Courageous Living

00:00 let's all bow our heads for prayer
00:03 father I thank you
00:05 I pray according to your word in
00:08 Ephesians 3 that you would grant us
00:11 according to the riches of your glory to
00:15 be strengthened with might through your
00:18 spirit in the inner man so that Jesus
00:22 Christ the word of God would richly
00:26 dwell in us through faith and that we'd
00:29 be rooted and grounded in love so that
00:32 we would be filled to overflowing with
00:35 your love for us your strength your
00:38 courage and all of who you are we thank
00:43 you for opening our hearts to hear what
00:46 you are saying to us through our first
00:48 session together on choices determine
00:51 destiny I want to welcome everybody here
00:54 tonight the title of this series is
00:58 courageous living it comes from John one
01:02 where God directly speaks to us be
01:05 strong and courageous these words be
01:10 strong and courageous are interwoven
01:12 into God's job description for Joshua's
01:16 next assignment in life Joshua is given
01:20 a mission a job assignment that is way
01:23 beyond his natural abilities his
01:26 strength courage and power to
01:29 successfully perform it as Joshua's
01:32 listening to all that he's being called
01:36 to do God says this to him have I not
01:40 commanded you be strong and courageous
01:45 do not be afraid do not be discouraged
01:50 for the Lord your God is with you
01:53 wherever you go at this point in time
01:57 Joshua's no longer young Joshua was
02:01 about 70 to 80 years old when God
02:04 commissioned him to lead several million
02:07 Israelites into the Promised Land now
02:11 you can imagine the
02:12 myriad of thoughts now that are
02:14 bombarding Joshua's mind yes he had seen
02:19 many miraculous signs and wonders as he
02:22 came out of Egypt and he saw many
02:25 miraculous signs and wonders during the
02:27 40 years of wandering in the wilderness
02:30 he was Moses assistant so what kind of
02:34 things did he have special access to
02:37 being Moses assistants what did he see
02:40 in here as Moses assistant but despite
02:44 all that Moses his admired leader has
02:52 just passed away Moses did not get to go
02:56 into the Promised Land and Joshua's
03:01 entire generation they didn't make it
03:04 into the Promised Land we're talking
03:05 about several million people so you can
03:08 imagine what Josh was thinking at this
03:10 point in time when he gets this command
03:12 from the Lord in Deuteronomy 31 verse 23
03:17 the Lord gave this command to Joshua son
03:20 of nun be strong and courageous for you
03:26 will bring the Israelites into the land
03:28 that I promised them on oath and I
03:30 myself will be with you Joshua 1/2 arise
03:36 go over this Jordan you and all this
03:39 people to the land which I am giving to
03:41 them the children of Israel now as you
03:46 stand on the brink of entering your
03:48 promised land God is speaking directly
03:52 to you these exact same words be strong
03:56 and be courageous your promised land
04:00 encompasses not only your big job
04:03 assignment your highest calling that God
04:06 has called you to in this life but also
04:09 your promised land is all the promises
04:12 that are in the Word of God for your
04:15 everyday living as believers in the New
04:18 Covenant you need to know that Jesus
04:21 Christ is your promised land and in
04:25 Jesus all of God's promises or yes any
04:29 meant God is so adamant that you just
04:34 like Joshua would understand this
04:36 admonition to be strong and courageous
04:38 that he repeated its instructions three
04:42 times in the same conversation and in a
04:45 very short period of time and on the
04:49 third time God preface 'as these
04:52 instructions to be strong and courageous
04:54 with these words have I not commanded
04:58 you God
05:02 is emphatic ly declaring that his words
05:05 are not a suggestion to be ignored but
05:09 rather a command to be obeyed if you
05:13 want to prosper and be successful
05:15 in all that God calls you to do this
05:19 command to be strong and courageous it's
05:22 a call to faith faith in God Almighty in
05:27 a moment we're gonna all recite together
05:29 Joshua 1:9 out loud together but before
05:34 we do this let us understand God's heart
05:37 towards us as he tells us and he
05:41 commands us to be strong and courageous
05:43 first let's talk about God's love see
05:48 this command to be strong and courageous
05:50 as coming directly from God's heart of
05:54 overwhelming love for us and all that
05:58 concerns us and all that he calls us to
06:01 do God desires you to experience the
06:06 fullness of his love in the way of his
06:10 blessings being established in your life
06:13 his promise is being fulfilled and his
06:16 son Jesus Christ being glorified in you
06:20 and through you both in this age and in
06:24 the age to come
06:25 everything that God says and everything
06:29 that God does comes from love God is
06:33 love first John 4:8 second
06:38 as we recite this be strong and
06:40 courageous from Joshua 1:9 I want you to
06:43 think about God's grace what is God's
06:46 grace in this instance it's God's own
06:49 strength and courage flowing from God's
06:53 throne of crack grace right into your
06:57 heart so that you can actually walk in
07:00 strength and courage for everything that
07:03 you face in this life the moment you
07:07 come in agreement in your heart with
07:09 that little yes that's the moment that
07:12 gray starts flowing into your heart from
07:14 God to accomplish what He has called you
07:17 to do Ephesians 2:8 says this for by
07:20 grace you have been saved through faith
07:22 and not of yourself it is the gift of
07:25 God not as a result of works lest anyone
07:29 should boast grace is God's gift to you
07:34 grace is Jesus Christ himself I love one
07:40 told me a long time ago
07:41 the acronym for grace grac II God's
07:45 riches at Christ's expense this means in
07:50 Jesus Christ you have all the strength
07:52 all the courage that you need and
07:55 everything else that you need for God's
07:58 given assignment in your life you access
08:02 grace by faith in Christ Jesus alone
08:06 another scripture that talks about God's
08:09 grace and I just absolutely love this
08:12 one especially at my age and I know
08:14 there's some older here is Joshua 14
08:17 levin caleb says this i'm as strong this
08:22 day as on the day that moses sent me
08:26 just as my strength was then so is my
08:30 strength now for war both for coming out
08:34 and going in Caleb's decoration clearly
08:39 shows us that he was operating by god's
08:42 strength and not his own
08:44 because caleb he was 40 years old when
08:48 he went in to spy out the promised
08:51 flan but now he's 85 years old and he
08:55 say just as my strength was then when I
08:58 was 40 years old so is my strength right
09:01 now when I'm 85
09:02 how many 85 years old people do you know
09:06 whose strength is just the same as in
09:10 when they were 40 and I'm talking about
09:12 also physical strength because he's
09:14 gonna go in to the land that the Lord
09:17 has given to him he says in Joshua 14 12
09:21 give me this mountain I'm gonna take
09:24 this mountain Lord that you have given
09:26 to me and you know what this mountain
09:28 was it was a range a mountain 3,000 feet
09:31 in elevation and at that top of the
09:34 mountain was a strong fortified city he
09:37 brought and in Hebron were the
09:40 descendants of anak these were men that
09:43 were giant inside and they were the ones
09:46 that caused all the Israelite leaders
09:48 they attend other spies to be so
09:51 frightened that they caused a lot of
09:54 discouragement and fear to enter into
09:56 the camp of Israel causing them not to
09:58 enter the Promised Land
09:59 so at 85 years of age what is Caleb
10:02 saying he's saying I'm gonna take down
10:04 those giants and everyone was fearful
10:06 about not just one I'm gonna take them
10:08 all down because I have the strength of
10:10 the Lord awesome
10:12 that's God's grace for you and I to have
10:14 that strength another Bible verse that
10:17 speaks of God's grace is Psalm 18 32 it
10:22 is God who arms me with strength and
10:25 makes my way perfect for you have arm me
10:28 with strength for battle
10:31 you have subdued under me those who rose
10:34 up against me
10:36 as you learn to pray and sing the Psalms
10:40 just as the psalmist did in our 2019
10:44 teaching series you will be able to come
10:47 alongside the psalmist and you will be
10:50 able to sing and pray psalms that will
10:53 bring strength and encouragement and
10:56 great courage to your own heart and
10:58 chase away fear and discouragement that
11:02 used to exist there amen
11:04 Isaiah 40 29 and 31 he gives power to
11:09 the weak and to those who have no might
11:12 he increases strength but those who wait
11:15 upon the Lord he shall renew their
11:19 strength
11:19 if you feel too weak right now for what
11:24 God is calling you to do this day this
11:27 oncoming week this oncoming year then
11:31 it's time for you and I to come to God
11:34 for the great exchange of the Cross we
11:37 take our weakness we hand it to Jesus
11:41 Christ and then we receive his strength
11:44 and his courage to face whatever he is
11:48 calling us to face in this life so that
11:51 we can be successful in it that we won't
11:54 tremble in fear we won't tremble with
11:57 discouragement now the third thing I
12:00 want you to understand regarding God's
12:02 heart towards us through this command to
12:05 be strong and courageous is that God is
12:08 with you wherever you go under the new
12:13 covenant of God's grace God Almighty is
12:16 not only with you the God Almighty is in
12:20 you you have the same power in you that
12:24 raised Jesus Christ from the dead he's
12:28 living inside of you this power is in
12:31 you for a purpose to accomplish all that
12:35 you cannot do in your own strength your
12:38 own ability your own power your own
12:41 courage Colossians 1:15 it says that
12:46 Jesus is the image of the invisible God
12:50 first John 4:17 this is going to like
12:54 really be mind-blowing to you guys as he
12:59 is that's Jesus Christ so are we in this
13:03 world as Jesus is in his resurrected
13:06 state physically mentally emotionally so
13:10 are you in this world so here's a mirror
13:18 the Word of God is like a mirror to us
13:22 as we look into the mirror we can see oh
13:25 my I am made in the image and I am made
13:31 in the likeness of God Himself who is
13:36 the Word of God when you look into the
13:39 mirror of God's Word
13:41 oh wow I have his strength I am strong I
13:46 am courageous amen Ephesians 6 where it
13:52 talks about the full armor of God Paul
13:55 exhorts us to walk in the strength and
13:57 courage of Jesus Christ he begins with
14:01 this in Ephesians 6 finally my brethren
14:04 be strong in the Lord and in the power
14:07 of his might as Paul describes each
14:12 piece of the armor we gain a clear
14:15 understanding that it is Jesus Christ
14:18 himself that we are clothing ourselves
14:20 with and at the end of Ephesians 6 Paul
14:24 exhorts us to pray with all kinds of
14:26 prayers and petitions for all the saints
14:29 right Ephesians 6 19 through 20 Paul
14:37 asked this he says pray for me
14:39 the utterance may be given to me that I
14:42 might open my mouth boldly that's
14:45 courageously to make known the mystery
14:48 of the gospel for which I am an
14:50 ambassador in Chains that in it I may
14:53 speak boldly as I ought to speak as you
14:59 put on the full armor of God you are
15:01 clothing yourself with Jesus Christ
15:05 himself because right after when Paul
15:09 says you know finally be strong in the
15:12 Lord he says put on the full armor of
15:14 God if you want to be strong in the Lord
15:16 what do you need to do put on the full
15:18 armor of God each piece of the armor of
15:21 God is Christ Jesus himself
15:24 Joel 3:10 let the weak say I am strong
15:31 New Covenant believer one of the best
15:33 ways you can begin to act upon this
15:36 command to be strong and courageous is
15:39 to declare your true identity in Jesus
15:43 Christ you look into the mirror and
15:47 let's all declare this I am strong I am
15:52 courageous I can do all that God has
15:57 called me to do okay if you look over
16:03 here this is a picture that I have in my
16:08 living room I love this picture it's a
16:13 little girl with curly long hair looking
16:16 into the mirror and she sees Jesus the
16:20 lion from the tribe of Judah and under
16:23 my picture in my living room I says this
16:27 is my identity and I put a Bible verse
16:29 there that by His stripes I am healed I
16:32 identify with who I am in Jesus Christ
16:37 who are you in Jesus Christ what word of
16:41 God are you taking ownership up and
16:44 declaring this is Who I am
16:46 amen with these three things in mind now
16:53 God's love God's grace and God's
16:57 presence that's Jesus he's with you
16:59 wherever you go let us all stand up and
17:02 declare out loud Joshua 1:9 which is on
17:06 your handout have I not commanded you be
17:13 strong and courageous do not be afraid
17:17 do not be discouraged for the Lord your
17:21 God will be with you wherever you go go
17:25 ahead and be seated this week declare
17:28 that over yourself here God speaking to
17:31 you out of his love and His grace and
17:33 His mercy to you in the situation's you
17:36 face now in addition to God directly
17:41 telling Joshua three times in one
17:43 conversation to be
17:45 and courageous he also tells people
17:47 around him God tells Moses God speaks to
17:53 others to tell Joshua that he needs to
17:56 be strong and courageous so in
18:00 Deuteronomy 138 and Deuteronomy 328 we
18:04 see God telling Moses strengthen and
18:08 encourage Joshua so what does Moses do
18:13 in Deuteronomy 31 7 and Deuteronomy 31
18:16 23 we see Moses in a public assembly and
18:21 then in a private ceremony saying these
18:24 words to Joshua be strong and courageous
18:29 then we see people that are underneath
18:32 Joshua they hear these words from God to
18:37 be strong and courageous and so now
18:40 they're speaking them back to Joshua
18:42 just as we obeyed Moses and all the
18:44 things so we will obey you only be
18:47 strong and courageous
18:49 that's Joshua 1 17 and 18 why do we need
18:54 to speak these words to ourselves and to
18:58 those around us be strong and courageous
19:00 it's because God's word contains power
19:05 and when we speak God's word out of our
19:09 mouth it releases the power for that
19:13 word to be performed in our lives and in
19:18 the lives of those who we speak it over
19:20 okay
19:21 God's Word is powerful first
19:26 Thessalonians 5:11 says therefore
19:29 encourage one another and build one
19:33 another up the best way we can encourage
19:36 one another and build one another up is
19:38 by speaking the Word of God over people
19:42 and if they are in a situation where
19:45 they're feeling fearful and discouraged
19:47 speak Joshua 1 over them be strong and
19:51 courageous God knows that Joshua's
19:56 natural propensity
19:58 like ours is quite the opposite of this
20:01 command to be strong and courageous
20:04 especially when one of these four things
20:07 transpire and you're very familiar with
20:10 them when we have seen with our own eyes
20:14 the size of the Giants the size of the
20:17 problems the size of the obstacles the
20:20 size of the difficulties it's hard to be
20:23 strong and courageous isn't it or when
20:26 we have heard with our own ears the
20:29 voice of the Giants the voice of the
20:31 Giants telling us there is no way that
20:34 you're going to overcome this there is
20:37 no way that you are going to win there's
20:39 no chance that you're going to enter
20:41 into the promises of God into your
20:43 promised land war it's hard to be strong
20:48 and courageous when we have just heard
20:50 the negative hopeless reports Psalm 1:1
20:54 calls us the ungodly counsel coming from
20:59 those who are close to us like our
21:00 family and friends or those at a
21:03 distance like social media news media
21:08 television radios and what about our
21:12 leaders it's hard to be strong and
21:14 courageous when we have leaders overs or
21:17 experts in a field that we're depending
21:19 upon for their knowledge and they give
21:23 us a bad report it's hard to be strong
21:25 and courageous isn't that therefore
21:30 because God knows our natural propensity
21:34 is quite the opposite of this command to
21:36 be strong and courageous
21:38 God gives us two additional commands
21:41 right after he says be strong be
21:45 courageous then what does he say
21:47 do not fear do not be discouraged why
21:57 why because fear and discouragement are
22:01 two of Satan's greatest weapons to get
22:06 us from believing God's Word and obeying
22:09 God's Word
22:12 to be strong and courageous as a call to
22:14 faith in God and his word
22:17 fear and discouragement are Satan's
22:20 tools to have faith in Him and his words
22:24 in numbers 13 and 14 we are given an
22:29 account of what happened when these two
22:32 satanic weapons of fear and
22:34 discouragement entered into the hearts
22:36 of the Israelites as they stood on the
22:40 brink of entering their promised land
22:42 ten of the twelve leaders who went in to
22:46 spy out the promised em came back with a
22:49 bad report an evil report why because
22:55 these top 10 Israelite leaders partnered
23:00 in their hearts with the spirit of fear
23:04 and discouragement and as they spoke out
23:08 of their darkened perception from their
23:11 hearts about the promised land this
23:14 spirit of fear and discouragement spread
23:18 like a wildfire causing several million
23:23 Israelites to come under its Dominion
23:25 the begat bad report how did it begin
23:28 with one little spark right numbers 13
23:33 26 through 28 they brought word to them
23:37 and to all the congregation
23:39 it truly flows with milk and honey and
23:41 this is its fruit that sounds good
23:43 doesn't it good report from these top
23:45 ten but then they magnify the bad report
23:51 they amplified and magnified in the
23:54 spirit of fear and discouragement starts
23:56 oozing out of their mouths and bringing
23:59 destruction to the hearts and the lives
24:02 of those who hear they say this
24:05 nevertheless the people who dwell in the
24:08 land are strong the cities are fortified
24:12 and very large
24:14 moreover we saw the descendants of anak
24:18 there remember those are the Giants
24:20 numbers 13 31 what was their conclusion
24:25 then
24:26 we are not able to go up against the
24:30 people for they're stronger than we and
24:34 they gave the children of Israel a bad
24:37 report of the land which they had spied
24:40 out deuteronomy 128 says this this is
24:47 the Israelites response to the bad
24:49 report where can we go
24:51 our brothers made our hearts melt in
24:57 fear have your heart ever melted in fear
25:02 at a bad report they say the people are
25:06 stronger and taller than we are the
25:09 cities are large with walls up to the
25:11 sky because the Israelites could not get
25:17 these fear filled discouraging words
25:19 from these leaders out of their minds or
25:23 their mouths several million people fail
25:26 to enter into the Promised Land the bad
25:30 report sparked a picturesque video
25:34 within the imagination of their own
25:36 minds where they saw themselves
25:41 grasshoppers hopping around on the
25:43 ground and the Giants picking them up
25:45 and popping them into their mouths like
25:46 a midday snack as they watched the video
25:50 over and over and over and over and over
25:52 again in the theatre of their mind they
25:55 began to weep and cry soon the scenes of
26:00 the video of their imagination worsened
26:02 the Giants no longer wanted to eat
26:05 grasshoppers
26:06 they lost their appetite for him
26:09 therefore they decided to get do away
26:13 with the Israelites in another fashion
26:15 they took their giant swords from their
26:18 sheaths and they started to slaughter
26:20 the men and the women and the children
26:22 until blood covered the ground
26:24 everywhere
26:26 numbers 14 three records us why is the
26:29 Lord brought us to this land fall by the
26:31 sword that our wives and our children
26:33 should become victims as these videos
26:37 played
26:39 their imaginations they became outraged
26:41 at their leaders Moses and Aaron
26:44 they seriously questioned the sanity of
26:47 their leaders for bringing them out of
26:49 Egypt Egyptian bondage only to suffer at
26:52 the hands of these ruthless Giants
26:54 numbers 14 - and all the children of
26:59 Israel complained against Moses and
27:02 Aaron and the whole congregation said to
27:04 them if only we had died in the land of
27:08 Egypt or if only we had died in the
27:11 wilderness they began to spread rumors
27:15 among themselves saying that surely it
27:19 would be better that they could just
27:21 return to Egypt where they could engage
27:22 himself once again in their daily
27:26 predictable routines of slavery rather
27:29 than facing the unknown dangers of a God
27:32 was getting them into in the promised
27:34 land they discussed this so often to
27:39 themselves and among themselves along
27:41 with other darkened imaginations from
27:44 their hearts that they actually believed
27:47 what they were saying numbers 14 3 to 4
27:52 records it would it not be better for us
27:55 to return to Egypt so they said to one
27:58 another let us select a leader and
28:00 return to Egypt now I took a little bit
28:03 of liberty with numbers 13 and 14 not
28:06 much though you read it you think about
28:10 what they thought about it's recorded
28:13 there so I'm asking you tonight is there
28:19 an area of your life where you have
28:21 allowed yourself to watch in the theater
28:23 of your own mind movies that contradict
28:27 the Word of God who he is and who he has
28:31 created you to be in his son Jesus
28:35 Christ what has sparked these darken
28:39 imagination and thoughts of yours are
28:42 you willing to resist them through God's
28:46 strength and courage he gives to you are
28:49 you willing to resist them with the Word
28:52 of God
28:53 what is the Word of God that you're
28:55 standing upon to resist them now for
29:00 those of us living in California this
29:02 past year 2018 we understand how fast
29:07 and how furious wildfires can spread
29:10 through an area causing mass destruction
29:13 and great loss of lives can'twe God
29:17 likens our tongues in James 3:2 the
29:21 kindling for hell's fire to spread James
29:25 three five through six see how great a
29:28 forest a little fire Kindles and the
29:31 tongue is a fire a world of iniquity
29:37 the tongue is so set among our members
29:40 that it defiles the whole body and sets
29:44 on fire
29:46 the course of nature and is set on fire
29:50 by hell every day hell's fire is
29:56 destroying lives all around us as people
30:00 are telling ungodly stories that do not
30:04 factor in who God is
30:07 they don't factor in God's
30:09 loving-kindness his tender mercies his
30:13 grace his power and him being fully
30:17 available to us through faith and His
30:21 Son Jesus Christ and unfortunately many
30:25 people's hearts are dry brittle ground
30:30 from lack of being watered by God's Word
30:33 so when fear filled discouraging words
30:37 are spoken hell's fire causes much
30:41 destruction and loss of lives how can
30:47 you change your life so the Fire doesn't
30:51 destroy you
30:52 water your own heart with God's Word
30:56 by meditating on it day and night
30:59 planting yourselves by the rivers of
31:01 it's living water heed God's
31:04 instructions in
31:06 Psalm 1 verse 2 but his delight is in
31:10 the law of the Lord and in his law he
31:14 meditates day and night he shall be like
31:18 a tree planted by the rivers of water
31:22 Joshua 1:8 this book of the law shall
31:26 not depart from your mouth but you shall
31:29 meditate on it day and night
31:32 Joshu inque lub - of the twelve spies
31:37 said to spy out the promised land they
31:40 try to quench hell's wild fire from
31:44 spreading rapidly among those they loved
31:47 and destroying them they courageously
31:51 stood up in the midst of this outrageous
31:55 assembly of crying and weeping and
31:58 complaining and they gave the report of
32:02 the Lord the good report about the
32:06 promised land number thirteen thirty
32:09 then caleb quieted the people before
32:13 Moses and he said let us go up at once
32:18 and take possession of it for we are
32:21 well able to overcome numbers 14 7
32:27 through 9 and they Caleb and Joshua
32:30 spoke to all the congregation of the
32:33 children of Israel saying the land we
32:37 pass through to spy out it's an
32:39 exceedingly good land only do not rebel
32:45 against the Lord nor fear the people of
32:49 the land for they are our bread you
32:53 thought that they that they were gonna
32:54 eat you like grasshoppers no you're
32:58 gonna eat them their protection has
33:00 departed from them and the Lord is with
33:03 us do not fear them Joshua and Caleb
33:09 they were not denying the reality that
33:12 Giants are the obstacles that they would
33:13 face in the Promised Land but rather
33:16 they were keeping their eyes fixed on
33:19 who God
33:20 was that he was bigger and greater than
33:22 any giant and any problem and any
33:25 obstacle that they would ever face and
33:28 then they kept the eyes and their ears
33:31 and their hearts fixed on the Word of
33:35 God spoken to them that surely they
33:37 would be able to go into the promised
33:39 land and possess it how did the
33:44 Israelites respond to Joshua and Caleb
33:46 spli for them not to be afraid or to
33:50 rebel against God but rather to go up at
33:53 once and take possession of the promised
33:55 land numbers 1410 records a response and
34:00 all the congregation said to them
34:04 that's Joshua and Caleb stoned them
34:10 choices determined destiny your choice
34:15 determines your destiny proverbs 18:21
34:22 death and life are in the power of the
34:25 tongue
34:26 and those who love it will eat its food
34:29 so let's take a look at what happened to
34:33 this man that brought the evil report
34:36 numbers 14 37 those very men who brought
34:40 the evil report about the land died by
34:45 the plague before the Lord what happened
34:49 to all of those of Caleb's generation
34:51 who believe the bad report they died
34:55 they were unable to enter in to the
34:58 promised land
35:01 Joshua 5/6 says the Israelites had moved
35:04 about in the wilderness 40 years until
35:07 all the men who are military age when
35:09 they had left Egypt had died since they
35:12 had not obeyed the Lord what happened to
35:16 Joshua and Caleb they were the only two
35:19 men of their entire generation of
35:21 several million that were able to enter
35:24 in through the promises that God gave
35:26 them Joshua and Caleb
35:29 they remained alive to get into the
35:32 Promised Land as number of sport
35:33 18:38 records Dharana me 136 I just
35:37 loved this it says except Caleb he shall
35:40 see it he shall see the promised land
35:42 and to him and his children and giving
35:45 the land on which he walked because he
35:47 was wholly followed the Lord what does
35:51 it say about Joshua
35:53 Deuteronomy 138 Joshua who stands before
35:56 you he shall go in there he shouldn't go
35:59 into the promised land and in the next
36:01 section on section D you'll see all else
36:03 all the other things the blessings that
36:06 happened to Joshua for his obedience so
36:10 whose report do you believe will Yuri
36:14 believe the report that comes into
36:17 agreement with what Jesus Christ has
36:19 provided for you through his death his
36:22 resurrection and his ascension he bought
36:27 your victory with his blood will you
36:30 believe it are you gonna believe in an
36:32 ungodly report are you gonna believe
36:35 ungodly counsel as Psalm 1:1 says Isaiah
36:40 53 is a prophetic description of what
36:43 Jesus Christ would one day do for us on
36:46 the cross and in that prophetic
36:50 description verse 1 says this who has
36:56 believed our report when you believe the
37:01 report of the Lord Psalm 1:1 says
37:03 blessed are you blessed is the man who
37:08 does not walk in the counsel of the
37:11 ungodly Joshua and Caleb exemplify
37:17 courageous living they did not go with
37:20 the flow of the majority but rather they
37:23 held on to God's Word in the midst of
37:25 fierce opposition and in doing so they
37:28 fulfilled all that God called them to do
37:31 so I asked myself this question this
37:33 last week how was it that Josh was able
37:37 to fulfill this command to be strong and
37:40 courageous and not only bringing himself
37:41 in but several million Israelites of
37:44 that next generation into the Promised
37:46 Land
37:47 and to possess it and to fulfill all
37:49 that God had called him to do we aren't
37:52 told I read and read but there is some
37:55 hint of it Exodus 33 10 through 11 and
37:59 all the people saw the pillar of cloud
38:01 standing at the Tabernacle door so the
38:04 Lord spoke to Moses face to face as a
38:06 man speaks to his friend and he would
38:08 return to the camp but his servant
38:12 Joshua the son of nun a young man did
38:16 not depart from the tabernacle Joshua
38:20 valued the presence of God more than
38:24 anything else in his life and then we
38:28 understand that the from the fruit of
38:30 Joshua's lie that Joshua obeyed God's
38:34 command to keep God's Word in his mouth
38:37 to meditate upon it day and night and to
38:41 do all that was written according to
38:45 what God had written in his word that
38:50 was Joshua 1:8 also we understand how
38:56 Joshua led the Israelites into
38:58 possessing their promised land that
39:01 Joshua he truly believed God's Word at
39:06 the end of Joshua 1:9 where God says the
39:10 Lord your God will be with you wherever
39:14 you go he took that seriously that God
39:17 was with him
39:18 that God would defeat the enemy that God
39:23 was giving him strength and courage that
39:26 God was giving him the strategy he
39:28 needed to defeat his enemy and you need
39:32 to remember that God is not only with
39:34 you as a new covenant believer but God
39:37 is in you and he's giving you all the
39:40 strength all the power all the courage
39:42 everything you need to enter into your
39:44 promised land what was the outcome of
39:47 Joshua's faithful meditation obedience
39:50 to God's command
39:52 Joshua became psalm 1:3 he became like a
39:58 tree
40:00 by the rivers of water that brings forth
40:03 fruit in its season his leaf does not
40:06 wither and in all that he does he shall
40:10 prosper Joshua was blessed he bore an
40:15 abundance of fruit God chose him to lead
40:19 the Israelite nation into the Promised
40:22 Land and then these promises were
40:26 fulfilled through Joshua's leadership
40:29 Joshua 1:3 every place that the sole of
40:33 your foot will tread upon I have given
40:35 to you Joshua 1:5 a no man shall be able
40:40 to stand before you all the days of your
40:43 life
40:44 Joshua 1:5 be as I was with Moses so I
40:50 will be with you Joshua 1:5 see I will
40:55 not leave you nor forsake you not one
41:00 word which the Lord has spoken to Joshua
41:03 concerning Israel's possession of the
41:06 promised land failed because Joshua
41:10 chose to believe and to obey God's Word
41:15 despite the overwhelming Giants and
41:18 despite the obstacles Joshua 21:43
41:23 through forty five so the Lord gave to
41:26 Israel all the land of which he has
41:29 sworn to give to their fathers and they
41:31 took possession of it and dwelt in it
41:34 the Lord gave them rest all around
41:37 according to all that he has sworn to
41:40 their fathers and not a man of all their
41:44 enemies stood against them the Lord
41:47 delivered all their enemies into their
41:50 hands not a word not one word
41:56 failed of any good thing which the Lord
42:01 has spoken to the house of Israel all
42:05 came to pass
42:08 I want that to be what it's declared
42:11 over my own life how about you live
42:15 courageously as you stand at the brink
42:19 of your promised land believe the report
42:23 of the Lord the good news of the gospel
42:26 of Jesus Christ
42:28 arise and cross over from living in the
42:31 wilderness of unbelief into living into
42:35 the promises of God live courageously
42:41 father we thank you for tonight
42:44 father we thank you for your word that
42:46 has come to us powerfully through Joshua
42:49 one Psalm one and father we thank you
42:53 that you are strengthening and
42:55 encouraging us right here right now and
42:59 father I thank you that you are bringing
43:01 people out of the wilderness of unbelief
43:05 that you are bringing them out of a
43:07 place of fear and discouragement and
43:10 into a place father of strength of
43:15 courage and into believing and obeying
43:18 your word father we exalt you and in our
43:22 lives we say be glorified in us and
43:25 through us not only in this age but the
43:28 age to come we praise you and we bless
43:31 you and we declare that we are ones that
43:34 desire to live courageously before you
43:38 in Jesus's name Amen