Transcription
[Music] we've started a series that we're titling the heart of a conqueror because the fact of the matter is that God wants to do more in our life every single one of us. God wants to do more in your life, in my life, than we've ever seen him do. Paul says we go from glory to glory to glory. But here's here's the way that works. If we're going to see God do more, there are some things God, in His graciousness, does in our life without us necessarily asking or being aware. We just recognize the Lord is working, and it's very awesome that he does that. He's a gracious giver of good gifts. But then there are some things God wants to do in our life, and God wants to involve us in his work in us and through us regarding what he wants to do for us. And unless we cooperate and unless we participate, it's not going to happen. There are some things that God promises his people that will not happen unless his people position themselves to take hold of it.
Since then, you see in the book of Joshua, anytime we're reading in the Old Testament or the Old Covenant, we have to remember Paul says in Romans chapter 15, these things were written down for exhortation and encouragement that you and I might have hope. In other words, they're written down to show us this is the way God works, and this is how God works in the lives of people. It's why you have so much narrative, so many stories, true accounts, real people living in a real time, in a real place, with a real God working in their life to show us how a real God works in real people's lives. God promises the people of Israel their own homeland, the promised land, the land of Canaan. But although God has promised it to them, unless the people have the heart of a conqueror, they will never enter the promised land. They will never defeat the giants in the promised land. They'll never be able to take on the seven nations more powerful and stronger than the nation of Israel itself. Imagine that, seven nations, God says, more stronger and more powerful than you are. And God is going to give it to them, though it would defy human imagination, explanation as to how that could happen. God's gonna take a group of people who were slaves, just like you and I were at one time, slaves to sin. God has redeemed us, he's brought us out of slavery. God wants to work in us. It's the parallel between us and the book of Joshua is striking. But again, if we're going to see God do in the church and in our life what God desires to do, what God wills to do, depends on how we position our heart relative to the plans and purposes of God. That's why we're doing this part of a conqueror series. And so we're looking at the book of Joshua, since it's to learn things, aspects of what it means to be a conqueror.
Tonight, I want to talk to you about the heart of a conqueror relative to courage. Remember when we picked it up last time when we started, we find Moses and we find the Lord speaking praise to Joshua over and over again. It's very, very interesting what the Lord says. Deuteronomy chapter 31, verse 7. Moses summoned Joshua, said to him, in the sight of all Israel, be strong and courageous. Last time we talked about what it means to be strong. He says, be strong and courageous. And then notice the Lord himself says a few verses later, the Lord commissioned Joshua and said, be strong and courageous. Isn't it interesting? God says it not once, not twice, but says it over and over and over again. How important is this then? Very, very important. That if you and I are gonna conquer, if you and I are gonna see God move us into new seasons, new dimensions of his blessing in our lives, then it doesn't just depend on him. Part of it depends on our response to him. And we have to be strong and courageous. You get to Joshua chapter 1 and verse 6. Be strong and courageous, for you will cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers. Listen, if Joshua is not strong and courageous, the people aren't gonna inherit the land. This should be a sobering thought to every single person here. If you're not strong and courageous, other people are not going to experience the blessing of God in their life that God would want them to have. If I'm not, hey, listen here's how it rolls. If I'm not strong and courageous as a husband, it's gonna affect Debbie. If I'm not strong and courageous as a father, it's gonna affect my children. If I'm not strong and courageous as a grandfather, it's gonna affect my grandkids. If I'm not strong and courageous as a pastor, it's gonna affect you. The way you and I do life has a profound effect on the experience of people around us. So we're not talking luxuries, we're talking necessities. Be strong and courageous. Only be strong and very courageous. God says so in verse 6. He says, be strong and courageous. And then he says, I just don't want you to miss this, Joshua, only if you can't do anything else, be strong and be courageous. So important. And if you do that, you'll have good success wherever you go. The payoff for this is massive. Good success wherever you go. What do you have to do? Be strong and be courageous. Then verse 9. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. God doesn't say I'm going to do that for you. He tells Joshua, this is something you have to purpose in your heart that you'll do. And if you do, I will bless you. Listen, tonight, purpose with all of your heart, I'm gonna be strong in the Lord and in the power of his mind, and I'm gonna be a person of courage.
Now look at it in verse 17 and 18. It says this, just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so will we you. But here now, the people are saying it back to him. Listen, Joshua, you've got to be strong and courageous. What is this? What does this tell you about the, what they're singing in Joshua? I'm gonna suggest something to you, that he is fearful and he's easily discouraged. Because, you know what? Sometimes we have the idea, we see Bible characters, and we think, wow, they, they didn't, they, they were just strong. They just saw God. So here's Joshua, and he's seen all these miracles that God did through Moses. He's seen all of that. But, you know what? You can see God moving around you, and you can see the hand of God at work, and still you've got a choice to make. Are you gonna be fearful, or are you gonna be strong? Are you gonna be encouraged by that, or are you gonna get discouraged? Are you gonna walk by feelings, or are you gonna walk by faith? This is, this is the issue. Hey, God's moving here. God wants to move in your life. Are you gonna believe that or not? You say, well, you know, did I just get this? Listen, be strong and courageous. Don't be discouraged. You say, but I get, don't you say, can't be that simple? I mean, take it up with him. He's the one who says, you be, Joshua, you're prone to this in your life. Some of you are prone to discouragement. And can I just say, discouragement is one of the enemy's favorite weapons for stopping God's people. Yeah, I mean, it's like a Hall of Fame. People who fought discouragement. So if you're given to it, don't feel like, oh, I can't overcome. No, you can overcome it. I'm not saying it's easy, I'm just saying it's worth it.
Well, as we look at this again, if Joshua's gonna seek God's blessing, he's got to be strong and courageous. If he's gonna enter a new season of blessing, got to be strong and courageous. If the people around him are going to experience the blessing of God, he's got to be strong and courageous. Moms and dads, single parents, if your kids are gonna know God's blessing, you don't have a choice. You got to be strong and courageous. You have to be. If you're gonna, if the people around you are gonna know God's blessing, got to be strong and courageous. Well, the Hebrew word for courage is the word "amots," and it means to be alert physically and mentally, to to be brave, to be bold, to be solid, to be firm. Our our English word for courage comes from the Anglo-French word which means more heart. So a courageous person is a person who has more heart. They're wholehearted in what they're doing. They're they're they're all they're they're all dialed in. So if we're gonna have a heart of a conqueror, we've got to have more heart.
Now I want to give you three things, just quickly. I've taken a long time to introduce this, so we move quickly. A conqueror has courage regarding their convictions. If you're gonna, if you're gonna be a person of courage, you have to be a person of conviction. You know, they're a person who puts their whole heart. There are some things when a person, in order to be courageous, there's some things that you have to in your heart be wholehearted about, because a powerful life is lived out of conviction, not out of preference. There are some things I prefer in life, they don't make for a powerful life. There are some things I have a deep conviction about, and when something is a conviction, when you have a conviction in your heart about something, it guides your life. If a person has no convictions, if you're not convinced in your heart regarding certain things, you will have an aimless life. Here are some things that that I have a conviction as as a pastor, and and so you'll see how it kind of guides, how it doesn't kind of, how it does guide my life and how it guides the church. Number one, I have the conviction that prayer is the difference in much of what we see in life. Prayer is the only difference. People that pray receive from God. People that don't pray, don't. Churches that pray receive from God. Churches that don't pray, don't. Is that simple? Would God want to bless every church? Yes. But if a church doesn't pray, they're gonna miss out on a lot of what God would have done. That's a conviction that I have. That if I get up in the morning and I pray, things will happen in my life that would not have happened any other way. I am convinced, I am convicted that prayer makes a difference, and that gets me out of bed to pray in the morning.
Number two, I believe the Word of God, rightly divided under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, will change people's lives. I believe that. I don't believe that your life is changed by my opining on all the different current events. What changes people's life is when you hear the word of, and the Spirit of God is upon it, because it's been prayed over, it's been brought to my heart by this spirit as I've spent time in the Word of God, that will transform people's lives. I believe that. That's why we preach expository, verse by verse by verse. We're transformed through the living and enduring Word of God. It is a conviction. When I came to James River, one of the questions they had is they listened to a couple of my tapes that I'd sent them, and they're like, "Oh, just kind of sounds like a teaching Bible study. Is that what you do?" I said, "Yeah, that's pretty much what I do." Because I wasn't going to set them like the best of John Lendl, not that that existed. But I just sent them the last two weeks and my preaching because I didn't want to live up to anything. I didn't, I didn't want to impress somebody and then be, you know, like, "Ha, I gotta come up with, you know, another barn burner this week." And I didn't want to be there. So then they're like, "Well, do you think people will really want to hear that?" And I was like, "You know, that's a really good question. I don't know. But I can tell you this, it's what God has called me to do, and it's what I must do." And that's so at that point, if you want me to come, that's how we, that's how it rolls. If you don't want that, don't call me to come. Because I know what God is. It's a conviction. Do you see how when you have a conviction, there's just no room for compromise? When you have a conviction, it's something you just have to do.
There's a third conviction I have. I believe water baptism is the first step of discipleship and the Christian life and should be done as soon as a person is saved. I have that as a conviction. That people that Christians who are not baptized in water are disobedient because the Bible's very clear. Do you, the disobedient or they're ignorant, they didn't know, and they didn't know that they didn't know. I don't mean that unkindly. They just didn't know. So now you know. If you've not been baptized, you need to be baptized. And if you're not, you're disobedient because Jesus said, "Do it." Why aren't you doing it? Go do it. That's it. So how does that play out? Every week we have water baptism. So I said, I've never seen somebody so passionate about it. I just believe the Word of God speaks clearly on it. It's a conviction that I have because my job as a pastor is to see people grow in Christ. And how can they grow in Christ if they have an obedience optional discipleship or following of Christ? That doesn't work. So conviction gives direction in life. Conviction gives courage. A lot of people don't have the courage of their convictions because they don't have convictions. I ask you this, you want to have a heart of the conqueror? What do you believe to be true in your core? Live your life out of those. If it's godly, that's not godly, get rid of it. Okay.
Number two, a conqueror speaks with courage in their conversations. I want to ask you, do you speak courageous words? Are your words words with heart? A heart filled with love for God? Are you giving people hope? Are you giving people courage to go again, to fight another day, to not give up? When people listen to you, do they sense you're a person of faith? Do they sense that you believe God? Do they sense you believe in them? I'm gonna tell you, people close to you need to know you love them and you believe in them. Listen to this in Deuteronomy chapter, chapter, let's see, 20. When you go to war, so here they are, they're given, they're given instructions on war and and against your enemies. So we're talking about conquering. He says, don't be afraid of them. So don't be discouraged. Don't like courage, be strong. Why? Because God is with you. That's a conviction every single one of us needs to have. The Lord is with you. If you're a child of God, he's with you. He said, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." That's Jesus, Matthew 28, verse 20. Give me the next screen here. It says, "When you go into battle, don't let your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be afraid. Why? For the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you." Do you have that sense? You have that conviction? You know what? God loves to show himself powerful. God loves to fight for people. God will go for you, go with you, he's for you. And if God be for you, Paul said, who can be against you? I mean, that's it. It's like Paul is echoing this heart of a conqueror.
Now watch this, because I find this so interesting. And the officers shall speak further to the people and say, "Is there any man who is fearful and faint-hearted? Is there anybody who's not strong and not courageous?" Sort of saying, nobody says, "Let him go back to his house." You know why? Because that person's not gonna conquer anything. Watch this. Not only is that person not gonna conquer anything, that person could cost everybody the battle. You know what you could, you could say, "Well, you know, I'm just not, I'm just not strong and I'm just discouraged." You know what? You can cost people the battle around you. Look at this, "lest he make the heart of his fellows melt like his own." Very, very interesting. How's that going to happen? By what he says. "I don't know, those giants look really tall. I don't know. And you know, I just don't feel like fighting today. I don't, I don't feel like it." You know what the army leader said? "Don't let a person talk like that if you're gonna take the land because you won't take the land." Notice this isn't an officer, this isn't a general, this is just a private first class. Because sometimes people think, well, because they're not the one in charge, or because they're not the leader, it doesn't matter. Oh, do you realize how important you are? This, this is a statement regarding the importance of everybody in this room, of your words. Oh, don't think, "Well, as long as Pastor talks in faith." Oh, no, no, no. Hey, I better be talking in faith, but you better too. Because if you don't talk in faith, you discourage the hearts of people around you, and it keeps not only them from conquering the land, it keeps you from conquering the land. It can keep us from conquering the land. We, if we're gonna have the heart of a conqueror, we have to realize that the words we speak affect a lot of people around us, not just ourselves.
I think of the story in the Gospels of, in the Gospel of John, of Jesus feeding the 5,000. And it's, it's one of the few stories that's in all four Gospels. And so when you read John's account, it picks it up at the start of the day. And Jesus says to Philip, he says, "Philip, where are we to buy bread so that these people may eat?" And Philip says, "Well, two hundred denarii isn't gonna gonna feed the crowd. It's like it's impossible." You get down to the end of the day, and look what happens. In the, in Mark's account, Jesus asks them, "When it grew late, his disciples came to him and he said, 'You give them some food.'" And they said, "Should we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them?" In other words, they're saying it's impossible. Philip says it first, and by the end of the day, the other 11 are saying it. It's, you know, discouragement spreads like wildfire. Negativity spreads like wildfire. "We can't do it" spreads like wildfire. You get the report of the spies in Numbers chapter 12. This is before Joshua, Moses is still leading them. And the reports comes to Moses, and they say, "You know, it's a great land. It's an awesome land. But the people living there, powerful. Their towns are large. We saw giants there. They say the Amalekites, they live in the Negeb, and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites." You know what they're recounting? They're saying, "There are seven nations stronger and more powerful than we are." And we saw them. It says this, give me the next slide. The coast of the Mediterranean Sea. They've got all that. But Caleb tried to quiet the people. He said, "Let's go at once and take the land. We can certainly conquer it." But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. "We can't go up against them. They are stronger than we are." So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites.
So I want you to think about something here. It's very instructive for us. Here's Moses, his face glows with the glory of God. Here's Moses, he talks to God face to face as a man talks with his friend. Here's Moses, he strikes the rock, and water gushes out enough to water 2 million people plus their livestock. I mean, this is a, this is a man who is spiritually very formidable. But even though Moses knows God's will, glows with God's glory, if everybody doesn't buy in, nobody's conquering. This is, this is really huge. You know, a lot of times people think it doesn't matter what they say, how they talk, what they think. You're wrong. Your lack of faith and your dismay will discourage people around you and keep not only them but the group from conquering. That's why you have to understand this is, is really critical for you to know the blessing of God. You have to speak words of faith.
Now look at it in Joshua, Joshua chapter 3, verse 5. Joshua told the people, "Purify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do great wonders among you." That takes a lot of faith to make that statement. Hey, everybody, consecrate yourself, 'cause tomorrow God's gonna do something big. These people have seen a lot of big things, but this is a guy who's got faith. And in Joshua chapter 3 and verse 9, he tells him, "Come, listen to what the Lord your God says. Today you'll know that the Living God is among you. He'll surely drive out all of these nations. And and look, the ark of the covenant, which belongs to the Lord of the whole earth, will lead you across the Jordan River." I mean, he's telling him, this is speaking it by faith. Listen, you know what? What we have to do if we're gonna conquer the land is you got to speak it by faith. This is what Vision Sunday is. Vision Sunday is a faith statement from the leadership of the church to all the people who are a part of the church to say, "This is what we believe God is saying and where he is leading." And if we all buy in, God will do amazing things. It's really an amazing thing to watch. It's a faith statement that comes. It's part of conquering the land.
Well, number three, tonight we'll close here. I'm gonna have the musicians come up. A conqueror makes courageous spiritual commitments. Courage, you say, what do I do? How do I get courage? You make some commitments. There are some spiritual commitments that you can make. Choose to have a heart for God rather than to have a heart that's easily discouraged, thinking God's not there. You got to make that choice. I'm gonna choose some things. Watch as Joshua chapter 1, verse 9. "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous." If, if Joshua can't choose courage, then it's unfair of God to command something he can't choose. I'm just simply saying, everybody in this room, choose what's courage. More heart. Choose to have a heart for God. Choose to have a heart for God. You're gonna see. I was interested in this too, as I've been studying this week. Romans chapter 12. You know, there's a choice you're gonna make. Paul calls us to make this choice. I'm gonna choose to present my body as a living sacrifice. I'm gonna choose that. And when I choose that, a lot of really great things happen. And when I don't choose that, a lot of things don't happen. You know, the thing that keeps a lot of people from experiencing God's best is they just don't make that choice.
Let me give you some courageous commitments. Commit to living in and living out God's Word. Living in it, in other words, letting the Word of God soak into you. Choose to be a person who loves God's Word. Choose to do that. Choose to be a person who says, "I'm gonna, I'm gonna read God's Word." Go get you a devotional, has a Bible verse that talks about it. Read that, or read the Bible. I mean, either or works. Choose to be a person who lives in it and then lives it out. Watch Joshua, just watch what happens. "Only be strong and very courageous. Be careful to do all according to the law." Be careful to live the Word out. Nobody's gonna live it perfectly, but try to live it. Choose to say, "I'm gonna live for God," and you'll have good success wherever you go. And be thinking about it. Be careful to do what is written in it, for then you will be, you will make your way prosperous, and you'll have good success. Twice God says, "Get in the Word, live in the Word," and you're gonna be successful. In fact, have really good success, and you're gonna prosper. So to all those who would say, "Well, doesn't care about about prospering." Listen, you'd be hard-pressed. It's not the end-all, be-all, but it's there. And why would you, why would you argue something that's good like that? God delights to bless his people.
Number two, commit to not living in fear. Joshua 1:9. "Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened. Do not be dismayed. Don't get discouraged." Commit to not being discouraged. Number three, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be dismayed." Why? "For the Lord your God is with you." You know, listen, if you feel you can't make it, and you feel you're gonna go under, say, "God, I know you're with me, and you haven't brought me this far to fail." I'm gonna tell you what it works. Lord, you've given me strength for the battle. You've given me strength. You know, I can remember different seasons in the life of the church where it's really hard. You know, 28 years, you go through some tough times. And there would be times I'd be sitting in the, is standing in the front row during the worship, and I'd just be thinking, I mean, recently with my illness, honestly, God, I don't know how I'm gonna do this. I can't even think straight. And I would sit there and I'd say, "Lord, you've given me strength for the battle. You've given me strength for the battle." And I would say that over and over again, and I would literally have strength for the battle. Listen, be strong, be courageous. Believe God's with you. Commit to believing God's promises. God has promises. Listen to this. Joshua 1. "Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon, I have given to you." Give me the next screen there. "I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land." I listened, that's a word for you. God is with you. He's gonna go with you out of this prayer meeting, wherever it is you're going, whatever that situation, whatever that circumstance, God is with you. God is with you. Some of you are going into tough situations. God is with you. Some of you are saying, "I don't know how I can be blessed." God is with you. Go in that strength. Believe that God's gonna do it.
Listen, a conqueror has to have the courage of their convictions, courage in their conversation, courage in spiritual commitments. Let me ask you this. We're gonna close. What kind of spiritual commitments is God calling you to make? Because I believe, write down the presence of the Lord. If you're gonna leave here with courage, some of you have already made commitments. Some of you have not made the spiritual commitments you need to make. Listen, for some of you, it's, you need to make a commitment. "I'm gonna start spending regular time with the Lord." You're not doing that regularly. And you say, "I'm gonna set my alarm clock. I'm gonna get out of bed a little bit earlier. I'm gonna stay up a little later." You, you pick how it works for you. But I'm gonna make a commitment to spend time with the Lord. Some of you have made a commitment to serve. You're not serving in the church. Yeah, and you would find if you'd use your energy, your time, and your talent for the Lord, keep multiplying it back to you. Some of you are, you're frustrated with your finances, but you've not made the spiritual commitment to tithe. And and God, only in my experience, only blesses what I give to him. Whatever I keep for myself, I'm shielding, I'm keeping from his blessing. And if you'd release to him the tithe, you'd watch God. But it's a spiritual commitment. It's a faith commitment. You say, "But what, it'd be strong and courageous." Some of you, the spiritual commitment would be more like this. You need to pray with your spouse. Guys, your wife would think she died and gone to heaven if you'd say, "Honey, before we start our day, before we go out the door, can I pray for you?" She would, she would say, "Who stole my husband?" But she would think, "This is unbelievable." And you watch, you'll conquer land you never conquered before. I mean, all kinds of things. But the Lord is here. And I think a part of prayer is hearing the Lord speak to our heart and making commitments to them and saying, "God, this is what I hear you speaking, and this is what I'm gonna do." And that's what it takes to conquer land. So what it takes to have the heart of a conqueror. God wants you to conquer. God has new land, new territory, new blessing. Be strong and courageous. What is he calling you to do?