Be Strong & Courageous

Our Theme for 2024 is Possessing the Land

Here we are in a new year.

Last year we talked about living in both earthy and in spiritual reality.

Knowing who we are in spiritual reality gives a sense of purpose.

It opens up a whole vast landscape just waiting to be possessed.

On a personal level, it means getting our lives in order.

On a social and emotional level, it means being in the moment and entering into each season with purpose.

On a spiritual level, it means occupying the calling and position that is ours in Christ.

Pastor Curt covered this same passage last week in the message entitled “You are called to Enter In.”

“If you think small - you will do small. But if you will think big - you can do great things!”

Paul talked about possessing the land - not just the literal land of Israel - but of his own inner life as territory that belongs to the Kingdom of God.

Philippians 3:12 (NLT)

12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.

Last year, Ken Eberly mentioned that Joshua is symbolic of establishing the Kingdom of God.

When he said that, Ii already had in mind to study the book of Joshua, and he just confirmed it.

As we move into this new year - these times look to be some of the most challenging times in recent memory.

Everybody is anxious and some people are downright scared.

This could be the church’s finest hour but most churches are “playing it safe” - just trying not to offend anybody.

That’s hard to do because our society is polarized between extreme ideas and behaviors and those who are equally passionate to resist them.

Add to that, this is an election year … I think it going to be a wild ride!

This is not a time to shrink back, but it is a time to be alive, alert and engaged.

The early church prayed for courage during such times.

Acts 4:29–31 NLT

29 And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. 30 Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.

We need that kind of courage today!

As we study through the book of Joshua - I call this series “lessons in courage”

We are going to be looking at the characters and the circumstances that God used to instill courage in His people.

Each week is a different story about how someone overcame impossible odds and what we can learn from it.

A few are actually stories of defeat, but they can still be courageous stories if we will learn from them.

We begin with Joshua, the younger assistant to Moses and the transition of leadership.

This marked not only a change in leadership, but a new era.

It was the end of the wilderness wanderings and the beginning of promised land conquest.

They had tried once before and it didn’t go well.

Now it is time to try again.

There is a sense of unfulfilled destiny.

We can’t stay here in the wilderness.

There is a promised land waiting for us - we just need to have the courage to move into it.

Move forward with courage.

What is your promised land?

Do you have a long range goal for your life?

What would you do if time or resources were not an obstacle?

Is the a promise the you have been praying for?

Or a prophetic word that you are holding on to?

What would you do if you weren’t scared?

What if God said, “It’s time!”

Would you do it?

Could you do it?

Today is a new day!

Joshua 1:1–2 (ESV)

1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel.

Moses is dead - there is no going back.

I’m much too familiar with death and grief - I lost a spouse to cancer six years ago.

Everything inside you wants to hang on to those memories.

You seem to remember only the good times and forget the bad.

There is a longing to go back and re-experience the “good old days”

Only the “good old days” were not really as good as we remember.

What is really good about those days is that they made us the person we are today.

Today is a new day.

We can remember the past, but we can never go back.

Except in our minds, to learn from our experiences.

Reality is that time and the events of our lives are all moving forward.

This day will never happen again.

If we spend it reminiscing about the “good old days” we may very well miss the good parts of today!

It is time to arise - wake up - be present - be in the moment.

There is a river that needs to be crossed.

There is a land to possess.

There is a future to walk into.

There is a destiny waiting to be fulfilled.

Every step forward brings new opportunities.

Joshua 1:3–6 ESV

3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. 5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.

Have you thought about this? - Everywhere you go, God goes with you.

Jesus was fully God in human flesh.

He gave us the Holy Spirit - to be with us and in us.

Now none of us is altogether what Jesus was,

But each of us is at least some of who He is - by virtue of the Holy Spirit living in us.

Together we are a greater and fuller expression of the living “Body of Christ” - His representation on the earth.

Wherever we go - He goes.

Whether it’s to Bible study or to Wal-Mart.

We take Him with us on hospital visits or to the movie theater.

Jesus attends the March for Life - and I hope that He is also in the halls of our government.

Jesus is wherever His followers are - whether in greater or lesser number.

If you know this, it should change how you move through your day and through the world around you.

1 John 4:4 NLT

4 But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.

What if we really believed this?

How would we live differently?

Let me just clarify that it doesn’t mean that everyone will listen to you or do what you say.

Quite the opposite - have anyone found that when people find out that you are a Christian they actually turn against you?

The point is that there are invisible forces at work that are bigger than the people you meet - the one through whom they operate, mostly unknowingly.

And the even greater point is that there is an invisible force that operates in you and through you which is ultimately victorious over the force that is covertly operating through them.

The problem is that most of the time we don’t even realize it, recognize it or utilize the power that is available to us and through us.

Every place you go and every person you meet is an opportunity to take the presence of Jesus to that person or into that situation.

The word to Joshua is to do so consciously - with purpose and intent.

Keep your focus.

Joshua 1:7–9 ESV

7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Being the people of God and representing the presence of God requires a certain focus.

What kind of things keep us from representing Christ well?

We don’t even think about it.

We miss opportunities.

We get distracted - upset, irritated or offended.

We become part of the problem rather than the solution.

Do you realize that we have an enemy who will try to get you preoccupied with anything other that serving Jesus?!?

So much of the battle in our Christian life is just keeping our eyes on Jesus!

Cross over with courage.

Possessing the land implies taking action

moving forward

crossing a boundary

overcoming an obstacle

You don’t possess the land passively or by accident.

What kind of people do we need to become to possess the land?

I once told a widower who told me that he wanted to remarry, but he didn’t have a job and didn’t groom himself properly - be the kind of man a woman would want to marry.

Another guy heard that you should dress for the job you want. SO he showed up for work in a Batman costume!

No. Seriously, what is it going to take to become the people that God intended us to be?

Pastor Curt asked the question last week, “What would you do if you knew that the Lord was with you?”

I’m telling you - “God is with you - if you are with Him!”

So what is God telling you to do?

Be prepared.

Joshua 1:10–11 ESV

10 And Joshua commanded the officers of the people, 11 “Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’ ”

Nobody accomplishes anything significant without preparation.

If God told you that there was going to be a life changing moment three days from now - or three years from now - what would you do that you are not already doing?

I have not preached much on the rapture because, quite frankly, I have a hard time wrapping my mind around it.

But I can tell you that I am more convinced than ever that the church is the only restraining influence that is keeping evil from doing what evil wants to do.

What if God took the church out right about now?

How crazy would things get?

How many people are just going along with what society is offering thinking, “it’s not that bad”

Many people don’t believe there’s a devil.

Everybody is basically good.

Evil doesn’t really exist - or if it does - it’s the people who would try to stop you from ding whatever you want to do that are evil.

That’s right - they think Christians are the bad guys.

How many of them would fall to their knees and cry out to God the moment they realize that Christians are no longer there to represent the presence of God on earth?

Sometimes you don’t know exactly what you are preparing for or what you are being prepared for, but we trust the process and prepare!

A good friend of mine was on the board of a major company until it grew to the point where it went public. He told me that before becoming the CFO of that company he was a manager at a Pizza Hut. And before that, he had several other jobs that each taught him something about business management, but he had no ambition and no idea what he wanted to do with his life. He just wanted to serve the Lord.

But God was preparing him, and when the time came to join a friend in a new business venture, he had no idea it would become a world class company, but God knew and already had prepared him.

What is God preparing you for?

You may have no idea, but are you following Him step by step?

We just returned from vacation, but it was more than a vacation. Each year I take a personal retreat. The first thing on the agenda is to rest, because you can’t dream or even think when you are stressed. Then I begin to read back over past year’s journals and I have some question that guide me as I evaluate the present and set goals for the year ahead. I then send my journal to a trusted mentor and invite him to speak into my life.

That’s preparation- for what, I don’t exactly know- but whatever God has for us in the future, I intend to be ready.

Be committed.

Joshua 1:12–14 ESV

12 And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh Joshua said, 13 “Remember the word that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land that Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but all the men of valor among you shall pass over armed before your brothers and shall help them,

These two and a half-tribes had already made a decision to settle on the East side of the Jordan.

After defeating the Midianites and Og of Bashan, they saw that the land was open and available to them and they had vast herds of cattle which required a lot of open land.

Numbers 32:1 ESV

1 Now the people of Reuben and the people of Gad had a very great number of livestock. And they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, and behold, the place was a place for livestock.

In return, they promised to help with the conquest of the land West of the Jordan.

Numbers 32:16–18 ESV

16 Then they came near to him and said, “We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones, 17 but we will take up arms, ready to go before the people of Israel, until we have brought them to their place. And our little ones shall live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. 18 We will not return to our homes until each of the people of Israel has gained his inheritance.

That’s commitment - we are not going to rest and enjoy our inheritance until everyone has theirs.

Be resolved.

Joshua 1:15 ESV

15 until the Lord gives rest to your brothers as he has to you, and they also take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession and shall possess it, the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise.”

What if the Reubenites, Gadites and the Half-tribe of Manasseh would have given up after Jericho, or after the defeat at Ai?

What if they had said, “Hey, we have our inheritance already - you guys are on your own!”

While I was preparing this message someone stopped by the office to chat.

We ere talking about the way the world is today with such extreme corruption and godlessness.

He said that when he talks to some other Christians about it, they say, “Hey, we’re not going to be here!”

As if all they care about is God taking them out before it gets really bad.

While I understand what they are saying, I don’t think that attitude conveys the heart of God for the world.

I’m not looking to escape in the rapture.

I don’t expect my life to end and my influence to stop even if I die.

I hope to live my life in such a way that even if I am taken out, I leave a testimony and plenty of evidence of the reality of God behind.

Anybody who knows me is going to know I wasn’t abducted by aliens - I went to be with Jesus whom I know and love!

They can go through my stuff and see that my life revolved around serving God.

They can listen to my sermons, read my books or even my journals.

They are all going to tell the same story of a person who lived in spiritual reality while on earth and had finally gone home.

Obey God with courage.

You belong to something greater than yourself.

Joshua 1:16 ESV

16 And they answered Joshua, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.

Those of you who have served in the military know what it means to be under orders.

You belong to something bigger than yourself.

It doesn’t mean you never ask questions, but it does mean that in the end, it’s not your decision - you do what you are told.

What if we lived our Christian lives that way?

What if God could tell us to do something and not get an argument in return?

Or what if, even if we did argue with God, we were still resolved to to whatever God says?

How many of us actually live lives of unconditional obedience to God?

Don’t beat yourself up if you can’t answer that question - I’m not entirely there either.

Israel had their moments of going back on that promise too.

I think we all do - but isn’t it still our goal to obey God in everything?

Paul writes to the Corinthian believers who think they can get away with sexual immorality -

You know, “my body, my choice”

He has an important reminder for them:

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 NLT

19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

That’s it - we forget that we are bought and paid for by the precious blood of Jesus.

God lets us push back sometimes - but the choice to obey really should not be a question.

Trust God to lead you.

Joshua 1:17 ESV

17 Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you, as he was with Moses!

Here is the critical question - can you trust God to lead you?

Is God really God?

Does He really know everything?

Is He sovereign over all creation?

Does He really love you?

Is He really the definition of all that is good?

Is His purpose to heal and to restore mankind?

If God is God and God is good, then you can trust Him!

Most of the time when we have difficulty trusting God is because we either question God’d sovereignty or His character.

I remember one time in one of my many conversations with God, hearing Him say, “Joel, why to you act like I don’t exist?”

“What do you mean? When do I act like you don’t exist?”

“When you worry and are afraid, you show that you don't really trust me. You act like you’re God and I’m not.”

How many times do we look to God for inspiration, but our trust is really in ourselves?

Is that really such a big deal that we pray to God and then forget about what God said?

Is it a problem that we go to church and forget about God the rest of the week?

Is it a crime to call yourself a Christian, but life life on your own terms?

I’ll just stick to reading the Bible and let you decide...

Obedience is a matter of life and death.

Joshua 1:18 ESV

18 Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.”

Keep in mind that the context for this statement is a military conquest.

In a military context, you don’t have time for insubordination - people’s lives are on the line.

This is no time for you to throw a tantrum - or to whine, moan or complain.

It’s amazing how unimportant little things can be when you are just trying to survive.

The gospel is also a matter of life and death.

We are not having church to make our lives better.

This is not a country club where we fellowship around the things that make us happy.

This is not some secret society where a silly hat and a handshake makes you part of the elite crowd.

This is cosmic warfare where we have the option to either align ourselves with the God of the Universe or rebel with those who are bringing destruction upon the earth.

What you choose with regard to sin or salvation really matters.

It is a matter of life and death.

Jesus says:

John 5:24 NIV

24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.

That is the Jordan-crossing that the people of God still make today.

We cross over from death to life.

And when we do, there should be no going back.

That’s what it means to have courage.

Questions for reflection:

If crossing the Jordan is a metaphor for crossing over from death to life, from sin to salvation, and from serving self to glorifying God, which side of that divide are you on? Assuming there can be no middle ground, and there isn’t, where does that leave you?

What does it mean to be strong and courageous? Can you begin by being decisive? Can you find the strength to at least do what you know you should do? Can we work toward unconditional obedience?

What if this message this morning is really a warning? What if Jesus were to come back in the next year or the next couple of years? How will you live your life different to prepare for His return?