names, but he is not you!
In large part due to terrorism, you are required now
to show your photo I.D. before boarding a plane. This I.D. must have your
photo, as well as your personal information. If not, you are considered
an impostor. Now, those of you who are not interested in moving anywhere
or going anyplace, you don’t have to show I.D., but for those of you
who have your mind on straight, for those who have someplace in this world
that you want to go, and for those who have visions that you want to fulfill,
God wants you to show your I.D.!
“What do you mean, Preacher?” No prayers
ought to be identical because everybody’s needs are different. That’s
why you have to find your own praise, your own worship, and your own relationship
with God. That’s why you have to carve out your own distinctive way
of praising God! No one can tell you how to praise God because no one really
knows what it took for you to praise God the way that you do. Brother, you
need to take a look at yourself in the mirror. You need to take ownership
of what you see. You don’t have to be afraid of who you are. You don’t
have to wonder if God made a mistake in making you. You just need to have
the courage to be yourself!
Every person has a distinctive set of life circumstances
that brought you here. But, the wonderful thing about God is that he can
use one preacher to affect 1,300 people in 1,300 different ways. The same
sermon delivered to 1,300 people will be received in a multitude of ways—because
we see with not only our eyes, but also with our experiences. We hear with
both our ears and our experiences! You have to see and hear from the view
of your unique circumstances. You have to understand now that every time
you come to church and you begin to praise God, you’re showing your
I.D.—because your praise is a reflection to the celestial bodies of
what you are and what it is that you’re going through.
That’s why I cannot come to church and get in
other folks’ business. I don’t know what they are going through.
I don’t know their personal I.D. So when I come to church, I’m
not thinking about the folks who are behind me or in front of me. I come
in church, I worship God, and act like it’s just the two of us.
Brothers, we need to take a course in ontology one on
one. Ontology is the metaphysical study of being. Ontology is the science
of understanding one’s own being. Paul Tillich, a well-known German
theologian, understood this when he wrote a book that shares the title of
this sermon: “The Courage to Be.” In the preface of this book,
Tillich says that courage can show us what being is, and being can show
us what courage is.1 What are you saying, Paul Tillich? He is saying that
you have not discovered courage until you are secure in your own being.
When we are secure in our being, then we have courage. In other words, you
cannot intimidate me when I know who I am, and there is no way you can make
me afraid of myself when I know what God is calling me to be!
The Bible tells us, “Greater is he that is in
you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4). When I have courage,
then I understand Paul’s words to Timothy: “God hath not given
us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind”
(2 Timothy 1:7). Dear brothers, I hope some of you will get courage before
this message is over. This means that you will no longer fear bill collectors
because you know that there is nothing they can do to you—because
even if you get evicted, you know that God already has another house with
your name on it!
Tillich further posits that courage is the ethical act
in which a human being affirms one’s own being, in spite of an environment
that is against one’s self-affirmation. The only thing that gives
me courage is when I can defy what other people tell me I’m unable
to do. Brothers, I’m talking about folk who try to talk you out of
your dreams, try to convince you out of your calling, try to persuade you
out of your anointing. You have to believe that if God told you so, it will
come to pass. No matter how long it takes, trust in the Lord with all your
heart!
Few of us like opposition. However, we don’t find
our courage until we come against opposition. Some of us have never found
the fortitude for our own being because we’ve never been opposed.
One of the sweetest victories you could ever accomplish in life is succeeding
in the face of people who wanted you to fail. The reason God keeps our enemies
close is because he wants them near enough to see what a miracle looks like—and
so you can see that miracle reflected in the face of folk who told you it
could not happen. Brothers, you can do all things through Christ who strengthens
you!
Brothers, what do you fear? What are your fears? What
stops you from dreaming and having the courage to move forward?
The first thing that stops us from acquiring the courage
to be ourselves is that we are afraid of our past. You’ll note in
our Scripture text that David heard there was a man by the name of Goliath
who was talking trash about his God. David says, “I have to go fight.”
Now, it would have been easier for David not to go. It would have been easy
for him not to go because he was just used to herding sheep, or because
he was the youngest, or because other folks were more experienced or better
equipped. David could have come up with a litany of excuses—but he
didn’t. Brothers, we must stop making excuses! Stop making excuses
about why you are where you are. “I would have finished college, but
I got a girl pregnant.” “I would have started my business, but
my momma got sick.” “I would have joined the church, but I messed
up too bad to become respectable now.” We’re afraid of our past.
The second reason some men are afraid to be ourselves
is that we are afraid of our problems. David’s obvious problem was
that he was facing a giant. On top of this, no one believed he could win
the battle. Thus, David also had to face the problem of his family not believing
in him. Some of you are unable to be yourself because you place so much
value on what your family thinks of you. Here you are, forty years old and
you are still allowing your family to call you “Little Man”
and “Boo Boo.” Your family needs to know that you are not the
boy or young man you used to be. Some of you better get ready, because the
folk you have to get straight, quite often, are in your family. Some of
them keep trying to block you from going to the next level!
When we devote too much concern to what others think
about us, we start to question our own abilities. We begin to feel insecure
and uncertain. When we put the opinions of others too close to what God
has instructed us to do and to be, we begin to allow their questions to
irk us. They want to know, “Why do you keep going down to that church?”
They want to know, “Why do you read your Bible so much?” They
want to know, “Why are you always going to prayer meetings and Bible
study?” You can hear them in the next room, saying things like, “He
thinks he’s fooling somebody; I knew him when he used to be a mess.”
Brothers, stop acting like you don’t hear them and go confront them.
Brothers, walk in the power that God has given you. Have the courage to
be you!
Brothers, the third reason we are afraid to be ourselves
is that we are afraid of our unknown potential. A person’s potential
reflects the future, and the future is uncertain. Most of us are good at
telling others how to take care of their business. It’s safe to give
advice to somebody else because you’re looking at their life. But,
when you step out on faith—with your own life—you’re going
to another place where you don’t know how it’s going to end.
When you step out on faith, you’re saying, “I believe in the
power of God.” That’s why we should never judge our life based
on what other people are experiencing—because we don’t know
what it is that God has in store for us!
Whatever God has just shown you to this point is only
a preview of the future. God is saying, “Look, if I’m able to
do it for them, then what do you think I have in mind for you?” And
every now and again, you ought to thank God for the possibility! I don’t
know what God has in store for me, but whatever it is, it’s got to
be better than what I have right now. In our text, the Bible says that Saul
came to David and said, “All right, you’re going to fight the
giant. Let me put my armor on you because this is what worked for me. I
want to put my mantel on you because this is what took me through some of
my storms.” Brothers, let me help you. Sometimes, when you have a
battle, you can’t take advice from other people, because your battle
is not exactly like their battle. There is some stuff going on in your storm
that is unique; therefore, you must be ready to solve your problem in the
way that God leads you to do so. You must have courage to listen to God’s
will for your life, and use the equipment he has given you to solve your
problem. Brothers, you must have the courage to be you, no matter what the
situation entails or who it involves.
Not long ago, I went to Atlanta. While there, I went
to Morehouse for my ten-year college reunion. While I was walking through
the campus, reminiscing and reflecting on all of the things that God did
for me while I was a student there, I wanted to shout every time I thought
about what I went through back then. I remember going through one whole
semester eating Oodles of Noodles! I remember having to make grilled-cheese
sandwiches with an iron! Brothers, I ain’t playing with you today.
I remember going to the cafeteria on somebody else’s meal plan. I
better not tell it all…!
Well, my trip down memory lane was interrupted when
I was approached by one of the deans. My former dean said, “Jamal,
let me see you for a minute.” He said, “Jamal, I’m proud
of you.” I said, “Thank you, Dean.” He said, “I’m
proud of you—but I’m concerned.” I said, “You’re
concerned about me? You have all these students here on campus. Why are
you concerned about me?” He said, “Jamal, I saw your broadcast
the other day.” I responded, “Oh, did you? Thank you for watching.
Now, tell me your concern.” He said, “Jamal, I just heard that
you were accepted into Oxford.” I said, “Yeah, Dean, I was accepted
into Oxford.” He said, “I’m proud of you.” I said,
“Thank you.” He said, “I heard you graduated from Duke
with honors. I’m so proud of you.” I said, “Thank you.”
He asked, “You’re a third-generation preacher, aren’t
you?” I said, “Yes, I am.” He responded, “I’m
proud of you, but I have a concern. Didn’t you go to Africa to live
for a year in the Study Abroad Program?” I said, “Yes, I did.”
He said, “If my memory serves me correctly, you were one of my well-cultured
students.” I said, “Oh, Dean, thank you.” He said, “Jamal,
you were one of those students that, within the first two bars of music,
could decipher between Mozart and Bach.” I said, “Dean, that’s
me.” He said, “You knew the difference between the pictures
of Gordon Parks and James Venderneer.” I said, “That’s
me.” He said, “You knew the poetry of Maya Angelou and William
Shakespeare.” I said, “Yeah, Dean, that’s me.” He
said, “With all that going on, I don’t understand why you are
in church screaming and sweating like that. Jamal, I just want to give you
a bit of advice. If you would just lower your voice, be a little bit calmer,
a little bit more collected—I’m telling you, Jamal, if you listen
to me, you’ll sell more tapes. Not only that, they will invite you
to be in some bigger conferences.” He said, “Jamal, just put
on a three-piece suit, put on a plain solid tie, get rid of those gators,
put on some Florsheim shoes, and you could be a respectable preacher.”
I looked at him and said, “Dean, can I talk now?
Can I say something for just a little while? I don’t mean any disrespect,
but I gotta preach to you because I finally got the courage to be myself.”
I said, “When I first started out, I tried to be T. D. Jakes, so I
would say ‘Get ready, get ready, get ready!’ When I grew further
along, I tried to be like Leroy Thompson and said, ‘Money cometh to
me right now!’ I tried to be like John Hagen and said, ‘Give
him praise and glory!’ I tried to be like Joel Oleson and said, ‘Well,
friends, today I want to talk about forgiveness.’ I tried to be Frank
Reid and said, ‘Somebody, say Yeah!’ I tried to be Walter Thomas
and whistle a few times. I tried to be Rod Parsley and said, ‘America
needs a revival.’ Dean, I tried to be like all of them, but none of
that fits me! You have to understand that I ain’t nothing but a ghetto
preacher. I may not have a three-piece suit, I may not have the most expensive
shoes, but now, I do have the courage to just simply be me.” Therefore,
I’m just a little black boy from west Baltimore who can say, “Preach,
black man.”
Brothers, you must have the courage to be yourself!
There comes a time when you have to shout the way the Lord is leading you.
You have to rejoice like the Spirit is guiding you. You have to praise him
in your own way. Brothers, when all is said and done, in the end, you must
have the courage to be. Brothers, we each have our own personal, God-given
I.D. Have the courage to be yourself!
NOTE
1. Paul Tillich. The Courage to Be. (New Haven: Yale University)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Excerpted from:
Sound
the Trumpet Again!, edited by Darryl D. Sims. Copyright ©
2004. ISBN 081701476-4. Published by Judson Press. Used by permission. Unauthorized
duplication prohibited.
Visit Judson Press
for more titles.
More from the Black History
Section on CBN.com
CBN IS HERE FOR YOU!
Are you seeking answers in life? Are you hurting?
Are you facing a difficult situation?
A caring friend will be there to pray with you in your time of need.
