Sunday Sermon Title: Be Strong and Courageous

Speaker: Pastor Pacer Tan
Date: 21 Feb 2016
Church: Lighthouse Evangelism Church
Scripture: Joshua 1:1-9

Introduction
No matter how brave you are, it is always not sufficient, as long as you are doing it in your flesh.  For example, the disciples assured Jesus that they would be with Him all the way even unto death. But none of them did so. Today, we want to learn how to be courageous in the Lord from the book of Joshua, chapter 1, verses 1 to 9.

Background: Verses 1 – 9

Moses' generation is gone. This is a new generation under Joshua. God assures Joshua he has the promise land.  God will be with him all the way.  However, God wants him to be strong and courageous, and not to turn to left or right.  It is time for him to rise up and take this mandate and move on.

Reflection:  The promised land for us now is Heaven. We are people of promise. When we believe in Christ, we have a promised land which is Heaven. This is the place of rest. Do you believe God for your promised land?

Preparation for Joshua

If God has said that he would do it, He will do it. Why Moses’ generation failed to enter the promised land? The problem is neither Moses nor Joshua but is the people. They were fearful and did not believe they could do it. 

Reflection: God said three times to Joshua to “be strong and courageous”.  It is important for Joshua to know that he can find strength in God. His calling is His enabling. What is it in your life now that you think it is impossible to see a breakthrough? God is saying to you, “Be strong and courageous” for the strength is found in the Lord.

The Three Key Biblical Principles:

Principle One - God's promise is unleashed through faith and obedience.
Joshua needs to be strong and courageous. God’s promise is not seasonal which has expiry date. God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous three times, which means it is very important for Joshua to hear this.

A. God knows that we have the propensity to be coward and to feel weak. He wants us to be strong and courageous in Him, and not in oneself. 

B. When writing to the Philippians while he was still in prison, He told them that he was full of courage for he found strength in Christ.

C. Jesus said, "Take heart for I have overcome the world". We need to simply trust and obey for He will strengthen us in time of need.
D. There is a cycle of defeat experienced in Moses’ generation resulted in having a wounded mentality.  Joshua is tasked to break that cycle through God’s promise for them to enter the promised land.

Reflection:  As God has broken the cycle of defeat in the life of Joshua, what is your cycle of defeat that God wants to break and set you free?

2. Principle Two: Meditate and practice God's Word daily
A. Matthew 4:4 – Feeling weak after 40 days fasting in the wilderness, Jesus set an example for us to see how to practice God’s Word to overcome temptations by Satan.

B. When our soul is weary, it is during this vulnerable moment that we need God's Word to strengthen our resolve to overcome temptation and trial.
C. Meditating God’s Word brings health to our spiritual well-being. It is about intimate communion with God, so that the flesh in us recognise that eating physical bread alone is insufficient to spiritual vitality and strength.

Reflection: Satan comes subtlely alongside us, very often tempts us by putting words into our mind like “You don't need His Word now. You need your 8 hrs of sleep or you need to eat now so that you can have energy.”  During this moment, it is vital for you to tell Satan, "I need God's Word now. My strength comes from His Word. I can still have my food, sleep and sex later."

Principle Three - Fear is conquered when you know God is with you.
A. How does a child calm himself when he is feeling fearful?  He looks for his protector who is his mum or dad.  Similarly God is our protector and He calms all our fears when we come into His presence and like a child be embraced by God’s mighty, healing arms.
C. Peter experienced calmness in his heart, and was able to walk on water towards Jesus because He knew that His protector was the one who beckoned him to come to Him.

Reflection:  Who is your protector, deliverer, saviour and healer? Do you look to Jesus for every need, be it small or big, and believe that He will never leave you? Let’s be assured by His departing words of assurance before He was lifted to Heaven - “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:28b ESV.

Note: This is a personal note-taking. For a complete sermon, you may want to purchasse the DVD at the church counter.