We are in the Old Testament book of Joshua And
I know we haven't been in Joshua lately and So
perhaps it's been a while since you were here.
I hope that you love Joshua as much as I do Joshua
chapter 1 we'll look at verses 1 through 9, but
I Think we might also venture past verse 9 and
maybe back into Deuteronomy a little bit. No
promises But what we're gonna see is as I said,
it's courage Here and you can imagine that as
Joshua takes over leading God's people after
Moses dies Yeah, he would need courage, right?
And so let's look at this Joshua chapter 1 Verses
1 through 9 After the death of Moses the servant
of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua, the son
of none, Moses's 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 that the sole of your foot will tread upon,
I have given to you just as I promised to Moses.
From the wilderness and 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.
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 be strong and courageous Do not be frightened
and do not be dismayed for the Lord your God
is with you wherever you go You've certainly
heard the word courage or courageous, it's in
there at least three times, right? And we're
going to see it in some other spots as well.
But I want to begin this evening with a story
of extreme courage. And this is especially to
be heard by our little ones, our children in
here. For I tell you the story of a young girl
about 12 years old. Her name was Emily. Emily
was born to Christian parents, but they were
missionaries of sorts in Bangladesh. And if you
know anything about Bangladesh, it's primarily
a Muslim country. There are also some Hindus
there as well. And so when Emily was about 12
years old, her parents enrolled her in the local
school. And as I said, most of the people there
are Muslim or Hindu. And she was one of only
two Christian students in the whole school of
about 600 students. And her first few days there
didn't go well because people, the students found
out and some of the teachers that she was a Christian.
And the students began to pick on her and to
mock her. And over time, it became worse than
that and they started to harm her physically
and she hated school. Emily cried herself to
sleep at night. She dreaded going back there.
The students showed no mercy. and the administration
didn't offer any help. Well, one day her parents
went to the principal of the school and said,
can Emily and other Christians in the school
have Christian holidays off from coming to school
because Muslims take Friday as their day of rest.
And to their surprise, the principal said, yes,
she may have Easter off. school and actually
the principal made the day of Easter a holiday
on the school calendar and so everybody had off
for it but in return Emily had to do something.
Emily had to stand in front of an assembly of
the entire student body and tell everybody what
Easter was all about. You can imagine a 12 year
old in front of 600 students And the principal
and all the teachers getting ready to tell them
about the resurrection of Jesus when she has
already been reviled for her faith. She was absolutely
petrified. And yet the more that she thought
about it and prayed about it, she realized this
was the opportunity that she needed to share
Jesus with this entire school. And so the day
for her to speak, it was a Sunday. The assembly
is there, all the students are there, and they
even put up loudspeakers outside onto the busy
street so other people could hear all about Jesus
and the resurrection. Emily's parents stood outside
and prayed for her. They were just as scared
as she was. And she walked up to the podium,
got behind the microphone, and she proceeded
to tell everybody that could possibly hear her
voice. all about the teaching of Jesus, all about
the miracles of Jesus, all about the crucifixion
and yes, the resurrection of Jesus. And then
she gave an invitation to all the students, 12
years old, to believe in Jesus. And then she
walked back to her seat and she waited for the
mocking to return, for the scolding, for the
abuse. And it didn't come. There was no backlash.
The teachers and some of the students actually
asked Emily questions. Two of them requested
Bibles. Her math teacher attended the Christmas
service that year and the bullying stopped. Years
later, she said something to the effect of, courage
doesn't come from drumming it up in ourselves.
She actually pointed to what the apostle Paul
shows us in the book of Acts where it says, do
not be afraid. but go on speaking and do not
be silent." The question for us, though, is how
can we have the courage of little Emily? But
maybe we need to answer another question first.
What is courage? Matthew Everhard says, biblical
courage is the confidence that the believer stands
secure in his or her saving relationship to God.
He experiences the divine power and protection
of God's constant presence, walking faithfully
in love so as to boldly confront all evil and
injustice, thereby honoring the Lord and seeking
God's glory above all things. Simply put, courage
is fearing the Lord, not cowering in front of
our enemies. To have such courage, we have this
wonderful passage in Joshua. And within this
passage we see four things that we are to remember
God's promises, we are to remember God's power,
we are to remember God's presence, and we are
to remember God's precepts. Let's look at promises
first, primarily in verses two through four and
verse six. It should come as no surprise that
courage, forms the root of the word encourage.
And by remembering God's promises, Joshua would
be encouraged. As I said, you see this phrase
or something similar to it, be strong and courageous.
It's there three times within our text. But actually,
if you go back into Deuteronomy, you see this
phrase more than just the three times that are
here. Let me take you to Deuteronomy chapter
31. verses four through eight. As this is said
here, Moses is speaking, so Moses is clearly
still alive, and he's talking to Joshua. He's
getting Joshua ready to take over. Moses knows
that he's not going into the promised land. 31
,4, and the Lord will do to them as he did to
Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and
to their land when he destroyed them. And the
Lord will give them over to you and you shall
do to them according to the whole commandment
that I have commanded you. There it is. Be strong
and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of
them. For it is the Lord your God who goes with
you. He will not leave you or forsake you. Then
Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the
sight of all Israel be strong and courageous.
There it is again. for you shall go with this
people into the land that the Lord has sworn
to their fathers and give them, and you shall
put them in possession of it. It is the Lord
who goes before you. He will be with you. He
will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear
or be dismayed." And so now in Joshua 1, that
Moses has died, the Lord is calling on Joshua
to remember his promises, right? Look at verse
3. It says, just as I promised Moses. So the
very promises made to Moses are now made to Joshua.
But still, have you ever thought of what it would
be like to lead Israel after the time of Moses?
Have you ever had to follow somebody in something
who does a wonderful job? Maybe you're singing
a solo and you had to follow a wonderful act
and you think, how in the world can I follow
that? How in the world can I top that? Think
about Moses. Moses is the one who met God at
the burning bush and received his covenant name
of Yahweh. Moses is the one who formed all the
signs and the wonders and the plagues. Moses
is the one the part of the Red Sea. Moses met
Yahweh at Mount Sinai and led the people through
the wilderness for 40 years. This is Moses. How
in the world do you follow or top Moses? Well,
here's the good news that you know Joshua doesn't
have to top Moses. Moses is not his standard,
God is. And as the Lord gives these promises,
the Lord also is the one who can give the land.
And yes, there's gonna be battles, but ultimately
it's the Lord who's in control of this land,
right? And so Joshua is really told here, remember
the promises of God. And that's good application
for us too. We need to remember the promises
of God that he makes to his people. Passages
like Romans chapter 10 verse 13, all who call
upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Passages
like Ephesians 2, 8 and 9, for it's by grace
you've been saved through faith, it's not from
yourselves, it's the gift of God, right? We need
to remember those kinds of promises. We can even
remember the promise that Jesus makes in John
14 when he says I go to make a place for you.
Talk about territory, right? Our heavenly territory
awaits. Christ has promised it. It is there for
us. But as we recognize this and we recognize
the promises of God, we should also recognize
the very power of God. Look in verses four and
five. God has the power to ensure that wherever
Israel treads, the land will be theirs. And so
no Hittite, no Ammonite, no Moabite can hold
onto this land against God's purposes. And even
when Israel's enemies were victorious, it was
only because the Lord allowed it. And this promise
of this promised land traces not just back to
Moses, this goes way back. This goes all the
way back to the time of Abraham, right? And so
what it really shows us is yes, the power of
God because God fights for his people. Consider
the words of Exodus chapter 17. Exodus 17, eight
through 13. And we'll go nine. Now eight, then
Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim.
So Moses said to Joshua, choose for us men and
go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will
stand on the top of the hill with the staff of
God in my hand. So Joshua did as Moses told him
and fought with Amalek while Moses, Aaron and
her went up to the top of the hill. When Moses
held up his hand, Israel prevailed. And whenever
he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses'
hands grew weary. So they took a stone and put
it under him. And he sat on it while Aaron and
Hur held up his hands on one side and the other
on the other side. So his hands were steady until
the going down of the sun. And Joshua overwhelmed
Amalek and his people with the sword. Yes, it's
true. God fights for his people. Joshua then
is being reminded God's power here. Remembering
the power of God, this can help us too. It can
help us not to fear. Perhaps you remember Psalm
27, verse one, the Lord is my light and my salvation.
Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold
of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? This puts
all of our challenges in perspective, doesn't
it? That every battle is really lopsided against
the power of God. And this should help you too
as you go through various situations in which
you need the courage of God, right? Maybe you're
getting ready to go on your first mission trip
and you need to be reminded of the power of God
maybe Maybe you are in a secular work setting
and you go in on Monday and people drag Christ's
name through the mud and you have to stand up
For who God is and who Christ is Ask the Lord
to grant you his courage Maybe you have a doctor's
appointment coming up and a potentially devastating
diagnosis. Ask for the very courage of God and
he will supply. By way of illustration, this
week you may have seen that there are multiple
reports circulating online of the murder of an
evangelist in Kampala, Uganda. An evangelist
named Alfred who was preaching at some sort of
a gospel outreach event. He and his wife were
leaving from the event after it happened and
four men posing as motorcycle taxi drivers, they
claimed to be Christians and they offered to
give the evangelist and his wife a ride home.
But actually what they did instead is they killed
the evangelist. And so no doubt this will raise
concerns about ministry in that region. Africa
in that country of Uganda and some people may
say hey we need to stay away from that it's a
Christian country but it has a growing Muslim
population and certainly there is to be wisdom
when we consider when we go and where we go and
how we go to serve in hostile places but the
Christian knows this that God is at work And
God has the power to strengthen hearts and bodies
for his work. And God has the power to continue
to bring people to faith in Jesus, perhaps and
maybe especially in hostile situations. Actually,
that kind of persecution rather than silencing
the gospel, all it simply does is fuels the fire
because God's power cannot be silenced. And this
is especially true. when we realize point number
three, remembering God's presence. There is something
uniquely encouraging about the presence of another
person, isn't there? Don't you just feel encouraged
as you go through something difficult? I reference
maybe that diagnosis, having somebody there with
you at the doctor's office. Doesn't that mean
the world to you? It certainly means the world
to me. But someone even greater than our best
friend or even our spouse is with us God promises
his presence God promises to Joshua his Withness
I will be with you in verse 5 as I was with Moses
So I will be with you and friends God's presence
is not occasional verse 9 says the Lord your
God is with you wherever you go and verse 5 says
I will not leave you forsake you." Meaning God's
presence, his witness, he doesn't take time off,
does he? And this kind of a promise of presence
is echoed throughout Scripture. It's echoed to
Jacob. You remember when Jacob is told to go
find a wife from among his own people. God promises
to be with him. It's when David speaks to Solomon
as Solomon is getting ready to assume the throne
God promises his presence as David talks to his
son It's it's it's spoken by Solomon himself
at the benediction at the dedication of the temple
and Ultimately God's presence is seen the most
clearly in Jesus Christ who is our Emmanuel God
with us and it's echoed out of the lips of Jesus
himself at the end of Matthew 28 when he says,
I am with you always until the end of the age.
The Christian, you can have courage because God
is with you. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit
means we are never left alone and we are never
forsaken. God is with us, strengthening us as
we do what he has called us to do. And God's
presence is not dependent upon your feelings.
I know sometimes we might say or we might feel,
I feel like God's not with me. Well guess what?
It's not dependent upon your feelings. He is
with you. And is there anything more encouraging
than knowing that God is with you at all times?
For me, there's nothing more encouraging than
that. He by his spirit resides in you and because
he does, point four is also important. We are
to remember God's precepts. The indwelling of
the Holy Spirit helps us to keep God's commands.
Look in verses seven and eight. Being courageous,
also means being obedient. It doesn't do much
good to say you're courageous if you're not faithful
enough to stand for truth. So remembering God's
promises and His power and His presence will
help you keep His precepts. But you might say,
well, what in the world are precepts? Well, if
you read in the Psalms, you'll see it quite often,
actually, especially in Psalm 119, where it says,
I meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on
your ways. And this is precisely what Joshua
chapter one, verse eight, calls Joshua to do.
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. And verse seven links
strength and courage directly to obedience, being
careful to do what Moses commanded you. And so
success and wisdom depend on adhering to the
revealed word of God. And yet if we were going
to give. Joshua some encouragement if we were
gonna give him some instruction we would probably
give Joshua military strategy right we would
say you need all kinds of weapons and things
but here he's just told to adhere to the very
word of God it's as if it's as if the Lord is
telling Joshua remember your training you've
been prepared for this And so he essentially
says, hey, to have courage and to be successful,
know my word and consider it around the clock.
Read it and speak it and memorize it. And friends,
we are to do the same thing. If you're looking
for courage, look no further than the word and
prayer. Look no further than the means of grace
in which God is really at work in our lives,
strengthening our faith. We need to be committed
to this. You want courage. Make sure you're in
this book. For this book shows us courage time
and time and time again as God strengthens us.
And so as I begin to conclude, I have a challenge
for you. Will you let this sermon have an ongoing
impact in trusting God with strength and courage?
If you accept that challenge, don't wait for
the critical moment. Strengthen yourself now
in the Lord. Yes, the Lord will be with you.
And yes, he is. But we need to strengthen ourselves
now by this word. After all, What did the Israelites
do underneath Joshua? Look in verse 10. And Joshua
commanded the officers of the people pass through
the midst of the camp and command the people
prepare your provisions for within three days
you are to pass over this Jordan to go in to
take possession of the land that the Lord your
God is giving you to possess. So Joshua commands
his officers to tell the people to prepare to
take possession of the land. And what is their
response? Look in verses 16 and 18. And they
answer, Joshua, all that you have commanded us,
we will do. And wherever you send us, we will
go. Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so
we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God
be with you as he was with Moses. Whoever rebels
against your commandment and disobeys your words,
whatever you command him shall be put to death.
And here it comes again, only be strong and courageous.
And so friends, the call for you is to be strong
and courageous. Remember, God's promises. Remember
God's power. Remember God's presence. And remember
his precepts. Let us pray.