Encouraged: Taking God At His Word

Title: Finding Courage During Uncertain Times

Text: Joshua 1:1-9

Big Idea: When we face uncertain times, we can depend upon the presence of God and the Word of God to guide us.

Introduction

He stands on the edge of the promise. Enthusiasm fills his heart.

Yet he can’s escape the nagging doubts that continue to haunt his mind. The future has so much promise.

And yet the past is filled with so many disappointments.

Every opportunity is cleverly disguised as a problem. The promises of God are not always apparent, but they are always certain.

Locate Joshua within OT history.

Two things upon which we can depend in uncertain times:

The truth of God’s Word

The comfort of God’s presence.

Big Idea: When we face uncertain times, we can depend upon the presence of God and the Word of God to guide us.

Read and Explain the Text before applying the text.

God Will Speak to You in Your Confusion (1-3)

Changes in life can often make us feel overwhelmed or even defeated.

We grow older. The culture grows darker. People change.

All of these changes can make us feel uneasy. Even anxious.

The only constant in this life is change.

The not-yet-formed nation of Israel was undergoing change. Moses—the leader that they had followed—had died.

Notice the devestation that Moses’s death had brought. Ref: Dt. 34:9-12.

To make matters worse, the promises of God had not yet been fulfilled.

So the Israelites were in a state of flux. They were on unstable ground. God had not come through with His promises and now their leader was dead.

The Hebrews were stunned and confused.

It is in this moment that God speaks. God’s first words acknowledge the dire situation of His people: “Moses, My servant, is dead.”

God is not informing Joshua that Moses is dead. God is reminding Joshua that God knows.

Even though the Hebrews were in a state of shock and confusion, God was speaking. God knew their situation. And God already had a plan.

Listen: Even when you don’t know what’s going in your life, God knows. God speaks.

You may be uncertain about your future. But you can be certain about God.

You may not know tomorrow. But He does. Tomorrow belongs to Him.

And when you get there, He is going to be waiting for you.

That is why you need to read the Bible.

And God has prepared you for what God has prepared *for* you.

God Has Prepared You to Accomplish His Will (4-5)

Do you ever feel ill-equipped? Like you cannot do the hard things that in front of you?

Joshua was tasked with leading the people of God into the Promised Land and helping them to settle in this land.

This is the second generation of wanderers. They are homeless vagabonds. Weary of wandering.

There are many enemies before them.

And Joshua has to find a way to unify and lead this ragtag bunch.

Joshua was not some new kid on the block. God had preparing him to serve in this position for years.

Joshua is called “the assistant of Moses.”

Joshua first appears in Exodus 17 where he is appointed by Moses to defend the Hebrews against an army that is coming against them. Joshua is successful.

Next, Joshua went onto the mountain with Moses when Moses received the Law from God.

In Exodus 33 Joshua was shown to accompany Moses into he tabernacle and then Joshua would stay there as Moses made his throughout the people to help them solve various problems.

Joshua was one of the two spies (along with Caleb) who believed that the Promised Land could be possessed when the others doubted.

God did other things through Joshua. But this enough to show us that God had been raising Joshua for just this moment.

God prepared His servants then. And God prepares His servants today.

No matter what you are facing tomorrow, God has equipped you. God has been at work within your life to prepare you to face what God has prepared for you.

Be encouraged: God has been preparing you.

God is Present with You in Your Battles (5)

God guides His servants. But He servants must obey.

Notice that God said that He has given the land to the Israelites.

God Encourages You With Hope for the Future (6)

God is asking you to trust Him. What you fear, He has already defeated. What you doubt, He has already solved. What you question, He has the answer.

God Will Guide You through His Word (7-9)

The courage of Joshua was to be connected to the Word of God.

“Those who are faithful grasp at the Word of the Lord as a shipwrecked man grasps at a plank.”[1]

Is it possible that God is making you uncomfortable so that you will grasp for His Word? And in His Word you will find Him?

The Word of God is the power of God to equip you for the tasks that He has called you to.

It is in the Bible that God makes His will known It is through the pages of Scripture that the Spirit imparts wisdom.

It is through the Bible that God renews our hope.

The person who tries to serve God apart from a regular feeding up God’s Word will run out of energy.

Many people are trying to serve God without spending time in His Word.

A curator is someone who someone who has the responsibility to collect and organize historical items.

Normally, they work in a museum. They will take a piece of artwork, hide it behind a glass. Keep it in a safe environment.

A curator loves to talk about the object they are preserving. They like to point to it. They like to talk about its history.

But they never take it out of the case and enjoy it for themselves.

Too many people are curators of the Bible. They talk about it. They display it proudly.

But they can’t remember the last time they read it for themselves.

They point to their favorite television preacher or their favorite podcaster. Their favorite author or their favorite Christian musician. But they spend no time in God’s Word for themselves.

Trying to run the race that God has placed before you without being nourished on His Word is like trying to run a marathon fueled by Twinkies and Ding Dongs. You may start out well. But you are going to run out of strength before you reach the finish line.

Conclusion: We Look to a Greater Joshua

The name of Joshua means “God saves.” The book of Joshua is a story of God’s salvation of Israel.

They have been delivered from slavery. They are being led to the promised land. All under the leadership of Joshua.

But just almost all biblical characters, we are going to see that Joshua is flawed. He accomplishes great things by God’s hand. Though he himself is filled with shortcomings.

It is through Joshua that God brings salvation.

Joshua is the Hebrew (OT) name. When the name Joshua is taken into the Greek, the name becomes “Jesus.”

Though the OT Joshua is filled with shortcomings, the NT Jesus is perfection. He finally accomplishes what Joshua could not.

Though we have never been enslaved to Egypt, we have been enslaved to sin.

Jesus—the New Joshua—has come to lead us to promise. To freedom. Through His Cross.

[1]Zwingli, True and False Religion, 93.