COURAGE IN THE MIDST OF CRISIS
Deuteronomy 31:6 (KJV) 6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
INTRODUCTION:
There is a story of a family whose house caught fire. As each parent tried to grab a few belongings and a child’s hand to get out of the house as quickly as possible, the little daughter who was holding the father’s hand, broke free from his grip and ran upstairs to get her teddy bear. However, when trying to come down again, she found that she was trapped by the enveloping flames. She therefore, ran to the upstairs window and shouted for her father’s help. The father shouted back to her ‘jump down honey, I will catch you’. However, since she couldn’t see her father clearly through the smoke, the little girl cried, ‘I’m scared to jump daddy, I can’t see you’. Her father replied, ‘don’t worry honey, you just jump. I’m right under you and I will catch you. Although you can’t see me, I can see you’.
Our heavenly Father sees us at all times. He will never desert us!
I wonder how many times you have been let down by someone? There are many people who promise us that they will stand by us, no matter what comes our way no matter the crisis. They say, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll be right behind you’. However, when the crisis hits, many of them are so far behind that you can’t see them, even with a telescope!
Listen, Today, I would like to share about a God who never deserts us no matter the crisis! He has said, Hebrews 13:5 (KJV) 5 … I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
In fact He does not say He will be right behind us, but He says I will go with thee, He will not fail thee nor forsake thee.
There are occasions when a person needs to be stirred to arise and carry out his duties. At times, the person needs strong encouragement. At other times, the same person needs a strong warning. He needs to be warned of the consequences of his behavior in order to stir him into action.
Are you a believer? Are you a soldier of the Cross? Are you willing to be delivered, strengthened, emboldened, and commanded? Are you willing to be strong and courageous? Are you willing to not be afraid or terrified? Are you willing to follow God’s Leader into and changing new era?
Certainly these are changing times. Filled with unprecedented happenings. We have never done this before. But neither had the children of Israel. We Need Courage In The Midst of Crisis!
WHAT IS COURAGE?
1. Courage is grace under pressure
2. Courage is fear that has said its prayers – Karl Barth
3. Courage is doing what you are afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you are afraid. – Eddie Rickenbacker
4. Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway. - John Wayne
Dictionary.com Unabridged - Cite This Source - cour•age - noun
1. the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery.
2. have the courage of one’s convictions, to act in accordance with one’s beliefs, esp. in spite of criticism.
Biblical Examples of Courage
1. Moses before the Pharaoh
2. David as he faced down Goliath
3. Abigail as she saved the entire household of Nabal
4. Esther when she went before the king to save the Jews
5. Peter and John as they stood before the Sanhedrin
Adrian Rogers tells about the man who bragged that he had cut off the tail of a man-eating lion with his pocket knife. Asked why he hadn’t cut off the lion’s head, the man replied: “Someone had already done that.”
LET’S SET THE STAGE
The Israelites needed both the charge of encouragement and a strong warning. Moses, the dear servant of God, was aged—now 120 years old. He was soon to pass from the scene. These are the last days of his life upon earth.
The Israelites must be encouraged in their faith, encouraged to hang on to the hope of the promised land, to complete a journey none of them had ever been on before, to hang on to the wonderful inheritance to be given them by God. Moreover, there are some practical matters that the people must handle before Moses leaves them.
The mantle of leadership is to be passed on to Joshua, so a commissioning service must be held. Also, the "Book of the Law" needs to be entrusted into the hands of the nation's leadership. A special worship service also needs to be established for the reading and learning of the law. So much to be done in so little time.
Sounds like some of the changes we are experiencing. There is a change in leadership. None of us as pastors have lead through a pandemic before. This is new territory to us. But we are commissioned to lead and lead we will with God’s help and direction.
We need to get and stay in the Word of God. Even though we are not gathering like we are use to, we are called to a special time and kind of worship. But we must also stay in the word privately and not just corporately.
Keep in mind that Moses, this dear aged servant of God, was one of the greatest men of human history, not only in the minds of men, but also in the estimation of God. Moses was one of the two men who appeared with God's own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, on the mount of transfiguration.
When this passage begins some of the final words of Moses to the people of God: a message for people of all generations.
Note that he gives five strong charges of encouragement and a strong warning to the people of God: The Final Preparations for Entering the Promised Land: Five Strong Charges of Encouragement and Warning, 31:1-29.
1. The charge and strong encouragement given to the people (v.1-6).
2. The charge and encouragement given to Joshua: the commissioning service to appoint him as the new leader (v.7-8).
3. The charge given to the leaders and priests, the ministers of God: to read and teach the law (v.9-13).
4. The charge of God to Moses and Joshua (v.14-23).
5. The final charge by God's servant to the Levites (ministers) (v.24-29).
1. (31:1-6) Charge, to Be Strong and Courageous— Strong,— Courageous,— Fearless,— Encouragement, The Source— The Presence, of God, Assurance of God, and God's Guidance: a strong charge and encouragement was given to the people by the aged servant of God. Moses had summoned all the people together, and now he was about to address them, knowing that his days upon earth were rapidly drawing to a close. This is a touching scene, for it is the picture of an aged leader spending his last days upon earth with the dear people he loved so much. For 40 years he had led the Israelites, living with them day in and day out and struggling with them through all the trials and temptations of life. He had personally experienced the mighty hand of God using him to deliver the people out of Egyptian slavery. He had walked hand in hand with the people for forty years, suffering through the wilderness wanderings. He had experienced both victory and defeat with the people, and he knew that they were basically a stubborn and stiff-necked people toward God. Nevertheless, this aged servant loved his dear people, the Israelites. What would he say to them in one of his final hours with them?
1.) Moses declared that his death was rapidly approaching (Deut. 31:2). He was soon to go home to be with the Lord. This he knew, for he was 120 years old. But there was another fact that the people needed to know: he was forbidden by God to enter the promised land. Why? Because years before he had disobeyed God and shown arrogance before the people at the waters of Meribah. The Israelites had to camp at Meribah, a place where there was little or no water. As a result, they began to grumble and complain, even to the point of threatening the life of Moses. But in mercy, God stepped forth and instructed Moses to gather the people before a particular rock. There Moses was to speak to the rock before the very eyes of the people, and water would come gushing out of the rock. However, in anger and hostility toward the people, Moses began to speak to the people and not to the rock, accusing the people of being rebels. Displaying a shameful arrogance, he failed to give God the full credit and honor for producing the water: he claimed that it was both he and God who had provided the miracle for the people. This was a disobedience and arrogance that God could not accept, for the evil was committed in a public meeting right before the people. As a result, God had to chastise His dear servant. He was barred from ever entering the promised land.
Moses was heartbroken. No doubt, every time he thought about or had to mention his chastisement, it cut him to the core. But now, it was time to get the point across to his dear people, for they were soon to cross the Jordan.
40 years earlier they began to learn the lesson that disobedience to God has consequences.
Note also though that God had not thrown away his leader Moses because of his failure. He continued to use him even until his death.
Note: Pray for your leaders. Pray for their courage and their obedience to the Lord and don’t write them off when they make mistakes, because we will. But we will strive to follow the Lord and do His will.
2.) Moses knew that the people must be encouraged. God Himself would be with them. They could rest assured of His presence and guidance (Deut. 31:3-5). In fact, the Lord would actually cross over ahead of them and do three wonderful things for them:
a. God would lead the Israelites and destroy the enemies of the promised land. The people could rest assured that they would secure the land promised by God (Deut. 31:3).
b. God would raise up a new leader, Joshua, to take the place of Moses (Deut. 31:3). God would not leave the people stranded, without leadership. He would give them a very capable leader, a man who had already proven himself:
? as a military leader (Exodus 17:9-16)
? as a spy (Numbers 13:1-16)
? as a leader of strong faith, decision, obedience, and courage, standing up for the truth—even against all odds (Numbers 14:6-9)
Joshua had been prepared for leadership as much as a person could be. The people could rest assured in his guidance, for they had witnessed the proof of his leadership for years.
c. God would give total and complete victory over all the enemies of His people (Deut. 31:4). Moses declares that the Lord will give the very same kind of victory He had given over the Amorites, over King Sihon and Og (Deut. 31:4).
We can look to the past courage of and victory of God in His faithfulness and know that He is still the same today in the new struggles we face today.
The people had every right to stand encouraged. They had the wonderful promise of God's presence and guidance, the promise of a new leader, and the glorious promise of complete victory over all enemies who stood before them. This was the strong encouragement the aged servant of God, facing the final days of his ministry, gave to his dear people.
Know this, God will never leave us the midst of changing circumstances - (Deut 31: 1-8)
2. Now, he gave them a very straightforward charge: be strong and courageous (Deut. 31:6)! As you march into the promised land, do not fear nor be terrified by the enemies who oppose you. The Lord your God will be with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you.
Note that the people's strength and courage would not come from the power of their armed forces nor from their own abilities and strategies to conquer the enemy. On the contrary, their strength and courage would come from God Himself. This is a strong charge for the people to be focused upon God, not upon the enemy; to be focused upon trusting God for victory instead of the arm of the flesh. They were to believe and have confidence in God, in His presence and power.
Oh how often we forget and focus on our problems and how big they are. (Remember the giants of the Land) But my friend let me remind you, Instead of telling God how big our problems are, let us tell our problem how big and how faithful our God is.
As we march through life, through this pandemic toward the promised land of heaven, the one thing we want is a full and victorious life. We want to experience all the abundance of life, walking triumphantly through all the trials and temptations and crisis of life that confront us. Simply stated, we want fullness of life and victory over all the enemies that attempt to defeat us, we want courage in the face of crisis, to overcome our enemies such as...
• accidents
• abuse
• lawlessness
• drug addiction
• unemployment
• disease
• mistreatment
• violence• death
• financial difficulty
• broken relationships
• anger
• immorality
• war
The enemies that confront and attempt to defeat us are innumerable. The crisis we face are giant challenges. But victory over all enemies can be attained. The power to conquer each one is at our disposal. We can be victorious throughout life and experience the fullness of life. This is the promise of God. The same charge and encouragement given to the Israelites is applicable to us. Note what Scripture says:
1) We must be strong and courageous. We must not fear nor be terrified by the enemies who confront us throughout life.
Joshua 23:6 (KJV) 6 Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left;
2) We can be strong and courageous because of God's presence and guidance. As we face the crisis of this world, God will be with us and never forsake us.
Genesis 28:15 (KJV) 15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
Isaiah 43:2 (KJV) 2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
NOW WE CONCLUDE WITH THIS CHARGE TO THE LEADERSHIP!
Deuteronomy 31:7-8 (KJV) 7 And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it. 8 And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.
As leadership our charge is strong and clear!
1.) Lead the people of God faithfully.
2.) Be divinely led, fearlessly trusting in the Lord.
CONCLUSION:
Amidst all of the uncertainty and in the midst of this crisis, there are two things we can be certain of: first, God goes ahead of you and second, the mission hasn’t changed.
How can we have Courage in the midst of Crisis?
1. Defeat The Cisis through Scripture
Reading the Word will bring wisdom.
The reading of the Word brings comfort!
2. Defeat The Crisis through Prayer
3. Defeat The Crisis By Believing in God!
Joshua believed God was all powerful
Joshua believed God always keeps His Promises
Joshua believed God would always be with him
Have courage in the midst of crisis and face the future with hope.
The boy sobbed, "But Dad, I want my ball..."
"You can play with your ball," I said, "but you’ll have to go downstairs and get it yourself" Now the tears flowed.
Tony’s playroom held the stuffed animals, toys, and games that four-year-old love. He spent hours there. But to turn on the basement light, you had to descend the darkened stairway, step into the shadowy playroom, then reach for the light switch.
"Tony," I said. "You know what’s in the playroom. Everything in there’s the same in the dark as it is in the light."
"B-b-but Dad," he sniffed. "I’m s-s-scared of the dark."
"Okay," I said. "I’ll stay at the top of the stairs so you can hear my voice while you go down. How’s that sound?" A grin replaced Tony’s tears.
He got up and bravely started down the stairs. Then, partway down into the darkness, I heard him hesitate. "Dad?" he called out. "Yes, Tony?" "Nothing." Seconds later the light was on, and Tony was happily throwing a Nerf basketball through a hoop.
Simply knowing his father was nearby gave him the courage to face and overcome his fear of the darkness.
"I’d rather walk with God in the darkness of crisis than go alone in the world’s light; I’d rather walk with Him by faith than walk alone by sight." - Mary Brainard
God will give you courage to face and overcome your crisis and fears of the darkness.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
