Seasons of change put us under tension
  • It May not feel good, but is when God unleashed his power/presence in our life
Unleash – Unleashing the power, presence, and purpose of God in our life
  • Specifically when under tension or during a life change
Joshua 1
6 “Be strong and courageous, for you will distribute the land I swore to their ancestors to give them as an inheritance. 7 Above all, be strong and very courageous to observe carefully the whole instruction my servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or the left, so that you will have success wherever you go. 8 This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do. 9 Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Today, I want to talk about this question – Do You Have The Courage?
The people of Israel are at an impasse
  • They can either go where God wants them to go
  • Or they can stay where they have been for 40 years
Moses has died, new leader, Joshua, put into place
God gives them this instruction about what they must do to get to their promised land
Tells them to be “Strong and Courageous”
  • Doesn’t tell them to be holy
  • Religious
  • Nice
There is something important about Courage in the kingdom of God and how it looks in our life
  • Do you have the courage?
1: Courage is a decision, not an emotion
Emotions are strange things, aren’t they?
  • Change in a moment
  • Can override our decision-making ability
It’s very interesting that God tells Joshua and the people to:
V6:“Be strong and courageous
V7:Above all, be strong and very courageous to observe carefully the whole instruction
V9: Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged
Doesn’t say: Try and not be scared. Try to be brave
Try telling your kid to Not be afraid of the dark
  • They don’t have the ability to override their emotions
Overcoming your emotions takes MATURITY
  • You have to be aware of your weaknesses
  • it takes practice/time
God is telling them that there will be a time when they must look at what’s in front of them and decide
  • Will they trust God or will they trust their emotions
If you wait until you are no longer afraid to follow what God is telling you, then you will never do it
Following God takes courage
Courage is a decision, not an emotion

2: FEAR is rebellion against God

Let’s see how they got here in the first place
Moses sent them into the land…
  • The comeback and report
Numbers 13
27 They reported to Moses, “We went into the land where you sent us. Indeed it is flowing with milk and honey, and here is some of its fruit. 28 However, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified. We also saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites are living in the land of the Negev; the Hethites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan.”
30 Then Caleb quieted the people in the presence of Moses and said, “Let’s go up now and take possession of the land because we can certainly conquer it!”
31 But the men who had gone up with him responded, “We can’t attack the people because they are stronger than we are!” 32 So they gave a negative report to the Israelites about the land they had scouted: “The land we passed through to explore is one that devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw in it are men of great size. 33 We even saw the Nephilim there—the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim! To ourselves, we seemed like grasshoppers, and we must have seemed the same to them.”
These people had seen God:
  • Bring Egypt to its knees
  • Make dry land through the Red Sea
  • Send bread from heaven
  • Water from a rock
  • Give the 10 commandments
But ONE bad report and they gave into fear
  • God is strong, but not THAT strong
  • God is mighty, but not THAT mighty
  • God is powerful; but not THAT powerful
It’s the PAST PROBLEM < the CURRENT PROBLEM
  • God worked then, but I don’t trust Him now
When God tells you He is going to do something, it’s not a theory
  • He WILL do it
  • (Won’t He do it!)
When God says he wants us to do something, it not a Suggestion
  • We BETTER do it – For our own sake
Not doing something God tells us to do because we are afraid is still disobedience
  • There are consequences to those decisions
So when Joshua and the people are standing on the edge of the promised land 40 years later
  • They will have to make the same decision of trust and obedience
This is important to us to understand
How many of us got off track because we were AFRAID to do what God told us to do
  • Fear does not excuse you from doing what God called you to do
  • It is disobedience
Who misses out when we don’t do what God asks of us?
  • We do!
They missed out on 40 years!
Right Now some of you are being called by God to
  • Go to a new place
  • Start a new phase
  • Stay put for a little longer
  • Trust a little more
  • Say something your afraid to say
Your fear must NOT dictate your Obedience
Giving in to fear is giving into the rebellion and sin of thinking God is not enough
This is how Paul Says it in his letter to the Roman Church
Romans 8
31 What, then, are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He did not even spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. How will he not also with him grant us everything? 33 Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies. 34 Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the one who died, but even more, has been raised; he also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us. 35 Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
3: The courage to keep going straight is often more difficult than the courage to start
7 Above all, be strong and very courageous to observe carefully the whole instruction my servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or the left, so that you will have success wherever you go.
1: Courage is a decision, not an emotion
2: FEAR is rebellion against God
3: The courage to keep going straight is often more difficult than the courage to start
Do you want God to unleash His power, presence, and purpose in your life?
  • Do you have the courage?
Are you willing to do what it takes to follow God and His calling in your life?
I want to both start well and stay the course
I want to walk in courage knowing the Lord is with me
I want to go to the promised places God has for me

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