Fearless | Session 2 | Joshua
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- In the first Large Group session we learned that it’s possible to be fearless in the face of a culture hostile to the things of God.
- In y’all’s Small Group session, y’all looked at a passage from Matthew 4:1-11. Y’all learned that you can be fearless in the face of temptation, leaning on the power of the Spirit to help you persevere.
· In your second Small Group session, we will look at that if you have a saving relationship with Christ, then you have no reason to doubt your true identity.
- This morning, we are going to learn that that we can fearlessly stand for their faith regardless if it’s a popular position or not.
Teaching Point 1: Sometimes following God means fearlessly taking an unpopular stand.
First, let’s do some background on Joshua:
o Recall, God chose Moses to be the person who would lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt.
o Moses is one of the most important figures in all of the Bible. Then we have Joshua, who would serve as IF MOSES IS A VERY IMPORTANT FIGURE IN THE BIBLE, THEN HIS’ assistant and eventual replacement SHOULD BE TOO.
o Joshua ended up following in Moses’ footsteps as the spiritual and military leader of Israel.
o Joshua was a young guy when he witnessed much of the awesome interactions between Moses and God, including
going with Moses up Mount Sinai to meet with God, and being with Moses at the tent of meeting.
- Joshua was also one of the
12 spies that went into the Promised Land to scope it out for the Israelites.
10 of the spies said that the Israelites would never take the land because of how formidable their enemies were. Only
the enemies were massive
we were like grasshoppers in our own eyes
Joshua and Caleb expressed faith that God would give them the land He promised.
- We’re going to jump into Joshua’s story right here.
Turn to Numbers 14:1-4.
Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”
Read it aloud then say something like:
- The situation could not be any worse.
- The entire “nation” of Israel had left Egypt and been traveling through the desert to enter into the land God had promised them.
- Now, according to the spies sent into the land to scope it out, the land was going to be too challenging for the Israelites to take.
- WHAT ARE THE PEOPLE DOING? THEY ARE TRYING TO DITCH THEIR FAITH IN ORDER TO GO BACK TO OPPRESSION IN EGYPT AND SLAVERY.
Then, read Numbers 14:5-10 aloud.
Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. 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.” Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel.
- What do we see here?
- Here we see Joshua and Caleb standing firm.
- You can almost see them looking at their people in disbelief.
- They were so upset they tore their clothes, WHICH WAS A SIGN OF FRUSTRATION!
- Then they reminded the people of who their God was and what he had done:
the 12 plagues that forced Pharaoh to allow them to leave Egypt.
parted the Red Sea,
leading them through the desert in a cloud of smoke by day and a column of fire by night.
How could they be turning their backs on God now!? Joshua couldn’t believe it. AND WHEN YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH SOMEONE IN THE BIBLE, WHAT DO YOU DO? You plan to murder them and plot their death. IDK if y’all know this, but that happens all the time...
Can you imagine the pressure Joshua was facing?
All of his fellow countrymen and countrywomen seem to be united against him.
His position was extremely unpopular. And yet, he didn’t flinch.
He knew he was right.
He knew that God had led them this far and would continue to lead them.
Joshua didn’t allow what other people thought of him to keep him from fearlessly living out his faith.
Optional Illustration: China’s “Nail houses”
Nail houses are houses in the middle of various construction projects.
As you probably can guess, the Chinese government has different ways of approaching these types of disputes than a democratic government might. When they want to build a road or an apartment complex, or whatever, and there are homes in the way, they make what they believe is a fair offer to the homeowner (which are almost always a lowball offer). If the owner doesn’t like it, they simply move forward with the project knowing that ultimately the owner will cave in and give up the home. These pictures show what happens when they run into someone who isn’t afraid of taking a stand.
That’s kind of amazing, to stand up to the Chinese government like that.
Can you imagine the pressure they were probably facing, whether from family/friends?
I’m sure it was more than just an offer…loud construction noises, making roads (multiple lane highways) around houses. Loud noises.
Transition Statement:
taking an unpopular stand isn’t easy.
In fact, it’s super hard.
But backing down from your faith simply because others see things differently isn’t an option.
ARE WE GOING TO LET OTHER PEOPLE DICTATE OR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD?
While you might not make any new friends, you don’t have to worry.
God’s got His eye on you. Which leads us to our next point.
Teaching Point 2: God is never blind to our fearlessness.
Let’s continue with the text and see what God is doing in the lives of the Israelites, Joshua and Caleb.
read Numbers 14:26-30.
And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, “How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me. Say to them, ‘As I live, declares the Lord, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you: your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.
When you’ve finished say something like:
- We see God call out the Israelites, calling them the “wicked congregation”. What do they do? They complain the entire time and then, on the edge of the Promised Land, they rebel.
- God, patient as only He can be, finally had enough. And so His judgment was that everyone 20 and older would be forced to wander in the wilderness and never see the Promised Land. Everyone, that is, except Joshua and Caleb.
ALL OF YOU WITH A PROBLEM WITH THE PLAN, Y’ALL WILL WANDER AND DIE, NOT TO OBTAIN THE PROMISED LAND.
Help students see that God saw what Joshua and Caleb had done. Their fearlessness wasn’t lost on God. Say something like:
- Keep in mind the Israelites knew God. Intimately.
- He was their God. They were His people. And yet, they turned on Him.
- In the midst of these believers, Joshua and Caleb made a stand. The cool thing is that God saw this.
- God didn’t lump them in with their people. God dealt with Joshua and Caleb according to their fearlessness.
- We can take heart that God will treat us the same way. We can risk taking a stand for our faith, especially when it’s unpopular, knowing that God will recognize our fearlessness and respond to us out of His great love for us.
- Optional Illustration: God’s Record Of Seeing His People
· God has a long track record of seeing and noting His people’s faithfulness, especially when they are surrounded by faithless people. (IF Y’ALL KNOW OF THE SIN CYCLE, THIS HAPPENS THROUGHOUT THE BIBLE QUITE OFTEN)
· Let’s look at some of characters who were seen for their faithfulness
o NOAH - NOAH BUILT AN ARK BECAUSE GOD HAD PREPARED HIM, AND THE PEOPLE MOCKED HIM.
God saw that Noah and his family were righteous in the midst of a depraved generation (Gen. 7:1).
Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation.
o DEBORAH was one of the few judges of Israel who actually lead the people righteously. Deborah earned God’s favor.
Along with Barak, God called Deborah to lead Israel in battle, something that women didn’t do at that time. Deborah was successful and Israel was delivered from its enemies (Judges 4:4-7).
Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel came up to her for judgment. She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun. And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand’?”
o Ruth - Ruth showed great faithfulness to her mother-in-law Naomi.
God honored Ruth’s fearless faith by allowing her to be included in the lineage of David, and thus in the lineage of Christ. Her faith was also rewarded with the marriage to Boaz.
o Elijah was one of the few prophets that stayed true to God in the midst of Israel’s turn toward idol worship. In a legendary showdown with the prophets of Baal, God miraculously honored Elijah’s faithfulness and, at the same time, turned the hearts of many in Israel back to Himself.
o John the Baptist. John called out religious and political leaders for their disobedience to God. It ultimately meant death for John, he was beheaded. But Jesus acknowledged John’s greatness.
o Think about Stephen,
who testified to the truth of Jesus as the Messiah even as it cost him his life. As Stephen died, Jesus appeared to him, affirming Stephen’s fearless faith stance.
· These are all examples…with more in the text.
God sees faithfulness, and sometimes that results in outcomes that seem less desirable.
Transition Statement:
- when it comes to living a bold faith, the most powerful thing of all is how God chooses to reward our continued fearlessness.
- Let’s see how this played out in Joshua’s life.
Teaching Point 3: God oftentimes rewards our boldness with greater influence.
· Our final passages for this morning are found in Deuteronomy.
- When Moses dies, God appoints Joshua to be the one to take over leadership of His people, leading the Israelites into the Promised Land.
And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, the days approach when you must die. Call Joshua and present yourselves in the tent of meeting, that I may commission him.” And Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the tent of meeting. And the Lord appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud. And the pillar of cloud stood over the entrance of the tent.
And the Lord commissioned Joshua the son of Nun and said, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the people of Israel into the land that I swore to give them. I will be with you.”
When Moses, God’s chosen leader of the Israelites, was nearing death, who did God appoint as Moses’ replacement?
- Joshua! Joshua had demonstrated nothing but fearless faith his entire life.
- God noticed.
- And when it came time to choose someone to finally lead God’s people into the land He had promised for generations, it was Joshua that would do it.
- And don’t miss what God said to Joshua: “Be strong and courageous.” Sounds kind of like what we’ve been talking about for the last few sessions, doesn’t it?
When we show God that we are consistently fearless in our faith, God will work through us more and more.
- God’s primary plan to rescue humankind from their sins is through His people, the Church, sharing the message of the Gospel.
- If you have come to saving faith in Jesus, you’re the church!
- God wants to work through you to share His message of hope and love and salvation.
- When we prove that we’re willing and eager to have Him work in and through us by living out a bold faith, God will routinely bless us with the chance to do even more for Him.
- It’s an awesome truth that played out in Joshua’s life. It can be a reality for you too.
- If you were with us when I spoke on Service, about three weeks ago, I asked y’all to think about how God has gifted y’all.
- Thinking through your giftings, how are you going to step out boldly and courageously in faith to stand out against what the world is telling you?
How has God prepared you to do so?
Optional Illustration: Faithful In The Small Things
· this idea of being given more when we prove faithful is reflected elsewhere in Scripture. If you choose, have students turn to Luke 16. While they are finding it, set a little bit of context for the verse you will read. Say something like the following:
o This comes in the middle of what is kind of an odd parable. But the principle at work is applicable to what we just talked about.
· Then, read Luke 16:10.
“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.
o We have to keep in mind that our positive actions don’t make God love us any more.
- We don’t earn any more of His favor when we are acting in line with His wishes.
- God loves us because He loves us. Plain and simple.
- But our continued fearlessness demonstrates faithfulness.
- And God has a track record of using the faithful.
- If you want to watch your influence for God grow, Be fearless in the small things. God sees you.
CLOSING
Close with a prayer for your students, asking God for boldness in the face of taking unpopular positions.