Turn with me to Joshua chapter one. Tonight we’re going to look at a chapter that’s very familiar to us. But I want to bring out some things in that chapter for a very specific reason because of what the Lord expects of us.
Let’s begin with verse one.
(1) Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying,
When I read this chapter, Joshua it reminds me of being the first chapter of a book on how to win battles because a lot of what we’re going to see in this chapter is a prerequisite, if I may say it that way, to dealing with your battles.
So the first thing we see in first verse one in this chapter is that the Lord spoke to Joshua. Do you know how important that is to be able to hear from the Lord? And that’s the first thing we see in this chapter – Joshua heard from the Lord. Ladies and gentlemen, all of us can hear Him, but we don’t get quiet enough to hear Him. The Bible says Joshua heard the Lord speak.
Now verse two. This is a very, very important verse.
(2) Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.”
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“Joshua, Moses My servant is dead. Joshua, Moses is not coming back.“
Then the Lord says … now therefore arise …
“ Joshua, the children of Israel have spent 30 days weeping and mourning over Moses. It’s time for you to get up and get about your business. It time for you to lead them into the Promised Land.”
During those 30 days, in my mind I could hear the people reminiscing about some of the things that Moses had done: the 10 plagues that got them out of Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, how Aaron and Hur held up his arms as they fought and defeated the Amalekites. I could hear in my mind them telling the stories over and over again.
Moses is dead. Here’s my frame of reference for this. I want us to think about some of the men and women who have gone before us in our lifetime. Alexander Dowie. Kathryn Kuhlman. John G. Lake. William Branham. Smith Wigglesworth. Billy Graham. Oral Roberts. Kenneth Hagin. Dave Roberson.
They were individuals who had healing ministries and had miracles performed in their ministries. Ladies and gentlemen, they are dead. They are dead and just like God told Joshua “Moses is dead. Now therefore arise and get up and lead the people over this Jordan.”that is His message to us today.
Now therefore arise – God is saying this is you. Moses is gone Joshua it’s time for you to arise and take his place Joshua. “Moses’ victories are not your victories.” Are you following where I’m going with this? Just like Joshua had to rise up after Moses’ passed, All of the folks that I just mentioned to you – Alexander Dowie, Kathryn Kuhlman, John G. Lake, William Branham, Smith Wigglesworth, Billy Graham, Oral Roberts, Kenneth Hagin, and our beloved Dave Roberson – that was their victories.
Now we have to rise up, we need to rise up, and experience our own victories.
“Now, therefore, Grace Christian Center, rise up, go over and take your inheritance.” And we know what our inheritance includes right? Healing. Prosperity. Freedom from fear and anxiety. But we have to rise up and what’s the next next word? Go!
I love my pastor. He knows that. But we cannot rest on what our pastor has accomplished. We have to do our jobs. We have to rise up and do what God has planned for us. Well we can’t do that as long as we’re looking Alain, Jamie or Bronc, Gary or Alan. We can’t do that. The Bible says now therefore you arise
In verses three through five, the Lord paints images of victories in Joshua’s mind and on his heart.
(3) Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.
(4) From the wilderness an this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.
(5) There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
That word “stand” means to “station before, to oppose.”
(Illustration)
Lee, come here a minute please. Now I want you to stand in front of me, arms folded and give me a look that says ‘you aren’t getting past me’. The Bible says that no man shall be able to stand before you, no man shall be able to oppose you, no man will be able to face you down in terms of authority. So I’m looking at Lee and Lee is my opponent and the Bible says Lee cannot stand against me, but have to go. I have to move. If I don’t go, Lee can stand there and Lee will be victorious and I would be like a dog with my tail between my legs. Thank you sir.
The promise that God made to Joshua was that no man shall be able to stand before you. Why was this important? Do you remember that Joshua was one of the 12 spies that went to spy out the land, the Promised Land in Numbers 13? Remember how they came back and gave an evil report of the land even though the land was everything that the that the Lord said it would be?
So when the Bible says that two of them came back with an evil report, it’s almost as if they were saying, “You know what? God lied to us. It wasn’t that what we saw wasn’t true. He just didn’t tell us the whole story. He didn’t tell us that there would be fortified cities. He didn’t tell us that there would be giants in the land. He didn’t tell us that there would be great wickedness in the land. God didn’t tell us that. He just said go up and take it. We saw ourselves as grasshoppers in front of them because of how big and how strong and how mean and how ugly they were. And you know something else? When we saw ourselves as grasshoppers, they saw us as grasshopper too.
The two spies, in their minds, had decided that they were already defeated even though the Lord says go up and take the land. I can see why God is once again painting this image of victory and success in Joshua’s mind because that’s the same image of victory and success he would need to have to communicate to the people.
Verse 5 again. “There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”
I have a question. Who is the first person that we must subdue in our lives? This is too a trick question. Us. Barry is the first person that he has to stand before in his life. Until Barry conquers Barry, it’s going to be awfully hard to do anything else beyond that. I can’t remember the cartoon, I think maybe it was Pogo. “We have seen the enemy and he is us.”
The first enemy, the first opponent, that we have to deal with is us – our flesh, our minds, our emotions. We have to deal with us first. Until we take care of that part, we will not be able to do everything else that God wants us to do and we’re going to see this in just a moment.
Verse 5 again. “There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. “
Ladies and gentlemen, in my mind, the phrase “I will be with thee: not fail thee, nor forsake thee” is the whole of the book of Joshua. God has made him and the children of Israel a promise. I will never leave thee. I will never fail thee. I will never forsake thee. Now because God made that promise, look at what it says in verse 6.
(6) Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.
Why can we be strong and of a good courage? Because our Father has said to us I will never leave you. I will never fail you. I will never forsake you. So, ladies and gentlemen, if you have any fear in your life, if you have any discouragement in your life, do you really believe that God will never leave you? Do you really believe that God will never fail you? Do you believe God will never forsake you? If you don’t believe that part, it will be impossible for you to be strong and of a good courage?
Listen, you’re not being strong and of a good courage in your own strength. You are being strong and of a good courage because you are trusting that God will do what He said He will do. There’s a word for that. You guys need to help me out. There’s a word that starts with an F? What is it? Faith!
(5) Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.
“Be strong and of a good courage” – that’s the first time He says this. He says it again in the very next verse.
(6) Only be thou strong and very courageous,
They are getting ready to go up and take a land that when you look at the children of Israel, when you look at who they are and their capabilities, they’ are not ready to go up and take that land in their own strength. God says I will never leave thee, I will never forsake thee and I would never fail thee so you can go up because you are going up with Me.
Ladies and gentlemen, in the battles that you face today, regardless of what those battles are, do you believe that God is with you in those battles? Do you believe that God is going up with you in those battles? Or do you believe you’re going to go up in your own strength, give it your best shot and when things don’t work out call on God for help? That’s the church. They will go up in their own strength and then they will call out to God for help.
Ladies and gentlemen, we don’t have to call for what we already have! Are you following me? Verse 7. Do you see the word only? That’s a word that should make you smile.
“Only be thou strong and very courageous,”
God is telling us, ladies and gentlemen, as He told Joshua, “This is the only thing you have to do. Just be strong and be of good courage. Everything else, I got!”
“Only” – it’s a word that limits responsibility. So, our responsibility as sons and daughters of God is to be strong and very courageous. And why can we do that? I am going to repeat myself. I am going back to verse 5: Because the Lord says I will be with thee. I will not fail thee. I will never forsake thee. And either we believe that ladies and gentlemen or we don’t.
”Only be thou strong and very courageous, [Why do we need to be strong and very courageous?] that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law,
I don’t know how many of you know this, but the Church is not strong and courageous because the Church is not doing all of the commandments of the Lord. So the Church is not strong and courageous because the Church does not understand who their Father is. The Church does not understand how their Father operates. The church does not understand that God gives His Word and He backs His Word up. Psalm 138:2. I love that verse. “Thou hast magnified thy word above thy name.”
And if God says that homosexuality is wrong and you need to stand up against it. Guess what? You need to stand up against it. You need to stand up against it if God says same sex marriage is wrong, but the entire United States believes that it’s okay. Whose report are you going to believe? The Bible says it is wrong. And I’m telling you ladies and gentlemen, until you get to the point that this is what you rest on, that this is what you believe and nothing else matters, you’re not going to inherit your entire promised land.
Hebrew says that Abraham recognized that he was just a Pilgrim on a journey and that this world was not his home, that he was passing through it and that he was doing what God told him to do. We have to get to that same point ladies and gentlemen. We have to come to the point that when God says something, we’re going to be strong and courageous because that is how we will stand and observe to do the things that God wants us to do. When we can be strong and courageous because we know that He will never leave us, He’s always going be with us and He’s never going to forsake us. I
If you don’t remember anything else tonight, remember that God says I will be with you. I will never fail you. I will never forsake you. If you don’t get anything else out of this message tonight, please get that. Please get that because once you do, your life is going to be different.
“Only be thou strong and very courageous that thou mayest observe to do all the law which Moses my servant commanded thee: [Now look at the next four words] TURN NOT FROM IT to the right hand or to the left, [God has given us the path. Now it is our job to stay on the path that God has designed for us. And why do we want to that?] that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
If you don’t turn left, if you don’t turn right, God’s promise to you, ladies and gentlemen, is that you are going to prosper. I like the definition of prosperity that Bro. Gary Carpenter gives: I will consider myself prosperous when every prayer is answered every time. And the prayers he’s talking about are prayers for others.
We’re getting ready to see another command and instruction.
(8) This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, [Why do we want the book of the law to be in our mouth?] that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein:
That’s twice that we have gotten that instruction. That’s twice that we have gotten that commandment. Just like twice He’s told us to be strong and of a good courage. God knows the world we live n. And he knows what it’s going to take to be prosperous in this world that we live in.
“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shall meditate therein day and night, that thou may have observed to do according to all that is written therein … [What are the next two word?] FOR THEN
Ladies and gentlemen, hear me. There is not going to be a “for then” if you don’t do what comes before the “for then.”
“for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, [What’s the next two words?] AND THEN! Oh my God! We’ve got a “for then” and we get a bonus?!?! An “and then” too?
“and then thou shalt have good success.”
When will we have all of that ladies and gentlemen? When the word does not depart from our mouths. When the Word of God is what we speak, the Word of God is what we do, and the Word of God is how we live. That is when we get the “for then” and the “and then.” Praise God!
Let’s wrap it up with verse 9. Are we having fun yet? God says, ladies and gentlemen, after reading the first eight verses of this chapter, He says
(9) Have not I commanded thee?
So the things that we read in the first eight verses were not suggestions. They were not recommendations. They were not something for us to consider. They are things that God commands us to do.
Now here’s the third time that we’re going to see this phrase.
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage;
The third time, ladies and gentlemen. Somebody needs to hear this. God is telling you that you don’t need to be fearful about anything. Be of good courage and it starts by, and I’m repeating myself, it starts out by believing that God says I will be with thee, I will never fail thee, and I will never forsake thee. It all hinges on do we really believe that?
The Lord says “BE strong and of a good courage” and then He adds “be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”
The word “afraid” means “to tremble; to strike with awe, to strike with dread. The word “dismayed” means “to be shattered.”
Ladies and gentlemen, for some Christians the results of this last election has them in dismay. They were believing God that the results were going to be different, that the House and Senate would have conservatives majorities. It didn’t happen. Now it’s whoa is me! Why do I even bother to pray? As long as you did what God you to do, you’ll be find.
“Be strong and of a good courage and be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: [don’t be shattered and do you know why ladies and gentlemen] for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”
Just because of the outcome of the elections was not what we desired, just because we didn’t see the results that we wanted to see, God is still with us ladies and gentlemen.
What I think about when I see things like this. Do you remember the 10 plagues and how they devastated Egypt? But what was going on in Goshen? Nothing. It was life as usual. When you believe that God is with you, when you believe that God will never fail you, when you believe that God will not forsake you, you might as well say “My address is Goshen.”
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What can we learn from this record?
(1) We will lose or battles if we can’t hear from the Holy Spirit. And I’m talking about everyday stuff. Hearing from Him all the time.
(2) We acknowledge The victories of others, but they are not our victories. Therefore, we need to arise and win our own victories. That’s what your Father desires for you, ladies and gentlemen.
(3) We must never forget that God is with us. Have you heard this tonight?
(4) We must never forget that God never fails us.
(5) We must never forget that God never forsakes us.
(6) We never have to be afraid or yield to any situation or circumstance because God is with us. God never fails us. God never forsakes us.
Let that be your confession as you laid your head on your pillow tonight.
“Father, I thank you that you are always with me. Father, I thank you that you never fail me. And Father, I thank you that you will never forsake me. It doesn’t matter what’s going on in the world. It doesn’t matter even in the midst of some of the battles that I am facing and dealing with. I know you are with me. I know you will never fail me. And I take great comfort in knowing that you will never forsake me.
