One day we were having lunch together, and he left me at the table and returned about thirty minutes later. He had a big smile on his face. He said, "Praise God, Sammy! I went to the kitchen and preached to the cooks and three of them gave their hearts to Christ." God really used Leo's courage to challenge me in my walk with God.

One night after confiding in Leo that I didn't have that same courage, I spent the entire night in prayer, and God dealt deeply with my heart. That night God cleansed me in two specific areas.

First, He showed me my sin. He showed me things that I call problems and hang-ups were no more than what the Bible calls sin. Well, I confessed and repented, God forgave and cleansed me.

The second area of my life that God dealt with was the root problem of my sin problem, and that is my "self" problem. That night I took my wife and placed her in a casket. I took all my material possessions and placed in that casket. I took my automobiles, all my clothes and money and placed them in the casket. Then I took all my future dreams, ambitions, and desires and placed them in the casket, and that night Sammy Tippit died. Now you might be asking, "Sammy did you really do that?"

Now I didn't do it physically, but I did do it spiritually. The Apostle Paul said, "I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives within me. The life I live in the body I live by the faith of theSon of God who loved me and gave himself for me."

He had not been physically crucified, but he had been spiritually. He learned to die daily to the old man in him and allow the life of Christ to be manifested in him. There he found victory and courage. Courage comes from simply allowing Christ to fill us with His life.

That day I learned a great lesson. If you are going to be filled with courage, then you must be emptied of sin and self. Then and only then will Christ fill you with Himself and with His courage.