In an episode from the classic 1960’s TV series, The Andy Griffith Show, Andy Taylor, the sheriff of Mayberry, is out of town. His deputy, Barney Fife, is in charge, and he has deputized the local mechanic, named Gomer. The two deputies are walking down the street one evening when they notice that someone is robbing the town's bank. Very much afraid, they hide behind a car and don't know what to do. Finally, Gomer looks at Barney and says excitedly, “Shazam! We need to call the police.”
In utter exasperation, Barney shoots back: “We are the police!” (Stephen Mansfield, Mansfield's Book of Manly Men, Nelson, 2013, page 12; www.PreachingToday.com)
As we look around our world, we see the evil and it scares some of us. We don’t know what to do, and we think somebody ought to do something. Then we realize that God has called US to do something. “WE are the police,” so to speak.
Jesus said to His followers: “You are the salt… You are the light” in a dark and decaying world (Matthew 5:13-16).
Claude Alexander, bishop of The Park Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, says this to believers everywhere:
There are questions that beg to be answered. There are dilemmas to be overcome. There are gaps to be filled, and the challenge is for you to fill them… There is a purpose for your being here. You are meant to answer something, solve something, provide something, lead something, discover something, compose something, write something, say something, translate something, interpret something, sing something, create something, teach something, preach something, bear something, overcome something, and in doing so, you improve the lives of others under the power of God, for the glory of God. (Claude Alexander, "Can You Do Any Better?" Sermon, PreachingToday.com)
The call is clear for every believer in Christ: Do something with God’s power for God’s glory!
The only thing many of us lack is the courage to answer the call. Joshua, Moses’ successor in the Old Testament, found himself in a similar predicament. Moses had just died and now Joshua is in charge. God has called Joshua to lead the Israelites into the Promised land, to conquer all their enemies, and to possess all that God has given them.
It’s a huge, scary task, but God says to Joshua no less than four times: “Be strong and courageous.” “Be strong and courageous” as you face the task ahead. “Be strong and courageous” as you conquer evil in this world. “Be strong and courageous” as you answer My call on your life.
The question is how. How do we find the courage to do what God has called us to do? How do we become brave enough to do something about the evil in our world? How do we gain a holy boldness to be salt and light in a dark and decaying culture? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Joshua 1, Joshua 1, where God shows Joshua and us how to find the courage to do His will.
Joshua 1:1-6 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. 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. 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. (ESV)
God reminds Joshua of the promises He made to Abraham, Jacob, and Moses – the promise of land (Genesis 15:18; Exodus 23:31) and the promise of His presence (Genesis 28:15; Deut. 31:6). Then, based on those promises, God says, “Be strong and courageous.” My dear friends, if you want to find the courage to do what God calls you to do, first of all…
TRUST IN THE PROMISES OF GOD.
Rely on what God has pledged to do for you. Depend on the Lord’s infallible Word.
God promised Joshua possession of the Promised Land, His power, and His presence. And God promises the same kind of things to you and me who believe!
1 Peter 1 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, he has caused us to be born again… to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:3-5).
That’s the promise of an imperishable possession, much better than the Promised Land. And that’s the promise of God’s power to guard us until we take possession of that imperishable inheritance.
More than that, in Hebrews 13 we have the promise of God’s presence, where God says to believers today the same thing He said to Joshua, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).
With the promise of an imperishable possession, God’s unlimited power, and God’s eternal presence, how can we NOT be bold to do His will? All we have to do is believe His promises and rely on His Word.
Michael Plant had a lot of passion and some experience sailing around the world. For his third trip around the world, he designed and built a $650,000 sailboat called the Coyote. It had a lightweight, fiberglass-coated, foam-core-hull, which made it very fast. He equipped his sailboat with the latest technology, and on October 16, 1992, Plant launched from New York and headed across the Atlantic toward France. It was the beginning of a 24,000-mile, four-month race. Then, not long into the trip, Plant began to experience some trouble. No one heard anything from him for several days until a passing Russian freighter picked up his transmission on October 21.
“I have no power,” Plant communicated, “but I'm working on the problem.” He ended the transmission with his only request: “Tell [my fiancé] not to worry.” That was the last direct communication anyone ever had with Plant. After 32 days, the crew of a Greek tanker spotted the Coyote on a Sunday morning. It was drifting upside down, and there was no sign of Plant.
The mast, with its sail still fully open, plunged some 85 feet into the frigid waters. The hull was intact. The keel was vertical, and it exposed the fatal problem: the 8400-pound lead keel bulb that weighted the boat had been sheared off. Was it a rogue whale that did it, sea garbage, or just a faulty build? To this day, no one knows what damaged the boat, but without the weight of the ballast, the small boat was useless against the crosscurrents and high winds of the open seas. That weight in the lowest part would give the sailboat stability and balance in the rough seas. Without it, the boat became top-heavy and was easily overpowered by the angry ocean. (Wayne Cordeiro, Doing Church as a Team, Regal, 2009, pp. 79-80; www.PreachingToday.com)
In the same way, your faith in God’s promises provides stability and balance in the rough seas of life. When you believe God’s Word, you don’t have to fear an angry world. Instead, you find the courage to face anything life throws your way.
Gordon MacDonald talks about beginning his final year at Stony Brook School in New York in the fall of 1956. It was a boys' college preparatory school, and among the required courses that last year was Senior Bible, taught by the school's headmaster, Dr. Frank E. Gaebelein. He required his students to memorize 300 verses of Scripture over the course of that year. If he met a student on the pathway from the class room to the dining hall, he might say, “Gordon, give me John 13:34 please,” and He expected his students to recite the verse from memory without faltering.
One of the passages he assigned for memorization was Psalm 46. For days his students memorized, recited, memorized, recited until Psalm 46 was part of them. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea….”
In the spring of 1957, Senior Bible ended. Gordon MacDonald put his index cards away, graduated from Stony Brook, and went off to college. Occasionally, he returned to Psalm 46; and as a pastor, he preached on it a few times.
Then, 56 years later, his doctor called him and said, “Gordon, I have some difficult news for you. There's a tumor in the back of your head in the lining of the brain. It is not malignant, but it will have to come out.” As a pastor, Gordon MacDonald spent his whole life helping other people face doctor-call moments like these. Now it was his turn, and the very first thing that began to surge through his mind was: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble period. Therefore, will not we fear, though the earth be removed….”
Gordon MacDonald said at the time, “When I was a teenager, a brilliant and godly man pumped my friends and me full of Scripture. But now his effort is paying off. Thanks to Dr. Gaebelein and Psalm 46, I may be concerned and cautious, but I am not inclined to be fearful. (Gordon MacDonald, "When the Doctor Calls," Leadership Journal Online, August 2013; www.PreachingToday.com)
Do you want to find that kind of courage? Then trust in the promises of God. Second…
OBEY THE PRECEPTS OF GOD, as well.
Live your life according to God’s Word, and do what he tells you to do. That’s God’s charge to Joshua.
Joshua 1:7 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. (ESV)
Literally, so that you may act wisely wherever you go. You see, the one who obeys God’s law demonstrates true wisdom. That is to say he or she lives life skillfully and well.
Joshua 1:8 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 good success. (ESV)
Don’t let God’s Word depart from your mouth – i.e., constantly talk about it. Meditate on it day and night – i.e., constantly think about it – so you can DO what it says. You see, it’s not enough just to talk about the Bible. It’s not even enough just to think about the Bible. You must do what it says to enjoy “good success” or the skill of living life well.
That’s God’s charge to Joshua, and that’s God’s charge to every believer. James 1 says, “Be DOERS of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22). Such a one, James says, “will be blessed in his doing” (James 1:25). When you practice God’s Word, you prosper in life. That is to say, you find the courage to fulfill God’s call on your life.
Five years ago (May 2013) in Woolwich, England, two Islamic extremists attacked a British soldier and hacked him to death with a machete. It was a gruesome crime that made headlines around the world. The two terrorists intended to have a standoff when the police arrived, evidently planning to kill more police officers before killing themselves.
Amid this potentially explosive scene, Ingrid Loyau-Kennett, a 48-year-old “Cub Scout mom,” was passing by in public bus number 53. At first, she saw the body in the street and thought someone needed lifesaving measures. So she hopped off the bus, knelt down, felt no pulse, and then realized the men who had attacked him were still there, eyeing her.
Ingrid described what happened next:
I started to talk to him and I started to notice more weapons and the guy behind him with more weapons as well. By then, people had started to gather around. So I thought OK, I should keep him talking to me before he noticed everything around him. I said, “Right now it is only you versus many people, you are going to lose, what would you like to do?” and he said I would like to stay and fight.
She remained calm and undeterred when one of them told her they were hoping to start a war in London. At one point she even tried to persuade one of the attackers to hand his weapon over to her. Eventually the police arrived, and they were able to arrest the men and take them into custody.
Ms. Loyau-Kennett's bravery became a quick story on the Internet, but the press failed to mention the main motive for her courage. In a later interview she said, “I live my life as a Christian. I believe in thinking about others and loving thy neighbor. We all have a duty to look after each other.” (Craig Gross, Go Small, Thomas Nelson 2014, pp. 133-134; www.PreachingToday.com)
Her commitment to living out the principles of God’s Word gave her the courage to stand against evil. And your commitment to practicing God’s Word will do the same for you. If you want to find the courage to fulfill God’s calling on your life, 1st, trust in the promises of God; 2nd, obey the precepts of God; and 3rd…
REST IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD.
Relax in the knowledge that He is with you always. Find comfort in His company. That’s how God encourages Joshua. He says to Joshua…
Joshua 1:9 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.” (ESV)
God says to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of the task ahead, because I will be with you wherever you go.” And that’s how God encourages every believer. In Matthew 28, Jesus says to His followers, “Go… and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). Now, that’s a huge, scary task, but Jesus assures His followers, “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Christ’s company gives us the courage to carry out His Great Commission.
Two years ago (November 2016), Mel Gibson produced a movie about the true story of Private First-Class Desmond T. Doss, called Hacksaw Ridge. Doss had won the Congressional Medal of Honor despite refusing to bear arms during WWII on religious grounds. He was a Christian who wouldn't touch a weapon or work on the Sabbath. Even so, he enlisted in the Army as a combat medic because he believed in the cause. He had vowed not to kill, so the Army wanted nothing to do with him. His fellow soldiers considered him a pest, questioned his sincerity, and threw shoes at him while he prayed. Doss' commanding officer, Capt. Jack Glover, tried to get him transferred. In a documentary based on Doss' life, Glover says Doss told him, “Don't ever doubt my courage because I will be right by your side saving life while you take life.”
At Okinawa in the spring of 1945, Doss' company faced a grueling task: Climb a steep, jagged cliff—sometimes called Hacksaw Ridge—to a plateau where thousands of heavily armed Japanese soldiers were waiting for them. The terrain was treacherous. Under a barrage of gunfire and explosions, Doss crawled on the ground from wounded soldier to wounded soldier. He dragged severely injured men to the edge of the ridge, tied a rope around their bodies and lowered them down to other medics below. In the documentary, Doss says: “I was praying the whole time. I just kept praying, ‘Lord, please help me get one more.’” Veteran Carl Bentley, who was also at Hacksaw Ridge, once said, “It's as if God had his hand on [Doss'] shoulder. It's the only explanation I can give.”
Pfc. Desmond T. Doss saved 75 men—including his captain, Jack Glover—over a 12-hour period. The same soldiers who had shamed him now praised him. “He was one of the bravest persons alive,” Glover says in the documentary. “And then to have him end up saving my life was the irony of the whole thing.” (Elizabeth Blair, "The Real 'Hacksaw Ridge' Soldier Saved 75 Souls Without Ever Carrying A Gun," NPR Morning Edition, 11-4-16; www.PreachingToday.com)
God’s presence gave Doss the courage to save a lot of people in a battle on Hacksaw Ridge, and God’s presence will give you the courage to save people from hell in a battle for their souls. If you only knew who was with you, you would not be afraid to share His love with those who so desperately need it. You would not be afraid to introduce them to Christ, to help them grow in Christ, and to equip them to serve Christ.
You see, that’s every believer’s calling: “Go… and make disciples.” Do you need the courage to fulfill that calling? Then 1st, trust in the promises of God; 2nd, obey the precepts of God; 3rd, rest in the presence of God; and finally…
RECEIVE SUPPORT FROM THE PEOPLE OF GOD.
Don’t go it alone! Instead, enlist the help of other believers and fight the battle together. Encourage each other in the task to which God has called all of us.
That’s what Joshua does. Up until this point, God has been encouraging Joshua. Now, Joshua encourages the people to fulfill their calling.
Joshua 1:10-11 And Joshua commanded the officers of the people, “Pass 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 to possess.’” (ESV)
40 years before this, they left slavery in Egypt to take the land God had promised to their forefathers 400 years before that. Now, the land is before them, and Joshua says, “Get ready to take it!”
They’re on the east side of the Jordan River with the Promised Land on the west side. 2½ of the tribes of Israel had decided to settle on the east side, but Joshua charges the men of those tribes to leave their wives and children behind and go into the Promised Land with the rest of them.
Joshua 1:12-15 And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh Joshua said, “Remember the word that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, ‘The LORD your God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land.’ Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land that Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but all the men of valor among you shall pass over armed before your brothers and shall help them, until the LORD gives rest to your brothers as he has to you, and they also take possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession and shall possess it, the land that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise.” (ESV)
They can return to their wives and children on the east side of the Jordan AFTER they help their brothers take the land on the west side. You see, they’re in this together, and together they must conquer and possess the land God gave them. How do they respond?
Joshua 1:16-18 And they answered Joshua, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may the LORD your God be with you, as he was with Moses! Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.” (ESV)
Three times God told Joshua, “Be strong and courageous.” Now, the people tell him the same thing. We’ll follow your lead, they say, “only be strong and courageous.”
Joshua receives tremendous support from the people of God, which gives him great courage. And you must do the same to find the courage to fulfill your calling. Enlist the help of other believers and encourage each other in the task to which God has called all of us.
Hebrews 10 says, “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:24-25).
Encourage one another, especially as the days get harder right before Christ’s Second Coming.
In his book Glorious Mess, Mike Howerton describes two of his high school football coaches, who had two different ways to motivate the team. They were Coach Crow and Coach Rush, who gave two very different “pep talks” during halftime if the team was losing.
Coach Crow would come in growling, spitting disdain in his words: “What a bunch of losers. Whaddya say let's get your girlfriends suited up; they'd do a better job. Your flimsy arm-tackles make me wanna puke. I'm gonna go look for some diapers for you babies to wear in the second half; maybe then you won't embarrass yourselves so bad.” He'd leave, and absolute silence would descend, virtually no sound except for the muffled sobs of Monty, their kicker, in the corner.
Then their defensive head coach, Coach Rush, would come in. He'd look each of them in the eyes with his steely glint. When he began to speak, Howerton says, “You could feel strength flow into your limbs.” He would begin with something like this, measured, masculine, and building in intensity: “I don't see high school students. I see lions. This locker room is filled with lions. A bunch of lions is called a pride. A pride of lions hunts together. A pride of lions kills together… Lions are majestic to behold… Lions are the kings of the land, and this is your land. You are the pride here. But there's one thing I haven't heard you lions do tonight. I haven't heard you roar. Now we're gonna go out there… and everyone in this two-bit town is gonna hear you roar because you are LIONS and LIONS ROAR!” Then the team would erupt in an ear-splitting roar (even Monty), because they weren't seniors or juniors; they were LIONS and LIONS ROAR, and they’d go out to inevitable victory.
When Coach Rush died unexpectedly a few years later, he was so loved that there was a motion to name the stadium after him. (Mike Howerton, Glorious Mess, Thomas Nelson, 2012, pp. 144-145; www.PreachingToday.com)
When life gets hard and you feel like a loser, you don’t need critics; you need people who will encourage you; you need people to remind you of who you are in Christ and motivate you to BE who you are. So surround yourself with such people, and find the courage to fulfill your calling.
Bruce Larson, in his book Wind and Fire, talks about sandhill cranes. He says: “These large birds, who fly great distances across continents, have three remarkable qualities.
“First, they rotate leadership. No one bird stays out in front all the time.
“Second, they choose leaders who can handle turbulence.
“And then, all during the time one bird is leading, the rest are honking their affirmation.”
That’s not a bad model for the church. We certainly need leaders who can handle turbulence… But most of all, we need a church where we all are honking encouragement” (Bible Illustrator #2075, 7/1988.28)
If you want to find the courage to fulfill your calling, trust in the promises of God; obey the precepts of God; rest in the presence of God; and receive support from the people of God.
Billy Graham once said, “Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are stiffened.” (Harold Myra and Marshall Shelley, The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham, Zondervan, 2005; www.PreachingToday.com)
So take a stand especially in our day and age. Be strong and courageous to fulfill your calling, and others will stand with you.
