Be Strong and Corageous

Joshua –

Such a great book.  Very special to me

Gleanings in Joshua – Arthur Pink

Dad – Joshua 1 – favorite sermon of mine preached at YFC rally’s all across the Midwest

The only guy I have ever preached his sermon, not mine, was my dad and this is the main one.  I love this sermon! This was my always be ready to preach, pray or die in a moment’s notice sermon.  But I haven’t preached it 20 years I’ll bet.  But it is so good, the outline, the truth, so have to do it this weekend as a nod to my dad, but more than that, as an encouragement to you I hope!

I. Background

A. Author – Not sure

1. Joshua, up until the last few verses added by the priest

2. Others suggest Samuel wrote it, because of the “until this day” sections

B. Date – around 1400 BC

1. Covers about 20 years of time

C. Purpose – God’s faithfulness to His promises

1. All throughout the book

2. Starts here in chapter 1

D. Occasion – Entering, conquering, dividing of the Promised Land

1. Start on the east side of the Jordan, across from Jericho

2. Reuben, Gad, ½ tribe of Manasseh too the land on the east side

E. Key Player – Joshua

1. Name means: The Lord is Salvation

2. Right hand assistant to Moses first seen in Exodus 17:9 leading Israel into battle against the Amalek

3. One of the 12 spies Numbers 14

4. Ordained by Moses Deuteronomy 31, 34

5. Chapter 1 spiritual briefing – pep talk

a. Moses a great leader

b. People had been critical of Moses in the day, but now that he was dead, was the perfect leader compared to the new guy

II. Courage to Believe God’s Word

A. Key phrase: “Swore to their fathers”

1. This is not new with God, though it is new to Joshua

2. Promised 450 years before to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

3. God has had His plan

B. It takes courage to believe God’s Word

1. Faith

2. Take God at his word – He can save even you

3. Davidson

III. Courage to Obey God’s Word

A. Key phrase: “To do all I have commanded you”

1. The Lord had given them the Law

2. This was the huge transition point

3. It was not going to be easy to lead them into obedience

B. It takes courage to obey God’s Word

1. Jericho

2. Seems silly, seems out of step

IV. Courage to Rest in God’s Word

A. Key phrase: “Do not tremble or be dismayed”

1. There are going to be hard moments coming up

a. Defeat at Ai

b. Deceived by the Gibeonites

c. Not going to drive them all out at once

2. Fear becomes a huge obstacle

B. It takes courage to rest in God’s Word

1. We want to fix things

2. We want to know why

3. We let fear and anxiety ravish our soul

4. We are called to rest in the promises of God

5. Pam’s Death