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6) ALL OF LIFE MUST BE COURAGEOUSLY (THAT’S THE IMPORTANT WORD) ANCHORED IN THE WORD OF GOD

Joshua 1:6-8 - “Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. [7] Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. [8] This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

I see several things here I try to apply to my own life:

A) WHENEVER WE RESPOND TO THE CALL OF GOD IN ANY AREA OF LIFE IT WILL REQUIRE STRENGTH AND COURAGE FOR ITS FULFILLMENT

Verses 6 - 7 - “Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. [7] Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.”

The emphasis here isn’t on intelligently studying the Word (though that’s obviously important) but courageously studying the Word. Two times in two verses God repeats the identical words to Joshua - “Be strong and courageous,” the second time adding the imperative that he must be “very courageous”(7). Making a decision to follow God is one thing. That decision usually only takes a brief moment in time. Staying on track until that decision for God is fully carried out is something else.

This idea of "strength and courage" is repeated to carve it deeply into Joshua's mind. It's God's way of reminding Joshua that his decision to follow the call of leading the people is not going to go unchallenged. There will be obstacles - upsets - mid-course disasters - all sorts of things calculated to make him waver.

I want to talk about the process of heeding the call of God. Enthusiasm is a great spark plug for spiritual quests. It makes our future plans look light and full of joy. Enthusiasm isn’t a heavy load to carry. It makes God’s call feel spring-loaded at times. But enthusiasm, if powerful and igniting for faith, is also fickle and fading. It is not the same thing as faith. Faith is more rugged and permanent than enthusiasm.

Faith can feed itself through trial and opposition as long as it roots itself firmly in the Word of God. And the reason faith can endure even after enthusiasm fails is faith keeps itself anchored in God rather than human emotion. Faith can last as long as God doesn’t change or fail. And it is the function of the Word to convince my heart that God never changes or fails. That’s why faith comes from hearing the Word.

However, there is an enemy of faith. That enemy is unbelief. But we need to know more than this. We need to know how unbelief works. And here’s one of the most important things to know about unbelief - Unbelief rarely does it darkest work right away. Almost no endeavour for God will be immediately challenged by unbelief.

The power of enthusiasm is such that it kicks us out of the starting gate with momentum. Usually there is almost nothing Satan can do to thwart this initial rush of passion for the cause of Christ. And that doesn’t bother Satan because he knows he doesn’t have to come crashing down on our passion all the sudden. His best work is to gradually let the air out of our tires.

My experience is it is the nature of unbelief that it settles in after a period of service of ministry. And something else. Unbelief is rarely an intellectual thing. It’s usually not the case that someone is argued out of his or her fresh commitment to follow or serve Christ in some deeper way.

A postmortem on spiritual unbelief will usually reveal a time of trial or persecution or pressure to compromise. Faith is usually worn down rather than frontally assaulted. In other words, one of the chief works of the devil is to take the courage out of our walk with Jesus.

There are few things more important to hold in your memory than this. In any enterprise you undertake for the Lord - any task at all - spiritual courage is the need over the long haul. Be it the reordering of your home - the rebuilding of your devotional live - the re-establishing of some area of ministry - your undertaking of some fresh responsibility in your ministry - whatever it might be - the books and seminars can only give you information. And that’s fine as far as it goes. But your deepest need isn’t just information. It’s courage to keep applying the information to your present situation when unbelief begins to press in and drag down.

I can’t say this to myself strongly enough. The church is missing this so badly in so many areas. It is great to hear God speak and then to respond quicky by taking up some fresh challenge. It is good to repent of failure and turn about to a new direction in God’s grace. It is good to hear the call to grow in Christ. But all of that is going to be challenged by the enemy at some point in time. Know that this is coming. There is no “if” about this. It is only a question of “when.”

And if all you have to throw at him is your technique for success you are doomed. Don’t just fire off your latest book, tape, or cd. All of these may help, but what you need to do is throw the courage of your faith in his face. “....And this is the victory that has overcome the world— our faith” (1 John 5:4b).

B) THE DEVIL GAINS A GREATER VICTORY IN FOULING UP MY LIFE FOR THE LORD MIDWAY THROUGH MY COMMITMENT THAN HE DOES IF HE JUST KEEPS ME FROM EVER STARTING OUT IN THE FIRST PLACE

I am becoming convinced the Devil has no interest in keeping me from starting things for God. Starting points don’t hurt Satan’s cause one bit and may even be turned to his advantage.

By that I mean if Satan keeps me from starting something for God he only defeats me. But if he can allow some measure of initial success, some visibility in my work for God before others, and then take away my courage and faith and capacity to finish - if he can cause me to quit halfway - then he not only ruins my effectiveness but also discourages those who may have taken courage at what Gods’ grace was doing through me. If I don’t start, it brings shame on me. If I start and don’t continue, it brings shame on the whole cause of Christ. This is Satan’s greater victory.

This is very important. It means Satan usually has a long term strategy rather than a short term one. And because he has such a long-term plan for taking the impact out of our lives, and because many Christians have been conditioned to motivate their lives short term enthusiasm rather then long term courage, God gives us this example from Joshua:

“Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. [7] Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go”(Joshua 1:6-7).

C) THERE IS A PARTICULAR KIND OF COURAGE JOSHUA MUST POSSESS

Joshua 1:7 - “Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.”

I can understanding the exhortation to be careful to do according to all the law that Moses commanded. That just makes sense. Joshua mustn’t skip over anything lightly. He must be careful. But the courage part of the command - what is that all about? Why does Joshua need to be courageous just to do God’s Word?

Surely if Joshua needed courage he needed it to face his enemies. God had already told Joshua that the promised land was controlled by "seven nations mightier than yourself"(Deuteronomy 7:1). That’s where Joshua needed courage. But there’s no mention of any of those enemies in our text. When Joshua is commanded to be “very courageous” these enemies aren’t even on God’s mind. So if they’re not the reason Joshua needs courage, what is?

When God talks about Joshua’s need for courage all He talks about is the Word. "Joshua, have the courage to keep rooted and obedient to the revelation I’ve given to Moses. Stay in this word constantly"(7).The enemies are not the reason Joshua will need courage. The tendency toward compromise is the reason Joshua will need courage.

This is what always takes the most courage. God can easily take care of Joshua’s enemies. That’s why they’re not even mentioned in our text. They’re not mentioned because they’re not a factor in Joshua’s success. But only Joshua can establish the direction of his own heart. Only Joshua can continue in the Word when the battle with unbelief settles in during some long, dark stretch in the middle of the race. That’s why God tells Joshua to have the courage to stay rooted in the Word. Hundreds will tell him to quit. He must have the courage to stay the course.

This is always what takes the most courage. The initial impulse to take some fresh step to please God - to set something right - brings a buzz of challenge and excitement. But it will take the power of courage to keep that drive going.

I have to remember to preach this truth all the time. The list of situations is endless. A marriage partner has been unfaithful. And there’s nothing about that situation that’s fair. He or she gets to run around at your expense and you have to hold a Christian standard and live life as a responsible married person waiting for your prodigal partner to come home. He or she commits the sin and you feel the loneliness and pain.

Or someone is separated from his or her spouse. Everyone else in today’s world, including the departing spouse, treats separation as though it were divorce. But the committed one can’t if he wants to please Jesus. It takes incredible courage to live out your vows when your partner isn’t living out his. Or some horrible disease saps strength and joy from your life. Everybody else sings of their deliverance and miracle while you pray as best you can and suffer. Or someone else has a ministry being radically blessed by God and great recognition while you’re serving God just as passionately, but seeing far less fruit or acclaim.

Listen, in any of those situations, the real enemy isn't the marriage or the sickness or the broken relationship or the uphill ministry assignment. The real enemy is that voice that crawls up on your insides and says "This isn’t fair. This isn’t right. God is expecting too much of me. His Word isn’t working. His promise isn’t true. There is no room or hope for joy or freedom down this road.” And then this....“Perhaps if I can just adjust slightly to the right or to the left....”

Don’t do it. Remember, it takes almost no courage at all to start to walk in God’s way. But it takes incredible courage to continue in it. When you run out of “fantastic,” just persevere.

D) FINALLY, THIS TEXT TELLS US WHERE TO INVEST OUR ENERGIES IF WE DESIRE TO HAVE THAT KIND OF STRENGTH

Joshua 1:8 - “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

This verse is so important because it makes clear that when God calls for courage He’s not just talking about human resolve. He’s not calling for the power of positive thinking or mind over matter. Like in the physical body, strength comes from good nourishment. Strength can't just be summoned. It can’t be mustered up - at least not for long. God links Joshua to a source. And the source of inward strength and courage is the Word of God.

Then God points out a particular methodology. There’s a way in which the Word must be followed. And the key point is Joshua’s integration of the Word can’t be partial and it can’t be occasional. Those are the two points embedded in our text. Joshua must pay close attention to all the word (7) and he must do this all the time (8).

Those are the rules. First, pay attention to all the details - “....be careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you”(7). And second, do this all the time - “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night....”(8).

The reason for these two rules is significant. Truth is always unlearned quicker than it’s learned. Decay comes more quickly than growth. With fatigue and strain the spiritual memory becomes rusty and weak. We’re slower to apply the spiritual truth we would quickly apply if we were at our physical best. Our attention becomes diverted to the ways of the world around us gradually.

We don’t deny the Word. We merely turn slightly “to the right or the left.” That’s God’s way of saying we make small adjustments that don’t even look all that significant. And after all, everyone else does. That’s where the need for great courage suddenly kicks in.

Follow these two rules all your life. Our text says they will lead into “good success.” How do you measure "good success?" God measures success by the ability to adhere to His Word when everything else pulls you in the opposite direction. Success is measured by the degree to which your life can’t be budged from all that God has revealed in His Word - Psalm 1:2-3 - “....but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. [3] He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”

Read those words carefully. They are regularly abused in media driven religion. The promise isn’t that everything he does ends in prosperity. The promise is that in everything he does he prospers. His person thrives. Circumstances can be good or bad, happy or sad, pleasant or devastatingly painful. But no matter what comes, if he abides in the Word and never departs, if he suspends his own judgment about what’s fair or unfair and just abides in the Word, he himself will prosper. It’s guaranteed.

#4 - HOW SHALL WE STUDY OUR OLD TESTAMENTS?