Be Courageous!

Children, I'm so glad you're here. I got a couple drawings last week that were phenomenal.

I've got them on my desk right now, and I'm going to ask you to draw another picture this week,

but it's going to come later in the sermon.

So, it's not to bait you, but just to hold out.

It is a pretty cool situation, and I think it's going to be fun to draw a picture of.

In case of emergency, break glass.

Have you seen those fire alarms?

Maybe it's a Bigonon thing now, but back in the day when I was a little lad,

there'd be these red fire alarms on the wall,

and there's this little kind of steel hammer dangling on a chain next to it,

and it says, in case of emergency, break glass.

It was to protect people from pulling the alarm that didn't need to pull it.

Well, when you are a leader, whether that's in the home,

or that's in the workplace, or on an athletic team,

or on a music band, or at school, or in the church,

you're going to be challenged.

You're going to face hard things.

Leaders face challenges of many different kinds.

Leadership challenges can be stifling.

They can wither a leader,

wither them in his or her own weakness.

Leadership challenges can stir up the foam of fear,

and a leader can flounder in it.

This morning, I could stand before you and say something like this.

Christian leadership is not for the weak or fearful.

But that's not true.

God chooses the weak and the fearful to lead us people.

Do you know why?

Because God gives the weak and fearful strength and courage

for the task He calls them to.

He gives strength to the weak and courage to the fearful,

and so this morning on this Elder Commissioning Sunday,

I'm going to stand before you

based on the authority of Joshua 1,

and I'm going to call Lou and Dave, both of you guys,

to be strong and courageous in the call God has on your life

to be an elder of this church.

To be strong and courageous.

The heat's going to come.

Break the glass.

Pull the alarm.

Help is on the way.

And this morning, there's a little word written on the alarm.

It's Joshua 1, 1-9.

And we're going to pull that this morning.

And so let's turn there in our Bibles to Joshua 1.

It's at the beginning of your Bibles,

right after Deuteronomy.

Let me read it for you right now.

Here is Joshua 1, verses 1-9.

Joshua 1:1–9

This is God speaking.

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 the sole of your foot will tread upon,

I have given to you,

just as I promised to Moses.

From the wilderness in 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.

Verse 5,

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.

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, Joshua?

Be strong and courageous.

Do not be frightened,

and do not be dismayed,

for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Amen.

This is the reading of God's Word.

Three times in Joshua 1,

God specifically tells Joshua to be strong and courageous.

Three times.

He's saying, Joshua, break the glass,

pull the alarm,

and I will be there to help you.

What I want you to see this morning from this passage

is how God makes a weak and fearful man

strong and courageous.

We're going to see four great truths

that give courage to the fearful.

I'm just going to list them out for you right now.

Truth 1,

God's great cause.

That will put good courage in your heart.

God's great call.

That does put courage in your heart.

God's great commands.

When you know,

when you know who spoke these words,

it gives you courage.

And God's great companionship.

God is with us.

That will give you courage.

God's great cause.

The book of Joshua is the history

of the people of Israel

occupying the promised land.

And so what Joshua is there for

is to help us see

how God occupies this land

He promised from long ago.

And He calls a particular man

to lead His people.

Now there is a reason why

God is leading His people

in the promised land.

You see it in chapter 1, verse 6.

Be strong and courageous

for you shall cause this people

to inherit the land

that I swore to their fathers

to give them.

And so what God is doing is

He's going to bring His people

into this land of Canaan

because He promised to.

He promised Abram long ago

that He was going to make

a nation out of them

to bless the nations.

And He was going to give them

this land.

And so one may conclude,

okay, why are you calling

Joshua to lead this people

into this promised land?

And one can conclude,

well, he's just fulfilling

His promise.

But there is a bigger cause

going on.

There's something grander

going on here.

Something more glorious.

If you turn back to

Genesis chapter 12.

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

Genesis, of course,

is the first book of your Bible.

Genesis chapter 12,

Genesis 12:1–3

verses 1 through 3.

God calls Abram

to come out of Mesopotamia

and go.

Go from your country

and your kindred

and your father's house

to the land that I will show you.

The promised land.

The land of Canaan.

And I will make you

a great nation, Israel.

And I will bless you

and make your name great

so that you will be a blessing.

Now, pay attention

to verse 3.

I will bless those

who bless you

and him who dishonors you

I will curse.

And in you,

all the families

of the earth

shall be blessed.

The scope of God's cause

is the nations.

He wants to bless

the nations

through His people.

And you know what

the goodness

of this blessing is?

God Himself.

God wants to be

a blessing

to the nations

through His people.

God wants to get

His glory out.

He wants to make

His fame known.

And here,

under the old covenant,

before Jesus came,

here's how that worked out.

God called

a specific people

to Himself,

Israel.

And He says,

I'm going to bring you

into this land

and I'm going to dwell

with you

in your place.

And you know what?

You can bring the nations

to this place

so that they can see

my glory in your midst

and be amazed.

And so the methodology

of the old covenant

of God making His glory known

was come and see.

Come and see.

Come and see God's glory

and be blessed.

But under the new covenant,

things changed.

With the coming of Jesus,

God's purpose

to bless the nation

still stands.

He wants to get

His great name out.

He wants His fame

to be spread.

He wants His glory

to cover the earth

as the waters cover the sea.

But instead of a

come and see methodology,

God kind of reverses it.

His new covenant people,

the church,

us,

the redeemed,

those blood-bought

by the blood of Jesus,

He tells us to

go and tell

of the glory of God

in the person

of Jesus Christ.

So in the new covenant,

the covenant which we live

under now,

the one established

by the blood of Jesus,

we are to

go tell it

on the mountain.

We are to tell the nations

of the great glory of God.

His work that He's accomplished

in the person of Jesus Christ.

God's great cause

is the glory

of His name.

It's always been the case.

So why is God

bringing His people,

Israel,

into the promised land

in Joshua chapter 1?

Joshua 1 · chapter mention

Well, ultimately,

it's to make His name known

among the nations.

God's great.

God's great.

So for us today,

on this Sunday,

when we're commissioning

these two men

to be elders of this church,

one can conclude,

oh, this is a Sunday

for the elders.

It's not, ultimately.

Or this is a Sunday

for our church.

Ultimately,

that's not the case.

Do you know why

we're having an elder

commissioning Sunday?

Ultimately,

it's for the glory of God.

for this church

to be healthy

and what God

has called us to,

to make His name great

in our little slice

of the nations

here in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Now,

does that put courage

in your heart?

It should.

God,

in all of His might,

is for His great cause.

He wants His name

exalted in this city.

Man.

What a God we have.

God's great cause

is the glory of His name.

Now let's look at

God's great call.

Joshua 1

focuses on leadership.

We've got a leadership vacuum.

Moses has died.

Israel's missing

a leader.

Who will lead God's people

into the promised land?

Well,

God knows.

He had a guy

that He's been grooming

for a while.

His name is

Joshua.

Look at verse 1.

Let this

kind of

find a place

in your heart.

God

speaks directly

to Joshua.

Look at it.

Verse 1.

After the death

of Moses,

the servant

of the Lord,

the Lord

said to Joshua,

the son of Nun,

Moses' assistant.

He speaks

directly to him.

He's calling him.

He's commissioning

for the task.

Now,

I want you to see

all the you's,

Y-O-U,

in Joshua 1.

Here's,

just look at verse 3.

Every place

that the sole

of your foot

will tread upon,

I have given

to you.

That is speaking

to Joshua.

Verse 5.

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,

Joshua.

I will not

leave you,

Joshua,

or forsake you,

Joshua.

If you look

at all the way

down to verse 9.

Have I not

commanded you,

Joshua?

Joshua,

be strong

and courageous.

Do not be frightened.

Do not be dismayed.

For the Lord,

your God,

is with you,

Joshua.

Wherever you go,

Joshua,

God is with you,

Joshua.

Joshua,

Joshua,

Joshua.

You,

you,

you.

God is commissioning

this man

for that task.

It's his great call

and it's very personal.

He,

his hand-picked

Joshua

for leading them

into the promised

land.

Now,

Joshua had quite

the resume.

I don't know

if you know this,

but he was one

of the original

12 spies that went

out into the promised

land and to scout

out the land

and came back

with a good report.

He believed God.

He's like,

yeah,

God,

we can take him

with God.

Let's go get it.

And then the other

10 were like,

wah,

they're too big.

Wah,

wah,

we can't go in.

Did you know

that Joshua

was with Moses

on Mount Sinai

when Moses

received the law?

Did you know that?

Did you know

when Moses

was above

the fray

between Israel

and the Amalekites

and remember

Aaron and Hur

were holding up

his hands

and when he'd

hold up

his hands,

kind of Israel

would prevail

against the Amalekites

and when they'd drop him

the Amalekites

would prevail

against Israel.

Do you know

who was leading

the charge?

Who was down

on the ground

fighting?

Joshua!

The guy's a warrior.

He's a stud.

Probably squat 900 pounds.

Probably not.

But what I want you

to know is that

God hand-picked Joshua

for leading his people

into the promised land.

You know why

I'm telling you this?

I want you to hear this.

Lou,

Dave,

God has hand-picked you

to be an elder

of this church,

to serve among

a plurality of elders,

to shepherd

this particular people

in this particular place

at this particular time.

Now,

it is quite an honor.

If you would open,

move in your Bibles

to the New Testament

to the book of Acts,

Acts verse 20,

28,

let me just set up

what's going on.

The Apostle Paul

is on his way

back to Jerusalem

and he knows

when he goes to Jerusalem

he's going to get

persecuted.

And so,

he's thinking,

I'm probably not going

to see the leaders

of these churches again.

And so,

on his way back

to Jerusalem,

he sends word out

to the Ephesian elders

to meet him

in the town of Miletus.

And there he meets them

and he exhorts them.

And it's in that context

we read 20, 28.

Would you read that with me

if you're there?

Paul says

to these Ephesian elders,

pay careful attention

to yourselves

and to all the flock

in which the Holy Spirit

has made you overseers.

Paul recognized

that these men

the Holy Spirit

had raised up

to be elders

of the Ephesian church.

Now,

unlike Joshua,

guys,

I haven't heard you

say this,

but I'm unaware

of God audibly speaking

to either of you

to tell you

that you are to be

an elder

of Christ the King Church.

But God uses means.

The Holy Spirit

uses means.

And so,

over the last

seven months,

these men

have gone through

a process,

a rigorous process

of deciding,

determining whether

they want to be an elder

and if they are in fact

called to be an elder

of this church.

And then last Sunday

with an overwhelming

affirmation

from the members

of this church,

these men

were recognized

as being called

of God

to be elders

of this church.

Do you know

what that means?

There's not a mistake here.

The Holy Spirit

has used these means

to set you apart

as elders.

He's hand-picked you

to lead this church,

to shepherd this people.

Now,

at the end of

Acts 20, 28,

after he says,

in which the Holy Spirit

has made you overseers,

he says,

to care for the church

of God

which he obtained

with his own blood.

We encountered this verse

together a few months ago

and there was

a sober hush

over us.

this personal call

to lead God's people,

we recognize

who this people

belongs to.

We recognize

that the members

of Christ the King Church

are the blood-bought

of Jesus.

They don't belong to us.

They belong to Him.

And we are called

to be under-shepherds

of His flock,

of this flock.

Now,

if you were to ask

Joshua how he felt

about being commissioned

by God Himself,

or if you were to ask

the Ephesian elders

how they felt

about being commissioned,

about giving this responsibility

to lead God's people,

I'm guessing they would say

things like,

you know,

it's very sobering.

It's a great responsibility.

These are God's people.

We are to be caring

for the blood-bought of Jesus.

That's a serious

kind of a thing.

And not only is it sobering,

but it's humbling.

It's like,

me?

Serve this people this way?

I can't do that.

It's humbling.

So,

a leader ends up

saying things like this.

In order to be a leader

of God's people,

I've got to depend on God.

Christ is going to give me

what I need to lead His people.

He's the vine.

We're just branches.

But,

the sobriety,

the humility,

all which is good

and right response

to a call by God

to lead His people,

here's something else

that should come out of this.

Courage.

God has called you

to this task.

He's called you

to lead His people.

There's going to be times

where we break the glass.

We pull the alarm.

It's going to happen

every elder meeting

because we are in

constant awareness

of our own weakness

and fears.

And so,

we're constantly

breaking the glass,

pulling the alarm

and saying,

God,

we need You.

We need You

to strengthen us.

We need You

to give us courage

to lead this people

for the glory of Your name.

But,

there's courage.

He hasn't made a mistake.

Just as He called

Joshua,

He has called

the two of you

to serve this people

at this time.

He used different means,

but He's called you

nonetheless.

This is God's great

personal call

and it gives you courage.

Let's look at

God's great commands.

In verses 7 and 8,

we read,

only be strong

and courageous,

very courageous,

being careful to do

according to all the law

that Moses,

my servant,

commanded you.

Do not turn from it,

the law,

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.

In God's commissioning

of Joshua,

God emphasizes

the absolute necessity

of His Word

in a leader

who leads His people.

You can't miss it.

Be careful to do

according to all

that Moses,

my servant,

commanded you.

Joshua,

do not turn

to the right hand

or to the left.

Joshua,

stay focused.

Remember Star Wars?

The first movie?

I mean,

the very first,

the 1977 movie?

Luke Skywalker,

X-Wing,

dropping into that

little

trench,

thank you,

of the Death Star.

He's flying

his X-Wing,

R2-T2,

beep-boop,

beep-boop,

beep-boop,

he's in the back.

He's got to drop

his laser torpedo

things down the

exhaust tube

of the Death Star

to blow it up.

Remember?

He's in the trench.

Do you remember

the guy on the other

ship telling him to do?

Stay on target.

Stay on target.

Luke Skywalker

getting rattled.

Beep-boop,

beep-boop,

ah, ah, ah.

And then Obi-Wan Kenobi

from who knows where

says,

Luke,

may the force

be with you.

Trust the force,

Luke.

Stay on target.

Brothers,

stay on target.

God's word

is the target.

It's our aim.

And what God's word

aims us at

is the glory of God,

His great cause.

That's what He's

called you to.

God's word

in a man

who is humble

is extremely powerful

in God's hands.

God is telling Joshua,

stay on target,

Joshua.

Stay on target.

Meditate on my word.

Keep it close.

Live it out.

Keep it on the tip

of your tongue.

That's how you lead,

brother.

Lead with God's word.

God's word provides

the path

of God's blessing

for His people.

Don't turn on the right.

Don't turn to the left.

Stay on target.

Stay on the path

of God's word.

And my people

will be blessed.

Did you see

the different

expressions

of God's word?

Three different ways.

The law of Moses.

The book of the law.

All that is written

in it.

It's all got to do

with words.

The words of this book.

You know,

Joshua just had

like the first five books.

We've got 66 books.

Talk about staying

on target.

We've got a lot

of target.

Here's what Joshua knew.

These words

were inspired

by God.

These words

originated

in the mind

of God.

All scripture

is God

breathed.

It originates

in God's mind.

This is God

speaking to us.

And when you realize

who this book

started with,

whose mind

it starts with,

you're realizing

it's authoritative.

We come

under

God's word.

Elders,

everybody else,

we're underneath it.

We live

under God's word.

It's his inspired word.

But it's not only inspired,

it's sufficient.

It provides

everything we need

from cover to cover.

It's got what you need.

All scripture.

All of it.

Man cannot live

by bread alone,

but by every word

that proceeds

from the mouth of God.

It's sufficient

for us.

And not only

is it sufficient,

it is powerful.

Remember the great passage

in Hebrews 4,

Hebrews 4:12

verse 12,

the word of God

is living

and active.

It gets down

into the nitty-gritty

of people's lives.

It penetrates.

2 Timothy 3

says it's

profitable.

It gets things done.

This is God speaking.

And when God

speaks into a situation,

things happen.

God is telling

Joshua,

get this book

in your heart

and lead out of it.

If you flip back

to Ezra 7,

Ezra 7:10

verse 10,

you know what you'd

read about Ezra?

He studied the word,

did it,

and taught it

to others.

You see the order?

He took it

into himself

and he sought

to be faithful to it

and then he taught

it to others.

He was a man

of integrity.

He wasn't calling

anybody to do anything

he himself wasn't

seeking to do.

He was seeking

to obey God's word

and he was calling

people to do the same.

And that's exactly

what God calls

Joshua here to do.

He says,

Joshua,

first and foremost,

as I'm calling you

to lead my people,

get these words

in you,

meditate on them,

and get them

on the tip of your tongue.

Lead out of it.

Be careful

to do

what I say.

Rightly handle

my words.

Bring them to bear

on your life

and you will be

in a great position

to bring them to bear

on other people's lives.

Christian leadership

begins

with one's

personal devotion

and obedience

to God's word.

We depend on it.

We trust in it.

We live by it.

We lead out

of our humble

dependence

and submission

to God's word.

Another way

to think about it

is this.

God in his glory

wants to get his word

into his people.

And he has chosen

us to get his word

into his people.

It's not limited to us,

but he's called us

in the context

of leadership

this church

to do it.

What a privilege.

What a responsibility.

So Lou and Dave,

I want to tell you this.

The best thing

that you can do

for Christ the King Church

is to continue

to personally

devote yourself

to living according

to all that God

has said

in this book.

Be a man

beholden

to God's book.

Love it and live it.

Be a lifelong learner

of it.

May it be

at the forefront

of your mind

day and night.

May you stay

on target.

May it be

on the tip

of your tongue.

Now can I just

call everyone

to imagine

something with me?

Imagine this.

that when you

encounter

one of the elders

of Christ the King Church

that you would

encounter a man

beholden to God's word.

That you encounter

a man who is eager

to direct you

to what God says.

That we would bring

to conversations

a question like this.

Well, you know what?

We've got to ask

this question.

What does God

say about that?

What does God

say about this

situation that you

find yourself in?

What does God

say about this

attitude that you're

demonstrating?

What does God

say about it?

We're to be

men of the book.

Man,

it is a

tremendous

source of courage.

When you

realize

that this

book is

God speaking

His all

authoritative

word,

it is a

tremendous

source of

courage.

My courage

is not in me.

My courage

is in God

and what He

said.

He's calling

us to be

courageous

brothers.

The last

of these

greats

is a

great

promise.

promise.

It's a

great

promise.

God

says,

I'm

with you.

God's

great

companionship

in this

call to

leadership.

God

promises

to be

with us.

Now,

God's

commands are at

the very

heart of

Joshua's

commission

here.

He says,

get this

word on

your heart,

but what

sandwich is it?

The bookends

in verse 5

and verse 9

is this

promise.

I am

with you,

Joshua.

Verse 5,

as God was

with Moses,

so I will

be with you,

Joshua.

I will never

leave you or

forsake you,

Joshua.

I will not

abandon you,

Joshua.

And then

verse 9,

for the Lord

your God

is with you

wherever you

go.

Every step

of the way,

I'm with

you.

It's a

tremendous

source of

encouragement to

know that

the almighty

God of the

universe goes

with you.

He's got

your back.

Now the

big question

that we have

to ask is,

is this

promise here

in Joshua

that God

is with

you,

is that,

can we

take that

on ourselves

today?

Can we

claim that

as our

own?

You better

believe it.

In Matthew

28,

20,

Jesus

himself said

this,

go make

disciples of

the nations,

baptizing them,

teaching them

all that I've

commanded,

and lo,

I'm with

you always,

even to the

end of the

age.

I promise

to be

with you.

He's

promised to

be with

us,

to comfort

us,

to strengthen

us,

and to

fight for

us.

Fight for

the glory

of his

great name.

Alright,

kids,

the time

has come.

I want

you to draw

something for

me.

You ready?

Look in

Joshua 5.

Read with

me.

Here it is.

Ready?

Joshua received

the command.

He brings

his people

over the

Jordan.

He celebrates

the first

Passover with

them,

chapter 5,

and in

513,

right before

they go

and battle

Jericho,

we read

this.

When Joshua

was by

Jericho,

he lifted up

his eyes

and looked,

and behold,

a man

was standing

before him

with his

drawn sword

in his hand.

That's what

I want you

to draw.

Right before

they go to

Jericho,

Joshua

encounters

the commander

of the

Lord's army

with his

sword drawn.

He's ready

for battle.

Keep reading

with me.

And Joshua

went to him

and said,

are you for

us or for

our adversaries?

It's like

Joshua saying,

hey,

are you one

of us or

one of them?

To which

the commander

of the

Lord's army

said,

no,

neither.

He says,

but I am

the commander

of the

army of

the Lord.

And he

says,

now I

have come.

I am

with you.

With my

sword drawn.

And they

go to

Jericho

and God

does a

mighty

work.

Joshua,

when he

encounters

this

commander

of the

Lord's

army,

falls on

his

face

and

worships.

What does

my Lord

say to

his servant?

And the

commander

of the

Lord's

army

said to

him,

take off

your

sandals

from your

feet,

for the

place

where you

are

standing

is holy.

It's the

same thing

that God

in the

burning

bush

told

Moses.

Moses

worshipped.

It was

God in the

burning

bush.

And here

we have

God

present

before

Joshua.

Some

scholars

speculate

that this

is a

pre-incarnate

appearance

of the

Son of

God.

Jesus.

Whose

name is

Joshua.

Joshua

is

encountering

the

second

Joshua.

The

Savior of

the world,

the

commander of

the Lord's

army,

who says,

I'm going

to fight

for you.

When

Jesus

came

incarnate,

He came

and He

began

His

conquest

over the

hearts of

man.

And His

death on

the cross

and resurrection

declared victory

over sin,

declared victory

over Satan,

declared victory

over the

grave.

And right

now,

He's

working out

His plan

among His

people to

get His

glory out.

And when He

comes back,

it's going to

be final.

Sin,

the devil,

death eradicated.

We've got a

zealous

Savior.

Do you know

what fuels

the zeal of

the Lord?

His love for

us,

and His love

for the glory

of His name.

I hope

that encourages

you,

brother.

That your

God is

with you.

Your Savior

is the

commander of

the Lord's

army who

will fight

for you

because He

loves you

and He

wants you

to bring

glory to

His name.

This

morning,

break the

glass,

brothers.

Pull the

alarm of

Joshua 1,

1-9.

God's

great cause

is His

glory.

Let that

encourage you.

God's

great calling

is He

chose you.

He hasn't

made a

mistake.

God's

great commands,

they are

His

words,

and they

accomplish

great things.

Let that

encourage you.

And of

course,

maybe the

greatest of

all,

I am

with you.

even to

the end

of the

age.

Be strong

and courageous.

Let me

pray.

I'm going

to have

Lou and

Dave come

up,

and Rick's

going to

lead out

the next

part of

our

commissioning.

God in

heaven,

we are a

people who

need to

be encouraged,

and we

look to

You.

We're

pulling the

alarm.

We need

You,

Lord.

Would You

give us

strength?

Would You

give us

courage for

the cause

You've

called us

upon?

And of

course,

that is the

glory of

Your wonderful

name,

and it's

in Your

name we

pray,

Jesus.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you.