Summoning Courage
Notes
Transcript
In , The Lord told Joshua, be strong and courageous. In verse 7, God said, Be strong and every courageous. In verse 9, God said, “Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged?” Why such an emphasis on courage?
Why must we summon courage? Possessing God’s promise will require all your courage.
Why must we summon courage? Possessing God’s promise will require all your courage.
I understand why God told Joshua to be strong and very courageous. Israel’s forty years in the wilderness meant to purge the people from Egypt and their lack of faith.
these men who were responsible for spreading the bad report about the land were struck down and died of a plague before the Lord. Of the men who went to explore the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived.
Num 14:3
Moses is dead! The people thought, “How are we going to survive without our Shepherd? Would God bring them to the edge of the promised land only to let them die without a leader?
There is question, what will happen to the Mega-church when its mega-pastors are gone? God appoints leaders for his people. They need not fear what happens when their shepherd-father is removed, for God has someone prepared to take the people forward.
Would Israel survive without Moses? There is question, what will happen to the Mega-church when its mega-pastors are gone? God appoints leaders for his people. They need not fear what happens when their shepherd-father is removed, for God has someone prepared to take the people forward.
Israelites would have to cross the Jordan doing flood stage. The river would overflow its banks. This is the most dangerous time of year. Yet, God would guide them safely to the other side.
The Israelites would enter the land of Canaan, and confront greater enemies than the ever faced in the wilderness of Sinai. The cities were fortified to the sky. The various peoples were stronger and more in number than the Israelites.
THE POWERS YOU ARE FIGHTING AGAINST ARE STRONGER THAN YOU.
THE POWERS YOU ARE FIGHTING AGAINST ARE STRONGER THAN YOU.
When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you—
Deut. 7:1
The Canaanites lived in fortified cities along the coast and in the great valleys. Amorites dwelt in the hills country, while the Amalekites roamed the Negev. Other groups—Jebusites, Hivites, Perizzites, and (Neo)Hittites—occupied the villages and towns of the land. I want to speak about your enemies in a spiritual sense. We do not fight Amorites, Amalekites, hittites and Jebusites in today, but the children of God have enemies.
These peoples would not leave their homeland easily. Would you let someone come along and tell you, God told me to come and take over your home! Would you sit there and simply give over everything you’ve worked for? No. This would be battles to the death.
Joshua was
We are dealing with different spirits.
From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.
Then why would God be so brutal against these Canaanite peoples?
Acts.
and after they have been destroyed before you, be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, “How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.” You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.
We are dealing with different spirit.
Because of they practiced idolatry.
Using God’s word to Joshua, I want to encourage you.
I want to use the different Canaanite Tribes to describe the spirits we are facing today.
THE AMORITES: Warriors from the hill country. They were also gigantic in stature. (Some spirits want to kill and destroy you.
The enemies of the hill country a stronger and want to sit in the enemies of the desert. The Canaanites lived in fortified cities along the coast and in the great valleys. Amorites dwelt in the hill country, while the Amalekites roamed the Negeb (). Other groups—Jebusites, Hivites, Perizzites, and (Neo)Hittites—occupied the villages and towns of the land
THE AMALEKITES: Nomadic people: were the mortal enemies of Israel as far back as their beginnings. (Some spirits enter people you love and come against your family.)
THE HITTITES: They were a make up of different tribes who controlled a large region of Canaan. (These spirits will use any method against your body and mind to bring sickness, disease, depression and addiction.)
THE JEBUSITES: They were not completely defeated by Joshua. Joshua
enslaved them because he could not kill them. The Jebusites ruled the land that would one day become Jerusalem. David had to fight the people God called Joshua to destroy. They refused to die. (Some spirit feel they are just as important as you are. Your life does not matter to them....they want to destroy your faith.)
We all have Amorites, Amalekites, Hittities and Jebusites in our experience. They just have other names.
and after they have been destroyed before you, be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, “How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.” You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.
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We all have Amorites, Amalekites, Hittities and Jebusites in our experience. They just have other names.
Some demons burrow their way into your lifestyle, your family your neighborhood. Some spirits take on other forms. They come as enemies one day and friends another day. Some spirits are seducing spirits.
Some are principalities and powers, rules of darkness and deceivers in high places. Some are subtile and seem normal, others are brutal and will destroy you.
Jesus told his disciples some spirits will only come out by fasting and prayer.
Joshua was 110 years old when he died. He first fought the Amalekites when he was about 30 years old. That’s when Moses raised his arms. When Joshua led them into the promised land, he would about 70 years old. He and his generation would fight for another thirty years and he still did not secure all the land God promised to Israel.
LOOK AT JUDGES CHAPTER 1.
After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, “Who of us is to go up first to fight against the Canaanites?”
Joshua and his generation is gone and the the Israelites are still asking the question, Who is going to take on these people?
You need courage to practice your faith. People today feel offended if you try to lead them to the Lord. You need courage to raise your children. They system contradicts the Bible. You need courage to live by the Word of God. The enemy has created and promoted so many distortions, people do not know what to believe. We have perverted Jesus Christ before the world. Men and women are turning away from Christian faith. How do I become strong and very courageous?
YOU MUST SUMMON COURAGE!
“BE STRONG.”
It is not the anointing that Joshua needs. Joshua knew the Holy Spirit by following his spiritual father he saw the anointing all his life on the captain of Israel‘s army. He saw the power of God all the way from Egypt to the Jordan.
It is not the anointing that Joshua needs. Joshua knew the Holy Spirit by following his spiritual father he saw the anointing all his life on the captain of Israel‘s army. He saw the power of God all the way from Egypt to the Jordan.
It’s not ingenuity that he needed. He did not need to be a military strategist, how though he was. We needed courage to obey God.
“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.
Joshua is also a book of miracles. Joshua and Israel would cross the Jordan on dry land, they walk around Jericho and the walls of the city fall down, they fight against the Canaanite armies and God weaponizes the wether for his people through hail and longer days (Chap. 10: 11-13)*
If you want God to do miracles, you must have courage.
Joshua is also a book of miracles, because Joshua and Israel have the courage to obey, the cross Jordan on dry land, they walk around Jericho and the walls of the city fall down, they fight against the Canaanite armies and God weaponizes the wether for his people through hail and longer days (Chap. 10: 11-13)*
Bishop, how do I get this kind of courage to obey God?
You have to cross the river thinking. You have to stop thinking negatively, thinking a self-centered way, or thinking thinking with our eyes. We walk by faith and not by sight. You have to think a God-centered way of thinking, think in Faith, think about eternity, thinking obediently.
You have to cross the river thinking. You have to stop thinking negatively, thinking a self-centered way, or thinking thinking with our eyes. We walk by faith and not by sight. You have to think a God-centered way of thinking, think in Faith, think about eternity, thinking obediently.
A God centered way of thinking, thinking about Faith, thinking about eternity, thinking courageously
Crossing the Jordan river represented a change in status: Crossing the Red Sea meant Israel were no longer slaves; crossing the Jordan meant they were no longer wanderers. God guided the crossing and guaranteed its success by parting the waters. God would work miracles for them.
Crossing the Jordan river represented a change in status: Crossing the Red Sea meant Israel were no longer slaves; crossing the Jordan meant they were no longer wanderers. Israel would cross the river by miracle. God guided the crossing, and guaranteed its success by parting the waters. God would work miracles for them.
You are not the same person you were last year!
Not everyone will be physically strong. Most of us have the strength to turn a door knob. Not all of us will have the strength to move 100 lbs. But we can all be mentally and emotionally strong.
We thinking strong, think of holding on.
But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.”
Take hold and don’t let go.
Consider life as two apposing forces: one force is your divine purpose; the other force is the world you live in. If you allow the opposing force to take over, you lose your purpose. If you hold on tight, you gain both forces.
If you hold on to your faith when the enemy is trying to destroy it, you are strong. The more tightly you hold on to it, the stronger you become.
Spiritual strength works in an unusual way. You resolve to do something and God gives you the power to do it. It’s like renting house that is broken down. The moment you sign the deed the owner of the house comes in the fix the plumbing, the electrical and the hvac.
This is what it means to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
MOSES IS DEAD!
Moses had to die for grace must supersede the Law. For the Law came by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. All Christians hold on to Moses and the glory of Sinai, You are late to the banquet and blinded in your heart to the truth that a greater than Moses is here. This was the problem with the Pharisees and the problem with all who hold to legalism instead of trusting in the free grace of Christ.
Moses is dead. Shall we abandon the Law now that we are under grace. Certainly not. . As great as Moses was, he is dead and Christ has come in the fulfillment of the Law and the prophets. Christ himself is the end of the Law. He is our righteousness. In him, the Law of God is written on our hearts.
The Jordan river is not only the river Israel crossed to enter the promised land; it was also the river our Savior was baptized. When Jesus came, John decreased and cried out, “I am not worthy to loose the laces of his Sandals.
The Jordan is important because it represents entering a new life in God. For Israel, it represented God’s promised land; for the church, it represents the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus was baptized, Straight away, the Holy Spirit came down and rested upon him and the Voice of the Father declared, “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.” The Jordan river is thus a sacred place, for our savior exemplified what it means to be born of water and the Spirit.
I will give you every place you set your foot. “. As desirable as this is, it is not as appealing as hearing the words, “The kingdom of God is not here or there, for the kingdom of God is within you.” Wherever I see my feet is not my concern. My concern is knowing wherever I am, God is there with me. “If I make my bed in hell, even there your right hand will uphold me....” My concern is not what land I possesses, but what place in Christ I possess.
I will never leave you or forsake you!