When discouragement looms

Joshua 1:6-1:9

There is a common desire within every person to feel successful isn’t there? Nobody wants to fail whether it’s in life, at their job, or in their church. And sadly, we often measure our worth on the basis of how successful we are.

By the world’s standard, success is defined as luxury, wealth, and possessions, achievements, notoriety, and fame, beauty, and brains. But when seeing someone who has supposedly achieved that success, they are anything but happy!

We are reminded today; God’s standard of measurement is nothing like the world’s standard.

God’s standard for success is completely unlike the world’s standard. And God’s standard works for every person, in every situation, whether it’s at school, in one’s business, our families, or our church. The pathway to success cannot be traveled by just anyone; only by those who practice God’s standard for success.
These principles are taken from Joshua 1:6-9. There are more than 3, but I want to focus on 3.

I. BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS – A TASK IS AT HAND!
READ V. 6

A. Real Strength and Real Courage Like… (that of…)
David -- walked into the Valley of Elah -- sling and few rocks stand against Goliath
Moses -- standing eye to eye with Pharaoh.
Elijah -- when he challenges the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel.
‘if the Lord is God – follow Him’ ‘if Ba-el if God – follow Him’
(I could really update this struggle of idolatry couldn’t I?)
Joshua needs that same strength to lead God’s people.

1. Joshua remembered the struggles of Moses who had the same command
- READ DEUT. 1.26-32 ²⁶Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God: ²⁷And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the LORD hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. ²⁸Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there. ²⁹Then I said unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them. ³⁰The LORD your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes; ³¹And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the LORD thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place. ³²Yet in this thing ye did not believe the LORD your God,

Joshua is told in vs. 6 ‘you will lead these people…’ an anonymous writer said “Courage can only be seen in the midst of ‘conflict and struggle’ when it would be easier to throw up your hands and just quit.” Joshua could have just quit, said it was too difficult, God wasn’t big enough, the troubles were too many but he didn’t, he stepped up. So must we…

2. God is calling today saying “Be Strong and Courageous” to do the task at hand.
a) In Acts 1.8, “…you will be my witness”.
b) 1 Cor. 12, Rom. 12, Eph, 4, - learned how to prepare to be that witness

3. Today, when it’s easier to Quit, or Sit, or Become Status-Quo, God is saying…
a) Be strong and courageous (an ongoing command)
b) You may think you are too small to make a difference,
c) You may think you are insignificant
d) But I’ve called you for lead in this task making a difference in Newnan!
Be Strong and Be Courageous!

II. BE STRONG & COURAGEOUS – BE OBEDIENT TO MY COMMANDS V. 7-8
There are 3 Parts to this charge!

1. ‘obey all the law’
a. The Law: The 5 books of Moses
b. Not part (… the part we like) but ALL OF IT! God’s power through His Word.
c. God was reminding Joshua that a greater strength of character would be required for the task at hand!

2. ‘do not turn from it to the right or to the left’
a. Grounded/focused -- not subject to worldly influence.
b. Understanding the difference between ‘mans fence’ and ‘Gods fence’
- Man’s fence allows one to be influenced to suit the situation
- God’s fence gives one the courage & strength to make a stand! (grounded and thus not easily swayed from one side to the other!

3. ‘meditate on it day and night’
a. Don’t skim it –read it!
b. Don’t just read it, pray on it – ponder it – ask God’s enlightenment on it
- Like Moses taught Joshua – Paul taught Timothy – who will you teach?
READ 2 Timothy 3.15-17 (focusing on vs. 16) ¹⁵ And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: ¹⁷That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

- God’s Word -- The #1 best seller is still the #1 best seller because it’s the ‘LIVING, BREATHING, INSPIRED WORK OF GOD”
- But it’s NOT AUTOMATIC – God’s Wisdom is available to all but NOT AUTOMATIC.
1. Read, memorize and learn to obey all of it
2. Become grounded according to His Precepts
3. Mediate on it day and night so that it becomes a part of you

ILLUSTRATION: BUYING COMPUTER WITHOUT OPERATING SYSTEM

APPLICATION: Mistakes are made because we don’t read, study, and meditate on our Set of Instructions: God’s Word.
- Notice the RETURN Vs. 8b “you will be prosperous and successful”


III. BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS – I WILL BE WITH YOU
Not only did God encourage Joshua to Be Strong and Courageous because of the Task God Had Called Him to Do and to Be Strong and Courageous by learning to obey all of the Word of God

God commanded Joshua to be strong and courageous because He had ONE SPECIAL NUGGET in his bag …READ VERSE 9 “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”
I. Gods people were small in comparison to the enemy
II. By human standards, Gods people were very much outnumbered
III. 7 nations living within Canaan, each of them larger than Israel

Even though, by all human understanding, the task we’ve been called to accomplish seems overwhelming, God says “relax, you have an ace in your pocket, …
‘you have a great and awesome God’!”
DEUT. 7.17-19, 21 ¹⁷If thou shalt say in thine heart, These nations are more than I; how can I dispossess them? ¹⁸Thou shalt not be afraid of them: but shalt well remember what the LORD thy God did unto Pharaoh, and unto all Egypt; ¹⁹The great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm, whereby the LORD thy God brought thee out: so shall the LORD thy God do unto all the people of whom thou art afraid. ²⁰Moreover the LORD thy God will send the hornet among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed. ²¹Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: for the LORD thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible.

READ AGAIN VERSE 21

I say to you “CHURCH, God says to you and I be strong…
Be strong & courageous, God has a task for us…
Be strong & courageous, God wants us to be Obedient following His Word & Way
Be strong & courageous, remember God said I AM WITH YOU
Then you will be “prosperous and successful” as I would have you be!

Conclusion:
God’s Formula for Success works, but there are no shortcuts.
-It calls us to be strong and courageous – we have a task at hand – a calling!
-It calls us to be strong & courageous – be obedient to His commands.
-It calls us to be strong & obedient – we are not alone!
ILLUSTRATION:
In a sermon, Juan Carlos Ortiz spoke of a conversation with a circus trapeze artist. The performer admitted the net underneath was there to keep them from breaking their necks, but added,"“The net also keeps us from falling. Imagine if there was no net. We would be so nervous that we would be more likely to miss and fall. If there wasn’t a net, we would not dare to do some of the things we do. But because there is a net, we dare to make turns, and once I made three turns -- thanks to the net!"

Ortiz makes this observation:
"We have security in God. When we are sure - in his arms we dare to attempt big things for God. We dare to be holy. We dare to be obedient. We dare, because we know the eternal arms of God will hold us if we fall."

Close as God leads…