No one will ever influence his or her world without courage. And courage is not a personality trait. It is a work of the Holy Spirit.

Some Christians think it’s important never to offend anyone. But Paul saw things differently. He saw it as necessary.

One thing I want you to note is this: COURAGE comes from CONVICTION.

I originally said you can’t influence your world without courage. The other side of the coin is CONFLICT. We need courage AND we need conflict. You can’t mature without it. You can’t grow to spiritual adulthood until you experience and accept conflict.

Conflict creates conviction, which fuels courage.

Listen, living in such a world, it is easy to fall into being…COMFORTABLE. It’s easy to fall into a comfortable, convenience style Christianity. Much of Christianity DEMANDS NOTHING. But Jesus demands courage.

BECAUSE THIS CHURCH EMBRACED CONFLICT, IT DEVELOPED CONVICTION, AND BECAUSE IT HAD CONVICTION, IT FOUND COURAGE, AND BECAUSE IT FOUND COURAGE, IT ROCKED.