Strong and Courageous, Faithful and Fearless

Experienced change in your life in the last couple of years. Change is hard sometimes is in it, but it is inevitable and unavoidable part of life and its essential to growth and maturity. Some changes good and some not so much for most of us, it's that the changes around us that we have no control over. We can do nothing about that are the most difficult to adjust to. We relish what is familiar, comfortable, and expected and we don't like to be caught off guard or to have someone or some situation turn our life upside down.

In truth, in many ways over the past two years.

Our lives have been in some measure turned upside down in the world outbreak of code pandemic has forced us to accept change in change is not new. It's part of life.

I think back over the last hundred years. The changes that have taken place just boggle the mind as a boy growing up in Clayton. I remember wagons coming in from the farm, pulled by horses and a couple guys and had a couple draft horses that they really bareback coming to town and now we we all traveled by private car.

Most the time in those days missionaries would go out to places like Papua New Guinea and Australia and take weeks on an ocean voyage and now got an overnight flight to Australia when I was a boy about three years old I contracted polio and now we got little relaxing that you take no longer a threat. In most of the world's very rare that we have cases pneumonia in those days when we would print newspapers and books and things like that all the type had to be sent manually in the phrase that we got a couple of those printing phrase in our home. Libby's family, her father's family were not loving the printers and now you can print from your cell phone. We we have word processing and it's just amazing the things that have taken place early part of the 20th century first flight Kitty Hawk and now we gotta voyageur out beyond our galaxy exploring interstellar space as amazing as all those technological advances are the cultural shift that is taken place. The changes that have occurred in our culture are even more astonishing.

Just in the last 30 years things have happened that I could not have dreamed of as a young boy, those of us who are in the more seasoned years of life remember a time when you could walk around the neighborhood at night without fear. Children roam free. There was no threat of abduction murder to little children. I can remember is that as a young boy to my bicycle and we get group of guys together and we play cops and robbers at night all over town. You know if it was a different world and in many ways as we get older we get more settled in our ways than we resist changes we are tempted to long and nostalgically for earlier times that we look on as better times and you know the truth is that in spite of the fact that we are now in a time where Christianity is mocked openly and that was not a part of United States used to be like those kinds of things shock us in many ways and yet the truth is that the war against God and his ways has been with us since the Garden of Eden and never was a time since the fall of man when evil was not rampant in the earth, and how the changes that we perceive in our time seem to us far worse than what is known before the battle for the soul of man is raged throughout history. Now we in this day have a choice. We can face this new day challenges the new expressions of sins war against God.

We can man up and fight the good fight, or we can cower in fear. We can continue in faith, we can run for proverbial hills, so to speak, or we can return to the sovereign head of the church. We can believe in weekend worship him as we should. I don't know what you're facing tonight. It could be a change in your life.

It takes many different forms. Evil comes in and unexpected ways.

Sometimes an illness in the loss of a loved one financial reversal send the attack of the enemy comes at us from every quarter break up of homes and marriages child's rebellion of friends, betrayal, open hostility of the world against Christianity which we are experiencing in our day and did maybe even persecution will come in the not-too-distant future that I don't know what is in store for you today or for tomorrow tomorrow, but I do know this God is not surprised he knows the end from the beginning and he is at work and all of it for our good and for his glory.

And so tonight I want us to consider the fact that because of who God is, because of what God has said in his promises to us because of where he dwells. He is with us because of this we can enter the battle with confidence and move forward in faith and without fear. You will turn with me to Joshua chapter 1 and let stand together as we read the first 11 verses of Joshua chapter 1 after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of non-Moses assistance Moses my servant is dead now therefore arise, go over this Jordan you and all this people into the land that I'm giving to them to the people of Israel every place of the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you. Just as I promised 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 for 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.

And Joshua commanded the officers of the people passed 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 spray father. We acknowledge that we are totally dependent upon you, even our offering of praise is a sacrifice through Jesus Christ. It is only in him that we have hope. And yet in him we have hope that is beyond our comprehension. And yet that peace that passes understanding stills our hearts in the midst of all the evil that is around us. Thank you that you are our God, you will be our God forever.

We rest in you, through Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen. You may be seated. As you know, our pastor has succumbed them with the stomach bug and he gave me a call against late yesterday afternoon and he said and try to get hold of Eugene safe you will preach for me in the morning and that would you preach tomorrow night and so it's a privilege to be able to come and to share God's word with you tonight. We are in a time of great upheaval and change, and it's a challenge to faith and to faithfulness and so I think that this passage has a lot to say to us tonight and in the days that we are facing together. So to encourage you tonight.

First of all with the fact that we can go forward with faith because of who God is, the person of God for 40 years, the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness. They were led by a man who spoke personally with God, the creator of the universe, the covenant God revealed himself to them and entrusted them with his word and revealed to them his name.

His covenant name, and now they face the death of Moses and were called to a new beginning under the leadership of Joshua.

They were to go into the land and take possession. Change always brings a certain degree of uncertainty and anxiety as we face the unknown future. Sometimes the trepidation can just paralyze us, and there's no possibility of moving forward. But like the Israelites on the brink of Jordan we can move forward with faith in the person of God and who he is. Change is a part of life and for you.

It may be a present reality in this Old Testament example. However, we find a perfect example that is recorded for our instruction, these ancient accounts of what took place in the history of Israel are historical truth, but they also provide us with spiritual truth and reveal to us things that apply to us today.

Paul in writing to the Corinthians, said these things took place as examples for us.

They were written down for our instruction, so let's set list. Don't be like the dad who tries put the bicycle together without ever reading instruction. Genome comes up with some interesting configurations but let's go to the example that God has given us read the instructions and learn from that example I like Joshua like the Israelites, we can face the battle ahead and we can do it in faith because of who God is.

Look with me at the beginning of verse five God's word says no man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. God had given Joshua the promise of success of being able to overcome the battles that he would face no king of Bashan, no sigh, honking the Amorites, not the Amalekites, not Pharaoh, not the Hittites, the Egyptians, not the Canaanite kings, all allied together. Nothing could stand before those Godhead given the victory Israelites had witnessed the awesome power of God. Time and time again and normally could stand no matter how numerous they were, no matter how well armed they were. No matter how well trained.

No man can stand against Jehovah God God is invincible, he cannot be conquered. He cannot be overcome because of who he is, we can face the battle with certainty and assurance. Not only is God invincible. He is also immutable and theological word that means he never changes. God's unchanging look at the election next part of verse five. There God says, just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. How was he with Moses while Joshua knew about that dinner. Joshua had a history with God.

Joshua was there when the Army of the Amalekites was conquered as Moses stood on the hill and lifted the rod and Joshua prevailed over the Amalekites. Josh was there with Moses on Sinai when you receive the time the tablets of the law. He had witnessed God's provision for his people by the hand of Moses they been given manna from heaven meet in the wilderness water when there in the desert, God says, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. God is impartial and immutable.

He does not change his dealing with his children is grounded in his own love in his own character is enabling power will be with Joshua.

Now, just as it was with Moses, he is unchanging and that unchanging nature is affirmed in the rear covenant name that he gave them when he revealed to Moses there in the burning bush and he said I am who I am self existent God the one who never changes. He is eternally the great I am. He is who he is and he will never be anything other than who he is.

He is the unchanging, immutable God because God is invincible and immutable, never changing. He is always faithful last part of that verse five God says I will be with you.

I will not leave you or forsake you. God never abandons his people, no matter how bleak the prospect from our finite perspective. God's promise is that he will never forsake his own Israel and Joshua can go forward in faith because of who God is. Covenant God who will never leave never forsake his people. These things took place as examples for us. Paul says I will written down for our instruction, so let's think for a moment about what this Old Testament account says to the New Testament believer in Paul's words to the Roman Christians. How may we through the encouragement of the Scriptures have hope you it's easy, and days like we are experiencing to lose hope and think well the system get worse is never going to be better but the reality is that through God's promises in Scripture and understanding who he is, we can face these days with certainty, and hope and faith.

So applying this to ourselves. First of all, the invincible, immutable, immutable, faithful God is the same yesterday today and forever.

It doesn't change.

He is who he is and his promises to you are just as sure as were his promises to Joshua. In fact, in Christ. Paul says in second Corinthians all the promises of God, find their yes and amen in Christ and we are in him.

God declared to Joshua. I will not leave you or forsake you and to us the promises the same. Jesus himself said to his disciples before he ascended low.

I am with you always, even to the end of the age and in the letter to the Hebrews that promise of his never leaving, never forsaken is given to the New Testament believers reiterated there for us because of who God is, we can go forward.

We can face the future in faith without fear, but our faith is not only in the person of God. It is also in the promise of God. God is trustworthy and he keeps his promises. And so we can go forward in faith in the promise of God, as well as in the person of God. Looking back at the text that we consider the example from the Scriptures and verse six, God says be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them to be strong and very courageous, being careful to do all according to all law that Moses commanded you. God promised an inheritance to Israel. He gave his promised Abraham to Isaac and to Jacob. He promised that their offspring would inherit the land he reveals Abraham this the 400 years of bondage in Egypt and yet he had promised that they would return and received inherit the land now tells Joshua that it's time that he is to go in and possess the land and divided among the people back in verse two of this chapter he had promised that he would give this land to all the people.

Moses my servant is dead now therefore arise, go over this Jordan you and all this people under the land that I'm going to give them to the people of Israel slams to be given to all the people. Not only that it the whole thing was included in the inheritance. Verse three says 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. God had promised inheritance and he promised that all the people would receive this inheritance. They would receive the whole land and then God kept that promise.

And he kept that inheritance for them.

Prepared and he kept it you during the 400 years of Egyptian bondage and they didn't have any of that land.

They were slaves in Egypt and yet God had not left the land to deteriorate and become a wasteland. He had the heathen nations keep the land and cultivated in development and leave it for his people and we are told in Deuteronomy that they would receive cities that had building houses they didn't fail insistence that in dig in vineyards and olive trees that they didn't plant God prepared inheritance and kept it and preserved for them. He kept the land through the heathen nations, and then he drove them out and he gave the land to his people, but he didn't drive them all out at once.

The land would have to be kept and prevented from being overrun with wild animals and wild growth of briars and weeds and corrupting the vineyards in the garden. Some groves and so this land was God's gift to the nation. It was an inheritance of his grace to them, but they had to go in the end and possess it, receiving the inheritance would require strength encourage and obedience to God's promise came with the command going only back to Abraham that we find this is God's way when when Abram was 99 years old. We read in Genesis 17 neighbor who has was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him I am God Almighty walk before me and be blameless that I may make my covenant between me and you and me multiply you greatly. And now on the verge of the fulfillment of the promises that God is given, God points Joshua to this book of the law is record of what God has done over the years with his people and that this this book of the law is to be like an instruction manual in a way. Look at verse eight. God says to Joshua in verse eight 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. There's a key phrase in that verse for our understanding of what the instruction is here, God says that this book of the wall law shall not depart from your mouth. The Hebrew idea of meditation includes the idea of this murmuring Scriptures as they would think and meditate on the Scriptures they would murmur those words. There's something about kinetic memory connected with our retaining Scripture. If we speak it out loud it helps us retain it. It helps us to memorize and it helps us keep it going in, and sometimes your mouthful go where your mind has forgotten what's next what God says. This book of the law is not depart from your mouth you to meditate on it day and night story is told of a young students and Hebrew school who question the Rabbi about the possibility of studying Plato and Aristotle's of the philosophers and the Rabbi's response was okay that you're free to do that anytime you can find other than day and night.

We are to meditate on the word of God. We are to keep it in our hearts, garden, and so God's instruction to Joshua wasn't that he was always to have the word of God at hand. Meditate on it day and night. Be careful to to keep it to observe it. So how then is this example from the Bible and encouragement for us like his promised Israel. God has promised us in inheritance as well. We are his children and his heirs.

We are entitled to receive the inheritance because we have a legitimate claim to the estate. As children we are joint heirs with the only gotten son, Jesus Christ.

Paul writes in Romans eight that we are children of God, and if children, then where errors errors together with God heirs together with Christ heirs of God, every, every child of God shares in inheritance and just as all the people of Israel were to be given the inheritance of the land. Even so, all who trust in Christ share in an inheritance that is imperishable and undefiled and unfading entities kept in heaven for you, Petersons. We all received inheritance and we get it all. I love Ephesians chapter 1 verse three repulses a Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who have blessed you with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, we receive it all. He has promised the inheritance he is prepared it and kept it for us and we get it all, but not all at once. Like the Israelites, there is a process of possession Israel was delivered from the Egyptian bondage, but they had to go in and take the land and we are saved from the penalty of sin, but we have to grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is followed by sanctification in this receiving of our hair. Inheritance is the process of growth and maturity and requires change. It requires fighting it.

It requires growth. That almost always comes through suffering and death to self. And like Joshua, we are to be successful and prosperous in the battle.

But if we do are to be that way.

We need to hear from God. We need to know what God has said whenever a change in warfare and persecution in come things like that come against us.

Our greatest need is to know what God said we need to have our marching orders and faithfully obey in the fight and we can confidently face the battle moving forward with faith in the person of God and with faith in the promise of God and we can do so without fear because of where he dwells the presence of God.

He is with us back in the text in verse nine 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. God is with you wherever you go. Since think there is a twofold nature of the command.

Its first positive that also negative. God says be strong and courageous. Then he says don't be frightened and don't be dismayed, be strong and courageous. You know what lay ahead for Joshua and for the Israelites was in many ways a terrifying prospect of the sons of Jacob are sheepherders for the most part they were not warriors. In fact, this current generation is coming into the land of Canaan knew very little of war because all the warriors that it faces early battles and saying what happened in Egypt and they'd all died off because of the disobedience I have spent 40 years in the wilderness. Let no generation die off.

Now these young upstarts have known nothing but nomadic wandering in the wilderness are facing fortified cities hostile terrain they have to drive these nations out of their homes stand against the alliance of kings, and the deception of crafty schemers and humanly speaking, there is a great deal to fear and God's word to them is be strong and courageous. Don't be afraid to be dismayed, strength, encourager required for their obedience. They have to go in and take possession of the land and this is no easy task. This instruction to Joshua is also profitable for us today as believers. Paul says that we are to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.

Salvation is a gift from God. It's an inheritance of his grace, but we must fight. Isn't it interesting how many times this Christian life is referred to in the New Testament using the metaphor of war battle poll says that he has fought the good fight encourages the believer to put on the armor of God to because we are wrestling it says against the forces of evil.

He declares it where led by God in triumphal procession, and that through the love of God, we are more than conquerors like the Israelites, we must be strong and courageous. The flip side of that coin is that we must not be afraid or dismayed the command is also negative. Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed what lay ahead for Israel was indeed daunting and formidable, and yet they were not to be afraid not to be dismayed where to find this strength and courage to lay aside the fear to move forward in faith to obey and to prosper in the past they were given. The answer is given in the command itself. What God requires of his people. He provides for his people. God says to Joshua. Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you where ever you go wherever you go. God is with you strength the courage to obey freedom from fear and despair.

All this flows from the presence of God.

He is with his people wherever he calls them to go and he will never leave you. He will never forsake you. We've already seen that God is unchanging is the same yesterday today and forever. So the promise to Joshua and to Israel is given to us as well. In fact, in the very name of our Lord declares his presence with us. He is Immanuel, God with us.

That's one of the essential meanings of his coming into the world.

He is with us and he will never leave us. Never forsake us. When he was about to be crucified.

He promised his disciples. Even though I have to go away you can come where I'm going.

I will send you another who was like me comforter, apparently to help her one who will come alongside you and be with you.

In fact, he will be in you when the promise is repeated in the Hebrews there where it says that there I will never leave you nor forsake you. In the Greek language there. There are five negatives in that first case that the language of the New Testament could not put it more emphatically that we can't very well translated into English is one of the best attempts, I think, is found in the closing stands for him how great, how firm a foundation that last verses that so that on Jesus clean for repose. I will not, I will not desert to his toes that sold though all hell should endeavor to shake never know never know. Never forsake God will not leave you nor for sake you.

So what does all this mean for the believer in the heat of the battle when it seems that the devil himself is unleashed and all hell is raging against the souls of God's children.

When the darkness of the world is so thick you wonder if any. Light can ever penetrate.

Remember the promise of his presence. As a believer you are hidden with Christ in God. The very spirit of Christ, indwells you so when the enemy of our souls comes against us, he finds us hidden in God and in those times when God and his purposes for us in his infinite wisdom allows the devil to get to us through him. What is he find a finds us filled with the king, Lord, spirit of Christ himself so you're on the winning team. You can fight the good fight. You can face what we see in our day without fear. You can because God is God and his word is true and he is with you trust who he is. Trust what he has said rest be refreshed in his presence and that way we can go forward with faith in the person of God promises of God, trusting what he has said and fearless. Because God is with us. We know his presence is pray for the God you are great and greatly to be praised, and there is nothing in all creation that can stand against you yet so often we look at what is around us and how we perceive what goes on and we forget that the things of this temporal material world are just shadows that point us to the reality of the heavenly's, where Christ is seated on the throne where we are seated together with him where he ever intercedes for us and where the world and the flash and the devil, and death itself are defeated.

Thank you father that you are our God that you have promised us redemption and forgiveness and life eternal and you are with us. We thank you in Jesus name, amen