If you did not read the initial post, Radical Heroes… was about heroes in our own lives… The question now is, why is it then necessary to expand from there?
LET’S THINK ABOUT THIS…
Who are heroes in the image of?
Are heroes really needed?
What is the real representation that a hero portrays?
SUPERHEROES…
Superheroes are made to portray someone… Yet we think we need them…
A superhero may have been a need at some point, but I do not believe they are longer needed….
Their real representation will be given later in this post…
HEROES IN OUR CITIES…
Although they are still needed in our cities… To protect and serve… Save lives and so on… They also portray someone…
Although they are still needed for the day to day issues, which include crime, fire and health related issues, we need another Hero much more…
Their real representation will be given later in this post…
PARENTS…
I already hear people say… “YES, parents are like superheroes, no longer needed…” Bad news to you… THEY ARE…
Although they sometimes feel very unreasonable, and that they say the same thing over and over… And try to teach us what we believe is useless garbage… They are needed… Yet, they portray a much greater Hero…
Their knowledge is vast, YET, NO MAN CAN KNOW EVERYTHING… We need a Hero, who knows….
Their real representation will be given later in this post…
This is in no way to say that parents have no purpose… Parents are very much needed
FRIENDS…
Although friends seem to be of no worth… They are there for a reason…
I many days doubt it… Yet I only know what most have done wrong in my life…
Although friends are many times the ones that hurt us most… The ones who do not want to hurt our feelings… The ones who are there when hell breaks loose in our lives…. The ones who we can trust… They portray a greater Hero…
Sometimes our friends may not be there for us in our times of need… Or then may hurt us when we least expect of want to be hurt… They are very needed in our lives. Yet the Hero we really need, is there for us when we need Him and is there when we need someone most…
Their real representation will be given later in this post…
YOU AND ME..
Why are we included here? We to portray Someone greater….
Are we needed… Not really… YET THIS HERO WANTS US HERE… He chooses for us to be wanted… He is the Hero we portray….
Our real representation will also be given later in this post…
But before we go to the Real Hero…
Lets look at the Bible…
HEROES IN THE BIBLE
GIDEON…
Why is he a hero? Even though he saw himself as nothing, he listened to the Real Hero… And took 300 men to war with no weapons, and defeated Midian…
And he divided the 300 men into three companies and put trumpets into the hands of all of them and empty jars, with torches inside the jars. (Judges 7:16 ESV)
The complete story of Gideon is in Judges 6-8.
No weapon… Only a Word of a True Hero…
JOSHUA…
Joshua was one of the spies sent into Jericho…. He knew that the Real Hero has promised it to them… And he was willing to take it… However 10 of the spies feared…
Then when the generation died out, and Joshua took over from Moses… They took Jericho… But How?
Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in. And the LORD said to Joshua: “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor. You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him.” (Joshua 6:1-5 NKJV)
Although there is a whole book on Joshua, his life has started in Exodus already under Moses, at various places in Exodus 13-17. There may be more, but for now this is a good start
Obedience gave them Jericho in a very unlikely way…
SAMUEL…
Samuel was dedicated to the Real Hero as a boy… And because he obeyed the Word of the Real Hero… He became a prophet… He was the one who slept in the temple…
The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was. (1 Samuel 3:3 ESV)
He was one of those who were called by the Real Hero.
A third time the LORD called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy. (1 Samuel 3:8 NIV)
Samual has 2 books dedicated to him… (1 Samuel and 2 Samuel)
DAVID…
This man, while only a shepherd, was anointed a king by the Real Hero’s prophet Samuel…
And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah. (1 Samuel 16:12-13)
Then he was sent to his brothers… And heard a blaspheming giant… He picked up 5 stones and destroyed the giant… (1 Samuel 17) On a side note the reason for the 5 stones were not due to worrying about missing… But for the 4 other giants that were with Goliath…
There is a lot about David in the Bible… Two places to start in is in 1 Samuel and 1 Chronicles.
EZEKIEL…
Now in a time of great war, and no soldiers… The Real Hero sent this prophet to prophecy over skeletons…. DRY BONES… THIS WOULD TAKE FAITH… (Ezekiel 37)
Now these bones came to life and became a mighty army, sent directly from the Real Hero…
Ezekiel has a book dedicated to him, which you can go through…
Given the above scripture on the dry bones… We all have situations in our life which we need to speak to and prophecy over the dry bones, be it finances or illness…
HOSEA…
Now here is a hero… Why? He listened to the word of the Real Hero…
When the LORD began to speak through Hosea, the LORD said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the LORD.” (Hosea 1:2 NIV)
Wait, WHAT?!?!?!? You call this being a hero? I do… Think about it… Would you want to marry a prostitute? And have children with her?
And the worst part is that today we are still in this exact place of unfaithfulness to the Lord…
You can read the whole Hosea for more about his life..
THE REAL REPRESENTATION
It is finally time to reveal the Real Representation and the Real Hero whom I kept mentioning… So WHO IS HE?
Video: Jon Jorgenson Youtube Channel
This is a Hero like no other…
He SPOKE… And we came into existence…
He SPOKE… And Noah needed an ark…
He SPOKE… And prophets came to be…
But wait…. I made a promise earlier in the post…
This Hero is God, Jesus and Holy Spirit… A Cluster of One…
HE IS IN US…
And we are in His likeness…
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26 ESV)
To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27 NIV)
HE IS OUR FRIEND…
I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. (John 15:15 NIV)
He will never let us go on without help… He does not hurt us for any the purpose of destroying our hope… He is our Hope.(Note sometimes will be pain, yet it will heal and you will become stronger)
He is there, even when we sin and feel far from God… He is still right there ready to give you a hug… He can always be trusted… He is there when you need Someone to talk to… He takes care of you in times where you are fragile…
HE IS OUR FATHER…
because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son. (Hebrews 12:6 NIV)
His God instructs him and teaches him the right way. (Isaiah 28:26 NIV)
It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, (Titus 2:12 NIV)
He teaches us His ways… He shows us how to really love… He shows us what it means to care… He teaches us to pray… He instructs us… And He prays for us…
HE IS OUR HERO…
just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:28 NIV)
But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. (2 Thessalonians 3:3 ESV)
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. (John 10:10 NKJV)
He came to save, NOT destroy… He came to LOVE… He came to GIVE LIFE… He came to SERVE… He came to PROTECT…
HE IS THE ONLY SUPERHERO OUT THERE
But how did He save the World?
He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. (1 Thessalonians 5:10 NIV)
“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24 NIV)
And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. (2 Corinthians 5:15 NIV)
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16 ESV)
YES, HE DIED…
that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, (1 Corinthians 15:4 NIV)
and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. (Matthew 27:52 NIV)
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened. (Luke 24:1-12 ESV)
YES, HE ROSE
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20 ESV)
AND NOW HE LIVES IN US
God bless… Knowing a Real Hero is far greater, than wanting to know (or be) a fictional one… God is the ULTIMATE HERO