Be Bold and Courageous

Introduction

So thankful to be here. I am so grateful for an opportunity to open God’s Word with you, share about me and my life, and some observations from the life of Joshua that I think God is doing in my life and in the PNW. I am so excited to be with you today. I believe God has a powerful Word for us this morning and the Church as a whole for the days ahead.

Who am I?

Tell my story. Grew up on Meridian Street. Parents that loved me and did their absolute best to care for me. Loved to play sports. I was pretty good. Somewhere along the line I got troubled. I woke up one day and did not like the person looking back at me in the mirror. I have since come to find out that I experienced some trauma before that day that contributed toward my troublesome outlook on who I was as a person. Those feelings compounded and got heavier and heavier with each passing day. A few years later I discovered alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and even pornography when I was 12 years old. It was the Summer going into the 6th grade. I found my new escape. I no longer had to feel those feelings of inadequacy anymore. I could get numb. I could stay numb. I could run from anything and everyone and not look back.

This set me on a path of heavy drinking, drug use, womanizing, narcotics, and many many trips to jails and institutions. I was on a spiral path down to the depths of the pit with no hope in sight. I was truly hopeless. I had no idea how I was going to get free of the addictions that plagued my life. I did want to, but I just never knew how.

But God…I love this phrase. It is all over the Bible. It always comes after moments where the author describes an event, or destruction, or judgement from the Lord, and then in many cases the author switches tone to, But God…But God…being rich in mercy, always has a path forward that is wealthy with hope, full of hope, full of expectation that things can be renewed and made new in even better ways than they had been before.

This was my story. Even with all the bad things I have done, God did not let me stay there. He met me. Just before my 24th birthday in Camas Washington at a celebrate recovery, I had a powerful encounter with the Lord Jesus. Not because of anything I have done or did, but because of His grace and His mercy, He set me free. He gave me a new life. He said even though you are messy Nick, my love for you is so much stronger and as you commit to following Me in My Way, I am going to unwind a lot of hurt in your life. And He has!

The easy things to see that He has done is from that day I have not had a drink, or a snort, or a smoke, or ingested any drugs or alcohol of any kind to the praise of His glory.

Some of the harder things that He has done that are not so easy to see are the inner work that God has been doing in my life to make me more like Him. He’s chipped away at having a bad inner dialogue about myself. He has made me much softer and dealt with my anger issues. He’s been forming me into a loving person. Someone who serves just to serve. Someone who seeks to be aware of what God is up to around me and how I can join Him in His work. He’s unwinded a lot of years of wrong thinking about women and has given me such a beautiful vision for marriage and sexuality. He’s blessed me with the best wife in Yolanda that a man could ever ask for. She’s so the opposite of me. She’s so much softer than me. She’s so much better than me in so many different ways. She’s truly a gift to me that I will seek to handle with such care that she and the Lord would always know how much I love her. He’s given me such peace about life. He’s also given me a vision for life. Which bring us to our passage today.

If you have your Bible’s go ahead an open them to the book of Joshua. It is toward the front of the Bible. It is the very next book after the Pentateuch or the first 5 books of the Bible. We will be hanging out in the first chapter.

Joshua 1:1-3

Joshua 1:1–3 ESV

After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, “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. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses.

Joshua 1:4-6

Joshua 1:4–6 ESV

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. 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. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.

Joshua 1:7–9 ESV

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. 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. 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.”

Let’s back up a little 40 years for a few moments.

Little bit about Joshua:

Joshua (Hoshea, Jeshua) - name means Yahweh saves or Yahweh is salvation.

In the books of Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, Joshua serves primarily as Moses’ assistant or right-hand man in both religious and military situations.

He is also one of the men who spies out the land of Canaan or promised land (Num 13:8). He is eventually commissioned as Moses’ divinely chosen successor (Num 27:18–23). In his role as Moses’ successor, he will lead Israel into Canaan (Deut 1:38; 3:28; 31:23) and oversee the division of land to the tribes (Num 34:17). He is a disciple or apprentice to Moses and later succeeds Moses’ leadership.

Joshua is one of the 12 spies sent into the promised land and only he and Caleb come back with a sense that it is possible to overtake its current inhabitants. The other 10 were fearful and doubted God was able to fulfill His promise. Joshua and Caleb had enormous faith, but Israel did not.

Joshua and Caleb came back with favorable results and faith that Israel can go and take over the land. The other ten did not. They were filled with fear. Joshua and Caleb came back with this report:

Numbers 13:27-28; 30

Numbers 13:27–28 ESV

And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there.

Caleb and Joshua acknowledge that the people look strong, big, with fortified cities but they saw a land that was promised to them. They trusted God could deliver it into their hands.

Numbers 13:30 ESV

But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.”

Numbers 14:6-9

Numbers 14:6–9 (ESV)

And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.”

Here is what the other ten spies said:

Numbers 13:31-33

Numbers 13:31–33 ESV

Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”

The other ten were naysayers. All they could see was giants who would devour them. All they saw were the negatives. All they saw was defeat. They saw death by these giants.

Joshua and Caleb saw opportunity. They saw a miracle working story that they knew God could do. They saw the promise. They saw all the hurdles as an opportunity to trust God and watch Him do what only He can do. They saw and knew their favor with the Lord who was with them.

Well, Moses, Aaron, Caleb, and Joshua all worshipped, tore their clothes and fell on their faces and pleaded with Israel that this was the will of God. But the people grumbled. They were worried. They were fearful. They even wanted and called for new leaders and were angry with God that it would be so difficult to enter into this promised land.

Just a few verses later, God judges their fearful response, and declares that the generations that were saved from the Exodus will not be able to enter the promised land, accept for Caleb and Joshua, the ones who reported back that Israel could take the promise land. This is the beginning of the 40 years in the wilderness.

We fast forward 40 years and this brings us to Joshua chapter 1.

Moses has died and Joshua is tasked with taking them into the promise land, finally!

I want to make some observations from Joshua 1 that I believe God wants us to consider as we look at discipleship and the Church today, here, now, in Newberg and the Pacific Northwest.

God asks His Church to arise

God now, asks us to arise and go into our promised land of our homes, our neighborhoods, our towns, our places of work, and our places of rest and play.

Joshua 1:2

Joshua 1:2 ESV

“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.

He’s asking us arise above what has been. Arise above the history, the past, the old, the pain, the 40 years of wilderness wandering. Arise above the grumbling. Arise above the way you think it should go. Arise above your preference, for the things I have in store, says the Lord, are so much more exceedingly abundant that you can think or imagine. Arise, for I am doing a new thing the prophet Isaiah declares. Arise and open our eyes to the thing that God wants to do among us for the days ahead.

God gives us the land around us

Joshua 1:2-5

Joshua 1:2–5 (ESV)

Go into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. 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. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life.

God promised Joshua that nobody would be able to stand before him. Everywhere he went, he would be victorious. And notice the phrase where it says toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. That’s contextual to Joshua, but it is prophetic for us today. The going down of the sun is imagery for a picture of the ends of the earth.

Jesus said it this way: you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the Earth. Or, you will be my witnesses Newberg Friends Church in Newberg, Yamhill county and Portland Metropolitan area, Oregon, Pacific Northwest, to the ends of the Earth.

We are an extension from Joshua to Jesus from Jesus to us. Jesus has commissioned us to infiltrate the land with Him and make disciples of all peoples. Of all groups. Of all different cultures. As followers of Jesus, we have His Holy Spirit within us, God Himself living in and through us, to take over the land, or another way to say it, take over our homes, our towns, our neighborhoods, our workplace, and where we rest and where we play.

The Psalmist says that the Earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof. Everything, Everyone and all of Creation is the Lords, and if that is true and if it is true that we become a His temple where He Himself resides, then everywhere around us is His and He asks us to make His name known in our worlds. In a sense, this is our land! Newberg, Portland, Oregon, this is our land! God asks us to act as if.

God is with us as we go

Joshua 1:5;9

Joshua 1:5 (ESV)

Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.

Joshua 1:9 (ESV)

Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

God did not ask Joshua to go take over and conquer the promise land without Him. Quite the opposite is true! Joshua knew that the only way they could take possession of the land is by God doing the work of granting favor. It is Him doing it through Joshua and the people Israel.

As God was with Joshua, so He is with us today. He’s not left us alone. He’s not left us to figure it all out on our own. He’s not asking us to make His name known in Newberg, Portland, Oregon without Him. Quite the opposite. He wants to make His name known far more than we do. He is with us as we go, and it is Him who draws people to Himself. It is Him who divinely persuades our friends, families, coworkers and areas of influence to see Him clearly and call them to Himself. The pressure is on His shoulders, not ours. The weight of subduing and taking over our town is His to carry. The cosmological reconciliation plan of all things being reconciled to Himself is on Him.

He’s asked Joshua two things from our text today, and they are two critical elements for us to live out today:

God commands us to be strong and courageous

God, like He commanded Joshua, now commands us, be strong and courageous, only be strong and very courageous

Joshua 1:6;7;9

Joshua 1:6 ESV

Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.

Joshua 1:7 (ESV)

Only be strong and very courageous.

Joshua 1:9 ESV

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.”

God says this three times in verses 6-9, as for Joshua not to forget what will be required to move forward.

Word Study : Strong - Hebrew “Hazak” literally means prevail, grasp, grow firm, have or show courage, sieze!

Here is the sense of this particular word - to be or become strong or powerful beyond the average or expected. Or another way to say it: fight with every fiber of your bone against mediocrity. You and I have been called to something much much higher!

Word Study : Courageous - Hebrew “Amats” literally means let grow strong, make firm, alert, and prove to be strong. It follows strong, courageousness here is the evidence or result of Joshua and us being strong.

Sense of the word - to be able to face and deal with danger or fear without flinching

Remember the 12 spies we talked about earlier, only two of them saw hope, saw God’s promise with intention of being fulfilled. Joshua and Caleb saw ripe opportunity in the midst of such danger and fear of the giants who lived in the land.

Remember the other 10 spies reports?

Numbers 13:31-33

Numbers 13:31–33 (ESV)

“We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”

They saw giants. They saw danger. They saw fear. They saw hopelessness. They saw only what was visible, and what God needed in order to get His people into the promise land was people who were bold and courageous, because God no doubt knew that it was a most important, critical element that would be needed to fulfill the promise of God in the face of uncertainty.

This is for us in the Northwest today, too. I am not ignorant to the giants of our day here.

I know our family churches are coming out of a horrific split. I know the residue of that split still remains among our churches. I know people are still reeling in pain and agony. I know people have been divided, pushed out, walked away, left, and relationships lost. I know there are giants in the way of our family of churches needing to be healed and reconciled again. I know this.

I know the spiritual darkness that exists in this land. I have been here. I experienced it. I went to the depths of hell in it. I am not ignorant to this. I know it is real.

I know sexuality and LGBTQ community is a massive community that seeks to distort God’s design for sexuality and marriage and is destroying people and their families. I know this.

I know finances are suffering in our family of churches up here. I know people are leaving the church. I know it appears that there is not enough money to do all the things that we want to do. I know our family of churches and their congregations have lost income, have lost jobs, have lost time and resources and struggle a lot to give back to God to preserve their heart. I know this.

I am here to say that there is enough. Where God reigns, God provides. Where God calls, He provides. All the resources in the world is God’s and He will get whatever He needs to His people that are willing to be bold and courageous to enter into a land that is filled with giants.

I am here to say that no giant, no matter what form it takes, can stand in the way of what God wants to do!

He asks us to be bold and courageous.

There is a progression.

Arise - You have to get up and start moving in the right direction

Go and trust the Land has been given to us

God is with us as we go

He asks us to be strong and courageous

God asks us to be people of His Word

Joshua 1:7-8

Joshua 1:7–8 ESV

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. 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.

This is primary. God needs the people He is going to lead into new land to know His story. They need to know inside and out, meditating on it day and night, gathering around it, drinking deeply of it, reading it and letting it read us. AND THEN… we will be successful, but not before.

God cannot, as we enter new land and take over new ground, have us thinking when we enter the new land it is becasue of us. Lest we be tempted to think we have overcome the giants in order to enter the new land. God does it! Part of reading and knowing His Word reminds us of where real strength comes from and where the real battle is and who actually is the victorious One and who is to get all the credit for defeating the giants.

I think another reason this is foundational and critical is God cannot give us new ground and new land and not know how to act when we get there. He gives us new ground and new land to be a witness to the surrounding land and if we do not know the Word, we will be a bad testimony to others.

Be encouraged with the life of Joshua as I resonate deeply with his life and I see a lot of parallels for us today.

This is what I want for our family of churches in the NW. This is what I want to be up to and give my life to in the days ahead.

My wife and I are wanting to partner with God and our family of churches in the Northwest to plant churches in the days ahead. To enter a new land and take new ground with. I am honored and privileged to be able to share with you today.

I would absolutely love if I could invite all of you to pray for my family and even consider joining the story that God is doing through my wife and be on our prayer team to follow along with what God is doing in us and our churches in the NW. Here is my contact information, and we will also be having pizza somewhere after service if you want to know more.

Thank you!