TEXT: JOSHUA 1:1-9
INTRODUCTION
Every man has seasons in life.
The season may be good or otherwise. When things are not going the way you think they should, you undoubtedly need Courage to Advance against that situation.
You need Courage to move on in life as against what that situation is suggesting or dictating
You need courage to advance and possess what belongs to you in God.
Thus, courage is that quality of the heart or mind that gives one the ability to encounter danger and difficulty with firmness and resolve in spite of the presence of fear.
Courage is the capacity to resist fear, to master it, not its absence.
In the midst of this economic uncertainties, brethren, we need unwavering courage and confidence in God.
As this book opens Moses, the great leader of Israel has died and a new leader named Joshua has been appointed to lead the nation of Israel into Canaan. After 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, Israel is about to take possession of the land God promised Abraham many centuries earlier in Gen. 12:7 “And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.”
The Book of Joshua records the fulfillment of these three promises: the first in chapters 2-5, the second in chapters 6-12, and the third in chapters 13-22. At the close of his life Joshua could remind the leaders of Israel that "not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed" (23:14, NKJV).
Before God could fulfill His promises, however, Joshua had to exercise faith and "be strong and of good courage" (1:6). Divine sovereignty is not a substitute for human responsibility. God's sovereign Word is an encouragement to God's servants to believe God and obey His commands.
As Charles Spurgeon put it, Joshua "was not to use the promise as a couch upon which his indolence might luxuriate, but as a girdle wherewith to gird up his loins for future activity" (Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, vol. 14, p. 97). In short, God's promises are prods, not pillows.
How do we develop the quality of Courage to Advance in ourselves and in others?
It is this that forms the foundation for courage and conviction for faith and action. Our need is to pray and seek God’s will and wisdom from His Word because the foundation for courage is knowing the Word which enlightens us to His will.
Rom. 15:4 For everything that was written in former times was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and through encouragement of the scriptures we may have hope.
Thus, it is this God-breathed, inerrant, and infallible revelation of God in Scripture that provides us with the greatest means of courage to advance in the midst of difficult situations.
Many at times the exit of people in our lives sapped the courage to advance in us. When people decides to leave us, then it could mean that they are done with their God given assignment in our lives.
That they are gone does not mean God will not bring His promises to pass.
Psalm 27:10,
“When my father and mother forsake me God will take me up”
This must not be taken literally of his parents but his closest friends, adherents, firm counsellors, firm allies; when they should fail and drop him, his God would not leave him: this to show the love and care of God, as Superior to that of most affectionate friends (Isa. 49:14)
For God to change His programme, He would rather change people. Whosoever would not serve the interest of God in the life of His people, He changes such person.
The first obstacle is seen the command to “cross this Jordan.” The Jordan River represents a huge obstacle and an impediment to growth, ministry, and progress. There is good reason to believe that the Jordan was swollen out of its banks at this time of the year (cf. Jos. 3:15; 4:18). Further, to cross the Jordan meant to enter into a hostile land, a land full of enemies some of whom were giants and many of whom lived in strongly fortified cities. This was no simple challenge. Remember, the previous generation failed at Kadesh Barnea because they lacked courage to face these very giants.
A second obstacle is seen in the statement, “you and all this people.” This was no small group and the very numbers made this a colossal task. Furthermore, Joshua had the responsibility of leading a people who were noted for being stiff-necked and who threw stones at their leaders. But more importantly, the word “all” reminds us that it is God’s purpose for all His people to move into His will, i.e., to mature and become strong, and to live productively in the will of God.
Nevertheless, regardless of the obstacles, God’s will had been clearly made known to Joshua and he needed to act on this fact.
There are several promises in verses 2-3, 5, 6, 9. Two of the promises:
“To the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel,” (vs.2) and “Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given to them, just as I spoke to Moses” (vs. 3).
They were going into the Promised Land, to the land God Himself had personally promised to the patriarchs—to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
And God, who is immutable, cannot go back on His promises. In fact, God had for some time been preparing the inhabitants for defeat (cf. 2:9f). The land had been theirs for forty years and they had failed to enter in because of unbelief and a lack of courage.
It is the veracity of God’s Word that will carry us through the Jordan Rivers of life. But how do we claim and act on these many promises? How do we make these promises a part of our thinking processes?
Bible study may involve reading something like the Daily Bread (a helpful and commendable pattern), but this alone is not enough. We also need ‘meat and potatoes’ Bible study.
If our Bible study consists of short devotionals we can’t develop a deep understanding of Scripture or a strong biblical faith with life-changing results. Relationship with God, knowing Him, as with any relationship, takes time. It is this deeper relationship and knowledge that provides us with deep biblical convictions and the capacity to have the kind of courage that results in life-changing results and faithfulness in ministry and in life.
“Have not I commanded you,” the focus is on the source of these commands and promises—God’s Person.
Who had commanded Joshua? It was no less than Yahweh, the eternal, independent, and sovereign God of the universe who is the God of revelation and redemption.
The second focus of verse 9, seen in the promise, “for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go,” points us to God’s Presence.
For those who know God and are related to Him by faith in the Savior, there is no situation, no problem or enemy that they can or will ever face alone.
“For he has said, ‘I will never leave you and I will never abandon you.’ So we can say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper, and I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?’” Heb. 13:5b-6.
“Indeed, he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, freely give us all things?” Rom. 8:32.
INTRODUCTION
Every man has seasons in life.
The season may be good or otherwise. When things are not going the way you think they should, you undoubtedly need Courage to Advance against that situation.
You need Courage to move on in life as against what that situation is suggesting or dictating
You need courage to advance and possess what belongs to you in God.
WHAT IS COURAGE?
The Greek word translated “courage” and “good cheer” means literally “boldness and confidence.” In the Bible, courage is the opposite of fear. When God commands us to fear not, to be of good cheer, and to have courage, He is always commanding against fear, which is the opposite of courage.Thus, courage is that quality of the heart or mind that gives one the ability to encounter danger and difficulty with firmness and resolve in spite of the presence of fear.
Courage is the capacity to resist fear, to master it, not its absence.
In the midst of this economic uncertainties, brethren, we need unwavering courage and confidence in God.
As this book opens Moses, the great leader of Israel has died and a new leader named Joshua has been appointed to lead the nation of Israel into Canaan. After 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, Israel is about to take possession of the land God promised Abraham many centuries earlier in Gen. 12:7 “And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.”
The Book of Joshua records the fulfillment of these three promises: the first in chapters 2-5, the second in chapters 6-12, and the third in chapters 13-22. At the close of his life Joshua could remind the leaders of Israel that "not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed" (23:14, NKJV).
Before God could fulfill His promises, however, Joshua had to exercise faith and "be strong and of good courage" (1:6). Divine sovereignty is not a substitute for human responsibility. God's sovereign Word is an encouragement to God's servants to believe God and obey His commands.
As Charles Spurgeon put it, Joshua "was not to use the promise as a couch upon which his indolence might luxuriate, but as a girdle wherewith to gird up his loins for future activity" (Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, vol. 14, p. 97). In short, God's promises are prods, not pillows.
How do we develop the quality of Courage to Advance in ourselves and in others?
1. BY RECOGNIZING AND RELATING TO GOD’S REVEALED WILL – v. 1-2
With the words “the Lord spoke to Joshua” in verse one we see the principle of revelation from God—biblical insight.It is this that forms the foundation for courage and conviction for faith and action. Our need is to pray and seek God’s will and wisdom from His Word because the foundation for courage is knowing the Word which enlightens us to His will.
Rom. 15:4 For everything that was written in former times was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and through encouragement of the scriptures we may have hope.
Thus, it is this God-breathed, inerrant, and infallible revelation of God in Scripture that provides us with the greatest means of courage to advance in the midst of difficult situations.
2. UNDERSTANDING OF THE FACT THAT THE EXIT OF SOMEONE OUT OF YOUR LIFE DOES NOT STOP THE FULFILMENT OF GOD’S PROMISES FOR YOU– v. 2a
“Moses my servant is dead;”Many at times the exit of people in our lives sapped the courage to advance in us. When people decides to leave us, then it could mean that they are done with their God given assignment in our lives.
That they are gone does not mean God will not bring His promises to pass.
Psalm 27:10,
“When my father and mother forsake me God will take me up”
This must not be taken literally of his parents but his closest friends, adherents, firm counsellors, firm allies; when they should fail and drop him, his God would not leave him: this to show the love and care of God, as Superior to that of most affectionate friends (Isa. 49:14)
For God to change His programme, He would rather change people. Whosoever would not serve the interest of God in the life of His people, He changes such person.
3. BY RESTING ON THE PROMISES OF GOD – v.2b-6
To grasp Joshua’s need for courage and to appreciate God’s promises here, we must first take a look at some of the obstacles to God’s commission to Joshua:The first obstacle is seen the command to “cross this Jordan.” The Jordan River represents a huge obstacle and an impediment to growth, ministry, and progress. There is good reason to believe that the Jordan was swollen out of its banks at this time of the year (cf. Jos. 3:15; 4:18). Further, to cross the Jordan meant to enter into a hostile land, a land full of enemies some of whom were giants and many of whom lived in strongly fortified cities. This was no simple challenge. Remember, the previous generation failed at Kadesh Barnea because they lacked courage to face these very giants.
A second obstacle is seen in the statement, “you and all this people.” This was no small group and the very numbers made this a colossal task. Furthermore, Joshua had the responsibility of leading a people who were noted for being stiff-necked and who threw stones at their leaders. But more importantly, the word “all” reminds us that it is God’s purpose for all His people to move into His will, i.e., to mature and become strong, and to live productively in the will of God.
Nevertheless, regardless of the obstacles, God’s will had been clearly made known to Joshua and he needed to act on this fact.
There are several promises in verses 2-3, 5, 6, 9. Two of the promises:
“To the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel,” (vs.2) and “Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given to them, just as I spoke to Moses” (vs. 3).
They were going into the Promised Land, to the land God Himself had personally promised to the patriarchs—to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
And God, who is immutable, cannot go back on His promises. In fact, God had for some time been preparing the inhabitants for defeat (cf. 2:9f). The land had been theirs for forty years and they had failed to enter in because of unbelief and a lack of courage.
It is the veracity of God’s Word that will carry us through the Jordan Rivers of life. But how do we claim and act on these many promises? How do we make these promises a part of our thinking processes?
4. CONSTANT AND PERSISTENT FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD THROUGH THE STUDY OF HIS WORD –v. 7-8
The Word is intrinsically powerful and able to produce godly change in believers’ lives as it motivates, encourages, gives hope and direction, and exposes us to both our needs and God’s will and provision. The Word has been given to us to establish a communicative relationship with God. It is a means of fellowship with Him.Bible study may involve reading something like the Daily Bread (a helpful and commendable pattern), but this alone is not enough. We also need ‘meat and potatoes’ Bible study.
If our Bible study consists of short devotionals we can’t develop a deep understanding of Scripture or a strong biblical faith with life-changing results. Relationship with God, knowing Him, as with any relationship, takes time. It is this deeper relationship and knowledge that provides us with deep biblical convictions and the capacity to have the kind of courage that results in life-changing results and faithfulness in ministry and in life.
5. BY RECKONING ON GOD’S PERSON AND PRESENCE – v. 9
This verse focused Joshua on two great principles of God’s Word. First, in the words,“Have not I commanded you,” the focus is on the source of these commands and promises—God’s Person.
Who had commanded Joshua? It was no less than Yahweh, the eternal, independent, and sovereign God of the universe who is the God of revelation and redemption.
The second focus of verse 9, seen in the promise, “for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go,” points us to God’s Presence.
For those who know God and are related to Him by faith in the Savior, there is no situation, no problem or enemy that they can or will ever face alone.
“For he has said, ‘I will never leave you and I will never abandon you.’ So we can say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper, and I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?’” Heb. 13:5b-6.
“Indeed, he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, freely give us all things?” Rom. 8:32.