INTRODUCTION
• THE MATRIX START DVD. Time: 1:10 Start Time: 0:53:38 End Time: 0:54:48 Start Cue: Feet zooming in on building top End Cue: Man laying on pavement
• Each day we have to decide if we are going to let the fear of what is before us keep us from living the way that God wants us to live or are we going to let our faith in the unseen allow us to reach heights we never thought possible.
• In the scene we just viewed, Morpheus was trying to get Neo to have faith in something he could not see, in something that defied logic.
• When Neo looked all he saw was an opportunity to splatter on the pavement. Jumping seemed crazy, but he tried.
• Neo had to decide if he was going to be ruled by fear or by faith.
• Every day we must decide if we are going to be ruled by fear or by faith. We cannot allow ourselves to be afraid of everything that comes at us in life. We cannot be afraid to step out in faith because we are afraid to fail.
• Today we are going to turn to the book of Joshua chapter 1.
• Moses, the leader of the Israelites has died and God is speaking with his successor Joshua.
• SLIDE #1
• God is going to encourage Joshua to “Fear Not!”
• Joshua is going to be facing what would seem to be an almost impossible task, the task of taking the Israelites into the Promised Land.
• Not only is he going to lead the people, he is replacing a legend in Moses who had taken them out of Egypt.
• I know that God is leading each of us to something special. It is something that does not look easy and will be filled with obstacles. It will take great faith on our part to accomplish what God has in store for us.
• The only way you will be able to maximize your potential in Christ and in life in general is to let your faith overcome your fear, or to FEAR NOT!
• Let us turn to Joshua 1
• As we look at this passage we will be able to see three things that will allow our faith to overcome our fear!
• READ JOSHUA 1:1-5
• SLIDE #2
SERMON
Our faith can overcome our fear if we understand that:
I. GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISES. (6)
• God has just given Joshua a big job to do. I wonder what was going through his mind as he was listening to God?
• I think he was a bit overwhelmed because you find in these nine verses that God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous three times in verses six, seven and nine.
• SLIDE #3
• Joshua 1:5 - 6 (NASB) 5“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. 6“Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.
• After God tells Joshua what He wants him to do, God remind Joshua that Joshua was going to take the people into the land which God swore to their fathers.
• God also reminded Joshua that He had been with Moses, so Joshua could see God’s track record.
• God is reminding Joshua that God keeps His promises.
• One of the things Joshua needed to understand if he was going to let his faith have victory over his fears was understanding that God is the ultimate promise-keeper!
• Joshua needs to know this because there would be times where it would look impossible to do some of the things God wanted him to do with the people.
• In Romans 4, Paul speaks of Abraham and how Abraham was made right (or justified) by faith.
• SLIDE #4
• Romans 4:18 (NASB) 18In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE.”
• SLIDE #5
• Romans 4:20 says: 20yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God,
• Verse 20 tells us that Abraham did not waver in his faith. When things got tough, Abraham had his faith to hold on to. This helped him to overcome fear with faith.
• What will help you to maintain a strong faith, a faith that will overcome fear?
• When you are facing a difficult choice, if you understand that God keeps His promises, it will give you something to cling on to, something to help tell you that the sacrifice you need to make is worth the trouble it will cause you.
• If you do not believe that God has given you eternal life, you will not stay strong; your fear will overcome your faith.
• I want to go back to Romans 8:28 again. I will hammer away at this one until we get a grasp on it.
• SLIDE #6
• Romans 8:28 (NASB) 28And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
• If you do not fully believe that God will deliver on this promise, you will let fear overcome your faith.
• If God has promised something whether it be a good promise or a bad one, we can count on it happening.
• SLIDE #7
• Deuteronomy 7:9 (NASB) 9“Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments;
• Joshua was going to need to believe in God’s faithfulness, so the mission would not fail! If you go to battle already knowing you will lose, you will lose. If you know the battle is yours, you will go into with confidence!
• SLIDE #8
Our faith can overcome our fear if we understand that:
II. OBEDIENCE BUILDS FAITH. (7-8)
• In verses 7-8 God encourages Joshua to be strong and very courageous!
• SLIDE #9
• Joshua 1:7 (NASB) 7“Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to 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.
• In the midst of encouraging Joshua to be strong and very courageous, God talks to him about obedience.
• He tells Joshua to be CAREFUL to do according to ALL the law which Moses MY servant commanded you.
• I find it interesting that God would stress this in the middle of trying to encourage Joshua to be strong and very courageous.
• He tells him not to turn from the right or left from what has been commanded by Moses and then God gives Joshua a promise.
• SLIDE #10
• If Joshua is obedient God says he will be successful wherever he goes!
• God is telling us that our obedience can be a way for us to build a strong faith.
• If we believe the promises of God, it will give us confidence to stand strong. If we are obedient to God, it will give us something else to stand strong on.
• When I was a child; when I was not behaving for the baby-sitter, I would not look forward to my mother to come and get me. I would be fearful of her coming.
• When I was behaving, I would look forward to her coming because I had confidence.
• If you look through out the Bible, people got in trouble when they were being disobedient to God. They would get in trouble when they would rationalize that it was all right to change something God had told them. They would go to the left or right of what God told them. Adam and Eve, David, Saul, and the nation of Israel just to name a few.
• There were a few instances when a person had totally good intentions when they deviated from God’s command.
• SLIDE #11
• 2 Samuel 6:6-7 says: 6But when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out toward the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen nearly upset it. 7And the anger of the LORD burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down there for his irreverence; and he died there by the ark of God.
• David was moving the Ark of the Covenant in a different way that God told them to move it, people were forbidden to touch the Ark. Poor Uzzah is trying to keep the Ark from falling, touches it and God strikes him down for it.
• Let’s go back to Joshua. Look at verse eight with me.
• SLIDE #12.
• Joshua 1:8 (NASB) 8“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 success.
• This obedience thing is very important. God tells Joshua that ignorance is no excuse. God tells Joshua that he had better study the Word so he would know it and know what he needed to obey.
• Folks, we are cheating ourselves when we do not read, study, and meditate on God’s word.
• SLIDE #13 (Joshua 1:8 again)
• Look once again at God’s promise. Obedience is a key to success.
• When we are being obedient to God, we can know that we will succeed. We can know that our faith can overcome our fear!
• Put time into learning God’s word. God literally wrote the book on how to handle your money, how to be a good parent and spouse. Obedience to God’s word will help you succeed in everything you do.
• SLIDE #14
Our faith can overcome our fear if we understand that:
III. GOD IS ALWAYS WITH US. (9)
• SLIDE #15
• Joshua 1:9 (NASB) 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.”
• God is encouraging Joshua a third time to be strong and courageous. He further tells him not to tremble or be dismayed!
• God gives Joshua a reason that he can be strong and courageous. God is going to go with Joshua no matter where he goes!
• If the bully of the neighborhood wants to fight with you, if you have a strong fighter with you, you will not be afraid.
• God is letting Joshua know he will not be in the battles alone. He will not have to carry out the will of God without God being involved with him!
• How many times in your life have you let fear overtake your faith because you thought you were all alone?
• I have felt this way at times and it is a terrible feeling. It is a bad thing to feel like you are going into battle all alone.
• For a person in Joshua’s position, it can be lonely at the top as they say, but Joshua’s faith can overcome his fear because God is with him every step of the way.
• When I look at my life, the only way I could have accomplished what I have is because God is with me.
• It is sad to see people struggling and struggling by themselves. I se so many folks who run from God when they are having trouble.
• God is with you no matter if you fee lit or not.
• Do you think God sent His Son to die on the cross so He could joyfully sit back and watch you fail? Do you think He wants to watch you waste the sacrifice He made by sending Jesus to die for you?
• Do you think that God abandon you? NO! He is with us when we take the bad turns in life. He is there waiting for us to reach out to Him for help.
• Many times we let fear overcome us because we feel like we are alone.
• God tells Joshua not to even tremble or be dismayed because God is with Him.
• I think many times we feel alone because we are not is step with God. It goes back to the obedience thing.
• SLIDE #16
• Romans 8:1 reminds us that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ.
• You are not alone in the dark, God is with you. That should instill the confidence we need in Him to be able to Fear not!
CONCLUSION
• You have a choice to make; you either are going to live by fear or by faith.
• If we realize that always keeps His promises; that our obedience to Him can strengthen our faith in Him; and that God is always with us, we can live the victorious life God wants us to have.
• SLIDE #17
• John 10:10 (NASB) 10“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
• The choice us ours, have the abundant life God wants us to have, or we can have the defeated life Satan wants us to have.
• Live by faith, not by fear!
