Be Strong and Courageous
Text: Joshua 1
Core Idea: Today, let’s be reminded that our church is precious not because we’re special in any way but because it was bought with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Then, trusting that Christ Himself will build His church, let’s make every effort to be faithful to the call that God has given us by centering our lives on the Word.
INTRODUCTION
Good morning, Lighthouse. It is good to see you. Today is a very special day for our community as we celebrate our third anniversary. When we first met in September 2021, there was, of course, a lot of excitement and hope that came with a new beginning, but there were also still a lot of questions, uncertainties, and doubts – which is why I’m just so humbled and amazed by the ways that God had orchestrated all things to lead us to be where we are today. All that we are and all that we have is a testimony of God’s sovereign grace for our community. Then, today, let’s give Him the glory that He deserves and thank Him for all that He did in and through us. And my prayer for all of us is that our hearts would once again be captivated by the beauty of our God and be moved by the gospel so that we would continue to shine the light of Christ wherever the Spirit leads us. That is my prayer for us today. Then, before we dive into the Word, let me first dismiss our children. Thank you, children, for joining us. Hope you have a wonderful time with Pastor Cindy. And as they make their way out, please turn your Bibles to Joshua 1. Let me read this for us.
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “Moses My servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them – to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates – all the Hittite country – to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law My servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” 10 So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: 11 “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get your provisions ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own.’” 12 But to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, 13 “Remember the command that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you after he said, ‘The LORD your God will give you rest by giving you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your children and your livestock may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all your fighting men, ready for battle, must cross over ahead of your fellow Israelites. You are to help them 15 until the LORD gives them rest, as He has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land the LORD your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you east of the Jordan toward the sunrise.” 16 Then they answered Joshua, “Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the LORD your God be with you as He was with Moses. 18 Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey it, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!”
Amen. This is the Word of God for you today.
This passage is very special to me personally because this is the very text that God used to speak to me, encourage me, and empower me to step out in faith and plant this church three years ago. The truth is that I was absolutely terrified because I felt like I was not qualified whatsoever to lead. I thought I was too young, inexperienced, and lacking in many things to be a lead pastor of a brand-new church. And on top of that, the last thing I wanted to do was fail and disappoint people. So, when Mike asked me to prayerfully consider starting this church with Pastor Jane, my initial response was no – there was no way I was going to do this. But in my prayer, God directed me to this specific passage, and the words that were given to Joshua began to powerfully minister to my heart – “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” I remember asking God, “Who am I that You want to use someone like me?” But as I reflected more on these words, my fears soon turned into courage and conviction – and I decided to embark on this journey, trusting in His promises. Now, I love what I do. I am so blessed to be able to do the things that I love for the people that I love. But recently, if I’m honest, I’ve been feeling a little overwhelmed as I thought about the weightiness of this ministry. And once again, I felt inadequate. I felt like I didn’t have enough wisdom, enough skills, and enough charisma to lead this church. But at that moment, God graciously brought me back to this passage – reminding me of who He was and what He had called me to do. And as I was preparing for today, I felt this conviction that I needed to share with you all that I learned so that I can invite you to join me in finishing the mission that God has given us as a church. Then, with that in mind, let me share three things from this text.
· THE FOUNDATION OF OUR COURAGE
· THE NATURE OF GOD’S CALL
· THE CONTEXT OF OUR OBEDIENCE
1) THE FOUNDATION OF OUR COURAGE
Verse 1, “After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD.” Let’s stop here for a second because this tells us the context of this passage. Here, we learn that Moses was dead. The servant of the Lord, their fearless leader, the one who courageously stood against Pharoah, the one who God used to rescue the Israelites from their slavery, the one who led them through the wilderness for 40 years, the one who received and delivered the law, the one who met with God face to face – this Moses was dead. Listen to the way he was described in Deuteronomy 34:10-12, “Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, who did all those signs and wonders the LORD sent him to do in Egypt – to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.” Moses was no ordinary leader – he was the towering figure of all the OT. But he was no longer with them, and the responsibility of leading the Israelites into the Promised Land was now given to Joshua. Then, can you imagine the kind of questions and fear Joshua must have had knowing that he really had big shoes to fill? Can you imagine the pressure he must have felt? If he was anything like me, he must have had a lot of doubts going in, knowing that he could never be like Moses. And if that wasn’t bad enough, he may have been intimidated by his enemies. Yes, it’s true that Joshua was one of the two spies who confidently said that the land was conquerable with the help of God – but that was almost 40 years ago. The first generation that was familiar with battles had all passed away. Then he must have asked himself, “Can we really do this? Are we ready to take on this war?” But the biggest question on his mind must have been this – “Will God be with us as we move forward? Will God really be on our side even though Moses is no longer with us?” I say this because of what we read in Exodus 32. If you remember, while Moses was in Mount Sinai receiving the law, the Israelites threw a giant party. But this wasn’t to celebrate the fact that they were about to receive the law – rather, it was to celebrate the fact that they had carved out a god in the form of a golden calf to worship and bow down. Understandably so, this infuriated God – so much so that three thousand people were killed just on that day. In fact, listen to what God said in Exodus 33:1-3, right after this incident, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people, and I might destroy you on the way.” Did you catch that? God promised that He would send an angel to drive out their enemies from the Promised Land – but He Himself wasn’t going to go with them. Now, how did the Israelites respond? Did they say, “Well, given the circumstances, that’s actually very generous. Thank You, God. We’ll take that and just go into the Promised Land without You”? No – Exodus 33:4, “When the people heard these distressing words, they began to mourn, and no one put on any ornaments.” But in the end, what moved God’s heart was Moses. Because he prayed, because he pleaded for mercy, God relented and forgave them. That’s how instrumental Moses was to them. But that Moses was no longer with them. Then, it’s not a stretch to think that Joshua must have asked himself, “What if God doesn’t go with us now that Moses is dead?” Now, some of you may be asking, “Why do you assume that Joshua was fearful? What if he was actually really confident and courageous?” If this is you, let me answer it this way. I think it’s no coincidence that Joshua hears the phrase “be strong and courageous” four times in this short passage – three from God and one from the Israelites. In fact, God actually says in verse 9, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged,” – which all point to the fact that he must have been scared and intimidated. Why would God say that if Joshua wasn’t? All that to say, after Moses died, Joshua must have had fears about himself, his enemies, and God – which is why what we read next is incredibly powerful and comforting.
Look at verse 1 again, “After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua.” Did you hear that? God spoke to Joshua. This is unbelievably amazing because up until this moment, God only spoke to Moses. Even when He spoke to the Israelites, He did so through Moses. But here was God speaking to Joshua – implying that God wanted a relationship with Joshua just as He had with Moses. Can you imagine how comforting this was to Joshua? The Creator God, the Almighty God, this holy God whose glory was blindingly radiant, spoke to him – and not just spoke to him, but He also addressed all of Joshua’s fears. Let me show you. When it came to the fear of himself, questioning if he had what it took to do this, God said in verse 2, “Moses My servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them – to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.” In other words, God reminds Joshua that he’ll be able to accomplish what he’s called to do not because he is great, not because he has all that’s required to make this possible, but simply because this is what God promised Moses. In other words, God was going to do it. He was basically saying, “You don’t need to be afraid. You don’t need to worry. Of course, you can’t do this yourself. But trust Me. I got this. Just open your eyes and watch what I’m about to do. The call that I have given you is not heavy. It’s not burdensome. It’s not impossible, for I Myself will do the work – just get ready to receive the blessing.” Then what about his fear of the enemies? Verse 4, “Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates – all the Hittite country – to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life.” God was basically saying, “I know you have enemies. I know people will try to kill you and stop you from doing what I called you to do. But they will not prevail – for who can be against you if I am with you? Don’t be intimidated by their strength, for I am stronger. My plan will never be thwarted. Nothing and no one will stop Me from fulfilling My purpose.” Lastly, what about the fear of being forgotten by God? Verse 5, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.” God assures Joshua that He will be with him just as He was with Moses. How encouraging those words must have been for Joshua?
Brothers and sisters, the Bible tells us that this promise isn’t just for Joshua but is given to us as well. Just think about the words that Jesus spoke to His disciples and, in turn, to us as well – Matthew 28:20, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” The truth is that when God calls us, He doesn’t just instruct us and leave us to finish the work on our own – no, He always goes with us. He goes before us. But what’s even more comforting is the fact that He Himself will work to accomplish His purposes. Nothing will frustrate God. Then, friends, this is the foundation of our courage. It’s true that because of the pressures from this world, because of the lies from the enemy, and because of the sinful ambitions of our own hearts, it seems almost impossible to live a life that is holy and pleasing to the Lord. It seems too difficult to shine the light of Christ as individuals but also as a church community. In fact, we may feel inadequate to carry on the mission that God has given us. We may feel confused and lost at times because the problem before us may seem too big to overcome. It may feel too burdensome to love others, especially when we feel like we’re going through the valley of the shadow of death. But we can continue to courageously fight the good fight of faith because of what Jesus said in Matthew 16:18, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” Church, it is not impossible to be the church that God wants us to be. We can be holy, loving, generous, gracious, and joyful in all that we do because Jesus promises that He Himself will build His church. If we focus on ourselves (in that we constantly think about what we are not and what we don’t have), yes, we will continue to be paralyzed by fear. But if we would just take our eyes off of ourselves and fix it on Christ, He will make it possible. Then, is your heart tuned to the Lord today? Are you learning to be dependent on Him more today than yesterday? This is how our church will stand. Of course, this doesn’t mean that we’re to be just passive in our attitude – no, because of what Christ has done for us on the cross, because we’re now in Christ, because the same power that raised Christ from the grave is now with us, we can begin to experience a radical transformation in how we live our lives and how we do life together. Then let this truth sink in today, for this will give you the courage you need to persevere.
2) THE NATURE OF GOD’S CALL
Now, what did God call Joshua to do? Courageously do what? We see two things here. First, lead people into the Promised Land. Verse 6, “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.” Here, Joshua was given the immense responsibility and privilege of leading God’s people into the land that had been promised to his ancestors. This is something that many of them had been looking forward to, something that they had been only dreaming about – and here, they were about to receive it under the leadership of Joshua. Can you imagine how excited the people have been? Can you imagine how joyful Joshua must have been to know that he gets to be part of God’s plan in fulfilling His promise? They were coming home. They were about to receive their inheritance. No wonder God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous. He was basically saying, “You’re almost there. Don’t give up now. Lead My people into the land that I have prepared for them.” Now, what’s the inheritance that we will receive as Christ followers? The Bible clearly tells us that the inheritance we will receive is not a piece of land but Christ Himself. Just as a land represents life (because it’s the source of their food, safety, and livelihood), Christ will be the source of our strength, security, and salvation. Then do you know what this means? It means that we as a church have the immense responsibility and privilege of leading people to know and have a relationship with Jesus, our hope and life. Friends, this is why we cannot take this calling lightly. People’s souls are at stake – people’s eternal destinies are at stake. Then, with the strength and courage that come from the Lord, let’s continue to endeavor in the Kingdom work so that more people will receive Christ as their inheritance. Let’s help others see Jesus more clearly and love Jesus more deeply.
Second, God calls Joshua to center himself on the Word. Verse 7, “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” First, God tells Joshua that the Word of God must be on his lips. What does this mean? It means that he ought to sing the Word, pray the Word, teach the Word to others, talk to others about the Word, and speak the Word as a way to encourage and challenge others. In fact, this also means that every word that comes out of his mouth must be a reflection of God’s truth – it must be life-giving. But that’s not all. God tells Joshua that he must also meditate on the Word day and night. He should read the Word, study the Word, think about the Word, wrestle with the Word, fill his mind with the Word, memorize the Word, and preach the Word to himself. In fact, he should do this all the time – when he wakes up and before he goes to sleep, when he is working or resting, when he is celebrating or grieving, when he feels confident or confused, when he is in plenty or in need. And if that wasn’t enough, God tells Joshua that he must do everything the Word says. He is to obey the Word, live out the Word, and apply the Word in every aspect of his life. He is to plan with the Word in mind, lead with the Word in mind, and fight with the Word in mind. All that to say, God wants Joshua to be immersed in the Word – so much so that if someone were to prick him, he would bleed the Bible.
Then let me ask you, “Are you immersed in the Word today? When you speak, are your words saturated by God’s truth? Do you sing the Word, pray the Word, teach the Word, and share the Word with others? Are your words edifying and inspiring, or are they cutting and discouraging? Also, considering that we become what we saturate our minds with, are you intentionally carving out time to read the Word, study the Word, think about the Word, and wrestle with the Word, or do you find yourself stuck to your phone whenever you have the time to spare? Do you wake up and go to bed with the Word or with your phone? Are you in the Word daily, or do you turn to the Word only on Sundays? Do you turn to the Word for wisdom when you’re lost, power when you’re weak, perspective when you’re anxious, peace in times of trouble, and joy in times of hopelessness? Is the Word reflected in the way you work and study, in the way you interact with your spouse, children, and friends, in the way you serve the church, in the way you connect with non-believers in your life, in the way you handle difficult situations, and so on? Are you meticulously obeying the Word, or are you more casual in the way you approach the Word? Do you obey the Word even if it will cost you a lot, or do you ignore the Word so that you can preserve yourself?” Brothers and sisters, I ask you all this because your time in the Word matters not only to your own walk with God but also to the health of this church. Your holiness impacts the purity of our church.
Now, some of you may be wondering, “How does centering ourselves on the Word have to do with God’s mission?” Everything, because God is not calling us to be fruitful but simply be faithful. The work of bearing fruit is the role of the Holy Spirit – we’re just called to know God, love God, and obey God. But if we want to obey God, we must first be aware of His will for our lives – which can only be found in the Word. No wonder we must anchor ourselves to the Word. In fact, God tells Joshua exactly why he should do this – He says at the end of verse 9, “Then you will be prosperous and successful.” This doesn’t mean that we’ll be successful in the worldly sense because the word “successful” in Hebrew literally means “to be wise and prudent,” – which means that if we center ourselves in the Word, we will be successful in being faithful to His will, His call, and His mission. Isn’t this what we all desire? Then don’t delay – turn to Word today and every day.
3) THE CONTEXT OF OUR OBEDIENCE
Verse 10, “So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: ‘Go through the camp and tell the people, “Get your provisions ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own.”’” Now, this is interesting because Joshua involves the officers to do the work that God has given him. Why? Because he knew that this wasn’t a task that he was able to undertake by himself – he needed others. So, he appointed other leaders to shoulder this work with him. In the same way, if we as the church are to be successful in the mission that God has given us, we need plural leadership – which is why I’m so thankful for all the leaders who serve in various ministries. One person cannot do it all. But this also means that we need to continually pray for more leaders in our church – that God won’t stop raising up men and women who are completely devoted to the Lord. At the same time, this burden cannot be only on the leaders – the entire community has to be involved, which becomes the context of our obedience. Verse 12, “But to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, ‘Your wives, your children, and your livestock may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all your fighting men, ready for battle, must cross over ahead of your fellow Israelites. You are to help them until the LORD gives them rest, as He has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land the LORD your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you east of the Jordan toward the sunrise.’” What’s going on here? Well, in Numbers 32, we read that the Israelites had just conquered some of the land on the east side of the Jordan, and they were getting ready to cross the Jordan River – moving west to enter the Promised Land. Now, these three tribes felt that this land on the east side of the Jordan was good for them to settle down – so they approached Moses and asked if this land could be theirs to possess. Initially, Moses was furious because he thought that they were saying they weren’t going to journey west with the rest of the Israelites. But when he realized that they were more than willing to go and fight alongside the rest of the Israelites and that they weren’t going to settle down until everyone had entered the Promised Land, Moses gave them permission to settle there. Then, what’s happening here in our text is that Joshua is simply reminding them of their vows, saying, “Don’t back out now. We need you to come and fight with us. Remember that none of us should rest until all of us find rest.”
What does this mean for us? It means that all of us need to do everything in our power to push back against the tendencies to isolate and be autonomous in our journey of faith but make every effort to care about where others are in the community. The truth is that it’s easy to focus on ourselves – “as long as I’m doing okay, as long as I’m growing, it’s all good.” But this does not please God. We must go out of our comfort zone to help those who are in need, guide those who are lost, stand with those who feel scared, bring in those who may be isolated, disciple those who are still young in their faith, speak the truth in love to those who are living in sin, and encourage those who are discouraged. All that to say, we must fight the good fight together – we must endeavor in the mission that God has given us together. Blair Linne said, “Satan wants us to be isolated because if he can separate you, he can tell you his lies. We have to fight against that to say, ‘No. I'm not my own. I've been bought with a price.’ And that price, the blood of Jesus, it joins me with other believers.” Brothers and sisters, we need each other. I say this not as someone who has arrived – no, not at all. I need you as well because I, too, am a broken sinner who can so quickly fall and go astray if it’s not for your prayer and support. No one is an exception – all of us must do life together. Then today, let’s re-commit ourselves to do just that – that we will go out of our way to help others so that together, we will be successful in all that we do.
CONCLUSION
Lighthouse family, today, let’s be reminded that our church is precious not because we’re special in any way but because it was bought with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Then, trusting that Christ Himself will build His church, let’s make every effort to be faithful to the call that God has given us by centering our lives on the Word. And knowing that we need each other, let’s intentionally do life together so that God can powerfully work in and through us for His glory and our joy
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS