Be Strong and Courageous: God His Promises - Josh 1.1-9

Good morning, and welcome to the preaching ministry of Dillingham Moravian Church.

My name is Pastor Simon, and here at DMC, we're excited about learning from

God's Word with you today.

When Abigail and I were going to college next to the college,

and the terribly busy road that the college was situated next to was a small

pond with lots of grass and bulrushes in it.

Living amongst the grass and bulrushes was a very feisty red-winged blackbird.

Well, that tiny bird believed that the pond was its territory and it would attack anything in its sight.

It would swoop down and claw your head as you went by.

I often saw grown college students running from that tiny little menace.

That red-winged blackbird even considered cars and semi-trucks as prey to be attacked.

My point with this story is that to the red-winged blackbird,

we were giants, and semi-trucks were huge monsters.

Yet he had no fear of anything. We as Christians are called to trust in God and to not live in fear.

God has promised that if we trust Him and follow His word, God will fight for

us and be with us in order to compass the mission God has commanded us to do.

Let's pray. O Heavenly Father, we come before you and we thank you for the awesomeness

of you, the wonder of your word.

Teach us and guide us, Lord.

Forgive us our sins and help us, Lord, to come into your presence today as we

read your word and study it.

Give us your Holy Spirit to be able to understand what it is and how to apply your word to our,

and walk according to your ways. In your precious Son's name,

Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.

I'd like you to turn with me this morning to Joshua 1, verses 1-5.

Joshua 1:1–5

Now it came about, after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord,

that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' servant,

saying, Moses my servant is dead.

Now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people,

to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel.

Every place on which the sole of your foot treads I have given to you,

just as I have spoken to Moses, from the wilderness and this Lebanon,

even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, and all the land of the

Hittites, and as far as the great sea towards the setting of the sun, will be your territory.

No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life.

Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you. I will not fail you or forsake you.

The first principle that I believe God wants to show us as we enter this new

year is that God always keeps His promises.

Joshua and Israel were on the edge of Canaan, overlooking the land.

This was after 40 years of wandering in the desert.

Forty years earlier, the Israelites had scouted out Canaan and discovered giants were living there.

The Israelites were frightened, and they refused to obey the Lord and invade

Canaan, even though God had told them that he himself would fight for them.

All of Israel disobeyed, except Joshua, son of Nun, and Caleb.

And so the Lord disciplined Israel by making them wander in circles for forty years in the desert.

And now after the older generation died off, God gave Israel a second chance.

Moses then died and the mantle of leadership transferred to Joshua by God.

Let's look at Deuteronomy 34, verses 7-12.

Deuteronomy 34:7–12

Deuteronomy 34, 7-12 And although Moses was one hundred and twenty years old

when he died, his eye was not dim, nor his vigor abated.

So the sons of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days,

and the days of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end.

Now Joshua the son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom,

for Moses had laid his hands on him.

And the sons of Israel listened to him, and did as the Lord had commanded Israel.

And here's what I want you to see. Since that time, no prophet had risen in

Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.

For all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to perform in the lands

of Egypt against Pharaoh,

all his servants and all his land, and for all the mighty power and for all

the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.

For the first time, Joshua was alone in leadership without Moses there to guide him.

For years, Joshua was Moses' right hand.

Joshua had experienced leading, but before all decisions and consequences fell on Moses.

Remember in whose footsteps Joshua was following. Moses was the greatest leader

of all time, with the greatest track record of any leader in history.

Joshua had to lead the nation of Israel, who, in God's words,

were a stiff-necked, stubborn, and whining people.

And here Joshua was about to lead his two million or so stiff-necked people

into an occupied land with giants who had a very horrifying reputation.

It was a tall task for his first shot at being in charge of a nation.

But God encouraged Joshua strongly by giving him three promises.

The first promise was the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant.

God was finally giving Israel the land of Canaan.

Secondly, God promised his complete protection to Joshua while assuring that

everyone who attacked Israel while Joshua was in charge died.

No matter who came against Joshua, he would be completely protected and would

always win every battle.

Don't you think that any commander or general today would just love to have

that protection and power?

Lastly, God promised Joshua that as he was with Moses, he would be with Joshua

and would never fail nor lead Joshua.

Now those are quite some promises.

What can we as disciples of Christ learn from this passage? We can learn that

God always keeps His promises.

Looking back on that time period, we know that God had accomplished every promise

that He ever made up to this point.

That means that we can be extremely confident that God will do what He says He will in the future.

So far, we've learned that God promised Joshua and Israel to give them the land

of Canaan to be their own.

God also promised his protection and that he, God Almighty, would fight on behalf

of Joshua and through Joshua, Israel.

Moreover, God promised Joshua that he would be with Joshua just as he was with Moses.

God then gave commands to Joshua and Israel in order that they would be successful

in God's mission for them.

Israel and Joshua were to be strong and courageous in order to implement God's battle plan.

According to the Washington Post, U.S. forces struck Islamic State targets in

northwestern Nigeria on Thursday evening, that was Christmas Day.

The U.S. and Nigerian government said, acting after threats by President Donald

Trump to attack the country in an effort to stop what he said are the killing

of Christians. In a news release, U.S.

AFRICOM said that it were Islamic State terrorists that were killed in strikes in Sokota State,

which is in the northwestern part of the country bordering Niger and has become

a hotspot for a resurgent in violent extremism and the kidnapping of schoolchildren.

A spokesperson for the Nigerian Foreign Ministry confirmed the U.S.

Strikes Thursday evening, saying in a statement that precision hits on terrorist

targets in Nigeria by airstrikes had been carried out in response to the persistent

threat of terrorism and violent extremism.

The strikes were security and intelligence collaboration between the two countries.

I share this article with you because, as in all of our nation's conflicts,

our military has always become a campaign with a battle plan.

The commanders would assess our nation's strength and weaknesses and assess

the enemy's strength and weaknesses from their information available.

And then from that information would plan an attack and defense.

And that plan then would be put into place. In this case, they coordinated with

Nigerian forces and intelligence.

Yet I want you to see in Joshua chapter 1, God commanded Israel to attack and

Joshua 1 · chapter mention

conquer the nation of Israel.

Israel was to do so without strong information of troop placements or defenses or supplies.

In the book of Joshua, we see that God revealed to Joshua and Israel leaders

God's battle plan as the campaign went on.

Literally, Israel was to trust and depend upon the Lord to direct and fight

the war for them and with them.

God further commanded in Joshua 1, 7-8, Only be strong and very courageous.

Be careful to do all the law which Moses my servant commanded you.

Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have 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 all that is written in it.

For then you'll make your way prosperous, and then you'll have success.

In verses 7 through 8, there are two words that I want to bring to your attention.

The first word is that I want you to see is the word for be strong,

which literally meant to be strong and alert, with a meaning of a strong and undaunted mind.

The concept behind this word was that God was telling Joshua to have a mind

that is not intimidated or discouraged by difficulty or danger or disappointment

or even seeming failure.

The second word I want to show you is similar to the last one.

God used the word to be courageous, which meant to be able to face and deal

with danger or fear without flinching.

So to be strong and alert had to do with Joshua keeping his mind from being

frightened or discouraged by what he and Israel would be facing.

Being courageous had to do with being able to face up to his fear and act unflinchingly

without hesitation in the face of danger and death.

And what was the reason God commanded Joshua and Israel not to be afraid in

the face of danger or possible failure and to face those circumstances without hesitation.

God commanded Joshua to not to fear God,

And be courageous because fear and hesitation brought on by fear would prevent

Joshua and Israel from accomplishing God's mission.

Because that's why 40 years earlier, Israel refused to enter Canaan and fight in obedience to God.

Their fear overcame their desire to obey God's commands.

The next question that comes up is what was the mission that God had for Israel?

The mission, as we read in verse 2, was to go into the land of Canaan,

which God had given over to the sons of Israel and to conquer the land for God.

This was the overall mission or the overall campaign. But what was the battle plan?

How was Israel to accomplish this seemingly impossible task?

The first foundational stage of God's battle plan was twofold.

One, meditate day and night in the law of God or in God's word, the Bible.

And secondly, to obey all that

is written in God's law and do not depart from the law of God in any way.

God promised that if Israel did these things, Israel would have success and

prosperity in their way.

This success and prosperity did not mean financial success or material prosperity

necessarily, although Israel might have received some of that from their plunder.

Rather, Israel was commanded by God to go into Canaan, which was a land full

of giants and hostile nations with large fortresses, large well-equipped armies

to conquer them and settle the land for the Lord.

And as they meditated day and night on God's word, no matter the situation they

encountered, either in Canaan or anywhere else.

And as they meditated on and obeyed God's word, then God would make them successful

and prosperous in what God had asked them to do. And what was it that God asked them to do?

In that instance, it was to conquer and settle Canaan.

From a worldly perspective, this is a really poor invasion plan.

Their invasion plan was to meditate on God's word and obey him. That's crazy, isn't it?

But you see, Israel was to trust in God to battle for them.

From today's perspective of the president of Ukraine and the allied forces,

if the Ukrainian commanders were to bring a battle plan of meditating on God's

word and obeying it to President Zelensky and he and certainly the other allied

leaders would sack those commanders and promote others.

But this is exactly what God had commanded Israel to do. And here's the amazing truth.

If Israel had have continued obeying God and meditating on God's word without

fear and hesitation, they would have been in complete control of Canaan and quickly.

However, we know from history that they did not obey God after Joshua died,

and thus Israel never fully got in control of the land that God had promised them.

We see the evidence of this even now with the fighting in Gaza and with Syria

and the other Arab nations around.

There are three applications for us as Christians that I see in this section.

The first truth that we can apply is that to be successful in the mission God

has given us as His people, we must not give in to fear and discouragement in the face of hardship,

trials, and danger, and even death, and meet these challenges courageously, without hesitation.

It's so easy as human beings to be tempted in being ruled by fear,

anxiety, and depression.

We can be afraid of most anything.

We can fear what people think of us. And I want to tell you that pastors deal with this a lot.

It's really hard for believers to share the gospel and make disciples when we

fear what others think of us.

We can fear losing the people we love.

There's also the fear of pain, sickness, and death. There's also the fear of

public speaking, which almost everyone fears.

And one of the biggest controlling fears in the Western church today is the

fear of losing our comforts and pleasures because we spend billions of dollars on them every year.

And these are just a few of the fears that we deal with today.

And yet God, as we rely on the Spirit's power, has commanded us to face up to

our fears and act with courage in these evil and uncertain times.

The Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 1, verse 7 promised, For God has not given us

2 Timothy 1:7

a spirit of timidity or fear, but of power, love, and discipline.

Other translations say self-control or a sound mind. And what's amazing about...

Having a sound mind is that we can't have a sound mind unless we have discipline or self-control.

The second application I want to share with you is that if we as believers wish

to be successful at obeying God's Word and accomplishing God's mission,

then we need to be meditating on God's Word day and night.

The main focus of our daily life is to be centered on the reading,

the thinking on, praying about, and learning God's Word so that we can obey it.

This doesn't mean that we are to sit around and read the Bible all day.

We can apply this truth by remembering and thinking about the truths of God's

Word, and then obeying what God has taught us throughout the day.

Our days are filled with lots of stuff.

Work and school, eating, sleeping, entertainment, which today includes television and games,

also our kids' school and extra activities, and our other extra activities like

hunting, fishing, sports, hobbies, are also part of our daily lives.

Granted that most of these things can be helpful in and of themselves,

but to be honest that if I am not careful and alert, a great deal of my focus

can be on all the other stuff of life.

And as I read this passage, I'm convinced that Satan wants us to be so distracted

by the busyness of life or on all these other things,

just trying to get through our days, that we miss the vital relationship that we're to have with God.

And this is why meditating on God's Word is so vital.

Because if our focus is not on the reading and learning and praying and thinking

on God's Word, then we cannot obey God's word and we will not live out God's mission in the world.

Third way that we can apply verses 6-8 is that we as Christ followers are to

obey the mission that Christ himself gave us.

To find out what God's mission for us as Christ's disciples we need to read Matthew 28 18-20.

Let's look at verse 18. And Jesus came up and spoke to them,

meaning his disciples, saying, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.

Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of

the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all

that I have commanded you, and, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

We need to make sure that we do not understand God's mission for Christians

as loving the Lord with all our beings and to love our neighbor as we already love ourselves.

These are the Lord's two greatest commandments, which are a summary of God's

laws, but they're not the mission that Christ has given us as his disciples.

We, you, and I, as part of the church, are called to go out and make disciples

for Jesus under the authority of Jesus into our households, our extended families

and friend circles, Our communities,

region, nation, and world This is a hugely daunting task Even sharing and training

and leading your own children and your spouses in the word of God Can be challenging in and in itself.

Even more scary to declare Jesus to family and friends and community members

who love you and want you to love and respect them.

It is even more terrifying to share the gospel to a people in a culture that

want to shun you or physically hurt you.

My point is that we cannot accomplish Christ's mission by ourselves.

We are not alone. We have the entire worldwide church backing us up,

but more importantly, Christ, our Yahweh Lord, is always with us through the Holy Spirit.

And this leads us to the next main point that I believe God is teaching us today.

As believers in Christ, we can be strong and courageous because God is with us.

My six-year-old son, Paul, is courageous in face of most things.

Vehicles do not frighten him, and they should a little.

Heights do not, Paul does not fear. Leaping to his possible death, he does with a laugh.

Strange people do not scare him. My son jumps into a fight with multiple larger

opponents with fists swinging.

But like many kids, Paul is afraid to be alone.

One time when Abigail and I were both sick in bed, we asked Paul to get some

pajamas on because, well, he wasn't wearing anything.

Well, our boy refused to get pajamas on for at least an hour because he was

afraid of going into his room alone.

Finally, I got up and went with him to get his pajamas on from his room.

And my presence with my son made all the difference. My boy was no longer afraid when I was with him.

Joshua was told by God that he, the Lord his God, would always be with him.

The Lord continued on in Joshua 1, verse 9.

Joshua 1:9

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not tremble or be dismayed,

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

As we learned earlier, God commanded Joshua to be strong and courageous because

fear and the hesitation brought on by fear would prevent Joshua and Israel from

accomplishing God's mission.

However, I want you to see the love of God in this situation.

God was not leaving Joshua nor Israel alone.

Joshua did not have to tremble with fear or be discouraged in the face of overwhelming

forces against them. Why?

Because God Almighty, the complete master of all life everywhere,

was with Joshua and he was with Israel.

Just as in Joshua's days, there are many giants in this world to be afraid of.

Giants of the larger culture that is attacking the Christian world perspective.

The giant of peer pressure and wanting to please and fit in with our friends and family members.

The giant of losing financial help and backing or even our jobs.

There are many Christian scientists and teachers today that are facing just

this dilemma and universities and businesses across the country are creating

zero tolerance policies towards a Christ-centered worldview.

And although we haven't experienced much of it in this country,

the giant of persecution torture and death for our faith in Jesus Christ is really daunting.

But God wants us to understand that we're not alone.

He, the Lord Yahweh, is with each of us, and it will be by God's presence that

we'll have the strength and courage to face every challenge with boldness and

joy as we obey God and make disciples for Christ's kingdom.

What then has the Lord taught us today? The first truth the Lord has taught

us is that God gave His promises to Joshua and Israel, and we know from history

God came through on His promises.

As believers in Christ, we, you and I, are called to hold fast to the truth

that God always keeps His promises.

And secondly, God commanded Joshua to be strong and courageous because fear

and the hesitation brought on

by fear would prevent Joshua and Israel from accomplishing God's mission.

You see, as Christians, to accomplish God's mission for us, we are to face up

to our fears and face whatever comes our way as we prayerfully think deeply

on God's Word day and night.

The last truth that God has commanded us is that we cannot accomplish God's mission on our own.

We are to trust that God is always with us and that He will always work on our behalf.

And as we enter into this new year with its challenges and trials,

we need not fear because God always keeps His promises.

And He, the Lord of life everywhere, is with us. I'll leave you with a scripture

to ponder for this new year.

Isaiah chapter 64, verse 4.

Isaiah 64:4

For from days of old, they have not heard or perceived by ear,

nor has the eye seen a God beside you.

And here it is, who acts on behalf of the one who waits for him. Let's pray.

Father, we thank you. Thank you for your word, your truth, your love, your mercy, your grace.

Thank you that you are God. and we thank you for your word.

Lord, help us to be able to go throughout all the situations that we will face

this year, even this day, moment by moment.

To do so with trust that you are with us and to walk and live obeying your word

as we meditate upon your word.

Use us, Lord, and may you always fight on our behalf.

In your precious Son's name, Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.

I'll leave you with this blessing from 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 16-17.

2 Thessalonians 2:16–17

May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who loved us and gave

us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish

them in every good work and word.

Amen. Have a wonderful Sunday. May the Lord bless you all.