4.30.22 Joshua 1:9 - Confirmation Sermon
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
These words were spoken to Joshua after Moses had died. Be strong and courageous. He repeated them three times in four verses. Be strong and courageous. Against what? Well, Joshua was leading the Israelites into the Promised Land that was inhabited by strong and powerful people in fortified cities. The Canaanites weren’t just going to roll over and say, “Here, come on in!” The Israelites had already chickened out once, and God didn’t want it to happen again. Joshua also had to lead the Israelites who tended to be very stubborn and rebellious. They didn’t want to be told what to do. Years ago some of their fathers had gathered against Moses and tried to kill him. Joshua needed courage to stand up against them as well.
So you chose this as your confirmation verse. I’m glad you did. One of the biggest temptations and problems people have with their faith is when they think that God should make things EASY for them. They end up losing their faith because of false expectations. God NEVER said it would be easy. So I’m glad you chose this verse, because you too recognize that this isn’t going to be an easy thing, being strong. Why?
The devil is cunning. He hates you. As time goes on and we grow closer to Judgment Day, he is gaining more and more freedom. He is looking for ways to drag you into hell. He knows your weaknesses. He knows what appeals to your sinful nature. He loves to intimidate you and make you scared. He thrives on fear. You’re going to need strength and courage to fight against him.
You will also need strength because your own sinful nature is weak. You know how easy it is to fall into temptation, and there’s a part of you that wants to be weak and likes to be lazy. Life seems easier if you just go with the flow and do whatever your sinful nature wants you to do and your classmates will want you to do. The temptations are similar in every age, they are just easier to get to now.
I’m sure that alcohol and marijuana will be appealing to some of you. They will loosen your inhibitions and promise you fun times. They will give you stories to tell. Someone wants YOU at the party, and you won’t want to miss out. It will take courage to say “no.”
It will be easy to find temporary sexual gratification online or without commitment. It takes strength to fight the temptation and rather establish a relationship through communication and trust, not giving yourself over to your desires before God’s time.
It will take no work at all for you to sleep in on a Sunday morning and stop coming to worship. You’ll think, “I’m fine.” It will take strength to say to yourself, “God deserves my praise. I need His word and sacrament. I’m going to make this a priority.” This is going to be hard for some of you, because your own parents haven’t been coming regularly.
I could go on and on. Life doesn’t get any easier no matter how old you are. But yes, it is going to take STRENGTH for you to fight against your own laziness and sin. This is a good verse. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.
But here’s the thing, telling someone to be strong and courageous doesn’t make them strong. Joining a gym doesn’t just give you strength. When you do strength training, you have to repetitively lift weights day after day, increasing a little bit at a time. It helps to have a trainer and a regimen, but you also have to follow the trainer’s advice. Courage also doesn’t always come naturally. I don’t like confrontation. Most of us don’t.
You might see a similarity in your spiritual growth. I can tell you to be strong and courageous. Sometimes it helps to surround yourself with strong and courageous people. It can help you when you are afraid to see their strength and courage. It can encourage you. But that doesn’t guarantee that you will be strong and courageous.
Think about this confirmation day, vowing to be faithful for the rest of your life. Taking a vow doesn’t give you the ability to keep it. Wanting it or joining a church doesn’t achieve it either. It is good that you want it. It is good that you are vowing to be faithful. God has given you that desire, but that is only the beginning of the battle. He is going to have to give you the strength and courage as well. But He doesn’t just magically pour it into your soul. He doesn’t say, “Oh, they made the vow? Let’s give them courage and strength. Here you go!”
I think of Elijah in his ministry. He had strong and courageous moments, but he also had weaknesses. The same happened with David and Peter. So it sometimes takes trial and error. It comes through sin and confession, going to God back after the failure, to come to grips with who you are and who He is before the strength and courage start to come. It’s ironic how Paul put it, “When I’m weak, then I’m strong.”
When the Israelites finally got into the Promised Land, the battle wasn’t over. In some senses it was going to be even more difficult. They’d let down their guard and get lazy. Many of them completely failed. They didn’t have strength and courage. But some did.
The same is true with you. You aren’t going to a Promised Land as of yet. Most of you have chosen to go to public school. You won’t have the Word of God as part of your school time routine. You will not have classmates who profess the same faith as you or fight the fight you do. This battle is hard enough in a Christian school, much less a public school. You’ve got to be ready to fight. You will need to be strong. But if a command isn’t enough, then what is it that would give Joshua the strength and you the strength?
Let’s start with this. God said to Joshua in verses 7-8 right prior to this verse, “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” God knew that they would be tempted to adopt the gods of Canaan and the ways of the Canaanites. They would have to fight against that and go back to the Word time and again.
That’s why we had you memorize the Word of God and some of the hymns, so that you STAY in the Word and remember it in times of weakness and temptations. It wasn’t just for TRIVIA purposes. It was to strengthen and save you in Jesus. When I visit someone dying in the hospital, I most often turn to the familiar hymns they’ve been singing from youth, and I SING them to them. These words are memorized so you would know WHO the God is that you are praying to, and WHAT He wants. It is so you know how to approach Him in prayer and what to do when you feel weak.
It’s like in the 80’s movie the Karate Kid. He can’t figure out why Mr. Miagi had him wax his cars. Wax on. Wax off. He demanded answers. Finally, Mr. Miagi attacked the Karate Kid, and his training kicked in without him barely even thinking about it. This is what we want to happen with you in the Word of God and the training you’ve received. You see, God’s word is PRACTICAL. It’s meant to be PRACTICED. So when God TELLS you to do something, He promises BLESSINGS will come from it somehow and in some way, even when you can’t figure it out.
Think of the Third Commandment, “Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy.” You might think, “What good is it going to do me if I do NOTHING?” Yet this is ESSENTIAL to you. For a part of the Sabbath was so that the Israelites would gather around the Word of God that Saturday to thank the LORD for their blessings, give their bodies and minds a rest, and just listen to what God had to say to them and what God had promised them. You would think this would be one of the EASIEST commandments to keep, but it’s not. One of the reasons God took His people away from the Promised Land was because they didn’t take the time to REST and LISTEN to His Word.
When you listen to His Word, it reminds you of who YOU are - a sinner. Born in sin. It keeps you humble. You don’t become entitled brats, thinking that God owes you and acting like the world is over whenever you don’t get what you want. That saves you from a lot of anger in life. God owes you NOTHING.
The Word also points you to Jesus, who took on your sins and paid for your sins. It gives you the rest of knowing that this God paid for your sins. You don’t have to work or suffer for your salvation. Jesus did it for you on the cross. You don’t have to call yourself stupid, drink or drug your way into oblivion because of your guilt and shame. You can take it to Jesus and find full and free forgiveness in Him.
The Word takes you back to your baptism, so that you find your identity in the fact that He adopted you into His family. You don’t have to try to pretend to be someone you’re not. You can be happy with the body God gave you, the life God gave you, the abilities God gave you. You can be thankful for you who are in Christ, His forgiven child. You don’t have to be popular. You don’t have to be great looking. You don’t have to be athletic. You can just be God’s loved child in Christ. You can’t find that anywhere else but in baptism.
And here’s a beautiful thing that God says in today’s text you chose. What is it that really gives us courage? We’re not in this battle alone! Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Peter and Paul were led into prison. They didn’t choose to go there. But God was with them. Seminary or Garber, Central or Western, God will be with you wherever you go, even through the valley of the shadow of death.
Where is God specially with you as in nowhere else on the earth? “Take and eat. This is my body, given for you. Take and drink, this is my blood, shed for you.” Today you receive the Supper for the first time. Hopefully the first of many times. As beggars, you come to the table to receive the body and blood of the Lord. He actually enters you and gives you the very thing He used to forgive your sins. What a privilege! You can come here every week and receive this gift, the presence of God coming into you and bringing with Himself all of His grace and mercy and forgiveness. You can come back week after week and find God right here in the flesh! What a gift!
These GIFTS and PROMISES are what make you STRONG in the faith. You realize you are not alone in this world. You have GOD Himself with you and the Holy Spirit fighting IN you through your baptism, praying for you and strengthening you. You also have God’s angels. You have pastors. You have a church of Christians who love you and want you to succeed. You aren’t alone. You can be courageous in your faith. You don’t have to be scared, because God is going to work out everything for your good.
I think of a young and shy child walking through a crowd. He’s only two years old. He’s not used to strangers. But his mom is carrying him through a group of people, who are all smiling at him and saying hi to him. He buries his head in his mom’s shoulder. He’s afraid to look up. He clings to her all the more. She smiles and laughs. She encourages him. “It’s ok.” And he makes it through. He grows in courage. Over time, he learns to walk on his own.
This is what God is to us in much more dangerous situations. You are being called into a real world with real people and real responsibilities. You weren’t designed to live online. You were designed to go to school, interact with people, speak with people, have a hands on experience. But you aren’t little two year old boys any more. You’re turning into adults. I think of young teenagers who lied on their applications during World War II so they could go to battle against the enemy. The students still in high school would clock in after school to go and work in the factories. They were YOUR age with many more responsibilities. They were able to do it. You are too. You are capable of going into this world, because God is with you. You are going to need Him in high school and on. You don’t have to be a baby about it. Pray to Him. Cling to Him. But BATTLE with Him too. Be willing to fight the battle as well. You’ve had your hand held through life up to this point. God is still going to be with you. But now He wants you to engage with the world as well. Don’t be afraid. You don’t have to be.
You have a God who lived down here in your shoes. He was faithful in ALL God called Him to do. And when He needed God the most from the cross? God abandoned Him! Why? For you and for me, so that we would never be abandoned! He died in the sins that He knew you’d commit. He suffered for them. He came back to life! He promises you, “Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you.”
When someone asks you what you want to be when you grow up, how do you answer? I think of the little drawings and paintings of firefighters and policemen. “How do I know,” right? They’ll be asking it more when you’re in high school. It will be more, “What do you want to do for a living?” God has given you all different gifts and abilities and talents. Some of you will make more than others. Some of you will do more than others. Just be faithful with what God has given you and don’t worry about what others are doing.
In the end, it doesn’t matter to me how much you make or what you do for a living. God will be with you in whatever you choose to do, through your successes and failures. What matters is that you find strength and courage in the Lord Jesus. Keep on fighting against the temptations of this world. Keep on clinging to Christ, and He will be with you and strengthen you no matter where life takes you. It might be difficult, but run the path the Lord lays out for you. Be faithful to Him. He will keep on forgiving you, being merciful to you, and ultimately save you. He will never leave you or forsake you, no matter how difficult life is for you. Let Him be your strength and give you the courage you need. Let Jesus be the answer to God’s command. Amen.
