Be Strong and of Good Courage

Father, thank you that you've brought us here tonight to look again into Your Word, to worship You, and to be gathered together as a family. Lord, I pray that You would speak to every single one of us. Speak to me and help me to see clearly Your Word tonight. As we open Your Word, would You open our hearts? Would You reveal anything that might be keeping us from truly worshiping You and coming to You? Lord, expose those areas that maybe we've held back. Breathe on those coals that may be flickering.

Father, thank You that You are a loving God, a loving Father. We can cry to You, Abba, Father. So, Lord, I pray that You'd bring us into a place tonight where we're able just to fellowship with You. God, thank You for the work that You're doing here at Calvary Chapel of Escondido. We pray that this year You would do an even greater work in each of our hearts. For we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

You can be seated and open your Bibles to Joshua, chapter 1. We'll see if maybe we can get through more than two verses this week. The book of Joshua. As we looked at last week, Paul the Apostle, in the first book to the Corinthians, which Pastor Pat is going to be starting in a couple of weeks, says in chapter 10, verse 11, that all of these things happened to them for examples, and they are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world have come.

So, what things? The Old Testament. They were written for our admonition, for our instruction. They are examples to you and to me that we would learn from them. We can look at the things that God brought the children of Israel through and realize that God wants to do a great work in us as well. He wants to show us many great and awesome things, just as He showed them. The miracles that God performed for the children of Israel as they wandered through the wilderness and as they came into the promised land are examples to us. They are written down for our admonition upon whom the end of the ages have come. We do believe that we're living in those last days, as we see an escalation of all the different things going on in the world.

And the Bible says that in the last days the love of many will grow cold. I think we see that regularly in our nation, in our society, and among our friends. The love of many has grown cold. The Lord wants to speak to us through this portion of Scripture, and He desires that the eyes of our heart would be opened. He wants to make known to us the riches that are here in His Word.

How many of you have been apprehensive to look into the Old Testament in the past? I have, because there are some things that, as you read, just don't make a lot of sense. It is my prayer that the Lord would open our eyes so that we can see these things very clearly. So, let's get right into it.

We will look at Joshua chapter 1, specifically verses 1 and 2. We read, "Now after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke unto Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, 'Moses, my servant, is dead. Now therefore arise and go over this Jordan, thou and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.'"

This chapter, chapter 1, divides very nicely into three parts, and hopefully, we will get through the whole chapter tonight. There is a lot of ground to cover. The first part we will look at tonight is God's commission and His command from verses 2 to 9. Continuing on, we will see Joshua's call and his confrontation in verses 10 through 15. Finally, in the last two verses, chapter 1, verses 16 through 18, we will see the people's commitment.

So, we have here God's commission and His command, Joshua's call and his confrontation, and the people's commitment. God came to Joshua in these early verses and said that he is to arise and go over this Jordan with all the people unto the land which He gives to them, even unto the children of Israel.

It is very interesting to me that Joshua's ministry begins here at the Jordan River. In Scripture, Joshua is a picture and a type of Jesus. His name, Yehoshua, or Joshua, is the exact same name as Jesus. Jesus is just the Greek rendering of the Hebrew name Joshua. Just like in English we would say John, but in Spanish, you would say Juan. In Hebrew, Joshua is the Greek name Jesus. Thus, we have a picture and a type of Christ in Joshua.

And Jesus, His ministry began where? It began at the Jordan River. Remember when He went to be baptized by John the Baptist? It's in all of the Gospels, especially in Matthew, specifically Matthew chapter 3 and chapter 4. Jesus went down to the Jordan River to be baptized by John.

In John chapter 1, if you turn to the book of John, it's very interesting because we see in verse 28 that these things were done. What things? The baptism. These things were done in Beth Arba, beyond the Jordan, when John was baptizing. If you were to look at a map of Israel, you would see that Beth Arba, this city or place, is located in the southern part of Israel near the top of the Dead Sea at the Jordan River. The name actually means "the house of crossing" or "the house of the ford." Not the ford, the car, but the house of fording the river.

It really is the exact same place where the children of Israel crossed the Jordan River. Just as Joshua's ministry began here at the Jordan River, the same thing happened with Jesus; His ministry began there as well. As He went down into the river and was baptized, He came up out of the river, and immediately in Matthew chapter 4, we see that He was taken into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit. There, He was tempted by the enemy.

The children of Israel, as they go down into the river and come up on the other side, are going to enter a time of physical battles. Jesus went into a time of spiritual battles, and He leads us through that. Joshua will take the children of Israel into a time of physical battles. This portion of Scripture is really a perfect picture of Jesus. As Joshua prepares his ministry, he prepares to stand up and lead the children of Israel into the land.

The Lord says to him in verse 3, and verse 3 is a great promise.

A wonderful promise is that every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that I have given unto you, as I said unto Moses. It's a great promise, but it's also a great command. The Lord was telling them that they actually need to go into the land, and their feet need to step down in these places if they are going to take it. But every place that they do step, it's theirs. God has given it to them.

Just as in Ephesians chapter 1, verse 3, we have read before, "Blessed be the God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places." You see, God has given us great spiritual blessings, and we are to take them. We are to go in and take that land which God has given to us. In every place that the sole of our foot shall tread in this spiritual life, God has given us that land, but we need to begin to walk forward and take it.

The same was true with the children of Israel. This land was given to them; it was their inheritance. They owned it, and yet they didn't possess it. They needed to go into the land. They needed to cross the Jordan River and come into that great promised land. Everywhere that they would go, God would give it to them. He promised it to them. When? Well, turn in your Bibles to the very first book of the Bible, in Genesis chapter 13.

God actually promised this to Abraham in Genesis chapter 12, but there's a great portion of Scripture that we've looked at before here in Genesis chapter 13, starting at verse 17. God spoke to Abraham in verse 17 of Genesis chapter 13 and said, "Arise and walk through the land, through its length and through its breadth, for I give this unto thee." God had spoken to Abraham. He had called him out of his home and away from his country, and so Abraham began to follow God. As he came into the land of Canaan, God said, "This land I'm going to give to you and your descendants after you."

Then here in chapter 13, God again says to Abraham, "I want you to arise." Remember last week, we looked at how God spoke the very same thing to Joshua: "Arise." So way back in Genesis chapter 13, God says to Abraham, "Arise and walk through this land, because this I'm giving to you." It says in verse 18, "Then Abraham removed his tent, and he came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron." That word "Hebron" means fellowship.

What an awesome picture that Abraham picked up his tent and moved himself to a place called Hebron. Why? Because he wanted to be in fellowship with God. For us to be in fellowship with God, we need to be where God wants us to be. God wanted and desired that the children of Israel would be in the promised land. He wants and desires that you and I would be in the promised land of His blessings as well. That we would cross over the Jordan River and come into those spiritual blessings that He has poured out upon us. We should be in Hebron, in fellowship with Him, able to sit down with the Lord.

You may remember that back in Exodus, the children of Israel dwelt in a place called Horeb for a period of time as God gave them the law. The word Horeb in Hebrew means desolate or horrible. I don't want to dwell in that desolate, horrible place. I want to be in that place of fellowship. Don't you? Don't you desire to be where God wants you to be? Where you can hear His voice as Abraham did, where you can know that His presence is there? That's exactly what God desires for you and for me. He has promised us these great spiritual blessings and desires that we would lay hold of them. We should press in and take care of those things, coming and grabbing hold of that promise.

Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that I have given unto you. He tells them a little bit about what this land is, from the wilderness and this Lebanon, even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Hittites, unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun. This shall be your coast. God tells Joshua in verse 4 that this whole land is yours. Everything is right in the middle of it, but everything all the way over to the Euphrates and all the way over to the Mediterranean Sea is all yours. I've given it to you.

Such a huge land, a great and awesome possession that God gave to the children of Israel. If you read the entire Bible, you will see thousands upon thousands of promises that God has given to us—great and awesome possessions that He desires we would lay hold of. However, as we looked at last week, the children of Israel never really took hold of the entire land. God had promised them this great portion as a possession, over 300,000 square miles of land.

They only took about 30,000 of it—one-tenth. One-tenth of what God had for them. Yes, they dwelt in the promised land; they lived where God had called them. However, they didn't have the full victory that God had intended for them. God desires that you and I would come into that place where we experience great victory and lay hold of all that He has given to us.

In verse 5, God says to Joshua, "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 you. I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee." God assures Joshua that no one will ever be able to stand against him. What an awesome promise! As you prepare to go into battle, standing by the Jordan River and looking at the land that God has given to you, you see the great stronghold of Jericho in the distance. These walled cities were something like 25 feet thick.

As you stand there, looking at Jericho, the first city you are going after, you might feel uncertain, thinking, "Lord, I don't know if we can do this." Yet God reassures you, "There shall not be any man who will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just like I was with Moses, I'll be with you." You may say, "Well, that's a great promise, but God was speaking there to Joshua." However, He wasn't only speaking to Joshua. In Romans chapter 8, we read, "What shall we say then to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" If God is for us, who can stand against us? The promise remains true for you and me. God spoke it to Joshua, but He speaks it to us as well.

Turn in your Bibles one book to the left to Deuteronomy chapter 7. God spoke to Moses here in Deuteronomy chapter 7, starting at verse 23. It says, "But the Lord thy God shall deliver them unto thee, and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction until they be destroyed. And He shall deliver their kings into thine hand, and thou shalt destroy their name from under heaven. And there shall no man be able to stand before thee until thou hast destroyed them."

So, God spoke this promise to Moses and the children of Israel in Deuteronomy, then again to Joshua in Joshua chapter 1, and once more in the New Testament, He speaks it to us.

And He says to you and me that we are not to be afraid, because if God is for us, then who can be against us? Paul tells Timothy that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. Oh, that we would be able to stand in that and say, "Lord, You haven't given me a spirit of fear," when we look at the trials that may stand before us. When we spiritually examine the hurdles we must jump over in our lives, perhaps the sin that has ensnared us for a long time, we might feel overwhelmed, thinking, "Jericho's too big." Yet the Lord assures us that no one will be able to stand before us, not even the enemy.

Remember, Jesus told His disciples that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church. He wants us to storm the gates of hell and take back the ground that the enemy has seized. Back in Genesis, in the third chapter, we see that the enemy took hold of the earth. It is the Lord's by right, but He gave it to us. When Adam sinned, he relinquished it to Satan. Consequently, this whole world is under the sway of the wicked one. God has called us to go in and reclaim those who are lost. It is His work, but He wants us to step into that battle. He will do the work, but He desires us to move forward.

Perhaps you remember in Romans chapter 10, Paul asks, "How will they hear without a preacher?" How will the world hear unless we are sent out? It is wonderful that we come to church, and God instructs us not to neglect the gathering together of the body. However, every single time we gather, we must remember that we will be going out from here in just a few minutes. God has called us into this battlefield to reclaim what the enemy has taken.

We have a great promise in Scripture that no one will be able to stand before us, not even Satan himself, because the gates of hell will not prevail against the church. This is what God has called us to: a victorious Christian life, a life that experiences victory here and now, not just when we stand with the Lord on that day and look over the Valley of Megiddo. That time is coming. Revelation will come to pass, where you and I will return with the Lord on white horses. We will stand and witness the armies of man and the armies governed by Satan coming against God. With the word going out of His mouth, God will obliterate them all.

And we'll see just an incredible victory. But God wants us to have that victory today. Oh, that that victory would be in our hearts now.

God spoke the promise to Moses: no one is going to be able to stand before you. He spoke the promise to Joshua: no one will stand before you. And God has spoken it to us. As Romans chapter 8 says, we are more than conquerors through Him. Through the Lord, we are more than conquerors. He continues and says, "I'm going to be with thee." He said the very same thing to Abraham in Genesis chapter 26, to Jacob in Genesis chapter 31, and to Moses in Exodus chapters 3, 4, and 5. He told Gideon in Judges chapter 6, and here He tells Joshua, "I'm going to be with you." He tells you and me in Psalm 91, "I will be with him in trouble, and I will deliver him and honor him."

The Lord has promised us throughout the Scriptures that He is going to be with us. He says, "I will not fail thee, and I will not forsake thee." If you turn to Hebrews chapter 13, verse 5, we read here that God says, "I will not fail thee, and I will not forsake thee." The writer of Hebrews continues, "Let your conversation be without covetousness and be content with such things as you have. For He has said, 'I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.'" What a great promise! God has spoken to you and me that He is not going to leave us and He is not going to forsake us.

So God here commissions Joshua. He says to him, "No one is going to be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I've been with Moses, I'm going to be with you. I'm not going to leave you. I'm not going to forsake you." He says the very same thing to you and me throughout the Scripture. It is reiterated where God shows us that He will never leave us and He will never forsake us.

There are so many times when the enemy tricks us and fools us into thinking that we have sinned too greatly or that we have walked away. Has anybody ever felt that way before, thinking that you have pressed on too far past what God could handle? Come on, don't be afraid to raise your hand. If that's where you've been, that's where I've been before. Yet, if you remember, the Bible tells us in Romans chapter 5 that He loved us while we were yet sinners. Ephesians says that while we were yet His enemies,

He still loved us. If God loved us while we were His enemies, while we were in sin against Him, He still loves us today. He is not going to leave us or forsake us, and He desires that we would take hold of that promise and no longer listen to the lie of the enemy. When the enemy says, "Oh, God’s so angry with you," remember that Satan is very crafty. He'll dangle the carrot in front of your face and say, "Here, you know you want it. Come grab it. Come get it." As soon as you take hold of it, he goes, "You idiot, what did you do that for?"

But we have a promise in Christ that there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, as stated in Romans chapter 8, verse 1. Yet so many times we listen to the enemy. While God speaks in a still, small voice and says, "I still love you. I'm never going to leave you or forsake you," the enemy yells at us, saying, "You're a failure. You'll never be enough." And yet God, in that still, small voice, says, "Follow me."

I love that when Jesus came, His first words were, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," and His very next words were, "Follow me." Even though we are sinners, and every single one of us in this room has failed time and time again, God comes to us and says, "Repent. Follow me. Get up. Run the race. Let's go."

However, there are so many times when we sit down and sulk because we listen to the enemy. The enemy says, "You're never going to amount to anything. You've pushed too far." But God has commissioned us just like He commissioned Joshua. God said, "No one is going to be able to stand before you, Joshua. Rise up. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, it's yours. I've given it to you."

In verse six, we read of God's command: "Be strong and of good courage, for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I swear unto their fathers to give to them." God comes to Joshua and says, "Be strong and of good courage." Joshua was very likely standing there, overlooking all of this land that God had given to him, thinking, "Lord, it's so big. How are we going to take this? How are we going to fight against Jericho and Ai after that? What are we going to do, Lord?"

He was the general of the army for a long time. He was the one who led God's army while they were in the wilderness. With that mindset of seeking strategy, he would ask, "What are we going to do, Lord? How are we going to take care of this?" It’s very easy, if any of you have that kind of mind, to begin to pick things apart and create a plan—Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, and so on. You can have so many plans that you suddenly start to feel overwhelmed and think, "Oh no, what are we going to do?"

I imagine that Joshua was probably in that place, looking at everything and thinking, "We need a contingency plan for this and that. What are we going to do?" Meanwhile, the others were uncertain. Yet the Lord would come and encourage him, saying, "No one will be able to stand before you. Everywhere that you walk, I’m giving it to you. I will push these people out from before you. You just have to follow me and walk into the battle." Then He said, "Be strong and of good courage."

Paul told the Ephesian church in Ephesians 6, verse 10, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord." God says the same thing to us: "Brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might." He goes on to say, "Put on the whole armor of God." Paul was preparing the Ephesian church for battle, just as God was preparing Joshua for battle. When God prepares us for battle, He encourages His soldiers. He comes alongside us and says, "Be strong and of good courage."

In Psalm 27, which is a great psalm, we find beautiful words of encouragement. As you turn there, I will read some of it because it is so wonderful. "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came up to eat my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. Though war should rise against me, in this I will be confident."

David expresses a desire in this psalm: "One thing I have desired of the Lord, and that will I seek after, that I might dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple. For in the time of trouble, He shall hide me in His pavilion, in the secret of His tabernacle."

What is David speaking of here again? War. A battle. Look down in Psalm 27, verse 14. The last verse says, "Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart."

Wait, I say, on the Lord. That right there, underlined in your Bibles, is "be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart." The words in the Hebrew are exactly the same as what God tells Joshua in Joshua chapter 1, verse 6: "Be of good courage." He says, "Be strong and of good courage." It's just rendered a little bit differently here. "Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart." Exact same words.

When did God speak this to David? When he was in the midst of a battle. When did God speak this to Joshua? When he was in the midst of the battle. When does God speak through Paul to you and to me? At the beginning of the battle: "Be strong and of good courage." We're in a spiritual battle. Don't let the enemy lull you into sleep to where you think everything's all right. We're going; we don't have to worry anymore. No, we're in a battle. If we're not moving forward, we're being beaten back.

Josh always tells the story in the high school group, and I think it's an incredible story. There in 2 Samuel, when the children of Israel were running from the Philistines, one of David's mighty men, I believe his name was Eliezer, stood in the middle of a barley field. He took his sword and began to fight. He killed 800 Philistines right there by himself. The Bible says that his hand didn't know where his hand ended and his sword began. It was as if his hand was welded to the sword. May our hands be welded to the sword. May we take hold of it and never let go of the words of God that He has given to us, because this is the sword of the Spirit.

The enemy is scared to death of this. Do you remember when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness? How did He defeat him? The word of God. The enemy is scared to death of this. And you know what he'll try to get you to do? Leave it in your car. Leave it at home. Forget where it's at. I taught junior high for three and a half years. They'd bring their skateboards and their Walkmans, but they never brought their Bibles. You'd ask them, "Where's your Bible?" They'd say, "I don't know. I think I left it under my bed." May it be welded to our hand. Don't let it go. Take it with you wherever you go. You're naked without it.

Eliezer stood there in the midst of that field. When you hear about that, you might think, "Yeah, but he was one of David's mighty men." I was reflecting on this last week. David's mighty men were incredible! It would be awesome just to be like them, especially the three close companions.

Do you realize that these men were a whole bunch of criminals? They were dissatisfied with the way the government was during their time and were really upset about many things. They came down to David when he was at the cave of Adullam and began to cry because they felt weak. Yet, God changed them into mighty men of valor. We are all mighty men and women of valor in the making, and God wants us to be like that. He wants us to stand firm, to take a position in the barley field, in this Escondido, this little hidden valley. We are called to take up the sword of the Spirit and do battle.

No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Have you ever experienced a moment when the Lord speaks to your heart? Perhaps He prompts you to tell someone about Him. You might hesitate, thinking, "Oh no, Lord, I can't do that." But He reassures us that He is bigger than our fears. No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. He promises to be with you, saying, "I will not fail you nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage."

In Joshua 1:6, it says, "For unto this people shalt thou divide as an inheritance the land which I swear unto their fathers to give to them." How can we stand in the midst of this battle and be strong and of good courage? We need to rely upon the Word of God, upon what He has spoken to us. He assures us, "I'm going to be with you. I'm not going to leave you. I'm not going to forsake you. Be strong and of good courage."

But you might wonder, "How can I be strong?" The answer is simple: He will be with you. If you find yourself lacking in faith, it may be because you're not reading the Bible. You're not taking the time to engage with it, and the Bible says that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. If you're lacking in faith or having a hard time sharing the Lord with others, it's likely because you haven't been reading the Word. If you disagree with me, I encourage you to reflect on this.

Then you actually disagree with the Lord, and you call Him a liar. He has promised that if we read the Word, He will increase our faith. God comes to Joshua and says, "Hey, you're going to divide this land to the children of Israel. I'm promising it to you. I'm promising it to them. So be strong and of good courage."

In verse seven, He emphasizes this by saying, "Only be thou strong and very courageous." The same exact words are repeated, but with emphasis. "Only be strong and very courageous, Joshua. Stand and be strong. Go in strength and in courage so that you may observe to do according to all the law." In verse seven, He continues, "Only be thou strong and very courageous that thou may observe to do according to all the law which Moses, My servant, commanded thee. Turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest."

God says to Joshua, "Only be thou strong and very courageous." Why? Underline that "that" in your Bibles. Why be strong and very courageous? That you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses has commanded you.

You see, as soon as you come into the land, Joshua, the people are going to see all the things going on in the land. They're going to see the gold, the silver, and these false gods. They will be drawn into it and think, "Oh, wow, that looks really good." Why? Because that stuff tantalizes our flesh. It draws us in. The enemy knows the things that will hang us up. He knows what lures to use.

Oftentimes, the difference between a bad fisherman and a good fisherman is that the good fisherman knows which lures to get for which fish—what bait works best. The enemy, for thousands of years, has been testing us to see what lure works the best. He will come into your life and mine, beginning to dangle those things in front of us. "Will pride work in this instance? No, this person is not very prideful. All right, how about lust? Dangle some lust in front. No, that doesn't work. Okay, how about the love of money? Ooh, I got it!"

He tests us. In Job chapter one, when Satan went to stand before the Lord, God asked, "Where have you been, Satan?" He replied, "Oh, I've been going to and fro throughout the whole earth." Then God said, "Have you considered my servant Job?" The word "considered" there is a military term, something a general would do, like Joshua, when he begins to study his opponent.

And you know what Satan said? "Yes, I've considered him." The enemy has considered every single one of us in this room. He knows the things that will hang us up, and some of us are hung up right now because the enemy's got you. You can run, and you can run, and you can run, but you're going to get tired running until you allow the Lord to come and clip the line. How does He do that? Well, He uses the sword—the Word of God.

"Only be thou strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant has commanded thee. Turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou may prosper." Underline "that thou may prosper" in your Bible. Why should we seek to keep that law and not go to the left or the right, Lord? Because when you do, you will prosper.

Now understand very clearly, and I want everybody to hear me on this: I'm not saying that by the law is justification. You're not going to be saved by the law. Remember, the children of Israel were not in Egypt. God brought them out of Egypt by a mighty hand, as the scripture says. He has brought us out of the world, Egypt, by His mighty hand.

When the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea, it was a picture of baptism. But between Egypt and the promised land is the wilderness, and the children of Israel went through the wilderness. God wants us to step across the Jordan River in a new baptism. Remember, John the Baptist said, "There is one coming who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire." The Jordan River is a picture of stepping over that; you're now in the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

When the Holy Spirit has come, He will give you power. The Bible says in Acts chapter 1, verse 8, that power there is "dunamis" in the Greek. It's dynamic power—the power to live the life that God has called us to. But there are many who would say...

As the church at Ephesus did in Acts chapter 17, we haven't even heard of this Holy Spirit. There are many who would say, "What are you talking about, the life of the Holy Spirit? I didn't know. I've been wandering in the wilderness." Well, God wants to take us over the Jordan River, where we've been crucified with Christ. It's no longer I who live, but Christ who lives within me. The life which I now live in the flesh is governed and directed by the Spirit of God. That is the new life of the Spirit.

God desires that we would come in. Only be strong and very courageous. Why? How? That you may observe to do according to all that the Lord has commanded you. You may say, "Well, that's legalism. That's legalistic. I don't want to." What are you talking about? What does "Christian" mean? The church in Antioch, in the book of Acts, was teased by this term, "Christian," which literally means Christ-like or little Christs. The Jews and Gentiles in the area of Antioch would poke fun at the Christians and say, "You bunch of Christians. You little prima donnas."

Just like 35 years ago, a lot of people would drive by Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa, and yell out the window, "You bunch of Jesus freaks," because they figured that was really derogatory. "Jesus freaks." Now we wear shirts that say "Jesus freak" and put it on the back of our cars and stuff. But are we really Christ-like? Are we seeking to be Christ-like? We can only do that by the power and the Spirit of God in our lives.

To be Christ-like means that we look like He did and live like He did. The Bible in Hebrews chapter 4 says that He was tempted in all points, yet without sin. Why? Because He observed to do the whole law and turned not to the right hand or to the left. Oh, thank God that Jesus never fell. It proves that He is God. But never forget that He was tempted in all points, yet without sin. The whole verse in Hebrews chapter 4, verse 15 says, "For we do not have a high priest who cannot be touched or cannot sympathize with us, but He was tempted in all points, like as we are."

Yet without sin. And so what does that mean? That means that we can be like Him by His power. Does that mean that we'll be perfect here on earth? No. Why? Because Paul said in Romans chapter 7 that there is this principle, there is this law of our flesh. We are always going to be carrying about this law of the flesh until we die, and this flesh is put away. This corruption puts on incorruption. Oh, I look forward to that day.

Because I stumble and I fall. I say things that I shouldn't. I do things that I shouldn't. The things that I want to do, I don't do. The things that I don't want to do, that I do. I find in myself, in my flesh dwells no good thing. Oh, wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? And then Paul says those wonderful few words: I thank God. Who's going to deliver us from this body of death? Who's going to deliver us from this wilderness?

We've been taken out of the world. We're no longer members of the world, but we're still in the wilderness oftentimes. And yet God would say, "I want you to cross over this Jordan River. Die to yourself. Take up the new man." As we're going to get to, probably in about six months or something when we get to chapter two.

When we get to it, the children of Israel cross the Jordan River, and Joshua chooses twelve men, just like Jesus chose twelve disciples. Joshua chooses twelve men to take up a stone, twelve stones out of the Jordan River. It's a picture of us picking up the new life in Christ. And then when they come into the land, you know what they do? They take twelve stones out of the land and they go back down in there and they set those stones in the riverbed. The old life is dead. The new life of Christ is taken up.

See, that's what God wants to do with us. He wants us to go down into the Jordan River with Him, following Him. Remember, Jesus is the one who leads. He went there first. Leave the old stuff behind, down in the river where you're never going to get to it again. Take up that new life and let's go—the life of Christ, the life that is governed by the Spirit of God. Because in 1 Peter chapter one, we read, "But as He who has called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of life." Because it is written, "Be holy, for the Lord your God is holy."

When I read passages like that, I go, "Lord, I can't do that." Every time I think that, I'm reminded to turn in my Bibles to Philippians, chapter two, verse 12. Paul the Apostle, in Philippians chapter two, gives a great discourse about the Lord.

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ. In verse five, it says that who, being in the form of God, did not think it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, took up the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. Being found in the fashion of men, he humbled himself and became obedient unto the point of death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore, God has highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth. Every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father.

Wherefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. I think of 1 Peter, which says, "Be holy, for the Lord your God is holy." Then I think of Philippians chapter two, verse 12, which instructs us to work out our own salvation. This causes in me fear and trembling. Lord, I can't do that.

But verse 13 says, "For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure." You see, God says, "Be holy, for the Lord your God is holy." He instructs us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, but then he assures us that he will work it in us. It is God's desire that the work he is doing in us would come to the surface and be evident to others. People could look at us and say, "Wow, where do they get that joy? Where do they get that peace? Where do they get that love? How come that person's so kind?"

These are the spiritual blessings. God desires that we would follow him and the life that he lived, that we would be holy, for he is holy. In our flesh, we can never do it, but by the Spirit of God, he can work in us to will and to do for his good pleasure. There are those who say, "Well, I don't really like the law."

I could understand that because the law, the Bible says, condemns to death. It shows us how wicked we are. When I read the Bible and come across those scriptures that are God's word, His law, it pierces my heart. I realize I'm wicked, Lord.

There are those who say, "I don't want to read this." I love coming to church. I love hearing Pat teach and all the other teachers, but I don't like reading it on my own because it hurts. The light of the word exposes the darkness of our hearts. We come to realize that I am just what God has called me: a sinner. I've sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

David, in Psalm 119, says three times that Your law, Lord, is a delight to me. Is the law of God a delight to you? Do you look at it and delight in it, saying, "Lord, I want to read it. I want to look into it every single day"? In Psalm 119, verse 70, David concludes the verse by saying, "But I delight in Thy law. It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn Thy statutes. The law of Thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver."

In verse 77, he says, "Let Thy tender mercies come upon me that I may live, for Thy law is a delight to me." Then, in verse 174, David expresses, "I have longed for Thy salvation, O Lord." Is there anyone else here who has longed for salvation? O Lord, Your law is my delight.

I submit to you that if you're not living in a life of victory, rest, blessing, and abundance, it's because you haven't heeded the command in Joshua chapter 1. You haven't followed the command that the Lord has given you to turn not from the left hand or the right hand of the law.

Please understand my heart here. I'm not talking about a legalistic life where I have to do this to be saved and to make God happy. No, God is happy with you. He loves you and desires to have fellowship with you and me. However, He can't fellowship with me when my sin is in the way.

For my sin, as the Bible says in Isaiah, has separated me from my God. God's hand is not short and His ear is not slack that He cannot hear us and help us, but your sin has separated you from your God. God desires that we come into that place where we say, "Lord, I know I can't do it. I agree with You that I'm a sinner." That's what confession means; it means to agree with God. To come and say, "Lord, I am exactly what You say I am. But I don't want to stay that way. I desire to know Your salvation."

You see, I would say the majority of you in this room know the salvation of the Lord, where He has saved you out of your sin. You're out of the world, and you cannot wait to go to heaven. But do you know the salvation from sin? Do you know the life where you can say, "I no longer walk in that? I once was blind and now I see, and I'm walking with the Lord." Or do you just look forward to, "I can't wait to get to heaven where I get rid of all this stuff because this is too hard"?

You might look back at a point where you were saved at a harvest crusade in '91 or at the Billy Graham crusade in '76. You look back way back then, and then you look way forward and say, "Someday I'm going to be with the Lord, and I'm going to put away this corruptible flesh." Is your life in the past and in the future, or is it right now that you're walking in what God has called you to? Can you say with Paul, "This one thing I do, laying aside that old stuff and pressing on"? Is that the one thing of your life, or do you have like sixty other things that you're trying to do?

In America today, that's normally the way it is; we have so many things we're trying to do that the one thing that's needed—sitting at the feet of Jesus—we just say, "Oh, I don't have time for that. Sunday, fine. Wednesday, fine. But not all week." I don't know if any of you read this morning in Oswald Chambers' "My Utmost for His Highest," but this very morning, the Lord was saying that exact thing: Are you too focused on serving God?

As a person who works at this church, I can tell you it's very easy to get focused on just doing things here. I have to go to this meeting, you have to go to this meeting, I have to call this person and that person. I'm serving the Lord, but am I truly worshiping Him? Am I truly sitting at His feet like Mary and Martha? Remember Martha? She tended to Jesus, and serving the Lord is a good thing. She came out and saw her sister Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus, and she said, "Lord, rebuke her. Tell her to come help me."

And Jesus said, "I will not, because she has chosen the better part. One thing is needed, and that is it. It's sitting at the feet of Jesus."

Whether you're at work, working on something, driving to work, or doing some sort of service or ministry, is your heart in that place where you're before the Lord and saying, "Lord, I delight to do your will"? That's what God desires for us.

I have longed for Thy salvation, O Lord. Not just the salvation where, when I die, I will be with You, but the salvation where I can take my flesh and say, "I no longer live in that. It's gone. I reckon it dead." The life which I now live is God's. I delight to do Your will, O Lord.

In Joshua chapter 1, verse 8, it says, "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night." Why? "That thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein. For then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."

How many of you would like to have a prosperous way and good success? Be honest. Every single one of us would like to have a prosperous way and good success in this world. Well, read this very slowly with me again and let's see what the Lord says.

"This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night." The word "meditate" in the scripture in Hebrew actually means to mutter. What does that mean? Well, as you're driving around, as you're going throughout your day, you're muttering the scripture: "Lord, Your word is a lamp unto my feet. It's a light unto my path. I delight to do Your word."

That's what it means to meditate. It doesn't mean that we sit down in the lotus position and chant "Om," because that's pointless and foolishness. No, to meditate on God's word means to mutter it day and night.

And so God says, "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate or mutter it therein day and night that you may observe to do according to all that is written therein." If you're constantly speaking it, if you're constantly meditating and muttering upon it all day long, I assure you that you will find yourself...

Walking in the path just a little bit more that the Lord has called you to can be challenging. You may say, "Well, I don't agree with all this stuff," but I encourage you to try it. A great man of God by the name of Andrew Murray wrote a small book that I think they have in the bookstore. You might want to buy it; it's called The Blessings of Obedience. I got through about six, probably the first few chapters, and I was just going, "Lord, I don't know if I'm ready for this yet."

There are blessings in obeying the Father. Why did the Lord give us His law? For the same reason that when your child runs out into the street, you say, "No! That's not right. Don't do that." God didn't give us His law because He's some big killjoy in heaven who says, "No, I don't want you to do this because you'd have fun." No, God gave us His law because He knows that if we transgress it, we're going to die.

It's just like you tell your kids, "Don't touch the stove." You're not keeping them back from something that's really fun; you're keeping them away from something that will injure them and hurt them. Sin is bad because it will hurt you. Sin's not bad because God says, "Don't do that." Sin is bad because it will hurt you, and it will hurt me. It has hurt every single one of us in this room. Every single one of us has been hurt by sin at one time or another, whether it's someone who's backbitten us or someone who's broken our hearts. We've all been injured. We've all been hurt by sin.

It only proves that God is true. He says to mutter it and meditate on it day and night so that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. Underline the word "all" there because in Scripture, all means all. For then, you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success. This is God's pattern for a life of prosperity and success.

When I say prosperity and success, I mean prosperity over sin and death and success and victory in the life that God has called us to. I do not mean that if you follow...

The law of God brings blessings, and those who seek to keep it often reap rewards. Look at the Jewish people; they have sought to uphold the law and have become a rich nation with a higher lifespan. Do you realize that? The people in the nation of Israel have a higher lifespan, even though they face constant terrorism and nearly every nation in the world is against them. They still enjoy a longer life than the rest of the world, except perhaps China. I don't know why that is, but it raises the question: why do they have a higher lifespan?

I don't know if you remember that small, obscure promise where God said to honor your father and mother so that it may be well with you and that you will have long life on the earth. God honors His law, and there are blessings in it. However, the prosperity and success that God teaches us about is not merely about wealth in terms of gold, silver, and precious metals.

David, in Psalm 119, expresses that God's law and word are more precious than those material things. When you truly fall in love with the Lord, you will find that your love for the world diminishes. Strange things happen; the things of the world grow strangely dim as you draw closer to the Lord. You may acquire a lot of money, but you might find yourself saying, "Here, take it." The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, and I don't want it.

God instructs us to meditate on His word day and night so that we may observe to do according to all that is written therein. Then we shall have a prosperous way and good success. In Psalm 1, David writes, "Blessed is the man who walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he does meditate day and night."

He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth fruit in its season. His leaf shall not wither, and whatsoever he does shall prosper. Throughout Scripture, we see these principles at work.

The Lord shows us that the life lived with Him is a life lived in obedience to Him. Remember, He told Saul through Samuel in 1 Samuel chapter 15 that your sacrifices are not what I desire; obedience is better than sacrifice. Coming to church on Sundays, or perhaps Saturday night or Wednesday night, may seem like a sacrifice of your time. Praise the Lord that you are offering that sacrifice, but it will profit you nothing if, when you leave here, you do not walk in the things that God has shown you.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage. This is the fourth time, or perhaps the third time, I’m sorry, that He says, "Be not afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee." Be not afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee wherever thou goest. Joshua, don’t be afraid. Follow Me. Don’t turn to the right hand or to the left hand, but follow Me.

Remember, Jesus told His disciples, and He told all of us through the Gospels, that there is a straight and narrow path. Wide is the way to destruction, and there are many who find that path. Narrow is the gate and straight is the way that leads to eternal life. The eternal life I’m talking about is a life lived here and now. It is the life that John 10:10 describes as life more abundantly. That is the life that God has called you and me to.

The book of Joshua is a picture of that life and what is needed. As we get into chapter 2, we will see that what is needed is for us to cross the river, leave our old selves behind, and take up the new life—the life of Christ—and press on. Does that mean you will never fail again? No, because as we go through the book of Joshua, and if we ever get to the book of Judges, we will see that the children of Israel fell back. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Why? Because God has given us His Word, His Old Testament, so that we would learn from it. These things are examples to us so that you and I would know how we are to walk and how we are to live.

Let's pray. Lord, your law is perfect. As Psalm 19 says, it converts the soul. Your testimony, Lord, is sure; it makes wise the simple. Your statutes are right; they rejoice our heart. Your commandment is pure, Lord; it enlightens our eyes and opens our eyes to fear you. Lord, it's the beginning of wisdom. Your judgments are true and righteous altogether. They are more to be desired than gold, much fine gold, and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned and encouraged. Keeping them is their great reward.

God, may we come to know that great reward, that life more abundantly that you promised to us. As we seek to follow after you, Lord, I pray that you would, by your Spirit, reveal to us what it means to know you and the power of your resurrection and the fellowship of your sufferings, being made conformable unto your death. Lord, that life that you called us to when you told your disciples, "If anyone desires to follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me daily."

Lord, it's such a hard thing for us to do, to deny ourselves, but Father, it's you who works in us to will and to do for your good pleasure. I thank you that you've saved us and taken us out of the world. I pray that this year, this day, we would begin to possess the promises you've given to us. That we would begin to lay down the reproach of Egypt and leave it behind us, coming into the new promised land that you've given to us.

For we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's stand together. Jesus, your love has no bounds. Your love has no bounds.

Jesus, your love has no bounds. Your love has no bounds. Jesus, Lord of Heaven, I do not deserve the peace that you have given and the promise of your Word. Lord, I stand in wonder. Lord, I stand in wonder at the sacrifice you've made.