Latest / Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons / Be Strong and Courageous (Joshua 1:1-9)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple

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Be Strong and Courageous (Joshua 1:1-9)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple · Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons

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  We are in the Old Testament book of Joshua And
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  I know we haven't been in Joshua lately and So
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  perhaps it's been a while since you were here.
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  I hope that you love Joshua as much as I do Joshua
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  chapter 1 we'll look at verses 1 through 9, but
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  I Think we might also venture past verse 9 and
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  maybe back into Deuteronomy a little bit. No
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  promises But what we're gonna see is as I said,
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  it's courage Here and you can imagine that as
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  Joshua takes over leading God's people after
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  Moses dies Yeah, he would need courage, right?
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  And so let's look at this Joshua chapter 1 Verses
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  1 through 9 After the death of Moses the servant
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  of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua, the son
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  of none, Moses's assistant, Moses, my servant
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  is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan,
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  you and all this people into the land that I
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  am giving to them, to the people of Israel. Every
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  place that the sole of your foot will tread upon,
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  I have given to you just as I promised to Moses.
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  From the wilderness and this Lebanon, as far
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  as the great river, the river Euphrates, all
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  the land of the Hittites to the great sea, toward
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  the going down of the sun shall be your territory.
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  No man shall be able to stand before you all
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  the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses,
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  so I will be with you. I will not leave you or
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  forsake you. Be strong and courageous. for you
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  shall cause this people to inherit the land that
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  I swore to their fathers to give them only be
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  strong and very courageous being careful to do
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  according to all the law that moses my servant
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  commanded you do not turn from it to the right
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  hand or to the left that you may have good success
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  wherever you go this book of the law shall not
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  depart from your mouth but you shall meditate
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  on it day and night So that you may be careful
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  to do according to all that is written in it
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  For then you will make your way prosperous and
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  then you will have good success Have I not commanded
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  you be strong and courageous Do not be frightened
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  and do not be dismayed for the Lord your God
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  is with you wherever you go You've certainly
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  heard the word courage or courageous, it's in
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  there at least three times, right? And we're
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  going to see it in some other spots as well.
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  But I want to begin this evening with a story
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  of extreme courage. And this is especially to
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  be heard by our little ones, our children in
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  here. For I tell you the story of a young girl
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  about 12 years old. Her name was Emily. Emily
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  was born to Christian parents, but they were
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  missionaries of sorts in Bangladesh. And if you
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  know anything about Bangladesh, it's primarily
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  a Muslim country. There are also some Hindus
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  there as well. And so when Emily was about 12
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  years old, her parents enrolled her in the local
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  school. And as I said, most of the people there
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  are Muslim or Hindu. And she was one of only
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  two Christian students in the whole school of
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  about 600 students. And her first few days there
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  didn't go well because people, the students found
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  out and some of the teachers that she was a Christian.
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  And the students began to pick on her and to
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  mock her. And over time, it became worse than
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  that and they started to harm her physically
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  and she hated school. Emily cried herself to
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  sleep at night. She dreaded going back there.
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  The students showed no mercy. and the administration
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  didn't offer any help. Well, one day her parents
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  went to the principal of the school and said,
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  can Emily and other Christians in the school
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  have Christian holidays off from coming to school
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  because Muslims take Friday as their day of rest.
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  And to their surprise, the principal said, yes,
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  she may have Easter off. school and actually
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  the principal made the day of Easter a holiday
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  on the school calendar and so everybody had off
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  for it but in return Emily had to do something.
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  Emily had to stand in front of an assembly of
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  the entire student body and tell everybody what
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  Easter was all about. You can imagine a 12 year
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  old in front of 600 students And the principal
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  and all the teachers getting ready to tell them
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  about the resurrection of Jesus when she has
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  already been reviled for her faith. She was absolutely
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  petrified. And yet the more that she thought
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  about it and prayed about it, she realized this
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  was the opportunity that she needed to share
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  Jesus with this entire school. And so the day
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  for her to speak, it was a Sunday. The assembly
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  is there, all the students are there, and they
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  even put up loudspeakers outside onto the busy
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  street so other people could hear all about Jesus
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  and the resurrection. Emily's parents stood outside
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  and prayed for her. They were just as scared
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  as she was. And she walked up to the podium,
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  got behind the microphone, and she proceeded
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  to tell everybody that could possibly hear her
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  voice. all about the teaching of Jesus, all about
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  the miracles of Jesus, all about the crucifixion
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  and yes, the resurrection of Jesus. And then
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  she gave an invitation to all the students, 12
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  years old, to believe in Jesus. And then she
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  walked back to her seat and she waited for the
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  mocking to return, for the scolding, for the
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  abuse. And it didn't come. There was no backlash.
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  The teachers and some of the students actually
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  asked Emily questions. Two of them requested
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  Bibles. Her math teacher attended the Christmas
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  service that year and the bullying stopped. Years
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  later, she said something to the effect of, courage
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  doesn't come from drumming it up in ourselves.
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  She actually pointed to what the apostle Paul
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  shows us in the book of Acts where it says, do
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  not be afraid. but go on speaking and do not
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  be silent." The question for us, though, is how
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  can we have the courage of little Emily? But
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  maybe we need to answer another question first.
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  What is courage? Matthew Everhard says, biblical
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  courage is the confidence that the believer stands
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  secure in his or her saving relationship to God.
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  He experiences the divine power and protection
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  of God's constant presence, walking faithfully
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  in love so as to boldly confront all evil and
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  injustice, thereby honoring the Lord and seeking
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  God's glory above all things. Simply put, courage
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  is fearing the Lord, not cowering in front of
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  our enemies. To have such courage, we have this
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  wonderful passage in Joshua. And within this
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  passage we see four things that we are to remember
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  God's promises, we are to remember God's power,
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  we are to remember God's presence, and we are
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  to remember God's precepts. Let's look at promises
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  first, primarily in verses two through four and
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  verse six. It should come as no surprise that
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  courage, forms the root of the word encourage.
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  And by remembering God's promises, Joshua would
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  be encouraged. As I said, you see this phrase
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  or something similar to it, be strong and courageous.
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  It's there three times within our text. But actually,
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  if you go back into Deuteronomy, you see this
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  phrase more than just the three times that are
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  here. Let me take you to Deuteronomy chapter
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  31. verses four through eight. As this is said
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  here, Moses is speaking, so Moses is clearly
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  still alive, and he's talking to Joshua. He's
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  getting Joshua ready to take over. Moses knows
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  that he's not going into the promised land. 31
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  ,4, and the Lord will do to them as he did to
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  Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and
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  to their land when he destroyed them. And the
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  Lord will give them over to you and you shall
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  do to them according to the whole commandment
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  that I have commanded you. There it is. Be strong
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  and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of
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  them. For it is the Lord your God who goes with
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  you. He will not leave you or forsake you. Then
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  Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the
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  sight of all Israel be strong and courageous.
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  There it is again. for you shall go with this
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  people into the land that the Lord has sworn
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  to their fathers and give them, and you shall
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  put them in possession of it. It is the Lord
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  who goes before you. He will be with you. He
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  will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear
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  or be dismayed." And so now in Joshua 1, that
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  Moses has died, the Lord is calling on Joshua
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  to remember his promises, right? Look at verse
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  3. It says, just as I promised Moses. So the
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  very promises made to Moses are now made to Joshua.
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  But still, have you ever thought of what it would
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  be like to lead Israel after the time of Moses?
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  Have you ever had to follow somebody in something
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  who does a wonderful job? Maybe you're singing
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  a solo and you had to follow a wonderful act
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  and you think, how in the world can I follow
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  that? How in the world can I top that? Think
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  about Moses. Moses is the one who met God at
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  the burning bush and received his covenant name
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  of Yahweh. Moses is the one who formed all the
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  signs and the wonders and the plagues. Moses
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  is the one the part of the Red Sea. Moses met
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  Yahweh at Mount Sinai and led the people through
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  the wilderness for 40 years. This is Moses. How
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  in the world do you follow or top Moses? Well,
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  here's the good news that you know Joshua doesn't
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  have to top Moses. Moses is not his standard,
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  God is. And as the Lord gives these promises,
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  the Lord also is the one who can give the land.
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  And yes, there's gonna be battles, but ultimately
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  it's the Lord who's in control of this land,
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  right? And so Joshua is really told here, remember
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  the promises of God. And that's good application
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  for us too. We need to remember the promises
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  of God that he makes to his people. Passages
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  like Romans chapter 10 verse 13, all who call
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  upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Passages
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  like Ephesians 2, 8 and 9, for it's by grace
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  you've been saved through faith, it's not from
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  yourselves, it's the gift of God, right? We need
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  to remember those kinds of promises. We can even
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  remember the promise that Jesus makes in John
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  14 when he says I go to make a place for you.
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  Talk about territory, right? Our heavenly territory
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  awaits. Christ has promised it. It is there for
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  us. But as we recognize this and we recognize
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  the promises of God, we should also recognize
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  the very power of God. Look in verses four and
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  five. God has the power to ensure that wherever
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  Israel treads, the land will be theirs. And so
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  no Hittite, no Ammonite, no Moabite can hold
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  onto this land against God's purposes. And even
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  when Israel's enemies were victorious, it was
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  only because the Lord allowed it. And this promise
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  of this promised land traces not just back to
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  Moses, this goes way back. This goes all the
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  way back to the time of Abraham, right? And so
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  what it really shows us is yes, the power of
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  God because God fights for his people. Consider
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  the words of Exodus chapter 17. Exodus 17, eight
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  through 13. And we'll go nine. Now eight, then
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  Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim.
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  So Moses said to Joshua, choose for us men and
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  go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will
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  stand on the top of the hill with the staff of
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  God in my hand. So Joshua did as Moses told him
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  and fought with Amalek while Moses, Aaron and
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  her went up to the top of the hill. When Moses
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  held up his hand, Israel prevailed. And whenever
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  he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses'
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  hands grew weary. So they took a stone and put
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  it under him. And he sat on it while Aaron and
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  Hur held up his hands on one side and the other
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  on the other side. So his hands were steady until
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  the going down of the sun. And Joshua overwhelmed
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  Amalek and his people with the sword. Yes, it's
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  true. God fights for his people. Joshua then
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  is being reminded God's power here. Remembering
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  the power of God, this can help us too. It can
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  help us not to fear. Perhaps you remember Psalm
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  27, verse one, the Lord is my light and my salvation.
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  Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold
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  of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? This puts
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  all of our challenges in perspective, doesn't
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  it? That every battle is really lopsided against
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  the power of God. And this should help you too
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  as you go through various situations in which
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  you need the courage of God, right? Maybe you're
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  getting ready to go on your first mission trip
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  and you need to be reminded of the power of God
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  maybe Maybe you are in a secular work setting
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  and you go in on Monday and people drag Christ's
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  name through the mud and you have to stand up
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  For who God is and who Christ is Ask the Lord
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  to grant you his courage Maybe you have a doctor's
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  appointment coming up and a potentially devastating
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  diagnosis. Ask for the very courage of God and
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  he will supply. By way of illustration, this
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  week you may have seen that there are multiple
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  reports circulating online of the murder of an
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  evangelist in Kampala, Uganda. An evangelist
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  named Alfred who was preaching at some sort of
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  a gospel outreach event. He and his wife were
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  leaving from the event after it happened and
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  four men posing as motorcycle taxi drivers, they
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  claimed to be Christians and they offered to
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  give the evangelist and his wife a ride home.
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  But actually what they did instead is they killed
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  the evangelist. And so no doubt this will raise
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  concerns about ministry in that region. Africa
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  in that country of Uganda and some people may
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  say hey we need to stay away from that it's a
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  Christian country but it has a growing Muslim
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  population and certainly there is to be wisdom
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  when we consider when we go and where we go and
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  how we go to serve in hostile places but the
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  Christian knows this that God is at work And
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  God has the power to strengthen hearts and bodies
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  for his work. And God has the power to continue
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  to bring people to faith in Jesus, perhaps and
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  maybe especially in hostile situations. Actually,
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  that kind of persecution rather than silencing
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  the gospel, all it simply does is fuels the fire
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  because God's power cannot be silenced. And this
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  is especially true. when we realize point number
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  three, remembering God's presence. There is something
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  uniquely encouraging about the presence of another
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  person, isn't there? Don't you just feel encouraged
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  as you go through something difficult? I reference
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  maybe that diagnosis, having somebody there with
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  you at the doctor's office. Doesn't that mean
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  the world to you? It certainly means the world
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  to me. But someone even greater than our best
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  friend or even our spouse is with us God promises
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  his presence God promises to Joshua his Withness
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  I will be with you in verse 5 as I was with Moses
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  So I will be with you and friends God's presence
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  is not occasional verse 9 says the Lord your
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  God is with you wherever you go and verse 5 says
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  I will not leave you forsake you." Meaning God's
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  presence, his witness, he doesn't take time off,
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  does he? And this kind of a promise of presence
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  is echoed throughout Scripture. It's echoed to
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  Jacob. You remember when Jacob is told to go
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  find a wife from among his own people. God promises
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  to be with him. It's when David speaks to Solomon
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  as Solomon is getting ready to assume the throne
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  God promises his presence as David talks to his
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  son It's it's it's spoken by Solomon himself
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  at the benediction at the dedication of the temple
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  and Ultimately God's presence is seen the most
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  clearly in Jesus Christ who is our Emmanuel God
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  with us and it's echoed out of the lips of Jesus
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  himself at the end of Matthew 28 when he says,
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  I am with you always until the end of the age.
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  The Christian, you can have courage because God
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  is with you. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit
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  means we are never left alone and we are never
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  forsaken. God is with us, strengthening us as
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  we do what he has called us to do. And God's
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  presence is not dependent upon your feelings.
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  I know sometimes we might say or we might feel,
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  I feel like God's not with me. Well guess what?
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  It's not dependent upon your feelings. He is
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  with you. And is there anything more encouraging
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  than knowing that God is with you at all times?
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  For me, there's nothing more encouraging than
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  that. He by his spirit resides in you and because
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  he does, point four is also important. We are
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  to remember God's precepts. The indwelling of
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  the Holy Spirit helps us to keep God's commands.
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  Look in verses seven and eight. Being courageous,
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  also means being obedient. It doesn't do much
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  good to say you're courageous if you're not faithful
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  enough to stand for truth. So remembering God's
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  promises and His power and His presence will
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  help you keep His precepts. But you might say,
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  well, what in the world are precepts? Well, if
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  you read in the Psalms, you'll see it quite often,
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  actually, especially in Psalm 119, where it says,
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  I meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on
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  your ways. And this is precisely what Joshua
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  chapter one, verse eight, calls Joshua to do.
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  This book of the law shall not depart from your
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  mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night
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  so that you may be careful to do according to
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  all that is written. in it. And verse seven links
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  strength and courage directly to obedience, being
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  careful to do what Moses commanded you. And so
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  success and wisdom depend on adhering to the
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  revealed word of God. And yet if we were going
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  to give. Joshua some encouragement if we were
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  gonna give him some instruction we would probably
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  give Joshua military strategy right we would
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  say you need all kinds of weapons and things
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  but here he's just told to adhere to the very
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  word of God it's as if it's as if the Lord is
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  telling Joshua remember your training you've
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  been prepared for this And so he essentially
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  says, hey, to have courage and to be successful,
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  know my word and consider it around the clock.
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  Read it and speak it and memorize it. And friends,
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  we are to do the same thing. If you're looking
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  for courage, look no further than the word and
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  prayer. Look no further than the means of grace
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  in which God is really at work in our lives,
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  strengthening our faith. We need to be committed
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  to this. You want courage. Make sure you're in
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  this book. For this book shows us courage time
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  and time and time again as God strengthens us.
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  And so as I begin to conclude, I have a challenge
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  for you. Will you let this sermon have an ongoing
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  impact in trusting God with strength and courage?
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  If you accept that challenge, don't wait for
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  the critical moment. Strengthen yourself now
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  in the Lord. Yes, the Lord will be with you.
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  And yes, he is. But we need to strengthen ourselves
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  now by this word. After all, What did the Israelites
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  do underneath Joshua? Look in verse 10. And Joshua
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  commanded the officers of the people pass through
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  the midst of the camp and command the people
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  prepare your provisions for within three days
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  you are to pass over this Jordan to go in to
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  take possession of the land that the Lord your
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  God is giving you to possess. So Joshua commands
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  his officers to tell the people to prepare to
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  take possession of the land. And what is their
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  response? Look in verses 16 and 18. And they
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  answer, Joshua, all that you have commanded us,
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  we will do. And wherever you send us, we will
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  go. Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so
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  we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God
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  be with you as he was with Moses. Whoever rebels
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  against your commandment and disobeys your words,
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  whatever you command him shall be put to death.
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  And here it comes again, only be strong and courageous.
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  And so friends, the call for you is to be strong
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  and courageous. Remember, God's promises. Remember
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  God's power. Remember God's presence. And remember
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  his precepts. Let us pray.