Be Strong and Courageous

Be strong and courageous. That is the message for today. The Bible is full of commands not to fear and to have courage. The lack of fear and presence of courage is not because of us, it is a result of being a child of God. Fear can hold us back and cause so much turmoil. The solution is Jesus. Jesus slept on a boat during a raging storm. He was able to rest because of the great peace available to him through the Father. He offers that same peace to us now.

I’d like to take a look at a passage in the old testament where the words “Be strong and courageous are used several times. Turn with me to Joshua 1 and we’ll read verses 1-9. Before we do that, I want to give you a bit of background for where we are reading.

Moses had led the nation of Israel out of Egypt and in the wilderness for 40 years. He recieved the word about the promise land, but as a result of sinful pride, Moses would not get to see it. So, he leads them to the bank of the Jordan, to the edge of the promise land and then dies. Joshua was an aide and right hand man to Moses and was tapped to take over after Moses’ death. The time had come.

As we read this passage, when we come to the words be strong and courageous, I want you to say them out loud with me.

Joshua 1:1–9 NIV

1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. 7 “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. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Moses received the plans and mission from the Lord and he communicated that mission and plan with the people. He sent some spies to scope out the land. Out of the 12 that went in, only Joshua and Caleb came back with a positive report. The rest we fearful and doubted the word from God. Now God reiterates the plan and the mission to Joshua so that he gets it direct from God. That’s the first principle I want you to see from this passage:

Be Strong and Courageous when called by God

When God calls you from death to life, He puts a calling on your life. A calling that is more than just not going to hell. Ephesians 2:10 says:

Ephesians 2:10 NIV

10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Romans 8:28 says:

Romans 8:28 NIV

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

We talked through this verse a few weeks ago…1 Peter 2:9 says:

1 Peter 2:9 NIV

9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

If you have been called from death to life, He has a purpose for you. Some of us get a very specific purpose - minister to children, go to Japan, help those with addictions, pastor a church…and so on. All of us get a general calling that is on all of us - To be a royal priesthood. To declare his praises…If you think you don’t have a specific calling, just do that - declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

Joshua and the Israelites were commanded, they were called, and that calling was WAY bigger than them. They had no business entering the promise land and taking over, but here is our second principle from this passage comes out of this verse:

Joshua 1:5 NIV

5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Be Strong and Courageous because God is with you

God said to Joshua that he would never leave nor forsake him. This promise is all throughout God’s word for his people. It’s like we need constant reassurance of this.

You ever have to walk you kids through something scary? This happened recently with my girls. They we are the orthodontist and were having a procedure done and they were a little frightened. I had to kneel on the floor, reassure them and hold their hand through it. They did great. My hand was a little sore because of them squeezing so hard, but isn’t that how we are? We face something in life and just need to know God is there.

Deuteronomy 31:6 NIV

6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Hebrews 13:5 NIV

5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

How would you know this if not be reading his word? That is our third principle:

Be Strong and Courageous by God’s Word

God’s word is so full of promises, encouragement and love. It is also full of instructions, commandments and practical advice. The key to it all is that it is God’s word. If someone builds you a custom gadget, don’t you talk to the builder to know exactly how it works? Why would we approach this world any different? God created you, me and everything around us. What better way to understand the world around us than to read the words of the creator. God tells Joshua:

Joshua 1:7–8 NIV

7 “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. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

God’s word is the key to success in this life. Success is not measured by anything the world has put in front of us. Success is fulfilling the purpose for which you have been created.

If you build a house to live in and it stands strong, keeps the elements out, a you make a life in it, that house was a success - it fulfilled the purpose for which it was created. It will need maintenance - but so will you and I. The only way to know what maintenance we need is to read and meditate on God’s word.

Joshua assuming the role of leadership was the mark of a period of transition. Moses died and is gone, someone new must take his place to continue the mission - the mission is not complete. The promise is still ahead for the nation of Israel. A very similar transition happens in Matthew 28.

In Matthew 27, Jesus is crucified on the cross. He dies and is buried. They put guards at his tomb to prevent his followers from getting to his body, but that couldn’t stop Jesus.

In chapter 28, Jesus rises from the dead - the chief priests make up a story to attempt to cover it up - and the joy in his disciples, first the women and then the 11…what a sight that must have been.

Then, the last words in the Gospel of Matthew recall his command to us, much like the command to Joshua:

Matthew 28:18–20 NIV

18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

I often skip right to verse 19, but verse says that all authority has been given to him. That authority was proved by his resurrection. What follows comes from someone with authority. There are 3 main parts to the command and then an assurance:

Go - we can’t go if we are sitting still. We can’t go if we’re stuck in a building. Go means go.

Make Disciples - a disciple learns from someone how to do what that someone already knows how to do. Part of the learning process is doing. If someone is going to teach you how to make cookies, they are going to tell you what to do as you make the cookies. Same with disciples - we are all called to make disciples. It means to teach someone else to do what we already know how to do. All of us know something about being a follower of Christ.

Teaching them to obey Jesus - We can’t bake cookies without knowing the rules of baking cookies. If you put 2 eggs in, but forget to crack them and remove the shell, that’s not going to much of a cookie. Jesus was specific on how to love. Let’s just start there.

Finally the assurance: I am with you always.

Be Strong and Courageous

Be Strong and Courageous when called by God

Be Strong and Courageous because God is with you

Be Strong and Courageous by God’s Word