Be Strong and Courageous - Joel Johns 9/5/2021 9 AM

amen the power in the presence of the lord jesus christ is here today he's able to do anything for just another moment and there's something in your life an impossible situation a sickness something in your life that you need change why don't you take another moment and lift up your voice and faith calling on the name of jesus christ and let him change something in your life right now jesus i pray by the power of the author that is in the name of the lord jesus christ that your spirit and your presence o god would work and move in the lives of our church today maybe somebody watching right now in the midst of an impossible situation lord your presence is there as they begin to lift you up and to call on you i pray your changing hand and your power o god would work a miracle in this place today that you would move in the lives of our church god we have faith we have believed god that you can do all things that you are here that you love us that you care for us and as we call on you god that you will change everything [Music] hey man can you clap your hands of the lord and thank him for his presence encouragement strength that we feel here today amen thank you jesus and what an incredible presence of the lord that we feel here already today amen man it's a privilege and an honor to be a part of this great church and to serve here in ministry and i do want to give honor to our pastor and to thank him for the opportunity to minister today to our church family what a special sunday we had last week i mean how many incredible elements can we pack into one service amen move the mission offering celebration epic what's with the party launch of small groups amen god's up to something big how many believe that he's up to something big in our church and i don't know about you but i don't want to miss out on the blessings i don't want to miss out on the miracles i don't want to miss out on the revival that god is about to bring amen years later you're going to want to look back and give thanks to glory and god and say hey i was a part of that special season at atlanta west i was apart and right in the middle of that change that got brought to our city and to our families amen thank you jesus give all glory and honor to jesus if you have your bibles please turn to joshua 1 verses 6 through 9. joshua 1 6-9 and in this text joshua is there and god is speaking to him and he's speaking a word of instruction and encouragement before joshua leads the children of israel into the promised land and there at that very pivotal moment for god's people we read these words joshua 1 6-9 be strong and of good courage for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which i swore to their fathers to give them only be strong and very courageous that you may observe to do according to all the law which moses my servant commanded you do not turn from it from the right hand or to the left that you may prosper wherever you go this book of the law it shall not depart from your mouth but you shall meditate in it day and night that you may observe 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 have i not commanded you be strong and of good courage do not be afraid nor be dismayed for the lord your god he is with you wherever you go and i believe that god has been positioning our church for a special promise we have sown seeds of prayer and fasting amen has been preached it's been prophesied and now as we pursue that promptness feel prompted of the lord to preach this message of encouragement today be strong and be courageous hey man turn to somebody next to you and tell them hey be strong and be courageous and you may be seated in the opening of the old testament of your bible the most talked about the most sought out destination for the people of god was the promised land god first tells abraham to begin this pursuit of the promise a land i will show thee that was in genesis 12 1. then in genesis 35 and 12 god swore to bring the descendants of abraham and isaac and jacob into the promised land the promised land was told to be a place of rest it was a place of blessing it was a place of provision it was a holy inheritance from god and from the moment that god uttered those words his people they began to pursue after that promise but while in pursuit we read in genesis 46 first that god sent jacob to egypt with his family to have temporary provision during a famine but it turned into their permanent residence it would be comparable for some of you today maybe trying to go on vacation maybe some that are watching online this labor day weekend and you're on your way and you make a stop at one of those new bucky gas stations for a a quick stop and after getting gas from one of their 120 different pumps getting some freshly sliced brisket getting lost in the 80 toilet bathroom snagging some freshly made beef jerky or beaver nuggets and then going ahead and just knocking out your christmas shopping while you're there right at the gas station you've decided you know vacation destination is canceled we're just going to spend our week here at bucky so i have any witnesses have made a stop by the promised land amen but for the children of israel it was a quick stop of provision for god a blessing led to them and that permanent destination it led to them being enslaved by the egyptians where they remained for 430 years and sadly sometimes the people of god can pause the pursuit of the promise because they simply get comfortable and satisfied with temporary provision amen so i want to challenge you today from the outside of this message don't settle for less than best when it comes to the things of god amen don't get comfortable with momentary miracles because god may give you that temporary relief on your journey but don't remain in the remnant of an old blessing instead let that temporary provision be the fuel for what lies ahead in your future let that be a passion let that be a fire keep pursuing the promises and the blessings that are ahead amen like paul said to the church in philippians 3 14 keep pressing towards the mark don't stop on the way to that journey but keep pressing for the prize of the high calling of god in christ jesus after god delivered the children of israel from slavery in egypt he brought them to the promised land under the guidance of moses however the people neglected to obey god's law and he made them wander in the wilderness for 40 more years another hard lesson had to be learned that whenever the people of god truly fail to embrace the word of god the law of god there will be punishment instead of promise so moses he strongly encouraged them to change their ways under his successor joshua and we read these words from him in deuteronomy 11 1. he said therefore ye shall love the lord your god and keep his charge his statutes and judgments and his commandments always deuteronomy 28 13 he continues and the lord will make you the head and not the tale we we love to preach that and celebrate that you shall be above only and not beneath but he goes on to echo these words if you heed the commandments of the lord your god which i commanded you today and you are careful to observe them final words of moses in deuteronomy 32 46 and he added take heart of the words i'm warning i have given you today pass them on as a command to your children so that they will obey every word of these instructions these instructions are not empty words they are your life by obeying them you will rejoice you'll enjoy a long life in the land you occupy when you cross the jordan river and in the midst of this farewell address we find these familiar words in deuteronomy 31 7. then moses he called joshua and he said to them in the sight of all israel be strong be of good courage for you must go with this people to the land which the lord has sworn to their fathers to give them and you shall cause them to inherit it after a generation passed away in the wilderness joshua was finally ready to lead the people into the promised land and if there was ever a time or a place where the people of god had to be obedient to the word of god and live it out its principles it was in this final pursuit of the promise they would encounter the many physical and spiritual challenges that we read from the spies report in number 13. in that promised land in that pursuit there would be powerful enemies that would come against them that outnumbered the people of god there were large fortified towns that would intimidate the people of god there were giants that occupied the land and moses even mentioned when you pursue that promise you're going to come across these people with detestable customs of the nations living there there's going to be practices of wickedness all around you and idolatry will run rampant in that land and in the flesh it's so easy to see why the ten spies became full of doubt and and gave a negative report but when you are pursuing a promise from god you can't operate in the flesh amen you must operate with faith and obedience to his word that is why we find the instructions from god in our opening text be strong and be courageous these words of instructions were so crucial that god repeated this commandment three times in four short verses first he tells joshua you are going to have to be strong and courageous qualities that would be needed to face the enemies in the opposition ahead but then god spoke of joshua being strong and bold not in the physical but in the spiritual he told joshua only be strong and very courageous that you may observe to do all according to all the law that moses commanded you and often times church as we pursue the promises of god in our lives and in our families and for our church when we are faced with the physical our natural reaction is simply to respond with the physical amen when you're looking at the vast opposition of armies and fortified cities it'd be easy to think of military strategy it'd be easy to begin to do an inventory of all the troops that you have what do i have that we can work with round up the troops but why did being strong and courageous in the law of god have to do with the physical battle against the canaanites it simply had everything to do with it because they were not like any other nation they were the people of god they had a different belief system a different value system they had a different approach to everything in life simply put if israel hoped for success in the promised land they would need to order their lives according to god's instructions they had to be strong in those instructions they had to be courageous and living those instructions out mere military prowess would not be enough for them to defeat canaan mere cleverness would not be enough for them to be successful in making their homes in this new land god had given his word by which they were to demonstrate their faithfulness to him while pursuing the promise and joshua as a leader he was said to be an example in careful adherence to god's instructions he was not to turn either to the right or the left he was to study the book of instruction and continually by being strong and courageous about god's instructions joshua would lead israel to success and they would be proper prosperous a final assurance of this was given in joshua 1 9 and this is what we read says have i not commanded you be strong and of good courage do not be afraid nor dismayed for the lord your god is with you wherever you go and it's so interesting the the order of these words in the hebrew gives a special emphasis with you will be yahweh your god everywhere you go this was intentionally written and spelled out for the people of that time it's important that god used this personal name of yahweh here he didn't use a distance name he used a personal name because as israel if they went out into caden as they went out into the culture as they were pursuing the promise they would be fighting against people who would proudly worship their gods they would proudly worship baal they would proudly worship the canaanite l and other supposed deities who were expected to give their worship victories but reassuring joshua hey yahweh your god would be with you god reminded him that he was more powerful than any other god that the canaanites might invoke against them because they were no gods at all and this is how they could have great courage through obedience not only would come the favor and the blessings of god but it would also come with the power and the protection of god the children of israel learned very simply that if you will stand for god he will stand with you the one and only true god he would fight their enemies he would make a way when there seemed to be no way and aren't you thankful that we serve a god who is greater amen than anything that we will ever face in his life he is greater than any opposition he is greater than any sickness he is greater than any addiction he is greater than any attack of the enemy on your mind on your family we serve a god who is greater by knowing that so be strong and courageous everybody say that again with me said be strong and courageous you fast forward to the new testament we see a a very similar version of scripture to that of our opening text written by paul to the church of corinth cultures and environments of god ungodliness is not unfamiliar to the people of god through the history of the world the first century corinth had a population of around 700 000 people and were infamous for its immorality and paganism greek philosophy was prevalent for those and influenced those who lived there the the mindset of the day influenced their thoughts and their how they lived the city was filled with shrines and temples and this ungodly culture the most prominent was the temple of aphrodite on the top of a 1800 foot promontory called the akrakoranthus with a thousand temple prostitutes for the worshipers of the goddess of love this cosmopolitan center thrived on commerce on entertainment on vice on corruption pleasure seekers came to corinth to spend money on a holiday from morality corinth became so notorious for its evil that the term to act like a corinthian became a synonym for debauchery and prostitution but despite these great obstacles paul was able to share the gospel of jesus christ he was able to plan a church there on his second missionary journey the church was despite the opposition was gifted and they were growing but they began to be influenced they began to be affected by the surrounding culture first corinthian reveals the problems the pressures the struggles of a church that's called out of a pagan society there are moral and ethical problems it began to have doctrinal and practical problems corporate and private problems but led by the holy spirit we see how paul was directed to overcome these obstacles no secret in the word of god once again it was for the church to become strong and courageous in the word of god paul believed in the power of the word of god he believed that the cross of jesus christ is a message that is designed to transform the lives of believers and make them different from the surrounding world one commentator mentioned that paul was urging courage and strength for the needed conviction required to withstand pressures of the pagan society around them paul was urging the church to withstand the sinful culture that was attempting to cannibalize their faith and practice through syncretism or the blending of their pagan beliefs with the word of god sounds familiar to the culture that we live in today a man forcing agendas forcing the culture forcing a thought a way of thinking on our families on our children on our church but paul he masterfully writes on the inspiration of the holy ghost a summary of his teaching and his final exhortations first corinthians 16 13 he tells this church in the midst of this culture in the midst of this pressure in the midst of this ungodly influence he says watch stand fast in the faith be brave and be strong simply put paul told them hey church it's time for you to be strong and to be courageous as the influence of this world comes down on this church be strong and be courageous as we observe joshua and the israelites in the old testament paul and the corinthians in the new testament you fast forward to today and we too find ourselves pursuing the promise of god in a fallen world we too find ourselves as his reference in first peter 2 11. we find ourselves as strangers here we're pilgrims or temporary residents we're foreigners in a foreign world and we too are the people of god first peter 2 9 reminds us but you church are a chosen generation you in the midst of an ungodly culture are a royal priesthood you are a holy nation you are his own special people that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness who called you out of this uncalling us out of this culture and into his marvelous light maybe some of you here today have pos pause that pursuit of the promise maybe some have gotten held up in egypt some are simply comfortable they're satisfied with temporary provision you're still living in yesterday's miracles but what was once a blessing like the children of israel it was a blessing to be in egypt there was a famine in that land amen there was problems that god led them there it was a blessing but because they didn't take what they had received from god and moved from that and kept pursuing the promise what was a blessing became a burden to the people it enslaved the people and that is what may be keeping some back from pursuing the future promises of god maybe god just has something greater than the old provision he's got something greater in store for the future amen maybe some of you find yourself like the children of israel very easy to listen to the 10 spies who share the negative report you find yourselves focusing on and getting caught up with the news the reports of doom and gloom in the world and there's plenty of it to find you're doing your best to pursue the promise but you're being paused by doubt paused by anxiety you're being paused by fear of what is surrounding you it's pausing your pursuit of the promise and you find yourself viewing the opposition through your physical eyes and not your spiritual eyes but maybe some of you are trying to fight in your flesh first corinthians 9 26 like paul references you're just beating the air you're trying to make progress you're trying to pursue the promise but it seems like you take one step forward and then you wake up and you're two steps back and you're not gaining traction you're not gaining you're not advancing on the promises of god you're not getting that victory it keeps evading you but i believe the lord is wanting someone to be reminded of his timeless words today to be strong and to be courageous amen we must learn the lesson that god was telling joshua the lesson that paul was telling the corinthians that this battle that we face it is not physical but it is spiritual and paul made it clear in second corinthians 10 3-5 for though we walk in the flesh though we're pursuing the promise in the flesh but we do not war according to the flesh amen for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but are mighty in god for the pulling down of the strongholds amen casting down arguments and every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of god bringing every thought and captivity to the obedience of christ church as we pursue the promise that god has before us i pray that we would abandon any approach that we may take in our flesh and we simply let god do what we cannot do on our own if we want there to be a shift from pursuing to possessing the promises of god we must embrace the power of the word of god and the spirit of god like never before we're reminded it's not by might it's not by power but by my spirit says the lord of hosts and i pray that his word would challenge us to embrace the power of prayer and fasting like never before these are the weapons of our warfare i pray that we'll be challenged to have a renewed dedication to the word of god not just to study it not just to dwell in it but to live it out to boldly proclaim the word of god like never before amen in the midst of an ungodly culture like the children of israel like the corinthians like any man or woman who has ever made the decision to live for god you are going to feel the pressure of this world you are going to feel the pressure to cave into carnality to cave to conform to compromise your faith to back down from your position and your stance with worry of repercussion or push back from those in this culture you'll feel the pressure when you go out into this foreign land pursuing the promise to hide your holiness you'll feel the pressure to abandon your apostolic identity you'll feel the pressure to compromise the truth and the principles of god's word but like romans 1 16 we must say for i am not ashamed of the gospel of jesus christ as i pursue this promise for it is the power of god unto salvation to everyone that believeth amen be strong and be courageous amen if you read through the book of joshua you will read the testimonies of joshua and you will read of the children of israel how they were strong and how they were courageous under the leadership of joshua we read that these fortified cities these vast armies that the people of god sometimes cannot even count like sand on the seashore that joshua and his people conquered 31 cities as they possess the promised land and not only that but out of the 11 historical books that carry on the story of israel only joshua does not record a massive failure by israel or its leadership and that's something worthy to note there was the sin of one man aching in chapter seven which was quickly remedied but if you know anything about the children of israel if you spend any time in your bible you know that these people of god were full of ups and downs they were in constant pursuit of the promise but they never quite reached it you know about the seasons of struggle that they went through so you know the book of joshua is nothing short of a miracle of god while pursuing and then possessing the promises the people of israel under the they learned a crucial lesson under joshua's capable leadership physical and spiritual victory comes through faith in god in obedience to his word in joshua chapter 23 we find joshua he's old he's advanced in age and the lord has given rest to israel from all their enemies round about they had finally possessed the promise i want to read these final words of joshua today joshua 23 starting in verse 3 joshua tells them you have seen all that the lord your god has done to all of these nations you've seen the mighty works of god it's because of you for the lord your god is he who has fought for you verse six he goes on today he says therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of moses lest you turn aside from it to the right or to the left verse 9 reminds us for the lord has driven out from before you great and strong nations but as for you no one has been able to stand against you this day be strong and be courageous amen if you're able let's stand together helena west is time for a generation of believers that will rise and be strong and courageous in the face of great pressure in this nation and in this present world there must be a young man and a young woman that will be strong and courageous when others choose not to embrace the truth of the word of god and live them out there must be some parents and some families that will be strong and courageous when no one else will and as you go back to your places of work be strong and be courageous students as you walk the halls of your school as you walk the halls of your college campuses be strong and be courageous church as we go about our day rubbing shoulders with this world living out the purposes of god pursuing that promise let us be strong and let us be courageous because if you will stand for god he will stand with you amen i repeat what i said at the beginning of my message god has been positioning our church for a special promise we have sown seeds of prayer we have fasted we have believed it has been preached it has been prophesied in our opening text in joshua and 8 says for then you will make your way prophets and then you will have good success like the children of israel if you will do just that we will move from pursuing the promises of god to possessing the promises of god amen if you're able i want you to take a step of faith today as i read this scripture from the word of god as we respond deuteronomy 20 30 3-4 says and he shall say to his people hear o israel today you are on the verge of battle with your enemies but do not let your heart be faint do not be afraid do not tremble do not be terrified because the lord your god he is the one who goes with you to fight against your enemies to save you amen deuteronomy 31 8 and the lord he is the one he is the one who goes before you he will be with you he will not leave you or forsake you do not fear do not be dismayed amen in the name of jesus i want to challenge our church this time let's go after it in jesus name if you're ready to pursue the promises of god let's respond to his word let us open up our heart in the name of the lord jesus christ today [Music] is [Music] in the name of jesus let's go after it in the spirit let's war in the of hey let's possess let's pursue the promises of god we're right on the verge of a miracle in our church we're on the verge of a miracle in your family but it's time to have enough strength and courage in the word of god to take a step of faith and to pursue it today lord we love you we pursue the promises in the name of the lord jesus christ [Music] [Applause] [Music] god is fighting for us pushing back the darkness [Music] [Applause] shut it up [Music] that cannot be shaken in the name of jesus [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] amen as we continue to worship the lord god if you have a need in your body if you have a need in your life and you want to step out in faith if you want to be strong and courageous courageous believing in the word of god today why don't you lift your hand why don't you tell somebody next to you and let's stand on the promises of god today let's walk in these promises let's pursue them so right now church with faith let's reach out to one another let's bind together in faith that god would heal somebody today that god would work a miracle in these altars in this church for somebody watching online right now amen let's be the hands and feet of christ let's pray let's pursue in the name of the lord jesus christ [Music] god is fighting for us pushing back the darkness lighting up the kingdom that cannot be shaken in the name of jesus [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] in the name of jesus [Music] [Applause] [Music] that cannot be shaken in the name of jesus [Music] pushing back the darkness [Music] is lining up the kingdom that cannot be shaken in the name of jesus [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] amen that's the word of the lord today be strong and be courageous turn to somebody next you say be strong and be courageous you are here today and you find yourself pursuing that promise but you're not quite strong enough on your own you can't queen can't quite seem to have the victory to overcome and you're not yet been baptized in the name of the lord jesus christ you've not yet been filled with the power of the holy ghost let somebody know today we love to pray for you we'd love for you to come into the family of god to become the people of god to be a part of his body we're buried with christ and baptism and we take on his name we become the sons and daughters of jesus christ we become a part of that family and with that comes that inheritance so we have warm water if you've never been baptized in jesus name let somebody know today if you've ever been filled with the spirit we will pray with you today amen we pray that you have a safe and a blessed labor day weekend and i pray that you as you leave this house today you would walk with faith with purpose pursuing the promises of god and do it be strong and be courageous amen amen you're dismissed in jesus name our altars are always open if you want to pray and let the lord be with you as you go in jesus name