The Battle For Our Courage

Turn in your Bible to Psalms 42, and we're going to speak this morning the battle for our courage.

There is a battle going on.

We're in the series called The Battle, and one of the greatest battles that the enemy fights against every believer is the battle for a believer's courage.

And we're going to read in Psalms 42 in just a moment about this battle that King David fought regularly.

If you read the Psalms, if you read, you know, more than one at a time, it seems that every other Psalm, David was either really excited or really depressed.

Like every other one.

Good day, bad day.

Good day, bad day.

Good day, bad day.

And so he wrote a psalm every day, it seems like, and then you can kind of follow the pattern of his life.

You ever do that when you read the Psalms?

But it makes me feel better because that's sometimes how I feel.

Good day, bad day.

Good day, bad day.

Well, in Psalms 42, David's not having a very good day.

And he was battling discouragement, battling heaviness, battling a tormenting attack that was happening in his life.

And so let's read Psalms 42, verse 9.

Psalms 42:9

And this is out of the message version of the Bible, and it's not a literal translation, but it captures the thought of what David was trying to communicate, okay?

Psalms 42, verse 9.

Psalms 42:9

It says, sometimes I ask God, my rock solid God, why did you let me down?

Now let's pause here for a moment.

How many of you have asked God that question in the past?

Why, Lord?

Why, God, where are you?

Why have you let me down?

Have you ever asked that question?

We have some honest people.

Let's try that one more time.

How many of you have honestly have ever asked God that question in some form?

Well, I have.

I certainly have.

And God's not offended by that question.

He wasn't offended when David asked the question.

So let's keep reading.

Why am I walking around in tears, harassed by enemies?

They're out for the kill, these tormentors with their obscenities, taunting day after day.

In other words, they were mocketing, they were scoffing.

And here's what these enemies, these demonic entities that were saying to him, Where is this God of yours?

Let me ask another question.

How many of you have ever heard the voice of the enemy in your life ask that question?

Where's God now?

Where's the blessed life now?

You go to Gateway, I see you at Gateway, I see you reading your Bible and praying and telling people you're a believer, well, where's God now?

Have you ever heard the enemy say that to you?

I hear it a lot.

I hear that all the time.

Where's God now, Brady?

When you pray for someone, they don't get well, where's God now?

You pray for something, it doesn't happen the way you think it should happen.

Well, let's keep reading.

Verse 11.

Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?

Why are you crying the blues?

Fix my eyes on God.

Soon I'll be praising again.

Now, whatever it says in your Bible, you need to underline that phrase because it's key to the message today.

Soon I'll be praising again.

He puts a smile on my face.

He's my God.

Now, what David is saying in this passage is, I know that I'm discouraged.

I know that I'm battling something that is, the origin of which is demonic.

David is very clear here that he knows that he's under some type of demonic attack and that it's causing him to be very heavy, very discouraged, ready to give up.

But here's what David says in verse 11, and I want you to really catch this this morning.

This is a declaration that David's making.

I cannot stay here.

I cannot remain here.

I know this is not a good place.

I cannot stay where I am.

Soon I'll be praising again.

Soon I'll be praising again.

Now, I know a lot I've heard from a lot of you that in this 21-day time that you've experienced great attack, like an increased attack in some parts of your life.

Like Pastor Robert this weekend had an increased attack in his body over the weekend.

Well, I went through one of the greatest personal battles that I've ever went through, but it was back in November.

I just, I, for the first time in my life, I felt that I was close to being depressed.

And I don't know why it happened.

I I went through such a great period, about a three or four-week period, where I was very discouraged.

I had a why bother attitude.

I didn't care about some things that I've always cared about.

And I've never done that.

My personality doesn't allow for depression very often.

I don't ever get depressed.

I just don't go there.

I've never had to battle it, never had been concerned about it.

Couldn't empathize with people who were depressed.

I didn't understand it until now.

And only a few people knew that because I didn't make that a public, but I'm telling you, I went through a great period of discouragement.

And my marriage was great, finances were great, my kids are great, the church is great.

All those things that should have made my life fine weren't enough.

I was discouraged.

And I was battling it.

And I had to ask the Lord, Lord, I need some help.

This is not a good place I'm in.

I was like David.

I know this is not a good spot.

And I can't stay here.

I can't live here.

You ever had that feeling?

You know you can't live there.

You don't want to live there.

Let me give you a really simple definition, a simple, very clear definition of discouragement, okay?

Something that you can always remember.

Discouragement is simply the absence of courage.

Discouragement is simply the absence of courage.

Let me tell you why.

Discouraged, the actual word means, discouraged means to take courage out of you.

That's why the word encourage means to put courage inside of you.

Have you ever been around someone that was an encourager?

Someone that was upbeat and encouraging?

When you're around them, you walk away feeling, I can do this.

I think I'm capable of doing this now.

Because when they're around you, they're putting courage inside of you.

And in the same way, if you've ever been around someone who's discouraging, you could be having the best day of your life, and you're hanging around discouraged people.

You walk away going, I can't do anything.

I feel like I've lost all my courage to even live anymore sometimes.

I mean, some people have that effect on you.

That's why it's important to hang around encouraging people.

Because they put courage inside of you.

That's why the Bible says all the time, encourage each other daily.

Put courage inside of people daily.

So discouragement is simply the absence of courage.

But what causes discouragement?

What causes this?

I ask the Lord these questions.

What's causing this?

Where did this come from?

It came out of the blue to me.

Here's the first thing that causes discouragement is fatigue.

Just being tired.

You know, sometimes the best remedy for discouragement is simply to get out of town for a few days.

I mean, it's amazing.

This is true.

You can go to Argyle or Weatherford and just get a change of scenery.

And you come back into town, you feel different because you just got out of town for a day or two.

I'm not working for the tourism board of Argyle or Weatherford, but if that's all you can do, then get out of town, then get out of town.

Or maybe just a long nap, like this afternoon.

Listen, if there was ever a day that you could chill out and nap, today is it.

If you can't take a nap today, you will never take a nap in your life.

And I don't want you to begin napping now, okay?

So fatigue is a huge cause of discouragement.

If your life is a constant chaos and you're not taking time to rest, you are a candidate and a target for the enemy to discourage you.

Your body cannot keep up the pace that you're on, probably.

You need to rest or you will become discouraged.

The second cause is frustration, fatigue, and then frustration.

Frustration is when you have a series of expectations or some expectation that's not met.

You thought something was going to happen a certain way, but over a period of time you could continue to have unmet expectations.

And when those things begin to build in you, maybe people aren't meeting your expectations.

Maybe your marriage is not meeting your expectations.

Maybe your job is not meeting your expectations.

And so this frustration begins to build and it causes you to become very discouraged.

Another cause is failure.

Fatigue, frustration, and failure.

You know that in the American culture it's not okay to fail, and it should be.

Failure is a part of the journey.

And we think that we have to have success building upon success and success, and if you ever fail that there's some type of flaw in you, that is a character flaw, and we've associated failure as something negative when throughout Scripture and throughout history, the history of mankind, failures, you actually learn more many times through failure than you do through success anyway.

Failure is a part of the journey.

But because we put such an emphasis on success and we don't allow for any failures, when you do fail, you can become very discouraged instead of learning from it the way God intended.

So failures can cause you to be very discouraged.

A failed business, a failed marriage, a failed relationship of any kind can cause you to be discouraged.

And here's the last thing, the last cause that I think of discouragement is fear.

Elijah is an example of this.

Elijah, who had just called down fire from heaven, destroyed the sacrifices and the and killed the prophets of Baal, got an email from Jezebel, said, Listen, this time tomorrow I'm going to have your life.

Now, in my mind, Jezebel was about 4'11 and 95 pounds.

She couldn't have been a large woman.

She was just strong and she was just threatening.

Why in the world, this is a mystery.

I'm going to ask Elijah when I see him.

Why were you so afraid?

I can tell you why, because there was a demonic presence attached to that woman that caused Elijah to fear something that he should have not feared.

And the Bible says that he ran for 40 days.

Talk about getting out of town.

He traveled 40 days, ended up in a cave, discouraged, depressed, and saying to God, God, I'm the only one that's not bowed my knee.

Talking about discouraged.

Feeling like he was alone and out there.

Listen, if you're afraid of something, you cannot have courage.

That's the opposite of courage, is fear.

Whatever you're afraid of is causing you the capacity to have courage.

If you're harboring fear, that's a place that courage can't dwell in your life.

Courage and fear will not coexist.

You either have courage or you're afraid.

That really is that simple.

So here's some facts about discouragement.

I want you to really understand this because I want you to catch it.

I want you to deal with it in your life.

Number one, it is common.

Discouragement is common.

Every believer, every person, I don't care how mature you are in the Lord, how many hours a day you spend praying and worshiping and doing all those things, how many times you come to church, whether you're a new believer, an unbeliever, or a believer that's been around for a long time, you are a candidate for discouragement.

It's very common.

Every believer goes through times in their life of discouragement.

And chances are every person in this room at some point will battle this season of discouragement.

In fact, some people believe that even animals can be discouraged.

I don't know if I believe that or not, but have you ever looked into the eyes of a chihuahua?

It's a very discouraged animal.

I'm telling you, big eyes, small body, very discouraged.

They have a lot of reasons to be very discouraged, heavy.

A lot of despair there.

Number two, it's chronic.

Just because you've been discouraged before and gotten over it, you don't build up an antibody, you don't build up a resistance to it in the future.

It can come back.

The fact that you've been discouraged once, you dealt with it, you got victory over it, chances are you will still battle seasons of discouragement as a believer.

In fact, you can be discouraged because you're always discouraged.

You know, I'm discouraged because I'm always discouraged.

It's chronic.

And the last thing is that it's contagious.

Very, very contagious.

That's why the devil doesn't need to discourage everyone.

Let me tell you who the devil really wants to discourage.

The devil really wants to discourage people who have influence.

Leaders, husbands, wives, bosses, business owners, small group leaders.

If you have any kind of influence over other people, you are a target for discouragement.

Because it's contagious.

That's why, by the way, encouragement's contagious too.

It's very contagious.

If you're an encourager, you probably have a lot of friends.

If you're a discourager, you probably say, you know, I don't know why I don't have any friends.

No one ever invites me to do anything.

Chances are you're a discourager.

Listen, you want your phone to ring off the hook, if you want social engagements from now to the end of the world, be an encourager.

You'll never lack for friends because it's contagious.

So I know some of you walked in and you say, you know, I've had the best two weeks of my life, but thanks, Pastor Brady.

In ten minutes, you've already discouraged me.

I think I've done a good job just draining the life out of you already in ten minutes.

Let me read this note one more time.

Dad, I love you.

Thank you.

So, how do we win the battle over discouragement?

How do we win this battle?

I'm telling you, this is a question I was asking in November.

I'm asking the Lord.

Lord, I've got to win this.

I can't.

I've never battled it before.

I've never even been around it before.

I was in new territory back in November.

So turn with me to Psalms 34, and I'm going to show you how the Lord led me through a very simple exercise to help me break through from this very, very deep season of discouragement.

Now, Psalms 34, by the way, is the very best place.

It's the best Psalm.

You need to read Psalms 34 at least once a week.

I think every Christian needs to read Psalms 34 at least once a week.

It's that good.

It's a great Psalm.

It's my favorite.

Are you getting the drift that I like Psalms 34?

Okay, Psalms 34, verse 1.

Psalms 34:1

Now, I want you to see if anything jumps off the page as I read this.

Now I'm going to give you a clue.

The answers are found in verse 1 and verse 4.

We're going to read verses 1 through 8, okay?

Now, I want you to see if anything at all kind of jumps off the page at you as the answer for discouragement.

Alright, don't read ahead.

We're going to do this together.

It's a group exercise this morning, alright?

Verse 1.

Pay close attention to see if anything just jumps off the page, all right?

Verse 1.

I will praise the Lord at all times.

I will constantly speak his praises.

I will boast only in the Lord.

Let all who are discouraged take heart.

Come, let us tell of the Lord's greatness.

Let us exalt his name together.

Okay, that anything jump off the page is a way to get free from depression there or discouragement.

Okay, verse 4.

Now here's the other answer.

It's coming right now.

Verse 4.

I prayed to the Lord and he answered me, freeing me from all my fears.

Remember a minute ago I said one of the causes for discouragement is fear.

And he says, listen, when I prayed, the fear left.

Verse 5.

Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy.

No shadow of shame will darken their faces.

I cried out to the Lord in my suffering, and he heard me.

He set me free from all my fears, for the angel of the Lord guards all who fear him, and he rescues them.

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Oh, the joys of those who trust in him.

Now listen, there's two things that you should have seen in those scriptures, that passage, in those eight verses.

There's two keys.

If you want to be breakfree from discouragement, if you don't want heaviness to rule your life, there are two things you must do.

Praise him and pray.

I know you didn't drive through the ice to hear of that revelation.

I know you know this.

I know you know to worship, and I know you know to pray.

Here's what I find, though.

People who are discouraged and heavy, they forget to do those two things.

And let me tell you what happens.

Praise shifts your focus from you to him.

And prayer shifts the burden from you to him.

Now really listen to this, okay?

This is a revelation to me in November.

And when you're going through a deep time, a dark time, sometimes you forget to do basic things.

And someone needs to tell you about the basic things that you already knew to do.

There's not a secret formula.

There's no secret formula in the Bible for specific illnesses.

And by the way, this is the remedy for most problems.

But praise shifts the focus from me to him, and prayer shifts the burden.

And God wants my focus and my burden.

He wants both of them.

Now, when I ask people, what are the benefits of prayer?

What is the benefit, or what are the benefits of praying?

Most people can only tell me one thing.

And if I ask you all the question today, what are, plural, what are the benefits of prayer?

Most people can only come up with one benefit, and that is the answer.

When I pray, God answers my prayers.

That's the benefit of praying, is that God hears me and answers my prayers.

Most believers can only tell me that one thing.

But there's a lot more benefits to praying than just getting the answer.

And let me just walk you through the process that when you're praying.

Number one, when you begin to pray, you stop worrying.

Now let's read this in Philippians chapter 4, verse 6, okay?

Philippians 4:6

Philippians 4, verse 6.

Philippians 4:6

Don't worry about anything.

Instead, pray about everything.

Alright, now is there a comma with the word accept next to it?

Don't worry about anything, comma, except.

Here's some things you should worry about.

Did he say that there are some things you should worry about?

Nothing.

Don't worry about anything.

Instead, pray about everything.

Tell God what you need and thank him for all he's done.

Do you see prayer and praise in this scripture?

If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand.

His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

So the first thing that happens when you pray is you stop worrying.

By the way, there's no such person as a courageous warrior.

You can be a courageous warrior, but you cannot be a courageous warrior.

You know, some people believe that if I just worry enough, it'll wear God down and he'll answer my prayers because he feels so bad for me.

I'm worrying so much.

If I'll just keep worrying, God in his compassion will answer my prayers.

Doesn't God see how much I'm worrying?

Doesn't he even care?

Listen, not one time, not one time in the past, and not one time today, and not one time in the future will God ever answer a prayer of worry.

You should stop praying if all you're going to do is pray the prayer of worry.

Now, you've never heard a pastor tell you to stop praying, but I'm telling you, you're wasting your time.

God does not answer prayers of worry, he answers prayers of faith.

That's what it says in James.

If any of you are sick among you, call for the elders of the church, and they will anoint you with oil and the prayer of faith.

If you're not going to pray the prayer of faith, God will not answer you.

That's why, this is how you know if you're praying effectively.

I was worrying about something, I prayed to the Lord, and when I finished, I stopped worrying about it.

If you're still worrying about something that you're praying about, you need to keep praying until the worry stops.

That's how you know that you're praying the prayer of faith.

You pray until the worry leaves.

This is a great benefit to believers.

You need to know this.

This is a tremendous benefit if you're going to pray.

Pray until the worry stops.

Isn't that a great benefit?

I mean, I hate worrying.

I don't like to worry.

I don't like waking up in the middle of the night, grinding my teeth, thinking about something.

And by the way, when I do wake up in the middle of the night worrying about something, my first reaction is, Lord, I need sleep, and I'm leaving this with you.

You're better at it than I am.

I am not going to worry about this.

I need my rest.

I'm not going to be robbed of my rest.

I'm going to pray the prayer of faithfully, and I'm going to go back to sleep.

My worry, the Bible, Jesus said your worry will not add a single measure to your life.

It doesn't add one thing to your life.

It drains the life out of you to worry.

Here's the second benefit of prayer.

So if you pray now and the worrying stops, guess what replaces the worry?

Faith and courage.

Courage comes back.

Joy and peace.

That's why it said in Philippians 4, then the peace of God will rule your heart and mind.

Instead of the worry of the enemy.

The peace of God starts ruling your heart and mind.

Guess what?

Do you ever have trouble sleeping at night when peace is guarding your heart?

How many of you have ever lost sleep at night because you were so filled with peace you could not sleep?

How many of you ever got sick in your body because I'm so full of peace, I'm literally nauseous from the amount of peace that I have in my life?

Peace is killing me.

No, I'm telling you, I'm telling you, living a life of peace.

It'll add years to your life.

It'll add joy to your life.

And the reason you don't have it is because you're praying prayers of worry and you're content with that.

You're not going to wear God down with your worry.

You're going to get an answer from God when you pray the prayer of faith.

And here's the last thing that happens: the answer comes.

And by the way, when peace replaces worry, it's amazing how the things that we ask for begin to change.

What I thought I'd needed from God when I was worrying changes when the peace of God guards my heart.

Peace then comes and I realize, you know what?

I don't think I really needed what I thought I needed.

In fact, you will become content in whatever circumstance you're in if you've got peace.

You will care less about the circumstance all of a sudden.

It really doesn't even matter to you even more if the answer ever comes, because living with peace, I can take on anything if peace is rule in my heart.

It doesn't matter anymore.

And that's when God moves.

When it doesn't matter as much.

He wants you.

He wants your heart.

He wants your life.

Circumstances can change and go.

They'll come and go.

Good times and bad times come and go in life.

He just wants all of your heart all the time.

So the worrying stop, the courage returns, and then the answer comes.

And we see this pattern throughout Scripture.

Moses, Nehemiah, Joseph, Abraham.

God gave them a promise.

Discouragement came.

I mean, Nehemiah is a great example.

You want to read a great story about someone who got a promise from God and then was greatly discouraged, but overcame it and did what God called him to do?

Nehemiah is a great story.

Go rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

Go rebuild all the walls.

And when he got there, no one would do it.

No one got excited.

A few people got excited.

A lot of people tried to kill him and discourage him, taunted him, mocked him for even thinking of rebuilding the walls.

Too big a job for too small a group of people.

You can't do this.

And Nehemiah, in fact, one time he was so, the battle was so intense that he told the people that were rebuilding the walls, keep a sword in one hand and rebuild the wall with the other, because we could be attacked at any moment.

Fairly intense construction project, wouldn't you agree?

And that's what was happening.

But God gave him a promise.

He overcame the discouragement.

He chose to worship and pray.

And then the answer came.

Listen, this is the pattern for your life.

Let me tell you what your life's going to be like for the next 40 years, okay?

I'm about to give you a prophetic word for your life for the next 40 years.

God's going to give you a series of promises that you know is God.

And the enemy will come and try to take your courage.

He'll try to discourage you.

At that moment, you're going to have to choose.

Lord, I believe your promise more than I believe the discouragement of the enemy.

I choose to worship you.

I choose to pray to you.

I pray the prayer of faith based on something that I know I heard you say.

And then the answer will come.

Do you know why?

That you ever watch those movies like Braveheart, and you watch these guys, they're outnumbered five to one, and they charge down the hill.

Some of them have hose and rakes.

They don't even have weapons.

Yet they'll charge down the hill with no, most of them are going to lose their lives in the battle.

Or you ever watch the, uh you ever see, uh, hear accounts of D-Day when the American soldiers, the Marines, when those tankers opened, when those carriers open and they rush out onto the beach and machine guns are coming at them?

What makes a man in the heat of battle charge into battle with the understanding they'll probably lose their life?

What gives them that kind of courage?

Why do men do that?

Because they believe in something enough to die for it.

Why then, I don't know if I'll ever be called to charge into battle like that.

But listen, you know why I battle for my children?

You know why that I pray and fast and intercede and do battle for my children?

Because I have a promise from the Lord that I'm willing to die for, and it's non-negotiable to me.

I will not negotiate with anyone on this promise.

Here's the promise: train up your child in the way they should go, and when they're older, they will not depart from it.

Literally, my wife and I feel at times that we're standing between our two kids in the world, fighting off the world, teaching our kids the principles of God, and not letting the world corrupt them at an early age, because at some point they're gonna have to decide on their own.

Will I follow the Lord of my mom and my dad?

Or will I follow the lust of my flesh, the lust for things that I see, and the pride of my possessions.

That's the choices that they will have to make.

But I'm gonna fight my fight because I have a promise from God and it's not negotiable to me.

Listen, if you don't fight for your kids, you'll lose them.

You want to lose your kids?

Then stop fighting.

Just give up.

I'm not gonna give up.

And I'm at a critical place right now.

I've got an eight and a six-year-old.

They're in public schools, they're doing great, and I'm fighting the fight because I want them to win.

I'm gonna win.

The reason I fight for my marriage is because the Lord, I have a promise I'm willing to die for.

It's not negotiable to me.

Here's the promise.

I have a covenant.

God said, I'll make a covenant.

If you will make a covenant with Pam, I'll always do my part of the covenant, Brady.

All you have to do is fight for your part.

I'll always do my part.

And that's the reason I fight for Pam and fight for my marriage and fight for my home.

Because I have a promise that's not negotiable.

Listen, whatever you're not willing to fight for, you will lose.

If you don't fight for it, you're gonna lose it.

If you think for one moment that you can retreat from the battle and get along through life, you will.

That's a false, that's a lie of the enemy.

You must fight for your family.

You must fight for your marriage.

You must fight for everything that God has promised you.

By the way, if God has not promised you something, then it's a fight you should not be in.

Don't get into a fight that you're not called to be in.

Well, listen, I don't have to pray about should I fight for my kids?

Should I fight for my marriage?

Should I fight for my health?

Should I fight for the church?

Should I fight for you?

I do fight for you.

It's not negotiable to me.

I have a promise from the Lord that the church is the hope of the world, that I'm supposed to be a caretaker of it while I'm on the earth.

This is his bride.

And I'm supposed to fight for his bride.

Not negotiable.

I mean, let me ask you a question: what's not negotiable to you?

What's the promise of God that you're fighting for this morning?

What is it in your life that you know God has spoken to you?

And you know you're not engaged in the battle the way you should be.

Because you've lost your courage.

Well, I'm going to read a story, and I'm closing with this.

About Joshua, who had a promise from the Lord.

In fact, he had received the promise 40 years earlier.

Go take the promised land.

He and Caleb came back and told them all, said, listen, we can take the land.

Yes, yes, the sons of Anak live there.

Yes, there are walled cities and fortified cities there, but it is a land flowing with milk and honey.

You should see the grapes, you should see the land.

It is our land.

Let's take the land.

God has spoken to us.

Let's take the land.

And yet ten of the other spies talked them out of it, discouraged them.

Remember how discouraged they were?

Read that story again.

When the ten spies came back, everyone, all the children of Israel, lost their courage.

And they never got a chance to go take the land.

So God had to take a whole generation of people that had to die.

Here we are now, Joshua, who was one of the two who said we can take the land, who had courage, never lost his courage.

Here he is.

Now he's the leader.

Moses is dead.

And all the responsibility of leading these people now falls upon Joshua.

I don't know about you, but that is a frightening, frightening proposition to me.

Suddenly to have the leadership, all the burden of the leadership upon you.

And you know there's a fight ahead of you.

Listen, every one of you in this room today, you need one of three things, and some of you need all three of them.

Here's the three things that all of you need, and that I need.

You need a promise from God, or you need courage from God, or you need an answer from God.

Some of you need all three, some of you just need one or two of them.

Some of you have a promise, but you lost your courage.

Some of you have had a promise from God, and you're fighting the good fight.

You just need an answer.

You need the answer to come.

And this is why Joshua needed.

Joshua had a promise, but he lacked courage.

He had the promise.

He knew what God called him to do.

And let's read this together.

And when I read this, I don't want you to think about Joshua and a story that happened three or four thousand years ago.

I want you to think about you right now and what's going on in your life.

In Joshua chapter 1, verse 6, this is one of my favorite passages.

Joshua 1:6

It says, Be strong and courageous, for you will lead my people to possess all the land I swore to give their ancestors.

Do you see the promise of God here?

This is God speaking.

Let me ask you, if God speaks something this clearly to you, would you take it and not negotiate it?

Would you believe it?

God said to Joshua, I will give you the land that I swore to your ancestors.

I will, I will, I will.

Listen, what are the I wills that God's given you?

I will.

Not I might, I might consider it.

If you're a good boy and a good girl, if you go three or four days without sinning, I might consider it.

That's not what God said.

I will.

Alright, let's keep reading.

Verse 7.

Be strong and very courageous.

Now he just said that again in verse 6.

He repeats himself in verse 7, as if Joshua was having a hard time being convinced of that.

I think he was having a hard time being convinced of that.

Obey all the laws Moses gave you.

Do not turn away from them, and you will be successful in everything you do.

Study this book of the law continually.

Meditate on it day and night, so that you may be sure to obey all that is written in it.

Only then will you succeed.

Now, verse 7 is so powerful.

I command you.

This is God speaking, right, to Joshua.

I command you, be strong and courageous.

Do not be afraid or discouraged.

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

Listen, why will you charge into the battle?

Why will you charge into the fight?

If it's a fight God's called you to, why is it that we'll charge in?

Why is it that Joshua, by the way, God said to Joshua, now when you cross the Jordan, he didn't say this to Joshua.

Joshua never had this promise.

Now, Joshua, when you cross over the Jordan, they're going to lay down their swords and call you king.

That's not what God promised Joshua.

Here's what God said to Joshua.

You're going to cross over the Jordan, and there's going to be some battles, and some blood's going to be shed.

And some people around you are going to fall away.

But Joshua, I want you to remember this one thing.

I've called you to win this fight.

Don't lose your courage.

Do everything I tell you.

And remember this, Joshua.

I am with you wherever you go.

Now, here's the promise for you.

There's a fight.

There's going to be some bloodshed.

And chances are some people around you may fall in the battle.

But remember this one thing.

You're not getting out of the fight.

So you might as well fight.

If you don't fight, you're going to be consumed and destroyed.

So you might as well fight.

And remember this.

I am with you wherever you go.

I'll never leave you.

I'm not going to forsake you.

And when I heard that in November, when I really caught that, when I felt God's presence, I said, Brady, I called you to a fight.

And you're doing great.

Most of the time, Brady, you're doing great.

You're fighting.

Don't lose your courage now.

Don't lose courage now, Brady.

Just because the battle got turned up a notch or two.

Don't lose your courage now.

You just go.

And I'll be with you wherever you go, Brady.