Opening Illustration: Henri Nouwen was also a person whose heart was to serve the Lord. And as a world-renown Catholic educator and teacher he had a great deal of success in encouraging others in their faith. Yet one day, God asked him to leave that and become a house parent in the Le Arche community, an organization that gives homes to the mentally and physically handicapped children. So he did. He left the world of the high flying speaker and entered a home where none of the people he was ‘father’ to, knew of his fame and success. Believing that he would be serving them, Nouwen soon found that the shoe was on the other foot.
When Nouwen came into a room he saw the faces of the children light up. Each day he was greeted with smiles and hugs, openly involved in the sorrows and success of the children, and generally made to feel like a valuable part of the community. Before long, Nowen found himself in the deepest pit of depression that he had ever experienced. In the face of the profound love and acceptance that these handicapped children had given him, Nouwen’s reliance on his ability to dazzle with knowledge crumbled and the loss was devastating. Yet it was in this breaking point that Nouwen experienced the unconditional love of God at the very core of his being and he understood that God can and does use the handicapped and wounded to do His will. Out of that experience came the wonderful book, “The Wounded Healer,” which ends with the statement that “the wound which causes us to suffer now will be revealed to us later as the place where God made his new creation in us most intimately known.” (Amanda Wilson, Gladius Publishing)
Introduction: Moses’ three greatest excuses for not to step into his calling were: (i) I am not qualified (ii) I am not ready and (iii) I am not supported. God speaks clearly. His “call” isn’t some ambiguous mystery to figure out, like some people make it look like, it is explicit. The more you are going to fight against God’s call, the greater your failure will be displayed. Just trust your Creator and follow His lead. He knows it all.
God chooses Joshua for ‘Mission Impossible’ without his consent. Three times in the opening 9 verses of Joshua, God tells him to be strong and courageous. It is quite obvious in the case of Joshua why he might be afraid and need God to tell him to not be afraid. While Israel has just conquered two mighty kings, Og, King of Bashan and Sihon, King of the Amorites; yet the victory was won with Moses as their leader. Now Moses is dead and they are about to cross the Jordan River to take on 31 kings and their armies, all of whom live in fortified cities and some of whom are people of extraordinary size. So God first tells Joshua to be full of courage and not fear as he leads the people into the land.
How ready are you to step into your calling?
1. Readiness to take on DIRE CIRCUMSTANCES (vs. 1-2)
Now we need to take our eyes off of ourselves and square on God. Trust in his promises to go forward into life’s challenges. But we see the obstacles and they seem insurmountable. How can we overcome such hindrances?
Joshua faced great obstacles in his mission too. These obstacles could have kept him from accomplishing God’s purposes if he had let them overwhelm him with panic. What were his challenges?
• “Cross the Jordan River” – Across the river he would encounter a formidable enemy. In Scripture, the Jordan often represents an obstacle, a hindrance to growth, ministry or success. It is possible that at the time of the year Israel crossed the Jordan to enter Canaan the river was swollen over its banks. How would they get across?
• Entering a hostile land – Once they got across the river they were in enemy territory who had chariots. They were giant people living in fortified cities and Israel saw themselves as “grasshoppers” in comparison. A further danger exists when these godless people pressure them to conform to the status quo of idolatry.
• “You and all these people” – This was not a small group of people. Seventy entered Egypt when Joseph brought his family out of a time of famine, and one million men and their families left 400 years later. On top of that these people were known to be complainers and whiners.
These three obstacles would make any leader quake with fear. And fear is paralyzing when it gets out of control. Any thesaurus will list boldness and fearlessness as synonyms of courage. But courage often exists in spite of the presence of fear. True courage might possibly be most evident when someone does what they are afraid to do. Real courage is the ability to face dangers or challenges with resolve in spite of fear. As John Wayne said, “Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.”
You can look at the obstacles and be afraid or you can trust in what God said he would do. What did God really say? The land was called “the Promised Land” for a reason. God had promised Abraham that his children would have this place. In the next chapter Rahab, the lady who hides the spies checking out the defenses of Jericho, tells the spies that the people had heard about the Red Sea crossing and all their victories over different kings since. Now keep in mind that this was generations ago. And the people of Jericho have lived in fear of this invasion for decades. By virtue of that fact alone they were already defeated.
Here’s another shocker: The first time Moses sent spies into the land two came back and said “Let’s take it,” but the other ten said “there are giants in the land.” But according to Rahab’s report Israel could have taken the land forty years earlier. God had given it to them then already. Only fear kept them from enjoying God’s promises.
What other promises do we fail to trust in? Romans 8:1? 1 John 1:9? Philippians 4:6-7? I think sometimes we fear spiritual blessings and that’s why we don’t trust God. We live in a “fun” focused culture and if something does not amuse or entertain us it doesn’t interest us. So we are afraid that if we claim God’s blessings it won’t be fun. If that’s the case we are really messed up. TV commercials yell at us what will make our lives better or “funner” with an aggressive “must have” pitch. Meanwhile God without pressure offers his hand full of blessings.
2. Readiness to HEED to INSTRUCTIONS (vs. 3-4; 7-8)
The only way we can know what God has in mind for us and what promises he gives to back that plan up is to study his word. Our courage finds its footing in the Bible. Of all the sources of encouragement, the Scripture is the greatest of all sources. When we turn to the Word in our time of discouragement we will discover hope again in these pages.
This is why the LORD says to Joshua, “Be strong and very courageous” and then points to his written Word. His Word is intrinsically powerful and is able to produce godly change in us. It is the way in which God is able to speak to us. It is not a quick fix; there is no magic pill in picking up your Bible and reading a few verses. But over a process of time as we pore over his truths we come to know God and discern how he works. The key is “time spent.”
To Joshua God gives three warnings in this regard:
• “Be careful” – God warns against the danger of putting off time spent in the Bible. He urges Joshua to observe and carefully investigate God’s commands regularly.
• “Obey all the law” – We don’t get to pick and choose what parts of the Bible we will observe and what parts we will ignore. We have to obey the whole counsel of God.
• “Do not turn from it” – This is a strong call to consider Scripture as the objective standard we live by and our guard against moral relativity (or deciding for ourselves what is right and wrong).
Then the LORD tells Joshua what to do with the Scriptures:
• “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth” – Talk about it. Let it occupy your conversation with friends and family. If we occupy our mind with God’s thoughts and ways through our conversation we will be less likely to forget God.
• “Meditate on it day and night” – Think about it constantly. If we are going to talk about it and apply it, we must know it and see how it applies to life.
• “Be careful to do everything written in it” – Put it into practice. How we conduct our lives ought to be governed by God’s truth. C. S. Lewis wrote, “Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality.” To do what the Word says we need courage. It takes courage to love, forgive, to sacrifice, to count the cost, and to follow Jesus.
A. W. Tozer said we are like leaky vessels. We fill up on the Word and think we are “good” for a while but in reality we are leaking constantly and in need of constant filling. This is the danger with summer holidays: we think we have done our church “bit” and are entitled to time away from the regular schedule. Granted we need to take a break from some things, but the danger is that we are tempted to forget God. It all leaks away and we don’t even realize how hungry we are for God.
If we are going to find courage to face our world of negative influences and pressures we need to rehearse God’s principles for life. Courage comes from knowing God’s Word.
3. Readiness to be FEARLESS (vs. 5-6; 9)
Remember the people of Jericho? They were defeated by their fear before the children of Israel even approached their walls. If we let fear get the best of us we are beaten before the battle even begins.
Instead, if we remember that God is with us we will have courage to face the day. Psalm 27:1 declares, “The LORD is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid.” There is a verse to meditate upon.
God is present. The LORD told Joshua he would never leave him nor forsake him (1:5). Jesus also bore the prophetic name “Immanuel” which means “God with us” and concluded the gospel of Matthew saying, “And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
Just like Joshua, we need to be “strong and courageous” ... actually “strong and very courageous.” Joshua had the job of leading the people of Israel into the “promised land” in Canaan – quite a responsibility, so he indeed would have to be very courageous. This hefty task of Joshua’s would involve some danger, but most challengingly, this would mean leading a large number of people towards a common goal. This would be enough to scare anyone!
Whatever you are facing today, tomorrow or in the near future, you do not face it alone. God is with you. We may feel like God is very far away, but as someone once said, it is in those times that God is so near to you that he has to whisper. Wherever you go God goes with you. That is a promise to rest in and breathe a sigh of relief.
‘Strength of character’ means that a person has great integrity, that their words and actions are consistent; and it also means that such strength and integrity will be impressive to those who observe it, and will thus exert worthy influence. This will lead to one being able to endure difficulties and set-backs. ‘Strength of character’ will require a good foundation – and we know the firmest of foundations for life is having Jesus Christ as Savior.
After instructing Joshua, God wanted to see whether he would trust Him and remain fearless no matter what storms or challenges came his way. He wanted to test him and see whether Joshua would walk in blind faith or walk by sight.
Application: How is God speaking to us – in what areas of our life might God be addressing us?
Often what holds us back from exercising courage is the baggage we still carry from the past. This allows fear, the enemy of faith, to persist. It is not inevitable that we have to continue to carry that baggage, those hurts, disappointments and that dull pain for the rest of our lives – for Jesus came into our life to deal with these issues ... he just needs to be given access to them.
However, I have noticed that people often go on carrying their baggage when help is actually close at hand. Why is this? It is because sometimes the reality, even a dark reality, has become such a regular life companion that it is hard to imagine life a different way.
Adoniram Judson was a great missionary. He once said about serving God, and success: "There is no success without sacrifice. If you succeed without sacrifice it is because someone has suffered before you. If you sacrifice without success it is because someone will succeed after."
