Youth Sunday (3rd Sunday after Epiphany) – January 22, 2017
Be Strong and Courageous
Have you noticed what has been going on in the world lately?!? About two months ago there was the Gatlinburg fire that burned more than 17,000 acres, damaged or destroyed more than 2500 structures and killed 14 people. A month before that Hurricane Matthew wreaked its havoc on Haiti, the Bahama’s and the United States. Its affect: over 1,000 dead; billions in damage; and people still in the process of recovery.
Just this last week we saw winter storm Jupiter drop freezing rain on the Midwest and produce tornadoes in Texas; we heard that a Turkish cargo jet crashed into a residential village killing 37; and we know that the threat of terrorism is always alive and well. Our economy that went down the toilet nearly a decade ago has not completely turned around; even small town crime is on the rise.
Perhaps what’s even more disheartening is that in all of this, we haven’t even begun talking about the personal demons we face in our own lives. The troubled marriages that seem to befalling apart. The rebellious children who won’t heed the advice you give. The jobs that have been lost or the hours that have been cut. The stress that comes from parenting; from bills; from concern for the health of loved ones; from the responsibility of taking care of elderly parents; from being a single parent; from divorce; and from living in constant pain and discomfort. Then there are the pressures of fitting in at high school, the work load of college, and the dating scene. Then there are the sorrows bred from the loss of loved ones. Add to that the turmoil of the spiritual battles we wage against our own specific sins and it all just seems too much.
Yet, in the middle of all this, when it seems that we are up to our eyeballs with problems; when it seems like we are in a pit so deep we could never get out; when we are ready to throw in the towel, our Lord, our God, comes to us with soul-soothing, trouble-easing, worry-relieving, heart-comforting words like these: “Be Strong and Courageous.”
Joshua 1:6-9 - 6 “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
The words before us this morning were first spoken to Joshua. Now if you recall, Joshua was the man God chose to replace Moses as the leader of the children of Israel, and it doesn’t take a great imagination to envision some of the anxiety and stress he might have had. For one, there was simply the matter of replacing Moses. Moses had been the only human leader Israel had ever known. On more than one account, the Lord had used him to perform wondrous miracles. He had been a tremendously faithful servant of the Lord. It would have been easy for Joshua to say with apprehension, “I have to follow Moses!”
Then consider the people he was to lead. While they may not have been the same generation that Moses led, they were descendants of that generation. That generation had been called stubborn and rebellious! That generation wore on Moses so much that in exasperation he once said to the Lord, “Why have you brought this trouble on your servant…that you put the burden of all these people on me?...I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. 15 If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now” (Numbers 11:11-15). It would have been easy for Joshua to be nervous, thinking, “What if the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree?”
Finally, there was the land of Canaan and its fortified cities and fighting men against whom Joshua was to lead Israel into battle. So yes, one could say that Joshua was in need of some encouragement and comfort. So that’s what our Lord, who never fails to give what is needed, gives. Three times in four Hebrew sentences God repeats the phrase: “Be strong and courageous.” With these words, Joshua is pointed to the Lord’s presence, power, and his promises – all found in the Lord’s Word. You see, it is one thing to say to a leader, “Be strong! Be very courageous!” but something altogether different to enable him to do it. That’s why the Lord points Joshua to the place he would find strength and courage – to the Word. Listen to our Lord:“Be strong and very courageous…Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.” It was here that Joshua would be reminded of the Lord’s power and presence, and be assured of his promises.
The Word was not to depart from his mouth. He was to meditate on it day and night. He was to do everything written in it, to obey its commands fully and act by it. It wasn’t enough to think highly of this book! It wasn’t enough for the priests to guard this precious book! Joshua was to take time to read it daily and make it a part of his inner person.He was to cling to the written Word.
And when the Lord speaks of the Book of the Law here, he is talking about more than the 10 Commandments. The Book of the Law included all that the Lord had instructed Moses to write. It included the books we know asGenesis through Deuteronomy. And when Joshua would go back to these books, he would receive the strength and courage the Lord wanted him to have as he was reminded of all that the Lord had done.
He would hear again about the creation of the world and that mankind was the crown of that creation. He would be reminded that in this world there would be troubles because of Adam and Eve’s sin, but he also knew that God had promised a Messiah who would crush Satan’s head. He would see how God perfectly and lovingly guided the course of history so the promise of that Messiah would not be broken – from Adam to Seth to Noah to Abraham to Jacob and now the nation of Israel. He would see the power of God on display as he miraculously worked on behalf of his people in Egypt. He would once again behold his presence as he led the people by pillar of fire and cloud. He would be reminded that not one of his promises had failed, not one of his guarantees was broken, and not one word went without fulfillment. Knowing this, he knew that the promise of the Messiah was as certain as being done, and that the promise of strength and courage was his to have.
When we go back to the Word, and not just Genesis through Deuteronomy but all of the Word, we find the same thing. You see, while Joshua’s problems were different than ours, in the end they really are no different. In fact, often times our problems aren’t any different than the ones that Christian’s have faced for centuries. That’s because each of us are living in a world of sin, and while we live in this world of sin we are infected with a sinful nature.
That causes problems. It’s sin that brings death and destruction to this world. It’s sin that causes pain and suffering. It’s sin that causes sorrow and disease. It’s because of sin that nature was frustrated and now produces natural disasters. It’s sin that makes us selfish and unloving. It’s sin that creates jealousy and discord. It’s sin that makes us fearful and anxious. It’s our sinful flesh that causes us to fail in our fight against sin.
And because of all of this Satan wants us to throw in the towel. He wants us to say it’s too hard to be a Christian. He wants us to say it isn’t worth it to follow Jesus. He wants us to despair and give up; to accuse God of evil and curse his name; and doubt God’s love for us. He wants us to run with the wrong crowd in high-school. He wants us to forget about God and his Word in college. He wants us to walk away from God whenever the going gets tough and for us to think it isn’t fair – as if God owes us something; as if we are entitled to a soft, pillowy, cushy life, as if we have the right to sit in judgment on God. And Satan wants to get us to do this, because if he can, he wins!
So yes, we need courage and strength. We need to be fortified in our faith. And if we are going to have any hope, any comfort, any courage, any strengthening of faith for this life we must have something that deals with the problem of sin. That’s exactly what our Savior did. That’s why the Lord points us to his presence, power, and his promises – all found in the Lord’s Word.
You see, when we go back to the Word we see what Joshua saw, and so much more. We see howthe Lord directed history in just the right way so that when the time had fully come Jesus, our Savior would be born. We see Jesus set his face and direct his steps to Jerusalem for the sole purpose of dying on our behalf. And just think about that for a moment. From the beginning of time God promised all this misery for his Son and Jesus agreed that all this should take place and happen to him. And every step of the way, the Father ruled over history and the Son directed his own footsteps so that not a single one of the promises God made would fail.
Who ever heard of such a thing? To make a promise – sure. To make a promise that was filled with torture and ridicule and suffering and pain and to keep them when no one could force you to keep them. To make a promise to your own hurt when you don’t have to and then make absolutely sure that nothing is left unfelt, un-suffered. That’s unheard of…but that is exactly what happened. It was promised that Jesus would come of his own free will; that he would suffer the torments of death and hell; that he would win forgiveness for our sins; and God kept his Word.
And so, on the cross Jesus hung, dying that shameful death, that awful death, that humiliating death. And yet with that death he paid for our sins. With that death he rectified the horrible relationship we had with our God. With that death, coupled with his glorious resurrection, he destroyed the power of sin and the power of Satan.
He dealt with the problem of sin. So that every time we go back to the cross - courage and strength might be ours! So that every time we go back to the Word - we hear again that our sins have been forgiven. So that every time we go back to that first Good Friday and first Easter, we can know that the problems of this life can’t compare to the glory and happiness and joy of the promised land of heaven. So that every time we meditate on Scripture - we receive the help we need! So that every time we hear one of his promises, we can know it is true.
And promises he has given you! He promises youthat“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6) He promises you that “In all things he [God] works for the good of those who love him” (Romans 8:28). It isn’t for us to know how; it is simply for us to trust. He promises that “He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). He promises that in him you have peace. While it’s true that in this world we will have trouble, we can take heart because he has overcome the world (John 16:33).
Take a moment some day and read through the book of Joshua. You will find that the Lord did not go back on one his promises. He did all that he said he would do. All Joshua had to do was look back at things like the crossing of the Jordan; to look at Jericho. All we have to do is look at Jesus. Because we know that if he has kept that promise at the cross, a promise so hard and painful, a promise that hurt only himself, then we can be sure of this: he will keep all of his other promises to you as well. He will do what he sayshe will do.
That means he will rule the world for the benefit of his believers – like you. That means you are never in a pit so deep that he cannot lift you out. That means he will see you through the pain, the sorrows, the hurts, the difficult and awkward teenage years, the wants, the needs, the anxiety, the fear. That means that he has really prepared a home for you in heaven, and as a believer who in faith believes in Jesus Christ as your Savior, that’s the place we long for; the place we set our eyes on; the place of promise that can make all the problems of this life smaller and more manageable.
So trust him. Hold on to him. Return to the Word, his power, his promises, because thereis where he makes you strong and courageous. Amen.