You are Not Alone

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Knowing that his presence goes with us everywhere we go. Today,

Pastor Jeff will be closing out the series by taking a look at the life of Joshua.

So open your Bibles to Joshua chapter 1 and prepare your hearts to hear from

Joshua 1 · chapter mention

the Lord. And now, here's today's message. You are not alone.

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So for the past few weeks, we have been in a series that we entitled Fear Not.

And we've been walking through different types of fear, healthy, unhealthy fear.

As well as walking in the fear of the Lord and what that means.

In week two, we gave some practical insights on how you and I can give our fears over to the Lord.

And then last week, we looked at a really powerful week, and that's giving up control.

Because isn't it true that we want and desire to be in complete control of our lives?

We like to be the ones driving. We don't want to be in the passenger seat.

We want to be in complete control, but we saw that we can live anxiety and fear-free

when we let go of our control,

because it frees us from the fear and it brings peace that only the Lord can give.

And this morning, if you have your Bibles, we're going to be in the book of Joshua chapter 1.

Joshua 1 · chapter mention

Otherwise, grab your phone, your tablet, whatever, your favorite device, and turn with me to that.

And before we pray, I just want to give you the big idea. And you should have

been handed some notes when you came in this morning.

I'm a note guy because for me, myself, if I'm not taking notes,

I'm counting light bulbs or ceiling tiles or something else like that.

So if you didn't get one of those, just raise your hands and we'll make sure to find you.

Okay, everyone's got one. So here's the big idea for today.

When we walk in God's presence, rely on his power and trust in his promises,

we can face any fear with courage and with hope.

When we walk in God's presence, rely on his power and trust in his promise,

we can face any fear with courage and hope.

And our desire for you this morning, my desire for you this morning is that

when you walk out of this place,

the presence of God goes with you everywhere that you go and that you can rely

on his power in every situation that you face and that you trust in his promises.

I don't want you to walk in fear or anxiety or with worry.

We want to let go of that. We want to give that completely to God.

Let's go to the Lord in prayer and then we'll jump in.

Father, thank you for being here this morning. We just ask that your spirit

would convict us as we read your word.

We know that you have a purpose for each one of us.

We know that the word of God never returns void. It always accomplishes the

purpose that you have for it as it goes out.

So help me to get out of the way and help your word to speak clearly.

We ask that you would just move in this place. We love you, Lord. In Jesus' name, amen.

Have you ever had an assignment that felt like it was just too big? Too big?

Maybe you're in school. Maybe you're studying something that's too big.

Maybe you've been assigned a project at work, it's too big.

Maybe you're on an athletic team and it's too big or you're going up against a giant and it's too big.

In World War II, Winston Churchill was given the daunting task of leading Britain

during its darkest hours.

With the Nazis advancing, many thought that Britain was going to fall.

However, Churchill had incredible determination and enthusiasm and rallied the

nation and inspired the Allies.

And he proved that even when assignments seem insurmountable,

if you have the right mindset and courage, it can lead to unimaginable victories.

And this morning, we need to look and see where we're at in our lives and see

what we're looking at and see if we need to adjust our mindset.

Or maybe you're walking through a situation and you just need some courage.

That courage comes from the Lord Jesus Christ.

I'm sure that Joshua here in

this section of scripture must have felt overwhelmed by the task at hand.

He had just been chosen to succeed Moses. Okay, he's had movies written about him, right?

Moses, to take God's people into the promised land. Talk about some big shoes.

Can you imagine the resume Moses had?

God spoke to him from a burning bush, says, you're gonna free my people from slavery.

And so Moses led the people out of Egypt.

God used Moses to do miracles.

God's presence was with Moses. They're walking through the desert.

He's leading hundreds of thousands of people.

And the fire at night in a cloud by day, God's presence was with him.

I think if I were Joshua and I was told, you know, hey, you're going to take

over his spot, I'd have some fear.

I'd have a little bit of anxiety.

Moses established a system of worship that provided access to God for all the believers.

And oh yeah, he wrote the first five books of the Bible. Genesis,

Exodus, Little Vicas, Numbers, Deuteronomy.

Well, God had revealed to Moses in the book of Numbers that Joshua would be

the next leader that would take his place.

And so in Numbers chapter 27, we see that Moses brought him before the priest

Numbers 27 · chapter mention

and in front of the entire community, and they laid hands on him,

and the people commissioned him to be the next leader.

Yet he doesn't take over the leadership role until Deuteronomy 31.

Now, Joseph had received this calling, and the people had even laid hands on

him, and they'd commissioned him.

But look at Deuteronomy 31.

He had not yet taken over the leadership role. And in Deuteronomy 31,

the Lord tells Moses, the time of your death is now approaching.

Call Joshua and present yourselves at the tent of the meeting so that I may commission him.

I underline that in my Bible. I circled it so that I may commission him.

You see, it's one thing to be commissioned by people.

It's another thing to be commissioned by God Almighty.

And a lot of us, we might have a calling in our lives.

Actually, we all do. We believe that we were created for a purpose,

a divine purpose, to live out God's glory in every area of our lives.

And yet, sometimes we tend to rush it, right? We rush living out our purpose.

Some of you, you've been called to do things and you believe you're ready,

but God might have you in the waiting room until he says, okay, now you're ready.

You're gonna have to go through some things. How many of you been through some things?

You gotta go through some things and be formed and shaped and molded into what

he wants you to be before you're ready to be used by him.

So if you're in the waiting room, can I just give you a word of encouragement

and just say, hold on, hold on.

Don't give up hope. Be patient.

I know that's the thing we were told growing up, never pray for patience,

right? Because it's going to be hard.

Can you imagine what would have happened if Joshua had not waited for God?

They never would have reached the promised land. And so when it comes to living

out your purpose in life, don't get in such a hurry that you run ahead of God's anointing on you.

If you have your Bibles, read with me in Joshua 1.

It's now Joshua's time to lead. It says, after the death of Moses,

the Lord's servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua, son of Nun, Moses' assistant.

Verse two, Moses, my servant is dead.

Now you and all the people prepare to cross over the Jordan to the land I am giving the Israelites.

And God says, okay, Joshua, it's go time. You're up. You're the guy.

You're the one that's going to lead the people into the promised land,

the land that I promised.

And Joshua steps into this leadership position, and he faces incredible challenges

leading the people and facing unknown enemies.

But ultimately, he fulfills God's plan for his people.

Verse three says, I have given you every place where the sole of your foot treads,

just as I promised Moses.

Your territory will be from the wilderness in Lebanon to the great river,

the Euphrates River, all the land of the Hittites, and west to the Mediterranean Sea.

And so here we have Joshua and he hears the promises of God that all these territories,

that all these lands have been given to them, but that didn't mean it would be easy.

In fact, a lot of times when God gives you an assignment, guess what? It's hard.

It's going to take you relying fully on God to accomplish the things that God calls you to.

Don't think that you're going to go into battle and that you're going to be

able to do it all by yourself. You can't.

And if the Lord doesn't give Joshua the rest of the chapter, I think Joshua gives up.

Honestly, because there's so much promise of God that God is getting ready to

reveal that Joshua never could have accomplished it had he not known the rest.

Follow along in verse five. The Lord tells Joshua, he says, listen,

no one, say no one, no one will be able to stand against you as long as you live.

I will be with you just as I was with Moses. I will not leave you or abandon you.

And then twice in verse six and seven, he tells Joshua to be strong and to be courageous.

And then we pick it back up. And there's this importance of obeying and meditating on the word of God.

In verse eight and nine, he says, you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.

Say whatever, whatever you do, haven't I commanded you be strong and courageous.

Do not be afraid or discouraged. Why?

Why? How could Joshua face battle after battle and not be afraid?

How can we walk through life and face fear after fear after fear and come out victorious?

It's because the Lord, your God is with you wherever you go.

You may be here and say, but Jeff, you don't know what I'm going through.

You don't know the relationship that I just lost. You don't know what's going

on with my family. You don't know what's going on with my finances.

You don't know what's going on, dot, dot, dot. You're right. I may not.

But I do know you can face it because the very God of all creation who spoke

the world into existence has promised that he will be with you and he will never

leave you. He'll never forsake you.

That he's always with you. And we talked about this a couple of weeks ago, that God's presence.

Remember, it was Moses. He said, if you don't go with me, I don't want to go.

You've probably learned that in your life, that if God doesn't go with you,

man, I don't want to go. I don't want to go.

Some of you, you're here, you're facing a challenge and an obstacle,

and you just need to be reminded, number one, that God's presence is with you.

God's presence is with you. Aren't you thankful that God's presence is with

us? The greatest assurance that Joshua received was that God would be with him every step of the way.

And the greatest assurance and the greatest battle, our greatest tool against

fear, we've been talking about fear and anxiety.

The greatest tool about fear is that we know that God is with us.

And if God is with us and for us, who can be against us, the Bible says.

Listen to me. God's presence makes all the difference in the world.

And with God by his side, Joshua says, I can face any obstacle.

I can have confidence because God's at my side.

Listen, you can have confidence as you go throughout your week every day because God is with you.

He's with you. In the New Testament, just for a second, Matthew 28,

the great commission at the very end of Matthew, the very last verse of Matthew's

gospel, Jesus gives the great commission to go out into all the world. And what did he say?

He said, I am with you always, always, even to the end of the age.

Can you imagine the disciples are with Jesus and Jesus is like,

hey, they're going to kill me. They're going to crucify me.

I'm going and I'll rise again in three days, and then I'm taken off.

Adios. I'm going to heaven. I'll be at the right hand of my father.

That's where he is today, and he's praying for you. That's what he's doing.

It's what the Bible says, that Jesus is making intercession for you right now.

He's praying for you. I'd love to hear those prayers.

Oh, Father, Jeff's in trouble again.

I'm a little ADD, so just, you'll have to forgive me, but God has given this

incredible promise that he's with us.

And he gave that promise to the disciples. That's why they would all go on to be martyred, right?

Except for one, because they'd witnessed the truth, they'd seen it.

And they had his presence with him.

Guys, Jesus is alive and well, and he's with you right where he said he'd be.

So number one, God's presence is with you. Number two, God's power secures our victory. God's power.

Joshua 1, verses 5 and 6 again, it says, No one will be able to stand against

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you as long as you live. I will be with you just as I was with Moses.

I will not leave you or abandon you. Be strong and courageous for you will distribute

the land I swore to their ancestors to give them as an inheritance.

Man, what a statement. No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live.

How confident would that make you feel if God had just said,

hey, nothing's going to stop you.

No one's gonna be able to stop you.

No one can stand against you as long as you live.

In other words, my power in you secures victory against anyone and everyone

you meet. And here's the thing.

The power that was displayed in Moses was not from Moses.

The power displayed in Joshua was not Joshua's power.

It was God's power working through them. And Joshua is not expected to win the

battle on his own strength.

It's through the power of God working in him and through him.

And here's the thing, guys, you too, we all have access to God's power.

Do you even realize that?

It's true. Let me show you. Paul's writing to the church at Ephesus,

and he's charging them with a pretty hard task of walking in unity.

And I can just hear some of the people saying, you know, we're never going to

be able to do this. Have you seen them? Have you seen them?

They believe this. They believe that. And he's saying, guys.

Sometimes the greatest evidence to a lost world is that the church can be unified.

So he writes and it encourages them to be unified.

And Ephesians 1, he says this, I also pray that you will understand the incredible

greatness of God's power for who?

For us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from

the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly realm.

Paul says, I don't think you understand the greatness and the power of God,

that it's the same power that raised Jesus from the dead and that placed him

here at the right hand of the father seated in heaven.

Over in Romans 8, 11, it says this, and if the spirit of him who raised Jesus

from the dead is where? Come on, help me out.

Living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your

mortal bodies because of his spirit who lives in you.

The same spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead.

If you believe, and if you are a Christian, his spirit and his power is now

taking up residence in you to help you fulfill the purpose that God has for your life.

And Paul's making two things really clear here about the power of God.

The first is that the power of God comes through the spirit of God.

It comes through the spirit of God. And the second thing is that the spirit

of God indwells the believer.

When you come to Christ and you place your trust in him. God gives you the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 1.13 says, in him, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when

you heard the word of truth, the gospel of salvation, and when you believed. Is it enough?

According to this verse, do you have the Holy Spirit when you hear about God?

Do you have the Holy Spirit when you go to church? Do you have the Holy Spirit when you serve?

No, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit when you heard and when you believed.

It's when you believe that Jesus Christ is the Lord of Lords and that he is your Savior.

There are a lot of people that call themselves Christians that go to church

or identify as a Christian and they've heard the truth and they might even know the truth,

but they haven't applied it to their own lives and they haven't believed.

And there's a difference between between knowing it in your head and believing it in your heart.

Galatians 4, 6 says, and because we are his children, God has sent the spirit

of his son into our hearts.

If you've confessed Jesus as Lord of your life, if you've submitted your life

to be obedient to him and to be obedient to his word, then the same power that

raised Jesus from the dead is now at work in you.

And his spirit will give you strength to face anything that you will ever come against.

Any trial, any hardship, whether it's physical or emotional or spiritual,

guys, God's presence is with you.

And it's his power that secures the victory.

It's his power. Number three, God's promises give us hope and direction.

God's promises give us hope and direction.

Joshua 1.6 says, Be strong and courageous, for you will distribute the land

I swore to their ancestors to give them as an inheritance.

Who was it that decided that he would be giving territory to their ancestors?

It was God. It was God's plan.

And Joshua said, God said, I'm going to do this, but I'm going to use you.

God has a plan that he's working out in humanity and in creation and in this world.

And he wants to use you if you're willing.

He wants to empower you to accomplish his purposes.

I was looking up promises of God this week in scripture.

And I came across this fact that there's 8,810 promises of God in scripture.

7,487 of them are promises that he's made to mankind, that he's made to you, that he's made to me.

Listen, they're promises of protection, promises that you're not alone,

promises that say, I love you.

There's nothing that you can do to get rid of my love for you.

He promises strength. He promises peace for you and he promises his presence.

And you need to know guys that God is faithful to his promises.

He's faithful. As we wrap up, I want to just look at verses seven and eight.

It says this, above all, be strong and very courageous.

To observe carefully the whole instruction. My servant Moses commanded you. What is that?

The law, the first five books, the Pentateuch. He's saying, be careful to obey the word of God.

All of it. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left so that you will

have success wherever you go.

Listen, being obedient to the word of God is not about a bunch of laws of do this, do that.

It's for protection.

Some of you know, I'm working at running a half marathon and I ran five miles the other day.

I got home and I told my wife, I think I'm gonna write a book.

Thoughts, thoughts from the path, thoughts from the, they were stupid thoughts.

Like why are those vultures circling me?

You know, things like that. Do they think I'm dead?

But I just, I don't know, it clears my mind and I'm running and I got my black

lab next to me and I keep him on a leash and it's like 12 feet long,

but I keep him right here and I noticed that I had this thought while I'm running.

You have the craziest thoughts, but I'm running and Gunner, my black lab,

is every time he would pull to the side, he's getting distracted and I'll yank him over here,

and I'd have to get burrs off of him and I'd have to get stuff off of him and,

you know, searching for ticks.

But when he stays on the path...

He made it all five miles with me. Some of you who are close to me know that

I'm worried about my dog.

He's like my best friend next to my wife.

I love that dog more than my kids. Right, Mason?

It's true. It's not really true.

Listen, I've been worried that he's not going to make it. He's getting exhausted.

It's because he's running three times as much as I am.

Because he's going off the path, and if he just stays on the path, he stays out of trouble.

He doesn't get the burrs on him. He won't get the ticks on him.

He won't get distracted by other dogs.

And I just thought, man, it's kind of like the Word of God. It's for our protection.

It keeps us right there with God and in pace with God on this journey.

When we obey God's word there's so much protection for us.

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I want my kids to be obedient to the word of God because I know that that will

result in a life of blessing for them,

instead of pain and consequences nobody wants pain and consequences for the kids.

So he says, don't look to the left or to the right. Stay on the path so that

you will have success wherever you go.

This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth.

You are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything,

observe everything written in it.

For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.

I've read this passage through the years, probably 300 times, 500 times. I don't know.

But something stuck out to me this time when I was reading it.

What does he say to be strong and courageous about?

Usually it's be strong and courageous, you know, in the battle.

Be strong and courageous in this. Be strong and courageous as you go here.

Be strong and courageous.

No, he says, be strong and courageous to observe carefully the whole instruction

my servant Moses commanded you.

He didn't say, be strong in fighting, be strong and courageous in your leadership.

Observe carefully the whole instruction, he said. And I just had this thought,

we need men and women and young people,

who will be strong and courageous to be obedient to the word of God, not turning to the left,

or to the right.

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So we can observe everything written down. Because then you will prosper and

succeed in whatever you do. In whatever you do.

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I know some of you struggle with fear. I struggle with fear.

But when we walk in God's presence. And when we rely on his power.

And when we trust in his promises. We can face any fear with courage and hope.

Amen? Amen. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we come to you and we thank you for

being here this morning.

And we just ask that you would empower us to be bold and to be courageous in

our lives as we leave this place,

as we go about our weekly tasks of work and school.

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God, we need your presence in our lives. we need your spirit empowering us to

live according to your word so that we don't fall to the left or to the right,

God I pray that you would make us obedient to you and that you would keep your

promises that's found in your word in our mind,

so that we can use them against the enemy when the enemy says you're not enough,

we can remind them that we are children of the king,

when the enemy says you're worthless,

you'll know you're enough God if there's anyone in here that doesn't know you

that knows about you but has never taken that extra step to believe I pray right now,

that they would call out to you and just ask you to come into their hearts and lives.

I like to say it's as easy as ABC. Admit that you're a sinner.

Believe that Jesus paid for your sins.

Confess that he's Lord. Commit your life to him.

One of the things that we said when we planted our church, Generations Church

last year, was that we wanted to always give people an opportunity to accept Christ.

And if that's you this morning and you're just to that point where you say, you know what?

I don't want to just know about God. I want to know him personally.

Would you just slip your hand up? No one's looking around. Just slip your hand up so I can pray for you.

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Every one of you, I want you to know that God loves you so much,

that he sent Jesus to die for you.

He says, if you'll just trust in me that I did the work of salvation,

there's nothing that you can do to earn your way to heaven. It's all through Jesus Christ.

He paid a debt that I couldn't owe. He took my penalty for all my sins.

If you made that commitment, I just want to challenge you. Come tell me.

I want to rejoice with you. I want to celebrate with you. And I want to help

you on your journey, on the next step.

We'd love to be able to come alongside you.

Father, go with us as we close in just a minute. Pray that you would go with

us, empower us to live for you, to give you glory in everything we say and do. In Jesus' name. Amen.

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