INTRO: Top Fears People Face…1. Speaking in front of a group 2. Heights 3. Insects and bugs, financial problems and deep water 4. Sickness 5. Death 6. Flying 7. Loneliness 8. Dogs…Most of the fears we face every day are not based on facts, rather our own feelings. A popular University of Michigan study showed 60 percent of our fears are totally unwarranted; they never come to pass. 20 percent of our fears are focused on our past, which is completely out of our control. 10 percent of our fears are based on things so petty that they make no difference in our lives. Of the remaining 10 percent, only 4 to 5 percent could be considered justifiable. —Dennis Wattley, Seeds of Greatness, (Revell, 1983). Fear and unbelief kept God’s people out of the promised land and only Joshua and Caleb were able to enter because of their faith in God’s promises.
1. FOCUS ON GOD’S PLAN
1. Just as God had a purpose and plan for Joshua and the people of God, God also has a plan for your life and this church. 2. It’s easy to look at powerful people like Josh and say, “God sure had a plan for him,” how can He have a plan for me? Jer. 29:11; I didn’t know that I marry Amy, have 3 awesome kids, be pastor of CWBC, but it was part of God’s plan. 3. God’s plan is for His people to move fwd with Him in faith. Are you growing as a believer? Do you know more of His leadership in your life today than you did a year ago? 4. This summer, God is leading us to refocus on what is truly important to Him. He’s calling us to move on up in our spiritual growth. That means learning to put the past in the past and preparing for the new. Read Joshua 1:1-2. God gives us time to mourn and weep, but not forever. I get the feeling the Lord had to put it like this because God’s people needed to wake up to reality. John B. “Life goes on. Face reality. The man is dead. The job is yours. Get on with it.” Too many churches wish for the past when God is up to something in the present! I’m amazed at how many homes, children, young families there are in this community. Many do not know Christ as Savior. Frustrated, Fearful, Failures, Fainting, etc. Just b/c people take vacation for the summer doesn’t mean we take a vacation from pointing people to Jesus Christ. 5. Let’s use this summer to prepare for promised land living! 6. Jsh was born into slavery in Egypt and his parents named him Hoshea, meaning, “salvation.” Moses changed his name to Joshua, “Jehovah is salvation.” Numbers 27:16-20 7. The Lord saves us to be a people who are followers of His plan. W.Wiersbe says, “The Book of Joshua is the book of new beginnings for the people of God and many believers today need a new beginning. After 40 yrs of wandering in the wilderness, Israel claimed their inheritance and enjoyed the blessings of the land God had prepared for them, “as the days of heaven upon the earth” (Dt. 11:21). That’s the kind of life God wants us to experience today. Jesus Christ, our Joshua, wants to lead us in conquest now and share with us all the treasures of His wonderful inheritance. He has blessed us with all spiritual blessings, but too often we live like defeated paupers.” 8. As a church family, we must focus more on God’s plan over our own. 9. Find freedom from you fear means you an obedient servant of the Lord like Joshua. 10. There was land to conquer, giants to face, new ground to gain as God’s people began to enter the promised land, they were entering where they’d never been before and this required they stayed focused on God’s leadership in their lives and putting God’s plan first. 11. Fear kept God’s people out of the promised land for 40 years (Numbers 13:30-14:2). The victorious Christian life is about learning to be a conqueror through Christ (Romans 8:35-39). God’s best is that you learn to overcome all the enemies this world has that would keep you from entering His rest! To find freedom from the fears that would keep you from God’s best means you focus on His plan.
2. FOCUS ON GOD’S TRUTH
How many hours per day do you watch TV, surf the net, text message, worry about the future? Do you spend the majority of your time filling your life with the bad news or the good news of God’s truth? Many people fear surrendering their lives to the Lord b/c they do not know His truth. They think He will destroy all their happiness, but He comes to give them fullness of joy (John 15:11). They think He wants to judge them, but He died on a cross to save them from judgment (John 3:17). They think that if they follow Christ, life will be miserable, but it will be abundant (John 10:10). To find freedom from your fears means you are going to focus on God’s truth, not your fears. It means you are going to be thinking of His Word more and your worries less! Read Josh 1:3 – God’s already been where you are going! John B. “The fear of tomorrow can be as crippling as slavery to the past, but God is already in your tomorrow.”
Josh. 1:8 2. How can I focus on God’s truth? Acts 17:11, 18:24. Make a commitment that you are going to be in God’s truth DAILY and you are going to become MIGHTY in the Word. Make a commitment today that you are going to read God’s Word cover to cover once/yr for the rest of your life. The more I study God’s Word, the more I realize this is an inexhaustible book! Josh 1:8; Psa 1:2. 3. Please understand that your adversary the devil will do all he can to keep you from living a Word-filled life. The more you let God’s Word dwell in you, the more faith you have, the more strength you have to honor Jesus! 4. What would happen in our church if everyone had the opportunity to become stronger in God’s Word? If we come to God’s Word with an obedient heart first, we’d save ourselves from a lot of heartache. Can you imagine what our church might look like if…everyone obeyed God’s Word to rest and worship instead of continually overloading their schedule? Forgave one another as Christ forgave us? Gave to the Lord from a cheerful heart? Used their spiritual gift faithfully? Witnessed to the lost friends and family in the power of the Holy Spirit? Learned to have victory over enslaving habits through God’s Word? Had marriages and homes where Christ was honored? What has God promised? Forgiveness of sins, H.S. power, access, joy, strength, etc. FOCUS ON HIS TRUTH. Ex. Pete and I always try to put things together w/o reading the instruction manual. We get upset, angry, mad; Amy comes in and begins reading the manual. 15 minutes later we are ready to go! Focusing on God’s truth and following His will enables you to find freedom from your fears!
3. FOCUS ON HIS FAITHFULNESS
You will find freedom from you fears as you learn to focus on His faithfulness. Fear sets in when you leave God out of the picture. Faith comes when you remember it’s not about you, but Him working through you (2 Cor. 3). When fear threatens to take over, recall what God has done in your life. How could Joshua be confident? God would be with Him just as He was with Moses (Hebrews 13:5, Matthew 28:20). God is calling us to walk out of the wilderness of defeat and unbelief. The reason you can is b/c God has given you the same promise given to Joshua * Be strong and courageous (v.6) Obey all of God’s laws for living (v.7)*Think often about what God has said (v.8). * Remember that God is with you (v.9). Do you teach Sunday school? You’re a leader. Are you a parent? You’re a leader. Have a job? You’re a leader. Have friends? You’re a leader. No matter who you are, others are looking at you and being influenced by your example. As you think about this awesome responsibility, what should you do? Someone has said that a good leader is one who “knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way (rbc.org).” You might be fearful to witness - He will give you the words - give - He will provide - serve - He will empower you. I get fearful if I think it's up to me to "get results" in the Christian life, but He is the One who causes growth, saves, etc. I can do anything THROUGH CHRIST who strengthens me. Instead of letting fear keep you from God's best, remember God is the One who will enable you.
Today, you can find freedom from your fears as you focus on His plan, His truth, His faithfulness. All around us are people falling by the side and today is the day to begin the change with God’s help. With God’s help will you be strong and courageous to (1) Give your heart and life to Jesus who gave everything to you? (2) Obey God through baptism, church membership, ministry? The church must move from the wilderness of death to the promised land of faith. Today is the day to stand with the Lord, be brave and strong in this evil day.
